With the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, I’ve received several questions about congestive heart failure - what it is and who is most likely to be affected.
Congestive heart failure is a chronic condition in which your heart weakens and can no longer pump enough blood throughout your body. Your blood is essentially a very important bodily delivery system - bringing nutrients and oxygen to all your tissues and organs and removing toxins. If your heart is weak, it can’t keep up with the circulatory needs of your body. Typically the heart responds to its weakened condition by stretching so it can hold more blood. It may also become thicker and stiffer so it can pump “better” - for a while.
Are you always the unlucky one in your family or group of friends who seems to get waylaid by a cold — again and again? Why me — you ask yourself. Well, here’s an interesting article that takes a look at the various factors that make you more vulnerable to getting a cold. It’s a combination of factors, really. Your genetics, your past exposure to various cold viruses and the luck of the draw — were you in the wrong place at the wrong time and grabbed a shopping cart just used by someone with not-so-good nasal hygiene?
You might also like to take a look at a slightly older article on the link between immunity and exercise. Researchers found that people who exercised five days a week for at least 20 minutes had 40 percent fewer days of illness compared to those who only exercised one day (or less) each week. Yes exercise just keeps racking up the benefits — but keep in mind that genetics and being next to one good sneeze can still send the sniffles your way.
It’s no secret — in general, American children consume too much added sugar. Processed foods, and most notoriously soda, have plenty of added sugars. The two most common added sugars are sucrose and high fructose corn syrup (but these sugars have a variety of different names as well). Plenty of researchers are examining the connection between added sugars, obesity and diabetes II. Now, new research indicates that an abundance of added sugars in a teen’s diet can lead to heart problems in later life.
According to the report in “Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association,” teens who consumed the most sugar had significantly less “good” cholesterol (and more “bad” cholesterol) than those who consumed the least added sugars. This can put teens on a path for greater risk of cardiovascular disease as they age.
It’s a good idea to monitor your family’s sugar intake. However, it’s not always easy to tell how much added sugar a product contains because manufacturers have a lot of different names for those added sugars. This list of pseudonyms for added sugars, from the Harvard School of Public Health, can help. More details on the added sugars research can be found at http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/12/132814924/for-teens-too-much-sugar-can-be-a-heartbreaker.
Pollen-food Allergies
Allergies aren’t always easy to detect. Some of us may have mild reactions to plant pollens - a runny nose, itchy eyes and mild headaches in spring or fall. But what happens when you bite into an apple? Or a bowl of melon? Does your tongue begin to itch or tingle? If so, it’s quite possible that you have pollen-food allergies, otherwise known as oral allergy syndrome.
If you’re allergic to particular plant pollens, you might also react to the proteins in certain fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts. In fact, research indicates that those allergic to ragweed may react to melons. If you’re allergic to birch pollen, biting into an apple may make your tongue tingle.
Pollen-food allergy symptoms vary, but may include:
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting
- Itchy tongue or mouth
- Swelling of the face, throat, lips, or tongue
- Difficulty breathing
- Hives or itchy skin
- Diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
When it comes to healthy living — think moderation. That goes for your intake of dietary supplements as well. Vitamin D has been in the headlines a lot lately — touted as a possible preventative measure against everything from cancer and autism, to diabetes, heart disease and the flu. And recommendations for increased doses of Vitamin D have filled the press. Now, recent research from the Institute of Medicine indicates that Vitamin D supplements may not be as beneficial as recently assumed. And, further, too much Vitamin D over a sustained period of time may have negative effects. The Institute of Medicine panel also notes that they found no evidence of a national epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, contrary to earlier articles by American media. This article from NPR is worth a read — Medical Panel: Don’t Go Overboard on Vitamin D.
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