BlogHer Health & Wellness Blog Roundup

BlogHer Health & Wellness Blog Roundup — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

Tonight I am surfing the BlogHer Health and Wellness Blogroll. So many great blogs, I wish I could tell you about every one…But you could always do a little surfing yourself.

So, in no particular order, here are eleven blogs that are new to me.

Delicious Wisdom…

Delicious Wisdom was created by a person who wants to help you get processed food out of your diet. And,because it brings about such good things, keep it out of her own.

About Nicole…

Nicole deVries, HHC is a natural foods chef, non-practicing artist and certified Holistic Health Counselor. After eating this way–with the more than occasional cookie or Waffle House break–for over a decade, she’s figured out how to turn basically any unhealthy, processed food recipe into a whole food one. Follow along and you’ll be able to do it too.

Eat, Pray, Run…

The title of this blog is inspired by the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Eat, Pray, Love is Gilbert’s story of how she found contentment during her journey across Italy, India and, Indonesia.

This blog is my first Elizabeth Gilbert-esque step toward discovering, and rediscovering, myself — someone who I seemed to have lost touch with a bit somewhere along the way. Join me in discussions about health and nutrition, inspiration, fitness and, of course, good food to eat!

Mirror Image - Healing The World From The Inside Out…

What’s wrong with the world is what’s wrong with me. That’s why “there are no accidents” and “everything happens for a reason.” Instead of judging external problems, it’s my job to see them as a reflection of the internal me, and act accordingly.

Family In Shape…

Are you looking for new ways to get your family in shape? This blog is to inspire families, like yours, with ideas that will get you on the right path to a healthier lifestyle. I am a military spouse and busy mom of four and a Certified Group and Personal Fitness Trainer, but you can call me Spin Diva. Finding the time to exercise, energize and revitalize is not easy, but we can do it together. I am passionate about teaching others how to reach their fitness goals and bring the kids along with them.

Get on board and spin along with me. Turn your wheels my way again soon and see what new ideas are cycling through this site!

We Are One World Healing…

To help individual heal their own immediate world first, this blog covers alternative health therapies, such as aromatherapy, chakra balancing, crystals, healing energy, reiki, wicca, etc; spiritual topics, inspirational healing stories and healing ‘how to’s.

Nicole’s Weight Watchers Journey…

Join me as I get healthy, lose weight, overcome depression, nurture my family, open my mind and generally try to do my part to make the world a better place.

Weight 1 Day - Fabulous @ 50…

Sharing my story of weight loss, and gain, and loss… as I work my way through a 200 lb weight loss on my way to becoming and fabulous at 50.

Taking Care of Ourselves - A Small Person;s Guide To Self Defense…

We can take care of ourselves. Self defense isn’t limited to those with the talent and fortitude for mastering the martial arts, nor is it the sole domain of certified “tough guys.” Anyone can learn the basic skills of self protection.

And while learning a few strikes or blocks can be useful, self defense rarely requires a fight. By paying attention and trusting their instincts, most people can protect themselves without punching someone out.

This blog challenges the myths that leave far too many people scared and helpless and provides information to those interested in practical self defense.

Non-Toxic Kids - Helping Your Kids Stay Safe, Healthy, and Smart…

Americans make the assumption that all products on our store shelves have been tested by someone, somewhere. Well, obviously in light of the recent recalls, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. We here at Non-Toxic kids are researching products, data and information that will help you make your consumer choices healthier for your kids, families, and our environment. From sippy cups and baby bottles, to baby carriers and sleepers, we will give you a summary of an issue or concern, product reviews and recommendations, and where to go for further information. From my family to yours, in good health.

The Body Chronic…

Life, love and laughter with insulin resistance, PCOS, pelvic floor dysfunction and everything else my body cooks up. Daily inspiration and new insights.

Autismville…

I’m the happily-married, forty-something, retired CPA/mom of one drama-queen/second-grader and a preschooler with autism. I write a blog for Parents.com about parenting a child with autism. The view here in Autismville is guaranteed to refocus your perspective in ways you never imagined. Stop by and take a peek.

Thanks for taking this stroll down the Health and Wellness Blogroll. Have a great weekend.

Health News: Autism, Mastectomies, and HPV Vaccine

In Health News: Autism Debate, Drive-Thru Mastectomies, and the HPV Vaccine (Gardasil).

When I heard this story, about a family with a child who appeared to developed Autism after her childhood immunizations, I wondered how this might affect other families dealing with this devastating disease. Also in the blogs, is a petition that women can sign, supporting an end to drive-thru mastectomies. And end they should, this practice is a disgrace, as well as a travesty against women. And, my pet-peeve issue (Gardasil) is also in the news.

Autism…

From Revolution Health - The Autism Debate Continues

This week news spread of results of a Georgia court case in November, which states that the parents of 9-year old Hannah Poling will receive compensation because multiple vaccines contributed to her symptoms of autism. Not all the details are known, as the court case has been “sealed,” but it appears that Hannah has an underlying mitochondrial disorder. After she received five shots in July 2000, at the age of 19 months, she developed a high fever and inconsolable crying within 48 hours. Within three months after receiving the vaccine, she went from being a normal, verbal toddler to one who showed signs of autism and, for a while, lost her ability to speak. She now requires one-on-one care at all times.

See Video of Katie Couric on Autism

Also See: Autism symptoms, Autism Speaks, Video Glossary , and Children With Invisible Special Needs.

Stop Drive Thru Mastectomies….

From SportsMomma and WriteChic Press — Ending Drive-Thru Mastectomies

“Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross joined Lifetime, Senator Landrieu (D-LA) and Representatives DeLauro (D-CT) and Moran (R-KS), at a Capitol Hill press conference to give voice to the 20 million signatures collected on myLifetime.com urging Congress to end the practice of “drive-through” mastectomies, when women are forced to leave the hospital following their physically and emotionally difficult breast cancer surgeries before they and their doctors may feel they are ready to go home.

Be My Bra!

Caught your attention, didn’t I? “Be My Support, Be My Strength, Be My Bra” is Lifetime Television’s saying/blurb/catch phrase in for the fight against breast cancer. I just love it.

I also came across this blog…The On Going Life of Just a Gal with Breast Cancer

The HPV Vaccine…

Then we have my number one pet-peeve health and wellness issue…The HPV Vaccine. Touted as the Cervical Cancer Vaccine (Gardasil)…it is really an HPV prevention medication, using our children as mandatory test subjects. This is a vaccine that would be a life saver to people in developing countries, who have little access to PAP tests for prevention. But Merck’s only concern is with the money they can make by convincing our government to make this vaccine mandatory.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines hold great promise for preventing cervical cancer, but 93 percent of mortality worldwide occurs in low- and middle-income countries, where high vaccine costs can restrict dissemination.

Screening Could End Cervical Cancer

The man who pioneered the first cancer vaccine says cervical cancer deaths in Australia could be negligible if all Australian women took part in pap smear programs.

Professor Ian Frazer was named Australian of the Year in 2006 in recognition of his work with the vaccine, which has a success rate of up to 70 per cent.

But Professor Frazer says women should no longer feel anxious about cervical cancer.

“In this country cervical cancer is well down the list of cancer deaths now because we have such an effective pap smear program and indeed if all women in Australia took part in the pap smear program according to the government recommendations we’d hardly have a death from cervical cancer,” he said.

“Worldwide, cervical cancer is actually increasing and is the second commonest or commonest cause of cancer death in women in most countries in the world.”

HPV Vaccine Researchers Criticizes Marketing

A researcher who has spent 20 years studying human papillomavirus (HPV) and did the bulk of the work that was used to develop a vaccine for several strains of the virus has warned that mandating the vaccine for girls under the age of 18 may actually backfire, causing cervical cancer rates to go up.

Twenty-six states are considering some form of mandatory HPV vaccination for school-age girls.

Diane M. Harper, director of Dartmouth Medical School’s Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in New Hampshire, warned that there have been no tests of the vaccine’s effectiveness on girls under the age of 15. The drug may not be effective on younger girls, and it may have unforeseen side effects or interactions with other vaccines given at that age. Nonetheless, the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended it for ages 9-26.

“Giving it to 11-year-olds is a great big public health experiment,” Harper said. “To mandate now is simply to Merck’s benefit, and only to Merck’s benefit.”

The HPV vaccine produced by Merck protects against two strains of the virus that have been identified as responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. But with the way the drug is being marketed, Harper is concerned that vaccinated women may decide that they are immune, and forego their yearly Pap smear testing.

Harper also warned that the vaccine is ineffective if given to someone who is already infected — and because HPV is spread by skin-to-skin contact, a person does not have to be sexually active to contract it. For this reason, Harper suggests giving the vaccine only to those who test negative for the targeted HPV strains.

The HPV test is conducted by vaginal swab, which Harper says is inappropriate for children.

Finally, Harper warned that not enough research has been done to know how long the vaccine lasts, or at what age a booster may be needed. This means that even if the vaccine is effective in young girls, it may have worn off by the age at which they are most susceptible to cervical cancer.

“The push for mandatory vaccination is based on marketing, not science,” added Mike Adams, author of numerous articles that oppose mandatory vaccination policies. “It’s nothing but a clever Big Pharma scheme to sell more drugs to yet more people who don’t need them.”

Breaking Autism News - See YouTube CBS Video with Katie Couric

ALSO SEE:

Autism: The Disease, The Debate, and the Devastated Families

—

Women’s Health Issues In The News

In Women’s Health News — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

I decided to post on some of the interesting health and wellness issues that have been in the news this week…

Starting with the Autism Speaks website…They now have video examples of children with autism, compared to children without, in the hopes of helping parents recognize early signs of the disease. Also, a new study shows that the United States is lagging behind in maternal health, and the House urges health agencies to expand research into Postpartum Depression.

With 1 in every 150 children having some degree of Autism, knowing the symptoms and being diagnosed early is critical. This week Autism Speaks is helping parents learn what is common behavior for most children, as compared to what is common in an Autistic child, with the use of videos.

See this Associated Press Video on the new website. (2 minutes)

Please keep in mind that there are many presenting features associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that are depicted in the video clips you are about to see. However, most children do not show all of the features all of the time. Instead, many children have some of the features some of the time. Awareness of these common presenting features may help to heighten your index of suspicion. Individually, they may not indicate a problem; however, in combination, they may indicate a need to conduct a screening or a diagnostic evaluation. Not all signs and features need be present for ASD to be diagnosed.

By viewing these videos of symptoms found in Autism, parents can help recognize a potential problem early, and bring it to the attention of their child’s pediatrician.

As always, there are critics of this idea who believe that these videos may cause unnecessary worry for parents. However, as both a nurse and a mother, I would say that the potential benefits to parents viewing these videos, far outweighs any potential risk of undue worry.

In spite of all the controversy over the treatment and the politics of Autism, I think one thing everyone can agree on, is the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. With such a short amount of time that a child will actually spend with their doctor, parents are the first line of defense when it comes to recognizing the symptoms their children are exhibiting.

Then there is a new study showing that the United States is lagging behind in maternal health, this also happens to be a topic that is being addressed by the BlogHer community, through BlogHer Acts. I found the statistics on this quite disturbing, and shocking. We do still live in the richest country in the world, right?

The United States has a far higher death rate than the European average, the report shows, with one in 4,800 U.S. women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth, the same as Belarus and just slightly better than Serbia’s rate of one in 4,500.

Just one out of 47,600 women in Ireland die during or just after childbirth, the report found. Bosnia had the second-lowest rate, with 1 in 29,000 women dying during pregnancy and childbirth. — read full article here

The United States is ranked 41st in the world for maternal mortality, with 1 in 4,800 women dying from pregnancy complications.This is what they are saying at Chrone Speaks…

While the BBC article uses a graph from the Lancet, showing the rise or drop in maternal mortality around the world, I’d like to point out that the US is lumped in with other developing nations.

However, just a few short months ago, in August, there was a very disturbing report that maternal mortality rates were rising in the US.

Causes of the rising maternal mortality rates for the US can be listed in a few short words:

1. abstinence only education
2. closing women’s clinics
3. laws restricting (safe) abortions

I hope the anti-abortionist take note of this — they are the principle reason why women are dying untimely deaths — the rate of unsafe abortions has not changed since 1995.

They make a pretty good point…Look what is happening in Aurora, with the attempt to stop the opening of a Planned Parenthood there. If one truly cares about life, then one should care about all life, including women and mothers. It seems to me there is a degree of rational thought that is sometimes being excluded from many people’s biblical interpretation of life. And ignoring that only results in more lives lost…When will the Pro-Life Movement start being Pro-”All Life”???

Also in the news…The House urges health agencies to expand research into postpartum depression. This is another issue that the BlogHer community is passionate about. This cause is being led by Katherine Stone…

Katherine Stone suffered postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder with the birth of her son in 2001. She is now an advocate for women with postpartum mood disorders, primarily through her blog Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog in the United States on these illnesses, which include postpartum depression, postpartum OCD and postpartum psychosis. — read more about Katherine here

From the Associated Press…

The bill cites studies that up to 80 percent of new mothers experience “baby blues,” characterized by mood swings, feelings of being overwhelmed and irritability.

It said more serious postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, which can occur during pregnancy and anytime within the first year of the infant’s birth, impair between 10 and 20 percent of new mothers.

Postpartum psychosis, striking one in 1,000 new mothers, may entail losing touch with reality, delusions, auditory hallucinations, paranoia and hyperactivity.

It notes that while the causes of postpartum depression are unknown, theories include a steep and rapid drop in hormone levels after childbirth, difficulty during labor or pregnancy and external factors such as a lack of support from one’s spouse, stressful events such as the death of a loved one or a previous history of depression.

Rush said 90 percent of depression cases are treatable, but that only 15 percent of women with postpartum depression receive treatment.

So these are some of the health issues in the news this week…Are you or your family being affected by any of these issues?

above image from