December 2011

Learn a Little About the Healing Power of Laugher from Wade Grindle MD

Wade Grindle is a California-based anesthesiologist and blogger. When he's not helping patients during surgery he's writing content on two sites: one a straightforward medical blog and the other a medical humor blog. Grindle's responsibilities are no joke, but his technique is centered on the idea that humor, and ultimately happiness, is what drives the most important aspects of the healing process.

We recently got the chance to sit down with Dr. Grindle to ask him a few questions about his professional policy of getting patients to giggle.

1) Who, or what, inspired you to become a medical professional with a sense of humor?

My dad was an eye surgeon and his influence certainly inspired me to seek a medical career. He would do volunteer work in Mexico which I accompanied him on a few times, and was always dedicated to trying to make his patients laugh with the little Spanish he knew. These were mostly poor farmer families who probably never saw a doctor before, and it was nice to see how well he was able to break the ice with jokes.

2) How does your approach sit with other medical professionals?

Most get a kick out of it. The need for humor is as much an essential for the doctors and medical staff as it is for the patients. We're constantly working under enormous pressures and are forced to handle high volumes of stress everyday, so the humor really helps. Surgeons and other OR workers can often be touchy individuals, understandably, so there's always a time and a place. But on the whole it's well received, or else I wouldn't bother with it.

3) Why did you decide on becoming an anesthesiologist?

When I first enrolled in pre-med, it was mainly because it involved using a vast array of interesting instruments. I've always been a bit of a tech geek. But in the years afterward learning the trade, when the novelty of the gadgets wore off, I found that anesthesiology was a path that allowed me to serve patients in an intimate and involved way, especially if I wanted to make humor a centerpiece of my style.

4) What draws you to the social network and blogging?

I like the idea that I can reach out to folks who I'd otherwise never meet God willing. It lets me really stretch out on the spectrum of humor as it's applied to health sciences. In the hospital and especially the OR there's a tightrope to walk on, but online is where it's appropriate to let loose and say what I want to say. It's nice to know that at any moment somebody could be getting some fulfilling medical information from one of my blogs, free of charge.

5) What are some final thoughts you have for those out there who might be reading?

If you're undergoing health problems, don't put your sense of humor on the back burner because your body needs it more than ever. If you're thinking about becoming an anesthesiologist or other medical professional remember that laughter is often the best medicine no matter what. It makes the day a little better for everybody involved.

You can learn more about Dr. Wade Grindle by visiting his LinkedIn page, following him on Twitter, or by dropping by his Facebook profile.

What happens if the female is circumcised?

Female circumcision refers to procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia.

Female circumcision has been found to cause various short-term and long-term health problems. Aside from the pain and shock caused by the initial operation, various infections are possible.

Moreover, long-term complications include genital malformation, infection of the urinary tract, cysts, pelvic complications, incontinence, delayed menarche, abscesses, painful sexual intercourse, severe scarring, and infertility.

Lastly, psychological complications have also been linked to female circumcision, with the shock and trauma of the original operation causing behavioral disorders, anxiety, depression, and loss of trust in caregivers.

Key facts

Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.

Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.

An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.

It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.

In Africa an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM.

FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Brain Cell Malfunction Discovery in Schizophrenia Researchers have discovered a brain cell malfunction in schizophrenia as DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects.

Findings in a study by the Scripps Research Institute suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

The study shows that the deficit is especially pronounced in younger people.

Study authors said treatment might be most effective early on at minimizing or even reversing symptoms of schizophrenia, a potentially devastating mental disorder associated with hallucinations, delusions, and emotional difficulties, among other problems.

“We’re excited by the findings and there’s a tie to other drug development work, which could mean a faster track to clinical trials to exploit what we’ve found,” said Scripps Research Associate Professor Elizabeth Thomas, a neuroscientist who led the study that was published in Nature journal, Translational Psychiatry.

Thomas explained that while there is a range of such so-called epigenetic effects that change the way DNA functions without changing a person’s DNA code, there is one critical area of epigenetic research is tied to histones, structural proteins that DNA has to wrap around.

“There’s so much DNA in each cell of your body that it could never fit in your cells unless it was tightly and efficiently packed,” said Thomas.

While there is no single right or wrong configuration as the histone-DNA complexes, known as chromatin, are constantly relaxing and condensing to expose different genes, the balance can still shift in ways that can cause or exacerbate disease.

As Thomas was studying the roles of histone acetylation in Huntington’s disease she began to wonder whether similar mechanisms of gene regulation might also be important in schizophrenia.

“It occurred to me that we see the same gene alterations, so I thought, ‘Hey, let’s just try it,’” she said.

Working with lead author Bin Tang, a postdoctoral fellow in her lab, and Brian Dean, an Australian colleague at the University of Melbourne, Thomas obtained post-mortem brain samples from schizophrenic and healthy brains held at medical ”Brain Banks” in the United States and Australia, the authors explained.

The researchers found that compared to a healthy brain, the brain samples from subjects with schizophrenia showed lower levels of acetylation in certain histone portions that would block gene expression.

Another critical finding was that in younger subjects with schizophrenia, the problem was much more pronounced.

The researchers are suggested that if they can reliably show that acetylation is a cause of the problem, they can look for ways to open the closed guide pages and hopefully cure or improve the condition in patients.

source: medicaldaily

Trendy Foods: Health Benefits

Dieters are always on the lookout for the next great superfood. Here, a few of the top supermarket trends with staying power.

Food, like fashion, has its trends. And when it comes to the best foods for dieting and weight loss, trends come and go — what’s cool one day is passé the next. Usually, foods come into fashion because they’re thought to be more healthful than their more mainstream counterparts (think swapping brown rice for quinoa). Here’s what you need to know about the most recent batch of trendy foods.

Agave

This sugar substitute is made from cacti, and is thought to be a healthy alternative to granulated sugar in baking. “Cup for cup, agave and table sugar are about equal in the calorie department, but because agave is about 1.5 times sweeter than table sugar, you can use less of it to reach the same sweetness,” says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition for You, a nutrition consulting firm. Agave’s main benefit, she says, is that it scores low on the glycemic index — between 15 and 30 compared with table sugar’s 65. “This means that consumption won’t result in dangerous spikes in blood sugar that table sugar so often causes, making it a possible safe alternative for diabetics," says Batayneh.

If you’re trying to cut calories for weight loss, agave doesn’t offer much of a benefit, Batayneh says. Instead, stick to a zero-calorie sugar substitute like stevia, or better yet, skip refined sugar foods altogether.

Non-dairy Milk

For the lactose-intolerant and those wanting to avoid all animal foods, rice milk, almond milk, and soy milk are becoming increasingly popular food trends for good nutrition. “More and more people are becoming sensitive to dairy products," says Sally Kravich, MS, a natural health expert and consultant in New York City. "I recommend almond milk and rice milk to many of my clients. For those who have a sensitive digestive system, rice milk is best. For those who are vegans and need more protein and naturally occurring calcium, I recommend almond milk. I only recommend soy milk to women who need to boost their hormones or for older men with prostate issues.”

If you’re watching your sugar intake, try an unsweetened nondairy milk, as most brands have either no sugar or less sugar than naturally occurs in dairy milk. Plus, nondairy milks are often fortified with extra calcium or vitamin D.

Almond Butter

Almond butter is another almond-based food trend that has some advantages over conventional peanut butter. “I brought up my own children on almond butter,” Kravich says. “Almond butter is preferable over peanut butter as it contains more protein and less sugar than the peanut.”

Still, it’s important to eat nut butters in moderation, as most varieties are heavy in calories and fat.

Quinoa

Nutrient-rich whole grains and their high levels of digestion-friendly fiber are an essential component of any balanced diet. A new choice on the whole grain market that’s become wildly popular is the South American grain quinoa. Prized for its versatility and high protein content, quinoa has fast become a restaurant and supermarket staple. “My favorite grain recommendations across the board are millet, quinoa, and brown rice,” Kravich says. “For those who need a higher protein grain, quinoa is my first choice.”

Chia Seeds and Teff

Chia and teff are two other whole-grain foods that Kravich recommends adding to your dieting arsenal. “Chia can be added to smoothies for added protein and easier bowel movements,” she says. “The Ethiopian grain teff is a good flour product for those who have digestive issues and cannot tolerate gluten.”

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil was once thought to be a fat to avoid, but recent research has found that its negative effects may have been overstated. “Coconut oil has received controversial attention due to the fact that, of its 15 grams of fat per serving, 13 of these are saturated fats,” Batayneh says. “The saturated fats found in coconuts, however, are medium-chain fatty acids, as opposed to the long-chain fatty acids found in meat, milk, eggs, and vegetable oils. Because of coconut’s unique form of saturated fat, it has been shown to raise metabolism and slow digestion, promoting fullness and decreasing feelings of hunger.” Coconut oil has other nutrition benefits, too. “Its lauric acid enhances the immune system and promotes health development in infants," she adds. "It has also been shown to increase endurance and speed in cyclists, making it an ideal supplement for athletes.”

Fermented Foods

“I think fermented foods are the next big thing,” says Pamela Schoenfeld, RD, a registered dietitian in private practice in Morristown, N.J., and executive director of the Healthy Nation Coalition. “Foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, and real kosher pickles have been popular for years, but now we have kimchi, fermented beets, radishes, carrots — you name it. If these foods are not pasteurized after fermentation, they contain beneficial bacteria that promotes digestive health. These foods are not difficult to make and are a great way to preserve the bounty from the garden or farmers’ market.”

source: everydayhealth

How Diet Affects Brain Size Omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients such as vitamins C, D, E, and B, can prevent brain shrinkage according to a study in the December issue of the journal Neurology.

Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University found a definite correlation between nutrients found in vitamin and Omega 3 rich foods and the brain, though the exact benefits have yet to be determined.

“It’s not entirely clear, but it looks like the healthy oils may help protect small areas of the brain,” lead study author Dr. Gene Bowman said.

Foods rich in Omega 3 include flax seeds, walnuts, salmon, shrimp, tofu, tuna scallops, soybeans and halibut.

The results of the study also confirmed that diets high in trans fats also contributed to the brain becoming smaller, and having less memory function. “Trans Fats replace good fat in the Brain like DHA,” said Dr. Bowman. “They change the structural components in cells and impact how cells function.”

Many fast foods, bakery products, and prepackaged goods all contain high levels of trans fat and should be watched or avoided all together for proper brain health, according to scientists.

Researchers gathered 104 people in their late 80′s, and gauged their brain health by using memory testing and blood analysis. For the first time nutrient biomarkers in the blood were used to determine brain health, as opposed to the usual method of only observing one nutrient at a time. According to Dr. Bowman, this new method provides some good benefits.

“Looking at the biomarkers takes into account geriatric factors like metabolism, and how the brain absorbs nutrients as we age, and using biomarkers cuts out those obstacles,” said Dr. Bowman.

He also believes that this research can impact other areas of health studies. “This model can be important for other diseases. It could be applied to cardiovascular, or certain cancer studies and effect treatment, change the standard of care, and improve public health.”

Bowman also said that these results are also able to empower people and put the issue of brain health partially in their hands. “These results need to be confirmed, but obviously it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet.”

source: kowb1290

Mental Energy: Shift Your Attention

Yesterday I Googled the term information overload. There were more than two million listings. So now we’re safely in an era of information overload about information overload. No wonder America, among other nations, has serious attention deficit problems.

All that information, and the multitude of ways it comes at us, adds to the clutter in our offices and homes and brains. It makes it more difficult to concentrate on the task at hand when you’re worried about all the other things that need your attention.

You try to focus on the budget figures you have to digest for the afternoon meeting, but what with your email dinging and your cell phone vibrating, and all that downloaded research you have to sort through, you mind keeps interrupting you…. Did you ever return your mother’s phone call?...... hey, you’ve got to call George and go over these figures before the meeting…

You tell yourself to concentrate on the Excel spreadsheet on the screen in front of you…..oh, spreadsheet on the screen in front of you… oh, wait, did you RSVP for that party on Saturday?......... there’s something you’re forgetting…. Your feet hurt… maybe you shouldn’t have walked from the train in spiked heels, and…. Running shoes, did you forget your gym clothes, and was that what you forgot to remember?...... You concentrate on concentrating on this budget, you go over the figures for the advertising department…. And…. Not another IM, haven’t you told your son not to instant-message you at work…. You really, really try to focus, but you can’t because your brain’s spam filter has gone on strike.

Sound familiar?

WHEN YOUR FOCUS FAILS
You, my friend, are suffering from directed attention fatigue (DAF). (Yup, they’ve even got a name for it). That catchy term was coined by a husband and wife team of environmental psychologists from the University of Michigan, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan.

“When people talk about mental fatigue, what is actually fatigued is not their and as a whole, but their capacity to direct attention”, says Stephen Kaplan, Ph.D. “Sustained directed attention is difficult and fatiguing”. That constant demand for concentration in the face of distractions – internal and external – fatigues our inhibitory attention system (translated: the part of the brain that directs our attention so we’re able to concentrate and ignore distractions).

Besides an inability to focus, other symptoms of DAF include forgetfulness, impatience, and general crankiness.

FOCUS ON THE FLORA AND FAUNA
But there is something you can do about it – reboot your brain. When you can no longer concentrate, when your stream of consciousness floods your mind with distractions, there’s an easy fix: Shift your attention to the outdoors.

See, most of what we experience as mental fatigue isn’t realty our brain saying, “I need to veg out in front of the TV”. Rather, it’s our brain saying, “I need to stop concentrating on this task that’s been taking up all my mental energy and focus. I need relief!” It’s the mental energy and focus. I need relief!” It’s the mental energy equivalent of being full after dinner, but perking up when the waiter brings the Death by Chocolate brownie. Something new? Bring it on! All of a sudden our energy comes back. (How else do you think Oprah has the energy for a TV show, a radio network, a magazine, and Harpo Productions?)

For us mortals, the solution is easy. If you’re I a from with a view, pay attention to nature and focus on the greenery outside. Work in a windowless cubicle? Then hang a picture that depicts a beautiful setting. Studies by the Kaplans as well as other researchers in this burgeoning field as well as other researchers in this burgeoning field of environmental psychology have shown that merely having a view – or even a picture of nature – can get that inhibitory attention system of ours back on track in a New York minute. In fact, a number of studies have found a correlation between a view of nature and relief from stress, boredom, and anxiety, as well as increased productivity at work and even a speedier recovery for hospital patients.

In other words, nature nurtures us in a multitude of ways.

THE ENERGY OF GOING GREEN
In this book Biophilia, sociobilogist Edward O. Wilson proposed that we are genetically hardwired to seek out natural settings. If that’s so, and it seems to be, it would account for the restorative effect of living, green environments (think: a walk in the woods).

“For human survival and mental health and fulfillment”, Wilson says, “we need the natural setting in which the human mind almost certainly evolved and in which culture has developed over these millions of years of evolution”.

For more than thirty years, sociologists, biologists, psychologists, and architects have studied the effect nature has on us and looked for ways to bring nature – or facsimiles of nature – into public spaces, hospitals, and offices. But as great as nature is, there are other ways to take advantage of the energy-boosting properties of attention shift.

EAT THAT ATTENTIONAL DESSERT
While exploring these other ways, remember that your goal is to take advantage of the energy-restoring power of an attention shift. If you’ve spent hours poring over stock reports, go read a book of Peanuts cartoons. If you’ve run errands frantically all afternoon, take a hot bath. If you’ve talked all day, try a half hour of uninterrupted silence. If you’ve been writing at the computer, borrow you kid’s coloring book and go to town (see page 248 on using crayons).

The point is, you can recharge your energy batteries by simply “closing down shop” on whatever task you’ve been totally focused on, and engaging a new set of skills, changing your focus, moving into a new environment, or taking on a different project. A long, focused about of attention on one task or project is like doing biceps curls with the left arm only. That arm is going to fatigue after a while, but when you pick up the weight with your right arm, you find it feels pretty light. That’s because there’s plenty of energy available in the right hand; it’s been resting while you’ve been lifting with its opposite.

In much the same way, there’s plenty of mental energy available – the trick is to know how to spread it around.

Bonus benefit: Once your mental energy is restored, you can always get back to your spreadsheets and really focus on those budget numbers. (Or not). If you choose to go to the original task, you’ll be able to do it with even more energy than before.

Makeup tips for evening party

Makeup changes your look completely. Based on the occasion, time and your outfit, you do makeup. Makeup is basically known to glam the evening as it is the time to highlight your beautiful face with sparkling eye makeup and blusher. New Year parties are round up this weekend so plan your outfit and makeup before! Take a look at the party makeup for the perfect evening.

Makeup tips for evening party:

1. Prepare your team for makeup by cleansing, toning and moisturizing. This is an important makeup tip to cleanse the skin and make the makeup last longer.

2. Now apply little foundation on your face and neck. Pick up the foundation shade which is lighter than the skin tone. Blend on the skin to get the natural look.

3. If you have pimples or dark spots on your face, use a concealer. The concealer shade should match with the foundation shade. Take a drop of the concealer on your fingertip and apply on the face. Let the concealer blend with the foundation. Follow up with little powder.

4. Now use a blusher on your cheeks to get the glittery shine. You can also go for non-glitter blusher. With a brush, apply it on the cheeks. Blusher can be of the skin tone or any other colour such as pink or rose to get the rosy cheeks.

5. Eye makeup for evening is the most dramatic. You can easily highlight your eyes with sparkling makeup. Party makeup is basically based on the eye makeup. You can go bold with doe eye makeup for party or try glittery eye shadows to get the stylish chic look. Depending on your outfit, pick up eye shadow colours and highlight those beautiful eyes.

6. You can also blend 2-3 eye shadows for the perfect party makeup. Finish the eye makeup with an eye liner and kajal on the eyelids.

7. Lip gloss finishes any party or evening makeup. Go for nude lip gloss if your eyes are already highlighted with dark eye shadow. Loud makeup can look odd so, a light lip colour is best for the elegant evening look.

8. Hairstyle can vary depending on the mood and outfit. You can make a French bun or leave your hair open. Don't forget to apply serum or mousse to set the hair and make it manageable.

Follow these makeup tips for the perfect evening party!

New synthetic molecules treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s

In diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s, the immune system erroneously strikes at the body’s tissues. In what seems like a crucial discovery, experts at Weizmann Institute have unleashed new antibodies that apparently treated autoimmune diseases in a set of mice.

In this research, the team used a technique called MMP immunization. The enzyme known as MMP9 is a principal player in autoimmune processes. Therefore, the scientists believed that inducing the immune system of the mice to target this enzyme would most probably generate antibodies which impede the enzyme at its location.

“We are excited not only by the potential of this method to treat Crohn’s, but by the potential of using this approach to explore novel treatments for many other diseases,” commented Prof. Irit Sagi, Biological Regulation Department.

When the researchers injected synthetic metal zinc-histidine complex at the core of the MMP9 active site in mice, they found that the antibodies looked similar to MMP inhibitors called TIMPs. These antibodies known as metallobodies supposedly reached the enzyme‘s cleft and created a barrier to the working of the active site.

The metallobodies appeared to function for just 2 variants of the MMP family, namely the MMP2 and 9 which glued tightly to human and mice forms of the enzymes. Just as the researchers expected, when an autoimmune disease like Crohn’s was replicated in mice, the symptoms were supposedly restrained as the rats were exposed to metallobodies.

The scientists concluded that this method could be used as a treatment avenue for many kinds of autoimmune conditions. The research is published in the journal, Nature Medicine.

source: healthjockey

First proof of epigenetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes Research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has provided the first proof of molecular risk factors leading to type 2 diabetes, providing an "early warning" sign that could lead to new approaches to treating this and other human disease conditions.

Despite extensive research on the molecular basis for the variance in susceptibility between individuals to common diseases, the subject is still poorly understood. A prime example of this is type 2 diabetes (T2D), a very widespread human disorder.

What is it that characterizes the susceptibility to this disease? Epigenetic variations - which are small molecular marks superimposed on the DNA structure - have been frequently hypothesized to modify predisposition, but direct evidence was missing.

Now, a research team led by Dr. Asaf Hellman of the Hebrew University's Institute of Medical Research Israel Canada has developed a novel, multistep, study design involving the analysis of disease-contributing epigenetic variations among hundreds of patients and control individuals. The research was presented in a scientific conference at the Cambridge University Genomic Center and was recently published in the scientific journal Human Molecular Genetics

Taking an innovative research direction, the Hebrew University research team decided to map DNA methylation variations rather than DNA sequence variations, as was traditionally done. The team undertook a proof-of-concept study among 1,169 type 2 diabetes patients and non-diabetic controls. The results demonstrated the unique abilities of this novel research approach by revealing a clear-cut, disease-predisposing DNA methylation signature. This is a first report in the scientific literature of epigenetic risk factor for T2D.

DNA methylation is a naturally occurring mechanism used to regulate genes and protect DNA from some types of cleavage. It is one of the regulatory processes that are referred to as epigenetic, in which an alteration in gene expression occurs without a change in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA. Defects in this process cause several types of disease that afflict humans.

The method used by Hellman was developed during postdoctoral training at the Harvard University Medical School. Later, his research students at the Hebrew University, Gidon Tperoff and Dvir Aran, further developed it into an efficient, genome-wide mapping method.

The mapping was carried out on the methylation sites in cooperation with Prof. Benjamin Glaser, head of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Department at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and a leading researcher of T2D genetics, and with additional key researchers including Professors Jeremy Kark and Yechiel Friedlander from the Braun Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Prof. Julio Wainstein from the Wolfson Medical Center, and Prof. Ephrat Levy-Lahad from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

This analysis not only revealed, for the first time, a clear-cut epigenetic signature in T2D, telltale methylation signature marks were also shown to appear on the DNA of young individuals who latter developed impaired glucose metabolism, even before the appearance of clinical diabetic manifestations.

These findings shed new light on the mechanism of individual predisposition to T2D and pave the way for the elucidating of similar mechanisms in a long list of common human diseases, including many metabolic, autoimmune and psychiatric disorders.

Given that epigenetic marks are sensitive to a wide range of environmental clues, including diets, chemical exposures, intrauterine environments, and also to therapeutic drugs, these finding may open the way for the development of new prevention and/or intervention epigenetic therapies.

Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Fabulous Health Tips For Instant Energy

If you want a boost of energy in a hurry, which will keep you going for hours until you next eat, try whipping yourself up a simple and healthy carbohydrate treat – mix cooked brown rice with herbs and lemon juice and sprinkle with toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

Cook up an omelet
If you’ve only got a few minutes for supper, an omelette with vegetables like spinach, onion and broccoli makes a quick healthy meal. Use lots of vegetables and just enough egg to hold it together, then add salad for an extra health boost.

A quick fix
For a quick, nutritious TV dinner, bake or microwave a sweet potato and instead of butter, drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup and sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Then serve with salad and a protein source such as fish or meat. Kids love it, too.

Taste the taboulleh
For a fresh and healthy alternative to pasta or rice, make up a bowl of Lebanese taboulleh, which is made from cracked wheat and traditionally contains large amounts of healthy parsley as well as tomato, onion and extra virgin olive oil.

Glazed fruit dessert
Cook yourself a decadent dessert that’s lot healthier than it might seem by glazing pineapple with rum or brandy and frying or grilling until warm. Serve with a sauce made form reduced orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a spoonful of natural yogurt.

Get saucy
Make your own light pasta sauce using fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese pureed or whisked together with a touch of evaporated skimmed milk, lemon juice and a little rosemary. Shred some spinach into the dish just before serving for colour and ad added health boost.

Bind with beans
Instead of creamy dips, use the binding power of beans to knock up health eastern-style hors-do’oeuvres. Puree kidney beans with garlic, red chilli, powered cumin seed, lime juice, olive oil and tomatoes, then stir in chopped onion and coriander leaves.

A health blend
To make a health breakfast smoothie, blend strawberries and papaya (low-GI foods with a high antioxidant content) and half a banana (for blood sugar regulation) with skimmed milk (for calcium) ice cubes and a squeeze of maple syrup (for taste!).

Bake a wholesome treat
Bake up a batch of healthy muffins for family breakfasts and snacks. If you make your own you can include only be best ingredients – and you’ll know they won’t contain preservatives and artificial flavourings or colourings. Choose ingredients like oats, banana, honey, raisins, bran and blueberries.

Start the day well
For a great carb-free breakfast, have a bowl of yogurt – which has digestive benefits as well as calcium – and fresh berries for a morning vitamin boost. Add some flaxseed oil or ground flaxseeds for a dose of omega-3 oils for a perfect start.

Boost breakfast energy
Don’t only use fruit for your morning smoothie. Kick start the day with an energy-giving blend of green tea (for a healthy caffeine boost), carrot juice (for carbohydrates) and your chosen fruit (try mango and banana or apricots and plums). Add low-fat natural yogurt as a filler.

Home is best
Make sure you eat breakfast at home rather than on the go, as take-way breakfasts are often laden with calories and sugar, A regular latte with a flapjack adds up to an astounding 750 calories, compared with around 250 for a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea of coffee with skimmed milk.

Grilled fruit
For a quick, healthy pudding, try making fruit kebabs. Peel and chop fruit into similar sizes, then alternate on a skewer and grill for a few minutes on each side. Serve alone or with natural yogurt and a dash of honey or maple syrup.

Take a cheesy dip
Instead of dipping crudités and raw vegetables into dips like taramasalata and sour cream, which can be fattening, try making your own healthy version using cottage cheese, spring onions and garlic.

Breakfast on muesli
Set yourself up for the day with a bowl of muesli with low-fat milk, fruit and low-fat yogurt. The oats and wholegrains will help you to feel full until lunchtime.

Butter an apple
Cut one apple into thin slices and top with 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter. Include a glass of milk or a small carton of low-fat yogurt for an unusual, all-around healthy breakfast.

Not mush-room for meat
Mushroom have a great meaty texture and are an easy and cheap way to cut down your meat intake. Choose grilled portabello mushrooms in place of a burger (or in place of the bun if you’re cutting out bread).

Cook when you rise
Don’t be afraid to use your oven in the morning. Eggs with wholemeal bread are a great way to start the day, giving you a good measure of protein and carbohydrate. Add a piece of fresh fruit for total balance.

Pick the right pasta
Substitute wholewheat pasta for plain pasta in recipes, particularly in the evening when you don’t want a quick release of sugar into your system.

Get the green benefits
Instead of iceberg lettuce in your salad, which has fairly low levels of nutrients (but is still better than no salad) choose leafier, darker greens like chicory, kale, rocket or watercress, which contain higher levels of nutrients.

Bulk up with veg
If you’re making a meat stew or casserole, halve the amount of meat required and substitute it with vegetables. That way, you’ll cut the calories and give yourself a bit of added vegetables goodness, not to mention reducing the costs.

Ditch the granola
Granola might seem like a healthy breakfast choice because it’s packed with fruit and carbohydrates, but unfortunately it’s also full of fat and sugar, and is one of the most calorific cereals on the market. Stick to low-fat muesli instead, or dilute it with some healthy oats or brain. It’s also delicious used as a topping for low-fat yogurt.

Skim off some weight
Skimmed milk contains about half the calories of whole milk (80 compared to about 150 for one cup), and semi-skimmed milk sits somewhere in between. Lower-fat versions also provide the body with more calcium, so they’re the healthier choice, unless, you’re underweight or a child.

Bake your own bread
Bread is often full of additives such as palm oil and even hormones, so one of the best ideas for family cooking is to invest in a breadmaking machine. They’re relatively cheap and very easy to use – and you’ll know exactly what your kids are eating.

Love your lentils
Serve brown or wild rice or lentils instead of white rice as a filler with your meals. The rice doesn’t taste very different and because you’re choosing wholegrains they’re better for your digestive system and have a lower GI.

All the best!

Preventing chronic disease

Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund is advocating better lifestyle choices as a means for tackling chronic diseases, as Public Service Review highlights

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in high income European countries
Chronic diseases are the leading cause of mortality in high income European countries, as they indiscriminately strike both the rich and the poor, the young and the old. The World Health Organization states that chronic diseases account for 60% of deaths worldwide; whilst cardiovascular diseases alone account for 40% of deaths in the EU per annum. Consequently, substantial proportions of current healthcare budgets across Europe are spent on treating chronic conditions. However, recent research suggests that some such conditions will present larger problems in the future.

Whilst many chronic conditions and diseases are linked to ageing populations and genetics, increasingly lifestyle choices – such as unhealthy diet, smoking, and drug and alcohol abuse – are being defined as the cause. Across Europe, policymakers and health researchers are searching for ways to prevent increases in chronic disease. A case in point is Sweden, where the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs' public health policy aims to improve people's ability to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Areas under review are nutrition, physical activity and ways in which society can develop healthy eating habits, and the Swedish government has set up a forum for dialogue with members of organisations that specialise in the fields of nutrition and physical activities.

Preventing the social causes of chronic disease was a central aim for the Swedish presidency of the EU in 2009, with the need to address alcohol related harm featuring prominently on the agenda at the first high level meeting of the presidency. Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund and Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson met in Jönköping to reaffirm their commitment to the EU Alcohol Strategy, which was initially presented by the EU in 2006. Speaking about adopting the scheme at a national level, Larsson confirmed that: "Long term, patient efforts are required to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol. The EU's alcohol strategy is a good tool. We must ensure that the measures to counteract the harmful effects of alcohol remain high on the EU's agenda." 1In particular, the presidency gave priority to reducing the impact of alcohol advertising and marketing amongst young people, the influence of pricing policies on alcohol related harm, and how alcohol consumption affects healthy and dignified ageing.

The reviewed public health policy currently includes a board (ANDT-rådet) that provides advice on tobacco, drugs and alcohol policy. A secretariat coordinates the work of ANDT-rådet and a series of initiatives to reduce alcohol related harm are planned through measures to decrease consumption and combat excessive use. The policy also aims to achieve a drug-free society via three objectives: reducing the supply of drugs; persuading people to give up drugs; and reducing recruitment to drug abuse. The tobacco policy, meanwhile, is also designed to reduce consumption, encourage people to give up smoking, and to strengthen legislation enforcement.

Given that the success of the Swedish government's public health policy will be dependent on improving people's ability to make healthy lifestyle choices, a key objective is to create the favourable social conditions needed to achieve good health for Sweden's population. It will be interesting to monitor its achievements in the coming years.

Promising New Treatment For Rare Metabolic Diseases Found Researchers have discovered a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease.

The discovery led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart which not only will help to find new cure for Fabry disease but also help to understand of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well.

People born with Fabry disease have a faulty copy of a single gene that codes for the alpha-galactosidase (α-GAL) enzyme, one of the cell's "recycling" machines. When it performs normally, α-GAL breaks down an oily lipid known as GB3 in the cell's recycling center, or lysosome. But when it underperforms or fails, Fabry symptoms result. Patients may survive to adulthood, but the disorder leads to toxic lipid build-up in blood vessels and organs that compromise kidney function or lead to heart disease, for example.

The faulty gene causes its damage by producing a misfolded protein, yielding an unstable, poorly functioning α-GAL enzyme. Like origami papers, these proteins are unfolded to start and only become active when folded into precise shapes. At present, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only FDA-approved treatment for such lysosomal storage disorders as Fabry, Pompe and Gaucher diseases, but ERT requires a complicated and expensive process to purify and replace the damaged α-GAL enzyme, and it must be administered by a physician.

Instead of replacing the damaged enzyme, an alternative route called pharmacological chaperone (PC) therapy is currently in Phase III clinical trials for Fabry disease. It relies on using smaller, "chaperone" molecules to keep proteins on the right track toward proper folding, but their biochemical mechanism is not well understood, says Garman.

Now, he and colleagues report results of a thorough exploration at the atomic level of the biochemical and biophysical basis of two small molecules for potentially stabilizing the α-GAL enzyme. He says their use in PC therapy could one day be far less expensive than the current standard, ERT, and can be taken orally.

This work, which improves knowledge of a whole class of molecular chaperones, represents the centerpiece of UMass Amherst student Abigail Guce's doctoral thesis and was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Other members of the team are graduate students Nat Clark and Jerome Rogich.

"The interactions we looked at are exactly the things occurring in the clinical trial right now," Garman says. Further, "the same concept is now being applied to other protein-folding diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Many medical researchers are trying to keep proteins from misfolding by using small chaperone molecules. Our studies have definitely advanced the understanding of how to do that."

In their current paper, Garman and colleagues compare the ability of two small chaperone molecules, galactose and 1-deoxygalactononjirimycin (DGJ) to stabilize the α-GAL protein, to help it resist unfolding in different conditions such as high temperature and different pH levels.

They found that each chaperone has very different affinities: DGJ binds tightly and galactose binds loosely to the α-GAL, yet they differ in only two atomic positions. "Tight is better, because you can use less drug for treatment," Garman says. "We now can explain DGJ's high potency, its tight binding, down to individual atoms."

In earlier studies as in the current work, the UMass Amherst team used their special expertise in X-ray crystallography to create three-dimensional images of all atoms in the protein to understand how it carries out its metabolic mission. They also found a new binding site for small molecules on human α-GAL that had never been observed before.

Crystallography on the two chaperones bound to the α-GAL enzyme showed that a single interaction between the enzyme and DGJ was responsible for DGJ's high affinity for the enzyme. Other experiments also showed the ability of the 11- and 12-atom chaperones to protect the large, 6,600-atom α-GAL from unfolding and degradation.

For the first time, by making a single change in one amino acid in protein, they forced the DGJ to bind weakly, indicating that one atomic interaction is responsible for DGJ's high affinity.

"It was surprising to find these two small molecules that look very much the same have very different affinities for this enzyme," says Garman, "and we now understand why. The iminosugar DGJ has high potency due to a single ionic interaction with α-GAL. Overall, our studies show that this small molecule keeps the enzyme from unfolding, or when it unfolds, the process happens more slowly, all of which you need in treating disease."

Source-Eurekalert

WVU 'Bucks for Brains' effort fuels research As a state research matching fund has expended more than half its money, WVU officials and researchers applaud the program in its effort to bring research to West Virginia.

"For me, the research funds were critical to the growth of the program," said Laura Gibson, a researcher and deputy director of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

WVU already has used more than 60 percent of its Research Trust Fund money, just three years into the program. The trust fund was created to provide matching funds to various science and technology gifts and grants WVU and Marshall University receive. The fund is also referred to as "Bucks for Brains."

Gibson said her lab was already up and running, so the matching funds have helped add researchers and sustain growth. She has received $630,000 in matching funds from the Research Trust Fund.

The money Gibson has had matched has gone to study why some leukemia cells don't respond to treatment, she said. The cells that don't respond to treatment can lead to a relapse. The hope is to find out why they don't respond and then development new treatment methods.

At the cancer center, the Research Trust Fund has had a positive impact, Gibson said. She added that it has not only helped in research, but in groups building collaborations with others.

The Research Trust Fund began in 2009 and to date, WVU has submitted $21,866,264 to be matched by the fund, according to a report filed with the Higher Education Policy Commission. That is 62.47 percent of the $35 million funds available to the university.

This year, WVU had $13.835 million in gifts to be matched — more than the previous two years combined.

WVU received 667 private gifts in 2011 that were eligible to be matched. In three years, the number of eligible matching gifts is 875.

This year, the Badzek Family Endowment for Nursing Research ($100), Christopher Cline Chair in Orthopedic Surgery ($2 million) and The Arch Coal Inc. Endowment for Mine Health and Safety Research ($300,000) are just a sampling of gifts that were matched by the Research Trust Fund.

As money is being paid out and the fund's interest begins to pay off, WVU Vice President of Research & Economic Development Curt Peterson said tangible results from the Research Trust Fund are just now emerging.

"This year we'll really begin to see the impact of them," he said.

There has been tremendous interest in the fund and Peterson said he was confident the money would be used before the 2016 deadline. Peterson will soon retire from his position at the university and WVU is searching for a replacement.

Peterson said he thinks the trust fund will now help slow some of the brain drain that has plagued the state. He added the fund is helpful in recruiting faculty when the university can show it has a matching fund available for research.

WVU President James Clements said the Research Trust Fund is a selling point to donors.

"If you give me a million, we can make it two," Clements said.

By doubling the donation it makes the donor happy, WVU happy and the state happy, Clements said.

He said he is worried about the future of donations when the trust fund expires and he would "absolutely" like to see a second round of funding.

source: necn

Qi Gong: Exercise For Mind & Body Energy

Ever wonder why a cat grooms itself all day?

Well, clearly, it’s not primping for a night out on the town. So there must be some other reason. And through some inventive research at Princeton University, we now understand exactly why cats like to groom. (I know, that question’s never far from your mind). Even if you’re not a cat person, read on, because what I’m about to explain has some major implications for your well-being and energy.

Remember serotonin? It’s one of your brain’s “feel good” neurotransmitters. Because there are only about 200,000 serotonin neurons in your brain, and they have to service millions of cells, and because serotonin has a profound (although complicated and not completely understood) effect on well-being and mood, it’s no wonder that as a society, we spend an awful lot of money to keep the serotonin flowing. In fact, there’s a $130 billion industry (as of 2000) based on drugs that do just that (they’re called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs).

Back to the cat.

Barry Jacobs, Ph.D., and his colleagues in the psychology labs at Princeton inserted electrodes into the brain stems of cats and then recorded what was happening over the course of each cat’s day. Which was not much.

Until the cats started grooming themselves.

Once they started grooming, their serotonin activity increased forty fold!

No wonder they do it all the time.

But here’s the thing: What that 9 and other) research has taught us is that concentrated, repetitive motion raises serotonin activity. And that brings us to one of the best energy enhancers in the world – Qi gong.

MIND-BODY ENERGY EXERCISE
Qi gong originated in China thousands of year ago. It’s actually a family of mind-body exercises that share the following elements: regulation of the body, regulation of breathing, and regulation of the mind. If a practice doesn’t include all three elements, and if all three don’t occur simultaneously, then it’s not a member of the Qi gong family.

Three decades ago, Herbert Benson, M.D., the pioneering doctor who was among the first to introduce the concept of mind-body medicine to the United States, studies gi gong while he was researching what he termed “the relaxation response”. *He concluded that to reach a state of deep relation all you have to do is control your body, breathing, and mind.

In qi gong, as in many meditative practices, you control your mind by simply concentrating on a single though. It can be a word, a mantra, a sound, a letter. You regulate your breathing in some count of four and breathing out for a slow count of four), and you add regular, specific movement to handle the body part of it. Those three components are the trifecta of increased serotonin activity (and with it, greater energy and well-being).

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (ENERGY)
At the University of Southern California, Irvine, Shin Lin, Ph.D., a visiting professor from Shanghai University, has been researching the measurable effects of qi gong and tai chi. Lin and his colleagues use an EEG to measure brain waves. They use an EKG to measure heart waves and the sympathetic-parasympathetic nervous system balance. They use a laser Doppler to measure peripheral blood flow. These guys are serious; they’re performing rigorous, scientific investigation about what happens in the body and what happens to energy when you perform certain exercise.

And here’s what they found: significant, measurable, beneficial effects on the nervous system when subjects did gi gong and tai chi.

We don’t often think of energy as something you can measure, but Lin’s lab is doing exactly that. Lin and his research associates don’t stop with the EEG, the EKG, and the laser Doppler measurements, though. They also quantify the actual human energy field using infrared thermograph to measure light, and measuring electrical fields with a highly complex system called gas discharge visualization.

What they’ve demonstrated is that when you practice certain movements, such as those in gi gong, your energy increases. You get enhanced blood flow, signaling more energetic activity. You actually raise all the markers for energy – heat, light, and gas. Your energy objectively, measurably, and significantly increases. Couple that with an increase in serotonin levels and you’ve got a great prescription for boosting your overall energy.

So why not just do regular exercise?

Well, actually, you should (see chapter 3). But the thing about tai chi and gi gong is that you get many of the blood-circulating effects of exercise without the increase in stress hormones that usually accompanies a strenuous workout. In Lin’s lab, they have Bowflexes, stationary bikes, and weight training equipment. Although all these do greet things, they also raise levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), and weight lifting actually temporarily constricts rather than dilates the blood vessels. Tai chi and gi gong are excellent complements to conventional Western exercise and allow you to reach a relaxed, calm state while at the same time increasing your energy.

Which means you’ve got up one on that grooming cat?

Brain-Eating Amoeba Cases Puzzle and Worry Scientists Two people have died after flushing their sinuses using neti pots that may have contained amoeba-contaminated water, causing scientists to look anew at a once rare disease that may be on the rise.

For sheer terror, “flesh-eating bacteria” can’t hold a candle to “brain-eating amoeba.” So it is little wonder that two recent fatalities in Louisiana in people who were killed by the amoeba after they used neti pots to flush their nasal passages with (apparently amoeba-contaminated) water has sinus sufferers in a panic. Until now, the only known cases of infection by the brain-eating parasite Naegleria fowleri have occurred when people swam in warm rivers, lakes, or other bodies of freshwater where the single-celled organism lives.

If the two deaths in Louisiana were indeed the result of exposure to drinking water from a chlorinated municipal supply, that is worrisome. “We’re not exactly sure why this tragic situation occurred,” says Jonathan Yoder, a scientist in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of parasitic diseases. “We’re working with authorities in Louisiana to understand the characteristics of the water system that might have allowed this.”

What is known is that the two victims used neti pots, little ceramic devices that relieve congestion and facial pain and pressure by irrigating the nose and sinuses. (Their popularity soared after Oprah featured them on her TV show.) Yet that simple act apparently condemned the victims to a horror-movie death, with amoebae racing up their noses and into their brains, there to munch on gray matter. While that may sound like standard press hysteria, the concern is justified: almost all previous deaths from brain-eating amoebae have come from people swimming or diving in contaminated waters, not dribbling tap water into the nose. And almost all cases of infection by N. fowleri are fatal.

Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals is warning people to use only distilled, sterile, or boiled water in their neti pots, and to rinse the pot after each use. That should kill any N. fowleri in the water. Using water filters with one-micron pores should also work, says Yoder, since the amoeba in all stages of its lifecycle, including spores, is larger than that. Drinking N. fowleri-containing water is, perhaps surprisingly, safe: drinking sends water into your stomach, not your brain. Getting the water into your nose, however, can transport it into the brain. The organism, explains the CDC on its excellent website, “travels up the nose to the brain where it destroys the brain tissue.”

Scientists have some idea of how N. fowleri kills—it causes a brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)—but a lot remains mysterious. The organism enters the brain via the olfactory nerve. Once inside, it kills brain cells, but as South Korean scientists reported in July, “the mechanism by which N. fowleri induces ... cell death is unknown.”

One possibility is that when the organism comes in contact with the brain’s microglia—resident immune system cells—it causes them to release cytokines, molecules that cause inflammation and cell death. Another is that the organism causes the microglia to release highly reactive oxygen radicals, which tear into brain cells like acid. The amoeba can also kill cells by—to put it bluntly—eating them, or as scientists in South Korea described in 2010, by “a process of piecemeal ingestion of target cells by food-cups.” (Food-cups are formed when the amoeba extrudes part of its protoplasm to form a sort of arm that engulfs the food and then reels it back in to digest.) Watching the amoebae’s effect on cells growing in lab dishes, Thai scientists observed that “the amoebae attached to the cell membrane and ingested the target cells.”

Within a week of infection, the victim develops symptoms akin to those of meningitis: headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and a stiff neck, which progress to confusion, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. Death almost always follows, usually within 12 days. There is no effective treatment. “Most patients do not survive the infection,” Belgian scientists reported this year.

N. fowleri lives in warm freshwater throughout the world, including “hot springs, lakes, natural mineral water, and resort spas frequented by tourists,” Travis Heggie of the University of North Dakota wrote in a 2010 paper. As Yoder and his colleagues reported in 2010, “N. fowleri infections occur primarily in previously healthy young males exposed to warm recreational waters, especially lakes and ponds, in warm-weather locations during summer months.” The amoeba also lives in warm water discharged from factories, swimming pools that are not properly chlorinated, and, as the Louisiana cases show, drinking water.

Despite this near ubiquity, N. fowleri infections are few and far between. In one 2007 survey of global outbreaks of protozoan parasites, N. fowleri accounted for just 1 in 325 cases. In the U.S., there were just 32 infections in the last decade or so, reports CDC, 30 from swimming and two from a geothermal drinking water supply that was not chlorinated. But infections may be rising. “Previously thought to be a rare condition, the number of reported PAM cases is increasing each year,” said Heggie.

Not all scientists agree with that, but two things are clear. First, the Louisiana cases seem unrelated to swimming; if treated drinking water now poses an N. fowleri threat, that is both new and alarming. Second, says Yoder, the amoeba’s “climate range is changing. In 2010 we had a case in Minnesota, and this year we had one in Kansas, states where it had never been seen before. In Virginia, we just had the first case since 1969. That may be due to climate change,” with N. fowleri able to live in more northerly climes as the world warms. Regardless of the cause, “it’s a concern that we’re seeing cases in places that never had them before”—and that in addition to swimming, the threat of brain-eating amoeba now comes from shooting warm water up the nose.

source: thedailybeast

Risk factors for STD infection

Just about anyone who engages in sexual activity is at risk of receiving a positive STD test at some point in their life, but certain individuals may be even more likely to contract an infection due to their lifestyle habits or other factors. Understanding these risk factors can help individuals mitigate them and reduce their chances of becoming infected.

Who's at risk?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are about 19 million positive STD tests each year. About half of these come from individuals between the ages of 15 and 24. Age in and of itself, regardless of other factors, is one of the single biggest risk factors for contracting an STD.

This is largely because young people often fail to practice safe sex or engage in sexual activity with multiple partners. For example, of the 34 percent of high school students who had sex within the last three months, 39 percent did not use a condom, according to a 2009 survey from the CDC. Furthermore, 14 percent of high school student have had sex with four or more partners in their lifetime.

The agency states that abstaining from sexual activity is the only 100 percent effective method of avoiding positive STD test results. Using a condom during every sexual encounter is the next most effective way to reduce risk.

Others at risk

Men who have sex with men are also at a particularly high risk of contracting an STD. The CDC reports that STD rates have been climbing among this population in recent years, particularly in the cities of Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami and New York, as well as in much of Southern California. Syphilis is one of the most common STDs among this group.

Furthermore, the sores that breakout on the genitals as a result of syphilis infection increase the risk of becoming infected with other conditions like HIV. In fact, the CDC estimates that anywhere from 20 to 70 percent of those recently infected with syphilis also have HIV.

Individuals who use methamphetamine also have much higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases. This trend often converges with the high infection rate among men who have sex with men, according to the CDC.

Knowing the risk factors for receiving a positive STD test is the first step in avoiding infection. This may help individuals take measures to preserve their health and that of their partner.

source: privatemdlabs

Doctor Designs Specialty Bag for Breast Cancer Patients When Dr. Elizabeth Thompson decided to undergo a radical double mastectomy because of an extensive family history of breast cancer, she knew it would be life changing—but she never imagined it would lead her down a new career path helping other women faced with a similar fate.

“I have a pretty extensive history,” Thompson, a radiation oncologist, told FoxNews.com. “My great grandmother had bilateral breast cancer, my mother had breast cancer in her 40s, and my grandmother was in her 70s. So it seemed kind of late, but inevitable.”

Being a working mother of four, Thompson soon came to realize that managing her unusually high cancer risk would be a challenge. Like most women in her situation, she would have to undergo mammograms and MRIs every six months for the next 30-40 years – a routine that didn’t seem to fit with her lifestyle.

So, she decided to go on the offensive.

“I sort of said to myself, ‘Okay, if I’m going to be doing this for 25, 30, 40 years, I might as well take the time now to look at my options and figure out whether or not I can be proactive, and just eliminate my risk and drop it down 99 percent,’” Thompson said.

“I had what they call a direct implant breast reconstruction,” Thompson said. “Which meant they went in and the shelled out all the breast tissue. They left me with my skin, and then they immediately put in an implant so that when I woke up after the surgery, I looked the same as I went in.”

Thompson’s experience with the surgery turned out to be a very positive one. So positive that her surgeon asked her to work for her part-time to help counsel other women thinking of getting the surgery.

After a number of months, Thompson started compiling a list of items that she felt would better improve a patient’s time while they were in the hospital undergoing a mastectomy. Eventually, this list gave birth to her cosmetic bag, the BFFL (Best Friends For Life) bag, and ultimately, her new company to go along with it.

The bag, designed by cosmetic bag designer Stephanie Johnson, contains items such as specific creams, drain care packs, and an ‘axilla pilla,’ which is a microbead pillow designed to prevent chafing and soreness under the arm.

“When I talk to hospitals who actually give it to patients and talk to other patients who have been through the surgery and have used it, it makes their life so much easier,” Thompson said. “And it gives them the feeling that someone’s really looking after them and cares about the little things.”

Thompson doesn’t intend to stop at just this bag — her company already has a traumatic brain injury bag in the works as well. Ultimately, Thompson wants the general public to understand that the hospital experience doesn’t necessarily have to be a scary one.

There are about 200,000 women in the United States who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about 50 percent of those women will have a mastectomy, and about 50 percent of those women will also have radiation, Thompson said.

"We want them to know that women have options and that when they are diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s not a death sentence."

Thompson said medical research is lacking in terms of studying patients’ hospital stays. In general, she hopes to spread awareness with her company about the different ways one can deal with cancer and to find ways to make a difficult treatment more comfortable.

“We need to educate the general population to all different types of cancer and what are options for patients and how do we help them recover,” Thompson said. “Not simply just for breast cancer, which I’m a huge advocate, but for a lot of different other diseases.”

source: foxnews

The Test Tosterone-Energy Connection

Harness the Energy Power of Testosterone

When it comes to anti aging clinics touting their high-end programs for reversing aging, increasing energy, upping libido, and generally turning back the clock to a time when you “get up and go” hadn’t “gone up and went”, human growth hormone (or HGH) gets the lion’s share of attention. But as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to hormone replacement for increased energy and overall well-being, testosterone is the king of the hill.

We all know testosterone as the hormonal engine that provides men with the sexual drive needed to guarantee the continuation of the human race. (It’s also critical of female libido, which is why so many` integrative docs who work with hormone replacement now give small amounts to postmenopausal women – it not only increases their libido but also does wonders for their energy. I’m just saying).

Sexual desire were the only thing that testosterone was responsible for, that would be plenty reason enough to care about it. But testosterone is responsible for far more than just giving your mojo a kick-start. Testosterone is the spark plug that gives men vitality, all the while helping to maintain muscle, skin, bones, sperm production and immune function. Let’s face it: Testosterone gives you energy.

Big time.

THE TEST TOSTERONE-ENERGY CONNECTION

Testosterone normally remains high until a man reaches his early thirties. At this point (or somewhat later, if you’re lucky), this libidinal lightbulb begins to gradually fade, and, over the next few decades, it will, sadly, continue to decrease.

By the age of seventy, a man typically has half the testosterone he did when he was thirty. Individual differences being what they are, many men lose it more quickly (and some retain pretty high levels well into their sixth decade and beyond – think Hugh Hefner of Sylvester Stallone). Invariably, energy will decline in lockstep with testosterone.

Loss of testosterone used to be accepted as inevitable, as a consequence of aging. But with advances in the science of aging, many thousand of men now enjoy youthful vitality and energy due in part to the increasingly popular (and increasingly sophisticated) therapy of hormone replacement.

“In my ten-year experience doing hormone replacement for both men and women, “I’ve found that the two hormones that significantly increase perceived energy are human growth hormone and testosterone”, says my friend David Leonardi, M.D., director of the popular Leonardi Executive Health Institute in Denver, a well-regarded antiaging clinic that routinely provides responsible hormone replacement therapy.

An obvious sign of low testosterone is a decrease in sex drive and other types of sexual difficulties, such as loss of morning erections, but there other signs, loss of energy being prime among them. Others include decreased muscle and bone mass, increased body fat, a decline in cognitive skills such as concentration and memory, and higher cholesterol levels. There is also a notable decline in overall well-being and vigor. Men with reduced testosterone levels are like the Old Gray Mare – they just” “ain’t what they used to be” in terms of stamina, exercise performance, libido, well-being, or energy.

But it’s not just men in Porsche 911s with “midlife crisis” written all over them who experience deficiencies and low energy. Because testosterone is made in the ovaries, women – especially after menopause – suffer from low testosterone levels and have a similar reduction in sex drive and energy. Women might notice symptoms such as droopy eyelids, sagging cheeks, thinning and dry hair, and mild depression. Many of these symptoms are often significantly improved when small amounts of testosterone are added to their hormone replacement regimen.

Heart test that saved baby now recommended for all newborns

"Look how big and strong you are!" new mom Lindsay cooed to her infant.

Baby Charlie is the apple of his mother's eye. A little more than three months ago he was born, seemingly healthy, at Tacoma General Hospital. Lindsay explains what happened as the family prepared to leave the hospital for home with their newborn.

"We were packed ready to go literally on our way out the door," she said.

But Charlie still needed two newborn screens. One, the heel prick is mandatory. The baby's heel is poked, drawing a spot of blood. The sample is then tested to detect rare genetic disorders. The other newborn test is voluntary.

"Because we'd done it with our first we decided to do it with Charlie as well," Lindsay said.

It's called pulse-oximetry. There's no pain, no poke, just a reading of the oxygen level in a baby's blood. If a newborn baby's reading is above 90, it signals a healthy heart. When Charlie got his test, at first no one believed the oxygen levels.

"Nurses thinking he was fine too, they were switching feet, going to his hands, and they just kept registering in the 60s. I remember at that point looking at my husband and thinking, there's something wrong," Lindsay said.

The test had picked up a life-threatening defect in Charlie's heart. Dr. Matthew Park, a pediatric cardiologist with Northwest Children's Heart Care, said pulse-oximetry has been studied at Tacoma General since 2008 and is offered to all newborns at the hospital.

"It tells us there could be a problem. And the number one problem we're looking for is congenital heart disease," Dr. Park explained.

The babies are given the pulse-oximetry test at a day old. It's a crucial window of time before a baby would show heart defect symptoms, such as breathing or feeding trouble, or blue skin.

"My big passion comes from babies that do not have this test that show up in our emergency room or clinic, very sick or very ill with serious heart disease that could have could have been detected earlier," said Dr. Park.

After his pulse-oximetry test baby Charlie was rushed the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. He was then transferred to Seattle Children's, where, at just six days old Charlie had open heart surgery.

"I feel very lucky that we decided to do the test. I feel very lucky that we were at Tacoma General," Lindsay said.

"I think the stars aligned. Somebody was looking out for us, for him, and it essentially saved his life," she said.

"Because of research at Tacoma General and other sites, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has now recommended pulse-oximetry for all newborns nationwide. It will likely take time for the newborn screen to be adopted at all Washington state birthing hospitals. In the meantime, parents of newborns can ask for the test if a hospital doesn't routinely offer it.

According to experts, undetected heart defects are the number one cause of infant death from birth defects.

SOURCE: king5

Endometriosis Linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease If you are a woman who has been diagnosed with endometriosis, a new study suggests you are twice as likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) compared with women who don’t have the gynecologic disorder. In addition, the risk is not a fleeting one: it lingers for about two decades.

Endometriosis can be a life-altering condition

Endometriosis is a condition in which the cells from the lining of the uterus—endometrium—collect and grow outside the uterus, including but not limited to the ovaries, bowel, and pelvic area. Approximately 176 million women around the world suffer with this condition and its most common symptom—pelvic pain—which is debilitating for some women and completely disrupts their lives.

The pelvic pain is often, but not always, is associated with a woman’s menstrual cycle and can be experienced before, during, or after menstruation, during ovulation, when urinating, and during or after sexual intercourse. Other symptoms may include diarrhea or constipation, abdominal bloating, fatigue, and infertility (this latter symptom affects about 30-40% of women with endometriosis).

In this new study, results of which appear in the latest issue of Gut, Danish researchers evaluated data from 37,661 women who had been hospitalized with endometriosis between 1977 and 2007. During that time, 320 women developed inflammatory bowel disease: 228 had ulcerative colitis and 92 had Crohn’s disease.

Analysis of the data showed that having endometriosis increased a woman’s risk of developing IBD by 50 percent compared with the general population. When the researchers limited their analysis to women who had had their endometriosis verified surgically, the risk rose to 80 percent and lingered for more than two decades after their initial diagnosis.

What’s the link between endometriosis and IBD?

Both endometriosis and inflammatory bowel disease involve chronic inflammation, impact the bowel, and cause abdominal pain. It has also been suggested by some experts that endometriosis is associated with autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis. IBD also is an autoimmune disease.

One possible cause of endometriosis is retrograde menstruation, which, although common in all women, may present a problem in women who have some immune system impairment, such as is seen in autoimmune conditions. It has also been proposed that endometriosis is itself an autoimmune disorder because it presents certain characteristics, such as elevated levels of autoantibodies and peritoneal inflammation.

The authors also noted the increased risk of IBD associated with endometriosis may be due to the use of oral contraceptives, which is a treatment for the gynecologic condition. In fact, research has shown an association between use of oral contraceptives and development of IBD.

For women who have endometriosis and the doctors who care for them, the take-home message from this study is that “a diagnosis of either endometriosis or IBD should not lead to the other diagnosis being disregarded and, hence, should not disqualify further clinical examination of patients with persisting abdominal or gynecological symptoms.”

SOURCES:
Cornish JA et al. American Journal of Gastroenterology 2008; 103:2394e400
Jess T et al. Gut 2011. DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2011-301095
Nothnick WB. Fertility and Sterility 2001; 76: 223e31

Soup Diet: Top Recipes To Counter Fat

You cannot follow one type of a diet (monodiet) for a long time. Planning on eating according to seasons will help you stay fit, enjoy food and balance nutrition. Winter season is the season of eating and drinking something hot and boiled. What else can suffice your choice than the 7 day diet called the soup diet. Take a look to know more.

Soup Diet – Best 7 Day Diet Plan

Generally the nutrients in vegetables are lost while cooking. The stock contains nutrients which is discarded and the zero nutrient vegetable is had. This only adds on to the body fat.

The best way to get all the nutrients from vegetables is by making a soup out of the stock and drinking that all through the day (for meals and snacks).

Any boiled vegetable water can be converted into soup by adding a few low fat vegetables, some black salt and pepper. (salt is also optional)

1. For Proteins – The dal soup (boiled toor dal, or sprouts, soy beans) is prepared by straining the dal and the stock is relished with pepper, chopped coriander, lemon juice, cumin seeds and pinch of salt. Lemon reduces body fat, spices and herbs help in digestion. Even chicken or fish broth can be replaced with sprouts.

2. Vitamin Soup Diet – To obtain the vitamins, prepare carrot soup, cabbage soup, radish soup and leafy vegetable soup (such as spinach and lettuce). These soups don't even require spices and can be relished hot. Preferring vitamin soup for snack time and dinner will burn fat gradually and help you lose weight.

3. For Fiber & Good Carbs – Brown rice or mashed sweet potato soup will provide you sufficient carbs for your body and also fasten the digestion process (fiber).

4. Spices And Herb Combination – Whenever you feel heavy or stressed. Boil water with peppercorn, cumins, 1 tsp clarified butter, tamarind juice, piece of cardamom, coriander seeds, chopped coriander leaves/ mint leaves/ dill leaves, chopped onion, grated ginger and a teaspoon sugar. The soup recipe is a fat burning diet and help lose fat quickly. The recipe also cures difficulty in breathing and constipation problems.

5. Certain vitamin C and antioxidant rich fruits (sour fruits like green mango, gooseberries, tamarind) can be boiled and relished with little black salt/ jaggery/ honey.

Soup diet is by far the quick weight loss diet as one will always be on liquids without compromising tasty foods. The entire week will cover all the vital vitamins and minerals required for a healthy metabolism, taste good to taste buds as well as aid weight loss.

source: oneindia

Dysphagia: A Swallowing Difficulty Tis the season! The chill from the harmattan at dawn, the jingles of Christmas carols, the aroma from sumptuous spicy foods, laughter of grateful people, the cheers of children and traders at their best commercial skills co-ordinate wonderfully to create a celestial atmosphere for the celebration of a special season.

In a few days, family, friends and invited guests would gather in homes, restaurants, chop bars, churches, and other places to celebrate Christmas. Different foods and an assortment of drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, would be served. For many people, the celebration of Christmas brings joy to the world. For others, this is just another occasion to sigh and endure a painful and sometimes embarrassing situation because of difficulty in swallowing their food.

Medically, difficulty in swallowing food is termed as Dysphagia. This word is derived from the Greek root dys meaning “difficulty” or “disordered”, and phagia meaning "to eat". Dysphagia is a sensation people feel when they experience difficulty in transporting food from their mouth to stomach. Swallowing is a very complex activity that requires a high degree of coordination of the mouth and throat muscles. To a lot of people, the ability to swallow seems so natural; the process is taken for granted until it is compromised.

Swallowing Stages

Typically, when we swallow, different muscles are activated in a very orderly sequence for food or liquid to be transported from the mouth to the pharynx and then esophagus, through which it enters the stomach. There are 3 sequential phases of swallowing: (1) Oral, (2) Pharyngeal, and (3) Esophageal. Each phase or stage facilitates a specific function. When we swallow food, it is transported in a smooth, coordinated and efficient process with complex series of voluntary and involuntary neuromuscular contractions through these 3 stages. But when there is any pathologic condition or disease which affects the stages in the swallow process, swallowing becomes difficult.

Causes of Dysphagia

Difficulty in swallowing or dysphagia, as a symptom of underlying disease, has many causes. These are usually divided into two broad groups. The first is any anatomical abnormalities from the mouth to the esophagus, which tend to physically obstruct the passage of food. The second is any functional abnormality in the organs (mouth to esophagus), the nerves of the brain, throat and esophagus, and the muscles of the throat and esophagus, whose normal function is necessary to coordinate swallowing.

There are many different diseases that can impact the efficiency of our swallow pattern. Diseases of the brain can affect the neurological control of the nerves and reflexes involved in swallowing. These include neurological disorders like Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Cerebral Palsy. Generally, a significant percentage of patients with stroke have dysphagia, which is the most significant risk factor for the development of pneumonia.

Diseases and conditions that affect muscle function or connective tissue throughout the body such as Muscular Dystrophy, Myasthenia Gravis, and Scleroderma can also cause dysphagia. Moreover, scar tissue such as inflammation of the esophagus and certain head and neck cancers can obstruct the upper digestive tract and esophagus. Acid reflux which is food backing up from the stomach backward toward the mouth can sometimes enter into the airway and compromise it.

This is regularly felt as heartburns. Persistent acid reflux can cause inflammation and scarring of our throat and narrow the width of the esophagus. This can also affect our swallowing process. Throat inflammation can also be caused by radiation, medications, or chemical toxins. Additionally, compression of the esophagus from structures outside of the digestive tract, such as tumors of the chest, and congenital anatomical abnormalities (birth defects) can affect our swallowing pattern. Trauma to the head and chest regions from accidents (including motor accidents) can be another significant cause of swallowing difficulty.

What people experience when they have dysphagia

The signs and symptoms of dysphagia will generally indicate the cause (e.g., neurologic or non-neurology). While some people have trouble with only solid foods, others have trouble with both liquid and solid foods. Other may also have to chew and re-chew for a considerable period of time with difficulty swallowing it. Some people will present with a consistent or intermittent feeling of food stuck in the throat. This feeling of food getting stuck in the throat may or may not interfere with their breathing. Others may feel severe chest pain which they will locate specifically to their breast bone or starting from their breast bone and spreading to the sides of their ribs.

Yet still, others may complain of having to bring portions of food back into their mouth (immediately or some hours later) after they have swallowed in order to re-swallow it. Some people with swallowing difficulty also complain of persistent coughing when they drink liquids of particular consistency. Others will have food/liquid enter into their lungs without even showing any outward symptoms/signs. These dysphagia symptoms, while intriguing to others, have severe impact on the health and quality of life of people with swallowing problems. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia, due to foreign materials (e.g., food and liquid) getting into the lungs, is a frequent possibility to people with swallowing difficulty. When aspiration pneumonia becomes a clear and present danger to some patients, a feeding tube may be recommended.

Impact of Dysphagia

When people have difficulty swallowing, it affects the type of food they take, the quantity ingested and sometimes the nutritional components of the food they eat. They tend to lose weight which makes them a fertile ground for other opportunistic diseases. It delays the recovery process for any underlying disease. Addition cost from dysphagia is the psycho-social impact to the quality of life of the person and the family. This can also lead to severe depression due to the interruption of patients’ normal ways of life. Dysphagia can ultimately have devastating consequences including death.

Evaluation

A team of professionals in swallow evaluation will generally include an Otolaryngologist (ENT), Gastroenterologist, Dentist, Speech Pathologist, Nutritionist, and Radiologist. Other healthcare specialists are consulted when needed. The evaluation involves a complete medical history and physical examination.

The evaluation includes questions about the duration, onset, and severity of swallowing symptoms as well as the presence of associated symptoms or chronic medical conditions. Specific diagnostic tests are frequently performed to evaluate the anatomy and physiology from the mouth to the stomach in relation to swallowing. The aim is always to mimic a typical swallowing process in order to diagnose the cause and plan treatment.

Swallowing Therapy

When the stage(s) of impairment is/are located, treatment protocols are initiated. Swallowing therapy may consist of medical or non-medical methods. The method of treatment is based on the results of the patient’s evaluation. The Otolaryngologist/Gastroenterologist usually provides medical treatments (surgery, prescriptions, etc.). Non-medical therapies such as swallowing strategies are provided by the Speech Pathologist. In some cases, a combination of both treatments is required.

Typically, swallowing therapy is available on a daily or weekly basis. Swallow strategies and modification of food consistency with a hierarchical progress in food consistency are planned as part of the therapeutic process. Clinical experience has demonstrated that daily treatment sessions lead to faster progress. In many cases improved swallowing has been noticed within two to four weeks. Many patients recover sufficient swallowing ability to eliminate their reliance on feeding tubes.

Hope for people with dysphagia

So during this Christmas season, while salivating in the presence of the meals served, and gently rubbing palms together in anticipation of consuming our sumptuous meal, we can also acknowledge that a section of our people have some difficulty swallowing. What we tend to take for granted is a daily struggle for some members of our families, some friends, and some of our invited guests (who may sometimes have preferred not to honor our invitation). If we experience difficulty swallowing our solid or liquid food, our healthcare practitioners are always available for a comprehensive evaluation and treatment. So, while we prepare our hearts to make room for heaven and nature to sing in a coordinated manner, we could make room for others with impairment in their swallow process. For it is in doing thus that we can also share the wonders of His love.

Levi Ofoe is a Graduate Student at University of Florida, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department. His clinical interests include Speech Fluency, Voice and Swallowing

source: opinion.myjoyonline

Medicago Satino An Outstanding Alkalizing Food

Alfalfa is nutritionally one of the most versatile herbs yet discovered. It is leguminous herb which grows upto 50cms in height. It is rich green alternate leaves, purplish flowers and adapts itself to widely varying conditions of soil and climate.

Alfalfa appears to have been discovered by the Arabs who called it kings of king of plants and the father of all foods. They have used it for centuries to feed thoroughbred horses. The Persians recognized it as a healing grass.

Alfalfa is native of Europe. It is now widely cultivated in the temperate regions, the subtropics and it higher altitudes in the tropics. It is grown throughout India.
Alfalfa is a valuable source of vitamin A, B, D, E and G. it also has some vitamin C and K. the rich quality, quantity and proper balance of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium and silicon is of special value Alfalfa. All these elements are needed for proper functioning of the various organs in the body.

Investigations made by US department of agriculture have revealed that Alfalfa contains one and half times more proteins than grains like wheat and corns and that is carbohydrate contain in only half of that found in grains. The Alfalfa protein contains amino acids such as Arginine, lysine, Threonine, and tryptophan. These amino acids supplement any deficiencies due to lack of essential nutrients in the diet.

Alfalfa is one the richest sources of dietary fiber and chlorophyll. These nutrients have induced nutritional authorities of experiment with Alfalfa as a ready form of easily digestible food as and a protein concentrate for supplementing protein deficient food such as vegetables.

Healing power and Curative Properties
The seeds, leaves and the stem of alfalfa plant have important properties derived from the roots of the plant which reach up to 12 meters in to subsoil and absorb the elusive trace minerals from the depths. The most important of these trace minerals is manganese which is vital to human digestive system in its manufacture of insulin.

Alfalfa is an outstanding alkalizing food. It contains 130 to 142 mg. of alkali forming elements in every 100 grams. These make it a valuable remedy for several ailments. It is slightly laxative, digestive, and diuretic and serves an excellent tonic. It augments the peristalsis or movement of the bowels, improves digestion and ensures better assimilation of foods. Alfalfa builds for healthy and vigorous old age and resistance to infection.

Dropsy
An effective diuretic, alfalfa acts gently upon the kidneys. It can be successfully employed in the treatment of the inflammation of the bladder and the dropsy, a disease marked by accumulation of fluid in the body.

Heart Disorders
Alfalfa in the form of juice has been found very effective in most arterial problems and heart disease. Only fresh leaves of the plant may be used for this purpose. The juice of fresh alfalfa however is strong and potent and is best taken with carrot juice. in this combination the individual benefits of each juice are intensified.

Respiratory Disorders
Alfalfa juice, as a rich source of chlorophyll, is useful in respiratory disorders and discomforts, particularly those relating to the sinuses and the lungs.

Stomach Disorders
The seeds of alfalfa known as king of sprouts are of immense value in the maintenance of health. Their daily use helps build up immunity to stomach distress. Alfalfa in the form of tea provides vital alkalizing benefits for hyperacidity. It tends to control the flow of hydrochloric acid, aiding the action of gastric enzyme, pepsin. The addition of mint to alfalfa tea helps settle disturbed stomachs after a rich meal. It also refreshes to palate and makes an excellent morning drink.

Arthritis
Alfalfa tea especially made from the seeds is if great value in arthritis as it helps alkalize the food residues in the body. Six or seven cups of it should be taken daily by arthritics for at least two weeks.

Hair disorders
The juice of alfalfa in combination with those of carrot and lettuce, if taken daily, helps the growth of hair to remarkable extent. Such combination of juices is rich in elements which are beneficial for the roots of the hair.

High Blood Pressure
The herb is an effective remedy for high blood pressure. It contains all the elements necessary for softening the hardened arteries, which characterize high blood pressure.

Methods of uses:
Alfalfa is used in many ways or forms. The seeds are useful in the form of sprouts. They are delicious and nourishing in salads and soups as well as in sandwiches. Alfalfa can be used in the form of juice extracted from its leaves. It is also used extensively in the form of tea which is made from seed as well as from the dried leaves of the plant. The tea is prepared by boiling alfalfa seeds in an enamel pan with the lid on, for half an hour. It is strained, squeezing or pressing the seeds dry, and allowed to cool. Cold or hot water and honey may be added to taste before use.

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