Licensed from Woman’s Day 10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory

By Sarah Jio, Woman’s Day
Mon, Aug 30, 2010

What’s the name of your daughter’s teacher, and where did you put your keys again? If you’ve ever wished you could do some simple things to sharpen your memory skills, you can. We’ve talked to the experts and compiled the latest thinking on improving the muscles in your brain associated with memory.

1. Talk with your hands.
It may sound strange, but waving your hands and gesturing while trying to learn a concept may help your brain remember something important, says Jeff Brown, PsyD, ABPP, coauthor of The Winner’s Brain. “Gesturing in a meaningful way while you are learning may help you when recalling the concept,” he says. “The idea is that you are storing at least two different types of information about something you’ll need to recall later. A good example of this is when kids speak math problems aloud, but also ‘work them’ in the air.” Tactics to try: When you’ve just learned someone’s name, “write” it down on the palm of your hand with your finger. The act of tracing the letters on your palm (discreetly, of course) can help your brain remember it, says Dr. Brown. Or, “Air-write on an imaginary map of your grocery store or mall as you name aloud the items or stores you need to remember when shopping.”

2. Take a chill pill.
Learning to calm down and not carry as much stress can help your brain in significant ways, says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, PT, a psychologist and physical therapist in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and the author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. “The best tip to improve your memory is: Reduce your stress,” says Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that when people experience chronic stress, their hippocampus—the part of your brain that is responsible for some memories—literally shrinks in size.” In fact, a 2007 study in the journal Neurology by researchers at Rush University Medical School found that people who are easily distressed and had more negative emotions were more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people. How to reduce your stress? Consider delegating more tasks at work, clearing your social calendar for the weekend (there’s nothing wrong with having nothing on the calendar!) and purging negative relationships from your life.

3. Get plenty of zzz’s.
You’ve heard the concept of “sleeping on it” when you’re faced with a problem or difficult decision, right? Well, getting a good night’s sleep can help you improve your memory, too. “Sleep is critical for memory consolidation,” says Dr. Brown. “Getting at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep following exposure to new information can help in the recall of that information.” But there’s an important side note: “The trick is going directly to bed without inserting any new information or activity between what you want to recall and going to sleep—no reading, no TV, no sex, no music.”

4. Eat more fruits and veggies.
Eating your spinach—and carrots and peas—is not only good for your body, it’s good for your memory, too. A recent Harvard study found that people who ate more vegetables had a slower decline of brain function as they aged. “Other studies, such as one published in Pharmacology, have shown that essential brain-boosting nutrients found in certain produce, such as quercetin and anthocyanin, may reverse memory loss,” says Tosca Reno, a health and fitness expert and author of the bestselling book The Eat-Clean Diet. You can find these compounds in cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cabbage, as well as in leafy greens, including kale, spinach and Swiss chard. Also load up on brightly colored produce such as berries, red apples, eggplant and grapes—their bright hue is an indication of their brain-boosting antioxidants.

5. Join a book club.
Not only is reading great for your brain, but discussing what you’ve read can improve your memory by leaps and bounds, says Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD. In fact, a book club with your closest girlfriends may help strengthen your brain’s frontal lobe function. “The frontal lobe is the last region of the brain to develop, but the first to decline with age,” explains Dr. Chapman. “To strengthen function of the frontal lobe, engage in deeper-level thinking activities such as interpreting what you read in a book, discussing the ‘larger messages’ in the book and pushing to see how many meanings you can derive from it.”

6. Go to yoga class.
What can a downward-facing-dog pose do for your memory? A lot, says Gina Norman, a yoga teacher in New York City. “A new study out of the University of North Carolina shows that brief meditative exercise helps cognition and skills essential to critical thinking,” she says. But if you’re not into yoga, exercise of any kind works to boost your brain, says Dr. Lombardo. “Research shows that exercise increases the blood flow to all areas of your body, including the brain and specifically areas involved in memory,” she says. “One study found that mice who exercised grew new brain cells in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus which can be affected by declines in memory as we get older.” Short on time? “Try running up a flight of stairs, jogging to a bathroom that is farther away from you, doing 50 jumping jacks, putting on a great song and dancing around, or grabbing your child’s hand and jumping on the bed together.”

7. Sniff some rosemary.
Parsley and sage are great, as is thyme, but when it comes to improving memory, rosemary is king. In a recent study, UK researchers looked at scents and how they boosted or detracted from mental performance. They found that office workers whose cubicles were infused with the scent of rosemary had better long-term memory than those in unscented cubes. “There are other essential oils that can help with memory, but rosemary is by far the best and most economical,” says Cher Core, an aromatherapist in Boston. “Diffuse rosemary essential oil in the air, wear it in a perfume, use it in mists and more. It is a good choice for those studying and folks who need help with memory, focus and concentration.”

8. Pay attention.
Duh, right? It may sound obvious, but according to experts, when most people think they’re having memory problems, it’s really because they were distracted or didn’t record the information in their brain properly to begin with, says Linda Edelstein, PhD, adjunct faculty at Northwestern University and the author of The Art of Midlife. “When people cannot retrieve information it is often because they haven’t taken it in in the first place,” she says. “You cannot recall information that you did not store.” The number-one trick to paying closer attention? Stop multitasking and be fully present. That means setting down the BlackBerry while lunching with your friend, turning off the TV when you’re trying to read something and not letting your eyes—or mind—wander when chatting with someone at a party. You’ll be more likely to remember the person’s name.

9. Learn a new song.
Have you ever found yourself singing along to a song you love that debuted 10 years ago, and yet you still don’t know the lyrics? Learning the words could be fun, but it could also be good for your memory in general. By memorizing a song, “you will be working out at least two different kinds of memory, auditory and verbal, which is probably something you don’t do very often,” says Cynthia Green, PhD, an expert on brain health and memory. “The research suggests that constantly challenging our brains with intellectual pursuits may boost our ‘cognitive reserve’ and can have the associated benefit of reducing our dementia risk over the long-term.”

10. Go ahead and doodle.
When’s the last time you grabbed a pencil and paper and let your mind go—drawing hearts and rainbows, or whatever scene or object popped into your head? Surprisingly, says Dr. Green, a free-flowing pen could be the key to strengthening your brain’s memory centers. “Doodling has been found in studies to boost concentration, which is an essential first step to learning and memory,” says Dr. Green. “After all, if you can’t focus on information, you don’t acquire it effectively, and you can never remember something you don’t learn in the first place!”

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7 Ways to Protect Your Vision

Eat Dark, Leafy Greens
Spinach, kale, collard greens, and other deep-colored vegetables contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that “have been associated with reducing the risk of developing cataracts and macular degeneration,” says Emily Bedrick Graubart, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Emory Eye Center and the Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta. Try to eat two servings a day―for example, a handful of spinach in your salad at lunch and a side of broccoli at dinner.
Enlist Antioxidants
Foods such as berries, oranges, plums, and cherries help minimize free-radical damage, which is caused by environmental factors (like sunlight and pollution) and can quicken the hardening of lenses and contribute to cataracts and macular degeneration. Eat at least two servings a day―a cup of blueberries with your breakfast, say, and an orange as an afternoon snack.
Take a Multivitamin
A National Eye Institute study showed that supplements with antioxidant vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and the minerals copper and zinc slowed the progression of advanced macular degeneration in high-risk patients. And a recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid may also help. Still other studies suggest that vitamins may delay the onset of cataracts. “Take a multivitamin with minerals every day as a good preventative step,” Graubart says. (If you have a family history of macular degeneration or cataracts, your eye doctor may suggest further supplements.)
Get Your Omega-3s
You’ve heard that they’re good for your heart, but “evidence suggests omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish, such as salmon, halibut, and tuna, can help maintain the eyes’ protective tear film, minimize dry eyes, and even prevent cataracts,” says Ruth D. Williams, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Eat two to three servings a week, or consider taking a fish-oil supplement every day. Also cut down on red meat: A recent study showed that high consumption levels may increase the risk of macular degeneration.
Crunch on Carrots, Too
These crisp vegetables, as well as other orange offerings, like pumpkin and butternut squash, contain beta-carotene, a carotenoid that may help keep eyes healthy.
Swear by Sunglasses
UV light is a major player in the hardening of the lenses and the development of cataracts and macular degeneration. In fact, “one thing shown to impede cataract formation is UV protection,” says Jill Koury, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Duke University Eye Center, in Durham, North Carolina. That means it’s important to wear sunglasses with dark lenses that filter out 100 percent of UV rays (the label should indicate this) whenever you’re outside. Koury also tells patients to put on a hat. “All glasses allow some light in through the tops and the sides,” she says. “It bounces off your cheeks and right into your eyes.” Choose one that has a brim of at least four inches.
Elevate Your Heart Rate
Some studies have indicated that aerobic exercise can decrease the pressure inside the eyes, helping reduce the risk for glaucoma. Aim for three 30-minute workouts a week―walking, jogging, using a cardio machine, or taking a class at the gym.

Navigating that puzzling chocolate terminology

By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:32am PDT
Related topics: Health, Food and Drink, How-To
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

It’s hardly a secret that cooking fresh foods at home is better for your health, waistline, pocket book, and the planet than choosing packaged foods or eating take-out.
Does that mean you can eat anything you want as long as you prepare it yourself? Unfortunately, most of us need to steer clear of high-calorie foods that contain too much fat and salt.
But this doesn’t mean that decadent foods are off limits. Below are 10 classic comfort foods that have been tweaked to reduce calories, fat, and/or salt. The best part is that they taste delicious, but you won’t feel guilty or overly stuffed afterwards.
Brownies: Substituting instant coffee and unsweetened coconut powder for some of the chocolate pumps up flavor and reduces the fat for these rich chocolaty treats by more than 50% and cuts calories by about a third.
Mac and cheese: Pureed squash and low-fat milk create a creamy texture with fewer calories and less fat than classic versions. Extra sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, part-skim ricotta, and Parmesan round out the flavor.
Nachos: Using roasted pork instead of ground beef, pinto beans instead of canned refried beans, and other fresh ingredients cuts 60% of the calories, 75% of the saturated fat, and more than half of the sodium found in traditional recipes without sacrificing any of the taste.
Whoopee pies: This is a lighter version of the classic treat, a sandwich of cakey chocolate cookies with a creamy filling. Yum.
Chicken pot pie: Boiling root veggies instead of sauteing, revamping the traditional white sauce, and other smart tweaks helps cut calories and sodium by about 75% and saturated fat by 96% for this classic one-pot dish.
Chicken Parmesan: Some really smart substitutions cut calories and fat without sacrificing flavor, such as using egg white to coat pounded chicken instead of whole egg and milk and using balsamic vinegar instead of red wine to flavor sauce. The result? A dish that contains 435 calories and 14 grams of fat instead of one with 1095 calories and 66 grams of fat.
Pumpkin bread: This recipe uses about 1 cup less sugar and about half the amount of oil found in traditional recipes. Buttermilk is the secret ingredient used to keep this lighter version moist. Eliminates 100 calories per slice and more than half the fat.
Decadent chocolate cake: There’s no butter, fewer eggs, and less sugar and chocolate in this made-over version of chocolate cake. Cocoa powder, espresso powder, Greek yogurt, and canola oil are added for flavor and moisture.
Burger and fries: The burger has less than half the calories of traditional versions and about 400% less fat thanks to proper portion sizes, a smoky sweet relish, and other smart ideas. Potato strips are soaked in water and then baked at high heat to create low-fat, crisp fries.
Warm chocolate pudding: This recipe uses good quality cocoa and low-fat milk to create an easy, delicious, lighter version of the rich classic.
Looking for more recipes? Here are 25 low calorie dessert recipes. You can also check out Food Network’s Healthy Meal Makers series and Cook Light’s Recipe Makeovers.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

10 decadent foods with half the guilt

By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:32am PDT
Related topics: Health, Food and Drink, How-To
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

It’s hardly a secret that cooking fresh foods at home is better for your health, waistline, pocket book, and the planet than choosing packaged foods or eating take-out.
Does that mean you can eat anything you want as long as you prepare it yourself? Unfortunately, most of us need to steer clear of high-calorie foods that contain too much fat and salt.
But this doesn’t mean that decadent foods are off limits. Below are 10 classic comfort foods that have been tweaked to reduce calories, fat, and/or salt. The best part is that they taste delicious, but you won’t feel guilty or overly stuffed afterwards.
Brownies: Substituting instant coffee and unsweetened coconut powder for some of the chocolate pumps up flavor and reduces the fat for these rich chocolaty treats by more than 50% and cuts calories by about a third.
Mac and cheese: Pureed squash and low-fat milk create a creamy texture with fewer calories and less fat than classic versions. Extra sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, part-skim ricotta, and Parmesan round out the flavor.
Nachos: Using roasted pork instead of ground beef, pinto beans instead of canned refried beans, and other fresh ingredients cuts 60% of the calories, 75% of the saturated fat, and more than half of the sodium found in traditional recipes without sacrificing any of the taste.
Whoopee pies: This is a lighter version of the classic treat, a sandwich of cakey chocolate cookies with a creamy filling. Yum.
Chicken pot pie: Boiling root veggies instead of sauteing, revamping the traditional white sauce, and other smart tweaks helps cut calories and sodium by about 75% and saturated fat by 96% for this classic one-pot dish.
Chicken Parmesan: Some really smart substitutions cut calories and fat without sacrificing flavor, such as using egg white to coat pounded chicken instead of whole egg and milk and using balsamic vinegar instead of red wine to flavor sauce. The result? A dish that contains 435 calories and 14 grams of fat instead of one with 1095 calories and 66 grams of fat.
Pumpkin bread: This recipe uses about 1 cup less sugar and about half the amount of oil found in traditional recipes. Buttermilk is the secret ingredient used to keep this lighter version moist. Eliminates 100 calories per slice and more than half the fat.
Decadent chocolate cake: There’s no butter, fewer eggs, and less sugar and chocolate in this made-over version of chocolate cake. Cocoa powder, espresso powder, Greek yogurt, and canola oil are added for flavor and moisture.
Burger and fries: The burger has less than half the calories of traditional versions and about 400% less fat thanks to proper portion sizes, a smoky sweet relish, and other smart ideas. Potato strips are soaked in water and then baked at high heat to create low-fat, crisp fries.
Warm chocolate pudding: This recipe uses good quality cocoa and low-fat milk to create an easy, delicious, lighter version of the rich classic.
Looking for more recipes? Here are 25 low calorie dessert recipes. You can also check out Food Network’s Healthy Meal Makers series and Cook Light’s Recipe Makeovers.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Scariest New Restaurant Foods

there’s an arms race going on, and it could mean disaster for your waistline.

But this terrifying competition to build the biggest, scariest weapons of mass destruction isn’t happening between the United States and Russia, or on the Korean peninsula, or among angry rivals somewhere in the Middle East. It’s happening between America’s restaurants—every one of them, it seems, is eager to show it has the biggest, scariest, most destructive new food in the marketplace. And the unsuspecting victims of this Strangelovian contest? You and me.

See, even the most well-established restaurant chains can’t rest on their laurels, serving the same old standbys that we’ve loved since we were kids. They have to keep us interested and attracted with shiny new bells and whistles. And since no one has invented, say, a new kind of potato, they’ve got to go with the next best thing: gimmicky entrees with terrifyingly complicated ingredient lists and rapidly expanding serving sizes. It wasn’t enough that pizza makers started putting cheese inside the crust! Kentucky Fried Chicken saw that and ramped up its own destructive powers, by making a sandwich in which the bread is replaced by slabs of fried chicken. Then a few major league ballparks started serving their burgers on doughnuts instead of buns. What’s next: fried Fluffernutter franks?
Almost. Take a look at what’s being whipped up in the labs of the mad fast-food scientists, compliments of the upcoming Eat This, Not That! 2011 book, and be afraid—be very afraid!

Scary Meal #5
Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt with wavy fries and marinara
1,260 calories
63 g fat (21 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,010 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 18 T.G.I. Friday’s Frozen Cheddar & Bacon Potato Skins

Apparently, Denny’s deemed the classic grilled cheese too boring for our novelty seeking taste buds, so they fixed it by driving four deep-fried cheese sticks into the core of the sandwich. So what you end up with are cheese sticks with extra cheese between slabs of buttered bread and a pile of fried potatoes on the side. If Denny’s was serious about improving the grilled cheese, they would have skipped the novelty and brought in big-flavor ingredients like sautéed mushrooms or sliced figs. But, of course, if they did that, they might not be able to sell this entire meal for $4. Here’s to cheap food and expensive health care!
Eat This Instead!
Denny’s BLT with Hash Browns
730 calories
47 g fat (10.5 g saturated)
1,270 mg sodium
Bonus tip! For FREE instant health and nutrition tips every day, click here to follow me on Twitter. Some followers have lost 20 pounds or more just by adopting the super-simple tips.

Scary Meal #4
IHOP New York Cheesecake Pancakes
1,270 calories

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 28 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets

Further blurring the line between dessert and breakfast, IHOP has infused their fluffy flapjacks with gooey hunks of cheesecake. Next thing you know they’ll be serving breakfast with big scoops of ice cream and chocolate syrup. The best breakfast is one with protein and fresh fruit, but if you’re going to go for the carb-heavy indulgence, there’s a better way to do it. Don’t make it a habit, but IHOP’s Chocolate Chip Pancakes will save you 660 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
610 calories

Bonus Tip: Novelty isn’t the only thing threatening your waistline; some of the world’s most dangerous foods are also the most common. Beware of these gut bombs: The 10 Worst Fast Food Meals in America.

Scary Meal #3
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt
1,500 calories
97 g fat (38 g saturated)
2,090 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 15 Snickers Kudos Granola Bars
Is this a joke? Because it should be. Where a normal hamburger has buns, this one has grilled cheese sandwiches. Yes, that’s two grilled-cheese sandwiches with one hunk of ground beef wedged between them. Other iterations of this sandwich have been dubbed “fatty melts”—for obvious reasons. They have twice as much cheese and bread as a regular cheeseburger.
Eat This Instead!
Grilled Cheese
790 calories
37 g fat (12 g saturated
1,280 mg sodium
Bonus Tip: Yes, you too have abs—you just can’t see them. (They’re like the third cousins you met at a past family reunion.) But with the right diet and fitness plan, you’ll slim down and tone up in no time, and get the abs back. Check out our list of the 50 Hottest Celebrity Bodies, and put their secrets to work for you.

Scary Meal #2
Uno Chicago Grill Lobster BLT Thin Crust Pizza
1,530 calories
87 g fat (30 g saturated)
3,480 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 51 Nabisco Ginger Snap Cookies

On its own, lobster is sweet, healthy, and loaded with lean protein. Yet, for some reason, restaurants never seem to know what to do with it. Case in point: Lobster BLT Pizza, an amalgam of foods that don’t quite fit together: One is seafood, one is diner grub, and one is an Italian-American hybrid. We’re all for trying new things, but not when the toll is 75 percent of your day’s calories and 1½ day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat.

Eat This Instead!
Lobster Wrap with side of roasted vegetables
570 calories
30.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium
Special Offer: Take control of your body, your mind, and your health by joining our community of 21 million monthly readers. Subscribe to Men’s Health and Women’s Health today with a special rate that saves you more than 65% off the cover price. You won’t find a better deal—and you’ll never feel more empowered!

Scary Meal #1
Applebee’s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine
1,550 calories
97 g fat (46 g saturated)
3,910 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 148 Whoppers Malted Milk Balls

Yes, America has a cheese fetish, but this is just excessive. Cheese-filled meatballs? It’s like a beef-based Gusher, a sort of meaty water balloon of fat. Especially problematic is the fact that said meatballs are served on a bed of fettuccine Alfredo, which is basically flat noodles basting in oil, butter, and—yes—cheese. Cut more than a thousand calories by switching dishes. A smart swap like this one (and the hundreds of others in Eat This, Not That!) a couple times a week and you can lose 2½ pounds a month without ever dieting!

Eat This Instead!
Spicy Shrimp Diavolo
500 calories
10 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
1,910 mg sodium

Help for Women Who Are Forced to Get Pregnant

her latest research, co-authored with Jay Silverman of the Harvard School of Public Health and others, Miller concludes that tSOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/g77n Obs By BELINDA LUSCOMBE Belinda Luscombe – Tue Aug 31, 5:30 am ET
The old stereotype of the gold-digging hussy who gets pregnant to trap a man into marriage seems to have faded, probably because women are not as economically dependent on men as they once were. But that’s not to say that pregnancy is no longer being wielded as a weapon: researchers who work in family planning and with victims of domestic violence say it is women who are now being threatened with pregnancy by their partners.
Reproductive coercion, as it’s known, takes several forms. Partners may verbally or physically threaten women if they use birth control or seek abortions, or they throw away or damage birth control and remove condoms during sex. It usually takes place within an already abusive relationship, especially those that are emotionally abusive. (See when you can get pregnant after a miscarriage.)
“It’s another way a male partner tries to control a female partner,” says Elizabeth Miller, associate professor of pediatrics at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine, who has led much of what little research there is on the issue. “Women say their partner tells them he wants to leave a legacy or have them in his life forever.”
In a study Miller published in January, involving about 1,300 female patients ages 16 to 29 at family-planning clinics in Northern California, about a third of those who reported being in violent relationships said they had ehere may be a simple and cost-effective way to help women who are in danger of being intimidated into pregnancy. Simply asking women who visit family planning clinics if their partner has ever tried to force them to get pregnant, and providing them with information on how to deal with it, can help spur women to get out of abusive relationships or take measures to protect themselves.
The pilot study, published online by Contraception, included about 900 patients, most of whom were aged 24 or younger, who visited four Northern California family-planning clinics between May 2008 and October 2009. Counselors and clinicians at two of the clinics were trained to ask women about reproductive coercion. (Questions included, “Has your partner tried to force you to become pregnant when you didn’t want to be?” “Does your partner mess with your birth control” and “Does your partner refuse to use condoms when you ask?”) Women who responded yes to any question were offered advice on tamper-proof methods of pregnancy protection, including IUDs and Depo-Provera shots, and given emergency contraception. At the two other clinics, women were simply offered standard domestic-violence and sexual-assault screening. (See “The Abortion Battleground: Crisis Pregnancy Centers.”)
At the sites where advice on contraception was offered, the odds of subsequent pregnancy coercion dropped by 70%; there was no change at the other two clinics. Moreover, it seemed that the probing about coercive reproduction served as a wake-up call to some women. “In the intervention clinics, women were 60% more likely to have left a relationship because it felt unsafe,” says Miller.
While the study was just a pilot, Miller is hoping to conduct a follow-up to find out exactly what triggered the profound changes in behavior among the women. It’s not clear how common reproductive coercion is, but estimated figures – and anecdotal evidence – suggest it may be quite widespread, especially among women in abusive relationships. That would help to explain the higher rates of unwanted pregnancy in relationships involving violence.
The clinics in Miller’s latest study gave patients cards with information about what a healthy relationship looks like. “We told the women to pass them along to their friends,” she says. “One woman asked: ‘Can I have 10 of them?'”

Weight loss cuts risk of pregnancy complication

Lowe Rachael Myers Lowe – Fri Aug 27, 1:35 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Losing the weight gained during pregnancy is a real struggle for many new mothers. But dropping just 10 pounds between pregnancies may help many women diagnosed with a dangerous complication during the first pregnancy to avoid a recurrence the second time around.
Preeclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure, protein in the urine and swelling, occurs in about 5 percent of American pregnancies every year.
“It can be more systemic than just high blood pressure. It can affect the liver, kidneys and the body’s blood clotting system,” Dr. Dorothea Mostello told Reuters Health. It’s one of the leading causes of maternal death in childbirth in the developed world, she added.
Mostello, based at the St. Louis School of Medicine, is lead author of a new study in the September issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Mostello and colleagues wanted to know if women could do anything to reduce their risk of a recurrence during a second pregnancy.
Previous research by the team showed that pre-pregnancy weight is one of the “strongest risk factors for recurrence.” Because other research suggests that losing even a small amount of weight offers health benefits, such as reduced risk of heart disease, they wanted to know if it would reduce the risk of preeclampsia too.
They analyzed the medical records of nearly 18,000 Missouri women who gave birth twice between 1989 and 2005 and developed preeclampsia during the first pregnancy.
Before their second pregnancies, 1417 of the women had weighed less than before their first, 8,783 had remained about the same, and 8,798 had weighed more. The women who maintained their weights were used as the control group.
Overall, about 16 percent of these Missouri women developed preeclampsia during their second pregnancies. Of the women who had lost weight between pregnancies, 13 percent had a recurrence while 15 percent of women who maintained their weight and nearly 19 percent of those who gained weight had a recurrence.
Small changes in maternal weight between pregnancies — as little as 10 pounds for an average height overweight woman — “significantly alter the risk of preeclampsia recurrence,” across all weight categories, the authors note.
“If you are overweight and you lose weight, your rate (of preeclampsia recurrence) is as low as someone in the normal weight category, and if you are overweight and gain weight, your rate is as high as someone in the obese category. Similarly, if normal weight people gain weight they have as high a risk as overweight people,” Mostello said.
Researchers don’t know why some women develop preeclampsia and others don’t. Being African American appears to be a risk factor, so is being overweight or obese. While a woman can’t do anything about her genetics, she may be able to reduce her risk of a recurrence by “modest, generally achievable degrees of weight loss before pregnancy,” the authors conclude.
Few options exist for lowering a woman’s risk of developing preeclampsia in her second pregnancy, the authors write. Losing weight between pregnancies “is the most reasonable measure to meaningfully lower the risk,” they conclude.
“Most weight-loss programs can get you a 10 or 15 pound weight loss,” Mostello said.
The findings also underscore the need for uninterrupted healthcare between pregnancies, Mostello said. “This is the period where we can make a real difference,” she said.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/g77n Obstetrics & Gynecology September 2010.

Teen sex not always bad for school performance

By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Alicia Chang, Ap Science Writer – Sun Aug 15, 2:09 pm ET
LOS ANGELES – There’s good news for parents who worry that their teenagers’ sex lives are affecting their school performance: A provocative new study has found that teens in committed relationships do no better or worse in school than those who don’t have sex.
The same isn’t true for teens who “hook up.” Researchers found that those who have casual flings get lower grades and have more school-related problems compared with those who abstain.
The findings, presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Sociological Association in Atlanta, challenge to some extent assumptions that sexually active teens tend to do poorer in school.
It’s not so much whether a teen has sex that determines academic success, the researchers say, but the type of sexual relationship they’re engaged in. Teens in serious relationships may find social and emotional support in their sex partners, reducing their anxiety and stress levels in life and in school.
“This should give some comfort to parents who may be concerned that their teenage son or daughter is dating,” said sociologist Peggy Giordano of Bowling Green State University, who had no role in the research. Teen sex is “not going to derail their educational trajectories,” she said.
Last year, nearly half of high school students reported having sexual intercourse, and 14 percent have had four or more partners, according to a federal survey released this summer.
For the study, University of California, Davis sociologist Bill McCarthy and University of Minnesota sociologist Eric Grodsky analyzed surveys and school transcripts from the largest national follow-up study of teens that began during the 1994-95 academic year. The researchers said not much has changed in terms of when teens first have sex or attitudes toward teen sex in the past decade.
The duo examined how teens’ sexual behaviors affected their learning and controlled for factors that might influence their results.
Among the findings:
_Teens in serious relationships did not differ from their abstinent counterparts in terms of their grade-point average, how attached they are to school or college expectations. They were also not more likely to have problems in school, be suspended or absent.
_Compared with virgins, teens who have casual sex had lower GPAs, cared less about school and experienced more problems in school. For example, female teens who have flings had GPAs that were 0.16 points lower than abstinent teens. Male teens who have casual sex had GPAs that were 0.30 points lower than those who do not have sex. Teens who hook up also were at greater risk of being suspended or expelled and had lower odds of expecting to go to college.
_Teens who have sex — whether it’s a serious or casual relationship — were at higher risk of being truant and dropping out compared with teens who don’t have sex. The researchers said the dropout results should be interpreted with caution because the numbers were small.
“Having sex outside of a romantic relationship may exacerbate the stress youths experience, contributing to problems in school,” Grodsky said.
In a statement, the Family Research Council said the study confirms what the group has long advocated about the negative consequences of casual sex.
But the council said it “would not interpret less severe educational impacts on students involved in `committed’ sexual relationships as a green light for comprehensive” sex education.
University of Southern California sociologist Julie Albright disagreed. She said it might be time to revamp sex education to “emphasize the importance of relationships and spell out the consequences of casual sex.”
The study dispels the notion that all teen sex is bad, said Marie Harvey, professor of public health at Oregon State University.
“The type of relationship really matters. When it comes to sexual behavior, it takes two to tango,” said Harvey, adding that safe sex should be practiced to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Online:
American Sociological Association: http://www.asanet.or

Clues to Heart Attack, Stroke Risk From Fat-Filled Artery

– Mon Aug 30, 11:48 pm ET
MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) — A number of factors put patients with abnormal fatty deposits in an artery at high risk for heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, a new study shows.
Patients in various stages of this condition — atherothrombosis — are at increased risk for heart attack and stroke stemming from reduced blood flow from the artery blockage, but some are at greater risk than others. In an analysis of more than 45,000 patients, the researchers found that patients with abnormal fatty deposits in an artery were at highest risk if they had a prior history of heart attack or other emergencies linked to an artery blockage.
Narrowing of the arteries in various locations also substantially increased the risk for patients with atherothrombosis, as did diabetes for all the patients — even those with only the risk factors for atherothrombosis.
Knowing that these factors boost the risk can help physicians take preventive action, according to the researchers, who are from the VA Boston Healthcare System, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
The researchers analyzed data from 45,227 patients enrolled in an international study known as Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) between 2003 and 2004. They collected detailed information from the patients when they enrolled and conducted follow-ups one, two, three and four years later.
They found that 81.3 percent of the patients had hypertension, 70.4 percent had high cholesterol levels in the blood, and 15.9 percent had polyvascular disease (narrowing of the arteries in numerous locations). In addition, 48.4 percent of the patients had “ischemic events” — prior heart attacks, unstable angina or other problems related to the artery blockage, with 28.1 percent of those patients having had such an event within the previous year.
During the follow-up period, 2,315 patients suffered cardiovascular death, 1,228 had a heart attack, 1,898 had a stroke, and 40 had a heart attack and a stroke on the same day.
The researchers found that patients with atherothrombosis with a prior history of heart attacks and other events related to a blood vessel blockage had the highest rate of subsequent cardiac emergencies linked to blood flow problems. Patients with stable heart, cerebrovascular or peripheral artery disease had a lower risk, while the risk was lowest among those with risk factors for atherothrombosis but without established disease.
“Among all categories of patients, diabetes substantially increase the risk of future ischemic events,” the study authors wrote. “In those with established atherothrombosis, polyvascular disease was a particularly strong independent risk factor, even stronger than diabetes.”
The findings show that “there is a whole spectrum of [emergencies relating to artery blockage and blood flow] in patients with risk factors or with established cardiovascular disease — easily ascertainable clinical characteristics are the prominent factors associated with a high risk of future ischemic events,” they concluded.
The study appears online and in the Sept. 22 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and is slated to be presented Monday at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Sweden.

Skin6 Best Foods for Healthy

1. SALMON
Salmon is an ideal food for many reasons, but as far as your skin’s concerned, there’s only one that matters: It’s among the world’s greatest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Those are the essential fats that, along with bolstering the cognitive powers of your brain, concentrate in the walls of your epidermal cells to help lock in moisture. Plus, in one study, researchers supplemented two groups of mice with either omega-3 or omega-6 fats. After two weeks, the skin of the omega-3-fed group exhibited a 20 percent faster recovery rate from exposure to ultraviolet light. That gives salmon two crucial skin boons: keeping your skin from looking dry and helping it battle the dangers of excessive sunlight.
Other omega-3 foods: sardines, walnuts, flaxseed.
2. CARROTS
Carrots are teeming with tiny orange pigments called beta-carotene, and when you ingest those pigments, you’re inviting them to nestle into your skin, fill in blotches, and give you a healthy glow. And what’s more, research shows that this can actually help prevent premature aging from sun damage. But is the accumulation of orange in your skin going to make you look like an extra from Jersey Shore? Well, hopefully not. But eating excessive loads of carotene-rich foods can lead to a condition called carotenosis, wherein your skin stops looking healthy and starts looking, well, orange. But the conditions is rare, so unless you notice yourself turning into a prison jumpsuit, feel free to chow down.

Other beta-carotene foods: sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, red grapefruit
3. AVOCADO
One study published by The Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that people with higher intakes of olive oil had fewer wrinkles than people with higher intakes of butter. The reason: Butter is loaded with saturated fat, while olive oil is rich in monounsaturates, the same essential fats that make up more than 50% of the calories in an avocado. So why eat avocado over olive oil? Both are good, but avocados have the added bonus of B vitamins, which also help to keep your skin looking vibrant and smooth.
Other monounsaturated-fat foods: olive oil, almonds, peanut butter
4. BEANS
Legumes, to be more precise. This is the class of plants that includes black beans, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, and peanuts. And how do these puny pods protect your face? By smoothing out wrinkles. Australian researchers analyzed the diets of more than 400 elderly men and women and found that high intakes of legumes—alongside vegetables and healthy fats—resulted in 20% fewer wrinkles over time. The effect is likely a result of isoflavones—potent antioxidants—concentrated in the beans.

Other isoflavone-rich foods: alfalfa, tempeh, tofu
5. GRAPES
Besides providing protection from heart attack and stroke, antioxidants called polyphenols found in grapes can also help keep middle-aged skin from sagging. That’s because polyphenols improve skin’s elasticity by strengthening collagen, the primary protein in skin’s innermost layer.

Other polyphenol-rich foods: grape juice, blueberries

6. WATER
Okay, it’s not as fun to drink as wine, but water is the strongest weapon you have against lifeless skin. That’s why they call it “moisturizing”—because you’re trying to lock moisture, aka water, into your skin. To put it broadly, all the body’s processes rely on hydration, so if you’re not sipping throughout the day, you’re likely to have a slower metabolism, groggier head, and, yes, drier skin. One study suggested that it takes a mere half-liter of water to create a measurable increase in the capillary blood flow to your body’s outer layer. That’s just over 16 ounces. Try doing that a few times a day and you’ll have a face like a baby’s bottom in no time.

Other water-rich foods: watermelon, peaches, celery