Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Are Dental Sealants and Fillings Safe?


By Karen Cicero for Completely You

A couple of weeks ago, I told you if you had any questions for health experts to ask away -- and I’d see what I could do. Well, the topic for today’s post is thanks to my friend Kristin, who asked me to find out about BPA (bisphenol A) in dental fillings and sealants. Kristin is the “greenest” of all my friends; she even has solar panels on her house and gushes about how much it has saved her family on utilities. I’ve got to admit I wish I had her electric bill!

Back to BPA: Kristin and I tossed our kids’ plastic cups and dinnerware years ago after some preliminary research suggested that the chemical could leach out of plastics when heated and cause health problems, especially for babies and young children. I’ve been buying BPA-free water bottles and other plastics ever since, but it never occurred to me that there would be BPA in those white composite fillings or dental sealants (used to protect kids’ teeth from cavities) until Kristin, fresh from her kid’s teeth-cleaning, asked about it.

I called Julie Anne Barna, a dentist and a spokeswoman for the Academy of General Dentistry, to find out what’s going on. She said that though sealants and fillings don’t contain BPA per se, they do have compounds that can turn into BPA when they’re first put in the mouth. However, she assured me that a quick wipe and rinse of the dental work -- a routine practice -- removes the potential hazards. In fact, a study published last year in Pediatrics by researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston found that scrubbing and rinsing sealants eliminates 88 to 95 percent of the BPA-causing compounds.

I wish it were 100 percent, of course, but 90-something is good enough for me. The real risk of having a cavity (and other dental problems that might lead to down the road) outweighs the theoretical risk from BPA. Now, please excuse me, I’m off to tell Kristin.

Want more about BPA? Check out this week’s slideshow


Got a question you’re dying to ask a health expert? Don’t keep it to yourself! Comment below or message me @Completely_You

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/RichVintage

About Karen Cicero 
I'm
Completely You’s “Need to Know” blogger. A health journalist and magazine editor with more than 15 years of experience, she has contributed to such publications as Prevention, Self and Health, and has edited the dental column for Heart & Soul magazine.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

How Much Energy Does Coffee Really Give You?

By Karen Cicero for Completely You

I fully admit that I can’t function without my morning coffee. My brain seems foggy, and I’m bleary-eyed (even if I’ve gotten plenty of sleep). Just ask my family what my mood is like -- my daughter even knows when “Mommy hasn’t had her coffee yet.”

I’ve always assumed that the caffeine in my java had some kind of power over me, but I was OK with that because I like the taste of coffee and how it makes me feel. And let’s face it: It’s not hard to get, and it’s not expensive if you brew it yourself. Plus, I’m comforted by the studies that show that drinking a cup or two of coffee daily can actually be good for your health, reducing the risk of certain kinds of cancer and heart problems.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I ran across some research that made me question my assumptions. Doctors at the University of East London gave coffee drinkers a cup of joe and then asked them to play a series of games that tested their attention and reaction time. So far, no biggie. But only half of the participants drank regular coffee; the rest unwittingly received decaf! When doctors analyzed the test results, they found that the decaf group performed just as well on the tests as those who got the regular java. Now I’m worried: Is the boost I get from coffee all in my mind?

I asked Lynne Dawkins, the lead author of the study, that very question. “Well, yes and no,” she said. “It’s the result of conditioning. The taste and smell of coffee can trigger the same feel-good brain chemicals as the caffeine itself.” She added that if the participants had known they had received decaf, the results of her study would likely have been different.

I’d like to think of it this way: The boost I receive from coffee is real. But if the barista at Starbucks accidently pours me a decaf one day, I still should be as ready to face the world as I usually am.

Like this post? Connect with me @Completely_You
For more great health & lifestyle content, visit the parent site of my blog, Completely You


About Karen Cicero:
I’m Completely You’s “Need to Know” blogger. A health journalist and magazine editor with more than 15 years of experience, I’ve contributed to such publications as Prevention, Self and Health, and have edited the dental column for Heart & Soul magazine.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Getting Braces: How to Find an Orthodontist You Can Trust

By Karen Cicero for Completely You
First things first: I hope you had a wonderful holiday. My 9-year-old daughter, Kate, believes in Santa, so the last couple of weeks of 2011 were filled with wonderful anticipation (“Will he bring me a Harry Potter wand?”) and good behavior (the Santa card is better than any time-out chair). Speaking of magical creatures that leave presents, Kate is also fond of her visits from the tooth fairy. And that brings me to what I’d love to share with you today.

I wasn’t prepared for what happened at her pediatric dentist’s office recently during a routine cleaning. Her dentist checked the teeth for cavities (none -- yay!), put on a couple of sealants, told her she needs to floss a little better (we’re working on that -- thanks, Disney Princess Flossers!), and then the surprise: She handed me a couple of business cards for local orthodontists. I must have stood there with my mouth wide open, but words weren’t coming out. What was in my head: My kid has lots of baby teeth left! Why on Earth would she need to see an orthodontist now? The dentist suggested that Kate get a consultation before her next visit -- and then got called away for an emergency.

I’m sure I could have phoned the dentist the next day to follow up, but I hit the Web instead. And I found out that the American Association of Orthodontists recommends that kids see an orthodontist by age 7 to check for crowded teeth or misaligned bites. The crowded-teeth issue actually rang a bell; I remember from previous visits that Kate’s dentist suspected that her mouth might be too small for her big-kid chompers. But I was still feeling uneasy because I’ve heard from my friends who have older kids that you can go to three orthodontists and get three different opinions. So I decided to call Ted Sherwin, a family dentist in Orange, Va., and spokesman for the Academy of General Dentistry, for some straight answers.

Sherwin acknowledged that it can be difficult for parents to reconcile the treatment recommendations from various orthodontists, but he also pointed out: “There is more than one path to successful results.” Hmm. Sherwin added that an orthodontist recommendation from a family dentist you trust is golden. And you don’t have to stop there. After a little more digging, I found that HealthGrades.com, an independent website, allows patients to comment on the medical or dental care they receive from a particular practitioner.

As it turned out, one of the business cards Kate’s dentist handed me was for an orthodontist that my friend had also recommended. With two thumbs up, it seemed smart to try him first. We’ve got an appointment in a few weeks.

In the meantime, Kate is eagerly anticipating another visit from the tooth fairy. “Do you think that instead of giving me money, she can get Daniel Radcliffe to call me?” asked Kate. My response: “No, sweetie, the tooth fairy doesn’t take special requests.”

How did you find an orthodontist? Write to me below or tweet @Completely_You
For more great health and lifestyle info, visit the parent site of my blog,
Completely You


About Karen Cicero:
I’m Completely You’s “Need to Know” blogger. A health journalist and magazine editor with more than 15 years of experience, I’ve contributed to such publications as Prevention, Self and Health, and have edited the dental column for Heart & Soul magazine.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Are Your Dinner Plates Too Big?

By Karen Cicero for Completely You
Yesterday, I was standing in my office (see last week’s post) when some Australian news caught my eye. (You have my word that I wasn’t Googling Hugh Jackman.) I ran across a study that three researchers from Down Under did comparing the sizes of one of my favorite things to drool over at Macy’s: dinner plates.

Their premise was pretty simple: They wanted to see how many calories 8-inch plates would hold compared to 10-inch ones. The results made my jaw drop: If the bigger plates were flat, they stashed 67 percent more calories than the smaller ones; if they had a little depth to them, the 10-inchers could hold twice as many calories as their tinier counterparts. I ran into the kitchen with my daughter’s Hello Kitty ruler, swung open the cabinet door and started measuring my dinner-plate stash. Twelve inches for Martha! Eleven inches for Mikasa! Ten inches for Williams Sonoma! OMG!

Once the shock wore off, I shot off an email to the study’s lead researcher, Steve Pratt, nutrition and physical activity manager for the Cancer Council of Western Australia. I wanted to know if the plates hold more, does that mean I’ll take more, eat more and, ultimately, weigh more? His answer in a nutshell: Yes. He pointed out that other studies, including those at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., suggest that people consume hundreds of calories more a day when plates are just 2 inches wider, and that the reverse is true too. If I ditched my 10-inch plates for 8-inch ones, then I’d probably save myself at least 200 calories a day -- enough to lose 2 pounds a month.

I was dreaming of a Macy’s shopping spree for smaller plates and, down the road, smaller clothes, when I got to the last line of Pratt’s email: “Try using your salad plate for everyday meals, and save your bigger dinnerware for special occasions.” Back to the cabinet with Hello Kitty. My salad plates are, in fact, 8 inches wide. I set the table with them tonight while making pork tenderloin, roasted sweet potatoes, and green beans. As soon as I called everyone to dinner, my daughter asked in a concerned voice, “Mom, did you shrink the plates in the dishwasher?”

Oh, well.

Everything seemed to be going OK until we all rationalized that we deserved seconds because “our plates were so small.” In the end, I think we probably ate about the same as usual -- maybe a little less. At least for us, switching to a plate that was 3 inches smaller was too drastic. But I’m not back to square one: I’ve decided to phase in downsized dinnerware. I’ll start doing what Pratt suggested: saving foot-long plates for special occasions. For now, we’ll eat on 10-inch plates, and I’ll put 9-inchers on my birthday list. By spring, I’m guessing that going 1 inch smaller won’t seem like a big deal -- and will help me lose countless inches elsewhere! Stay tuned!

How big are your plates? Share below or tweet me @Completely_You


About Karen Cicero:
I’m Completely You’s “Need to Know” blogger. A health journalist and magazine editor with more than 15 years of experience, I’ve contributed to such publications as Prevention, Self and Health, and have edited the dental column for Heart & Soul magazine.

Thursday, January 12, 2012


We’re going on a trip soon, so I bookmarked this article about airports with the healthiest food. You’ll never guess which airport won: USAToday.com

Like this post? Stay in touch with me @Completely_You

Wednesday, January 11, 2012


A reminder:
“Maybe you don’t need the whole world to love you, you know. Maybe you just need one person.”
-- Kermit the Frog in The Muppets

Like this post? Stay in touch with me @Completely_You

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Watch Cornell University researcher Brian Wansink explain why the size of plates, bowls and glasses influence how much food you take -- and ultimately eat.


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Friday, January 6, 2012

The Biggest Cancer Risk at Your Desk

By Karen Cicero for Completely You

OK, we barely know each other yet, but I’m hoping you’ll go along with this: Can you please stand up? Really, I’m serious.

A couple of days ago, I was parked at my home-office desk reading the daily health news online, and I clicked the headline “Is Sitting Too Long A Major Cancer Risk?” I assumed it was a clever way to talk about couch potatoes, but no -- it was about regular exercisers like me (and maybe you too) who stay glued to their desk chairs for hours on end. The article concluded that “excessive sitting” was linked to an estimated 100,000 cases of breast and colon cancers a year. I had to know more so I called Christine Friedenreich, Ph.D., a scientist in Canada who had helped put together the conference on the topic for the American Institute for Cancer Research.

I told her that I fit in 30 minutes of some kind of exercise every morning (a brisk walk around my neighborhood, a hula-hooping contest with my 9-year-old, a couple of rounds of tennis on Wii Fit) but for the next 8 hours, I get up from my desk two to three times tops. I answer email sitting down. I write stories sitting down. I talk on the phone sitting down. Heck, I even moved my printer a couple of weeks ago so I could reach it by just sliding over my desk chair. Lazy, I know.

Dr. Friedenreich confirmed that even though I exercise daily, I’m still at an extra risk for cancer because of prolonged sitting. (Small note of comfort: She did say I’d be even at greater risk if I didn’t work out at all.)
“The research so far shows that prolonged sitting raises levels of C-reactive protein, insulin and other biomarkers for cancer,” she explained. Ack. I followed up: “How often do I have to get up?” For an answer, she referred me to Neville Owen, Ph.D., of Australia's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute -- and I shot off an email to him. Although he cautioned that the research was still in its early stages, he said “it would be a good idea to stand up at least every 20 minutes and take a slightly longer break and walk around for a minute or two, every hour.”

The next day, I tried to follow his advice. I blew it in 20 minutes flat. I got so caught up in editing a story, 40 minutes passed since I logged onto the computer. (Yes, I know I could set a timer, but the thought of something beeping at me every 20 minutes is stressful.) As the day went on, I did get better at taking mini-breaks but still only averaged about once an hour.

Then I regrouped. What if I didn’t worry about how much time elapsed, but rather designated a few things to do standing up from now on? So the next day, I stood up to answer the phone and stayed on my feet unless I needed to take notes. I busted out the iPad and checked my email upright. I moved my wireless printer to another room so I’d have to walk to get the papers. By day’s end, I was up from my desk at least 20 times -- and my work didn’t suffer because of it. In fact, I actually had a lot more energy at the end of the day rather than muddling through that 3 p.m. slump. Will I still be standing tomorrow? Yep -- but I will be wearing more comfortable shoes!


What’s the longest you go without getting up from your desk? Write me below or tweet @Completely_You

Photo Credit: @iStockphoto.com/courtneyk


About Karen Cicero:
I’m Completely You’s “Need to Know” blogger. A health journalist and magazine editor with more than 15 years of experience, I’ve contributed to such publications as Prevention, Self and Health, and have edited the dental column for Heart & Soul magazine.