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Monday, 4 April 2016

What Every Woman Should Know About Pregnancy After Age 35




It’s official. More women are now having babies after age 35 than ever before. The “advanced maternal age” woman is becoming more and more the typical patient rather than the unicorn she once was.

Even so, there's still some measure of fear about pregnancy after age 35. It's a common belief that a woman is automatically high risk if she's over age 35 and in need of specialized, highly advanced care during this potentially very complicated pregnancy. But is this really the case? Is the “after 35” pregnancy as risky as we think?

I'm a double board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and maternal-fetal medicine specialist who works with many high-risk pregnant women. Here are a few things I wish more people knew about having a baby post-35:

1. There is an increased risk for certain complications during pregnancy.

Women older than 35 are at a higher risk for developing diabetes and/or high blood pressure, having a multiple gestation, delivering prematurely, having a large or a low birth-weight baby, requiring a cesarean section, having placenta previa, and experiencing pregnancy loss.

This does not mean, however, that your pregnancy is a ticking time bomb. It does not mean that your pregnancy will automatically result in complications.

During routine prenatal care, these conditions will be monitored no matter the age of the patient. But they are simply more common in a pregnancy after age 35.

Plus, as we age there's the potential for developing medical diseases; an aging woman who becomes pregnant is no exception. If you have these or any other pre-existing medical conditions, in addition to being advanced maternal age, you will be monitored more closely during your pregnancy.


2. Age 35 is a “milestone" because it's the age when the risk of genetic abnormalities starts to increase.

As a woman ages, egg quality—the number of eggs that are genetically normal—starts to dramatically decrease after age 37 and particularly after age 40. This means the chances of early pregnancy loss and having a pregnancy with a genetic abnormality, like Down syndrome, are increased. Unfortunately, these factors have nothing to do with how healthy you are after age 35; these factors are purely due to age alone.

Although this aspect of an older pregnancy is often the most feared, it's a reality that all women after age 35 face. As a result, antenatal testing through a blood test and a detailed ultrasound are recommended for women in this age group. It's also common to offer an appointment for genetic counseling. It's up to each individual, of course, as to what testing is accepted.

3. Otherwise, a healthy woman post-35 should be expected to have a completely normal pregnancy.

After consideration and assessment for the risk of a genetic abnormality, followed by a detailed ultrasound for fetal anatomy, the pregnancy should progress as normal. In this case, the only way a healthy woman older than 35 with no significant pre-existing medical conditions would be considered “different” is due to her age alone.

Of course, it's important to maintain a healthy lifestyle both during the preconception period and during the pregnancy, in order to minimize potential complications.

Some women report having more difficulties with a pregnancy at an older age, and some women report feeling better. Some women report having a harder time recovering after delivery, and some women report bouncing back easily. Every woman is different. The bottom line is that if you're healthy, you should approach your “advanced maternal age” pregnancy with the same optimism that your younger counterparts are expected to enjoy.

www. mindbodygreen .com

Simple Ways To Detox Your Skin For Spring




With spring here, and summer around the corner, this is the perfect time to revamp your anti-aging and skin care routine. The following tips provide a multipronged approach to jump-start your healthy changes!

1. Diet your way to better skin.

Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains while minimizing processed/prepackaged foods can improve your complexion. Diversity within these wholesome categories is great. However, the following foods have special nutrients that promote healthy skin:

Tomatoes are packed with lycopene and vitamin C, which has been found to benefit the skin in many ways: fight premature aging of the skin from chronic UV exposure, treat hyperpigmentation (darkening of areas of the skin), and increase collagen, which gives skin elasticity and fights wrinkles when collagen degrades. Organic tomato paste provides a high concentration of these skin-improving nutrients!
Berries, like blueberries and raspberries, are full of antioxidants, flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals, which give them anti-inflammatory properties, and the ability to prevent free radicals from aging skin.
Oranges are famously filled with vitamin C, which as explained for tomatoes, helps prevent skin aging and hyperpigmentation, and can boost collagen. High levels of antioxidants found in oranges also help to reduce skin damage caused by free radicals and can result in fewer wrinkles. Oranges also have a high water content, which may help ward off breakouts and help skin stay elastic.
Avocados are known for their healthy fats (poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids, to be exact), which can keep your skin hydrated and healthy. Those same fatty acids can help you absorb vitamins and nutrients and can protect your skin from sun damage. Components of avocados were also linked to good skin health, by promoting healing and reducing UV damage, according to various studies. Many people use avocados as a topical “cream” for skin health, too. So consider them an alternative to conventional skin care products!

2. Drink filtered water.

Hydrate from the inside out! In addition to eating lots of vegetables and fruits, which will hydrate your skin from the inside, drinks lots of filtered water, too.

3. Get your blood pumping!

Regular exercise is great for your skin and your health. Studies have found that regular exercise not only maintains great skin but can also reverse skin aging! Regular exercise is healthy for many reasons, including flushing out toxins from your body.

4. Cleanse, moisturize, and protect your skin.

A healthy skin care routine includes regular cleansing (especially at night), moisturizing, and protection from the sun. To reduce products needed to cleanse my face, I use a wet charcoal sponge to wash my face in the mornings and after removing makeup in the evening. I moisturize right away.

Sun protection is also a must! Since there are health concerns associated with ingredients in sunscreens, finding shade, wearing hats, and avoiding the sun’s most damaging times should be your first lines of defense against aging skin.

To find healthier sunscreens, consider options that contain zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, are broad-spectrum (which will guard against both UVA and UVB rays), as well as water-resistant. Avoid sunscreens that contain oxybenzone, vitamin A (AKA retinal palmitate, which may promote the formation of skin tumors and lesions), and insect repellent (use insect repellent separately since you may need to reapply sunscreen often). Lastly, use the Environmental Working Group’s sunscreen guide to identify products that have a low hazard assessment.

5. Continue to detox your routine for more resilient health.

Since our chronic toxic exposures to household products are often overlooked and our skin reflects our overall health, it’s important to continue to learn more about this influence on health and to continue to incorporate one detox change at a time.

www. mindbodygreen .com

A Meditative Exercise To Help You Find Balance + Tap Into Your True Potential




How would your thoughts—ALL of them—look if they were captured in a single picture?

Last month, a woman drew a diagram for her husband to show him what’s running through her mind at any given moment. Her drawing went viral.

Above a stick figure rendering of the woman is a chaotic explosion of thought bubbles that encapsulates a full range of worries and plans—everything from her husband to her co-workers to her kids to the dirt under the fridge to the fact that her boobs just won’t stay in her bra. Sound familiar?

You Take Better Care of Others When You're Taking Care of Yourself

Women today juggle hundreds of plans, worries, goals, and obligations in the air at any given moment. Very few of those things she's juggling would still be on her priority list if she truly felt accountable only to herself. Women constantly take on more than we can handle and help others more than we help ourselves.

The one or two priorities you keep for yourself could be a monthly book club or a weekly fitness class—but these small, isolated moments of joy are not nearly enough to fuel sustained happiness.

Too often, we sacrifice self-care for the fulfillment and happiness of others. But in reality, if we can learn how to recognize and meet our own needs before anyone else's, something magical will happen! We will begin to create balance in all areas of our lives. We will feel strong, inspired, stable, and energized—everything we need in order to become true leaders and to catalyze change in our lives and the lives of others.


This Exercise Will Help You Uncover Ways to Cultivate Balance

Tapping into your power begins with finding balance. When you know you've got your life balanced, you can savor each and every moment of your journey. To evaluate what areas of your life are out of balance, we recommend looking at your life as if it were a wheel, or a pie chart. We'll walk you through an exercise to help you get a clearer picture of your life.

To start, draw a large circle on a large blank piece of paper, put a dot in the very center of it, then add lines from the dot to the outer edges of your circle to create “spokes” for your wheel. On each line, write down a key area of your life — career, relationships, finances, children, spirituality, physical fitness, and health, etc. There are no right or wrong answers. Just think about what's important to you.

From there, reflect on your level of fulfillment in each of these areas. Then, place a dot on each spoke/line of your wheel of life to symbolize that level of fulfillment. The closer your dot is to the outer circle, the more fulfilled you are. The closer your dot is to the center of the circle, the more focus you need in this area.

Once you’ve placed dots on each spoke, connect them with one continuous line. Ideally, the dots would connect to create a perfect circle, but for most of us, that circle may look a little more like a miniature porcupine staring at you from the page. But don’t freak out! This is absolutely normal. You're not alone.

In the areas where you're less fulfilled, write down two things you can do to find more balance. For example, if your health is out of balance (your dot is closer to the center of the circle), you could commit to going to bed earlier each night; using essential oils and a warm, calming tonic to help you get to sleep; exercising more so that you sleep better at night—the list goes on. The point is that we all know at least two things we could be doing in order to find more balance in our lives. The hard part is actually doing them.

Once you’re done with this exercise, put your wheel up somewhere you will be able to see it and reference it every single day.

When you feel your healthiest and most nourished, you begin to shine, find confidence, and step into your power—the power and vibrancy that are essential to being able to lead others and move mountains. Here we go!

www. mindbodygreen .com

How To Tell If You're REALLY Having Migraines + When It's Time To Get Help




A frequent question I hear from my patients is “how do I know if I’m having a migraine?”

If you're someone who's ever suffered from a migraine, you’re probably thinking “trust me, you’ll know if you’re having one!" And, as a neurologist who has treated thousands of migraine patients (and suffers from them myself) the difference between a migraine and a regular tension headache seems very clear to me, too.

But this is not always easy, and headache doctors don’t always agree on any particular headache patient. So, if you’re experiencing your first one or you’ve never been diagnosed as a “migraineur," recognizing your head pain as a migraine can be confusing.

If you have recurrent headaches or suspect you may be suffering from migraines, use this guide to migraine symptoms to help you correctly recognize a migraine and decide when it’s time to get medical attention.

Migraine Symptoms

A migraine is a recurrent headache that usually lasts four to seven hours. Compared to other types of headaches, it can range from moderate to severe. Migraines can vary from patient to patient, as well as from episode to episode, but they're typically characterized as having one of the following:

An intense pulsing or throbbing component to the pain, as opposed to the more mild, dull pressure of tension headaches.
The pain is localized on one side of the head.
The pain worsens with movement.
You experience sensitivity to light and sound.
The headache is accompanied by nausea, vomiting or dizziness.
You experience temporary blind spots or other visual disturbances.
You won’t necessarily experience all of the above during a migraine episode, but if you do experience any these symptoms during your headache, it's very likely you are experiencing a migraine.

The Aura

A less common, but a surefire sign that you’re experiencing a migraine is if your headache is preceded by an aura, or sensory symptoms. The most prevalent type of auras is visual disturbances such as flickering lights, spots or zigzag lines called fortification spectra. Auras last anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes and are completely reversible.

We generally divide migraines into two types: migraine without aura (MWOA) and migraine with aura (MWA). Migraines with aura are actually the less common type of migraine headache (only about 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience an aura). If you don’t experience auras, feel grateful—but don't rule out the possibility of a migraine.

When to See a Doctor

For many migraine sufferers, a migraine is an inconvenience but not a debilitating condition. They use various coping strategies, prevention techniques and over-the-counter drugs to get through the migraine episode and never see a doctor about them.

But for others, these techniques are not enough. The migraine headaches themselves are debilitating and the treatments they are using aren’t enough. Sometimes, migraine becomes intractable. That’s when a person needs a headache specialist.

Because the severity, frequency, and triggers of migraine headaches vary so much from patient to patient, it’s hard to say for sure when it’s time to seek medical attention. But, if nothing else, these are a few guidelines to follow to help you make the decision to seek medical attention:


Immediate Medical Attention

Stop reading my article and go straight to a doctor or emergency room if you are experiencing a headache and any of the following symptoms:

fever and chills
you’ve been in an accident or struck your head
numbness or weakness
complete loss of vision
problems with your speech or walking
pain in the head that is sharp and stabbing
if the headache you have is the worst headache of your life
These are signs of conditions much more serious than migraine such as infection, stroke, bleeding, or other serious problems that demand rapid diagnosis and treatment by medical personnel.

Less Urgent Medication Attention

How many migraines should you experience before you see a doctor? How bad do the migraines need to be to warrant medical attention? What if you're still not sure if what you're experiencing is a migraine?

You can begin to answer these questions by keeping a headache diary. For every headache you have, document when the headache happened; the symptoms you experienced with the headache (for example, aura, nausea, etc.); foods, drinks, or medications you had before the headache began; and any activities you participated in prior to the onset of the headache.

This information and any patterns that develop from it will help give you a more concrete idea of how often you’re experiencing migraines and a clue into what could be triggering them. Note whether you have problems sleeping or have neck problems too. This is important info for your headache doctor to consider when treating you.

Based on your diary, you should consider seeing a headache specialist or neurologist if:

you have three or more headaches per week.
your headaches continue to worsen or don’t really go away.
you’re taking some type of pain reliever or over-the-counter medication almost every day to try to relieve your headaches.
your headache symptoms have recently changed.
you have more than four headaches a month.
A neurologist or headache specialist will be able to help differentiate a tension-type headache from a migraine as well as take a medical history and perform a complete neurological examination, both extremely important in the successful treatment of headaches. Using this information, they can start understanding what's triggering your migraines, evaluate the underlying contributory factor, and set up the best plan for treatment and management.

Overall, the main thing to remember is if your headaches are disrupting your life, it’s time to take control. Pay attention to your symptoms, listen to your body, and know that migraines aren’t something that just have to be suffered through.

www. mindbodygreen .com

The Saturated Fat That Keeps You Full + Burns Fat: A Doctor Explains




By now, you probably know that eating fat won't make you fat. In fact, there's a unique fat that can actually help keep you full and provide fuel to burn body fat: medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs.

MCTs are a special form of saturated fat with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that support your immune system.

You can find MCTs in coconut oil, although using MCT oil provides more therapeutic, concentrated doses of this fabulous oil. You can use it as a salad dressing, in your smoothie, in coffee, as a marinade base, or by the tablespoon.

I'm personally a huge fan and using MCT oil every single day because I find it keeps me full and satisfied longer.

How MCTs Can Help With Weight Loss

MCTs are the easiest type of fatty acid that your body can burn for calories. They get absorbed directly from the gut to the liver and burned very quickly. For many patients, they become that nudge to ditch those last 10 to 15 stubborn pounds that just won’t seem to budge.

Research confirms that MCTs can make you lean and healthy. In one study, researchers compared the results of MCTs with long-chain triglycerides on body fat, energy expenditure, appetite, and other aspects of weight loss in overweight men. They put these men on different diets for 28 days. One group ate a coconut-oil-rich diet high in MCTs such as caprylic acid and lauric acid. The other group ate a diet rich in long-chain triglycerides like olive oil. They then switched the diets so that they could see differences in the same subjects.

The researchers found the coconut group lost more body fat, which they attributed to a greater increase in energy expenditure and burning fat. Coconut oil actually sped up their metabolisms, allowing them to lose more belly fat and curbing their appetite compared with the men on the olive-oil-rich diet.

In fact, studies suggest that MCTs can help men burn about 460 extra calories a day and women about 190 extra calories. MCTs also affect your hormones, including appetite-controlling hormones, helping you feel full.


Why You Shouldn't Fear Fat

You might be hesitant to use coconut oil or MCT oil because it's high in saturated fat, which has unfairly been demonized for decades. Yet newer studies vindicate saturated fat, with one study arguing “a variety of saturated fatty acids may provide distinct benefits to various metabolic processes and overall health.”

Besides, there is a world of difference between quality saturated fat in coconut or MCT oils and what you might get in a fast-food cheeseburger.

Fat is one of your body’s main building blocks, yet for decades we followed a low-fat diet according to U.S. dietary guidelines, which became a high-sugar, high-refined-carb diet—contributing to an epidemic of insulin resistance, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other serious health problems.

We now know that inflammation caused by following these flawed guidelines is the true health-robbing villain. Rather than demonize fat, we need to restrict sugar and carbohydrates that break down to sugar, as well as inflammatory omega-6 fats.

Instead, we should be focusing on getting more omega-3 fats and MCTs like coconut oil, which can help you to lose weight and stay healthy. Quality rather than quantity matters here.

www. mindbodygreen .com

An Energizing Yoga Sequence To Start Your Week Off Right




Ever feel so tired and strapped for time that nothing but a bottomless pot of coffee could save you? Cue superhero yoga sequence! This simple (and short) flow of poses is geared toward saving you time, perking you up, and reminding you that you possess all the energy (and pizzazz) of your favorite hero. Go get ’em, tiger!

1. Heart Chakra Pose (Anahatasana)
Begin on all fours, with your shoulders stacked over your wrists and your hips over your knees. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and your knees hip-width apart. Keep your hips over your knees as you walk your hands forward. Bow your belly and throat down toward the ground until your arms are straight and engaged, fully extended. Keep your hips high, as if you’re a puppy wagging its playful tail. Gaze slightly forward as you melt your throat and heart toward the ground.

2. Downward-Facing Dog With Revolved Twist (Ado Mukha Svanasana)
Come back onto all fours. Keep your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Curl your toes under, straighten your legs, and lift your hips up and back into the pose. Firm your upper outer arms in; relax all four sides of your neck. Reach your right hand to the outer edge of your left leg (shin, ankle, or foot, whatever you can reach). If you can’t find the leg, shorten your stance. Revolve your ribcage to the left, keeping your left arm straight. Breathe, switch sides, and repeat. Repeat five breaths per side.

3. Standing Forward Bend With Twist (Uttanasana)
Walk your hands back to meet your feet, keeping them hip-width apart. Place your right palm down onto the mat or a block so that your arm is straight, with the shoulder stacking over the wrist. Bend your right knee slightly as you push the ground away and extend your left arm up to the sky. Keep your hips square, and relax your neck. Breathe, switch sides, and repeat five breaths on each side.

4. Chair Pose (Utkatsana)
Bend both of your knees, drop your hips, and lift your torso upright. Keep the weight in your heels as you press the shinbones back. You should be able to see your toes when you gaze down. Keep your pelvis neutral, lift your lower belly up, and keep your front ribs in. Extend your arms up shoulder-width apart with the palms turned in to relax the base of your neck. Repeat for eight breaths.


5. Chair Pose Twist (Parivrtta Utkatasana)
From chair, draw your palms in to your heart. Exhale, and swing your left elbow onto your right thigh. Place your palms together and press down to revolve your chest open to the right. Keep your hips square. Release the twist, returning into chair. Repeat the twist on the second side, and continue for eight breaths per side.

6. Crescent + Crescent With Hand Down Twist
Step your right foot forward in between your hands. Stay on the ball of your back foot with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your arms and torso upright. Draw your tailbone down as you lift your lower belly up. Bend the back knee as much as you need to in order to achieve this. Stretch your arms overhead shoulder-width apart. Breathe.

Drop your left hand down onto the mat, keeping your hips square. Press into your base hand to revolve your chest open to the right, extending your top arm up directly above your left arm. Breathe. Repeat crescent and crescent with hand down twist on the second side. Continue for eight breaths.

7. Camel Pose (Ustrasana)
Hop to your shins. Stand on your knees with even weight throughout your shinbones, keeping them hip-width apart. Place your hands on your hips, encouraging your tailbone down and your lower belly up. Shift your hands to your ribcage, inviting it to press forward to create a wheel sensation in your chest. Continue to curl your upper body open as you lift your heart straight up. Release your arms back to clasp your heels. Surrender your neck and head. Breathe, rolling up one vertebra at a time. Repeat for three rounds of eight breaths each.

8. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
Swing your legs out in front of you. Sit tall with your legs straight and together. Flex your feet. Inhale as you lift your chest up. Exhale, keeping the length as you reach forward to grab the outer edges of your feet. Avoid rounding in the upper back. Keep the legs active and the neck soft. Continue for eight breaths.

Finish the sequence with a seated meditation and savasana. Clear your mind, absorb your practice, and invite energy and renewal into your attitude and body.

www. mindbodygreen .com

Sunday, 3 April 2016

Clues to celiac disease found in 'junk RNA'




Celiac disease is a relatively common immune disorder, affecting an estimated 1 in 250 Americans. The exact causes of the disease are still shrouded in mystery; new research, published in Science, uncovers a potential link with so-called junk RNA in the human genome.

Individuals with celiac disease generate an allergic response to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.

This inappropriate reaction disturbs the hair-like projections of the small intestine - villi - causing symptoms that include bloating, anemia, fatigue, diarrhea and weight loss.

Over time, the inflammation caused by gluten-sensitive T cells permanently damages the lining of the small intestine.

In the long term, celiac disease can lead to problems with the nervous system, bones and other organs. In children, it can slow growth rates and present severe discomfort.

Genetics and celiac disease
Although there is no known cure for celiac disease, some risk factors are known; these include type 1 diabetes, Down's syndrome and autoimmune thyroid disease. Additionally, there is a strong familial connection - people with a first-degree relative with the disease (parent, child, sibling) have a 1 in 10 chance of developing celiac disease.

The hereditary nature of celiac disease has inspired scientists to probe for a specific genetic component.

Researchers have uncovered one such gene variant in a sequence known as lnc13. The lnc13 variant is known to be present in 40% of the population, but, surprisingly, only 1% of carriers go on to develop an immune reaction to the protein gluten. This has perplexed researchers.

Co-author of the current study Dr. Peter Green, of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) in New York, says:

"We don't know why only a fraction of individuals with genetic risk factors for celiac disease actually become gluten intolerant."

Looking for solutions in the gaps
With the ever-increasing power of modern research techniques, the mysteries of genetics are slowly being unlocked. Already, scores of species have had their entire genomes sequenced. As the information pours in, uncovering each gene's role is the next phase of the challenge.

On this journey through the genome, the prevalence of "junk" sequences has become apparent. These were initially referred to as "junk" because they do not code for a specific protein.


In the past, it was the protein-coding ability of DNA and RNA that was considered the primary role of the genome. However, this large quantity of seemingly redundant code is now known to be essential in other processes. Junk sequences, now referred to as non-coding RNA (ncRNA), are abundant, making up the majority of our genome.

Some sections of ncRNA have been highly preserved throughout eons of evolution; it is, therefore, a safe assumption that they play vital roles.

Researchers are yet to chart the full impact of these ncRNA molecules, but they are thought to play a number of regulatory roles. The celiac sequence, lnc13, is part of a subset of ncRNA molecules called long noncoding RNA (lncRNA); they are so-called because they are relatively long, containing more than 200 nucleotide building blocks per strand.

Scientists believe that lncRNAs might play a role in autoimmune diseases and cancers by interacting and regulating RNA, DNA and proteins.

Celiac disease and lnc13
In a suite of molecular experiments, the team at CUMC showed that the normal version of lnc13 suppresses the expression of celiac-associated genes by binding to a family of proteins.

However, the lnc13 variant associated with celiac disease does not bind so tightly to this group of proteins. This weaker bond causes an increase in the expression of genes related to inflammatory responses.

In another arm of the investigation, the team found that individuals with celiac disease had significantly lower levels of lnc13 in their guts; this infers a potential role in the inflammation response of the disease.

Lead author Sankar Ghosh says of the results:

"These findings add an important detail to our understanding about how celiac disease develops [...] In future studies, we hope to investigate factors that lead to suppression of lnc13, which may cause celiac disease in people who were previously able to tolerate gluten."

The new findings surrounding lnc13 are the beginning of a long road to understanding the disease, but the team is committed to forging ahead. As Dr. Green says: "It is only through the dedicated work of translational scientists that we can begin to uncover the mechanisms that unleash the symptoms of celiac disease."

www. medicalnewstoday .com
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