Summer Hyrdration Mysteries Solved

Posted: June 30, 2011 By: Catherine Peterson

(www.huffingpost.com) With the Fourth of July just days away, it's official: Summer is in full-swing.

For many, the upcoming weekend represents a welcome opportunity to flee the cube and bask in the sun, but how to do so without harming your health?

Much has been made of the need to slather on sunscreen to protect against UV rays, however, hydration is another critical element of summertime health. Dehydration can range from the mild -- often marked by symptoms like a dry, sticky mouth -- to the severe, or even life threatening. Fortunately, experts agree that normal, healthy adults and children can follow a few simple rules to stay safe.

Love Can Relieve Physical Pain: Study

First Posted: June 30, 2011 Updated: July 1, 2011 By: Amanda Chan

(www.huffingpost.com)Turns out, love could help save you from pain.

University of California, Los Angeles, researchers found that when 17 women in long-term relationships were allowed to gaze upon photos of their significant others while undergoing a brief shock of pain, the intensity of their pain was lower than if they weren't looking at their loved ones.

Researchers looked at the women's brain activity, and saw that there was increased activity in a brain area associated with feelings of safety, called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, when they looked at the photos of their loved ones, the study said.

And the longer the women were in the relationship with their partners and the more support they had from them, the greater the activity in this brain region, according to the study, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Wired first reported the research.

Hidden Toxins in the Home and Workplace

Posted: April 6, 2011 By: Leo Galland, M.D.

(www.huffingpost.com) Chances are you are exposed to indoor air pollution in the house where you live or the building where you work.

When was the last time you were exposed to fresh paint, new carpets, a copier or laser printer?

What about cleaning products, nail polish remover or other solvents?

How about a big flat-screen TV, which can give off an odor of slowly cooking plastic?

Antibiotic Use: When to Say 'No'

Posted: January 15, 2011 By: Huffington Post Source: Health.com

(www.huffingtonpost.com) Feeling sick? Your doctor may weigh the evidence and say you don't need an antibiotic. If you insist, chances are, she'll sigh, pull out her script pad, and give you one just to get your annoying self out of her office. Physicians are busy people who don't necessarily feel like giving you a lesson in Antibiotics 101 during your three-minute visit.

"Patients will, in many cases, insist that they be given an antibiotic," says Frank Myers, the director of clinical epidemiology at Scripps Mercy Hospital, in San Diego. Some even threaten to see another doctor if they don't get the drugs.

Diabetes Prevention: Love Carbs? 6 Steps to Avoid Diabetes

Posted: Janaury 12, 2011 By: Susan B. Dopart, M.S., R.D. Source: Huffington Post

(www.huffingtonpost.com) As a registered dietitian, I often hear, "I've never met a carbohydrate I didn't like!" I can certainly understand the sentiment. Carbohydrates are everywhere, easily accessible, and made into tasty treats. At the same time, carbs can play a precarious role when it comes to diabetes, wreaking havoc on your blood sugar with potentially serious results.

Without having to "break up with carbohydrates" as one of my clients put it, how can you avoid becoming diabetic or better control your blood sugars if you are diabetic?

Red Meat Increases Stroke Risk in Women, Study Finds

Posted: January 3, 2011 Source: AOLhealth.com

(www.aolhealth.com) If you are a woman who loves steak and you eat a lot of it, you may be risking your health.

A study from Dr. Susanna Larsson and colleagues, of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, finds that eating lots of red and processed meat may increase the risk of stroke.

In 1997, Larsson and her colleagues began following 34,670 women that did not suffer from cardiovascular disease and/or cancer. Ten years later, researchers found that 1,680 women from that group suffered a stroke.

Widespread Chemical Linked to Higher Cholesterol in Children, Teens

Posted: September 8, 2010 Source: Environmental Working Group

(www.ewg.org) Children and teens exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the chemical used to make many non-stick and stain-proof coatings, have elevated cholesterol levels, reports a landmark study by West Virginia University researchers.

Their findings were published in this month’s edition of the peer-reviewed journal Archive of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

This research, involving 12,476 participants 1-to-18 years old, found a link between body burden levels of PFOA and serum lipid levels, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems and other long-term health consequences.

20 Ways to Detox your Home

Posted: August 16, 2010 By: Dr. Frank Lipman Source: Huffington Post

(Huffingtonpost.com) Many of us have done a detox in order to eliminate internal toxins from our body, but how many of us do anything about the toxins in our own homes? Common household and body-care products are increasingly being found to have negative health effects on the nervous and immune systems, on our reproductive systems and on our endocrine, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

The average home contains 500-1,000 chemicals, many of which we are unable to see, smell or taste. While these chemicals may be tolerated individually and in small doses, problems can arise when one is exposed to them in combination or in larger doses. Everyone's tolerance level is different depending on genetics, nutritional status and previous contacts with many chemicals, but the negative effects of household toxins are often compounded by the use of other drugs especially the habitual use of alcohol, or prescription or recreational drugs.