See who's taking vitamins
Seventy-two percent of doctors and 89 percent of nurses report using vitamin, mineral, herbal and other supplements regularly or at least seasonally. That's higher than the 68 percent in the general population. The finding comes from the Healthcare Professionals Impact Study of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement-industry association. It should be noted that good diet is consistently shown to be the surest way to health.
Preventing allergies in kids
Breast-feeding in the first three months of life appears to help shield children from developing food allergies. "A review of 18 studies demonstrates a significant protective effect of exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months for children with high risk for atopy [genetic tendency to develop allergic diseases] against the development of atopic dermatitis and early childhood asthmalike symptoms," said Dr. Robert Wood, international health director for pediatric allergy and immunology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Study of anti-obesity drugs
Patients taking anti-obesity drugs will only see "modest" weight loss, and many will remain significantly obese or overweight, according to a Canadian study. Looking at the long-term use of orlistat, sibutramine and rimonabant, researchers found that they reduced weight by an average of less than 11 pounds, or less than 5 percent of total body weight, considered by some experts as too little to warrant continued medication.
Asthma, PTSD linked
A study of male twins who were veterans in the Vietnam War era suggests that people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder are more than twice as likely to develop asthma. One of the researchers, from Columbia University in New York, noted that other anxiety disorders have been linked to asthma.