Breastfeeding can burn up to 500 calories a day, according to a recent New York State Department of Health campaign.

As per the campaign and a recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine, this weight-loss boost can translate into other health benefits including a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The New York DOH launched the 1.6 million dollars public health education campaign last week to educate new mothers on the health benefits of breast-feeding, reports the New York Daily News. At least 75 pc of babies today are breast-fed for some period of time compared with 60 pc 15 years ago, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

While the physicians behind the campaign say new mothers should continue to breast-feed for a year or longer, many choose not to nurse beyond six months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Women who smoke regularly are four times more likely to have ectopic pregnancy than those who don't smoke, say scientists. Researchers of the Edinburgh University have found a chemical in cigarette smoke that causes a reaction, which may lead to ectopic pregnancies.

The researchers said Cotinine triggered a reaction, which increased a protein in the Fallopian tubes. The protein, called PROKR1, raised the risk of an egg implanting outside the womb.

PROKR1 allows pregnancies to implant correctly inside the womb, but its presence in the Fallopian tubes is believed to increase the risks of this happening outside the womb.

The study found that women who smoked and developed an ectopic pregnancy had twice as much PROKR1 in their Fallopian tubes as women who did not smoke and had previously had a healthy pregnancy.

Researchers believe that too much of the protein prevents the muscles in the walls of the Fallopian tubes from contracting, which in turn hinders the transfer of the egg to the womb.

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Acupuncture is often used to supplement traditional stroke rehabilitation, although its effectiveness is uncertain.

This study, perhaps the most comprehensive to date as it includes trials published in English language and Asian journals, was a systematic review conducted by researchers in South Korea and the United Kingdom.They included 10 studies (out of a potential 664) with a total of 711 patients who had had strokes.

"Few randomized, sham-controlled trials have tested the effectiveness of acupuncture during stroke rehabilitation," wrote Dr. Edzard Ernst, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, England with coauthors."The majority of the existing studies do not suggest that acupuncture is effective," he said.

They note that the only two studies showing positive effect were highly biased and had poor reporting which made them less reliable that the others included. The evidence from rigorous studies testing the effectiveness of acupuncture during stroke rehabilitation is negative."

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A new study has suggested that daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger are effective for relieving muscle pain following strenuous exercise.Though a favorite remedy of Chinese medicine practitioners for centuries, ginger has not been studied widely as a pain reliever.

Some research, however, has shown that ginger may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.In one study, four to 36 weeks of daily ginger doses (30 to 500 mg.) achieved reductions in knee pain from osteoarthritis.

Researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia College and State University examined the efficacy of multiple days of ginger doses for relieving experimentally induced muscle pain from 18 eccentric muscle exercises.

For the study, student volunteers were tested on 11 consecutive days while taking ginger supplements. Seventy-four students were divided in three groups given either raw ginger, heated ginger or placebo.

The authors hypothesized that pain ratings after exercise would be lower in the ginger group compared to placebo subjects.Results from the subjects' responses data showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity after eccentric exercise by 25 and 23 per cent, respectively.

Heat treating ginger, therefore, did not increase the analgesic benefit.

Tags : leg muscle pain,neck and shoulder muscle pain,joint and muscle pain,muscle pain relief,thigh muscle pain,chronic muscle pain

The early stages of Alzheimer's and other causes of dementia can be difficult to spot, but there are some signs that be useful in spotting the disease.

Early signs of Alzheimer's include:

Regularly misplacing everyday items, or putting things in odd places, and then forgetting or even denying having done.

Problems with everyday tasks like preparing a meal, putting it on the table, but forgetting to eat it and then preparing it all over again.


General disorientation, such as failing to recognize familiar streets and frequently becoming confused about the time of the day.

Diminished judgment, like dressing inappropriately for the weather or being unaware of dangerous situations.

Mood or behavioral problems which may resemble depression - usually a mixture of agitation, irritability, apathy and lack of care with personal hygiene.

Early signs of vascular dementia are similar, but the decline can happen in distinct steps rather than gradually.

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Additives in processed meat such as sausages and bacon could increase risk of bladder cancer by 30 per cent, says a new study.Salts like sodium nitrite and nitrate in these foods can react with stomach acid to form cancerous products during digestion.

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, United States assessed the relationship between the intake of the meat additives and the risk of developing bladder cancer.


According to the Telegraph , Dr Amanda Cross, who led the study, said that not enough data was available to draw conclusive findings, and called for further studies.A few other studies have already proven a link between meat and cancer of the bladder and bowels.

Tags : bladder cancer diet,gall bladder cancer diet,bladder cancer diets

Chili peppers might just be the solution for those with high blood pressure, according to a study.
The research in hypertensive rats has shown that while the active ingredient that gives the peppers their heat—a compound known as capsaicin—might set your mouth on fire, it also leads blood vessels to relax.

"We found that long-term dietary consumption of capsaicin, one of the most abundant components in chili peppers, could reduce blood pressure in genetically hypertensive rats," said Zhiming Zhu of Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China.


Those effects depend on the chronic activation of something called the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel found in the lining of blood vessels. Activation of the channel leads to an increase in production of nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule known to protect blood vessels against inflammation and dysfunction, Zhu explained.

The findings in rats should be confirmed in humans through epidemiological analysis, the researchers said.It isn't yet clear just how many capsaicin-containing chili peppers a day you'd have to eat to "keep the doctor away,".

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered why eating fish may be a great idea to ward off chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Jerrold Olefsky and colleagues identified a key receptor on macrophages abundantly found in obese body fat. Obesity and diabetes are closely correlated. The scientists say omega-3 fatty acids activate this macrophage receptor, resulting in broad anti-inflammatory effects and improved systemic insulin sensitivity.

Obese fat tissue contains lots of these macrophages producing lots of cytokines, which cause inflammation and rising insulin resistance.Olefsky and colleagues eventually narrowed their focus to a G-protein receptor called GPR120, which is found only on pro-inflammatory macrophages in mature fat cells. When the receptor is exposed to omega-3 fatty acids, it is activated and generates a strong anti-inflammatory effect.

"The omega-3 fatty acids switch on the receptor, killing the inflammatory response," said Olefsky

"Our work shows how fish oils safely do this, and suggests a possible way to treating the serious problems of inflammation in obesity and in conditions like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease through simple dietary supplementation.

However, it's not clear how much fish oil constitutes a safe, effective dose. If too high, it could up the risk of to increased risk of bleeding and stroke in some people.

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