The question:

Recently, a lot of my friends are getting engaged, having babies, and going on cool trips. Although I’m happy for them, I’m also envious. How do I deal with my jealousy?

A former dance teacher used to say “Don’t bother comparing yourself to others. There will always be people better than you, and worse than you. The most important thing is to ask yourself, “Am I improving?”

Of course, this is often easier said than done. Not only are we constantly bombarded by advertisements preying on our insecurities, but also, recent studies show that social media sites actually feed jealousy by creating the illusion that other people are living happier, more fulfilled lives than our own. I say “illusion” because, as a Stanford University study seems to suggest, people often under-estimate the discontent of others.

Most of us can expect to encounter the ugly green monster from time to time. And while we may never truly slay the beast, the following tips can help keep it at bay:

1) Acknowledge your jealousy without judgment. Envy is a universal human emotion that is at least as old as the bible itself. The more you can own your feelings, the less likely you’ll act on them.

2) Get in touch with the aspiration and wishes underneath the envy. Are you jealous of your friend’s trip to Tuscany? Ask yourself what steps you might take to make travel plans of your own. It may take time, but setting an intention can point you in a positive direction.

3) Remember that each person has his or her own unique happiness recipe. Some people prefer roller coasters; still others would rather curl up with a book. Being attuned to your own life purpose, needs, and accomplishments helps negate the need for comparisons.

4) Instead of comparing yourself to others, compare yourself to the person you were one year ago, five years ago, or 10 years ago. Are you wiser, happier, more confident or peaceful? If so, take pride in your growth. If not, explore what has thrown you off course, or how you might improve your outlook.

5) An old saying goes, “Who is happy? He who is content with his lot.” Keep a daily gratitude list of the blessings in your life.

6) Volunteer. Helping those who are less fortunate will not only make you feel good, it will also keep things in perspective.

Kim Schneiderman is a psychotherapist and former journalist with a private practice in New York City. This column is not intended to be used as a substitute for a private consultation with a mental health professional, nor is this therapist to be held liable for any actions taken as a result of this column. If you have any concerns related to this column, make an appointment with a licensed mental health professional. Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author.

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Many parents carefully pack protective gear for summer sports, like helmets and kneepads.

But one thing parents might not think of is a vaccination for meningitis — even though it can spread in close quarters like sports teams, through passed water bottles or shared gym mats.

Twelve-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres is on a mission to amp up vaccination awareness, especially among parents of active children.

“It’s easier to contract something like that in shared space,” she explains.

Torres, who has a daughter, 7, and 13-year-old twins, got involved with the Get in the Game prevention campaign after finding out that meningitis can kill a healthy child in as little as 24 hours.

Another scary stat? The symptoms mimic the flu, causing many to assume it is a cold that will pass.

Parents should discuss a vaccination with their healthcare provider, Torres says, an easy option to ensure they avoid the “nasty” disease.

That’s what Baltimore native Rayna Dubose, 29, calls it – a rising basketball star, meningitis stripped her of her lifestyle by causing amputations to both legs and arms at 17.

One day, she was a college freshman who thought she had the flu. The next, she was waking up from a three-week coma in the hospital to distraught family members and news of amputations.

“As soon as my freshman year started, it came to a screeching halt,” she says. “It was devastating.”

Another survivor helping with the Voices of Meningitis awareness group, Jamie Schanbaum, 24, from Austin, wants parents to know that a vaccination could have averted her losing her fingers and legs.

“This could have been prevented,” she says. “No one should have to learn how to walk when you’re 20.”

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @reporteralison

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Despite common complaints that the weather can aggravate fibromyalgia symptoms, a new study finds little consistency in the type of weather conditions linked to worsening of the mysterious pain syndrome.

Furthermore, “the few significant associations that we found (between weather and fibromyalgia symptoms) were very small, too small to affect daily functioning,” said Ercolie Bossema, a researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, in an email to Reuters Health.

Bossema added that weather-related symptoms may exist, but “perhaps these factors differ from person to person.”

Up to 92 percent of fibromyalgia patients report that certain weather conditions can exacerbate their symptoms – particularly, chronic pain and fatigue, Bossema and her colleagues point out in their study, published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood disorder that includes joint pain and tenderness, fatigue and depression and affects an estimated 5.8 million Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There is no known cause of the disorder, and no surefire way to cure it.

Bossema said that studies examining the influence of the weather on symptoms have not shown an obvious pattern.

Her team asked more than 300 women with fibromyalgia to keep a daily record of their symptoms, sleep and activity for four weeks.

The women rated each measure, such as pain or quality of sleep, on a five-point scale, with five representing “very much” and one “not at all.”

The researchers then compared these diaries to each day’s weather conditions, including temperature, sunshine, precipitation, humidity and atmospheric pressure.

Overall, the women reported a pain score of 3.35 and a fatigue score of 3.77, which are considered moderate to high.

Higher pain scores were linked to days with less sunshine or higher humidity, but the effects were very small.

For instance, an extra hour of sunshine on a day was tied to a 0.005 decrease on the five-point pain scale.

And a one percent increase in relative humidity was linked with a 0.004 point increase in pain.

With regard to sun, the findings make sense, said Dr. Stuart Silverman, a physician who specializes in fibromyalgia in Beverly Hills, California.

“Everybody feels a lot better in the sun,” Silverman said.

“When it’s sunny out you go out, and you are tempted to be more active, which reduces your pain too,” he told Reuters Health.

For fatigue, symptoms were slightly worse on warmer days and on days with lower humidity, but these changes, again, were small.

Fatigue increased by 0.01 points for each degree Celsius increase in temperature and it dropped by 0.004 points for each one percent increase in humidity.

“Although some significant associations were found, this study provides more evidence against than in support of a uniform influence of weather conditions on daily pain and fatigue in female patients with fibromyalgia,” the authors write.

As a group, the women in the study did not report a consistent pattern in their symptoms relative to the weather.

For each weather condition, about one third of the women reported an increase in a symptom, one third showed a decrease and another one third reported no change.

Take, for instance, pain and the amount of sunshine on a given day.

About 32 percent of women reported no consistent change in symptoms if there was less or more sunshine.

Another 30.4 percent of women had greater pain on sunnier days and 37.6 percent of women had less pain on sunnier days.

“Our study indicated that an influence of weather on symptoms of fibromyalgia is not very common,” said Bossema.

“However, this does not imply that the symptoms do not exist,” she added.

Some women may very well be influenced by the weather, and it is important that future research identify the potential influences on fibromyalgia symptoms.

Silverman said it’s understandable why the researchers could not find clear patterns of links between weather and fibromyalgia symptoms.

Symptoms “are unpredictable and change day to day. It’s really hard to associate or find any causality, which is one of the problems in this paper,” he said.

Although the disorder is unpredictable, women should not be discouraged from seeking help, Silverman added, noting there are medications useful in managing fibromyalgia.

SOURCE: bit.ly/19uOMd4 Arthritis Care & Research, online June 4, 2013.

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Running is great cardio, but it’s not very well-rounded, warns Laura Denham-Jones, who teaches a runner’s yoga class at Triyoga, a prominent health center in London. “As an exercise that requires you to do a repetitive motion, over and over, some muscles are used more than others. The problem, in the long term, is that if you have some imbalance in the body, like a weak or tight side or a twist in your pelvis, then you’re repeatedly doing that same out-of-sync motion, which will make things worse. Things like your hips and your hamstrings will get tight.”

While it’s not so bad to have some tightness in muscles that are supposed to be strong, you’ll need to balance out all the work they do. Why? To prevent injury, says Denham-Jones: “If things get too tight, and you then try and do something like increase your stride, you risk pulling your hamstrings. And it’s amazing how reluctant runners can be to take time off from their training when they’re hurt.”

Sorry, but yoga won’t make you run faster. (If that’s what you’re after, train harder.) But what it does offer is injury prevention through stretching and strengthening the body. “Recovery is crucial,” she says. “No one should be training hard seven days a week. Yoga, being a practice that helps to decompress the muscles, will draw attention to any quirks in your body. Restoring muscles back to their original length will enable runners to keep their range of motion and strengthen their body.”

Let go of ego

Yoga is about respecting the body: “It creates a body awareness whereby, when you notice when something is painful, instead of pushing through in a macho kind of way, you learn to take things easy so that you can nip injuries in the bud.”

Another benefit is that, as yoga is done barefoot, you can’t rely on shoes to support your ankle: Your muscles are doing all the work, and they’ll inevitably get stronger. You’re also stretching the tendons and increasing suppleness through the foot, says Denham-Jones.

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You don’t have to have a body like Usain Bolt to make it in the golf world, but that doesn’t give you permission to let yourself go. “The execution of the golf swing, there’s a physical component to it as well as a swing component,” says Sean Cochran, Phil Mickelson’s personal trainer. “There are requirements of flexibility, mobility, stability and strength in order to execute the golf swing or improve the golf swing.”

At Friday’s U.S. Open, we caught up with Cochran in the American Express Championship Experience tent, where he gave us the lowdown on how the championship player prepares himself to excel on the course.

The three-pronged approach

No. 1: Assess the situation
“What we do is we look at how is the body operating via the requirements of the swing,” Cochran says. “For example, we know that the hips have to rotate a certain amount, the upper body has to rotate a certain amount; I need a certain level of hamstring flexibility, I need a certain amount of core strength. So we’re gonna take them through a series of assessments, and they have to be within certain parameters in order to execute the swing. If they’re outside the parameters then we’re gonna give them some exercises to get them inside, or what’s required of the golf swing.”

No. 2: Work the hips
“The hips are a ball-and-socket joint, so they should rotate a lot,” he says. “Oftentimes we find the muscles around the hips are tight, so what we do is stretch the muscles around the hip to get more mobility. A kneeling hip flexor stretch would be one example.”

No. 3: Strengthen the core
“When we talk about the core, that’s all the muscles on the front, sides, back of the body — it’s this big area,” Cochran says of the misleading thought that the abs are what make up the core. “We often call that the engine of the golf swing, so we’re gonna give exercises for all [of it].” Cochran says it’s difficult to find one exercise that trains everything at once, so you’ll need to do a few in order to get the whole area strong. “Planks are very common and very fundamental for the front side of the core. We can do what we call a glute bridge, which focuses on the lower back and the glutes: You’re on [your back], knees are bent and your hips are off the ground. And then we can do some rotary work for [obliques]: I can take some tubing and do some tubing rotations, so I’m engaging the core and then I’m engaging it in a rotary pattern, which is very similar what it does in the golf swing.”

How Mickelson has improved

“Ten years ago, what I found is that he was very flexible in the lower body but not so much in the upper body. So we needed to get him more mobile in the upper body, and in addition to that, as we progressed, we’ve gotten him stronger in the core, stronger in the lower body and he’s definitively increased his swing speed.”

How he did it:

Stretching
“It’s very common stretches that a lot of people do. We could do hands on top of the [exercise] ball and stretch the lats. We’ll do a frontal shoulder stretch. We can use the foam roll. And then relative to core strength, we did exercises I just described and then more advanced ones with the exercise ball, like physioball crunches, leg curls on the physioballs, Russian twists. The majority of the speed work we do is more rotary speed work with the medicine ball, like medicine ball throws.”

Paying attention to nutrition
“If you have a race car and you give it bad gas, it’s not gonna run too well. The same can be said for any athlete,” Cochran says. “If they’re not putting good food in their body, the fuel they’re putting in their system is gonna be bad and you’re not gonna perform as well as you potentially could.” Mickelson has a personal chef, but that doesn’t excuse him from watching what he eats: “He is actually very astute in his nutrition now — over the years he’s learned,” Cochran says. “He eats a lot of fish these days, a lot of vegetables, salads, some complex carbs such as yams or things of that nature.”

Drinking (lots of water)
“People don’t realize that for your average tour player, through four rounds of golf, every round is gonna be anywhere from four to six miles of walking. So if you do a Thursday through Sunday event, that’s anywhere from 16-25 miles. That’s a lot of walking in a four-day period.”

Tackling the physical before the mental
Golf is very much a mental game, and Cochran says he leaves that training to other professionals. But he does think that an in-shape body is the first building block. “In order to be mentally focused and execute what you want it to do, you need to have a body that can physically execute what you want to do. Once I have the physical foundation built then I can hand it off to those professionals. There’s a whole plethora of sports psychologists that do that. I stick within what I know.”

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We have all heard of “beauty sleep,” but the impact of sleep quality and quantity goes way beyond our physical appearance. Research has begun to clearly delineate the importance of getting a good nights rest on health, so maybe we should start talking about “healthy sleep.”

A few facts for you from a National Sleep Foundation Poll:

* 1 in 3 American adults report having sleep problems.
* The percentage of young American adults sleeping less than 7 hours has doubled over the last 40 years.
* Cumulative sleep loss over the work week for many adults may account to one full night of sleep loss.

What do these statistics mean to me?
Research has demonstrated that sleep deprivation negatively affects several important hormones that directly regulate our appetite and metabolism. Our bodies are innately programmed to regulate our energy balance, essentially matching the energy we take in with the energy we expend.

The yin and yang of energy balance are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is a protein that is produced mainly by the stomach that stimulates appetite; it is why your stomach growls when you are hungry. On the other hand, leptin is a hormone released by fat cells that signals when you are full (sometimes it’s hard to listen to this one!). Several research studies on sleep deprivation have shown that leptin levels decrease and ghrelin levels increase in response to a lack of sleep, which causes an increase in appetite (specifically for high-calorie and high-salt food) throughout the day. In a review of long-term research studies, short sleep duration is associated with a risk of being overweight or obese in the future.

Lack of sleep has also been shown to increase the release of stress hormones, specifically cortisol, which decreases the body’s sensitivity to insulin (a regulator of blood sugar). An elevation in stress hormone levels may also elevate blood pressure, a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Just as lack of sleep may be risk factors for these conditions, it may also make them more difficult to control so improving sleep may also be a valuable treatment.

Living in the “city that never sleeps” can make it difficult to shut it down at night. The good news is that it will still be there when you wake up! If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, please talk to your doctor to evaluate if there is a possible medical reason.

Good night and sleep tight!

Information provided by Gregory B. Dodell, MD, an Endocrinologist ta St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals.

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This originally appeared on LiveWellNewYork.com

Summer may be drawing to an end, but protecting yourself sun damage is important all year round. Now is the perfect time to brush up on your sun protection knowledge. Before you learn how to protect yourself, you need to know what you’re up against.

How does the sun damage skin?
UV radiation is responsible for skin damage. Short wavelength radiation (UVB rays) and long wavelength radiation (UVA rays) both stimulate the body to produce melanin, giving skin that bronzed glow. The fact is, a suntan is really the body’s attempt to protect itself from further damage. “Remember: There is no such thing as a safe tan,” says Vincent A. DeLeo, MD, Chairman, Department of Dermatology, St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals and Beth Israel Medical Center.

UVA rays penetrate the deeper layers of the skin and damage connective tissue and blood vessels. “UVA and UVB rays damage the DNA of our skin’s cells, leading to premature aging and an increased risk for skin cancer,” Dr. DeLeo says.

The good news is, there are several ways you can protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Dr. DeLeo offers these tips:

1. Avoid peak sun hours.
Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s UV rays are most intense – even when it’s overcast. The sun can be just as damaging, even if you can’t see it through the clouds. “People with a family history of skin cancer or fair skin should take extra precaution since they’re more prone to skin damage,” Dr. DeLeo says.
2. Apply (and reapply) sunscreen.
Applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher will protect against UVA and UVB rays. Apply one to two ounces of sunscreen over your entire body, including areas you might overlook like your ears, nose and neck, at least 30 minutes prior to exposure.
3. Review your medications.
Certain medications and over-the-counter drugs cause skin hypersensitivity to sunlight, including antibiotics; diuretics; certain cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes medications; and immune suppressing medications. Take extra precaution in the sun if you take these.
4. Go faux.
If you can’t give up that bronzed look, get a sunless tan. “Spray tans are wonderful; they make you look tan and they cause no damage like tanning beds do,” Dr. DeLeo says. Bronzers and self-tanners can provide head-to-toe color without harming the skin. Today’s formulas include sprays, lotions, foams and creams, and can be found in your local drug store. Whatever method you choose, stay away from tanning beds – they can triple the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
5. Know the signs of skin cancer.
Examine your skin each month for new skin growths or changes in existing moles, freckles, or bumps. Knowing the ABCDEs of skin cancer will help you recognize the signs and symptoms of the disease in its early stages, when it’s most treatable. Learn how to perform a self-skin exam here. If you notice anything abnormal, call your physician or dermatologist to schedule a thorough screening.

Get more advice on preventing sun damage and skin cancer when you make an appointment with a dermatologist. Find one near you by visiting chpnyc.org or calling 1-855-411-LWNY (5969).

Information provided by Vincent A. DeLeo, MD, Chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Founding Director of the Skin of Color Center

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This article first appeared on www.healthbytesNYC.com

These days it’s hard to remember a time before artificial sweeteners. The little pink, blue and yellow packets of zero-calorie sugar substitutes have made their way into almost every food establishment, including hospitals. These products have all the sweetness of regular sugar without the added calories, making them a great substitute for anyone trying to limit calorie or carbohydrate intake. Diabetics especially use artificial sweeteners to enjoy sweet foods and beverages without adding sugar.

Conflicting Reports
Artificial sweeteners have gotten some bad press over the past few decades, in particular, aspartame, known commercially as Equal. It debuted in the 1960s and was approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981. During the 1980s, reports that aspartame was linked to cancer in rats began to circulate. Now 30 years later, the controversy still continues. In recent news, the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF) in Italy conducted a study to evaluate if feeding mice high levels of aspartame over their lifespan would lead to an increased incidence of cancer. The study did find that in male rats, there was significantly more carcinoma found after death.

The Final Verdict—It’s Fine
The FDA reviewed the European study and published a statement saying it, “does not support ERF’s conclusion that aspartame is a carcinogen.” The FDA concluded that the study did not provide enough evidence that aspartame is unsafe to consume in humans. Likewise, past studies done in humans have not supported similar findings. In addition to the FDA, The American Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics performed its own evaluation of research studies and reported that aspartame was not associated with adverse health effects in the general public. In further support, The National Cancer Institute released a fact sheet in 2009 on aspartame, which states, “There is no clear evidence that the artificial sweeteners available commercially in the United States are associated with cancer risk in humans.”

But, How Much is OK?
Despite rumors, the overwhelming evidence is in support of aspartame. Which leaves the question, how much aspartame is a safe amount? The FDA has determined that a daily consumption of less than 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight is acceptable. A typical 12-ounce diet soda has about 180 mg of aspartame. Bottom line: A person who weighs 160 pounds has to drink more than 20 diet sodas a day to exceed the safe consumption level of aspartame.

Benefits Outweigh Risks
Until the evidence proves otherwise, it’s safe to say that the benefits of a non-calorie sweetener like aspartame outweigh the risks. Decreasing the amount of calories and sugar in the foods and beverages we consume can help promote weight loss. With obesity on the rise in the United States, losing some pounds can make a difference in our daily lives and for disease prevention in the future.

Stephanie Mendez, RD is a clinical dietician at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals in the food and nutrition services department. Information provided by Stefanie Mendez, RD, a Clinical Dietitian at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals.

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Needles aren’t usually people’s favorite part of their doctor visits, but who could resist donating blood if Punky Brewster asked you to? June 14 marks the official 10^th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day and if you never donated before, now is the perfect time to start.

Every year the initiative is used to raise awareness about the need for healthy blood and to thank generous donors for their life-changing gift.

This year is particularly special because Nexcare bandages has partnered with actress and American Red Cross spokesperson Soleil Moon Frye of the sitcom Punky Brewster for the 5^th annual Nexcare “Give” campaign.

As part of this campaign Nexcare give has provided local American Red Cross and America’s Blood Center locations around the country with free limited-edition bandages to distribute to those who donate and support the cause.

Frye spoke about her participation in the campaign in a statement released by the Red Cross.

“I am honored to be involved in the Nexcare give program, and hope to inspire people around the country to donate this World Blood Donor Day and help save lives,” she said.

So go ahead and make the world a little better. Find your local blood donation site here.

The post Celebrate World Blood Donor Day… with Soleil Moon Frye! appeared first on Metro.us.

Forget abandoning carbohydrates or detoxing. The new diet craze sweeping Britain and taking off in the United States lets people eat whatever they like – but only five days a week.

“The Fast Diet”, also known as the 5:2 diet, is the brainchild of TV medical journalist Michael Mosley and journalist Mimi Spencer and allows people to eat what they want for five days but only eat 600 calories a day on the other two.

Their book, “The Fast Diet”, has topped bestselling book lists in Britain and the United States this year and been reprinted more than a dozen times.

Mosley said the diet is based on work by British and U.S. scientists who found intermittent fasting helped people lose more fat, increase insulin sensitivity and cut cholesterol which should mean reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes.

He tried this eating regime for a BBC television science programme called “Eat, Fast, Live Longer” last August after finding out his cholesterol level was too high and his blood sugar in the diabetic range. He was stunned by the results.

“I started doing intermittent fasting a year ago, lost 18 pounds of fat over 3 months and my blood results went back to normal,” Mosley told Reuters.

Mosley said he had been amazed at the way the diet had taken off with a list of websites set up by followers of the 5:2 diet or variations of the eating regime to share their experiences.

Following the success of “The Fast Diet”, Spencer joined forces with dietitian Sarah Schenker to bring out “The Fast Diet Recipe Book” in April which has topped amazon.co.uk’s food and drink list with 150 recipes containing under 300 calories.

Eating a 600 calorie daily diet – about a quarter of a normal healthy adult’s intake – could consist of two eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken and lettuce for lunch, and fish with rice noodles for dinner with nothing to drink but water, black coffee or tea.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Mosley put the diet’s success down to the fact it is psychologically attractive and leads to steady drop in weight with an average weekly loss of 1 pound (0.46kg) for women and slightly more for men.

“The problem with standard diets is that you feel like you are constantly having to exercise restraint and that means you are thinking about food all the time, which becomes self-defeating,” said Mosley.

“On this regime you are only really on a diet two days a week. It is also extremely flexible and simple.”

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) initially expressed doubts about the diet and its long-term effects, saying side effects could include sleeping difficulties, bad breath, irritability, anxiety, and daytime sleepiness.

But as the popularity of the 5:2 diet has grown and become one of the most searched diets on the Internet, the NHS has started to look again at the diet and its effects.

On its website last month the NHS said the British Dietetic Association (BDA) reviewed a 2011 study by researchers at the UK’s University Hospital of South Manchester that suggested intermittent fasting could help lower the risk of certain obesity-related cancers such as breast cancer.

“The increasing popularity of the 5:2 diet should lead to further research of this kind,” the BDA said in a statement.

Schenker, a sports and media dietitian who works with football clubs and food companies, said it was a shame that the NHS had criticized the eating regime that had proved such a success with so many people.

“We are in the midst of an obesity crisis and you need to balance up which is worse – intermittent fasting of staying obese?” Schenker told Reuters.

Despite concerns raised by the NHS, the 5:2 diet has been widely praised by those who follow it.

Deb Thomas, 50, a management coach from London, said she has followed the diet for six months and dropped a couple of dress sizes. This has also inspired her husband to join her in fasting two days a week.

“It is such an easy diet to follow that fits into my way of life,” Thomas said. “You have a tough day of not eating but you know the next day you can eat normally again, and that keeps you going.”

The post New diet craze offers five days of feasting for two days of famine appeared first on Metro.us.

All-nighters and frequent caffeine breaks are a normal part of college students lives. With the production of “energy drinks” like 5-Hour Energy and Monster though, traditional caffeine methods such as coffee and soda have taken the back seat, to the promise of something with a little more kick. However, in a recent study by Centre College in Danville, KY, researchers discovered that energy drinks are no more effective than standard caffeinated drinks.

During the study, researchers led by KatieAnn Skogsberg, assistant professor of psychology and behavioral neuroscience, analyzed participants’ brain activity while they performed a tasks that call for a strong attention span. More specifically, the Centre researchers observed how fast the brain responded to changes in letters appearing on a computer screen.

Before performing the tasks, participants consumed eight ounces of either water, water with caffeine, or water containing the energy drink 5-Hour Energy.

In comparison to the participants who drank plain water, those who drank the caffeinated drinks had faster brain responses. However, no difference in brain activity were shown in those who consumed caffeinated water and those who consumed 5-Hour Energy with the water.

The study also found no difference in participants’ physical reaction times, regardless of whether or not they drank a caffeinated drink.

In an interview with Live Science.com, Centre College student and study researcher Chelsea Benham said, “A lot of people take the energy drinks because they think they have that extra boost over caffeine,” but really “there’s really no difference.”

So, whether your vice is coffee or Red Bull, don’t expect to grow wings any time soon.

The post Energy drinks no more powerful than caffeine, study suggests appeared first on Metro.us.

Now that Belviq, the first long-term weight loss drug in nearly a decade, is available, let’s take a look at some other diet pills that have caused a stir over the years.

The post PHOTOS: Diet pills that have caused controversy appeared first on Metro.us.

Someone in Seattle in selling their used yoga mat, and based on this Craigslist ad, why would you not want it?

Yoga mat for sale. Used once. – $1 (Bellevue)

Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline as follows:

11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.

11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde. We will date.

11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.

11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiancée may take issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.

11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend that I don’t exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware of a sweat moustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from the all the whispering between us.

12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room. She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.

12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye. We will make love after class.

12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other’s body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don’t worry, I’ll mention them later.)

12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.

12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I’m in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, “for better or worse” is what we committed to so we press on.

12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.

12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.

12:52p
It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat. There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or a maybe sea eel. Not even a bear trap could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.

12:55p
This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room. I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?

1:01p
140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, bitch, I need my space here so don’t get all pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously, is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling and she needs to be medicated. Stat!

1:09p
150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and then have it destroyed.
I lose consciousness.

1:15p
I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish bitch. I can’t really breathe. All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much out.

1:17p
I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary? If it’s voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It’s like juice and cracker time, ok?

1:20p
It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel or something?

1:30p
Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously allows us to stay and ‘cool down’ in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.

1:34p
My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level – probably by 15 degrees. So let’s conservatively say it’s 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door. Towards the door.

1:37p
The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will be able to unravel the day’s turmoil and mental scaring.

1:47p
Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories, 0 fat and 14 grams of protein — effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing this memoir.

3:47p
Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before the “shakes” consume my body.

4:29p
Note to self – check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.

The post Who wants this used yoga mat? appeared first on Metro.us.

The outlawing of drugs such as cannabis, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances amounts to scientific censorship and is hampering research into potentially important medicinal uses, leading scientists argued on Wednesday.

Laws and international conventions dating back to the 1960s have set back research in key areas such as consciousness by decades, they argued in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

“The decision to outlaw these drugs was based on their perceived dangers, but in many cases the harms have been overstated,” said David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

In a statement accompanying the Nature Reviews paper, he said the laws amounted “to the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo”.

“The laws have never been updated despite scientific advances and growing evidence that many of these drugs are relatively safe. And there appears to be no way for the international community to make such changes,” he said.

“This hindering of research and therapy is motivated by politics, not science.”

Nutt and Leslie King, both former British government drugs advisers, and co-author David Nichols of the University of North Carolina, called for the use of psychoactive drugs in research to be exempted from severe restrictions.

“If we adopted a more rational approach to drug regulation, it would empower researchers to make advances in the study of consciousness and brain mechanisms of psychosis, and could lead to major treatment innovations in areas such as depression and PTSD,” Nutt said.

Nutt was sacked as a government adviser in 2009 after publicly criticizing the government for ignoring scientific advice on cannabis and ecstasy. He has conducted a small human trial using psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms.

His study, using volunteers, suggested the drug had the potential to alleviate severe forms of depression in people who did not respond to other treatments.

But in April, Nutt said his plans to conduct the first full clinical trial to explore psilocybin as a treatment had stalled because of stringent rules on the use of illegal drugs in research.

The scientists said their call for reform had been endorsed by the British Neuroscience Association and the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

The post Harsh drug laws on cannabis, mushrooms, restricting science appeared first on Metro.us.

Just about every day, our inboxes are flooded with news about the latest way to drop those extra pounds. But are they worth your efforts? We asked nutritionists to tell us about three diets we’ve recently come across.

The alkaline diet

What it is: What it is: Remember the pH scale from chemistry? It tells you how acidic or alkaline different substances are. Proponents of the Alkaline diet say that we should eat to keep our bodies’ pH level more alkaline than not in order to prevent illness and gaining weight. People on it go without grains, fish, meat, poultry, dairy and salt, and load up on fruits, green veggies, soy, lentils, seeds and nuts.

Pro: “Alkaline eating has been researched for over 12 years. Our bodies function best when in an alkaline state: Eating alkaline improves digestion, reduces constipation, improves mood, memory and cognitive function, clears skin problems, reduces inflammation, lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, lowers heart disease, balances blood sugar levels, lowers diabetes incidence, balances hormones and levels out weight. Knowing all this, why would you not eat predominantly alkaline-forming food?” – Vicki Edgson, nutritional therapist and author of “Eating the Alkaline Way

Con: “I’m promoting the healthiest, most real foods, so if you’re eating that way, chances are the acidity of your body will fall into the right place. People are already confused enough about carbs, fats and protein that to start to get into talking about pH levels [is too much].” Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN author of “The New You and Improved Diet”

The 5:2 Bikini Diet

What it is: Get the swimsuit body of your dreams by cutting calories two days a week (women eat 500 calories per day, men eat 600)

Pro: “By eating only 500 calories two days a week you will not only get bikini-ready in no time and lose up to 14 pounds in four weeks, but you’ll also dramatically lower the risk of age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and heart disease.”—Jacqueline Whitehart, author of “The 5:2 Bikini Diet”

Con: “The first red flag whenever you hear about any fad diet is if it purports a quick fix. There’s no way you can safely lose a tremendous amount of weight in a short amount of time.” – Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN, a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University.

The blood type diet

What it is: Your blood type is thought to have an impact on your digestive system — some fare better on plant-based diets, for example. Type As are tasked to go mostly vegetarian, allowing fish and poultry in small doses. Type Bs are supposed to load up on meat, dairy and produce. Type ABs—the newest and rarest blood type — should stay away from chicken and go easy on red meat and carbs, instead enjoying more dairy, seafood and veggies. And Type Os are encouraged to follow a high-protein/low-carb diet.

Pro: “Demi Moore, Courteney Cox, Tommy Hilfiger — there’s so many people who follow a blood type diet. If God forbid you go to the hospital and you get the wrong blood type, you’re gonna have a major problem. On that level, [though] less intense, if you don’t eat the correct foods, nor exercise the correct way, you’re not gonna yield as good results, so that’s really where the science is. Why would you consume food and do a workout that wasn’t unique [to you]? When you customize something you usually yield better results.”
-JB Berns, creator of the Blood Type Workout

Con: “There’s absolutely no science or research that your blood type has anything to do with your diet or losing weight,” Blake says. Adds Keri Gans, MS, RDN, CDN, author of “The Small Change Diet,” “Overall the foods suggested are healthy; however, it forces individuals into dietary restrictions without taking into consideration an individual’s personal needs, lifestyle or food tastes. Any diet that promotes restricting food groups will be hard to sustain in the long run.”

The only weight loss advice you’ll ever need

“When you need to lose weight, it’s a matter of cutting back on calories, expending more than you take in and going at a slow and steady pace,” Blake says. “If you need to lose weight, set your goal for losing for 10 percent of your body weight over six months. It takes into [account] where you’re starting at; somebody losing 100 pounds is gonna be able to do it a little faster.”

The post The skinny on three fad diets appeared first on Metro.us.

Belviq is now available.
Credit: www.myhealthnewsdaily.com

Although short-term weight loss options – diet pills and lap band surgeries among them – seem abundant, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved long-term weight loss drug in nearly a decade is now available for U.S. patients.

Belviq was approved by the FDA last June and is marketed toward obese or overweight adults with at least one serious medical condition. In clinical tests, Belviq underwhelmed, with patients seeing minimal results. More concerning is the resounding opinions of doctors who question if the health risks outweigh the benefits of the drug.

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  PHOTOS: Diet pills that have caused controversy

We asked Dr. Joseph Colella, a robotic and bariatric surgeon specializing in weight loss and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, about the risks involved with Belqiv and other weight-loss supplements.

What specific risks associated with Belviq are troubling to you?

For Belviq, the risks include depression, migraine headaches and memory difficulties. In total, the incidence of side effects may be as high as 30 percent. That’s awfully high given the very modest weight loss of 3-5 percent of total body weight that was achieved in early studies of Belviq. The pill also comes with a warning to stop the drug after three months if 5 percent weight loss is not achieved.

Belviq claims to have “mood-enhancing side effects” through the use of the ingredient lorcaserin hydrochloride. Can you explain exactly what effect it has on the body regarding weight loss?

The supposed mood enhancement touted here is as much a marketing ploy as anything and is absolutely not a reason to use this drug. As a matter of fact, certain antidepressant drugs that work in a similar fashion as Belviq actually can increase your appetite and cause weight gain. The point here is that this is very complicated chemistry and the serotonin receptors and concentrations in the central nervous system are not as well understood as we might like to think. If the appetite suppressant activity of Belviq was so fantastic, why are the weight loss results so poor? Something is still missing.

If consumers are going to use diet pills, where do you recommend they look for reliable information?

The best sources for information on diet pills are unbiased sources, but these are difficult to find. I recommend getting at least two opinions from trusted physicians and reading as much information as possible before proceeding.

Why have we yet to see a revolutionary diet pill or drug? Will we ever see one?

We will never see a diet pill that is ultimately effective until we extricate ourselves from our sugar and saturated fat addiction. These items taste too good and for most are irresistible even when appetite is suppressed. They make you sick and overweight at the same time.

The post Controversial weight loss drug Belviq causes concern appeared first on Metro.us.

The question:
Why does this rash itch so much and what can I do about it?

Summer is a season of itching. Poison plants, allergies, sunburn, insect bites, scabies and mysterious rashes are all potential sources of pruritus, the medical term for the sensation of an itch that needs scratching.

The skin releases inflammatory chemicals, including histamine, in response to contact or exposure to substances that cause allergic reactions or injury to the skin. This stimulates the dilation of blood vessels and resulting localized redness and swelling associated with rashes and itching. People who have baseline high circulating levels of histamine often get rashes merely from scratching their skin or being exposed to heat.

The general symptomatic treatment for all itching includes over-the-counter antihistamines (like Benadryl), topical creams containing hydrocortisone and avoiding exposure to heat. Prescription steroids may be administered by your physician for worsening or severe allergic reactions. Hot showers will make itching worse if you are already feeling prickly.

Some of the most common summertime causes of itching for which there are specific remedies include:

Poison plants
Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are found locally in parks, wooded areas and backyards. When the skin comes in contact with resin from the leaves of these plants, collectively called toxicodendrons, the skin erupts in a red-based rash of small blister-like bumps that are very itchy. Prevention is the best medicine, so if you are going to be outdoors gardening, hiking, or camping, take care to identify these plants beforehand, and wear clothing that keeps your arms and legs covered. Wear gloves if you are pulling out weeds. If you become exposed, wash all skin surfaces and under your fingernails thoroughly with soap and water, as the toxin is not contagious, but may spread between body parts. Treatment involves washing, antihistamines and possibly steroid creams or oral systemic steroid pills prescribed by your doctor. Also, make sure to wash your pets, clothing and shoes, as you can be re-exposed after you leave the great outdoors.

Insect bites
Mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers, bedbugs, lice and scabies are common itchy nuisances. The general treatment of the itching itself is largely the same — antihistamines, and topical hydrocortisone cream. If there is any doubt about the source of the itching, or if after treatment of the symptoms things get worse, visit to your primary care doctor or dermatologist. He or she can best identify a potentially contagious parasite (scabies or lice), bedbugs or an infected bite that requires a prescription for antibiotics.

Ticks
Ticks are the vectors for transmission of a number of infectious illnesses, including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Erlichiosis, to name a few. A small itch on your leg or neck after being outdoors in a suburban backyard or golf course may reveal a tick embedded in your skin. If the tick doesn’t come off easily when grasped with a tweezers, cover it with Vaseline and try again in an hour. This smothers the tick and may release its grip. If this doesn’t work see a health care professional, as identification of the tick, as well as preventive treatment for Lyme Disease, may be indicated.

The post Help for common summertime itching appeared first on Metro.us.

The Obama administration indicated Monday that it would end its legal battle to block the “morning-after” pill from being available over the counter without age restrictions.

Just weeks after vowing to fight District Judge Edward Korman’s April ruling to eliminate previous age restrictions, the Justice Department told a court of plans to drop its appeal if the court approves its plan for compliance.

When finalized, the move would end a long-running dispute over emergency contraception dating back to the early years of George W. Bush’s presidency — a legal fight that forced the Obama administration to take a position on the availability of the controversial product in late 2011, just as the 2012 election fight was heating up — and make “Plan B” pills readily available on the shelves of drug stores nationwide.

It would also reverse the Obama administration’s longstanding insistence that access be limited to those age 17 or older — a controversial decision initially made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and supported by the president.

The position, which bucked the FDA’s recommendation that the pills be available to people of all ages, drew public outcry from Democrats, abortion rights advocates and medical groups such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The administration’s new plan for compliance includes asking both Plan B manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals and the maker of a generic version of the pills to submit new drug-label applications to allow the products to be sold without age restrictions.

Once those applications are received, the Justice Department said, it’s expected that the Food and Drug Administration will approve them “without delay.”

The administration had previously signaled that it would challenge Korman’s April ruling ordering the elimination of all age restrictions for purchase of the morning-after pill within 30 days. The FDA responded by easing its restrictions to age 15 and up — but that did not satisfy Korman, of the Eastern District of New York, who said last week that he would order the immediate unrestricted sale of a two-pill version of emergency contraception.

In rejecting the administration’s requests, Korman said the government’s push to maintain age restrictions was ‘‘politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent.’’

Advocates of Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception argue that they’re safe for women of any age, and should be available to all.

Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, praised the administration’s decision to back away from its challenge as “a huge breakthrough for access to birth control and a historic moment for women’s health and equity.”

“The FDA’s decision will make emergency contraception available on store shelves, just like condoms, and women of all ages will be able to get it quickly in order to prevent unintended pregnancy,” Richards added. “We encourage manufacturers of emergency contraception to request new labeling quickly and for the FDA to approve all such applications immediately to finally make this birth control option available without restrictions.”

Nancy Northrup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said her group was “pleased” with the administration’s move, which should make it possible for women to buy morning-after pills “without the arbitrary restrictions that kept it locked behind the pharmacy counter when they needed it most urgently.”

Opponents say the pills should not be sold on drug store shelves as freely as aspirin. Monday night, they slammed the administration’s reversal as politically-motivated.

“Our concern is that the government is not putting the health and safety of girls before political pressure,” said Anna Higgins, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity.
“Because [girls] can access this on their own if they’re in trouble or they’re at risk for some kind of sexually transmitted infection, they’re going to be bypassing essential screenings at doctors’ offices because they don’t have to go anymore…” said Higgins. “They’re also going to be avoiding getting guidance from parents on these very important issues because they don’t require parental consent.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, called the decision a “post-election reality check.”

“This is a dangerous about-face for the Obama administration which previously seemed to agree that requiring a doctor’s prescription for potentially dangerous drugs was simply common sense,” she said in an email. “This decision endangers young girls by removing the protection that comes along with doctors and parents. Only abortion extremists rejoice at this news which has nothing to do with the health of children.”

Kathryn Smith contributed to this report.

The post U.S. to allow Plan B morning-after-pill access for all ages appeared first on Metro.us.

Giving medicine can be a stressful for both parent and child. Reducing anxiety and minimizing stress during medicine time, however, promotes quicker healing and overall wellness. The first interaction with a new medication will set the tone for future interactions.

Before filling your child’s prescription always ask your healthcare provider if the medication has a bad taste. If your child has a previous history of resisting medication, ask if there is a better tasting alternative. Even if there isn’t, you can make the medicine go down easier with these age-specific tips:

For infants:
Don’t mix medicine in the bottle with formula or breast milk.
Use the empty nipple technique:
- Remove the nipple from a baby bottle
- Place the empty nipple in the baby’s mouth.
- Slowly squirt the medication into the empty nipple. The baby will suck the nipple as usual.
- Remove the nipple immediately after the medication is emptied to prevent gassiness.

For infants and toddlers:
Use the oral syringe technique (purchase or request one from your pharmacist):
- Draw up the medication dose from the bottle as ordered by your physician.
- Place oral syringe in the baby’s mouth.
- Slowly squirt the medicine into the baby’s cheek.
- Give the baby breaks so that each medicine squirt can be swallowed.
- If the baby resists the oral syringe after each swallow, purse baby’s lips together and make “fish lips” to allow for easy reentry of the oral syringe.

For school-age children:
Ask your pharmacist to add an over-the-counter medication flavoring such as FLAVoRx® or FLAVORiT®.
Give your child a favorite ice pop prior to the medicine to numb the tongue and minimize the medicine’s taste.
Mix medicine with one tablespoon of peanut butter (check allergies first) to minimize the medicine’s taste.
Use the oral syringe technique (see above in infants/toddlers) and quickly blow on the child’s face after each squirt. The rushes of air from the blowing will involuntarily compel the child to swallow before spitting out the medicine.
Don’t ever force feed medicine.
Don’t hide medicine in food or drinks without telling your child.
Don’t punish children if they resist. Remind your child that medicine will make him or her healthier and stronger.

This article originally appeared on www.HealthBytesNYC.com. The author, Andrea L. Hughie, RN, MSN, is a Nurse Manager in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Roosevelt Hospital. View more posts by Andrea.

The post How to ‘Make the Medicine Go Down’: Giving Your Child Medication appeared first on Metro.us.

When first seeing a specialist for a new medical problem, many patients simply show up at the appointed time and place, trying to suppress their fears and anxiety, and too passively go through the process of history, physical examination and discussion.

When you have a new doctor, taking a more active role will lead to a better and more productive appointment. Here are some tips to help you do just that:

1. Bring copies of your relevant records. You are the one who can best maintain an accurate and chronological sequence of records of your allergies, previous illnesses and operations, and previous hospital admissions.

2. Bring a full list of your current medications. It will also help if you know of medications you have been on in the recent past and why they were stopped.

3. Plan to have someone come to the appointment with you. Studies have shown that anybody under stress in a doctor’s office will struggle to hear, and interpret, everything that’s said. A companion can serve not just as a driver or cheerleader, but also as another set of eyes and ears.

4. Do your homework. Think about why you’re going for this consultation. What do you hope to learn? Prepare a list of questions and write them down. Remember, no question is unreasonable if it’s something that matters to you.

5. Do online research beforehand—it can help shape your list of questions. Keep in mind, however, that there is a lot of confusing and anecdotal material on the Internet, so it is best to consult websites with established standards, such as the NIH, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, major specialty societies, and prominent academic medical centers. Wikipedia also is a useful, quick reference tool.

6. Beware of well-meaning advice. It’s common when faced with a worrying medical problem to receive unsolicited and well-intended advice from family, friends and coworkers, many of whom seem to know someone with exactly the same rare condition you might have. While they wish to provide you with comfort and encouragement, “hearsay” evidence is generally unreliable.

7. Know where you’re going and how long it will take. Be on time—not stressed about being late or in the wrong place. Smartphone apps and GPS can help, but a phone call establishing exactly where you need to be might save you a lot of anxiety. Also ask how long the appointment is likely to take so you can plan accordingly.

8. Bring something distracting. Unfortunately, many consultations don’t begin on time, or you might be sent for additional tests. Reading material, a smartphone or laptop, games or knitting can help pass the time.

9. Bring a pen and paper. Your list of questions may grow while you are waiting, and you or your companion might want to take notes during the appointment.

10. Answer questions honestly and fully. Even when the questions seem repetitious or intrusive, sharing your health information will help the doctor help you.

11. Know what the “take-away” message is. It’s useful after a consultation to focus on the most important details, and this can be easily achieved if you summarize your understanding of what has been said and is planned while your doctor is still in the room. Alternatively, you can ask your doctor to summarize for you.

12. Request special accommodations if needed. Medical translators and telephonic services are readily available; let the receptionist know of your need when you make an appointment. Language should never be a barrier to full understanding and free questioning.

13. Don’t leave the doctor’s office until you know the plan: Do you have prescriptions? How about appointments for tests, or do you need to schedule these yourself? Is the specialist going to talk to your primary doctor or send a report? You should ask for your own copy of important test results and reports.

14. Lastly, know how to contact the doctor. Be sure to ask the specialist how he or she wants to be contacted if you have any follow-up questions.
To find an excellent doctor who is right for you, please call our Physician Referral Service at 866.804.1007.

This article originally appeared on www.HealthBytesNYC.com. The author, Darryl Hoffman, is an attending cardiac surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center. View more posts by Dr. Hoffman.

The post Have a new doctor? Take an active role during your appointment appeared first on Metro.us.

Could acid reflux be the cause of my shortness of breath?
Yes. The cause of shortness of breath, recurring bronchial infections and chronic asthma in most patients is acid reflux. In fact, 85 percent of all patients diagnosed with asthma have acid reflux as an underlying cause.

But I don’t have heartburn — isn’t that a symptom of acid reflux?
If all patients with acid reflux presented with heartburn and indigestion, the diagnosis would be easy. As a result, patients would take over-the-counter reflux medication for their uncomfortable, “classic” reflux symptoms. But, what happens when you don’t experience these “classic” symptoms? What if you feel short of breath or keep getting bouts of bronchitis? Naturally, you would go to the doctor, possibly have a breathing test and find that your breathing is not good.

Why doesn’t my allergy medicine help?
Often these patients are diagnosed with allergies or asthma, but their allergy medications and inhalers are not working. They are frequently given recurring courses of antibiotics for bronchial infections. In most cases the diagnosis is not correct and the underlying cause — acid reflux — of all of the symptoms is missed.

How can I tell if acid reflux is the cause?
Inspiratory breathing (in-breath) problems are caused by acid reflux; expiratory breathing (out-breath) problems are symptoms of asthma. Ask yourself: “Do I have more trouble breathing in or breathing out?” When breathing problems are recurring for you and you are frustrated with the symptom management, ask your otolaryngologist (ENT) if you have “silent” reflux.

How can I manage my symptoms?
Conservative management, including avoiding eating three hours prior to bedtime, elevating the head of the bed and reducing highly acidic foods can be very helpful. Some patients require reflux medication. The proper diagnosis and treatment can be life-changing for many people.

To find an excellent doctor who is right for you, please call our Physician Referral Service at 866-804-1007.

This article originally appeared on www.HealthBytesNYC.com. Stacey Silvers is an otalaryngologist (ENT) at Beth Israel Medical Center. View more posts by Dr. Silvers.

The post Can acid reflux cause shortness of breath? appeared first on Metro.us.

Young people may take longer to recover after their second or third concussion, a new study suggests.

Researchers typically believe the average athlete needs up to two weeks to stop having symptoms — such as headaches and memory problems — after a concussion.

But in the new study, children and young adults who had just suffered their second concussion in the last year took an average of 35 days to get back to normal.

“We have to be cautious in terms of after two weeks, if you still have symptomatic athletes, that you’re not trying to hurry them back,” said Dr. Paul Comper, a concussion researcher from the University of Toronto.

“The most important piece of information that comes out of this study is, if you’ve had prior concussions, the 10- to 14-day (recovery) thing may be completely out the window,” Comper, who wasn’t involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.

“For you, it might be a month.”

He said the findings aren’t totally surprising — it’s clear that multiple head injuries are a bad thing — but they give doctors more information to pass on to their young patients after a concussion.

Studies have been piling up showing the potential harms of concussions among kids.

And the apparent suicides of Junior Seau and other professional football and hockey players, some of whose brains showed damage from multiple head injuries, have raised concerns about depression tied to repeat concussions.

The new study included 280 youth, age 11 to 22, who came to the emergency room within a few days of having a concussion. About two-thirds of them were injured playing sports, most commonly hockey, soccer, football and basketball.

After going home, kids filled out up to six questionnaires about their symptoms over the next 12 weeks, and reported the last day they had any concussion-related problems.

Of the 235 kids who completed the study, 68 had a history of concussion.

On average, participants who had never had a concussion before took 12 days to recover from their head injury. That compared to 24 days among those with at least one past concussion, and 35 days if that prior concussion had been within the last year, the study team reported Monday in Pediatrics.

That finding, the lead author said, gives parents and doctors “even more reason for caution” when deciding how long a child should be kept out of sports or school after a head injury.

“Even after symptoms have improved and even after these neuropsychological tests have returned to normal, there’s still a vulnerability that can lead to a much more severe second concussion,” Dr. Matthew Eisenberg, from Boston Children’s Hospital, told Reuters Health.

The researchers said one limitation to their study was that they relied on kids to report when their symptoms were gone – and some may have had incentives to say they were better to return to sports, or to say they weren’t to stay home from school.

Eisenberg said the next goal is to look for something on a blood test, urine test or brain scan that will tell doctors when a child is truly back to normal.

There’s also a need for follow-up research on kids with concussions, he said, because what parents want to know most is whether their child will have any lingering issues years down the line.

“The big question that still needs to be answered is, what are the long-term effects of these concussions?”

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Downward Dog Days of Summer: Free Outdoor Yoga Classes at Exhale

Exhale Mind Body Spa is hosting a donation-based yoga class each month, with proceeds benefitting the Meatpacking District Improvement Association. These outdoor yoga classes are held on the cobblestone streets of Gansevoort Plaza between Hudson and Ninth avenues. Class times range from 7:15 a.m.-6:45 p.m. Mark your calendar for June 19, July 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 19.

18 Ninth Ave., 212-660-6733, www.exhalespa.com

Shaolin Five Animal Kung Fu in Riverside Park

Shaolin Five Animal Kung Fu is promoting self-defense as a fun and stress-reducing fitness activity with free weekly kung fu classes in Riverside Park. Every Saturday from 1 p.m.-3 p.m., instructor Sifu Adam Chertoff, who has more than 30 years of kung fu experience, integrates modern approaches with traditional forms of the martial arts. The program runs through Oct. 26, weather permitting.

Riverside Park (meet at the 108th Street entrance at 12:45 p.m.), 212-942-8909, www.shaolinfiveanimals.org

Summer of Fitness Exercise Series in Hudson River Park

Whether you’re into Pilates, yoga or you need a more intense boot-camp workout, Hudson River Park has a diverse lineup of free summer exercise programs. Activewear brand Lole and fitness concierge Fitist sponsor classes held at Pier 25 (North Moore Street and the West Side Highway) on Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., through Aug. 20. On Wednesdays at Pier 64 (23rd Street and the Hudson River), Shape Up NYC offers Nia classes, a fusion of marital arts, dance and yoga, and on Thursdays at Pier 46 (Christopher Street and the Hudson River), they do Pilates. Classes take place from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. and run through Aug. 22.

www.hudsonriverpark.org

Outdoor Rise NYC

From June 17-23, Outdoor Rise, NYC’s first outdoor adventure festival, is providing more than 60 free events in all five boroughs. You’ll enjoy events like rock climbing, yoga, biking and more. All events are free.

 www.outdoorrise.com

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As an avid yogi, Jenny is known for her love of the practice — but I was a bit confused by her strong desire to be in a headstand. While upside down, Jenny explained that doing headstands helped her turn her mood around. Whenever she felt stagnant or blocked, doing some kind of inversion greatly supported her transition into a higher state of consciousness.

So rather than watch her while she revitalized her energy, I decided to join in. I went into a headstand against the wall for support. Within a minute I felt an energy rush. All my stagnant energy seemed to be literally turned upside down, and I started to feel more alive.

As time went on, I made inversions a daily routine. In addition to the supported headstand, I turned to the plow pose. Both of these inversions are pretty easy to move into whenever you need a boost. I find plow pose a lot easier for people who are new to yoga; you can do this pose on your bedroom floor, outside on the grass, or anywhere there is a soft surface.

Practice an inversion for one minute or more and you will feel the benefits. This simple practice can turn your bad mood, stress or foggy mind upside down and recharge your energy. Inversions increase blood flow and improve concentration, memory and awareness.

Inversions also improve digestion and elimination: Many yogis suggest inversions to overcome constipation. Another health benefit of inversions is that they promote lymphatic drainage and blood purification. The lymphatic system clears toxins from the issues and supports your overall immunity. The reason you feel so rejuvenated after an inversion is because the pose is detoxifying.

Most importantly, inversions will lift your spirit and relieve depression. When you increase your circulation and send oxygen to the brain, you release neurotransmitters and endorphins while balancing your hormones.

Turn your blocks upside down with an inversion for one minute (or more) a day.

Plow pose
If you have back, neck or any structural problems, please skip this exercise.

Credit: Wikipedia.com

Move into a shoulder stand: Lie on your back, and press your legs straight up overhead. Exhale and bend from the hip joints to slowly lower your toes to the floor behind your head. Keep your torso perpendicular to the floor and your legs fully extended. Lightly drop your toes to the floor and lift your thighs and tailbone toward the ceiling. Draw your chin away from the sternum and soften your throat.

To enhance the posture, you can press your hands against the back torso and press your back up toward the ceiling. You can use your hands for support or you can release them away from your back and stretch the arms out behind you on the floor.

To exit the pose, drop your hands onto your back again and raise your legs into a shoulder stand and exhale your way down to the ground.

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Nevada has joined Vermont, California and Oregon by passing legislation that prohibits minors under the age of 18 from indoor tanning.

Gov. Brian Sandoval signed the bill into law just days after it passed in the Nevada Assembly, and merely weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed stricter regulations on indoor tanning beds. The Nevada ban will go into effect on July 1, 2013.

“The American Academy of Dermatology Association commends Nevada for being a leader in the fight against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and non-melanoma skin cancers,” said board-certified dermatologist Dirk M. Elston, MD, FAAD, president of the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA). “The science is clear. The risk for developing melanoma increases by 75 percent in individuals who have been exposed to UV radiation from indoor tanning devices, and the risks increase with each subsequent use. Since 2.3 million teens tan indoors in the United States annually, restricting teens’ access to indoor tanning is critical to preventing skin cancer.”

More than 3.5 million skin cancers in more than 2 million people are diagnosed annually. It is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime and 440 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in Nevada in 2013. According to the National Cancer Institute, the estimated total direct cost associated with the treatment of melanoma in 2010 was $2.36 billion in the United States.

This bill was sponsored by Nevada Sen. Joyce Woodhouse and supported by the American Academy of Dermatology Association, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, AIM at Melanoma, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Dermatology Nurses Association and the Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants.

Legislation prohibiting minors under the age of 18 is being considered by the governors of Illinois and Texas. In Connecticut, the governor will consider an under-17 indoor tanning ban. The AADA will continue to work with state legislatures and the FDA to strengthen regulations on indoor tanning devices and prohibit minors under the age of 18 from using these devices.

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Michael Bloomberg tried taking away our supersized drinks. Now, nutrition labels are threatening to deny us our guilt-free margaritas.

Wine, beer and spirits manufactures may soon have to add labels on their bottles and cans disclosing calorie content. For the time being, the labeling remains optional.

From ABC News: “The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which is part of the Treasury Department, proposed a labeling rule in 2007 that would require alcoholic beverage manufacturers to include calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein content on their labels, but it has yet to make a decision on whether to implement the rule. It announced last week that manufacturers could add this information if they wanted to.”

According to ABC, Sara Bleich, a health policy professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, low-calorie beer companies are hoping that labels will attract people trying to lose weight and therefore increase sales. She also said that middle-income white women are those that will most likely pay attention to the labels.

“What’s interesting to me is that the reason why beverage companies want it and consumers want it is totally different,” she said. “It’s an example of two groups having different goals while having a sweet spot that seems to work for both.”

Looks like we can kiss goodbye the days of drinking several glasses of pinot grigio while blissfully ignorant of how many calories we were imbibing.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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Creepy, desperate stranger isn’t a good look. Whether you are interested in meeting friends or flirting your way to a good relationship, it can be difficult to forge connections with interesting people. Think of it this way: If an unknown person came to your front door and started a conversation with you, you’d wonder, “What do they want? Why are they talking to me?”

It’s the same when picking up a stranger. Barging in with little purpose — other than getting into their underwear — can feel awkward or make you look like a jerk. You can do better than that. The propagation of the human race depends on it. Here’s how to rope someone into a conversation, friendship or your bed.

DON’T do it by yourself.

Invite the hot stranger and their partner (or friends!) to join you and your partner (or friends!) for drinks, a comedy show or dinner. Triads and quads keep things light and provide a higher number of possible conversation combinations and permutations. It’s the platonic version of threesomes and swinging.

At the same time, DON’T be afraid to be alone.

It’s OK to fly solo at public lectures, gyms, art gallery openings, author readings at your favorite bookstore and city-sponsored cultural events. Going solo means you’ll grow more comfortable with independence — a necessity for all healthy interpersonal relationships. You’ll also meet other singles with shared interests.

DO put your typing fingers to work to get creative in breaking the ice.

Dating sites aren’t only the tip of the iceberg — they’re also melting. Seriously, who doesn’t have an Internet dating horror story?! Try MeetUp.com or DiscoverOutdoors.com. Google local film societies and social sports clubs. Make the earth below you your common ground; a hiking trip, movie or soccer game provides great conversation fodder. Remember: It’s easiest to connect when you have a connector. For example, instead of rushing out when credits roll, casually mention to the person seated near you, “God, wasn’t the end of that film awful?! I love this director’s work, and she’s usually much better with closing films.”

DO your research.

You may already have potential targets among friends of friends. Ask around. Chances are that those you love and respect are in touch with like-minded souls. Tell everyone you want to meet someone new and suggest they recommend others who might be good matches for you. Have the friend introduce you or make direct contact.

OUTDOOR DATES CONTEST
Discover Outdoors is inviting you to make it easier to get outside with the one you love (or maybe just like a little bit). Send the story of the time you had the most fun on a date outdoors and compete for a $150 gift certificate that can be applied to any trips offered by Discover Outdoors. Send your story to contest@discoveroutdoors.com. For more details on destinations and activities, visit www.discoveroutdoors.com.

Twanna A. Hines is an award­-winning educator and sex columnist. Follow her on Twitter @funkybrownchick.

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The power of the paste courses through my veins as I drink. I can feel my vision sharpening, my mind racing and renewed physical strength. This glass of sand-colored sludge holds the power of transformation.

That’s the theory behind an innovation from biohacker Rob Rhinehart called Soylent – the name comes from a 1970s science fiction movie in which the title substance is made from humans. Rhinehart’s Soylent is less sinister, combining every nutrient the human body needs each day, according to the Food & Drug Administration, in a single dose of supercharged paste.

The recipe is publicly available and has rapidly secured $500,000 in crowdfunding for mass production, so it’s time for me to play guinea pig. I hunt the health food and fitness stores of central London for the pills, powders and grains that make up a daily intake, while shopkeepers eye me with suspicion.

At Metro HQ I blend precise measurements of each ingredient together, to the disgust of my colleagues. The resulting paste barely escapes the glass as it is so thick, and when it does I regret it: the taste a sickly clash of salty, sweet and alien. But suddenly the vitamins and minerals kick in, and I can understand Rhinehart’s plan a little better.

“I’m not sick of it,” the creator promises. “This is about utility that you can live on. Most people don’t need gourmet meals all the time; most of the time it’s taking care of need.”

The San Francisco-based entrepreneur, 25, put himself through a three-month trial subsisting only on Soylent, adjusting the recipe as he went. Not only did Rhinehart survive, he is “measurably healthier. I can run farther; I’m not stressed. My favorite part is cognition: I feel sharper and have more mental energy.”

There is no external measure to prove this, but the social and environmental benefits are convincing. No food waste or litter. No need for a refrigerator or farm animals, and it could be a lifesaver in food-insecure areas. “I’m optimistic that new forms of food can make a big difference in a lot of people’s lives,” says Rhinehart.

Neither is he attacking food as pleasure. “I really enjoy it for the taste now and don’t have to worry about nutrition.”

His experiments have been criticized by dietary experts, with many refusing to even discuss Soylent. “You can’t replace food because the elements work together,” New York-based dietician Laura Cipullo tells Metro. “The health benefits of carotene didn’t work outside of a carrot.”

Cipullo adds that humans benefit from variety of diet, and would likely gain weight from supplementing the high-calorie paste with extra treats. Further, daily requirements drastically vary, and mismanaged doses of vitamins could prove toxic.

Rhinehart is not worried. “I’ve poisoned myself before and I would do it again. I am fully committed.” His empire is set to expand with overseas imports, new staff members and recipe innovations.

I’m just happy my experiment ends tomorrow.

What is Soylent?
Here are the ingredients of Rhinehart’s product, but be warned that overdosing even on beneficial ingredients can be dangerous.

Carbohydrates (200 grams)
Protein (50 grams)
Fat (65 grams)
Sodium (2.4 grams)
Potassium (3.5 grams)
Chloride (3.4 grams)
Fiber (5 grams)
Calcium (1 grams)
Phosphorus (1 grams)
Iron (18mg)
Iodine (150ug)
Magnesium (400mg)
Zinc (15mg)
Selenium (70 ug)
Copper (2mg)
Manganese (2mg)
Chromium (120 ug)
Molybdenum (75 ug)
Vitamins: A (5,000 IU) B6 (2mg) B12 (6 ug) C (60mg) D (400 IU) E (30 IU) K (80 ug) Thiamin (1.5mg) Riboflavin (1.7mg) Niacin (20mg) Biotin (300 ug)
Pantothenic Acid (10mg)
Ginseng
Ginkgo Biloba

The post The Soylent challenge: ‘Post-food’ substance could transform your health, environment appeared first on Metro.us.

Vegetarian diets linked to reduced death rates
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: More than 70,000 men and women
Results: In a study from Loma Linda University published online by JAMA Internal Medicine, vegetarian diets were associated with study subjects who lived longer.
Significance: Vegetarian diets have in the past been associated with a reduction in chronic illnesses like hypertension and metabolic syndrome.

Body may have natural STD defense
Location of study: New Zealand
Study subjects: Lab study
Results: According to a study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, women have a natural bacterium that fights against one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the world, trichomonas vaginalis. This parasite can cause trichomoniasis, a painful infection with itching and a discharge. The study, by researchers from the University of Auckland, looked into the role of lactobacilli in preventing the infection from binding to vaginal cells and causing full infection.
Significance: Reportedly, trichomonas vaginalis infects about 174 million people around the world annually.

Asthma’s effects on pregnancy
Location of study: Australia
Study subjects: Data
Results: New data published in the journal Respirology states that women with asthma are likely to experience more asthma severe symptoms if they become pregnant. Researchers looked at reduced immune and enhanced inflammatory responses to viral infections in asthmatic pregnant women, which continued six months after they gave birth. They found that cells were less able to initiate an immune response to combat the virus.
Significance: A healthy immune response is especially crucial during pregnancy. The indication of this study is that both mother and child are at greater risk of health problems when the mother has asthma.

Post-heart attack health risk
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: Data
Results: Columbia University Medical Center researchers found that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder following a heart attack are at higher risk of further cardiac arrest or death if they suffer from sleep problems. PTSD is a common condition following a heart attack — 1 in 8 survivors have it.
Significance: Heart attack survivors who suffer from PTSD may have double the risk of another cardiac episode, or of dying within one to three years, compared with those without PTSD. Sleep deprivation heightens the risk.

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As a registered dietitian, one of the most popular questions I get asked is, “Is organic food better for me?” My usual response is that the way to better health is to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, organic or not.

No significant difference in nutrition

A new review of the published literature sheds some light on this very question. The authors found that for produce — fruits, vegetables and grains — there was no significant difference in vitamin levels of organic items compared to conventionally grown items. However, researchers also found detectable pesticide residues were significantly less likely to be found on organic produce.

What do these results mean for the average consumer? The question of whether organic food is better for you is usually coupled with cost concerns, because, in general, organic produce can be more expensive. However, the most recent data indicates that in terms of nutrient content, organic and conventionally grown produce are equivalent.

What about pesticides?

There are, however, other reasons that consumers choose to purchase organic produce, and the fact that they tend to have lower quantities of detectable pesticide residues compared to conventionally grown produce is one of them. This finding, however, may not be as significant as it initially appears to be. First of all, it means that organic produce still contains pesticide residues, just less often than conventional produce. Secondly, the levels of residue found on organic and conventional produce generally are well below upper limits set by the government. In other words, exposure at these levels is less than what has been shown to cause adverse health effects.

For anyone who still has concerns about pesticide residue levels on produce, I would advise thoroughly rinsing all produce before consumption.

Bottom line

In light of these results, it is my opinion that if you’re trying to adopt healthier eating habits, consuming more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, organic or not, is definitely a step in the right direction.

This article originally appeared on www.HealthBytesNYC.com. Simone Walters is a clinical nutritionist at Beth Israel Medical Center.

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