Health and Fitness News

Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt

The Kugel Challenge

Kugel

Recently I received an e-mail from a reader describing a kugel made with carrots and quinoa that she’d tasted at a buffet dinner. “It was delicious served at room temperature, cut into cubes, which were firm in texture, sweet but not overly, and  prepared with quinoa,” she wrote. “I am wondering if you might be willing and able to conjure up the ingredients to make this particular kugel incorporating quinoa.”

~Martha Rose Shulman~

Quinoa and Carrot Kugel

This caraway-scented kugel will be a big hit at your family table.

Quinoa and Cauliflower Kugel With Cumin

If you have cooked quinoa in the freezer, this dish comes together even more quickly.

Sweet Millet Kugel With Dried Apricots and Raisins

Millet, a light, fluffy gluten-free grain, lends itself beautifully to both sweet and savory kugels.

Cabbage, Onion and Millet Kugel

This savory kugel is substantial enough to serve as a main dish.

Sweet Potato and Apple Kugel

Basting the top of this kugel with melted butter lets the sweet potato soften properly without the top drying out.

General Medicine/Family Medical

Infusing Good Cholesterol May Help Unclog Arteries

by Charlene Laino

Nov. 5, 2012 (Los Angeles) — An IV infusion of “good” HDL cholesterol seems to rapidly remove cholesterol out of plaque-clogged arteries following a heart attack, a small, early study suggests.

The goal of the new treatment is to reduce the high risk of a second heart attack in people who have had a heart attack.

In the year after a heart attack, about 12% of people have a second heart attack or stroke. And half of them happen in the first month, says researcher Andreas Gille, MD, PhD. Gille is head of clinical and translational science strategy at CSL Limited (which funded the study) in Parkville, Australia.

What to Do Now to Lower Heart Disease Risk Later

by Charlene Laino

Nov. 6, 2012 (Los Angeles) — If you want to increase your odds of having a healthy heart in old age, your best bet is to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in check in middle age.

In a large study, the overall risk of developing any type of cardiovascular disease in one’s lifetime was 60% for men and 55% for women. Cardiovascular disease included heart disease, stroke, or death due to either.

But having an “optimal” risk factor profile at age 45 staved off heart disease for about 14 years, compared with having at least two major risk factors in middle age, says researcher John T. Wilkins, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

What’s optimal, or best? Having a blood pressure reading under 120 over 80, a cholesterol level under 180, and no diabetes, as well as being a nonsmoker.

Heart Deaths Spike in Winter Despite Temperatures

by Charlene Laino

Nov. 6, 2012 (Los Angeles) — Winter can be deadly, at least when it comes to matters of the heart.

Whether you live in a place that is hot year-round, like Arizona, or in a state with cold winters, like Pennsylvania, you’re more likely to die of heart-related problems in the winter, according to a new study presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012.

“We confirmed findings of previous studies that found that heart deaths peak in winter. But there was no link to the cold,” says researcher Bryan Schwartz, MD.

Statins Linked to Reduced Cancer Death

by Salynn Boyles

Nov. 7, 2012 — Statins — widely prescribed drugs used to help prevent death from heart disease — may play a role in reducing risk for cancer death, too, a new study shows.

Researchers followed all cancer patients in Denmark diagnosed between 1995 and 2007. They found that those who took cholesterol-lowering statins before they were diagnosed were less likely to die from their disease than patients who did not take the drugs.

The study does not prove that statins have a direct impact on cancer survival. But Eric J. Jacobs, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, called the findings “intriguing and exciting” and worthy of further research.

Cell Phone Shopping? You May Be Allergic to Some

by Kathleen Doheny

Nov. 9, 2012 — If you’re allergic to the metals nickel or cobalt, you may want to consider that when you pick a mobile phone.

In a new study, researchers tested new and used mobile phones for nickel and cobalt. Some people are allergic to those metals. The allergies can cause skin redness, swelling, itching, and blistering where the metal touches your skin.

Some of the BlackBerry phones studied had nickel in them. Many of the flip-phones studied had both metals.

None of the iPhones or Androids studied tested positive for either metal, says researcher Luz Fonacier, MD, of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., and State University of New York Stony Brook.

Warnings/Alerts/Guidelines

Spine Infections Hit Fungal Meningitis Survivors

by Daniel J. DeNoon

Dangerous 2nd Infection in Tainted-Shot Outbreak

Nov. 5, 2012 — As many as a third of people suffering fungal meningitis linked to tainted steroids — and others who did not get meningitis — are coming down with dangerous infections in the spine.

Some of these dangerous infections are epidural abscesses: pockets of fungus growing inside the spine. Others are arachnoiditis, a deeper and more serious infection. Both kinds of infection can be crippling or fatal. A few of these infections were seen at the beginning of the outbreak. Now many more cases are popping up.

In some cases, these infections are the first signs of disease in people who received fungus-contaminated spinal steroid injections, says CDC fungal disease expert Tom M. Chiller, MD.

Recall: Salmonella in Nesquik Chocolate Powder?

by Daniel J. DeNoon

Nov. 9, 2012 — Nestle USA has recalled some of its Nesquik chocolate powder, which may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

No illnesses have been reported so far. Nesquik contains calcium carbonate made by Omya Inc. Omya has recalled the calcium carbonate “due to possible presence of Salmonella,” according to an FDA news release.

Seasonal Flu/Other Epidemics/Disasters

Global Warming May Double Pollen by 2040

by Kathleen Doheny

Nov. 9, 2012 — If you’re allergic to pollen, brace yourself.

“By the year 2040, we will get about 1.5 to two times the amount of pollen that we have now,” says Leonard Bielory, MD. Bielory is professor of environmental prediction at Rutgers University and attending physician at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J.

Pollen production will also start earlier and peak earlier, according to Bielory’s new model.

He will present his findings at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology meeting in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday.

Men’s Health

Multivitamins Do Not Prevent Heart Disease

by Charlene Laino

Nov. 5, 2012 (Los Angeles) — Don’t count on a vitamin a day to protect you from heart disease. A large, well-designed study shows that men who took daily multivitamins for years did not lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from heart disease.

The study followed nearly 15,000 middle-aged and older men for about 11 years. It is not yet clear if the findings would apply to younger men or women. But a previous study of more than 160,000 women also found that multivitamins did not affect the chance of having heart disease or stroke.

Previous findings from the same study showed that daily multivitamin use reduced the risk of cancer by a modest 8%.

Pediatric Health

Reducing Kids’ TV Time: What Works?

by kathleen Doheny

Nov. 5, 2012 — Counseling parents on the health risks of too much TV time for their toddlers doesn’t seem to help break the TV habit.

Researchers thought that educating parents about the dangers of excess screen time, with suggestions on how to reduce it, would work.

But in a new study, it didn’t, although the counseling did lead to another important behavior change.

“We did find we could reduce the number of meals eaten in front of the screen,” says researcher Catherine S. Birken, MD. Birken is  a pediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto.

Aging

4 Signs of Aging That May Show Higher Heart Risk

by Charlene Laino

Nov. 6, 2012 (Los Angeles) — A receding hairline and certain other signs of aging may be far more than cosmetic problems. They can be signs of poor heart health.

Danish researchers found that people with four signs of aging — receding hairline at the temples, baldness at the head’s crown, earlobe crease, and yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid — were 57% more likely to have a heart attack and 39% more likely to develop heart disease over a 35-year period.

Nutrition/Diet/Fitness

Exercise Can Help Knee Pain if You Stick With It

by Salynn Boyles

Arthritis Patients Who Exercised Regularly Had the Best Results

Nov. 5, 2012 — Certain exercises appear to be better than others for improving knee pain from osteoarthritis, but consistency is the key to getting relief, a review of close to 200 studies shows.

There was evidence that low-impact aerobic exercise and water exercises improved disability, and that aerobic exercise, strength training, and therapeutic ultrasound reduced pain and improved the ease of getting around.

But people who stuck with their exercise programs got the most benefits in terms of pain relief and mobility, regardless of the activity they chose.

Black Tea Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk

by Salynn Boyles

Nov. 7, 2012 — Drinking black tea may help protect against type 2 diabetes, but more study is needed to confirm an association.

When researchers analyzed data from 50 countries, they found that the rate of diabetes was lowest in countries where people drank the most black tea.

Type 2 diabetes rates have skyrocketed worldwide in recent decades. It’s projected that by 2030 there will be more than 900 million people across the globe with diabetes or with a high risk for developing it.

List of ‘Salty Six’ Foods May Surprise You

by Jennifer Warner

Nov. 7, 2012 — It’s not always the potato chips’ or the salt shaker’s fault. Most Americans get the bulk of their daily salt overload from everyday foods loaded with excess sodium.

A new report from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association warns of surprisingly high sodium levels in the “salty six” common foods, including bread, cold cuts, pizza, and chicken.

Researchers say the average American takes in about 3,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day, more than twice the AHA’s recommended limit of 1,500 mg.

All Kinds of Exercise May Be Good for Parkinson’s

by Brenda Goodman, MA

Nov. 6, 2012 — Exercise helps put people with Parkinson’s disease on a path to better health, a new study shows.

All Parkinson’s patients reach a point in their disease where they begin to have trouble walking. Typically, a person starts to lean forward as they walk, their arms move stiffly with their strides, and they start to take shorter, shuffling steps.

This so-called gait impairment isn’t just disabling, it’s also disheartening since it is often the first time the disease becomes visible to the outside world.

Drugs and surgery may help for a time, but eventually they fail to make normal movement possible. So doctors have been testing whether exercise might help people walk and move more easily.