Category Archives: Cancer News

Washington baby bitten by bat treated for rabies

PASCO, Wash. – & A baby is being treated for rabies after it was bitten by a bat that flew out of a patio umbrella on the deck of her grandparents' Pasco home, the Tri-City Herald reported. Dan and Sandra Anderson were babysitting 11-month-old Alanna on Saturday evening when Dan Anderson opened the umbrella and Sandra Anderson noticed something flutter out toward Alanna. “It was weird. I thought maybe it was moths,” Sandra Anderson said. Then she saw the bat clinging to Alanna's back near her left shoulder. She brushed the bat away and then noticed two pair of tiny bite marks, even though the bat had been on the baby only a few seconds. Alanna didn't cry — until she noticed how upset her grandmother was. The baby was given shots at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. Her grandparents are getting vaccine shots for rabies, too, as a precaution. The family thought it had seen the last of the bat, but they were on the patio again Sunday for Mother's Day when they noticed something black inside the closed umbrella. This time, Alanna's father, Derek Anderson, killed it with a piece of metal. He turned it over to the Benton Franklin Health Department and it tested positive for rabies. The virus can be fatal without medical attention. “I'm thankful we saw the bat on her and could take her for treatment,” said Sandra Anderson. “Everything's fine. It's 100 percent curable,” Derek Anderson said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/washington-baby-bitten-by-bat-treated-for-rabies/

Heavy use of pain pills increases risk for erectile dysfunction

Men taking prescription pain pills in high doses and over long periods of time are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction (ED), according to new research.   In a new study published in the journal Spine, researchers examined the health records of 11,000 men taking prescription opioids, like oxycodone, to treat chronic back pain. Men who took high-doses of these prescription painkillers for longer than four months were 50 percent more likely to require medication to treat ED than men who were not taking painkillers. Patients considered to be taking ‘high doses’ of opioids were consuming the equivalent of 80 milligrams of OxyContin per day – or 120 milligrams of morphine. Overall, about 19 percent of the men taking opioids over long periods experienced ED – but researchers said the number might be even higher. “That could well be an underestimate, because many don’t bring it to their doctors attention, would be embarrassed or wouldn’t connect it to medication,” lead study author Dr. Richard Deyo, from the Kaiser Permanante Center for Health Research at Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland Oregon, told FoxNews.com. Researchers noted that opioids are known to cause changes in testosterone levels. “Opioids suppress testosterone levels,” Deyo said. “It’s clear that people taking long-term opioids have testosterone levels well below normal,” Deyo said. Additionally, factors like depression, a common condition among chronic pain patients, could also be contributing to patients’ ED. According to Deyo, the researchers’ findings add to a wealth of evidence indicating that long-term opioid treatment for chronic pain should be avoided when possible. Patients who take opioids for extended periods often develop a tolerance to the medicine and can even experience greater sensitivity to pain over time.   “Patients need to be aware that these medications may not be effective in the long-term for treating chronic pain – they are certainly effective for short-term pain, but not (in the) long run,” Deyo said. Instead of relying on medications, the researchers believe that doctors should encourage alternative treatments for pain relief. “There’s growing evidence that some of the more effective treatments for persistent pain are rigorously designed exercise programs along with cognitive behavioral therapy ,” Deyo said. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is intended to help patients overcome fears associated with their chronic pain. When it comes to exercise, patients often become afraid of doing anything that might worsen their pain, causing them to avoid physical activities.  “CBT seems to be valuable along with exercise interventions…It’s important to consider the full range of options,” Deyo said. Deyo and his colleagues hope their research will increase patients’ awareness about their treatment options.  He noted that the side effects of pain medications, like ED, are often not well understood. “I think it’s important for people to be aware of this,” Deyo said. “Some people would say, ‘Gosh it’s a problem, but the pain is more important to me now; I’m less concerned about the side-effect than treating the pain.’ Others might say, ‘It’s a high price to pay,’ and they’d rather not (take pain medication).”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/heavy-use-pain-pills-increases-risk-for-erectile-dysfunction/

Skin cancer strikes men differently

Malignant skin cancers develop in different areas of the head and neck in men and women. The reason may simply be because men are often the drivers of a car, while women are more often the passengers, according to a study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Up to 20 percent of aggressive skin cancers called melanomas occur on the head and neck, which are exposed to greater amounts of ultraviolet radiation than other parts of the body. But few studies have compared gender differences in the distribution of these cancers, the researchers said. The study analyzed 279 head-and-neck melanomas diagnosed in 121 men and 158 women in their early 70s from the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, between 2004 and 2009. About half of the cancers were invasive, or had spread beyond the initial site. The data revealed two distinct patterns. In men, 57 percent of melanomas were located in the peripheral area of the head and neck, which included the scalp, forehead, temple, ears and neck, while 43 percent developed on the eyelids, nose, cheeks, chin and mouth, or the central area. In women, 79 percent of melanomas developed in the central area and 21 percent in the peripheral area. Peripheral cancers were more common on the left side in men and on the right side in women, and tended to be invasive, researchers said. Men spend more time driving than women and are often the principal driver, researchers said, which may explain the asymmetrical distribution of melanomas. The peripheral area is particularly exposed to UV radiation while traveling in a car, although longer hair on women appears to provide some protection, they said. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/skin-cancer-strikes-men-differently/

The best pregnancy foods

When a woman is pregnant, we’re often quick to laugh off her cravings for even the unhealthiest foods. However, pregnancy is a time to indulge in nutritionally dense sources of delicious food - and avoid unhealthy foods, as often as possible. Processed foods offer little nutrition and may contain chemicals. Check labels and avoid products containing the following items: MSG, chemical additives, trans-fats, artificial dyes and anything in a plastic container that may contain BPA. Instead, look for organic and fresh foods whenever possible. When choosing proteins, look for options that come from animals that have not been given hormones or antibiotics. Foods rich in probiotics, healthy fats and folate are also all important components of a pregnancy diet. Probiotics are the building blocks for digestive health. Consuming probiotic-rich foods during pregnancy could help strengthen the immune systems of both the mother and baby. Probiotics can be easily incorporated into your diet through fermented foods such as kefir, organic plain yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi and pickled vegetables. Healthy fats are vital to the baby’s brain, organ and tissue development, so embrace them. Butter from pastured cows and coconut oil both contain lauric acid, which has antiviral, antibacterial and immune supporting functions. Egg yolks contain choline which may enhance a baby’s brain development. Organic, full-fat dairy, avocado, nuts and healthy sources of meat all provide additional healthy fats. Wild-caught salmon, herring and sardines all contain healthy fats such as omega-3 and DHA. Wild, grass-fed animals like beef, wild boar, and longhorn are also great sources of omega-3’s. Folate is also critically important for the development of a healthy fetus. Dr. Luis Espaillat-Rijo, a voluntary assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami and clinical fellow at the Cleveland Clinic of Florida, stated that if he had to choose just one thing to recommend to pregnant women, it would be folate. Espaillat-Rijo explained that there is a direct link between folate supplementation and a decrease in incidence of neural tube defects. Folate also reduces the likelihood of anemia in the mother and can prevent early miscarriage and premature delivery. High quality, organic liver from a pastured animal is a great food to include in your diet once a week – it contains three times the amount of folate as a serving of raw spinach. Sunflower seeds, dark leafy greens and beans are also great sources of folate and make a wonderful addition to a pregnancy diet. This isn’t to say you can’t give in to your cravings. However, try to make your indulgences as healthy as possible.  If you’re craving a cheeseburger, choose grass-fed ground beef and organic cheese on a whole grain or sprouted bun. If all you want is a milkshake, seek out ice-cream made from hormone-free milk and top it with organic dark chocolate. Make the best choices you can, as often as you can. If you’re eating well the majority of the time, there’s no need to feel guilty about the occasional slip.Jacqueline Banks is a certified holistic health counselor and busy mother. & Her focus is on helping other busy moms in all stages of motherhood keep themselves and their little ones healthy and happy. & She uses natural and organic solutions to solve individual health problems and promote clean living. Check out her website at www.jbholistic.com.& & source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/best-pregnancy-foods/

Hysterectomy not tied to heart risk factors, study shows

Despite evidence suggesting that women whose uterus has been removed may be more likely to experience heart troubles, a new study finds that the usual signs of heart disease risk are not more severe in middle-aged women after hysterectomy. After following more than 3,000 women for about 11 years, researchers found that heart risk factors like cholesterol, markers of inflammation and blood pressure were not significantly worse in women in the years following an elective hysterectomy, compared to women who did not have the procedure. “I think it's encouraging to women and clinicians that this is not something they have to worry about if they're considering hysterectomy (in) midlife,” said Karen Matthews, the study's lead author from the University of Pittsburgh. Hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus, is the second most common surgery among U.S. women, after cesarean-section deliveries. Often the procedure is used to remove or prevent cancer, especially among younger women. But many women may elect to have the surgery for other reasons, including to treat painful benign growths in the uterine wall known as fibroids or to staunch heavy bleeding. Hysterectomies can involve removal of the uterus only, or the ovaries as well. Ovary removal in particular has been linked to increased cardiovascular risk because it takes away the main source of estrogen in a woman's body and plunges her abruptly into menopause. Even the gradual decline of estrogen following natural menopause has been linked to women's increased heart risks, so researchers have investigated whether hysterectomy raises those risks. But studies of the connection have produced mixed results. For the new study, Matthews and her colleagues used data from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, which followed a large, multiethnic group for more than a decade to understand the experience of American women during and after menopause. The 1,952 women included in the study were between 42 and 52 years old and not yet in menopause when tracking began. They were followed from 1996 through 2008, receiving annual checkups that recorded information about their health, surgeries and whether or not they had started menopause. Specifically, the researchers looked at physical measurements that are markers for heart and cardiovascular disease. They included various components of cholesterol, blood pressure, blood clotting factors and molecules that are signals of inflammation. Overall, the researchers report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that none of those measurements in the 183 women who chose to have their uterus removed - with or without their ovaries - were significantly worse, compared to the 1,769 women who went through menopause naturally. Matthews said their findings apply to women who are finished having children, in their forties and are considering a hysterectomy to help with excessive bleeding or other factors that cause a quality of life problem. She said they couldn't make a conclusion for women who need to have their uterus and ovaries removed because of cancer. “Our study really couldn't examine that question because we had too few women who had gynecological cancers, and the equation changes when you have gynecological cancer,” said Matthews. But Dr. JoAnn Manson, who has researched women's health after hysterectomy but was not involved in the new study, suggested the results don't mean that women who have hysterectomies are in the clear, because past studies only saw a difference in heart risks after 10 to 15 years. Manson, who is chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told Reuters Health that the abrupt transition to menopause after a hysterectomy may only reverberate years later because “atherosclerosis takes a while to develop… That seems to take up to 10 and 15 years for clear differences to emerge.” For that reason, “This isn't totally surprising that there wasn't a difference in risk factors during the follow up period,” Manson said. Matthews said that's one potential explanation for why their results differ from previous studies, but she said there could be other reasons, including that modern women are somehow different from women included in past research. “It may be that it's emerging much later, but I would be surprised,” Matthews said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/hysterectomy-not-tied-to-heart-risk-factors-study-shows/

Ultra-low salt intake may not boost health, U.S. panel says

Americans at high risk for heart problems who have been told for years to sharply cut salt from their diet may not actually benefit from ultra-low sodium diets and could even face some harm, an independent panel of health experts said on Tuesday. The influential Institute of Medicine, in a report to U.S. health officials, reviewed the latest data on the link between salt intake and health. While blacks, diabetics and others more likely to have heart problems are urged to slash their salt intake, the IOM review showed there was limited evidence such a diet helped, and that too little salt might increase the risk of heart trouble. “The evidence on both the benefit and harm is not strong enough to indicate that these subgroups should be treated differently from the general U.S. population,” the panel wrote. That suggests higher-risk populations may not need such a drastic reduction of salt in their diets and that other steps to curb heart disease risk may be needed. Americans are still consuming far too much salt, the IOM experts said. On average, U.S. adults eat about 1.5 teaspoons of salt over the course of the day, or about 3,400 milligrams. Federal guidelines recommend that healthy people consume no more than 2,300 milligrams daily. But the latest data calls into question whether individuals with higher risk factors for heart disease or stroke should limit their daily intake to 1,500 milligrams, as the government recommends. Brian Strom, the panel's chairman and a public health professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said the newest studies back the known benefits of “reducing sodium from very high intake levels to moderate levels.” “But they also suggest that lowering sodium intake too much may actually increase a person's risk of some health problems,” he said, including heart ailments. Still, the studies are limited and in some cases flawed, so more research is needed, the IOM panel told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which requested the report. Health advocates including the American Heart Association were quick to dismiss the findings, saying the recent studies reviewed by IOM focused on sick patients and not the majority of Americans, most of whom eat too much salt. “The bottom line for consumers is still: cut back on sodium,” said the Center for Science in the Public Interest's (CSPI) Bonnie Liebman. 'IT'S PRETTY TOUGH' The problem is not just food loaded with salt. It's also that Americans eat a lot of food that contains lower amounts of salt, such as bread and pasta, without realizing their sodium content. Health officials have called for Americans to take various steps to cut back, such as asking for no-salt dishes in restaurants and eating more naturally low-salt foods like fruits and vegetables. Health advocates said the IOM's review was beside the point given the high levels of sodium that still plague U.S. foods. It's almost impossible to ingest just 1,500 milligrams a day, said Liebman, director of nutrition for CSPI. “Virtually any meal at any restaurant would give you at least half-a-day's worth of sodium, maybe a whole day's worth, maybe more,” Liebman said. “You'd have to make everything from scratch. ... It's pretty tough.” Consumer groups and some lawmakers have for years called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set federal salt levels for food, a recommendation that the IOM backed in 2010. In New York City, health officials have been working with restaurants and food companies to voluntarily remove salt from everyday foods. A trio of studies published on Monday found that smaller restaurants still load their food with salt even as national chains and food manufacturers have cut back.  The FDA, in a statement, said it was reviewing the IOM's report, calling it consistent with its “efforts to work toward achievable and reasonable voluntary reductions in the sodium content of the U.S. food supply.” IOM was not asked to review current federal salt intake guidelines, which were issued in 2010. U.S. health officials are expected to revise the guidelines on salt and other nutrients in 2015.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/ultra-low-salt-intake-may-not-boost-health-us-panel-says/

How to deal with bad behavior at the gym

The etiquette of dealing with space invaders, circuit breakers and other gym scourges. Space Invaders Problem: You finally make it to yoga class, but just as it begins, a latecomer places his mat inches from yours. Now you can’t salute the sun without smacking your neighbor’s back. Solution: Confront, but in a nice way. “Always begin your approach with the thought that most people aren’t rude on purpose,” Liz Neporent, exercise physiologist and a coauthor of “The Fat-Free Truth,” said. “They’re simply wrapped up in their own little worlds.”  You could say something like, “Excuse me, but I’m going to need a little extra room here,” suggested Dee Poquette, a personal trainer in Danbury, Connecticut. If politeness fails, move to another spot or take the matter to a higher authority. Chances are the gym or studio may be overselling classes. Loud Talkers Problem: You’re thoroughly engrossed in a magazine, cycling toward your eight-mile goal, when a woman on the machine behind you answers her cell phone and proceeds to discuss her dinner plans at full volume. Solution: Say something, but keep your tone pleasant and nonaccusatory. You can say, “Excuse me, but your conversation is distracting―would you mind talking off the gym floor?” If you don’t want to get directly involved, ask an employee to intervene.  “The proble mis that many clubs don’t ban cell phones,” John McCarthy, a former executive director of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, said.  If yours doesn’t, try moving to another part of the gym or wearing headphones. Smelly Patrons Problem: As you work yourself into an elliptical frenzy, a strong whiff of your most hated perfume (or, worse, body odor) wafts your way, and you feel as if you’re going to suffocate or faint. Solution: Move away, if possible. But if you’re stuck in close quarters, there’s little you can do beyond discreetly taking your complaint to a manager.  “When the issue is personal grooming, we prefer members to come to us,” Steven L. Schwartz, chief executive officer of Midtown Athletic Clubs in Chicago, said. “It’s uncomfortable for someone to tell another person that he smells bad.”      Sometimes the issue is ignorance or, in the case of body odor, inattention. Poquette recalled when one client’s odor lingered long after he had left the room, bothering other clients.  “It turns out he would work out and put his clothes in the locker, then put the same clothes back on two days later,” she said. “As soon as someone pointed out the issue, the problem was straightened out. You’d think he could tell, but he was oblivious.” Circuit Breakers Problem: As you’re zooming around the machines, which are clearly labeled 1 through 9 for circuit training, you see someone position herself on the shoulder press―your intended next stop. Solution: “A certain amount of jumping in on a circuit is acceptable, provided the person doesn’t block someone who’s going through in order,” Neporent said. “If someone is about to block you, you can say, ‘I’m following the circuit, and I’m about to use that machine.’ ”      If she blocks you anyway, keep going around and come back to the machine later to maintain the flow of your workout. Circuit etiquette is a bit different from general weight-room etiquette in that you’re expected to let another person use your machine―that is, “work in”―while you rest or do cardio between sets. Should a response to your “May I work in with you?” be less than friendly, simply back off or take the matter to the trainer on duty. You’re not tattling.      “Things like that have a way of boiling over in gyms,” Denis Barry, a co-owner of Edge, a gym in New York City, said. Click for more tips on gym etiquette from Real Simple. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/coping-with-bad-behavior-at-gym/

Turkish woman who had womb transplant patient loses baby

A woman who was the first to have a successful womb transplant from a dead donor has had her pregnancy terminated after the embryo showed no heart beat, doctors in Turkey said on Tuesday. Derya Sert, 22, who was born without a womb, had been receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment after the transplant in August 2011. Her pregnancy was announced in April. “Derya Sert's pregnancy was terminated after her end-of-8-weeks examination showed no embryo heartbeat,” Akdeniz University Hospital in Turkey's Mediterranean city of Antalya said. “The general health status of the patient is fine,” the statement said. “IVF will be continued when she is ready, in appropriate conditions.” One in every 5,000 women globally is born without a womb, while thousands more have the organ removed due to cancer or other diseases, leaving them unable to get pregnant.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/turkish-woman-who-had-womb-transplant-patient-loses-baby/

Small restaurants serving big calories, salt, studies find

Despite public health progress in cutting calories, as well as salt and fat from fast foods and supermarket products, neighborhood restaurants are still packing big helpings of each into their meals, a trio of studies suggests. Small independent eateries are not required to display nutritional information for consumers - if they did, the researchers report, patrons would routinely see single meals containing nearly a full day's worth of calories and fat plus one and half times the daily recommended intake for salt. “It's really a disgrace. Every day the newspapers say things about the obesity epidemic… To a large extent, you can trace that to too many calories,” said Susan Roberts, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Energy Metabolism Lab and professor of nutrition at Tufts University, in Boston. About two thirds of Americans are considered overweight or obese, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. And as American waistlines continue to expand, public health policy has focused on the quality of food available in supermarkets and restaurants. President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act, for example, contains a requirement that restaurants with at least 20 outlets in the U.S. make their nutritional information available to customers. But one of three new studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday points out that policy only applies to about half of the nation's restaurants. The other half is made up of smaller chains or independent restaurants exempt from the requirement. For their analysis, Roberts and her colleagues measured the calories in 157 meals at small Mexican, American, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Thai restaurants in and near Boston between June and August 2011. Overall, the researchers found the average meal at those restaurants contained 1,327 calories. That's about 66 percent of the 2,000 daily calories recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. About 8 percent of the meals exceeded 2,000 calories. The meals from small restaurants also contained up to 18 percent more calories than comparable dishes from larger chains - suggesting the requirement to display nutritional information is keeping the large-chain restaurant meals healthier, according to the researchers. In another of the studies published Monday, Canadian researchers led by Mary Scourboutakos from the University of Toronto found similarly high calorie counts in more than 3,500 meals from Ontario restaurants they analyzed. What's more, Scourboutakos and her fellow researchers found that individual meals contained an average of 89 percent of the daily recommended amount of fat and 151 percent of the daily recommended amount of salt. A third study also zeroed-in on salt as a major area of concern. Several organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization have all called for reductions in the amount of sodium people consume. The Institute of Medicine recommends that most healthy people get 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, with an upper limit of 2,300 mg. But the average American eats closer to 3,600 mg each day, largely in processed foods. For their new study, Dr. Stephen Havas of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and his colleagues analyzed 402 processed foods and 78 fast-food products to see if their salt content had changed between 2005 and 2011. They found a small decrease in the amount of salt in processed foods over that period but also a similarly-sized increase in the amount of salt in fast-food products. The differences in each category, however, were small enough that they could have been due to chance. Havas said the results show that the calls for voluntary reductions in salt have been a “total failure.” “The only thing that will solve this problem is for the amount of salt in our food to be regulated,” he added. But regulating food and what goes into it has been a controversial topic, according to Dr. Mitchell Katz, from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in California. Instead, he suggests in a commentary accompanying the three studies that doctors should advocate for their patients' right to know what they're eating. “As we debate the controversial role of government in stemming the interrelated endemics of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease, we must insist on the right of our patients (as well as ourselves) to know what we are eating, whether fast food or slow, whether large chain, small chain, or individual restaurant,” he wrote. One encouraging finding from the study of Toronto restaurant meals highlighted by Scourboutakos and her colleagues is that entrees identified on the restaurant menus as “healthy” were generally at least healthier - with about 474 calories, 20 percent of the day's value of fat and 50 percent of the recommended daily intake of sodium. Roberts told Reuters Health she'd like to see restaurants add a few healthy choice options to their menu to at least give people an alternative. “That would mean the restaurant doesn't have to calculate the whole menu and that would give people choices,” she said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/small-restaurants-serving-big-calories-salt-studies-find/

7 tips to stop your summer weight obsession

With summer approaching, you might spend time preparing for swimsuit season. Rather than dreading this time of year, here are some tips to begin to practice appreciating your body so you can enjoy the sun. 1.   Accept your weight. You may think the more you fight your weight, the more you’ll succeed in losing weight. This simply isn’t true. Accepting doesn’t mean not taking steps towards changing your weight, it means not letting your weight hold you back from your life. If you’re waiting until you lose weight to apply for jobs or start online dating, your weight is going to weigh you down. Do what you care about now. 2.   Go on a weight-talk diet. It’s tempting to ask your friends if you’ve lost weight, ask them about what they’re doing to lose weight, or discuss together who you think needs to lose weight. There is way more to talk about than weight. When the topic comes up, practice moving the topic to something more fun! 3.   Only visit your scale once a week. Weight fluctuates within six pounds on any given day depending of what you’ve had to eat and drink. Rather than checking your weight compulsively and worrying you gained weight after you ate a big meal, only weigh yourself once a week and make it at a set time, like 8 a.m. Monday mornings. 4.   Go shopping.   If you are in between sizes and your clothes are uncomfortably snug, you will constantly remember you’ve gained weight and eat to cope with this negative feeling. I’ve seen a lot of clients feel better and eat better by wearing clothes that fit. Buying clothes your size is not giving up, it’s being practical. 5. If you compare, be fair. It’s weirdly tempting to compare yourself to the thinnest person you see or a celebrity you admire. Yet, this is so unfair and sets you up to feel inferior and obsess further. Rather than compare yourself to someone remarkably thin or fit, compare yourself to every eighth person you see. Better yet, don’t compare. When you notice you’re judging yourself in comparison to someone else, remind yourself that’s a judgment and let go. 6. Eat regular meals. Many people who struggle with obsessing around food get caught in this cycle: Overeat --> limit what they eat to make up for the indulgence --> feel hungry --> overeat. Rather than get caught in this cycle of feeling too full then feeling too hungry, eat three meals and two snacks. If you ate too much for breakfast, eat a normal lunch; this will prevent you from skimping on lunch and splurging on dinner. 7. Relax your face when you look in the mirror. One of the ways to improve your body image and stop engaging in negative thoughts about your appearance is to relax your face and body when you look in the mirror. There’s a facial feedback loop and the facial expressions we make solidify how we feel. Research on Botox shows people whose facial muscles are paralyzed experience less intense emotions. One way to relax your face is to ever so slightly lift the upper corners of your lips. If you don’t want your daughter to learn to grimace in front of the mirror, become a role model for self-acceptance.Jennifer Taitz & is a licensed clinical psychologist based in New York City. She is the author of End Emotional Eating: Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills to Cope with Difficult Emotions and Develop Healthy Relationship to Food. Visit her website drjennytaitz.com to learn more.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/7-tips-to-stop-your-summer-weight-obsession/