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Dear Kim Kardashian, read this before you eat your placenta

It never ceases to amaze me how many expectant mothers sensationalize their pregnancies for publicity. And we all know the 'mother' of all publicity seekers’ whose name starts with a “Kim” and ends with “Kardashian.” Perhaps all the bad press she’s been getting about her looks throughout her pregnancy has finally gotten to her. On Sunday's season premiere of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” the 32-year-old reality star revealed she might be interested in eating her own placenta after her baby girl is born, in order to help her look younger. Kim, I want to preface this article by reminding you of an old adage that I think applies here: Don't kill the messenger. For years, I’ve been hearing that some patients, after giving birth, request to keep their placentas — though I’ve never actually had this experience in my own practice. Some of these patients desire to keep their placentas for cultural reasons. However, a growing trend is on the rise of new moms that actually want to eat them. A couple of years ago, a feature in New York Magazine called “The Placenta Cookbook,” took an in-depth look at the placentophagia fad from the professional placenta-preparer, to the women who call on her for services. Aside from profiling some of the people who take part in this trend, the article included anecdotal recipes and tips to enjoy the afterbirth delicacy — and even shared step-by-step instructions on how to prepare placental capsules in an attempt to preserve the nutritional value thought to be contained in the tissue. Beyond this particular article, various websites exist where mothers discuss how to drain the blood from the tissue and exchange recipes ranging from roast placenta to placenta lasagne. The growing popularity of this phenomenon has to do with the belief that consuming the placenta may offer a new mother certain health benefits, although there are no scientific studies to back up these claims. For example, some people believe that the placenta can help with the treatment of postpartum depression, or “baby blues.” It has been suggested in the past that postpartum depression in some patients is spurred by the quickly shifting levels of female hormones after giving birth, and that by eating the placenta, the hormones will stabilize and postpartum depression can therefore be prevented. Another thought is that the placenta can offer some degree of pain relief due to certain chemicals contained within the tissue. In ancient Chinese medicine, placental extracts are commonly mixed with herbs taken to relieve pain, stimulate milk production, and even to cure impotence. As it turns out, humans are actually one of the only mammals that don’t regularly eat their own placentas. Some researchers believe it must be because the placenta offers some fundamental biological advantage. It is known to contain high levels of things like iron, vitamin B-12 and certain hormones. But before jumping on the placenta bandwagon, I must admit that I myself have failed to find any concrete benefits to eating your own placenta. The medical community rarely comments on this practice, to be honest. In hospitals, the placenta has always seen as a biohazardous material. Remember that this is human tissue, and in theory, it could carry infectious diseases. However, these days, many hospitals are actively looking into procedures for handling patients who request to take home their placenta after birth. Do the doctors give it to her? Do they package it neatly and present it along with the newborn baby? Surprisingly, it appears that as long as certain medical criteria are met — such as both the patient and placenta being healthy — many hospitals will comply with the growing number of requests. Now, I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think there are any legal implications that would apply to prevent a mother from taking a placenta. Certainly there have been isolated cases where patients have been denied their placentas and challenged the hospitals. In 2007, Anne Swanson took her case to court after a Las Vegas hospital refused to fulfill her request to take home her placenta and won. Actually, Las Vegas seems to be a hotbed of placental-eating activity – so much so that researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas did a small survey of 200 postpartum mothers who consumed their placentas and found that 95 percent of them reported improvements in their recovery and lactation. The researchers admit that the results may be due to the placebo effect, but plan to study the phenomenon more in-depth in the future.  So this is my final take: If you want to eat your placenta because you believe in its supposed health benefits, go right ahead. Just be aware that this material has to be handled with care, and you have to protect those around you from being exposed to any tissue waste that you may find unsuitable for consumption. Finally, please, keep it away from my dinner table.  source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/04/placenta-its-whats-for-dinner/

Utah twins doing well after being born on side of interstate

A set of Utah twins are doing well after they were born on the side of an interstate Sunday. Fox 13 reports Lynette Hales of Utah was not due until August, but began to go into labor while visiting a friend in Nevada. Her friend began driving her to the hospital, but was forced to pull over on the side of Interstate 80 as Hales grew closer to delivery. With the help of a 911 dispatcher, Hales' friend was able to deliver both boys. The first twin, named J.J., was not breathing, so Hales performed CPR on him and was able to resuscitate him. J.J. and his twin, A.J., were taken  to a Utah hospital and are doing well, Fox 13 reports. Click for more from Fox 13.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/03/utah-twins-doing-well-after-being-born-on-side-interstate/

200 reported sick in Vegas salmonella outbreak

The owner of a Las Vegas eatery at the center of a Salmonella outbreak said Friday he does not plan to reopen the restaurant at its current location. Firefly restaurant owner John Simmons said in a statement that he will move forward with plans to move the eatery from 3900 Paradise Road to 3824 Paradise by the end of the month. “We are optimistic that the combination of moving to this new location that has a kitchen as large as the entire original Firefly restaurant and the recommended retraining on operations and procedures will help us regain the confidence of the community,” Simmons said in a statement released Friday. Simmons' announcement came shortly after health officials updated the number of people affected in the Salmonella outbreak to 200. The Southern Nevada Health District released the updated number as part of a second interim report in the health inspection of Firefly restaurant on Paradise Road. An initial report put the number of people affected by the outbreak to 89. The new number comprises 196 patrons and four employees. SNHD said the people stricken with foodborne illness dined at the restaurant during a period of time including April 21-26. Health inspectors cited the restaurant for 44 demerits connected to improperly stored food in inadequate temperatures, according to the report. Click for more from Fox 5 Las Vegas. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/13/200-reported-sick-in-vegas-salmonella-outbreak/

New fitness centers cater to aging baby boomers

Baby boomers, the generation that vowed to stay forever young, are getting older, designing senior-friendly gyms and becoming their own personal trainers. In exercise havens for the over-50 set, the cardio machines are typically low impact, the resistance training is mainly air-powered and some group fitness classes are taken sitting down. At Welcyon gyms, founded by husband-and-wife boomers Suzy and Tom Boerboom, the average age of members is 62. “The environment is really designed for those 50 and over,” said Suzy Boerboom. The couple created Welcyon, which has locations in Minnesota and South Dakota, in 2009. It has no tread-mills and no free weights and workouts are customized to members' levels of fitness. A smart card sets resistance, counts repetitions and adjusts workouts. An important attraction for many boomers: background music is a combination of '40s, '50s and '60s tunes played at a much lower volume than in traditional gyms. “It was something I could manage,” said 66-year-old Bill Zortman, one of an estimated 78 million baby boomers, defined as the group born between 1946 and 1964, who make up about 26 percent of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census reports. His thrice-weekly workouts at a Welcyon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, consists of riding a bicycle or using air-powered resistance machines to strengthen his legs, arms and back. “They make sure I'm not overdoing it,” Zortman said of the staff, who Boerboom said are often boomers themselves. The absence of clanging free weights also cuts down on the racket, Boerboom said, noting that many people over 50 prefer a quieter gym. Group fitness classes for boomers are also modified. “We're just beginning to develop a group fitness interval training program,” Boerboom said. “It will be four to six people and low impact.” The American Council on Exercise says many of their fitness professionals are baby boomers who specialize in working with older adults. “People in their early 60's are becoming personal trainers and group fitness instructors,” said Todd Galati, ACE's director of credentialing. But they are far from the majority, as the average age of ACE's 50,000 certified fitness professionals is 42, and more than 37 percent are 40. “Every year I talk to newly certified personal trainers, retired from their career in another field, who want to help people their age become more fit,” Galati said. A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that a sample of baby boomers had higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol than their parents' generation. “There is a big bad myth about the boomer generation being more fit,” said Dr. Sheldon S. Zinberg, founder of Nifty after Fifty fitness centers for older adults. “In fact, the boomer generation is less fit than their parents were at same age.” The chain has locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Virginia and New York. Its programs target muscle power, muscle strength, reaction time, balance and cognitive skills, he said. “At age 40 people lose 0.8 to 1 percent muscle mass each year. By age 60 this accelerates to 1.5 percent,” Zinberg said. At Nifty after Fifty, group fitness classes range from yoga and Zumba to seated volleyball and cane fu, a self-defense class in which participants use a cane. As with Welcyon, there are no tread-mills. “We used to use tread-mills, but we had people falling off,” Zinberg said. “We use recumbent stair steppers, among other exercisers.” He advises people to get fit in their 40s and 50s, “and when you do become older, enjoy a supervised, customized program.” Boerboom said Welcyon plans to open more gyms later this year. “There are over 70 million of us boomers,” she said, “and we have to take care of ourselves.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/13/new-fitness-centers-cater-to-aging-baby-boomers/