Boston (SmartAboutHealth.net) - According to two recent studies, the consumption of coffee or tea beverages may lower your stoke risk.

As coffee drinking increases, it can have a decreasing widespread on strokes says Dr. David Liebeskind, author of the coffee study and an associate clinical professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Tea drinkers may also have reason to enjoy their brew, according to another study presented at the San Diego meeting.

For those who drink more than three cups a day had a 21 percent lower risk of stroke than those who drank less than a cup daily, said study author Dr. Lenore Arab, a professor of medicine and biological chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.

It is still unclear how the tea reduces stroke risk. Suggestions say that it may work by anti-inflammatory action.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth.net) - Nearly 97,000 Americans are diagnosed with a very virulent brain tumor each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Ruth Perko, one of the affect is about to undergo yet another treatment for this horrible disease. Like many patients, Perko has already had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, however the tumor inside has grown back.

After 12 hours of being kept unconscious at the Cleveland Climir in Cleveland, Ohio, Ruth Perko leaves the operating room, this time around with no cancer cells in her brain.

Doctors worked through a half-inch opening in her skull, inserting a fiber-optic laser “probe” all the way down to the base of her skull.

With only four human experiments, the newly-developed probe can reach areas difficult, if not impossible to reach through conventional surgery.

“The beauty of the system is that it allows us to cut off the laser when the heat wave gets out to the point where it could cause harm,” Barnett told ABC News.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth.net) - An alliance of health groups and insurance companies unveiled a new initiative yesterday, aiming at one of the nation’s biggest health problems: child obesity.

According to officials of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a new effort of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation stated that the end goal is to give children better access to health care to fight with this nationwide issue.

Certain participating insurance companies would pay for four visitits to a dietitian and atleast four visits to a physician yearly in order to provide the require guidance and assistance to both the children and their parents on how to eat better, and how to take the necessary measures to reduce and control their weight.

It is claimed that one-third of children in the United States are obese or overweight.

Boston (SmartAboutHealth.net) - According to researchers, neighborhoods where fast food spots appear often have higher stroke rates, however whether the link is causal is still under question.

Individuals living in areas with the highest concentration of fast-food joints were at 13% higher risk of stroke than those in areas with the lowest density according to a recent community-based study, Lewis B. Morgenstern, M.D., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues reported at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference.

“Where we live and where our kids go to school has a profound effect on our health,” Dr. Morgenstern said.

Although it’s tempting to blame fast food, Brian Silver, M.D., of Henry Ford Hospital in East Lansing, Mich., who was not involved in the study, agreed that fast food might be just another marker for community risk factors.

He also said it’s important to put the modest risk in perspective. “It’s not as important as blood pressure or atrial fibrillation, but if you’re trying to look for all potentially modifiable risk factors, this may be one more thing.”

1,246 ischemic strokes were identified county residents from January 2000 through June 2003.

Researchers found a quite significant association (p=0.02) with the amount of nearby fast-food restaurants.

Source: American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference
Source reference:
Morgenstern LB, et al “Fast Food and Stroke Risk” ASA 2009; Abstract P162. & medpagetoday.com

Boston (SmartAboutHealth.net) - Feeling a little angry these days? SelfMadeEasy.com has just released an interesting article about anger management:

“The secret to controlling your anger is to figure out its underlying cause. And one of the common causes of anger in individuals is a lack of self-esteem.

On the surface, anger and self esteem appear to be completely separate and unrelated topics, like how an orange is to a car. However, they are related in a much stronger way than you can imagine.

They are related in that your level of anger is directly influenced by your self esteem. A poor self esteem can lead to higher levels of anger and rage in a person.

There are several reasons for this.

For starters, when a person has low self-esteem, they are more likely to be dissatisfied with themselves and their life. When a person is dissatisfied, they are more likely to blame themselves or others for their dissatisfaction, causing them to hate themselves or to hate others. Hate gets expressed in many ways and one of them is through anger, resulting in a person who has hate to be more angry.

Furthermore, if a person has low self-esteem, he or she will rarely be happy about themselves. In fact, they may even see themselves as unattractive and unacceptable. When such negative thoughts and emotions are allowed to build up, they turn into angry thoughts directed not only towards one’s self but also towards others. This can be harmful not only to the person, but to the people around them.

A lack of self-esteem can start of as a nagging voice in your head, but it can turn into an angry voice in your heart.

So if you are finding yourself becoming more and more angry, try working on building your self esteem. It is an effective way in dealing with unresolved anger.

When you have high self-esteem, you respect yourself, and when you respect yourself, you also respect others. By respecting yourself and others, you prevent the building up of hate and other negative emotions that manifest themselves as anger. In effect, you are not just controlling anger; you are preventing anger from ever arising.

So what can you do to increase your self-esteem, and in the process, learn how to handle anger better? There are many things you can do to raise your self esteem, listed below are some suggestions.

1. Write a list of things that you like about yourself. Create a list of all your traits and characteristics that you enjoy and are fond of. Whenever you find yourself becoming destructive and overly critical, look at this list and allow it to make you feel better. These things that you like about yourself are a source of power that can enhance your self esteem - use them whenever you feel down and out and about to get angry at yourself.

2. Focus on your strengths, not on your weaknesses. This may be hard for you to do, as it usually is for people with low self esteem. To help you out, think of things you did or situations you were in that were difficult for others, but were easy for you. Use this to to identify your strengths, and always keep them in mind. When angry feelings surface due to self-pity and dislike, look at your strengths to give your esteem a boost.

3. Forget your failures and past mistakes. People with low self-esteem tend to harshly and continuously relive their past failures. This echos inside their heads, constantly reminding them that they are not good enough. To err is human, nobody is perfect. Sometimes things just go wrong, no matter how hard you try. When you’ve failed on something, think about where you went wrong, realize the lessons you’ve learned from the experience, and move on. Eventually success will come, and when it does, use it to build your self esteem further.

These are some of the many things you can do to raise your self esteem, and consequently, control your anger. There are many anger management tips that can teach you how to handle anger, but working on your self esteem will not only help you in dealing with unresolved anger, it will make you feel good about yourself at the same time!”

Author: SelfMadeEasy.com

Boston - (SmartAboutHealth.net) According to BuryTimes.co.uk, Government health officials will be quizzing parents in Bury about their feeding habits. It has been revealed that one-third of 11-year olds in Bury are overweight or obese.

A national survey called How are the Kids? — is to be carried out by the government-run Change4Life campaign. This survey will give the officials a better idea of how youngsters are eating these days.

Director of public health for NHS Bury, Dr Peter Elton, said: “It is disturbing that around one third of Bury children in year six are overweight or obese.

“This makes it crucial for families across Bury to start making healthier choices for their children.”

Dr Elton said it was crucial for parents to act now because eating the wrong foods could lead to health problems in later life.

He added: “A bad diet and inactive lifestyle can lead to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

“If we don’t make the right changes now, as many as nine out of 10 children could be overweight or obese by 2050.

“The survey will help families to understand the harm that excess fat can cause to their children’s health.”

Information on Change4Life go to nhs.uk/ change4life

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - According to a recent study, kissing can lead to better sexual health.

According to scientists studying the effects of kissing and lip to lip contact, when a man’s and woman’s lips touch together, chemicals in the saliva release and gets most man’s engine going. The study states “encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.”

Other than getting soldiers to salute, kissing has health benefits as well. According to a report from EMax Health says that other than lowering stress, Helen Fisher (Professor at Rutgers University / Author of “Why Him, Why Her: Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type”) tells the publication that “Kissing is not just kissing - it is a major escalation or de-escalation point in a powerful process of mate choice.”

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - The country’s largest makers of peanut butter are telling consumers that their products are safe, but it seems that the Americans aren’t buying the idea.

Retail trackers say that peanut butter brands such as Skippy, Jif and Peter Pan all saw sales fall as much as 24% since the salmonella outbreak.

In hopes to to offset sales, the companies behind these brands have stepped up marketing efforts by running ads to reassure the public that their products are safe and did not include peanuts from Peanut Corp. of America.

With the ongoing recession, millions of consumers have been forced to cut back on “a la carte” meals and instead, lug lunches to school or work. We can simply assume that peanut butter sandwiches are not on their menus these days.

Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - Researchers have found that the majority of young kids and teens who take vitamins on a daily basis do not actually need them.

Researchers were led by Dr. Ulfat Shaikh of the University of California Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento as they worked to focus on vitamins and their use by kids. Continue Reading

Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - A new study has found a link between high levels of a hormone, and the development of postpartum depression following a pregnancy.

Researchers have been led by Ilona S. Yim from the University of California, Irvine. Continue Reading