Almost half of all Americans do not eat breakfast, but how many times have we heard that it is the most important meal of the day?  There's no better way to start your morning than with a healthy breakfast.  Scientific studies are showing that eating a healthy breakfast has many healthful benefits including: weight maintenance, boosts metabolism, increases fiber intake, improves cognitive ability, enhances memory, increases attention span, improves mood, and helps to have a healthier diet overall.

Make time for breakfast by setting your alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier, plan what you will have the night before, or keep it simple.  The breakfast recipes below are healthy and can be made the night before if you are pressed for time in the morning.  All of them are provided by the Lake Health Wellness Institute.

• Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup
• Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
• Breakfast Quinoa
• Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
• Crustless Spinach Pie
• Ham Mushroom and Cheese Casserole
• Holiday Ginger Pancakes

January is known for New Year resolutions, new beginnings, and gym floors becoming flooded with people. Making a resolution is a great start.  According to a study by the University of Scranton, about 46% of the people who made resolutions were successful for 6 months. For some, it can be difficult to follow through with a New Year resolution, especially for the entire 12 months of the year. There is still a long journey to December 31st after deciding what your goal will be for the year.  To help you succeed, I've provided some tried and true tips to help you each step of the way.  I know you can do it!

• Make Yourself Accountable:  When you talk about what you are going to do, you are more likely to do it.  If you're really brave, tell the whole world your resolution on your social media network and e-mail your friends and family.  Announcing your resolution out loud can be enough to keep you motivated.
• Start When You Are Ready:  New Year's Day is not always the best time to start a resolution because we know the holidays make any new goal tough to achieve.  If you are ready to start your resolution in November, then go for it!  Another suggestion is to select a future date, for example February 1, but start preparing for that day in the weeks before.
• Reward Yourself:  Just like children, adults need rewards for good behavior too!  Build incentives for continuing your healthy lifestyle.  It could be new work out music, healthy cookbooks, or a subscription to a health-oriented magazine.  Keep the emphasis on rewarding your positive lifestyle changes.
• Be Gentle: Don't let one detour from your goal get in the way of your hard work. A few mistakes will happen in the process (we are human after all), but try to be patient and embraces self love and care.  If you have a slip-up, allow yourself "this one time" and get back on track the next day.  Moderation is the key to success.

Katie Abbott, MS, RD, LD, HC
Health Promotion Dietitian
Lake Health Wellness Institute
kathryn.abbott@lakehealth.org

Most people don't realize how easy it is to gain weight from sugar sweetened beverages.  Sugar sweetened beverages add calories to your diet without any nutrients, and they don't even make you full.  Plus, sugar sweetened beverages are one of the biggest contributors to the nation's obesity epidemic.  One 20 ounce soda or sports drink can pack on an extra 268 non-nutritional calories to your daily intake and extra calories can make a person gain weight.  A typical adult would have to walk briskly for almost an hour to burn off the calories in one bottle of soda.

What is a sugar sweetened beverage anyway?  It is a beverage with added sugars.  These added sugars can have many names.  Look on the ingredient list for words such as: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, corn sweetener, dextrose, sugar, cane juice, organic cane juice, brown sugar, honey, molasses, sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, or syrup.

Sugar sweetened beverages include non-diet sodas, sports drinks, sweetened tea, sweetened waters, vitamin waters,  flavored waters, sweetened juices, and blended coffee drinks.  There are about 16 teaspoons of sugar (equal to 16 packets of sugar) in a single 20-ounce serving of a sugar sweetened beverage. 

It's true. We do not need added sugar in our diets at all.  Sugar has no nutritional value except for providing calories.  The American Heart Association recommends a maximum intake, of no more than 6 teaspoons (100 calories) of added sugars for women, and no more than 9 teaspoons (150 calories) of added sugars for men. One 20 ounce soda has almost twice as many calories (268 calories).  If you were to drink one bottle of soda everyday for a year, that would be 97,820 extra calories a year.  If your physical activity were low, then this would lead to a significant weight gain.

Some wiser beverage choices include water, water with a wedge of lemon or lime, fat free milk, unsweetened tea, or even seltzer water. They are all healthy, hydrating choices.  Be aware of drinks that claim to be healthy and all natural, like vitamin waters or energy drinks with antioxidants because they tend to be packed full of sugar too.  Remember to always read the nutrition fact label.

Katie Abbott, MS, RD, LD, HC
Health Promotion Dietitian
Lake Health Wellness Institute
kathryn.abbott@lakehealth.org

Thanksgiving can be one of the greatest heart-felt holidays of the year.  It is the one day out of the entire 365-day year that we honor and give thanks for what we have.  Often times this notion gets shoved to the side in order to make way for the big Thanksgiving meal. Indulging in holiday favorites is okay, but this year let's focus on staying healthy and motivated for wellness during the holiday season.  Here are my tips for surviving the holidays and remaining healthy.

1. USDA's MyPlate recommends making half of our plates fruits and vegetables. Include more fruits and vegetables into your Thanksgiving tradition by adding spinach and mushrooms to your favorite rice dish, including a side of sautéed vegetables, creating a colorful salad with seasonal vegetables and fruits, or roasting fiber-rich root vegetables.
2. Make physical activity a new tradition for the family. Attempt a gourd hunt (modeled after an Easter egg hunt), make a scare crow for the yard, or get ready for the Sunday game with your own game of touch football.
3. If you know you are going to holiday parties at the end of the week.  Try to keep your week balanced on other days of the week.  Be sure to choose water to drink, make half your plate fruits and vegetables, plan or pack meals, and stick to your workout routine.  Avoid letting a Saturday night party turn into a five day eating frenzy.
4. Try out what I like to call the "Holiday Buddy System".  By asking a friend, co-worker or family member to be your holiday buddy, you can count on each other's support to remain in healthy balance.  Think about scheduling workouts together, check in via text, e-mail, or a phone call, and give each other healthy recipe ideas. 

By following these four tips you will likely have a healthy and happy (not heavy) holiday season.

Katie Abbott, MS, RD, LD, HC
Health Promotion Dietitian
Lake Health Wellness Institute
kathryn.abbott@lakehealth.org

New at the LakeHealth/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in 2011 is the use of an electronic prescription system. The use of this new system allows our clinical staff to view a patient's prescription information from multiple historic pharmacies, as well as generate a current medication list.

Not only does our electronic prescription system transmit patient prescriptions directly to the pharmacy of choice, it provides information on appropriate alternatives, allergies and requirements for insurance authorization from a patient's drug plan.

In May 2011, Lake Health/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center installed a Toshiba Large Bore Aquilion Computed Tomography (CT) Simulator. The CT Simulator is designed for treatment planning in the Radiation Oncology department specifically and, therefore, the CT scans are not interpreted by a Radiologist.

Radiation Treatments consist of high-energy x-rays which are delivered to a well-defined target volume. The goal is to confirm the target volume to plan the appropriate amount of radiation dose with minimal doses to surrounding healthy tissues. These images are transferred to the Dosimetrist who creates a treatment plan for approval of the Radiation Oncologist.

Once this process is completed and verified, the patient is ready to receive radiation treatments. At any time during the process of radiation planning & treatment, should a diagnostic CT scan be required, this will be scheduled in the appropriate diagnostic Radiology Department.

By focusing on the music within us, we can learn to look past our limitations, cope with stress, and relieve our pain.

How can listening to music help my personal wellness?

As you think about how to use music for your personal wellness, ask yourself the following questions:

• What music energizes you?
• What music helps you to relax? 
• What music takes your mind away from your troubles? 
• What music soothes your spirit?

Which musical selections came to mind?  Create a list of your preferred musical selections and group your favorites under the following titles: 

• Energizing Music
• Relaxing Music
• Distracting Music
• Soothing Music

Tips: Some of your music may belong in more than one category.  If nothing special comes to mind, pay attention to how you feel when you listen to music on the radio, television, or in a public place.

Now it’s time to collect your favorite music.  This may require a trip to your local public library or you may find the musical selections in your personal music collection.  Using the technology that is available to you - tape or CD recording, or downloading to your personal computer, iPod or MP3 player - create a playlist of each category of your special music. 
Tip: You may want to ask for help from a friend or family member.

Listen to your energizing music when you want to perk yourself up.  When you feel the need to calm yourself down, take slow, deep breaths while you enjoy the relaxing music.  Allow distracting music to take you away from your troubles when you feel overwhelmed by pain or worry, or play your soothing music to ease the discomfort.  Whenever you choose, let your music resound!

Do you want to learn more about how music can improve your health?  Lake Health offers inpatient and outpatient music therapy with board-certified music therapists.  Contact the Wellness Institute at: 440-375-8153

Approximately, 10-15% of couples have difficulty conceiving at some point in their reproductive lives and seek out a fertility specialist for treatment (Lancet 2002).  A commonly used procedure is IVF or “in vitro fertilization.’  IVF involves retrieving a woman’s egg, fertilizing the egg in the laboratory, and then transferring the embryo back into the woman’s uterus through the cervix.  Typically a woman takes a series of drugs to stimulate egg production for retrieval.  In 2003, over 120,000 treatments were performed in clinics in the United States.  According to Sterility 2006, in 2000, about 200?000 babies worldwide were conceived through in vitro fertilization.

Each cycle of IVF is very expensive, lengthy and very stressful.  New drugs have been developed to also improve success rates, however, only a few adjunctive procedures have been shown to really improve the success rate of IVF.  There have been many research studies which have shown that acupuncture improves the success rate of IVF, even as much as 60%.

Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and has been used to regulate the female reproductive system for centuries.  How does Acupuncture work on fertility?  There are a few mechanisms for its effects on fertility: 

1. Acupuncture mediates release of hormones and neurotransmitters which may stimulate the secretion of GnRH, and thus influencing the menstrual cycle, ovulation and fertility
2. Increase blood flow to the uterus by decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity and increasing the thickness of the uterine lining.
3. Decrease fight or flight response, relaxing the patient and reducing stress
4. Improve the function of the ovaries to produce better quality eggs
5. Strengthen the immune system

The treatment is typically 30 minutes and virtually painless.  Most patient’s state that the acupuncture treatments are very relaxing.  Our latest success is twin girls due in March 2012 by IVF and Acupuncture.

Acupuncture is widely accepted in the United States as an adjunct therapy with IVF due to the many successful research studies which have been completed. 

If you are interested in trying Acupuncture with IVF, call the Wellness Institute at Lake Health, TriPoint Physicians Pavillion 440-375-8153.

There are numerous studies which have demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture and infertility.  I have included some of them for your reference.

1. Influence of Acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy: Paulus, et.al. Fertility and Sterility Vol: 77, No. 4, APRIL 2002
   This landmark study published in one of the most prestigious medical journals in reproductive medicine demonstrated that women undergoing acupuncture treatments had an increase in ongoing pregnancy rates of over 60%, compared to control subjects that did not receive acupuncture.
2. Changes in serum cortisol and prolactin associated with acupuncture during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer treatment. Magarelli, et al. Fertility and Sterility, 2009
   This Study examined the question of whether acupuncture improves pregnancy rates through stress reduction. The answer was that acupuncture significantly improves pregnancy rates, but not by reducing stress levels (as measured by cortisol and prolactin). Of particular interest in this study, however, was the fact that this particular acupuncture protocol doubled a woman's chances of maintaining her pregnancy. 
3. Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilization: systematic review and meta-analysis: Manheimer E, et.al. British Medical Journal, 2008 Feb
   This was a meta-analysis looking at all the available, quality acupuncture research. When taking all factors into account the investigators found that "acupuncture increased the odds of clinical pregnancy by 65% compared with the control groups."
4. Does Acupuncture Enhance a Woman's Chance for Pregnancy and a Live Birth? Athol Kent. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Spring; 1(2): 89.
   This is a review of the use of acupuncture for IVF. The author discusses a summary of the evidence and concludes that "the order of magnitude of improved outcomes [with acupuncture] is higher than more conventional adjunct maneuvers".
5. ACUPUNCTURE PERFORMED BEFORE AND AFTER EMBRYO TRANSFER IMPROVES PREGNANCY RATES. D. B. Youran. Fertility and Sterility. September 2008 (Vol. 90, Pages S240-S241) This study used a different acupuncture protocol timed immediately before and immediately after the embryo transfers. They found a statistically significant increase in pregnancies. (55% clinical pregnancies in the acupuncture group versus 34% in the control group). There were also significantly less pregnancy losses (only 4% in the acupuncture group versus 23% loss in the control group).
6. Clinical observation on acupuncture for treatment of infertility of ovulatory disturbance. Song et al. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2008 Jan;28(1):21-3.
   This study compared acupuncture to Clomid and found that both induced the same effects on ovulation, however, in the acupuncture group, the pregnancy rate was higher and the miscarriage rate was lower.
7. Impact of Acupuncture Before and After Embryo Transfer on the Outcome of In-Vitro Fertilization Cycles: A Prospective Single-Blind Randomized Study. M. R. Benson, et al. Fertility and Sterility. September 2006 (Vol. 86, Issue 3, Page S135)
   In this study they had a 10% increase in Clinical pregnancies in the acupuncture group. Not statistically significant but a trend toward increase in pregnancies.
8. Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial: Westergaard LG, et.al. Fertility and Sterility 2006 Apr 4 This study once again demonstrates that properly applied acupuncture results in IVF ongoing pregnancy increases of over 60%.
9. Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer.: Smith C, et.al. Fertility and Sterility 2006 Apr 4
   This study examined 228 IVF patients. The group that received true acupuncture showed improvements in ongoing pregnancies of over 50% compared to subjects that received a sham acupuncture treatment. This is very clinically significant, though it did not rise to the level of statistical significance.
10. Influence of Acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy: Paulus, et.al. Fertility and Sterility Vol: 77, No. 4, APRIL 2002
    This landmark study demonstrated that women undergoing acupuncture treatments had an increase in ongoing pregnancy rates of over 60%, compared to control subjects that did not receive acupuncture.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to promote screening and early detection of breast cancer.

Roughly 1 in 8 women in the United States will get breast cancer. Next to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in women.

Symptoms of breast cancer may include:

• A lump in the breast
• A change in size, shape, or feel of the breast
• Fluid (called “discharge”) from a nipple

You have a better chance of surviving breast cancer if it’s found early. Talk to a doctor about your risk for breast cancer, especially if breast or ovarian cancer runs in your family. Your doctor can help you decide when and how often to get a mammogram.

Lake Health Urges Women to Schedule Their Yearly Mammogram

Quick Guide to Healthy Living

• Get Tested for Breast Cancer
• Mammograms: Questions for the doctor
• Talk with a Doctor if Breast or Ovarian Cancer Runs in Your Family

Personal Health Tools

• Breast Cancer Risk Tool
• Breast Cancer Tutorial
• Mammograms: Questions for the doctor

More Information (Health A-Z)

• Breast Cancer
• Breast Self-Examination

Resources

Source:  Healthfinder.gov

The Lake Health Resource Center hours vary Monday-Friday between TriPoint Medical Center and West Medical Center. Voicemail and e-mail are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call before visiting to ensure staff availability.

E-mail: library@lakehealth.org
Telephone with voicemail: 440-639-4387
FAX: 440-354-1916 or 440-953-6297

If your request is urgent, call the Lake Health Resource Center to ensure staff availability!

TriPoint Medical Center - Physician Pavilion
7590 Auburn Rd.
Concord Twp, Ohio 44077

West Medical Center
36000 Euclid Avenue
Willoughby, Ohio 44094

The Lake Health Resource Center/Library is proud to announce the start of the Laptop Lending program!  The pilot project began at West Medical Center on Monday, September 12, 2011.  Lake Health patients, families and visitors (18 years or older) may borrow a laptop for up to 4 hours while at West Medical Center from the Resource Center. 

Patients and family members call the Resource Center at ext.33123 to request a laptop.  If Resource Center Staff is unavailable, patients are directed to ask their nurse to contact a Nursing Supervisor to obtain a laptop.  Four laptops are available for the pilot project. If the pilot project is successful, additional laptops will be purchased and the program will be implemented at TriPoint Medical Center.

The purpose of the program is to help our patients stay in touch with family and friends by email, Facebook, Skype, etc., keep up with work or school, watch DVDs or listen to CDs or play games, or search the Internet for good health information. 

The Lake Health Resource Center hours vary Monday-Friday between TriPoint Medical Center and West Medical Center. Voicemail and e-mail are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call before visiting to ensure staff availability.

E-mail: library@lakehealth.org

Telephone with voicemail: 440-639-4387

FAX: 440-354-1916 or 440-953-6297

If your request is urgent, call the Lake Health Resource Center to ensure staff availability!

TriPoint Medical Center - Physician Pavilion
7590 Auburn Rd.
Concord Twp, Ohio 44077

West Medical Center
36000 Euclid Avenue
Willoughby, Ohio 44094