Keeping Thanksgiving Happy-Careful With Turkey Leftovers

As we enjoy our most food-oriented holiday, nutritionists and food safety experts recommend that particular care be taken to ensure that leftovers — whether kept for later meals or dispatched home with guests — don’t become a catalyst for the pain, vomiting, and diarrhea that afflicts some 400,000 Americans annually on Thanksgiving.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has offered a simple formula “2 hours — 2 inches — 4 days” for ensuring Thanksgiving food safety:
• Two hours: You may be tempted to stay at the table chatting and digesting, but all leftovers need to be in the refrigerator within two hours.
• Two inches: Don’t overload food containers. Fill them only to a depth of two inches, which will allow rapid chilling of the contents.
• Four days: Eat refrigerated leftovers within three to four days, or freeze if keeping longer.

Leaving food in the temperature danger zone of 40° F to 140° F for more than two hours is a dangerous practice. However, bacteria can grow and multiply every 10 minutes in the ‘super danger zone’ between 70° F and 130° F, making cooling quickly an important ingredient in preventing food borne illness.
If the centerpiece of the meal is a turkey, most experts advise that the meat be removed from the bone before storage and placed in meal-sized containers. Stuffing should be stored separately, and is generally considered safer when cooked outside the bird.
A final note of caution: “When in doubt, throw it out.”
Wishing you a happy holiday season.
Excerpted from MedPage Today: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/PreventiveCare/29869?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&eun=g398495d0r&userid=398495&email=doctorwhiz@gmail.com&mu_id=

After a Heart Attack: Nine Important Steps to Follow

Heart disease is one of the most common conditions affecting middle age and older men and women. What you do after you have a heart attack (myocardial infarction) is important to your recovery and to your survival.
If you’ve just had a heart attack, how do you know whether you’re getting the best possible care? A new set of clinical performance measures can tell you whether your in-hospital treatment is on track. The measures, which were developed by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, are designed to help physicians provide optimal care for heart attack patients by outlining the key therapies that define high-quality hospital care.
• Heart Attack Step 1. You should receive aspirin when you arrive at the hospital. Studies show that aspirin reduces the risk of dying after a heart attack.
• Heart Attack Step 2. The hospital should provide clot-busting medication or angioplasty quickly. Prompt treatment is essential after a heart attack to reduce the risk of death. If you’re a candidate for clot-busting medication, you should receive it within 30 minutes of arrival at the hospital. Angioplasty with or without stenting should be done within 90 minutes of arrival.
• Heart Attack Step 3. While you’re in the hospital, you should receive a test that evaluates your heart’s pumping ability. Doctors will administer an echocardiogram, radionuclide angiogram or left ventriculogram to evaluate your heart’s left ventricular systolic function, or pumping ability.
• Heart Attack Step 4. Within 24 hours of admission, doctors should measure your total, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels as well as your triglyceride level. The results of this test will help determine your risk of a second heart attack and how aggressive your lipid-lowering therapy and dietary modifications need to be.
• Heart Attack Step 5. You should leave the hospital with prescriptions for a beta-blocker and a statin and advice to take a daily aspirin. These drugs reduce the risk of death and a second heart attack. A statin will be prescribed even if your LDL cholesterol is below 100 mg/dL.
• Heart Attack Step 6. If your heart’s pumping ability is reduced, you should also receive on discharge a prescription for an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB).
• Heart Attack Step 7. If you received clot-busting medication after your heart attack, you should also receive a prescription for the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel (Plavix) when leaving the hospital. Adding Plavix to a daily aspirin further reduces the risk of heart attack in individuals treated with clot-busting medication after a heart attack.
• Heart Attack Step 8. You should receive a referral to a cardiac rehabilitation program or information about a clinical exercise program. These programs offer supervised exercise in addition to counseling on lifestyle measures, medication use and psychological issues. Make sure to follow through with your referral to cardiac rehab.
• Heart Attack Step 9. If you are a smoker, you should receive advice on smoking cessation while in the hospital. Quitting smoking is an essential part of recovering from a heart attack and has important long-term health benefits, including reducing your risk of a second heart attack.

This was excerpted from Johns Hopkins Medical Report: https://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&shva=1#inbox/133da74a2625336a

Living With Chronic Illness During the Holiday Season

Holiday time is a time of enjoyment, family get togethers, and lots of good food. But for some people, especially those with chronic illnesses, holiday season is time of anxiety, tension, and even depression. For those who have a chronic medical problem, holiday time can even be more stressful. This blog was written by TONI BERNHARD who is a lawyer and author from southern California. 





In the U.S., we’re getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Soon, people around the world will turn their attention to the holiday season. Chronic health problems can take a toll on relationships any time of the year. Most people have to experience unrelenting pain or illness themselves before they understand how debilitating it is, physically and mentally. Loved-ones (by whom I mean family and close friends) may be in some form of denial about what’s happened to you, or they may be scared and worried about the future. Bottom line, suffering from a chronic condition can be an ongoing crisis—for you and for those you’re close to.

That crisis can come to a head during the holidays when people’s expectations of one another are high and when stress levels for everyone are likely to be off the charts for any number of reasons—health, financial, relationship issues. If you’re like me, during the rest of the year, you carefully limit interactions with others in order to manage your symptoms; on a typical day, your most complex decision may be to choose between showering and shopping! But when the holidays arrive, you’re suddenly thrust into the middle of a lively and chaotic social scene where you’re expected to participate in a range of activities, often for days in a row. A bit of advance warning to loved-ones can go a long way toward minimizing stress levels over unrealistic expectations.
I know that this piece won’t apply to everyone. One of the heartbreaking consequences of living with chronic pain and illness is that some people are unable to be with loved-ones at all during the holidays, either because people are too disabled by their pain or illness to be able to gather with others, or because family and close friends having drifted out of their lives. I know the pain of that isolation; I’ll be writing about it in my next piece.
For those of you who are able to gather with others, the holidays can be a recipe for double disaster—the increase in activity exacerbates your physical symptoms, while coping with sadness, frustration, and maybe even guilt about your physical limitations gives rise to emotional pain. No wonder many people with health problems dread the approaching holidays.
If you’re one of the many people with chronic health problems who don’t look sick, the initiative is with you to make your condition visible. Here are some suggestions for helping loved-ones understand what your life is like and for giving them a heads-up on what to expect from you during the holidays.
Share information with them from the Internet or from books
Often the best way to educate loved-ones about chronic pain and illness is to use a neutral source because it takes the emotional impact out of the communication. A quick web search will yield a host of organizations devoted to every conceivable medical problem. Print out select pages or forward a few links to family and close friends. Alternatively, if you have a book about your condition, photocopy the pages that cover what you’d like them to know about you. In your accompanying note, keep it “light”—you could joke that “there won’t be a test.” But also make it clear that this favor you’re asking is important to you.
Write a letter
Many years ago, two friends of mine were in couples therapy. They weren’t able to speak to each other about their marital problems without one of them shutting down emotionally and the other reacting by shouting recriminations. Their therapist told them to write letters to each other expressing their feelings and their concerns about the marriage. It turned out to be a major first step in healing their relationship.
If you decide to write a letter, be sure it’s not accusatory. In composing it, use the word “I” more than the word “you.” Without complaining, express how difficult it’s been for you to adjust to this unexpected change in your life and how you wish you could be as active as you once were during the holidays.
You could briefly describe what your day-to-day life is like, including how unpredictable your condition is which means that you can’t know for sure how you’ll feel on the day of the actual gathering no matter how much you rest in advance. (This is the hardest concept for most loved-ones to comprehend—that we can spend weeks before a big event in full “rest mode,” but still feel very sick when the day arrives.)
I would end by telling them what to expect from you during the holidays—that you may have to skip some events, that you may have to excuse yourself right after eating to go lie down, that you may have to come late and leave early. In my experience, spelling out my limitations ahead of time is helpful not just to others, but to me, because I find it much easier to exercise the self-discipline it takes to excuse myself from a room full of people if I know that at least some of them are already expecting it.
P.S. It will be tempting to send an email, and if you have a lot of people you want to communicate with, it may be the most feasible way to reach everyone. But one thing’s for sure: people will read a handwritten letter, antiquated document that it’s become!
Find that ONE ally and enlist his or her help
If you have just one close friend or family member who understands what you’re going through, enlist his or her help in explaining your condition and your limitations. Before the holidays start, you could ask your ally to talk to loved-ones on your behalf or to be present when you talk to them. Ask your ally to be supportive if you have to excuse yourself in the middle of a gathering, or even to let you know if you’re wilting (as we call it in my household). It’s so helpful for me to be “prompted” by my ally because, when I start to overdo things, adrenaline kicks in which fools me into thinking I’m doing fine. But using adrenaline to get by just sets me up for a bad crash later on.
Your ally may be a close friend or family member who’s just waiting for you to enlist his or her help. Think long and hard before you decide there’s no such person in your life.
In the end, you may have to recognize that some loved-ones may never accept your limitations
Some family and close friends may refuse to accept that you’re disabled by pain or illness. I know this from personal experience and it hurts. Try to recognize that this inability is about them, not you. Don’t let their doubt make you doubt yourself. Your medical condition may trigger their own fears about illness and mortality, or they may be so caught up in problems in their own lives that they’re not able to see their way clear to empathize with you.
Just as you can’t force people to love you, you can’t force people to accept you. But getting angry at them just exacerbates your own symptoms. That’s why it’s important to protect yourself from allowing their lack of understanding to continually upset you. Think of it as protecting yourself from another chronic condition: chronic anger.
The physical suffering that accompanies chronic pain and illness is hard enough to endure without adding emotional suffering to it. When I feel let down family or close friends, the first thing I do is acknowledge how much it hurts. Then I reflect on the many possible reasons for their behavior. Finally, I work on genuinely wishing them well. These three steps immediately lessen my emotional suffering.
As you experiment with these suggestions, treat yourself kindly. Don’t blame yourself if one of them doesn’t work out. Instead, give yourself credit for having had the courage to try! My heartfelt wish is that your loved-ones come to understand and accept your limitations, but that if they don’t, you’ll be able to accept them as they are without bitterness.

Bottom Line: The holiday season can be a tremendous source of anxiethy for those who have a chronic medical problem. Try a few of these ideas and suggestions and you, your family, and friends can put the celebration back into the holiday season.

Toni Bernhard is the author of “How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and their Caregivers,” winner of the 2011 Gold Nautilus Book Award in Self-Help/Psychology and named one of the best books of 2010 by Spirituality and Practice.
She can be found online at http://www.howtobesick.com

Some thoughts on Male Circumcision

This is a blog post by Nicholas Fogelson thought would be of interest to my fellow bloggers. Although I am of the Jewish faith and have been circumcised, I thought this was a balanced discussion by fellow physician. I am interested in reading your comments and opinions on this very controversial topic.

One of the interesting things about running a semi-popular blog is that from time to time the blog community decides to take up a topic and run with it, completely without any stimulation from me. This happened recently on the Academic OB/GYN Facebook page, where a group of concerned individuals carried on a serious and passionate discussion about the merits of circumcision. As such discussions tend to be, this one was dominated by the anti-circumcision activists, with occasional interjections by those that were less concerned about the issue, including myself.
Circumcision is an interesting issue because it crosses multiple boundaries. It is a social tradition in many cultures, and in some cases considered a religious mandate. It is also an ethical issue for many, with some feeling that it is an assault on an infant with long term negative impact on their psychosocial health. For some it is just cosmetic.
As a young person, I always thought that my penis looked like penises were supposed to look. It looked like my father’s and my brother’s, and anyone else’s I had ever seen. For the most part, I was blissfully unaware that a penis could look any other way, until one day in high school when my world completely changed. I happened to see a friend’s penis we were showering after wrestling practice, and in that flash of a moment all kinds of things went through my mind. Did he have some kind of growth on his penis? Could he pee out of that thing? A few other choice thoughts. I can still remember the shock to this day. All I had ever seen looked like mine, and in that moment what I saw was foreign, revolting even. You see, from my frame of reference he looked like an alien. It took me a few minutes and SNAP! it came to me like a ton of bricks – he has a foreskin. He probably doesn’t have an alien death ray then. I can relax about that one.

Of course now I realize that I also was born with a foreskin, and at some point in early life had it cut off. Despite what was no doubt a anesthesia free surgical procedure, I have no memory of ever having had a foreskin, or of any trauma of it having been removed. It never occurred to me to miss my foreskin, but apparently others do.
I hear stories from various anti-circumcision activists about how men are traumatized by their lack of foreskin, or even that some use strange devices to try to restore their foreskin in some way. I am struck with these stories, and have one burning question – when did they start missing their foreskin? From the moment they had the capability to store long term memories, they had no foreskin. Being circumcised was their frame of reference; it was their ‘normal’. The only way they could ever ‘miss’ their foreskin would be through some outside influence that convinced them of some new ‘normal’, and that they were somehow incomplete. Some of these men express anger at their parents or doctors for circumcising them as an infant, it seems to me that this anger is misplaced. It would make far more sense for them to be angry at the person who felt the need to drive a message into one’s head they were somehow incomplete, a message without which the feeling of loss never could have occurred.
I also hear stories of how the lack of a foreskin somehow interferes with sexual pleasure. I just don’t understand how this can be verified. I can say that from a personal point of view, everything down there seems to work just fine. I also don’t notice a preponderance of Jews who do not enjoy sex. Anecdote aside, one can only know what one has, and so again, anyone that feels that their sexual pleasure was supposed to be better than what it was got that idea from some other person, not from their personal experience. There’s plenty of people with foreskins that feel like their sexual pleasure was supposed to be better as well.
My biggest question in all of this is just why? Why do people care so much about this? Its really hard to say that an infant is being victimized by the procedure. Their frame of reference is being changed, no doubt, but as that frame is changed so early in their life there will be no sense of loss unless someone feels the need to convince them of it.
One could just as easily ask ‘why circumcise?”. There are plenty of data to suggest that circumcision decreases horizontal transmission of some STDs and the rate of penile cancer, though these effects are small. The anti-circumcision folks like to act like this data doesn’t exist, but this is just their ignorance. When I first thought of writing this blog post I was going to lay all this data out, but as I now write I realize that it doesn’t really matter. Those that believe or don’t care will see the strength in the data, those that are against will call it faulty or corrupt in some way. So goes academia. In the end, circumcision is a cultural practice that is done for cultural reasons, not for medical benefit. In Jewish tradition, circumcision is done as a way of honoring the covenant between God and Abraham, a covenant which commanded that all of Abraham’s sons and male servants, and their descendants, as a mark of allegiance and agreement. Though I have Jewish heritage, I am atheist. Nonetheless, I would feel a cultural desire to circumcise my son when and if I have one.
Some of my comenters, of which there no doubt will be many, will call this stance unethical. To this I say “grow up”. We are hard pressed to find ethical principles on which all humans agree, and this is certainly not one of them. A very large part of this world feels completely fine with male circumcision, and if one doesn’t, they certainly are under no pressure to circumcise their son. This is one of the many things that we don’t all agree on.
Other commenters will say “I’m not against circumcision, I’m against forcing it on newborns.” This is the same as saying that we shouldn’t do ritual circumcision at all. That’s a perfectly fine goal if one is really against the procedure, but just state it that way. Male circumcision is a cultural rite performed on newborns. Its pretty obvious that by 18 years old, very few boys are going to choose to have their foreskins removed. Their frame of reference has already been set, and they are fine with who they are. If we did that, we would be just fine, just as we are with a large part of the population circumcised. A cultural tradition would be lost, but that would also be ok. It just wouldn’t really matter.
Other commenters will say “they are dangerous and cause complications.” This is a half-truth. By in large, they are not very dangerous. That said, like any surgical procedure, there are some small risks. There have even been babies that have died from complications of the procedure. Ultimately, it is very important that anyone doing circumcisions know what they are doing and doesn’t do them wrong.
In truth, its an issue that I don’t care a great deal about, and as such am vexed on why it matters so much to others. Sometimes when someone writes a piece on the net, they are instantly labeled as an activist for that cause. People certainly label me as an activist for delayed cord clamping, which I would deny. I just wrote an article about the topic and lots of people read it. They can make up their own mind. I just wish people would treat this issue the same way. Everyone is free to circumcise their child or not, and the boy will grow up just fine either way.

Bottom Line: Circumcision is probably the most common surgical procedure performed on men for thousands of years. For many boys the decision is made by their parents and is done for religious reasons. For others it is a matter of looking like dad and grandpa and the parents don’t want any differences in the genitals of men in the family. Others have the procedure for hygenic purposes. To circumcise or not may be a difficult decision for those who are not motivated bh religious reasons. I hope this article helps with that decision.

Measuring Blood Pressure: Diagnosis of Hypertension Cannot Be Made On A Single Measurement

Most doctors will make the diagnosis of high blood pressure from a single measurement in the office. A recent study from a VA medical center looked at blood pressures obtained during routine outpatient clinic visits compared to blood pressures measured by electronic home monitors. Regardless of the setting, averaging the measurements from multiple readings provided more accurate readings. The optimal number of readings was approximately four to five.

Bottom Line: In this study, BP readings varied substantially when measured at home or in a medical clinic. Although we don’t clearly know which approach to measuring BP correlates best with cardiovascular outcomes, the data convincingly demonstrate that a single BP measurement is inadequate.

Journal Watch General Medicine July 12, 2011

The Straight Dope on Dope-Sex and Marijuana

The occasional use of marijuana may enhance a man’s sexual performance. However, the long term effects of marijuana and not so pleasurable. The long-term affects include erectile dysfunction and loss of orgasm. Marijuana may also impact a man’s fertility.
Erectile Dysfunction
The Journal of Sexual Medicine published a study suggesting a link between marijuana and erectile dysfunction. The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. When a person uses marijuana, THC interacts with proteins in the brain called cannabinoid receptors. This interaction impairs the person’s brain function. There are also cannabinoid receptors present in penile tissue. Perhaps the interaction with THC may impair penile function (possibly causing erectile dysfunction)
Problems with Orgasm
In a study from Australia, men who used marijuana every day were four times more likely to have problems reaching orgasm than men who didn’t use weed. In addition, men who used marijuana every day were three times more likely to experience premature ejaculation than men who didn’t.
Other male daily users said they reached orgasm too slowly.
Fertility
Marijuana can also affect a man’s fertility. More specifically, THC hinders sperm cells’ ability to swim to an egg cell. And, if the sperm even reaches the egg, it will have a harder time fertilizing it.
Marijuana can also cause fertility issues for women. If a woman uses marijuana, THC can travel to her uterus, cervix, vagina, and vaginal fluids. Sperm cells that come into contact with THC from the woman behave much like sperm cells from a man who uses marijuana and the “swimmers” may have trouble reaching and then fertilizing the egg .
Therefore, couples who want to conceive are advised to avoid marijuana use.
The Bottom Line
If you’re experiencing erectile dysfunction or problems with orgasm, consider your marijuana intake. And if you planning on starting a family, you should steer clear of the weed.

This blog was modified from Marijuana and Male Sex Health, Published on May 31, 2011 on SexHealthMatters.org

What You Need To Know About Water

Did you know that water makes up about 65% of a person’s total body weight. After oxygen, there’s nothing more important to our survival than water.

Dehydration
The primary mechanism that we maintain our proper hydration is through thirst. Thirst serves two functions: 1) to regulate the volume of water within our bodies and 2) to control the concentration of various salts like sodium and potassium within the body. Fluid is lost through urination, skin loss by sweating, respiration, and a small amount in the feces, unless someone has diarrhea and then a significant water loss may occur. If there is a loss of water by any of the above routes or if the concentration of the salts in the blood stream increases, then the thirst mechanism kicks in, which is a strong drive to consume more fluids.

How much water to drink every day?
You have heard from early childhood that you need to drink eight, eight ounce glasses a day. This is probably a myth that is perpetuated many years ago from the Food and Nutrition Board, which estimated that the average total fluid loss each day was 64-80 ounces. The Board did not mention that 20% of our intake of fluid comes from food. Therefore, you don’t have to consume all of your total intake as water.

In addition to thirst, the color of your urine will serve as an indicator of your state of hydration. If you are dehydrated, your urine will be dark and yellow. This is a sign to increase your water consumption and the urine will turn to white or light yellow, which is sign of adequate hydration. If you are in a hot environment or participating in sports and are sweating, you will want to check the color of urine when you complete the workout or sports event. If the color of your urine is dark, you know you are dehydrated and you need to consume more fluids. Athletes can lose up to two quarts of fluid through sweat each hour. So whenever you are in warm or hot environment and you are losing lots of fluids by sweating, you must make an effort to consume more fluids.

What about sports drinks
A sports drink beverage is designed to help athletes rehydrate when fluids are depleted after training or competition. Ideally the sports drinks are intended to replace the electrolytes that is lost in sweat during exercise and sporting events. Sports drinks usually contain a lower electrolyte concentration than found in sweat and can actually worsen the dilution of electrolytes. It is far easier to drink water and a salty snack.

Caffeine-Culprit or Cure ?
There is a myth that drinks with caffeine are dehydrating. The truth is that caffeine serves as a weak diuretic and promotes an increase in urine output and the fluid intake will more than compensate for the diuretic effect of the caffeine. Like most things in life, anything in moderation is acceptable and this includes caffeine.

What about bottled water?
Millions of Americans are drinking bottled water. $22 billion is spent each year throughout the world on bottled water. Bottled water, although up to 1,000 times the price of tap water, may be no safer, or healthier than tap water. A gallon of bottled water is $3.84\gallon making it as expensive as gasoline. In addition to the expense, 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water and toxic chemicals can be released during the manufacture and disposal of the bottles. Studies have confirmed that microbes, pesticides, and solvents have been detected throughout groundwater supplies, and have subsequently found their way into bottles.

The Environmental Protection Agency checks the water that is consumed by the public. In the United States the quality of the water is very safe. If you live in an area and drink well water, you will want to have the water checked for contamination on a regular basis. A number of private water wells sampled in Louisiana showed potentially unsafe levels of arsenic, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pesticides, as well as secondary contaminants in standard system tests for pH, hardness, alkalinity, dissolved solids and manganese.

Bottom Line: Water is truly the elixir of life. Avoid dehydration by checking out the color of your pee. For the most part, tap water tastes just as good as bottled water and is a whole lot cheaper. Drink up!

Alternative Treatments of the Enlarged Prostate Gland

Most men will have symptoms of prostate gland enlargement after age 50 Those symptoms include frequency of urination, getting up at night to urinate, urgency of urination, and dribbling after urination. There are numerous medications that are effective in reducing the symptoms of the enlarged prostate gland. There are large numbers of men who find that their symptoms are not of significance that require treatment or they are using so many medications that the men don’t want to add any additional medications to their already lengthy list of drugs. There are supplements and vitamins that can be used that may have a role for men who do not want to take additional medications.

Beta-sitosterol

Beta-sitosterol is the main active ingredient in the herbs saw palmetto and pygeum. Both of these herbs do not have enough beta-sitosterol to be of real value in giving you prostate health. Now, beta-sitosterol, which can be obtained from sugar cane pulp, can be purchased in capsule doses of 300 – 600 mg, which gives you an effective dose to eliminate your enlarged prostate. Pygeum can only provide around 30 mg and you need upwards of 600 mg daily.

Flax Seed or Fish Oil

The nutrient to use for the best prostate health diet is flaxseed oil.
Flax seed oil contains more omega-3 than omega-6 and so it makes it a good source of omega-3. The more omega-6 use, from olive oil and other vegetables oils, the more prone you will be to prostate cancer. This is not the case with omega-3 oil and this has been verified through clinical studies.

Omega-3 protects the prostates cells and has anti-inflammatory properties. Using fish oil can also be a better choice than flax seed oil since your body digests it better.

Use 1 – 2 grams of flax seed or fish oil per day.

Soy Isoflavones

Soy Isoflavones have been shown in clinical studies to have good effects on your prostate and should be added to your prostate health diet. These isoflavones are flavones and contain no photoestrogen so the have no estrogen effects in the body.

The active ingredients in the isoflavones are genestein and daidzein.Buy a brand that has up to 40 mg of isoflavones Use this quantity daily.

Ionic Minerals

The prostate needs minerals. Adding these to your prostate health diet is critical. You cannot have good prostate health without plenty of minerals and your regular diet cannot supply what you need.

In addition to these ionic minerals, you need to make sure you get plenty of zinc and selenium. The prostate has more zinc than any other part of the body. So take 15 – 20 mg per day and not to exceed 40 mg.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another critical vitamin that you want to make sure you get plenty of. If you are out in the sun a lot, then you will not need to supplement with this vitamin. Otherwise, use up to 800 IU of this vitamin.

Vitamin E

This is the next most important vitamin you should supplement with. Use up to 400 mg per day of the natural mixed tocopherols. Clinical studies have shown that vitamin E can reduce and suppress prostate cancer cells.

Bottom Line: Use, beta sitosterol, isoflavones, minerals, vitamin D, and vitamin E in your prostate health diet and see improvements in your prostate symptoms and health.

3 Cups Of Coffee A Day May Keep The Skin Doctor Away

Just when you heard that coffee is bad for you, here’s some news to use that can counter the bad news. Brand-new research finds that people who drink coffee are at reduced risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. And the more they drink, the lower the risk.
The data came out of the Nurses’ Health Study at the Harvard School of Public Health that followed 113,000 subjects. They found 25,480 incidences of skin cancer, 22,786 of the basal cell carcinoma, 1,953 squamous cell carcinoma and 741 melanoma.
The data showed that women who consumed more than three cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk of basal cell carcinoma compared with those who drank less than a cup a month. For men, the reduced risk was more modest, just 9 percent. But those percentages add up, given that about 1 million new cases of basal cell carcinoma are diagnosed each year, according to the press release announcing the unpublished research.
There was no association between coffee consumption and either squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma. And the researchers found no reduction in skin cancer risk among those who drank decaffeinated coffee.
Though easily treated through minor surgery and not typically deadly, basal cell carcinoma can, if left untreated, spread to other parts of the body. Those with a history of basal cell carcinoma are at increased risk of more dangerous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
Bottom Line: Coffee, like almost everything else in life, needs to be taken in moderation. It may just decrease your risk of skin cancer….but I still suggest using sun screen!
This blog was modified from an article in the Washington Post on 10-25-2011 Jennifer LaRue Huget

Ladies, When You Gotta Go –It May Just Affect Your Sex Life

Overactive bladder (OAB) can rain havoc on your sex life. OAB is marked by the near constant urge to urinate, which can lead to urinary incontinence or leakage. This occurs because your bladder involuntarily contracts when it isn’t full. From medication side effects and neurological conditions to urinary tract infections and pregnancy, the potential causes of OAB in women vary.
If you are a woman with OAB, sexual intimacy may worsen the symptoms of OAB. Some women are apprehensive about the loss of urine during sexual intimacy and will avoid intimacy to avoid embarrassment. OAB or urinary incontinence can cause physical symptoms as well as fear, anxiety, and shame about sex and intimacy. Most women find it very difficult to discuss their OAB symptoms with men especially if those urinary symptoms occur at the time of sexual intimacy.
Most women with OAB can be helped with medication. Also, sometimes simple actions like using the restroom before sexual intimacy may alleviate the problem. There are dietary modifications such as omitting caffeine and alcohol several hours before you anticipate you are going to be sexually active can reduce the symptoms of OAB. Also there are medications that cause OAB and it may be something as simple as speaking with your doctor and changing your current medication regimen to one that doesn’t cause OAB symptoms. Most patients can be helped with medication and behavior changes to decrease the bladder irritation that results in OAB symptoms.
Unfortunately, many women with OAB will just avoid sex altogether. They think it’s bad for their bladder and that it will make it worse, so they stay away from that whole area. Unless you have a prolapsed bladder or a protrusion from your vagina intercourse is not dangerous and will not damage your bladder.
Sometimes being forthright and honest with your partner is best course of action. Once you are open with your partner, you can face the situation together. If there is urine incontinence during sex or orgasm, you may need a towel. This is something that should be done before you hit the bedroom sheets. Sex experts advise bringing up OAB and sex fears long before intimacy occurs.
Bottom Line: Overactive bladder doesn’t kill you; it just ruins your life. It doesn’t have to be that way. Speak to your partner and your doctor and, this too, shall pass.

This blog was modified from an article on WebMD: OAB: How it Affects Sex and Intimacy, WebMD Feature, By Denise Mann