Health News You Can Use In July 2007
Summer is upon us. Here are a few health stories that hit the headlines recently...
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DEADLY RECORD HEAT WAVE IN THE WEST COMING ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. Regardless of your thoughts on global warming, record heat waves are coming to the U.S. this week and next. Heat kills, and this wave will be deadly. Remember that leaving animals, children, and older folks in a car in the sun can kill them in minutes. Also, remember to replace your fluids not just with water, but also with beverages that contain small amounts of salts – such as sodium and potassium. When your body sweats, it excretes water and salt. Thus, if you replace the fluid with just water, the concentration of salts in your body decreases. This can be dangerous. Consult your doctor if you've been put on a salt-restricting diet. |
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DARK CHOCOLATE LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE. Researchers in Germany have shown that about 6 grams of dark chocolate (equivalent to one and a half Hershey Kisses) will lower your blood pressure enough to significantly reduce cardiovascular risks. Doctors at two Ivy League institutions already are downplaying the significance of this study... one was paraphrased saying this is not a license to gorge ourselves on chocolate. Amen to that brother! Be careful you don't gorge yourself on one and a half Hershey Kisses! Come on people... there's about 25 calories in a Kiss, the rough equivalent to walking 3.5 minutes. I have a solution... park your car walking distance from work and eat a Kiss each way... every day. A few months of this and you might not even need blood-pressure medications (or your doctor). And don't forget... you read about chocolate and its health benefits two years ago here in our Health Report! |
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SAY GOODBYE TO TRANS-FATS. Burger King said it will no longer use trans-fats. This follows on the commitments of several other fast-food chains to stop using these deadly oils: KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Taco Bell. Recall that New York City banned the fat earlier this year. Starting this month, restaurants can no longer fry foods in trans-fats. These fats increase inflammation in the body and are linked with heart disease and immune-system diseases. |
| • | SEX TOY PHTHALATES ARE TOXIC. Phthalates are odorless and colorless chemicals used for more than 50 years in myriad consumer products, such as nail polish and car dashboards, to make plastics soft... thus their importance in sex toys of all shapes and sizes. Concerns are growing that people using these toys with softer materials are absorbing the chemical, especially through the mucous membranes of the body. The chemicals have been linked to obesity, cancer, and even male sterility. Watch for more news on this chemical in the next 10 years. |
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ARE YOU OLD? THESE FOUR THINGS CAN PROLONG YOUR LIFE BY 40%. The American Journal of Medicine reported that even older people (45-64 years old was their criteria) could reduce risk of death by doing these four things. |
| • Not smoking | |
| • Keeping your weight down | |
| • Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily | |
| • Exercising 2.5 hours per week |
This is not rocket-science, but the fact that the benefit occurred within years of altering your habits gives hope to everyone at almost any age. This was the first study to show that benefits happen no matter what age you are when you begin. Remember common sense when you do these things. Even cutting back on smoking, if you can't completely quit, has its benefits. Keeping your weight off is much easier with exercise.
When it comes to this summer's news... What do I do?
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I drink commercial sports drinks or create my own from simple diluted fruit juices, adding a tablespoon of sodium chloride (table salt) and a potassium pill (99 mg of potassium) to a quart. The mild sweetness of the drink keeps me drinking, and the salts tell my body to hold on to the water for a while. |
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I do not buy or eat anything with trans-fat. Watch for labels with the words "partially hydrogenated" to see if your food has trans-fats inside. I even told my local breakfast dive to stop using the fat... explaining how unhealthy and harmful it is. |
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I exercise regularly and make sure to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. This is proven over and over to increase the quality of life. |
| 4. | I get many of my fruits and vegetables by blending frozen fruits, V8 juice, and protein powders into my morning smoothies. I also enjoy these smoothies after a long afternoon run. |
Here's to our health,
David Eifrig Jr., M.D., M.B.A.