Thursday, June 30, 2011
THOUGHT FOR TODAY...
We can make our own choices. We get to choose how we react to all that happens to us.
FUN FACTS
* There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan. *
* Japans literacy rate is almost 100%. *
* In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. *
* Los Angeles full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. *
* A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. *
* Japans literacy rate is almost 100%. *
* In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. *
* Los Angeles full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. *
* A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. *
Low-Carb is Heart-Safe, Plus More Hot Diet and Fitness News
Learn which foods are the most fattening, how a common spice can trim your waistline, the surprise benefits of yo-yo dieting, the truth behind liposuction and rebound fat, and the best breakfast foods for preventing hunger. Get up-to-the-minute science news from the worlds of nutrition, diet and fitness. Plus, test how much you know about food with our quiz...
Diet and fitness scoop #1: Low-carb diets are heart-safe.
Overweight people on low-carb, high-fat diets aren’t endangering their arteries, as previously thought, say researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Dieters who ate as much as 40% fat (from meat, dairy products and nuts) and no more than 30% carbohydrates (from pasta, bread and fruit) for six months displayed no damaging vascular changes, at least in the short term.
They also dropped about 10 pounds in 45 days – faster than those on low-fat diets, who took 70 days to lose 10 pounds.
“If people lose weight, that’s likely to be more important for health rather than the exact makeup of the diet,” says lead investigator Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology.
Diet and fitness scoop #2: Those potato chips really are making you fat.
Not only does it matter how much you eat - what you eat affects weight gain. In fact, daily servings of potato chips packed on more pounds than any other food, according to a huge recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
It examined data on more than 120,000 people over 12-20 years. While participants put on weight during that time – an average of almost 17 pounds – some gained more, depending on foods they ate.
“Conventional wisdom often recommends ‘everything in moderation,’ with a focus only on total calories consumed – rather than the quality of what is consumed,” says lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., associate professor of epidemiology. “Our results demonstrate the types of foods and beverages strongly linked to weight gain.”
Potato products, sugar-sweetened beverages, red meats and processed meats are all food that go straight to your muffin top.
But the study also identified fat-fighting foods: People who ate daily servings of yogurt, nuts, fruits, whole grains or vegetables gained less.
“The path to eating [better] isn’t to simply count calories, but consume a more healthy diet in general,” he adds.
Diet and fitness scoop #3: Losing weight is good for bones.
When overweight or obese women lose more than 15% of their body weight, they gain significantly higher levels of vitamin D, according to a study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The vitamin is essential for calcium absorption, bone health and other important functions. But levels may be lower in overweight people.
“Obese people may have lower vitamin D levels circulating in the blood because it’s being stored in excess fat tissue,” says lead author Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow.
When fat is lost, that vitamin D is released back into the bloodstream.
Vitamin D comes from food, supplements or the skin’s reaction to sunlight. To find out how to increase your levels, read Are You Deficient in Vitamin D?
Diet and fitness scoop #4: Yo-yo dieting may be OK.
Continually dieting and backsliding may actually be healthier than never losing weight, according to a recent study on mice at Ohio University in Athens.
Mice that switched between high-fat and low-fat meals every four weeks were healthier and lived longer than mice that only ate a high-fat diet, says lead author Edward List, Ph.D., a scientist at the university’s Edison Biotechnology Institute. In fact, they lived as long as mice on a permanent low-fat diet.
“The simple act of gaining and losing weight does not seem detrimental to lifespan,” List says.
The study can’t be replicated with humans, since there are “an infinite number of ways people yo-yo diet,” List says.
But it seems likely that “even if you can’t stay lean and live a healthy lifestyle, it’s better to keep trying to lose weight than to not diet at all,” he adds.
Diet and fitness scoop #5: Spicy food helps you eat less.
Cayenne pepper is an effective appetite suppressant, according to a recent Purdue University study.
When just one-half teaspoon of the ground red pepper was added to soup, participants were less hungry and ate significantly fewer calories afterward. The effect was more pronounced in people not used to eating spicy foods, the researchers said.
The spice also increased fat-fighting metabolism and core body temperature – possibly due to capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their heat.
Taking the pepper as a supplement wasn’t as effective, notes doctoral student Mary-Jon Ludy, who devised the study.
“When ground cayenne red pepper was mixed into a meal, as opposed to being swallowed in a capsule, more fat was burned,” Ludy says.
If you’re not a spicy food fan, she recommends adding 1/4 teaspoon to meals.
“More isn’t necessarily better,” she says.
Diet and fitness scoop #6: Liposuction isn’t a permanent fat fix.
When people have liposuction, they often believe it will get rid of excess fat for good. In fact, it’s likely to return in as little as one year, according to a surprising recent study by the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
The research, published in the journal Obesity, followed people who had fat removed from their thighs. The same amount of fat returned later, though often in other areas – such as the upper abdomen, shoulders and triceps.
This happens because “the brain [apparently seeks to] keep fat mass at a constant level,” says Teri L. Hernandez, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor of medicine and nursing.
“So when it senses the drop in total body fat mass, over a year it restores those levels to the starting point,” she tells Lifescript.
More than half a million people in the U.S. have liposuction surgery every year, according to the journal Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
They should realize that liposuction “isn’t a weight-loss procedure,” Hernandez says. “If people seek it out for this reason, they’ll be disappointed.”
Diet and fitness scoop #7: Curb cravings with a high-protein breakfast.
Eating a healthy, protein-rich morning meal staves off hunger later in the day, a recent study at the University of Missouri found.
As many as 60% of adolescents regularly skip breakfast and then snack on unhealthy foods high in sugar and fat, notes researcher Heather Leidy, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology. But when they ate high-protein breakfasts, they were satisfied longer and less prone to snacking.
Plus, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed less activity in the area of their brains associated with motivation to eat.
While the study was limited to adolescents, “the findings would be applicable to adults,” Leidy says.
Diet and fitness scoop #8: Good bacteria help weight control.
Your gut flora might influence how easily you pack on pounds, according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
In research at Lund University in Sweden, rats who were given bacteria made from lactic acid – called Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL 19 – gained significantly less weight than others, even though they ate the same high-calorie food.
The beneficial bacteria appear to keep unhealthful, inflammation-causing bacteria in check, which may explain their fat-fighting power, notes Lund University food hygiene researcher Caroline Karlsson, who ran the study.
This particular bacterium isn’t used as a human food additive, but other healthful types of bacteria can be found in yogurt and probiotic supplements, as well as fermented foods such as brine olives, sauerkraut and sour pickles, Karlsson says.
Diet and fitness scoop #9: Skipping meals can be good for you.
Brief fasts could improve blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes, according to a study at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Utah.
The heart researchers recorded biological reactions among participants who fasted for 24 hours, with or without water.
“The changes that occur during fasting result in a small but important reduction in adipose tissue [body fat],” says principal investigator Benjamin D. Horne, Ph.D., director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain. That’s because fat cells are used to fuel the body, he tells Lifescript.
More research is planned to determine how often or long people need to fast to gain these health benefits. A previous Intermountain study found that regular fasters – many of whom were Mormons, who are encouraged to skip two meals one day a month – had a 39% lower risk of heart disease.
Diet and fitness scoop #10: Apples are strong medicine.
A chemical in apple peels may protect against muscle weakening as you age, according to research by the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
When mice were given ursolic acid – a natural compound also found in the peels of pears, cranberries and prunes – they had less muscle atrophy as they got older, and were healthier overall.
Ursolic acid is also found in certain herbal supplements, such as Holy Basil. But more research is needed on the chemical’s potential effect on humans, says researcher Christopher Adams, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of endocrine metabolism.
“It would be terrific if it reduced muscle atrophy and body fat in people,” Adams says. “We’re doing more studies to try to figure this out. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to eat a balanced diet, including some fruits and vegetables every day.”
How Much Do You Know About Food?
You know that brownies taste better when they're just out of the oven and that cranberry sauce will taste bitter if you don't add enough sugar. But do you know who invented the brownie or how to select the ripest cranberries? Aside from knowing which foods you love to curl up with, how much do you really know about the history and fun facts of your favorite foods?
Diet and fitness scoop #1: Low-carb diets are heart-safe.
Overweight people on low-carb, high-fat diets aren’t endangering their arteries, as previously thought, say researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Dieters who ate as much as 40% fat (from meat, dairy products and nuts) and no more than 30% carbohydrates (from pasta, bread and fruit) for six months displayed no damaging vascular changes, at least in the short term.
They also dropped about 10 pounds in 45 days – faster than those on low-fat diets, who took 70 days to lose 10 pounds.
“If people lose weight, that’s likely to be more important for health rather than the exact makeup of the diet,” says lead investigator Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology.
Diet and fitness scoop #2: Those potato chips really are making you fat.
Not only does it matter how much you eat - what you eat affects weight gain. In fact, daily servings of potato chips packed on more pounds than any other food, according to a huge recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
It examined data on more than 120,000 people over 12-20 years. While participants put on weight during that time – an average of almost 17 pounds – some gained more, depending on foods they ate.
“Conventional wisdom often recommends ‘everything in moderation,’ with a focus only on total calories consumed – rather than the quality of what is consumed,” says lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., associate professor of epidemiology. “Our results demonstrate the types of foods and beverages strongly linked to weight gain.”
Potato products, sugar-sweetened beverages, red meats and processed meats are all food that go straight to your muffin top.
But the study also identified fat-fighting foods: People who ate daily servings of yogurt, nuts, fruits, whole grains or vegetables gained less.
“The path to eating [better] isn’t to simply count calories, but consume a more healthy diet in general,” he adds.
Diet and fitness scoop #3: Losing weight is good for bones.
When overweight or obese women lose more than 15% of their body weight, they gain significantly higher levels of vitamin D, according to a study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The vitamin is essential for calcium absorption, bone health and other important functions. But levels may be lower in overweight people.
“Obese people may have lower vitamin D levels circulating in the blood because it’s being stored in excess fat tissue,” says lead author Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow.
When fat is lost, that vitamin D is released back into the bloodstream.
Vitamin D comes from food, supplements or the skin’s reaction to sunlight. To find out how to increase your levels, read Are You Deficient in Vitamin D?
Diet and fitness scoop #4: Yo-yo dieting may be OK.
Continually dieting and backsliding may actually be healthier than never losing weight, according to a recent study on mice at Ohio University in Athens.
Mice that switched between high-fat and low-fat meals every four weeks were healthier and lived longer than mice that only ate a high-fat diet, says lead author Edward List, Ph.D., a scientist at the university’s Edison Biotechnology Institute. In fact, they lived as long as mice on a permanent low-fat diet.
“The simple act of gaining and losing weight does not seem detrimental to lifespan,” List says.
The study can’t be replicated with humans, since there are “an infinite number of ways people yo-yo diet,” List says.
But it seems likely that “even if you can’t stay lean and live a healthy lifestyle, it’s better to keep trying to lose weight than to not diet at all,” he adds.
Diet and fitness scoop #5: Spicy food helps you eat less.
Cayenne pepper is an effective appetite suppressant, according to a recent Purdue University study.
When just one-half teaspoon of the ground red pepper was added to soup, participants were less hungry and ate significantly fewer calories afterward. The effect was more pronounced in people not used to eating spicy foods, the researchers said.
The spice also increased fat-fighting metabolism and core body temperature – possibly due to capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their heat.
Taking the pepper as a supplement wasn’t as effective, notes doctoral student Mary-Jon Ludy, who devised the study.
“When ground cayenne red pepper was mixed into a meal, as opposed to being swallowed in a capsule, more fat was burned,” Ludy says.
If you’re not a spicy food fan, she recommends adding 1/4 teaspoon to meals.
“More isn’t necessarily better,” she says.
Diet and fitness scoop #6: Liposuction isn’t a permanent fat fix.
When people have liposuction, they often believe it will get rid of excess fat for good. In fact, it’s likely to return in as little as one year, according to a surprising recent study by the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
The research, published in the journal Obesity, followed people who had fat removed from their thighs. The same amount of fat returned later, though often in other areas – such as the upper abdomen, shoulders and triceps.
This happens because “the brain [apparently seeks to] keep fat mass at a constant level,” says Teri L. Hernandez, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor of medicine and nursing.
“So when it senses the drop in total body fat mass, over a year it restores those levels to the starting point,” she tells Lifescript.
More than half a million people in the U.S. have liposuction surgery every year, according to the journal Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
They should realize that liposuction “isn’t a weight-loss procedure,” Hernandez says. “If people seek it out for this reason, they’ll be disappointed.”
Diet and fitness scoop #7: Curb cravings with a high-protein breakfast.
Eating a healthy, protein-rich morning meal staves off hunger later in the day, a recent study at the University of Missouri found.
As many as 60% of adolescents regularly skip breakfast and then snack on unhealthy foods high in sugar and fat, notes researcher Heather Leidy, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology. But when they ate high-protein breakfasts, they were satisfied longer and less prone to snacking.
Plus, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed less activity in the area of their brains associated with motivation to eat.
While the study was limited to adolescents, “the findings would be applicable to adults,” Leidy says.
Diet and fitness scoop #8: Good bacteria help weight control.
Your gut flora might influence how easily you pack on pounds, according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
In research at Lund University in Sweden, rats who were given bacteria made from lactic acid – called Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL 19 – gained significantly less weight than others, even though they ate the same high-calorie food.
The beneficial bacteria appear to keep unhealthful, inflammation-causing bacteria in check, which may explain their fat-fighting power, notes Lund University food hygiene researcher Caroline Karlsson, who ran the study.
This particular bacterium isn’t used as a human food additive, but other healthful types of bacteria can be found in yogurt and probiotic supplements, as well as fermented foods such as brine olives, sauerkraut and sour pickles, Karlsson says.
Diet and fitness scoop #9: Skipping meals can be good for you.
Brief fasts could improve blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes, according to a study at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Utah.
The heart researchers recorded biological reactions among participants who fasted for 24 hours, with or without water.
“The changes that occur during fasting result in a small but important reduction in adipose tissue [body fat],” says principal investigator Benjamin D. Horne, Ph.D., director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain. That’s because fat cells are used to fuel the body, he tells Lifescript.
More research is planned to determine how often or long people need to fast to gain these health benefits. A previous Intermountain study found that regular fasters – many of whom were Mormons, who are encouraged to skip two meals one day a month – had a 39% lower risk of heart disease.
Diet and fitness scoop #10: Apples are strong medicine.
A chemical in apple peels may protect against muscle weakening as you age, according to research by the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
When mice were given ursolic acid – a natural compound also found in the peels of pears, cranberries and prunes – they had less muscle atrophy as they got older, and were healthier overall.
Ursolic acid is also found in certain herbal supplements, such as Holy Basil. But more research is needed on the chemical’s potential effect on humans, says researcher Christopher Adams, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of endocrine metabolism.
“It would be terrific if it reduced muscle atrophy and body fat in people,” Adams says. “We’re doing more studies to try to figure this out. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to eat a balanced diet, including some fruits and vegetables every day.”
How Much Do You Know About Food?
You know that brownies taste better when they're just out of the oven and that cranberry sauce will taste bitter if you don't add enough sugar. But do you know who invented the brownie or how to select the ripest cranberries? Aside from knowing which foods you love to curl up with, how much do you really know about the history and fun facts of your favorite foods?
Can vitamin D lower your risk of melanoma?
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking vitamin D may help protect women who have already had non-melanoma skin cancers against a much deadlier form of the disease, suggests a new study.
But researchers caution that the results need to be confirmed with further studies, given that the number of women in their study who got melanoma - the most dangerous type of skin cancer - was low to begin with.
"We're not recommending super high doses" of vitamin D, study author Dr. Jean Tang, from Stanford University School of Medicine in Redwood City, California, told Reuters Health.
However, she added, "I feel good about saying if you've already had a non-melanoma skin cancer, you're already at risk for developing melanoma in the future, (and) taking a little bit of calcium and vitamin D, while other studies need to be done, seems reasonable and not harmful."
Some evidence has suggested that vitamin D might help protect against skin cancer and other cancers by influencing cell growth, and perhaps stopping cells from turning into cancer cells, researchers explained.
Tang and her colleagues wanted to see if that might be the case in a group of women participating in the Women's Health Initiative trial, a study whose main focus was to look at the effects of diet and hormone therapy on disease risks.
The researchers looked back at data that had been collected on about 36,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79. Half of those women took supplements with 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D3 each day, while the other half took an inactive placebo supplement.
Using questionnaires and reports from doctors' visits, the researchers were able to track how many women got skin cancer over the next 7 years, on average.
They found no difference in how frequently women in either group were diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancers or with melanoma, according to the findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In all, about 1,700 women in each group were diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, while 82 women taking calcium and vitamin D and 94 in the placebo group got melanoma.
However, women who reported previously having non-melanoma skin cancer - which would mean they were at higher risk for getting melanoma later - were less likely to get melanoma if they were taking the extra calcium and vitamin D.
The overall numbers were small - 10 women out of about 1,100 with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer got melanoma in the supplement group, compared to 24 out of a similarly-sized placebo group.
Tang said she expects any link between the supplement combo and skin cancer would probably be a result of vitamin D.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that most adults get 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium per day and 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D. It sets a recommended upper limit at 2,000 mg of calcium and 4,000 IU of vitamin D.
Getting too much vitamin D is rare, but has been linked to kidney stones and an increased risk of other liver and kidney conditions.
Despite the limited nature of this particular study, "I think there is no reason for women not to increase their vitamin D intake," said Dr. Michael Holick, who studies vitamin D and calcium at Boston University and was not involved in the new study.
Holick told Reuters Health that vitamin D's role in reducing the risk of colorectal and breast cancer is "pretty compelling," and that it could potentially protect against other diseases - such as type 2 diabetes and infectious diseases - as well. There is also good evidence that both calcium and vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis.
The link between vitamin D and cancer is a controversial one, said endocrinologist Dr. Joan Lappe, of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska - and especially for skin cancer, there just isn't enough evidence to make a claim about its benefits, she said.
"I think we're going to see that vitamin D does have an effect on cancer, but the short answer is there are not enough rigorous trials out there," Lappe, also not linked to the new research, told Reuters Health.
And because the Women's Health Initiative study used relatively low doses of vitamin D, it's still possible that higher doses will make a difference for skin cancer risk in a wider population, she said.
Tang said that her team is now recruiting women for another study on the link between vitamin D and skin cancer using higher vitamin doses to see if the connection holds.
Until more evidence is available, Lappe concluded, "I think everyone should be aware that vitamin D is important for your health and either take some supplements or talk to their doctor about it."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/gPtMdm Journal of Clinical Oncology, online June 27, 2011.
But researchers caution that the results need to be confirmed with further studies, given that the number of women in their study who got melanoma - the most dangerous type of skin cancer - was low to begin with.
"We're not recommending super high doses" of vitamin D, study author Dr. Jean Tang, from Stanford University School of Medicine in Redwood City, California, told Reuters Health.
However, she added, "I feel good about saying if you've already had a non-melanoma skin cancer, you're already at risk for developing melanoma in the future, (and) taking a little bit of calcium and vitamin D, while other studies need to be done, seems reasonable and not harmful."
Some evidence has suggested that vitamin D might help protect against skin cancer and other cancers by influencing cell growth, and perhaps stopping cells from turning into cancer cells, researchers explained.
Tang and her colleagues wanted to see if that might be the case in a group of women participating in the Women's Health Initiative trial, a study whose main focus was to look at the effects of diet and hormone therapy on disease risks.
The researchers looked back at data that had been collected on about 36,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79. Half of those women took supplements with 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D3 each day, while the other half took an inactive placebo supplement.
Using questionnaires and reports from doctors' visits, the researchers were able to track how many women got skin cancer over the next 7 years, on average.
They found no difference in how frequently women in either group were diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancers or with melanoma, according to the findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In all, about 1,700 women in each group were diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, while 82 women taking calcium and vitamin D and 94 in the placebo group got melanoma.
However, women who reported previously having non-melanoma skin cancer - which would mean they were at higher risk for getting melanoma later - were less likely to get melanoma if they were taking the extra calcium and vitamin D.
The overall numbers were small - 10 women out of about 1,100 with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer got melanoma in the supplement group, compared to 24 out of a similarly-sized placebo group.
Tang said she expects any link between the supplement combo and skin cancer would probably be a result of vitamin D.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that most adults get 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium per day and 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D. It sets a recommended upper limit at 2,000 mg of calcium and 4,000 IU of vitamin D.
Getting too much vitamin D is rare, but has been linked to kidney stones and an increased risk of other liver and kidney conditions.
Despite the limited nature of this particular study, "I think there is no reason for women not to increase their vitamin D intake," said Dr. Michael Holick, who studies vitamin D and calcium at Boston University and was not involved in the new study.
Holick told Reuters Health that vitamin D's role in reducing the risk of colorectal and breast cancer is "pretty compelling," and that it could potentially protect against other diseases - such as type 2 diabetes and infectious diseases - as well. There is also good evidence that both calcium and vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis.
The link between vitamin D and cancer is a controversial one, said endocrinologist Dr. Joan Lappe, of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska - and especially for skin cancer, there just isn't enough evidence to make a claim about its benefits, she said.
"I think we're going to see that vitamin D does have an effect on cancer, but the short answer is there are not enough rigorous trials out there," Lappe, also not linked to the new research, told Reuters Health.
And because the Women's Health Initiative study used relatively low doses of vitamin D, it's still possible that higher doses will make a difference for skin cancer risk in a wider population, she said.
Tang said that her team is now recruiting women for another study on the link between vitamin D and skin cancer using higher vitamin doses to see if the connection holds.
Until more evidence is available, Lappe concluded, "I think everyone should be aware that vitamin D is important for your health and either take some supplements or talk to their doctor about it."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/gPtMdm Journal of Clinical Oncology, online June 27, 2011.
Scientists getting closer to artificial pancreas
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers are coming closer to developing an "artificial pancreas," a long-sought system of insulin pumps and glucose sensors that deliver insulin to diabetics, mimicking the function of a real pancreas.
The devices have been in development for more than three decades, but lawmakers and diabetes advocates are ramping up the pressure and U.S. regulators this week outlined a regulatory path for a preliminary version of the device.
And while a seamless device that tracks a diabetic's blood sugar and automatically administers the right dose of insulin is still years away from commercial use, results of several studies being presented this week at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Diego show real promise.
In one, researchers from Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital tested a system using Abbott Laboratories' FreeStyle Navigator continuous glucose monitor and two insulin pumps made by Insulet Corp, all controlled by a laptop.
The system, which is designed to better mimic the body's natural mechanism of controlling both high and low blood sugar, was portable enough to allow adults with type 1 diabetes to roam around a hospital and use an exercise bike.
At the end of the 51-hour study, which involved daily exercise, two nights and six meals - all of which affect a diabetic's blood sugar levels - six patients had an average blood glucose in the normal range - in the high 140s, which is about the equivalent of an A1c reading of about 7.
"It is very good. This is what we would call near normal blood glucose," said Dr. Steven Russell of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who is developing the system with Edward Damiano, a biomedical engineer at Boston University.
In another study, a team at Mayo Clinic hooked patients up with devices called accelerometers that tracked movements and found that even moderate exercise plays a role in glucose. The team, led by Yogish Kudva, will incorporate this data into a sophisticated software program that acts as the "brain" of an artificial pancreas system, analyzing blood sugar and calculating when diabetics need a dose of insulin.
The team plans to start a clinical trial with the system this year or early next year, Kudva says.
CLOSING THE LOOP
So-called closed-loop systems - in which a computer calculates a person's insulin dose and delivers insulin automatically through an insulin pump - are a far cry from the earliest version of an artificial pancreas developed in the late 1970s, says Dr. Aaron Kowalski of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF.
"The problem is it was the size of a refrigerator," said Kowalski, who oversees the group's Artificial Pancreas Project, a multimillion-dollar initiative aimed at accelerating progress toward a closed-loop automated insulin-delivery system .
With that device, patients were hooked up to an IV and could not leave their hospital bed.
Researchers have since been working to develop a so-called artificial pancreas to deliver insulin to patients with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys its own ability to make insulin, rendering sufferers unable to properly break down sugar.
People with the condition must frequently monitor and take insulin to regulate blood sugar and prevent diabetic complications such as eye damage, kidney failure and heart disease.
An estimated 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in childhood or in young adults.
The JDRF is working with Johnson & Johnson's Animas unit, which makes insulin pumps, and DexCom Inc , which makes continuous glucose monitoring devices.
Kowalski said nearly five years into the project, researchers are showing promising results, but he is frustrated with the pace of progress.
"People need better tools. Despite insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, there are still big challenges in diabetes management," Kowalski said.
The group on Wednesday urged a Senate hearing to call on the FDA to stop delaying the study and approval of an artificial pancreas.
They cited a study published in the British Medical Journal that found that if an artificial pancreas were available, Medicare would save nearly $2 billion over 25 years in costs related to diabetes complications.
The group is pushing to move beyond studies in academic settings and begin studies of the devices outside of the hospital setting.
"It's great that we can do this in academic centers, and we're learning a ton, but we need to get these projects to reach people with diabetes," he said.
"We need to see these products commercialized. That is the big challenge, and that is why we are working with the FDA."
FDA WANTS APPROVAL, TOO
Charles "Chip" Zimliki, chairman of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Artificial Pancreas Critical Path Initiative, which was created in 2006 to accelerate the availability of an artificial pancreas system, says he is eager to have a system approved.
"The FDA wants the artificial pancreas on the market as much as anyone else does. We just have to operate within U.S. laws to make sure it is safe and effective," Zimliki said.
Last week, the agency released guidance for how to develop a low glucose suspend system, an automatic shut-off mechanism used with an insulin pump. Medtronic already sells pumps with this the feature in Europe. It safeguards against a dangerous drop in glucose levels by temporarily halting insulin delivery.
By year-end, FDA plans to release detailed guidance on more complicated closed-loop systems, Zimliki said.
"We think of this system, the artificial pancreas, as one unit. There is going to have to be agreement among various companies to determine who is the reporting party for submitting it," he said.
"That is a relatively new idea with respect to these systems."
Zimliki, who is a type 1 diabetic, thinks the first approved devices will be ones that deliver insulin only, but he is very encouraged by the system being developed by the team at Boston University and Massachusetts General.
"They have what I call the Cadillac of closed-loop systems," he said. In addition to delivering insulin, the device also delivers an infusion of glucagon, a hormone released by the pancreas to raise blood sugar levels.
"They are showing some very promising results," he said.
The devices have been in development for more than three decades, but lawmakers and diabetes advocates are ramping up the pressure and U.S. regulators this week outlined a regulatory path for a preliminary version of the device.
And while a seamless device that tracks a diabetic's blood sugar and automatically administers the right dose of insulin is still years away from commercial use, results of several studies being presented this week at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Diego show real promise.
In one, researchers from Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital tested a system using Abbott Laboratories' FreeStyle Navigator continuous glucose monitor and two insulin pumps made by Insulet Corp, all controlled by a laptop.
The system, which is designed to better mimic the body's natural mechanism of controlling both high and low blood sugar, was portable enough to allow adults with type 1 diabetes to roam around a hospital and use an exercise bike.
At the end of the 51-hour study, which involved daily exercise, two nights and six meals - all of which affect a diabetic's blood sugar levels - six patients had an average blood glucose in the normal range - in the high 140s, which is about the equivalent of an A1c reading of about 7.
"It is very good. This is what we would call near normal blood glucose," said Dr. Steven Russell of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who is developing the system with Edward Damiano, a biomedical engineer at Boston University.
In another study, a team at Mayo Clinic hooked patients up with devices called accelerometers that tracked movements and found that even moderate exercise plays a role in glucose. The team, led by Yogish Kudva, will incorporate this data into a sophisticated software program that acts as the "brain" of an artificial pancreas system, analyzing blood sugar and calculating when diabetics need a dose of insulin.
The team plans to start a clinical trial with the system this year or early next year, Kudva says.
CLOSING THE LOOP
So-called closed-loop systems - in which a computer calculates a person's insulin dose and delivers insulin automatically through an insulin pump - are a far cry from the earliest version of an artificial pancreas developed in the late 1970s, says Dr. Aaron Kowalski of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF.
"The problem is it was the size of a refrigerator," said Kowalski, who oversees the group's Artificial Pancreas Project, a multimillion-dollar initiative aimed at accelerating progress toward a closed-loop automated insulin-delivery system .
With that device, patients were hooked up to an IV and could not leave their hospital bed.
Researchers have since been working to develop a so-called artificial pancreas to deliver insulin to patients with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys its own ability to make insulin, rendering sufferers unable to properly break down sugar.
People with the condition must frequently monitor and take insulin to regulate blood sugar and prevent diabetic complications such as eye damage, kidney failure and heart disease.
An estimated 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in childhood or in young adults.
The JDRF is working with Johnson & Johnson's Animas unit, which makes insulin pumps, and DexCom Inc , which makes continuous glucose monitoring devices.
Kowalski said nearly five years into the project, researchers are showing promising results, but he is frustrated with the pace of progress.
"People need better tools. Despite insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, there are still big challenges in diabetes management," Kowalski said.
The group on Wednesday urged a Senate hearing to call on the FDA to stop delaying the study and approval of an artificial pancreas.
They cited a study published in the British Medical Journal that found that if an artificial pancreas were available, Medicare would save nearly $2 billion over 25 years in costs related to diabetes complications.
The group is pushing to move beyond studies in academic settings and begin studies of the devices outside of the hospital setting.
"It's great that we can do this in academic centers, and we're learning a ton, but we need to get these projects to reach people with diabetes," he said.
"We need to see these products commercialized. That is the big challenge, and that is why we are working with the FDA."
FDA WANTS APPROVAL, TOO
Charles "Chip" Zimliki, chairman of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Artificial Pancreas Critical Path Initiative, which was created in 2006 to accelerate the availability of an artificial pancreas system, says he is eager to have a system approved.
"The FDA wants the artificial pancreas on the market as much as anyone else does. We just have to operate within U.S. laws to make sure it is safe and effective," Zimliki said.
Last week, the agency released guidance for how to develop a low glucose suspend system, an automatic shut-off mechanism used with an insulin pump. Medtronic already sells pumps with this the feature in Europe. It safeguards against a dangerous drop in glucose levels by temporarily halting insulin delivery.
By year-end, FDA plans to release detailed guidance on more complicated closed-loop systems, Zimliki said.
"We think of this system, the artificial pancreas, as one unit. There is going to have to be agreement among various companies to determine who is the reporting party for submitting it," he said.
"That is a relatively new idea with respect to these systems."
Zimliki, who is a type 1 diabetic, thinks the first approved devices will be ones that deliver insulin only, but he is very encouraged by the system being developed by the team at Boston University and Massachusetts General.
"They have what I call the Cadillac of closed-loop systems," he said. In addition to delivering insulin, the device also delivers an infusion of glucagon, a hormone released by the pancreas to raise blood sugar levels.
"They are showing some very promising results," he said.
Peruvian maca has the remarkable property of improving oxygen transport in your body
There I was high in the Andes Mountains in Peru in an area the locals called Puna. It was barren and covered with rocks. The plants were all stunted. I didn’t see any that were higher than about a foot tall. It was so windy it almost knocked me off my feet a few times.
Fortunately, the day was clear and beautiful... but I knew we would be going up over 10,000 feet, so I was careful before I went. I used a native root to help me get used to the thin mountain air.
I was the only one in our party who didn’t get what the locals call soroche, or altitude sickness.
I used it again when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, and I was the only one on that expedition who didn’t get altitude sickness.
The root I used is called maca, and it turns out that not only does the plant it comes from adapt to high altitude, but when you eat it, the root passes that ability on to you.
It does more than just help you adjust to altitude, though. Peruvian maca has the remarkable property of improving oxygen transport in your body. This increases endurance, energy levels, and mental clarity.
It’s one of the only foods that can survive the frost at high altitudes. It even grows faster as the temperature gets colder. It grows low to the ground, and huddles together making mats on the ground.
Part of the reason maca is so effective at improving the way you use oxygen is its malic acid. It helps cells use sugar for fuel when oxygen levels are low.
Living high up in the Andes is tough, and oxygen is scarce. At 14,000 feet, your oxygen levels are going to be low. Maca is also rich in iron, which you need to make blood and facilitate oxygen transport.
But even if you’re not climbing up into high altitude, you can benefit from maca during other activities. Maca would be great to use before you go skiing. Or you can use it before you work out. Ancient Peruvians fed maca to their armies to improve endurance and stamina.
Or how about if you go snorkeling? If you take maca, you can go down deeper in the water because your body is going to get better oxygenation.
Even if you’re just going on vacation with the kids, maca will help you keep up.
Athletes are starting to use maca. It helps you not only use oxygen better to improve performance, but it helps you produce stable energy for long periods of time, instead of just a temporary lift like you get from caffeine.
In one study, they gave trained male cyclists a 40-km time trial before and after 14 days of supplementation with maca. The cyclists were able to significantly improve on their initial time after taking maca.1
I found that the locals in Peru eat the root as food now. They bake it and roast it... it’s considered a treat. But during the height of the Incan empire, maca was considered so powerful it was reserved exclusively for royalty. In fact, Incans would often pay their royals in maca.
When the Spanish colonized the Andes, their livestock was not doing very well until the locals suggested feeding the animals maca. The results were so dramatic that Spanish historians wrote about it in their journals.2
But maca seems to have been forgotten by the rest of the world in the 400 or so years since then, even though it’s useful for other purposes, too. Peruvian medical doctors – some of whom I met while I was there – say that maca can regulate your hormones.
This means it may help to balance and improve levels of testosterone, estrogen, DHEA and many of the other hormones in your body that are critical for health, energy and stamina.
It has lots of omega-3, potassium, cancer-fighting selenium, B vitamins, vitamin D, C, and is a great source of true, natural fiber. Maca contains beta sitosterol, one of the most powerful plant antioxidants. It also has a compound called MTCA that helps protect skin against UV radiation.3
Uridine is a compound in maca that makes it special. Uridine seems to increase choline production without depleting your stores of acetylcholine like caffeine does. This helps increase brain performance.
Maca
There are different types of maca with different colors ranging from white to black. But the most common kinds used in Peru are the yellow, black, and red maca.
The leaves can be used in a salad, and in Peru they use the dried roots to make jam and fruit dishes.
You can add the dried and crushed maca powder to rum or other alcoholic drinks to give them a bit of a butterscotch flavor.
You can now get raw, organic maca root at specialty stores and on the web. They also sell maca powder extract. Be sure to get Peruvian maca, grown in high altitudes in the Andes Mountains, or it will not have the oxygen facilitating properties the root develops when it grows in its native environment.
My favorite way to use maca extract is in a homemade fruit smoothie. Some frozen bananas, strawberries, ice, a little orange juice and some maca powder makes an incredible morning drink.
Maca supplements are also available as liquid extracts. You can mix them into your favorite drink, or put the drops directly on your tongue.
To supplement with maca extract in capsule form, I recommend up to 500 mg per day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
Fortunately, the day was clear and beautiful... but I knew we would be going up over 10,000 feet, so I was careful before I went. I used a native root to help me get used to the thin mountain air.
I was the only one in our party who didn’t get what the locals call soroche, or altitude sickness.
I used it again when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, and I was the only one on that expedition who didn’t get altitude sickness.
The root I used is called maca, and it turns out that not only does the plant it comes from adapt to high altitude, but when you eat it, the root passes that ability on to you.
It does more than just help you adjust to altitude, though. Peruvian maca has the remarkable property of improving oxygen transport in your body. This increases endurance, energy levels, and mental clarity.
It’s one of the only foods that can survive the frost at high altitudes. It even grows faster as the temperature gets colder. It grows low to the ground, and huddles together making mats on the ground.
Part of the reason maca is so effective at improving the way you use oxygen is its malic acid. It helps cells use sugar for fuel when oxygen levels are low.
Living high up in the Andes is tough, and oxygen is scarce. At 14,000 feet, your oxygen levels are going to be low. Maca is also rich in iron, which you need to make blood and facilitate oxygen transport.
But even if you’re not climbing up into high altitude, you can benefit from maca during other activities. Maca would be great to use before you go skiing. Or you can use it before you work out. Ancient Peruvians fed maca to their armies to improve endurance and stamina.
Or how about if you go snorkeling? If you take maca, you can go down deeper in the water because your body is going to get better oxygenation.
Even if you’re just going on vacation with the kids, maca will help you keep up.
Athletes are starting to use maca. It helps you not only use oxygen better to improve performance, but it helps you produce stable energy for long periods of time, instead of just a temporary lift like you get from caffeine.
In one study, they gave trained male cyclists a 40-km time trial before and after 14 days of supplementation with maca. The cyclists were able to significantly improve on their initial time after taking maca.1
I found that the locals in Peru eat the root as food now. They bake it and roast it... it’s considered a treat. But during the height of the Incan empire, maca was considered so powerful it was reserved exclusively for royalty. In fact, Incans would often pay their royals in maca.
When the Spanish colonized the Andes, their livestock was not doing very well until the locals suggested feeding the animals maca. The results were so dramatic that Spanish historians wrote about it in their journals.2
But maca seems to have been forgotten by the rest of the world in the 400 or so years since then, even though it’s useful for other purposes, too. Peruvian medical doctors – some of whom I met while I was there – say that maca can regulate your hormones.
This means it may help to balance and improve levels of testosterone, estrogen, DHEA and many of the other hormones in your body that are critical for health, energy and stamina.
It has lots of omega-3, potassium, cancer-fighting selenium, B vitamins, vitamin D, C, and is a great source of true, natural fiber. Maca contains beta sitosterol, one of the most powerful plant antioxidants. It also has a compound called MTCA that helps protect skin against UV radiation.3
Uridine is a compound in maca that makes it special. Uridine seems to increase choline production without depleting your stores of acetylcholine like caffeine does. This helps increase brain performance.
Maca
There are different types of maca with different colors ranging from white to black. But the most common kinds used in Peru are the yellow, black, and red maca.
The leaves can be used in a salad, and in Peru they use the dried roots to make jam and fruit dishes.
You can add the dried and crushed maca powder to rum or other alcoholic drinks to give them a bit of a butterscotch flavor.
You can now get raw, organic maca root at specialty stores and on the web. They also sell maca powder extract. Be sure to get Peruvian maca, grown in high altitudes in the Andes Mountains, or it will not have the oxygen facilitating properties the root develops when it grows in its native environment.
My favorite way to use maca extract is in a homemade fruit smoothie. Some frozen bananas, strawberries, ice, a little orange juice and some maca powder makes an incredible morning drink.
Maca supplements are also available as liquid extracts. You can mix them into your favorite drink, or put the drops directly on your tongue.
To supplement with maca extract in capsule form, I recommend up to 500 mg per day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
Bad Weight-Loss Technique: Exercising on an Empty Stomach
It's embarrassing to admit, but I used to exercise in the morning on an empty stomach. Not only did I worry about getting cramps if I ate, but I also thought it could speed up weight loss. The idea seems logical if you don't have any food in your belly, your body will start using up stores of fat as its energy source. I'm not the only one. Many bodybuilders and gym goers also believe sweating it out on an empty belly will help burn more fat instead of using up the stores of quick carbs found in the food they've just eaten. This couldn't be further from the truth, and research conducted by Strength and Conditioning Journal shows that calories burned comes from muscle instead.
Not only are you losing muscle by exercising hungry, but since you have no fuel to work out, you won't have the energy to exercise as long or as intensely as you would if you had eaten. This translates to less overall calories burned. In another study, women who consumed 45 grams of carbs before working out actually ended up eating less calories the rest of the day, which also aids in weight loss.
The bottom line is that if you're trying to lose weight, working out without eating is not the way to go about it. In order to maximize your caloric burn, you want to eat a healthy snack before sweating it out in your sports bra. Need some ideas? Keep reading for my favorite preworkout snacks.
Carbs rather than protein offer your body fuel, so make sure your snack has an emphasis on carbs. Simple carbs are best since they digest more easily than complex ones. About 15 to 30 minutes before your workout, try eating:
Half a slice of whole wheat bread with one tablespoon crunchy peanut butter.
An ounce of cheese with some crackers.
Two tablespoons cottage cheese mixed with a quarter cup of sliced grapes.
Handful of pretzels dipped in hummus.
Half an avocado spread on toast or crackers.
Half a banana mixed with half a cup of yogurt.
Not only are you losing muscle by exercising hungry, but since you have no fuel to work out, you won't have the energy to exercise as long or as intensely as you would if you had eaten. This translates to less overall calories burned. In another study, women who consumed 45 grams of carbs before working out actually ended up eating less calories the rest of the day, which also aids in weight loss.
The bottom line is that if you're trying to lose weight, working out without eating is not the way to go about it. In order to maximize your caloric burn, you want to eat a healthy snack before sweating it out in your sports bra. Need some ideas? Keep reading for my favorite preworkout snacks.
Carbs rather than protein offer your body fuel, so make sure your snack has an emphasis on carbs. Simple carbs are best since they digest more easily than complex ones. About 15 to 30 minutes before your workout, try eating:
Half a slice of whole wheat bread with one tablespoon crunchy peanut butter.
An ounce of cheese with some crackers.
Two tablespoons cottage cheese mixed with a quarter cup of sliced grapes.
Handful of pretzels dipped in hummus.
Half an avocado spread on toast or crackers.
Half a banana mixed with half a cup of yogurt.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
FUN FACTS
* Before the introduction of the whistle, football (soccer) referees indicated their decisions by waving a handkerchief. *
* The world feels very solid around us, but in reality almost all of the size of each of the atoms that make up matter is empty space. *
* Know the difference between a monkey from an ape.. a monkey has a tail; an ape doesnt! *
* The last wife of worlds most divorced man (Glynn Scotty Wolfe, 28 times) was the worlds most divorced woman (Linda Essex, 23 times)!!! *
* Think all blonde actresses are dumb? Not Uma Thurman. She has an IQ of 183! *
* The world feels very solid around us, but in reality almost all of the size of each of the atoms that make up matter is empty space. *
* Know the difference between a monkey from an ape.. a monkey has a tail; an ape doesnt! *
* The last wife of worlds most divorced man (Glynn Scotty Wolfe, 28 times) was the worlds most divorced woman (Linda Essex, 23 times)!!! *
* Think all blonde actresses are dumb? Not Uma Thurman. She has an IQ of 183! *
FDA Urges Lower Doses of Anemia Drugs
Food and Drug Administration officials say doctors should use lower doses of anemia drugs when treating patients with failing kidneys due to the increased risk of stroke, blood clots, and death.
The new warnings announced Friday are the latest to hit the widely used medications since 2007, when the FDA first linked them to fatal side effects.
The medicines — Procrit, Aranesp, and Epogen — are multibillion-dollar sellers because of their ability to boost oxygen-carrying red blood cells, reducing the need for painful blood transfusions. But a study published in 2009 suggested they could double the risk of stroke. Doctors had previously assumed that higher doses would help prevent heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.
All three of the drugs are manufactured by biotech giant Amgen Inc., while Procrit is sold by Johnson & Johnson.
Doctors must adjust each patient's dosing to maintain healthy levels of hemoglobin, a component of blood that carries oxygen and helps keep anemia patients active. Anemia causes weakness and shortness of breath and is a side effect of chemotherapy and kidney failure. The FDA's announcement applies to patients with early-stage kidney failure as well as those on dialysis, the treatment for late-stage kidney failure.
The old labeling for the drugs recommended keeping patients' hemoglobin levels between 10 grams and 12 grams per deciliter of blood.
The new label does away with that specific target range, stating only that doctors should begin using the drugs if patients' hemoglobins fall below 10 grams per deciliter.
"The goal is to individualize therapy and use the lowest dose possible to reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions," said Dr. Robert Kane, of the FDA's division of hematology products. Kane said there is no way to make an all-purpose dosing recommendation that covers all patients.
More than 20 million people in the United States have chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 300,000 of those patients receive dialysis treatment through the federal government.
Deutsche Bank analyst Robyn Karnauskas said most investors have already priced the labeling changes into sales expectations. Wall Street analysts generally expect sales of the drugs to decline by 8 percent in 2012, Karnauskas said in an e-mail.
Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks Calif., licenses Procrit to Johnson & Johnson's Centocor Ortho Biotech division, under a long-standing agreement between the companies.
Shares of Amgen fell 80 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $57.13 in Friday afternoon trading. Johnson & Johnson shares lost 47 cents to $65.20 a share.
The new warnings announced Friday are the latest to hit the widely used medications since 2007, when the FDA first linked them to fatal side effects.
The medicines — Procrit, Aranesp, and Epogen — are multibillion-dollar sellers because of their ability to boost oxygen-carrying red blood cells, reducing the need for painful blood transfusions. But a study published in 2009 suggested they could double the risk of stroke. Doctors had previously assumed that higher doses would help prevent heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.
All three of the drugs are manufactured by biotech giant Amgen Inc., while Procrit is sold by Johnson & Johnson.
Doctors must adjust each patient's dosing to maintain healthy levels of hemoglobin, a component of blood that carries oxygen and helps keep anemia patients active. Anemia causes weakness and shortness of breath and is a side effect of chemotherapy and kidney failure. The FDA's announcement applies to patients with early-stage kidney failure as well as those on dialysis, the treatment for late-stage kidney failure.
The old labeling for the drugs recommended keeping patients' hemoglobin levels between 10 grams and 12 grams per deciliter of blood.
The new label does away with that specific target range, stating only that doctors should begin using the drugs if patients' hemoglobins fall below 10 grams per deciliter.
"The goal is to individualize therapy and use the lowest dose possible to reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions," said Dr. Robert Kane, of the FDA's division of hematology products. Kane said there is no way to make an all-purpose dosing recommendation that covers all patients.
More than 20 million people in the United States have chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 300,000 of those patients receive dialysis treatment through the federal government.
Deutsche Bank analyst Robyn Karnauskas said most investors have already priced the labeling changes into sales expectations. Wall Street analysts generally expect sales of the drugs to decline by 8 percent in 2012, Karnauskas said in an e-mail.
Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks Calif., licenses Procrit to Johnson & Johnson's Centocor Ortho Biotech division, under a long-standing agreement between the companies.
Shares of Amgen fell 80 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $57.13 in Friday afternoon trading. Johnson & Johnson shares lost 47 cents to $65.20 a share.
Vitamin D Tied to Less Heart Risk in Men
Men who consume the recommended amount of vitamin D are somewhat less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those with low vitamin D, according to a U.S. study.
The study, which followed nearly 119,000 adults for two decades and was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that men who got at least 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day, the current recommended amount, were 16 percent less likely to develop heart problems or stroke than men who got less than 100 IUD per day.
But there was no such pattern among women, wrote lead research Qi Sun at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"These observations suggest that a higher intake of vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in men but not in women," Sun wrote.
But Sun and the other authors said the findings don't yet prove that vitamin D, which is found in fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil, deserves the credit for the lower risk found in men.
"The evidence is not strong enough yet to make solid recommendations," Sun added.
The current study was observational, based on data from two long-term projects that have followed two large groups of U.S. health professionals since the 1980s: the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Out of 45,000 men, there were about 5,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease over the study period, marked by a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
It's not clear why the finding in men wasn't matched by a similar pattern in women, but Sun said one possibility is that women may have less active vitamin D circulating in the blood.
Vitamin D is also stored in fat, and women typically have a higher percentage of body fat than men do.
But more research is needed, Sun said, adding that more answers are expected from an ongoing randomized trial evaluating whether a high dose of vitamin D (2,000 IU per day) can cut the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases.
The study, which followed nearly 119,000 adults for two decades and was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that men who got at least 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day, the current recommended amount, were 16 percent less likely to develop heart problems or stroke than men who got less than 100 IUD per day.
But there was no such pattern among women, wrote lead research Qi Sun at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"These observations suggest that a higher intake of vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in men but not in women," Sun wrote.
But Sun and the other authors said the findings don't yet prove that vitamin D, which is found in fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil, deserves the credit for the lower risk found in men.
"The evidence is not strong enough yet to make solid recommendations," Sun added.
The current study was observational, based on data from two long-term projects that have followed two large groups of U.S. health professionals since the 1980s: the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Out of 45,000 men, there were about 5,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease over the study period, marked by a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
It's not clear why the finding in men wasn't matched by a similar pattern in women, but Sun said one possibility is that women may have less active vitamin D circulating in the blood.
Vitamin D is also stored in fat, and women typically have a higher percentage of body fat than men do.
But more research is needed, Sun said, adding that more answers are expected from an ongoing randomized trial evaluating whether a high dose of vitamin D (2,000 IU per day) can cut the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases.
No Sign Scans After Testicular Cancer Cause New Tumors
Follow-up scans after treatment for testicular cancer don't appear to put men at higher risk of new tumors, researchers have found.
Men usually get regular computerized tomography (CT) scans to check if their testicular cancer has returned following treatment, but some worry that the associated radiation could be dangerous.
But that did not seem to be the case in the new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Overall, 14 of 2,569 men who received multiple follow-up scans developed new tumors in the scanned area over the decade following their diagnosis. And those who received the most radiation were at no higher risk.
"Even with those incredibly high doses of diagnostic radiation, we did not identify any association between this exposure and an increased risk of cancers," study author Dr. Carl van Walraven at the Ottawa Health Research Institute told Reuters Health.
"To us, it's reassuring," he added, given the fact that more and more people get CT scans, which may increase cancer risks slightly although they are designed to look for disease.
Research has also found that people who get radiation treatment for other cancers are at increased risk for second tumors. For instance, men who receive such therapy for prostate cancer more often develop bladder and rectal cancers.
However, in radiation therapy the dose is typically higher than what people receive during diagnostic scans, explained van Walraven. And previous studies that have looked at the relationship between radiation from diagnostic scans and risk of second cancers have used different methods, making overall conclusions difficult, he added.
"The literature is very unclear whether there is an association between diagnostic radiation exposure and cancer."
Still, half of the men included in van Walraven's study received more radiation than many Japanese atomic bomb survivors, who were at increased cancer risk.
The difference, he suggested, may be how the radiation is delivered. Atomic bomb survivors received a massive dose at one time, while men who get several diagnostic scans stretch out their exposure over several years, which could be less dangerous.
It's possible that these smaller doses, stretched over time, "are small enough that the body can take care of them," said van Walraven. But more research is needed. "We don't know whether or not that's true. But we thought that may be one way to explain our data."
During the study, half of the men received at least 10 CT scans of their abdomen and pelvis within five years of their diagnosis. But only 14 developed tumors in that region during the study period.
One concern with the findings, however, is that the researchers didn't follow the men very long, said Dr. David Brenner, a radiation expert at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who was not involved in the new work.
On average, the men were only 35 when diagnosed with testicular cancer, and half were tracked for 11 years or less. Yet most radiation-induced cancers in young men "will actually appear 10 to 40 years post-radiation," said Brenner.
So with such a short follow-up, the study will only capture a small fraction of the total cancers that the radiation will induce, he said.
These results "don't really tell us anything about the lifetime cancer risks associated with CT scans," said Brenner.
"I would hope the authors will continue to study this population over a further 10 to 20 years," he added. "The results should be very informative."
Men usually get regular computerized tomography (CT) scans to check if their testicular cancer has returned following treatment, but some worry that the associated radiation could be dangerous.
But that did not seem to be the case in the new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Overall, 14 of 2,569 men who received multiple follow-up scans developed new tumors in the scanned area over the decade following their diagnosis. And those who received the most radiation were at no higher risk.
"Even with those incredibly high doses of diagnostic radiation, we did not identify any association between this exposure and an increased risk of cancers," study author Dr. Carl van Walraven at the Ottawa Health Research Institute told Reuters Health.
"To us, it's reassuring," he added, given the fact that more and more people get CT scans, which may increase cancer risks slightly although they are designed to look for disease.
Research has also found that people who get radiation treatment for other cancers are at increased risk for second tumors. For instance, men who receive such therapy for prostate cancer more often develop bladder and rectal cancers.
However, in radiation therapy the dose is typically higher than what people receive during diagnostic scans, explained van Walraven. And previous studies that have looked at the relationship between radiation from diagnostic scans and risk of second cancers have used different methods, making overall conclusions difficult, he added.
"The literature is very unclear whether there is an association between diagnostic radiation exposure and cancer."
Still, half of the men included in van Walraven's study received more radiation than many Japanese atomic bomb survivors, who were at increased cancer risk.
The difference, he suggested, may be how the radiation is delivered. Atomic bomb survivors received a massive dose at one time, while men who get several diagnostic scans stretch out their exposure over several years, which could be less dangerous.
It's possible that these smaller doses, stretched over time, "are small enough that the body can take care of them," said van Walraven. But more research is needed. "We don't know whether or not that's true. But we thought that may be one way to explain our data."
During the study, half of the men received at least 10 CT scans of their abdomen and pelvis within five years of their diagnosis. But only 14 developed tumors in that region during the study period.
One concern with the findings, however, is that the researchers didn't follow the men very long, said Dr. David Brenner, a radiation expert at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who was not involved in the new work.
On average, the men were only 35 when diagnosed with testicular cancer, and half were tracked for 11 years or less. Yet most radiation-induced cancers in young men "will actually appear 10 to 40 years post-radiation," said Brenner.
So with such a short follow-up, the study will only capture a small fraction of the total cancers that the radiation will induce, he said.
These results "don't really tell us anything about the lifetime cancer risks associated with CT scans," said Brenner.
"I would hope the authors will continue to study this population over a further 10 to 20 years," he added. "The results should be very informative."
Global Diabetes Epidemic Balloons to Nearly 350 Million Cases
The number of adults with diabetes worldwide has more than doubled since 1980 to 347 million, a far larger number than previously thought and one that suggests costs of treating the disease will also balloon.
In a study published in the the Lancet journal, an international team of researchers working with the World Health Organization found that rates of diabetes have either risen or at best remained the same in virtually all parts of the world in the past 30 years.
The estimated number of diabetics is markedly higher than a previous projection that put the number at 285 million worldwide. This study found that of the 347 million people with diabetes, 138 million live in China and India and another 36 million in the United States and Russia.
The most common type of diabetes, Type 2, is strongly associated with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
"Diabetes is becoming more common almost everywhere in the world," said Majid Ezzati, from Britain's Imperial College London, who led the study along with Goodarz Danaei from the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States.
"Unless we develop better programs for detecting people with elevated blood sugar and helping them to improve their diet and physical activity and control their weight, diabetes will inevitably continue to impose a major burden on health systems around the world," Danaei added in a joint statement.
People with diabetes have inadequate blood sugar control, which can lead to serious complications like heart disease and stroke, damage to the kidneys or nerves, and to blindness.
Experts say high blood glucose and diabetes cause around 3 million deaths globally each year, a number that will continue to rise as the number of people affected increases.
As a result, diabetes is a booming market for drugmakers like Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Takeda.
Treatments Available
Dozens of diabetes treatments, both pills and injections, are on the market. Global sales of the medicines totaled $35 billion last year and could rise to as much as $48 billion by 2015, according to drug research firm IMS Health.
New research presented this past weekend at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego focused on experimental drugs and ways to combine classes of medicines to better control blood sugar.
"This is a chronic, progressive condition," said Dennis Urbaniak, vice president of Sanofi's diabetes division. "What we are most worried about is the number of people out there with diabetes that is not optimally controlled."
For the Lancet study, the largest of its kind for diabetes, researchers analyzed fasting plasma glucose data from 2.7 million participants aged 25 and over across the world, and then used advanced statistical methods to estimate prevalence.
They found that between 1980 and 2008, the number of adults with the disease rose from 153 million to 347 million. Seventy percent of the rise was due to population growth and aging, with the other 30 percent due to higher prevalence, they said.
The proportion of adults with diabetes rose to 9.8 percent of men and 9.2 percent of women in 2008, compared with 8.3 percent of men and 7.5 percent of women in 1980.
Diabetes has taken off most dramatically in Pacific Island nations, which now have the highest diabetes levels in the world, the study found. In the Marshall Islands, a third of all women and a quarter of all men have diabetes.
Among wealthy countries, the rise in diabetes was highest in North America and relatively small in Western Europe. Diabetes and glucose levels were highest in United States, Greenland, Malta, New Zealand, and Spain, and lowest in the Netherlands, Austria, and France.
The region with the lowest glucose levels was sub-Saharan Africa, followed by east and southeast Asia.
In a study published in the the Lancet journal, an international team of researchers working with the World Health Organization found that rates of diabetes have either risen or at best remained the same in virtually all parts of the world in the past 30 years.
The estimated number of diabetics is markedly higher than a previous projection that put the number at 285 million worldwide. This study found that of the 347 million people with diabetes, 138 million live in China and India and another 36 million in the United States and Russia.
The most common type of diabetes, Type 2, is strongly associated with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
"Diabetes is becoming more common almost everywhere in the world," said Majid Ezzati, from Britain's Imperial College London, who led the study along with Goodarz Danaei from the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States.
"Unless we develop better programs for detecting people with elevated blood sugar and helping them to improve their diet and physical activity and control their weight, diabetes will inevitably continue to impose a major burden on health systems around the world," Danaei added in a joint statement.
People with diabetes have inadequate blood sugar control, which can lead to serious complications like heart disease and stroke, damage to the kidneys or nerves, and to blindness.
Experts say high blood glucose and diabetes cause around 3 million deaths globally each year, a number that will continue to rise as the number of people affected increases.
As a result, diabetes is a booming market for drugmakers like Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Takeda.
Treatments Available
Dozens of diabetes treatments, both pills and injections, are on the market. Global sales of the medicines totaled $35 billion last year and could rise to as much as $48 billion by 2015, according to drug research firm IMS Health.
New research presented this past weekend at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego focused on experimental drugs and ways to combine classes of medicines to better control blood sugar.
"This is a chronic, progressive condition," said Dennis Urbaniak, vice president of Sanofi's diabetes division. "What we are most worried about is the number of people out there with diabetes that is not optimally controlled."
For the Lancet study, the largest of its kind for diabetes, researchers analyzed fasting plasma glucose data from 2.7 million participants aged 25 and over across the world, and then used advanced statistical methods to estimate prevalence.
They found that between 1980 and 2008, the number of adults with the disease rose from 153 million to 347 million. Seventy percent of the rise was due to population growth and aging, with the other 30 percent due to higher prevalence, they said.
The proportion of adults with diabetes rose to 9.8 percent of men and 9.2 percent of women in 2008, compared with 8.3 percent of men and 7.5 percent of women in 1980.
Diabetes has taken off most dramatically in Pacific Island nations, which now have the highest diabetes levels in the world, the study found. In the Marshall Islands, a third of all women and a quarter of all men have diabetes.
Among wealthy countries, the rise in diabetes was highest in North America and relatively small in Western Europe. Diabetes and glucose levels were highest in United States, Greenland, Malta, New Zealand, and Spain, and lowest in the Netherlands, Austria, and France.
The region with the lowest glucose levels was sub-Saharan Africa, followed by east and southeast Asia.
Exercising When You're in Pain
When you're in pain, exercising is probably the last thing you feel like doing. But it's important to keep moving and stay strong when you have a chronic condition like arthritis so the situation doesn't get worse. With the right approach to exercise, you can preserve range of motion and flexibility around the affected joints. You also can increase muscle strength and endurance, which will enhance the stability of your joints, increase your cardiovascular conditioning -- and help you feel and function better in everyday life. In fact, in a recent review of the medical literature, researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia concluded that aerobic, strengthening, aquatic and tai chi workouts "are beneficial for improving pain and function in people with osteoarthritis."
There is none; the best choice is whatever you will keep doing. Walking, though, is the most popular and, for many people, may be more easily sustainable than more vigorous types of exercise. In a study at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, women who walked three miles five days a week for 24 weeks significantly increased their HDL. HDL is a little lipid package that transports the heart-damaging LDL out of the body.
The ideal exercise prescription for those with arthritis is a combination of light aerobics, stretching and strength-training exercises. "If you're in pain, you want to do gentle exercises that are not stressful for your joints," advises Lisa Konstantellis, M.S.P.T., manager of the Joint Mobility Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. "Then, as the flare eases, you can slowly increase either the duration or intensity of your exercise." (If you're entirely new to exercise, consult with your physician to be sure it's safe for you.)
"What you want to do is gently coax your body into movement," says Frank Musumeci, P.T., C.P.T., biomechanical and musculoskeletal director at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa in Miami. "Osteoarthritis results in a thickening of the joint capsules in response to chronic inflammation. That's what accounts for the stiffness and a lot of the pain." He adds, "When you want something to become more flexible, it helps to heat it before exercising."
If you're in pain, take a hot shower or sit in a hot tub for 15 minutes to warm up your muscles before getting active. Then, engage in light, repetitive aerobic exercise such as gentle walking (either outside or on a treadmill with arm rails), or using a cardio machine such as a cross-country ski machine, elliptical machine, stationary bike or Arc Trainer. Each of these activities will boost cardiovascular conditioning as well as strengthen key groups of muscles without placing stress on the joints. Other good choices: swimming, doing water aerobics or even walking or jogging in a pool. "The temperature of the water is soothing on joints," Konstantellis says, and the water itself provides natural buoyancy and cushioning for achy joints.
What's more, "this prelude will increase blood flow to the joint capsules and connective tissues, making them more pliable," Musumeci says. Once this happens and after you've completed your aerobic workout, it's time to stretch your calf muscles (along the back of your lower legs), hamstrings (along the back of your thighs), quadriceps (in the front of your thighs), hip muscles and the muscles in your back and shoulders. You can do this with yoga postures or traditional stretches. The key is to stretch gently and slowly -- to the point of mild discomfort but not pain; otherwise, you risk injuring your muscles.
To provide your body with greater stability, Musumeci says it's also important to strengthen your core muscles (by doing the plank and its variations) and shoulder muscles (with a rowing type of exercise). After a workout, you can apply ice to the troublesome joint for 15 to 20 minutes to prevent inflammation and pain.
Most important, listen to your body and modify the intensity and duration of your workouts if you're having a flare-up of arthritis pain. "Just getting the joint moving will help with circulation, loosen up tight muscles and generally help you feel better," Konstantellis says. "People think more is better, but you have to work within your level of tolerance. It's the small successes that keep you motivated to keep moving."
P.S.- DR. HOOSHANG HOOSHMAND OF VERO BEACH, FL.; IS A WORLD REKNOWN AUTHORITY ON RSD/CRPS AND FIBROMYALGIA, AND HE STATES TO EXCERCISE 10 MINUTES ON AND 10 MINUTES OFF FOR A WORK OUT WITH EXCRUCIATING PAIN.
There is none; the best choice is whatever you will keep doing. Walking, though, is the most popular and, for many people, may be more easily sustainable than more vigorous types of exercise. In a study at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, women who walked three miles five days a week for 24 weeks significantly increased their HDL. HDL is a little lipid package that transports the heart-damaging LDL out of the body.
The ideal exercise prescription for those with arthritis is a combination of light aerobics, stretching and strength-training exercises. "If you're in pain, you want to do gentle exercises that are not stressful for your joints," advises Lisa Konstantellis, M.S.P.T., manager of the Joint Mobility Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. "Then, as the flare eases, you can slowly increase either the duration or intensity of your exercise." (If you're entirely new to exercise, consult with your physician to be sure it's safe for you.)
"What you want to do is gently coax your body into movement," says Frank Musumeci, P.T., C.P.T., biomechanical and musculoskeletal director at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa in Miami. "Osteoarthritis results in a thickening of the joint capsules in response to chronic inflammation. That's what accounts for the stiffness and a lot of the pain." He adds, "When you want something to become more flexible, it helps to heat it before exercising."
If you're in pain, take a hot shower or sit in a hot tub for 15 minutes to warm up your muscles before getting active. Then, engage in light, repetitive aerobic exercise such as gentle walking (either outside or on a treadmill with arm rails), or using a cardio machine such as a cross-country ski machine, elliptical machine, stationary bike or Arc Trainer. Each of these activities will boost cardiovascular conditioning as well as strengthen key groups of muscles without placing stress on the joints. Other good choices: swimming, doing water aerobics or even walking or jogging in a pool. "The temperature of the water is soothing on joints," Konstantellis says, and the water itself provides natural buoyancy and cushioning for achy joints.
What's more, "this prelude will increase blood flow to the joint capsules and connective tissues, making them more pliable," Musumeci says. Once this happens and after you've completed your aerobic workout, it's time to stretch your calf muscles (along the back of your lower legs), hamstrings (along the back of your thighs), quadriceps (in the front of your thighs), hip muscles and the muscles in your back and shoulders. You can do this with yoga postures or traditional stretches. The key is to stretch gently and slowly -- to the point of mild discomfort but not pain; otherwise, you risk injuring your muscles.
To provide your body with greater stability, Musumeci says it's also important to strengthen your core muscles (by doing the plank and its variations) and shoulder muscles (with a rowing type of exercise). After a workout, you can apply ice to the troublesome joint for 15 to 20 minutes to prevent inflammation and pain.
Most important, listen to your body and modify the intensity and duration of your workouts if you're having a flare-up of arthritis pain. "Just getting the joint moving will help with circulation, loosen up tight muscles and generally help you feel better," Konstantellis says. "People think more is better, but you have to work within your level of tolerance. It's the small successes that keep you motivated to keep moving."
P.S.- DR. HOOSHANG HOOSHMAND OF VERO BEACH, FL.; IS A WORLD REKNOWN AUTHORITY ON RSD/CRPS AND FIBROMYALGIA, AND HE STATES TO EXCERCISE 10 MINUTES ON AND 10 MINUTES OFF FOR A WORK OUT WITH EXCRUCIATING PAIN.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
THOUGHT FOR TODAY...
If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.
Is Extra Weight Giving You a Headache?
The headache of finding clothes that fit after you’ve gained weight is certainly irritating, but it’s not the only mind-numbing problem you’ll experience. According researchers at the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, obese adults are nearly twice as likely as their normal-weight counterparts to suffer from chronic headaches. They also discovered that obese adults miss more work days each year due to these headaches.
But why does obesity put you at a higher risk? Headaches are triggered by constricted blood vessels caused by inflammation. And since being obese contributes to both inflammation and vascular diseases, researchers believe the link is justified. Fortunately, the study also found that it was not any more difficult to treat headaches in overweight and obese individuals than in healthy-weight adults.
What can help? Not too surprisingly, past studies have found that regular exercise reduces the frequency and severity of headaches. Working up a good sweat also aids weight loss, which is two-fold for headache-sufferers.
Feel a headache coming? Don’t be afraid to “walk it off.”
But why does obesity put you at a higher risk? Headaches are triggered by constricted blood vessels caused by inflammation. And since being obese contributes to both inflammation and vascular diseases, researchers believe the link is justified. Fortunately, the study also found that it was not any more difficult to treat headaches in overweight and obese individuals than in healthy-weight adults.
What can help? Not too surprisingly, past studies have found that regular exercise reduces the frequency and severity of headaches. Working up a good sweat also aids weight loss, which is two-fold for headache-sufferers.
Feel a headache coming? Don’t be afraid to “walk it off.”
Preventing Heart Attacks in Women
Many of us still believe the myth that heart attacks are mostly a male problem. But every year, 435,000 American women have heart attacks, and 267,000 die as a result. Cardiologist Jennifer Mieres, M.D., explains how women’s symptoms differ from men’s and how to protect yourself. Plus, are you on the road to a heart attack? Take our quiz to find out…
Not all doctors are up to date when it comes to heart attacks in women.
“I still hear complaints from women who had classic heart attack symptoms, and their doctors paid no attention,” says Jennifer Mieres, M.D., a cardiologist at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., and spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “Sometimes you need to get a second opinion or another doctor.”
Besides finding the right doctor, there’s a lot women can do to protect themselves from heart problems, she says. In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Mieres shares important facts about heart attacks in women.
What occurs during a heart attack?
A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart muscle is interrupted or stopped. [It typically occurs] when there’s a buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, causing a blood vessel rupture, which then forms a clot that can block off the artery.
If blood isn’t flowing to the heart as it should, the heart is starved of oxygen.
What are signs of a heart attack in women? How are they different from men’s?
Many women have the same symptoms men do – chest pain or pressure that can extend to the neck and down the left arm.
But women are more likely to experience pain in the jaw and upper-left back, shortness of breath, nausea or dizziness, and unusual fatigue. During a heart attack, women also are more likely to have feelings of doom and gloom, an unexpected panic attack or cold sweats.
If these symptoms don’t go away for 15 minutes, call 911. If they ease but persist for a half hour, you should still call 911.
What are the most effective ways to prevent heart attacks in women?
Find out if you have [heart attack] risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood sugar or high blood pressure by getting regular checkups.
You may need to make changes in your diet and exercise more. Or if that doesn’t work, talk to your doctor about medications that can help in conjunction with lifestyle changes.
Don’t smoke. If you do smoke, quit. Try to avoid secondhand smoke too, since it is just as likely to contribute to heart attacks.
Exercise briskly for a half hour most days – it can be broken down into 10 minutes, three times a day – and if you’re overweight, bring your weight down to a normal range.
Finally, get enough sleep.
Why would lack of sleep set the stage for heart attacks in women?
Getting less than six hours of sleep a night increases a woman’s heart attack risk. Lack of sleep raises blood pressure and stress hormones.
It also causes inflammation of the arteries, which plays a role in the buildup of plaque that can trigger heart attacks.
If an immediate family member has suffered a heart attack, does that increase a woman’s heart attack risk
Family history is important. If your mom had a heart attack by her 50s or your dad in his 40s, you’re more likely to develop heart disease. If a sibling had a heart attack at a young age, there’s an even stronger link.
Trouble isn’t inevitable, but you need to closely track your [heart attack risk] factors and do everything you can to prevent problems.
Can aspirin or supplements – for example, vitamins C or E or omega-3 – help ward off heart problems?
Aspirin helps prevent men’s heart attacks, but the evidence isn’t as clear for women.
If you have many [heart attack] risk factors, though, taking a baby aspirin every day is recommended for women of any age – with their doctor’s OK.
Women in their 60s are advised to take aspirin because it prevents stroke, which has many of the same risk factors as heart attacks.
Studies haven’t found that vitamins C and E help the heart.
On the other hand, omega-3 may be worth taking if you’re not getting it from fatty fish twice a week. Omega-3 can reduce inflammation in the arteries and blood-clotting that causes heart attacks.
Does red wine really help?
There’s some benefit in women drinking 4-6 ounces – that’s one glass – of red wine a day. And some evidence suggests other kinds of alcohol are protective too.
But if you’re not a drinker, don’t start, because there are better ways of protecting your heart, with no downside, such as a low-fat diet, 30 minutes of brisk exercise most days, and not smoking.
Does having diabetes affect a woman’s heart attack risk?
Women with diabetes are 3-7 times more likely to have heart attacks than women without diabetes.
We think that’s because diabetic women have a greater plaque buildup and it’s more widely deposited across the arteries. But that underscores the value of not being overweight, which raises your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Does it matter where a woman carries the extra pounds? For example, if it’s mostly in her thighs and hips rather than the tummy, is she as likely to have a heart attack?
If you carry the weight around your waistline, studies suggest there’s a stronger link to heart disease. But being overweight, wherever you carry the pounds, makes you more vulnerable to heart attacks.
If you’re overweight – even if you’re fit aerobically – you’re still more likely to have a heart attack than a fit woman of normal weight.
Is hormone replacement therapy safe for women’s hearts?
The bottom line is that it’s safe to use combined hormones – estrogen and progesterone – for a few years at menopause. But they don’t prevent heart attacks [in women].
What’s the relationship between stress and heart attacks in women?
Stress drives up blood pressure and stress hormones that hurt the heart. Women need to learn to relieve their stress.
Try to put things in perspective: Control what you can and let the rest go.
Take a stroll or meditate in the middle of a stressful day. Even a 10-minute break to listen to your favorite music can help.
A circle of supportive friends really helps too.
Besides checking cholesterol, sugar levels and blood pressure yearly, what other screening tests should women have?
Even if you have no [heart attack] risk factors, get a baseline EKG [electrocardiogram] in your 40s.
After age 45, if you have no symptoms of [heart problems] but have risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes, get a yearly EKG because it can detect “silent heart disease” that produces no symptoms.
If you don’t have any symptoms or risk factors, consult your doctor on how often to get an EKG – it’s a judgment call. There are no clear-cut scientific guidelines on how frequently women need them.
Should women get high-tech scans for coronary calcium that indicates heart disease? Even with the radiation concerns?
State-of-the-art scanners have radiation levels similar to standard X-rays, and you’re more likely to find these better machines at academic centers. Still, it’s radiation. You and your doctor have to balance the risks and benefits – don’t just do it without consulting your doctor.
If you have a strong family history of heart disease but no risk factors, it might be worthwhile to get a scan in your 40s to see if you’re developing heart disease.
A scan can also help if you have borderline high cholesterol but you’re not sure whether to go on medication.
If you’re taken to the ER with possible heart attack symptoms, what should happen upon arrival?
First, immediately tell the doctors that you think you’re having a heart attack, so you’re not left unattended. You’ll get an EKG.
Then, even if you’re not having a heart attack, you’re likely to get either a stress echocardiogram with ultrasound while you’re on a treadmill or a stress nuclear cardiology test. Both show blood flow to the heart at rest, and if there are blockages with exercise.
If you are having a heart attack, and especially if you’re at a hospital without equipment to do angiograms, you should get clot-dissolving medication within an hour of your arrival. The sooner, the better, because that limits damage to the heart.
In many cases, especially if there’s a big blockage and angiogram equipment is available, patients with abnormal stress tests are given an angiogram immediately.
For an angiogram, a small catheter is inserted in a leg or wrist artery, and threaded up to the heart. A dye is injected, enabling the doctor to see exactly where blockages are on an X-ray.
Then, the patient gets angioplasty – a tiny balloon is expanded at that clogged point to widen the artery. Lastly, a stent – a small wire-mesh tube – is wedged in to help keep the artery open.
Why do some women have bypass surgery instead? Is there a difference in recovery depending on how they’re treated?
There's no single best treatment for all women having heart attacks. Different factors come into play according to your condition. [For example,] diabetics do better with bypass, as do patients with lots of blockages.
Ask your doctor questions to find out your options. There should be a discussion.
At age 45 or older, about one out of four American women who have a first heart attack die within a year, compared to one out of five men. And within 5 years of a first heart attack, roughly a third of men and half of women are dead. Why do heart attacks seem to kill more women?
Men show up at the ER earlier, so they’re treated sooner with lifesaving strategies that prevent heart damage.
Also, women typically have more advanced heart disease by the time they come to the ER with a heart attack, so there’s already been more cardiac damage. Women are also about 10 years older than men by the time they have a first heart attack, so they often have other medical problems too.
And women are less likely than men to go for cardiac rehab after a heart attack. Rehab gets you into a monitored exercise program. You’ll receive good diet information and benefit from a support group.
Why are women less likely to get cardiac rehab?
Sometimes women don’t want to go to cardiac rehab – they’re worried about the household activities and caring for everyone else – and their own health is last on the agenda.
Medical teams should spend time to educate women about cardiac rehab and stress its importance. There is also still a need to remind and educate some doctors about the benefits of cardiac rehab in women.
And women need to be proactive, to ensure that they get the rehab they need for better recovery after heart attacks.
To learn more about heart attacks in women, visit GoRedForWomen.org.
Are You on the Road to a Heart Attack?
Every 20 seconds, a heart attack occurs somewhere in the United States. Coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in this country, contributes to the 1.5 million heart attacks that occur each year. Will you become a part of this statistic?
Not all doctors are up to date when it comes to heart attacks in women.
“I still hear complaints from women who had classic heart attack symptoms, and their doctors paid no attention,” says Jennifer Mieres, M.D., a cardiologist at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., and spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “Sometimes you need to get a second opinion or another doctor.”
Besides finding the right doctor, there’s a lot women can do to protect themselves from heart problems, she says. In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Mieres shares important facts about heart attacks in women.
What occurs during a heart attack?
A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart muscle is interrupted or stopped. [It typically occurs] when there’s a buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, causing a blood vessel rupture, which then forms a clot that can block off the artery.
If blood isn’t flowing to the heart as it should, the heart is starved of oxygen.
What are signs of a heart attack in women? How are they different from men’s?
Many women have the same symptoms men do – chest pain or pressure that can extend to the neck and down the left arm.
But women are more likely to experience pain in the jaw and upper-left back, shortness of breath, nausea or dizziness, and unusual fatigue. During a heart attack, women also are more likely to have feelings of doom and gloom, an unexpected panic attack or cold sweats.
If these symptoms don’t go away for 15 minutes, call 911. If they ease but persist for a half hour, you should still call 911.
What are the most effective ways to prevent heart attacks in women?
Find out if you have [heart attack] risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood sugar or high blood pressure by getting regular checkups.
You may need to make changes in your diet and exercise more. Or if that doesn’t work, talk to your doctor about medications that can help in conjunction with lifestyle changes.
Don’t smoke. If you do smoke, quit. Try to avoid secondhand smoke too, since it is just as likely to contribute to heart attacks.
Exercise briskly for a half hour most days – it can be broken down into 10 minutes, three times a day – and if you’re overweight, bring your weight down to a normal range.
Finally, get enough sleep.
Why would lack of sleep set the stage for heart attacks in women?
Getting less than six hours of sleep a night increases a woman’s heart attack risk. Lack of sleep raises blood pressure and stress hormones.
It also causes inflammation of the arteries, which plays a role in the buildup of plaque that can trigger heart attacks.
If an immediate family member has suffered a heart attack, does that increase a woman’s heart attack risk
Family history is important. If your mom had a heart attack by her 50s or your dad in his 40s, you’re more likely to develop heart disease. If a sibling had a heart attack at a young age, there’s an even stronger link.
Trouble isn’t inevitable, but you need to closely track your [heart attack risk] factors and do everything you can to prevent problems.
Can aspirin or supplements – for example, vitamins C or E or omega-3 – help ward off heart problems?
Aspirin helps prevent men’s heart attacks, but the evidence isn’t as clear for women.
If you have many [heart attack] risk factors, though, taking a baby aspirin every day is recommended for women of any age – with their doctor’s OK.
Women in their 60s are advised to take aspirin because it prevents stroke, which has many of the same risk factors as heart attacks.
Studies haven’t found that vitamins C and E help the heart.
On the other hand, omega-3 may be worth taking if you’re not getting it from fatty fish twice a week. Omega-3 can reduce inflammation in the arteries and blood-clotting that causes heart attacks.
Does red wine really help?
There’s some benefit in women drinking 4-6 ounces – that’s one glass – of red wine a day. And some evidence suggests other kinds of alcohol are protective too.
But if you’re not a drinker, don’t start, because there are better ways of protecting your heart, with no downside, such as a low-fat diet, 30 minutes of brisk exercise most days, and not smoking.
Does having diabetes affect a woman’s heart attack risk?
Women with diabetes are 3-7 times more likely to have heart attacks than women without diabetes.
We think that’s because diabetic women have a greater plaque buildup and it’s more widely deposited across the arteries. But that underscores the value of not being overweight, which raises your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Does it matter where a woman carries the extra pounds? For example, if it’s mostly in her thighs and hips rather than the tummy, is she as likely to have a heart attack?
If you carry the weight around your waistline, studies suggest there’s a stronger link to heart disease. But being overweight, wherever you carry the pounds, makes you more vulnerable to heart attacks.
If you’re overweight – even if you’re fit aerobically – you’re still more likely to have a heart attack than a fit woman of normal weight.
Is hormone replacement therapy safe for women’s hearts?
The bottom line is that it’s safe to use combined hormones – estrogen and progesterone – for a few years at menopause. But they don’t prevent heart attacks [in women].
What’s the relationship between stress and heart attacks in women?
Stress drives up blood pressure and stress hormones that hurt the heart. Women need to learn to relieve their stress.
Try to put things in perspective: Control what you can and let the rest go.
Take a stroll or meditate in the middle of a stressful day. Even a 10-minute break to listen to your favorite music can help.
A circle of supportive friends really helps too.
Besides checking cholesterol, sugar levels and blood pressure yearly, what other screening tests should women have?
Even if you have no [heart attack] risk factors, get a baseline EKG [electrocardiogram] in your 40s.
After age 45, if you have no symptoms of [heart problems] but have risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes, get a yearly EKG because it can detect “silent heart disease” that produces no symptoms.
If you don’t have any symptoms or risk factors, consult your doctor on how often to get an EKG – it’s a judgment call. There are no clear-cut scientific guidelines on how frequently women need them.
Should women get high-tech scans for coronary calcium that indicates heart disease? Even with the radiation concerns?
State-of-the-art scanners have radiation levels similar to standard X-rays, and you’re more likely to find these better machines at academic centers. Still, it’s radiation. You and your doctor have to balance the risks and benefits – don’t just do it without consulting your doctor.
If you have a strong family history of heart disease but no risk factors, it might be worthwhile to get a scan in your 40s to see if you’re developing heart disease.
A scan can also help if you have borderline high cholesterol but you’re not sure whether to go on medication.
If you’re taken to the ER with possible heart attack symptoms, what should happen upon arrival?
First, immediately tell the doctors that you think you’re having a heart attack, so you’re not left unattended. You’ll get an EKG.
Then, even if you’re not having a heart attack, you’re likely to get either a stress echocardiogram with ultrasound while you’re on a treadmill or a stress nuclear cardiology test. Both show blood flow to the heart at rest, and if there are blockages with exercise.
If you are having a heart attack, and especially if you’re at a hospital without equipment to do angiograms, you should get clot-dissolving medication within an hour of your arrival. The sooner, the better, because that limits damage to the heart.
In many cases, especially if there’s a big blockage and angiogram equipment is available, patients with abnormal stress tests are given an angiogram immediately.
For an angiogram, a small catheter is inserted in a leg or wrist artery, and threaded up to the heart. A dye is injected, enabling the doctor to see exactly where blockages are on an X-ray.
Then, the patient gets angioplasty – a tiny balloon is expanded at that clogged point to widen the artery. Lastly, a stent – a small wire-mesh tube – is wedged in to help keep the artery open.
Why do some women have bypass surgery instead? Is there a difference in recovery depending on how they’re treated?
There's no single best treatment for all women having heart attacks. Different factors come into play according to your condition. [For example,] diabetics do better with bypass, as do patients with lots of blockages.
Ask your doctor questions to find out your options. There should be a discussion.
At age 45 or older, about one out of four American women who have a first heart attack die within a year, compared to one out of five men. And within 5 years of a first heart attack, roughly a third of men and half of women are dead. Why do heart attacks seem to kill more women?
Men show up at the ER earlier, so they’re treated sooner with lifesaving strategies that prevent heart damage.
Also, women typically have more advanced heart disease by the time they come to the ER with a heart attack, so there’s already been more cardiac damage. Women are also about 10 years older than men by the time they have a first heart attack, so they often have other medical problems too.
And women are less likely than men to go for cardiac rehab after a heart attack. Rehab gets you into a monitored exercise program. You’ll receive good diet information and benefit from a support group.
Why are women less likely to get cardiac rehab?
Sometimes women don’t want to go to cardiac rehab – they’re worried about the household activities and caring for everyone else – and their own health is last on the agenda.
Medical teams should spend time to educate women about cardiac rehab and stress its importance. There is also still a need to remind and educate some doctors about the benefits of cardiac rehab in women.
And women need to be proactive, to ensure that they get the rehab they need for better recovery after heart attacks.
To learn more about heart attacks in women, visit GoRedForWomen.org.
Are You on the Road to a Heart Attack?
Every 20 seconds, a heart attack occurs somewhere in the United States. Coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in this country, contributes to the 1.5 million heart attacks that occur each year. Will you become a part of this statistic?
FUN FACTS
* It took three different actors to portray Darth Vader. Voice: James Earl Jones. Face: Sebastian Shaw. Body: David Prowse *
* You loose 100,000 brain cells every day. *
* In 2002, the most popular boat name in the U.S. was Liberty. *
* Red is the most common color in national flags. *
* In a speed demonstration, Bruce Lee could snatch a dime off a persons open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind. *
* You loose 100,000 brain cells every day. *
* In 2002, the most popular boat name in the U.S. was Liberty. *
* Red is the most common color in national flags. *
* In a speed demonstration, Bruce Lee could snatch a dime off a persons open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind. *
Natural Remedies for Arthritis: Are They Worth a Try?
Many urban legends and wives’ tales claim a variety of foods are natural remedies for arthritis. And some osteoarthritis patients swear they work. But do gin-soaked raisins or cayenne pepper really ease osteoarthritis pain? Here’s a look at some of the most popular natural treatments, their downsides and how they might really succeed...
For centuries, people have been trying natural remedies for arthritis in an effort to ease the pain and stiffness of the joint condition. And while doctors would never suggest you use them to replace a regimen of healthful diet, safe exercise and modern medications, grandma’s home concoctions might have some kick to them.
Despite the lack of scientific evidence, patients – as well as some doctors and nutrition experts who treat women with osteoarthritis – support the power of remedies like gin-soaked raisins or hot peppers to ease osteoarthritis pain.
“Although there’s no 'quick fix,' I find dietary changes combined with proper exercise therapy can be quite effective in treating and managing osteoarthritis,” says Moshe Lewis, M.D., a rheumatologist and pain management/rehabilitation specialist in Redwood City, Calif. “Even if there’s not a lot of research behind using foods to ease the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis.”
Lewis routinely suggests his patients use everyday foods thought to combat stiffness and reduce inflammation that leads to osteoarthritis pain. After all, there’s little harm.
“Foods usually don’t have the risk of side effects like constipation, dry mouth, nausea, etc., that prescription pain relievers do,” says Lewis.
Still, many doctors don’t believe natural remedies for arthritis work.
“There are no specific foods which cure osteoarthritis or prevent onset of the disease,” says Magdalena Cadet, M.D., director of rheumatology and osteoporosis services at New York Hospital Queens/N.Y. Presbyterian Healthcare System and assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.
“However, I recommend a meal plan, which focuses on whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits and fiber, to help maintain a healthy weight,” Cadet says. "Being overweight can increase symptoms like pain and stress on joints."
In fact, many of grandma’s natural remedies for arthritis are part of a healthy diet, says Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., author of Pain Free 1-2-3 – A Proven Program for Eliminating Chronic Pain Now! (McGraw-Hill).
Read on for 5 natural remedies for arthritis that doctors say may be worth a try. (Always check with your physician before trying any new treatments.)
Arthritis Remedy #1: Hot Peppers
How they work: All chili peppers, including cayenne, contain a substance called capsaicin, a natural analgesic that may help relieve arthritis pain, research shows.
A gel with 0.0125% capsaicin was an effective treatment in mild to moderate osteoarthritis pain in knees, according to a study published in a 2010 issue of the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand.
“The exact mechanism is unknown and being studied, but it’s believed that capsaicin relieves pain and itching by acting on sensory nerves,” says Lewis. “[It] depletes or interferes with substance P, a naturally produced chemical involved in transmitting pain impulses to the brain.”
Without neurotransmitters, pain signals can no longer be sent to joints.
“The amount of capsaicin determines how long relief lasts, and the effect is temporary,” Lewis advises. “The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains.”
Eating hot peppers also causes the release of endorphins, hormones released in the body that produce a feeling of well-being, which act as the body’s own pain medication.
How to use it: Don’t eat hot peppers, especially if you have digestive issues, Lewis advises. Using rubs and creams with capsaicin are safer, because the cream works by desensitizing the surface nerve receptors in the painful area, she says.
Creams with up to 0.075 % capsaicin are generally sold in health food stores, pharmacies and groceries.
Start with a low dose if you’ve never used it before. And beware: You may feel a burning sensation the first few times the cream is applied until you get used to the product, Lewis warns.
Arthritis Remedy #2: Gin-soaked raisins
How they work: Gin gets its flavor from juniper berries, which have the anti-inflammatory compound terpinen, says Jaime Schehr, N.D., R.D., a registered clinical dietitian who specializes in working with patients with arthritis.
“Raisins contain the compounds ferulic acid, gentisic acid and salicylic acid, which have all been found to be pain relievers,” she adds.
Even though there aren’t any credible studies proving that gin-soaked raisins are effective natural remedies for arthritis pain, many women take them, says Schehr.
How to use it: “You can use golden or regular raisins, but golden are preferred because they’re treated with sulphur dioxide to prevent darkening of the raisin,” says Schehr. “Sulphur dioxide has been associated with a reported decrease in arthritis pain.”
The most common recipe is to empty a small box of golden raisins into a bowl and cover them with gin (pour just enough gin to cover the raisins). Allow the gin to evaporate (about one week). (Don’t let raisins dry out completely.)
Eat only 8 to 9 gin-soaked raisins a day, Schehr says.
Avoid this remedy if you have a history of alcohol or substance abuse.
Arthritis Remedy #3: Cider vinegar
How it works: Cider vinegar can dissolve hard deposits from arthritic joints and stop the condition from getting worse, according to Lewis. But if joints are actually worn away, they can only be surgically replaced, he says.
"Apple cider vinegar may help restore alkaline-acid balance [in your body], and disperse acid crystals that build up in joints and cause osteoarthritis pain,” says Lewis.
Added health bonus: Cider vinegar can control blood pressure and is a natural diuretic, Lewis says. “It [also] can help with calcium deficiency, by assisting your body to deal more effectively with the calcium content of food,” he says.
“Like all natural remedies for arthritis, this isn’t for all patients with osteoarthritis pain, and it might not help with severe forms of the disease,” says Lewis. “And it could take a few weeks to see results.”
How to use it: Cider vinegar works both internally and applied topically, Lewis says.
To drink it, mix 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces water. Add 2 teaspoons of honey to enhance the taste (unless you have diabetes).
“Diabetics shouldn’t add honey, as this increases sugar,” warns Lewis.
Repeat up to three times a day.
For topical use, mix 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 1-1/2 cups warm water. Soak the painful joint in the solution for 10 minutes. If you can’t soak the joint – for example, your knee or shoulder – dip a cloth in the mixture and place it on the affected area.
Repeat as needed, up to four times daily, Lewis says. You might end up smelling like salad dressing, but that will dissipate after a few hours or a shower.
Arthritis Remedy #4: Cherries
How they work: Tart or Montmorency cherries have been shown to inhibit the development of inflammation and pain, says John J. Cush, M.D., rheumatologist and principal investigator of a 2007 study that found cherry pills to be effective in osteoarthritis treatment.
“Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, potent anti-oxidants that are important in health and controlling inflammation,” he says.
More than half of patients enrolled in his 2007 pilot study at the Baylor Research Institute in Dallas had a significant improvement in knee pain and function after taking cherry pills for eight weeks.
While researchers aren't sure how they work, “these cherries have a lot of the same properties of common anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen or naproxen,” says Cush, who led a second, similar study to be published in late 2011.
How to use them: The Baylor study found supplements with 100 mg of anthocyanins were the most effective for people with mild to moderate OA.
“The patients in these trials didn’t have severe osteoarthritis pain,” says Scott Zashin, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, who was part of the study’s team of researchers.
If you don’t want to take a supplement, eat a handful of cherries daily, Teitelbaum suggests.
“Cherry juice can also ease symptoms, but contain a lot of sugar, which can lead to weight gain, so I don’t recommend it,” he says.
Arthritis Remedy #5: Pectin
Pectin is a natural plant fiber used to thicken jams and jellies or for canning, says Teitelbaum.
Extracted mostly from citrus fruits, pectin may lower cholesterol levels and ease osteoarthritis symptoms too.
“Like many food remedies, we don’t know why it works, yet it continues to be one of the more easy-to-find and inexpensive natural remedies for arthritis that many patients find helpful to ease inflammation and pain,” says Teitelbaum.
But it doesn’t work for everyone. In fact, Teitelbaum says, if you don’t notice a change in symptoms within 2-3 weeks of using pectin, it probably won’t work for you.
It’s as safe as eating pie, he adds. “Except if you eat just the pectin, you won’t have all the calories and sugar commonly found in pie.”
How to use it: The best way to consume pectin, which is normally found on your grocer’s shelves as a powder, is to add it to foods or drinks.
For example, mix 1-3 tablespoons of pectin in 8 ounces of a low-sugar beverage.
“Drink this mixture 1-2 times a day, for up to two weeks,” says Teitelbaum. “If it’ll ease your symptoms, you’ll see results in as few as 7 or as many as 21 days.”
As the pain disappears, you can reduce the amount of pectin to 1 teaspoon and drink the mixture once or twice a day as needed, he advises.
For more expert advice and information, visit our Arthritis Health Center.
For centuries, people have been trying natural remedies for arthritis in an effort to ease the pain and stiffness of the joint condition. And while doctors would never suggest you use them to replace a regimen of healthful diet, safe exercise and modern medications, grandma’s home concoctions might have some kick to them.
Despite the lack of scientific evidence, patients – as well as some doctors and nutrition experts who treat women with osteoarthritis – support the power of remedies like gin-soaked raisins or hot peppers to ease osteoarthritis pain.
“Although there’s no 'quick fix,' I find dietary changes combined with proper exercise therapy can be quite effective in treating and managing osteoarthritis,” says Moshe Lewis, M.D., a rheumatologist and pain management/rehabilitation specialist in Redwood City, Calif. “Even if there’s not a lot of research behind using foods to ease the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis.”
Lewis routinely suggests his patients use everyday foods thought to combat stiffness and reduce inflammation that leads to osteoarthritis pain. After all, there’s little harm.
“Foods usually don’t have the risk of side effects like constipation, dry mouth, nausea, etc., that prescription pain relievers do,” says Lewis.
Still, many doctors don’t believe natural remedies for arthritis work.
“There are no specific foods which cure osteoarthritis or prevent onset of the disease,” says Magdalena Cadet, M.D., director of rheumatology and osteoporosis services at New York Hospital Queens/N.Y. Presbyterian Healthcare System and assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.
“However, I recommend a meal plan, which focuses on whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits and fiber, to help maintain a healthy weight,” Cadet says. "Being overweight can increase symptoms like pain and stress on joints."
In fact, many of grandma’s natural remedies for arthritis are part of a healthy diet, says Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., author of Pain Free 1-2-3 – A Proven Program for Eliminating Chronic Pain Now! (McGraw-Hill).
Read on for 5 natural remedies for arthritis that doctors say may be worth a try. (Always check with your physician before trying any new treatments.)
Arthritis Remedy #1: Hot Peppers
How they work: All chili peppers, including cayenne, contain a substance called capsaicin, a natural analgesic that may help relieve arthritis pain, research shows.
A gel with 0.0125% capsaicin was an effective treatment in mild to moderate osteoarthritis pain in knees, according to a study published in a 2010 issue of the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand.
“The exact mechanism is unknown and being studied, but it’s believed that capsaicin relieves pain and itching by acting on sensory nerves,” says Lewis. “[It] depletes or interferes with substance P, a naturally produced chemical involved in transmitting pain impulses to the brain.”
Without neurotransmitters, pain signals can no longer be sent to joints.
“The amount of capsaicin determines how long relief lasts, and the effect is temporary,” Lewis advises. “The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains.”
Eating hot peppers also causes the release of endorphins, hormones released in the body that produce a feeling of well-being, which act as the body’s own pain medication.
How to use it: Don’t eat hot peppers, especially if you have digestive issues, Lewis advises. Using rubs and creams with capsaicin are safer, because the cream works by desensitizing the surface nerve receptors in the painful area, she says.
Creams with up to 0.075 % capsaicin are generally sold in health food stores, pharmacies and groceries.
Start with a low dose if you’ve never used it before. And beware: You may feel a burning sensation the first few times the cream is applied until you get used to the product, Lewis warns.
Arthritis Remedy #2: Gin-soaked raisins
How they work: Gin gets its flavor from juniper berries, which have the anti-inflammatory compound terpinen, says Jaime Schehr, N.D., R.D., a registered clinical dietitian who specializes in working with patients with arthritis.
“Raisins contain the compounds ferulic acid, gentisic acid and salicylic acid, which have all been found to be pain relievers,” she adds.
Even though there aren’t any credible studies proving that gin-soaked raisins are effective natural remedies for arthritis pain, many women take them, says Schehr.
How to use it: “You can use golden or regular raisins, but golden are preferred because they’re treated with sulphur dioxide to prevent darkening of the raisin,” says Schehr. “Sulphur dioxide has been associated with a reported decrease in arthritis pain.”
The most common recipe is to empty a small box of golden raisins into a bowl and cover them with gin (pour just enough gin to cover the raisins). Allow the gin to evaporate (about one week). (Don’t let raisins dry out completely.)
Eat only 8 to 9 gin-soaked raisins a day, Schehr says.
Avoid this remedy if you have a history of alcohol or substance abuse.
Arthritis Remedy #3: Cider vinegar
How it works: Cider vinegar can dissolve hard deposits from arthritic joints and stop the condition from getting worse, according to Lewis. But if joints are actually worn away, they can only be surgically replaced, he says.
"Apple cider vinegar may help restore alkaline-acid balance [in your body], and disperse acid crystals that build up in joints and cause osteoarthritis pain,” says Lewis.
Added health bonus: Cider vinegar can control blood pressure and is a natural diuretic, Lewis says. “It [also] can help with calcium deficiency, by assisting your body to deal more effectively with the calcium content of food,” he says.
“Like all natural remedies for arthritis, this isn’t for all patients with osteoarthritis pain, and it might not help with severe forms of the disease,” says Lewis. “And it could take a few weeks to see results.”
How to use it: Cider vinegar works both internally and applied topically, Lewis says.
To drink it, mix 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces water. Add 2 teaspoons of honey to enhance the taste (unless you have diabetes).
“Diabetics shouldn’t add honey, as this increases sugar,” warns Lewis.
Repeat up to three times a day.
For topical use, mix 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 1-1/2 cups warm water. Soak the painful joint in the solution for 10 minutes. If you can’t soak the joint – for example, your knee or shoulder – dip a cloth in the mixture and place it on the affected area.
Repeat as needed, up to four times daily, Lewis says. You might end up smelling like salad dressing, but that will dissipate after a few hours or a shower.
Arthritis Remedy #4: Cherries
How they work: Tart or Montmorency cherries have been shown to inhibit the development of inflammation and pain, says John J. Cush, M.D., rheumatologist and principal investigator of a 2007 study that found cherry pills to be effective in osteoarthritis treatment.
“Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, potent anti-oxidants that are important in health and controlling inflammation,” he says.
More than half of patients enrolled in his 2007 pilot study at the Baylor Research Institute in Dallas had a significant improvement in knee pain and function after taking cherry pills for eight weeks.
While researchers aren't sure how they work, “these cherries have a lot of the same properties of common anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen or naproxen,” says Cush, who led a second, similar study to be published in late 2011.
How to use them: The Baylor study found supplements with 100 mg of anthocyanins were the most effective for people with mild to moderate OA.
“The patients in these trials didn’t have severe osteoarthritis pain,” says Scott Zashin, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, who was part of the study’s team of researchers.
If you don’t want to take a supplement, eat a handful of cherries daily, Teitelbaum suggests.
“Cherry juice can also ease symptoms, but contain a lot of sugar, which can lead to weight gain, so I don’t recommend it,” he says.
Arthritis Remedy #5: Pectin
Pectin is a natural plant fiber used to thicken jams and jellies or for canning, says Teitelbaum.
Extracted mostly from citrus fruits, pectin may lower cholesterol levels and ease osteoarthritis symptoms too.
“Like many food remedies, we don’t know why it works, yet it continues to be one of the more easy-to-find and inexpensive natural remedies for arthritis that many patients find helpful to ease inflammation and pain,” says Teitelbaum.
But it doesn’t work for everyone. In fact, Teitelbaum says, if you don’t notice a change in symptoms within 2-3 weeks of using pectin, it probably won’t work for you.
It’s as safe as eating pie, he adds. “Except if you eat just the pectin, you won’t have all the calories and sugar commonly found in pie.”
How to use it: The best way to consume pectin, which is normally found on your grocer’s shelves as a powder, is to add it to foods or drinks.
For example, mix 1-3 tablespoons of pectin in 8 ounces of a low-sugar beverage.
“Drink this mixture 1-2 times a day, for up to two weeks,” says Teitelbaum. “If it’ll ease your symptoms, you’ll see results in as few as 7 or as many as 21 days.”
As the pain disappears, you can reduce the amount of pectin to 1 teaspoon and drink the mixture once or twice a day as needed, he advises.
For more expert advice and information, visit our Arthritis Health Center.
New ban on popular cribs to take effect next week
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New safety rules take effect in the United States next week that will ban the manufacture and sale of traditional drop-side rail cribs.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered the ban on the popular cribs late last year amid growing evidence they had played a role in the suffocation or strangulation deaths of dozens of infants over the past decade.
But hotels, motels and day care centers in the country can continue to use drop-side rail cribs for another 18 months. After December 28, 2012, those businesses must switch to cribs that comply with the tougher new federal standards.
The new rules, the first change in U.S. crib standards in 30 years, also require manufacturers to make mattress supports and hardware used in cribs stronger and more durable and to subject their products to more rigorous safety testing.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered the ban on the popular cribs late last year amid growing evidence they had played a role in the suffocation or strangulation deaths of dozens of infants over the past decade.
But hotels, motels and day care centers in the country can continue to use drop-side rail cribs for another 18 months. After December 28, 2012, those businesses must switch to cribs that comply with the tougher new federal standards.
The new rules, the first change in U.S. crib standards in 30 years, also require manufacturers to make mattress supports and hardware used in cribs stronger and more durable and to subject their products to more rigorous safety testing.
TV and soda: small habits cause weight creep
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Just a few bad habits -- watching TV, eating potato chips, having a sugary soda at lunch or staying up too late at night -- can add up to a steady creep of pounds over the years, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
While most studies on diet focus on changes needed to help obese people lose weight, the study by the Harvard team showed tiny changes in diet and lifestyle can make a big impact.
The study focuses on specific lifestyle choices -- foods, activity, sleep habits -- that slowly pack on the pounds. The researchers stressed that the quality of food choices, and not just calories, are key to maintaining a healthy weight.
"These small choices add up," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, whose study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Because the weight gain is so gradual and occurs over many years, it has been difficult for scientists and for individuals themselves to understand the specific factors that may be responsible," Mozaffarian, who led the effort, said in a statement.
To get at this, the team analyzed data on 120,877 U.S. women and men from three large studies of health professionals that tracked changes in lifestyle factors and weight every four years over a 20-year period.
All study participants were normal-weight and healthy when they started. Over time, they gained an average of 3.35 pounds (1.59 kg) during each 4-year period for a total average weight gain of 16.8 pounds (7.6 kg) at the end of the 20-year study.
Foods that added most to weight gain over a four-year period included daily consumption of potato chips (1.69 lbs or 0.76 kg), potatoes (1.28 lbs or 0.58 kg), sugar-sweetened beverages (1 lb or 0.45 kg), unprocessed red meats (0.95 lbs or 0.43 kg) and processed meats (0.93 lbs or 0.42 kg).
More than a third of adults and nearly 17 percent of children in the United States are obese, increasing their chances of developing health problems including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease and some cancers.
Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of U.S. medical spending, or an estimated $147 billion a year.
FOOD THAT SHOULD BE CALLED BAD
Mozaffarian said understanding ways to keep people from becoming obese may be more effective than getting people to lose weight as U.S. policymakers attempt to turn the tide.
Those in the study who lost or maintained their weight over time tended to eat minimally processed foods.
"Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts -- if you increase their intake, you had relative weight loss, presumably because you are replacing other foods in the diet," Mozaffarian said.
The study contradicts the notion that all foods are good for you in moderation.
"The idea that there are no 'good' or 'bad' foods is a myth that needs to be debunked," said Frank Hu of Harvard, who worked on the research.
Mozaffarian said different foods have a different effect on the body. "You can't just say a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't address your feelings of fullness, your blood glucose levels, your blood insulin levels and the other biological responses in your body," he said.
In the study, dietary changes appeared to have the biggest impact on weight gain over time, but other lifestyle changes also were a factor.
For example, watching one hour of TV per day added 0.31 pounds (0.14 kg) over a four-year period.
Sleep also played a role. People in the study who got between six and eight hours of sleep were less likely to gain weight over the study period. But people who got less than six hours or more than eight hours tended to gain weight.
And when people increased their physical activity, they tended to gain less weight during the study period.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/myrd12 New England Journal of Medicine, June 23, 2011.
While most studies on diet focus on changes needed to help obese people lose weight, the study by the Harvard team showed tiny changes in diet and lifestyle can make a big impact.
The study focuses on specific lifestyle choices -- foods, activity, sleep habits -- that slowly pack on the pounds. The researchers stressed that the quality of food choices, and not just calories, are key to maintaining a healthy weight.
"These small choices add up," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, whose study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Because the weight gain is so gradual and occurs over many years, it has been difficult for scientists and for individuals themselves to understand the specific factors that may be responsible," Mozaffarian, who led the effort, said in a statement.
To get at this, the team analyzed data on 120,877 U.S. women and men from three large studies of health professionals that tracked changes in lifestyle factors and weight every four years over a 20-year period.
All study participants were normal-weight and healthy when they started. Over time, they gained an average of 3.35 pounds (1.59 kg) during each 4-year period for a total average weight gain of 16.8 pounds (7.6 kg) at the end of the 20-year study.
Foods that added most to weight gain over a four-year period included daily consumption of potato chips (1.69 lbs or 0.76 kg), potatoes (1.28 lbs or 0.58 kg), sugar-sweetened beverages (1 lb or 0.45 kg), unprocessed red meats (0.95 lbs or 0.43 kg) and processed meats (0.93 lbs or 0.42 kg).
More than a third of adults and nearly 17 percent of children in the United States are obese, increasing their chances of developing health problems including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease and some cancers.
Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of U.S. medical spending, or an estimated $147 billion a year.
FOOD THAT SHOULD BE CALLED BAD
Mozaffarian said understanding ways to keep people from becoming obese may be more effective than getting people to lose weight as U.S. policymakers attempt to turn the tide.
Those in the study who lost or maintained their weight over time tended to eat minimally processed foods.
"Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts -- if you increase their intake, you had relative weight loss, presumably because you are replacing other foods in the diet," Mozaffarian said.
The study contradicts the notion that all foods are good for you in moderation.
"The idea that there are no 'good' or 'bad' foods is a myth that needs to be debunked," said Frank Hu of Harvard, who worked on the research.
Mozaffarian said different foods have a different effect on the body. "You can't just say a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't address your feelings of fullness, your blood glucose levels, your blood insulin levels and the other biological responses in your body," he said.
In the study, dietary changes appeared to have the biggest impact on weight gain over time, but other lifestyle changes also were a factor.
For example, watching one hour of TV per day added 0.31 pounds (0.14 kg) over a four-year period.
Sleep also played a role. People in the study who got between six and eight hours of sleep were less likely to gain weight over the study period. But people who got less than six hours or more than eight hours tended to gain weight.
And when people increased their physical activity, they tended to gain less weight during the study period.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/myrd12 New England Journal of Medicine, June 23, 2011.
Monday, June 27, 2011
THOUGHT FOR TODAY...
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
Skin condition linked to heart problems
Beauty may be only skin deep -- but unfortunately, the risks of psoriasis aren't: The itching, flaking condition can increase the odds of everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease, stroke, and an early death.
Now, a series of new studies confirm those links and more.
And one new study even finds that people who suffer from psoriasis have a dramatically higher risk of metabolic syndrome, that perfect storm of risk factors that so often leads to diabetes and heart disease.
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Boost in metabolic risk
------------------------------
Researchers compared 4,065 psoriatic patients to 40,650 patients who did not have the disease, and found that those with the most severe forms of the condition had double the risk of metabolic syndrome.
But even patients who battled less severe versions of the disease had plenty of risk: The researcher said at a recent Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting that mild psoriasis -- covering less than 2 percent of the body -- increased the risk of metabolic syndrome by 22 percent.
And patients with moderate psoriasis, covering between 2 percent and 10 percent of the body, were 56 percent more likely to have the risk factors that mark metabolic syndrome.
The study also found that psoriasis patients are more likely to have high triglycerides and glucose as well as an increased risk for obesity.
But adults aren't the only ones who suffer when they're hit with psoriasis.
Kids also pay the price -- and it goes far beyond the social stigma of a highly visible skin problem.
---------------------------------------------
Kids face obesity, heart problems
---------------------------------------------
Children who suffer from psoriasis have a dramatically higher risk of obesity, higher levels of bad cholesterol, and higher levels of liver enzymes.
Not exactly what you want for your teen.
Researchers examined data on 710,949 children and found that obese children were 40 percent more likely to suffer from psoriasis than kids of normal weight -- and the extremely obese had an 80 percent increase in the risk of the skin condition.
Clearly, the two are somehow linked -- especially since other studies have also found a relationship between psoriasis and obesity.
But in the new study, the researchers found that kids with psoriasis had between 4 percent and 16 percent higher levels of LDL cholesterol and liver enzymes than kids without the condition -- no matter how much (or how little) they weighed.
Psoriasis can't be cured -- when it comes to treating this disease, researchers are only just scratching the surface.
But with such strong links to obesity and heart problems, it clearly needs to be controlled -- and the one bright spot when it comes to this condition is that you can keep it in check without drugs.
-------------------------
Relief from the sun
-------------------------
One of the most common natural treatments for psoriasis is vitamin D -- and another new study shows why the sunshine vitamin is so effective that even many mainstream docs recommend it.
Researchers compared genetic material found in the skin of psoriasis patients to that of healthy patients, and found that those with the condition have a gene that triggers the disease's inflammatory response.
Vitamin D, however, controls the production of a peptide called cathelicidin, which can actually inhibit that same inflammatory response.
In plain talk, that means D brings honest-to-goodness relief to a condition where any relief at all can be hard to come by.
Naturally, the researchers say the next step is to develop drugs that also control the production of cathelicidin... but why fabricate meds when D already does the job so well?
Just make sure you don't rely on D in pill form for your psoriasis -- it won't do you much good.
Instead, go straight to the source and get some sunlight along with a high-quality vitamin D-based skin cream.
p.s. When you see someone with psoriasis, don't be spooked. It might look contagious... but it's not.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Now, a series of new studies confirm those links and more.
And one new study even finds that people who suffer from psoriasis have a dramatically higher risk of metabolic syndrome, that perfect storm of risk factors that so often leads to diabetes and heart disease.
------------------------------
Boost in metabolic risk
------------------------------
Researchers compared 4,065 psoriatic patients to 40,650 patients who did not have the disease, and found that those with the most severe forms of the condition had double the risk of metabolic syndrome.
But even patients who battled less severe versions of the disease had plenty of risk: The researcher said at a recent Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting that mild psoriasis -- covering less than 2 percent of the body -- increased the risk of metabolic syndrome by 22 percent.
And patients with moderate psoriasis, covering between 2 percent and 10 percent of the body, were 56 percent more likely to have the risk factors that mark metabolic syndrome.
The study also found that psoriasis patients are more likely to have high triglycerides and glucose as well as an increased risk for obesity.
But adults aren't the only ones who suffer when they're hit with psoriasis.
Kids also pay the price -- and it goes far beyond the social stigma of a highly visible skin problem.
---------------------------------------------
Kids face obesity, heart problems
---------------------------------------------
Children who suffer from psoriasis have a dramatically higher risk of obesity, higher levels of bad cholesterol, and higher levels of liver enzymes.
Not exactly what you want for your teen.
Researchers examined data on 710,949 children and found that obese children were 40 percent more likely to suffer from psoriasis than kids of normal weight -- and the extremely obese had an 80 percent increase in the risk of the skin condition.
Clearly, the two are somehow linked -- especially since other studies have also found a relationship between psoriasis and obesity.
But in the new study, the researchers found that kids with psoriasis had between 4 percent and 16 percent higher levels of LDL cholesterol and liver enzymes than kids without the condition -- no matter how much (or how little) they weighed.
Psoriasis can't be cured -- when it comes to treating this disease, researchers are only just scratching the surface.
But with such strong links to obesity and heart problems, it clearly needs to be controlled -- and the one bright spot when it comes to this condition is that you can keep it in check without drugs.
-------------------------
Relief from the sun
-------------------------
One of the most common natural treatments for psoriasis is vitamin D -- and another new study shows why the sunshine vitamin is so effective that even many mainstream docs recommend it.
Researchers compared genetic material found in the skin of psoriasis patients to that of healthy patients, and found that those with the condition have a gene that triggers the disease's inflammatory response.
Vitamin D, however, controls the production of a peptide called cathelicidin, which can actually inhibit that same inflammatory response.
In plain talk, that means D brings honest-to-goodness relief to a condition where any relief at all can be hard to come by.
Naturally, the researchers say the next step is to develop drugs that also control the production of cathelicidin... but why fabricate meds when D already does the job so well?
Just make sure you don't rely on D in pill form for your psoriasis -- it won't do you much good.
Instead, go straight to the source and get some sunlight along with a high-quality vitamin D-based skin cream.
p.s. When you see someone with psoriasis, don't be spooked. It might look contagious... but it's not.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Ovarian Cancer: Are You at Risk?
Ovarian cancer kills almost 15,000 women every year — and yet, it remains a silent killer because early symptoms are often too subtle to notice. Lifescript Women’s Health Expert Janet Horn, M.D., answers the most common questions about how to prevent and detect the potentially fatal disease. Plus, what really causes cancer? Take our myth versus fact quiz…
1. I’ve heard ovarian cancer referred to as “the silent killer.” Why?
Ovarian cancer doesn’t usually cause symptoms in its early stages, so it’s most often found in later phases when it's less curable. If it does cause early symptoms, such as urinary troubles, abdominal pain or bloating, they're often associated with other common illnesses and ignored.
But there's good news: Many experts now believe that ovarian cancer is no longer a silent killer because more women are aware of the disease and seek help at early stages. Women are also being diligent about routine pelvic exams.
2. What are its symptoms?
The most common include abdominal swelling or bloating, a feeling of pressure or pain in the pelvic area, abdominal pain, problems with eating or feeling full too quickly, and urinary symptoms such as having to go frequently or urgently.
Other symptoms include constipation, pain during sex, bleeding between periods or a change in your cycle, back pain, upset stomach or fatigue.
However, these symptoms can be common and are often caused by less serious conditions than ovarian cancer, so it's easy to ignore them.
If you have these symptoms, ask yourself these important questions:
Is this a change for me or have I had this symptom off and on for years? For example, if you’ve had problems with constipation intermittently for years, it’s probably not due to ovarian cancer -- unless it has lasted longer than usual and/or doesn’t respond to usual remedies.
Does this symptom persist or come and go? If you get bloated every time you eat a certain food and it goes away, then the bloating probably isn’t related to ovarian cancer. Learn more about bloating versus ovarian cancer.
How long have I had it? If your constipation, abdominal pain or pelvic fullness has lasted longer than a week, see your doctor.
1. I’ve heard ovarian cancer referred to as “the silent killer.” Why?
Ovarian cancer doesn’t usually cause symptoms in its early stages, so it’s most often found in later phases when it's less curable. If it does cause early symptoms, such as urinary troubles, abdominal pain or bloating, they're often associated with other common illnesses and ignored.
But there's good news: Many experts now believe that ovarian cancer is no longer a silent killer because more women are aware of the disease and seek help at early stages. Women are also being diligent about routine pelvic exams.
2. What are its symptoms?
The most common include abdominal swelling or bloating, a feeling of pressure or pain in the pelvic area, abdominal pain, problems with eating or feeling full too quickly, and urinary symptoms such as having to go frequently or urgently.
Other symptoms include constipation, pain during sex, bleeding between periods or a change in your cycle, back pain, upset stomach or fatigue.
However, these symptoms can be common and are often caused by less serious conditions than ovarian cancer, so it's easy to ignore them.
If you have these symptoms, ask yourself these important questions:
Is this a change for me or have I had this symptom off and on for years? For example, if you’ve had problems with constipation intermittently for years, it’s probably not due to ovarian cancer -- unless it has lasted longer than usual and/or doesn’t respond to usual remedies.
Does this symptom persist or come and go? If you get bloated every time you eat a certain food and it goes away, then the bloating probably isn’t related to ovarian cancer. Learn more about bloating versus ovarian cancer.
How long have I had it? If your constipation, abdominal pain or pelvic fullness has lasted longer than a week, see your doctor.
Up Vitamin D3 for Your Brain
Recently, researchers have discovered that many people, even young people, are significantly deficient in vitamin D. Why? Because the recommended daily allowance is far too low, and people have been avoiding sun exposure based on recommendations from dermatology experts and government agencies.
Vitamin D3 (the functional form) is, in truth, a neurohormone rather than a vitamin, meaning it has special effects on brain function. Deficiencies can cause mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. A number of studies have shown that low vitamin D3 levels increase one’s risk of major depression, which is especially prevalent among the elderly.
Higher vitamin D3 intake also lowers risk of infections, which would reduce the incidence of brain inflammation. When the brain is inflamed, the cells that control inflammation (microglia) become activated and secrete massive amounts of two powerful excitotoxins — glutamate and quinolinic acid.
This results in a low-grade, smoldering inflammation that can last for decades. Evidence now shows that many behavioral disorders — such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicide risk, and even criminal behavior — can be traced to chronic brain inflammation.
(For more information on ways to treat anxiety, read my report "Anxiety, Panic Disorder & Migraines: Fight Back Using Nature’s Elixier’s.")
To determine how much vitamin D3 you need, get a vitamin D3 blood-level test. Many medical labs are listing 30 ng/ml to 50 ng/ml as the normal value — this is wrong. For optimum health, D3 blood level should be between 70 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml.
Should your vitamin D3 level fall below 40 ng/ml, you’ll require a dose of over 2,000 IU (international units) per day to bring it up to normal. More severe deficiencies require 5,000 IU to as much as 10,000 IU a day to return values to optimal levels.
To learn more about this amazing vitamin, read my special report "Vitamin D's Hidden Role in Your Health."
For more of Dr. Blaylock’s info: go to DrBlaylocks.com.
Vitamin D3 (the functional form) is, in truth, a neurohormone rather than a vitamin, meaning it has special effects on brain function. Deficiencies can cause mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. A number of studies have shown that low vitamin D3 levels increase one’s risk of major depression, which is especially prevalent among the elderly.
Higher vitamin D3 intake also lowers risk of infections, which would reduce the incidence of brain inflammation. When the brain is inflamed, the cells that control inflammation (microglia) become activated and secrete massive amounts of two powerful excitotoxins — glutamate and quinolinic acid.
This results in a low-grade, smoldering inflammation that can last for decades. Evidence now shows that many behavioral disorders — such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicide risk, and even criminal behavior — can be traced to chronic brain inflammation.
(For more information on ways to treat anxiety, read my report "Anxiety, Panic Disorder & Migraines: Fight Back Using Nature’s Elixier’s.")
To determine how much vitamin D3 you need, get a vitamin D3 blood-level test. Many medical labs are listing 30 ng/ml to 50 ng/ml as the normal value — this is wrong. For optimum health, D3 blood level should be between 70 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml.
Should your vitamin D3 level fall below 40 ng/ml, you’ll require a dose of over 2,000 IU (international units) per day to bring it up to normal. More severe deficiencies require 5,000 IU to as much as 10,000 IU a day to return values to optimal levels.
To learn more about this amazing vitamin, read my special report "Vitamin D's Hidden Role in Your Health."
For more of Dr. Blaylock’s info: go to DrBlaylocks.com.
FUN FACTS
* Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart. *
* Cows that are given names produce more milk. *
* It snowed in the Sahara Desert in 1979. *
* U.S. Dollar bills are made from cotton. *
* Bruce Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.*
* Cows that are given names produce more milk. *
* It snowed in the Sahara Desert in 1979. *
* U.S. Dollar bills are made from cotton. *
* Bruce Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.*
Chronic constipation tied to women's heart risks
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women bothered by constipation may have a higher risk of heart disease than those who are more "regular," a large study of U.S. women suggests.
Researchers say the findings do not mean that constipation, per se, explains the extra risk.
Instead, women with chronic constipation may tend to have more risk factors for heart disease -- like a low-fiber diet, too little exercise and higher rates of high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
In fact, when the researchers accounted for those and other factors, the link between constipation and heart disease largely disappeared.
"We cannot make definitive recommendations based on this study," lead researcher Dr. Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher told Reuters Health in an email.
"We only suggest that constipation may be a helpful tool to identify women who may have several risk factors for cardiovascular disease and consequently be at increased cardiovascular risk," said Salmoirago-Blotcher, a cardiologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
However, she said, all postmenopausal women should be evaluated for heart disease and stroke risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Medicine, are based on 73,000 postmenopausal U.S. women followed for six to 10 years.
At the outset, the women reported on their health and lifestyle habits, including whether they'd had constipation problems over the past month.
Overall, 35 percent had constipation. And over the following years, they were more likely than other women to develop clogged arteries, have a heart attack or stroke, or die of heart disease.
Among women with severe constipation -- meaning it disrupted their normal daily routine -- just under two percent suffered a cardiovascular "event" each year of the follow-up.
That compared with just under 1 percent of women who had regular bowel movements at the outset. Meanwhile, women with mild to moderate constipation problems fell somewhere in between.
But the link largely disappeared once the researchers accounted for a range of other factors -- including age, weight, diet, exercise and traditional heart risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
In the end, only severe constipation remained linked to heart trouble.
But it's hard to draw conclusions from that, according to Salmoirago-Blotcher.
For one, it's not possible to account for all the factors that might explain a link between constipation and cardiovascular disease. And only a small number of women in the study -- 1.6 percent of the total group -- reported severe constipation.
More studies are needed to confirm the findings, Salmoirago-Blotcher said, and to see whether they hold true for men and younger adults too.
For now, she suggested that women be aware that constipation may act as a marker for heart risks. And they might want to consider lifestyle changes to manage the problem, rather than relying on laxatives, Salmoirago-Blotcher said.
People vary in what is "regular" for them, but a standard definition of constipation is fewer than three bowel movements per week.
It's estimated that more than 4 million Americans have chronic constipation, with upwards of $700 million being shelled out on laxatives each year.
But experts say lifestyle changes -- including bulking up on fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and grains, exercising regularly, and staying hydrated -- could help most people with constipation.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/jnYip9 American Journal of Medicine, online June 10, 2011.
Researchers say the findings do not mean that constipation, per se, explains the extra risk.
Instead, women with chronic constipation may tend to have more risk factors for heart disease -- like a low-fiber diet, too little exercise and higher rates of high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
In fact, when the researchers accounted for those and other factors, the link between constipation and heart disease largely disappeared.
"We cannot make definitive recommendations based on this study," lead researcher Dr. Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher told Reuters Health in an email.
"We only suggest that constipation may be a helpful tool to identify women who may have several risk factors for cardiovascular disease and consequently be at increased cardiovascular risk," said Salmoirago-Blotcher, a cardiologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
However, she said, all postmenopausal women should be evaluated for heart disease and stroke risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Medicine, are based on 73,000 postmenopausal U.S. women followed for six to 10 years.
At the outset, the women reported on their health and lifestyle habits, including whether they'd had constipation problems over the past month.
Overall, 35 percent had constipation. And over the following years, they were more likely than other women to develop clogged arteries, have a heart attack or stroke, or die of heart disease.
Among women with severe constipation -- meaning it disrupted their normal daily routine -- just under two percent suffered a cardiovascular "event" each year of the follow-up.
That compared with just under 1 percent of women who had regular bowel movements at the outset. Meanwhile, women with mild to moderate constipation problems fell somewhere in between.
But the link largely disappeared once the researchers accounted for a range of other factors -- including age, weight, diet, exercise and traditional heart risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
In the end, only severe constipation remained linked to heart trouble.
But it's hard to draw conclusions from that, according to Salmoirago-Blotcher.
For one, it's not possible to account for all the factors that might explain a link between constipation and cardiovascular disease. And only a small number of women in the study -- 1.6 percent of the total group -- reported severe constipation.
More studies are needed to confirm the findings, Salmoirago-Blotcher said, and to see whether they hold true for men and younger adults too.
For now, she suggested that women be aware that constipation may act as a marker for heart risks. And they might want to consider lifestyle changes to manage the problem, rather than relying on laxatives, Salmoirago-Blotcher said.
People vary in what is "regular" for them, but a standard definition of constipation is fewer than three bowel movements per week.
It's estimated that more than 4 million Americans have chronic constipation, with upwards of $700 million being shelled out on laxatives each year.
But experts say lifestyle changes -- including bulking up on fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and grains, exercising regularly, and staying hydrated -- could help most people with constipation.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/jnYip9 American Journal of Medicine, online June 10, 2011.
Smoking in pregnancy tied to child's cholesterol
LONDON (Reuters) - Mothers who smoke while pregnant might be causing changes to their unborn babies that can lead them to have less of a type of cholesterol known to protect against heart disease, scientists said on Tuesday.
In a study in the European Heart Journal, Australian researchers found that by the age of eight, children born to mothers who smoked in pregnancy had lower levels of HDL cholesterol, at around 1.3 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), than those born to mothers who hadn't smoked, with about 1.5 mmol/L.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is often referred to as "good" cholesterol and is known to play an important role in protecting against atherosclerosis, where fatty materials collect along the walls of arteries, thickening and eventually blocking them, leading to heart problems and heart attacks.
"Our results suggest that maternal smoking 'imprints' an unhealthy set of characteristics on children while they are developing in the womb, which may well predispose them to later heart attack and stroke," said David Celermajer, a professor of cardiology at the University of Sydney.
"This imprinting seems to last for at least eight years and probably a lot longer," he said, adding that the heart disease risk for smokers' children could be 10 to 15 percent higher.
Smoking during and after pregnancy is already known to be linked to a wide range of childhood health problems, including behavioral and neurocognitive problems and sudden infant death.
Yet the prevalence of smoking while pregnant is still high, at around 15 percent in many Western countries, the researchers said. And until now scientists were not clear how prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke might affect future heart risks.
Celermajer's team analyzed data from 405 healthy eight year olds, born between 1997 and 1999, who had been enrolled before birth into a randomized controlled trial that was investigating asthma and allergic diseases.
The researchers collected data before and after the children were born, including information on mothers' smoking habits before and after pregnancy, exposure to passive smoke, and data on height, weight, waist measurement and blood pressure.
They used ultrasound scans to measure the arterial wall thickness and, in 328 children who agreed, they took blood to measure lipoprotein levels.
Although there was no effect on the thickness of the children's arterial walls, Celermajer's team found there was an association with levels of HDL cholesterol.
He suggested that lower HDL levels at this age might have a serious health impact in later life, since the children will probably continue to have low levels as they grow up.
"Cholesterol levels tend to track from childhood to adulthood, and studies have shown that for every 0.025mmol/L increase in HDL levels, there is an approximately 2.0 to 3.0 percent reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease," he said in a statement about his research.
"If we extrapolate this, we can suggest that the difference between children of smoking mothers versus non-smoking mothers might result in a 10 to 15 percent higher risk."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/mCHm3F European Heart Journal, June 21, 2011.
In a study in the European Heart Journal, Australian researchers found that by the age of eight, children born to mothers who smoked in pregnancy had lower levels of HDL cholesterol, at around 1.3 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), than those born to mothers who hadn't smoked, with about 1.5 mmol/L.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is often referred to as "good" cholesterol and is known to play an important role in protecting against atherosclerosis, where fatty materials collect along the walls of arteries, thickening and eventually blocking them, leading to heart problems and heart attacks.
"Our results suggest that maternal smoking 'imprints' an unhealthy set of characteristics on children while they are developing in the womb, which may well predispose them to later heart attack and stroke," said David Celermajer, a professor of cardiology at the University of Sydney.
"This imprinting seems to last for at least eight years and probably a lot longer," he said, adding that the heart disease risk for smokers' children could be 10 to 15 percent higher.
Smoking during and after pregnancy is already known to be linked to a wide range of childhood health problems, including behavioral and neurocognitive problems and sudden infant death.
Yet the prevalence of smoking while pregnant is still high, at around 15 percent in many Western countries, the researchers said. And until now scientists were not clear how prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke might affect future heart risks.
Celermajer's team analyzed data from 405 healthy eight year olds, born between 1997 and 1999, who had been enrolled before birth into a randomized controlled trial that was investigating asthma and allergic diseases.
The researchers collected data before and after the children were born, including information on mothers' smoking habits before and after pregnancy, exposure to passive smoke, and data on height, weight, waist measurement and blood pressure.
They used ultrasound scans to measure the arterial wall thickness and, in 328 children who agreed, they took blood to measure lipoprotein levels.
Although there was no effect on the thickness of the children's arterial walls, Celermajer's team found there was an association with levels of HDL cholesterol.
He suggested that lower HDL levels at this age might have a serious health impact in later life, since the children will probably continue to have low levels as they grow up.
"Cholesterol levels tend to track from childhood to adulthood, and studies have shown that for every 0.025mmol/L increase in HDL levels, there is an approximately 2.0 to 3.0 percent reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease," he said in a statement about his research.
"If we extrapolate this, we can suggest that the difference between children of smoking mothers versus non-smoking mothers might result in a 10 to 15 percent higher risk."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/mCHm3F European Heart Journal, June 21, 2011.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
FUN FACTS
* Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza a day *
* Camels have 3 eyelids. *
* The fear of vegetables is called Lachanophobia. *
* Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. *
* Until the 1800s, Turkish women suspected of cheating were tied in a sack with cats and thrown into the ocean. *
* Camels have 3 eyelids. *
* The fear of vegetables is called Lachanophobia. *
* Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. *
* Until the 1800s, Turkish women suspected of cheating were tied in a sack with cats and thrown into the ocean. *
Diminishing the Physical Signs of Menopause
Hot flashes and sleepless nights aren’t the only signs of menopause. Low estrogen levels in middle age send the body through even more visible changes, causing drier skin, new sprouts of hair, even a receding gum line. So along with a cooler thermostat, menopause can require a whole new beauty regimen. Here’s what to expect, and tips from Lifescript Beauty Expert Rona Berg on how to take charge of “the change”…
One day you look in the mirror and a much older woman stares back. Her face is lined, eyes are ringed with dark circles, skin slack and dull.
Meet yourself in menopause.
“Everyone’s surprised by what they go through,” says Debra Luftman, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at University of California – Los Angeles and co-author of The Beauty Prescription (McGraw-Hill). “You get more lines, wrinkles, sagging skin. It’s an intense experience when all of a sudden you see someone else in [your reflection].”
The culprit: low estrogen levels. As the hormone wanes, skin becomes drier and less supple. Hair gets thinner on your head, and pops up on your chin and upper lip. Your neck loses tone.
Fortunately, you can take steps to remedy the situation. Here’s what to do about each of the appearance issues you may face.
Signs of Menopause: Lines and Wrinkles
The No. 1 skin concern reported by menopausal patients is dryness, according to a survey of 625 dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting in 2010. Wrinkles are No. 2.
In menopausal women, the skin secretes less oil, making it super-dry and less supple. It also becomes thinner and more fragile. Loss of elasticity – and the breakdown of firmness-promoting proteins collagen and elastin – leads to lines and wrinkles.
“Menopausal skin generally needs a heavier moisturizer,” says Hilary Baldwin, M.D., associate professor and vice chair of the department of dermatology at SUNY (State University of New York) Downstate in Brooklyn. “Moisturizer fills in the valleys between skin cells and does away with surface dryness. Whatever you used before, jack it up a bit. Switch from a lotion to a cream, or from a cream to a balm.”
Look for moisturizers with additives such as plant oils, peptides, retinols (forms of vitamin A that increase skin turnover), hyaluronic acid (which binds moisture into the skin), antioxidant vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10, green tea or pomegranate extract. They can help reduce inflammation that makes your skin look older.
“Topical retinols and antioxidants are evidence-based, effective treatments for signs of aging,” says Sandra Read, M.D., a Washington, D.C.-based dermatologist and instructor at Georgetown University.
You can also eat a skin-healthy diet. For example, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin A, and berries are packed with antioxidants that help protect skin from cell-damaging free radicals.
Drinking the proverbial eight glasses of water daily also keeps skin cells plump and hydrated.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Acure Organics Radical Age Reversal Cream, $28.99; Evan Healy Pomegranate Repair Serum, $36.95.
Signs of Menopause: Dull and Flaky Skin
As we age, skin cells don’t turn over as fast as they used to, and new cells don’t grow as quickly, either. The result? Dull, rough, flaky-looking skin, which occurs as dead cells pile up.
The problem is easily solved by regular exfoliation.
To sweep away dead cells, so moisturizer can better penetrate skin, use a facial scrub. Look for masks, creams or serums with exfoliating pumpkin, cranberry, cherry or papaya enzymes; seaweed or algae; glycolic acid; retinols; or L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Baldwin also recommends treatments containing alpha-hydroxy acid to even out the top layer of the skin.
If the problem is severe, speak with your dermatologist about microdermabrasion, in which a machine uses tiny grains or crystals to buff away the surface skin.
Luminizing or highlighting makeup applied to the cheekbones and browbones will warm up the look of dull skin, as will a tinted moisturizer.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Alba Hawaiian Papaya Enzyme Facial Mask, $11.95; RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38; Ren Micro Polish Cleanser, $30.
Signs of Menopause: Puffy Eyes and Under-Eye Circles
Hot flashes can lead to sleepless nights, resulting in dark circles beneath eyes. Sagging under-eye skin can also become more pronounced with age as collagen is lost.
Look for eye creams with vitamin K, which prevents bruising, or retinol. Anti-inflammatories such as arnica, green tea extract and cornflower extract can reduce puffiness. But remember, a little goes a long way.
Cover up circles with a cream concealer one to two shades lighter than your skin. Pat gently with your fourth finger to exert the least pressure and prevent further pulling on the skin.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Origins No Puffery Mask, $21; Lily. B Multi-Action Rescue Ultra Eye Cream, $42.50.
Signs of Menopause: Slack Skin
Skin loses firmness in menopausal women, especially around the jawline, when the fat layer thins and collagen and elastin lose their snap.
“Omega-3 fatty acids [found in fish such as salmon] can help with collagen production,” Luftman says.
Other essential fatty acids (EFAs) are found in walnuts, canola and flaxseed oils. You can also take EFA supplements to support healthy skin membranes and help cells retain moisture.
You may want to try noninvasive treatments, such as a microcurrent facial, which sends an electrical impulse deep into muscles and skin to stimulate cellular reproduction and tightening. Galvanic facial treatments also rely on a kind of current to plump and tighten. A series of treatments is needed.
If sagging is severe, Read suggests laser rejuvenation therapy, which can be done by your dermatologist or at a specialized spa. The laser safely “heats collagen, stimulating it to regrow itself.”
For special events, try a firming cream as a temporary skin-tightener. Look for products with soy proteins, soy isoflavones, peptides or hyaluronic acid.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Arcona Peptide Firming Complex, $72; Immunocologie Treatment Cream VenoMax Light $195.
Signs of Menopause: Thinning Lips
It may seem as though lips are the only things that get thinner as we age. To make yours look plump, try a light, neutral lip shade in a cream formulation, with a dab of gloss in the center of the lower lip.
You may notice that your lipstick won’t stay where it belongs – especially if lines are beginning to appear above the lips. If that’s the case, use a pointed brush to stroke a bit of translucent powder or concealer just outside the edges of the lips before applying color.
Look for lip plumpers with cinnamon or niacin, a form of vitamin B that pumps up circulation. For severe thinning, Read suggests asking your dermatologist about injectable fillers like Restylane or Perlane.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Vapour Beauty Illusionist Concealer, $20.
Signs of Menopause: Hair Loss (on the head)
About half of menopausal women notice hair thinning, a condition called alopecia. Hair may also become drier and prone to breakage.
It helps to cut back on frequent heat styling – blow drying, flat ironing or hot curlers – or use them with heat-protection products. Use a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo, as sulfates can overstrip hair’s natural moisturizing oils.
Handle your hair with care. Styles like tight braids or pulled-back ponytails may also lead to breakage. So can frequent perms or harsh color.
If you’re experiencing hair loss, try this scalp self-massage to stimulate blood flow to the hair follicle: Sit on the edge of your bed, bend forward at the waist with your head hanging upside down, and massage the scalp in gentle circles. Repeat every night.
Effective over-the-counter treatments include Women’s Rogaine – which contains a circulation-promoting chemical called minoxidil, shown to increase hair regrowth and slow loss. If the problem is severe, consult your dermatologist for prescription medication.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Peter Lamas Chinese Herbs Stimulating Shampoo, $13; Peter Lamas Chinese Herbs Regenerating Scalp Serum, $46.
Signs of Menopause: Unwanted Facial Hair
Though the hair on your head may be thinning, you may see whiskers sprout on your lip and chin.
More than 40 million women in the U.S. have unwanted facial hair. Plucking is a good option for a few stray hairs, while waxing, depilatories (hair-dissolving chemicals) and bleaching creams work better for larger patches.
If your facial hairs are dark, Luftman suggests laser treatments for more permanent removal.
“It’s not very expensive compared to ongoing waxing,” she says. “And after six treatments you have a permanent 80% reduction.”
Laser hair removal isn’t effective on blond, gray or white hair. And if your skin is dark, some laser treatments may change its pigment, the Mayo Clinic warns.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Parissa All Natural Wax Strips Face/Bikini, $8.
Signs of Menopause: Sagging Neck
The neck can be menopause’s first casualty.
To prevent further damage, apply sunscreen and a rich moisturizer or serum in upward strokes daily. You don’t need a separate “neck-firming” product – your facial moisturizer will work just fine.
“If you have significant sagging and severe aging, surgery and lasers are the only treatments that work,” Read says.
While there’s no specialized surgical procedure for the neck, it can be tightened as part of a facelift.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Suki Spa Bio-C 10% Formula Face Serum, $80.
Signs of Menopause: Dark Skin Spots
Wonder where those dark spots on your face and backs of your hands came from?
“Melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment, produce too much in some places and too little in others,” Baldwin says. “The cells are either revved up or revved down due to fluctuating hormones.”
This hyperpigmentation shows up as dark spots or splotches on the face, neck and chest, most commonly on those with fair skin. To protect against this, wear sunscreen with active ingredients including zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or avobenzone.
Baldwin suggests a prescription retinoid (such as Retin-A), which is “far superior to over-the-counter versions,” she says.
“Alpha-lipoic acid and quercetin [antioxidant supplements] can help skin regenerate and may remove pigment deposits from the inside out,” says natural-health expert Mao Shing Ni, Ph.D., founder of the Tao of Wellness clinic in Santa Monica, Calif.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Jason Ester-C Skin, $20; Bhaktiveda Mud Mask, with traditional Indian botanicals to reduce discoloration, $17.
Signs of Menopause: Flushing and Blushing
“With less collagen and elastin, blood vessels in the skin lose the support structure around them,” Baldwin says. “They dilate, which is why many older women have a ruddy complexion.”
“If you have a history of rosacea [a condition in which the skin looks irritated and inflamed, with visible red blood vessels that can look like tiny pimples], your skin can get even redder,” Luftman says.
She recommends prescription topical rosacea treatments, glycolic acid, or “photofacials” (treatments with intense pulsed light, similar to a laser.)
“Avoid scrubs or toners that can exacerbate rosacea,” she says.
To tone down the red, apply translucent powder in a banana shade over your foundation. Look for products with anti-inflammatory ingredients like green tea extract, licorice extract (glycyrrhizinate), cucumber or chamomile.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief (for redness and sensitivity), $66; Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Powder in Bisque, $32.
Signs of Menopause: Receding Gum Line and Tooth Discoloration
Before and after menopause, teeth may discolor, gums get thinner and teeth shift, which hollows the shape of your face, making you look older.
Cosmetic dentistry – from tooth whitening to realignment – is less invasive than cosmetic surgery, and can serve as a viable alternative.
“Teeth are the foundation of the face,” says Irwin Smigel, DDS, president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. “They wear down as we grow older. And as our teeth get smaller, or if teeth are extracted, our face starts to shrink and sag around them,” he says.
You can “build out” the teeth with bonding (adding a composite material to close gaps or cover discoloration) or by applying crowns or veneers, he says. “They add fullness to the lips and cheekbones and alter the shape and look of the face.”
Beauty Expert Recommends: Supersmile Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste, $21.
Rona Berg is author of Fast Beauty: 1000 Quick Fixes (Workman Publishing).
Women's Health: How Much Do You Know?
There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by.
One day you look in the mirror and a much older woman stares back. Her face is lined, eyes are ringed with dark circles, skin slack and dull.
Meet yourself in menopause.
“Everyone’s surprised by what they go through,” says Debra Luftman, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at University of California – Los Angeles and co-author of The Beauty Prescription (McGraw-Hill). “You get more lines, wrinkles, sagging skin. It’s an intense experience when all of a sudden you see someone else in [your reflection].”
The culprit: low estrogen levels. As the hormone wanes, skin becomes drier and less supple. Hair gets thinner on your head, and pops up on your chin and upper lip. Your neck loses tone.
Fortunately, you can take steps to remedy the situation. Here’s what to do about each of the appearance issues you may face.
Signs of Menopause: Lines and Wrinkles
The No. 1 skin concern reported by menopausal patients is dryness, according to a survey of 625 dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting in 2010. Wrinkles are No. 2.
In menopausal women, the skin secretes less oil, making it super-dry and less supple. It also becomes thinner and more fragile. Loss of elasticity – and the breakdown of firmness-promoting proteins collagen and elastin – leads to lines and wrinkles.
“Menopausal skin generally needs a heavier moisturizer,” says Hilary Baldwin, M.D., associate professor and vice chair of the department of dermatology at SUNY (State University of New York) Downstate in Brooklyn. “Moisturizer fills in the valleys between skin cells and does away with surface dryness. Whatever you used before, jack it up a bit. Switch from a lotion to a cream, or from a cream to a balm.”
Look for moisturizers with additives such as plant oils, peptides, retinols (forms of vitamin A that increase skin turnover), hyaluronic acid (which binds moisture into the skin), antioxidant vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10, green tea or pomegranate extract. They can help reduce inflammation that makes your skin look older.
“Topical retinols and antioxidants are evidence-based, effective treatments for signs of aging,” says Sandra Read, M.D., a Washington, D.C.-based dermatologist and instructor at Georgetown University.
You can also eat a skin-healthy diet. For example, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin A, and berries are packed with antioxidants that help protect skin from cell-damaging free radicals.
Drinking the proverbial eight glasses of water daily also keeps skin cells plump and hydrated.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Acure Organics Radical Age Reversal Cream, $28.99; Evan Healy Pomegranate Repair Serum, $36.95.
Signs of Menopause: Dull and Flaky Skin
As we age, skin cells don’t turn over as fast as they used to, and new cells don’t grow as quickly, either. The result? Dull, rough, flaky-looking skin, which occurs as dead cells pile up.
The problem is easily solved by regular exfoliation.
To sweep away dead cells, so moisturizer can better penetrate skin, use a facial scrub. Look for masks, creams or serums with exfoliating pumpkin, cranberry, cherry or papaya enzymes; seaweed or algae; glycolic acid; retinols; or L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Baldwin also recommends treatments containing alpha-hydroxy acid to even out the top layer of the skin.
If the problem is severe, speak with your dermatologist about microdermabrasion, in which a machine uses tiny grains or crystals to buff away the surface skin.
Luminizing or highlighting makeup applied to the cheekbones and browbones will warm up the look of dull skin, as will a tinted moisturizer.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Alba Hawaiian Papaya Enzyme Facial Mask, $11.95; RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38; Ren Micro Polish Cleanser, $30.
Signs of Menopause: Puffy Eyes and Under-Eye Circles
Hot flashes can lead to sleepless nights, resulting in dark circles beneath eyes. Sagging under-eye skin can also become more pronounced with age as collagen is lost.
Look for eye creams with vitamin K, which prevents bruising, or retinol. Anti-inflammatories such as arnica, green tea extract and cornflower extract can reduce puffiness. But remember, a little goes a long way.
Cover up circles with a cream concealer one to two shades lighter than your skin. Pat gently with your fourth finger to exert the least pressure and prevent further pulling on the skin.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Origins No Puffery Mask, $21; Lily. B Multi-Action Rescue Ultra Eye Cream, $42.50.
Signs of Menopause: Slack Skin
Skin loses firmness in menopausal women, especially around the jawline, when the fat layer thins and collagen and elastin lose their snap.
“Omega-3 fatty acids [found in fish such as salmon] can help with collagen production,” Luftman says.
Other essential fatty acids (EFAs) are found in walnuts, canola and flaxseed oils. You can also take EFA supplements to support healthy skin membranes and help cells retain moisture.
You may want to try noninvasive treatments, such as a microcurrent facial, which sends an electrical impulse deep into muscles and skin to stimulate cellular reproduction and tightening. Galvanic facial treatments also rely on a kind of current to plump and tighten. A series of treatments is needed.
If sagging is severe, Read suggests laser rejuvenation therapy, which can be done by your dermatologist or at a specialized spa. The laser safely “heats collagen, stimulating it to regrow itself.”
For special events, try a firming cream as a temporary skin-tightener. Look for products with soy proteins, soy isoflavones, peptides or hyaluronic acid.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Arcona Peptide Firming Complex, $72; Immunocologie Treatment Cream VenoMax Light $195.
Signs of Menopause: Thinning Lips
It may seem as though lips are the only things that get thinner as we age. To make yours look plump, try a light, neutral lip shade in a cream formulation, with a dab of gloss in the center of the lower lip.
You may notice that your lipstick won’t stay where it belongs – especially if lines are beginning to appear above the lips. If that’s the case, use a pointed brush to stroke a bit of translucent powder or concealer just outside the edges of the lips before applying color.
Look for lip plumpers with cinnamon or niacin, a form of vitamin B that pumps up circulation. For severe thinning, Read suggests asking your dermatologist about injectable fillers like Restylane or Perlane.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Vapour Beauty Illusionist Concealer, $20.
Signs of Menopause: Hair Loss (on the head)
About half of menopausal women notice hair thinning, a condition called alopecia. Hair may also become drier and prone to breakage.
It helps to cut back on frequent heat styling – blow drying, flat ironing or hot curlers – or use them with heat-protection products. Use a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo, as sulfates can overstrip hair’s natural moisturizing oils.
Handle your hair with care. Styles like tight braids or pulled-back ponytails may also lead to breakage. So can frequent perms or harsh color.
If you’re experiencing hair loss, try this scalp self-massage to stimulate blood flow to the hair follicle: Sit on the edge of your bed, bend forward at the waist with your head hanging upside down, and massage the scalp in gentle circles. Repeat every night.
Effective over-the-counter treatments include Women’s Rogaine – which contains a circulation-promoting chemical called minoxidil, shown to increase hair regrowth and slow loss. If the problem is severe, consult your dermatologist for prescription medication.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Peter Lamas Chinese Herbs Stimulating Shampoo, $13; Peter Lamas Chinese Herbs Regenerating Scalp Serum, $46.
Signs of Menopause: Unwanted Facial Hair
Though the hair on your head may be thinning, you may see whiskers sprout on your lip and chin.
More than 40 million women in the U.S. have unwanted facial hair. Plucking is a good option for a few stray hairs, while waxing, depilatories (hair-dissolving chemicals) and bleaching creams work better for larger patches.
If your facial hairs are dark, Luftman suggests laser treatments for more permanent removal.
“It’s not very expensive compared to ongoing waxing,” she says. “And after six treatments you have a permanent 80% reduction.”
Laser hair removal isn’t effective on blond, gray or white hair. And if your skin is dark, some laser treatments may change its pigment, the Mayo Clinic warns.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Parissa All Natural Wax Strips Face/Bikini, $8.
Signs of Menopause: Sagging Neck
The neck can be menopause’s first casualty.
To prevent further damage, apply sunscreen and a rich moisturizer or serum in upward strokes daily. You don’t need a separate “neck-firming” product – your facial moisturizer will work just fine.
“If you have significant sagging and severe aging, surgery and lasers are the only treatments that work,” Read says.
While there’s no specialized surgical procedure for the neck, it can be tightened as part of a facelift.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Suki Spa Bio-C 10% Formula Face Serum, $80.
Signs of Menopause: Dark Skin Spots
Wonder where those dark spots on your face and backs of your hands came from?
“Melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment, produce too much in some places and too little in others,” Baldwin says. “The cells are either revved up or revved down due to fluctuating hormones.”
This hyperpigmentation shows up as dark spots or splotches on the face, neck and chest, most commonly on those with fair skin. To protect against this, wear sunscreen with active ingredients including zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or avobenzone.
Baldwin suggests a prescription retinoid (such as Retin-A), which is “far superior to over-the-counter versions,” she says.
“Alpha-lipoic acid and quercetin [antioxidant supplements] can help skin regenerate and may remove pigment deposits from the inside out,” says natural-health expert Mao Shing Ni, Ph.D., founder of the Tao of Wellness clinic in Santa Monica, Calif.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Jason Ester-C Skin, $20; Bhaktiveda Mud Mask, with traditional Indian botanicals to reduce discoloration, $17.
Signs of Menopause: Flushing and Blushing
“With less collagen and elastin, blood vessels in the skin lose the support structure around them,” Baldwin says. “They dilate, which is why many older women have a ruddy complexion.”
“If you have a history of rosacea [a condition in which the skin looks irritated and inflamed, with visible red blood vessels that can look like tiny pimples], your skin can get even redder,” Luftman says.
She recommends prescription topical rosacea treatments, glycolic acid, or “photofacials” (treatments with intense pulsed light, similar to a laser.)
“Avoid scrubs or toners that can exacerbate rosacea,” she says.
To tone down the red, apply translucent powder in a banana shade over your foundation. Look for products with anti-inflammatory ingredients like green tea extract, licorice extract (glycyrrhizinate), cucumber or chamomile.
Beauty Expert Recommends: Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief (for redness and sensitivity), $66; Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Powder in Bisque, $32.
Signs of Menopause: Receding Gum Line and Tooth Discoloration
Before and after menopause, teeth may discolor, gums get thinner and teeth shift, which hollows the shape of your face, making you look older.
Cosmetic dentistry – from tooth whitening to realignment – is less invasive than cosmetic surgery, and can serve as a viable alternative.
“Teeth are the foundation of the face,” says Irwin Smigel, DDS, president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. “They wear down as we grow older. And as our teeth get smaller, or if teeth are extracted, our face starts to shrink and sag around them,” he says.
You can “build out” the teeth with bonding (adding a composite material to close gaps or cover discoloration) or by applying crowns or veneers, he says. “They add fullness to the lips and cheekbones and alter the shape and look of the face.”
Beauty Expert Recommends: Supersmile Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste, $21.
Rona Berg is author of Fast Beauty: 1000 Quick Fixes (Workman Publishing).
Women's Health: How Much Do You Know?
There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by.
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