Author: Staff (Page 124 of 157)

Green Tea Lowers Cholesterol

August 24, 2011 / Staff

The good news is that drinking green tea can lower cholesterol.

Good because we can all do it.

Green tea is accessible and affordable. It also, makes a great replacement for sugary caffeinated drinks because it offers a lift with just a hint of caffeine along with cancer fighting, fat busting polyphenols and flavonoids

Advocates say green tea’s heart-healthy benefits are due in part to a large concentration of polyphenols, which block the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. But skeptics argue that any beneficial effect would be small, and the side effects from a few too many cups a day not worth it.

As part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, the benefits of green tea are hard to ignore.

Nutrition, Research, Wellness

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HPV Test Better Than Pap Smear for Cervical Cancer Screening

August 24, 2011 / Staff

The HPV test for cervical cancer seems to be a better predictor of pre-cancerous lesions than a pap test alone.

Under cervical cancer screening guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society in 2002 and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2003, women aged 30 or older should have both a Pap test, also known as a Pap smear, as well as an HPV test, also called an HPV co-test. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and certain strains of the virus can cause cervical cancer.
Under current guidelines, if the results of both tests are normal, a woman can wait three years for her next Pap test, which looks for signs of cancer in cells from a woman’s cervix.

For this slow growing cancer, early detection is key.

Research, Wellness

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Make the Switch to Healthy Food for Your Family

August 23, 2011 / Staff

Feeding your family a healthy diet can be daunting but sometimes all you need to do is to make a few substitutions.

Switching out high calorie less nutritious food for more nutrient dense choices can simply be a matter of habit.

Check this list of easy switches to maximize your family’s nutrition.

Nutrition, Wellness

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Circumcision Debate Goes On

August 23, 2011 / Staff

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend routine neonatal circumcision the debate wages on with little definitive information from either side.

Parents can feel coerced into making a quick decision with little information.

With changes in health care policy it may become a matter of cost for a medically unnecessary procedure which can cost $400; quite a lot of money for many families.

More and more parents are starting to think seriously about whether to circumcise their newborn boys. And many of them are finding that it’s a question without easy answers, not least because guidance from many leading medical organizations has been equivocal. Although rates have declined in recent years, well over half of all boys born in American hospitals undergo the procedure.

Hospitals, Medicaid, Quality Control, Wellness

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Flavored Milks Will Have Less Sugar and Calories

August 22, 2011 / Staff

Kids who drink flavored milk will be ingesting fewer calories and less sugar this year.

As the school is about to start moms can rest a little easier knowing that their children wont be subject to mind bending amounts of sugar.

Excess sugar has been linked to childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes and a host behavioral problems in kids.

This is a small step in the right direction especially for kids who rely on school lunches as their primary source of nutrition.

Cartons of flavored milk will carry just 31 more calories than white milk as the result of a five-year process of industry reformulations aiming to “provide nutritious new products with the same great taste kids love,” said MilkPEP.
The healthy trend among milk processors will reduce added sugar in fat-free and low-fat chocolate milk by 38 percent.
“There are a lot of kids that don’t want to drink plain white milk; they really love drinking flavored milk and that’s very important for the essential nutrients in milk,” said MilkPEP CEO Vivien Godfrey. “It’s a happy balance between some added sugars but making sure that the kids actually drink the milk as opposed to taking the white milk on the lunch line and not in fact drinking it.”

Nutrition, Quality Control, Wellness

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