Two Foods Could Help Ex-Smokers' Lungs Heal

Diets high in tomatoes and fruits, particularly apples, could speed the healing of smoke-damaged lungs.

From: https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20171221/two-foods-could-help-ex-smokers-lungs-heal?src=RSS_PUBLIC

High Costs Keep Many Cancer Patients From Needed Drugs

Cancer drugs have become so pricey that U.S. patients often can't afford them, a new study finds.

From: https://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20171221/high-costs-keep-many-cancer-patients-from-needed-drugs?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Chronic Heartburn Tied to Higher Odds for Head, Neck Cancers

New research suggests people with chronic acid reflux might have higher odds for even more dangerous foes -- head and neck cancers

From: https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/news/20171221/chronic-heartburn-tied-to-higher-odds-for-head-neck-cancers?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Are Women's Hearts More Vulnerable to Stress?

Mental stress can take a toll on blood vessels -- and women with heart disease may be especially vulnerable, a new study suggests.

From: https://www.webmd.com/women/news/20171221/are-womens-hearts-more-vulnerable-to-stress?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Pets on Planes: Emotional Support or Sham?

You may find yourself sitting near a four-legged passenger as airlines report more people taking pets on planes by calling them emotional support animals.

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20171221/pets-on-planes-emotional-support-or-sham?src=RSS_PUBLIC

U.S. Life Expectancy Drops as Opioid Deaths Surge

Life expectancy declined in the United States for the second year in a row in 2016, driven downward by fatal drug overdoses in young and middle-aged adults, according to a new report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20171221/us-life-expectancy-drops-as-opioid-deaths-surge?src=RSS_PUBLIC

To exercise more, get your game on

Does exercise sometimes feel like an annoying chore? Adding a little friendly competition and other “gamification” strategies just might help, according to a new study.

The six-month-long study included 94 families who tracked their daily step counts with a wearable device or a smartphone. Just over half of the participants were women, and their average age was 55. Half were randomly chosen for the gamification arm of the study, which was designed to encourage collaboration, accountability, and team spirit. These families received small prizes tied to achieving daily and weekly step goals. They boosted their daily walking distance by almost a mile — more than twice the gains achieved by people who weren’t part of the competition.

“Gamification helps motivate people by making the hard stuff in life more fun,” says Dr. Ichiro Kawachi, chair of the department of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Exercise sometimes feels like a duty, especially when your doctor lectures you about it. Psychologically, that’s not very inspiring, he says.

Harnessing team spirit

When you “gamify” health advice, the idea is to introduce elements of games into people’s daily routines. In this study, participants earned points by meeting daily physical activity goals, progressing through higher levels by keeping up that behavior, and ultimately winning prizes. But games are not just for single players. “Being on a team encourages cooperation, and people egg each other on. And when different teams compete against one another, that adds another layer of incentive. It’s like the difference between playing solitaire versus bridge,” Dr. Kawachi explains.

The study, published online Oct. 2, 2017, by JAMA Internal Medicine, relied on practices inspired by behavioral economics. People dislike losing even more than they like gaining, so the families were awarded 70 points every Monday, which they stood to lose if they did not meet their exercise goals. Every day, the family would keep or lose 10 points based on whether the group met their daily step goal. The added hitch: the step goal was based only on one randomly chosen family member, which helped to encourage everyone to try hard, notes Dr. Kawachi, who wrote an invited commentary published alongside the study.

Measurable gains

The gaming period of the study lasted three months, during which the gaming families boosted their activity levels by about 1,700 steps — more than twice the gains achieved by the nongaming control families. Over the next three months, everyone kept tracking his or her steps. The gamers lost some of their initial gains but still continued to outperform the nongamers.

Although these initial results are promising, experts are still in the early stages of understanding how to apply gamification effectively. Right now, there’s a gap: game app developers aren’t really focused on health, and health promotion experts aren’t thinking about games, says Dr. Kawachi. “I’d like to see health insurance plans collaborate with app developers to offer these types of things through their health promotion initiatives,” he says.

In the meantime, you can use the same principles to make your walking or exercise regimen more like a game. Invite your family, friends, or colleagues to play along, and make up your own goals and rewards.

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Learn more about Harvard Health Publishing’s online course Starting to Exercise. This interactive program will help you create a safe, well-rounded exercise plan—one that fits your life and that you will be likely to stick with.

The post To exercise more, get your game on appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Julie Corliss https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/exercise-get-game-2017122112903

Holiday Chocolates No Treat for Dogs

British researchers discovered that dogs were over four times more likely to eat chocolate at Christmas and nearly twice as likely to do so at Easter than the rest of the year.

From: https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/news/20171220/holiday-chocolates-no-treat-for-dogs?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Eating Greens May Boost an Aging Brain

People who eat leafy green vegetables every day may maintain a sharper mind as they age, a new study suggests.

From: https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20171220/eat-your-greens-----and-maybe-boost-an-aging-brain?src=RSS_PUBLIC

FDA OKs Lap-Band Surgery for More Patients

Allergan, Inc. has announced that the FDA has approved the Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding (LBAGB) System for obese adults with at least one obesity-related medical condition.

From: https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/news/20110217/fda-oks-lap-band-surgery-for-more-patients?src=RSS_PUBLIC

USDA-NASS Census On-Line Response

From: USDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOqqJOcsX_c

Mild Low Thyroid Levels May Affect a Woman's Fertility

Having even a slightly underactive thyroid may interfere with a woman's ability to get pregnant, a new Harvard Medical School study has found

From: https://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/news/20171220/mild-low-thyroid-levels-may-affect-a-womans-fertility?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Comments sought on report outlining risk analysis plan for electronic protected health information

Dental professionals can review and comment on an ADA-developed proposed tech-nical report that aims to assist covered dental practices in fulfilling their legally mandat-ed obligation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to conduct a security risk analysis of electronic protected information.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/december/comments-sought-on-report-outlining-risk-analysis-plan-for-electronic-protected-health-information

New on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon

Shows and movies you'll want to stream soon

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/whats-coming-to-netflix-this-month/

Mayo Clinic Minute: Innovative research to fight kidney disease

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx3zi93NEWU