Exposing the premature babies to one thirty minute session of Mozart decreased the need for calories. The preterm babies expended less energy after hearing the music.

“It’s not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated,” says Dr. Mendel, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University. After listening to Mozart the researchers measured how much energy the premature infants expended at rest finding that the infants were more restful, expending fewer calories.

Dr. Mandel says it is possible that “The repetitive melodies in Mozart’s music may be affecting the organizational centers of the brain’s cortex. Unlike Beethoven, Bach or Bartok, Mozart’s music is composed with a melody that is highly repetitive. This might be the musical explanation. For the scientific one, more investigation is needed.

It is important for babies born prematurely to gain weight before leaving the hospital. The researchers hope to learn more about how exposing premature infants to music can facilitate treatment. “The point of our research is to quantify these effects so that standards and care-guides can be developed. We still don’t know the long-term effects of the music, or if other kinds of music will work just as well.”

Other suggestions to help premature infants gain weight, develop and go home include listening to ethnic music, rap music, pop music, and, and other classical music like Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, says Dr. Mandel. Exposing premature infants to music may lead to an entirely new approach for treating babies born too early.

They are complaining about price gouging and questioning whether drug companies are reneging on a pledge to provide billions of savings as part of a U.S. health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama is working on to make medical expenses affordable to Americans.

In the USA, prescription drugs account for about 10% of health-care spending. The concern is that it appears that prices are increasing rapidly, Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health subcommittee, said at a hearing Tuesday. A recent AARP study shows people are paying 9% more for brand-name drugs, according to Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.), the Energy and Commerce Committee chair.

Waxman called the increase “shocking” and said it would boost drug company revenues by $20 billion this year. This is not what industries promised. In fact, they promised to provide $80 billion of savings over 10 years as part of a broader U.S. health-care overhaul.

“When Americans hear about these soaring drug prices, they are absolutely right to demand to know what Congress is doing about it,” said Waxman. Panel member Rep. Jane Harman (D., Calif.) called the price increases “unconscionable and immoral,” while other Democrats on the panel questioned whether rising prices support lucrative pay packages for drug company executives.

Even though generic drug prices have declined from September 2008 to September 2009, big brand-name drugs rose 9.3% in the same period, according to the AARP study and many of its members are feeling the pinch of rising drug prices.

“It is hard to escape the conclusion that the industry is positioning the pricing of its products for enactment of the new health reform legislation,” Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said at a hearing on the issue.

There were no brand-name drug prices that fell in 2009 and the increase last year was higher than any in the last seven years, Stephen Schondelmeyer, a pharmaceutical economics professor at the University of Minnesota, told the House panel.

Critics questioned the AARP study, which looked at more than 500 drugs, including 219 brand-name products accounting for nearly 82% of prescription-drug expenses. The study hasn’t been peer reviewed and the findings are misleading because they rely on wholesale prices, not retail prices. Drug industry officials also questioned the accuracy of results that don’t factor in rebate and discount programs.

Bonnie M. Cramer, Chair of AARP’s Board of Directors “As the health care debate moves forward, AARP will continue to work with Congress to ensure that every American has access to affordable prescription drugs. With millions of Americans, young and old, depending on the benefits of prescription drugs to improve their health and well-being, it’s time to make these drugs even more effective by making them affordable.”

Along with learning which foods to eat for a healthier diet, it is important to learn or re-learn proper portion sizes. At home you may wish to actually measure or weigh food portions to learn serving sizes. Over time you should be able to “eyeball” the amount.

What Counts as a Serving?

According to the USDA Food Pyramid:

A serving of meat is about two or three ounces. Serving sizes for other proteins would be two tablespoons of nut butters, two eggs, and one third cup of dry beans.
A serving of bread is equal to one slice of white or whole grain bread, one ounce of prepared cereal, or just one half cup of pasta, or rice.
A serving of is equal to one piece of fresh fruit, one half a cup of chopped fruit, or three-fourths cup of fruit juice.
A serving of vegetable is equal to one half cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables, one cup of leafy raw vegetables, or three-fourths cup of vegetable juice.
A serving of dairy is equal to one cup of milk or one and one half ounces of cheese.

When eating out it is not possible to measure or weigh food portions. Here are a few guidelines that can help:

Think tennis ball or ice cream scoop for portion size of mashed potatoes, rice, cooked broccoli, or medium size whole fruit or 1/2 cup of fresh sliced fruit.

Think compact disc for serving size of one pancake or slice of bread.

Think bar of soap or serving size of cornbread.

Think of your fist size for appropriate size of green salad, baked potato, or cereal serving.

Think of a large egg as an appropriate size for a serving of raisins.

Think of a 9-volt battery as the appropriate size for a 1.5 ounce serving of cheese.

Think of a ping-pong ball as the size of 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or salad dressing.

Think of your fingertip as the size of one teaspoon of peanut butter or a pad of butter.

Think of your palm as the appropriate size for a serving of meat, fish, or poultry.

Think of your hand when snacking. One handful is plenty for an serving of nuts, small candies, or potato chips. Two handfuls is allowed for pretzels.

It’s just as important to eat appropriate servings of health foods as it is to eat those healthy foods. Here’s to your health as a New Year approaches.

Related stories
Controlling Food Portions for Weight Loss
Controlling Your Portion Size
Low Literacy Can Lead To Food Portion Distortion

Sources
Cleveland Clinic
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It doesn’t matter whether Cyber Monday is the busiest online day of the year or which day between now and Christmas attracts the largest number of online shoppers. What matters is that shopping online can offer some health benefits.

For example, when you stay home and shop, you avoid crowds and excessive exposure to germs, an especially important consideration this year with the threat of H1N1 and season flu. There are already other places that you and your family risk being exposed to all kinds of ailments, but shopping malls and big box stores need not be among them.

Shopping at home also reduces your exposure to air pollutants. Sitting in traffic, walking through parking lots, shopping along busy streets, and riding buses, subways, and trains all means you are at the mercy of exhaust from every mode of transportation.

Cyber Monday shopping also reduces stress. You avoid annoying traffic, trying to find a parking space at the mall (and hoping you can find your car when you come out), long lines at the cash registers, not finding what you want, being interrupted on your cell phone while you’re shopping—all of these things and more are stressful, and at a time of the year when you don’t need any more stress in your life.

Online shopping can save you money, and in these trying economic times, money concerns are one of the top stressors. Sure, you can save money if you shop in person as well, but when you add up the savings in gas and time, the temptation to get something to eat and/or drink (all overpriced), parking fees (in some areas), and shipping costs (if you need to mail gifts), you are better off shopping online. You don’t use gas, you can snack at home, there are no parking fees, and some retailers are offering free shipping, so Grandma’s slippers can go free of charge.

Finally—and this is just a suggestion—you can prepare a delicious, healthy meal while you shop. Dig out your slow cooker, find an easy recipe for vegetable stew, chili, or a hearty soup, and let it simmer while you shop. You’ll smell the aroma while you browse the internet and know that when you’ve completed your shopping, your healthy, delicious dinner will be waiting for you as well. Happy Cyber shopping.

For most women, sexual problems that concern sexual desire, interest, satisfaction, and pleasure are integral to the overall sexual experience and are not separate from the experience. A reason that treatment in women with sexual dysfunction cannot be measured by how often they engage in sexual activity is that they often continue to be sexually active even when they are not sexually satisfied. For men who suffer with erectile dysfunction, however, frequency of sexual activity is how the success of their treatment is determined.

To determine whether there is a correlation between the level of sexual satisfaction and well-being, researchers enrolled 295 women aged 20 to 65 who were assigned to one of four subgroups: sexually satisfied, sexually dissatisfied, premenopausal, and postmenopausal. The women rated themselves as to whether they were or were not sexually satisfied.

Women who rated themselves as being sexually satisfied scored higher for “positive well-being” and “vitality” and had a higher overall psychological well-being score when compared with women who reported themselves to be sexually dissatisfied. The researchers also found that the older women in the study generally reported more sexual satisfaction than did the younger women.

Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, which published the study’s results, noted that the study “emphasizes the role and importance of women’s sexual health in women’s overall health and well-being.” He further noted that the research would “help health care professionals appreciate the need for overall women’s healthcare to include women’s sexual health care.”

The study did not identify why some older women are more sexually satisfied than their younger counterparts. In a survey conducted by an RN and researcher at the University of Washington School of Nursing, women age 50 and older, more than half said their “closest relationship provided sexual satisfaction,” and more 80 percent said their intimate partner was physically attractive and that “both partners had a strong emotional attraction for each other.” Ninety percent of the women also said that they had a positive attitude about themselves.

SOURCES:
Davison SL et al. Journal of Sexual Medicine 2009 Sep
Johnson B. Selfhelp magazine, May 13, 1998
San Diego Alvarado Hospital, news release

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies are on the rise. Currently about 4 to 8 percent of kids and 2 percent of adults suffer. Peanut allergies, an especially life-threatening condition, have doubled in the last five years. Baking is particularly hard for people with food allergies, because milk and eggs provide moisture, texture, structure, and leavening. Wheat flour substitutions can sometimes become gummy if not balanced properly with the other ingredients.

According to Pascal, many of the ingredients used in the book are easy to find, such as applesauce as a substitution for eggs, rice milk for cow’s milk, and canola oil for butter. Other ingredients are a bit more challenging, such as vegan yogurt, soy-free vegetable shortening, and agave nectar, which can be purchased at some larger grocery stores, health food stores, or online. The book not only offers recipes and pantry stocking tips, but also provides suggestions for modifying other favorite recipes with non-allergenic ingredients.

In addition to those with food allergies, the book is useful for vegetarians and vegans who wish to eliminate cow’s milk and/or eggs from their diet, but may have a difficult time with baked foods that often contain these ingredient. Because the recipes do not contain hydrogenated fats or cholesterol, they are also good for people with cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol. Several of the recipes are also low sugar, which is good for diabetics.

For a sample recipe, Amazon.com is offering a printable recipe page from Pascal’s book for Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix and Blueberry Coffee Cake.

Cybele Pascal is also the author of the “Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook”, and has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, The Today Show, ABC News and the Food Network. She is also a regular contributor to Living Without, a magazine for people with food allergies and sensitivities.

See more about Allergy Relief here.

Tarek Hamid has written an engaging, lively book that conveys information about the basic science of weight loss that appeals both to healthcare professionals and educated general consumers. In “Thinking in Circles about Obesity: Applying Systems Thinking to Weight Management”, he presents a novel approach to addressing the obesity problem.

Although most Americans are knowledgeable about foods, labels, and calories, we are still gaining weight in spite of good intentions. “Thinking in Circles about Obesity” applies critical thinking and information technology to bring insight and practical strategies for managing weight and health. Hamid provides insight on how to dispel a dieter’s unrealistic expectations and point out those dead-end behaviors that derail weight loss goals.

The book is ideal for schools, structured business environments and public policy organizations to communicate prevention and provide innovative tools for:
• Understanding why diets almost always fall short of our expectations.
• Assessing weight gain, loss, and goals with greater accuracy.
• Abandoning one-size-fits-all solutions in lieu of personal solutions that do fit.
• Replacing outmoded linear thinking with feedback systems thinking.
• Getting the most health benefits from information technology.
•Making behavior and physiology work in sync instead of in opposition.

Dr. Tarek Hamid PhD is an MIT-trained system dynamicist with expertise in human metabolism and energy regulation. He is a professor of system dynamics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

The paperback, published November 2009, retails for $27.50, and is available through Springer Publications or Amazon.com.

Persistent genital arousal syndrome, also known as persistent sexual arousal syndrome, can affect women of any age, premenopausal or postmenopausal, married or single. The condition is characterized by persistent feelings of vaginal congestion and other physical signs of sexual arousal without any awareness of sexual desire along with the intense arousal. The arousal may be triggered not only by sexual activity, but also by seemingly nonsexual situations or no obvious stimulus at all.

Although masturbation or sexual activity with a partner that results in orgasm may relieve the vaginal congestion, the relief is temporary, and the physical signs of sexual arousal may persist for hours, days, or months. The physiologic signs of persistent arousal are intrusive, unwanted, and disruptive to the women who experience them.

The exact number of women who suffer with this distressing and intrusive condition is not known, as women tend to feel embarrassed or ashamed of their feelings and are afraid to talk to their doctors about it. For years, women who experienced persistent genital arousal and did decide to report it to their doctors were told it was all in their head and that they should seek psychiatric help.

Some women have come forward and talked about their experiences with PGAS. In addition to Michelle Thompson, the stories of two women, Jeannie Allen and Heather Dearmon, were reported in April 2008 on Fox News. Jeannie Allen, a mother of three who lives in California, was fortunate to eventually connect with two means of understanding and support: Dr. Sandra Leiblum, director of the Center for Sexual and Relationship Health at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey; and an online support group, PSAS-support.com, which Allen now moderates and which offers women a place to share their experiences and get information about the syndrome.

Thus far, the causes of PGAS are not known. Some researchers have suggested that it may be related to use of antidepressants, although this has not been verified, nor do all women who have persistent genital arousal syndrome have a history of antidepressant use. Since recognition of the syndrome near the turn of this millennium, there have been an increasing number of studies conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, but much remains unknown at this point.

SOURCES:
Daily Telegraph, Nov. 16, 2009-11-29
Goldmeier D. International Journal of STD & AIDS 2009 Jun; 20(6): 373-77
Leiblum S and Nathan S, Persistent sexual arousal syndrome in women, www.femalepatient.com
Leiblum S, Seehuus M, Brown C. Journal of Sexual Medicine 2007 May; 4(3): 680-67

Whether you run several miles a day, occasionally swim a few laps, or take a brisk walk during lunch, the MIO Shape Elite Heart Rate Monitor watch will precisely and continuously track your heart rate and exercise time, without the need for a chest strap. Every calorie-burning move you make will be monitored for you and displays your percentage of maximum heart rate on your wrist.

According to the manufacturer, the watch tells you how many calories you are burning by calculating your personal data (age, gender, and weight), how long your workout is, and the level of exertion (elevated heart rate). A warning to couch potatoes: the MIO watch calorie burn function is designed to be used when your heart rate has been elevated by physical activity. Pushing the buttons on the remote does not count.

If swimming is your sport, no problem: the MIO Shape Elite Heart Rate Monitor watch is water resistant up to 10 meters. If you are working out at night, the watch has a backlit display that makes it easy to read day or night. Other features include a 12- or 24-hour military time digital clock, date display, daily alarm, stopwatch/chronometer, and dual interval timer for walk/run programs.

At only $39.99 on Amazon, this Cyber Monday special will go fast. And at 73% off the retail price, you may even want to get a MIO Shape Elite Heart Rate Monitor watch for yourself. You deserve to take care of your health, too.

SOURCE:
MIO Watch

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were more than 235,000 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2008; nearly three quarters of those injured were children under age 15.
Many of these eye injuries happen around the holidays due to unsafe use of toys, but the vast majority of these injuries can be prevented.

Sadly, some popular children’s gifts around the holidays can cause serious eye injuries. These potentially unsafe presents during the holidays can include BB guns, darts, pellet guns and paintball guns.

A serious eye injury from a toy can ruin your family’s holiday and, more seriously leave your child with permanent vision loss. “I saw an 11 year-old boy who received a BB gun as a gift,” said David Wheeler, MD, clinical correspondent for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “He was playing with the gun for the first time when his friend accidentally shot him square in the eyeball. Neither of the boys were wearing protective eyewear. Unfortunately, my patient suffered extreme damage and vision loss, and even after going through several surgeries, he was left legally blind in that eye.”

With so many toys being recalled or having the potential to cause injuries, many parents are wondering what toys are safe. “It’s important for parents to choose a toy that is appropriate for their child’s age, abilities, and the parents’ willingness to supervise use of the toy,” says Dr. Wheeler. Sports equipment, a popular gift, should also include the protective eyewear. Sports-related eye injuries can cause permanent vision loss and account for about 40,000 eye injuries annually.

Tips for a safe holiday season:

• Avoid purchasing toys with sharp, protruding or projectile parts.
• Make sure children have appropriate supervision when playing with potentially hazardous toys or games that could cause injury.
• If you plan to give sports equipment, provide appropriate protective eyewear with polycarbonate lenses. Check with your local Eye M.D. to learn about protective gear recommended for your child’s sport.
• Check labels for age recommendations and be sure to select gifts that are appropriate for a child’s age and maturity.
• Keep toys that are made for older children away from younger children.
• The branches and needles of Christmas trees can be hazardous to the eyes, so be especially careful when untying your tree. The branches can burst forward, hitting and injuring your eyes. Glass ornaments should be hung out of a child’s reach to avoid potential injury.

For more information about eye safety and eye injuries, go to www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/injuries/

Related stories
Paintballs can cause devastating eye injuries
Ordinary Things Can Cause Extraordinary Eye Injuries