Testing It Up

You can get many home tests that test the state of your health. To see how well you are doing when it comes to antioxidants properties in your body, you can use a home testing kit that will give you an assessment of your antioxidant and detoxification values.

If you find that you are low in antioxidant properties in your system, you can use products such as vitamins and foods that will raise the amount of antioxidants you have in your body. Antioxidants are key to fighting disease as they keep your body healthy and boost your immune system. Testing for antioxidants to see if you are in good health is one way that you can learn if you are eating the right foods and how to improve your overall health. You can use an at home testing kit for this purpose so that you can get started on the path to good health right away.

In a previous post, we shared that China was looking into two separate cases of two people who died after being administered with swine flu vaccine. At the global level, the World Health Organization monitored the efforts of various health officials towards investigating suspicious deaths of people who have received vaccination against H1N1 flu.

As of Thursday, 41 cases of death after inoculation have reportedly been proven to NOT being caused by the vaccine.

This further emphasizes what health authorities have been trying to say to assure people — the vaccine is safe, just as the seasonal flu vaccine is. Marie-Paule Kieny, top vaccine expert for the WHO, stated this fact in a telephone conference after saying that there has been “no new safety issue” based on the reports that have been issued.

There are, however, still investigations that are ongoing. For the time being, though, among the investigations that have been completed revealed that the causes of the deaths of these people are not related in any way to the fact that they were vaccinated and cannot be traced back to the vaccine itself.

The WHO pegs the number of vaccinations worldwide at about 65 million, spread over 16 countries; more should be added to this figure, though, as immunization is reportedly ongoing in at least 40 countries.

Eleven million of these vaccinations were done in China, the first country to start immunization programs against swine flu. As mentioned in an earlier post, two deaths have been reported, and these have been proven to be “coincidental” to the administration of the vaccine and caused by underlying medical conditions; the vaccine has already been ruled out as the cause of death. There are reportedly 15 cases of severe side effects.

The Christmas Tree being put up at the Rockefeller Center will be lit on December 2nd, signaling the start of the Christmas season, and department stores and malls all across America will definitely have a resident harbinger of joy: Santa and his happy helpers. And while they are handing out presents without expecting anything in return, they would nevertheless like to be protected from something that they might unknowingly receive – swine flu.

Jolly old Santa, his round belly and his snowy white beard, however, are not on the priority list of people who should receive swine flu shots. When we come to think of it, however, at this time of year, it does seem that Santas everywhere fit the description of someone who ought to be on the priority list — they will be exposed to and associate closely with potential swine flu carriers. This is especially true for Santas who will be volunteering to visit sick children in hospitals and health care facilities.

Also mentioned was their generous bellies, as obesity is considered as a major risk factor – except, of course, the Santa with the fake belly. Since we have not even gotten through immunizing all those who are in the priority list, we think there is no telling whether they will get their shots in time for their scheduled appearances at shopping halls.

Santas are already meeting and talking ways through which they can protect themselves, even sans vaccine. Organizations such as the Amalgamated Order of Bearded Santas and Santa America are reportedly organizing seminars and talking strategies and health guidelines, such as using hand sanitizers and ensuring that their immune systems are bolstered by taking vitamins.

Parents are also advised to be keen about the health condition of their children, and if their children are sniffling and coughing or having intermittent fevers, then it is more prudent to keep them at home. Santa could wait another day.

There has been much ado lately – and it is not about nothing. Guidelines released by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), considered as an “independent panel of experts,” recommended against conducting routine mammograms for women in their 40s. A quick look at news, health and cancer websites now yield all sorts of opinions for and against these new revelations. It was emphasized in some features, though, that the recommendation referred to routine procedures and not cases where women find lumps on their breasts.

What the task force does recommend is for mammograms to start at age 50 to 69, done every other year. Performing the screening procedure among women of this age group will reportedly detect almost just as many breast cancers while at the same time producing only half as many false positives.

The occurrence of false positives – and the numbers are reportedly not exactly a rarity – has long been a criticism that has been hurled against mammograms. Conducting additional and more invasive procedures that turn out to be unnecessary due to a false positive mammogram result is said to cause anxiety and depression to a woman.

Women, the group of people in question, however, will have mixed reactions to this fact; some may even rather go through that just to keep breast cancer at bay, as opposed to just sitting back and doing nothing and being caught unaware when it may be too late. We will agree, however, that having a more efficient and accurate way of detecting breast cancer should be available.

And then again there is the question of health care coverage. With the current administration’s health care reform campaign still the talk of many circles, the task force’s recommendations were seen as another way for the populace to once again be deprived of health care coverage that they should be entitled to.

Several officials and task force representatives are quick to counter, though, that the USPSTF does not have the power to deny coverage, nor are their recommendations enough basis for anyone to assume that companies can therefore deny coverage for these procedures. We certainly hope so.

So what now? Should women not quite 50 still undergo a routine mammogram or not? We are inclined to believe that our body is our own, and that it is difficult to generalize health in terms of culture, gender or age group. It will probably still be to a woman’s advantage to work closely with a physician, who should be able to recommend whether a procedure is necessary based on a patient’s specific condition, medical history and risk factors.

There may be an answer to what is being experienced in the United States as far as supply of the swine flu vaccine is concerned, brought to us by the company Novartis.

Supply has been a rather sensitive topic since the United States officially started immunizing high priority groups, with delays being experienced in the delivery of vaccines and people – patients and health care providers alike – began to feel frustrated with the entire process.

Novartis recently announced, however, that based on the results that the company has gathered from ongoing trials, a 7.5 µg dose of Novartis’ A(H1N1) 2009 unadjuvanted vaccine was able to meet the immune response criteria set for protection of adults as well as the elderly. The dose is only half of the current 15 µg dose that is approved in the United States for adolescents, adults and the elderly.

Andrin Oswald, CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, verbalized what this may potentially mean to the United States’ immunization efforts: we may just be able to double the current vaccine supply – at least the vaccines manufactured by Novartis, which was presumably the only vaccines that the company can accurately vouch for – and inoculate more people. We wonder whether the same possibility holds true for vaccines manufactured by other companies and facilities. If so, then it means that the entire supply of swine flu vaccine doses can indeed be doubled.

There is even more potential for increasing vaccine supply when using adjuvanted vaccine – these are vaccines to which a substance that will improve immune response, which means that less vaccine may be used to achieve the desired protection – is added. For adjuvanted vaccines, even less dose is reportedly needed, at least according to the trials: 3.75 µg. The company’s flu manufacturing facility based in Liverpool, the output of which is destined exclusively for the use of the United States, can quadruple its output if the vaccines are adjuvanted.

We have mentioned this comment quite a number of times – and here we are saying it yet again — cancer can strike anyone, anywhere. It will not care about your status in life, cultural background or gender.

Yet another prominent figure recently received a cancer diagnosis. Paul Allen is a private investor and a co-founder of industry giant Microsoft. This month, Mr. Allen was reportedly diagnosed as suffering from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. An e-mail has been sent to the employees of Mr. Allen’s investment firm, Vulcan, informing them of the diagnosis. The message reportedly came from Jody Allen, Mr. Allen’s sister as well as Chief Executive of Vulcan.

Mr. Allen, however, is no stranger to health issues. In 1983, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and left Microsoft to undergo radiation therapy as well as a bone marrow transplant. He has since not gone back to being active in Microsoft’s daily operations. However, his shares of stock in the company were enough to catapult him into the 17th place among the richest men in the United States, as revealed by Forbes magazine through their annual list.

What is perhaps a promising fact despite the concerning diagnosis is that diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is considered as a relatively common form of lymphoma.

Ms. Allen did reportedly mention in her message that the news is “tough” for Mr. Allen and his family. She continues to say, though, that “Paul is feeling okay and remains upbeat,” despite the diagnosis. Allen, however, reportedly intends to continue working and retain his current role at Vulcan. Ms. Allen stressed, however, that Paul Allen’s health “comes first”.

Lupus has proven as much of a challenge for pharmaceutical companies seeking a cure as it is for those who suffer from the disease itself. Setbacks and failures have killed many of the treatment drugs seeking to aid those with lupus and until now none have made much ground. Human Genome Sciences claims to have a new drug that’s succeeded in its second trial, if that’s true then it could be the first major step to having an effective drug for Lupus treatment in nearly 40 years.

Benlysta performed well in the second trial though not as well as it had in the first making some wary but Human Genome Sciences seems confident that the effectiveness of the drug will show itself in the coming months. If all goes well Benlysta should be seeking approval in the first half of 2010.

Lupus, an autoimmune disease, is a condition in which the body’s natural protective pathogens instead begin to attack the tissues of the body. The disease can cause arthritis, mouth sores, kidney damage, and rashes among other problems. The diseases is particularly affecting because it targets women of child-bearing age.  The varying times of activity and inactivity involved with Lupus and the case by case symptoms make the disease detection difficult.

An estimates 200,000 of those affected by the disease could be looking at being candidates for the drug. Belysta works by blocking a protein that stimulates B cells, a part of the immune system that plays a part in the effects of Lupus. If the drug us proven effective many sufferers could be seeing how the drug works for themselves by the end of next year.

The Ministry of Health of China has reported that two people have died after receiving swine flu shots. While death after immunization does not necessarily mean that the death was caused by the administration of the vaccine, these occurrences need to be monitored and investigated.

Both fatalities reportedly died within hours after receiving the vaccine. One of them was a teacher from Hunan province. The preliminary autopsy report, however, reveals that the cause of the teacher’s death may have been a heart attack while playing basketball. The Ministry is ruling the death as a “coincidental medical incident” that is not in any way tied with or caused by the administration of swine flu vaccine. There were no details regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of the other person.

While investigation is ongoing regarding the second death, health officials have reportedly pulled all the batch of vaccines to which the dose used to immunize the teacher belonged. This may have been done in order to ensure that if a tie-in will be made to the batch of vaccines, no other people will receive the doses in question.

China has taken a rather aggressive approach towards swine flu, with the government asking biotech companies to develop a pandemic swine flu vaccine way back in June. It was Sinovac, a company based in Beijing, that was able to develop the first approved swine flu vaccine. They were also the first to conduct trials and report that a single dose of vaccine is enough protection against swine flu.

China started its swine flu vaccination programs in September, the first country in the world to do so.

It may be more challenging having to watch our cholesterol levels during this holiday season, but with a few simple strategies, everything will be more manageable.

First, the things that we need to avoid. On top of that list is saturated fat. It is not just about giving up food that is high in cholesterol, such as eggs; it is also about the way you prepare your food. You may not want to give up on the butter entirely, but you may want to watch how much of it you consume. You may also want to consider substitutions, such as using canola oil instead of vegetable oil.

When food is laid out on the table buffet-style, then go for the gifts of the sea. Include fish in your diet at least two to three times a week. If you do not cook all that well and cannot really prepare gourmet salmon, opening up a can of tuna can still give you a dose of omega-3 that is good for your heart.

You may also want to step up on the fruits and the veggies, and these are great foods because you can heap them on your plate and you will still be good to go.

Parties do not need to be a bore even when you are on a diet. A flute of bubbly should be okay, for as long as you stick to just one and not drown yourself in it. Throw in some nuts while sipping on your cocktail, and you can be true to your target while still having fun.

The holidays need not be a hindrance to enjoying the holiday season, and getting healthy does not need to wait until New Year’s and resolution season comes along. If you start now, you may be well on your way towards a healthier, lower-cholesterol you before 2009 comes to a close.

Yes, you are reading that right. Some of you may wonder, though, exactly how that can be accomplished, when Thanksgiving is just a little more than a week away and soon after that will come various Christmas soirees. But hey, anything can happen, especially if you are determined to do it.

First things first, though; you should have your cholesterol levels checked, especially if you lead a lifestyle that makes you a likely candidate for high cholesterol levels. It is wrong to think that since you received a good cholesterol reading several odd years ago, then you should be good to go. Cardiologists recommend that anyone aged 20 or older should go for cholesterol screening once every five years; those who are at high risk for heart disease should schedule one even more frequently.

If indeed those tests come back with less than satisfactory readings, then it is only fitting to work with your doctor and set a target. Your physician will most likely talk to you and consider the various factors that are prevalent in your lifestyle and family history before making a recommendation.

Among the things that your physician will most likely ask you to do is to take cholesterol-lowering medication, but only when it is appropriate in your case. The most important thing that will need to be done is to make changes in one’s lifestyle, but there are cases where it is more beneficial to go on medication in addition to leading a more healthy life in order to bring down those cholesterol levels faster.

When we speak of lifestyle modifications, we speak of a holistic approach. It is not just about what you eat, but what you physically do on a daily basis as well. If you are the sedentary type who sits in an office cubicle day in and day out, then it is time to start moving. If you really do not have time to hit the gym, then simple things such as getting off the elevator three to five floors down and taking the stairs the rest of the way can certainly be of help. You can also try to walk around for five minutes every hour or so; surely that will not do that much damage to your productivity target for the day.