Don’t overdo it on the laxatives — welcome relief the natural way
In the 2005 movie “Wedding Crashers,”
John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) cruise weddings (without invitations) to find dates. That is, until John falls for a bride’s sister, Claire. To steal her away from her boyfriend named
Sack (really!), John puts medicated eyedrops into his wine, producing a laxative effect that leaves him stuck in the bathroom for a whole evening. John takes the opportunity to bond with Claire.
Laxatives, used correctly and as a medical necessity, can provide welcome relief from constipation. Depending on the cause of your constipation, it may even be safe to take a low-dose laxative under medical supervision for quite a while. But often, they can be harmful.
The European Food Safety Authority recently warned that long-term use of a plant substance called hydroxy ant hr ac en es, found in laxatives such as senna and rhubarb extract, could cause
DNA damage. It also has been linked to cancer in animal studies. Abuse of any laxative has serious health risks. Longerterm use or taking high doses regularly — for constipation or as an unwise weight-loss trick — can put you at risk for nutritional deficiencies and kidney damage.
So for occasional constipation, natural relief comes from:
■ Drinking lots of water
■ The CRAP diet: cranberries, raisins, apricots and prunes
■ Eating high-fiber foods and avoiding fast and processed foods, dairy and red meat
■ Getting plenty of exercise (heading for 10,000 steps a day or the equivalent)
■ Through biofeedback sensors and monitors (in your doc’s office), you can learn how to control muscles responsible for your bowel movements!
When flu delivers the old one-two
Around 1919, the phrase “the old one-two” first appeared when sports writers described a leftright combo that landed an opponent flat on his back. And it’s just as appropriate today when using the phrase to describe what can happen if you come down with the flu.
This is an especially flu-ish year. As of Feb. 2, 42 states plus New York City and the District of Columbia report what’s called “high activity,” meaning people everywhere are coming down with influenza. And, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s hit the 65-and-over age group hardest.
Punch No. 2? If you’re sick enough with the flu to see a doctor, you’re also at increased risk for a heart attack. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that during the first seven days of diagnosis with laboratory-confirmed influenza, the risk of heart attack skyrockets to six times greater than normal for folks 35 and older! The good news? By day eight and beyond, the increased risk disappears completely.
A couple of tips:
If you are hit with the flu, we recommend you see if there’s a doc using telemedicine in your area; you don’t have to schlep to an office, exposing others and wearing yourself out.
If you have the flu and experience shortness of breath, chest, neck, jaw or arm pain, nausea and/or severe abdominal pressure, don’t ignore the symptoms or assume they’re from the flu. Call 911 to protect yourself from the one-two punch of flu and heart attack.
Question: My dad had a stroke last year that affected his left side.
He’s doing pretty well at physical therapy, but he can’t cook for himself right now, so I’m helping out. Is there anything specific I should know about what his diet should be? — Shannon L., Brooklyn, New York
Answer: Your timing is excellent. A new study presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference focused on how a version of the Mediterranean Diet helps people avoid poststroke cognitive decline. (Stroke survivors are twice as likely as the general population to experience cognitive decline.)
The researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the MIND Diet — that’s the Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. The diet study was tested by Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and it’s the Mediterranean Diet on, well, we’ll go ahead and say it: steroids. The nutrients emphasized in the MIND Diet are folate, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoids and flavonoids. That’s because those nutrients, the researchers say,
“are associated with slower rates of cognitive decline, while substances such as saturated and hydrogenated fats have been associated with dementia.”
To follow the MIND Diet, make sure your dad:
■ Gets three servings of whole grains and a combo of green leafy vegetables and other colors every day, along with a glass of wine.
■ Snacks on nuts most days.
■ Has beans every other day.
■ Enjoys skinless poultry and berries at least twice a week.
■ Eats fish at least once a week. We recommend twice weekly with either salmon or sea trout.
■ And DOES NOT EAT: Red meat, dairy, pastries, sweets, and fried or fast food.
Q: I was planning a surfin’ safari out to Southern California, but I heard that the water is polluted with bad bacteria, and that’s bad news for surfers. In fact, the water might not be safe here either. Are my surfing days over? — Mickey D., Montauk, New York
A: Here’s the deal: To determine if the water is safe for surfing
(or splashing), the first thing you need to do is look for the posted bacteria level warnings at whatever beach you are on, especially after a rain. You also can go to the website www.Surfrider.org to check the bacterial level of ocean water in the U.S. and Caribbean! The Blue Water Task Force’s volunteer, water-quality monitoring program on that site is awesome,
Dude. (Parents should check it out before taking young kids to the beach; also smart for anyone who is immune-compromised or elderly.)
Also check out the info generated by a 29-yearold Hawaiian surfer named Cliff Kapono, who also happens to be a biochemist at the University of California, San Diego. He heads up the Surfer Biome Project, which checks for antibiotic-resistant organisms by swabbing saliva and collecting fecal samples from surfers around the world. You can track his findings through www.cliffkapono.com.
Next, what we think you are referring to, Mickey, was a recent British study in the journal Environment International, which found that surfers (and frequent ocean swimmers) had about three times more of an antibiotic-resistant strain of E.coli bacteria in their system than the average beachgoer. (Researchers believe surfers ingest close to 6 ounces of seawater every outing, far more than casual waders or swimmers.) The study also found that about 9 percent of surfers tested were colonized by bacteria that are resistant to treatment with the antibiotic cefotaxime, while only 3 percent of average beachgoers were. This may be significant for the health of individual surfers as well as the general public, since it may increase the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
So, stay tuned to the resources that are tracking ocean water quality, support local and national efforts to control pollution (especially runoff from agribusinesses that give their livestock 60 percent of antibiotics used in the U.S.), and try not to swallow too much water if you fall off your board or get hit by a big wave.