Archives for November, 2008
Casting doubts on government health recommendations that infants and new mothers should avoid eating peanuts, a new study says that eating peanuts early in life may help to avoid developing peanut allergy.
In their study, the researchers looked at the occurrence of peanut allergy in 8,600 Jewish school-age children in Israel and the UK. Then they analyzed data on peanut consumption by infants ages four to 24 months.
The researchers found that the prevalence of peanut allergy among the U.K students was 1.85 percent while it was 0.17 percent among the Israeli children. The researchers also found that almost 69 percent Israeli children started eating peanuts at nine months of age while these rates were only 10 percent among the British children.
It is quite for the health of you and your baby to watch what you eat during pregnancy.
Caffeine is well known as a stimulant and when it is consumed during pregnancy, it is given across the placenta to your baby. A baby’s metabolism cannot process the stimulant like an adult’s metabolism.
The best thing you can do for your baby during pregnancy is to consume as little caffeine as possible, says the American Pregnancy Association. It also provides some additional information in this connection:
- Caffeine can stimulate your heart rate and increases your blood pressure that both are considered harmful during pregnancy.
- Urine output increases because of caffeine and it can lead to dehydration.
- It can cause changes in your baby’s movement patterns and sleep.
- It’s a general view that caffeine is just found in coffee or sodas, but the truth is that it is found in many foods and you need to check labels to look for caffeine content.
People who have fair skin or otherwise more susceptible to sunburn are at higher risk for skin cancer. There 
are some other common risk factors for skin cancer, as listed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- To have a lot of moles or freckles on the skin.
- To have gray, blue or green eyes.
- To have red or blond hair
- To suffer from severe sunburns early in life.
- To have a family history of skin cancer
- To go out in the sun frequently for long hours
So, if you have any of these common risk factors, you need proper care and guidance to avoid the disease.
In Patients with diabetes, drug-coated stents prove safer and more effective than bare metal stents, a new study says.
Study author Dr. Laura Mauri, who is an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, says: “With drug-coated stents, I would say, there is clear efficacy and clear reduction for repeat revascularization procedures.”
“This is an important caveat and I think we have to judge our patients and need to know them as individual to determine on a case-by-case basis. It’s not a blanket statement, but in general, use of drug-coated stents in diabetic patients is really quite beneficial,” Mauri added.
The study has been presented at the American Heart Association’s annual scientific sessions in New Orleans on Monday.
bare metal stents, Diabetes, drug-coated stents, heart disease
US researchers say that women who suffer regular migraines may find some comfort to know that they have 
a considerable lower risk of developing breast cancer.
The researchers found a 30 percent lower risk for breast cancer in their study that included 3,412 women.
However, the researchers warned that more work was needed to confirm the link.
According an estimate, almost 30% women have to suffer at least one migraine in their lifetime.
Scientists have linked the condition (includes nausea and visual disturbance besides severe headaches) with fluctuating hormones levels.
Pregnancy and the use of the contraceptive pill that affect hormone levels can also cause noticeable changes in the frequency and severity of migraines.
The study is the first to look at whether these changes have an effect on the chances of developing breast cancer.
