Snippets

It's important to practise good bone health when you're young, to prevent problems later in life. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these guidelines for people of different ages:

• Between ages 10 and 20: Get 1,300 milligrams of calcium each day by eating plenty of calcium-rich foods such as cheese and leafy green vegetables. Drink at least three 8-oz. glasses of milk each day.
• Between ages 20 and 35: Get at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. Perform exercises such as jogging or walking to help strengthen bones.
• Between ages 35 and 50: You still need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day as bone loss may have already begun. You may want to ask your doctor about bone density screenings.
• Age 50 and older: Be sure to get at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day, and at least 20 minutes of weight-bearing exercise three days a week or more. Also, your doctor may recommend a vitamin D supplement.

The computer and you

Stretching your neck and working your wrists at a computer for hours at a time can strain much of the body. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these suggestions to help reduce computer pain and discomfort:

• Sit up straight, with your ears lined up with the top of your shoulders, and your shoulders lined up with the hips.
• Relax your upper arms, and hold them close to your body. Keep your hands and wrists straight in front of your arms.
• Keep your hands and fingers relaxed when typing or clicking on the mouse.
• Take regular breaks and relax your hands and fingers.
• Give your eyes a rest and look away from the computer every so often. Also, try to position your screen to reflect the least glare.
• Place your computer monitor about an arm's length in front of you, and right at eye level so you don't have to look up or down to view the monitor. - (HealthDay News)

Egg a day and you may end up with Diabetes

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who sit down to a daily breakfast of eggs may have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research suggests. In a long-term study of 57,000 U.S. adults, researchers found that those who ate an egg a day were 58 percent to 77 percent more likely than non-egg-eaters to develop type 2 diabetes.

The findings, published in the journal Diabetes Care, do not necessarily mean that eggs themselves put people on a path to diabetes, according to the researchers. But they do suggest it is wise to limit your egg intake.

"Based on the current data, our recommendations would be to consume eggs in moderation and not to exceed six eggs per week," lead researcher Dr. Luc Djousse, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Reuters Health.

The study does not explain exactly why eggs are linked to diabetes, but cholesterol may play a role. The study participants' daily cholesterol intake was also related to diabetes risk, and when the researchers factored this in, the relationship between egg intake and diabetes weakened.

In animal studies, high-fat diets have been shown to raise levels of blood sugar and the sugar-regulating hormone insulin -- suggesting a way that a cholesterol-heavy diet might promote diabetes.
According to Djousse, it's important for people at risk of type 2 diabetes -- due to factors like family history and obesity -- to pay attention to their overall cholesterol intake, and not just cholesterol from eggs.

Even more important, he noted, is a focus on overall health -- maintaining a normal weight, exercising regularly and eating a well-balanced diet -- rather than any one food or nutrient.

- SOURCE: Diabetes Care, February 2009.

Keep an eye on your eyes

Fluctuating blood sugar levels can affect diabetics' vision and eye health, so it's important to heed any warning signs of eye problems.

If you're diabetic and have any of these symptoms, the American Diabetes Association says it's time to get them checked by your eye doctor:

• Blurred or double vision.
• Pain in one or both eyes.
• Difficulty reading.
• Persistent redness of the eyes.
• Difficulty seeing from the sides of your eyes.
• A sensation of pressure in one or both eyes.
• Seeing spots or floaters.
• If straight lines or objects look crooked.

- (HealthDay News)

Good news for coffee drinkers!

NEW YORK - New research indicates that drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or throat, at least in the general population of Japan.

The consumption of coffee in Japan is relatively high, as is the rate of cancer of the esophagus in men. To look into any protective effect of coffee drinking, Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University, Sendai, and colleagues, analyzed data from the population-based Miyagi Cohort Study in Japan.

The study included information about diet, including coffee consumption. Among more than 38,000 study participants aged 40 to 64 years with no prior history of cancer, 157 cases of cancer of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus occurred during 13 years of follow up.

Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank one or more cups a day had half the risk of developing these cancers, Naganuma's group reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
They note that the reduction in risk included people who are at high risk for these cancers, namely, those who were current drinkers and/or smokers at the start of the study.

"We had not expected that we could observe such a substantial inverse association with coffee consumption and the risk of these cancers," Naganuma commented to Reuters Health, "and the inverse association in high-risk groups for these cancers as well."