I have “prediabetes” — what does this mean?

Posted June 13, 2013, 2:00 am

I recently had some blood tests done, and my doctor told me I have “prediabetes.” What does this mean? Do I have diabetes or not?

Diabetes doesn’t usually appear all of a sudden. Many people have a long, slow, invisible lead-in to it called prediabetes. During this period, blood sugar levels are higher than normal. However, they’re not high enough to cause symptoms or to be classified as diabetes. It’s still possible at this stage to prevent the slide into full-blown diabetes. Think of prediabetes as a wake-up call.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. During digestion, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, primarily glucose. Glucose is an important source of energy for the body’s cells. But to provide energy to the cells, glucose needs to leave the blood and get inside the cells.

Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, signals the cells to extract glucose from the blood. When levels of glucose in the blood rise (for example, after a meal), the pancreas produces more insulin. That drives more glucose into the cells.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body’s cells do not react efficiently to insulin. As a result, not as much glucose is driven into the cells, and more stays in the blood. As glucose starts to build up in the blood, the pancreas makes extra insulin to maintain a normal blood sugar. The cycle escalates. Finally, the pancreas cannot keep up with the demand for more and more insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels remain elevated.

Diabetes increases the chances of having a heart attack, stroke or other form of cardiovascular disease. It can lead to blindness, kidney disease and loss of feeling in the legs.

Fortunately, you have the opportunity to make changes that could keep you from ever going down that road. I recommend this three-part strategy to help stave off diabetes:

Modest weight loss.Increased physical activity, such as walking 30 minutes a day. Even if it doesn’t help you to lose weight, the regular physical activity will reduce your risk of getting diabetes.Choosing a healthy, well-balanced diet that emphasizes fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein.

Not everyone with prediabetes goes on to develop diabetes, but many do. You’ve gotten the warning. Now it’s up to you to respond. If you want to avoid getting diabetes, you can do more to protect yourself than your doctor can do for you. And the solutions are all “natural” — no medicines or medical procedures are necessary.

These lifestyle changes are healthy for everyone, but especially for people like you who are at high risk for getting diabetes. No, it’s not easy to make the changes, but it’s a lot easier than living with the complications of diabetes.

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Beer's Taste May Trigger Urge to Get Drunk

By Barbara Bronson Gray
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Just as the smell of freshly brewed coffee may compel you to pour a steaming cup of java, a small taste of beer may activate part of your brain's reward system and trigger the urge for more, a new study suggests.

Researchers have discovered that sensory cues associated with drinking may stimulate certain parts of the brain and cause a craving for more alcohol. Giving people a very small amount of the brand of beer they most frequently consume produced a desire to drink that was correlated with the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward-and-pleasure centers.

The study also showed that the amount of dopamine released was greater in those who had parents or siblings with alcoholism.

"This is the first human demonstration that a stimulus that is reliably associated with alcohol association -- that flavor alone, without any significant amount of alcohol -- is able to induce a dopamine response," said study author David Kareken, a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine.

The research, published in the April 15 issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, validates some findings from earlier animal studies, making them more relevant to understanding what's happening in people, Kareken said. "We have a long history of developing alcohol-preferring rats and mice, and the last 20 years of research does show there are neurotransmitters that are distinguishable in [rats and mice] that prefer alcohol."

Kareken said the study also may help reduce the stigma of alcoholism. "This is really quite strong evidence that there are genetic factors that change the brain's chemistry and may act as risk factors for dependence," he explained.

For the study, 49 right-handed men in good physical and mental health, with a mean age of 25, underwent two brain scans. None of the participants had a history of significant drug or tobacco use, although all of them expressed a preference for drinking beer (as opposed to other alcoholic drinks). Women were excluded from the study because it was difficult to find potential participants who preferred beer and met the criteria for inclusion in the study.

Right-handedness was required because most people have language capacity on the left side of the brain, and the researchers wanted to make sure that any differences between the men would not interfere with the study, Kareken explained. Data about ethnicity or social or economic level was not collected.

The participants were tested while tasting 15 milliliters (about half an ounce) of the beer they usually drank, and also while tasting Gatorade.

The beer flavor was mixed with a small amount of alcohol -- not enough to cause a pharmacological effect -- to help make sure the participants were experiencing something close to what they would sense when drinking beer, Kareken explained.

The researchers found that, compared to Gatorade, beer flavor significantly increased a man's self-reported desire to drink, and the scans showed that the alcohol-associated flavor induced the release of dopamine in the brain's striatum region. The association with dopamine release was greatest in those with parents and siblings who were alcoholics.

Family history of alcoholism is one of the best ways to assess genetic risk, explained Kareken. "Alcoholism isn't a simple autosomal dominant genetic mechanism." (If a disease is autosomal dominant, it means you only need to get the abnormal gene from one parent to inherit the disease.) "There are probably many, many genes that predispose people through different pathways to eventually have alcoholism."

Dr. Scott Krakower, medical director of the Mineola Community Treatment Center in Mineola, N.Y., said the research makes sense.

"It's one of the first pieces of research that tests whether the flavor of something affects behavior," he said. "People tell me they can't be around alcohol at all because it immediately triggers them to start drinking," Krakower added.

"The research may change some physicians' advice to patients if they're aware there's an exponential increase in drinking, just due to the flavor of the drink," Krakower said. "We really promote complete abstinence; otherwise it's a slippery slope for people with a history of alcoholism."

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: David Kareken, Ph.D., professor and director, neuropsychology section, and deputy director, Indiana Alcohol Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis; Scott Krakower, D.O., medical director, Mineola Community Treatment Center, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Mineola, N.Y.; April 15, 2013, Neuropsychopharmacology

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How Carmelo Anthony Stays On the Ball

The NBA star scores points for his team and for young people following in his footsteps.

You wouldn't know it by watching him play, but basketball was not Carmelo "Melo" Anthony's first love. "That was baseball," says the 29-year-old star player with the New York Knicks. "But whatever season it was, that's what sport I played. I didn't have a real love for any one sport."

Then he grew up. Way up. In the summer between his sophomore and junior years of high school, Anthony added 5 inches to his frame to reach 6 feet, 7 inches. "That's when I really fell in love with basketball."

A Little Gratitude

By Tom Chiarella How to change the way the world sees you, one thank-you note at a time. I don't really care when people say thanks. Open a door. Thanks. Hand someone a stapler. Thanks. Push a button on an elevator. Thanks. That's just chatter. Meaningless interaction. Broadly speaking, hearing thanks five dozen times a day might be seen as an anthropological indicator of some sort of social ordering, like cryptic head tilts between sparrows on the lip of a gutter. It's often...

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No doubt his height helped him dominate on the courts, but he had always been a supremely able player. From the time he was a child, if he had a basketball in his hands, he could put it in the basket. "It was always something that I just knew how to do," says Anthony. "I was always able to score points."

That ability, coupled with a resolve born of his upbringing, has brought Anthony a long way.

Anthony was born in 1984 in New York City, in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood, which, four years later, Life magazine described as "a community ruled by crack." His Puerto Rican father, Carmelo Iriarte, died of liver cancer when Anthony was 2. It was a tough beginning for the future superstar, and circumstances would only get harder.

When he was 8, Anthony and his mother, Mary Anthony, moved to one of Baltimore's toughest neighborhoods, the blighted, drug-ravaged landscape portrayed in HBO's The Wire. There, he surrounded himself with a tight circle of friends, and they hung together like a protective shield. Instead of getting caught up in the drugs and violence that marred their community, they earned money by scraping grime off the windshields of passing cars. They played sports together. They held each other up, Anthony says.

"We'd all push each other. We'd get each other in the morning, walk to school, walk to practice, like a little breakfast club," he recalls. "I didn't have anyone to show me which steps to walk, which way to go. I didn't have that in my neighborhood. But I had my peers, and we pushed each other, we motivated each other."

When they weren't out trying to make a few bucks, they spent afternoons and weekends on the basketball courts at the Robert C. Marshall Recreation Center. The facility was a haven for Anthony, an escape from the streets. Then, when he was 13, the rec center closed. It was a bitter setback, Anthony says, but one that taught him a valuable lesson. "You have to survive on your own, and believe it or not, that closing kind of changed my nature. When they closed it down, I had to ask myself, 'What's next?'"

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Sarah Harding banned from driving for six months

Sarah Harding has been banned from driving for six months after she failed to stop for police, when she was seen talking on her mobile phone and behind the wheel.

The Girls Aloud star, 31, arrived at Highbury Magistrates court this morning.

She pleaded guilty to driving while talking on her mobile phone.

Her solicitor, Nick Freeman, told the judge that her celebrity status would make travelling on public transport a "massive inconvenience" if she were to be banned from driving.

But the judge told Harding: "Mr Freeman is asking the court to deal with you as opposed to a normal person.

"Well, you are a normal person."

The singer, who is looking to launch a solo career after the band split following their tenth anniversary tour, already had nine points on her licence and was disqualified from driving for the next six months as a result.

SOURCE: METRO

On 8 April 2013, we wrote...

Sarah Harding was arrested after failing to stop for police last week.

The Girls Aloud star was seen making a phone call while she was driving on Charing Cross Road in London on Thursday. When an officer attempted to flag her down, she allegedly refused to pull over.

She was stopped minutes later, arrested, and taken to Holborn Police Station.

Police later confirmed that Harding had been charged with two offences. She is expected to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on 16 April 2013.

She faces a minimum £1,000 fine and risks losing her license for using her phone while driving. Failing to stop for police when asked carries a further £5,000 fine

"Sarah was ­driving in a 4x4 when a policeman on a bicycle saw her and tried to make her stop," a source tols one British tabloid.

"He was trying to flag her down but she carried on a bit down the road where she was pulled over a couple of minutes later.

"She was talking to the police by the side of the road for a while before she was arrested.

"Apparently Sarah was very upset when she was arrested and charged. The offences are pretty serious."

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SARAH HARDING: "NADINE DID NOT TRY TO STOP GIRLS ALOUD SPLIT"

THE GIRLS ALOUD STYLE EVO

GIRLS ALOUD BEAUTY SECRETS

SOURCE: NME

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Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl at a screening in New York

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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tummy fat. :(

I find it hard to lose my tummy fat. I've looked all over the net to try and find something to help, whether it be foods to avoid or exercise but everything seems to contradict itself. Can anyone let me know things that have helped them? Thank you! :)

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Household Chores May Ease Nighttime Menopausal Symptoms

SATURDAY, APRIL 13 (HealthDay News) -- For menopausal women who can't make it to the gym, higher levels of routine physical activity during the day may help relieve sleep problems caused by hot flashes or night sweats, a small new study suggests.

Exercise improves sleep for people in general, but studies in menopausal women have been inconclusive, said the researchers at the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Their new study included 27 white and 25 black women, aged 54 to 63, with hot flashes and night sweats. The women kept sleep diaries and wore sleep monitors. They also provided information about their physical activity levels, including routine household and caregiving chores requiring light, moderate or vigorous effort, as well as sports and exercise in their leisure time.

The investigators found that women with higher levels of daytime activity reported fewer nighttime awakenings and better sleep. These benefits were mainly associated with household and caregiving chores, rather than sports or exercise, the study authors noted in a news release from the North American Menopause Society.

The positive effects of physical activity occurred mainly in white women who were not obese. Further research is needed to find out why black and obese women may not get the same sleep benefits from physical activity, the researchers said.

The study, by Maya Lambiase and Rebecca Thurston, was released online recently in the journal Menopause in advance of publication in the September print issue of the journal.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: North American Menopause Society, news release, March 27, 2013

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Weighing out Canned Veggies?

Hi there! I'm new to all this healthy eating stuff, and I'm a little lost on the subject of canned veggies.

I'm weighing my food to teach myself what a proper portion size looks like, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to weigh the contents before or after draining? Not sure if they calculate the servings per container size with or without the 'juice'.

Thanks!

~A

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Health Highlights: April 15, 2013

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

FDA Announces Safety Reassessment of Diabetes Drug Avandia

A safety reassessment of the diabetes drug Avandia announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration comes three years after the agency limited the drug's sales due to cardiovascular risks.

In a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday, the FDA said it plans to hold a two-day hearing of outside medical advisers in June to discuss the results of Duke University scientists' re-evaluation of earlier research on Avandia, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The FDA did not say why it scheduled the hearing and said it is too early to know what options it will be considering.

This rare move by the FDA is not expected to make Avandia more widely available to patients, according to WSJ. GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the drug, is not seeking to ease restrictions on sales of Avandia, according to a company spokeswoman. She noted that the company commissioned the Duke team's re-evaluation at the request of the FDA.

-----

La. Company Expands Meat Recall

A recall of meat products due to possible bacterial contamination has been expanded by a Louisiana-based meat packing company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

The recall by the Manda Packing Company now includes 468,000 pounds of roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef and pastrami, the Associated Press reported.

The products, which were recalled due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, were shipped to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

No illnesses have been reported, according to the AP.

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Meningitis Case Causes Concern in L.A. Gay Community

Health officials in Los Angeles County are urging people to watch for any symptoms of a potentially deadly strain of meningitis that has left one man brain dead.

Early signs of the disease -- a bacterial infection of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord -- include a severe headache and stiff neck. If treated early, it can be effectively treated with antibiotics.

Only one case has been confirmed in the Los Angeles area but it follows an outbreak of deadly meningitis among gay men in New York City. Since 2010, at least 22 men have contracted the disease and 7 have died, The New York Times reported.

So far, no link between the New York outbreak and the Los Angeles case has been made. However, the disease similarities have led to fears about outbreaks in both locations.

"The lesson we learned 30 years ago in the early days of HIV and AIDS is that people were not alerted to what was going on and a lot of infections occurred that didn't need to occur," John Duran, a West Hollywood city councilman and one of the few openly HIV-positive elected officials in the United States, told The Times. "So even with an isolated case here, we need to sound the alarms, especially given the cases in New York."

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Colic May Be Linked to Childhood Migraine, Study Says

Expert suspects disrupted sleep cycles might play a role in both disorders

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Although colic has always been considered a gastrointestinal illness, new research suggests that migraines might be to blame.

The study, published April 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found the odds were nearly seven times higher that children with migraine were colicky babies than were not.

"It is already known that migraine can show with intestinal pain in childhood," said study senior author Dr. Luigi Titomanlio, head of the pediatric migraine and neurovascular diseases clinic at APHP Hospital Robert Debre in Paris, France. That is termed abdominal migraine.

"Our results suggest that infantile colic could represent a form of migraine with age-specific expression," Titomanlio said.

As a colicky child gets older, be aware that he or she may be more likely to have migraine headaches, he added. "By extrapolation [from the study's findings], having had colic could be a risk factor of migraine in teens with recurrent headaches," said Titomanlio.

Colic affects as many as one in five infants, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Babies with colic cry for more than three hours a day, usually at the same time each day, at least three days a week. The exact cause of infant colic is unknown, but it usually gets better by 12 weeks of age.

When babies with colic are crying, their abdomens often appear swollen and they may draw their legs up to their bellies. These symptoms appear to originate in the digestive tract, but treatments aimed at easing digestive system symptoms aren't very effective at making babies with colic calm down.

Migraine is a common cause of headaches in children, according to the study. Another type of headache in children is a tension-type headache, and children who have tension-type headaches are believed to have increased pain sensitivity. Links between these and other types of headaches and colic have been suggested, but they haven't been well-studied, the researchers noted.

This latest research includes more than 200 children 6 to 18 years old who were diagnosed with migraine headaches. The study also included 120 children who had tension-type headaches, and 471 control children who were treated for minor traumas.

The researchers found that nearly 73 percent of children who had migraines also had colic as babies, while just 26.5 percent of those without migraine reported colic. Slightly more children who had migraine without aura (without visual and other sensory disturbances) reported having had colic than those who had migraine with aura. Overall, the odds that someone with a migraine had colic as a child were 6.6 times higher than the odds they didn't have colic, the study found.

The researchers didn't find an association between tension-type headaches and colic.

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Sleep Apnea May Boost Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Study findings bolster suspected link between sleep disorder and heart-related death

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Sleep apnea raises the risk of sudden cardiac death, according to a long-term study that strengthens a link doctors have suspected.

"The presence and severity of sleep apnea are associated with a significantly increased risk of sudden cardiac death," said study leader Dr. Apoor Gami, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Midwest Heart Specialists-Advocate Medical Group in Elmhurst, Ill.

The new research is published online June 11 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Sleep apnea -- in which a person stops breathing frequently during sleep -- affects about 12 million American adults, although many are not diagnosed. The diagnosis is made after sleep tests determine that a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more at least five times hourly while sleeping.

Some research suggests that sleep apnea is on the rise, in part because of the current obesity epidemic.

Sudden cardiac death kills 450,000 people a year in the United States, according to study background information. It occurs when the heart unexpectedly and suddenly stops beating due to problems with the heart's electrical system. Those problems cause irregular heartbeats. The condition must be treated within minutes if the person is to survive.

Electrophysiologists are cardiologists who treat these heart rhythm problems.

In earlier research, Gami and his team had found that patients with sleep apnea who suffered sudden cardiac death often did so at night, a completely opposite pattern than found in others without sleep apnea who had sudden cardiac death.

"That was the first direct link [found] between sudden cardiac death and sleep apnea," Gami said.

In the new study, the researchers tracked more than 10,000 men and women, average age 53, who were referred for sleep studies at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, mostly due to suspected sleep apnea, from 1987 through 2003. After sleep tests, 78 percent were found to have sleep apnea.

During the follow-up of up to 15 years, they found that 142 had sudden cardiac arrest, either fatal or resuscitated.

Three measures strongly predicted the risk of sudden cardiac death, Gami said. These include being 60 or older, having 20 apnea episodes an hour or having low blood levels of oxygen.

This "oxygen saturation" drops when air doesn't flow into the lungs. "If the lowest oxygen saturation was 78 percent, or less, their risk of [sudden cardiac death] increased by 80 percent," Gami said. In a healthy person, 95 percent to 100 percent is normal.

Having 20 events an hour would be termed moderate sleep apnea, Gami said.

Gami found a link, not a cause-and-effect relationship, between sleep apnea and sudden cardiac death. He can't explain the connection with certainty, but said there are several possible explanations. For example, sleep apnea is related to the type of heart rhythm problem that causes sudden cardiac death, he said.

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Health Highlights: April 15, 2013

A recall of meat products due to possible bacterial contamination has been expanded by a Louisiana-based meat packing company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

The recall by the Manda Packing Company now includes 468,000 pounds of roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef and pastrami, the Associated Press reported.

The products, which were recalled due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, were shipped to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

No illnesses have been reported, according to the AP.

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Pushing the boundaries?

Hi, I'm a 16 year old girl, 120 pounds, 5 feet 9 inches tall. I realize that for my age, weight, and height I am close to being under weight but after dieting and exercising for 2 1/2 months I'm still not happy with my body. I still have the small ribbon of fat around my middle and the ugly fat deposits right on the inner thighs. In the time that I was dieting I would consume amounts of calories that were far too low to allow my body to function properly and on top of that I would put myself through 30 min. of spot training and 30 min. of light cardio. I avoided high calorie foods, even the ones that are proven to help burn fat like avocadoes and almonds, thinking that would help me lose weight. During this time I lost about 2-3 pounds a week and dropped 20 pounds a little too quickly. I am now regretting it, I am worried that I am pushing myself too far and being unhealthy. At this point I need advice as to how I can tone up my body in a healthy way and get the body I want without putting myself in danger.

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'Mobility Shoes' May Help Those With Arthritic Knees: Study

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Special "mobility shoes" might ease the strain on the knees of people with knee arthritis, a small study has found.

This type of flat, flexible footwear is designed to mimic the biomechanics of walking barefoot, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago explained.

The study was funded by the Arthritis Foundation and included 16 people with knee osteoarthritis who wore specially made mobility shoes six hours per day, six days a week. The patients were evaluated after six weeks, three months and six months.

According to the researchers, long-term use of mobility shoes helped the patients adapt their gait (how they walk), which led to a reduction in what's known as "knee loading" -- the force placed on knees during daily activities.

This reduction in knee loading continued even after the patients stopped wearing the mobility shoes, according to the study published in the April 10 online edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Arthritis experts were encouraged by the findings.

"The data show convincing improvements in the 'knee adduction moment,' which is a measure of how the knee moves to the side as the foot strikes the ground," said Dr. Jose Rodriguez, chief of reconstruction arthroplasty at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "By diminishing these forces, the potential is a reduction in the progression of arthritis in the knee."

He added that "the impressive part of the study was the fact that the biomechanical changes in gait pattern were also present using normal shoe wear at the end of the study, indicating a training effect."

Another expert noted that getting the foot and knee to a more "natural" state is often productive.

"Obviously the bare foot is the ultimate shock absorber and mobility footwear allows the foot to absorb the forces during ambulation in a much more natural fashion than other modes of footwear," explained Dr. Richard Iorio, professor and chief of adult reconstruction surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

"There have been similar findings in the 'new running' movement, where distance runners are even going barefoot to avoid the injuries associated with shoes," Iorio added. "Anything that mechanically improves foot and ankle mechanics to minimize load on the knee will help an arthritic knee patient."

Study author Dr. Najia Shakoor agreed. "Our investigation provides evidence that footwear choice may be an important consideration in managing knee osteoarthritis," she said in a journal news release.

"There is much interest in biomechanical interventions, such as orthotic inserts, knee braces and footwear that aim to improve pain and delay osteoarthritis progression by decreasing impact on joints," Shakoor noted.

Rodriguez did have a couple caveats to offer, however.

Further study is needed to see if the benefits persist long-term after people switch back to normal footwear, and while the study "represents excellent science," it "needs to be repeated at a lab not associated with the design of the shoe," he said.

Osteoarthritis, a painful swelling and stiffness in joints (including the hands, feet, knees or hips), affects over 27 million Americans over the age of 25, according to the American College of Rheumatology. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 16 percent of Americans aged 45 and older develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, which is often due to injury or "wear and tear" on the joint.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Richard Iorio, M.D., professor and chief of adult reconstruction surgery, department of orthopaedic surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; Jose A. Rodriguez M.D., chief, reconstruction arthroplasty, and director, Arthroplasty Fellowship Program, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Arthritis & Rheumatism, news release, April 10, 2013

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Should I take steroids for my chronic sinus infections?

Posted June 12, 2013, 2:00 am

I have chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps. My specialist suggested trying oral corticosteroids. What do you think?

“Steroids” is short for anti-inflammatory hormones called corticosteroids, and “oral” means steroids taken in pill form. I think a short course of five to seven days of oral steroids is worth a try. That’s particularly true if your sinusitis isn’t getting any better. My colleague, Neil Bhattacharyya, an ear, nose and throat doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School, agrees. Much of what I say below is based on his advice.

As you know, sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses. It often causes headaches and an uncomfortable feeling of pressure in the face. (I’ve put an illustration of how sinusitis works below.)

Sinusitis is inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses.

Chronic inflammation in the membranes of your nose and sinuses can cause fleshy growths called polyps. Not all cases of chronic sinusitis result in polyps, but when they form, polyps can block your nasal passages and sinuses. This makes breathing more difficult and can diminish your sense of smell. Polyps also make it easier for infections to start in your sinuses.

I assume you’ve tried the usual techniques for dealing with sinusitis: inhaling steam, taking extra-long showers, drinking lots of water and sleeping with your head elevated. A course of antibiotics is also often appropriate if there are clear signs of bacterial infection in your sinuses (such as green or brown discharge when you blow your nose, a fever and a rotten feeling).

Once sinusitis becomes chronic, the inflammation can take on a life of its own. Corticosteroids become an important treatment option, as they have anti-inflammatory effects.

The first type of steroid to try is one that can be inhaled into the nose. Inhaled steroids deliver the medicine directly to the inflamed tissues that need to be quieted. However, polyps can block the passage of the inhaled steroids to some of the inflamed areas.

If inhaled steroids don’t do the job, it’s worth considering a brief course of steroids in pill form. Taking an oral steroid such as prednisone for a week or so reduces the size of the polyps a little and decreases overall inflammation in the nose. Shrinking polyps and reducing inflammation allow the topical steroid to reach its target and be more effective.

The reason I and many doctors hold off on using steroids in pill form is that the medicine travels in the blood, exposing the whole body to the medication. (In contrast, topical steroids expose only the nose and sinuses.) Side effects are more likely from oral steroids than from inhaled steroids; they may include elevated pressure in the eyes (glaucoma), increased blood pressure and mood swings. But in my experience, a short course of oral steroids, such as what I’m recommending here, rarely produces serious side effects.

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Drop 10 With SELF: Keep the Weight Off While Away

Need a little extra inspiration? Meet our Drop 10 Blogger, Danielle. She's lost 10 pounds (and counting!) in her first five weeks on the plan. Follow along with Danielle every week as she shares her experience.

OMG, you guys! I'm down three more pounds, even though I was away for the majority of the week. It feels great to know I can make healthy food decisions on the go with Drop 10 and easily work out even when I'm away from home.

So, my idea came from a Cali woman I met at said work conference -- she had a similar story to mine. Two years ago, she had dropped 55 pounds, and has kept the weight off ever since. And get this -- she's a marathon runner now, who is seriously dedicated to her healthy lifestyle. I found that really encouraging; it's not always easy to find someone who's been in my shoes.

And not only did my new BFF inspire me, she got me to sweat, too -- we visited the hotel's fitness center (pictured) together during the conference. It felt SO good to be back on the treadmill after a few days burning the midnight oil at the office. And then, at the end of my cardio routine, she asked me to do a serious strength-training and toning workout with her -- and although it looked intense (it was the Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD), I was up for the challenge. I was practically sweating buckets while doing my crunches. My new BFF? Total champ. She took me out of my comfort zone and motivated me to continue until the end. And here I am, after a work trip, three pounds lighter -- and still motivated.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Author

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Health Tip: Don't Ignore Pacemaker Issues

(HealthDay News) -- If you have an irregular heartbeat, a pacemaker can help restore your heart to its natural rhythm and help the heart continue to pump blood to the rest of the body.

But once the device is implanted, you shouldn't just "set it and forget it," experts say. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says these potential problems can affect a pacemaker:

Interference with the pacemaker's electrical signal caused by other devices, such as cellphones, microwave ovens or high-tension electrical wiring.Broken or dislodged wires.Failing or weakened battery.Progression of heart disease.

-- Diana Kohnle
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Short Strolls After Meals May Lower Diabetes Risk

Walking 15 minutes three times a day was better for blood sugar levels than one 45-minute walk, small study found

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults at risk for getting diabetes who took a 15-minute walk after every meal improved their blood sugar levels, a new study shows.

Three short walks after eating worked better to control blood sugar levels than one 45-minute walk in the morning or evening, said lead researcher Loretta DiPietro, chairwoman of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C.

"More importantly, the post-meal walking was significantly better than the other two exercise prescriptions at lowering the post-dinner glucose level," DiPietro added.

The after-dinner period is an especially vulnerable time for older people at risk of diabetes, DiPietro said. Insulin production decreases, and they may go to bed with extremely high blood glucose levels, increasing their chances of diabetes.

About 79 million Americans are at risk for type 2 diabetes, in which the body doesn't make enough insulin or doesn't use it effectively. Being overweight and sedentary increases the risk. DiPietro's new research, although tested in only 10 people, suggests that brief walks can lower that risk if they are taken at the right times.

The study did not, however, prove that it was the walks causing the improved blood sugar levels.

"This is among the first studies to really address the timing of the exercise with regard to its benefit for blood sugar control," she said. In the study, the walks began a half hour after finishing each meal.

The research is published June 12 in the journal Diabetes Care.

For the study, DiPietro and her colleagues asked the 10 older adults, who were 70 years old on average, to complete three different exercise routines spaced four weeks apart. At the study's start, the men and women had fasting blood sugar levels of between 105 and 125 milligrams per deciliter. A fasting blood glucose level of 70 to 100 is considered normal, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The men and women stayed at the research facility and were supervised closely. Their blood sugar levels were monitored the entire 48 hours.

On the first day, the men and women did not exercise. On the second day, they did, and those blood sugar levels were compared to those on the first day.

The men and women were classified as obese, on average, with a body-mass index (BMI) of 30. The men and women walked on a treadmill at a speed of about three miles an hour (a 20-minute mile, which DiPietro described as the lower end of moderate).

The walks after meals reduced the 24-hour glucose levels the most when comparing the sedentary day with the exercise day.

A 45-minute morning walk was next best.

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Velvet Vejnovic, Fashion Journalism Student

I would describe my style as minimal with statement pieces. Today I'm wearing Converse trainers, Primark trousers and a Monki T-Shirt. The bag is from Topshop. I like to look at street style for outfit inspirations and my style icon is the Swedish blogger Elin Kling. I'm not really into designer clothes, I believe it's not where something is from that matters but how you put it together.

Photographed by Suzanne Middlemass.

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Working out to loose weight - Requesting expert guidance please.

Hi CC peeps,

Please guide me :-)

Height/weight/Age/Gender : 153 cm/72 Kg/35/Female

Work : 8 am to 5 Pm.

Diet : 1200 calories per day, 8 glasses of water.

Work out : (Since past 3 days, with personal trainer, 1 Hour morning , 2 Hour evening , total 3 hours per day)

Day type 1 : 60 Min elliptical + 60 Min elliptical ?? + 60 Min floor exercise and weights.

Day type 2 : 60 Min elliptical + 30 Min Cycling + 30 Min elliptical + 60 Min floor exercise, crunch, streach, weights

PS : My elliptical settings are ?(Cross ramp 5, resistance 9, 98 steps per minute). One hour in morning - one in evening - alternate days as above programme.

I have deficit of 1330 calories per day on average as per calorie count. I should have lost half KG after 3.5 days of workout. But it did not happen. Will I loose weight? When will I see a difference? Currently I am sore all over :-) even my boob muscles are sore .. dang!

Please help - and guide me - what can be done better?

Sherry.

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Pierce Brosnan out and about in LA

Well maybe you shouldn't be living HEEEEEEEEEEERRRE!* Still Brozza's best work, if we say so ourselves.

*If you don't have any idea what we're talking about, please watch this movie gem.

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question about muscle building and calories needed

i am at a healthy weight that I want to maintain but I am starting a heavy lifting regime so I can convert the fat into muscle. In order to do this successfully, do I need to be eating maintenance calories or a weight loss amount? Logically I would think it would be maintenance but I am not totally sure how this works.

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Brad Pitt at CinemaCon in Las Vegas

Whenever we see pics of Brad Pitt speaking, we can't help but wonder if he's reeling off that script from those Chanel ads. Alas, in this case, probably not, as he was introducing a film clip from his forthcoming zombie flick, World War Z, last night in Las Vegas. Inevitable.

CELEBRITY MANPUZELS

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Pesticide Exposure Linked to Changes in Fetal Movement: Study

Findings underscore need to protect developing brain, researcher says

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- A pregnant woman's exposure to environmental contaminants affects her unborn baby's heart rate and movement, a new study says.

"Both fetal motor activity and heart rate reveal how the fetus is maturing and give us a way to evaluate how exposures may be affecting the developing nervous system," study lead author Janet DiPietro, associate dean for research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a school news release.

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 50 high- and low-income pregnant women in and around Baltimore and found that they all had detectable levels of organochlorines, including DDT, PCBs and other pesticides that have been banned in the United States for more than 30 years.

High-income women had a greater concentration of chemicals than low-income women.

The blood samples were collected at 36 weeks of pregnancy, and measurements of fetal heart rate and movement also were taken at that time, according to the study, which was published online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

The researchers found that higher levels of some common environmental pollutants were associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal movement. Some of the chemicals also were associated with fewer changes in fetal heart rate, which normally parallel fetal movements.

"Most studies of environmental contaminants and child development wait until children are much older to evaluate effects of things the mother may have been exposed to during pregnancy," DiPietro said. "Here we have observed effects in utero."

How the prenatal period sets the stage for later child development is a subject of tremendous interest, DiPietro said.

"These results show that the developing fetus is susceptible to environmental exposures and that we can detect this by measuring fetal neurobehavior," she said. "This is yet more evidence for the need to protect the vulnerable developing brain from effects of environmental contaminants both before and after birth."

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Breathing Problem Sometimes Misdiagnosed in Athletes

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- A vocal cord problem that restricts athletes' breathing is often misdiagnosed as exercise-induced asthma, a small new study suggests.

Researchers looked at 46 college athletes who were newly diagnosed with paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFMD), a condition that can be brought on by stress, anxiety or increased exertion. It causes the vocal cords to constrict and obstruct breathing.

An estimated 5 percent of athletes have the vocal cord disorder, which can severely affect their performance, according to the researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

"There isn't a lot in the literature about PVFMD in elite athletes, and our study shows that because of their high level of conditioning they may be more difficult to diagnose and treat than non-athletes," lead investigator Dr. Brad deSilva, residency program director for the department of otolaryngology--head and neck surgery, said in a medical center news release.

For example, only 30 percent of the athletes in the study consistently experienced PVFMD symptoms, such as coughing during exercise.

"PVFMD symptoms can often mimic asthma, and as many as 40 percent of people with asthma also have PVFMD -- so it's typical for an athlete to get the asthma diagnosed correctly, but not the vocal cord dysfunction," study co-author Dr. Anna Marcinow, a senior resident in the otolaryngology program in the College of Medicine, said in the news release.

The researchers also assessed a number of treatments for the vocal cord disorder, ranging from biofeedback to Botox injections. Biofeedback is a technique that teaches people how to control their body's responses.

The investigators found that vocal cord retraining therapy helped reduce or eliminate breathing problems and allowed many athletes to stop using asthma inhalers.

"Because PVFMD can have both physical and emotional impacts, using tactics that help athletes gain a sense of control over their breathing can be really effective," Marcinow said. "Athletes may also need additional alternative forms of therapy such as biofeedback or intervention from a sports psychologist."

While the disorder often occurs in athletes who have recently intensified their activity and training, it can also occur in non-athletes who are starting a more demanding exercise program, the researchers noted.

The study was scheduled for presentation Friday at the annual meeting of the Triological Society, in Orlando, Fla. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Ohio State University Medical Center, news release, April 12, 2013

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New Procedure May Shrink Enlarged Prostate Without Surgery

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Men who need treatment for an enlarged prostate may soon have a new nonsurgical option, a small, early study suggests.

Called prostatic artery embolization (PAE), the technique uses a catheter threaded into an artery in the leg. The catheter is guided to the artery that supplies blood to the prostate. Then, tiny beads are injected into the artery, which temporarily block the blood supply to the prostate.

The temporary loss of blood supply causes the prostate to shrink, relieving symptoms, according to study lead author Dr. Sandeep Bagla. What's more, the new treatment doesn't appear to have the same risk of serious complications, such as incontinence and impotence, that often accompany enlarged prostate treatment.

"This is fantastic news for the average man with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Many men decline current treatments because of the risks. But, for the average man, PAE is a no-brainer," said Bagla, an interventional radiologist at Inova Alexandria Hospital, in Virginia.

The procedure has only been available as part of Bagla's trial until recently, but he said some interventional radiologists have started doing prostatic artery embolization, and he expects the procedure will become more widely available by the end of the year.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the medical term for an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate is very common as men get older. As many as half of all men in their 60s will have an enlarged prostate, according to the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). By the time men are in their 70s and 80s, up to 90 percent have benign prostatic hyperplasia, according to the NIDDK.

Some men experience no symptoms, while others may feel the need to urinate frequently, but they have a weak urinary stream, the NIDDK says. There are a number of treatments available for benign prostatic hyperplasia, including medications and surgery.

Bagla said that interventional radiologists in Europe and South America have been using prostatic artery embolization, and that the current study is the first in the United States to test the procedure.

He and his colleagues hope to treat a total of 30 patients, but they're reporting on the results from the first 18 patients on Monday at the annual meeting of Society of Interventional Radiology, in New Orleans. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

For the study, the average age of the patients who underwent prostatic artery embolization was 67 years. None of the men had to be admitted to the hospital after the procedure.

Ninety-four percent of the men (17 of 18) had a significant decrease in their symptoms one month after surgery. And, none reported any major complications following the surgery.

Bagla said the exact cost of the new procedure is difficult to estimate right now, but prostatic artery embolization will be cheaper than most of the currently used procedures, he said, because there's no need for an operating room and overnight hospital stays. In addition, he said, because the new procedure doesn't appear to cause complications, that will save health care dollars as well.

"This may become part of the armamentarium of treatments that can be offered for [benign prostatic hyperplasia]," said Dr. Art Rastinehad, director of interventional urologic oncology at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y. He was not involved with the new study.

"This was a small series and a limited study to draw significant conclusions from. But, it's very exciting to see it evaluated and moving forward," he said.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Sandeep Bagla, M.D., interventional radiologist, Inova Alexandria Hospital, Alexandria, Va.; Art Rastinehad, D.O., director of interventional urologic oncology, North Shore-LIJ Health System, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; April 15, 2013, presentation, Society of Interventional Radiology annual meeting, New Orleans

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so bored of the gym!!

I've been going to the gym on and off for 3yrs now and I've actually begun to hate it, I dread going. Is this normal? I can't do the classes as there on at various times which don't fit in with work and home. I haven't seen a change in my body apart from getting fatter since driving last year :(( what should I do? Need help before I become massive and depressed

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Abigail Bergstorm, Editorial Assistant

My style is "Scandinavian inspired". Today, I'm wearing Dr Martin shoes, a COS dress and a H&M jacket. I bought the clutch in Primark, the sunglasses are from Monki and I found the necklace in a market. This summer I will be wearing a lot of white floaty dresses.

Photographed by Suzanne Middlemass.

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Restless Legs Syndrome Tied to Earlier Death Risk

Older men with condition have 39 percent increase in mortality, study suggests

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Men with restless legs syndrome now have another health concern: New research has just linked the condition to an increased risk of dying early.

In a study of nearly 20,000 men, Harvard researchers found that men with restless legs syndrome had a 39 percent higher risk of an early death than did men without the condition.

"This study suggests that individuals with restless legs syndrome are more likely to die early than other people," said study author Dr. Xiang Gao, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "This association was independent of other known risk factors."

"[However], this is an observational study," Gao said of the findings, which were published online June 12 in the journal Neurology. "We can only see an association that suggests a possible causal relationship."

Restless legs syndrome is a common condition that causes people to feel an uncomfortable sensation in their legs when lying down, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The feeling may be a throbbing, pulling or creeping sensation. Restless legs syndrome makes it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep.

The exact cause of restless legs syndrome is unknown. It does seem to run in families, suggesting a genetic component to the condition, according to the NINDS. Restless legs syndrome has also been linked to some medical conditions, such as kidney disease and the nerve disorder peripheral neuropathy. It's also associated with the use of certain medications, and may occur during pregnancy.

Gao said many people with restless legs syndrome have low iron levels, and taking iron supplements often can alleviate the symptoms of restless legs syndrome. But, he cautioned, too much iron can be dangerous, so be sure to have your doctor check your iron levels before taking any supplements.

The current study included nearly 18,500 American men who were followed for eight years. At the start of the study, none of the men had diabetes, arthritis or kidney failure. The average age at the start of the study was 67.

Almost 4 percent (690 men) of the study group was diagnosed with restless legs syndrome. Men with restless legs syndrome were more likely to take antidepressant drugs and have high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or Parkinson's disease. Not surprisingly, men with restless legs syndrome had more frequent complaints of insomnia.

During the study follow-up, nearly 2,800 men died.

When the researchers compared those with restless legs syndrome to those without, they found that men who had the condition were 39 percent more likely to die during the study period than men without the condition. When they controlled for factors such as body mass, lifestyle factors, chronic conditions and sleep duration, the mortality risk for men with restless legs syndrome dropped to 30 percent.

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Sienna Miller and Tom Sturridge out and about in New York

Enjoying another spring day in New York yesterday was loved-up pair Sienna Miller and fiancé  Tom Sturridge. The two were snapped without their newborn tot, baby Marlowe, as they soaked up the warm weather ahead of Tom's TimesTalks conference in the city for his new Broadway production of Orphans, in which he stars opposite Alec Baldwin.

SEE THE  TV BAFTA 2013 NOMINATIONS IN FULL

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More Evidence Links BPA to Childhood Obesity

Study finds preteen girls who had high levels of common chemical were twice as likely to be overweight

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- There's fresh evidence that the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, may play a part in childhood obesity.

BPA is a chemical that is widely used in food packaging. Government studies have shown that 92 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies.

There's intense scientific interest in BPA because it is chemically similar to the hormone estrogen, and there's some concern that it may mimic estrogen's effects in the body, causing harm to the brain and reproductive organs, particularly in children.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups, though manufacturers had already stopped using it. The agency declined to ban it from other food containers, pending further research.

In a new study published online June 12 in the journal PLoS One, researchers measured BPA levels in the urine of more than 1,300 children in China and compared those levels to their body weights.

The study authors also asked the kids about other things that may influence body weight, such as how often they ate junk food, fruits and vegetables, how much exercise they got, whether their parents were overweight and how long they played video games, on average, each day.

After taking all those factors into account, the investigators found that girls aged 9 to 12 who had higher-than-average levels of BPA in their urine were about twice as likely to be obese as those with lower-than-average levels. The researchers didn't see the same association for boys or for older girls.

One explanation for the results may be that girls who are entering puberty are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals, said study author Dr. De-Kun Li, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Foundation Research Institute and the Stanford School of Medicine, in California.

"Human studies are starting to confirm animal studies that show BPA can disrupt energy storage and energy metabolism," said Li.

One of the most recent questions raised about BPA is whether or not it may be an obesogen, or a chemical that contributes to the development of obesity.

In laboratory studies, BPA produces many of the molecular hallmarks of obesity. It makes fat cells bigger, it blocks the function of a protein called adiponectin, which protects against heart disease, and it disrupts the balance of testosterone and estrogen -- hormones that are important for maintaining a healthy body mass.

One expert found the study results troubling.

"Clearly, unhealthy diet and physical activity are still the leading causes of the childhood obesity epidemic worldwide, but this study adds further concern to the notion that environmental chemicals may be independent contributors," said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine and health policy at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City.

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Beyoncé performs during her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour concert in Belgrade, Serbia

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Victoria Beckham family Los Angeles International Airport

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Heavier Pregnant Women Tend to Deliver Prematurely

In large Swedish study, risk rose along with the mother's weight

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight, according to a study of more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden.

Researchers speculate that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity -- high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, increased chance of infection -- have a direct impact on a woman's ability to carry their child to term, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, neonatal illness and long-term disability in children, said researchers led by Dr. Sven Cnattingius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

A U.S. expert not involved with the study said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This just reinforces the fact that the complications of obesity and additional weight gain are deleterious to both mother and fetus," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Artal said this study, along with previous research, makes the case that overweight and obese women who are pregnant can protect the health of their unborn child by maintaining their current weight or even shedding some pounds.

"The concept that we propagated for years that pregnancy is not a good time for weight loss and physical activity is wrong," he said.

For the study, researchers analyzed the records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010, reviewing the body-mass index (BMI) of the women at their first prenatal doctor's visit as well as information recorded following birth about health risks, maternal diseases and pregnancy complications.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

The statistics came from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which maintains detailed data on all births in that nation and serves as a valuable resource for researchers, a U.S. expert said.

"There's a lot of good obstetric data that comes out of Sweden because of that register," said Dr. Russ Fothergill, vice chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

The researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased with a woman's BMI.

The authors said that even though the study is Swedish, the results can be generalized to other populations with similar or higher rates of maternal obesity or preterm delivery.

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Leona Ng, Visual Merchandiser

I would describe my style as casual, comfortable with a contemporary twist. I'm wearing Swedish Hasbeens shoes, a COS dress, a coat that I bought in a boutique in Hong Kong, and my mum's leather jacket. I don't have a style icon but I get outfit ideas from street style and Scandinavian style. I am also inspired by the lifestyle blog Convoy.tumblr.com. My favourite designers are Prada, Jill Sander, COS and Stella McCartney.

Photographed by Suzanne Middlemass.

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Q&A With Nick Lachey

How becoming a father changed this singer/songwriter's life and music.By Elizabeth B. Krieger
WebMD Magazine - Feature

Entertainer Nick Lachey, 39, says being a new dad surprised, delighted, and challenged him -- and gave him something new to sing about.

You have two nephews. Did that experience prepare you for having your own son, Camden?

"To some extent, yeah, in that any experience you have is good. I mean, at least I had changed some diapers and all that. But it’s a whole other ballgame when it’s your own child -- and certainly when you’re changing multiple diapers a day. With that and with everything, you learn on the fly and you learn fast."

Was it at all difficult to watch your little brother have kids before you, when it was something you’d always desired yourself?

"You know, it wasn’t really. I just knew that there’s a time and a place for everything and that eventually I would get to the place where my life was ready for a child."

What has been the most challenging part of this first year of parenthood for you and your wife, Vanessa?

"Oh, definitely the first few days home with Camden. You’re still so new as a parent, and he’s so new, and there’s just all this uncertainty. You just don’t want to screw up. I remember that even just that first ride home from the hospital was incredibly nerve-wracking."

Has sleep deprivation been a major issue?

"I think we’ve both gotten really lucky and made some good choices in terms of how he sleeps. He’s a great baby -- very easygoing and has been sleeping through the night for months. But I think that’s also because we both read a bunch of books to prepare for the sleep issues, and we made sure we didn’t travel too much within his first 6 months, to get him on a pretty strict schedule. Keeping to that schedule is the best thing we’ve done. When he’s rested, he’s happy -- and so are we."

What have you done to keep Camden and yourself healthy during his first year?

"Like most typical new parents, we were pretty vigilant about germs when he was really young -- so anyone who was going to be in close contact with him had to scrub up. But otherwise I think we’ve been pretty mellow, overall. As for me, I made a concerted effort to stay in shape. To start, I tried not to gain any pregnancy sympathy weight. That’s partly just because of the business I’m in, but also partly so I feel good."

Have you had any moments where you thought, whoa, “Daddy FAIL!”?

"Well, I will say that the first time Vanessa went out of town and I had to do his bath solo, it sure wasn’t pretty, and it was not nearly as smooth as when his mom does it. Oh, I got him clean, in the end...but I felt like I was subjecting him to a sub-par bath experience."

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Stacey McGonigal, Fashion Designer

I'm wearing boots and socks from Topshop and dress and jewellery from Juicy Couture. The headphones are from Wesc. I wear whatever makes me feel happy - I love bright colours! 

Photographed by Suzanne Middlemass.

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Blood Tests May Predict COPD Flare-Ups

Signs of chronic inflammation in the blood linked to faster deterioration of lung function

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have signs of chronic inflammation in their blood are more likely to have flare-ups of the lung disease than those who do not, a large new study shows.

In addition to the slow, steady deterioration in lung function caused by COPD, patients can have sudden, distressing flare-ups. These so-called "exacerbations" are periods of worsening breathing problems that are typically triggered by infections or air pollution.

Patients who experience frequent flare-ups decline more quickly than those who do not; they also tend to have worse quality of life and poorer survival rates than those whose conditions are more stable, according to background information in the study.

Preventing flare-ups is a major goal of COPD treatment, but these episodes can be difficult to predict.

In a study of more than 61,000 people in Denmark, researchers found that COPD patients who had increased levels of certain proteins and cells in their blood were at greater risk for frequent flare-ups.

These particular proteins and cells -- C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and leukocytes -- increase in response to infections, tissue damage and inflammation.

People with higher levels of all three of these "markers" were more likely to experience frequent flare-ups than those with normal levels. That was true regardless of the stage or severity of their COPD.

But the risk was especially pronounced for patients in the study with the worst breathing problems. Among patients who had the highest grade of COPD symptoms, 24 percent with no elevated markers had frequent flare-ups compared to 62 percent of those who had high levels of all three markers.

Patients with frequent exacerbations had two or more flare-ups each year they were followed for the study.

The study is published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Regan, who is studying the genetics of COPD at National Jewish Health in Denver, the researchers "give compelling evidence that those are useful tests." Regan was not involved with the study.

"These are tests that are readily available. The practicing physician kind of has them at their fingertips. They're not unusual, they're not high-risk," said Regan. "If I were seeing patients, I'd be strongly attracted to doing it."

The price of each test varies, but in general, they're inexpensive, ranging between $10 and $40. Insurance often covers the cost. The only trouble with doing the tests now, Regan said, is that doctors still don't know exactly how to use the information.

"While these tests look like they're strong predictors, we don't have the next piece of this clearly in place," she noted.

The study wasn't able to prove that inflammation causes COPD exacerbations, or that lowering inflammation with medications could head off future flare-ups, Regan explained.

Other studies currently underway are testing whether antibiotics or newer medications can prevent such attacks, she noted.

Until more is known, the researchers say there is still one good reason for COPD patients to get the blood tests.

"Many patients with COPD aren't very adherent to their inhalation medication. Patients don't like to be sick, so they think 'it's doing well now, so let me stop,'" said study author Dr. Borge Nordestgaard, a clinical professor in the department of diagnostic sciences at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

"But if you're one of these patients with high biomarkers, then you should be even better at taking your daily inhalation medication," he said. "That's the best advice at present."

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Parents Who Veto Vaccinations Often Seek Like-Minded Opinions

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Friends and family may be key in parents' decisions on whether to vaccinate their young children, a small study suggests.

The study, of about 200 parents, found that those who had opted not to follow the standard vaccine schedule often sought advice from anti-vaccine friends and family.

Experts said it's not certain that the advice actually steered parents in an anti-vaccine direction: Parents who were already prone to shunning vaccines may have turned to like-minded people for reinforcement.

"It's the chicken-and-egg question," said researcher Emily Brunson, an assistant professor of anthropology at Texas State University, in San Marcos. "The answer is, we don't know which came first."

To be more sure, Brunson said, parents would have to be followed over time, to see whether undecided parents actually base vaccine decisions on advice from other people.

But Brunson said she thinks family, friends and others in parents' "social networks" really are an important influence.

Dr. Douglas Opel, of Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, agreed.

"It is unclear how these groups influence parents. Do they simply reinforce the vaccine decisions parents would have made otherwise, or do they actually function as a way that provokes a parent to consider other ideas?" said Opel, who wrote an editorial published with the study, which appears online April 15 and in the May print issue of the journal Pediatrics

Opel said his hunch is that family and friends reinforce parents' existing views. But even if that's true, they are still a big influence by bolstering parents' beliefs.

Experts recommend that babies and young children routinely receive vaccinations against a host of common (or once common) infectious diseases, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox and hepatitis.

But some parents balk at those recommendations, largely because of a purported link between vaccines and autism. More than a decade's worth of studies have failed to confirm that link exists, but anxiety remains: A recent study of U.S. parents found that about one-third thought children receive too many vaccinations in their first two years, and they thought the shots could contribute to autism.

Brunson wanted to see where parents are turning to get their information, so she recruited nearly 200 parents of children 18 months old or younger. About 130 had their child up to date on all vaccines (and were dubbed "conformers") and 70 had opted to skip or delay at least some vaccinations ("nonconformers").

In an online survey, Brunson asked the parents to list the people and other sources -- such as websites and books -- they had gone to for vaccine advice.

She found that nearly all parents had sought advice from other people -- usually several people, including their doctor, spouse, family members and friends. And parents' ultimate decisions generally fell in line with that advice.

Among nonconforming parents, nearly three-quarters of their social circle recommended not vaccinating, on average. That was in sharp contrast to the conformers, whose social circles by and large said they should have their child vaccinated on time.

Brunson found that the more anti-vaccine views parents heard from their circle, the more likely they were to skip or delay vaccinations. And people seemed to matter more than information sources, such as the media.

She noted that the media often "gets a bad rap" as being a well of vaccine misinformation. But in this study, nonconforming parents actually got a more positive view of vaccines from the media than they did from their social circles.

Brunson and Opel said the findings speak to the power of the people in our lives.

"Parents do not make immunization decisions in a vacuum," Opel said. "Parents listen to and are influenced by other parents."

He said parents who vaccinate might try being more "vocal" to other parents about why they made their decision.

Brunson said efforts to encourage parents to vaccinate often focus on the role of pediatricians. "But this study is saying that we probably need to have a much broader approach than that," she said.

Media campaigns and other approaches that reach the general public, not just parents, might work better, Brunson said.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Emily Brunson, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos; Douglas Opel, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, bioethics and general pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle; May 2013 Pediatrics

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Only 5 Percent of Restroom Patrons Wash Hands Properly, Study Finds

And 1 in 10 don't scrub up at all after flushing

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- The next time you reach out to shake someone's hand, consider this finding: A recent study of hand-washing habits found only 5 percent of people who used the restroom scrubbed long enough to kill germs that can cause infections.

Thirty-three percent didn't use soap, and 10 percent didn't wash their hands at all, according to the study, based on Michigan State University researchers' observations of more than 3,700 people in a college town's public restrooms.

"These findings were surprising to us because past research suggested that proper hand washing is occurring at a much higher rate," lead investigator Carl Borchgrevink, an associate professor of hospitality business, said in a university news release.

Among the other findings:

Men were less likely than women to clean their hands. Fifteen percent of men and 7 percent of women didn't wash their hands at all. When they did wash their hands, only 50 percent of men used soap, compared with 78 percent of women.People were less likely to wash their hands if the sink was dirty.People were more likely to wash their hands earlier in the day. This may be because when people are out at night for a meal or drinks, they are relaxed and hand washing becomes less important, the researchers suggested.People were more likely to wash their hands if they saw a sign encouraging them to do so.

Hand washing is the single most effective thing a person can do to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Failure to sufficiently wash hands contributes to nearly 50 percent of all foodborne illness outbreaks, the agency says.

It takes 15 to 20 seconds of vigorous hand washing with soap and water to effectively kill germs, the CDC says, but people only wash their hands for an average of about 6 seconds, according to the study, published recently in the Journal of Environmental Health.

The findings have implications for consumers and restaurant and hotel owners, says Borchgrevink.

"Imagine you're a business owner and people come to your establishment and get foodborne illness through the fecal-oral route -- because people didn't wash their hands -- and then your reputation is on the line," he said. "You could lose your business."

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A New Way to Do Push-Ups!

Scary thought: Bikini season is around the corner. No worries -- our Drop 10 diet and fitness plan will help you lose 10 pounds in just five weeks. One of the secrets to your success? Your Drop 10 trainers, Karena and Katrina of ToneItUp.com, aka the bikini bod magicians.

For today's Tone It Up Tuesday, K+K are sharing a strength-building bonus move to keep your Drop 10 workout fresh. Not a Drop 10 member yet? Sign up now, it's totally free!

THIS WEEK'S TIP

Not every day has to be, or can be, an all-out workout! You want to give your muscles a chance to recover and get stronger. Dedicate at least one day to rest or light exercise, like a walk or yoga class, and let your body reboot. 

THIS WEEK'S BONUS MOVE

Waving pushup
Katrina demos this move; all you need is a mat.

Start sitting with knees tucked behind you and to the right, arms raised and leaning far to your right side (as shown).

Log in (or sign up!) to see the complete move!

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new today

hi there i am new today so check out my profike and wat i am eating etc and any support would be great xxx

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Menopause-Like Woes Hinder Breast Cancer Treatment: Study

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Hot flashes and other unpleasant side effects are a major reason one-quarter of breast cancer patients do not start or do not complete their recommended hormone-blocking therapy, a new study finds.

Five years of daily pills -- either tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors -- is recommended for many women whose breast cancer expresses the hormones estrogen or progesterone. The drugs have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer returning and to extend survival.

Despite such benefits, this study of more than 700 breast cancer patients in Detroit and Los Angeles who were eligible for hormone therapy found that about 11 percent never started treatment and 15 percent stopped it early.

Unpleasant, menopause-type side effects, such as vaginal dryness, hot flashes or joint pain, were the most common reasons women either stopped or never started the therapy.

"We need to develop better ways of supporting women through this therapy," lead study author Christopher Friese, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, said in a university news release.

Those most likely to complete their hormone therapy were patients who were most worried about their cancer returning and those who already took medication regularly, according to the study, which was published online March 31 in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Patients least likely to begin hormone therapy included those who received less information about hormone therapy, which suggests that doctors need to properly educate patients before treatment begins, the researchers said.

Women who saw a breast cancer surgeon instead of a medical oncologist as their primary follow-up also were less likely to begin hormone therapy.

"It was particularly interesting that greater fear of recurrence was associated in our patient sample with greater adherence to endocrine therapy," study senior study author Dr. Jennifer Griggs, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

"We don't want our patients living under a cloud of fear, so we need to develop creative ways to both reassure and motivate them," said Griggs, a medical oncologist. "This means providing better education about the importance of staying on these medications and partnering with primary care and cancer doctors to help patients manage symptoms."

More than 234,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and more than 40,000 will die from the disease, the American Cancer Society estimates.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, news release, April 9, 2013

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Beyonce kicks off her Mrs Carter world tour in Serbia

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To Stop Smoking, Teens Should Start Moving

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- A small amount of daily exercise can help teen smokers cut down on or quit their harmful habit, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at 233 teens at 19 high schools in West Virginia, which has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation. Nearly 13 percent of people under age 18 in the state are smokers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All the teens in the study were daily smokers who smoked an average of half a pack a day on weekdays and a pack a day on weekends. They also had other unhealthy behaviors.

"It is not unusual for teenage smokers to engage in other unhealthy habits. Smoking and physical inactivity, for instance, often go hand in hand," study lead author Kimberly Horn, associate dean for research at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, in Washington, D.C., said in a university news release.

The teens in the study were divided into three groups: one group took part in a smoking cessation program combined with a fitness program, another group took part in the smoking cessation program only and the third group heard only a short antismoking lecture.

All of the teens increased their amount of daily physical activity just by being in the study. Those who increased the number of days in which they did at least 20 minutes of exercise -- equivalent to a short walk -- significantly reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked.

Teens were more likely to quit smoking if they took part in the combination smoking cessation and fitness program and increased the number of days in which they did at least 30 minutes of exercise, according to the study, which was published online April 9 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"This study adds to evidence suggesting that exercise can help teenagers who are trying to quit smoking," Horn said.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: George Washington University, news release, April 9, 2013

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Lullabies Soothe Preemies, Parents Alike

By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Lullabies have been used to soothe babies since time immemorial. Now, scientists say that premature infants in particular can benefit from combining this tactic with other forms of music therapy, such as simulated womb sounds synchronized to preemies' vital signs.

Studying 272 infants in 11 hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City found that live music matched to babies' breathing and heart rates enhanced feeding and sleeping patterns. Parent-selected lullabies also seemed to promote bonding between parents and babies, easing the stress of the chaotic NICU environment.

"Historically, premature infants were thought to be best off left alone in a quiet, closed incubator with no stimulation," said study author Joanne Loewy, director of Beth Israel's Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine.

However, she added, "In more recent times, we're seeing that the right kind of stimulation -- particularly live, interactive music -- can enhance babies' neurological function and increase their quiet-alert state. It helps them through those tough moments . . . the more we can regulate the sound environment, the better they're going to fare."

The study was released online April 15 in advance of publication in the May print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Loewy and her colleagues examined the effects of three different types of music therapy interventions on premature babies. The infants were born at least 32 weeks into gestation and were small for their gestational age or suffered from conditions including respiratory distress and sepsis.

Three times each week for two weeks, certified music therapists used devices called Remo ocean discs and gato boxes, which replicated "whoosh" and heartbeat womb sounds while synchronized with infants' breath and heart patterns. Parents or therapists also sung the lullabies preferred by the babies' parents (called "songs of kin"), or "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" when parents had no preference.

Compared to babies not receiving any music therapies, babies who did showed more positive health effects such as better sleeping and feeding patterns. Those exposed to the ocean disc sounds experienced improved blood-oxygen levels and quiet-alert states. Additionally, parents' perception of stress in the NICU environment significantly decreased with the interventions, the study said.

"Many NICUs are noisy, or people put on random lullabies that are recorded," Loewy said. "What we're saying is, it's not just any old lullaby that's recorded, it's the power of the parent's voice synchronized therapeutically . . . and the other two sounds that can have a therapeutic benefit."

Dr. Joseph Awadalla, a neonatologist at Redlands Community Hospital, in California, agreed that such therapy helps premature infants thrive. He noted that womb-like sounds have been used in some hospitals for at least the last 20 years to soothe and relax babies.

"I'm aware that not all the [NICUs] do this kind of therapy," Awadalla said. "There should be no obstacle to using it -- there just needs to be an understanding from the staff that choosing it will help."

The cost of such therapy is minimal, study author Loewy said, and depends on the region of the United States a hospital is located. In the mid-Atlantic region, for example, certified music therapists cost about $65 per hour, and a typical session with each infant would last for 10 to 15 minutes, she said.

"In terms of the cost, when you're able to better regulate [a preemie's] vital signs, that's going to lead to less days in the hospital and less expense for [medications]," she added.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Joanne Loewy, D.A., director, Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City; Joseph Awadalla, M.D., neonatologist, Redlands Community Hospital, Redlands, Calif.; May 2013 Pediatrics

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Amazed, OMG! Wow! I did it! So thrilled!!!!

So just a little up-date from me....as I love this little forum and want to thank all the people that have supported me and given advice to me since my weight loss journey began.

Today I stepped on the scales, having being stuck at 147/148 for what seemed like months and actually weighed TODAY 140 lbs!

Yipee..I reached my goal.

I started out October 1st last year at 171 lbs - and for my height 163 and my age 48 was not a good look!

With diet and exercise and doing it properly I have reached my goal.

Now what do I do!!!!  Maintain I s'pose....don't want to lose more, just want to be toned and fit.

Thank you all for so much support and good luck on your journey too!

Maisy x

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Toms: One Day Without Shoes

We know we're always going on about finding the perfect shoes, but on 16 April we're going barefoot (yep, you read that right) for a good cause. 

One Day Without Shoes is Toms' global initiative to bring awareness to children's health, education and self-esteem. Health issues such as hookworm, which can prevent a child from attending school, as well as school uniforms (a requirement), and poverty can impact childen's confidence, leadership ability and even future earnings.

So, how can you help? Just tweet a picture of yourself barefoot - with your best pedi - with the hashtag #withoutshoes to @TOMS. 

Londoners can pop into Toms' swish party tonight at 15 Monmouth Street (featuring MTV DJs) to get involved ahead of the nationwide event on Tuesday.

The only thing left to ponder is what colour to paint your toes?

« Back to more Fashion News

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