by Leigh Ann Otte, managing editor
Last Friday, we highlighted some great health-related Twitter folks to follow. Now, it’s time to celebrate registered dietitians and people who tweet healthy recipes.
What do you think of the list? Any to add?
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
OK, I think this vitamin D craze is getting a little out of hand. Every few days there’s some sort of study indicating it helps something new. The latest I’ve seen is that eating less of the stuff was associated with fatter teens. Eat more? You might have fewer colds.
I type “vitamin D” in Google news. Low levels are linked to mental decline, poor bone health, more cancer, and in teens, an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
Have we found the miracle drug?
by Leigh Ann Hubbard, managing editor
Did you know they’re still recalling peanut products? Almost two months after the Peanut Corporation of America issued their first notice, recalls are trickling in daily.
We wondered, why is it taking so long? Do these companies not know where their ingredients come from? FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek gave us some answers via e-mail (emphasis mine).
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
The conclusion from the Women’s Initiative Study that multivitamins don’t prevent cancer, heart disease or overall mortality troubles me for some reason.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Women’s Initiative Study. It involves a large group of women (161, 808) followed over a long period (eight years in this instance.) Statisticians analyze the tons of data known about this group and report the findings. The data doesn’t care what I or anyone else thinks. It is what it is.
In the comment section of this report the author cites two other good, long-term women’s studies that showed an association between multivitamins and decreased colon cancer. It took 10 years in one group and 15 years in the other to start seeing a decrease.
But that’s not what bothers me. It’s not the study itself, but that people might get the idea no one needs vitamins. I mean, the New York Times has an article entitled “Vitamins; A False Hope?” This was a study on multivitamins, in set doses. It concluded nothing about set groups of individuals needing specific vitamins at other dosages.
Here’s the latest on the FDA peanut and peanut butter recalls. Thai food, candy, cookies, snack mixes, even dog food. The FDA says, “Major national brands of jarred peanut butter” are not in this recall. Girl Scout Cookies and Reese’s also say they’re not implicated because their peanuts don’t come from the Peanut Corporation of America.
by Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
Wait too long to eat and your belly speaks louder than your good intentions. So says a report from the Economic Research Service of the USDA.
Americans know more about healthful diets and lifestyles, but waistlines keep growing and fruits and vegetables are rotting in the refrigerator anyway. So what gives? According to the report, long lapses between meals, eating out and long work hours overpower our health desires and lead us to temptation for some instant gratification.
By waiting five hours between meals instead of just four, the average person consumes an extra 52 calories. (more…)
Will this be Dr. H by year's end?
Let’s go over my reasoning.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
Everyone’s heard you should get a little loose and do some slow exercises before you start the real stuff. But investigators in Norway went way beyond stretching and showed a significant decrease in injuries in teenage, female soccer players (pdf file) by doing so. They were concerned there were too many injuries in these young athletes and decided to try a rigid, 20-minute exercise program prior to practices and games, called the 11 Injury Prevention Program.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
The benefits of vitamin D are many. Fighting off rickets, osteoporosis, cancers, type 2 diabetes and heart disease are just a few. Used to, everyone got enough vitamin D from sunshine. But, now, there is a problem. Skin cancers, including the deadly melanoma, are on the rise, and UV sunlight is a major risk factor. We don’t know how much sun we can get, if any, without an increased risk. We are also not sure how much vitamin D is ideal, but the trend is for more.
What is a person to do?
Sorry, eating that turkey on Thanksgiving does not cause after-meal drowsiness, at least according to the new view that has emerged in the past few years. At emedicinehealth.com and other places, the consensus is there is not enough triptophan in turkey and it must be taken on an empty stomach (fat chance, huh) to put you to sleep.
Pork, chicken and cheese also contain the unjustly maligned somnolent triptophan, but they never get blamed.
Probably it is that heavy meal, in general, that is the real culprit. I’ll dig into it a little deeper after my nap.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
(and to all a good night)
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James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor is the magazine written by health-care providers for you.
