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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
STAY HEALTHY
You get to your darkest point in life and the brightest light appears': Giuliana Rancic opens up about breast cancer and her baby
For many women finding out that you had failed to fall pregnant would be sad enough to hear but to learn that you had breast cancer must be earth-shatteringly devastating.
But instead of keeping her tragedy to herself Giuliana Rancic decided to share her lowest moments on TV in her reality show Giuliana And Bill.
Appearing on Lorraine this morning the E! presenter, who is now expecting a baby boy via surrogate, spoke out how she hit rock bottom before bouncing back to her happiest.
Big broad smile: E! presenter Giuliana Rancic was seen smiling as she left the ITV studios after talking on the Lorraine show about her battle with breast cancer and her baby
She explained: 'I was at the lowest - I'd just been diagnosed with breast cancer, I'd been trying to have a baby for four years and I think sometimes you have to get to your darkest point in life and then the brightest light just appears and that's when the good news come.'
And Giuliana,37, explained why she decided to share such an intimate moment with her fans: 'I didn't realise that I was going to have trouble having a baby and get breast cancer? I didn't realise I was going to have to face these things. And so when I did, I thought 'Why don't we share these stories because they can help people?'
'Just when you think it's never going to happen, it happens.'
Spot on in the style stakes: The 37-year-old presenter looked effortlessly chic as she emerged from the studios before heading to the Olympic village to cover the games
Expecting the pitter patter of tiny feet: Giuliana and husband Bill are set to welcome a baby boy via surrogate later this summer
On October 17, 2011 Giuliana revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy followed by radiation before undergoing a double mastectomy.
At the time of diagnosis the TV presenter had been in her third cycle of IVF treatment.
Giuliana and Bill didn't give up on their dream to have a child and decided to have egg retrieval and they found a surrogate.
The pair are due to welcome their baby boy later this summer.
Giuliana was clearly in great spirits as she left the studios today beaming and waving to waiting photographers.
The American TV presenter is in London to cover the Olympic Games but is in danger of missing the birth of her son.
Speaking on the Today show earlier this month she said: 'We are going to be on standby.'
She continued: 'We think it’s going to be OK. The doctor assured us. He thinks maybe even early September the baby will come.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2181182/Giuliana-Rancic-opens-breast-cancer-baby.html#ixzz22DfQDfTx
The world's first 'weight loss fragrance' revealed... and it already has a waiting list of over 6,000!
From fad diets to savvy gadgets, there are hundred of products claiming to aid the all-important weight loss.
And now, the latest slimming aid comes in the form of a perfume bottle.
Prends–moi is the world’s first slimming fragrance from Velds that has been developed at the French perfume house Robertet.
The latest revolution in slimming comes in a small perfume bottle and costs £29.99
Makers claim the fragrance is designed to ‘slim with pleasure’ and is based on 'aromatherapeutic' and ‘neurocosmetic’ research.
The perfume contains ingredients which release B-endorphins present in the skin and a ‘pleasure message’ is transmitted through the brain triggering a sensation of well being and an increase in contentment reducing the need to overeat.
73% of testers felt a feeling of pleasure when applying the perfume
A ‘Slimming Complex’ formulated with caffeine, carnitine and spirulina extract activates the two key enzymes directly involved in lipolysis (fat degradation).
A trial study by BIO-EC of women aged between 18 and 70 years of age, who were not on a diet, found that 75% felt the perfume limited the need to snack and 73% felt a feeling of pleasure.
Generously spritz in the morning, as you would do with any perfume, and throughout the day when the need for snacking arises.
Further results can be achieved by very lightly massaging into targeted areas, morning and night to help sculpt and slim the contours of the body.
As for the smell, there are top notes, with lively accents of bergamot, mandarin and grapefruit.
With a low alcohol content, Prends-moi is perfect for those who love summer all year long.
But unfortunately you will have to join a fast-forming queue of over 6,000 eager customers who are desperate to get their hands on the bottles.
THE TRIAL RESULTS
A trial study by BIO-EC (Centre of Biological Research and Cutaneous Experimentation) of women aged between 18 and 70 years who were not either on a diet or medical or dermatological treatment during the whole duration of the study revealed the following results after 28 days of regular use:
• 82% felt a feeling of comfort after application
• 75% thought it had a pleasant fragrance and they would wear it every day
• 73% felt a feeling of pleasure
• 75% felt it limited the need to snack
• 70% felt a feeling of well being
• 70% felt it acting on their eating behaviour
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2181045/The-worlds-weight-loss-fragrance-launches-waiting-list-6000.html#ixzz22DeFcdgJ
Overworked nurses 'put patients at greater risk of infection'
Overworked: Reducing nurse burnout would be a cost-effective way of improving patient care, said researchers
Patients are more likely to suffer hospital infections if the nurses tending them feel over-stretched and close to 'emotional burnout.'
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania compared the number of hospital-acquired infections with the ratio of patients to nurses.
The team analysed data from a 2006 survey of more than 7,000 registered nurses from 161 hospitals in Pennsylvania.
They found that each nurse cared for an average 5.7patients. For each additional patient assigned to a nurse, there was roughly one additional infection per 1,000 patients.
The researchers also looked at the effect of nurse burnout on patient health, using another survey that looked at the levels of emotional exhaustion among staff. More than a third of nurses received a score that meant they were facing burnout.
The researchers found for each 10 per cent increase in nurses facing burnout there was one extra catheter-related infection and two extra surgical site infections per thousand patients each year.
They estimated that if nurse burnout rates could be reduced to 10 per cent from an average of 30 per cent, Pennsylvania hospitals could prevent an estimated 4,160 infections annually with an associated savings of $41million or £26million.
Writing in the American Journal of Infection Control, they said: 'Healthcare facilities can improve nurse staffing and other elements of the care environment and alleviate job-related burnout in nurses at a much lower cost than those associated with healthcare-associated infections,' conclude the authors.
'By reducing nurse burnout, we can improve the well-being of nurses while improving the quality of patient care.'
It follows a recent study from the Royal College of Nursing that revealed three-quarters of nurses in the UK have no time to talk to older hospital patients. Meanwhile one third said they were too rushed to help frail patients to eat and drink.
Typically, one registered nurse is expected to look after nine elderly patients who may be frail, acutely ill and have complex medical needs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2181084/Overworked-nurses-patients-risk-infection.html#ixzz22Dd6kYjC
Monkeys treated for depression as two older females die in their ecological park
Monkeys at an ecological park in Argentina are being treated for depression following the death of two of the oldest females in their group.
The black howlers had to be given medication because they refused to eat, it was reported.
Two alpha females died a year and a half ago from natural causes at the Rio Cuarto Urban Ecological Park, which is 400 miles west of Buenos Aires.
(File picture) Black howling monkeys at an ecological park in Argentina are being treated for depression following the death of two of the oldest females in their group. A male is pictured here
From that moment 'their male companions began suffering depression and four let themselves die of sadness,' park director Miriam Rodriguez told Clarin newspaper.
The black howler monkeys in this 30-acre park 'live in a group and are very close to one another,' Rodriguez said.
'When the females died, we noticed the others behaving oddly, but we thought it might have been something they ate.'
Concerned about their lethargy and refusal to eat, park officials consulted specialists at the nearby Cordoba Zoo, who told them 'the animals could be going through a phase of acute depression,' Rodriguez said.
(File picture) A female black howler monkey with a baby
After several analyses, psychiatrist Sergio Castillo confirmed the diagnosis of depression and two months ago prescribed a treatment based on sertraline.
Veterinarian Ezequiel Carrizo described it as 'a mineral derived from the serotonin used in humans to reverse different symptoms originating from compulsive disorders or depression'.
There was initially some resistance to the treatment since it seemed 'ridiculous to give them anti-depression medication even if it was only a minimum dose,' Rodriguez said.
He added that 'it has begun to raise the monkeys' spirits'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181389/Monkeys-treated-depression-older-females-died-ecological-park.html#ixzz22DbttW4s
The one vitamin pill experts say really IS worth taking (and you've probably never heard of it)
Who would have thought that the earth beneath our feet could be to blame for health woes ranging from heart disease to thyroid problems to cancer?
Yet that’s the view of some experts who say levels of selenium, a mineral essential for good health, are so low in British soil that it’s affecting the food chain, our diets and, ultimately, our risk of disease.
The body uses selenium to make ‘selenoproteins’, which work like antioxidants preventing damage to cells.
The foods that make the largest contribution to our selenium intake - because we eat proportionately more of them - are cereals, bread, meat and poultry
There is a growing body of evidence to show it has a key role in health.
Just last week, researchers at the University of East Anglia found people who eat large amounts of the mineral, along with vitamins C and E, are 67 per cent less likely to develop pancreatic cancer.
Previous research has shown that in old age a good selenium intake helps enhance brain function, so that cognition remains sharp and active.
The problem is we are not getting enough.
The richest food sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, kidney, liver and fish, but the foods that make the largest contribution to our selenium intake — because we eat proportionately more of them — are cereals, bread, meat and poultry.
However, because levels of selenium in our soil are low, cattle aren’t absorbing as much when they graze, nor are crops or other fresh produce grown on it.
As a result, there is less selenium available from meat, grains and vegetables.
Farming methods have a part to play. In a study conducted at Warwick University’s Horticultural Research Institute a few years ago, it was found that although British and northern European soils have been relatively low in selenium since the last ice age, levels are being further depleted by intensive modern farming methods and the use of chemical fertilisers.
‘Selenium levels in our blood plummeted after the time the government began measuring them in 1974,’ says Margaret Rayman, professor of nutritional medicine at the University of Surrey and a leading researcher in selenium’s effects.
‘They stabilised at this sub-optimal level in the mid-Nineties as our diets haven’t changed much since.’
She adds: ‘If you live in the UK, the likelihood is you are not grossly deficient, but do have low levels of selenium.’
The richest food sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, kidney, liver and fish
The problem is compounded by the fact that we import less wheat from America’s selenium-rich soils than ever before, she says.
Soil in the U.S. has higher levels of selenium due both to different geological conditions and the fact that it’s generally more alkaline, allowing better uptake of nutrients by plants.
In fact, the average Briton consumes only half (30-35 mcg) of the daily amount recommended by the government (60 mcg for women, 75 mcg for men).
In the long-term, the effects of low intakes can be devastating, says Professor Rayman.
Earlier this year, in a paper published in The Lancet, she detailed selenium’s links to everything from enhanced fertility and thyroid function to preventing plaque build-up in the arteries and regulating blood pressure.
One study of men with fertility problems showed that 100 mcg selenium supplements taken daily significantly increased sperm cells’ ability to swim, indicating they had been selenium-deficient.
Eleven per cent of men who took the supplement went on to father a child.
‘Selenium is an essential component of two selenoproteins required for healthy sperm,’ says Professor Rayman.
‘One of these is needed for transportation of selenium into the testes and the other gives sperm a stable structure that allows it to swim.’
But selenium is not without controversy.
Lately, some of the scientists who once hailed it as a small medical breakthrough for serious diseases have backtracked, suggesting their latest findings appear to show its power may have been overstated.
Selenium was, for instance, thought to be able to fight prostate cancer and heart disease, but various studies in the past five years have chipped away at the notions.
One large study in the American Journal of Epidemiology followed more than 1,000 adults for seven-and-a-half years and found those who took 200 mcg of selenium daily had no reduction in their risk of developing heart disease or of dying from it than those who took a placebo.
Indeed, eating large quantities of Brazil nuts was found in one study at the University of Warwick to raise cholesterol levels by 10 per cent and raise the risk of heart disease, not lower it.
And while some scientists have recently shown it protects against bladder cancer in women, others have found it does nothing to help to prevent lung cancer.
Similar conflicting evidence surrounds selenium’s role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, with some studies suggesting high selenium levels lower the prevalence of the condition by helping to control glucose metabolism.
However, other studies, including research by Saverio Stranges, professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Warwick University, have found no such benefit and, indeed, that it ‘may increase the risk for the disease’.
SELENIUM: WHERE TO FIND IT
Sardines (38mcg per 100g)
Prawns (16mcg per 100g)
Brazil nuts (245mcg per 100g)
Eggs (11mcg per 100g)
Wholemeal flour (53mcg per 100g)
Lean red meat (7-10mcg per 100g)
So what are we to believe?
Of the negative studies, some — including those on prostate cancer — were conducted on people with already raised levels of selenium who were in no danger of deficiency, Professor Rayman says. In other words, it’s no surprise that giving them a supplement would have no real benefit.
‘If your selenium status is low to start with, then you will almost certainly benefit from increasing your intake,’ she says.
‘But if you already have high blood levels of the mineral, you won’t benefit from taking more and it could be dangerous.’
Professor Rayman, in her Lancet review, concluded that adding selenium to the diet — either through eating selenium-rich foods or through supplementation — is beneficial only if you really need it.
So, how do you know if your selenium levels are low and what should you do about it?
Professor Rayman says: ‘Unless you eat either white or oily fish or offal several times a week, the likelihood is that living in the UK means you aren’t getting enough.’
The best way to boost your intake is eating more fish and other selenium-rich food, but it may also be beneficial to take a supplement.
There is growing debate about whether anyone needs to take single nutrient supplements because of risks of disease — but when it comes to selenium, even sceptics think it’s worth taking.
After analysing studies for their book The Health Delusion, Aidan Goggins, a pharmacist, and Glen Matten, both of whom have masters degrees in nutritional medicine, found the only antioxidant supplement that appeared to offer protection against cancer was selenium.
However, Professor Rayman warns people should be ‘extremely careful’ about increasing their intake of selenium because too much of it can be dangerous.
More than 0.45 mg a day can trigger a condition called selenosis, which can cause brittle nails and hair, skin lesions and a garlic-like odour on the breath, adds Claire Williamson, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.
Professor Rayman takes a 65 mcg daily supplement and advises popping a pill containing no more than 100 mcg a day of selenium for men and 50-65 mcg for women if your diet contains few selenium-rich foods.
As selenium tablets often come in much larger doses, you may have to break a tablet in half.
Professor Rayman warns not to gorge on Brazil nuts. ‘They contain a heavy metal substance called barium in levels that can become toxic, causing nausea and more serious side-effects if you eat them regularly.
‘It’s irresponsible of nutritionists to suggest people should eat Brazil nuts by the handful for this reason.’ No more than two or three nuts a day is recommended.
Professor Rayman adds: ‘Selenium has many benefits and your body needs to have enough. But more is definitely not better in this case.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2181268/The-vitamin-pill-experts-say-really-IS-worth-taking-youve-probably-heard-it.html#ixzz22DbAvQUy
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