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.
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It’s always the desserts that tip the balance at Thanksgiving. We’re pacing ourselves, full but not too full, until we get to those irresistible pies. I love them as much as anybody, but I thought I’d work on some pielike desserts this week that have the fillings we love without as much butter in the crust. Galettes, phyllo-wrapped strudel and clafoutis all fit the bill. I filled layers of phyllo with a mixture of caramelized chopped apples, pears, mixed dried fruit and slivered almonds and rolled it up into two beautiful strudels, one of which I froze and will pull out and bake on Thanksgiving. Galettes are more rustic than pies, but they’ll look beautiful on any Thanksgiving buffet, and judging from the way they went over in my house when I was testing the recipes, the apple and the pear and cranberry galettes will please a crowd. A clafoutis is one of the easiest impressive desserts that you can make; it looks a bit like a pie, but there’s no crust. Pears are the fruit to use at this time of year.
~Martha Rose Shulman~
I used Bartlett pears for this juicy galette, but pretty much any variety will work, as long as they’re not overly ripe.
Pumpkin Caramel Mousse in a Glass
I wanted to do something with pumpkin that didn’t involve a crust, so I made a mousse and piped it into small glasses, then sprinkled ground toasted hazelnuts on top.
A great rustic apple pie for Thanksgiving, this has very little butter in the pastry and a minimum of sweetening. It’s all about the apples.
Apple Pear Strudel With Dried Fruit and Almonds
This strudel is made with phyllo dough. When I tested it the first time, I found that I had enough filling for two strudels. Rather than cut the amount of filling, I increased the number of strudels to 2, as this is a dessert you can assemble and keep, unbaked, in the freezer.
If you don’t want to make a crust but want something tartlike for your Thanksgiving dessert, a clafoutis, which is something like a cross between a flan and a pancake, is a great choice.
Unemployment Takes Toll on the Heart
by Denise Mann
Nov. 19, 2012 — Unemployment and a history of job loss may raise the risk for heart attack, a new study suggests.
The risk of heart attack may be highest during the first year of unemployment. And the more jobs a person loses, the higher the risk, the study shows.
The findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Can ADHD Drugs Help Keep People Law-Abiding?
by Denise Mann
People With ADHD Less Likely to Break Law When on Medication
Nov. 21, 2012 — People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are taking medication to help control the symptoms of this illness may be less likely to commit crimes, a new Swedish study suggests.
Doctor Ethics Survey: What Would Your MD Do?
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Nov. 19, 2012 — What would your doctor do in a tricky ethical situation?
Medscape, WebMD’s physician web site, recently surveyed 24,000 doctors to find out. They asked doctors how they’d handle a wide range of ethical dilemmas, including sex with patients, assisted suicide, abortion, end-of-life care, and dealing with terminal illness.
Some of their answers may surprise you. Here’s what Medscape heard from doctors in a wide range of medical specialties:
13 Infant Deaths Tied to Sleep Positioners
by Jennifer Warner
Officials Warn Sleep Positioners Pose Suffocation Risk
Nov. 21, 2012 — A product marketed to help keep babies safe while they sleep may have the opposite effect.
At least 13 infants have died since 1997 while lying in sleep positioners or sleep wedges, a new CDC report shows. The products often claim to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Researchers found all but one of the deaths involved infants aged 3 months or less. Most of the infants were placed on their sides to sleep in the sleep positioner, and many were later found lying on their stomachs.
Most of the infants suffocated after rolling onto their stomachs from a side-facing position.
The FDA has never approved any infant sleep positioner to prevent or reduce the risk of SIDS.
Unsafe Toy List: Dora Guitar, Dora Backpack, More
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Nov. 21, 2012 — A too-loud Dora guitar and a lead-filled robot top the annual list of unsafe toys from the Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit consumer watchdog.
This year’s PIRG “Trouble in Toyland” report focuses on the specific dangers: Noisy toys that damage hearing; toys’ small parts that can choke; toys filled with toxic chemicals; and toys with powerful magnets that can kill a child who swallows them.
Worst-Ever West Nile Epidemic: What Happened?
by Daniel J. DeNoon
Nov. 19, 2012 — This week or next, 2012 officially will become America’s worst year ever for death and brain damage from West Nile virus.
More than 2,600 Americans already suffer paralysis or other lingering neurological damage from the virus. At least 229 have died.
With reports still coming in and new cases continuing — infected mosquitoes continue to bite in southern states — the CDC expects the toll to pass 2002’s record 284 deaths and 2,946 cases of neuro-invasive (brain/spinal cord) disease.
So how many people got a West Nile infection this year?
Medical Group: Sell the Pill Without Prescription
by Rita Ruben
Nov. 20, 2012 — Oral contraceptives should be made available without a prescription to reduce unintended pregnancies, according to a newly published opinion by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
Whether the pill should go over-the-counter has been debated at least since the early 1990s, says Dan Grossman, MD. He’s vice president of research at Ibis Reproductive Health, a research and advocacy organization. His research is cited in the opinion.
Adding 3-D Mammograms May Improve Accuracy
by kathleen Doheny
Combination Screening Also Reduced Unnecessary Recalls, Researchers Find
Nov. 20, 2012 — Although mammograms remain the gold standard for breast cancer screening, they are not the perfect test.
They don’t find up to 30% of cancers, and they often find something that may be suspicious for cancer but really isn’t after additional testing. These are called false-positive results.
Some researchers are seeing better results by adding another form of testing, called three-dimensional or 3-D breast imaging.
Breast Cancer: Are Yearly Mammograms Worthwhile?
by Brenda Goodman, MA
Nov. 21, 2012 — Women over age 40 are often urged to get yearly mammograms with the promise that early detection is their best hope for beating breast cancer.
But a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that mammograms may not save as many lives as doctors once thought.
The study also finds that the tests may be responsible for substantial harm, causing an estimated 1.3 million women in the U.S. over the last 30 years to be treated for breast cancers that would not have caused clinical symptoms.
Adding Testosterone to Viagra May Not Help ED
by Matt McMillen
For men with low testosterone, taking testosterone along with Viagra may not help their erections more than if they only took Viagra, a new study shows.
“There were lots of reasons to think that it would work,” Boston University researcher Matthew Spitzer, MD, says of the common practice of combining the two treatments. “It was surprising to me that it didn’t.”
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was a good one and the largest of its kind, “but will it change practice? In my opinion, no,” says urologist Jason Hedges, MD, PhD, of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He was not involved in the study.
CDC Projects Huge Diabetes Jump in Kids, Teens
by Salynn Boyles
Nov. 21, 2012 — The number of children and teens with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is expected to spike dramatically in the next 40 years, creating what one expert calls a potential catastrophe for the nation’s health care system.
Rates of type 2 diabetes could increase four times over the next 40 years, and rates of type 1 diabetes may triple, the new CDC report says. The CDC’s numbers assume that the rate of diabetes will increase over time.
Even if the rates stay as they are now, the number of children and teens with type 2 diabetes is projected to climb by almost 50% over the same period, and the number with type 1 diabetes will rise by 23%.
Some Teens Risk Health to Build Muscle
by Salynn Boyles
Nov. 19, 2012 — The quest for six-pack abs and a ripped physique may be leading some teens — especially boys — in an unhealthy direction, a new study suggests.
Nearly 2,800 middle school and high school students answered questions about what they did to build muscle size or tone. Exercise was, far and away, the most common thing boys and girls reported doing.
However, some teens reported a risky behavior: Almost 6% of boys and 4.6% of girls said they had used steroids.
You’re Only as Old as You Feel
by Jennifer Warner
Nov. 20, 2012 — The old saying “You’re only as old as you feel” has new life, backed up by a new study.
Researchers found older people with positive views on aging were 44% more likely to recover fully after severe disability than those with negative views on aging.
People with positive attitudes about aging also had a slower decline in their ability to do daily tasks such as dressing and bathing.
“It may be something worth considering that might help people’s recovery,” says researcher Becca Levy, PhD, associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health.
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