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Monthly Archives: September 2011
TV watching as dangerous as smoking and lack of exercise
Researchers in Australia say smoking “can shorten of life expectancy by more than four years after the age of 50. That represents 11 minutes of life lost for every cigarette and that’s the same as half an hour of TV … Continue reading
Posted in General Health, Health Headlines
Tagged exercise, life expectancy, lifespan, physical exercise, tobacco, tobacco abuse, TV and health
Comments Off on TV watching as dangerous as smoking and lack of exercise
15 minutes’ daily exercise boosts life expectancy by three years
ABC World News reported, “If you need any more convincing that a little bit of exercise can make a huge difference in your life, here’s some powerful new proof: A study in the medical journal Lancet looked at 400,000 people and … Continue reading
Posted in General Health, Health Headlines
Tagged exercise, life expectancy, physical activity
Comments Off on 15 minutes’ daily exercise boosts life expectancy by three years
No sodas in schools equals less soda in teens
Surveys conducted in 2004 and 2006 showed that student consumption of sugary drinks was significantly reduced after implementation of policies in the Boston public schools against sale of the drinks. Another national survey did not show a concomitant decline in consumption … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Obesity, Parenting
Tagged childhood obesity, Obesity, pediatric obesity, soda, sugar, sugary drinks, vending machines
Comments Off on No sodas in schools equals less soda in teens
IBM working to turn robotic “Jeopardy!” contestant into medical assistant
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports IBM is working to turn Watson, a computer that earlier this year successfully competed on the game show “Jeopardy!”, into a potential medical assistant.
Discredited hCG diet making a comeback
The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune reported that the “long-discredited” human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) “diet is making a comeback, and the renewed interest has spawned a cottage industry for products that haven’t been tested for quality, safety or efficacy, … Continue reading
Posted in Nutritional Health, Obesity
Tagged diet myths, dieting, HCG, HCG diet, HCG injections, low-caloric diet
Comments Off on Discredited hCG diet making a comeback
Processed and red meat increases diabetes risk
USA Today reports, “Eating processed meats and red meat regularly increases your risk of type 2 diabetes,” according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Posted in Nutritional Health
Tagged diabetes prevention, diabetes risk, preventing diabetes, processed meat, red meat, type 2 diabetes
Comments Off on Processed and red meat increases diabetes risk
FDA and ABC slam Dr. Oz; say apple juice is safe
The Boston Globe “Daily Dose” blog reports that in response to “Oprah fave Dr. Mehmet Oz” telling viewers that there “are dangerous amounts of arsenic lurking in … apple juice,” the “US Food and Drug Administration took the unusual step of … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Parenting
Tagged apple juice, arsenic, fruit juice
Comments Off on FDA and ABC slam Dr. Oz; say apple juice is safe
Could frequent tanning bed use become addicting?
The New York Times (Subscription Publication) “Well” blog reports, “People who frequently use tanning beds experience changes in brain activity during their tanning sessions that mimic the patterns of drug addiction,” according to a study appearing in the journal Addiction Biology.
Posted in Mental Health, Skin Health
Tagged addiction, indoor tanning, tanning, tanning bed
Comments Off on Could frequent tanning bed use become addicting?
Two OTC drugs give better pain relief than one for osteoarthritis
A study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases shows that “combination treatment using ibuprofen plus acetaminophen provided better relief of chronic knee pain than acetaminophen alone.”
Posted in General Health, Joint Health
Tagged acetaminophen, ibuprofen, joint pain, knee osteoarthritis, naproxen, NSAIDs, oral NSAID, osteoarthritis
2 Comments
Think you have sleep apnea? Here’s an inexpensive way to predict.
Sleep testing (polysomnography or PSG) to diagnosis obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is expensive and inconvenient, and may not be easily available to patients in rural or under-resourced settings. Is there another option? A new study is reporting a simple, practical approach … Continue reading
Posted in General Health
Tagged obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, polysomnography, PSG, sleep apnea, sleep testing
Comments Off on Think you have sleep apnea? Here’s an inexpensive way to predict.
Annual physicals recommended for ALL young people, even non-athletes
USA Today reports that although most student athletes are “required to get physical exams to compete on school sports teams,” the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend annual checkups for ALL youth “up to … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, General Health, Parenting
Tagged child health, preventive medicine, teen health
Comments Off on Annual physicals recommended for ALL young people, even non-athletes
Early blood test for baby’s gender accurate and extremely controversial
On its front page, the New York Times (Subscription Publication) reported that according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), “a simple blood test that can determine a baby’s sex as early as seven weeks … Continue reading
Posted in Bioethics, Children's Health, Parenting, Woman's Health
Tagged abortion, prenatal care, prenatal diagnosis, prenatal testing, sex selection
Comments Off on Early blood test for baby’s gender accurate and extremely controversial
Catholic Church: Unborn children have a soul at conception
For those of us involved in caring for women and their unborn children, we must face squarely the question, “When does an unborn child have a soul?”
Posted in Bioethics, Children's Health, Parenting, Spiritual Health, Woman's Health
Tagged abortion, beginning of life, human life, life, when life begins
Comments Off on Catholic Church: Unborn children have a soul at conception
Soy tablets NOT effective treating menopausal symptoms
Taking soy supplements will NOT ease the symptoms of menopause or protect against bone loss in women, researchers have reported. In fact, among women in the first five years of menopause, taking soy supplements was associated with a higher risk … Continue reading
Posted in Bone Health, Mental Health, Woman's Health
Tagged bone density, bone loss, isoflavones, menopausal symptoms, menopause, soy
Comments Off on Soy tablets NOT effective treating menopausal symptoms
Young children’s lunches kept at unsafe temperatures
Nearly all lunches packed from home get too warm to prevent foodborne illness despite use of ice packs, according to a study of preschoolers’ sack lunches. In fact, even with multiple ice packs, more than 90% of perishables in the … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Parenting
Tagged food safety, foodborne illness, preventing foodborne illness, school lunch
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More American children eating high fat, fast-food lunches
HealthDay reported that children’s “fast-food lunches, often offered as rewards, accounted for up to 51 percent of most children’s daily caloric needs and more than 50 percent of their recommended daily sodium intake (100 percent of recommended sodium levels for … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Health, Nutritional Health, Obesity, Parenting
Tagged fast food, fast food restaurants, healthy lunch
Comments Off on More American children eating high fat, fast-food lunches
CMS unveils new website with hospital quality data
CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) is beginning a new program to help health consumers compare hospitals based on quality.
Posted in General Health, Medical Economics
Tagged CMS, hospital care, hospital comparisons
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Despite risk of not vaccinating, few teens receive meningococcal vaccine
USA Today reports that few teens are given the meningococcal meningitis vaccine, even though the CDC reports that “adolescents are at higher risk than any other age group.”
Posted in Children's Health, Infectious Disease, Parenting
Tagged meningitis, meningitis vaccine, meningococcal meningitis vaccine
Comments Off on Despite risk of not vaccinating, few teens receive meningococcal vaccine
High-dose zinc lozenges reduces duration of cold symptoms (not low dose)
High-dose, but NOT low-dose, zinc lozenges shorten the duration of the common cold, according to the results of a meta-analysis reported in The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal.
Posted in Infectious Disease
Tagged cold medications, colds, common cold, common cold treatment, OTC cold medications, zinc, zinc lozenges
1 Comment
Some coconut waters don’t deliver on promises
Coconut water—the natural juice from green coconuts— is often touted as a natural alternative to sports drinks. But does it really deliver?
Posted in General Health, Nutritional Health
Tagged coconut water, consumerlab.com, electrolytes, potassium, sodium
1 Comment
Parenting style affects child’s mental health
Matching your parenting style to your child’s personality can greatly reduce your child’s risk of depression and anxiety, researchers say in a new study.
Posted in Children's Health, Mental Health, Parenting
Tagged best-friend parent, best-friend parents, champion parent, champion parents, dictator parent, marshmallow parent, Parenting, parenting style, parents
Comments Off on Parenting style affects child’s mental health
Article details latest generation of sunless self-tanning products
The Wall Street Journal reports (for subscribers) that the newest generation of sunless self-tanning products smells better, looks more natural, goes on more evenly, and helps smooth wrinkles. Some even contain sunscreen.
Posted in Skin Health
Tagged DHA, self-tanning products, sunscreen
Comments Off on Article details latest generation of sunless self-tanning products
TV ads for kids still heavy on unhealthy foods
Even though kids’ total exposure to television pitches for foods high in fat, sugar, and/or salt has declined substantially in recent years, such ads are still the overwhelming majority of advertising that reaches children.
Posted in Children's Health, Mental Health, Nutritional Health, Parenting
Tagged child nutrition, TV, TV and children, TV and health
Comments Off on TV ads for kids still heavy on unhealthy foods
Even small amounts of aerobic exercise lowers coronary heart disease risk
More research is showing that even small amounts of aerobic exercise help lower coronary heart disease risk. The newest review was published in the journal Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, and should encourage even the most sedentary of us … Continue reading
Posted in Heart Health, Woman's Health
Tagged aerobic exercise, exercise, preventing cardiovascular disease, preventing heart disease
Comments Off on Even small amounts of aerobic exercise lowers coronary heart disease risk
Brain shrinkage associated with four factors. What can you do starting today to prevent this?
If you could do four things to dramatically reduce your risk of brain shrinkage (especially that caused by dementia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or stroke), would that be of interest to you?
Posted in General Health, Mental Health
Tagged brain shrinkage, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, overweight, smoking, tobacco abuse
Comments Off on Brain shrinkage associated with four factors. What can you do starting today to prevent this?
Smartphones really are habit-forming: Study
A new study seems to confirm the widely held belief that many smartphone users obsessively check their devices for e-mails, social media and news. Does this mean one can become addicted to one’s smartphone?
Posted in General Health, Mental Health
Comments Off on Smartphones really are habit-forming: Study
Fish oil supplements during pregnancy may help offspring fight off colds successfully
In past blogs I’ve written about some of the health benefits of fish oil supplements. Now a new study is saying if a pregnant woman takes fish oil that it may help her baby.
Posted in General Health
Tagged colds, colds and children, fish oil, fish oil and pregnacy
Comments Off on Fish oil supplements during pregnancy may help offspring fight off colds successfully
Report: Colon cleansing lacks evidence to support its use
In my best-selling book, Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, in the chapter on “Colonics,” co-author Donal O’Mathuna, PhD, and I conclude: “There is no scientific basis for using or recommending colonics for general health.” A new report confirms our recommendations.