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Exploring the options to overcoming women’s hair loss
It’s something nearly every woman dreads: the day she looks in the mirror and notices her hair becoming thinner. While you might think hair loss or thinning hair is a condition that only affects men, the reality is that it’s also become more common in women.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 30 million women in the U.S. are affected by thinning hair. It’s become more prevalent over the years, and some forms of hair loss are even affecting women at earlier ages.
In most cases, the cause is natural, either the result of aging or a genetic trait. Stress, crash dieting, vitamin deficiencies, certain medications, chemotherapy, emotional trauma, chronic illness or other health issues such as anemia or thyroid problems can also contribute to hair loss.
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THE HEALTHY CHEF
Houston's top chefs offer advice on low-fat, flavorful cooking
JEAN-PHILIPPE GUY
BISTRO PROVENCE and BISTRO DON CAMILLO
“There has always been a paradox about French food. The myth is that French food is very rich and, therefore, not good for you. Ironically, there is a best-selling book called “French Women Don’t Get Fat” in which the author discusses the merits of not just the ingredients common in the French diet, but also the lifestyle.
“Eating is very important in French culture, but it is a love of seasonal, fresh foods and natural flavors, not just filling the appetite or overpowering the taste buds. Growing up, I had three meals at specific intervals: breakfast, lunch and dinner, with one snack at 4 p.m. If I got up late, I did not eat anything until lunch. Fruits, vegetables and dairy products, particularly cheese, are in almost every meal. People think of French food having so much butter. At Bistro Provence, we are more likely to use olive oil, butter is more for cooking. You do not see people covering bread in butter.”
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New colonoscopy procedure
Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital is the first facility in Houston to offer the Third EyeRetroscope, a technology that allows physicians to have a more complete view during colonoscopy exams and better identify abnormalities in the colon.
Operating as a “rear-view mirror,” the Third Eye Retroscope helps to visualize potential blind spots in the colon that can be missed during a traditional colonoscopy. Physicians are now able to see between the folds of the colon wall where cancers, polyps and other abnormalities may be hiding.
Recent studies show that the Third Eye Retroscope, when used in combination with standard colonoscopy devices, increased polyp detection by 13 percent. Moreover, the study suggested that while the Third Eye Retroscope is effective in detecting additional polyps in the left colon, it is 16.5 percent more effective in detecting additional lesions in the right colon compared to a standard colonoscopy without a Third Eye Retroscope.
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Ask The Dietician
OUR EXPERT DIETICIAN ANSWERS TOUGH QUESTIONS
ON FOOD AND NUTRITION
Q. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARTBURN, ACID REFLUX AND GERD?
A: Heartburn is just another name for acid reflux. It refers to the burning sensation in the chest or throat when stomach acid comes up into the esophagus, the tube that carries food to the stomach.
At the top of the stomach is a ring of muscle called a sphincter that opens to allow food into the stomach and then closes to keep it from coming back up. When the sphincter doesn’t close properly, it allows some of the stomach contents, including the highly acidic digestive juices, to leak back up. Our stomach has a special lining to protect it from the acids in the digestive juices. But since the esophagus doesn’t, the acid causes an uncomfortable burning.
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