Category Archives: Health

Smoking Rates Decline, But Not Enough

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Greg Asseff

Worldwide, a smaller percentage of people are smoking today than they were about 30 years ago, according to a new study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Unfortunately, the growing population means that a larger number of people are smoking now than they were at that point, too. As of 2012, roughly 31% of men across the world smoked, a figure that’s still alarmingly high, though not as dire as the 41% figure observed in 1980. Smoking rates are far lower among women, and managed to drop down to 6.2% from 10% over the same time period. However, due to increases in worldwide population, about 967 million people smoke today – a figure that stood at 721 million 34 years ago. In 2012 alone, people smoked over 6 trillion cigarettes.

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Sodium Intake Declines Among Americans, But Not Enough

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Greg Asseff

Although a new report on salt intake by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that Americans are consuming less sodium today than they did about 10 years ago, we’re still eating far too much salt on an average day, according to the researchers behind the report. As of 2010, the average person ate about 3,424 mg of sodium each day, a figure reduced from 3,518 mg of sodium daily in 2003. Infants were not included in the study, though people of all other ages were. The decline may be partly due to the fact that popular food brands increasingly offer low-sodium options. For example, Progresso Soup, Bush’s Beans and V8 often have low-sodium versions placed directly adjacent to their typical products in supermarkets. This is important, as processed foods such as canned products and lunch meat contain a notoriously high amount of sodium.

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One in Six Become Ill After Drinking Raw Milk

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Greg Asseff

About one out of every six individuals who drink raw milk become ill as a result, according to new data from the Minnesota Department of Health. Illnesses incurred include parasitic infections such as cryptosporidiosis and bacterial infections including campylobacter, E. coli and salmonella. During the study, researchers came upon 530 cases of infections resulting from raw milk consumption between the years of 2001 and 2010. At the same time, researchers noted that many more raw milk illnesses go unreported, undiagnosed or unconfirmed by a lab. Typically, milk is heated in a process known as pasteurization in order to kill bacteria before it’s rapidly cooled. As milk is known to be an effective medium in the growth of microbes, it’s typically thought that unpasteurized milk can be rife with dangerous bacteria. Raw milk does not undergo pasteurization.

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Healthy, Yet Obese – Is it Possible?

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Greg Asseff

Controversy has surrounded the debate over whether people can be considered “healthy” even if they’re obese. While some argue that it’s perfectly possible to be in good health while carrying many extra pounds of weight, others say that obesity itself is a major health danger, even if an individual is free of the types of conditions that typically accompany it. Typical obesity-related conditions include high blood cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. A new study conducted at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital found that people who are obese, in comparison to those who are of a normal weight, are about 24% more likely to die from any cause over a 10-year period, or to have a heart problem during this same timeframe. The two groups compared above had no metabolic problems at all – only their weight differed.

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Over 1 in 10 Children Diagnosed with ADHD

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Greg Asseff

Rates of ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, have risen sharply in children over the past decade, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While about 4.4 million children between the ages of 4 and 17 had ADHD in 2003, the figure rose to about 6.4 million children by 2011. Given the population as of 2011, these figures indicate that about 11% of children are diagnosed with ADHD. About 66% of children with the diagnosis receive prescription medication to treat it. Researchers surveyed almost 96,000 parents across the country by phone, asking questions about whether their children were currently diagnosed with ADHD, whether they’d been diagnosed with it previously, and whether they were taking any medication to treat the disorder. Researchers found that about 80% of the children diagnosed with ADHD in the past continued to carry the diagnosis. While children with ADHD are typically thought of as disruptive and in constant motion, it’s important to remember that some children with the condition are very quiet and reserved yet inattentive.