Welcome to the Stars Hollow Gazette‘s Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.
Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.
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Evan Sung for The New York Times
What are the health benefits of eating avocados?
Avocados are high in fiber and rich in healthy monounsaturated fats. They also contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, among them the antioxidant vitamins C and E; vitamin K, which appears to preserve bone health in older people; potassium, which may help regulate blood pressure; lutein, which appears to protect eye health; and folate, an important B vitamin. [..]
Several clinical trials have reported that diets that incorporate avocado may help lower levels of L.D.L., or “bad,” cholesterol, because the fruit contains plant sterols called phytosterols that compete with cholesterol for absorption in the intestines. One small clinical trial found that women with Type 2 diabetes who followed a diet rich in monounsaturated fats, including those from avocados, had lower triglyceride levels. Another small trial suggested avocados may improve vascular health and have anti-inflammatory effects. Some papers have reported that an extract made of avocado and soybean oils may alleviate pain from osteoarthritis, but a 2003 systematic review concluded that the data were mixed.
A Prescription for Confusion: When to Take All Those Pills
“We learn over and over again how challenging it is to maintain a drug regimen,” said Michael Wolf, an epidemiologist at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, who led the experiment.
Medication adherence, a widespread public health concern, is a particular problem for older people. They take many more drugs than younger patients do — seven prescriptions is hardly unusual. Yet studies have repeatedly demonstrated that “the more times a day you have to take a medication, the lower your adherence,” Dr. Wolf said.
When patients can’t come up with a workable plan, or can’t stick to a plan, unhappy consequences can follow.
Overdose Deaths Reached a New High in 2014
Fatal drug overdoses reached a new high in 2014, killing nearly 50,000 Americans, more than were killed in auto accidents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Twice as many Americans died from drug overdoses in 2014 as in 2000.
Most of the deaths involved heroin or prescription narcotic painkillers like OxyContin. These drugs accounted for 28,647 deaths in 2014, or 61 percent of the overdose deaths. Deaths from heroin and narcotic painkillers increased 14 percent last year, to nine per 100,000 from 7.9, according to the C.D.C.
Kenya Cholera Epidemic Hits World’s Largest Refugee Camp
A cholera epidemic that has been spreading in Kenya for more than a year is threatening Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp complex, situated near the Somalia border, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported Friday.
It said more than 540 Dadaab residents have been infected with cholera, a debilitating and often fatal bacterial disease spread by human waste in drinking water. Many of the patients are children.
The threat has been amplified because of international aid cuts to Dadaab that have led to shortages of latrines and soap. With the onset of the rainy season, the charity said, the epidemic could spread further.
Bold bid to rein in painkiller prescriptions hits roadblocks
A bold federal effort to curb prescribing of painkillers may be faltering amid stiff resistance from drugmakers, industry-funded groups and, now, even other public health officials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was on track to finalize new prescribing guidelines for opioid painkillers in January. The guidelines — though not binding — would be the strongest government effort yet to reverse the rise in deadly overdoses tied to drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet.
But this highly unusual move — the CDC rarely advises physicians on medications, a job formally assigned to the Food and Drug Administration — thrust the agency into the middle of a longstanding fight over the use of opioids, a powerful but highly addictive class of pain medications that rang up over $9 billion in sales last year, according to IMS Health.
Nasal Spray May Save Diabetics’ Lives
A new clinical study concluded that a nasal spray may save diabetics’ lives. The spray can be used for diabetics who are nauseous or unconscious due to alarmingly low levels of blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
The nasal spray is so effective because it contains glucagon, a hormone which increases the levels of blood sugar very fast.
In this moment the only option available for severe cases of hypoglycemia is the glucagon powder, which needs to be mixed with water and injected into the muscle. But the trial showed that the nasal spray is almost as effective as this shot.
FDA wants to ban minors from tanning beds
The FDA is one step closer to prohibiting minors from soaking up the harmful rays of tanning beds. On Friday it announced proposed rules that would restrict use of indoor tanning beds to individuals age 18 and up. This would also require patrons of tanning salons to obtain a signed risk acknowledgment form before their first session and again every six months stating they are aware of the health risks associated with the machines.
Those health risks include a 59% greater risk of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, among those who have soaked up the harmful UV rays of an indoor tanning bed even once, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. That risk increases each time you tan.
Strong Correlation Revealed Between Autistic Behavior & Brain neurotransmitter
Scientists have discovered a particular chemical in the brain that, according to them, is associated with autism. The Harvard University researchers have discovered that there is a relation between autistic behavior and a breakdown…
Scientists have discovered a particular chemical in the brain that, according to them, is associated with autism. The Harvard University researchers have discovered that there is a relation between autistic behavior and a breakdown in the signaling pathway that a main inhibitory neurotransmitter called GABA uses.