WINTER RISKIER FOR HEALTH
Winter may look wonderful, but it's also the deadliest time of year for those in northern parts of the United States. In some years and in some countries, deaths and hospitalizations for heart disease and stroke increase more than 50 percent in winter. While cold weather may play a factor, short days and long nights can also throw heart-related hormones out of whack, according to the Harvard Health Letter. Flu experts believe there is something about winter -- besides the fact people are inside more and more likely to share germs -- that spurs the influenza virus to replicate after lying dormant in summer. In addition, 500 Americans die each year of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty heating equipment.
LIPOSUCTION PATIENT LIKELY TO GAIN WEIGHT
A study of 200 U.S. liposuction patients shows those who didn't follow a healthy diet were three times more likely to gain weight. Liposuction patients who didn't exercise regularly were four times more likely to add pounds. Patients who followed a healthy diet and exercised, however, were twice as likely to lose weight after the surgery. "If patients want positive, long-term results from liposuction, they have to be willing to eat a proper diet and exercise," says Dr. Rod Rohrich, chairman of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "Liposuction should not be viewed as a weight loss tool, but as an adjunct to living a healthy lifestyle."
MORE STUDY FOR HOMOCYSTEINE/FOLIC ACID LINK
Because treatment is limited, stroke prevention by modifying risk factors is important, say British researchers. Most important is reducing high blood pressure and quitting smoking, but those with high levels of homocysteine in their blood also are more likely to have a stroke. Although it already is known folic acid can lower people's homocysteine, Aroon Hingorani of the University College in London says large randomized clinical trials of supplementation with folic acid, with or without vitamin B, will be necessary to test the therapeutic approach of lowering homocysteine concentrations to prevent stroke, according to the study in the Lancet.
KEEPING FINGERNAILS HEALTHY
It's not necessary to get a fancy manicure to keep fingernails healthy, according to Minnesota researchers. Nails need moisture just like skin does, so the Mayo Clinic Health Letter suggests using lotion on nails when moisturizing hands. Picking at or biting the skin near nails can damage the nail bed, allowing bacteria or fungi to enter and cause infection. Never pull off hangnails -- doing so almost always results in ripping into living tissue. Clip hangnails off, leaving a slight angle outward.
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(EDITORS: For more information on the Harvard Health Letter contact (877) 649-9457. For HOMOCYSTEINE, [email protected]. For more information on the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, (800) 333-9037, extension 9PR1)
