Diabetes rises in China, reaching ‘alert’ level

The disease was more common in China than in the United States even though the population was slimmer

Almost 12 percent of adults in China had diabetes in 2010, with economic prosperity driving the disease to slightly higher proportions than in the United States, researchers said Tuesday.

The overall prevalence of diabetes in China in 2010 was found to be 11.6 percent of adults — 12.1 percent in men, and 11 percent in women, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

In the United States, about 11.3 percent of people over 20 have diabetes according to 2011 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease was more common in China than in the United States even though the population was slimmer — average body mass index, a ratio of height and body weight, was just 23.7 in China compared to 28.7 in the United States.

“The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades,” said the JAMA study.

“These data suggest that diabetes may have reached an alert level in the Chinese general population, with the potential for a major epidemic of diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease in China in the near future without an effective national intervention.”

Only 30 percent of Chinese with diabetes were aware of their condition, it said.

Further, about half of the population has high blood sugar, or a condition known as pre-diabetes, according to a nationally representative sample of Chinese adults.

Diabetes has been rising in China along with the nation`s economic growth. In 1980, the prevalence of diabetes was less than one percent of the population.

The latest findings mark a more than two percentage point increase over 2007, when a national survey found a 9.7 percent prevalence of diabetes, or about 92.5 million adults.

The current data puts the total number of cases of diabetes in China at 113.9 million.

Worldwide, diabetes affects about 8.3 percent of the global population, or 371 million people.

“China is now among the countries with the highest diabetes prevalence in Asia and has the largest absolute disease burden of diabetes in the world,” said the study.

The Chinese survey included more than 98,650 people and was led by Guang Ning, head of the Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases and colleagues with the 2010 China Non-communicable Disease Surveillance Group.

Diabetes was more common in urban areas and among young and middle aged people who were overweight or obese, and was found to be increasing along with economic development.

The research suggested that one cause for the growing trend could be poor nutrition among pregnant women and young babies, combined with overeating later in life.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, and can be managed with improved nutrition and exercise, as well as medication if needed.

According to an accompanying editorial in JAMA by Juliana Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, “rapid modernization” has fuelled an environment that encourages diabetes “characterized by food abundance, physical inactivity, and psychosocial stress.”

The CDC says that diabetes is a top cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations of the legs and feet, and was the seventh leading cause of death in the US in 2007.

One in three US adults will have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to the CDC.

The disease is characterized by the body`s shortage of insulin, or an inability to use the hormone efficiently for converting glucose into energy.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/diabetes-rises-in-china-reaching-alert-level_23744.html

 

 

Global gaps in high blood pressure knowledge, treatment

41 percent had consistently high blood pressure, but fewer than half of those people knew it.

It`s the leading contributor to deaths worldwide yet most people with high blood pressure don`t know they have the condition and even for those who do, treatment is mostly ineffective, according to a large new study.

Researchers examined more than 140,000 adults in 17 countries and found that about 41 percent had consistently high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, but fewer than half of those people knew it.

“We found that surprisingly many people didn`t realize their blood pressure was high,” lead author Clara Chow, from The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia, said.

Less than a third of those aware of their condition and getting treatment had their blood pressure under control, with poor and rural populations faring the worst.

“Whereas in high-income countries a larger proportion of people knew they had hypertension and were on treatment than people in low-income countries, the control problem was significant wherever you were,” Chow said.

Normal blood pressure is defined as a systolic reading (the top number) of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or less and a diastolic reading (the bottom number) of 80 mm Hg or less.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure.

High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and strokes, which are the top two causes of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Globally, hypertension is tied to “at least” 7.6 million deaths each year, Chow`s team writes in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Despite the condition`s worldwide impact, Chow told Reuters Health, there hasn`t been much research on how it should be targeted to bring down the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

For the new study, she and her colleagues from several research centers around the world recruited 142,042 adults in 17 countries of varying income levels to be examined between January 2003 and December 2009.

They defined the condition either by a participant`s self report of having been diagnosed with hypertension, or by two blood pressure readings of at least 140/90 mm Hg.

Overall, 57,840 of the participants had high blood pressure, but only 26,877 were aware of their condition.

The vast majority of those who were aware were taking some sort of medication – often two medications – to treat high blood pressure, but only about one third were successfully controlling the disease.

“People who knew they had hypertension, about 88 percent were initiated on some sort of treatment. However the control of their blood pressure was poor,” Chow said.

When researchers looked at the results by country, they found that in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, around 50 percent of people with high blood pressure were aware of their condition and around 47 percent were getting treatment.

In comparison, in lower-income and lower-middle-income countries around 42 percent of people with hypertension were aware of it and about 34 percent were treated.

In poorer countries, awareness, treatment and control of high blood pressure were better in urban areas compared to rural ones, and among better educated people, the researchers note.

Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of the Vascular Disease Prevention Program at Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston, said the new study confirms previous findings on blood pressure around the world and adds to what is known by showing the differences between urban and rural areas.

“I think it`s another stimulant to get a variety of groups to look at and think about this issue,” Plutzky, who was not involved in the new study, said.

For example, he said, international groups have been effective in combating a variety of infectious diseases throughout the world.

“We need those same kinds of groups to also start thinking about chronic diseases,” he said, adding that techniques developed overseas can also be brought back to rural areas in the U.S.

Chow said the focus should be on finding ways to detect high blood pressure in people in different places around the world, and removing barriers to treatment, including costs and transportation to and from doctors` offices.

Source: Zee News

21 reasons why you’re losing your hair

There are ways to treat both male and female hair loss. It all depends on the cause.

It’s true that men are more likely to lose their hair than women, mostly due to male pattern baldness (more on that later).

But thinning hair and hair loss are also common in women, and no less demoralizing. Reasons can range from the simple and temporary—a vitamin deficiency—to the more complex, likes an underlying health condition.

In many cases, there are ways to treat both male and female hair loss. It all depends on the cause. Here are some common and not-so-common reasons why you might be seeing less hair on your head.
Physical stress

Any kind of physical trauma—surgery, a car accident, or a severe illness, even the flu—can cause temporary hair loss. This can trigger a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. Hair has a programmed life cycle: a growth phase, rest phase and shedding phase. “When you have a really stressful event, it can shock the hair cycle, (pushing) more hair into the shedding phase,” explains Dr. Marc Glashofer, a dermatologist in New York City. Hair loss often becomes noticeable three-to-six months after the trauma.

What to do: The good news is that hair will start growing back as your body recovers.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one example of the type of physical stress that can cause hair loss (that and hormones). Pregnancy-related hair loss is seen more commonly after your baby has been delivered rather than actually during pregnancy. “Giving birth is pretty traumatic,” says Glashofer.

What to do: If you do experience hair loss, rest assured that your hair will grow back in a couple of months. “It’s a normal thing and it will work its way out,” Glashofer says.

Too much vitamin A

Overdoing vitamin A-containing supplements or medications can trigger hair loss, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. The Daily Value for vitamin A is 5,000 International Units (IU) per day for adults and kids over age 4; supplements can contain 2,500 to 10,000 IU.

What to do: This is a reversible cause of hair loss and once the excess vitamin A is halted, hair should grow normally.

Lack of protein

If you don’t get enough protein in your diet, your body may ration protein by shutting down hair growth, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. This can happen about two to three months after a drop in protein intake, they say.

What to do: There are many great sources of protein, including fish, meat, and eggs. If you don’t eat meat or animal products, here are the 14 Best Vegan and Vegetarian Protein Sources.

Male pattern baldness

About two out of three men experience hair loss by age 60, and most of the time it’s due to male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss, caused by a combo of genes and male sex hormones, usually follows a classic pattern in which the hair recedes at the temples, leaving an M-shaped hairline.

What to do: There are topical creams like minoxidil (Rogaine) and oral medications such as finasteride (Propecia) that can halt hair loss or even cause some to grow; surgery to transplant or graft hair is also an option.

Heredity

Female-pattern hair loss, called androgenic or androgenetic alopecia, is basically the female version of male pattern baldness. “If you come from a family where women started to have hair loss at a certain age, then you might be more prone to it,” says Glashofer. Unlike men, women don’t tend to have a receding hairline, instead their part may widen and they may have noticeable thinning of hair.

What to do: Like men, women may benefit from minoxidil (Rogaine) to help grow hair, or at least, maintain the hair you have, Glashofer says. Rogaine is available over-the-counter and is approved for women with this type of hair loss.

Female hormones

Just as pregnancy hormone changes can cause hair loss, so can switching or going off birth-control pills. This can also cause telogen effluvium, and it may be more likely if you have a family history of hair loss. The change in the hormonal balance that occurs at menopause may also have the same result. “The androgen (male hormone) receptors on the scalp becoming activated,” explains Dr. Mark Hammonds, a dermatologist with Scott & White Clinic in Round Rock, Texas. “The hair follicles will miniaturize and then you start to lose more hair.”

What to do: If a new Rx is a problem, switch back or talk to your doctor about other birth control types. Stopping oral contraceptives can also sometimes cause hair loss, but this is temporary, says Hammonds. Don’t make your problem worse with hair-damaging beauty regimens.

Emotional stress

Emotional stress is less likely to cause hair loss than physical stress, but it can happen, for instance, in the case of divorce, after the death of a loved one, or while caring for an aging parent. More often, though, emotional stress won’t actually precipitate the hair loss. It will exacerbate a problem that’s already there, says Glashofer.

What to do: As with hair loss due to physical stress, this shedding will eventually abate. While it’s not known if reducing stress can help your hair, it can’t hurt either. Take steps to combat stress and anxiety like getting more exercise, trying talk therapy, or getting more support if you need it.

Anemia

Almost one in 10 women aged 20 through 49 suffers from anemia due to an iron deficiency (the most common type of anemia), which is an easily fixable cause of hair loss. You doctor will have to do a blood test to determine for sure if you have this type of anemia.

What to do: A simple iron supplement should correct the problem. In addition to hair loss, other symptoms of anemia include fatigue, headache, dizziness, pale skin, and cold hands and feet.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is the medical term for having an underactive thyroid gland. This little gland located in your neck produces hormones that are critical to metabolism as well as growth and development and, when it’s not pumping out enough hormones, can contribute to hair loss. Your doctor can do tests to determine the real cause

What to do: Synthetic thyroid medication will take care of the problem. Once your thyroid levels return to normal, so should your hair.

Vitamin B deficiency

Although relatively uncommon in the U.S., low levels of vitamin B are another correctable cause of hair loss.

What to do: Like anemia, simple supplementation should help the problem. So can dietary changes. Find natural vitamin B in fish, meat, starchy vegetables, and non-citrus fruits. As always, eating a balanced diet plentiful in fruits and vegetables as well as lean protein and “good” fats such as avocado and nuts will be good for your hair and your overall health.

Autoimmune-related hair loss

This is also called alopecia areata and basically is a result of an overactive immune system. “The body gets confused,” says Glashofer. “The immune system sees the hair as foreign and targets it by mistake.”

What to do: Steroid injections are the first line of treatment for alopecia areata, which appears as hair loss in round patches on the head. Other drugs, including Rogaine, may also be used. The course of the condition can be unpredictable, with hair growing back then falling out again.

Lupus

Other autoimmune diseases such as lupus can also cause hair loss. Again it’s a case of mistaken identity: overzealous immune cells attack the hair. Unfortunately, hair loss of this type is “scarring,” meaning the hair will not grow back, says Hammonds.

What to do: If the hair loss is mild, you might want to try a new hairstyle to camouflage the damage. Short hair, for instance, is stronger than long hair and may hide bald patches better.

Dramatic weight loss

Sudden weight loss is a form of physical trauma that can result in thinning hair. This could happen even if the weight loss is ultimately good for you. It’s possible that the weight loss itself is stressing your body or that not eating right can result in vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Loss of hair along with noticeable weight loss may also be a sign of an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.

What to do: “Sudden weight loss seems to shock the system and you’ll have a six-month period of hair loss and then it corrects itself,” says Hammonds.

Chemotherapy

Some of the drugs used to beat back cancer unfortunately can also cause your hair to fall out. “Chemotherapy is like a nuclear bomb,” says Glashofer. “It destroys rapidly dividing cells. That means cancer cells, but also rapidly dividing cells like hair.”

What to do: Once chemotherapy is stopped, your hair will grow back although often it will come back with a different texture (perhaps curly when before it was straight) or a different color. Researchers are working on more targeted drugs to treat cancer, ones that would bypass this and other side effects. In the meantime, here’s How to Deal With Thinning Hair During Chemo.

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is another imbalance in male and female sex hormones. An excess of androgens can lead to ovarian cysts, weight gain, a higher risk of diabetes, changes in your menstrual period, as well as hair thinning. Because male hormones are overrepresented in PCOS, women may also experience more hair on the face and body.

What to do: Treating PCOS can correct the hormone imbalance and help reverse some of these changes. Treatments include diet, exercise, and potentially birth control pills, as well as specific treatment to address infertility or diabetes risk.

Antidepressants, blood thinners, and more

Certain other classes of medication may also promote hair loss. More common among them are certain blood thinners and the blood-pressure drugs known as beta-blockers. Other drugs that might cause hair loss include methotrexate (used to treat rheumatic conditions and some skin conditions), lithium (for bipolar disorder), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen, and possibly antidepressants.

What to do: If your doctor determines that one or more of your medications is causing hair loss, talk with him or her about either lowering the dose or switching to another medicine.

Overstyling

Vigorous styling and hair treatments over the years can cause your hair to fall out. Examples of extreme styling include tight braids, hair weaves or corn rows as well as chemical relaxers to straighten your hair, hot-oil treatments or any kind of harsh chemical or high heat. Because these practices can actually affect the hair root, your hair might not grow back.

What to do: In addition to avoiding these styles and treatments, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends using conditioner after every shampoo, letting your hair air dry, limiting the amount of time the curling iron comes in contact with your hair and using heat-driven products no more than once a week.

Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania, classified as an “impulse control disorder,” causes people to compulsively pull their hair out. “It’s sort of like a tic, the person is constantly playing and pulling their hair,” Glashofer says. Unfortunately, this constant playing and pulling can actually strip your head of its natural protection: hair. Trichotillomania often begins before the age of 17 and is four times as common in women as in men.

What to do: Some antidepressants may be effective, but behavioral modification therapy is another option.

Aging

It’s not uncommon to see hair loss or thinning of the hair in women as they enter their 50s and 60s, says Glashofer. Experts aren’t sure why this happens.

What to do: Experts don’t recommend that this condition be treated, says Hammonds. That leaves women with cosmetic approaches such as scarves, wigs and hair styled so as to cover up thin spots. That said, there are also plenty of tricks to prevent hair breakage and ways to keep your hair looking shiny and healthy in your 50s and above

Anabolic steroids

If you take anabolic steroids—the type abused by some athletes to bulk up muscle—you could lose your hair, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Anabolic steroids can have the same impact on the body as polycystic ovary disease (PCOS), as the mechanism is the same, says Hammonds.

Read more: Fox news

y�atЋh �g gin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal’>It’s not uncommon to see hair loss or thinning of the hair in women as they enter their 50s and 60s, says Glashofer. Experts aren’t sure why this happens.

 

What to do: Experts don’t recommend that this condition be treated, says Hammonds. That leaves women with cosmetic approaches such as scarves, wigs and hair styled so as to cover up thin spots. That said, there are also plenty of tricks to prevent hair breakage and ways to keep your hair looking shiny and healthy in your 50s and above.

Anabolic steroids

If you take anabolic steroids—the type abused by some athletes to bulk up muscle—you could lose your hair, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Anabolic steroids can have the same impact on the body as polycystic ovary disease (PCOS), as the mechanism is the same, says Hammonds.

Read more: Fox news

 

Some flu vaccines promise a little more protection

Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose. This fall, some brands promise a little extra protection.

For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three. Called quadrivalent vaccines, these brands may prove more popular for children than their parents. That’s because kids tend to catch the newly added strain more often.

These four-in-one vaccines are so new that they’ll make up only a fraction of the nation’s supply of flu vaccine, so if you want a dose, better start looking early.

But that’s only one of an unprecedented number of flu vaccine options available this year.

Allergic to eggs? Egg-free shots are hitting the market, too.

Plus there’s growing interest in shots brewed just for the 65-and-older crowd, and a brand that targets the needle-phobic with just a skin-deep prick.

“We’re moving away from the one-size-fits-all to choosing the best possible vaccine for an individual’s age and condition,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

“The flip side of that,” he said, is that “this will be a confusing year” as doctors and consumers alike try to choose.

Federal health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone, starting at 6 months of age. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/03/some-flu-vaccines-promise-little-more-protection/#ixzz2duD5QbHz

 

Life expectancy gap growing between rich and poor women, WHO say

Senior Woman iStockLife expectancy for women at 50 has improved, but the gap between poor and rich countries is growing and could worsen without better detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

A WHO study, one of the first to analyze the causes of death of older women, found that in wealthier countries deaths from non-communicable diseases has fallen dramatically in recent decades, especially from cancers of the stomach, colon, breast and cervix.

Women over 50 in low and middle-income countries are also living longer, but chronic ailments, including diabetes, kill them at an earlier age than their counterparts, it said.

“The gap in life expectancy between such women in rich and poor countries is growing,” said the WHO study, part of an issue of the WHO’s monthly bulletin devoted to women’s health.

There is a similar growing gap between the life expectancy of men over 50 in rich and lower income countries and in some parts of the world, this gap is wider, WHO officials said.

“More women can expect to live longer and not just survive child birth and childhood. But what we found is that improvement is much stronger in the rich world than in the poor world. The disparity between the two is increasing,” Dr. John Beard, director of WHO’s department of ageing and life course, said in an interview at WHO headquarters.

BETTER PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Beard, one of the study’s three authors, said: “What it also points to is that we need particularly in low and middle-income countries to start to think about how these emerging needs of women get addressed. The success in the rich world would suggest that is through better prevention and treatment of NCDs.”

In women over 50 years old, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cancers, heart disease and strokes, are the most common causes of death, regardless of the level of economic development of the country in which they live, the study said.

Health ministers from WHO’s 194 member states agreed on a global action plan to prevent and control non-communicable diseases at their annual ministerial meeting last May.

Developed countries have tackled cardiovascular diseases and cancers in women with tangible results, the WHO study said.

Fewer women aged 50 years and older in rich countries are dying from heart disease, stroke and diabetes than 30 years ago and these improvements contributed most to increasing women’s life expectancy at the age of 50, it said. An older woman in Germany can now expect to live to 84 and in Japan to 88 years, against 73 in South Africa and 80 in Mexico.

“That reflects two things, better prevention, particularly clinical prevention around control of hypertension and screening of cervical cancer, but it also reflects better treatment,” Beard said.

“I think that is particularly true for breast cancer where women with breast cancer are much better managed these days in the rich world. That also explains the disparity,” he said.

Low-income countries, especially in Africa, offer community services to treat diseases like AIDS or offer maternal care but many lack services to detect or treat breast cancer, he said.

In many developing countries, there is also limited access to high blood pressure medication to treat hypertension, one of the biggest risk factors for death, he added.

Women with cardiovascular disease and cancers need the kind of chronic treatment provided to those with HIV/AIDS, he said.


Read more: Fox news

 

Health officials caution against drug ‘Molly’ festival deaths

Carl Hart many people continue to use Molly is because of ineffective scare tactics

The popular New York City music festival Electric Zoo was cancelled on Sunday after two concert-goers overdosed and died while using the drug Molly. The deaths have prompted the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other health officials to better educate the public about the dangers of the drug, Medical Daily reported.

Molly is considered to be a “pure” form of the methamphetamine derivative MDMA, which is often mixed with other substances to create ecstasy. The drug has been linked to a growing number of casualties throughout the United States, as many users tend to disassociate it from other street drugs.

However, representatives for the DEA warn that Molly isn’t as “innocent” as most people believe it to be.

“There’s no ‘good batch’ of molly, MDMA, Ecstasy,” Anthony Pettigrew, a spokesman for the DEA New England division, told the Boston Herald. “This is stuff that’s made in somebody’s bathtub in Asia, the Netherlands, Canada; you have no idea what is in this stuff. Dealers want to make more money, so they’ll mix and adulterate the stuff with meth and any number of other drugs to addict people to it.”

Molly lacks many of the adverse side effects associated with other illegal substances, possessing low addiction rates and few apparent withdrawal symptoms.  However, users can experience devastating health effects if they continue to take the drug in higher and higher doses.  Large amounts of Molly can lead to sharp increases in body temperature, resulting in rare instances of hyperthermia or liver, kidney or cardiovascular system failure.

Carl Hart, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University in New York City, told Medical Daily that the reason so many people continue to use Molly is because of ineffective scare tactics.  Since many young individuals have already tried the drug without experiencing adverse complications, health officials need to focus on the rare events that can occur from taking the drug.

“What we’ve done and what we consistently do is we include people that exaggerate the harms,” Hart told reporters. “Kids are not listening because they’ve already had the experience. … They (think they) should reject everything we’re saying because we’re not being accurate, and they know it.”
Read more: Fox news

Mammals may host 320,000 undiscovered viruses

flyingfoxbat.jpgMammals may harbor more than 320,000 undiscovered viruses, all with the potential to affect humans, BBC News reported.

In a study published in the journal mBio, researchers analyzed 1,897 samples collected from flying fox bats. Already known to be carriers of the deadly Nipah virus, 60 additional viruses were discovered within the bats, many of which had never been seen before in humans.

After extrapolating this figure, researchers estimated that at least 320,000 undiscovered viruses likely exist in other mammals, according to BBC News.

Researchers suggest that identifying these viruses, especially those with the potential to spread easily to humans, could help prevent future pandemics. It’s estimated that nearly 70 percent of viruses that infect humans originate in animals – including HIV, Ebola and the deadly new MERS virus.

“What we’re really talking about is defining the full range of diversity of viruses within mammals, and our intent is that as we get more information, we will be able to understand the principles that underlie determinants of risks,” professor Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the University of Columbia, told BBC News.

Though identifying these diseases in mammals would be costly and time-consuming, researchers say it could help them develop a better understanding of which illnesses may pose a threat to human health.

“Despite what looks like an extraordinary expense to pursue this kind of work, it really pales in comparison with what one might learn that could lead to very rapid recognition and intervention that could come to the fore with a pandemic risk,” Lipkin said. “The idea is to develop an early warning system.”

Source: Fox news

 

What proteins should you eating?

Our body is made up mostly of protein that is constantly being broken down, so it’s vital to replace it by eating high protein foods that are lean, low fat or fat free

Poultry: Chicken or turkey is great choices – just skip legs and thighs and go with skinless breasts.

Beef: Lean cuts include round steaks and roasts, top loin and sirloin, chuck shoulder and arm roasts, and extra lean ground beef.

Pork: For flavor and leanness go with pork loin, tenderloin, center loin cuts.

Eggs: The yolk holds about 80 percent of an egg’s calories. Stick to just the whites and you can eat more. Two whole eggs have 150 calories and 10g fat versus 10 egg whites which have 140 calories and zero fat.

Fish: Canned salmon and tuna are convenient protein choices; of the two salmon is higher in omega 3’s and calcium.

Nuts: A single serving of nuts is about 1.5 ounces; the number of nuts you get depends on  the nut you choose:  Pistachios 47-49; Almonds 20-24; Cashews 16-18; Walnuts 10-14 halves; Macadamias 10-12; Brazil nuts 6-8.

Tofu: This low-fat, low-calorie protein is super-versatile because it absorbs flavors easily. Go with tofu steeped in a low-calorie, low-sodium marinade and stir-fry with your favorite vegetables.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/03/what-proteins-should-be-eating/#ixzz2du2ry5Ns

 

Scientists find possible new way of fighting high blood pressure

Researchers at Britain’s Bristol University removed nerve links between the brain and the carotid body blood pressure fell and remained low.

Scientists experimenting with rats have found that de-activating certain nerves in the neck can effectively treat high blood pressure – a discovery that could be an advance in tackling one of the world’s biggest silent killers.

Researchers at Britain’s Bristol University found that in rats with high blood pressure, when they removed nerve links between the brain and the carotid body – a nodule about the size of a grain of rice on the side of each carotid artery – the animals’ blood pressure fell and remained low.

The researcher’s results, published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, have already led the team on to conduct a small human trial of the technique, with results expected at the end of this year.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is referred to by the World Health Organization as one of the world’s biggest silent killers because most people who have it can’t feel or see it.

It affects around one in three people worldwide and can cause stroke, heart attacks and kidney failure.

After diagnosis, treatment of high blood pressure needs to lifelong and many patients are able to manage their condition with anti-hypertension drugs. But experts say that for around 1 in 50 of them, medication does not help.

Julian Paton, who led this latest study at Bristol’s school of physiology and pharmacology, said while scientists already knew of a link between the carotid organs and hypertension, until now them “had absolutely no idea that they contributed so massively to the generation of high blood pressure.”

Tim Chico, as consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield who was not directly involved in the research, described the technique as “exciting and innovative” but cautioned that more work was needed to assess its effectiveness and safety before it could be considered for use in patients.

Normally, Paton explained, the carotid body acts to regulate the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.

It is stimulated when oxygen levels fall in the blood – such as when someone is holding their breath. This then causes a dramatic increase in breathing and blood pressure until blood oxygen levels are restored.

Having established that this response comes about through a nerve connection between the carotid body and the brain, Paton’s team decided to block the nerve endings in the neck and found that it swiftly brought their blood pressure down.

Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded this latest research, said all eyes are now on the human trial aiming to find out whether the treatment might work in people with high blood pressure who don’t get better with current drugs.

Tony Heagerty, a professor of medicine at Manchester University who was not involved in the study, said it was an interesting development which could “potentially avoid the use of drugs which have to be taken on a daily basis for many years.”
Read more: Fox News

 

European men grow 11cm in a century

The average height of European men grew by a surprising 11 centimeters from the early 1870s to 1980, reflecting significant improvements in health across the region, according to new research published on Monday.

Contrary to expectations, the study also found that average height accelerated in the period spanning the two World Wars and the Great Depression, when poverty, food rationing and hardship of war might have been expected to limit people’s growth.

The swift advance may have been due to people deciding to have fewer children in this period, the researchers said, and smaller family size has previously been found to be linked to increasing average height.

“Increases in human stature are a key indicator of improvements in the average health of populations,” said Timothy Hatton, a professor economics at Britain’s University of Essex who led the study.

He said the evidence – which shows the average height of a European male growing from 167 cm to 178 cm in a little over a 100 years – suggests an environment of improving health and decreasing disease “is the single most important factor driving the increase in height”.

The study, published online in the journal Oxford Economic Papers, analyzed data on average men’s height at around the age of 21 from the 1870s up to around 1980 in 15 European countries.

The study only looked at men, the researchers said, because extensive historical data on women’s heights is hard to come by.

For the most recent decades, the data on men were mainly taken from height-by-age surveys, while for the earlier years the analysis used data for the heights of military conscripts and recruits.

On average, men’s height had grown by 11 centimeters (cm) in just over a century, the researchers found, but there were differences from country to country.

In Spain, for example, average male height rose by around 12 cm from just under 163 cm in 1871-1875 to just under 175 cm in 1971-5, while in Sweden, men’s average height increased by 10 cm from just over 170 cm to almost 180 cm in the same period.

The researchers found that in many European countries – including Britain and Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Germany – there was a “distinct quickening” in the pace of advance in the period spanning the two World Wars and the Great Depression.

“This is striking because the period largely predates the wide implementation of major breakthroughs in modern medicine and national health services,” they wrote.

Hatton said one possible reason, alongside the decline in infant mortality, for the rapid growth of average male height in this period was that there was a strong downward trend in fertility at the time – and smaller family sizes have previously been found to be linked to increasing height.

Other height-boosting factors included higher per capita incomes, more sanitary housing and living conditions, better education about health and nutrition and better social services and health systems
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/03/bigger-and-healthier-european-men-grow-11cm-in-century/#ixzz2dtumDGot