Before you reach for that energy drink...

Coffee is my go-to drink when I need a little pick me up to get  through a writing assignment (or a craft-intensive Brownie meeting). There's nothing I like better than sipping on a hot cup of Joe, doctored up with plenty of cream, of course. I may switch to Diet Coke in the afternoons, but I am pretty old-school when it comes to my drinkable energy. And usually one or two cups a day are enough for me, or I am a jittery, irritable mess. But I know many folks prefer energy drinks and energy shots for a quick jolt of energy. I have always shied away from them, because I didn't know exactly what was in them (mostly lots of caffeine, herbal ingredients and other stimulants). And the drinks' aggressive sounding names like "Monster," "Red Bull," and "Full Throttle," just turned me off. Seeing as how energy drinks are marketed mostly to people between the ages of 21 and 35, maybe I was being an old-fashioned fuddy duddy.

Maybe not.

The FDA is investigating reports of five deaths that may be associated with the Monster energy drink. Monster is also being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl with a heart condition who died after drinking two cans of Monster in a 24-hour period. Also, New York’s attorney general is investigating the energy drink industry.

Investigations are ongoing as to what caused the deaths linked to Monster. However, experts single out caffeine as the problematic ingredient in energy drinks. On average, energy drinks contain about 70 milligrams of caffeine per eight-ounce serving. In comparison, an eight-ounce cup of coffee contains an average of 100 milligrams of caffeine, and soft drinks have about 24 milligrams of caffeine. However, cans of energy drinks often contain more than one serving and caffeine content varies widely—with some brands containing three times the caffeine as others. The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends adults consume less than 300 milligrams of caffeine daily.

In moderation, caffeine is not harmful and recent studies show it may actually have some health benefits. The problem is that caffeine affects everyone differently, so some people are more sensitive to it than others (like me).

Read more about energy drinks in my latest article for UT HealthLeader.

Fighting the flu

Did you get your flu shot yet? I usually like to get everyone in my family vaccinated as soon as the shots or flu mist come out, in late September or early October. But this year we were delayed by some particularly bad chest colds, and needed our entire immune systems fighting the bad bugs messing with our lungs. We finally got our flu vaccinations a couple of weeks ago. Now is the time to get vaccinated, says UTHealth infectious disease expert Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, M.D., in my latest article for UT HealthLeader. Ostrosky says to get vaccinated for the flu as early as possible, because it takes two to three weeks to build up immunity to the influenza virus.

So far, flu activity has been light, he adds, but that could change. While the flu season can begin as early as October, it usually peaks in the United States in January or February and can continue as late as May. And infectious disease experts are closely watching a new strain of swine flu called H3N2v that has infected people in close contact with pigs at state fairs in the Midwest, killing one person and hospitalizing at least 16. While there has been some person to person spread of the virus, a widespread outbreak has not occurred.

Don’t like shots? Healthy people who are between the ages of 2 and 49, can opt for the flu mist--a live-attenuated (weakened, but alive) vaccine administered through a nasal spray. Needless to say, both of my shot-hating kids opted to get their “flu sniffs,” as they nicknamed the mist.

Now, I don’t like shots any more than my kids, but the shot cost half what the flu mist cost. So I gritted my teeth, rolled up my sleeve and braced myself for a good, old fashioned flu shot.

Ouch!

“Did it hurt mommy?” my kids inquired as the nurse put a SpongeBob bandage on my upper arm (my pediatrician’s office offered parents the vaccine).

“No, it was just a little pinch,” I said, letting out my breath. “Not bad at all!”

Yeah, right. Next year, mommy wants flu sniffs!

Houston, we have a stray animal problem

What do Houstonians say is the biggest health problem facing their neighborhoods? Crime?

Nope.

Traffic?

Not even close.

Stray animals, according to the Health of Houston Survey 2010, released last year. That answer surprised me, and Stephen Linder, PhD, who developed the survey, the first of its kind to report the health of Houstonians by neighborhood within Harris County..

"That wasn’t what we expected," says Linder, associate director of the Institute for Health Policy at The University of Texas School of Public Health, in my Q&A for UT HealthLeader. "It was worst on the east side of Houston. Strays can be a big problem for neighborhoods, because they increase the risk of animal bites and rabies if you have a lot of animals that have not been inoculated. Usually children are at the highest risk for being bitten."

The population study included health information from more than 5,000 households in the Houston area. Other interesting facts about the health of Houston:

• An estimated 20 percent of Houstonians reported they are in poor or fair health—twice the national average.
• Houston had twice the national rate for risk of psychiatric illness. Not only that, the rate for women was twice as high as for men.
• Almost half of the survey’s residents (48 percent) were experiencing difficulty buying food or paying their mortgage in the 12 months prior to the survey (2010).
• Thirty-four percent of adults younger than 65 are without insurance. Compared to other groups, more Hispanic and African-American residents are without insurance.

When it comes to our health, our city definitely has room for improvement. Thankfully, public health experts like Linder are showing us where and how to focus our efforts. I am looking forward to seeing what the 2013 study yields. In the meantime, check out the Health of Houston website, and see how your neighborhood ranks.

Camp lessons

My daughter went to her first sleep away camp this summer. It wasn't her favorite experience of the summer (in fact, she ranked it in her top three worst moments between having a root canal and getting separated from me during our water park trip), but it was definitely a valuable learning experience. For both of us. My daughter learned new camp songs, how to ride a horse and the least amount of hair brushing required to pass inspection. I learned that the house is only marginally quieter without your eight-year-old if you still have a talkative four-year-old around. We both learned we missed each other desperately. Read more about our camp experience on Divine Caroline, sister site to Ladies Home Journal. Be sure to "like" the article, if you do in fact like it.  

Ending the nightly grind

I was surprised to find out how many of my friends and acquaintances grind their teeth at night, after posting my recent UT Healthleader article on the subject. Apparently, I am not the only only sporting one of those cute, acrylic mouthguards at night. So, if everyone does it, does that mean grinding your teeth is cool? Definitely not, considering all the problems teeth grinding has caused me over the years--not to mention the headaches and the countless dentist bills. I know why I grind my teeth. A combination of stress and the way that my teeth are aligned is to blame. But I wonder why so many other people (at least in my social circles) grind their teeth. Are people in general more stressed out? Are they just more willing to talk about it? Teeth grinding, also called nocturnal bruxism, is an increasingly common problem probably because we pay more attention to our dental health than in times past, says my source for the article, Shawn Adibi, DDS, an assistant professor in the Department of General Practice and Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Dentistry.

So how do we treat it? Wear your bite guard, of course (be sure to have one custom made by your dentist). Adibi also suggests patients who grind primarily because of stress work with mental health professionals to develop coping strategies, adding that both anti-anxiety medications and therapy help. “Once it (the stress) is controlled, the dentist has a better chance of managing the bruxism,” he says.

And now for something completely different:

Calling all parents with school-age kiddos! UT Healthleader recently posted its back to school package, filled with useful tips on topics such as:

• Handling first-day jitters
• Resetting your school body clock
• Protecting your college freshman from meningitis

Check it out!