It should come as no surprise that “added sugar” may contribute to early death from complications of cardiovascular disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, increased cholesterol, or high blood pressure.  Sugar increases insulin hormone and increased heart rate and blood pressure.  Sugar also promotes blood vessel constriction that elevates blood pressure. To make this situation even worse, man-made fructose corn syrup found in beverages and foods cause insulin resistance and increases hunger levels. Foods such as sweetened granola, yogurts, milk, and tomato sauce are loaded with added sugars.  Look carefully at your food labels.

“extrinsic or added sugar refers to sucrose or other refined sugars in soft drinks and incorporated into food, fruit drinks, and other beverages.”

http://www.circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/4/523.full

A prudent upper limit of intake is half of the discretionary calorie allowance, which for most American women is no more than 100
calories per day and for most American men is no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars

Click to access 1011.full.pdf

Through intensive research programs we learn new information about medical conditions and treatments.  This data leads to innovation and development of new medications and other treatments that may improve the quality of life for people all over the world.  Check out our research site or contact us to learn more about these studies at (985) 257-2673

http://www.centerwatch.com/news-resources/research-centers/profile/1857/score-physician-alliance

Highlight:

People smoke marijuana for a lot of different reasons: to feel good, to feel better, to feel different, or to fit in. Whatever the reason, drug use has consequences

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-facts-teens/some-things-to-think-about

Publication Highlights:

Marijuana remains the most abused illegal substance among youth. By the time they graduate high school, about 46 percent of U.S. teens will have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Although use among teens dropped dramatically in the previous decade (to a prevalence of about 12.4 percent for past-month use in 2007), adolescent marijuana use is again on the upswing. In 2013, nearly 23 percent of high school seniors were current marijuana users, and 6.5 percent used marijuana daily.

If your child is using marijuana, he or she might:

• seem unusually giggly and/or uncoordinated
• have very red, bloodshot eyes or frequently use eye drops
• have a hard time remembering things that just happened
• have drugs or drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers (perhaps claiming they belong to a friend, if confronted)
• have strangely smelling clothes or bedroom
• use incense and other deodorizers
• wear clothing or jewelry or have posters that promote drug use
• have unexplained lack of money or a surplus of cash on hand

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-facts-parents-need-to-know/want-to-know-more-some-faqs-about-marijuana

Commentary:  All parents should be vaccinated for whooping cough to help prevent the transmission to high risk patients such as infants that have not been fully vaccinated.  The most vulnerable at risk group are babies less than 12 months. Pregnant women should all be vaccinated in the 3rd Trimester if they have not already been, this will allow transplacental transfer of moms’ antibodies to help protect their infants.  The California experience is an illustration of the importance of safe preventative vaccination strategies to protect our infants.

Click to access Pertussis_report11-26-2014.pdf

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/835898

Commentary:  The take home message is that the mental health needs for pediatric & adolescent patients should be top priority.  This article reveals e raw prescription counts for all Central Nervous System medications for each age group.  The rising rates are startling with double digit increases for all age groups from 2010 onward.  Potential reasons for this increased medication usage could be that there are, in fact, more pediatric mental illness cases.  An economic downturn, as we have  experienced, can affect the mental health of many persons, as well lead to more prescribing opportunities by physicians.  In any event, we as healthcare providers should be cognizant that mental health diagnoses are relatively common on the whole, and this should highlight our responsibility to inquire from parents about family issues and from patients stressors at home, education, activities and teenage inquiry about drug use, sexuality, and other high risk behaviors.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/821194

Take heed if you consume dairy products.  More and more scientific points to an association between dairy consumption and adverse health effects, such as early death from heart attacks and strokes.  Check out this recent article from the British Journal of Medicine.  Take home point:  There are alternate dietary sources of calcium that are much healthier.

excerpt from the article:

What this study adds

• A high milk intake in both sexes is associated with higher mortality and fracture rates and with higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers

http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6015

I urge each parent to get the Tdap (whooping cough) booster as soon as possible.  Babies can and do die from this respiratory infection.  Just look at what has been going on in the state of California.

http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/trends.html

Since children are the major source of these viruses keeping them healthy and away from obvious sick contacts is critical. Did you know, that children carry the virus in their nose for up to 2 weeks and all the while can transmit their flu illness to others people through their highly infectious respiratory secretions (ie via sneezing and coughing).

The MUST DO’s for older children and adults to HALT the virus before it can multiply rapidly in the nose is to aggressively use saline rinses and cleanse the nasal passages by blowing the nose.  For children, the use of saline rinses and effectively suctioning  the nasal secretions by the “dreaded” BLUE BULB syringe for younger children is critical to help heal and prevent transmission to others.

Influenza vaccination policies are highly effective in controlling outbreaks of disease.  The most effective Flu vaccine type is the Q-LAIV Flumist immunization. For you chickens out there, this nasal immunization is indicated for 2 years of age and older with some exclusions and you dont have to have a needle stick! Check with your physician to see if you are a candidate for this one. If not, you are still eligible for the old fashioned injectable immunization as long as you are a minimum of 6 months of age.

A MUST READ:

Immunogenicity and safety of a quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine in children:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22466322

As many as 20% of teens will suffer from depression having met the criteria of 6 months duration.  As parents we need to identify these symptoms and signs and know how to address them quickly.  Early intervention allow the individual to cope with their feelings effectively and to return to a more comfortable life.  Children & adolescents may not be able to effectively communicate their sad thoughts as maybe adults would.  If your child or adolescent has poor sleep, withdrawal from others, low energy, low self esteem, irritability,or any physical manifestations of recurrent abdominal pain, headaches, or easy distractibility, consider depression as a potential diagnosis. Further investigate any identifiable causes for their grief.  Medications and/or psychological intervention may be warranted to get your loved one back on track. Always consider aggravating factors for depression and rule out chronic illnesses, hormonal changes, drug use, sexuality issues, sexual or physical abuse concerns, girlfriend/boyfriend problems, family crisis, that led to this desperate situation.  Warning: depression is the 3rd leading cause of death in adolescence.

http://nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=88551