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Excerpt: Author Temple Grandin Reports On ‘The Autistic Brain’

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:00:24 EDT

Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, eloquently described life from the perspective of someone living with autism in her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, which served as the basis for an Emmy-winning HBO movie. With her latest book, The Autistic Brain, Grandin uses her own experience to take readers from the first diagnoses of the developmental disorder to the latest research involving neurological imaging and genetics that are helping to reveal more about the condition. In the following excerpt, Grandin addresses the importance of identifying and encouraging the strengths and talents of people on the autism spectrum to highlight the measurable ways they can contribute and participate in society. (MORE: Q&A: Temple Grandin and the Autistic Brain) I don’t know how my own brain might have changed over the years, but I do know that as my career has shifted, so have my abilities. I haven’t been doing drawings for more than 10 years now, partly because of changes in the industry. The fax machine was the ruination of good architectural drawings. Clients would say to me, “Oh, just shove it in the fax,” and then they’d use the fax as their blue-print. I lost the motivation to make a really nice drawing. But at the same time, my professional priorities were changing. I was becoming a lot busier giving lectures, and many people have told me that my speaking style became more and more natural. That was hard work. I knew I had to train myself to be someone I wasn’t naturally, and what is training yourself at a new skill but “rewiring” your brain? This generation is fortunate in an important way. They’re the tablet generation—the touchscreen, create-anything generation. I’ve already talked about how these devices are an improvement over previous computers because the keyboard is right on the screen; autistic viewers don’t have to move their eyes to see the result of their typing. But tablets also have other advantages for the autistic population. First, they’re cool. A tablet is not something that labels you as handicapped to the rest of the world. Tablets are things

A Vicious Cycle That Helps Obesity Perpetuate Itself

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

With obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry adds substantially to the story by reporting the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning...

Viewpoint: My Case Shows What’s Right — and Wrong — With Psychiatric Diagnoses

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:01:08 EDT

Over the course of my life, I have been given no fewer than five different diagnoses for mental illnesses, under the diagnostic system laid out in psychiatry’s “bible,” the DSM. But it was a sixth diagnosis— one that ironically will no longer appear in the edition being rolled out this week, DSM-5— that probably most accurately describes what is genuinely different about me. I’m sharing this because my experience is a case study for explaining why the latest revision to the manual is raising such ire. My journey from diagnosis to diagnosis illustrates both the pitfalls and the promise of psychiatry and why we can expect to improve some ways in which we identify mental illness, and why there are other aspects of diagnosing these conditions that will remain unsatisfactory without further scientific advances. Dr. Allen Frances, who chaired the publishing process for the previous revision, the DSM-IV, and is critical of the DSM-5 in his new book, Saving Normal, published an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine highlighting some of his issues with the latest revision. Citing the “crisis in confidence” in psychiatry over diagnosis, he calls on physicians to “use the DSM cautiously, if at all.” DSM 5, he argues, is overrun with “diagnostic inflation”— for example, labeling grief as depression and placing the 40% of college students who binge drink at risk of diagnosis equivalent to alcoholism. MORE: Revisions to Health Manual May Turn Binge Drinkers into ‘Mild’ Alcoholics Frances isn’t the only one who has concerns about DSM-5. Last week, the the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel, posted a blog in which he announced that even for research purposes, the DSM had outlived its usefulness. “NIMH will be re-orienting its research away from DSM categories,” he wrote. The problem, he said, is that the DSM is based on subjective descriptions of collections of symptoms that tend to occur together — but not on the physiological or psychological mechanisms that cause them. As Insel put it, “Unlike our definitions of

The Story Of Fat Alfie: Very Young Children Appear To Reject Story Characters Who Are Obese

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 EDT

New research presented as the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that very young children appear to reject story book characters who are overweight, but not those who are disabled. The research is by Professor Andrew Hill, Dr Sarah Harrison, and Dr Maddie Rowlinson, University of Leeds, UK...

Ten-Year Study Shows 2 Different Genetic Polymorphisms Predict Weight Gain In Men And Women

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 EDT

New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that while the FTO genetic variation predicts weight gain over 10 years in men, a different variation on the MMP2 gene predicts weight gain in women...

Stopping Phentermine After Long-Term Treatment Does Not Result In Amphetamine-Like Withdrawal

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 EDT

New research published at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) shows that abrupt cessation after long-term use of the anti-obesity drug phentermine does not induce amphetamine-like withdrawal symptoms. The research is by Dr Ed Hendricks, Center for Weight Management*, Sacramento & Roseville, California, USA, and was funded by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP)...

UK Food Advertising Regulations Have Done Little To Address Exposure Of Children To Unhealthy Food Marketing

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 EDT

Regulations brought in by the UK to reduce the volume of television advertising of unhealthy foods to children appear to have little impact on the advertising around programmes children actually watch, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK. The research is by Dr Emma Boyland and Professor Jason Halford, University of Liverpool, UK, and colleagues...

Robotic Kidney Transplants May Be Best Option For Obese Patients

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 EDT

Obese patients who received robotic kidney transplants had fewer wound complications than patients who received traditional "open" transplant surgery, according to surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. The findings should allow more obese patients to receive kidney transplants...

Active Videogaming May Improve Children's Health

Fri, 17 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

Exergaming (active videogaming) may provide an alternative type of exercise to prevent stationary behavior in children, a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics claims...

Don’t Drink the Pool Water! It Contains a Surprising Amount of…Human Waste

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:43:50 EDT

Chlorine is supposed to take care of most of the microbes floating around in pools, but human waste, it seems, is stubbornly resistant to being sanitized. That’s the conclusion of a group of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who collected water samples from 161 filters in public and private swimming pools, as well as water parks in Atlanta last summer. What they found trapped in those filters was enough to make swimmers think twice before logging their laps. More than half of the samples were contaminated with E. coli, which the investigators say comes from one primary source — swimmers pooping in the pool. The study, published in the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, specifically looked at pools in Atlanta, but the researchers say such contamination is likely a widespread problem in U.S. pools, thanks to swimmers not washing themselves off before taking a dip. According to the scientists, each of us carries about 0.14 grams of fecal material into the pool — and that doesn’t include accidents or cases of diarrhea. Among municipal pools, the genetic testing for pathogens detected E. coli in 70% of the filters, while 66% of the water parks contained the bacteria and 49% of pools in private clubs showed evidence of the contamination. “These findings indicate the need for swimmers to help prevent introduction of pathogens, e.g., taking a pre-swim shower and not swimming when ill with diarrhea, [for] aquatics staff to maintain disinfectant level and pH according to public health standards to inactivate pathogens, and state and local environmental health specialists to enforce such standards,” the authors write in their report. When a pool is properly chlorinated, however, bacteria like E. coli should be killed off, since proper pH levels typically take care of the issue. According to the CDC, it takes less than a minute for E. coli to be inactivated if chlorine levels are adequate, about 16 minutes to control Hepatitis A virus, about 45 minutes to kill off the Giardia parasite and over 10 days for a Crypto parasite. But just one diarrhea accident

FatFighterTV Finds: Bestowed

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:33:49 EDT

Monthly subscription sample boxes are hot right now, even in the health and fitness world. They’re a great way to try a little bit of something instead of buying a full-size product only to find out you don’t like it. Bestowed is one of the latest samplers to hit the market. My May box had [...]

Jim Stoppani's Shortcut To Shred Recipes: Sweet Potato Omelet

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:12:28 EDT

Don't knock this recipe until you try it! It's sweet, salty, and has the perfect muscle-building macros.

We Tried This: The First Underwater Spinning Class In The U.S.

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:44 EDT

If you’re looking to revamp your workout, just add water. Trust us, your body will feel the difference. In Europe, “aqua spinning” is already making a splash, and the trend is coming stateside, with the first underwater spinning studio that recently opened in New York City. I’ve attempted my fair share of hybrid workouts — from the so-called “Pilates on crack” class to trampoline aerobics – but underwater biking is an entirely novel fitness fad, at least in the U.S. And this is no aqua-aerobics. Originally used as physical therapy for injured athletes, underwater stationary bikes are going mainstream. Former fashion photography producer and French expat Esther Gauthier opened Aqua Studio in New York last month for anyone eager to try something just a little different. It’s your standard spinning class, with all the rows of stationary bikes, upbeat music and peppy trainers, and submerge the whole set-up in 4-feet of water, and you get the idea. (MORE: We Tried This: With MovNat, Play Like You’re a Kid Again) “I was visiting my family in Paris two years ago, and I took my first aqua biking class. It was the first time I had even heard about it, and I was so surprised. It is very rare that [a fitness trend] is not in the U.S.,” says Gauthier. “I followed the evolution of the trend and I decided to bring the concept here. It started in Italy as a physical therapy, and it became so popular when it was transitioned into a class instead of just one individual in a pool with a bike. It really started to spread in Spain, Portugal and then France.” There are several aqua bike manufactures — all of which are located in Europe, and all of whom are claiming to be the first to pioneer the underwater bike. (Gauthier orders hers from Italian bike maker, Hydrorider.) (MORE: We Tried This: “Pop-Up” Cardio) As I’ve said, aqua spinning is not your grandma’s water aerobics, although I admit to being schooled by an older woman pushing 70 on the bike next

Skin Cancer Tied To A Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:03:20 EDT

There’s no positive side to developing skin cancer, but the latest research ties certain forms of the disease to a reduced risk of dementia. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York found that people who have skin cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. In the study, published in the journal Neurology, 1,100 people around age 79 without dementia were studied for an average of 3.7 years. At the beginning of the study, 109 of the participants already had skin cancer, and during the study, 32 more people developed the disease, while 126 eventually developed dementia. Among those participants, 100 developed Alzheimer’s dementia. (MORE: Some Skin Cancer Survivors Still Use Tanning Beds) The participants who had skin cancer were about 80% less likely to have Alzheimer’s disease compared to the participants without a history of skin cancer. Among those with skin cancer, only two developed Alzheimer’s. The association, however, was not seen with people who developed melanoma, nor did the correlation hold for other types of dementia such as those related to circulatory issues. “The apparent protective effect is enormous, and we were surprised by the magnitude,” says study author Dr. Richard Lipton, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The findings don’t establish that skin cancer patients are always protected from developing Alzheimer’s however. And it’s not clear which factors might be behind the association. But Lipton and his colleagues believe environmental factors could be contributing to the result. Studies have found, for example, that exercise is linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s. It’s possible that people who are more active may spend more time outdoors and in the sun, which could put them at a greater risk for skin cancer, while at the same time reducing their chances of developing Alzheimer’s. In addition, people who are more exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays may also absorb more vitamin D, which other research suggests could protect against Alzheimer’s. (MORE: First Genes Linked to Higher Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Among African Americans) On

Q&A: Temple Grandin on the Autistic Brain

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:59 EDT

Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, was one of the first autistic people to chronicle her life with the condition— and is now a bestselling author and well known for her innovative designs for handling livestock. Recently portrayed by Claire Danes in an Emmy-winning HBO movie about her life, Grandin spoke to TIME about her latest book, The Autistic Brain. What most concerns you about the way we work with autistic children today? I’m really concerned about getting people on the higher end of the spectrum good jobs. Autism is a very diverse disorder ranging from someone who remains nonverbal with a very severe handicap to mild autism. And really, half the people in Silicon Valley have got some mild autism. But I’m seeing too many kids today that are really talented and on the high end of the spectrum kind of going nowhere because their skills haven’t been developed. They haven’t learned how to work. When I was 13, I had a sewing job and when I was 15, I cleaned horse stalls. Do you think the label of autism is hurting these kids, making them feel they are limited in a way that someone without the diagnosis might not be? I think sometimes parents and teachers fail to stretch kids. My mother had a very good sense of how to stretch me just slightly outside my comfort zone. No surprises. You can’t chuck them in the deep end of the pool, that doesn’t work but she kind of just knew, you know, to get me to do things, like serve hors d’oeuvres at my mother’s parties and just bow and shake hands with the guests. You write a bit about the controversy over how to define autism and how it has changed over the years in psychiatry’s diagnostic book, the DSM. It’s not like having a diagnosis for tuberculosis. In fact, when I worked on the [part of the book about the] history of the DSM and I saw how it was laid

The Dangers Lurking in Male Sexual Supplements

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:17 EDT

“Rock Hard” and similar so-called “natural” supplements for men often contain potentially dangerous drugs — some of which have never been tested on animals, let alone humans. In an editorial published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Pieter Cohen, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a colleague collected some of the lesser known facts about an industry that produces millions of pills — and likely generates tens of millions, if not billions of dollars in profits— but is almost entirely free of government oversight. Here’s what they found: * A product sold as “Rock Hard for Men” in 2012 turned out to contain not only counterfeit Cialis (tadalafil)— but also a diabetes drug that can be deadly if used incorrectly. A similar combination killed more than a dozen men in Asia in 2009. * One Utah company alone produced more than a million pharmaceutically-tainted pills monthly, earning $2 million between 2007 and 2010, according to an indictment issued in one of the few cases brought against such manufacturers. * More than three-quarters of male enhancement supplements tested in one study in Singapore contained pharmaceuticals that were not disclosed— and half of them were present in higher doses than recommended. * Over 45 different versions of drugs in the same class of Viagra have now been found in male sexual supplements. A Dutch study found that 75% of the products sold in the Netherlands contained at least one analogue, or chemical variant that has the same effect as Viagra. * A product called “Mojo Nights” recently analyzed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) included not just counterfeit Viagra, but also three different analogue drugs. * Just last week, the FDA identified three tainted supplements: “Vicerex” and “Bullet Proof,” which contain counterfeit Cialis and “Lightning ROD,” which includes an analogue of Viagra. MORE: FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Taking Sexual Enhancement Pills “We’re talking about a massive number of brands and millions of millions of pills that are tainted,” Cohen says. “Hundreds of millions of pills are being produced every

11 Things We Learned From Our 30 Day Challenge

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:25:11 EDT

It’s scary how fast time flies, isn’t it? April 15th marked the beginning of the first ever Dietriffic 30 day challenge. I wanted each of us to challenge ourselves, push past barriers, and change the mindset that says “I can’t exercise every day!” Lots of you committed to the challenge via the comments section under [...]

Combining Bone-Building Drugs Key to Making Bones Stronger

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:45:48 EDT

Two drugs used to treat osteoporosis may be better than either alone in maintaining bone density. Dr. Benjamin Leder and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital found that combining teriparatide (Forteo) and denosumab (Prolia) improved bone density tests among a group of post menopausal women with osteoporosis after a year better than any benefits that currently available drugs provide on their own. Maintaining bone strength is about managing the creation and destruction of bone; teriparatide works by both stimulating bone formation and preventing bone decay, while denosumab primarily inhibits bone loss, so the dual actions may have contributed to the combination’s success. Prior studies that combined the popular bisphosphonates, which include Fosamax, with teriparatide have been unsuccessful, but the researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Lancet, believe that denosumab may work better with teriparatide because it can block teriparatide’s bone decaying activity more effectively. Bisphosphonates, like denosumab, also blocks the destruction of bone but through a different pathway. (MORE: Kids Who Exercise Are Less Likely to Have Fractures in Old Age) Osteoporosis is more common among women following menopause, since the cells that break down or cause resorption of bone, called osteoclasts, and the cells that form new bone, called osteoblasts, become more active. However, over time, the osteoclasts tend to overtake the bone-building processes, which leads to lower bone density and a higher risk for fractures. In the study, the researchers separated the 94 female study participants into three groups. One received the combined teriparatide and denosumab therapy while the other two groups took one or the other medication alone. The participants’ had their bone density measured and blood tests conducted at three months, six months and at the end of the year-long study. Those with the combined drug therapy showed a 9.1% increase in bone density of the lumbar spine compared to a 6.2% increase among the teriparatide only group, and a 5.5% increase among the denosumab only group. They also showed similar increases in bone density of the hip. (MORE: 10 Ways to Build Healthy Bones and Keep Them Strong) “Unlike the combination between bisphosphonate and teriparatide, denosumab is

Healthy Meals From Around The World: 5 Clean Recipes

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:14:01 EDT

Bring some international flavors into your kitchen. These five recipes have the zip and tang of China, Malaysia, and Thailand, and the macros any fit-minded person can appreciate. Try one tonight!

Looking Good on Facebook: Social Media Leads to Spikes in Plastic Surgery Requests

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:00:03 EDT

Social media is all about seeing and being seen, so it’s not surprising that the ubiquity and frequency of posts are fueling our vanity. All the constant attention to social media can make us feel connected, but at the same time might fuel some nor-so-pretty pretty emotions as well. A study from researchers in Berlin reported that scanning friends’ Facebook pages and photos can trigger feelings of envy and even loneliness. A TODAY Show survey of 7,000 American moms found that 42% suffer from “Pinterest stress,” and worry they are not creative enough compared to other moms, which can result in hours of late night clicking through pictures of birthday party favors for inspiration. (MORE: How Much Younger Does a Face Lift Make You Look?) Now the annual poll from the American Academy of Facial and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) reports that social media activity may be driving an uptick in plastic surgery requests. The survey polled 752 of the AAFPRS’ board-certified facial plastic surgeons on the trends in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. This year, one finding stuck out: surgeons are seeing a 31% increase in plastic surgery requests as a result of how people wanted to present themselves on social media. “We live in a very visual world, and have come to expect that we will be ‘Googled’ or ‘Facebooked’ even before actually meeting someone socially or professionally,” says Dr. Sam Rizk, an AAFPRS member and director of Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgery in New York. “I see a lot of men and women who are executives or high profile so they are in the public eye. Their photos get taken all the time and they never know where they may end up. Between high definition television, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, how you look in photos and video clips has definitely become a driver for all cosmetic procedures from Botox to neck lifts.” (MORE: Pretty Boys: Plastic Surgery Isn’t Just for Women Anymore) The survey shows that growth in cosmetic plastic surgery outpaces demand for reconstructive procedures. Cosmetic surgery accounted for 73% of all plastic surgery operations in

The Angelina Effect: TIME’s New Cover Image Revealed

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:31:23 EDT

Angelina Jolie has never lacked for influence. When she adopted a baby from Ethiopia, inquiries at U.S. adoption agencies about other Ethiopian orphans doubled. When she named other children Vivienne or Maddox, those names shot up the popularity charts for American newborns. So this week, when a woman known for her powerfully iconic beauty announced that she had undergone an elective double mastectomy to reduce her genetically high risk of breast cancer, it was a cultural and medical earthquake — a revelation so arresting it became the subject of TIME’s newest cover story, which will publish to TIME.com Thursday morning, before hitting newsstands Friday (visit time.com/angelina; free for subscribers or purchase a digital pass). More: The Tricky Calculus of Cancer Testing Jolie, by nearly universal agreement, made the right choice for her. She tested positive for the breast cancer-related BRCA1 gene, putting the probability that she would develop the disease at a terrifying 87%; after her surgery, her doctors put that number at just 5%. But a lot of experts worry that we may over-read the lessons. Genetic screening is a young science, and while we may have detected genes linked to a host of ills—Alzheimers disease, prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, heart disease—we often do a terrible job of calculating our resulting risks. Just over one-tenth of 1% of all women carry the same BRCA mutation Jolie has, and yet doctors expect a stampede of women requesting the test. In the U.S., 36% of women who do test positive opt for preventive mastectomy, but some doctors argue that regular MRIs and other screening tests may be sufficient to detect the disease, and that less radical procedures, like lumpectomies, may be sufficient to treat it if it does occur. Similar misunderstanding of risks is common in the case of prostate cancer too. The familiar PSA screening test detects blood antigens related to the disease, but levels of the marker can rise as a result of inflammation, infection and even riding a bicycle. Still, many men who test positive begin a cascade

Scientists Report First Success in Cloning Human Stem Cells

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:11 EDT

It’s been 17 years since Dolly the sheep was cloned from a mammary cell. And now scientists applied the same technique to make the first embryonic stem cell lines from human skin cells. Ever since Ian Wilmut, an unassuming embryologist working at the Roslin Institute just outside of Edinburgh stunned the world by cloning the first mammal, Dolly, scientists have been asking – could humans be cloned in the same way? Putting aside the ethical challenges the question raised, the query turned out to involve more wishful thinking than scientific success. Despite the fact that dozens of other species have been cloned using the technique, called nuclear transfer, human cells have remained stubbornly resistant to the process. Until now. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University and his colleagues report in the journal Cell that they have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells back to their embryonic state. The purpose of the study, however, was not to generate human clones but to produce lines of embryonic stem cells. These can develop into muscle, nerve, or other cells that make up the body’s tissues. The process, he says, took only a few months, a surprisingly short period to reach such an important milestone. (MORE: Stem Cell Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine) Nuclear transfer involves inserting a fully developed cell – in Mitalipov’s study, the cells came from the skin of fetuses – into the nucleus of an egg, and then manipulating the egg to start dividing, a process that normally only occurs after it has been fertilized by a sperm. After several days, the ball of cells that results contains a blanket of embryonic stem cells endowed with the genetic material of the donor skin cell, which have the ability to generate every cell type from that donor. In Dolly’s case, those cells were allowed to continue developing into an embryo that was then transferred to a ewe to produce a cloned sheep. But Mitalipov says his process with the human cells isn’t designed to generate

Non-Smoking Hotel Rooms Aren’t a Guarantee of a Smoke-Free Stay

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:33 EDT

Just because you choose the non-smoking hotel room doesn’t mean you’re completely protecting yourself from exposure. A new study published in the journal, Tobacco Control, found hotels that only maintain a partial smoking ban still expose their occupants to cigarette smoke, and that compared to hotels with full smoking bans, nicotine levels on hotel room surfaces are two times higher. The researchers studied the air quality and nicotine residue on the surfaces of smoking and non-smoking rooms in 30 hotels with partial smoking bans and 10 hotels with total smoking bans in California. They also took urine and finger swipe samples from non-smoking participants who spent the night in the hotels to assess their exposure to nicotine. (MORE: Secondhand Smoke is More Damaging For Teen Girls Than Boys) Not surprisingly, levels of nicotine in the air were much higher in smoking than in non-smoking rooms, but levels in non-smoking rooms in hotels with partial bans were still 40% higher than in hotels with complete bans. The non-smokers who stayed in hotels with partial bans also had higher levels of nicotine and tobacco byproducts such as cotinine in their urine and finger residue samples. Rooms that previously housed smokers retained a legacy of nicotine and other potential cancer-causing compounds, known as third hand exposure, that were up to 35 times higher than levels found in hotels that enforced a complete ban on smoking. The researchers suggest that non-smokers choose hotels that have full smoking bans, in order to truly reduce their exposure. As USA Today reports, the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation says that many large hotel chains like Marriott, Westin and Comfort Inn, are becoming smoke-free, and by law, hotels must be smoke-free in four states and 71 cities and counties in the U.S.. (MORE: The Major Toll of Secondhand Smoke) Second hand smoke can pose serious risks to health, according to recent studies. Non-smokers who are exposed to cigarette smoke at work or at home can increase their heart disease risk by 25-30%. And data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked secondhand smoke

Safety Board Recommends Defining Legally Drunk With Lower Blood Alcohol Level

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:45:35 EDT

The government wants to drop the blood alcohol limit for being legally drunk in order to avoid drunk driving fatalities. Currently, any driver found with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or more is considered unfit to be behind the wheel, and can be arrested. But the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending that all U.S states reduce the BAC threshold for legal drunkenness down to .05. On Tuesday, the five-member NTSB board unanimously voted for the change in an effort to address the 10,000 people who die each year in drunk-driving accidents, and the nearly four million people who admit to getting behind the wheel while under the influence. According to the board, one person dies in a car crash that involves a drunk driver each hour, and 20 more people are injured, including three who develop debilitating injuries. (MORE: Task Force Recommends Screening All Adults for Alcohol Misuse) But will the small change have an impact on driving while intoxicated? “There is a major difference, and people do not necessarily realize that,” says Bruce Goldman, the director of Substance Abuse Services at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks New York. ”As a general guideline, we calculate about .02 to .03 BAC per drink per hour. To get to .08, that’s four drinks in an hour.” Goldman says that people with a BAC of .05 are quite impaired. “[Drinkers] may not appear impaired, but it does not mean their ability to drive is unaltered. They may speak OK, but their judgement is not as good as it would be normally,” he says. NBC reported that after Australia implemented a similar drop in BAC, deaths from drunk driving also decline by 5% to 18%. The NTSB has no authority to enforce their recommendation, and it remains up to states and the Department of Transportation to enforce it. And it’s likely there will be a significant amount of push-back. “This recommendation is ludicrous,” Sarah Longwell, the managing director of American Beverage Institute told NBC News. ”Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior.” Aware of the potential

Detrimental Effects In The Brain Of High-Fat Diets May Be Stalled By Fish Oil

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 EDT

Data from more than 180 research papers suggests fish oils could minimise the effects that junk food can have on the brain, a review by researchers at the University of Liverpool has shown...

Obesity-Related Dementia Is Projected To Rise In England

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

The rise in obesity in England if unchecked could lead to an estimated increase in dementia prevalence in over 65 year olds by 2050 from 5% to 7% (4,894 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 6,662 cases per 100,000), conclude researchers at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO), taking place in Liverpool, UK (12-15 May)...

Advanced Imaging Studies May Enhance Diabetes Management

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

New approaches to applying noninvasive imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and positron emission tomography (PET) may play a bigger role in evaluating and managing patients with diabetes...

Slim Women Have Higher Endometriosis Risk Than Obese Women

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

Slim women have a higher risk of developing endometriosis than women who are morbidly obese, according to a new major study. The research was published in the journal Human Reproduction and showed that morbidly obese females (BMI greater than 40 kg/m2) have a 39% lower risk of endometriosis than females with a current BMI in the low normal range (8.5 to 22.4 kg/m2)...

Gut Bug May Prevent Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

A Belgian-led study published in PNAS this week suggests Akkermansia muciniphila, an intestinal microbe that is important for maintaining the gut lining and how food is absorbed, could be used to prevent obesity and associated metabolic disorders, such as those that lead to type 2 diabetes. Our digestive tract is home to a vast and varied population of microbes...

Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy: It’s Not the Only Option

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:45:48 EDT

Genetic testing can be both a boon and a curse, experts say, since more information often means more, and often confusing, options. Genes can be remarkably loose-lipped. Mutations can expose hidden disease processes, and the products that emerge from the DNA code they spell out – enzymes, hormones, proteins, and the like – are also giveaways for what’s going on in the body. And these molecular motor mouths are particularly useful when it comes to pinpointing diseases like cancer. At the most basic level, it’s possible to identify certain genes, or aberrations in genes, that people inherit from their families and confer a higher risk of developing the disease. MORE: Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy: What We Know About BRCA Mutations and Breast Cancer That’s the case with BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes that normally work to keep cells from growing abnormally. Some mutations in the DNA that encodes them, however, give tumors relatively free reign to divide out of control. Women like Angelina Jolie, who inherited the harmful mutations, can have anywhere from a 40% to 90% increased risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime (not all of the BRCA mutations are created equal; some are more dangerous than others). That’s a five-fold increased risk of cancer compared to women without the mutations. MORE: Cracking Cancer’s Code So for the 1% of women with breast cancer who test positive for a BRCA mutation, doctors say it’s not unreasonable to consider something as radical as a double mastectomy – before they even find any signs of cancer. “It’s one of the truly unique situations where most medical professionals would say if a woman chose to have both breasts removed, it’s a pretty reasonable thing to do,” says Dr. Eric Winer, of the Dana Farber Cancer Center. Prophylactic double mastectomies, as they are called, are one of the most common options that women in the U.S. choose if they are diagnosed with BRCA-based breast cancer. It’s a way to prevent disease before it even occurs, but it’s not the only strategy

From Here To Macros: 4 Steps To Better Nutrition

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:03:28 EDT

You've seen plenty of articles saying what your macronutrients mean. But what's involved in turning a plate of food into a usable set of data? The 'Skinny Guy Savior' Vince Del Monte breaks it down.

Hard Choices Angelina Jolie Faces About Testing Her Kids for Cancer

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:52:01 EDT

The actress made the difficult decision to remove both her breasts before she developed breast cancer, but her genetic makeup means her children may be at increased risk of the disease as well. Most women who get breast cancer each year have no family history, but Angelina Jolie’s story was different. Her mom died at age 56 of the disease. Doing her best to make sure that her own six kids don’t lose their mother to breast cancer motivated Jolie to have a prophylactic double mastectomy, a process she revealed in a bold and candid op-ed in Tuesday’s New York Times. We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. As a BRCA1 carrier, Jolie stands a 50% chance of having passed the faulty gene to each of her three biological children. While that possibility can provoke tremendous anxiety in parents, most experts don’t recommend childhood genetic testing for diseases like breast cancer that don’t often affect young children. “In a typical situation, most people would counsel her to wait until her biological children are mature adolescents or young adults before discussing this with them,” says Dr. Robert Green, a medical geneticist at Harvard Medical School. “But given that she’s a public figure, it’s going to be harder to shield them.” (MORE: Will My Son Develop Cancer? The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Sequencing Children’s Genomes) In February, both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommended against testing a child for adult-onset diseases such as breast cancer. However, the experts who developed the statements told TIME that if parents insist on testing their kids, they should be allowed to proceed: While the earlier statements from the AAP and ACMG firmly advised against genetic

Erin Stern Fitness 360: Nutrition Program

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:18:41 EDT

Erin Stern is a figure competitor, sprinter, and jumper. She eats to fuel her active lifestyle. Follow her plan to fuel your own action figure physique!

When Celebrities Battle Cancer: Photos of 20 Inspiring Survivors

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:35:36 EDT

Tuesday’s announcement by Angelina Jolie, that she elected for a double mastectomy in the face of overwhelming odds that she would develop breast cancer, made headlines around the world. We look back at other luminaries that have gone public with their cancer battles.

Why bring a stroller when you can rent?

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:00:47 EDT

I have so much to tell you about the Disney Social Media Moms conference but for now, I want to talk strollers. When you are headed to Disney, do NOT bring your stroller with you! And by all means, DO NOT rent the stroller in the park! We made this mistake a few years ago [...]copyright owned by www.workoutmommy.com Please do NOT reprint without permission. Why bring a stroller when you can rent?

Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy: What We Know About BRCA Mutations and Breast Cancer

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:09:14 EDT

She doesn’t have cancer yet, but like many women with breast cancer mutations, she had the radical surgery to lower her risk. Describing her decision as “My Medical Choice,” the 37-year-old actress revealed in an op-ed in the New York Times that she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which gives her an 87% risk of developing breast cancer at some point in her life. The abnormal gene also increases her risk of getting ovarian cancer, a typically aggressive disease, by 50%. To counteract those odds, Jolie wrote that she decided to have both her breasts removed. (MORE: Cover Story: How to Cure Cancer) While radical, her decision to pre-empt any future cancer is a common one, and backed by studies. In 2010, Australian scientists found that women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations who chose to have preventive mastectomies did not develop breast cancer over the three-year follow-up. What’s more, since the genetic abnormalities increase the risk of ovarian cancer, women who had their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed also dramatically lowered their risk of developing ovarian or breast cancers. TIME’s story about the study explained: They were 89% less likely to develop ovarian cancer and 61% less likely to develop breast cancer over three years than their counterparts who did not have prophylactic surgery. Among the 250 study participants who underwent preventive mastectomies, none developed breast cancer during the study follow-up. Additionally, a patient’s surgical choice affected overall mortality rates, both cancer related and not: only 3 percent of surgery participants died at the time of the study follow-up versus 10 percent of those who avoided the surgery. (MORE: The Changing Face of Breast Cancer) And while the mutations are inherited – a mother with either aberration has a 50-50 chance of passing it on to her children – women who don’t get the mutation are not at increased risk of developing breast cancer, even if they belong to families with a history of the disease. Previous studies had suggested that women who did not have the mutations but had a

Salt Levels In Processed & Restaurant Foods Still Dangerously High

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:00 EDT

The dangerously high levels of salt in processed food and restaurant food remain the same despite many efforts from several public and private health agencies to change them, according to new research performed by Northwestern Medicine and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)...

Angelina Jolie Reveals She Had Double Mastectomy

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:24:43 EDT

Angelina Jolie says that she has had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer.

Restaurant and Prepared Foods Are Not Much Healthier Than They Were in 2005

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 EDT

We’re bombarded with more messages to eat healthier — cut back on salt, fat, and sugar — and more products help us do so. But restaurants, fast food chains and food manufacturers aren’t making it easy to eat smarter. Large restaurant chains have started listing calorie counts alongside their menu items, and fast food outlets now have salads next to the burgers and fries. But the latest analysis of the slat, fat and calorie counts on the most popular items we like to eat shows they aren’t much healthier now than they were either years ago. Some products have become less salty and lighter, but the pace of change, say the study’s authors, is too slow to have a meaningful impact of the public’s health. Last week, a 14-year study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on the menu items at eight popular fast food chains found that the nutritional quality of the meals had improved by a disappointing three points, from 45 to 48 on a 100-point healthy eating scale, between 1997 and 2010. (MORE: Nutrition at Fast Food Restaurants Still Leaves Much to be Desired) Now, researchers leading two additional studies have come to similar conclusions. In the first study, also published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, scientists from the Center for Science and the Public Interest, a nutritional non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group, and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine reported that sodium levels in 402 processed and fast food items have been stubbornly inconsistent and slow to decline. Relying on the nutritional labels of the packaged foods, and on information provided by restaurants on their meas, the investigators measured how much sodium appeared in the same products in 2005, 2008 and 2011. Between 2005 and 2011, sodium in 402 processed foods dropped by 3.5% overall, but that average hid widely divergent fluctuations in salt content in these foods over that time. And the sodium in meals from fast food chains actually went up by 2.6%. The authors write: Although some products showed decreases of at least 30%,

Task Force Recommends Screening All Adults for Alcohol Misuse

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:45:15 EDT

Questions about alcohol use should be a part of regular physical checkups, according to a panel of experts. About 21% of American adults admit that they engage in risky drinking behaviors, from overindulging, which can lead to physical and mental harm, to alcohol dependence. And it remains the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. So in an effort to address the risk, a government-backed advisory panel–the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)–reviewed the existing data to determine whether more rigorous screening could identify and intervene in more cases of potential alcohol abuse. The task force members analyzed results from trials that randomly assigned adults, adolescents, and pregnant women to different screening and behavior counseling strategies for alcohol misuse between 1985 and 2011. They also studied systematic reviews of the impact of alcohol screenings that were published between 2006 and 2011. (MORE: Brain Scans Can Predict Which Alcoholics Are Most Likely to Relapse) Currently, the majority of pediatricians and family caregivers say they provide alcohol prevention services to adolescents, but not to most adults on a consistent basis. Doctors may feel they don’t have time to ask about and provide information concerning alcohol misuse, and many may not be familiar with screening tools meant to pick up problem drinking. And even if they are able to identify patients who need counseling, many doctors may lack the necessary training to properly advise patients. However, based on the findings from their review, the researchers concluded that doctors should screen all adults ages 18 an older, including women who are pregnant, in order to identify more people who have problems with alcohol. The existing data, the panel determined, supported the benefits of finding these high risk people and providing them with proper treatment or counseling to prevent more serious alcohol abuse. “Nearly 30% of adults drink more alcohol than is considered healthy and there are serious consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities. For example, alcohol misuse contributes to more than 85,000 preventable deaths each year,” says task force member Sue Curry, Dean of the College of

Smart Phone App To Increase Attentive Eating Helps Users Lose Weight As They Remember What They Eat

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:00 EDT

Paying attention to what we eat while we eat it, and then carefully recording food consumption using a smart phone, helps people lose weight, according to a new study. The research is being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO), being held in Liverpool (12-15 May), and is by Dr Eric Robinson, University of Liverpool, UK, and and colleagues...

Independent And Small-Chain Restaurants Serving Extremely High Calorie Meals

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that the average meal from independent and small-chain restaurants contains more than half of a person's recommended daily calorie intake. On average, meals from such restaurants contained around three times the amount of energy that an adult should consume in a single meal. Many major restaurant chains across the U.S...

Analysis Reveals That Slimming World Programme Successfully Helps People Of All Sizes To Lose Weight Equally, While Men Do Better Than Women

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

A new study of 1.2 million self-funded Slimming World members - presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK - reveals that people of all sizes, from slightly overweight to severely overweight in the higher body-mass index (BMI) range are equally likely to lose weight through a programme based on healthy lifestyle behaviour change...

Research Suggests Waist-To-Height Ratio Could Be Better At Predicting Life Expectancy Than BMI

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:00 EDT

Research presented as this year's European Congress on Obesity shows that waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is a better predictor of mortality risk than body mass index (BMI). The research is by Dr Margaret Ashwell, Ashwell Associates and Oxford Brookes University, UK, Professor Ben Rickayzen and Professor Les Mayhew both at Cass Business School, City University London, UK, and colleagues...

3 Craving Triggers That Try To Defeat You

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:24:34 EDT

You're under attack from a three-headed monster that takes your simple 'likes' and turns them into full-on raging hankerings. Turn the tables by learning what makes your cravings work!

Philly Abortion Doc Guilty in 3 Babies’ Deaths

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:56:22 EDT

A Philadelphia abortion doctor was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who authorities say were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy clinic, in a case that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over abortion. Read more here.

How You Deal With Your Emotions Can Influence Your Anxiety

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:31 EDT

When faced with a challenge, whether you deny the problems it poses or dive in to solve them in a positive way may determine how much anxiety you feel overall. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 40 million Americans aged 18 and older are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder every year. To dig deeper into who may be at a greatest risk, investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surveyed 179 healthy men and women and asking them how they dealt with their emotions and how their answers correlated with their level of anxiety in a variety of settings. Previous studies hinted that different strategies that people use to handle emotional situations could impact how much anxiety they felt in general; those who tended to focus on positive ways of resolving difficult circumstances, for example, experienced less nervousness, tension and negative emotions compared to those who avoided challenging situations and suppressed negative and uncomfortable feelings. The scientists in the current study, published in the journal Emotion, wanted to explore the relationship further to see whether the more positive emotional strategy could offer more resilience and protection against anxiety than the suppressive approach. The participants all answered questionnaires designed to measure how much they were focused on achieving goals, whether they tended to control their emotions by reappraising challenges in a more positive way or whether they tried to ignore and suppress difficult feelings. For example, they rated how closely their behavior aligned with the statements, “I control my emotions by changing the way I think about the situation I am in,” and “I keep my emotions to myself.” They also responded to questions about their anxiety level during different situations such as when giving a report to a group or going to a party. Comparing their responses, the researchers found that the participants who regularly re-framed what was happening to them to view their situation in a better light reported less severe anxiety than the participants who suppressed their emotions in trying situations. (MORE: High Anxiety: How Worrying About Math Hurts

Monday Last Day for Morning-After Pill Appeal

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:21:33 EDT

(NEW YORK) — The government is running out of time to try to halt implementation of a federal judge’s ruling that would lift age restrictions for women and girls wanting to buy the morning-after pill. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn last week refused to delay enforcement of his month-old decision while the government challenges his ruling, but said it would have until Monday to appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. (MORE: Judge Orders Morning After Pill Be Available Without Prescription, Without Restrictions) Korman said politics is behind efforts by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to block the unrestricted sale of the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill and its generic competitors. Justice Department lawyers want the ruling stayed while they appeal. If the government fails, it would clear the way for over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to younger girls. The FDA announced earlier this month that the contraception could be sold without a prescription to those 15 and older, a decision Korman said merely sugarcoated the appeal of his order lifting the age restriction. Sales had previously been limited to those who were at least 17. The government warned that “substantial market confusion” could result if Korman’s ruling was enforced while appeals are pending. The judge dismissed the reasoning as a “silly argument.” Korman ordered levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives be made available without a prescription, over-the-counter and without point-of-sale or age restrictions. The order was supposed to take effect on Friday. The judge said he ruled against the government “because the secretary’s action was politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent” and because there was no basis to deny the request to make the drugs widely available. In court papers, attorneys for the Center for Reproductive Rights have said that every day the ruling is not enforced is “life-altering” to some women.

How Formula Could Increase Breast-Feeding Rates

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:45:51 EDT

One of the surprising ways to boost breast-feeding rates among new moms may involve formula, according to the latest research. With a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of breast-feeding for both mom and baby, public health experts celebrate each time a hospital receives “Baby-Friendly” status, which indicates the facility endorses steps that encourage breast-feeding such as not separating moms and babies after delivery and offering formula only if it’s deemed medically necessary. But a small study published in the journal Pediatrics suggests that giving newborns a little bit of formula actually helps boost breast-feeding rates. The formula primer may give moms the assurance they need to keep pursuing breast-feeding, say the study’s authors. Not surprisingly, many breast-feeding experts are taking issue with the findings, worried the results may undermine public health messages that breast milk alone is best for babies. The study, from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), followed 40 newborn babies who had lost at least 5% of their birth weight by the time they were 36 hours old. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) notes that weight loss in an infant’s first days is typical as they become accustomed to feeding; average weight loss is about 7%. But lead author Dr. Valerie Flaherman, an assistant professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF, focused on this group since other data suggests that infants who lose this much are more likely to lose more weight; when babies drop 10% of their birth weight, pediatricians become concerned that the infants may be at risk of other health problems. For the trial, Flaherman and her colleagues assigned half the babies a couple days of birth to receive two teaspoons of formula after each breast-feeding, via a syringe so as not to encourage “nipple confusion” in which a baby has trouble transitioning between breast and bottle. Mothers were instructed to discontinue the formula supplementation once their milk supply appeared, which generally takes two to five days. The other half were exclusively breast-fed unless the doctor ordered formula. (MORE:

Public Agencies Can Address The Obesity Epidemic

Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:00 EDT

With simple and innovative measures, public agencies at state and local levels can play a significant role in promoting healthier eating habits - steps that could make a difference in curbing the nation's obesity epidemic...