Tips for the Health-e Woman

May 2008 Issue 36   VOLUME 1 ISSUE 36  
CONTENTS
Dear Subscriber
Hay Fever, Should You Move to Escape the Misery?
Do Alternative Allergy Treatments Work?
What You Need to Know about Asthma
Mediterranean Diet and Apples for Mom Fend Off Asthma, Allergies in Kids
Cueing Into Your Eating Patterns
Femme Fitness: Women and Performance
Acupuncture Improves Pregnancy Rates in Women Having IVF
Women and Speed Dating
HPV Vaccine Effective in Preventing Cervical Cancer Lesions
Sun Health Events
What is Sun Health?
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Dear Subscriber
www.sunhealth.org/delwebb/nestingplace/
by Karon Ford, BSN, MA, Sun Health Women's Services



In Arizona, the Sonoran desert in full bloom can be beautiful and captivating but for some it can start a cascade of symptoms leading to the misery of hay fever. This time of year the dry, dusty, pollen-heavy wind may trigger dangerous wheezing in asthmatics. This month Health-e Woman articles address the latest in allergy and asthma treatments including what the newest research reveals about the effectiveness of alternative medicine. You will also learn how you might protect your unborn child from developing asthma and allergies just by adjusting your diet during pregnancy with one simple, yet delicious food.


Don't forget to take our poll addressing the real concerns women face in the near future.  The poll is located on the left sidebar and is titled "Get Real Presidental Candidates."

[FULL STORY]
 
Hay Fever, Should You Move to Escape the Misery?
http://www.sunhealth.org



Twenty-seven sneezes. That's what forced Ann to stop her car alongside the road on a windy spring day in Nebraska. Ann's prescription medication was no match for Nebraska's airborne pollens. She's thought about moving back to Colorado where, with the exception of one bad spring, she lived free of hay fever for six years.
 
Allergy and immunology specialist Betty Wray, MD, of Atlanta, Georgia, says that if Ann were her patient, she'd recommend allergy testing to learn exactly what Ann is allergic to. "It's not painful or dangerous, and it gives you so much information," she says. Wray believes that avoiding allergens and getting treatment are reasonable options for Ann—and far less unsettling than moving.

[FULL STORY]
 
Do Alternative Allergy Treatments Work?
http://www.sunhealth.org


Those of us looking for alternatives to chronic itchy eyes and runny noses may have heard of some allergy treatments that don’t involve drugs or weekly allergy shots. Two methods gaining popularity are enzyme potentiated desensitization and low dose immunotherapy.

[FULL STORY]
 
What You Need to Know about Asthma

 

 
People who are having an asthma attack have real trouble taking a breath. Many people with stuffy noses from hay fever or colds say, "I can't breathe," but they retain the option of breathing through the mouth. Asthmatics, however, know what "I can't breathe" really means. Instead of their nasal passages, it is the bronchial tubes in their lungs that become swollen and clogged. Breathing can become frighteningly difficult.
 
Asthma involves two conditions: (1) contraction of the small muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes and (2) inflammation of the lining of those tubes. Traditionally, treatment primarily addressed the first aspect of asthma; in the past two decades, though, it has become clear that tissue swelling is the underlying cause.
 
The conventional treatment of asthma is highly effective for most people. Treatments include both short- and long-acting bronchodilators, which relax the bronchial muscles, and anti-inflammatory medication, which helps relieve the swelling of tissue.

[FULL STORY]
 
Mediterranean Diet and Apples for Mom Fend Off Asthma, Allergies in Kids
www.sunhealth.org/delwebb/womancenter/


 
Pregnant women who eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, dairy products and olive oil may help protect their children against asthma and allergies, new research suggests.
 
The study, published online in Thorax, an international journal of respiratory medicine, included 468 mother and child pairs that were followed from pregnancy up to six and a half years after birth. The researchers collected information on eating habits and on the children's asthma and allergy symptoms.

[FULL STORY]
 
Cueing Into Your Eating Patterns
www.sunhealth.org/communityed1



 
When someone is trying to lose weight, one common piece of advice is "Eat only when you are hungry." It sounds simple enough, but the reasons that people eat can be very complex, and many have nothing at all to do with hunger. Our internal cues are influenced by all sorts of other signals streaming in from the outside. Tracking down those "other signals" has kept scientists busy and yielded some surprising research on our eating patterns. Do you recognize yourself in any of these patterns?
 
The Myth of the "Light Lunch"
Feeling virtuous because you had a "light lunch"? Chances are good that you're compensating for it later in the day. A study conducted by scientists at the National Center for Toxicology monitored the amount of fat typically eaten at lunch by 17 subjects. The researchers gave the participants meals during three different periods. All of the meals contained the same amount of fat as the participants' usual lunch, but the subjects were told that the meals had either less, more, or the same amount of fat than what they usually ate.
 
The results? When people thought they were eating less fat at lunch, they ate more calories than when they were told the meal was high-fat. They also ate more of their calories from fat compared to both the "low-fat" and "normal" periods.

[FULL STORY]
 
Femme Fitness: Women and Performance
www.sunhealth.org/communityed1




Women have been creating an increasing presence in the world of health and fitness. According to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), women comprise 53 percent of health club memberships.
 
While in the past it was considered unfeminine for a woman to perspire, today's female athletes and workout buffs sweat right along with the best of them. This increase in female participation has raised some questions, though: Are there special considerations for female participants and athletes?

[FULL STORY]
 
Acupuncture Improves Pregnancy Rates in Women Having IVF
http://www.sunhealth.org/obgyn/



Acupuncture is an ancient practice used to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself and promote well-being. Small needles are placed in very specific areas based on your needs. Ancient medicine believes that the needles help to relieve blocked energy pathways. Modern medicine believes the process stimulates the nervous system to release beneficial chemicals. Regardless of the conflict in theory, acupuncture is gradually becoming an accepted option for a variety of health issues. It is typically used in conjunction with modern medicine for the best results.

[FULL STORY]
 
Women and Speed Dating

 

 
If you only have five minutes to pick a mate, you're likely to do it the way your ancestors did, with men seeking beauty and women looking for security, wealth and commitment.
 
It's an ancient formula but one still very much in play in modern "speed dating," said researchers reporting in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[FULL STORY]
 
HPV Vaccine Effective in Preventing Cervical Cancer Lesions
http://www.sunhealth.org/obgyn/




Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, and is the cause of virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Although over 100 types of HPV have been identified, two types (HPV-16 and HPV-18) are responsible for nearly 70 percent of all cervical cancers throughout the world.

[FULL STORY]
 
Sun Health Events
www.sunhealth.org/delwebb/womancenter/

Community Education Class to Train Babysitters
Safe Sitter® teaches adolescents how to handle emergencies when caring for younger children.

[FULL STORY]
 
What is Sun Health?
Located in the northwest Valley of Phoenix Arizona, Sun Health is a non-profit healthcare organization that exists to serve all ages with excellence in medical care, wellness programs, research and education.
[FULL STORY]
 
Sun Health
Published by Sun Health "Health-e Woman"
Copyright © 2008 Sun Health . All rights reserved.
These pages provide you with general information on a variety of health topics. However, in the case of a specific condition or illness, we urge you to contact your healthcare provider for answers to your healthcare questions. The information contained on these pages is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical professional. Sun Health intends for the Health-e Woman e-mail newsletter to compliment the healthcare services of the network. We do not sell subscriber lists nor do we share those lists with others. Sun Health does not use cookies -- text files that a Web site transfers to an individual's hard disk for record-keeping.
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