FOOD FRIGHT
Despite renewed popularity of garden-fresh foods, much of what we eat clearly does not fit that definition. According to new federal research, food may cause an estimated 76 million cases of gastrointestinal illnesses and 5,000 deaths each year. Although the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world, the number of food-borne pathogens has increased more than fivefold since 1942, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the reasons for the sick stomachs boil down to the American family’s hectic pace: Americans eat out more, cook for themselves less and eat more processed food than ever beforewhich involves more people and more preparation, thus increasing the chance of food-handling problems (and also contributing to weight problemsanother CDC study recently reported that one in five Americans is obese). Careful handling of raw meat and proper storage and cooking of food help avoid food-borne pathogens.
— Sue Ellen Christian
SIMPLER BIRTH CONTROL
Known in some circles simply as “the shot,” Depo-Provera is an injectable form of a birth control hormone, progestin, that was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1992. Its popularity can be linked to the fact that a woman needs only four shots each year. Research shows Depo-Provera is used more frequently among women 24 and younger. In fact, it is credited with helping to reduce teenage pregnancies to the lowest numbers since the late 1980s. (It is preferred by 15 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds who use birth control, compared with 3 percent of women overall.)
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— Bob Condor
COLD COMFORT
Women may have more body fat, but it doesn’t necessarily help their extremities. Researchers say women are five times more likely than men to respond to cold with a constriction of the blood vessels, which turns feet and hands cold. Women are also more likely to get Raynaud’s disease, which results in a lack of circulation in the feet or hands. One offbeat aid was offered by Bicycling magazine: Spray feet with deodorant before putting socks on to keep them warm. Also, avoid caffeine, which constricts blood vessels.
– -Julie Deardorff
FIGHTING FIBROIDS
About 20 percent to 40 percent of American women 35 and older have fibroids on their uteruses. About 99 percent of these fibroid tumors are benign, yet they can cause debilitating pain and other symptoms such as bloating, frequent urination and heavy periods. Until the early 1990s, the options were basically to live with the pain or undergo a hysterectomy. In fact, more than one-third of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed on U.S. women each year are prompted by fibroids. Now doctors are exploring other options. One is a non-surgical technique called fibroid embolization, in which radiologists inject small plastic or gelatin particles into the uterine arteries to essentially cut off blood supply to the fibroid. Preliminary research on the technique shows an 85 percent success rate and a two-week recovery time compared with four to six weeks for hysterectomies.
— Bob Condor
BONE BUILDING
One in two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. So it’s no wonder that osteoporosis drugs have made big news. Here’s a summary: A drug, risedronate, has been found to be effective treatment for women who already have had one bone fracture, raising hope that osteoporosis is partially reversible. Other treatment drugs: alendronate, also known as Fosamax; estrogen, which is part of hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women; and calcitonin. For prevention: raloxifene, also known as Evista. And for the earliest prevention: a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, weight-bearing exercise and no smoking.
— Peter Gorner
COOLING THE HEELS
The more education a woman has, the less likely she is to wear high heels, according to a survey by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, based in Anaheim, Calif. More than three-quarters of the 531 women surveyed wear low-heeled shoes to work. That’s a good thing, because high heels place pressure on the foot that can cause bunions, hammertoes, heel pain and other foot problems, says Cherise Dyal, a New York City physician who worked on the study. Women who had more than four years of college were more likely than other respondents to wear flats. Fifty-eight percent of women with more than four years of college wore less than 1-inch heels, compared with 46 percent of women with four years of college, 40 percent with some college and 37 percent who completed 12th grade or less.
— Mary Beth Sammons
MENTAL LIFT
Getting older may have other advantages besides making us wiser. A new survey by the Commonwealth Fund showed younger women are more likely to suffer depression. Forty-four percent of women ages 18 to 44 reported depressive episodes during the week prior to the survey, compared with 34 percent of women 45-64 and 33 percent of women 65 and older. Among men and women, the percentage of depressed women was higher in each age range.
— Bob Condor
SENSE OF A WOMAN
Women tend to have a keener sense of smell than men, and it’s particularly sharp at the time of ovulation, according to editors of the University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter. Just as women have a dominant hand, they have a dominant nostril. And odor perception peaks around age 40.
— Julie Deardorff
BREAST TESTING
In the continuing quest to achieve clearer views of breast tissuee, panoramic ultrasound, developed by Siemens Medical Systems, is giving doctors bigger and better images of breast lesions. Tested by Duke University Medical Center radiologists, SieScape Panoramic Imaging can make breast lesions more conspicuous than they appear in standard keyhole-size ultrasound views. When combined with mammography, panoramic ultrasounds can improve the ability to detect lesions suggesting breast cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of Ultrasound Medicine. Such ultrasounds also can reveal problems with silicone implants, such as leakage.
— Cassandra West
HERBAL ARSENAL
If you’re willing to experiment, several herbs may help alleviate menstruation-related problems, according to nutritionist Gary Null in his book “Get Healthy Now” (Seven Stories Press, $65): Aloe vera juice or gel can be used to help combat headache, irritability, fever, stabbing pain and blemishes. Sarsaparilla has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diuretic and soothing properties. Corn silk tea helps relieve bloating. And green tea helps soothe sharp, stabbing pains.
— Julie Deardorff
THIGH MASTERY
Forget the thigh creams. There can be more than vanity in the desire to firm up your thighs. A recent study published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism showed women with weaker front thigh muscles (quadriceps) were more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knees. Among the 280 men and women 65 and older who were tracked for three years, the women developing osteoarthritis tested 15 percent to 18 percent weaker in the quads, while men showed no such difference. What’s more, the heavier women were, the weaker their quads. Doctors use thigh-strengthening exercise as part of the treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee; this study makes a case for simple thigh exercises to be used to prevent or slow down onset of the condition.
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— Bob Condor
WEAK IN THE KNEES
It is documented that female athletes in such sports as basketball and soccer tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knees four to 10 times more often than male counterparts. One precaution from exercise researchers and sports medicine physicians is to follow a weight-training regimen that strengthens leg muscles supporting the knee. Now researchers at Duke University are reporting that balance and body control exercises are more important for knee health than pumping iron.
— Bob Condor
STRIDES IN DIABETES
The list of walking’s benefits goes on and on. Research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that brisk walking for one hour a day can reduce a woman’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. And for your convenience, that hour total can come 10, 15 or 20 minutes at a time–however you see fit. Type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder resulting from the body’s inability to make or use enough insulin, afflicts about 15 million adults in the U.S., and is the leading cause of blindness and kidney disease in adults. Exercise reduces diabetes risk by improving the body’s insulin sensitivity and by burning off excess pounds.
— Wendy Navratil