Diet Articles

HHS To Insurers: Don’t Blame Us For Rates

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 9 Sep, 2010

  President Barack Obama’s top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won’t tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law. “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance [...]

  President Barack Obama’s top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won’t tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law.

“There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance lobby.

“Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections,” Sebelius said. Full post…

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Computer provides sex health information

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 7 Sep, 2010

LONDON, Sept. 8 (UPI) — Computer-based interventions on sexual health — successful for HIV prevention — may help with family planning or relationship issues, U.K. researchers say. Lead researcher Julia Bailey of University College London says patients may be unlikely to discuss sexual health concerns because of the sensitivity of the issues, or because healthcare [...]

LONDON, Sept. 8 (UPI) — Computer-based interventions on sexual health — successful for HIV prevention — may help with family planning or relationship issues, U.K. researchers say.

Lead researcher Julia Bailey of University College London says patients may be unlikely to discuss sexual health concerns because of the sensitivity of the issues, or because healthcare providers have limited time.

Bailey and colleagues reviewed data from 15 studies that tested interactive computer-based interventions — requiring input from the user — involving 3,917 people. The interactive packages used animations, scenarios, simulations and interactive characters.

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New Surgery Helps Heal Hand Injuries

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 2 Sep, 2010

 OUCH! MY HAND HURTS: Flexor tendon injuries are a very common occurrence. Many people experience these injuries daily. Often, we don’t realize how important our hands are in our daily activities, watching TV, driving to work, writing a letter or simply talking, until a hand injury occurs. Experts on E-hand.com say that the flexor tendons [...]

 OUCH! MY HAND HURTS: Flexor tendon injuries are a very common occurrence. Many people experience these injuries daily. Often, we don’t realize how important our hands are in our daily activities, watching TV, driving to work, writing a letter or simply talking, until a hand injury occurs. Experts on E-hand.com say that the flexor tendons are smooth, flexible strings that flex the fingers on each hand. When flexor tendons are severed, the part connected to the muscle is usually cut back and pulled into the palm. Many people suffer from stiffness when dealing with flexor tendon injuries. Full post…

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Salt is a four-letter word, expert says

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 28 Aug, 2010

DALLAS, Aug. 31 (UPI) — The average U.S. adult eats about 1.5 teaspoons of salt a day, more than twice the recommended amount, a U.S. professor of clinical nutrition says. Dr. Jo Ann Carson of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas says federal regulators have begun urging food manufacturers to cut back [...]

DALLAS, Aug. 31 (UPI) — The average U.S. adult eats about 1.5 teaspoons of salt a day, more than twice the recommended amount, a U.S. professor of clinical nutrition says.

Dr. Jo Ann Carson of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas says federal regulators have begun urging food manufacturers to cut back on the amount of sodium they add to everything from breakfast cereals to soups.

The aim is for manufacturers to reduce the amount so gradually consumers would barely notice the lower sodium levels, but the final limits have not yet been determined.

“Lowering our salt intake is important to control blood pressure,” Carson says in a statement.

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BPA may affect testosterone levels

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 23 Aug, 2010

EXETER, England, Aug. 26 (UPI) — British and other researchers have identified changes in testosterone levels in men exposed to bisphenol A, a chemical used in food and drink containers. Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Exeter, both in England, and colleagues linked higher BPA exposure with small [...]

EXETER, England, Aug. 26 (UPI) — British and other researchers have identified changes in testosterone levels in men exposed to bisphenol A, a chemical used in food and drink containers.

Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Exeter, both in England, and colleagues linked higher BPA exposure with small increases in levels of testosterone in the blood.

The large population study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, found the average BPA daily of more 5 micrograms per day exposure in the European study population was slightly higher than recent comparable estimates for the U.S.

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Lack of B vitamin linked to dementia

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 21 Aug, 2010

DAVIS, Calif., Aug. 22 (UPI) — An analysis of blood samples shows lower levels of folate — a B vitamin — was linked to symptoms of dementia and poor brain function, U.S. researchers say. Nutritionist Lindsay Allen at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Davis, Calif., says it is known B vitamins — such as [...]

DAVIS, Calif., Aug. 22 (UPI) — An analysis of blood samples shows lower levels of folate — a B vitamin — was linked to symptoms of dementia and poor brain function, U.S. researchers say.

Nutritionist Lindsay Allen at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Davis, Calif., says it is known B vitamins — such as B-6, B-12 and folate aid — nourish the brain but how these vitamins and brain are related remains to be discovered.

Allen and study leader Mary Haan of the University of California, San Francisco, are investigating nutrients and decline in brain function using data from the multiyear Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging.

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Antidepressant treats menopause depression

Posted by Taylah Degotardi 15 Aug, 2010

RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 18 (UPI) — An antidepressant can alleviate symptoms of major depression in women in menopause or perimenopause, the years before menopause, U.S. researchers found. The double-blind trial led by Dr. Susan G. Kornstein of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine compared the effectiveness and safety of the antidepressant desvenlafaxine, also known [...]

RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 18 (UPI) — An antidepressant can alleviate symptoms of major depression in women in menopause or perimenopause, the years before menopause, U.S. researchers found.

The double-blind trial led by Dr. Susan G. Kornstein of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine compared the effectiveness and safety of the antidepressant desvenlafaxine, also known as Pristiq, to a placebo.

In earlier research, Kornstein has shown women may respond to antidepressants differently from men and may respond to medication differently at different ages.

Kornstein and colleagues say the study enrolled 387 women who were peri-or post-menopausal and were diagnosed with major depression at 37 outpatient sites nationwide.

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