How This Woman Gave Up Processed Food for a Year—On a $16,780 Salary

Photo: Getty Images

We all know it’s healthier to “eat clean”—but convenient packaged foods, and weird ingredients seem to lurk everywhere. Just ask Megan Kimble. The Tucson-based food writer spent an entire year avoiding all processed foods, a daunting challenge she chronicles in her new book, Unprocessed ($16, amazon.com).

As a busy grad student living on an annual salary of $16,780, Kimble discovered creative and affordable ways to trade packaged staples for a real-food diet. It wasn’t easy, she told Health: “But I found that once I got going and formed new habits and figured out favorite meals, it became automatic.” That said, she doesn’t recommend going cold turkey. “Start small,” she said. “Try unprocessing one kind of food, see how it feels, and take it from there.”

Below, Kimble shares her eight best tips for eating cleaner.

RELATED: 4 Easy Clean-Eating Recipes

Read the label on everything you buy

“If the ingredient list contains a word you don’t really know, the food is probably processed,” Kimble advises. Think additives like modified food starch, soy lecithin, and xanthan gum, and added sugars and artificial sweeteners such as dextrose and high fructose corn syrup. Mustard, marinara sauce, and salad dressing are often surprising sources, she notes, adding, “Luckily these foods are easy—and cheaper!—to make at home.”

Pick up single-ingredient foods

Buying products with only one ingredient (like milk, oats, honey, and fruit) is the simplest way to avoid emulsifiers, preservatives, and other additives. Says Kimble: “These whole foods are 100 percent real.”

RELATED: 7 Tips for Eating Clean

Create versions of your favorite unprocessed treats

Rather than trying to conquer your cravings, satisfy them with healthier options. “I personally have a raging sweet tooth,” Kimble notes. “But instead of chocolate chip cookies, my former snack of choice, I’ll reach for a banana with almond butter, or some yogurt with honey and fruit.” Do you crave salty foods? Try homemade kale chips or roasted sweet potato fries.

Seek out brands you trust

“I carry Cherry Pie Larabars in my handbag in case of hunger emergencies: They’ve got nothing but dates, cherries, and almonds,” Kimble says. “You’ll start to recognize—and appreciate—food companies that don’t add wonky ingredients to their products. Another one of my favorite brands: Food for Life, which sells bread, tortillas, pasta, and cereal made with only whole, sprouted grains.”

RELATED: The Best Energy Bars

Join a CSA

“I found that Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs offer the best organic and local bang for your buck,” Kimble notes. “My produce conveniently comes with a newsletter featuring recipes that incorporate vegetables from that week’s box.”

Prepare food in bulk

It saves money and time, and ensures you have unprocessed options at the ready, Kimble says. Roast veggies at the beginning of the week, make a big batch of grains, cook dried beans in your crockpot, or keep cornmeal on hand for quick polenta.

RELATED: Eat More Veggies: 5 Easy Raw Food Recipes

When traveling, plan ahead

“I’ll map a route to the local natural food store when I’m away from home,” Kimble says. “Their prepared foods tend to be simpler, healthier, and cheaper than restaurant meals.”

Make deliberate exceptions

“During my year-long experiment, I learned how to make my own chocolate since I didn’t think I could survive a year without it,” Kimble admits. “But today, chocolate bars are a wonderfully convenient exception to my nearly unprocessed diet.”

RELATED: Why Milk Chocolate Might Be Good for Your Heart

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

Cholera Vaccine Helps Prevent Serious Illness

THURSDAY, July 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — An vaccine in a pill protects children and adults against severe cholera, a new study shows.

Cholera is an infectious disease spread through contaminated water and food. It is typically found in hot, tropical climates, the researchers explained.

The results of the first real-life trial of the vaccine support its use in routine mass vaccination programs to help control cholera in more than 50 countries. In countries where the infection is common, more than 1 billion people are at risk of contracting the infectious disease, the researchers noted.

Each year, there are about 2.8 million cholera cases and 91,000 deaths in regions where the disease is common, they added.

The study included nearly 270,000 people living in a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the researchers said. All were over the age of 1. They were at high risk of cholera due to overcrowding and poor sanitation.

The study volunteers were randomly selected to receive either the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol, the vaccine along with improved hand-washing and clean drinking water, or no intervention.

The vaccine was given in two doses 14 days apart. Sixty-five percent of the vaccine-only group and 66 percent of the vaccine/hand washing/clean drinking water group received two complete doses.

Vaccination with two doses reduced the incidence of severely dehydrating cholera by 37 percent after two years in the vaccine-only group, the study found. In the vaccine/hand washing/clean drinking water group, the rate of severely dehydrating cholera dropped by 45 percent.

Further analysis showed that vaccination reduced the risk of cholera by 53 percent over two years, according to the study.

The results were published online July 8 in The Lancet.

“Our findings show that a routine oral cholera vaccination program in cholera-endemic countries could substantially reduce the burden of disease and greatly contribute to cholera control efforts. The vaccine is cheap, two doses cost U.S. $3.70, around a third of the price of the other licensed vaccine Dukoral,” study author Dr. Firdausi Qadri, of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh, said in a journal news release.

No serious side effects were reported. The most common problems associated with the vaccine were vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and acute watery diarrhea.

“Ultimately, the key to controlling cholera is clean water and adequate sanitation, which half the developing world [around 2.5 billion people] lack, but this remains a rather difficult reality for the world’s poorest nations as well as those affected by climate change, war and natural disasters,” Qadri said.

More information

The World Health Organization has more about cholera.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1UEXIT6

Another Study Sees Link Between Antidepressants and Birth Defects

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — New research provides more evidence of a possible link between antidepressant use early in pregnancy and a small increased risk of birth defects.

But the study didn’t prove that the medications cause birth defects, and experts aren’t advising women to stop taking the drugs entirely.

“Depression can be very serious, and women should not suddenly stop taking their medications. Women should talk to their health care providers about available options, ideally before planning a pregnancy,” said study author Jennita Reefhuis. She is an epidemiologist with the U.S. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still,Reefhuis said, the study found that “some birth defects occur two to three times more frequently among babies born to mothers who took paroxetine [Paxil] and fluoxetine [Prozac] in early pregnancy.”

The findings also suggest that one antidepressant, Zoloft, may be safer than others. But experts said that could also be a statistical fluke.

Studies in recent years have differed about the risk, if any, to babies born to women who take antidepressants during pregnancy. The new research examined statistics from almost 18,000 mothers of infants with birth defects and close to 10,000 other mothers. The children were born between 1997 and 2009.

The researchers focused on antidepressant use in the first three months of pregnancy, when the drugs are thought to have the most potent effect on the unborn child.

They found no connection between sertraline (Zoloft), the most commonly used antidepressant in the study, and five birth defects to which it has been previously linked. The study authors said this was reassuring, as roughly 40 percent of women who reported taking an antidepressant in early pregnancy used Zoloft.

However, Dr. Adam Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said statistical error could explain the lack of a Zoloft link.

The researchers found no connection between the antidepressants and nine birth defects that previously had been linked to them.

However, they did link a higher risk of five birth defects to Paxil and two birth defects to Prozac. The defects include problems with the heart, brain, skull and abdominal wall. But the added risk was small, the researchers said.

“A woman’s chance of having a child with the heart defect we described is about 10 per 10,000. Our results suggest that if she took paroxetine [Paxil], that risk could increase to 24 per 10,000,” said Reefhuis.

She pointed out that birth defects are common no matter what mothers do: One baby in 33 is born with one.

Reefhuis also cautioned that it’s not certain that antidepressants directly boost the risk of birth defects. Depression itself could affect the risk “or other factors that we either did not know about or did not measure well in our study, or simply, chance,” she said.

Urato believes antidepressants do affect the unborn child. “Chemicals have consequences, and chemicals going into a developing embryo and fetus are going to have consequences,” he said.

In the big picture, he said, “we should be very concerned about the widespread use of these medications in pregnant women like we’re seeing.” He added, however, that pregnant women who are depressed need appropriate care.

“The key here is not to tell pregnant women what to do. Instead, it’s crucial to make full information available to them,” Urato said. “Counsel them about drug exposures in pregnancy, and allow them to make the best choice for themselves.”

The study appears in the July 8 issue of the journal The BMJ.

More information

For more about birth defects, visit the March of Dimes.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1JWiI1G

Smoking, Preterm Births Increase a Woman’s Heart Disease Risk

THURSDAY, July 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Women who smoke and have had a premature baby are at significantly higher risk for heart disease, a new study finds.

Researchers examined data from more than 900,000 mothers and found that those who smoked and also had a preterm birth were nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers who had full-term births.

That risk is 29 percent higher than the risk associated with either smoking or preterm birth alone, according to the study published July 9 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The risk of heart disease was even higher among mothers who smoked and had multiple or extremely premature births.

“Fertility treatment is pushing up rates of preterm birth and smoking in pregnant women remains high, so knowledge of the impact of these conditions on [heart disease] is important for prevention efforts. Our research shows for the first time that smoking and preterm birth interact to create a greater [heart disease] risk than either risk factor on its own,” lead author Dr. Anh Ngo, a research fellow at the University of Sydney at Royal North Shore Hospital in Australia, said in a journal news release.

One explanation, Ngo said, could be the stress of caring for a premature infant. That might prompt unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, which increases the likelihood of future preterm births. Ngo noted that stress itself causes metabolic disorders, hardening of the arteries and ultimately heart disease.

Ngo said smoking women who seek fertility treatment should be counseled about their risk for premature birth and heart disease later in life so they can make an informed decision.

Women who stop smoking when they plan to get pregnant will receive dual protection, Ngo added.

“They will avoid the increased risk of having a preterm birth, and they will avoid the elevated risk of getting cardiovascular disease when they reach an older age. Smoking mothers who have already had a preterm birth should quit smoking if they haven’t already done so and go for periodic [heart disease] screening.”

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about heart disease in women.

---

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

Deaths From High Blood Pressure Should Plummet Under ‘Obamacare': Study

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — U.S. deaths from blood pressure-related diseases are expected to drop substantially during the coming decades because of improved health coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, a new study reports.

Increased treatment of high blood pressure under the health-care legislation, commonly known as “Obamacare,” will save the lives of 95,000 to 222,000 non-elderly adults by the year 2050, researchers estimate. That’s up to 6,000 people a year who otherwise would die from heart disease.

By 2050, there also could be 408,000 fewer cases of heart disease and stroke among the 55 million young and middle-age Americans who have high blood pressure, the researchers found.

Those numbers are based solely on patients’ increased access to blood pressure medication as a result of the Affordable Care Act, said study lead author Suhui Li. She is an assistant professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C.

“It’s important to keep in mind that we aren’t looking at other health benefits brought by the improved coverage, like improved screening and better chronic disease management,” Li said. If that were the case, the estimated number of lives saved likely would be higher, she said.

About 78 million Americans — one in three adults — have high blood pressure, according to the study authors’ background notes. High blood pressure contributes to 35 percent of all heart attacks and strokes, and 49 percent of heart failures.

National surveys from 2011 and 2012 found that less than three-quarters of people with high blood pressure take medication for it, and only half had their high blood pressure under control, the study authors reported.

“Our society is burdened by a number-one killer, which is heart disease, and a number-five killer, which is stroke, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor for both those conditions,” said Dr. Elliott Antman, associate dean for clinical/translational research at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Other prior research has shown that uninsured people with high blood pressure are 4.4 times more likely to not receive the medical care and medicine they need, compared to people with insurance, the study authors said.

“It is a very sad state of affairs when even if an individual wanted to control their blood pressure, they might not be able to because they can’t afford the prescriptions they need,” said Antman, past president of the American Heart Association, who wasn’t involved in the study. “It is irresponsible of our society not to help them.”

In the new study, published in the July issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, Li’s team created a model that would estimate the impact of improved insurance coverage on treatment of high blood pressure.

The model conservatively assumed that all 21 states that have not agreed to the Medicaid expansion offered under the Affordable Care Act would continue their opposition through 2050. Under the expansion, people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $16,243 for a single person, $33,465 for a family of four — qualify for Medicaid coverage.

Even then, expanding health insurance coverage and access to care through the Affordable Care Act would increase treatment of high blood pressure by 5 percent, the study authors estimated.

That would lead to at least 111,000 fewer cases of heart disease and 63,000 fewer strokes, according to their findings. The potential cost savings would run $1.2 billion to $2.8 billion annually.

“Even with just a 5 percent improvement, this will lead to more lives saved and more disease avoided,” Li said.

Minority groups would have the greatest improvements in health, the researchers said. Hispanics would proportionally benefit most from coverage expansion because they have the lowest pre-Affordable Care Act insurance coverage rate among all racial and ethnic groups, while blacks would receive proportionally larger benefits than whites because they have the highest rates of high blood pressure and heart disease risk factors.

Antman said the American Heart Association hopes that states that oppose Medicaid expansion will reconsider their stance, based on information like this. He pointed out that many of the states against Medicaid expansion are in the South and the Midwest.

“That’s the Stroke Belt,” Antman said. “If you were to say, ‘Where do we have a particular need to control high blood pressure better,’ these are the states that probably need it more than anyone.”

More information

For more on high blood pressure, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

---

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

Is It Possible to Drink Too Much Water?

Photo: Getty Images

We’ve all heard the “rules” of hydration: Drink until your urine is clear; hydrate before you get thirsty. But what if those guidelines aren’t quite right? A new statement released this week by a panel of 17 experts suggests that some of these myths might actually put people at risk of overhydration, or hyponatremia.

RELATED: When It Might Be Safer to Run Indoors This Summer

“Hyponatremia is what happens when the blood becomes very diluted,” says Dr. James Winger, a sports medicine doctor at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. “In the setting of athletics, people take in more fluid than the body can get rid of, usually in the name of preserving hydration.” By drinking too much H20, the sodium in the body becomes diluted, leading to swelling in the cells.

Though it can happen to anyone, hyponatremia tends to be more common among endurance athletes. According to Winger, one study of ultramarathoners found that over half of finishers showed signs of hyponatremia. And another study ofBoston Marathon finishers showed that 13 percent suffered from the condition by the time they finished.

RELATED: 10 Ways to Stay Hydrated (That Aren’t Water)

Hyponatremia, which can be fatal, can be tough to spot. “Symptoms can be very vague and not unlike symptoms one might experience after running a race or performing any athletic event [including] fatigue, even confusion or exhaustion,” Winger says. However, he points out that it’s also 100 percent preventable — as long as you don’t fall prey to these common myths about hydration.

4 Old School Myths About Hydration

Myth #1: Feeling thirsty means you’re already dehydrated.
Contrary to popular belief, thirst is a good thing, Winger says. In fact, the panel’s report, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, advises athletes to drink only when thirsty to prevent overhydration.

When you feel thirsty, your body has actually already begun to implement its own water conserving measures. “People think it’s too late; you’re already dehydrated. But it’s not too late for anything,” Winger says, noting that running into serious problems related to dehydration is harder than most people think. Drinking only when you feel the need — instead of forcing yourself to stop at every water station on the course — will keep you sufficiently hydrated, while ensuring you don’t overdo it.

RELATED: 9 Homemade Sports Drink Recipes

Myth #2: Your performance will suffer if you’re not 100% hydrated.
Afraid you’ll hit the wall if you don’t load up on H2O? Winger notes that it’s natural to get a little dehydrated during athletic events. “There’s growing evidence that mild to moderate dehydration has no effect on performance in many different sporting endeavors,” Winger notes. “We need to look at dehydration as a natural part of exercise, not necessarily something to prevent.” Most athletes can safely lose up to three percent of their bodyweight via dehydration before it impacts performance, Winger says. Drinking when your thirsty will help prevent you from entering the danger zone.

Myth #3: You should drink until your urine is clear.
We’ll make this brief: You can stop staring into the toilet bowl. “In general, urine color is a pretty poor marker of specific or exact urine concentration,” Winger says. “If you’re trying to dilute your urine, you’re probably putting yourself into an overhydrated state.”

RELATED: Should You Eat Before a Workout?

Myth #4: Muscle cramps are a sign of dehydration.
When a Charley horse hits, you might be tempted to chug water to ease the pain. However, research shows that muscle cramps don’t have much to do with dehydration. “What’s been demonstrated is that it has a lot more to do with the fatigued state of the muscle, and muscles that are more fatigued are more likely to cramp,” Winger says. “Fatigued states often happen when you’re hot and dehydrated too, so there’s an there overlap that leads to confusion.” While ads for your favorite sports drink might tell you to start swigging when you’re feeling depleted, recent studies tells us otherwise, Winger says.

If you’ve gone into every long run with a strict hydration plan, Winger is basically giving you permission to relax. “Our advice has been to drink when you’re thirsty — that can be a plan, and it’s the easiest plan there could be,” he says. “When you’re done feeling thirsty, stop drinking. It sounds silly, but that’s the simplicity of it and the beauty behind it. We don’t need any sorts of numbers and measurements and weights to tell us how to stay healthy during exercise.”

More from Life by DailyBurn:

5 Ways to Lose Weight Without Dieting

11 Delicious Green Smoothie Recipes

How Fast Can You Banish Bloat for Summer?

Life by DailyBurn is dedicated to helping you live a healthier, happier and more active lifestyle. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain strength or de-stress, a better you is well within reach. Get more health and fitness tips at Life by DailyBurn.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1JWdG5x

Move of the Week: X Jack Jump

Classic cardio moves are great for burning calories, but they can get boring…fast. Take the jumping jack, for instance. Yes, it’s super-effective, but you’ve been doing that old thing since elementary-school gym class. Why not take on the X Jack Jump instead, shown here by Health contributing fitness editor Kristin McGee? Same premise, except you’re adding in a little hang time. Plus, doing it will spike your metabolism while sculpting your legs, core, arms, and back.

RELATED: The Best Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

Here’s how to do it: Start with your feet together and arms by sides. As you jump, stretch your arms and legs out to sides. Land with feet together and arms back down at sides. Continue for 30-60 seconds.

Trainer tip: Think about your body making an “X” in the air.

Try this move: X Jack Jump

RELATED: 30-Minute Workout, No Gym Required

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

4 New Products That Will Solve Your Carry-on Luggage Problem

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI/ Getty Images

Traveling light is hard, especially when it comes to choosing between your favorite products (and shoes…). Thankfully, beauty companies continue to innovate ways to make traveling with a carry-on much easier to handle.

Sphynx Razor: $14.99, sphynxrazor.com

Not to be dramatic, but I think this might be the most useful carry-on travel product of all time. This mini razor device has four settings you can rotate between: two one-blade razors, a water compartment, and soap. You can take this little guy through security, so it solves your “no razor for the weekend” problem. Separately, it’s super easy to use on the go, meaning it’s perfect to keep at your desk for when you miss that embarrassing strip of hair on your knee.

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI

3-Step Sheet Mask in Aqua and Vita-Toning: $7, glowrecipe.com

I don’t know about you, but all of my favorite cleansers and moisturizers are way over the allotted 3.4 ounces. This three-step skin care is cleverly packaged into one packable sheet, and includes a facial foam cleanser, a whitening and anti-wrinkle serum, and sheet mask. Going to be gone for three days? Throw three in your bag. Done and done.

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI

Cover FX Custom Cover Drops: $38, sephora.com

I’m already a huge fan of Cover FX’s Custom Cover Drops, but they make life even easier when you’re on vacation. Simply drop your concentrated color pigment into your favorite moisturizer for sheer coverage by day, and add it to your favorite mattifying primer by night. Add more drops for more coverage, and enjoy the extra room in your Ziploc bag.

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI

Trèstique beauty products: $24 – 34, trestique.com

Almost every time I travel, at least one product is tragically left behind. Whether it’s a brush or my favorite highlighter, something is always missing. Trèstique eliminates that possibility by creating two-in-one products. Their bronzer stick holds a cream-gel bronzer and brush ($34, trestique.com), while their lip crayon has a shiny balm and matte pigment available in six colors ($28, trestique.com).

Photo: Courtesy of MIMI

This story originally appeared on MIMIChatter.com

More from MIMI chatter.com:

These Travel Size (and Multi-Tasking) Treatments Will Beautify Your Jet-Lagged Eyes

How to Pack the Perfect Toiletry Case for Your Vacation

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.

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

Early Intervention Shows Promise in Treating Schizophrenia

WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Interventions that include resiliency training, education and job support may boost the mental health of patients in the early stages of schizophrenia, new research reveals.

The finding, reported in the July issue of Psychiatric Services, followed an assessment of several specialty care programs, including some funded through a U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) initiative known as RAISE (Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode). The comprehensive treatment programs also include family education and goal-setting.

Investigators found that patients who completed RAISE fared better both socially and on the job. They also showed fewer symptoms and were less likely to relapse.

Clinicians credit the program’s emphasis on shared decision-making as key to its success, along with a respectful, flexible and warm attitude toward patients by the RAISE staff.

“Now that we know which programs are most effective, we can begin to offer these services across the United States,” study author Amy Goldstein, associate director for prevention at NIMH, said in an institute news release. “This research will help us give hope and support to people with schizophrenia and their families.”

About 1 percent of Americans suffer from the severe brain disorder during their lives, according to NIMH. People with schizophrenia may hear voices, or fear other people are controlling their thoughts or plotting to harm them.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more information
about schizophrenia.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1J5iUZz

Painkiller Overdoses Often Involve ‘Pharmacy Shopping’

WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Nearly half of all deaths resulting from an overdose of narcotic painkillers involved Medicaid recipients who used multiple pharmacies to fill their prescriptions, a new study finds.

“Pharmacy shopping,” or the use of multiple pharmacies at the same time, is a way some patients obtain more medication than they need. Medicaid programs in many states track the number of pharmacies patients visit to prevent such abuse of painkillers, the study authors said.

It’s unclear, however, how many pharmacies must be visited or how much time should lapse between prescriptions to identify patients engaging in pharmacy shopping with the intent to misuse their medication. Some patients, the study authors pointed out, may legitimately use more than one pharmacy if they move, travel or make a change in their insurance coverage.

To investigate this issue, researchers examined the records of more than 90,000 Medicaid recipients aged 18 to 64, who were long-term users of narcotic painkillers, such as Oxycontin (oxycodone) or Vicodin (hydrocodone). These patients had used three or more narcotic prescriptions for 90 days from 2008 to 2010.

Patients using overlapping painkiller prescriptions had a higher rate of overdoses, the study published recently in The Journal of Pain revealed. Patients who used four pharmacies within 90 days, which the study said could be considered an indication of pharmacy shopping, had the highest odds of overdosing.

Study author Zhuo Yang, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and colleagues concluded that the use of overlapping prescriptions and multiple pharmacies isn’t medically reasonable or necessary. Programs to restrict reimbursement for controlled prescriptions, such as narcotic painkillers, could designate one pharmacy and one doctor for patients on these medications, they suggested.

More information

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

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KUT8vJ