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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On Sunday I cooked up a big pot of nutty-tasting kasha, the cooked cereal made with toasted buckwheat groats. I enjoyed it all week. I stirred some into a frittata along with leeks and spinach, added it to two different salads and to buckwheat pancakes. I ate it plain, with a little milk and maple syrup as porridge for breakfast, and made a dinner in a bowl of kasha topped with mushroom ragout and kale. [..]
But this week everything changed when I bought a box of medium-grain kasha at the supermarket and took another stab at it. These groats were cracked, like bulgur, something I hadn’t seen before. (Indeed, I had reported years ago in this column that it was the medium cut of the grain that made them mushy; now I am convinced that I had it wrong, and that the cooking method also plays a key role). Cracked kasha (the package says “medium granulation”) is still a whole grain – nothing has been removed – but the grains have more exposed surfaces and are smaller than the whole pyramid-shaped buckwheat groats that I usually cook. I followed the directions on the box, mixing the buckwheat with a beaten egg and toasting it in a dry pan over high heat before adding hot water, salt and a little butter and simmering for 10 minutes. Then I did what I always do when I cook grains (and this instruction isn’t on the package): I let them sit for 10 minutes with a tea towel placed between the top of the pan and the lid to absorb steam from the grains. The kasha turned out perfectly – dry and fluffy, with the wonderful nutty/earthy buckwheat flavor I love.
I used my kasha all week for various dishes, including the big bowl with mushroom ragout and kale that follows these basic cooking instructions.
Frittata With Kasha, Leeks and Spinach
Adding kasha to a frittata contributes a wonderful nutty flavor, and just the right amount of bulk.
Nutty, earthy grains mix with crunchy, juicy apples for a great salad that holds up well on a buffet.
Double-Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes
Cooked kasha contributes great texture and flavor to pancakes.
Spinach and Endive Salad With Kasha and Mushrooms
A substantial leafy green salad enlivened by the nutty flavor of kasha.
Allergy Risk From Milk in Some Dark Chocolate: FDA
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
You can’t always believe what you read on a product’s label, agency says
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Some boxes of scrumptious dark chocolate given to sweethearts on Valentine’s Day might contain milk — a hidden danger for those allergic to dairy products.
A new study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revealed that many dark chocolate products contained milk, but didn’t say so on their labels.
“This can be a problem, since even one small bite of a product containing milk can cause a dangerous reaction in some individuals,” researcher Binaifer Bedford said in an agency news release issued Wednesday.
[Deli Sandwiches May Come With a Side of Listeria http://www.webmd.com/food-reci… Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Nearly 1 in 10 samples from delis carried the dangerous bacteria, researchers say
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The next time you order that pastrami-on-rye at your local deli, you may get an unwanted ingredient — the illness-inducing listeria bacterium.
That’s the finding from a Purdue University study of dozens of delicatessens. Researchers say that on any given day, up to one in 10 deli swab samples tested positive for the Listeria monocytogenes germ.
“This is a public health challenge,” study leader Haley Oliver, assistant professor of food science, said in a university news release.
“These data suggest that failure to thoroughly execute cleaning and sanitation protocols is allowing L. monocytogenes to persist in some stores,” she added.
Researchers Identify 8 Signs of Impending Death
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
Findings could help families prepare and aid in end-of-life care choices
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they have identified eight specific physical signs that strongly indicate that someone with advanced cancer is entering the last days of life.
The investigators focused on telltale signs that a patient has, at most, just three days to live. The hope is that this information will help family members and other caregivers better handle an impending death, as well as be more prepared for choices that may have to be made during end-of-life care.
Smoking Linked to Damage in the Brain
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Cigarette use thins key area for memory, thinking skills and language
Feb. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Smoking may damage part of the brain by causing thinning in a crucial area, new research shows.
The study included more than 500 male and female smokers, former smokers and nonsmokers who were an average of 73 years old.
Brain scans revealed that current and former smokers had a thinner cortex than those who never smoked. The cortex is where important thought processes such as memory, language and perception occur.
New Drug May Slow Recurrent Thyroid Cancer: Study
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Progression-free survival nearly five times longer in people receiving treatment
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new thyroid cancer drug can delay the progression of the disease almost five times longer than a placebo in people with recurring cancer, according to results from a new clinical trial.
The oral drug, lenvatinib, is a targeted therapy that fights cancer by deterring the growth of new blood vessels that could help feed the cancer, researchers said.
Lenvatinib delayed progression of advanced thyroid cancer by 18 months, compared with four months for patients treated with a placebo, the trial found.
Number of Hip Replacements Has Skyrocketed: Report
By Randy Dotinga, HealthDay
Procedure becoming more common in younger adults, but hospital stays now a day shorter
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The number of hip replacements performed in the United States has increased substantially, and the procedure has become more common in younger people, new government statistics show.
The numbers reveal the rapid evolution of the procedure, which “remains one of the most dramatic and cost-effective ways to improve the quality of life for patients,” said Dr. Mark Pagnano, chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Stroke Survivors May Face Heightened Cancer Risk
By Amy Norton, HealthDay
But cancer only affected about 2 percent of those in two-year follow-up period
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Older adults who survive a stroke may have a higher-than-average risk of developing cancer in the next few years, a new study suggests.
Researchers followed nearly 3,700 ischemic stroke survivors who were started out cancer-free. Over two years follow-up, 2 percent were newly diagnosed with cancer. The researchers determined their risk of a cancer diagnosis was 40 percent higher than the norm for older U.S. adults.
Studies Find More Genetic Links to Obesity
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
More than 100 locations in DNA associated with excess weight
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — New research offers more evidence that genes play a significant role in obesity.
The findings may help explain why some people are more likely to put on extra pounds and develop obesity-linked conditions, the investigators said.
The researchers analyzed genetic samples from more than 300,000 people and identified more than 140 locations across their sets of DNA that play a role in obesity. They also pinpointed new biological pathways that play important roles in body weight and fat distribution.
U.S. Smoking Deaths May Be Underestimated: Study
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
Each year, 60,000 more smokers die from causes that have association with smoking, researchers say
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Smoking may be killing more people than even current estimates indicate, a new study suggests.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, about 480,000 Americans die of smoking-related causes each year, but that figure may be closer to 540,000, researchers from the American Cancer Society report.
While lung cancer takes the largest toll in smoking-related deaths, the additional 60,000 deaths appear to be caused by diseases not typically associated with tobacco, including kidney failure, intestinal disease, heart disease caused by high blood pressure (hypertension), infections, breathing problems, and breast and prostate cancer, they noted.
Driving Soon After Stroke May Be Risky, Studies Suggest
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay
Recent survivors more likely to make errors and have collisions in simulated tests
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — After a stroke, driving skills may be impaired, two new studies suggest.
The small studies found that drivers who survived a recent stroke were more likely than other drivers to make serious driving errors. Stroke survivors were also more likely to get into collisions when in a simulated driving test environment.
BP Meds Lower Heart, Stroke Risks in Diabetics
By Randy Dotinga, HealthDay
Patients did better even if they didn’t actually have high blood pressure
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new analysis shows that people with type 2 diabetes are less likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes or die early when they take blood pressure medications — even if they don’t actually have high blood pressure.
“Stroke, heart attack and other circulatory diseases are the biggest cause of premature death and disability in people with diabetes,” said review author Dr. Kazem Rahimi, deputy director with the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford in England. “Any intervention that safely reduces the risk, even if modestly, will have an important effect.”
New Name, Criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
U.S.-appointed panel says illness is ‘legitimate,’ should be called Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating illness affecting up to 2.5 million Americans, may soon get a new name and set of diagnostic criteria.
In a report released Tuesday, an independent panel of experts convened by the U.S. government called the illness a “legitimate” disease that features five main symptoms and should be taken seriously by physicians.
In fact, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee behind the report is urging that chronic fatigue syndrome be renamed “Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease,” to better reflect the seriousness of its effect on patients.
Clinical Trial Problems Can Go Unreported: Study
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Only 3 of nearly 80 published studies mentioned issues of concern uncovered by FDA
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Medical journals and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rarely report violations of scientific conduct that federal regulators unearth during spot inspections of clinical trials, a new analysis shows.
In a study published in the Feb. 10 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, a review of FDA inspection reports between 1998 and 2013 revealed nearly 60 clinical trials in which regulators had uncovered violations serious enough to earn the agency’s most severe classification — “official action indicated,” or OAI, said study author Charles Seife, a professor at the Arthur L. Carter Institute of Journalism at New York University.
FDA Approves Device Aimed at Easing Stroke Risk
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
ENROUTE system cleans out ‘debris’ in neck artery for those requiring better blood flow to the brain
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new technology designed to reduce stroke risk in certain patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency announced Monday.
The ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System (TNS) is the first device designed to access the carotid (neck) arteries through an incision in the neck, instead of the groin, the agency explained.
The system was approved for use in people who are undergoing procedures to restore normal blood flow in narrowed neck arteries.
Naps May Undo Hormonal Effects of Lost Sleep
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Study finds an afternoon snooze might undo hormonal damage from lost sleep at night
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Brief daytime naps might protect you against the harmful health effects of a poor night’s sleep, a new study suggests.
Specifically, naps appeared to restore hormones and proteins involved in stress and immune function to normal levels in the study.
The small study included 11 healthy men between the ages of 25 and 32. Researchers restricted the volunteers’ sleep to only two hours for a night. The next day, they had a 2.5-fold increase in levels of norepinephrine, a stress hormone that increases heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar.
They also had lower levels of a protein called interleukin-6, which fights viruses.
Latest Measles Count: 121 Cases in 17 States, D.C.
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
85 percent of infections tied to outbreak that began at Disney theme parks in California, officials say
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The number of measles cases in the United States has reached 121 patients in 17 states and the District of Columbia, federal health officials reported Monday.
The outbreak began at two Disney theme parks in southern California in December. It’s believed that the source of the infection was likely a foreign visitor or a U.S. resident returning from abroad. Measles is still common in many parts of the world, including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Africa, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The majority of people who’ve gotten measles were unvaccinated, CDC officials said.
s Measles’ Return the ‘New Normal’?
By Tara Haelle, HealthDay
Pediatricians and parents struggle with keeping children safe amid concerns over vaccine
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Is measles really back?
That’s the question vexing everyone from pediatricians to policymakers to parents as the outbreak of the dangerous childhood disease that was declared eliminated from the United States 15 years ago continues to spread.
There are now 121 cases in 17 states and the District of Columbia, federal health officials reported Monday. At this rate, total infections for 2015 would produce numbers not seen in more than a decade.
Flu Hospitalizing Record Numbers of Elderly: CDC
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
But the worst seems to be over as season continues to wind down, officials say
Feb. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — While the flu season continues to show signs that it has peaked, it is hitting those over 65 the hardest, sending record numbers of older Americans to the hospital, U.S. health officials reported Friday.
Seniors may be hit harder by influenza this year because the predominant strain, H3N2, tends to be especially harmful in that age group, said Dr. Michael Jhung, a medical officer the Influenza Division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Jhung, another reason for the record number of elderly hospitalizations may be that this year’s vaccine is not well matched to this year’s flu strains.
Ebola Drug Shows Promise in Monkey Trial
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
Experimental medicine targets a key gene in the virus; 75 percent of infected study animals survived
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — An investigational drug designed to stop Ebola in its tracks has shown early promise in a study involving rhesus monkeys, researchers say.
The drug in question, for now dubbed AVI-7537, appeared to safely protect 75 percent of treated monkeys from Ebola after exposure to the virus. However, it has not been tested in humans, and trials in animals often fail to translate to success in people, experts note.
Stress and Heart Attack Recovery in Younger Women
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay
Study found women were prone to greater levels of stress than men
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — When younger people have heart attacks, stress may lead to a worse recovery. This problem may be of particular concern among women, a new study suggests.
Although stress affects both men and women, researchers found that women had higher levels of stress than men. Those higher stress levels may have played a role in their worse recovery in the month after suffering a heart attack. Women had more chest pain, poorer quality of life and worse overall health than men, the researchers found.
HRT Tied to Increased Ovarian Cancer Risk
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay
Overall increase is small, though, adding 1 cancer per 1,000 women treated
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Women who use hormone therapy after menopause — even for just a few years — may have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, according to new research.
The new study found that when women used hormone replacement therapy for less than five years after menopause, the risk of ovarian cancer increased by about 40 percent.
Mercury in Seafood and Women’s Autoimmune Risk
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
The higher the exposure, the higher the levels of a protein linked to immune system dysfunction
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The mercury found in some seafood may be linked to autoimmune disorders among women of childbearing age, new research suggests.
Autoimmune diseases develop when the body’s immune response goes awry and starts to attack healthy cells. Such diseases include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and “Sjogren’s syndrome.”
All told, these diseases affect roughly 50 million Americans, most of whom are women, the University of Michigan researchers said.
HPV Shot Doesn’t Seem to Boost Risky Teen Sex
By Amy Norton, HealthDay
After its introduction, increase in STD rates was same in vaccinated, unvaccinated girls
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Contrary to what some parents might fear, girls who get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) do not treat it as a green light to start having risky sex, a new study indicates.
Researchers said they hope the findings, published online Feb. 9 in JAMA Internal Medicine, help ease parents’ minds.
For nearly a decade, experts have recommended that girls and young women be vaccinated against HPV — the sexually transmitted infection that can cause genital warts and, in some people, eventually lead to cervical cancer.
Sleepiness in Your Teen May Signal ‘Weed’ Use
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Ten percent of those tested for narcolepsy also had marijuana in their system, researchers found
Feb. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Teens who are being assessed for the sleep disorder narcolepsy should also be screened for marijuana use because the drug can cause excessive daytime sleepiness, researchers report.
People with narcolepsy show the same symptoms, the study authors explained.
The researchers looked at 383 children evaluated for excessive daytime sleepiness, and found that 10 percent of those aged 13 and older whose results indicated narcolepsy also had urine drug screening tests that were positive for marijuana.
Teen boys were more likely than girls to test positive for marijuana and to have sleep test results consistent with narcolepsy. None of the children younger than 13 tested positive for marijuana, according to the report published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
‘Play’ May Be More Stressful for Kids With Autism
By Tara Haelle, HealthDay
Brain scans also reveal apparent lack of social recognition during video play, researchers say
Feb. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Children with autism appear to approach play differently than typically developing children, a recent study contends.
“Children with autism lack a social component to their play and don’t ‘adjust’ their play accordingly when another is involved,” said study co-author Blythe Corbett, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Big Increase in Babies Born Addicted to Narcotics
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Canadian study points to jump in prescription painkiller abuse in explaining trend
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — There was a 15-fold increase in the number of newborns experiencing opioid withdrawal in the Canadian province of Ontario between 1992 and 2011, researchers report.
Opioids, such as OxyContin, are powerful narcotic painkillers that carry a high risk of abuse and addiction, the study authors noted.
The incidence of opioid withdrawal among Ontario newborns rose from 0.28 per 1,000 live births to a little more than 4 per 1,000 over the study period, according to the findings published Feb. 11 in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Residential Program Helps Obese Kids Lose Weight
By Randy Dotinga, HealthDay
Treatment also boosted blood vessel health, but therapy is costly and long-term results are unknown
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Extremely obese kids in an intensive 10-month residential treatment program lost more weight than their counterparts, and appeared to reverse artery damage that could lead to clogged arteries and heart disease, according to a new study from Belgium.
The obese children in the intervention program lost about 60 pounds. Meanwhile, children who received standard diet and exercise counseling gained more than 16 pounds, according to the study.
Mental Health Disorders May Shorten Life Span
By Amy Norton, HealthDay
Researchers find people with psychiatric conditions live an average of 10 fewer years
Feb. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People with mental health conditions such as depression, chronic anxiety and schizophrenia tend to die at younger ages than their peers without psychiatric disorders, a new research review says.
In fact, the researchers estimated that mental health disorders typically rob people of nearly a decade of life, and account for 8 million deaths worldwide each year.
U.S. Advisers Rethink Cholesterol Risk From Foods
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Trans fats are a bigger threat to heart health, doctors and dietitians say
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Decades-old advice to Americans against eating foods high in cholesterol likely will not appear in the next update of the nation’s Dietary Guidelines, according to published reports.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture panel assigned the task of revamping the guidelines every five years has indicated that it will bow to new research that has undermined the role that dietary cholesterol plays in a person’s heart health, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee plans to no longer warn people to avoid eggs, shellfish and other cholesterol-laden foods, the newspaper reported.
One of America’s top cardiologists endorsed the move.
Benefits of Moderate Drinking Overblown: Report
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
Not all factors considered in previous studies, researchers say
Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — All that talk of red wine and other alcoholic beverages being good for your health if consumed in moderation is just plain wrong, a new analysis contends.
A review of nearly 53,000 British people found little to no health benefit linked to alcohol consumption, once the results were adjusted for a range of personal, social, economic and lifestyle factors, the researchers reported.
“Based on the findings from this study, alcohol consumption appears to confer little to no protection against mortality [death] in most age-sex groups,” said study author Craig Knott, a research associate in the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London.
Proposed Guidelines: You Can’t Eat What You Want
By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
People still need to limit foods with heart-damaging saturated fats and trans fats, nutritionists say
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — People who follow a heart-healthy diet won’t see much change in their eating habits if, as reported, this year’s U.S. Dietary Guidelines report rescinds previous warnings against eating certain cholesterol-rich foods, dietitians say.
That’s because people still need to limit their consumption of saturated fats and trans fats, which are the two leading dietary contributors to high blood cholesterol.
The proposed change in the guidelines “doesn’t give you free license to eat as much high-cholesterol food as you want, because those foods most often are high in saturated fat as well,” said Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian and director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.
Mediterranean Diet May Lower Stroke Risk: Study
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Researchers say healthy eating plan appears to cut odds of blood clot
Feb. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A Mediterranean diet may reduce your risk of one type of stroke, new research suggests.
People who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet were less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke — caused by a blood clot — compared to people with the lowest adherence to the diet, the study found.
A Mediterranean diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, poultry and olive oil. There is limited consumption of red meat, sweets and saturated fats such as those in meat, butter and full-fat dairy products, according to the researchers.
This Diet Risky for Those With Kidney Disease
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay
Switching to regimen higher in fruits, veggies might help stave off organ failure, experts say
Feb. 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Patients struggling with chronic kidney disease who routinely consume meat-rich, highly acidic diets may boost their risk for kidney failure, a new study suggests.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, kidney dysfunction can hamper the organ’s elimination of acid from the body, causing a high-acid condition known as metabolic acidosis.
Experts have long suspected that a highly acidic diet — one higher in meat, low in fruits and vegetables — might aggravate this state.
Kids and Energy Drinks: Inattention, Hyperactivity
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Kids shouldn’t drink sugary, caffeinated beverages, researchers conclude
Feb. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Energy drinks are linked to hyperactivity and inattention in middle-school students, a new study reveals.
Yale University researchers looked at more than 1,600 students at middle schools in one urban school district in Connecticut. Their average age was around 12 years.
Boys were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls. The researchers also found that among boys, black and Hispanic students were more likely to drink the beverages than white students.
Children who consumed energy drinks were 66 percent more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics.
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