Monthly Archive for December, 2008

The hula hoop popular again, but for adult exercise

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on December 31, 2008
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The hula hoop isn’t just for kids anymore. Now adults are reliving part of their childhood by twirling a hula hoop.

They are not only having fun but getting health benefits by hooping, performing tricks and rolling their hips with the hula hoop. Hula hooping has been shown to improve flexibility and it works the abdominal muscles. It also works the muscles in the legs and arms for people who can spin a hoop around them.

Baltimore hooping instructor Noelle Powers says that some mental flexibility is used as well. She encourages exercisers in her hour-long classes to switch the direction of the hoop, which challenges the brain more than the muscles. This exercise can also bring on a meditative trance, according to Powers.

Her classes usually involve stretching with the hoop and performing different tricks and routines such as waling while hooping, or moving the hoop up the body from the waist.

She says that hooping isn’t that hard and hoops that are custom made and often sold by instructors are larger and heavier than the usual toy-store kind. They are more in proportion to the size of an average adult, so they revolve more slowly and don’t take as much to keep rotating. Powers says it’s even doable with a potbelly “and it doesn’t feel like exercise, it feels silly and childlike.”

Diabetes reversed in teens with obesity surgery

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About a third of America’s youth are either overweight or obese. More and more obese children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease and the one that is linked with obesity. In the past, it was rarely seen in kids.

On the positive side, a small study has shown that obesity surgery can reverse  diabetes in teens like it does in adults. There were 11 patients in the study who were aged 14 to 21 and all were severely obese, ranging from 250 to 403 pounds. They were taking diabetes pills and one was on insulin. They had gastric bypass surgery or stomach stapling at five different medical centers. At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital,they were compared to 67 teens who were mostly obese and had diabetes. Their blood sugar was being controlled with diet and medication.

After a year, those who had surgery had lost between 72 and 218 pounds, but none had reduced to a normal weight. Diabetes disappeared within a year for all but one of the 11 severely obese teens in the study, after under going weight- loss surgery, according to the researchers. The 11th patient still had diabetes, but was able to stop taking diabetes pills and needed much less insulin.

All of the teens who did not have surgery still had diabetes after a year and there was no change in their weight or their medication usage, but their blood sugar levels showed improvement.

The researchers said the reason wasn’t clear why diabetes wasn’t reversed in one patient who had been through the surgery, but they mentioned that his mother and a sibling had Type 2 diabetes. The teen still needed to take insulin but was no longer overweight three years after the surgery. Another reason could be that his diabetes was more advanced than the other teens in the study. Previous adult studies have found that the chances of reversing diabetes are better when the surgery is done soon after a being diagnosed. The others were most likely successful because their surgery was done while the patients were in the early stages of the disease.

Go nuts to ward off heart disease

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on December 31, 2008
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Want to reverse a range of risk factors for heart disease? Start eating a handful of nuts a day for a year and include a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish . Adding nuts worked better than more olive oil in an average Mediterranean diet, according to Spanish researchers. Both activities cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than using a low-fat diet.

Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, says that the most surprising finding is that they found significant metabolic advantages in the lack of calorie reduction or weight loss.

In the study, which appeared Monday, December 8, 2008 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the people who were asked to eat about three whole walnuts, seven or eight whole hazelnuts and seven or eight whole almonds showed the most improvement in their health. Although they didn’t lose weight overall, most were successful in reducing belly fat as well as their cholesterol and blood pressure.

Dr. Manson does caution that adding nuts to a typical Western diet that has too much junk food and calories, could cause weight gain and increase health risks. She adds that using nuts instead of snacks such as chips or crackers is a smart change in one’s diet.

According to the Heart Association, 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of health risks like obesity and high blood pressure.  Following a diet that is easy and satisfying could mean major health improvements for many Americans. People feel full when eating nuts and they also increase the body’s ability to burn fat, according to Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvado, the lead author of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain. Sals-Salvado said in an email that “nuts could have an effect on metabolic syndrome by multiple mechanisms.” Nuts have many anti-inflammatory substances such as fiber and antioxidants such as vitamin E. Also, they are high in unsaturated fat, which is a healthier fat which can lower blood  triglycerides and increase good cholesterol.

In the study, more than 1,200 Spainards, ranging from age 55 to 80, were randomly assigned one of three diets for a year. Although some of the participants had risk factors such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and abdominal obesity, none had no previous history of heart disease.

In the beginning, 751 people had metabolic syndrome, which is about 61 percent. These people were distributed evenly among the three study groups.

Basic advice about reducing all fat in their diets was given to the low-fat group. The second group ate a Mediterranean diet that was rich in nuts. The third group ate a Mediterranean diet and had to consume more than four tablespoons of olive oil a day.

A year later, all three groups had less people with metabolic syndrome, but the group that ate more nuts had the most improvement, with 52 percent having heart risk factors as compared with the previous 61 percent. The olive oil group had 57 percent with the syndrome after the study, and astonishingly, there was no significant difference in the syndrome of the low-fat group after a year.

The Spanish Ministry of Health and the government of Valencia, Spain founded the study. The publication disclosed that lead author Salas-Salvado and another co-author are unpaid advisers to nut industry groups. Salvado said that all their research “has been conducted under standard ethical and scientific rules” and that peer-review journal editors determined the study findings were not influenced by ties with any industry.

Study reveals many women get inadequate care for heart attacks

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on December 31, 2008
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A recent study of U.S. hospitals found that women receiving hospital care because of heart attacks often are not provided with the proper treatment, and their chances of dying are higher than men if they experience a massive heart attack.

On the whole, women endure heart attacks about the same as men while under a hospital’s care, but the study revealed that there is a difference in treatment of gender when women experience the most severe type of heart attack. It was found that women receive less of the required medicines and procedures than men, and or it takes a longer period of time to acquire them.

To get this data, 420 hospitals were enrolled in an American Heart Association program. This program objective was to push doctors to observe guidelines for treating patients who have suffered from heart attacks. Past research has indicated that women’s heart attacks were cared for in a less aggressive fashion.

The heart association funded the new research and the results were reported in the group’s medical journal, Circulation, on Monday, December 8, 2008.

A cardiologist who specializes in women’s care, Dr. Nieca Goldberg, said that the study shows that women’s heart attack symptoms are often not being taken seriously.She also adds that women usually don’t have the typical symptoms such as chest pains. They often have pain in their lower bodies or extreme shortness of breath.

In the study, the treatment of 78,254 heart attack victims was observed to check if guidelines were followed and take into account how many of these patients died. The heart association’s”Get with the Guidelines” program require hospitals in the program to log this kind of information in a registry.

Concerning heart attacks overall, approximately the same amount of men and women died in the hospital, but when the most serious kind of heart attacks are taken into consideration, there is a significant difference.

These severe type of heart attacks are caused by a complete blockage of an artery, which keeps oxygen and blood from getting to the heart muscle and causes part of it to die. An electrocardiogram, a machine that finds distinctive changes, is used to do the diagnosis. Prompt action is required to open the artery to get the blood flowing again. This is done either with a clot-dissolving drug or an angioplasty.

In the study, about one-third of the heart attacks were severe. The rough numbers revealed that 10 percent of the women with massive heart attacks died in the hospital. About 6 percent were men. Once the women’s older ages and other differences were considered, the researchers came to the conclusion that the women  in the study were 12 percent more likely than men to die of a severe heart attack while in the hospital. The researchers also revealed that women were not as likely as men to receive necessary medicines, such as an aspirin, within 24 hours, and they were less likely to receive treatment to restore blood flow, or it wasn’t provided quickly enough.

An important point was brought up by Dr. Laura Wexler, a researcher from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She said that heart disease is usually thought of as a man’s disease, even though it is the leading cause of death in women.

Physician warns of imminent trouble for primary care

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on December 13, 2008
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Pauline W. Chen, M.D. recently wrote about primary care in the New York Times  (12/11). She says that even though primary care is provided in a multitude of locations by a diverse array of professionals, including nurses and physicians’ assistants, family-practice doctors, general internists, gynecologists and pediatricians, primary care physicians are the cornerstone of the medical field.

As the nations foremost doctors, primary care physicians confront everything from chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. They even address even more critical conditions such as pneumonia, intractable flu and prospective cancerous masses, tumors and lumps.

Unfortunately, for several months now, medical journals have been reporting on the approaching scarcity of primary care physicians. If present conditions continue to be unaddressed, more primary care physicians may diminish the amount of patients they keep or even have to stop working period.

Democratic leaders and Obama strive to increase health provisions in incentive package

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on December 13, 2008
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The Washington Post (12/12, Connolly) discloses that Democratic leaders and president-elect Obama are working on plans to increase health amenities in January’s economic recovery legislation. They profess that putting an enormous amount of money into an assortment of health programs will give the economy a much needed lift and begin to lay the pavement for a more expansive healthcare reform package.

More federal Medicaid spending has already been guaranteed by Obama for the stimulus package. A huge investment in health information technology also has been promised by Obama. Currently, discussions are going on about increasing money to retrain medical workers, enlarging the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and broadening COBRA. 

An executive vice president at AARP, Nancy LeaMond, views these endeavors as a great beginning towards the goal of a more expansive health reform.

New test improves prediction of breast cancer

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on December 13, 2008
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On Friday December 12, researchers revealed the most advanced test that can foresee a normal woman’s chances of developing breast cancer. This new test is more efficient than the other strategies that doctors have depended on in the past.

This new test is the first and foremost to blend multitudes of genes and unique characteristics such as age and childbearing to measure the probability of getting breast cancer in women without a pronounced family history of this dreadful disease. Three-fourth of all cases are women who have no family history of breast cancer.

While testing its legitimacy, a California study precisely categorized 50 percent more women with breast cancer as high risk than the existing system did and correctly tallied others lower. The reveal was announced at a cancer convention in Texas

Even though this test, as well as others, affirming to foresee risks are available, specialists suggest that more research is needed to substantiate their merit.

An uncomplicated test has been desired by both doctors and women for years that could disclose the threat of breast cancer apart from the two BRCA genes. These genes are prone to cause cancer at earlier stages of life, but they are a factor in a scarce percentage of all cases. There are four companies that have begun to sell more expansive multi-gene tests, but their validity is broadly contested.

Recurring mammograms or MRI scans are recommended for women who are considered to be at high risk. Some women may even contemplate taking hormone-blocking drugs such as tamoxifen. 

The new Onco Vue test is made by a the Oklahoma City-based InterGenetics Inc. company. To avoid disapproval, it is providing the test through doctors only, instead of directly to consumers and proving reliability by using population studies such as the one revealed on Friday. 

The test, which costs $397, searches for 22 modifications in 19 genes that have been traced to breast cancer. Around the country, 33 sites provide the test. First women complete a medical form and then gargle with a mouthwash that unleashes cheek cells that are put into a test tube to be evaluated. These factors are measured by a computer model that rates the cancer risk.

This test includes elements of the risk assessment tool that scientists and doctors use currently-the Gail model, which is named after Dr. Mitchell Gail, the National Cancer Institute biostatistician who created it two decades ago. Some of the elements of the test are age, how many family members have had breast cancer and when a woman first had children or had their first period.

Even though the model is pretty rough and has several restrictions, doctors greatly depend on it. The Internet site for it is sought after about 25,000 times a month.

Being healthy is essential for male fertility

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on December 8, 2008
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Women are usually mentioned when it comes to infertility problems, but 40 percent of the infertility complications in couples can be traced to men. As many as 3 million or more of men possess sperm with no awareness of direction or no sperm at all. 

Dr. Edward Marut, who is the medical director of Fertility Centers of Illinois, claims that three elements of male infertility may be controlled with a healthy lifestyle. 

First of all, obesity should be addressed. Obese men have hormonal changes that can negatively influence fertility, according to researchers. Research also claims that obese men have less children than men who are of normal weight. Secondly, many prescription drugs such as antidepressants can do harm to a man’s ability to be fertile. Finally, there is air pollution to consider. When specific types of air pollution escalates, the movement of sperm in some men is diminished.

Men who want to have children should sustain a healthy lifestyle and try to avoid certain medications, fattening foods, and air pollution.

Sleep disorder may be associated with diabetes

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on December 8, 2008
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OSA, or obstructive sleep apnea, is distinguished as having interruptions during sleep caused by unbalanced breathing. Loud snoring, waking up choking or gasping or with a sore or dry mouth and being extremely tired during the day, are all symptoms of OSA.

One way to know if you have it for sure is to spend the night in a sleep lab. There you are hooked up to electrodes that evaluate your breathing. When people with sleep disorders snore, many physiological things take place. Blood pressure rises, oxygen and blood flow decrease, and heart irregularities are happen. Obviously, this is not a good night’s sleep. During the day, people having sleep apnea tend to have trouble with attentiveness and memory.

So what does all this have to do with diabetes? Diabetes and sleep apnea seem to be linked in certain ways. First of all, excess fat around the midriff is a risk for both diabetes and sleep apnea. People who have apple shapes or more fat cells in the upper body have different health effects than fat cells in the hips and thighs.

Then there is insulin resistance syndrome. It is a condition that is commonly found in people with diabetes as well as people with OSA. When breathing is too shallow, hormones are increased in the body causing blood sugar levels to raise and cause the body to not process excess blood sugar properly.

Another condition called neuropathy-nerve damage- frequently associated with diabetes, is also rampant in people with obstructive sleep apnea.

So what can you do to improve your odds of getting one of these problems or treat the ones you already have? Losing weight, avoid sleeping on your back, get at least 6 to 7 hours of sleep nightly, and avoid alcohol and other medications that may interfere with sleep are all ways that will help.

To summarize, sleep apnea may induce diabetes and vice versa. The good news is that the treatment of one may amend the aftermath of the other. As an example, a beneficial treatment for sleep apnea-Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, or CPAP-can also assist in controlling blood sugar levels by increasing more oxygen to the body.

Even the young and fit should be concerned about blood pressure

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on December 8, 2008
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People who are not obese, don’t smoke, use little salt and have a family history free of hypertension don’t need to worry about high blood pressure, right? Wrong. According to syndicated radio host Dr.Joy Browne and cardiologist Dr. James Rippe, too many people, women in particular, feel that they don’t need to check their blood pressure regularly, because they have been told that their blood pressure is O.K. in the past. These two say that even the active and young should stay concerned about high blood pressure.

Women are usually more concerned with diseases such as breast cancer than hypertension, but hypertension is a condition which may only have a deadly symptom such as a stroke or heart attack. About 1 in 3 in the U.S., a whopping 73 million adults, have hypertension.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that normal blood pressure is under 120 over 80 for men and women. Readings such as 120 to 139 over 80 to 89 used to be labeled as high normal. Newer guidelines now consider these readings as pre-hypertension. Some people with these readings can play it safe by checking their blood pressure regularly and getting healthier with diet and exercise. If numbers are greater than 140 over 90, medication is almost always necessary.

So what exactly is blood pressure? It is the force of blood against the artery walls. The systolic number is the first or top number. It stands for the pressure when the heart contracts. The diastolic number is the second or bottom number that stands for the pressure when the heart rests between beats.

During the day, blood pressure goes up and down. It is considered hypertension when it stays high for too long. Having high blood pressure, usually 140/90 or more, may often not be felt until it is too late. Many people with hypertension may feel fine. Heart attack, stroke or kidney failure may be the result if it is left untreated.

Just because you have a history of high blood pressure doesn’t mean you are safe. Dr. James Rippe says that “if you have normal blood pressure at 55, you still have a greater than 90 percent chance of having high blood pressure before you die because it’s age-related.” That is why regular screening is very important.

Some people think that if you do get on medicine for hypertension and it does not work well, you are stuck. Not true, according to Dr. Rippe. He suggests starting a dialogue with your doctor. He said “you don’t have to accept side effects.”

There are things you can do to prevent future problems with hypertension. First of all, get your blood pressure checked by a doctor, because monitors in public places such as the grocery store may not always be accurate. Avoid smoking and drink alcohol in moderation, although a glass of red wine daily has been known to be good for the heart. Of course, we all know that more exercise is usually a plus, but consult with your doctor first about how to get started if you have been sedentary for awhile. Because process food usually contains a lot of salt and calories, cook your own meals when you can, and don’t add salt while you’re cooking. It is also helpful to not have a salt shaker on the table. You can get more potassium by eating more fruits and vegetables.

Anyone can get high blood pressure, but there are three categories of people who are most likely to acquire it. These are African Americans, overweight people and adults over age 55.

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