e-cigarettes and quitting smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in women, lung cancer genetics and treatment, antibiotic prescribing for bronchitis.
Author: SupremeCmdr
Johns Hopkins Health Alert – The Compelling Case Against Sugar
Re-posted from the Johns Hopkins Health Alert email The Compelling Case Against Sugar
For years, nutrition experts have warned that consuming too much sugar contributes to excess weight gain. Now, a mounting body of scientific evidence suggests that sugar is even more detrimental to the body than was previously believed. As a result, a growing chorus of scientists and public health advocates is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set safe limits for sugar consumption.
Recently, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, took matters even further, suggesting that sugar should be regulated by the government to protect public health — just like alcohol and tobacco. Sugar, they argue, is a toxic substance with a tremendous potential for abuse because it affects the brain in a way that encourages people to consume larger amounts, even when they should be satisfied with what they’ve already had.
What’s more, they contend, sugar changes a person’s metabolism, altering the signaling of hormones (including leptin, ghrelin, and dopamine, which regulate satiety, hunger, and pleasure, respectively) in a detrimental way. In other words, the researchers say, sugar is addictive.
That point of view is quite controversial, however, so it’s not likely that sugar is going to be banned or regulated by the government — at least not anytime soon. Nevertheless, the latest research makes a compelling case for determining just how much sugar is safe for human consumption — and for cutting back on the amount of sugar you consume.
The dangers of added sugar. First, it’s important to distinguish natural sugars from added sugars. Natural sugars are an essential part of our diet because the human body converts them to glucose to meet its energy needs. Natural sugars are found in varying amounts in fruits and vegetables, which contain fructose, and in dairy products, which contain lactose.
Added sugars, on the other hand, are not essential. Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared, as well as the sugar you add to your coffee, tea, cereal or other foods. Whether it’s added in the form of white sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey or molasses, it’s all sugar.
Added sugar has been implicated in a variety of ills, from raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of gout to causing liver damage and accelerating the aging process. Some of the strongest evidence to date shows associations between excess sugar consumption and diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
How much added sugar is too much? Surprisingly, the answer to this question varies. Currently, the USDA recommends that people consume no more than 10 teaspoons of added sugar in a 2,000-calorie per day diet. At 16 calories per teaspoon, that’s 160 calories each day. These days people typically consume twice that amount.
Falls and Fall Injuries Among Adults with Arthritis – United States, 2012
Falls and Fall Injuries Among Adults with Arthritis — United States, 2012.
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults, with more than one in three older adults falling each year,* resulting in direct medical costs of nearly $30 billion (1). Some of the major consequences of falls among older adults are hip fractures, brain injuries, decline in functional abilities, and reductions in social and physical activities (2).
One in Three Patients Not Filling Prescriptions, Study Finds – AAFP News
OK boys and girls, listen up. When you see the terms non-adherence or non-compliance in that APS you’re reading does this mean the risk is better or worse?
One in Three Patients Not Filling Prescriptions, Study Finds — AAFP News — AAFP.
For the study, Canadian researchers evaluated the electronic health records of 15,961 patients in a primary care network that included 131 physicians to estimate the incidence of primary nonadherence (failure to fill a first-time prescription) and to ferret out which drug, patient and physician characteristics might be associated with nonadherence. Patients’ health records were linked to insurer data on drugs dispensed by community-based pharmacies in relation to specific office visits.
The researchers found that slightly more than 31 percent of all initial drug prescriptions were not filled within nine months. Nonadherence was highest for expensive drugs and preventive therapies for chronic conditions such as ischemic heart disease and depression. In addition, patients with higher copayments, recent hospitalization and more severe comorbid conditions were at increased risk for nonadherence.
High School Quarterback Commits to Rice After Coaching Staff Sends a Letter to His Cat
The cat has since been hired by Texas as its head recruiting coordinator.
RA Patients Living a Decade Longer
RA Patients Living a Decade Longer.
The average age at death for RA patients in a cohort that enrolled patients between 1986 and 1998 was 76.7 years (95% CI 75-78.1), while for a cohort that enrolled patients between 2002 and 2012, the average age of death was 86.7 (95% CI 84.1-89.5), according toSam Norton, PhD, of King’s College in London.
Daily Aspirin – Yes or No?
Aspirin: FDA Says ‘No’ Others Say ‘Yes’.
I found this article quite helpful in my own decision regarding whether or not to continue my daily aspirin 81 mg dose.
The bump I gave myself on the shin a few weeks ago that bled profusely and took hours to clot was also quite helpful in my decision regarding whether or not to continue my daily aspirin 81 mg dose.
Update 06.06.14
Check out the following link. If you’re an older male you might find this of interest.
http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20110303/regular-use-of-painkillers-linked-to-ed
Update 07.26.14
This link takes you to the 2012 Circulation article.
Update 08.04.14
More links for your reading and research pleasure.
Aspirin May Not Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease – Prevention.com.
Benefits of aspirin more modest than previously believed — St George’s, University of London.
Researchers from Professor Kausik Ray’s group at St George’s, University of London investigated the drug’s effectiveness in primary prevention and the prevalence of side effects. They also assessed if aspirin had any impact on the risk of death from cancer among people considered at risk of cardiovascular disease.
They analysed data from nine clinical trials involving over 100,000 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease. Half of the participants took aspirin and half took a placebo. The average participant in the aspirin arm of these trials took aspirin for about six years.
The researchers found that although aspirin in conventional daily or alternate day doses reduced the risk of total cardiovascular disease events by 10 per cent, this was largely due to a reduction in non-fatal heart attacks. It did not include a reduction in other cardiovascular disease events including death from heart attack, or fatal or non-fatal stroke.
The study also showed that this benefit was almost entirely offset by a 30 per cent increase in risk of life-threatening or debilitating internal bleeding events. This means that while one cardiovascular disease event was averted for every 120 people treated with aspirin for about six years, one in 73 people suffered from potentially significant bleeding during the same period.
Happy Mother’s Day 2014
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
Two months ago I wrote about shifting my emphasis on this blog away from medical news and information for life underwriting professionals to more of a writer’s blog. The shift was to highlight my transition to professional writing services for hire. Since I posted that change in direction, I’ve found my posts completely unchanged in character and broad content. I’m still linking to great pieces of medical news. I’ve not written anything.
Change we must. I just need to figure out my time commitments and find some of that elusive time to write more.
Calculated Risk: The Projected Improvement in Life Expectancy
Q&A – A1C Levels
Reprinted from Johns Hopkins Health Alert Email
A reader asks, “I’m 72 and my HbA1c level is usually around 8.0 percent, which my doctor says is fine. Should I be taking medication to get it below 7.0 percent?” Here’s our answer.
Not necessarily. Striving for an HbA1c level below 7.0 percent is the goal for many nonpregnant adults with diabetes. However, less aggressive goals may be appropriate for certain groups of patients, including older adults with multiple comorbidities or decreased functional status, or who are at high risk for hypoglycemia.
It remains unclear the degree to which “tight control” benefits older adults given that earlier studies of intensive glucose control in diabetes excluded elderly patients. Indeed, tight control may cause harm, such as hypoglycemia and potentially higher mortality, as suggested in recent studies of older individuals — for example, in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study.
Current advice. The American Geriatrics Society advises adults over 65 who are healthy to aim for an HbA1c between 7.0 and 7.5 percent. If your life expectancy is less than 10 years and you have other chronic conditions, such as heart or kidney disease, a goal of 7.5 to 8.0 percent might be appropriate.
For those with a shorter life expectancy who are being treated for multiple medical conditions, an HbA1c of 8.0 to 9.0 may be reasonable.
However, otherwise healthy and robust older adults may benefit from glycemic targets similar to those recommended for younger adults (HbA1c less than 7 percent). In general, goals of care should be individualized for each patient.
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