For awesome reason women can't loss weight
Most of us already know that eating less and moving more are the keys to dropping extra pounds. But if you're already doing everything "right" and can't seem to lose weight -- or are even gaining it -- you may have a hidden health condition that's sabotaging your efforts. And the symptoms may be so subtle that even your doctor can miss them. Here, some possible weight-loss blockers -- and how to get the help you need.
A Sluggish Thyroid
Your thyroid gland makes hormones that regulate the way your body uses energy. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) disrupts your metabolism, as well as many other aspects of your health. Some estimate that as many as 10 percent of adults have hypothyroidism, which is more common in women and is most often diagnosed in the 40s and 50s.
Could this be you? Besides weight gain or an inability to lose weight, you may notice fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, joint pain and muscle weakness, heavy periods, increased sensitivity to cold, even depression. Many people with low-grade hypothyroidism just feel "off," with no obvious signs of being truly sick.
How to get tested: Ask your internist to run a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) screening. In general, the higher your TSH level, the slower your thyroid is. "While traditional 'normal' values are between .45 and 4.5, if your level is above 2, you might still struggle to lose weight," explains Dr. Jamie Kane, M.D., medical director of Park Avenue Medical Weight and Wellness in New York City. Your doctor may also want to check your levels of T-3 and T-4, the two main thyroid hormones. But hypothyroidism isn't always a straight numbers game; more and more doctors are now treating the symptoms, not just the blood-test results. "If a patient isn't feeling well, it's often because her thyroid isn't functioning as well as it should for her body," says Dr. Erika Schwartz, M.D., an internist in New York City.
How it's treated: Your doc will usually start by prescribing a low-dose T-4 thyroid hormone like Synthroid. If your symptoms don't improve, discuss upping your dosage or switching to a combination of T-3 and T-4.
Health.com: 25 diet-busting foods you should never eat
Out-of-Whack Hormones
As many as 1 in 10 women of childbearing age have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition in which a woman's ovaries produce an excess of male hormones. In addition to causing ovulation problems and infertility, PCOS may go hand-in-hand with insulin resistance, a glitch in the way your body processes blood sugar, which is often associated with excess fat storage, especially around the waist. Left untreated, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Could this be you? You may have irregular periods, excess facial and body hair, acne, some male pattern balding, and trouble getting pregnant, along with unexplained weight gain (though not everyone with PCOS has weight issues).
Health.com: How carbs can help you lose weight
How to get tested: Your gynecologist or internist can test your levels of sex hormones for an imbalance of testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen, says Dr. David Katz, M.D., director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. She may then test your blood sugar and insulin levels or perform an ultrasound to check for cysts on your ovaries.
How it's treated: Lifestyle changes are usually the first step. If you're already eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, you may have to kick it up another notch to see results. If you have insulin resistance, Katz says, you'll also want to cut out refined carbs and added sugars. If you've made these changes and still don't notice a difference, your doc may prescribe a drug called metformin, which is used to treat insulin resistance as well as assist with ovulation (if you're trying to get pregnant).
Health.com: America's healthiest super foods for women
Trouble-Making Foods
Most people know if they're allergic to certain foods like nuts or shellfish, but many aren't aware of food intolerances. While a true food allergy results when your immune system mistakenly identifies a food as harmful and mounts an immediate response, food intolerances can have a variety of causes, including lack of a certain digestive enzyme (as with lactose intolerance) or sensitivity to food additives, and tend to manifest over time, says Dr. Elizabeth W. Boham, M.D., R.D., a family practitioner at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Eating a "trouble food" -- the most common being dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, corn and nuts -- can lead to bloating and water-weight gain, among other symptoms. Experts estimate that food intolerances affect as many as 1 in 10 people.
Could this be you? You may regularly have bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation -- as well as seemingly unrelated symptoms like mild asthma, eczema, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue.
Health.com: The 50 fattiest foods in the states
How to get tested: An internist or gastroenterologist can help you diagnose the problem, but you can begin to figure it out for yourself through an elimination diet. Boham suggests that you start by removing gluten and dairy (these are the biggest culprits) from your diet for two to three weeks. If you don't notice a difference, also eliminate eggs, corn, soy, and nuts, and consider nixing additives such as food coloring and preservatives. After a few weeks, slowly reintroduce the possible culprits, one at a time, noting any reactions.
How it's treated: If the reaction is severe, you'll need to cut the offending food from your diet. For mild reactions, try a daily probiotic supplement, which restores the good bacteria in your gut necessary for digestion and can help prevent bloating and water weight gain. Boham recommends one with at least 10 billion live bacteria per pill.
Pills That Pack on Pounds
Weight gain can be an unwelcome side effect of some drugs, including antidepressants, steroids, and, more rarely, birth-control pills (due to a temporary increase in water retention).
When the drugs you need at that time what to do
Could this be you? You may notice weight gain within a few weeks of starting a new medication, though it could take several months before you see any effects, Kane says.
How to get tested: No special test is needed; you know if you're gaining weight.
A heart attack usually occurs when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood through a coronary artery — a blood vessel that feeds blood to a part of the heart muscle. Interrupted blood flow to your heart can damage or destroy a part of the heart muscle.
If you've recently had a heart attack or heart surgery, you might be concerned that revving up your pulse during a moment of passion could be dangerous. Rest assured: Resuming sexual activity is perfectly safe for most heart patients, according to new guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA).
Certain patients, such as those with severe heart disease who have symptoms while at rest, should put off sex until their condition has stabilized. But if you can walk briskly or climb two flights of stairs without experiencing chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms, or shortness of breath, you're almost certainly ready to start having sex again, the guidelines say.
The authors stress, however, that all heart patients should check with their doctor before resuming their sex life. Just as important, the guidelines encourage patients -- and their partners -- to discuss any feelings of sex-related anxiety or depression with a health professional.
"Both patients and the patient's spouse or partner often have anxieties about resuming sexual activity after the patient has been diagnosed with heart disease or has undergone a heart procedure," says Glenn N. Levine, M.D., the lead author of the guidelines and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston. "Sometimes it is actually the partner who is more anxious than the patient."
Health.com: The worst habits for your heart
The guidelines, which appear in the journal Circulation and have been endorsed by a host of physicians' groups, are the first ever from the AHA to focus on heart disease and sex -- a subject that gets far too little attention, the authors say. Most cardiologists fail to raise the topic with their patients, and they are even less likely to ask about anxiety or depression, Levine says.
Stephen Kopecky, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, says many patients who have a heart attack or undergo bypass surgery become depressed, which can reduce libido and affect sexual function. To make matters worse, he says, avoiding sex can in turn worsen depression.
"That's why it's so important for us to talk to patients about this, and tell them this is not the end of [their] sex life," says Kopecky, who has studied sexual activity in heart patients but did not participate in writing the new guidelines.
Everyone wants to have a healthy heart. Still, cardiovascular disease affects more than 1 in 3 adults in the United States.
The good news is that some simple, everyday habits can make a big difference in your ability to live a healthy lifestyle.
Here are the 17 worst habits for your heart, and how to avoid them.
Health.com: Surprising libido boosters
Heart problems during sex are very rare. Less than 1% of all heart attacks are triggered by sexual activity, Levine and his coauthors note, and the odds are even lower for people who exercise regularly. A sedentary person's risk of having a heart attack roughly triples during sex, while an active person's risk rises by just 20%.
But in either case the absolute risk is extremely small, especially since intercourse typically lasts for minutes, rather than hours. The chances that a heart-attack survivor will experience another heart attack or die in any given hour is roughly 1 in 100,000, for instance; during sex those odds increase to no more than about 1 in 33,000.
Still, the guidelines recommend that heart-attack survivors wait at least a week after their attack to resume having sex. Patients who have had bypass surgery or other major heart surgery should wait at least six to eight weeks, the authors say, although sex is generally safe several days after minimally invasive surgery to clear blocked blood vessels.
You’ve heard (and tried) it all before: down a dozen oysters, watch a marathon of sultry movies, get a couples massage. Even if these usual turn-ons work for you, sooner or later they start to feel tired—which may make you less likely to respond to them, says Irwin Goldstein, MD, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego.
Luckily, science has discovered a few more offbeat things that crank up your desire. Try one out tonight!
Health.com: Heart-implant shocks can make sex frightening
The new guidelines address all forms of heart disease, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart-rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), and valve problems.
If a heart patient's condition is at all uncertain after an initial consultation with a doctor, the guidelines recommend that he or she undergo an exercise stress test, which involves monitoring heart activity and breathing while walking (or running) on a treadmill.
Even after being cleared for sex, patients may want to take some basic precautions. According to the guidelines, doctors should advise their patients to avoid heavy meals and alcohol before sex, use a position that allows for free breathing, and avoid "unfamiliar surroundings and partners." (Most documented cases of sudden death during intercourse involve extramarital sex, the guidelines note.)
Getting kicked in the chest by a horse—that’s how cardiologist Steven Cook, MD, describes what it feels like when an implanted defibrillator shocks the heart.
And fear of that shock is making it difficult for many patients with these devices to enjoy sex, according to new research Dr. Cook presented today at a meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA).
It’s a legitimate fear, since roughly one-quarter of patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) will suffer from an inappropriate shock over a five-year period, says Dr. Cook, director of the center for adult congenital heart disease at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
“When their heart rate shoots up to, say, 170, the device may not recognize that they are exercising or having vigorous sex,” he says. “Instead, it may interpret it as an aberrant heart rate.”
ICDs are small, battery-powered devices used to prevent dangerous heart-rhythm abnormalities (arrhythmias) in people with congenital heart disease, survivors of cardiac arrest, and others who are at risk. Unlike pacemakers, which provide only small pulses of electricity to keep the heart beating normally, ICDs can provide a powerful jolt when they detect a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia.
To explore how the possibility of a shock might affect sex life, Dr. Cook and his colleagues surveyed 151 men and women with congenital heart disease, 41 of whom had an ICD. The participants, whose average age was 37, completed a series of questionnaires designed to assess their levels of anxiety and fear, sexual function and satisfaction, and depression.
Women had nearly the same level of sexual function regardless of whether they had an ICD. Men, on the other hand, tended to report mild erectile dysfunction if they had an ICD.
But the biggest differences in sexual satisfaction were between men and women who were anxious about the device firing during sex and those who were not. For both men and women, higher scores on the shock-anxiety questionnaire were associated with lower scores on the sexual-function measures.
Some patients do not cope well with ICD-related anxiety, Cook says. It’s important to recognize those patients and refer them to a psychologist or other therapist who can address their fears and help the patients overcome them, he says.
“I can help them understand what’s going on from a cardiologist’s point of view, but maybe a psychologist can help them deal with the anxiety and get them back to having sex,” Cook says. “I’m not here to give a bad buzz to devices at all. If they need to have a device to prevent sudden cardiac death, I want them to have that device. But I also want to provide excellent quality of life.”
The 10-question shock-anxiety questionnaire used in the study—known as the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale—is “a really simple and quick test to determine who may need psychological counseling,” Cook says. “We should be using it.”
Cook presented his research at the AHA’s annual Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando, Fla. Unlike the research published in medical journals, the study hasn’t been thoroughly vetted by other experts in the field.
Health.com: 10 reasons why you're not having sex
In addition, patients may need to temporarily lower their expectations. "The achievement of orgasm may require a greater degree of exertion and may not be a realistic initial goal in some patients," Levine and his colleagues write.
Heart patients' concerns about intimacy are "one of those things that gets swept under the rug too often, by not only the caregivers but also the patient and the spouse or the family," Kopecky says. "I think having guidelines like this is very helpful -- to have it out there and talk about [sex] and say it is OK to do."
Women today have less time for sex than their 1950s counterparts. And it’s estimated that 40 million Americans have what experts call a sexless marriage (having sex less than 10 times a year).
A regular sex life is good for your health. It can satisfy all sorts of emotional- and physical-intimacy needs and help partners stay close, says Anita H. Clayton, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia and author of Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy.
So why the dry spell? You can chalk it up to a sheer lack of time, but there are a slew of other reasons, too—from weight gain and perimenopause to technology overload (stop texting now) in the bedroom. Here’s how to beat the top 10 sex busters.
Red wine good for the heart
Doctors have been saying for some time now that red wine is good for your heart – but some recent news has raised some questions.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently received this question from a viewer:
“I heard there was some recent news about the heart-health benefits of wine. What’s the deal?”
Alvarez said it’s true – one of the top researchers of the health benefits of red wine was recently fired from the University of Connecticut for allegedly fabricating data, which was later published in many medical journals.
The researcher was studying the effects of resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant found in red wine believed to have heart-healthy benefits, such as:
- reducing bad cholesterol
- protecting the lining of blood vessels
- lowering the risk of inflammation and clotting
- and even preventing diabetes and obesity, which are both strong risk factors for heart disease
Alvarez spoke with Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health in New York City.
“All I can say . . .you don’t have to start drinking to prevent heart disease,” Goldberg said. “What you need to do, is find ways that you can get antioxidants in your diet. Blueberries and pomegranate have resveratrol contained within the fruit. And that's one way to get it without any alcohol content. Another way is to go to the market, and try to pick out fruits and vegetables that are colorful. Improve your diet to have red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables because they have other antioxidants, and all antioxidants help to improve the flexibility of the blood vessels and reduce the risk of plaque buildup.”
If you have any question please follow the website:Drmanny@foxnews.com
Don't hair lose
When mother nature knocks, she arrives early and means business. The process of male pattern baldness can commence at age 21, and by 35, over two-thirds of men will show some signs of significant hair loss.
But life doesn’t have to leave you with a degenerating doughnut hole on your head (like a bull's-eye awaiting its arrow or a prisoner begging to be released). These yeas and nays are on target to set you free from the harrows hair loss.
Do dry hair gently
Beating up your hair with a rough towel and vigorous rubbing can cause serious damage. Physical force breaks off finer hairs, and newly emerging ones don’t even get a chance to survive. Use a super soft cloth and pat rather than rub the hair to rid it of excess moisture after bathing.Don't use a bristled brush for styling
Styling time usually comes after a shower when hair is wet and in its most fragile state. Needless to say, tearing tracks down your scalp with a bristly brush isn’t the best idea. The only styling tool a man needs nowadays is his bare hands.
Do keep hair shor
It’s time to say goodbye to those luscious locks you’ve been holding on to since college. Age is setting in, and things are thinning upstairs. Longer hairstyles only serve to accentuate what’s already gone, but a closer crop will maximize coverage, leaving no one the wiser. And if the situation is dire, go for the gusto: Hair for men is optional.
Don't comb it over
See the "do" above on keeping hair short in order to avoid this sad (and ineffective) strategy for handling hair loss
Do try hair loss-prevention products
Most treatments for hair loss leave much to be desired. Balding concealer (scalp spray paint) quickly comes to mind. But sometimes the most obvious and effective choices for treatment get roped in with the fast fixes that don’t work. While other products have come and gone, tried-and-true Rogaine remains. Its special ingredient, minoxidil, is still one of the only scientifically proven methods for staving off hair loss and, yes, can even regrow hair.
Don't overdo it with styling products
Gels, pastes and putties serve a purpose: They help smooth hair and hold it in place. But nothing is worse for drawing unwanted attention to a scarce scalp than glopping on goo. Strands of hair end up clumping together only to bare all for world to see. Lay it on light to keep things covered up.
Do use a thickening cream/conditioner
That hairstyle may not be as thick as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean you have to shear it all off just yet. Conditioners and creams specially formulated for troubled tresses can keep your secret under wraps by helping build and protect the shaft of the hair.
Don't panic or do nothing
Shedding strands here and there is no reason to sweat. In fact, it’s 100% normal to lose as many as 100 hairs every day. If you’re really shedding your coat, chances are it’s happening so slowly you may not notice until the pesky process is well underway. Once balding has begun, don’t deny it. Seek treatment -- personal or professional -- and then move on to life’s more important problems.
A hairy situation
Hair loss is a long process and an emotionally painful one at that. But following a few realistic rules can shave away the sorrow, and indeed, even years off your face.
US juice industry to buy elsewhere
The Juice Products Association of U.S.-based juice producers said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the FDA decision, since the Environmental Protection Agency declared carbendazim levels of up to 80 ppb posed no threat to human health.
It said it would have to seek supplies of juice from other producing countries.
"The United States cannot grow enough oranges to satisfy American consumer demand for orange juice and therefore juice processors must rely on orange juice concentrate from other countries to assure adequate supplies," it said.
The association had backed Brazil's call for imports of concentrate to be tested in the diluted form in which it is consumed.
In a 1,600 word statement, the FDA said it could not accept the requests Brazil's juice industry presented to it in writing on January 19, citing laws that it said prohibited it from making exceptions that would accommodate it.
"We recognize that the use in Brazil of a pesticide not authorized in the U.S. and FDA's detention of shipments bearing illegal residues has affected the orange juice market and has economic impacts," the response read.
"However these impacts do not warrant a change in FDA's enforcement ...," it concluded, adding that making an exception would create an unfair advantage over other food producers who have incurred costs to ensure their products meet FDA standards.
The FDA statement can be viewed at: here
About two-thirds of Brazil's juice shipments to the United States are already in not-from-concentrate, ready-to-drink form.
The Brazilian industry source said exporters would have to review supply contracts for concentrated juice with U.S.-based importers to switch to a not-from-concentrate product which is more expensive and bulkier to ship.
The European Union, where more than two thirds of Brazil's orange juice is shipped, applies a carbendazim tolerance of 200 ppb.
FDA says U.S. won't allow more fungicide in orange juice
The U.S. health regulator on Thursday declined a request by orange juice producers to allow a higher tolerance of a banned fungicide in juice imports, a decision that will force Brazil to stop exporting concentrated orange juice to the United States.
Brazil, the world's top orange juice producer, will still be able to ship its U.S. customers orange juice that is not from concentrate, since that variety contains much smaller levels of carbendazim.
Brazil asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give it until June 2013 to eradicate carbendazim from its juice after the regulator began checking all imports in January for the chemical which it banned in 2009.
Carbendazim is illegal on citrus in the United States, but commonly used in Brazil, the world's top orange juice exporter, to combat mold on orange trees. It is permitted up to a limit in imports to the European Union, the main buyer of Brazil's juice.
The checks began after Coca Cola alerted the FDA when it discovered the chemical in laboratory tests.
Orange juice futures have been on a rollercoaster ride since the FDA began testing orange juice imports amid uncertainty over whether the United States would cut off supplies from Brazil, which provides about a tenth of U.S. orange juice.
The futures, traded at New York's ICE exchange, hit an all-time high on January 23 of $2.244 a lb but the benchmark March contract had retreated to $1.8505 per lb by Thursday.
Brazil's juice industry has continued exports to the United States since, but only in diluted not-from-concentrate form which meets FDA requirements for carbendazim content below 10 parts per billion (ppb), a virtually undetectable quantity.
"By the end of the year it is probable that things will be back to normal and we will be shipping concentrated juice to (the U.S.) again," an orange juice industry source told Reuters, declining to be named as he was not authorized to speak on the industry's behalf.
Brazil had requested the FDA distinguish between frozen concentrate and not-from-concentrate, meaning a 60 ppb carbendazim tolerance for the former since not-from-concentrate is diluted to about six times the volume of concentrate.
The FDA refused, saying its policy is to apply the 10 ppb limit on juice regardless of its concentration.
Most of us already know that eating less and moving more are the keys to dropping extra pounds. But if you're already doing everything "right" and can't seem to lose weight -- or are even gaining it -- you may have a hidden health condition that's sabotaging your efforts. And the symptoms may be so subtle that even your doctor can miss them. Here, some possible weight-loss blockers -- and how to get the help you need.
A Sluggish Thyroid
Your thyroid gland makes hormones that regulate the way your body uses energy. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) disrupts your metabolism, as well as many other aspects of your health. Some estimate that as many as 10 percent of adults have hypothyroidism, which is more common in women and is most often diagnosed in the 40s and 50s.
Could this be you? Besides weight gain or an inability to lose weight, you may notice fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, joint pain and muscle weakness, heavy periods, increased sensitivity to cold, even depression. Many people with low-grade hypothyroidism just feel "off," with no obvious signs of being truly sick.
How to get tested: Ask your internist to run a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) screening. In general, the higher your TSH level, the slower your thyroid is. "While traditional 'normal' values are between .45 and 4.5, if your level is above 2, you might still struggle to lose weight," explains Dr. Jamie Kane, M.D., medical director of Park Avenue Medical Weight and Wellness in New York City. Your doctor may also want to check your levels of T-3 and T-4, the two main thyroid hormones. But hypothyroidism isn't always a straight numbers game; more and more doctors are now treating the symptoms, not just the blood-test results. "If a patient isn't feeling well, it's often because her thyroid isn't functioning as well as it should for her body," says Dr. Erika Schwartz, M.D., an internist in New York City.
How it's treated: Your doc will usually start by prescribing a low-dose T-4 thyroid hormone like Synthroid. If your symptoms don't improve, discuss upping your dosage or switching to a combination of T-3 and T-4.
Health.com: 25 diet-busting foods you should never eat
Out-of-Whack Hormones
As many as 1 in 10 women of childbearing age have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition in which a woman's ovaries produce an excess of male hormones. In addition to causing ovulation problems and infertility, PCOS may go hand-in-hand with insulin resistance, a glitch in the way your body processes blood sugar, which is often associated with excess fat storage, especially around the waist. Left untreated, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Could this be you? You may have irregular periods, excess facial and body hair, acne, some male pattern balding, and trouble getting pregnant, along with unexplained weight gain (though not everyone with PCOS has weight issues).
Health.com: How carbs can help you lose weight
How to get tested: Your gynecologist or internist can test your levels of sex hormones for an imbalance of testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen, says Dr. David Katz, M.D., director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. She may then test your blood sugar and insulin levels or perform an ultrasound to check for cysts on your ovaries.
How it's treated: Lifestyle changes are usually the first step. If you're already eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, you may have to kick it up another notch to see results. If you have insulin resistance, Katz says, you'll also want to cut out refined carbs and added sugars. If you've made these changes and still don't notice a difference, your doc may prescribe a drug called metformin, which is used to treat insulin resistance as well as assist with ovulation (if you're trying to get pregnant).
Health.com: America's healthiest super foods for women
Trouble-Making Foods
Most people know if they're allergic to certain foods like nuts or shellfish, but many aren't aware of food intolerances. While a true food allergy results when your immune system mistakenly identifies a food as harmful and mounts an immediate response, food intolerances can have a variety of causes, including lack of a certain digestive enzyme (as with lactose intolerance) or sensitivity to food additives, and tend to manifest over time, says Dr. Elizabeth W. Boham, M.D., R.D., a family practitioner at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Eating a "trouble food" -- the most common being dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, corn and nuts -- can lead to bloating and water-weight gain, among other symptoms. Experts estimate that food intolerances affect as many as 1 in 10 people.
Could this be you? You may regularly have bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation -- as well as seemingly unrelated symptoms like mild asthma, eczema, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue.
Health.com: The 50 fattiest foods in the states
How to get tested: An internist or gastroenterologist can help you diagnose the problem, but you can begin to figure it out for yourself through an elimination diet. Boham suggests that you start by removing gluten and dairy (these are the biggest culprits) from your diet for two to three weeks. If you don't notice a difference, also eliminate eggs, corn, soy, and nuts, and consider nixing additives such as food coloring and preservatives. After a few weeks, slowly reintroduce the possible culprits, one at a time, noting any reactions.
How it's treated: If the reaction is severe, you'll need to cut the offending food from your diet. For mild reactions, try a daily probiotic supplement, which restores the good bacteria in your gut necessary for digestion and can help prevent bloating and water weight gain. Boham recommends one with at least 10 billion live bacteria per pill.
Pills That Pack on Pounds
Weight gain can be an unwelcome side effect of some drugs, including antidepressants, steroids, and, more rarely, birth-control pills (due to a temporary increase in water retention).
When the drugs you need at that time what to do
Could this be you? You may notice weight gain within a few weeks of starting a new medication, though it could take several months before you see any effects, Kane says.
How to get tested: No special test is needed; you know if you're gaining weight.
How it's treated: Talk to your doctor, who may be able to prescribe an alternative. In the case of anti-depressants, bupropion has been shown to cause less weight gain and possibly even lead to weight loss. With birth control pills, switching to a version with a lower dose of hormones might minimize weight gain. But remember, treating the condition you're taking the drug for is your biggest priority, so you should never go off any meds on your own.
What is heart attackA heart attack usually occurs when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood through a coronary artery — a blood vessel that feeds blood to a part of the heart muscle. Interrupted blood flow to your heart can damage or destroy a part of the heart muscle.
A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, can be fatal. This is often because people confuse their symptoms with a minor illness, like indigestion, and delay going to the hospital. They try to tough out their symptoms and receive treatment too late. Treatment for heart attack has improved dramatically over the years. It is crucial to promptly recognize symptoms and call 911 or emergency medical help if you think you might be having a heart attack.
Your overall lifestyle — what you eat, how often you exercise and the way you deal with stress — plays a role in your recovery from a heart attack. In addition, a healthy lifestyle can help you prevent a heart attack by controlling risk factors that contribute to the narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply blood to your heart.
Vascular & Heart
Cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, is actually a collection of diseases and conditions, not one particular affliction. They include primarily heart disease and stroke. There are also diseases of the blood vessels, which include high blood pressure (hypertension) and aneurysm. Learn more about cardiovascular disease and how to take care of the heart.
Sex is safe for most heart patients, doctors sayCertain patients, such as those with severe heart disease who have symptoms while at rest, should put off sex until their condition has stabilized. But if you can walk briskly or climb two flights of stairs without experiencing chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms, or shortness of breath, you're almost certainly ready to start having sex again, the guidelines say.
The authors stress, however, that all heart patients should check with their doctor before resuming their sex life. Just as important, the guidelines encourage patients -- and their partners -- to discuss any feelings of sex-related anxiety or depression with a health professional.
"Both patients and the patient's spouse or partner often have anxieties about resuming sexual activity after the patient has been diagnosed with heart disease or has undergone a heart procedure," says Glenn N. Levine, M.D., the lead author of the guidelines and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston. "Sometimes it is actually the partner who is more anxious than the patient."
Health.com: The worst habits for your heart
The guidelines, which appear in the journal Circulation and have been endorsed by a host of physicians' groups, are the first ever from the AHA to focus on heart disease and sex -- a subject that gets far too little attention, the authors say. Most cardiologists fail to raise the topic with their patients, and they are even less likely to ask about anxiety or depression, Levine says.
Stephen Kopecky, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, says many patients who have a heart attack or undergo bypass surgery become depressed, which can reduce libido and affect sexual function. To make matters worse, he says, avoiding sex can in turn worsen depression.
"That's why it's so important for us to talk to patients about this, and tell them this is not the end of [their] sex life," says Kopecky, who has studied sexual activity in heart patients but did not participate in writing the new guidelines.
Everyone wants to have a healthy heart. Still, cardiovascular disease affects more than 1 in 3 adults in the United States.
The good news is that some simple, everyday habits can make a big difference in your ability to live a healthy lifestyle.
Here are the 17 worst habits for your heart, and how to avoid them.
Health.com: Surprising libido boosters
Heart problems during sex are very rare. Less than 1% of all heart attacks are triggered by sexual activity, Levine and his coauthors note, and the odds are even lower for people who exercise regularly. A sedentary person's risk of having a heart attack roughly triples during sex, while an active person's risk rises by just 20%.
But in either case the absolute risk is extremely small, especially since intercourse typically lasts for minutes, rather than hours. The chances that a heart-attack survivor will experience another heart attack or die in any given hour is roughly 1 in 100,000, for instance; during sex those odds increase to no more than about 1 in 33,000.
Still, the guidelines recommend that heart-attack survivors wait at least a week after their attack to resume having sex. Patients who have had bypass surgery or other major heart surgery should wait at least six to eight weeks, the authors say, although sex is generally safe several days after minimally invasive surgery to clear blocked blood vessels.
You’ve heard (and tried) it all before: down a dozen oysters, watch a marathon of sultry movies, get a couples massage. Even if these usual turn-ons work for you, sooner or later they start to feel tired—which may make you less likely to respond to them, says Irwin Goldstein, MD, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego.
Luckily, science has discovered a few more offbeat things that crank up your desire. Try one out tonight!
Health.com: Heart-implant shocks can make sex frightening
The new guidelines address all forms of heart disease, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart-rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), and valve problems.
If a heart patient's condition is at all uncertain after an initial consultation with a doctor, the guidelines recommend that he or she undergo an exercise stress test, which involves monitoring heart activity and breathing while walking (or running) on a treadmill.
Even after being cleared for sex, patients may want to take some basic precautions. According to the guidelines, doctors should advise their patients to avoid heavy meals and alcohol before sex, use a position that allows for free breathing, and avoid "unfamiliar surroundings and partners." (Most documented cases of sudden death during intercourse involve extramarital sex, the guidelines note.)
Getting kicked in the chest by a horse—that’s how cardiologist Steven Cook, MD, describes what it feels like when an implanted defibrillator shocks the heart.
And fear of that shock is making it difficult for many patients with these devices to enjoy sex, according to new research Dr. Cook presented today at a meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA).
It’s a legitimate fear, since roughly one-quarter of patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) will suffer from an inappropriate shock over a five-year period, says Dr. Cook, director of the center for adult congenital heart disease at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
“When their heart rate shoots up to, say, 170, the device may not recognize that they are exercising or having vigorous sex,” he says. “Instead, it may interpret it as an aberrant heart rate.”
ICDs are small, battery-powered devices used to prevent dangerous heart-rhythm abnormalities (arrhythmias) in people with congenital heart disease, survivors of cardiac arrest, and others who are at risk. Unlike pacemakers, which provide only small pulses of electricity to keep the heart beating normally, ICDs can provide a powerful jolt when they detect a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia.
To explore how the possibility of a shock might affect sex life, Dr. Cook and his colleagues surveyed 151 men and women with congenital heart disease, 41 of whom had an ICD. The participants, whose average age was 37, completed a series of questionnaires designed to assess their levels of anxiety and fear, sexual function and satisfaction, and depression.
Women had nearly the same level of sexual function regardless of whether they had an ICD. Men, on the other hand, tended to report mild erectile dysfunction if they had an ICD.
But the biggest differences in sexual satisfaction were between men and women who were anxious about the device firing during sex and those who were not. For both men and women, higher scores on the shock-anxiety questionnaire were associated with lower scores on the sexual-function measures.
Some patients do not cope well with ICD-related anxiety, Cook says. It’s important to recognize those patients and refer them to a psychologist or other therapist who can address their fears and help the patients overcome them, he says.
“I can help them understand what’s going on from a cardiologist’s point of view, but maybe a psychologist can help them deal with the anxiety and get them back to having sex,” Cook says. “I’m not here to give a bad buzz to devices at all. If they need to have a device to prevent sudden cardiac death, I want them to have that device. But I also want to provide excellent quality of life.”
The 10-question shock-anxiety questionnaire used in the study—known as the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale—is “a really simple and quick test to determine who may need psychological counseling,” Cook says. “We should be using it.”
Cook presented his research at the AHA’s annual Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando, Fla. Unlike the research published in medical journals, the study hasn’t been thoroughly vetted by other experts in the field.
Health.com: 10 reasons why you're not having sex
In addition, patients may need to temporarily lower their expectations. "The achievement of orgasm may require a greater degree of exertion and may not be a realistic initial goal in some patients," Levine and his colleagues write.
Heart patients' concerns about intimacy are "one of those things that gets swept under the rug too often, by not only the caregivers but also the patient and the spouse or the family," Kopecky says. "I think having guidelines like this is very helpful -- to have it out there and talk about [sex] and say it is OK to do."
Women today have less time for sex than their 1950s counterparts. And it’s estimated that 40 million Americans have what experts call a sexless marriage (having sex less than 10 times a year).
A regular sex life is good for your health. It can satisfy all sorts of emotional- and physical-intimacy needs and help partners stay close, says Anita H. Clayton, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia and author of Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy.
So why the dry spell? You can chalk it up to a sheer lack of time, but there are a slew of other reasons, too—from weight gain and perimenopause to technology overload (stop texting now) in the bedroom. Here’s how to beat the top 10 sex busters.
Red wine good for the heart
Doctors have been saying for some time now that red wine is good for your heart – but some recent news has raised some questions.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently received this question from a viewer:
“I heard there was some recent news about the heart-health benefits of wine. What’s the deal?”
Alvarez said it’s true – one of the top researchers of the health benefits of red wine was recently fired from the University of Connecticut for allegedly fabricating data, which was later published in many medical journals.
The researcher was studying the effects of resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant found in red wine believed to have heart-healthy benefits, such as:
- reducing bad cholesterol
- protecting the lining of blood vessels
- lowering the risk of inflammation and clotting
- and even preventing diabetes and obesity, which are both strong risk factors for heart disease
Alvarez spoke with Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health in New York City.
“All I can say . . .you don’t have to start drinking to prevent heart disease,” Goldberg said. “What you need to do, is find ways that you can get antioxidants in your diet. Blueberries and pomegranate have resveratrol contained within the fruit. And that's one way to get it without any alcohol content. Another way is to go to the market, and try to pick out fruits and vegetables that are colorful. Improve your diet to have red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables because they have other antioxidants, and all antioxidants help to improve the flexibility of the blood vessels and reduce the risk of plaque buildup.”
If you have any question please follow the website:Drmanny@foxnews.com
Don't hair lose
When mother nature knocks, she arrives early and means business. The process of male pattern baldness can commence at age 21, and by 35, over two-thirds of men will show some signs of significant hair loss.
But life doesn’t have to leave you with a degenerating doughnut hole on your head (like a bull's-eye awaiting its arrow or a prisoner begging to be released). These yeas and nays are on target to set you free from the harrows hair loss.
Do dry hair gently
Beating up your hair with a rough towel and vigorous rubbing can cause serious damage. Physical force breaks off finer hairs, and newly emerging ones don’t even get a chance to survive. Use a super soft cloth and pat rather than rub the hair to rid it of excess moisture after bathing.Don't use a bristled brush for styling
Styling time usually comes after a shower when hair is wet and in its most fragile state. Needless to say, tearing tracks down your scalp with a bristly brush isn’t the best idea. The only styling tool a man needs nowadays is his bare hands.
Do keep hair shor
It’s time to say goodbye to those luscious locks you’ve been holding on to since college. Age is setting in, and things are thinning upstairs. Longer hairstyles only serve to accentuate what’s already gone, but a closer crop will maximize coverage, leaving no one the wiser. And if the situation is dire, go for the gusto: Hair for men is optional.
Don't comb it over
See the "do" above on keeping hair short in order to avoid this sad (and ineffective) strategy for handling hair loss
Do try hair loss-prevention products
Most treatments for hair loss leave much to be desired. Balding concealer (scalp spray paint) quickly comes to mind. But sometimes the most obvious and effective choices for treatment get roped in with the fast fixes that don’t work. While other products have come and gone, tried-and-true Rogaine remains. Its special ingredient, minoxidil, is still one of the only scientifically proven methods for staving off hair loss and, yes, can even regrow hair.
Don't overdo it with styling products
Gels, pastes and putties serve a purpose: They help smooth hair and hold it in place. But nothing is worse for drawing unwanted attention to a scarce scalp than glopping on goo. Strands of hair end up clumping together only to bare all for world to see. Lay it on light to keep things covered up.
Do use a thickening cream/conditioner
That hairstyle may not be as thick as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean you have to shear it all off just yet. Conditioners and creams specially formulated for troubled tresses can keep your secret under wraps by helping build and protect the shaft of the hair.
Don't panic or do nothing
Shedding strands here and there is no reason to sweat. In fact, it’s 100% normal to lose as many as 100 hairs every day. If you’re really shedding your coat, chances are it’s happening so slowly you may not notice until the pesky process is well underway. Once balding has begun, don’t deny it. Seek treatment -- personal or professional -- and then move on to life’s more important problems.
A hairy situation
Hair loss is a long process and an emotionally painful one at that. But following a few realistic rules can shave away the sorrow, and indeed, even years off your face.
US juice industry to buy elsewhere
The Juice Products Association of U.S.-based juice producers said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the FDA decision, since the Environmental Protection Agency declared carbendazim levels of up to 80 ppb posed no threat to human health.
It said it would have to seek supplies of juice from other producing countries.
"The United States cannot grow enough oranges to satisfy American consumer demand for orange juice and therefore juice processors must rely on orange juice concentrate from other countries to assure adequate supplies," it said.
The association had backed Brazil's call for imports of concentrate to be tested in the diluted form in which it is consumed.
In a 1,600 word statement, the FDA said it could not accept the requests Brazil's juice industry presented to it in writing on January 19, citing laws that it said prohibited it from making exceptions that would accommodate it.
"We recognize that the use in Brazil of a pesticide not authorized in the U.S. and FDA's detention of shipments bearing illegal residues has affected the orange juice market and has economic impacts," the response read.
"However these impacts do not warrant a change in FDA's enforcement ...," it concluded, adding that making an exception would create an unfair advantage over other food producers who have incurred costs to ensure their products meet FDA standards.
The FDA statement can be viewed at: here
About two-thirds of Brazil's juice shipments to the United States are already in not-from-concentrate, ready-to-drink form.
The Brazilian industry source said exporters would have to review supply contracts for concentrated juice with U.S.-based importers to switch to a not-from-concentrate product which is more expensive and bulkier to ship.
The European Union, where more than two thirds of Brazil's orange juice is shipped, applies a carbendazim tolerance of 200 ppb.
FDA says U.S. won't allow more fungicide in orange juice
The U.S. health regulator on Thursday declined a request by orange juice producers to allow a higher tolerance of a banned fungicide in juice imports, a decision that will force Brazil to stop exporting concentrated orange juice to the United States.
Brazil, the world's top orange juice producer, will still be able to ship its U.S. customers orange juice that is not from concentrate, since that variety contains much smaller levels of carbendazim.
Brazil asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give it until June 2013 to eradicate carbendazim from its juice after the regulator began checking all imports in January for the chemical which it banned in 2009.
Carbendazim is illegal on citrus in the United States, but commonly used in Brazil, the world's top orange juice exporter, to combat mold on orange trees. It is permitted up to a limit in imports to the European Union, the main buyer of Brazil's juice.
The checks began after Coca Cola alerted the FDA when it discovered the chemical in laboratory tests.
Orange juice futures have been on a rollercoaster ride since the FDA began testing orange juice imports amid uncertainty over whether the United States would cut off supplies from Brazil, which provides about a tenth of U.S. orange juice.
The futures, traded at New York's ICE exchange, hit an all-time high on January 23 of $2.244 a lb but the benchmark March contract had retreated to $1.8505 per lb by Thursday.
Brazil's juice industry has continued exports to the United States since, but only in diluted not-from-concentrate form which meets FDA requirements for carbendazim content below 10 parts per billion (ppb), a virtually undetectable quantity.
"By the end of the year it is probable that things will be back to normal and we will be shipping concentrated juice to (the U.S.) again," an orange juice industry source told Reuters, declining to be named as he was not authorized to speak on the industry's behalf.
Brazil had requested the FDA distinguish between frozen concentrate and not-from-concentrate, meaning a 60 ppb carbendazim tolerance for the former since not-from-concentrate is diluted to about six times the volume of concentrate.
The FDA refused, saying its policy is to apply the 10 ppb limit on juice regardless of its concentration.
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