Month: August 2017

No one likes to think about getting sick, but prevention requires our attention. Studies have found that although cancer rates are decreasing overall, certain areas of the U.S. are seeing a surge in cancer-related losses. In some cases, death rates are 20 times higher from one state to another. What could be causing such sharp differences within our country?

Are you at risk?

Countless factors go into a person’s risk of developing cancer, and new information strongly suggests that geographical location is one of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that people who live in rural areas are more likely to develop cancer compared with those living in metropolitan areas.

Scientists already know that lifestyle factors, including diet and obesity, play into an increased cancer risk. But a new study titled “Trends and patterns of disparities in cancer mortality among US counties, 1980-2014” confirms that some areas are more cancer prone than others. No one knows exactly why this is, but doctors have some ideas.
The study concludes that a combination of lifestyle factors and lack of health care in rural areas are the culprits.

Those Left Out

You might already know that lung cancer is the deadliest form of the disease in the U.S. But it’s astounding to learn that certain areas, like Union County, Florida, experience as many as 231 deaths per 100,000 residents a year.

Compare that to the town with the lowest rate of deaths from lung cancer, Summit County, Colorado, in which there are only 11 deaths per 100,000 people a year. That’s a disparity of more than 2,000 percent.
The “Trends and patterns” study found that breast cancer fatalities were highest along the Mississippi River.

Lung cancer rates are highest in Southern states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. The Mississippi River area also shows high rates of kidney cancer.

What’s the solution?

This isn’t an isolated issue. Similar numbers can be seen in more than 3,000 U.S. counties. Doctors believe that those in more rural areas are being left in the dust when it comes to health education, preventive care, and access to cancer-detection facilities.

“Such significant disparities among US counties is unacceptable,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, the study’s lead author. “Every person should have access to early screenings for cancer, as well as adequate treatment.”
Rural residents have more difficulties accessing health care; sometimes it’s simply not available where they live. Lack of public transportation, longer distances to clinics, and fewer health care providers are just some of the barriers that rural patients must contend with.
“Even though rural communities contain about 20 percent of America’s population, less than 10 percent of physicians practice in these communities,” according to a study conducted by Roger A. Rosenblatt and L. Gary Hart.

This makes timely access to preventive or emergency care difficult for rural residents. There are a few rural healthcare models in place in an attempted fix, but there’s no single solution to this problem. As the new data show, though, it’s time to do something.

When you wake up feeling sick, your mind starts racing.
Nobody likes starting the day with an upset stomach, but for women, the symptom can be a bit unnerving. After all, why would nausea come out of nowhere?

This can lead to an exciting (or terrifying) conclusion: You’re pregnant.
Not so fast. Some instances of “morning sickness” are pretty easily explained by other health conditions. For instance…

1. Sleep’s Role

Our body’s systems rely on circadian rhythm (think of it as an internal clock) to function properly. We release certain chemicals and hormones at specific times of the day, and anomalies can occur when this pattern is disrupted.

The digestive system can be severely affected when the circadian cycle is disturbed. One study indicated that disrupted sleeping patterns can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, overproduction of stomach acid, and peptic ulcers.

2. Morning Lows

You could be waking up feeling nauseated in the morning because of low blood sugar. You don’t have to have diabetes to experience issues related to blood sugar levels. A dip in blood sugar in the morning could be caused by not eating enough the night before.

Common symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) include dizziness, weakness, anxiety, and nausea. You might not feel hungry, but eating a snack or a light breakfast in the mornings should help get rid of those queasy feelings.

3. Vicious Circle

Sometimes feeling sick in the morning doesn’t have anything to do with your gut at all. Our digestive system and brain are strongly connected to each other. When we feel mentally stressed, our bellies can bear the brunt.

“The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion,” writes renowned physician Anthony L. Komaroff of Harvard University. “Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation—all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.”
If you’re feeling nervous for a job interview or worrying about missing a flight, you might wake up with a sensitive stomach. Try winding down before bedtime with a bit of meditation. (And don’t start worrying about the nausea, too!)

4. When and What You Eat

Eating too much at night can also cause problems. High-fat meals take longer to digest, causing your stomach to produce more acid. This additional acid can cause feelings of nausea as well as heartburn.

If you have to eat a late dinner, try to make it as light as possible, and don’t overeat. Stick to fresh options, steering clear of overly processed foods.

Know when to see the doctor.

It’s important to listen and pay attention to your body. If you experience nausea on a regular basis, despite having a healthy sleep schedule and diet, see a physician. Symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, vomiting, weight loss, or regular headaches could be signs of something serious, so don’t ignore them.
Pregnancy is, of course, a common cause of nausea in the morning. However, it’s not a constant; about 30 percent of women never experience nausea of any kind, so morning sickness certainly isn’t the defining feature of pregnancy.
If you’re concerned about a potential pregnancy, again, see your doctor—there’s no reason to take chances.

It’s time to re-evaluate vitamin supplements. It’s great to improve your health, and it makes sense to assume that extra vitamins are the quickest way to do that.
Besides, a multimillion-dollar industry sells the idea that a multivitamin is the best way get all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need. New research suggests that these pills may not play as big of a role in our health as we once thought, however.

Defining a “Vitamin”

Our bodies need vitamins and minerals to function properly. The World Health Organization refers to vitamins as micronutrients, because the actual amounts needed are minute—but incredibly important nonetheless. Vitamins allow our bodies to produce enzymes and hormones that are essential for growth and development.

Generally, vitamins fall into one of two categories. They’re either fat soluble or water soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the small intestine and stored in the liver or body fat for long periods of time. Examples of fat-soluble micronutrients include vitamins D, E, K, and A.
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve more quickly in the body, which means your body won’t store them for later. These are the micronutrients you want to ingest on a regular basis. Vitamin C and the B-complex group are all water soluble.

There’s no such thing as a quick fix.

Half of American adults take a vitamin or mineral supplement on a regular basis, reports a 2013 Gallup poll. That means there’s a lot of money to be made from supplements.
In fact, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Americans spent $12.8 billion out of pocket for natural product supplements in 2012. Consumers seem to truly believe taking a pill is the best way to manage their health.

And who can blame them? Industry voices have been telling people for years that supplements help stave off diseases. Recently, however, studies have begun to prove otherwise. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found no correlation between supplement use and a decrease in heart disease, cancer, or cognitive decline.

More isn’t always better.

Anyone who takes supplements should understand two numbers used to describe micronutrients: the recommended daily allowance (RDA) and the tolerable upper intake level (UL).

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the RDA is the amount of a given substance your body needs to keep functioning optimally. The UL describes the maximum dosage level consumers can safely take without fear of serious side effects.
Exceeding UL levels of supplements can lead to health problems. Too much vitamin A and beta-carotene can lead to an increase in hip fractures, liver damage, and possibly an increased risk of lung cancer.
Taking too much B2 (riboflavin) won’t hurt you, but it won’t help, either. Your body will flush out the excess, so you’re sending your money down the drain. The same goes for B12.

Upgrade your diet instead.

Most nutritionists will tell you the best way to take charge of your health is with a balanced diet. Your body is able to get all the vitamins and minerals it needs from food, as long as you’re eating mindfully. A healthy meal should consist of 50 percent vegetables, one-quarter grains, and one-quarter protein.

There are certainly situations in which doctors recommend supplements, but the irony is most people who take them are not the ones who need them. Vitamin users tend to be more affluent and health-conscious than others, wrote pharmacist Scott Gavura. So the folks most likely to take supplements are less likely to need them than those who don’t.

So do you need vitamins or other supplements?

Carol Haggans, a registered dietician who consults at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), answered this question in a blog post on the NIH website.

“Talk to a health care provider for advice on whether you need a supplement in the first place, the dose, and possible interactions with medicine you’re already taking,” Haggans wrote.