American women are catching up to men when it comes to using and abusing alcohol, a new government report shows. “Increasing alcohol use by women is a cause for concern because they are at greater risk than men for a number of alcohol-related health problems, including liver inflammation, heart disease, neurotoxicity and cancer,” said U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director George Koob.
“We found that over that period of time, differences in measures such as current drinking, number of drinking days per month, reaching criteria for an alcohol use disorder, and driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year, all narrowed for females and males,” study leader Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the director of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), said in an institute news release.
“Males still consume more alcohol, but the differences between men and women are diminishing,” he added.
The investigators found that the average number of drinking days in the past month also increased among women, from 6.8 to 7.3 days, but fell among men, from 9.9 to 9.5 days.
There was only one area of drinking where the difference between women and men increased during the study period.
“The prevalence of combining alcohol with marijuana during the last drinking occasion among 18- to 25-year-old male drinkers increased from 15 percent to 19 percent, while the prevalence of combining alcohol with marijuana during the last drinking occasion among 18- to 25-year-old female drinkers remained steady at about 10 percent,” White said.
The study was published online Nov. 23 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
After a year of talking about the emotional side of diabetes Mr. Divabetic decided it was time to visit the Museum of Feelings sponsored by Glade in New York City.
Is New York feeling exhilarated, calm, optimistic? The Museum’s exterior changes color to reflect the the mood of the city by scraping social media and other real-time data.
The Museum of Feelings is a walk-through tour in a 5,300-square-foot portable building behind a posh mall space in Manhattan’s financial district.
Glade came to Radical Media with five scents representing five emotional states: Optimism, Joy, Invigorated, Exhilarated, Calm. Schechtman’s challenge was to pair experiences with those emotions. There’s an installation for Calm, Joyful, Optimistic and Exhilarated. Our favorite was Joyful which was a room full of neon green LED vines dangling from above with the scent of pine. We were so distracted we fell over someone who was bent down tying their shoe. So much for Joyful!
Exhilarated is a giant kaleidoscope of mirrors projecting floral images. We loved it!
At the end of the installation you are invited to use your own biometric data to create a MoodLens—or unique emotional selfie—and match it with a perfect custom fragrance.
We kept thinking that the Museum of Feelings would be an amazing exhibit at Diabetes Expo. After all, understanding the emotional impact of diabetes is crucial to staying well. There could be installations on feeling mad, sad, confused, or stressed about the diagnosis and all the changes it brings.
We’ve produced five Diabetes Late Nite podcasts with special guest, Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE discussing the emotional side of living with diabetes. Why not tune in and find out how working through those emotions can get back to feeling good again.
This makes the fish the first genetically altered animal to be cleared for U.S. supermarkets and dining.
According to research, most Americans do not feel genetically altered food is harmless to their health, with a recent Gallup pollnoting less than 35% believe it presents a hazard risk. However, among African Americans,there is more of a concern about genetically modified (GM) foods, with black consumers looking for GM food labels more frequently, and more black consumers say it’s unsafe than white.
People who are wary of genetically altered salmon might to happy to hear that Costco has joined the list of major food sellers who say they won’t offer the controversial product to customers.
“Although the FDA has approved the sale of GM [genetically modified] salmon, Costco has not sold and does not intend to sell GM salmon at this time,” a rep for the warehouse chain told the AP.
Nearly two years before AquAdvantage salmon — which is engineered to grow to market size faster than traditional farm-raised salmon — got the go-ahead from regulators, a number of retailers, including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi, were already saying they had no plans to sell the product. These retailers have since been joined by other, larger supermarkets, like Target and Kroger.
Because the FDA says that the AquAdvantage salmon is safe to consume and nutritionally the same as traditionally raised salmon, the product will not require any special labeling when it eventually hits store shelves.
LISTEN NOW; Diabetes Late Nite inspired by the Isley Brothers
Eating more fruits and vegetables has always been associated with a healthy lifestyle, but did you know that eating higher amounts of a compound found in citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit may lower ischemic stroke risk for women? According to the American Heart Association women who ate the highest amounts of citrus had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least.
If you’re bored with grapefruit why not treat yourself to broiled grapefruit?
Any grapefruit will work in this Broiled Grapefruit recipe; just be sure the fruits are well chilled to produce the best results.
Directions:
Preheat a broiler.
Cut each grapefruit in half crosswise. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each half, if necessary, so that it will stand upright.
Using a serrated grapefruit knife or a small, sharp knife, loosen the grapefruit segments in each half by first carefully cutting between the fruit and the peel and then by cutting along either side of each segment to free it from the membrane. Leave all the segments in their shells. Place the halves upright in a baking dish.
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Using your fingers, sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the grapefruit halves. Slip under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat source and broil until the sugar is uniformly bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer each grapefruit half to an individual dish and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
“Sweet Blessings: Adventures in Diabetes” Author Trisha Porretti guests on Diabetes Late Nite .
Trisha Porretti, RN, BSN, CDE, is a humorist. She was a young single mother of three when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This changed the direction of her life. She transitioned from bartending to nursing. As a motivational speaker at conferences and events throughout the United States, she has encouraged and inspired audiences to let laughter lower their blood sugar!
With humor and candor Trisha shares her experiences with Type 1 Diabetes. in “Sweet Adventures: Blessings in Diabetes.” Accompany her as she travels this unknown landscape. She is the author of two articles “My Pump Holiday Was No Vacation” and “Can Laughter Lower Your Blood Glucose?” Her experience as a stand-up comic inspired her to transform personal tragedy into diabetes comedy.
Throughout the US she has shared her optimistic message that diabetes is a blessing rather than a curse. Her book will educate, motivate and inspire patients and their families to lighten up a bit. Diabetes is serious but laughter is good medicine. She reminds us to laugh, for the health of it!
“Sweet Blessings: Adventures in Diabetes ” by Trisha Porretti BUY NOW
One of the biggest shockers about Actor Charlie Sheen‘s announcement that he is HIV + on the Today Show was that he was being blackmailed about his health status. He was actually diagnosed as HIV-positive about four years ago and the few people who knew it demanded money from him to keep the secret.
“Locked in a vacuum of fear, I chose to allow their threats and skullduggery to vastly deplete future assets from my children, while my ‘secret’ sat entombed in their hives of folly (or so I thought),” Sheen wrote in an open letter to media
Studies have long shown the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS has been a major impediment to the long-term success of any treatment and prevention effort. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States today. Of those “only about 37% are actually seeing a clinician regularly,” says Dr. Stephen Boswell, president and CEO of Boston’s Fenway Health, a health care organization that works with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
“Denial is a tremendously powerful thing,” says Boswell by way of explanation for the numbers. “And sometimes it’s easier, especially when you have no or minimal symptoms, it’s easier to deny things. People can work through that, but it can take some time. So it’s a normal response. But the problem is, if it lasts too long it’s against the interest of a patient.”
“The most important thing anyone can do is know your status,” advises Coull. “Get tested and if you have it, take it one day at a time. We have access to great support systems, super doctors and amazing medications in our country.”
“I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive,” Charlie Sheen told NBC’s Matt Lauer. “And I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are about the [alleged] threatening the health of so many others, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
Sheen, 50, said he is not sure how he contracted the virus. Since his diagnosis, he said, he has informed every sexual partner of his condition. He called it “impossible” that he had transferred the virus to others.
He said he revealed the diagnosis to people he thought he trusted, but some of them demanded money to keep the information to themselves. He paid those people “in the millions,” he said. Later in the show, Lauer said that Sheen told him it was more than $10 million.
“We’re talking about shakedowns,” Sheen said. “I’ve paid those people.”
One of those people, he said, was a prostitute who entered his bathroom, took a cellphone picture of his medication and threatened to sell the image.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that he spent money to hide it,” says Jonathan Scott, president and CEO of Boston’s Victory Programs, a nonprofit that works daily with those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS. “HIV began with horrific stigma, and even 30 years into the disease there is still stigma that is different from other diseases, such as breast cancer.”
Fellow actor Danny Pintauro, former star of “Who’s the Boss,” calls an HIV diagnosis the “new closet” from which people must decide if they want to go public. Pintauro recently announced he’s been HIV positive for 12 years.
There are two main ways HIV is spread in the United States — by sex and by sharing needles, syringes or any of the equipment used to prepare and inject drugs. Anal sex carries the highest risk, followed by vaginal sex and having multiple partners.
Sia inspires us to talk about mental health issues related to diabetes on Diabetes Late NiteLISTEN
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Type 1 diabetes isn’t something you can see up until now!
Announcing the new Nude Diabetes Advocacy Calendar called “T1D Exposed”, featuring some fabulous faces and amazing bodies totally exposed of men and women living with type 1 diabetes.
T1D Exposedis a collection of tasteful nude portraits of people living with type 1 diabetes, embracing the changes it makes to their lives and bodies.
“I look at these photos and see the power and determination of men and women who are living with type 1 diabetes,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.”They’re so inspiring! T1D Exposed’s at the top of my ”Favorite Things’ list for 2015.”
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There’s a portrait of newly diagnosed participant who has had diabetes 1.5 years as well as a portrait who has lived with T1D for 62 years. All are proud of their journeys with type one and their determination to pursue their passions while living with T1D.
The calendars are $20, and all proceeds are donated to JDRF (jdrf.com), Carb DM (cabdm.org), and Diabetes Youth Families (dyf.org).
The mission of T1D Exposed is to spread awareness of type one and fundraising for cure research as well as psycho-social support
organizations.
T1D Exposed is about acknowledging and embracing the physical changes that T1D can have on the body, while showing gratitude for all that bodies can do with type one.
According to a British survey conducted by The College of Podiatry, it only takes one hour and six minutes of wearing uncomfortable shoes to feel pain, with ailments ranging from blisters to muscular problems.
The neext time you’re thinking of reaching for a pair of heels, consider opting for flats instead. Style icons including Coco Chanel and Karlie Kloss have been choosing party-worthy ballerinas, loafers, and slippers over stilettos for years.
Here are 4 reasons why you should considering stepping out in a pair of fabulous flats:
#4. Flats with soft fabric on the inside that gives is great for bunions and hammer toes
#3. Flats with a textured bottom and arch support can feel like you’re getting a foot massage as you walk to work
#2. Flats with a round toe box provide plenty of room and comfort for hammer toes
#1. Flats with a rubber sole provide shock absorption and traction for people on the go!
Sia inspires us to talk about mental health issues related to diabetes on Diabetes Late NiteLISTEN
GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS and get our free Divabetic E-Newsletter filled with inspirational tips, information and deals to help you stay happy and healthy
We’re focusing about the ‘Process of Acceptance’ with Dr. Beverly S Adler PhD, CDE on November’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast.
This is the last segment of our 5 part series on the ’emotional side of living with diabetes.’
At some point in our journey to diabetes wellness, most of us can recall our initial reactions ranging from denial, anger, fear and then relief. Nobody wants to be stigmatized and a lifestyle that requires medication and consistent self-care, but if you have been struggling with uncontrolled blood sugars, having a reason for this is a relief.
At first, acceptance might feel like you are not the same person you were before the diagnosis, you are bothered by the medications you now take and the abrupt change in your lifestyle. From counting carbohydrates, carrying medications to juggling doctor’s appointments. It’s important to think of recovery as the process of acceptance. Explore the idea that you are the same person, you are just a person who is taking care of their health.
Knowing that treatment is available is scary but opens doors: life can be stable and productive.
On World Diabetes Day, November 14th we reflect on the sad reality that diabetes continues to grow at epidemic rates and we are no closer to a cure than we were last year at this time.
Maybe this is why health experts from around the globe today are calling for an increase in healthy eating and physical activity to reduce risk for the condition, which currently affects around 387 million people across the globe.
The numbers are staggering.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes globally is expected to soar to 592 million by 2035 – an increase that experts attribute to a combination of low physical activity and increased intake of unhealthy foods.
“We have an increasing supply of food, including junk food, which is relatively cheap and heavily advertised – soft drinks with a lot of sugar, for example,” says Professor Lars Rydén, spokesperson for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). “The typical heart attack patient today is a sedentary, overweight person with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, while in the past the average patient was a lean, stressed chain smoker.”
The majority of people are well aware that physical activity benefits health, and most countries have guidelines recommending how much activity one should engage in.
In the US, for example, guidelines state adults should take part in 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claim that less than half of adults meet these guidelines.
Numerous studies have suggested a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of diabetes, as well as improve the health of people who already have the condition.
The information presented on this blog is for informational purposes only, and not intended to be a replacement or substitute for consultation with a qualified medical professional or for professional medical advice related to diabetes or any other medical condition. Please contact your physician or medical professional with any questions or concerns about your medical condition.
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