Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Is Drinking Soda Really That Bad For You?

naturaldoctor2012 — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:59:35 +0000

Editor’s note: Dr. Melina Jampolis, CNN’s diet and fitness expert, is a physician nutrition specialist and the author of “The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life.”
(CNN) — Q: I’ve heard so much about the dangers of drinking soda. Is it really all that bad for you? Or is it just empty calories?
You may have heard about a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Nutrition that found an increased risk of stroke in people who consumed more than one soda per day.
These findings are not surprising in light of the growing body of evidence linking intake of sugar sweetened beverages — of which soda makes up the largest percentage — and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and high cholesterol.
Sugar sweetened beverage consumption has increased significantly over the past several decades. Recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data found that half of the U.S. population consumes at least one sugar sweetened beverage on any given day. Men consume on average 178 calories per day from sugar sweetened beverages and women consume 103 calories per day.
Of particular concern in light of the current childhood obesity epidemic is the increased use in children, especially teens and young adults. Soda often displaces more healthful items in the diet and is a warning sign of a poor quality diet.
The dangers of soda extend beyond the increase in calories, although this is likely an important contributor to weight gain and obesity. Calories consumed in liquid form do not satisfy hunger as effectively as calories consumed in solid food form, so people often consume more total calories, which can lead to weight gain.
In addition, consuming large amounts of rapidly digested sugar and high fructose corn syrup causes a spike in blood sugar and

Is Drinking Soda Really That Bad For You?

Is Drinking Soda Really That Bad For You? is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Natural Herbal Remedies – 7 Ways To Use Herbal Supplements For Health And Wellness

naturaldoctor2012 — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:45:38 +0000

Herbal remedies and supplements come in many different forms, from liquid tinctures to dried herbs for teas; from soothing salves to fresh poultices. It is helpful for newcomers to herbal remedies to understand the different herbal supplements and how each is used. Below are brief descriptions of seven herbal preparations which are in common usage today. 1) Herbal Tinctures An herbal tincture is a solution of water, alcohol and plant matter. You should dry and chop the herbs before placing them in the alcohol and water mixture. Alcohol and water act as solvents and over time extract the medicinal compounds from the herbs. When the plant material is removed, the remaining liquid is a highly concentrated form of the medicinal properties of the herb. For those who cannot consume alcohol, other safe solvents are used to extract the plant constituents.2) Teas Drinking herbal teas can be fun and delicious, as well as healthy, for you. And they are easy to make! Herbal teas can also be drunk hot or cold depending on your preference. You can make herbal teas in two ways: as infusions or as decoctions. Infusions are made by placing dried herbs in boiling water and allowing them to steep 5-10 minutes. An herbal decoction is prepared by boiling the herbs in water for 20-30 minutes. This method works best when plant roots, bark, twigs or berries are used. You can choose to make herbal teas using a single herb or by combining different herbs to increase the effectiveness.3) Salves Applying herbal salves (also known as ointments) to the skin can often bring you relief for sore muscles, inflammation, skin problems, chapped lips, diaper rash, and even hemorrhoids. Herbal salves can also be prepared when a particular herb–e.g. arnica–cannot be taken internally. To make an ointment, simmer the herbs in a carrier oil and add beeswax to thicken the mixture. Try adding essential oils for flavoring and aroma.4) Poultices Poultices are an ancient method of applying herbal remedies to the skin with moist heat. First crush the herbs into a pulp and mix them with a hot and moist adhesive to form a paste. Common adhesives are flour or corn meal. You can apply the paste directly to the skin and wrap a hot, wet cloth around it to hold it in place and keep it damp. Herbal poultices are used to relieve pain, sprains and broken bones, and they can also draw impurities, such as pus, from the body.5) Compresses Another way to use herbal remedies

Natural Herbal Remedies – 7 Ways To Use Herbal Supplements For Health And Wellness

Natural Herbal Remedies – 7 Ways To Use Herbal Supplements For Health And Wellness is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Congress Considers Health Survey

naturaldoctor2012 — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:14:56 +0000

(CNN) — Americans needing health insurance or disability services could be overlooked by their local governments if a bill now being considered by the Senate passes. It would eliminate a survey that some call a vital source of information about health indicators of millions of Americans, but which House Republicans say is too expensive and raises privacy concerns.
It’s called the American Community Survey. The Census Bureau surveys about a quarter of a million Americans every month. Community officials, academics and businesses rely on this information to understand the markets they operate in and the needs of individual localities. The House last week passed a Republican-backed bill that would cut the survey altogether, citing costs and privacy issues.
The survey program, which reaches more than 3 million people annually, could cost taxpayers upwards of $2.4 billion over the next 10 years. Survey supporters say that isn’t much money in the grand scheme of government, but opponents say the survey is needless and unconstitutional.
“Given the intrusive nature of some of these questions, which are mandatory for Americans to answer under penalty of law, it would seem that these questions hardly fit the scope of what was intended or required by the Constitution,” Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Florida, told Congress last week.
But the American Community Survey is vital to state legislators, mayors, city councils and city planners, said Robert Moffitt, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. These officials need to know information such as how many families don’t have health insurance, how many people are living in poverty, and how many individuals are disabled, so that services can be directed toward the appropriate number of people in particular places, he said.
Academics who rely on the data for research have been particularly concerned about maintaining the survey, whose data is used in a wide variety of analyses.
“If you’re opposed to the survey, you’re opposed to understanding what’s going on in America,” said MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, director of the Program on Health Care Research at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The poverty question is particularly important because in areas where poor families are concentrated, problems multiply, and community officials should know where those areas are, Moffitt said. High crime, health conditions and underperforming public schools are all consequences of poverty clusters, according to the Brookings Institution.
And with health insurance, as communities devise health insurance programs for those who are not covered, it’s useful to know exactly where the uninsured live and other facts about them, such as whether they are also unemployed, Moffitt said.
Gruber says the survey is probably the best source of data on health insurance coverage currently available. Health insurance markets are quite different across areas. The survey additionally allows researchers and policy-makers to look for trends among minorities. “If you want to do any local estimates, you need big samples, and that’s what the

Congress Considers Health Survey

Congress Considers Health Survey is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

European Herb Directive Keeps Consumers In The Dark

naturaldoctor2012 — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:44:17 +0000

Europeans will soon be denied the right to use the majority of herbal remedies currently available in health food stores and on the Internet. The reason is a new European law, the EU Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD), which will be fully implemented on May 1, 2011.

The law will ban any herbal product not registered by May 1. So far, only 34 plant species have been registered out of a total of more than 1000 that are commonly used as medicinal herbs.

The

European Herb Directive Keeps Consumers In The Dark

European Herb Directive Keeps Consumers In The Dark is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Geddes Asks Moms To Vaccinate

naturaldoctor2012 — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:30:21 +0000

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“Pansies”

“Jack and Maneesha”

“Waterlily”

“Natalie, 36 weeks pregnant”

“Ava on the egg”

“Jack holding identical triplets”

“Emily holding Thompson”

“Cabbage kids”

Editor’s note: Anne Geddes is one of the world’s most iconic photographers. Her work has been published in 83 countries and her books have sold more than 18 million copies. Her latest project, “My Pregnancy: A Woman’s Story,” is available on iTunes.
(CNN) — I have so few images of myself as a baby that 30 years ago, when I first picked up a camera, I never could have imagined that my imagery of other babies would resonate around the world.
Since then, I’ve been fortunate to photograph thousands of children, and within these images I’ve always tried to convey the purity, beauty and innocence of the newborn. I truly feel that they represent the very essence of our existence and when they are with me in my studio they always bring joy to my heart.
The vulnerability of the newborn — without care, nourishment, love and attention they cannot survive — is a fact of life.
Every mother reading this will remember the moment when she first gazed into the eyes of her baby. Out of that fog which can constitute childbirth, we are not only automatically transported into our new lives as mothers, but that essential nurturing instinct instantly becomes part of us, as we promise ourselves that we will do everything we can to protect the new life we have created.

Vaccines don’t have to hurt as much

And after giving birth, we as women become members of the vast sisterhood of mothers — a universal oneness; a shared experience to which we can all relate.
As the global advocate for the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign, and as a part of my commitment to support the Every Woman Every Child initiative, this Mother’s Day I ask all mothers to pause for a moment.
Spare a thought for another mother in the world who feels exactly the same way about

Geddes Asks Moms To Vaccinate

Geddes Asks Moms To Vaccinate is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

New Study Reveals Expensive MRIs Pushed On Women For Breast Cancer Screening Have No Medical Benefit

naturaldoctor2012 — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:45:09 +0000

The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, better known simply as MRI, for breast cancer screening is increasing and so is its use in guiding breast surgery when cancer is discovered. Obviously, that means healthcare costs are soaring, too, as more and more women are advised to get MRIs in addition to mammograms. The push started in 2007. At that time, the New York Times reported a breast MRI cost $1,000 to $2,000, and sometimes more — at least 10 times the cost of mammography. So for every million breast MRIs performed each year, healthcare costs spike by at least a billion dollars. Sometimes, but not always, these test are covered by Medicare and insurance.
Of course, despite this enormous cost, the only reason doctors and medical centers would be urging women to have these expensive tests is because there must be convincing proof breast MRIs are excellent for spotting breast cancer and/or for directing cancer therapy. But this is not true.
Although it may be hard to believe, here comes the shocking truth, as just reported in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. Monica Morrow from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues meticulously reviewed research from the past decade to examine the belief that breast MRIs are effective at finding and treating breast cancer. What they found was just the opposite. There is little to no evidence breast MRIs benefit the vast majority of women. In fact, there’s not even evidence showing breast MRIs are particularly effective at helping direct breast-conserving surgery.The new study did indicate breast MRI can be valuable in screening women at very high risk for breast cancer due to their genetic heritage. However, let’s take a closer look at that finding. According to a media statement, the researchers noted that

New Study Reveals Expensive MRIs Pushed On Women For Breast Cancer Screening Have No Medical Benefit

New Study Reveals Expensive MRIs Pushed On Women For Breast Cancer Screening Have No Medical Benefit is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Hospital To Live Tweet Brain Surgery

naturaldoctor2012 — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:02:44 +0000

(Mashable) — Several weeks after making history with the world’s first live-tweeted open heart surgery, Houston’s Memorial Hermann hospital is dusting off its social media chops again.
The plan this time? To live tweet a brain operation performed by one of the world’s foremost neurosurgeons.
Live social media coverage from the hospital’s in-house team will begin Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. EST. The hospital’s Twitter page, @houstonhospital, will relay the operation’s preparation, play-by-play and wrap up over the next four hours while using the hashtag #MHbrain. The first actual incision is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST.
The operation is called a brain tumor resection. It’s designed to remove a tumor to prevent seizures. It will be performed by Dr. Dong Kim, a neurosurgeon who helped lead the team that treated former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head in 2011.
A two-inch by two-inch window will be cut in the skull of the patient, who is a young woman, Dr. Kim told Mashable in an interview. The window will leave her brain exposed for between one and one-and-a-half hours. That will give Dr. Kim access to find and remove the tumor, which he says is probably located between two and three centimeters beneath the brain’s surface.
“What will come out of this is a detailed, real-time sequence of what happens in a brain surgery through all the stages from preparation, to shaving the hair, to making the incision, to draping,” Dr. Kim says.

Hospital To Live Tweet Brain Surgery

Hospital To Live Tweet Brain Surgery is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Sleep Curbs Obesity Genes

naturaldoctor2012 — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:50:15 +0000

(Health.com) — If you’re genetically predisposed to be overweight, the amount of sleep you get each night could make a big difference in how influential those genes are, a new study suggests.
After analyzing the sleep habits and body weight of 1,088 pairs of twins, including genetically identical ones, researchers concluded that people who get plenty of sleep — at least nine hours per night — have more control over their weight through their behavior than people who sleep less.
Among twins who slept less than seven hours per night, genes accounted for 70% of the differences in body mass index (BMI), while so-called environmental factors, such as diet and exercise habits, were responsible for just 4% of the differences.
The pattern was reversed among twins who slept nine or more hours per night. In this group, environmental factors accounted for 51% of BMI differences and genes accounted for just 32%.
Health.com: How much sleep do you really need?
Getting adequate sleep, in other words, appears to dampen genetic risk and allow the influence of diet, exercise, and other controllable lifestyle factors to “surface,” the researchers say.
“The less you sleep, the more important genetic factors are to how much you weigh,” says lead author Nathaniel F. Watson, M.D., co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center, in Seattle. “The longer you sleep, the greater the influence of environmental factors like meal composition and timing.”
Previous research has found that too little sleep is associated with a higher BMI, but many of those studies haven’t been able to entirely rule out the possibility that genes, or complicating factors such as sleep disorders, are partly responsible for the link.
Twin studies, by contrast, allow researchers to tease out the complex relationship between genes and environment. Identical twins share the exact same DNA, so most differences in weight can be attributed to environment rather than genes. And fraternal twins, though genetically dissimilar, tend to share the same background and risk factors. (All of the twins in the study, both identical and fraternal, were raised in the same household.)
Health.com: 7 tips for the best sleep ever
The new study, which appears in the journal SLEEP, suggests that “the amount of sleep you get has an effect on your gene expression,” says Michael Weissberg, M.D., a sleep specialist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in Denver.
Researchers have identified more than 20 genes that are linked to obesity

Sleep Curbs Obesity Genes

Sleep Curbs Obesity Genes is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

Top Three To Ponder When Trading Beds Perth

naturaldoctor2012 — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:01:30 +0000

Having a quality sleep is important for a person to provide productive output when it’s period for studying or working. Therefore, it is very important to have a comfortable bed where it is possible to sleep. Apparently, comfort is the utmost priority when it comes to choosing a bed or beds to buy. The look just can come second. There are certainly many types of beds Perth nowadays and it might be confusing which one to buy. However by taking into consideration these details, you will be able to buy the most suitable one.

• Consider The Size

Find out what is the most suitable size for your circumstances. The size of your bed will depend upon the size of your room along with the space that you involve. You can choose between a standard-sized or size- tailored option. Only know that searching for sheets and mattresses for size-customized beds Perth can be difficult.

Nowadays, sizes are mainly broken down into two namely your American mattress sizes and the British mattress sizes. The former has more size options as compared to the latter. With American mattress size among the size options include: normal bunk (39″ wide x 75″ long), slender bunk (36″ wide x 75″long), twin/single (39″ wide x 75″ long), twin extra long (39″ wide x 80″ long), comprehensive / double (54″ wide x 75″ long), full (60″ wide x 80″ long), Carolina queen (60″ wide x 84″ long), improved queen (66″ wide x 80″ long), tremendous queen (66″ wide x 80″ long), queen (76″ wide x 80″ long), Carolina king (60″ wide x 84″ long) and grand king (80″ wide x 98″ long). Meanwhile, the British mattress sizes include: single (36″ wide x 75″ long), Bunk (36″ wide x 75″ long), double (54″ wide x 75″ long), king (60″ wide x 78″ long), and super king (72″ wide x 78″ long).

• The Type

There are several categories of beds Perth these times. Among the types involve an adjustable bed, air mattress, brass bed, bunk base, captain’s bed, loft base, hideaway bed, platform base, trundle bed and water bed among others. Depending on the location where you may place the bed, it is possible to choose a particular type to make use of.

• The Style

Aside from the fact that it is essential to have a comfortable bed, it is in addition important to consider the appeal since it will add to overall appeal of the bedroom. The style will need to depend on your style preference. If you will opt for a traditional look you’ll be able to make use of one created from wood. However, if you want one with modern appeal you’ll be able to go for one that has wood and other materials such metal plus the addition of a suitable finish.

Top Three To Ponder When Trading Beds Perth is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog

‘New Normal’ After A Shooting

naturaldoctor2012 — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:45:18 +0000

(CNN) — For students, parents and teachers in Chardon, Ohio, the week has been a disorienting one after a high school shooting left three teenagers dead.
As the community of 5,100 tries to regain the normalcy that was shattered by violence, the Chardon school district has decided to resume classes Friday.
Throughout the week, the school system has offered counseling. Teachers and staff members were asked to return to school, where they could meet with counselors, on Wednesday. Parents and students were also encouraged to come to campus on Thursday, when counseling will also be offered.
After such a traumatic incident, counselors focus on two stages of recovery: the immediate response of helping people feel safe and the longer-term process of helping them cope.
Tom Olbrich, disaster response coordinator at the Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, worked with youth, faculty and families in the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. After thousands of hours with them, Olbrich and his colleagues learned that there’s no quick fix. Some kids required as many as three years of assistance.
There’s a wide range of reactions, and it could depend on how close they were to the kids who were hurt and what they witnessed, he said. For families who lost children and students who lost friends, it’s a much more difficult struggle.

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Town holds vigil after school shooting

Shooting suspect ‘emotionless’ in court

Most people process the events and heal, but about 8% to 15% are likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, said Russell T. Jones, professor of psychology at Virginia Tech, who counseled survivors of the shootings there.
After a school shooting, students may be reluctant to return to classes and resume their normal academic life, experts say.
On Monday morning, a student identified as T.J. Lane fired shots in the Chardon High School cafeteria. Police say the 17-year-old sophomore confessed to firing 10 rounds and was described by the county prosecutor as having chosen his victims “at random.”
The victims are Daniel Parmertor, 16, a teen who loved to ski and found work maintaining the computerized pins at the local bowling alley, who died Monday; Demetrius Hewlin, 16, who died Tuesday morning; and Russell King Jr., 17, who was declared brain dead early Tuesday. Two others were injured.
There is an expectation of safety at school, so it’s natural for students, parents and staff members to feel angry, shocked and scared. At this point, the children are probably receiving traumatic stress event counseling, said Dominick Flarey, the executive director of the American Academy of Grief Counseling. He is not involved in the counseling of the Chardon High School students.
“The first need of the kids is going to be to feel safe and doing what they can to make the kids in the high school understand that they are safe,” he said.
In the short term, counselors help connect kids, parents and faculty with their natural supports such as friends, family and others whom they’re comfortable being around, to emphasize feelings of safety. Children may have fears about going back to school, which counselors try to assuage by identifying whom the child can be with in order to feel safe.
“Kids are going to go through a range of reactions in the next days and weeks,” Olbrich said
Parents have also been through distress, because they were probably panicking over the safety of their kids, Flarey said. The initial counseling can reassure people that it’s OK to be upset.
“It’s not swept under the rug and ‘let’s pretend it didn’t happen,’ ” Flarey said.
After the shootings at Virginia Tech that left 32 students dead in April 2007, Jones, a clinical psychologist, was one of the counselors who went into classes to discuss the symptoms of depression, acute stress disorder and PTSD.
Virginia Tech students find support, outlet for grief online
“People typically have nightmares,” Jones said. “People are angry. People are typically having difficulty concentrating; they might be irritable. They might snap at others. They might have tendency to avoid the situation. All of

‘New Normal’ After A Shooting

‘New Normal’ After A Shooting is a post from: Sheila And Her Healthy Blog