Health. iyouproject

A test on foodstuffs in a kitchen

laimisk — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:20:21 +0000

A test was conducted on foodstuffs in a kitchen after an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning which left dozens of people ill. Was it the seafood, the eggs, the fish, the meat or the salad? It was the salad. Studies reveal that what people perceive as the “healthiest” foods may in fact be the most dangerous.

Everydayhealth.com has compiled a list of the top ten rogue foods responsible for food poisoning. Top of the list of the study conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and published in everydayhealth.com* is leafy green vegetables such as lettuce and spinach. According to the FDA reports on cases of food poisoning from 1990 to 2006, this was the main source associated to 363 outbreaks and 30 per cent of all foodborne illnesses.

The reason: blood from meat dripping into the vegetable bin and contamination with meats washed in the same sink – or salads prepared last on chopping boards after the seafood, meat and fish have been prepared.
Plus, green leaves are often eaten unwashed.

Second, predictably, are eggs (352 outbreaks), where salmonella is the main culprit. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every one case of salmonella reported, 38 cases are not.
Experts say that a simple test, placing an uncooked egg in water and throwing it away if it floats, can avoid most cases of infection, as can cooking the egg until the yolk is hard.

Number three – fish; namely, tuna salad (268 outbreaks). Scombrotoxin, resistant even to cooking, can build up if the fish is not refrigerated properly after being caught; tuna is followed by oysters (132), which being eaten raw pose more of a risk, mainly through two sources of infection: norovirus or vibrio.

At number five comes potatoes (108), not from the tuber itself but due to cross contamination in potato salads (mayonnaise). Responsible for 83 outbreaks, cheese is number six on the list, mainly through unpasteurized cheeses such as feta, camembert and brie (more likely to be infected with Listeria, according to the report) which is the reason why pregnant women are advised to avoid soft cheeses, due to the fact that they are twenty times more like to succumb to this illness.

Number seven: ice cream (75 outbreaks). Salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria are the main causes of infections – in 1994 thousands of people across 41 states became ill with salmonella from a batch of ice cream.

Places eight, nine and ten in the list are surprisingly occupied by tomatoes (salmonella, getting into the druit through its root system or norovirus entering through damaged skin); bean sprouts (e.coli and salmonella flourish in the warm and moist environments in which they grow) and finally, berries (Hepatitis A virus, Cyclospora parasite infection).

Food safety experts recommend the 5 Cs: clean, cook, combat cross contamination, chill…and fundamentally, use your common sense.

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A music is a help or a hindrance

laimisk — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:48:07 +0000

For many joggers, listening to music while running is part and parcel of the exercise, making what can sometimes be a boring ritual into a much more enjoyable experience.According to Herbert Loellgen, president of the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention, music acts as an incentive to run in many cases.

While most runners can’t do without music, experts suggest checking its beats per minute to find the one most suited to you. Nina C Zimmermann reports

Jogging without music is almost unthinkable for some runners although experts recommend that on occasion the exercise be completed without wearing earphones.

“There are people who need music as a motivation or a distraction and only then are they perhaps in a position to complete their running route,” says Uschi Moriabadi from the German College for Health Management and Prevention in Saarbruecken.

There has been little scientific research carried out as to whether music is a help or a hindrance while running but Moriabadi believes that people can run for longer while listening to their favorite music and following its rhythm.

“Playing music along a marathon course would also act as a stimulation,” says Loellgen.

“My experience in marathons has generally been neutral. By this I mean that having music groups along the route does not change anything unless the musical rhythm chimes with the running rhythm.”

The crux is how many beats per minute (bpm) there are in the music and whether they correlate with the runner’s heartbeat, according to a study carried out by sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis from the Brunel University in Uxbridge, England.

“That means between 110 and 130 beats per minute,” explains Loellgen.

In this way, the runner’s running rhythm stabilizes and increases performance.

The number of steps per minute should also be taken into account, advises Frank Hofmann, editor in chief of Runner’s World magazine. A runner who manages 180 strides in 60 seconds should run to music with between 45 and 90 bpm.

Finding out the bpm of a tune isn’t as easy at it first might appear. While there are iPhone Apps available to measure bpm, generally the technology is only available in DJ programs.

“As a rule, the music should have a constant rhythm, preferably in three-quarter time,” recommends Moriabadi, who believes bpm should track stride rate. She feels that between 130 and 150 bpm is the rate to run to although “130 bpm is probably a little slow and 150 a tick too fast.”

Athletes wanting to run faster while also maintaining the same ratio of bpm will be left listening to the likes of heavy metal, music played to a rhythm that is likely to cause more damage than benefits, according to the experts.

“If the music is too fast for the natural running rhythm, then the runner will attempt to follow the music for a while, which leads to an increased pace, faster heart rate and heavier breathing,” says Moriabadi, adding that this can quickly lead to over-exertion.

Hofmann agrees that listening to music may not always be beneficial, especially when it comes to high-performance training.

Obviously, personal musical taste plays a role with Loellgen of the view that, as a rule, music tends to bring a welcome distraction from the boredom of running.

Light, friendly music with major keys is preferred to darker, sometimes sad minor keys, says Moriabadi.

Hofmann points out that listening to music helps block out general surrounding noise. “A person should still be able to hear this noise though,” he says, citing the example of an approaching car. “This rules out listening to music requiring complete immersion.”

Moriabadi, meanwhile, recommends leaving the music at home on some days. “It is important some days to concentrate entirely on the body and feel everything while running,” she says.

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Noise level limits

Myth of pure fiction, or are true

laimisk — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:53:03 +0000

There are many myths about men’s sexual preferences. A well-known psychologist helped us understand which of them are pure fiction, and which are true.

Myth 1. A man must hunt for sex; otherwise he would quickly cool off towards his woman.

True.

Men are hunters (real men), so the process of conquest is very important for them. Today, of course, no one judges as strictly as twenty years ago, but men have certain images in their heads, some ideas that are like flashcards with notations: “a woman for friendship,” “a woman to love,” “a woman for entertainment.” The most difficult thing is to move from one category to another.

That is, if in his eyes you’ve earned the stamp “a girl for the evening, “regardless of how good you were, he will hardly likely be able to take you more seriously.

A similar conclusion was made, incidentally, by practicing American psychoanalyst Zooey Shtrimpel. According to her, men almost never consider a girl who had agreed to sex too easily as a potential partner. According to the elementary male logic, there is no point in starting a serious relationship if this lady is so easy and fast to get.

Myth 2. The more you ignore the man, the more he is interested in you.

Wrong.

This stereotype can be dangerous. Yes, on the one hand, the object of your interest may trigger the infamous instinct of the conqueror, and the man will start conquering you. But, on the other hand, many men are scared to death of any refusal, moreover, are discouraged to enter into a relationship at all. So we have to act carefully, with no theatrical gestures, depending on a situation.

For example, when he calls, do not run headlong to the phone, but rather flirt a little, as if you have nothing in common. If you are really interesting to him, he would be lured and will play along, but if there is no sufficient interest there, he can quit and start looking for someone else is his phonebook. It all depends on a particular man, his views, and the image of the ideal woman he created for himself.

Myth 3. After giving birth, a woman becomes sexually unattractive for a man.

Wrong.

Many couples experience intimate problems after childbirth, but they are not associated with men’s whims, but rather, common household issues.

Due to the complications associated with the housing issue, often three generations live under one roof, which is a violation of family unity and a source of constant stress. In turn, stress is a factor that results in conflicts and intimacy problems. The boundaries of the family should be clear.

Moreover, as psychologists say, many men are, in essence, children themselves, and therefore the appearance of a new object of attention in the family makes them confused and causes a depression.

“When a man becomes a father, he experiences a crisis, as the woman shifts her attention to the child. During this period the man feels abandoned and may fall into depression.

Also, many “big boys,” having lost the attention of their wives, find solace at a computer monitor.

Hours spent at the computer increase anxiety in humans and may also result in apathy and depression. And depression and sex, as you know, do not go well together.

Myth 4. All men are polygamous by nature.

True. But not quite…

Even the evolutionary order states that a man strives for the greatest number of sexual contacts. So, it is not surprising, though very disappointing for us, women.

But it is not so bad. The evolutionary features of male psychology often overlap with childhood experiences and traumas. Incidentally, this is a common problem for both sexes.

An adult, a child, and a parent live in each of us. In different ways, in different situations, different roles manifest themselves. For example, if a man meets a woman much older than him, perhaps he is seeking the attention required by his inner little boy. Most likely, in his childhood he had a deficit of these feelings, or was forced to leave home early.

Myth 5. Men like unapproachable women.

Wrong.

Despite the instinct of a hunter we mentioned earlier, too proper and strict ladies can scare any Casanova away.

When dealing with such women men feel that they are not looking for mere flirtation and game. They understand that here they will have to take some responsibility, at least on the emotional level, and men are very afraid of this.

However, there should be a golden middle here. Recently, European psychologists found that men are repulsed by women’s loud laughter, because they subconsciously perceive it as a sign of promiscuity. This means that excessive willingness to flirt is also not attractive for men, and they prefer to stay away from too frivolous ladies.

Yes, men need women’s sense of freedom, lightness, but it does not mean that she has to be accessible and frivolous. What they need is game and passion. They do not need clarity at the first stage. It is therefore desirable for the first date to provide as little as possible information about yourself, listen more, do not talk about your dreams and hopes, and remain a mystery. Do not say right away that you are considering only serious relationship, do not initiate following meetings, and be the first one to leave. It is necessary to play cat and mouse just because it is more interesting for guys.

Myth 6. Jealousy fuels man’s passion.

True.

Signs of attention from other men are beneficial for women. It is a great aphrodisiac and can even strengthen the relationship in marriage. And if a woman is still indifferent to this attention, her value in the eyes of the men grows stronger.

And if you “play” for too long and allow the admirers to fully capture your attention, no macho will like it. In the end, you risk to hurt your man or even push him to an adultery, therefore, jealousy should be carefully dosed.

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Once a cesarean, always a cesarean

laimisk — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:32:07 +0000

More women will be giving birth by C-section for the foreseeable future, government scientists said Monday, releasing a study into the causes of a trend that troubles maternal health experts.

Overall, cesarean deliveries account for about a third of births in the U.S. While much attention has recently focused on women having repeat C-sections, researchers with the National Institutes of Health found that nearly one third of first-time moms delivered by cesarean.

That is “somewhat surprising,” said Dr. Jun Zhang, lead author of a study that looked at nearly 230,000 deliveries in 19 hospitals around the country. “It has consequences for future pregnancies.”

Many doctors and hospitals follow a policy of “once a cesarean, always a cesarean.”

The study also suggested a link between chemically induced labor and higher likelihood of a C-section. Women whose labor was induced were twice as likely to have a cesarean. The authors said more research is needed to clarify if there’s a cause-and-effect relationship.

Many medical experts consider cesarean deliveries to be a major component of “overtreatment” in the U.S. — procedures and tests that provide little or no benefit while subjecting patients to additional risks. Indeed, new clinical recommendations say vaginal birth is safe for most women who’ve had a first C-section.

But the trend does not appear likely to reverse. Since the mid-1990s, the C-section rate in the U.S. has increased by more than 50 percent.

How low should it be? In Scandinavian countries it hovers in the 20 percent range, with no evidence of ill-effects for mothers or babies, Zhang said. How high can it go? In some countries 60 percent to 70 percent of babies are now delivered surgically.

“I hope that we won’t get there,” said Zhang. “The upward trajectory seems likely to continue in the near future.”

Explaining the increase in C-sections is no simple matter. The study found a variety of reasons, some related, including heavier moms and babies, women giving birth later in life, an increase the number of twins and multiple births, and evidence that doctors may be opting for a cesarean if women encounter difficulties in the early stages of labor.

One factor that made no difference was whether the mother had private health insurance or was covered through a government program like Medicaid.

The study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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Adding fish oil in Your diet

laimisk — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:58:11 +0000

“When you add omega-3 to a high carbohydrate, low-fat diet, you can prevent the long-term adverse effect that a high-carbohydrate diet induces on [blood fats],” said study author Dr. Jose Lopez-Miranda, a professor of medicine at the Reina Sofia University Hospital and the University of Cordoba, Spain.

For people with the metabolic syndrome — a cluster of risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats or triglycerides and high blood sugar — adding a little fish oil to a diet low in saturated fats and high in complex carbohydrates might be just the ticket, a new study suggests.

The study is published in the September issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

Lopez-Miranda and his team looked at 117 people with metabolic syndrome, which raises the risk of heart disease and stroke. They assigned them to one of four diets for 12 weeks. The diets were: high fat/rich in saturated fats; high fat/rich in monounsaturated fats (such as fish and olive oil), low fat and high in complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables), low fat and high in complex carbs but with the fish oil supplement included.

All four diets included about the same number of calories. The researchers tested blood before and after eating, looking for blood fat levels.

At the study’s start, all participants had similar post-meal blood fat responses. But by the end of the three-month trial, those on the high-fat/monounsaturated fat-rich diet or the low-fat, high complex carbohydrate diet with fish oil had better responses.

For example, those on the low-fat/high-carb diet plus fish oil showed lower levels of triglyceride blood fats, compared to people eating a high-fat diet rich in saturated fats, the researchers found. And people eating the low-fat/high-carb regimen alone (without fish oil) had a rise in triglycerides and cholesterol, compared to when fish oil was added.

The researchers believe that adding polyunsaturated fat — such as those found in fish oil — can help undercut the effects of a long-term low-fat, high complex carbohydrate diet on triglyceride levels in those with metabolic syndrome. In the study, participants got 1.24 grams of fish oil a day (between one and two standard capsules).

“This is a good study,” said Tracy L. Nelson, an associate professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University School of Public Health in Fort Collins, who has researched omega-3 fatty acids.

“The interesting aspects are that they found the low-fat complex carbohydrate group, when supplemented with a ‘realistic’ amount of omega-3 fats [1.24 grams] did not increase trigylcerides as seen with the low-fat complex carbohydrate diet without the addition of omega-3s.”

“This study is encouraging, because these individuals consumed their ‘own’ food given the parameters of the study, similar to what a metabolic syndrome patient would be told to do in the ‘real world,’ and by simply adding a very realistic amount of omega-3s, these individuals can change [after-meal] triglycerides without weight loss,” Nelson added. “The fact that they found changes in a ‘diseased’ group adds to the impact of the paper.”

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Risk, bacteria become resistant to drugs

laimisk — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:25:26 +0000

Recent research has pointed towards the existence of a growing number of bacteria which become resistant to drugs, rendering the patient infected with these germs virtually untreatable, because with the current aitibiotics ineffective, there are no alrernative options for therapy.

The alert by the UNO’s World Health Organization was issued early this week after research was published in the medical journal The Lancet earlier in the month, identifying a new gene that enables several types of bacteria to become multiresistant, making almost all antibiotics ineffective.

In response, the WHO issued the following statement: “Some bacteria have developed mechanisms which render them resistant to many of the antibiotics normally used for their treatment, so pose particular difficulties, as there may be few or no alternative options for therapy” and urged Governments to implement infection control procedures.

Of crucial importance is that all players in the healthcare structures should be aware of the problem, including “consumers, prescribers and dispensers, veterinarians, hospitals managers and diagnostic laboratories, patients and visitors to health-care facilities, as well as national governments, the pharmaceutical industry, professional societies, and international agencies”.

For the World Health Organization, the latest revelation requires “monitoring and further study to understand the extent and modes of transmission, and to define the most effective measures for control”.

The four main areas of action targeted by the Who are:

1. Surveillance for antimicrobial resistance;

2. Rational antibiotic use, including education of health-care workers and the public in the appropriate use of antibiotics;

3. Introducing or enforcing laws related to the selling of antibiotics without prescription;

4. Adherence to infection prevention and control measures, including the use of hand-washing measures, particularly in health-care facilities.

Source: UNO

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Have a large waist

laimisk — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:57:24 +0000

Individuals with a large waist circumference appear to have a greater risk of dying from any cause over a nine-year period, according to a report in the August 9/23 issue of U.S. journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Having a large waist circumference has previously been associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, abnormal cholesterol levels and heart disease, according to background information in the article. This may be because waist circumference is strongly correlated with fat tissue in the viscera — surrounding the organs in the abdomen — which is thought to be more dangerous than fat tissue under the skin.

Researchers at the American Cancer Society examined the association between waist circumference and risk of death among 48, 500 men and 56,343 women aged 50 and older (median or midpoint age, 69 years in men and 67 years in women). All had participated in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, for which they completed a mailed questionnaire about demographic, medical and behavioral factors in 1992 or 1993 and provided information about weight and waist circumference in 1997.

Deaths and their causes were tracked through the National Death Index until Dec. 31, 2006, while a total of 9,315 men and 5,332 women died during this timeframe.

After adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and other risk factors, very large waists (120 centimeters or 47 inches or larger in men, and 110 centimeters or 42 inches or larger in women) were associated with approximately twice the risk of death during the study period.

A larger waist was associated with higher risk of death across all categories of BMI, including normal weight, overweight and obese. However, among women, the association was strongest for those at a normal weight.

“The reason for the stronger association between waist circumference and mortality among women with low BMI in our study is unclear,” the authors write. “Future detailed analyses of the relationship between waist circumference and visceral adipose tissue or measures of insulin resistance within categories of BMI could identify biological reasons for potential differences in the strength of the association between waist circumference and mortality.”

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Thinnest thighs

Patients who had drunk alcohol

laimisk — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:11:54 +0000

Drinking alcohol may help reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis and cut the risk of developing the painful and crippling disease, a study published Wednesday has shown for the first time.

Researchers led by Gerry Wilson, a professor at the University of Sheffield in Britain, asked 873 arthritis patients and a control group of 1,004 people how frequently they had consumed alcohol in the previous month.

The participants also completed a detailed questionnaire, were given X-rays and blood tests, and had their joints examined.

“We found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drunk it infrequently,” said lead author James Maxwell, a rheumatologist at the Rotherham Foundation NHS Trust.

X-rays showed less damage to joints, and blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, according to the report, published in the journal Rheumatology.

There was also less pain, swelling and disability.

Earlier studies had reported similar results in rodents, but this is the first to show that arthritis symptoms diminish in humans in proportion to the frequency of alcohol consumption.

The researchers found that non-drinkers were four times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis that people who drank alcohol on more than ten days a month.

They cautioned that any possible benefits from alcohol consumption in relation to rheumatism must be weighed against all the well-known health consequences of immoderate drinking.

The findings held equally true for women and men, and for two distinct forms of the disease, one called anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) and the other known simply as “negative.”

“Anti-CCP antibodies are not present in most ‘normal’ people without arthritis,” explained Maxwell.

Previous research has shown that these antibodies develop prior to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, and are likely linked to the process which causes the disease.

Some patients don’t develop anti-CCP antibodies, but the symptoms are much more severe in those that do.

The scientists could only speculate as to why alcohol helped reduce symptoms and risk.

“There is some evidence that alcohol suppresses the activity of the immune system, and that this may influence the pathways by which rheumatoid arthritis develops,” Maxwell said.

Once the disease has developed, it is also possible that drinking may act as a pain killer, he added.

One limitation of the study is that it did not measure how much people drank, only the frequency. It also relies on people’s memories, and does not report long-term drinking habits.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects about one percent of people in the United States and Europe, mainly in older populations. Incidence appears to be somewhat lower in Asia, suggesting that genetics may play a role. Exactly what causes the disease remains a mystery, and there is no known cure.

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Sleep and risk factors for cardiovascular disease

laimisk — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:38:05 +0000

Regularly sleeping for more or less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers at West Virginia University School of Medicine based their finding on data from 30,397 adults who participated in the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, which collected information on demographic factors, socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle and health.

Sleep duration was assessed by the question, “On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-hour period?”

Eight percent of the study population reported sleeping five hours per day or less, including naps. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that their risk of any cardiovascular disease was more than two times higher than that of people who reported a daily sleep duration of seven hours. Nine percent of participants reported sleeping nine hours or more per day, and they also had an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.

Results were adjusted for potential confounders such as age, sex, race, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension and depression. Participants reported 2,146 cases of cardiovascular disease, which was defined as a physician diagnosis of angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke.

The study suggests that short and long sleep durations are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

“Our study findings suggest that abnormal sleep duration adversely affects cardiovascular health,” said principal investigator Anoop Shankar, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the school.

“Sleep disturbances may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease even among apparently healthy subjects.”

The study was published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

Although individual sleep needs vary, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that most adults should get about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well rested during the day.

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A talk by just sniffing

laimisk — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:45:52 +0000

A newly-developed Israeli device allows even the severely paralyzed or disabled to communicate with the world and control devices, including wheelchairs, all by easily-learned nasal breathing techniques.

Researchers at Rehovot’s Weizmann Institute of Technology, which is considered a world-leader in life science technology, have designed a system that recognizes and translates minor changes in air pressure inside the nostrils into useable electrical signals. The signals can then be used to operate mechanical and electronic devices, and communicate via computers.

“It can actually change the quality of people’s lives, and give them the opportunity to use the internet, to communicate. It’s amazing and exciting for a person who couldn’t communicate with the world to send emails,” Anton Plotkin, an electrical engineering student in the team who helped develop the equipment, told Xinhua.

The team tested the device, as well as an easily-mastered method of sniffing to control it, on quadriplegics and healthy volunteers. After a short period of practice, about 75 percent of users could navigate a motorized wheelchair around a complex path, and play a computer game almost as fast and accurately as with a mouse or joystick.

“After about 15 minutes of practice, he was able to navigate a complicated path,” Plotkin said of one quadriplegic who tested a wheelchair-mounted version of the system, “he was quite successful in using this device.”

Team leader Professor Noam Sobel said “the most stirring tests were those we did with’locked-in syndrome’ patients,” referring to people who are completely paralyzed — that is, “locked into” their bodies.

One of the hospitalized testers, a patient who has been locked in for seven months after suffering a stroke, was able to write her first message to her family after a few days of practice.

“She thanked her family for being with her all the time” throughout her hospitalization, Plotkin said.

And then, “she asked for some privacy,” which was not such a surprising request after being constantly surrounded by family and medical staff, he added.

Another patient, who has been locked in since a traffic accident 18 years ago, wrote that the new device was much easier to use than similar blinking or mouth breathing-based devices.

Ten quadriplegic patients succeeded in operating a computer and writing messages using the sniffing device, a release from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“With the new system, they were able to communicate with family members, and even initiate communication with the outside. Some wrote poignant messages to their loved ones, sharing with them, for the first time in a very long time, their thoughts and feelings,” Sobel said.

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