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Decoding The Diabetic Diet

May 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

A crucial tool in controlling diabetes is being vigilant about what you put in your mouth. But, some experts say, you don’t have to be a slave to the glycemic index or banish cake and ice cream forever.

The primary goal for diabetics is to regulate their blood glucose (sugar) levels because they can’t rely on their bodies to naturally produce enough insulin, the hormone that shuttles glucose from the bloodstream into cells. With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops making insulin, while with Type 2, the pancreas progressively makes less and less insulin or the body has difficulty using it (known as insulin resistance).

Left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to long-term organ damage, resulting sometimes in heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney failure, foot amputation or death, studies show. [Read more...]

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Dental Care Essential To Maintaining Health

May 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

At every age, a trip to the dentist is important. Having all your teeth pulled and wearing dentures and plates is no fun and most importantly, readily preventable

Thanks to improved dental care, fluoride in water, and more healthful lifestyles, dental cavities are less common and many more Americans are able to keep their natural teeth throughout their lives.

Sadly, 108 million Americans do not have dental insurance, and those covered by public programs rarely get the care they need. Federal law requires that every person eligible for Medicaid receive adequate dental care. [Read more...]

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New Study: Health Effects of Sleep Apnea Evident After One Month

May 7, 2012 by ·

It’s an interesting time in the world of sleep apnea research, a disorder in which a person has periods of slow or paused breathing during sleep. It seems that every month there is a new study showing yet another link between sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, paused breathing, etc.), and its negative effects on health.

Recent studies have linked obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to depression, silent strokes and small brain lesions, abnormalities in the blood vessels, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes, even sudden hearing loss. And women take note: Sleep apnea has been linked to dementia in older women, and another observational study found that women with untreated severe OSA are 3.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women without OSA! [Read more...]

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Less Sleep May Lead To Weight Gain

May 5, 2012 by ·

People who don’t get enough sleep may also eat too much and thus be more likely to become obese, a new study reveals.

This study also found that those who slept less didn’t burn additional calories.

“We tested whether lack of sleep altered the levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, increased the amount of food people ate, and affected energy burned through activity,” said Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., study author and professor of medicine and cardiovascular disease at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.. Leptin and ghrelin are associated with appetite. [Read more...]

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Overdue Babies ‘Twice As Likely To Develop ADHD In Early Childhood’

May 4, 2012 by ·

Babies who spend too long in the womb are twice as likely to suffer behavioural problems in early childhood, researchers have warned.

The added risk is similar to that of being born prematurely, which is known to cause health and emotional problems.

The first study of its kind found that babies born after a pregnancy of 42 weeks were twice as likely to have long-term problems compared with those born after about 40 weeks – the normal length of a pregnancy.

The findings will increase calls for women to be offered induction methods or a caesarean if their pregnancy becomes prolonged.

The researchers, from the Netherlands, say the results may be due to the placenta failing to provide sufficient nutrients and oxygen after 40 weeks. [Read more...]

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Breastfeeding keeps Infants’ Guts Healthy

May 3, 2012 by ·

Breast-fed babies have healthier guts than their formula-fed counterparts, according to a new study.

Early colonization of the gut by microbes in infants is critical for development of their intestinal tract and in immune development.

The study showed that differences in bacterial colonization of formula-fed and breast-fed babies leads to changes in the infant’s expression of genes involved in the immune system, and in defense against pathogens.

The health of individuals can be influenced by the diversity of microbes colonizing the gut, and microbial colonization can be especially important in regulating both intestinal and immune development in infants. However, little is known about the potential interactions between the host’s health at a molecular level, their gut microbes, and diet. [Read more...]

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Secondhand Smoke Continues To Vex Children With Asthma

May 2, 2012 by ·

Despite longstanding recommendations for children with asthma to avoid tobacco smoke, many youths are still exposed to secondhand smoke and their health suffers because of it, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

“National asthma guidelines have advised avoidance of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for patients with asthma for decades, but it is unclear to what degree these recommendations are being followed and what the impact of exposure has been in an era of increased awareness of the effects of ETS exposure,” said lead author Lara J. Akinbami, MD, FAAP, medical officer, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Read more...]

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