Therapist Unlimited Blog

Recent medical studies has shown that antioxidant supplements do not appear to be associated with an increased risk of melanoma.
Based on a randomized trial of antioxidants for cancer prevention it was discovered that daily supplementation with nutritionally appropriate doses of vitamins C and E, beta carotene, selenium and zinc appeared to increase the risk of melanoma in women four-fold.
The researchers said due to the fact that an estimated 48 percent to 55 percent of U.S. adults use vitamin or mineral supplements regularly, the potential harmful effects of these nutrients is alarming.
Maryam M. Asgari, M.D., M.P.H., of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, and colleagues examined the association between antioxidants and melanoma among 69,671 women and men who were participating in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study, designed to examine supplement use and cancer risk.

Those who are taking antioxidants do not have to worry since these supplements do not cause melanoma.
 

At the beginning of the study, between 2000 and 2002,participants completed a 24-page questionnaire about lifestyle factors, health history, diet, supplement use and other cancer risk factors.
Intake of multivitamins and supplements during the previous 10 years, including selenium and beta carotene, was not associated with melanoma risk in either women or men.
The researchers also examined the risk of melanoma associated with long-term use of supplemental beta carotene and selenium at doses comparable to the previous study and found no association.
Moreover, the researchers revealed consistent with the present results, case-control studies examining serologic [blood] levels of beta carotene, vitamin E and selenium did not find any association with subsequent risk of melanoma.
The researchers also said that there was no association between intake of vitamins A, C and E and melanoma risk in 162,000 women during more than 1.6 million person-years of follow-up.

Recent medical studies has shown that being circumcise will not protect gay men from Human Immuno Virus (HIV) if ever they engage in sex with another men.
Based on the research conducted by CDC researchers involving 4,900 men who had sex with HIV-positive men, it was discovered that the infection rate, about 3.5 percent, was approximately the same whether
the men were circumcised or not.
Peter Kilmarx, chief of the epidemiology branch in the CDC’s HIV division, explained that circumcision is not considered beneficial in preventing the spread of HIV among men who have sex with men.
Kimarx concluded CDC is still considering recommending it for other groups, including baby boys and high-risk heterosexual men.

Gay men who engage in sex with another men better be careful since circumcision is no protection against HIV.

Aside from CDC, the Boston Globe editorial also discussed circumcision and HIV.
According to the editorial, there is no evidence that circumcision protects against male-to-male transmission of the virus, or from men to women.
Still, a technique that reduces the prevalence of the disease will ultimately benefit all groups.
Furthermore, the popular US newspaper revealed while a majority of U.S. parents already circumcise their babies, rates are lower among two groups that suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS: African-Americans
and Hispanics.
The  Globe concluded, no one should be forced to circumcise a son.
 

Here is a piece of reminder to all pregnant women around the world.
According to a latest study, those women who gain weight during pregnancy caused the daughter they bore to become obese later in her life.
According to a new study by Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, the findings are especially important because of the growing epidemic of obesity in women.
Stuebe said if we can help women reach a healthy weight before they start a family, we can make a difference for two generations.
To get the information, Stuebe earlier analyzed data on mothers’ recalled weights and weight gain for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs.
She said the heavier a mother was before her pregnancy, the more likely her daughter was to be obese in later life.
She explained , an average-height mother who weighed 150 pounds before pregnancy was twice as likely to have a daughter who was obese at age 18 as a mother who weighed 125 pounds before pregnancy.
The medical expert said weight gain during pregnancy mattered, too both too little and too much weight gain increased a daughter’s risk of becoming obese, especially if a mother was overweight before she got pregnant.
The researcher said women should aim for a healthy weight before they get pregnant, and then gain a moderate amount.

Pregnant women should avoid gaining weight during pregnancy since it could result to obesity to their babies later in their lives.

Using the Nurses’ Health Study II, Stuebe analyzed data for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs. The daughters, all registered nurses, are part of the Nurses’ Health Study. They reported their weight at age 18 when they joined the study in 1989, and they reported their current weight in 2001.
In 2001, each mother was asked to recall her pre-pregnancy height and weight, her weight gain while she was pregnant with her daughter, and her daughters’ weight at birth.
Daughters whose mothers gained 15 to 19 pounds during pregnancy had the lowest risk of obesity. Compared to this group, daughters whose mothers gained more than 40 pounds while pregnant were almost twice as likely to be obese at age 18 and later in life.
Too little weight gain was also linked with a daughter’s obesity risk.
Pregnancy weight gain of less than 10 pounds was associated with a 1.5-fold increase in the odds of being obese at 18 and a 1.3-fold increase in odds of being obese in later life.
Furthermore, Stuebe hoped that through her study pregnant women around the world would strive hard not to gain weight to ensure that their daughter will not become obese in the future.