Medical Voice

7 "HEALTHY" Foods You May Think Are Healthy, But Aren't

2007-12-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

Some foods, however, have gotten the healthy nod, when they’re actually laden with fat, sugar or both. That's why you should always read the label. To save you some time, here are seven items that you may think are good snacks, but might be better left on the store shelf.

GRANOLA BARS
Granola bars got their wholesome, outdoorsy reputation as the mountain climber’s snack of choice. They’re filled with whole oats, nuts, seeds and bits of dried fruit — how could that be a bad thing?

The downside: Many granola bars are dipped in sugary syrups or loaded with chocolate chips, highly processed or artificial ingredients and aren’t much better than high-calorie candy bars. Even the less sugared-up varieties have only a little protein, a smidgen of fiber and a small amount of vitamins and minerals.

If you can’t resist: Make your own trail mix with whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals, such as shredded wheat, with whole nuts, seeds and chunks of unsweetened, dried fruit. Otherwise, stick to bars with a short ingredient list, essentially whole grains, nuts, seeds and real fruit. Pick ones with 4 or more grams of fiber, less than 150 calories per serving and no more than 6 grams of added sugars.

TEA DRINKS
Tea has been lauded for its antioxidant power. The phytonutrients in tea leaves may not predict your future, but they may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Tea leaves can calm inflammation in the body and may slow the growth of cancer cells.
Tea leaves can help fight cancer and heart disease, but not all tea drinks are the same.
Keep reading @ msnbc.msn.com

5 Health Benefits of Vinegar

2007-12-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

1. Apply vinegar to jellyfish stings to ease the pain.
2. If a jellyfish doesn't get you at the beach, the sun might.
Vinegar can be applied to a sunburn to ease the effects.
3. Equal parts vinegar and alcohol dropped in the ear canal
can ward off infection for someone with swimmer's ear.
4. A daily drink of one tablespoon of vinegar and one of
honey mixed with water will help to ward off a cold.
5. Vinegar, when swabbed on a cervix will turn cancerous cells
white. I don't know that this will ever come in handy ... but hey,
it's good conversation starter if you find yourself chatting with
an OBGYN.

Americans Are Among the Fattest People on Earth

2007-11-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

According to recent statistics from national and international health organizations, Americans are among the fattest people on earth. The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in the United States, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past 20 years. Dr. Jennifer Zebrack, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine) at the Medical College of Wisconsin, reports that 34% of all Americans are overweight – defined as having a Body Mass Index of 25.0 to 29.9 – and 30.5% are obese, defined as having a Body Mass Index of 30.0 or higher. Dr. Zebrack points out that it’s not just adults who are becoming problematically heavy, but children and adolescents as well; about 13% of children and adolescents in the US are now seriously overweight.
Continue Reading @ healthlink.mcw.edu

Study Shows Curvy Women Are More Intelligent than Skinny Women

2007-11-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

T was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too.
The study found that women with large hips and small waists are more intelligent than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies.
The paper, to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour this week, suggests that such women give birth to more intelligent children - possibly a result of higher levels of omega3 fatty acids on the hips.
The researchers believe that the results offer a new explanation for why many men find curvy women more alluring. Nigella Lawson, the cookery presenter and Oxford University graduate, has one of Britain’s most famous hourglass figures, while Rachel Weisz, the curvy actress who won an Oscar for her role in The Constant Gardener, completed an English degree at Cambridge University while embarking on the first stages of her acting career. The researchers suggest that the fat around fuller hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega6 fatty acids, which are less suited to brain growth.The research may also explain why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests: their mothers may have had insufficient stores of the best fatty acids.
“The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth,” say the researchers.
The study noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and did better in tests.
Keep reading at timesonline.co.uk

Prevent Your Allergies Spending $0

2007-11-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

Medicines help treat allergy symptoms once they strike, but there are several steps you can take to prevent allergy symptoms altogether. The following recommendations can help you avoid allergy triggers whether you're at home, outdoors, or out on the town.
Allergy-Proof Your At Home

* Keep windows closed and use air conditioning if you're allergic to pollen. Don't use fans since they can stir up dust.
* Filter the air. Cover air conditioning vents with cheesecloth to filter pollen and use high efficiency particulate air filters. Clean air filters frequently and air ducts at least once a year.
* Keep the humidity in your house below 50% to prevent mold growth.
* If you have pets, consider keeping them outside or perhaps ask someone else to take care of them. Animal dander and saliva are common allergens for many people. If you must keep your pets indoors, do not allow them in the bedroom and be sure to bathe them often.
* Avoid areas where molds may collect, including basements, garages, crawl spaces, barns, and compost heaps. Have someone else clean these areas often.
Keep reading at webmd.com

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Lower Calorie Thanksgiving

2007-11-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's the most gut-busting day of the year, so yeah, you're bound to overdo it -- especially if Aunt Gertrude, you holiday host, favors real butter and cream.
Instead of fighting the desire to eat like your 12-year-old self, stick to this game plan: Skip the ho-hum fillers like nuts and bread and pile up your plate -- only once -- with big but still reasonable portions of this truly delicious stuff.
Wine
(5 oz glass), 120 calories
If the family drives you to drink, choose wine. You can go with white or red (only a 3-5 calorie difference per ounce). But note: red wine offers resveratrol, a healthy antioxidant, in higher amounts.
Turkey
(about 3 oz. or the size of a deck of cards), 107 calories
Go for skinless breast over thigh; dark meat is higher in saturated fat and calories.
Read more at womenshealthmag.com

Addicted to Chocolate? You Might Have Bacteria

2007-11-19T19:49:00.001-08:00

Oct. 12, 2007 — If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.
A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.
That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.

Holiday Healthy Fitness Tip

2007-11-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

Physical activity is essential to burning calories and losing weight and -- especially important this time of year -- relieving stress. If your schedule is crazy, take 10-minute breaks throughout the day to power up your jump rope, walk around the block, or whatever you can to fit in some fitness. Or strap on a pedometer and work on taking more steps throughout the day, wherever your day takes you.

Early Puberty in Girls Affects Health

2007-11-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

Early puberty in girls has been found to negatively affect these teenagers' health in areas such as mood disorders, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, and cancers of the reproductive system. Given these findings, it is critical to understand why certain adolescents are at increased risk for early puberty in order to develop effective early intervention and prevention strategies for high-risk youths. Children living in families with greater parental supportiveness (from both mothers and fathers) and less marital conflict and depression (but only when reported by fathers) experienced the first hormonal changes of puberty later than other children, the researchers found. In addition, children whose mothers had started puberty later (a genetic factor), whose families were better off when the children were in preschool, whose moms gave them more support when they were in preschool, and who had lower Body Mass Index (BMI) when they were in third grade developed secondary sexual characteristics later than their peers.
Keep reading at medicalnewstoday.com

Holiday Healthy Eating Tip

2007-11-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

If you really want another piece of candy or a big piece of pie, justify it. Eat smaller portions of other foods (except for the low-calorie, filling ones like vegetables) to save calories for the treats you crave, and/or spend a little more time working out. Remember this simple equation: Eating more than you burn equals weight gain.

Nutrients in Vegetables May Help Protect the Heart From Heart Attack Damage

2007-11-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Nitrites and nitrates, found in foods including leafy greens, may cut heart damage in a heart attack. That news comes from lab tests in mice. Some of the mice had their drinking water laced with nitrites or nitrates for a week. For comparison, other mice got ordinary drinking water. After a week, the researchers gave the mice an induced heart attack in order to see how their hearts fared after the heart attack. The hearts of mice in the nitrite or nitrate groups had less heart attack damage than the mice that had drunk plain water in the week before the induced heart attack. Dietary sources of nitrites and nitrates included cauliflower, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, meat, and meat products. Keep reading at WebMD.

Quick Health Tip: Keep your Heart Healthy

2007-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

The American Heart Association says there are a few simple things you can do to keep active and promote a healthier heart:

Do housework yourself, instead of hiring someone to do it.
Work in the garden or mow the grass. Using a riding mower doesn't count.
Go for a short walk before breakfast, after dinner or both. Start with a 10-minute walk and work up to 30 minutes.
Walk or bike to the corner store.
When watching television, pedal a stationary bicycle.
Park on the outskirts of a shopping mall and walk to the stores.

Is your child really sick? 4 tips for suspicious parents.

2007-11-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

It's the height of cold and flu season, so you're not surprised when your school-age child wakes up sniffling, coughing, and moaning that he just doesn't feel well enough to go to school. At some point during their school days, up to 10% of kids try to dupe their parents into letting them stay home by feigning illness, experts estimate. WebMD asked three experts who've seen their share of faking -- a pediatrician, a child and adolescent psychologist, and a former school nurse -- to clue us in on how clueless parents can decide: Does your baby need chicken soup, or marching orders to get to school? Of course, if your child looks and acts truly sick, it's time to call the doctor or take them to urgent care.

3 Easy Steps to Breaking Bad Habits

2007-11-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Odds are you have been biting your nails or cracking your knuckles for a long time. So how can you be expected to break these bad habits now? No matter what your bad habit -- whether nail biting, knuckle cracking, cuticle picking, chronic coughing, or throat clearing -- WebMD's cadre of experts have a simple three-step solution that can be customized to whatever habit needs breaking.