Health News of the Week: Things You Should Know!
STAY AWAY FROM BLACK LICORICE
As a kid, I loved licorice. The red swirly sticks were always a big hit in my group of friends. And once in a while we would eat the black licorice and even the chocolate ones. But ever since finding out that black licorice has a chemical that can cause high blood pressure, I have been advising my friends and family to stay away. Yes, the chemical is called “glycyrrhizin” and according to the FDA, if it is consumed in a large enough quantity-more than 2 ounces a day for two weeks, or more, glycyrrhizin has the potential to cause high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats. How does it do this? Well, first of all it can cause your kidneys to lose more potassium than usual and as a result, this imbalance (when the potassium is lower than it should be) may make the conditions in your heart vulnerable to set up an irregular heart rhythm. Secondly, the glycyrrhizin may cause your body to retain more salt and water-which can result in the body having a higher blood pressure and even a set up for heart failure (too much salt and water for the heart to handle). Thirdly, eating black licorice can interfere with other medicine that you may be taking including digoxin (a medicine used to control heart rhythms), laxatives and diuretics (a medicine that causes the body to excrete more water and electrolytes like sodium and potassium). And finally, black licorice may interfere with your cortisol metabolism-which can make you feel weak and have loss of muscle strength. What do you do? My opinion is to stay away from black licorice. There are many other varieties that do not have this dangerous chemical-so why chance it? For more information, please visit the FDA at FDA.gov/ForConsumersUpdates.
PUBLIC BATHROOMS ARE OVERLOADED WITH BACTERIA
University of Florida epidemiologist and researcher Dr. Lennox Archibald, presented a study recently indicating that public bathrooms are overloaded with bacteria. Testing indicated that bacteria cover all surfaces including faucet handles, paper dispensers and door knobs. And washing your hands after using the bathroom may not be good enough to eliminate your risk of infection as you touch various surfaces leaving the area. Archibald and his team tested bathrooms in public areas including aircraft, malls, restaurants and supermarkets and found multiple bacteria responsible for infections. So what do you do? Use a paper towel or your elbow to touch any surface in the bathroom, and avoid touching any surface on your way in and especially on your way out of the bathroom. And don’t forget your shoes-wash the bottoms of your shoes before entering your home-you can imagine what those surfaces have touched!!!
WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY FOR 12 YEAR OLDS?
Yes my friends, we have an epidemic of childhoods obesity. The statistics are grim: as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 17% of children ages 2-19 are obese. Lifestyle interventions, diets, exercise programs and a change in the school lunch programs are just some of the methods that are being used to combat this growing epidemic. Many secondary medical issues in obese children are becoming more prevalent as a result of the excess weight, including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, cyst filled ovaries in girls and depression. As a result, many pediatric physicians are now turning to a procedure once reserved for adults: weight loss surgery. The goal is to reduce the size of the stomach-either by placing a band around the top of the stomach, cutting the actual stomach to decrease the size and rerouting the intestines, all can have a positive benefit: by decreasing mortality, improvement and recovery from diabetes and improving heart status. So what’s the problem? Well, there are also risks of surgery: bleeding, blood clots, infection and death are just a few of the potential hazards. But the gain: bariatric surgery in a morbidly obese pre teen or teen can improve the child’s health-in many aspects from psychological to physical. What do you do? Well, of course lifestyle interventions should be number one on everyone’s list. Parental involvement is mandatory. However there still remains the children that are unsuccessful with every attempt. Shouldn’t we address these kids? We can’t keep saying to them, stop eating, and start exercising. That won’t help. I have never been one to casually suggest elective surgery, but in this situation, it has to be given a very hard and close look. The many benefits of giving a child back a productive life, a positive outlook and the ability to improve his survival chances may be rewarding enough to balance the risks. What do you think?
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