See a 9/11 Search and Rescue Dog’s Sweet 16 Birthday Celebration

A deserving pup named Bretagne just had a birthday to remember. BarkBox, a pet food and gifts subscription service, shared a video about a New York City celebration for the golden retriever that worked with Texas Task Force 1 and handler Denise Corliss to help search for victims trapped in the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center towers in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Corliss and the canine — said to be one of the last surviving 9/11 search dogs — were recently treated to a suite at 1 Hotel Central Park, a vintage taxi ride through Times Square, a visit to the sprinklers at Hudson River Park and a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver bone, in addition to other colorful pet toys.

In recent years, Bretagne has still worked as a service dog, keeping elementary school students with special needs company as they learn to read.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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9 tips for spring fitness

Want to kick-start your spring fitness goals? We ask PT Kim Beach to share her top tips for success.

Her shape-up philosophy is all about balance and finding ways to keep the peace between fun, fitness and food.

1. Don’t weigh yourself every day.
“This will allow you to focus on the positive things you need to do to achieve your goals and not let the scales dictate your emotions. I recommend weighing in weekly or fortnightly as this will show your real results.

2. Set your expectations correctly at the start if weight loss is your goal.
“It’s going to take time and effort, so don’t expect to see results in the first week or two; stay consistent and your results will come.”

3. Agree to commit to your goals 80 PER CENT of the time.
“I call it my 80/20 rule; then you don’t have to feel bad if you do indulge occasionally or miss a workout. It’s about developing a positive relationship with food and exercise that doesn’t involve guilt.

4. Don’t overtrain.
“Overtraining can lead to fatigue and will have a negative impact on your weight loss goals. Remember, when it comes to training, it’s about quality, not quantity. Give your body time to rest and recover and it will thank you for it.”

5. Fitness in the kitchen.
“Respect your body by fuelling it with whole foods and remember self-control and portion size are your best friends. Eighty per cent of maintaining the body you want comes down to what you eat rather than how hard you train. Most people have this the wrong way around.”

6. Ditch calorie 
counting.
 “It’s restrictive and in my opinion takes you down a negative path when it comes to how you think about food. Instead, focus on eating whole foods with a high nutritional value.”

8. Weight training.
“I strongly recommend weight training to every woman. There are so many benefits, especially when it comes to weight loss and the ability to give your body shape.”

9. Make your healthy lifestyle fun
“Train with friends and get creative with your food. You need to find that balance where you are working hard towards your goals but also still living your life!”

 

5 fitness tips from Rita Catolino>>

 

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5 Things to Never Say to a Woman Dealing With Infertility

Photo: Getty Images

Before she had her first baby in 2011, Zahie El Kouri went through multiple rounds of IVF and suffered several miscarriages. She knows just how lonely it can feel to navigate fertility issues—but the writer from Austin, Texas, also knows the value of family and friends who offer a listening ear and kind words along the way. The love she received on her path to parenthood inspired her to write Don’t Tell Her to Relax ($10, amazon.com). Below, we’ve pulled five tips from her book on what not to say to your infertile loved one (ILO).

RELATED: 15 Factors That Affect a Woman’s Fertility

“The minute you stop trying, you’ll get pregnant”

You want to ease your ILO’s anxiety, and provide a dose of optimism. But telling her to relax doesn’t have that effect, El Kouri explains. To a woman panicked about her ability to have a child, a “chill out” directive can sound glib and insensitive. Infertility is a medical condition—and adopting a carefree attitude won’t remedy the underlying causes. A better way to show your support is to ask about her fertility treatments, El Kouri writes, and let her know you’re there for her whenever she wants to talk.

“I just know you’ll be a mother soon”

It may be especially tempting to say this when your ILO is in the middle of an IVF cycle. But promising motherhood isn’t fair when there are no guarantees, El Kouri points out. “In fact, depending on several factors, there’s actually less than a 50 percent chance that the first cycle will give your ILO a baby,” she writes. Instead, let her know you’re thinking of her by saying something like, “I’m sending fertile thoughts your way.”

“Why don’t you just adopt?”

“Remember, we live in an information age, so your ILO knows that adoption is an option,” El Kouri writes. She may have already ruled it out. Or maybe she or her partner doesn’t qualify. (It’s harder to adopt than you might think.) Broaching the subject so abruptly may make your ILO feel as if you doubt her choices. That said, if the two of you have already discussed her struggle in depth, you could gently ask, “Is adoption something you might be interested in?”

RELATED: Trying to Get Pregnant? 10 Proven Sperm Killers

“Don’t get pregnant with octuplets!”

An Octomom joke probably isn’t the best way to get her to crack a smile. Your ILO has likely spent endless hours thinking about how many embryos to transfer in her IVF process. It’s a complicated decision involving many factors, including the risk of complications with multiple births. While a joke isn’t quite right, she may appreciate an opportunity to talk about it, El Kouri says in the book. Her suggested phrasing: “I hear it is hard to decide how many embryos to transfer. What number seems right to you?”

“Isn’t it time to give up?”

You see the toll IVF takes—both physically and emotionally—and question whether it’s all worth it. But that’s a decision that belongs only to your ILO. Many first IVF cycles fail, El Kouri explains, “and they often provide valuable information to your ILO’s doctor that will increase the likelihood of success with a second cycle.” The best thing you can do for your ILO is support her, every step of the way. Rather than asking if she’s ready to throw in the towel, say, “What do you think you will do next?”

RELATED: 10 Ways to Boost Your Odds of Getting Pregnant

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Coal Ash Contains High Levels of Radioactivity: Study

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Coal ash contains levels of radioactivity that raise concern about the environment and human health, researchers warn.

Scientists from Duke University in Durham, N.C., analyzed coal ash from all three major coal-producing basins in the United States and found levels of radioactivity that were up to five times higher than in normal soil, and up to 10 times higher than in unburned coal.

Combustion concentrates radioactivity, the researchers explained.

Coal and coal ash from the Illinois basin had the highest levels of radioactivity, followed by the Appalachian basin and the Powder River basin in Montana and Wyoming.

The study was published recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Currently, coal ash is unregulated in the United States and is stored in coal-fired plants’ holding ponds and landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever regulations on coal ash disposal are set to begin in October, the researchers said.

“Until now, metals and contaminants such as selenium and arsenic have been the major known contaminants of concern in coal ash,” said study co-author Avner Vengosh in a university news release.

“This study raises the possibility we should also be looking for radioactive elements,” said Vengosh, who is a professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

More information

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more about coal ash.

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Childhood Abuse Linked to Ulcerative Colitis Later in Life

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Adults who were physically or sexually abused as children may be at increased risk for the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, a new study finds.

University of Toronto researchers analyzed data from nearly 22,000 Canadians aged 18 and older. They found that those with a history of childhood abuse were nearly twice as likely to have ulcerative colitis as those who hadn’t suffered abuse.

In ulcerative colitis, inflammation and sores develop in the innermost lining of the large intestine, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Symptoms include diarrhea, bloody stools and abdominal pain.

“We found that one-quarter of adults with ulcerative colitis reported they had been physically abused during their childhood, compared to one in 10 of those without inflammatory bowel disease,” study lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson, a professor in the university’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, said in a university news release.

“Similarly, the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among those with ulcerative colitis was one in five versus one in 17 among those without the disease,” she added.

The odds of ulcerative colitis were more than two times higher for those who reported that an adult had at least once kicked, bit, punched, choked, burned or physically attacked them before age 16, compared to those who hadn’t suffered physical abuse, study co-author Joanne Sulman, an adjunct lecturer at Factor-Inwentash, said in the news release.

“Occurrences of ulcerative colitis were also more than twice as high in individuals who reported that during their childhood an adult had forced them or attempted to force them into any unwanted sexual activity, by threatening them, holding them down or hurting them, in comparison to those who had not been sexually abused,” Sulman added.

Only an association, rather than a cause-and-effect link, was seen between childhood abuse and ulcerative colitis later in life.

The study was published online recently in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

The researchers were surprised to find no association between childhood abuse and Crohn’s disease, another type of inflammatory bowel disease.

In North America, ulcerative colitis affects 249 of every 100,000 people and Crohn’s affects 319 of every 100,000, according to the researchers.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more about inflammatory bowel disease.

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Short Lunch Periods Leave Kids Eating Less, Study Finds

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Children who have less than 20 minutes to eat lunch at school end up eating less and wasting more healthy foods, a new study reveals.

Federal government guidelines have enhanced the nutritional quality of school lunches, but there are no guidelines on how much time students should have for a lunch period, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

The study authors said that 20 minutes or less may not be enough time to eat. In addition, waiting in serving lines or arriving late to lunch sometimes left children in the study with as little as 10 minutes to actually sit and eat, the investigators found.

“Many children, especially those from low-income families, rely on school meals for up to half their daily energy intake, so it is essential that we give students a sufficient amount of time to eat their lunches,” the study’s lead author, Juliana Cohen, an adjunct assistant professor in the department of nutrition, said in a school news release.

“Every school day, the National School Lunch Program helps to feed over 30 million children in 100,000 schools across the U.S., yet little research has been done in this field,” added the study’s senior author, Eric Rimm, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School.

In order to investigate how the timing of kids’ lunches affects their nutrition, the researchers analyzed the food choices and consumption of 1,000 students in six elementary and middle schools in a low-income urban school district in Massachusetts. They did this by monitoring what the kids left on their plates once their lunch periods, which ranged from 20 to 30 minutes long, ended.

Students with less than 20 minutes for lunch ate 13 percent less of their entrees, 12 percent less of their vegetables, and 10 percent less of their milk than students who had at least 25 minutes to eat, the study found.

There were no significant differences in the kids’ food choices, but those with less time to eat were much less likely to select a fruit, according to the study published online Sept. 11 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The kids with less time to eat also left more on their plates, the researchers said.

“We were surprised by some of the results because I expected that with less time children may quickly eat their entree and drink their milk but throw away all of their fruits and vegetables,” said Rimm. “Not so. We found they got a start on everything, but couldn’t come close to finishing with less time to eat.”

Schools may not be able to adjust the length of time kids have to eat their lunch during the school day, but steps could be taken to make sure kids are not wasting their lunch period waiting in long serving or checkout lines, the researchers suggested.

More information

There’s more on how to promote healthy eating among kids at Let’s Move!

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Better Imaging Scans Catching More Thyroid Cancers: Study

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Advanced imaging technology has helped doctors spot more cases of thyroid cancer over the past decade, a new study finds.

But the Mayo Clinic researchers warn that nearly one-third of these cases involve people with low-risk tumors.

“We are spotting more cancers, but they are cancers that are not likely to cause harm,” study author Dr. Juan Brito Campana, an assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a Mayo news release.

“Their treatment, however, is likely to cause harm, as most thyroid cancers are treated by surgically removing all or part of the thyroid gland. This is a risky procedure that can damage a patient’s vocal cords or leave them with lifelong calcium deficiencies,” he said.

Treatment for thyroid cancer can also be a financial burden for patients and their families, Brito Campana added. In 2013 alone, the total cost of these procedures in the United States was $1.6 billion. By 2030, that price tag is expected to total $3.5 billion, he estimated.

The study involved data on 566 men and women who were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Olmsted County, Minn., between 1935 and 2012. The investigators analyzed the number of newly diagnosed cases of thyroid cancer, as well as deaths resulting from the disease. The study authors also looked at how these patients were diagnosed.

The number of new cases of thyroid cancer doubled from about 7 per 100,000 people between 1990 and 1999, to nearly 14 per 100,000 people between 2000 and 2012, the findings showed.

During this time period, the number of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer that had symptoms of thyroid disease remained unchanged. In sharp contrast, the number of people newly diagnosed with the disease who had no related symptoms nearly quadrupled, according to the report.

Most often, these “silent” cancers were diagnosed following the removal of thyroid tissue for a benign condition. Meanwhile, 19 percent of patients were diagnosed after a tumor was accidentally detected during an imaging test. And 27 percent were diagnosed following investigations of nodules not associated with thyroid cancer that prompted doctors to order imaging tests of the neck, the study found.

However, the study revealed that the proportion of patients who die from thyroid cancer hasn’t changed since 1935.

“We are facing an epidemic of diagnosis in thyroid cancer,” said Brito Campana. “Now that we know where all these new cases are coming from, we can design strategies to identify patients with thyroid cancer who can benefit from our treatment without condemning other patients to unnecessary tests, treatment, suffering and costs.”

One way to do that is to limit the use of certain imaging tests, the researchers suggested. Actively monitoring low-risk tumors, to avoid unnecessary surgery, could also help, they added.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about thyroid cancer.

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Screening All Women for Breast Cancer Genes Not Feasible: Study

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Screening all women for gene mutations that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer is too costly to be feasible, a new study suggests.

Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations have a much higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer than those without the mutations.

A BRCA genetic test costs about $4,000, according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers.

The study authors found that for every 10,000 women in the general population who were screened, about four more cases of breast cancer and two more cases of ovarian cancer would be prevented, compared with screening only women with a family history of the cancers.

However, BRCA screening would only extend patients’ lives for an average of two days, the researchers added. And for more than 99 percent of women screened, a negative genetic test would not increase life expectancy or eliminate the need for regular mammograms, and could falsely reassure women that they aren’t at risk for breast cancer, the study authors said.

“The cost of BRCA testing would need to drop by 90 percent for testing to be cost-effective for the whole population,” study co-author Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of the division of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, said in a university news release.

“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” study co-author Elisa Long, an assistant professor in the School of Management, said in the news release.

“If only one in 400 women across the country have one or both of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, universal screening would cost $1 million to $2 million to detect a single BRCA mutation, or nearly $400 billion to screen all women in the United States. Perhaps this money could be better spent on other diagnostic tools for young women, such as MRIs, to have the greatest impact,” Long said.

The study was published online recently in the journal JAMA Oncology.

Of the 233,000 breast cancer cases diagnosed in the United States each year, only 5 percent to 10 percent are associated with BRCA gene mutations, according to background information in the news release.

BRCA genetic testing should be limited to women with a known family history of breast, ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer screening.

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Major Study Calls for Even Tighter Control of High Blood Pressure

By Dennis Thompson and Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporters

FRIDAY, Sept. 11, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Doctors should control high blood pressure much more aggressively than current guidelines suggest, to best reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people 50 or older.

That’s the message behind the potentially game-changing results of a U.S. National Institutes of Health study released Friday.

The findings were so striking that federal health officials ended the study more than a year early so they could share the “potentially lifesaving information” with the public.

Researchers found that a target systolic pressure of 120 reduced rates of heart attack, heart failure and stroke by almost a third, compared with the currently recommended target pressure of 140 for people under age 60 and 150 for seniors.

A blood pressure target of 120 also reduced the risk of death by about one-quarter, the researchers found.

Systolic pressure is the top of the two blood pressure numbers and indicates the pressure being placed on blood vessels when the heart beats.

“Our results provide important evidence that treating blood pressure to a lower goal in older or high-risk patients can be beneficial and yield better health results overall,” said Dr. Lawrence Fine, chief of the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “But patients should talk to their doctor to determine whether this lower goal is best for their individual care.”

A systolic pressure of 120, maintained under a more intensive blood pressure drug treatment regimen, could ultimately help save lives among adults aged 50 and older who have a combination of high blood pressure and at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, the researchers said.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association, said that “these are spectacular findings that will set us on a path to markedly reduce the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and stroke.”

“The application of these findings into routine clinical practice has the potential to prevent hundreds of thousands of cardiovascular and stroke events each year,” said Fonarow, who is a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. An estimated one in three people in the United States has high blood pressure.

The landmark clinical trial, known as SPRINT, included more than 9,300 participants aged 50 and older, recruited from about 100 medical centers and clinical practices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

When SPRINT was first designed, well-established clinical guidelines recommended a systolic blood pressure of less than 140 for healthy adults and 130 for adults with kidney disease or diabetes.

Researchers created the SPRINT clinical trial to see if pushing blood pressure even lower would improve people’s health.

Doctors have long debated the merits of controlling blood pressure more tightly than recommended, Fonarow said.

“Many physicians, and even those serving on certain guideline writing groups, were highly skeptical that lowering systolic blood pressure to this 120 level would offer additional benefits, be safe, and be well tolerated,” he said.

The SPRINT researchers randomly divided the study participants into two groups, one whose blood pressure was controlled to the current guidelines and another whose blood pressure was kept at less than 120.

Between 2010 and 2013, the standard group took an average of two different blood pressure medications to meet the recommended goal, while the intensive treatment group received an average of three medications to bring their blood pressure farther down.

The NIH expected to wrap up the study in 2017, but ended it early when officials concluded the results were too important to wait. A paper with the data will be published within a few months.

“We are delighted to have achieved this important milestone in the study in advance of the expected closure date for the SPRINT trial and look forward to quickly communicating the results to help inform patient care and the future development of evidence-based clinical guidelines,” said NHLBI Director Dr. Gary Gibbons, whose agency served as the primary sponsor of the study.

The study is also examining kidney disease, cognitive (brain) function, and dementia among the patients, but those results are still under analysis and are not yet available.

Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center, said the “association between elevated blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke has long been clear and compelling. Knowing how good is ‘good enough’ when treatment is initiated is crucial information. The mortality benefit seen in SPRINT with blood pressure reduction past the threshold of ‘normal,’ and down to a level considered optimal, is very impressive and warrants a decisive change in the standard of practice.”

More information

To learn more about the SPRINT trial, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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The Inspiring Response to This Mom’s Brave Body Positivity Project

Photo: Instagram user @idaho_amy

In this age where bullying and negativity doesn’t just happen in person, but anonymously all over the Internet, body positivity and self-love have become two of the biggest concerns parents have regarding their children.

While most parents try to build up their kids’ confidence with love and encouragement, one mom in Boise, Idaho, took things a gigantic step further.

Amy Pence-Brown, who describes herself as a “nearly 40-year-old fat feminist mother,” took to Boise’s Capital City Public Market in nothing but a bikini, a blindfold, and a sign that asked people comment on her body.

 

According to USA Today, the sign read: “I’m standing for anyone who has struggled with a self-esteem issue like me, because all bodies are valuable. To support self-acceptance, draw a (heart) on my body.”

This was a premeditated project for which Pence-Brown asked for permission from the director of the farmer’s market ahead of time. And while she didn’t expect anyone to actually draw a heart on her, many did. And others went so far as to thank her for her courageous act and the message she’s trying to spread.

 

“Oh, Boise, you restored my faith in humanity,” Pence-Brown wrote on her blog. “You blew my mind with your kindness, you saw the beauty in my body and your own. You are ready for a body positive revolution, and I’m honored to stand by your side. Take my hand, if you need, and I’ll pull you up.”

This article 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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