Cranberries shown to prevent UTIs in some people
Cranberries are harvested at Weston Cranberry Farm on October 22, 2004 in Carver, Mass.
/ Darren McCollester/Getty ImagesThe study, which was published in Archives of Internal Medicine on July 9, involved 1,616 subjects an a subgroup of 1494 subjects. The group was randomized into people who used cranberry products and people who did not.
After analyzing the results, it was found that cranberry-containing products worked to prevent UTIs best for women with recurring UTIs, women, children, cranberry juice drinkers and subjects who used cranberry-containing products more than twice daily.
Cranberry juice was found to be more effective that the cranberry capsules or tablets. Researchers suggested this may be due to the people drinking the juice being more hydrated than those using the other methods, but warned that drinking juice with a high sugar content may "raise concerns" for people who are diabetics.
Continue »
Controversial vaccine may even protect unvaccinated
AP
(CBS News) A new study shows that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is so effective at reducing the number of infections young women are getting, it's even protecting people who haven't gotten vaccinated.
The protective effect is called "herd immunity," a concept that suggests when a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, the rest of the community becomes protected because there's less chance for an outbreak.
Continue »
Makeup tutorial shows effects of domestic abuse
Lauren Luke shows women how to "cover up" signs of domestic abuse.
/ YouTube/panacea81While the scrapes and marks on Luke's face aren't real, the problem she is addressing - women feeling the need to hide domestic violence - is very much real. Luke said the reason why she did the PSA, which was created by ad agency BBH London, was because "domestic violence is a huge issue."
"And I really don't think it gets the exposure that it needs," she said in an interview on her YouTube channel.
Continue »Women who fear childbirth have longer labor times
istockphoto
(CBS News) The idea of childbirth scares between 5 to 20 percent of women. A new study suggests they may have another reason to fear the event: It found women who are terrified of giving birth spend longer times in labor.
According to the June 27 study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the average duration of labor for women who were scared of childbirth was eight hours. Women who did not fear giving birth only spent an average of 6.46 hours in labor.
"Fear of childbirth seems to be an increasingly important issue in obstetric care," study co-author Dr. Samantha Salvesen Adams of the Health Services Research Centre at Akershus University Hospital in University of Oslo, Norway, said in the press release. "Our finding of longer duration of labor in women who fear childbirth is a new piece in the puzzle within this intersection between psychology and obstetrics."
Continue »
Abandoned baby box boom concerns UN officials
United Nations Radio
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child spoke out against baby boxes, warmed incubators where people can place unwanted infants anonymously without fear of prosecution. Baby boxes are often connected to hospitals or public places, and an alarm goes off when a child is placed inside them so staff can come immediately to prevent a tragic outcome.
"The baby box is not protecting children, and the action is not in their best interest," Dr. Maria Herczog, a sociologist and member of the U.N. Children's Rights Committee, told United Nations Radio.
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child claim that there are 99 of these boxes in Germany and 45 of them in Poland, with declining numbers in other countries throughout the world. They are also known to exist in Austria, Japan and the U.S., but the exact number of them has yet to be determined, the committe said.
Continue »
MRI shows what birth looks like from the inside
New Scientist via American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
(CBS News) Recently released video of a woman giving birth is providing people with their first look at what childbirth looks like from the inside.
Using an cinematical MRI, which takes multiple images of the same body part and then stitches them together to create a movie, German scientists at the Charite University Hospital in Berlin were able to create the first film to show what the interior of the birthing process looks like.
Continue »
Drinking coffee may protect against heart failure
iStockphoto
(CBS News) Could two cups of coffee a day keep the heart doctor away? A new study shows that your daily cup of joe might provide that health benefit.
The study, published in Circulation Heart Failure, shows that, to a point, moderate coffee drinking may significantly lower the risk of heart failure. But don't overdo it - the study also found excessive coffee drinking may increase the chance of getting major heart problems.
Three cups of coffee per day might prevent Alzheimer's in older adults
Two cups of coffee a day cuts overall risk of dying by 10 percent, research shows
Green coffee beans may lead to weight loss, study shows
"While there is a commonly held belief that regular coffee consumption may be dangerous to heart health, our research suggests that the opposite may be true," said senior study author Dr. Murray Mittleman, director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in a press release.
Continue »
Seattle breast cancer survivor free to swim topless
Jodi Jaecks is seen in a June 20, 2012 photo in Seattle. Jaecks, 47, pressed for months to swim topless in a city pool after her double mastectomy made wearing swim tops painful. The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department has reversed a decision by its aquatics manager and decided to allow Jaecks to swim topless in a public pool. Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams says there's nothing to alarm the public, so the department decided to make an exception to its dress policy for public pools.
/ Dean Rutz,AP Photo/The Seattle TimesNow she wants to make sure her privilege is also extended to other breast cancer survivors who want to swim comfortably.
"Initially when I heard about the reversal, I was elated. Then it came that it wasn't a policy change, it was just an exception for me. Then I was quite deflated. It seemed like it was a reaction that it was just meant to appease me," the 47-year-old said Thursday.
Continue »Eating disorders may be common among women over 50
istockphoto
(CBS News) Eating disorders are becoming a big problem for older women, according to new research.
A study from the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found more than 60 percent of women over 50 said their body weight or shape negatively affected their lives. For some of the women, the problem went beyond unhappiness and resulted in signs of eating disorders such as bulimia.
Eating disorders affect women over 50 too, new study says
PICTURES: Retouched or not? Tool spots photos' too-flawless features
"There's this stereotype that eating disorders affect mainly adolescent and young adult women, but that's not what I've been hearing on the street and that's not what we've been seeing in the clinic," study author Dr. Cynthia Bulik, director of UNC's Eating Disorders Program, told CBS This Morning.
Continue »Liposuction may boost the growth of dangerous fat
istockphoto
Liposuction focuses on the removal of subcutaneous fat, which is right under the skin. After surgery, patients gained visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs. Visceral fat has been linked to a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease, the researchers noted.
The good news is there's a way to keep blubber off: exercise. Women who participated in an exercise program after their surgery were able to keep off the fat better than the non-trained group.
Continue »
American women may be more stressed than men
istockphoto
(CBS News) What's the recipe for a stress-filled life? According to new research, being young, a woman, having a low education level and/or having low income represent the most stressed individuals in the United States.
A new study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in the June 2012 issue, marks the first time scientists have been able to track the level of stress across the U.S. over time. Self-reported stress levels increased between 10 and 30 percent over all demographic categories between 1983 and 2009.
"We know that stress contributes to poorer health practices, increased risk for disease, accelerated disease progression and increased mortality," study author Dr. Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., said in the press release. "Differences in stress between demographics may be important markers of populations under increased risk for physical and psychological disorders."
Continue »
Looking at shoes may reveal personality traits
Getty Images
In a new study, scientists have discovered that people can judge a person's sex, age, agreeableness and income by taking a peek at his or her footwear. Interestingly, study participants could also accurately spot how clingy people were just by glancing at their shoes.
High heels cause muscle damage, change walk - even after taken off
Fashion harmful to health? Not these 2012 trends
"We were interested in how people are able to form quick first impressions," Dr. Angela Bahns, an assistant professor of psychology at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., said to MSNBC.
Continue »Panel: Vitamin D, calcium won't cut fracture risk
istockphoto
(CBS News) The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says postmenopusal women should not take daily low doses of calcium and vitamin D supplements to prevent bone fractures.
The panel of medical advisors, who guide government guidelines on disease treatment, found there was "adequate evidence" that taking 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D in combination with 1,000 milligrams of a calcium supplements had no effect on the incidence of osteoporotic fractures. The review looked at evidence from 17 studies. The task force did find evidence the supplement combination could increase a woman's odds for developing kidney stones, but said the harm is small.
U.S. panel recommends against PSA tests for screening prostate cancer in men of all ages
U.S. panel advises against hormone therapy for healthy older women
Study links calcium pills to heart attacks
Osteoporotic fractures, especially hip fractures, are associated with chronic pain and disability, loss of independence, worsened quality of life, and increased risk of dying, according to the Task Force. One half of all postmenopausal women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lifetime.
Continue »
Sandoz recalls Introvale birth control pills
A 13-week blister package of Introvale birth control pills is displayed with the placebo pills in the correct order.
/ FDAThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that each three-month blister card contains 84 peach-colored active tablets and 7 white placebo tablets. In the packs with the error, the placebo tablets are placed in the 9th week slot instead of the correct 13th week slot. The picture on the left shows the correct order of pills.
Investigation reveals morning-after pill may not prevent implantation
16 worst birth control mistakes
"While the white placebo tablets can be clearly distinguished from the peach-colored active tablets, the risk of an unintended pregnancy for a patient taking the wrong tablet over several days cannot be excluded," Sandoz said in the FDA statement.
Continue »
Does morning-after pill prevent implantation?
CBS
16 worst birth control mistakes
Morning-after pills sold in Shippensburg University vending machine
Despite the fact that labels - and several institutions like the National Institute of Health and the Federal Drug Administration - claim that Plan B and other similar pills can work by blocking a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman's uterus, studies have shown that the medication does not function in that manner. Especially since Mitt Romney referred to the drugs as "abortion pills" and women's reproductive rights are a hot-button issue this election, changing this language to reflect what science has shown could effectively alter the discussion.
"I would be relieved if it doesn't have this effect," Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said to the New York Times. "So far what I see is an unresolved debate and some studies on both sides."
Continue »