Ginger Oil for Health

Ginger oil has significant importance in herbal medicine. It is a valuable herbal remedy especially for nasal and chest infection/blocking.

For detail see this:- Benefits of Ginger for Healthy Diet Plan

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Peppermint Oil Give Relief from Headache

Relief from Headache

Headache is a common disease in the society. Domestic tensions are the main cause of headache. Peppermint oil is useful in relaxing by rubbing peppermint oil on head.

Tiger Balm or white flower oil are also very significant for headaches. These entire tonics contain menthol which has property of analgesic. Keep yourself healthy.

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Oolong Tea for Health

Oolong Tea comes from an ever green bush called Camellia sinensis bush. It is very useful for eczema patients. For itching problems take 2 to 3 cup in a day.
Oolong tea preparation

• First of all fill the kettle with water and boil it.
• Put oolong tea leaf in it. Use one teaspoon of oolong tea leaf for one cup or as per your taste.
• Boil it for 5-7 minutes.
• Now tasty oolong tea is ready.
• Get pleasure Sip by Sip.

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Multiple Weight Loss Episodes Linked To Metabolic Affliction And Diabetes: Here Are 5 Methods To Yo-Yo Dieting

By Kaylen S. Ruscher

Looking for an additional reason to lose excess weight as well as keep that away forever? In this article anyone move!

People who continuously lose weight as well as acquire the idea back can be in higher risk intended for metabolic predicament and also diabetes according to the Oslo Analyze.

The weight loss roller coaster can be greater than psychologically aggravating. Seems like to line people way up intended for condition along with rapid death.

A new 28-year followup of participants in the Oslo review exposed the subsequent bottom line: Amongst older males the amount of assaults or even number of weight-loss right after age group 50 was for this metabolic affliction and also diabetes, however this study can't identify your causality in the relationship.

The amount of occasions have you ever misplaced pounds, just to achieve it back again? Every time you set your system by way of of which, a person possibly deteriorate it is security next to these perilous illnesses which lessen your daily life.

The reason many of us cannot preserve weight away from?

Many individuals tactic weight-loss efforts significantly short of the fundamental things that could guarantee their accomplishment. Below are a few with the difficulties to settle.

1. Insufficient knowledge.

Fat reduction can be a sophisticated science. Countless approach that satisfied by simply examining the ebook or even having suggestions from a pal. The truth is, if you are exclusively prepared with eating routine and also workout science, your own understanding might be inferior.

Enlist aid from some sort of holistic-minded nutritionist. You have to discover this tailor made diet prepare that offers people the particular compacted vitamins that you'll require, of which meets a person though economizing calorie consumption.

In a few classes which has a fitness expert, you possibly can study the proper form which has got the the majority of from your exercise although reducing the prospect associated with harm. You may be stunned with just how much that you do not learn about appropriate exercising as soon as you figure out using an individual whom receives the item.

Until you contain the suitable experience on your side, that you are at the massive drawback from the get-go. Making use of these kind of assets may dramatically increase ones probabilities of good results through just as much as 73%.

3. Deficiency of sociable assist.

Perhaps you have begun to make positive adjustments that you saw, just to be satisfied with level of resistance via your friends and relations? It is popular. One companion commences to reduce bodyweight plus the some other one particular will begin to sabotage your time.

Whenever you change your daily life the idea influences many people. As soon as the idea makes these uneasy, they may force to come back towards status quo.

This is a thing to help plan for. Discuss with the people in your own life. Prepare these people. Discuss with these, yet don't let these people cease an individual.

3. Malnutrition.

Diet would be the finest way to obtain malnutrition. A lot of low calorie diet programs rob one's body connected with just what it requires. Eventually, you receive the actual craving to excessive since one's body is actually weeping available for nutrients. This is the reason you will need a nicely created approach that you just absolutely recognize will give you almost everything the body needs daily.

4. Lack of sleep ..

Scientific disciplines. naturalnews. com unveils at least 48 scientific tests linked to lack of sleep . in addition to unhealthy weight. Your development is well established. Folks who wants sleep, it will likely be much more tough to reduce fat. Sadly, if you are over weight, you are more at risk from problems with sleep for example snore.

This specific double hole is actually hard to flee. However, you'll be able to and also must avoid it. Check into anti snoring options as well as healing herbal remedies in which assist you to sleeping.

5. Self-sabotage.

This granddaddy advisors all, self-sabotage is really a universal design which will most likely backed it is unsightly scalp throughout virtually any weight loss attempt.

The fact remains, for anyone who is obese, there is certainly a part of a person which would like to always be extra fat since it feels safer doing this, and herein is placed the actual greatest trouble. Once you experience on an emotional level secure undertaking something is both emotionally irritating and literally harmful, you have a few distortion within your standpoint.

This won't imply you're a poor man or woman. In reality, you might not have got consciously picked this kind of distortion at all. Possibly, is it doesn't reaction to long-term other than conscious coding.

You have to understand how this kind of is effective, so that you can unravel the idea. Learn more about the way self-sabotage operates by seeing this free online video media.

Regarding the publisher: Observe the free online video Your AHA! Course of action: An end in order to Self-Sabotage and find out the particular dropped keys to be able to individual alteration and mental well-being that have been covered up simply by well-known psychological well being for many years.

The details with this online video media has become known as the particular lost url throughout thought health insurance and private advancement. In a very entire world rich in short, quick-fix techniques, minute charge mindset as well as drug takeovers, authentic options are becoming extremely difficult to find. This specific speech will certainly convert your planet ugly.

source : Multiple Weight Loss Episodes Linked To Metabolic Affliction And Diabetes: Here Are 5 Methods To Yo-Yo Dieting

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Men’s Health and Exercise

Exercise play major role for men’s health. Exercise on daily basis is a good healthy practice for physical and mental satisfaction benefits. Exercise reduces the high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. It also reduces the depression which is good for men’s health.

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Men’s Health and Smoking

Smoking is another main hazard for men’s health. Smoking is main cause of more than 400,000 people death in every year. For men’s health it’s great if they choose not to smoke. Without any doubt it is most important for men’s health if they make decision.

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Men’s Health and Stress

The major hazard for men’s health is not a big disease like heart disease or cancer. 

It is an ordinary problem in our society and that is Stress. It is uncontrollable disease and their side effects are worst.

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Shopping Doesn't Help in Face of Trauma, Researchers Say

Study of people continually faced with rocket attacks found compulsive spending made stress worse

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Some people go shopping in an attempt to cope with the stress of traumatic events, but it actually makes things worse, according to a small, new study.

The researchers found that traumatic events cause more stress for materialistic people and that they are more likely to spend compulsively as a result. These people tend to have lower self-esteem than others, according to Ayalla Ruvio, an assistant professor of marketing at Michigan State University.

"When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping," Ruvio said in a university news release. "And this compulsive and impulsive spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, materialism appears to make bad events even worse."

The researchers surveyed 139 people from a southern Israeli town that was targeted by rocket attacks for about six months in 2007, and 170 people from another Israeli town that was not under attack.

When faced with a deadly threat, highly materialistic people reported higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms and impulsive and compulsive shopping than those who were less materialistic, according to the study recently published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences.

"The relationship between materialism and stress may be more harmful than commonly thought," Ruvio said.

Post-traumatic stress can be triggered by a wide range of events, including traffic crashes, natural disasters and criminal attacks, the researchers noted.

The investigators also surveyed 855 Americans about their levels of materialism and fear of death. The findings revealed that materialistic people are more likely to try to relieve the fear of death through impulsive and out-of-control spending.

The study results suggest that low self-esteem and fear of death may drive materialism's intensifying effect on extreme stress, according to the release. Future studies should examine the link between stress and materialism in different contexts, Ruvio said.

source : Shopping Doesn't Help in Face of Trauma, Researchers Say

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Houston Embraces Obamacare Outreach, Despite Cruz and Perry

By Carrie Feibel, KUHF

Two high-profile Texans are fighting the Affordable Care Act. Governor Rick Perry has loudly dismissed the law, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor this week to rail against it at length-21 hours and 19 minutes to be exact.

On the other side you have Rosy Mota and her clipboard, standing at the door of a CVS pharmacy in one of Houston’s Latino neighborhoods, stopping shoppers.

"Hello, would you like a brochure about the new health care coverage that’s coming into effect? We’ll be here if you have any questions," she tells a customer.

Mota works for Enroll America, a national organization that has borrowed its tactics from the Obama re-election campaign. Using data-mining and digital maps, the group is figuring out where the uninsured in Houston live, down to the block and house level.

Enroll America has just seven workers for Houston’s 800,000 uninsured residents. But it is part of a coalition of organizations that include the city health department, the county’s public clinics and groups like the Urban League, which are trying to get the word out about health insurance marketplaces, which will open Oct. 1, providing resources to help the uninsured buy new coverage created under the health law.

“Regardless of whether you are for the Affordable Care Act or you’re against the Affordable Care Act, we’re not looking at it that way,” says Houston health official Benjamin Hernandez. “We’re saying that, from a public health perspective, getting people insured and getting them into the system is a good thing to do.”

The state of Texas is not providing any money or staff to help people sign up. So the city is using federal money funneled through the United Way and also tapping its own resources.

In fact, it considers the project so important that it’s using the same command-and-control structure that it uses during hurricanes. Instead of shelters and relief centers, the city is compiling a list of block parties, church events and festivals where people can learn about Obamacare and how to sign up.

“Otherwise you would have...organizations going to the same territory, knocking on the same doors, talking to the same number of people, and when you look at Harris County, we’ve got close to about a million uninsured people, so there’s a lot to go around,” said Hernandez. “So that’s why we want to organize, so we make sure we get to all the different pockets in the county that need to hear about this.”

In addition, the Harris Health System is getting involved on a large scale. The publicly-funded safety-net system runs two hospitals and 16 community clinics. It has a lot to gain from Obamacare: It sees 250,000 uninsured patients every year. An estimated 75,000 of those make between 100-400 percent of the federal poverty level, and could therefore be eligible for subsidized coverage on the marketplace.

source : Houston Embraces Obamacare Outreach, Despite Cruz and Perry

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Can Eating Peanut Butter Cut Breast Cancer Risk in Later Life?

Regular consumption in childhood tied to 39 percent lower odds of benign breast disease by age 30

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Eating peanut butter regularly as a preteen and teen girl appears to decrease the risk of developing benign breast disease as an adult, new research has found.

Benign breast disease -- noncancerous changes in the breast tissue -- is a risk factor for breast cancer, experts agree.

The researchers followed more than 9,000 females, beginning when they were aged 9 to 15 in 1996, until 2010, when they were young women. Eating peanut butter three days a week reduced the risk of developing benign breast disease by 39 percent, said Dr. Graham Colditz, senior study author.

"I think this gives us enormous hope there are strategies we could be following to help prevent breast cancer that we haven't capitalized on yet," said Colditz, the associate director for cancer prevention and control at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis.

The study, published online Sept. 17 in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, was funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Benign breast disease is fairly common, and a known risk factor for breast cancer, Colditz said. Before menopause, "about one in four women have a benign lesion, confirmed by biopsy," he said. "It's very clear there is a strong link between the benign lesion and the subsequent risk of invasive breast cancer."

Depending on the characteristics of the benign lesion, he said, benign breast disease could increase breast cancer risk by threefold.

The study participants were part of a long-term, ongoing study on the health effects of diet and exercise in young people. They filled out questionnaires about their diet annually from 1996 until 2001, then four more times until 2010. They also reported if they had been diagnosed with benign breast disease. In all, 112 women said they had.

The researchers looked at foods with vegetable protein and vegetable fats, then focused on individual foods, including peanut butter, peanuts or other nuts, beans and corn.

A daily serving of any of these foods was linked with a 68 percent reduced risk of benign breast disease. At age 14, a daily serving of any of those foods was linked with a 66 percent lower risk of benign breast disease, and girls who had about three servings a week of peanut butter had a 39 percent lower risk.

The researchers found a link between eating peanut butter and lower breast disease risk, not a cause-and-effect relationship, and Colditz said he can't explain yet why the peanut butter seems protective.

"It could well be the protein," he said. In previous studies, the researchers have looked at other factors of a healthy diet, such as milk consumption, and their role in breast health. The peanut butter finding, he said, is strong, even when taking into account an overall healthy diet. "It's not something we can make go away," he said.

source : Can Eating Peanut Butter Cut Breast Cancer Risk in Later Life?

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Lessons From The Obamacare Data Dump

By Jay Hancock

This week the Department of Health and Human Services released a ton of information about how insurance sold in 36 states under the Affordable Care Act will work. Most of it came in the form of data showing the number of carriers and their premium prices in hundreds of regions.

Until now we've seen information on subsidized policies to be sold through online marketplaces released in trickles by states that are creating their own online portals.

The federal data covers states that dumped all or part of the work of building the marketplaces on the feds. It’s the biggest chunk of information so far available, even though many critical pieces - the identity of the insurers, the structure of the benefits, the networks of the hospitals and doctors - won't be known until next week. That's when the online portals in every state are scheduled to start selling subsidized insurance made available by the ACA to those who aren't otherwise covered.

The Obama administration boasted that the average premiums came out lower than projected by the Congressional Budget Office. Opponents of the ACA countered that many people buying through the exchanges, especially younger, healthier consumers, may pay substantially more than what they pay now.

But those were only the headlines. Here’s what else the data show:

- Competition equals lower prices. In regions with only one insurance company selling through the subsidized exchange, the average monthly premium for a 21-year-old buying the lowest cost bronze policy is $186, before any subsidies are applied. In regions with 10 or more rival carriers, the average cost is $132 or less.

In the exchanges' metal rating system, bronze plans are the least expensive category, covering 60 percent of medical costs on average after you pay the premium.

- The number of insurance companies selling through the subsidized marketplace varies hugely from one area to another. In many parts of West Virginia, Arkansas and Alabama, only one company is selling policies to individuals and families through the subsidized exchange. (Insurers may also offer policies outside the exchange.)

In New Hampshire only one insurer will sell through the exchange in the entire state. In the Detroit region, on the other hand, 11 carriers will sell subsidized policies. In Phoenix, 10 will.

- The number of available plans, another indicator of choice, also varies. Residents of Oviedo, in eastern Florida, will have 181 polices offered by six insurers to pick from. In Oshkosh, Wis., consumers can choose from 181 plans sold by eight companies. But only seven policies from one insurer will be available in most parts of Alabama. St. Louis residents can pick from 23 policies offered by two insurers.

- There is a paucity of platinum plans. Under the metal ratings, platinum policies are the most expensive. They cover 90 percent of average medical expenses after you pay the premium.

source : Lessons From The Obamacare Data Dump

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5 Myths and Facts About MS

By Kara Mayer Robinson
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

If you're getting a lot of confusing advice about living with multiple sclerosis, you're not alone. Friends may be quick to offer suggestions, but sometimes they just repeat old myths.

Getting the facts straight can help you lead a full life.

Myth: Women with MS shouldn't get pregnant.

"This is a definite myth," says Matthew McCoyd, MD, a neurologist and MS specialist at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago.

"In the pregnancy year (9 months of pregnancy plus 3 months postpartum), there is no change in the relapse rate," he says. "And there does not appear to be any long-term impact on disability."

Many studies over the past 40 years suggest that pregnancy can actually reduce the number of MS flares, especially in the second and third trimesters.

"While pregnancy is obviously an intensely personal decision, MS should not play a significant role in the decision," he says.

MS treatment options do change during pregnancy, though. Talk to your doctor if you're considering becoming pregnant.

Myth: All people with MS will need a wheelchair.

Most people with MS don't become severely physically disabled. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, two-thirds remain able to walk.

But many will need a walking aid such as a cane, crutches, or a walker.

"Some people who are able to walk choose to use a motorized scooter over long distances so that they still have energy left to enjoy an event or activity once they get there," says Rosalind Kalb, PhD. Kalb is vice president of clinical care at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

It's true that you many need to think differently about how you move around, but you don't need to stop moving. Staying mobile lets you keep doing the things that make life meaningful and enjoyable.

Myth: You shouldn't exercise if you have MS.

"Actually, you should exercise if you have MS," McCoyd says. Physical activity is good for your overall health and can help you manage MS symptoms.

Exercise improves strength, endurance, and balance. It also helps:

• Mood
• Thinking
• Bowel function
• Overall quality of life

But there are special considerations. "Becoming overheated while exercising can worsen symptoms of MS," says Daniel Bandari, MD. Bandari is the medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of California and Research Group in Newport Beach, Calif.

Stay cool by taking frequent breaks. Try to exercise in the morning, when it's not too hot.

Your exercise program should be tailored to your abilities and limitations. It may need to be adjusted when your symptoms change. You can get help in putting together a routine from a physical therapist who has experience with MS patients.

source : 5 Myths and Facts About MS

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Could Antidepressant Combat Lethal Lung Cancer?

Little-used depression drug shows early promise in lab, mice studies

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- An older and little-used class of antidepressants may help combat a particularly deadly form of lung cancer, according to a new study.

Using a unique computer program, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine identified tricyclic antidepressants as a potential treatment for small cell lung cancer. This class of drugs was introduced decades ago and is still approved for use in the United States, but has been supplanted by newer antidepressants with fewer side effects.

Follow-up experiments showed that the tricyclic antidepressant called imipramine (Tofranil), was effective against human small cell lung cancer cells grown in the laboratory and growing as tumors in mice. The drug activated a self-destruction pathway in the cancer cells and slowed or blocked the spread of cancer in mice.

Imipramine maintained its effectiveness regardless of whether the cancer cells had previously been exposed, and become resistant, to traditional chemotherapy treatments, according to the study, which was published online Sept. 27 in the journal Cancer Discovery.

Because tricyclic antidepressants already have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use in people, the Stanford team was quickly able to launch a clinical trial to test imipramine in patients with small cell lung cancer and certain other types of cancer. They are currently recruiting patients for the phase-2 trial.

"We are cutting down the decade or more and the $1 billion it can typically take to translate a laboratory finding into a successful drug treatment to about one to two years and spending about $100,000," study co-senior author Dr. Atul Butte, director of the Center for Pediatric Bioinformatics at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, said in a university news release.

"The five-year survival for small cell lung cancer is only 5 percent," study co-senior author Julien Sage, an associate professor of pediatrics, said in the news release. "There has not been a single efficient therapy developed in the last 30 years. But when we began to test these drugs in human cancer cells grown in a dish and in a mouse model, they worked, and they worked, and they worked."

Another drug, an antihistamine called promethazine (Phenergan), also exhibited the ability to kill cancer cells, according to the researchers.

source : Could Antidepressant Combat Lethal Lung Cancer?

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Ways To Grow Maintain And Operate Your Own Weight Loss Treatment Business Today

You are the most important person at your weight loss treatment and consulting services business, so you are the one who has to be the one to focus on growth and create a personal plan for your business. Expansion should be the driving force behind every business decision. Here are some tips that can help you to get into that mindset.

You should always keep daily records of all your transactions and review them periodically. Knowing how much money is flowing in and out of your weight loss treatment and consulting services business at any given time will help you to plan for the future of your weight loss clinic by giving you a better idea of how business is going.

Don't focus too much on obtaining trademarks and patents. These things are important, of course, but they are also time consuming and expensive and can hold you back from actually producing your product. Protect your intellectual property, but do so without getting in your own way.

Have a customer service phone line and email address. If you have a precise place people can go to get help, they will feel more certain that they will get help. It's professional and organized.

"Sharing" online is a great way to popularize your weight loss clinic. Add "Share to Facebook" and "Share to Twitter" buttons to your website, and it will be easy for people to spread the word about you.

Great targets, together with the power of positive thinking, produce an optimal weight loss treatment and consulting services business environment. Always work to demonstrate a positive attitude towards your weight loss clinic and employees. Select staff members that share your positive thinking. This will produce a team dedicated to results, with the proper mindset, and set you on course for successful realization of profits.

When you are running a weight loss treatment and consulting services business, you must understand the term cash flow. You may think that profit is the same as cash flow but you would be incorrect. You never want to make a mistake when it comes to these words because even a small mistake can lead to financial disaster!

Listen you every employee of your weight loss clinic, regardless of how much they are paid. Everyone deserves for their opinion to be heard and it's essential to listen if you want to learn about every angle of your clinic.

A customer should be lured into giving you weight loss treatment and consulting services business not through promises you don't intend to fulfill but by keeping their faith and developing a long standing relationship. Customers should never be allowed to feel cheated by the numerous terms and conditions that you put down in your small print. Be a like gardener who tends rather than hunter who seeks- out aggressively

source : Ways To Grow Maintain And Operate Your Own Weight Loss Treatment Business Today

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CDC Reports More Americans Getting Flu Shots

But overall rate still low, so officials urge everyone over 6 months of age to get vaccinated this season

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Although more Americans than ever are getting their annual flu shots, U.S. health officials said Thursday that the rates could be better and urged virtually all Americans to get vaccinated for the coming flu season.

"Our message today is simple. Everyone 6 months of age and older should receive a flu vaccination," Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during a morning news conference.

Those who remain unvaccinated are at higher risk of hospitalization and death from flu and its complications, the experts noted.

A flu shot is especially important for people with medical conditions such as heart disease, asthma or diabetes, Koh said. In addition, vaccinating pregnant women and health care professionals is vital.

Every year, an estimated 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu, leading to 200,000 hospitalizations -- including 20,000 children under the age of 5. From 1976 to 2006, estimates of flu-related annual deaths ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Flu is predictably unpredictable," Koh said. "When it comes to flu, we can't look to the past to predict the future."

For example, "last year influenza started earlier than usual, was more intense and remained elevated for 15 consecutive weeks. Last season, we tragically witnessed some 164 pediatric deaths. That's the highest number [ever] reported except for the 2009-2010 pandemic year," Koh said.

Data on flu vaccinations in the United States was published Sept. 27 in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"I have some good news," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, an assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service and director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

"Last season, more people were vaccinated against influenza in the United States than in previous seasons," she said.

According to the report, during the 2012-2013 season 56.6 percent of children aged 6 months through 17 years got their shot, up 5.1 percent from the 2011-2012 season.

Among adults aged 18 and older, 41.5 percent were vaccinated, up 2.7 percent from 2011-2012. In all, 45 percent of the U.S. population aged 6 months and older was vaccinated during last flu season, the researchers found.

However, 72 percent of health care workers got a flu shot last season, a record high, according to the CDC.

Vaccination rates varied widely among the states, from a high of 57.5 percent in Massachusetts to a low of 34.1 percent in Florida. And while more pregnant women are getting vaccinated than before, their numbers appear stuck at around 50 percent, according to the CDC.

source : CDC Reports More Americans Getting Flu Shots

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Obama Encourages Americans to Get Health Coverage

Sept. 26, 2013 (Largo, Md.) -- As part of an aggressive campaign to explain his signature health care law to Americans, President Barack Obama urged millions of Americans to sign up for the new health insurance Marketplaces that will open Oct. 1.

The campaign-style speech, in front of a supportive crowd of college students, came as news emerged that another part of the law would be delayed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it will be delaying online enrollment in the Marketplaces for small businesses in some states; they will be able to enroll with a paper application.

Obama did not mention the delay during his speech, although he acknowledged that glitches would happen.

“Somewhere around the country, there will be a computer glitch and the web site won’t work the way it’s supposed to, and I guarantee that there will be a camera ready to document it,” Obama said. “But most of the stories that Obamacare won’t work just aren't based on facts.”

With the opening of the Marketplaces just days away, about half of Americans say they don’t know enough information about the law and half also say they disapprove of it.

The Obama administration is also facing stiff opposition from congressional Republicans, who have been using the budget and debt-ceiling debate in Congress as a way to eliminate funding for the law.

The insurance Marketplaces are the key part of the Affordable Care Act, the law aimed at giving more than 41 million uninsured Americans access to reasonably priced health insurance. Small businesses and individuals who currently buy their own insurance will also be able to seek coverage in the Marketplaces.

A report released this week shows that average premiums for insurance will be lower than had been projected in the 36 states where the federal government will be running Marketplaces.

The average price for a “silver plan,” which will cover 70% of an average person’s medical costs, will be $328 a month for individuals. The numbers do not include tax credits, which may bring the costs lower. In Maryland, Obama said that a 25-year-old making $25,000 will pay as little as $80 a month for health insurance.

“You can probably get insurance for less than the cost of a cell phone bill,” Obama told the supportive crowd of 1,800, who were packed into an athletic center on the campus of Prince George’s Community College, 15 miles east of Washington, D.C.

He said that buying insurance would be like “shopping for a ticket on Kayak” or “shopping for a TV on Amazon.”

Many consumers who shop in a Marketplace will be eligible for federal tax credits to help offset the cost of the monthly premium. The administration said that 56% of the roughly 41 million uninsured people eligible for the Marketplaces could pay monthly premiums of $100 or less. Enrollment for insurance in 2014 begins Oct. 1 and will last until March 31, 2014.

“Go to healthcare.gov. You can look and they’ll tell you where to go,” the president said. “You don’t have to take my word for it. Go see for yourself what the prices are. See for yourself what the choices are. Then make up your own mind. That is all I’m asking.”

source : Obama Encourages Americans to Get Health Coverage

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Big Breakfast May Be Best for Diabetes Patients

Study found morning meal rich in protein, fat actually curbed hunger, helped control blood sugar levels

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- A hearty breakfast that includes protein and fat may actually help people with type 2 diabetes better control both their hunger and their blood sugar levels.

Patients who ate a big breakfast for three months experienced lower blood sugar (glucose) levels, and nearly one-third were able to reduce the amount of diabetic medication they took, according to an Israeli study that was scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Barcelona.

"The changes were very dramatic," said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "I'm impressed with these findings," added Zonszein, who was not involved with the study. "We should see if they can be reproduced."

The researchers based their new study on previous investigations that found that people who regularly eat breakfast tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who skip the meal. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight. Breakfast eaters also enjoy lower blood sugar levels and are able to use insulin more efficiently.

The trial randomly assigned 59 people with type 2 diabetes to either a big or small breakfast group.

The big breakfast contained about one-third of the daily calories that the diabetic patients would have, while the small breakfast contained only 12.5 percent of their total daily energy intake. The big breakfast also contained a higher percentage of protein and fat.

Doctors found that after 13 weeks, blood sugar levels and blood pressure dropped dramatically in people who ate a big breakfast every day. Those who ate a big breakfast enjoyed blood sugar level reductions three times greater than those who ate a small breakfast, and blood pressure reductions that were four times greater.

About one-third of the people eating a big breakfast ended up cutting back on the daily diabetic medication they needed to take. By comparison, about 17 percent of the small breakfast group had to increase their medication prescriptions during the course of the trial.

The people eating a big breakfast also found themselves less hungry later in the day.

"As the study progressed, we found that hunger scores increased significantly in the small breakfast group while satiety scores increased in the big breakfast group," study co-author Dr. Hadas Rabinovitz, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said in a news release from the association. "In addition, the big breakfast group reported a reduced urge to eat and a less preoccupation with food, while the small breakfast group had increased preoccupation with food and a greater urge to eat over time."

Rabinovitz speculated that a big breakfast rich in protein causes suppression of ghrelin, which is known as the "hunger hormone."

source : Big Breakfast May Be Best for Diabetes Patients

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Common Diabetes Drugs May Carry Risk, Study Suggests

Patients taking sulfonylureas had a higher death risk than those on metformin, researchers say

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Diabetes patients who take drugs called sulfonylureas as an initial therapy have a higher risk of death than those who take the diabetes drug metformin, a new study says.

The British researchers said the findings suggest that it may no longer be appropriate to offer sulfonylureas as a first-line treatment.

Diabetes experts in the United States agreed that the study could have an impact on care.

The findings "will change the practice of glucose [blood sugar]-lowering therapy," said Dr. Spyros Mezitis, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

But he added that "more study is need to confirm this data," and use of the alternative drug, metformin, is not always the answer. "Metformin and other oral hypoglycemic agents have their drawbacks, and probably we will see earlier use of insulin in type 2 diabetics," Mezitis said.

Both metformin (brand names include Glucophage and Fortamet) and sulfonylureas (glyburide and glipizide) are commonly prescribed as first-line therapies for patients and have been available since the 1950s.

The new study was funded by drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb, which makes Glucophage.

Researchers analyzed data from thousands of people in the United Kingdom who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and began first-line blood sugar-lowering treatments between 2000 and 2012 and were followed for an average of three years.

Patients who took sulfonylureas only were 58 percent more likely to die from any cause than those who took metformin only, according to the study, which was presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Barcelona, Spain.

The findings suggest "that treatment with first-line monotherapy [one-drug only] with sulfonylureas should be reconsidered," wrote a team led by Dr. Craig Currie of Cardiff University.

Another U.S. expert said sulfonylureas and metformin fight diabetes in different ways. Sulfonylureas work "by increasing insulin release from the beta cells in the pancreas," while metformin "acts by suppressing glucose production by the liver," explained Dr. Patricia Vuguin, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Findings presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

source : Common Diabetes Drugs May Carry Risk, Study Suggests

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Health Highlights: Sept. 26, 2013

Some Badger baby and children's sunscreen products are being recalled in the United States and Canada due to microbial contamination.

All lots of the company's 4-ounce SPF 30 Baby Sunscreen Lotion and one lot of its 4-ounce SPF 30 Kids Sunscreen Lotion are being recalled after tests revealed contamination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida parapsilosis and Acremonium fungi, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The affected lots include:

• SPF 30 Baby Sunscreen Lotion 4oz (UPC: 634084490091 & 634084490114) Lot #'s 3024A, 3057B, 3063A, 3063B, 3132A, 3133A.
• SPF 30 Kids Sunscreen Lotion (UPC: 634084490145 & 634084490169) Lot # 3164A.

The sunscreen products were sold online and at major retailers, pharmacies and independent food co-ops. Consumers with the products should not use them and may return them to the point of purchase for a full refund, the FDA said.

Consumers can also contact W.S. Badger Co. Inc. at 1-800-603-6100.

source : Health Highlights: Sept. 26, 2013

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Study Questions Fish Oil Brain Claims

Higher levels of omega-3 didn't boost thinking, memory test scores

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- If you eat a lot of fish or take fish oil supplements hoping to boost your brain health, a new study has disappointing findings for you.

The study, published online Sept. 25 in the journal Neurology, found no difference in memory and thinking test scores based on levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood.

"We looked at the association of blood biomarkers of [omega-3 fatty acids] and measure of cognitive [thinking] function and found no statistically significant association between baseline levels or over time," said the study's lead author, Eric Ammann, a doctoral candidate in the department of epidemiology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

However, this study's findings run counter to other research that has suggested that omega-3 fatty acids can help protect the aging brain. A study published in the February 2012 issue of Neurology suggested that middle-aged and elderly people who regularly ate foods rich in omega-3s scored better on tests of visual memory, attention and abstract thinking compared to those who consumed fewer omega-3 foods. The study also found that people who consumed less omega-3s tended to have smaller brain volume overall than those who ate more omega-3 foods.

There are plausible biological mechanisms for why omega-3s might improve brain health, according to background information in the current study. One particular omega-3, called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is a structural component of brain tissue, the study authors noted. DHA also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which may slow deterioration in the brain.

Ammann's hypothesis going into the study was that omega-3 fatty acids would have a protective effect on thinking and memory in women 65 and older.

Data for the study came from the U.S. Women's Health Initiative study. The researchers included information from more than 2,000 women between 65 and 80 years old who had normal thinking and memory at the start of the study.

The women took tests on thinking and memory each year for an average of six years. Blood levels of omega-3s were taken at the start of the study.

Overall, the researchers found no changes in mental function based on the levels of omega-3s in the blood.

There were two tests -- fine motor speed and verbal fluency -- that showed a slightly significant difference between high levels of omega-3s and low levels of omega-3s, according to the study.

"There were two marginally significant findings between high and low omega-3s, and to some extent those findings align with other studies, but we did look at about 14 different outcomes, so by chance, we would expect to find some on the cusp of statistical significance," explained Ammann.

Ammann said the researchers don't recommend changing your diet based on their findings. "This was a select group of women who were older and healthy at baseline. It's one piece of evidence on the effect of omega-3s and cognitive function," he said. "Our results are looking at the short-term effect of omega-3s. We don't know for someone [who has higher levels] for a longer time, if that would have a more gradual, cumulative effect over time."

source : Study Questions Fish Oil Brain Claims

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Epilepsy Drugs in Pregnancy May Affect Infants' Fine Motor Skills

Study did not find similar link when babies were exposed through breast-feeding

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Young children exposed to epilepsy drugs in the womb are at increased risk of having impaired fine motor skills, according to a new study. Exposure to the drugs in breast milk, however, does not appear to pose a threat.

Researchers looked at data collected from Norwegian mothers about their children's language, behavior, and motor and social skills at the ages of 6 months, 18 months and 36 months. The women also provided information on breast-feeding during the first year for the study, which was published online Sept. 23 in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Of the children in the study, 223 were exposed to one or more epilepsy drugs in the womb.

At age 6 months, 11.5 percent of infants whose mothers took epilepsy drugs during pregnancy had impaired fine motor skills (which involve small muscle movements) compared with less than 5 percent of those who were not exposed to epilepsy drugs.

Using more than one type of epilepsy drug during pregnancy was associated with impairments in both fine motor and social skills.

Exposure to epilepsy drugs in breast milk was not associated with any harmful effects for the age groups included, according to a journal news release.

Although the study found that exposure to epilepsy drugs in the womb was associated with a risk for impaired motor skills in infants, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

"Women with epilepsy should be encouraged to breast-feed their children irrespective of antiepileptic medication use," said Dr. Gyri Veiby, of the University of Bergen in Norway, and colleagues.

Veiby has received travel support from drugmaker UCB Pharma and lecture fees from GlaxoSmithKline, the study disclosed.

The findings provide additional evidence that it is safe to breast-feed while taking epilepsy drugs, Dr. Paul Van Ness, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, wrote in an accompanying journal editorial.

"Pregnant women with epilepsy often ask whether they will be able to breast-feed," he said. "Many have been given conflicting advice when there were scant data to answer the question."

source : Epilepsy Drugs in Pregnancy May Affect Infants' Fine Motor Skills

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New Robotic Leg Gets Closer to the Real Thing, Study Says

State-of-the-art prosthesis relies on user's nerve signals

HealthDay – Not on Site

By Randy Dotinga

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists report early progress in efforts to create better robotic legs that will sense nerve signals and know how their users want to move.

Last fall, one such "smart limb" helped 31-year-old Zac Vawter climb 103 floors of Chicago's Willis Tower.

Vawter, who lost his right leg after a motorcycle accident, was trying out a state-of-the-art prosthetic prototype, now the subject of a new report published in the Sept. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Vawter "can do many normal activities like walking up and down stairs," said Levi Hargrove, a research scientist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and lead author of the study. "He can even reposition the prosthesis by thinking about it."

The mind-controlled prosthetics are still in development and far from ready for prime time. It's also not clear how much they might cost or if they'll be appropriate for most amputees, according to the study.

But demand is there, Hargrove believes.

Modern leg prostheses have numerous limitations. Some are simple, unsophisticated devices that enable walking on level ground, but lack a power boost to help users do anything more challenging, Hargrove said. Artificial legs can also be difficult to use on stairs and slopes.

Some people who've lost a leg, such as an older person with diabetes, may simply want to walk around the house and return to the community, said Dr. Howard Gilmer, an attending physician at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study.

But war veterans and accident survivors who've lost limbs may want to return to a much higher level of activity, he said. That's where artificial limbs that allow people to run or spend time in water come in.

In the new study, researchers examine a kind of technology designed to give more control to amputees who have a powered prosthesis.

The technology detects so-called "electromyographic" signals in the thigh muscles that normally tell the muscles of the lower leg what to do. The brain continues to send the signals to the leg even when the actual leg is gone, Hargrove said.

If all goes according to plan, the technology picks up the signals and moves the robotic leg in the way the user intends, said Hargrove, whose work is being supported by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. More than 1,200 American service members have lost limbs in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But there are some caveats. The report pointed out that it will be a challenge to design a prosthesis that will pick up the proper signals yet be comfortable to wear. Also, the devices "must be made more reliable, quieter, smaller, and lighter to benefit larger numbers of amputees," the study authors noted.

Gilmer mentioned other challenges. The weight of a prosthesis is a significant issue, he said, as is its reaction to moisture from sweat. He said manufacturers will also have to figure out how to power the device without needing too much recharging. And, the unique anatomy of the stump remaining after amputation may create challenges, he added.

There's another issue: cost. Prostheses can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Still, Gilmer said, the potential for improved prostheses is a "big deal."

source : New Robotic Leg Gets Closer to the Real Thing, Study Says

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7 Strategies To Build Willpower And Get Fit Once And For All

It takes hard work, dedication, and yes, willpower to get in great shape. Do these things to get over your excuses and make it happen once and for all:

1. Get rid of temptation

Do some junk food house-cleaning. Don't have temptation around you. Get rid of those sugary, salty, processed foods. If they're there staring you in the face every time you open your cupboard, sooner or later you're going to reach in for a handful. Don't tempt yourself. Clean house and get rid of it.

2. Eat frequent small, clean meals

Eat small, clean meals every 3 or so hours to rev up your metabolism, regulate blood sugar levels and keep yourself from going into starvation mode. If you don't eat enough nutrient-dense foods in proper proportion throughout the day, your body will hang on to fat and you'll have a difficult time getting lean.
Most people find that eating properly and exercise go hand in hand. So often if you exercise, you'll naturally reach for healthier foods in order not to waste the effort you've put in to your workout. The reverse is also true.

3. Don't go it alone

Having support is so important. Surround yourself with people who understand the ups and downs of striving for results and achieving them. There are so many virtual support groups these days that there is really no excuse for not seeking out the support you need to help you achieve your goals.
How many of us have bought exercise equipment in the past only to have it end up collecting dust in the basement? I hold regular accountability and support groups and always make myself available to be the support needed when times get tough - and they will get tough. At some point, everyone questions whether it's worth all the effort. The answer is, "Absolutely!" You need to hear that from supportive and understanding people in your inner circle.

4. Create a dream board

Don't underestimate the power of visualization. Surround yourself with reminders and imagery that represent your goals. These can be pictures, inspirational quotes, words or actions. Whether you use a cork, magnetic, poster or bulletin board, place it somewhere where you'll see it daily. This could be in your home office or even in your kitchen.
You may also consider using the virtual real estate on your desktop computer or smartphone. Oprah offers a great web-based application you can check out. I personally stock the wallpaper and home screen of my iPhone with text images of my goals. Just remember that visual reminders of your goals are strong influences when it comes to daily choices.

5. Stop the excuses

Stop making excuses for why you can't exercise and eat right. Explanations come in two forms - excuses and reasons. Remember: you make excuses and you give reasons.
One of the most common excuses I hear for not exercising is lack of time. Listen, we're all busy. I stopped making excuses and decided to prioritize ten minutes of my day to exercise. I figured if I couldn't find ten measly minutes, then I wasn't time-challenged as much as I was priority-challenged. Once I changed my habits, I progressed to 20, then 30 minutes per day.

If you feel you absolutely cannot carve out the time to exercise or prepare healthy meals, you may need to set your alarm to get up a little earlier or stay up a tad later at night to prepare and plan food for the next day. You may ultimately need to re-evaluate the overall constraints and pressures being put on your time, but that's for another discussion. The point here is that reasons are valid, excuses are not.

6. Supplements are your friend

In this age of go, go, go and fast food restaurants on every corner, it's essential to have a strategy for getting through those moments when you are running errands, can't take a proper lunch break or are taxiing the kids to and from soccer practice.

Use quality supplements to your advantage (like meal replacement shakes or bars) to get you over the hump until your next meal. There are many great quality supplements available which are a great way to give your body the nutrients it needs in a pinch.

7. Schedule exercise

Don't leave exercise to chance. Schedule it like you would a Doctor's appointment and keep it. Many people find that working out first thing in the morning is their best option, as they get it done and it revs them up for the day ahead, but that's not always possible depending on your schedule. That's okay. Exercise when you can.

The days that I don't feel like exercising (and, believe me, there are days that I really don't feel like it) are the days I absolutely ensure I push play. Those are the days when you'll feel most accomplished and have your resolve and willpower to thank for it.

If you know someone who is struggling to reach their fitness goals and could use some or all of this advice, please share this article with them.

Sheryl Plouffe is a health and fitness business consultant and TV personality. She works with motivated people to design their ideal lifestyle through exercise, nutrition and support. Sign up for free updates at: http://www.fithealthywell.com

source : 7 Strategies To Build Willpower And Get Fit Once And For All

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Bacterial Infection's Spread Occurs Beyond Health Care Settings: Study

Review of C. difficile suggests most transmission takes place outside of hospitals, nursing homes

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A new British study raises questions about the transmission of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that causes life-threatening diarrhea in people who have recently been on antibiotics.

Physicians have assumed that C. difficile mainly spreads from patient to patient in hospital settings.

However, a genetic analysis of C. difficile infections at the four Oxford University Hospitals during a three-year period found that only 35 percent of cases occurred because the bacteria passed from one person to another in the hospital, according the study in the Sept. 26 New England Journal of Medicine.

"Unexpectedly few cases -- 13 percent -- appear to be acquired from direct ward-based contact with other symptomatic cases," said study co-author David Eyre, a research microbiologist at Oxford University's experimental medicine division. "These have previously been thought to be the main source of infections, and the focus of prevention efforts."

Another 19 percent of cases seemed to represent some sort of hospital contact outside the ward, the authors wrote, while the remaining 3 percent might have been contracted through at least one intermediate host at the hospital.

The new findings should prompt epidemiologists and public health experts to begin searching for other potential sources of C. difficile infection, both inside and outside the hospital, said a U.S. expert who wrote an journal editorial accompanying the study.

"This study clearly shows we're missing a lot of potential transmissions, a lot of potential sources of C. difficile, but we still don't know where the C. diff. is coming from," said Dr. Curtis Donskey, an associate professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and a staff physician in the infectious diseases section at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently named C. difficile one of the top three health threats caused by overuse of antibiotics.

The bacteria is opportunistic and invades a person's gut after antibiotics have wiped out the intestinal flora that normally would fend off such an infection, according to the CDC.

There are about 250,000 C. difficile infections a year in the United States that either require hospitalization or involve already hospitalized patients. The bacteria kills 14,000 Americans a year, the CDC says.

In the new study, the Oxford researchers tested nearly 41,000 stool samples from patients for C. difficile. They cultured the bacteria and then genetically analyzed every strain to see which ones shared genetics and, therefore, were likely to have been transmitted from one patient to the other.

"The sources of Clostridium difficile infections were highly genetically diverse, with 45 percent of cases having a genetically distinct origin, suggesting a diverse reservoir of disease not previously appreciated," Eyre said.

source : Bacterial Infection's Spread Occurs Beyond Health Care Settings: Study

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Study Finds No Connection Between Autism, Celiac Disease

Research casts doubt on practice of placing children with autism on a gluten-free diet, experts say

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A large, new study finds no linkage between the digestive disorder celiac disease and autism.

One theory about autism is that it may start in the gut, because some children with the disorder also suffer from gastrointestinal problems. Many are put on strict gluten-free diets in the hopes that avoiding wheat proteins will improve their behavior.

"Studies have not really shown that this works, but it is a common belief," said Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental-behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The new study, which was published online Sept. 25 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, offers the most definitive proof yet that many autistic kids don't benefit from restrictive, wheat-free diets.

The study comes from Sweden, a country that keeps careful records on the health of its citizens. Sweden also has rates of celiac disease that are about twice as high as in the United States, said study author Dr. Joseph Murray, a celiac disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Researchers pulled the health records on almost 290,000 people who'd had intestinal biopsies. Intestinal biopsies are tests where doctors take a tissue sample of the small intestine and examine it under the microscope to look for signs of damage. Intestinal biopsies are considered to be the most reliable way to check for celiac disease.

Based on the biopsy results, about 27,000 of those people had full-blown celiac disease. More than 12,000 had signs of inflammation without celiac disease. And another 3,700 had blood tests that indicated that they were having an immune reaction to wheat proteins, as people with celiac disease do, but their biopsies showed no intestinal damage.

Researchers then compared the rates of autism diagnoses in those groups to autism rates among more than 213,000 others who had biopsies with normal test results. Individuals in the normal comparison group were carefully matched to be the same age and sex as those with suspicious tests. They also lived in the same part of the country and had their biopsies done the same year as the others.

The result: Researchers say they found no convincing evidence that autism and celiac disease are linked.

"If there was a connection between these two diseases -- either hidden celiac disease causing autism or autism causing celiac disease, it should have shown up in the study of this size. So, I think that's the big message," said Murray. "This brings some finality to that debate."

When researchers restricted their results to a smaller subset of children who were diagnosed with celiac disease before their autism was spotted, they found that a prior diagnosis of celiac disease boosted the odds that child would be diagnosed with autism down the road by roughly 40 percent.

source : Study Finds No Connection Between Autism, Celiac Disease

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Brain Scans Show Why Psychopaths Don't Feel Your Pain

Images revealed much different reaction to thoughts of their own pain versus that of others

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Among other traits, psychopaths feel a lack of empathy when other people are in pain, and brain scans now reveal why that is.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder marked by callousness, manipulation, sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors. About 23 percent of people in prison are psychopaths, compared with about 1 percent of people in the general population.

In this study, researchers used functional MRI to observe brain activity in 121 inmates at a medium-security prison in the United States who were divided into three groups based on the levels of their psychopathy: high, moderate or low.

The participants were shown pictures of physical pain, such as a finger caught in a door or a toe trapped under a heavy object. They were first asked to imagine that these accidents happened to themselves and then to imagine that they happened to others.

When highly psychopathic inmates imagined themselves in these painful situations, they showed higher-than-normal activity in certain brain regions involved in empathy for pain. But these regions failed to become active when they imagined others in pain.

Moreover, when imagining other people in pain, highly psychopathic inmates showed increased activity in a brain area known to be involved in pleasure, according to the study, which was published Sept. 24 in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

The findings may help lead to new treatment approaches for psychopaths, the researchers said in a journal news release.

source : Brain Scans Show Why Psychopaths Don't Feel Your Pain

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Sex Drive: How Do Men and Women Compare?

Experts say men score higher in libido, while women's sex drive is more "fluid."

WebMD Feature Archive

By Richard Sine
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Birds do it, bees do it, and men do it any old time. But women will only do it if the candles are scented just right -- and their partner has done the dishes first. A stereotype, sure, but is it true? Do men really have stronger sex drives than women?

Well, yes, they do. Study after study shows that men's sex drives are not only stronger than women's, but much more straightforward. The sources of women's libidos, by contrast, are much harder to pin down.

It's common wisdom that women place more value on emotional connection as a spark of sexual desire. But women also appear to be heavily influenced by social and cultural factors as well.

"Sexual desire in women is extremely sensitive to environment and context," says Edward O. Laumann, PhD. He is a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and lead author of a major survey of sexual practices, The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States.   

Here are seven patterns of men's and women's sex drives that researchers have found. Bear in mind that people may vary from these norms. 

1. Men think more about sex.

The majority of adult men under 60 think about sex at least once a day, reports Laumann. Only about one-quarter of women say they think about it that frequently. As men and women age, each fantasize less, but men still fantasize about twice as often.

In a survey of studies comparing male and female sex drives, Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist at Florida State University, found that men reported more spontaneous sexual arousal and had more frequent and varied fantasies.

2. Men seek sex more avidly.

"Men want sex more often than women at the start of a relationship, in the middle of it, and after many years of it," Baumeister concludes after reviewing several surveys of men and women. This isn't just true of heterosexuals, he says; gay men also have sex more often than lesbians at all stages of the relationship. Men also say they want more sex partners in their lifetime, and are more interested in casual sex. 

Men are more likely to seek sex even when it's frowned upon or even outlawed:

• About two-thirds say they masturbate, even though about half also say they feel guilty about it, Laumann says. By contrast, about 40% of women say they masturbate, and the frequency of masturbation is smaller among women.
• Prostitution is still mostly a phenomenon of men seeking sex with women, rather than the other way around.
• Nuns do a better job of fulfilling their vows of chastity than priests. Baumeister cites a survey of several hundred clergy in which 62% of priests admitted to sexual activity, compared to 49% of nuns. The men reported more partners on average than the women.

source : Sex Drive: How Do Men and Women Compare?

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Time In or Time Out for Disciplining Toddlers

We ask top child-raising experts about the pros and cons of using timeouts.

By Gina Shaw
WebMD Magazine - Feature

Reviewed by Roy Benaroch, MD

What do you do when your adorable toddler engages in not-so-adorable behavior, like hitting the friend who snatches her toy, biting Mommy, or throwing her unwanted plate of peas across the room? Is it time for…timeout?

Timeout -- removing a child from the environment where misbehavior has occurred to a "neutral," unstimulating space -- can be effective for toddlers if it's used in the right way, says Jennifer Shu, MD, an Atlanta pediatrician, editor of Baby and Child Health and co-author of Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed With Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup and Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality.

"Especially at this age, timeout shouldn't be punitive. It's a break in the action, a chance to nip what they're doing in the bud."

Timeouts shouldn't be imposed in anger, agrees Elizabeth Pantley, president of Better Beginnings, a family resource and education company in Seattle, and author of several parenting books, including The No-Cry Discipline Solution. "The purpose of timeout is not to punish your child but to give him a moment to get control and reenter the situation feeling better able to cope." It also gives you the chance to take a breath and step away from the conflict for a moment so you don't lose your temper.

Timeouts: Not for Every Kid

Some experts insist that timeouts work for all, but Shu and Pantley disagree. "For some kids who just hate to be alone, it's a much bigger punishment than it's worth, especially with young toddlers," says Shu. "They get so upset because you're abandoning them that they don't remember why they're there, and it makes things worse." She suggests holding a child like this in a bear hug and helping her calm down.

You can also try warding off the kind of behavior that might warrant a timeout with "time-in." That means noticing when your children's behavior is starting to get out of hand and spending five or 10 minutes with them before they seriously misbehave. "It's like a preemptive strike," Shu says. "Once they've gotten some quality time with you, you can usually count on reasonably OK behavior for a little while."

Toddler Discipline Dos & Don'ts

Shu says a good stage to initiate timeouts is when your toddler is around age 2. Here are a few guidelines.

• Do remove your child from the situation.
• Do tell him what the problem behavior was. Use simple words like "No hitting. Hitting hurts."
• Don't berate your child.
• Do place her in a quiet spot -- the same place every time, if possible. For young toddlers, this may have to be a play yard or other enclosed space.
• Don't keep him there long -- the usual rule of thumb is one minute per year of age.
• Do sit down with your child after timeout is over and reassure her with a hug while you "debrief" by saying something like, "We're not going to hit anymore, right?"
• Don't belabor what the child did wrong. Instead, ask her to show you how she can play nicely.

source : Time In or Time Out for Disciplining Toddlers

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Pharmacy Chains Boost Affordable Care Act

Sept. 25, 2013 -- The nation’s largest drugstore chains are jumping at the chance to teach people about the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) -- and to reap potentially huge profits -- as enrollment in health insurance plans looms for millions of uninsured Americans.

Rite Aid announced earlier this month that it will station independent, licensed insurance agents in nearly 2,000 of its 4,600 stores to help uninsured customers sign up for a health insurance plan. The agents and Rite Aid will receive a commission from insurance companies, says Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower. 

Starting Oct. 1, the agents will work one-on-one with customers to help them make insurance choices, Flower says in a news release. They will be available through March 31, 2014, when the initial 6-month enrollment period ends.

On its web site, Walgreens is also offering customers a chance to contact licensed insurance advisors to discuss health insurance plans, including those sold through the new state Marketplaces. The advisors are contracted by GoHealth, an online portal for health insurance coverage.

Walgreens also has partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to offer brochures and other information in its 8,000 stores. The alliance with BCBSA is not intended to feed new customers into the Blue Cross Blue Shield system, says Walgreens spokesman Jim Cohn. He didn't comment on the availability of licensed insurance advisors through the Walgreens web site.

CVS is taking a lower-key approach. Like Rite Aid and Walgreens, it is offering Affordable Care Act information in its 7,500 stores and 650 MinuteClinics; it has launched an informational web site as well. CVS also plans to have health insurance experts answer customer questions in various stores nationwide in October and November.

Pharmacy Chains and Feds Team Up

Oct. 1 marks the beginning of a 6-month period when some 7 million uninsured Americans are expected to buy a health insurance plan. Pharmacies have emerged as partners of the federal government in helping customers cut through the confusion of the Affordable Care Act.

Their efforts have been lauded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who has accompanied company CEOs to launch the initiatives. “Families look to their pharmacy for honest, straightforward advice they can trust," she said during a news conference at a New Jersey Rite Aid on Sept. 9. “Americans trust their pharmacist.”

Indeed, a CVS Caremark survey found that 68% of uninsured people (of more than 1,000 respondents) say retail pharmacies will be a primary source of information about health care reform.

Chris Krese, of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, says the motive of these companies isn’t to capitalize on new health care benefits, but to fulfill their “brand identity” as neighborhood pharmacies. In 2006, when the Medicare drug benefit (Part D) went into effect, pharmacies provided customers with materials to help them understand the program, he points out.

“What you’re seeing is a very proactive and organized effort to make sure questions can be addressed in very efficient ways -- information, insurance agents -- it just makes good sense,” he says.

source : Pharmacy Chains Boost Affordable Care Act

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Winter Asthma

By Eric Metcalf, MPH
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD

For many people, asthma attacks may happen more often in the winter. 

"There are two challenges for people with asthma in the winter. One is that they spend more time inside. The other is that it’s cold outside," says H. James Wedner, MD, an asthma expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

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While you’re indoors, you breathe in asthma triggers such as mold, pet dander, dust mites, and even fires in the fireplace. When you venture out, you could have an asthma attack from inhaling the cold air.

Here’s how to breathe easier during the cold months.

Learn Your Triggers

When you inhale something that triggers your asthma, your airways -- the tubes in your lungs that carry air -- can become tight and clogged with mucus. You may cough, wheeze, and struggle to catch your breath.

Talk to your doctor about having tests to find out what your triggers are. Once you know them, you can make some changes at home that may help:

• Limit time around pets. Having a dog or cat in your home may trigger your asthma. Try to keeping it out of the bedroom. Curbing allergy triggers where you sleep can make a big difference, Wedner says.

• Cover bedding. If mites are a trigger,use mite-proof covers on the mattress, box springs, and pillows, he says. These help keep dust mites away overnight.

• “Keep the house cool and dry -- dust mites as well as mold don’t grow very well when it’s cool and dry,” Wedner says. Ways to help keep your home dry during the winter include:

                1. Run the fan in your bathroom when taking a bath or shower.

                2. Use the exhaust fan in the kitchen when cooking or using the dishwasher.

                3. Fix leaky pipes and windows.

The common cold and flu are both more likely to strike in the winter and can lead to asthma flare-ups. You can lower your family’s risk of these illnesses, though:

• Wash your hands. This helps keep viruses from getting into your body when you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.

• Stay away from people who are ill. If a coworker or friend has the cold or flu, keep your distance.

• Get a flu shot. Experts suggest that most people get a flu shot each year. This helps protect you from catching the flu. 

Tips to Avoid Cold Air

To protect yourself from asthma flare-ups due to chilly weather, Wedner offers these suggestions:

• Cover your face: Drape a scarf across your mouth and nose, or wear a winter face mask that covers the bottom half of your face.

• Exercise indoors. Work out at a gym or inside your home, or walk laps inside a mall.

source : Winter Asthma

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