Thursday, February 28, 2013

Ear Infection Antibiotics

Antibiotics or no antibiotics. That's always the big question when your child has an ear infection.

Ear infections can be tough on children, but they are also tough to deal with as parents. Years ago, ear infections used to all be treated with antibiotics. But guidelines posted back in 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics had us start a watchful waiting period in children with ear infections since they felt most might not need antibiotics anyway and we were over treating those we did prescribe it for. But now they are taking a more middle ground with new updates to this same guideline.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics ear infections are still getting over treated with antibiotics. It turns out that for more cases of ear infections in children, 2 out of 3 of them will get better on their own. But these new guidelines better define which children need treatment right away and which ones can wait on antibiotics for 3 days to see if they do indeed get better on their own.

The overall goal is to better treat ear infections, but at the same time make sure children aren't getting antibiotics when they don't need them, especially since antibiotics like all medicines, can have side effects and at least in the case of an ear infection might not be needed in every case.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Importance Of Pedometers

Are you not doing as well on your New Year's Resolutions as you'd like? Then how about getting a pedometer?

It's a simple device that just does one simple thing... measure how many steps you take during the day. But this same simple device can also get you to take more steps every day. And that means burning more calories along the way.

These devices have been around for years and have been used time and time again in different exercise type programs. They are usually used to help measure just how much work a person is doing during the day by just walking around. And just walking around can burn a lot more calories than most of us think. Most experts recommend we try and get 10,000 steps per day to help stay fit. But with all the sitting we do at work and home, most of us get much less than that. The average one of us only takes a little over 5,000 steps every day... way below that target number of 10,000. But now it looks like just having a pedometer will actually get you to walk more. Pedometer wearers in recent studies ended up walking 2,000 more steps per day simply by just wearing a pedometer. It seems like when we put one on our belts, we walk more, whether we intend to or not.

And all that extra walking means extra calories burnt day in and day out. And that means extra pounds lost, just by strapping on that little step measuring device... the pedometer. A great way to start those New Year's Resolutions up again.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

What Kids Watch On TV & Behavior

Being choosy about what your kids watch on TV might improve their behavior.

When it comes to kids and TV watching it's not just how much they watch, but also what they watch that has the biggest effect on their behavior. So, as parents our job is to be choosy and picky and control the remote when it comes to our children watching TV.

Past studies have shown that limiting TV time can go a long way towards making sure our kids get plenty of exercise, sleep and family time. But this new study, just published in the journal Pediatrics, is showing that even when they watch TV we need to make sure they are watching appropriate shows. Researchers found that after families of 3- to 5-year-olds reduced the amount of aggressive and violent shows they watched, the kids' behavior had a significant improvement. Instead of these types of shows, the children were allowed to watch more educational type programming. As one researcher put it, it's not just about turning off the TV, but about changing the channel to something more appropriate for their age group.

So, if your child is watching TV make sure you know what they are seeing. If it's a show with aggressive or violent content, then simply switch the channel to something that not only will help them learn a little more about the world around them, but can also help them improve their behavior as they grow up.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Risks Of Too Much Calcium

Calcium can help keep your bones strong, but too much can hurt you in other ways.

Americans are taking more calcium than ever. Sometimes this comes in the form of calcium rich foods. Other times it comes in the form of a multivitamin or supplement. But a new study is showing that too much calcium, for men, can increase their risk of heart problems and strokes.

Like all medications, if calcium is used correctly it can not only help keep our bones strong, but can also help keep us healthy. For most of us that means eating foods rich in calcium which includes dairy products, certain fish and calcium fortified foods like cereals and bread. The current recommendation is for us to take 1,000 milligrams a day as adults. For men over 70 and women over 50 you can push that to 1,200 milligrams a day.

But if we take in too much calcium, that too can cause problems, especially if we use supplements. We've known for a while that excess calcium supplements increases our chances of getting kidney stones. This new study is also showing that, for men, taking too much calcium can also increase their risk of heart problems. Researchers found that too much supplemental calcium, but not dietary calcium was responsible. As a matter of face, men taking in more than 1,000 milligrams a day of supplemental calcium had a 20% higher risk of dying from heart disease or strokes.

So, the bottom line from this study is for all of us, and men in particular, to make sure we don't take in too much calcium and to try and take most of that from the foods we eat every day.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Thin Air Keeps Us Thin

They say the air is thin here in Colorado, but that thin air might also be helping you stay thin.

We hear it all the time from visitors, especially those from sea level... how can you breath here? How can you stand to live this high up? But unknown to most of us until now, this thin air also has some connection to our great low obesity rate.

Coloradans take pride in the fact that we have the lowest obesity rate in the country year after year. A lot of the reason behind this is because of our love for exercising and doing things outside along with healthier food habits. But it might also be the altitude helping out.

A new study, just published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that those of us living at the highest altitudes had lower obesity rates than those living at the lowest altitude. This study centered on Colorado and compared our obesity rates with people living at sea level. Researchers found those living at sea level were 4 to 5 times more likely to be obese compared to us up here. Although they aren't exactly sure why this is happening, they think that living at altitude causes us to burn more calories and affects hormones that control our appetite. But they also point out that just living at our high altitudes shouldn't be used as an excuse to not exercise since even though we do have the lowest obesity rate in the country, that rate keeps going up each year.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Living Heart Healthy

February is national heart month. It's a great time to learn more about ways to battle heart disease and learn how to live a heart-healthy life.

You've probably heard the saying, "an apple doesn't fall far from the tree." That means things happen in families; and when it comes to heart problems that's definitely true.

Many things go into the "great" equation of life that determines whether you're going to end up with heart disease or not. Among those are your diet, whether you smoke, and your blood pressure. These are things you can change for the better. But one of the ones you can't change is your genetics or family history, and those can have an even bigger influence.

Trying to figure out who is going to have a heart attack before it happens is tough, but there is one big thing you can do to help yourself out --- look at how your family members are doing. And looking closely at "their" health can have a huge impact on "your" health. As a matter of fact, experts predict that if all middle aged adults who have a family history of heart disease were tested themselves, then up to 40% of premature heart attacks could be avoided.

What this essentially tells us is that if a family member has a heart attack, then other family members are at a higher risk themselves. And the closer they are to you, the greater your chance. That means that mother, father, sister and brother have the most impact on your heart health. So if one of those has had a heart problem, then your chances go up even more. And that means you need to be even more careful with your heart health.

Marriage & Heart Health

There is one thing many of us do that we probably don't even realize keeps our hearts healthy.

Everyone needs to thank their spouse sometime, because it turns out that one of the best things you can do for your heart is to be married.

Heart disease is still the number one leading cause of death here in the U.S. This goes for both men and women. But a new study, just published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that both married men and women have a lower risk of having either a fatal or non-fatal heart attack. The researchers involved in this study found men and women were actually twice as likely to die after a heart attack if they were unmarried. They also had the highest rates of heart attacks to begin with.

Other earlier studies also found that unmarried people and those living alone had a bigger risk of heart problems and ended up dying more because of this. And although the researchers involved in this study can't pinpoint what exactly keeps married couples from having as many heart attacks, they think a couple of factors come into play. Married people tend to have better health habits, including going to the doctor for needed screening tests before something bad like a heart attack happens. And they also get earlier help if something like a heart attack does come on, increasing their chances of surviving the event.

So again, sometime soon turn to your spouse or your significant other and thank them for all they do, including helping keep you healthy.