Women’s Health

Large amounts of folic acid could lead to development of breast cancer

A scientist shown for the first time that folic acid supplements in doses 2.5 to five times the daily requirement “significantly promotes” the growth of existing pre-cancerous or cancerous cells in the mammary glands of rats.

Dr. Young-In Kim said that this is a critically important issue because breast cancer patients and survivors in North America are exposed to high levels of folic acid through folic acid fortification in food and widespread use of vitamin supplements after a cancer diagnosis.

The amount of folic acid consumed in North America has increased dramatically in the past 15 years. Women are routinely advised to take folic acid supplements before becoming pregnant and while pregnant to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida.

His research was published in the online journal PLOS ONE.

Source: healcon

Thyroid Supplements With a Kick

thyroid

Feeling sluggish? Having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Gaining weight?

Many people with vague symptoms like these turn to dietary supplements that promise to jump-start metabolism by bolstering their thyroids with a mix of vitamins and minerals. Bladderwrack seaweed, iodine and an herb called ashwagondha are among the common ingredients.

But these over-the-counter products may also contain something that’s not so natural: thyroid hormones that should only be dispensed by prescription.

Researchers who tested 10 popular thyroid-boosting products sold online found that nine contained the hormones thyroxine (T4) or triiodothyronine (T3), sometimes both. The amounts varied, but in some cases the recommended daily dose contained amounts of thyroid hormone as high or higher than delivered by prescription medications, according to the report, published in November in Thyroid, a scientific journal.

At the recommended daily dose of four capsules, one supplement delivered 91 micrograms of T4 and 16.5 micrograms of T3, the researchers found. In clinical practice, the starting dose of T4 for patients with low thyroid function is just 25 micrograms a day; some older patients are given half that amount. A dose of 75 micrograms a day is sufficient to restore function in many petite women.

“This supplement could give you as much thyroid hormone as you get in a prescription drug or more,” said Dr. Victor Bernet, chairman of endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and senior author of the study. He became interested in so-called thyroid-support supplements after seeing a patient with inexplicable test results. The patient eventually admitted that he had been taking a supplement that a friend recommended for “low energy.”

Thyroid disease is common — and more common in women, affecting one in 10 over age 50. Patients may suffer fatigue, lethargy and weight gain, but not everyone with those symptoms has the illness. Patients taking thyroid hormone should be checked regularly by a physician, Dr. Bernet said.

“Thyroid hormone has a narrow therapeutic window,” he said, and “it’s easy to go over or under” the optimal dosages.

Taking too much can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate hormone levels, and actually may trigger thyroid disease in a healthy person, Dr. Bernet said. Excessive doses of thyroid hormone also can cause anxiety, insomnia and emotional changes, as well as bone loss and serious heart problems.

Officials with trade groups that represent supplement manufacturers said they were troubled by the study’s findings and would welcome regulatory enforcement against what one called the “few bad actors” producing adulterated products.

“No dietary supplements should contain prescription drugs, period,” said John Shaw, chief executive officer of the Natural Products Association. “They are illegal and should be removed from the market,” he said, adding, “We don’t want dangerous products out there.”

Both Mr. Shaw and Duffy MacKay, of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, another supplement trade association, suggested the tested products did not represent all of them, even though nine of 10 contained detectable levels of medication.

Mr. MacKay, a naturopathic doctor, said most consumers do not use “obscure” products like thyroid-support supplements. “This is a real fringe category, the outsiders of the outsiders of the outsiders,” he said.

While the Food and Drug Administration can take action against unsafe supplements once they are on the market, the regulations governing supplements differ substantially from those for conventional medications, which go through extensive testing before approval. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, supplement manufacturers are required to ensure that products are safe before putting them on the market.

An F.D.A. spokeswoman said the agency has stepped up enforcement in recent years, in one case issuing warning letters about widespread violations of good manufacturing practices at an Atrium Inc. plant in Wautoma, Wis., that makes red yeast rice and other supplements. She declined to say whether the agency would be investigating thyroid-support products.

Doctors are also concerned about iodine, an ingredient in about half the thyroid-boosting supplements. In order for the body to make thyroid hormone, it needs iodine, but excessive amounts of the element may be harmful, Dr. Bernet noted.

The recent study did not analyze the iodine content in thyroid-support supplements, but labels on five of the products listed it as an ingredient, with amounts of 100 to 240 micrograms in the recommended daily dose. The recommended daily allowance for adults is 150 micrograms (slightly more for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding). A teaspoon of iodized salt contains 400 micrograms.

For iodine, as for thyroid hormone, Dr. Bernet said, there is a “sweet spot” in the diet; too much or too little may be harmful.

He and his co-authors did not make it easy for consumers who want to avoid supplements contaminated with thyroid hormone: The published paper did not identify the tested products.

Dr. Bernet’s advice was to avoid all of these supplements. “You can’t trust any of these things. You don’t know what’s in them.”

Source: the New York Times

 

Natural Ways To Reduce Stress During Pregnancy

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that if a pregnant woman is exposed to stress, her placenta can alter the proteins and enzymes that help develop the brain of the baby. A research group from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine found that mice babies, especially males, had a heightened level of stress and that it could be linked to neurodevelopmental disorders.

This research is both daunting, yet informative. A pregnant woman may put a lot of stress on herself to eat right, sleep enough, exercise daily—all while keeping up with doctor visits and the changes in your body, emotions, and life. Since it’s very difficult to take a vacation for 9 months, here are some natural ways that I recommend to reduce stress

Massage
When my aunt was pregnant in Belgium, she was assigned a massage therapist for weeks before and after the birth after my cousin. I wish we had that here! Massage is a great way to de-stress and address all of those pregnancy aches and pains. You can also still your mind and meditate while the endorphins rush. Make sure to find a practitioner skilled in prenatal massage because there are certain areas and pressure points that should be avoided during pregnancy. And, hopefully the massage therapist can teach your partner some techniques to try at home

Yoga and Meditation
A 2009 study from a Minnesota nursing school supports the practice of yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction for pregnant women. The study participants reported a reduction in stress and anxiety, especially if yoga and meditation were started early on in the pregnancy. Try signing up for a local prenatal yoga class. And, find the type of meditation that works for you – chant during yoga, listen to a Deepak Chopra on tape, or just close your eyes at the park.

Talk It Out
Whether with a therapist or your best friend, talking about your stress and needs can be very helpful. Whatever you call it (I call it “venting”), giving your inner tension an outlet is much healthier than holding it inside. Allow your fears (and joys) to be shared with others—you don’t need to be the one holding all of the burden. What do you need from your partner now? How can your mother be more helpful? Opening the lines of communication will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed—and see how much support others can offer you.

My research also found that holistic modalities like acupuncture (as well as massage, yoga, and mediation) all reduce the rate of medical interventions and complications associated with childbirth, especially when practiced during pregnancy. These are also great strategies to reduce your stress if you’re are trying to get pregnant. So, what are you waiting for? Book that massage today!

Source: Fit bump

ATTENTION WOMEN ;side effects of lipsticks

men:
Do not forget to pass this message to their wives, girlfriends, friends or colleagues.
Women: Lip Care for using!

Dr. Elizabeth Ayoub, biomolecular and medical is issued an alert for lipsticks containing lead, which is a carcinogen.
Recently the brand ‘Red Earth’ decreased prices of R $ 67.00 to R $ 9.90!
Why? Because it contained lead.
The brands that contain lead are:

RED EARTH (Lip Gloss)
CHANEL (Lip Conditioner)
MARK AMERICA MOTIVES LIPSTICK
AVON

The higher the lead content, the greater the risk of causing cancer. After doing a test on lipsticks, lip was observed in the highest level of lead AVON. Care for those lipsticks which are supposed to have greater fixation. If your lipstick is fixed but is due to high levels of lead.
Take this test:
1. Put some lipstick on your hand;
2. With a gold ring on this lipstick pass it;
3. If the lipstick color changes to black, then you know that contains lead.

Source: daily inspirations for healthy living

 

Smoking during pregnancy could make your baby gay

Smoking and drinking during pregnancy could make your baby gay and stupid, if the claims of a neuroscientist are to be believed.

A controversial study has found that a pregnant woman’s lifestyle could influence their child’s IQ or sexuality.

Dr Dick Swaab – professor of neurobiology at Amsterdam University – claims that drinking, taking drugs or living in a area with high pollution levels have an impact on the development of foetuses and could affect children later in life.

Taking synthetic hormones and smoking while pregnant can increase the chances of girls becoming lesbian or bisexual, while drinking and drug-taking could lower a child’s IQ, Dr Swaab suggests.

And the more older brothers a boy has, the more it is thought to increase his chance of being gay, it is reported. The study claims this could be because the mother’s immune system develops stronger responses to male hormones with each son that is born.

Dr Swaab also believes living in an area of high pollution is linked with an increased risk of autism.

He told the Sunday Times: ‘Pre-birth exposure to both nicotine and amphetamines increases the chance of lesbian daughters.

‘Pregnant women suffering from stress are also more likely to have homosexual children of both genders because their raised level of the stress hormone cortisol affects the production of foetal sex hormones.’

He added: ‘In women who drink a lot, cells that were meant to migrate across the foetal brain can end up leaving the brain altogether.’

However, Dr Swaab recognised lifestyle factors were a small influence and added that genetics play the most important role in child development.

Source: Metro News

Birth control through surgery

Birth control through surgery

Laparoscopic tubal ligation is an elective surgery performed on women who want to prevent pregnancy.

The surgeon begins by making a tiny incision near the bellybutton, and another just above the pubic bone.

Carbon dioxide is administered through a tube in the upper incision. This inflates the abdominal cavity, allowing the surgeon to clearly see and work around your internal organs.

Next, a lighted instrument called a laparoscope is placed through one of the incisions.

The laparoscope projects images of the inside of the abdomen, onto a monitor.

The fallopian tubes are grasped with surgical instruments to close them off, using the cutting, tying, blocking, or sealing technique.

After the carbon dioxide is released from the abdomen, the incisions are closed with dissolving stitches.

For most women, recovery usually takes less than a week.

Source: Fox news

Utah Mom to Give Birth to Daughter’s Daughter

A 58-year-old Utah woman is set to give birth in a few weeks — to her first grandchild.

Julia Navarro is serving as a gestational surrogate for her daughter and son-in-law after the couple struggled with fertility problems.

Navarro’s daughter Lorena McKinnon said she began trying to have a baby with her husband, Micah McKinnon, three years ago.

The 32-year-old Provo woman said she’s had about a dozen miscarriages, with the longest pregnancy lasting 10 weeks.

After several tries, the couple began looking for a surrogate. McKinnon said a friend and sister both considered carrying her baby, but ultimately decided against it.

That’s when her mother offered to step in.

Navarro had to undergo hormone shots for three months before an embryo fertilized by her daughter and son-in-law could be implanted. Because of her age, doctors had warned there was only a 45 percent chance the implantation would be successful.

But the procedure was a success, and Navarro said she’s had a smooth pregnancy carrying a developing baby girl.

As with other surrogacy arrangements, the couple and Navarro needed three months of counseling.

“The psychologists wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting into — that we were mentally prepared,” McKinnon said. “Mostly, surrogacy contracts are with people you don’t know. It was weird to have a contract with my mom.”

It’s unclear how rare it is for a woman to carry her own grandchild, but recent news reports have detailed similar relationships.

Last year, a 53-year-old Iowa woman gave birth to her twin granddaughters. And in 2012, a 49-year-old woman in Maine gave birth to her grandson.

McKinnon said she was grateful and overwhelmed by her mother’s offer, which eases some of the obstacles and financial burdens for parents using a gestational surrogate.

According to Utah law, surrogates must be 21 or older, financially stable and must have already given birth once.

Couples must be married and are allowed to offer a reasonable payment to a surrogate.

On average, a couple can spend about $60,000 on procedures and paying the surrogate, but McKinnon said her mother’s offer to help is saving the couple about half of that.

Both she and her daughter said they’ve bonded over the experience.

The baby girl is due in early February.

Source: abc news

Diet and exercise: cancer benefits in huge study of women’s health

In a large study of women’s health, postmenopausal women who followed a healthy lifestyle were at a third lower risk of death, including a 20% smaller chance of dying from cancer, than women who did not follow guidance on diet, weight, physical activity, and alcohol intake.

“While it is well recognized that tobacco cessation is the lead behavioral change to reduce cancer risk,” the authors write, they analyzed the effect of other cancer prevention recommendations.

The researchers used data gathered by the observational study in the women’s health initiative of the US National Institutes of Health, which was launched in 1992 with a $140 million, 15-year contract: “the largest coordinated study of women’s health ever undertaken.”

Cynthia Thomson PhD and her colleagues analyzed data from 65,838 postmenopausal women age between 50 and 79 years.

The participants were enrolled in the women’s health initiative between 1993 and 1998 at 40 clinical centers across the country, and the team’s analysis represents the “largest study of postmenopausal women in the US.”

Those women who adhered most to lifestyle recommendations had a 22% lower risk for breast cancer and a 52% lower risk for colorectal cancer, compared with women who did not closely follow guidance.

The recommendations being followed were the American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines on nutrition and physical activity, which have four central planks:

“Achieve and maintain a healthy weight throughout life”
“Be physically active”
“Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant foods”
“If you drink alcohol, limit your intake.”
Dr. Thomson, professor of public health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in Tucson, says:

“The message is simple and clear: If you want to reduce your risk for cancer, even later in life, eat a healthy diet, be active daily, avoid or limit alcohol, and don’t smoke.”

“Our results support the ACS guidelines for cancer prevention,” Thomson adds, but she calls for more support for other factors that can reduce the risks further, “because diet and activity alone do not account for the majority of risk.”

The researchers scored women’s adherence to the lifestyle advice on cancer prevention.

Zeroes were given for “behaviors least consistent with the recommendations” and scores of one or two were given for healthy lifestyle actions, adding these up to a maximum level of compliance represented by a total score of eight.

Most of the women in the study had final scores between three and six. Fewer than 1% of the women scored eight after following all of the recommended lifestyle choices.

Analysis of almost 9,000 cancers
Data on the women were collected over an average of 8.3 years, a period that witnessed the diagnosis of 8,632 cancers and 2,356 cancer-related deaths.

The women whose lifestyles were rated the healthiest (a score of seven or eight) showed a lower risk of overall cancer compared with those given low scores (from zero to two).

This included a reduction by a fifth in their risk for breast cancer, and by half for colorectal cancer.

The healthier lifestyles were also associated with a lower risk of death from other causes not related to cancer.

The authors note that guidelines for healthy lifestyle in the prevention of cancer have been based on evidence from few such prospectively identified associations.

The researchers’ conclusions are drawn from the women’s health initiative, which was a study designed at the outset to track future health changes over time.

Such prospective studies result in comparisons that are controlled and more reliable than can be drawn retrospectively, by looking back on data that was not collected for the purpose.

Lifestyle effect was greater in some groups of women
The analysis found an even lower incidence of cancers and lower overall death rate among women from certain ethnic groups as a result of the lifestyle measures, and the paper calls for more research into this difference.

Dr. Thomson says:

“We found that the association was stronger for Asian, African-American, and Hispanic women, compared with non-Hispanic white women.

It is possible that different ethnic groups may have differential disease course with varied response to environmental and/or behavioral exposures.”

Source: medical news today

Early `water breaking` linked to premature births

A high presence of bacteria at the site where fetal membranes rupture may be the key to understanding why some pregnant women experience their “water breaking” prematurely, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

bacterial presence is associated with thinning of the fetal membranes. More research is needed to understand whether bacterial presence is a cause or consequence of fetal membrane weakening.

“Complications of preterm births can have long-term health effects for both mothers and children,” said study author Amy P. Murtha, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine. “Our research focuses on why the fetal membranes, or water sac, break early in some women, with the overall goal of better understanding the mechanisms of preterm membrane rupture.”

Composed of two fetal cell layers, the amnion and chorion, fetal membranes play an important role in maintaining pregnancy through gestation. Nearly one-third of all early deliveries are associated with the water breaking in what’s known as preterm premature rupture of membranes, or PPROM.

Previous research from Murtha and her colleagues demonstrated that the chorion has more cell death when infection is present, and that this cell layer may be thinner in women who experience PPROM. Among PPROM patients with infection in the fetal membranes (chorioamnionitis), the cell death within the chorion layer was highest, suggesting that infection may play a role in causing PPROM.

In the current study, the researchers prospectively examined chorion membrane samples to identify a pattern of bacterial presence and association with chorion thinning. They collected membrane samples from a total of 48 women—including PPROM, preterm and term patients—after they gave birth. The researchers measured chorion thinning and bacterial presence in membrane samples collected from both near and far from the rupture site.

In all women, the chorion membrane was thinner at the rupture site than at the distant site. However, chorion thinning was greatest among PPROM patients and was not isolated to the rupture site, as the researchers observed a global chorion thinning even distant from where the membrane ruptured.

The researchers then looked to see if bacteria were present in the membranes and whether bacteria levels correlated with the thinning of the cell layers in the membranes. Interestingly, bacteria were present in all fetal membranes, refuting the traditional understanding that fetal membranes are sterile environments. The amount of bacteria present at the rupture site was higher, which the researchers were not surprised to find.

Among PPROM subjects, bacteria counts were highest compared to all other groups at both the rupture site and distant from the rupture site. Among all subjects, bacterial counts were inversely correlated with chorion thinning: the more bacteria present, the thinner the chorion.

It is unknown if this is a causal relationship, but the link between high bacterial presence at the membrane rupture site provides insight into possible mechanisms behind PPROM.

“We still know little about changes occurring within the fetal membrane in the presence of bacteria, but our data suggest the chorion and its thinning may be the battleground for these changes,” Murtha said.

The researchers are now working to identify the bacteria to determine if specific bacteria are found in PPROM patients. By identifying specific bacteria, the researchers can learn more about the role of bacterial presence, which could eventually lead to preventive treatments.

“For instance, if we think that certain bacteria are associated with premature rupturing of the membranes, we can screen for this bacteria early in pregnancy. We then might be able to treat affected women with antibiotics and reduce their risk for PPROM,” Murtha said. “Our research is several steps away from this, but it gives us opportunities to explore potential targeted therapeutic interventions, which we lack in obstetrics.”

Source: Medical Express

Why pull-ups are harder for women

News that many female marines in boot camp cannot complete three pull-ups might have you wondering: Why do women find the exercise so difficult?

This week, the Associated Press confirmed that the Marine Corps will delay the implementation of a new standard that would have required women to do at least three pull-ups on their yearly fitness test (the same as the requirement for men). The requirement for women was supposed to go into effect this year, but it was delayed after tests showed that 55 percent of female recruits at a South Carolina site could not complete the task.

Women find pull-ups more difficult than men do because they have less muscle mass in their upper extremities, said Tim Hewett, director of research in the department of sports medicine at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies show that women have about 40 percent less upper-body mass than men do, Hewett said.

This means that, in general, a woman’s natural upper body is only about 50 to 60 percent as strong as a man’s, Hewett said.

On the other hand, women’s lower-body strength is closer to men’s. Studies show that a woman’s lower extremities are about 80 to 90 percent as strong as a man’s, when you take into account body size, Hewett said. Women also have more endurance than men, he said.

“Women do have their [physical] advantages; it’s just the one glaring difference in performance is muscle-strength measures, especially in the upper extremities,” Hewett said.

Of course, each individual is different, and there are certainly women who can do many pull-ups.

One female Marine said that last year, she could hardly complete a single pull-up, but now, she can do eight, and is working toward her goal of 12, according to Gawker.

And last year, three female Marines became the first to complete the Corps’ infantry training, which is considered one of the toughest training courses in the U.S. military.

Source: Big News Network