Lose Weight Before Weight-Loss Surgery

It is found that losing at least a little bit of weight before having weight-loss surgery can reduce the risk of having surgical complications. Medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery show that the more weight patients lost before surgery, the less likely they suffered from post-operation complications, such as infection, blood clots, and kidney problems. The post-surgery complication rate was almost twice as much in patients who gained weight before surgery than patients who lost weight before surgery.

All of the patients had open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery where staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time. A part of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine. Some of the surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery mandate that certain high-risk patients lose weight before having the surgery.

Treat Urinary Incontinence with Weight Loss

Urinary incontinence is the unintentional release of urine and it affects more than 13 million women in the United States. Obesity is a common risk factor for urinary incontinence. A research study done by the University of Alabama-Birmingham found that overweight women who lost just 3 pounds cut the amount of leaks due to urinary incontinence by 28 percent. Women who lost 17 pounds cut the amount of leakage by 47 percent.

Fight Dementia with Coffee

A Swedish study has found that when middle-aged adults drank 3 to 5 cups of caffeinated coffee each day, they were 65 to 70% less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life when compared to people who drank 2 or less cups each day. Coffee offers protection against the diseases by containing magnesium, antioxidants, and caffeine. It is also assumed that coffee decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes, which can contribute to dementia.

Same-Sex Heart Transplants Found to be Better

A new research has found that heart transplant patients have better chances of survival and lower risk of the body rejecting the organ if they get organs from donors of the same sex as them. This may be due to the fact that men's hearts are usually bigger than a woman's heart and have a greater pumping capacity. Differences in hormones and immune systems between men and women could also play a part.

A Little Alcohol Good for Healthy Living

Researchers have found that drinking small amounts of alcohol, mainly wine, during middle age years you can have a major reduction in heart attack and stroke risk. It is recommended to drink one glass of wine per day. Alcohol raises HDL cholesterol levels, which is the cholesterol that is good for you, and stimulates the release of nitric oxide and histamines that relax blood vessels and improves their function.

Small to moderate amounts of alcohol could also help prevent Alzheimer's disease, peripheral artery disease, the common cold, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, bone fractures and osteoporosis, kidney stones, digestive ailments, stress, depression, poor cognition and memory, Parkinson's disease, hepatitis A, pancreatic cancer, macular degeneration, angina pectoris, duodenal ulcer, erectile dysfunction, hearing loss, gallstones, liver disease and poor physical condition in elderly.

Too much alcohol is bad for you. Too much can cause high blood pressure, increased triglyceride levels, cause abnormal heart rhythms, and raise the risk of breast cancer in women.

Oats for a Healthy Heart

Eating oats are good for a healthy heart. They are rich in dietary fiber, manganese, selenium, the antioxidant flavonoid, and magnesium. They are also rich in beta-glucan and have shown to be able to reduce the risk of heart attack and lower cholesterol levels. Eating oats on a regular basis can lower cholesterol levels by 6 to 10 percent and lower the risk of heart attack by up to 25 percent. Also adding whole grains, beans, soy, vegetables, and fruits to your diet can reduce the risk of heart attack by 40 to 60 percent.

The Damaging Effects of Cola Sodas

Drinking cola type sodas is very unhealthy. Just drinking 16 ounces or more of cola sodas each day can double the risk of developing chronic kidney disease. They can also contribute to hypertension, diabetes, and kidney stones. The phosphoric acid that they contain are commonly linked to kidney stones. They can also cause lower bone density, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Noncola sodas don't have the same impact on the kidneys but they are still unhealthy. It is a healthy idea to skip sodas altogether.

Use Choline to Decrease Breast Cancer Risk

Choline is an organic compound that is classified as a water-soluble essential nutrient and is usually grouped within the Vitamin B complex family. It is found that getting enough choline can reduce the chances of getting breast cancer by 24 percent. It also reduces the risk of heart disease and improves memory. Choline can be found in eggs, fish, lean meat, collard greens, and beans. It is recommended that women get 425 mg of choline each day.

Heartburn Can Lead to Esophageal Caner

Heartburn can increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer. This is due to the backwash of stomach acids damaging the esophageal lining, which can cause cell changes that can lead to caner.

It is recommended to drink a minimal amount of coffee and citrus juices. It is also a good idea to cut back on spicy foods to control heart burn. H2 blockers, such as Zantac, and proton pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec, can help to reduce symptoms and encourage the healing of damaged tissues.

Cut Cancer Risks With Leafy Vegetables

It is found that leafy green vegetables are rich in vitamins A and C and rich in flavonoids, which all can help to protect the body against cancer. A study was done by researchers that found that adults who ate one serving of leafy vegetables each day were half as likely to develop lung cancer when compared to people who ate them less than five times each week.

Diet Soda Not Good For Diet

Drinking diet soda to lose weight is not as good as it seems. Diet soda can increase the risk of having high amounts of belly fat, high blood sugar levels, and high cholesterol. A person that drinks one diet soda each day have a 34 percent higher risk of having these things than people who don’t drink diet soda. To have a healthier and tasty drink, it is a good idea to mix freshly cut fruit such as berries and citrus fruits, with seltzer water.

Alcohol Bad for Hormone Therapy

A recent Danish study has found that drinking alcohol can have a negative effect on people that are on hormone therapy. The recent study showed that hormone therapy users that had one or two alcoholic drinks each day greatly increased their risk of breast cancer. Alcohol could prevent the estrogen in the therapy from being fully metabolized and that would cause a higher blood level of estrogen, which could influence the risk of breast cancer.

Better Health for Diabetics

A person could significantly lower their risk of heart disease and strokes by taking a statin each day. Researchers analyzed patients over a period of five years and found that for every 1,000 people with diabetes that were given statin, there were 42 less heart attacks and strokes than there would have been if the patients wouldn’t have taken the statins. The statins even helped the people already diagnosed with vascular disease. It is recommended that women that are pregnant shouldn’t take them.

Medication for Ex-Smokers

There is a new medication that was made originally for people with acne problems that can help people that used to smoke by reducing their lung cancer risk. Ex-smokers that took the prescription retinoid isotretinoin, which also contained vitamin E, or an experimental retinoid had significant decrease in the amount of precancerous cell growth in the lungs when compared to people that took placebos.

Weight Gain Genes

It is found that overeating is related to the same gene involved in alcoholism and drug addiction. People who carried a certain variant of the gene and who used food to motivate themselves were the highest at risk for eating too many snacks when compared to people who had only one or neither of these traits. People with this gene variant could have a lack in reward-signaling in the brain and have to participate in more of the behavior to get as much pleasure as people with normal signaling. Exercising is something more positive that can release the same reward chemicals in the brain.

Coffee Can Cause Miscarriages

A recent study found that pregnant women that drink more than one cup of coffee a day are at risk of having a miscarriage. Even a small amount can be very dangerous. Two hundred milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of two cups of regular coffee, can double the risk of having a miscarriage, especially in the first trimester. Caffeine decreases blood flow to the placenta and stresses the metabolism of the fetus. It is recommended that a pregnant woman doesn’t have any caffeine in her diet.

Grapefruit Increases Cancer Risk

A recent study found that women who ate half of a grapefruit every other day had a 30 percent increase of breast cancer risk when compared to women who didn’t eat the fruit. Grapefruit contains the chemical compound furanocoumarins that inhibits the way that estrogen is metabolized. This leads to a higher concentration of estrogen, which increases the risk of breast cancer.

It is recommended that post menopausal women that consume grapefruit regularly and women that have had estrogen-receptor-positive cancer should not eat this fruit. The American Cancer Society recommends eating five servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables each day to limit the exposure to possibly harmful substances from a single food.

Pregnancy Can Help Fight Cancer

Pregnancy can reduce the risk of cancer. This happens because some of the fetus’s cells cross the placenta and settle into the bloodstream and other tissues. The cells from the fetus increase the amount of immunity against breast cancer. This finding could help in the development of a breast caner vaccine in the future.

Health Risks of Premature Babies

It is found that premature babies have higher death rates in their childhood years and are more likely not to have children in their adult years. This is based on a study that followed 1.2 million Norwegian births over many years.

Most premature babies grow up to have good health and be able to reproduce normally but the risk of health and reproduction problems are significantly higher than babies born at full term. Premature babies also have the risks of lung problems, disabilities, mental retardation, and being mentally behind other children their age in school. The study found that the preemies were more likely to die in their first year of life than full term babies and the higher risk continues throughout their life.

Things that could help prevent premature births include hormone treatments for women with a history of giving premature birth, not inducing labor unless it is needed and medically necessary, and reducing the number of embryos implanted at one time during fertility treatments. Women that are born premature have a higher risk of having premature babies when they give birth.

HPV Test Better Than Pap Test in Detecting Cancer

It is found that the human papillomavirus (HPV) test can be up to 40 percent more accurate than a Pap Smear test in detecting the risk for HPV. HPV is the leading cause of cancer. A Pap Smear can find existing precancerous cells in the cervix, but the HPV test can detect the infection that could possibly progress to precancer in the future.

Most HPV infections don’t turn into cervical caner, especially the ones contracted before 30 years old because the immune system is more likely to fight the disease by itself. For women over 30 years old, it is recommended to ask a doctor about getting both a Pap Smear and an HPV test. Cervical cancer is usually curable if it is caught early.