Health News and Information

New evidence suggests that people over 65 who take modest daily amounts of a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other supplements have stronger immune systems and a better chance of fighting off infections than those who don’t receive them.

The evidence comes from a new Canadian study involving 96 healthy men and women who were living on their own. Researchers examined the effect of 18 vitamins, minerals and other supplements thought to influence the immune system. All of the subjects were evaluated before the study began, and most of them had normal blood levels of the essential nutrients. The researchers aren’t sure which nutrients resulted in improved health.

Half of those participating in the study took supplements, while the other half didn’t. Among those who took the supplements, infection-related illness occurred an average of 23 days per year— the average was 48 days among those who did not take supplements. Also, the group which received the supplements needed fewer prescriptions for antibiotics than those people in the control group.

While scientists are encouraged by the new information, they agree that before any firm conclusion can be reached about the findings; more extensive and longer studies need to conducted. That’s because the positive effects initially ascribed to vitamins, minerals and other supplements may in fact have been influenced by other, as yet unknown, factors.

*217\27\8*

1) Antibiotics— whenever you take antibiotics to treat bacterial infection, you must take the entire course or risk a recurrence of the infection. You may also increase your chances of bacterial resistance to further treatment when you use antibiotics.

Some antibiotics, such as tetracycline, are rendered ineffective when they are taken with antacids containing calcium, magnesium or aluminum. Dairy products, such as milk, can also keep some antibiotics from working.

Women who are treating a sinus infection, strep throat or bronchitis with antibiotics run a high risk of developing a vaginal yeast infection. Symptoms which can include itching, burning, pain during sex, and vaginal discharge, can begin two days to a week after you first begin taking an antibiotic.

2) Antacids— these drugs to relieve indigestion and heartburn generally shouldn’t be taken within one or two hours of any other oral medication because they may prevent the other drugs from working. If you suffer from congestive heart failure, you should stay away from antacids which contain calcium and sodium bicarbonate. You should also avoid consuming large amounts of dairy products, otherwise you’ll increase your risk of constipation, nausea, and other side effects.

3) Antidepressants— the best advice is to avoid alcohol and to be cautious when driving or doing any kind of hazardous work when you are taking such a drug. The side effects from such drugs—especially when you first start to take them—can include dry mouth, blurred vision, drowsiness, dizziness, insomnia, palpitations, shaky hands, headaches, and nausea. The effects vary from person to person, but used incorrectly, antidepressant drugs can cause some serious problems.

9) Anticoagulants— these drugs, such as warfarin, help maintain normal bladder flow in people who have an increased risk of clot formation— such as people who are bedridden or who have heart failure. Foods rich in vitamin K, including broccoli, lettuce, and spinach, tend to reduce the effectiveness of warfarin, Coumadin and other anti-coagulants. Antacids can also neutralize their effect.

10) Antiseizure medicine— drugs such as Tegretol, Dilantin, and Phenobarbital can all cause dependence. If you want to stop taking them, you should do so under a doctor’s care and guidance.

*255\27\8*

Acne tends to be more of a problem during warm-weather months because the sweat glands are more active. The more you sweat, the more the mixture of perspiration and oil spreads on the skin’s surface and clogs pores.

You can fight acne by washing your face more often, especially after working out. If adequate facilities aren’t always available, you can carry a sealed plastic bag, containing cotton balls soaked in astringent.

Another method of minimizing clogging is to use an oil-free sunscreen. Choose one that’s labeled “non-comedogenic” and lists alcohol as one of its main ingredients. Also make sure it is water-resistant.

4 Blemish Fighters

Witch hazel— removes excess oil.

Sulfur— dries up oil.

Benzoyl peroxide— speeds up the healing process by acting as a peeling agent.

Salicylic acid— removes debris from the pores.

Secret To Heal Skin Problems

Some skin conditions such as poison ivy or runny eczema can be successfully treated by a starchy bath created by soaking or boiling a potato in water. This bath in “potato water” can dry and smooth wet and blistery skin inflammations, but before using such a remedy, it’s best to consult your doctor. Sometimes, a potato water bath can further irritate dry, itchy skin or fungal infections.

*292\27\8*

Vitamin E (Tocopherol)

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin which is essential for normal cell structure and the formation of red blood cells. It also protects the lungs and other tissues from damage by pollutants and helps prevent red blood cells from being damaged by poisons in the blood.

A deficiency of vitamin E may lead to the destruction of red blood cells, which ultimately results in anemia.

The primary dietary sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils, eggs, fish, green, leafy vegetables, cereals, wheat germ, meat, and dried beans. The recommended daily allowance is 8 to 10 mg.

Vitamin K

This is a fat-soluble vitamin which is essential for normal blood clotting.

A deficiency of vitamin K reduces the ability of the blood to clot. This condition may cause nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums, intestines, and urinary tract, and seeping of blood from wounds.

The main dietary sources of vitamin K include green, leafy vegetables, vegetable oils, pork, liver, egg yolk, cheese, potatoes, fruits, and grain products. Vitamin K is also manufactured by bacteria which normally live in the intestine. Newborn infants lack such intestinal bacteria and are therefore given vitamin K supplements to prevent deficiency. The recommended daily allowance for adults is 60 to 80 mcg.

*329\27\8*

A collaborative study by the University of North Carolina, Stanford University and the University of California at San Diego shows that any aerobic activity —even done on a moderate scale—can reduce the risk from coronary disease. Many people enjoy aerobic dance workouts as part of their exercise regimen. The following exercise, set to music, can be an effective part of any dance workout:

1) Stand with your feet wide apart and your toes turned slightly outward.

2) Bend your right knee, making sure you allow your hips to shift naturally left. Then, bend your arms at the elbow while at the same time moving your right forearm up and your left forearm down.

3) Reverse the movement, beginning with bending your left knee and shifting your hips to the right. Raise your left forearm as your right forearm falls.

4) Change positions—from the right side to the left side—about 30 times to the music.

You can combine the above exercise movement with other dance movements to create an excellent 20 minute aerobic workout. That’s fun and easy – so you will stick to it even thought you are busy!

*366\27\8*

Prozac is a particularly beneficial treatment for:

• patients who are sensitive to side effects of medications in general, and especially the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants and MAOIs

• patients who dislike taking pills, since Prozac can be taken as one pill a day or in liquid form rather man the three to six capsules a day often needed with the tricyclics and MAOIs

• patients who have tried to overdose on other antidepressant drugs

• patients with cardiovascular disease, since Prozac’s effects on blood pressure and the electrocardiogram appear to be minimal (however, patients with unstable heart disease and recent myocardial infarction were not included in early studies).

What has been the major impact of Prozac on the treatment of depression, manic depression, dysthymic and personality disorders? Because the clinical efficacy of Prozac in depression is at least equal to the standard antidepressants, and because the side effects of Prozac are so much milder, the major impact of Prozac has been that patients, families, and physicians have preferred it and the newer drugs to most of the previously used drugs. Its safety and efficacy, in combination with the flood of publicity, both good and bad, it has received since it was first introduced to the American market in 1987, have made Prozac the number one best-selling antidepressant in the United States. In 1993, its sales reached $1.2 billion, exceeding the sales of all previously used antidepressant drugs both nationally and internationally.

*119\22\4*

Not entirely. In large clinical trials of Prozac, the most commonly felt side effects in adults were nausea (21.2%) and headache (20.3%), while in an open study of a small group of young people; the most frequent side effects were restlessness (27%) and sweating (20%). Drowsiness, dry mouth, tremor, and thinning hair also showed up more frequently in the young people than in adults. Compared to other antidepressants, these side effects were minimal both in young people and in adults.

Another unwanted, sometimes severe, reaction that appears more frequently among young people is mania. A published study described five adolescent girls, all with family histories riddled with major depression and suicide, who developed mania while taking Prozac. Considering the surprising fact that young people who experience serious major depression before the age of 18 almost invariably become bipolar, it is imperative to witch carefully for the development of these symptoms.

The need still exists for carefully controlled clinical studies comparing the responses of children and adolescents to Prozac and other standard drugs. In the meantime, youngsters taking Prozac should be observed closely and frequently by their families, and any side effects should be immediately reported to the psychiatrist.

*100\22\4*

An estimated 5 million Americans are afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a biologically based syndrome whose symptoms are recurrent and intrusive obsessive thoughts and compulsive, time-consuming behaviors that shape and even dominate, the person’s life—even though the patient knows these thoughts and behaviors are irrational. The standard drug for treatment of OCD has long been the tricyclic antidepressant Anafranil (clomipramine), but in July 1993, the Food and Drug Administration unanimously approved Prozac as a treatment for OCD.

Once more, Prozac’s superiority as a treatment for some patients has much to do with its minor side effects. Anafranil, when taken in the high doses required for OCD (200 to 300 mg a day), often produces severe constipation, dry mouth, thirst, urinary problems, and gastrointestinal complaints. These symptoms do not occur with Prozac except an extremely mild form on occasion.

Luvox (fluvoxamine), a recently released SSRI approved for treatment of OCD, appears to be as efffective as Prozac or Anafranil for this condition. Although not FDA approved for depression in the United States, Luvox has been used for depression in Canada and Europe for several years.

*79\22\4*

Chronic fatigue syndrome is an elusive disease, difficult to diagnose (in part because some doctors don’t believe it exists) and difficult to treat or certainly to cure. Its primary symptom, overwhelming tiredness, often accompanied by disturbed sleep, can also be an indication of depression. Antidepressants, which boost energy, counteract depression, and may help to straighten out the sleep cycle, are frequently useful, and several studies have found Prozac to be successful in treating CFS.

Reports indicate that Prozac has dramatically alleviated some premenstrual symptoms in a small group of patients. Some of the symptoms of PMS include irritability, weeping, a depressed or changeable mood swinging from high to low within hours or days, and the feeling of wanting to isolate oneself from others and not participate in outside activities. Given Prozac’s highly successful results with dysthymia and depression, it does not seem surprising that premenstrual depression has been reported to be helped considerably by Prozac. However, further studies are needed.

*58\22\4*

It depends on your basic temperament and chemistry. Patients who begin taking Prozac when they are both deeply depressed and highly irritable usually find that irritability diminishes or disappears along with the depression. This has the effect of improving their relationships with their spouses, peers, colleagues, and children. Spouses and grown children sitting in my office with their formerly depressed loved ones have often told me how much easier it is to get along now that the crankiness or anger outbursts have faded along with the depression. Of course, many depressed patients are withdrawn rather than angry.

It is another story with patients who have a tendency toward bipolar mood swings with manic highs characterized by irritability, anger, and paranoid delusions rather than by euphoria and grandiosity. If they take Prozac during a depressed phase and have not been previously stabilized on lithium, the hypomanic or manic side of the mood may emerge in the form of these symptoms.

*38\22\4*