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18 HEALTHCARE GUIDE 2007 HEALTH / HYGIENE Beating Bad Breath (MS) - Why do some people seem to have chronic bad breath while others don’t? And what can you do to make your breath more pleasant? The American Dental Association (ADA) offers the following explanations and tips to combat bad breath. • Diet: What you eat plays a big role in how your breath smells. Once food is absorbed into the bloodstream, it is then transferred to the lungs. That food is then expelled through your breath until that food is eliminated from the body. • Hygiene: Another way in which diet can affect a person’s breath is through bacteria. People who don’t brush or floss regularly allow particles of food to remain in the mouth and collect bacteria, resulting in bad breath. Also, when teeth aren’t brushed or flossed, food that remains can rot and lead to bad breath. • Smoking: While yellow teeth are the first thing people associate with smoking, the same principles that apply to diet apply to smoking as well. When HEALTH 6001) VS. BAI) What Makes Some Cholesterol OK? (MS) - Most people know there is a distinction between “good” and “bad” cholesterol. But what makes some good and some bad? And which foods are OK to eat and which should be avoided? GOOD What is it? High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is known as “good” cholesterol. This is because HDL is believed to remove cholesterol from the blood. When HDL levels in the blood are high, this is believed to reduce a person’s risk of coronary heart disease. The adverse effect occurs when HDL levels are low. Good foods to eat: Because genetics play a role in cholesterol levels, what’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander. However, these foods have been known to reduce LDL levels: • Foods with soluble fiber: foods containing soluble fiber, which is known to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines, reduce levels of LDL. cigarette I v smoke is BN|i|| I||| inhaled into I ' the lungs, the lungs eventually need to expel that smoke. Once expelled, the odor isn’t pretty. Bad breath might not be at the top of the list for reasons to quit smoking, but it’s certainly on that list. • Health: Bad breath isn’t always the result of lifestyle choices such as diet or smoking. Sometimes, bad breath can be an indicator of something bigger. Gastrointestinal problems and diabetes can result in bad breath, as can chronic sinusitis or postnasal drip. In addition, sometimes liver or kidney ailments result in bad breath. If you have chronic bad breath but don’t eat anything associated with bad breath and you don’t smoke, consult a physician as to the possible cause. Your bad breath could be a warning sign of a much more serious problem. To learn more about dental care, visit the ADA Web site at www.ada.org. Oatmeal, oat bran, cereals containing oats, kidney beans, apples, and prunes are all high in soluble fiber. • Fish and omega-3 fatty acids: omega -3 fatty acids help reduce blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. Fish that boast high levels of omega-3 fatty acids include mackerel, lake trout, salmon and albacore tuna. • Walnuts/almonds: walnuts are known to significantly reduce blood cholesterol, and walnuts and almonds can both do wonders in as little as four weeks. However, be careful, as nuts are high in calories, which can lead to weight gain. Eating a handful per day will still help reduce cholesterol while keeping weight off as well. BAD What is it? Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is what’s known as “bad” cholesterol. Buildup of LDL in the See CHOLESTEROL, pg. 19 ONCOLOGY Learn the Facts About (MS) - Each year, roughly 30,000 new cases of leukemia are diagnosed in the United States. Approximately 4,000 new cases are diagnosed in Canada. A puzzling disease with no concrete cause, leukemia takes an average of 22,000 American lives every year. Understandably, with no known cause, leukemia instills fear and uneasiness in those affected by the disease, be it existing leukemia patients, their relatives or even those with a family history of the disease. After all, it can be tough to prevent something if you don’t know what causes it in the first place. In the case of leukemia, a better understanding of the cancer can help quell the fears and uneasiness that accompanies it. WHAT IS LEUKEMIA? Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects the blood cells. Bone marrow is the soft tissue found in the middle of most bones that’s responsible for making these blood cells. When a person has leukemia, their bone marrow starts making too many white blood cells, which protect the body against infection. On the surface, common sense might suggest that you can’t have too many cells to protect the body against infection. However, when a body has too many white blood cells, these cells fail to work properly, often growing too big and crowding out other types of blood cells, such as red blood cells and platelets. That’s unsafe, as both red blood cells and platelets are important for survival. Red blood cells are responsible for ensuring the body has enough oxygen, while platelets prevent excessive bleeding. A deficiency in either, which can be caused by a high white blood cell count, can be very dangerous. IS LEUKEMIA A BLANKET TERM? Leukemia is a blanket term, as there are actually four types of the disease. Those four types are: ■ Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): ALL is the type of leukemia most commonly found in children, though it can be found in adults as well. Children with ALL are usually diagnosed between the ages of 2 and 5, but it’s also the most successfully treated form of childhood leukemia. Also known as acute lymphocytic leukemia, symptoms of ALL include fever, bone pain, frequent infections, and loss of appetite. • Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): Unlike ALL, AML is more common among adults, and incidences of AML increase with age. Like all forms of leukemia, there is no concrete cause, though cases have been linked to high doses of radiation, tobacco use, exposure to benzene, and chemotherapy used to treat other forms of cancer. Because of platelet depletion, easily bleeding or bruising is symptomatic of AML, as is loss of appetite, general fatigue, weight loss, and fever. • Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML): Most common in men in their 50s, CML is rarely found in children and can be diagnosed in three distinct phases. Most patients with CML will be diagnosed in the chronic phase, where the bone marrow begins to fill with white blood cells. In the accelerated phase, treatment might not be as effective, as the abnormal levels of white blood cells have begun pushing out other cells. The third phase is known as the blast crisis phase, wherein CML has actually transformed into a more severe form of leukemia. Similar symptoms arise with CML as with other forms of leukemia, including fatigue, weight loss and fever. But CML patients can also experience pain in their spleen, which might also be swollen. • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): Another form of leukemia rarely found in children, CLL is mostly found in adults in their 60s, and the excess white blood cells produced are mature cells. As most CLL patients are older; infection is more likely thanks to a weaker immune system. Symptoms are identical to those of other forms of leukemia and though treatment rarely cures CLL entirely, several See LEUKEMIA, pg. 20 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL »r»'— —n 111 1 „^ggiajjf** RIMIHK, • V . A* JK. r nlr yttt IJj ** -Jf m. kw 1 Wm- On* form of troofmont for loukomio in volves treatments of chemotherapy.