Red meat: Good or bad for health?

Red meat contains numerous vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthful, balanced diet. In recent years, however, its reputation has been severely blemished, with studies suggesting that red meat intake can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases. But is it really that bad for us? We investigate.

Intake of red meat in the U.S. has fallen dramatically over the past 4 decades.

Red meat is defined as any meat that comes from mammalian muscle. This includes beef, lamb, pork, goat, veal, and mutton.

For many households, red meat is considered a food staple, with some of us consuming beef, lamb, and pork in different variations on a daily basis.

Last year, the average person in the United States is estimated to have consumed around 106.6 pounds of red meat. Although this might appear a high intake, it is a significant reduction from the average 145.8 pounds consumed per capita in 1970.

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Multiple Sclerosis and Radiology: What Tests Are Used to Make a Diagnosis?

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic health condition that damages myelin, which is a protective covering in a person’s brain and spinal cord. As a result, communications from the brain to the spinal cord cannot take place.

 

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) can vary from person to person. The disease is a progressive one, so the symptoms will often worsen over time. Examples of symptoms associated with MS include vision problems, bowel and bladder function disorders, difficulty walking, fatigue, and weakness or numbness in the body.

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January Cervical Health Awareness Month

What Is Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells develop and spread in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus. More than 12,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. A unique fact about cervical cancer is that most cases are triggered by a type of virus. When found early, cervical cancer is highly curable.

Here’s Exactly How Stress Can Cause a Heart Attack

What’s going on in your mind can spark body-wide consequences

Stressing too much can be a real killer. Now, scientists have discovered what exactly it may about the mental tension that can cause you to croak well before your time.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School tested activity in the amygdala—a region of the brain associated with stress—bone-marrow activity, and amount of inflammation in the arteries for about 300 people. They discovered that those with the most activity in the amygdala had the highest risk of developing heart disease over a follow up of nearly four years.

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Why happiness is healthy

(CNN) Happiness — you know it when you see it, but it’s hard to define.

You might call it a sense of well-being, of optimism or of meaningfulness in life, although those could also be treated as separate entities. But whatever happiness is, we know that we want it, and that is just somehow good.

We also know that we don’t always have control over our happiness. Research suggests that genetics may play a big role in our normal level of subjective well-being, so some of us may start out at a disadvantage. On top of that, between unexpected tragedies and daily habitual stress, environmental factors can bring down mood and dry up our thirst for living.

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Health trends not worth keeping in 2017

Health trends come and go — some helpful, some not so helpful, and some downright dangerous. CBS News asked medical experts about some of the popular trends they recommend ditching in 2017.

Trend: Cooking with coconut oil

“People seem to be eating it and drinking it with everything — adding it to coffee, cooking their vegetables with it — and it’s giving them large quantities of fat. I wish this trend would go away,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, a cardiologist and director of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.

The latest guidelines from the American College of Cardiology recommend against tropical oils, he said. Freeman is the chair of the American College of Cardiology’s nutrition and lifestyle working group.

Coconut oil, a tropical oil, is not recommended because it’s likely to be artery clogging.

“Years ago, it was fed to lab animals to induce atherosclerosis,” said Freeman.

“It’s not a recommended oil by any of the guidelines that I know of. In general, it can contribute to cardiovascular disease risk because of its very high saturated fat content. The standard American diet most people already eat is already high-fat and full of a lot of processed meats and cheese, and now everyone’s adding coconut oil and we’re going in the wrong direction,” he said.

People who already have cardiovascular risk factors should definitely avoid it, he advised.

“Coconut oil is not a ‘superfood.’ Coconut meat by itself is probably not a bad thing to eat, but it’s when you start extracting the oil out of a plant — that’s when you get into trouble. I’m not entirely sure why it’s caught on the way it has,” Freeman said.

http://cbsn.ws/2j8Q9Gr

Going dry for January? How reducing alcohol intake can benefit health

As 2017 arrives, many of us are thinking about the healthy lifestyle changes we want to make for the coming year. Do you plan to exercise more? Lose weight? Quit smoking? How about cutting down on alcohol intake? While that last question may have prompted a highly resistant shake of the head from many readers who enjoy their after-work beer or a glass of wine with dinner, there is no better time to review your alcohol intake.

Are you planning to reduce your alcohol intake for 2017? If so, it could yield numerous health benefits.

During the month of January, millions of people will be giving up alcohol as part of a campaign dubbed “Dry January.”

Popularized by British organization Alcohol Concern, Dry January aims to “change the conversation” about alcohol by encouraging people to stop drinking for 1 month.

You might think that quitting the drink for just 31 days is unlikely to have a big impact on health, but many participants who take part in Dry January report better sleep, increased energy, and weight loss.

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5 Myths About Fat — Debunked

1. Myth: Fat on my plate equals fat on my body.

Reality: Even though this myth is the basis for low-fat diets and food products, it’s far from the truth. Eating fat won’t make you fat. Completely eliminating or limiting fat from your diet can actually make you gain weight, often because it leaves you feeling so deprived. Conversely, some studies have found that fatty foods can aid in weight loss.

“The problem with most diets is that they lack the key ingredient that makes food taste good and cuts your hunger,” says Dr. Hyman. And you guessed it, that’s fat. “Healthy fats are the best source of energy for your body, and they keep your metabolism and fat-burning mechanisms running as they’re meant to,” Dr. Hyman explains.

Research supports this, showing that a low-fat diet could slow down metabolism. So now you have permission to enjoy a spoonful of nut butter with an apple before your next workout or a satiating piece of steak for dinner every once in a while.

http://cnn.it/2j9ni5d

What is cervical cancer screening?

What is cervical cancer screening?

Cervical cancer screening is used to find changes in the cells of the cervix that could lead to cancer. The cervix is the opening to the uterus and is located at the top of the vagina. Screening includes cervical cytology (also called the Pap test or Pap smear) and, for some women, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV).

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Get Screened: January Is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Each year, an estimated 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and, of those, about one-third will die as a result of the cancer. But cervical cancer is also a highly preventable and treatable cancer, thanks to improved screening and vaccination.

The American Social Health Association (ASHA) and the National Cervical Cancer Coalition have named January Cervical Health Awareness Month to encourage women across the country to get screened for cervical cancer and receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine if they’re eligible.

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