Ideal Health Doctor

Doctor Touts Gastric Bypass As Diabetes Cure

Leah Samson — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:38:03 +0000

Doctor Touts Gastric Bypass As Diabetes Cure

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With obesity at epidemic levels in the United States and type-2 diabetes among the fastest-growing epidemics in history, some people are suggesting a treatment that can help reverse the trend.

Professional musician and music therapist Steve Barrett is 90 pounds lighter these days.

“I was carrying around an extra 90 pounds of weight on my frame and that took its toll on me, physically and mentally,” Barrett said. “Y Read more…

FDA Delays New Sunscreen Rules

William Purves — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:54:42 +0000

This was supposed to be the year that we finally got some clarity on what all those sunscreen numbers mean.

TB patient charged in Calif. for not taking meds

Lara Rowallan — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:34:54 +0000

Larger | Smaller Printable Version Email This Font Download the seattlepi.com mobile apps for iPhone and Android. Read more…

Teens in California, which patrols school food, eat less fat, sugar

William Purves — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:49:35 +0000

Anyone who’s gone on a diet knows: It’s easier to avoid potato chips if you don’t have any.

So it’s not a surprise that researchers found that California high school students eat less fat and sugar and fewer calories at school than their peers in states that allow the sale of snacks with more of those items.

What’s more, the California students didn’t compensate outside of school; they ate an average of 158 calories a day fewer than students in the other states, according to the study published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.The California students’ consumption outside of school was approximately the same as the students in the other states.

The researchers repeated their analysis with only Hispanic students, a population with particularly high rates of obesity, and found similar results.

“If students can consume 150 fewer calories per day while maintaining healthy levels of activity, it could go a long way toward preventing excess weight gain among teenagers,” said Daniel Taber, lead author of the study and an investigator with Bridging the Gap, a research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the study.

California was among the first states to regulate what’s known as “competitive” foods – those sold at school outside of the school meals programs — in vending machines or student stores, for instance. The law took effect in Jul

Casein hydrolysate

Leah Samson — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:32:12 +0000

The majority of people who exercise on a regular basis are more than aware of the importance of post workout nutrition. By consuming post workout protein you are able to build your muscles and improve your overall performance. Additionally, this is a fantastic way to maintain a positive nitrogen balance inside the body. The importance of whey protein in this process has been well documented, and it is widely accepted that whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) is absorbed most rapidly by the body. Therefore, WPH is considered to be one of the most efficient forms of protein that you can consume after your workout.

Politicians block state drug tracking database bill to protect privacy

Lara Rowallan — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:05:49 +0000

Despite calls for a drug tracking databases to help curb prescription medication abuse, not everyone is convinced that such databases are the right way to go. For instance, Missouri state Sen. Rob Schaaf helped to block a pushing for the creation of a drug tracking database, calling it an invasion of privacy.

“This bill causes every citizen to be forced against their will to give up their … personal information about the controlled substances they are prescribed by their doctor,” he said, the Associated Press. Schaaf, who is also a family physicians, was part of an eight-hour filibuster against the bill.

Family members of prescription drug abuse victims see things differently, however, according to an published this week in The Buffalo News.

Baby’s development during pregnancy week 14

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:48:23 +0000

At pregnancy week 14 your baby is growing very quickly. During this first week of the second trimester your baby’s head is almost as big as the rest of its body. In fact, it is half the total length of the fetus.

The facial features of your baby are becoming more defined this week. The baby’s eyes and ears move toward their final position, and its eyebrows are growing. The neck is elongating and the chin begins to rise off the chest. The yolk sac, which provided the source of food in the first trimester, has disappeared, and your baby now gets food and vitamins from the placenta.

Now you’re in your second trimester, you may realize that some of the irritating symptoms of pregnancy that you experienced during the first 13 weeks are gone, like your morning sickness and fatigue. Read more…

Roulette on the roads

Leah Samson — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:42:34 +0000

THERE’S a cycle lane that appears to instruct users to head straight onto a pavement (at Lower Drumcondra Road and Botanic Avenue), a dangerous junction that remains the same despite loss of life there, and a call for car drivers to keep a distance of at least 1.5 metres from all bikes when overtaking. These are just some of the issues highlighted by cycling lobby groups.

Junctions are a particular concern, with at least 30 in Dublin on the danger list, the Dublin Cycling Campaign has found.

Cyclists and pedestrians drew up the list of hazard spots and reported them to the Dublin City Council last year but not enough action has been taken, the group says.

There have been 189 cyclist road deaths between 1997 and 2011, according to the Road Safety Authority, and the action groups warn this figure will rise unless urgent measures are taken.

Campaign spokesman Mike McKillen says cycling has major community benefits for health and for the environment.

Viewpoints: Ryan’s Budget Called ‘Cruel’ Or ‘Sophisticated’

William Purves — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:28:07 +0000

The New York Times: A Cruel Budget In February, after embarrassing himself by saying he was “not concerned about the very poor,” Mitt Romney explained that the government’s safety net would take care of them, and he promised to repair any holes in the net. That promise didn’t last very long. On Thursday, House Republicans approved, on a party-line vote, a disastrous new budget that would leave millions of struggling families desperate for food, shelter and health care — and Mr. Romney has embraced it (3/29).

The Washington Post: Paul Ryan Unplugs The Political Third Rail Now he has dared again. And the absence of an apocalypse is a victory of sorts. Am

Green Smoothies with Florida Orange Juice!

Lara Rowallan — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:04:21 +0000

There is no question that green smoothies are perfect for kids, especially when you have picky eaters. It’s a great way to get a full serving of fruits and vegetables, without having to beg or bribe! Almost every parent I know that has a picky eater, can get away with adding spinach to a morning smoothie, and kids will drink them! But spinach isn’t the only healthy ingredient in a smoothie. We like to add a variety of fruits, including orange juice. The sweetness of the orange juice is enough to make our drinks taste delicious without the need to add a sweetener like granulated sugar, or even honey! Tha

What is BPA?

William Purves — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:25:39 +0000

Today the FDA ruled that the chemical BPA (full name: bisphenol-A) can still be used in food packaging, despite the insistence of many environmental health groups that BPA may result in a variety of health conditions—breast cancer and obesity are two. So, since you can’t count on the federal government to protect you on this one, it pays to know why you should avoid BPA exposure, and how.

Just a few of frightening things you should know about BPA:

But even though I believe it’s worth it to reduce BPA exposure when you can, there’s no point in freaking out about it. BP

Area Mom: Autism’s Increase No Surprise

Leah Samson — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:25:25 +0000

Mom: Increase Autism Diagnoses No Surprise

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New figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of diagnosed cases of autism is bringing the condition to epidemic levels.

One out of every 88 children in the United States is believed to have autism or a related disorder, making the condition nearly twice as common as experts thought just five years ago.

Some experts have attributed the increase to a better understanding and a broader diagnosis of autism to include many related conditions.

Mother Gabi Lucas said her oldest daughter was 3 years old when she was diagnosed with autism.

“The more we talk to neighbors, friends and family members, you keep hearing stories of more people being diagnosed,” Lucas said.

Lucas said in addition to her oldest daughter, now 8, she also has a younger daughter with a disorder that falls on the autism spectrum. Sh Read more…

Lupus disease

Leah Samson — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:11:19 +0000

If you are a woman, chances are that you, someone in your family, or a friend is afflicted with lupus disease. This chronic autoimmune disease is prevalent, occurs mostly in women, and can make life painful and difficult for sufferers. What lupus disease does is cause the body’s immune system – usually used to fight off disease and dangerous bacteria – to instead attack itself. Lupus disease can cause this attack to affect any part of the body, and the attack generally results in painful inflammation of the afflicted body part and tissue damage.

Lupus disease occurs approximately 9 times as often in women as it occurs in men, and often attacks people between the ages of 15 and 50. Inter

This week: Science serves up the perfect snack

William Purves — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:05:39 +0000

Some of our favorite foods are having a very good week — in the usual medical journals and at the San Diego gathering of the American Chemical Society that ends today. Mash them all up with just a little help from us, and we think you have a pretty good recipe for snack heaven. Read on.

Popcorn, for instance, won accolades as the “perfect snack food” because, according to University of Scranton chemist Joe Vinson, a serving has twice the polyphenols of most fruits or vegetables. Compared with fruits and veggies, which are largely water, popcorn, says Vinson, packs a more concentrated dose of the phytonutrients, which are thought to prevent cellular oxidation, the start of all things bad.

Even the kernels — those bits that get caught in your teeth — are packed with the alleged cancer-preventing antioxidant, says Vinson. But make