Thanks Johnye, great article

One-third of American mix supplements with meds, study says Published April 30, 2014 Reuters

One in three adults in the U.S. is taking both prescription medications and dietary supplements, creating a risk for dangerous interactions, according to a new study. Multivitamins with added ingredients like herbs or fish oil were the most common form of supplement mixed with medications, researchers found.

 "Multivitamins are commonly assumed to be safe, but our analysis suggests multivitamins, which may include multivitamin 'plus' combination products, can also contain botanical and herbal ingredients that have the potential to interact with prescription medications," Harris Lieberman told Reuters Health in an email. Lieberman, the study's senior author, is a researcher with the Military Nutrition Division of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) in Natick, Massachusetts. Lieberman said the team did this study to determine how many people in the U.S. are using dietary supplements and prescription medications together, and whether patterns of dietary supplement use are different among people with various kinds of medical conditions. "This information can help health care professionals to identify who may be at risk of having an adverse interaction between a supplement and prescription medication," he said. For their study, Lieberman, along with lead author Emily Farina and their colleagues, used information taken from the 2005 - 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which represents the entire national population. The researchers focused on 10,480 adults (4,934 women who were not pregnant and 5,016 men) who answered survey questions about their dietary supplement and prescription medication use, as well as whether they had any of the following medical conditions: asthma, arthritis, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cancer, weak bones or problems with the liver, thyroid or kidneys. The researchers found that 47 percent of participants diagnosed with any of those medical conditions used both supplements and prescription medications. That compared to about 17 percent of adults who didn't have those conditions, but were taking prescription medications for other reasons, such as birth control pills or antidepressants. Overall, 34 percent of the participants - representing some 72 million people in the U.S. - were taking some kind of dietary supplement along with a prescription medication, according to the results published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Cardiovascular medications were most likely to be used along with dietary supplements, followed by central nervous system agents, hormones, metabolism-related drugs, psychotherapeutic agents and antibiotics or antivirals. Multivitamins containing other ingredients were more common than standard multivitamins. The ingredients most often added to the enhanced multivitamins included fish oil, botanicals, herbs, probiotics, fiber, enzymes, antacids and glucosamine and chondroitin. Supplement use was most common among people with diagnosed osteoporosis, followed by those with thyroid, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular, kidney, diabetes, respiratory and liver conditions. The authors call the findings "concerning" because some herbal supplements are known to alter the way the liver metabolizes drugs, and can increase or weaken the potency of a medication. Annette Dickinson told Reuters Health that the large number of people who used both supplements and prescription medications in the study didn't surprise her. Dickinson is a consultant for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement industry trade group, and an adjunct professor in food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota. She wasn't involved in the new study, but has researched some of the reasons why consumers take dietary supplements. "Obviously anybody who is taking prescription medication should be telling their doctor everything they're taking so that a judgment can be made whether there is, or might be, an issue," she said. Dickinson added that pharmacists may also be a good source of information on medications and dietary supplements, but she doesn't think that should be a substitute for speaking with a doctor. "Patients, especially those taking medications or given new prescriptions, should always inform their doctors about what dietary supplements they are taking, and doctors can help patients by asking about their supplements," Lieberman said. Lieberman added that if a patient is concerned, then bringing the supplement's original container will help doctors and other healthcare providers identify ingredients in supplements that have a potential to interact with medications. "Patients can also use reputable sources to check if there have been reports about interactions of dietary supplements they are considering taking and their medications. The National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus website (1.usa.gov/1hcxeF7), for example, has information on interactions between drugs, supplements and herbal ingredients.

Wednesday update

Hi!
I hope everyone is having a great week. I will be out of town and off the grid until Sunday. Yep, a real traveling vacation with hubby....it has been so many years since we had a vacation we may be on the "no fly" list! Do they allow Wal Mart bags as carry ons? I will be scrambling tomorrow to get ready, so this post is a tad early. Hopefully, Bob and Johnye will do their usual great job in my absence.  Hope I remembered to tell them....

Have a great few days. iPad 1 will be Saturday, May 10 at the center.  Call  Krystal to get on the list.
Until my return,
Dr. Janet

Diabetic article

How to reduce your risk of diabetes By Dr. Manny Alvarez

Diabetes is a huge problem in the United States today, and one that I don't believe is taken seriously enough. According to statistics by the International Diabetes Federation, 552 million people - that's one in 10 adults - will have diabetes by 2030. If correct, that would be a jump of more than 200 million people with type 2 diabetes over two decades. The World Health Organization estimates that there are about 346 million people who suffer from the disease today.

The projected rise is more due to aging that the obesity epidemic, the diabetes federation said, but we've also seen a rise recently in children and young adults developing diabetes. Twenty years ago, type 2 diabetes was virtually unheard of in people so young. The thing is, type 2 diabetes is still entirely preventable with certain lifestyle changes. I always preach to my patients the importance of exercise and diet. Another study has even identified five simple habits that can cut a person's risk of developing diabetes by as much as 80 percent. Here's what you need to do: -Have a healthy diet, including lots of fruits and vegetables -Exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes -Maintain normal body weight (a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9) -Abstain from smoking -Consume alcohol in moderate amounts Following all five guidelines was found to be most effective in preventing against diabetes, but scientists said the single most effective factor was maintaining a normal body weight. Men of normal weight were 70 percent less likely to develop diabetes than overweight or obese men, while normal weight women were 78 percent less likely to develop diabetes. However, overweight people who adopted just one of the other healthy lifestyle factors, such as exercising three times a week, could still reduce their risk of diabetes. Dr. Manny Alvarez serves as FOX News Channel's (FNC) Senior Managing Editor for Health News. Prior to this position, Alvarez was a FNC medical contributor. Follow Dr. Manny on Facebook

Tornado impact

Everyone,
I just received word that Dorothy's son Mark was a victim of the tornado last night. Please keep Dorothy and her family in your prayers. She attended the conference Saturday and was so upbeat! What a difference 24 hours makes.

Thoughts and prayers to all impacted!
Dr. Janet

Monday, April 28

Good afternoon everyone,
I was so interested in watching the tornado coverage this morning I forgot to post! Apologies...please check on family and friends in the devastated areas. We certainly need to know if any of our group were impacted. If you hear, please let me know.

Our thoughts and prayers to those who were effected by the violent weather. Remember, life is fragile!
Dr. Janet

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Source:  Adapted from Carolina Blessings: Recipes from Friends of the Children's Home Society of North Carolina



Ingredients
1 (13 oz.) package chocolate chip cookies (original crunchy, not soft & chewy) ~ I use Chips Ahoy!
1 (9 oz.) prepared graham cracker pie crust
1 c. milk
1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
Directions
Set aside 2 chocolate chip cookies to crumble on top of the pie.
Place milk in a measuring cup. Dunk 8 cookies, one at a time, in the milk and place in a single layer in the bottom of the graham cracker crust. (Dunk each cookie quickly or it will absorb too much milk and crumble apart on you.) Spread 1/3 of the Cool Whip evenly over the cookies.
Dip 10 or 11 cookies, one at a time, in the milk and place in a single layer over the Cool Whip layer. Spread 1/3 of the Cool Whip evenly over the cookies. Repeat to create one more layer of cookies and one more layer of Cool Whip.
Crumble the reserved 2 cookies and sprinkle on top of the pie. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours before serving.
Enjoy!
Read more at http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2013/07/no-bake-chocolate-chip-cookie-pie-made.html#FQ0qLOhJrUitLbUc.99

Stormy weather

Good morning,
It appears we may be in for a weather event day! I have already had a storm roll thru. I awoke to thunder and lightening. We had pea sized hail for a few minutes. It was enough to cover the yard. Please be prepared for an electrical outage. Have you phone and electronics charged. Know where the batteries are and be prepared to take cover if necessary. If tornadoes are in your area, move to the interior of your home. Use a hallway or bathroom. If you are in a mobile home, please be very aware of conditions outside,

I can't stress enought the importance of a weather radio! We only use them occasionally but they can save your life!

Have a great day.
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Council Convention update

Good morning everyone,
I am attending the ACB state convention today. It is a sell out crowd. We have had to bring in extra chairs! What a great opportunity to visit and network with providers, vendors, support groups and friends!

Jim Hill with the School for the Blind gave a great update on things happening on the hill. Katy gave us the update on DSB activities and believe me, those are busy folks. I commend Katy for her efforts to find every money source to provide services for the visually impaired community.

If you are not using the Arkansas Radio Reading Service and the Newsline accessibility, you are missing out on a great source of news and knowledge. If you need help or assistance with these, just give me a call.

Do a good deed and help each other. Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Bionic eye!

Michigan man among first in US to receive 'bionic eye'

 Roger Pontz wears special glasses that house a small video camera and transmitter at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor. The glasses are part of a system developed by a California company that wirelessly transmits images from the camera, converted into a series of electrical pulses, to an array of electrodes on the surface of Pontz's retina. The pulses stimulate the retinas remaining healthy cells, causing them to relay the data to the optic nerve. The visual information then moves to the brain, where it is translated into patterns of light that can take the shape of an objects outline, allowing the patient to regain some visual function.

 A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting -- seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness.

Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. with retinitis pigmentosa can benefit from the bionic eye. An estimated 10,000 have vision low enough, said Dr. Brian Mech, an executive with Second Sight Medical Products Inc., the Sylmar, Calif. -based company that makes the device. Of those, about 7,500 are eligible for the surgery. The artificial implant in Pontz's left eye is part of a system developed by Second Sight that includes a small video camera and transmitter housed in a pair of glasses. Images from the camera are converted into a series of electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the surface of the retina. The pulses stimulate the retina's remaining healthy cells, causing them to relay the signal to the optic nerve. The visual information then moves to the brain, where it is translated into patterns of light that can be recognized and interpreted, allowing the patient to regain some visual function. When wearing the glasses, which Pontz refers to as his "eyes," he can identify and grab his cat and figure out that a flash of light is his grandson hightailing it to the kitchen. The visual improvement is sometimes startling for Pontz and his wife, Terri, who is just as amazed at her husband's progress as he is. "I said something I never thought I'd say: `Stop staring at me while I'm eating,"' Terri Pontz said. She drives her husband the nearly 200 miles from tiny Reed City, Mich., to Ann Arbor for check-ups and visits with oc'cup'ational therapist Ashley Howson, who helps Roger Pontz reawaken his visual memory and learn techniques needed to make the most of his new vision. At the recent visit, Howson handed Pontz white and black plates, instructed him to move them back and forth in front of light and dark backgrounds and asked that he determine their color. Back home, Terri Pontz helps her husband practice the techniques he learns in Ann Arbor. For them, the long hours on the road and the homework assignments are a blessing. "What's it worth to see again? It's worth everything," Terri Pontz said.

The artificial retina procedure has been performed several-dozen times over the past few years in Europe, and the expectation is that it will find similar success in the U.S., where the University of Michigan is one of 12 centers accepting consultations for patients. Candidates for the retinal prosthesis must be 25 or older with end-stage retinitis pigmentosa that has progressed to the point of having "bare light" or no light perception in both eyes. Dr. Thiran Jayasundera, one of two physicians who performed the 4.5-hour surgery on Roger Pontz, is scheduled to discuss his experiences with the retinal prosthesis process during a meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery on Friday in Boston. He calls it a "game-changer. Pontz agrees: "I can walk through the house with ease. If that's all I get out of this, it'd be great.

It is finally Friday!

Good morning everyone,
I am ready for the weekend!  Tomorrow is the ACB meeting and that is always such fun. If you are not involved in one of the support organizations such as ACB or NFB please consider joining. Both are fun groups with phenomenal folks! Everyone needs a voice and a place to be heard. This is your chance.

I will post a convention update tomorrow!

Have a great day and make a difference!
Dr. Janet

Meet the company that wants to be the Netflix for the Blind

e've all been there: you're hanging out with friends when the conversation suddenly turns to the latest episode of House of Cards or the recent Jennifer Lawrence blockbuster. You haven't seen this particular television show or film, so for the next fifteen minutes, while your friends dissect the plot and recount that hilarious moment, you're left finding creative ways to stir your coffee.

Television shows and movies constitute an enormous part of our culture, and not being in on the story can feel isolating. This is especially true for people with visual impairments. Sure, the blind and visually impaired can listen to a movie or television show, but so much of what happens in the story — from a character's subtle glance to a car exploding — is visual.

Crossway Media Solutions is an online entertainment service working to make films and television shows more accessible for people with disabilities. This year, the company will launch TalkingFlix, the first audio-described, on-demand entertainment service for those with visual impairments. "Our main goal," TalkingFlix head of content Ellen Pittleman tells The Week, "is accessibility. We want to help sighted and non-sighted populations have a shared social experience."

According to Pittleman, who was a Paramount executive before joining TalkingFlix, broadcast networks for years have been making audio tracks that describe programming visuals. In April 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began requiring major networks to provide 50 hours of described programming per quarter. Disability advocates saw this new legislation as an opportunity to approach film studios and encourage them to provide this service as well.

They quickly realized that the cost of creating these tracks was difficult to justify. "We were just about to release Titanic when I was at Paramount and we were approached," Pittleman explains. "It was an important move for the studio to participate in providing this service because Titanic was to be our biggest DVD release ever. Unfortunately, in retrospect we found that the cost of creating these tracks was often not being recovered by the sales."

Most DVDs don't include an audio menu, and movie theaters and streaming services are often set up for audio-described content. As a result, it didn't make sense for studios to invest the time or money into making these tracks available.

Now, Pittleman is in the process of working with these production companies to recover some of those old tracks from studio libraries, while giving content providers a market for creating such tracks. By bridging the gap between studios and consumers, TalkingFlix aims to offer hundreds of popular titles that customers will be able to access on their televisions or mobile devices.

The idea behind TalkingFlix has a long backstory. The company's CEO, David Timar, is not blind, but is visually impaired and has close ties to the blind community. He built a career in the tech world, but he's no stranger to the film industry. His father, Peter Timar, is a well-known Hungarian director and tireless advocate for media accessibility. "Growing up," David Timar tells The Week, "I realized the problem my father was trying to solve was not a local problem, but a global one... My dad's work with [the visually impaired] community help me understand the need."

Timar came up with the idea to market audio-described tracks years ago, but the project only took off last year when an investor encouraged Timar to apply for seed funding.

Finding a consumer base should not be a problem. According to the FCC, there are approximately 25 million Americans and 289 million people worldwide with visual impairments. The bigger obstacle — and the reason many companies have failed to tap into this niche market — involves getting investors and the studios to sign up. "The biggest challenge," Timar says, "is telling investors we are going to get the content and being able to strike a deal with studios based on an unprecedented market. It's a back-and-forth game."

TalkingFlix is in the process of closing its first deal, and if it succeeds, it will be the first company to overcome this hurdle, gaining access to a pool of consumers that even bigger names like Netflix and Hulu haven't reached.

The program plans to launch later this year, but you can sign up for the service now. Gearing up for the launch, Timar and his team have several goals. In the first year, they hope to grow the library and make TalkingFlix available to the English-speaking world as soon as possible. Long term, Timar says he wants to make audio-described content available to Spanish-speaking countries, India, and China.

"Eventually," Timar says, "I would like TalkingFlix to be a household item worldwide."

Now I know why I never have money!

Researchers at the New York University's Dirty Money Project analyzed DNA on $1 bills and found some 3,000 types of bacteria. UPI/Gary C. Caskey | License Photo


NEW YORK, April 23 (UPI) -- Researchers at the New York University's Dirty Money Project analyzed DNA on $1 bills and found some 3,000 types of bacteria -- many times more than studies using a microscope found.
Jane Carlton, director of genome sequencing at NYU's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology told the Wall Street Journal: "It was quite amazing to us. We actually found that microbes grow on money."
Carlton and colleagues used high-speed gene sequencing and computerized database analysis from 80 $1 bills to identify lifeforms via their DNA.

The unpublished findings said 1.2 billion DNA segments were found -- half human. The researchers found bacteria, viruses, fungi and pathogens on the money. Specifically, the study found Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of skin infections, respiratory disease and food poisoning; E.coli, a bacterium found in the intestine that can cause serious food poisoning; the bacterium that causes diphtheria and the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers on the $1 bills.

Thursday, April 24

Good morning everyone,
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day! Of course, it is Arkansas so the weather will change...today! Have a plan when severe weather is approaching. Every home should have a weather radio. I understand you only need them a couple of times a year but when you need information they are vital!
The ACB convention will begin tomorrow in North Little Rock. It will be a fun, entertaining, and inspiring weekend. Please make plans to attend.
Do a good deed!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Eat your vegetables

The healthiest greens to add to your diet

It's no secret that eating your greens will do wonders for your waistline. Most green veggies are less than 50 calories per 'cup' and are packed with fiber and nutrients. But if the old standbys like kale and spinach bore you, Frances Largeman-Roth, registered dietician and author of "Eating in Color," says there are many others to choose from. "Seven servings or more of fruits and vegetables -- especially the vegetables -- can cut your risk of death from any disease, any illness by 42 percent," Largeman-Roth told FoxNews.com. "To me, that's really compelling and that's a reason to try to be fitting in more greens. Watercress, a semiaquatic plant native to Europe and Asia, isn't just for tea sandwiches. Use it in soups and salads for a peppery bite. Dandelion greens are also growing in popularity and go particularly well with egg dishes. And Swiss chard is a hardy green that has a lot of vitamin A, C and K. "They're super low in calories, and it's a tasty thing to add to, say, you're making a kind of rice dish," Largeman-Roth said. "...You can use it raw, but I would probably mix it in with some other, a little bit more tender grains.

Glaucoma drug may reduce obesity related vision loss

An inexpensive glaucoma drug, when added to a weight loss plan, can improve vision for women with a disorder called idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

IIH, also called pseudotumor cerebri, predominantly affects overweight women of reproductive age. An estimated 100,000 Americans have it, and the number is rising with the obesity epidemic. The most common symptoms are headaches and visual problems, including blind spots, poor side vision, double vision and temporary episodes of blindness. About 5-10 percent of women with IIH experience disabling vision loss.

"Our results show that acetazolamide can help preserve and actually restore vision for women with IIH, when combined with a moderate but comprehensive dietary and lifestyle modification plan," said Michael Wall, M.D., a professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

The trial was funded by NIH's National Eye Institute, and coordinated by the Neuro-Ophthalmology Research Disease Investigator Consortium (NORDIC). The results were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and will be presented on May 2 during the Clinical Trials plenary session of the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Philadelphia.

Acetazolamide (Diamox) is best known as a glaucoma drug. It has been commonly prescribed for IIH, but without much evidence that it helps. The IIH Treatment Trial tested the benefits of acetazolamide plus a weight loss plan versus the weight loss plan with a placebo pill, over six months. Patients in both treatment groups had improved vision, but those receiving the drug had the greatest improvement. All patients were allowed to take headache medications throughout the trial, and both groups experienced a similar reduction in headache.

"The vision problems associated with this condition can be extremely debilitating, at significant cost to patients and the health care system. Yet there are no established treatment guidelines. We made it a priority to develop an evidence-based treatment for helping patients keep their vision," said Eleanor Schron, Ph.D., director of clinical applications at NEI.

IIH is named for one of its key physical findings—an increased pressure within the fluid-filled spaces inside and around the brain. This in turn can cause swelling and damage to the optic nerves that connect the eyes to the brain. A 5-10 percent weight reduction appears to improve symptoms for many patients, but can be difficult to achieve and maintain. Acetazolamide is known to reduce fluid production in the brain, and is often used as an add-on therapy. In severe cases, surgical procedures may be used to relieve pressure on the optic nerve.

The dosing and results with acetazolamide vary. In high doses, the drug can produce side effects including fatigue, nausea, tingling hands and feet, and a metallic taste, usually triggered by carbonated drinks. British researchers completed a trial of the drug for IIH in 2011, but the results were inconclusive.
The NIH-funded trial involved 161 women and four men with IIH and mild vision loss, who were enrolled at 38 sites. At enrollment, their average body mass index (BMI) was about 40. A BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. All participants were put on a weight loss plan to trim salt and about 500 to 1,000 calories from their food intake each day, with the goal to lose 6 percent of their starting weight. They were provided with a weight loss coach and some simple low-cost exercise equipment. This included a step counter and a resistance band, a piece of rubber tubing used for strength training. About half the participants were randomly assigned to receive acetazolamide. The drug was given at 1 gram daily for the first week and increased by a quarter gram each week, to reach the maximally tolerated dosage, or up to 4 grams daily. The other half of participants received a placebo in gradually increasing dosages.

After six months, both groups had improved scores on visual field tests, a measure of side or peripheral vision. Participants on acetazolamide improved by about twice as much as those on placebo. Compared to weight loss alone, the drug also helped reduce swelling of the optic nerve. The drug-weight loss combination also led to greater improvements in daily function and quality of life compared to weight loss alone, based on the NEI Visual Functioning Questionnaire.

In the placebo group, there were six treatment failures—defined as a substantial worsening of vision that required withdrawal from the trial. There was one treatment failure in the acetazolamide group.

Seven people on acetazolamide and one person on placebo stopped taking their assigned study medication because of perceived side effects. Three people on placebo were admitted to the hospital compared to six on the drug, two of whom developed kidney stones. All side effects were reversed by stopping the drug or reducing the dosage.

"This study provides a much-needed evidence base for using acetazolamide as an adjunct to weight loss for treating IIH," said Dr. Wall. "The drug has been around since the 1950s, and prior studies have found varying degrees of efficacy. One strength of our study is that we slowly introduced patients to the highest tolerated dose, in an attempt to maximize efficacy while limiting its side effects."

Another strength of the study was the weight loss program, he said. The New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center designed the program to achieve moderate, sustainable weight control with an emphasis on changing lifestyle, as opposed to just dieting.

The trial will follow participants for five years to gauge whether they're able to maintain a healthy weight and control their symptoms over the long term.

Source: National Institutes of Health

Wednesday

Happy hump day everyone,
The week is flying by! Don't forget that this weekend is the state convention for the council. It will be held in North Little Rock. Call Sandy if you need details. Nola always puts a great conference together. Please plan to attend.

Have a great day! Help a friend...
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

P.s. Keep Sarah in your prayers. She is in Bsptist Springhill.

Fat consumption linked to breast cancer

(Reuters Health) - Women who eat a lot of fat, particularly saturated fat, may be at higher risk of certain types of breast cancer, new research suggests.

Past studies have come to differing conclusions on a possible association between dietary fat and breast cancer. Whether the two are even linked at all remains controversial.

The new report, a second analysis of a large, long-term study, suggests that fat may play a role in the development of certain forms of the disease but not others, the authors said.

Still, it cannot prove that a high-fat diet is the reason any of the women got cancer.

"In our study we confirm that saturated fat intake was positively associated with breast cancer risk," lead author Sabina Sieri, from the Fondazione IRCCS National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy, told Reuters Health in an email.

"Saturated fatty acids intake should be as low as possible within the context of a nutritionally adequate diet."

Saturated fat in the diet most often comes from meat and other animal products like butter and cheese.

The research team's findings are based on a study of about 337,000 women from 10 European countries. They filled out questionnaires about their diet and lifestyle and were followed for an average of 11 to 12 years.

During that time, about 10,000 of the women were diagnosed with breast cancer.

The original study found that women who ate the most saturated fat were more likely to develop breast cancer than those who ate the least.

For the new analysis, the researchers used patient medical records to classify breast cancers into specific subtypes, for instance based on whether the tumor may respond to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

They found that women with diets high in saturated fat were 28 percent more likely to develop tumors that had receptors for estrogen and progesterone than women with the lowest saturated fat in their diets. The pattern was similar for total fat intake.

However, the chance of developing breast tumors without receptors for those hormones was not linked to dietary fat, according to the findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The researchers said it's possible dietary fat increases the level of sex hormones in the body. That could explain why high-fat diets are tied to a greater risk of tumors whose growth is related to estrogen and progesterone, known as hormone-receptor-positive cancers. Those cancers make up the majority of breast cancer diagnoses.

Sieri and colleagues found that high levels of saturated fat were also linked to a greater risk of HER2 negative breast cancer, but not HER2 positive disease. HER2 stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and is one factor used to determine how fast a cancer is growing.

Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Medicine Service in New York, said the extra risk of hormone-receptor-positive cancer linked to saturated fat was "relatively modest."

What's more, he added, "These patients were not randomly assigned to follow one diet or another."

That means other differences between women who ate high- and low-fat diets may have factored into their cancer risk.

Still, Hudis said, the findings are consistent with recent research looking at specific types of breast cancer and make sense based on what is known about the biological effects of dietary fat.

Dr. Michelle Holmes, who has studied diet and breast cancer at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said that in the grand scheme of things, any possible link between fat and breast cancer still seems to be small.

"In my opinion, the bottom line is that if the association with fat and breast cancer exists, it's fairly small (and) it's probably limited to certain subtypes," Holmes told Reuters Health.

Even though the new study included a "huge" number of women, she said, "the answer doesn't leap out at you."

Hudis and Holmes, who were not involved in the new research, agreed there's no reason women shouldn't still cut back on saturated fat.

"Saturated fat is bad for heart disease anyway," Holmes said.

"The associations with dietary fat are much stronger for heart disease, which still kills more women than breast cancer in the United States."

SOURCE: bit.ly/1rjQum8 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online April 9, 2014.

Retires who use Internet are less likely to be depressed!

(Reuters Health) - Older Americans who regularly spent time online were about a third less likely to suffer from depression in a new study that compared them to peers who did not use the Internet.

"The largest impacts on depression were actually for those people who lived alone, so it's really suggesting that it's about connecting with others, eliminating isolation and loneliness," lead study author Shelia Cotten said.

Depression affects nearly eight percent of Americans over the age of 50, or between 5 and 10 million people, say the authors in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

Older adults are much more likely to experience depression, loneliness and social isolation than younger people, Cotten told Reuters Health.

A researcher in telecommunication, information studies and media at Michigan State University in East Lansing, she wanted to see if getting older people online might lower that risk.

Cotten and her colleagues analyzed responses gathered over six years by the U.S. Health and Retirement Survey, a large population study that focuses on the transitions Americans go through as they retire. The data covered 3,075 retired men and women who didn't live in nursing homes.

The researchers identified depression through answers to an eight-item questionnaire, and participants in the survey were asked directly about their use of the Internet for email or any other purposes.

About 30 percent of the participants were Internet users. When the researchers compared depression scores, they found the people who were going online had a 33 percent lower probability of depression compared to those who were not.

The study didn't examine how much people used the Internet or analyze the effects of specific types of Internet use, Cotten pointed out. But in previous studies, the results suggested that older adults are mostly interested in communicating with their family and friends, usually by email, Cotten said.

She explained that a lot of older adults have mobility and health issues that keep them from being able to travel and visit with family. But being able to use email to see pictures of their kids, grandkids or even great grandkids can help them stay in contact.

"So I would really encourage people to help their older loved ones to get online and not to assume that it's beyond them, because it's not," she said.

Cotten added that it may not come as easily to older people as it does to kids, but her research shows that individuals in their 80s, 90s and even in their 100s can still learn to usecomputers and the Internet.

Adult children who are thinking of getting their parents online should think about the interface, Cotten advises. Older adults may prefer tablets rather than regular laptop or desktop computers because the tablets are easier to use and much more portable.

"Start very simply and let them know that they're not going to break the technology, and that if something happens, you can help them fix it or somebody can help them fix it," Cotten said.

"You really have to go a little bit slower than you would with somebody who's younger and really emphasize repetition - have them practice sending emails to family members or to friends or going online to search for different types of things," she said. "Practice is key."

Once older adults begin to see how useful the Internet can be in their lives, you've got them hooked, Cotten added.

"It's really about how they can see it integrated into their lives and being useful for them that will help them to stay online," she said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1fkzarN The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, online March 26, 2014.

Could you go one year without sugar?

Family goes for a year without sugar

Freelance writer Eve Schaub had always been interested in food and health, but it wasn't until watching a video by Dr. Robert Lustig, " The Skinny on Obesity ," where the University of San Francisco pediatric endocrinologist detailed the dangers of fructose on the body, that she decided to make a change for her family. "This was like all of a sudden someone had pulled back the curtain and I was seeing things in a way I'd never seen before," Schaub, of Pawlet, Vermont, told FoxNews.com. "Everywhere you go there's food... and everywhere there's food, there's sugar. I wanted to do something that wouldn't just impact our family, but others as well. In 2011, Schaub, her husband Stephen and daughters Greta and Ilsa, ages 11 and 6 at the time, embarked on a year of sugar-free eating. Schaub blogged about the time and now has a newly published book, "The Year of No Sugar. Fruit, not fructose As Schaub and her family embarked on their challenge, the focused primarily on eliminating fructose, or fruit sugars, from their diet. In her book, Schaub explains that when the body processes fructose, the liver produces uric acid and fatty acids. Too much of these byproducts can lead to gout, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and obesity. "You could go your entire life and never have fructose and be okay," she said. "Fructose doesn't register. You eat and still feel hungry, but still want more, that's the danger. However, whole fruits, which contain fiber and micronutrients, were allowed. "That's really the best way to have fructose, in its original container... the way nature meant to have it," Schaub said. While Schaub considered herself to be generally healthy, she realized she was actually making a lot of assumptions about the ingredients in the foods she was purchasing. "I thought, 'I know what's in tortilla,' but I didn't know! I started being really militant about reading absolutely everything I'd been missing," she said. The biggest grocery challenges for the family were finding replacements for fruit juice and bread. Many foods are sweetened with fruit juices and only one out of the 250 varieties of bread at their local supermarket did not have added sugar. However, after doing some research and finding the brands and products they could trust, shopping was much easier. "When I first went shopping, it took twice as long as it used to, but that quickly went away," Schaub said. The family also discovered that even basic cooking ingredients contained hidden reservoirs of the sweet stuff. "I'd go to make a recipe that called for Worcester sauce, but ingredients have ingredients! Worcester sauce has sugar! she said. Dealing with cravings Going without sugar gave Schaub the chance to understand her food cravings better. In the past, she used food as a reward, a consolation, to mark an occasion. But, during the year of no sugar, Schaub found non-food-related ways to fill emotional needs. After a couple weeks, the family adapted to their new diet and cravings lessened. They also instituted a rule - partly designed to keep all members on board - that they could eat one sugary treat a month. But over time, they found they didn't even need it. "We went for so long without, when we had it again, it tasted too sweet, too syrupy, not desirable. We had a bad reaction," Schaub said. Interest in their monthly treat started to wane as early as spring and summer, but by fall, felt more like a chore. In September, her husband requested she make a favorite banana cream pie. After three bites, Schaub had a pounding headache, had to lie down and brush her teeth to get the sugary taste out. Being healthy without going overboard Throughout the year, Schaub and her husband made a conscious decision not to focus on weight-loss related to their sugar-free diet - partly to ensure that their two daughters didn't take the wrong message from the experiment. Though they consulted with a physician before starting the plan, they didn't take baseline blood tests or weigh themselves during the year. "The last thing we wanted to do is to encourage [our daughters] not to eat, to encourage anyone else not to eat," Schaub said. After their year ended, Schaub struggled with figuring out what the family's new "rules" would be and what moderation now meant for her family. Now, they continue to avoid products containing unnecessary sugars (such as crackers, sausage, tortillas), and when they do have treats, she finds herself satisfied after just a few bites. Overall, the year taught Schaub and her family that it's important to read every ingredient, question foods people tell you are 'healthy,' and avoid drinking sugar. "Then you can make their own choices but have the information you need," she said.

Earth Day, April 2

Happy Earth day everyone,
What are you doing to protect the environment? Even if you do not consider yourself a tree hunger,  most of us understand the importance and need to reduce waste, reuse what we can and recycle items which can be repurposed. Landfills are not the best use of our beautiful Arkansas countryside and we should all do our part to avoid creating more waste.  If your community offers recycling, please do your part. It takes very little effort and leaves a positive impact for future generations.

Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Dr. Janet

Pecan Pie

 Pecan Pie

Crust:

*1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
*1 Tbs. sugar
*¼ tsp. salt
*8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
*3 Tbs. very cold water

To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer dough to work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. This dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.

Filling:

*1 cup white corn syrup
*1 cup dark brown sugar
*1/3 cup melted butter
*1 heaping cup pecans
*3 eggs
*1 dash vanilla
*1 pinch salt

Mix all ingredients and pour into unbaked 9” unbaked pie shell.

Bake 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Cauliflower Salad- has texture and look of potatoe salad

LOW-CARB Cauliflower Salad (not potato!)

What To Do:
1 head of cauliflower steamed or boiled until tender in bite size pieces
6 boiled eggs (when done peel eggs, rinse and separate yokes into a bowl. Then mash the yoke and cut the whites into small bite size pieces then blend
together.
1/3 cup (appx) miracle whip or mayonnaise (dont use light it has more carbs)
3 tbs of mustard
3 tbs of pickle relish
1/8 cup of chopped onion (uncooked) can use more if you prefer
salt/pepper to taste
Mix all together and you can garnish with egg slices and parsley
chill over night ( 1 cup of cauliflower is only 3 carbs vs 1 cup of potato is 37!!)

Monday, April 21

Good morning friends,
I am posting early as Monday morning is always hectic at my house. There is always one more load of laundry, one more errand or some other task calling me. Thanks Johnye for some great articles this week. The one about sleeping pills is extremely timely. I just read a study about the abuse of sleeping pills among elderly folks. As we age, our sleep patterns and needs change. If you taking a sleeping aid, please visit with your doctor.

I noticed again in today's paper that Arkansas is number one nationally in food insecurity among those over 55. If you or someone you know is hungry, please let me know. There are resources to help!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Monday's coffee tip

How to make your coffee truly healthy Published April 20, 2014

It's like dark chocolate: How can something so good be good for you? Well, it's time you started believing in the power of your java. Coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet, according to a study from the University of Scranton. Plus, a growing body of research suggests that quaffing a few 'cup's a day can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, and even prostate cancer. The catch? While any coffee will provide some payoff, you need to pick the right roast, storage strategy, and brew method if you want joe with mojo. Here's your step-by-step guide to making your coffee its healthiest.
 1. THE ROAST In the universe of coffee beans, lighter roasts are the dark horses. "The antioxidant effects of coffee are related to compounds called chlorogenic acids," says Dr. Peter Martin, director of the Vanderbilt University Institute for Coffee Studies. "Roasting green coffee beans transforms these acids into better antioxidants-but if you keep on roasting them, they break down again. So buy light-brown beans. And when you're on the go, ask for Original Blend at Dunkin' Donuts or Blonde at Starbucks. Coffee versus Tea -which one is really better for you?
 2. THE STORAGE Roasted coffee beans have free radicals, which become more numerous the longer the beans are exposed to air, according to a study in Food Chemistry. That's a problem because, as free radical levels rise, some antioxidants in the beans are spent fighting to stabilize them. Store your beans in an airtight container and don't grind them until you're ready to brew; the same study noted that whole beans had fewer free radicals than ground coffee. For an even grind and smooth-tasting joe, use a burr grinder; it ensures that the particles are more uniform in size. Try the Camano Coffee Mill ($65, redroostertradingcompany.com ). Could a jolt of java keep diabetes at bay? See how to Fend Off Disease with Coffee.
3.THE BREWING The Keurig is king for convenience, but for antioxidants, the Moka is master. Researchers in Italy examined five different brewing methods and found that coffee percolated in a stovetop Moka pot, an espresso pot, or a Neapolitan-style pot produced coffee with more than double the antioxidant levels of java brewed through a paper filter. Pick up the Bialetti Moka Express ($45, bialettishop.com ). Too strong? Add some hot water to espresso to make an americano. Want to transform your bland 'cup' of Folgers into delicious gourmet coffee? Try this Sneaky Trick for Better-Tasting Coffee.
4. THE CUP How do you take your coffee? Here's your new answer: "Black, without sugar," says Martin. "Coffee in itself is extremely nutritious-anything you add is diminishing it. A touch of half-and-half may not add many calories, but new research from Croatia suggests that milk can reduce the antioxidant levels. Of course, if you doctor your drink with sugar or artificial sweeteners, you're just stirring in calories or chemicals. A better way to handle bitter: Add some ground cinnamon to taste. And while you're at it, use coffee's robust flavor to turbocharge these dishes and drinks. SWEET TIP If you're hooked on your morning sugar fix, a bean with a sweeter, brighter flavor profile can ease the transition for your tastebuds. Try Stumptown Coffee Roasters' Colombia La Piramide or Ethiopia Nano Challa.

Please read this if you take sleeping pills

Educating older patients helps taper off sleeping pill use Published April 18, 2014 Reuters

Older people are willing and able to get themselves off medications like sleeping pills once they're informed of the potential harms, according to a new Canadian study. "Even among patients who have been taking sleeping pills for 30 years, many of them in their 80s and 90s were able to get off the sleeping pills once they realized that these pills could cause falls, memory problems and car accidents," lead author Dr. Cara Tannenbaum of the University of Montreal told Reuters Health.

While Valium, Xanax and similar medications, known as benzodiazepines, are not recommended for older adults given such risks, up to one-third of older adults still take them, usually to treat insomnia or anxiety, according to Tannenbaum and her colleagues. Doctors know about the dangers these drugs pose to their patients, the investigators write in JAMA Internal Medicine, but nearly half say they renew benzodiazepine prescriptions for their older patients anyhow, "citing patient dependence and benefit as justifications. Tannenbaum's team wanted to see whether educating older patients taking benzodiazepines about the risks would be an effective way to encourage some to stop using the drugs. They recruited 303 patients from 30 different pharmacies, then randomly assigned the clients of half the pharmacies to receive a booklet describing the risks of benzodiazepine use, along with instructions on how to taper off the medications safely as well as information on alternative strategies for treating insomnia and anxiety. A copy of the booklet given to patients taking the drug lorazepam (Ativan) is available as a PDF file on the journal's website (here: bit.ly/1r2Z4p7) for the next 30 days. Patients who used the other 15 pharmacies served as a comparison group that continued receiving their usual care. Overall, the researchers found, 62 percent of the patients who received the booklets initiated a conversation with their doctor or pharmacist about getting off benzodiazepines. Six months into the study, 27 percent of the patients who received the booklets had stopped taking benzodiazepines, versus 5 percent of the comparison group. Patients in the study ranged from 65 to 95 years old, and even the oldest patients were able to succeed in discontinuing the medication, Tannenbaum and her team point out in their report. Many types of drugs, including benzodiazepines, can be harmful to older people even if they are relatively safe in younger adults, Tannenbaum said.

As we age, she explained, our kidneys have to work harder to clear medication from our bodies, meaning drugs can build up to higher levels in the blood. Compounding the problem is the fact that many older adults are on a host of medications, which can interact with one another to cause dangerous side effects. "I think medicine these days is more about choices, and I think that patients have to be informed about the different choices," Tannenbaum added. "A lot of people believe that when you start a medication then you can never stop it . . . there's always room to question these decisions depending on what's important to the patient at that time. For example, she said, a younger person may want to take a benzodiazepine so she can be sure to get enough sleep before a big presentation. But when she gets older, she may decide that the side effects - like morning drowsiness and fuzzy memory - aren't worth the risk, and opt for non-drug strategies for sleeping better. "It's this dynamic nature of medicine that's really changing, because people are living longer and their priorities change," Tannenbaum said. Older patients who take benzodiazepines are twice as likely to have unwanted side effects as they are to have improved sleep, according to Dr. Ariel Green, a geriatrics specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. "They really have meager benefit and it's far outweighed by substantial risks," said Green, who was not involved in the new study but took part in the American Geriatrics Society's Choosing Wisely Workgroup, which developed the recommendation against using benzodiazepines as first-line treatment for insomnia in older adults. "This study is good evidence that people, when presented with these risks, are really eager and able to change these habits," Green told Reuters Health. She said that older patients on benzodiazepines for insomnia may want to talk with their doctor about stopping them. "They can safely stop these medications with their doctor's help, and there are nonpharmacological approaches for improved sleep that are safer and have actually been shown to be more effective," Green said.

Happy Easter

Good morning everyone,
I hope the holiday will give everyone a chance to share time with those they love. Make the most of a great day and we will catch up tomorrow.
Until then do something to help someone....
Dr. Janet

Diabetes news

Mediterranean diet more effective than low-fat diet for slowing diabetes progression
Published April 18, 2014 Reuters

For people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, eating lots of olive oil, fish and whole grains slows progression of the disease more than restricting fat, according to a new analysis. In a trial that followed participants for more than eight years, those following a so-called Mediterranean diet went significantly longer before needing diabetes medication and more of them had their diabetes go into remission, compared to those on a low-fat diet. "There's been lots of epidemiology suggesting that a Mediterranean diet was beneficial with metabolic syndrome and diabetes," Dr. Leanne Olansky told Reuters Health. "But this was a randomized controlled trial, so we know it really was the diet causing the results," she said. "This is the kind of evidence that we use to determine if drugs are effective. "Everybody thinks of fat as being bad, but this shows that it depends on what kind of fat," said Olansky, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic who was not involved in the new study. People diagnosed with diabetes should aim to have a healthy diet, and a Mediterranean diet is a good, healthy option, lead study author Katherine Esposito told Reuters Health in an email. Cutting calories is important, and cutting fat is an easy way to cut calories, but according to this study, maintaining the right levels of healthy fats is important, she said. "One of the main aspects of the Mediterranean diet is the percentage of daily fat, which is higher than 30 percent of daily calories, however, the main fat is monounsaturated, usually from olive oil in the Mediterranean basin," said Esposito, of the Diabetes Unit at University Hospital at the Second University of Naples in Italy. She and her colleagues continued to follow participants in a previous study who had been divided into two groups - one assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet and the other a low-fat diet - when they were first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Both diets were designed to help prevent the disease from getting worse and to keep blood sugar under control without medication for as long as possible. On both diets, women aimed to consume 1,500 calories per day and men aimed for 1,800 per day. Mediterranean dieters ate lots of vegetables and whole grains and replaced most red meat with poultry and fish. Monthly sessions with nutritionists helped them keep less than half of their calories coming from carbohydrates and at least 30 percent of calories from fat, mainly olive oil. The low-fat diet restricted fatty or sugary snacks, limiting fats to less than 30 percent of daily calorie intake. At the end of a four-year study period, some of the participants in each group still hadn't gone on medication. At the six-year mark, all the people in the low-fat diet group had gone on diabetes medication, but it wasn't until the eight-year mark that all people in the Mediterranean diet group needed medication. Diabetes "remission," in which blood sugar levels appear healthy with no signs of diabetes, was rare overall but slightly more common in the Mediterranean group, according to the results published in Diabetes Care. Avoiding saturated fat, which often comes from red meat, could be important for diabetics, Olansky said. "Although we don't know exactly what it is about Mediterranean diets that helps control blood sugar, it likely has to do with high levels of fiber, less red meat, and more olive oil and fish, a good source of protein with unsaturated fat," she said. "The Mediterranean diet represents an easy way to combine healthy foods with taste and flavor," Esposito said. "Most of our patients continue to follow Mediterranean diet, even after the study ended. People on the Mediterranean diet tended to lose more weight than those on the low-fat diet, which may be because the Mediterranean diet is easier to stick to, Olansky said. "Patients often ask us what they can do besides medication," Olansky said. "Often they want to try a lifestyle intervention before medicine, and this is a great example of something you could offer a patient.

Information for us caffeine addicts-- as I sip my second cup of coffee!

By Melaina Juntti for Men's Journal

What's the largest, least regulated and most misunderstood drug trade in America? That would be caffeine. In his brand new book Caffeinated, investigative reporter Murray Carpenter takes a deep dive into this white-powder stimulant. The author says we underestimate nearly everything about caffeine: its prevalence in our daily lives, its health benefits, its negative impacts on our bodies and patterns. Carpenter shares a peek into his book's most intriguing -- and sometimes surprising -- revelations.

Caffeine makes us act like lab rats.
"With caffeine -- coffee and tea especially -- people develop very consistent patterns," says Carpenter. "They hit it hard early in the day and then fade off in afternoon. It's predictable self-administration, kind of like a lab rat pushing a lever that'll give them the next expected hit of a drug." These patterns become so ingrained that many of us don't even realize how long it's been since we've gone without. "People go months, years, even decades without skipping caffeine a single day, which says a lot about how powerful it is," he says.

Coffee packs way more caffeine than soda.
"Most caffeinated sodas have 35 to 40 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces," says Carpenter. "Even if you drink five cans a day, that's a really moderate caffeine intake compared to what most coffee drinkers consume. The caffeine in coffee is more concentrated, so even a five-ounce cup of weak coffee has almost twice as much as a can of soda. Strong coffee could have three times the caffeine. A 16-ounce Grande coffee from Starbucks has almost as much as nine cans of soda." Energy drinks, of course, are a different story.

One cup of strong coffee a day is enough to get you hooked.
"From research, we know that most people who regularly consume 100 milligrams of caffeine a day will experience withdrawal symptoms if they stop abruptly," says Carpenter. That's roughly three cans of soda or, depending on how strong it is, one or two cups of coffee. But even if you become dependent on caffeine, consuming a few hundred milligrams a day probably isn't too troublesome. "For most adults, 300 to 400 milligrams a day is considered moderate, although that varies dramatically depending on your size, genetic predisposition and many other factors," Carpenter says. "Some people, such as smokers, process caffeine more quickly, so they need more to get the same effect."

Overdoing caffeine can cause problems.
"One of the most common problems of getting too much caffeine is insomnia or sleeplessness," Carpenter says. "But caffeine's effect on sleep really differs from person to person. Some can drink coffee right up until they go to bed and then sleep like babies. For others, if they have caffeine after dinner, they'll lie in bed with their heart thumping and mind wandering." Caffeine also promotes anxiety, Carpenter says, which is already a huge problem for so many Americans. Caffeine can make it much worse. Another big issue: "Caffeine leads to a vicious circle of supplementation," he says. "You get all jacked up on caffeine to get through the day and then have to put the brakes on hard. People often need beer or sleeping pills to wind down. Then they wake up feeling drowsier than normal, so they have to go right back to caffeine to fire up."

It's easy to build tolerance for caffeine.
Negative effects aside, there's a reason we use caffeine -- and depend on it. "Caffeine is really powerful and effective for increasing mental acuity and focus," Carpenter says. Research shows it boosts athletic performance as well. However, these positive benefits usually wane the longer we regularly use caffeine. "Most people develop tolerance, so the coffee you drink today will not have the same effect as the first cup you ever had," says Carpenter. But caffeine tolerance differs from that of other drugs in that you can recalibrate it. For example, an alcoholic might quit drinking for years, but if he picks it up again, he'll usually be right back in the problem zone. Not necessarily true for caffeine. "With caffeine, you can reset your baseline pretty quickly if you quit for even a week," Carpenter says. "You'll go through withdrawals, but then when you start on it again, you will notice a bigger boost than you got before you quit."

Natural caffeine is no better than synthetic.
"It's really the same chemical, whether it's carved away from an ingredient in which caffeine naturally exists, such as guarana or kola nuts, or it's cobbled together in a laboratory," Carpenter says. "Synthetic caffeine is cheaper and much more widely used. But if both are pure, natural-sourced and chemical caffeine should have same effects. There's nothing wrong with natural caffeine, but there's no additional health benefit to it. It's more about if you don't want your caffeine coming out of pharmaceutical plant in China."

Caffeine isn't required to be labeled.
"The Food and Drug Administration doesn't require beverage companies to label caffeine content," Carpenter says. "Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper do it voluntarily, although it's in tiny print at the end of the ingredients list. You almost need reading glasses to see it." That's at least one good thing soda has going for it, since multiple studies have linked the sugary swill to obesity and diabetes, while diet soda is thought to mess with metabolism. "One great thing about caffeinated soft drinks is you can quantify your caffeine intake if it's listed on the can," Carpenter says. But labeling laws could soon change, prompted by the rapid rise of high-caffeine energy drinks. "FDA is currently wrestling with how to regulate caffeine in energy drinks," Carpenter says. "They're figuring out how to label caffeine count so you can look at a product quickly and see what's in there. Labeling coffee or tea would be a much bigger challenge. However, Lipton lists how much caffeine each bag contains, and it's pretty close to accurate."

Beneficiary update

Who are your beneficiaries?
It’s important that you know

If I asked you who the beneficiary is on your life insurance or retirement plan, would you know? Surprisingly, many people wouldn’t. It’s worth taking the time to think about your beneficiaries to help avoid future problems. Here is some information to help you make smart decisions about naming beneficiaries and keeping your information up to date:

What kinds of accounts can have beneficiaries? Life-insurance benefits and retirement-plan assets are paid directly to beneficiaries named on those accounts. U.S. savings bonds, bank accounts and certificates of deposit can be made payable on death (POD) to a beneficiary. Transfer on Death (TOD) registrations for securities, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds are paid directly to named beneficiaries on those accounts.
Why review your beneficiary designations? At the time you buy life insurance or sign up for your 401(k) plan, you give considerable thought to your choice of beneficiaries. Over time those designations may change. You may have named your spouse at the time you signed up for your 401(k), but subsequently divorced. How would your current spouse feel upon learning that your ex is entitled to your 401(k)? Your passing is stressful enough without the added burden of a court battle. Takeaway: Review your beneficiary designations annually or if life events occur such as divorce, marriage, birth of a child and so on.
Why is a beneficiary necessary at all? Naming a beneficiary on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies allow those assets to pass directly to your named beneficiaries overriding your will and bypassing the probate process.
Avoid trouble down the road
Choosing a beneficiary is the easiest and most reliable way to leave loved ones money after you’re gone. Make sure your beneficiaries know they are listed as beneficiaries and that their current contact information is included. This will help you be sure your assets are dispersed how you wish.

Saturday, April 19

Good morning everyone,
Here is a funny for your morning:

I know you have been lying awake at night wondering why baby diapers have brand names such as "Luvs", "Huggies", and "Pampers', while undergarments for old people are called "Depends".

Well here is the low down on the whole thing.

When babies mess in their pants, people are still gonna Luv'em, Hug'em and Pamper' em. When old people mess in their pants, it "Depends" on who's in the will!

Glad I got that straightened out so you can rest your mind.

Have a great day! Make it count by helping someone!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Friday, April 18

Happy Friday everyone,
I am ready for the weekend! Maybe it will be nice and we can play in the yard and enjoy the sunshine. I can always hope!

Next week is the ACB annual convention in North Little Rock. That is always a great time with friends.

Today is a holiday for the Center so don't panic if you can't reach them. Try again Monday.

Have a great weekend and watch out for those huge Easter bunnies!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Ms. Helen delight....

I just have to let everyone know that I had a big bowl of Ms. Helen's famous taco soup for lunch and it was delightfully delicious! Every time she makes it I think of our wonderful times in the healthy habits class.

Y'all always put a smile on my face!
Dr. Janet

Great article from the Braille Monitor

New Service Animals for the Blind Some of you may have heard about the hawk that was loose in the atrium of the Jernigan Institute back in October. We at the Monitor just received permission to tell our readers all about it. Meet Barton, a member of a new experimental guide animal program. We love our guide dogs, but in today's urban society, there can be some drawbacks: allergies in the family to dog dander, the difficulties finding an apartment you can afford with the space for a large dog, not to mention finding a park or similar place to exercise your canine companion. With this in mind, trainers have been working with several new animals, looking for an alternative more suited to modern city living. Barton only requires a bit of room to stretch his wings from time to time and can ride on his owner's wrist or shoulder in crowds. He can often scavenge for his own food, so the owner has one less thing to pack on long trips. Also in this program are George, a capuchin monkey, and Rocky, a raccoon. Both species are smaller, easier to exercise, and are highly intelligent. Capuchins live thirty to forty years, and raccoons in captivity can live up to twenty, meaning that they would have a much longer working lifespan, coming closer to the goal of giving a blind person a guide for life. As an added bonus, a monkey or raccoon would be trainable in such tasks as handing you your cell phone, house keys, or other small items. For more information about the program, or to volunteer to work with one of these new potential guide animals, contact Ms. April Phules by phone at (410) 111-1111, ext. 2473 (BIRD)

Baked Apple French toast

3 large tart apples
1 stick butter, ½ cup
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz cream cheese
12 slices firm bread, your favorite
8 eggs
1 qt milk
2 Tbsp vanilla
Cinnamon
nuts, pecans or walnuts, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Move rack to lower third of oven. Butter 9×13 baking pan.
Core and cut apples into thin wedges, leave skins on. In cast iron skillet melt butter with brown sugar and 1 Tbsp water; add apples and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or so. Transfer to prepared baking dish and let cool.
Cut cream cheese into cubes and arrange evenly over apples. Cut the slices of bread in half diagonally and layer over apples covering the whole dish.
In large bowl beat together eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, make sure to dampen all the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with chopped nuts, is using.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until golden and puffed. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Variation: use cling peaches instead of apples.

Thanks Johnye for a great article

An S.O.S. for Cap'n Crunch? By Elena Ferretti Published April 16, 2014 FoxNews.com

If we are what eat, in breakfast terms we're no longer shredded, puffed and flaked grains. We're protein-dense, bacteria-rich strained milk. To put it another way, Cap'n Crunch is foundering in a sea of Greek yogurt. Cereal is losing ground to more "contemporary and convenient" foods, writes Nicholas Fereday, author of The Cereal Killers: Five Trends Revolutionizing the American Breakfast

Fereday, executive director of food and consumer trends at Rabobank, the Dutch agribusiness investment bank, notes that cereal consumption dropped 1 percent per year over the past decade. That doesn't sound like much, but up until then the $10 billion industry had sustained growth for more than a century. But reports of cereal's demise have been greatly exaggerated, Fereday said in a phone interview. He said his paper is "really more positive if you read beyond the headline. We're more bullish on cereal than not. Greek yogurt, breakfast bars and heat-and-serve sandwiches are redefining the breakfast landscape, he said, much as DVRs and streaming video reshaped television. We eat breakfast now like we watch TV: wherever and whenever we want. It's not about time or location, but about portability. Greek yogurt has become the iPad of breakfast foods. But cereal companies are fighting back. They've gone handheld with Fiber One and Nutri-Grain bars. Post added Greek yogurt to its Honey Bunches of Oats, while General Mills and Kellogg's are drinkifying cereal with BFAST Breakfast Shake and Kellogg's To Go . Fereday says cereal companies need to emphasize health benefits like those associated with Greek yogurt. And they have to deal with sugar, the newest poster child for poor health. Cereal's challenge is to take a category perceived as too sweet and make it healthy, he said. That's ironic for a product founded on health. Marty Gitlin's encyclopedic The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch explains that 19th century wellness fanatics invented cereal specifically to counter the rich, fatty diets of the day. Dr. James Caleb Jackson created the first cold cereal in 1863 by baking rock-hard bricks of graham flour and water and breaking off chips. He called his concoction Granula , and the chips were so hard and tasteless he soaked them overnight in milk. "It did nothing to improve taste or texture," Gitlin says, laughing. But it jumpstarted the colon, which was the point. Sister Ellen White, a Seventh Day Adventist and Jackson devotee, opened a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Mich., and hired Dr. John Harvey Kellogg to run it, hoping to fulfill Jackson's vision of a health-oriented (and, apparently, regular) society. Kellogg, a vegetarian, advised eating "what the monkey eats - simple food and not too much of it" as well having multiple enemas a day, Gitlin writes. Despite all this robust activity, or maybe because of it, Kellogg invented Granola ( 1880); Granose (1894), the first flaked cereal; and Corn Flakes (1906). The 1890s also introduced Nabisco's Shredded Wheat and Post's Grape Nuts . The Old Testament prophet on Post's Elijah's Manna (1904) infuriated religious leaders, so Post banished Elijah and re-christened it Corn Toasties . Force Flakes (1901) and Fig & Bran (1910) maintained cereal's original mission, while Tryabita (1903) went rogue with celery-flavored flakes. General Mills debuted Wheaties (1922), Kix (1937) and Cheerios (1941), all to enduring success. Cereal innovation exploded from the late '40s to the '70s, fueled by a Baby Boom generation that craved sweetened cereals, but the pendulum swung back to a focus on wellness by the early '70s. Granola found a new market, while Euell Gibbons' rhetorical "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible" re-established Grape Nuts in 1974. But the same era, interestingly, also spawned the sugary "Monster Cereals" - Boo Berry, Count Chocula , Franken Berry . Nabisco even introduced orange-flavored oat puffs called Norman (1973). Cereal companies today face similar contradictions as they try to reconcile "sweet" and "healthy. Kellogg's Krave comes in chocolate and double chocolate, capitalizing on chocolate's new reputation as an antioxidant powerhouse. Kellogg's To Go is another example of Kellogg's "return to innovation rather than renovation," which CEO John Bryant promised at a February 2014 analysts conference. Responding to an email, General Mills said that net cereal sales are up 2 percent and noted that Cinnamon Toast Crunch , Lucky Charms and Chex still perform well. And the company's launch this year of Chocolate Toast Crunch , Multi-Grain Cheerios Dark Chocolate Crunch and Natural Valley Protein Granola has received "good early consumer response," it said. Fereday cautions that "transitioning" a product can result in a "compromise product" that tries to turn "a cookie into a carrot" and ultimately "misses the point. (Think Crystal Pepsi , the "clear" cola.) As cereal companies return to their health-conscious 19th century roots, they'll have to think outside the bowl. The cereal bowl.

Thursday, April 17

Good morning,
Another beautiful morning in my corner of the world. The sun is shining and the trees were budding out. This means another bad allergy day! You may want to consider some type of antihistamine. Most people have good luck with the generic brands.

As you know, grocery prices are going up daily. Consider using beans to add protein to your meal.it is still cool enough to use those crockpots and cook meals which will create left overs.

Have a great day!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Happy, happy hump day

Good morning everyone,
Another cool morning here in my corner of the world! I am really, really ready for true spring weather. Hopefully after this week.....

I have posted a great list of Siri commands I received from Rachel in the World services technology department. She uses technology everyday and is an amazing source of information.

We have lots of home visits this week so bear with me if I am slow getting back to you.

Have a great day!
Until tomorrow,
Dr. Janet

Siri

If you have an iPad or iPhone made after 2011, you have an interactive speech recognition feature that Apple calls Siri.  Siri is activated by pressing and briefly holding the home button on the front of the device.  When you do this your device will give two short beeps, then you can start interacting with Siri.  If your device doesn’t give two beeps, make sure Siri is turned on in settings, or make sure your device is new enough to have this feature.  Take a look at this list of all the things Siri can do for you!

Full list of Siri Commands
Contacts
•“What’s Michael’s address?”
•“What is Susan Park’s phone number?”
•“When is my wife’s birthday?”
•“Show Jennifer’s home email address”
•“Show Jason Russell”
•“Find people named Park”
•“Who is Michael Manning?”
Relationships
•“My mom is Susan Park”
•“Michael Manning is my brother”
•“Call my brother at work”
Siri Commands for Calendar
•“Set up a meeting at 9″
•“Set up a meeting with Michael at 9″
•“Meet with Lisa at noon”
•“Set up a meeting about hiring tomorrow at 9am”
•“New appointment with Susan Park Friday at 3″
•“Schedule a planning meeting at 8:30 today in the boardroom”
Ask Siri to change events
•“Move my 3pm meeting to 4:30″
•“Reschedule my appointment with Dr. Manning to next Monday at 9am”
•“Add Lisa to my meeting with Jason”
•“Cancel the budget review meeting”
Ask Siri about your events
•“What does the rest of my day look like?”
•“What’s on my calendar for Friday?”
•“When is my next appointment?”
•“When is my next meeting”
•“When am I meeting with Michael?”
•“Where is my next meeting?”
[ Also Read: Apps Updated for iOS 7 ]
Time and Alarm Functions
Ask Siri to set Alarms
•“Wake me up tomorrow at 7am”
•“Set an alarm for 6:30am”
•“Wake me up in 8 hours”
•“Change my 6:30 alarm to 6:45″
•“Turn off my 6:30 alarm”
•“Delete my 7:30 alarm”
•“Turn off all alarms”
Ask Siri to check the time
•“What time is it?”
•“What time is it in Berlin?”
•“What is today’s date?”
•“What’s the date this Saturday?”
Ask Siri to use a Timer
•“Set the timer for ten minutes”
•“Show the timer”
•“Pause the timer”
•“Resume”
•“Reset the timer”
•“Stop it”
Siri Email Commands
Ask Siri to Send Email Messages
•“Email Lisa about the trip”
•“Email Jennifer about the change in plans”
•“New email to Susan Park”
•“Mail Dad about the rent check”
•“Email Dr. Manning and say I got the forms, thanks”
•“Mail Lisa and Jason about the party and say I had a great time”
Ask Siri to Check Email Messages
•“Check email”
•“Any new email from Michael today?”
•“Show new mail about the lease”
•“Show the email from Lisa yesterday”
•“Do I have any new messages?”
•“Read my last email”
Ask Siri to Respond to Email Messages
•“Reply Dear Susan sorry about the late payment”
•“Call him at work”
Ask Siri About Messages
“Read my notifications”

Ask Siri to Locate Friends and Family
•“Where’s Jason?”
•“Where is my sister?”
•“Is my wife at home?”
•“Where are all my friends?”
•“Who is here?”
•“Who is near me?”
Ask Siri for Maps and Directions
•“How do I get home?”
•“Show 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino California”
•“Directions to my dad’s work”
•“Show my current location”
•“Show me the Statue of Liberty”
•“Show me directions from Washington DC to Philadelphia Pennsylvania”
Ask Siri about Local Businesses
•“Find coffee near me”
•“Where is Starbucks?”
•“Find some burger joints in Baltimore”
•“Find a gas station within walking distance”
•“Good Mexican restaurants around here”
Ask Siri to Send Text Messages (SMS)
•“Tell Susan I’ll be right there”
•“Send a message to Jason Russell”
•“Send a message to Lisa saying how about tomorrow”
•“Tell Jennifer the show was great”
•“Send a message to Susan on her mobile saying I’ll be late”
•“Send a message to 408 555 1212″
•“Text Jason and Lisa where are you?”
Ask Siri to Read Text Messages (SMS)
•“Read my new messages”
•“Read it again”
Ask Siri to Reply to Text Messages
•“Reply that’s great news”
•“Tell him I’ll be there in 10 minutes”
•“Call her”



Siri Commands: Music and Videos
•“Play The Light of the Sun”
•“Play Trouble”
•“Play Taking Back Sunday shuffled”
•“Play Alicia Keys”
•“Play some blues”
•“Play my party mix”
•“Shuffle my road trip playlist”
•“Play”
•“Pause”
•“Skip”
Ask Siri to Create and Find Notes
•“Note that I spent $12 on lunch”
•“Note: check out that new Alicia Keys album”
•“Find my restaurant note”
•“Create a reading list note”
•“Add Tom Sawyer to my reading list note”
Ask Siri to make a Phone Call
•“Call Jason”
•“Call Jennifer Wright mobile”
•“Call Susan on her work phone”
•“Call 408 555 1212″
•“Call home”
•“FaceTime Lisa”
•“Return missed call”
•“Redial last number”
Ask Siri about Voice Mail
•“Do I have new voice mail?”
•“Play voice mail from mom”
•“Play my last voice mail”
Ask Siri to make a FaceTime Call
•“Make a FaceTime call to Michael”
•“FaceTime Mom”
Ask Siri to set a Reminder
•“Remind me to call mom”
•“Remind me to call my mom when I get home”
•“Remember to take an umbrella”
•“Remind me take my medicine at 6am tomorrow”
•“Remind me to pick up flowers when I leave here”
•“Remind me when I leave to call Jason”
•“Remind me to finish the report by 6″
Ask Siri to check Stocks
•“What’s Apple’s stock price?”
•“What is Apple’s PE ratio?”
•“What did Yahoo close at today?”
•“How is the Nikkei doing?”
•“How are the markets doing?”
•“What is the Dow at?”
Ask Siri about the Weather
•“What’s the weather for today?”
•“What’s the weather for tomorrow?”
•“Will it rain in Cupertino this week?”
•“Check next week’s forecast for Burlington”
•“What’s the forecast for this evening?”
•“How’s the weather in Tampa right now?”
•“How hot will it be in Palm Springs this weekend?”
•“What’s the high for Anchorage on Thursday?”
•“What’s the temperature outside?”
•“How windy is it out there?”
•“When is sunrise in Paris?”