Healthy diet could lower hypertension risk for women with gestational diabetes

Following a healthy diet that is high in fruit, vegetables and whole grains while low in salt and processed meat could reduce the risk of high blood pressure in later life for women who develop diabetes during pregnancy, according to the results of a new study.

Could fruit and vegetables, legumes and whole grains reduce the risk of hypertension linked to gestational diabetes?

The study, published in Hypertension, was conducted by Dr. Cuilin Zhang, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Rockville, MD, and colleagues.
"Our earlier research showed that diabetes in pregnancy increased a woman's risk of developing hypertension, even 16 years after giving birth," Dr. Zhang explains.
"Our current study shows that a healthy diet, which has been proven to reduce high blood pressure risk in the general population, appears to be equally effective in reducing the risk in this group of high-risk women."
Gestational diabetes is a common health problem for pregnant women, affecting around 5% of all pregnancies. During pregnancy, the placenta produces a number of hormones that can prevent insulin from working properly, leading to high blood sugar levels.
After birth and the delivery of the placenta, gestational diabetes usually goes away. However, gestational diabetes can have long-term effects; the condition increases the risk of type 2 diabetes later in life, as well as high blood pressure - also known as hypertension.
For the study, Dr. Zhang and her colleagues followed 3,818 women with a history of gestational diabetes who were participating in the Nurses' Health Study II. The women were followed for over 22 years and completed a questionnaire about their eating habits every 4 years.
During the study period, 1,069 of the participants developed hypertension. The researchers found that the women who followed a healthy diet were 20% less likely to develop hypertension than those who did not follow a healthy diet.
The researchers identified three healthy diets for the study: the alternative Mediterranean diet, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH).
Each of these healthy diets involved eating large amounts of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and fish. They also involved only small amounts of red meat, processed meat and salt.

Hypertension risk reduction should 'serve as an early warning signal'

The higher risk of hypertension associated with less healthy diets could partly be explained by weight gain. However, the researchers found that only 20-30% of this association could be explained in this way.

Fast facts about hypertension

• Hypertension is often caused by lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity
• If left untreated, hypertension increases the risk of aneurysm and heart failure.

Learn more about hypertension

Following a healthy diet appeared to reduce the risk of hypertension regardless of any changes in weight.
The researchers also adjusted their results for other factors that could have influenced the results, including smoking, ethnicity and family history of hypertension.
Participants who followed healthy diets were less likely to smoke and consume trans fats and more likely to eat a large amount of cereal fiber, exercise regularly and be moderate drinkers of alcohol.
"While the majority of these women's glucose levels will return to normal after delivery, our study should serve as an early warning signal," Dr. Zhang concludes.
Treatment plans for gestational diabetes typically include following a healthy diet alongside exercising regularly and monitoring blood sugar levels. Dr. Zhang adds that health care providers should encourage women to continue with these lifestyle alterations after pregnancy.
One limitation of the study is that the participants of the Nurses' Health Study II are predominantly white, and so the findings may not extend to the wider population.
First co-author Dr. Shanshan Li suggests that future research should examine the links between gestational diabetes, hypertension and diet in minority populations such as Hispanic and African-American women, as these groups have a higher risk of developing hypertension.
Recently, Medical News Today reported on a study that found the babies of women who are both obese and develop gestational diabetes are significantly more likely to be excessively large by 6 months of pregnancy.

Source-.medicalnewstoday

5 yoga poses guaranteed to engage your child in the practice

Parents, we hear you. Getting your child to sit still is never an easy task. But one yoga instructor is showing it's possible to do just that, and more.
Pilar Salazar has been doing yoga for the past 14 years, and teaching her own classes for half of those. The Costa Rican native honed her craft at Bodhi Surf School, where she practices Ashtanga yoga.
Today, she works to get others just as excited about the discipline.
"I knew I was going to like it. I like physical exercising and dancing. I have always been a very fit girl. When I went to Hatha yoga, it combined what I like about body movement and spirituality."

Pilar Salazar

Luckily for Salazar, she often has at least one buddy to perform the sequences with — her 5-year-old daughter, Maya.
Ever since she could walk, Maya has been practicing yoga. Her first move? Downward-facing dog.


"She has been very surrounded by practitioners, so it has been very present in her life."
Whether Maya is active for 15 minutes or an hour, she is reaping the many benefits that yoga offers. Salazar shared those and a few tips exclusively with TODAY.com.

Yoga creates bodily awareness

It gives kids moves, stretches and a better connection with their bodies.

It puts emotions under a magnifying glass

They learn how to breathe deeply and understand their emotions better. What I have learned through the practice of yoga — we can apply it through the day. "If she gets upset during the day, I ask her to take a moment, breathe deeply and figure out what exactly we are feeling," Salazar said.

With good posture, comes better coordination

Coordination is really important for kids to develop. The process helps with flexibility, coordination of movement and connection to oneself.

Do it as a family

Try to make it the most fun thing to do. Rather than sending them off to a children's yoga class, do it as a family. If we want people to learn, we always have to think about the best way to introduce information based on where the person is in their journey. It's a learning process that you'll take on together.

dee frog photography

There are many ways to ease into yoga, especially for families who haven't previously tried it.
Sun salutations, which are very simple ways to stretch, are for kids around 4 years of age or older. The important thing is to make it as natural and playful as it can be, Salazar said. Never force anything — start by doing it as a family.
Kids have a different span of attention than adults, so it's important to be patient and understanding. And so, maybe 10-15 minutes of yoga, three times a week is a great start.


They can start with three to five per day and ultimately build up to 10 per day. From there, they can start incorporating more yoga postures. In order to make it fun, use your imagination and create a story for every move and pose (Salazar tends to develop stories about animals and the jungle).
Salazar shared this sun salutation that she regularly does with her daughter:
1. Start in "mountain pose" with feet and hands together. Pretend you are a mountain, quiet and steady. Close your eyes and concentrate on hearing yourself breathe.

Pilar Salazar

2. Take a deep breath and and raise your hands up to the sky. Can you see the clouds? Try to touch them with your fingertips!

Pilar Salazar

3. Now, bend all the way forward to touch and feel the grass in feet and hands.

Pilar Salazar

4. Jump back as a frog would — your belly is going to touch the floor. As soon as this happens, lift your chest up and pretend to be a cobra.

Pilar Salazar

5. Stretch back to down dog. Hold it here for a moment.

Pilar Salazar

6. OK, Let's jump back to the front, raised your hands back to the sky and come back to mountain pose.

source-- .today

Groggy? 3 easy ways to improve the quality of your sleep

After receiving a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease, Shawn Stevenson wanted to improve his overall health. He changed his diet and exercise routine, but it soon became clear that a good night's rest remained as important as working out and eating right. This realization became a passion and he found himself reading study after study about sleep.
What he learned became the basis for the book, "Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success." While he provides 21 ways to get better sleep, he admits that most people won't use every tip — they'll mix and match what works for them. While some of the tips include traditional advice, such as having a good sleep environment, others include lifestyle changes that bolster sleep quality. He shares a few with TODAY:

"Timing of sleep is like timing in investment. It doesn't matter how much you invest, it is about when," he says.
When should people catch Zs? Between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
According to research, the body secretes the most human growth hormone during this time, which is essential for regulating muscle growth, bolstering the immune system, strengthening the bones, among other things. Sleeping during this time means the body produces the perfect amount of hormones.
It's also during this time that the body also produces the most melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wake cycles. Assuring that you're in bed at this time keeps melatonin production in check.
"It really supports our normal sleep cycles. It is not about getting so many hours, [it's about] getting full normal sleep cycle," Stevenson says.
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source--www.today

Diabetes Steals Years, Adds Disabilities

 Adults with diabetes die earlier and suffer longer with disabilities than men and women without the blood-sugar disease, researchers are reporting. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes will shorten the lives of 50-year-old men and women by more than three years. And only about 13 of their remaining years will be disability-free, the new study found.
"People with diabetes are spending a significant proportion of life with disability," said lead researcher Dianna Magliano. She is head of the diabetes and population health laboratory at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
Elevated blood sugar levels associated with diabetes lead to blood vessel complications that can cause vision loss, movement problems and amputations. Other disabilities not usually tied to diabetes include a decline in brain functioning, Magliano said.
"We need to undertake research to understand the mechanisms by which diabetes leads to disability," she added. "This will then help with the development of strategies to prevent disability in diabetes, which in turn may lead to more years lived disability-free."
The researchers estimated life expectancy and years lived with disability using data from Australian diabetes and death registries.
At age 50, a diabetic man can expect to live another 30 years, on average -- about 17 of them with disability. A woman that age with diabetes will likely live about 34 years, but she will be burdened with disabilities for roughly 21 of those years, the study authors estimated.
Compared to their healthy peers, diabetic men will lose 8.2 years of living without disability and women 9.1 years, the researchers said.
Another diabetes expert who wasn't involved in the research welcomed the study.
"The worldwide epidemic of diabetes continues, so the findings from Australia are not surprising," said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
In the United States, one-third of patients with diabetes are not even aware they have the disease, he said, and one-third who are aware of having the disease are not treated.
"The sad news is that the ones that are treated are not treated at goal, and less than half have their blood sugar controlled, and 80 to 90 percent are not treated for high blood pressure or high cholesterol," Zonszein said.
Nonetheless, the survival and disability-free survival of patients with diabetes have improved significantly, he pointed out.
"This study is another wake-up call to revise our current practice," Zonszein said. He noted that the United States doesn't do enough to prevent diabetes.
"We have the tools to provide an earlier and more aggressive treatment for this common disease," he said.
Type 2 diabetes is linked to an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. The study did not distinguish between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But because type 2 is far more common, the findings mostly pertain to people with that form of the disease. However, the authors noted that because the onset of type 1 diabetes usually occurs early in life, people with type 1 may have more complications and possibly a higher risk of disability.
Prevention measures for type 2 diabetes generally include lifestyle changes, such as weight loss, exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking.
More than 400 million people worldwide have diabetes, with most nations reporting sharp increases in recent decades, due to rising rates of obesity, according to background notes in the report. And, approximately one-third of people 25 or younger are likely to eventually develop diabetes, the study authors said.
source--usnews

This Is What Happens To Your Brain On No Sleep

Photo: Getty Images

Bedtime is one of the most important parts of the day for the brain. The latest studies show that when we slumber, the brain performs important housekeeping tasks that clear away the debris of the day’s work and help reset and restore nerve networks so they are ready to operate again at full capacity when we wake.
But a lack of sleep deprives the brain of this essential rest period, and our ability to get through the day might be compromised. In a small study published in the journal Radiology, a team of Chinese and European researchers report a more detailed analysis of how insomnia can affect specific types of brain nerves in parts of the brain that regulate cognition, emotion and sensory processes.
The researchers compared the brain images of 23 people with insomnia and 30 healthy controls. They specifically focused on white matter volume, which represents nerve cells that are coated in a special protein called myelin that improves their ability to send signals to one another. Earlier brain imaging studies had suggested that people with insomnia have differences in certain parts of the brain that could be connected to inadequate myelin. So Shumei Li from the Guangdong No. 2 Provincial People’s Hospital and her colleagues compared white matter function among people with insomnia and those who slept well.
RELATED: Why Interrupted Sleep Is Worse Than Short Sleep
They found that people with insomnia—defined as trouble sleeping for over a month that’s associated with daytime sleepiness and sleep disturbances—had significantly less white matter connectivity, especially between areas that control sleep and wakefulness, than those without insomnia. Li speculates that this disruption in signals between these regions was triggered by thinning of the myelin surrounding the neurons, which resulted in less chatter among them.
In fact, 83%, or five of the six major nerve tracts that the scientists analyzed, were reduced among people with insomnia. Most were concentrated in the right part of the brain, where emotions and many thinking functions are regulated, as well as where sensory information like sight, smell and touch are processed.
Li says that more studies are needed to explain what might be causing the brain differences in people with insomnia, but the results hint at a starting point.
Source-- news.health

5 Alternatives to Trendy Superfoods That Are Just as Healthy

Photo: Getty Images

Can’t stomach kale, or quinoa? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many of my clients aren’t fans of the latest trendy superfoods. Fortunately for anyone with an aversion to chia seeds and goji berries, there are equally good-for-you alternatives. Each of the replacements below contains similar nutrients but differs in texture or flavor—so you can get the same super-healthy perks and please your palate too.

Eat cabbage instead of cauliflower

Cauliflower recently stepped into the limelight, with headlines like “Move Over Broccoli, Cauliflower is the New It Food!” and Pinterest posts galore dedicated to cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower rice, even cauliflower buffalo wings. But if you’re just not into cauliflower, opt for cabbage instead. They are both cruciferous veggies, which are known to be potent immune supporters, natural detoxifiers, and defenders against both heart disease and cancer.
To make a simple slaw, toss shredded cabbage with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, black pepper, and sea salt. Mix up the flavors by adding other good-for-you ingredients, like fresh grated ginger, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, or chopped fruit. If you’re not a fan of raw cabbage, try cooking it with a bit of olive oil, a sliced apple, apple cider vinegar, a chopped yellow onion, sea salt, and black pepper.
RELATED: 9 Superfood Upgrades That Will Make Your Meals Even Healthier

Eat sesame seeds instead of chia seeds

Chia seeds are everywhere these days: drinks, bars, crackers, jams, you name it! There’s no doubt they’re good for you, but if you can’t seem to jump on the chia bandwagon (or you’ve just grown tired of them), go for sesame seeds instead. While they don’t pack the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as chia seeds, research has shown that they boost blood levels of antioxidants, plus lower overall and “bad” LDL cholesterol in people who have high levels.
And like chia seeds, sesame seeds are rich in magnesium—packing over 30% of your daily needs per quarter cup. This mineral is crucial for muscle, nerve, and immune function, along with regulating heart rhythm, blood pressure, and blood sugar. It also contributes to the structural development of bone, and is needed to make DNA.
Incorporating sesame seeds into your meals is simple. Sprinkle them onto salads or cooked veggies, toast and add them to oatmeal, or whip them into a smoothie. To mix up the texture, you can try sesame seed butter or tahini (a paste made from the ground seeds). I use tahini flavored with lemon juice, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, and minced garlic as a mayo alternative, dipping sauce, dressing, or tasty topping for cooked veggies.

Eat chickpeas instead of quinoa

These days it seems everyone is crazy for quinoa, a star of the whole grain family. But believe it or not, you can get similar nutritional benefits from chickpeas. Like quinoa, chickpeas are naturally gluten-free and provide a unique balance of fiber-rich “good” carbs and plant-based protein.
For the sake of comparison, here’s the breakdown: a half cup of cooked quinoa supplies about 20 grams of carbs, 2.5 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein, while the same amount of chickpeas has 17 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein. Both also contain minerals and antioxidants, and can be eaten hot, chilled, or in flour form.
Chickpeas are easy to sneak into your diet. Add them to soups, stews, chili, or sprinkle them into garden salads and chilled veggie side dishes. For a crunchy, satisfying snack, roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. You can even use chickpea flour in baking or cooking, to thicken sauces, coat lean protein, or as a smoothie add-in. And don’t forget hummus—chickpeas are the main ingredient!

Eat cranberries instead of goji berries

Goji berries became popular largely due to their exotic nature; the fact that they are used in Chinese medicine to enhance immunity; and because they reportedly have high levels of antioxidants. However, many people find goji berries to be too bitter. Additionally, since they’re a member of the nightshade family, some people avoid them for fear of inflammatory symptoms.
For similar immunity benefits, you can eat cranberries. One study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that polyphenol antioxidants from cranberries boosted cells’ immune response to cold and flu. Plus the classic advice that cranberries help prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs) is actually true. In one recent University of Wisconsin study, 20 women prone to UTIs consumed one serving (about 1.5 ounces) of sweetened dried cranberries daily. Within six months, the mean UTI rate among subjects decreased  significantly.
For some fun ways to eat dried cranberries, add them to your trail mix, stir into oatmeal, add to garden salads, use as a topping for cooked veggies and stir frys, or fold them into melted dark chocolate for a healthy treat.
RELATED: 5 Slimming Superfoods

Eat kalettes instead of kale

Among my clients, I find that most who dislike kale have had unpleasant experiences with the raw greens, either in salads or green juices. Cooking, however, brings out an entirely different and sweeter flavor profile. The texture totally changes too: Kale becomes crispy when baked and softer when sautéed, added to soups, stir frys, or frittatas.
But if you’re still not loving kale, kalettes are a great alternative. A (non-GMO) kale-Brussels sprout hybrid, they have a sweeter, nuttier flavor. Less bitter and earthy than kale, kalettes offer similar protective nutrients, including ample amounts of vitamins K and C and antioxidants.
To give them a try, make a batch of oven roasted kalettes. Just toss with a little sesame oil, sea salt, and black pepper, place on a baking sheet and cook at 475 degrees. Or, for a sweet version, mix them with coconut oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon before cooking.
Meet Cynthia Sass at the Health Total Wellness Weekend at Canyon Ranch April 22-24. For details, go to Health.com/TotalWellness.
Do you have a question about nutrition? Chat with us on Twitter by mentioning @goodhealth and @CynthiaSass. 
Cynthia Sass is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she’s Health’s contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the New York Yankees, previously consulted for three other professional sports teams, and is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics. Sass is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, and her newest book is Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast. 
source-news.health

Losing a Loved One May Literally Break Your Heart

Photo: Getty Images

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Losing your nearest and dearest may break your heart, literally.
People are more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat following the death of their spouse or life partner, particularly if they’re younger or the loved one died unexpectedly, a new study suggests.
Risk of atrial fibrillation—a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can cause stroke and heart disease—was 41 percent higher among people mourning the death of their partner, compared to others who are not grieving, Danish researchers report.
The study reinforces earlier research that has suggested a link between heart rhythm problems and emotional turmoil, said Dr. Mark Estes, director of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Tufts Medical Center, in Boston.
“Many patients describe that their atrial fibrillation gets worse at a time of emotional stress,” Estes said. “This really validates prior observations. It’s something we hear from our patients all the time.”
People younger than 60 were more than twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation if they lost their partner, the new study reported.
In addition, those whose partners were relatively healthy in the month before they died were 57 percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation. This increased risk was not seen in people whose partners were ailing and expected to die soon.
In both cases, it appears that the shock of the death added to the impact of the event on the survivor’s health, said Dr. Mary Norine Walsh, medical director of heart failure and cardiac transplantation at St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis.
“This suggests the suddenness or the unexpectedness of the death contributed to the risk of a-fib,” said Walsh, who also is vice president of the American College of Cardiology. “The people who were older and suffered a loss, maybe their loss was more expected.”
For the study, researchers compared more than 88,600 Danish people newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with 886,120 healthy people, matched for age and sex, between 1995 and 2014.
People who lost their partner were not only at greater risk for an abnormal heart rhythm, but the risk was independent of gender and other conditions that might contribute to the disorder, the researchers said.
The risk seemed greatest eight to 14 days following a death, after which it gradually subsided. After a year the risk was similar to that of someone who had not been bereaved, the researchers said.
Because this was an observational study, it cannot draw a direct cause-and-effect link between the death of a partner and atrial fibrillation, the researchers noted.
But stress and powerful emotions are known to flood the body with “fight or flight” hormones that can take a toll on the heart, said Dr. Suraj Kapa, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist in Rochester, Minn.
For example, studies have shown that depression or anxiety can be used to predict whether a person will relapse into atrial fibrillation after going through cardioversion, a medical procedure that uses electricity or drugs to put the heart back into a normal rhythm, Kapa said.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the study shows why people who’ve suffered a tragic death in their lives need the support of friends and family.
“We use that phrase ‘broken heart’ as though it’s a colloquialism, but there’s a reality to it,” Steinbaum said. “The most important thing is having a support system, especially in the event of a sudden, unexpected death. It’s so important that people get the support they need.”
It also underlines the importance of doctors taking a few minutes during an office visit to ask about their patient’s personal life, Walsh said.
“Physicians should be taking a careful personal history so the loss of a loved one is not missed,” Walsh said, noting the bereaved can be counseled on ways to protect their heart health.
The study was published April 5 in the journal Open Heart.
source-news.health

How to Make Energizing Banana Bread With Avocados

Photo: Beth Lipton

Banana bread—it can be a sugar bomb thinly disguised as healthy food, or an energizing breakfast or snack that helps fuel your day.
We set out to make the latter, a loaf that’s grain free for the Paleos, contains no refined sugar, and is chock full of healthy fats to keep you sated and make your skin glow. Our secret ingredient? Avocados. They give this loaf a moist texture and tons of fiber and nutrients.
This bread by itself isn’t sweet like traditional banana bread. If you want it to taste like a treat, fold some mini dark chocolate chips into the batter, or slather a slice with a chocolate nut butter spread like Nocciolata or Justin’s Chocolate-Hazelnut Butter, or some all-fruit jam. If you prefer a slice on the savory side, eat it on its own or spread on a bit of butter or cream cheese.
Any way you slice it, you’ll love this modern take on a classic.

Avocado-Banana Bread

Yield: 1 8-inch loaf
1 ½ cups almond meal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. avocado, halved, pitted, flesh scooped out (about ¾ cup flesh)
2 medium ripe bananas (about 13 oz.), sliced
3 Tbsp. coconut oil, plus more for pan
2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 large egg
½ cup chopped nuts, unsweetened coconut or chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan with coconut oil.
2. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a food processor, process avocado and bananas until blended. Add 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup and egg; process just until blended. Add avocado mixture to almond mixture and stir until combined. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips, if using.
3. Spread batter in loaf pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.source-news.health

I Got Eyelash Extensions and Something Really Unexpected Happened

Elysia Berman / MIMI

If you’re considering getting eyelash extensions, chances are you’ve done a bit of research. While there are plenty of articles about the process (we actually wrote one a few months ago), there’s less information on the aftermath—how eyelash extensions change your makeup routine, for one. To learn more, I paid a visit to Clementina Richardson at Envious Lashes in New York City and had 100 individual lashes added to each eye. And what happened next was seriously unexpected…
RELATED: Eyebrow Extensions Changed My Face (and My Life)
First, here’s the real talk—eyelash extensions look f’ing incredible. Here’s a before and after pic Richardson took on her iPhone:

MIMI

That said, they’re not the most comfortable in the beginning. It pretty much feels like you’re wearing false eyelashes 27/4, which is expected considering you have fake strands literally superglued to your eyelids. But after 2-3 days, that feeling completely goes away and you don’t even notice they’re there. Unless, of course, you accidentally rub your eyes in the shower and have a massive panic attack (guilty) because you may have just accidentally ruined them, which brings me to the best part of getting eyelash extensions…
You really can’t rub your eyes—at least, you’re not supposed to. It’s a hard habit to break, but an important one, not only to extend the life of your eyelash extensions, but also to prevent sagging and other signs of aging. I can’t tell you how guilty I was of aggressively rubbing my eyes in the shower after washing my hair. It was probably my worst beauty habit (other than occasionally picking my nails). But now, a couple of weeks after getting eyelash extensions, the temptation is all but gone. And my eyes are already looking bigger, brighter, and more well rested (which may just be the result of the extra set of lashes, but either way, I’m not mad about it).
RELATED: Kim Kardashian’s Magical Lashes Are Within Your Reach
When it comes to your morning beauty routine, eyelash extensions will definitely shake things up, but in a good way. Let me preface this by saying that I am (er, was) an eye makeup junkie—I honestly can’t remember the last time I left the house without a generous coat (or three) of mascara. My guess is middle school. But now that I have extensions, I can go completely makeup free with confidence (and sleep an extra 10 minutes every morning, which is an added bonus).
When I asked Richardson if I could wear mascara with my extensions, all she said was, “Trust me. You won’t need to.” She was obviously right (also the answer is no, you shouldn’t). Tbh, there’s no better feeling than waking up in the morning with your makeup basically already done for you. Though if you can’t go without a little black eyeliner or pop of shadow, you’ll want to take it off with something super mild like Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover ($4.99; target.com).

Elysia Berman / MIMI

Rocking eyelash extensions is a legit commitment, though. You have to apply a special conditioning serum every night to keep them soft (and keep your natural lashes healthy as well), curl them with a heated curler (your regular one will damage them), and brush them out every morning. Plus, you’re not really supposed to get them wet, which makes your nighttime face washing routine slightly more difficult (especially if you’re a little tipsy… hey, no judgment here). Switching out your cotton pillowcases for silk or a higher thread count is also a good idea since the fabric can harm your skin and lashes. Oh yeah, and you have to go for refills every 2-3 weeks if you decide to keep them—because if you wait too long they’ll fall out naturally and you’ll have to start over from scratch.
source-news.health

Here’s How Many Miles You’d Have to Run to Burn Off a Pizza

Photo: Getty Images

Would you gorge on a couple slices of hot, cheesy pizza if you knew how bad it was for you? Of course you would. Past research has shown that people mostly ignore calorie counts when they’re posted on a menu.
But maybe you’d think twice if you knew how much exercise it would take to burn it off: 3.5 miles, or 43 minutes, of running.
There’s now a movement to label foods with their equivalent amount of the exercise in minutes it would take to expend the number of calories you take in from that food. According to a new viewpoint published in the BMJ, it’s one way to help fight skyrocketing rates of obesity and other weight-related diseases. (Rates of diabetes across the world have nearly doubled since 1980, according to a World Health Organization report released this week.)
“This is what we’re up against,” says viewpoint author Shirley Cramer, chief executive at the Royal Society of Public Health in the U.K. “We need to think of different, more imaginative ways of giving people information and nudging behavior.”
The icons, which are just an idea for now, would show a stick figure walking, running, swimming or biking next to the number of minutes required to cancel out calories consumed. A mocha coffee drink would take 53 minutes to walk off, while a blueberry muffin would require almost half an hour of running, according to the Royal Society of Public Health’s policy paper.
“We want to think of ways of making it easier for people to make a healthier choice, or at least to understand the choice they’re making,” Cramer says. “By putting it together with physical activity, you’re giving people a positive option as well. People prefer that to being told not to eat something.”
Cramer acknowledges that the icons could pose problems for people with eating disorders, who need no reminder that it takes far more energy and effort to burn off a doughnut than it takes to eat one. “But in the big picture, we have many, many more overweight and obese people than people with eating disorders,” she says. The Royal Society for Public Health is currently lobbying the U.K. government and food-and-beverage industry to try the idea on some food products.
The goal is to shrink the gap between food and exercise and to help people understand how calories fit into their everyday life, and Cramer is betting that the labels have staying power. Knowing that it takes 77 minutes to walk off a sticky cinnamon bun is a hard fact to forget.
source-news.health

4 Things New Moms Don’t Need to Feel Guilty About, According to an Ob-Gyn

Photo: Getty Images

As moms, we come up with countless reasons to feel guilty. (My motto as I was raising my four kids: I mother, therefore I am guilty.) But there are certain things that should never, ever cause you an ounce of guilt, including your childbirth choices, and the choices you make during your baby’s early infancy.
How do I know? As an obstetrician-gynecologist who writes extensively about natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and attachment parenting, I’ve read the scientific literature and know that it often differs dramatically from what new moms are told. Below, four instances in which feeling guilty is completely unjustified.

You had an epidural

Childbirth hurts—an unbelievable amount. Pain specialists have found that the pain of childbirth is among the worst pain a human being can experience.
What’s that you say? It’s good pain. No, there’s no such thing as good pain.
Childbirth pain is carried by the exact same nerves, along the same pathways in the spinal cord, to the same pain centers in the brain, by way of the same neurotransmitters as every other source of pain. Yes, the pain comes from a happy event, giving birth. But passing a kidney stone is also a happy event for a sufferer and you don’t notice men declining pain relief for kidney stones.
Epidurals “drug” the baby? The medication in an epidural isn’t injected into the blood stream. It bathes the nerves as they leave the spinal cord. So little of the medication gets into the mother’s blood stream that it doesn’t “drug” her. Even less crosses the placenta so it couldn’t possibly drug the baby.
Sure, epidurals like any form of pain medication carry risks, but those risks apply to the mother, not the baby, and if the mother judges the pain to be severe enough to accept the small risks associated with epidurals (like the 1% risk of spinal headache), it makes sense to accept those risks.
The pain of childbirth is empowering? Call me when they start telling men that unmedicated vasectomy is empowering.
RELATED: 16 Things You Must Know About Sex After Pregnancy

You had a C-section

Childbirth is dangerous. It is a leading cause of death among young women and the leading cause of death for babies. We’ve come a long way in preventing and managing deadly complications, but we can’t abolish all risk. Often the only thing we can decide is who—mother or baby—is going to shoulder that risk.
For example, when a baby is breech (bottom first), the risk of injury and death during childbirth is much higher than if it were positioned head first. If the mother opts to have a C-section, the additional risk to the baby disappears as mom takes on risk (from the surgery) to herself. Women who choose a C-section to protect the baby are behaving selflessly and deserve our admiration, not condemnation.
What about the harms of C-sections to babies? Most of those purported harms are either short-term breathing issues that resolve by themselves or purely speculative, like claims that a C-section can disturb an infant’s gut microbiome (the population of bacteria that lives in the digestive tract). We don’t yet know what constitutes a normal gut microbiome in infants, let alone what a disrupted microbiome looks like.

You stopped breastfeeding (or never started in the first place)

The biggest risk of infant formula comes from making it with contaminated water. In countries with clean water, that risk disappears.
How about the benefits of breastfeeding? The only benefits supported by solid scientific evidence are fewer colds and fewer episodes of diarrheal illness across the entire population of infants.
What about claims that breastfeeding prevents obesity, allergies, and other illnesses? They’re based on evidence that is weak, conflicting, and doesn’t correct for confounding variables like maternal education and socioeconomic status. Women who are more educated and wealthier are more likely to breastfeed. Most of the claimed benefits of breastfeeding are really benefits of having more money and access to high-quality healthcare.
RELATED: Myths and Facts About Breastfeeding

You didn’t feel bonded to your baby right away

Some women feel love at first sight when they meet their future partner, but most don’t. That’s because it takes time for deep and abiding love to develop. The same is true for many mothers and their infants. Love isn’t instantaneous; it grows slowly.
Babies are not ducklings. They don’t imprint on their mothers shortly after birth. Human bonding is a long process that happens spontaneously and inevitably. Everything we know about mother-infant attachment tells us that skin-to-skin contact isn’t necessary. Breastfeeding isn’t necessary. Even being born from the body of your mother isn’t necessary (as any adoptive parent could tell you).
The reality is that being a good mother is NOT about specific parenting choices. The most critical ingredient of good mothering is love. And that love is what makes for a healthy child.
source-news.health

Jennifer Lawrence Has a Lot to Say About “Normal” Body Weight

"I think we've gotten so used to underweight that when you are a normal weight it's like, 'Oh, my God, she's curvy.'" —#JenniferLawrence tells @LauraBrown99 in our May 2016 issue. Go to the link in our bio to read more on BAZAAR.com. Photographs by @Mario_Sorenti Styling by @AlastairMckimmStylist in @Dior Hair by @Duffy_duffy Makeup by @peterphilipsmakeup

A photo posted by Harper's BAZAAR (@harpersbazaarus) on Apr 7, 2016 at 8:03am PDT

Jennifer Lawrence has a message for everyone—it’s time we change our views on ‘normal’ weight. She opened up to Harper’s Bazaar about the film industry’s body standards, and just like fellow actress Melissa McCarthy, Lawrence would like to see some major changes in the way Hollywood, and society as a whole, defines normal.
RELATED: Jennifer Lawrence Thinks She’s “Aging Like the President”
“I would like us to make a new normal-body type. Everybody says, ‘We love that there is somebody with a normal body!’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like I have a normal body.’ I do Pilates every day. I eat, but I work out a lot more than a normal person. I think we’ve gotten so used to underweight that when you are a normal weight it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s curvy.’ Which is crazy,” Lawrence said in an interview with the mag for its May issue.
RELATED: Jennifer Lawrence Got a Really Confusing Tattoo
The face of Dior also sounded off on feminism and why it shouldn’t mean giving up your femininity. “If we are moving forward in a society, you are feeling stronger as a woman, and you want to be taken more seriously. You don’t have to take away the wonderful traits that come with being a woman: We are sensitive. We are pleasers. We’re empathetic,” Lawrence explained.
source-news.health

Predicting Longevity May Be Simpler Than Thought

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THURSDAY, April 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Testing the length of the ends of your DNA strands may not be the best predictor of how long you will live, a new study suggests.
Instead, simpler measures that include your age and your ability to climb stairs or walk a short distance may more accurately pinpoint longevity, researchers report.
The study team analyzed death rates over five years among older people in the United States (60 and older), Costa Rica (61 and older) and Taiwan (53 and older).
The aim was to find out how a broad set of basic measures—such as age, mobility, and smoking habits—compared with gauging the length of telomeres in predicting death over a five-year period. Telomeres are the ends of DNA that shrink with age, the researchers said.
Since the discovery that telomeres act as a “molecular clock” in people, there has been great interest in finding out if telomere length can be used to accurately predict when someone will die, the scientists explained.
But this new study found that using telomere length was just slightly better than a “coin toss,” the researchers said. Actual age was, by far, the single best predictor of death, according to the findings published online April 6 in the journal PLoS One.
“Scientific evidence on telomere length has been sensationalized and, in some cases, exaggerated by the media and by companies that have capitalized on the research to market products that may promise more than they can deliver,” said study author Dana Glei. She is a senior research investigator at Georgetown University’s Center for Population and Health, in Washington, D.C.
Study co-author Noreen Goldman is a professor of demography and public affairs at Princeton University. She said in a Princeton news release, “We were surprised that most indicators outperformed telomere length, including self-reported measures of health and mobility, an assessment of cognitive [mental] function, smoking, exercise, an inflammatory marker and a measure of kidney function.”
The findings show there is no evidence to suggest that doctors should test telomere length to determine how long patients will live, the study authors said.
“It is much easier and less expensive to ask someone’s age than to collect blood, extract DNA and measure telomere length,” Glei said in the news release.
The study results are also important for consumers, the researchers said.
“On the Internet, they sell test-your-own-telomere-length kits and supplements that are touted to help people maintain their telomeres. We caution buyers to beware,” Glei added.
source-news.health

Sitting Too Much Is Bad For You, But This Could Help

Photo: Getty Images

FRIDAY, April 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Regular exercise helps counteract the harmful health effects of too much sitting, a new British study suggests.
“This research is significant because it demonstrates yet again why physical activity and exercise is so important. It shows that people who spend large amounts of time not moving, either through work, leisure or lifestyle, can counteract some of the negative effects of sedentary behavior by regularly exercising,” study co-author Kishan Bakrania, a University of Leicester researcher, said in a university news release.
Researchers analyzed data from a 2008 national health survey of adults in England. They grouped people according to their levels of physical activity and sitting time.
Adults who sat a lot and didn’t get any exercise had more heart disease and diabetes risk factors than those who spent a lot of time sitting but got regular exercise, the researchers said.
They also found that people who spent less time sitting had higher levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, even if they didn’t get regular exercise.
“By suggesting that being physically active may offset some of the deleterious consequences of routinely engaging in high levels of sedentary behavior, this study further emphasizes the importance of physical activity in the promotion and maintenance of health,” said lead researcher Thomas Yates, from the Leicester Diabetes Centre and the University of Leicester.
However, this was a so-called observational study and further research is needed to confirm these findings, he added.
source-news.health

Doctors Weigh in on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Bee Sting Therapy

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Photo: Getty Images

As if living like Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t already hard enough. You can now add “getting stung by actual bees on purpose” to your list of ways to channel the goop founder, right below vitamin IV infusions, $700 leggings, and sex dust.
Paltrow recently spoke with the New York Times about her beauty regimen, which includes products from Drunk Elephant, Tata Harper, Shu Uemura, and her new line with Juice Beauty. Oh, and also the occasional dose of bee venom.
“I’ve been stung by bees. It’s a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy,” Paltrow told the Times. “People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It’s actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, it’s painful.”
RELATED: I Took Gwyneth Paltrow’s Healthy Living Advice for a Week

So… what is apitherapy, exactly?

“Apitherapy, while not exactly mainstream, does have its followers, which will no doubt grow considerably after Gwyneth Paltrow said she has experienced benefits from the ancient practice,” says Christopher Hobbs, PhD, an herbal medicine expert and consultant in Oakland, California.
Although Paltrow was referring to bee venom, apitherapy includes the use of any bee product for therapeutic purposes—including honey, beeswax, bee pollen (which is pollen that’s been packed by worker bees), and a bee secretion used to feed larvae called royal jelly.
During a bee sting therapy session, the practitioner picks up honey bees with tweezers and places them on your skin, at which point the bees do exactly what you’d expect them to do. People receiving apitherapy treatment may be stung as many as 80 times(!) in one day.
RELATED: Skip Gwyneth Paltrow’s Sex Bark and Try This Recipe Instead

Are there any risks or side effects?

The American Apitherapy Society claims that apitherapy can help ease symptoms of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, wounds, bacterial diseases, and more. But research on the practice is limited.
While some studies have suggested that bee venom may lessen symptoms of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, a 2015 review concluded that adverse reactions to bee venom therapy are “frequent” and warned practitioners to use caution when administering the treatment.
“I do not recommend bee stings as anti-inflammatory agents to patients,” says Gary Goldenberg, MD, a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “Many patients are severely allergic to bee stings and may not know it.”
In addition to a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, other possible side effects include swelling and infection, says David Stoll, MD, a dermatologist in Beverly Hills.
“Bee stings should be avoided, not used as treatment,” as Dr. Goldenberg put it.
So yeah, no thanks, Gwyneth. We’ll pass on the venom.
source-news.health

Here’s How I Made an Instagram-Worthy Fruit Pizza

You know your fruit obsession has gotten out of hand when you decide to make a fruit pizza (aka what I did last Saturday night). But hey, it was delicious, and I highly recommend you give it a try.
Crafting a fruity rendition of this classic comfort food is super simple. There are zero culinary skills required. All you need to do is get creative with ingredients inspired by dough, cheese, and toppings.
For my “dough” I bought a petite whole watermelon and sliced two flat disks from the middle to form the base of two personal size “pizzas.” I figured the rind would serve as a handy “crust” once I sliced up the pies. Then I spread a thick layer of vanilla Greek yogurt on top of each for my “cheese.”
RELATED: How to Make Energizing Banana Bread with Avocados
Next, it was time for the fun part—the eye-catching toppings. I chose to use blueberries, strawberries, a plum, a banana, an apple, and a kiwi. Each fruit added a new pop of color. (Hello, beautiful Instagram pic!)
One word of warning: Things can get finger-lickin’ messy if you’re constantly rearranging the fruit, so it’s helpful to have a mental image of your pizzas before you start decorating.
RELATED: 4 Healthy Tips from a Woman Who Eats for a Living
For a finishing touch, I drizzled melted peanut butter on the plates (because peanut butter is life) and garnished with leftover slices of apple, pear, and plum. And voilà! Two deliciously healthy desserts.

If you make your own fruit pizza, share it with us on Instagram (@healthmagazine) with #HealthCleanEating! We’ll regram our favorites.
Source--news.health

Fentanyl: What you need to know about the deadly opioid

The powerful synthetic opiate fentanyl is making headlines, as California health officials recently attributed it to 42 overdoses and 10 deaths in the Sacramento area over just 12 days.
But Sacramento isn't the only area being hit hard by the drug. Over the past few years, cities across the country have experienced similar outbreaks, prompting the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to issue a nationwide alert about the dangers of fentanyl in 2015.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl, increased by 80 percent from 2013 to 2014, and roughly 5,500 people died from overdoses involving these drugs in 2014.
What is fentanyl?
Typically used to treat or manage severe pain in patients, fentanyl is a prescription drug similar to but more powerful than morphine. When prescribed by a doctor, it is administered via injection, patch, or pill.
The outbreak in California has been linked to counterfeit hydrocodone tablets found to contain fentanyl, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services reported.
"This is not bathroom biochemistry. It's going to be very sophisticated," Dr. Timothy Albertson, a toxicologist at UC Davis Medical Center, told CBS News.
Overdoses in other cities have been tied to illegally made fentanyl produced in laboratories and mixed with or substituted for heroin in powder form.
The drug goes by several street names, including Apache, China girl, China white, dance fever, friend, goodfella, jackpot, murder 8, TNT, and Tango and Cash.
How fentanyl works
Like morphine, heroin, and other opioids, fentanyl binds to the body's opiate receptors, which are highly concentrated in areas of the brain associated with pain and emotions. This drives up dopamine levels and produces a state of euphoria and relaxation.
But when taken at large doses, or when laced in other narcotics, it can cause severe side effects and death.
An extremely powerful drug
Fentanyl is the most potent opioid available for use in medical treatment. Doctors say it is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the DEA.
When mixed with street-sold heroin and cocaine, fentanyl markedly amplifies not only their potency but also potential dangers. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, effects include euphoria, drowsiness/respiratory depression and arrest, nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, unconsciousness, coma, tolerance, and addiction.
Doctors say overdoses should be treated immediately with medications called opiate receptor antagonists -- like Naloxone -- which acts by blocking the effects of opiate drugs.
Illegal fentanyl's route to the United States
DEA special agent John Martin said illegal fentanyl has made a long journey to get here.
"We believe it is manufactured in China, it is being distributed to Mexico, it is brought up through the normal drug smuggling routes of the southwest border," he told CBS News.
The DEA reports fentanyl outbreaks in recent years have spanned across the country and involve both new and experienced abusers. In 2014, for example, New Jersey reported as many as 80 fentanyl deaths in six months, while Pennsylvania reported about 200 deaths related to the drug in a 15-month period.
Last year, the agency seized enough illegal fentanyl in just six months to make 166 million doses of the drug.
source--cbsnews

How to tell if you're suffering from allergies or a cold

This story was written by Dr. Dave Hnida and originally appeared on CBS Denver.
It seems like the endless river of sniffles and runny noses. We're transitioning from the cold and flu season into a whopper of an allergy season. And it is a whopper. Some docs are calling it one of the worst we've had in years.
All of the moisture and temperature swings we've had mean a leap in pollen counts as the temps warm -- and right now it's those trees which are spewing out those microscopic particles of misery, with the grasses soon to follow.
But here's the kicker. This year, we are seeing allergies in people who have never had allergies before. And that can make it really confusing if you aren't sure whether those sniffles and sneezes are from a spring cold or an attack of the pollen monsters. It can be a tough call. You've gone your whole life allergy free -- and bang -- you begin to achoo away.
So how do you tell the difference? Well, even that can be a tough call but here are some basic guidelines:
With allergies, you don't get fever or chills. You don't get a painful throat, but perhaps a scratchy throat. You're also more likely to be clearing your throat a lot. Itchy eyes and fits of sneezing tend to fit more of an allergy picture, and if you're coughing -- it tends to be one that's not deep. And with allergies, your nose tends to run like it's in a long distance race.
Now obviously if you're sick, the doctor is for you. But if you suspect allergies, here are a few thoughts:
Avoid early morning outdoor activities -- that's when pollen counts tend to be highest.
Change your clothes and wash your hair after doing outdoor activities, so you are not carrying allergy particles into the home.
And be sure to shower and shampoo before bed to keep those pollens off your pillow.
Clothes and pets should stay outside of the bedroom.
And if you do decide to try an allergy med, take it before heading outside -- it works better at preventing symptoms than treating symptoms.
If you're unsure, once again, see your doctor. We do have a few tricks up our sleeves to help figure out the diagnosis, and treat whatever is ailing you.
And this time of year, we always make sure we have extra tissues in the office in case you run out, no matter what the cause. (Seriously, we do keep extra on hand.)
source-cbsnews

Eye movements may hold clues to treating children with autism

New findings about where children with autism look during conversations could lead to changes in treatment programs, researchers say.
The researchers used special technology to monitor the eye movements of 18 children with autism between the ages of 6 and 12, and 19 children without the developmental disorder.
The researchers from the University of Vermont found that children with autism tended to focus more on a speaker's mouth instead of the eyes when the conversation turned to emotional topics, such as what makes the children sad or scared.

26 Photos

Autism-spectrum disorders: 24 warning signs

"What you talk about really matters for children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder]," said lead author Tiffany Hutchins, an assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders.
"You just change a few words by talking about what people do versus how they feel and you can have a profound impact on where eyes go for information," she said in a university news release.
The researchers also found that focusing on the mouth rather than the eyes during emotional conversations was more common among those children with more severe autism and poorer verbal and intellectual ability. It was also common among those with more limited executive function -- the mental skills that help people pay attention, manage time and get things done, the researchers said.
It's not clear why children with autism seem to look at the mouth more often during emotional talks, but it could be because the conversations strain their executive function, according to Hutchins.
Highly emotional topics "likely place high demand on working memory, which, when a threshold is surpassed, makes rendering information from the eye region particularly difficult," she said.

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Factors that may raise autism risk before birth

This may lead the child to start looking for other ways to get information, such as focusing on the mouth. But by doing so, they miss important social meaning provided by the speaker's eyes, Hutchins said.
The next step is to determine how these findings might apply to speech therapy and other treatments for children with autism.
"Some social skills programs and many treatment goals for children with autism involve trying to get them to initiate and sustain eye contact during interaction," Hutchins said.
The study is being published in the June issue of the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
source--cbsnews

New Jersey law would allow pot use for menstrual cramps

TRENTON, N.J. --With a nod toWhoopi Goldberg, lawmakers in New Jersey announced legislation that would loosen the state's strict medical marijuana law to allow women to get pot-based products to ease menstrual cramps.
CBS New York reported Democratic Assembly members Tim Eustace, L. Grace Spencer and Angelica Jimenez introduced the bill on Thursday. In a news release, the legislators noted that their move follows the actress' collaboration with a maker of organic marijuana edibles on a line of medical cannabis designed to relieve menstrual pain.

Play Video

Study: U.S. pot use doubled in the last decade

"People have this puritanical idea that it's a bunch of potheads sitting in these dispensaries, but there are some very sick patients in need," Eustace said.
Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a nonprofit trade group, said she's not aware of any other state that specifically list cramps as an ailment authorized for medical marijuana use. But she said that it has likely been prescribed for menstrual cramps in states where doctors have more leeway in prescribing medical marijuana.
"For many women, the response to pain so severe that it causes them to vomit or faint is either, 'Just deal with it,' or a prescription drug that may not even alleviate their symptoms," Jimenez said.
Under current New Jersey law, marijuana is limited to use for a specific list of ailments, including multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy, and other chronic illnesses. It's also approved for seizures and glaucoma if resistant to conventional treatment.
Goldberg, a New Jersey resident, connected with edibles manufacturer Maya Elisabeth to launch the line, Whoopi & Maya, which includes THC-infused creams, bath salts and chocolate. The products are set to be available soon in a handful of dispensaries in California, where users need a doctor's authorization to buy a wide range of marijuana or pot-based products.

21 Photos

Medical marijuana: 18 states that permit pot

The idea for the legislation came from oversight hearings on New Jersey's medical marijuana that showed the state is missing out on edible and liquid marijuana products because only smokable forms are available, Eustace said. When Goldberg and Elisabeth's product was announced, he said, it sounded like a good fit for treating dysmenorrhea, the medical term for painful menstrual cramps.
"One of the most underserved populations is women," Eustace said.
New Jersey's medical marijuana program dates to former Gov. Jon Corzine's administration, but Gov. Chris Christie has gone slow in implementing it, arguing it is little more than "a front for legalization."
Medical marijuana in New Jersey is tightly restricted and state lawmakers said Christie's administration has placed "arbitrary and unnecessary" restrictions on the program. Patients and doctors, for instance, must register with the state. Caregivers have to pay a $200 fee for an identification card.
Marijuana has been legalized for all uses in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska and for medical use in nearly 20 others.
New Jersey held its first-ever meeting on legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in late 2015, CBS New York reported. New York State began rolling out its medical marijuana program earlier this year.Source-TRENTON, N.J. --With a nod toWhoopi Goldberg, lawmakers in New Jersey announced legislation that would loosen the state's strict medical marijuana law to allow women to get pot-based products to ease menstrual cramps.
CBS New York reported Democratic Assembly members Tim Eustace, L. Grace Spencer and Angelica Jimenez introduced the bill on Thursday. In a news release, the legislators noted that their move follows the actress' collaboration with a maker of organic marijuana edibles on a line of medical cannabis designed to relieve menstrual pain.

Play Video

Study: U.S. pot use doubled in the last decade

"People have this puritanical idea that it's a bunch of potheads sitting in these dispensaries, but there are some very sick patients in need," Eustace said.
Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a nonprofit trade group, said she's not aware of any other state that specifically list cramps as an ailment authorized for medical marijuana use. But she said that it has likely been prescribed for menstrual cramps in states where doctors have more leeway in prescribing medical marijuana.
"For many women, the response to pain so severe that it causes them to vomit or faint is either, 'Just deal with it,' or a prescription drug that may not even alleviate their symptoms," Jimenez said.
Under current New Jersey law, marijuana is limited to use for a specific list of ailments, including multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy, and other chronic illnesses. It's also approved for seizures and glaucoma if resistant to conventional treatment.
Goldberg, a New Jersey resident, connected with edibles manufacturer Maya Elisabeth to launch the line, Whoopi & Maya, which includes THC-infused creams, bath salts and chocolate. The products are set to be available soon in a handful of dispensaries in California, where users need a doctor's authorization to buy a wide range of marijuana or pot-based products.

21 Photos

Medical marijuana: 18 states that permit pot

The idea for the legislation came from oversight hearings on New Jersey's medical marijuana that showed the state is missing out on edible and liquid marijuana products because only smokable forms are available, Eustace said. When Goldberg and Elisabeth's product was announced, he said, it sounded like a good fit for treating dysmenorrhea, the medical term for painful menstrual cramps.
"One of the most underserved populations is women," Eustace said.
New Jersey's medical marijuana program dates to former Gov. Jon Corzine's administration, but Gov. Chris Christie has gone slow in implementing it, arguing it is little more than "a front for legalization."
Medical marijuana in New Jersey is tightly restricted and state lawmakers said Christie's administration has placed "arbitrary and unnecessary" restrictions on the program. Patients and doctors, for instance, must register with the state. Caregivers have to pay a $200 fee for an identification card.
Marijuana has been legalized for all uses in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska and for medical use in nearly 20 others.
New Jersey held its first-ever meeting on legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in late 2015, CBS New York reported. New York State began rolling out its medical marijuana program earlier this year.source-cbsnews