Health •

Healthy Lifestyle Deals With Breast Cancer

May 29, 2016 By Ryan Harris

A healthy lifestyle prevents breast cancer.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A recent study has established that women who are more likely to develop breast cancer can drop off the risk to that of an average woman by having a healthy lifestyle.

According to Dr. Robert Shenk, Medical Director at the Breast Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, this study has brought a new perspective regarding the prevention of breast cancer among women.

However, further research is needed to learn and understand more about all the factors regarding this situation. Until now, 23,000 high-risk white women with ages between 30 and 80 years old participated in the study so that the scientists could determine how much a healthy lifestyle would decline the chances of developing breast cancer.

Therefore, many researchers from major institutions such the Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health analyzed the health records data regarding the use of hormones, weight indexes, drinking habits and smoking among the women involved in the study.

There is an 11 percent standard chance of a 30-year-old woman of developing breast cancer by the time she is 80. Nevertheless, some women have 23.5 percent risk due to reproductive factors, genetic markers, and family history. However, researchers have discovered that these women can also lower their risk to 11 percent if they adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Plus, scientists underlined that women who did not use menopause hormone therapy (MHT), did not smoke or drink and had low BMI also had 11 percent risk. In other words, the purpose of the study is to determine which are the healthiest choices a woman can make in order to lower the risk of breast cancer as much as possible.

According to Shenk, this data may contribute to establishing more accurate information about cancer screening via yearly mammograms. However, experts are still not sure if women with family history of breast cancer have such a high-risk percentage.

In addition to this, the study included only a particular type of women, more specifically women from the U.S., Europe and Australia with ages between 30 and 80. Therefore, these findings can’t be considered valid for the entire women population. For instance, ethnic differences may also influence the risk of breast cancer.

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Successful Senior Health and Fitness Day

May 23, 2016 By Ryan Harris

Senior Health and Fitness Day will be a success.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Another exciting event will be organized by Cedar Hill Continuing Community called National Senior Health and Fitness Day on the 25^th of May. It is the 23^rd event which takes place every year, gathering 1,000 local groups.

There will be a week of activities promoting health and fitness and also a special Speaker Series seminar with the title “Nutrition, Wellness, and Aging”, held by Dr. Deborah Kennedy, administrative director. The workshop begins at 11 a.m. this Tuesday at Weight and Wellness Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. There will be another surprise for all attendees after the seminar, which will consist of a healthy lunch prepared by Cedar Hill Chef John Vigneau.

Plus, there will be a Fitness Festival on the 25^th of May featuring spa activities, healthy snacks and lawn games for Cedar Hill residents. Around 100,000 seniors across the country are expected to attend this event and to help promote preventive care, proper nutrition, active and healthy lifestyles through physical fitness.

According to Patricia Horn, Community Administrator, the Fitness Festival, healthy lunch, and Nutrition Festival will represent a great chance for seniors to revitalize, renew or make their promise to improve their lives with the help of fitness.

However, if you want to attend the Nutrition Seminar on Tuesday, you need to make a reservation. The Fitness Festival on Wednesday will be from 2 to 4 p.m., and is oriented towards the residents, but anyone can attend it. There will be activities such as hand massages, healthy snacks and drinks, lawn games and many others.

The last Wednesday of May is always reserved for National Senior Health and Fitness Day to support Older Americans Month and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. It is the largest and most complex program targeting to help and improve life, organized by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for professionals prepared to work with older adults.

It is very encouraging that every year people are trying to bring their contribution in helping older people to live healthier lives and show the world that you can promote good things by striving to become a better, healthier person. All these are possible for people who attend to Senior Health and Fitness Day.

Image Source:Pixabay

Get a Good Night’s Rest

March 24, 2016 By Melissa Gansler Leave a Comment

A good night’s sleep is essential so our bodies could properly function.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Smartphones need to be plugged in and charged, humans need to sleep. But it’s hard to get a good night’s rest in this day and age. Office hours are long, our smartphones are constantly beeping with social media notifications, and even our books emit blue light that prevents our brains from releasing melatonin.

A study published at the beginning of the year was saying that most American adults are sleep deprived. Another one mentioned that the less you sleep, the more you’ll eat. The lack of Zs can cause a lot of long-time damage on a person’s body, but some find it hard to get a good night’s rest.

There are a few tricks that might help you get a good night’s rest without resorting to medication or other artificial or chemical substances that could ultimately do as much damage to the body as sleep deprivation.

Exercise

Since sleep is just another bodily function, most of the advice doctors give to their snooze-deprived patients are the same as those given to the people who wish to live a healthier life.

Daily exercising will not only help you catch those elusive Zs, but it will also keep your bowel movement regular, keep your heart young and healthy and help you look like a million dollars.

And ladies, exercising and sleeping are the best ways to ensure a healthy, glowing skin.

Careful with the Coffee

If you want to get a good night’s rest, you will have to be careful with the coffee. It’s okay to drink your morning cup of Joe, maybe even an afternoon one with your lunch, but don’t bring him to dinner or else you’ll be counting sheep all night long.

Also, stay away from sugar or sugary products right before bed because they tend to give a sudden boost of energy to the body.

Lay Down on the Technology

There’s a reason humans sleep during the night. When the light begins to fade, our brains are wired to release melatonin, a substance that makes us feel sleepy and helps us get a good night’s rest. When morning comes, and light appears, the brain knows it’s got enough rest, and it will stop secreting it.

But electronic devices emit blue light which tricks our brains into thinking that it is still daylight outside, and it needs to be alert. Doctors recommend people to stop using phones, tablets and other such technology three hours before snoozing. But if you’re a tech junkie, one hour is enough.

Routine Is Healthy

There are a lot of studies out there who claim that a regular sleep schedule is beneficial to the mind and body.

Bedtime is not just for growing kids; it’s a rule that all functional adults should follow and respect.

You can also try to read something before going to bed, or write an entry in your journal. When it comes to a good night’s rest, anything that is healthy for the body will also help you with your missing Zs.

Image source: Pixabay

First Malaria Vaccine Moves Closer To Africa Use

April 24, 2015 By Melissa Gansler Leave a Comment

The world’s first malaria vaccine, which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, could be soon approved by international regulators for use in Africa. The vaccine could be administrated as soon as October after trial data revealed it gave partial protection for up to four years.

The vaccine, named RTS,S and is developed for children in Africa, will be the first licensed shot against the parasitic disease and could prevent millions of cases of malaria worldwide. The disease is responsible for more than 600,000 deaths a year.

Doctors have long hoped scientists would manage to develop an efficient malaria vaccine. Researchers at the British pharmaceutical giant GSK have been working on RTS,S for 30 years.

Expectations that this vaccine would be the final solution to eliminating malaria were lowered when trial data from 2011 and 2012 revealed it only cuts episodes of malaria in children aged 6-12 weeks by 27 percent, while babies aged 5-17 months showed a reduction of around 46 percent.

But the final stage data released in the Lancet journal on Friday revealed vaccinated children were protected four years after, even if it recorded a declining rate, which a crucial factor in the prevalence of the disease, while rates of protection were more powerful with a booster shot.

The researchers said an average 1,363 cases of clinical malaria were stopped over a period of four years for every 1,000 children who had been administered the shot, or 1,774 cases with a booster shot.

“Despite the falling efficacy over time, there is still a clear benefit from RTS,S. Given that there were an estimated 198 million malaria cases in 2013, this level of efficacy potentially translates into millions of cases of malaria in children being prevented,” Brian Greenwood, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who worked on the study, explained.

GSK applied in July 2014 for regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency for the new drug and is awaiting a decision in the next few months. If the company receives a license, the World Health Organization could recommend its usage starting by Octomber.

Experts say the vaccine will not be alone in the fight against malaria, like insecticide-treated bed-nets, and also rapid diagnostic tests and other anti-malarial drugs.

RTS,S was co-developed by the non-profit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and GSK, using funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Image Source: Eu Reporter

Rabies Vaccinations Could Save 160 Lives Every Day

April 19, 2015 By John Birks Leave a Comment

According to a new research, 160 deaths could be prevented every day with affordable and simple canine rabies vaccinations. Scientists insist it is the time to stop ignoring the problems posed by the deadly virus.

Health experts are pleading with the general public to do something the tens of thousands of people who are losing their life to rabies each year, which in most cases could have been prevented with simple vaccinations. Scientists believe that canine rabies could have been eliminated long before now. Many nations who spent time and money on vaccination programs have in most cases destroyed the disease completely.

A report published just a few days ago confirmed that while millions continue to ignore the problem of canine vaccinations, around 160 people are losing their lives from rabies every day. When the disease is transmitted from a dog to a human being by biting, the virus which infects the body proves fatal in almost 100% of occasions. The Global Alliance for Rabies Control analyzed the virus on a global scale and concluded that if the public in general and more government offices were to have a more serious approach on the matter, rabies need never cost the life of another human being.

“No one should die of rabies. An understanding of the actual burden helps us determine and advocate for the resources needed,” said the group’s director, Professor Louis Nel.

Rabies infection cases are quite rare in the United States and in most western countries, though rabies remains an important and constant threat in Africa, India and large parts of the third-world. Most nations where rabies is still a threat have access to the rabies vaccines, even though the large majority of their populations cannot afford them.

According to the new report, the total global cost which is needed to treat rabies goes far beyond the $8.6 billion level, which is making the cost of a global vaccination scheme very small in comparison.

“At the moment, our best estimate from this recent study is that about 59,000 people across the world are dying of rabies every year. And that’s just the burden from canine rabies transmitted by dogs,” said Dr. Louise Taylor is with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and is coordinator of the Partners for Rabies Prevention Group.

Image Source: Sunday Express

E-Cigarettes Speed Regulation Called After Worrying Youth Data

April 18, 2015 By Joe Hennessey Leave a Comment

Public health officials are piling up the pressure on the U.S. government to hastily regulate and bar access to e-cigarettes after new research data showed use tripled among high school and middle school teens last year.

The data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday raised worries among health authorities who warn e-cigarettes will build a new generation of nicotine addicts who will eventually turn to smoking conventional cigarettes.

Cigarette use fell more than a quarter over the same period. E-cigarette advocates explained the data could indicate e-cigarettes are steering young people away from traditional cigarettes, a theory denied by tobacco control advocates.

The Food and Drug Administration is the regulatory body of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco. It proposed to expand its authority to e-cigarettes, among other products, in 2014.

FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum announced on Friday the agency is “moving forward to finalize the rule.” Its purpose is to release it in June, but a delay is very probable. The agency was sent more than 135,000 public comments on the move and must review them all, in accordance to the law.

The proposal must be reviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services. The next step is the approval of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which studies the potential economic consequences of the new regulation.

OMB has not yet obtained the rule, and when it does, it has at least 90 days to approve it.

The proposal would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to people who are under the age of 18. Also, approval of new products will require FDA approval. Public health officials have also demanded a ban on flavored tobacco products, but also on internet sales and television advertising, which they claim attract children.

The agency has announced the rule would be the first step in a series of potential future rulings.

Some states are moving to set restrictions of their own. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer pushed forward a proposed legislation that would offer the Federal Trade Commission the right to determine what constitutes marketing to children, a step which would allow the FTC to collaborate with states’ attorneys general to impose bans.

At least 43 states have laws that restrict e-cigarettes sales to minors and some are targeting to incorporate e-cigarettes into clean air acts that ban smoking in public places.

Image Source: Guardian Liberty Voice

Eating Out Regularly Linked To High Blood Pressure

April 14, 2015 By John Birks Leave a Comment

There may be a connection between high blood pressure and meals eaten away from home, a recent study suggests.

Scientists from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore have discovered that eating out has been linked with a higher saturated fat intake, but also with a higher caloric intake and higher salt intake. These patterns are usually associated with high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the leading risk factors for death caused by cardiovascular disease and illnesses worldwide. Previous research have discovered that young adults with a condition called pre-hypertension, a slightly elevated blood pressure, could be moving into hypertension very quickly if they eat away from home regularly.

For the research, scientists observed 501 university-going young adults from Singapore, with ages from 18 to 40 years old. Information on blood pressure, lifestyle and body mass index, but also data about meals eaten away from home and physical activities, were also collected. After analyzing the results, the researchers established a link between eating out and high blood pressure.

With the help of statistical analysis, the scientists discovered that pre-hypertension was present in 27.4 percent of the total focus group, and that 38 percent consumed more than 12 meals away from home every week. After performing a gender breakdown, the team revealed that pre-hypertension was affecting 49 percent of men, a much larger amount than in women, which stood at just 9 percent. Those who suffered from pre-hypertension or hypertension were eating more meals away from home per week, but also had a higher mean body mass index, while showing lower physical activity levels. Most of them were also current smokers.

The team of researchers from Singapore found that even eating one extra meal out increased the odds of pre-hypertension by around 6 percent.

“While there have been studies conducted in the United States and Japan to find behaviors associated with hypertension, very few have surveyed a Southeast Asian population. Our research plugs that gap and highlights lifestyle factors associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension that are potentially modifiable, and would be applicable to young adults globally, especially those of Asian descent,” said Tazeen Jafar, who authored the study, in a statement.

The report was published in the American Journal of Hypertension. Its detailed findings can be very helpful in the quest to change behavior trough clinical and policy recommendations.

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Smoking is Even More Harmful Than Previously Thought

February 16, 2015 By Matthew Slotkin Leave a Comment

Scientists recently linked 5 diseases and health condition that hadn’t previously been associated to smoking to this unfortunate habit. While the fact that cigarette smoking is linked to lung disease, cancer, artery disease, heart attack or stroke is scientifically supported, some scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine have proved that smoking is also related to increased risks of infection, kidney disease, intestinal disease caused by inadequate blood flow as well as heart and lung illnesses that had not been previously attributed to tobacco.

Scientists studied almost 1 million people and followed them for 10 years in oder to get the most accurate results. And their findings regarding the actual cigarette-related deaths are baffling. Officially it appears that smoking kills around 480,000 people each year in the U.S. But according to Dr. Eric Jacobs, who was a co-author of the study, smoking could actually be killing around 60,000 extra Americans every year (13 % more out of the 480,000 deaths currently attributed to the addictive habit every year).

If these recent findings were applied to the world wide scale, an extra 780,000 across the world could be dying because of smoking each year.

The number of additional deaths potentially linked to cigarette smoking is substantial.

“In our study, many excess deaths among smokers were from disease categories that are not currently established as caused by smoking, and we believe there is strong evidence that many of these deaths may have been caused by smoking,”

Dr. Eric Jacobs said.

An editorial accompanying the study, written by Dr. Graham Golditz, stated that low-income people tend to underestimate the dangers of tobacco use and need more help in order to quit. They have no idea that smoking is worse than previously thought.

By and large the research found that smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to die from one of the established smoking-related diseases, such as: most kinds of heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, pneumonia, tuberculosis, influenza, atherosclerosis, aortic aneurysms and other arterial diseases, acute myeloid leukaemia, diabetes, cancers of the lung, colon and rectum, pancreas, kidney, liver, bladder, lip, oral cavity, stomach, larynx and esophagus.

All the above diseases were responsible for deaths among men and women who were still smoking at the end of their lives. Only 17% of deaths female smokers’ deaths and 15% of male smokers’ deaths were traced to other causes than the ones mentioned above.

Exercise

Careful with the Coffee

Lay Down on the Technology

Routine Is Healthy

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