Encouraging Health

You probably know that oatmeal’s a fiber-rich superfood that does an all-star job of sopping up cholesterol and speeding it out of the body. But do you also know that its grainy little flakes perform mini miracles when applied to skin? Oatmeal whisks away dead cells, irritation, and redness, leaving a soft, moist glow behind.

While this could be news to you, oatmeal’s long been a staple among skin pros — even ancient ones. Its skin-soothing powers were known as early as 2000 BC, and to this day, the FDA cites it as effective for relieving dryness and inflammation, including insect stings, rashes, and eczema. That’s why finely powdered (“colloidal”) oatmeal is sifted into soothing body soaks, moisturizers, and soaps. (Pulverizing the oats into powder makes it easier to disperse their healing goodness — and in soaks it keeps them from collecting in the bottom of the tub.)

“There are four reasons why your skin adores oatmeal,” explains New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD:

1. Dryness fighting: Oats contain polysaccharides, which become gelatinous in water and leave a fine protective film on the skin, preventing dull, flaky dryness.

2. Moisturizing: Oats are full of healthy, lubricating fats.

3. Defense building: The proteins in oatmeal help maintain the skin’s natural barrier function, which ensures that the world outside the skin stays out, and what’s inside the skin stays in.

4. Pore cleansing: Oats are filled with natural cleansers (called saponins) that gently remove dirt and oil from the pores.

To reap all of these benefits, Wechsler suggests treating your skin to a colloidal oatmeal mask every week or two. Here’s her super simple recipe — good bet the ingredients are already in your kitchen.

The Skin Doc’s Smoothing, Soothing Oatmeal Mask:

2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 tablespoon honey

1. Put the oats into a clean herb or coffee grinder on the finest setting, and process into powder.

2. Pour into a small bowl and stir in hot water and honey. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Wash face with warm water. While skin is still damp, massage paste onto face, circling around eyes and mouth. Leave on for 10 minutes.

4. Remove with tepid water and a washcloth. Apply your favorite moisturizer to seal the deal and set the glow.

P.S.: Don’t stop eating oats just because you’ve transformed them into a beauty treatment! They’re hard to beat as a source of health-protective soluble fiber.

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Health officials are investigating the first human case of West Nile virus this year in Washoe County.

The Washoe District Health Department says a resident younger than 50 has been hospitalized with a milder form of the virus.

Earlier this month, Nevada’s first human case of West Nile this year was reported in Lyon County, and officials reported they were investigating the first “probable” human case of the virus this year in the Las Vegas area.

Twelve human cases were reported in Nevada in 2007.

West Nile is transmitted by mosquito bites, and authorities have encouraged residents to use insect repellent and eliminate areas of standing water.

Most people who are infected have no symptoms or what appears to be a mild flu.

West Nile Virus

The West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in the Western Hemisphere in 1999 and has since rapidly spread across the North Americcan continent into all 48 continental states, seven Canadian provinces, and throughout Mexico. In addition, WNV activity has been detected in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and El Salvador.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 15,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for WNV infection since 1999, including over 500 deaths. Many more people have likely been infected with WNV, but have experienced mild or no symptoms.

Statistically, a person’s risk of contracting West Nile is low, and less than 1% of those infected develop serious illness from the virus. Those at highest risk for serious illness are the elderly and those with lowered immune systems. However, people of all ages can develop serious illness, so it is important for everyone to protect themselves from mosquito bites to minimize the risk of infection.

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Overweight employees for the State of Alabama may see an increase in their monthly health insurance premiums if they don’t shed some pounds

Starting in 2009, state workers for Alabama will be required to have a variety of medical screenings, including a Body Mass Index measurement. Those who are found to be obese will be given a year to lose weight, at which time those who are still obese will be required to pay an extra $25 a month extra for their health insurance.

Critics call the plan a “fat tax.” In a WebMD article, however, Deborah Unger, clinical director for the Alabama State Employees Insurance Board in Montgomery, said, “As long as you are aware and are doing something to correct it, there won’t be a fee. We either do something to control claims costs or you pay the premium anyway.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, Alabama currently has the second highest rate of obesity in the nation.

The culture of Alabama and the South make it difficult to eat a healthy diet, according to an editorial in the Miami Herald. “Everything is fried there, from grits to okra to mouth-watering chicken—and tea comes presweetened. This kind of food is fat-inducing, and it takes an iron will just to resist.”

Further, the paper also points out that obesity problems can be genetic. And people who aren’t overweight can have conditions associated with obesity, such as diabetes and high cholesterol. “If the concern is about poor health, why not focus on health issues instead of weight?” the paper asks.

“The obesity crisis is getting worse,” says Huffington Post blogger Jeffrey Levi. While health care reform often focuses on access to care and quality of care, Levi argues that “we’ve neglected to put a priority on preventing people from getting sick in the first place.”

How do you feel about this issue?

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Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases.

The cell identity switch turned ordinary pancreas cells into the rarer type that churns out insulin, essential for preventing diabetes. But its implications go beyond diabetes to a host of possibilities, scientists said.

It’s the second advance in about a year that suggests that someday doctors might be able to use a patient’s own cells to treat disease or injury without turning to stem cells taken from embryos.

The work is “a major leap” in reprogramming cells from one kind to another, said one expert not involved in the research, John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania.

That’s because the feat was performed in living mice rather than a lab dish, the process was efficient and it was achieved directly without going through a middleman like embryonic stem cells, he said.

The newly created cells made insulin in diabetic mice, though they were not cured. But if the experiment’s approach proves viable, it might lead to treatments like growing new heart cells after a heart attack or nerve cells to treat disorders like ALS, formerly Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and a researcher with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, cautioned that the approach is not ready for people.

He and his colleagues report the research in a paper published online Wednesday by the journal Nature.

Basically, the identity switch comes about by a reprogramming process that changes the pattern of which genes are active and which are shut off.

Scientists have long hoped to find a way to reprogram a patient’s cells to produce new ones. Research with stem cells, and similar entities called iPS cells that were announced last year, has aimed to achieve this in a two-step process.

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For one 21-year-old muscle man, the quest to build a perfect body ended in grotesque, lifelong scars.

Doctors were shocked when the young man came into their Dusseldorf clinic with one of the worst cases of acne conglobata any of them had ever seen: His chest and upper back were canvassed in craterlike ulcers and abscesses oozing with pus.

“He had these deep, ulcerating lesions with bloody crusts,” says Dr. Peter Arne Gerber, a dermatologist who treated the young man at Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany. Adding insult to injury, the poor young man’s sperm count had plummeted and his testicles were in a sad little shrunken state.

“For me, personally, it was the worst case that I had ever observed,” says Gerber, who wrote an article about the case study that appeared in a recent issue of the medical journal The Lancet.

He and his colleagues immediately suspected the young amateur body builder was abusing steroids, because acne is a typical reaction to rampant roid usage.

“Steroids increase the amount of sebum, or oil, production from the sebaceous gland, and acne is a bacteria that thrives on the sebum,” says Dr. Bruce Robinson, a Manhattan dermatologist who represents the American Academy of Dermatology.

Robinson describes the sebaceous gland’s normal oil offering as a light lunch for a few bacteria, but steroid users’ glands produce enough sebum to provide the bacteria with a lavish oily feast to which they invite all of their friends. “That results in this explosive steroid acne,” he explains.

It took a persistent amount of badgering, but the amateur bodybuilder finally admitted his doping habits: He’d been using two types of anabolic steroids twice a week for several months, and the high dosage and long-term usage kicked his bloody brand of acne up a notch.

Happily, his manhood issues – the tiny testicles and paltry sperm count – returned to normal after he quit using the steroids. But Gerber says the lesions, ulcers and abscesses that covered his unfortunate upper torso crept deep into the skin’s basal membrane, the cell layer that separates the outer skin from the deeper dermis. And when that happens, from acne or any kind of damage to the skin, scarring is inevitable.

Just one more reason to stay off the juice, kids.

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Know those little aches and pains you feel in the morning? You could do something right now to keep them from getting worse when you’re older.

Just jump to it. Okay, you don’t have to literally jump. But do be active. People who pick up their feet and commit to regular aerobic exercise have much less muscle and joint pain as they age.

How Much Less?
A 14-year study that followed a healthy over-60 crowd found that consistent exercise — be it running, biking, swimming, dancing, or brisk walking — led to as much as 25 percent less musculoskeletal pain down the road. Yes, even with the high-impact runners. Researchers aren’t sure why, but they suspect that exercise’s endorphin release may play a role.

Looking Ahead
Less pain when you’re older means a more active and independent life. Here are a few other ways to lower your risk of chronic future aches:
Hit the mat. Yoga boosts endorphins and improves flexibility and joint-supporting strength.

Cross-train. Mixing up your activities helps keep your back in good shape.

Have a cup or two . . . of green tea.

Bone loss, back pain, high cholesterol . . . very different problems. But there’s a single solution.

It’s cross-training. Research shows that increasing the variety of exercises you do increases the range of benefits you get. The triple reward for consistently mixing it up: stronger bones, a limber back, and a healthier cholesterol profile.

When women who went through menopause early combined a number of different physical activities — from strength training to jumping rope — the results were clear: broadening their fitness menu expanded their physical benefits. After 2 years of doing cross-training workouts at varying speeds and intensities, the women had increased their bone mass, boosted their muscle strength, reduced their back pain, and improved their cholesterol profiles.

The lesson for everyone: The more you mix up your workouts, the more rewards you’re likely to reap. And adding variety helps keep your interest up, too. Doing yoga or Pilates, jogging, hiking, lifting weights, biking, playing racquetball or golf, jumping rope, dancing, walking, swimming . . . it’s hard to get bored when you have so many get-moving options.

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I LOVE berries! Recently, a friend invited me to go up Interstate 5 near Everett, WA to buy berries fresh from the actual farmers. I bought a 1/2 flat of blueberries and immediately stuck them in the freezer, on the pretense of enjoying them in the winter. There were 8 baggies of them, now I think I have 3 or 4 left. They are so good!

Been known to gorge on blueberries in late summer and early fall, when they’re abundant and in season? Go ahead! Even in the world of fruits and berries, which is loaded with health-boosting, age-fighting nutrition stars, blueberries are a supernova.

They’re linked not only to skin, heart, eye, and urinary health but also to a lower risk of cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

So how much should you be eating to reap the protective health benefits? About 1 to 2 cups a day says Steven G. Pratt, MD, author of the new book SuperFoods HealthStyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health.

First off, you may be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of blueberries, even in August!” Second, if they’re not in season, you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to eat a cup or more a day. Here’s how:

Stock your freezer. There’s evidence that frozen blueberries provide the same benefits of fresh, says Dr. Pratt. The big tip-off? A European study found that men who ate frozen berries daily had as much as 50% more quercetin, a particularly powerful anticancer antioxidant, in their blood than did men who abstained from eating berries.

When fresh blueberries are so last season, here are a few suggestions from Pratt and others on how to use frozen ones to get that “cup a day”:

• Put a cup of frozen berries in the fridge in the evening to defrost; in the morning, sprinkle them over cereal or stir them into yogurt. Forgot to defrost? Throw those chilly berries in the blender, and whip up a quick all-fruit smoothie.

• Boost the fiber and nutrients in your baked goods by tossing a handful into muffin or quick-bread batter. Just add 5 to 15 minutes to the baking time to compensate for their chilling effect.

• Float a few in a glass of cold club soda or lemonade as festive, edible ice cubes. (Kids will get a kick out of this.)

• Eat them plain, like tiny popsicles. (Another kid pleaser.)

• Add them to a salad of winter fruit about 15 minutes before serving.

Eating fistfuls of blueberries every day is certainly no risk to your weight. You’re only looking at 79 calories a cup. And all those antioxidants pay off big-time.

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Don’t answer that e-mail. Doctor’s orders! See, your body doesn’t respond as well as you think it might to the “get ahead now, sleep when you’re retired” philosophy. A group of 32- to 59-year-olds who got fewer than five hours of sleep a night for several years were twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as those who got a healthy seven or eight hours each night.

If you’ve shorted your sleep in favor of peeking at your inbox one more time or searching for the ultimate Spider-Man costume for your kids, you’re like most people over 30 who are getting historically low levels of sleep. Blood pressure is on the rise in this young age group too, and is related to lack of sleep. Here’s how it works:

When you snooze, your body goes into a lower blood pressure mode. Too little time in this low-key state can lead to consistently high blood pressure.

Less sleep means you spend more time dealing with stress instead of resting.

Cutting back on a full night’s sleep again and again also adds to your desire to eat. That’s because lack of sleep leads to a lack of the feel-good brain chemical dopamine. Your brain receptors crave dopamine, so they trigger sugar cravings in your body because sugar also releases dopamine — but constantly overdoing sugary foods increases your weight and your high blood pressure risk.

If getting enough shut-eye is a challenge, consider this: Whatever’s tempting you to stay up late will still be there tomorrow. But with rest, you’ll do those tasks better — and probably faster.

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Live near a busy intersection? Dig your downloaded iTunes? Then lowering your blood pressure (BP) may be as easy as shutting the window or turning down your player.

Too much noise exposure correlates with a steady rise in blood pressure. Makes sense. Loud sounds are known to stimulate the pituitary-adrenal cortical system.

Lay Off the Loudness
Heart rate basically soars in response to sudden loud sounds, like slamming doors or honking horns. But a gradual rise in noise hurts, too. In a study of assembly plant workers, the higher the volume got, the higher their blood pressure rose. Simple earplug use was enough to drop systolic blood pressure as much as 5.5 mm Hg. So just imagine what turning down your car stereo could do!

3 More Blood Pressure Points

Noise isn’t the only thing that can boost your blood pressure. Here are some other culprits to attend to:

Squishiness. Yeah, you know what we mean. Ward off high blood pressure with this easy buff-body workout that uses your own body as the gym. See the workout HERE!

Potato chips. You aren’t doing your blood pressure any favors with high-calorie, nutrition-poor snacks that pack on pounds.

Recent research shows that a diet with ample amounts of vegetable protein, such as the protein found in sunflower seeds, may help keep blood pressure down. A diet high in animal protein offered no such benefit in the study. Stock up on sunflower seeds, cashews, and kidney beans to get your fill of blood pressure-lowering veggie protein.

Increasing your intake of fresh vegetables provides you with fiber and disease-fighting nutrients. Vegetable-rich diets may help reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Results of a new study suggest eating a diet high in vegetable protein may help lower blood pressure, though it’s not known how vegetable protein creates this effect. The unique protein composition or mineral content of vegetables may play a role. Exercising regularly, reducing stress, and limiting salt intake if you are salt sensitive will help you get a handle on your blood pressure as well.

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Half-million quit pills for serious conditions in 2007 when faced with cost

Many people in Medicare with diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions stop taking their medicine when faced with picking up the entire cost of their prescriptions, researchers say.

About 3.4 million older and disabled people hit a gap, known as the doughnut hole, in their Medicare drug coverage in 2007. When that happened, they had to pay the entire costs of their medicine until they spent $3,850 out of pocket. Then, insurance coverage would kick in again.

About 15 percent of those hitting the coverage gap stopped their treatment regimen. That rate varied depending upon illness. For example, about 10 percent of diabetes patients stopped buying the medicine, as did 16 percent of patients with high blood pressure and 18 percent of patients with osteoporosis.

The drug benefit, which began in 2006, has come in under budget. Most participants report they are satisfied with the program. But many lawmakers and health analysts say improvements could be made.

“If a new president and Congress consider changes to the drug benefit, it will be important to keep in mind that the coverage gap has consequences for some patients with serious health conditions,” said Drew Altman, the chief executive officer and president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. The foundation conducted the study with researchers at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago.

2003 Congress crafted the hole
The Republican-led Congress in 2003 crafted the doughnut hole as a way to make the drug benefit more affordable for the federal government.

The researchers based their findings on pharmacy claims data provided by IMS Health, a company specializing in collecting health care data. They excluded people who get extra help in paying for their drug coverage because of their income; they do not pay the full cost of medicine even when in the doughnut hole.

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