free news
headlines.info

If you sometimes feel dizzy or lightheaded after eating a meal, you could have a common condition called postprandial hypotension, meaning low blood pressure after eating, reports the July 2010 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

Digestion is a complicated job that requires coordination between the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems. To compensate for blood going to the stomach and small intestine during digestion, the heart beats faster while blood vessels narrow. When the heart and blood vessels don’t respond as they should, blood pressure drops.

Postprandial hypotension announces itself as dizziness and lightheadedness causing some people to fall, others to faint. It can trigger chest pain, disturb vision, or cause nausea. In most people, postprandial hypotension stems from aging-related changes that interfere with the body’s ability to respond to sudden changes in blood pressure.

The Harvard Heart Letter notes that there is no surefire treatment for postprandial hypotension, but several lifestyle changes can make a difference:

Water before meals. Drink 12 to 18 ounces of water 15 minutes before eating.

Smaller meals. Larger meals are more likely to trigger the response than smaller ones. Try six or seven smaller meals a day.

Fewer rapidly digested carbs. Foods made with refined flour, white rice, and potatoes, as well as sugary beverages, pass quickly from the stomach to the small intestine, which contributes to postprandial hypotension. Eat slowly digested whole grains, beans, and protein to keep your blood pressure up.

Easy does it. Blood pressure usually hits bottom 30 to 60 minutes after a meal. Sitting or lying down for an hour after eating is another way to cope with postprandial hypotension.

Read the full-length article: "Eating can cause low blood pressure"

Insomnia is often thought of as trouble falling asleep. One form of it, called sleep-maintenance insomnia, is difficulty staying asleep, or waking too early and struggling to get back to sleep. Difficulty staying asleep often gives rise to worry over not getting enough sleep, which further interferes with sleep, creating a vicious cycle. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to remedy sleep-maintenance insomnia, reports the July 2010 issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch.

Cognitive and behavioral techniques have proven effective in improving sleep. It’s especially important to develop habits that promote healthful sleep through a collection of practices called sleep hygiene. Harvard Women’s Health Watch offers tips for getting a better night's rest, including these:

Watch what you drink. Avoid caffeinated beverages after 1 or 2 p.m.—or altogether, if you’re especially sensitive to caffeine. Limit alcohol, and don’t drink any within two hours of bedtime. Alcohol interferes with deep sleep and can interfere with breathing.

Exercise. Getting regular aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, or swimming can help you fall asleep faster, get more deep sleep, and awaken less often during the night.

Don’t watch the clock. Watching the sleepless minutes pass makes it harder to fall back to sleep in the wee hours. Turn the clock face so you can’t see it.

Improve your sleep efficiency. Keep track of your sleep patterns for a week or two. If you find that you’re spending less than 80% of your time in bed asleep, you may be spending too much time in bed. Try going to bed later, and don’t nap during the day. If you find yourself falling asleep too early in the evening, keep the lights bright.

It’s hard to get back to sleep if your mind is racing or your muscles are tense. To calm the mind and relax the muscles, try meditation, deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation.

Read the full-length article: "Too early to get up, too late to get back to sleep"

Summer is here. The outdoors beckons. Heed that call and you’ll reap physical and mental health benefits, reports the July 2010 issue of the Harvard Health Letter. Here are five good reasons to get outdoors:

Your vitamin D levels rise. Sunlight hitting the skin begins a process that leads to the creation and activation of vitamin D. Studies suggest that this vitamin helps fight certain conditions, from osteoporosis and cancer to depression and heart attacks. Limited sun exposure (don’t overdo it), supplemented with vitamin D pills if necessary, is a good regimen.

You’ll get more exercise. If you make getting outside a goal, that should mean less time in front of the television and computer and more time walking and doing other things that put the body in motion.

You’ll be happier. Light tends to elevate people’s mood, and there’s usually more light available outside than in. Physical activity has been shown to help people relax and cheer up, so if being outside replaces inactive pursuits with active ones, it might also mean more smiles.

Your concentration will improve. Children with ADHD seem to focus better after being outdoors. It might be a stretch to say that applies to adults, but if you have trouble concentrating, outdoor activity may help.

You may heal faster. In one study, people recovering from spinal surgery experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications when they were exposed to natural light. An older study showed that the view out the window (trees vs. a brick wall) helped recovery in the hospital.

Read the full-length article: "A prescription for better health—go alfresco"

Married men are healthier than men who were never married or whose marriages ended in divorce or widowhood, according to a major survey of American adults. Is marriage itself responsible for better health and longer life? It’s hard to be sure, but marriage certainly seems to deserve at least part of the credit, reports the July 2010 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

Numerous studies conducted over the past 150 years suggest that marriage is good for health. Now scientists are beginning to understand how marriage affects heart disease, cancer, and other conditions in men, says Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

A recent report from the Framingham Offspring Study notes that married men had a 46% lower rate of death than unmarried men, even after taking into account major cardiovascular risk factors. In this study, the happiness of the marriage did not seem to influence the overall protective effect. In other studies, though, marital unhappiness and stress were linked with high blood pressure (hypertension), an important cardiac risk factor. Over time, marital stress is associated with thickening of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. On the flip side, a supportive marriage is associated with improved survival among men who develop heart failure.

Marriage doesn’t appear to reduce the overall risk of getting cancer, but it may influence the outcome. One survey of people with cancer found that those who were unmarried were more likely to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis than those who were married. Among those who receive cancer therapy, marriage has been linked to improved survival.

Read the full-length article: "Marriage and men's health"

Parents can take several steps to protect children from becoming victims of sexual abuse by pedophiles, reports the July issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Few disorders are as repulsive to the public as pedophilia, defined as sexual attraction to children who have not yet reached puberty. Although researchers once thought that it was possible to cure pedophilia, the consensus now is that this type of sexual behavior is unlikely to change.

That has led to an emphasis on trying to prevent sexual abuse by pedophiles, mainly by educating and empowering children, parents, and caregivers. Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, recommends that parents start by educating their children about appropriate and inappropriate forms of physical contact, and encouraging them to talk about any interactions with adults that make them uncomfortable.

The Harvard Mental Health Letter also explores several persistent myths about pedophilia. One of the most common myths is that pedophiles are predatory strangers. In fact, in about 60% to 70% of child sexual abuse cases involving pedophiles, the perpetrator is a relative, neighbor, family friend, teacher, coach, or someone else in regular contact with the child.

Pedophiles seldom attack children out of the blue. More often, they try to desensitize a child to inappropriate behavior and then gradually escalate the physical contact. This means there may be time to stop sexual abuse before it occurs.

Read the full-length article: "Pessimism about pedophilia" 

If you've ever eaten asparagus, you know it can make urine smell odd. In some people, eating beets turns urine pink or red—which can be alarming because it looks like blood in the urine. These odor and color changes are harmless. But if urine smells sweet, that’s a cause for concern because it could mean diabetes. So how do you know when to relax and when to consult a clinician? The June 2010 issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch offers a guide to the foods, supplements, drugs, and medical conditions that can affect the color and odor of urine.

Blackberries and rhubarb, like beets, can temporarily turn urine pink or red. Rhubarb can also turn urine dark brown or tea-colored. Carrots, carrot juice, and vitamin C can give urine an orange hue, while B vitamins can turn it a fluorescent yellow-green. Asparagus sometimes gives urine a greenish hue as well as a distinctive smell (often likened to rotting cabbage). Medications can change the appearance of urine, too. For example, Tagamet, a popular drug for reducing stomach acid, can give urine a bluish tinge.

A change in the appearance or smell of urine may sometimes indicate a medical problem requiring attention. The mucus and white blood cells associated with a urinary tract infection can turn urine from clear to cloudy and give it an offensive odor. An infection may also cause blood to appear in the urine, turning it pink or red. Serious problems such as internal injury, bladder cancer, and kidney disease are other causes of blood in the urine.

Read the full-length article: "Urine color and odor changes"