Daily Health Tips: Trusted Medical Information, Health Tips and Advices

Case Study Suggests a Link Between a Man's Asthma Attack and His Use of the Social Networking Site Can Facebook actually trigger asthma attacks? A case study out of Italy suggests it's possible. Reporting in the Nov. 20 issue of The Lancet , researchers led by Gennaro D'Amato, MD, of High Specialty Hospital A Cardarelli in Naples, Italy, discussed symptoms experienced by an 18-year-old man. The man became depressed after his girlfriend broke up with him and "unfriended" him from Facebook. The man created a new nickname for himself, befriended his ex-girlfriend on Facebook, and began developing shortness of breath every time he visited her Facebook page. The patient's medical history, a physical examination, and other environmental and infectious factors were ruled out as being linked to the asthma attacks. "The [man's] mother was advised to ask him to measure the peak expiratory flow before and after internet login and, indeed, 'p...

Group Pushes for New Laws, More Study on Common Chemicals A growing list of common household chemicals may be linked to reproductive health problems, including early puberty and infertility. The list includes phthalates, the plastics chemical bisphenol A (BPA), perfluorinated compounds found in nonstick cookware, flame retardants, the antibacterial agent triclosan, and mercury, according to experts speaking at a news conference sponsored by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition seeking to overhaul the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The group is pushing for the passage of the "Safe Chemicals Act of 2010" in the Senate and the "Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010" in the House. Among other things, these bills call on the companies who make chemicals to test them for safety, instead of the Environmental Protection Agency having to prove they are unsafe. Evidence Mounts Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, the chair of obstetrics, gynecology,...

 Drinking Pomegranate Juice May Prevent Complications in Kidney Disease Patients on Dialysis Pomegranate juice has been touted for years as having many health benefits, and now a new study says it can ward off a number of complications in kidney disease patients on dialysis. In a small study in Israel involving 101 dialysis patients, scientists randomly gave some people pomegranate juice and others a placebo drink at the start of each dialysis session, three times a week for a year. Pomegranate juice is known to be a good source of antioxidants. The patients who drank the pomegranate juice showed a reduction in both inflammation and damage caused by free radicals. New Findings Support Previous Research on Pomegranate Juice Benefits The findings of the study, written by Batya Kristal, MD, FASN, of Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, Israel, support previous research that has suggested potent antioxidant properties of pomegranate juice. The scientists say in a ...

Not a lot of size 6's in your family? Well, then, here's the simple trick to outrunning your obesity genes: movement. In a study of people genetically predisposed to obesity, those who were the most active managed to seriously alter their body's predisposition to gain weight. They were far less likely to pack on pounds over time compared with the least active in the study. Handling Heavy DNA In the recent study, researchers found 12 genes that increased the risk of obesity. And every obesity gene people had correlated to extra weight gain. Still, although certain genes made them more susceptible to obesity, participants were not slaves to their DNA. Exercising about an hour a day dropped the risk of weight gain about 40 percent, compared with the couch potatoes. All in the Family You may have the cards stacked against you when it comes to family health history, but nothing is certain. Only about 30 percent of aging is determined by genetic factors. ...

Tea sure is loaded with good-for-your-body nutrients. But to really get your fill of antioxidants from tea, choose brewed over bottled. New research shows that most bottled teas have few antioxidants to offer, while brewed varieties can provide anywhere from 50 to 150 health-boosting milligrams per cup. So dust off that teakettle. Teatime Healthful antioxidants in tea, called polyphenols, are credited with everything from reducing the risk of certain types of cancer to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. But you need as much as 125 to 500 milligrams of tea polyphenols per day to achieve these health benefits. And not all teas deliver the same antioxidant punch. It varies greatly by brand -- and color. In general, green brewed teas deliver the most polyphenols -- averaging 50 to 500 milligrams per serving. Fresh-brewed black tea hooks you up with anywhere from 10 to 360 milligrams per cup. Bottled vs. Brewed And bottled teas? In the recent study, the maj...

Some Adult Vaccination Rates Are Up, but Experts Say There's Room for Improvement Vaccinations aren't just for kids. Adults need them, too, and while vaccination rates are increasing, there's definitely room for improvement, according to public health experts. At a news conference today hosted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), experts released new CDC data, spelled out areas that need improvement, and discussed how to be proactive at the doctor's office. Thanks to vaccines, ''we see only a fraction of the disease, death and suffering'' as in years past, says Susan J. Rehm, MD, the medical director of the NFID who opened the news conference. "But there are lower vaccination rates in adults," she says. "Skipping your vaccines is not all about you, it's about people around you. We are talking about preventable illness and preventable death." At the conference, the CDC released new data on 20...

It's the quickest way to lower your blood pressure without lifting a finger. Just watch something funny. Research shows that laughter and humor could help lower systolic blood pressure -- the top number -- by about 10 points in just 20 minutes. And if you tickle your funny bone often, you could make your RealAge as much as 8 years younger. Tickled Pink In a small study, participants chose a 20-minute humorous video clip to watch. They also watched 20 minutes of a serious war movie. Then, researchers measured the participants' blood pressure. And watching funny videos not only lowered people's blood pressure but lowered their cholesterol levels, too. The serious war movie? No effect.    Humor and Health How does laughter reach all the way into your insides and lower your blood pressure? It's all about stress hormones. When your funny bone is tickled, it reduces levels of stress hormones related to climbing blood pressure. And as an extra added bonus, ...

There’s a lot of advice out there about getting good sleep; here are tips that work for me: Good habits for good sleep: 1. Exercise most days, even if it’s just to take a walk. 2. No caffeine after 7:00 p.m. 3. An hour before bedtime, avoid doing any kind of work that takes alert thinking. Addressing envelopes—okay. Analyzing an article—nope. 4. Adjust your bedroom temperature to be slightly chilly. 5. Keep your bedroom dark. Studies show that even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle. We have about six devices in our room that glow bright green; it’s like sleeping in a mad scientist’s lab. The Big Man's new pet, a Roomba (yes, he loves his robot vacuum), gives out so much light that I have to cover it with a pillow before bed. 6. Keep the bedroom as tidy as possible. It’s not restful to fight through chaos into bed. If sleep won’t come: 1. Breathe deeply and slowly until you can’t stand it anymore. 2. If your mind is racing (you’re planning ...

What kind of bean do you pile high on your tacos and burritos? For better cholesterol, try the mighty pinto bean. In a study, people who consumed half a cup of pinto beans every day lowered their total cholesterol by a whopping 8 percent in just 12 weeks. Power to the Pinto With 8 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, almost no fat, and only 120 calories per half cup, what's not to love about pinto beans? Especially when the bean's fiber is known to help control cholesterol. How? By causing the body's small intestine to produce more of a compound that helps keep cholesterol in check.    Beans and Blood Fats Changes in the gastrointestinal environment were only part of the reason pinto beans lowered cholesterol in the study. Researchers also think the nutrients in beans help -- antioxidant nutrients like flavonoids, which are natural plant compounds that help defend against disease. Ready to serve up some tasty pintos? Try one of these serving ideas from Eat...

College Students Who Often Drink Energy Drinks May Become Problem Drinkers, Researchers Say Drinking energy drinks daily or even on a weekly basis may increase your risk of developing alcohol problems. The new findings, which appear online in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research , are especially concerning given the trend of mixing alcohol with high-caffeine energy drinks. In the new study of more than 1,000 college students, people who drank energy beverages 52 or more times a year were more than twice as likely as non-users to meet criteria for alcohol dependence. In addition, such "high-frequency users" were more likely to get drunk at an earlier age, drink more in one sitting, black out, and/or experience hangover symptoms that limited their usual activities, the study showed. Overall, more than 60% of college students drank an energy beverage at some point in the past year and 10.1% had these drinks weekly and 2.6% daily or almost daily. T...