April 1st, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Diet and Exercise, General Medicine, High Cholesterol, kids, LDL, Middle School Youth, Obese, Obesity, Overweight, Pediatrics, Physical Activity, Primary Care, School Lunch, Screen Hours, Sports, University of Michigan
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Research from the University of Michigan suggests that say one in three middle school youth who regularly eat school lunches are obese or overweight. They are also more likely to have higher cholesterol levels than kids who bring lunches from home.
The study included 1,076 middle school students who completed questionnaires about what they ate and how much physical activity they got as well as how many screen hours they logged each day.
Compared with kids who ate school lunches, kids who brought lunches from home were:
– Less likely to be overweight or obese (25% vs 38%)
– Less likely to eat two or more servings of fatty meats like fried chicken or hot dogs daily (2% vs. 6%)
– Less likely to drink two or more sugary drinks a day (7% vs. 19%)
– More likely to eat at least two servings a day of fruit (49% vs. 33%)
– More likely to eat at least two servings a day of vegetables (50% vs. 40%)
– Had lower levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol) Read more »
This post, Kids Who Eat School Lunch Are Less Healthy In General, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 1st, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, American Chemical Society, Antibiotics, Antidepressants, Antimicrobials, API, Biology, Birth Control Pills, Christian Daughton, Dermatology, Disinfection, Dr. Ilene Ruhoy, Drinking Water, Environment, Feces, General Practice, Hormones, Infectious Disease, Narcotics, Primary Care, Steriods, Topical Medications, Un-Metabolized, Unused Medications, Urine, Water Pollution
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I have written two posts in the past on proper disposal of unused medications, and I have always been mindful of the medicines as a source of environmental water pollution. This past week the American Chemical Society reminded (head-slapped me) that topical medications are a source of environmental water pollution from their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Yes, the simple act of bathing washes hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals down the drain into the water supply.
Ilene Ruhoy, M.D., Ph.D. and colleague Christian Daughton, Ph.D. looked at potential alternative routes for the entry into the environment by way of bathing, showering, and laundering. These routes may be important for certain APIs found in medications that are applied topically to the skin — creams, lotions, ointments, gels, and skin patches. These APIs include steroids (such as cortisone and testosterone), acne medicine, antimicrobials, narcotics, and other substances. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
March 31st, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays
Tags: Difficult To Treat, Drug-Seeking, Emergency Medicine, General Medicine, Health Insurance, Healthcare reform, Non-Compliant, Patient Entitlement, Primary Care, Unpleasant Patients
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In the practice of medicine, as in any human endeavor, we encounter a wide variety of human beings. While thinking about this recently, in light of the passage of the healthcare reform act, I realized something startling that supporters of the bill may not realize: There are some patients that nobody wants to see.
This uncomfortable truth exists irrespective of the presence or absence of insurance. Sometimes physicians are accused of dismissing or avoiding certain patients on the basis of their finances alone. While that problem exists (and I have seen it), a great many of the patients who can’t find (or keep) a doctor simply aren’t much fun to be around, much less to treat. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
March 30th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Animals, Big Agriculture, Corn-Fed Beef, Dietitian, Eating Healthy, Farming, Fast Food Nation, Food Inc. Documentary, Grass-Fed Beef, High-Calorie, Inhumane Conditions, Meat, Michael Pollan, Perverted Economics, Processed Foods, Safeway, Slaughterhouse, Sugar-Laden, Whole Foods
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I watched a good documentary called “Food, Inc.” It was nominated for an Academy Award. The promo says “you’ll never look at dinner the same way” and they’re right. Since I’m a fan of Michael Pollan and have read “Fast Food Nation,” I was already a healthy-food fan, but seeing how agriculture and farming has changed over the last 40 years was still a shocker.
There’s no doubt that high-calorie, sugar-laden processed foods are contributing to serious health issues in America. And 10 billion animals are raised on factory farms under inhumane conditions.
So when I went to the grocery store today, I made a conscious choice to ask if Safeway had any grass-fed beef for a healthy stir fry I was making for dinner. The answer was “No,” so I journeyed over to Whole Foods where I bought a pound of grass-fed sirloin. The cost was a whopping $16.43.
I have to ask myself why grass-fed beef should be so much more expensive than corn-fed beef. There’s no way the average family could afford to eat the way we should. The impact on our environment and our health is suffering terribly because of these perverted economics.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
March 30th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion
Tags: American Urological Association, Dr. Daniel Merenstein, Dr. Richard Ablin, General Medicine, New York Times, Oncology, Preventive Medicine, Primary Care, Prostate Cancer Awareness, Prostate Cancer Screening, PSA test, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Urology, USPSTF
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Is the tide finally turning on PSA screening for prostate cancer? There’s no definitive data that PSA screening saves lives from prostate cancer, and it indeed can lead to further, invasive, tests that can cause men significant discomfort. Medical societies are divided on the issue. Primary care groups like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend against it for older men, while the American Urological Association (AUA) continues to recommend screening.
In a strongly worded op-ed in the New York Times, Richard Ablin, also known as the founder of the PSA test, bemoans how our healthcare system has twisted its use. “The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster,” he writes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
