Welcome to the Stars Hollow Gazette‘s 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.
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I’ve covered a number of good luck foods for the New Year in the Recipes for Health column, including beans, black-eyed peas and lentils, and greens. This year I had a lot of fun playing around with recipes for another type of good luck food: ring-shaped breads and pastries.
The rings symbolize the year’s coming full circle, and also eternity. Doughnuts come to mind, but that doesn’t quite fit the Recipes for Health profile. Neither do most bagels, even most whole wheat bagels (which are usually white bagels with a little brown flour thrown in).
~Martha Rose Shulman~
The magic of sprouted whole grain flours makes for delicious truly whole grain bagels.
Whole Wheat Sesame Rings (Simit)
A thick coating of sesame seeds gives this dense bread a delicious flavor.
A delicious rusklike Italian snack that is fragrant with olive oil.
A cake that is not too sweet and makes a perfect breakfast coffee cake or snack.
hole Wheat and Ricotta Bundt Cake With Lemon and Poppy Seeds
A dark and golden cake that has a wonderful moist texture, with a slight crunch.
Some Blind People Use Echolocation to ‘See’
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Soundwaves help to judge position of objects in surrounding area, study shows
Jan. 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Some people who are blind develop an alternate sense — called echolocation — to help them “see,” a new study indicates.
In addition to relying on their other senses, people who are blind may also use echoes to detect the position of surrounding objects, the international researchers reported in Psychological Science.
Random Mutations Responsible for Most Cancer Risk
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Cancer often linked to ‘bad luck,’ Hopkins researchers say
Jan. 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Although about one-third of cancers can be linked to environmental factors or inherited genes, new research suggests the remaining two-thirds may be caused by random mutations.
These mutations take place when stem cells divide, according to the study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Stem cells regenerate and replace cells that die off. If stem cells make random mistakes and mutate during this cell division, cancer can develop. The more of these mistakes that happen, the greater a person’s risk that cells will grow out of control and develop into cancer, the study authors explained in a Hopkins news release.
Cancer Deaths Down; 1.5 Million Saved in 20 Years
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
American Cancer Society report finds a 22 percent drop in deaths
Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Progress in the war against cancer has triggered a 22 percent drop in U.S. deaths over the past two decades, translating to about 1.5 million lives saved, a new American Cancer Society report finds.
Even so, the annual report also predict that within a few years, cancer will overtake heart disease as the leading killer of Americans.
Better Pain Relief After Knee Replacement Surgery?
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Study suggests injected drug might ease pain while maintaining mobility, but more research is needed
Dec. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Postoperative pain is always a concern after knee replacement surgery, but a new study suggests a strategy that might give patients another way to ease discomfort.
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit note that the painful recovery process following knee replacement surgery is a persistent problem.
Stem Cell Therapy for MS Shows Promise
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Experimental treatment kills off, then ‘resets’ the immune system
Dec. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) — An experimental therapy that kills off and then “resets” the immune system has given three years of remission to a small group of multiple sclerosis patients, researchers say.
About eight in 10 patients given this treatment had no new adverse events after three years. And nine in 10 experienced no progression or relapse in their MS, said lead author Dr. Richard Nash of the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver.
1 in 3 With Type 1 Diabetes Produce Insulin: Study
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
More likely for patients diagnosed as adults
Dec. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Although it’s widely accepted that people with type 1 diabetes produce no insulin, a new study suggests otherwise: Roughly one-third produce the hormone long after they are diagnosed.
Residual insulin production can last for more than four decades, researchers reported recently in the journal Diabetes Care. Their findings could help avoid the misdiagnosis of type 1 diabetes as the more common type 2 diabetes and improve treatments for blood sugar control, they suggested.
Bats May Have Triggered W. Africa Ebola Outbreak
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Researchers rule out larger wildlife as the source of infection
Dec. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) — The Ebola epidemic in West Africa may have started with virus-infected bats, a new study says.
Ebola epidemics are “zoonotic” in origin, spreading to humans through contact with bats or larger wildlife, according to the researchers in Germany.
But their investigation ruled out larger wildlife as the source of the 2014 outbreak, which began in the Guinean village of Meliandou.
FDA Shares Advice to Avoid Colds and Flu
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Influenza virus is spread by sneezing, talking and touching contaminated surfaces
Jan. 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Viral infections can happen at any time, but they’re more common during winter when people spend more time in close contact with others indoors.
Although most respiratory viruses clear up within a few days, some can lead to dangerous complications, particularly for smokers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports. Signs of complications include: a cough that interrupts sleep; persistent, high fever; chest pain; or shortness of breath.
Common Breast Biopsy Finding May Be Dangerous
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay
Thirty percent of women with ‘atypical hyperplasia’ eventually developed breast cancer, study found
Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Women who have a pre-cancerous condition known as atypical hyperplasia of the breast are at higher risk of developing breast cancer than experts had believed, a new study finds.
Hyperplasia is an overgrowth of cells. When it occurs in a distorted pattern, it’s called atypical hyperplasia. This condition is found in about one-tenth of the more than one million breast biopsies with benign findings done in the United States each year, according to researchers from the Mayo Clinic.
For Anorexic Men, the Focus Is on Muscle
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
Collected data shows a ‘paradox,’ with men becoming malnourished as they try to bulk up
Dec. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Anorexia is typically associated with women, but a new report finds that men — especially men obsessed with muscularity — can develop the eating disorder, too.
The Canadian researchers noted that an estimated 10 percent or more of anorexia patients are thought to be male, though the actual number may be significantly higher. There was also a slightly larger proportion of gays with anorexia than is seen in women with the illness, the study found.
Defective Hormone Tied to Chronic Obesity in Baby
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Researchers say the condition might explain weight problem for limited number of people
Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) — A small number of extremely obese people may be fat because their bodies produce a malfunctioning form of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin.
That’s the conclusion of a case study that appears in the Jan. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Middle-Aged Worse at Texting While Driving: Study
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
But, experts stress that distracted driving is dangerous at any age
Dec. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) — The risky mix of texting and driving may be more problematic for middle-aged drivers than it is for younger drivers, according to new research.
However, that doesn’t mean texting and driving is OK for any age group, the study authors stressed.
‘Tis the Season for Seasonal Affective Disorder
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Expert explains this type of depression, including symptoms to watch for
Dec. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that occurs in some people due to decreased amounts of daylight during the winter.
That decrease may trigger SAD by disrupting the body’s internal clock, causing a drop in levels of a mood-affecting chemical called serotonin, or by altering levels of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood, researchers say.
Birth Year May Influence Your Odds for Obesity
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
‘Fat gene’ may be more active in people born after 1942, researchers say
Dec. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) — The year in which you’re born might affect the activity of a gene that could raise your odds for obesity, a new study finds.
Members of families who share an obesity-prone mutation of the FTO gene are more likely to carry extra weight if they were born after 1942, the researchers found.
Many Misled on Weight-Loss Supplements: Survey
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay
Consumer Reports poll finds shoppers often mistakenly believe that FDA oversees these products
Dec. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Think a pill you saw advertised on the Internet can miraculously help you shed unwanted pounds? You’re not alone: A new Consumer Reports survey finds many Americans are misinformed about the quality and effectiveness of these supplements.
“The barrage of advertising leads us to think there’s a magic way to melt away 10 pounds — even when we have no evidence that supplements work,” Dr. Pieter Cohen, a physician at Harvard Medical School who studies supplements, said in a Consumer Reports news release.
Little Change in Fast Food Calories, Salt Content
By EJ Mundell, HealthDay
Researchers tracked popular items from 3 major chains from 1996-2013
Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) — An investigation into the nutrition offered in meals from three major fast food chains finds little change in calories, salt or saturated fat from 1996 to 2013.
A team led by Alice Lichtenstein, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, looked at the nutrition of four popular fast food menu items — fries, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches and regular cola. Overall, the researchers focused on 27 items, including small, medium and large fries and cola beverages, a grilled chicken sandwich, and 2-ounce and 4-ounce cheeseburgers.
Exercise and Risk of Falls in Parkinson’s Patients
By Amy Norton, HealthDay
Benefit strongest for those with milder symptoms, study find
Dec. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Exercises that focus on balance and leg strengthening may help some people with Parkinson’s disease avoid falls, according to a new clinical trial.
The study, reported online Dec. 31 in Neurology, found that the benefits were limited to people with milder Parkinson’s symptoms. The exercise program — done mostly at home — cut their risk of falling by about 70 percent over six months.
But experts said that doesn’t mean exercise is no help to people with more advanced Parkinson’s.
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