Scared straight after a health threat?

People vow to change their ways, but often not for very long

The medical tests are back. The cruel news is delivered: the numbers show trouble inside your body.

Instantly, you rocket from mildly anxious to scared straight. That’s how it feels, anyway. In the exam room, in that raw moment, you firmly renounce your bad health habits. You promise to adopt a low-fat, gym-heavy routine. You’ll live right, you tell the doctor — and yourself. You’ll stick to it. You swear.

Save it. Your doctor has heard it before. 

“I think every physician has,” said Dr. Steven Chang, a family practitioner at the University of California Davis Medical Center and a staff physician at RightHealth.com. He recalled diagnosing some patients with diabetes and collaborating with them on a new diet plan. “They will leave my office and I’ll immediately see them in the [hospital] cafeteria — eating a hamburger and French fries ... That’s difficult.”

What’s the true shelf life of a health scare? That can depend on individual willpower, the height of the internal emergency and whether someone feels or sees physical symptoms — like chest pain or blood after coughing. Tangible signs of sickness may inject deeper fear and more lasting improvements compared to, say, merely reading ugly stats on a sheet of paper (such as a high cholesterol count).

A text message poll of 100 U.S. family physicians, conducted by Truth On Call for msnbc.com, found that 47 percent of doctors said patients typically stick to their vow to live better for just a matter of weeks after a health scare, 25 percent said the good behavior lasts several months and just 7 percent said patients stick to their resolve for a year or longer. Nineteen percent said the effect of a health scare lasts just a few days and 2 percent said it doesn't last for even a day. 

Chang said he pins the typical duration of fright-induced lifestyle adjustments at three to six months. “Once you start an exercise regimen, if it peters out after a few months and if you don’t feel any different, the impetus to change may not be [as strong] as that initial shock.”

As Lori Hope found, drastic change is tough to maintain no matter how powerful your motivation.

“How long can we go vegan and macrobiotic? How long can we sustain that?” asked the former medical journalist. 

In 2002, after Hope was diagnosed with lung cancer, she stepped up her exercise routine. She already ate an organic diet but also added meditation and yoga to the list of things she tried to boost her health.

"I continued after my treatment, but that went away fairly quickly," she said, finding it her busy schedule made it impossible to do it all.

 

Your old mascara may spoil your looks

Out-of-date make-up can be a magnet for germs

Women are using cosmetics well past the use-by date, unaware that some products could be magnets for germs which could damage their health and looks, said Sara Stern, Director of Cosmetics at retail chain Debenhams.

"British women are famously loyal to make-up brands and products, however, their reluctance to throw away old products is a risky business," Stern said in a statement.

"We wouldn't hesitate to chuck out moldy or bacteria-ridden food and the same standards should apply to the lotions and potions and that we put on our skin. Beauty is timeless but unfortunately, products are not."

Favorite beauty essentials such as foundation, concealer, blusher, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and perfume all include a "period after opening" indicator, denoted by an open pot with the number of months of safe use written inside.

Debenhams asked 1,000 women aged 18 to 70 about the contents of their cosmetic bags and their understanding of the health considerations.

Despite European Union guidelines meaning brands have to state product shelf lives, 89 percent of respondents said they were unaware that such information exists, did not understand what the symbol meant or were unable to read the often tiny writing.

Make up, perfume and skincare products used after the expiration date carry a risk of irritation and infection, Debenhams said. This is due to air and bacteria infiltrating the products. Multiuse products carry an even higher risk as they can spread germs from eyes to skin to lips.

To add to the shock factor, 60 percent of respondents admitted they shared make-up with friends and family, multiplying the chances of infection.

More than two thirds of women (68 percent) said they only replace make-up and skincare when they run out, however long that might take.

Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed (72 percent) never wash their make-up sponges or brushes, even though they should do so at least once a week and 81 percent of British women also regularly (at least once a week) go to sleep without removing make-up.

Blood pressure harm from smoke 'may explain cot death'

Smoke exposure during pregnancy damages a baby's blood pressure control, which may explain why such babies' risk of cot death is higher, say experts.

Maternal smoking remains one of the biggest risk factors for cot death.

A team at Sweden's Karolinksa Institute found smoke-exposed babies had abnormal surges in blood pressure, even when sleeping undisturbed in their cots.

These surges put extra demand on the heart, making it pump faster and harder, the journal Hypertension says.

The study suggests damage to the circulation may be a factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), although it set out to look at the effects of smoking on the newborn rather than cot death per se.

Dr Gary Cohen and his team studied 36 newborn babies - 17 of whom had mothers who smoked during the pregnancy.

When they examined the babies they found the ones that had been exposed to cigarette smoke showed abnormal heart rate and blood pressure responses.

And these abnormal responses got worse throughout their first year of life.

Dramatically different

At one week of age the smoke-exposed babies showed abnormally large blood pressure rises as they were lifted up from lying down.

By the age of one, the same babies appeared to have adapted to this and now showed abnormally low blood pressure responses to the same posture change.

Usually, when a person stands the heart rate increases and the blood vessels tighten, raising blood pressure slightly, to keep up the blood flow to the heart and brain.

Dr Cohen said: "Babies of smokers have evidence of persistent problems in blood pressure regulation that start at birth and get worse over time.

"This study reveals for the first time that early life exposure to tobacco can lead to long-lasting reprogramming of the infant blood pressure control mechanism."

He said this might explain why babies of women who smoke are at increased risk of cot death.

"We have known for some time that there is a cardiovascular element to sudden infant death.

"It's not just breathing, but blood pressure control and heart rate control.

"This is another piece of the jigsaw."

He plans to continue to study the babies as they grow up to see if the damage is lasting and whether it leads to problems, such as high blood pressure, in later life.

Professor George Haycock, scientific adviser for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), said: "The hypothesis presented here is highly plausible and agrees with work from other research groups.

"FSID's top piece of advice remains, cut smoking in pregnancy - fathers too, and don't let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby."

Experts say a third of cot deaths could be avoided if mothers-to-be did not smoke.

Janet Fyle, Professional Policy Advisor at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "These findings support what we know; that smoking during pregnancy can harm the developing foetus.

"The RCM would urge pregnant women who smoke to seek advice and support from their midwife about stopping smoking, for the benefit of their own long-term health.

"This would also benefit the health of their child."

Ambidextrous children 'more likely to be hyperactive'

Children who write with both hands are more likely to struggle in school and have hyperactivity disorder symptoms, research suggests.

A study by scientists from Imperial College London found ambidextrous children were twice as likely to struggle as their classmates.

They were also more likely to have difficulties with language.

Experts told Paediatrics journal the differences might be down to the brain's wiring.

But they said much more work was needed to explore this.

Lead researcher Dr Alina Rodriguez said: "Mixed-handedness is intriguing - we don't know why some people prefer to make use of both hands when most people use only one."

Ambidextrous

Around one in every 100 people is ambidextrous, or mixed-handed.

The study looked at nearly 8,000 children from Northern Finland, of whom 87 were mixed-handed.

Mixed-handed children aged seven and eight were twice as likely as their right-handed peers to have difficulties with language and to perform poorly in school.

When they reached 15 or 16, mixed-handed adolescents were also at twice the risk of having symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

And they tended to have more severe symptoms of ADHD than their right-handed schoolmates.

They also reported having greater difficulties with language than those who were left or right-handed.

This is in line with earlier studies that have linked mixed-handedness with dyslexia.

Hard-wired

Experts know that handedness is linked to the brain's left and right halves or hemispheres.

Research has shown that where a person's natural preference is for using their right hand, the left hemisphere of their brain is more dominant, which is where the centre for language lies.

Scientists have suggested that ADHD could be linked to having a weaker function in the right hemisphere of the brain.

Dr Rodriguez said it was possible that brain differences might explain the findings.

But she cautioned: "Our results should not be taken to mean that all children who are mixed-handed will have problems at school or develop ADHD.

"We found that mixed-handed children and adolescents were at a higher risk of having certain problems, but we'd like to stress that most of the mixed-handed children we followed didn't have any of these difficulties."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said they had been carrying out similar work.

"In particular, Professor Tim Crow and his team are exploring the idea that brain asymmetry and handedness may play a role in the development of language and the origins of psychosis.

"All research which investigates possible links between brain difference and behaviour is vital to increase our understanding of many conditions, including mental health problems."

Having a big bum, hips and thighs 'is healthy'

Carrying extra weight on your hips, bum and thighs is good for your health, protecting against heart and metabolic problems, UK experts have said.

Hip fat mops up harmful fatty acids and contains an anti-inflammatory agent that stops arteries clogging, they say.                                                              

Big behinds are preferable to extra fat around the waistline, which gives no such protection, the Oxford team said.

Science could look to deliberately increase hip fat, they told the International Journal of Obesity.

And in the future, doctors might prescribe ways to redistribute body fat to the hips to protect against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

The researchers said having too little fat around the hips can lead to serious metabolic problems, as occurs in Cushing's syndrome.

Shape not weight

Evidence shows that fat around the thighs and backside is harder to shift than fat around the waist.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Although this may sound undesirable, it is actually beneficial because when fat is broken down quickly it releases a lot of cytokines which trigger inflammation in the body, say experts.

These cytokines have been linked to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes.

The slower burning hip fat also makes more of the hormone adiponectin that protects the arteries and promotes better blood sugar control and fat burning.

In comparison, carrying excess fat around the stomach, being "apple shaped", raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Lead researcher Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos, of Oxford University, said: "It is shape that matters and where the fat gathers.

"Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad."

He said in an ideal world, the more fat around the thighs the better - as long as the tummy stays slim.

"Unfortunately, you tend not to get one without the other," he said.

Fotini Rozakeas of the British Heart Foundation said: "This research helps us better to understand how fat acts in the body in order to develop new approaches in reducing heart and circulatory disease.

"If you are overweight, obese, or if you have a waist size that is increased, it is important to make changes to your lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet and doing regular physical activity, to reduce your risk of heart health problems."

Smoked' flavour food concerns

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says one of the flavourings used to give smoke flavour to meat, cheese or fish, may be toxic to humans.

The authority looked at 11 smoke flavourings commonly used in the European Union.

It says several of the flavourings are dangerously close to levels which may cause harm to humans.

The European Commission will now establish a list of smoke-flavouring products that are safe for use in food.

The smoke flavourings are products which can be added to foods to give them a "smoked" flavour, as an alternative to traditional smoking.

EFSA says it "cannot rule out concerns" about a flavouring called Primary Product AM 01, which is obtained from beech wood.

The wood particles are burnt under controlled conditions and the hot vapours are dissolved in a solvent.

The Panel says the use of the substance "at the intended levels is a safety concern".

Safety

Klaus-Dieter Jany, the chair of EFSA's expert panel on flavourings (CEF Panel) said: "The Panel based its conclusions on the limited data which are currently available as well as conservative - or cautious - intake estimates.

"The Panel expressed safety concerns for several smoke flavourings where intake levels could be relatively close to the levels which may cause negative health effects.

"However, this does not necessarily mean that people consuming these products will be at risk as, in order to be on the safe side, the consumption estimates deliberately over-estimate intake levels."

A spokesperson for the Food and Drink Federation which represents smoked food manufacturers said: "We shall be working with FSA and the European Commission in the coming weeks to consider how smoke flavourings may continue to be used safely, noting EFSA's previous statements in respect of smoke flavourings that their safety is relatively high compared to traditional smoking methods."