August 21st, 2009 by admin in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: added sugar, Food and Nutrition, Journal of the Americal Dietetic Association, Sugar
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I was reading a very interesting study in this month’s issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association the other day. The study was on sugar consumption and looked at different populations in the US and compared on average how much sugar they ate.
The first statistic that shocked me was that the average intake of added sugar is 17% of our daily calories per day. This is added sugar, meaning it doesn’t count the sugar found naturally in fruit and milk, but rather just the sugars added to the foods we consume. 17% of our calories?!?!? That is a lot, in my opinion. It is not a secret that I have a sweet tooth especially when it comes to chocolate, but the sweets do not add up to almost 20% of my calories for the day!
The study broke down race/ethnicity, education, and income to see how these factors influenced how much sugar they ate. Check out some of the findings:
- As education level and family income increased, sugar intake was lower
- Asian Americans then Hispanics had the lowest intakes
- Black men were highest among men
Trying to identify added sugars? Look for these terms:
- brown sugar
- corn sweetener
- corn syrup
- dextrose
- fructose
- fruit juice concentrates
- glucose
- high-fructose corn syrup
- honey
- invert sugar
- lactose
- maltose
- malt syrup
- molasses
- raw sugar
- sucrose
- sugar
- syrup
Common foods with added sugars:
- regular soft drinks
- candy
- cakes
- cookies
- pies
- fruit drinks, such as fruitades and fruit punch
- milk-based desserts and products, such as ice cream, sweetened yogurt and sweetened milk
- grain products such as sweet rolls and cinnamon toast
This post, Sugar, Sugar Everywhere…, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Brian Westphal.
August 20th, 2009 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, shingles, Vaccine, Zostavax
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A Guest Blog by Kevin Soden, MD
I ran into an old friend this past week and, as all of us over 60 do, we began talking about our health and the various ailments afflicting us as we age.
He shared with me that he was currently dealing with a bad case of the “shingles” (known as Herpes Zoster in medical circles) at age 65 and how terribly painful they were. He said that he wouldn’t wish them on his worst enemy.
As many of you may know because you’ve suffered a similar problem, shingles is caused by the Varicella Zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.
Only someone who has had a case of chickenpox – or gotten chickenpox vaccine – can get shingles. The virus stays in your body and it can reappear many years later to cause a case of shingles.
Always being the doctor, I asked my friend whether or not he’d gotten the vaccine to help reduce his risk of getting shingles.
He acted shocked and was quite angry as he explained that he’d never been told by his doctor about that there was a vaccine available that might prevent shingles.
The vaccine available for adults 60 and over to prevent shingles is called Zostavax. In clinical trials, the vaccine prevented shingles in about half of people 60 years of age and older. Even if you do get shingles after being vaccinated, it may help reduce the pain associated with shingles but it cannot be used to treat shingles once you have it.
I’m really not pushing the Zostavax vaccine because it’s not recommended for everyone but rather am reminding everyone that prevention is much better than treating after someone has a disease.
Talk to your doctor at your yearly visit to see what preventive steps you should be taking.
Check the CDC website for more information about vaccines that might be right for you especially if you are traveling to other countries.
Frankly, if your doctor is not talking to you about preventing disease, then it just might be time to find another doctor.
About Kevin Soden, MD
Dr. Kevin Soden has been a medical journalist for over 20 years appearing on CBS, NBC and most recently on NBC’s Today Show. He now serves as the host for Healthline, the national award-winning daily medical television show seen on the Retirement Living Network. He also serves as the worldwide Medical Director for Texas Instruments and Cardinal Health and teaches as a courtesy Professor at the Univ. of Florida College of Medicine.
His awards include 3 Telly’s, the 2008 CableFax award for best cable health show, the 2008 and 2001 National Award for Excellence in Medical Reporting from the National Association of Medical Communicators, a finalist for the International Freddie Awards in 2001, and as the Executive Producer for Rush of the Palms received the 2003 International Film Critics award for short films.
Kevin published The Art of Medicine: What Every Doctor and Patient Should Know…a critically acclaimed book focusing on improving doctor-patient communications. He is also the primary author of a consumer medical book Special Treatment: How to Get the High-Quality Care Your Doctor Gets. He is also a contributing author to the recently published A Practical Approach to Occupational and Environmental Medicine and to Physician Leaders: Who, How and Why Now? He has just finished his third book Think Like a Man: Male Behaviors that Can Help Woman Lighten the Load, Loosen Up and Find Happiness in a Stress-Filled World. He also is a regular contributor to numerous popular magazines.
Soden graduated with honors from the University of Florida College of Medicine and is one of the original inductees into the UF Medical Wall of Fame. He also has a Masters in Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin and a Masters in Personnel Administration from Florida State University.
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
August 19th, 2009 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: Child-Proofing, Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Pills, Safety
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If you are a family with kids and have grandparents or great grandparents alive, you likely enjoy visiting with your relatives from time to time. While your small children may not always get much out of these visits, especially while very young, they do wonders for our older relatives who so enjoy visits from family and delight in seeing us become parents and expand our families.
I remember vividly visiting my grandparents as they aged, as a child, a teen, a young adult and when I became a parent with my own infants and toddlers. I recall well their delight…and the vivid images of their aging lives: durable medical equipment like canes and walkers in the corner of the room. And, the kitchen counter with rows of medication bottles that made the counter appear like the pharmacist’s counter at the local pharmacy. Given all of my grandparents had arthritis towards the end of their lives, none of those bottles had child-resistant tops.
Whether at home, an assisted care facility or a nursing home, the issue I worry about with small kids are floors and medications. Even if someone is handing an older person their medication, a pill can fall to the floor without being noticed and later found by a toddling child who mistakes it for a piece of candy. That’s what happened last week when 15 month old boy found a shiny pink pill on the floor of his grandmother’s house and didn’t think twice about tossing it in his mouth. Thankfully, it was bitter so he spit most of it out but it was a blood pressure medication so we had to given him activated charcoal, a lot of it, and then observe him in the emergency room for 6 hours.
This story had a happy ending but could have been a disaster had it been a different type of pill or a higher dose, or a group of pills. It’s very, very important that we all take a moment to think about the pill safety of our older relatives – for their sake and the sake of the small children in their lives. In addition to products that can help dispense pills more safely, making sure floors are clean before visits and supervising kids during visits are essential.
As an aside, the moral to this story can be extended to hotels and homes we may visit that we are not as familiar with. Pills can easily fall out of pockets, purses and luggage. When traveling anywhere with small kids, get on the ground and look under beds, chairs, sofas, pillows and be sure there are not any pills or other small items that we wouldn’t want our small children, or even older children, to touch, or worse – eat!
BTW, can you find the pill in this picture? Hint: it’s blue.
See On The Edge Of Something blog for the “before” shots showing the pill in a spoon on the floor.
Not so easy, huh? Unless, of course, you are a very small child with the eye sight of a falcon and live close to the ground routinely. Now do you get the point?
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
August 15th, 2009 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: hot water, jellyfish, Jellyfish Sting, Treatment
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There are multiple therapies recommended for field therapy (first aid) for jellyfish stings. These include topical decontaminants, such as vinegar (acetic acid), rubbing alcohol, papain, citrus juice, ammonia, and others; rapid decontamination combined with removal of nematocysts (by scraping, shaving, or abrasion); application of ice or cold packs; and application of heat. In addition, there is the consideration of therapy for an allergic reaction to jellyfish venom(s).
Application of heat, in the form of hot water “to tolerance” (non-scalding) is a relatively new therapy, in comparison to others that have been recommended for years in one form or another. The major proponents for this therapy are Australians, who have observed and evaluated this therapy clinically, predominately in victims of the Australian species of man-of-war jellyfishes. Their observations have been that this therapy is very helpful, as the victims improve clinically, particularly in showing relief from pain.
I am encouraged by this finding, and hope that it proves to be true over the long haul, and not just until it falls out of favor based upon some new recommendation. So, until further notice, here is general advice about how to manage a jellyfish sting:
The following is recommended for all unidentified jellyfish and other creatures with stinging cells, including the box jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war (“bluebottle”), Irukandji, fire coral, stinging hydroid, sea nettle, and sea anemone:
1. If the sting is felt to be from the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), immediately flood the wound with vinegar (5% acetic acid). Keep the victim as still as possible. Continually apply the vinegar until the victim can be brought to medical attention. If you are out at sea or on an isolated beach, allow the vinegar to soak the tentacles or stung skin for 10 minutes before you attempt to remove adherent tentacles or further treat the wound. In Australia, surf lifesavers (lifeguards) may carry antivenom, which is given as an intramuscular injection at the first-aid scene. There is recent discussion in the medical literature about whether or not antivenom against box jellyfish as currently administered to humans is beneficial. Until further notice, it is likely to be used by clinicians. Notably, the pressure immobilization technique is no longer recommended as a therapy for jellyfish stings.
2. For all other stings, if a topical decontaminant (vinegar or isopropyl [rubbing] alcohol) is available, pour it liberally over the skin or apply a soaked compress. Some authorities advise against the use of rubbing alcohol on the theoretical grounds that it has not been proven beyond a doubt to help. However, many clinical observations support its use. Since not all jellyfish are identical, it is extremely helpful to know ahead of time what works against the stinging creatures in your specific geographic location. For instance, vinegar may not work as well to treat sea bather’s eruption, which is commonly seen in certain Mexican coastal waters; a better agent (also subject to some differing opinions) may be a solution of papain (such as unseasoned meat tenderizer). For a fire coral sting, citrus (e.g., fresh lime) juice that contains citric, malic, or tartaric acid may be effective, with emphasis on the word “may.”
Until the decontaminant is available, you can rinse the skin with seawater. Do not rinse the skin gently with fresh water or apply ice directly to the skin, as these may worsen the envenomation. A brisk freshwater stream (forceful shower) may have sufficient force to physically remove the microscopic stinging cells, but nonforceful application is more likely to cause the stinging cells to discharge, increasing the envenomation. A nonmoist ice or cold pack may be useful to diminish pain, but take care to wipe away any surface moisture (condensation) prior to its application.
As I mentioned above, observations from Australia suggest that hot (nonscalding) water application or immersion may diminish the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war from that part of the world. The generalization of this observation to treatment of other jellyfishes, particularly in North America, should not automatically be assumed, because of the fact that application of fresh water worsens certain envenomations. However, the concept is intriguing, and I intend to try it the next time I am stung if hot water is available. (How hot is hot? The upper limit of temperature should be 113 degrees Fahrenheit or 45 degrees Centigrade.) Otherwise, I will continue to use vinegar (e.g., StingMate) or another of the useful topicals.
3. Apply soaks of vinegar or rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes or until pain is relieved. Baking soda powder or paste is recommended to detoxify the sting of certain sea nettles, such as the Chesapeake Bay sea nettle. If these decontaminants are not available, apply soaks of dilute (quarter-strength) household ammonia. A paste made from unseasoned meat tenderizer (do not exceed 15 minutes of application time, particularly not upon the sensitive skin of small children) or papaya fruit may be helpful. These contain papain, which may also be quite useful to alleviate the sting from the thimble jellyfish that cause sea bather’s eruption. Do not apply any organic solvent, such as kerosene, turpentine, or gasoline. While likely not harmful, urinating on a jellyfish, or any other marine, sting has never been proven to be effective.
4. After decontamination, apply a lather of shaving cream or soap and shave the affected area with a razor. In a pinch, you can use a paste of sand or mud in seawater and a clamshell.
5. Reapply the vinegar or rubbing alcohol soak for 15 minutes.
6. Apply a thin coating of hydrocortisone lotion (0.5 to 1%) twice a day. Anesthetic ointment (such as lidocaine hydrochloride 2.5% or a benzocaine-containing spray) may provide short-term pain relief.
7. If the victim has a large area involved (an entire arm or leg, face, or genitals), is very young or very old, or shows signs of generalized illness (nausea, vomiting, weakness, shortness of breath, chest pain, and the like), seek help from a doctor. If a child has placed tentacle fragments in his mouth, have him swish and spit whatever potable liquid is available. If there is already swelling in the mouth (muffled voice, difficulty swallowing, enlarged tongue and lips), do not give anything by mouth, protect the airway, and rapidly transport the victim to a hospital.
To prevent jellyfish stings, an ocean bather or diver should wear, at a minimum, a synthetic nylon-rubber (Lycra [DuPont]) dive skin. Safe Sea® Sunblock with Jellyfish Sting Protective Lotion, which is both a sunscreen and jellyfish sting inhibitor, has been shown to be effective in preventing stings from many jellyfish species.
This post, Hot Water for Jellyfish Stings, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
August 14th, 2009 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: inpatient treatment, Quitting Smoking, rehab, smoking cessation
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Many smokers I’ve seen for help in quitting have made a comment like, “if only I could be isolated on a desert island for a couple of weeks without cigarettes, then I could quit.” Earlier this week a news item from my home country (Scotland) told of a 56 year-old successful businessman named Geoff Spice who had smoked for 43 years and then decided to live on a remote island by himself for a month to quit smoking. And this island is really remote…with no electricity and only sheep for companionship (?!). So do you think this is a god way to quit smoking?
Perhaps the closest thing to this here in the United States is the option of going to a specialist clinic for residential tobacco dependence treatment. A handful of these residential clinics exist, with the most famous being ones at Mayo Clinic and Hazelden Foundation (both in Minnesota) and the St Helena Center in California. These residential clinics typical have a 4 to 8 day program including classes, pharmacotherapy and multidisciplinary therapy. They are also typically quite expensive ($3000 to $6,000) for the patient (though not in comparison to the cost for inpatient treatment for lung cancer!).
These clinics typically boast high long term (6 month to a year) quit rates (25 to 65%). The Mayo Clinic published a comparison between one year quit rates in their inpatient and outpatient program, finding a higher quit rate after residential treatment (45% v 23%). Of course it is possible that those attending expensive inpatient treatment were more highly motivated (and more affluent) than the average smoker seeking treatment. However, it is plausible that the methods taught in the classes are helpful, and that there is an advantage of getting off to a good start by virtually guaranteeing abstinence for the first few days.
The main challenge for those who start their quit attempt at a residential clinic, or on an island, is staying quit once they return to their normal environment with all the same triggers and cues.
I’d be interested to hear of the experiences of anyone who has tried these or other “extreme” tobacco dependence treatments.
Links to further information:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/ndc-rst/residential.html
http://www.smokefreelife.com/overview.php
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12709094
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8179781.stm
This post, Quitting Smoking Has Higher Success Rate In Inpatient Programs, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
