Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?

Study questions how much better organic food is — Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?

Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out — and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.

Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children — but the amount measured from conventionally grown produce was within safety limits, the researchers reported Monday.

FILE - This March 16, 2011, file photo shows organic radishes at the Pacifica Farmers Market in Pacifica, Calif. Patient after patient asked: Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me? Unsure, Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out _ and concluded there's little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics. Eating organic fruits and vegetables can lower exposure to pesticides, including for children _ but the amount measured from conventionally grown produce was within safety limits, the researchers reported Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo, File)

Nor did the organic foods prove more nutritious.

"I was absolutely surprised," said Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior research affiliate at Stanford and long-time internist who began the analysis because so many of her patients asked if they should switch.

"There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods," from environmental concerns to taste preferences, Bravata stressed. But when it comes to individual health, "there isn't much difference."

Her team did find a notable difference with antibiotic-resistant germs, a public health concern because they are harder to treat if they cause food poisoning.

Specialists long have said that organic or not, the chances of bacterial contamination of food are the same, and Monday's analysis agreed. But when bacteria did lurk in chicken or pork, germs in the non-organic meats had a 33 percent higher risk of being resistant to multiple antibiotics, the researchers reported Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

That finding comes amid debate over feeding animals antibiotics, not because they're sick but to fatten them up. Farmers say it's necessary to meet demand for cheap meat. Public health advocates say it's one contributor to the nation's growing problem with increasingly hard-to-treat germs. Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, counted 24 outbreaks linked to multidrug-resistant germs in food between 2000 and 2010.

The government has begun steps to curb the nonmedical use of antibiotics on the farm.

Organic foods account for 4.2 percent of retail food sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It certifies products as organic if they meet certain requirements including being produced without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, or routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones.

Consumers can pay a lot more for some organic products but demand is rising: Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion sales last year, according to a recent Obama administration report. That's up from $3.6 billion in 1997.

The Stanford team combed through thousands of studies to analyze the 237 that most rigorously compared organic and conventional foods. Bravata was dismayed that just 17 compared how people fared eating either diet while the rest investigated properties of the foods themselves.

Organic produce had a 30 percent lower risk of containing detectable pesticide levels. In two studies of children, urine testing showed lower pesticide levels in those on organic diets. But Bravata cautioned that both groups harbored very small amounts — and said one study suggested insecticide use in their homes may be more to blame than their food.

Still, some studies have suggested that even small pesticide exposures might be risky for some children, and the Organic Trade Association said the Stanford work confirms that organics can help consumers lower their exposure.

CSPI's DeWaal noted that difference, but added that the issue is more complicated. Some fruits and vegetables can harbor more pesticide residue than others — she listed peaches from Chile as topping a recent testing list. Overall levels have dropped in North American produce over the last decade as farms implemented some new standards addressing child concerns, she said.

"Parents with young children should consider where their produce is coming from," DeWaal said, calling types grown in the U.S. or Canada "a safer bet" for lower pesticide levels.

As for antibiotics, some farms that aren't certified organic have begun selling antibiotic-free meat or hormone-free milk, to address specific consumer demands, noted Bravata. Her own preference is to buy from local farmers in hopes of getting the ripest produce with the least handling.

That kind of mixed approach was evident in a market in the nation's capital Thursday, where Liz Pardue of Washington said she buys organic "partially for environmental reasons." Pardue said she doesn't go out of her way to shop organic, but if she does, it's to buy mostly things that are hard to wash like berries and lettuce.

Michelle Dent of Oxon Hill, Md., said she buys most of her groceries from regular chain stores but gets her fruit from organic markets: "It's fresh; you can really taste it."

Anna Hamadyk of Washington said she buys only organic milk because she has a young son.

"I would love to buy everything organic, but it's just too much money," said Hamadyk, who also shops at local farmers markets. ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Is eating organic food, which costs more, really better for me?

Scientists report first evidence of flu in bats

Scientists report first evidence of flu in bats - For the first time, scientists have found evidence of flu in bats, reporting a never-before-seen virus whose risk to humans is unclear.

Scientists report first evidence of flu in bats

The surprising discovery of genetic fragments of a flu virus is the first well-documented report of it in the winged mammals. So far, scientists have not been able to grow it, and it's not clear if – or how well – it spreads.

Flu bugs are common in humans, birds and pigs and have even been seen in dogs, horses, seals and whales, among others. About five years ago, Russian virologists claimed finding flu in bats, but they never offered evidence.

"Most people are fairly convinced we had already discovered flu in all the possible" animals, said Ruben Donis, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who co-authored the new study.

Scientists suspect that some bats caught flu centuries ago and that the virus mutated within the bat population into this new variety. Scientists have not even been able to grow the new virus in chicken eggs or in human cell culture, as they do with more conventional flu strains.

But it still could pose a threat to humans. For example, if it mingled with more common forms of influenza, it could swap genes and mutate into something more dangerous, a scenario at the heart of the global flu epidemic movie "Contagion."

The research was posted online on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The CDC has an international outpost in Guatemala, and that's where researchers collected more than 300 bats in 2009 and 2010. The research was mainly focused on rabies, but the scientists also checked specimens for other germs and stumbled upon the new virus. It was in the intestines of little yellow-shouldered bats, said Donis, a veterinarian by training.

These bats eat fruit and insects but do not bite people. Yet it is possible they could leave the virus on produce and a human could get infected by taking a bite.

It is conceivable some people were infected with the virus in the past. Now that scientists know what it looks like, they are looking for it in other bats as well as humans and other animals, said Donis, who heads the Molecular Virology and Vaccines Branch in the CDC's flu division.

At least one expert said CDC researchers need to do more to establish they've actually found a flu virus.

Technically, what the CDC officials found was genetic material of a flu virus. They used a lab technique to find genes for the virus and amplify it.

All they found was a segment of genetic material, said Richard "Mick" Fulton, a bird disease researcher at Michigan State University.

What they should do is draw blood from more bats, try to infect other bats and take other steps to establish that the virus is spreading among the animals, he continued. "In my mind, if you can't grow the virus, how do you know that the virus is there?"

Donis said work is going on to try to infect healthy bats, but noted there are other viruses that were discovered by genetic sequencing but are hard to grow in a lab, including hepatitis C. ( AP )

READ MORE - Scientists report first evidence of flu in bats

Healthy workers work hard

Healthy workers work hard. "A healthy workforce is a productive workforce" is a concept embraced by modern day business minds. It implicates that the more companies put into their workforce, the more they will get out."

Dr Glen Hagemann from Energi, a company specialising in workplace wellness, has conducted local research and reviewed various studies related to health in the workplace and has made some astonishing findings.

His review entitled The Total Value of Corporate Health explains the basic logic behind a healthy workforce. "If you improve the health of employees, their quality of life improves. Therefore health care claims are reduced, disability is controlled, and productivity is enhanced. Thus having a positive impact on the bottom line," his report reads.

Preventable illness (i.e. diseases that could have been avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle) is responsible for 40 to 65 percent of illnesses and their associated costs, reads Hagemann's report. "Modifiable health risk (MHR) factors are precursors to many diseases and premature death … and MHR can be improved through effective health management programmes," says Hagemann. "Improvements of the health risk profile of an employee population can lead to reductions in health-related costs and improvement in productivity."

"South African companies are addressing the health issues of their workforce, however, in some cases they're focussing on one risk while neglecting others," says Hagemann. He argues that HIV/Aids is a serious threat to productivity and indirectly to the country's economy. Therefore, justifiably, most health efforts are aimed towards fighting HIV/Aids. "However, HIV/Aids mostly affect the younger component of the workforce (25 to 40 year olds), while non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, etc. are risk factors among the more experienced senior workforce."

He highlights six key factors implicating employee health:

1. The effect of chronic disease on workers

Seven of the 15 top causes of death among South Africans are largely due to preventable diseases. These include HIV/Aids, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.

• The effects of chronic disease on workers
  To illustrate this point Hagemann used rates among South African males according to age distribution. According to the South African National Burden of Disease study conducted in 2000, the death rates among the workforce (25 to 55 year olds) were particularly higher than among the rest of the population. And the two main causes of death among this group were HIV/Aids and non-communicable disease, i.e. mostly diseases that could have been prevented by lifestyle modification.

• Non-communicable disease (NCD) in South Africa
  In 2002, the Medical Research Counsel (MRC) found that 41 percent of mortality in South Africa is due to NCDs, and the figures are ever-increasing. In 1996, 487 people died per day due to NCDs. This figure rose to 536 in 2001, and is estimated to rise up to 563 by 2010.

  "Many of these deaths occur in the middle-aged and senior members of the workforce," says Hagemann, therefore having a substantial effect on the country's productivity and economy.

• Burden of NCDs in South Africa
  The MRC also reported that approximately 6 million South Africans suffer from hypertension, 4 million have diabetes, 7 million are smokers and 4 million have hyperlipidaemia.

  "Approximately 56 percent of the population are reported to have at least one of these risk factors and about 20 percent are at high risk for NCD," says Hagemann.

2. High-risk employees are high cost

The following monetary value has been calculated as the annual healthcare claims cost for certain health risk factors (regardless of whether or not a patient is on treatment):

• Depression risk – R1763
• Elevated cholesterol – R1171
• Stress – R881
• Body mass index (BMI) – R748
• Glucose levels – R558
• Blood pressure – R354
• Alcohol – R329

As the level of these risk factors increase, for example, elevating blood pressure levels, the cost of medical claims also increase.

3. Absenteeism

Health risk factors also impact on the amount of sick leave taken by the employee, ultimately leading to lower productivity output of the company.

• Annually a person with an elevated BMI costs the company 49 percent more in direct costs associated with paid time off (PTO) than a normal weight person.
• An employee at risk for depression takes an estimated 5.7 days sick leave due to this condition, costing the company 65 percent more in PTO payroll costs than a person that’s not depressed.
• High stress levels leads to an average of 4.2 sick days every year, costing the company 98 percent more in PTO payroll costs than a person with normal stress levels.
• An employee with elevated cholesterol levels will take an average of 6.8 days of sick leave due to this condition, costing the company 66 percent more in PTO payroll costs than a person not at risk.

4. Presenteeism – the hidden enemy

Presenteeism is when an employee is present, but unproductive because of ill health. This condition also has a great effect on an employee's work output. Direct costs can be measured for medical and pharmacy claims, absenteeism, workmen’s compensation and long an short term disability. However the indirect cost of presenteeism is more difficult to measure and can be termed the “hidden enemy” as companies do not know the extent of this.

According to an American study, the following diseases are believed to cause an astonishing amount of unproductive work hours per day:

• Heart disease – 4.3 hours/day
• Respiratory infection – 4.1 hours/day
• Diabetes – 4 hours/day
• Blood pressure – 3.4 hours/day
• Migraine – 3.4 hours/day
• Arthritis – 3.2 hours/day
• Allergies – 2.8 hours/day
• Stress – 2.3 hours/day
• Depression – 2.2 hours/day
• Anxiety – 2.2 hours/day

The annual cost of presenteeism (calculated according to disease), according to another US study, are as follows:

• Hypertension - $392.31
• Heart disease - $368.34
• Depression - $348.04
• Diabetes - $256.91

5.Do not neglect the healthy

Hagemann warns that companies should not just focus their health improvement efforts on those at high risk, but also aim to keep healthy employees healthy, as low risk employees could become high risk, eventually leading to higher medical and other related costs. "It’s strategically more cost-effective in the long term to keep a healthy person healthy than to try to move a high risk individual to a medium or low risk."

6. The impact of physical activity

Inactive people tend to take more frequent and on average longer sick leave, and cost the company more in sick leave/payroll costs as active employees.

Hagemann reports that physical inactivity was significantly associated with the female gender, people with an elevated BMI, people with moderate to high levels of stress as well as unhealthy eating habits. However, the same study found, no association between physical inactivity and medical expenditure, which is opposite to the international literature which generally shows an increase in medical expenditure for inactive people vs active people.

Possible solution

In order to reduce these health risks, and in turn increase workforce productivity, Hagemann suggests that companies implement a health management programme tailor-made for the health needs of its employees and aligned with the organisations objectives.

"Resources for such programmes are often limited and companies should spend their money wisely," says Hagemann. "Companies shouldn't settle for a generic health management programme. They should assess their workforce and identify the group's specific needs. Only then should they design and implement an appropriate health risk management programme," Hagemann concludes. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Healthy workers work hard

Summer sick leave rates low

Summer sick leave rates low. Employees take the least amount of sick leave in December and January and this figure is decreasing every year. But 'presenteeism' may be more of a problem.

In a study of doctors' certificates covering 150 000 South African employees from over 60 companies, it emerged that December has the lowest absenteeism rate of any month of the year at 1.08%, with January the next lowest at 1.43%. Absenteeism over the 2007-2008 festive season had also decreased since the year before, when the figures were 1.47% and January 1.56% for December and January respectively, according to Corporate Absenteeism Management Solutions CEO, Johnny Johnson.

How this was calculated

The absenteeism rate was calculated by dividing the number of days employees were absent by the number of days that they should have been at work during that month. The average monthly absenteeism rate for South African companies which actively manage abenteeism is about 1.67% (the total for the country as a whole may be higher).

"Sick absenteeism in South Africa costs around R19 billion a year, which is about 1% of South Africa's GDP," Johnson said. "The reasons for the lowered sick absenteeism rates during these months are obvious, as employees know they will soon be on Christmas leave, so even if they are sick, they come to work to get the job done before the holiday starts.

"Also, in South Africa, work sometimes slows down in December and early January, and the workday vibe can therefore be more enjoyable for those who still have to work, making it less tempting to abuse sick leave.

"December and January are also short months, with many companies shutting down over the festive season, so there are also fewer days available for employees to take sick leave," Johnson explained.

'Presenteeism' also a problem

He also mentioned the problem of 'presenteeism'. This refers to an employee who comes to work despite being ill, and whose productivity levels are low as a result of it.

"Presenteeism is also a big problem in December and January and is worse in times of economic downturn, because people are fearful of losing their jobs, so they don't take sick leave, and they come to work regardless.

"What is important to bear in mind here is that employees who are truly sick must be sent home, and employees who are present and are able to work, should be enjoying their jobs and not spending their days sleeping at their desk, avoiding their managers or surfing the net. In these cases, they are so unproductive, they might as well have taken sick leave," said Johnson.

"If companies are feeling the effects of presenteeism, managers could arrange tasks so that the more complex ones are completed earlier in the day and the less strenuous ones after lunch. Also, looking in to how to make the work more rewarding, and making employees feel valued for their contribution are important ways to avoid presenteeism.

"Many South African companies deal with presenteeism by shutting down in the slower parts of December and January, thereby ensuring that employees get their rest and are productive and raring to go when they return in January," Johnson added. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Summer sick leave rates low

Sick leave myths busted

Sick leave myths busted. Unsure whether to bring a sick note after being off ill for two or three days? Here are the facts:

Myth – A sick note from a traditional healer is not a valid sick certificate.

Fact – A sick certificate from a traditional healer is valid as long as the practitioner is registered. The law says that a medical certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner – that is a person who is certified to diagnose and treat patients – who is registered with a professional council that is established by an act of parliament.

Myth – I need to present a sick certificate if I was off for two consecutive days.

Fact – An employer can only request a medical certificate in an employee has been absent from work for more than two consecutive days – in other words, from the third day onwards. An employer can also request a sick note if an employee takes a day sick leave more than twice in eight weeks. If the employee does not produce a valid medical certificate in these circumstances, the employer does not have to pay the employee for the day he/she did not work.

If an employer has experienced a lot of problems with sick leave, he or she may include a clause in the terms of employment that requires an employee to produce a sick certificate under certain circumstances, for example when taking sick leave on a Monday or Friday.

Myth – Employers have no right to question a sick certificate.

Fact – The fact is that an employer has every right to question a sick certificate, especially if there are grounds to believe that the employee might not have been sick – as was the case of the employee whose picture appeared in the newspaper for winning a golf tournament on the same day he was supposedly sick with flu. However, an employer cannot refuse the sick certificate on a hunch, and would have to provide evidence – either proof that the sick note is invalid, or an eye witness that saw the “sick” employee dancing at a nightclub the night before.

Myth – Sick leave works on an annual cycle.

Fact – Sick leave works in a three-year cycle. During the first six months of employment, an employee may take one day's sick leave for every 26 days worked. Thereafter, an employee may take the number of days he/she normally works in six weeks during every three year cycle.

During the first six months of employment, an employee is entitled to take one day sick leave for every 26 days worked.

Myth – I have to put in normal leave when I stay at home to look after a sick child.

Fact - If the employee has worked for an employer for longer than four months, and works at least four days a week, he or she may take three days paid family responsibility leave during each year of employment. Family responsibility leave applies when the employee's child is born, when the employee's child is sick, in the event of the death of the employee's spouse, life partner, parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, sibling, child, adopted child.

An employer may ask for reasonable proof of an event when this type of leave is taken, such as a death certificate or doctor's letter for a sick child.

Myth – I can access my sick leave if I fall ill while on normal leave.

Fact – The law does not have any specific regulation around this and it may differ from company to company. However, labour law consultant, Michael Bagraims, believes that an employee is not entitled to "trade" their normal leave for sick leave should they become sick while on holiday.

Myth – I have to put in normal leave everytime I go to the clinic to get my medication.

Fact – According to Michael Bagraims a person can access sick leave when they need to do something in line with an illness. – ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Sick leave myths busted

Depression and women

Depression and women. It is widely accepted that depression is more common in women than it is in men. The ratio is so disproportionate in fact that it is estimated that up to 70% of people suffering from depression are women.

This stark disparity has led theorists to ask: why are women so much more susceptible to depression than men? Various answers to this question have been proposed and it has become clear that all these factors, combined, contribute in some way to this trend.

Control

One of these answers looks at how susceptibility to depression is linked very closely to an individual’s perception of how "controllable" their environment is. Theorists have proposed that the more one believes that one has mastery and control over one’s life, the less likely one is to develop depression.

In our society males are encouraged to be assertive, independent and masterful. Women on the other hand are encouraged to be more passive, sensitive and perhaps to rely on others more than males are. It is believed that these culturally prescribed gender-roles place women at greater risk of developing depression.

Stress

Another answer offered looks at the response women tend to take to stress and depression.

Women have a tendency to ruminate more about their circumstances and blame themselves for their reaction to them.

Men on the other hand tend to ignore their feelings and engage in various distracting activities. The male approach is often the healthier one, where he is able to take his mind off his problems and focus on something else instead.

At a disadvantage

In addition, it has been argued that women are at a distinct disadvantage in our society, as they experience more prejudice, poverty, sexual harassment and abuse than men do. They also earn less and garner less power and status than men do.

Another answer given looks at role conflict and the burden of working and being a good mother at the same time. Juggling these dual roles in a relatively unsympathetic corporate climate can cause an incredible amount of stress in women’s lives and can trigger depression.

Who seeks treatment?

It has also been proposed that the statistics available on the male to female ratio reflect the disparity in terms of who actually seeks treatment, and not who is in fact suffering from depression. It has been argued that women, having been socialised to express feelings and to talk about issues that are bothering them, are more receptive to seeking treatment.

Men, on the other hand, often see "feelings" as abstract concepts and often don’t want to admit that they could possibly suffer from a "weakness" like depression.

Hormones

Finally, it is important to note that women are in many ways slaves to their hormones in ways that men just aren’t. Hormones impact directly on brain chemistry and can therefore directly trigger a depressive episode. Women deal with hormone fluctuations every month, when they fall pregnant, and at menopause. These fluctuations can be just what a woman, with a predisposition towards depression, needs to develop full-blown clinical depression.

In the case of menopause specifically, women do react differently to the process. Some are relieved never have to have another period, whilst others feel less attractive and experience a sense of loss of their femininity.

A range of uncomfortable "symptoms" may be experienced by the pre-menopausal woman, including hot flushes, low libido, cramps, difficulty concentrating and depression. It is important to stress that hormones alone don’t "cause" depression, but that they may trigger an already-present predisposition.

For the woman experiencing mercurial moods as a result of her hormone fluctuations, whether once monthly, during pregnancy or because she’s menopausal, there is an effective treatment. Speak to your doctor about hormone replacement therapy. In a case where the mercurial moods have descended into a full-blown clinical depression, the hormone therapy will probably not be sufficient. Additional medication and/or psychotherapy may be called for. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Depression and women

Depression and sex

Depression and sex. The symptoms of depression, like insomnia, a change in appetite, a feeling of worthlessness and anhedonia - a loss of interest in things that were normally enjoyed, including sex - can have an immense impact on libido.

Sleep deprivation is an underreported and underrated cause of decreased sex drive, and although researchers have yet to tease apart the sex-sleep connection, it's likely that the hormone vasopressin plays an important role.

The change in appetite common in depression can affect libido, either through weight gain and a combined feeling of helplessness and worthlessness leading to a negative body image, or even through weight loss due to restricted eating. Research shows that the brain chemical neuropeptide Y, which kicks into high gear in response to food deprivation, also undermines sex drive.

Antidepressants

When depression is treated, a normal libido usually returns, although sadly in some cases, some of the antidepressants used in the treatment of depression, can cause sexual dysfunction themselves. Up to fifty percent of people taking SSRI's, a newer type of antidepressant, experience this side effect.

Fortunately, there are ways around this problem. Discussing the problem with your doctor will allow the two of you to decide which alternative is best for you. The alternatives include: decreasing the dosage slightly, waiting six months until your body builds up a tolerance to the drug and the side effects diminish. Another option is taking a drug vacation, where you stop taking the drug on a Thursday and start again on the Sunday, allowing you a weekend with fewer side effects - although this can only be done with certain drugs under specific circumstances. The other option is to change your drug altogether or to start taking another medication in conjunction to counteract the sexual side effects of the first.

Give your libido a boost

A healthy lifestyle is the best way to ensure a healthy libido. Eating correctly, moderate exercise and enough sleep will help you cope with stress, maintain a good body image and keep those hormones in balance. Nevertheless like weight and romance, libido can wax and wane for any number of reasons, but there is no reason to suffer in silence and feign enthusiasm for a spouse's sake, for fear that diminished interest signals a decaying marriage. A decreased libido is something millions of people around the world each year seek treatment for, and like most other medical conditions it can be treated. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - Depression and sex

Researchers Find Mummies Had Heart Disease

Researchers Find Mummies Had Heart Disease. Fast Food, Smoking and Lack of Exercise Contribute to Risk, but Findings Show Other Reasons why Arteries Clog. You can't blame this one on McDonald's: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies.

"We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors," such as fast food, smoking and a lack of exercise, but the findings show that these aren't the only reasons arteries clog, said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City.

He and several other researchers used CT scans, a type of X-ray, on 22 mummies kept in the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. The subjects were from 1981 B.C. to 334 A.D. Half were thought to be over 45 when they died, and average lifespan was under 50 back then.

Sixteen mummies had heart and blood vessel tissue to analyze. Definite or probable hardening of the arteries was seen in nine.

"We were struck by the similar appearance of vascular calcification in the mummies and our present-day patients," said another researcher, Dr. Michael Miyamoto of the University of California at San Diego. "Perhaps the development of atherosclerosis is a part of being human."

One mummy had evidence of a possible heart attack but scientists don't know if it was fatal. Nor can they tell how much these people weighed - mummification dehydrates the body.

Of those whose identities could be determined, all were of high social status, and many served in the court of the Pharaoh or as priests or priestesses.

"Rich people ate meat, and they did salt meat, so maybe they had hypertension (high blood pressure), but that's speculation," Thompson said.

With modern diets, "we all sort of live in the Pharaoh's court," said another of the researchers, Dr. Samuel Wann of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Milwaukee.

The oldest mummy with heart disease signs was Lady Rai, a nursemaid to Queen Ahmose Nefertari who died around 1530 B.C. - 200 years before King Tutankhamun.

German imaging company Siemens AG, the National Bank of Egypt and the Mid-America Heart Institute paid for the work. Results are in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association and were reported Tuesday at an American Heart Association conference. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Researchers Find Mummies Had Heart Disease

Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus

Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus and What to Do if They Get Sick

General Tips

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
• Emphasize to children that they should wash with soap and water long enough to finish singing the alphabet song. Also, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, and instruct children to do the same.
• Boost natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C.
• Don't allow sharing or trading of costume masks.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

About the Vaccine:

• People 6 months to 24 years old should be first in line for a vaccine. Also a priority: pregnant women, healthcare and emergency service workers, people who live with or care for children under 6 months old and people with chronic health disorders. Flu.gov has an interactive national map to find a flu shot near you.
• Children 10 years and older and adults will need 1 dose.
• Children younger than 10 years of age will need 2 doses, at least 1 month apart.
• Infants younger than 6 months of age are too young to get the 2009 H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.
• Immunity doesn't happen immediately; it takes a week or two after the last shot for the vaccine to take full effect.

Symptoms

Symptoms May Include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Body aches
• Headache
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• It's important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Treatment

General Care

• Keep your sick child at home until at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine).
• Call the school or daycare to notify that your child has flu symptoms.
• Do not take your child to the mall, grocery store, or any place where he or she might expose others to the flu.
• Do not give aspirin or aspirin-containing products (like Pepto Bismol) to children 18 years of age and younger. This increases the risk of Reye syndrome.
• Children older than 6 months can take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin) for relief of fever.
• Do not give over-the-counter cold medicines to children younger than 4 years of age. The safest care for flu symptoms in children younger than 2 years of age is using a cool-mist humidifier and a suction bulb to help clear away mucus. -Your doctor may prescribe a drug called Tamiflu.

Seek Emergency Care If You Child Has:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing.
• Grunting noises or wheezing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that he or she not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash
• Dehydration: difficult to awaken, no urination in past 8 hours, dry mouth and lips, no tears when crying
• Ear discharge

( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus