Health — The Perspective

Happiness Helps When It Comes To The Heart

February 23, 2010 By adminclyd

You’ve heard it before: to avoid a heart attack don’t smoke, eat right and exercise. But it also may help to be happy, a new study says.

Even if you’re grumpy by nature, just try to be cheerful.

Researchers at Columbia University rated the happiness levels of more than 1,700 adults in Canada with no heart problems in 1995.

After a decade, they examined the 145 people who developed a heart problem and found happier people were less likely to have had one.

The study was published online Thursday in the European Heart Journal.

“If you aren’t naturally a happy person, just try acting like one,” said Dr. Karina Davidson of Columbia University Medical Center, the paper’s lead author. “It could help your heart.”

Davidson and colleagues used a five-point scale to measure people’s happiness. They then statistically adjusted to account for things like age, gender, and smoking.

For every point on the happiness scale, people were 22 percent less likely to have a heart problem. The study was paid for by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and others.

Davidson said happy people were more likely to have a healthier lifestyle.

It could also be there is an unknown genetic trait that predisposes people to be happy and have less heart disease.

Other experts said happiness itself could result in a healthier heart compared to other emotions such as stress or depression.

Stress often releases hormones that can damage heart muscle. Stress can also cause blood vessels to open too wide, allowing plaque buildups to break off and clog the arteries, according to Joep Perk, a professor of health sciences at Sweden’s Kalmar University and spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology. Perk was not linked to the study.

“I often tell my patients not to get too depressed because it’s bad for your heart,” Perk said. “You need time to recharge your batteries or else your heart won’t be able to take it.”

Depression has long been noted as a risk factor for heart problems. Davidson said it was premature to draft guidelines recommending patients boost their happiness levels just to protect their hearts, even if it might help, until broader studies now under way are completed. But she does recommend trying to be happy for other reasons, like better mental health.

“Anything that patients can do to increase the amount of (happiness) in their lives will be helpful,” she said, adding there was a slight proviso. “No smoking, eating unhealthy food, not exercising or anything potentially damaging,” she said. “That’s the only trick.” By Maria Cheng, The Press Democrat

Filed Under: Home & Family Tagged With: Health, Research & Study

Inexpensive Bathroom Makeover

February 21, 2010 By adminclyd

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to decorate in your bathroom. Just add some cheap candlesticks, vases, and seashells, dishes with stones, candles or whatever you are drawn to. Even just these smalls’ touches will make your bathroom feel cozier and more decorative. Next, give your bathroom a new face lift with a fresh coat of paint. Painting is one of the least expensive home improvement projects you can do, but it will make an enormous impact. Select a bright color to open up a small room, and enhance it with bright white semi-gloss paint trim. This inexpensive bathroom makeover idea not only looks great, but makes the room smell clean and fresh too.

Nevertheless, while there are plenty of choices on the market for Bathroom Suites many elders still prefer soaking in a tub, and finding alternatives to the dangerous bath tub can prevent many falls. Thus, for bathroom remodels, choosing a toilet that is 15 inches or higher will generally provide the height needed on a more permanent basis. Various styles are available and dozens of models of walk-in tubs provide price range and choice. Some distributors provide reasonable installation, which includes removal of the standard tub. For those who simply want to keep the tub and insist on bathing, tub lifts offer a safe and affordable approach.

Filed Under: Business & Economy Tagged With: Health, Home Improvement

Quitting Smoking Helps Lung Cancer Patients Live Longer

January 23, 2010 By adminclyd

Smokers who are diagnosed with early stage lung cancer can roughly double their chances of being alive five years later by giving up smoking, researchers say. However, many people with lung cancer are diagnosed at a later stage, and there’s very little research on whether these people would benefit from quitting.

What do we know already?

The warnings appear on every cigarette packet, often in stark lettering, but sometimes including grisly photos of diseased lungs. Whatever the reasons someone has for smoking, not being aware of the risks is unlikely to be one of them.

Given that many people with lung cancer die within a year of being diagnosed, it would take an insensitive sort of character to lecture a patient on their smoking habits. Nevertheless, a new study casts some light on the continuing harm someone might be doing to themselves by smoking while being treated for lung cancer.

What does the new study say?

Giving up smoking can help people with lung cancer to live longer, according to a round-up of all the research on the topic. The researchers used a mathematical model to predict life expectancy, based on observing people with lung cancer who chose to either carry on smoking or give up.

The researchers think that someone with a kind of lung cancer called non-small cell, diagnosed at an early stage at age 65, would have a 70 percent chance of being alive five years later if they gave up smoking. The chance of being alive in five years would fall to 33 percent for someone who kept on smoking.

While the predicted difference in life expectancy is large, in practice few people may be in a position to benefit. The majority of people are diagnosed with lung cancer at a later stage. There’s been very little research looking at the implications of smoking for these people.

How reliable are the findings?

The study is a review of all the research that’s been done so far. One weakness is that most of the previous studies have looked at people with early stage cancer.

Another is that most of the existing studies are of the observational kind. In other words, people chose whether to keep smoking or not, and the researchers kept track of what happened to them. This could affect the results. For example, people who’d smoked less in the past might find it easier to give up, so the benefit could come from having less lung damage in the first place, rather than quitting. However, in practice, it seems that it was the least healthy people who were most likely to quit, which would mean the study could underestimate the benefits of giving up.

Where does the study come from?

The study was published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), which is owned by the British Medical Association. It was carried out by an organisation called the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, with funding from several organisations, including the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and the National Institute for Health Research.

What does this mean for me?

In health terms, giving up smoking is almost always likely to be beneficial. However, if you’ve been diagnosed with lung cancer, you’re likely to be facing all sorts of difficult decisions about treatment and about the future. It’s entirely down to you to decide the amount of effort you’re prepared to put into giving up smoking. The Guardian

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Health, Lifestyle

Fertility Drugs Contribute Heavily to Multiple Births

January 16, 2010 By adminclyd

The widespread use of so-called fertility drugs, not just high-tech laboratory procedures, likely plays a larger role than previously realized in the growing problem of premature births in the United States, because these drugs cause a high percentage of multiple births, the March of Dimes said today.

The organization’s comments came in response to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology by authors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the March of Dimes that found controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) drugs — used to stimulate a woman’s ovaries to speed the maturity and multiply the production of eggs — accounts for four times more live births than assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilization.

“Many people have focused on the role of ARTs in multiples and have not fully appreciated that fertility drugs alone are responsible for one out of every five multiple births,” said Alan R. Fleischman, M.D., medical director of the March of Dimes. “COH drugs are widely prescribed, and some health care professionals — and their patients — are not aware of the serious risks of fertility drugs to women and their babies. There is a very high possibility of multi-fetal pregnancy resulting from use of these drugs, and that brings a high risk of prematurity and lifelong health problems for the babies as a consequence.”

“The March of Dimes urges more research and leadership from professional societies to develop specific guidelines and encourage acceptance of best practices for the proper use and dosage of fertility drugs, as well as the careful counseling and monitoring of women treated with these drugs. Women who are taking fertility drugs should always ask their doctor what they can do to prevent having a multi-fetal pregnancy,” Dr. Fleischman said.

Dr. Fleischman noted that approximately 88,000 babies are born preterm annually as a result of the recent increase of twins, triplets, and other multiple births. About 60 percent of twins, more than 90 percent of triplets, and virtually all quadruplets and higher-order multiples are born prematurely, he noted. In addition to the increased risks associated with multiple birth, studies have also suggested that even infants born singly, but conceived with ovulation stimulation are at increased risk for preterm delivery than naturally conceived single births, the study authors pointed out.

Dr. Fleischman said it is critical for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other clinical societies to develop clear guidelines on the use of fertility drugs to help prevent many premature births.

The study found that 4.6 percent of live births in 2005 resulted from fertility drug use, a figure 4 times higher than the 1.2 percent of births resulting from ARTs. A total of 22.8 percent of babies born as multiples were conceived using fertility drugs alone.

The study authors conclude that more than 190,000 infants per year are conceived with fertility drug use, but also say this figure is an underestimate because there is no system for population-based surveillance of births resulting from fertility drug treatment.

“The estimates from this analysis, together with separate published estimates from the National ART surveillance system, indicate that in all, approximately 6 percent of US infants are now exposed to ovulation stimulation treatments,” stated Laura Schieve, epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Thus, we must continue to study both the short- and long-term health outcomes among the many women treated and the many children annually conceived with these infertility treatments.”

More than 540,000 babies are born too soon each year in the U.S. Preterm birth costs the nation more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth face the risk of lifelong health problems such as breathing problems, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, vision and hearing loss. Even babies born just a few weeks too soon (34-36 weeks gestation, also known as late preterm birth) have higher rates of death and disability than full-term babies.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies(R), the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. For free access to national, state, county and city-level maternal and infant health data, visit PeriStats, at marchofdimes.com/PeriStats. PR Newswire

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Health, Medical Study

Simply Works With Your Body

January 14, 2010 By adminclyd

To some individuals, weight loss is one of the top New Year’s resolutions for many people and it was really tough for them, but it is often a difficult resolution to keep. Probably, you have a few times in the past taken drastic ways to lose weight that you have returned once again regular habits or on the contrary you have failed to take action that brings results? Well, what works for weight loss sustainable is the adoption of eating habits and physical activity that can be maintained long term.

And towards this point, if ever possible look for safe weight loss pills that work only in the digestive system and not in the heart or brain. Further, it is also paramount that when consumers use it, they can be assured that the product has been thoroughly tested and proven to be safe and effective. So better have those that simply works with your body to keep some of the fat you eat from being absorbed, then you too can join the thousands of people who have success with a weight loss program.

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Exercise, Foods, Health, Lifestyle

Green Tea ‘Can Stave Off Lung Cancer

January 14, 2010 By adminclyd

Sipping a cup of green tea daily can slash the risk of lung cancer, even if you are a smoker, a new study has claimed.

Green tea has long been hailed as a natural medicine capable of treating diabetes, dementia, high cholesterol and obesity. It is thought compounds known as polyphenols in the tea help reduce inflammation, preventing damage to the genetic information in every cell.

Now, a team at Taiwan has carried out the latest study and concluded that antioxidants found in the leaf can protect against the damage to DNA that eventually triggers lung cancer in people.

And, according to researchers, the ancient brew could reduce the risk of lung cancer both in smokers and non-smokers five-fold, the ‘Daily Express’ reported.

The results were most impressive in those who smoked regularly — slashing the risk of lung cancer by 12 times, the researchers said, who have based their findings on an analysis of a group of green tea drinkers and non-drinkers. Indian Express

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Disease, Health

Multi Uses Of Ginger

January 10, 2010 By adminclyd

For people who suffer from motion sickness, morning sickness or chemotheraphy related problems, the common kitchen ingredient, ginger, is the best herbal and handy cure. Technically called Zingiber officinal, it is regarded as a “great herb/ medicine”.

This rhizome is regarded around the world as a quick herbal remedy for a number of health problems.

Scientific studies conducted by several research institutions including the Indian Institute of Nutrition have revealed that ginger contains medicinal properties that control high blood pressure, check ovarian cancer, prevents cancer of large intestine, gives relief from menstrual cramps, constipation, heartburn, cold and flu and migraine, and reduces damage to kidneys in diabetic patients.

Ginger has also been found to be anti-inflammatory, anti-flatulent (controls digestive gases) and anti-oxidant (fights cancer).

Ginger rhizome contains proteins (2.3 per cent), fat (0.9 per cent), minerals (1.2 per cent), fibre (2.4 per cent) and carbohydrates (12.3 per cent), besides minerals like iron, calcium and phosphorous. Vitamins like thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

The major active components found in ginger are gingerols. The effectiveness of ginger (940 mg) in motion sickness was found to be equivalent of allopathic drug, dimenhydrinate (100 mg).

QUICK REMEDIES

Sore Throat

For quick relief consume freshly prepared ginger tea. To prepare ginger tea, obtain decoction of freshly cut ginger pieces (10 grams) by boiling them in four cups of water for about 20 minutes. Filter the decoction and consume. For taste, you may add honey and lemon juice.

Athlete’s foot

Ginger has been scientifically proven to fight fungal infections. Those suffering from athlete’s foot can prepare a ginger solution and soak their feet in it. It provides relief from itching and pain. Add a little ginger to warm water. Once it cools, dip your feet for 10 minutes.

Body odour

If you sweat too much and suffer from body odour, chew small pieces of ginger dried in lemon juice, salt and jeera. To fight nausea take “alla murabba” (ginger-jaggery sweet) available in the market. Deccan Chronicle