Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements have been popular for years among people with arthritic knees or hips. According to the authors of the study, worldwide sales of the supplements reached almost $2 billion in 2008. Previous studies on whether the drugs work to relieve arthritis pain, however, have been conflicting. A … Read ahead
Source: articles.latimes.com
Can you lower your stress and reverse the signs of aging? According to Thea Singer, author of “Stress Less: The New Science that Shows Women How to Rejuvenate the Body and the Mind” (to be released Sept. 23), the answer is a resounding YES.”We are supposed to do everything and do everything well,” Singer said. “Super mothers, super at our jobs — it’s the age-old quest.”So can you do it all and be stress-free? Singer said it depends on your perceptions of what’s happening around you…. Read ahead
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
When a child encounters strangers, it is normal for him to freeze and be quiet for a few moments. When that child’s reaction lasts too long or he is too apprehensive, he may have a disorder known as anxious temperament, a risk factor for depression or other anxiety disorders that develop later in life.Psychiatrists are able to identify the disorder, but treatments are difficult to develop because the cause of anxious temperament is unknown.In the largest non-human primate neuroimaging study to date, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have identified brain regions that are overactive in the most anxious monkeys, and they were able to show that the response in one of those regions is likely an inherited genetic condition. The researchers hope to use their data to find the genes that predispose people to the disorder and provide a target for drug therapy. It also may help to identify children who are at-risk based on a family history of depression and anxiety…. Read ahead
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
Doctors and parents were stunned when research published more than a decade ago found some American girls were beginning puberty as early as 7. A new study, released Sunday, suggests the average age at which puberty begins may still be falling for white and Latina girls. According to the paper, which appears in the journal Pediatrics, almost 25 percent of African American girls have reached the onset of puberty by age 7, now joined by almost 15 percent of Latina girls and more than 10 percent of white girls. “In 1997, people said, ‘That can’t be right; there must be something wrong with the study,’ ” said Dr. Frank M. Biro, director of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the lead author of the new study. “But the average age is going down even further.” … Read ahead
Source: articles.dailypress.com
Another key finding: The higher the heel, the greater the risk. The study was conducted by Danielle Barkema, a kinesiology student pursuing a masterâs degree at Iowa State University (who admits to wearing high heels occassionally herself). She said she got the idea from her twin sister, who wears heels all day in her department store job and noticed that many of her older heel-wearing colleagues had problems with their knees and hips. To test the consequences of wearing fancy footwear, Barkema recruited 15 women and asked them to strut around her … Read ahead
Source: articles.latimes.com
Some successful dieters swear by a strategy of not eating after about 7 p.m., while nighttime bingeing is a major problem for many people. Here are tips from nutritionists: Don’t starve during the day. Never skip meals, and add in healthy snacks if you feel hungry. Otherwise, you’re likely to overeat at night. … Read ahead
Source: articles.sun-sentinel.com
When we think of drowning, those of us who grew up in the age of “Gidget,” “Baywatch” or even “Twilight” may conjure up images of hunky lifeguards diving to the rescue of screaming and flailing victims. Such depictions are often dangerously far from the truth. Cries for help are usually only the first signs that a person in the water is in distress. When things get serious, silence sets in. Failure to recognize the subtle signs of drowning, particularly in young swimmers, may be fatal. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 3,443 people died in the U.S. of accidental drowning in 2007 — that’s about 10 deaths a day on average. And drowning is responsible for 27 percent of unintentional injury deaths in children 4 years old and younger, according to the CDC. … Read ahead
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
The more time you spend sitting—in the recliner, on the couch, in the car, or in your office chair—the more years you take off your life. And this is even true for exercise-a-holics. Indeed, a new study of 123,216 people from the American Cancer Society finds that people who spent more than 6 hours a day sitting were 37 percent more likely to die over the course of the 13 year long study than people who spent half of that amount of time on their rear ends. … Read ahead
Source: articles.mcall.com
Dr. Nancy Snyderman’s new book, “Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat” (Crown, $25), is dedicated to everyone who is still battling that last 5 to 50 pounds. That’s just about everybody, isn’t it? The book sets out to sort through all the myths we’ve heard over the years and list 101 truths that will set the record straight and help people shed those extra pounds permanently. … Read ahead
Source: articles.sun-sentinel.com
Michael Walton took his doctor’s challenge. For every pound of weight he lost, Dr. Joseph Chemplavil would pay him $1. For every pound he gained, Walton would pay Chemplavil a dollar. Within a year, Walton lost 36 pounds. … Read ahead
Source: articles.dailypress.com