Treating Traumatic Brain Injuries: A 184-patient study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests amantadine, a drug now used to treat Parkinson’s disease, may also help accelerate the recovery of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, the WSJ reports . Patients were given the drug or a placebo one to four months after incurring a TBI and after four weeks, 18.6% of the amantadine group remained completely unconscious, vs. 31.6% in the placebo group, the paper says. Recovery plateaued after patients were taken off the drug. Reassessing Danger of Avian Flu Research: The leader of a research team that genetically altered the avian flu virus to make it transmissible in mammals says he doesn’t think the virus would be particularly dangerous if it moved outside the lab, the New York Times reports .The U.S. government is going to ask that an advisory panel to reassess the research; earlier, the panel urged the studies not be published in their entirety, saying the details of how the virus mutated could be used by terrorists. Ruling on Drug Distribution: A federal judge says drug-distribution companies have an obligation to be proactive about unusually large shipments of drugs that may suggest diversion to the black market, the WSJ reports . The judge’s ruling permits “drug agents to halt shipments of the addictive painkiller oxycodone and other controlled medications from a Cardinal Health Inc. distribution facility in Florida,” the paper says. Cardinal disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal, the WSJ says. Where’s the Sugar From?: New government figures suggest that children are getting about 16% of their daily calories from added sugars in prepared and processed foods and drinks, USA Today reports . Soft drinks are the single largest source of added sugars, according to research from the National Center for Health Statistics, but kids get more calories overall from the sugars in foods than drinks, USA Today says. Image: iStockphoto

Have Presidents’ Day off? Healthy ways to spend it – HuffPost Healthy Living Healthy recipes from the Web’s top food bloggers – Shape 20 mindful, inspiring quotes to keep life in perspective – Mind Body Green How Smash star Katharine McPhee stays energized and in shape – Self Boost your metabolism with this strengthening superset workout – Fitness 4 exercises to end back pain for good – Prevention Drink diet soda? You’re putting yourself at risk for heart disease – Blisstree Yoga shouldn’t hurt: best practices when on the mat – Yoga Journal

The Obama administration says it will delay the implementation of a controversial new medical-coding standard known as ICD-10. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement it will “initiate a process to postpone the date” by which providers will have to comply with the new medical coding set. That’s not a huge surprise — the acting head of Medicare, Marilyn Tavenner, said earlier in the week that CMS would revisit the planned pace of ICD-10′s implementation. The American Medical Association has urged the administration to scrap ICD-10, saying the new set of billing codes will burden the practice of medicine without improving care. The 10th iteration of the  disease-classification system will expand the number of codes in use from around 18,000 in the current ICD-9 code set to about 140,000. As the WSJ reported last year , pretty much every potential medical scenario is covered by ICD-10, including separate codes for “being bitten by a turtle” and “being struck by a turtle.” (Hey, you never know!) The system’s implementation has been delayed before. In 2009, the feds pushed off the compliance date to Oct. 1, 2013 from the prior proposal of Oct. 1, 2011. More than 3,000 comments on the earlier proposal cited the cost burden and the need for training and testing, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said then. And now HHS will scrap the Oct. 1, 2013 timeframe and will “announce a new compliance date moving forward,” the agency says. “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead,” HHS says. Image: iStockphoto

According to the Charter on Medical Professionalism , physicians are supposed to be honest with their patients. So does that always happen? In a word: no. A survey of 1,891 doctors published in the journal Health Affairs finds a significant percentage have been less than completely forthright with patients in the past year, including avoiding disclosure of medical errors and giving a too-rosy prognosis. The survey, which had a response rate of about 64%, included some questions about general attitudes.  The vast majority of doctors completely agreed with the notion that confidential health information shouldn’t be disclosed to an unauthorized person (91.4%) and that patients should be fully informed about the benefits and risks of a procedure or treatment (88.7%). Support was slightly weaker (82.8%) for the idea that doctors should never tell a patient something that isn’t true. And a significant chunk of doctors — 34.1% and 35.4% respectively — said they only somewhat agreed or disagreed with the notions that they should disclose all significant medical errors to affected patients and that they must tell patients about relationships with drug and device companies. What about actual practice? Well, 55.2% of respondents said they’d described a patient’s prognosis in a more positive way than was warranted at least once in the past year. More than 28% said they’d revealed confidential medical info to an unauthorized person (intentionally or not), and nearly 20% reported not fully disclosing an error to a patient out of fear of being sued. Finally, 11% admitted to outright telling an adult patient or child’s guardian “something that was not true.” Lisa Iezzoni , an author of the study and director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, says there many different reasons for, say, describing a prognosis too optimistically. Some of them may even be “defensible and reasonable,” she says. (The study didn’t get into the reasons behind the responses.) But “at the end of the day, patients need accurate information about their health” in order to make the best decisions about their care, she says. The survey found that surgeons and cardiologists were more likely to provide complete and open communication with their patients than were other specialties, she says — perhaps because they are already well-accustomed to getting informed consent from patients for operations and procedures. Read more: What Doctors Think About Assisted Suicide, Romance With Patients and Organ Selling Survey: 36% of Docs Don’t Believe in Reporting Impaired Colleagues Image: iStockphoto

It’s ironic, but the concept of holistic wellness isn’t always popular with some of my clients. Not everyone is interested in learning the root causes of their conditions or “dis-eases” and/or taking the necessary steps to address them through meaningful lifestyle changes. Recently, a client wanted to know what simple steps he could take to Related posts: Lemon Balm Tea Preventing Colorectal Cancer Naturally? Prevent Bruising Naturally Beating Prostate Cancer Naturally Herbal Sleep Study Results

Trying to slim down and wondering if yoga is the answer? In order to lose weight, you need to burn calories, and like anything physical, doing yoga can help you achieve that goal, but it depends on what style of yoga you do. You want to choose vigorous Vinyasa, Power, or Ashtanga classes rather than slower-paced styles such as Kripalu or Iyengar. These classes move quickly so they really get your heart pumping – you can burn over 400 calories per 90-minute class ! These styles also incorporate poses that strengthen your muscles, and more muscle mass also contributes to your caloric burn. What about Bikram? While this style of yoga involves practicing in a super hot room so you sweat your butt off, sweating alone isn’t what results in dropping pounds. You’ll experience water weight loss, but as soon as you rehydrate with a few gulps from your water bottle, you’ll “gain” it right back. Keep reading to find out how to get the greatest calorie burn from yoga.

When we asked if you focused on diet or exercise to maintain or lose weight, more than half of you said that both eating right and exercising regularly were essential for weight loss . Now, new studies confirm that even if you favor an unhealthy diet, regular exercise can minimize weight gain that usually comes from eating a fatty, high-calorie diet. By tracking over 100,000 runners and 40,000 walkers, researchers found that those who ate more unhealthy diets – filled with more meat and fats than fruits -  were still able to maintain weight or prevent significant weight gain because of their regular exercise routines. While most of these participants still gained a few pounds, it was much less than what was expected given their less-healthy eating habits. What does this mean for you? Find out why regular exercise is so important for preventing weight gain, especially during the holidays, after the break.

Working closely with a trainer can make you hyper aware of the food that you eat and where your body stores fat. When you closely monitor your weight and skin fold measurements, you might notice that your fat shifts to maintain homeostasis. Homeostasis is the body’s method of keeping internal stability no matter what external influence disturbs its normal functioning. Basically, your body wants to store fat “just in case” and will stubbornly shift it to another area of your body rather than release it as energy, even if you are working out and eating right. You might lose weight in your arms, back, and legs, but your belly will take on the weight. You can fight your body’s tendency to move fat around rather than lose it with a few helpful tips.

You’re a whiz at keeping your kitchen clean and free from germs and bacteria, and you know the proper way to store dinner leftovers and pack them for lunches the next day, but what do you know about handling raw meats? Before relying on your internal gauge, keep in mind that there are certain foods that must reach a specific internal temperature before consumption to prevent any exposure to food-borne pathogens like E. coli or salmonella. Aside from properly cleaning your hands, utensils, and the countertops that come in contact with any raw food, invest in a digital food thermometer. Here’s the USDA’s recommended internal temperature that each of the following food items should reach before consuming (these temperatures factor in that the meat has rested for three minutes after taken out of the oven). Pork, beef, and lamb: 160 degrees F Seafood, egg dishes, ground or sliced chicken, hot dogs: 165 degrees F A whole chicken: 185 degrees F Although a food thermometer can be used for all foods (not just meat), it’s best to get in the habit of using one. Food that has reached a safe temperature for consuming means that harmful bacteria have been killed off and destroyed. To use a food thermometer, insert it in the fat side of the meat, being careful not to touch bone since bone conducts heat faster than fat. Make sure the entire “sensor” area of the thermometer is inserted into the food (this is usually around one to two inches long), and you should have your reading within a few seconds. And remember to store your leftovers or unused raw food items in a refrigerator that is set to below 40 degrees Fahrenheit .

Women and their body functions are conditioned by a very complex chemistry. A woman’s body is controlled by hormones and its well being depends a lot on a fine balance of these hormones. The alternative medicine stepped forward in the last decade introducing women to the impressive world of natural supplements. Women have special needs and thus it is essential that these needs will be met with specific products. There are many natural supplements that can help maintain good health. These include herbs as well as nutrients from vegetables and fruits. Provided these supplements are 100% natural and come from plants grown in an organic environment, they can really help the female health. Some important minerals that a female body needs are calcium, magnesium and iron. Calcium is essential to maintain bone health and magnesium more so as it helps the body to absorb calcium. Both these minerals are required to maintain the general health of the body especially under the conditions of long working hours and elevated stress. Iron is a vital mineral needed to avoid anemia and blood deficiencies . Lack of this mineral can lead to fatigue and weakness. In addition to these minerals the body needs EFA or essential fatty acids to support and maintain general good health. The consumption of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, green leaf vegetables as well as yellow and orange ones is essential to provide the much needed nutrients like DIM, Zeaxanthin , Lutein  and quercetin. These minerals have shown promising results in cancer related studies which covered breast and colon cancer. Some other natural products that help promote good health in women are plant derived bioflavonoids and antioxidants that can be obtained from green tea, Ginkgo Biloba, olive leaf extracts, blueberries, ginseng, maitake mushrooms and even pineapple. Before deciding on taking over the counter herbal supplements, make sure that they are standardized extracts with no fillers like corn starch, sugar, silica, rice starch, gluten, artificial flavors and coloring.