Health Pearls for the month of June/2013

Health Pearls for June/2013, gathered from the Duke Medical Center’s Health News:

1. A protein rich breakfast can curb evening snacking and cravings for junk food.  A good example is anhigh-protein, 350 calorie breakfast consisting of eggs and lean beef, burritos, or egg-based waffles with applesauce and a beef sausage patty, plain Greek Yogurt and cottage cheese.

This study was led by Dr. Heather Leidy, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2013

Teaching Point: Include some healthy proteins in your daily breakfast.  Healthy protein snacks such as nuts and protein bars are also helpful!

2. Treatment with antibiotics of NON-BACTERIAL infections such as common colds, coughs, sinusitis,sore throats can lead to antibiotic-resistant infections and cause many drug side effects or diarrhea infections such as Clostridium difficile, and even death.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention reported that 25,000 deaths yearly were caused by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

Teaching Point: Do not request antibiotics from your doctors for common cold  or allergy symptoms that will heal themselves with time.  Get a culture if necessary to see if antibiotics are needed.

3. Loneliness can produce chronic inflammation which, in turn, links to other medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease, according to
the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at the Ohio State University .

Teaching Point: Stay socially connected to avoid these harmful conditions!