H1N1 World Statistics – August 26, 2009
August 26, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under H1N1 H1H1 Human Swine Flu, Weight Loss
Our last update was posted http://www.lose-weight-feel-great.com/2009/07/17/h1n1-swine-flu-statistics/ on July 17, 2009. Here is the latest update regarding H1N1 World Statistics. As always, you should get the latest information on H1N1 from your local health offices, and centers for disease control.
Most recently in H1N1 news has been the question of Safety of Pandemic Vaccines.
According to the World Health Organization:
WHO is aware of some media reports that have expressed concern about the safety of vaccines for pandemic influenza. The public needs to be reassured that regulatory procedures in place for the licensing of pandemic vaccines, including procedures for expediting regulatory approval, are rigorous and do not compromise safety or quality controls.
Vaccines are among the most important medical interventions for reducing illness and deaths during a pandemic. However, to have the greatest impact, pandemic vaccines need to be available quickly and in large quantities.
During the 1957 and 1968 pandemics, vaccines arrived too late to be used as an effective mitigation tool during the more severe phases of the pandemics. Influenza vaccines had not yet been developed when the 1918 pandemic swept around the world, eventually killing an estimated 50 million people.
- and -
Also in Europe, some manufacturers have conducted advance studies using a so-called “mock-up” vaccine. Mock-up vaccines contain an active ingredient for an influenza virus that has not circulated recently in human populations and thus mimics the novelty of a pandemic virus. Such advance studies can greatly expedite regulatory approval.
Full link to the news article Safety of Pandemic Vaccines (specifically related to H1N1).
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Region
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Cumulative total
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|
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as of 13 Aug 2009
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||
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Cases
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Deaths
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WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO)
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1469
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3
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|
WHO Regional Office for the Americas (AMRO)
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105882
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1579
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|
WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO)
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2532
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8
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WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO)
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Over 32000
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53
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WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO)
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13172
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106
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WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO)
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27111
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50
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|
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Total
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Over 182166
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1799
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FDA Investigating Weight-Loss Drug Over Reports of Liver Damage
August 26, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
Just found this on Yahoo news – read the full article, here are some snippets…
The weight loss gleaned from the drug is quite modest, about 5 kilograms, said Dr. Timothy Pfanner, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and a gastroenterologist with Scott & White, in Temple, Texas.
…
The issue is complicated by the fact that some patients are taking the drug in its over-the-counter form, meaning they are likely not being tracked and monitored by doctors for side effects.
At this point, there is no reason for consumers to stop taking the drug if they’re already on it — as long as they’re using it as recommended — and no reason for physicians to stop prescribing it, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials stressed Monday.
Link to the full article: http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/fdainvestigatingweightlossdrugoverreportsofliverdamage.html
Here is to your health!
Mohamed
Celebrity Beauty Secrets
August 26, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Self Image
Reservatrol, also called resveratrol, is a substance in red wine that seems to allow mice to live up to 20-50 percent longer. Given in high doses reservatrol seems to block many of the bad effects of high-caloric diets. The fact is that the doses given to the mice was far larger than anyone can get by drinking red wine. The equivalent dose in a human would require that the person drink about 300 glasses per day, enough to destroy the liver in fairly short order.
Currently, reservatrol can be found in some dietary supplements. The major source is from a plant grown in China called the Giant Knotweed. But thoroughly documented experiments that show the actual life extending effects of reservatrol have not yet been made. However, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc, has begun testing reservatrol-based drugs on diabetes patients.
Reservatrol seems to work by mimicking a proven life extending process called calorie restriction (also known as CR). Calorie restriction involves reducing food intake by a third and has been shown (as early as the 1930s) to extend lifespan in animals by 30-40 percent. However, this type of regimen is considered too rigorous to most people.
Although there are other substances that have shown to have similar effects (metformin, for one) reservatrol is the first that has shown cross species application and also has been ingested by humans for thousands of years.
Studies at Harvard Medical School showed how Reservatrol had benefits for yeast, extending the lifespan by 70 percent. Speculation then arose that perhaps reservatrol accounted for what has become known as the “French Paradox” – the fact that the French eat high fat diets, drink a lot of wine, and have a longer than average lifespan.
Reservatrol in the amounts available in dietary supplements is considered safe according to an article in the November 2,2006 issue of the Wall Street Journal. The high doses given to mice indicated that there might be problems associated with the liver. This, however, would require a human to take hundreds of reservatrol pills daily in order to equal the doses given to mice.
Besides the anti-aging effects, reservatrol has also been shown to increase activity and endurance in aging mice. It is thought that this might be because reservatrol stimulates an enzyme called SIRT1 which helps to spur the growth of new mitochondria in cells. (Mitochondria are the organelles of a cell that convert fuel to energy).
Is this a promising new drug to help increase human longevity…only time can tell.
Source: http://www.indepthinfo.com/nutrition/reservatrol.shtml
Free Recipe Websites
August 12, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
Do you like to cook? Looking for a Do you like to cook? Looking for a few recipe ideas? Maybe some healthy recipes, or just want some great cooking recipes? Vegetarian recipe, or dessert recipe you can find virtually any type of cooking and food recipe by visiting these sites – this list is by no means exhaustive but these are a few of my favourite:
- Recipezaar.com – More than 374,000 recipes. This site also includes user created menus and cookbooks plus a forum/discussion board. They also offer a premium membership which appears to be free as far as I can tell…
- Foodnetwork.com – Includes recipes from all the major stars of the Food Network Channel. There is also a video section that highlights some of their creations.
- Sparkrecipes.com – A spin-off site of Sparkpeople.com – There are more than 175,000 recipes plus nutritional calculators for making whole meals. They also have recipe specific message boards.
- Allrecipes.com – Another nice large site with community forums and LOTS of great recipes many with images.
- Recipeland.com – A nice site, the have lots of recipes with the ability to search for recipes by country.
UPDATE 10/19/09
New site – http://www.recipesmy.com/ - I’ve just started to poke around, and while there are many larger sites I still find that the smaller sites keep my interest.
Enjoy!
Mohamed
Mum Worried About Teasing in School Dies After Failed Weight Loss Surgery
August 12, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
Here is a story I found over at MedIndia: http://www.medindia.net/news/Mum-Worried-About-Teasing-in-School-Dies-After-Failed-Weight-Loss-Surgery-56171-1.htm
Kerry Greaves, the mother of 3-year-old Melissa, was so worried that her daughter would be teased because she had a fat mother that she opted for weight loss surgery.
Doctors in York Hospital carried out a gastric band procedure, but complications from the surgery caused liver and kidney failure in Ms Greaves, eventually resulting in her untimely death. Anne Greaves, the mother of the deceased woman, is now urging caution before opting for weight loss surgery.
“She didn’t have this operation through vanity, she did it for her daughter. She had just started nursery and even though Kerry had never been bullied because of her weight at school, she thought other kids might pick on Melissa because her mum was big,” she said. “I tried to warn her about the dangers but she was insistent and told me that everything would be OK. My advice to anybody thinking of this operation would be to have more pride in yourself and don’t do it.”
Weight loss is important, and there are many ways to lose weight – fad diets, strange diets (like the 3-Day Diet, Carrot/Cauliflower/Cabbage Soup Diet), and surgery. Surgery is probably one of the most effective since it can provide very quick results – in a matter of weeks but there are risks with surgery as you can see from this article.
Regardless of your body type, size or looks you need to have pride in yourself. When you have that “inner pride/beauty” it will manifest itself on the outside. True there are people that may deal with weight issues all their life (I am one of those) but I’d rather be living and a good father to my son and husband to my wife than potentially ending up on the coroners table and 6-feet under.
Weight loss is a gradual process. It is about eating right, getting and remaining active – it is about lifestyle changes. Diet is DIE with a T tacked onto the end. Think of it as a diet and you will fail. Think of it as, and work at it as a lifestyle change and you develop healthy eating habits that stay with you forever. These are then the same habits that you can pass onto your children.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve (my wife and I) have been stressing the importance of staying active to our 6-year old and he’s picked up on it. After eating, he won’t sit down in front of the TV or computer or with his WII or DS. Instead his comments are “I need to stay healthy, right?” or “Dad, I want you to live for a looong time. Lets take a walk”.
There may be cases where surgery is required, but if you can do it – try things the natural way through a concerted effort and may making lifestyle changes.
What is bariatric surgery? Find out here http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/weightlosssurgery.html.
Here is to your health!
Mohamed