Early stage

•May notice patient is more anxious, forgets friends’ names and telephone numbers, places everyday items in the wrong storage locations, leaves projects (laundry, meals) unfinished, has trouble making change and balancing a checkbook.

•If patient’s work life is suffering, caregiver also may need to take on more financial responsibility.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK TO USA TODAY:  How Alzheimer’s disease alters lives, stage by stage – USATODAY.com.

Those startling results, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are only an estimate. But several experts who reviewed the analysis said the methods and conclusions seem sound.

“The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference,” said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics‘ breast-feeding section.

The findings suggest that there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.

The magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly underappreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR YAHOO! NEWS: Study: Breast-feeding would save lives, money – Yahoo! News.

In 1982, Scientific American published an article suggesting that snorting cocaine was no more addictive than eating potato chips. People continue to use when the stuff is around, and simply stop when it’s gone, the researchers argued. The paper was later widely denounced for minimizing the risks of what soon became known as the most addictive drug all. Cocaine, that is, not Fritos. (See pictures of what makes you eat more food.)

The funny thing is that the same headlines are still making news — except written in reverse. On March 29, the New York Daily News declared: “Fatty foods may be just as addictive as heroin and cocaine: study.” Indeed, a look at Americans’ collectively expanding waistline — with two-thirds of adults qualifying as overweight or obese — would suggest that the Scientific American article may have actually understated the addictiveness of junk food, not cocaine. Some addiction researchers might even argue that potato chips — and other high-fat, high-calorie foods — are more effective than a crack pipe in terms of keeping “users” hooked long-term.

via Can Eating Junk Food Really Be an Addiction? – TIME.

The new policy represents a reversal not only of the current moratorium on any new oil drilling off most U.S. shores, but also of President Obama’s own support of the moratorium during the 2008 campaign.

And of course, the policy also revives the oft-heard 2008 McCain/Palin campaign rally cry, “Drill, baby, drill.”

Seizing upon the opportunity to create a highlight reel featuring Republicans rabidly chanting, “Drill, baby, drill,” we present to you this video: “Drill, Barack, Drill.”

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST: Drill, Barack, Drill: Obama Reverses Position On Offshore Drilling VIDEO.

The move, which President Obama will announce Wednesday morning with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base, ends a long-standing moratorium on oil and gas drilling along much of the East Coast, from Delaware to central Florida.

The new strategy also calls for oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, more than 125 miles from Florida’s coast, and in large areas in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in the Arctic Ocean, north of Alaska, after the government conducts detailed studies, an administration official said.

The administration will bar exploration in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, officials said, which is home to critical wildlife habitat. Aides spoke of the plans on the condition of anonymity, to avoid preempting the president’s announcement.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama to clear way for offshore drilling for oil and gas, including off Va. coast, sources say – washingtonpost.com.

Medical costs are rising fast — up 5.7% last year, while the economy declined 1.1%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the next 10 years, health spending is projected to rise 6.1%, reaching $4.5 trillion, or nearly 20% of the economy.

Some critics and even proponents of the law say it won’t do enough to slow down that trend. The health insurance industry, blasted by Obama for recent premium increases in California and other states, argues that the unsolved problem is the prices charged by doctors, hospitals, drugmakers and others.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR USATODAY:  Big question: Will we really pay less for health care? – USATODAY.com.

Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price.

And last year, a Fairfax man was convicted of selling 10 million pounds of cheap, frozen catfish fillets from Vietnam as much more expensive grouper, red snapper and flounder. The fish was bought by national chain retailers, wholesalers and food service companies, and ended up on dinner plates across the country.

“Food fraud” has been documented in fruit juice, olive oil, spices, vinegar, wine, spirits and maple syrup, and appears to pose a significant problem in the seafood industry. Victims range from the shopper at the local supermarket to multimillion companies, including E&J Gallo and Heinz USA.

TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST:  FDA pressured to combat rising ‘food fraud’ – washingtonpost.com.

The following is a look at the impact of the law, which will extend insurance coverage to 32 million additional Americans by 2019, but which will also have an effect on almost every citizen.

Here’s how you might be affected:

Q: I don’t have health insurance. Will I have to get it, and what happens if I don’t?

A: Under the legislation, most Americans will have to have insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. The penalty would start at $95, or up to 1 percent of income, whichever is greater, and rise to $695, or 2.5 percent of income, by 2016. This is an individual limit; families have a limit of $2,085. Some people can be exempted from the insurance requirement, called an individual mandate, because of financial hardship or religious beliefs or if they are American Indians, for example.

What Health Overhaul Will Mean For You : NPR.