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IN THIS ISSUE:

Super Foods for Women

Posted May 9, 2013

Times of India

By Mukherjee, Meghna

Feel younger, stay slim and thwart diseases by including these superfoods in your diet. We brought in experts to tell you what you need to eat, to stay fit and healthy. So, sit back and read on as we give you some important tips that work wonders..

Low fat yogurt

High in calcium and protein, low fat yogurt is ideal for women. Nutritionist Pallavi Srivastava says, “Yogurt, being an excellent source of calcium, helps fight osteoporosis. The consumption of yogurt is also said to decrease the risk of breast cancer, reduce irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory digestive tract disorders — all of which are common in women.” It reduces the risk of stomach ulcers and vaginal infections.

Quantity: 1 bowl every day

Fatty fish

Fatty fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon, sardines, tuna and mackerel help reduce the risk of blood clot formation that might occur due to the use of contraceptive pills. Bariatric surgeon Dr Abhay Agrawal says, “Fatty fish protects against diseases related to the heart, stroke, hypertension, depression, joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis and reproductive problems, and in some cases even from Alzheimer’s disease.”

Omega-3 helps in optimal brain and vision development of the baby in the case of pregnant or lactating mothers. It is known to boost the level of serotonin, which is a feel-good brain chemical that aids in fighting postpartum depression.

Quantity – 2 to 3 servings every week

Beans

Low in fat and cholesterol; and a good source of protein and fiber, beans fight against heart disease and breast cancer. They are ideal for women who are either affected or have chances of getting colon cancer. An excellent source of vegetable protein, they aid women going through menopause.

Quantity: 3 to 4 servings every week

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolates are said to be rich in protective anti-oxidants that help reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. It consists of magnesium, manganese, phosphorous and copper zinc, which are important nutrients for maintaining strong bones. Certain studies also suggest that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, sharpens thinking and hydrates the skin. It’s the perfect stressbuster when a woman is PMSing, and it tastes sensual without being high in calories.

Quantity: One quarter a day

Papaya

An excellent source of potassium and vitamin C, papaya can offset the potentially harmful effects of sodium on blood pressure. A research by the US Department of Health and Human Services suggests that women are at a higher risk of gallstones than men. So, load up on papaya because it helps combat gallbladder diseases. But pregnant women should refrain from papaya (unripe) since it acts as a contraceptive, which can lead to a miscarriage.

Quantity: 2 slices per day

Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain a powerful anti-oxidant — lycopene, which helps reduce the chances of being affected with breast cancer. Nutritionist Mansi Belani says, “Tomatoes are also known to protect from the harmful UV rays of the sun. It helps a woman stay younger and slimmer.”

Quantity: 1 tomato every day

Spinach

Spinach is known to be one of the best sources of folate which prevents birth defects, heart disease, colon cancer and dementia. Spinach also helps our skin from getting damaged due to heat, and delays wrinkling, fine lines and roughness of the skin with comes with age.

Quantity: About 2 to 3 servings a week

Berries

Dr Agrawal suggests, “Like wine, berries protect your body with powerful anti-carcinogenic nutrients — anthocyans, which are believed to play a role in cell repair.” High in vitamin C and folic acid, it is essential for women in their child bearing years. Its powerful anti-oxidant not only protects the heart but also the skin against ageing. Cranberries are known to have a positive impact on your vision, and to help reduce the chances of urinary tract infections which are common in women of all age groups.

Quantity: 3 to 4 servings every week

Whole grains

The consumption of whole grain helps combat blood pressure and a slow metabolism. Srivastava says, “Swapping refined grains like white bread and rice with whole wheat bread, rice, brown rice and oats will add more fibre to your diet and give you a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.” Studies suggest that whole grains help the body retain potassium, which helps in maintaining blood pressure.

Quantity: Once a day

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

Times of India

By Mukherjee, Meghna

Feel younger, stay slim and thwart diseases by including these superfoods in your diet. We brought in experts to tell you what you need to eat, to stay fit and healthy. So, sit back and read on as we give you some important tips that work wonders..

Low fat yogurt

High in calcium and protein, low fat yogurt is ideal for women. Nutritionist Pallavi Srivastava says, "Yogurt, being an excellent source of calcium, helps fight osteoporosis. The consumption of yogurt is also said to decrease the risk of breast cancer, reduce irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory digestive tract disorders -- all of which are common in women." It reduces the risk of stomach ulcers and vaginal infections.

Quantity: 1 bowl every day

Fatty fish

Fatty fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon, sardines, tuna and mackerel help reduce the risk of blood clot formation that might occur due to the use of contraceptive pills. Bariatric surgeon Dr Abhay Agrawal says, "Fatty fish protects against diseases related to the heart, stroke, hypertension, depression, joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis and reproductive problems, and in some cases even from Alzheimer's disease."

Omega-3 helps in optimal brain and vision development of the baby in the case of pregnant or lactating mothers. It is known to boost the level of serotonin, which is a feel-good brain chemical that aids in fighting postpartum depression.

Quantity - 2 to 3 servings every week

Beans

Low in fat and cholesterol; and a good source of protein and fiber, beans fight against heart disease and breast cancer. They are ideal for women who are either affected or have chances of getting colon cancer. An excellent source of vegetable protein, they aid women going through menopause.

Quantity: 3 to 4 servings every week

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolates are said to be rich in protective anti-oxidants that help reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. It consists of magnesium, manganese, phosphorous and copper zinc, which are important nutrients for maintaining strong bones. Certain studies also suggest that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, sharpens thinking and hydrates the skin. It's the perfect stressbuster when a woman is PMSing, and it tastes sensual without being high in calories.

Quantity: One quarter a day

Papaya

An excellent source of potassium and vitamin C, papaya can offset the potentially harmful effects of sodium on blood pressure. A research by the US Department of Health and Human Services suggests that women are at a higher risk of gallstones than men. So, load up on papaya because it helps combat gallbladder diseases. But pregnant women should refrain from papaya (unripe) since it acts as a contraceptive, which can lead to a miscarriage.

Quantity: 2 slices per day

Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain a powerful anti-oxidant -- lycopene, which helps reduce the chances of being affected with breast cancer. Nutritionist Mansi Belani says, "Tomatoes are also known to protect from the harmful UV rays of the sun. It helps a woman stay younger and slimmer."

Quantity: 1 tomato every day

Spinach

Spinach is known to be one of the best sources of folate which prevents birth defects, heart disease, colon cancer and dementia. Spinach also helps our skin from getting damaged due to heat, and delays wrinkling, fine lines and roughness of the skin with comes with age.

Quantity: About 2 to 3 servings a week

Berries

Dr Agrawal suggests, "Like wine, berries protect your body with powerful anti-carcinogenic nutrients -- anthocyans, which are believed to play a role in cell repair." High in vitamin C and folic acid, it is essential for women in their child bearing years. Its powerful anti-oxidant not only protects the heart but also the skin against ageing. Cranberries are known to have a positive impact on your vision, and to help reduce the chances of urinary tract infections which are common in women of all age groups.

Quantity: 3 to 4 servings every week

Whole grains

The consumption of whole grain helps combat blood pressure and a slow metabolism. Srivastava says, "Swapping refined grains like white bread and rice with whole wheat bread, rice, brown rice and oats will add more fibre to your diet and give you a feeling of fullness with fewer calories." Studies suggest that whole grains help the body retain potassium, which helps in maintaining blood pressure.

Quantity: Once a day

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

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Why You Should Include Fish Oil In Your Diet

Posted May 8, 2013

By Rasquinha, Reagan Gavin

Times of India

Fish oil is good for hair, skin and can also combat diseases

For a healthy heart

To protect the heart, one should eat food containing fish oil. It has omega 3 that reduces the risk of heart diseases. It reduces the levels of LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol, and increases the HDL levels or the good cholesterol. Thus fish oil can help to avoid heart strokes.

Go slim, have fish oil

A research in Australia has proved that fish consumption can be used to cure hypertension and obesity. The study has discovered that a weight-loss diet which includes a regular amount of fish consumption can be quite effective.

Fish oil to fight asthma

People who are suffering from respiratory problems like asthma should eat food containing fish oil says a research. Researchers had put a number of children on a high-fish diet while others continued with their regular diet. Results revealed that the participants who ate more fish were less prone to asthma attacks and were able to breathe more easily.

Cures cancer

Omega 3 fish oil can help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer — breast, colon and prostate. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and causing apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.

For shiny hair

Fish oil enhances the lustre of your hair. Omega three has properties that helps faster hair growth and prevents hair loss. Since most fish are rich in protein, eating fish helps in keeping hair healthy.

It cares for your skin

Fish oil helps in improving the condition of dry skin by making it shiny and glowing. It is useful in treating various skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, itching, redness of skin, skin lesions and rashes.

For a happy pregnancy

Fish oil is good for pregnant women as the DHA present in it helps in the development of the baby’s eyes and brain. It helps to avoid premature births, low weight at birth, and miscarriage.

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

Times of India

By Rasquinha, Reagan Gavin

Times of India

Fish oil is good for hair, skin and can also combat diseases

For a healthy heart

To protect the heart, one should eat food containing fish oil. It has omega 3 that reduces the risk of heart diseases. It reduces the levels of LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol, and increases the HDL levels or the good cholesterol. Thus fish oil can help to avoid heart strokes.

Go slim, have fish oil

A research in Australia has proved that fish consumption can be used to cure hypertension and obesity. The study has discovered that a weight-loss diet which includes a regular amount of fish consumption can be quite effective.

Fish oil to fight asthma

People who are suffering from respiratory problems like asthma should eat food containing fish oil says a research. Researchers had put a number of children on a high-fish diet while others continued with their regular diet. Results revealed that the participants who ate more fish were less prone to asthma attacks and were able to breathe more easily.

Cures cancer

Omega 3 fish oil can help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer -- breast, colon and prostate. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and causing apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.

For shiny hair

Fish oil enhances the lustre of your hair. Omega three has properties that helps faster hair growth and prevents hair loss. Since most fish are rich in protein, eating fish helps in keeping hair healthy.

It cares for your skin

Fish oil helps in improving the condition of dry skin by making it shiny and glowing. It is useful in treating various skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, itching, redness of skin, skin lesions and rashes.

For a happy pregnancy

Fish oil is good for pregnant women as the DHA present in it helps in the development of the baby's eyes and brain. It helps to avoid premature births, low weight at birth, and miscarriage.

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

Times of India

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Headache Prevention Tips

Posted May 4, 2013

Regularly popping pills for a headache can make it worse, says a new study. What else can you do?

Have sex

Sex can lead to partial or complete relief from head pain in some migraines, say neurologists. The study found that more than half of sufferers who had intercourse during a migraine episode experienced an improvement in symptoms. It is thought sex triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, which can reduce or even eliminate a headache.

Don’t buy expensive painkillers

Avoid painkillers that say ‘plus’ and ‘extra’. People choose them because they assume they will work faster, but they simply contain added ingredients like caffeine or codeine that might not be suitable for you. See your GP if you’re taking paracetamol, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 15 days or more a month.

Sit up straight

Slumping in your chair is the worst thing you can do if your head is pounding. When we slump forward in a C-shape, we kink the head upwards, which can stretch the neck and pinch nerves, causing headaches. So, sit with your feet flat on the floor and keep hips and knees straight, looking ahead.

Avoid ham sandwiches

Ham contains tyramine (a natural substance in preserved foods) and nitrates, which both increase blood flow to the brain, triggering pain. Tyramine is also found in foods that have been preserved, pickled, smoked, marinated or fermented. Cheese and chocolate; and certain fruits like pineapple and bananas, are also high in tyramine or food additives.

Snack on nuts and seeds

These are a great source of the mineral magnesium, which is thought to act as a muscle relaxant. Depleted levels are linked with reduced blood flow to the brain and low blood sugar, which can trigger headaches. Researchers found that up to 50% of migraine sufferers have low levels of magnesium. Other good sources of magnesium include fresh green leafy vegetables, tomato puree, wholegrains, beans, peas, potatoes, oats and yeast extract.

Forget air freshners

Perfumes, aftershaves, strong-smelling soaps, air fresheners and household cleaners contain chemicals that activate nerve cells in our noses, which send signals to the brain. In some people, these nerve signals are strong enough to cause headaches. Open windows and use chemical-free fresheners instead. Use a plant spray half-filled with water and two drops of essential oil and spritz around instead.

Follow the 20/20 rule

Staring at a computer screen for too long can leave you suffering with headaches, sore or tired eyes and even blurred vision. So, look up from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something 20ft away for 20 seconds.

Be choosy about your takeout

MSG is a commonly used flavour enhancer extracted from an amino acid that occurs naturally in wheat gluten, seaweed and other produce. It’s used in many foods, from flavoured crisps to sausages and sauces — but it’s particularly associated with Chinese and other Asian dishes. For people who have sensitivity to MSG, it can also trigger headaches by dilating blood vessels in the brain. If you think you’re sensitive to MSG, ask whether dishes contain MSG before ordering a meal.

Wear your hair down

Fifty out of 93 women experienced a headache from wearing a ponytail. Plaits, chignons, tight-fitting hats and Alice bands can all cause headaches if the hair is pulled back tight, straining the connective tissue in the scalp. If you have to tie your hair up for work or exercise, try to avoid the socalled Croydon face-lift effect.

Glug plenty of water

Simply drinking a big glass of water and waiting 10 minutes or rubbing the temples and neck for five minutes to relieve any tension is often sufficient to banish a headache.

Don’t have a lie-in

Sleeping in for just half an hour can trigger a headache, particularly in coffee addicts. Because caffeine directly affects the blood vessels in the brain, withdrawal or reduction during weekends — exacerbated by low blood sugar due to a later breakfast — can cause pain. If you’re a regular coffee drinker, try to ensure you have your caffeine fix at the same time eve r y day.

Times of India

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

Regularly popping pills for a headache can make it worse, says a new study. What else can you do?

Have sex

Sex can lead to partial or complete relief from head pain in some migraines, say neurologists. The study found that more than half of sufferers who had intercourse during a migraine episode experienced an improvement in symptoms. It is thought sex triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, which can reduce or even eliminate a headache.

Don't buy expensive painkillers

Avoid painkillers that say 'plus' and 'extra'. People choose them because they assume they will work faster, but they simply contain added ingredients like caffeine or codeine that might not be suitable for you. See your GP if you're taking paracetamol, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 15 days or more a month.

Sit up straight

Slumping in your chair is the worst thing you can do if your head is pounding. When we slump forward in a C-shape, we kink the head upwards, which can stretch the neck and pinch nerves, causing headaches. So, sit with your feet flat on the floor and keep hips and knees straight, looking ahead.

Avoid ham sandwiches

Ham contains tyramine (a natural substance in preserved foods) and nitrates, which both increase blood flow to the brain, triggering pain. Tyramine is also found in foods that have been preserved, pickled, smoked, marinated or fermented. Cheese and chocolate; and certain fruits like pineapple and bananas, are also high in tyramine or food additives.

Snack on nuts and seeds

These are a great source of the mineral magnesium, which is thought to act as a muscle relaxant. Depleted levels are linked with reduced blood flow to the brain and low blood sugar, which can trigger headaches. Researchers found that up to 50% of migraine sufferers have low levels of magnesium. Other good sources of magnesium include fresh green leafy vegetables, tomato puree, wholegrains, beans, peas, potatoes, oats and yeast extract.

Forget air freshners

Perfumes, aftershaves, strong-smelling soaps, air fresheners and household cleaners contain chemicals that activate nerve cells in our noses, which send signals to the brain. In some people, these nerve signals are strong enough to cause headaches. Open windows and use chemical-free fresheners instead. Use a plant spray half-filled with water and two drops of essential oil and spritz around instead.

Follow the 20/20 rule

Staring at a computer screen for too long can leave you suffering with headaches, sore or tired eyes and even blurred vision. So, look up from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something 20ft away for 20 seconds.

Be choosy about your takeout

MSG is a commonly used flavour enhancer extracted from an amino acid that occurs naturally in wheat gluten, seaweed and other produce. It's used in many foods, from flavoured crisps to sausages and sauces -- but it's particularly associated with Chinese and other Asian dishes. For people who have sensitivity to MSG, it can also trigger headaches by dilating blood vessels in the brain. If you think you're sensitive to MSG, ask whether dishes contain MSG before ordering a meal.

Wear your hair down

Fifty out of 93 women experienced a headache from wearing a ponytail. Plaits, chignons, tight-fitting hats and Alice bands can all cause headaches if the hair is pulled back tight, straining the connective tissue in the scalp. If you have to tie your hair up for work or exercise, try to avoid the socalled Croydon face-lift effect.

Glug plenty of water

Simply drinking a big glass of water and waiting 10 minutes or rubbing the temples and neck for five minutes to relieve any tension is often sufficient to banish a headache.

Don't have a lie-in

Sleeping in for just half an hour can trigger a headache, particularly in coffee addicts. Because caffeine directly affects the blood vessels in the brain, withdrawal or reduction during weekends -- exacerbated by low blood sugar due to a later breakfast -- can cause pain. If you're a regular coffee drinker, try to ensure you have your caffeine fix at the same time eve r y day.

Times of India

© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

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Healthy Lifestyle Lowers Breast Cancer Risk

Posted March 13, 2013

SAN ANTONIO – Women concerned about breast cancer should worry less about cellphones and hair dyes and worry more about weighing or drinking too much, exercising too little, using menopause hormones and getting too much radiation from medical tests. So says a new report on environmental risks by a respected panel of science advisers.

By environment they mean everything not governed by genes – what’s in the air and water but also diets, vitamin use and even things like working night shifts.

And while they lament that most chemicals in consumer goods get little safety testing, they find too few studies in people to say whether there is a breast cancer risk from certain pesticides, cosmetics or bisphenol A, known as BPA and used in many plastics and canned food liners, although it has been eliminated from baby bottles and many reusable beverage containers in recent years.

“We don’t have enough data to say `toss your water bottles,’” said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, chief of environmental and occupational health at the University of California, Davis.

She headed the Institute of Medicine panel – independent experts under the National Academy of Sciences who advise the government and others. This report was paid for by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer foundation. It was presented Wednesday at a cancer conference in Texas.

We’ve done a better job of treating breast cancer than preventing it, said Dr. Michael Thun, senior epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society, who helped review the report. Breast cancer death rates in the U.S. fell 31 percent from 1990 to 2007, but incidence rates declined only about 5 percent.

Weight and obesity matter because fat cells make estrogen, and that hormone fuels the growth of most breast cancers, he said.

Other factors are more complex. Moderate alcohol consumption may lower the risk of heart disease but seems to raise the risk of breast cancer a little.

The report sorts the evidence for higher breast cancer risk factors like this:

-Yes: Hormone therapy combining estrogen and progestin, excess weight after menopause, alcohol consumption and radiation from too many medical tests, especially during childhood. The panel doesn’t say how much radiation is too much, but says two or three abdominal CT scans give as much as atomic bomb survivors received. Mammograms use minuscule amounts and should not be avoided. Oral contraceptives slightly raise breast cancer risk while taken, although cancer rates are very low in the age groups that use them.

-No: Hair dyes and the kind of radiation from cellphones, microwaves and electronic gadgets.

-Probable: Smoking.

-Possible: Secondhand smoke, nighttime shift work and exposure to benzene and a couple other chemicals through jobs or from breathing car fumes or pumping gas. It is “biologically plausible” that BPA and certain other plastics ingredients might affect estrogen, which fuels most breast cancers, but evidence is mostly in animals and lab tests – not enough to judge whether they harm people, the panel concluded.

“There’s a tremendous desire to blame someone or something” for breast cancer, said Dr. Eric Winer, a cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and chief scientific adviser to the Komen foundation.

“There’s a real danger in prematurely concluding that a substance is the culprit and then closing your eyes and not paying attention to what might be a much more concerning factor,” or substituting something for BPA that might be worse, he said.

Thun of the cancer society agreed.

“One should first do everything possible to address the known risk factors,” he said. “If I’m making the choices, I wouldn’t put this (BPA) at the top of my list.”

However, Laura Anderko, a Georgetown University Medical Center public health scientist, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the report’s heavy emphasis on personal responsibility for cancer prevention.

“It is in stark contrast to the President’s Cancer Panel report last year that has a strong call to action on chemical policy reform,” she wrote in an email.

About 230,000 cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year in the U.S. Less than 10 percent of cases are due to inherited genes.

Online:

Report: http://tinyurl.com/7fotq65

Cancer meeting: http://www.sabcs.org

SAN ANTONIO - Women concerned about breast cancer should worry less about cellphones and hair dyes and worry more about weighing or drinking too much, exercising too little, using menopause hormones and getting too much radiation from medical tests. So says a new report on environmental risks by a respected panel of science advisers.

By environment they mean everything not governed by genes - what's in the air and water but also diets, vitamin use and even things like working night shifts.

And while they lament that most chemicals in consumer goods get little safety testing, they find too few studies in people to say whether there is a breast cancer risk from certain pesticides, cosmetics or bisphenol A, known as BPA and used in many plastics and canned food liners, although it has been eliminated from baby bottles and many reusable beverage containers in recent years.

"We don't have enough data to say `toss your water bottles,'" said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, chief of environmental and occupational health at the University of California, Davis.

She headed the Institute of Medicine panel - independent experts under the National Academy of Sciences who advise the government and others. This report was paid for by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer foundation. It was presented Wednesday at a cancer conference in Texas.

We've done a better job of treating breast cancer than preventing it, said Dr. Michael Thun, senior epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society, who helped review the report. Breast cancer death rates in the U.S. fell 31 percent from 1990 to 2007, but incidence rates declined only about 5 percent.

Weight and obesity matter because fat cells make estrogen, and that hormone fuels the growth of most breast cancers, he said.

Other factors are more complex. Moderate alcohol consumption may lower the risk of heart disease but seems to raise the risk of breast cancer a little.

The report sorts the evidence for higher breast cancer risk factors like this:

-Yes: Hormone therapy combining estrogen and progestin, excess weight after menopause, alcohol consumption and radiation from too many medical tests, especially during childhood. The panel doesn't say how much radiation is too much, but says two or three abdominal CT scans give as much as atomic bomb survivors received. Mammograms use minuscule amounts and should not be avoided. Oral contraceptives slightly raise breast cancer risk while taken, although cancer rates are very low in the age groups that use them.

-No: Hair dyes and the kind of radiation from cellphones, microwaves and electronic gadgets.

-Probable: Smoking.

-Possible: Secondhand smoke, nighttime shift work and exposure to benzene and a couple other chemicals through jobs or from breathing car fumes or pumping gas. It is "biologically plausible" that BPA and certain other plastics ingredients might affect estrogen, which fuels most breast cancers, but evidence is mostly in animals and lab tests - not enough to judge whether they harm people, the panel concluded.

"There's a tremendous desire to blame someone or something" for breast cancer, said Dr. Eric Winer, a cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and chief scientific adviser to the Komen foundation.

"There's a real danger in prematurely concluding that a substance is the culprit and then closing your eyes and not paying attention to what might be a much more concerning factor," or substituting something for BPA that might be worse, he said.

Thun of the cancer society agreed.

"One should first do everything possible to address the known risk factors," he said. "If I'm making the choices, I wouldn't put this (BPA) at the top of my list."

However, Laura Anderko, a Georgetown University Medical Center public health scientist, said she was "deeply disappointed" by the report's heavy emphasis on personal responsibility for cancer prevention.

"It is in stark contrast to the President's Cancer Panel report last year that has a strong call to action on chemical policy reform," she wrote in an email.

About 230,000 cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year in the U.S. Less than 10 percent of cases are due to inherited genes.

Online:

Report: http://tinyurl.com/7fotq65

Cancer meeting: http://www.sabcs.org

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Belly Fat Bad for Bones

Posted March 12, 2013

Medical science is constantly bringing new evidence that often challenges what we think we know about risk for a disease or how a disease progresses.

Sometimes, the findings are revolutionary, while other research simply expands thinking on possible new paths to a cure.

Here are a few examples of unconventional wisdom in some recent work dealing with bone loss, tonsils and stress hormones.

It’s long been thought that women are at increased risk for bone loss as they age, while men, particularly obese men, were generally safe from osteoporosis.

But a new study led by a Boston radiologist suggests that men with certain types of body fat — deep belly fat — are also at risk for bone loss and decreased bone strength.

Earlier research on bone fractures in men had indicated that obesity was a risk factor, but Dr. Miriam Bredella and her colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School focused on belly fat and its impact on bone strength.

Their scans of 35 obese men with a mean age of 34 included a stress analysis of a bone in the forearm to determine the force required for it to break.

According to results presented to the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago recently, the men with more fat behind muscle tissue in the abdomen and with more total abdominal fat had bones more prone to fail and with greater stiffness than men with less deep belly fat. Age and total body mass index did not make any difference to bone strength.

Medical science is constantly bringing new evidence that often challenges what we think we know about risk for a disease or how a disease progresses.

Sometimes, the findings are revolutionary, while other research simply expands thinking on possible new paths to a cure.

Here are a few examples of unconventional wisdom in some recent work dealing with bone loss, tonsils and stress hormones.

It's long been thought that women are at increased risk for bone loss as they age, while men, particularly obese men, were generally safe from osteoporosis.

But a new study led by a Boston radiologist suggests that men with certain types of body fat -- deep belly fat -- are also at risk for bone loss and decreased bone strength.

Earlier research on bone fractures in men had indicated that obesity was a risk factor, but Dr. Miriam Bredella and her colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School focused on belly fat and its impact on bone strength.

Their scans of 35 obese men with a mean age of 34 included a stress analysis of a bone in the forearm to determine the force required for it to break.

According to results presented to the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago recently, the men with more fat behind muscle tissue in the abdomen and with more total abdominal fat had bones more prone to fail and with greater stiffness than men with less deep belly fat. Age and total body mass index did not make any difference to bone strength.

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Preventing Low Birth Weight Babies

Posted March 1, 2013

Daviess County was among the better counties in the state with just 8.6 percent of babies born with low weight, and mothers who received adequate prenatal care were at 93 percent, according to the Community Health Needs Assessment.

Low birth weight is 5-pounds, 8-ounces or less.

However, mothers who smoked during pregnancy were at 26 percent, a number that has been growing, not decreasing.

According to health officials, babies born with a low birth weight are more likely than babies of normal weight to require specialized medical care, and often must stay in the intensive care unit.

Low birth weight is often associated with premature birth.

While there have been many medical advances enabling premature infants to survive, there is still risk of infant death or long-term disability, officials said.

The most important things an expectant mother can do to prevent prematurity and low birth weight are to take prenatal vitamins, stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol and using drugs, and most importantly, get prenatal care, officials said.

Gail Wigginton, the Green River District Health Department’s Maternal and Child Health coordinator, said folic acid has prevented birth defects “for some time now.”

Dr. Ruth Ann Shepherd, director of the Division of Maternal and Child Health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said folic acid helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spine.

“If a woman plans to become pregnant, she should start taking folic acid a month before, and then also during pregnancy,” Wigginton said.

Meanwhile, women should begin prenatal care by the end of their first trimester of pregnancy, and, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, have at least 13 prenatal visits for a full-term pregnancy.

Early prenatal care allows women and their health care providers to identify and, when possible, treat or correct health problems and health-compromising behaviors that can be particularly damaging during the initial stages of fetal development.

Increasing the number of women who receive prenatal care, and who do so early in their pregnancies, can improve birth outcomes and lower health care costs by reducing the likelihood of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, officials said.

Smoking during pregnancy poses risks for both mother and fetus, according to officials. A baby born to a mother who has smoked during her pregnancy is more likely to have under-developed lungs and a lower birth weight and is more likely to be born prematurely.

It is estimated that smoking during pregnancy causes up to 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even after a baby is born, second-hand smoking can contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, asthma onset and stunted growth.

“Our infant mortality is a little below the state average, which is good,” Wigginton said. “So, overall, Daviess County is doing well, but we can do better.”

Wigginton said education is one reason local women are performing better.

“The health department is doing a super job of getting folic acid to our patients,” she said. “And we try to make sure the health department patients are receiving adequate care, especially in the first trimester.”

The health department also talks to patients about eating habits, such as eating five fruits and vegetables a day, and limiting fat intake.

Rich Suwanski, 691-7315, or rsuwanski@messenger-inquirer.com

©2013 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

Daviess County was among the better counties in the state with just 8.6 percent of babies born with low weight, and mothers who received adequate prenatal care were at 93 percent, according to the Community Health Needs Assessment.

Low birth weight is 5-pounds, 8-ounces or less.

However, mothers who smoked during pregnancy were at 26 percent, a number that has been growing, not decreasing.

According to health officials, babies born with a low birth weight are more likely than babies of normal weight to require specialized medical care, and often must stay in the intensive care unit.

Low birth weight is often associated with premature birth.

While there have been many medical advances enabling premature infants to survive, there is still risk of infant death or long-term disability, officials said.

The most important things an expectant mother can do to prevent prematurity and low birth weight are to take prenatal vitamins, stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol and using drugs, and most importantly, get prenatal care, officials said.

Gail Wigginton, the Green River District Health Department's Maternal and Child Health coordinator, said folic acid has prevented birth defects "for some time now."

Dr. Ruth Ann Shepherd, director of the Division of Maternal and Child Health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said folic acid helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spine.

"If a woman plans to become pregnant, she should start taking folic acid a month before, and then also during pregnancy," Wigginton said.

Meanwhile, women should begin prenatal care by the end of their first trimester of pregnancy, and, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, have at least 13 prenatal visits for a full-term pregnancy.

Early prenatal care allows women and their health care providers to identify and, when possible, treat or correct health problems and health-compromising behaviors that can be particularly damaging during the initial stages of fetal development.

Increasing the number of women who receive prenatal care, and who do so early in their pregnancies, can improve birth outcomes and lower health care costs by reducing the likelihood of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, officials said.

Smoking during pregnancy poses risks for both mother and fetus, according to officials. A baby born to a mother who has smoked during her pregnancy is more likely to have under-developed lungs and a lower birth weight and is more likely to be born prematurely.

It is estimated that smoking during pregnancy causes up to 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even after a baby is born, second-hand smoking can contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, asthma onset and stunted growth.

"Our infant mortality is a little below the state average, which is good," Wigginton said. "So, overall, Daviess County is doing well, but we can do better."

Wigginton said education is one reason local women are performing better.

"The health department is doing a super job of getting folic acid to our patients," she said. "And we try to make sure the health department patients are receiving adequate care, especially in the first trimester."

The health department also talks to patients about eating habits, such as eating five fruits and vegetables a day, and limiting fat intake.

Rich Suwanski, 691-7315, or rsuwanski@messenger-inquirer.com

©2013 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

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Lifestyle Changes Lead to Weight Loss and Fewer Medical Problems

Posted Feb 22, 2013

Deloris Brown, 46, said the most important part of her losing more than 70 pounds was making the decision.

She had some help, though. She wrestled with pre-diabetes, asthma and an autoimmune disease that often saw her in an emergency room as her immune system turned on her.

But that’s over, now, she said.

“I can’t remember when I last used my inhaler,” Brown said. “And I’m saving money because I haven’t had to buy the asthma medicine — and that was $140 for 30 pills.”

She put on pounds over the years because of her diet, which included a lot of stress eating and fried food, and the Prednisone, a drug she took for asthma and to fight off the autoimmune reactions. Weight gain and high blood glucose levels are a side effect of the drug.

Brown used a weight-loss method that scares a lot of people: She changed her diet, ate less and exercises nearly every day.

Brown decided in mid-2011 to lose weight, when she saw the first announcement for a new program called “Tread the Med” at the Washington University School of Medicine where Brown works.

“I’d been wanting to lose weight, so (friends and co-worker) formed a team to participate,” she said. The program assigned participants to walk 10,000 steps a day by walking around the hospital campus and other walking.

Tread the Med was “an initiative to get employees up and walking so they could have exercise in their daily lives,” said Betsy Snyder, wellness coordinator for Washington University School of Medicine. “We chose walking because so many people can do it and it’s so easy to do, the benefits are numerous and it leads to a less stressful walk.”

Each participant gets a pedometer with a goal of 10,000 steps per day for 100 days, Snyder said. People can build up to the goal while some are able to do 10,000 steps, she said.

“The purpose was that if you walk or do anything for 100 days, it becomes a habit,” she said. “Hopefully people continue walking after the program.”

That’s what Brown did. She joined the first session more than a year ago, then joined the second session.

During that second session, though, she had an asthma attack that set off the autoimmune disease. She had hives, rashes and other things that came with allergy attacks plus the asthma, she said.

“I knew then I had to lose weight, something to get my health under control,” she said.

She approached a childhood friend, Briant K. Mitchell, who ran a fitness center in Jamestown Mall. “She came to me crying,” he said. “I told her if she follows my program, she’ll get rid of the weight and be healthier.”

Mitchell says he caters mainly to people whose health depends on dropping weight. “Most of my clients have diabetes or pre-diabetes and hypertension,” he said. He and two physicians who were clients of his, created the eating program that Brown adopted.

“It’s the right amount of carbohydrates, nutritious food, six small meals a day,” he said, “and exercise for an hour four times a week.”

That was last spring. By the end of summer, she was missing 70 pounds. More importantly, her health numbers had improved and her asthma and autoimmune symptoms had vanished.

She said she might have weighed more than 229 pounds. “But that was the first time she weighed.”

She still works out with Mitchell and was in the second round of the Tread to Med program when she joined the fitness program. She’s in the third session now.

Each day she walks around the medical school with friends and co-workers. “That’s what’s good about this,” she said. “People asked how I did it and then they joined me and started walking too.”

The best part is that she feels better, she said. “I can do more, I have more energy and I feel so much better,” she said.

“My daughter told me when I lost the weight, Mama, I can get my arms around you now.”

Do you know a “How I did it?”

Suggest a candidate to:

Email — harry.jackson@post-dispatch.com

Phone — 314-340-8234′

©2013 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Deloris Brown, 46, said the most important part of her losing more than 70 pounds was making the decision.

She had some help, though. She wrestled with pre-diabetes, asthma and an autoimmune disease that often saw her in an emergency room as her immune system turned on her.

But that's over, now, she said.

"I can't remember when I last used my inhaler," Brown said. "And I'm saving money because I haven't had to buy the asthma medicine -- and that was $140 for 30 pills."

She put on pounds over the years because of her diet, which included a lot of stress eating and fried food, and the Prednisone, a drug she took for asthma and to fight off the autoimmune reactions. Weight gain and high blood glucose levels are a side effect of the drug.

Brown used a weight-loss method that scares a lot of people: She changed her diet, ate less and exercises nearly every day.

Brown decided in mid-2011 to lose weight, when she saw the first announcement for a new program called "Tread the Med" at the Washington University School of Medicine where Brown works.

"I'd been wanting to lose weight, so (friends and co-worker) formed a team to participate," she said. The program assigned participants to walk 10,000 steps a day by walking around the hospital campus and other walking.

Tread the Med was "an initiative to get employees up and walking so they could have exercise in their daily lives," said Betsy Snyder, wellness coordinator for Washington University School of Medicine. "We chose walking because so many people can do it and it's so easy to do, the benefits are numerous and it leads to a less stressful walk."

Each participant gets a pedometer with a goal of 10,000 steps per day for 100 days, Snyder said. People can build up to the goal while some are able to do 10,000 steps, she said.

"The purpose was that if you walk or do anything for 100 days, it becomes a habit," she said. "Hopefully people continue walking after the program."

That's what Brown did. She joined the first session more than a year ago, then joined the second session.

During that second session, though, she had an asthma attack that set off the autoimmune disease. She had hives, rashes and other things that came with allergy attacks plus the asthma, she said.

"I knew then I had to lose weight, something to get my health under control," she said.

She approached a childhood friend, Briant K. Mitchell, who ran a fitness center in Jamestown Mall. "She came to me crying," he said. "I told her if she follows my program, she'll get rid of the weight and be healthier."

Mitchell says he caters mainly to people whose health depends on dropping weight. "Most of my clients have diabetes or pre-diabetes and hypertension," he said. He and two physicians who were clients of his, created the eating program that Brown adopted.

"It's the right amount of carbohydrates, nutritious food, six small meals a day," he said, "and exercise for an hour four times a week."

That was last spring. By the end of summer, she was missing 70 pounds. More importantly, her health numbers had improved and her asthma and autoimmune symptoms had vanished.

She said she might have weighed more than 229 pounds. "But that was the first time she weighed."

She still works out with Mitchell and was in the second round of the Tread to Med program when she joined the fitness program. She's in the third session now.

Each day she walks around the medical school with friends and co-workers. "That's what's good about this," she said. "People asked how I did it and then they joined me and started walking too."

The best part is that she feels better, she said. "I can do more, I have more energy and I feel so much better," she said.

"My daughter told me when I lost the weight, Mama, I can get my arms around you now."

Do you know a "How I did it?"

Suggest a candidate to:

Email -- harry.jackson@post-dispatch.com

Phone -- 314-340-8234'

©2013 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Link Between Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals and Health Problems

Posted Feb 22, 2013

Many chemicals found in household and industrial products that have not been adequately tested could have disrupting effects on the hormone system and lead to significant health issues, according to a United Nations report released today.

The report highlights some associations between exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and health problems such as breast cancer in women, prostate cancer, attention deficit and hyperactivity in children and thyroid cancer.

“Chemical products are increasingly part of modern life and support many national economies, but the unsound management of chemicals challenges the achievement of key development goals, and sustainable development for all,” said the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ), Achim Steiner.

The report, produced jointly by UNEP and the World Health Organization ( WHO ), calls for more research to fully understand the associations between EDCs and specific diseases and disorders.

“Investing in new testing methods and research can enhance understanding of the costs of exposure to EDCs, and assist in reducing risks, maximizing benefits and spotlighting more intelligent options and alternatives that reflect a transition to a green economy,” said Mr. Steiner.

The endocrine system regulates the release of certain hormones that are essential for functions such as metabolism, growth and development, sleep and mood. EDCs can alter these functions increasing the risk of adverse health effects.

EDCs can enter the environment through industrial and urban discharges, agricultural run-off and the burning and release of waste. Some EDCs occur naturally, while synthetic varieties can be found in pesticides, electronics, personal care products and cosmetics. They can also be found as additives or contaminants in food.

“We urgently need more research to obtain a fuller picture of the health and environment impacts of endocrine disruptors,” said the WHO Director for Public Health and Environment, Maria Neira. “The latest science shows that communities across the globe are being exposed to EDCs, and their associated risks. WHO will work with partners to establish research priorities to investigate links to EDCs and human health impacts in order to mitigate the risks. We all have a responsibility to protect future generations.”

The report, ” State of the Science of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals ,” also raises similar concerns on the impact of EDCs on wildlife. In Alaska in the United States, exposure to such chemicals may contribute to reproductive defects, infertility and antler malformation in some deer populations. The otter and sea lion populations may also be at risk due to the chemical found in certain pesticides.

The report recommends further testing to identify EDCs and their routes of exposure to humans and wildlife. It also calls for wider collaboration among scientists so their shared data can fill in the current gaps in knowledge primarily in developing countries.

“Research has made great strides in the last ten years showing endocrine disruption to be far more extensive and complicated than realized a decade ago,” said the Chief Editor of the report,

Many chemicals found in household and industrial products that have not been adequately tested could have disrupting effects on the hormone system and lead to significant health issues, according to a United Nations report released today.

The report highlights some associations between exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and health problems such as breast cancer in women, prostate cancer, attention deficit and hyperactivity in children and thyroid cancer.

"Chemical products are increasingly part of modern life and support many national economies, but the unsound management of chemicals challenges the achievement of key development goals, and sustainable development for all," said the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ), Achim Steiner.

The report, produced jointly by UNEP and the World Health Organization ( WHO ), calls for more research to fully understand the associations between EDCs and specific diseases and disorders.

"Investing in new testing methods and research can enhance understanding of the costs of exposure to EDCs, and assist in reducing risks, maximizing benefits and spotlighting more intelligent options and alternatives that reflect a transition to a green economy," said Mr. Steiner.

The endocrine system regulates the release of certain hormones that are essential for functions such as metabolism, growth and development, sleep and mood. EDCs can alter these functions increasing the risk of adverse health effects.

EDCs can enter the environment through industrial and urban discharges, agricultural run-off and the burning and release of waste. Some EDCs occur naturally, while synthetic varieties can be found in pesticides, electronics, personal care products and cosmetics. They can also be found as additives or contaminants in food.

"We urgently need more research to obtain a fuller picture of the health and environment impacts of endocrine disruptors," said the WHO Director for Public Health and Environment, Maria Neira. "The latest science shows that communities across the globe are being exposed to EDCs, and their associated risks. WHO will work with partners to establish research priorities to investigate links to EDCs and human health impacts in order to mitigate the risks. We all have a responsibility to protect future generations."

The report, " State of the Science of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals ," also raises similar concerns on the impact of EDCs on wildlife. In Alaska in the United States, exposure to such chemicals may contribute to reproductive defects, infertility and antler malformation in some deer populations. The otter and sea lion populations may also be at risk due to the chemical found in certain pesticides.

The report recommends further testing to identify EDCs and their routes of exposure to humans and wildlife. It also calls for wider collaboration among scientists so their shared data can fill in the current gaps in knowledge primarily in developing countries.

"Research has made great strides in the last ten years showing endocrine disruption to be far more extensive and complicated than realized a decade ago," said the Chief Editor of the report,

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Folic Acid Awareness Before You’re Pregnant

Posted Feb 21, 2013

In the Yakima Valley, resources are plentiful for teens and low-income women who find themselves pregnant without a plan.

For a county with the third-highest teen birth rate in the state, providers say access to information and care during pregnancy is crucial.

But they also say some women still fall through the cracks.

That’s what makes the recent announcement by state and local public health officials about a sudden spike in a fatal birth defect in the county last year so troubling to medical professionals involved in maternal care and prenatal health. Without adequate health information, women are at higher risk of missing out on important prenatal and even pre-conception care that could help avoid such defects.

“Because the state will provide insurance coverage for most low-income women who are pregnant, almost everybody who needs care can get it. So that’s a good thing,” said Dr. Anita Showalter, who was an obstetrician at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic for four years before joining the faculty at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, where she’s also assistant dean of clinical sciences.

“When somebody slips through the cracks, it’s generally because they didn’t avail themselves to those things that are there for them,” or because of barriers to access such as lack of transportation, Showalter said.

Citing state Department of Health statistics, the Yakima Health District issued a news release Jan. 30 announcing that eight cases of anencephaly had occurred in Yakima County in 2012. Typically, public health officials expect only one all year. The state has begun an investigation to find if the number is a trend or a random spike.

Anencephaly, which is uniformly fatal, is caused when the protective neural tube doesn’t close completely around the spine at the base of the brain. The result is the absence of a large part of the brain and skull.

The most conclusive studies show a direct link between neural tube defects and a lack of folic acid, which is found in leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and legumes, among other foods. Taking vitamins with folic acid is an easy way to help prevent anencephaly — if women know to do so.

The tricky thing, experts say, is that anencephaly occurs by the fourth or sixth week of pregnancy, before many women may even know they’re pregnant. So providers recommend that all women of childbearing age take at least 0.4 miligrams of folic acid daily.

“You can’t wait until you go, ‘Oh, I’m pregnant,’ and then take (folic acid); it’s too late,” said Susie Ball, genetic counselor at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital’s maternal health office. For effective prevention, “You have to do it all the time.”

Ball meets with families when any kind of birth defect is detected in prenatal screening. With anencephaly, there is a genetic predisposition for the defect — women who have it in their families are at higher risk — but no test before conception to determine if the parents have that predisposition. There also seems to be a slightly higher predisposition for the condition among Hispanics, Ball said.

The high rate of diabetes in the Valley is concerning, too, as the disease puts pregnant women at higher risk for birth defects of any kind, Ball said.

A healthy diet that includes folic acid is sometimes harder for low-income women, Showalter said.

“Where we run into problems is the people who are doing a lot of fast food or already-prepared food that alters that mix,” she said, adding that families who do a lot of home-cooking have a better chance of having a balanced diet.

Diet is a problem for teen moms too, says Heather Bulfinch, who teaches teen moms at Davis High School as part of Yakima’s program for student parents. Teens don’t always worry much about what they’re eating, she said, so nutrition is a big part of their instruction.

“Folic acid is not in Hot Cheetos,” Bulfinch said. “We revisit nutrition multiple times throughout our curriculum; you need reminders.”

Lori Gibbons runs Memorial’s childbirth education program and says teens have a sense of invincibility. “They don’t think anything will happen to them,” she said, so they may not think they need to take folic acid.

Both health educators and providers say they discuss folic acid and prenatal vitamins as early as possible when pregnant women first seek care.

In its investigation, the Health Department will also look at environmental factors that could have contributed to the increase in the defect last year. For example, medical doctors from the state Health Department and the Yakima Health District say a few small studies have shown an increased rate of anencephaly in women who drink from private well water where nitrates exceed the federal safety limit.

“The first thing I ask, because the demographics of our city haven’t changed significantly … is what environmental thing might have happened that could’ve been a factor that we don’t know or understand yet?” Showalter said. There are medications, including some antibiotics, that can block absorption of folic acid in the body, and she wonders if there might be chemicals present in the Valley that could do the same thing.

Studies show that anencephaly is often caused by multiple factors, so providers and health officials have to be aware of all possibilities. And there’s a chance that Yakima’s high number in 2012 was just a fluke.

“It’s such a detective game because there are different things that can cause it, and sometimes in the end, we don’t know,” Showalter said. “It comes and it goes and you pray it doesn’t happen again.”

–Molly Rosbach can be reached at 509-577-7728 or mrosbach@yakimaherald.com.

©2013 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.)

Visit Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.) at www.yakima-herald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

In the Yakima Valley, resources are plentiful for teens and low-income women who find themselves pregnant without a plan.

For a county with the third-highest teen birth rate in the state, providers say access to information and care during pregnancy is crucial.

But they also say some women still fall through the cracks.

That's what makes the recent announcement by state and local public health officials about a sudden spike in a fatal birth defect in the county last year so troubling to medical professionals involved in maternal care and prenatal health. Without adequate health information, women are at higher risk of missing out on important prenatal and even pre-conception care that could help avoid such defects.

"Because the state will provide insurance coverage for most low-income women who are pregnant, almost everybody who needs care can get it. So that's a good thing," said Dr. Anita Showalter, who was an obstetrician at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic for four years before joining the faculty at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, where she's also assistant dean of clinical sciences.

"When somebody slips through the cracks, it's generally because they didn't avail themselves to those things that are there for them," or because of barriers to access such as lack of transportation, Showalter said.

Citing state Department of Health statistics, the Yakima Health District issued a news release Jan. 30 announcing that eight cases of anencephaly had occurred in Yakima County in 2012. Typically, public health officials expect only one all year. The state has begun an investigation to find if the number is a trend or a random spike.

Anencephaly, which is uniformly fatal, is caused when the protective neural tube doesn't close completely around the spine at the base of the brain. The result is the absence of a large part of the brain and skull.

The most conclusive studies show a direct link between neural tube defects and a lack of folic acid, which is found in leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and legumes, among other foods. Taking vitamins with folic acid is an easy way to help prevent anencephaly -- if women know to do so.

The tricky thing, experts say, is that anencephaly occurs by the fourth or sixth week of pregnancy, before many women may even know they're pregnant. So providers recommend that all women of childbearing age take at least 0.4 miligrams of folic acid daily.

"You can't wait until you go, 'Oh, I'm pregnant,' and then take (folic acid); it's too late," said Susie Ball, genetic counselor at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital's maternal health office. For effective prevention, "You have to do it all the time."

Ball meets with families when any kind of birth defect is detected in prenatal screening. With anencephaly, there is a genetic predisposition for the defect -- women who have it in their families are at higher risk -- but no test before conception to determine if the parents have that predisposition. There also seems to be a slightly higher predisposition for the condition among Hispanics, Ball said.

The high rate of diabetes in the Valley is concerning, too, as the disease puts pregnant women at higher risk for birth defects of any kind, Ball said.

A healthy diet that includes folic acid is sometimes harder for low-income women, Showalter said.

"Where we run into problems is the people who are doing a lot of fast food or already-prepared food that alters that mix," she said, adding that families who do a lot of home-cooking have a better chance of having a balanced diet.

Diet is a problem for teen moms too, says Heather Bulfinch, who teaches teen moms at Davis High School as part of Yakima's program for student parents. Teens don't always worry much about what they're eating, she said, so nutrition is a big part of their instruction.

"Folic acid is not in Hot Cheetos," Bulfinch said. "We revisit nutrition multiple times throughout our curriculum; you need reminders."

Lori Gibbons runs Memorial's childbirth education program and says teens have a sense of invincibility. "They don't think anything will happen to them," she said, so they may not think they need to take folic acid.

Both health educators and providers say they discuss folic acid and prenatal vitamins as early as possible when pregnant women first seek care.

In its investigation, the Health Department will also look at environmental factors that could have contributed to the increase in the defect last year. For example, medical doctors from the state Health Department and the Yakima Health District say a few small studies have shown an increased rate of anencephaly in women who drink from private well water where nitrates exceed the federal safety limit.

"The first thing I ask, because the demographics of our city haven't changed significantly ... is what environmental thing might have happened that could've been a factor that we don't know or understand yet?" Showalter said. There are medications, including some antibiotics, that can block absorption of folic acid in the body, and she wonders if there might be chemicals present in the Valley that could do the same thing.

Studies show that anencephaly is often caused by multiple factors, so providers and health officials have to be aware of all possibilities. And there's a chance that Yakima's high number in 2012 was just a fluke.

"It's such a detective game because there are different things that can cause it, and sometimes in the end, we don't know," Showalter said. "It comes and it goes and you pray it doesn't happen again."

--Molly Rosbach can be reached at 509-577-7728 or mrosbach@yakimaherald.com.

©2013 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.)

Visit Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.) at www.yakima-herald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Diet Soda Drinkers Beware

Posted Feb 20, 2013

If sugary sodas are as bad for you as nutritionists and, increasingly, local officials nationwide insist, it stands to reason a drink containing a sugar substitute might be better for you, right? Not so fast! Studies of diet soda’s health impact are delivering mixed messages.

While there are some folks who like the taste of diet sodas – thinking of you, die-hard Tab fans – most folks pop for a diet beverage because it holds out the promise of lost weight. Some studies suggest it delivers on that; others disagree.

“Diet sodas have no calories,” said Marion Nestle, the New York University professor, author of “What to Eat” and expert in nutrition and public policy. “But on a population basis, they seem to have no impact on weight. Indeed, their use has increased in parallel with the rising prevalence of obesity.”

She said the leading theory, as yet unproven, is “that the sweet taste fools the brain into thinking sweet calories are coming and reacts with hormonal and other metabolic signals accordingly. It’s easy to compensate for missing calories. But I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on.”

Meanwhile, other studies of diet soda claim consumption may increase your chances of having a stroke or developing metabolic syndrome, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Tina Ruggiero, a registered dietitian based in Tierra Verde, Fla., said that cardiovascular risk is particularly seen in men.

“That doesn’t mean one diet soda a day will lead to a heart attack, but there’s some sort of connection,” she said.

Somewhat more supportive of diet sodas is Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest. The Washington, D.C.-based health advocacy group just released an animated short film targeting the health impacts of regular soda and sugary drinks called “The Real Bears” (realbears.org).

“Diet soda is much better than regular soda. It lacks 10 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounces,” he said, noting studies have shown people drinking regular soda have gained weight, while those consuming diet soda have not.

“There’s good evidence diet soda doesn’t make you obese,” he said. “I think it’s better to drink diet soda (than regular), but diet soda does have its drawbacks.”

There’s caffeine, he noted, which can affect some people. Phosphoric acids can promote tooth decay. There have been safety questions about the ingredients used in caramel coloring formulas and the artificial sweeteners used.

The tug of war over the relative health merits of diet sodas can bewilder consumers and cause tension in the scientific and food communities.

Witness the recent kerfuffle over an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The article outlined a scientific study of the health impacts of aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in diet sodas. The study suggested the possibility of an increased risk of lymphoma and leukemia because of diet soda consumption. But researchers affiliated with the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston couldn’t rule out chance as an explanation for their findings.

According to NPR, which reported on the study, the hospital’s public relations department issued a press release “exaggerating” the correlation between these cancers and the sweetener in diet soda. That was followed by the hospital pulling back on the press release, terming the study’s data as “weak.” And that touched off much speculation about why there was apparent backpedaling on the study.

There will be continued research, no doubt, into diet sodas. The question for right now is: Should you drink one next time you’re thirsty? The answer, nutritionists say, depends very much on your health, your diet and how much diet soda you drink.

“People who drink an occasional soda won’t have a problem,” said Michelle Dudash, author of the new book “Clean Eating for Busy Families.”

Two for you? It’s the folks who drink soda regularly, like two cans every day, who are more at risk for soda-related health issues, said Dudash, a registered dietitian from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Better to switch than fight? A move from regular soda to diet soda is generally seen healthwise as a good move, but not as good as forgoing soda.

“One can of soda contains 140 calories, all from added sugar,” Dudash said. “For someone who has the habit of drinking a six-pack of regular soda per day, switching to diet soda is a step in the right direction, with the goal being to gradually taper that amount down.”

Enjoy in moderation. Diet sodas are not a health food but a recreational, fun food that’s OK to have once in a while, Dudash said. The trouble lies in people thinking that since diet sodas have zero calories, they can have as much of it as they want. Not so.

“It’s not nutritious at all,” she said. “It’s one of those in-moderation foods.”

Define moderation? One diet soda every other day is “probably fine,” said Kristin Kirkpatrick, manager of wellness nutrition services at the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute in Ohio. More frequent consumption can foster a dependency for sweet flavors, she said.

Ruggiero treats herself to one diet soda a week.

“But I have a very good diet,” she quickly adds. “It’s a little treat when I want something fizzy or sweet. It’s not replacing more healthy items in my diet. I eat very well, I exercise, so I keep a little stash in my fridge.”

Diet soda and kids? “No artificial sweetener has any place in a child’s diet, and that goes for diet soda too,” Dudash said. Better to serve water or a nutrient-rich beverage, she added.

What is sweetening that drink? While the U.S. government recognizes a number of artificial sweeteners as safe for consumers, health organizations and advocacy groups have expressed differing views on them. They note some artificial sweeteners are still being studied, others need to be studied, and still more need to be restudied properly.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest posts a “Chemical Cuisine” page on its website (cspinet.org) rating the risk of various food additives, including artificial sweeteners. Sucralose is on the “safe” list. Aspartame is listed under CSPI’s “caution” column. On the “avoid” list are saccharin and acesulfame-potassium, which is sometimes used with sucralose in products.

Read the labels. Jacobson said the best option is to look for a product sweetened entirely by sucralose, followed by a product using sucralose mixed with acesulfame-potassium.

Still, when it comes to diet sodas, Jacobson believes the fewer, the better.

“The best diet drink would be water or water mixed with fruit juice, seltzer or seltzer mixed with fruit juice,” he said.

If sugary sodas are as bad for you as nutritionists and, increasingly, local officials nationwide insist, it stands to reason a drink containing a sugar substitute might be better for you, right? Not so fast! Studies of diet soda's health impact are delivering mixed messages.

While there are some folks who like the taste of diet sodas - thinking of you, die-hard Tab fans - most folks pop for a diet beverage because it holds out the promise of lost weight. Some studies suggest it delivers on that; others disagree.

"Diet sodas have no calories," said Marion Nestle, the New York University professor, author of "What to Eat" and expert in nutrition and public policy. "But on a population basis, they seem to have no impact on weight. Indeed, their use has increased in parallel with the rising prevalence of obesity."

She said the leading theory, as yet unproven, is "that the sweet taste fools the brain into thinking sweet calories are coming and reacts with hormonal and other metabolic signals accordingly. It's easy to compensate for missing calories. But I don't think anyone really knows what's going on."

Meanwhile, other studies of diet soda claim consumption may increase your chances of having a stroke or developing metabolic syndrome, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Tina Ruggiero, a registered dietitian based in Tierra Verde, Fla., said that cardiovascular risk is particularly seen in men.

"That doesn't mean one diet soda a day will lead to a heart attack, but there's some sort of connection," she said.

Somewhat more supportive of diet sodas is Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest. The Washington, D.C.-based health advocacy group just released an animated short film targeting the health impacts of regular soda and sugary drinks called "The Real Bears" (realbears.org).

"Diet soda is much better than regular soda. It lacks 10 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounces," he said, noting studies have shown people drinking regular soda have gained weight, while those consuming diet soda have not.

"There's good evidence diet soda doesn't make you obese," he said. "I think it's better to drink diet soda (than regular), but diet soda does have its drawbacks."

There's caffeine, he noted, which can affect some people. Phosphoric acids can promote tooth decay. There have been safety questions about the ingredients used in caramel coloring formulas and the artificial sweeteners used.

The tug of war over the relative health merits of diet sodas can bewilder consumers and cause tension in the scientific and food communities.

Witness the recent kerfuffle over an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The article outlined a scientific study of the health impacts of aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in diet sodas. The study suggested the possibility of an increased risk of lymphoma and leukemia because of diet soda consumption. But researchers affiliated with the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston couldn't rule out chance as an explanation for their findings.

According to NPR, which reported on the study, the hospital's public relations department issued a press release "exaggerating" the correlation between these cancers and the sweetener in diet soda. That was followed by the hospital pulling back on the press release, terming the study's data as "weak." And that touched off much speculation about why there was apparent backpedaling on the study.

There will be continued research, no doubt, into diet sodas. The question for right now is: Should you drink one next time you're thirsty? The answer, nutritionists say, depends very much on your health, your diet and how much diet soda you drink.

"People who drink an occasional soda won't have a problem," said Michelle Dudash, author of the new book "Clean Eating for Busy Families."

Two for you? It's the folks who drink soda regularly, like two cans every day, who are more at risk for soda-related health issues, said Dudash, a registered dietitian from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Better to switch than fight? A move from regular soda to diet soda is generally seen healthwise as a good move, but not as good as forgoing soda.

"One can of soda contains 140 calories, all from added sugar," Dudash said. "For someone who has the habit of drinking a six-pack of regular soda per day, switching to diet soda is a step in the right direction, with the goal being to gradually taper that amount down."

Enjoy in moderation. Diet sodas are not a health food but a recreational, fun food that's OK to have once in a while, Dudash said. The trouble lies in people thinking that since diet sodas have zero calories, they can have as much of it as they want. Not so.

"It's not nutritious at all," she said. "It's one of those in-moderation foods."

Define moderation? One diet soda every other day is "probably fine," said Kristin Kirkpatrick, manager of wellness nutrition services at the Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute in Ohio. More frequent consumption can foster a dependency for sweet flavors, she said.

Ruggiero treats herself to one diet soda a week.

"But I have a very good diet," she quickly adds. "It's a little treat when I want something fizzy or sweet. It's not replacing more healthy items in my diet. I eat very well, I exercise, so I keep a little stash in my fridge."

Diet soda and kids? "No artificial sweetener has any place in a child's diet, and that goes for diet soda too," Dudash said. Better to serve water or a nutrient-rich beverage, she added.

What is sweetening that drink? While the U.S. government recognizes a number of artificial sweeteners as safe for consumers, health organizations and advocacy groups have expressed differing views on them. They note some artificial sweeteners are still being studied, others need to be studied, and still more need to be restudied properly.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest posts a "Chemical Cuisine" page on its website (cspinet.org) rating the risk of various food additives, including artificial sweeteners. Sucralose is on the "safe" list. Aspartame is listed under CSPI's "caution" column. On the "avoid" list are saccharin and acesulfame-potassium, which is sometimes used with sucralose in products.

Read the labels. Jacobson said the best option is to look for a product sweetened entirely by sucralose, followed by a product using sucralose mixed with acesulfame-potassium.

Still, when it comes to diet sodas, Jacobson believes the fewer, the better.

"The best diet drink would be water or water mixed with fruit juice, seltzer or seltzer mixed with fruit juice," he said.

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Is Sugar to Blame?

Posted Feb 2, 2013

As January fades into February, many New Year’s resolutions start to wilt.

But the status of sugar in the American diet is still hotly contested.

“Sugar (and added sugars) has received a lot of attention lately,” said Marianne Smith Edge, senior vice president of nutrition and food safety at the International Food Information Council, in an email.

The resolve to lose weight again made the list as one of the most common resolutions in the United States, but research suggests it’s also one of the hardest to keep.

Recently published research in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that obese people have a lower risk of death compared to people with normal weight.

A recent book by Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, posits fat isn’t the issue in obesity.

What does matter is the health of processes necessary for life. Heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses threaten health, Lustig said. And he blames sugar for the development of those conditions.

Studies in nutrition are frequently cropping up with new ideas in weight loss and management, but it’s important to remember the science of nutrition is still evolving, said Susan Kopins, a registered dietitian at the Women’s Healthcare Group in Spring Garden Township.

“The American Heart Association and American Medical Association recently recognized under their low-fat diet recommendation, obesity rates increased,” Kopins said.

But sugar is tricky, she said.

It’s easy to get a lot of sugar quickly into your system with sodas and juices,” Kopins said.

That rush of sugar sends a message to the body to stabilize blood-sugar levels with insulin. Because the simple sugars are quickly and easily digested, the body is soon hungry again. The addictive qualities of sugar, push people to desire more sweet flavors to curb their hunger, and the cycle starts again, Kopins said.

The way to solve the problem: portion control.

John White, an expert in caloric sweeteners, agrees.

“Sugars alone are not responsible for obesity,” said White, the president of White Technical Research, a consulting firm for the food and beverage industry. “It’s calorie intake.”

The Food and Drug Administration reported calorie intake over the last 40 years has increased by 425 calories a day.

And calorie reduction is achievable, Kopins said.

She recommends pairing sweet foods with those high in fiber or protein.

For example, apple slices with peanut butter will slow down the insulin response and better control the sugar dump, she said.

“There’s a place for everything in your diet,” Kopins said. “The key is finding balance.”

©2013 York Daily Record (York, Pa.)

Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

As January fades into February, many New Year's resolutions start to wilt.

But the status of sugar in the American diet is still hotly contested.

"Sugar (and added sugars) has received a lot of attention lately," said Marianne Smith Edge, senior vice president of nutrition and food safety at the International Food Information Council, in an email.

The resolve to lose weight again made the list as one of the most common resolutions in the United States, but research suggests it's also one of the hardest to keep.

Recently published research in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that obese people have a lower risk of death compared to people with normal weight.

A recent book by Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, posits fat isn't the issue in obesity.

What does matter is the health of processes necessary for life. Heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses threaten health, Lustig said. And he blames sugar for the development of those conditions.

Studies in nutrition are frequently cropping up with new ideas in weight loss and management, but it's important to remember the science of nutrition is still evolving, said Susan Kopins, a registered dietitian at the Women's Healthcare Group in Spring Garden Township.

"The American Heart Association and American Medical Association recently recognized under their low-fat diet recommendation, obesity rates increased," Kopins said.

But sugar is tricky, she said.

It's easy to get a lot of sugar quickly into your system with sodas and juices," Kopins said.

That rush of sugar sends a message to the body to stabilize blood-sugar levels with insulin. Because the simple sugars are quickly and easily digested, the body is soon hungry again. The addictive qualities of sugar, push people to desire more sweet flavors to curb their hunger, and the cycle starts again, Kopins said.

The way to solve the problem: portion control.

John White, an expert in caloric sweeteners, agrees.

"Sugars alone are not responsible for obesity," said White, the president of White Technical Research, a consulting firm for the food and beverage industry. "It's calorie intake."

The Food and Drug Administration reported calorie intake over the last 40 years has increased by 425 calories a day.

And calorie reduction is achievable, Kopins said.

She recommends pairing sweet foods with those high in fiber or protein.

For example, apple slices with peanut butter will slow down the insulin response and better control the sugar dump, she said.

"There's a place for everything in your diet," Kopins said. "The key is finding balance."

©2013 York Daily Record (York, Pa.)

Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Extra Fat Leads to Extra Health Problems

Posted Jan 20, 2013

Extra body fat increases a person’s risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

“Start with this fact,” Dr. Sally Swisher said. “If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat.”

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston’s Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It’s straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you’re a couch potato, your glucose doesn’t burn up – and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat – unused glucose – float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

“Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers,” Swisher said. “The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they’re tiny.”

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That’s an “extremely simplified version of the way it happens,” Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. “Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries.”

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

“There is bad fat and good fat,” Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat – called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol – inflames artery walls. “It’s not just innocent baby fat,” Swisher said.

“When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows,” she said. “If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives.”

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person’s risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: “A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime,” Swisher said. “A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure.”

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. “Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don’t have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe.”

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called “adult onset” diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes – 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes – can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can’t enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can’t enter the cells, that’s called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person’s bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. “That’s a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better,” Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don’t heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. “That puts you at risk of amputation,” Swisher said.

Kidney failure: “If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working,” Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis – often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. “That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes,” Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

“People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke,” she said. “If we don’t get a grip on this, it’s a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes.”

Alzheimer’s disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a “spare tire” are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. “Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus,” Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

“Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why,” she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don’t ovulate. “They’re infertile and have high insulin levels,” Swisher said. “If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss.”

Incontinence: “If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out,” Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder – or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: “If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older,” Swisher said. “Overweight people don’t get over it as easily. Rehab is harder.”

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and “that can cause stroke in the eye,” Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with “false tumor” condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

“None of these things has to happen,” Swisher said. “That’s the important thing to remember. It’s possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It’s within most people’s reach.

“If I were queen of the world,” she said, “the first thing I’d do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again.”

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Extra body fat increases a person's risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

"Start with this fact," Dr. Sally Swisher said. "If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat."

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston's Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It's straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you're a couch potato, your glucose doesn't burn up - and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat - unused glucose - float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

"Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers," Swisher said. "The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they're tiny."

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That's an "extremely simplified version of the way it happens," Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. "Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries."

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

"There is bad fat and good fat," Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat - called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol - inflames artery walls. "It's not just innocent baby fat," Swisher said.

"When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows," she said. "If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives."

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person's risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: "A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime," Swisher said. "A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure."

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. "Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don't have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe."

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called "adult onset" diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes - 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes - can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can't enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can't enter the cells, that's called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person's bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. "That's a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better," Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don't heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. "That puts you at risk of amputation," Swisher said.

Kidney failure: "If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working," Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis - often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. "That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes," Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

"People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke," she said. "If we don't get a grip on this, it's a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes."

Alzheimer's disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer's as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a "spare tire" are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. "Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus," Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

"Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why," she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don't ovulate. "They're infertile and have high insulin levels," Swisher said. "If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss."

Incontinence: "If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out," Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder - or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: "If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older," Swisher said. "Overweight people don't get over it as easily. Rehab is harder."

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and "that can cause stroke in the eye," Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with "false tumor" condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

"None of these things has to happen," Swisher said. "That's the important thing to remember. It's possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It's within most people's reach.

"If I were queen of the world," she said, "the first thing I'd do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again."

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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Diet Myths

Posted Jan 10, 2013

DIET season is upon us and you may have started on a new weightloss “theory”. But if your no-fat detox fasting frenzy isn’t working, it could be because it’s a myth. We go in search of the truth…

1 Low-fat or no-fat diets are good for you.

Myth

A third of your calories should come from fat. The body needs fat for energy, tissue repair and to transport vitamins.

As a guideline, women need 70g of fat a day (30g as the minimum) and men need 95g (40g minimum). Cut down on saturated fats in cream, cheese or butter for unsaturated fats, found in olive oil and avocados.

2 Crash dieting makes you lose weight.

Myth

Crash dieting or fasting can hinder weight loss as both remove fat and also lean muscle and tissue, which causes a fall in your basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories your body needs when it is resting.

This means your body comes to need fewer calories to stay the same, making weight gain more likely once you stop dieting. It is why exercise is recommended in any weight-loss plan to maintain your metabolic rate.

3 Low-fat milk contains less calcium than full-fat milk.

Myth

Skimmed and semi-skimmed milk have more calcium, because the calcium is in the watery not creamy part. If you want to lose weight, skimmed milk is your best option but use semi-skimmed to maintain a healthy lifestyle if you are not dieting.

4 A slow metabolism stops you losing weight.

Myth

The number of calories used by the body at rest increases as people become fatter. So, the larger you are, the more calories you need to keep your body going and the higher your metabolism becomes.

5 Eating a fattening meal will mean you pile on the pounds.

Myth

Weight gain is a slow process. You need to eat an extra 3,500 calories to gain 1lb of fat. If the scales say you have gained a few pounds after a meal, it is down to fluid retention.

6 Low-fat foods always help you lose weight.

Myth

Low-fat or fat-free does not always mean low calorie. Check the calories of foods, especially cakes, crisps, ice creams and ready meals. Extra sugars and thickeners are often added to boost flavour. Foods labelled low-fat should have no more than 3g fat per 100g.

7 Food eaten late at night is more fattening for you.

Myth

A large meal eaten late at night does not make the body store more fat, according to a study at Dunn Nutrition Centre, Cambridge. Volunteers were fed a large lunch and small evening meal for one test period, then a small lunch and large evening meal the next. The large meal eaten late did not make the body store more fat. So it is not when you eat that is important, but the total amount you consume during a 24-hour period.

8 Avoid fatty foods because they will raise your cholesterol.

Myth

Cholesterol can be bad for us because it forms deposits that clog our arteries, which contribute to heart disease. But we all need blood cholesterol for building cells and making hormones.

>Saturated fats found in meat, cheese, cream, butter and processed pastries tend to raise low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, known as bad cholesterol. Choose unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

9 Vegetarians can’t build up muscle mass.

Myth

Vegetarians can be as muscular as meat eaters by getting their protein from cheese, nuts, pulses and grains. You need protein to build muscle but the body can only store a certain amount of protein, so too much can damage the kidneys.

10 You always gain weight when you stop smoking.

Myth

While nicotine does increase metabolism, its effect is small. It is far healthier to be an overweight non-smoker than not bother giving up. Chew on sugar-free gum or snack on vegetables or satsumas until your cravings go away.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/womenshealth/features/dietmyths.htm

DIET season is upon us and you may have started on a new weightloss "theory". But if your no-fat detox fasting frenzy isn't working, it could be because it's a myth. We go in search of the truth...

1 Low-fat or no-fat diets are good for you.

Myth

A third of your calories should come from fat. The body needs fat for energy, tissue repair and to transport vitamins.

As a guideline, women need 70g of fat a day (30g as the minimum) and men need 95g (40g minimum). Cut down on saturated fats in cream, cheese or butter for unsaturated fats, found in olive oil and avocados.

2 Crash dieting makes you lose weight.

Myth

Crash dieting or fasting can hinder weight loss as both remove fat and also lean muscle and tissue, which causes a fall in your basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories your body needs when it is resting.

This means your body comes to need fewer calories to stay the same, making weight gain more likely once you stop dieting. It is why exercise is recommended in any weight-loss plan to maintain your metabolic rate.

3 Low-fat milk contains less calcium than full-fat milk.

Myth

Skimmed and semi-skimmed milk have more calcium, because the calcium is in the watery not creamy part. If you want to lose weight, skimmed milk is your best option but use semi-skimmed to maintain a healthy lifestyle if you are not dieting.

4 A slow metabolism stops you losing weight.

Myth

The number of calories used by the body at rest increases as people become fatter. So, the larger you are, the more calories you need to keep your body going and the higher your metabolism becomes.

5 Eating a fattening meal will mean you pile on the pounds.

Myth

Weight gain is a slow process. You need to eat an extra 3,500 calories to gain 1lb of fat. If the scales say you have gained a few pounds after a meal, it is down to fluid retention.

6 Low-fat foods always help you lose weight.

Myth

Low-fat or fat-free does not always mean low calorie. Check the calories of foods, especially cakes, crisps, ice creams and ready meals. Extra sugars and thickeners are often added to boost flavour. Foods labelled low-fat should have no more than 3g fat per 100g.

7 Food eaten late at night is more fattening for you.

Myth

A large meal eaten late at night does not make the body store more fat, according to a study at Dunn Nutrition Centre, Cambridge. Volunteers were fed a large lunch and small evening meal for one test period, then a small lunch and large evening meal the next. The large meal eaten late did not make the body store more fat. So it is not when you eat that is important, but the total amount you consume during a 24-hour period.

8 Avoid fatty foods because they will raise your cholesterol.

Myth

Cholesterol can be bad for us because it forms deposits that clog our arteries, which contribute to heart disease. But we all need blood cholesterol for building cells and making hormones.

>Saturated fats found in meat, cheese, cream, butter and processed pastries tend to raise low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, known as bad cholesterol. Choose unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

9 Vegetarians can't build up muscle mass.

Myth

Vegetarians can be as muscular as meat eaters by getting their protein from cheese, nuts, pulses and grains. You need protein to build muscle but the body can only store a certain amount of protein, so too much can damage the kidneys.

10 You always gain weight when you stop smoking.

Myth

While nicotine does increase metabolism, its effect is small. It is far healthier to be an overweight non-smoker than not bother giving up. Chew on sugar-free gum or snack on vegetables or satsumas until your cravings go away.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/womenshealth/features/dietmyths.htm

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Waist Girth Predicts Disease Risk

Posted Jan 6, 2012

Women with an abdominal girth of more than 31.5 inches could be categorized as obese under new guidelines being considered, a revision from the current 35.4-inch standard used as a marker for metabolic syndrome, it has been learned.

The Japan Society for the Study of Obesity (JASSO) is considering including women with a body mass index (BMI) – a measure of weight relative to height – of below 25 but a waist circumference of above 31.5 inches as excessively fat.

People with a BMI of less than 25 are not considered overweight under current guidelines.

The government-set conditions for being obese include a BMI of 25 or more, health problems such as a lipid abnormality and high-blood pressure, and having an abdominal girth of 33.5 inches or more for men and 35.4 inches or more for women.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry uses these figures when deciding whether a person has metabolic syndrome in a special health check program for people aged from 40 to 74.

However, experts have pointed out that the risk of arteriosclerosis and other health problems increases for people with excessive visceral fat even if their BMI is below 25.

This prompted JASSO’s study committee for judging criteria of obesity, led by Gunma University Prof. Masatomo Mori, to reexamine the criteria for people with a BMI of less than 25.

By analyzing data released in Japan up to 2010, the committee concluded that health problems such as lipid abnormalities sharply increase when the cross-sectional area of visceral fat exceeds 100 square centimeters for men and 70 square centimeters for women. This corresponds to an abdominal girth of 33.5 inches for men and 31.5 inches for women.

JASSO is considering categorizing people with a BMI of less than 25 as obese if their waist size exceeds the new standard and they have some health problems.

“The conditions for being obese and the criteria for deciding if people have metabolic syndrome overlap considerably,” Mori said.

The lower girth figure likely will affect a planned review of the health check program, which the ministry plans to carry out in fiscal 2013.

Mori said JASSO would settle on the new standard within fiscal 2012 so it can be reflected in revised abdominal girth standards used for the ministry’s health check.

Posted Jan 6, 2012

Women with an abdominal girth of more than 31.5 inches could be categorized as obese under new guidelines being considered, a revision from the current 35.4-inch standard used as a marker for metabolic syndrome, it has been learned.

The Japan Society for the Study of Obesity (JASSO) is considering including women with a body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight relative to height - of below 25 but a waist circumference of above 31.5 inches as excessively fat.

People with a BMI of less than 25 are not considered overweight under current guidelines.

The government-set conditions for being obese include a BMI of 25 or more, health problems such as a lipid abnormality and high-blood pressure, and having an abdominal girth of 33.5 inches or more for men and 35.4 inches or more for women.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry uses these figures when deciding whether a person has metabolic syndrome in a special health check program for people aged from 40 to 74.

However, experts have pointed out that the risk of arteriosclerosis and other health problems increases for people with excessive visceral fat even if their BMI is below 25.

This prompted JASSO's study committee for judging criteria of obesity, led by Gunma University Prof. Masatomo Mori, to reexamine the criteria for people with a BMI of less than 25.

By analyzing data released in Japan up to 2010, the committee concluded that health problems such as lipid abnormalities sharply increase when the cross-sectional area of visceral fat exceeds 100 square centimeters for men and 70 square centimeters for women. This corresponds to an abdominal girth of 33.5 inches for men and 31.5 inches for women.

JASSO is considering categorizing people with a BMI of less than 25 as obese if their waist size exceeds the new standard and they have some health problems.

"The conditions for being obese and the criteria for deciding if people have metabolic syndrome overlap considerably," Mori said.

The lower girth figure likely will affect a planned review of the health check program, which the ministry plans to carry out in fiscal 2013.

Mori said JASSO would settle on the new standard within fiscal 2012 so it can be reflected in revised abdominal girth standards used for the ministry's health check.

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Produce Makes a Difference for Long Term Weight Loss

Posted Oct 29, 2012

New research has been tried to figure out what might help postmenopausal women achieve long-term weight loss. And it turns out that adding produce to their diet didn’t show up as especially helpful in the short term, but it mattered in the long term.

Researchers didn’t find that eating fried chicken was just fine as long as it came with a side of broccoli. What they found was that some behaviors are hard to maintain forever, and adding produce might be easier than avoiding all fried foods for the long haul.

“People are so motivated when they start a weight-loss program. You can say, ‘I’m never going to eat another piece of pie,’ and you see the pounds coming off,” Bethany Barone Gibbs, the lead investigator, said in a statement. “Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because it’s not as hard to do as giving up french fries forever.”

The study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, looked at overweight postmenopausal women.

Barone Gibbs, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh department of health and physical activity, said several factors work against long-term weight loss.

“Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you’ve lost weight,” she says.

A group of 508 women from the Pittsburgh area were divided into two groups, one of which met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists to reduce fat and caloric intake, eat more produce and grains and exercise regularly. The second group was offered some general health seminars.

The researchers looked at what happened after six months and after four years. At four years, most of the intervention group had lost some weight, compared with about a third of the other group. Barone Gibbs noted that the women all had wanted to lose weight and sought help.

For the six-month mark, the researchers found that weight loss was associated with eating fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish and eating out less.

At the four-year mark, some of those things still mattered. But eating more produce and less meat and cheese emerged as important predictors of long-term weight loss.

“If the goal is to decrease the burden of obesity, the focus must be on long-term strategies because changes in eating behaviors only associated with short-term weight loss are likely ineffective and/ or not sustainable,” the researchers wrote.

New research has been tried to figure out what might help postmenopausal women achieve long-term weight loss. And it turns out that adding produce to their diet didn't show up as especially helpful in the short term, but it mattered in the long term.

Researchers didn't find that eating fried chicken was just fine as long as it came with a side of broccoli. What they found was that some behaviors are hard to maintain forever, and adding produce might be easier than avoiding all fried foods for the long haul.

"People are so motivated when they start a weight-loss program. You can say, 'I'm never going to eat another piece of pie,' and you see the pounds coming off," Bethany Barone Gibbs, the lead investigator, said in a statement. "Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because it's not as hard to do as giving up french fries forever."

The study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, looked at overweight postmenopausal women.

Barone Gibbs, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh department of health and physical activity, said several factors work against long-term weight loss.

"Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you've lost weight," she says.

A group of 508 women from the Pittsburgh area were divided into two groups, one of which met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists to reduce fat and caloric intake, eat more produce and grains and exercise regularly. The second group was offered some general health seminars.

The researchers looked at what happened after six months and after four years. At four years, most of the intervention group had lost some weight, compared with about a third of the other group. Barone Gibbs noted that the women all had wanted to lose weight and sought help.

For the six-month mark, the researchers found that weight loss was associated with eating fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish and eating out less.

At the four-year mark, some of those things still mattered. But eating more produce and less meat and cheese emerged as important predictors of long-term weight loss.

"If the goal is to decrease the burden of obesity, the focus must be on long-term strategies because changes in eating behaviors only associated with short-term weight loss are likely ineffective and/ or not sustainable," the researchers wrote.

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Daily Multi May Lower Cancer Risk

Posted October 23, 2012

A new study suggests a multivitamin a day could help reduce the risk of cancer in older men, but one expert cautions there’s a lot more work to be done before the dietary supplements can be hailed as cancer fighters.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers released the findings of the exhaustive study that found multi-vitamins cut cancer risk by 8 percent at a conference in California yesterday.

“The main benefit to taking a vitamin is to make up for any deficiency, but it certainly appears that there may be a modest benefit in preventing cancer in men over 50, too,” said Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, the study’s lead author and the head of Brigham and Women’s aging division.

Tufts University Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory Director Alice Lichtenstein called the results “interesting” but warned there’s a lot more research that needs to be done.

“We don’t know whether those individuals were borderline deficient in any critical areas,” she said. “On the basis of this study, there may be a benefit to taking a multivitamin, but it’s a very modest benefit.”

For 11 years, Gaziano and his team tracked the health of 15,000 male physicians, all of whom were at least 50 years old when the study began.

To determine, for the first time, if there are any long-term benefits of taking a multivitamin — something about one third of all Americans already do — researchers gave half the study participants multivitamins and told them to take them every day. The others received a placebo.

After 10 years, Gaziano said, researcher found that the men who took daily multivitamins had an 8 percent reduction in total cancer, when compared to the placebo-taking group.

The vitamin-taking group also had fewer cancer-related deaths, the study shows.

Now, researchers are probing the data to see if there are any links between daily multivitamins and cardiovascular disease.

“Stay tuned,” Gaziano said.

christine.mcconville@bostonherald.com

___

©2012 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

A new study suggests a multivitamin a day could help reduce the risk of cancer in older men, but one expert cautions there's a lot more work to be done before the dietary supplements can be hailed as cancer fighters.

Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers released the findings of the exhaustive study that found multi-vitamins cut cancer risk by 8 percent at a conference in California yesterday.

"The main benefit to taking a vitamin is to make up for any deficiency, but it certainly appears that there may be a modest benefit in preventing cancer in men over 50, too," said Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, the study's lead author and the head of Brigham and Women's aging division.

Tufts University Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory Director Alice Lichtenstein called the results "interesting" but warned there's a lot more research that needs to be done.

"We don't know whether those individuals were borderline deficient in any critical areas," she said. "On the basis of this study, there may be a benefit to taking a multivitamin, but it's a very modest benefit."

For 11 years, Gaziano and his team tracked the health of 15,000 male physicians, all of whom were at least 50 years old when the study began.

To determine, for the first time, if there are any long-term benefits of taking a multivitamin -- something about one third of all Americans already do -- researchers gave half the study participants multivitamins and told them to take them every day. The others received a placebo.

After 10 years, Gaziano said, researcher found that the men who took daily multivitamins had an 8 percent reduction in total cancer, when compared to the placebo-taking group.

The vitamin-taking group also had fewer cancer-related deaths, the study shows.

Now, researchers are probing the data to see if there are any links between daily multivitamins and cardiovascular disease.

"Stay tuned," Gaziano said.

christine.mcconville@bostonherald.com

___

©2012 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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3 Fats to Focus On

Posted October 22, 2012

Getting the right amount of fat from the right sources will not only ensure your food doesn’t taste like cardboard, but also can help you lose stubborn pounds. Add these three fats to your diet and reap the nutritional benefits:

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

These may protect against cardiovascular disease, but getting sufficient omega-3s is tough. You’d have to eat salmon three times a week to get 500 milligrams per day of O-3s – the amount needed to reap the heart benefits.

Try: 3 ounces cooked salmon, 1 can sardines (3.75 ounces) in oil, or 1 ounce walnuts (about 14 halves).

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)

These fats tend to be liquid at room temperature, like oils. PUFAs can help reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease by helping improve cholesterol.

Try: 1 tablespoon safflower, corn, sunflower, soy, cottonseed, peanut, or other vegetable or nut oil, 1 ounce dry-roasted sunflower seeds.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)

Eating this form of unsaturated fat can help improve cholesterol levels and may steady blood sugar.

Try: 1/4 avocado, 10 large green olives, 1 tablespoon peanut butter.

For more nutrition tips and information, check out WomensHealthMag.com or pick up a copy of Women’s Health magazine, on newsstands now.

(For more workout tips and information, check out WomensHealthMag.com or pick up a copy of Women

Getting the right amount of fat from the right sources will not only ensure your food doesn't taste like cardboard, but also can help you lose stubborn pounds. Add these three fats to your diet and reap the nutritional benefits:

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

These may protect against cardiovascular disease, but getting sufficient omega-3s is tough. You'd have to eat salmon three times a week to get 500 milligrams per day of O-3s - the amount needed to reap the heart benefits.

Try: 3 ounces cooked salmon, 1 can sardines (3.75 ounces) in oil, or 1 ounce walnuts (about 14 halves).

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)

These fats tend to be liquid at room temperature, like oils. PUFAs can help reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease by helping improve cholesterol.

Try: 1 tablespoon safflower, corn, sunflower, soy, cottonseed, peanut, or other vegetable or nut oil, 1 ounce dry-roasted sunflower seeds.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)

Eating this form of unsaturated fat can help improve cholesterol levels and may steady blood sugar.

Try: 1/4 avocado, 10 large green olives, 1 tablespoon peanut butter.

For more nutrition tips and information, check out WomensHealthMag.com or pick up a copy of Women's Health magazine, on newsstands now.

(For more workout tips and information, check out WomensHealthMag.com or pick up a copy of Women

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Health Headlines of the Week

Posted Sept 23, 2012

In the news this week, research on everything from potential health hazards of growing marijuana indoors to the trouble with early menopause: Healthy Living:

MARIJUANA & MOLD: Indoor marijuana grow operations can contain high mold levels, threatening not only those who live or work in the sites but also law-enforcement agents investigating them, according to new research from National Jewish Health.

ARSENIC IN RICE: After analyzing nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released results of initial testing to determine whether they contain potentially harmful levels of arsenic. The agency is not recommending that consumers change their rice consumption habits but does recomend people eat a wide variety of grains as part of a balanced diet.

More testing is on the way; the agency is in the process of collecting about 1,000 more samples of ride and rice products — cereals, rice cakes, rice beverages and the like — to test.

MENOPAUSE & HEART DISEASE: Women who enter menopause early, before their 46th birthday, are twice as likely to suffer coronary heart disease and stroke, new research from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine suggests.

HISPANICS & CANCER: Cancer is now the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the United States, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. Among non-Hispanic whites and African Americans, heart disease remains the number one cause of death.

SCHOOLS UNPREPARED: Most schools aren’t prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics, a new study from Saint Louis University finds. Only 48 percent of schools address pandemic preparedness and only 40 percent of schools have updated their plans since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic that spread illnesses in more than 214 countries.

– Katy Muldoon; twitter.com/katymuldoon

Edited ___

©2012 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)

Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at www.oregonian.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

In the news this week, research on everything from potential health hazards of growing marijuana indoors to the trouble with early menopause: Healthy Living:

MARIJUANA & MOLD: Indoor marijuana grow operations can contain high mold levels, threatening not only those who live or work in the sites but also law-enforcement agents investigating them, according to new research from National Jewish Health.

ARSENIC IN RICE: After analyzing nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released results of initial testing to determine whether they contain potentially harmful levels of arsenic. The agency is not recommending that consumers change their rice consumption habits but does recomend people eat a wide variety of grains as part of a balanced diet.

More testing is on the way; the agency is in the process of collecting about 1,000 more samples of ride and rice products -- cereals, rice cakes, rice beverages and the like -- to test.

MENOPAUSE & HEART DISEASE: Women who enter menopause early, before their 46th birthday, are twice as likely to suffer coronary heart disease and stroke, new research from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine suggests.

HISPANICS & CANCER: Cancer is now the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the United States, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. Among non-Hispanic whites and African Americans, heart disease remains the number one cause of death.

SCHOOLS UNPREPARED: Most schools aren't prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics, a new study from Saint Louis University finds. Only 48 percent of schools address pandemic preparedness and only 40 percent of schools have updated their plans since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic that spread illnesses in more than 214 countries.

- Katy Muldoon; twitter.com/katymuldoon

Edited ___

©2012 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)

Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at www.oregonian.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Wine and Chocolate Supplements

Posted Sept 17, 2012

Jane Glenn Haas

Suppose I told you people with cardiovascular disease need red wine and chocolate candy?

Well, more specifically resveratrol – found in red grapes – and dark chocolate have been cited for reducing cardiac risk factors, says Heather Hausenblas, Ph.D., of the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance.

“The year-long study on resveratrol found favorable results,” she says.

And while general information says two glasses of red wine for men and one for women helps with good health, Hausenblas says it’s not that simple.

Q: We “drink” our way to good health, right?

A: Well, there’s more resveratrol in red wine than white, more in a pinot noir than a cabernet, more in organic. But it’s tricky to say because the amount varies with the type of wine.

We actually advocate getting the supplement form because it allows a clinical dose without the negativity of alcohol. I like a glass of red wine, but not for resveratrol because the amount varies by wine.

Q: But wine companies are advertising the benefits.

A: Enjoy your wine as wine and take the supplement.

Q: Can you tell me about the supplement?

A: The American Journal of Cardiology recently published a clinical trial that lasted a year. Resveratrol therapy was found to be a viable adjunct to gold standard primary prevention using statins. The triple-blind, randomized-parallel, dose-response, placebo-controlled trial involved 75 high-risk patients with diabetes, high cholesterol and one other cardiovascular risk factor.

Cardiac patients who took the resveratrol supplement (8 mg for the first six months and 16 mg for the next six months) lowered multiple markers of inflammation to reduce heart disease risk.

Q: So we take a supplement. What supplement?

A: Japanese knotwood has the highest source of resveratrol in a plant. So make sure your supplement is high in Japanese knotwood.

Organic grapes also have a high concentration.

Q: So I take this supplement for heart health?

A: Resveratrol is beginning to show us exciting, positive results by lowering the markings of inflammation. It may be beneficial with other aging diseases, but now we know it helps prevent cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes.

Q: Is the supplement expensive?

A: It’s not usually expensive. It should cost less than $1 a day.

I would start out with 250 mg and make sure you can tolerate the supplement. Then increase the dose.

Typical side effects include gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea, so make sure your supplement is pure.

Q: Now can we talk about chocolate?

A: Cocoa with chocolate has heart-health effects. There are exciting clinical trials under way. We are talking, of course, about unsweetened dark chocolate with the highest percentage of cocoa.

But, again, I recommend (cocoa flavanols) supplements. They are better than drinking real cocoa to make sure you get the benefits your heart needs in the right amount and so on.

Q: Red wine and dark chocolate … sounds wonderful until you put them in pills and capsules.

A: They’re for your heart, not your taste buds. Be joyful you can find supplements that provide this help.

And then when you do drink red wine or eat chocolate, you can say you are benefiting your supplements and still doing great things for your heart. It’s a win-win.

(Contact the writer: jghaas@cox.net)

The Orange County Register, Calif. ©2012 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.

Jane Glenn Haas

Suppose I told you people with cardiovascular disease need red wine and chocolate candy?

Well, more specifically resveratrol - found in red grapes - and dark chocolate have been cited for reducing cardiac risk factors, says Heather Hausenblas, Ph.D., of the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance.

"The year-long study on resveratrol found favorable results," she says.

And while general information says two glasses of red wine for men and one for women helps with good health, Hausenblas says it's not that simple.

Q: We "drink" our way to good health, right?

A: Well, there's more resveratrol in red wine than white, more in a pinot noir than a cabernet, more in organic. But it's tricky to say because the amount varies with the type of wine.

We actually advocate getting the supplement form because it allows a clinical dose without the negativity of alcohol. I like a glass of red wine, but not for resveratrol because the amount varies by wine.

Q: But wine companies are advertising the benefits.

A: Enjoy your wine as wine and take the supplement.

Q: Can you tell me about the supplement?

A: The American Journal of Cardiology recently published a clinical trial that lasted a year. Resveratrol therapy was found to be a viable adjunct to gold standard primary prevention using statins. The triple-blind, randomized-parallel, dose-response, placebo-controlled trial involved 75 high-risk patients with diabetes, high cholesterol and one other cardiovascular risk factor.

Cardiac patients who took the resveratrol supplement (8 mg for the first six months and 16 mg for the next six months) lowered multiple markers of inflammation to reduce heart disease risk.

Q: So we take a supplement. What supplement?

A: Japanese knotwood has the highest source of resveratrol in a plant. So make sure your supplement is high in Japanese knotwood.

Organic grapes also have a high concentration.

Q: So I take this supplement for heart health?

A: Resveratrol is beginning to show us exciting, positive results by lowering the markings of inflammation. It may be beneficial with other aging diseases, but now we know it helps prevent cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes.

Q: Is the supplement expensive?

A: It's not usually expensive. It should cost less than $1 a day.

I would start out with 250 mg and make sure you can tolerate the supplement. Then increase the dose.

Typical side effects include gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea, so make sure your supplement is pure.

Q: Now can we talk about chocolate?

A: Cocoa with chocolate has heart-health effects. There are exciting clinical trials under way. We are talking, of course, about unsweetened dark chocolate with the highest percentage of cocoa.

But, again, I recommend (cocoa flavanols) supplements. They are better than drinking real cocoa to make sure you get the benefits your heart needs in the right amount and so on.

Q: Red wine and dark chocolate ... sounds wonderful until you put them in pills and capsules.

A: They're for your heart, not your taste buds. Be joyful you can find supplements that provide this help.

And then when you do drink red wine or eat chocolate, you can say you are benefiting your supplements and still doing great things for your heart. It's a win-win.

(Contact the writer: jghaas@cox.net)

The Orange County Register, Calif. ©2012 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.

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Magnesium to Better Manage Stress

Posted Sept 3, 2012

We live in stressful times. Heart disease, diabetes and sky-high blood pressure are your obvious baddies. Then there’s low-level anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, muscle cramps, road rage and other signs of irritability.

Reduce stress, we’re told. Good luck with that. And if you can’t, at least increase your magnesium intake.

Magnesium is your anti-stress trace mineral. We need it for everything, from relaxing our muscles to soothing our nerves. Magnesium is like DSL – it keeps everything running smoothly and is a must for quieting inflammation, your body’s natural reaction to stress.

The RDA for magnesium is 420 milligrams for men, 320 for women. The bad news is, many of us are magnesium-deficient. The good news is, you can have a blast getting all the magnesium your body needs.

Magnesium does not want you to stress. It wants you to have a good time. It cleverly positions itself in the foods you crave. Dark chocolate is magnesium-rich, with more than 100 milligrams per ounce. Almonds are another magnesium goldmine, with 84 milligrams per ounce. Though seriously yummy, chocolate and nuts are also prime sources for calories and fat.

No stress; magnesium is also in spinach and other leafy greens, whole grains, whole soy products like tofu and tempeh, legumes and fruit like summer favorites watermelon, avocado, mango and figs.

Magnesium to your heart’s delight with a bowl of guacamole, black beans, a salad of fresh figs, almonds and spinach, and OK, some dark chocolate. See? Summertime living can be easy, after all.

—

ALMOND COOKIES

These almond-rich treats are high in magnesium, Chinese in origin, but untraditional, being lardless. You can purchase blanched almonds or, to make your own, cover whole, raw almonds with boiling water, and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain. Pinch almonds between your fingers, and skins will slip off.

1/2 cup vegan margarine or unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 tablespoon almond butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons amaretto

2/3 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)

2/3 cup unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

24 blanched almonds

Beat the margarine, almond butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in amaretto and almond flour. Sift together flour and baking powder; stir into margarine mixture until just combined. Dough will be slightly sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, form into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap well in foil and refrigerate until well-chilled, 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/2-inch thick rounds and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Gently press a blanched almond into the center of each. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are just turning golden.

Remove from oven. Cookies come out quite tender but firm up as they cool. Makes 2 dozen.

Per cookie: 97 calories (57 percent from fat), 6.4 g fat (0.9 g saturated, 1.6 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 1.4 g protein, 9.4 g carbohydrates, 0.6 g fiber, 69 mg sodium.

(Ellen Kanner writes about vegetarian concerns. She blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com; email her at ellen@ellen-ink.com)

We live in stressful times. Heart disease, diabetes and sky-high blood pressure are your obvious baddies. Then there's low-level anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, muscle cramps, road rage and other signs of irritability.

Reduce stress, we're told. Good luck with that. And if you can't, at least increase your magnesium intake.

Magnesium is your anti-stress trace mineral. We need it for everything, from relaxing our muscles to soothing our nerves. Magnesium is like DSL - it keeps everything running smoothly and is a must for quieting inflammation, your body's natural reaction to stress.

The RDA for magnesium is 420 milligrams for men, 320 for women. The bad news is, many of us are magnesium-deficient. The good news is, you can have a blast getting all the magnesium your body needs.

Magnesium does not want you to stress. It wants you to have a good time. It cleverly positions itself in the foods you crave. Dark chocolate is magnesium-rich, with more than 100 milligrams per ounce. Almonds are another magnesium goldmine, with 84 milligrams per ounce. Though seriously yummy, chocolate and nuts are also prime sources for calories and fat.

No stress; magnesium is also in spinach and other leafy greens, whole grains, whole soy products like tofu and tempeh, legumes and fruit like summer favorites watermelon, avocado, mango and figs.

Magnesium to your heart's delight with a bowl of guacamole, black beans, a salad of fresh figs, almonds and spinach, and OK, some dark chocolate. See? Summertime living can be easy, after all.

---

ALMOND COOKIES

These almond-rich treats are high in magnesium, Chinese in origin, but untraditional, being lardless. You can purchase blanched almonds or, to make your own, cover whole, raw almonds with boiling water, and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain. Pinch almonds between your fingers, and skins will slip off.

1/2 cup vegan margarine or unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 tablespoon almond butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons amaretto

2/3 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)

2/3 cup unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

24 blanched almonds

Beat the margarine, almond butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in amaretto and almond flour. Sift together flour and baking powder; stir into margarine mixture until just combined. Dough will be slightly sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, form into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap well in foil and refrigerate until well-chilled, 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/2-inch thick rounds and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Gently press a blanched almond into the center of each. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are just turning golden.

Remove from oven. Cookies come out quite tender but firm up as they cool. Makes 2 dozen.

Per cookie: 97 calories (57 percent from fat), 6.4 g fat (0.9 g saturated, 1.6 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 1.4 g protein, 9.4 g carbohydrates, 0.6 g fiber, 69 mg sodium.

(Ellen Kanner writes about vegetarian concerns. She blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com; email her at ellen@ellen-ink.com)

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Wine Compound May Help Memory and Brain Function

Posted Aug 21, 2012

While some people might drink to forget — the drive home, the electric bill, an annoying co-worker — it may be that a substance in wine actually improves memory.

Some small pilot studies in mice have suggested that resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, may play a role in preventing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and memory loss. But there haven’t been any large-scale clinical trials to prove its benefits in humans. Until now.

The National Institute on Aging is funding a 26-center clinical trial to study resveratrol’s effects on memory and brain function in Alzheimer’s disease. Locally, the University of South Florida Health’s Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute is recruiting volunteers for the study who have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.

“Some of the best researchers in the field will be working on this study and we’re happy to be in their company,” said Dr. Amanda Smith, medical director of the Byrd Institute. “We want to find out whether use of resveratrol can change the course of Alzheimer’s disease and whether it improves or stabilizes memory.”

Red wine isn’t the only way to get resveratrol, but it is a concentrated source. The substance is found in the skins of red grapes and also in berries, tomatoes, peanuts and chocolate.

But before you crack open that cabernet thinking it’s all you need for brain health, read on:

“The concentration of resveratrol that will be in the capsules we’ll use in the study is akin to the amount in about 50 glasses of red wine,” said Smith.

Experts say that men should have no more than two servings of alcohol a day; for women, the recommended limit is just one. More than that, and you run the risk of addiction and numerous other health hazards even if you don’t drive while drinking.

The new study will determine how safe resveratrol is when administered at high doses. If it’s found to be safe, another phase will determine dosing — how much is needed to protect against memory loss or delay progression of dementia.

Resveratrol is widely available in dietary supplements sold over the counter. But Smith cautions against self-medicating, primarily because it isn’t known how much helps and if too much can hurt.

“Also, there are some people who shouldn’t take resveratrol,” said Smith. “Among them: Anyone with estrogen-positive breast cancer, which could be affected (by high doses of resveratrol) and some people with kidney problems.”

Because the supplement industry isn’t regulated like the pharmaceutical industry, Smith notes that over-the-counter products may vary in quality, purity and concentration from bottle to bottle or manufacturer to manufacturer.

The Byrd Institute hopes to recruit 10 volunteers for the year long study; 120 will be recruited nationally. Participants must be at least 50 years old and be willing to undergo MRI scans and two lumbar punctures, one at the beginning and one at the end of the study.

Researchers are always looking for both drug and non-drug methods to treat Alzheimer’s, which afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

About 100 drugs are being tested as possible treatments. Just five have been approved to date, but they only treat symptoms.

Next year, the Byrd Institute will launch a study looking more closely at the effects of aerobic exercise on memory.

While some people might drink to forget -- the drive home, the electric bill, an annoying co-worker -- it may be that a substance in wine actually improves memory.

Some small pilot studies in mice have suggested that resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, may play a role in preventing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and memory loss. But there haven't been any large-scale clinical trials to prove its benefits in humans. Until now.

The National Institute on Aging is funding a 26-center clinical trial to study resveratrol's effects on memory and brain function in Alzheimer's disease. Locally, the University of South Florida Health's Byrd Alzheimer's Institute is recruiting volunteers for the study who have mild to moderate Alzheimer's.

"Some of the best researchers in the field will be working on this study and we're happy to be in their company," said Dr. Amanda Smith, medical director of the Byrd Institute. "We want to find out whether use of resveratrol can change the course of Alzheimer's disease and whether it improves or stabilizes memory."

Red wine isn't the only way to get resveratrol, but it is a concentrated source. The substance is found in the skins of red grapes and also in berries, tomatoes, peanuts and chocolate.

But before you crack open that cabernet thinking it's all you need for brain health, read on:

"The concentration of resveratrol that will be in the capsules we'll use in the study is akin to the amount in about 50 glasses of red wine," said Smith.

Experts say that men should have no more than two servings of alcohol a day; for women, the recommended limit is just one. More than that, and you run the risk of addiction and numerous other health hazards even if you don't drive while drinking.

The new study will determine how safe resveratrol is when administered at high doses. If it's found to be safe, another phase will determine dosing -- how much is needed to protect against memory loss or delay progression of dementia.

Resveratrol is widely available in dietary supplements sold over the counter. But Smith cautions against self-medicating, primarily because it isn't known how much helps and if too much can hurt.

"Also, there are some people who shouldn't take resveratrol," said Smith. "Among them: Anyone with estrogen-positive breast cancer, which could be affected (by high doses of resveratrol) and some people with kidney problems."

Because the supplement industry isn't regulated like the pharmaceutical industry, Smith notes that over-the-counter products may vary in quality, purity and concentration from bottle to bottle or manufacturer to manufacturer.

The Byrd Institute hopes to recruit 10 volunteers for the year long study; 120 will be recruited nationally. Participants must be at least 50 years old and be willing to undergo MRI scans and two lumbar punctures, one at the beginning and one at the end of the study.

Researchers are always looking for both drug and non-drug methods to treat Alzheimer's, which afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

About 100 drugs are being tested as possible treatments. Just five have been approved to date, but they only treat symptoms.

Next year, the Byrd Institute will launch a study looking more closely at the effects of aerobic exercise on memory.

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A Little Alcohol May Prevent Arthritis in Women

Posted July 19, 2012

WOMEN who drink moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink, research suggests.

Drinking more than three glasses a week for at least ten years halves the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers found.

The study of more than 34,000 Swedish women found the risk among those who drank more than three glasses of alcohol per week in 1987 and 1997 was 52 per cent lower than those who were never drank.

The researchers gathered information on alcohol consumption, diet, smoking history, physical activity and education level between 1987 and 1997. Rheumatoid arthritis affects one per cent of the world’s population.

WOMEN who drink moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink, research suggests.

Drinking more than three glasses a week for at least ten years halves the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers found.

The study of more than 34,000 Swedish women found the risk among those who drank more than three glasses of alcohol per week in 1987 and 1997 was 52 per cent lower than those who were never drank.

The researchers gathered information on alcohol consumption, diet, smoking history, physical activity and education level between 1987 and 1997. Rheumatoid arthritis affects one per cent of the world's population.

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Quick Tip: Vitamin C and Iron

Posted July 11, 2012

NUTRITION NOTE: Vitamin C in berries increases absorption of iron (found in red meat, eggs, fortified cereal, nuts and seeds and green leafy veg).

Babies have to lay down iron stores to last for the first six months of life, so pregnant women often become deficient.

NUTRITION NOTE: Vitamin C in berries increases absorption of iron (found in red meat, eggs, fortified cereal, nuts and seeds and green leafy veg).

Babies have to lay down iron stores to last for the first six months of life, so pregnant women often become deficient.

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Low Vitamin D and Stroke Risk

Posted July 8, 2012

A decades-long study of more than 7,000 Japanese-American men in Hawaii has yielded valuable insight into the possible connection between a lack of vitamin D and increased risk of stroke later in life.

The results of the study were reported Thursday in the medical journal Stroke, published by the American Heart Association.

Gotaro Kojima, lead author of the study and geriatric medicine fellow at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, said the study “confirms that eating foods rich in vitamin D might be beneficial for stroke prevention.”

The study tracked 7,385 Japanese-American men living on Oahu who were part of the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program. All were between the ages of 45 and 68 when the study began in 1965.

The participants were divided into four groups according to the amount of vitamin D they had consumed. Researchers tracked the participants’ health records through 1999 to determine the incidence of stroke.

The study found that participants who consumed the least dietary vitamin D had a 22 percent higher risk of stroke and a 27 percent higher risk of ischemic (blood clot-related) stroke compared with those who consumed the highest levels of vitamin D. Researchers adjusted the findings for age, total calorie intake, body-mass index, hypertension and other significant health factors.

Vitamin D is a nutrient that can prevent rickets in children and bone loss in adults. It is also believed to lower a person’s risk of cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

Vitamin D is absorbed from sunlight, but this process becomes more difficult as people age, Kojima said. People can supplement their vitamin D intake by consuming fortified milk and breakfast cereals, fatty fish and egg yolks.

Kojima said it is unclear whether the results of the study could be applied to different ethnic groups or to women.

©2012 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

Posted July 8, 2012

A decades-long study of more than 7,000 Japanese-American men in Hawaii has yielded valuable insight into the possible connection between a lack of vitamin D and increased risk of stroke later in life.

The results of the study were reported Thursday in the medical journal Stroke, published by the American Heart Association.

Gotaro Kojima, lead author of the study and geriatric medicine fellow at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine, said the study "confirms that eating foods rich in vitamin D might be beneficial for stroke prevention."

The study tracked 7,385 Japanese-American men living on Oahu who were part of the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program. All were between the ages of 45 and 68 when the study began in 1965.

The participants were divided into four groups according to the amount of vitamin D they had consumed. Researchers tracked the participants' health records through 1999 to determine the incidence of stroke.

The study found that participants who consumed the least dietary vitamin D had a 22 percent higher risk of stroke and a 27 percent higher risk of ischemic (blood clot-related) stroke compared with those who consumed the highest levels of vitamin D. Researchers adjusted the findings for age, total calorie intake, body-mass index, hypertension and other significant health factors.

Vitamin D is a nutrient that can prevent rickets in children and bone loss in adults. It is also believed to lower a person's risk of cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

Vitamin D is absorbed from sunlight, but this process becomes more difficult as people age, Kojima said. People can supplement their vitamin D intake by consuming fortified milk and breakfast cereals, fatty fish and egg yolks.

Kojima said it is unclear whether the results of the study could be applied to different ethnic groups or to women.

©2012 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

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Decision To Use HRT Very Individualized

Posted June 15, 2012

Should women who suffer from the demobilizing symptoms of menopause — hot flashes, night sweats, sleeplessness and mood swings — take hormone replacement therapy?

That is the question facing many women, since a groundbreaking study a decade ago turned the tables on the medical approach to relieving the symptoms of menopause with hormones.

The answer: the decision is a highly individualized one, to be determined between each patient and her doctor, South Florida physicians say.

“There is not one answer that fits all women because each woman’s risk is different,” said Dr. Silvina Levis, professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of its Osteoporosis Center.

In 2002, a study by the Women’s Health Initiative was halted after 5 1/2 years when researchers found that estrogen and progestin supplements significantly increased the rate of heart attacks, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer in healthy postmenopausal women.

The increased risk of a heart attack or stroke began in the first year of hormone use, while the risk of breast cancer jumped after four years on hormones.

While the study’s methodology has been criticized by many, there is no doubt that the conclusions have caused a sea change in how doctors prescribe hormones to their patients, physicians say.

Until then, the prevailing medical belief was that hormone replacement could help prevent such ailments as heart disease and osteoporosis. Women often began taking hormones as soon as they began feeling the symptoms of menopause, and continued them for life.

Now, doctors suggest that women in perimenopause (the period before menopause begins) or menopause, who are suffering from symptoms that are interfering with their daily lives, should consult with their doctor if they wish to consider hormone replacement.

“What changed is the practice — what women choose to do and what doctors prescribe, it changed it significantly,” Levis said. “Now, the pendulum is swinging back a little bit, in that some women do get estrogen.”

Menopausal symptoms vary from woman to woman, doctors say. Some women go through the transition symptom-free, others have symptoms for a year or two, and others experience symptoms that drag on for years.

“If a woman is very symptomatic, can’t sleep at night, has hot flashes through the day and night sweats that really bother her, we try to help her,” Levis said. “Women with severe menopausal symptoms have a very hard time, and hormone therapy can really help them.”

Doctors will weigh the symptoms with the potential risks, looking at a patient’s own medical history as well as family history, particularly for heart disease and stroke.

“It’s a very personal decision,” said Dr. Veronica McCloskey, a cardiologist with the Columbia University division of cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in Hialeah. “If you have an extensive family history of stroke and we know that in the first year there is an increased risk of stroke, maybe you really shouldn’t take it. If you have a very strong family history of heart disease, maybe it’s not a good idea.”

In fact, heart disease in women before menopause is rare, but after menopause it increases dramatically, and is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, McCloskey said.

So, along those lines, if a patient is very overweight, has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and has a significant family history for early onset heart disease, she may not be a good candidate, said Dr. Victoria Lopez-Beecham, a gynecologist and obstetrician at Baptist Hospital in Kendall.

So who, then, is a good candidate for hormone replacement therapy?

> Lopez-Beecham cited those patients who are very symptomatic for “vasomotor symptoms,” such as hot flashes and night sweats; those who suffer from severe vaginal dryness from a lack of estrogen; who do not have any contraindications, like a significant family history of breast cancer or high risk for cardiovascular disease; and are relatively young, say 50 to 55.

“The trend is to give as low as dose as you can for as short a duration as possible, to try to alleviate those symptoms,” she said, “provided the medicine you are going to give is not going to put her at significant risk.”

Another reason to take hormone replacement therapy is to slow the aging process, said Dr. Amanda Richards-Bullock, a gynecologist and obstetrician at the University of Miami.

“With the lack of hormones, the body starts to lose calcium from the bones, so women become at risk for osteoporosis and a loss of connectivity from blood vessels and skin — the wrinkles, the drying out, all those fun things,” Richards-Bullock said. “We can’t stop it but we can slow it down a little bit.”

She advises that patients undergo blood tests to see what hormones are lacking, and only replace those that are missing.

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Should women who suffer from the demobilizing symptoms of menopause -- hot flashes, night sweats, sleeplessness and mood swings -- take hormone replacement therapy?

That is the question facing many women, since a groundbreaking study a decade ago turned the tables on the medical approach to relieving the symptoms of menopause with hormones.

The answer: the decision is a highly individualized one, to be determined between each patient and her doctor, South Florida physicians say.

"There is not one answer that fits all women because each woman's risk is different," said Dr. Silvina Levis, professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of its Osteoporosis Center.

In 2002, a study by the Women's Health Initiative was halted after 5 1/2 years when researchers found that estrogen and progestin supplements significantly increased the rate of heart attacks, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer in healthy postmenopausal women.

The increased risk of a heart attack or stroke began in the first year of hormone use, while the risk of breast cancer jumped after four years on hormones.

While the study's methodology has been criticized by many, there is no doubt that the conclusions have caused a sea change in how doctors prescribe hormones to their patients, physicians say.

Until then, the prevailing medical belief was that hormone replacement could help prevent such ailments as heart disease and osteoporosis. Women often began taking hormones as soon as they began feeling the symptoms of menopause, and continued them for life.

Now, doctors suggest that women in perimenopause (the period before menopause begins) or menopause, who are suffering from symptoms that are interfering with their daily lives, should consult with their doctor if they wish to consider hormone replacement.

"What changed is the practice -- what women choose to do and what doctors prescribe, it changed it significantly," Levis said. "Now, the pendulum is swinging back a little bit, in that some women do get estrogen."

Menopausal symptoms vary from woman to woman, doctors say. Some women go through the transition symptom-free, others have symptoms for a year or two, and others experience symptoms that drag on for years.

"If a woman is very symptomatic, can't sleep at night, has hot flashes through the day and night sweats that really bother her, we try to help her," Levis said. "Women with severe menopausal symptoms have a very hard time, and hormone therapy can really help them."

Doctors will weigh the symptoms with the potential risks, looking at a patient's own medical history as well as family history, particularly for heart disease and stroke.

"It's a very personal decision," said Dr. Veronica McCloskey, a cardiologist with the Columbia University division of cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in Hialeah. "If you have an extensive family history of stroke and we know that in the first year there is an increased risk of stroke, maybe you really shouldn't take it. If you have a very strong family history of heart disease, maybe it's not a good idea."

In fact, heart disease in women before menopause is rare, but after menopause it increases dramatically, and is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, McCloskey said.

So, along those lines, if a patient is very overweight, has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and has a significant family history for early onset heart disease, she may not be a good candidate, said Dr. Victoria Lopez-Beecham, a gynecologist and obstetrician at Baptist Hospital in Kendall.

So who, then, is a good candidate for hormone replacement therapy?

> Lopez-Beecham cited those patients who are very symptomatic for "vasomotor symptoms," such as hot flashes and night sweats; those who suffer from severe vaginal dryness from a lack of estrogen; who do not have any contraindications, like a significant family history of breast cancer or high risk for cardiovascular disease; and are relatively young, say 50 to 55.

"The trend is to give as low as dose as you can for as short a duration as possible, to try to alleviate those symptoms," she said, "provided the medicine you are going to give is not going to put her at significant risk."

Another reason to take hormone replacement therapy is to slow the aging process, said Dr. Amanda Richards-Bullock, a gynecologist and obstetrician at the University of Miami.

"With the lack of hormones, the body starts to lose calcium from the bones, so women become at risk for osteoporosis and a loss of connectivity from blood vessels and skin -- the wrinkles, the drying out, all those fun things," Richards-Bullock said. "We can't stop it but we can slow it down a little bit."

She advises that patients undergo blood tests to see what hormones are lacking, and only replace those that are missing.

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

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