November 2010

The Chemistry and Mystery of Red Wine

Two scientific articles in the July 2010 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shed more insight on the chemistry of red wine that may explain why more doctors are suggesting that a little red wine may be heart-healthy.  Both articles focus on resveratrol, a chemical compound found in certain plants. It is called a phytoalexin because plants naturally produce it as an antibiotic substance to fight both bacteria and fungi.

Original Article

Safety Tips for a Healthy Turkey Dinner on Thanksgiving

November is the busiest month of the year for the US Department of Agriculture Meat & Poultry Hotline. During the week of Thanksgiving(November 25), they get lots of questions about how to safely cook a turkey. Here are answers to some of the more common questions.

How can I tell when the turkey is done?

Original Article

Is Heart Disease Genetic Destiny or Lifestyle?

CHICAGO — Is cardiovascular health in middle age and beyond a gift from your genes or is it earned by a healthy lifestyle and within your control?Two large studies from Northwestern Medicine confirm a healthy lifestyle has the biggest impact on cardiovascular health. One study shows the majority of people who adopted healthy lifestyle behaviors in young adulthood maintained a low cardiovascular risk profile in middle age. The five most important healthy behaviors are not smoking, low or no alcohol intake, weight control, physical activity and a healthy diet.
Original Article

Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common, non-cancerous tumors in women of childbearing age. The fibroids are made of muscle cells and other tissues that grow within and around the wall of the uterus.   See the diagram that shows where uterine fibroids may grow.

There are several risk factors for uterine fibroids:

  • African American woman are at three- to five-times greater risk than white women for fibroids.
  • Women who are overweight or obese for their height are at greater risk.
  • Women who have given birth are a lower risk.

Many women with uterine fibroids have no symptoms. Symptoms of uterine fibroids can include:

Original Article

Public Comment Invited on Review of Nitrous Oxide for Labor Pain Relief

The following blog was posted on the Our Bodies Ourselves Blog and we felt it may be of interest to some of our followers.
Posted: 11 Nov 2010 08:28 AM PST
Many of you may already be familiar with the systematic and comparative effectiveness reviews produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), such as these reviews of the available evidence for birth-related interventions such as labor induction, maternal request c-section, VBAC, and episiotomy.

Original Article

Soy may Stop Prostate Cancer Spread

As an Institute that promotes sex and gender research, here is another blog of particular interest to the male side of the equation!

Experimental soy-based drug shows benefits in men with localized prostate cancer

CHICAGO — Northwestern Medicine researchers at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University have found that a new, nontoxic drug made from a chemical in soy could prevent the movement of cancer cells from the prostate to the rest of the body.

Original Article

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