Having A Snack Attack: U.S. Obesity Epidemic Related To Its Easy Accessibility In Retail Stores

December 31, 2009

A new study shows that candy, salty snacks and sweetened beverages, which have been implicated as contributing to the obesity epidemic, are widely available in retail stores whose primary merchandise is not food…

Filed under: BODY, News | Comments (0)

Electro-acupuncture to prevent prolonged postoperative ileus: A randomized clinical trial.

December 30, 2009

Electro-acupuncture to prevent prolonged postoperative ileus: A randomized clinical trial.

World J Gastroenterol. 2010 Jan 7;16(1):104-11

Authors: Meng ZQ, Garcia MK, Chiang JS, Peng HT, Shi YQ, Fu J, Liu LM, Liao ZX, Zhang Y, Bei WY, Thornton B, Palmer JL, McQuade J, Cohen L

AIM: To examine whether acupuncture can prevent prolonged postoperative ileus (PPOI) after intraperitoneal surgery for colon cancer. METHODS: Ninety patients were recruited from the Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai, China. After surgery, patients were randomized to receive acupuncture (once daily, starting on postoperative day 1, for up to six consecutive days) or usual care. PPOI was defined as an inability to pass flatus or have a bowel movement by 96 h after surgery. The main outcomes were time to first flatus, time to first bowel movement, and electrogastroenterography. Secondary outcomes were quality of life (QOL) measures, including pain, nausea, insomnia, abdominal distension/fullness, and sense of well-being. RESULTS: No significant differences in PPOI on day 4 (P = 0.71) or QOL measures were found between the groups. There were also no group differences when the data were analyzed by examining those whose PPOI had resolved by day 5 (P = 0.69) or day 6 (P = 0.88). No adverse events related to acupuncture were reported. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture did not prevent PPOI and was not useful for treating PPOI once it had developed in this population.

PMID: 20039456 [PubMed - in process]

Filed under: News, acupuncture, health, qigong and tai chi | Comments (0)

20 ways to get healthier for free

December 28, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

(Health.com) — Celebrate the New Year with a new you — by dipping into our smart batch of strategies to keep you happy and healthy (at no cost!) all year long.

Borrow (don’t buy) your next fitness DVD

Join the local library — for the workout DVDs. Most libraries have a big selection, the perfect antidote to a boring (and pricey) gym…

Get a free skin checkup

The Skin Cancer Foundation will provide free skin screenings during its Road to Healthy Skin Tour from April to September 2010. Check SkinCancer.org this spring for availability in your area.

Order a free health calendar

Get one from the National Women’s Health Information Center. The 2010 calendar lists recommended health tests, reveals surprising symptoms of serious health conditions, and offers important advice on how to read drug labels and get a second opinion.

Surf for deals

Thunderfap.com, FreakyFreddies.com, and Freemania.net have free-by-mail samples and coupons for items like hand sanitizer, bandages, deodorant, tampons, and toothpaste…

Get a free radon test

Radon, an odorless natural gas present in many homes, is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers. January is National Radon Action Month, so visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site to check the availability of free or low-cost test kits in your state.

Click off the weight

Studies show that interactive online-weight-loss programs help people drop pounds …

Strike a pose

Try your Downward Dog for free — or pretty cheap — thanks to the Internet…

Bargain hard

Many health clubs and gyms are willing to cut you deals or give you free passes to try their facilities. Bally Total Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness offer free seven-day trials. Remember: everything is negotiable…

Do a smoke checkup

Some local fire departments offer smoke alarms (a potential lifesaver, considering up to 20 percent of the alarms installed in people’s homes don’t even work) for free…

Create a medical family tree

Start planning a healthier future today by asking relatives …

Save $170 in the shower

That’s how much you can cut from your water bill each year by taking shorter, cooler showers, …

Snag free health apps

There are about 3,000 iPhone applications designed to boost your health and fitness — and many are free. Swine Flu Tracker Map …

Boost your immunity

To help keep winter colds at bay, get free samples of Emergen-C…

Moisturize for free

Stop by Sephora stores across the country and ask for a free sample (you can literally try out hundreds of moisturizers), …

Eat healthier, no cookbook required

Got a tummy ache that needs some soothing? Try the Belly Balance Smoothie…

Tweet for discounts

Follow your favorite stores on Twitter and get hot sales alerts…

Try a new sport

You’ve always wanted to try cross-country skiing, right?…

Give and get for free

Loads of useful items from…

Sign up for a free pedometer

JustKeepMoving.com, a healthy-lifestyle-information site…

Talk it out

There’s a free self-help group out there for what­ever is bothering you…

www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/25/free.healthy.christmas/

Related articles by Zemanta

• 20 ways to get healthier for free (cnn.com)

Filed under: BODY, MIND, News, SPIRIT | Comments (0)

Disinfectants Cause Some Bacteria to Adapt, Thrive

December 28, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

To keep sickness at bay, many of us constantly wash hands and disinfect surfaces. But a new lab study shows one pesky bacterium eats cleansers for breakfast: When disinfectant was applied to lab cultures of the bacteria, they adapted to survive not only the disinfectant but also a common antibiotic.

The research team focused on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium responsible for a range of infections in people with weakened immune systems. When the scientists added increasing amounts of disinfectant… »»»READ MORE«««

Related articles by Zemanta

• Disinfectants ‘train’ superbugs (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Disinfectant use could cause superbugs (cbc.ca)

Filed under: BODY, News | Comments (0)

Acupuncture eases eczema itch

December 28, 2009

An acupuncture session may relieve itching in those with an allergic skin condition known as atopic eczema.

Eczema is a general term for conditions marked by inflammation and dry, red, itchy patches on the skin. The most common form, atopic eczema, is seen in people with a predisposition to allergies, like hay fever or asthma. Acupuncture has been used for more than 2,000 years in Chinese medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. According to traditional medicine, specific acupuncture points on the skin are connected to internal pathways that conduct energy, or qi (“chee”), and stimulating these points with a fine needle promotes the healthy flow of qi.

Researchers looked at the short-term effects of acupuncture on skin inflammation and itching… »READ MORE«

Related articles by Zemanta

• Study: Acupuncture relieves eczema – ABC7Chicago.com (abclocal.go.com)
• Acupuncture may ease the itch of eczema – Reuters (reuters.com)

Filed under: BODY, MIND, News, SPIRIT, acupuncture | Comments (0)

It’s time to do that deep breathing and go for a hike … if you want to live to a 100.

December 28, 2009

Emotionally Stable People Live Longer

The secret to a long life is actually pretty simple, according to recent research from the National Institute on Aging.

After tracking more than 2,300 people for more than 50 years, researchers there found that calm and active people lived longer than their counterparts.

These findings came from data collected by the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging – the oldest running study on aging – and were published in the July/August issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The most recent findings looked at the link between personality traits of people and their lifespan. The data showed that certain personality traits were definitively linked to a longer life, including emotional stability, organization, discipline, conscientiousness and resourcefulness.

Filed under: BODY, MIND, News, SPIRIT, qigong and tai chi | Comments (0)

Earliest Evidence Of Modern Humans Using Wild Grains And Tubers For Food

December 28, 2009

The consumption of wild cereals among prehistoric hunters and gatherers appears to be far more ancient than previously thought, according to a University of Calgary archaeologist who has found the oldest example of extensive reliance on cereal and root staples in the diet of early Homo sapiens more than 100,000 years ago…

Filed under: BODY, News | Comments (0)

Read on the web

December 26, 2009

• Medical Doctor Proposes New Brain Function Theory - AUTO-MOBI.info

  Medical Doctor Proposes New Brain Function Theory AUTO-MOBI.info Hundreds of research studies have shown that mantras, prayer and meditation techniques can successfully lower blood pressure, decrease chronic pain, ...

• Five ways to keep the “ah-choos” at bay - Arlington Advocate

  Five ways to keep the “ah-choos” at bay Arlington Advocate Boost your immune system with an acupuncture session. A licensed acupuncturist can tonify or boost your immune system. To find an acupuncturist near you, ...

• Massage Can Help People with Eating Disorders - Massage Magazine

  Massage Can Help People with Eating Disorders Massage Magazine At Sierra Tucson, one of the top treatment facilities, for example, patients may receive massage, chiropractic, reiki, qi gong, acupuncture, shiatsu and ... Up to 15 percent may have eating disorderUPI.com Up to 15 percent may have eating disorderTimes of the Internet all 4 news articles »

Filed under: MIND | Comments (0)

Optimizing Emetic Control in Children Receiving Antineoplastic Therapy: Beyond the Guidelines.

December 26, 2009

Optimizing Emetic Control in Children Receiving Antineoplastic Therapy: Beyond the Guidelines.

Paediatr Drugs. 2010 Feb 1;12(1):51-61

Authors: Dupuis LL, Nathan PC

Existing guidelines for the prevention of antineoplastic chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in children are constrained by the lack of robust evidence. Current guidelines recommend the use of a serotonin 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist plus a corticosteroid to prevent acute CINV. Consequently, antiemetic agents that are recommended for use in adult cancer patients do not appear in the current pediatric guidelines. In addition, there is no information to guide the selection of alternative antiemetic agents for children who either cannot receive the recommended agents or who do not respond adequately to the treatment. Possible barriers to adherence to the pediatric antiemetic selection guidelines that are currently available are discussed, and published pediatric experience with antiemetic agents recommended in the current adult antiemetic selection guidelines (dolasetron, tropisetron, palonosetron, aprepitant) is summarized in this review. The use of novel and emerging antiemetic therapeutic interventions {metopimazine, diphenhydramine (Benadryl(R))-lorazepam (Avitan(R))-dexamethasone (Decadron(R)) [BAD], nabilone, acupuncture, midazolam, olanzapine, mirtazapine, gabapentin, droperidol} in children are explored.

PMID: 20034341 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Filed under: News, acupuncture, health, qigong and tai chi | Comments (0)