Category: Health

{Do wealthier people receive too much medical care? In a Perspective article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, H. Gilbert Welch, MD, and Elliott Fisher, MD, of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice examine the association between income level and cancer diagnosis.}

Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, Welch and Fisher examined incidence and mortality trends for four types of cancers: breast cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer and melanoma. They chose these specific cancers because the likelihood of diagnosis is sensitive to the intensity with which physicians look for these cancers — the combined effect of factors, including the frequency of screening and diagnostic exams, the ability of exams to detect small irregularities, and the threshold used to label results as abnormal. As Welch and Fisher note, these factors can have a dramatic effect on the apparent amount of disease. In simple terms, the harder doctors look for these cancers, the more they find.

Using 2000 U.S. census data, Welch and Fisher compared incidence and mortality of the four cancers in high- vs. low-income counties (median incomes greater than $75,000 and less than $40,000, respectively). Among their findings:

High-income counties have recorded a much greater increase in the incidence of these four cancers than low-income counties.

The combined death rate from the four cancers is similar in high- and low-income counties, which Welch and Fisher say suggests that the underlying burden of disease is actually similar in high- and low-income counties.

Mortality from these cancers hasn’t been increasing (as one might expect given the increase in diagnosis), but rather decreasing-due largely to improved treatments for breast and prostate cancer.

What accounts for the higher incidence of cancer in high-income counties? Welch and Fisher say there could be several contributing factors: affluent people may expect and demand more testing. Also, health systems serving relatively wealthy and healthy populations may see offering more testing “as a good way to produce more patients and increase business.”

“If we want to move toward more sustainable and affordable health care systems, we’re going to have to understand what’s driving the overutilization of care and develop better ways to address it,” Fisher said.

Among the remedies Welch and Fisher suggest are moving toward alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations, that move us away from the traditional fee-for-service model; reducing, or at least disclosing, financial conflicts of interest (such as doctors who receive payments from breast and prostate care centers); and promoting a more nuanced and balanced view of medical care.

“Doctors and other health care professionals tend to overstate the role of medical testing in promoting health — particularly in people who aren’t sick,” Welch said. “A healthy diet, regular exercise, and a sense of purpose are very often the best tools people, at every income level, have to maintain good health.”

Source:Science Daily

{You probably brush your teeth everyday but there are certain mistakes you might be guilty of making which could have serious consequences for your teeth.}

Here are 8 awful mistakes you make that ruin your teeth as revealed by Simon Enever, the founder of trendy electric toothbrush company Quip and dentist Dr Mark Burhenne on the Daily Mail.

{{1. You don’t brush twice every day }}

Brushing twice everyday is a well-known bit of dental wisdom many people fail to practice. Most people only brush in the morning and fail to brush their teeth before bed.

Plaque form most easily during sleep and you create a plaque-friendly environment when you don’t brush before bed.

{{2. You brush immediately after eating }}

Brushing immediately after eating wears the enamel which can lead to sensitive teeth and exposure of the yellow dentin below the enamel. Brush before you eat or 30 minutes after eating.

{{3. You brush too hard}}

Brushing too hard cause receding gums and damage the enamel. Hard brushing is also less effective at cleaning the teeth than soft brushing.

To ensure you brush gently, hold your toothbrush with your fingertips like a paint brush, not with the palm of your hand.

{{4. You brush only your front teeth }}

Many people brush only their front teeth and neglect other parts of the teeth. The hidden crevices of your teeth are the ones most likely to end up covered in plaque. Ensure you brush every part of your teeth.

{{5. You don’t brush long enough }}

Most people are guilty of not brushing their teeth long enough. You should brush your teeth for at least two minutes.

{{6. You rinse your mouth immediately after brushing }}

Rinsing your mouth immediately after brushing isn’t ideal as it doesn’t let your toothpaste work its magic.

If you want your toothpaste to take full effect, try not to rinse your mouth with water until 30 minutes after brushing. Just spit out the toothpaste and wait for 30 minutes before you rinse with water.

{{7. You don’t change your toothbrush regularly}}

Most people change their toothbrush once or twice a year and this is wrong. Brushes become unhygienic after a while, particularly if you have been ill in that period.

The bristles of your toothbrush become worn and bent after using it for too long and this renders the toothbrush useless at cleaning so ensure you change your toothbrush every three months.

{{8. You don’t air-dry your toothbrush}}

You make your toothbrush a breeding ground for mold and bacteria when you store your wet toothbrush in an enclosed cover.

Store your toothbrush with bristles out and let it dry in the air. Ensure its not close to your toilet.

Source:Elcrema

{Washing the body thoroughly is important. It’s not just a sign of cleanliness; it also keeps wicked germs away.}

However, there are parts of our body as humans that we often ignore washing well enough. This sometimes isn’t deliberate, but out of plain forgetfulness. If you doubt me, read on, and see for yourself.

{{The back of the ears }}

The back of the ears are hidden, so it’s pretty easy to forget that part while you’re in the shower. Sometimes, you clean all others, and forget this one part. It’s not really your fault; it’s because of its location, but it’s important to give it attention because germs can build up there over time and cause you skin infection. If you have to set a reminder for it, do it so you remember more.

{{The corners of the nostrils}}

The nose has two breathing points called, nostrils. Almost behind them, you’ll find these corners that are easy to miss out during bath. In fact, I really didn’t think people could ignore that part too because I never do, but then, I went to an eatery once, and beheld a sorry sight of whitish substance around that area on a pretty young woman’s nose. It was very disturbing, but then, it occurred to me that people genuinely forget.

{{The navel }}

Okay, this has to be the most forgotten part of the body during shower. Trust me, I know because I once didn’t care about it, but then, I realized just how embarrassing it could be if someone got close enough to see it looking unclean. One clear sign of an unclean navel is a patch of dark substance that usually covers it. You scratch it off with your fingers, and it falls off.

{{Behind the knees }}

Behind the knees are the legs equivalent of behind the elbows on our hands. The elbows you can wash always because it’s in plain sight, however, behind the knees you tend to forget more because you don’t really see them.

Source:Elcrema

{Avocado is one of the most nutritious foods in the world. It contains little sugar and is rich in “good” fats that your body needs.}

Here are 7 benefits of eating avocado every day

{{1. Avocado is good for the eyes}}

Including avocado in your daily diet may help reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin which are important antioxidants that help protect the eyes.

{{2. Avocado is good for the heart }}

If you want to maintain a healthy heart, then you should add avocado to your daily diet. Avocados have proven to be beneficial in significantly lowering cholesterol. Avocados contain beta-sitosterol which help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

{{3. Avocado contains more potassium than banana }}

Potassium is an important nutrient that the body needs. Several studies have linked a high intake of potassium to reduced blood pressure, which is major risk factor for heart attacks.

{{4. Avocado contains good fats }}

Avocados are rich in oleic fatty acid which are good monounsaturated fats that help protect the heart.

{{5. Avocado is high in Fibre }}

Avocados are high in fibre and they contain about 6-7 grams of fibre per half fruit. Eating fibre-rich foods help prevent constipation, maintain a healthy digestive tract and lower the risk of colon cancer.

{{6. Avocado is good for the skin }}

Including avocado in your daily diet is important if you want a healthy skin because avocado contains many vitamins and minerals that help in maintaining healthy skin.

{{7. Avocado help decrease the signs of aging in your body}}

Regular consumption of avocado will help decrease the signs of aging due to the anti-aging properties of avocado. Avocado contains xanthophyll which has anti-aging properties.

Source:Elcrema

{Children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank at least one artificially sweetened beverage per day during pregnancy were more likely to be overweight or obese at age 7, compared to children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank water instead of artificially sweetened beverages, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Childhood obesity is known to increase the risk for certain health problems later in life, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. The study appears online in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
}

According to the study authors, as the volume of amniotic fluid increases, pregnant women tend to increase their consumption of fluids. To avoid extra calories, many pregnant women replace sugar-sweetened soft drinks and juices with beverages containing artificial sweeteners. Citing prior research implicating artificially sweetened beverages in weight gain, the study authors sought to determine if diet beverage consumption during pregnancy could influence the weight of children.

“Our findings suggest that artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy are not likely to be any better at reducing the risk for later childhood obesity than sugar-sweetened beverages,” said the study’s senior author, Cuilin Zhang, Ph.D., in the Epidemiology Branch at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). “Not surprisingly, we also observed that children born to women who drank water instead of sweetened beverages were less likely to be obese by age 7.”

The researchers analyzed data collected from 1996 to 2002 by the Danish National Birth Cohort, a long-term study of pregnancies among more than 91,000 women in Denmark. At the 25th week of pregnancy, the women completed a detailed questionnaire on the foods they ate. The study also collected data on the children’s weight at birth and at 7 years old.

In the current study, the NICHD team limited their analysis to data from more than 900 pregnancies that were complicated by gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy.

Approximately 9 percent of these women reported consuming at least one artificially sweetened beverage each day. Their children were 60 percent more likely to have a high birth weight, compared to children born to women who never drank sweetened beverages. At age 7, children born to mothers who drank an artificially sweetened beverage daily were nearly twice as likely to be overweight or obese.

Consuming a daily artificially sweetened beverage appeared to offer no advantages over consuming a daily sugar-sweetened beverage. At age 7, children born to both groups were equally likely to be overweight or obese. However, women who substituted water for sweetened beverages reduced their children’s obesity risk at age 7 by 17 percent.

It is not well understood why drinking artificially sweetened beverages compared to drinking water may increase obesity risk. The authors cited an animal study that associated weight gain with changes in the types of bacteria and other microbes in the digestive tract. Another animal study suggested that artificial sweeteners may increase the ability of the intestines to absorb the blood sugar glucose. Other researchers found evidence in rodents that, by stimulating taste receptors, artificial sweeteners desensitized the animals’ digestive tracts, so that they felt less full after they ate and were more likely to overeat.

The authors caution that more research is necessary to confirm and expand on their current findings. Although they could account for many other factors that might influence children’s weight gain, such as breastfeeding, diet and physical activity levels, their study couldn’t definitively prove that maternal artificially sweetened beverage consumption caused the children to gain weight. The authors mention specifically the need for studies that use more contemporary data, given recent upward trends in the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages. They also call for additional investigation on the effects of drinking artificially sweetened beverages among high-risk racial/ethnic groups.

Source:Science Daily

{When you dine on curry and baked apples, enjoy the fact that you are eating something that could play a role starving — or even preventing — cancer.}

New research from The University of Texas at Austin identifies several natural compounds found in food, including turmeric, apple peels and red grapes, as key ingredients that could thwart the growth of prostate cancer, the most common cancer afflicting U.S. men.

Published online this week in Precision Oncology, the new paper uses a novel analytical approach to screen numerous plant-based chemicals instead of testing a single agent as many studies do, discovering specific combinations that shrink prostate cancer tumors.

“After screening a natural compound library, we developed an unbiased look at combinations of nutrients that have a better effect on prostate cancer than existing drugs,” says corresponding author Stefano Tiziani, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dell Pediatric Research Institute at UT Austin. “The beauty of this study is that we were able to inhibit tumor growth in mice without toxicity.”

During the past decade, some cancer research has highlighted the potential therapies found in plants, including chemicals found in foods such as turmeric, apple peels and green tea. These compounds minimize one of the risk factors for cancer, inflammation within the body. People who have chronic inflammation because of chronic infection, autoimmune disease or conditions such as obesity have a higher cancer risk because of damage to normal cells.

The researchers first tested 142 natural compounds on mouse and human cell lines to see which inhibited prostate cancer cell growth when administered alone or in combination with another nutrient. The most promising active ingredients were then tested on model animals: ursolic acid, a waxy natural chemical found in apple peels and rosemary; curcumin, the bright yellow plant compound in turmeric; and resveratrol, a natural compound common to red grapes or berries.

“These nutrients have potential anti-cancer properties and are readily available,” says Tiziani. “We only need to increase concentration beyond levels found in a healthy diet for an effect on prostate cancer cells.”

The new research paper also demonstrates how the plant-based chemicals work together. Combining ursolic acid with either curcumin or resveratrol prevents cancer cells from gobbling something that they need to grow, glutamine. This is a neat solution: blocking the uptake of a nutrient needed by prostate cancer cells with nutrients that are commonly in the human diet.

Source:Science Daily

{We all want to live a long and healthy life, but we fail to put into consideration certain things that we ought to do to be strong and healthy.}

These are some important things you ought to stop doing if you want to be strong and healthy for a very long time.

{{1. Quit having little sleep }}

Sleep deprivation will cause so many harms to your body. Your immune system is weakened when you sleep little, and it also has a negative effect on your central nervous system, cardiovascular system and digestive system.

{{2. Stop being sedentary }}

A lot of people spend majority of their lives in sedentary positions and they also fail to exercise. Exercising doesn’t mean you must engage in high intensity activities; walking is a good way to exercise. You put your cardiovascular system at risk when you don’t engage in exercising. Heart failures and heart disease are a leading cause of death in most men and women in their 50’s.

{{3. Consistent stress }}

Of course, you must work to make that money, but stress when it’s continuous can cause a lot of harm. Consistent stress weakens your immune system, as well as your central nervous endocrine systems and can also increase the risk of blood pressure and hypertension.

{{4. Quit eating processed foods }}

21st century habits come with 21st century problems. A lot of people now choose to eat processed foods over healthy and natural foods. With processed foods come increased sugar, added sodium, saturates fat and less fibre. In other words, you’re towing the path of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

{{5. Quit alcohol and hard drugs }}

Alcohol consumption is also dangerous to your health and hard drugs is a no go area; they can adversely affect your health in the short-term and long-term as well. Weakened immune system, liver and kidney disease, heart disease, addiction and depression, to name a few, are some harmful effects of alcohol consumption and use of hard drugs.

{{6. Smoking }}

Of course, smoking just has to be on the list, and I’m yet to see the first benefit of cigarette smoking. Research has found that smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in America.

Source:Elcrema

{Babies from mothers with sleep apnea more likely to need resuscitation at birth}

A new study is the first to demonstrate a higher risk of congenital anomalies and resuscitation at birth in newborns of mothers who have obstructive sleep apnea.

Preliminary results show that newborns of mothers with sleep apnea were more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (25.3% vs. 8.1%) or special care nursery (34.9% vs. 13.6%), and they were 2.76 times more likely to have resuscitation at birth and 2.25 times more likely to have a longer hospital stay. The risk for congenital anomalies also was 26 percent higher in babies of women with sleep apnea.

“Our results have shown that babies born to mothers with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to require resuscitative efforts at birth, be born preterm, and to require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit compared to babies who were not exposed to maternal sleep apnea,” said principal investigator and lead author Dr. Ghada Bourjeily, associate professor of medicine at Brown University and the Women’s Medicine Collaborative at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

Using data collected by the National Perinatal Information Center, the research team led by Bourjeily analyzed more than 1.4 million linked maternal and newborn records with a delivery hospitalization from 2010-2014. Less than 1 percent of the mothers had a diagnosis code of obstructive sleep apnea; however mothers with sleep apnea had a higher likelihood of having obesity, pre-gestational hypertension and diabetes.

“These findings add to our understanding of the extent of morbidities of maternal sleep apnea for the mother as well as the baby,” said Bourjeily. “The results further highlight the importance of identifying this condition in pregnancy and testing the impact of therapy on these complications.”

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Sunday, June 4, in Boston at SLEEP 2017, the 31st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

Source:Science Daily

{A lot of men tend to think that it’s up to the woman to bring about a healthy and sound baby, but unknown to them, the birth process starts with the man who pours his sperm into the woman.}

A man’s sperm health is very important to not only fertilise the egg but also having a healthy baby, and a man must be ready to do the following things.

{{1. Sleep and eat well; eat healthy foods and also exercise to ease off stress and tension.}}

{{2. Stay away from toxic chemicals}}

If you are working in a place where you work with chemicals, you ought to be careful enough to take them away from your members. Toxic chemicals like chemical solvents, lead and heavy metals can increase the percentage of damaged sperm.

{{3. Keep your members away from hot surfaces
}}

A man’s testicles are outside of his body and certain exposure to heat and radiation can toil with a man’s testicles, thereby affecting his sperm production. Be wary of hot tubs and steam rooms and also using laptops on the laps.

{{4. Reduce caffeine intake}}

Limiting your caffeine and soda intake is also another thing every man should well be aware of. A study of Danish men found that sperm count and sperm concentration were slightly reduced in men who had high soda and caffeine intake.

{{5. Reduce your alcohol intake}}

Excessive alcohol intake has no benefit, rather it’ll only cause you so much danger. Alcohol has been researched to reduce sperm production and cause sperm abnormalities.

{{6. Quit the sticks}}

If you’re a cigarette smoker, you must resist the urge to smoke and try to quit the sticks. Smoking cigarettes can cause low sperm counts and slow-moving sperm. Heavy drugs like marijuana and cocaine can even lead to miscarriage.

Take care of your body bros, because you have been deposited with the power to bring more people into the earth; it’s called reproduction, and harming your reproductive organ can stop that cycle.

Source:Elcrema