Category Archives: Cancer

5 low-fat foods that are making you fat

You may know that so-called low-fat and fat-free diet foods are often packed with sugar, salt, and chemical-laden additives. But did you realize that your body digests these “healthy” alternatives in record time, leaving you hungry for more?  That's only part of the problem, according to New York City dietitian Keri Glassman, the author of The New You and Improved Diet. Packaging, no matter how well-intentioned and honest, is another culprit: When people see low-fat on a label, they think they can eat more than they really should and end up chowing down on 28 percent more calories, according to research from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. Below, we've rounded up five common low-fat foods that aren't scoring you a six-pack anytime soon. Chips Low-fat chips taste a whole lot better than they used to, thanks to the addition of more salt, carbs, and other additives. When fat is removed from chips, manufacturers make up for lost taste and texture with the salty stuff. Many bags of low-fat chips contain about 20 percent more sodium and 15 percent more carbohydrates than their full-fat versions—not to mention about twice the number of ingredients. Peanut Butter You already know peanuts are little fat repositories, but this is mostly good fat: Polyunsaturated fatty acids increase protein concentration and the size of muscular cells, adding to your lean muscle mass without a single workout, according to research published in Clinical Science. What's more, old fat stored in the body's peripheral tissues can't get worked off efficiently without new fat to activate fat-burning pathways in the liver, according to research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  What many food companies don't tell you is that they've replaced that healthy fat with maltodextrin, a carbohydrate used as a filler in many processed foods. This means you're trading the healthy fat from peanuts for empty carbs and double the sugar for a savings of a meager 10 calories. So next time you're making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ditch the empty calories in the low-fat alternative and opt for the full-fat original—just be sure to spread it on in moderation. ___________________________________________________ More From Details: 7 Trends You'll Be Wearing Next Fall Foods That Will Make You Look Younger 14 Healthiest Snack Foods You Can Buy 12 Must-See Sneakers ___________________________________________________ Cheese You'll be hard-pressed to find low-fat or fat-free cheese at the deli counter. Why?

Could you be allergic to the sun?

That’s right! It is possible to be allergic to the sun! Exposure to sunlight can trigger a variety of nasty skin conditions that affect one in five people. So who’s at risk? Being of a Caucasian or Native American descent may make having a sun allergy more likely, although correlation between skin color and solar skin allergies is still up for debate among researchers. Certain antibiotics such as tetracycline, sulfonamides and/or having eczema can increase the likelihood of sun-related skin problems. If you have a relative with allergic skin reactions to sun, then you are also at an increased risk. Sunlight can actually trigger hives, and those who are affected have red blotchy skin associated frequently with itchiness on sun-exposed areas of their body.  This tends to occur quickly, and in most cases, resolves itself in about a day.   Heat can also trigger hives, simply from an increase in body temperature.  Many of my patients who exercise, particularly when their immediate environment is very warm, or if they are “over-dressed,” find that these conditions may trigger hives and itchy skin. Another increasingly common malady is being allergic to your sunscreen. It generally occurs at the point of application of the product you are using, but it is more likely to appear on sun-exposed areas. The distribution may include your face but often spares affecting the eyelids.   Other less-common causes include a variety of autoimmune diseases, such as Lupus. In that case blood tests and/or a skin biopsy may help pinpoint the cause.  In some cases, sun allergy will manifest only when exposed to other triggers such as plants and/or fruits and vegetables. A solar-triggered rash may also have other symptoms including headaches, redness, hives and blisters. Clothing can provide significant protection as well as using an umbrella and a wide-brimmed hat.   Using a physical blocking sunscreen that generally contains micronized (almost invisible) zinc and/or titanium may be gentler on your skin, particularly if you have sensitive skin and/or allergic reactions to “chemical sunscreens.” Oral antihistamines can often reduce the severity of symptoms, although this is no guarantee! Other complementary treatments include topical steroid creams and, of course, avoidance of direct sunlight.   Don’t forget to reduce your outdoor direct sunlight exposure, especially between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.   As always, work with a dermatologist and allergist to get proper advice and care for sun-allergy and photosensitivity reactions.Dr. Clifford Bassett is an adult and pediatric allergy specialist, and diplomat of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. He is the medical director of& Allergy and Asthma Care of NY.& & Bassett is a clinical assistant professor of medicine and on the teaching faculty of NYU School of Medicine and NYU Langone Medical Center and assistant clinical professor of Medicine and Otolaryngology at SUNY LICH. Follow him on& Twitter. & source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/could-be-allergic-to-sun/

California man fights hepatitis A after eating tainted berries

Geoff Soza was celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary in Yellowstone National Park when the 64-year-old man learned the hard way that his seemingly healthy breakfast habit of mixing thawed berries with Greek yogurt had exposed him to a national outbreak of hepatitis A. Dozens of illnesses have been reported, and federal officials have recalled a frozen berry mix sold by Costco and Harris Teeter in seven states. Soza, a semi-retired contractor, was resting at his Encinitas home this week after an ordeal that threatened to put him on a liver transplant list. He hadn't felt right in the weeks before leaving for Yellowstone on May 29 -- but his lack of appetite and disorientation didn't merit canceling the trip. “I thought, `I'm getting something. I'm coming down with something' and I thought I'd just ride it out and live with it,” he said. His wife, Rita, said he doesn't complain much as “a very active, tough kind of person,” but he seemed lethargic when they flew to Salt Lake City and rented a car to drive to the park. On the second night of their trip, the Sozas called paramedics who examined Geoff and recommended he visit St. John's Medical Center. They didn't think a medical evacuation was necessary. They thought they could wait until morning, but after a few hours, Rita drove three hours on dark rural roads to Jackson, Wyo. Doctors initially thought Geoff Soza's gall bladder needed to be removed after finding signs of inflammation and stones. But general surgeon Dr. Michael Rosenberg halted the surgery, scheduled for June 1, because of Soza's elevated liver enzymes. After more tests, Soza was diagnosed with hepatitis A, Rosenberg said. Soza could have suffered liver damage or excessive bleeding if the surgery had gone ahead as planned, Rosenberg said. Doctors told Soza they could treat him, but if it didn't go well, they would have him taken to a regional liver transplant center in Utah. “That's when it really struck me, like, `Really? Liver transplant?' ” Geoff Soza said. Luckily, such measures are rarely, if ever, necessary for hepatitis A, Rosenberg said. Hepatitis A can be spread by the ingestion of a microscopic amount of fecal matter from an infected person, typically a food worker who hasn't washed their hands. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and jaundice -- a yellowing of the skin or eyes. There is no specific treatment. The ill can feel sick for weeks -- or up to six months -- as their body heals itself. Healthy and health-conscious, the Sozas always inspect their foods and select organic produce. They were surprised to learn that some of the fruit from Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., was from outside the United States. The Centers for Disease Control said the recalled berries included products from Argentina, Turkey and Chile, in addition to the United States. But the packaging convinced the Sozas the fruit was all-American because it bears the slogans “Grower. Processor. Distributor.” and “Field to Farm to Family, since 1906.” “It was our distinct impression that these are raised under U.S. standards, especially organic food standards,” Rita Soza said. Geoff Soza said he chose the berries to have for breakfast for about 6 months. The Sozas are fairly adventurous eaters who like to experiment with new foods. Frozen berries were the last thing he thought would make him sick. “I would have thought it would be from fish or something like that, but not ever from fruit, especially berries,” Soza said. Rita Soza said after she learned of the berries, she was upset by Costco's response, saying she unsuccessfully tried to call the number on her membership card for information -- but she couldn't get a live person on the phone. She returned home to find a message on her answering machine Tuesday. Costco Vice President for food safety Craig Wilson said the company contacted 240,000 members with information about the outbreak and received more than 10,000 calls over the weekend. Some of those sickened by the berries have filed lawsuits seeking medical costs and damages, and at least one suit filed in Los Angeles this week seeks class action status. The Sozas say they haven't decided to take legal action.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/california-man-fights-hepatitis-after-eating-tainted-berries/

First dual-action compound kills cancer cells, stops them from spreading

Nathan Luedtke and colleagues explain that the spread of melanoma and other forms of cancer beyond the original location — a process called metastasis — makes cancer such a serious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves administering a drug that kills cancer cells when exposed to light, already is available. But PDT works only on the main tumor and has other drawbacks. …

Dr. Manny: Government must stop bamboozling Americans about Plan B

I am now totally convinced that our current federal government loves confusion. When you have a single agenda, and many ways to spin it, the American public never gets a clear answer and that is exactly what has happened with the Plan B emergency contraception controversy. A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make certain forms of the emergency contraception pill available to children of all ages, without a prescription. This is exactly what I have been warning the American public about. One has to remember that the FDA first approved this form of over-the-counter contraception for women of all ages back in 2011. When that initial FDA ruling came out, there was a loud public outcry and restrictions were quickly put in place barring women under the age of 17 from purchasing these pills. But of course, that was just one spin on the story. In April, a New York judge ruled that restricting access to Plan B was inappropriate, forcing the FDA to reconsider their initial finding that emergency contraception should be available to children of all ages. And then, we got a third spin on the story, as the FDA tried to lower the age limit for access to emergency contraception to15 in May. There was another outcry and more criticism, because we know perfectly well that a 15-year-old may not have a clear understanding of how to utilize emergency contraception. Now, we see that an appeals court is forcing the FDA to do what they wanted to do in the first place. How convenient. And the final ruling is still unclear, after the court decided on Wednesday that while the two-pill version of emergency contraception can now be sold over-the-counter to women of all ages, the one-pill version will still only be sold to women age 17 or older. The court did not explain its reasoning. While there is still a lot of confusion about the ruling, it seems as though the FDA will ultimately get its way. So, what’s the message here?

Scientists unexpectedly discover stress-resistant stem cells in fat tissue removed during liposuction

The cells, called Multi-lineage Stress-Enduring (Muse-AT) stem cells from fat, or adipose, tissue, were discovered by "scientific accident" when a piece of equipment failed in the lab, killing all the stem cells in the experiment except for the Muse-AT cells. The research team further discovered that not only are Muse-AT cells able to survive severe stress, they may even be activated by it, said study senior author Gregorio Chazenbalk, an associate researcher with UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology…

Dr. Manny Alvarez: Government must stop bamboozling Americans about Plan B

I am now totally convinced that our current federal government loves confusion. When you have a single agenda, and many ways to spin it, the American public never gets a clear answer and that is exactly what has happened with the Plan B emergency contraception controversy. A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make certain forms of the emergency contraception pill available to children of all ages, without a prescription. This is exactly what I have been warning the American public about. One has to remember that the FDA first approved this form of over-the-counter contraception for women of all ages back in 2011. When that initial FDA ruling came out, there was a loud public outcry and restrictions were quickly put in place barring women under the age of 17 from purchasing these pills. But of course, that was just one spin on the story. In April, a New York judge ruled that restricting access to Plan B was inappropriate, forcing the FDA to reconsider their initial finding that emergency contraception should be available to children of all ages. And then, we got a third spin on the story, as the FDA tried to lower the age limit for access to emergency contraception to15 in May. There was another outcry and more criticism, because we know perfectly well that a 15-year-old may not have a clear understanding of how to utilize emergency contraception. Now, we see that an appeals court is forcing the FDA to do what they wanted to do in the first place. How convenient. And the final ruling is still unclear, after the court decided on Wednesday that while the two-pill version of emergency contraception can now be sold over-the-counter to women of all ages, the one-pill version will still only be sold to women age 17 or older. The court did not explain its reasoning. While there is still a lot of confusion about the ruling, it seems as though the FDA will ultimately get its way. So, what’s the message here? The polarizing health care agenda of this federal government is like a train without a stop and parents need to be aware of this. As I have said before, this is a medication. Yes, I know that it is safe – but it does have side effects. Side effects to Plan B can include, but are not limited to: migraines, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and blood clots. If this drug is available to young children, it might lead to problems including the misuse of the medication and the risk that children will utilize this as a regular form of contraception. Furthermore, it will exclude parents from the decision-making process. And in my opinion, parents can be very valuable in counseling children about proper behavior and doing the right thing. This is taking parents and caregivers out of the equation and inhibiting their ability to help their children live a healthy and happy life. America, we are being bamboozled. Wake up and pay attention.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/dr-manny-government-must-stop-bamboozling-americans-about-plan-b/

Nontoxic cancer therapy proves effective against metastatic cancer

The study, "The Ketogenic Diet and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Prolong Survival in Mice with Systemic Metastatic Cancer," was published online today in PLOS ONE. Led by Dominic D’Agostino, PhD, principal investigator in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the research shows the effects of combining two nontoxic adjuvant cancer therapies, the ketogenic diet and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in a mouse model of late-stage, metastatic cancer…

New gene that is essential for nuclear reprogramming

A group from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by researcher Ralph P. Schneider, from the Telomeres and Telomerase Group led by María A. Blasco, publishes this week an article in Nature Communications on the discovery of a new gene called TRF1 that is essential for nuclear reprogramming. It is also known that TRF1 is indispensable for protecting telomeres, the ends of chromosomes. …