Pets Keeping Your Pet (and Yourself) Healthy By Jane Farrell article We Americans love our pets ΓÇô and weΓÇÖve got millions of them. According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are 164 million owned pets across the country, in 62 percent of our households. But while pets provide love, comfort and companionship, they may also have health issues, and some of them can affect us. Here, from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are some tips on keeping your pet (and your family) healthy.
Breast Cancer A Possible Link Between Carbohydrates and Breast Cancer By Jane Farrell article Limiting carbohydrate intake could reduce the risk of one type of breast cancer, researchers have found. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, focused on the cancer whose tumor tissue has the IGF-1 receptor. "There is a growing body of research demonstrating associations between obesity, diabetes, and cancer risk," said lead author Jennifer A. Emond, an instructor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.
_ Good Looks and Pleasant Scents By Jane Farrell article Want people to think youΓÇÖre even prettier than you are? Spray on some perfume, or have some flowers in the vicinity. New research shows that womenΓÇÖs faces get a higher attractiveness rating when pleasant odors are in the vicinity. However, the odors didnΓÇÖt affect peopleΓÇÖs evaluation of age. ΓÇ£Odor pleasantness and facial attractiveness integrate into one joint emotional evaluation,ΓÇ¥ said lead author Janina Seubert, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist who was a postdoctoral fellow at Monell Chemical Senses Center, in Philadelphia, at the time the research was conducted.
Male Menopause: No Longer a Myth, But a Medical Reality By blog My search to understand male menopause began in the early 1990s and was both personal and professional. Personally, I was nearing the age of 50 and my wife was telling me something was wrong. ΓÇ£YouΓÇÖre hormonal,ΓÇ¥ she told me. ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs like youΓÇÖre going through menopause or something.ΓÇ¥ At first I laughed at the idea. But professionally many of my male clients were experiencing prostate problems, erectile dysfunctions, anger, depression, and other symptoms that I was learning were related to the ΓÇ£change of life.ΓÇ¥
_ Women's Health and Wellness Bacteria and Overactive Bladder By Jane Farrell article Bacteria in urine appears to contribute to overactive bladder in some women, according to new research. The finding, by researchers from Loyola University Chicago, appears to contradict the belief that urine is germ-free. The investigators used DNA-based detection methods to reveal the presence of bacteria that couldnΓÇÖt be revealed by standard techniques.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition The Importance of Prebiotics and Probiotics By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth Both prebiotics and probiotics are essential components of a healthy diet. Prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates that act as food for probiotics, which contain live bacteria. Together, they help promote the growth of the good bac- teria in your intestines and maintain your gut’s ecosystem. When a food contains both substances, it is called synbiotic: a synergistic combination of the two. Prebiotics
_ Osteoporosis Do You Really Need Vitamin D Supplements? By article You may have heard that researchers who analyzed hundreds of studies have concluded that vitamin D supplements won’t protect healthy, middle-aged adults from osteoporosis. And even worse, the scientists say the supplements may increase the risk of death from other diseases. However, none health experts at the Cleveland Clinic warn that you need to make sure you aren’t deficient in vitamin D before you stop taking the supplement, especially if you are past menopause.
Osteoporosis Calcium Supplements DonΓÇÖt Up Heart Risk for Women By article Previous studies have suggested that calcium supplements, which many women take to prevent osteoporosis, may increase risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the data has been inconsistent. A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) did not find that calcium supplement intake increases risk of cardiovascular disease in women. The article was published online in May 2014 in Osteoporosis International.
_ Mental & Emotional Health A Healthcare Team Helps Women Beat Depression By article A collaborative approach to depression counseling for women at obstetrics and gynecology clinics involving psychiatrists, clinicians, specialists, and depression care managers is an improvement over typical of mental health care at specialty clinics. That is the finding of a study done at the University of Washington and published May 7th 2014 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. A release from the university notes that approximately one-third of American women list an obstetrician/gynecologist as their primary physician.
_ Aging Well Hand Grip Reveals the Speed of Aging By article A hand grip test shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. The study was published on May 7th 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE
_ Sleep Health Sleep and "Exploding Head" Syndrome By Jane Farrell article “Exploding head syndrome” sounds like the latest slang term, but it’s a real, though underdiagnosed, sleep disorder. People who have the syndrome usually hear loud noises – doors slamming, fireworks or gunshots – as they are going to sleep and waking up.
_ Women Recover Faster from Concussions By article A study of concussion patients at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that males took longer to recover after concussion than females did. The study, which shows that using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as a bias-free way to predict concussion outcome, was published online May 6th 2104 in the journal Radiology.
Caring for Horses Can Help Dementia Symptoms By Jane Farrell article Spending time with horses eases dementia symptoms for Alzheimer’s patients, according to the first study of its kind. The research, a collaboration between The Ohio State University and an adult daycare center, revealed that patients could groom, feed and walk horses under supervision. That experience improved patients’ mood and made them less likely to resist care or become upset later in the day.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Women & Peripheral Artery Disease By Sondra Forsyth article Women, especially older women, face greater limits on their lifestyle and have more severe symptoms as a result of peripheral artery disease (PAD) than men do. The condition happens when fatty deposits build up in arteries outside the heart, usually the arteries supplying fresh oxygen and blood to the arms, legs and feet. About 8 million Americans have peripheral artery disease.
Why Do More Women Develop Alzheimer's Disease? By blog Recently, I turned on the radio in my car and heard the last few minutes of an MPR [Minnesota Public Radio] All Things Considered segment about Alzheimer’s disease. A few days later I googled the subject matter and found this MPR link to the audio and an accompanying online story. Take a few minutes to read or listen to the broadcast.
10 Ways Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or Tapping) Work to Heal Trauma and Other Stresses of Life By blog When we think of people healing from trauma, we often picture people dealing with the effects of natural disasters, soldiers returning from battle, or people recovering from childhood violence or sexual abuse. But stress and trauma impact many more of us than most people recognize and Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as EFT or Tapping, can be of tremendous help.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Proof of WomenΓÇÖs Intuition By article If you suspect that you have what is popularly called women’s intuition, you may be right. Researchers at the University of Granada, the Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University, and the Middlesex University of London have shown that the tendency to be intuitive could have a biological component related to the lower prenatal exposure to testosterone females receive in the womb. This team says this would lead women to have a "more intuitive and less reflective" attitude to life than men. The study was published in 2014 in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Aging Well Resilient Older Women Show Compassion By Sondra Forsyth article If you’re 50+ and you’ve recently been through a tough time but you’ve bounced back, chances are you would score high on a compassion test given by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The study, published in the April 2014 issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, reported that resilient older women who have suffered a recent major loss are more likely to be compassionate toward those they don’t even know than are other older adults.