Preventing high blood sugar in children with diabetes

High blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia, occurs when the sugar (glucose) level in the blood rises above normal. For a person who has diabetes, high blood sugar may be caused by missed oral diabetes medicine or insulin injection, eating too much, skipping physical activity, or illness or stress. The rapid growth during the teen years can also make it more difficult to keep your child’s blood sugar levels within a target range.
Unlike low blood sugar, high blood sugar usually develops slowly over a period of hours or days. But it can also develop quickly (in just a few hours) if you eat a large meal or miss an insulin dose. Blood sugar levels just above the safe range may make a person feel tired and thirsty. If your child’s blood sugar level stays higher than normal, his or her body will adjust to that level. Over time, high blood sugar damages the eyes, heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and nerves. If your child’s blood sugar continues to rise, his or her kidneys will increase the amount of urine produced and your child can become dehydrated. If your child becomes severely dehydrated, he or she can go into a coma and possibly die.

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Is Soy Safe to Eat After Breast Cancer?

For years, breast cancer survivors were often counseled to avoid soy foods and supplements because of estrogen-like effects that might theoretically cause breast tumors to grow.
Now, a new study of more than 18,312 women shows that eating soy foods did not increase risk of breast cancer recurrence.
The new findings are being presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
“If you regularly eat soy, you don’t need to worry or avoid it, and women who want to lead a healthy life, can safely include some soy in their diets,” says study researcher Xiao Oh Shu, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
In addition to the isoflavones which may act like estrogens in the body, “soy has many anticancer properties, antioxidants, nutrients, micronutrients, or vitamins that may contribute to its beneficial effect on health,” Shu says.
Shu and colleagues analyzed data from four large studies of women with a history of breast cancer diagnosed between ages 20 and 83. Soy intake was assessed using questionnaires in all of these studies. The study only looked at soy foods, not supplements.

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Strawberries May Help Prevent Esophageal Cancer

Eating freeze-dried strawberries may help prevent esophageal cancer, according to new but preliminary research.
”Eating strawberries may be a way for people at high risk for esophageal cancer to protect themselves from the disease,” says researcher Tong Chen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus.
She presented the results of her small study at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study was funded by the California Strawberry Commission.
After an animal study showed strawberries might have some cancer-fighting benefits for esophageal cancer, Chen decided to study their effect in people.
She evaluated the use of freeze-dried strawberries in 36 men and women who had precancerous lesions of the esophagus.

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Adult cigarette smokers should get the pneumococcal vaccine

All adult cigarette smokers should get the pneumococcal vaccine, the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee today recommended.
The panel previously recommended that as of 2009, adults with asthma should get the vaccine. Adults aged 65 or over, and those with chronic illness, are already advised to get the vaccine.
But more than half of serious invasive pneumococcal diseases occur in people who smoke cigarettes.
Smoking just one cigarette a day doubles pneumococcal pneumonia risk. There’s nearly a fourfold higher risk in those who smoke 15 to 24 cigarettes a day. More than 24 cigarettes a day increases risk 5.5-fold.

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Broccoli May Block Defective Gene Linked to Tumor Growth

Broccoli may help fight cancer by blocking a defective gene associated with tumor growth, according to new research.
Previous studies have heralded the potential cancer-fighting ability of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and watercress. But researchers say until now they didn’t know the secret behind the vegetables’ anticancer attributes.
In a new study, researchers found compounds in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables called isothiocyanates (ITCs) appear to target and block mutant p53 genes associated with cancer growth.
Gene p53 is known as a tumor suppressor gene and appears to play a critical role in keeping cells healthy and protecting them from cancer. When this gene is damaged or mutated, it stops offering this protection. Researchers say these mutations are found in about half of all human cancers.

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Reducing Urinary Incontinence? Drink Water Wisely

Controlling your intake of liquids can be tricky. You might think that cutting back on liquids across the board would reduce OAB. In fact, it can make urine more concentrated, which can irritate the bladder. On the other hand, it’s a good idea not to pressure the bladder by drinking too much liquid at once. Try these strategies:

• Drink plain water when you’re thirsty, from four to eight 8-ounce glasses a day. You’ll know you’re drinking enough if your urine is light yellow or almost colorless.
• Sip water throughout the day, instead of gulping down a lot at one time.
• Unless you’re exercising, don’t carry a large water bottle. It may tempt you to drink too much at once.
• If you’re waking up to urinate more than twice a night, drink most of your liquids during the waking hours.  Limit how much you drink two to three hours before bedtime.
• If you take a diuretic, try taking it in the morning. That way you should be able to empty your bladder by bedtime.

Information : http://www.pakboz.info/reducing-urinary-incontinence-drink-water-wisely

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Food Dyes: Why People Want Them Despite Potential Health Risks

What, exactly, does familiarity breed? Apparently glow-in-the-dark food is one possibility.
That, in essence, is the message in a recent New York Times article by Gardiner Harris (“Colorless Food? We blanch.” 4/2/11) summarizing research and perspectives on the topic of artificial colorings and food dyes.
Mr. Harris points out that in the absence of FD&C Yellow No. 6, Cheetos would display the pallor, and apparently the appeal, of insect larvae. Studies have shown that foods lacking the expected color are rated lower on taste, even though taste is actually unchanged!
Pickles are bright green courtesy of food dyes; they would otherwise be grey. Jell-O, we’re told, would be tan.

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