By Anonymous

Although you depend more on your feet than your car to get you around, you probably pay more attention to your tires than your shoes. But your shoes are important to your physical safety and can actually be a hazard if not chosen correctly.

Too many people wear just any old shoe to work, and the accident statistics show it. The National Safety Council reported that in a recent year there were 130,000 disabling foot injuries, plus another 40,000 toe injuries on the job. Most of these injuries could have been prevented by wearing the proper shoes.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a regulation on foot protection (29 CFR 1910.136), which states that “Each affected employee shall wear protective footwear when working in areas where there is a danger of foot injuries due to falling or rolling objects, or objects piercing the sole, and where such employee’s feet are exposed to electrical hazards.” Protective footwear purchased after July 5, 1994, is required to comply with ANSI Z41-1991. Protective footwear purchased before July 5, 1994, is required to comply with the ANSI standard “USA Standard for Men’s Safety-Toe Footwear,” Z41.1-1967.

The type of footwear mandated by these standards - and good old common sense - obviously depends on the kinds of hazards you encounter on the job (i.e., something falling on your feet, rolling over them, or stubbing or banging them into objects). Considerations include: working with or around heavy equipment, electricity, or where nails and other sharp objects are on the ground, working on wet surfaces or with corrosive or hazardous substances, and doing material handling. Finally, we all need protection from slipping and falling.

Basic foot protection is a sturdy shoe or boot made of leather, rubber, or a synthetic. It has an impact-resistant toe - usually steel - and non-skid soles with rubber or synthetic treads to prevent slips and falls. The American National Standard for safety- toe footwear referred to in the OSHA standard deals with the strength of the toe box. The top classification, 75, will withstand the impact of 75 pounds per square inch falling on your foot. As further protection in jobs where heavy objects could land on your feet, you might also wear foot guards made of aluminum alloy, fiberglass, or galvanized steel over your shoes.

Even if you’re working in an area or on a job with none of the hazards we’ve just discussed, your feet still need some protection. There is a basic minimum standard for what you wear to work: a sturdy shoe with low heels and non-skid soles. Specifically, that means no sandals or old run-down dress shoes. Work is not the place where old shoes go to die. Finally, fit is another important part of foot safety. A shoe should be the right size and comfortable.

Don’t forget your feet when considering safety on the job. You sure won’t get much done without them, and they are a frequently ignored - and injured - part of the body. Think on your feet - and about them.

Other possible protections you may need in your shoes or boots are

* Metal insoles or reinforced soles to protect against puncture

* Non-conducting soles and no nails in the shoes themselves for work with electricity

* Rubber boots or shoes or leather shoes with wooden soles for work in wet conditions

* Heat-resistant soles for work in areas where the floor gets hot

* Easy-to-remove “gaiters” for work where you can be splashed by hot metal or by welding sparks

* Impermeable rubber or neoprene boots to wear over or instead of work boots for work with corrosives or hazardous chemicals

Copyright U.S. Department of the Air Force, Office of Safety HQ Mar 2006

(c) 2006 Combat Edge. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

 

Product: Insolia Inserts, one pair $8.90 or a three-pack for $17.80 at www.insolia.com

Key ingredients: Clear, flexible gel pad that matches the shape of the heel and arch of the foot.

The pitch: Makes high heels comfortable.

How it works: The design, invented by a New Hampshire podiatrist, redistributes a woman’s weight by shifting more of it away from the ball of the foot and back to the heel. Pressure is more evenly distributed throughout the sole so the angle of the foot in the shoe is decreased, making it feel as if you’re wearing flats.

Pros: The inserts have the American Podiatric Medical Association’s Seal of Acceptance honoring products that promote foot health. I wore the inserts in three-inch heels at a wedding for six hours and came home with no aching arches, no throbbing feet. The inserts don’t change the appearance of the shoe.

Cons: The inserts are pricey and cannot be transferred to another shoe once they are installed with the attached adhesive. No scientific studies support the claims.

Bottom line: Based on my own experience, I would insert them in all of my highest heels.

___

(c) 2006, The Miami Herald.

Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/

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By Seppa, Nathan

PHARMACOLOGY

Two experimental drugs can lower blood sugar significantly in people with type 2 diabetes, research shows. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the drugs could represent a new class of diabetes medication.

Both compounds inhibit an enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4), which usually controls the body’s production of a hormone, called GLPl. Cells lining the intestines normally release GLP1 in response to ingested sugars, and the hormone then alerts cells in the pancreas to release insulin for sugar regulation (SN: 8/16/03, p. 104).

But GLP1 lasts only minutes in the body because DPP-4 breaks it down. Researchers have hypothesized that suppressing the enzyme would make more GLP1 available to the pancreas cells to stabilize insulin production.

Two groups now report that DPP-4 inhibitors significantly lower blood sugar compared with placebos. The eflects showed up when the inhibitors were taken alone or in combination with other diabetes drugs.

One of the new drugs, sitagliptin, is made by Merck Research Laboratories of Rahway, N.J. The other, called vildagliptin, is made by Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis.

Compared with a placebo, neither drug caused more occurrences of a severe drop in blood sugar.

“DPP-4 inhibition is a mechanism by which we can enhance the body’s own glucose regulation,” says Merck scientist Peter Stein.

The DPP-4 inhibitors show great promise, agrees John B. Buse of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. But even though they appear safe in these studies, the drugs’ full impact may not be apparent until they’re taken by thousands of people for many years. “There are many [compounds in the body] degraded by DPP-4,” he notes, and inhibiting the enzyme could increase those compounds’ concentrations, with yetunknown effects. - N.s.

Copyright Science Service, Incorporated Jun 24, 2006

(c) 2006 Science News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

 

By Anonymous

Cinnamon may have a therapeutic effect on patients with diabetes, according to an April 4, 2006, news release from WebMD Medical News. Cinnamon may be beneficial in fighting inflammation as well as helping the body’s insulin control blood sugar.

Cinnamon contains antioxidants called polyphenols that have been shown in laboratory experiments to increase levels of three proteins that are important in insulin signaling, blood sugar transport, and the body’s inflammatory response. Researchers conducting a chemical study of cinnamon found a natural compound (ie, proanthocyanidin) that may have insulin-like properties. These findings may lead to more extensive future studies of this spice.

Cinnamon May Prove Useful for Diabetes (news release, New York: WebMD Medical News, April 4, 2006) http://www.webmd.com/content/ Article/120/113891.htm (accessed 5 April 2006).

Copyright Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. Jun 2006

(c) 2006 Association of Operating Room Nurses. AORN Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

 

By Lee Bowman SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

It’s bad for your health to be obese.

But a new study of more than 90,000 women shows that it’s very bad to be extremely obese.

The research, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that women who were more than 100 pounds over normal weight had an 86 percent greater risk of death over the course of a seven-year period than women who were of normal weight.

By contrast, the increased risk for women who were classified as being just over the obesity threshold, or about 60 pounds above their normal weight for their height, was 12 percent greater over the course of the study.

Women in the study, all participants in the federal Women’s Health Initiative tracking study, were classified by the Body Mass Index, as normal (BMI 18.5 to 24.9); overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9); obesity 1 (BMI 30 to 34.9); obesity 2 (BMI 35 to 39.9); or extremely obese (BMI 40 or greater.)

So, a 5 foot, 5-inch tall woman in the obesity 1 category would be about 60 pounds over normal weight, while a woman of the same height in the extremely obese category would be about 110 pounds over normal weight, or about 235 pounds total.

The greater the level of obesity, the higher was a woman’s chances of having high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

“The escalating prevalence of extreme obesity in this country may exacerbate the health effects and health-related expenditures resulting from the U.S. obesity epidemic,” the researchers conclude in the report.

Calculations of weight-related risks for disease and death based on findings in earlier population samples, which tended to have lower levels of obesity, “may underestimate the risks for extremely obese individuals and overestimate the risks for mildly obese individuals,” they added.

“When a woman and her physician are choosing treatment options for obesity, they should carefully consider the degree of obesity, not just think of obesity as an overall entity,” said Kathleen Mc- Tigue, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study.

“The degree of obesity will influence how likely it is that her health will be harmed by her current weight.”

According to government health surveys, between 1986 and 2000, the prevalence of BMI 30 or higher roughly doubled, while that of BMI 40 or higher quadrupled and that of BMI 50 or greater increased five-fold. Among adults 20 and older, 60 million are now classified as obese and 9 million are considered extremely obese.

In 2000, 2.8 percent of all women in the U.S. and 6 percent of black women reported measurements consistent with extreme obesity.

(c) 2006 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

 

By Elizabeth Ahlin, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jul. 9–Jerry Schueler used to say that he would rather take a kidney from a cadaver than from one of his children.

But last year, his son Jay Schueler was tired of waiting for a donor.

“He said if you don’t want it, I’ll give it to somebody else,” Jerry Schueler said.

Jay Schueler, 32, was tested as a possible donor, but the results were not good.

This father and son have a lot in common. They are tall and dark, with strong features. They both admit to stubborn tendencies. But they do not share the same blood type.

Jay Schueler was upset, but a few days later he received another call. There was a procedure that might allow the father and son to do the transplant anyway, but it had never been done before at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Jerry Schueler left the decision up to his son.

“All I had to worry about was a scar. He was the one that would be losing a kidney,” said Jerry Schueler.

Jay didn’t hesitate.

A year later, Jerry Schueler and his family joined more than 700 people at the 20th annual Nebraska Medical Center Transplant Reunion. It was held Saturday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Omaha.

Dr. Alan Langnas, chief of transplantation at the Medical Center, said the reunion is a chance for patients and their families to meet with doctors and hospital staff who helped them through the transplant process.

“At the core, it’s a celebration of their second chance at life,” Langnas said.

It was a day Beth Schueler thought she would never see, for more reasons than her husband’s health.

“I’ve never seen him go to a social occasion in my 32 years of marriage. I didn’t want to miss it,” Beth Schueler said.

Eight years ago, Jerry Schueler’s kidneys were failing. By the time he started dialysis treatments in 2000, he was so swollen he couldn’t tie his shoes or button his pants.

Schueler is a diabetic. Over the next five years, he spent four hours, three days a week, in dialysis.

Each time, two needles hooked him to the machine that did the work his kidneys were no longer able to do, regulating the water and salt levels in his body.

“It keeps you alive, but it’s not quality of life,” Schueler said of dialysis. He compared the size of the needles to the metal in a chain link fence.

Usually, an organ coming from a donor with an incompatible blood type would be rejected by the body’s immune system. The Medical Center has now done three of these operations, using a process called plasmapheresis.

Antibodies are removed from the blood and replaced with a serum that includes the normal antibodies the immune system needs. Once antibodies that would attack the donor’s blood type are removed, the surgery can take place.

A few months after the surgery, circulation problems unrelated to the transplant required the amputation of one of Jerry Schueler’s legs. But even after that, he has gained weight and muscle tone, getting back the strength he lost during dialysis.

He walks with a cane, but he remains an imposing figure.

Life isn’t completely normal. He has weekly blood tests to monitor his condition. He has dietary restrictions and drinks a gallon of water every day. But he said it’s a life worth living.

“I enjoy a day-by-day existence,” Schueler said. “I’m 59 years old. This is a last shot for me.”

—–

Copyright (c) 2006, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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By Margaret Harding, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Jul. 9–The food people eat in southeastern Ohio might contribute to a diabetes rate that is far higher than in the rest of the country, organizers of a new study said.

The survey, conducted by the Appalachian Rural Health Institute and the Voinovich Center for Leadership & Public Affairs at Ohio University, shows that the average rate of diabetes is 11.3 percent for seven southeastern Ohio counties.

Perry County’s rate was 14.2 percent, nearly twice the national rate of 7.2 percent. The state rate was 7.8 percent.

The lowest rate found in the area — 10.2 percent in Ross County — was still well above the national average.

Economic factors could have something to do with it, researchers said.

“We know that, for example, people who have a lower socioeconomic status tend to eat less-healthy diets,” said Frank Schwartz, director of the Appalachian Rural Health Institute Diabetes Center. “They tend to eat high-density foods, so they get high amounts of fat. They just don’t have the background in nutrition, so they don’t make proper choices.”

Obesity is one of many factors that can contribute to diabetes, he said.

Researchers in December contacted households in Jackson, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Ross, Washington and Scioto counties — a total of 2,350 homes.

“The feeling was that the prevalence rate for certain diseases was higher in Appalachia, and we wanted to see if that was true,” said Sara Lichtin Boyd, senior project manager at the Voinovich Center.

Nearly one-quarter of those with diabetes were not taking insulin or other medication to treat it, according to the survey results.

The economic status of many in the region limits their access to treatment and education, said Carole Merckle, director of health education for the Perry County Health Department.

“Overall, people don’t have the resources, they don’t have the means, to seek proper health care for their needs,” she said. “And to go to education classes, they have to go anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour away.”

Some counties offer educational programs that teach people with diabetes how to monitor blood sugar and keep a proper diet.

Perry County doesn’t offer such courses, Merckle said, but she hopes this study will bring money to make that possible.

Food choices are part of the problem, she said.

“Some are eating high-carb foods like pasta and potatoes,” Merckle said. “You can get those relatively cheap, and that’s what people in the area with economic hardships can afford. The low-fat, lean meats are more expensive.”

Carbohydrates aren’t bad, but eating a lot of them has a major effect on blood-sugar levels, Merckle said.

The meals served as part of government food-support programs also can contribute to the problem, Schwartz said.

“They tend to use government-surplus foods, which are higher in fat and higher in simple carbs,” he said. “Lots of well-intentioned government policies made the wrong food more available for people at risk.”

Morgan County, which had the second highest rate in the study at 13 percent, already has taken steps to promote a more healthful lifestyle, said Elaine Flesher, an infectiousdisease nurse with the county’s Health Department.

“We have a cardiovascular program that’s focusing on a healthy lifestyle to reduce the obesity rate, which in turn should reduce diabetes,” she said.

The survey was conducted with money from a $200,000 grant for developing a diabetes safety-care network from the Ohio Department of Health, said spokesman Kristopher Weiss.

Schwartz said he hopes eventually to expand the survey to include all of Appalachia and develop a system to help patients find access to health care.

“We’re trying to develop an innovative program to improve access,” he said.

mharding@dispatch.com

—–

Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

 

By Margaret Harding, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Jul. 9–The food people eat in southeastern Ohio might contribute to a diabetes rate that is far higher than in the rest of the country, organizers of a new study said.

The survey, conducted by the Appalachian Rural Health Institute and the Voinovich Center for Leadership & Public Affairs at Ohio University, shows that the average rate of diabetes is 11.3 percent for seven southeastern Ohio counties.

Perry County’s rate was 14.2 percent, nearly twice the national rate of 7.2 percent. The state rate was 7.8 percent.

The lowest rate found in the area — 10.2 percent in Ross County — was still well above the national average.

Economic factors could have something to do with it, researchers said.

“We know that, for example, people who have a lower socioeconomic status tend to eat less-healthy diets,” said Frank Schwartz, director of the Appalachian Rural Health Institute Diabetes Center. “They tend to eat high-density foods, so they get high amounts of fat. They just don’t have the background in nutrition, so they don’t make proper choices.”

Obesity is one of many factors that can contribute to diabetes, he said.

Researchers in December contacted households in Jackson, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Ross, Washington and Scioto counties — a total of 2,350 homes.

“The feeling was that the prevalence rate for certain diseases was higher in Appalachia, and we wanted to see if that was true,” said Sara Lichtin Boyd, senior project manager at the Voinovich Center.

Nearly one-quarter of those with diabetes were not taking insulin or other medication to treat it, according to the survey results.

The economic status of many in the region limits their access to treatment and education, said Carole Merckle, director of health education for the Perry County Health Department.

“Overall, people don’t have the resources, they don’t have the means, to seek proper health care for their needs,” she said. “And to go to education classes, they have to go anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour away.”

Some counties offer educational programs that teach people with diabetes how to monitor blood sugar and keep a proper diet.

Perry County doesn’t offer such courses, Merckle said, but she hopes this study will bring money to make that possible.

Food choices are part of the problem, she said.

“Some are eating high-carb foods like pasta and potatoes,” Merckle said. “You can get those relatively cheap, and that’s what people in the area with economic hardships can afford. The low-fat, lean meats are more expensive.”

Carbohydrates aren’t bad, but eating a lot of them has a major effect on blood-sugar levels, Merckle said.

The meals served as part of government food-support programs also can contribute to the problem, Schwartz said.

“They tend to use government-surplus foods, which are higher in fat and higher in simple carbs,” he said. “Lots of well-intentioned government policies made the wrong food more available for people at risk.”

Morgan County, which had the second highest rate in the study at 13 percent, already has taken steps to promote a more healthful lifestyle, said Elaine Flesher, an infectiousdisease nurse with the county’s Health Department.

“We have a cardiovascular program that’s focusing on a healthy lifestyle to reduce the obesity rate, which in turn should reduce diabetes,” she said.

The survey was conducted with money from a $200,000 grant for developing a diabetes safety-care network from the Ohio Department of Health, said spokesman Kristopher Weiss.

Schwartz said he hopes eventually to expand the survey to include all of Appalachia and develop a system to help patients find access to health care.

“We’re trying to develop an innovative program to improve access,” he said.

mharding@dispatch.com

—–

Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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The number of free annual check-ups by Canterbury diabetics has plummeted, in contrast to national trends, the National Party says.

Last year, 49 per cent of Canterbury’s estimated population of diagnosed diabetics had a free check-up — a dramatic fall from the 81% reported in 2004.

Nationally, the number of diabetics having a free annual check- up under the Get Checked scheme has doubled in the past five years, although the increase slowed to just 3% last year.

National health spokesman Tony Ryall said the Government paid “a lot of lip service” to obesity, but its key diabetes project was failing. “New Zealand is not making the inroads into getting people identified or treated. Many will be wondering if some of the $76 million for obesity might be better spent getting more people treated for diabetes,” he said.

Health Minister Pete Hodgson said yesterday that more than 70,000 diabetics had a free check-up last year, “a sobering reminder” of the size of the nation’s diabetes epidemic.

An estimated 200,000 New Zealanders have the disease — 15,000 in Canterbury — which, if left uncontrolled, can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage and, in men, impotence.

Canterbury District Health Board planning and funding general manager Karleen Edwards said last year’s Get Checked figures were “disappointing” but could be due to several factors, including incorrect statistics.

(c) 2006 Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

 

By Carla McClain, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Trying to find out just how healthy tomatoes really are, University of Arizona researchers are looking for volunteers to eat the red vegetable for several weeks.

At issue is a key nutrient found in tomatoes and tomato products - lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that gives the plant its red color.

Recent studies have linked high intakes of lycopene-rich foods to a lower risk of certain cancers, including prostate, lung and colon cancers, the National Cancer Institute reports.

Lycopene, like all antioxidants, works to counter the damaging effects of oxidative stress in tissues. Such damage is linked not only to cancer, but other age-related problems such as heart disease.

To find out what increased lycopene does to our bodies, UA plant scientists have developed a high-lycopene variety of tomato, which volunteers will eat along with standard tomatoes during the 18-week study.

The study is under way already and 29 volunteers have been recruited. But now leaders need another 11 - between the ages of 45 and 65 - to complete the final phase, which begins in August and ends in December.

During that period, volunteers will follow a lycopene-free diet for six weeks, then eat two tomatoes daily for one week - either the high-lycopene or standard tomatoes. After that, they go lycopene- free for another six weeks, followed by three weeks of eating tomatoes - whichever tomato they didn’t eat before.

During this time, volunteers must fill out questionnaires, provide blood and urine samples and be available for phone contact and clinic visits.

“We’ll be measuring the lycopene levels in the blood, then run tests to determine if there is an increased antioxidant effect occurring as well,” said Julie West, study coordinator.

“If we do see a health effect, it may encourage commercial tomato growers to develop high-lycopene tomatoes, to make them more competitive in the market.”

Results are expected by March, West said.

The UA’s high-lycopene tomato was cultivated at the UA Controlled Environmental Agriculture Center greenhouses, on North Campbell Avenue at Roger Road. The process requires adding only a natural salt solution to the plant’s food, a fairly simple method, UA plant experts say.

“There are some high- lycopene tomatoes now commercially available, but you’ll find them only occasionally at certain specialty stores and they tend to be quite pricey,” West said. “But the process we’ve developed is not that difficult or costly.”

All excess tomatoes are being donated to the Casa Maria soup kitchen on the South Side.

Although scientists remain unsure just how lycopene actually works in the body, animal studies have shown it prevented lung, colon and breast cancers and had similar effects on cancer cells in culture, according to the cancer institute.

In humans, population studies have shown that people who eat large amounts of lycopene-rich foods have a reduced risk of prostate, lung and colon cancer. A preliminary study of 21 men with prostate cancer found lycopene supplements appeared to reduce the uncontrolled growth of the cancer cells, an institute summary shows. Further studies are just getting under way.

Cooking tomatoes makes the lycopene more available to the body, which is why tomato sauces are considered one of the best ways to get it. Lycopene also is found in watermelon, papaya and pink grapefruit.

Joint UA investigators in the UA study are Cynthia Thomson, assistant professor of nutritional sciences and a member of the Arizona Cancer Center, and Chieri Kubota, associate professor of plant sciences.

The study is funded by the UA BIO5 Institute, the UA Controlled Environmental Agriculture Center and EuroFresh Farms.

To learn more

* Anyone interested in joining the study should call Julie West at 321-7748.

Volunteers must be healthy men and postmenopausal women ages 45 to 65.

* Contact reporter Carla McClain at 806-7754 or at cmcclain@azstarnet.com.

(c) 2006 Arizona Daily Star. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.