Category Archives: Health News

Even if you exercise, the risk of type 2 diabetes is still high if you sit for prolonged periods, according to latest findings. For every additional hour sitting – whether at work or for relaxation – the risk of type 2 diabetes increases by 22 percent. Lead researcher Julianne van der Berg said, “We found ...click here to read more

The effectiveness of the influenza (flu) vaccine for pregnant women is determined by the trimester the woman is in when she receives the shot. The findings were presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all pregnant women receive the flu ...click here to read more

New findings suggest that a saliva gland test may better diagnose early Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Banner Sun Health Research Institute found that testing a portion of a person’s submandibular gland could spot early Parkinson’s disease. There is no current accurate testing method for Parkinson’s disease, and so saliva gland testing ...click here to read more

Weight loss beginning in midlife and extending into later life could be a sign of dementia, as uncovered by researchers at the Mayo Clinic. The findings revealed that individuals who lose weight over the course of decades are at a higher risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is the loss of memory and thinking ...click here to read more

There is an ongoing debate with regards to whether older Americans should be put on blood pressure medications, but recent findings suggest that new guidelines may be putting some of these patients at risk for stroke. In 2014, a panel of experts suggested raising blood pressure guidelines for patients over 60 from 140 to 150 ...click here to read more

The health benefits of chocolate have long been studied, and now presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, as researchers explored the benefits of chocolate during pregnancy. So far noted benefits of chocolate during pregnancy include improving placenta function and reducing the risk of preeclampsia, which is a high blood ...click here to read more

Patients admitted to the hospital over the weekend generally tend to be older and sicker. This finding may also contribute to the fact that more deaths occur on weekends. The study looked at over 500 medical emergency patients in Belfast, and compared those who arrived at the hospital between 5 p.m. Friday evening and 9 ...click here to read more

Even though there is a surge in texting and online messaging, face-to-face communication is still regarded as superior when it comes to social closeness. Face-to-face time expresses emotion and helps convey unspoken cues better than texting which is lacking thereof thus contributing to misinterpretation. The findings are based on two different studies involving teens and ...click here to read more

Weight loss and consumption of healthy fats as seen in the Mediterranean diet – olive oil, fish, etc. – have been found to help improve cholesterol numbers. Moreover, the results were found to be high in women, specifically women who are insulin-resistant. In the U.S., 28 percent of American adults are on lipid-lowering drugs, and ...click here to read more

An FDA-approved blood pressure drug may offer benefits to Alzheimer’s disease treatment by reducing cell damage. The drug – candesartan – may be beneficial in early Alzheimer’s disease treatment, along with other Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Senior author Juan M. Saavedra said, “Our findings make sense in many ways. Hypertension reduces blood flow throughout the ...click here to read more

A new study suggests that a fiber-rich diet in young women may reduce the risk of breast cancer years later. Last week we reported that a high fiber diet may improve lung function, and this week fiber is being linked with a reduction in breast cancer risk, pointing to the importance of fiber in the ...click here to read more

January is National Sports TBI (traumatic brain injury) Awareness Month which discusses topics like concussions, high fructose diets and brain injuries. Although sports are a mode to keep active and can be an enjoyable pastime they can pose a risk to health, especially when it comes to the brain. Therefore, it’s important to be made ...click here to read more

A new drug shows to be a safer alternative to morphine and less addictive. The study was conducted on rats where researchers compared variants of the neurochemical endomorphin to traditional morphine. Effectiveness and side effects were measured in each variant. Chronic pain is commonly treated with opium-based medications which can be quite addicting, and abuse ...click here to read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported 19 hepatitis C cases in 19 dialysis clinics. There were 36 cases of hepatitis C between 2014 and 2015 in 19 dialysis clinics, and nine of those cases were transmitted person-to-person. They report that lapses in infection control procedures are to blame for the rise ...click here to read more