Archive for the 'Baby Boomers' Category
March 10th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Light to moderate drinking may keep women from gaining too much weight, according to the researchers from the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.
In their recent 13-year study of normal-weight women younger than 50, those who drank light to moderate amounts of alcohol daily, gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese than either teetotalers or those who drank too much.
These findings and conclusions are highly controversial for a number of reasons. Experts do agree that further research is needed to confirm these conclusions, but certainly the findings should not be used as a license to drink.
The fact remains that alcohol is well known to increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, and breast. Regular consumption of even a few drinks per week is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women. In fact, the American Cancer Society warns that those at high risk of breast cancer may want to consider not drinking any alcohol at all.
Source reference:
Wang L, et al “Alcohol consumption, weight gain, and risk of becoming overweight in middle-aged and older women” Arch Intern Med 2010; 170(5): 453-61.
Source: “Cheers! A Drink a Day May Keep the Pounds Away”, MedPage Today, March 8, 2010
Source: “Common Questions about Diet and Cancer” from the American Cancer Society
March 5th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
More and more products with unidentified and harmful ingredients are finding their way into the booming U.S. “Dietary Supplement” marketplace. They are freely advertised on the radio and TV, and are readily available online as well as on the shelves of local grocery stores, pharmacies, and health food stores across the U.S.
This booming multibillion dollar market falls under the category of “Dietary Supplements” which are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances meant to improve your diet or overall health. They are most often advertised as “Natural”, which can often be far from the truth.
“Natural” is an abused word which has become an effective tool of this rapidly growing industry. In fact, many of the so-called “Natural” dietary supplements on the market may not even be what they say they are on the label. Even if they are pure, they still may well have significant adverse effects or interact with commonly prescribed drugs. A good example of their potential danger is that many are well known to interact with anesthesia during surgery.
The “Dietary Supplement” market is essentially unregulated by the FDA. Unlike prescription or over-the-counter drugs, which must be tested and reviewed before they’re sold, federal laws allow the sale of untested, unreviewed, and unregistered Dietary Supplements. So a very dangerous product may be on the store shelves and in your body for quite a while before it’s even reviewed or investigated.
Herbal drugs, claiming to provide miraculous cures for common ailments such as obesity, depression, anxiety, sexual problems, menopausal symptoms, arthritis pain and many others boast safe and natural relief without any side effects. This is absolute nonsense. These supposed remedies may well have dangerous side effects that you will probably discover sooner or later.
These products line many shelves of grocery stores and pharmacies and only the manufacturer itself is responsible for determining that the claims on their labels are accurate and truthful. The products are not even registered with the FDA, and only if the FDA becomes aware of false or misleading claims will the agency take action.
On the other hand, a large number of useful and therapeutic herbal products certainly are on the market, but finding them is a challenge. Do your research before making a purchase. Consumer Labs Online is one reputable source, and your health care provider is another good reference. In fact, it’s important to inform your doctor about any supplements you’re taking. Too many patients make the mistake of assuming that anything purchased over-the-counter is okay, and there’s no point in mentioning it to their doctor.
The law which eliminated the FDA review and testing of dietary supplements was the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which was passed in 1994. Over the years since then, serious health problems have occurred with several different dietary supplements, prompting experts to call for a change in the current law.
Many, including the FDA, are saying this law needs to be changed, but while we’re fixing that law, others are saying that the FDA itself, needs to be reformed. Many people who love their “Natural” products, express their distrust of prescription drugs, and point out that many serious errors have occurred with drugs that have been approved by the FDA. Many experts agree that this is an unfortunate trend, and chronic underfunding of the FDA is said to be a major cause of this problem.
In any event, sticking only to “Natural” products is not the solution. Try to find a health care provider you trust, and make every attempt to be educated, beware and be skeptical of claims that are too good to be true.
Source: “Overview of Dietary Supplements”, FDA
Source: Consumer Labs, “Chromium Supplements (including weight-loss formulas”, March 2010
Source: “What’s in Hydroxycut?”, Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today, May 08, 2009
Source: “Reflections on Hexavalent Chromium: Health Hazards of an Industrial Heavyweight”, Environmental Health Perspectives, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Health, September 2000
Source: “New England journal endorses institute’s proposals for FDA”, BMJ. 2006 October 14; 333(7572): 772FDA
March 3rd, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A woman’s future risk of heart disease and stroke may be associated with the number of births she has in her lifetime, say researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
In their large recent study, women who gave birth two times had the lowest risk of future cardiovascular disease, whereas women with no, one, or three births had about 10 percent greater risk. The risk rose to 30 percent in women with four births and almost 60 percent in women with five or more births.
Another large and well-designed study designed a completely different tool to predict a woman’s risk of suffering a future heart attack, stroke, or other major heart disease in the next 10 years. Read more
Source: American Heart Journal, February 2010
Source: “Heart disease risk tied to mom’s number of births”, Reuters, February 25, 2010
March 2nd, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
For every hour teens spend watching television, there is a 13% increased risk of low attachment to parents and a 24% increase in the risk of having low attachment to peers, according to a recent study out of New Zealand.
Source: “TV, Computers Linked to Weak Relationships”, MedPage Today, March 1, 2010
Source: Richards R, et al “Adolescent screen time and attachment to parents and peers” Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2010; 164: 258-62. 1, 2010
March 1st, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Listen to music you like for 15 to 20 minutes a day — and consider it a healthful a practice like regular exercise and a healthy diet, says Dr. Michael Miller from the Center for Preventive Cardiology, in an article by Health Day.
Involve your child in music on a daily basis, says the Nemours Foundation.
A growing body of research is pointing to the healthful benefits of listening to pleasant music. It has been found to help with such things as pain, stress, depression, intelligence, memory, and sleep to name a few.
One recent study found that soothing music was associated with a reduction in heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure in patients with coronary heart disease. And another study found that music, like laughter, may benefit heart health.
Music therapy is being used successfully with stroke patients. Finnish researchers recently found that listening to music for a few hours a day was associated with a stroke patient’s early recovery.
“Listening to music offers many benefits to children, research indicates. Musically inclined kids appear better at math and reading, have shown better focus, improved self-esteem and seem to play better with other children,” report experts in a recent article by Health Day.
Much more research needs to be done, but the healthful benefits of music are surfacing in almost every area of our lives.
Source: “Health Tip: Introduce Your Child to Music”, Health Day, March 1, 2010
Source: “Tune Up Your Health”, Health Day, January 29, 2010
Source: Michael Miller, M.D., professor, medicine, and director, Center for Preventive Cardiology, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore
Source: Aniruddh Patel, Ph.D., Esther J. Burnham senior fellow, Neurosciences Institute, San Diego
Source: Robert Zatorre, Ph.D., Montreal Neurological Institute, and professor, department of neurology and neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal
Source: Bradt J, et al “Music for stress and anxiety reduction in coronary heart disease patients” Cochrane Database of Syst Rev 2009; DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006577.pub2
February 22nd, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The decline in breast cancer rates among women over age 50 is linked to less use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to Harvard Researchers. In their study of more than 350,000 women, the decline was most significant for cases of estrogen receptor-positive cancer and among affluent, white women who were most likely to have used HRT.
Source: American Journal of Public Health, February 2010
February 19th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The industrial cleaner trichloroethylene (TCE) has been linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers from the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, California.
TCE exposure occurred in jobs such as dry cleaners, electricians, machinists and mechanics. The chemical was once a popular industrial solvent used in dry cleaning and to clean grease off metal parts. Because of safety concerns, TCE is no longer widely used.
Source: American Academy of Neurology, News Release, Feb. 7, 2010
February 17th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A number of studies have found an association between regular exercise and decreased breast cancer risk, and now a new study from Alberta Health Services in Calgary finds further supporting evidence in their trial of 320 postmenopausal women.
The women in this study did aerobic exercise for at least 45 minutes five days a week over a period of 12 months. During the exercise, they monitored their pulse to achieve 70% to 80% of their heart rate reserve.
Periodically the researchers assessed blood levels of hormones and found that exercise was associated with modestly lowered levels of estradiol which is consistent with a slightly lower risk of breast cancer.
Aerobic exercise involves continuous activity that will increase your heart rate and maintain it at a higher rate for a sustained period of time, such as for 20-60 minutes.
In aerobic exercise, you continually move large muscles in the legs and buttocks. This action causes you to breathe more deeply and your heart to work harder to pump blood, thereby strengthening your heart and lungs.
What are aerobic activities? Walking briskly, bicycling or using a stationary bicycle, swimming, running, jogging, stepping machine or climbing stairs, vigorous dancing, ice skating or roller skating, aerobics (regular or low impact) cross-country skiing, rowing and playing racquetball or tennis. Riding a bike is an excellent aerobic exercise that will also strengthen the quadriceps muscles, (thigh muscles) that stabilize the knee joint.
How long? Beginners might want to start with as little as three 10-minute walks a day, most days of the week. People who are younger and more fit might want to aim for as much as 60 minutes a day, most days of the week.
How intense? To achieve the benefits of aerobic exercise, the activity must be continuous, without stopping, and strenuous enough to cause a slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate. Hard enough to break a sweat, but not so hard that you can’t comfortably carry on a conversation. If you monitor your heart rate during exercise, what should it be? Calcuate your target heart rate for your age, using this calculater.
In addition to decreasing breast cancer risk, there are at least 17 other very good reasons to exercise regularly. Here is a list of the many benefits of exercise and some important tips on how to get started .
Note: Before getting started on an exercise program, it’s always best to first consult with your doctor.
Source: “For Older Women, Exercise May Cut Breast Cancer Risk”, MedPage Today, February 16, 2010
Source: Friedenreich CM, et al “Alberta physical activity and breast cancer prevention trial: Sex hormone changes in a year-long exercise intervention among postmenopausal women” J Clin Oncol 2010; DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2009.24.9557.
February 10th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Eating too quickly may inhibit the release of hormones that cause you to feel full, and lead to overeating, according to researchers from Laiko General Hospital in Athens, Greece.
In their recent study, patients who ate a meal in 30 minutes had higher levels of two satiety-inducing hormones, than those who wolfed down their food in five minutes. The two satiety-inducing hormones are called peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1). They function to make the person feel full after a meal and do this by signaling the brain to stop eating.
Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Source: “‘Wolfing’ Down Food Could Pack on the Pounds”, MedPage Today, November 2009
February 8th, 2010 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
According to a recent study, beer is good for bone health. But experts critical of the study, say it may be a good source of dietary silicon, but any attempt to link beer drinking to bone health is not based on scientific data.
The recent study of 100 commercial beers revealed an average of 29.4 mg/L of silicon, with a range of 6.4 to 56.4 mg/L, but no link between dietary silicon and bone density was established. In fact, the study did not look at bone mineral density or analyze any patient data at all.
There may be some merits to the study, say researchers, but it does not provide evidence that drinking beer is an appropriate preventive measure for bone health.
Source: “Down a Beer to Improve Bone Health? Not So Fast”, MedPage Today, February 7, 2010
Source: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
