Happy New Year! Finally another post!

It's been a while. Hope everyone had a happy and healthy holidays and New Year... Here we go, the first of a posting blitz! I'm back in DC after being snowed in NY and have soo much to write about :)

First up, some new and interesting research being done at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. Turns out we have taste buds in our lungs! Doctors accidentally discovered there are taste buds that detect bitterness. While testing them, they found out that these taste buds can cause airways to open up when they come in contact with something bitter. Why is this so important? -- Turns out this method can open airways much better than any previous medication has been able to. The next step... possibly an aerosol similar to an inhaler. I'm excited to see what will come of this.

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NEW TASTE OF THE NATION FANPAGE!!!!

So, when I first got involved with Taste of the Nation, I made a fan page with the year included.... I got smarter this year. Please add the new fan page!!!


Taste of the Nation DC

Speaking of being charitable...

Ever since I heard about The Giving Pledge over the summer I have thought it was a wonderful idea. If I had billions of dollars, I'd definitely give a chunk of my fortune to charity -- so expect to see my name on the list if I somehow strike it rich. The Pledge is in the news again because Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has joined, bringing the group to 57. These people are setting a great example, I can only hope more people join the pledge.

The Importance of Sleep

I've been reading a lot lately about the correlation between getting enough sleep and losing weight. It seems that those people who diet, excersize and get their 8 hours of sleep each night lose 50% more weight than those who don't get a full nights sleep.

I always try to regulate what I eat and try to be healthy however my sleep patterns have always been a little bit off. The past few months I've made it a point to get enough sleep each night and weight maintenance has been so much easier! Just goes to show you how the littlest changes can make a big difference :)

#NoKidHungry

Today is No Kid Hungry Day, part of Share Our Strength's campaign to end childhood hunger by 2011. If you're in DC, head over to the Passenger tonight for a happy hour to benefit 2011's Taste of the Nation and the fight against childhood hunger.

Hope to see you there!

Doctors in the Bronx taking lead on fighting childhood asthma

Childhood asthma has becoming an increasing issue in the Bronx, with some areas having as high as a 42% rate of the disease. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies are working to both advance treatment options and make them more widely available. Learn more HERE.

look to the right!

my tweets are now on the right sidebar of the blog. check 'em out :)

Prenatal Smoke Increases Asthma Issues

It's been known that smoking while pregnant increases the likelihood that a child will develop asthma. Now, new research is showing that children whose mothers smoked while pregnant might not react the same to asthma medications as children's mothers who didn't smoke.

Read more HERE

Asthma among most costly diseases in Michigan

The Detroit Free Press published THIS story yesterday about how much the state spends on adult medical costs. Among the most costly diseases - asthma - costing $1797 per year per patient. While the state has cut down on the number of smokers, from 25.1% in 1999 to 20.5% in 2008, the amount they are paying per patient on diseases linked to smoking is much higher than in other states.

NEW BLOG FORMAT

If you are reading this, then you know I've switched over from runraquelrun.blogspot.com (don't click it won't work) to raquelwrites.blogspot.com I figured I had a lot more to say about a lot of different topics - and this would give me a lot more freedom. Don't worry though, runraquelrun is not gone from your lives forever - all posts relating to HEALTH topics will be labelled runraquelrun. As for the other things I plan on writing about, here is how they will be tagged...

FOOD: raquelwantsseconds
FASHION: workitraquel
TRAVEL: raqstarworldtour

Hope you enjoy!

Another good use for salt?

A new (and slightly bizarre if I say so) form of therapy is popping up across the country... Halotherapy. What exactly does it involve?! Sitting in a room caked with salt, while salt from the Dead Sea is pumped into the room. The people who swear by it claim it helps with both respiratory and skin problems, however there is no research to back up these claims. The rooms are modelled after salt caves used in Eastern Europe. The LA Times wrote an interesting piece about it. Read more HERE.


I wonder if salt spas will be the next big thing in DC ;)

Continue to eat your fruits and veggies

But despite lower asthma rates among children in Mediteranean countries, foods common to the diet of those countries do not make you any less likely to develop asthma. A Mediterranean diet has long been linked to healthy living, but more research is needed to find out what the exact health benefits are.

Read more HERE.

Interesting and Sad Research...

...linking asthma and suicide.

Read more HERE

Do you think theres a link between the two?!

More funding needed for lung cancer

THIS article from yesterdays New York Times takes an interesting look at the effects of the lack of funding towards lung cancer. It's a good read - some of the information may even surprise you!

Don't Bring Race into This! (Just Ancestry)

For so long research has relied on factors such as race, gender and age to determine if you are likely to have certain diseases, however, new research on asthma and other lung diseases shows that your ancestry can determine whether you are genetically more likely. Of course, this research comes with a bit of controversy.


Read more HERE.

Don't Throw Out Inhaler Yet

Children who have both peanut allergies and asthma are more at risk for a life-threatening allergic reaction. Even if asthma symptoms disappear, it can be a life saving decision not to throw out that inhaler. Though some kids may "outgrow" the condition by the time they reach their teens, the effects of an allergic reaction to food could be much worse without an inhaler.


Read more HERE.

anyone else having bad allergies lately?

I've been SUPER sneezy!

New Merck Asthma Treatment FDA Approved

Merck's newest asthma treatment, Dulera, has been FDA approved. It is in competition with Advair, which is made by GlaxoSmithKline. Dulera is expected to be available by the end of July. I'll be sure to post more about how Dulera is used once I find out more info about it!


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Pollution and Daycare (yes daycare!) linked to Infant Asthma

Exposure to pollutants and chemicals during the first year of life makes infants develop a higher risk of getting asthma. In addition, infants who started daycare at less than 4 months old were also more likely to develop asthma. The results were found in THIS USC study.

C-Section Babies More Likely to be Asthmatic

This research out of the UK says that babies born via c-section are more likely to develop asthma, as well as other illnesses, later in life. Children born naturally are exposed to certain germs that help boost their immune system early in life, and due to the sterility of operating rooms, c-section babies lack expose. While C-sections are performed mostly for medical reasons, there are some mothers who elect to have the procedure as opposed to natural childbirth. Based on this research, it's something they may want to re-consider.