Chemical-Free Cosmetics May Be Safer for Teen Girls, Study Suggests

MONDAY, March 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Switching to chemical-free cosmetics and shampoos quickly lowers levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the bodies of teen girls, a new study reports.

Chemicals widely used in personal care products — including phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone — have been shown to interfere with the hormone system in animals, the researchers explained. These chemicals are found in many fragrances, cosmetics, hair products, soaps and sunscreens.

“Because women are the primary consumers of many personal care products, they may be disproportionately exposed to these chemicals,” said study lead author Kim Harley. She is associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Teen girls may be at particular risk since it’s a time of rapid reproductive development, and research has suggested that they use more personal care products per day than the average adult woman,” Harley added in a university news release.

The study involved 100 Hispanic teens who used makeup, shampoo and lotions that were labeled free of chemicals for three days.

After this short break from their regular products, levels of the hormone-disrupting chemicals in the girls’ urine fell between 27 percent and 45 percent, according to the analysis.

The study was published March 7 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

According to the researchers, cosmetics and personal care products are not well-regulated in the United States, and it’s difficult to get data about their health effects.

However, there is increasing evidence linking hormone-disrupting chemicals with behavioral problems, obesity and cancer cell growth, the researchers said.

“We know enough to be concerned about teen girls’ exposure to these chemicals. Sometimes it’s worth taking a precautionary approach, especially if there are easy changes people can make in the products they buy,” Harley said.

More information

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has more on cosmetics and chemicals.

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Football’s Concussion-Prevention Efforts May Be Spurring More Leg Injuries

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Concussion-prevention rules for college football players may have led to an unintended consequence — an increase in knee, thigh and ankle injuries among players, new research suggests.

“Of course concussions sustained in football can be devastating,” said study author Dr. Robert Westermann, chief resident at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. “But so can lower extremity injuries, which are the leading cause of disability among NFL [National Football League] retirees. So, it’s important to protect the whole athlete.

“But our work,” he added, “suggests that a change in the pattern of play following the new push to reduce head-to-head contact among players may be causing an increase in injuries lower down the body.”

Westermann emphasized that the study was only designed to find an association between the change in football rules and an increase in leg, joint and foot injuries. It did not prove cause-and-effect.

Westermann and his colleagues presented their findings Saturday at a meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, in Orlando, Fla.

At the time it adopted its latest concussion-related guidelines, National College Athletic Association (NCAA) data showed that college players had experienced more than 41,000 injuries overall between 2004 and 2009. Concussions — also known as mild traumatic brain injuries — accounted for more than 7 percent of that total, according to the NCAA.

With that in mind, the NCAA adopted several new contact rules for football in 2008. They included banning the so-called “horse-collar tackle,” in which a player is pulled down by his collar or shoulder pad, and protecting players from the two-on-one “chop block” maneuver. The revised rules also called for a focus on getting rid of all blows to the head, and all hits on defenseless players, according to the NCAA.

The new study included information collected by athletic trainers and physicians between 2009 and 2014 as part of the NCAA Injury Surveillance System.

Lower extremity injuries included those affecting the leg, knee, ankle and foot, the study authors said. Concussion risk information was also gathered.

Roughly 2,400 leg, joint or foot injuries serious enough to cause a time-out in play occurred during the study time frame. About a third involved injuries to the knee, while slightly less than that involved ankle trouble. Nearly 60 percent were the result of player-to-player contact, the researchers reported.

Concussion risk remained relatively “stable” over the study period, the research revealed. But, leg, joint and foot injuries rose from about 9 per 1,000 “athletic exposures” during the 2009-10 seasons (before the new rules were implemented) to nearly 13 per 1,000 by the 2013-14 season, the study showed.

Why? The investigators suggest that the rise may have been prompted by the effort to avoid head-to-head contact, causing players to target other players lower on the body.

Westermann stressed that the study doesn’t prove causation. But, he added, “it does seem that lower extremity injuries have gone up since we made the rules to prevent head injuries.

“Now I can’t say what should be done about this,” he continued. “I’m not part of the NCAA rules committee. But I do believe that when you make a big change like this you need to study the effects and ramifications it can have on athletes. So that’s what we’ve done.”

Dr. Katherine Coyner is an assistant professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She said Westermann’s research team may be on to something.

It’s hard to establish a direct correlation from one study. And there are multiple variables that can come into play, she said.

“However the idea that rule changes may have affected the nature of the injuries does make sense conceptually,” Coyner added.

But does a lower concussion risk inevitably mean raising the risk for other types of injuries? Coyner said no one really knows yet.

“The truth is that football is a contact sport, more than any other,” she said. “That’s part of the game, and as a result we always see injuries. So it may be that we have to do a kind of a risk-benefit analysis.

“Certainly arthritis risk due to lower extremity injury is not desirable,” she added. “But neither are the lifelong consequences of traumatic brain injury. It may mean placing more of a focus on which one is more important. Only time will tell.”

Findings presented at medical meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

There’s more on concussion rules at the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

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Candidates With More ‘Mature’ Faces May Get Older People’s Votes

SUNDAY, March 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Is there something about Donald Trump’s face that’s winning Republican presidential primary votes? Or Hillary’s or Bernie’s on the Democratic side?

The answer may depend on the age of the voter, a new study suggests.

Research has shown that voters gravitate towards politicians who look more competent, but this tendency is stronger among younger adults, according to a small study published March 1 in the journal Cogent Psychology.

Researchers showed campaign portraits used during 2010 and 2012 U.S. Senate races to two groups of potential voters: 24 university students, aged 18 to 24, and 16 seniors, aged 68 to 90.

Participants were asked to rate the candidates in terms of competence, trustworthiness, attractiveness and “babyface.”

Older voters responded to a competent appearance but they also preferred older-looking candidates, said researchers from Indiana’s Anderson University and Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

Understanding this difference between older and younger voters is important since older people are more like to get out to the polls, the study authors said.

“We found that as people age, they prefer different facial characteristics in politicians. As one might expect, older adults prefer mature-looking faces,” Dr. Robert Franklin, of Anderson University, said in a journal news release.

“However, younger adults did not prefer mature or babyish candidates, but they were much more likely to vote for candidates that they thought looked competent-looking,” Franklin said. “These findings are very important in understanding how aging affects voting behavior generally, especially as older adults are a critical voting population.”

The study has limitations, among them its small size. But the findings may offer food for thought as the U.S. presidential election unfolds this year.

More information

The American Psychological Association provides more information on the psychology of voting.

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Top butt-lifting exercises

 

You want a perky butt, but not sure where to start? These exercises and classes are you're saving grace.

The ultimate butt workout builds a perky butt that not only looks the biz in skinnies but is structurally sound to facilitate optimal biomechanical function (free and resilient movement to you and us). You had no idea how important your booty was, right?

Try: Barre  

The Barre class trend is sweeping the nation with the ballet-based workout becoming available at gyms and Pilates studios across the country. The classes aim to increase core strength, develop long, strong limbs and increase flexibility. If you don’t have access to a Barre class, you can channel some of the signature moves in your own workout.

How: You need to complete a range of butt-lifting exercises!
a.    Supine glute bridges – 20 reps with 20 small pulses at the top
b.    Single-leg glute bridges – 5 each leg (ensure hips are level)
c.    90-degree back extension – 10 reps (squeeze at the top)
d.    Cable kickbacks – 10 reps each leg

Try to contract your glutes throughout the entire exercise. Keep the movements small and controlled to focus on the constant tension.
Why: Most people have under-developed glute muscles and struggle to activate their glutes properly during exercises. This can result in not only a flat derriere, but also injuries, which is why glute isolation work is important.

INSIDER’S TIP: You should aim to do these 10 times per week if you really want to build a booty.

NEXT: 22 exercises for a Brazilian butt.

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As Caregivers, Women May Suffer More Than Men

SATURDAY, March 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Women may face greater challenges than men when looking after a loved one with a serious illness, a new study suggests.

While caregiving has traditionally been handled by women, more men are assuming that responsibility, the researchers noted.

“As illnesses progress in loved ones, family caregivers become increasingly responsible for hands-on care, such as assisting with bathing and hygiene, as well as cooking, cleaning and managing bills,” said study author Karla Washington. She is an assistant professor with the University of Missouri’s department of family and community medicine.

“This extra load of responsibility can cause serious stress in a caretaker’s life. While more men are assuming caregiving roles, we found significant gender differences in how the caretaking experience is perceived,” Washington added in a university news release.

The researchers questioned more than 280 family caregivers and found that women had much lower self esteem, less family support and more harmful consequences in terms of their health and schedules than men.

The findings may reflect society’s gender biases, according to Washington.

“Taking care of sick family members is a responsibility often expected of women,” she said. “If society views female caregivers as being naturally better at caregiving, other family members might be less likely to think the caregiver needs support, and thus less likely to offer it.”

Gender expectations might also make men less likely to report the challenges they face as caregivers, Washington noted.

The study was published recently in the Journal of Palliative Medicine.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on caregiver health and wellness.

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Stress of Caring for Sick Spouse May Raise Stroke Risk

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Husbands and wives who feel the strain of caring for a sick or disabled spouse are at a higher risk of stroke than those who do not have to care for their significant other, a new study suggests.

Spouse caregivers who said they were stressed had a 95 percent higher stroke risk when compared to “matched” non-caregivers with similar demographic, lifestyle and stroke risk factors, according to the study.

Lead author Sindhu Lakkur, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, first witnessed the burden of caring for a severely ill spouse while following physicians at the stroke unit in the university’s hospital.

“Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability, so overnight someone can go from perfectly fine to having severe impairments in physical and cognitive [mental] function, and this can put a really big strain on the family,” she said.

Dr. Michelle Albert, a cardiologist and professor of medicine in residence at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), said chronic stress boosts blood levels of the hormone cortisol and heightens inflammation in the body. This can cause arteries to harden and narrow and, ultimately, restrict blood flow to the brain, resulting in a stroke.

Albert, who also serves as director of UCSF’s Center for the Study of Adversity and Cardiovascular Diseases, said it’s important to study the health effects of caregiving, particularly as adults in the “sandwich generation” take care of elderly family members as well as their own children.

For the study, researchers examined data for more than 6,000 caregivers and non-caregivers who participated in a study of men and women aged 45 or older who enrolled from 2003 to 2007.

Participants were deemed caregivers if they were providing care on an ongoing basis to any family member with a chronic illness or disability.

Caregivers were asked about their relationship to the patient and the amount of physical and mental strain they associated with that care — either none, some, or a lot.

Those ratings reflected “whatever they perceive their strain to be,” Lakkur said.

During an average 8.5 year follow-up period, there was little difference in stroke rates among caregivers as a whole (3.8 percent) and non-caregivers (3.7 percent).

But caregivers who reported moderate or high levels of strain from handling the needs of their ill or disabled spouse showed a statistically significant increase in stroke risk.

“If you’re living with someone who requires care, it may be more stressful than going to someone’s house and caring for them once a week,” Lakkur reasoned.

Depression and isolation may also be factors in their perceived stress levels, she said.

Lakkur noted that family caregivers are “very undersupported.” As a first step, she suggested that physicians speak to family caregivers of ill and disabled patients about having their own health evaluated.

Albert encourages her own patients who are under stress to take time for themselves each day to focus on their own well-being, by exercising or meditating, for example.

Future research should examine the cumulative effects of chronic psychological stress on caregiving, including financial strain and work-related stress, Albert added.

“We don’t live in a vacuum,” she said. “It’s usually a confluence of stressors.”

The researchers were to present the study findings Friday at an American Heart Association meeting in Phoenix. Such research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The Alzheimer’s Association can tell you how to recognize and manage caregiver stress.

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If You Have a Seltzer Habit, This Is What You Should Know

Photo: Getty Images

For anyone who loves fizzy water, picking out a bottle can be a little tricky. Seltzer, sparkling mineral water, club soda—there are so many types, how do you know what’s in what? And are they really as healthy as we think? To find out more about our beloved bubbly, we talked to Atlanta-based nutritionist Marisa Moore, RDN.

Is carbonated water as hydrating as flat water?

Yes it is, says Moore. A glass of carbonated water contributes to your daily fluid needs. And it’s a great alternative for anyone trying to kick a soda habit: You get the same pleasant fizz without the calories and health risks associated with both regular and diet soda (think weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease).

RELATED: 10 Reasons to Give Up Diet Soda

Is it true that fizzy water can erode your bones?

Nope, the claim that carbonated water interferes with calcium absorption, thus upping a person’s risk of osteoporosis, is just a myth, according to Moore. (Phew!) “There’s no good evidence that carbonated water alone harms your bones,” she says.

It can, however, have an effect on your teeth. When water is carbonated, carbonic acid forms, lowering its pH. And consuming acidic drinks can cause your tooth enamel to erode, which may lead to sensitivity and cavities. If fizzy water is one of your everyday beverages, check out these 3 ways to protect your teeth.

RELATED: Best and Worst Foods for Your Teeth

What’s up with seltzers that taste sweet?

Just because a beverage is clear, fizzy, and has zero calories, that doesn’t mean it’s carbonated water. There are some diet sodas that are marketed as seltzer even though they contain artificial sweeteners. The only way you can distinguish a fake from the real thing is by taking a peek at the ingredients. If you see that it contains any chemicals like aspartame, its not carbonated water.

How are the three types of fizzy water different?

Sparkling Mineral Water, sold by brands like San Pellegrino and Perrier, is bottled at the source, which means that it has naturally occurring minerals (like sulfates) and carbonation (though San Pellegrino adds some extra fizz). The bubbles tend to be fine and delicate, creating a slight effervescent texture. It’s less acidic and better for your teeth than other fizzy waters, but because it’s sourced naturally and often imported, it tends to be a little pricer.

Seltzer—which is also called sparkling water—is carbonated artificially, and has bigger, sharper bubbles. It contains no ingredients other than water. But some brands (like Polar, Canada Dry, and Schweppes) sell varieties that are flavored naturally with lemon and lime.

Club Soda is essentially the same as seltzer with a few additions. Ingredients like salt, potassium bicarbonate, and potassium sulfate give club soda its salty, mineral taste. But the distinction in taste is minimal, and most people don’t notice a difference. Look for club soda sold by brands like Schweppes and Canada Dry.

 

 

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Finally, an App That Shows How Makeup Looks on Dark Skin Tones

Photo: Getty Images

Makeup swatches are intended to give consumers an idea of what the shade might look like IRL, but as we all know, different hues don’t look the same set against different skin tones. Many beauty brands photograph their products on lighter-skinned ladies, leaving those with darker skin to fend for themselves in terms of determining whether or not that bright pink gloss or orangey-red lipstick will work for them.

RELATED: 5 Topshop Beauty Products I Need to Get My Hands on Right Now

Enter Cocoa Swatches, the brainchild of Ofunne Amaka, which is a veritable database of both new and old beauty products to show how they look against a variety of skin tones. Amaka’s Instagram account of the same name has long been a trusted source for women looking to do a little research on certain products before committing to a purchase.

Not only is it all kinds of fascinating to see how different colors look against such a wide range of skin tones, Amaka and her followers have some awesome product picks and beauty advice. We’re digging her nude lip combo of MAC’s Chestnut Lip Pencil, Cosmo Lipstick and Lip Glass in particular.

RELATED: Hero Beauty Junkie Swatches All 97 of Her Lipsticks on Reddit

Just be prepared to get sucked in. You may want to set aside an entire Saturday for perusing the app, because there’s so much to see.

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

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Consistent Self-Weighing Might Give Your Diet a Boost

FRIDAY, March 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Want to boost the odds your diet might work? Head to those bathroom scales more often.

That’s the finding from a new study that suggests consistent self-weighing might improve people’s daily determination to shed pounds.

One expert who reviewed the study wasn’t surprised.

“Self-monitoring has been shown in many weight-management studies to improve weight loss and maintenance,” said nutritionist Nancy Copperman, of Northwell Health in Lake Success, N.Y.

“In this study, more frequent and consistent weighing had a positive effect on a person’s confidence to lose weight — which might be an explanation” for the strategy’s success, said Copperman, who is assistant vice president of public health at Northwell.

In the new study, a team led by Yaguang Zheng, of the Connell School of Nursing at Boston College, tracked outcomes for 148 people. All of the study participants took part in a 12-month behavioral weight-loss study and were grouped according to how often they weighed themselves as they were dieting.

Those in the “high/consistent” group weighed themselves at least six days a week throughout the study period. Those in the “moderate/declined” group tended to slack off their self-weigh-ins (declining from four or five days a week to two days a week). And those in the “minimal/declined” group decreased their self-weigh-ins from five or six days a week to no weigh-ins during the week.

At six and 12 months, the researchers assessed what they called the participants’ “confidence to avoid eating” in certain situations — such as when they felt down, when food was readily available, and when there was any social pressure to eat.

By the end of the study, participants in the high/consistent self-weighing group had the largest increases in their confidence to avoid overeating, while dieters in the other two groups experienced no change, the Boston team said.

Another expert called the results “dramatic.”

“There seems to be a clear relationship between people whose confidence to avoid eating under varied situations and moods increased over the year they were followed, and the frequency at which they weighed themselves,” said Columbia University nutritionist Pamela Koch.

But does that change in determination to stay away from excess eating actually lead to more weight loss in people who frequently weighed themselves? Koch said the answer isn’t clear.

“The study’s conclusions might be much more significant if those who had high confidence and high weighing behaviors were also those who gained the least, or no weight at all, over that year,” said Koch, who directs Columbia’s Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy.

The study was to be presented Friday at an American Heart Association meeting in Phoenix. Experts note that research presented at medical meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explains how to choose a safe and successful weight-loss program.

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Dance Class May Be Gateway to Exercise for Older Latinos

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Classes in traditional Latin dance may help older Hispanic adults get interested in exercise and improve their mobility, a new pilot study suggests.

The study was small, involving just 57 older adults, but researchers said the results were encouraging. After four months of dance class, seniors were fitting more activity into their daily lives — and were more agile on their feet, according to findings presented Friday at an American Heart Association meeting, in Phoenix.

In general, experts recommend that adults of all ages get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, most days of the week.

But only a minority of Americans reach that goal, and Hispanic adults lag behind other groups. Just 41 percent get that much exercise, compared with 53 percent of whites and 44 percent of blacks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Older Hispanic Americans have particularly low rates of exercise, said David Marquez, the senior researcher on the new study.

One reason for that, he said, is related to culture. Many older Hispanic adults, especially women, did not grow up playing sports or getting other standard definitions of “exercise.”

“It’s probably unreasonable to expect them to join a gym and walk on a treadmill,” said Marquez, an associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

So he and colleague Miguel Mendez decided to put together a program of dance classes in merengue, salsa, cha-cha and bachata. For many older Hispanic Americans, Marquez said, dance was a part of their younger years — at least informally.

“They may have done it with their families, or at social gatherings, or when they went out with friends,” Marquez explained. “So we thought, let’s develop something that people will actually enjoy.”

Dance classes also do more than get people moving, Marquez added.

“There’s the movement, but there’s also the social aspect. People are good medicine,” he said. “And then there’s the music, and the mental engagement. You’re learning new steps each class, so you have to use your mind and memory.”

For the pilot study, Marquez’s team randomly assigned 57 Spanish-speaking adults, mostly female and in their 60s, to take dance classes twice a week or attend a weekly health education program.

After four months, both groups had boosted their daily activity levels, but the dance group made bigger gains. On average, they were physically active to some degree almost 14 hours out of the week — which was up from 11 hours before they started the dance classes.

Their performance on a standard walk test also improved. The test, Marquez said, measures mobility, not fitness — and it’s not yet clear whether the dancers boosted their cardiovascular health.

A larger trial is underway to assess the longer-term effects, including any mental benefits, Marquez said.

A researcher not involved in the study agreed it’s important to study exercise programs that are culturally tailored.

“We need to be testing a variety of exercise programs that are interesting to different groups of people — and it doesn’t have to be ‘exercise’ in the way we usually think,” said Carol Ewing Garber, a professor of bio-behavioral sciences at Columbia University, in New York City. Garber is the immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine.

She agreed that for older Hispanic adults, the idea of joining a gym could be intimidating or impractical. And a daily walk may not be possible if they live in an unsafe or otherwise unwalkable neighborhood.

“But a dance class at a place where they’re comfortable, like the local community center, might be more appealing,” Garber said.

As for the effects seen in the study, Garber said they were “modest.” But, she added, the pilot study really aimed to see whether the program was feasible.

Anecdotally, Marquez noted, study participants have said the classes help relieve their stress and make them feel more connected to their community.

For now, he said, the “bigger picture message” is for older adults to find activities they actually like, so they’ll stick with them. “Good health is a lifelong process,” Marquez said.

In general, data and conclusions presented at meetings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advice for seniors on staying active.

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