Health & Medicine
Posted on November 23, 2011 in Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine
Heating up a can of soup may be an easy lunch, but it could have consequences. Eating canned food on the daily may raise the levels of the compound bisphenol A (BPA) in a person’s urine more than previously suspected, according to a recent study.
People who ate a serving of canned soup every day for five days had BPA levels of 20.8 micrograms per liter of urine, whereas people who instead ate fresh soup had levels of 1.1 micrograms per liter, researchers said. When they compared the average person who ate canned soup to the average person who ate fresh soup, there was a 1,221 percent jump in levels of BPA.
The study noted that levels higher than 13 micrograms per liter were found in only the top 5 percent of participants in the National Health and Examination Survey. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention runs this study on an ongoing basis.
Only several studies have examined BPA levels in canned foods, and most of those have only surveyed study participants to see many canned items they eat on a regular basis.
Do you eat canned foods often?
Posted on November 22, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Recent Studies
As you head out to shop for the holidays, be aware of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses lurking around the great deals at the mall. Stay away from the following germy mall locations:
The restroom sink
More bacteria lingers around the sink than the door handle or the toilet handle in public restroom. Since people touch the faucet handle immediately after using the toilet, bacteria collects in this location. The soap may also harbor germs, particularly when refillable soap dispensers are used.
Escalator handrails
Think twice before you steady yourself with the escalator handrail. Recent testing found E. coli, urine, mucus, feces, and blood on escalator handrails. If you must use the handrail, keep hand sanitizer handy for afterward.
Fitting rooms
The clothes you try on have probably been tried on before. Skin cells and perspiration are often left behind, serving as food for bacterial growth. Wear full-coverage underwear, especially when trying on pants, and bandage cuts or wounds before putting on a piece of clothing.
Makeup samples
A 2005 study found that between 67% and 100% of makeup-counter testers were contaminated with bacteria, including staph, strep, and E. coli. It’s best to buy makeup before trying it on, then return if the shade is off.
What are your best germ-avoiding tips while shopping?
Posted on November 21, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Recent Studies, Women's Health
Conventional wisdom has long suggested that aspirin may help stave off heart attacks or strokes. But a new study suggests that aspirin will not benefit most healthy women, and could cause side effects like bleeding ulcers and bruising.
The Dutch findings, published in the European Heart Journal, suggest many women needlessly take the drug. Researchers say 50 women will need to take the medication for 10 years for just one to be helped — and only if they are at high risk of heart attacks or strokes to begin with.
The researchers 28,000 healthy women age 45 and above who had received either aspirin or dummy pills in an earlier U.S. trial. Overall, aspirin cut the rate of heart attacks, strokes and death from heart disease from 2.4 percent to 2.2 percent.
The new study contradicts advice from leading medical groups like the American Heart Association. Dutch researchers did say that women over the age of 65 tend to benefit more than average from taking aspirin regularly.
Do you take aspirin regularly?
Posted on November 20, 2011 in Business/Law, Health & Medicine
Underweight people have a 40 percent higher risk of dying post-surgery, according to a study released on Monday. According to the new research, body mass index, or BMI, may be a helpful predictor of which patients are at the greatest risk while recovering from surgery.
The study used data on nearly 190,000 patients who underwent a variety of surgeries at 183 hospitals between 2005 and 2006. Overall, 2,245 or 1.7 percent of people in the study died within 30 days of surgery. Even when researchers adjusted the statistics for type of surgery and other risk factors, those with a low BMI still had a greater risk of dying within the first month of surgery.
Researchers weren’t sure of the reason why people with a lower BMI were at a higher risk post-surgery. One researcher speculated that since the study did not track weight loss before the surgery, people who weighed less may have been sicker to begin with. Either way, the study indicates that doctors should factor in BMI while making surgery decisions.
Do you have a low BMI?
Posted on November 18, 2011 in Business/Law, Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Recalls
- Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. recalled about 283,000 Toyota vehicles and 137,000 Lexus vehicles to replace the crankshaft pulley on the V6 engine. A problem with the pulley may cause the power steering to become detached.
- The FDA is warning consumers not to eat Bio Gaudiano brand Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds. The product, imported from Italy, has been linked with a botulism outbreak in Europe.
- United Natural Foods is also recalling selected types of FoodMatch, Inc. Divina Stuffed Olives tied to a botulism outbreak.
- Assi Brand oysters are being recalled due to norovirus cases in Washington state. The frozen oyster meat (shucked; not in shell), is packed in 3-lb bags.
- Wolfgang Puck is recalling combination electric griddles/grills imported from China due to a defect in the electrical wiring of the appliances.
- All 2011 Arctic Cat XC 450 ATVs and some 2012 Arctic Cat 450 ATVs are being recalled because the vehicles steering tie-rod can bend, possibly causing the driver to lose control and crash.
- The Joss Cam, a mechanical device placed in the crack of the rock to support a climber’s weight, is being recalled because it may fail unexpectedly after being set.
- Ikea Pax Aurland wardrobe mirror doors are being recalled because they may detach from the wardrobe door, fall, and shatter.
- Kiddieland Toys’ Disney Fairies plastic racing trikes are being recalled because the plastic fairies protrude from the top of the trike’s handle bar, posing a laceration hazard.
- Battat Inc.’s B. Toulouse-LapTrec magnetic sketchboards are being recalled because the magnetic tip of the drawing pen for the sketchboard may detach and pose a choking hazard.
Posted on November 14, 2011 in Business/Law, Health & Medicine
Could paying fees to doctors for each service lead to unnecessary medical care? That’s what advocates of “bundling,” in which providers get a set amount for each episode of care suggest. But a new study published in Health Affairs suggests that bundling may be difficult to implement and maintain.
Researchers, from the Rand Corporation and the Harvard School of Public Health looked at three sites that were trying to implement a bundling methodology developed by the nonprofit Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute. They found that the efforts moved along slowly, with none of the providers receiving a bundled payment in the two to three years of study.
Software errors and issues with the claims departments made it difficult to develop payment rates, while insurers’ processes for processing claims didn’t work well with bundling methods. One of the sites mentioned in the study now has a contract for bundled knee-replacement payments that will take effect in January.
Posted on in Food, Health & Medicine
Fans of the world’s largest coffee chain may be pleased to know that Starbucks plans to open juice bars in 2012 after purchasing juice company Evolution Fresh for $30 million.
The first juice bars will open on the West Coast in early to mid-2012, but the company did not say how many were planned. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz made his plans known to enter the estimated $50 billion health food market, although it isn’t known whether the company will use its familiar Mermaid logo on the new chain.
San Bernardino, California-based Evolution Fresh sells fruit and vegetable juices and was started by the founder of Naked Juice. It uses a heat-free, high-pressure pasteurization process that it says retains more of the nutrients in its products compared with using conventional heat pasteurization.
Starbucks will eventually invest in Evolution Fresh’s facility upgrades, and expects to sell the products in its own retail stores. “We think we can build a major business,” Schultz said.
Will you purchase products from a Starbucks juice bar?
Posted on November 13, 2011 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A rare condition that leads to serious heart damage may be spreading through the wind, researchers believe. Kawasaki disease frequently impacts children and includes symptoms of prolonged fever, blood-shot eyes, red lips, red tongue, and also red, swollen hands and feet with peeling skin.
Large-scale wind currents moving from Asia to Japan and around the North Pacific could be the root of the problem. Researchers discovered the number of Kawasaki disease cases increased in Japan when the wind blew in a southwesterly direction, and decreased when winds blew from the south. They also found the numbers of cases peaked from November to March when air from Central Asia blew over Japan and reached as far as Hawaii and San Diego.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that around 5,000 to 6,000 American children get the disease every year, most under the age of 5. Children with the disease are treated with a high dose of antibodies, but 10 to 20 percent of those with the disease end up with coronary artery damage.
If a child’s fever lasts beyond five days and includes a rash, red eyes, and lips, have him or her checked out for Kawasaki disease.
Do you know someone with this disease?
Posted on November 11, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine, Recent Studies
Researchers have focused for years on the benefits of cutting down salt in the general population’s diet. But new studies suggest that reducing salt may not have as great of an overall impact as was once thought.
A review of more than 160 studies published Wednesday suggests that while cutting down on salt reduces blood pressure in people who have normal or high blood pressure, it also causes increases in hormones and compounds that can negatively impact health.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the leading causes of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases, which combined form the biggest killers worldwide and claim more than 17 million lives a year.
A different review published in July came to a similar conclusion: British researchers found no evidence that small reductions in salt intake lowered the risk of developing heart disease or dying prematurely. U.S. dietary guidelines currently recommend Americans consume less than 2.3g of sodium daily, or 1.5g for certain people who are more at risk of high blood pressure or heart disease. A teaspoon of salt, or roughly 5g, holds around 2.3g of sodium.
Do you keep track of how much salt you consume?
Posted on October 29, 2011 in Consumer Goods, Food, Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A candy binge might not be the first thing you’d think a dentist would recommend. But this Halloween, dentists are encouraging kids to gorge on their spoils from trick-or-treating—because it’s healthier than rationing the candy over a longer period.
Eating candy bit by bit, every few hours, day after day, keeps your teeth bathed in enamel-corroding acid. This may lead to dental caries, or cavities. If kids eat ten pieces of candy in a short period of time, saliva will neutralize the acid over the course of an hour so. Spread those candy bars out over ten days, and the teeth are being constantly exposed to the harmful acid.
Still, dentists are recommending a good brushing after every candy gorging episode. Sour candies do the most damage to teeth, so consider switching to less-corrosive chocolate. Of course, the recommendation to eat lots of candy at one time only applies to oral health: kids may take in lots of unnecessary calories without nutrients if they eat their entire stash of treats the day after Halloween.
Will you encourage your kids to eat lots of candy?
