Contents:
Jogging
Cranberry
Juice, a cure for urinary tract infections
Sexual
Awareness: A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Behavior
DASH Diet
Roughage and Cancer
Genital Herpes
Alzheimer's Disease
and Diet
Lyme Disease
Iron, Math
Scores and Teenage Girls
Sedentary Death
Syndrome (SeDS)
Jogging
Researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health that men
in their 30s who jog at least nine times a month develop a bone density
that is at least 5 percent higher than that of men who jog less.
Bone is usually strongest around age 30 and then weakens slowly throughout
the rest of life. In osteoporosis, bones become weak and brittle, leading
to fractures that can cripple and shorten life. Osteoporosis is most common
in women past menopause, but the disorder is not uncommon in men. The NIH
estimates that about 10 million Americans now have osteoporosis and another
18 million are at risk of the disease due to low bone density. Eighty percent
of these people are women. It is estimated that one out of every two women
and one in eight men will break a bone as the result of osteoporosis within
their lifetime.
Cranberry Juice,
a cure for urinary tract infections
A study published in the British Medical Journal this week found that
women who had suffered a bout of cystitis were half as likely to get a
recurrence within six months if they drank a glass of cranberry juice a
day. However, the research by scientists at the University of Oulu
in Finland is not definitive, experts say. Doctors estimate there
are at least 300 million cases of urinary tract infections worldwide each
year. In the United States, there are about 11.5 million cases per year.
The infections are normally treated with antibiotics, but experts worry
that the bacteria (90 percent of the time, E. coli) are becoming increasingly
resistant to the drugs.
Sexual Awareness:
A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Behavior
Surgeon General David Satcher called on parents, schools and community
leaders on June 28, 2001 to get past their nervousness about sex so they
can do a better job preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases. Twelve million Americans are infected by sexually transmitted
diseases each year, with some 40,000 new HIV infections; more than 100,000
children are victimized by sexual abuse annually; and nearly 1.4 million
abortions occur each year, with nearly half of all pregnancies unwanted.
An estimated 800,000 to 900,000 Americans are now living with HIV.
Abstinence is the only certain way to prevent pregnancy and the spread
of disease, the report says, and even properly used condoms do not prevent
the spread of all sexually transmitted diseases. The call also recommends
developing and disseminating educational materials for sex-ed classes that
cover the ``full continuum of human sexual development'' for use by parents,
clergy, teachers and others.
DASH Diet
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is low in saturated
and total fat, and draws largely on fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy
products, as well as whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. There's comparatively
little red meat, and consumption of sweets or sugary beverages is also
reduced. Scientists have known for several years that the eating
plan reduces blood pressure. However, a study conducted under the sponsorship
of the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute (NHLBI) showed that the
plan also cuts cholesterol. According to the study, published in
the July 2001 issue of The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, individuals
who followed the DASH diet lowered their total cholesterol by an average
of 7.3 percent. At the same time, low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the
so-called "bad" cholesterol, dropped 9 percent. You should put these
foods at the top of your shopping list: fruits, vegetables, monosaturated
and polyunsaturated oils (like canola, safflower, and olive oils), whole
grain bread and cereal, and nuts. Do more exercise.
Roughage and Cancer
New research indicates that eating lots of red meat may create about
as much of a certain cancer-promoting chemical in the colon as smoking
does. The findings, presented in Lyon at the European Conference on Nutrition
and Cancer, were part of a study that revives the theory that fiber wards
off colon cancer, the second most deadly cancer worldwide. The idea that
a high-fiber diet rich in fruits, vegetables and grains prevents colon
cancer suffered a setback last year after two studies failed to find an
effect. But the latest research, which experts say is the most reliable
to date on the link between eating habits and cancer, found that those
who ate a high-fiber diet had 40 percent less chance of developing colon
cancer than those who ate the least roughage.
Genital Herpes
Genital herpes is estimated to infect almost one-fourth of U.S. adults
and is spread through sexual contact when it enters the body through tiny
passages in the skin. Most people who have the virus do not know it. Women
are at higher risk of contracting the virus from an infected partner. Health
officials had long advised condom use. A study confirmed that condoms significantly
reduce women's risk of contracting genital herpes. But they may not be
as effective in protecting men.
Alzheimer's Disease and Diet
A Finnish study, published in the June 16, 2001, issue of the British
Medical Journal, concluded that participants who had high cholesterol levels
or high systolic blood pressure in middle age were about twice as likely
to develop Alzheimer’s disease as those who did not, even after accounting
for age, weight, history of heart problems and other factors. The risk
was 3.5 times as great for people who had both hypertension and high cholesterol.
There was no elevated risk for people who had high diastolic pressure,
the second of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading. Earlier research
in a variety of formats also has suggested a link. A study of African Americans
in Baltimore found an association between Alzheimer’s and cholesterol levels,
and studies at the University of Massachusetts and Loyola University concluded
that people who were treated with statin drugs to lower cholesterol also
were less likely to develop this form of dementia. Studies in Sweden and
Japan have found an association between Alzheimer’s disease and high blood
pressure, but the form of hypertension in these cases was diastolic, unlike
the Finnish study. Of course, blood cholesterol and hypertension
depend on your diet and exercise!
Lyme Disease
About 15,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported annually in the United
States, mostly in the Northeast from Maine to Maryland; the Midwest in
Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the West in northern California and Oregon.
For the first time, doctors have shown that a quick dose of antibiotics
can ward off Lyme disease after a tick bite, but they caution against overusing
the treatment. A study, published in the July 12 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine, conducted in New York's Westchester County, where
Lyme disease is common, found that just two pills of doxycycline are highly
effective if given within three days of a bite. Some physicians already
give antibiotics to people who are bitten by deer ticks, the bugs that
spread Lyme disease. However, many experts oppose this, because there has
been no clear evidence the treatment actually prevents the disease, even
though antibiotics can clear up Lyme disease once it occurs.
Be aware of and avoid tick habitats such as tall grass, bushes, brush and woods. If you go into such habitats where shoes and proper clothing: hat, long sleeved shirt, and long pants tucked into socks. Use of tick repellants on the outer garments may be helpful. Before coming indoors, brush off your clothes and once inside remove all clothes and inspect your body and clothes for any ticks and promptly wah clothing. Frequently inspect your pets for ticks.
Iron, Math Scores and Teenage
Girls
Iron deficiency was found in 3 percent of the children overall, representing
1.2 million school-age children. It occurred in 8.7 percent of the girls
ages 12 to 16, including 7 percent without anemia. Iron deficiency,
sometimes due to blood loss or diets low in iron, is the most common cause
of anemia. Adolescent girls are especially prone to iron deficiency because
of their monthly blood loss from menstruation. Average math scores for
iron-deficient children with or without anemia were about six points lower
than those with normal iron levels. Among adolescent girls, the difference
in scores was more than eight points. The average math score for normal
youngsters was 93.7, 87.4 for iron-deficient children without anemia and
86.4 for those with anemia. The highest score recorded was 151. Anemia,
whose symptoms can include fatigue and paleness, can be diagnosed with
a simple blood test. But youngsters are not routinely screened for less
severe iron deficiencies. The study was led by Dr. Jill Halterman
of the University of Rochester and was published in the June issue of the
journal Pediatrics.
Much of the iron in omnivore diets comes from meat products (haem iron). Iron from non-haem sources such as eggs, cereal foods, green vegetables, nuts and pulses is less well absorbed. The presence of vitamin C from fruit, fruit juices and vegetables will enhance the absorption of non-haem iron; for example, having an iron-fortified breakfast cereal and a glass of orange juice at the same meal. However, tea, coffee (because of tannins) and the plant substances phytate and oxalate reduce iron absorption. It is important that dietary sources of iron are eaten daily and the bioavailability of the iron in those particular foods is considered - the inclusion of a food source of vitamin C and exclusion of tea at a meal containing non-haem iron (for example in green vegetables and wholegrain cereals). Infants and young children have very high iron requirements. For the first 6 months of life, these requirements are met by stores of iron in the infant’s body together from breast or formula milk. However, by 6 months the stores have been used up and milk alone does not give enough iron for the infant. Solid foods provided after 6 months of age should include rich sources of iron. For vegetarian children, alternative sources of iron should be included in the diet such as green vegetables, pulse and fortified bread and breakfast cereals.
Sedentary Death Syndrome (SeDS)
Obese adults have more chronic health problems than smokers, heavy
drinkers or the poor, according to a study (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation) released on June 7th. The study also found that smoking
harms the health of women more than men, with female smokers having about
40 percent more chronic health problems than nonsmokers. The figure was
30 percent for men. The study found that more people are overweight
or obese than are those collectively who smoke, drink heavily and live
below the federal poverty line. Obesity was determined by finding
a respondent's body mass index, a figure derived by multiplying a person's
weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that result by height in inches squared.
People of normal weight have a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9; those considered
overweight score between 25 and 29.9; obese people are between 30 and 34.9
and very obese people are over 35. The survey found that 59 percent
of Americans are at least overweight - a figure that is in line with other
recent studies. Frank W. Booth, a professor at the University of
Missouri-Columbia, hopes to use the coinage "Sedentary Death Syndrome (SeDS),"
to make the public and the federal government pay more attention and spend
more money on getting the public to be more active.
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