Pediatricians are warning that extremely spicy snacks, like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and other chips, are sending numerous children to the emergency room every year.
The experts say that eating too many spicy products can cause a significant inflammation of the stomach lining which can lead to severe abdominal pain in children.
“We have a population who loves to eat the hot, spicy, not-real foods, and they come in [to the emergency room] with these real complaints,” Dr. Martha Rivera of White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles told KABC-TV.
One 12-year-old boy told KABC that he would eat 20 to 30 bags of spicy snacks a month until he suffered stomach pain and was diagnosed with gastritis. He said the feeling was like someone bruised his insides and that it hurt “a lot”.
Some school districts in New Mexico, California and Illinois have banned spicy snacks because of their lack of nutritional value. Doctors say parents should steer their children toward healthier snacks like string cheese, apples or pretzels.
The doctors warn the spicy snacks have addictive qualities that could lead to children overeating them.
Scientists say that drug-resistant “superbugs” are one of the gravest threats in the history of medicine.
The piece in the Lancet medical journal says that routine operations could become deadly in the very near future as bacteria continue to evolve to fight the drugs used to combat them. Doctors say a century of medical advances could be wiped out in a matter of years.
“I am concerned that in 20 years, if I go into hospital for a hip replacement, I could get an infection leading to major complications and possible death, simply because antibiotics no longer work as they do now,” said John Watson, England’s deputy chief medical officer.
No new antibiotic has been introduced since 1987 because drug manufacturers cannot gain a profit from researching and producing new antibiotics.
The researchers say a major part of the problem is that the general public has become dependent on antibiotics to the point that if one doctor does not prescribe them they will seek out a “second opinion” that will give them the drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration is announcing plans to force the phasing out of trans fats from the American diet.
The FDA will be requiring the food industry to phase out all trans fans, calling them a direct threat to public health. The FDA believes the elimination of trans fats will prevent 20,000 heart attacks a year and 7,000 deaths.
Health professionals have long cited trans fats as a detriment to good health. Some major cities such as New York have already banned their use.
The agency would not put a timetable on the requirement to remove all trans fats saying they wanted to work with various food markets to lessen the overall economic impact. The plan will take two months for public comment before any final action could be taken on the measure.
Trans fats are found mainly in processed foods like microwave popcorns, frozen pizzas and ready-to-use frostings.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that a flu shot helps seniors lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The study followed more than 6,000 patients with an average age of 67. More than a third of the people in the survey suffered from some form of heart disease. Those who had been given a flu shot had an almost 2% less risk of a heart attack or stroke than those who did not take the injection.
“The study is important because it reconfirms that there are benefits to getting the flu vaccination,” Dr. David Frid of the Cleveland Clinic told Fox News. “In people who have recently had a cardiac event…it reduces the likelihood of their having some type of cardiovascular complication if they do develop the flu.”
The study was conducted specifically involving those who contracted the influenza virus and not the common cold.
Dr. Frid said that getting the flu does not directly cause heart disease but that the body’s stress from being sick from the flu can raise blood pressure and cause other cardiac complications.
Many movies and novels speculate as to what it would be like to peek inside a person’s mind and know what he or she is thinking. But up until recently, such a skill has only existed in the realm of science fiction.
Now, scientists may be turning fantasy into reality, having created a novel brain monitoring technique that could lead to the development of “mind-reading” applications in the distant future.
Utilizing a series of electrodes attached to portions of a patient’s brain, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine were able to eavesdrop on a person’s brain activity as he or she performed normal, daily functions – a process they termed “intracranial recording.”
Source: FOX News – FOX News: Novel brain monitoring technique could lead to ‘mind-reading’ devices
Every week, hundreds of patients, including children with cancer, are admitted to new clinical trials through the National Institutes of Health.
But because of the government shutdown, newly registered patients are being put on hold until the government resumes operation.
“Due to the lapse in government funding… transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted,” a message on the top of the NIH website states.
Source: CNN – CNN: Government shutdown forces clinical trial patients to wait
A study published in the journal Nature Medicine says that scientists have made a huge jump forward in the search for a universal flu vaccine.
The flu virus mutates so much each year that flu vaccines from the previous year are completely worthless for the current year. The virus changes the proteins on the surface of the virus that tricks the body’s immune system. Continue reading →
The head of Amsterdam’s health service wants to see sugar become a substance regulated by the government.
“Just like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is actually a drug. There is an important role for government. The use of sugar should be discouraged. And users should be made aware of the dangers,” Paul van der Velpen wrote on the government’s official public health website. Continue reading →
In a major endorsement for taking care of our bodies with proper rest, a scientific study says that sleep allows the body to produce a brain cell that is vital in normal function.
The study in the Journal of Neuroscience says that sleep ramps up the production of cells that make the insulating material myelin that protects brain circuitry. The discovery in mice could lead to insights about sleep’s role in brain repair and possibly provide information to help in the battle against Multiple Sclerosis. Continue reading →
A team of British researchers believe they have proven a compound in ordinary broccoli can help prevent arthritis.
A team at the University of East Angola say a test on cells and mice of glucoraphanin, which is found in broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, can block an enzyme that is a major factor in damaging cartilage. Continue reading →
