Encouraging Health

Know what’s super bad for your body? Inflammation. It’s thought to be at the core of problems like heart disease and heart attacks.

Know what’s a great way to quiet inflammation? Get your fill of vitamin K. Good choices: just about anything leafy and green — from spinach and kale to collards and turnip greens.

Fanning the Flames of Inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s response to injury or infection. And when it occurs in your blood vessels, inflammation can be a sign of bad things to come — like ruptured arterial plaques, clot formation, heart attack, and stroke. Enter leafy greens. They pack a real vitamin K punch, and more and more research is linking high vitamin K intake to a lower bodywide inflammation index.

Going for the Green
Bored with salads? The trick to getting more greens — and more vitamin K — into your diet may be learning to use them more creatively. Start with something simple but different, like this Basic Sauteed Kale recipe from EatingWell.

Then, move on to these K-rich greens recipes that will have you feeling like a world traveler:
Simmer kale with chickpeas and exotic spices
Slip collard greens into your red sauces
Mix spinach with butternut squash and beans:

Shaped like a flattened drum, buttercup squash most closely resembles the local squash used in this comforting hearty soup from northern Brazil. It has a dark green peel, a grayish turban-shaped top and dense orange flesh. Hubbard, butternut or delicata squashes could also be used. Instead of the lip-numbing Brazilian green jambu, we have used spinach. For a more festive look, serve in a roasted squash half

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 pounds buttercup squash, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 15-ounce cans pinto or other brown beans, rinsed
10 ounces spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add squash, tomato, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the squash is very soft and almost breaking apart, about 20 minutes.
2. Transfer 3 cups of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in beans and spinach and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

For more healthy advice and recipes, browse Encouraging Health.

It is difficult to determine where some medical myths originate from, but many are old wives’ tales passed on from generation to generation (Don’t touch that toad, you’ll get a wart!!). Here are some more common, often believed medical myths.

Myth: Drinking water keeps skin from drying out.

Truth: It seems obvious that water would help to hydrate the skin. However, if you wash your hands frequently they become dry and rough.

Water helps to hydrate and keep internal organs functioning, while application of moisturizer helps keep the external organ, skin, moisturized. Avoiding such things as hot showers, harsh deodorant soaps, and rubbing skin dry after bathing also helps to improve dry skin.

Myth: Shaved hair grows back coarser and darker.

Truth: Unfortunately for bald men, this is just an urban legend. Hair may appear to grow back faster, but it is just an illusion. New hair growth on clean-shaven skin is more noticeable than on a hairy surface.

When hair first grows in after being shaved, it has a blunt edge, which makes it seem thicker than it really is. This blunt edge gets worn after time. Emerging hair may look darker because it has not been bleached by the sun.

There are alternatives to shaving, such as waxing or using depilatories, which lasts longer than shaving. Laser hair removal is a more permanent solution.

Myth: Reading in dim lighting ruins your eyesight.

Truth: Many people think reading in dim lighting is dangerous because it causes temporary eye strain. While reading in dim light can cause stress in the eye, it is unlikely to cause permanent damage.

Reading in dim light decreases the rate of blinking, which leads to drying; however, the effects do not persist. Using a bright book light can help reduce eye stress.

Myth: Your skin pores open and close.

Truth: The size of our pores often depends on hereditary factors and does not change, so quit splashing cold water on your face in hopes of smaller pores.

Pores may appear larger than usual due to dead skin cells that have built up in the pore, not because they have opened up. A good skin care regimen that includes exfoliation can help reduce the appearance of pores.

Myth: Having a tan means you are more protected from the sun.

Truth: You might not get sun burnt with a tan, but your tan does not protect against dangerous ultraviolet rays. Tanned skin is damaged skin, so further tanning injures the skin and increases the risk of skin cancer.

It is well known that excessive sun exposure can promote the development of many skin cancers, including melanoma. Limiting sun exposure, wearing sunscreen, and performing monthly skin cancer self-exams can help prevent skin damage.

If you must have a tan, use a sunless tanning lotion or spray.

Myth: Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

Truth: The body does some weird things after death, like making noise (which is just gas escaping), but it does not continue to grow. After dying, our bodies dehydrate, drying our flesh, which pulls away from the hair and nails.

Nails remain the same length while the skin shrinks, making it appear as if the nail has actually grown. Funeral parlors hide this “growth” by putting moisturizer on bodies.

Myth: Poison ivy is highly contagious.

Truth: Most people are afraid to come into contact with someone who has any kind of illness or condition, but someone with poison ivy cannot infect you with a cough or hug. Any skin that comes in contact with the oil of the poison ivy plant can cause an itchy rash to develop.

Skin-to-skin contact, without the presence of the oil, cannot spread the rash. However, any traces of oil on clothing or other objects can continue to spread the rash. If you come into contact with poison ivy, it is important to use soap and water to wash all potentially exposed areas and garments.

Wearing protective clothing and barrier cream can help to protect against potential exposure when outside.

Myth: Lip balm is addictive.

Truth: Several women claimed to be addicted to Carmex in 1995. Thankfully none of them ended up in lip balm rehab, or on a street corner begging for spare change for their next “fix.”

There are no addictive chemicals in lip balm. People may become addicted to the feeling of wearing lip balm but not the actual lip balm itself.

There are a few things you can do to break the habit of lip balm overuse. Try to not lick your lips. The discomfort returns after the saliva is dry and makes lips feel more chapped. You may also want to try a humidifier, which will hydrate the air and bring moisture to your lips.

Myth: Greasy foods cause acne.

Truth: It makes sense that grease would cause oily skin and pimples, right? If you were rubbing pizza and potato chips directly onto your face, then yes, but if you’re just eating it, then no.

Acne is the term used for plugged pores and even deeper lumps that occur on the face, neck, shoulders, chest, and upper arms. Overproduction of the normal skin oil, sebum, coupled with insufficient shedding of exfoliated dead skin cells, causes acne.

Between 85-100% of people are affected by acne at some point in their life. Benzoyl peroxide is most effective at treating acne and is available in a variety of forms and strengths.

Myth: People with darker skin do not have to worry about sun exposure.

Truth: While people with darker skin do not burn as easily or frequently as lighter skinned individuals, they are still not safe from harmful ultraviolet light from the sun. People with darker skin are actually more likely to die from skin cancer than those with fairer skin. This is due to the common belief that darker skin protects against sun damage.

Those with darker skin are likely to develop skin cancer on their hands or feet.

It is recommended that everyone wear an SPF of at least 15 and perform a self-exam monthly to check for signs of skin cancer.

For more health articles, browse Encouraging Health

13 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys affected, federal study says

More than 2 million U.S. teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year, including nearly 13 percent of girls, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.

On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.

But there were “striking differences” by sex, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.

Depression is the leading cause of suicide, which in turn is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States.

“Combined 2004 to 2006 data show that rates of past year major depressive episode among youths aged 12 to 17 generally increased with increasing age,” the researchers wrote.

Researchers at SAMHSA and RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, prepared the report using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

More than 67,700 youths aged 12 to 17 answered questions about mood and depression. They were also asked to rate how depression affected them using the Sheehan Disability Scale, which measures impact on family, friends, chores at home, work and school.

They defined a major depressive episode as two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration or self-image.

Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely impaired their ability to function in at least one of the areas on the disability scale.

The worst cases were unable to carry out normal activities for an average of 58 days in the past year.

“Fortunately, depression responds very well to early intervention and treatment,” SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said in a statement.

“Parents concerned about their child’s mental health should seek help with the same urgency as with any other medical condition. Appropriate mental health care can help their child recover and thrive.”

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The U.S. Medicare program may expand reimbursement for bariatric surgery for the obese, in light of a study that found the treatment can help reverse diabetes, the agency said on Monday.

Recent research found the surgery can completely reverse type 2 diabetes, a metabolic condition spurred by weight gain and suffered by millions of Americans.

Medicare, the government health plan for the nation’s 44 million elderly, “will assess the nature of the scientific evidence supporting surgery for the treatment of diabetes,” the agency said on its Web site.

The agency will decide whether to set a “national coverage decision,” that would set reimbursement policy for all Medicare recipients. It could also decide to not cover the weight-loss surgery for diabetes alone.

The government already pays for the surgery in certain patients, generally those classified as “morbidly obese.”

The surgery has been controversial, as some studies have found a higher death rate among some patients.

The prevalence of obesity rose from 15 percent of the adult population in a 1976-1980 survey, to 33 percent from 2003-2004 data, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the same time, diabetes has become more common in the United States. From 1980 through 2005, the number of Americans with diabetes increased from 5.6 million to 15.8 million, according to CDC.

Allergan Inc sells a product called the Lap-Band that can be used during certain surgeries.

How do you feel about Medicare allowing Labp-Band surgeries for Obesity (and other health issues)? Is it money well spent? Should there be more information and teaching on healthy eating habits? How about increasing food stamps so those on Medicare can afford healthy foods? Whose fault is obesity?
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You really can fight wrinkles from the inside out. And there’s a fruit that can lead the charge.

It’s papaya. What makes papaya so perfect? Easy. Vitamin C. Papaya has loads of it, and getting lots of vitamin C may mean more youthful skin — fewer wrinkles and less thinning and dryness. A recent study in women over 40 confirmed it.

The Mysteries of C
Vitamin C is a natural friend to skin. The nutrient is essential for making collagen, the protein fibers that give skin its strength and resiliency. And being a powerful antioxidant, C also disarms free radicals that would otherwise chip away and weaken collagen.

Vitamin C helps protect skin from this sun scourge, too:

If you’re slathering on sunscreen through the winter months, good for you! Your skin still needs it even if it’s chilly outside.

And here’s something else you can do for your skin this season: Stock up on sweet, juicy oranges. The reason?

Fabulous Flavonone
Oranges are ripe with naringenin, a naturally occurring flavonone that may help shield skin from UV rays. It won’t replace regular sunscreen use, but researchers hope it may help stop skin-cell death.

More Food for Your Face
A little extra vitamin C isn’t all it takes to plump your complexion. Here are a few more food tips that can help keep your face fresh:
Munch on walnuts. In the vitamin C study, researchers also noted that diets rich in linoleic acid — an essential fatty acid in walnuts — meant moister, plumper skin.

Ease up on fats and refined carbs. Scientists found both were linked to aging skin.

Think whole grains. The magnesium and B vitamins you get from them help with the regeneration of skin cells.

Keep the fruits and veggies coming. To stay smooth and healthy, your skin needs a whole slew of antioxidant-rich produce.

For more information on skin care, browse Encouraging Health.

When temperatures start rising, there’s no more refreshing meal than a crisp, fresh salad.

But as it turns out, not all veggies are created equal. Sure, they’re all good for you, but some — five in particular — are extra good, with antioxidant levels that are out of this world! Toss a handful of these superstar veggies into a salad bowl and you’ll instantly up your defenses against everything from wrinkles to heart disease.

Just season with some olive oil, vinegar, and a few of the herbs and spices below and you’ll punch up the antioxidant power even more. Health food doesn’t get any easy-breezier!

Five Superstar Veggies
Artichokes
Radishes
Broccoli
Red chicory
Leeks

Seven Stellar Seasonings
Sage
Rosemary
Marjoram
Thyme
Tarragon
Cumin
Ginger
Garlic

The Very Best Veggie
Of the 27 vegetables that scientists have studied, the almighty artichoke, rich in both fiber and folate, leads the antioxidant pack. Look for plump but compact globelike artichokes with thick, green, fresh-looking scales.

The Runners-Up
You’ll find radishes, broccoli, and even luscious leeks at most supermarkets. But what about red chicory? An Italian salad favorite with an oddly appealing bitter taste, red chicory is also called radicchio. It’s becoming more widely available, so keep an eye out for its purpley-red leaves. Once you get it home, try mixing it with romaine.

High-Powered Herbs and Spices
Sage, rosemary, and thyme . . . when Simon and Garfunkel made them famous, nobody knew these herbs had disease-fighting powers — but they do. And cumin, a spice used heavily in Indian food, is even more impressive, as is ginger. Truth: All of these seasonings can boost the healthfulness and flavor factor of any salad (soups, too). Here’s a recipe to get you started:

Cool-Beans Artichoke Salad
This elegant mix is both light and filling — perfect to serve to a few friends on a sultry night.

Serves 4

10 baby artichokes (outer leaves removed), quartered
2 cups diagonally cut asparagus
1/3 cup thinly sliced radishes
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 19-oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 large romaine leaves

1. Steam the artichokes for 8 minutes. Add the asparagus and steam about 2 minutes more, or until tender but still crisp. Drain and run vegetables under cold water. Let cool.

2. To make the dressing, whisk together garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3. Combine radishes, onions, and beans in a salad bowl with half of the dressing and toss well. Gently stir in artichokes and asparagus.

4. To serve, place two romaine leaves on four plates. Divide salad equally among plates, and drizzle with remaining dressing.

For more health articles and recipes, browse Encouraging Health.

Feel a bit scatterbrained now and then? Make yourself a big jug of sun tea.

Not for the caffeine, but for one heck of a potent compound that could fine-tune your focus. It’s theanine.

Your Brain on Theanine
When people in a study consumed theanine (an amino acid) and then performed a challenging mental task that required both looking and listening skills, their brains became quite active. Specifically, the right parietooccipital cortex lit up. That’s a part of the brain’s circuit system tied to attention span. So if you feel more alert and focused after a tea break, it’s no wonder!

Be Like the Brits
More reasons to brew a pot — or steep a jug — anytime of year:
You’ll get antioxidants aplenty. Adding this could hinder the benefits:

Researchers are not sure why milk may blunt tea’s heart-healthy effects, but milk proteins called caseins are possible culprits. Tea is bursting with health-boosting polyphenols, but proteins have been shown to counteract them. In one study, when researchers added a small amount (10 percent) of milk to black tea, it reduced the tea’s concentration of catechins — polyphenols credited with giving tea its antioxidant punch as well as fighting heart disease and boosting weight loss. The study results may help explain, in part, why tea’s heart benefits appear to be missing in the United Kingdom, where milk is usually added to the brew.

Green Tea gives great face.

Two words: skinny jeans: Cupful of Catechins

A mild boost to your weight loss efforts may be brewing in your teapot.

In a small study, Japanese researchers recently noted that adding catechin-rich green tea to the daily diet mildly boosted weight loss efforts in a group of men. Catechins — a type of antioxidant — also are purported to provide heart-health benefits. Other sources of catechins include grapes, wine, chocolate, berries, and apples.

The best way to lose weight is to control your calorie intake and increase the number of calories you burn each week through extra physical activity. A nutritionally balanced diet that doesn’t exclude food groups or discourage healthy eating patterns is your best bet. Boosting your metabolism with muscle-building exercises will make weight loss easier as well. If your weight loss efforts have stalled, consider revising your workout schedule to increase the aerobic portion of your workout. Or, focus on other goals in addition to weight, such as body fat measurements or body size measurements; sometimes improvements in these areas are not apparent on the bathroom scale.

For more health information, browse Encouraging Health.

You’re eating right and working out, yet your pants keep getting tighter. What’s the deal? Could be your thyroid.

A sluggish thyroid — even one that is just a tad slow — can cause you to pack on the pounds. Read on to learn who’s most at risk . . .

The Thyroid-Weight Connection
As much as 2% of the U.S. population may have an underactive thyroid — called hypothyroidism. Women over 40 are at highest risk, but anyone can have it. And it matters, because your thyroid — the tiny gland right below your Adam’s apple produces hormones that control your metabolism. Too-low levels slow down everything, so your body burns fewer calories.

Strategies for Getting Slim
If your thyroid tests fine, try these tips for battling the bulge or getting over a weight loss plateau:

Revisit how many calories you really need. It changes with age and activity level.

Double-check your idea of a normal portion size: Here are three tips.

1. Retrain Your Eyes
Whether you are trying to lose weight or simply maintain your weight, controlling the amount of food you consume is just as important as the food choices you make. Simply by eating reasonable portions, you can eat the foods that you enjoy and still take off pounds. The first step is to retrain your eyes to recognize perfect portions for different types of food. Using smaller, 9-inch plates instead of large dinner plates also can help you retrain your eye. You’ll have a reasonable, yet filling, amount of food while still satisfying your psychological need to see a full plate.

2. Don’t Be Fooled by Misleading Food Labels
Comparing food labels at the supermarket is another good way to make healthier portion choices in your diet. But, be forewarned—a quick look at the label might not be giving you the whole story. If you’re like most shoppers, you notice the calories on the label first, but it’s important to consider the calories as well as the number of servings per package. Snack food favorites, such as cookies and chips, are especially prone to confusing food labels. Take, for example, a package of chocolate chip cookies: a serving of the regular cookies contains 160 calories while a serving of the peanut butter chip version of the same cookie brand has merely 80 calories per serving. An easy decision, right? Look closer—a serving of the peanut butter kind is only one cookie while the original flavor lists three cookies as a serving.

3. Use Nutrition Information to Your Advantage
Don’t sabotage your quest to eat the proper portions when dining out. Many fast-food restaurants now provide nutrition information about the foods they serve, allowing customers to choose a regular McDonald’s hamburger (260 calories) over a Big Mac® (560 calories). But at conventional restaurants where huge portions are the norm, the choice may not be so clear. An easy way to cut calories when dining out is to order a child- or appetizer-size plate, or ask for a doggy bag when your order arrives so you can put aside a part of your meal.

And, lastly, everyone’s favorite question: Are you exercising enough?

Browse Encouraging Health for exercise hints and tips.

Governments should stock several drugs to prevent resistance, experts say

Governments need to stockpile different sorts of flu drugs — not just Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu — to counter the danger of resistance in a pandemic triggered by bird flu, British experts said on Wednesday.

The warning could boost demand for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s inhaled medicine Relenza, which has been largely overlooked in favor of Roche’s more convenient pill.

Scientists analyzing the structure of a key flu virus protein found that both H5N1 and seasonal flu could develop resistance to Tamiflu, while still remaining highly susceptible to Relenza.

Most likely source of next flu pandemic
To date, H5N1 remains mainly a virus affecting birds, although it has killed more than 200 people since 2003. But scientists say it is the most likely source of the next deadly flu pandemic in humans, since it may soon mutate into a form transmitted easily from person to person.

Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and Relenza, or zanamivir, target the viral protein neuraminidase, which helps release newly-made viruses so that they can spread infection.

Using a technique called X-ray crystallography, Gamblin and colleagues examined the exact mutation in protein structure that can make some flu virus resistant to Tamiflu and showed the different nature of Relenza meant it was still effective.

Their results were published in the journal Nature.

The main seasonal flu virus circulating this year in the United States and Canada as well as parts of Europe has shown higher resistance to Tamiflu. But cases of resistance remain relatively rare.

Tamiflu, which was originally developed by Gilead Sciences Inc, had sales of $1.8 billion in 2007, making it a major profit driver for the Swiss group. Relenza, which Glaxo licensed from Australia’s Biota Holdings Ltd, sold $510 million last year.

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Presliced fruit sure saves time. But here’s what you miss out on when you buy it: vitamin C.

Research shows that presliced fruit may have less vitamin C by the time you eat it than if you’d bought whole fruit and sliced it yourself.

The Whole Picture
Kiwifruit, pineapple, and cantaloupe seem particularly prone to vitamin C loss, according to John La Puma, MD, author of ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine.

More Ways to Make a Good Thing Better
Why stop with whole fruit when you want to make the most of good foods. Here are more top choices for making a good thing even better.

Heat your olive oil this way so you don’t kill the health benefits:

You’ll kill the health benefits if you overheat it. It can become rancid and generate toxic chemicals. One solution: Instead of heating the oil in the pan, just spritz some on your veggies, meats, or taters before cooking them.

Tastes Bad, Too
It’s fairly easy to overheat both olive oil and cold-pressed canola oil, because they have relatively low smoking points (the point at which they begin to burn). You’ll know if you’ve overheated the oil, because it leads to that burned, charcoal flavor. Yuck.

Different Temps, Different Tastes
Semirefined sesame oil, peanut oil, grape-seed oil, and virgin olive oil may be your best choices for cooking, because they contain mainly unsaturated fat and have relatively high smoking points; all of the oils can be heated in excess of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Extra-virgin olive oil starts to burn at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Unrefined canola and sunflower oils are even more delicate, burning at about 225 degrees Fahrenheit. (Read our ultimate guide on good and bad fats.)

Once an oil has been overheated, you end up canceling out the major benefits. But treat the oils right and they’ll treat your body right, too.

For more health information, browse Encouraging Health.