Thursday, December 30, 2010

Keeping New Year's Resolutions

Now that the New Year is almost here, it’s time to think about those resolutions.

You probably didn’t keep all of them from last year, but now its time for new ones, especially ones dealing with your health.

First off, make a resolution to schedule a check up with your doctor, get all the necessary screening tests that are appropriate for your age, and the vaccinations that can keep you healthy. Remember, don’t just go to the doctor when you’re sick. Treat your body like your car and schedule a check up now.

Next, make a resolution to find out what foods can keep you healthy and make sure you have those around the house. Get rid of the ones that aren’t good for you. That bag of chips in the pantry can be too tempting to ignore.

And always remember to give yourself the gift of time - everyday. Just 15 minutes a day to relax and you’ll find yourself more refreshed all year long.

But also remember to stay fit. Set aside 30 minutes at least 3-4 times a week for some type of exercise. It doesn't matter as much what you do, just that you do something consistently.

But the hardest part will come around late February or March as our resolutions start to gather dust. Here’s when you’ll need to recommit to staying physically active and healthy. That’s something a good strong New Year’s resolution plan will help with.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tips To Avoid Hangovers

It’s almost New Year's Eve. That means plenty of celebrating which can mean a hangover. So, here are some tips to help avoid that.

I think just about everyone has a trick or two to try and avoid a hangover, but most of them don’t work that well.

So, if you wake up New Year's Day with a pounding headache, upset stomach, and swearing you’ll never drink again, here’s why. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes you urinate, drying you out. Plus, the impurities in the alcohol can add to that all too familiar “day after” feeling. But here are some things that can help out.

If you don’t drink, or don’t drink too much, you’re not going to have a hangover. But if you do, you still need to keep yourself hydrated. For every glass of alcohol, switch over and drink a glass of water. Also, you want to eat a large meal before you hit the parties. That will slow down how fast your stomach absorbs the alcohol.

But if you don’t listen to any of this advice and you wake up the next day feeling like you got hit by a Mack truck, remember, Dr. John’s telling you you’re dehydrated. Drink some water or a sports drink. Also, try to force yourself to eat a good meal especially one with fruits and vegetables. That will replace the nutrients you lost during the night. And if you can do it, take a couple of ibuprofen to help out with the headache. Then just get plenty of rest. Remember this is a very temporary condition. It will pass.

Parents New Year's Eve Warning

This Friday is New Year's Eve, but with all the celebrations comes a word of caution, especially if you have a baby in the house.

Unfortunately the day after, New Year's Day, is the biggest day for infant SIDS deaths of the year and it might be something parents are doing on this particular day that causes this.

A new study just released found that on New Year's Day, SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, peaks by almost almost a third as many cases compared to every other winter day. And although these researchers can't pinpoint the exact cause, they believe the parents' alcohol consumption New Year's Eve may have something to do with it.

SIDS specialists believe that one factor in the rise in cases on this day is parents that have over celebrated might not be sober enough to notice signs of distress in their baby. As they put it, if a parent is too intoxicated to wake themselves will they wake up if their baby is having problems during the night.

The researchers involved in this particular study, just published in the journal Addiction, say that although they can't directly pinpoint alcohol as the cause of this increase in deaths, that there does seem to be something parents are doing, or possibly something they are not doing, on New Year's Day that causes this rise in SIDS deaths. If your a parent of a young child, they recommend you not drink to the point were you can't respond to their needs overnight, especially on this upcoming New Year's Eve.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Avoiding Holiday Heartburn

It's holiday part time. But it doesn't have to mean living with heartburn. There are some simple steps that will help avoid it.

Heartburn also goes by the names acid reflux or gerd. Those that have it usually know what triggers their symptoms. And this time of year, both because we eat more food than normal and because we tend to eat things we try to stay away from most of the time, heartburn can be a real problem.

To help out, first off.. and I'm as guilty of violating this rule as anyone... don't overeat. Large amounts of food stretch the stomach and that can mean acid leaking its way up.

Also, avoid overdoing the fatty, greasy foods; they'll only make things worse.

And remember to try and stay caffeine free. While you are at it, skip the red wine. Caffeine or red wine can cause a problem with reflux.

But the best tip is to try to eat as early as possible. That gives your body time to let gravity do its thing and keep food and acid in your stomach. Going to bed soon after eating might just make things worse.

If your symptoms have already started to get bad, taking an over-the-counter reflux medication before the next day's big meal can actually go a long way to keeping it enjoyable.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Holiday Heart Health

This is the holiday season, but it's also the high time for heart attacks.

Doesn’t sound too much in line with the holiday spirit, but this is the time of the year when heart attacks peak. It is a time of fun and family get togethers, but it's also a time of high stress for many of us. That stress is one reason why deaths from heart problems peak this time of the year, with the biggest days for this being Christmas and New Years.

Besides the obvious one of stress, there are a number of other reasons this could be happening. One is that people with symptoms of heart trouble before the holidays tend to put off going to their doctor until after the holidays. They don't want to spoil everyone's special time. But if you’re having heart issues, it’s the one thing you need to do.

Also, during the holiday, many of us tend to take a break from diet and exercise routines. It’s easy to find an excuse not to work out, and with food everywhere it’s hard to stick to healthy eating. And excessive food and alcohol consumption can lead to something called “holiday heart syndrome.”

But by taking care of yourself during this holiday season, especially if you are having any heart symptoms, you can make sure this holiday remains fun and festive for everyone.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Treating Lazy Eye

When it comes to treating a child's lazy eye, you might think about eye patches and eye drops. Now it looks like acupuncture could also do the trick.

Up to 3% of children have what's commonly referred to as a "lazy eye"---one eye that sees differently than the other. If left untreated it can lead to permanent loss of vision. Traditional treatment has been the eye patch, worn for a few hours every day, along with vision strengthening exercises. But not all kids like wearing the patch, so it can turn into one of those family battles you'd rather not wage.

Well, now researchers in China have found that acupuncture can be just as effective. Children receiving 5 treatments a week had the same success as those wearing their eye patch for two hours a day. Although they can't fully explain why acupuncture works, it has been shown to increase blood flow to the eye which might be how it helps fix a lazy eye. But even they are calling for more studies to fully figure this out. But for a parent, acupuncture might be one key to making sure your child's vision is the best it can be.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Nice Guys & Marriage

When it comes to being a nice guy your marriage should get a little more of the credit for getting you that way.

The saying used to be that nice guys finished last, but now it should be that nice guys tend to be married guys.

At least that's the findings of this latest study. Researchers set out to solve the age old dilemma---do nice guys tend to get married more often then their counterparts or is it the marriage that “trains” the guy to be nicer than he would normally be. They found it's actually a little bit of both. Not only are nice guys more likely to be married in the first place but marriage also helps improve a guys behavior, something any wife is likely to confirm.

And the interesting thing is that part of this study was done on identical twins that were raised in the same family so the guys were essentially the same in the way they were made up DNA wise and the way they were brought up. But if one got married and the other didn't the married one ended up having less antisocial behaviors than his brother. A definite vote for the wife improving a spouses niceness. And since other studies have shown married couples live longer and have less depression it seems that marriage is a win-win for both.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Imagine Eating More

Want to eat less this holiday season? It may be that you just need to imagine more.

Some are calling this the “imagination diet,” but it's not what you think. Instead of trying to imagine yourself cutting back on bad food, with this method, you actually imagine yourself gorging out on your favorite items and that helps you not do it.

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University found out that when participants in their study imagined themselves eating m&m's or cheese cubes they ended up eating less of these items afterwords than others who didn't imagine themselves eating anything at all.

These researchers say that when we imagine ourselves actually eating something, it ends up, in our brains way of thinking, of being just like you ate that favorite food, in this case m&m's or cheese cubes. So, you end up not being as “hungry” for that food item. But, they also found that this only happens when you go all the way and imagine eating the food, not just thinking about the food.

So, it seems that imagining yourself eating something works on your brain the same way as actually eating that same food does, and that means less of an impulse to gorge on something you probably shouldn't gorge on in the first place. So, try that the next time you think about reaching for that extra slice of pie.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Boys Hit Puberty Early

Boys may be hitting puberty earlier than ever, but what does that mean for boys these days.

For the last couple of decades we've know that girls are maturing faster than their mothers and grandmothers. Part of the reason was better nutrition, but others say environmental factors and exposure to more estrogen like substances are behind this.

But now it looks like boys are joining this same trend. Until recently the normal age for boys starting puberty was 13 with the biggest changes happening between 13 and 16. A new study found that boys are now starting to have body changes starting at age 12. The biggest leap takes place, on the average, nowadays from 12 to 15 years old. And for most boys, they are fully mature, body wise by the time they turn 19.

With early puberty, come a few issues that families need to consider. Having the “birds and bees” talk is never comfortable for any parent, but now having it early on is the goal, especially since boys and girls are maturing sooner than ever. Also, the teen years and all associated issues are going to happen at a younger age, so make sure you keep that in mind, especially as your son or daughter starts acting like a teenager but is still only 11 or 12.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Risks Of A Few Extra Pounds

Do you weigh a few pounds more than you should? Turns out even a small extra amount might be too risky.

Most of us seem to lug around an extra pound or two that we want to get rid of. Now it looks like that small amount of extra weight might be worse for your health than we thought.

Doctors have known for quite some time that obesity carries its own health risks, especially when it comes to heart disease, strokes and certain cancers. We weren't sure about being just overweight and not necessarily obese.

But a new study, huge by study standards, looked at the health of around 1 and 1/2 million people and found that being even a little overweight also meant a bigger chance of dying. The women in this study with a Body Mass Index, BMI, between 22 and 25 had the lowest death rate. Compare that to women in the overweight category with a BMI of 25 or more---they were 13 percent more likely to die.

The thinking used to be that having a little extra padding, a few extra pounds here and there, provided a type of reserve the body could use if you got sick. Now researchers involved in this study are saying that's simply not true---and that extra reserve, especially since it happens to be mostly fat is bad for your overall health.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

New Help For Diarrhea

If your child gets diarrhea, there's new help from an old cure.

And what it is probiotics, or good types of bacteria our digestive system needs to function like it's supposed to.

Each of us has about 500 different kinds of bacteria in our stomachs and digestive tract. Some of these cause things like diarrhea, but some of them help us digest our food or keep from getting things like diarrhea.

And now the American Academy of Pediatrics says that these probiotics might help with a couple of different childhood types of diarrhea, namely those they get from a viral illness and those they might get from taking antibiotics. This goes along with what companies that produce products with probiotics--- things like yogurts, milks and some juices-- have been saying for years.

On the other hand, they say there isn't enough evidence about probiotics yet to recommend it for other intestinal issues like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease. But at least for diarrhea, something fairly common in children, grabbing a bit of yogurt might help get there stomach under better control.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Best Diet To Keep Weight Off

When it comes to losing weight there are almost as many diet plans as stars in the sky. But in the ongoing debate over what works best, one type of diet seems to come out ahead.

Most diets don't work all that well. Seems like every week we hear about a new diet that's better than the rest. The truth is almost all of them help you lose weight right off the bat, but don't do much to help you keep that weight off later on. And for most of us that's the goal, to not only shed the weight but to keep it from coming back.

But a large European study found that diets consisting of high protein foods and ones with a low glycemic index were best at keeping that extra weight off. Part of the key to the success was that people on these diets were much more likely to stick with their program and keep from gaining back weight.

Although they don't endorse any commercial diet program, the researchers involved in this study say the commercial diet that most closely resembles the best diet in their study is the South Beach diet. But other experts say not to forget exercise in all this as well--while your increasing protein and cutting back on refined, processed carbohydrates. That seems to be the big key in losing and keeping that extra weight off.

Toy Safety

It is now the holiday season and that means plenty of shopping. But when your looking for that special toy, there are some safety tips to keep in mind.

Last year, more than 100,000 children were treated in emergency rooms for toy related injuries. By following some simple tips put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics you can make sure those special gifts you buy are both fun and SAFE.

Your main job is to become a label reader. Look for warnings like “not recommended for children under three”, “flame retardant” or “flame resistant.” Then look for and pay attention to the age recommendation on the packaging.

But on top of all this, keep certain basic guidelines in mind. The two biggest ones being making sure a toy is free of sharp edges and that all pull toys you get have short stings, less than 12 inches, to prevent an infant from getting strangled. However, you also need to keep in mind that some toys might produce sharp edges if they’re broken, so avoid fragile looking ones.

It's also important you check out the toys before hand to make sure they won’t be a choking hazard. The general rule here is for children, especially under three, buy them toys with individual parts that are still larger than their mouths so they won’t be able to fit them in and choke.

And be very careful with toys that have button type batteries. These batteries are very dangerous and even deadly for younger children.

Just keep these tips in mind when braving the store crowds over the next few weeks. You’ll find that perfect gift, and keep the holidays happy and healthy.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Holiday Weight Gain

The holiday season is just days away from starting. That also means the season for eating. So, we have one tip that might keep you from gaining weight this year.

Did you know most of us gain at least one pound between Thanksgiving and January. That might not seem like much, but if you do this every year, it can add up to plenty of weight gain---let's say twenty pounds in twenty years. But one trick you can use to help avoid this is to drink a glass of water before you sit down and eat.

For years dieters have been encouraged to try this trick out. Recently studies have confirmed that it can really work, especially if you do it the right way. That means drinking a glass or two within 30 minutes of starting to eat. The thinking is that the water will fill your stomach and reduce your hunger. That, along with using smaller plates---9 inch ones---can also help make sure you don't overload on the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. That will help make sure you don't add that extra pound you don't need but still enjoy one of the best meals of the year.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Thanksgiving Health

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, a lot of us are going to try to eat our body weight in turkey, gravy and pies. But you’ll want to make sure you handle all the food safely so no one goes home sick.

The first step is thawing the turkey. After you thaw out your prized turkey, you’ll need to get ready to cook it. Make sure you remove the giblets and cook them separately. Most importantly, you need to make sure the turkey meat gets to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, the little pop-out timers that come with the turkey usually aren’t enough, so get a meat thermometer and use it in the turkey thigh. When that gets to 165 degrees, you can be assured the rest of the turkey is the right temperature.

Once the turkey is cooked, it needs to be eaten within two hours, then leftovers refrigerated.

After Thanksgiving you get to enjoy those leftovers, but be careful here as well. If you store it in the refrigerator, eat the meat within three to four days and gravy within one to two. If you want to store it longer, freeze it. When you cook leftovers, make sure you heat them until they’re hot and steaming, that will avoid food poisoning that could ruin everyone’s holiday.

For last minute tips you can call the USDA at 1-888-674-6854 or log on to their website Let's Talk Turkey.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Food Allergies & Moms

Food allergies seem to be on the rise but could it be what mom does while pregnant that adds to that risk?

Researchers say---maybe. Maybe moms-to-be eating peanuts raises the risk of their child getting a peanut allergy.

Food allergies have been on the rise over the last few years. According to the CDC, the number of kids with food allergies rose by 18 percent over the last 10 years alone. Although no one is quite sure why there are plenty of theories. Some experts think it has to do with simply more parents aware of food allergies and reporting them more often. Others think it has to do with the "clean" childhood theory, the fact that kids these days aren't exposed to the same dirt and germs we were as kids---so their immune systems don't get strong early. And some believe it has to do with our western diet.

But one group of researchers looked at what mom's ate while pregnant and found that those eating peanuts while pregnant also had a greater chance of having children who were sensitive to peanuts as they grew up. This doesn't prove eating peanuts will cause your child to have a peanut allergy but, as these researchers say, simply highlights the need for more research.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Pregnant Women & Flu Shots

It's flu shot time again. But what if you're pregnant, is it safe for you and the baby?

In a nutshell, the answer is yes. Every year we roll up our sleeves to get the flu vaccine. We have to get a different one each year because the flu virus is smart enough to change just a bit each year, making the last shot you got ineffective.
But the question I often get in my clinic is "I'm pregnant, should I still get the shot". The government has said definitely yes over the past few years but just undertook an even bigger study than before to give us all a little more peace of mind. After looking at flu shots in pregnant women and complications over the last twenty years, researchers found no more complications than everyone else had. The most common ones were skin reactions at the injection site, slight fevers and fatigue.

But health groups do recommend only the vaccine and not the nasal spray for pregnant women. And they are recommending the shot again this year, especially since expecting moms are more likely to become seriously ill and hospitalized if they come down with the flu, especially the H1N1 "Swine flu".

Monday, November 15, 2010

Daydreaming App

Does your mind wander all day, do you daydream a lot? You might be doing it more than you think and it could be what's bumming you out.

We all daydream once in a while, but that daydreaming might not be as harmless as it seems. Researchers wanted to find out both how much someone daydreams and how that daydreaming affected their mood. So using an iPhone app, they had people track both how frequently their mind wandered during the day and how their mood might have changed.

Turns out, daydreaming happens more often than most of us thought with most people reporting having meandering thoughts about half the time they were questioned by their smart phone "app". They also consistently reported a lower mood when they where daydreaming, even though they may have been daydreaming about pleasant things.

Researchers think this could be because although daydreaming is our brains way of figuring out past events or how to proceed with future issues, it does come at the emotional cost of lowering our mood. Experts say that may have more to do with the fact that the more we worry about something the more our mind wanders.

There aren't any big answers to what this all means but if you want to help researchers figure it out---"there's an app" for that. To get the app go to www.trackyourhappiness.org.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Breastfeeding vs. Sleeping

Which moms sleep less? Those with breast fed or formula fed infants? The answer might surprise you.

The common wisdom is that breastfeeding mothers don't get as much sleep as those that don't breastfeed their infants. But don't believe everything you hear.

A new study, just published in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics, say that although breastfed infants are reported to awaken more often and sleep less, their mothers get just as much sleep as those with formula fed babies. Researchers had a group of 80 mothers keep daily diaries and wear devices that measured their sleep patterns. They looked at moms who exclusively breastfed, only formula fed or did a combination of the two. These researchers found no difference in total sleep time of quality of sleep between the groups. And all the mothers had the same amount of daytime sleepiness of fatigue.

So, it seems that contrary to what many have thought, breastfeeding an infant doesn't make for a more sleep deprived or tired mom. And with all the health and wellness benefits for both mom and baby breastfeeding has to offer, losing sleep isn't one thing you'll need to worry about.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Family History & Your Health

There is one great way to find out about your health and it doesn't involve expensive testing.

Bar none, the best information about what you are at the biggest risk for, health-wise, comes from your family history.

It might sound a bit low tech, but asking your family about what diseases lurk in your relatives past can be better than even expensive modern genetic testing. A Cleveland Clinic study looked at what method best found an increased risk of cancer. Half of the participants in this study looked at their own family health history. The other half did a genetic saliva test commonly sold online.

The simple family history ended up doing much better than the genetic test. It was especially good at picking out those cancers someone was at a higher risk of getting because it was somewhere in the family's past.

The important part is to do a little digging on both Mom's and Dad's side of the family. With the upcoming holidays and families getting together, it'll be a great time to find out what types of things your relatives might have dealt with in their own lifetime--the same things that could affect you in your future. And knowing that can give you a jump start on watching for it.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Preventing Gout

More and more people are suffering from gout, but the reasons why might surprise you.

It might simply be too much coffee.

Gout is a very painful type of joint arthritis caused by a build up of uric acid in the body. When this gets deposited in the joints it can cause redness, swelling and a good deal of pain. It mostly affects men, but is also seen more in women after they've gone through menopause. Although there are different ways to treat it, from changes in diet to medications, doing what you can to avoid it is important.

And since gout has increased around 4% over the last few years, researchers have pinpointed a couple of favorite beverages that might increase you chances of getting this painful condition; coffee and sodas. In particular they found that caffeine “binges” can more than triple your chances of having an attack. Sodas, and other sugar sweetened drinks, especially if you drink them every day, can also raise your risk.

So you best bet, as usual, is the old tried and true moderation.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Gulf Seafood Safety

If you like seafood, but were worried about the gulf oil spill, Dr. John Torres is here with some good news.

Between the oil from the big spill in the gulf and the chemicals used to try and break up that oil before it could cause more problems, many of us where left wondering whether seafood from that area was too contaminated to eat.

The government says that the dispersant used on the water has not made its way into the sea life. The Food and Drug Administration, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tested more than 17 hundred samples of fish, shrimp crabs and oysters. They say fewer than 1% showed any trace of the chemicals in them and of the 1% that did, even they had extremely low levels of contamination.

So, if you're as big of a fan of seafood as I am, especially shrimp, and you've been worried about whether it's safe to eat those from the gulf, it looks like your good to go.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Seniors & Whooping Cough Shots

Getting shots is part of growing up and staying healthy, even when you 65.

The government wants seniors to get the whooping cough shot, mainly because of a big outbreak in California.
Whooping cough, known in the medical community of pertussis, was fairly common back before the 1950's. Outbreaks happened quite often and small children usually fell victim to its persistent coughing fits. For some, it even turned deadly because the disease wouldn't allow them to get in enough of a breath, causing the classic whooping sound that gives the disease it's name.

But once the vaccine came out against pertussis, outbreaks dropped dramatically. But now we are seeing more cases of whooping cough and more alarmingly more deaths than we have in decades, especially in California were over six thousand cases have been reported and 10 infants have died because of it.

Nine of those 10 were infants too young to even get vaccinated so the government is now recommending seniors over 65 who are around infants to get the pertussis shot. When an adult gets whooping cough they usually only have minor symptoms but can spread it to the little ones. So, the government is hoping that getting seniors vaccinated will stop the spread of this outbreak and most importantly prevent any more infant deaths.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Obese Children Health Problems

Obese children suffer health problems later in life, but now it looks like they might also have some health issues right now.

It turns out the arteries of obese children look as bad as those of adults with heart disease. I often say that what happens in childhood follows you into adulthood and that goes for weight issues as well. Children that are overweight or obese usually end up battling weight all their lives. So, keeping kids slim and trim is one key to giving them a healthy life, even decades later.

But now we know that obese children can have their own medical issues right now. Researchers have found that the arteries of obese children have the same amount of stiffness as adults suffering from heart disease. This is important to their health because most young arteries are stretchy. Once they become stiff the body has to deal with higher blood pressure and the beginnings of heart disease. And starting off this way in childhood probably means earlier heart problems as an adult.

So, the best step you can take is to help give your kids a healthy start by focusing on maintaining a healthy weight now.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Preventing Diabetes

According to government projections the numbers of Americans with diabetes is expected to soar.

The government predicts that over the next 40 years, one-in-three of us will suffer from diabetes. To show just how big of a change this will be; right now one-in-ten have diabetes so, that means that millions more will be getting it in the near future. And if you look at the ones most at risk you really don't have to look much further than our children.

We've known for sometime that what happens in childhood affects us as adults. And with the current overweight and obesity epidemic, children that are heavy now will most likely be overweight adults. And that weight means their also more likely to get type 2 diabetes and be a part of that one-in-three group the government is warning us about.

The hope is that by bringing it to our attention now, we can help keep both our and perhaps more importantly our children's weight under control now to prevent diabetes and it's complications later. That means better eating and more exercise for all.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Teen Driving

Teen drivers continue to have problems on the road and this week the country is focusing on ways to keep them safe.

Do you remember getting your driver's license? Remember how exciting and scary it was all at the same time. Unfortunately it's still a risky time, and last year almost 9,000 teenagers died on our roads so even though things have gotten better we still have work to do.

This week is national teen driver safety week. It's a great time to reconnect with your teens and help make sure they stay safe behind the wheel. With texting, talking on the phone and other distractions, teenagers are still having problems concentrating on the road. One solution that's being pushed by the centers for disease control and prevention, Triple A, and the American Academy of Pediatrics is the parent teen driver contract. This contract not only sets rules down on paper that both the teen and parent will understand but also sets down penalties if rules are broken. Although the contracts have only been around for a few years it looks like they are working at keeping teens safe. To get a hold of a contract you can go to the CDC website.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Botox For Migraines

A new treatment for migraine headaches has just been approved, but it's really an old drug with a new twist.

As strange as this might sound, the FDA just approved Botox---that's right---Botox, to treat chronic migraines.

Ask anyone suffering from migraines and they'll tell you just how bad they can be. Oftentimes the person spends hours or even days in a dark room and they try different medicines to get them under control. But for some, no medicine really helps all that well and those are the ones the FDA says this new treatment is really for.

Most of us know Botox as the injection used to help get rid of wrinkles. It works by paralyzing the muscles near the injection site and relaxing the skin nearby. But years ago, doctors found that patients getting Botox injections of the forehead also reported an improvement in their migraines.

So, after looking into more, Allergan, the manufacturer sought FDA approval and got it. Botox has now been approved and can be given to adult sufferers of chronic migraines by way of injections around the head and neck every 12 weeks. It's meant for those having migraines most days of the month and has not been shown to work for people having migraine headaches less than half of the days of the month.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tricks To Get Kids To Eat Healthy Foods

Your child's school cafeteria might start using a little trickiness to get kids to eat better lunches.

It's not unlike what grocery stores do to get you to buy certain foods---call it "tricks of the trade". But school cafeterias are going to start borrowing a page or two from that book.

Getting kids to eat a healthier lunch should go a long way towards not only helping them lose weight, but also getting them into what is hopefully a lifelong habit of making good food choices.

School cafeterias have come a long way since the days of "mystery meat" and sodas a plenty. But even now, it's a struggle to get kids to make the correct choices. So, borrowing something retailers have used for years, cafeterias are starting to make healthy foods look more appealing and sort of "hiding" the not so healthy choices. This means putting salad bars right next to the checkout lines, where students tend to linger, giving them more time to think about grabbing one. Also, they might place the regular milk in front of the chocolate milk, or place fruits in nice looking baskets instead of metal bowls.

They are also making express lines for healthy foods and putting the not so healthy choices, like ice cream, in freezers that don't have windows on them, making them harder to see.

Hopefully these "tricks" that retailers have been using for years to get us to buy things we might not initially want, will go a long way towards getting our kids on the healthy food wagon.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

When You Eat & Weight Link

When you eat might be as important as what you eat when it comes to losing weight.

This isn't good news for those of us that work nighttime shifts, the light your exposed to could be causing you to eat at the wrong time.

A new study, using mice, found that when they were exposed to dim lights at night they gained more weight. Researchers found that when the mice were exposed to the night light they also tended to eat late at night. Even though they ate the same amount of food and had the same daily activity levels as the other mice, the mice exposed to the night lights gained more weight.

So, even though they didn't eat any more than the other mice and they exercised the same, for some reason these researchers can't fully explain, eating later at night because of the nightlights caused the mice to pack on the pounds.

Experts think the same might be happening to us, especially if working night shifts. And in the past weight gain from prolonged computer or television use at night was blamed on the lack of activity, but it might just be the lights they expose you to at night causes you to eat at the wrong time.

Monday, October 11, 2010

When You Should Take Medications

When you take your medicine might be as important as the medicine itself.

We are finding out more and more this is true, especially when it comes to blood pressure drugs.

Up until recently most patients were given instructions to take their medication a certain number of times per day. And with blood pressure pills, it was usually once or twice a day but the timing of when to take them didn't really come up so most take them in the morning. That's because we didn't realize they worked better at certain times. And this latest study is showing that taking blood pressure medication at bedtime not only keeps your blood pressure better controlled but might even save your life.

Researchers had volunteers take their medication in the morning, the recommendation most get from their doctors, or at bedtime. Five years later, the bedtime group had better control of their blood pressure and only had 1/3 of the heart attacks and strokes the morning medicine volunteers did.

But, before you switch to nighttime doses, talk with your doctor. You want to make sure that timing doesn't interfere with other medications or treatment plans you're on.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Bone Density Tests For Women

Screening for osteoporosis might become something you start at an even younger age.

Back in 2002, the US Preventative Services Task Force released guidelines stating that all women over 65, plus those 60 to 64 at a higher risk for fracture, should get bone density tests. These tests are used to determine how thin a woman's bones are and whether she should start treatment.

But in this latest release, they are now saying that younger women might need a bone density test as well. They say all younger postmenopausal women should get checked if their risk of a broken bone is the same or greater than the average 65 year old.

Some factors that can increase their risk include low weight, certain drugs, smoking and heavy alcohol use. Also having a parent who broke a hip make having osteoporosis more likely.

If a woman has these higher risk factors, the task force is recommending she get the same screening as a 65-year-old, regardless of how young she is.

This task force did stop short of recommending screening for men, although other groups, including the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and the American College of Physicians both recommend the screening of men if they meet certain criteria.
Currently, this task force, which received plenty of heat for its prior recommendation to delay mammograms for some women, are releasing their recommendations in draft form only. They are seeking public comment.

Get Flu Shot When Pregnant

There is new information out about one way mom's to be can protect their newborn once that happy day arrives---get the flu shot.

This year the CDC has recommended the flu shot for most people 6 months old and on. And for years they have recommended pregnant women get the vaccine. A new study shows just how important that vaccine during pregnancy can be for a baby once it arrives.

During most flu seasons, babies less than 6 months old get some protection from their mom's natural antibodies. But during severe flu seasons that doesn't seem to be enough since more of them get hospitalized and die from flu complications than older babies do.

This new study found that when a mom to be gets the flu vaccine while pregnant, the chances of her baby getting hospitalized or getting a respiratory illness during those first six months was much lower. Babies blood tests also showed they had more antibodies to the flu during this same time period. According to the researchers involved in this study, these finding give more support to the benefits of a mom's flu vaccine protecting infants from the flu virus up to the age where they can get the shot themselves.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

New Weight Loss Information

When it comes to losing or gaining weight there is more information about what it takes to keep slim and trim.

We are talking about 2 new studies. One shows just how important sleep is to dieting and the other overturns some common thinking about fat cells in our body.

In the first study, researchers found that not getting enough sleep can sabotage your weight loss efforts. Even though all participants in the study lost the same amount of weight, those getting enough sleep---around 8 hours---lost the most amount of fat. The ones getting less sleep ended up losing more muscle mass which means they ended up with more body fat just by not sleeping enough.

Researchers have also started to overturn the common belief that adults don't make new fat cells. We used to think we have the same fat cells as adults we had as children, just that these fat cells grew in size as we gained more weight. But in this new study participants that gorged on food ended up developing new fat cells on their thighs. Also contrary to what we used to think, both men and women gained weight in their thighs at the same rate.

The important take home points from these studies is that gaining and losing weight is a very complicated process inside our bodies, and that's why simple dieting won't work long term. Instead your best bet is a lifestyle change that includes better eating and exercise.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Kids & Junk Food

Just about every kid likes junk food. But the amount they eat every day might astonish you.

So, how bad can an occasional snack be for them? Occasional is the key word here. It seems like most kids are eating what are called empty calories more often than most of us thought.

Empty calories are just that, food that can help add calories to a daily diet but won't do much for a kids health. As a matter of fact, these empty calories, or junk food, are one big reason we're seeing heavier children than ever.

A new government study found almost half of what a kid takes in to their body every day comes from just six different types of food that experts have called empty calories. They are soda, sugary fruit drinks, grain desserts like cake and cookies, dairy desserts like ice cream, and whole milk, which is much fatter than skim.

It's hard to blame just one source for this bad diet. Kids don't always have the best lunches at school, fast food is readily available and cheap and kids are bombarded with commercials advertising these empty calorie choices. But the head of the CDC is calling the current obesity epidemic a "winnable" battle and getting this empty calorie issue under control is one way to start off on the right foot.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Magnesium Benefits

You've heard of vitamin C and D being important for your health, but what about magnesium.

Magnesium is one of those minerals that's important to keep our bodies healthy. It's used for anything from keeping our muscles and nerves working well to supporting a strong immune system. But now it looks like it might also help prevent us from getting diabetes.

A new study found those of us who consumed the most magnesium either in foods or from a vitamin supplement developed diabetes only half as often. The researchers involved in this study think the diabetes risk is lower with magnesium because it helps our body process sugar.

There are a variety of ways to get this important mineral. Your best food sources are green leafy vegetable, nuts and seeds, some beans and unrefined grains--like whole wheat. You can also get it from most multivitamins. But like always, the more you get from natural sources the better.

The current recommendations for women depend on age and pregnancy, but are around 310 to 350 mg per day. For men around 400 to 420. Most of this should come from food. But you also need to be careful and not take in too much from supplements or vitamins. Overdosing on magnesium can cause problems like weakness and an irregular heartbeat.

So your best bet is to load up on the green leafy vegetables. A salad a day can help keep the diabetes away.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Kids Need More Water

It's free, readily available, but something most of us don't use as much as we should. We're talking about plain old water. There is one group that needs to drink more H2O.

It's the kids. They aren't drinking as much water as they need too and that can have some long term consequences.

A new study, just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that only up to 60 percent of boys and just over half of girls aged 2 to 19 drank the minimum amount of water that was recommended by the US Institute of Medicine. Researchers found that instead, children are obtaining much of their needed water intake from sweetened beverages. That means they are also taking in more calories during the day they don't need---which helps contribute to the ongoing obesity epidemic.

We can't live without water, but the secret is to make sure all of us, but especially our children, are drinking plain old water instead of other drinks during the day. One way to do this is to get rid of other sweetened drinks in the house---and I'm not just talking about sodas, but any kind of sweetened beverage, even sweetened juices. The goal is to get them back on a "water to quench my thirst" habit and away from the countless sodas they tend to drink.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sitting & Eating Dinner With Kids

We celebrate many different holidays throughout the year. Today has been declared National Family Day, and in particular, a day to eat dinner with your children.

Study after study has shown the great benefit of something we used to take for granted---the family meal. Sitting down with your kids and talking about the day is a great way to keep connected with them and find out what's going on in their lives. It also helps in more ways than you'd probably think. Children who eat at least 3 sit-down dinners with their family every week are also less likely to smoke, drink or use drugs. They also tend to do better in school and are less likely to have sex at an early age.

Granted, we all have busy schedules and with a busy day at work, hectic after school activities and homework, it gets harder to sit down together and eat a meal. The important part isn't what's served but what's talked about at the table. Use this as an opportunity for your children to share what "they" want to. They might not want to talk about everything that went on that day, especially if something is particularly bothering them so don't push the issue. Just let them know your there to listen. And when they do bring up controversial subjects, like drugs or sex---don't judge them since that will just cause them to tune out, but give them your beliefs and then listen. So, tonight sit down with the rest of the county and enjoy a meal with the most important people in your life.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Unwanted Medications

Most of us have expired or unwanted medicines laying around the house. These pills are an increasingly easy target for abuse. But this weekend, there is an easy way to get rid of them.

Prescription drug abuse continues to be a growing problem, especially with teenagers and young adults. And most of them get the drugs from their families own medicine cabinet. Chances are most of us don’t really know how many pills we have in any medicine bottle, so if a few were taken we probably wouldn’t even notice. So besides putting them out of reach, you also need to make sure any expired, unused or unwanted medicines are gotten rid of. That can often times be easier said than done.

This weekend the Drug Enforcement Agency has partnered up with local public health and law enforcement offices to make it easy and anonymous. They are holding a “Take Back” campaign across the county this Saturday, September 25th. There will be sites set up around the Colorado Springs, Woodland Park, Fountain, Pueblo, Canon City and La Junta areas where you can drop off old or unwanted medications. This will be a great time to clean out your medicine cabinet and remove any drugs you no longer need, especially narcotic type medications that might prove to much of a temptation for some.

For more information about when and where this will be taking place this Saturday go to www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Reasons To Get Flu Shot

It's flu shot time again but this year there are a couple of very good reasons to get it.

I don't think it's anything any of us look forward to, and lately it's been a little controversial, but now there are two more great reasons to get the flu shot every year.

For children---researchers found that last year those getting the H1N1 “swine” flu not only ended up getting hospitalized more often than those with the regular flu but these children also ended up having seizures more often. This year the CDC is recommending shots for all children 6 months and older. The vaccine now contains protection for both the H1N1 swine flu and the regular flu in one shot instead of two like last year.

But it's not just kids benefiting from the flu shot. A separate study found that for middle age and older adults, the flu vaccine seemed to protect them from heart attacks. And surprisingly, the earlier in the season adults got their shot last year, the less chance they had of having a heart attack. Experts think part of the reason is because the vaccine protects adults from an inflammation brought on by the flu that can affect the heart.

So if you were looking for a good reason to get the flu shot this year you now have two very good ones.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Arthritis Supplements

Millions of us take supplement to help with arthritis. But do they work or are you just wasting your money?

The supplements we're talking about are glucosamine and chondroitin. Over the last 10 years or so, these supplements have become best sellers, reaching sales of almost 2 billion dollars in 2008. But studies haven't really backed up claims that they can help with ailing joints. And this new report is no different. A research team looked to see if any of the more than thirty 800 people taking glucosamine or chondroitin---in various studies---had any improvement in their joint pain or if these supplements even helped rebuild their arthritic joint like some manufacturers claim.

The researchers found these supplements didn't have any effect on these people's painful joints. In other words, those taking the supplements and those not taking them had the same outcome. But although the doctors involved in this study do want manufacturers of these supplements to reevaluate the claims they make about arthritis pain relief or cures---they also are saying that for people taking the supplements---even though their study showed no benefits of glucosamine or chondroitin---they are harmless enough that if you think they might be helping to go ahead and continue to take them.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Day Care & Eczema Link

Early day care attendance might also mean a greater chance of eczema.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 10 to 20 percent of all infants and young children here in the U.S. experience some symptoms of the skin disease eczema.
Past studies have shown a connection between eczema and daycare with some showing it increases the chances of getting this skin condition and others showing it lessens the chances. But German researchers noticed a peculiarity about their country, namely that east German children had more eczema than west German children. They also noted that over half of east German children attended daycare and only 6 percent of west German children did. So the researchers wanted to see it the increased eczema rates and day care were somehow connected.

Of all the things they looked at, only daycare attendance during the first two years of life came up as a risk factor for a child developing eczema.

Experts think this might be happening because children in a daycare are thought to be exposed to more microorganisms and allergens than at home. What the researchers didn't know was whether the type of daycare or the amount of time spent in daycare had any effect on this. They are calling for more research to get a better idea.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Children & Bladder Control

For children with bladder control problems, the solution might be a simple wristwatch.

Many children suffer from bladder control problems, which can be a social embarrassment for them and a frustration for their parents. Part of the conventional treatment for this is a type of bladder training, called “urotherapy,” is a kind of behavior modification that tries to regulate drinking habits and establishes set bathroom breaks. It's an effective therapy for some, but often times children forget about their scheduled bathroom breaks, resulting in the dreaded “accident”.

But new research is showing a simple wristwatch might be the answer for some. 60% of children who failed the initial urotherapy—improved when they were given wristwatches programmed to remind them about bathroom breaks during the day. Unfortunately, none of them showed any improvement in their nighttime bed wetting habits. The researchers involved in the study say this difference between success rates of daytime versus nighttime “accidents” shows how important bathroom break reminders, like the wristwatch, are to getting at least the daytime part of the bladder control problems solved.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Dirty Kitchens

Could your home kitchen pass the same inspection restaurants get?

Believe it or not, most of our kitchens wouldn't be clean enough.

Every now and then restaurants are in the news when people eating there get sick. And some restaurants close because they don't pass health inspections. But experts believe the majority of food poisoning actually happen because of food prepared at home.

A new study is backing them up by showing that one-in-seven of our home kitchens wouldn't pass these same inspections. Although this study didn't actually inspect home kitchens, but relied on a survey, experts think the number of kitchens that would flunk this basic health inspection is even higher.

Restaurant inspectors look at the amount of dirt in a kitchen along with the number of pests, and most importantly the food preparation and handling practices. And this is where many of us would fail. Simple things like keeping food hot enough or cold enough, not using the same cutting board for meats and vegetables, or even just making sure fruits and vegetables aren't stored beneath meats in a refrigerator---where leakage can occur, are things we don't seem to be doing well enough to prevent us from getting sick from our own kitchens.

So by cleaning up our own kitchens, we might be able to cut down on our families chances of getting food poisoning.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

2010 Flu Shot Recommendations

Summer is winding down, the kids are back in school. That can only mean one thing, it's time to get your flu shot.

This year, there are new recommendations on who needs the shot this year.

First off, a little bit of good news. Unlike last year, when you needed both a regular flu shot and a H1N1 "swine flu" shot to get full protection, this year you'll only need one vaccine. Manufacturers have had time to plan for this year's flu, so were able to include the swine flu shot in with the normal flu vaccine. That means you'll only have to roll up your sleeve once.

The other change is the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics that all children and adolescents from 6 months old and up should get the flu shot this year. They are also making a special push to get family members and daycare providers of children less than 5 vaccinated as well. They also want high risk children, those with asthma, diabetes and neurological conditions, as well as pregnant mothers to get special encouragement to get the shot this year.

The flu bug is already in the US, which is much earlier than usual. Although it typically peaks around January, you can never tell what's going to happen year to year. So, as usual, the recommendation to get your shot early to give you and your family the most protection still holds true.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Bedbug Issues

Bedbugs are back with a vengeance, but what some people are doing to get rid of them might be putting their family in danger.

In a nutshell, they are using the wrong pesticides.

Bedbugs are becoming a bigger nuisance across the country and Colorado is no exception. A recently released Terminix study found that Denver was the number 6 most infested city in the nation. And with Colorado Springs being a short distance away, you can bet we aren't that far behind. The problem is that more of these bugs are becoming resistant to common pesticides so are tougher to get rid of.

But the Environmental Protection Agency just issued a warning against the use of pesticides meant for outside use being used indoors, something it seems more desperate homeowners are trying. In addition to the obvious increased chance of pesticide poisoning from using too strong of chemicals indoors, experts are also blaming some house fires on people misusing highly flammable garden and lawn chemicals inside to try and get rid of the bugs.

So, their recommendations are to read the entire label before applying a pesticide and to closely follow directions. Also, make sure the pesticide you're using is made specifically for bedbugs.

Getting rid of bedbugs is important but not worth poisoning your family or causing your house to catch fire.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Benefits of Black Rice

Foods rich in antioxidants, like blueberries and acai, pack a powerful healthy punch. But one food choice might be better and is certainly less expensive.

Have you ever heard of black rice? My guess is you soon will because this inexpensive grain has plenty of healthy antioxidants in it.

You've probably eaten white and brown rice at one time or another. Of the two, brown rice is much healthier for you. Both come from the same grain of rice. When the outer hull is removed, you get brown rice. If more processing is done, then you get white rice.

But black rice is what they first start off with, before any processing is done. And that rice contains many more antioxidants than most of us thought. Researchers at Louisiana State Agricultural Center found that a spoonful of black rice bran contains more antioxidants than a similar spoonful of blueberries. And as an added benefit, the spoonful of rice also has less sugar and more vitamin E and fiber.

Although black rice takes a little longer to prepare than white or brown rice, the extra time is worth the health benefits you get. And my guess is that you'll start seeing it more and more in your local grocery store.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Importance of the "Sunshine Vitamin"

The "sunshine vitamin" might be more important than most of us thought.

We've known for some time that many of us walk around not having enough vitamin D in our bodies. Part of the reason is because we don't get as much sunshine as we used to, and part of the reason is that our diet isn't as good as it should be. But for years most experts thought that lack of vitamin D only meant poor bone health.

Now we know vitamin D is much more important and a new discovery is showing just how "super" this vitamin really is and how damaging not having enough of it can be. Scientist have just found that vitamin D plays a role in over 200 genes in our bodies. And these genes are ones that control everything from cancer to diabetes to multiple sclerosis.

The problem is that many of us don't have enough of this vitamin. The easiest way to get vitamin D is from sunshine but you also have to balance that with your risk of skin cancer. Most experts say 15 minutes of sun a day is enough to resupply your vitamin D needs. Also, making sure fortified foods, like cereal, milk, yogurt and tuna are included in your diet can help.

The important point is to get enough of this important vitamin to stay healthy and if your diet isn't doing it, you might want to think about taking a supplement to boost those levels.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Water Diet

Want to lose a little bit of weight? How about the "water" diet?

The secret is in "when" you drink the water---and the weight loss results were pretty impressive!

I think just about everyone has tried one type of a diet or another. But the problem is they are either too confusing, too expensive or involve eating things you simply don't want to eat. But this new trick for losing weight could be as simple as drinking a couple of glasses of water before you sit down for a meal.

Researchers found that when people drank two glasses of water before eating they ended up eating around 90 calories less. And over a five week period that helped them lose five pounds more than dieters who didn't drink the water.

Part of the reason this happens is because the water helps fill the stomach so, by the time you sit down, your body isn't telling you to eat quite as much. And the beauty of water is, unlike sweetened drinks and sodas, it doesn't have any calories whatsoever.

So, to lose weight the easy way, you might want to grab those two glasses of water before picking up that fork and knife.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Teens & Hearing Loss

Just because your teenager doesn't seem to be listening to you doesn't mean they're ignoring you. They might not be able to hear you.

More teenagers have hearing loss these days and you can probably blame it on the way they listen to music.

A new national study found that a remarkable one in five children, aged 12 to 19, had hearing problems. And although experts can't pinpoint the exact cause, teenagers more often than not have lost their hearing in the high frequency range. This type of hearing loss comes from exposure to noises like those made by an iPod or other personal music device. Teenagers tend to listen to music this way at a high volume and over time, that music can hurt their hearing.

In this case, high frequency hearing loss means the teenager won't be able to hear all words clearly and that can interfere with learning and even casual conversations. The best way to help keep your child's hearing intact is a lot easier said than done. On most iPods and other music devices you can set a volume limit. Although this might not work for older kids, you can talk with them about how permanent hearing damage is. A good rule of thumb for them is to keep the volume low enough so someone standing next to them can't hear anything coming from the music player.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Making The Most Of Your Docotor's Visit

Have you ever gone to your doctor only to walk out of the office remembering a question or two you forgot to ask?

Here are some clues on how to make the most of that visit.

The reality is that medical appointments these days aren't very long. And that means getting a lot of information passed back-and-forth during that time. But without a little homework on your part, you might end up missing some of the important information you went to the doctor in the first place for.

One thing you can do to help is to keep a medical journal. Write down as many details as you can think of about what's wrong with you and any circumstances surrounding that issue. For instance, you have a sore throat---does it hurt worse in the morning or during the day, is it bad all the time or worse when you swallow, are you having a cough along with the throat issue? I tell my patients that any diagnosis is like detective work and these clues can go a long way in helping you doctor solve the issue?

Also write down any questions you have about your condition and about your overall health and take that paper with you to your doctor's visit. That way you won't forget that question you had the day before your visit.

And at the end of the visit, when you get a prescription, ask about alternatives to the medication, including generics, and any side effects you need to keep an eye out for.

These tips should help make sure next time you walk out of your doctor's office you aren't doing the forehead slap--thinking "I should have asked about this".

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Brand Name VS. Generic Drugs

When it comes to medicines we've all seen the commercials about a new powerful drug. But is that drug any better than a cheaper generic?

For most medications, the answer is no! Drug companies spend a lot of money to get you to notice their new brand name medicine. But most of these medicines also have a generic twin that costs considerably less. And most drugs have "cousins" of a different class that are close but not exactly the same as the brand name drug.

But how well do these twins or cousin drugs work. It turns out, they work just as well, at least when it comes to controlling your blood pressure.
A long term study, following more than 33 thousand patients with high blood pressure found that after eight or more years of follow-ups, a simple generic diuretic blood pressure pill was as effective and in some cases even better at preventing death from stroke or heart failure, both problems related to high blood pressure.

The bottom line here is that the latest greatest brand name medicine you see advertised might not be the only one that would work for your condition, and it might not even be the best for you. Your best bet is to talk with your doctor about all your prescribed medicines and ask this simple question:" Is there a cheaper generic medicine I can take that would be as good or better than the one I'm on now"?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Walking Off School Stress

Getting back into the school routine can be stressful for some kids. But that stress is something they might be able to just walk off.

What we are talking about is just walking to school in the morning, that might do them a whole day's worth of good.

We can all remember stressful days at school. Turning in homework, taking planned tests and the ever dreadful "pop" quiz can add to the stress. But so to can the social parts of school, wearing the right clothes, having the right lunch, all those things that don't seem important now but were pretty much all you thought about during the school day when you were young.

Unfortunately, those stresses can add up and experts are getting more concerned about it since we are finding out that heart disease is a process that starts in early childhood. So getting that stress under control is important.

And it looks like one simple way to do that is by having them walk to school in the morning. Researchers tested stress levels while taking a quiz in both boys and girls that either rode or walked to school. Those "riding" to school had a 3 times greater rise in blood pressure and reported feeling more stressed than the walkers.
So to help you kid better handle the stress that's always going to go hand in hand with school, have them walk if they can. And while you're at it, walk with them, it'll do you a world of good as well.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Chosing The Right Backpack

It's that time of the year again. Time to start getting your kids ready for school. That means buying supplies and something to carry them in, usually a backpack.
How can you can make sure you get the right kind for your kids?

That backpack they use might be causing more pain than you think. Nowadays, kids are lugging more and more supplies back and forth to school. One popular way is with a backpack. Unfortunately, that same pack might be the main reason up to half of teens 15-16 years old complain of back pain.

Most doctors and physical therapists recommend a backpack weigh no more than 15% of a student’s body weight. That means it shouldn’t weigh more than 15lbs for a 100 pound person. And even if someone weighs more, the pack still shouldn't be more than 20 pounds.

But besides making sure it doesn’t weigh too much, there are other things that can help keep it comfortable.

Make sure it has 2 wide, padded shoulder straps and that both straps are always used. And teach them to stand up straight when using a pack. If they’re leaning forward or hunching over, it probably weighs too much.

And try and convince them to not carry anything they don't need, just bring home the necessities.

Encourage your kids to let you know if they have any back pain, or if they get numbness or tingling in their arms. That's a sign of a heavy pack, or one not used correctly.

The key here is to make sure their homework doesn’t turn into a bigger pain then they already think it is.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Girls Starting Puberty Earlier

Girls seem to be starting puberty earlier than ever. Sometimes even as young as 7 or 8. Puberty normally happens between ages 10 and 14 for girls and 12 to 16 for boys.

A new study, just published in the journal Pediatrics, found that girls hitting puberty before the age of 10 is much more common than it was over the past two decades. After looking at over 1,200 girls ages 6 to 8, researchers found a much higher percentage of black, white and Hispanic girls showing early development of breasts and pubic hair.

Researchers found that at age 7, 10% of white girls and 23% of black girls started to develop breasts. Those numbers are about double what they were back in 1997. The problem with early puberty is that it can lead to emotional problems and a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life.

As to why this is happening, researchers point to the increasing amount of obesity in this young age group or even exposure to estrogen and other compounds in the environment. Their best recommendation is to make sure your daughter eats a healthy diet, has family meals and if she does develop early puberty----discuss with her what that means as far as her sexuality in the coming years.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Our Behavior Set By 1st Grade

Who we are now is something that might go back as far as first grade.

It's looking more and more like our personalities, even when we're gray haired, gets set in place when we are kids.

Think back to your first years in school and the classmates you had. Some were talkative, others pushy and others shy. Chances are they are still that way well into adulthood.

Researchers of a newly released study say that how we behave in 1st grade is a very strong predictor of how we will behave later on in life. They looked at how teachers rated over two thousand children's behavior back in the 1960's then checked up on these same kids forty years later as adults.

Even they were surprised by the closeness of personality traits. They reported in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science some examples. Those children identified as verbally fluent, meaning very talkative, tended to be middle age adults who displayed interest in intellectual matters, tried to control situations and had a high degree of intelligence. Impulsive students ended up being adults that spoke loudly and were talkative. On the other hand, those rated low on impulsivity ended up being timid adults who tended to be insecure.

So, it seems that it's tough to change what's already set in motion by first grade.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

When To Worry About Cholesterol

The big question is, when should you start worrying about your cholesterol? It's probably sooner than you'd think.

In the case of cholesterol you might think of it as "the younger, the better." Right now government guidelines call for 20-year-olds to have their cholesterol checked, then retested every five years. If it's high, especially LDL, the bad cholesterol, it gets treated. But if it's only borderline, it sometimes gets ignored by doctor and patients during young adulthood.

But new research is showing this could be a very unhealthy move. In a recent 20-year study, researchers found the collective effect of even modestly abnormal cholesterol levels over the years increased the risk of having signs of heart disease by the age of 45. Now experts are thinking the exposure your body gets to even slightly elevated levels of cholesterol during young adulthood does matter---and can lead to lasting damage to your heart and blood vessels in middle age.

Right now LDL levels are considered good if under 100. But researchers in this study found the magic number in young adults seemed to be 70. They think we, as doctors, need to be more aggressive with both children and young adults than we've done in the past, especially if their cholesterol is in that borderline range. But instead of starting off with medications, they do recommend diet and exercise as the first choice to try and get a young adults cholesterol down as low as possible.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

"Dirty Dozen" In Dietary Supplements

Millions of Americans take dietary supplements, but some of what they are taking could be risky.

We are talking about some of the ingredients in popular over-the-counter supplements. Consumer Reports just issued a warning about what some are calling the "dirty dozen" ingredients you should avoid.

These ingredients have side effects that most consumers don't know about but that experts say can cause heart, liver and kidney problems. The issue, according to Consumer Reports, is that most consumers might not realize that manufacturers of these supplements don't have to show they are safe or effective before putting them on the shelf. The FDA, which does regulate the safety of drugs and medicines, doesn't have much authority over these types of supplements.

The ingredients being listed as ones you should avoid include aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, colloidal silver, coltsfoot, comfrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia and yohimbe.

If you are taking any of these supplements your best bet is have an honest, open talk with your doctor about how risky they are to your health. The same goes for any other supplement or herb you're taking, since they might have side effects you aren't aware of, or could even be interfering with medication you are already taking.

Monday, August 2, 2010

New Weight Loss Drug

There might be new hope in the weight loss battle that's both safe and effective.

We've heard this promise so often that it's hard not to turn a deaf ear, but this time, researchers might have found a diet pill that both works and doesn't seem to have a lot of side effects. It's called Contrave.

One thing that separates this from other diet pills is that it's actually a combination of two different medications, naltrexone and buproprion, both medications that have been around for a few years. Naltraxone is used normally used to treat addictions, like smoking, and buproprion, which goes by the brand name wellbutrin, treats depression. But by combining these two medications into one pill, researchers have found a treatment that helped participants in a clinical trial lose, on the average, 6.1 percent of their body fat in one year. Researchers involved in the study thinks this pill is effective because the two drugs target different brain areas important to weight loss at the same time.

Although there were some side effects, including nausea, headache and dizziness, researchers said there were no signs of the depression or suicidal thoughts that came with other weight loss pills.

This medication is still in clinical trial but if results pan out, it could help shed some of those unwanted pounds in the near future.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Preventing The Freshmen 15

It's time to pack up and send your freshman off to college. Just make sure when they return, they haven't packed on the pounds.

It's called "The Freshmen 15". It's pretty common and named this because a lot of college freshmen tend to gain 15 pounds or more in this first year. But by being aware of how it happens, you can help them keep off this unwanted weight.

As they start learning how to live on their own, getting along with new people, and keeping up with classes, they're going to be feeling some stress. And in stressful situations, guess what? A lot of us comfort ourselves with food, and that can cause our freshman to put on the pounds. So, try and convince them that instead of reaching for pizza or ice cream to relax, go for a walk and then get back to work. They'll be surprised at how much this will help keep the stress down.

And you know, college is also a very social environment. But often the college scene includes food, and not all of it healthy. Remind them that when they're studying late at night with friends, instead of going after the chips and dips, reach for healthier snacks like fruit and veggies. Convince them to plan ahead and store healthy snacks in the room, so they have them when it's munchies time.

Lack of exercise also helps add the pounds. Although most high school seniors tend to be fit with sports and other activities, college freshmen slow down as they spend more time studying and working. Eating right and exercising can go a long way to maintaining weight. A few gentle reminders about this during those special phone calls home might help them keep slim and trim all year.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

New Head Lice Recommendations

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of a parent like head lice. But recommendations on how to treat them are changing.

Believe it or not, the biggest new recommendation is to not keep your kids at home if they do get head lice.

For a parent, there isn't anything much worse than getting that call from the school nurse letting you know your child has lice in their hair. Not only do you have to treat them to get rid of the little bugs, but you also need to call the parents of any other kids they played with to let them know. And it used to be you'd keep them out of school until the lice were gone. But the American Academy of Pediatrics just released new guidelines, and the biggest change is a strong stance against school screenings for lice and as they put it "no healthy child should be excluded from or allowed to miss school time because of head lice."

Contrary to what many parents believe, lice infestations are not a sign of dirty hair or poor hygiene. Anyone can get lice. But pediatric experts also feel that with new treatments and a better understanding of the problem, keeping kids out of school isn't necessary. They also emphasis that homemade treatments, including bleach, acetone and even wd-40 applied to the hair cause way more harm than good.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Live Longer, Stand Up

Do you want to live a longer, healthier life. Maybe standing more is your answer.

It looks like the more you stand the less likely you are to die early. Or, to put it more correctly, the more you sit, the greater risk you have of an earlier death.

Decades ago, hardly anyone sat all day long. But now we sit to go to work, then sit at work all day long, then sit to get back home. And once we're home, we sit to watch TV.

Now it looks like all that sitting is taking it's toll.

The American Cancer Society studied over 50,000 men and women to find out how long they sat during the day and compared that to how long they lived. Researchers found the magic numbers were 3 and 6. If you spent more than 6 hours a day of your leisure time sitting, you significantly increased your chances of dying earlier than those sitting less than 3 hours.

The thinking is that sitting decreases your overall physical activity and can affect your metabolic function during the day----that can increase your chances of an early death. To make things even a little bit more concerning, this study only looked at hours sitting outside of work. So, adding hours at a desk might even make things a little worse.

So when you can, stand up, or better yet, walk around. That could make all the difference in the world.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

No More Yearly Flu Shots?

Flu season is still months away but vaccine makers are already in full production mode. Soon yearly flu shots might be a thing of the past.

The flu shot is a yearly routine we all go through. The virus causing the flu mutates and changes just enough each year so that last years shot won't work. But every year experts have to take an educated guess what types of flu might be here in the following winter. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't. But now the goal of a universal flu vaccine—one that will cover all strains of the flu and might only need to be given every decade or maybe even once a lifetime—is closer to reality.

Scientists have found a two step approach that allows a vaccine to cover all strains of the flu, not just the traditional 3 the shot covers every year. They were able to use a DNA primer which pumped up the immune system followed by a traditional flu vaccine. This combination proved very effective at covering different types of flu from years past.

Although this is still just an early start, it's crosses a big hurdle that scientists have been working on for some time. The hope is from here they will be able to get that universal vaccine—then maybe lining up every year for your flu shot might become a thing of the past.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Wearing High Heels

If you frequently wear high heels there is something you might need to do before putting on your flats.

It might be something you noticed in the past. You often wear high heels and find it can be a little painful when you wear flats or walk around bear footed. For years doctors have felt that frequently wearing high heels could lead to a shortening of the muscles in the back of the leg and this shortening could be causing the pain when you switch to flats. But they were never able to prove it until now.

Scientist looked at the calf muscles of women that frequently wore heels. An MRI scan showed no difference in calf muscles between them or those who mostly used flats. But when they examined those same muscles with an ultrasound they found shorter muscle fibers in the women who mostly wore high heels.

They also noticed these same women had thicker and stiffer tendons behind their heels. This combination is why it can be painful to switch to flats or even walk around without shoes if you've been wearing heels for a while. But there are things you can do to help. One is to alternate flats and heels when you can. The other is to do calf and heel stretches in your bear feet during the day, especially on days you wear heels. The main thing is to make sure fashion doesn't become painful.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Lucky Charms

If you have something important coming up, like a company presentation, you might want to take your lucky charm along with you.

Lucky rabbit's foot, special coin, old t-shirt. Many of us have some type of lucky object. But, does having these really do any good? According to a new series of studies, it looks they might actually help you perform better.

One group of researchers noticed star athletes frequently had lucky shirts or shorts, or didn't shave so they could carry a lucky beard during playoffs. So they set out to see if that type of thing worked. They asked a group of volunteers to bring in a lucky charm and give them up to be photographed. They only returned the charm to half of the group. Then they had them take a computerized memory test. The ones with lucky charms did much better.

Other researchers found something similar---people doing better when they had their lucky charm with them, or when they were told “good luck” before a task.

Although this technique isn't foolproof, scientist believe that having some type of “lucky Charm” with them gives people a little bit of confidence in whatever they are doing. And that confidence helps them do better. So next time you have an important presentation to give, or need to ask for a raise or promotion, stick your lucky charm in your pocket. It might help give you that slight edge.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Parents & Weight Gain

If you’ve put on a few pounds over the years, you might want to blame your kids.

It probably doesn’t come as any big surprise to any parent, but having kids means you don’t exercise nearly as much as you need to---and that means over the years you put on the pounds. But how much this affects you might be the big surprise.

As part of the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index survey, nearly 60,000 Americans were interviewed about how often they exercised. It turns out that if they have an under 18-year-old child in the house, then they don’t exercise very much. And 28% of the parents surveyed said they don’t really exercise at all. Again, it probably won’t surprise any parent much that the ones least likely to exercise had kids under 4-years-old in the house.

But this was having an impact on the parent’s health. One-in-four of them reported being obese and over 35% overweight. This was more than parents without children in the home.

So what does this mean, are kids bad for your health? No. But as any parent will tell you, they do occupy a great deal of your time. The secret is to make exercise one of your priorities and involve the kids if you can, especially as they get older. This will do two things. One, keep you in good health, and two, get your kids to realize how important exercise is to overall health.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Coughing & Sneezing Correctly

We all know to cover up when we cough and sneeze, but how many of us actually do that?

It turns out a lot of us are covering up but most of us aren't doing it right. And by not doing it right, we are helping spread the cold and flu.

This study was done in New Zealand, were medical students had the unenviable task of sitting at a train station, shopping mall and hospital, watching people sneeze and cough. They did this during the swine flu pandemic, right when everyone was telling us to cover up when coughing and sneezing.

The good news is that most people, three out of four, at least tried to cover up to help prevent their germs from flying around. But the bad news is that, again most of them, three out of four, used their hands to do it.

And the problem is when you use your hands, instead of the inside corner of your elbow, you spread the virus to your hands. Then anything you touch after that---a doorknob or computer keyboard--- gets contaminated with that virus and can spread to others.

So, the goal here is to keep up the good work of covering up during a cough or sneeze but instead of using a hand, use your elbow or even a tissue then make sure you wash your hands.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Glaucoma

As the population gets older more of us need to consider getting regular eye exams.

That's because glaucoma is one of those things you might not know you have until it's too late.

Around 4 million Americans suffer from glaucoma and it causes around 10 percent of the blindness in this country. What usually happens with this disease is the pressure inside the eye starts to build up. Over time, this build up in pressure pushes on the optic nerve at the back of the eye and that starts the process of vision loss.

The problem is that this usually goes unnoticed until a majority of the vision has been permanently lost. But a simple eye exam can find glaucoma early on, and the earlier it's found the easier it is to treat. The group Prevent Blindness America recommends a dilated eye exam every two to four years once you hit 40 and every one to two years if you're 65 or older.

The important thing is to get any glaucoma detected and to start treatment as early as possible so you can avoid what experts call “the sneak thief of sight” Like one expert puts it, you get your teeth examined just about every year, but not your eyesight. Would you rather loose your teeth or your vision?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Later School Start Times

Later school starting times for teenagers could improve their performance.

We're talking about letting them sleep in just an additional 30 minutes. That can help teens in more ways than just with better grades.

It might seem a little odd to talk about a school subject in July, but a new study was just released looking at a small experiment that pushed back school starting time for teens. The results, published in this month's Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, were pretty amazing.

Researchers convinced a small boarding school in Rhode Island to delay high school start times from 8 to 8:30. At first many parents and teachers were reluctant to go along, but after the late start time began, the results were so impressive they made the change permanent.

First period tardiness fell by almost half and students reported feeling less depressed or irritated. Health center visits dropped substantially and the number of hot breakfasts served more than doubled, meaning more students were getting a healthy start to their day.

Other studies have shown similar results from later teen start times including better academic performance. Part of the reason is the teens' biological clock. They don't really start getting tired until 11 pm or later and are still in their deepest sleep around dawn, when most of them have to wake up to go to school.
So by delaying that wake up by half an hour school-wide, they getting much more out of school.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Sweets & Blood Pressure

You might think about cutting out the sweets to drop a pound or two but how about cutting them out to improve your blood pressure?

We all take in plenty of sweets and these days more people are battling with high blood pressure—well now the two might actually be connected.

Over the last one hundred years or so the number of people with high blood pressure has tripled. The number of products with fructose sweeteners has also gone up dramatically during the same time. So researchers decided to see if the two were connected. After interviewing over 4,000 adults, here's what they found. On the average, adults consumed 74 grams of fructose per day, or the equivalent of 2 and ½ soft drinks every single day. About one third of those surveyed also had borderline blood pressure and eight percent had high blood pressure with values above 140 over 90.

The connection comes from the fact those consuming the most fructose were also more likely to have high blood pressure. And this might account for part of the reason blood pressures have risen dramatically over the last century.

Of course, it's hard to make a direct connection between the two and the Corn Refiners Association, a US trade group representing sweetener refiners, says this is a flawed study to begin with. But cutting out sweets is something most of us need to do anyway and that might also help keep your blood pressure under control.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Cartoons & Food

Can a cartoon really make food taste better? It can if you're a kid.

Anyone with kids has been there, watching your child through a grocery store tantrum over a food box with a cartoon character on it.

Now researchers have confirmed what most of us probably thought. A study out of Yale University found that, to children at least, food that's marked with cartoons tastes better.

In this study 40 children were asked to do a taste test on three different food items---gummy snacks, graham crackers and baby carrots. One bite came from a plain package and one bite came from a similar package but with a cartoon character on the front label.

Although both packages held the exact same snack, children consistently said food from the cartoon labeled box tasted better. And this was especially true for high sugar foods like the gummy snacks.

The researchers involved in this study point out that here in the U.S. the food industry spends a great deal of money on cartoon food labeling---and should probably be restricted to a system like the UK where food has to meet a certain nutritional standard before it can be marketed to kids.

Meanwhile, it's up to parents to realize just how much these "simple" cartoon characters can affect kids choices and remember---it's alright to say no.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Whooping Cough

Although it might sound like something from decades ago, California is currently having a whooping cough outbreak.

Depends on how old you are and your health, but for infants, it can be fatal.

Unfortunately that is happening right now in California, where this year alone, they have over 900 cases of whooping cough, which goes by the medical name pertussis. The worse news is that 5 infants have died from it.

Whooping cough hasn't been in the news much lately although there have been outbreaks from time to time across the country. Prior to the mid 40's, when a vaccine became available, there where hundreds of thousands of cases every year and it was a major cause of infant death. After the vaccine came into use, the number of infections dropped until 1975 but since then have continued to climb.

For an adult or teenager, whooping cough might only resemble the common cold, but if they pass it on to a child under one year of age, it can be fatal. One reason for the increase in cases, according to experts, is the rise in the number of parents not getting children their vaccinations along with adults who had the pertussis vaccination needing a booster shot.

Right now the new tetanus vaccine, called the TDAP, contains a part to protect from the whooping cough. And since we all need a tetanus shot at least every ten years, it's a good time to add the pertussis part.

Protecting yourself will also help protect young kids you come into contact with and hopefully keep this outbreak from spreading.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Reusable Grocery Bags & Your Health

If you use reusable grocery bags---you're helping save the environment, but you might also be putting your families health at risk.

It's because they could be harboring bacteria that could cause food poisoning. But the solution is simple.

Researchers from the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University found out two different things in their new study. They asked shoppers heading into grocery stores if they washed their reusable bags and found that the vast majority---97 percent don't. Plus, about two-thirds of them don't use separate bags for meat and vegetables.

Then they took 84 of the bags and tested them. All but one of the bags had large amounts of bacteria with half of them having coliform bacteria---which can come from raw meat---and 12 percent had ecoli. For comparisons sake they also tested new reusable bags and didn't find any bacteria on them. That means the bacteria they found in the used ones most likely comes from the food you place in them at the grocery store.

But the solution is simple. These researchers found that cleaning the bags in your washer and drier completely gets rid of the bacteria. And that's their recommendation, to wash those bags after using them, that way you can help save the earth and keep your family safe at the same time.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Portion Control

It seems like everybody is on some type of diet or another, but none of them seem to work very well. But there might be an easier way to lose weight.

It's simple, easy and cheap but something most of us don't do---portion control. And the big tip here is to change the size of your plates.

Do me a big favor, go measure the size of your dinner plates. Chances are they are 10 or 12 inches across. And in a restaurant, they are most likely 12 to 14 inches wide. If your parents or grandparents have any plates left over from the 1960's they'll probably measure 8 to 10 inches. The point is that plate size has increased over the years and that means portion size has gone up as well. That increase in portion sizes is what's helping pack on the pounds. So by simply changing out to smaller 8 inch plates you'll lose weight.

Here's why. We tend to stop eating based on what are called external factors---in other words, we eat until our plate is clean when we should only be eating until we start to feel full. And researchers have found that we'll do the same with smaller plates but since the portion sizes are smaller we tend to eat less. It's a cheap way to trick our brains into cutting back on how much we eat and a great way to start shedding pounds.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

What You Get From Coffee

THAT QUICK PICK-ME-UP FROM YOUR MORNING CUP OF COFFEE... MAY NOT BE DOING WHAT YOU THINK IT'S DOING.

WHAT YOU'RE GETTING FROM COFFEE... REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH YOU DRINK.

IF YOU DRINK A LOT OF COFFEE... THAT FIRST CUP IN THE MORNING PROBABLY ISN'T GIVING YOU THE CAFFEINE BOOST YOU'RE LOOKING FOR... IT MIGHT JUST BE CORRECTING A CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL YOU'RE HAVING.

IT'S ALL PART OF A NEW STUDY IN THE JOURNAL "NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY"...
SCIENTISTS LOOKED AT PEOPLE WHO DRINK COFFEE ROUTINELY... AND THOSE WHO DON'T.

SOME WERE GIVEN CAFFEINE TABLETS... SOME WERE GIVEN PLACEBOS. THEN THE PEOPLE IN THE STUDY WERE GIVEN A SERIES OF TESTS EXAMINING THEIR MEMORY, ATTENTIVENESS AND VIGILANCE...
AND GUESS WHAT? THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUP GIVEN THE CAFFEINE TABLETS... AND THE ONE THAT ONLY HAD THE PLACEBO.

SO HERE'S WHAT THEY THINK IS GOING ON... ESPECIALLY WITH THAT FIRST MORNING CUP... WHEN REGULAR DRINKERS GO WITHOUT COFFEE OVERNIGHT...

THEIR BODIES START TO GO THROUGH CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL. THAT COMES WITH SIDE-EFFECTS THAT GIVE YOU HEADACHES AND MAKES YOU LESS ALERT. WHEN YOU GET YOUR FIRST COFFEE OF THE DAY... YOU GET A SMALL BOOST... BUT ONLY ENOUGH TO BRING YOU BACK TO THE LEVEL YOU'D BE AT IF YOU DIDN'T DRINK COFFEE AT ALL.

SO IF YOU DRINK A WHOLE LOT OF COFFEE... YOU MIGHT NOT BE DOING YOURSELF ANY FAVORS... ESPECIALLY WITH THAT FIRST WAKE-UP DRINK.
AGAIN, MODERATION IS KEY.

Early Morning Workouts

When it comes to burning fat, getting out first thing in the morning might be the key.

Why early morning? Because it looks like exercising before eating breakfast could help burn fat.

When we work out, we are trying to both keep our heart in good shape and look better. That means doing what you can to lose body fat. According to this latest study, one key might be holding off breakfast until after you get your workout in.

In this study, researchers found those subjects that hadn't eaten before exercising burned a higher percentage of fat versus carbohydrates. Scientists think this has to do with the fact our bodies, when you exercise after fasting, have high adrenaline and low insulin. This ratio forces our muscles to break down more fatty acid.

The researchers involved in this study recommend exercising before breakfast in particular because once you eat it takes up to six hours to get back to the same level you were before breakfast.

Although this method might have you burn more fat, there are some things to keep in mind. Number one, most experienced athletes will only do this once per week, if at all---since it can be tough---but even that amount gives you fat burning benefits. And secondly, you need to realize that even though you're burning more fat---you're training will probably suffer since you won't have the energy for a tough workout. Plus, you need to remember not to gorge on food after exercising even though you'll probably be extra hungry---that would only defeat the purpose of what you are trying to accomplish in the first place.