The Meijer State Game of Michigan will have local events this weekend; snow will be involved and registration is still available. (Supplied/Meijer State Game of Michigan)
WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
The main weekend of the Meijer State Games of Michigan’s Winter Games will take place this weekend, Feb. 14-16, with local sports including indoor archery, ninja, fencing, cross country skiing (freestyle and nordic), karate, disc golf, shooting sports and wrestling.
Online registration as well as onsite registration is still available for some main weekend sports, according to supplied material. For more information about onsite registration, times, locations and entry fees for events, please visit stategamesofmichigan.com. Registration information is located on each sport’s page.
The main weekend will begin with an athlete celebration hosted by the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, Feb. 14, at the Van Andel Arena. A special in-game recognition of all Meijer State Games athletes will take place during the first period.
Prior to the Griffins game, the Meijer State Games will present the 2019 Athletes of the Year awards, including to Catherine Vandergriff of Spring Lake (speed skating), Noah Zomberg of Grand Rapids (rugby) and Anastasia Schutte of Holland (archery 3D).
The Meijer State Games of Michigan held the first sporting event of the Winter Games, fatbike, on Feb. 1. Results for all the Winter Games sporting events are now available here.
The Meijer State Games of Michigan, according to supplied material, is an Olympic-style, multi-sport event(s) that welcomes athletes regardless of age or ability level. “The games embody the values of participation, sportsmanship, and healthy living among the residents of Michigan.”
Since 2010, Meijer State Games of Michigan has hosted more than 65,000 athletes. The Meijer State Games of Michigan has also contributed over $25 million in estimated economic impact to cities throughout Michigan, according to supplied material.
A new study of pre-menopausal and menopausal women has helped shed light on how every woman experiences menopause differently, and what treatments are most effective. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Every woman experiences menopause in her own unique way with a variety of symptoms.
She may suffer from hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, weight gain, fatigue and a sense of not feeling right. Some of these symptoms may sound familiar to you—possibly all of them.
I’ve seen several patients recently who each complained of different issues related to menopause.
A woman I’ll call Peg had to stop wearing silk shirts to work because she sweat through each one. Another patient, Sue, became embarrassed in meetings because her face becomes very red when she makes presentations to her peers. Cindy felt depressed that even though everything in her life was great, she had a sadness she just couldn’t shake. And then there’s Gloria, who expressed frustration with weight gain she recently began experiencing.
The four women felt betrayed by their bodies.
Fortunately, I had some encouraging information to share with each of these patients, thanks to a comprehensive women’s health study called the SWAN study.
The Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN) is an ongoing study that follows women between ages 42 and 52 in order to understand how they will experience the menopause transition. There are seven SWAN sites across the nation: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark, Pittsburgh and Oakland.
Each woman receives a physical exam that includes measuring her height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and lab work levels. The study also records whether or not she smokes, how much alcohol she consumes, her education status and family history. Race/ethnicity is categorized as African American, non-Hispanic Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese or Hispanic.
The results of the SWAN study are interesting and have helped doctors understand why each woman’s menopause experience is unique.
For example, the study showed that women who became at higher risk for heart disease—increased cholesterol, belly fat and blood sugar levels—tended to fall in the following categories: Hispanic or Japanese, less physically active, less likely to be highly educated, and most had higher BMI and cholesterol levels before the study began. Pre-diabetes was found to be a very high risk factor across all ethnic groups.
Another study done in Pittsburgh evaluated Caucasian and African-American participants at risk of depression. Twenty percent to 30 percent of participating women had new onset depression between the ages of 42 and 52.
The women in the study had an average age of 46, and 31 percent were African American. In addition, 34 percent had a family history of depression. The women who had a family history of depression proved to be more likely to be highly educated and have experienced at least one episode of depression.
The SWAN study has also taught doctors so many other important facts about women in menopause:
Hot flashes are different for each woman.
Women of color experience hot flashes for the longest period of time (average of 10 years).
Women of Asian descent have hot flashes for the shortest period of time, but they suffer more with depression and irritability.
Hispanic women suffer from hot flashes an average of 8.9 years.
Caucasian women experience hot flashes an average of 6.5 years.
The earlier women start having hot flashes, the longer they last.
There are so many other fascinating findings that have occurred as a result of this ongoing study, but the bottom line is that women do not have to suffer the symptoms of menopause.
There is help for you and plenty of research to back up the findings. Strong, scientific research is being done to help us know what works best and determine the safest method for treating menopause symptoms.
I recommend being active, drinking plenty of water, maintaining a healthy weight, staying off the sugar, and being grateful in your life daily. These are simple but very powerful tools used to combat the symptoms of menopause.
In addition, there are FDA-approved hormones that may help those who need them. They are a safe option for many women.
If you think you may benefit from this type of treatment, ask your doctor, or come see us at the Spectrum Health Menopause offices. If we discover that hormones are not safe for you, there are many other options to try.
AIM also invites the public to run, walk or hand cycle your way through Grand Valley State University’s campus in Allendale this Saturday, April 4, for its Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser. (Supplied/AIM)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
The local non-profit Alternatives in Motion — whose stated mission is to “enhance independence through access to mobility equipment” — recently announced a successful mobility device collection drive put on by one of AIM’s board members.
AIM will also be the benefactor of the Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser, held at Gran Valley State University’s Allendale campus in April. And it is not too early to sign up.
Throughout December 2019, AIM board member Leigh Chick hosted a Mobility Drive at Ionia Intermediate School District’s Freedom Acres School.
Throughout December 2019, AIM board member Leigh Chick hosted a Mobility Drive at Ionia Intermediate School District’s Freedom Acres School. (Supplied/AIM)
“I was inspired to host a mobility drive to support AIM because they have given so much to the students and families of Ionia County and directly to Freedom Acres School,” Chick said in supplied material. “I knew there were families and community members holding onto old equipment that their child had outgrown and they didn’t know what to do with it. I wanted to give them a place to pay it forward. I also wanted to spread the word about how amazing of an organization AIM is.”
Chick thanked several people for help with the drive, including Jim VanBeek of Triangle Construction, who loaned an enclosed trailer to house and collect the equipment in until it could be delivered to Alternatives in Motion’s warehouse, as well as, at the school, Principal Angela Miller, maintenance supervisor Jeff Duell, and Brenda Brown, the school’s physical therapist.
Wheels, run, walk, whatever — for a good cause
AIM also invites the public to run, walk or hand cycle your way through Grand Valley State University’s campus in Allendale this Saturday, April 4, for its Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser.
All proceeds go directly to support the organization, which aids in donating and refurbishing wheelchairs to individuals and families in need.
The event will take place at 1110 Kirkhof Center, 1 Campus Drive, on GVSU’s Allendale campus. In addition to the run, there will be raffles, prizes, music, snacks, drinks, and more. The cost is $25 per person with events starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.
It’s not all in your genes. Research underscores the important role that lifestyle decisions play in shaping the trajectory of your brain health. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Researchers looking to trace the genetics and risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease put out a call: Volunteers needed to take a short online memory test.
Celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Lynda Carter and Valerie Bertinelli spread the word on social media. Soon, thousands of people signed up to match word pairs on the MindCrowd test.
With more than 59,000 tests completed, the researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona analyzed the results.
On average, adults 18 to 65 who had a family member with Alzheimer’s scored lower than those who did not.
The study suggests those who have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s because of family history may show changes in memory performance as early as their 20s, say the researchers.
More than 115,000 people have now taken the test, which is still online.
Researchers aim for a pool of 1 million participants, creating a set of data about how people without Alzheimer’s perform on the test, based on age, gender and various demographic and health factors.
Take results in context
The study, published in the journal eLife, may spark intriguing questions about who is at risk for the memory-impairing disease—but it is far from a diagnostic test, cautions Timothy Thoits, MD, the division chief of neurology with Spectrum Health Medical Group.
Thoits, a specialist in memory disorders, said neuropsychologists administer a number of tests to diagnose Alzheimer’s.
One test resembles the one used in the MindCrowd research. It asks participants to learn word pairs and then tests how well they can recall the missing half of each pair when one word is presented.
For example, a word pair may be “fan and vase.” When prompted with the word “fan,” the participant fills in the missing word, “vase.” (These words are not from the actual test.)
But someone undergoing testing for dementia would undergo many other tests—covering abilities such as attention, visual and spatial perception, judgment, processing, recall and retention.
Neuropsychologists’ testing also measures whether the patients are giving a good effort. This is crucial because depression, anxiety and other factors can affect whether people give it a full effort.
“Memory loss has to be taken in context—what’s going on in your life, what medications you are exposed to, any other medical illnesses,” Dr. Thoits said.
He encouraged anyone concerned with their results on the test—or memory issues in general—to talk first with a primary care doctor.
The researchers, in discussing the results of the study, stressed the value of a healthy lifestyle in helping to reduce the risk of dementia.
Neuropsychologists generally divide recommendations into three age groups, Dr. Thoits said.
Early life
Stay in school.
“People with a high education build up what we call cognitive reserve,” he said. “We think they can get along longer even though they may be having trouble, because of that high intelligence.
“For somebody with a lower cognitive reserve, minor deficits come to the forefront sooner.”
Midlife
Address health risk factors linked to an increased risk of dementia, including high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, smoking and hearing loss.
Although hearing loss gets little attention as a risk factor, research shows the link to be significant.
A recent study of more than 16,000 people in Taiwan found those diagnosed with hearing loss between 45 and 64 years of age were at higher risk of developing dementia in coming years. The findings suggest that hearing protection, screening and treatment might reduce that risk factor, the researchers say in the study published in JAMA Network Open.
Later life
Physical inactivity, social isolation, hypertension and depression all raise the risks of dementia for older adults.
Dr. Thoits encourages people to socialize and remain physically and mentally active. Suggestions include:
Take a lifelong learning course at a local college.
Do crossword puzzles and other fun games, including those offered free online at Games for the Brain.
Each day, get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day—make it a heart rate-boosting, sweat-inducing session.
Lifelong
In general, Dr. Thoits advises paying attention to four areas of life: Stay active physically, mentally and socially and follow a Mediterranean diet, with its emphasis on fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, poultry and whole grains.
He does not advise taking supplements that claim to prevent dementia.
“One multivitamin a day is all we recommend,” he said.
The best way to get through midlife and menopause is to know the tricks.
One of the tricks for healthy aging is to eat the Mediterranean way. This way of cooking and eating is healthy, tasty, satisfying and good for staying on a budget.
Mediterranean cooking includes whole grains, lean protein such as seafood and chicken, extra-virgin olive oil and lots of veggies.
For flavor and health benefits, the recipes use lemons, lots of garlic, and spices such as oregano, dill and parsley.
There are so many options to consider, and my favorite cookbook for Mediterranean cooking is Live to Eat by Michael Psilakis.
He organizes everything by key items to keep on hand: Greek yogurt for sauces and dips, garden-fresh veggies and fruits, peppers, onions, roasted cherry tomatoes, tomato sauce and garlic confit. From these items, healthy meals are a snap.
Mediterranean cooking has been proven to reduce risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance is the common denominator for all these issues, which combined are the cause of death for a third of women.
Insulin resistance is when the blood sugar stays higher longer after consuming food—and especially higher after consuming simple carbs such as white flour pasta, white bread, white rice, alcohol or treats.
When blood sugar stays high, it can damage tissue and cause higher levels of insulin, which increase cravings for sugar, as well as promote storage of sugar into belly fat.
One of the other things sugar does is make blood vessel linings sticky, which allows fat to adhere to them, increasing the risk of a blockage.
The bottom line, a diet high in foods made with simple carbs cause preventable disease.
Learning how to cook the Mediterranean way can save lives.
Extreme early birds seem to function well in the daytime but they have trouble staying awake for evening social commitments, according to researchers. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Early to bed and early to rise? In its extreme form, this tendency is more common than previously believed, according to a new study.
Going to sleep at 8pm and waking up as early as 4am is called advanced sleep phase. It was believed to be rare, but this study concluded that it may affect at least one in 300 adults.
In advanced sleep phase, your body clock (circadian rhythm) is on a schedule hours earlier than most other people’s. You have premature release of the sleep hormone melatonin and shift in body temperature.
Advanced sleepers also wake more easily than others and are satisfied with an average of five-to-10 minutes extra sleep on non-work days, compared with the 30-to-38 minutes more sleep that other people would take advantage of, according to study senior author Dr. Louis Ptacek. He’s a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Advanced sleep is not the same as early rising that develops with normal aging, or the waking in the early hours linked to depression.
“While most people struggle with getting out of bed at 4 or 5am, people with advanced sleep phase wake up naturally at this time, rested and ready to take on the day,” Ptacek said in a university news release.
“These extreme early birds tend to function well in the daytime but may have trouble staying awake for social commitments in the evening,” he added.
In order to determine the prevalence of advanced sleepers, the researchers analyzed data from more than 2,400 patients at a sleep disorder clinic. Of those, 0.03% were determined to be advanced sleepers. This is a conservative estimate, the study authors explained, because it did not include patients who didn’t want to participate in the study or advanced sleepers who had no need to attend a sleep clinic.
The researchers also said that all of the advanced sleepers in the study reported at least one close relative with the same early sleep-wake schedule.
“We hope the results of this study will not only raise awareness of advanced sleep phase and familial advanced sleep phase, but also help identify the circadian clock genes and any medical conditions that they may influence,” Ptacek said.
The report was published recently in the journal Sleep.
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”
George Bernard Shaw
Community programs in Wyoming
There are a number of spring programs available through the Wyoming Department of Parks and Recreation Registration is now open for these programs. Go here for the story.
Run and dance in Kentwood
The City of Kentwood has community-focused events all year round but February may be a little more busy than most months with its annual Valentine’s Dash 5K on Saturday, Feb. 8, and two more events later in the month, including the Annual Freeze Fest Disc Golf Tournament, and a Hawaiian Luau-Themed Family Dance, both on Feb. 22. Go here for the story.
Summer sunny job in Wyoming
Whether a college student just home for the summer or an older adult looking to do something different, the City of Wyoming has a number of seasonal job opportunities available. Go here for the story.
Fun fact:
$3,910 … or so
If you will reach full retirement age in 2019, you may earn up to $3,910 per month without losing any of your Social Security benefits. Source.
People with a genetic predisposition to insomnia had a higher risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke that affected large blood vessels, according to a recent study. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
If you spend a lot of nights watching the clock instead of sleeping, new research suggests you may need to be as concerned about your heart health as you are about lost shut-eye.
People with genetic variants linked to insomnia have an increased risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke, according to the study.
“Good sleep is important for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease,” said study author Susanna Larsson. She’s from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
“A potential explanation for our observed associations between insomnia and heart disease and stroke is that insomnia problems potentially lead to the metabolic syndrome, including high blood pressure, increased body weight and type 2 diabetes, which increase the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke,” she said.
Insomnia affects up to 30% of the general population, the study authors said. More than 200 genetic variants are associated with insomnia complaints.
For the new study, the researchers looked at health information on more than 1.3 million people in Europe. The investigators compared whether or not genetic variants linked to insomnia were also associated with the risk of heart conditions and stroke.
The study found that people with a genetic predisposition to insomnia had a higher risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke that affected large blood vessels. Other types of stroke were not increased.
The researchers also noted that the risk of a potentially dangerous irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation wasn’t linked to insomnia.
Certain conditions, including heart disease and risk factors for heart disease, such as sleep apnea, may cause difficulty sleeping—and that makes it hard to tease out which condition comes first.
But, that’s a strength of this research, Larsson said.
Because they used genetic information to define insomnia instead of symptoms, it’s easier to see if sleep woes are directly related to the increased risk of heart problems and stroke.
There’s a flip side to that argument, however.
Because it’s not clear if the study volunteers actually had sleep troubles, or if they just had genes that made insomnia more likely, it’s hard to say if insomnia symptoms are truly the cause of these heart concerns and strokes.
Dr. John Osborne, an American Heart Association spokesperson and director of cardiology at State of the Heart Cardiology in Southlake, Texas, said he won’t be losing any sleep over the findings.
“It’s interesting and they used a powerful statistical technique that appears to be pretty accurate at identifying causal relationships. But the study didn’t identify how severe insomnia was or if people just have a tendency to insomnia,” he explained.
And, he said, the links they did find between insomnia and other conditions were only weak associations. Plus, the study was done in a European population. The findings may not be the same in more diverse groups of people.
Still, both experts said it’s a good idea to get the sleep you need for your health.
Larsson suggested that “individuals with poor sleep should try to change their habits and reduce stress in order to improve their sleep. Our genetic make-up has only a very minor influence on our risk of insomnia, which is mainly driven by behaviors, stress and other environmental factors.”
Osborne said stress management can help with sleep, as can avoiding stimulating substances like cigarettes and caffeine. He said to talk to your primary care doctor if you’re having a lot of trouble getting a full night’s sleep.
The study was published recently in the journal Circulation.
Diabetes is the body’s inability to properly process sugar, causing blood sugar to rise to unhealthy, sometimes dangerous, levels.
But the opposite problem—low blood sugar—can be a concern for people with diabetes, too.
About 60 percent of people with diabetes have had episodes of low blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, according to a national survey by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Of those people, 19 percent went to an emergency room.
“The prevalence is huge, and patients are concerned about it,” said Evan Sisson, PharmD, MHA, and a certified diabetes educator and former American Association of Diabetes Educators board member.
But the survey also showed that many patients “don’t know how to recognize hypoglycemia, and what to do if they do have it,” Dr. Sisson added.
A surprisingly high percentage of the survey’s respondents—nearly one-fifth—didn’t know how to define low blood sugar.
The number of patients who are unaware of low blood sugar treatment, or not properly treating low blood sugar, is worrisome to medical professionals because they demonstrate high patient concern but low knowledge.
When addressed properly at the first sign of symptoms, hypoglycemia can be little more than a minor annoyance. But if ignored, the symptoms become significantly worse—sluggishness, mental confusion, loss of consciousness.
Low blood sugar symptoms—the alarm signals include feeling shaky or sweaty, hungry or nauseated, or having a pounding heart—can begin when glucose levels drop to 70 milligrams per deciliter, or lower.
“Several factors put patients at increased risk of hypoglycemia,” said Annie House, a certified diabetes educator and diabetes education program coordinator at Spectrum Health Medical Group.
These factors include: too much diabetes medicine, too little food, or unplanned activity such as extra exercise in the summer or snow shoveling during the winter—any of which can use up much of the body’s glucose supply.
“Diabetes educators know to screen patients for these things and discuss the symptoms, treatment and methods of preventing low blood sugar,” House explained.
She added that modern technology is helping with such increasingly popular devices as continuous glucose monitors, which can warn patients electronically if their blood sugar is getting too low.
Dr. Sisson emphasized the importance of people with diabetes staying alert to their body’s changes.
“We’d like people to stay tuned to what their bodies are telling them,” he said. “Being able to anticipate changes in our body’s blood sugar from various activities, or from a missed meal or snack, is an important skill that comes from discipline and vigilance. And it’s important to include a patient’s medical professional in this effort.”
House said the diabetes professionals at Spectrum Health often bring up the subject of hypoglycemia during patient assessments. People with diabetes should ask their medical team about the impact of glucose medication or activities on blood sugar levels, just as a primary care provider may want to remind patients to check blood glucose before or after any physical activity, and to have appropriate snacks readily available if glucose levels fall.
Don’t be shy about this.
“When I talk with patients, one of the things I try to highlight is that hypoglycemia is a common issue,” Dr. Sisson said. “For that matter, diabetes itself is common. They’re not the odd person out. They’re not alone.”
Including a patient’s entire medical team to help develop a disciplined approach to monitoring symptoms is strongly recommended.
“We believe the patient is part of their own team,” Dr. Sisson said. “The take-home message for us in this survey is that more education is needed all the way around.”
House noted that the subject of hypoglycemia is covered, in depth, in Spectrum Health diabetes group classes, which are covered by most insurance plans.
“Hearing other people’s experiences resonates well,” she said. “Someone else’s story can have a big impact on another patient’s personal behaviors.”
By consistently monitoring their blood sugar and working with a diabetes educator, people can manage their diabetes and minimize the incidence of low blood sugar.
Kaitlyn Jones left school early one Wednesday in January because she felt awful: headache, body ache, chills, fatigue.
It must be the flu, she thought, noting how some of her fellow cosmetology students were among the many suffering from the virus this year.
She hoped she could get a prescription to treat it. But once she got home and learned she had a 102-degree fever, the last thing she wanted to do was get back into the car and go to the doctor.
So Kaitlyn, 18, took her mom’s advice and pulled up the MedNow app on her iPad.
Within minutes, she was having a video visit with Melissa Wilson, a nurse practitioner with MedNow, Spectrum Health’s telemedicine service.
MedNow lets anyone in Michigan who has access to a smartphone, tablet or camera-equipped laptop to receive non-emergency care from a Spectrum Health provider on-screen, 24/7.
“It was kind of like FaceTime,” Kaitlyn said. “Super easy.”
No waiting room
After she signed in to the app and picked the next available appointment time—in this case, immediately—Kaitlyn connected via video chat with a MedNow medical assistant, who got her registered and verified her insurance.
Then Wilson took over the video visit, asking about Kaitlyn’s medical history and walking her through a brief physical exam. From the comfort of her family’s home in Rockford, Michigan, Kaitlyn checked her neck and ears for tenderness and tried to show Wilson the back of her throat using her iPad’s camera.
“We went through my symptoms together, and then she prescribed Tamiflu,” Kaitlyn said. “She sent it right away from there to the pharmacy, so I was able to get it that night.”
Two days later, she felt well enough to return to class.
Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, is an oral drug that can shorten the duration of seasonal influenza if you take it soon after contracting the illness. It’s not essential for all flu patients, but it was important for Kaitlyn because she has Type 1 diabetes, which puts her at higher risk for complications.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
“I thought, we need to nip this in the bud,” said Holly Jones, Kaitlyn’s mom. “With diabetes, it’s just more complicated when they get the flu.”
Kaitlyn’s diabetes diagnosis is only a few months old, making her extra cautious about her health.
“Because I’m so new, I’m hyper aware and really scared of doing anything that would cause my blood sugars to go crazy,” she said.
The idea of sitting in a doctor’s office or urgent care center didn’t sit well with her—or her mom.
“I didn’t want her near the germy waiting room to catch whatever else was in there,” Holly said.
That’s what made the MedNow visit so ideal.
“I don’t even think you got out of your pajamas,” Holly said to her daughter.
Growing popularity
Kaitlyn’s video visit wasn’t just fast and convenient—at $45, it was also less expensive than a trip to the doctor, an urgent care center or the emergency department.
According to Amanda Reed, MedNow’s operations director, each MedNow visit saves patients and insurers more than $120, on average, compared to other sources of care. These cost savings, combined with convenience and quality of care, have propelled MedNow’s popularity.
“We reached our new high mark on January 24, with 127 patients seen in one day,” Reed said. “We had over 5,000 app downloads in the month of January alone.”
This year’s hard-hitting flu season is a catalyst for MedNow’s growth, according to Elizabeth Suing, PA, one of about 30 providers who spend at least part of their time treating MedNow patients.
“Right now, over 50 percent of the patients we are seeing in a day are flu patients,” she said.
Many of these are first-time MedNow users. But Suing predicts they’ll be back the next time they need non-emergency care—treatment for concerns like allergies, back pain, bites and stings, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, sinus problems, sprains and strains, urinary symptoms and more.
“Patients love the telemedicine. They love the convenience of it,” Suing said. “I think it’s the way that the world is going.”
Kaitlyn’s mom, Holly, confirms Suing’s view.
“I recommend it a lot,” she said. “My friends will say, ‘Oh, but I don’t want to go to urgent care,” and I say, ‘Try MedNow. Download the app. Make an appointment.’”
From a previous year’s City of Kentwood Daddy-Daughter Dance, which this year will be expanded to be an “all family” dance. (WKTV)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
The City of Kentwood has community-focused events all year round but February may be a little more busy than most months with its annual Valentine’s Dash 5K on Saturday, Feb. 8, and two more events later in the month, including the Annual Freeze Fest Disc Golf Tournament, and a Hawaiian Luau-Themed Family Dance, both on Feb. 22.
Many of the city’s community events also support local persons in need. This week’s run/walk will benefit Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry, while the disc golf tournament also serves as a food drive for the pantry.
This week’s 5K run/walk will start and end at the Kent District Library’s Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, located at 4950 Breton Ave. SE. Check-in, on-site registration and packet pick-up will all take place at 9:30 a.m. The race will begin at 11 a.m.
Some of the runners at a previous Kentwood Valentine’s Dash 5K. (WKTV)
The 5K route will include a combination of trails and roads with mile markers and Valentine’s Day candy stations. Valentine’s-themed costumes are encouraged for the occasion. Fellow participants will vote to determine who is the “best dressed” and awards will also be presented to the fastest runners. While the 5K is intended to be a fun run, it will be chip-timed.
Following the race, participates will be invited into the library’s community room for a party that will include music, snacks, a photo booth, the award ceremony and more. If participants bring a non-perishable item or additional monetary donation for the pantry, they will be entered to win a special door prize.
Online registration costs $30 until Feb. 7, and $35 for day-of registration. Participant packets include a long-sleeve shirt “and other goodies.” Runners who sign up as a couple will save $5 each.
A full day of fun on Saturday, Feb. 22
The late-month events are filled with family fun at the library and outdoor adventure, with the Hawaiian Luau-Themed Family Dance particularly unique.
“This dance is such a great opportunity for kids to get dressed up, have fun and dance with the adults in their lives,” Val Romeo, Kentwood Parks and Recreation director, said in supplied material. “Whether they choose to attend with their parents or grandparents, primary caregivers, guardians or other relatives, the event is open for children to enjoy an evening making memories with their family, whoever that is to them.”
Formerly known as the Daddy-Daughter Dance, this family event will run 6 to 8 p.m. in the community room at the Kent District Library’s Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch and include refreshments, crafts, a photo area with props and a DJ. The evening will also include a short hula performance by Pacific Island Dancers.
Tickets cost $10 per person, and pre-registration is required. To purchase tickets go online at kentwood.us/familyluau or call 616-656-5270.
Earlier that day, the Freeze Fest doubles as a disc golf tournament and food drive as the City of Kentwood and Great Lakes Disc have once again partnered to host the competition.
The start of the 2019 Freeze Fest disc golf event. (Supplied/City of Kentwood)
Disc golfers of all levels are invited to partake in the best-shot doubles competition at Jaycee Park, located at 1088 Gentian Dr. SE. Funds raised this year will benefit City of Kentwood Parks and Recreation youth programs and all food donations will help stock Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry.
On-site registration begins at 9 a.m., and the first round of the tournament starts at 10 a.m. The cost is $40 and one canned food donation per team.
“We look forward to this event every year not only because disc golf and a little competition is exciting by nature, but because it’s incredible to watch community members come together in support of Kentwood initiatives,” Lori Gresnick, Kentwood recreation program coordinator, said in supplied material. “Last year, we collected an entire car load of groceries and supplies for the Little Free Pantry, which really goes a long way.”
Pre-registration and more event information is available online at: kentwood.us/freezefest.
Located in the Kentwood Activities Center at 355 48th St. SE, Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry is a year-round resource for area residents to take or donate food and personal care items. No applications necessary, and no questions asked. More information about Kentwood Little Free Pantry, including a list of suggested donations, is available online at kentwood.us/littlefreepantry.
That morning sudoku puzzle could be the whetstone that sharpens your mind well into your later years, according to researchers. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Mornings spent figuring out Sudoku or finessing a crossword could spell better health for aging brains, researchers say.
In a study of over 19,000 British adults aged 50 and over who were tracked for 25 years, the habit of doing word or number puzzles seemed to help keep minds nimble over time.
“We’ve found that the more regularly people engage with puzzles such as crosswords and Sudoku, the sharper their performance is across a range of tasks assessing memory, attention and reasoning,” said research leader Dr. Anne Corbett, of the University of Exeter Medical School.
“The improvements are particularly clear in the speed and accuracy of their performance,” she added in a university news release. “In some areas, the improvement was quite dramatic—on measures of problem-solving, people who regularly do these puzzles performed equivalent to an average of eight years younger compared to those who don’t.”
Does that translate to protection against Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia? The study “can’t say” at this point, Corbett said, “but this research supports previous findings that indicate regular use of word and number puzzles helps keep our brains working better for longer.”
The study was conducted online. Participants were assessed each year, and they were asked how often they did word and number puzzles. They were also given a series of tests measuring attention, reasoning and memory, to help assess changes in their brain function.
The result: The more often participants did word and number puzzles, the better their performance on the brain tests, Corbett’s group found.
Although the study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect, some differences were significant. Brain function for those who did word puzzles was equivalent to 10 years younger than their actual age on tests of grammatical reasoning and eight years younger than their age on tests of short-term memory.
The findings are outlined in two papers published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, adding to results presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in 2018.
The study is now expanding into other countries, including the United States.
Brain experts in the United States weren’t surprised by the findings.
The large, decades-long study “confirmed what your grandmother told you: ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it,’” said Dr. Gayatri Devi. She’s a neurologist specializing in memory disorders at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
The fact that something as simple as puzzle-solving can take years off the brain is “a comforting finding,” Devi said.
She stressed that exercising the body can do the same. “Physical exercise is one proven way to keep our brains and our body healthy,” she said.
Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein directs geriatric education at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y. She said interventions to help the brain stay healthy longer are sorely needed.
“As older patients live longer, the growing number of Alzheimer’s patients represents a major challenge for health care systems worldwide,” Wolf-Klein said. “Currently, the pharmaceutical industry has yet to propose any promising medical treatments. So, searches for lifestyle interventions that might preserve cognition (thinking) has become a priority.”
“This study further supports many (prior) studies highlighting the benefits of mind exercises,” she said. It also “reinforces the need for all of us to keep our minds as active and engaged as possible.”
Feel a dark mood coming on? Wearable technology could one day alert you in advance, aiding in management of depression or other mood disorders. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
A high-tech wristband is being developed along the same lines, potentially helping patients who struggle with mood disorders.
The smart wristband would use a person’s skin to track their emotional intensity. During a mood swing, either high or low, the wristband would change color, heat up, squeeze or vibrate to inform the wearer he might be in the throes of depression or anxiety, the researchers said.
“As the feedback is provided in real time, our devices encourage people to become more aware of their emotions, name them, potentially reflect on what causes them and even learn how to control their emotional responses in order to change the visual or tactile feedback provided by the device,” said researcher Corina Sas. She is a professor of human-computer interaction and digital health at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.
About 10% of U.S. adults struggle with a mood disorder, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or seasonal affective disorder, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
Part of the treatment for a mood disorder involves becoming more aware of emotions and then learning to regulate emotional response, the study authors said in background notes in their report.
Co-author Muhammad Umair, a Lancaster research associate, explained, “We wanted to create low-cost, simple prototypes to support understanding and engagement with real-time changes in arousal. The idea is to develop self-help technologies that people can use in their everyday life and be able to see what they are going through,” he said in a university news release.
To that end, the U.K. researchers are developing wristbands that use sensors to detect changes in a person’s emotional intensity by tracking the electrical conductivity of their skin.
The devices then communicate those emotional changes either through materials that change color, heat up, vibrate or squeeze the wrist, the researchers said.
“Depression has a range of emotions, but if we talk about sadness, then as this is associated with low arousal—or what we call emotional intensity—the device will most likely reflect low arousal,” Sas said. “On the other hand, anxiety tends to be associated with high-intensity arousal, so that device will most likely reflect this.”
However, Sas noted, the device does not differentiate between positive or negative emotions, but between high- and low-intensity ones.
The researchers tested six wrist-worn prototypes with 12 people who wore them over two days.
Participants said the wristbands effectively prompted them to evaluate their emotions.
One participant told the researchers: “When I see the feedback, I feel present, I start to reflect what I was doing before and try to think how I am feeling at that moment.”
Another said: “It made me more aware of my feelings and made me think what feelings I have. But if I didn’t have the device, I wouldn’t be probably as aware as I am when wearing it. It did give me a way to think of my own emotion; made me aware of my own emotions.”
But participants were also concerned that negative feedback from the device might pose a potential hazard.
One said it could “be used as a trigger and might push you down the negative path.”
That’s a concern shared by Jessy Warner-Cohen, a health psychologist with Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
“I caution against letting a device dictate to a person their own emotions,” she said.
On the other hand, such a device is consistent with a long-established tradition of biofeedback, in which people use “physiological cues to help us actively try to regulate our minds and bodies,” Warner-Cohen said.
The device could help people recognize specific habits or tics that occur when they have a mood swing, she added.
“For example, if a person can identify that they clench their jaw when stressed then, in reverse, noticing when they clench their jaw can help a person recognize they are getting stressed and take proactive steps to alleviate such,” Warner-Cohen explained.
Dr. Victor Fornari, a psychiatrist with Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, N.Y., said the wristbands may be the beginning of “a new frontier” in helping to identify and regulate anxiety and depression.
“Increasing awareness about emotional reactions and improving the way individuals can self-regulate their emotions can be very helpful and important for everyone, but particularly for individuals with a mood or anxiety disorder,” Fornari said.
The technology is not yet patented, Sas said, and it is some ways off from being available to consumers.
“We need about another year to develop a more robust version of our research prototypes so that we can integrate both visual and tactile feedback, for which we will need increased computational power,” she said. “At that stage, we will look into running clinical trials to explore its value for people living with affective disorders, such as depression or anxiety.”
The researchers were scheduled to present their work at the Designing Interactive Systems conference in San Diego, Calif.
Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Exalta Health provides health care to an underserved population at two clinics, one in the 2000 block of Division Avenue. (WKTV)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
A new contract between Exalta Health and the Kent County’s Women’s Health Network will benefit both Exalta Health and its patients. Exalta Health is located at 2060 Division Ave. S., Grand Rapids, but serves patients from Wyoming and Kentwood as well.
The Women’s Health Network program contracts with 30 medical sites in Kent, Muskegon, Barry and Ottawa counties to offer the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control and Navigation (BCCCN) program, according to supplied material. This is both a national and State of Michigan program that offers free mammograms, clinical breast exams, Pap smears and pelvic exams to women who qualify, as well as follow-up care, medical referrals and cancer treatment.
Through this new contract, which could be worth up to $20,000, Exalta Health becomes one of those 30 sites and those critical and often life-saving exams will be made available to its patients with the contract now covering the costs.
Exalta Health’s Andrea Cervantes said in supplied material that the organization has offered these tests in the past, but essentially took a loss on them. The new contract means Exalta Health will not only be able to provide the tests but also will break even in doing so. For a small nonprofit that depends on donations to fund its services, access to a fund is a big deal.
In addition, access to the funds means Exalta Health will be able to serve more of its patients who need these exams and will be able to work with its patients in a more direct and more proactive way to make sure critical exams and screenings aren’t being missed.
“We’re really grateful to the Kent County Women’s Health Network,” said Cervantes, a registered nurse. “This grant is going to allow us to serve our patients better and serve more of them. We see a lot of female patients at Exalta Health, so BCCCN is really important to them and to us.”
Difficulties with daily activities such as dressing, walking and eating can be seen in rheumatoid arthritis patients a year or two before they’re diagnosed, a new study shows.
“This is a new finding, and a finding that is quite intriguing,” said lead author Dr. Elena Myasoedova, a rheumatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“It may reflect an accumulation of symptoms between the time of first onset and the time required for providers to actually diagnose patients,” she said in a Mayo news release.
The study also found that chronic increased levels of difficulty with daily activities (functional disability) continued even after patients were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and began treatment.
That may be due to a number of factors, including increasing physical and mental pain, use of treatments such as glucocorticoids and antidepressants and anticipation of relief from symptoms, she added.
For the study, the researchers looked at 586 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 531 people without the disease in the Rochester Epidemiology Project database of medical records.
The rate of functional disability was more than two times higher among rheumatoid arthritis patients than in those without rheumatoid arthritis. In most age groups, rheumatoid arthritis patients had a 15% or higher rate of functional disability than those without the disease.
The findings show the importance of early treatment for rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to Myasoedova.
“Alerting your health care provider to difficulties in daily living can assure that patients receive the help they need,” she said.
About 1.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that most often affects the joints but can also impact other parts of the body.
Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common chronic conditions associated with functional disability in the United States and has a significant impact on well-being and quality of life.
Symptoms can include joint pain or swelling, but 40% of patients have symptoms that don’t involve the joints, such as fatigue, fever and loss of appetite.
The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Repetitive strain injury can affect anyone who uses his or her hands a lot and repeats the same movements over and over again. It can develop whether you’re working at a computer all day or spending hours of leisure time immersed in handicrafts.
At first, symptoms—like pain and tingling—may go away once you stop the motions or the activity.
But without treatment, including lifestyle changes, symptoms are likely to become so severe that you could become unable to continue with your work or hobby.
Recognizing symptoms
Pain or burning
Tingling
Numbness
Weakness
Swelling
Soreness
Don’t hesitate to see your doctor if you experience one or more of these symptoms—don’t assume that a few days off is enough to stop repetitive strain injury.
If the source of pain isn’t addressed, symptoms can become irreversible.
Part of the solution is to take regular breaks from problematic but necessary activities throughout the day. Get up and move around for at least five minutes every half-hour, and stretch your arms, wrists and fingers.
Practice good posture.
When sitting, your head and back should form a straight line from ears to hips. When at the computer, don’t let your wrists bend to one side. Keep them in line with your forearms, fingers slightly curved over your keyboard.
Don’t self-treat by wearing a splint or using a wrist rest—both can interfere with natural movement and blood circulation.
Typing tips to try
Use all fingers to type, not just one
Use keyboard shortcuts
Take advantage of voice recognition software
Also, consider investigating the Alexander Technique, an approach to movement aimed at better posture and body mechanics helpful for repetitive strain injury.
Could your personality as a teen forecast your risk for dementia a half-century later?
Very possibly, say researchers, who found that dementia risk is lower among seniors who were calm, mature and energetic high schoolers.
“Being calm and mature as teen were each associated with roughly a 10% reduction in adult dementia risk,” said study co-author Kelly Peters, principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C. “And vigor was associated with a 7% reduction.”
The finding has its origins in the 1960s, when more than 82,000 students in roughly 1,200 U.S. high schools took a personality test. More than 50 years later, their personality traits were compared to dementia diagnoses.
While Peters said there’s plenty of evidence that personality changes near the time of a dementia diagnosis, the lingering question has been whether personality or some aspects of it actually causes dementia.
“That’s the big question,” she said. “Is it only that personality can be affected by dementia? Is it just an expression of the disease?” By focusing on teens who didn’t later develop dementia, Peters said, “this study really starts to tease that out.”
At an average age of 16, the students were assessed for 10 traits: calmness, vigor, organization, self-confidence, maturity/responsibility, leadership, impulsivity, desire for social interaction, social sensitivity, and artistic and intellectual refinement.
By 2011-2013, when they were almost 70 years old, more than 2,500 had developed dementia.
Enter lead author Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester in New York.
After stacking 50-year-old personality profiles up against current medical records, he and his team found that the risk of dementia was notably lower among seniors who were calm, vigorous and mature as teens.
Calmness was defined as being stress-free and not neurotic, vigor as being energetic and outgoing, and maturity as being responsible, reliable and conscientious.
Peters said the findings could guide policy thinkers to develop improved social support systems “to help kids build up protective qualities.”
But she highlighted some reservations.
For one thing, the team “only looked at traits that were protective,” she said.
And money seemed to matter: Calmness, vigor and maturity did not appear to protect against adult dementia among teens who grew up in relatively poor households.
Chapman’s study also tracked dementia only around age 70. That, said his Rochester colleague Dr. Anton Porsteinsson, means “there’s a lot more work to do.”
He was not involved in the study.
“The average age of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is around the early 80s,” said Porsteinsson, director of the university’s Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program. “So it would be really good to repeat this in another 10 to 15 years, to see what’s happening when dementia risk is really at its peak.”
While the findings highlight a link between dementia and personality, he said that it’s hard to draw a direct correlation.
“If you’re calm and conscientious, do you make better health choices in your life? And if so, are specific personality traits directly decisive with respect to dementia? Or does your risk for dementia indirectly reflect those better decisions?” Porsteinsson said.
Heather Snyder is vice president of medical science relations at the Alzheimer’s Association.
“There are a wide variety of social, environmental and genetic factors that may contribute to our risk for dementia, and more research is needed to determine what those are and how they interact,” said Snyder.
But she said that “there is not enough evidence at this time to suggest that an intervention strategy for personality type in high school would be effective.”
Porsteinsson warned against using the study to conclude that there’s clearly a “good” personality and a “bad one.” It could be, he said, that impulsiveness and neuroticism, while bad for dementia, “bring a different skill set to the table” that has value.
“We don’t necessarily want all kids to be calm and composed at all times. We don’t want everyone to fit into the same mold,” Porsteinsson said.
“So we have to be very careful about how we interpret these findings until we really understand a lot more about what this is all really about,” he said.
The study was published recently in JAMA Psychiatry.
Teenagers living in cohesive neighborhoods—where trusted neighbors get involved in monitoring each other’s children—experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, a study suggests.
The researchers also found consistent results across different cities regardless of family composition and neighborhood income, indicating strong neighborhoods help teen mental health across various populations.
Along with common risk factors, neighborhood environments should probably be given more attention when looking for potential factors linked to teen mental health problems, said study author Louis Donnelly. He’s a postdoctoral research associate at the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.
“Notably, whether a child grew up in a higher- or lower-income household, the associations were similar. The findings can be generalized across different city contexts,” he added.
About 14 percent of adolescents in the United States have had depression or a mood disorder. Eight percent have been severely impaired from an anxiety disorder, the study said.
The study included information on more than 2,200 children born in large U.S. cities. The information was collected between 1998 and 2000.
The study authors wanted to see if “neighborhood collective efficacy”—a blend of social cohesion and shared expectations for social control—was linked to better teen mental health.
The teens evaluated their own mental health at age 15. Parents provided “collective efficacy” information when their children were 3, 5 and 9. Parents ranked their agreement with statements such as, “People around here are willing to help their neighbors,” or “People in this neighborhood generally don’t get along with each other.”
Another scale asked parents to express their belief in statements demonstrating that neighbors would be likely to intervene or get involved in scenarios such as, “Children were spray-painting buildings with graffiti,” or “Children were showing disrespect to an adult.”
The researchers found that the “neighborhood effect” offered a protective effect similar to depression prevention programs targeting teens.
“There are really two (measurements) that are distinct, one being social cohesion and mutual trust. This is the idea of believing that people in your neighborhood share similar values and can be relied on for support,” Donnelly explained.
“The second dimension relies on informal social control,” he added. “We measured that based on the extent to which families and other adults can be relied upon to intervene … (such as) if a fight broke out in the street or children are not attending school.”
Maurice Elias said he wasn’t at all surprised by the study findings. He’s a professor of psychology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.
“The idea that being in a supportive environment would be good for children’s mental health shouldn’t be a revolution,” said Elias, also director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab. “It’s always nice when research helps confirm common sense. I see this as one of those examples.”
The decision to move into an assisted living community is a big transition for aging adults. Seniors often fear losing their independence, but a quality senior community will promote autonomy and independence for its residents.
Caregivers and family members do many tasks around the home to help aging adults function well. However, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit of doing too much to help, which can impair seniors’ sense of autonomy. Caring for ourselves is an essential element of retaining our health and mental faculties as we age. Sadly, if an aging adult loses their independence, the will to live may diminish as well.
However, this doesn’t need to be the case! Even the most frail patients can still benefit greatly from completing a few simple activities and feeling more accomplished afterward. With patience and careful attention, you and your loved one’s medical team can develop a safe, balanced approach. Here are a few ways that caregivers and family members can support senior living while still allowing aging adults to maintain their autonomy:
If a senior can’t complete every step of an activity on their own, it is still beneficial to help them do as much as possible on their own. Family members and professionals can supervise to ensure safety and offer assistance when necessary.
Don’t stereotype your loved one. Automatically assuming that someone is weak and incapable can negatively impact the way they view themselves, producing more dependence.
Recognize what a significant achievement it is for your loved one to complete even a small task, like washing a few dishes or getting dressed on their own. A sense of pride and accomplishment will foster independence.
Remember that there’s no need to rush. Sometimes, seniors are perfectly capable of doing activities they’ve done their whole lives, they just need more time on each task. Be patient and always remember that your loved one’s independence and sense of accomplishment is more important than how fast they get dressed.
Tailor expectations to each individual’s ability. By working with your family member’s assisted living staff, you can ensure that their daily activities are appropriate to their health conditions.
Assisted living communities sometimes offer group activities or community classes for residents. Encourage your loved one to participate in a daily routine that will help them feel more confident and social.
It’s impossible to overemphasize how much daily exercise can support happy, healthy senior living. Including even minimal levels of physical activity in their routine helps aging adults stay fit, flexible, and alert.
These are just a few of the ways that senior living can benefit from an assisted living community. While moving into a new community can be a huge change, family and staff members can work to ensure that seniors maintain a dynamic, self-reliant lifestyle. With these ideas in mind, your aging loved one will enjoy a sense of independence long into their golden years.
Mum’s the word the next time you have your blood pressure checked.
Talking while the cuff is on can boost your blood pressure reading. So can a full bladder or crossing your legs, the American Heart Association says.
“These simple things can make a difference in whether or not a person is classified as having high blood pressure that requires treatment,” said Dr. Michael Hochman, a member of the heart association’s blood pressure task force. He’s also an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California.
“Knowing how to measure blood pressure accurately at home, and recognizing mistakes in the physician’s office, can help you manage your pressure and avoid unnecessary medication changes,” Hochman said in a heart association news release.
Here, the heart association outlines seven common culprits that can alter your blood pressure reading.
Having a full bladder can add 10 to 15 points to a blood pressure reading. Always try to use the bathroom before getting a reading.
Poor support for your feet or back while seated can raise your blood pressure reading by 6 to 10 points. You should sit in a chair with your back supported and feet flat on the floor or a footstool.
Crossing your legs can add 2 to 8 points to your reading.
If your arm hangs by your side or you must hold it up while getting a reading, your blood pressure numbers may be 10 points higher than the actual figure. Your arm should be on a chair or counter so that the blood pressure cuff is level with your heart.
Having the cuff placed over clothing can add 5 to 50 points to your reading. The cuff should be on a bare arm.
A too-small cuff can add 2 to 10 points to a reading.
Talking can add 10 points to your reading. Remain still and silent while your blood pressure is taken.
If you struggle with anxiety, you might want to skip that second cup of coffee, new research suggests.
For some people, caffeine may help with concentration and provide an energy boost, but it can cause problems for those with general anxiety disorder, said Dr. Julie Radico, a clinical psychologist with Penn State Health.
“Caffeine is not the enemy,” she said in a university news release. “But I encourage people to know healthy limits and consume it strategically because it is activating and can mimic or exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety.”
Low doses of caffeine are in the range of 50 to 200 milligrams. Consuming more than 400 milligrams at once may lead to feeling overstimulated and anxious and bring on symptoms such as racing heart, nausea or abdominal pain.
Anxiety is a common problem, but many patients and their doctors don’t think about caffeine as a potential contributing factor, said Dr. Matthew Silvis, vice chair of clinical operations in the division of family medicine at Penn State Health.
“We want people to consider whether there may be a connection between their caffeine consumption and anxiety,” he said.
As well as being a potential problem for people with anxiety, caffeine can interact negatively with medications for seizure disorders, liver disease, chronic kidney disease, certain heart conditions or thyroid disease, Silvis noted.
“Medical disorders that a patient may already have can become more difficult to control,” he said.
In terms of amounts of caffeine, an average cup of home-brewed coffee has about 100 milligrams, compared with 250 milligrams in a tall Starbucks coffee and as much as 400 milligrams in energy drinks.
A can of Mountain Dew has 55 milligrams while a can of Coca-Cola has 35 milligrams.
Many vitamin and sports or nutritional supplements also contain caffeine, but many people don’t think to check the labels of those products, Silvis added.
Many women come into the ER with chest pain, and they never thought they would be in that situation. But most heart attacks are preventable, and we need to be more active in telling women what they can do to avoid a heart attack.
The same is true with breast cancer—the more we know about preventing breast cancer, the more women we can help avoid being diagnosed with the disease.
Although breast cancer is far too common, breast cancer survival is improving due to more advanced treatments and early screening for women at high risk.
Do you know your risk, and do you have a plan for when you should be screened? If I asked you if you want to get breast cancer, of course you would answer with an emphatic, “No!” If you don’t want cancer, then you must know your risks, live a lifestyle that decreases your risk, and take your checkups seriously.
Several years ago, I read a story about a young woman who had metastatic breast cancer, and the article described her situation in detail.
There was a picture that showed her being comforted by her sister, who also had breast cancer five years earlier. Both women talked about their mother who had died of the same disease in her mid-40s.
As I read the story, I felt both sad and mad at the same time. Of course, I felt sad for them for all they had gone through, but I was also mad to think their cancer could have been prevented, or at least detected before it spread.
Here’s what I wish they would have known about the genetics of breast cancer:
Ten percent of breast cancer is associated with family history.
The risk of getting breast cancer increases two times if one first-degree relative has/had breast cancer.
The risk of getting breast cancer increases three times if two first-degree relatives have/had breast cancer.
In addition, 50 percent of breast cancer diagnoses are associated with known risk factors.
A patient I’ll call Kelly came to see me for a routine visit recently. In taking her history, several factors caught my attention: she was 48 years old and had never been pregnant; her mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer at 49; and she had regular mammograms that were always negative, but her breasts were very dense, decreasing the likelihood of diagnosis of a small cancer.
I recommended advanced screening with a special mammogram and ultrasound by a breast surgeon.
When she had the testing done, they detected several suspicious areas, and a biopsy showed pre-cancer. Kelly decided to have definitive surgery, and when she had a bilateral mastectomy, they detected early, almost-invasive cancer.
We were able to avoid invasive cancer by doing three things: 1) being proactive; 2) knowing her individual risk factors; and 3) acting early to save her from worrying about recurrence, and having to go through chemotherapy or radiation.
The lifetime risk of breast cancer for most women is 1 in 8. The risk at age 30 is 1 in 250 and increases as you get older. Other risk factors include being female, white and obese (having a BMI over 30). The risk is even greater if the weight is gained after the age of 40 and is in the form of belly fat (especially after menopause). In addition, your risk is greatest if you are diabetic and overweight.
So, what can you do to lower your risk of breast cancer? For starters, lifestyle matters:
Women who consume 10 or more alcoholic drinks per week have a higher risk for cancer of the colon and breast.
Women who started smoking early and have smoked for a long time are at higher risk.
Women who breastfed their children and are physically active have a lower risk.
Two other risk factors that may not be in your control include the following:
Women who work the night shift seem to experience more cancer, according to several large studies.
Women who received radiation for Hodgkins Lymphoma as a child have an increased risk of breast cancer.
If you have any of these high risk factors, get screening early and talk to your doctor about special screening with a Tomo mammogram or adding an ultrasound to your routine mammogram.
I had a patient who put off her mammogram because she had small breasts and thought she would easily be able to see any lumps, plus she had no family history of breast cancer. When her friend finally convinced her to get a mammogram, it showed she had breast cancer.
I’ve given you plenty of statistics and information about breast cancer in this blog, but there are a few takeaway points I want to make sure you remember:
Know your individual risk factors.
If you are at higher risk, talk to your doctor about special testing.
Be active! Exercise a minimum of 150 minutes per week.
Courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
By WKTV Staff
Catherine’s Health Center is looking for 200 women eager to work with a health coach and engage in programs that will support you in reaching your goals!
WISEWOMAN provides opportunities and programming that empower Michigan women to make healthy lifestyle choices.
The local WISEWOMAN Agency team is made up of clinical staff and a health coach. Women ready to change can receive:
One-on-one health coaching from a WISEWOMAN Health Coach
Free membership to a weight loss program or a diabetes prevention program
Free gardening supplies and education through the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening program
Referrals to programs in the community to help her make healthy lifestyle behavior changes
The Michigan WISEWOMAN program has three main focus areas related to participants.
Identify and communicate risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. The woman is better able to decide where she wants to take small steps if she understands her risk factors.
Encourage healthy lifestyle choices. Health Coaches work with each woman to make lifestyle behavior changes that will help with the risk factors and symptoms she has now. Making healthy choices may also keep her from developing any new risk factors.
Address Health Equity and Social Justice in the community
Local WISEWOMAN agencies address health equity by identifying underserved groups in their service areas and getting them into WISEWOMAN. The underserved groups may include:
Courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Women with disabilities
Women who do not speak English
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) women
Racial or ethnic minority women
Women whose citizenship or immigration status is not settled
Once in the program, many women find it difficult to think about making healthy lifestyle choices when they are having trouble paying rent, utilities, or buying food for their families. These are social justice issues. Michigan WISEWOMAN addresses these issues through special projects that provide participants with opportunities to earn extra money while learning marketable skills.
Eligibility:
Ages 40-64 years
Reduced income (ask staff)
A desire to set a health goal and work towards reducing your unique risk factors that could cause long-term health problems
Contact: Maria or Katie at (616) 336-8800 ext. 207
A sure sign of summer in Michigan is the number of locally grown, vine-ripened melons available at farm stands and farmers markets. However, with modern transportation, watermelon, cantaloupe and other melons are available year around. So how does a buyer in the dead of winter determine a flavorful melon?
It is important to understand that not all melons behave the same when it comes to ripening. Some, like watermelon, do not continue to ripen once harvested. Therefore, flavor will not improve nor will they become sweeter—it is what it is at harvest. However, cantaloupe and similar fruit will continue to ripen after harvest. Once into the ripening process, fruit will gain sugar, flavor will improve and flesh soften. For the consumer, this means watermelon and similar fruit can be eaten as soon as you bring it home no matter what time of the year it is. However, cantaloupe and similar melons bought in winter probably need to be held at room temperature for a few days or more to allow it to improve.
Photo 2. Summer cantaloupe showing typical golden color and the “dimpled” stem end where the stem has pulled free from the fruit. CC0 Public Domain.
The most reliable way to determine if a watermelon is mature is to observe it while it is still on the plant. Since that is not possible in winter, consumers have to use the next step and that is looking at the “ground spot” (Photo 1). The ground spot is where fruit was in contact with the soil. It is easy to recognize since it will not have the same stripes and color of the rest of the fruit—it will have a more solid color. A mature watermelon will have a yellow ground spot (Photo 1). If it is light yellow or even white, make another selection.
Honeydew melons are the hardest to know when they are mature. Being light colored, the ground spot technique does not work and they do not “self-pick” like cantaloupe. However, like cantaloupe, they continue to ripen off the plant. To eat a honeydew early is not a bad experience, but you do not want to wait so long that it goes bad. The fruit does not provide the signals watermelon and cantaloupe do. For honeydew, you have to rely on the grower picking it at a good time no matter the season since once you cut it open you have to eat it or refrigerate it.
Left on the plant, cantaloupe fruit begin to disconnect when mature and the fruit will essentially pick itself and be ready to eat right away. Summer melons have a noticeable dimple at the stem end and generally have a golden color (Photo 2). Since ripe cantaloupe are quite soft, they have to be harvested in winter production areas when they are less than fully mature so they are able to survive the transport process in good shape. Instead of allowing them to self-pick, they are cut from the plant.
Photo 3. Winter cantaloupe with the stem still attached. Look for cantaloupe where the stem end has begun to crack (arrow), thus indicating the melon is approaching maturity but will improve in flavor if allowed to sit at room temperature for a few days. Photo by Ron Goldy, MSU Extension.
For winter-grown melons, the stem attachment is still evident on the fruit—no dimple (Photo 3). As the fruit matures, you will be able to see the abscission zone form as a slight crack that gets larger over time and will eventually form a circle around the stem (Photo 3). When selecting a winter cantaloupe, look for one where the remaining stem has started to crack and break away from the melon. When you can see that crack starting to form, that means the fruit was harvested mature enough that the ripening process will continue. It probably still needs to sit at room temperature for a few days as it continues to mature. Be patient and let that happen. It will not attain the golden color of a summer-grown melon, so do not expect it to be quite the same, but neither is the weather outside.
A simple one-legged stand can help strengthen your lower body, ultimately improving your balance and reducing the risk of falls. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Bad balance is a common cause of dangerous falls, especially among older adults.
Falls send more than 2 million adults to the emergency room every year and often result in lengthy rehab stays.
Preventing falls is a priority for staying healthy and preventing painful broken bones as you age. Easy strength and balance exercises that you can do anytime, anywhere, such as tai chi and yoga, can help you stay steady on your feet.
But first it’s important to know how good (or lacking) your balance is.
Grab a friend or loved one, a sturdy chair and a stopwatch to check your balance with a quick test called the single leg stance. It basically involves standing on one leg. Doctors use it to predict who might be at risk of falling.
Stand barefoot in front of the chair but don’t touch it. Cross your arms. Lift one leg up off the floor and start the timer. As you feel yourself start to sway, immediately steady yourself with the chair and stop the timer.
Here are the average times that indicate good balance when you stand on one leg based on age:
Ages 18-39: 43 seconds for men and women
Ages 40-49: 40 seconds for men and women
Ages 50-59: 36 seconds for women, 38 for men
Ages 60-69: 25 seconds for women, 28 for men
Ages 70-79: 11 seconds for women, 18 for men
Ages 80-99: 7 seconds for women, 5 seconds for men
If you become unsteady before your specific time, talk to your doctor. Illness, medication and even footwear can throw you off balance. Together, you and your doctor can find solutions.
You can improve your balance by practicing the one-leg stance, but as a training exercise, hold onto a chair and don’t let go.
Lift one leg for 15 seconds, rest and repeat three times, then switch legs.
The stronger your lower body, the steadier you’ll be on your feet.
For safety reasons, always have someone with you when trying a balance exercise for the first time. Or consider a group balance class.
Many community centers offer fun fitness programs to help adults prevent falls.
Saving money is important no matter your age or income level, but seniors often find themselves needing a few extra dollars here and there to make retirement work. Fortunately, there are practical ways to stretch a dollar, without breaking the bank.
Downsizing to a smaller home, getting rid of cable television, sharing expenses with friends and taking advantage of senior discounts are all effective ways to save money in retirement.
Downsizing
Larger homes cost more to heat, cool, furnish and repair, which is why downsizing the square footage makes a lot of sense for seniors. Moving to an assisted living community can amplify the cost savings, depending on the circumstances. Specifically, downsizing can reduce gas, electric, insurance, property taxes, and water bills, while minimizing upkeep costs like new carpet and landscaping.
Cut back on cable
Cable television isn’t cheap, especially when you factor in premium channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. While it’s fun to have all of the sports and specialty channels, they aren’t always necessary, and they can cost more than $100 a month. Netflix and Hulu are much more cost-effective, allowing seniors to stream content via the Internet on their televisions. Both services combined allow retirees to watch movies and television shows at a fraction of the cost of cable.
Share expenses
Whether it’s carpooling to bingo, the movies or to the store to get groceries, ride sharing among seniors is an effective way to cut down on fuel costs. Transportation isn’t cheap, especially in areas of the country where cities are decentralized, or in the countryside where it takes some time to get back to more populated areas. Thus, lower fuel costs can help seniors. Ride sharing also cuts down on the wear and tear to older adults’ vehicles, extending a car or truck’s useful life and reducing maintenance costs.
Moving into an assisted living facility like Vista Springs can also help seniors spread the cost of entertainment, activities, and medical care among fellow residents, enhancing the quality of life for everyone involved. The costs of independent medical attention, food preparation, and daily entertainment is often-times cost-prohibitive for seniors living alone. Finding ways to share expenses among a group provides new and exciting possibilities for aging adults.
Senior discounts
Movie theaters, fast-food restaurants, fine-dining restaurants and similar establishments typically offer senior discounts at particular times, or on specific days of the week. Taking advantage of these opportunities can yield cost-savings and an active retirement, which is beneficial on multiple levels. The goal of retirement is not to stop spending money, but to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor of many years of working. Senior discounts allow seniors to get out and do more for less, which is positive for everyone in the community.
Seniors living off of a fixed income usually need to be cost-conscious to ensure a comfortable and rewarding retirement. But when you find ways to save money in an efficient, practical and common sense way, older adults can live a fun and enjoyable retirement.
Some of the runners at a previous Kentwood Valentine’s Dash 5K. (WKTV)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
The City of Kentwood will host its third annual Valentine’s Dash 5K on Saturday, Feb. 8, to benefit Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry, which provides food and personal care items to community members in need, no questions asked.
The city announced today that the 5K run/walk will start and end at the Kent District Library’s Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, located at 4950 Breton Ave. SE. Check-in, on-site registration and packet pick-up will all take place at 9:30 a.m. The race will begin at 11 a.m.
The 5K route will include a combination of trails and roads with mile markers and Valentine’s Day candy stations. Valentine’s-themed costumes are encouraged for the occasion. Fellow participants will vote to determine who is the “best dressed” and awards will also be presented to the fastest runners. While the 5K is intended to be a fun run, it will be chip-timed.
Following the race, participates will be invited into the library’s community room for a party that will include music, snacks, a photo booth, the award ceremony and more.
“We’ve found this race route to be enjoyable for everyone from avid race participants to casual walkers,” Spencer McKellar, race organizer, said in supplied material. “Whether this is your first race or one of many you’ve completed, we think you’ll find our Valentine’s Dash 5K offers enough of a challenge and a lot of fun for a brisk Saturday morning.
“Invite your sweetie, family and friends to dress up and take on the course with you, then stick around for more activities at the after-party.”
Online registration costs $30 until Feb. 7, after which the price will increase to $35 for day-of registration. Participant packets include a long-sleeve shirt “and other goodies.” Runners who sign up as a couple will save $5 each.
If participants bring a non-perishable item or additional monetary donation for the pantry, they will be entered to win a special door prize.
The Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department is seeking volunteers to assist with the event. Those interested can sign up online.
“Signs, Signs, Everywhere there’s signs. Blocking out the scenery. Breaking my mind. Do this! Don’t do that! Can’t you read the signs?”
Five Man Electrical Band
Can you see this scene from “Rocky” and not hear the music in your head? Didn’t think so. (Promotional)
Fun music on a cold night
Stop and think about one of your favorite movies – it won’t be long before you start humming a few bars from the musical score. That’s the power of music in movies. Grand Rapids Pops says a big “Hooray for Hollywood” with Hollywood Hits with music from blockbuster films as Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago, The Way We Were and Rocky on Friday Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17-19, in DeVos Performance Hall. Go here for the story.
No longer a death sentence
Currently, thanks to better screening and treatment, more than 17 million Americans who had cancer remain alive, the American Cancer Society says in a report. While this is good news, more good news may be coming. Go here for the story.
WKTV Journal In Focus’s audio only podcast of a Community Conversation on Homelessness featured Kentwood City Commissioner and community advocate Emily Bridson moderating along with Marshall Kilgore and, from left, panelists Hillary Scholten and Bo Torres. (WKTV)
Local immigration discussion
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal’s In Focus series of podcasts, immigration is the topic of speakers including City of Kentwood Commissioner Emily Bridson; Marshall Kilgore, Western Michigan Director for United Precinct Delegates; Hillary Scholten, candidate for the U.S. 3rd Congressional District; and Bo Torres, a Hispanic community leader. Go here for the story.
Fun fact:
7 percent and 1-in-12
Nearly 7 percent of Michigan residents are immigrants, while almost 1 in 12 residents is a native-born U.S. citizen with at least one immigrant parent. Source.
Dry beans, including black beans, are a staple in many Latin American cultures and many cultures around the world. If you have spent any time traveling in Latin America or the Caribbean, you know beans in some form are served at almost every meal. Beans are a great source of inexpensive protein and dry beans store well for a long period of time.
Just as a point of interest, rice and beans and beans and rice are two very different dishes, with the latter being more preferred. Rice and beans are a one pot dish, usually white rice and kidney beans cooked together with onions, garlic, maybe a few other spices and a little coconut oil. Beans and rice, on the other hand, are beans that are slowly stewed with onions, garlic and other spices, maybe even a pork hock for flavor. I like to add cumin, bay leaves and some Marie Sharp’s Habanero Pepper Sauce. This combination creates a delicious sauce to be eaten over a bed of rice.
I have been experimenting with several bean recipes as my son prefers beans to meat and will eat beans and rice every day if I let him. Black beans are by far our household favorite.
Fun facts about black beans
Black beans are botanically known as Phaseolus vulgaris.
Beans and legumes are the fruits or seeds of a family of plants called Fabaceae (also called Leguminosae).
Black beans have several common names including turtle beans, caviar criollo and frijoles negros.
These beans were and still are a staple food in the diets of Central and South Americans, dating back at least 7,000 years.
Black beans have a satiny black skin (technically dark purple) and a white center.
When cooked, the beans have a creamy texture and slightly sweet flavor.
Black beans are an excellent low-calorie, low-fat source of energy and fiber.
One half-cup serving of black beans gives you 8 grams of protein.
Aside from meat products, dry beans are the highest source of protein
available.
Dry beans have more fiber than any other unprocessed food at 15 grams per cup.
One cup of cooked black beans contains less than 1 gram of fat and only 227 calories.
Black beans are also a great source of folic acid, magnesium, potassium and iron.
Adding black beans to your breakfast food will also help your mood
because it helps to stabilize your blood sugar. This means that
including beans in your breakfast or lunch can help prevent that
mid-afternoon slump.
Michigan is the leading producer of black beans, with 58% of the nation’s total production.
Michigan’s Thumb counties, known for its rich farmland, produces more beans than any other place in the state.
Huron County is one of the top dry bean-producing counties in the nation.
Mexico is Michigan’s largest export market for dry beans, especially black beans.
Recipe for Black Beans and Rice
I was recently at a Cuban restaurant in Key West. They serve black beans and rice called Moros y Cristianos, translated literally to Moors and Christians. It is presumed the dish gets its name from the time when the Moors occupied the Iberian Peninsula. The black beans represent the Moors and the white rice represents the Christians.
This flavorful bean and rice dish, representative of Spanish occupation, is popular in Cuba. Every Cuban cook has their own version of the recipe. I’m not Cuban, but here is my version.
Ingredients
½ pound dry black beans cooked with 6 cups of water for 6 minutes in
pressure cooker. One option is to use 3 cups water and 3 cups chicken
broth.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
4 large garlic cloves, chopped (or 1½ teaspoons garlic powder)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ketchup or tomato paste
1 tablespoon Marie Sharp’s Habanero Pepper Sauce (now readily available in the U.S.)
Directions
Heat oil in heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, bell
pepper, garlic and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5
minutes. Add 1 cup of beans to pan. Using back of fork, mash beans
coarsely.
In a crock pot, add bean and vegetable mixture along with remaining beans, the water/broth from cooking, cumin, bay leaves, tomato paste and pepper sauce. I leave the cover off or slightly ajar as the beans thicken and flavors blend, stirring occasionally.
Season beans to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over white rice and enjoy.
By understanding the implications of both numbers in a blood pressure reading, you may gain more understanding of your risk for heart disease and stroke. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
When it comes to blood pressure readings, the “top” number seems to grab all the attention.
But a large, new study confirms that both numbers are, in fact, critical in determining the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Blood pressure measurements are given as a “top” and “bottom” number. The first reflects systolic blood pressure, the amount of pressure in the arteries as the heart contracts. The second reflects diastolic blood pressure, the pressure in the arteries between heart muscle contractions.
For years, systolic blood pressure has been seen as the one that really matters. That’s based on studies—including the famous Framingham Heart Study—showing that high systolic blood pressure is a stronger predictor of heart disease and stroke.
At the same time, though, doctors measure both systolic and diastolic blood pressure—and treatment guidelines are based on both. So just how important is that diastolic number?
“The idea behind this new study was to address the confusion,” said lead researcher Dr. Alexander Flint, an investigator with Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s division of research.
Using medical records from 1.3 million patients, his team confirmed that, yes, high systolic blood pressure was a stronger risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
But those risks also climbed in tandem with diastolic pressure. And people with normal systolic readings were still at risk if their diastolic pressure was high.
“There’s been a common belief that systolic blood pressure is the only one that matters,” Flint said. “But diastolic definitely matters.”
He and his colleagues reported the findings in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The definition of high blood pressure has gotten a revamp in recent years. Guidelines issued in 2017 by the American College of Cardiology and other heart groups lowered the threshold for diagnosing the condition—from the traditional 140/90 mm Hg to 130/80.
The fact that treatment guidelines include a diastolic pressure threshold implies that it’s important.
And indeed it is, said Dr. Karol Watson, a member of the ACC’s prevention section and leadership council.
In fact, she said, doctors once thought that diastolic blood pressure was the more important one, based on research at the time. Then came the studies showing that systolic pressure was generally a better predictor of people’s risk of heart disease and stroke.
In addition, Watson said, high systolic blood pressure is more prevalent, because of natural changes in blood pressure as people age.
“As we get older, systolic blood pressure keeps marching up,” she explained. Diastolic blood pressure, on the other hand, generally peaks when people are in their 40s to 60s—and then it declines.
But it’s clear, Watson said, that while systolic and diastolic blood pressure are different they both deserve attention.
In the latest study, cardiovascular risks rose with each “unit increase” in systolic pressure above 140, by about 18% on average. Meanwhile, each increase in diastolic blood pressure above 90 was tied to a 6% increase in heart disease and stroke risk.
The researchers saw a similar pattern when they looked at blood pressure increases above the 130/80 threshold. That, Flint said, supports the 2017 guideline shift.
The findings are based on over 1.3 million patients in the Kaiser Permanente health system who had roughly 36.8 million blood pressure readings taken from 2007 through 2016. Over eight years, more than 44,000 patients had a heart attack or stroke.
According to Flint, it’s the largest study of its kind to date.
The bottom line for patients, Watson said, is that they should care about both blood pressure numbers.
In her experience, she noted, patients often point to the number that’s in the normal range and say, “But look how good this is.”
Flint agreed, saying that no one should “ignore” the diastolic number.
“It’s important not only in blood pressure treatment, but on the side of diagnosis, too,” he said.
As caregivers and clinicians navigate the various phases of cancer survivorship, it spotlights the ever-present need for resources that optimize care. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
More Americans are surviving cancer and their numbers could top 22 million in another decade, the American Cancer Society says.
Currently, thanks to better screening and treatment, more than 17 million Americans who had cancer remain alive, the society said in a report.
While this is good news, it comes with a cautionary note.
Cancer survivors often have long-term difficulties. Many must also overcome barriers to get the treatments they need, the researchers said.
“People with a history of cancer have unique medical, psychosocial and economic needs that require proactive assessment and management by health care providers,” said report co-author Robin Yabroff. She’s senior scientific director of health services research for the cancer society.
“Although there are growing numbers of tools that can assist patients, caregivers and clinicians in navigating the various phases of cancer survivorship, further evidence-based resources are needed to optimize care,” Yabroff said in a society news release.
The report estimated that 8 million men and nearly 9 million women have a history of cancer.
Among the survivors, 68% had their cancer diagnosed five or more years ago and 18% at least 20 years ago.
Also, while nearly two-thirds of survivors are 65 or older, nearly 66,000 survivors are 14 and younger. Close to 48,000 are 15 to 19 years old.
Because of the growing and aging population, survivorship is increasing even though the number of women who develop cancer remains stable and the number of men with cancer declines, the researchers found.
The most common cancers among men are prostate, colon cancer and melanoma. Among women they are breast, uterine and colon cancer.
The report was published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Researchers found that women following a low-fat diet reduced their overall calories, changed their cooking methods and reduced portion sizes of meat and dairy products. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Health experts have long touted the benefits of a low-fat diet for preventing heart disease, but now a large study suggests it might do the same against breast cancer.
Researchers found that eating low-fat foods reduced a woman’s risk of dying from breast cancer by 21%. What’s more, the women on low-fat diets also cut their risk of dying from any cause by 15%.
“This is the only study providing randomized controlled trial evidence that a dietary intervention can reduce women’s risk of death from breast cancer,” said study author Dr. Rowan Chlebowski.
He is from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif.
Diet has long been suspected to be a factor in cancer.
Obesity has been linked to 12 different types of cancers, including postmenopausal breast cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. And, a diet full of healthy foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes is thought to help protect against cancer.
Chlebowski noted that previous studies have shown a higher cancer incidence in countries where people tend to eat more fat.
The latest study looked at the effect a low-fat diet might have on the incidence of breast cancer and death.
Nearly 49,000 postmenopausal women from 40 centers across the United States were included in the study. The women were between the ages of 50 and 79 and had no history of previous breast cancer.
Eighty percent of the women were white, which Chlebowski said matched the population when the study began.
Between 1993 and 1998, the women were randomly assigned to one of two dietary groups. One group was assigned to a normal diet. This diet had about 32% of their calories from fat. The low-fat group had a target of 20% or less of calories from fat.
Chlebowski said the low-fat diet was close in content to the Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension diet, or DASH diet. This emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains, while avoiding high-fat meats and dairy products, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
The low-fat group lost a modest amount of weight. Chlebowski said there was about a 3% difference in weight between the groups. He said the researchers factored the weight difference into their calculations and that weight alone didn’t affect the risk of death.
Women in the low-fat group adhered to the diet for about 8.5 years and both groups were followed for an average of nearly 20 years.
The women in the low-fat group weren’t able to achieve the 20%-or-less target for fat, but they did manage around 25%, according to the researchers. And they did increase their intake of fruits, vegetables and grains.
“The diet was more moderate than originally planned. But we saw a diet of 25% to 27% fat is largely achievable,” Chlebowski said.
He said the researchers don’t know if any individual components of the diet were more important than others, but they hope further study will tease that out.
In the meantime, Chlebowski said he thinks the message should be one of dietary moderation rather than looking for any one particular food or food group.
He said the women in the low-fat study group reduced their overall calories, changed their cooking methods and reduced their portions of meat and dairy products.
The findings are to be presented soon at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago. Findings presented at meetings are typically viewed as preliminary until they’ve been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
ASCO breast cancer expert Dr. Lidia Schapira, from Stanford University, noted that this study shows “what we put on the plate matters. It’s worth coaching and pushing patients to put more fruits and vegetables on their plates.”
She added that even when women didn’t reach the more stringent dietary fat goal of 20%, they still showed a health advantage from trying to reduce the fat in their diets.
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, president of ASCO, said these findings were “really, really striking.”
She noted, “This was not an incredibly restrictive diet. People were able to adhere to it pretty well.”
And yet, the incidence of breast cancer went down by 8% in the women on low-fat diets.
“They were getting fewer breast cancers and even when they did get breast cancer, their death rate was reduced,” Bertagnolli said.
Craving something sweet? It may be tempting to gobble up old favorites like candy, chocolate, cookies and cupcakes.
But where does that get you? Lots of calories. Refined sugar. Virtually no nutritional value.
As an alternative, it may be time for you to consider one of nature’s sweet treats: dates.
Along with its caramel-like sweetness, this delectable fruit delivers a healthy dose of antioxidants, fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, plant-based iron and an array of other vitamins and minerals.
And it’s hard to go wrong with a natural food.
“There are a multitude of naturally delicious fresh and dried fruits, such as dates, that provide sweetness with fiber, lowering the glycemic load impact,” Spectrum Health dietitian Caren Dobreff said.
Dates vary by size and weight, so the nutrient information can vary widely. Larger dates can weigh up to 24 grams—and pack about half a gram of protein and just under 1.6 grams of fiber. Smaller dates can weigh about 8 grams and provide 6 grams of carbohydrate, 5 grams of natural sugars and less than 1 gram of fiber.
Dobreff said those smaller dates may be a better fit for those needing to watch their daily total sugar intake, even if it is natural sugar.
Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat
Dates work as a sweet treat on their own, but there are many ways to incorporate them into your cooking and baking, Dobreff said.
“We take a recipe and we give it some interest and a little bit of sweetness, but not off the charts,” she said.
Eliminating refined sugars and replacing them with natural sugar, as found in dates, can help you recalibrate your taste buds to what nature intended for sweetness.
“I want people to have a real idea of what sweet is supposed to taste like,” Dobreff said. “All the added sugars, syrups and artificial sweeteners have given us an unrealistic idea of what sweet is supposed to be like.”
When using dates, Dobreff recommends using the whole date as opposed to products such as date sugar, which is made from dehydrated dates ground into a granulated sugar, or date syrup, which is made by boiling the dates and reducing the liquid to a honey-like consistency.
“The whole food is going to have higher fiber content, which is incredibly important when it comes to regulating your blood sugar level,” Dobreff said. “Added sugars and syrups have virtually no fiber, which has a stronger impact on our blood glucose level.
“And, as we all know, what goes up must come down—and then we have a sugar crash.”
Here are Dobreff’s tips for incorporating dates into your diet:
Use them in baking to replace chocolate chips or candies. If you’re making homemade protein bars or energy bites, add dates for something different.
Add dates to a leafy green salad or to a whole grain salad, such as farro or quinoa.
For a finger-food snack, cut the date open butterfly-style and put peanut butter or almond butter inside. Kids love this one.
Chop them and add them to roasted vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, tossed in balsamic vinegar. “It makes for a wonderful, healthy comfort food,” Dobreff said.
Instead of raisins, add chopped dates to your hot cereal or oatmeal. Go a step further and add apples and cinnamon.
Try these recipes from Spectrum Health’s culinary medicine classes: coconut pecan date rolls and roasted cauliflower salad with dates and golden raisins.
Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat
When shopping in the grocery store, you’ll find dates in the baking or produce section near the dried fruits and nuts. They’re usually offered as organic, too, if you desire.
Remember to remove the pits when you prepare them, Dobreff said.
Dates are a great way we can add nature’s sweetness to our cooking, all while avoiding refined sugars.
“I am hoping that people will think more about, ‘How can I make this dish taste good and use more of a whole food natural ingredient?’” Dobreff said.
As people age, things change in many aspects of their lives. It might be the loss of social interaction with dear friends and relatives who move to other states for a lower cost of living and warmer climates. Friends and family may move, and it is important to be supportive, but it’s still painful emotionally. When other friends or relatives pass away, this creates new painful feelings of loss.
The importance of connection
Most aging adults benefit greatly from being in diverse and exciting social communities that offer a variety of social gatherings and physical activities such as low and medium impact exercise classes, swimming activities, as well as a range of motion chair exercises to upbeat music. And according to exciting research from AARP and Harvard Health Publications, regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills.
Groundbreaking brain research
This exciting research highlights one of the many positive reasons why this happens with seniors. Researchers found that regular aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate and stimulates your sweat glands appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, which is the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. The lead research mentioned another interesting point involving brain fog that affects many aging adults. With these types of exercises, the brain fog goes away. That is amazing.
Unfortunately, resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results, but they are still important forms of exercise for other reasons such as an increase in strength, firmness, and stability with balance affecting your legs and feet.
In assisted living communities, you will not be on your own to attempt to figure out and structure a workout plan. That is taken care of since the community has professional trainers there to guide, train, and supervise your activities. They are highly skilled and experienced in dealing with seniors, by keeping a watchful eye on your activities, it will help to keep you from overdoing things. Also, this certainly beats the fees charged by fitness centers and gyms.
Aging adults can thrive in assisted living communities versus aging in place and living alone at home. Even seniors who live alone in a new home face the same issues with isolation, security issues, and in some cases driving restrictions apply due to medical, or vision problems.
Seemingly endless possibilities
In assisted living communities like Vista Springs, there are plenty of opportunities to meet new and vibrant people who share your interests and tastes whether it’s playing pool, poker, movies, jazz, dancing, or even learning a new computer language.
School is back in session, and if your child has had his or her annual checkup, their doctor might have talked to you about the importance of kids and adults obtaining the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
The HPV vaccine can prevent genital warts and penile cancer in men; cancer of the cervix, vagina and vulva in women; and anal and throat cancer in both men and women.
The HPV vaccine keeps the body from becoming a carrier even if a person is exposed to the virus through sexual contact.
A patient of mine I’ll call Deb recently went through some fairly intense testing to rule out cervical cancer, and it was very stressful for her.
She came to see me for her annual exam and Pap smear, and she had experienced abnormal Paps in the past. She even had to have a colposcopy to make sure she didn’t have cervical cancer. Fortunately, Deb did not have cancer, but she wanted to make sure her kids wouldn’t have to endure the same procedures and worries she endured.
I recommended the HPV vaccine to give her some reassurance for her children.
The HPV vaccine is available in three different brands, each covering two, four or nine different types of the virus. The vaccine is given in three doses within a 24-week period. It can be given to both boys and girls and it has been shown to be safe and effective for females and males between the ages of 11 and 29.
The vaccine can also be given even if the person already has the HPV virus, because it can protect against other types of viruses as well. The optimal range for girls and boys to receive the first shot is between the ages of 11 and 12, because the immune response is better the earlier it is given. In addition, whether or not we like to think about it, kids often have sex before we suspect they do.
In countries where vaccines are more mandated, the HPV vaccine rate is approximately 80 percent. In the U.S. the rate is 54 percent for the first shot and only 33 percent for all three shots. The higher the rate of vaccination, the fewer the women who will develop cervical cancer.
Bottom line: Get your kids vaccinated.
So, why is our vaccination rate so low compared to other countries? In a survey, parents gave the following reasons for choosing not to get their kids vaccinated against HPV:
They think the vaccine is unnecessary.
They think the vaccine is ineffective.
They think the vaccine is unsafe.
They don’t understand the details of the HPV vaccine.
They don’t think their children would have sex that young.
Health care providers know the vaccine is safe, effective and necessary—and they know that parents need to learn more about the vaccine and appreciate the reality that some children will have sex at a young age. There is excellent information available to support the decision to vaccinate kids early.
I am happy that Deb trusted me and was willing to consider the vaccine to reduce her daughter’s chance of having abnormal Pap smears in the future.
Even if the shot has been given, it is still important to screen for HPV and abnormal cells on the cervix. Pap smears should be started at age 21 and performed every three years after that.
I follow the recommended guidelines to start co-testing of the Pap and HPV at age 30; if the results are negative, repeat the test every three years. If there are abnormal cells present, the next step is to do a colposcopy, where we look at the cervix with a telescope and take a biopsy of the cervix.
Of course, there are several other ways to prevent the HPV virus, and I told Deb to give the following advice to her children:
Do not smoke.
Use a condom every time.
Delay sex until after age 15.
Deb appreciated the information I shared with her and scheduled
appointments for her kids to get their vaccines during their checkups.
As a gynecologist who has had to perform hysterectomies on many women because of cervical cancer, I’m very happy that Deb made the choice to have her kids vaccinated.
