(HealthDay News) — Whether it involves resisting a piece of chocolate cake or an ice cold beer, fighting temptation may be easier said than done. But with clear goals, self-monitoring and practice, you can improve your self-control, says the American Psychological Association. The association suggests: Use the “out of sight, out of mind” approach. Prepare “if-then” scenarios for tempting situations. Stay motivated. This can overcome weakened willpower. Like a muscle, regularly exercise self-control to improve it. Eat regularly to maintain blood-sugar levels. Focus on one goal at a time.
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Health Tip: Thanksgiving and Your Heart Health
(HealthDay News) — Though Thanksgiving dinner is treasured by many Americans, the meal typically isn’t heart-healthy. Including holiday staples such as mashed potatoes and stuffing, the traditional feast is full of fatty, high-cholesterol foods, says the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For a healthier holiday meal, the school suggests: Devote most of your plate to vegetables, such as green beans, carrots and squash. Don’t drench everything in gravy. Use as little as you can. Limit turkey skin and dark meat. Have a small slice of pie for dessert. Resist a second helping. The school says after all is said and done, one meal won’t ruin your heart and arteries. It urges you to eat healthy during the holiday season overall.
Recalls of Blood Pressure Med Took Toll on Patients’ Health
Emergency room visits for high blood pressure surged following last year’s recall of the popular heart drug valsartan, Canadian researchers report. Within the first month of the recall, there was a 55% increase of people coming to Ontario-area emergency departments complaining of high blood pressure, said lead researcher Cynthia Jackevicius. She is a senior scientist with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, in Toronto. Some of these patients likely were valsartan users who stopped taking the blood pressure med after seeing scary recall news citing a potential carcinogen found in some lots of the drug, Jackevicius said. “Nine out of 10 did have an alternative replacement” for valsartan within three months. “However, that means that one out of 10 did not,” Jackevicius said. “That’s a little bit concerning, that some of these patients may have either been confused or concerned, and decided not to switch to another medication,” she added. The recall occurred in July 2018 in both Canada and the United States, after generics maker Mylan Pharmaceuticals detected trace amounts of a probable cancer-causing chemical called N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) in valsartan meds. It was an unusually large recall that involved intense media interest, and Jackevicius and her colleagues wondered how it might have affected the drug’s users. So they turned to Canadian prescription and medical records to track how valsartan users responded to the crisis.… read on >
It’s Not Just Menopause to Blame for Older Women’s Flagging Sex Drive
It’s not uncommon for a woman’s sex life to slow down with age, but hormones aren’t the only reason she might not be in the mood, a new study suggests. Postmenopausal issues, such as vaginal dryness or pain during sex, definitely put a damper on a woman’s desire. But just as often, it was issues with her partner that brought sexual activity to a halt. “Low libido is common in older women — about 40% of older women have low libido,” said study author Dr. Holly Thomas. “Yet, women in our study reported that they considered sex to be an important part of their lives,” she added. “I think the biggest message from our study though, is that low libido has a lot of causes,” and treatment will vary in each case. Thomas is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. She and her colleagues interviewed 15 women. They also conducted three focus groups with a total of 21 women who were in their 60s and sexually active. Most of the women were white and heterosexual. Eighty-three percent were married or living with their partner. The most common reasons for a lack of desire included: Postmenopausal conditions: After menopause, the lack of estrogen can cause symptoms that make sex less pleasurable, and even painful. Vaginal dryness, a feeling of tightness and a… read on >
Most Parents Struggle to Spot Depression in Teens
Most American parents say they might have trouble distinguishing between a teen’s typical mood swings and possible signs of depression, a new survey finds. The nationwide poll of 819 parents with at least one child in middle school, junior high or high school found that while one-third were confident they could detect depression in their children, two-thirds said certain things would make it difficult. About 30% of parents said their child is good at hiding feelings and 40% said they struggle to differentiate between their child’s normal mood swings and signs of depression, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan. The poll was published Monday. “In many families, the preteen and teen years bring dramatic changes both in youth behavior and in the dynamic between parents and children,” poll co-director Sarah Clark explained in a university news release. “These transitions can make it particularly challenging to get a read on children’s emotional state and whether there is possible depression,” she added. “Some parents may be overestimating their ability to recognize depression in the mood and behavior of their own child,” Clark noted. “An overconfident parent may fail to pick up on the subtle signals that something is amiss.” The poll also found that 1 in 4 parents said their child knows a peer or classmate… read on >
Health Tip: Eat for Now, and the Future
(HealthDay News) — Sustainable eating practices — knowing where food comes from and how to sustain the sources — helps us plan for now and the future, says the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Looking past the supermarket shelf and learning how your food is produced is a first step. The school suggests: Plan your meals around vegetables and fruit. Minimize the amount of meat you eat. Choose seafood that isn’t at risk of being overfished. Look for local produce at farmer’s markets.
Fetroja Approved to Treat Complicated Urinary Tract Infections
Label warns higher mortality found in critically ill patients with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections read on >
America’s Sweet Tooth Starts From Infancy
Bad eating habits begin at a young age in American children, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed data from more than 1,200 babies (aged 6 to 11 months) and toddlers (12 to 23 months) between 2011 and 2016. They found that 61% of babies and 98% of toddlers consumed added sugars in their typical daily diet, mainly in flavored yogurt and fruit drinks. Infants consumed about 1 teaspoon of added sugars daily (about 2% of their daily calorie intake); toddlers consumed about 6 teaspoons (about 8% of their daily calories). The main sources of added sugar for infants were yogurt, snacks and sweet bakery products. For toddlers, the top sources were fruit drinks, sweet baked products and candy. Asian toddlers consumed the fewest added sugars (3.7 teaspoons); blacks, the most (8.2 teaspoons). The study was published online Nov. 14 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “This has important public health implications since previous research has shown that eating patterns established early in life shape later eating patterns,” lead investigator Kirsten Herrick said in a journal news release. She’s a researcher with the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings did bring some good news: The percentage of babies and toddlers whose daily diets include added sugars declined, as did the… read on >
Not Getting Enough Shut-Eye? You Have Plenty of Company
More Americans are having trouble falling and staying asleep, and smartphones and technology are probably to blame, researchers report. Their analysis of data from nearly 165,000 adults nationwide showed that the number who reported difficulty falling asleep at least once a week was up 1.4% between 2013 and 2017, and those who had trouble staying asleep rose 2.7%. Those percentages may appear small, but it means that as many as 5 million more adults have sleep problems, according to study leader Zlatan Krizan, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University (ISU), in Ames, Iowa. “How long we sleep is important, but how well we sleep and how we feel about our sleep is important in its own right,” Krizan said in a university news release. “Sleep health is a multidimensional phenomenon, so examining all the aspects of sleep is crucial for future research.” The study was published online recently in the journal Sleep Health. Krizan and his team could not say what’s contributing to the increase in sleep problems, but technology is likely a factor, according to lead author Garrett Hisler. He’s a former ISU graduate student who is now a postdoctoral associate at the University of Pittsburgh. “We know from our previous research there is a correlation between smartphone use and insufficient sleep among teens,” Hisler said in the news release. “If we’re… read on >
These Sports Are Most Likely to Send Young Americans to the ER
Of all sports, football sends the most U.S. males to the emergency room, while cheerleading and gymnastics most often do the same for women and girls, a new report finds. And, overall, U.S. emergency departments see about 2.7 million patients between the ages of 5 and 24 for sports-related injuries each year, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some cases, these injuries might even be a gateway to opioid addiction: Opioid painkillers were given to ER patients suffering from a sports injury in about one in five cases, the study found. That number rose to nearly half (46%) among young adults aged 20 to 24. “As we have learned from the opioid crisis, many patients move from appropriately prescribed opioid medications to misuse of opioids,” noted Dr. Teresa Amato, who directs emergency medicine at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, in Forest Hills, N.Y. She wasn’t involved in the new research. “I would encourage any parent with a child that has a sports-related injury who is being evaluated in an emergency department to have an open and frank discussion about pain control and if opioids are needed,” Amato said. “Of course, in some cases there will be a need for these medications, but the discussion prior to dispensing or prescribing opioids may prevent misuse later… read on >