Health & WellnessS


Attention

Psychological effects of BP oil spill go beyond residents of impacted shorelines

The psychological effects of the BP oil spill, the largest recorded environmental disaster in human history, extend far beyond people living around the areas of the Gulf of Mexico that were directly impacted by the spill, a new study finds.

Writing in the online edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the National Institutes of Health, the researchers reported that even in areas that did not have oil exposure, people still experienced elevated levels of anxiety and depression and reduced ability to show resilience in difficult emotional and financial situations because of the disaster.

"The findings highlight the substantial psychological impact that the oil spill has had on coastal communities in Florida and Alabama," said Dr. J. Glenn Morris, a UF public health expert in the department of medicine and director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute. "In particular, the impact was not directly related to the amount of oil that reached an area. Instead, it correlated most closely with financial loss resulting from the spill."

Bug

Common Insecticide Used in Homes Associated With Delayed Mental Development of Young Children

household pesticides
© Unknown
When the EPA phased out the widespread residential use of chlorpyrifos and other organophosphorus (OP) insecticides in 2000-2001 because of risks to child neurodevelopment, these compounds were largely replaced with pyrethroid insecticides. But the safety of these replacement insecticides remained unclear, as they had never been evaluated for long-term neurotoxic effects after low-level exposure. In the first study to examine the effects of these compounds on humans and the first evaluation of their potential toxicity to the developing fetal brain, scientists of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found a significant association between piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a common additive in pyrethroid formulations, measured in personal air collected during the third trimester of pregnancy, and delayed mental development at 36 months.

Findings from the study are online in the journal, Pediatrics.

The study was conducted with a subset of 725 pregnant women participating in a prospective longitudinal study of black and Dominican women living in upper Manhattan and the South Bronx underway at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH). The insecticide permethrin was selected for the evaluation because it is one of the most common pyrethroid insecticides used in U.S. homes, as well as the most commonly sold pesticide, according to a nationally representative sample. PBO, a chemical that is added to insecticides to increase efficacy was also selected for evaluation. Any detection of PBO in air is a marker of a pyrethroid insecticide application.

In all, 342 women were studied for permethrin exposure in personal air during pregnancy; 272 for permethrin in maternal and umbilical cord plasma; and 230 were evaluated for exposure to PBO. To collect the air samples, mothers from the CCCEH Mothers and Newborns cohort wore a small backpack holding a personal ambient air monitor for 48 hours during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Cookie

Protect Your Health From The Effects Of AGEs

sugar
© Unknown
It's true that your body needs sugar. But excess sugar is causing a real problem in the form of Advanced Glycation End-products, or AGEs for short. AGEs are the mutant molecules formed when rogue sugar molecules attach themselves to healthy proteins, lipids or various types of cells and tissues in your body.

These AGEs can secretly accumulate in your body under your immune system's radar, rob your healthy cells of essential nutrients and cause any number of health problems...
  • Hardened eye lenses leading to cloudy vision

  • Stiff, inflexible arteries making blood flow difficult

  • Damaged collagen in skin cells creating premature aging and wrinkles

  • Inflammation in your brain cells hindering your memory recall

  • Impaired nephrons - filter units - in the kidneys hindering healthy kidney function
Unfortunately, until a decade ago scientists knew the AGEs problem existed, but they considered it a normal part of the aging process. However, researchers such as Anthony Cerami, Ph.D., of Rockefeller University in New York have now proven that certain nutrients can help deter the formation of AGEs as well as help remove existing AGEs from the cells of your body.

Family

The Myriad Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

empty plate fasting
© Unknown
Calorie restriction is all the rage in anti-aging circles. A few mice and worm studies seem to show that drastic reductions in food intake over a long period of time have the effect of prolonging life - although I'm not sure I'd call it living. For one, these animals are actually restricted. There's no ad libitum access to food. They'd prefer to eat more, but are prevented from doing so. I guarantee you they're unhappy and, if they could put (cartoonish high-pitched) voice to physiological state, would say they're starving.

Anyway, humans have picked up on this calorie restriction stuff. You might have seen one or two CR gurus giving "TED" talks; the exposed rib cages, gaunt faces, and complete lack of lean muscle mass are dead giveaways. Okay - that's a bit unfair. CR is a legitimate way to improve many health markers. I'm just not convinced actively restricting your calorie intake through sheer will is the true path to enjoyable longevity. I'd rather be robust, vibrant, and full of zest. I want to eat big strapping meals of steak and veggies smothered in butter without counting calories. On occasion, I like to devour an entire roasted chicken (yeah, yeah, chicken has more omega-6 than most animals, but I'll live). I want to maintain muscle mass and have enough energy to go on long hikes and have the legs to still leap for high passes (over the young guys) at the end of Ultimate games. And as I appreciate the neuroprotective and autophagy-promoting qualities of calorie restriction, I'd rather not expend the mental energy and fortitude required to maintain such a regimen day-in and day-out. Nor would I willingly subject myself to forced calorie restriction, a la the lab mice. No human-sized rat cages for me, even if they include a salt lick and a running wheel (don't get any ideas, Blaisdell). Based on the science, I don't think all that is necessary. I'll just IF instead.

Syringe

Best of the Web: Why is type 1 diabetes on the rise? Could it be Gluten?

Type 1 diabetes, also called "childhood" or "insulin-dependent" diabetes, is on the rise.

Type 2 diabetes, or "adult," diabetes, is also sharply escalating. But the causes for this are easy-to-identify: overconsumption of carbohydrates and resultant weight gain/obesity, inactivity, as well as genetic predisposition. A formerly rare disease is rapidly becoming the scourge of the century, expected to affect 1 in 3 adults within the next several decades.

Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, generally occurs in young children, not uncommonly age 3 or 4. Type 1 diabetes also shares a genetic basis to some degree. But the genetic predisposition should be a constant. Obviously, lifestyle issues cannot be blamed in young children.
Then why would type 1 diabetes be on the rise?

For instance, this study by Vehik et al from the University of Colorado documents the approximate 3% per year increase in incidence in children with type 1 diabetes between 1978 and 2004:

type 1 diabetes in children
© Vehik et alIncrease in incidence in children with type 1 diabetes between 1978 and 2004

(From Vehik 2007)

This is no small matter. Just ask any parent of a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who, after recovering from hearing the devastating diagnosis, then has to stick her child's fingers to check glucose several times per day, mind carefully what he or she eats or doesn't eat, watch carefully for signs of life-threatening hypoglycemic episodes, not to mention worry about her child's long-term health. Type 1 diabetes is a life-changing diagnosis for both child and parents.

Pills

Memory Loss Can Be Caused By Over-The-Counter Drugs

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Did you know that common over-the-counter drugs or prescriptions can cause memory loss and cognitive impairment?

Mild cognitive impairment is a common, age-linked condition that is often an early sign of Alzheimer's disease. Its cardinal symptom is forgetfulness or impairment of short-term memory.

Numerous drugs have been shown to produce mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They may create or aggravate Alzheimer's-type symptoms.

(NOTE: You should NOT stop taking medications without first consulting your physician.)

Most of the drugs that cause MCI have a property called "anti-cholinergic." They inhibit activity of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a critical role in memory and cognitive function.

Info

Why a Food's Glycaemic Load is a Better Measure Than its Carbohydrate Content

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© eglycemicindex.comThe glycemic index, or GI, ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to their effect on blood sugar levels.
When glucose (a sugar) is absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream, a healthy pancreas will secrete the hormone insulin in response. One chief effect of insulin is to reduce blood sugar levels by facilitating the transfer of sugar into the body's cells. This is a critically important function, and without it sugar levels can rise to dangerously high and even fatal levels. Insulin is essential to life. But, as is the way, we can always get too much of a good thing. In the long term, high levels of insulin can predispose the body to a range of health issues including obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

With this in mind it does make sense to avoid eating much in the way of foods that disrupt blood sugar, and therefore insulin, levels.

The 'macronutrient' most renowned for its effect on blood sugar is carbohydrate - a term that encompasses sugars and starch. Much of the sugar and starch we consume in our diets is digested down to glucose prior to absorption.

Health

Study links hypoxia and inflammation in many diseases

University of Colorado researchers focus on how the body adapts.

When the body is deprived of oxygen during a major surgery, the kidneys, heart muscles or lungs can be injured as a result. The problem is that lack of oxygen can lead to inflammation.

Yet some athletes deliberately train at high altitude, with less oxygen, so they can perform better. Their bodies adapt to the reduced oxygen.

Now a doctor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine has explored the relationship between lack of oxygen, called hypoxia, and the inflammation that can injure or kill some patients who undergo surgery. In a liver transplant, for example, the surgery and anesthesiology can go perfectly yet the new liver will fail because of hypoxia.

"Understanding how hypoxia is linked to inflammation may help save lives of people who have survived a major surgery only to be faced with potential harm to major organs," says Holger K. Eltzschig, MD, PhD.

Attention

Pesticides May Block Male Hormones

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© FedCenter.govEndocrine Disruptors: Many agricultural pesticides disrupt the normal function of male hormones, according to new tests.
Many agricultural pesticides disrupt male hormones, according to new tests.

Many agricultural pesticides - including some previously untested and commonly found in food - disrupt male hormones, according to new tests conducted by British scientists.

The scientists strongly recommended that all pesticides in use today be screened to check if they block testosterone and other androgens, the hormones critical to a healthy reproductive system for men and boys.

"Our results indicate that systematic testing for anti-androgenic activity of currently used pesticides is urgently required," wrote the scientists from University of London's Centre for Toxicology, led by Professor Andreas Kortenkamp.

Thirty out of 37 widely used pesticides tested by the group blocked or mimicked male hormones. Sixteen of the 30 had no known hormonal activity until now, while there was some previous evidence for the other 14, according to the study, published online last Thursday in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Alarm Clock

FDA Report: Alarming Amounts of "Superbugs" in Supermarkets

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© Flickr kaibara87
A federal government report on antibiotic resistance reveals that superbugs in meat is a much more common and widespread problem than anyone would like to admit. New strains of hearty, antibiotic resistant salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter bacteria appear to be showing up in alarmingly high percentages of the chicken, turkey, pork and beef we buy at the supermarket.

These findings come from a little-noticed report the FDA released back in December. The report, which was dumped onto the FDA's web site without so much as a mention or a press release, compiles data from 5,236 samples of chicken breasts, ground turkey, ground beef and pork chops that were taken in 2008. It's unclear why the FDA either waited or took so long to release the info.

On her blog, Maryn McKenna, author of a book about antibiotic resistance called Superbug and the first person to write about the report, summarized some of the findings: In 2008, 45% of salmonella on chicken were resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline and 30% were immune to penicillins. Among enterococci bacteria on chicken, 65% were resistant to tetracycline and more than 90% to lincosamides, which include the everyday drug clindamycin.