My Abilene Health : News
Recipe for Chickpea Salad
Chickpeas are a staple of the Palestinian diet. In this salad, they are seasoned with a pungent but pleasing blend of cumin, olive oil and lemon juice.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Apple butter keeps cake moist and low-fat
Moist, tender cake � it must be loaded with fat, right? How about a cup of fat-free apple butter instead?
Florida girl who hiccuped for over a month hiccuping again after returning to school
A 15-year-old girl who hiccuped her way through part of January and all of February is hiccuping once again.
Bush panel on Walter Reed pledges broad look at veterans' health system
The Bush administration must examine all military and veterans' hospitals to see where the system has failed, one of the leaders of the presidential commission to investigate the problems said Sunday.
Legislation could derail Houston efforts to clean up pollution
Houston Mayor Bill White's efforts to clean up the city's air could be set back by two state lawmakers.
White and the city council have been debating a plan that would allow Houston to fine any industrial plant in the area found contributing to unhealthy concentrations of certain pollutants inside the city.
FDA issues new warnings on widely used anemia drugs
Federal health officials issued stern new warnings Friday for doctors to more carefully prescribe widely used anemia drugs that can increase the risk of death and other serious problems in patients with cancer and kidney disease.
Public health officials seek strict warnings on cold medicines commonly used to treat kids
Many over-the-counter cough and cold remedies can harm toddlers and preschoolers, charge critics who are pushing the government for stricter warnings to prevent life-threatening overdoses.
Group sues feds over medical marijuana claims
Armed with a new study showing the drug can ease pain in some HIV patients, medical-marijuana advocates sued the federal government Wednesday over its claim that pot has no accepted medical uses.
Pap tests still a good idea
DEAR DR. GOTT: Several times recently, you have had articles about women over 65 not getting Pap tests. I have had good tests all my life and this year, a bad one. I am 75 years old and was told I had uterine cancer. I had to have a radical hysterectomy, removing everything. After the tests were done, my lymph nodes were all clean. I was sent to the radiation doctor, who checked me out and read all the answers from the tests. It was stage 1-C. I had three options: Do nothing, have five treatments a week for five weeks, or have a high dosage once a week for three weeks. I chose option three. The surgeon said it was the best one. I have just finished them and have to go back in a month to be checked, with a follow-up every three months. All the doctors said it is the easiest one to treat. Hopefully, they will have done their jobs well. What would have happened without the Pap test? It would have taken hold of me and it would have been beyond stage 1. To all ladies, don't ever stop getting Pap tests done. I don't care how old you are.
Decade-long illness might be staph infection
DEAR DR. GOTT: This might be a strange letter, but I'm looking for a doctor who might be able to help me with a medical problem dating back some eight or 10 years. My husband and I went to Tucson to visit one of our daughters. Toward the end of the first week, I started to get chills. That developed into shaking I couldn't control. Next, I ran a fever of 102.5 F and had to vomit. My daughter took me to a clinic nearby, and I was told I just had a bad case of the flu and to go home, go to bed and drink plenty of water, which I did. The next day, after a bad night, I developed bad aches and pains that lasted 12 hours. I took only Tylenol for the pain, and it eased them somewhat. Each day I seemed a little better, and by the end of the week we were able to fly home.
Texas campus offers Mean Greens, low-calorie cafe with smaller portions _ a university trend
These days Mean Green means more than the green-jerseyed football team at the University of North Texas.
The campus also has a hot new cafeteria called Mean Greens. And as you might suspect, it serves up a lot of green, and otherwise healthy, food.
Eating fish while pregnant leads to smarter children, new study says
Women who eat seafood while pregnant may be boosting their children's IQ in the process, according to new research published Friday in The Lancet.
As more U.S. children become obese, child weight-loss surgeries become more common
As the popularity of stomach surgery has skyrocketed among obese adults, a growing number of doctors are asking, "Why not children, too?"
Showering and losing weight
DEAR DR. GOTT: Do you realize what you have done? I just read your column about the resulting weight loss of 1/2 pound after a shower.
There's no place like a safe home
DEAR DR. GOTT: It seems odd to be writing to a doctor clear across the United States for advice, but medicine isn't like it was years ago, when one doctor took care of all of your problems.
Want carrots with that? More students saying no to junk food in school cafeterias
The cafeteria lunch line at Columbus Elementary School moves quickly as students grab portions of carrots celery, apples and oranges. French fries and hamburgers, once cafeteria staples, aren't even offered.
Don't delay cancer treatment
DR. GOTT: I note in your answer to some individuals you say, "Ask your own doctor." Well, this I have done a number of times, but every answer is always sidestepped. So I ask you, as you are another party removed and well equipped to answer.
Less effective birth-control pills could still be useful, health advisers say
New birth-control pills that are less effective in preventing pregnancy than the original contraceptives of the 1960s still could win federal approval if they promise other benefits, under a recommendation by health advisers.
Antidepressants may raise risk of bone fractures in people over age 50, Canadian study says
The most popular pills for depression might substantially raise the risk for bone breaks in older people, a drawback that should be considered when the drugs are prescribed, Canadian researchers say.