Teen Drinking, Smoking on the Decline, U.S. Study Finds

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Although more American teens are using marijuana, their use of alcohol and cigarettes has decreased, a new study finds.

Penn State researchers reviewed information from nearly 600,000 high school seniors surveyed about their substance use between 1976 and 2013.

The results showed an increase in marijuana use, particularly among black teens. The study also found a significant decline in cigarette use, particularly among white teens.

In 1993, black teens were equally likely to use marijuana or cigarettes. Their use of marijuana has risen since then, the study revealed. White teens were more likely to smoke cigarettes than use marijuana until 2011. At that time, their use of marijuana became slightly higher than their use of cigarettes, the study showed.

In 2013, about 10 percent of black teens smoked cigarettes, but nearly 25 percent used marijuana. Nearly 19 percent of white teens smoked cigarettes, while nearly 22 percent used marijuana.

Teens were more likely to use marijuana if they smoked cigarettes and if they drank excessively. The reverse was also true.

Teens’ use of alcohol has fallen since the mid-1970s. However, white teens are still more likely to use alcohol than any other substance. And, white teens’ alcohol use remained higher than black teens’ throughout the study period, the study found.

Findings were published July 20 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

“Our analysis shows that public health campaigns are working — fewer teens are smoking cigarettes,” Stephanie Lanza, a professor of biobehavioral health, and scientific director of The Methodology Center at Penn State, said in a university news release.

“However, we were surprised to find the very clear message that kids are choosing marijuana over cigarettes,” she added.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about marijuana.

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PTSD Symptoms Persist for Thousands of Vietnam Vets, Study Finds

By Tara Haelle
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — More than a quarter-million Vietnam veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms today, four decades after the war’s end, a new study estimates. And at least one-third of them have major depression as well.

“It’s been known for thousands of years that serving in war is a hardship, that readjusting to civilian life is a hardship, and that there is a kind of moral injury involved in the duty of being asked to kill others to defend your country,” said lead author Dr. Charles Marmar, director of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

“For some veterans, as they become older, they may become more vulnerable to experiencing PTSD symptoms or might have an increase in their symptoms as their health declines, particularly their neurological health,” Marmar said. “But it’s never too late to get treatment.”

Even for veterans in their 70s and 80s, a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and marital and family therapy can reduce PTSD symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and irritability, he said.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975. But despite changing times, changing technology and changing attitudes towards war, “in every study, we can estimate roughly 20 to 30 percent of war veterans are vulnerable, and we expect the same from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Marmar said.

Marmar and colleagues followed up with Vietnam veterans who participated in a long-term study starting from 1984 to 1988. Of more than 1,800 still alive for this study, 1,450 participated in at least one phase of the new three-part study. The phases included a health questionnaire, health interview and clinical interview.

The findings were published online July 22 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

PTSD is considered an anxiety disorder. People may feel afraid when they’re no longer in danger, or continue to relive traumatic events. They have a damaged “fight-or-flight response,” says the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

Several ways exist to measure and diagnose PTSD. This study used measures ranging from full PTSD to major symptoms falling just short of a diagnosis, an important aspect of the study, said Rachel Yehuda, director of the Mental Health Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City.

“The idea of ‘subthreshold’ PTSD is extremely important. We tend to think of combat veterans as having or not having PTSD,” Yehuda said. “This study reminds us that the effects of combat trauma really do last a long time and justifies the long-term treatment that combat veterans receive.”

Depending on the measure, the study showed between 4.5 percent and 11.2 percent of men and between 6.1 and 8.7 percent of women are experiencing serious PTSD symptoms. When the authors applied these numbers to the number of veterans who served in Vietnam and are still living, they calculated that approximately 271,000 men and women are suffering from PTSD symptoms.

Among all those with PTSD, 37 percent also had major depression, and 16 percent reported a major increase in symptoms since the earlier interview, compared to 8 percent whose symptoms had significantly decreased.

“We have to take a very critical look at what we are offering older veterans,” said Yehuda.

“We have to think about helping veterans make lifestyle choices that change the way they feel physically as well as mentally, and focus on building skills and options for productive and meaningful living,” Yehuda said.

The persistence of symptoms in some veterans and not others may relate to a variety of factors, including differences in initial exposure to combat, coping strategies and resilience developed before or after combat, said Dr. Vernon Williams, director of the Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine in Los Angeles.

“Attention must be paid to early, accurate, effective treatment of PTSD as well as other health- and behavior-related issues that, when poorly managed, are likely to increase the disability related to PTSD,” Williams said.

The importance of early intervention has implications for today’s younger combat veterans as well, Marmar said. The two major supports for returning veterans are the units they served with — “their brothers and sisters in arms” — and their families, he said.

“Protecting the families, supporting the units, providing early care, avoiding alcohol and drugs, avoiding social isolation, and destigmatizing care are all critical,” he said.

More information

For more about post-traumatic stress disorder, visit the U.S. National Center for PTSD.

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Find Out How Many Calories to Cut For Weight Loss

Photo: Getty Images

Forget the number 2,000—a new government calculator uses the latest research to spit out an exact calorie count and exercise regimen you’ll need to hit your weight loss goals.

The calculator, called the Body Weight Planner, is now available online for public use, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has used it in research since 2011. “We originally intended the Body Weight Planner as a research tool, but so many people wanted to use it for their own weight management that we knew we needed to adapt it with more information about how to achieve a healthy lifestyle,” said Kevin Hall, PhD, one of the creators of the tool and a senior investigator at the NIH, in a press release.

The calculator asks your weight, sex, age and height—standard measures often used to prescribe a calorie plan. But it also incorporates more recent research about exercise to further personalize your plan, asking you to estimate your physical activity level on a scale of 1.4 (sedentary) to 2.5 (very active), to name your goal weight and to pick a date by which you want to reach it.

Most of us get about that far in thinking through a weight loss plan, but the calculator doesn’t stop there. It also asks you to name a percentage by which you plan to increase your physical activity and tells you what kind of exercise, how much, how often and what intensity level it’ll take to get there. Adding in a routine of light running isn’t the same as starting intense swimming, and in a distinctive feature, the calculator doesn’t weigh all physical activity equally.

The resulting calculations tell you three things: the daily number of calories you’ll need to eat to maintain your current weight, the calories you’ll need to reach your goal in your specified time, and the calories you’ll need to maintain your goal once you’ve met it. You can then use SuperTracker, a meal-planning tool developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to devise a meal plan based on your calorie stats. =

For people motivated by microscopic proofs of progress, there’s even an expert version of the calorie calculator that breaks down your goal by day, so you can see exactly how your weight loss will likely progress—decimal by decimal—if you stick to your program.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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5 Easy Steps That Will Transform How You Grill This Summer

Photo: Getty Images

Firing up the grill can be one of the simplest strategies for delicious, healthy summer eating if you use the right ingredients and techniques. Here’s my five-step strategy for creating a perfectly balanced meal (entirely on the grill if you’d like) that will leave you simultaneously satisfied, energized—and without the bloated feeling that comes from overdoing it on cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Get ready to ditch the fatty traditional fare and grill up some clean, healthy cuisine.

Step 1: Load up on veggies

Veggies should take up the largest chunk of the grill and your plate. Aim for about two cups pre-cooked, about the size of two tennis balls, and keep it simple while mixing up the variety.

The possibilities are endless: Skewer baby Brussels sprouts, or make kabobs out of cut veggies, like bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms. Slice zucchini and summer squash lengthwise, and place face down directly on the grill. Other options that are robust enough to grill directly include asparagus, Portobello mushrooms, and eggplant. You can even grill hearty greens, like Romaine lettuce and kale. And for a real treat wrap up some cauliflower florets in foil and cook until they’re melt-in-your-mouth tender.

RELATED: How to Grill Every Vegetable Perfectly

Any veggie you grill can be cooked plain, and jazzed up afterwards (see step 3), or marinated in a simple mixture of balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, and Italian herb seasoning (for a little extra kick add Dijon mustard and fresh squeezed lemon juice). Or simply mist or lightly brush veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt, or a specialty salt (like fluer de sel, smoked sea salt, or pink Himalayan).

You can also place grilled veggies over a bed of raw greens. I love the temperature and texture contrast, and when I do this with well-done cauliflower it falls apart and creates a creamy “dressing” that’s out of this world good, especially with a little drizzled balsamic on top.

Step 2: Pick a lean protein

To keep your protein clean and lean stick with skinless chicken breast or seafood, like shrimp skewers, scallops, or salmon.

Or, if you’re really craving a cheeseburger, make your own healthy patties. Try a combo of 3 ounces of extra lean ground turkey or flaked salmon, along with 1 lightly beaten egg, 1/2 cup veggies (such as minced red onion, finely chopped spinach, or shredded zucchini) and season to taste, with garlic, and fresh basil, parsley, or dill. For a plant-based burger that really hits the spot, combine 1/2 cup of mashed chickpeas, black beans, or lentils with veggies and herbs, or wrap up beans in foil and cook them whole on the grill.

Another idea for mixing things up: take it a step further with your seasonings. For a southwest style burger use minced garlic and black or cayenne pepper with jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro. For a Moroccan-inspired burger use garlic along with spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and black pepper.

RELATED: How to Grill Salmon Perfectly

Step 3: Select a plant-based fat

One of my favorite ways to mix up the flavor (and add a health boost) for any meal is to include a delectable plant-based fat, and there are plenty that pair perfectly when grilling. Top a grilled burger or chicken breast with a dollop of olive tapenade, guacamole, or slices or avocado. Drizzle a nut or seed butter over grilled veggies or shrimp, like spiced up tahini, or some thinned almond butter. For the latter, heat plain almond butter with a little warm low sodium organic veggie broth, and add minced garlic, fresh grated ginger, turmeric, and crushed red pepper.

Brush or dip veggies with pesto, like sun-dried tomato, roasted red pepper, or basil pesto. Or for an avocado-based sauce puree ripe Hass avocado with a few fresh basil leaves, along with a little apple cider vinegar, fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic, and black pepper.

For an option that satisfies a “crunch” tooth garnish grilled dishes with nuts or seeds, like sliced or slivered almonds, chopped pecans, walnuts or pistachios, or sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

RELATED: Cat Cora’s Healthy Grill Recipes

Step 4: Choose your carbs wisely

With traditional cookouts carbohydrates are probably the easiest thing to overdo, and a surplus will end up stored in your fat cells unless you bump up your activity level to burn them off.

My rule for keeping them in check: choose one nutrient-rich option as an accompaniment to your meal, and make room for it. For example, wrap burgers in lettuce or grilled Portobellos instead of a bun and get your carb fix by grilling up organic corn on the cob. You can also grill in foil fingerling or cubed red potatoes, sweet potato, chickpeas, or beans.

To satisfy a sweet craving, cook up some in-season fruit. Slice peaches, plums, or nectarines in half, remove the pits, and grill face down. Skewer cantaloupe cubes, or even pitted cherries, or place slices of pineapple or watermelon directly on the grill.

Step 5: Lighten up your liquids

Sugary beverages, including soda, lemonade, fruit punch, and sweet tea, and diet drinks alike, can wreak havoc on your waistline. If plain H2O just doesn’t cut it, jazz up flat water, club soda, or seltzer with a bit of mashed berries, and infusions of fresh mint, or basil and fresh grated ginger, or sliced cucumber with lemon or lime. If you’ll be enjoying a cocktail keep it light. Make white wine into a spritzer with sparkling water, reach for a light beer, or make fancy frozen drinks without sugary mixers.

RELATED: Refreshing Low-Cal Cocktail Recipes

To make what I call a “piña-slim-lada,” blend rum with a small handful of frozen pineapple cubes, banana slices, unsweetened coconut milk and a dash of ground cinnamon.

And there you have it: your summer cookout, transformed!

What’s your take on this topic? Chat with us on Twitter by mentioning @goodhealth and @CynthiaSass.

Cynthia Sass is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she’s Health’s contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the New York Rangers NHL team and the New York Yankees MLB team, and is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics. Cynthia is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, and her brand new book is Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Pain Often Hinders Seniors With Dementia

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Elderly Americans with dementia who live at home may need help managing their pain, a new study suggests.

“As a hospice nurse caring for people in their homes, I have seen many patients with dementia who suffer from distressing pain,” said study author Lauren Hunt, a physiological nursing Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing.

“I was motivated to conduct this research study to understand the issue from the broader national prospective. It turns out that pain is very common in this population and is frequently severe enough to limit activities,” she said in a university news release.

Hunt’s team analyzed data gathered in 2011 from more than 800 Medicare enrollees, aged 65 and older, who had dementia but still lived at home. Sixty-four percent of them had bothersome pain, and about 43 percent had pain that limited their activities.

Among seniors without dementia who lived at home, 55 percent reported bothersome pain and just 27 percent had activity-limiting pain, the investigators said.

Factors associated with bothersome pain included arthritis, heart and lung diseases, symptoms of depression and anxiety, low energy, disabilities that interfere with daily living and having less than a high school education, the study noted.

Among those who reported pain, more than 30 percent never or rarely took pain relief medications, according to the study, published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

More than 30 percent of the dementia patients never went outside. More than 60 percent required assistive devices, which made traveling to a doctor’s office difficult.

Innovations are needed, the researchers said.

“The extensive challenges associated with the assessment and treatment of pain in older adults with dementia will require creative solutions from researchers, clinicians and policymakers to ensure pain is being adequately managed in this vulnerable population,” study senior author Dr. Alexander Smith, an associate professor of geriatrics at the university, said in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about pain.

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U.S. Teens Waiting Longer to Have Sex: CDC

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Less than half of U.S. teenagers aged 15 to 19 are having sex, a rate dramatically lower than it was a quarter-century ago, a new federal government report shows.

Only 44 percent of girls and 47 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 had sexual intercourse at least once from 2011 to 2013, the researchers found.

That’s down from 51 percent of girls and 60 percent of boys in 1988, said study author Gladys Martinez. She is a demographer/statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The drop in teen sexual activity is most likely due to the AIDS epidemic and the cultural shift that resulted from increased awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. Jill Rabin, co-chief of the division of ambulatory care & women’s health programs-PCAP Services at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

“I think the ’80s were a little bit different time than now,” Rabin said. “We didn’t really understand HIV at that time, and we didn’t understand the impact of having unprotected sex. People still had a mentality left over from the ’60s and ’70s regarding free love and that sort of thing.”

The study authors found other evidence that teenagers have become more responsible when it comes to sex:

• About four out of five teens now use a contraceptive method when they first have sex.
• Teenagers are more likely to use contraception when they first have sex if they wait until they’re older, and they are more likely to wait. “That makes sense,” Rabin said. “As you get older, you get more mature, more educated and, hopefully, more responsible.”
• Teenage girls are less likely to become mothers during their teen years if they use contraception when they first have sex. “That’s probably because they are in a trajectory where they are more likely to use it again,” Martinez said.

The survey involved more than 2,000 boys and girls aged 15 to 19 drawn from a national sample, as well as an additional 1,770 men and women aged 20 to 24 to capture those teens who had sex on the cusp of young adulthood, Martinez said.

The report is published in the July issue of the CDC’s NCHS Data Brief.

The likelihood of sexual experience increases with age, the researchers found. Only 18 percent of boys and 13 percent of girls had sex by 15, but that increased to about 44 percent of boys and girls at age 17. By age 19, two-thirds of both boys and girls had had sex, the findings showed.

About 79 percent of girls and 84 percent of boys used contraception when they first had sex, but they were much more likely to use contraception if they began having sex later in their teens.

For example, 99 percent of boys who had their first sex at 18 or 19 used contraception, as opposed to 82 percent for those 17 and under. The same held true for girls — 93 percent used contraception at age 18 or 19, compared with 77 percent for those aged 17 and under.

The condom remains the most common contraceptive method used by teenagers, with 97 percent of girls reporting using a condom at least once.

About 60 percent of girls said they had used withdrawal as a contraceptive method, and 54 percent had taken birth control pills.

Even though withdrawal is a very flawed method of contraception, Martinez said it’s not surprising so many kids turn to it.

“We find similar data for even older people,” she said. “Withdrawal is always a top method people report.”

The survey also found an uptick in the number of girls who had ever used emergency contraception, from 8 percent in 2002 to 22 percent in 2011-2013.

Martinez said that’s likely because emergency contraception has become more accessible and widely available across the nation.

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more about teens and sexual risk behaviors.

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Low Birth Weight Tied to Higher Type 2 Diabetes Risk Decades Later

TUESDAY, July 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Your risk for type 2 diabetes might be affected by both your birth weight and your lifestyle, a new study suggests.

“We found that both low birth weight and unhealthy lifestyle were associated with a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes,” study leader Dr. Lu Qi, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues said in a news release from the journal BMJ, which published the findings July 21.

What’s more, the effect was largest for people who had a low birth weight and also had unhealthy adult lifestyles, Qi’s team found.

Just how would being born underweight influence a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes much later in life? One expert not connected to the study said it may be due to what’s known as the “thrifty gene hypothesis.”

The theory holds that “poor fetal growth leads to metabolic adaptations made by the fetus in a [uterine] environment with limited amount of nutrients,” explained Dr. Patricia Vuguin, a pediatric endocrinologist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

However, when the person grows up to find themselves surrounded by lots of high-calorie, fattening foods, “the body cannot adapt and develops chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes,” she explained.

The Harvard study included nearly 150,000 healthy men and women whose health and behaviors were followed for between 20 and 30 years. The researchers looked at the participants’ birth weight, and they also assessed how healthy their lifestyles were, based on five factors: diet, smoking, physical activity, alcohol use, and body fat.

During the follow-up period, more than 11,700 new cases of type 2 diabetes were diagnosed among the participants.

The study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect. However, according to Qi’s group, there were consistent associations between low birth weight and diabetes risk, and between unhealthy lifestyle and diabetes risk, and a significant interaction between the two factors together and diabetes risk.

This suggests that some cases of type 2 diabetes depend on a person having both early life factors (such as being underweight at birth) and later-life factors such as lifestyle, the researchers said.

“The findings suggest that most cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by the adoption of a healthier lifestyle, but simultaneous improvement of both prenatal and postnatal factors could further prevent additional cases,” Qi’s team concluded.

Vuguin agreed, saying that it’s likely that preventing diabetes “through the promotion of a healthy diet should be a priority, especially for the people who were exposed to a poor environment during fetal life.”

Another expert said the problem is only likely to get worse. “With the obesity epidemic worldwide, even in adolescents, we now have a ‘double whammy’ [low birth weight and lifestyle] causing increased obesity and diabetes in adults,” said Dr. Derek LeRoith, professor of diabetes at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

More information

The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion explains how to prevent type 2 diabetes.

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High Soda Intake May Boost Diabetes Risk, Even Without Obesity

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Whether you are slim or obese, if you drink lots of sugary soda or other sweetened drinks you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, a new analysis reveals.

Until now, health experts have thought that sugary drinks and type 2 diabetes are linked because sugar promotes weight gain, and body fat contributes to insulin resistance, which precedes diabetes.

But this new study removed weight as a factor, and still found that every daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages increases any person’s risk of type 2 diabetes by 13 percent over 10 years.

If this is correct, sugary drinks could lead to 2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes in the United States between 2010 and 2020, the researchers reported in the July 22 online edition of the BMJ.

Type 2 diabetes disrupts the way your body converts sugar from food into fuel, and it causes serious problems if left untreated. About 29 million Americans have diabetes, most of them type 2, the American Diabetes Association says. Many are undiagnosed.

A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of sugar, the equivalent of 9.75 teaspoons of sugar.

That much refined sugar consumed at once causes a spike in blood sugar, which over time can increase insulin resistance even in people who are at normal weight, said lead author Fumiaki Imamura, a senior investigator with the MRC Epidemiology Unit at University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in England.

“Our body is able to handle it, but cumulative effects over time exhaust the body’s functions and lead to the onset of diabetes,” said Imamura.

These conclusions are based on data from 17 previous observational studies, which researchers combined to create a pool of just over 38,200 people.

Because these weren’t clinical trials, the findings cannot be read as proving a direct link between sugary drinks and type 2 diabetes, the American Beverage Association noted in a statement.

“Even so, our industry is committed to being part of real solutions to public health challenges,” according to the beverage industry statement. “We are helping people manage their calorie and sugar intake by providing a wide range of beverage options, a variety of package sizes and clear, easy-to-read information to help them make the choice that’s right for them.”

Under a new initiative called Balance Calories, members of the American Beverage Association are working toward a common goal of reducing beverage calories in the American diet by 20 percent by 2025, according to the statement.

In the study, researchers found that a daily serving of sugary beverage increased type 2 diabetes risk by 18 percent over a decade, without taking weight into account.

However, after accounting for weight, type 2 diabetes risk associated with sugary drinks only dropped to 13 percent.

About one in five people with type 2 diabetes has a healthy weight, and these findings could help explain why, said Toby Smithson, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with Livongo Health in Chicago, a health technology company that focuses on management of chronic conditions.

“If you can picture an IV of sugar going into your system, that’s what we call a ‘concentrated sweet,’ and that’s what happens when you consume something loaded with sugar,” said Smithson, who also is a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “That concentration can spike blood glucose levels, regardless of your weight.”

Another theory holds that high levels of dietary sugar could affect the “healthy” microbial colonies in your gut, altering digestion in some way that increases risk of type 2 diabetes, said Dr. Steven Smith, an endocrinologist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The new study also found an association between type 2 diabetes and artificially sweetened beverages or fruit juices. But the associations with diet sodas and fruit juices appeared to be based on shakier evidence, and because of that the authors decided to avoid drawing any firm conclusions regarding those beverages.

Nonetheless, the researchers said they could not recommend diet drinks or fruit juices as healthier options than sugary sodas.

More information

For more on diabetes, visit the U.S. National Diabetes Education Program.

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Woman Who Lost Half Her Body Weight Shuts Down Haters

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI/ Instagram

 

Simone Pretscherer lost half her body weight in less than a year. The 24-year-old New Zealand hairstylist overhauled her diet and replaced processed meals with whole foods, exercised regularly, and had gastric sleeve surgery to remove part of her stomach. She went from weighing about 372 pounds to about 182 pounds. Pretscherer made the changes to improve her health.

“I had no pressing health issues, but it was getting harder and harder to do day-to-day things,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Even bringing in the garbage bin up our very steep driveway was difficult and that’s when it hit me that something needed to change.”

Her story is amazing, and one similar to narratives praised on television shows like the Biggest Loser. But after she posted a photo announcing how much weight she lost, naysayers felt the need to chime in.

“I am officially half the person I was 11 months ago! From 169kg to 83.85kg, I can’t even begin to explain in words what this accomplishment feels like,” she wrote on Facebook.

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI/ Instagram

“Sorry but that’s not the same person … One, where has the extra skin gone which you would have and two your [sic] hiding your face with phone. Sorry people but it’s true,” one commenter wrote.

Another commenter basically questioned her entire existence:

“Fake in every way, some people believe anything … different hair colour, different eyebrow colour, different cheek bones and the list goes on,” and added, “Show us 2 more pictures…before AND after with a clear visible face, and i ‘might’ believe u. should be no problem if thats u..”

Why are people so gross? In a courageous and transparent response, Pretscherer posted unedited before-and-after shots of herself, showing her loose skin and all.

“I don’t no why but every single comment that called me out for being fake and a liar really bothered me far more than it should. I think it’s because it took hours of crying and debating whether to share my story online and for others to see, posting the first picture online along with my weight for the world to see what the hardest thing I have ever done. Throughout my whole journey I have tried to be so honest about the whole experience and tell people it exactly as it’s happened so to be called a fake hurt a lot. And then when it came to posting about my lose skin well that was equally as tough,” she wrote.

Pretscherer doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, but she did so with class and a little humor. Plus, she looks freaking great.

Since her post, Pretscherer has received hardly any negative comments and her fans even convinced her to start a fundraising page so they could help pay for her future skin removal surgery. The page has already raised over $2,000. Take that, haters.

This story originally appeared on MIMIChatter.com

MIMI Chatter is an endless stream of beauty content. We bring together the must-knows and the how-tos from your favorite sites, beauty influencers, our editors, and YOU.

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The Facts About the Morning Sickness Drug Kim Kardashian Is Taking

 

Kim Kardashian West has found the perfect “kure” for her nuisance morning sickness. That, and a new endorsement deal.

The 34-year-old reality star took to Instagram on Sunday to promote Diclegis, a prescription medication that helps treat nausea during pregnancy if diet and lifestyle changes are still leaving you up close and personal with the toilet. (Representatives for the drug’s maker confirmed to Health that she’s being paid to promote it on social media.)

“OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, and I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby,” the famous mommy captioned a snapshot of herself holding up the bottle.

RELATED: Here’s How Much Kim Kardashian Works Out

So what exactly is this Kardashian-approved Rx? It’s a delayed-release drug made up of a combination of two substances, the antihistamine doxylamine and vitamin B6. But in case you’ve already hunted around the Internet to get the lowdown on the medication, you may have discovered that it temporarily got a bad rep back in the ’80s.

“[The medicine] used to be sold in the U.S. under the name of Bendectin,” explains Jan Rydfors, MD, a California-based board certified ob/gyn and co-creator of the popular app Pregnancy Companion MD. “Bendectin was taken off the market in 1983 due to unsubstantiated lawsuits which made it too expensive for the manufacturer to keep on selling it. It continued to, however, be sold successfully around the world.”

After more recent studies proved the medicine was safe and did not cause any birth defects or harm to the baby, it was reintroduced to the U.S. market under its new name, Diclegis, in 2013. Now, the little white tablet, identifiable by the purple image of a pregnant woman on the pill, not only has Kim’s stamp of approval, but also the FDA. The government agency considers it a “pregnancy category A” drug, meaning there’s good evidence it won’t harm you or the baby.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should take medical advice from Mrs. Kardashian-West. (Though we’ll give her credit: she’s at least promoting something with research behind it this time.) Instead, here are the facts, straight from the experts.

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Who should be prescribed Diclegis?

“Any woman who has significant nausea and vomiting to the point where it affects her quality of life is a candidate for it,” Dr. Rydfors adds. “It is a very safe drug, and many women wait too long to start it due to unsubstantiated safety concerns regarding their baby.”

What are the risks?

Drowsiness is the main side effect, explains Joshua U. Klein, MD, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “If a woman’s job or lifestyle requires her to be on constant alert, this may not be suitable,” he says. It has similar effects as other antihistamines (Benadryl or Dramamine, for example).

Diclegis is not recommended for women with severe asthma or those also taking antidepressants. Also: If you’ve been told during an eye exam that you have high eye pressure or narrow-angle glaucoma, your doctor may think it’s too risky for you.

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What are the best natural remedies for morning sickness?

Before heading straight to your doctor for an Rx, first try to eat small meals consisting of crackers, bread, and other bland foods when nausea kicks in. Coconut juice, chicken soup, sports drinks, and ginger ale can also be helpful. And stock up on candy to carry with you, for those times when it happens randomly; sucking on a sweet can help: “There are ginger lollipops that are becoming increasingly popular,” Dr. Klein says.

Also worth a try in the moment: “[Press and hold for a few breaths] on an acupuncture point on the wrist near the palm,” Dr. Rydfors says.

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Now, how do we feel about big celebrity endorsements?

“Celebrities have potential to do a lot of good with their status, and can also do harm,” Dr. Klein says. “The main potential for good in this case is that if there is a woman who is suffering from nausea and her doctor hasn’t brought up the option of a safe medication, she can then raise the conversation after coming across the endorsement online. And with someone as big as Kim Kardashian, it’s inevitable that the word will spread in a powerful way.”

But keep in mind, each patient is going to have different biological conditions that determine how medication works in the body. “Not everyone is Kim Kardashian,” Dr. Klein says.

“A celebrity who takes a stand in a major way against proven, researched science is obviously very problematic,” Dr. Klein says. “It’s a potentially harmful thing to do. But I think it’s much more okay for a celebrity to say, like in this case, ‘I’m pregnant, this is safe, it works for me, but always talk to your medical provider.’ ”

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from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KiLZqu