Health Briefs Reports on How Dieting Affects Women Later

(healthy lifestyle changes made with friends are better)

Teens and young adult women are usually quite aware when they gain even a small amount of weight. This leads to going on fad diets and diets which promise quick weight loss. Health Briefs looks at how this kind of dieting later affects the women.

Health and medical experts agree that in order for a young woman to stay healthy and remain healthy, she needs to make lifestyle changes instead of going on a fad diet. A study followed women for ten years who reported started to diet early in youth. The researchers found that 10 years after they were graduated from college, the women indulged in extreme weight-control behaviors, more alcohol consumption and misuse, and had a greater chance of being overweight or obese.

Health Briefs encourages teen girls and young women to seek the advice of a medical expert before starting any weight loss program. The key to any successful and long-lasting weight control is to make positive lifestyle changes. Healthy weight maintenance can be obtained with self control, lifestyle changes and support from parents, friends and healthcare professionals. Let’s all work together to give women of all ages the support they need to life a healthy lifestyle and maintain a positive self image into adulthood.

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Health Briefs on Medical Identity Theft and Why We Need to Pay Attention

There has been a 91 percent increase in the number of medical identity theft cases in the last year alone. Health Briefs examines the issue and offers prevention tips for consumers in North America.

Health care agencies including the insurance companies lag far behind the credit card, financial and large discount store companies when it comes to protecting a consumer’s personal data. And unlike credit card companies, there is no way for a consumer to know someone stole their medical data and used it to obtain health services.  Medical ID thieves can get health insurance in your name, obtain prescriptions, even check into the hospital to give birth or have surgery. The only way a person will know this happened is if they get a bill from a collector. So how can the average consumer who goes to the doctor, gets tests done in clinics and hospitals and may be admitted to a hospital prevent this from happening?

Health Briefs suggests only writing the last four digits of your Social Security Number on any form.  Don’t share any medical or healthcare information, such as insurance info via telephone or email unless you know without any doubt who is asking. Shred old healthcare forms, old prescription slips, doctor bills, etc and store current ones in a safe place. Know your rights and find out why a website is asking for this info, how it will be kept safe, whether it will be shared, and with whom. Read the Privacy Policy on the website. Look for the lock and key symbol to be sure the website is safe and secure. If in doubt, don’t offer any information. 

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Health Briefs—Sweet 2 to Eat-- Fruit Recall Expansion

Recently, peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots from Wawona Packaging have been recalled to a breakout of Listeria. They were packaged in the company’s Cutler, California plant. Health Briefs wishes to advise readers of an expansion to the recall in regard to the stores where the fruit was shipped.

The above mentioned fruit were shipped from June 1 through July 12 to the following stores: Costco, Kroger, Wal-Mart and now Whole Foods. Wal-Mart also operates Sam’s Club’s. Notices have also been sent to Trader Joe’s, Ralph’s and Food 4 Less. The recall is nationwide and stems from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The affected fruit will have a sticker on it which says “SWEET 2 EAT”.  Health Briefs TV advises readers to check the stickers on peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots.

As a general rule of thumb, always wash produce before eating to rid it of lingering pesticides and germs. Store it in a bowl or on a plate on kitchen counters instead of the fridge. The stickers on produce items actually mean something:

• Stickers on conventionally grown produce have four digit numbers
• Organic produce labels have five digit numbers and they always start with a "9"
• Genetically modified produce labels also have five digits, but they always start with "8"

This is same no matter where we buy produce. And it seems the stickers are edible. Who knew?

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Health Briefs Warns about the Risks of Using Caffeine Power

(This is considered an overdose of caffeine powder)

Caffeine powder is a popular supplement that can be bought over the Internet and added to drinks to give the buyer an added jolt of energy. However, it is a much stronger form of caffeine and can produce fatal results. Health Briefs reminds readers of the risks of using caffeine powder.

Recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports state that caffeine powder is nearly 100% pure caffeine. One teaspoon gives people as much caffeine as 25 cups of coffee. A tiny amount of five to 10 grams could be fatal to any adult. The symptoms of caffeine toxicity are: diarrhea, disorientation, lethargy and vomiting. One dose of the powder is 1/16^th of a teaspoon, about as much as in two large cups of coffee, and is difficult to measure using regular kitchen utensils

Health Briefs TV learns that the powder is used as a weight loss booster. But a recent news report tragically recounts the death of a teen that had more than 20 times the amount of it in his system. If caffeine is needed as an energy booster before exercise, drink a cup or two of coffee. It not only loosens things up but will provide the needed boost to get and stay motivated when exercising. Caffeine powder is not the best choice for young adults.

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Daily Health Habits from Health Briefs

Get busy with some fun ways to exercise this summer. Take a walk after dinner when the sun is not so high and hot. Or go for a swim in a pool. Health Briefs encourages readers to enjoy any time outdoors when the weather is nice.

Take a nap and go to bed at a regular time every night. A University of Chicago study found that getting 4.5 hours of sleep rather the needed 8 to 8.5 hours, ramps up hunger and appetite and more so in the afternoon. Take a 20 minute nap during the day if possible, and hit the sack on time.

Hydrate. Drink plenty of water if out in the sun all day long and into the evening. It renews cells and refreshes brain energy. Additionally, people who drink 7 glasses of water per day eat less than those who do not.  Drink up, readers.

Health Briefs recommends eating meals on schedule every day. Have some breakfast within one hour of waking and space other meals out three to five hours apart. Include some proteins, whole grains and lots of produce.

Find a healthy way to deal with stress. Emotional eating is not good for anyone as it tends to lead toward eating unhealthy, “comfort” foods. If stress is pressing, try listening to favorite music, go for a walk or run, or close the eyes and meditate.

These five daily habits are healthy and can help all of us avoid overeating and becoming lazy this summer.

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Health Briefs on Which Fast Foods Will Not Wreck a Diet

We love fast food. It is so quick and convenient and yet can wreck a diet in one bite. Fortunately, Health Briefs found some items on a few popular fast food menus that is healthy and will not throw dieters off track.

Enjoy a quick and tasty meal or snack with the suggestions below.

Panera – Breakfast Power Sandwich made of whole wheat bread, egg whites, spinach and packs 22 milligrams of protein and a healthy dose of fiber.

Chipotle – Choose the corn tortilla with steak, veggies and cheese for a fiber filling lunch. Forgo the processes white flour burritos.

McDonald’s – Grilled chicken BLT sandwich contains a lot less fat than the fried version even with the bacon. It still has a lot of salt, but it won’t knock one off a weight loss plan.

Wendy’s – We have been long time fans of the Frosty and we love the Jr. Chocolate Frosty even more. With 200 grams of fat and five stick with you grams of protein, plus the chocolate flavor – this is one summer treat that not only cools one off but tastes awesome also.

HealthBriefs knows there are other fast food places offering healthier versions of their favorites. We’d love to hear from readers about favorites. Are there any healthy options at In-N-Out or Sonic Drive In? Let us know.

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Health Briefs on How to Be an Empowered Patient

When we have to put on that little white robe and sit on a cold examining table, we tend to feel intimidated. Health Briefs shares suggestions about how to become an empowered patient. It is your body after all, and no one knows it better.

• Gather as much information as possible before a doctor or specialist’s appointment and write down any questions.
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• Seek the advice of others with the same medical problem.
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• Explore every option available and discuss them with the medical professional.
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• Never be afraid to seek a second opinion if the first one does not sound agreeable. A doctor that won’t go online with referring a patient for a second opinion is a good reason to get the other opinion.
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• Get an itemized bill if hospitalized and don’t leave the building until all the charges have been explained.
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• Work with health care providers as a team. Because when the team works together, better health outcomes are expected.
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• State what you want, can afford and are willing to incorporate into your lifestyle upfront.
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• Expect medical professionals from the reception desk to the lab workers to treat you with courtesy and respect.
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The Health Briefs TV show also encourages readers to be their own health care advocate. Say no if something does not sound right or you feel is not the best treatment option.

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Health Briefs Explores the Differences between Organic and Other Produce

Is organically grown produce better for us than conventionally grown produce? Health Briefs takes a look at differences between organic and other produce.

It is often reported by health and nutrition experts that organically grown produce contains less pesticides and toxic metal cadmium than produce grown in other ways. Organics also contain more anti oxidants which can help fight the affects of stress. And organics cans cost twice the amount of conventionally grown produce. So how does one know which type of fruits and vegetables to buy?

A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition states that the anti oxidant percentage in organics is only 17 percent higher than food grown in other ways. Health Briefs believes that in order to truly improve our health, we need to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains overall – organic and otherwise. With good food prep including washing of think skinned produce, everyone can enjoy a healthful, tasty meal every day. If organics are desired, visit a local farmer’s market for the freshest items and go early in the day. This ensures that the items bought have not been sitting out in the sun or partial shade and heat for long. 

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Health Briefs TV and How Our Sense of Smell Might Detect Dementia

Scientists are developing a test which uses our sense of smell as a way to determine if we might be developing early signs of dementia. Health Briefs offers more information about how it works and what it means for us.

The researchers found in two different studies that a decreased ability to identify odors is associated with the loss of brain cell function and the possibility of progression to Alzheimer’s disease. Smell is association with the first cranial nerve and if often one of the first things affected by cognitive decline. The areas of the brain which process odors are vulnerable to Alzheimer’s early on in the progression of the disease. The scientists’ studies have shown in autopsies that amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain are responsible for smell and are also the definitive signs of the disease.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the disease is the most common form of dementia and is a general term for loss of memory. The disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. The Health Briefs show believes that the smell test, when available to the general public, will be a painless and efficient way to test for dementia. For those who want to take it or want an older person in their life to take it, we hope Medicare and private insurance companies offer to pay for it. This test can be immensely helpful.

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Health Briefs Reviews Calorie Counts on Restaurant Menus

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that 60 percent of the people they interviewed said that they read the calorie counts on menus. Health Briefs takes an inside look.

Not surprisingly, women more than men read the nutritional information and calorie counts on the menus. Since they are usually the ones who order for children, this could be a positive step in the fight against childhood obesity. Many American fast food chains post the healthful facts on the menu boards on the walls. Eat-in restaurants also list the fat and sodium contents in menus. The CDC reports that more than 50% of the people they talked to take time to review food options based on its nutritional components. The Health Briefs TV show wonders how many of its readers do the same. For those who are watching their weight and salt intake, perusing the items based on how healthful they are makes good common sense.

Many people misjudge the portion size of the food they eat. It might helpful to know that three ounces of meat or chicken is the same size as the palm of a hand. Most American restaurants upsize the portion to almost two to three times that size. Diners can cut half the meat and take the other half home. Knowing how much to eat is half the battle in eating healthy.

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Health Briefs Reports a Found Cache of Forgotten Smallpox Samples

Health Briefs recounts a recent tale of buried valuables, though not anything you would call "treasure".  Workers in a seldom-used storage room at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, came across an old box and, before moving it to another pile, they looked inside to see what it contained.  There were a number of old-style vials of a type not used since the 1950s, but what took their breath away was what they read on the labels:  “variola”.  Fortunately, these were trained researchers and they immediately recognized this as the scientific name for smallpox.  A deadly virus, smallpox was responsible for vast numbers of deaths over hundreds of years in all corners of the world.  It was thought to be eradicated from the planet since the mid 1970s.

Health Briefs wonders how many other deadly diseases are stored in neglected warehouses around the world.

The Health Briefs TV show notes that upon their discovery, these samples of the disease were rushed from the low-security storage room in which they were found to a secure facility in Atlanta, Georgia, which maintains a high level of quarantine procedures.  It is indeed fortunate that no untrained personnel came upon the container in its forgotten resting place over the last six decades and opened it without understanding the Pandora's box they would be unleashing on an unsuspecting world.  The question now is:  how many other samples of deadly diseases are tucked away in the corners of seldom-used storage spaces in this country or around the world?

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Health Briefs Takes a Look at Why Seniors Need Some Strength Training

Seniors living in retirement communities have access to fitness classes which are usually tailored to their physical ability. Communities where there are no fitness classes usually have a fitness room or someone on staff to work with elders who need some type of physical activity. But more importantly, Health Briefs suggests adding some light weight training to keep older muscles and joints strong and agile.

Strength training is something that most of us think of as weight lifting. For the older generations, lifting a two or five pound dumbbell can be challenging. Small wrist and ankle weights are better bets to work tired muscles. It is essential to overall good health that people aged 65 and older do something to maintain muscle strength. Sturdy muscles are an aid to opening jars, standing up from a chair or sofa without help and supporting their own body weight. Older folks can do leg lifts without ankle weights to begin and add small weights when they feel able. Standing up on one’s own from a sitting position can be practiced every day until one can get up without the help of someone else. While arthritis can wreak havoc on older hands, they can still be used to take lids off of jars, bottles and cans.

Health Briefs knows of several senior fitness classes offered around the country in both community centers and retirement facilities. They are low-cost or free and usually covered by Medicare or private insurance. Encourage the seniors in your life to try a class or two.  The social aspect of the group is often one of the hidden benefits that these classes offer.

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Health Briefs Suggests You Choose Your Restaurants Carefully

Health Briefs notes that not a day goes by when there aren't media reports about "dirty restaurants".  Inspectors look for evidence of rodents and insects, and all too often, they find plenty.  But what about the more sinister and harder to detect contamination of viruses?  Probably everybody had heard of the Norovirus, as it spreads like wildfire in closed environments such as on board cruise ships.  On a ship, everyone is eating food prepared at the same source and water is recycled.  Today's filtration systems are very good, but have they been tested against viruses, for which they were not initially designed?

Health Briefs notes that Norovirus is rampant, and not only aboard cruise liners.

The Health Briefs TV show reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified food workers as the likely culprits in many of these cases.  There are laws and posted signs reminding the staff of restaurants to wash their hands thoroughly after using the bathroom, but do they really?  How can this best be monitored?  Every diner has witnessed, at one time or other, a waiter, cook or kitchen worker leaving a restroom without performing the obligatory washing.  That worker then proceeds to handle dishes such as raw fruits and vegetables for salads or sandwiches, baked goods and pre-cooked foods.  In the end, it comes down to trust of the restaurant management and staff.  And the prices on the menu have no correlation to the likelihood of strict observance of hygienic practices.  

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Why Sitting Can Wreck Your Health from Health Briefs

That twenty minute moderately-paced walk taken in the mid-afternoon is completely wiped out by the remaining two hours of sitting in a cubicle at work. Health Briefs looks at how sitting can wreck your health and how to remedy it.

Many articles have been written and published about how a sedentary lifestyle can shorten one’s life. A new study is out which states that sitting for two hours can wipe out 20 minutes of cardio-respiratory fitness levels. The Mayo Clinic Proceedings report published very recently found that sitting for too long affects people’s fitness levels no matter whether they exercised or not.  Sitting for too long all day and into the evening can increase the risks for obesity, stroke and heart attacks. But if we make a conscious effort to get up and move a little at work and at home, we can reduce those risks. The Mayo Clinic study also found that even some movement during the day at work helps. Get up and walk on breaks. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther from the building. Every little bit of exercise we get is helpful in some way.  Health Briefs suggests doing all of these every day. It takes very little effort to get up and move a little. And every part of the body will benefit from muscles and joints to hearts and minds. 

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Health Briefs Relays Doctors' Stories of Things They Shouldn't Have to Tell Us

Health Briefs has heard a number of stories from frustrated doctors who are constantly surprised by the level of misinformation that is rampant among the public.  Urban myths and old wives tales do not go away by themselves.  One doctor was dismayed when a teenaged patient came in saying she couldn't see.  It seems she enjoyed looking directly at the sun and now she has holes burned into the retina of both eyes.  Not looking directly into the sun?  Wearing sunglasses when out on a sunny day?  Aren't those things self-evident?  Wouldn't someone know that without having to be told?  Apparently not.

Health Briefs has learned of a high level of misinformation about things most of us thought were obvious.

The Health Briefs TV show has heard doctors say that some people still think "pulling out at the last second" is a viable way to avoid HIV/AIDS as well as pregnancy.  This, of course, is one of the oldest myths and one we thought had been put to rest in the 1960s.  Sadly, it hasn't, and nowadays this kind of behavior comes with risks far beyond just an unwanted pregnancy.  Then there's the idea that consuming vast quantities of fiber can cure a case constipation when, in reality, it can seriously compound the situation.  Doctors also tell of people who put off minor surgical procedures such as having a mole removed, but the resulting melanoma can be fatal if neglected.  And exercise alone is not enough to lose weight if one is simply going to overeat to compensate for the calories burned.  A good workout makes one feel hungry, and that's for a reason.  The body is trying to make up for what it lost, and that's no path to weight loss.

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Health Briefs and Understanding Lyme Disease

More than 300,000 people across the country were diagnosed with Lyme disease last year, according to the CDC. Health Briefs offers some help in trying to understand it.

Lyme disease can suck the energy from someone who has it.  It does not kill people, but it can harm joints, the heart and nervous system if not found and treated quickly. But it can be hard to find since most people don’t realize they have it.

Some of the initials symptoms include: a bull’s eye rash, fever, headache, fatigue, and nausea. Lyme disease is caused by bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi and people get it from the bites of infected deer ticks. It is in the same spirochete group of bacteria as syphilis. But it is treatable with antibiotics if found early on.

People with Lyme disease will feel overly tired and complain of symptoms which sound much like the flu. Encourage them to visit their doctor and be tested to Lyme. Keep in mind that some of those who are undergoing treatment for this disease may still feel lousy. Understanding and patience is appreciated.

To prevent tick bites, Health Briefs TV recommends wearing lightweight long pants tucked into socks when in wooded areas, wear a lightweight long sleeved shirt and use an insect repellent with DEET. Check all clothing, gear and the vehicle for ticks also. Take a shower when home. Check everyone for any unusual rashes or marks on their skin. Seek medical attention if the tell-tale rash is found.

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