Author Archive for Jana

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How to stop the habit of nail biting

Published on September 14, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Many people bite their nails; some even for years. They often try to stop, but like a smoker, it is a hard habit to quit for good. Usually there is a subconscious impulse for nail biting when reading, driving or watching TV. It can be a reaction to stress, anxiety, boredom or fear. Many people have realized that their bad habit of nail biting began during childhood in response to a stressful situation such as moving away or transferring to a new school.

Not only does nail biting have a negative impact on one’s appearance, it is very socially unacceptable. It can also lead to getting viruses and infections.

Unfortunately, there are not many well-controlled studies on the treatments for nail biting. Most health care professionals will say that this is a habit stemming from a obsessive-compulsive disorder. There is some data indicating that cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective in extreme cases (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, May 2009).

In mild cases, over-the counter products such as Mavala Stop or Control-It may help. They remind the nail biter to not bite when they get the bitter taste in their mouth. Other people have found that wearing gloves around the house helps to remind them to quit their bad habit.

There is an exploratory study that suggests taking the nutritional supplement N-acetyl cysteine might also be helpful to stop this habit.  (CNS Spectrums, July 2009). This specific nutraceutical could help with impulsivity.

Here are some other tips that have been helpful to stop nail biting:

  • Keep nails polished at all times
  • Try to have an emery board and hand lotion handy in several areas of your home and car
  • Treat yourself to professional manicures to keep your nails looking their best
  • If you are under stress, try squeezing a stress ball instead of nail biting
  • Imagine yourself with long healthy nails
  • Remind yourself of the nasty germs that can enter your body when you bite your nails
  • When sitting still, keep your hands busy by reading a book or magazine, writing, giving yourself a manicure or some other activity
  • Make sure you are getting enough biotin, protein, calcium, fatty acids, vitamin B12, zinc and silica. Here is some additional information about these vitamins on how they affect nails and the best sources for getting them into your diet.

PFCs Could Lead to Early Menopause

Published on September 12, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism recently published a study which discovered that women who had been exposed to large amounts of chemicals might experience menopause earlier than normal.

These man-made chemicals, called per fluorocarbons or PFCs, can be found in household products that are used everyday, such as furniture, clothing, carpet and plastic food containers. Since PFCs are used so often, they can be found in our air, water, plants, soil, animals and even us humans. Current estimations claim that almost 98 percent of adult Americans have substantial amounts of PFCs in their bodies. These chemicals can have many damaging effects, such as a risk for cardiovascular problems and a harmful effect on our immune system.

Dr. Sarah Knox, of West Virginia University School of Medicine, says “there is no doubt that there is an association between exposure to PFCs and onset of menopause, but the causality is unclear.”

This was the largest study to ever be performed on the endocrine/hormone-disrupting effects of PFCs in women. It analyzed the levels of two types of PFCs in almost 26,000 women from age 18 to 65. Dr. Knox discovered that women who were between the ages of 42 and 64 having the highest blood levels of PFCs were 40 percent more likely to have menopause experiences than those who had lower levels.

Also, one of the chemicals, called PFOS – a breakdown product of chemicals that had earlier been used to make Scotchgard products, affected levels of the hormone estradiol, which is a form of estrogen. She said that when the levels of PFOs were high, the levels of estradiol were low. When estradiol falls, menopause nears.

The websites safer chemicals.org and ewg.org/reports/pfcworld both explain several steps you can take to reduce your PFC exposure. Here are some ways you can start decreasing your risk for exposure to PFCs:

  • Try to avoid packaged foods containing grease-repellent coatings such as microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes and french fry boxes
  • Avoid stain resistant treatments. Pick carpet and furniture products that are not marked as stain-resistant. Also don’t apply finishing treatments like Stainmaster to these or other items.
  • Don’t use personal-care products that have ingredients with the words “fluoro” or “perfluoro”. Dental floss, facial moisturizers, nail polish and eye makeup may all have PFCs in them.
  • Avoid Teflon or nonstick cookware. If you do use nonstick cookware, try not to let it reach above 450 degrees when heated. Throw away cookware that shows signs of deterioration.

Problem drinking in teens may foreshadow alcoholism later in life

Published on September 5, 2011 in Health and Wellness and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Often adolescent drinking is overlooked as something they will outgrow. Studies may indicate that problem drinking in someone around the age of 18 might predict alcoholism when they reach their mid twenties.

A questionnaire called the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index is currently used to study drinking-related problems among teenagers. In this study, researchers looked at whether the scores predicted anything about a person’s future drinking behavior.

They evaluated 597 Finnish twins at age 18 using a questionnaire. The same people were interviewed when they reached age 25 to assess their alcohol abuse and dependence.

It was found that the people who had drinking-related problems at age 18, such as getting into fights or school problems from alcohol use, were more prone to be diagnosed with alcoholism at age 25. The study was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

More accurate diagnosis for food allergy may require eating some of it

Published on September 5, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Guidelines issued in December of 2010 by a group of food allergy experts, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, indicate that those who believe they have food allergies might want to take an oral food test, called an oral food challenge. During this test they consume the suspected food in a doctor’s office. Then the symptoms are observed, so the doctor can give a more accurate diagnosis.

These guidelines eliminate trying to diagnose a food allergy only by using a skin-prick or a blood test that may only suggest that a person is “sensitized” to a certain food. These tests may also be given in addition to looking at the patient’s medical history, along with a physical exam.

Many doctors have numerous blood tests done on different foods. Then when they find insignificant amounts of an antibody present, they assume that the patient is allergic to this food and should never consume it. Often these patients are put on extremely restricted diets that are usually not necessary.

The guidelines emphasize that some food allergies will disappear on their own. It is a fact that 80 percent of children with allergies to eggs or milk will eventually outgrow the allergy.

More than thirty professional groups, as well as federal and lay organizations, helped to create these guidelines that were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

More vitamin D now recommended for children

Published on September 5, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is now recommending that infants, children and adolescents get double the amount of vitamin D that was previously advised. This new clinical report, called Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children and Adolescents, indicates that all children should get 400 international units (IU) of Vitamin D, the same as drinking four eight ounce glasses of fortified mile each day.

Frank Greer, MD, FAAP, who is chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition and co-author of the report, “Supplementation is important because most children will not get enough vitamin D through diet alone” says “we are doubling the recommended amount of vitamin D children need each day because evidence has shown this could have life-long health benefits.”

There are new indicators revealing that vitamin D, along with building strong bones, could prevent diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Children who don’t get enough vitamin D are vulnerable to getting rickets, which is a bone disease that can cause growth problems and fractures and lead to developing osteoporosis as they age.

So how does one get more vitamin D? Well, first we need to understand that our bodies don’t make their own vitamin D, so we have to get it from other sources such as diet or sunlight. The body creates vitamin D when sunlight reaches our skin. Unfortunately direct sun exposure raises the risk for skin cancer, so it is important to limit your exposure to no more than about 20 minutes.

A safer way to help your child the suggested amount of vitamin D is through the food they eat each day. Some vitamin D rich foods are tuna, salmon, eggs and fortified milk, but it is hard for kids to get enough vitamin D through diet alone. Your pediatrician can help you decide if a supplement, like an over-the counter vitamin D with 100 to 400 IUs, is what your individual child needs.

In the future, new guidelines may induce a surge of vitamin D-fortified foods in the grocery store. Until then, your pediatrician is probably your best source for information. It is not a good idea to give a supplement without a recommendation, because they may already be getting the amount of vitamin D that they need.

Here are some ways to get more vitamin D into your child’s daily diet:

  •  Cereal with fortified milk for breakfast or a snack
  •  Cream-based soups or use fortified milk instead of water in soup or hot cereal
  •  Fortified yogurt instead of ice cream as a treat – freeze in ice pop trays
  •  Serve pudding made with fortified milk for dessert
  •  Buy orange juice that is fortified with vitamin D
  •  Make smoothies with fortified milk, yogurt and fruit
  •  Get cereal bars and cereals that are fortified
  •  Make sandwiches with egg salad or cheese ( cut into fun shapes )

New software could eliminate need for some types of prostate cancer testing

Published on August 4, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Even though prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men, diagnosing it is often a difficult task. This said, there is a new software being used at some hospitals that may help detect prostate cancer much earlier, extinguishing unnecessary testing and making it easier to create a treatment plan.

This new software, called VividLook, is a program that uses magnetic resonance imaging. This makes test results easier to read and helps doctors pinpoint where a malignancy is located in the prostate.

Dr. Mark Shapiro, chief of radiology at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in N.J., says “It will potentially eliminate the need for biopsies in some men and help guide biopsies in others so we will have a lot less false-negative biopsy results.”

When one is screened for prostate cancer, they undergo a digital rectal exam and then a blood test that measures the level of a protein called prostate specific antigen. Usually a 4 or below is a normal PSA, but patients who have higher levels may be pressed to get a biopsy. There are some drawbacks to getting a biopsy. First of all, they are not always accurate. It is aggravating that many men who go through the procedure, do so needlessly because most patients with an elevated PSA don’t even have prostate cancer. These biopsies are also invasive tests that could cause bleeding and or infection. According to the National Cancer Institute, only 25 to 35 percent of patients with a PSA level between 4 and 9 have the disease. This is why PSA tests frequently come back as false-positives and biopsy results are often false-negative.

VividLook will hopefully help wipe out the need for too many biopsies and help physicians find tumors when they do exist. Before this new software came about, doctors did not do MRIs on the prostate and often took 12 or more tissue samples from all areas of the gland with each procedure. This had to be done because deciphering images from a gland with so many veins and arteries deep inside the pelvic cavity and behind the bladder was almost impossible. Now, with the new software, a specific area can be located on the MRI, and physicians can biopsy that certain area. Shapiro says ” This localizes the tumor or can show there is no tumor at all after getting an elevated PSA.”

In the U.S. alone, almost 218,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and more than 32,000 succumb to the disease. The good news is that more than 2 million men are now alive who were previously diagnosed with prostate cancer.

New Treatment Cost Estimator initiated by BCBSNC

Published on August 2, 2011 in BCBSNC. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

On August 1, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina began a new Treatment Cost Estimator that was created to assist members in their health care decisions by providing them with data on the costs of elective procedures. It will give consumers an estimated range of what a procedure might cost and provide them with information on how the cost will differ based on the physician or hospital they select. The new tool takes the place of the other cost estimation tool and provides cost information to the provider search tool. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina joined other Blue plans throughout the U.S. to provide new cost range information for different types of treatments and procedures based on network claims data. The tool can be found on mybcbsnc.com.

This new cost estimator provides average costs for 59 common elective procedures. This information will help members get more informed and be more in control when they make choices about their health care. More information and medical procedures will be added to the tool later in the year. Unfortunately, the tool is not available to members on Medicare Advantage (Blue Medicare), Medicare Supplement, FEP and Dental-only.

BCBSNC decided to introduce the tool because health plans are progressively asking consumers to  make informed decisions about their health care, and consumers often don’t have the information they need to find out how much they will have to pay for a procedure and why. The goal of this new cost estimator tool is to help members as they work with their doctor to make decisions about where to select their health services.

BCBSNC members can use the tool after they log into Member Services online at www.mybcbsnc.com to find information about the cost of the treatment they need. Once they log in using their Member ID and secure password, members can use the doctor or facility search to see the cost ranges of specific practices or facilities.

The Treatment Cost Estimator in Member Services can also be used by members to find out the estimated cost range for many elective procedures, without even choosing a certain physician or hospital.

The tool will be updated every six months in April and October.

Some basic reminders about sunscreen

Published on July 25, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Well since we are here in yet another sweltering summer, it wouldn’t hurt to bring up some basic facts to remind people to not forget the sunscreen! Plus, for those of you who care more about appearance than health, remember that the most important indicator for the health and appearance of your skin is the use of sunscreen.

It’s very important to stay in the shade when the sun is at it’s peak hours, till around 2pm, and always wear sunscreen whether it’s sunny or not. Try to make putting on sunscreen a daily habit, like taking a shower and brushing your teeth. Think about how much younger you will stay later in life when others will be wrinkled and spotted like a dried up apple that has fallen from a tree and baked in the sun.

Appearance is very important to most people, but preventing skin cancer is much more serious. So what exactly causes skin cancer? Well, it is caused by the ultraviolet A and B rays from the sun and, sorry tanning bed lovers, tanning beds. If you like a quick and even tan without going in the sun, try the new spray tans! Most tanning salons who have the tanning beds, offer this quick and safe type of spray tanning. UVA rays can permeate deep into the skin and even through window glass. They can eventually overpower the immune system, making the body unable to guard against developing skin cancer. Again, for those trying to stay young, UVA rays also cause premature wrinkling.

The rays that cause us to get sunburn are UVB rays. An easy way to remember which rays cause which is UVA for aging and UVB for burning. This said, both UVA and UVB are cancer-causing agents.

The more you are in the sun during your lifetime, the more likely you could develop skin cancer. Since this is a collective risk over time, it is so important to protect your skin from the sun’s effects every day, even when you will be outside for short periods of time. This is especially true in the spring, because even though the temperature is low, the sun is very strong.

So don’t be caught out in the sun at an event without having put on sunscreen. Put your sunscreen on first thing in the morning, even before your moisturizer and make-up. If you are strapped for time, you can make things simple and just use your sunscreen as your moisturizer. The majority of people don’t put on enough sunscreen. Try to remember to use about the size of a shot glass full of sunscreen to cover all your exposed areas. Don’t forget your ears and lips. To avoid a mess in your hair, you can use a spray sunscreen for your scalp. It is important to protect this area too, because that is the closest area to the sun. Also use a lip balm with an SPF of 30. Try to reapply your sunscreen every 2 hours or less, even when it is waterproof.

With all the different sunscreens out there, it is so hard to understand what SPF to choose. Some have said that sunscreens with an SPF more than 15 do not protect any better than those with just an SPF of 15. Not true. Sunscreens that have a higher SPF than 15 absolutely protect better against the sun’s damaging rays! Whether you pick a lotion, spray, gel or wax, make sure you choose a sunscreen that has a broad spectrum coverage with both UVA and UVB protection, is waterproof and has an SPF of 30 or higher. Have fun in the sun, but don’t get burned.

U.S. shows progress on cancer report

Published on June 26, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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Around 1, 596, 670 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Within that number, about 571, 950, which is more than 1,500 each day, will die. These figures come from the June 17 report from the American Cancer Society. They update cancer incidence and mortality statistics every year. Their Cancer Facts and Figures 2011 provides a more in depth explanation of where the United States rates when it comes to cancer.

Dropping since the 1990s, cancer death rates have proceeded to decline among males and females in almost all racial and ethnic groups since 1998, according to the report. The ACS believes that the falling rate in cancer mortality rates from 1990 to 2007 designate almost 900,000 lives that could have been lost due to cancer but were not.

Even though they have been increasing since the 1930s, lung cancer death rates have been on the decline for women. For men, the death rates began to fall about 10 years ago. This said, lung cancer will be the cause of almost 25 percent of all cancer deaths for women in 2011.

From 1997 to 2007, cancer death rates for men plunged by 22.2 percent for men and for women by 13.9 percent. Most of the lessening was the result of decreasing mortality rates for colorectal and breast cancer for women and lung, prostate and colorectal cancers for men.

Disturbingly, the report notes that the American Cancer Society reveals that cancer death rates for the least educated are more than twice the amount of that for the most educated. The report claims that if this difference was eradicated, 37 percent of the premature cancer deaths that happened in 2007 among those between 25 to 64 years old, could have been prevented. This number mirrors more than 60,000 lives.

Even though all this is good news, cancer is still the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. The ACS reports that cancer is responsible for almost one in every four deaths. Currently, only heart disease kills more.

Health risks are linked to access to restaurants

Published on June 16, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

A new study has concluded that the chance of early death from heart disease or diabetes increases with dining out too often. There is particular concern with dining out at fast-food restaurants.

It was found that early deaths from diabetes rose by 8 percent in neighborhoods near fast-food restaurants. The report also said that premature deaths from heart disease increased by 5 percent.

Unfortunately the study also found a link with full-service restaurants and health risks. According to the study, dying earlier from diabetes climbed by 3 percent for each full-service restaurant in or near a neighborhood.

Elizabeth Racine, the lead researcher for the Mecklenburg County Community Food Assessment, said “the number of restaurants that are available within an area is related to premature deaths. Although she said this, she does admit that more data is required to know for sure if restaurants have a direct link to mortality rates. She also said “You’d have to look at people over time to see if that exposure causes these things.”

These findings are very substantial considering that Americans spend 48 percent of their food dollars on average at restaurants based on estimates from the U.S. Departure of Agriculture, according to Racine.

Of course it is noteworthy to mention that many restaurants now offer healthy options. It is simply up to the customers to make healthy choices. Another thing to think about is that you can eat just as badly at home as you would in a restaurant.