Doctor's a Step Closer to Beating Drug Resistant Bacteria

You may remember last month, the news announcement that a powerful, drug-resistant strain of the staph viruses was killing more people than the AIDS virus.

Well, now researchers are one step closer to understanding how bacteria become resistant to drugs. Researchers have discovered a DNA protein complex that seems to transfer drug-resistance to new bacteria.

This is good news. Scientists hope this research will lead to new drugs that can specifically disrupt the spread of resistance among bacteria.

In the meantime, there are steps that you can take to help prevent bacteria from becoming more powerful and resistant to drugs.

First, choose standard soaps instead of anti-bacterial soaps. The anti-bacterial soaps kill all but the strongest bacteria, leading them to reproduce more powerful organisms just like themselves.

Second, avoid seeking antibiotics for minor illnesses. Most colds and flus are viruses anyway. They don't respond to antibiotics, they respond to rest. If you do take an antibiotic in these cases and your symptoms do go away, it is usually just coincidental—your body knows how to beat these viruses, it just takes time.

Third, if you do have a bacterial infection, then you may need antibiotics. If your doctor does give you a prescription for antibiotics, take the full course. You will start feeling better before you've finished, but that doesn't mean you should stop the course. You may still have some of the strongest bacteria still in your system. If you stop taking the course early, these powerful bacteria survive.

Finally, if you must be admitted to a hospital, talk to your doctor about what you steps you can do take to help prevent staph infections while you are there.


Stay well,
Heather Robwell

Can Sugar Cause Alzheimer's?

Most of us like sweets. The problems is most of us eat way too much sugar. From sweetened breakfast cereals to sugary coffee drinks in the morning to cookies or energy bars in the afternoon to high-sugar desserts in the evenings—sugar makes up way to much of the average American diet.

And it turns out this takes a serious toll on your health.

High amounts of sugar may actually hurt your brain.

In a recent animal study, researchers looked at two groups of mice. One group received plain water in addition to a normal diet. The other received water that was 10 percent sucrose along with the same diet.

After 25 weeks, researchers put the mice through series of memory and learning tests. They found those receiving the sugar water scored far below those who drank just plain water. Blood tests revealed that the mice on the high-sugar diet had three times the levels of amyloid-beta proteins in their blood. These are the proteins associated with plaque formations in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

The researchers note that after adjusting for body weight, the amount of sugar water the mice were drinking was the equivalent of a person drinking five 12-ounce cans of soda each day. They also note that because the mice have a higher metabolism than people, people may experience similar effects at a lower exposure to sugar.

I'm not recommending that you cut sugar completely out of your diet, but I do think it's a good idea to keep your consumption of sweet treats low. A sweet indulgence two or three times a week—or even a small treat every day—is probably fine. More than that though, can start to cause problems.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

No Matter How You Dress it Up Junk Food is Still Junk Food

Americans do love their snack foods. On they other hand, more and more people are concerned with healthy eating. These two conflicting interests make for some interesting snack foods showing up on the grocery store shelves these days.

Recently, many food companies have launched brands of "healthier" snack foods designed to boost your fruit and vegetable intake. It sounds like a good thing, but...

Once upon a time the buzz was low-sodium, so you found a whole host of "lower-in-sodium" snack foods. Then it was sugar—sugar was the single ingredient undermining good health… and so food manufacturers launched whole lines of low-sugar and sugar-free foods. Then there was fat and you couldn't turn around in the grocery store without being confronted by a low fat label.

Well, now the buzz is about fruits and vegetables. So snack food manufactures are powdering produce and baking it into foods.

This new trend is much like the previous ones—it gives you an excuse to eat more junk food. No matter how you dress them up, these high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks can quickly derail your fitness, weight, and health goals.

The bottom line is that you don't need junk food. It's much better to get your fruits and vegetables from actual fruits and vegetables… not from a chip or a cracker.

I'm not saying your should never have junk food. By all means, indulge now and again. But when you do, choose something you actually want to eat, something you'll really enjoy. Savor it. And then get back to your healthy eating habits.


Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

Are Beverages Making You Fat?

Obesity is a serious problem in this country. About one in three people are obese. Obesity raises the risk of many diseases and undermines quality of life. Naturally poor eating habits play a role in becoming obese, but you aren't just what you eat… you're what you drink, too.

Researchers recently reviewed a series of national surveys taken over the years since 1965. They found that the number of calories that Americans consume in liquid form has doubled. Unfortunately, calories from solid food haven't fallen in response. Many Americans get 25% of their calories from beverages, which is just staggering.

Calories from drinks don't satisfy your hunger, so they have almost no impact on how much you eat. More liquid calories means more overall calories and that means you either have to exercise more or you will gain weight.

If you're trying to lose weight and find that it just seems impossible, take a closer look at what you drink. It might make all the difference. Here are just a few suggestions for cutting beverage calories:
• Don't drink soda. They original varieties are packed with high fructose corn syrup, which makes them high in calories. The diet varieties are lower in calories, but the chemical sweeteners aren't good for you.
• Drink more water. Beverages of all kinds work to satisfy your thirst. What your body really wants when it's thirsty is water.
• Tea (especially green tea) is a great addition or alternative to water as long as you don't load it up with sugar.
• Pay attention to the serving size. When you do indulge in a high-calorie beverage, don't go for the super, big gulp. Choose an eight or twelve ounce size instead.
• Juice is fine in moderation. One hundred percent fruit juices do provide vitamins and nutrients, but they lack bulk and fiber. Anything more than one or two servings a day adds calories without giving you any additional benefits.

You can instantly and easily cut calories by making smarter drink choices. This can help you to lose weight faster and easier, and it can help you keep those pounds off.

Happy Holidays!
Danny Wallace

A Youthful Brain Key to Aging Well

The field of anti-aging medicine has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade. Not surprisingly, a good portion of research has focused on what you can do to keep your brain young and healthy.

There are a number of simple, fun ways to promote brain health and to stave off dementia and Alzheimer's. One of the most critical things you can do is make it a point to learn and do new things. Every time you spend time learning, your brain is forced to make new connections… and that helps to keep it young and sharp.

Recent research helps explain why this works. New neurons that form in the brain when you challenge it are more elastic and more energetic. These "youthful" neurons help to refresh your nervous system. In other words, they literally help keep your brain from aging.

There are many ways to take advantage of this, and all of them are fun. Here are just a few ideas:
• Learn a new game that you enjoy and find challenging. Play it with your spouse, your friends, or even your grandchildren. Chess, Checkers, Go, and Backgammon are all great options.
• Take up a new social hobby. When it comes to a youthful brain, the best activities combine physical, mental, and social stimulus. Group sports or couples dancing are great anti-aging activities.
• Do a crossword puzzle, a word scramble, or a sudoku puzzle. Your local paper most likely has at least one of these. If you don't take the paper, you can find free online versions to give your brain the challenge it craves.
• Go somewhere new. Whether it's a museum, an art gallery, a store you've never been to before, or a new town… going someplace new offers myriad opportunities for making new brain connections.

Essentially, when it comes to keeping your brain young, the best step you can take is to keep a youthful attitude and cultivate a willingness to try new things.

Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

Poor Sleep Habits Linked to Disease

People who sleep too much or too little put themselves at higher risk of diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Researchers conducted a large scale study and found that when you sleep fewer than five hours a night on a regular basis you raise your risk of getting diabetes by 50%. Diabetes raises your risk of heart disease, so poor sleep habits indirectly affect your risk there, too.

But don't think overcompensating will help. People who consistently sleep more than nine hours a night run the same risks.

Now, I realize this presents a long-term concern, and sometimes long-term concerns are easy to ignore when you're faced with short-term problems. It's easy to sacrifice sleep if you have a busy schedule or if you are dealing with a lot of stress. However, this study indicates a short-term impact, too.

Too little or too much sleep can impede how your body deals with blood sugar. That means it can throw off your appetite and your energy levels for the whole day.

You best bet is to get seven to eight hours a night, consistently. This will lower your risk of diseases long-term and leave your feeling better—and more productive—in the short term.

Happy Holidays!
Danny Wallace