Archive for the ‘Hormone Physician’ Category

Diseases of the thyroid gland are very common, affecting millions of people in the globe, but the most common thyroid problems are: An overactive gland, called hyperthyroidism especially Graves disease, toxic adenoma or toxic nodular goiter.

Background

Thyroid enlargement due to over activity (as in Graves disease) or from under-activity (as in hypothyroidism).

An enlarged thyroid gland is often called a goiter.

Patients with a family history of thyroid cancer or who had radiation therapy to the head or neck as children for acne, adenoids, or other reasons are more prone to developing thyroid malignancy.

How is a Thyroid disorder Diagnosis Made?

The diagnosis of a thyroid function abnormality or a thyroid mass is made by taking a medical history and a physical examination.

In addition, blood tests and imaging studies or fine-needle aspiration may be required.

According to Dr Bruce W. Peters, ENT-Otolaryngologist in Toms River, New Jersey, as part of the exam, doctors will examine your neck and may ask you to lift up your chin to make your thyroid gland more prominent.

You may also be asked to swallow during the examination, which helps to feel the thyroid and any mass in it.

Some other tests doctors may order include: Evaluation of the larynx/vocal cords with an Eber optic telescope, An ultrasound examination of your neck and thyroid Blood tests of thyroid function, A nuclear thyroid scan, ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy and a CT or MRI scan

What are Thyroid Nodules?

Thyroid nodules are common, occurring in 15-65 percent of people of all ages. They occur in both women and men, but are especially common in women (50 per cent of women or older have had a thyroid nodule).

Usually patients and their physicians first notice thyroid nodules during a routine physical exam of the neck area. Sometimes they are found incidentally during a radiographic evaluation of the neck (such as a CT scan, X-ray, MRI or Ultrasound).

Although the vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign, the physician should evaluate a significant thyroid nodule, as approximately 5-10 percent of thyroid nodules are cancerous.

In general, a thyroid nodule is considered significant if it is one centimeter or larger and/or presents concerning features on ultrasound.

What is Thyroid Surgery?

There is no medical treatment for thyroid nodules.

If a decision is made that the thyroid nodule needs to be removed, surgical treatment is recommended.

Nodules that are suspicious or cancerous on biopsy require surgical removal.

Large nodules are often removed for a number of reasons. Benign large thyroid nodules may cause pressure symptoms in the throat or cause difficulty swallowing.

Thyroid nodules that produce excess thyroid hormone may also need to be removed. Some thyroid nodules are large enough that standard diagnostic approaches prevent accurate assessment of the possibility of cancer and, therefore, need to be surgically removed.

Thyroid surgery is an operation to remove part or all of the thyroid gland. It is performed in the hospital and general anesthesia is usually required.

Typically, the operation removes the lobe of the thyroid gland containing the suspicious nodule or lump. A frozen section (immediate microscopic reading) may be used to determine if the rest of the thyroid gland should be removed during the same surgery.

Based on the result of the frozen section, the decision will be made in the operating room if removal of any remaining thyroid tissue is necessary. These options will be discussed with you preoperatively by the doctor.

According to Dr Peters, as an alternative, he may choose to remove only one lobe and wait for the final pathology report before deciding, if the remaining lobe needs to be removed.

If a malignancy is identified in this way, he may recommend that the remaining lobe of the thyroid be removed at a second procedure.

What happens after Thyroid Surgery?

The surgery usually takes two to three hours, and most patients were watched carefully in the hospital overnight. Its pain is often minimal, and will take four to seven days off.

Amadu Kamil Sanah, Toms River, New Jersey, USA

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Thyroid disorder and surgery: What you need to know - Myjoyonline.com

Elite runner Mary Cain said in the New York Times this month that her experience with the coaching system at the now-shuttered Nike Oregon Project encouraged unhealthy levels of weight loss, leading to five broken bones, mental health problems.

The ordeal also derailed her career, according to Cain.

Her experience eating too few calories, having dangerously low bone density, and missing her periods is illustrative of what seems to be a disturbingly common condition among female athletes: Relative energy deficiency in sports, or RED-S. It's also been called female athlete triad, but most professionals now refer to it as RED-S, in part to include male athletes, and to recognize that undereating isn't always related to an eating disorder.

While the condition or symptoms of it can affect anyone from the weekend warrior to the Olympian, it seems to be an especially pervasive, though still under-the-radar, problem among higher-level athletes, including Division 1 female runners.

When Delaney White, now a Division 1 cross-country and track runner and senior at Portland State University, entered the collegiate running scene, she had already begun to have irregular menstrual periods, she told Insider. She thought it was normal for competitive athletes at her level.

That mentality seems to be pervasive.Cate Barrett, a former Division 1 track athlete, wrote on Instagram that "college programs today are still preaching thinner is fast, and telling women to lose weight, or that low weight and lost periods aren't a problem."

For so long, I thought I was the problem. To me, the silence of others meant that pushing my body past its healthy limits was the only way. But I know we were all scared, and fear keeps us silent. @runmarycain Mary Cain's expos of abuse she suffered while training as a young pro runner is shocking and upsetting. A decorated coach at Nike, Alberto Salazar, pressured her to lose weight to run faster. This is an inexcusable abuse of power. Salazar had nearly every resource available to boost Marys performance, yet chose to emphasize a strategy that risked her health. And it didn't even fucking work. It drove her to slow races, self-harm and quitting the sport. Marys story resonates with the amateur and collegiate running community all too well. We've experienced the same thing. Being shamed for our size. Told that our poor performances were because of weight. And that we were lucky to be here, so we shouldnt complain. That this is part of the sport. I competed for a D1 NCAA track team for all four years of college. While this was a great experience, it did leave me with a disordered view of my body and food. 11 years after I entered the NCCA, I still feel the strain that Im not small enough. I know this is not factual and rational, but my mindset is a work in progress. I do not know any teammates who emerged from the NCAA system unaffected by the pressure to be thinner. It may seem like the entire running community is already woke to this issue, but please listen: IT IS WILD how deep this goes. It is still happening. Girls still need help. College programs today are still preaching thinner is faster, and telling women to lose weight, or that low weight and lost periods arent a problem. College sports are not the only offenders here, but they have to do better. They, along with the whole running world, have the opportunity and obligation to make a positive impact in young peoples lives. I am thankful that Mary Cain and many others have faced their fear and brought their stories to light. This is how we change.

A post shared by Cate Barrett (@beingcate) on Nov 8, 2019 at 12:39pm PSTNov 8, 2019 at 12:39pm PST

And, Andrea Toppin, a former runner at Iowa State, wrote on Twitter that her teammate and boyfriend at the time told her she needed to lose 20 pounds in order to contribute to the team. "All I cared about was the number on the scale and pleasing my boyfriend until I got my first awful stress fracture after 2 muscular injuries and 2 years of not having a period," she wrote.

Research backs up these women's experiences.

While estimates of the ubiquity of RED-S vary widely, but some research has shown women at higher levels of sport may be at greater risk because of the high competitive pressure and specific demands of certain sports, such as running. Research also suggests as many as 54% of female collegiate athletes being unhappy with their weight.

What's more,studies suggest disordered eating is especially common in sports that emphasize aesthetics or leanness, like running and gymnastics, with as many as 69% of female athletes in those types of sports missing their periods.

Eating disorders "have continued to increase for girls ages 15 to 22, which directly overlaps with the peak of adolescence, commonly spent in high school and college sports," professional runner Lauren Fleshman wrote in the New York Times. "Over one-third of N.C.A.A. Division I female athletes exhibit risk factors for anorexia nervosa."

She was one of them, writing that her final year of her collegiate career she restricted her diet to look more like the professional, older runners she hoped to become. "I may have looked the part, but I lost my energy. I lost my period, and injuries set in, derailing the first half of my professional running career."

"Running is an interesting microcosm of our culture," Delaney White told Insider. Flickr/josiahmackenzie

No matter how common, a disrupted menstrual cycle can be a dangerous sign that low calorie intake is messing with the body's hormone levels, which can cause long-term health issues like permanent bone loss and potential fertility problems.

But awareness lags among athletes and professionals alike. A small study found 44% of high-school female athletes reported that they thought losing their period was a normal response to a high level of athletic training, Dr. Aubrey Armento, a sports medicine physician in Colorado, reported on Twitter.

And one 2018 study found that less than half of clinicians, physiotherapists, and coaches could correctly define RED-S.

Women also get cues from the environment that "thin is better," Mary Jane De Souza, a professor of kinesiology and physiology at Penn State who specializes in the syndrome, told Insider. "It's a huge problem," she said. "We need a lot more widespread knowledge to be disseminated that you get to be a great, high-performing female athlete but coaches and other people without dietary expertise don't get to tell you what to weigh."

White's first college team didn't talk about missing periods, body image, eating, and weight. But when she transferred to Portland, she found her new teammates were open about discussing their experiences and checking in with each other.

There, she was told that irregular periods were an important sign that something was going on with her body, and she was encouraged to talk to a female trainer about it. Her performance, and health, immediately improved as a result.

"I was running 74 miles a week, and I didn't realize I needed to be eating more. As soon as I did that, I started getting faster," White said. "It's turned around how I feel about running, my performance is better than ever, and I'm healthier than I've ever been."

As White's experience demonstrates,when caught early, many of the damaging effects of RED-S can be reversed. With enough calories, athletes can begin to recover from energy deficit within days or weeks, according to the most recent guidelines from theFemale and Male Athlete Triad Coalition.

White said having female trainers, and strong female athletes as role models in her life, have made a world of difference. As more women become high-profile coaches, including record-breaking marathon runner Shalane Flanagan, she hopes that more young athletes will have the support, encouragement, and resources they need to pursue elite levels of the sports without risking their mental and physical health.

Ultimately, real progress also means looking at the broader culture that links women's value to their weight, White said.

"Running is a really interesting microcosm of our culture, that you expect women to be strong but if they get above a certain weight, they're no good any more," she said. "Until we change the culture of comparison, our sport isn't going to change."

Read more:

I had the condition that 'broke down' Nike runner Mary Cain's body, and I wasn't even an elite athlete

3 marathoners who are breaking stereotypes about what runners look like

An athlete who spoke out against Nike's running program in 2015 says Mary Cain's allegations could 'change the future of the sport'

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Division 1 female athletes are among those plagued by eating disorders, missing periods, and broken bones - INSIDER

According to a leading physician, thousands of Americans die needlessly every year from a deadly myth that only drugs and surgery can heal. Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., a pioneer in the successful treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome and the author of "Real Cause, Real Cure," tells Newsmax that the financial power of the pharmaceutical companies has skewed our healthcare into a system that ties the hands of natural practitioners and patients who want to find root causes of illness and restore their health.

"Standard medicine offers about 15 to 20 percent of what can help people recover from illness. Other branches of the healing arts offer the rest," Teitelbaum says.

Dr. John Reed, a Maryland-based physician who believes in integrative healthcare, adds that it isn't so much which diseases should be treated with alternative medicine, but what kind of people are receptive to taking control of their health. Some people are so used to popping pills that they won't explore the opportunities to self-heal while others want the information but can't get it from their regular healthcare practitioners.

"The current medical system is in danger of collapsing because it is treating problems, not people," he tells Newsmax. "The whole idea of integrative medicine is to restore vitality and function. Our healthcare doesn't encourage healthy lifestyles that could prevent many of our dreaded diseases, including the diabetes epidemic we are facing right now."

Teitelbaum, the author of "Diabetes is Optional," agrees. "People with adult onset or type 2 diabetes do not need to be treated with insulin because adults produce enough insulin. Their problem is that they are insulin resistant. This disease can be prevented and treated with a low-sugar, high-fiber diet, the herb Hintonia (Sucontral D), and checking for deficiencies in hormones and vitamin D. If necessary, I prefer to give the drug metformin over insulin because it doesn't encourage more weight gain."

Teitelbaum says that when it comes to heart disease, traditional or Western medicine shines in acute situations such as heart attack or stroke. But alternative medicine, including a change in lifestyle habits, can prevent and reverse cardiovascular disease.

"The key treatments I use for heart problems in my practice, including angina and abnormal heart rhythms, are ribose, coenzymeQ10, magnesium and B complex, and acetyl-l-carnitine," he says. "I often see dramatic improvements in heart health in six weeks."

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are usually managed traditionally with potentially dangerous pain killers like Lyrica, which is known to increase thoughts of suicide. Instead of medication, Teitelbaum has had success with his famous S.H.I.N.E. protocol. "This provides a blueprint for the body to heal itself," he says. "Getting adequate sleep, testing for hormone deficiency, boosting the immune system, maintaining optimal nutrition, and exercising are five key elements to beating these autoimmune diseases. In our published research study, over 90% of patients improved with treatment."

Teitelbaum says that new research is showing that some old, safe, and very low-cost medications can starve cancer cells. "But this research is largely being ignored by standard medicine because there is no profit in it," he says. For more information, check out yufoundation.org.

Dr. Alan Christianson, a Phoenix, Arizona-based Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD), tells Newsmax that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is another disorder for which modern medicine has no cure.

"Natural medicine, on the other hand, can identify and treat the causative factors such as food intolerances, intestinal permeability, and intestinal parasites, which may be causing IBS. In fact, conventional medicine has no real treatments except for suggesting a high-fiber diet which often exacerbates the condition," he says.

Reed says that the best medicine is what he calls an "integrative approach."

"For example, I was on duty at a trauma center when an accident victim arrived in very bad pain from his crushed limbs. We gave him a very high dose of opioid medication which lessened his pain to 8 out of 10, I then used acupuncture to shift his nervous system away from the pain centers and his pain subsided to 5 out of 10, making the medication more effective.

"When the medical situation is acute, it is beneficial to give drugs or surgery so that the patient doesn't slide downhill, but in the meantime, we must offer supportive care and suggest lifestyle changes to restore good health. We have found in our practice that approaching illness in this fashion also reduces the number of return visits to the hospital so in the long run, an integrative approach saves money.

"We need to spend more time and money on educating people starting with our children on how to stay healthy in the first place instead of focusing on fixing problems."

2019 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.

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Here's When Alternative Medicine Can Save Your Life - Newsmax

The Wall Street Journal lifts the curtain on the behind-the-scenes work to build a public health legal challenge against a big company. In other public health news: football and CTE, caregivers, bias in science, dementia fears, screen time for toddlers, foster care, and more.

The Wall Street Journal:Inside The Mass-Tort Machine That Powers Thousands Of Roundup LawsuitsIn late 2016, a group of plaintiffs lawyers took the stage at the years largest gathering of their colleagues to talk up a promising new target. For 30 minutes, they laid out arguments linking the popular weedkiller Roundup to cancer. An arm of the World Health Organization had pegged Roundups main chemical ingredient as a probable carcinogen the year before, and it was quickly becoming a focus of the plaintiffs bar. Some product-liability lawyers in the audience in Las Vegas were skeptical. Tying exposure from everyday products like Roundup to cancer often is less straightforward than linking illness to medications or medical devices, said Chase Givens, a lawyer with the Cochran Firm who attended the event. (Randazzo and Bunge, 11/25)

The New York Times:They Love Football. They Try Not To Think About C.T.E.The human brain is hard-wired to manage conflicting thoughts and emotions. We know drinking alcohol can cause liver damage and burning fossil fuels is bad for the environment, but many of us still drink alcohol and still buy gas-guzzling vehicles. Most people have generally accepted that playing football, in addition to teaching life lessons about teamwork and dedication, can lead to long-term brain damage, like any activity that involves a lot of collisions with other human beings or crashes with the ground. (Lawrence, Cardenas and Futterman, 11/26)

The Washington Post:In Helping Elderly Parents, Caregivers Get A Peek At Their Futures And Are Inspired To Plan For Old AgeEven after Myrtle Lewiss mother reached her late 90s and could no longer drive or care for herself, she insisted on remaining in her home in Northeast Washington. Lewis, who was helping care for her mother, arranged for her to have a live-in companion, another older woman, named Kizzie. But watching her mothers world shrink as she knocked around a too-big house clarified a few things for Lewis, now 76. After a while it just became she and Kizzie. Theyd go to bed at 6:30, she said. (Bahrampour, 11/25)

Los Angeles Times:Researchers Have A Plan To Prevent Bias In Computer AlgorithmsScientists say theyve developed a framework to make computer algorithms safer to use without creating bias based on race, gender or other factors. The trick, they say, is to make it possible for users to tell the algorithm what kinds of pitfalls to avoid without having to know a lot about statistics or artificial intelligence. With this safeguard in place, hospitals, companies and other potential users who may be wary of putting machine learning to use could find it a more palatable tool for helping them solve problems, according to a report in this weeks edition of the journal Science. (Khan, 11/23)

Reuters:Study Shows Half Of Middle-Aged Americans Fear Theyll Get Dementia, Use Unproven SupplementsAbout half of middle-aged Americans believe theyre somewhat or very likely to develop dementia, a survey suggests, and many try to beat the odds with supplements such as ginkgo biloba and vitamin E that arent proven to help. Researchers examined data from the University of Michigans 2018 National Poll on Healthy Aging, a nationally representative survey of adults 50 to 80. Overall, 44.3 percent of respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to develop dementia, and 4.2 percent said they were very likely to develop dementia. (11/26)

WBUR:Antibiotics For Animals May Work For You, But Experts Say It's A Terrible IdeaWhen phlegm invades Andy Shecktors face or chest, he says he knows if the culprit is a bacterial infection. ...But on these occasions, Shecktor, a 63-year-old man from Berwick, Pennsylvania, doesnt go see a doctor, and he doesnt get a prescription for antibiotics. Instead, he pulls out a stash of medicine from his fridge that is clearly marked not for human consumption. It's for fish. (Chen, 11/26)

CNN:Explosive Growth In Screen Use By Toddlers, Studies SayUse of screen time explodes between 12 months and three years in the United States, and most Canadian preschoolers between the ages of two and three are not meeting World Health Organization recommendations for appropriate use of television, computers and other screens, according to two new studies published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. (LaMotte, 11/25)

The New York Times:He Had A Temporary Blast Of Amnesia. What Was Going On?Where am I? the 68-year-old man asked. His daughter explained again: He was at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. He had been found on the ground in the parking lot of the grocery store near his apartment. The man nodded, as if taking it all in, but minutes later asked again: Where am I? He had never had any memory issues before, but now he couldnt remember that it was Saturday. Didnt remember that he spent the morning moving the last of the boxes he had stored at his daughters house to his new apartment. He didnt even remember that he had spent the past few months hashing out a pretty messy divorce. (Sanders, 11/26)

The Washington Post:One Judges Tough Approach To Foster Care: Its Only For The Really Extreme CasesThe courtroom looks more like a preschool than a command center for dismantling the citys foster care system. A stuffed penguin perches above the judges bench. A bookcase is filled with childrens favorites. And dozens of stuffed animals teddy bears, polar bears, pandas are scattered around the room. Juvenile Court Judge Ernestine S. Gray gives each child who appears before her a bear and a book. She believes it makes what can be the worst day of their lives just a little easier. (Webster, 11/25)

The Washington Post:This Top Pediatric Allergist Swears By Meditation And Thinks It Can Fight Medical BurnoutPhysician Hemant Sharma has worked at Childrens National Hospital for 11 years and serves as its chief of allergy and immunology. The 44-year-old Howard County, Md., resident commutes daily to Washington and rotates between four of the hospitals facilities, treating patients, teaching and mentoring younger physicians, overseeing administration, and conducting clinical research. Hes aware of how so many demands might affect his well-being and believes addressing burnout is a vital issue for the medical profession and others. I think a number of professions now are facing this challenge, where the chronicity of our daily stress is preventing us from giving 100 percent of what we want to the populations that were serving. (Carefoot, 11/25)

The New York Times:The Costly, Life-Disrupting Consequences Of Poor Diabetes CareDiabetes, whether Type 1 or Type 2, may be the most underappreciated, misunderstood and poorly treated of all common medical problems, and many of the more than 30 million Americans affected by it are paying dearly with their health and lives as a result. Contrary to what many people think, diabetes is not just a disease of abnormal blood sugar control caused by a lack of insulin or an inadequate response to this crucial hormone. (Brody, 11/25)

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Behind The Thousands Of Lawsuits Against Roundup Weed Killer Lurks A Sophisticated, Little-Known Legal Ecosystem - Kaiser Health News

Jules TurknettOrbit Arts AcademySenior Company Showcase

With the ever-increasing interest in musical theatre performance comes increased competition. Our triple (and quadruple!) threats are under significant pressure to stand out and aim to do so by doubling down on training.

Broadway hopefuls are spending many hours and dollars taking classes with the top instructors to build their singing, acting, and dancing chops. But there's another, often overlooked path to maximizing performance.

I recently interviewed a physician who works in the emerging field of health and performance optimization. He is a best-selling author, the head of cognitive enhancement for Nourish Balance Thrive, which works with elite athletes from around the world. He is also the chief medical officer for humanOS, the president-elect for the Physicians for Ancestral Health, and the medical editor for the Journal of Evolution and Health.

This physician happens to be my husband, Dr. Josh Turknett, and he details a holistic health approach for performers to help them develop healthy habits as they push the limits of their bodies and minds.

Here is an excerpt from that interview:

Can you tell us a little about your background in this emerging field of health and performance optimization?

One of my roles is as the head of cognitive enhancement for Nourish Balance Thrive, a company that helps elite athletes around the world optimize their performance and their health.

These are people who are pushing their bodies to the limits, so they need their bodies to be in top form. In recent years people have really begun to recognize that this goes far beyond just training for sports and that they can get greater results than what training alone would yield by attending to factors like nutrition and lifestyle. That translates to improved performance, reduced injuries, improved recovery, and ultimately allows them to perform at a much higher level for a longer period of time.

I also do cognitive performance consulting for people who are using their brains for a living. These are people who are knowledge workers, pushing their brains to the limit and looking for ways to improve focus, and concentration, memory, creativity, productivity, and learning.

The same is true here, too - people are realizing you can get a lot more from your brain by attending to relevant nutrition and lifestyle factors. Theatre performers fall into both of these categories! They are trying to get the most out of their bodies and brains. So a lot of the strategies that we recommend for folks who are elite athletes or knowledge workers, we would also recommend for theatre performers.

Right, because our performers have to combine both. Can you give some more specific examples of the ways in which people benefit from taking the holistic approach you suggest?

For those who are doing things that are physically demanding, they will see improvements in their performance and in the prevention of injuries. And then with regard to long-term health, they will see prevention of chronic disease, both that result from just normal everyday life but also anything that would come specifically from the activities that they're doing.

In particular, wear and tear on the musculoskeletal system and the joints is probably much more likely related to the accumulated effects of diet and lifestyle rather than the activities themselves.

We know that joint injuries are really common in sports. Yet, in cultures where people don't follow the standard Western diet and lifestyle but are just as hard on their bodies, we don't see the same level of joint problems. The relative increase in joint and tissue injuries we see in the West is likely due to the high demands on the musculoskeletal system PLUS a weakening of the connective tissue structures by systemic inflammation and nutrient deficiencies. So in most cases, you would need both of those things for the joints to break down, not just the wear and tear.

That also makes me think of migraines, which I know you work a lot with, and that can be treated with the diet and lifestyle piece. I've always thought about performers who can't go on stage and perform with a migraine. So if you can prevent those as well through diet and lifestyle change, that would be another bonus.

Can you give us an overview of the different aspects of diet and lifestyle that need to be addressed in order to maximize performance?

Sure, so what are the things that we can do? How can we help our bodies to thrive and flourish right now today and what can we do to protect them over the long run?

If we look at the biggest levers that we have, the biggest broad categories that are going to help improve physical and mental performance and impact our long-term health, those will be:

Maybe we can talk a little bit about each of these areas and perhaps tailor them a little bit towards parents, or teenagers, trying to work within their constraints. I know that because we homeschool, we have a lot more flexibility to address some of these issues, but maybe we can think about some strategies that people can implement to work within the current framework.

Yes, and obviously each of these categories we could spend many, many hours on. I'm going to try to hit the highlights and also try to hit the kind of the low-hanging fruit -- the things that you can do that will give you the most return on your initial efforts.

Beginning with sleep, I think the best place to start is always to think about what our body expects, and that's why understanding our evolutionary history is so important. We were hunter-gatherers for about two-and-a-half million years and then we became modern humans living in this very foreign world only very, very, very recently. So our body, and our genes, still mostly expect that we're going to be living in the wild, in nature.

If you think about that, and about what the life of a typical hunter-gatherer was like, it means you go to sleep at sunset or not long thereafter, partly depending on your age, and then wake when the sun comes up.

So a typical good night of sleep for an adult will usually be about seven to eight hours, and for a child about nine to 12, and for teenagers more like 10 to 12 hours.

Sleep is the time for our bodies and brains to repair and recover. That's when you build muscles, that's when you repair connective tissue. So it's crucial for anybody putting any type of physical demands on their body -- like our dancers. If you don't get the repair and recovery during sleep, then you end up with this cycle of inflammation that's hard to stop.

There's also a lot of evidence that it's how we regulate our mood, and it's been recognized to be a factor in just about every chronic health problem. So insufficient sleep, quality or quantity, raises the risk of inflammation and autoimmune disorders, learning and memory problems, mood and anxiety disorders, as well as attentional disorders.

Also, the reason sleep is so important for kids is because that's when the brain is developing, and the time they're asleep is the time when their brains are changing, developing, and growing. So the more sleep they get, the bigger their brains are going to become. It's as simple as that.

It's hard to argue that there is anything more important than getting good sleep, especially given that for most people right now it's compromised, both quality and quantity. It's not just how many hours you get but also whether or not you're cycling through all stages of sleep each time.

Obviously, the demands of our lifestyle have made things challenging. We're waking people up before they should be woken. We also have indoor lighting that allows us to detach ourselves from the rhythms of nature, but there are certain things that we could do to help mitigate that.

For example, just keeping a consistent schedule is helpful in improving our sleep quality and quantity. People who sleep on a consistent schedule fall asleep faster, have better sleep architecture (stages of sleep) and also maintain their circadian alignment better.

For teens, the biggest issue is the amount of time they get to sleep. Most teens are going to be relatively good sleepers, but their biggest issue likely will be giving them enough time in bed to get all the sleep that they need.

Teenagers need more sleep than they ever will at any other point in their lives, and they also shift their sleep to where they will naturally go to bed later. They want to go to bed later and they want to wake up later, which is tricky for school, of course. So oftentimes in order for a teen to get the sleep that they need and still wake on school hours, they're going to have to go to sleep before they're really ready to.

For a teen, 10 hours of sleep really is the bare minimum and anything less that can cause problems. If waking up early, the sleep lost will be mostly REM sleep, and there's good evidence that REM sleep has a lot to do with regulating our mood. So we see anxiety disorders much worse in folks who are not getting REM sleep, and we're also seeing anxiety disorders are worsening amongst teens.

There's a great book that came out recently called "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. I would encourage everyone to read that book, especially everyone with children. One of the greatest public health challenges we face right now is helping our kids sleep more, given how we've set up school. We're going to look back at this era with horror, I think, in terms of sleep, but hopefully, we can change things.

So thinking in terms of our teenagers, kind of naturally shifting to wanting to stay up later, but really within the confines of the school schedule really needing to go to bed earlier. Any quick tips or strategies for helping them to be able to go to bed a little bit earlier?

One of the best things that has been shown to help is maintaining a consistent schedule and having a set routine. You can take advantage of conditioning. We have our own natural rhythms, but we also have learned rhythms. You can teach yourself to adopt a different schedule with a consistent bedtime every night and having a consistent routine that you follow beforehand that tells your body and brain, "Hey, it's time to get sleepy."

Take a shower, have tea, read, have a ritual with your family, whatever works for your family as a bedtime routine. All these little things cue our body to say, "Hey, it's about time to sleep." Sleep is really a complex process that starts unfolding before you actually get to sleep.

Another important thing that's very relevant these days is blue light. So for any child that's having any difficulty sleeping whatsoever, that's going to be probably prime issue number one to address.

The sun contains the whole spectrum of light, with all the colors of the rainbow, but it turns out that only light in a blue spectrum can suppress our melatonin secretion. Melatonin is a hormone that the brain makes when it's time to get sleepy, and blue light tells the brain the sun is still up so it's not time to sleep. Where do you find blue light? In our devices, and iPhones, and screens, and all sorts of things.

That's why the iPhone developed night mode. There are also TVs now that can change the lighting so that it shifts to the red spectrum, or you can wear glasses that filter out the blue light. There's an app called F.lux that you can install on your computer to shift the light also.

Filtering out blue light after sunset can significantly impact when you feel sleepy. So people who do that will start to feel sleepy about an hour earlier than the people who don't.

I think it's also important to note that the science shows that there's no such thing as catching up on sleep. This idea that you can sort of cheat it during the week and then catch up on the weekend is not true. You don't get the benefits back from the brain's standpoint.

Let's move on to nutrition.

The easiest way to think about nutrition is first to consider what your body needs to operate and maintain our structure, and then second to avoid things that are harmful. The typical modern Western diet is insufficient on both of those counts, but probably worse when it comes to eating things that cause harm. We probably do a little bit better in providing the essential nutrients but and worse on eating things that cause harm.

Again, so if we think about what the diet of a human is supposed to be, it's pretty simple, and from one standpoint we are omnivores, so we eat animals and the edible plants that are in nature. So it should come as no surprise that most of the things that we eat that cause harm and that are linked to disease are not available in nature but require either farms or factories to produce. So that's what your low-hanging fruit is going to be.

The simplest approach of all is really just to eat whole foods -- to just eat meats of all kinds and then vegetables and fruits when they're in season. Shop at the perimeter of the grocery store, avoid the middle, avoid things in boxes and bags and you're pretty much good to go. But if you want to talk about the specific ingredients and things to avoid, I think you have to probably put refined sugar at the top of the list.

The average American's sugar consumption has risen about 3,000-4,000% over what it would've been for our ancestors. I think we'll probably view sugar much like tobacco in the next few decades. It's linked to virtually every chronic disease that we see. Almost every single processed food is going to list sugar as the first ingredient.

Avoiding foods with added sugar or at least minimizing them, and relegating them to being a treat would go a long way. The problem is that sugar has become the primary source of calories in many people's diets.

The next foods to avoid would be those that are cooked in vegetable and seed oils -- including soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, all of those require factory processing. Again, they would not be something our ancestors ever would've eaten, not something that was part of the human diet. These oils likely are a driver of chronic low-level inflammation that we find with almost virtually every chronic disease.

So what oils should people be cooking with?

Starting with the animal fats, you have beef fat, tallow, pork fat, lard, and duck fat. There's also butter and ghee (clarified butter). And then there are fruit oils like olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil. Those are the best sources of fats to cook in.

If I go to the grocery store and every package I look at is using one of the oils you listed not to use.

I'm glad you made that point because the easiest way to avoid that is just to avoid packaged food. Like I said in the beginning, the simplest thing is if you stick to whole foods, you don't have these issues.

What other foods cause harm and should be avoided?

Third would be the gluten grains (wheat, barley, and rye). Gluten is a topic of great confusion. It was long known that about one to 3% of the population was gluten intolerant (celiac disease). Any amount of gluten in the diet for them causes inflammation in their gut, inflammation in the body, and it has to be avoided.

But more recently it's emerged that a much greater proportion of the population is gluten sensitive. People were discovering that a range of health issues would go away after gluten was removed from their diet. In addition to that, evidence came out that gluten disrupts the gut barrier in every human. So in all of us, if you expose the gut to gluten, there are tight junctions in our gut that keep the bad stuff out and the good stuff in, and with gluten exposure, they open up and let the bad stuff in.

So that's true even if I have no reaction to gluten?

That's true even if you have no reaction. That's true with every human's gut according to the research. So most likely this is a spectrum or a continuum, not an either-or thing. There's a range of how sensitive someone is to gluten, how much gut disruption it causes, and what the consequences of that are.

What is the most common mistake people make when they are eliminating gluten from their diet?

Right, so what often happens when people eliminate gluten from their diets is that they look for foods to substitute for the ones that have gluten in them. They will try gluten-free bread, and pasta, and things like that.

And with those you're still introducing all the issues with processed foods and so forth that come with that. So you may be eliminating the gluten component, but you're still getting a lot of bad stuff with it. So again, sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store.

I do sympathize because it does take changing habits since we've created our food culture around bread.

When we were trying to begin removing gluten from our diet, we started with the gluten-free flours like almond flour and coconut flour would make substitute treats and baked goods. That may not be a bad idea for a teenager when you're trying to stepstone them on the way to being gluten-free.

Then we began to realize that we were still doing a disservice to our bodies with these foods, and so then we continued to refine and eliminate those things, and I think that slow progression has been helpful.

Yes, you can start by choosing lesser evils and that's perfectly fine. I personally noticed that I still felt kind of lousy after I ate those things.

We would associate improvements in nutrition to improvements in physical performance, but you can also improve your cognitive performance by improving your diet, as well?

Absolutely. A lot of the work I do is for that particular purpose. Improving cognitive performance translates to improvements in your ability to focus for long periods of time, thinking clearly, sustaining energy levels, and improving creativity, problem-solving, and mood.

So let's move on to physical activity.

Again we'll start with what our bodies expect from what we know of the lifestyles of our ancestors. That was lots of low-level walking with much of the day spent walking, lifting heavy things periodically, so engaging all of your muscles fairly often. And that was punctuated by brief all-out activities like sprinting. Of course, most of it was done outdoors with sunlight on the skin.

The nice thing is, aside from the sunlight piece, athletes and performers are generally doing quite well in this particular area. In fact, if there are any issues it's often related to overtraining, so doing too much, too much activity, particularly high intensity, rather than too little. So stressing the body too much, especially if you're not attending to recovery.

This is an area where a lot of progress has been made recently, so you're seeing a lot of athletes now who are in the professional ranks performing at very high levels at much older ages than we're used to, and a lot of that has come from paying close attention to recovery and repair, in addition to all of these nutritional pieces that we've talked about. You can really extend a career and stay healthy and at top performance levels for a lot longer period of time by doing so.

And what about the social connection piece?

The effects of connection or lack thereof on health might be surprising, but the research is pretty profound. It affects us all the way down to DNA and how our genes are transcribed.

So again, what does our body expect? Our ancestors were usually part of a tribe of up to about 150 people. That was an extended family of people that you could depend on and who depended on you. So you were producing, you were part of the tribe, you were a valuable contributor, and you had people you knew you could depend on when you needed it.

That sounds a little bit like a theatre community.

I was about to say that!

So many people don't have the social connections anywhere near what's really needed for a human to thrive, and social media doesn't count. It's seen as a substitute, but the research shows that it's not. It can help facilitate connection when it's used wisely, but by itself, it's not a substitute. But like you say, performers are actually doing very well.

A theatre troupe is a tribe of sorts, and to me, that's one of the greatest values of it. But the culture of any particular theatre community matters a lot. If it's a culture of acceptance, and support, and community, then yes it's a great form of social connection.

I'll just take this as another opportunity to give yet another plug for the value of theatre. I've already said that in two areas where a lot of people have trouble meeting their basic human needs (physical activity and social connection) theatre addresses.

I've spent my career in neurology, and neuroscience, and in the optimization of health and performance, and I would say there's no better activity than musical theatre training for the development of the brain and the body. It's both physically and cognitively demanding, and performers have to push the limits of their capacity, of both their body and their brain. In the book "Range" by David Epstein, he cites the statistic that Nobel Prize winners are 22 times more likely than their peers to have been performers of some kind.

And I believe you also mentioned mindset as a key component to consider.

Yes, so the mind can powerfully influence our health in either direction, either for us or against us. This really gets to the impact that stress can have. If we consider the mismatch areas in modern human life compared to our ancestors, the amount of time we spend suffering in our own minds probably greatly exceeds theirs, and that has a lot to do with mindset.

In my work with clients, that's a huge piece. Not only mindset in terms of the way we look at the world, but also then understanding how to shape the impact of your mind in a favorable direction. It's all about understanding the ways in which the mind connects to our health, how it can undermine it or help us to be healthier and achieve the things that we want to achieve. Mindset and meditation are big topics that we'll cover in a separate episode.

We would love to see everyone addressing these five areas and building these habits early on because we know that the habits you build as a kid oftentimes last many years.

They do impact performance and they can be a way for young performers to maximize their potential and stand out in the rising tide of Broadway hopefuls.

To hear the full episode with additional information on each of these topics, check out the full interview with Dr. Turknett on the "From Atlanta to Broadway" podcast.

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Bringing Up Broadway: Training the Body and Mind - Broadway World

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Milk. The white nutritious liquid without which babies cant survive. Even several adults love to have a healthy milk and cereals breakfast, and festivals in India are incomplete without milk and desserts prepared from it. Until recently a lot of young adults included milk and milk products in their diet till they got to know through their dermatologists or dieticians that they need to exclude it from their diet given many had lactose intolerance.

What many of them especially women didnt know is that the contents in the milk can aggravate their acne giving them a major beauty worry which doesnt have instant fixes especially when theres a Big Day coming. Says Akansha Dhawal, 26, an aspiring model and a student at a fashion institute in the city, Its really annoying when on the day of a major shoot I wake up with pimples.

Though they can be hidden with make-up but it plays up in your mind and later you dread the marks. I have acne vulgaris and am still on medication. But ever since my dermatologist advised me to be completely off milk, they have substantially reduced. A knowledge report from Godrej Jersey done in August, 2019 says that only 16 per cent of adults in Hyderabad consume milk and acne can be one of the reasons why. Other reasons are of course, adulteration, and bad quality.

So is it just drinking milk that one has to stop or is it a total ban on milk related products like cheese, yogurt, fresh cream, ice cream, kheer etc? Says Dr. Syed Shazia Fatima, consultant cosmetic physician who practises at Livlife Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, There are ample studies which conclude that milk triggers acne severity. Now, though, there is no definite conclusion at the moment about milk being a direct trigger, it can progressively worsen acne in a lot of individuals, especially women with adult acne.

But how? Adds Dr Shazia, This could also be attributed to the fact, that milk contains hormones. These hormones can be both, the naturally occurring androgens in milk, or growth factors which are injected by farmers to enunciate faster maturation and milk production. Either can wreck havoc on the skin when interacting with ones natural hormones and worse for people with an ongoing hormonal imbalance.

The interesting part is that a lot of people consider milk harmful for acne because of the fat content. It is widely known that processed food, refined sugar and fatty foods, both trigger and worsen acne. Dr. Shazia further adds, But coming to dairy, skimmed milk or low fat milk was found to have a more profound effect than full fat milk.The major culprits being cheese, cottage cheese and milk.Ghee can be a potential aggravator too which is commonly ignored in Indian households.

A lot of doctors and I personally recommend going dairy free if you are someone dealing with persistent acne issues, while everything else has been evaluated and ruled out. Geetha Raman, 23, a research scholar at Osmania University was asked by her dermatologist to reduce the intake of milk so she was adding it just to her daily cup of tea but despite that precaution her acne turned inflammatory and red.

I completely gave up drinking milk and eating cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream; now my skin is much better, she shares. To this adds Dr. AK Sirkar an independent dermatologist, Acne is known to get aggravated because of milk. But it aggravates more when certain drugs prescribed react with it thus causing more trouble. So can the young women say goodbye to milk and its health benefits? Sigh! Looks like. I can take supplements but cant afford to ruin my skin, sign off Akansha and Geetha.

NOT FOR ADULTSCows produce milk to feed their baby calves and help them grow. Whey and casein, the proteins in milk, stimulate growth and hormones in calves and in us when we drink their milk. When humans digest these proteins, they release a hormone similar to insulin, called IGF-1. This hormone is known to trigger breakouts. Sometimes the hormones in milk can also interact with our own hormones, confusing our bodys endocrine system and signaling breakouts.

NO TO LACTOSELactose is the natural sugar present in milk. After infancy, it becomes more difficult for humans to break lactose down and digest it. And if you belong to the 65 per cent of people who are lactose intolerant, your acne-related breakout could be due to a lactose sensitivity or allergic reaction.Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/dairy-and-acne#how-dairy-affects-skin

ACNE TRIGGERSMilk and dairy products cause an insulin spike in humans that cause the liver to produce even more IGF-1, leading to even more acne.Dairy causes your skin to produce excess sebum (oil), leading to you guessed it! more clogged pores, more acne, and a breeding ground for P. acnes bacteria, which feed on your sebum and spew out inflammatory by-products.Dairy glues together dead skin cells inside your pores, so they cant exit naturally, leading to clogged pores (and thus more acne).Source: https://www.clearskinforever.net/milk-acne-does-milk-cause-acne/

@newindianexpress .com@Sfreen

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Not going the Milky Way - The New Indian Express

Post menopause is the period occurred after menopause followed by various syndromes like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, etc. During this period level of estrogen and progestin falls significantly leading to even serious complications like osteoporosis. The worldwide market for Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy is gaining moment substantially. This rising demand for Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy is due to increasing level of awareness about menopausal symptoms and its treatment. Another factor is growing population of post-menopausal women. Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy includes replenishment of body level of estrogen and progestin hormones in women through external intake of hormones. Thus, it help in treating the menopausal symptoms. It decreases the symptoms like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, disturbed sleep, night sweats and etc. The Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy helps in prevention of osteoporosis and hot flashes caused due to depletion of estrogen and progestin level in body. The Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy comprises of natural as well as synthetic estrogens. In order to enhance the menopausal treatment, it is also given in combination with progesterone.

View Report :https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/postmenopausal-hormone-therapy-market.html

The treatment for post menopausal syndrome is generally treated with sequential or continuous schedules through various doses of estrogen, progestin or combination of both. Despite of existing controversy and confusion about the safety profile of the postmenopausal hormone therapy, the market for the postmenopausal hormone therapy has recorded positive inclining growth due to growing demand. The development of postmenopausal hormone therapy with respect to driving demand leads to introduction of highly safe treatment options to patients which include development of novel drug delivery system like vaginal estrogen drugs and transdermal estrogen patches. Low dose postmenopausal hormone therapy are used in order to address the backdrop caused due to safety issues. The non-hormonal treatment has comparatively least efficacy to produce optimum results, hence the postmenopausal hormone therapy market is observed to grow significantly.

However, the major retarding factors to the market include the affordability to the therapy. The cost for postmenopausal hormone therapy approximately revolves around US$ 10,000 per annum, and thus incurring a major burden on the patients pocket. Thus the population from developing and under developed countries faces a challenge of affordability for the postmenopausal hormone therapy. The post treatment risk of cervical cancer and coronary disease are another restraining factors for the market. Approved recognition of the products related to postmenopausal hormone therapy in compounding pharmacies particularly from developed countries is another deterring factor. However the opportunity for the market is the introduction of the product targeting the cardiovascular disease prevention.

The Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy market can be segmented by product, by therapy, by dosage form, by route of administration, by end-user and by geography. In the terms of product, the postmenopausal hormone therapy is classified into patches, tablets, creams, suppositories, and injections. The tablet formulation comprises the largest market share of the total postmenopausal hormone therapy market. However, due to growing concern of safety and long-term therapy the market for the patches are growing at much faster compound annual growth rate. Based on the therapy, the market is segmented into individual progestin, estrogen and combination therapies. The majority of market is occupied by estrogen therapy across the world.

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Based on the route of administration, the postmenopausal hormone therapy market is classified into oral, topical and subcutaneous implants. Due to high safety, oral administration has been the preferred choice of option for the patient. However, introduction of novel drug delivery system has driven the market for topical and subcutaneous products as well. In the terms of end-user, the target population are the women suffering from menopause. However, the treatment is influenced by the physician/ gynecologist, the target end-users are hospitals and specialty clinics.

Geographically, North America occupies the largest market share followed by other developed region like Europe. The United States accounts for a major share of the global market. The high awareness level and high purchasing power in this region led the market of postmenopausal hormone therapy for expansion significantly. However, the same factor of affordability has restrained the markets in developing regions. Despite of this, Asia Pacific has shown striking increase in its growth rate for the postmenopausal hormone therapy market. Rising population, increase in disposable income, and increase in awareness level are some key factors driving the Asia Pacific Market. Due to this factors, the Asian market is observing high number of new entrants compared to those in developed regions.

The Major players reported in the market include Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Inc., Bayer Pharma AG, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Orion Pharma AB, Pfizer, Inc., Meda pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and TherapeuticsMD, Inc., etc

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Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Market to Garner Brimming Revenues by 2024 - Statsflash

While getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep is recommended by experts, some people may not necessarily need the same amount of sleep as others.

When you wake up after a good nights rest, it makes you feel alert, fresh and well-rested. In contrast, lack of a good nights sleep may leave you feeling grouchy, moody and irritable. Of course there are the peculiar individuals who get seven hours of sleep but still feel tired and others who seem to hardly sleep, but have so much energy. Getting a good amount of sleep is crucial to leading a healthy life. However with so many people having conflicting sleeping habits and patterns, what really makes for good sleep and what can you be doing to make sure that you are getting enough of your beauty sleep? As always science has the answers which TNM has sought out.

On average, an individual sleeps for a total of around 26 years in their entire lifetime, which amounts to over 200,000 hours of sleep. However, there are incredible discrepancies with the amount of sleep required from person to person. It is recommended that teens and young adults get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep, while older adults are advised to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. In elderly individuals and newborn babies, more than 8 hours of sleep is recommended by experts.

Despite these guidelines, why are some individuals able to get better quality of sleep than others? Why do our individual sleep habits vary? As TNM found out, there are multiple factors which contribute to how much sleep is needed for each person.

While age and environmental factors definitely contribute to the amount of sleep an individual may need, practically speaking what we need to account for is the individuals sleep debt, explains Dr Samith Shetty, a physician from Bengalurus Sparsh Hospital.

Sleep debt is a term used by experts to explain the compounded effects of not getting enough sleep.

To put it simply, it is as though the body keeps track of every extra hour that you should be sleeping but instead are spending awake. These hours accumulate over a period of time and do take a toll on your health, adds the doctor. Lack of adequate sleep can take a serious toll on ones health.

What happens to the body when you dont get enough sleep?

Chronic sleep deprivation may put people at risk of developing significant health risks including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, early mortality. A report was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology based on a study done at the Michigan State Universitys Sleep and Learning Lab which revealed that a chronic lack of sleep is more harmful than earlier thought.

Our research showed that sleep deprivation doubles the odds of making errors and triples the chances of lapsed attention, stated Kimberley M Fenn one of the researchers of the study to the media.

Another researcher noted that the latest findings proved the popular belief that only cognitive abilities were affected by sleep deprivation was wrong.

In contrast, getting adequate rest and sleep keeps people alert and active. It also aids in various metabolic processes. Research has also shown that sticking to an established routine for sleep aids in learning, comprehension and memory.

Breaking down the science behind sleep

There is not one mechanism which is at play to ensure that a person sleeps. Sleep occurs as a combination of biological factors and environmental ones. There exists a natural system in all of us called the circadian rhythm which is an internal clock of sorts that maintains the sleep-wake cycle.

A part of the brain called the hypothalamus interprets signals from the external environment (such as sunlight) and relays this to another part of the brain which tells the body what hormones and chemicals to suppress or release depending on the time of day.

During the day time, the eyes perceiving light will be interpreted in this manner by the hypothalamus to relay to the body that it is time to be awake. Whereas at night time, lack of light in the environment contributes to the secretion of a hormone called melatonin, which allows you to sleep. Melatonin remains in the bloodstream for about 9 to 12 hours, following which melatonin levels begin to decrease. There is almost no melatonin traceable in the bloodstream during the daytime.

Infants and young children require more sleep than adolescents. Elderly individuals also require more sleep than the average adult.

There are certain steps you can take to ensure that you are getting adequate sleep.

First, it is crucial to set a bedtime. This will help you get into the habit of ensuring that you go to sleep and wake up at a regular time daily. By doing so, it will help maintain your natural circadian rhythm without disturbing it too much. Get off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before getting to bed. Ensure that you are sleeping on a comfortable mattress that supports your back. Turn off lights, this will help ensure that melatonin is released appropriately. Some people might want certain sounds, scents or maybe a night light, which is ok as long as it is keeping them comfortable, says the doctor.

He also advises that people avoid smoking or drinking prior to sleeping as it may have negative consequences on the brain.

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Sleep 101: The importance of getting a good nights rest - The News Minute

A number one hair knowledgeable has revealed how widespread hair and scalp issues suffered by girls might be linked to well being points likedehydration and a hormonal imbalance.

Trichologist Simone Lee, from Perth, stated hairloss might be triggered by sudden hormonal modifications, whereas an irritated scalp is an indication of extended dehydration and a poor food plan.

Ms Lee advised Each day Mail Australia the power and vitality of hair is immediately linked to general well being, and revealed the key to rising a lustrous mane all comes all the way down to food plan.

Widespread hair complaints like thinning, shedding and dry, flaky scalps might be traced again to basic well being points from dehydration to poor diet

DRY SCALP

Dry, irritated scalps develop when the pores and skin is disadvantaged of moisture over a chronic time period.

Ms Lee stated a wide range of components contribute to dehydration of the scalp, together with extreme publicity to chilly air or air-con, repeated use of heated styling instruments which strip moisture from the pores and skin, low consumption of water and poor diet.

Applicable consumption of water is crucial for all times two thirds of our pores and skin tissues are made up of water, she stated.

The human physique loses roughly two litres of physique fluids every day, which is changed via consumption of water and different liquids.

Ingesting at the very least two litres of water on daily basis will hydrate each your hair and scalp, stopping flakiness and irritation.

Zinc deficiency also can trigger dry, irritated pores and skin, so enhance your consumption of zinc-rich meals like shellfish, legumes, fruit and nuts.

Medical situations like dermatitis, eczema, dandruff and hormone imbalances also can contribute to a dry, dehydrated scalp and ought to be handled in session with a certified physician or dermatologist.

Australian trichologist Simone Lee (pictured) stated the key to rising wholesome hair begins together with your food plan

THINNING ANDHAIR LOSS

The commonest reason behind hair loss in girls is Androgenic Alopecia, extra generally often called feminine sample hair thinning.

Genetics is without doubt one of the main causes of feminine Alopecia, with thinning normally beginning on the crown of the top, leaving the hairline unaffected.

However hormonal imbalances are one other widespread reason behind hair loss for girls.

Overproduction of the intercourse hormone dihydrotestosterone often called DHT causes hair follicles on the scalp to shrink, which ends up in thinner strands and infrequently everlasting hair loss.

Fortunately, hormonally triggered Androgenic Alopecia might be handled with prescription medicine and hormone balancing lotions, which cut back the quantity of DHT that reaches follicles and causes thinning.

Proteins

Hair is comprised of the protein keratin, so a food plan missing in protein will finally result in hair loss.

There are 4 key amino acids needed to provide hair keratin cysteine, lysine, arginine and methionine.

Up your consumption of proteinby consuming lean meats like hen, fish, beef, pork or lamb, or dairy merchandise together with eggs, milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are important for a balanced food plan, regulating protein and fats metabolism which is crucial for wholesome hair progress.

Easy carbs might be present in unprocessed wholefoods together with fruit, honey, milk, beans, lentils and peas.

Fat

Wholesome fat assist the physique to soak up nutritional vitamins and minerals, whereas polyunsaturated fat assist to maintain hair lustrous and glossy.

Good fat, wealthy in Omega three, are present in fish like salmon, tuna and sardines, in addition to avocado and linseed oil.

Nutritional vitamins

Water soluble nutritional vitamins like Vitamin A, B (thiamine), C, D, E and Ok are important to keep up wholesome hair and a hydrated scalp.

Contemporary fruit, inexperienced greens and entire grains are good sources of water soluble nutritional vitamins.

Minerals

Minerals together with cobalt, copper, iodine, iron and zinc are all linked to robust, wholesome hair.

Cobalt is present in broccoli, copper in cereals and nuts, iodine in shellfish and iron in liver and egg yolks.

Zinc, which is immediately linked to hair loss and dry scalps, is present in oysters, wheatgerm and bran.

Water

Ingesting at the very least two litres of water on daily basis will hydrate pores and skin and nourish hair, stopping thinning, shedding and dry scalps.

Supply: Simone Lee

Water soluble nutritional vitamins like Vitamin A, B (thiamine), C, D, E and Ok are important to keep up wholesome hair and a hydrated scalp

As a result of hair is comprised of the protein keratin, a food plan missing in protein and related amino acids also can set off hair loss.

There are 4 key amino acids needed to provide hair keratin cysteine, lysine, arginine and methionine.

Of those amino acids lysine and methionine are categorised as important, that means they dont seem to be fashioned by the physique and should be made accessible via our diets, Ms Lee stated.

She really helpful boosting your consumption of protein by consuming lean meats like hen, fish, beef, pork or lamb, or dairy merchandise together with eggs, milk, cheese and yoghurt.

SHEDDING

The typical hair progress cycle lasts from three to 5 years, with hair rising round half an inch every month.

However well being situations and intense medical remedies, like chemotherapy, may cause main disruptions to this course of, resulting in extreme shedding and short-term hair loss.

Sudden shedding scientifically often called Telogen Effluvium, a type of short-term hair loss is normally attributable to stress or traumatic experiences.

Dramatic weight reduction or a fast, uncommon shift in food plan also can trigger hair to shed, as can medicine, abroad journey and overexposure to ultraviolet mild.

Rising your consumption of iron after a sudden shock or trauma may help regulate the hair progress cycle and strengthen brittle hair.

Iron-rich meals embrace purple meat, darkish inexperienced greens like spinach and kale, lentils, fish and darkish chocolate.

Excerpt from:
The common health problems behind dry, thinning and shedding hair - Herald Publicist

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

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November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

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SAN ANTONIO San Antonio is gearing up for food coma season, which often results in feasting ourselves silly over the holidays. However, one San Antonio doctor says if you shop smart it's possible to make holiday meals that are equal parts delicious and healthy.

Cynthia Cantu is a primary care physician at UT Health San Antonio. The majority of her patients are adults living with diabetes, high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. She says their nutrition is a big factor in keeping them out of the hospital.

A doctor-approved shopping list can be beneficial to anyone with an appetite for holiday favorites.

For the main dish, Cantu recommends sticking to turkey. Start with a hormone-free bird. Check the label for salt and seasoning additives and refrain from adding additional spices from your cabinet.

People don't realize (the turkey) already has sodium, so that hurts you a lot. So please pay attention to those things," she said. "(Use) a little bit of low-fat butter and don't fry it. Just (bake) in the oven and you're good to go.

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Heading to the produce section, Cantu recommends serving fresh sides.

You can make a cauliflower mash and it will taste delicious. You really cannot tell the difference. You just need one (head of cauliflower) and it makes a good quantity. You just add a little bit of butter and cheese and that's a very good substitution,she said.

Green beans are another go-to menu item. But instead of canned soup, opt for turkey bacon and glazed pecans.

To satisfy your sweet tooth, make a cheesecake with evaporated milk or cookies with almond flower and Stevia.

To keep your healthy shopping trip within budget, seek out the store brand.

You can use the Walmart brand. If you look at the back it's the same thing, Cantu said.

If you need help planning that flavorful meal for your family without all the calories, Cantu recommends searching online for low-carb and low-sodium recipes.

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Tips for making the holiday meal that is higher on the flavor, lighter on the calories - KENS5.com

Sorry this isnt your typical sports story with a line score, but now that I have your attention, I have some important information to share with you. Its Movember, and besides shaggy facial hair, it brings awareness and support for testicular cancer, prostate cancer and suicide.

So, if its Mens Health Awareness, you may be asking yourself, why is a female writing this article? Well, women have been saving men for centuries now. As a physician, I can tell you if it wasnt for wives and girlfriends, I wouldnt have any male patients. Im sure that a couple hundred years ago a pilgrim wife told her pilgrim husband, Thou hast a most foul spot on thy back! Get thee to the physician! In all seriousness though, men are 24 percent less likely to have seen a physician within the last year.

The average life expectancy in the U.S. of men is 76.2 years, while for women it is 81 years. Approximately 12 percent of men over the age of 18 are in poor health. So, why is that? There are multiple factors, but there is a reluctance of men to admit they have a problem and need help, whether that is from an injury to mental health. We live in a society where men are expected to suck it up and not discuss any chinks in their armor. Admitting they have a problem is perceived as weakness. Im not attacking masculinity, but not seeking routine health care is a detriment to both physical and mental health, and ultimately overall survival. So, how do we change that? As G.I. Joe always said, Knowing is half the battle.

Testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in young men. It can occur at any age, but it is more frequent from age 20 to 45. The average age of diagnosis in the U.S. is 33 years old. About 1 in every 250 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer during their lifetime. Fortunately, there is a 95 percent five-year survival rate, even at advanced stages. As with all cancers, the earlier the diagnosis, the better the survival. Approximately 9,500 men will be diagnosed every year with around 400 deaths.

Risk factors for testicular cancer include family history (especially in a brother), history of undescended testicle (even surgically corrected), personal history of testicular cancer and white males. HIV infection also carries an increased risk of developing testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is rare in black men, but they are more likely to die from it if it develops. Treatment is mainly surgical removal of the affected testicle, but it may include chemotherapy and radiation depending on stage.

Having a single orchiectomy does not affect a mans ability to have sex or conceive children. The main tool against testicular cancer is early diagnosis and treatment. Men should perform routine self-testicular exams, beginning in their teens and continuing throughout their life.

The best time to perform a testicular exam is either in the shower or just after getting out of the shower. The technique is simple: grasp each testicle between the thumb and fingers and gently roll it. You are looking for anything out of the ordinary for you: change in size or shape, a lump or tenderness. If you find anything, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out ASAP.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in men (lung cancer is number one for both men and women). Approximately 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. The incidence of prostate cancer goes up with age, with the average age of diagnosis being 66.

Though there is a 98 percent five-year survival rate if discovered early, 88 men die of prostate cancer every day. There are approximately 175,000 new cases every year with over 30,000 deaths. Risk factors for prostate cancer include family history, obesity, diet high in saturated fats and high testosterone levels (including testosterone replacement therapy). Black men have a 74 percent higher rate of prostate cancer than other races and the death rate is twice as high.

There is a link to the BRCA and HER2 genes causing prostate cancer and men with that history should begin screening at age 40. For most men, we recommend beginning screening at age 50 with a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level. The PSA has faced a lot of controversy recently, but it is still a good test for screening for prostate cancer.

The trend of the PSA is more important because the PSA typically doubles when prostate cancer is present. We recommend men with a family history of prostate cancer and black men begin screening at age 45. Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer are often the same as symptoms of enlargement of the prostate (BPH, or benign prostatic hypertrophy).

These symptoms include increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia), decreased force of the urine stream, pain with urination, having to strain to begin the stream, erectile dysfunction, painful ejaculation, blood in the urine or sperm and pain/stiffness in your lower back, hips or upper thighs. Treatment options vary from surgery (prostatectomy) to chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy and even just surveillance.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. and 11th in Texas. Texas ranks 40th in the nation in suicide rate per 100,000 people. Unfortunately, its not that we have less suicides but more people. There were about 1.4 million suicide attempts in the U.S. in 2017 and 47,000 deaths (almost 3,800 in Texas). Men are three and a half more likely to die from suicide than women, though women attempt suicide more often.

The main reason for this difference is men choose more deadly methods of suicide, mainly firearms. There are 129 suicides per day, and in Texas one person dies every two hours from suicide. White males account for almost 70 percent of suicide deaths, with middle-aged white men (45-54) having the highest rate. Men account for 75 of suicides in the U.S. Worldwide, a man dies every minute by suicide.

The VA released a report in September that 17 veterans die every day from suicide. This does not include active duty suicides, reservists or service members who did not have overseas duty (which explains the reduction from the oft quoted 22/day numbers). Its still too high, no matter how you cook the numbers.

In conclusion, find yourself a good doctor that you trust and see them regularly. Dont be afraid to speak up and seek help when something is wrong. Stay in contact with your friends and family members and talk with them. Know the facts and be aware of your own body. We women want you guys around for the long hauleven if you do hog the remote control.

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November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

See the original post:
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New therapies approved following innovative research are increasing survival rates for patients with advanced lung cancer.

BY Mike Hennessy, Sr.

In the face of cancer, she chose to understand the biology of her disease and how it influenced her treatment options, eventually leading her to a clinical trial.

Warmerdam is not alone when it comes to outliving the disease she thought would claim her life, like it did her fathers. New thera- pies approved following innovative research are increasing survival rates for patients with advanced lung cancer.

In one of our feature stories, we hear from longtime lung cancer thrivers. Youll read more about Warmerdam and two other survivors; one is 15 years past diagnosis; the other, seven. Although these individ- uals endured lots of treatment, side effects and struggles along the way, firsthand accounts from them and others continue to inspire and offer hope to other patients and survivors, as well as researchers and health care providers who daily strive to eradicate cancer.

Also inside, CURE takes a deeper look at the latest therapies for treating patients whose non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has spread to the brain, also known as brain metastases. The cover story examines the role of surgery and radiation, as well as how tumor mutation may affect individual treatment plans. Experts weigh in on how they approach patients with this type of disease.

And for years, the treatment of small cell lung cancer remained stagnant, mainly because of a lack of clinical trials in this disease state. But in recent years, researchers have begun looking into newer techniques that are proving successful in early clinical trials. These trials investigated PARP inhibitors, which are often used in gynecologic cancers, and a combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy. Earlier this year, the results of one study led to the Food and Drug Administration approval of Tecentriq (atezolizumab) in the first-line setting. The results have many excited about the future, but for now, the standard of care remains the same.

This issue also covers a recent drug approval for metastatic NSCLC, the disparities that exist in the care of people with the disease and as described by a patient the silver linings of having cancer.

As always, thank you for reading.

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It's a Great Day to Thrive - Curetoday.com

How a cancer diagnosis leaves one woman feeling humbled.

I know this question makes a lot of people angry. I used to get angry whenasked that is, until I came to realize that its not the askers fault. I would have asked the same thing before I actually got lung cancer. Society often teaches us that the only way you can get lung cancer is from smoking. This isnt true. There are so many contributing factors that people are unaware of, such as radon, air pollution, genetics and just good old-fashioned bad luck.

But in any case, no one deserves lung cancer. Most of us have bad habits, but Ive seen some of the healthiest people I know acquire lung cancer and pass away from it. This month marks seven years that Ive been living with it. I received my diagnosis less than a month after my 33rd birthday, during lung cancer awareness month. I wasnt even aware it had its own month.

In the beginning, I had no hope and no faith. I felt helpless. I no longer had control over my body. I was told I had 12 to 18 months to live. Being the single mom of a 7-year-old little girl didnt help with my depression. I quickly got on antidepressants. There is no shame in that; I had to be strong for my girl.

Its now been seven years since that fateful day when I learned my life would never be the same. Ive come a long way in personal growth and have learned that sometimes the best of Gods blessings can come from the worst of circumstances.

First, my appreciation for life was renewed. I had a second chance, and I could choose to be a better person. Before cancer, I was a workaholic. I never stopped to smell the roses, walk the beach at sunset, watch my daughter and her friends just be kids, and teach her so much by being able to be home with her. All the smells, the sounds, the beauty of this life I now appreciated.

Since the diagnosis, my child has become very empathetic of others, an advocate for lung cancer, and gave her life to Christ at the age of 8. We didnt push her; the faith just bloomed. I love her more than anything in this world, and I couldnt be more proud of the 14-year-old freshman she is now.

Ive also made some incredible friends from all over the world through the lung cancer community. We are united in a hunger and new appreciation for a life that most take for granted. Yes, Ive lost many of those friends. And yes, it hurts whenI do, but thats how I know I truly loved them and will see them again one day. No one can be replaced when they are a part of your heart.

Let me just say that getting lung cancer at such a young age was a humbling experience. I was so self-centered and uncaring before. I was cutthroat at myjob. Im happy to say Im not that way anymore. I once was blind, but now I see.

I see that we have this one life, one chance to make a difference in others and maybe make this world a better place. Evil didnt win. Cancer hasnt won and will never win because I already have. I wouldnt take it back for a second. This is my life and this is my purpose helping others.

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Living with Lung Cancer: The Silver Linings - Curetoday.com

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

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November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

Read more here:
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By Ameera StewardFor the Birmingham Times

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a time to raise understanding about diabetes, an illness that affects millions of Americans of all ages.

There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas, an organ located in the abdomen that plays an essential role in converting food into fuel for the body, produces little or no insulin, the hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter the bodys cells to produce energy.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body metabolizes glucose, an important source of fuel for the body. With Type 2, the body either resists the effects of insulin or doesnt produce enough of the hormone to maintain normal glucose levels.

The Birmingham Times recently sat down with two physicians from Brookwood Baptist Healthinternal medicine physician Erin Townsley, MD, and interventional cardiologist Hutton Brantley, MDto discuss and get advice about dealing with diabetes.

Family and Food

People with a family history of Type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk for developing the illness, Townsley said.

If you have a family history of diabetes and then have the environmental or lifestyle factors that also play a role, thats going to increase your risks, she said. Just because its in your genetics and just because you have a family history doesnt mean youre going to definitely get it; it just means youre at increased risk, compared with someone who doesnt have a family history and lives that same kind of lifestyle.

Townsley recommends that those who have diabetes avoid foods high in carbohydrates (sugars, starches, and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables, and milk products), such as bread and pasta, as well as limit daily intake of foods with added sugars and excess caloriesall of which increase the risks of obesity and diabetes. The other thing to watch is being sedentary or not exercising, which also can increase the risks for being obese and having diabetes.

There is no cure, per se, but I have seen diabetes essentially resolve with dramatic lifestyle changes [and] weight loss, Townsley explained. Now, that risk will always be there for [some] people, so that never goes away. But if you can change your lifestyle, lose weight, change your eating habits, and increase your physical activity, you can potentially come off diabetes medications [and] dramatically reduce your risk for developing complications [from the illness].

And there are several potential complications. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes can increase the risk for many serious health problems, including skin disorders and infections; eye and vision problems, such as glaucoma and cataracts; neuropathy, or nerve damage, particularly in the legs and feet; kidney disease and failure, which can result in the need for dialysis; hypertension, or high blood pressure; and stroke and heart disease.

Symptoms to Watch For

Symptoms associated with diabetes might include tiredness and increased hunger. If blood sugar is really high, it can cause a catabolic reaction (a process in which the body breaks down large molecules for energy) and lead to weight loss. Also, high blood sugar is almost like a diuretic (a substance that causes increased urination), so it can have a water-pill effect and make patients urinate frequently.

Townsley wants people to understand how important it is to recognize diabetes and get it treated early.

If you know you struggle with being overweight or obese and you have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes, even if you feel like youre young, you need to see a physician about it and get tested, she said. I think thats the biggest thingearly detection.

Sometimes patients with Type 2 diabetes dont necessarily feel bad or realize that they feel bad, Townsley added. Their blood sugar may be elevated, and they may be slowly developing problems from diabetes, but they dont feel it on a day-to-day basis.

Some patients have a hard time understanding the importance of treating [diabetes], so [some] constantly have elevated blood sugar and dont necessarily have a lot of symptoms, or at least symptoms they recognize. Diabetes is sort of a slow process, and patients may not really realize that theyre having issues from it, she said.

Complications may not happen tomorrow, next month, or even in three to five years, but they eventually will happen, and it can be 20 years from when [someone] is diagnosed. Its really sometimes hard for me to get patients to look at the long goal, so I spend a lot of time educating patients about the importance of [monitoring diabetes]. The bottom line is most people dont want to take a lot of medicines, especially when they get to the point of having to inject insulin, [which is] a really big hurdle for patients to get used to. Its a lifestyle change to have to do that every day.

Heart Disease

Brantley said diabetes is considered the highest risk factor development of one particular complication: heart disease higher than smoking or high blood pressure.

Diabetes with elevated blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, making people with diabetes vulnerable to the risk factors for cardiovascular disease: smoking, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and triglycerides, he said. People with Type 1 and Type 2 [diabetes] are both at risk for early-onset heart disease.

The heart specialist added that maintaining a healthy weight is best for people with diabetes because being overweight tends to increase blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood fat levels.

Even a modest 10- to 20-pound weight loss can improve your levels, he said.

Additionally, regular physical activity is not only associated with better blood glucose levels but also can help reduce blood pressure.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise most days of the week and at least two strength-training sessions per week, he said.

Brantley also emphasized the importance of not smoking.

If you have diabetes, youre already at risk for heart and blood vessel problems. Nicotine only exacerbates the problem by damaging and tightening blood vessels, and raising blood pressure and blood glucose, he said.

I recommend that patients talk to their health-care provider and discuss specific risk factors for diabetic heart disease to come up with an individualized treatment plan, including further cardiac evaluation.

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Brookwood Baptist Health Doctors: What to Know During Diabetes Awareness Month - Birmingham Times

Screening for thyroid dysfunction in patients without symptoms does not improve health and creates unnecessary expenses for the health-care system, according to a new guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

Family doctors commonly order thyroid screening tests during routine patient visits. But the task force found no evidence of a benefit to patients in a systematic review of 22 studies on the effectiveness of treatment for abnormal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in adults without symptoms. Moreover, harms of unnecessary testing include the need to take medication unnecessarily and have regular medical visits as well as follow-up blood tests to check TSH levels.

The message to family doctors: Stop routinely checking that box on blood test requisition forms for patients without symptoms or risk factors.

Family doctors thought they were helping the patient by hopefully identifying thyroid disorder early on and preventing negative health outcomes, saysDonna Reynolds, a member of the task force working group who is an assistant professor in the University of Torontos department offamily and community medicine and at theDalla Lana School of Public Health.

Now weve found that we werent necessarily helping the patient and were potentially causing harm not necessarily physical harms, but turning a person into a patient when they otherwise didnt have to be one.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal published the guideline this week.

Symptoms of thyroid disorder can be quite vague, so the relationship that doctors form with patients over time can give insight into whether certain symptoms are starting to look more like a pattern, says Reynolds, who is also a family physician at Scarborough Health Network.

The longer you practice, the more you start to see patients with similar complaints, and we put patients on a routine to make sure we dont miss anything, says Reynolds. I think thats good clinical care, but its also important to know if were over-treating and over-diagnosing people.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information and Choosing Wisely Canada have found that up to 30 per cent of medical tests, treatmentsand procedures in some areas of health care may be unnecessary.

Choosing Wisely Canada has introduced several measures to reduce over-testing, and a recent effort to limit thyroid tests proved successful in a U of Tstudy published last week. Associate ProfessorMichelle Greiver and other researchers in U of Ts department of family and community medicine led that work, which found a 13 per cent reduction in thyroid tests over two years among family health teams participating in the Choosing Wisely Canada effort. Thatscompared to a minor reduction among teams that did not participate.

The group estimated $1.5 million in yearly savings from the reduced number of thyroid tests.

Reynolds and other members of the task force emphasize that the new thyroid screening guideline is for adults with no symptoms or risk factors for thyroid dysfunction.

The guideline does not apply to pregnant women, those who have exhibited symptoms or have been diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction,those who have had thyroid surgery, those who are taking medications that can affect the thyroidor those undergoing radiotherapy that could affect the thyroid.

Its good to have a critical eye on what were doing and why were doing it, and to practise evidence-based medicine to ensure were doing the best for our patients, says Reynolds.

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New guideline, created with input from U of T researchers, calls for end to routine screening for thyroid disorders - News@UofT

November 19, 2019 Cover

Pam Tillis keeps busy touring, making appearances and forever moving forward to her next musical project. Just last week she was a presenter for the Country Music Association awards with Women of Country Music as the theme.Country music is lucky to have her in their genre. But it wouldnt have mattered what Tillis chose to record and perform, she has one of those rare voices that lends itself to anything she wants to sing. She can easily move from classic country, to pop, to a bluesy torch singer wherever her heart, her soul and the lyrics lead.

Its rare when the puzzle pieces just seem to fit the first time a person opens the jigsaw box, but when Norm Stulz had the ability to make people laugh as early as the second grade in Detroit, there was no denying opening the comedy box was his lifes calling.Just a few years later in the seventh grade, he met the girl of his dreams and to this day, he and his wife Sharon, continue to build on a life together as two crazy kids in love. Laughter has been the glue for the relationship and the career path that has sustained Stulz for nearly 40 years.

Hosting a holiday dinner for your family is an undertaking in itself, but resorts are tasked with preparing the perfect menu for thousands of guests at multiple restaurants.Which items do guests want on the menu? How much food to order? When to start cooking? How many guests to prepare for? These are all questions the food and beverage departments must consider when planning for a holiday.

This time of year box stores are filled to the brim with every electronic device and latest phone known to man, but are there people on your list who already have all that stuff? Everyone has that one relative who is a challenge when comes to finding the perfect gift. Unique people require unique items and thinking outside the traditional box store offerings. Maybe that difficult-to-buy-for person is yourself because you never know what might strike your fancy.

Read the rest here:
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Intermittent fasting is a popular weight loss diet which is loaded with amazing health benefits other than weight loss. When you consume fewer calories you lose weight. Intermittent fasting also reduces your calorie consumption along with time management. It is a quite popular diet which involves a cycle of fasting and eating. Intermittent fasting makes you follow a protocol that helps you fast in the proper way. Intermittent fasting has been widely used for weight loss. Following this diet is associated with more health benefits. A recent study has highlighted that intermittent fasting may lead to a longer and healthier life.

Intermittent fasting may sound like another diet fad but researchers have conclusively found that the practice of routinely not eating and drinking for short periods of time resulted in longer life in heart patients.

"It's another example of how we're finding that regular fasting can lead to better health outcomes and longer lives," said Benjamin Horne, principal investigator of the study.

Fasting affects a person's levels of hemoglobin, red blood cell count, human growth hormone, and lowers sodium and bicarbonate levels, while also activating ketosis and autophagy - all factors that lead to better heart health and specifically reduce risk of heart failure and coronary heart disease.

Also read:Intermittent Fasting: Know How To Practice It And The Benefits And Drawbacks That Follow

Type-2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes which is affecting a huge population. Intermittent fasting has shown improvement in insulin resistance which lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes.

Intermittent fasting can help you control the risk of type-2 diabetesPhoto Credit: iStock

Many studies have shown that intermittent fasting can help in naturally fighting inflammation. Inflammation is a part of many health conditions. Intermittent fasting also helps in reducing oxidative stress.

As per the study mentioned above, intermittent fasting can help in reducing the risk of heart diseases and it can help you promote a healthy heart. It controls various risk factors which can lead to heart diseases like high blood pressure, bad cholesterol levels, inflammation and many more.

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can help in boosting brain health. It also reduces the risk of Alzheimer's.

Intermittent fasting also helps on controlling the risk of Alzheimer's and improve brain healthPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Intermittent Fasting: Is It A Healthy Way To Lose Weight? Find Out Here

Fasting is not for everyone. Researchers cautioned that pregnant and lactating women should not fast, as well as young children and frail older adults. People diagnosed with chronic diseases - especially those who take medications for diabetes, blood pressure, or heart disease - should not fast unless under the close care and supervision of a physician.

Also read:Not Just Weight Loss But Intermittent Fasting Can Also Reverse Type 2 Diabetes: Here's The Right Way To Follow It

(With inputs from IANS)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.

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Not Just Weight Loss Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lead Longer, Healthier Life Too; Know Other Health Benefits Of Following This Diet - NDTV News

Long overlooked, menopause starts to get noticed as doctors and entrepreneurs see a market ripe for disruption.

Women are desperate to figure out why they dont feel good. By the time they come to see me, theyve been dismissed so many times, says Heather Hirsch, lead physician of Brigham and Womens Hospitals Menopause and Midlife clinic, set to open early next year. When we think about womens health, we talk about puberty, pregnancy and postpartum. The menopause transition is really important, and it gets no attention.

Hirsch, 37, is part of a new generation of doctors, tech developers and investors determined to change that, and aiming to replace stigma with public conversation, better medical research and more accessible training. Research for treatment of common symptoms like hot flashes, low libido, sleep disruption and weight gain is notoriously underfunded, they note, even as an estimated 38 million American women are menopausal and account for approximately 20 percent of the American work force.

The lack of medical research is coupled with a lack of clinical training, even for gynecologists.

In many family medicine, internal medicine and OB/GYN residency programs, there is perhaps an hour of instruction on menopause, at best, says Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Womens Health, where she co-authored the report Menopause Management Knowledge in Postgraduate Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents.

Anna Barbieri

Frustrated by misconceptions and shame surrounding the topic, doctors have found new ways to communicate with the women they say are deeply underserved. Hirsch has her own podcast series, Health by Heather Hirsch, with accessible and irreverent segments like Perimenopause, what the HEL! [sic]. In New York, a new telemedicine start-up called Elektra Health is recruiting doctors like Anna Barbieri and hosting frequent salon discussions with titles like Hormonal Harmony: Thriving in Perimenopause and Beyond.

Its important to provide current and valid information about symptoms and their management, and to discuss how this phase of life is so strongly related to other health factors, says Barbieri, 46, an assistant clinical professor of OB/GYN at Mount Sinai. We know, for example, that the time of menopause marks an increase in cardiovascular risk, diabetes risk and risk of dementia for women. How can we optimize this transition, and by doing so optimize other aspects of health? Menopause can vary widely from woman to woman, and were interested in how to practice patient-centered medicine based in evidence and rational treatments.

A reasonable approach, to be sure, but one hampered by myths and misunderstandings.

Among them, Hirsch says, is the fear of hormone replacement, largely stemming from media reporting on the early closure of a 2002 Womens Health Initiative study. That study, which examined one combined oral dose of estrogenand progesteronein a population of women whose average age was 63.5, was widelyandincorrectly interpreted as indicating that the hormones led to a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer and heart attacks.

WHI was an incredible research study with lots of information, but it was a skewed population of older, non-symptomatic women, Hirsch says. When the media spun the results, it made a huge impact in most peoples mind that estrogen is dangerous and harmful, and this idea is still very much ingrained into society.

Today, NAMS-trained providers say that hormone therapy, given to symptomatic women within 10 years of menopause (typically starting in their 50s), often has benefits.

Recent studies, Hirsch notes, say that women who take estrogen and progesterone within 10 years of menopause have a tendency to live longer, die less from all causes and have less heart disease. These are results from several large clinical trials ofdifferent preparations ofhormone therapy in women who start within 10 years of their last menstrual period.

Even when women are willing to take hormones, they are often confused about the best sources, struggle to find well-informed doctors and are susceptible to marketing of unregulated, compounded hormones, Hirsch says.

The compounded hormone therapy industry is extremely profitable, as they are preying off the insecurities of patients and then providers who are otherwise uncomfortable discussing the risks and benefits of FDA-approved hormone therapy, with the risks being overestimated, she notes. There are approximately 15 million women on hormone therapy, of which about two-thirds use unregulated and one-third use FDA-approved medications. However, this number could be larger if there are women using compounded HT we cannot account for. Therein lies another risk of inadequate education and counseling: women taking unregulated HT with the idea that it is safer.

Theres confusion, too, about how to use and source supplements like Chasteberry and Vitex, which some women take for PMS and irregular periods; silymarin, which supports liver function; and melatonin and valerian, which may help with sleeplessness and anxiety.

I find that the use of supplements in the U.S. can be controversial and polarizing, similar to hormone therapy, with many sharing either the extreme view that no FDA oversight means that herbs and supplements are mostly ineffective and can be dangerous, and others believing the opposite, that anything that is natural is safer and gentler than regular medications, says Barbieri. I fall in the middle and believe we should apply regular scientific principles to both drugs, many of which have botanical origins, and herbs/supplements.

This fraught climate, investors say, is ripe for growth.

Last year, market research firm Frost & Sullivan predicted that the market for femtechtechnology products that focus on female wellness, everything from reproductive health to general wellnesswill be $50 billion by 2025.

Jill Angelo

Women control the majority of healthcare dollars spent, and are so influential in their spending power, but I was really taken by the lack of attention to womens health in the second half of life, says former Microsoft executive Jill Angelo, 46. This is a huge opportunity, and in terms of how much is capitalized or consumed, were just getting started.

In September 2016, Angelo launched the online platform Gennev, initially focused on selling hygiene products geared toward easing menopausal symptoms. With her partner Jacqueline Brandwynne, a retired Neutrogena executive, Angelo has branched out to providing services to its 16,000 registered users. It now offers $35 telemedicine appointments with NAMS-certified physicians and a $10 monthly subscription to unlimited consultations with health coaches, dietitians and nutritionists specifically trained to counsel menopausal women. Gennev currently partners with physicians in 30 states and expects to cover all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the end of 2020.

We interviewed 1,500 women, and they said, I have no idea who to go see. My doctor brushes me off, Angelo says. Were still growing our product line into dietary supplements but have also expanded to telemedicine and on-demand coaching. Theres a lot you can do from a lifestyle perspective to alleviate symptoms.

Amy Domangue

Amy Domangue, cofounder and CEO of the virtual medical care aggregator Jessie, calls Angelo a pioneer. The opportunity for virtual care for menopause and perimenopause is finally giving women a place so they know exactly where to turn. The way our healthcare system works is outdated, Domangue says. We have primary care and OB/GYN doctors, but what if instead of general doctors you have specialists uniquely trained to your gender and age? How can we segment healthcare better, so people know where to turn?

And while some women in their 50s and 60s may be wary of virtual visits, Domangue and other menopause entrepreneurs predict the approach will soon become normalized.

Alessandra Henderson

Telemedicine has been around for a very long time, so the technology itself is nothing new, but user behavior is very much a consideration. How do you onboard women in a way that feels comfortable and natural and that builds trust from the get-go? As we grow over time, and continue to get more women on to the platform, well continue to see more digitally native women join, says Alessandra Henderson, 34, the cofounder and CEO of Elektra Health, a new company set to debut telemedicine services in 2020, starting with a beta test group of 30 women in New York state.

Elektras model is to focus on building a virtual care practice with a dedicated care team of gynecologists on staff.We believe dedicated Elektra providers trained in our proprietary care protocol is the best way to deliver an optimal customer experience, real healthcare results, as well as to foster a long-term relationship over the seven-to-10-year menopause journey, says Henderson. Another focus for Henderson: fostering community and accountability.

Elektra checks in regularly with women in the first week, month and beyond on not only their health goals but also their symptoms. Well then use that information to inform their next meeting with the gynecologist. We also plan to add women to private, curated groups for support and accountability, she says. One hundred percent of women go through this. Its nothing to be ashamed about. Its a natural, universal experience. We want to give women the tools to live really well during this time.

This perspective is long overdue, says Faubion, noting that despite the fact that most menopausal women will suffer symptoms, theres not a great deal of new research. One area that does look promising: phase three trials on drugs inhibiting receptors in the hypothalamus that are linked to brain pathways responsible for hot flashes and night sweats. They block the NK3 receptors believed to be in the hot flash neural pathway, but an exact mechanism hasnt been determined, Faubion explains.

Doctors emphasize that menopause should also be assessed in terms of how it may relate to other health issues, particularly cardiovascular disease and dementia.

There is basically a disruption in brain energy metabolism during the menopausal transition linked to decline in estrogen, Barbieri says, adding that the decline can leads symptoms like insomnia, disturbed sleep, hot flashes, depression and short-term memory impairment. It is this metabolic change, as well as recognized vascular changes that occur with menopause, including the impact on the brains vascular system, that may be linked to higher risk of dementia for women.

Ideally, Barbieri says, technology will help researchers target womens symptoms more precisely.

Id love to see research that focuses more on precision medicine for menopause and the choice of intervention based on ones particular genetic makeup and individual situation. That could translate to different types of medicines, dosing or modalities, she says. Id also love to see more research devoted to non-pharmaceutical approaches, including natural and mind-body approaches.

These are exactly the possibilities inspiring entrepreneurs like Elektras Henderson.

The more women that we treat, the faster we can help identify what is and is not going to work, she says. We have a lot of independent research studies on diet, acupuncture and meditation, but we are aiming to build an incredibly rich data set to help informwith hard, science-based evidencewhat has helped treat symptoms, as well as what are best practices.

An indispensable guide to finance, investing and entrepreneurship.

Excerpt from:
The Women's Health Issue That's Finally Starting to Get Recognition - Worth

Pick one: Donald Trump was rushed to the hospital to visit a sick child because he is such a caring person... Or Donald Trump is the only president in history to break their physical examinations into two parts Or Donald Trump and the White House staff is lying.

Only one of those makes sense.

Trump is famous for eschewing presidential protocol, for instance, winning the popular vote; hiring competent people; and not soliciting Americas sworn enemies to undermine American democracy. But previously, he had adhered to the tradition of announcing the presidential physical and placing it on his public schedule.

But on Saturday, something strange happened.

Even though a letter from a quack physician reportedly called him the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency, on Saturday, a presidential motorcade took Trump to Walter Reed National Military Hospital for an unannounced screening, according to NBC. Unlike his two previous exams, this surprise exam wasnt on his public schedule and no oneeven the staff at the hospitalseemed to know about it.

Furthermore, the medical visit came only nine months after Trumps last examination. Accompanied by the presidential physician and a weird yellow envelope attached to his curiously bulging coat, the colostomy bag of presidents insisted that he was visiting a sick child and undertaking an unprecedented two-part exam.

CNN reports:

His two previous physical exams in office were announced ahead of time by the White House and noted on his daily public schedule, but a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN Saturday that the Presidents unannounced trip to the medical center was not even on the Presidents internal schedule as of Saturday morning.

The Presidents motorcade drove to the medical center unannounced, with reporters under direction not to report his movement until they arrived Saturday at Walter Reed. Trump typically takes the Marine One helicopter to Walter Reed, but on Saturdays clear-skied day, the President opted for the motorcade.

Aside from intelligence briefings that usually includeand this is not a jokecolors and stories, Trumps calendar was cleared all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

While speculating on medical issues is an ill-advised practice, The Root has spoken with several medical professionals who offered a number of diagnoses, including:

While the impromptu medical visit reportedly took two hours, sources say that 45 minutes was spent in the hospital waiting room as the president read knock-knock jokes and staged a valiant but unsuccessful attempt at connecting the dots in the latest issue of Highlights magazine.

Originally posted here:
Are We Pretending Donald Trump Wasnt Secretly Rushed to the Hospital? - The Root

In the United States one third of women give birth by cesarean (aka C-section), a surgical procedure whereby your baby is delivered via an incision in your abdomen and uterus.

For being such a common (and medically necessary) procedure, people have a lot of feelings about ityou might have heard that its worse, a shameful alternative to delivering vaginally. Theres a lot of mommy shaming that occurs around C-sections, but the truth is C-sections can be a safer alternative for both mom and babyit all depends on your pregnancy and your history.

Since knowledge is power, we asked doctors to help explain when C-sections are typically used, what happens during the procedure, what recovery after a C-section looks like, and how they compare to vaginal births.

Its true that you can schedule a C-section to avoid having to worry about going into labor. Sometimes the hardest part of labor and vaginal delivery is the uncertainty, says Ashely Brant, D.O., an ob-gyn at the Cleveland Clinic. Its important for all parties to be flexible and open to changing the plan as labor unfolds.

Thats not lazy. There are a lot of medically valid reasons that your doctor might recommend going this route, says Costa Sousou, M.D., chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Mayo Clinic Health System. Some of the reasons your doctor might suggest planning a C-section:

You have a condition called placenta previa.

Placenta previa is a condition that occurs when the placenta, an organ that develops during pregnancy to provide your baby with nutrients, covers the cervix (the tissue that connects your vagina to your uterus and opens during labor). That can lead to severe bleeding during pregnancy and delivery, says Sousou, meaning a C-section can be the safer alternative.

Youre pregnant with twins or triplets.

Depending on the babies positioning, a C-section may be the safer option.

Youve had a C-section before.

If you had a C-section with a previous delivery, there can be a small increased risk of uterine rupture (if you have prior uterine scars), explains Tajh R. Ferguson, M.D., an ob-gyn at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Of course, just because you had a C-section once doesnt mean its 100% certain youll need to have one again. Deciding whether you want to schedule a repeat C-section or if you want to try vaginally calls for very individualized counseling with your physicianmuch of which is driven by patient preference if all else is healthy, Ferguson says.

Your baby is breech.

If your baby is not head-down (maybe hes butt-down, i.e., breech), vaginal delivery is dangerous if not impossible. Your doctor can try a procedure to turn the baby's head down, but if that doesnt work, a C-section may be the only option.

You have a history of trauma.

In rare cases, women may want to avoid vaginal delivery due to other circumstances, for example, a history of sexual assault that makes vaginal exams very difficult, says Brant. In cases like these, the patient should have a thorough discussion with her doctor about the risks and benefits of elective C-section."

Of course, there are plenty of scenarios for which your doc might order an unexpected C-section too. Some of those situations include:

Babys heartbeat dropping (which may indicate fetal distress).

Youre not progressing in labor (read: pushing for a long time without any progress).

Your doctor is worried about your health or your babys health. Oftentimes multiple factors contribute to the decision to have a C-section, says Brant. A doctor will recommend a C-section if the risks of vaginal delivery are thought to outweigh the risks of C-section.

If youre lined up for a C-section, first a nurse will prep you for the operation in an operating room, putting an IV in your arm or hand so that you can get fluids and medications such as antibiotics during the surgery.

The rest is here:
What is a C-Section? Everything You Need to Know About the Procedure - Glamour