Category Archives
Health & Wellness
Health Care
flickr/anitacanita
Ewwww
A new investigation from the Government Accountability Office shows many of those herbal dietary supplements that promise to help you shed pounds, stay smart, increase your libido and relieve your stress actually contain poison. Scientists found lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and pesticides in the supplements, which are currently not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. [NYT]
Posted 2:13 PM | Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: http://flickr.com/2082874105
Parenting Alert
A new study conducted by researchers in South Carolina show that overweight girls have sex earlier (60% more likely to be sexually active before the age of 13), are more likely to have more partners during their teen years (30% more likely to have 3 or more partners than thinner girls) and are less likely to use protection (20% less likely to use condoms). Reasons listed by researchers for these unexpected, dramatic findings: Obese girls hit puberty earlier, have low self-esteem and poor body image. [MSNBC]
Posted 2:13 PM | Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | Permalink
Source: flickr/danshouse
By The Numbers
45 Million: Number of Americans who still don't wear their seatbelts in the car. And according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, an "average of 38 unbelted people a day are killed in motor vehicle crashes." [CBS News]
Posted 10:44 AM | Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 | Permalink
A Guinness A Day Helps Keep Doctors Away
New research shows drinking a glass of Guinness a day is as effective as taking low-dose aspirin in preventing the blood clots that lead to heart attacks. Researchers say they think "'antioxidant compounds' in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls." [BBC]
Posted 1:28 PM | Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Permalink
Shop This
A new study shows people who shop at cheap grocery stores are 10 times more likely to be obese than those who shop at high-end markets. "In the Seattle area, a region with an average obesity rate of about 20 percent, only about 4 percent of shoppers who filled their carts at Whole Foods Market stores were obese, compared with nearly 40 percent of shoppers at lower-priced Albertsons stores." The stat underscores one of the problems with trying to fight obesity in low-income neighborhoods; even when healthy food is available, the expense and time it takes to prepare low-cal, healthy food may be more than some people feel they are able to do. [MSNBC]
Posted 1:27 PM | Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Permalink
Child Mortality
Child mortality rates dropped dramatically across the globe in the past two decades...unless you're a child in the United States. Overally, "the number of children younger than 5 who die this year will fall to 7.7 million, down from 11.9 million two decades ago." The U.S., however, ranked #29 in child mortality rates twenty years ago. Today, we're #42, " behind much of Europe as well as the United Arab Emirates, Cuba and Chile." Dr. Christopher Murphy of the University of Washington and lead reasearcher in the study, found the data suggests "broader problems with the nation's fragmented, poorly planned healthcare system." [LA Times]
Posted 1:26 PM | Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Permalink
flickr/Joe13
Fighting Child Obesity
More celebrities are taking a cue from Michelle Obama by joining the fight against childhood obesity. Ellen DeGeneres and Tavis Smiley have joined the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Tobey Maguire, Woody Harrelson and Molly Sims in urging Congress to support the Healthy School Meals Act, which pushes schools to serve more fruits and vegetables. Said DeGeneres in a letter to Congress: "Obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related health problems are showing up in children at disturbingly high rates. One out of five teenagers already has abnormal cholesterol levels. Fighting this epidemic is one of the most urgent challenges we face-and healthy school lunches could play a vital role." Read CAP's idea in fighting childhood obesity here. [Politico]
Posted 10:45 AM | Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 | Permalink
Meaty
Take that all the people who told me to eat more vegetables! There’s a new twist on the research that associates heart risk with red meat. A new study has found that it’s actually processed red meat, things like bacon and hot dogs, that pose a health risk. Eating a daily 4 oz serving of steak or hamburger has no effect on a person’s overall heart health. Researchers say their findings indicate that the heart risk may come from the salt rather than the meat. [Wall Street Journal]
Posted 2:07 PM | Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 | Permalink
flickr/franziskas garten
Little Johnny Wants Organic Veggies
Little Johnny quite a handful these days? Try switching him to a more organic diet. According to studies appearing this month in the journal Pediatrics, kids exposed to above-average levels of pesticides found on commercially grown fruits and vegetables are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than kids with less exposure. One researcher explained that pesticides are created to have toxic effects on the nervous system - that's how they kill pests - so it's not a surprise that exposure can lead to behavioral and cognitive problems in kids. [CNN]
Posted 3:55 PM | Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
Put Down The Big Mac
Burgers and fries not only expand waistlines; they also may worsen asthma attacks, according to a new study. The findings, reported by Live Science, found that high-fat meals eaten by asthma patients experienced increased inflammation in their airways, as opposed to patients who ate a low-fat meal of yogurt. Asthma has become increasingly prevalent in recent decades, increasing in by 75 percent between 1980 and 1994. In 2007, around 34.1 million Americans had asthma. [CBS News]
Posted 11:03 AM | Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
flickr/ 22458404_bbab26e5b4
Good for your health, bad for your taste buds?
Ketchup lovers are in an uproar about Heinz’ decision to cut the salt in their trademark product. The Pittsburgh-based condiment giant plans to cut the sodium in its ketchup by 15 percent, the biggest change to their secret recipe in over 40 years. Lots of people took to Facebook to voice their complaints about the plan, comparing the idea to another notoriously disastrous one: New Coke. [New York Post]
Posted 2:56 PM | Friday, May 14th, 2010 | Permalink
That’s Nuts!
Grab a handful of walnuts and pay attention: according to recent studies, eating a handful of nuts a day can reduce your cholesterol levels by 7.4%. Researchers think nuts stop your body from absorbing cholesterol. Watch out, though - it doesn't work if you eat nuts covered in salt or sugar, so choose wisely. [BBC]
Posted 6:38 PM | Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
flickr/anitacanita
This Is Your Policy On Drugs
Most experts agree the so-called War On Drugs has been a rousing failure. The White House hopes to change that with the brand-new drug-control strategy announced today. Instead of spending every last resource to throw people in prison, the new strategy will "treat illegal drug use more as a public health issue and less as a criminal justice problem," focusing on treatment centers and community-based anti-drug programs. [Washington Post]
Posted 6:36 PM | Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
Health Care Debate Redux
There could be another big debate stirring over the new health-care law. Some politicos are worried that the legislation makes it difficult for those who don’t feel it’s right to prescribe things like the morning-after pill or stem cell therapies. The president has been mulling over whether to rescind a Bush administration law that protected health-care workers who “refuse to provide care they find objectionable,” saying it chips away at a woman’s reproductive rights. [Washington Post]
Posted 3:00 PM | Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
Rising Costs
According to a new study, the cost of treating cancer in the United States nearly doubled over the past two decades. The study found that cancer treatment costs rose from nearly $25 billion in 1987 to more than $48 billion by the end of 2005. The rise in costs is due to an increase in the number of cancer patients over the past 20 years, said the study's lead author, Florence Tangka of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study also finds cancer accounts for only 5 percent of total U.S. medical costs, which hasn't changed in the last few decades. [AP]
Posted 9:40 AM | Monday, May 10th, 2010 | Permalink
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