Breast pumps are getting a much-needed makeover

Some startups are aiming to help nursing moms pump breast milk more easily

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Intragastric Balloon for Weight Loss - Mayo Clinic

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Mayo Clinic Study Shows Increase in Parkinson’s Disease Over 30 years

From: Mayo Clinic http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dm0qbro461Zc&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

The (not-so-hidden) costs of caregiving

Family caregiving is a huge topic nowadays. With over 75 million “baby boomers” poised to become the largest generation in American history to require such caregiving, how can it not be? Already, family members — people like you and me — provide $642 billion worth of unpaid care for our spouses, parents, and relatives each year. But what is the price we pay in terms of our personal well-being, physical and otherwise?

While caregiving has been shown to have benefits — it helps to build character, enrich one’s soul, and even ward off cognitive decline —its burdens can be just as significant, if not more so, as demonstrated by a new study published in a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Realities of caregiving

Researchers at the University of Toronto followed a group of 280 caregivers of critically ill family members who had received seven or more days of mechanical ventilation (“breathing machine”) in the ICU for 12 months. The goal was to assess the impact of caregiving on the caregivers’ well-being and quality of life. The average age of caregivers in the study was 53; 70% of the caregivers were women, and 61% were caring for their spouse. Here’s what the study found:

• More than half of caregivers had high levels of depression (67% were depressed at the start of the study, and 43% were depressed after one year of follow-up).

• The depression decreased somewhat with time in 84% of the caregivers, but did not in 16%.

• Caregivers who were younger, who had to give up regular activities for caregiving, and who had lost a sense of control over their lives tended to be worse off than the rest.

Notably, older caregivers were better off health-wise than younger caregivers, perhaps because they had more free time and faced fewer work-related pressures. Those who fared better also had higher income — so were likely able to afford more paid help and to take more time off work — and had better support from family, friends, and community.

One of the study’s most important findings is that caregivers of critically ill family members may still be at risk for clinical depression for months, if not years, after the crisis is over — and that this risk is higher for these caregivers than for most of us, including those who look after loved ones with chronic progressive illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease. The study also notes that there is currently a lack of resources for caregivers.

Statistical data can hardly convey the anguish that many caregivers of critically ill patients face day-to-day: the anger, sadness, frustration, and loneliness of it all. And yet these are the feelings one hears about most often in the consulting room. Spouses may feel cheated out of their golden years and harbor resentment. (One client described caring for her husband with brain damage to be “as close to hell as it can get.”) Adult children can be in denial of a parent’s condition and blame the caregiving parent for not doing the “right thing,” or can sometimes expect the caregiver to be superhuman.

What caregivers can do to care for themselves

As medical science continues to make advances in prolonging the life span, more and more of us may find ourselves in the role of a family caregiver. The Toronto study reminds us that health crises may be unavoidable and that their effects can be profound. But there are strategies we can employ to mitigate their potential stresses and strains, such as:

• Not doing it all alone. Get as much support as you can. Schedule a regular walk with a walking partner. Find a support group. Let friends and neighbors help out with cooking and errands.

• Timely financial planning. Do not wait for a crisis to put your affairs in order.

• Talking with our loved ones about their goals and wishes for care while they are still in good health, and drawing up “advance directive” documents that put these wishes in writing.

• Last but not least, taking good care of ourselves, both physically and psychologically. Make sure you get enough sleep. Go to the gym. Take a yoga or meditation class.

As the Family Caregiver Alliance reminds us, when your needs are taken care of, the person you care for will benefit, too.

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The post The (not-so-hidden) costs of caregiving appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Leo Newhouse, LICSW http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.health.harvard.edu%2Fblog%2Fnot-hidden-costs-caregiving-201606309852&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

Dental office managers to convene in Florida

The American Association of Dental Office Management will hold its 12th annual session Sept. 15-18 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

From: http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ada.org%2Fen%2Fpublications%2Fada-news%2F2016-archive%2Fjune%2Fdental-office-managers-to-convene-in-florida&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

The most expensive U.S. cities to have a baby

Costs vary widely not only nationwide, but often within the same city

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A top 10 list nobody wants to be on

A new report breaking down the most common causes of death may help Americans "live as long as we can, as healthy as we can"

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Access to diabetes medications and supplies are a necessity, not a luxury

Mississippi State Representative Jeffrey S. Guice’s June 27, 2016, email message to a family regarding Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of diabetes supplies demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the daily and life-long challenges and costs of living with diabetes. We hope that this is an opportunity for Rep. Guice and many others to learn more about diabetes.

Diabetes is a complex and often misunderstood chronic health condition that affects nearly 30 million Americans, approximately one out of every 11 people, and includes approximately 200,000 children. It is also one of the nation’s leading chronic health care crises. According to the American Diabetes Association’s report, Economic Costs of Diabetes in the United States in 2012, the national health care costs of diabetes exceed $245 billion each year. The human costs are measured in the horrific complications, including blindness, amputation, heart disease, kidney failure, and death, that families like the one who wrote to Rep. Guice are seeking to avoid by having the tools they need to successfully manage diabetes.

According to the 2012 Economic Costs report, a person with diabetes can expect to have annual health care costs that are approximately 2.3 times, or an additional $7,872, more than someone who does not have diabetes. Because diabetes is a complex health condition, the challenges and costs associated with diabetes care can vary significantly from person to person. Some people are able to use less expensive prescription medications to effectively manage their diabetes, while others must use insulin and prescription medications and test their blood glucose many times a day. Being able to obtain the medications and supplies to manage diabetes is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Nicole Nichols, the mother of the child with type 1 diabetes who wrote to Rep. Guice, sought help with recent changes in obtaining diabetes supplies under Mississippi’s Medicaid/CHIP program. This situation is just one example of the difficulties individuals with diabetes and their families experience accessing the care they need to remain healthy. It was appropriate for the mother of the child with type 1 diabetes to alert elected officials to a problem with her state’s Medicaid/CHIP program and to seek help to rectify that problem. That’s advocacy, and it’s important.

The American Diabetes Association hopes Mississippi will take the steps needed to ensure vital diabetes supplies are available to those in the Medicaid and CHIP programs, and encourages open and respectful dialogue to engage, support and advocate for people with diabetes.

---

Robert E. Ratner, MD, FACP, FACE
Chief Scientific & Medical Officer
American Diabetes Association

From: American Diabetes Association http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdiabetesstopshere.org%2F2016%2F06%2F29%2Faccess-to-diabetes-medications-and-supplies%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

Stem Cells Deemed Safe for ALS Patients

But further research needed to see if injections into spine would provide any benefit, researchers say

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Testosterone Rx May Boost Older Men's Sex Lives

Gel hormone treatment led to improved libido and sexual function, study finds

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Biden Issues Challenge to Speed Cancer Discoveries

Vice President Joe Biden challenged American researchers Wednesday to cram 10 years of work against cancer into 5 years by boosting clinical trials, enlisting big data, and making life-saving drugs cheaper.

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Can You Reverse Hearing Loss?

Many types of hearing loss are reversible. Is yours? WebMD explains.

From: http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Fhealthy-aging%2Ffeatures%2Fhearing-loss-reverse%3Fsrc%3DRSS_PUBLIC&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

The whole grain goodness of modern and ancient grains

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and every once in a while a TV commercial would tout a product with the “goodness of whole grains,” like it was some earth-shattering news that would make your mom floor it to the grocery store. Back then it probably was impressive, since many popular foods were loaded with refined grains and added sugar (I’m talking to you, spongy lunchbox treats and cereals with prizes inside the box).

These days, it’s common knowledge that whole grains like oats and wheat are important for maintaining health: they raise “good” HDL cholesterol levels and lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure.

More evidence

A Harvard study published online on June 13, 2016, in the journal Circulation found that, compared to people who didn’t eat many whole grains each day, people who ate four servings of whole grains daily (about 70 grams) during the study period had a 22% lower risk of death from any cause, a 23% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 20% lower risk of dying from cancer. The study doesn’t prove that whole grains prevent early death, but it adds to increasing evidence that whole grains really are full of “goodness.”

Maybe that’s why some whole grains, called ancient grains, are now trending among foodies, even showing up on the list of the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2016” culinary forecast.

What are ancient grains?

Unlike modern grains such as wheat, corn, and rice, ancient grains have never been processed through hybridization or genetic modification; they’re grown just as they were a thousand years ago. They have exotic-sounding names like teff, einkorn, emmer, amaranth, millet, quinoa, black rice, black barley, and spelt. And they pack a nutritional wallop. “Generally speaking, they offer more protein, fiber, and vitamins than modern grains,” says Debbie Krivitsky, a registered dietitian at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. For example, a cup of cooked teff has 10 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber, compared with 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber in a cup of cooked modern brown rice.

Nutrition isn’t the only difference. Ancient grains sometimes have more calories than modern grains. In our example of teff and brown rice, teff has 255 calories per cup, compared to brown rice, which has 216 calories. Furthermore, a cup of cooked modern oatmeal has only 124 calories, and a cup of cooked modern corn has only 74 calories. In addition to the higher calorie content, there is another difference between the two forms of grains: ancient grains tend to cost more than modern grains.

Whole grains, always in style

Just because ancient grains are “in” right now, it doesn’t mean you should discount modern whole grains. All whole grains are better for you than refined grains. Whole-grain kernels have three parts — the bran, endosperm, and germ — that give you phytonutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants, which protect against chronic disease. “Refined grains get rid of the bran and germ in the processing, and you lose the fiber and many of the nutrients,” says Krivitsky.

Many whole grains contain plenty of fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, improves digestion, and controls blood sugar. “It’s okay to eat lower-fiber whole grains. Just make sure you include other foods that are high in fiber, such as fruit and vegetables or high-fiber breads, cereals, and crackers,” says Krivitsky.

Where to start

The takeaway message is to vary your whole grains. “Keep eating oatmeal and brown rice if you like it, but add in some ancient grains from time to time,” suggests Krivitsky. Enjoy ancient grains as a side dish to a meal, or sample products that contain ancient grains, such as breads, cereals, and pastas.

When buying any whole-grain product, to ensure that you are getting an appreciable serving of that grain, make sure it’s one of the first ingredients listed; ingredients are listed by quantity, in descending order. Also, make sure there’s not a lot of added sugar, which takes away from the value of the food.

And remember to watch your calories when eating any grains. “Some of these are calorie-dense foods, so you really have to be mindful of portions or you may gain weight. But you can have less and still get more nutrients,” says Krivitsky.

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The post The whole grain goodness of modern and ancient grains appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Heidi Godman http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.health.harvard.edu%2Fblog%2Fancient-vs-modern-grains-theyre-good-201606299876&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8

Philadelphia pediatrician highlights childhood caries as 'silent epidemic'

A Philadelphia pediatrician said he wants dental professionals to know that many pediatricians are becoming more aware of the need to ensure that all children have a dental home — and that families are educated about caring for their child's primary teeth.

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Mosquito Repellents -- What Works?

There are no shortages of candles, sprays, and oils to keep mosquitoes away. But WebMD asks which ones really work?

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