REPORTING POINT 12-03
HEALTH NEWS
ALive healthy...live well@
by Larry Kline
SWAPA Voice Mailbox 511/email: skyguy737@cox.net
(Past issues of "Health News" are available on my son's website, which includes a word-search engine - just go to the site with your browser and insert the key word to find past articles: http://home.earthlink.net/~candace_ball/healtharticles/frameset.htm) - LK
GREEN TEA FOR ALLERGIES? green tea may help the body fight allergies and asthma. Japanese researches found that a chemical in green tea blocks the production of immunoglobulin E, a compound the body needs to trigger allergic reactions. Men's Health 3/03.
YOGURT FOR MIGRAINES - the bacteria in yogurt can rid the body of many of the strains of bacteria that trigger chronic migraines. Researchers at the University of Milan in Italy found that after a year, individuals who took a course of antibiotics and ate a cup of yogurt daily were 30 percent less likely to suffer migraines, compared to those who took the antibiotics only. Men's Health 9/02.
CALCIUM AIDS BONES AND A LOT MORE - besides helping maintain bone mass as one ages, according to new research, consuming calcium also protects against heart disease and colon cancer. In a study published in The American Journal of Medicine, scientists found that women who took 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily had four times higher levels of HDL (good cholesterol) after 12 months than the placebo group. A separate study by Harvard University found that people who consumed at least 1,250 milligrams of calcium a day over a decade were less likely to develop certain types of colon cancer.
The average woman only get about 625 milligrams of calcium a day - the recommended amount for adults under 50 is 1,000 milligrams - 1,200 for those over 50. Good sources of calcium include yogurt, broccoli, bok choy, dried figs, kale, sardines, almonds, and of course, skim milk. Also many orange juice products are also fortified with calcium. Health 9/02.
NUTRITIONAL QUIZ 1 - Milk is a great source of calcium. Which of these are also good sources?
a) broccoli
b) almonds
c) sardines with bones
d) collards
e) dried figs
Answer is below.
CONSIDERING SURGERY? - surgeons are trained to cut...period! If your doctor has recommended a coronary bypass, hysterectomy, prostate removal, or a long list of other common elective operations, consider that studies recently released by Dartmouth College show a great deal of unwarranted variations in the numbers of invasive procedures conducted in the U.S. The likelihood of surgery being recommended depends more on the doctor you see than whether you really need the operation.
Avoiding unnecessary surgery requires a proactive patient willing to challenge opinions and to research surgical options. Doctors have biases that may conflict with your best interest. A urologist is more inclined to recommend surgery for prostate cancer, while a radiotherapist is likely to recommend radiation. Likewise, an orthopedic surgeon will lean toward back surgery for disk compression, while a sports medicine doctor will more often advise physical therapy.
Also consider that our medical system does not reward physicians for talking. It rewards them for doing. Some patient-advocates cite statistics that show that the most commonly performed procedures are also the most expensive.
With this in mind, never accept one doctor's word that you need an invasive procedure. Be especially wary of the Abig-ticket@ operations that insurance investigators and patient advocates say are overdone. Information is available online (www.dartmouthatlas.org) to see if a procedure that is recommended in your area is performed at a rate far higher than the national average. By selecting ACustom Reports@ and entering your state under ACommunity Profile Reports@, you can find, for example, that there are high numbers of back surgeries in Boise and bypass surgeries in Redding, California.
Get a second, third, or even fourth opinion. Most insurance companies cover and encourage multiple consultations.
Try to get opinions from different kinds of relevant specialists and do not get opinions from physicians who are professionally associated with the doctor who recommended the surgery.
Try to consult with physicians associated at the nearest teaching hospital. As an academic institution, they are more likely to be up on the latest medical research. Also, doctors there are more often salaried rather than paid by the procedure, so they do not have a financial interest in the surgery. Surgeons are not inclined to contradict each other, so give only the medical history and test results. Do not divulge the previous physician's diagnosis or the treatment recommended - that way you will not prejudice the consulting doctor's judgement. Some professionals recommend getting at least three doctors in agreement on what needs to be done.
Educating yourself and learning about your condition will help you when considering options and consulting with the physicians. Pamphlets offered at medical offices are usually too general and often are nothing more than marketing brochures. Internet sources such as YourSurgery.com lists details on various procedures, which diagnostic tests are recommended, and gives detailed and animated depiction of surgical procedures. In addition to the success rate and possible complications of surgical procedures, information is available that may suggest non-surgical therapies.
Medical school libraries are another valuable resource because they have access to the latest research on surgical outcomes and alternatives. Many medical libraries now have consumer sections with librarians devoted to helping the general public find information. Be especially interested at the statistics on medical errors - a 1999 National Institutes of Health study estimates 98,000 people admitted to hospitals die annually from medical errors.
The following websites can furnish information that can help you make informed decisions with your surgeon as to the appropriateness of recommended surgery:
ahcpr.gov Consumer tips for patients, plus databases and information links.
dartmouthatlas.org Identifies areas where abnormally-high surgical procedures occur.
guidelines.gov Standard clinical guidelines for various procedures listed.
medicalconsumers.org Different medical procedures and their effectiveness examined
yoursurgery.com Descriptions of operations and diagnostic test available for $5 per report.
Be involved in the medical decisions with your doctor - it is your body and life! Business Week 7/7/03.
SWEAT HARDER, LIVE LONGER - the effort that is expended in a workout is perhaps a better life-span predictor than the health risks associated with high blood pressure or smoking.
Stanford University researchers measured test subjects' physical exertion using metabolic equivalents (METs). METs measure the amount of oxygen the body needs to perform a task. Sitting requires one MET; brisk walking requires five.) For each additional MET, people in the study increased their chances of living longer by 12 percent.
So if you are a couch-potato, getting up and exercising - and working up in intensity to rapid breathing - could minimize health risk and increase one's longevity. Health 9/02.
ROLLING THE DICE? - herpes has been shown to affect more than a quarter of the people taking part in a study of relatively affluent suburban areas of six U.S. cities. However, only 4 percent reported a history of the condition.
The survey studied 36 primary-care physician offices in relatively affluent suburban areas of six U.S. cities, where 25.5 percent tested positive for the virus that causes genital herpes.
The results of this study were presented at the 15th Biennial Congress of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research. "One of the reasons herpes continues to spread is because very few people with the virus know they have it," said Douglas Fleming, lead study author and assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ. "In order to help manage the spread of the disease, both doctors and patients need to be aware that everyone who is sexually active is at risk for getting herpes."
Nationwide, it is estimated that 1 in 9 Americans may be afflicted with the virus. It is not fatal and the outbreaks are treatable, but there is no cure. Condoms are not a sure defense because any skin-to-skin contact beyond the protection of the latex may result in transmission of the disease.
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) - currently it is estimated that 1 in 12 Americans are carrying this virus. Most women who carry one of the viruses that cause genital warts do not know that they are infected. Many women may experience slight indications of the disease before the immune system reacts to prevent further medical complications such as cervical cancer.
CHLAMYDIA - the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 18 may be infected with the disease and that half of all sexually active women will have been infected with chlamydia by age 30. Seventy-five percent of women and fifty percent of men with chlamydia have no symptoms and never seek treatment. It is treatable with antibiotics.
GONORRHEA - nicknamed Athe clap@ in a prior generation, gonorrhea is still around to cause burning sensations when urinating. It is increasing in frequency in mostly young women under the age of 20. It is curable with antibiotics.
SYPHILIS - not very common anymore, it is easily detected and can be cured with a single dose of penicillin if treated within one year.
HIV - it is estimated that 40,000 women have the virus and another 140,000 have AIDS. Rates of infection are also starting to increase among men after several years of decline. Still no cure, but extensive research may yield a vaccine within the next couple of years.
HEPATITIS B VIRUS - while not very common yet, 6 percent of those who do contract the disease will develop chronic infections, and of those, 25 percent will die of liver disease. The disease is very active - you can get it by sharing the toothbrush of an infected person. The disease has a preventative vaccine, but it was not routinely given to infants until 1991. Hepatitis C does not have a cure at this time and may be fatal.
UPI 7/28/03, Men's Health 9/02.
NEW BACK PAIN TREATMENT - a new heat treatment can repair many problems that cause chronic back pain.
To perform the procedure, called intradiskal electrothermal therapy (IDET), doctors insert a small catheter into the damaged disk in the spine. The catheter is heated to a temperature high enough to toughen the outer layers of the disk, while destroying nerve endings inside that may be triggering pain.
A preliminary study of those who suffered back problems, revealed that patients' pain levels were reduced by 50 percent or more with the results lasting at least two years. Men's Health 9/02.
GO FOR A WALK; SAVE YOUR MIND - you can reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease by 33 percent if you briskly walk just 30 minutes three times a week. Archives of Neurology.
NUTRITIONAL QUIZ ANSWER: all - ounce for ounce, dried figs, almonds, and some dark green vegetables have as much calcium as milk. Sardines with bones have about 370 milligrams of calcium in a 3-ounce serving - more than a cup of milk. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 6/03.
