Health World News and Features

Ignoring Diabetes is Risky Business

2009-05-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

ARA) – Are you taking risks with your life without even knowing it? You may be one of the nearly 6 million Americans who have type 2 diabetes and don’t even know it.

Diabetes affects nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States and another 57 million have pre-diabetes, a condition that places them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If you don’t know the risk factors or symptoms for diabetes, you may very well be risking your life to this silent killer.

Diabetes is a silent killer because many people can live with the disease for years and never find out that they have it until they start experiencing diabetes-related damage that can lead to a heart attack, stroke, vision problems or kidney disease. In fact, most people with type 2 diabetes do not notice the symptoms because some signs of diabetes aren’t easy to recognize. Symptoms of diabetes include:

* Being very thirsty
* Urinating often
* Losing weight without trying
* Having vision problems, such as blurred vision

Diabetes is a serious disease, but early diagnosis and treatment can help people with diabetes live healthy and active lives. A person’s risk for diabetes goes up as they get older, gain weight, or if they do not stay active. So how can you find out if you might be at risk for diabetes? Risk factors include:

* Being overweight or obese
* Not being physically active
* Having a family history of diabetes
* Having high blood pressure
* Having diabetes during pregnancy or having a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth
* Being older than 45 years of age

Diabetes is also more common in African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

To find out if you or a loved one are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you can take the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Risk Test. This is a simple test that asks questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for diabetes. Based on your response, you can find out whether you are at low, moderate or high risk for diabetes. You can take the test online at www.diabetes.org/alert or by phone (in English or Spanish) at (800) DIABETES (800-342-2383).

If you find that you are at high risk for having diabetes, talk with your doctor to find out for sure. Only your doctor can determine if you have diabetes.

To learn more about diabetes risk factors, diagnosis and treatment, or to take the Diabetes Risk Test, visit the American Diabetes Association’s Web site at www.diabetes.org or call (800) DIABETES (800-342-2383).

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Raising Confident Kids

2008-07-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Confident children get more out of life. They face unfamiliar experiences head on, make friends easily, and thrive on challenges. Because of this, their lives are enriched with the various activities and experiences that they fearlessly undertake.

A way to raise confident and healthy children is to ensure that they are protected from common sickness, especially during the rainy days when they are more prone to getting sick.

Anchor 1 + with Nutri-Care, the world's first and only fortified growing-up milk powder proven by doctors to provide two times more protection against common childhood sickness, shares some information on common childhood diseases and ways to prevent them to keep your child healthy and his confidence level up.

* Cough and colds: Symptoms include sore throat, clogged nose, watery nasal discharges, and fever. To prevent your child from catching cough and colds, wash their hands regularly to keep them from contracting the virus. Parents should also watch out for danger signs that include poor appetite, noisy and/or fast breathing. A child with cough, accompanied by danger signs, has to be brought to the hospital for treatment.

* Flu: Children can get the flu when the influenza virus gets into the body by being exposed to an infected person. Keep your children away from people with flu. Symptoms are fever of at least 38°C, headache, cough and colds, sore throat, and muscle or joint pains. A with flu must have adequate rest, increase his intake of fluids and nutritious food. Taking antiviral agents within the first two days may halt the course of the illness and paracetamol can be given for fever.

*Dengue fever: Dengue cause the sudden onset of high fever that may last two to seven days, joint and muscle pain, pain behind the eyes, weakness, abdominal pain, skin rashes, and nose bleeding. A child who has these symptoms should immediately seek proper medical treatment.

To prevent dengue, regularly change water in flower vases, throw away old tin cans or any old containers that could hold water where dengue mosquitoes could breed.

* Leptospirosis: Children could get this disease when they come in contact with the leptospira bacteria which enter the body through wounds, when playing in flood waters, vegetation, and moist soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals, especially rats. Don't allow your child to play in flood waters so he would not catch leptospirosis. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, calf-muscle pain, and reddish eyes in some cases. Early recognition of the disease and treatment within two days of illness prevent complications.

* Diarrhea: Children get diarrhea by ingesting contaminated food or water. Symptoms include frequent or at least thrice-a-day passage of watery stools, excessive thirst, sunken eyeballs and bumbunan for infants.

Oral dehydration solution should be given to a child with diarrhea to replace lost body fluids. To keep your child from getting diarrhea, teach him/her to observe proper hygiene, see to it that your child only drinks water from safe sources and eats well-cooked and properly prepared food.

Milk fortified with a specific combination of nutrients has been proven to help protect children against the most common illness, as revealed in the results of the world’s first-ever clinical trial on fortified children's milk.

The trial, conducted a team of researchers led by child nutrition expert Dr. Sunil Sazawal, was done on over 600 children supplemented over a 12-month period with fortified milk. Anchor 1+with Nutri-Care, fortified with vitamins A, C and E, and minerals selenium, zinc and iron, was the growing-up milk powder used during the study. Anchor 1+ Growing Up Milk was proven by doctors o provide two times more protection against common childhood illnesses.

Philippine Star -November 29, 2005

New Drug Works Well For Teens With ADHD

2008-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

New York (Reuters Health) – Pooled data from 13 trials indicate that the drug Strattera, known technically as atomoxetine, continues to work well for teens with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD over at least two years, with no surprise side effects.

In comments to Reuters Health, Dr. Timothy Wilens from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, said: “Given that atomoxetine is relatively new to the market, our longer term findings in adolescents are reassuring in that the medication continues to be effective without evidence of tolerance and is well tolerated without any unforeseen side effects emerging with chronic use.

Wilens and colleagues note in the Journal of Pediatrics that young children with ADHD are often treated with the stimulant drug Ritalin, but atomoxetine, a nonstimulant, has appeal for use in order children and adolescents with ADHD; it is dosed once daily, limited abuse potential, and has a long duration of action.

The researchers report on 601 subjects 12 to 18 years of age treated with atomoxetine in clinical trials. Of these, 219 completed at least two years of treatment.

According to the authors, atomoxetine produced “significant improvement” in ADHD symptoms over the first three months of treatment, and symptoms remained improved up to two years without the need up the dose of the drug.

During the two-year period, 99 subjects (16.5 percent) stopped taking atomoxetine due to lack of effectiveness and 31 (5.2 percent) discontinued treatment due to side effects.

January 15, 2007, Philippine Star

Fruit cups: A Healthy Alternative to Junk Food

2005-10-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Achieving a trim and fit body need not be as torturous as shunning snacks in between meals. Staying fit, after all, means providing your body with essential nutrients to keep it functioning properly.

Munching on junk food such as potato chips and washing it down with your favorite softdrink is a fun snack idea, but will it still be fun when you start looking bulky in your outfits?
The solution is simple – choose the right food and adopt healthy eating habits.

Aside from knowing the “friendly” foods, it is also best to know your “enemies” when it comes to the food you eat. High sugar, fat and sodium content has been proven to do your body harm. So try to read the labels of the food items you pick in the grocery to avoid unwanted weight gain.
We love cakes, cookies, soft drinks, ice cream, and artificially flavored juice drinks – all of which, are in the list of top junk foods we should avoid.

These are packed with sugars that turn into fat which stick to the arteries ad cause blockages leading to heart disease and strokes.

Potato chips and French fries, although they are made from potato, contain a lot of salt and fat because they are deep fried. Pizzas are also high in sodium, fat, and carbohydrates and also lose a lot of nutrient as they are cooked under high temperature.

For a “quick fix,” snacking with fruits is the best alternative. Fruits contain a variety of natural vitamins, minerals and plant phytochemicals that make them the healthiest food around.

Fruits are also ideal for weight watchers as they have very low sodium and calorie contents.

This means you can eat a lot of it without having to worry about packing extra pounds.
A 130-gram can of Del Monte Fruit Express, contains the same nutrients from fresh fruits while at the same time provides the convenience of having a ready-to-eat snack anytime.

It comes in five flavors – tropical fruit cocktail, tropical fruit cocktail with lychee, tropical fruit cocktail with passion fruit juice, tropical fruit cocktail with peaches, and golden sweet pineapples. October 5, 2005- Manila Bulletin

Ten Golden Rules Issued for Safe Food Preparation

2005-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Illness due to contaminated food is one of the most widespread yet preventable health concerns, the World Health Organization said as it issued Ten Golden Rules for Safe Food Preparation to correct common errors the preparation of food.

In infants, children, immuno-compromised people, pregnant women, and the elderly, the consumption of contaminated food can result in life-endangering food-borne ailments and food handling is largely responsible for the occurrence of food-borne diseases.

The WHO list was held significant in the wake of the recent tragedy that befell 28 schoolchildren in Bohol who died from food poisoning after partaking of snacks bought from street vendors.

To reduce significantly the risk of food-borne pathogens, the WHO issued the following rules for safe food preparation:

1. Choose food processed for safety (i.e. choose pasteurized over raw milk etc.).
2. Cook food thoroughly.
3. Eat cooked food immediately. The preparation of food several hours before consumption is discouraged because it favors the growth of bacteria and/or the formation of toxins.
4. Store cooked foods carefully.
5. Reheat cooked foods thoroughly. Insufficient cooking or preheating favors the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
6. Avoid contact between raw and cooked foods.
7. Wash hands repeatedly. Proper personal hygiene must be observed by all food handlers.
8. Keep all kitchen surfaces meticulously clean.
9. Protect foods from insects, rodents, and other animals.
10. Use safe water.

-CHRISTINA I. HERMOSO, Manila Bulletin

Are your Breasts Healthy?

2005-09-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

The woman’s body has been manipulated throughout tim. Women not only in the entertainment industry are pressured to “measure up” to a stereotyped body image. Take the case of the breast. It is the first victim of this “psychological disturbance” among many women. It undergoes breast augmentation, enhancement, a lift, etc. to achieve that desirable form.

But we must realize that the most psychologically disturbing experience anyone can have is discovering a lump in her breast! Cysts (fluid lumps) or masses growth hence can alter the size and shape of the breast leading to potential distortion and even deterioration of body image. A woman who finds out that she has a lump in the breast will probably suspect cancer. A visit to the doctor to confirm what the lump is all about should be done immediately so that early treatment could be administered.

Since every woman’s breast change several times even in a month’s time following the menstrual cycle, frequent visits are not really necessary! A woman can do breast self examination (BSE). But first, she should know what is her “normal breast” and how her breasts “normally feel” so she can easily identify changes during BSE. Any change that is seen and felt is identified and compared to the other breast.

How to do the BSE:

*Stand or sit in front of the mirror for visual inspection. Raise the hands and place behind the head. Look for dimples, discharges, folds, lumps, thickening, size and shape change, and swelling. Check also the underarm for any lump.

*Next, examine the breast using the second and third fingers of the opposite hand. Start the finger-walk around the perimeter of the nipple, moving about an inch away each time you complete the perimeter creating a bigger spiral until the outermost edge of the breast is covered.

*Continue up towards and under the armpit. If your breast is large relative to the “average” allow the fingers pads to apply heavier pressure to better evaluate underlying breast tissue.

*Repeat the visual scan and finger walk at the other breast.

*Finger walk at the breasts should be repeated when lying down.

Early breast cancer is painless, non-tender when pressed, movable and feels like a mongo seed or a marble upon hand palpation. The mass is movable at early stage then becoming non-movable at late stage, with irregular borders. Other late stage signs are nipple discharge, nipple inversion dimpling and or swelling of breast skin, and or armpit mass.

September 13, 2005 – Philippine Star

How to Eat for Better Health

2005-09-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

People eat in different ways. Some gobble up their food, while others make an art of it. Does it matter? Definitely! How we eat also affects our health.

In “Cooking Naturally for Pleasure and Health,” authors Gail Watson and Michael Blate share guidelines on how to eat for better health:

Eat the right diet for the climate or region in which you live-eat regionally and seasonally, emphasizing fresh foods grown within 50 miles of your home.

Food should be chewed at least 30 times per mouthful. This will help restore acid/alkaline balance within the digestive system, which is vital proper digestion and assimilation

Proper chewing

Thorough chewing accomplishes several things: analysis (taste is developed and, if the food is bad, it can be spat out); proper chewing restricts excess food intake while providing complete nutrition; proper chewing massages important digestive acupressure points in the mouth and jaw to improve digestion.

3. Eat moderately – avoid food extremes (e.g. excessively large, salty, sweet, and/or highly spiced meals, etc.).

4. Eat with an eye to the medical repercussions of food. If it tastes sweet, it will affect – and, in large amounts, injure-the spleen, pancreas and stomach. If it tastes salty, in large amounts, it will injure the kidneys and urinary bladder.

Liver

If it tastes sour, large amounts will injure the liver and gallbladder. It is tastes bitter large quantities will injure the heart and small intestine. And if the tastes spicy or pungent, in quantity, it will injure the lungs and large intestine.

5. Discover – and avoid – any hidden food (or other) allergens.

6. Avoid food and drinks that are too hot or too cold. Food is best eaten at body temperature, since extreme temperatures injure the digestive tract. Food or drink that is too cold could injure the lungs, liver and gallbladder, while food that is too hot injures the stomach, spleen, pancreas, small intestine and heart.

7. Drink as little as possible with meals – ideally, wait at least a half-hour after eating (excess liquids in the stomach dilute the hydrochloric acid necessary for proper food assimilation).

Generations

8. Learn to use and enjoy miso, tofu, seaweeds and other tasty-yet-unusual traditionally oriental foods.

These have evolved over generations of logical, not haphazard eating.

9. Avoid eating frequently in restaurants. Their portions are too large – and cost, not quality, is ordinary their ultimate guiding light.

10. Substitute carob for chocolate, fruit juices for sugary, carbonated softdrinks, herbal teas for coffee and other caffeinated drinks.

Exercise and Diet can Treat Gestational Diabetes

During pregnancy, the physical and emotional experiences that a mother go through are shared with the child inside her. One condition that pregnant women should be watchful is gestational diabetes. In the United States alone, 135,000 cases of gestational diabetes are reported each year.

Gestational diabetes happens to pregnant women who have never had diabetes before but who have high blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy.

With this condition, the body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for her condition. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot leave the blood and be changed to energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to high levels. This is called hyperglycemia. There is no clear explanation as to why this condition happens to some pregnant women.

However, most doctors claim that some hormones in the placenta block the action of the mother’s insulin in her body. Insulin resistance makes it hard for the mother’s body to use insulin that she needs.
Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy when insulin resistance usually begins.

Pregnant women who have a family history of diabetes, are overweight, are 30 years old and above and those who have a previous delivery of a baby weighing more than nine pounds, are at the risk of experiencing gestational diabetes.

High sugar levels in your blood can be unhealthy for both mother and baby.
If the diabetes isn’t addressed immediately, the baby may be more likely to have problems at birth. This can lead to macrosomia, or an overweight baby.

Babies with macrosomia face health problems of their own, including damage to their shoulders during birth. Because of the extra insulin made by the baby’s pancreas, newborns may have very low blood glucose levels at birth and are also at higher risk of breathing problems.

Babies with excess insulin become children who are at risk for obesity and adults who are at risk for type two diabetes.

The good news is that gestational diabetes normally goes away after giving birth.

However treating gestational diabetes greatly lowers the baby’s chances of having health problems.
Pregnant women who have gestational diabetes must schedule regular exercise in their routine. It may also include daily blood glucose testing and insulin injections. Most importantly, expecting mothers must follow simple daily guidelines, like eating a variety of foods including fresh fruits and vegetables that limit fat intake to 30 percent or less of daily calories.

For pregnant women who need to watch their sugar intake, there are already a variety of sugar-free snacks available in the market.

One of these is the Murray Sugar Free cookies which come in different variants like chocolate chip, chewy double fudge, chocolate sandwich, vanilla craaèmes, shortbread, peanut butter and oatmeal chocolate chip.
Murray Sugar Free Cookies are available in leading supermarket nationwide and is exclusively distributed by Benby Enterprises.

Manila Bulletin

Twelve Steps to a Healthier Family

2005-09-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

As a mother of three growing kids, I am sure that a lot of mothers like me are sometimes nagged by their con-science if they are doing everything to make their family healthier. It is a challenge not only because there are a lot of convenient and unhealthy options out here but also because present-day moms are modern-day task jugglers.

Nicki Anderson, a health and fitness advocate for over 20 years, fitness columnist of Chicago’s Daily Herald and author of the book Reality Fitness: Inspiration for Your Health and Well-Being, recently shared her pointers, as a mother of four, for a healthier family to eDiets.com where she is frequent contributor.

Nicki summarized the vast difference in lifestyle of two generations, those born before 1975 and the children of today. “When we were kids, many of us would come home from school, throw our books down the table, down a quick glass of milk and head outside to play until we were called in for dinner.

After dinner, it was homework then bed. Snacks were not nearly as prevalent as they are today. And when it comes to fast food, it was a rare treat! Today, fast food lures families in at a minimum of three times per week adding up to at least 12 times a month! That translates to excess calories, sodium and fat.

Not good! Cable TV encouraged more sitting as well (as did Internet and computer games, may I add). As daily activity in our life began to decrease, the food options began to increase. More snacks, more fast foods sugar, more sodium, more processed ingredients.”

Healthy Habit 1: Lose the “hurry up” habit and opt for some down time instead. This attitude promotes grabbing food on the go. The problem also with always rushing is that it prevents two important things from happening more regularly.

First, family meals are less prevalent because everyone is in a hurry. Second, healthy meals and snacks are scarce because being on the go limits options when it come to making healthy snacks and meals. Stress also compounds when everything is hurried, a sure recipe for disease.

Healthy Habit 2: Get in the habit of reinforcing good health versus condoning the search for perfection. There is a natural tendency for mothers, especially those who were never petite, to want that for their daughters just like skinny father would like their sons to be athletic.

Nick explained, “(By) trying to help them ‘fit in’ with what’s popular right now, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to help them embrace their body and come to terms with their true self. It is heartbreaking when I have a mom that brings her daughter in and asks that I help her lose weight when clearly the daughter is bright, beautiful and genetically designed not to be small or petite. Yes, it’s a shame that right now the Lindsay Lohans of the world are setting the standard for body shape. But don’t you think it’s our job as their parent to teach them that it is not normal?”

Healthy habit 3: Make it a habit to prepare foods at home or opt for healthier fast food choices. While fast food joints are a Godsend when you are swamped with office work and do not have the time to prepare a good dinner, it is not so wise to be hooked into the convenience.

In fairness though, more chains are now offering healthier options. I guess the pressure increases when you are not a great cook (like me) and you don’t have a cook to rely on (like Susan in Desperate Housewives).

Healthy Habit 4: Do not use food as a reward, find other options. A lot of parents are guilty of this. How many times do we tell our kids that we will give them chocolate or bring them to their favorite fast food chain, if they do something good? At an early age, children think of food as a gratification for good behavior. This is a habit that can go on when the child becomes an adult.

Healthy Habit 5: Instead of stressing weight, stress healthy choices. It’s funny to hear six-and seven-year old girls say that they are too fat. Sometimes the changes in body are only due to puberty and growth spurt. The notion that kids are fat only comes from comparing themselves to their favorite TV and movie stars.

Educate your children that there are better indicators of health such as having the ideal blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. Stress that as long as you eat balanced meals in moderation and exercise enough, as long as you do not get sick often, then you should be happy.

Healthy Habit 6: Create a weekly activity goal. It is almost imperative, especially if the weekdays are less active, to delve into sports on weekends. It wouldn’t hurt also, said Ricki, if you create an activity chart for each child. The one with the most hours spent biking, jogging, swimming or playing in the garden, gets the chance to choose the weekend family activity.

Healthy Habit 7: Get in the habit of being an active parent. A lot complain that they do not have enough time or money, but there are so many free things you can do such as a brisk walk in the park. Dismissing the value of health and well being for us parents send the wrong signal to our children.

Healthy Habit 8: Get in the habit of discussing regularly with your children realistic body images. Billboards and glossy magazines declare everyday how ideal and perfect bodies should look like. We should explained to our children that different people have different frames and no matter what one does, some people cannot look like the Hollywood star they idolize. They should be encouraged to eat balanced meals, exercise and enjoy their youth.

Healthy Habit 9: Get in the habit of teaching your kids to be fit for life! Ricki said that while most of us were active back in our youth, the same type of activities did not find their way into our adult lives. “I have told my kids since they were little, that being active and eating well makes you strong, and eating junk food and not exercising makes you weak.

I believe that was a visual that kids could grasp. Though I don’t have an athlete in my house, they are slowly but surely catching on to the idea that when they eat well and move more they feel a lot better than when they eat too much garbage and sit idle. I have always held the belief that moderation is the best defense against obesity and related diseases,” Ricki explained.

Healthy Habit 10: Follow the 80/20 Rule. Ricki clarified, “Of all the things I teach my clients, the 80/20 rule is probably the most valuable. Basically the 80/20 rule means that 80 percent of the time you should exercise and eat well and 20 percent of the time is your margin of error. The reality of life is that we can’t always be dedicated to working out nor do we always want to stick to fruits and vegetables.

There are times in life where a good old fashioned ice cream sundae sounds good, and you know what? You should be able to have it. The same holds true with exercise. Though we should exercise most days of the week, there are some days where intentional exercise just doesn’t happen, and that’s okay.. The 80/20 rule allows us to be mindful of healthy living without being unrealistic.

Sometimes we’ll get ourselves into a place where it’s all or nothing and oftentimes that leads to inconsistency. If you believe that you have to abstain from certain foods all the time, you’re setting yourself up for failure. However, if you and your family follow the 80/20 rule, you are setting the course for a balanced lifestyle. It’s real life and something everyone can follow.”

Healthy Habit 11: Help you kids develop a healthy cooking habit. Let them be part of meal planning and even meal preparation. I also taught my kids how to read food labels.

“It’s an overabundance of any food that causes weight gain and it’s more important to teach kids about 80/20 and that having an ice cream or brownie once in a while isn’t the end of the world. In fact, the less you place the emphasis on what they can’t have, the less likely they will be to obsess over those food choices,” she added.

Healthy Habit 12: Learn to say “no” to your kids. “In a society where kids are becoming less active and eating more processed foods, we need to help them make better choices.

In order to develop habits that will perpetuate a higher quality of life for our kids as well as for ourselves we need to say no; no to an overabundance of junk food, no to hours upon hours in front of the computer; no to eating in front of the TV; no to soda at every meal. These are just a few of the boundaries you can set for your kids in order to help them make better choices down the road. I find that parents rarely have a problem setting rules about curfew, study habits, or friends. Yet, when it comes to healthy habits, parents are at a loss,” Ricki opined.

There are so many lists of habits for successful careers and enterprises. But this list is one that believe is indispensable for parents who want to create an impact on the healthy future of their children.

We almost always just live for the moment that is why it is easy to succumb to the unhealthy habits of bingeing, Internet surfing and watching cable TV. It is high time we seriously look into the consequences of our lack of planned action to keep our families healthy.

As Ricki explained, the steps to a healthy family are not drastic and restrictive. We can all pitch in to make sure that our families are active and eat balanced meals in moderation. And let us make sure that we support each other in the family deal with stress in a fun and healthy way.

Stay happy and healthy!

Post Note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph.

MYLENE MENDOZA-DAYRIT, September 6, 2005, Philippine Star

Drinking Coffee May Help Protect Against Liver Cancer

2005-08-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) – Researchers in Japan have discovered some eye-opening news about coffee: It may help prevent the most common type of live cancer.

A study of more than 90,000 Japanese found that people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee.

The protective effect occurred in people who drank one to two cups a day and increased at three to four cups.
Animal studies have suggested a protective association of coffee with liver cancer, so the research team led by Monami Inoue of the National Cancer Center in Tokyo analyzed a 10-year public health study to determine coffee use by people diagnosed with liver cancer and people who did not have cancer.

They found the likely occurrence of liver cancer in people who never or almost never drank coffee was 547.2 cases per 100,000, the researchers report in this week’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

They were unable to compare the effect of regular and decaffeinated coffee, however, because decaf is rarely consumed in Japan.

The caffeine in coffee has been shown in other studies to prompt mental alertness in many drinkers, although it makes some people nervous.

Some studies have suggested caffeine aggravates symptoms of menopause or intensifies the side effects of some antibiotics.

Heavy caffeine use has been linked to miscarriage. But studies have also shown that a skin cream spiked with caffeine lowers the risk of skin cancer in mice.

“It’s an excellent, interesting and provocative study and their conclusions seem justified,” commented Dr. R. Palmer Beasly of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“It will provoke a lot of new work here,” said Beasley, who was not part of the research group.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 18,920 new cases of liver cancer were diagnosed in the United States last year and some 14,270 people died of the illness.

Causes include hepatitis, cirrhosis, excess alcohol consumption and diseases causing chronic inflammation of the liver.
While the study found a statistically significant relationship between drinking coffee and having less liver cancer, the authors note that it needs to be repeated in other groups.

The reason for the reduction remains unclear.

Inoue’s team noted that coffee contains large amounts of antioxidants, and several animal studies have indicated those compounds have the potential to inhibit cancer in the liver.

In their study, the team also looked at green tea, which contains different antioxidants, and they found no association between drinking the tea and liver cancer rates.

“Other unidentified substances may also be responsible” for the reduction in cancers, they said.

A separate study reported in the same issue of the journal reported no relationship between drinking caffeinated coffee or tea and the rates of colon or rectal cancer.

However, that analysis did find a 52 percent decline in rectal cancer among people who regularly drank two or more cups of decaffeinated coffee.

In that study a team led by Karin B. Michels of Brighan and Women’s Hospital in Boston analyzed data from two large studies – the Nurses’ Health Study of women and the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study involving men.

The analysis of nearly 2 million person-years found 1,438 cases of colorectal cancer.

While they did not find any association between cancer rates and consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea, people who regularly drank two or more cups per day of decaffeinated coffee had about half the incidence of rectal cancer as those who never drank decaf.

The rate of rectal cancer was 12 cases per 100,000 person years among those who consumed two or more cups of decaffeinated coffee per day.

For those who never drank decaffeinated coffee, the rate was 19 cases per 100,000 person years.

That difference may, however, be due to differences in lifestyle, the researchers commented, suggesting that drinkers of decaffeinated coffee might be more health-conscious overall.

The Japanese study was funded by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.

The U.S. study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

*On the net: Journal of the National Cancer Institute:
jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org/

Manila Bulletin

Hepatitis B is a Leading Cause of Death Among Asians

2005-08-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Many are still unaware of the high incidence of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer in Asia. The World Health organization estimates that there are 400 million people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, many of whom are not even aware of their health condition. Most hepatitis B carriers have no symptoms, but they can still transmit the infection and develop liver cancer.

These were among the concerns discussed during the 64th Educational Trans-Pacific Telemedicine Multi-site videoconference lecture, “Updates on the Research, prevention, and Treatment of Liver Cancer,” held recently at the MMC-Pfizer virtual library of Makati Medical Center (MMC).

Dr. Samuel So, director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, was the resource speaker of the event held every last Friday of the month and participated in by doctors from Stanford University Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, the Chinese University in HongKong, and MMC.

Liver cancer is one of the leading cause of death in Asia-Pacific, and sub-Saharan Africa, and at least 80 percent of the liver cancer is caused by HBV. Most people from Asia, the Pacific Rim, and Africa were infected with the virus during childhood: from infected mother to child at birth, from child to child contact in household settings, and from reuse of non-sterilized needles and syringes in poor healthcare facilities.

“While hepatitis B can be transmitted by blood transfusions, sharing needles, and unprotected sex, most individuals become infected as infants or young children,” So explained. Frequently, transmission of the hepatitis B virus occurs during the birthing process when the virus is passed on from the mother-who is unaware that she is a carrier – or during early childhood through close physical contact with blood or bodily fluid of infected individuals, such as contact between open wounds or sharing contaminated toothbrushes. However, hepatitis B is not spread by contaminated food or water, as with other types of hepatitis.

The danger of hepatitis B lies in its silent transmission and progression. “Many chronic hepatitis B carriers have no symptoms and feel healthy. If the proper tests are not administered, carriers may even appear to exhibit normal blood tests for liver functions, granting them a deceptively clean bill of health,” So added.

Diagnosis of hepatitis B cannot be made unless the doctor orders a specific blood test that tests for the presence of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg), marker for chronic infection.

One out of four hepatitis B carriers die from liver cancer or cirrhosis. Some develop cancer as early as 30 years of age. “The greatest single health disparity. The campaign is an initiative to build awareness about hepatitis B and its deadly impact in an effort to reduce the incidence of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer in this high-risk group.

“Since it is one of the largest health threats for Asians, it is important for all to be checked for hepatitis B and get vaccinated if not previously exposed. Also, chronic carriers need to take control of their own health, avoid drinking too much alcohol, learn about hepatitis B treatments available, and be regularly screened for liver cancer after a certain age.”

Manila Bulletin

Symptoms of Dengue Pain, Fever, and Rash

2005-08-22T01:03:00.000-07:00

Just like other tropical countries all over the world, the Philippines often experiences a rise in the incidence of dengue during the rainy season. Dengue fever is a disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes known as Aedes aegypti. Because of the damp weather, dengue is often mistaken for a simple case of influenza and is often treated as such. However, dengue can be fatal if not properly treated.

Dengue is an acute fever caused by a virus, and can occur in two forms, namely: Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Dengue fever is marked by sudden onset of high fever, severe headache (mostly in the forehead), pain behind the eyes (which worsens with eye movement), muscle aches and joint pains, nausea or vomiting.

Dengue Haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a more severe form, in which bleeding and sometimes shock occurs – leading to death. It is most serious in children, Symptoms of bleeding usually occur after 3-5 days of fever.

Symptoms of DHF are similar to dengue fever with the inclusion of any one of the following: severe ad continuous pain in abdomen; bleeding from the nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising; frequent vomiting with or without blood; black stools, like coal tar; excessive thirst (dry mouth); pale, cold skin; and restlessness, or sleepiness.

Typically dengue starts with chills, headache, pain upon moving the eyes, and low backache. Painful aching I the legs and joints occurs during the first hours of illness. The body temperature rises quickly as high as 104°F (40°C). The high fever can continue for five to six days (103-105°F or 39-40°C).

Fever and other signs of dengue usually last for 2 to 4 days, followed by rapid drop in temperature (defervescene) with profuse sweating, which heralds a period with normal temperature and a sense of well-being that lasts about a day. A second rapid rise in temperature follows.

There is a relative low heart rate (bradcardia) and low blood pressure (hypotension). The eyes become reddened. A characteristic rash appears simultaneously with the fever, spreading from the extremities to cover the entire body except the face. The palms and soles may become bright red and swollen.

The glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and groin are also often swollen. The patient often experiences much discomfort and feels very weak even several weeks after the illness (asthenia).

There is currently no specific medicine to treat dengue. For typical taking care of the symptoms (symptomatic). Proper and early treatment can relieve the symptoms and prevent complications, even death. Complete bed rest is important.

Acetaminophen/paracetamol, NSAIDs except aspirin, coxibs such etoricoxib, and codeine may be given to relieve the severe headache and the joint and muscle pain (myalgia). However, traditional NSAIDs (like iburprofen, mefenamic acid, naproxen, diclofenac, and the like) have been associated with gastrointestinal irritation and problems such as perforations, ulcers, and bleeding, particularly with prolonged use.

Aspirin should be NOT be given to patients with dengue fever, since it is known to increase the bleeding tendency and can also cause stomach pain and irritation. If dengue is suspected, it is best to take the patient to a doctor or to the hospital immediately. Fluids (water or juice) should be given to the patient often, even while bringing him/her to the hospital.

Dengue ca spread rapidly and can result in the loss of many lives, particularly during an epidemic. Most susceptible to the disease are children and persons with low immunity levels. However, with early diagnosis and proper treatment, complications and death can be avoided.

Prevention is the key in stopping the occurrence and spread of this deadly disease. Homes, schools, and office buildings should be kept clean. It is important to take control measures to eliminate the mosquitoes and their breeding places. Efforts should be intensified before the transmission season (during and after rainy season) and at the time of the epidemic.

Since the dengue mosquito is known to bite during the daytime, it is important to protect oneself fro mosquito bites by wearing clothing that covers the arms and legs (including the feet); using mosquito repellants, insecticide and electric vapor mats even during the day; and using mosquito nets for babies and the elderly during daytime naps.

To prevent the multiplication of dengue mosquitoes, it is advisable to drain all stagnant water from tanks, barrels, drums and buckets, etc.; remove water in coolers when not in use; remove from the house all objects, e.g. plant sauces, etc. which have water collected in them; drain water for refrigerator drip pans every other day; water storage containers should be kept covered at all times; and discard solid waste and objects where water collects, e.g. bottles, tin cans, old car tyres, etc. for schools and office buildings, it would be advisable to have the premises treated and sprayed with insecticide before, during, and after the rainy season.

For comments and insights, please write to Pain Management Information Agency (PMIA) at fax 894-1980 or e-mail at paincare@pmiagroup.com. PMIA was established primarily to increase public awareness and understanding of pain and to recommend appropriate medical and practical ways to manage and control pain.

August 12, 2005 Philippine Star

Liver Cancer: Current Management and Future Trends

2005-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

The hallmarks of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are that it is identified clinically at an advanced stage and usually together with cirrhosis. Surgical resection has been considered the optimal treatment approach, but only a small proportion of patients’ quality for surgery, and there is a high rate of recurrence.

Approaches to prevent recurrence have included chemoembolization before and neoadjuvant therapy after surgery, neither of which has proven to be beneficial.

Liver transplantation has been successful in treating limited-stage HCC, affecting cure of both the tumor and underlying cirrhosis. However, only a minority of patients with HCC qualify for transplantation. Recently chemoembolization has been shown to prolong survival in selected patients who do not qualify for resection.

Both doxorubicin and cisplatin are frequently used, but overall response rates are low, and neither seems to prolong survival. Prospective, ran-domized controlled trials using current therapies are needed to better define optimal management of this important tumor. Most needed, however, are new therapeutic agents that are effective against HCC, are noncytotoxic, and are tolerated by the atypical patient with underlying cirrhosis.

Newly emerging agents with promise include 90Y microspheres, natiangiogenesis agents, inhibitors of growth factors and their receptors, and K vitamins.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common tumor that originates in the liver, and it has great hetero-geneity with respect to tumor behavior and disease of the underlying liver. Although most types of cancer are sub classified on the basis of the TNM staging system or the extent of disease, HCC is not a uniform disease within any given current staging system.

In addition, it is heterogeneous with regard to the severity of disease, and measurement of treatment outcomes in HCC related to the fact that 80 percent of patients with HCC have two diseases, each of which, independently, may cause death; namely the cancer and the underlying cirrhosis. Concomitant cirrhosis distinguishes HCC from all other types of cancer, and has bee acknowledged in at least one staging system, but confounds and confuses the evaluation of different treatments.

HCC in the United States

The experience with HCC at the Liver Cancer Center of the University of Pittsburgh recently has been summarized. During the 15-year period, 1700 patients with HCC were evaluated. Seventy-five percent of patients had bilobar cancer, 72 percent had portal vein thrombosis, and 65 percent had three or more tumor masses in their livers.

Thirty percent had HCV infection, 20 percent were infected with HBV, and 28 percent had alcohol-associated cirrhosis. Among those with HCV infection, more than 66 percent of the patients had no identifiable underlying liver disease. The male-to-female ratio was 2.5:1. The ages of the patients averaged 56 years and anges from 6 months to 92 years. Twenty percent presented with endstage liver disease and were not eligible for any form of treatment. The median survival I these untreatable patients was three months, in keeping with the known rate of survival of HCC.

Treatments for HCC

A high proportion of patients with HCC in he United States do not receive any therapy. The exact proportions is not known, but may be as high as 50 percent. There are several reasons for this low rate of therapy. Chronic liver disease is often silent, and many patients are unaware of having liver disease or being at risk for liver cancer.

Furthermore, among those patients who are known to have liver disease, there are no guidelines or accepted approaches to regular surveillance. As a consequence, most patients with HCC rarely present with symptoms unless there is advanced-stage cancer.

Because the cancers are large, they are often bilobar or have already invaded a major trunk of the portal vein, and hence are not respectable. Because of the late stage of presentation, many patients with HCC are not referred to a medical oncologist for either systemic chemotherapy reflects an atmosphere of nihilism over therapy for this tumor, and until recently, lack of new and innovative therapies.

Finally, contraindications to therapy may already be present (ascites, end-stage liver disease) and referral is considered unjustified.

Surgical resection

Surgical resection of varying degrees and extent has been time-honored standard treatment for HCC. Recent series, particularly from Asia, suggest that in experienced hands, perioperative mortality can be less than 5 percent. Although recurrence rates after surgery have decreased and survival has increased over the last 20 years, most patients with TNM stage II still have only a 50 percent 5-year survival, death usually being caused by recurrent cancer.

Other ablative localized treatments

An increasing array of other localized semi surgical treatments has become widely accepted for extremely localized tumors. These include percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, and newer forms of radio-wave therapy. These local ablative therapies seem to be similar in applicability, and results are highly dependent on clinician skills and choice of patients. Local ablative therapies are generally useful for patients with 1 or 2 tumor lesions with a maximum diameter of 3 cm.

Liver transplantations

There were two hopes for liver transplantation in the management of patients with advanced HCC. The first was to remove the limitations that cirrhosis imposes on the surgeon to reset HCC. The second was to improve the ability of the surgeon to resect larger tumors.

In the first category, liver transplantation has been gratifying successful, and HCCs that are confined to the liver can be surgically removed, whatever the degree or severity of the underlying cirrhosis. For the second, there continues to be a learning phase on how to use and extend the possibilities of liver transplantation for the management of advanced-stage HCC.

In addition, the standards for acceptable of liver transplantation for HCC need to be continually reviewed and reconsidered. In other types of advanced cancer, a 50 percent 5-year survival rate is considered worthwhile, but in liver transplantation, a 50 percent 5 year survival is not. For most patients with advanced HCC, extension of life for three years would be considered meaningful if the quality of life were reasonable.

Hormonal therapy

Almost 9 percent of newly diagnosed HCCs referred to the University of Pittsburgh were considered to be non-resectable and non-transplantable as judged by the extent of the tumor. The management of such tumors is currently nonsurgical.

The gender differences noted in HCC incidence rates have encouraged many investigators to examine tumor profiles for hormonal or growth factor receptors and, with or without this information, to embark on clinical trials of various hormonal modalities, including agents such as tamoxifen to inhibit estrogen actions (which is unlikely to be successful because this tumor predominantly occurs in male subjects) and anti-androgens such as leuprolide acetate and flutamide.

Despite many trials, the overall results have been disappointing and survival has remained poor. Nevertheless, such approaches are attractive because the agents are in general non-toxic, inexpensive, and easy to administer.

Chemotherapy

A huge number of randomized and non-randomized clinical trials to evaluate the usefulness of single agents or combinations of agents of cytotoxic cancer chemotherapy have been published and recently reviewed. Overall, few published series have been able to show response rates in >20% of the patients (considered to be a lower limit of usefulness for most cancers), and very few claims have been made for prolonging survival. Some more recent combinations such as cisplatin, interferon, Adriamycin, and 5-fluorouracil are extremely toxic and yield response rates of only 20 percent, and supportive care alone.

New medical agents

Several new classes of nonsurgical therapy for HCC have begun to be evaluated systematically in the pas 2 years. These include the following.

1. Antiongiogenesis agents, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody, Angiostatin, and endostatin; thalidomide, thrombosponding analogs; and interferon-The vascularity of HCC makes it an excellent candidate for the action of these agents.

2. Inhibitors of growth-factor signaling and cell-cycle enzymes, such as inhibitors of Kinase (Bay 43-9006), Cdks, tyrosine kinases, epidermal growth factor receptor antagonists (Iressa), P13 kinase and phosphatase and tensin (PTEN) pathways, mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, and suramin.

3. Nonspecific growth inhibitory agents, including Sandostatin and arsenic trioxide and Activators of apoptosis.

4. Novel means of delivering localized radiation, such as Yttrium microscopheres, Theraspheres, and Sirsphres.

5. Specific antagonists of HCC tumor markers, such as vitamin K2 and the Cde 25-Antagonizing vitamin K analogs.

6. Anti-inflammatory agents that might interfere with the carcinogenic process, such as Cox-2 inhibitors (celecoxib, rofecoxib).

Conclusions

The largest impact on mortality from HCC will clearly come initially from primary prevention such as decreasing alcohol consumption, decreasing HCV infection through lifestyle changes, improving screening of blood donors, and vaccination against HBV. Next will be the benefit derived from earlier diagnosis leading to more effective therapy for more limited-stage disease.

However, new therapies for HCC will continue to be needed. Multiple new therapies are now being evaluated, and combination of modalities clearly should be examined to improve the efficacy of treatment of most patients who continue to present with an advanced stage of their tumor.

CHARLES C. CHANTE, MD – August 7, 2005Philippine Star

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

2005-08-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sleep is as essential as balanced diet and regular exercise to stay fit and healthy. But today’s lifestyle seems to have overlooked the necessity of sleep-hence, it is sometimes ignored.

The fact remains that sleep is one form of pleasure that our body longs for at the end of every day – and if we deprive ourselves of a sound, rejuvenating sleep, the end effect is a cascade of numerous health problems. Below is a list of how to get a relaxing and rejuvenating sleep.

* Try to go sleep at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning – this will help establish your sleeping pattern or rhythm which is essential in a regular sleep-wake cycle.
Try not to take naps during the day because it may disrupt your rhythm and make you less sleepy at night.

* Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that may keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol is often used as a depressant but it’s actually a stimulant that will make your body’s entire system in hyper mode. People falling sleep drunk are more unconscious than asleep because of the alcohol overload in the system.

* Get regular exercise, but try not to exercise close to bedtime because it may stimulate you and make it hard to fall asleep. When we perform physical activities, a hormone called adrenaline is released. When the physical activity is finished, it take a little while for this hormone to subside.

* Make your sleeping place comfortable. Be sure that it is dark, quiet and not too cold or two warm. If light is a problem, try a sleeping mask. If noise is a problem, try putting on earplugs.

* Follow a routine to help relax and wind down before sleeping such as reading a book, listening to soft music, or taking a bath. This approach is individualized because one routine which is effective to one may not be effective to another.

* If you have problems sleeping, consult your doctor. You may have physical or psychological disorders that keep you from sleeping.

* Remember that there are natural means to help solve sleeping problems. It may not work as dramatic as a pill, but you can be certain that you will be reaping its benefits once it takes effect.
One example is Leizenzi herbal food supplement from Better Herbs Inc. It will not make you sleep immediately, but once its effects are manifested by the body, it will improve your sleep quality and length.

It will not make you sleepy during day, only at night because its action is on the brain and body’s sleep-wake cycle. It helps establish your sleeping pattern by regulating the body clock. Leizenzi, or formerly Better Sleep is now available at Mercury Drug and Watsons.

Manila Bulletin

Treatment of chronic hepatitis B: Who to treat, what to use, and for how long?

2005-06-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Chronic hepatitis B infection continues to be a major public health concern worldwide. The natural history of the disease can be divided into 4 different phases: immune tolerate, immune clearance, inactive carrier, and reactivation. The goals of treatment are sustained viral suppression, normalization of ALT, and improvement in liver histology. Antiviral agents in current use include standard interferon, lamivudine, and adefovir.

With an improved understanding of the natural history of the disease and a growing repertoire of antiviral drugs, the important questions are: who should receive treatment, what is the best agent to use, and what is the optimal duration of therapy? Treatment is indicated for patients in the immune clearance and reactivation phases. Patients with high pretreatment ALT level, detectable HBV DNA in the serum, and active inflammation on liver biopsy are predicted to have the highest chance of response to treatment. The choice of a particular agent must balance long-term benefits such as the likelihood of a sustained.

Interferon treatment leads to a more durable response but is associated with unpleasant side effects. Lamivudine is effective and well tolerated but requires long-term therapy and is associated with drug resistance.

Adefovir has proven efficacy and a very low rate of drug resistance but is associated with a small risk of reversible nephrotoxicity. For HBeAG-positive chronic hepatitis B and HBeAG-negative chronic hepatitis B, the duration of interferon therapy is 4-6 months and 12 months, respectively. Duration of treatment is at least 1 year with lamivudine and adefovir; longer duration of treatment is needed in most patients, but the optimal duration of treatment and the criteria for shopping treatment have not been established.

Philippine Star

‘Mother’s Milk’ can help Boost Immune System

2005-06-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Colostrum, or ‘mother’s milk’ in layman’s term, can help boost one’s immune system even during adulthood, when aging has significantly weakened the body’s defenses. This finding was presented by Mark Bartlett, Ph. D., Pharmanex (nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. affiliate) senior scientist, together with molecular biologist and biotechnology consultant, Dr. Romulo S. de Villa during the launch of IgG Boost, a new food supplement containing Colostrum MFT from cows.

Colostrum is the first milk provided by mothers when they breastfeed their babies. It is rich in antibodies and other immune components beneficial for proper function of a child’s immune system - considered most vulnerable during infancy.

Studies show that as people get older, the body’s antibody production decreases, weakening protection against bacteria and viruses. There are also periods when immune resistance is challenged because of recent illness, stress, sleep deprivation, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Tell-tale signs of a weak immune system are gastrotestinal disorders, asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergy. Reintroducing colostrum to the body was clinically proven to jump-start the immune system’s weaken state.

IgG Boost, whose main ingredient is Colostrum MFT (first fluid milk produced two to three days from the birth of a calf), was confirmed to boost primary immune functions by providing c concentrated spectrum of supplemental immune antibody proteins. It is also enriched with immunoglobulin G, which provides front-line immune support in the gut by sticking to invading harmful pathogens, making them easier for the body to recognize, destroy and eliminate.

The supplement can be taken by anyone interested in boosting immune activity (from children to adult), anyone under immune stress and/or exposed to environmental pathogens, aged individuals with weak or compromised immune systems, and those hyper-sensitive to dairy or lactose-containing products. The supplement is safe to be taken with other food and drugs.

More than the intake of colostrum-containing supplements, consumers should also remember the following habits to ensure a healthy immune system:

* Have a healthy diet. According to Dr. De Villa, “You need to feed the system with the right nutrients to help it do its job, which is to heal itself.”

Poor nutrition, which results to a weak immune system, has been linked to many preventable deaths. People should avoid patronizing fastfood as the foods being served usually contain refined carbohydrates and sugars (composed of long-chain saturated fats) that are often bad for the body Foods containing complex carbohydrates and are consumed in moderation, on the other hand -like whole grains - are considered immune protectants.

* Stress reduction. Dr. Bartlett emphasized that exposure to chronic stress amy prematurely age the immune system and can lead to abnormalities as irregular menstruation and osteoporosis. “Which is why it is very important for people to take some time off and rest,” he added.

* Get adequate sleep. Sleep enhances proper bodily functions and higher immune system performance. For example, it was discovered that individuals able to complete eight to 10 hours of sleep have a more positive response to Hepatitis A vaccination.

* Exercise. According to Dr. De Villa, exercise such as 30-minute brisk walking can improve the mood (responsive to stress reduction) and improve lymphocyte and neutrophil activity - white blood cells in the body that scavenge for bacteria and viruses.

* Minimize external damage to UV light. UV B exposure has been linked with the suppression of the immune system, and could make a person more vulnerable to ailments like herpes, measles, malaria, TB, and fungal infections.

*Supplementation. Aside from colostrum-containing supplements, people should also consider supplement intakes of vitamins C, E and D, as well as omega-3 fatty acids to aid colostrum-performed antibodies.

Manila Bulletin

Meat and diet for kids

2005-05-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Some say meat is murder, while others dismiss a meal without animal products as rabbit food. Now a leading US nutritionist has given both sides something to chew on with a claim that parents who refuse to feed children meat are acting unethically.

Prof. Lindsay Allen of the University of California said that to deny growing children animal products during the critical first few years of life could cause permanent damage.

She said foods made from meat contain some nutrients not found anywhere else and are hard to replace in the diet of vulnerable groups.

“If you’re talking about feeding young children and pregnant women and lactating women I would go as far as to say it is unethical to withhold these foods during that period of life,” she said.

“There’s a lot of empirical research that will show the very adverse effects on child development of doing that.”
She was especially critical of parents who imposed a vegan lifestyle on their children, which denied them milk, cheese and butter as well as meat.

“There’s absolutely no question that it’s unethical for parents to bring up their children as strict vegans,” she told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.
There are an estimated 250,000 vegans and up to 4m vegetarians in the UK, but there are no figures on how many children are brought up on such diets.

Prof Allen made the claims after her research showed that adding just two spoonfuls of meat the claims after her research showed that adding just two spoonfuls of meat to the daily diet of poverty stricken children in Africa transformed them physically and mentally.

Over two years the children almost doubled their muscle development, and showed dramatic improvements in mental skills. They also became more active, talkative and playful at school.

“Meat provides a concentrated source of essential micronutrients such as zinc, vitamin B12, calcium, iron and vitamin A, which cannot easily be obtained solely from plant foods,” she told the conference.

Studies of vegetarians in both the United States and Europe have shown that missing out on meat and dairy products can permanently impair a child’s development.

Researchers in Holland found that by the time children were 16 years old it was too late to help them by re-introducing meat and milk into their diets. They remained impaired.

Prof. Allen accepted that adults could animal foods if they took the right supplements, but said the risks were too great for developing children.

The African study involved 544 children in Kenya, typically aged about seven, whose diet chiefly consists of starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples lacking these micronutrients. Over a period of two years, one group of the children was given a daily supplement of two ounces of meat.

Two other groups received a cup of milk a day or an oil supplement containing the same amount of energy. A fourth group ate their normal diet.

“The group that received the meat supplement showed the biggest improvement in fluid intelligence over the two years, and those who had either milk or energy supplements were better than the controls.
The group that received the meat supplements were more active in the playground, more talkative and playful, and showed more leadership skills, she said.

Other nutritionists questioned how relevant the results were to the developed world.

“This study was conducted in a very different environment so it’s difficult to apply the findings to the UK because they’re talking about malnourished children,” said Nilani Sritharan of the UK Medical Research Council’s human nutrition unit in Cambridge, southern England.

“I wouldn’t say (a vegan diet for children) is unethical. I would say if someone is giving their child a vegan diet they need to be given a lot of guidance and you would need to monitor the child quite carefully.”

She said the danger areas are the energy and iron content in the diet of vegan children, who also need supplements of vitamin B12, which is missing altogether.

Alex Bourke, chair of the Vegan Society, dismissed Prof. Allen’s remarks as “propaganda” for the US meat and dairy industries.

Prof Allen is director of a research centre run by the US Agricultural Research Service, part of the Department of Agriculture.

He said: “This is a very unfair comparison. You do need to eat a healthy, balanced vegan diet as with any other system. These African villages were subsisting on corn and beans - that is not a balanced diet.”

Vegan parents must also give their children leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, he said.

Sir Paul McCartney, whose first wife Linda put her name to a range of meatfree range of food, telephoned the BBC to dismiss Prof Allen’s claims as ‘rubbish.”

He told the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show that he had been a vegetarian for 20 years and raised his children the same with no illeffects. “I really do think this is rubbish. I suspect these things are engineered by livestock people who have seen sales fall off. It has been a good thing for me and my children who are no shorter than other children.’

Lucy Barnett, 34, a classroom assistant, lives with her husband David, 41, a welder, and their children Daniel, 12, and Charlotte, 10, in Stuartfield, Scotland. The whole family became vegan eight years ago:

“I became vegan before the rest of the family, mainly because of cruelty to animals. I had suffered from endometriosis since puberty but within three weeks of giving up meat and diary products, it was gone. I had so much more energy, I lost weight.

“The rest of the family went vegan six months later. My children were already vegetarian and at that age - four and two - they weren’t aware of much difference. As they’ve got older I’ve made it clear to them that it’s up to them, but to my knowledge they have stayed vegan.

“I don’t tell them anything too shocking, but they probably do know more about animal cruelty and health than their friends.
“Obviously it requires some thinking about at the start and you have to work out which products are good and where to find them. But mostly I still cook the same things I used to cook - spaghetti bolognese, curry and rice, baked potato with salad and couscous, burgers, chips and beans.

Manila BUlletin

Ten Golden Rules issued for Safe Food Preparation

2005-04-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

Warning signs of a heart attack – or in impending one

2004-11-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Most heart attacks aren’t like in the movies – sudden and intense. Usually, they start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort.

Often people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help.

Here are the most common signs of a heart attack or heart disease that could lead to one:

*Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

*Fatigue or a vague sense of being ill without explanation, especially among women.

*Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

*Shortness of breath, which women in particular may have without chest discomfort.

*Other signs: Breaking out in a cold sweat, indigestion, nausea or lighteadedness.

Source: American Heart Association

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, September 12, 2004, Manila Bulletin

Proceed to Best of Pinoys

You drinking water can cause cancer

2004-10-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

Bracken is polluting water supplies worldwide – and causing cancer. You may not be surprised to get cancer if you smoke, or drink too much alcohol, but no one expects to get it from drinking water.

Glugging plenty of glasses each day is supposed to be good for us, but now you might want to think twice before turning on the tap.

New research, being presented at the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting in Lancaster in north-west England, has revealed that a common fern may be poisoning water supplies all over the world.

Bracken is a fern that grows on every continent except Antarctica.

Its curling green fronds decorate many British hillsides, dying down and turning a distinctive rusty-red color through the winter. Due to changes in farming practices over the past hundred years, bracken has proliferated and now it sprawls across much of Scotland and northern Britain.

For a long time scientists have known that bracken contains a carcinogenic compound called ptaquiloside (PTQ), but thought it dangerous only if eaten.

Now Lars Holm Rasmussen, a scientist at The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark, has shown that PTQs from bracken can enter the water supply and that some of us may be gulping poison every day.

Scientists have already shown that the PTQs ingested from eating bracken can increase your chances of getting gastric and oesophageal cancer.

In Brazil and Japan, young bracken shoots are often used in salads and cooking.

“The young ferns are quite tasty, a bit like asparagus with almonds,” says Holm Rasmussen.

But their toxic qualities are also quite clear, with higher incidence of cancer in both these countries. Now he has shown that eating bracken isn’t the only way of ingesting PTQs.

Last year, Holm Rasmussen measured the concentration of PTQs in water from wells on Danish and Swedish farms, which had lots of bracken growing in the area.

To his horror, some of the water had PTQ levels that were over 20,000 times higher than the suggested tolerable levels for environmental carcinogens.

The story is likely to be similar for many other farms and villages worldwide, where water is sourced from a brackenstrangled borehole or well.

“PTQ is somewhat like sugar, it dissolves easily and is just as mobile as pollutants like nitrates,” says Holm Rasmussen.

By measuring PTQ levels in soil and soil-water at different times of year, he has shown that the highest levels are found after heavy summer rainfall.

“PTQ is washed out of the bracken fronds by rain and since the bracken has the most biomass in summer, this is when we find the highest concentrations of PTQ in water,” he explains.

Particularly high levels were found on farms where the water table was high, five to 10 meters below ground.

Soil type is also important in helping or hindering PTQ to travel.

Sandy soils act like motorways to the water supply, while peat soils and chalks are more like very windy country roads.

“The situation is worst in sandy soils with a pH between five and six. Once the soil gets too acid (peat for example), or alkaline (limestone or chalk for example), then it becomes less mobile and degrades before reaching the groundwater,” explains Holm Rasmussen.

To make matters worse, families living on dairy farms may have also been drinking contaminated milk.

PTQs can be transferred into milk when cows nibble on bracken, particularly during the spring when the shoots are young and tasty.

Farmers often keep the buttermilk for their family, giving it to their children as a healthy drink. This buttermilk will have had the highest proportion of PTQs because it has not been diluted with milk form other, less bracken-infested farms.

What is more, PTQs are attracted towards water, so tend to concentrate in the buttermilk, rather than enter the cream, butter and cheese that will have been made from the fat that was skimmed off.

“Bracken certainly could be an environmental factor that explains the raised levels of cancer in certain areas,” says Holm Rasmussen.

What is perhaps more concerning is that it may not just be bracken that we need to worry about.

A number of important agricultural crops such as canola and clover already produce toxic natural products with similar structures to PTQ. These toxins are not carcinogenic, but may behave in a similar way in the soil.

Furthermore, many of the new GM crops, such as GM maize, are developed with an increased natural defence against pests and weeds, by inserting genes that code for the high production of toxic compounds.

“Some of these toxic natural products have a similar structure to PTQ and I think they will behave in a similar way,” says Holm Rasmussen.

Given that crops are often planted on sandy soils with a high water table, some crops could have an even worse effect on the water supply than bracken.

There are no easy solutions to this problem.

Farmers and landowners are trying to reduce the amount of bracken, but it is difficult to get rid of and the most effective mechanism is to spray hillsides with a noxious pesticide: not ideal for improving the water supply.

Meanwhile, Holm Rasmussen is hoping to carry out more research to discover which GM crops and which type of environment present the greatest threat to our water.

In the meantime, don’t give up drinking water but to keep trampling down the bracken when you’re out for a walk.

KATE RAVILIOUS IN LONDON, September 19, 2004, Manila Bulletin

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Foods for Proper Development of Baby’s Brain

2004-10-22T17:45:00.001-07:00

Child nutrition experts confirm that there are indeed foods that increase a child’s ability to develop his brain and thereby affecting his scholastic achievements later on.

The brain has two sides. Your child’s left brain is responsible for his logical functions while his right brain is responsible for his creative functions. Both sides of the brain can develop together in such a way that both are able to function together without overpowering or placing distorted demands upon one another.

So what are some of the best examples of foods that give power to the brain?

1. Milk with clinically proven levels of DHA and ARA. Recent studies have shown that a baby’s brain will develop properly with the help of two important nutrients: Docohexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Arachidonic Acid (ARA, basic building blocks which help greatly in mental and visual development.

From childbirth, the infant brain needs DHA supplementation, which helps in increasing a child’s mental functions. ARA on the other hand, is responsible for baby’s physical growth. It complements DHA for optimum physical and mental development. Both also play significant roles in developing sharper vision in babies.

Mother’s breastmilk is a rich source of DHA and ARA. Breastfeeding your child will certainly help him gain these two important nutrients. However, when this is not possible, choose an infant formula that contains clinically proven levels of DHA and ARA.

2. Protein-rich foods chicken, meat and fish. Protein in food is critical to alertness, attention and thinking. Amino acids, the chief components of protein, are the building blocks of our bodies. Protein provides the building blocks for most of the body’s tissues, nerves and internal organs, including the brain and heart.

3. Raw fruits, vegetables and orange juice. These contain folic acid, that is essential for the formation and maturation of red and white blood cells. Research shows that and white blood cells. Research shows that lack of folic acid leads to tiredness, irritability and forgetfulness in children.

4. Choline-rich foods like egg yolk, green vegetables, dairy products and soybeans. These contribute to memory-enhancement. Choline is an amino acid commonly found in egg yolk. It is also present in dairy products, green vegetables and soybeans. Choline increases the brain’s rate of metabolism; it is also involved in the production of ‘acetylcholine’ (a neurotransmitter helping in memory function).

Iron-rich foods. These may increase a child’s attention span for challenging tasks. Iron carries oxygen in the blood and helps transport oxygen into cells where it is used. Some studies show that iron-deficiency in children results in decreased attention span. Children who are low in iron tend to do poorly in vocabulary, reading and other tests and this means that left side of the brain (logic) functions may be on the low level.

5. Good nutrition is important to proper and balance brain development. The choices you make for your baby’s foods will allow him to perform well not only in school but also in the environment around him.

Manila Bulletin

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Mosquitoes have a sweet tooth?

2004-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

CHARLESTON, S.C. – It turns out that what you long thought to be true is true: Mosquitoes prefer biting some people more than others. “Some people are just more attractive,” said Ulrich Bernier, a research chemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Mosquitoes are so keen at figuring out who the best people are to have a blood meal,” he said. “We still don’t understand how they figure it out so well. They know how to do it and we don’t know how they know.”

Mosquitoes are highly attracted to one in every 10 people. Bernier is working to discover which of the more than 1,000 chemicals on the skin people attract and which repel mosquitoes.

Figuring out what attracts mosquitoes has been an easier chore that determining what repels them.

Mosquitoes are attracted to lactic acid in sweat and to carbon dioxide. They’re so attracted to the latter that Martin Hyatt, Charleston Country mosquito control super-intendent, sometimes baits traps with dry ice which is simply solidified carbon dioxide.
Mosquitoes are also attracted to sweet smells including perfume, hair oil, and deodorant. They also are attracted to dark clothing, said Joe Conlon, American Mosquito Control Association technical adviser.

Bernier has identified some of the body chemicals that repel mosquitoes but wouldn’t say which ones. There are patents involved but the research is encouraging, he said.
Bernier’s lab in Gainesville, Fla., was created after World War II to find repellents for the military. After investigating 80,000 chemicals, scientists developed DEET as an insect repellent.

But it’s not only the scent of a person that can cause a mosquito to bite. The pesky insects also have their own quirks.

But home remedies like eating brewer’s yeast, garlic, or vitamin B-12 don’t seem to help much.

Hyatt said one way to avoid being bitten is prevent mosquitoes from hatching.

He said a lot of homeowners could help themselves simply by draining the standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Manila Bulletin

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8 essential nutrients deficient in Filipino schoolchildren

2004-10-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

NOWADAYS, moms are faced with the challenge of providing and establishing the right dietary habits for their children. Imagine a mother’s frustration when the child wants to eat junk food for lunch and dinner. But before she gives into her child’s nutrient requirements that will ensure proper growth and development of both and development of both body and mind.

A study utilized by the Department of Health shows the worsening malnutrition problem in the Philippines, especially among school age children. It pinpointed eight essential nutrients that are deficient in the Filipino child: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, folic acid, calcium, iron and iodine.

The following lists the reasons they are necessary for your growing child:
*Vitamin A helps strengthen the immune system.

Vitamin C aids in faster recovery from wounds and burns, and together with Vitamin E, helps reduce the risk of developing cancer later in life.

Vitamin B1 assists in blood formation and brain function.

Vitamin B2 or riboflavin is essential for healthy red blood cell formation and antibody production, and helps in the metabolism of food.

*Iron makes kids more energetic and gives their skin a healthy pinkish glow.
*Folic acid promotes healthier hair and nails.

*Calcium is needed for muscle growth and is critical for bone growth and bone development in children.

*Iodine is important for the proper development of brain and body coordination.

It is therefore crucial for Filipino parents to know the essential nutrients they must provide their kids, may it be from balanced diets or from nutrition-packed chocolate-powdered drinks. Picking the right supplement, the one which contains the right blend where the macronutients complement the micronutients, can spell a great difference to a child’s future. In the meantime, finding more creative ways to serve the right food can be just as fun to the mom and the child.

Manila Bulletin

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Intimate Tips of Feminine Hygiene

2004-09-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when mothers prohibited daughters to look at - much more feel - their private parts at that particular age when young women are starting to be curious about their different body parts. With the proliferation of mass media outlets, however, barriers are slowly crashing down, and more enlightened discussions on the feminine mystique are being encourage.

Still, the area of feminine hygiene is not often spoken or written about. Her are a few tips on how to take care, for example, of your vulva or external female genitalia.

· In contrast to the male organ, the female organ is more moist due to sticky secretions of the glands that may vary with the time of your menstrual cycle. Its is, therefore, important to wash these secretions spreading to the labia and to clean the crease between the labia minora where the secretions tend to accumulate.

· The vagina is the canal from the labia minora leading up to the cervix. It is really a self-cleaning organ and is cleaner than your mouth. It contains lactobacilli that continually secrete lactic acid, keeping the acidity of the vagina from 3.8-4.2 and thus discouraging that can cause itchiness or vaginal discharge.

· Soaps are, therefore, not deal for washing the vagina and vulva since most soaps have a Ph OF OVER 7 which is alkaline. That’s why vaginal washes were formulated to maintain the acidity of the vagina that will beat support the growth of the lactobacilli to keep infection away.

· Be careful though in choosing the brand of feminine wash since there have been many clinic consultations on vaginal itchiness, rashes, blisters within two months from shifting to a new brand of feminine wash. Be sensitive to your symptoms. Feminine washes with lactic acid are more physiologic since they mimic the natural condition in the vagina.

· Since the vagina is very close to the anus, which contains bacteria that can cause vaginitis and urinary tract infections, it is best to wash in a front-to-back direction, making sure the water is delivered in front and not behind. It might even be best to use your forefinger and middle finger to wash the vulva, and your ring finger and pinky to wash the rectum. That will minimize contamination.

· If you use public bathrooms most of the day, feminine wipes, which are available commercially, come in handy. This keeps the acidity of the vagina at the correct pH, minimizing infection and odor.

· The front-to-back direction also holds true for wiping with tissue to dry the vulva. A cool-setting hair dryer may also be used to dry away the vulva.

· Buy only unscented, white toilet paper to avoid allergic reactions that my come from dyes and perfumes.

· Avoid douching since it mechanically washes away your protective bacteria in the vagina. If you must, do it only once a month on the last day of your menstrual period to wash away the remaining blood. Douching has been found to increase the risk for pelvic inflammatory disease.

· The vulva and menstrual blood normally don’t have a foul odor. There is a musky smell that is unique to each individual, but it should not smell bad. A foul odor is a sign of bacterial build-up. Consult your doctor for this or for any abnormal vaginal discharge.

· Avoid powdering the external genitalia. This has been found to increase the risk of ovarian cancer.

· Do not apply perfumes, or feminine hygiene sprays that may irritate the skin and cause allergies and promote the risk for vaginal infections.

· Public hair grows because it has a function: To reduce friction during sex so it is not meant to be shaven. But if you must for one reason or another, make sure the wax, shaving cream or depilatory is tested on a small area outside the labia majora to insure you are not allergic to it. Avoid contact of chemicals with the labia minora because it is covered with thinner skin and is more permeable than the labia majora.

· Use only water-based lubricants on your sensitive female genitalia. Oil-based lubricants like petroleum jelly can cause condoms to tear. Besides, it is difficult to wash off so it can alter the vaginal flora and promote infections.

Knowing the basics of feminine hygiene can help tremendously in warding of visits to the gynecologist’s office. That’s precious time and money saved. Taking care of the most intimate part of you is something you owe to yourself…. As well as to your partner.!

REBECCA B. SINGSON, M.D., January 13, 2004 Manila Bulletin

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Live a full, active life with diabetes

2004-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our theme for this year’s Diabetes Awareness Week activities, “Diabetes in Motion,” seeks to convey two messages.

The first message is a simple and practical one. Motion, such as exercise or physical activity, is essential to good diabetes management.

Exercise includes anything that gets moving. It could be walking, dancing, or even doing household chores. You don’t have to go to the gym or use fancy equipment to be physically active. There are many opportunities for you to be active throughout the day. For instance, walk instead of drive. Park your car at the far end of the parking lot then walk to your office. Or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk in the garden, or do some house-cleaning every day.

The benefits of exercise are numerous. Exercise can lower your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. It can also reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke, relieve stress, and strengthen your heart, muscles, and bones. In addition, regular activity helps your insulin work better, improves your blood circulation, and keeps your joints flexible.

Exercise should always be a part of any diabetes treatment regimen.
The second message is more abstract but hopeful. Diabetes (management) is in Motion: That is, the treatment of diabetes is rapidly evolving. In fact, in the last few years, we have seen major shifts in the treatment approach to diabetes.

Earlier use of combination therapy (two or more oral antidiabetic drugs, even in newly diagnosed patients) allows us to address both pathophysiologic defects in diabetes. Plus the recent availability of fixed-dose combinations decreases the pill count for most patients.

Earlier institution of insulin therapy allows us to decrease the harmful effects of high blood glucose (glucotoxicity) and augment pancreatic function. Insulin is no longer considered the “last resort” but an effective therapeutic option that should be offered to the patient early in his treatment.

More aggressive control of glucose levels should be the norm in all patients, to target prevention not only of microvascular (small blood vessels such as the retina, kidneys, nerves) but macrovascular (large blood vessels) complications. In addition, multiple risk factor intervention should be undertaken, looking not only at blood sugar levels, but also blood pressure, lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides), obesity (especially abdominal obesity or beer belly), smoking, and other cardiac risk factors such as prothrombotic state.

DR. AUGUSTO D. LITONJUA, July 24, 2004 Manila Bulletin

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Blood clot: The cause of life-threatening conditions

2004-09-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

For people who smoke, have high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and diabetes, death and disability are likely to come in three’s – heart attack, stroke or peripheral arterial disease (PAD). These life-threatening conditions have one thing in common: they are caused by atherothrombosis.

Atherothrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms on fatty deposits in the wall of a blood vessels. The formation of a blood clot is a called thrombosis and the fatty deposit in the blood vessels is often referred to as an atheroma.

The rupture of plaques, and the subsequent development of a clot, can cause partial or complete blockage of an artery in various parts of the body. When a vessel in the heart is partially or completely blocked by a clot, the result can be a heart attack.

The same process can cause a stroke or brain attack. This process can also lead to reduction or blockage of blood flow in the arteries of the legs – a condition known as peripheral arterial disease, a significant risk factor for heart attack or stroke.

Atherothrombosis is responsible for more than 28 percent of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In Asia, 4.5 million deaths in 2001 were attributed to atherothrombosis. In the Philippines, the prevalence of atherothrombosis is unknown, but heart attack and stroke have become the number one causes of death, accounting for more than 25 percent of all deaths in the country.

Smoking cessation, weight loss, and control of diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are essential in preventing a stroke or heart attack. However, since lifestyle modification alone is not enough, it will have to be combined with drug therapy.

It is necessary to reduce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks in all these patients with anti-platelet therapy. Currently available anti-agents include aspirin and clopidogrel.

Clopidogrel has been shown to be effective in multiple clinical trials in both coronary and peripheral arterial disease. Currently, clopidogrel is the only anti-platelet agent that is US FDA approved for reduction of thrombotic events in patients with established PAD.

Manila Bulletin

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50-60% of diabetics will get heart disease

2004-09-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

People often suffer from heart attack when the blood supply to the heart is impaired or obstructed. One of the factors leading to obstruction in blood supply is Diabetes.

Diabetes does this through several possible mechanisms. For one, diabetes makes the blood thicker and viscous. This state allows for easy clothing of blood within the blood vessels leading to the heart – hence, the obstruction.

Secondly, high blood glucose levels as manifested by diabetes promote production of "free radicals" that leads to a reduction in a compound known as nitrous oxide (NO). This then leads to the relative inability of the blood vessels to dilate and therefore leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of the vessels) and hypertension (high blood). Not only does hypertension increase the workload of the heart, but it can also decrease the supply of blood therein.

Thirdly, high blood glucose in diabetes can lead to injury of the lining of the blood vessels. This predisposes those blood vessels to fat deposition and atherosclerosis.

Diabetes can lead to a myriad of pathologies that leads to heart attack. In fact, it has been estimates that 50-60 percent of parents of patients with diabetes will eventually succumb to heart disease.

The good news, however, is that morbidities and complications associated with diabetes can be prevented. Huge clinical studies like the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and the Kumamoto study have all consistently shown that tight blood glucose control can dramatically reduce the risk of these complications associated with diabetes.

Tight blood glucose control can be achieved through diabetes education, proper diet, adequate exercise, appropriate medications and self-monitoring of blood glucose.

Diabetes education primarily involves enlightening individuals to the nature of diabetes and how they can act appropriately to address the disease. Diabetes education is crucial to the success and to the sustainability of medical strategies. Hence, it is considered one major cornerstone of effective diabetes management.

Manila Bulletin

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Mobile phones can damage male fertility

2004-09-16T01:24:00.000-07:00

BERLIN (DPA) – Research into the fertility of men who regularly carry and use mobile phones has suggested their sperm count can be cut by up to 30 percent, reducing chances of conception.

The study is the first to indicate male fertility may be damaged by the radiation emitted by mobiles. Men who carry the phone in a belt holster or trouser pocket are thought to be at the highest risk and could one day be advised to put the mobile in a bag or briefcase and away from vulnerable areas.

Details of the research were released recently at an international scientific conference of fertility experts in Berlin.
The researchers studied 221 men for 13 months comparing the sperm of those who used their phones heavily with others who did not.

They found that heavy users of mobile phones, those who carried their phone around with them most of the time, had their sperm counts reduced by nearly 30 percent. Many of the sperm that did survive showed abnormal movements further reducing fertility.

While the research suggests an effect on the sperm, the scientists say further work will need to be done to confirm the finding and establish the mechanism by which it might happen.

In the paper, Dr. Imre Fejes of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of Szeged in Hungary concludes: "The prolonged use of cell phones may have a negative effect on spermatogenesis (sperm production) and make fertility, that deteriorates both concentration and motility."

Unlike previous studies, the researchers believe that phones may cause damage while in stand-by mode.

Although not in use, they make regular transmissions to maintain contact with the nearest radio masts. It had been assumed such transmissions were too short to cause harm.

Manila Bulletin

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5 health habits for diabetics

2004-09-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

Diabetes may be a life-threatening disease but it is not insurmountable. While a cure is yet to be discovered, there are ways to manage the disease, which will allow the patient to continue his daily activities.

Acceptance that one is a diabetic is the first step in managing the disease. Then the person can start with a new lifestyle. Having a ‘can do’ attitude, observe the following healthy rules:

One: Start by following the correct diet and fortify it with Charantia Ampalaya Food Supplement. The right diet plays a big role in controlling blood sugar level, which is the first defense against diabetic complications. Watch the amount of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. In general, stick to a low-fat, high-fiber diet to have better blood sugar control. Keep in mind that factors such as age, gender and activity level affect metabolism. It is important to consult a dietitian or diabetes doctor for the meal plan that suits a person.

Fortify the diet with nutrients that help achieve blood sugar balance. Charantia is a good add-on to a low-fat, high-fiber diet. In tea or capsule form, Charantia helps control elevated blood sugar levels when taken after every meal.

Two: Have an exercise program. Exercise helps increase metabolism. Having a regular regimen – about 15-30 minutes per day, three to four times a week – ensures a better chance to controlling your blood sugar level. Exercise can range from aerobics, jogging and gym workout to brisk walking. Get some exercise in the office, choose to walk around, instead of using the phone to call a colleague, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Consult the doctor or physical therapist as to the level of impact a patient can perform to avoid injuries.

Three: See a health care team regularly. Diabetes is a lifetime disease. To stay in good shape, the patient should keep a regular communication with a health care team. This includes a diabetes doctor, dietitian, nurse, physical therapist, psychologist, dentist and eye and foot specialist. Ask each of them how often the check-ups should be. The frequency of visits to each health care professional depends on a patient’s condition.

Four: Take care of the feet. The diabetic’s feet are especially vulnerable to blisters, cuts or wounds. If left untreated, they may develop into ulcers that can lead to amputation. Check the patient’s feet daily for redness, swelling or cracks, and tell the doctor about it. Always wash the patient’s feet with lukewarm (not hot) water and let them dry. Apply non-medicated powder (baby powder) before putting on shoes, socks or stockings. The diabetic should also remember not to walk barefoot. When trimming toenails, soak them first in warm water to soften the nails before cutting straight across.

Five: Reach out. Living with diabetes may hang heavy on one’s shoulders. But with the support from family and friends, the problem is less daunting. The diabetic should reach out to people he or she trusts. Also get in touch with other diabetics. Sharing stories with people with similar needs and experiences exudes a heartening feel.

Manila Bulletin

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