CIGARSHard on the Heart
Sometimes, said Freud, a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes, say researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., it’s a hazard to your heart. Over 22 years they compared 1,500 cigar aficionados with 16,000 nonsmokers. The smokers had 27 percent more heart disease and 45 percent more emphysema. Cigars also raised risks of throat and mouth cancer, according to the report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
ANGINAThe Squeeze Play
Two million Americans have chronic angina; many get no relief from treatments like nitroglycerin. But a therapy called enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) might change that, says this month’s Journal of American Cardiology. Inflatable cuffs squeeze the patient’s calves, thighs and waist during the slack moment of each heartbeat. The resulting blood surge improves blood flow and significantly reduces the number of angina attacks.
ARTHRITIS’A Great New Option'
Two million Americans, mostly women, suffer chronic pain and swollen joints due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Drugs, exercise and surgery often help, but tough cases may need a new drug called Remicade. In a new study of 428 patients at European and U.S. clinics, more than half the patients on Remicade had 20 percent fewer tender and swollen joints after one year. The FDA is now studying Remicade’s use for RA, and has approved it for an arthritis-related illness called Crohn’s disease. Doctors already prescribe intravenous treatments of the medicine, along with an older drug called methotrexate, for RA. “A great new option for RA patients,” says the Arthritis Foundation.
title: “Health Notes” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-11” author: “Sandra Atkinson”
Only her pathologist knows for sure, but new findings suggest that hair dye may foster dandruff, infections and other scalp problems. Working with cell cultures (not people’s coiffures), University of Memphis graduate student Stanley Lopez found that p-phenylenediamine, a common hair-dye chemical, kills the bacteria that normally live in our scalps. The chemical had this effect even at weaker concentrations than you’d find in most dyes. Another common ingredient (2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine) had the same effect. Microbiologist King-Thon Chung, who oversaw the studies, believes harmful bacteria may colonize scalps where the beneficial bacteria have been lost. Is gray the new black?
As you’ve heard from the health police, fruits, vegetables and especially tea are rich in antioxidants called catechins, which can help ward off cancer and heart disease. Yawn. But Dutch government researchers report in this week’s Lancet that sinful dark chocolate has four times the concentration of catechins as black tea. Tea is easier to take in therapeutic doses–you’d have to eat a half pound of dark chocolate to get the catechins found in four cups of tea–but there’s always combination therapy. The researchers conclude that having a chocolate cookie with your tea may be not only enjoyable but healthy.
Doctors can be vague about the details of upcoming surgery. To see how a procedure is performed, and what complications it can cause, visit www.yoursurgery.com. The site offers simple descriptions of various procedures, from coronary bypass to arthroscopic knee repair, along with tips to speed your recovery. If brain surgery is in your future, the photos of an open skull will have you checking to make sure you’ve picked a good doctor. If you’re afraid to get that hernia repaired, you’ll discover that the procedure isn’t all that complicated. M.D.s supply the technical know-how on the site. Just remember not to try this at home.
title: “Health Notes” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-12” author: “Joshua Chamberlin”
ANTIOXIDANTS A Healthy New Brew for You How about a double latte with just a touch of polyphenols? Unroasted coffee beans contain high levels of these antioxidants, which protect against heart disease and cancer. But conventional roasting destroys most of them. An Austin, Texas, company called Oncology Sciences Corp. (OSC) claims to have developed a new method of roasting the beans, using different temperatures and an unnamed chemical, that boosts the antioxidant levels of roasted beans by 35 percent. OSC says your local barrista could be serving the new brew within a year. Let’s make that a grande.
THE WEB Healthiest Places Let’s say you’ve been offered jobs in Miami Beach and Lawrence, Kans. Which is best for your family? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources has posted health data for all 3,082 counties in the United States at www.communityhealth.hrsa.gov. The stats cover everything from life expectancy (78.3 years in Douglas County, home to Lawrence; 75.4 in Miami’s Dade County) and the average number of days people feel unhealthy each month (3.5 and 5.8, respectively) to the suicide rate per 100,000 people (9 vs. 12) to the number of people per 100,000 who are injured in auto accidents (14.1 vs. 16.3). But don’t discount the calming effect of ocean vistas.
ASTHMATo Ease the Wheeze
title: “Health Notes” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-02” author: “Kevin Smith”
Cool Tools for a Long Winter’s Workout Start working out for next summer with these new gizmos from Tanita, sold at sporting-goods stores. HealthyJump is a $20 jump-rope that counts calories based on your weight and the number of times the rope rotates. SyncWalk is a $25 coach that beeps to tell you every time you should take a step. It might just annoy you into giving up walking. UV-Smart gauges the sun’s strength so you’ll never use 30SPF sunblock when you need only 15. Only 50 bucks to solve a problem we didn’t know existed.
title: “Health Notes” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-24” author: “Judith Rossano”
title: “Health Notes” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-09” author: “Amy Brogan”
With a target that fat, you don’t have to change your whole diet to lose weight. Suppose you could shave just 100 calories out of the daily indulgence–by forgoing a cookie or a third of a candy bar, or by substituting frozen yogurt for premium ice cream. If you persevered, you would lose approximately 10 pounds over the course of a year, even while leaving the rest of your diet alone. Small sacrifice, big return.
