Health Care — The Perspective

Some ‘Good’ Cholesterol May Up Heart Disease Risk

May 10, 2012 By adminclyd

A subclass of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the so-called “good” cholesterol, may not protect against coronary heart disease (CHD) and in fact may be harmful, a new study has revealed.

The study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers is the first research to show that a small protein, apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III), that sometimes resides on the surface of HDL cholesterol may increase the risk of heart disease and that HDL cholesterol without this protein may be especially heart protective.

“This finding, if confirmed in ongoing studies, could lead to better evaluation of risk of heart disease in individuals and to more precise targeting of treatments to raise the protective HDL or lower the unfavourable HDL with apoC-III,” said Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at HSPH and senior author of the study. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Research & Study

Eating Too Fast Could Up Diabetes Risk By Two-And-A-Half Times

May 9, 2012 By adminclyd

People who wolf down meals are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, say scientists.

This could be because eating very quickly encourages weight gain, which can trigger the illness.

Scientists in Lithuania presented their finding at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy, the Daily Mail reported.

They looked at 702 people, including 234 who had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Disease, Foods, Lifestyle, Research & Study

Married Heart Surgery Patients Live Longer

March 12, 2012 By adminclyd

Married heart surgery patients are far less likely than single patients to die in the first three months after their operation, a new study finds.

The survival rate was more than three times as high for married patients as for single patients three months after surgery, the researchers report in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Although the difference in survival was strongest in the first few months, the analysis of data from more than 500 male and female patients who had emergency or elective coronary bypass surgery also found that the strong protective effect of marriage continued for up to five years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Health, Research & Study

Vitamin E Could Make Bones Weaker

March 6, 2012 By adminclyd

Taking vitamin E supplements may make bones old and frail before their time, Japanese researchers say.

A study found that animals fed on a diet supplemented with the vitamin had bones 20 per cent weaker than those that ate normally.

More worrying is that the effect was seen after just eight weeks, the Daily Mail reported.

The scientists behind the research said that given the popularity of vitamin E supplements, a larger study on people is now warranted. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Foods, Lifestyle, Research & Study

Diet Drinks Could Hurt Your Heart

March 3, 2012 By adminclyd

Diet soda may benefit the waistline, but people who drink it every day may have a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a new US study.

Although the researchers, whose work appeared in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that older adults who drank diet soda every day were 44 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack, their research did not prove that the sugar-free drinks alone were to blame.

There may be other things about diet-soda lovers that explain the connection, said lead researcher Hannah Gardener, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and her team. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Diet, Research & Study

Women Who Eat Fish Have Lower Colon Polyp Risk

February 10, 2012 By adminclyd

Women who eat at least three servings of fish per week have a reduced risk of developing some types of colon polyps according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.

The research, led by first author Harvey Murff, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Medicine, was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The VICC researchers believe that omega-3 fats in fish may reduce inflammation in the body and help protect against the development of colon polyps. Polyps are small growths on the lining of the intestinal tract that may develop into cancer. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Care Tagged With: Foods, Research & Study

Can I Eat Pears While Pregnant?

January 25, 2012 By adminclyd

Pears are safe to eat during pregnancy; they are low in calories and contain several nutrients that are especially important for expecting moms. Add variety to your daily diet with the many pear varieties available, including Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou, Starkrimson and Comice. Although you can eat pears plain, you can also cook them in other ways or put them in smoothies to reap the health benefits.

Folic Acid

Pears provide approximately 12 micrograms of folic acid per piece of fruit, according to the Pear Bureau Northwest. Although that may not seem like much, when it comes to folic acid, you should get as much as you can during pregnancy. [Read more...]