Archives-Nutrition and Health News
Nutrition And Health News-Archives
9/10/09 Women and Heart Attacks, Go Red For Women
Television Special on Saturday, 9/12/09
When you hear about heart attacks-it's quite possible that you would
associate a man with heart attacks. According to the American Heart
Association, cardiovascular heart disease (which is what can cause a
heart attack) is not gender specific by any means-it is the leading cause
of death for American women, and almost twice as many women in the
United States die from heart related diseases and stroke
in comparison to deaths from all types of cancer, including breast
cancer. Go Red For Women will be airing a special on NBC about
women and heart disease, on Saturday, 9/12/09. Check your local
listings for more information, or www.goredforwomen.org for more
details.
8/28/09 Swine Flu, Seasonal Flu--How To Keep Up With The
Facts And Updates
Swine flu (H1N1 flu )reports and updates appear just about everyday via
the web, television, newspapers, and magazines. With the cases of
swine flu that began last Spring in the United States and globally, it has
become a leading health topic. After hearing so many reports so often,
it becomes difficult and overwhelming to understand every aspect of it,
such as how to prevent, manage, diagnose swine flu or seasonal flu, and
how to know the difference. With school back in session now, parents,
teachers and administrators are also concerned about being prepared
for both types of flu.
So how do we get accurate information, and get questions answered
about the seasonal flu, swine flu, or any other flu? Since there are many
updates from multiple sources almost daily, the United States
government has started a "one stop access site to U.S. Government
H1N1, pandemic, and avian flu information," at www.flu.gov
The site has content which is provided from government agencies.
Some of the agencies include the White House National Security
Council (NSC),United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United
States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), United States
Department of Education and several other United States government
agencies.
Extensive and detailed information can be found about the swine flu,
seasonal flu and other influenzas. Currently, the home page has an
archive of a recent video Webcast on what pregnant women should
know about swine flu, how parents and educators can help children
prevent flu, and much more such as flu shots, H1N1 vaccine updates,
and the latest flu information. A widget from the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) is also available below, which is a map of current flu
activity reports.
8/15/09 Are Your Children Getting Enough Vitamin D?
A recent study released earlier this month indicated that an alarming 7
out of 10 children in the United States are not receiving adequate
Vitamin D amounts. The study was performed by the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, with the study leader being Michal L.
Melamed, MD, and lead author being Juhi Kumar, MD, MPH.
The study findings also suggest that deficiency in Vitamin D intake could
put millions of children at risk for high blood pressure, lower HDL (good
cholesterol) levels and other risk factors for heart disease. Lower
Vitamin D levels can also lead to rickets (a bone disease in infants from
Vitamin D deficiency). The data that was analyzed in the study included
more than 6000 children, ages 1-21, from the National Health and
Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004. The researchers found that
low Vitamin D levels were more commonly found in children who were
older, female, African American, Mexican American, obese, consumed
milk less than once a week, or spent 4 hours or more per day watching
television, playing computer games, or using the computer. More
information about this study can be found at www.einstein.yu.edu under
news archives.
The results of this study should encourage parents and caretakers to
make sure their children are getting enough Vitamin D. Sources of
Vitamin D include sunlight exposure, about 15-30 minutes daily, milk
and fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon. According to the National
Dairy Council, low fat milk (2%, 1% and non fat) in the United States is
fortified with 400 IU Vitamin D per quart. The current Dietary Reference
Intake (DRI) recommends that children should be getting at least 200 IU
of Vitamin D daily. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently
recommended that children should take 400 IU of Vitamin D in
supplement form. Most multivitamin supplements provide 400 IU
Vitamin D. To be sure of exact recommendations and the best sources
of Vitamin D for your child, contact your pediatrician.
7/28/09 Finding Nutrient Rich Foods That Pack Your Dollar
The University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition Director,
Adam Drewnowski, recently performed a food scoring project based on
the nutritional value of foods according to the prices of those foods. His
collection of data indicated that most of the foods that had the most
nutritional value for price value were basic staple foods such as milk,
beans, eggs, and lean meats. To obtain a shopping list based on these
foods, visit www.nutrientrichfoods.org, and click on living nutrient rich,
and then nutrient rich shopping list.
7/6/09 Texas --Big State, Some Big People Too
According to a study out of the University of Texas at San Antonio,
Texas is the home of about 5 million obese people, and that number
could increase to 15 million obese people in the next 30 years if drastic
action is not taken. This number translates to about 43% of the adult
population being obese in Texas in the year 2040.
The author of the study, Karl Eschbach, also reported that young adults
showed an alarming increase in obesity rates, from 10% to more than
20% in just the last 7 years. The obesity rate of this age group is
concerning since as this age group gets into their 30s and 40s, the
obesity rate will become even more dramatic.
The study also discusses that prevention measures to this current
obesity rate must be taken, otherwise the quality of life will be markedly
decreased due to possible obesity related diseases such as diabetes
and cardiovascular disease. Prevention is very necessary to avoid
overwhelming health care costs and burdens on the health care sytstem
as well.
For more information on this study, visit txsdc.utsa.edu.
6/30/09 BPA-The Toxic Chemical In Plastics
Several reports have come out recently in the past couple of years about
a possibly toxic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). This chemical can
be found in many commonly used plastics, such as baby bottles, plastic
water and beverage bottles, canned food items, food packaging, and
many other plastic industry products used for computers, eye glasses,
and cell phone casings. The concerns have been that these chemicals
in plastics leach into food, and perhaps more so when the plastics are
heated.
In September 2008, the National Toxicology Program of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), reported that BPA may pose some risk to
human development, which raised concerns for early puberty, prostate
effects, breast cancer, and behavioral effects from earlier exposure in
life. It is indicated that pregnant women, young children and infants are
the most vulnerable to BPA. A study in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA) reported a link between everyday
exposure of BPA in adults to heart disease, diabetes, and markers of
liver poisoning.
Another class of chemicals that is also being looked into is phthalates
("Tha-lates"), which can be found in numerous consumer products, such
as toys, perfumes, vinyl flooring, shower curtains, hair spray, shampoos,
nail polish, lubricants, and detergents. Phthalates are indicated to
cause disruptions of the endocrine system or hormones, particularly
testosterone.
Some ways to reduce exposure to these chemicals are:
Use paper towels instead of plastic wrap in microwave.
Use glassware or glass plates instead of plastic containers when
heating food in microwave.
Use tempered glass baby bottles instead of plastic baby bottles. If
plastic bottles are used don't heat them in microwave.
Throw away any scratched or damaged plastic containers.
Wash plastics by hand to reduce wear and tear.
Store food in glass or pyrex containers instead of plastic containers.
Avoid use of plastic containers with the number 3 or 7 on the bottom.
Plastic beverage bottles with the number 1 at the bottom should be
recycled out after using once as they are single use only.
For more information and resources on chemicals and environmental
topics, visit: The Environmental Working Group, at www.ewg.org
6/10/09 New Guidelines For Pregnancy Weight Gain
The new guidelines for recommended weight gain for pregnancy were
released on 5/28/09 by the National Institutes of Health. It has been
about 2 decades since the previous guidelines were released (1990).
The new recommended pregnancy weight gain guidelines based on
pre-pregnancy BMI are as follows:
Underweight Total weight gain of 28-40 pounds
Normal Weight Total weight gain of 25-35 pounds
Overweight Total weight gain of 15-25 pounds
Obese Total weight gain of 11-20 pounds
For women who are carrying twins, the guidelines are different. For
further information on these newly released guidelines, visit the National
Institutes of Health at www.iom.edu.
6/3/09 Healthy Lifestyle Might Help Prevent Cancer
According to an article by HealthDay News, an advisor at the American
Institute for Cancer Research reports that although many people who
think that certain genes might predispose them to cancer, risk might still
be able to be reduced by living a healthy lifestyle. In particular, the 3
steps that the Institute has identified that can dramatically affect the
chances of getting cancer are:
Eating plan with mostly plant -based foods.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Exercise regularly.
The article also discusses other interesting viewpoints from other cancer
specialists and experts as well. For more information on this article,
visit HealthDay News, search for "Want To Stop Cancer? You Can,
Experts Say," 6/3/09, HealthDay reporter Serena Gordon.
For further information on cancer prevention, visit the American Institute
for Cancer Research, at www.aicr.org and click on diet and cancer.
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