May 08 2008 - Milk may help to build, maintain or retain muscle mass and reduce fat
A McMaster University study followed 56 healthy male weight lifters for 12 weeks. Milk was compared to soy beverage in terms of nutrition value in building muscle mass.
The portion of the men who drank milk had increased muscle fiber and mass, and increased leg muscle strength compared to the soy drinkers. The milk drinkers also had a greater reduction in fat mass.
Also milk was shown to be an effective rehydrant.
<www.dairygoodness.ca > May 07 2008 - Re-defining disease
In 2003 molecular biologists, when they sequenced the human genome (the genetic molecular-chemical recipes for synthesizing proteins that make up humans), totally de-stabilized classification of diseases.
Atyl J. Butte and colleagues at Stanford Medical School are redefining how diseases are classified. Rather than using the old system of 1850 origin using signs, symptoms and physiological measures genetic underpinnings will be used.
Under the old system what was thought to be related diseases are often not when genetic influence is considered. And two diseases not thought to be related at all, probably are.
<New York Times May 6/08 pD1 & D4> May 06 2008 - Pregnancies after 40
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that from 2000 to 2005 live births among women 45-54 jumped 45% to 6,536. How many women over 40 actually get pregnant and the various outcomes (abortion, misscarriage)is not known.
<WSJ May 3-4 2008 R12> May 05 2008 - Boomeritis
A cohort of baby boomers may be over doing exercising in a bid to stave off ageing. Ailments tied to muscle and bone have surpassed the common cold as the number one reason people visit the doctor. These ailments include tendinitis, arthritis, bursitis etc. Baby boomers present in the MD's office with fix-me-itis mind sets or an unwillingness to accept the wear and tear of ageing. This phenonemon has been called Boomeritis by the orthopedic surgeon Nicholas DiNubile.
<Wall Street Journal May 3-4 2008 pR12> May 04 2008 - 19th century governess
In "Governess" Ruth Brandon considers the case studies of six governesses living between 1750 -1860. The misery of this job was often an emotional claustrophobia. Frustrating to be unable to determine your future, from what you ate to what you could say or do.
To cite "Jane Eyre","Women feel just as men feel: they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer."
[Today there some general improvement but only for women living in the rich industrialized world. Not much improvement else where.]
<Wall Steet Journal May3-4/08 pW8> May 03 2008 - Vitamin D, the new wonder nutrient
Adequate intake of Vitamin D may be preventative of cancer, heart disease, tuberculosis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.
There appears to be widespread Vitamin D deficiencies in "healthy" populations in developed countries.
Foods high in Vitamin D are fatty fish, sardines, tuna, eggs, and liver. Foods fortified with Vitamin D are milk, margarine, and some breakfast cereals.
Adequate daily intakes are 200 IU for 19-50 years, 400 for 51-70 years and 600 for 71+. Exposure to the sun cause metabolism of Vitamin D in the human skin and produces about 20,000 IU of Vitamin D, so that's the best source of all.
<Washington Post April 29/08> May 02 2008 - How to stay out of nursing homes and assisted care facilities
Minimal resistance training to keep and build muscle strength can keep you living independently.
"The loss of muscle function that occurs with normal ageing has a significant impact upon an individual's ability to undertake tasks of daily living, ensuring transition to dependant care."
Home or community-based weight lifting programs can reverse loss of muscle mass and strength to a significant degree. People well into their ninth decade have benefited from resistance training. It probably never too late to start.
<Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging 2006:26:305-313 > May 01 2008 - How to have a disease and still be healthy
Start or continue to exercise. Name the disease and exercise helps to contain and improve management of the condition - cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, dementia, osteoporosis, gallstones, falls, 12 types of cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, depression and on and on.
The only medical requirement is the workout program needs to be tailored to the individual.
<New York Times April 29/08 > Apr 30 2008 - Which of the professions has the highest rate of suicide?
Medical doctors have the highest rate of suicide of any profession. Every year, between 300-400 physicians take their own lives. One a day roughly. In the general population women are far less suicidal then men - men having four times the suicide rate of women. However the suicide rate among men and women doctors is the same.
A documentary "Struggling in Silence", next month on public-television stations, explores this hidden problem.
<Newsweek April 28/08 p16> Apr 29 2008 - All humans are of African descent
The power source of each human cell is called the mitochrondria. The mitochrondria has it's own signature DNA (mtDNA). mtDNA is sex-linked through the mother, or it is always inherited from the mother. mtDNA is the genetic mapping mechanism that shows all humans to be of pre-historic African descent.
Mutations in mtDNA are used to re-construction the migration out of Africa by humans. Humans first emerged 200,000 years ago in Africa. 60,000 years ago humans spread to Asia from Africa and then to Australia 50,000 years ago. Humans came to Europe 50,000 years ago and America 15,000 years ago.
<Economist April 26/08 p101> Apr 28 2008 - Mother's food consumption at conception affects baby's gender
New research shows a clear link between higher energy (calorie) consumption around the time of conception and the birth of sons. This is especially true if the mother eats cereal for breakfast.
This research explains the small but consistent decline over the past 40 years in the birth of boys in the western world. Women of the affluent industialized West are more prone to low calorie diets which are linked to higher female child births.
This research is to be published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences and the lead author is Fiona Mathews U. of Exeter.
<Economist April 26/08 p102> Apr 27 2008 - Over active bladder management
Got frequency, urgency, incontinence? Try the website The Powder Room. Dr. Gifford Jones in his weekly syndicated medical column reports it contains everything you ever wanted to know about overactive bladders.
Best of all for Canadians, the Powder Room has launched a cross country locator of best bathrooms.
<Doctor Game. Expositor Tuesday April 22/08 pC1> Apr 26 2008 - Eating Disorders Among US Women
A recent study found that 65% of American women between the ages of 25 and 45 report disordered eating behaviours.
Most surprising was that 31% of the group reported that in an attempt to lose weight, they had induced vomiting or had taken laxatives, diuretics or diet pills at some point in their lives. More than 50% reported that they engaged in purging activities at least a few times a week, and many did so every day.
Other findings:
-67% of the women (excluding those with actual eating disorders) are trying to lose weight.
-53% of dieters are already at a healthy weight and are still trying to lose weight.
-39% of the women said concerns about what they eat or weigh interfere with their happiness.
-37% of women said they regularly skip meals to try to lose weight.
-27% said they'd be extremely upset if they gained just five pounds.
-26% have eliminated entire food groups from their diet.
-18% have dieted on 1,000 or fewer calories.
-13% smoke to lose weight.
What a sad set of data.
<Health.yahoo.com 4/26/2008 University of North Carolina/Self magazine> Apr 25 2008 - Salmon, A colorful Food
Salmon is a lean protein high in healthy omega 3 fatty acids and is a great choice no matter what species of the fish.
Serve with a side of carrots or sweet potato and you will get all the vitamin A you need.
<Miami Herald, April 22, 2008> Apr 24 2008 - Life Expectancy for American Women Stagnating or Declining
In certain geographic areas of the US, life expectancy has stagnated and even declined, especially among women. The worst off appeared to be among lower income Americans concentrated in the southern states. In those communities race did not seem to affect life expectancy.
Chronic disease related to increases in smoking, high blood pressure and obesity are factors driving the trend.
<Voice of America News, 22 April 2008> Apr 23 2008 - Alcohol consumption and breast cancer
A recent Harvard study/survey revealed that the public does not know there is a signifciant link between breast cancer and alcohol.
The study's author, Dr.Kenneth Mukamal an internist, was further amazed when he informally polled colleagues and friends at cocktail parties. "Most have no idea about this [connection], either".
Two or more drinks a day are associated with a 30-40% increase risk of breast cancer. If there is a mother or sister with breast cancer the risk is even more substantial.
<Washingtonpost.com April 22, 2008> Apr 22 2008 - Alcohol and cancer prevention
There is a sliding scale phenomenon to alcohol consumption - a small daily amount is preventive of chronic diseases to include cancer. A larger daily intake of 80 grams or more significantly increases risk of cancer.
[If you have first degree relatives with cancer or you have survived cancer it might be prudent not to drink alcohol at all.]
<Dr.Richard Beliveau PhD Expositor April 22/08 pC1> Apr 21 2008 - Two-income trap in the suburbs
As reported yesterday, to achieve a better standard and quality of life, middle class couples generate more income by both working outside the home. This cash flow gets them to their dream home in the suburbs but vulnerable to financial disaster. This is especially true for women with children who divorce and become single parents.
Marriages now face a 50/50 chance of splitting up. Women in the labor force are 40% more likely to divorce then stay at home counterparts. 200,000 single mothers go bankrupt each year or one mother in 38. From twenty years ago that means a 600% increase in mothers going broke.
<The Two-income Trap. 2003.> Apr 20 2008 - Bidding wars in the suburbs
Millions of middle class parents are searching for a house on a safe street with a good school nearby. Demand heats up for the narrow slice of this type of housing stock. This market is largely driven by women wanting to give their children an economic edge in life [and rightly so].
To achieve the dream - nice home in the suburbs - mothers augment the family earning capacity by fielding themselves as the second income earner.
The problem is that too much mortgage debt is taken on to achieve the middle class neighborhood dream. Other expenditures suffer; food, clothing, home furnishing, maintenance and repairs, upgrades etc.
<The Two-income Trap. 2003> Apr 19 2008 - What can make the difference between being sued or not as a doctor?
"Recently the medical researcher Wendy Levinson recorded hundreds of conversations between a group of physicians and their patients. Roughly half of the doctors had never been sued. The other half had been sued at least twice, and Levinson found that just on the basis of those conversations, she could find clear differences between the two groups. The surgeons who had never been sued spent more than three minutes longer with each patient than those who had been sued did (18.3 versus 15 minutes)."
Active listening to the patient was the common phenonema among doctors never sued.
<Blink 2005> Apr 18 2008 - Goldman's heart attack rules
The NEWS yesterday told of heart disease, to include heart attacks (myocardial infarction), being the number one issue in womens' health.
The following information may save you some time around emergency units if you are presenting there with signs and symptoms of a possible heart attack.
A cardiologist named Lee Goldman back in the 1970s fed hundreds of cases of people with cardiac attack symptoms into a computer. He then developed a 95% accurate statistical model predictive of what symptoms were going to produce a heart attack. Cook County Hospital in Chicago now routinely uses this desicion tree risk model.
The first risk assessment item is a electro-cardiogram (ECG)reading and you want to know is it normal or not. Then risk query No.1 do I have unstable angina? No.2 is there fluid in my lungs? Finally risk query No.3 is my systolic blood pressure under 100?
If you have a normal ECG but all three of the risk factors you are at high risk for an attack. If you have an abnormal ECG but none or one of the risk factors the probablity of an attack is low.
Apparently all the rest of your medical history, gender and race is irrelevant in terms of a cardio-vascular attack. Just the about risk critera is relevant.
<Blink. 2005> Apr 17 2008 - Women and heart disease
More women die of heart disease every year than all forms of cancer combined.
The following are five steps you can take to lower your risk for heart disease.
1. Stop smoking immediately
2. Lose weight. Try to get as near as possible to your ideal weight for your body type and stay there.
3. Eat heart healthy foods. (fruit, peas, beans, all kinds of vegetables and whole-grain foods)
4. Avoid junk food.
5. Get exercise. At least 1/2 hour per day.
<Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/17/08> Apr 16 2008 - Eating friendly bacteria or probiotics
Foods such as yogurt and kefir contain live cultures of friendly bacteria. If cultures can survive the transit through the acid-filled stomach, measurable health improvements are possible virtually without side effects.
Allergies, asthma, eczema, gastrointestinal phenomona, food born infections, and some auto-immune conditions respond well to probiotics.
However, the research on probiotics is emerging, alot is not known. Still unproven are which strains of friendly bacteria are best to use for what purposes. Optimal dosages, deliver routes, survival of cultures in products, legislated standards of production etc., have not been worked out.
<washingtonpost.com Tues April 15/08> Apr 15 2008 - Green tea appears to prevent pre-cancerous mirotumors
One of the main effects of green teas is that they prevent microtumors - spontanously developed during our life - from creating new networks of blood vessels essential to their growth. Green teas keep these microtumors in a latent and inoffensive state.
One cup of green tea daily contains enough of the catechin metabolite, thought to be the active cancer-preventing agent, to thwart microtumors.
<Richard Beliveau , PhD, University of Quebec. Expositor April 14/08 pA7> Apr 14 2008 - Excessive Fat Around the Waistline
A 16 year study involving 45,000 nurses who were not known to have heart disease gives us some food for thought.
The nurses provided their waist circumference at the beginning of the study and then were re-evaluated every two years to see what illnesses they might have developed and if they died, of what cause.
It was found that women in the top 20% of waist sizes (greater than 35 inches) had twice the risk of dying from a stroke or heart attack when compared to their small waist size ( less than 27 inches) counterparts. Smokers and non smokers and women of normal weight all showed the same trend.
Waist measurement is important predictor, but it is not a given that reducing it will insure a healthier heart profile if other elements are ignored such as smoking and lack of physical activity.
<CanWest Interactive, April 14, 2008> Apr 13 2008 - Why should you visit www.pubmed.gov, the world's largest and free medical library?
There appears to be a substantial and growing disconnect between what is in the medical literature and what physicians know (WSJ, Sept 25, 2005, "Too Many Patients Never Reap the Benefits of Great Research").
A 2001 survey by the Kanter Family Foundation found that doctors often fail to follow the best scientific evidence for treating medical conditions, partly because they lack time and access to the latest research data (WSJ, Oct 29,2001, "Doctors May Lack Data for Treating Certain Ailments").
www.pubmed.gov - the US goverment's virtual medical library - contains lots of really good health-improving news that will not reach you promptly if you depend on your doctor to inform you. As mentioned in yesterday's NEWS item pubmed is free to everyone. The more informed the health care consumer or patient the better the outcome for all.
This website, www.femalebrain.com, uses only pubmed-originated science and bio-medical data. If you are facing a hysterectomy, as something like 800,000 North American women will, please see NEWS items below for March 15,16 & 17, 2008. If you are fighting obesity see NEWS items for March 19, 21 & 24, 2008. If you want to take control of anxiety and depression see NEWS for March 30 & April 1, 2008. If diagnosed as insulin resistence and pre-diabetic see NEWS for April 8, 2008.
<opinion heather@femalebrain.com> Apr 12 2008 - www.pubmed.gov is the world's greatest /largest medical library and it's free
As mentioned in yesterday's news item www.pubmed.gov is a service of the US National Library of Medicine.
At no charge, you can enter a search by author, topic or journal. Over 17 million article citations from the bio-medical and science scholarly journals are available to be searched by computer.
The article citation is a summary of the full length journal article. In most cases the citation is all that is available for free. Government funded research articles are available free one year after the initial publication date.
The thousands of scholarly journals have various independent policies for making journal articles available to the public. Most journals charge a fee per article, plus have some free articles for downloading. Some journals if you identify yourself as a patient will let you have it for free.
<Milestones in the NLM history. www.nlm.nih.gov> Apr 11 2008 - United States National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Since 1895 the United States goverment has funded and maintained the world's greatest and largest medical library. Manuals - Index Medicus - containing the NLM holdings have been available since 1879. In 1997 the NLM made the now computerized index - www.pubmed.gov - available for free.
Anyone in the world with a computer connected to the web can access over 17 million citations from science and biomedical scholarly journals.
When the medical library was initiated in the 1818 it was intended as a resource for military physicians. From 1867 onwards the library was opened to all doctors. The 1997 free access to the library through www.pubmed.gov truly democratized medical information, making it available to everyone.
<Brief history of NLM www.nlm.nih.gov> Apr 10 2008 - Dietary supplements can be harmful, even lethal
A 2002 Harris poll found that 70% of adult Americans take vitamins, minerals or other supplements. Dietary supplements and homeopathic remedies are available over-the-counter, without prescription.
Self-medicating on non-prescription pharmaceuticals, to include supplements, and not disclosing it to their physicians is where people do themselves harm, sometimes fatally.
Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E, and K; niacin; folic acid; calcium; magnesium; iron; and zinc can be hazardous when combined with various presciption drugs and other over the counter remedies.
<New York Times April 8/08 pD7.> Apr 09 2008 - How to avoid chronic diseases
A review in the Canadian Journal of Public Health summarized that physical activity reduces the risk of over 25 conditions, in particular heart disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
<Runner's World May 2008 p50.> Apr 08 2008 - What to do if you are pre-diabetic and have insulin resistance
People (obese or not) with insulin resistance - which puts them a high risk for type 2 diabetes - are genetically malfunctioning in terms of insulin-dependent signalling and transport of glucose into the cells.
Since the 1960s evidence has been mounting of a way for these individuals to over-ride this genetic flaw. Skeletal muscle is the major source of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. It appears that multiple muscle contractions, as in exercise, bypasses the typical insulin signalling defects.
A single bout of exercise increases the glucose uptake of skeletal muscle mass. This normalization of glucose uptake last 48 hours. A program of chronic exercise every day or second day is probably preventive ( or corrective)of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
<Exercise training-induced improvements in insulin action. Acta Physiol 2008.192:127-135> Apr 07 2008 - Want to lose weight?
Runing is one of the most effective weight-loss activites - 100 calories per mile. To burn the most calories vary the pace. Go shorter and faster one day, longer and slower the next day. This prevents getting too comfortable with a routine and the body finding ways to conserve energy.
Short fast runs speed up metabolism for hours afterwards and calories are burned more efficiently. Long runs of 90 minutes or more cause the use of fat stores as fuel.
<Runner's World May 2008 p50> Apr 06 2008 - Two ways to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
Reduce your carbohydrate consumption - bread, baking, pasta etc., - and reduce your weight. In a study of 168 obese men these two preceding modifications improved their blood chemistries and possibly their cardio health. Strangely, modification of saturated fat had no significant effect on aspects of their blood chemistries.
<NutriNews@dairynutrition.ca April 2008> Apr 05 2008 - Important decisions should not be made on an empty stomach
If you want to arrive at a decision using reason and analytic thought make sure you have eaten recently. This ensures that you have an adequate blood sugar level and glucose is reaching your brain.
A study in Psychogical Science found that participants receiving a no sugar/glucose drink before making a decision used intuition or feelings rather than reason or analysis. The participants who received a sugar/glucose drink made reasoned decisions.
<Economist March 29/08 p105-106> Apr 04 2008 - Are There Antibiotics in Milk?
Ask yourself the question "Why would I do something to my product that would destroy my market and ability to earn a living?" You wouldn't and neither would a farmer. Milk undergoes strict testing to ensure its high quality and the absence of antibiotic residue.
When a cow is treated with antibiotics, her milk is not permitted in the milk supply pool and is discarded. The cow is removed from the herd until her milk tests clear for antibiotic residue. To ensure that no antibiotic residue remains, all milk is checked by the farmer, checked by the milk truck driver who picks up the milk at the farm ( a bulk tank antibiotic test is administered) plus a sample from the milk tank is taken for further checking. Once the truck arrives at the milk plant the milk in the tanker is tested before it is unloaded. If it is found to contain any trace of antibiotic that full tanker is discarded and the culprit farmer is hit with strict and large penalties.
<Spotlight on Nutrition, Winter 2008> Apr 03 2008 - An orange a day keeps knee pain away
An Austrialian study of 300 people followed for ten years demonstrated that the highest consumers of Vitamin C from fruit had the least knee pain. Vitamin C appears to be protective against bone-marrow damage, cartilage wear and tear and possibly osteoarthritis.
<Runner's World April 2008 p50> Apr 02 2008 - Asparagus anyone?
One cup of asparagus supplies 15% of your daily value (DV) for vitamin K, which is vital to bone health, and 65% of DV for folate, a B vitamin that promotes healthy blood cells and prevents birth defects.
Vegetable and grain sources of iron are more easily absorbed in the presence of asparagus because of its high Vitamin C content.
Asparagus, also high in Vitamin B6, when teamed with animal protein which is high in Vitamin B12 causes a synergic action to lower homocysteine which improves cardiac health.
<Runner's World April 2008 p52> Apr 01 2008 - Non-pharmacological way to manage anxiety and depressive thoughts
Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, a UCLA neuro-psychiatrist and practicing Buddhist, wondered if teaching mindfulness to obessive-compulsive (OCD)people could improve their conditions.
He showed his OCD patients their PET brain scans when they were in the grip of an anxiety-producing thought compellng them to un-necessary/unrealistic action. From the PET scan the patients could see that abberant neuron over-activity was the cause of the thought and nothing else.
The patients were then taught to be mindful of their thinking. When OCD thoughts hit them they were taught to re-label them as their brain's neuro-circurity over-heating temporarily.
Within a week of teaching patients to re-label thier mental symptoms as 'temporary over-firing neuro-circurity' improvements were reported. The patients now believed the re-labeling gave them a strategy to control the symptoms. The same strategy has been helpful for depressive or negative thinking.
<Train Your Mind Change Your Brain. 2007> Mar 31 2008 - Steamed broccoli better than raw
Italian researchers found that steamed broccoli contains higher levels of glucosinolates, a plant metabolite found to block tumor growth in rodents, compared to raw broccoli.
<Runner's World April 2008 p 50.> Mar 30 2008 - Non-pharmaceutical way to upgrade your mood/affect
Feeling anxiety-ridden, depressed, or other such negative affect? Using positron emission tomography (PET scans) scientists have found a way to bio-mechanically upgrade your mood. The physical act of running or other intense endurance exercises up-regulates the neuro-receptors in the brain's limbic and prefrontal areas. [The prefrontal-limbic neuro-circuitry is deeply involved with regulation of emotions.] An increased flow of endorphins, induced by exercise, is able to bind more readily at the more numerous receptor sites. A range of individual-specific feelings from a sense of wellbeing, relaxation, clearer thinking, to euphoria are the result.
If you don't want to take mood-altering psycho-active drugs, or you want to improve the effect of the drugs you are taking, try running.
<The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex On line Feb 21/08> Mar 29 2008 - Digestive problems and perimenopausal transition II
Over the last five years of transition digestive problems of all sorts have plagued the creator of this website. Along with a dramatic decrease in coffee consumption to one cup/day the following Granola recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine really really improved digestion etc.,
4 cups old fashion long cooking type rolled oats
2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup sweet flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla
half a cup vegetable oil
half a cup honey
1 cup dryed cranberries
1 cup golden raisins
Mix first eight ingredients together and bake at 375 degrees on oiled pan for 25-30 minutes. Then add cranberries and raisins, cool and store in air tight container. Have a couple of tablespoons every morning with yogurt and fruit.
<heather@femalebrain.com> Mar 28 2008 - Digestive problems and perimenopausal transition I
Starting in the late 30s and early 40s age span 20% of women begin a symptomic and difficult premenopausal transition. Often there is a full decade (plus or minus) before the final menstrual cycle and cessation. Estrogen levels are chaotic and up to 30% higher than in younger women.
Hormone receptors line the digestive tract and the fluctuating estrogen levels are thought to dysregulate the normal bacteria of the tract. Abdominal cramping, gas pain, constipation and diarrhea can result.(1)
Also, in a study of middle-aged female mice their uterine weights were found variable and enlarged. As humans have 88% of the same genetic make-up as mice it is probable that the female human uterus enlarges at mid-life (transition) as well. (2)[There is little female human research on the uterus necessitating the preceding extrapolation from rodent/animal science.]
There is only so much room in the pelvic/abdominal area for the various organs. Any enlargement of the uterus could cause the slowing of gut motility. Nausea, indigestion, cramping, gas pain, constipation, diarrhea could be the result.
<(1)Transition through the perimenopausal years.2004. (2)Neuroscience 149(2007)401-408 > Mar 27 2008 - Wastebasket diagnosis
Repeated medical appointments complaining of the same set of symptoms, after awhile, means its not going to kill the person immediately or anytime soon.
The doctor becomes indifferent or looses interest because dire illness is ruled out. For example chronic complaints of chest pain when nothing more serious turns up are given the wastebasket labels of costochondritis (chest wall inflammation) or gastric reflux (indigestion).
Physicians are taught to triage or attend to the sickest most salvageable [from imminent death] patients first. A secondary and low priority is given to cases with misery inducing symptoms (high morbity) but low mortality (will not kill you).
[The above helps to explain why women with neuro-hormonal complaints (high morbity/low mortality) - premenstrual syndrome, postpartum depression, difficult perimenopausal transition, polycystic ovary syndrome etc., - are so badly managed by the medical community.]
<New York Times March 25/08 pD6> Mar 26 2008 - Men eat differently compared to women
In the most extensive survey of its kind, 14,000 Americans were telephoned and asked about what they ate. Men eat more meat than women do. Women eat more vegetables and fruit. Men are bigger consumers of frozen foods - pizzas, hamburgers, Mexican food. Women are more likely to eat eggs, yogurt, and fresh hamburgers. Men will eat undercooked eggs and hamburgers risking contamination.
<Wall Street Journal March 20/08 pD5> Mar 25 2008 - Style advice books for women over 40
These books feed on the aging female baby boomer's obsession with looking young, a phenomenon enculcated by our western culture. These books offer bizarre beauty suggestions and fuel baby boomers' terror of aging.
The top selling style advice book on Amazon.com titled "How Not To Look Your Age" suggests the reader inject poly-L-latic acid into the balls of her feet so she can go on wearing stilettos heels.
[Stilettos are a documented crippler of women throwing them off thier natural center of balance, causing low back damage and greatly reducing their ability to move quickly. Muggers in subways listen intently for the shape clicking sounds of stilettos, they know she can't escape.
What kind of tissue damage injecting an acid into the foot will do is anyone's guess.]
<Wall Steet Journal March 20/08 pD1> Mar 24 2008 - What has descended to us from paleolithic ancestors in terms of weight reduction
Humans first appeared approximately 50,000 years ago. We have changed only minimally in physiology from ancient ancestors.
The first humans, hunter-gathers, averaged an individual intake of 3,000 calories/day and expenditure of 1,000 calories/day, a 3:1 ratio.
A sedentary modern human, in a rich western country, on average consumes 2100 calories/day and expends 300 calories, a ratio of 7:1. This consumption/expenditure pattern causes obesity.
To prevent obesity and re-establish the 3:1 ratio of the ancients, a modern human being needs to burn 700 calories/day. An hour per day of aerobic exercise to burn an additional 400 calories is necessary to prevent weight gain.
<Fatness in Women: www.femalebrain.com 2006> Mar 23 2008 - Factors that prevent divorce
Be a college graduate, marry and then have children. Marrying in your teens or having children out of wedlock is linked to higher rates of divorce.
Couples who wait to live together until after they are engaged have a lower divorce rate than couples who co-habit without commitment.
<Wall Street Journal March 20/08 pD1> Mar 22 2008 - Genetic advantage for people of African descent
New computational genetic research reveals that Americans of European descent carry more potentially harmful genetic variations than do African-Americans.
It may be that the first few thousand humans who ventured into prehistoric Europe caused inherent genetic flaws to become wide-spread, because of the initial small population.
<Wall Street Journal March 21/08 pB1> Mar 21 2008 - Bred-in-the-bone human predisposition for high calcium intake
Modern humans are almost physiologically identical to Stone Age ancestors.
Anthropologists believe these first humans to have consumed 1,800mg of calcium per day from uncultivated plant food and some wild game. The diet of evolving humans was extremely calcium rich.
Today, the ameliorating effect that just adequate dietary calcium (1,200mg) has been shown to have on hypertension, premenstrual syndrome, postpartum depression, polycystic ovary syndrome, osteoporosis, and obesity demonstrates a bred-in-the-bone human predispositon for high calcium intake.
By cows eating calcium rich plants, the benefit is passed on to humans in the form of milk and dairy products.
<Fatness in Women: www.femalebrain.com 2006.> Mar 20 2008 - How much sleep do you need?
The normal adult needs between 7 and 8 hours. Dr.Pollock, director of sleep medicine center at Cornell Medical Center, states there is great variation from person to person and age to age. Sleep deprivation is a problem but not wake deprivation from too much sleep. Most people cannot sleep more than the amount they need. But people can make up for sleep deprivation by sleeping longer on the weekend for example.
<New York Times March 18/08 pD3> Mar 19 2008 - Commerial for-profit weight loss programs a waste of money
Weight Watchers the originator of commerical weight loss programs and products has a clientele that is 95% female. The estimated cost for three months of Weight Watchers is $167, Jenny Craig is $1,249, and Optifast is $2,000.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1993 filed deceptive advertising charges against several commercial weight loss companies. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig fought the charges until 1997 when they settled with the agreement to publicize the fact that MOST DIETERS REGAIN THE POUNDS THEY LOST or WEIGHT LOSS IS TEMPORARY.
<Fatness in Women. www.femalebrain.com 2006> Mar 18 2008 - Men receive better knee treatment than women
A Canadian study has revealed that men get preferential treatment when it comes to knee replacement surgeries.
The study had one man and one woman both age 67 visit 38 family physicians and 29 orthopedic surgeons. Both individuals gave exactly the same history and knee complaint to the doctors. Both asked "Do you think I will need a new knee?".
The researchers found that two-thirds of doctors recommended knee replacement for the man. Only one third thought it was appropriate for the woman.
The study leader, Dr. James G. Wright professor of surgery U of Toronto, states "Women are less likely to get this very effective surgical procedure...They should be more aggressive in challenging doctors, especially by getting a second opinion."
<New York Times Tues March 18/08 pD6> Mar 17 2008 - Increase in dementia with oophorectomy
Evidence is emerging that a neuro-molecular-hormonal cross-talk is going on between the ovaries and the brain, even in the post-menopausal years. When one or both ovaries are removed (oophorectomy) before the age of 45 and the cross talk is severed, there is significant increased incidence of dementia.
<What to do about losing your hair. 2007. www.femalebrain.com> Mar 16 2008 - Non-surgical management of menorrhagia (heavy menstrual flow)
Hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the uterus with or without the cervix, and with or without the ovaries. Every working day in the United States 3,000 women undergo hysterectomies or approximately 600,000 per year.
Menorrhagia is one of the most common presenting symptoms. The peak incidence of hysterectomy is between 40-52 years, coinciding with peri-menopausal years when 25% of women will have at least one episode of menorrhagia.
Post-op uterus specimens frequently show no abnormality, suggesting the VAST MAJORITY OF HYSTERECTOMIES ARE UN-NECESSARY. Menorrhagia can be conservatively managed with among other interventions over-the-counter Ibuprofen which will decrease blood flow by 30% and one iron tablet per day for one year. If untreated peri-menopausal menorrhagia will completely resolve over five years and be gone in the post-menopause.
<What to do about losing your hair. 2007. www.femalebrain.com> Mar 15 2008 - Women predisposed to iron depletion
The average blood loss per menstrual flow is two tablespoons or 30 ml. A loss of six tablespoons or 80 ml is excessive and predisposes women to iron deficiency over time. Sixteen staturated normal sized tampons or pads over a menstrual cycle equals 80 ml of blood loss. Heavy menstrual flow of this nature - with or without clots and/or fibroids - is called menorrhagia. Menorrhagia is common in adolescence and peri-menopause (age 40-50 plus or minus).
Any blood loss, especially menstruation, can lower iron reserves and eventually lead to iron-deficiency anemia. A 2002 San Diego study produced data to suggest that 38% of menstruating women are iron deficient.
<What to do about losing your hair.2007. www.femalebrain.com> Mar 14 2008 - Doctors are pieceworkers Part II
Doctors are usually reimbursed for whatever they bill. As reimbursement rates have declined in recent years, most doctors have adapted by increasing the quantity of services...Over consultation and overtesting have now become facts of the medical profession. The culture in practice is to grab patients and generate volume.
<New York Times March 11, 2008 pD5> Mar 13 2008 - Doctors are pieceworkers Part I
Doctors are paid piecework for their services, on a fee-per-service basis, causing un-necessary and overtreatment abuses.
A Long Island cardiologist revealed the following about his stress test procedure room. In order to just break even on the equipment, technology and personnel for the room he needs to have 10 stress tests on patients per month, whether or not the patients need the tests. Per month the room's nuclear imaging camera lease is $4,500, treadmill lease is $400, office space $1,000, technician fee $1,800, nurse $1,000 and miscellaneous $200.
<New York Times March 11, 2008 pD5> Mar 12 2008 - Why does amount education influence longevity?
One of many reasons may be in relation to tobacco use. About one fifth of the differences in mortality between well-educated and less educated groups can be accounted for by smoking related diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema. In addition less educated people are likely to have lower incomes, less access to good health care, poor housing conditions etc.
One exception to all the above was that immigrants with low levels of education fared better in health outcomes compared to US born citizens.
<health.msn.com March 11/08> Mar 11 2008 - Level of Education tied to Life Expectancy
According to a recent study in the United States those people with more than 12 years of eductation, (greater than high school) should expect to live to 82 whereas those with less than 12 years of education have a life expectancy of 75 years.
It seems that the message in this study is that poverty and limited education are enemies to both opportunity and health.
<MSN Health and Fitness, March 11, 2008> Mar 10 2008 - Water volume of some Common foods
A few examples:
Lettuce (1/2 cup)- 95% water
Watermelon (1/2 cup) - 92% water
Broccoli (1/2 cup) - 91 % water
Grapefruit (1/2 cup)- 91% water
Milk (1 cup) - 89% water
Orange Juice (3/4 cup) - 88% water
Carrot (1/2 cup) - 87% water
Yogurt (1 cup) - 85 % water
<Denver Post, March 7, 2008> Mar 09 2008 - More from the registered Dietitians of Ontario
Benefit from balance. Challenge family members to reach a healthy weight. Eating right, being active and reaching and keeping a healthy weight are a few things that improve health. Feeling your best can be related to feeling good about yourself, being in a good mood, quality of life and lack of stress.
Quality counts. Limit foods and beverages high in calories, fat, sugar or salt (sodium) such as cakes and pastries, chocolate and candies, cookies and granola bars, doughnuts and muffins, ice cream, French fries, potato chips, alcohol, furit-flavoured drinks, soft drinks and sweetened hot or cold drinks.
<The Observer, March 7, 2008> Mar 08 2008 - March is Nutrition Month in Ontario Canada
The following are some key messages from the Registered Dietitians at the County of Lambton Ontario, Community Health services Department.
Eat well and get physical. Follow Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide (www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide) and Physical Activity Guide (www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/paguide/index.html) to healthy eating and active living.
Give food portions a makeover and control serving sizes. Portion sizes have grown along with our waistlines. Canada's Food Guide and www.EATracker.ca can help you see what a serving size really looks like and how many to have daily.
Colour your plate with vegetables and fruits. Despite the numerous benefits, most people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. Eating more vegetables and fruit has been linked with lower risks for heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes and even stroke. Include a vegetable or fruit at each meal and snack.
Make meals a family affair. Studies suggest that 25 to 33 percent of families rarely or never eat together and only 50 percent of adults with children say they eat all seven evening meals together. Eating together provides an excellent opportunity to set a good example for positive eating behaviours, like healthy eating and good food habits.
<Sarnia Observer, March 7, 2008> Mar 06 2008 - Health literacy
A Canadian study had found that half of adults do not understand the jargon and medical terms their doctors use. As a consequence they poorly manage their medications and health care. In the over 65 group 88% are unclear about exactly what the doctor has said to them. Medical professionals when surveyed were totally unaware that they were not being understood.
<Canoe network cnew > Mar 05 2008 - Got chronic ringing in the ears? Try this new therapy
Tinnitus or chronic ringing in the ears affects 50 million Americans especially soldiers. Neuromonics has developed a device to signal the brain via music and various sounds to over-ride the ringing and eventually teaches the brain to ignore the ringing. Patients have had a wide range of outcomes with the device, alot of them positive. The chief audiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, Craig Newman, is very enthusiastic. [The Cleveland Clinic is a high perfomance center of excellence in medicine.]
<Wall Street Journal March 4/08 pD3> Mar 04 2008 - Suicides decline in countries where SSRI antidepressants available
The medical news this week that SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are not that effective for most people over-shadows another important finding. If a person is so deeply depressed as to be suicidal there is good evidence that SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil etc.) work. America's National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed data from 26 countries over decades and determined that SSRIs bring down the over-all suicide rate. These drugs are a very cost-effective means of saving lives.
<Economist March 1/08 p84-85.> Mar 03 2008 - Cosmetic Surgery is Still Surgery
A story appeared in the Houson Chronicle about a TV anchor who underwent intense pulsed light surgery (photofacial) to remove a couple of freckles. The bottom line is that it left her with blotches of damaged flesh and areas of discolored skin that she compared to a tiger's stripes.
She is now getting twice-monthly treatments at the Baylor College of Medicine for five months to correct the damage.
<Houston Chronicle, Feb 29, 2008> Mar 02 2008 - Sleep is a necessity not a luxury
According to Dr. Ralph Pascualy of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle " sleep is an incredibly busy and active state".
The following are the positive outcomes of an 8 hour sleep. Neural circuits in the brain are rewired; memory is consolidated and fortified; short-term memory moves to long-term memory; growth hormone levels are restored; blood pressure drops; the cells in your organs are strengthened by protein synthesis; it helps you avoid becoming exhaused physically and mentally from stress; and finally research has shown it is easier to lose unwanted pounds if you get your eight hours per night:
<Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 2, 2008> Mar 01 2008 - Only a small group of severely depressed benefit from anti-depressants
For less severely depressed people anti-depressants work no better than placebos or sugar pills.
The findings are reported in the Feb'08 issue of PLoS Medicine. The researchers, lead by Irving Kirsh, Ph.D, looked at FDA data previously unpublished by the drug manufacturers and published data.
Kirsh stated that drug companies selectively publish [supportive]data.
This contributed a conformational bias among doctors and patients that the drugs work when they actually don't.
<WebMD Feb 27/08.> Feb 29 2008 - Seniors reduce morbity with diet
An Ohio nutrition assistance program involving 160,000 senior citizens demonstrates the power of adequate fruit and vegetables in the diet.
The US department of agriculture recommends one and a half cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables per day for older people.
Participants in the program were able to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, cancers, and medications with an up-grade to adequate dietary fruit and vegetables.
<Cooking Light March 2008 p60.> Feb 28 2008 - Feeding the brain to stay sharp and high functioning
As recently as the 1970s it was believed that the blood/brain barrier prevented the brain from being affected by serum nutrients originating from ingested food.
In 1971 the team of Judith J. Wurtman Ph.D and her husband Richard Wurtman MD discredited this view by showing that carbohydrate-rich foods increased serotonin levels in the brain and made people feel better.
It is now known that fatty fish - salmon, mackerel and tuna - is truely brain food. Also, the Vitamin Bs to include folate are strategic to a well functioning brain.
<Integrative Psychiatry 1987:5:225-257. Cooking Light March 2008 p102-106.> Feb 27 2008 - Preventing Alzheimer's and dementia
Researchers found when the thinking skills of 7,000 people were tested in 2003 and compared with those in a similar but different group in 1993, there was a significant improvement.
The 2003 cohort were believed to have had improved education, lifestyle, medicine and other factors compared to the 1993 group. The 2003 group probably have a "cognitive reserve" giving them a cushion in aging.
<New York Times Feb 26/08 pD6> Feb 26 2008 - Women of African American descent unfairly prone to fatness
"While we are all generally getting fatter, the real burden of morbid obesity is falling disproportionately on one group of Americans: black women. According to a 2002 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), women in general are about twice as likely as men to be morbidly obese, but a sobering 1 in 6 black women is that overweight - almost more than three times the prevalence rate for any other subgroup of women and men."
<Mirotrends By Mark J. Penn 2007> Feb 25 2008 - Prevention of multiple sclerosis (MS)
White people, living in cold climates, getting in-adequate dietary Vitamin D, and/or having a first degree relative with MS are at increased risk of MS.
Getting adequate Vitamin D before the age of 20 may be pivotal in preventing MS.
During summer months, when the ultra-violet rays are strongest, it is important to expose skin to the sun for Vitamin D to be produced by the body. The rest of the year Vitamin D supplementation and appropriate food choices need to be used.
<JAMA Dec 20, 2006 Vol 296 #23 p2832-2838> Feb 24 2008 - Q & A with the actress Kathleen Turner
Q: You're 53. Do you think women in their 50s get ignored?
A: Oh, yeah. I think society writes us off. Once we're not needed every day as a mother, that's it.
<Newsweek Feb 25/08 p63> Feb 23 2008 - life's inequities
Western society (wrongly) sees taller people as more competent and having greater leadership potential than shorter people.
Attractive people are (falsely) viewed as possessing a long list of desirable traits such as honesty, generosity and kindness. People judged attractive are more self-confident and tend to be extroverts.
<Newsweek Feb 25/08 p49> Feb 22 2008 - Nutrient of the decade = Vitamin D
Researchers at Creighton University in Omaha conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial among 1,179 free living healthy postmenopausal women (reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Those taking calcium and 1,1000 IU of Vitamin D3 each day developed 80% fewer cancers, than those who took just calcium or a placebo.
<New York Times Feb 19/08 pD7> Feb 21 2008 - Heart healthy food choices
Whole grains, fatty fish and produce are protective against heart disease. Consumption of whole grains, rich in Vitamin E, reduces risk of cardiovascular disease by 21%. Fruits, vegetables and nuts lower cholesterol and prevent weight gain which prevents heart disease. Fatty fish reduce the resistance to blood flow in the circulatory system and prevent clotting and heart attack.
<Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2008 p116> Feb 20 2008 - Artificial sweeteners - eg., saccharin - make you fattter!
It appears that artificial sweeteners may cause a dysregulation of the brain signaling fullness or "I have had enough to eat". Laboratory rats were divided into two groups, one group received a diet that included yogurt with artificial sweetener (AR) and the other group's diet contained yogurt with plain sugar(PS).
After five weeks the AR group were fatter than the PS group.
At two weeks each group was given a un-expected treat - a calorie-rich chocolate pudding. The PS group compensated for the pudding by reducing intake at the next meal. The AR group made no such adjustment.
It was noted that the metabolic rate as measured by body temperature went up normally in the PS rats in relation to food intake and digestion. In the AR rats there was an abnormal decrease in body temperature with eating and digestion.
It appears that low-calorie artifical sweeteners are a contributory factor to rising obesity rates.
<Economist Feb.16/08 p89> Feb 19 2008 - Keeping the brain sharp with the right nutrients
Diets rich in Vitamin C and E are consistently associated with lower cognitive impairment associated with aging.
Vitamins B12,C,E and folate may play a direct role in keeping your mind sharp. People over 60 may notice improved learning, attention and response speed if their diet is upgraded to adequate in these nutrients. Lean animal protein - eg., turkey - is an excellent source of B12 and fortified cereals supply folate.
<Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2008 p118> Feb 18 2008 - What to eat for healthy strong bones
Calcium, Vitamin D and phosphorus are needed for bone health. Dairy products are the most abundant and best source of all three nutrients and offer the best absorption for bio-availability.
Non-dairy sources of calcium are salmon, sardines, and fortified tofu. Some calcium and abundant Vitamin K are found in greens such as broccoli, kale, and bok choy. Vitamin K appears to have bone protection properties.
<Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2008 p116.> Feb 17 2008 - What to eat for healthy & glowing hair and skin
To be healthy the hair follicle or root needs the following metabolic supplies from food: calcium and protein. Eat dairy products, eggs and fish to get these nutrients to hair roots.
Skin benefits from Vitamin C, lycopene, omega-3 fatty acids and soya protein. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, tofu, and soy protein provide the necessary nutrients.
<Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2008 p114> Feb 16 2008 - Mood altering food
Studies in which scientists have compared fish intake across ten countries have concluded that rates of clinical depression, bipolar disorder and postpartum depression are generally 30-50 times greater in countries with low fish consumption.
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish may offer mood enhancing effects. People with higher levels of omega-3s were less likely to report feeling blue.
<Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2008 p44-48.> Feb 15 2008 - Cataract prevention
Vitamin E and lutein appear to reduce the risk of old age cataracts (dark areas on the lens of the eye obscuring vision). The January issue of The Archives of Opthalmology journal reported on a study of 35,000 women who were followed for ten years. The one fifth of women who consumed the most Vitamin E and lutein reduced their risk by 14% with Vitamin E and 18% with lutein.
Vegetable oils, leafy green vegetables and whole grains are sources of Vitamin E. Lutein is found in fruits, corn, kale, spinach and other vegetables.
<The New York Times Feb.12/08 pD6> Feb 14 2008 - Timing your hospital stay
It might be prudent to avoid admissions or hospital stays over weekends. Heart attack patients admitted on weekends were less likely to receive aggressive treatment and had slightly higher death rates. Patients who had operations on Friday and spent the weekend in hospital were 17% more likely to die in the following 30 days than those who had their operations earlier in the week.
<The New York Times Feb 12/08 pD5> Feb 13 2008 - Clothing designers not designing anything that fits most women
The Spanish government's Ministry of Health measured 10,000 women, ages 12 to 70, with laser scanners. Three main body shapes were found; hour glass, pear, and cylinder. The very tall skinny body shape that most designers use for design patterns is a myth or idealized. Women can't find clothes that fit, there is no standard sizing, and what is on the racks is generally too small.
<New York Times Feb 12/08 pA6> Feb 12 2008 - Coffee has multiple health benefits
The chlorogenic acid in coffee has been shown to protect against type 2 diabetes. Older Norwegian women who drank three cups of coffee per day had 24% less cardiovascular disease related death than non-drinkers. Finns who drank 10 cups or more daily were 84% less likely to develop Parkinson's Disease. Three cups a day also boosts long term memory. Coffee may protect against colon, rectal and liver cancer.
To get the benefits of coffee it must be coffee not high fat sweet coffee-like drinks that Starbuck's serves.
<Expositor Feb 12/08 pA9> Feb 08 2008 - Domestic violence
Nearly a quarter of women in the US are victims of domestic violence at some time in their lives, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reported.
<Wall Street Journal Feb 8/08 pA1> Feb 07 2008 - Its may be better to be un-happy, sad, dissatisfied etc
The message from the psychiatric community that all sadness is a disease is apparently wrong. A report in the journal Perspectives on Psychology by Deiner and colleagues found that on a scale of 1-10, 10 being extremely happy, 8s were more successful than 9s and 10s, getting more education and earning more. People who are somewhat discontented appear to be more motivated to improve their lot.
<Newsweek Feb 11/08 p50-52.> Feb 05 2008 - Heart disease and diabetes associated with daily diet soda consumption
Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome - the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obestiy, high cholesterol, and blood glucose levels - and elevated blood pressure.
9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 were followed for nine years in terms of their dietary patterns and health. The risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34% higher among those who drank one can of diet soda per day compared with those who drank none.
<The New York Times Tues Feb 5/08 pD9> Feb 04 2008 - Mushrooms are Good for You
Mushrooms are the best source of ergothioneine which is an antioxidant that fends off Alzheimer's and diabetes. They are also high in selenium, a micronutrient that protexts cells from UV light and air pollution.
<Runner's World, March 2008, Pg 52> Feb 03 2008 - Preventing Colds and other Infections during Winter
Key tip: Keep your nasal lining and upper respiratory tract moist through proper humidification of your home. It's no coincidence that more colds, more flu, more sinus infections and more pneumonia occur during the dry winter months.
<Philadelphia Inquirer, 01/28/08> Feb 02 2008 - Lets work on those arms and shoulders
Many women can blaze away on the treadmill and crank out lower-body exercises but won't invite their arms and shoulders to the party.
To start try pushups. Fourteen is considered about average.
The benefit: You will be able to stand upright as you grow older and be able to carry your grocery bags. Muscles disappear if they aren't used. Bones grow brittle if they are not made to bear weight.
<Washington Post, 12/27/2007> Feb 01 2008 - Homeopathy and Holistic Medicine
Homeopathy, a longstanding alternative to standard medical practice that appears to be undergoing a revival, is based on "similia similibus curantur" or like cures like. A pharmacologically active substance tiggers symptoms and these symptoms can be cured by giving micro doses of the same substance.
Dr Jack Killen, acting director of the US government's Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Center states homeopathy "goes beyond current understanding of chemistry and physics" and " There is, to my knowledge, no condition for which homeopathy has been proven to be an effective treatment."
<Newsweek Feb 4/08 p14> Jan 30 2008 - Sleep integral to learning
The brain is changing all the time, this called being neuo-plastic. Learning is an activity that is constantly remodeling/changing the brain. Sleep seems to provide a down time for consolidation of what was learned and remodeling of synpases (the gaps between neurons over which behavioral messages are fired). Sleep enhances the brain for more learning the next day.
<New York Times Jan 29/08 pD3.> Jan 28 2008 - Diet Sabotage
Here are four mistakes to avoid.
Not eating enough.
By going long periods without eating can lead to cravings and binges. A diet only works in the long term if you stick to it.
You want a Quick Fix
Steer clear of anything that promises results with little or no effort. Look to making healthier food choices and walking.
Friends and Family can Tempt you with Bad Choices.
When you go out stick to your guns, don't let them derail you from your goals.
Not getting enough Sleep
Studies have shown that not enough rest may cause you to gain weight. The reason is not clear yet but somehow sleep does affect metabolim.
<Parade, January 27, 2008, Pg27> Jan 27 2008 - Why do doctors and hospitals deliver so much unnecessary care?
Multiple reasons. One being doctors lack the evidence they need to know which treatment are most effective and which drugs and devices really work. They also lack the training to interpret the quality of evidence that is available. They overtreat out of a desire to help even when they don't know the right thing to do.
<Overtreated. 2007 by Shannon Brownlee> Jan 26 2008 - Overtreated
US doctors make so much more money than physicians in the rest of the world not because they charge more, but because of the volume of services they deliever [un-necessarily], the large number of colonoscopies, hip replacements, surgeries, office visits etc.
<Overtreated, 2007 by Shannon Brownlee> Jan 25 2008 - Is breaking up hard to do?
No. 69 Northwestern students in romantic relationships were followed for six months and 38% split up. The students experienced much less despondency than predicted. Those who predicted their post relationship feelings most accurately seemed to have had the least problem going forward.
<Atlantic Jan/Feb 2008 p25> Jan 23 2008 - The Economics of Flourinated Water
Two researchers from Columbia University have analyzed the effects of childhood exposure to flouride (helps strengthen tooth enamel and reduce tooth decay by up to 50%) on adult income. In those communities where the water was flourinated there was a benefit of a 4% income increase. The greatest benefit was for those in the lower socioeconomic background and was more pronounced for women.
Is this because women may be more likely than men to choose careers that place a premium on appearance and thus are more likely to be discriminated against based on their looks?
<The Atlantic, January/February 2008, Pg 24.> Jan 22 2008 - 4 Behaviours that Add Years to Your LIfe
Avoid smoking, exercise, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, drink alcohol moderately.
A study involving 25,000 women and men ages 45 to 79 found that by following this advice one could live up to an additional 14 years. The trend was strongest for cardiovascular disease and cancer, but also significant for other causes.
<New York Times, Pg. D6, Jan22, 2008.> Jan 21 2008 - Sigmund Freud, father of psycho-analysis, dubious/devious personality
A new book on Freud, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, expains how he would argue with his peers about their ideas, then later take them as his own with a slight twist. When Freud's ideas started to carry weight with his peers and they would adopt them, he would change his mind and twist or reverse his position.
[Refreshing that Freud the Fraud is giving way to science based neurobiology.]
<The New York Times Book Review Jan. 20/08 p11.> Jan 17 2008 - Is it ever too cold to exercise?
No. Some worry that cold air will injure their lungs or cause asthma symptoms. Lungs are not damaged by cold air states Kenneth W. Rundell, the U. of Scranton director of respiratory research. No matter how cold the air is, by the time it reaches the lungs, it is warmed to body temperature. Exercise induced asthma in cold air is not from the cold but the dryness of the air. Cold air does not hold much water and is quite dry and that is what irritates the respiratory tract. Dry warmer air will have the same asthmatic effect on the predisposed individual. Try running or working out in cold weather with a scarf or balaclava so that exhaled air can moisten inhaled air.
<New York Times Jan 17/08 pE8> Jan 15 2008 - Plant oils are healthy fats
The majority of plant oils are primarily monounstaturated and polyunsaturated fats which are heart-healthy. The omega-3 fatty acid in polyunsaturated fat has also been found to improve immune function and reduce joint inflammation and pain. Some fat with vegetables and fruit helps to absorb vitamins and anti-oxidants contained in produce. The healthiest oils are olive, canola, sunflower, sesame, flaxseed and nut (walnut, peanut, and almond).
<Runners' World Feb 2008 p46> Jan 13 2008 - Chocolate is health promoting
Research has shown that flavanols, the compounds found in cocoa, have antioxidant properties that help mop up the damage done by free radicals. Also flavanols may help reduce heart disease. You want to aim for a 1.5 ounce portion of chocolate bar that is 35% cocoa to derive a health benefit. Try Dove Rich Dark Chocolate, Scharffen Berger, or Cadbury Royal Dark. You don't want vegetable oil, hydrogenated oil, or trans fat in your bar.
<Runners World Feb 2008 p48> Jan 11 2008 - Want to live longer?
Exercise, quitting smoking, moderate drinking and eating fruit and vegetables can prolong life by 14 years a UK study found
<Wall Street Journal Tues Jan 8/08 pA1> Jan 10 2008 - Do you have a Checklist of Questions to Ask your Surgeon?
The following is a partial list of questions that should be asked before and after surgery.
Before Surgery:
Do you perform this operation regularly? What are your results?
Are you board certified in the surgical specialty in which you practice?
Do you have any health problems that would interfere with your ability to do this operation?
What is your success rate with this operation and your safety record regarding complications?
Will I be involved in marking the surgical site?
After Surgery
Did anything unexpected happen during the operation?
Is there any change in the post-operative plans?
Did anything happen during surgery that could complicate recovery?
Are there any instructions for me in case of bleeding or other problems after surgery?
When should I next see the surgeon?
These are just a few of the checklist questions from the book "I need an Operation-Now What" by Thomas R Russell, American College of Surgeons.
<Wall Street Journal, Jan, 9, 2008 Pg. D1-D2> Jan 08 2008 - Women now have gender equality in terms of smoking induced lung cancer
Women are now dying at the same rate as men of lung cancer from smoking. And they had to fight significant cultural pressure to achieve this equity.
Until the 1920s a woman who smoked in public was not only considered vulgar, she risked a warning from the police. A 1914 Washinton Post article branded women who smoked as tainted and not the kind to marry.
In 1928 Cleveland Boy Scouts were to use their influence to discourage women from smoking because it 'coarsened' women and 'detracted from the ideal of fine motherhood'. In 1918 Texas Senator Joseph Bailey expressed the view that if smoking kept women at home and stopped them from voting, let them smoke.
[You have come a long way baby, but in this case, in the wrong direction.]
<Doctor Game, Expositor Jan 8/08 pA6 & Wall Street Journal Deja Vu Jan 7/08 pB1> Jan 07 2008 - Find your MD not very good?
The following may be the reason: As of 2006, nearly 60% of doctors polled by the American College of Physician Executives said they had considered getting out of medicine because of low morale, and nearly 70% knew of someone who already had.
<New York Times Jan 6/08 p1&2 (Sunday Styles)> Jan 05 2008 - Does the Doctor Prescribe Placebos?
A study of 466 faculty physicians at Chicago area medical schools were surveyed and it was found that almost one half of them prescribed placebos the previous year. Placebos are dummy pills.
Although there are many reasons cited for doing so, this practice undermines one of the key principles of Western medical ethics. That is:"informed consent."
<Journal of General Internal Medicine, Jan, 2008.> Jan 04 2008 - Baked goodies
Don't deprive yourself of delicious baked goods -cake, cookies, pies etc. Forbidden foods will tantalize you all the more. Instead, choose modest-size servings and savour the flavour.
<2008 Milk Calendar www.MyMilkCalendar.ca> Jan 03 2008 - Strong bones
Osteoporosis, a deterioration of bone mass, strikes one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50.
Adequate calcium in the diet is pivotal to bone health. We absorb calcium form the food we eat, so if consumption of calcium is low, the body rips it from bone, causing bone to be less dense and more facture and osteoporosis prone.
Add calcium-rich milk and dairy products to your diet to prevent or delay bone deterioration.
<2008 Milk Calendar www.MyMilkCalendar.ca> Jan 02 2008 - Nutritional powerhouse
Research shows that merely by eating meals with family in a sit-down environment - using a dining table and chairs - improves nutrition.
<Milk Calendar 2008 Dairy Farmers of Canada www.MyMilkCalendar.ca> Jan 01 2008 - Foods that make you feel sleepy
Tryptophan is an amino acid involved in sleep and mood control. Turkey, beef, and chicken all contain tryptophan. And a ham and cheese sandwich overwhelms with the amino acid. Add these proteins to your comfort food choices
<USA Today Dec 31, 2007 p7D> Dec 28 2007 - Safest and best treatment for irregular periods and acne associated with PCOS
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a partially genetic condition where the ovaries are propelled by the brain to make excessive estrogen and androgen (male hormones).
The chonic high estrogen level disrupts ovulation and causes irregular to no menstrual cycles. The male hormone causes acne and facial hair and scalp balding.
The researcher-physician and UBC professor of endocrinology, Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, recommends cyclic progesterone therapy to re-regulate the menstrual cycle. She also prescibes spironolactone to block the male hormone action which clears the acne and reverses the hair problems.
<www.cemcor.ubc.ca Centre for menstrual cycle and ovulation research> Dec 27 2007 - Oatmeal, cinnamon, vitamin C, fish, almonds and wine = natural ways to reduce cholesterol
The fibre in oatmeal and oatbran binds with bile -which contains cholesterol - and excretes it instead of it entering the blood stream. Half a spoonful of cinnamon per day can reduce cholesterol by 20%. Vitamin C converts cholesterol into bile acids that are excreted instead of being absorbed by the body. Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids lower blood triglyceride levels. A handful of almonds per day reduces the risk of cardiovascular event by 18%. Moderate consumption of red wine has a de-clogging effect on the arteries.
<Doctor game. Expositor Dec 26/07 pC1&c2> Dec 26 2007 - People's estimates of the number of calories they burn wildly exaggerated
A mathmetician at a meeting announced that he could eat a piece of pie because he had just run a quarter of a mile. Well no. At 100 calories per mile he may have burned 25 calories and a pie slice could easily contain 400 calories.
Also, the calorie counters on execise machines - stationary bikes, elliptical cross trainers, stair climbers etc., - are inaccurate because the machines get out of calibration.
A possible exception is the treadmill where the calorie counters are closer to accuracy but only if you do not hang on to the bars. Hanging on to the rail bars reduces the calories burned by 40-50%.
<New York Times Dec 20/07 pE6> Dec 25 2007 - Season's Greetings
From the staff at Femalebrain.com have wonderful holiday.
<Femalebrain > Dec 24 2007 - Exercise Works for You
Dr. James Dillard who wrote the book "The Chronic Pain Solution, states "we have data showing that all causes of mortality are lowered by exercise". The list is long. People have less heart disease, diabetes, cancer, fewer accidents and die less from exercise.
A nice walk of about one and a half miles should only take 30 minutes
<Buffalo News, Dec 23, 2007> Dec 23 2007 - Bio-identical progesterone protects against neural damage in brain injury
Progesterone and/or its metabolite allopregnanolone, save neurons from the effects of excessive excitatory neurotransmitter release in response to brain injury. Both hormones work to minimize brain damage.
MPA, a synthetic analog of progesterone (see two previous news items) is not able to reverse excitotoxicity and prevent neuronal loss.
<Endocr Rev 2007 28:4:387-439> Dec 22 2007 - MPA may promote breast cancer
The cancerous tumor-promoting role of MPA and other synthetic progestins - the most widely used for hormone replacement and contraception formulations - has recently been demonstrated.
Earlier studies showed no effect because of small populations under treatment. This has dramatically changed with data from the Million Women Study (UK), European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, and Womens' Health Initiative (US).
The data from the above recent studies found significant increased risk of breast cancer among users of MPA and other synthetic progestins in combination with estrogen.
Users of bio-identical/natural micronized progesterone did not have an increased risk of breast cancer.
<Endocr Rev 2007 June 28:4:387-439> Dec 21 2007 - MPA not bio-identical to endogenous progesterone
MPA (trade name Provera) is one of the most prescibed synthetic progestins for HRT and contraception - alone or in combination with CEE (conjugated equine estrogens).
MPA (medroxyprogesterone acetate) has small molecular structural differences from endogenous/natural/bio-identical progesterone. These differences result in MPA not providing the neural protection, nerve coating regeneration, and anti-anxiety benefits of natural progesterone. Theses differences may be pivotal to preventing or delaying neuro-degenerative disease - eg. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's - in the ageing female.
Micronized progesterone [trade name Prometrium] is an oral natural progesterone that when compared to MPA-regime improved vasomotor, somatic, anxiety and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women. There may be a sliding-scale phenomenon before the right dosage of oral progesterone is reached.
<Endocr Rev 2007:28:4:387-439> Dec 20 2007 - Vitamin D essential for immune function
Research is mounting that all humans are of African descent. As these ancient humans left African with their protective-against-the-sun dark skins they paid a penalty in terms of vitamin D absorption. In the less sunny climates of Eur-Asia lower levels of vitamin D were metabolized in skin and and immune systems and skeletal mass suffered. The finding of tuberculosis traces in the brain of a 500,000 year old skull in Turkey confirms suppressed immunity due to lack of vitamin D.
<New York Times Dec 18/07 pD3> Dec 19 2007 - Seasonal affective disorder may have been evolutionary benefit
There might have been a survival advantage thousands of years ago to slowing down and conserving energy - sleeping and eating more - in winter. People with seasonal depression could be the descents of these ancient humans.
<New York Times Dec. 18/07> Dec 16 2007 - Barley nutritious whole grain
Hulled barley(barley groats) is barley with its fiber-rich bran layer still intact. Pearl barley is is at the other end of the scale with its bran and germ layer stripped. Pearl barley is still nutritious but not the equivalent of hulled barley. Pot or scotch barley is less refined type of pearl barley.
<Fine Cooking May 2005 p76> Dec 14 2007 - Strong possiblity your lawyer is depressed
Some 19% of lawyers suffer depression at any given time which is much higher than the 6.7% of the general popualtion. One in five lawyers is a problem drinker, twice the national average. The billable-hours system, ceaseless deadlines and adversarial nature of the work are anxiety provoking. Some 19% of lawyers quit law firms ever year. Two-thirds of attorneys surveyed by the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program said they had no exposure to day-to-day life as lawyer before entering the profession. If allowed to start over 30% would choose another profession.
<Wall Street Journal Dec 13/07 pD1> Dec 12 2007 - Improve your memory by 30-40%
It's been known for a while that aerobic exercise increases a brain chemical called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which encourages new synapes and strenghten existing ones. A new report is indicating that aerobic exercise - an hour a day, four days per week for three months - causes the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus. Such neurogenesis can only mean better lifelong brain circuity for thinking, memory, intellectual functions etc.
<Newsweek Dec.10/07 p68> Dec 11 2007 - Trouble getting pregnant? Try whole milk and ice cream!
A fasinating finding from the Nurses' Health Study is that two daily servings of whole milk and foods made from whole milk - full fat yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream etc., - seem to offer some protection against ovulatory infertility, while skim milk and low fat milk do the opposite.
This information was the current issue of Newsweek magazine titled " Fats, Carbs and the Science of Conception" .
<Newsweek Dec. 10/07 p54-62.> Dec 09 2007 - 'Snake Oil Science'
The above title is the name of a book by R. Barker Bausell, a bio-statistician at the U. of Maryland. From 1999-2004 he headed the UM's probe into the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine. He critically reviewed acupuncture, homeopathy, healing magnets, assorted herbs, and supplement treatment studies. Most of the treatments worked no better than fake treatments or placebo effect - typically about a third of patients in a clinical trial will improve no matter what is done or not done to them. He wrote the above book to educate the public that the vast majority of clincial trials do not meet the tests of sensitivity, validity and reliablity.
<News week Dec 10/07 p22.> Dec 08 2007 - Health halo effect
The Journal of Consumer Research reports that people tend to underestimate the calories in restaurant main dishes advertised as healthy/low fat. They add caloric drinks, sides and desserts.
Study participants wrongly concluded that meals from a sandwich chain contained 151 fewer calories than the same calorie meal from a hamburger chain.
Ingredients and portion size translate | 
