Health A-Z

Eating soy may protect against reproductive effects of BPA

Eating soy foods may help protect against reproductive effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in many plastic consumer products and lining the inside of some canned foods, according to a study of women undergoing fertility treatments.

“The results were actually exactly what we were expecting to find,” said lead author Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro of the Harvard School of Public Health-Nutrition in Boston.

BPA is known to mimic estrogen in the body, and therefore it’s believed to disrupt conception and implantation of a fertilized egg in the womb, the researchers write in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Experiments in rodents suggest that soy, which also interacts with estrogen receptors, could offset or mitigate those effects of BPA, they add.

“We wanted to follow-up on the results of two experimental models in rodents where two independent groups had found that some adverse reproductive effects of BPA could be prevented by placing the mice on a soy based diet,” Chavarro told Reuters Health by email. “We wanted to see whether a similar interaction occurred in humans.”

The researchers studied 239 women who underwent in vitro fertilization cycles between 2007 and 2012. The women completed dietary questionnaires and provided urine samples before egg retrieval for each fertility cycle.

The questionnaire included assessment of the women’s intake of 15 soy-based foods, including tofu, soy burgers, miso soup, soy protein and soy bars. Consumption of these items ranged from never or less than once per month to twice daily.

Almost three quarters of the women said they consumed at least some soy foods.

Most women underwent one IVF cycle, 18 percent underwent two cycles and 11 percent underwent three cycles.

As urinary BPA levels increased, the women who did not eat soy foods had lower rates of implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth. But for women who did eat soy, increasing BPA levels were not tied to fertility outcomes.

“We still need to evaluate whether the same is also true for couples trying to get pregnant without medical help or whether risks extend to the health of children,” Chavarro said.

In one of the previous mice studies, BPA was able to switch on and off certain genes and soy prevented BPA from doing so, Chavarro said.

“We cannot be certain whether this is the same mechanism operating in our case or whether other mechanisms yet to be identified could also be at play,” he said.

BPA is safe in the current levels occurring in foods, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“Based on nationally representative surveys we know that more than 90 percent of Americans are exposed at varying levels,” but exposure to BPA can be minimized by switching from consuming canned foods to their fresh or frozen counterparts, replacing hard polycarbonate plastic food containers with glass or metal containers, and not handling thermal receipts such as those used in supermarkets, ATMs and gas stations, Chavarro said.

It is important to confirm these findings, since this is the first time that an interaction between BPA and diet has been reported in humans, he said.

But soy on its own, regardless of whether or not it interacts with diet, appears to be beneficial to women who are trying to become pregnant, he said.

Source: fox news

Health Effects of Poor Dental Hygiene that Extend Beyond Your Mouth

It is very important to take good care of your teeth and gums, but for more reasons than you might think. Because the mouth is the “gateway to the body,” bacteria from the teeth and gums can affect your overall health in more ways than one.

To keep the mouth and teeth healthy, it is recommended to brush and floss every day – at least two times a day. Dentists also recommend avoiding certain cavity-producing foods, such as sugary treats, and avoiding tobacco products. You should also see your dentist or oral health professional regularly (recommended every six months).

But why? Well, obviously, poor dental hygiene can lead to tooth decay or cavities. Despite what you might think, cavities do not only occur in children. Adults can get them too. The teeth are covered in a hard outer coating called enamel. Every day, a thin film of bacteria (dental plaque) builds up on the teeth which produces a bacteria that can eat a hole in this enamel if not removed. Brushing and flossing can help protect your teeth from decay, but once a cavity has formed, a dentist has to fix it.

Gum disease is another consequence of poor dental hygiene. When plaque builds up along and under the gum line, infections can occur that harm the gums and the bone that hold the teeth in place. The most severe form of gum disease is known as periodontal disease. In this case, infection has become so severe that bone deterioration can occur, leading to tooth loss.

Bad dental health can be also particularly bad for your social life as well. Halitosis – bad breath – is caused by small food particles that are wedged between the teeth that collect bacteria and emit chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide. This is the same compound which gives rotten eggs their characteristic smell.
Good dental health, though, is not just important for your teeth, gums, and breath. The bacteria that originate in the mouth can travel throughout the body and cause a host of health problems that you may not be aware of.

1. Heart Disease/Stroke Risk
People with periodontal disease are two times more likely to develop heart disease and arterial narrowing as a result of bacteria and plaque entering the bloodstream through the gums. The bacteria contains a clot-promoting protein that can clog arteries, leading to an increased risk of heart attack. In addition, if high levels of disease-causing bacteria from the mouth clog the carotid artery – the blood vessel that delivers blood to the brain and head – it could increase the risk of having a stroke.

2. Increased Risk of Dementia
Tooth loss due to poor dental health is also a risk factor for memory loss and early stage Alzheimer’s disease. One study, published in Behavioral and Brain Functions, found that infections in the gums release inflammatory substances which in turn increase brain inflammation that can cause neuronal (brain cell) death.

3. Respiratory Problems

Bacteria from periodontal disease can travel through the bloodstream to the lungs where it can aggravate respiratory systems, especially in patients who already have respiratory problems. A study published in the Journal of Periodontology uncovered a link between gum disease and an increased risk of pneumonia and acute bronchitis. “By working with your dentist or periodontist, you may actually be able to prevent or diminish the progression of harmful diseases such as pneumonia or COPD,” says Donald S. Clem, DDS, president of the American Academy of Periodontology. ”

4. Diabetes
95% of US adults with diabetes also have periodontal disease and 1/3 have such advanced disease that has lead to tooth loss. This is likely because people with diabetes are more susceptible to contracting infections.

The link between gum disease and diabetes appears to be a two-way street. In addition to having a higher risk gum disease due to diabetes, periodontal disease may also make it more difficult to control blood sugar, putting the patient at risk for even more diabetic complications.

Source: emaxhealth

Heart attack causes and symptoms are different in women

The causes of heart attacks and the warning symptoms that can signal the need for immediate medical attention are different in women than in men, according to a scientific statement issued today by the American Heart Association.

When women don’t recognize this, they may suffer worse outcomes, a fate that is even more likely in black and Hispanic women, according to the AHA.

The organization published its first comprehensive statement on gender differences in heart attack patients in its journal Circulation.

“Women seem to do worse for several reasons,” said Dr. Laxmi Mehta, the lead author of the recommendations and the director of women’s cardiovascular health at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Importantly, people don’t realize that while both sexes may experience chest pain before or during a heart attack, women may be more likely to have unusual symptoms instead, such as shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, and back or neck pain.

Then, when they do get to a hospital, women may be less likely than men to receive medications that help to prevent clots, decrease the heart’s workload and lower blood pressure or cholesterol.

“There is a lot at stake for women when there is a delay in treatment or lack of adherence to recommended therapies,” Mehta added by email. “Women face higher rates of being readmitted to the hospital, heart failure and death.”

Biology is also part of the problem.

Even though both women and men get heart attacks caused by blockages in the main arteries leading to the heart, the way the clots develop may differ, according to the scientific statement.

Men tend to have a more “classic” type of blockage where plaque ruptures off the artery wall, forms a blood clot and causes a complete halt of blood flow through the artery to the heart, said Dr. Sheila Sahni, chief fellow in cardiovascular disease at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles.

“Women, more often, tend to have a plaque erosion where smaller pieces of plaque break off, become exposed and cause the formation of smaller blood clots which may or may not cause total occlusions all at once, leading to a more subtle presentation,” Sahni, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

In addition, women tend to be about a decade older than men when they suffer heart attacks, potentially making them frailer and more likely to suffer from other health problems such as diabetes that can make their treatment more complicated, Sahni added.

Risk factors also differ by gender, with high blood pressure more strongly associated with heart attacks in women than in men. For young women with diabetes, the risk for heart disease is four to five times higher than it would be for a similar young man.

Race, too, is an issue. Compared to white women, black women have a higher incidence of heart attacks in all age categories and young black women have greater odds of dying before they leave the hospital. Black and Hispanic women are also more likely to have heart-related risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure at the time of their heart attack.

Once a heart attack begins, the best way for women to minimize damage is to get help quickly, said Dr. Leslie Cho, director of the women’s cardiovascular center at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

“Time is muscle,” Cho, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “If women are diagnosed and treated later in the course of the heart attack, they can suffer from irreversible heart damage.”

Source: foxnews

Easy Way to Prevent Arthritis Pain During Winter Season

My arthritis becomes worse during winter. What can I do for it? What is difference between rheumatic and arthritis pain, and treating arthritis pain? Arthritis is a sensation of discomfort joint and sometimes very painful.

Arthritis can be classified as auto immune arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as inflammatory and osteoarthritis or degenerative. Many people are suffer from degenerative arthritis, a condition that stem from tear and wear in the cartilage.

Both type of arthritis are responding to anti inflammatory medication and few anti inflammatory supplement foods can help it. On the diet program, it was highly saturated with fat and high sugar content includes high fructose corn syrup that lead to inflammation. It is important to avoid high fat as well as fried foods, saturated red meat and sugary foods.

In order to decrease inflammation, it is recommended to eat food with high nutrient as well as veggies whole grain, leaf green veggie, high fiber foods, pear, whole wheat spaghetti and raspberry. There are large numbers of supplement that can reduce inflammation. Some research shown that turmeric, hops, ginger, ground flax, and fish oil can reduce joint pain.

Some people added chondroitin and glucosamine supplement to find good result at the clinic. Last, modify lifestyle can relieve joint pain because the body can get more healing times. Give more adequate sleep and pay attention to balance and decompress stress to reduce inflammation and enhance body capacity to heal by bound and leaps.

Source: Secretlyhealthy

How much water should you drink every day to stay healthy and hydrated?

With a heat wave gripping much of the country, many people are guzzling more water than usual to try to stay cool and hydrated. The convention wisdom says we should be downing eight glasses of water a day. But that number isn’t based on any scientific studies, and doctors say it’s not necessarily the best advice.Drinking enough water is important to carry nutrients to your cells, flush bacteria from your system and prevent dehydration, especially during hot summer months when we lose more fluids through sweat. People who are getting a lot of exercise, or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, may need more.

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And while plain water is a healthy choice that won’t add extra sugar and calories to your diet, other fluids can be part of the mix. “It’s really about fluids in general. Doesn’t necessarily have to be water,” Dr. Sharmeela Saha, director of the dialysis center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, told CBS News.

What you eat can make a difference too. Certain foods, including summer favorites like watermelon and other fruits, can count towards your daily water intake. “Lettuce, spinach, fruits in general, soups … those are all things that going to have a lot of water in them as well,” Saha said.

Experts say don’t ignore your thirst — it’s a sign your body needs more water. According to WebMD, other signs of dehydration may include weakness, dizziness, heart palpitations, sluggishness, fainting, or heart palpitations. Urine color may also indicate dehydration; if urine is dark yellow or amber colored, you’re probably not drinking enough fluids.

In addition to keeping you well hydrated, some research has shown drinking water right before a meal may benefit your diet, taking the edge off hunger to help you lose weight.

Source: cbsnews

Keeping heart healthy with tree nuts

Stanford University researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials to investigate the effects of tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) on blood lipids, lipoproteins, blood pressure and inflammation in adults 18 years and older without prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Tree nut consumption was shown to lower total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and its primary apolipoprotein, ApoB.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that nut intake lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Our findings, showing that nut intake lowers LDL cholesterol, ApoB and triglycerides in clinical trials, provide mechanistic evidence to support this relationship, said lead author Liana Del Gobbo.

Nuts contain important nutrients such as unsaturated fats, high quality protein, vitamins (i.e., vitamin E, folate and niacin), minerals (i.e., magnesium, calcium and potassium) and phytochemicals–all of which may offer cardioprotective properties, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to announce a qualified health claim for nuts and heart disease in 2003. The claim states, “Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

This new analysis provides further support that nuts can and should be part of a heart-healthy diet, states Maureen Ternus, Executive Director of the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation (INC NREF), adding that just 1.5 ounces of nuts per day (about 1/3 cup) can provide many of the important vitamins, minerals and energy we need throughout the day.

Source: Zee news

Too much sleeping and sitting as bad as smoking and drinking

The actress Mae West once said, “Too much of a good thing is wonderful!” Unfortunately, in reality, most of the decadent indulgences we pursue — including alcohol and rich foods — are not at all good for us, especially when taken in large quantities.

Now, a new study suggests that indulging in too much sleep and inactivity are also unhealthy. Researchers found that people who spend most of the day sitting and sleeping too much may be as likely to die early as people who smoke or drink too much.

The Sax Institute’s “45 and Up” study included more than 230,000 people in Australia ages 45 and older. For each participant, the researchers counted how many unhealthy behaviors he or she engaged in, including smoking, drinking alcohol, eating unhealthy foods, being physical inactive, exhibiting sedentary behaviors and sleeping too much (which the researchers defined as more than 9 hours per night)

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About 30 percent of the participants reported engaging in two or three of the behaviors. After six years, nearly 16,000 people in the study had died.

The researchers found that people who were not physically active were 1.6 times more likely to die than those who were physically active (defined by the study as “undertaking more than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every week.”)

But the study also showed that the combination of physical inactivity with sedentary behavior, or physical inactivity with too much sleep, were as strongly linked to mortality among the participants as the combination of smoking with heavy drinking.

“Physical inactivity alone had a strong association with mortality,” Melody Ding, lead author on the study and senior research fellow at the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, told Live Science in an email.

And when people combined physical inactivity with long sleep times and extended periods of sitting, the negative effects were even more dramatic, with the combined risk for death increasing by up to four times as much as in those who were sedentary and slept too much, but at least got some exercise, Ding explained.

The researchers noted they did not incorporate other long-term lifestyle practices or conditions that might have played a part in increasing some participants’ mortality risks. And the participants’ interpretations of their own behaviors and its health impacts could have been faulty, skewing the study’s results.

While the study’s conclusion that healthier behaviors could reduce mortality risk seems like an obvious one, linking risky behaviors together could present new strategies for prolonging life.

“Physical activity is the one factor to address first,” Ding said. If certain combinations of risk behaviors pose more of a threat than risk behaviors on their own, eliminating even one of them is a good choice for overall health.

 

Source: Foxnews

Yoga and meditation in early life cut health care cost

Strengthening your resilience with mindful meditation or yoga can help keep the doctors away, thereby reducing your health care cost, says a new study.

Resilience can be enhanced with practice, starting with the relaxation response — a physiologic state of deep rest induced by practices such as rhythmic breathing, mindfulness meditation, yoga, tai chi or prayer, the study said.

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The researchers found that people who graduated from a resiliency-boosting programme used considerably less health care services in the year following the course compared with the year before.

“We have shown in the past that it works in the laboratory and on the level of individual physiology, and now we can see that when you make people well, they do not want to use health care so much,” said study leader James Stahl from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre in New Hampshire, US.

For the study, the researchers tested the efficacy of eight-week course developed by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

To measure the effect of this programme called Relaxation Response Resiliency Programme (3RP) on health care utilisation, the study compared health care used by more than 4,400 3RP graduates to that of 13,150 patients who did not take the 3RP course.

In the year after training, use of health care services by the resiliency programme graduates dropped by 43 percent.

The researchers noted that it is possible to build resilience without any formal training.

Resilience comes in part from making meaningful connections with other people, such as through volunteer work, care-taking for aging relatives, and other service work.

In addition, positive psychology research shows that having an optimistic outlook and a sense of connectedness, meaning, and purpose in your life contributes to resilience.

This includes learning how to identify and challenge day-to-day negative attitudes that can undermine health.

“Just like fluorinating your water or vaccinating yourself, these are ways of keeping you healthy with, from a public health perspective, minimal investment,” Stahl said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS One.

Source Zee News

Moderate coffee drinking may be tied to lower risk of death

People who drink coffee daily, even up to four cups per day, are less likely to die from heart disease, neurological disease, type 2 diabetes or suicide than others, according to a new study.

Researchers did not test how upping coffee consumption would change health outlooks, so they cannot conclude that coffee “causes” a decreased risk of death. Rather, they looked at death trends in groups with varying amounts of coffee consumption.

“The main takeaway is that regular consumption of coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet,” said senior author Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

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“There is no evidence of harm of regular consumption in terms of chronic disease risk or mortality, and consistent evidence that consumption of coffee reduces the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” Hu told Reuters Health by phone.

“People who are already drinking it should continue to enjoy it, but for people who don’t drink it or don’t like it, there’s no particular reason to start for the sole reason of health,” he said.

Hu and his coauthors studied the association of coffee intake – caffeinated, decaffeinated, or both – and risk of death based on self-reported coffee habits of more than 160,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study 2 and 40,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Every four years, participants in these studies filled out questionnaires on lifestyle factors, including how often they usually consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, ranging from never to six or more times per day.

The researchers had data on the participants from the mid-1980’s or early 1990’s through 2012. During that time, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died.

Those who reported drinking one to five cups of any type of coffee per day were less likely to have died during follow-up than those who did not drink coffee, the authors reported in Circulation.

Death from heart disease, neurological disease and suicide was less common among moderate coffee drinkers than among others, but there was no relationship with deaths from cancer, the researchers found.

“The benefit in terms of mortality is very small,” and leveled out at four to five cups per day, Hu said.

For diabetes and cardiovascular disease, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee seem to have similar effects, so the benefits may be due to compounds in the coffee other than caffeine, he said.

“Coffee of course is a complex beverage, it’s really difficult or impossible to pinpoint the ingredients that are responsible,” Hu said.

But for neurodegenerative disease, depression and suicide, most likely the benefits are due to caffeine, he said.

 

Source: Foxnews

mHealth market expected to reach $58.8 billion globally by 2020

With growing per capita healthcare expenditure both in developed and advanced developing countries, the mobile healthcare market is projected to reach $58.8 billion by 2020, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 32.3 per cent from 2013 to 2020, according to a report by Allied Market Research.

The report, titled ‘mHealth Market (Devices, Applications, Services and Therapeutics) — Global Mobile Healthcare Industry Size, Analysis, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012–2020’, observed that the global mHealth market was valued at $6.7 billion in 2012 and is estimated to reach $8.3 billion by the end of 2013.

“Per capita expenditure on healthcare in developed economies is increasing at a faster rate than inflation and income levels, chiefly due to ageing population and chronic diseases which are lifestyle driven,” note Allied Market Research analysts James Franco and Yojana Jeevane. “However, there has not been corresponding improvement in the quality of healthcare services delivered, especially in developing regions. Additionally, developing economies are even struggling to provide healthcare access at every level to their people.”

On contrary, ubiquitous access of smart mobile devices globally has enabled diagnostic and monitoring devices to render seamless healthcare services. Thus, this market is expected to grow at a significant pace in the next seven years. This projection is backed by the fact such as due to technological advancement integration of wireless technology with the portable healthcare devices is feasible, increasing incidences of lifestyle diseases, cost and convenience factors, government initiatives, affordability of smartphones.

However, weak reimbursement policies, lower adoption due to lack of accuracy and technology infancy and uncertainty in the government regulations is expected to hinder the growth rate. Moreover, untapped markets in developing economies provide a lot of growth opportunities for this market due to increase in adoption of mHealth services to control the spread of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases. Such challenges can be very well taken by adoption of mHealth devices and services as they work irrespective of location and skilled professionals. The only mandatory requirement is the mobile access and a smartphone.

This report segments the global mHealth Market on the basis of devices, services, stakeholders, and therapeutic areas. The global mHealth devices market is forecast to reach market value of over $1.5 billion in 2013 from $0.8 billion in 2011. The contributory factors for this growth is high revenue generated from blood glucose meters, cardiac monitors and BP monitors in descending order. The services market is projected to grow over $6 billion by 2013 from 2011 market values of $4 billion mainly due to increase in revenues generated from monitoring and diagnostic services. In stakeholders market study mobile operators as well as device vendors will account for more than 75 per cent of the overall market share by 2020.

The geography market assessment signifies that Europe along with North America will account for about 55 per cent of the overall market revenue in 2013 and may reduce with growing demand in Asia Pacific region. The study also offers an updated review on the present major market player such as manufacturers of mobile medical devices, and mobile network providers; which also includes description of relevant recent developments activities. Companies profiled in the report includes Philips Healthcare, Omron HealthCare, Bayer Healthcare, LifeWatch, Cardionet, Masimo Corporation, Sanofie, Boston Scientific, AT&T, and Johnson & Johnson.