The Health Blog

A study conducted by Oceana found high mercury levels in fresh tuna, swordfish and sushi, they tested from a variety of grocery stores in 26 different cities across the US.

Oceana found out that:

• Mercury levels in tuna were much higher than the FDA data suggest
• One-third of sushi tuna samples exceeded the FDA “action level” of 1 part per million
• Nearly 90 percent of seafood counter attendants either did not know the FDA advice about mercury in fish, or gave a wrong interpretation of this warning
• Two-thirds of swordfish tested were above the FDA “action level”, which would permit the administration to remove these fish from sale
• Sushi tuna samples, on average, contained higher levels of mercury than fresh tuna samples from Oceana’s grocery stores and the FDA’s data on fresh tuna
• Average mercury levels in sushi tuna were higher than king mackerel, a fish the FDA advises women of childbearing age and children to avoid due to high mercury levels

Are you overweight? Have you tried to lose weight with diet and exercise, but failed? Are you concerned about your health? If so, you are definitely not alone. Worldwide, more and more people are struggling with obesity and it’s health consequences. As people search for help with weight loss, many are considering weight loss surgery. One of the most promising
surgical options is laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, also known as
lap band surgery.

Lap band surgery is a weight loss procedure that helps a person lose weight by limiting the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time and increasing the feeling of fullness after eating only a small amount of food. Lap band patients will not only eat less but will also learn new eating habits as they adopt a lap-band diet.

During surgery, small slits are cut into the body and the surgeon places a silicone ring, known as a lap band or gastric band, around the stomach opening. The band creates a new small stomach pouch and reduces the size of the opening to the main stomach area, slowing the digestion process. It is considered a safer and less drastic alternative to gastric bypass surgery
because it does not involve cutting the stomach and intestines or rerouting the digestive tract.

Do you prefer fast foods? Well, you have to refrain eating more now. A new study finds out that the typical Western diet increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Indulging in a typical Western diet of burgers, fries, and diet soda boosts your risk of getting heart disease and diabetes, a study shows.

This study found out that just two burger patties a day and one daily diet soda substantially boost the risk of getting metabolic syndrome, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Their findings:
1. The Western diet increased risk by about 18% overall of getting metabolic syndrome over nine years

2. Those who ate two or more servings of meat a day, or about two burger patties, boosted their risk by 26% compared with those who only ate meat twice a week.

3. Diet soda, one can a day, increased risk by 34%.

A new study finds out. This study was a follow up on previous researchers on the effects of coffee, caffeine particularly, on expectant mothers. Previous studies suggest that drinking just a couple cups of coffee a day doesn’t pose much of a threat. However, the latest research proves this these findings wrong.

The study founds out that women who said they drank more than two cups of coffee per day had nearly double the risk of miscarriage compared with women who consumed no caffeine.

Rinsing with a special saline nasal wash made from Atlantic seawater improves symptoms in children with colds and flu, and may prevent recurrence of these infections, a new study claims.

It was just few months ago when FDA recommended a ban for over-the-counter cough and cold medicines (containing at least one of the following ingredients: decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines, and antitussives). for children younger than six. And just few weeks ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its new advisory stating that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to infants and children under the age of 2. The agency has not come to a final decision on the use of such products in children aged 2 to 11. Reasons provided for this ban include questions about its safety and little evidence to prove its ineffectiveness in young children.

Since then, consumers especially moms, are asking for ways on how they could fight common colds in their children. Researchers as well, seek to alternative and answers.

A new study looked for an alternative to the many cough and cold medications - the saline nasal wash.

WebMD reports about a mysterious skin problem is erupting all over the US — and it’s caught the CDC’s attention. It’s been called Morgellons disease, and health officials don’t know what to make of it. Currently, the CDC is making investigations about this rare skin disorder.

How big this problem is?
It was said that more than 11,000 people in the U.S. and elsewhere have reported to have this disease.

How do you know you have the disease?
Patients complaints of disturbing sensations of insect-like crawling, stinging or biting on or under the skin, skin rashes and lesions that do not heal, fiber-like filaments, granules or crystals that appear on or under the skin or that can be extracted from lesions.

Other manifestations include joint, muscle and connective tissue pain, including fibromyalgia, debilitating fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, including difficulty with concentration, short-term memory, and attention.

One of the approach to treatment of essential hypertension is lifestyle change. Here are the easy ways on changing your lifestyle:

1. Stop smoking. It has been emphasized in various health articles that smoking can cause hypertension. About 30% of all deaths from heart disease in the U.S. are directly related to cigarette smoking. That’s because smoking is a major cause of coronary artery disease especially in younger people.

How Does Smoking Increase Heart Disease Risk?

The nicotine present in smoke causes:

* Decreased oxygen to the heart.
* Increased blood pressure and heart rate.
* Increase in blood clotting.
* Damage to cells that line coronary arteries and other blood vessels.

2. Lose weight if overweight. Maintain body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2. For every 10 kilogram weight loss, BP drops by approximately 5-20 mmHg.

3. Reduce sodium intake (<2 g of sodium or approximately <6 g of sodium chloride).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed 14 new tests for determining a person’s blood type, a process essential to a safe U.S. blood supply and safe transfusions.

“These 14 new tests will provide blood establishments and transfusion services with additional choices to help assure safe, well-matched transfusions,” said Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., M.P.H., director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The tests offer a broader diversity of reliable blood-typing tests and will help protect against product shortages.”

Knowing the blood types for blood donors and patients is critical; patients may experience serious, possibly life-threatening reactions from mismatched transfused blood. The most familiar blood types are A, B, O, and Rh.

The OLYMPUS PK System Blood Group and Phenotyping Reagents use monoclonal antibodies to test for the A, B, O, and Rh factors as well as for other factors that signify a rarer blood type.

Monoclonal antibodies, which are proteins produced in a laboratory from genetically identical cells, have the ability to bind to and detect a specific substance, such as the proteins used in blood typing.

The tests are manufactured by DIAGAST of Loos Cedex, France.

Depression that follows the birth of a baby is common, as new moms are overwhelmed by the changes in their bodies and routines.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers this list of reasons for why postpartum depression affects some new mothers:

* New moms can suffer from lack of sleep after the baby’s birth, which can lead to fatigue, stress and depression.
* New moms can feel overwhelmed by all of the new things to do, and by other changes in their lives. They may even feel unsure of their parenting skills.
* New moms may set unrealistic expectations for themselves.
* New moms have less time for themselves, with their partners, and less time to do what they want.

I got this from an e-mail which provides information about the health benefits of some common foods.

Food as Medicine:

1. HEADACHE? EAT FISH! Eat plenty of fish — fish oil helps prevent headaches. So does ginger, which reduces inflammation and pain.

2. HAVE FEVER? EAT YOGURT! Eat lots of yogurt before pollen season. Also-eat honey from your area (local region) daily.

3. TO PREVENT STROKE DRINK TEA! Prevent buildup of fatty deposits on artery walls with regular doses of tea. (actually, tea suppresses my appetite and keeps the pounds from invading….Green tea is great for our immune system)!

4. INSOMNIA (CAN’T SLEEP?) HONEY! Use honey as a tranquilizer and sedative.

5. ASTHMA? EAT ONIONS!!!! Eating onions helps ease constriction of bronchial tubes. (when I was young, my mother would make onion packs to place on our chest, helped the respiratory ailments and actually made us breathe better).

6. ARTHRITIS? EAT FISH, TOO!! Salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines actually prevent arthritis. (fish has omega oils, good for our immune system)

Sinusitis is the inflammation of the sinuses, thus doctors and previous medical literature treats this medical problem with antibiotics. However, a new study found out that antibiotics and steroid sprays do little to cure sinus infections.

The latest study, published in December in The Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at 240 cases. The subjects were assigned to four groups for different treatments: a full amoxicillin course for a week along with 400 units of steroid spray for 10 days, just the spray, just the amoxicillin or just a placebo. The treatments were no better than placebo, a finding shown in studies of children. The reason is not entirely clear, but researchers suspect that antibiotics may not be very good at reaching the sinuses. NY Times

Their recommendation? Take ibuprofen, perform steam inhalation or use salt water to flush the nasal cavity. Treatment is more of symptomatic.