Sexual & Reproductive Health Matters - SRHmatters.org

posted by Michelle Schoffro Cook Mar 24, 2011 6:11 pm
filed under: Cancer, Diabetes, Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food & Recipes, Michelle Schoffro Cook, AminoSweet, harmful foods, Michelle Schoffro Cook, nitrites, nutrition, soda, sodium nitrite, The Life Force Diet, The Vitality Diet, trans fats, worst foods

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3. Doughnuts—Most doughnuts are 35 to 40 percent trans fats—the worst kind of fat you can eat. Trans fats are linked to heart- and brain-diseases as well as cancer. That’s before you consider the sugar and artificial dough conditioners and food additives many doughnuts contain. The average doughnut also contains about 300 calories.

2. Soda—According to research reported by Dr. Joseph Mercola, “one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites.” That alone should make you rethink your soda habit. But, soda is also extremely acidic. It takes over 30 cups of pH-balanced water to neutralize the acidity of one cola. This acid residue can be extremely hard on the kidneys since they have to filter it. Additionally, the bones act as mineral reservoirs. Alkaline minerals like calcium are dumped into the blood to help neutralize acidity, which can weaken the bones over time. For more information on pH balance, check out my book, The Ultimate pH Solution. In studies, soda is also linked to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease.

1. Diet Soda—Diet soda is my choice for the Worst Food of All Time. Not only does diet soda contain most of the problems of regular soda, it contains aspartame, now called AminoSweet. According to research by Lynne Melcombe, author of Health Hazards of White Sugar, aspartame is linked to the following health conditions: anxiety attacks; binge-eating and sugar cravings; birth defects; blindness; brain tumors; chest pain; depression; dizziness; epilepsy; fatigue; headaches and migraines; hearing loss; heart palpitations; hyperactivity; insomnia; joint pain; learning disabilities; PMS; muscle cramps; reproductive problems; and even death. Aspartame’s effects can be mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, epilepsy, Epstein-Barr virus, Huntington’s chorea, hypothyroidism, Lou Gehrig’s disease; Lyme disease, Ménière’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and postpolio syndrome. That’s why I give Diet Soda the Worst Food of All Time award.

Adapted with permission from The Vitality Diet by Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, PhD, RNCP, ROHP.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-10-worst-foods-of-all-time.html#ixzz1JUhRCEVA

Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-10-worst-foods-of-all-time.html?page=3

Hospital emergency rooms don’t have the same ambience as raves, but both locations are becoming associated with Ecstasy use. Raves because … you know. But ERs because using Ecstasy has sent people there.

The number of ER visits involving Ecstasy, or MDMA, increased 75%, from 10,220 in 2004 to 17,865 in 2008, according to a new report released Thursday by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

Further, almost 70% of the ER visits involved patients 18- to 29-year-olds and 17.9% involved 12- to 17-year-olds.

For those who don’t understand Ecstasy’s effects (or its allure), this Los Angeles Times story explains:

Check out our crossword, sudoku and Jumble puzzles >>

“Ecstasy is the street name for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a synthetic amphetamine that’s been around for nearly 100 years. Studies in humans in the late 1970s showed that MDMA acted like an amphetamine-like stimulant and a mescaline-like hallucinogenic drug rolled into one.”

Symptoms of Ecstasy overdose from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include:

–agitation and aggression;
–mydriasis (dilation of the eye pupil)
–seizure
–rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of the skeletal muscle resulting from a muscle tissue injury)
–hyponatremia (low serum sodium concentration).

Rave parties and concerts in particular have popularized the drug, particularly among the teen crowd. And it can be deadly. Last summer a 15-year-old died of an overdose after attending a Los Angeles rave.

That means it’s never too early for parents to talk with their children about drugs. Here are some tips from theantidrug.com:

“–Be prepared;
–Start an ongoing conversation;
–Make clear rules;
–Be firm; and
–Address peer pressure.”

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-trb-ecstasy-er-visits-20110325,0,1692508.story

(Reuters) - Over a million mothers and newborn babies are dying each year from easily prevented birth complications because of a chronic shortage of midwives across much of the developing world, a new report from Save the Children said on Friday.

In the world’s least developed countries over half of mothers give birth without any trained help — compared with only one percent in Britain — and some 2 million women face one of the most frightening days in their life entirely alone.

Some 1,000 mothers and 2,000 newborns die every day as a result. Another 350,000 trained professionals are needed to save their lives, the “Missing Midwives” report said.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated: someone who knows how to dry a baby properly and rub its back to help it breathe can make the difference between life and death,” said Save the Children Chief Executive Justin Forsyth.

“No mother should face giving birth without help.”

Of the 8 million children who die each year before the age of five, one in ten do not even see the end of their first day.

But midwives trained in just eight procedures, including keeping newborns warm and fed, could immediately cut newborn deaths by more than a third in the 68 countries with the worst neonatal mortality rates, the report said.

History suggests these deaths can be avoided. British Prime Minister David Cameron has highlighted how the introduction of a British national midwifery program in the 1930s cut maternal deaths 80 percent over 15 years.

Some developing countries are now fighting for or have won support to roll out similar programs.

In Afghanistan, which has some of the highest risks to both mothers and children, the number of rural births attended by trained professionals rose from 6 percent to 19 percent between 2003 and 2006, Save the Children said.

Around 2,400 midwives have joined the workforce and 300 or 400 more graduate each year — although at this rate it will still take time to reach the World Health Organisation’s recommended rate of one midwife for every 175 pregnant women.

But the report also warned that resolving the shortage will require more than just cash for colleges and training schools.

Working as a midwife is not a very attractive profession in many areas. Despite demand for their services, midwives in the developing world are often poorly paid and over-worked, or have to work in remote or even dangerous places.

And rich countries often attract healthcare workers from poorer nations — whether through active recruitment or not — leaving the neediest women short of midwives.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-maternal-midwives-idUSTRE73000L20110401

(Parenting.com) — A new report from the AAP clues parents into what their kids are really doing online. Good news: It’s not all bad!

Facebook, Twitter, Shelfari, Moshi Monsters, Club Penguin, The SIMS — the list of online games and social networking sites seems to grow longer every day. Also on the upswing: the alarming headlines about cyberbullying, sexting, and other forms of online harassment.

This ever-increasing presence of social media in kids’ lives, often starting in the prepubescent years, has prompted the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue a clinical report to increase parental awareness of the sites their kids are visiting and how they work.

Parenting.com: How texting changes the way kids communicate

“The digital world is an evolving landscape that parents have to learn to navigate,” says Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and coauthor of the report.

Tweens in 2011 socialize more and more online, rather than at a friend’s house or the mall, and even though Facebook and other sites have age limits — technically no one under 13 is supposed to have a “page” — 30% of parents admitted on Parenting.com that they allow their tweens to log on anyway.

Parenting.com: 10 violent video games to avoid

And this trend is likely to continue: According to the AAP, more than half of adolescents visit a social media site more than once a day, and 75% have cell phones, which are often used for texting and instant messaging.

Because of the intensity of the online world, teens who spend a great deal of time there may be at risk for a new phenomenon called “Facebook depression.” Teen development is, in large part, about separating from parents and gaining peer acceptance, and social networking sites allow them to do both. But if online harassment or rejection occurs, such as “de-friending,” symptoms of depression may be the result.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/28/pediatrics.social.media.guidelines/index.html

Advice around breast-feeding can drive new mothers mad, but a new study suggests that the long pregnancies and lactation periods of our prehistoric mamas are responsible for the relatively big brains that differentiate humans from other animals.

By comparing 128 species of mammals, researchers at the University of Durham in England sought to answer this question: do large brains make species live longer by making them smarter in cheating death, or is the longer lifespan of big-brained animals simply the result of the fact that big brains require more care and time to grow?

“We already know that large-brained species develop slowly, mature later and have longer lifespans but what has not always been clear is why brains and life histories are related,” said Robert Barton, lead author of the research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a press release.

If the main issue is the time that brains take to develop, this would mean that lifespan should be connected with how long a mother remains pregnant and breast-feeds (which determines how big a baby’s brain grows). Pregnancy and breast-feeding are “expensive” — the more time you spend gestating and nursing just one baby, the less time you have to bear others. The “cost” of a large brain applies to the limits on having more offspring. That cost would be worth it only if it provided other benefits, like having one smart baby that survives and has more, compared with many babies that do not successfully reproduce.

On the other hand, if it’s simply that being smart just allows you to live longer, lifespan and adult brain size should be directly linked.

So what is the actual relationship? The study found that when you take into account the time a mother spends pregnant and breast-feeding, adult brain size is no longer correlated with lifespan. “Our findings suggest that the slow-down in life histories is directly related to the costs rather than the benefits of growing a large brain,” Barton said.

This doesn’t totally rule out the idea that smartness itself increases lifespan, but it does show that a mother’s care really matters in creating intelligence and longevity.

Across species, the study found, brain size relative to body size is closely associated with a mother’s “investment” in pregnancy and breast-feeding: the length of pregnancy governs brain size at birth, and how long a mother nurses determines how much the brain grows after birth.

For example, the fallow deer — which is about the same size physically as a human — is pregnant for just seven months and lactates for six. Its brain is six times smaller than a human brain, and it does not score well on IQ tests. In contrast, humans are pregnant for nine months and have historically breast-fed for three to five years.

Of course, other animals never invented formula — so this study can’t add anything to the contentious debate over the optimal amount of time to breast-feed or its specific benefits.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/30/longer-pregnancy-breast-feeding-bigger-brains-longer-life/#ixzz1JUaTz5ON

Source: http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/30/longer-pregnancy-breast-feeding-bigger-brains-longer-life/

Expert answer

Thanks for your question. I’m glad that you got checked out and that your tests were normal. Bleeding during or after sex is a relatively common occurrence that can have many causes, most of which are not serious or dangerous. There are some instances when medical treatment is necessary, however, so further evaluation would be helpful if this bleeding continues. To better help you, I consulted Dr. Gary Glasser of Atlanta Gynecology and Obstetrics in Decatur, Georgia. Dr Glasser shares the following information:

Bleeding after sexual intercourse (also called “post-coital bleeding”) is not rare; up to 10% of women have had this at some point in their lives. Abnormal bleeding can bring up the thought, “Is this cancer?” Fortunately, the risk of cancer with post-coital bleeding is not common (thousands of women will have this type of bleeding for every one cancer found).

Should a woman have an episode of post-coital bleeding, she should see her health care professional. The vagina may be the source of the blood, as small tears from intercourse may occur at any age (but more commonly after menopause due to the loss of elasticity or “vaginal dryness” as it is commonly known). The cervix may have a benign (not life-threatening) condition where the cells usually found on the inside the cervical canal are on the outside of the cervix. These cells are sensitive to touch (such as during a Pap smear or intercourse) and may bleed. Any vaginal discharge should be cultured and looked at under a microscope, since infections such as chlamydia can cause bleeding if they affecting the cervix. Also, benign cervical polyps (they look like little skin tags on the cervix) can easily and painlessly be removed in an office setting.

A Pap smear should be done if the woman is due for one (depending on her age and previous Pap smear history) and any lesions on the cervix (or the vagina) should be biopsied to evaluate for pre-cancer or cancer of the cervix.

In the majority of cases, however, no cause is found for the post-coital bleeding. If the bleeding persists or there is bleeding other than post-coital, a further evaluation of the cervical canal and/or uterus should be done by a gynecologist.

Source: http://us.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/03/14/post.sex.bleeding.shu/index.html

Recently, my very own mother discovered romance anew and is having what can only be described as a love affair.

Her last boyfriend passed away a couple of years ago, so I’m happy for her in all her giddiness. And while nobody likes to think about their parents having sex, I can’t help but wonder if her sex life is now better than mine.

As a busy dad of two young sons, I have to admit that it’s hard to keep sex high on the list of priorities: My wife and I will often opt to hit the hay rather than tumble in it.

Does sex get better with age? According to a study in the November 2008 issue of Psychological Science, marital satisfaction may improve once the kids have left the nest. In fact, many of my colleagues in the world of sex therapy attest that empty nesters tend to have more disposable income and more opportunity to enjoy quality time with their partner, including sex.

Sex therapist David Schnarch writes about the difference between a person’s “genital prime” and his or her “sexual prime.” For most of us, the genital prime happens during adolescence and our 20s, when the body is in its best shape, however, the mind may not be as well-developed sexually. Schnarch says that a person’s sexual prime is actually well beyond what most of us think of as the hot-and-heavy sex years - more like middle age than high school.

As we age, we benefit from accepting ourselves as we are, knowing what we like, and not being afraid to ask for it.

And aging itself may not affect sex as much as those unhealthy habits that take their toll after too many years. Too much stress, too little sleep, poor eating and exercise habits, and not making the time to nurture ourselves or our relationships can be the most damaging to our sex lives. Letting our overall health fall by the wayside may be the biggest culprit in sexual health woes, so it’s no surprise that many people in their 50s and 60s are more sexually fit than their younger predecessors.

One key difference between older and younger people: Sex is often slower as we age. While younger women may lubricate in as little as a few seconds, it can take older women up to several minutes to become lubricated. The same pattern applies to men and their erections. It’s important for both sexes to realize that taking longer to become erect or lubricated doesn’t necessarily mean a partner isn’t aroused.

In fact, slower can actually be better for your sex life. When the physical markers of arousal aren’t instantly obvious, it gives partners more time to play and connect with each other in bed. The behaviors we usually think of as foreplay can become the main event during sex, and give couples the opportunity to rediscover themselves and each other sexually. As men age, testosterone levels go down, while estrogen levels go up. This means that many older men are able to focus more and appreciate the tender side of sex.

For instance, if one position used to do the trick or if sex has always followed a predictable sequence, as it does in many long-term relationships, aging allows couples to shake things up. Maybe she wants to try a vibrator for better arousal (or maybe he does, too).

Or perhaps one or both people have been curious about erotic massage and other techniques, and now have a reason to introduce them into the relationship. As my colleague at Good in Bed, Dr. Gail Saltz, says, “Celebrate what improves with age: Younger men may have stronger erections, but older guys tend to have better control. You both know each other’s bodies, you’ve perfected your bedroom technique, and you may feel less inhibited than you did in the past.”

Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/17/sex-why-slower-and-older-may-be-better/

Expert answer

Thanks for your question, Pruth. A weight of 26 pounds is at the 3rd percentile for 3½-year-old girls, according to the CDC growth chart, meaning that the child weighs the same as or more than 3% of girls the same age.

This weight may or may not be normal for your child, depending on a number of factors including prenatal and birth history, genetics, ethnicity, diet, height, general health and development, and more.

Your pediatrician and/or a registered dietitian can advise you best regarding whether your daughter eats enough and if any specific treatment or studies should be performed for her tiredness and cranky behavior.

It can be helpful to rule out any medical conditions that could be causing problems with her growth, such as a hormonal imbalance, gastroesophageal reflux, food allergies or intolerances, weak oral muscles, stress, etc.

As far as encouraging children to eat, here are a few ideas to consider:

Keep in mind that it’s a parent’s job to offer healthy food, but it’s a child’s job to decide how much of it to eat.

Children who eat relatively small amounts can optimize their nutritional intake if nearly everything they eat is rich in nutrients. Whenever possible, choose milk or water as beverages, and offer fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, lean meats, nuts, legumes or other proteins as meals or snacks. Limit foods that are high in fat or added sugars.

Make sure your child does not fill up on drinks or snack foods such as cookies or crackers; doing so will leave little room for healthier foods.

It may be helpful to save any drinks for the end of a meal. You can also take the opportunity to serve traditional mealtime foods or breakfast cereals (which are often fortified with vitamins and minerals) during snack times if your child is hungry between meals.

Using a multivitamin supplement can be helpful to make sure children get the nutrients they need until their diet improves. Ask your doctor which vitamins are most important for your child.

Monitor your child’s diet over the course of a week rather than focusing on what she eats during a single day or meal. This will allow for some day-to-day variability that is normal and to be expected in both adults and children.

Some children with slow weight gain may benefit from adding more calories to their food (such as cheese, butter, or olive oil). Using fortified nutritional beverages instead of milk may also help.

Keep mealtimes consistent and free of distractions. Eat together as a family whenever possible, since many children will eat better if other people around them are also eating. Encourage but do not force children to eat. It’s best if you do not punish them if they do not eat much.

For children who do not wish to feed themselves, take turns — one bite from your spoon, and then one bite from her own spoon (or fingers). Try to make foods appealing and easy to pick up. For example, use small cookie cutters for sandwiches and serve a variety of different-colored fruits and vegetables that are cut into child-size bites.

Let your child pick out fun bowls and utensils so she’ll be more likely to use them at mealtime.

Again, I hope you will talk to your pediatrician for more recommendations regarding your specific situation. I encourage our readers to share their tips for feeding children as well. Good luck!

Source: http://us.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/03/07/encourage.children.eat.shu/index.html

A new study published in the March issue of Population and Development Review found that parents under 30 are less happy than their childless counterparts — and that the more children they had, the more their unhappiness increased.

Plus: Younger Moms vs. Older Moms

But the trend reversed once study participants hit 30, and by age 40, parents’ happiness increased as they had more children.

Plus: Pregnancy Over 35

The study, which surveyed 200,000 people over age 15 in 86 countries, did not determine the age when people became parents — so it’s not known if older parents’ happiness was a result of clearing the potty-training, picky-eating, tantrum-filled early years, or if it was because they’d decided to raise a family later in life.

Plus: Discover 10 secrets of happy moms in Parenting’s new book!

How has your happiness level changed as you’ve gotten older?

Fathers-to-be should stop smoking to protect their unborn child from the risk of stillbirth or birth defects, scientists say.

University of Nottingham researchers found that pregnant women exposed to smoke at work or home increased their risk of stillbirth by 23% and of having a baby with defects by 13%.

They looked at 19 previous studies from around the world.

A UK expert said it was “vital” women knew the risks of second-hand smoke.

The studies used to pull this research together were carried out in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

All the studies focused on pregnant women who did not smoke themselves but were passive smokers due to their proximity to a partner who smoked or work colleagues who smoked.

The combined data from the studies suggests that being exposed to more than 10 cigarettes a day is enough for the risks to be increased.

However, the University of Nottingham study did not find an increased risk of miscarriage or newborn death from second-hand smoke - only an increased risk of still birth and birth defects.

The results did not point to a link with any specific congenital birth defect.

Impact on sperm development

The researchers say fathers who smoke should be more aware of the danger they pose to their unborn child.

Previous research has shown that women who smoke during their pregnancy create serious health risks for their unborn baby, including low birth weight, premature birth and a range of serious birth defects such as cleft palate, club foot and heart problems.

Dr Jo Leonardi-Bee, lead researcher of the study and associate professor in medical statistics at the University of Nottingham, said they still did not know when the effects of the second-hand smoke begin.

“What we still don’t know is whether it is the effect of sidestream smoke that the woman inhales that increases these particular risks or whether it is the direct effect of mainstream smoke that the father inhales during smoking that affects sperm development, or possibly both.

“More research is needed into this issue although we already know that smoking does have an impact on sperm development, so it is very important that men quit smoking before trying for a baby.”

Dr Leonardi-Bee added: “The risks are related to the amount of cigarettes that are smoked so it is therefore very important for men to cut down.

“Ultimately though, in the interests of their partner and their unborn child, the best option would be to give up completely.”

Andrew Shennan, professor of obstetrics at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London and spokesperson for baby charity Tommy’s, said: “It is vital that women are made aware of the possible risks associated with second-hand smoke and alert those around them of the impact it could potentially have on the health of their unborn baby.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12711615