Eating red meat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes in recent years, leaving HCP’s  to tell their patients with heart disease to stay away from red meat all together .  Well, good news to meat lovers: a study from the Harvard school of Public Health just published this week showed that the risk of heart disease and diabetes is only with processed meats!!  Mostly, they found, that the risk of increased heart disease is due to the amount of salt, fat, and other chemicals used as preservatives.  A separate study, specifically on the ingestion of processed meats, showed an increased risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%.

What are some processed meats to avoid?
Bacon ( this one seriously makes me cry)
Bologna
Sausage
Salamis
Hot dogs
Spam
basically any meat in a can…..
and beware of all meat that is previously prepared (like in fast food restaurants, etc)

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can totally gorge in Filet Mignon daily BUT, it does mean that when you get a craving for steak, go get one!  And, if you want a hamburger, go for it.  What I like to do, since my Kitchenaide mixer rules my world, is to buy organic grass fed meat, and grind my own meat to make hamburgers (after watching food, inc. I can never eat meat from a grocery store again).

I still do encourage a diet high in fruits and veg  and fish, but I also realize the need for red meat that some people have (like me), so you don’t have to feel guilty for giving in to your red meat cravings, just eat meat smarter.  By smarter, I mean try to eat organic grass fed meat (from a local farm whenever possible)and stay away from processed meats whenever possible.  Don’t feel guilty about the 4th of July hot dog, or the Fenway frank every once in a while, but please try to not make it a habit.

Yours in Good Health
B

There is a social stigma related to herpes simplex virus, and I think mostly because people don’t really understand it, or want to talk about it! Firstly, more than 100 million Americans have been exposed to the HSV-1(herpes simplex virus 1)and most all of them were exposed as children, but only 5% as adults ever have outbreaks.  Approximately 40 million Americans have the HSV-2 (herpes simplex virus 2) virus and most of them were exposed as teenagers and adults.  HSV-1  is usually referred to as cold sores because historically HSV-1 is the type of herpes that hangs out, in its latent (inactive) form in the ganglion nerve near your jaw/ear so the outbreaks usually occur on your lips and lower face area. HSV-2 is the type of herpes that is located in its latent from in the base of the spine, therefore the active outbreaks occur in the groin/genital area.  So, now that I covered that, I will confuse you with the fact that now, due to the increased transmission rates (which I believe is due to people not understanding the disease or its transmission)you can have HSV-1 present in your groin and HSV-2 that will present in your face…awesome how viruses adapt to modern life, huh?  Mostly due to oral sex transmission is how this fun little adaptation occurred.  The good news is that HSV-1 in the groin has low rates of recurrent outbreaks, and same for HSV-2 present in the face.

HSV can have no signs or symptoms when latent, but still can be transmitted to another person (5% of people with HSV-1 can transmit through their saliva even in a latent phase.)  Although, it is most easily spread when there is an active outbreak.  HSV-1 is the most common of the two viruses, making it the most commonly spread of the two viruses.  The good news (kinda)?  If you have HSV-1, you have some immunity due to the creation of antibodies by your immune system, so you are at a lower risk for getting infected by HSV-2.

What can trigger HSV outbreaks?
UV light exposure (i.e. sunburns- so always wear SPF lip protection when in the sun if you are prone to cold sores)
Stress
Hormonal changes (PMS)
Cold, flu
Changes in the immune system
Trauma to the skin

How do I know an outbreak is coming?
Most people can tell a few hours before the outbreak occurs because they feel a tingling in the area that the virus is replicating, you can see redness, and feel some heat and pain in the area.  Within an hour or a couple of hours the sore occurs….they can be large vesicles that are fluid filled (appeared to be filled with pus) and are surrounded by a reddened area.  The first outbreak is usually the worst and all recurrent outbreaks are usually not as painful or large.

What can you do?  There are topical treatments that are over the counter, such as Abreva and Releev (benzalkonium chloride with echinacea).  Abreva claims to shorten cold sore duration by a few days, and Releev claims to relieve symptoms within 24 hours.  Prescription topical treatments are Acyclovir cream and Denavir cream, which claim to reduce cold sore times by only a half a day.  And a prescription oral pill is Valcyte which can be taken daily as a prevention for outbreaks, or can be taken at the first signs of outbreaks and can significantly decrease outbreak lengths.  BUT, all of these treatments need to be started before the vesicle (or sore) actually appears…so, at the first sign of tingling, you should have a treatment on hand (whichever your HCP suggests works best for you) and start treatment immediately.  And, as noted above, wear sunblock on areas prone to outbreaks, limit stress, and note when your outbreaks occur (are they PMS related?)

Also, people with decreased immune systems due to chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS, cancer, other illnesses, are at a much higher risk for outbreaks due to a decreased immune system, so if you are someone with a history of either HSV-1 or 2 and have any of these issues also, please discuss with your HCP and they will most likely give you a standing prescription for treatment.

If you are one of the MANY Americans affected by HSV, don’t be embarrassed!  So many people are affected, and granted it is not the best week of your life walking around with a sore on your face, but that is why there are drugs to treat it, and noticing the early signs are important, so that you can talk to your HCP about an standing prescription maybe or how best to treat/prevent your outbreaks.  And, bring this up with your HCP, there may be a stigma in the general public, but within the medical field, we understand and want to make your comfort and health a priority.  Talk to your HCP and bring it up, drop the stigma!!!

Yours in Good Health
B

It’s also Celiac Awareness Month!!!  Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress. Celiac disease is a digestive disease effecting the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.  People with the disease cannot tolerate gluten which is a protein in wheat, barley, and rye.  Gluten can also be found in many foods but also as a filler in many products that are not foods such as lip balms, medications, vitamins, supplements, etc.  Celiac disease is once of malabsorption and an immune response to gluten, which makes it a very uncomfortable and difficult disease to have.  The little villi (the finger-like protrusions in your small intenstine that absorb nutrients from the foodstuffs in your intestine)get destroyed by the immune response to the gluten. Without healthy villi, you will be malnourished because your body cannot absorb any of the nutrients from food.


Symptoms?  For Infants and children the symptoms are usually more digestive, but can vary person to person:
Abdominal pain and bloating
chronic diarrhea
vomiting
constipation
weight loss
pale, foul smelling, fatty stool
*for children, a poor nutrition at a young age can cause stunted growth, poor enamel on teeth, delayed puberty, and failure to thrive in infants

Symptoms for adults are usually more varied:
unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
fatigue
bone or joint pain
arthritis
bone loss or osteoporosis
depression/anxiety
tingling/numbness in hands or feet
seizures
missed menstrual periods
infertility or recurrent miscarriage
canker sores inside of mouth
itchy skin called dermititis herpetiformis

People with celiac disease may have no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Long-term complications include malnutrition—which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and miscarriage, among other problems—liver diseases, and cancers of the intestine.

Celiac disease affects people in all parts of the world. Originally thought to be a rare childhood syndrome, celiac disease is now known to be a common genetic disorder. More than 2 million people in the United States have the disease, or about 1 in 133 people. Among people who have a first-degree relative—a parent, sibling, or child—diagnosed with celiac disease, as many as 1 in 22 people may have the disease.  Celiac disease is also more common among people with other genetic disorders including Down syndrome and Turner syndrome, a condition that affects girls’ development.

Celiac disease is usually diagnosed through blood tests, biopsies of the small intestine (through endoscopy where a small tube is entered through the mouth into your stomach and a small sample is taken- don’t worry you will gets lots of happy drugs and not remember anything!!), through diagnosis of dermatitis herpetiformis, and through screening for autoantibodies (which is not routinely done in the US unless you have an affected family member).

Treatment?  A gluten-free diet!!!  It is much harder than you think…there seems to be gluten in everything these days.  Here are some foods that are allowed and should be avoided:

American Celiac Disease Alliance
2504 Duxbury Place
Alexandria, VA 22308
Phone: 703–622–3331
Email: info@americanceliac.org
Internet: www.americanceliac.org


American Dietetic Association
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60606–6995
Email: hotline@eatright.org
Internet: www.eatright.org


Celiac Disease Foundation
13251 Ventura Boulevard, #1
Studio City, CA 91604
Phone: 818–990–2354
Fax: 818–990–2379
Email: cdf@celiac.org
Internet: www.celiac.org


Celiac Sprue Association/USA Inc.
P.O. Box 31700
Omaha, NE 68131–0700
Phone: 1–877–CSA–4CSA (272–4272)
Fax: 402–643–4108
Email: celiacs@csaceliacs.org
Internet: www.csaceliacs.org


Children’s Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation
P.O. Box 6
Flourtown, PA 19031
Phone: 215–233–0808
Fax: 215–233–3918
Email: mstallings@naspghan.org
Internet: www.cdhnf.org
www.celiachealth.org


Gluten Intolerance Group of North America
31214 124th Avenue SE
Auburn, WA 98092–3667
Phone: 253–833–6655
Fax: 253–833–6675
Email: info@gluten.net
Internet: www.gluten.net


National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
224 South Maple Street
Ambler, PA 19002–0544
Phone: 215–325–1306
Email: info@celiaccentral.org
Internet: www.celiaccentral.org


North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
P.O. Box 6
Flourtown, PA 19031
Phone: 215–233–0808
Fax: 215–233–3918
Email: naspghan@naspghan.org
Internet: www.naspghan.org
www.cdhnf.org

The Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign

To meet the need for comprehensive and current information about celiac disease, the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), launched the Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign. The Awareness Campaign is the result of the combined ideas and efforts of the professional and voluntary organizations that focus on celiac disease, along with the NIDDK, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Visit www.celiac.nih.gov to learn more about the Awareness Campaign.

Potassium is an electrolyte that we all know we need, and just like sodium can be excreted through too much sweating, from vomiting/diarrhea, certain medications (like diuretics or laxatives), and not absorbed due to a poor diet.  Potassium is key in helping to regulate many of the bodies functions such as blood pressure, bone mass, the nervous system, muscle function, heart/kidney/adrenal gland functions.  One current reason why a lot of younger people become hypokalemic (low potassium levels) is due to fad diets like the ‘colon cleansing’ diets; you are taking in fluids, pills, etc that act as a diuretic,  because you are not eating a normal diet, having numerous bowel movements, and your potassium levels drop down. On the opposite side, hyperkalemia is usually due to kidney dysfunction (the inability to excrete potassium seen in renal failure and people on dialysis), with disorders of the adrenal glands, and due to certain medications like ACE inhibitors (cardiac medication), Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs  (i.e. ibuprofen), Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (cardiac medication), and potassium-sparing diuretics (i.e. aldosterone).

I know that this isn’t the most uplifting  of topics, but really important for your own wellness and for those around you.  May is mental health awareness and suicide prevention month.  Depression is a very serious problem, that can cause an array of health issues, but be easily overlooked by oneself and by people close to you.  SOmetimes it is just a feeling of not being “right” or feeling “off” or being really sad or listless, and it can effect different age groups in different ways.  This is a topic that is really important to me, and I think should be better screened for by HCP’s in general, but I look towards patients and their family members to mention if you see any of these signs or symptoms because if you don’t tell us what is really going on, it is very difficult for us to notice these symptoms during your appointment:

-Feelings of sadness or unhappiness
-Irritability or frustration, even over small matters
-Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
-Reduced sex drive
-Insomnia or excessive sleeping
-Changes in appetite — depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss, but in some people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain
-Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing, or new aggression
-Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
-Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration
-Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy — even small tasks may seem to require a lot of effort
-Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things aren’t going right
-Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
-Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
-Crying spells for no apparent reason
-Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches that aren’t related to allergies, etc. that don’t respond to OTC medications (i.e. ibuprofen, acetaminophen)


Young Children: can show signs of hopelessness, sadness, worry.


Teens: Can be irritable, anxious, angry, and avoid social interactions. Also, changes in sleep patterns….are they up all night for no reason?  Sleeping excessively?   We also need to be aware that during the teenage years is when other mental disorders can start to become prominent.


Elderly: fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of interest in sex, feel bored and helpless or worthless, and avoiding social interactions.  With the elderly, there are usually other health issues involved, so people can tend to link in the symptoms of depression with their other disease processes, so it is important to b aware of the signs.




For some people the signs are really severe and very obvious, but for other people, they are very subtle and occur over a period of time making them much harder to notice.  But, awareness of the signs is the first step, so please take notice in your own life and of your loved ones and do a mini checklist to see if they have these symptoms.  If you or your loved ones do, please call your HCP and make an appointment to talk about it, OR if you want to talk to someone immediately, you can call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.  I also encourage you to talk to anyone…a friend, family member, clergy member. Talk to anyone you feel comfortable with because the first step to getting help is to realize that there is a problem.


If you/your friends/loved ones have thoughts of suicide or homicide please seek help immediately and call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Department for help.


Yours In Good Health


B

Sorry fellows that this has been a very girly week of topics…but, that’s just where my mind is, and the requests I’ve been getting!!

There is a product that I have been using for years, I love them (cue the cute dogs, girls sharing giggles over  a cup of coffee, etc) which is a feminine hygiene product called Instead.   It is a product created by a nurse, and can be left in for 12 hours at a time, and it is an amazing product!!  It is shaped like a diaphragm, except the plastic is really thin.  It is a soft collection cup that cannot be felt while it is inside you; you squeeze it and then insert while in a sitting position and it pops right into place outside of your cervix.  To remove, just stick one finger up, grab the edge and pull down.  It is amazing because you can “set it and forget it”, I have never had issues with leaking or the product falling out, becoming uncomfortable, etc.  And, what really sold me?  You can still go and get your bikini wax and no one is any the wiser that you have your period!  Also, it can be in place so that you can have relations, and it’s your little secret 🙂

Now, there are other products on the market that are similar, but this is the one that I find most comfortable and easy to use.  It should be noted that it is not the most eco-friendly as they are disposable after each use; diaphragms can be used, cleaned, and reused; I will be honest with you, that kind of creeps me out.  I am sure that some of you reading this think this whole concept is creepy, you do need to be comfortable with your own body, but I think that the true security of knowing that I won’t have any embarrassing high school moments at the beach or in white this summer is totally worth it.

You should give these a try and let me know what you think…check out the web site www.softcup.com. The one problem that I must make you aware of, is that outside of a random Walgreens in San Francisco, I cannot find them in traditional stores, so I by them either at Amazon.com or www.drugstore.com but I but 6 months at a time, so it doesn’t really impede my life at all!  If anyone knows other places to find them, please let me know!!

I hope you guys try them and like them!

Yours in Good Health

B