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FDA to reconsider a diet pill drug

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:09:59 GMT

This week the FDA is set to re-consider a diet pill drug it has already rejected. If it's passed, it would be the first new prescription diet pill in 13 years. The drug is called Qnexa, but there are serious health concerns, including heart risk and birth defects.

Pharmacist Gary Roberts said, "There is a place for them. You know they can give you that initial kick or that initial start." Gary Roberts with Roberts pharmacy said diet pills usually work, but they're not the healthy way to shed unwanted pounds.

Instead, most diet pills have side effects, which is why many people refuse to take them. Marty Cawley is against diet pills and said, "Chemically is what I would be concerned about. The chemical composition of the pills." The FDA declined to approve the drug Qnexa two years ago, citing the risks of birth defects and cardiovascular problems. But the California based company now wants limited approval of Qnexa, if it's excluded from women in their childbearing years.

"Being a central nervous system stimulant, it can cause a lot problems nutritionally. It can hurt an unborn baby nutritionally. Also your stimulating the babies nervous system, and it could lead to problems down the road," Roberts said.

Qnexa is a combination of two drugs, Phentermine, which is an appetite suppressant, and Topiramate, a drug that is used to treat seizures and migranes which can also be a mood stabilizer.

Because Qnexa isn't available on the open market, some doctors have been prescribing the components, creating an off label brand. Roberts along with other local pharmacists said diet pills in general are a crutch, and often do more harm than good. "The FDA should look at this very closely," Roberts said. "Some are linked to being fatal."

Daily diet soda may increase risk of heart attack, stroke: Study

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:39:09 GMT

New York: Diet soda may benefit the waistline, but people who drink it every day may have a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a new US study.

Although the researchers, whose work appeared in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that older adults who drank diet soda every day were 44 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack, their research did not prove that the sugar-free drinks alone were to blame.

There may be other things about diet-soda lovers that explain the connection, said lead researcher Hannah Gardener, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and her team. "What we saw was an association. These people may tend to have more unhealthy habits," she said.

She and her colleagues tried to account for that, noting that daily diet-soda drinkers did tend to be heavier and more often have heart risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Gardener and her team studied 2,564 New York City adults who were 69 years or older at the study`s start. Over the next decade, 591 men and women had a heart attack, stroke or died of cardiovascular causes -- including 31 percent of the 163 people who drank a diet soda daily at the start of the study.

Overall, daily consumption of diet soda was linked to a 44-percent higher chance of heart attack or stroke, compared with 22 percent for people who rarely or never drank diet soda but had a heart attack or stroke.

Gardener said that if diet soda itself contributes to health risks, it`s not clear how. Some research in rats suggests that artificial sweeteners can end up boosting food intake and weight, but whether these results translate to humans is unknown.

"I don`t think people should change their behavior based on this study," Gardener said, noting that further study is needed to confirm a connection between diet soda and cardiovascular trouble.

Kids` diet counseling tied to better cholesterol

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:44:39 GMT

New York: Kids who got regular diet counseling starting very early on ended up eating slightly less saturated fat and had lower "bad" cholesterol levels as teens, in a new study from Finland.

High cholesterol in kids and teens has been linked to build-up in the arteries in adulthood, a known risk for heart disease. But whether intervening in childhood helps prevent heart attacks and other cardiovascular ailments down the line isn`t clear.

"In general, we know that lower ("bad" cholesterol) is better," said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children`s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

"If you look at it that way, I think you would have to suggest that these are beneficial changes," Daniels, who wasn`t involved in the new study, told Reuters Health. "But quantifying the effect that they might have on actual outcomes I think is hard to do."

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-backed panel, says there isn`t enough evidence to recommend for or against regular diet counseling in kids and adults -- or routine cholesterol testing in youth. Other groups, including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, say that diet counseling can help kids and families stick to nutrition guidelines and reduce cardiovascular risks.

For the current study, researchers led by Dr. Harri Niinikoski from the University of Turku recruited more than 1,000 parents at well-baby clinics in their city. Starting when infants were seven months old, half of the kids and their parents had diet counseling with a nutritionist during routine visits every three to six months.

From age seven through 19, kids had more counseling sessions without their parents. Nutritionists used kids` food records, kept for a few days twice a year, to make recommendations with a goal of lowering saturated fat and cholesterol in their diets. The other participants, serving as a comparison, were given basic health education once or twice a year.

By the time they were teenagers, both boys and girls who had the nutrition sessions reported getting fewer of their calories from saturated fat than those in the comparison group. The individual differences were small: at age 19, for example, saturated fat accounted for 11.8 percent of calories consumed by boys in the counseling group, compared to 12.7 percent in the non-counseling group. For girls, those numbers were 11.4 percent and 12.0 percent of calories from saturated fat, respectively, Niinikoski`s team reported in Pediatrics on Monday.

Kids who were counseled also had lower levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, on blood tests in their teens -- again a small but consistent difference. At age 19, average LDL cholesterol levels in both groups were in the range considered ideal or near-ideal for adults.

There was no difference in teens` body mass index, a measure of weight in relation to height, based on whether they had gotten diet counseling. "One way of looking at this is, we need to do a better job across the whole population of improving diet," including lowering saturated fat intake, Daniels said.

While one option is focusing on those kids that already have a family risk of high cholesterol or have especially poor diet and lifestyle, Daniels said the real goal is to prevent problems before they start. He said that even if it might take up extra time, nutrition counseling should be part of every well-child visit -- and that any extra costs are likely to pay off with fewer health problems over the long run.

Those costs would depend on whether counseling would also help when done only once a year, and by a kid`s pediatrician. "Getting lifestyle right early and keeping it right over the lifespan I think is a really important idea," Daniels concluded.

Experts tout benefits of Mediterranean diet

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:00:15 GMT

DENVER — When you think about diets, you often think of bland and boring foods. But the Mediterranean diet has changed that perception by recommending rich foods full of good fats. This diet has been shown to promote heart health, and now a new study indicates it could also protect against brain damage.
“We’re looking at little tiny blood vessels in the brain,” said Tracy Boykin, a registered dietitian at Denver’s Clinical Nutrition Center.

Researchers found people on this diet showed less evidence of damage to those blood vessels.
So what foods should you eat?

“Monounsaturated fats, which are found in olive oil, olives, and nuts, all part of the Mediterranean diet, raise your good cholesterol,” Boykin said. Those are all common ingredients at Garbanzo Mediterranean grill in Denver. The restaurant’s marketing and public relations manager, Beth Hardy, said customers are getting smarter about what they eat.

“They understand the health benefits, that it’s heart healthy and brain healthy, and they come in and ask for certain things,” Hardy said. Outside of the health benefits, for many the best thing about this diet is how good it tastes. “I love eating healthy, so when you can eat healthy and it tastes this good, then that’s really good,” said Peter Bittner.

“I already love Mediterranean food so those extra perks are nice to know about,” said Rachel Attaway. If you’re eating in, there’s an easy way to start incorporating the Mediterranean diet in your home. “Make at least half your grains whole,” said Boykin. “Buy whole wheat hamburger buns, whole wheat hot dog buns. Make sure your crackers are whole wheat.”

Another perk to the Mediterranean diet is that red wine is encouraged. It is, however, a smaller amount than most Americans are used to: 5 ounces or less a day for women, and about twice that for men. The study about these new findings appears in the Archives of Neurology.

Mediterranean Diet Good for Small Brain Vessels

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:16:08 GMT

The Mediterranean diet continues to reveal its bounty of health benefits -- this time protecting against damage to small blood vessels in the brain, researchers found. In a cohort study, each one-point increase in a Mediterranean diet rating score was associated with a significantly lower volume of white matter hyperintensities on MRI (P=0.01), Clinton Wright, MD, of the University of Miami, and colleagues reported in the Archives of Neurology.

The benefits may spring from the diet's heavy reliance on monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, since such fats were shown in adjusted analyses to predict white matter hyperintensity volume. The findings "add to a growing body of literature that a Mediterranean diet may be protective against subclinical vascular damage," Wright and colleagues wrote.

Studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, cognitive disorders, and other vascular events, but no studies have examined the relationship with white matter hyperintensity volume -- a marker of chronic small-vessel damage. A better understanding of modifiable risk factors for small-vessel damage may help prevent stroke and cognitive decline, the researchers wrote.

So they conducted a cross-sectional analysis within a longitudinal population-based cohort study, the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS), using a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary behaviors.

Among 1,091 patients, 966 had dietary information available and were included in the analysis. Mean patient age was 72 and white matter hyperintensities were assessed via MRI. The researchers also calculated a Mediterranean diet score based on a scale of 0 to 9 points.

Overall, women were less likely to eat a Mediterranean diet than men, and those who reported more physical activity or a lower body mass index [BMI] had higher Mediterranean diet scores.

Wright and colleagues found a trend toward more white matter hyperintensities among those with lower Mediterranean diet scores, but it wasn't significant (P=0.07). Yet each one-point increase in Mediterranean diet score was associated with a lower log white matter hyperintensity volume, they reported (P=0.01).

In adjusted analyses, the only component of the Mediterranean diet that was an independent predictor of white matter hyperintensity volume was the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats (P=0.001). Thus, the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats may be "the most important component" of the diet in predicting small vessel damage, they said.

While previous studies have shown moderate fish and alcohol intake to be protective against white matter abnormalities, they noted, these components weren't independent predictors of hyperintensities in their study. Other variables associated with hyperintensity volume in their study included:

Age at MRI (P<0.001)
Black race (P<0.001)
Hispanic ethnicity (P=0.02)
Diastolic blood pressure (P=0.01)
BMI (P=0.01)
Interaction between diastolic blood pressure and antihypertensive drugs (P=0.02)
Wright and colleagues emphasized that the overall intake of fruits, vegetables, fish, and cereals was lower in their study than in others -- especially those conducted in Spain and Greece -- and may be able to as closely reflect a true Mediterranean diet. They also cautioned that white matter hyperintensities are etiologically heterogeneous, and can include neurodegeneration as well as small vessel damage.

Another limitation was that diet was only assessed at baseline, an averages of seven years before the MRIs were done, and dietary patterns could have changed during that time. Thus, they called for replication of their results in future population-based studies.

Adopt a heart healthy diet

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:26:42 GMT

Focus on your heart health and adopt a heart healthy diet and eating habits to lead a healthy lifestyle

When eating for your heart health, it's important to focus on foods you like and will eat regularly. These heart-healthy foods should be part of your total diet and not in addition to what you're already eating. Also do not eat them in huge amounts that it might add on to your calories.

The best foods for healthy heart:

Nuts

Having a few dry salted roasted peanuts daily may help reduce your risk of heart disease. Peanuts are nutritious and have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and dietary fiber to help support a healthy heart.

Fruits and vegetables

Make sure there is produce on your plate during every meal: fruits and vegetables contain potassium, vitamin C (an antioxidant) and phytonutrients, which may act as anti-inflammatory agents.

Fiber-rich foods

Eat foods containing soluble fiber, such as citrus fruits, oats, barley, apples, pears, cabbage-family vegetables, carrots, sweet potatoes, and dried beans and peas. Oats and barley contain beta-glucan, which can lower cholesterol.

Omega-3 foods

Serve up foods rich in omega-3s, such as salmon, fresh tuna, albacore tuna, sardines, herring, walnuts and flaxseed.

Olive oil

Use moderate amount of extra-virgin olive oil (about 1 tablespoon of olive oil per day). Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, polyphenols and oleocanthol, a substance that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Tea

Aim for 2 to 3 cups of green, black or white tea per day.

Dark chocolate

Enjoy dark chocolate, but do not over eat.

Whole grains

Chew down on whole grains, like oats, whole wheat, brown rice and cornmeal.

Heart healthy dos and don'ts

Now that you know the healthiest foods for your heart, adopt the following heart-healthy eating habits.

-Take more time to focus on food and you'll be more likely to eat the right amount for you. Eat slowly, savouring every bite of your food. Eating too quickly may result in overeating, and can even make your mealtime stressful.

-Don't multi-task: Your mealtimes should be relaxing and enjoyable, so don't answer emails or work calls.

-Don't eat large meals: Try to evenly divide food over the course of the day. Large meals tend to be taxing on your body. As a bonus, smaller meals will keep your energy level up and can help you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight.

-Eat lighter in the evening: Try to have smaller meals in the evening, or space food out over the course of the evening. Studies have shown that the incidence of heart attack and stroke is highest during the late evening and early morning, and may correlate to having a large evening meal.

diet belt

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:39:05 GMT

Fat loss is not measured by weight alone. If you’re working out, you might be adding weight while losing fat. Your scale can’t tell you that, though. But, the Diet Belt can.

Wear the diet belt it to track the inches you lose through dieting or the inches you add through breaking that diet. For better or for worse this belt will tell you how your circumference is changing. Unlike a significant other or friend who might wish to spare your feelings, the Diet Belt is as honest as it gets. And the nylon won’t stretch like leather, so you won’t need to worry about your measurements becoming inaccurate over time. (and if you don’t want to broadcast your width to the world, you can flip it inside out so your measurements are private!)

Maybe you don’t care about your waistline. Maybe you just need to measure stuff and don’t want a folded-up Ikea measuring tape in your wallet all the time. The Diet Belt has you covered.

Diet, environment affect evolution: study

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:16:00 GMT

Researchers at Sydney's Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute say characteristics can become more prevalent via "epigenetic changes" which can also be reversed. Epigenetics examines how genes are switched on and off, often through an environmental change. Researchers fed mice a diet rich in folate and zinc, which suppressed obesity by turning a particular gene off.

They found that when the diet was continued in the lean mice over five generations, the epigenetic effects were inherited and the proportion of lean and healthy mice in each subsequent generation increased without changing their genetic code.

Study leader Cath Suter said it was interesting to note the reversibility of the diet-induced epigenetic changes. "When we took the diet away from the mice, we found that the proportion of healthy and lean mice stayed the same for a generation or two, but then dropped off again," she said. "This kind of reversibility could be very advantageous if a change in environment was only temporary, say, a change in climate.

"Populations could adapt quickly but retain the ability to revert back if necessary."Co-author Jennifer Cropley said it could no longer be accepted that evolutionary changes only occurred through genetics.

"Over the years, we've come to accept that genetic changes underlie Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection - that a chance genetic mutation occurs in a person, and if it's desirable or advantageous, it will be passed on through generations and eventually populations," she said. "What this study gives us is a new way of understanding how we might have evolved and how populations can rapidly adapt to new environments.

"Genetic changes take many thousands of years to spread through a population, but with epigenetic changes, a whole population could change much more rapidly because epigenetic changes can occur in multiple individuals simultaneously and potentially be passed on by all of them."

Diet, dental visits sustain child’s dental health

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:23:40 GMT

The Cayuga County Health Department, Cayuga Community Health Network, East Hill Family Medical and Genesee Elementary School have teamed up to offer the Brush to Crush Cavities program to all students in grade kindergarten through six at Genesee Elementary.

This is our second year offering this program to the students at Genesee Elementary. This initiative incorporates oral health education, dental screenings, referral for treatment, follow-up care and, most importantly, the daily in-school brushing campaign. This oral health initiative is not funded through a grant and functions solely on the generosity of community members, local businesses and organizations that recognize the need for this program and have made donations to continue this program.

This initiative would not have been possible without the generous donations and support from the following community organizations and individuals. Thank you to these agencies whose monetary donations were greatly appreciated:

• Xylem Inc. (formerly ITT Corp/Goulds Pumps)

• Lansing Trade Group

• Walmart
Also, we would like to recognize the generosity of the following organizations and individuals whose donations of supplies were greatly valued and needed:

• Lifetime Care and Lisa Gabel

• Patterson Dental through East Hill Family Medical

• United Health Care and Jolene Stoutenger

• Beautiful Smiles CNY, Dr. Nangle and Dr. Ohnezeit

• Lesch & Lesch Family Dentistry

• Simmonds, Brady & Loi

• Skaneateles Dental Associates

• Kinney Drugs on State Street

• Kinney Drugs on Owasco Street, and Vin Gleason

• Walgreens

• Wegmans

• Cayuga Community Health Network
Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health.
Parents, teachers, community members and local dentists can work together to teach children the importance of developing good oral health habits at an early age.
Here are some tips to keep your child’s teeth healthy:

• Clean your baby’s gums with a clean, damp cloth.

• Don’t put your child to bed with a bottle, or let them fall asleep while nursing.

• Take your child to the dentist by age 3, unless there is a problem.

• As soon as teeth come in, teach your child how to use flossers, which are specially designed for little hands.

• Brush your teeth with your child. Remember to use just a pea-sized dab of fluoride toothpaste.

• Help your child eat healthy foods. Limit sugary or starchy snacks, soda or juices.

• Don’t wait until your child is in pain or has a problem before seeing the dentist. Keeping regular appointments will help ensure that such pain or problems don’t happen.

• Ask your dentist about sealants, a cost-effective way to prevent cavities.

• If your child is playing sports, have your dentist make a mouthguard for your child.

• The use of fluoride is another proven and healthy way to prevent tooth decay. Some communities have fluoride in their water. Cayuga County does not have fluoridated water, which is why it is important that parents check with their dentist about fluoride treatment options for their children.
If you do not have dental insurance, don’t worry. There are agencies in Cayuga County that offer dental services to the uninsured on a sliding fee scale: American Mobile Dental (515-3015); East Hill Family Medical (255-9294); and Port Byron Community Health (776-9700).

And remember, children’s teeth are meant to last a lifetime. A healthy smile is important to a child’s self-esteem. With proper care, a balanced diet and regular dental visits, their teeth can remain healthy and strong.

Have Super Bowl Snacks Without Blowing Your Diet

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:52:20 GMT

Super Bowl Sunday presents us all with the best and worst choices when it comes to snacking. Just think about all the pizza, wings, chips, dips, cookies and cakes you will be presented with on game day. It can definitely be a caloric touchdown, especially if you are going to a Super Bowl party where you can be tempted to over-indulge.

It is best to have a game plan prepared in advance for game day. You can start in the morning by having a good breakfast with some protein, like an egg and whole grain toast. Whatever you do, don’t skip meals and wait for the party to eat your total daily calories.

Also, prepare for the big game by exercising beforehand. Go for a run or walk around your neighborhood. When you finally get to the party, grab a small plate for trying small portions of several snacks and don’t hesitate to make some substitutions. Try to pass on the store-brought snacks and take-out food because it’s loaded with fat and sodium.

Here are a few Super Bowl Snack suggestions:
Southwestern Bean Dip- Made with black beans, salsa and freshly chopped vegetables, this will serve up a lot of dietary fiber which will help keep you full longer. Just make sure to use reduced-fat sour cream along with your favorite cheese to make the dip lighter without affecting the great taste. Pair this snack dip with baked tortilla chips and you should score some easy fan points.

Boneless Buffalo Wings- Try seasoning chicken tenders with whole wheat flour and cornmeal and pan fry in a small amount of olive oil. Add Steve and Ed’s buffalo wing sauce versus the usual hot sauce laced with butter. You will save yourself from lots of fat, sodium and calories and get an easy field goal.

Pizza- Try making your own pizza by purchasing wheat dough. Cut up some fresh vegetables and have your guests add their own toppings. You will save a lot of calories by not ordering meat lovers pizza and could have three slices of vegetable pizza in place of one meat-laden slice. That’s reason enough to have a party!

Hoagies-If you don’t have time to make your hoagies and cut them up into small pieces, consider buying a foot-long hoagie from Subway. There are many healthy and calorie-conscious hoagies on the current Subway roster. Pick one and add it to your own person mealtime roster. Enjoy any of the above suggestions. They're all are easy to make, savory and delicious. Afterall, may the best team win and your waistline not score any additional pounds on game day.