Daily Health News Blog

(BPT) - With football and basketball season in full swing, it's the perfect time to invite family and friends over to root on the home team. Hosting a crowd-pleasing party can be simple with a little preparation. Score big with these simple game day entertaining tips. *Create a game plan. Organize the menu ahead of time so you're not scrambling to finish everything at the last minute. Tackle recipes that can be made prior to the big event, and prep any ingredients so they're ready to cook on the day of the party. *Block extra mess and stress. Finger foods are a great way to reduce utensil and dish use. Look to serve items that can be eaten in one bite, and set out napkins for party guests to use. *Score with decor. Print out team logos and glue or tape to cups. Purchase green or yellow felt fabric - green to evoke a football field, yellow to evoke the hardwood of a basketball court -- from the local craft store to use as a table cloth. Tie team-colored ribbon bows on ...

A growing number of medical professionals are finding that yoga can provide relief for some low back pain sufferers. Within the past few years, findings from well- designed, peer-reviewed studies have begun to move the practice of yoga beyond the category of alternative therapy. One widely cited study from Annals of Internal Medicine followed three groups of adults (101 people total) with chronic low back pain over a 12-week period, comparing their experiences with yoga, conventional physical therapy or a self-help book. Yoga yielded significantly better results overall, with benefits that included reduced pain and improved back function. Importantly, these benefits lasted at least 14 weeks after the yoga intervention ended. Researchers have not yet determined how yoga helps relieve low back pain. Among the possible hypotheses: Yoga increases muscle strength and flexibility, reduces muscle tension, decreases fear and avoidance of movement and reduces psychological stress. Is ...

Early diagnosis and immediate, aggressive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are crucial because only a brief window of opportunity exists to prevent permanent disability and lifelong complications. But early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is often difficult because the initial symptoms may mimic those of osteoarthritis, influenza (flu) and other viral illnesses. Also, in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis, joints may not be red or swollen and may appear normal on X-rays. Rheumatologists follow standardized guidelines for evaluating anyone who might have rheumatoid arthritis. No single laboratory test or diagnostic procedure can confirm the diagnosis. Instead, seven diagnostic criteria are used: Morning stiffness Arthritis in three or more joints Arthritis in the hand joints Symmetrical arthritis Rheumatoid nodules Elevated blood level of rheumatoid factor Radiographic (X-ray) changes The diagnosis will be rheumatoid arthritis if the first four criteria have been...

Erectile dysfunction can be a sign of elevated risk for cardiovascular disease. The good news: if you seek diagnosis and treatment, and make some lifestyle changes, you may be able to solve both problems at once. A man’s heart is connected to his penis in more than a figurative way—and not surprisingly, since from a physiological point of view, an erection is certainly an affair of the heart. Both erectile dysfunction and impaired heart function can be caused by reduced blood flow, which can happen when blood vessels become less flexible because of smoking or high blood pressure, for instance, or reduced production of nitric oxide. This substance causes vessels in the penis (and elsewhere) to dilate, allowing for increased blood flow and thus an erection. Some drugs for erectile dysfunction boost nitric oxide. Erectile dysfunction shares many risk factors with cardiovascular disease, notably increasing age, smoking, diabetes, depression, obesity, physical inactivity, and high blo...

Having a colonoscopy can be a lifesaver. But if you dread the standard “prep,” there are regimens that are easier and still effective. It’s essential to clean out your colon adequately before a colonoscopy, so the doctor can see what’s going on inside. If you don’t, the test is more likely to miss polyps and cancerous lesions that may be present, may take longer, and may even have to be redone (along with the prep). With all regimens, you go on a clear-liquid diet the day before the test. The most common prep involves drinking about 4 quarts of polyethylene glycol solution (such as Golytely or CoLyte), typically half the evening before and half that morning, depending on the time of the test. Available as generics, these are the least expensive and come in various flavors. It’s easiest to drink 8 ounces chilled every 15 to 20 minutes. Lower-volume regimens (such as MoviPrep and HalfLytely) use about 2 quarts of the solution, plus often a standard laxative. Another option is to ...

Many people taking medications have learned to be leery of grapefruit and its juice—which is too bad, since grapefruit is not only delicious, but also heart-healthy and nutritious. Here's what you need to know. Grapefruit and its juice raise blood levels of certain drugs, and the effect can be dangerous. This occurs because grapefruit contains substances that disable an enzyme (known as CYP3A4) in the small intestine that would otherwise help break down the drugs. The interaction happens fast and can last 24 hours or longer—the time it takes for your body to make new enzymes—though it trails off. On the other hand, grapefruit juice can also lower blood levels of a few drugs by reducing absorption. These effects can vary from person to person—and even from grapefruit to grapefruit. This makes the scenario highly unpredictable. The drugs include many cholesterol-lowering statins, as well as certain calcium channel blockers (for high blood pressure), tranquilizers, antihista...

Low-dose aspirin may do more harm than good in people without a history of a heart attack or stroke, according to an analysis of nine previously published clinical trials . The study, which was reported in the  Archives of Internal Medicine earlier this year, found that low-dose aspirin reduced nonfatal heart attacks by 20 percent. But that was outweighed by a 30 percent increase in serious gastrointestinal bleeding. For every 150 or so people who took aspirin for six years, the drug prevented one nonfatal heart attack, but caused two cases of serious bleeding. Moreover, aspirin did not reduce deaths from heart attacks and strokes. People who have already had a heart attack or stroke clearly benefit from low-dose aspirin. That’s the only explicit heart-health claim the FDA allows for aspirin. But people without a history of cardiovascular disease should not routinely take aspirin, or should at least talk to their doctors about their risk factors before taking the drug, th...