The Checkup

Hold the salt on that turkey

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:15:00 -0500

When you're reaching for the salt shaker during your Thanksgiving feast, here's a new piece of research you might want to keep in mind: Eating a lot of salt increases your risk for strokes and heart disease, according to a new analysis coming out Wednesday. There's been a long debate over the risks of salt, but studies have indicated that it increases the risk for developing high blood pressure. To examine the effects of that on strokes and heart attacks, researchers at the University of Warwick and elsewhere analyzed 13 studies conducted between 1966 and 2008 in the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, The Netherlands, Finland and China that involved more than 170,000 people.

For weight control, consider a smaller plate

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

We all fret about managing our weight during the holidays. But keeping our waistlines in check throughout this festive, food-filled season -- and beyond -- could be as simple as swapping our gigantic 21st-century dinner plates for the dainty 9-inch versions of yore. That's the premise of The 9-Inch "Diet" book, in which author Alex Bogusky argues that if we could manage to make our entire meal fit on a smaller plate, we'd automatically, and painlessly, cut back on the number of calories we consume. The idea (which I write about in this week's "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy" column) is not entirely original: Bogusky acknowledges the research of Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating (whom I feature in an upcoming "Eat, Drink" column), whose pioneering research demonstrates the ways in which tiny environmental cues affect our food choices and consumption. The fascinating thing is that we're all so clueless

A better way to give CPR?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Would you be more willing to administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to a stranger if you could skip the mouth-to-mouth part? New research presented last week at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Symposium shows that would be just fine. In fact, performing the rapid, deep chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing may actually boost a heart attack victim's survival odds.

Is That Right? Onions and garlic fight swine flu?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Soldiers serving the small former Soviet country Moldova are being fed extra garlic and onions in hopes that those foods will help fend off swine flu. Is that really likely to help keep them healthy? The Associated Press reports that 24 out of 6,500 Moldovan soldiers have come down with H1N1 influenza in the past two weeks. To stem the tide of sickness, the army is adding the equivalent of a small onion and a few cloves of garlic to their daily diets. The country apparently received a supply of H1N1 influenza vaccine earlier this month. It's not clear whether any of that was allocated to the armed forces. As I wrote a few months ago, vaccination is the best defense against influenza. Experts I interviewed noted that, while maintaining a healthful diet, level of physical activity and sleep schedule can help keep your immune system in shape so it's

That lingering cough

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Don't think I don't see you glaring at me. Yes, those are my kids, coughing up a storm. And, yes, if they were your kids, I'd be glaring at you. I wish I could hang big signs around my son's and daughter's necks saying "No longer contagious -- we think." As I wrote last week, both kids have been vaccinated against both seasonal flu and H1N1. They got the latter shots, though, only after they'd both had a bout of what the pediatrician's office figured was likely H1N1. A cough came with each of their illnesses. When the other symptoms faded away, the cough remained. I followed the rules: I kept them home for 24 hours after fever subsided. I've kept an eye on them to make sure some secondary infection has not set in, looking for new symptoms such as difficulty breathing. And, while you might not have noticed

The dangers of walking and talking

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Remember the old joke about walking and chewing gum at the same time? Well, there's new evidence out today about what might be the modern equivalent: Walking and talking on a cell phone. And it's no laughing matter. Researchers at the University of Illinois studied 36 college students as they talked on a cell phone while walking on a treadmill in a "virtual environment" meant to simulate crossing a busy street. Those who were talking on a cell phone took 25 percent longer to cross the street than those who were not on the phone, the researchers report in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. They were also more likely to fail to cross the street in the 30 seconds alloted. Those who were not on the phone had no problem making it across in time. Those who were listening to music did just fine In a second, unpublished study,

When your teen is overweight

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Is your teenage kid overweight? If so, you're not alone (though sometimes it probably feels as though you are). Federal statistics show that nearly a third of American children and teens are overweight or obese. I've been learning a lot about how to help overweight kids get to a healthy weight as I researched this week's "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy" column. While much of the advice out there sounds reasonable, some of it seems to come from people who have never raised a teen. I'm particularly put off by the widely held and overly simple notion that parents' modeling healthful behaviors leads to children following their lead. I think that may work with younger kids, and I know it can pay off later in life (my mother's daily 3-mile-walk certainly inspired my current commitment to daily exercise). But not many teens I know are outwardly eager to mimic their

For "Glee," a wheelchair misstep?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Fox Broadcasting Company's breakout hit show "Glee" tackled a tough issue in the episode aired last Wednesday evening: Is it possible for able-bodied high-school kids to really understand what life is like for a kid in a wheelchair? Left to right: Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley and Lea Michele play singers in "Glee," which evokes "Election" and "Grease." (By Carin Baer -- Fox) The plot, in brief: Glee club advisor/teacher William Schuester is disappointed when the kids in the club are content to have their one wheelchair-bound club-member ride to a competition in his father's car rather than raise money to rent a wheelchair-accessible bus. So he obtains a bunch of wheelchairs and insists that all the glee-clubbers spend at least three hours a day in them -- and perform a song-and-dance number in them, too. Enhanced appreciation ensues. But the episode, clearly intended to raise awareness

Is That Right? Mini-Wheats have double the fiber of Cheerios?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

When my family saw the current ad for Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats the other night, we all guffawed. The commercial depicts what I guess is a boxing match between a great big Mini-Wheat and a tiny little Honey-Nut Cheerio. The message: Mini-Wheats have "more than double the fiber and whole grain in every tasty bite." Well, duh! That Mini-Wheat is enormous. Of course it's going to beat that puny Cheerio in any kind of match up, right?

When the handwriting on the wall spells autism

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

A new and very small study shows that kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have worse handwriting than their non-ASD peers. Of 14 kids with ASD and 14 without who were asked to complete a standardized handwriting test, those with ASD specifically had trouble forming letter shapes correctly. Otherwise their handwriting was fine. They spaced and aligned letters correctly and -- perhaps because the test dictated the size of the letters -- made them the right size.

Which diet makes you happy?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

In the ongoing debate about which diet is the best, here's a question you may not have heard before: Which diet is most likely to make you happy? A new study, surprisingly, indicates that when it comes to elevating your mood, not all diets are created equal.

O, for a stick of sugary gum!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Among the interesting things I learned while reporting this week's "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy" column about chewing gum's role in weight management was that those of us who prefer traditional sugar-sweetened gum to sugar-free are in the minority -- and, for the most part, out of luck. Gilbert Leveille, executive director of the Wrigley Science Institute, told me that "Clearly the consumer preference has been for sugar-free gum," largely because of what he called the "perceived effect" of sugared gum on the increased incidence of dental caries (cavities, to you and me) in children. (That relationship, he noted, doesn't in fact hold true.) Nonetheless, it's increasingly hard to find a decent stick of sugar-sweetened gum on store shelves. Even Wrigley's traditionally sugared brands such as Juicy Fruit, Big Red and Doublemint now include, in addition to sugar, a tad of the artificial sweetener aspartame as flavor enhancer. As I've

H1N1 vaccine: One big confusing mess

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

There are plenty of reasons to get upset about the H1N1 influenza situation. Over-optimistic projections of vaccine supply have given way to acknowledgements that by the time the vaccine is widely available, this wave of H1N1 infection may well be over. There have been scary reports about otherwise-healthy kids and pregnant women falling gravely ill and even dying. There is maddening news that big New York firms are receiving shipments of vaccine, even as pediatricians across the country have little or none. A poll released Friday by the Harvard School of Public Health found that two-thirds of parents and high-risk adults who want H1N1 vaccinations for themselves or their families have been unable to get it. It's incredibly frustrating to be doing what we think we're supposed to be doing -- taking responsibility for our health and following government exhortations to get ourselves vaccinated -- only to have our efforts

Is That Right? Cranberry Raisinets rich with antioxidants?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Those new Cranberry Raisinets sure sound as though they'd be good for you. Nestle's press release announcing the new product's launch this summer called the chocolate-covered cranberries a "better-for-you indulgence rich with natural fruit antioxidants." "Cranberries," the press release continues, are "the most popular of the superfruits" and "combine exceptional nutrient richness with the power of antioxidants. These antioxidants are flavanoids [sic] and Vitamin C, which have been shown to help the body fight free radicals."

More fodder for the fat-but-healthy debate

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

One of the most divisive and emotional debates regarding obesity is whether being fat automatically equals being unhealthy. While many experts point to mounds of evidence linking excess weight to such life-shortening conditions as cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, others argue that those conditions aren't necessarily caused by fat itself but by related issues such as poor diet and lack of physical activity. The argument may escalate after this morning's release of newly compiled data that suggests that "excess body fat alone is responsible for more than 100,000 cancer cases in the U.S.," according to press materials.