Now, with the economy, it’s hard to find something else. So many workers are simply sticking with a job for the health benefits alone. So many employers off poor health insurance, that if you’ve got a job with decent benefits you’re more apt to stay.
What do you think? Have you stayed with a job just because of its health benefits?

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Post from: Blisstree

Health Benefits Keep Employees

When the leaves swirl and there’s a chill in the air, then it’s Fall. (To me.) There is something about Fall that energizes me. People say Summer is when most people get active, but to me, it’s the colder months before the long Winter where I feel most busy and full of life.

So I decided to drop these few pounds before Fall. I came up with my number, and how many pounds a week I would lose, and tracked it week by week in the calendar. Each week from now until the end of October (because I’ll give myself until then) I wrote in the weight that I should be by then. I did this three weeks ago, and quickly realized that while I was losing weight, I had an unrealistic goal of my overall weight loss.

Tracking my weight week to week in advance has really helped me. It’s like a silent reminder that I’m serious about this, and it isn’t just something I’m talking about. I thought I’d share this with you. This method has helped me, and I know it could help you as well.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Fit By Fall

Researchers aren’t exactly sure why or how, but there’s a clear link, newly confirmed by a follow-on study to research first published about the link last year. The link between migraines and breast cancer risk reduction has something to do with hormones, but researchers don’t yet understand the biological mechanisms taking place.

The new study, published in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, shows that there’s a 26% reduced risk of breast cancer among women with a clinical diagnosis of migraines.

The current study goes beyond the original landmark study last year by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. This study included both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The sample size of women in the new study is four times larger with more than 4,500 cases and controls. The age of women studied is 36-64 years.

Lead researcher and associate member of the Hutchinson Center’s Public Health Sciences Division, Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., believes that the migraines may stand alone as a protective factor, independent of other factors like smoking, drinking or use of hormones.

Researchers found that the breast cancer risk reduction associated with migraines remained similar whether or not a woman was in menopause and regardless of her age at migraine diagnosis or use or prescription migraine meds. Avoiding migraine triggers like smoking, hormone replacements and alcohol also had no effect on risk reduction.

If you suffer from migraines, does this study make you feel a little better?

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Post from: Blisstree

Migraines May Be Helpful to Women

Unfortunately, many imaging technologies don’t accurately depict endometriosis. CT and ultrasound generally only detect ovarian cysts caused by endometriosis, but don’t show the lesions themselves. Many times, doctors must perform surgery to make a diagnosis.

Things may be changing. Published in the online edition of Radiology, a new study on using MRI to detect deep endometriosis shows promise. With an MRI, radiologists might be able to not only diagnose deep endometriosis, but also accurately locate lesions before surgery. Deep endometriosis requires surgical excision.

The researchers, from the Department of Radiology at Erasme Hospital and the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, studied 41 women. Participants were aged 20-46, and doctors suspected they had endometriosis. MRI was performed before surgery.

Results: MRI accurately diagnosed 26 of 27 cases of deep endometriosis, including specific locations of deep endometrial lesions. MRI also accurately depicted the degree of colon wall invasion.

“Pelvic MRI at 3 Tesla is a noninvasive technique that allows a complete examination of the pelvis. It accurately depicts all locations of deep endometriosis,” noted the study’s lead author, Nathalie Hottat, M.D.

On a personal note, I can certainly see the value of MRI for diagnosis and more accurate detection of endometriosis. Obtaining a diagnosis before surgery can greatly reduce anxiety and perhaps generate a referral to a surgeon who specializes in endometriosis. As someone who went into surgery only aware that there were large masses in my ovaries (from CT), I certainly would have appreciated knowing beforehand what I was dealing with. I would have had much less anxiety knowing my condition wasn’t life threatening, and I would have sought out a surgeon who specializes in the illness. It might have saved me the trouble of subsequent surgeries with a different doctor.

If you suspect you suffer from endometriosis, ask your doctor about an MRI before surgery. Even if you know you have the disorder, an MRI could give your doctor valuable information for planning which type of surgery will be most appropriate for you.

(Image via flickr)

Post from: Blisstree

MRI for Depicting Deep Endometriosis

But Mariska’s story is another reminder that we need to pay attention to our bodies. She said she was doing a stunt on the set of Law and Order, and even using a crash pad. When she hit the pad, she instantly knew something was wrong but shook it off as just having the wind knocked out of her.

Three months later, she still didn’t feel any better. She began to get a stabbing pain, and when she finally went in to have it looked at, found that her lung had been 50% collapsed. She had surgery but just a few short months after that, she felt the pain again. This time she went in right away, and again, her lung had collapsed.

Mariska’s story is scary, but also a reminder that medical help is available. We just have to make sure we pay attention to our bodies and go in when something doesn’t feel right.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: Blisstree

Mariska Hargitay Talks About Collapsed Lung

The study, a review of 20 studies involving 1,150 women, found that women who were treated with local anaesthetic (in addition to general or regional anaesthetics) didn’t require as much morphine or other opioid drugs for pain after Caesarean sections.

The anaesthetic was either injected into the abdominal wall or applied to the wound as a solution. “This review is particularly important in light of the growing number of women giving birth by Caesarean section,” said Bamigboye of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. A quarter of all births in the UK, US and Canada involve Caesarean sections.

Researchers explain that a cost benefit analysis should be performed to see if the reduction in painkillers taken can offset the added cost of the local anaesthetic.

If you’re planning on a Caesarean section, or think it may be in the cards, ask your doctor about receiving a local anaesthetic. It probably couldn’t hurt.

(Image via flickr)

Post from: Blisstree

A Different Painkiller For Cesarean

Surprisingly, pineapple and papaya are great for providing “anti-inflammatory properties” that help your muscles recover after a workout.

We’ve already heard that salmon is great for your brain function, but one source says research showed that people who consumed fish oil “had lower heart rates and consumed less oxygen during intense bicycling.” Seems like salmon is a good bet all the way around for great health!

I absolutely love peanut butter, and find that a small amount helps stave off afternoon hunger. It’s also good for muscles since it’s loaded with protein. The serving size in the key here, just a couple tablespoons does the trick.

The biggest surprise to me was the mention of chocolate milk. Yes! It’s good for hydrating the body (better than sports drinks) and the chocolate helps milk have “the perfect balance of carbs, protein, and fat for speedy muscle recovery.” Plus it’s yummy.

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Post from: Blisstree

Fitness Foods

A new study by the Complementary Medicine Research Unit at the University of Southampton in the UK found that Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) might relieve symptoms of endometriosis.

A total of 158 women participated in two trials of CHM for treatment of endometriosis. It was the first English-language systematic review of CHM for treating the disease.

Findings:

• CHM provided relief similar to that provided by the drug gestrinone, but with fewer side effects.
• CHM was more effective than the drug danazol, and also resulted in fewer side effects. (Both gestrinone and danazol are hormonal drugs.)

“These findings suggest that Chinese herbs may be just as effective as certain conventional drug treatments for women suffering from endometriosis, but at present we don’t have enough evidence to generalize the results,” said lead researcher Andrew Flower.

Perhaps more research evidence will materialize in the future, giving medical doctors courage to prescribe herbs for treatment of endometriosis.

(Image via flickr)

Post from: Blisstree

Chinese Herbs May Help Endometriosis

Many plastic surgeons believe that the conversation about breast reconstruction should start as soon as a breast cancer diagnosis is made. That would enable the plastic surgeon to be part of the initial team of doctors and possibly ensure a better treatment plan.

More than 79,000 breast reconstruction procedures were performed in 2008. That’s a 39% increase from 2007. However, plastic surgeons note that research indicates breast cancer patients may be missing out on a crucial conversation on breast reconstruction that should take place at the time of diagnosis.

“Our goal is to make sure that those women who are not getting breast reconstruction are doing so of their own accord and not because they are uneducated or uninformed about their options,” said ASPS President John Canady, MD.

Do you believe that a conversation about breast reconstruction should begin immediately after a breast cancer diagnosis?

(Image via flickr)

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Breast Reconstruction Procedures

Cervarix offered “11 to 16 percent extra protection against cervical cancer over and above the protection afforded by efficacy against the two most common types alone.” Research indicates that this is the first time protection has been shown against “pre-cancerous lesions not containing the two most common virus types.”

This is good news for cervical cancer research. Cervarix is approved in 90 countries, but has yet to be approved in the United States.

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Post from: Blisstree

Cervarix Fights Cancer Causing Viruses