Health Care

Study outlines optimal therapy for breast cancer with BRCA mutation

2009-07-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Those are the findings of a 10-year study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study authors found that women with the genetic mutation who had their ovaries removed or took the anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen had lower rates of breast cancer recurrence or new breast cancers in the other breast.

Women who carry a mutation on the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at an increased risk of breast cancer compared to women without the mutation. And once diagnosed with breast cancer, they face a higher rate of a second tumor occurring. Because of this, questions remain about whether these women should undergo breast-conserving surgery instead of mastectomy, which removes the entire breast.

In this study, published in the June 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from 11 centers looked at 160 women with early breast cancer and the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. The women were treated with lumpectomy, surgery to remove only the tumor, followed by radiation therapy. These women were compared to 445 similar women who were treated for breast cancer but did not carry the genetic mutations.

After 15 years, both groups of women had similar rates of the tumor reoccurring in the same breast. But among the women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, those who were further treated by having their ovaries removed, a procedure called oophorectomy, were less likely to have a recurrence. Similarly, tamoxifen dropped the risk of same-breast recurrence for the mutation carriers by 58 percent.

Women with the genetic mutations had a significantly greater risk of developing breast cancer in the opposite breast than did the control group. After 15 years, 45 percent of the women with the mutation who had not undergone oopherectomy developed a second breast cancer in the other breast, compared to only 9 percent of those women without the genetic mutation.

Women with the mutation who took tamoxifen had a 69 percent reduction in breast cancer in the opposite breast. Among women who did not undergo oophorectomy, tamoxifen made a significant difference: 6 percent of those taking tamoxifen had a second cancer in the opposite breast after 15 years, compared to 54 percent of those who did not take tamoxifen.

�For women with early stage breast cancer who are BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers, our 10-year data suggest that oophorectomy or tamoxifen in women treated with breast conservation and radiation therapy help to reduce the risk of recurrences and new primary cancers in the treated breast to levels comparable to those observed in women with early stage breast cancer who are not BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers,� says lead study author Lori J. Pierce, M.D., professor of radiation oncology at the U-M Medical School.

Lifestyle, diet may stop or reverse prostate cancer progression

2009-07-03T05:42:00.002-07:00

The research is the first randomized, controlled trial showing that lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of cancer. Study findings are published in the September issue of the Journal of Urology.

The study was directed by Dean Ornish, MD, clinical professor, and Peter Carroll, MD, chair of the Department of Urology, both of the University of California, San Francisco, and the late William Fair, MD, chief of urologic surgery and chair of urologic oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The research team studied 93 men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer who had elected not to undergo conventional treatment for reasons unrelated to this study. The participants were randomly divided into either a group who were asked to make comprehensive changes in diet and lifestyle or a comparison group who were not asked to do so.

After one year, the researchers found that PSA levels (a protein marker for prostate cancer) decreased in men in the group who made comprehensive lifestyle changes but increased in the comparison group. There was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and the changes in PSA. Also, they found that serum from the participants inhibited prostate tumor growth in vitro by 70 percent in the lifestyle-change group but only 9 percent in the comparison group. Again, there was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and the inhibition of prostate tumor growth.

Bladder problems increase in men as they age, study reports

2009-07-03T05:42:00.001-07:00

Their findings remind patients and their physicians that urination difficulties in men can be better cared for at early onset. Additionally, the study notes that as men age, the possibility increases that they will experience problems with urination.

"What we know is that many men ignore their symptoms and do not seek assistance with their physician until much later," said Andrew Rule, M.D., nephrologist and epidemiologist at Mayo Clinic and the lead author of the study. "What happens is men can end up with a bladder not working, perhaps needing a bladder catheter all the time. They also become at increased risk for bladder infections and even kidney failure problems."

The researchers looked at information in men from two tests: post-void residual and voided volume. The post-void residual test involved men urinating and then having an ultrasound scan to determine how much urine remained in the bladder. The voided volume test measured how much urine men could void with a full bladder.

Dr. Rule said that both tests are difficult to interpret in a patient because they can yield varying results with the same person each time. However, because the study relied on hundreds of men with multiple visits, those variations could be lessened. The study looked at a random sample of 529 men, ages 40 to 79, who were followed with the two tests every two years for up to 12 years.

Dr. Rule says the study presents some new data on the natural history of the post-void residual and void volume in men as they age.

Shock wave therapy for kidney stones linked to diabetes, hypertension

2009-07-03T05:41:00.001-07:00

Risk for diabetes was related to the intensity of the treatment and quantity of the shock waves administered; hypertension was related to treatment of stones in both kidneys.

Shock wave lithotripsy uses shock waves to break up an impassable kidney stone into smaller, sandlike pieces which can be passed spontaneously, usually within a month. The patient and the lithotriptor that emits the shock waves are placed in a water bath. Water allows easier conduction of the shock waves through the patient's tissue and precise focus on the kidney stone.

"This is a completely new finding," says Amy Krambeck, M.D., Mayo Clinic urology resident and lead study investigator. "This opens the eyes of the world of urology to the fact that hypertension and diabetes are potential side effects. We can't say with 100 percent certainty that the shock wave treatment for the kidney stones caused diabetes and hypertension, but the association was very strong. The risk of developing diabetes after shock wave lithotripsy is almost four times the risk of people with kidney stones treated with medicine, and the risk of developing hypertension is one and one-half times, which is a significant risk increase."

The study, which is the first examination of the effects of shock wave lithotripsy over the long term, involved reviewing charts of 630 patients treated with shock wave lithotripsy in 1985 at Mayo Clinic. The researchers sent those still alive a questionnaire; almost 60 percent responded. The researchers matched the patients treated with lithotripsy to patients similar in age, gender and initial time of seeing a urologist for kidney stones who received a different treatment, medicine. Nineteen years post-treatment, those treated with lithotripsy had 3.75 times the risk of having diabetes as those given the other kidney stone treatment. The degree of increased risk rose with greater number and intensity of shocks administered. Those treated with lithotripsy also had 1.47 times the risk of having hypertension -- high blood pressure -- than those who received the other kidney stone treatment; risk was highest for those who had both kidneys treated.

Scalpel-free surgery could reduce risk of HIV and hepatitis

2009-07-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

"While these rates are alarming, they are not entirely unexpected. General precautions have been in effect for some time to prevent the spread of disease to health care workers in the operating room," said Martin A. Makary, M.D., assistant professor of surgery and public health at Johns Hopkins and lead author of a report in the May 2005 issue of the Annals of Surgery.

"Given the high incidence of these infections, however, we have developed new strategies such as 'sharpless' surgery-a surgical technique which uses high-technology alternatives to needles and knives. We advocate using these techniques whenever possible in high-risk settings to further protect health care workers from accidental transmission," added Makary.

Sharpless surgical techniques include laparoscopy, electrocautery to replace scalpel incisions, and skin clips or glue instead of sewing to close or repair wounds.

Previous studies have shown that health care workers are injured in about 7 percent of operations. As many as 87 percent of surgeons will receive an injury that breaks the skin -- thus allowing for possible disease transmission - at some point in their career. There are an estimated 40,000 new cases of HIV each year, and hepatitis C is increasing at an even faster rate, according to the report. The study concludes that by studying the rates of HIV and hepatitis B and C among patients presenting for surgery, a more accurate incidence of disease is measured within a community, bypassing the selection bias of traditional statistics of known infected patients presenting to primary care clinics. Furthermore, the authors report that blood-borne pathogens are associated with certain types of operations.

The researchers also found that the operations associated with the greatest risk of infection - lymph-node biopsy, soft-tissue-mass excision and abscess-drainage cases - were often assigned to the most inexperienced surgeons-in-training, placing them at greatest risk.

"Sharpless surgical techniques combined with traditional precautions and early education for surgery trainees are the most practical ways to reduce the risk of infection to health care workers," said Makary.

The researchers studied 709 consecutive adult general surgery operations performed between July 2003 and June 2004 in the community surgical service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital including inpatient, emergency department and outpatient surgical procedures. Data were collected on HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C test results, type of operation, age, sex and history of intravenous drug use.

The researchers found that 38 percent of all operations involved a bloodborne pathogen, and almost half (47 percent) of all men tested positive for at least one infection. HIV accounted for 26 percent of infections, hepatitis B for 4 percent, hepatitis C for 35 percent, and co-infection with HIV and hepatitis C accounted for 17 percent of infections. In addition, bloodborne pathogen infection was found in up to 65 percent of patients with a history of intravenous drug use and in as many as 71 percent of patients undergoing a soft-tissue abscess procedure or lymph-node biopsy.

While the patients in this study tend toward low socioeconomic status and increased substance use, most university hospitals in the United States are located in urban areas and serve a similar patient population, added Makary.

Other authors on the report are Eric S. Weiss, Theresa Wang, Dora Syin, Peter Pronovost, David Chang and Edward Cornwell III.

Surgery found to be best remedy for hammer hand

2009-07-03T05:37:00.001-07:00

"In the past, treatment of hypothenar hammer syndrome has been controversial, and physicians have been searching for some way to treat it," says Craig Johnson, M.D., chair of Mayo Clinic's Division of Plastic Surgery and lead study investigator. "From our study, it's clear that people with this syndrome shouldn't be treated with medication or other treatments, but with surgery."

Dr. Johnson explains that symptoms improved in 78 percent of the patients in his study who underwent a bypass grafting operation and that he witnesses an almost immediate relief in his patients with this surgery.

"Post-surgery, patients feel their hands are warmer right away, though ulcers take a little longer to heal," he says. "Most people do quite well and get back to work quickly."

Patients with this condition have a damaged ulnar artery, a key means of blood flow to the hand. In addition to the sensory damage, they also can develop small ulcers in their fingertips resulting in blackened fingers or even gangrene, due to lack of oxygenation.

"Many times they can't do their jobs due to pain," says Dr. Johnson. "They have cold intolerance, so often they can't go outside when it's cold or handle anything chilled, like cold meat. They also can't hold heavy objects."

The treatment found to improve these symptoms, bypass grafting surgery, involves removing the damaged portion of the artery, which Dr. Johnson describes as clotted much like a clogged lead pipe. The artery's blood flow is then restored by replacing the section of blocked artery with a vein graft.

In this study, Dr. Johnson studied 115 hands in 101 patients evaluated at Mayo Clinic. Medical and surgical treatment options pursued were evaluated by chart review and postoperative phone calls for all patients, and by duplex scan, an ultrasound of the arteries that measures blood flow, for those who underwent bypass surgery. The patients studied included 98 males and three females; most were laborers.

An average of 3.5 years post-treatment, 29 of the 41 patients treated with medication or sympathectomy -- surgery to interrupt the nerve pathway -- showed no change in symptoms, seven were worse and five showed symptom improvement.

Two types of excision operations were used for the remaining 60 patients studied. Four received excision of the damaged portion of the ulnar artery or surrounding vessels followed by ligation, or binding; symptoms in three out of four of these patients were unchanged post-surgery. The other 56 patients were treated with surgical excision of the damaged ulnar artery or surrounding vessels followed by bypass grafting; 78 percent of these patients improved, losing their pain and cold intolerance and returning to work. Of the 22 percent who showed no change or worsening of symptoms following bypass grafting surgery, 86 percent of the patients had continued smoking.

Dr. Johnson explains that quitting smoking is key to a lasting effect of the bypass grafting surgery, thus he tries not to operate on patients who continue to smoke. "Smokers do well for awhile, but over time their bypass graft gets clotted," he explains.

The cause of hypothenar hammer syndrome is unknown. Previously the condition has been thought to be task or work related due to use of the palm as a hammer, but this is yet unsettled, says Dr. Johnson. "It's not entirely certain whether you have to be running a jackhammer for 20 years or laying concrete to develop this syndrome." There could also be a genetic predisposition to the syndrome, he indicates. Dr. Johnson points to a need for further research into the origins of this syndrome.

Obesity surgery translates to cardiac benefit

2009-07-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

In a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 55th Annual Scientific Session, a team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota evaluated the effect of bariatric surgery on longterm cardiovascular risk and estimated prevented outcomes. ACC.06 is the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, bringing together over 30,000 cardiologists to further breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine.

The team completed a historical study between 1990 and 2003 of 197 patients with class II-III obesity who undertook Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (sometimes referred to as "stomach stapling"), compared to 163 control patients enrolled in a weight reduction program. With an average follow-up time of 3.3 years, the team recorded changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol levels, body mass index (BMI) and diabetes criteria.

Though the team originally estimated a higher 10-year risk for cardiac events in the surgical group at the start of the study due to their associated conditions, researchers found at follow-up that the patients had a much lower risk than the control group for having a heart complication (18.3 vs. 30 percent). Using the study parameters and risk models based on previously published data, the team estimated that for every 100 patients, the surgery would prevent 16.2 cardiovascular events and 4.1 overall deaths, as compared to the control group. However, should the number of deaths during surgery approach 4 percent, the protective effect is limited, as may be in the case in centers with very low volumes of weight loss surgeries.

Experimental shingles vaccine proves effective in nationwide study

2009-07-03T05:34:00.001-07:00

In one of the largest adult vaccine clinical trials ever, researchers have found that an experimental vaccine against shingles (zoster vaccine) prevented about half of cases of shingles--a painful nerve and skin infection--and dramatically reduced its severity and complications in vaccinated persons who got the disease. The findings appear in the June 2 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The Shingles Prevention Study, conducted over 5 �-years, was led by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Merck & Co., Inc. (Whitehouse Station, NJ).
"This is very promising news for older persons," says Stephen E. Straus, M.D., an infectious diseases specialist at NIAID and Director of the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, who participated in the design, oversight and conduct of the trial. "These striking results indicate for the first time that we can use a vaccine to prevent shingles, one of the most common and debilitating illnesses of aging. And among vaccine recipients who did get shingles, the episodes generally were far milder than they otherwise would have been."
"For some people, shingles can result in months or even years of misery," comments study leader Michael N. Oxman, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at the San Diego VA Healthcare System and the University of California, San Diego.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. Once chickenpox infection has run its course, the virus is not eliminated; rather, it retreats to clusters of sensory nerve cells usually located near the spinal cord, where the virus persists in a dormant state. As immunity weakens with advancing age, the virus can reactivate, multiply in and damage sensory nerve cells to cause pain. It then migrates to the skin, causing the blistering rash of shingles.
Generally, shingles first manifests as pain, itching or tingling in an area of skin on one side of the body or face. Then a painful blistering rash develops in that same area of skin; the rash can take two to four weeks to heal.

Hair-generating multipotent stem cells found in hair follicles

2009-07-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

Using an animal model, a research team led by Yann Barrandon at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and the CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) has discovered that certain cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells, capable of developing into the many different cell types needed for hair growth and follicle replacement.

In an article appearing in the Oct 3 advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they demonstrate that these holoclones can be used for long-term follicle renewal.

In 2001, Barrandon was part of a French research team who reported in the scientific journal Cell that stem cells could be used to generate skin containing hair and sebaceous glands in mice. But at that time it was unclear whether the stem cells in hair follicles were true stem cells, capable of long-term renewal, or multipotent progenitor cells that would not permanently engraft in the follicle.

In the current PNAS study, the Swiss researchers have answered that question, using rat whisker hair follicles to demonstrate that the clonogenic keratinocytes in hair follicles are true stem cells.

Barrandon's group isolated stem cells from rat whisker follicles, labelled them, and grew them in culture for 140 generations. They then implanted progeny cells into the skin of newborn mice whose hair follicles were just being formed. This skin was then grafted onto athymic (nude) mice. Some cells were incorporated into developing follicles, but other follicles were completely made up of labelled cells. Each progeny cell contributed to the formation of eight different types of cell in the follicle, including those of the outer root sheath, inner root sheath, the hair shaft, the sebaceous gland and the epidermis.

After 125 days, a biopsy was taken from the graft, and labelled stem cells were isolated, subcloned, cultivated and then once again transplanted. The rat whisker stem cells participated again in forming all the cell types needed to form the hair follicle and sebaceous glands, resulting in hair bulbs that underwent repeated normal phases of growth, rest and regeneration. The fact that the transplanted cells participate in the hair cycle over long periods of time shows that they are true multipotent stem cells and not progeniture cells.

Study finds new drug is potent treatment for CML

2009-07-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

BOSTON--A laboratory study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has shown that a potent and highly selective therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may ultimately be more effective than Gleevec�, the current standard of care. The researchers report in the February issue of Cancer Cell that the new compound, AMN107, is about 20 times more potent than Gleevec and is effective in treating Gleevec-resistant disease in model systems. Discovered by and in development with Novartis Pharma AG, AMN107 is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

"While Gleevec represents a major treatment advance for CML � approximately 95 percent of patients treated with Gleevec achieve remission � there clearly is a need for therapies that produce longer remissions, are active against advanced disease, and can be used when Gleevec loses effectiveness," says Dana-Farber's James Griffin, MD, senior author of the study.

Gleevec shuts down CML by blocking the function of Bcr-Abl, the abnormal tyrosine kinase protein in the leukemic cells that causes them to grow too quickly. However, it does not bind very tightly to this protein, and patients can develop a resistant type of Bcr-Abl that no longer binds to Gleevec at all.

Using rational drug design to circumvent these shortcomings, researchers at Novartis determined the crystal structure of Bcr-Abl, and then constructed compounds that would lock into the receptor more securely than Gleevec. Investigators at Dana-Farber tested the new compounds to measure their effectiveness against CML in laboratory cell cultures and mice with the disease.

Data from the study published in Cancer Cell showed that in experiments with laboratory samples of CML cells, AMN107 killed the cells more effectively than Gleevec. In follow-up studies with mice with a human form of CML, AMN107 produced lengthier remissions than Gleevec and triggered remissions in animals in which the disease had become resistant to Gleevec. Side effects in the animals were minimal.

Synthesized in August 2002, AMN107 entered early Phase I clinical studies in May 2004 � 21 months later. Data presented last December at the American Society of Hematology showed that AMN107 had demonstrated significant clinical activity in the most challenging setting: Gleevec resistant accelerated and blast crisis CML patients.

"We're very encouraged by the results so far," remarks Griffin, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "This is an elegant example of how rational drug design �� developing drugs based on a molecular understanding of cell structures and processes �� can be used to attack human diseases."

The findings contribute to a larger Dana-Farber research effort, dubbed the "Kinase Project," which seeks to identify abnormal tyrosine kinases -- enzymes that spark or halt growth -- in cancer cells and test agents known to act against them.

The Cancer Cell study's lead author is Ellen Weisberg, PhD, of Dana-Farber. Co-authors include researchers at Dana-Farber, Novartis, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Children's Hospital Boston.

Sources

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Aspirin may not provide optimum anti-coagulation for all patients

2009-07-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

Professor Andrew Szczeklik from Poland and Professor Graeme Hankey from Western Australia will present the latest findings on aspirin resistance at the XXth Congress of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis today.

"There are at least two possible explanations for the aspirin-resistance phenomenon," said Professor Szczeklik. "One is high levels of blood cholesterol, which can in itself promote coagulation events in the blood stream. In patients with highcholesterol levels, aspirin in in normal doses has hardly any anti-clotting effects, whereas treatment with a statin (inhibitor of cholesterol) significantly reduces blood clotting. In patients withcoronary heart disease, aspirin exerts it anti-coagulant effects only when blood cholesterol is in the 'normal' range."

Szczeklik went onto say, "A patients genetic make-up may alter their response to aspirin resistance.. For example, incoronary heart disease patients carrying one particular gene are resistant to the anti-coagulant action of aspirin and are at increased risk of an acute coronary event."

Anemia associated with higher risk of death in elderly

2009-07-03T05:28:00.000-07:00

Increasing evidence indicates that anemia is common in the elderly population, but few studies have assessed the association of anemia with clinical outcomes, such as illness and death, according to background information in the article. Anemia is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a hemoglobin concentration of less than 12 g/dL (grams per one tenth liter) for women and less than 13 g/dL for men.

Neil A. Zakai, M.D., of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, compared the association of hemoglobin concentration and anemia status with subsequent death over the course of eleven years in elderly adults living in four U.S. communities. Hemoglobin concentrations were determined for participants recruited between 1989 and 1993. Participants were contacted biannually; telephone and clinic examinations were conducted alternately. Deaths were reviewed and classified as cardiovascular or noncardiovascular. Complete follow-up was available through June 2001 for this analysis.

Hemoglobin concentration was analyzed in two ways: by dividing the participants' baseline hemoglobin into five equal levels and by the WHO criteria for anemia. Based on the WHO criteria for anemia, 498 individuals were anemic on enrollment (8.5 percent of the 5,797 included in the analysis), the researchers report. The hemoglobin concentration for the 1,205 individuals in the lowest fifth was higher than the WHO criteria for anemia, and 41.3 percent of these 1,205 people did qualify as anemic by WHO standards.

First scientific data for Lybrel presented at ASRM meeting

2009-07-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

Madison, N.J., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, announced that four scientific abstracts regarding Lybrel� (0.09 mg levonorgestrel/0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol tablets) were presented for the first time today at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Montr�al, Canada.

The studies investigated the effects of 0.09 mg levonorgestrel/0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol on ovarian activity, safety and efficacy, endometrial histology, and cycle-related symptoms. The New Drug Application (NDA) for the study drug, Lybrel, a combination low-dose oral contraceptive designed to be taken daily, 365 days a year, without a placebo phase or pill-free interval, was accepted for filing on July 27, 2005 and is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The research presented at the ASRM Annual Meeting includes investigational data on multiple effects of 0.09 mg levonorgestrel/0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol. The abstracts accepted for presentation are:

Investigation of Ovarian Activity

A six-month Phase 2 study entitled �Effect on Ovarian Activity of a Continuous-Use Regimen of Oral Levonorgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol� reported that participants (n=37) taking 0.09 mg levonorgestrel/0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol experienced inhibition of ovulation. The study also reported that participants who stopped the study drug treatment demonstrated a return to ovulation. This was the first ever published investigational study of a combination oral contraceptive designed to be taken every day of the year without a placebo phase to specifically evaluate ovarian suppression and return to ovulation.

Investigation of Safety and Efficacy

An abstract entitled �Efficacy and Safety of a Continuous-Use Regimen of Levonorgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol: North American Phase 3 Study Results� examined the contraceptive effects of 0.09 mg levonorgestrel/0.02 mg ethinyl estradiol and the adverse events experienced by the study participants (n=2,134) during the 12-month trial. Contraceptive efficacy was determined by the Pearl Index, a calculation of the pregnancy rate among study participants.

Women should be advised not to drink alcohol in pregnancy

2009-07-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

Expectant mothers should be advised not to drink alcohol, as this may pose health risks to the foetus, argues an editorial in this week's BMJ.

While the UK Department of Health advises that women can safely drink one or two units of alcohol per week, a team of psychiatrists in London highlight several studies which cast doubt on the guidance.

The authors looked at reports into foetal alcohol syndrome, a condition developed by some babies exposed to alcohol in the womb, resulting in stunted growth, facial abnormalities and neurocognitive deficits (brain disorders). An overarching foetal alcohol spectrum disorder - traceable to the pregnant mother's alcohol consumption say the authors - has also been identified.

Both the syndrome and disorder cause a wide range of behavioural disorders, they argue, including hyperactivity, problems with mental organisation, and difficulties in understanding the consequences of one's behaviour. Symptoms may also overlap with conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Previously the syndrome was thought to be caused by mothers drinking heavily in pregnancy. But the authors argue that recent studies suggest that far less exposure to alcohol in the womb may put babies at risk � as little as one drink per week in one study. Individual differences in alcohol metabolism may protect most women when drinking small quantities, add the team, but it is currently impossible to predict who is at risk and who is not.

More research is needed to find out just how much alcohol may be damaging to a foetus, argue the authors. In the interim, the only safe message for expectant mothers is to abstain from alcohol, they conclude.

Birth control pill could cause long-term sexual problems

2009-07-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

In the January issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers have published a new investigation measuring sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) before and after discontinuation of the oral contraceptive pill. The research concluded that women who used the oral contraceptive pill may be exposed to long-term problems from low values of "unbound" testosterone potentially leading to continuing sexual, metabolic, and mental health consequences.

Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is the protein that binds testosterone, rendering it unavailable for a woman's physiologic needs. The study showed that in women with sexual dysfunction, elevated SHBG in "Oral Contraceptive Discontinued-Users" did not decrease to values consistent with those of "Never-Users of Oral Contraceptive". Thus, as a consequence of the chronic elevation in sex hormone binding globulin levels, pill users may be at risk for long-standing health problems, including sexual dysfunction.

Oral contraceptives have been the preferred method of birth control because of their ease of use and high rate of effectiveness. However, in some women oral contraceptives have ironically been associated with women's sexual health problems and testosterone hormonal problems. Now there are data that oral contraceptive pills may have lasting adverse effects on the hormone testosterone.

The research, in an article entitled: "Impact of Oral Contraceptives on Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and Androgen Levels: A Retrospective Study in Women with Sexual Dysfunction" published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, involved 124 premenopausal women with sexual health complaints for more than 6 months. Three groups of women were defined: i) 62 "Oral Contraceptive Continued-Users" had been on oral contraceptives for more than 6 months and continued taking them, ii) 39 "Oral Contraceptive Discontinued-Users" had been on oral contraceptives for more than 6 months and discontinued them, and iii) 23 "Never-Users of Oral Contraceptives" had never taken oral contraceptives. SHBG values were compared at baseline (groups i, ii and iii), while on the oral contraceptive (groups i and ii), and well beyond the 7 day half-life of sex hormone binding globulin at 49-120 (mean 80) days and more than 120 (mean 196) days after discontinuation of oral contraceptives

Researchers identify genes associated with lung transplant rejection

2009-07-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified six genes associated with lymphocytic bronchitis, which is thought to lead to obliterative bronchitis (OB), the most common cause of long-term failure of transplanted lungs.

The researchers hope their results will lead to an earlier, more sensitive, and more accurate standard test for chronic lung rejection, as well as greater understanding of the rejection process.

The study is being published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, currently available online.

In obliterative bronchitis, scar tissue forms in breathing passages of the transplanted lung, narrowing them and eventually making it impossible for the recipient to breathe. The exact cause is unknown, but it is believed to be related to rejection of the lung by the recipient's body.

"For lung transplant patients, the biggest barrier to long-term survival is control of rejection," says principal investigator George Caughey, MD, head of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at SFVAMC. "If we know rejection is occurring, we can adjust the patient's medication to try and prevent it. But the problem with lung transplants is that it's hard to detect chronic rejection." Currently, he says, OB is best detected through a breathing test--but by the time the disease has a perceptible impact on the patient's ability to breathe, it's often too late to treat effectively.

Caughey and his fellow researchers studied lung biopsy samples from 22 lung transplant patients, with the goal of detecting genes and gene products associated with inflammation and formation of scar tissue in breathing passages. Using a customized version of a conventional laboratory technique, they found that they were able to look at hundreds of gene products simultaneously in lung tissue samples only a few millimeters across. "That was our first achievement: being able to accurately measure that many genes in small samples," notes Caughey, who is also a professor of medicine at UCSF. "We succeeded way beyond our expectations."

The researchers then correlated the genetic test results with results from microscopic pathology examinations, tissue cultures, X-rays, CT scans, and breathing tests in each patient. They identified six genes that correlate with lymphocytic bronchitis, potentially opening the way to a genetic test that would identify OB before it manifests. "The beauty of this approach is that it could be applied in a regular laboratory," Caughey says.

However, he cautions, "we need to validate this data in a larger, separate set of patients to prove that these biomarker genes actually work. And we're testing that now." Currently, Caughey's research team is studying biopsy samples from more than 100 UCSF lung transplant patients, who regularly undergo biopsies as part of standard follow-up care.

Another potential benefit of the research, predicts Caughey, will be a better understanding of lung rejection at the genetic level. In turn, he believes, this could lead to the development of medications that directly target genes responsible for the scarring process in the lung, instead of anti-rejection drugs that broadly compromise the immune system, which are the major tools currently available to fight lung rejection.

Co-authors of the study were Xiang Xu, MD, PhD, Jeffrey A. Golden, MD, Gregory Dolganov, PhD, Kirk D. Jones, MD, Samantha Donnelly, PhD, and Timothy Weaver, Bsc, all of UCSF.

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The research is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health that is administered jointly by the Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE) and UCSF's Cardiovascular Research Institute, and is supported by the Diamond Family Foundation.

GERD likely to follow newly diagnosed asthma

2009-07-03T05:19:00.001-07:00

In the first study to assess a connection between cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma, in the same population, over the same time period, researchers found that patients who are diagnosed with asthma are at a significantly higher risk of a diagnosis of GERD.

Researchers from Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom examined data taken from the UK General Practice Research Database. Researchers followed a cohort of 5,653 patients recently diagnosed with GERD and 8,105 patients without GERD or asthma, for a mean time of 3 years and identified 103 cases of asthma in the GERD cohort and 99 cases of asthma in the control group.

During the same study period, researchers followed 9,712 patients with newly diagnosed asthma and 19,334 control subjects without asthma or GERD, for a mean of 2.8 years and found 219 patients with asthma developed GERD, compared to 241 control subjects who developed GERD during the study period.

Patients with asthma were most likely to receive a subsequent diagnosis of GERD within the first year of their diagnosis of asthma. Patients with a diagnosis of GERD were not found to be at significantly higher risk of developing asthma.

Source

The study appears in the July issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Pertussis vaccine proves effective in adults, adolescents

2009-07-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

A vaccine to protect adults and adolescents against illness due to Bordetella pertussis infection--or whooping cough--has proved more than 90 percent effective in a national, large-scale clinical study, according to research results published in this week's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The vaccine, researchers say, could be used to stem the increase in pertussis cases among adults and adolescents in the United States and thereby prevent the prolonged cough illness, which can result in hospitalization, pneumonia and cracked ribs in those populations. An important additional benefit of the vaccine may be to decrease transmission of the B. pertussis bacterium to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to severe illness, complications and death resulting from whooping cough. The illness annually affects 50 million people worldwide.

"During the 1990s, the number of reported pertussis cases among adolescents and adults more than doubled in the United States as the protective effects of earlier childhood immunizations have waned," says Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health, which funded the study. "This new study shows that an effective adult acellular pertussis vaccine is feasible and if routinely used could provide the U.S. population greater protection against the disease."

Known as the Adult Pertussis Trial, the 2.5-year study involved 2,781 healthy individuals between 15 and 65 years of age. Volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two similarly sized groups that received either the acellular pertussis vaccine or the control hepatitis A vaccine (Havrix). For purposes of the trial, pertussis cases were defined as illnesses with a cough lasting at least five days that occurred more than 28 days after vaccination and were confirmed through blood and nasal mucus testing.

Elderly have higher risk for cardiovascular, respiratory disease

2009-07-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

New data from a four-year study of 11.5 million Medicare enrollees show that short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution from such sources as motor vehicle exhaust and power plant emissions significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among people over 65 years of age. The study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, is the largest ever conducted on the link between fine particle air pollution and hospital admissions for heart- and lung-related illnesses.

The study results show that small increases in fine particle air pollution resulted in increased hospital admissions for heart and vascular disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infection. "The data show that study participants over 75 years of age experienced even greater increases in admissions for heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than those between 65 and 74 years of age," said National Institutes of Health Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided funding to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for the study. The study results are published in the March 8, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the study, these findings document an ongoing threat from airborne particles to the health of the elderly, and provide a strong rationale for setting a national air quality standard that is as protective of their health as possible.

"These findings provide compelling evidence that fine particle concentrations well below the national standard are harmful to the cardiovascular and respiratory health of our elderly citizens," said NIEHS Director David A. Schwartz, M.D. "Now that the link between inhaled particles and adverse health effects has been established, we must focus our efforts on understanding why these particles are harmful, and how these effects can be prevented."

Fine particle air pollution consists of microscopic particles of dust and soot less than 2.5 microns in diameter � about thirty times smaller than the width of a human hair. These tiny particles primarily come from motor vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions, and other operations that involve the burning of fossil fuels. Fine particles can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reducing lung function and worsening conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.

The researchers based their fine particle analysis on 11.5 million Medicare enrollees who lived in 204 U.S. counties with populations larger than 200,000. Using billing records for 1999 to 2002, they tracked daily counts of hospital admissions for eight major outcomes � heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, cerebrovascular events such as stroke or brain hemorrhage, coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease or narrowing of the blood vessels, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory infection, and injury.

The investigators obtained daily measurements of fine particle concentrations from a network of air monitoring stations provided by the Environmental Protection Agency's Aerometric Information Retrieval Service. The average fine particle concentration for the 204 counties over the three-year period was 13.4 micrograms per cubic meter of air, slightly below the national air quality standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter for an annual average.

"When we analyzed the data for heart failure, we observed a 1.28 percent increase in admissions for each 10 microgram per cubic meter increase in fine particle pollution," said Francesca Dominici, Ph.D., an associate professor of biostatistics with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author on the study. "Most of these admissions increases occurred the same day as the rise in fine particle concentration, which suggests a short lag time between the change in pollution and the subjects' response."

The data also showed that the risk for air pollution-related cardiovascular disease was highest in counties located in the Eastern United States. "Identifying the various factors that might contribute to these differences between eastern and western regions is a very complex question that we must address," said Dominici.

According to Dominici, fine particles pose a significant health problem because they penetrate deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream. "Now that we know that inhaled particles can affect cardiovascular and respiratory health, we must identify the specific characteristics of fine particles that produce these adverse health effects," she said. "In the meantime, these findings underscore the need for a national air quality standard that adequately protects the respiratory health of our citizens."

Sources

F. Dominici, D. Peng, M. Bell, L. Pham, A. McDermott, S.L. Zeger, J.M. Samet. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Hospital Admissions for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases. Journal of American Medical Association 295, March 2006.

Lack of sleep linked to increased risk of high blood pressure

2009-07-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

f you're middle age and sleep five hours or less a night, you may be increasing your risk of developing high blood pressure, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Sleep allows the heart to slow down and blood pressure to drop for a significant part of the day," said James E. Gangwisch, Ph.D., lead author of the study and post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

"However, people who sleep for only short durations raise their average 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate. This may set up the cardiovascular system to operate at an elevated pressure."

Gangwisch said that 24 percent of people ages 32 to 59 who slept for five or fewer hours a night developed hypertension versus 12 percent of those who got seven or eight hours of sleep. Subjects who slept five or fewer hours per night continued to be significantly more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension after controlling for factors such as obesity, diabetes, physical activity, salt and alcohol consumption, smoking, depression, age, education, gender, and ethnicity.

The researchers conducted a longitudinal analysis of data from the Epidemiologic Follow-up Studies of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES I). The analysis is based on NHANES I data from 4,810 people ages 32 to 86 who did not have high blood pressure at baseline. The 1982-84 follow-up survey asked participants how many hours they slept at night. During eight to 10 years of follow-up, 647 of the 4,810 participants were diagnosed with hypertension.

Compared to people who slept seven or eight hours a night, people who slept five or fewer hours a night also exercised less and were more likely to have a higher body mass index. (BMI is a measurement used to assess body fatness). They were also more likely to have diabetes and depression, and to report daytime sleepiness.

"We had hypothesized that both BMI and a history of diabetes would mediate the relationship between sleep and blood pressure, and the results were consistent with this," Gangwisch said.

Sleep deprivation has been shown previously to increase appetite and compromise insulin sensitivity.

Omega Fatty Acids Benefits From Fish Oil Supplements

2009-03-15T22:45:00.001-07:00

Fish is one of the healthiest foods nature has made available to mankind. It exists in abundance and is, therefore, affordable for everyone. The many health benefits of consuming cold-water oily fish (such as herring, tuna, halibut, salmon, cod) have been well established by scientific research. Fish is one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids – a family of long-chain polyunsaturated essential fatty acids that play a crucial role in health maintenance and may provide protection against a host of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, inflammatory diseases like rheumatic arthritis, and even cancer. These nutrients are absolutely essential for normal growth and development and must necessarily be obtained from food because the body cannot synthesize them, just like vitamins and minerals.

Pharmaceutical Grade fish oil supplements can be taken as an alternative to eating fish. Though the vast majority considers fish as being delicious and appetizing, there is a substantial fraction of the population that cannot stand the smell of fish. And some people may not even find it all that stimulating for their taste buds. Then there are people who cannot consume fish because they are vegetarians or vegans. But all that does not imply that they should deprive themselves of the health benefits offered by fish.

Yes, there are a couple of rich plant-origin sources of these essential fatty acids like flaxseeds and soybeans, but they are not easy to include in a regular meal, are even less palatable, and maybe available only in special health stores. Moreover, for longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in particular, which are the more valuable forms of omega-3 fatty acids for human body, fish is a far better source.

Fish oil supplements, extracted from the fatty portions of the fish by processing and available in capsule form or liquid form provide a perfect yet simple health solution for all. Simply taking fish oil capsules or consuming the liquid oil daily, and you may derive all the wonderful health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Another advantage is that they are odorless and it is easy to control the dose and ensure that one is getting the daily-recommended amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

In fact, they may even prove to be superior to eating fish because in the polluted world of today, even fish can come contaminated with heavy metals like mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium, as well as other pollutants. Since superior-quality fish oil is manufactured using a molecular distillation process in a highly controlled setup, the supplements contain pharmaceutical grade, ultra-refined and ultra-pure fish oil that is completely devoid of contaminants.

Some possible health benefits of taking fish oil supplements:

May reduce inflammation and pain in joints.
May provide protection against colds and allergies by boosting the immune system.
May facilitate weight loss by improving body's response to insulin.
May helps treat/improve depression, mood swings, and other neurological/psychiatric disorders like migraine headaches, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer's disease, etc.
May provides protection against cardiovascular diseases by helping reduce (i) blood pressure, (ii) LDL (low-density cholesterol) and triglyceride levels, (iii) blood clots, and (iv) artery wall thickening.
May improves memory and concentration, and enhances the overall brain activity.
May help cell membranes to stay healthy, thus discouraging the cells from becoming cancerous.

Nevertheless, it is always advisable to consult your doctor before you start your fish oil supplements, especially if you are on some anti-inflammatory or blood-thinning drugs.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Alcohol And Health Effects Of Alcohol On The Body

2009-03-15T22:43:00.001-07:00

Alcohol and health effects of alcohol on the body can be short term or long term effects. The consumption of alcohol and health related problems can occur over a short time frame, while other conditions and long term effects of alcohol on the body may only happen following years of alcohol abuse.

Alcohol comes into direct contact with the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach and intestines as well as being absorbed into the bloodstream. Health problems can begin as headaches, feeling nauseated, sore throat or indigestion. However, if alcohol abuse continues, these and other alcohol and health symptoms can develop into more serious illnesses and diseases.

Here are examples of short term health effects of alcohol on the body:

• Nausea, Vomiting, Dizziness, Hangovers - excessive alcohol consumption can result in the body trying to protect itself by getting rid of the alcohol and vomiting. Alcohol and health and the central nervous system are related since alcohol affects a person's sense of balance and orientation, leading to a feeling of nausea and/or dizziness. Hangovers are partly due to the body's dehydration caused by alcohol consumption, and hangover effects of alcohol on the body may be felt a few hours after consuming alcohol.

• Loss of Muscle Control - slurred speech is one of the effects of alcohol on the body. Impaired judgement and poor coordination are alcohol and health effects that can lead to falls and accidents.

• Adverse Interactions with Medications - alcohol is known to interact negatively with at least 100 medications. For example, antihistamines taken with alcohol can increase the drowsiness that this medication by itself can cause. Large doses of the painkiller acetaminophen taken together when consuming alcohol increases the risk of liver damage.

• Pregnancy Risks - alcohol can cause numerous birth defects, the most serious being fetal alcohol syndrome. Babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome will have physical abnormalities, mental impairment and problems with behavior. To avoid negative alcohol and health effects during pregnancy, do not drink alcohol during pregnancy as no one knows exactly how much alcohol causes birth deffects.

Because alcohol and health effects can involve many organs in the body, long-term heavy drinking puts you at risk for developing serious health conditions and illnesses. Here are examples of long term effects of alcohol on the body:

• Liver Inflammation and Cirrhosis of the Liver - liver inflammation symptoms include abnormal yellowing of the skin, eyeballs and urine, fever and abdominal pain. And in the case of cirrhosis, as many as one in five heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol is especially harmful to the liver since the liver is needed to metabolize alcohol. Alcohol destroys liver cells, and it destroys the ability of the liver to regenerate new cells.

• Cancer - long term heavy drinkers increase their risk for certain forms of cancer such as cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus and colon.

• Heart disease - long term heavy drinking increases a person's risk for developing high blood pressure and heart disease.

• Pancreaitis - long term heavy drinking can result in developing inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreaitis. The pancreas are needed for food digestion, and pancreaitis symptoms include severe abdominal pain and weight loss. Pancreaitis can be life-threatening.

Additional long term negative alcohol and health effects on the body include damage to the brain, nerve damage, bleeding in the esophagus, erectile dysfunction in men, insomnia and depression. If you'd like to learn more about alcoholism stages and warning signs, there are proven resources available that can help. It is never too late to begin recovery from alcohol addiction.

Copyright 2006 InfoSearch Publishing

Health Through Diet: Back To The Basics

2009-03-15T22:42:00.002-07:00

The western world is one filled with technology and wonderful incites into medicine. Much relief of ailments can be found at local stores as ‘over-the-counter’ medicine. Greater ailments can be healed through wondrous medical procedures and prescription drugs. If I have a headache I would be able to grab some sort of aspirin or other headache medicine at almost any household in the US. Have you ever wondered why you got a headache? Did you just assume it was stress related or caused by someone at work? This may help us find a weak link in the western health field.

The pill you took to relieve your headache contained chemicals that close pain gates in your nervous system. The body was not taken into consideration in any form and the underlying problem was not addressed, therefore the symptoms were repressed and nothing more. Our bodies are not designed to have any functions replaced with synthetic chemicals; instead our powerful adaptive bodies are designed to only ‘welcome’ the help of synthetic chemicals. Therefore, we see we cannot put our health entirely into the hands of synthesized chemicals, if we could, pills would exist to replace our eating. If we come to realize our bodies must carry the weight of healing and health, then we must be proactive in the health of our bodies. The Chinese say “to treat someone who is already sick, is to start making weapons after the war has already begun.” This is the true incite into preventative maintenance into our bodies. The US didn’t seem to start promoting healthy living till obesity turned epidemic. The main concern to correct said epidemic was diet, I think they are on the right path.

Diet, did you freak out when you saw that word? Did you gasp just thinking about depriving yourself of food, or starving your self to lose some weight? All of the definitions of diet that is food related are basically defined as: what and how much food you eat. So when I say diet, most people think about a period of time that they are constricting their intake of food or certain food, and not what they eat in general. Everybody everyday should be dieting to be certain they are getting what their body needs, not what their mind wants.

For Americans a simple daily diet seems too easy since $33 billion is what Americans spend trying to lose weight each year. In an age of synthetic drugs and a ‘want it now’ mind set, no one can lose weight without some diet pills and a Fad diet plan, can they? Well, of course they can, and as a matter of fact chances are they will not be successful on the fad diet. Hillel Schwartz writes “Dieting makes everything worse” and goes on “for the chances are high that fat people will fail”. I don’t think Hillel was told ‘If first you don’t succeed try, try again’. Try a different diet; go on the diet plan that reflects you. The body needs balance to be healthy and lose weight and cannot do this on overly restrictive diets, as they often cut out too many foods or even whole food groups. Many studies suggest that the weight someone is at has a large basis on genetics. This is true and that is why “there is no one specific diet best for all people”. From this we must be able to assume that we will not find the best diet from a book, the internet, and certainly not celebrities.

Celebrities seem to be thin all the time and endorse products that supposedly helped them to lose weight. Whether this is the reason the US spent so much money on weight loss products or not I am unsure, but you don’t need much money for a healthy diet. A balanced diet will also be a low-cost diet! You need to buy food anyway and grains, beans and local vegetables in season are the cheapest food items. Our biggest investment we need in diet is one of persistency, an answer common in Chinese to most ‘how’ questions.

Don’t worry if now diet confusion is setting in. Diet is not as complicated as you may have been led to believe. To support this statement one could find a good basis of diet in places of ethnic background that has been around for over 5000 years. If you would put your health in the hands of one surgeon over the others based on experience like I would, then you can see a good reason to look for a diet from a place with 5000 years experience. After all a culture doesn’t survive for thousands of years without in-depth incite on health with diet being the staple.

People everywhere are having trouble finding the best diet because of the “absurd situation” of trying to break food down to components and place them in a good-bad category. Just as in my example earlier with the headache, our approach in the western world isn’t taken into consideration the ‘whole.’ Components don’t exist alone in nature; they are part of a whole. And whole is exactly what our diets should contain, whole grains and whole pure foods. Maoshing Ni points out that most treatments are rendered useless unless we have incorporated the correct diet and lifestyle changes to partner with the treatment. Foods have properties, and they can help or hinder you current state of being.

We don’t need pills, books, treatments, and medication. We need to get back to the basics- diet and exercise; every diet related item lists those two words hand in hand. Then we need to look at instilling good values in our youth. As children grow they urn for wholesome and pure simple substances, don’t replace those with sugar and processed foods. Even the surgeon General is taking the approach to have adults lead the example to children in health and fitness, maybe to kill two birds with one stone. Step back from technology and look around the world for guidance. We need not try to rewrite how to maintain everyday health, when it’s already been successfully done for the last 5000 years. Diet is the cornerstone of our issue in America and also happens to be the cornerstone of preventative health. The USDA turned to the Chinese culture when they saw they needed to replace the ‘4 food groups’, the same culture that tells us to have preventative measures, and if we look harder we may find how get back to the basics in order to contain our new disease – Health and Obesity.

Doctors in China in history used to be ranked highest based on their patients not getting sick, not how many they have healed. Preventative care is something that countries need to foster. Healthcare cost that are killing families could drop if preventative measures were taken. You don’t need a big bank account to be healthy, and you don’t need to follow a bunch of directions because eating healthy is the cheapest way to shop! The US puts almost 90% of its grain into feeding livestock, this is the inexpensive food that is healthy for us and is the food staple in other countries. Currently there is no ethnic backgrounds that:

Eat only raw

Are Vegan

Don’t eat carbs

Intentionally eat under 1500 kcals

Etc……

This is no ploy for a diet plan, as I’ve stated before everyone is different. Instead I am urging wholesome foods. Oriental Medical Practitioners are schooled in wholesome diets. Check out an acupuncturist finder to find an OMD or Licensed Acupuncturist in your area.

Beyond Bran Fiber

2009-03-15T22:42:00.001-07:00

At one point in time, when you went to the health food store you usually only had choice of wheat bran, which is a good source of the insoluble fiber that helps your digestive system stay on track, or oat bran, which contains the soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol. Although both of these bran’s are still popular, as they have good reason to be, remaining excellent sources of dietary fiber, these days store shelves are gathering more and more fiber supplements ranging from encapsulated forms to powders and specialized to deal with a variety of health concerns.

Insoluble fiber has the ability to draw water into the intestines, preventing constipation and keeping waste matter from decaying within the body. However, it is the many types of soluble fiber that science has recently started investigating for health benefits. Part of soluble fiber’s value is closely related to its mechanical action, as it forms a thick gel within the digestive track that moves slowly to stop sugar from entering the body too quickly, therefore, helping to keep glucose levels down and carrying some fat and sugar out of the body completely. Additionally, when soluble fibers gel up it helps to reduce blood level cholesterol by trapping bile preventing the bile from doing its action (breaking down fats in the digestive tract so the body can absorb it). Unlike insoluble fiber, soluble fiber undergoes fermentation inside the colon to produce fatty acids that do a little bit of everything, including: helping the body digest food, protecting against polyps, stimulating immunity, increasing mineral absorption, and helping to keep cholesterol and glucose levels in check.

Soluble fiber is getting large amounts of research reviews. One study concluded that people who ate the least fiber are 63% more likely to have high levels of CRP (C-reactive protein). CRP is an inflammation marker that is associated with cardiovascular risk. Another study proved that flax seed improved glucose control. Another fiber source, psyllium, has been shown to bring relief to people with Chron’s disease, an inflammatory intestinal disorder.

Flax seed and psyllium are two of the best known types of soluble fiber available, but there are other types that aren’t as well known. Others including arabinogalactan (AG) have been shown to have a special affinity for natural killer cells. Beta-glucans are another form of fiber that can help boost immunity. Lignans, which are found in flax, have been shown to cause lower breast-cancer rates. Fenugreek is a spice that is rich in galactomannan, a heart-healthy fiber. Some fiber formulations pair up different kinds of fiber with complementary herbs. An example of this is Garcinia cambogia and Gymnema sylvestre, which can be used for glucose control; or astragalus, echinacea, olive leaf, and shiitake to assist the immune system. Some supplements even provide natural enzymes which help prevent bloating.

It is, of course, important to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet. However, thanks to supplementation that is designed specifically for certain health concerns, it has become much easier to find the additional fiber that is needed by your body, no matter what kind of fiber that is. A large selection of fiber bran supplements can be found at your local or internet health food store.

Who Is Right: Medical Doctors Or Natural Health Promoters?

2009-03-15T22:41:00.001-07:00

Have you noticed that there is often a sharp divide in between the allopathic health community and the naturopathic health community? In other words, the Medical Doctors and the Natural Health Professionals often seem to disagree fundamentally. But which is right?

Perhaps it is not so much of an issue of being right as it is an issue of roles and expertise. Perhaps it is not that Medical Doctors are bad or that natural health solutions are a hoax. Perhaps they should work together!

In the part one of this report, we'll discuss the medical side of the issue: Pros and cons. Then we'll do the same for the natural side, then wrap the discussion up.

The downside of the allopathic approach to health

One of the biggest problems with the medical approach to health is side effects. Quite simply, there are no pharmaceutical drugs that do not have undesirable side effects. Some have fewer side effects, some have more. Some side effects are very serious, others are not. But all drugs have side effects.

Another bad aspect to allopathic health is that it generally is designed to artificially and often superficially correct the problem, but not deal with the root issue. For example, when you take cold medicine, it does nothing for your cold - it just suppresses the symptoms so that you don't notice the cold symptoms as much.

So for me, the biggest problems with using pharmaceuticals is that they are toxic, can be dangerous, and often do not address the root health issue.

On the plus side, the Medical approach excels in crisis situations. For example, if I were in a car accident and were in critical condition, I would not go see a nutritionist. I would go to the hospital, where they could forcefully intervene and hopefully save my life.

Do You Know The Risks In Mesotherapy?

2009-03-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

Whenever you're dabbling in any form of cosmetic procedures, you tend to risk something. No matter what it is. It could be something as simple as a facial cream. It could be something as complex as liposuction. But you must always weigh the risks of any seemingly safe or unsafe procedure.

Mesotherapy is no exception. Even though it's a less invasive liposuction alternative, you must always weigh to see what you're risking by going to any mesotherapy sessions. The risks, although lessened by professional care, are always there, and what is going to be presented to you in this page is some great food for thought when it comes to liposuction alternatives, and specifically mesotherapy.

Mesotherapy, as stated in other articles on Liposuction-Alternatives.info, is an injected cocktail of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and drugs. It's an alternative to liposuction offered to those who are a bit nervous about anesthesia, or going "in for surgery."

But what is unknown to most who are looking for these body transformation alternatives is that mesotherapy has unknown chemicals in the injections. Unknown chemicals tend to equal unknown health risks. These health risks can range from a mild redness to dangerous infections or allergic reactions.

The majority of chemicals found in mesotherapy injections are sold overseas, can't be traced, and tend to be lower in quality than a recommended source. This low quality can make mesotherapy, and other liposuction alternatives, a major health risk, and must be closely researched.

You will always want to check with your doctor to see what types of allergic reactions you may have to any of the mesotherapy drugs you may encounter.

Other than these unknown factors, if you were to go to a well known cosmetic specialist who specializes in mesotherapy, it would be safe to say that you would be well taken care of. Mild side effects found on most patients have been swelling, inflammation, bruising, pain, and itching. These are typical, and tend to disappear as time goes by.

Most patients rarely experience these side effects, and tend to feel little, if no pain at all while the procedure is taking place. They say it feels like a mild ant bite, and it's typically over in a few minutes. But if you were to experience any of the side effects, your health care provider would know exactly what to do, and you have nothing to worry about.

You have to carefully weigh your options. Would you rather risk your health for beauty? Or do you trust your doctor, or mesotherapy specialist enough to take the plunge and have the perfect image for you?

This article is not to dissuade anyone from mesotherapy, as it is very beneficial to certain individuals. This is merely asking you to chew on the idea of other liposuction alternatives if you are not entirely sure of the effect it will have on your body.

Although many injection-type liposuction alternatives have basically the same mild side effects (if any), there are all sorts of other alternatives for you to look for. Ask your local cosmetic specialist if there is any other recommended alternatives to liposuction or mesotherapy if you don't feel it's right for you.

One recommendation they may make is a closely guarded diet and exercise plan. This is typically what most doctors or surgeons will recommend before any other liposuction alternative. But if you're adamant about getting your "trouble areas" fine tuned and tightened up, there are a lot of great options here on Liposuction-Alternatives.info for you to explore.

The Many Benefits Of Fish Oil For Pregnancy

2009-03-15T22:39:00.001-07:00

Benefits of Fish Oil for Pregnancy

By now everyone that can read has heard of the positive health benefits of fish oil. On the other hand, we have also heard that consuming too much fish can be harmful as well. So, which is it? What are we supposed to believe? And, now with this controversy pregnant women all over the world are asking is it good for me or not? The purpose of this article is to explain a bit about the health benefits, potential harms as well as fish oil for pregnancy.

Fish Oil For Health:

Fish oil contains nutrients that have been implicated in a host of positive health prevention methods. Fish oil contains what is called omega 3 fatty acids and DHA that are included in a family of polyunsaturated fats. These nutrients taken in the right amounts have been said to allow for normal growth of children, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease as well as a number of other health benefits. Below is a complete list of positive health facts about omega 3 fatty acids and DHA.

· Enhanced mental abilities
· Growth in children and animals
· Reduced risk of heart disease
· Sense of well being leading to stress reduction
· Mood enhancement
· Improved exercise/physical activity ability
· Better blood flow
· Overall healthier life

*These are not the only benefits founded, but are the more major positive health findings.

Fish Oil In Pregnancy:

During pregnancy many women find themselves evaluating everything that they put into their mouth and with great cause. There are a ton of things that can harm the growing fetus, and most women cringe at the thought of harming or restricting their unborn child. The benefits of fish oil have not only been found to allow for health in the mother, but also the unborn child.

Numerous studies have been conducted and concluded that fish oil during pregnancy, when taken correctly had very positive effects on the child. A very recent study published in the Medical Journal Archives of Disease in Childhood reported that fish oil was found to boost the coordination, increased birth weight, reduced Type 1 Diabetes and promoted a growth spurt in the brain during the first three months of pregnancy.

Other studies have found very similar positives about fish oils. The FDA currently recommends pregnant women consume 12 ounces of fish per week from a variety of species or other sources. This is because the FDA has admitted that high levels of fish is not healthy, but at the recommended dosage the mother was much less likely to postpartum depression, which is a major concern for new mothers.

Then Why The Warnings?:

Just like anything else, too much of anything can be harmful. While most people do not believe it, did you know that too much water can kill you? That’s right, it is called water hyponatremia, and is a condition where the homeostasis is adversely affected causing the body to go into shock.

The point is that anything can have negative effects if not used in the right context. Where the concern with fish oil comes to the surface is the fact that fish can be contaminated with mercury. Mercury can be carried into the water from pollution causing the fish to have toxic levels in their system.

When the individual eats too much fish or consumes too much fish oil they can develop a problem with mercury. Too much mercury could harm the developing the brain leading to neurological disorders or learning disabilities.

Again common sense and limiting the amount of fish or fish oil is the key to health. Reading the current studies, reports and following the FDA guidelines of twelve ounces per week will assure the health of mother and baby. The FDA also recommended that pregnant women stay away from king mackerel, shark, tile fish and swordfish.

Choosing a Fish Oil Supplement:

There are a number of products on the market that provide the correct amount of nutrients in their fish oil supplements. It is always best however to ensure that the dosage does not exceed the FDA warning or not meet it either.

Remember the key to having a healthy mom and baby is to take the right amount of fish oil during the pregnancy. Studies have also shown that increased Omega 3 fatty acids above the recommended dosages did not have a more positive effect on either mom or child. That dispels the common myth that more is better!

Know the type of fish that the supplement extracted the fish oil from. It is important to ensure that the fish were not on the warned against list and came from uncontaminated waters.

Most of the supplements have information disclosing the type of fish, amounts and where the fish were obtained from. Choosing a supplement that is pharmaceutically graded should also be a determining factor.

Always talk to the doctor before taking any supplement, there may be a reason in your particular case that it may or may not be advisable.

What You Need To Know About Online Medical Resources

2009-03-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Medical advice online is available via a variety of sources. These sources range from commercial, to non-profit, and governmental. We'll examine a few of the major players in each sector.

After a shakeout in the commercial medical websites (remember DrKoop.com?) there are a number that have emerged with viable financial models that can also be useful for preliminary medical information. The leader in the industry is WebMD, a site that has shown sufficient success that it can afford to engage in broadcast advertising. A recent start-up that made a lot of noise when its doors opened is Revolution Health, a company that hopes to compete with WebMD and others; among their plans are kiosks in retail stores that will provide a sort of hybrid service. Revolution Health was founded by Steve Case, the man who brought us AOL.

Other strong contenders include MedlinePlus; a well organized site that includes, among other informational sources, 165 tutorials using slides and/or video. This site contains the health database produced by NIH's National Library of Medicine. eMedicine.com started out as a professional resource for those in the medical profession. According to their website, "Nearly 10,000 physician authors and editors contribute to the eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base, which contains articles on 7,000 diseases and disorders. The evidence-based content, updated regularly, provides the latest practice guidelines in 59 medical specialties." In 2003 they launched a consumer version at eMedicineHealth.com.

MedHelp.org, despite its org. designation, is a commercial online healthcare destination. They claim to be the sixth most visited healthcare website. Medem is a hybrid website, designed to provide an online location for personal health records. The site combines its physician-oriented service with some consumer information. It's the online version of a medical health records third party administrator. It is also recognized as an excellent resource for information by other information providers in the field.

From the U.K. comes NHS Direct located at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/help/. The service began as a telephone consultancy for health issues and is now more than a telephone health line - along with their website; they have added a digital TV service that is interactive. The home page has a couple of excellent tools for assisting in analyzing symptoms.

For a vetted list of informational sites visit healthweb.org/. This site simply lists medical issues in clickable form. Click on diabetes, for instance, and you will be given a page with several medical schools and affiliated research organizations that have specialty information on the topic located on their websites. Another fine compendium of information is posted by the Department of Health and Human Services at consumer.gov/health.htm. This site provides a list of issues and illnesses to choose from and has in its database a great deal of specific material from such resources as the National Institutes for Health.

The Medical Library Association has a top ten list of sites that they have identified on the basis of credibility, content, purpose and links. Those include cancer.gov; familydoctor.org; the Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.com) and kidshealth.com which is sponsored by the Nemours Foundation.

Other highly recommended non-profit sites include the University of Pittsburgh's Health Information for the Consumer at www.hsls.pitt.edu/guides/chi/. This site is another well organized consumer site that provides basic information on health problems and suggests a path for finding treatment. Aetna provides the support for InteliHealth (intelihealth.com) a site that utilizes Harvard Medical School's consumer health resources.

If you're looking for a family orientation, there's medFamily at: medfamily.org. This site contains sections on women's health and children's health along with the standard collection of encyclopedic material and featured articles. For general information and recommendations, the large organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society have large databases. The AMA in particular tries to provide localized information for people seeking medical help.

Advantages Of Being A Health Products Distributor

2009-03-15T22:37:00.002-07:00

There are many advantages of being a health products distributor. Many health products distributors have the great satisfaction to know that their products make a positive difference in people’s lives. Consumers are concerned about health issues such as lowering cholesterol levels, purifying their bodies from toxins, improving nutrition and other health issues. Distributing health related products can be extremely rewarding as you see how happy people are with the changes that they are making in their lives for the betterment of their health.

Health products are traditionally just one step in the process of improving one’s health. Typically if someone orders a weight loss product, they are also focusing on exercising and nutrition to improve their health. If someone orders a health product to stop smoking, they are probably also focusing on nutrition, weight and exercise. The health products are part of the process of looking at your life and improving your health on many different levels. A small home business for health products means that you are contributing to the process of looking at choosing a healthier lifestyle.

Another advantage to being a health products distributor is the potential to make a great deal of supplemental income. The majority of health related products that you will distribute are consumable. This means that after the person finished taking all of the health supplements, they will need another bottle. More than likely, they will order replacement products from you and this will enable you to build a large repeat customer base for your new home business. There are many different consumable health related products that you can select from for your home business as a distributor. This further increases your chances of success because you are not restricted to a just a handful of products that you hope that someone will select when they visit your internet store.

Many people become successful as a distributor it is because they lucked out on a product that is seasonal or a new trend or fad. However, the problem arises when the season is over or the trend is no longer popular. The product is no longer needed by the general public and the distributor is left wondering why their new home business is suddenly going down hill and not succeeding. It is not until it is often too late to salvage the business that they realize their product was seasonal or a new trend. The advantage to health related products is that they are needed year round. They are not seasonal. It is never just a trend or a fad to be healthy. Because of this, you know that your investment of time, advertising and purchasing products will never be wasted. Consumers will always need health products.

There are many different methods to market health related products. This is a tremendous advantage to anyone that is a distributor for this niche of the market. The more methods that you can use to distribute your products the higher your success rate will be for your home business. Some products can only be marketed a few ways and this limits the potential customer base to purchase the products or services that are being offered. It makes it much harder to have a successful home business while you don’t have this worry as a health products distributor.

Causes Of Dog Health Problems Bloody Stool Issues

2009-03-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

Melena is the number one cause of dog health problems bloody stool issues. Melena and hematochezia cause the dog to have bloody stool. Melena is blood that the dog digested, and looks dark in color. Hematochezia is considered fresh blood in the stool and is considered minor compared to melena. Many health reasons result in a bloody stool and most tests by a veterinarian will confirm the problem.

This health problem causes a lack of energy and sometimes incontinence, as accidents happen due to the inability to move outdoors quickly. By restricting food, the dog will eventually stop the diarrhea and give the intestines time to heal. If the diarrhea results from infection or parasite, the problem will persist until proper medical is received. This condition affects all sizes and breeds of dogs no matter what you do to prevent it.

Causes of Dog Health Problems Bloody Stool Issues

Medications, infections, cancer and foreign objects digested by the dog. A metabolic disorder or hemorrhagic gastro enteritis may cause a dog to have a bloody stool. Some heavy metal or blood ingestion and gastrointetestinal ischemia are all causes of melena in dogs. Metabolic diseases cause ulcers of the stomach or intestines and can result from many different causes. If your dog health problems bloody stool issues arise with such signs as pale gums, frequent urination and thirst, lack of appetite and weight loss are all signs of problems along with dark black stools. For more inf see http://www.aboutdoghealth.org/dogbreedhealth/Pomeranian.html on pomeranian dog health.

If the dog continues to have diarrhea for more than twenty-four hours, medical treatment is required. The first thing you can try is a bland diet of rice and potato instead of their regular food. This may help, but in case it does not, you may need to have a veterinarian determine the cause.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Dog Melena

When you notice black or dark colored stools, you need to contact the vet for further tests. These tests will include urinalysis, a biochemical work up, stool sample diagnosis, blood work up, ultrasound and chest/abdominal x-rays. After these tests are concluded, the vet will determine the exact cause of the dog health problems bloody stool issues and discuss treatment with you.

If the dog does not have a severe health condition, they may be treated at home instead of an overnight stay at an animal clinic. A special diet of a bland diet that is specified by the vet and any medications prescribed by the veterinarian need to be dealt with at home in order to treat the dog health problem bloody stool issues. In most cases, medications are needed to block stomach acids and coat the intestines. If you do not see any improvement, you need to contact the vet for further treatments. .

Get treatment for your dog if this problem persists and stick to a strict diet and medication schedule for proper treatment of a sick dog. The dog will need plenty of rest and a calm environment in order to heal and come back to health.

World Warned To Prepare For Bird Flu

2009-03-15T22:36:00.002-07:00

Confronting the possibility of a potentially devastating human bird flu pandemic, the United Nations system – from Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to the UN health and agricultural agencies – today laid out a blueprint for immediate preventive and mitigating action.

“We may not know about the future course of H5N1, we do know this: once human-to-human transmission has been established, we would have only a matter of weeks to lock down the spread before it spins out of control. That is why the international community must take action now." Mr. Annan told the Time Global Health Summit, a three-day event in New York held to discuss key health issues.

In light of these concerns, and likely rationing of available flu vaccines, it is advisable that people also look at other areas which complement good health. In the United States, the average American diet is high in sodium, fat, sugar, and preservatives and low in nutrition. These are typically not the ingredients associated with the support of a healthy immune system. It is the beneficial components of food which feed the cells of the body and support the normal function which allows each cell the potential to restore, protect and defend itself from the effects of injury and disease. A poorly nourished body is less able to carry out these activities as the basic building blocks for cell function are in limited supply.

People should therefore seek to improve their dietary intake of beneficial sources of nutrition and limit their intake of the more commonly eaten foods which are known to be more harmful to the body than their unprocessed counterparts. Will the support of a healthy immune system ensure a perfect defense against invading flu virus particles? Certainly not. However, a healthy immune system may mean the difference between someone who contracts the flu and recovers quickly and someone who suffers greatly.

The most important factor in the improvement of any person’s diet is to improve the quality and variety of food eaten. While dietary supplements may provide some excellent health benefits they are intended to supplement, not substitute, the benefits of a good diet.

Child Obesity Can Cause Numerous Health And Emotional Problems

2009-03-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

If you are concerned your child may be obese set an appointment with your family doctor for a screening and diagnosis. The doctor can calculate your child’s body mass index and determine where it falls on the national BMI-for-age growth chart. The BMI-for-age growth chart indicates if your child is overweight for his or her age and height. The doctor can determine your child’s percentile, which means how your child compares to other children of the same sex and age.

These growth charts are established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and help to identify overweight children. If your child’s BMI-for-age is between 85th and 95th percentiles, he or she is at risk of being overweight. If your child’s BMI-for-age is over the 95th percentile, he or she is overweight.

Your doctor will factor in things like being muscular or having a larger-than-average body frame because the BMI does not consider these things. Growth patterns vary greatly among children and are another factor the doctor will consider before making an overall weight assessment.

During this assessment the doctor will probably also take into consideration the following:

•Your family’s history of obesity and weight-related health problems like diabetes
•Your child’s eating habits and calorie intake
•Your child’s activity level
•Other health problems your child may have

It is probably a good idea to take along a notebook with the above information to have ready for your doctor at the time of the weight assessment. Keep a record of what your child eats for a two week period to give to your doctor for his review.

Obesity in children is a serious health problem that can result in diabetes and heart disease. Review the following health problems that can result from children being overweight:

•Type 2 diabetes
•Metabolic syndrome
•High blood pressure
•Asthma and other respiratory problems
•Sleep disorders
•Liver disorders
•Liver disease
•Early puberty or menarche
•Eating disorders
•Skin infections
•Heart disease

A child who is overweight may also suffer from social and emotional problems that include:

•Low self-esteem and bullying. Other children often tease and bully overweight peers.
•Depression, which can occur from peer teasing and harassing
•Behavior and learning problems: Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and poor social skills, which can lead to acting out and/or other disruptive behavior in the classroom. When children are overweight they also tend to be more social withdrawn.

Source: Mayo clinic (2006)

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. This article was written (2-2007).

Helping With Chocoholic’s Guilt

2009-03-15T22:35:00.001-07:00

Who doesn’t love Christmas time? It seems at this wonderful time of year, everybody is a little bit nicer to each other, stores are decorated with beautiful ribbons, bows and ornaments, and lights sparkle everywhere you go! Everything about the holiday season is beautiful. – Especially the chocolate. With all the joy and love of Christmas, for a lot of us, also comes with a need for larger pants! Truffles, creamy pies, fudge and cakes are everywhere, and with them often comes dieter’s guilt. Of course chocolate can definitely cause you to add to your midsection, but fortunately, there have been studies to show that there are some health benefits to it, as well! So here’s an article to relieve all of our chocoholic guilt. – Let’s talk about the health benefits of chocolate!

Chocolate isn’t exactly nutrient rich, but it’s actually a lot better for you than you might think. Cocoa, which is what chocolate is made from, contains several substances that have only positive effects in the body. For starters, cocoa contains several different stimulants. These substances help to clear up a foggy mind, raise alertness, and in general make a person think more clearly. At the same time it also contains tryptophan, an amino acid that has the effect of relieving stress and reducing anxiety by producing the neurotransmitter serotonin. Finally, cocoa contains endorphins, the body’s natural opiates that reduce sensitivity to pain. Now, unfortunately, cocoa doesn’t contain very much of these beneficial ingredients, so what does all of this mean? Simply put, while you’d have to eat an unhealthy amount of chocolate to feel a huge difference caused by these substances, there is no arguing that they are there, and they can have a positive influence on your health and happiness.

One area where chocolate does truly excel, however, is antioxidants. For those of you who don’t know, antioxidants are what Hollywood celebrities and health nuts are absolutely going crazy over. They’re agents that get absorbed by your body and protect it from free radicals. These are harmful products that damage the body, causing everything from the development of cancer to early aging. Chocolate, fortunately, contains a lot of these antioxidants – more, actually, than most other foods, even blueberries. Dark and milk chocolates have very high ORAC values, which are measurements that determine how powerful the antioxidant value of a food is. While dark chocolate has roughly twice the amount of antioxidants as milk chocolate, a 40 gram serving of milk chocolate has about the same antioxidant content of one glass of red wine.

A surprising health benefit of chocolate is that it can actually be good for your heart! Research has indicated that consuming chocolate can be of great benefit to nearly your entire cardiovascular system. Cocoa contains a substance that helps your body to produce Nitric Oxide, which helps to make sure your blood pressure remains at a healthy level. By helping your body to process the compound Nitric Oxide more efficiently, your body’s blood can flow at a smooth and healthy rate; thus ensuring your heart’s workload can be reduced by large amounts. Chocolate also helps to regulate your blood flow by keeping blood platelets at normal levels, keeping the blood smooth and thin. – By keeping the blood thing, you help to reduce your risk of blood clots and stroke.

While chocolate is normally viewed as being very good for you, it can actually be a healthy addition to your diet. It can help keep your heart and blood vessels in pristine condition, as well as ward off premature aging. The key to chocolate, of course, is that a little goes a long way, and while chocolate does have a few very important health benefits, it is also loaded with calories. Because of this, it is recommended that you intake chocolate between 3 to 5 times a month, to receive the most benefits while consuming the least amount of calories. Snack on chocolate wisely, and remember – it’s ok to splurge every once in a while, especially around Christmas!

Health Insurance Up 78 Percent Since 2000, Along With Policy Terminations!

2009-03-15T22:34:00.002-07:00

Health insurance went up 7.7 percent this year, thats twice the rate of inflation. Premiums have increased by 78 percent since the year 2000 compare that to salary increases of just 20 percent and the real picture starts to have an impact.

Individuals are now averaging a little over $4000 a year in premiums with American families paying out almost $11,500 this year. Companies offering health care benefits now stands at 61 percent this is down from 69 percent in 2000. It's estimated that over 155 million Americans will get their health care benefits from their employers. To lower the over-all cost of the insurance plans many companies are now offering benefit packages with higher deductibles. It should be noted that this report comes out after a recent Census reported that 1.3 million Americans where added to the ranks of the uninsured during 2005. What becomes clear here is the long term trend towards the decline of coverage supplied by small businesses from their employees.

“To working people and business owners, a reduction in an already very high rate of increase just means you're still paying more” said Dr Drew Altman, president and chief executive of the Kaiser Foundation.

Insurance companies have been under attack recently for dumping families that build up large medical bills. In an ongoing case in California the state is investigating a claim against Blue Cross who stopped coverage for a family when it's medical bills reached $20,000. The family have been left with outstanding medical bills of over $60,000. The company have accused the family of failing to disclose in their coverage application an undiagnosed lump on one of the children's chins. The family say they (or their physician) knew nothing of any tumor when they made the application.

These types of cancellations of coverage have now created a massive backlash towards the insurance companies and resulted in a number of ongoing lawsuits. The policyholders are saying their polices were illegally terminated which resulted in substantial financial hardship. State regulators are investigating and have said they are now preparing to take action against Blue Cross.

Something needs to be done to protect (us) the public against these (insurance) companies. The hardship caused when a family is faced with these medical bills at a time when they really need the most support is nothing short of criminal. Having taken our money every month for years on end they should not have the right to terminate our coverage. They should by law be forced to honor the agreement they wrote and we agreed too.

Earning A Health Care Degree Online Is Possible

2009-03-15T22:34:00.001-07:00

Many people enjoy working in the health care field, the career being an attractive one for many reasons. After all, you're helping others, the job opportunities abound and the field of medicine is an exciting one that's developing constantly. A career in health care is an exciting one, with hands-on experience and being personally satisfying. However, individuals wanting to break into the medical world need strong credentials and up-to-date training to have good employment opportunities with hospitals, private practices and ambulatory care centers. Finding that training can be difficult, but there are options available, thanks to technology and a widening recognition of virtual instruction. Obtaining a health care degree online is a smart choice for landing satisfying employment.

Online education is transforming the way individuals receive instruction for top careers. The fields of opportunities are expanding and being able to earn your health care degree online is a perfect example of just how far education has come. Accredited universities and colleges provide high-quality instruction, leading to Bachelors and Masters Degrees that are recognized by employers. The training has a leading reputation amongst hospitals and health care facilities of all kinds, making individuals valuable assets to the medical field.

Obtaining your health care degree online can help with upward mobility on the ladder of success and increase job opportunities in the medical field. Expanding your education can improve communication skills and promote individual value to the mid-level management section, allowing students to respond to ever-widening community diversity. Interpreting and analyzing data as well as identifying human values, moral choices and fundamental beliefs are just part of what a health care degree online can provide to individuals. Courses within this field of online education touch on varied subjects, such as anatomy, legal issues, the aging process and research methods.

There are other reasons why pursuing a health care degree online is advantageous. Education in the virtual world allows students to easily balance studies with employment, meaning that individuals can continue to work and earn income while earning credits towards a degree in their own time. Home life, education and employment blend very easily, allowing students to combine all three areas of their lives without needing to take time off work to study or put off raising children to obtain an education. Also, pursuing an online degree allows individuals to save money on costs of transportation and commuting to educational facilities or having to pay for lodgings on or near a campus.

Employment opportunities in the health care field are continually broadening as the world's population ages. Research and technology allow people to live longer, providing ample careers to those who pursue a profession in the medical field. As our population of senior citizens continues to expand, the needs for skilled professionals able to tend to individuals increases and finding employment is usually easy, for those who have the qualifications and credentials of accredited educational facilities. Top schools and universities have responded to the demands and offer excellent, recognized training to students in a manner that matches the technological revolution of today's computer-based world.

Government offices continually demand high-quality workers and their predictions claim that having solid training is a must for those entering the health care world. Consumers and clients of hospitals, private practices, ambulatory care centers and home health agencies are also asking for better-quality care from those who tend to their needs. The advantages to earning a health care degree from a reputable educational facility are many and the long-term results will provide individuals with solid, satisfying and exciting careers.

How To Get Affordable Health Insurance In Alabama

2009-03-15T22:33:00.002-07:00

I'm sure you're aware that there is a national debate going on about how to make health insurance more affordable here in Alabama as well as elsewhere in the country. Unfortunately that same debate has been going on for decades, and until there is some relief on a national scale it is up to each of us individually to do whatever we can to get affordable health insurance in Alabama.

Alabama is a leader in the country when it comes to certain types of state-sponsored low-cost health insurance for kids, teens, college students, pregnant women and other groups. You may be surprised what's available and what you or members of your family may qualify for.

For the rest of us the search for affordable health insurance in Alabama goes on. Fortunately there actually are several steps the average person can take to keep the cost of health care insurance affordable.

If your employer doesn't offer group health insurance that doesn't mean you're out of luck for getting a group rate. Make of list of all the clubs, groups or associations that you belong to. A surprising number offer group health insurance to their members. Ask your friends if they belong to any groups or clubs or organizations that offer members group health insurance. Join whatever group you need to in order to get affordable health insurance.

Even some churches offer group health insurance. Ask around.

If you run a home-based business, even if your only employee is your spouse, ask your insurance agent if there is any way you can qualify for a group health plan.

If you smoke or use chew or any other tobacco product, you need to stop if you're serious about finding affordable health insurance. Tobacco users pay more for health insurance -period.

Unfortunately the same is true about weight. People who are overweight pay more for health insurance. However, the good news is that losing even just a few pounds could put you in a lower weight category and save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Don't participate in dangerous or extreme sports and don't drive a fast sports car if you want the best rates on your health insurance.

Can you afford to increase your co-payment? Many people have a co-payment - that is, cash they pay to the doctor's office each time they make a visit - of 20% to 25%. If you can afford to increase your co-pay to 50% it will save you considerably on your monthly premium. This is an especially good idea for people who do not see their doctor on a regular basis.

How much of a deductible can you afford? Again, you should consider the answer to this question carefully and weigh your decision because the amount you choose represents cash you will have to come up with each year to pay for your own medical treatment before your insurance company will even begin to kick in.

The more you can afford to pay as your deductible the less you will be asked to pay each month in premiums.

Now find at least 3 of the websites that permit you to compare prices for health insurance from different insurance companies here in Alabama. Make sure that you fill out the form the same way at all three websites so that your comparisons are valid, and then simply choose the company with the lowest price.

That's all there is to it. You have now found the most affordable health insurance in Alabama and you can rest easy knowing that you will be saving as much money as possible each month while still getting the medical protection that you and your family need.

The Top High Fiber Foods And Health Drinks Are Not In Stores

2009-03-15T22:33:00.001-07:00

Consuming fruits, vegetables and water every day is important, and now, superior fitness can be achieved with high fiber foods and health drinks not found in grocery stores. Even if you can digest the recommended 25-35 grams of fiber in food and half your body weight in ounces of water every day, as experts recommend, you may not be getting the best nutrition available. Most people find this prospect hard to swallow, and give up quickly on ever reaching perfect health and fitness. It takes too much time, effort and energy to buy, prepare, and devour that much produce, and who can guzzle that much water every day without craving some kind of flavor or enhancement?

The good news is that there are now some very beneficial high fiber foods and health drinks, which are concentrated, so that small amounts help you reach those powerful fiber and water amounts. You won't find these concentrated health foods and drinks on the shelves at your local grocery store, and certainly not in the refrigerator section of the convenience store. We're not talking about so-called "enhanced vitamin water" beverages that are filled with fructose and isolated vitamins, or energy drinks boosted with caffeine and sugar. Instead, we are referring to naturally produced health drinks, concentrated with real whole food sources such as cocoa, strawberry, lemons, peaches and raspberries. These health drinks are loaded with natural antioxidants, complex carbohydrates, and some have several grams of soluble fiber, plus protein from plants. Your body understands how to process these natural drinks better than man-made chemically produced, artificial drinks being sold in stores, and you achieve better results.

The best way to get ample amounts of fiber each day is to eat raw fruits and vegetables. The challenge, though, is how to eat 25-35 grams of fiber in five servings of raw fruits and vegetables every day. Fortunately, you don't have to consume mass quantities of plants to achieve the results that high fiber can offer for keeping your digestive system running smoothly. There are now some delicious high fiber foods available in natural, tasty shakes that you can mix with water or other liquids for much of the fiber you need. Throw in a few frozen banana pieces or berries to mix with the powdered shakes and you are quickly on your way to the fiber and nutrients you need each day with all the complex carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables Best of all, the shakes taste good, and some contain FOS, fructooligasacharides, a pro biotic soluble fiber found in foods like garlic, onions or barley. Who wants to have garlic or onions for breakfast when it is easier to have a quick, tasty shake made with real strawberries or cocoa? That makes it so easy to get more essential fiber, complex carbohydrates and natural antioxidants for breakfast than most people get all day.

Drinking diet sodas or high fructose, caffeine and sugary energy drinks to get fit is like lifting 12 oz cans of beer to build muscle up. Those types of drinks only tear your body down, while health drink formulas made from all natural ingredients give your body the nutrients it needs to keep going strong. Water is good, but if you find it incredibly tasteless and boring to drink half your body weight in ounces of plain water every day, look for some new ways to make your water wetter and better. When you can drink a quart of water enhanced with all natural antioxidants and complex carbohydrates for better taste and more benefits, why wouldn't you? It makes no sense to spend more than a dollar for a bottle of sugar water when you can spend the same to super boost that water with natural energy, fat flushing and anti aging properties. Again, we're not referring to loading up on caffeine, sugar, or vitamin water beverages with isolated vitamins and minerals. Instead, we are talking about enhancing your beverages with natural fruits and whole vitamins and minerals from real foods found in nature. It is so easy now to find these carefully produced, powerfully charged health drink formulas that you don't need to shop every health food store or grocery store. You won't find them there, but you will find them on the Internet. You have to step out of your comfort zone, change the way you think about nutrition, and change the way you shop for high fiber foods, health drinks, and other essential nutrition.

Some people think juicing is the best way to get fiber from fruits and vegetables. However, many people find it difficult and disappointing to spend hours cleaning and preparing the piles of produce needed for a small glass of juice. While juicing may have been good for Jack Lalanne, it is not necessary today in order to consume enough high fiber foods and health drinks. Again, you just have to search the net for all natural high fiber foods and health drinks that are not sold in stores. You will find that there is an easier way to get complex carbohydrates, natural antioxidants and soluble fiber, just as you would from a glass of fresh juice, but without the expense or hassle.

Changing my diet to a more contemporary way of eating high fiber foods and increasing the benefits of drinking water with super concentrated health drinks has worked quite well for me. I lost thirty pounds in the first month of my new diet without even trying very hard, and I have easily kept that weight off for more than six years by using the same high fiber shakes and health drinks referred to in this article. I hardly ever shop at the grocery store and get more nutrition for about three dollars from a quickly made, concentrated, all natural shake than most people get in a week. When you find the keys to perfect health you will wonder how you ever lived without them, much the way we wonder how we ever lived without computers and cell phones. So, get out of the kitchen, get on the net, get your nutrition, then go out and live life to the max!

Health Savings Account Can Be Beneficial To You

2009-03-15T22:32:00.001-07:00

Health savings account can be defined as a tax-free saving account. It is very similar to an individual retirement account. The account is specially designed to pay off medical expenses incurred by an account holder. The expenses paid by health savings account are tax-deductible for self-employed account holders. One can easily withdraw cash from these accounts via a check or debit card. The account is helpful in paying off routine medical expenditure for the account holder. The process is tax-deductible.

The major attractions of a health savings account are lower deductibles and options. Here, one can benefit from 100% of the amount deduction that is contributed to a health savings account. This plan is designed in a fashion wherein almost everyone will be benefited from this account.

If you hold a health savings account, you can easily pay for substantial routine medicinal expenditure and the cost of the account is surprisingly low with the benefit of high tax-deductibility.

If your health savings account consists of amount that has not been used to pay bills, it gets accumulates and continues to collect interest as per the plan. The amount keeps on growing each year. You can also use this amount as additional income during retirement.

As an account holder, you can split the money you have currently spent on a conventional health plan via putting a part of it towards a policy having low cost and higher deductible benefits. You can deposit the rest of the amount in to a tax-deductible health savings account. Remember that health savings account should be utilized to pay small medical expenses on a daily basis.

If the money present in the account is not adequate enough to clear your bills, you can use the high deductible insurance policy to pay your outstanding medical bills. The whole idea to have a health savings account is to replace a conventional health policy. A health savings account plan is more flexible. It provides the option to the account holder to select his or her own physicians imposed by other medical plans.

A health savings account or HSA can be categorized in to two parts. The first part is a health insurance policy that covers large medical bills and is high-deductible. The second part of this type of savings account is an investment account. It can also be considered as a retirement account. You easily withdraw money for medical care from this account. The money withdrawn from this account is tax-free. In case, you don't utilize this money, it gets accumulated with tax-free interest until you are 65. This is the time when you can withdraw this money for any purpose. You can also pay normal income taxes via this money.

Eligibility criteria for health savings account:
If you are under age 65 and have a qualified high-deductible health insurance policy, you can open a health savings account. You will not be considered eligible by the company if you are covered by another health insurance policy that is not a qualified high deductible plan.

To qualify for an HSA, your health insurance plan must have a deductible of at least $1100 for individual coverage. For family coverage the deductible should amount to $2200.

Health savings account is highly beneficial to you if you require an assistance to pay your routine medical bills.

Important Health And Eye Baby Care Tips

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Baby care tips are so important for the health and eyes of each little bundle of joy. The care given in the first few years of life can make a difference for the rest of their lives. The medical professionals discover great information in order to provide health and eye baby care tips on a regular basis so parents have great help in their parenting duties. Parents are especially anxious with their first baby so health and eye baby care tips can relieve some worry. Sometimes parents see very normal symptoms, but they get worried because they are not exactly comfortable with a change that occurs in the appearance or behavior of their baby.

Eyes seem to be delicate organs, and new parents often worry with each change they see in the baby’s eyes. Sometimes the eyes of the baby drain some type of substance that does not look so good and parents panic. Medical professionals will try to help them relax by providing them with information on the natural mechanisms for protection of the eyes. A discharge could look awful to a new parent, but this could just be a natural process. Parents might be advised to gently bathe the eyelids but not to worry because some of these discharges are perfectly normal.

Health and Eye Baby Care Tips Are Good Preventive Measures

All parents should check carefully with their pediatrician on a regular basis to make sure that they are getting health and eye baby care tips for optimum results. Newborn babies are immediately checked out by a pediatrician to make sure that there are no significant health care concerns due to the birthing process. The pediatrician will recommend breast feeding for the optimum health of each baby in most cases. Some mothers do not feel comfortable with breast feeding, and the pediatrician will then recommend a proper formula for the health of the baby.

The pediatrician will also recommend a schedule for vaccinations to make sure that each baby has immunization against awful diseases. These shots have made a great difference for the health of children over the years. Parents will want to follow these instructions as these are important health and eye baby care tips. The doctors will also provide parents with information on the care of their child. These health and eye baby care tips will be based on the training and experience of this highly trained medical professional. Parents should carefully follow the directions of those who have this invaluable knowledge.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Saunas?

2009-03-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

There are many individuals in the world that choose to use saunas regularly for the health benefits that saunas are supposed to provide. Studies have shown that the use of saunas is safe for the body. Saunas are typically a small room made out of wood and glass with a heater located inside that can be used to create a steam effect. Saunas are generally created without using varnish, adhesives, or any other items that might add fumes or an aroma to the steamy air inside of the sauna. Saunas are typically found in health clubs, spas, or resorts with very few being found in private homes. So what are the health benefits of saunas?

One of the health benefits of saunas revolves around the saunas use of radiant heat. It is believed that radiant heat has the ability to penetrate into the skin and help dissolve the fat deposits that are located just beneath the skin. It is also believed to help eliminate toxins that are present in the skin and the fat deposits beneath the skin. The detoxifying effects attributed to the sauna are one of the main reasons that many individuals choose to use the sauna. The heat of the sauna has also been demonstrated to improve blood circulation, allowing the toxins present in the blood to be removed from the system quickly and more effectively. The increased blood circulation allows improves the condition of many of the organs of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, and skin.

Another health benefit of saunas that many individuals appreciate is their ability to relax the individual. Stress is seen as having a very negative effect on the health of an individual and any items that are seen as lessening an individual’s stress levels is presumed to improve the individual’s health. The relaxation allowed by the heat of the sauna is deep and can be just as relaxing as a massage or a session in a hot tub. In this state of relaxation, the tension in the muscles of the body disappears, eliminating muscle aches, headaches, and neck tension. Individuals that use a sauna regularly report increased energy levels and mental clarity when they have finished their session in the sauna.

Many individuals also believe that regular sessions in a sauna result in the reduction of cellulite in the body and can assist with weight loss. A 30 minute session in the sauna can help an individual burn between 300 and 600 calories while doing nothing more than sitting and relaxing. For the average person, usually 15 to 30 minutes per session and drink at to drink least two glasses of water after each sauna are recommended. Individuals with heart problems should check with their Physicians before going to a sauna session. Saunas has become very popular, people have them on their homes for a regular and continuous use. A combination of exercise, sauna sessions, and vitamin therapy is used by many health clubs and spas to facilitate weight loss in their clients.