Pregnant Women Need Routine Blood Pressure Checks

by Dr Alex Jimenez | Natural Health, Wellness

Pregnant women should get their blood pressure checked at each prenatal visit to screen for preeclampsia, a potentially fatal complication that can damage the kidneys, liver, eyes and brain, new U.S. guidelines say.

While many doctors already monitor blood pressure throughout pregnancy, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its guidelines for the first time since 1996 to stress that screening at every visit can help doctors catch and treat preeclampsia before it escalates from a mild problem to a life-threatening one.

“Preeclampsia is one of the most serious health problems affecting pregnant women,” task force member Dr. Maureen Phipps, a women’s health researcher at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said by email.

“Because this condition is common and critical, the Task Force offers two separate recommendations to help women lower the risk associated with preeclampsia – screening for preeclampsia is recommended for all pregnant women, and women at high risk of developing the condition can take low-dose aspirin to help prevent it,” Phipps added by email.

The screening recommendations, published on Tuesday in JAMA, apply to women without a history of preeclampsia or high blood pressure. Separate guidelines advise low-dose aspirin after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy for women with a history of elevated blood pressure. (bit.ly/2oIwP5B)

Preeclampsia can progress quickly, and typically develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Blood pressure screening earlier in pregnancy can show normal results for women who go on to develop preeclampsia.

In addition to elevated blood pressure, women with preeclampsia may also have excess amounts of protein in their urine, as well as swelling in the feet, legs and hands.

Women may suffer from stroke, seizures, organ failure and in rare cases, death. For babies, complications include slower growth inside the uterus, low birth weight and death.

Risks for preeclampsia include a history of obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, as well as a mother or sister who has experienced the condition.

Because the risks of preeclampsia increase with age, women may be able to lower their chances of developing this complication by having babies sooner, said Dr. Dana Gossett, an obstetrics and gynecology researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-author of an accompanying editorial in JAMA.

“Beyond that, it is also important to ensure that all health problems are well managed prior to pregnancy,” Gossett said by email. “High blood pressure should be under good control, other diseases like kidney disease or lupus should be well controlled, and women should try to be close to their ideal body weight prior to conception.”

Checking blood pressure at every prenatal visit can help prevent complications for mothers and babies alike, said Dr. Martha Gulati, chief of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix and author of a separate editorial in JAMA Cardiology.

“This is something that should be provided to every woman as part of preventive care,” Gulati said by email. “We will save lives and prevent complications and death in pregnant women with this simple, cost-effective” test that doesn’t take much time.

Love Chocolate? Blame Your Genes: Study

by Dr Alex Jimenez | Natural Health, Wellness

Your tendency to indulge in chocolate, go heavy on salt, or eat veggies may be tied to certain gene variants, a new study suggests.

The study, of more than 800 adults, found links between several genes and people’s food likes and dislikes.

The gene variants were already known. One, for example, is linked to obesity risk; others are involved in hormone regulation.

It’s not yet clear what the new findings mean, the researchers said.

And they stressed that aversion to broccoli is not genetically determined: You might just need a better way of cooking it.

But the findings add to evidence that food preferences are partly related to genetic variation.

“Research is really beginning to look at the role of genes in food intake and nutrient use,” said Lauri Wright, a registered dietitian in Florida who was not involved in the study.

Some researchers believe that understanding the genetics behind food preferences will lead to more individualized diet advice. In fact, there’s a burgeoning field known as “nutrigenomics,” Wright noted.

For now, though, you are unlikely to have your DNA analyzed when you see a dietitian.

Nor do you need to, added Wright. She said dietitians already ask people about their food preferences — and a slew of other information — to help craft personalized diet plans.

Wright is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and director of the doctorate in clinical nutrition program at the University of North Florida.

Past studies have found correlations between gene variations and people’s tastes for certain foods.

For the most part, they have looked at genes related to taste receptors, said Silvia Berciano, who led the current study.

Berciano said her team focused on certain genes that have been connected to behavioral and psychological traits (such as depression or addiction), to see if any are also related to eating habits.

To do that, the researchers analyzed variations in those genes, along with self-reported diet habits, among 818 white U.S. adults.

In general, the study found, there were associations between several genes and food preferences. Variations in a gene called FTO, which is related to obesity, were tied to vegetable and fiber consumption, for instance.

It’s possible that the FTO gene influences both obesity risk and people’s desire for veggies, said Berciano, a researcher at Tufts University in Boston.

Could the link exist simply because people prone to obesity are less likely to be vegetable lovers? Berciano said that’s unlikely: The FTO variation tied to vegetable/fiber intake is in a different place on the gene than the variant related to obesity.

In other findings, a gene called SLC6A2, which helps regulate hormones like norepinephrine, was related to fat intake.

Meanwhile, variations in a gene that helps regulate oxytocin — the so-called “love hormone” involved in bonding, mood and other behaviors — were related to chocolate intake, as well as heavier weight.

Oxytocin “enhances the brain’s reward system,” Berciano noted. On the other hand, she said, lower oxytocin levels could boost chocolate cravings as a way to get that same reward.

Berciano was scheduled to present the findings Sunday at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting, in Chicago. The results should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

The study does not prove that any of those gene variants directly affect people’s food preferences, Wright pointed out.

And even if they have an influence, she said, diet habits are much more than a matter of genes. Economics, culture and a range of environmental factors are at play, she added.

And, with help, people can change even long-standing diet habits. “We don’t want people to think, ‘I can’t help bingeing on chocolate, it’s in my genes,’ ” Wright said.

Still, Berciano said an understanding of the genetics behind food preferences could eventually prove useful in the real world.

“Understanding how genetic differences affect neural regulation of eating behavior means that we’ll be able to predict the behavioral tendencies of the individual,” she said.

That, she added, could help in creating diet plans that are “easier for the individual to adhere to.”

For now, though, Wright said she is unsure how expensive genetic testing would enhance what dietitians already do. “We already look at the individual — not just their food preferences, but their other lifestyle habits and their economic and social situations,” she said.

That bigger context, Wright said, is critical in helping people make lasting diet changes.

Friends Help Us Through Stressful Times

by Dr Alex Jimenez | Natural Health, Wellness

A new UK study has highlighted the importance of friendships in helping people get through the more stressful periods of life.

Carried out by Dr Rebecca Graber from the University of Brighton during her time at the University of Leeds, the preliminary study is the first to provide long-term statistical evidence on the huge benefit of friends, and in particular best friends, on coping with and developing resilience to stress.

The study included 185 adults, with 75 completing the study’s questionnaires and assessments on psychological resilience, best friendship quality, coping behaviors and self-esteem.

Participants then completed the same assessments again one year later, to see how the quality of best friend relationships had affected resilience to stress during this period.

The results showed that best friendships had a protective effect against stress, helping to develop psychological resilience in adults, although how still remains unclear.

The findings also support research published last year by Dr Graber, which found that best friendships can help develop resilience to stress in socioeconomically vulnerable children.

Want More Energy? Skip the Coffee, Opt for the Stairs

by Dr Alex Jimenez | Natural Health, Wellness

Need an energy boost during the afternoon at the office? A jolt of caffeine isn’t as effective as walking up and down some stairs, says a new study from the University of Georgia.

The study, which was published in the journal Physiology and Behavior found that walking up and down stairs for 10 minutes gave volunteers more energy than ingesting 50 milligrams of caffeine — about the amount in a can of soda.

When giving volunteers either caffeine or a placebo, “there was not much change in how they felt,” said Patrick J. O’Connor, a professor in the department of kinesiology. “But with exercise they did feel more energetic and vigorous.”

The study wanted to duplicate the problems office workers, who spend hours staring at a computer screen, faced when trying to boost their energy to avoid mid-afternoon slumps when long bouts of exercise weren’t possible.

For the study, women college students on separate days either ingested capsules containing caffeine or a placebo, or spent 10 minutes walking up and down stairs — about 30 floors total — at a low-intensity pace.

“Office workers can go outside and walk, but weather can be less than ideal. It has never rained on me while walking the stairs,” said O’Connor. “And a lot of people working in office buildings have access to stairs, so it’s an option to keep some fitness while taking a short break from work.”

To test the effects of caffeine versus the exercise, each group took some verbal and computer-based tests to gauge how they felt and how well they performed certain cognitive tasks.

While neither caffeine nor exercise caused large improvements in attention or memory, walking up and down stairs was associated with a small increase in motivation for work.

The study found that even a brief amount of time walking up and down stairs can boost energy without reducing cognitive function. “You may not have time to go for a swim, but you might have 10 minutes to walk up and down the stairs,” O’Connor said.

Another way to boost your energy in the afternoon is to eat dark chocolate.

Volunteers at the University of Northern Arizona University ate dark chocolate containing at least 60 percent cacao beans or a placebo product, then did thinking and memory activities while undergoing EKGs of their brains. Those who ate the chocolate were more alert.

“A lot of us in the afternoon get a little fuzzy and can’t pay attention, so we could have a higher cacao content chocolate bar and it would increase attention,” said Larry Stevens, a professor of psychological sciences at NAU. “Chocolate is indeed a stimulant and it activates the brain in a really special way.”

White Wine Raises Women’s Risk for Rosacea

by Dr Alex Jimenez | Natural Health, Wellness

Could that glass of Chardonnay affect the condition of your skin?

Maybe, according to new research that found women with certain drinking patterns had a higher risk of developing rosacea, an inflammatory skin condition.

“We found white wine and liquor were significantly associated with a higher risk of rosacea,” said study senior author Wen-Qing Li. He’s an assistant professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Brown University.

Rosacea causes redness and flushing on the face and the neck. In some forms, acnelike outbreaks can form, and visible blood vessels can appear.

Genetics can play a role in the development of rosacea. In those with acnelike rosacea, their immune system may be reacting to a single bacterium, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

While red wine is often pinpointed as the beverage that can trigger rosacea flushing, Li said that that information tends to come from reports by patients who already have the disorder.

The new research focused on alcohol’s role in the development of rosacea. Li’s team evaluated nearly 83,000 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II from 1991 to 2005.

The researchers collected information on alcohol intake every four years during a follow-up of 14 years. Over that time, nearly 5,000 new cases of rosacea occurred.

“For white wine, compared to never drinkers, [those who drank] one to three drinks per month had a 14 percent increased risk of rosacea. For five or more white wines a week, risk increased by 49 percent,” Li said.

For liquor, five or more drinks a week raised the risk of developing rosacea by 28 percent, the study found.

Li could not say if the link would hold true for men, as the study included only women. And, he points out that “it is just an association, it is not a causal relationship.”

Li isn’t sure exactly why white wine and liquor seem to increase the risk of rosacea. However, the researchers speculated that the white wine and liquor may weaken the immune system and contribute to the dilation of blood vessels.

For now, Li said, the message is to make physicians and consumers aware of the link.

The researchers also suspect that there are different biological reasons why white wine and liquor seem to increase the development of rosacea and why red wine seems to exacerbate the condition. But they don’t yet know what those differences are, the study authors said.

Dr. Carolyn Goh, a dermatologist at UCLA Medical Center, said the new findings add to knowledge about rosacea.

“It’s interesting that they found a difference between different types of alcohol,” she said.

One of the strengths of the research is the large number of women in the study, Goh said.

Meanwhile, she said, it’s known that drinking alcohol can make rosacea flare up in those already diagnosed. “In the past, people thought red wine would cause more flushing than white wine,” she said.

Besides alcohol, other common triggers in those who already have rosacea include sunlight, caffeine, hot and spicy foods, Goh said. People with the condition report different triggers, she said, so that list may not apply to all patients.

Treatments include topical creams and ointments, Goh said. Laser treatment can help the blood vessels that stay visible after periods of flushing. For patients who have pimples associated with rosacea, oral antibiotics can help, she said.

The study is published online April 20 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.