Health and Healing | The Good For You Network

Is it possible to be too clean? Researchers say yes
- Health & Healing
- October 10, 2012
Scientists are discovering that the very tools we use to battle bacteria and viruses- things like antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers- may actually end up 'training' our immune systems to attack allergens, causing the recent rise in asthma and allergies in America. NBC News, 10/8/2012
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Why patients don’t report medical errors
- Health & Healing
- September 28, 2012
Many of the people who suffer harm while undergoing medical care do not file formal complaints with regulators. The reasons are numerous: They’re often traumatized, disabled, unaware they’ve been a victim of a medical error or don’t understand the bureaucracy. NBC News, 9/26/2012
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‘Broken heart’ syndrome can be triggered by stress, grief
- Health & Healing
- September 26, 2012
Many people, most often women, suffer from broken heart syndrome after experiencing extreme fear, stress or sorrow. NBC News, 9/24/2012
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Most Americans May Be Obese by 2030, Report Warns
- Health & Healing
- September 20, 2012
A report released Tuesday morning by The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation explains that, by 2030, more than half of Americans could be obese, resulting in millions of new cases of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke — and costing the country up to $66 billion in treatment. ABC News,
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A Cure That Can Be Worse Than the Illness: Popular Antibiotics May Carry Serious Side Effects
- Health & Healing
- September 14, 2012
Concern is growing over side effects caused by a popular class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. The best known fluoroquinolones are Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin) and Avelox (moxifloxacin). In 2010, Levaquin was the best-selling antibiotic in the United States. But by last year it was also the subject of more than 2,000 lawsuits from patients who
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US health care: It’s officially a mess, institute says
- Health & Healing
- September 8, 2012
The Institute of Medicine released a report on Thursday on the state of the U.S. health care system and how it wasted $750 billion in 2009- about 30 percent of all health spending- on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems. As many as 75,000 people who died in 2005 would have lived if
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New study links ex-NFLers and brain disease
- Health & Healing
- September 7, 2012
As the NFL kicks off its 2012 season, an important medical study came out Wednesday on the dangers of pro football and what a career of collisions can do to the brain. Researchers found that NFL players are more likely to die from degenerative neurological diseases (like Alzheimer's and ALS) than the general population –
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Changing Our Tune on Exercise
- Health & Healing
- August 31, 2012
Desperate to find ways to get people to exercise, psychologists and researchers believe they've found a new approach that will be more effective than the promise of future health benefits has been for most people. Jane Brody points to experts who now recommend marketing physical exercise like you would a consumer product: "portray physical activity
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Far more could be done to stop the deadly bacteria C. diff
- Health & Healing
- August 22, 2012
Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a potentially fatal infection that ravages the intestines. The bacteria preys on people in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. A USA TODAY investigation showed that C. diff is far more prevalent than federal reports suggest. The bacteria is linked in hospital records to more than 30,000 deaths
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Medical Radiation Soars, With Risks Often Overlooked
- Health & Healing
- August 22, 2012
The trick to using medical radiation appropriately, experts say, is to balance the potential risks against known benefits… but this is not done nearly enough. There's been an astronomical rise in recent years in the use of radiation for medical imaging, especially for CT scans, leading to unnecessary medical costs and an increased risk of
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Surviving sepsis: New device speeds ID of dangerous bacteria
- Health & Healing
- August 15, 2012
A new device just approved by the Food and Drug Administration is the first to allow rapid identification of specific bacteria that cause sepsis. NBC News, 8/13/2012
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Persistence Is Key to Treating Sexual Pain
- Health & Healing
- August 10, 2012
Jane Brody discusses the causes and treatments for vaginal pain. Dr. Deborah Coady, a NY gynecologist, has written a book, Healing Painful Sex. Brody writes that Coady recommends olive oil, coconut oil, vitamin E, and other natural oils to be applied to the vulvar area three or four times a day for one or two
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BPA: A Partial Reversal From the FDA
- Health & Healing
- August 3, 2012
In this opinion piece, Dr. Roy Benaroch highlights the confusing position the FDA has taken on BPA. In banning the chemical from baby bottles and children's drinking cups, they recently reversed the previous policy they had announced in March. Meanwhile, because of public concern, most manufacturers had already chosen to remove BPA from their baby
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Tooth fillings made with BPA tied to behavior issues
- Health & Healing
- August 3, 2012
A new study found that kids who get dental fillings made using BPA may be more likely to have behavior and emotional problems a few years later. Though the effect is small, and much more research needs to be done to ensure that BPA is the cause, the possibility should not be ignored. Fox News/Reuters,
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Why you should grin and bear life’s problems – it’s good for the heart
- Health & Healing
- August 3, 2012
Researchers at the University of Kansas have found that the act of smiling helps reduce stress – and boosts the health of the heart. Researchers looked at how different types of smiling, and the awareness of smiling, affects a person's ability to recover from episodes of stress. They found that even a forced smile can
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