Add Flavor, Texture, and Zest with Heart-Healthy Ingredients

If you have high cholesterol and blood pressure, your doctor has probably advised you to start following a healthy diet as part of your treatment plan. The good news is that delighting your taste buds while sticking to a heart-healthy meal plan is easy — and many of the foods you enjoy most likely aren’t off limits. Healthy herbs and spices lend robust and savory flavor, hearty nuts add texture and a buttery taste, and teas infuse a bright flavor and antioxidants. Michael Fenster, MD (also known as Dr. Mike), a board-certified interventional cardiologist and gourmet chef, shares his cooking tips for preparing delicious meals that will boost your heart health. These choices are part of a healthy lifestyle that may reduce your risk for heart conditions like high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke down the road.

Ask anyone what their favorite breakfast is, and you’ll likely get answers ranging from veggie omelets to sugary cinnamon buns. But how many people can say their favorite morning meal is oatmeal? Well, that’s all about to change. Not only is oatmeal super healthy (it’s packed with belly-filling fiber), but it’s also incredibly versatile. Whether you prefer the grains sweet or savory — or packed with protein or healthy fats — we have the right recipe for you. And remember that no matter which flavor combination you choose, one thing is guaranteed: You’ll never look at oatmeal the same way again.

Tomato Basil Oatmeal
Sweet oatmeal recipes are easy enough to find, but savory ones? Those are a little harder to pull off. With its tomato puree, pine nuts, fresh herbs, and Parmesan cheese, Oatgasm’s tomato and basil oatmeal reminds us of a lower-carb bowl of pasta — one that you’ll want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mangia!

Slow Cooker Overnight Oatmeal
Don’t have time to cook breakfast in the morning? No problem. Just toss 2 cups of oats into a slow cooker, top with some dried berries, and add water. Wait 90 minutes, and voila! With just 193 calories, this slow cooker overnight oatmeal will be your new favorite breakfast.

Blueberry Muffin Overnight Oats
Our love of overnight oats continues with this mouthwatering blueberry version from Eat Yourself Skinny. (Seriously, how gorgeous is this?) The Greek yogurt and chia seeds add an extra shot of protein (13.4 grams in one jar!) and a chewy, flavorful texture. And did we mention it only takes a few minutes to make?

Date-Sweetened Apple Pie Oatmeal
This gluten-free apple pie oatmeal from the Minimalist Baker is sweetened with dates, apple slices, and a dash of honey. It’s part crispy, part thick and creamy, and all parts totally delicious. Plus, it’s easy to mix and match this base recipe with other toppings — think: toasted nuts and flaxseed.

5-Minute Oatmeal Power Bowl
Who says comfort food can’t be healthy, too? This oatmeal power bowl from Oh She Glows is not only delicious, but it also lives up to its belly-filling promise: laden with chia seeds, almonds, and cinnamon, it’s an instant, energizing way to start your day.

Raspberry-Almond Overnight Oatmeal
Breakfast doesn’t get much easier than this raspberry almond oatmeal. Simply combine oats, milk, yogurt, almonds, chia seeds, and a dash of almond extract in a pint-sized mason jar, then shake, stir, and refrigerate. It’s packed with healthy ingredients, and served up in a perfect portion size, too!

A new study sheds light -- literally -- on a potential means of easing migraine pain.

Researchers in Boston exposed 69 migraine patients to different colors of light. They found that while blue light exacerbated headache pain, a narrow spectrum of low-intensity green light significantly reduced light sensitivity.

In some cases, this green light also reduced migraine pain by about 20 percent, the researchers found.

They noted that migraine headache affects nearly 15 percent of people worldwide, and a frequent symptom of migraine is light sensitivity, also known as photophobia.

"Although photophobia is not usually as incapacitating as headache pain itself, the inability to endure light can be disabling," study author Rami Burstein, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a medical center news release.

RELATED: Home Remedies for Headache Treatment

"More than 80 percent of migraine attacks are associated with and exacerbated by light sensitivity, leading many migraine sufferers to seek the comfort of darkness and isolate themselves from work, family and everyday activities," he added. Burstein directs the medical center's Comprehensive Headache Center.

Two experts said the treatment may have merit.

"Certainly Dr. Burstein's work suggests that more research should be done, as this is a potentially beneficial new avenue for treatment," said Dr. Noah Rosen, who directs Northwell Health's Headache Center in Great Neck, N.Y.

He pointed out that "light therapy has been used successfully in other conditions such as certain dermatologic issues and seasonal affective disorder [SAD]."

Dr. Gayatri Devi is a neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

He said the success in some patients with light therapy "implicates the thalamus -- a brain 'relay station' between the sensory organs, including the eyes and the cortex of the brain -- as the area where migraine-related photophobia is amplified."

For his part, Burstein said he's now trying to develop an affordable light bulb that emits narrow-band green light at low intensity, as well as sunglasses that block all but the narrow band of green light.

Rosen stressed, however, that more study may still be needed.

"In general, it seems a safe treatment but one that is limited by cost, access and whether its use on a regular basis would decrease disability," he said.

The findings were published May 17 in the journal Brain.

The right therapist can make all the difference in getting the best treatment for depression, but do some homework before you choose one.

If you're depressed, a therapist can teach you how to deal with your feelings, change the way you think, and change the way you behave to help ease your symptoms.

Finding a therapist you are comfortable with is essential. You will need to talk openly and honestly with your therapist about your thoughts and feelings, so it's important to find the right specialist for you, says Ryan Howes, PhD, a clinical psychologist and a clinical professor at the Fuller School of Psychology in Pasadena, California.

The first step is to look at yourself and determine what it is you need, Dr. Howes says. “Ask yourself, Am I the sort of person who benefits from someone who tells me what to do? Or do I need someone with a good ability to listen and who will talk through things with me?" he advises. Your answer will tell you whether you need someone who will provide directive or non-directive therapy.

Also consider whom you might feel most comfortable with: a man or a woman; someone about your age, or someone younger or older; someone with lots of experience, or someone who is relatively new with fresh ideas. “Once you narrow it down, you can start looking for people who meet your criteria,” Howes says.

Different Types of Therapists and Their Credentials

Several types of mental health professionals can serve as a therapist for people with depression. Being aware of the training differences might help you narrow your search.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MD or DO degree) who have completed specialized training in mental and emotional disorders. They can diagnose, treat, and prescribe medications for depression. Psychiatrists may also provide individual or group therapy. Philip R. Muskin, MD, professor of psychiatry and chief of consultation-liaison psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, advises starting with a physician if you’re severely depressed.

Psychologists have a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in psychology. They are skilled in the diagnosis of emotional disorders and spend most of their time providing individual or group psychotherapy, but do not prescribe medication.

Social workers usually have a master’s degree in social work (MSW) and have training in providing individual or group therapy.

Licensed professional counselors have a master’s degree in psychology (or a related area) and are trained to diagnose and counsel individuals or groups.

Psychiatric nurses are registered nurses (RNs) with training in psychiatric nursing.

Sources of Referrals

How do you go about finding the right therapist for you?

You might want to start by talking with your family doctor. If your doctor feels you need a mental health specialist, he or she should be able to give you referrals, Dr. Muskin says. Or you might be the one to tell your regular doctor, "I need to see a psychiatrist, and this is why,” he adds.

RELATED: 5 Things Psychologists Wish Their Patients Would Do

You could also ask around to see if your friends or family members know of a good therapist who has experience in treating depression. “Personal references can be very good, particularly if they come from someone who knows you well and what you like,” Muskin says.

Here are other resources to help you find a therapist for depression treatment: 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) runs a helpline that can help you locate support. Call 800-950-NAMI or email info@NAMI.org.
The American Psychological Association has a therapist locator on its website.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America can also help you locate a therapist near where you live. 
Your health insurance company likely has a dropdown menu item, such as “find a provider,” for names of professionals in its network.
Schools and universities often have counseling services that can offer referrals if they can’t help you directly. You may have access if you’re an alum or faculty.
The clergy Faith leaders often know of mental health professionals who can help. And if they know you, they can recommend someone who fits your personality and needs. 
Employee Assistance Programs If offered by your employer, they’re part of your benefits package.  
How to Interview Potential Therapists

Once you have a list of at least two or three potential therapists, it's time to figure out which one is best for you. Call each therapist to get some key information before making an appointment.

Questions to ask include:

Are you taking new patients?
What experience do you have treating patients who have depression?
Where do the therapy sessions take place? Some psychiatrists have more than one office where they see patients, Muskin says. Their location and when they hold appointments can matter to you, he adds.
How much does the therapy cost? Do you take my insurance?
Can I meet with you before committing to a therapy session?
RELATED: 6 Questions Everyone Should Ask Their Therapist

If you're able to make a consultation appointment before a therapy session, ask the therapist more specific preliminary questions, such as:

What type of therapy would you recommend for my depression symptoms?
What will this type of therapy involve?
What are the benefits and the primary goals of my depression treatment?
Are you willing to work with other members of my medical team to coordinate my depression treatment? This is especially important if you have a non-MD therapist who will rely on your primary care doctor to prescribe medications.
How often would I need therapy sessions?
After meeting with a potential therapist, take some time to decide whether you are comfortable with them. If you aren’t, keep looking until you find one you like and trust.

Some people will improve with psychotherapy alone; others may need both psychotherapy and a prescription antidepressant. Once you start therapy for your depression, be patient. Psychotherapy (sometimes referred to as talk therapy) for depression can sometimes be painful, and you may find yourself doing most of the talking during the first few sessions. Your therapist will partner with you to ease your depression symptoms and improve your life.

Bone broth was the hipster darling of 2015 food trends, but if healthy eating is one of your resolutions, just sipping on broth isn’t going to cut it. It’s a new year, and 2016 is all about doubling down on fruits and veggies in the most delicious way possible. Sure, salads pack in a lot of produce, but broth-based soups may be the most satisfying — and warming! — route to healthy eating this winter. If you’ve been mainlining gingerbread and peppermint bark for the past two weeks, a detoxifying veggie soup is the perfect way to usher in a healthier new year, one satisfying slurp at a time. Here are five recipes that’ll give your resolutions staying power all month long:

Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup 

We like to think of this dish from Love & Lemons as the “everything but the kitchen sink” of all soup recipes. Here at Everyday Health, we have a strict “no produce left behind” policy, and this is the perfect way to use up all of those death-row veggies in the fridge. Satiating sweet potatoes and carrots pair with lighter veggies like zucchini, tomatoes, and kale to create a hearty, stew-like dish that makes a delicious winter lunch or light supper.

Spiralized Vegan Ramen Soup With Zucchini Noodles

Happiness is when two of your food obsessions (ramen and spiralizing) come together to create a healthy, guilt-free dish. Our friend Ali over at Inspiralized created the ultimate healthy substitute for when you’re jonesing for ramen. This recipe, which swaps noodles for zucchini ribbons, clocks in at 117 calories per serving, which makes it the perfect starter. Or you can make a vegan-friendly meal by adding protein-rich tofu or quinoa — or vegetarian (and a little more authentic!) by serving it with a perfect soft-boiled egg.

Spinach Soup With Rosemary Croutons

Here’s another “easy button” recipe that requires just a few essential ingredients that can be swapped in and out depending on what you have in the fridge. Here, cooked spinach, onion, and potatoes are blended with rosemary to create a vegetable-rich savory slurp, but you could use any green you have on hand (think: kale, arugula, mustard greens) and a variety of herbs (thyme, basil, and tarragon would all do the trick!). Eschewing bread this month? Just skip the croutons.

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

If you haven’t hit the supermarket for your annual “New Year, New You” shopping spree, check the crisper for these holiday holdovers: carrots, onions, apples, and ginger. This bright, sweet, and spicy soup from Joy the Baker keeps in the fridge for up to four days and freezes like a dream. Your first week of January lunch problem? Solved!

Amazon Bean Soup With Winter Squash and Greens

If you’re looking for a vegetarian soup that even the most persnickety carnivore will love, look no further. The United Nations has declared 2016 the “International Year of Pulses” (pulses being beans and legumes to me and you), and for good reason: Beans are cheap, healthy, and environmentally-friendly sources of protein that are packed with fiber and nutrients. We love this wintry mix of beans, carrots, squash, and greens, finished with a squirt of lime. You can easily make this a vegan dish by swapping the butter for heart-healthy olive oil and the chicken stock for a veggie version.

No-Bone Broth

Now that you’ve got five delicious soup ideas, you’ll need some broth. Matt Weingarten, culinary director for Dig Inn, created this No-Bone Broth recipe from kitchen scraps, like apple cores, vegetable peels, and the tops and tails of celery, to create a nutrient-rich, vegan stock that’s a perfect base for any soup recipe.

Yale University researchers looked at more than 1,600 students at middle schools in one urban school district in Connecticut. Their average age was around 12 years.

Boys were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls. The researchers also found that among boys, black and Hispanic students were more likely to drink the beverages than white students.

Children who consumed energy drinks were 66 percent more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics.

RELATED: Energy Drinks Pack a Deadly Punch

Energy drinks have high levels of sugar and also often contain caffeine, the researchers noted. For the study, the investigators took into account the number and type of other sugar-sweetened drinks consumed by the students.

"As the total number of sugar-sweetened beverages increased, so too did risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms among our middle-school students. Importantly, it appears that energy drinks are driving this association," study leader Jeannette Ickovics, a professor in the School of Public Health, said in a Yale news release.

"Our results support the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that parents should limit consumption of sweetened beverages and that children should not consume any energy drinks," she added.

The students in this study drank an average of two sugary drinks a day. The number of daily sugary drinks ranged from none to as many as seven or more such drinks. Some sugar-sweetened beverages and energy drinks contain up to 40 grams of sugar each. Depending on how old they are, children should only have about 21 to 33 grams of sugar a day, according to the researchers.

Along with causing problems such as hyperactivity and inattention, sugary drinks increase children's risk of obesity, Ickovics noted. About one-third of American children are overweight or obese, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Efforts by HealthDay to reach out to the beverage industry for comment were unsuccessful.

leeding between your periods, or “spotting,” can occur for many reasons.

The cause is usually benign; for example, hormonal fluctuations that occur at the very beginning of your reproductive life cycle (menarche, the onset of periods) or toward the end (menopause, when periods stop) are often likely culprits.

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But “spotting is never normal," says Joyce Gottesfeld, MD, an ob/gyn at Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver. "It doesn't necessarily mean that something bad is going on, but it's not normal.” So if you do notice spotting, it's worth a call to your physician to get it checked out.

When investigating why you’re spotting, healthcare providers consider your age and whether you’re pregnant, have been having unprotected sex, or recently started using a hormonal contraceptive.

If you’ve started taking the birth control pill or gotten a progesterone implant, it’s not unusual to experience irregular bleeding. If spotting doesn't taper off, talk to your doctor. “You're probably going to want to change birth control pills, because nobody wants to deal with that all the time,” Dr. Gottesfeld says.

Skipping a pill or two may also bring on spotting. “If you're on birth control pills and you missed a pill, that can also make you have bleeding between your cycles, and I wouldn't be so worried,” says Anne C. Ford, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Spotting in the Early Years

Spotting can mean different things at early versus later stages of your reproductive cycle.

When you first start having your period, it may be quite irregular for months or even years. This is because your brain, ovaries, and uterus are still working on getting in sync hormonally. Unless your bleeding is excessively heavy or prolonged, it's usually not a problem, according to Dr. Ford.

Once you become sexually active, spotting after intercourse raises a red flag. This is especially true if you’re having unprotected sex or have just started having sex with a new partner.

Bleeding can signal a sexually transmitted infection (STI), such as chlamydia orgonorrhea, that should be treated promptly, Ford says. “Often, the cervix can be very friable [eroded] or just bleed very easily from the infection,” she explains.

Another condition that can lead to post-sex bleeding is cervical entropion, in which the fragile glandular cells lining the cervical opening grow on the surface of the uterus.

Much more rarely, post-sex spotting can be a sign of cervical cancer. Your doctor can take a Pap smear, a sample of cells from your cervix — the opening of the uterus at the top of the vagina — to test for STIs and abnormal precancerous or cancerous cells.

Mid-cycle bleeding could also mean that you’re pregnant and could be miscarrying, although spotting during pregnancy doesn't always mean the pregnancy will be lost. Ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus (usually within the fallopian tubes), can also cause bleeding, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). 

Spotting may also be due to vaginal trauma. “The vagina and the cervix are very vascular [they have a lot blood vessels], so they bleed very easily,” says Lisa Dabney, MD, an ob/gyn in the division of urogynecology at Mount Sinai West in New York City. “A scratch in the vagina will always bleed more than a scratch in your regular skin would.”

Bleeding Between Periods in the Middle Years

Once you reach your thirties, the chance that spotting could indicate endometrial cancer, a type of cancer of the uterus, increases. Obesity also boosts your risk of endometrial cancer, even if you’re a younger woman. “We're seeing more and more endometrial pathology like that because of the obesity epidemic. We have to worry about that in very obese women, even if they're younger,” Ford says.

Spotting “definitely becomes more worrisome after the age of 35, because it could be an early sign of endometrial cancer,” Dr. Dabney says. “Hormonal changes, fibroids, and polyps are far more common than endometrial cancer. It's probably one of those things, but unless you have it evaluated, you don't know if you're that one in 1,000 people who has the cancer.”

Fibroids, benign growths that can form in your uterus, are more likely to cause irregular bleeding if they grow into the uterine lining. Polyps, another type of benign growth, can also grow in the uterus or on the cervix and may cause bleeding. Bothfibroids and polyps can be removed surgically.

Endometrial hyperplasia, in which the lining of the uterus grows too thick, can also cause abnormal bleeding. While this condition is benign, it can be a precursor to cancer in some cases, according to ACOG.

If your doctor suspects you may have endometrial cancer, he or she will take a sample of tissue from the endometrium so that the cells can be examined under a microscope. Other tests, such as an ultrasound, may be used to determine if bleeding is related to polyps or fibroids.

The long march toward menopause — which officially occurs when a woman has not menstruated for a full year — begins for most women during their fourth decade. As your ovaries begin winding down egg production, your period is likely to become irregular. You may skip a cycle here or there, have your periods unusually close together, or experience heavy bleeding.

“As people's ovaries start to age, you can see mid-cycle spotting,” Ford says. “That's very normal and it comes from fluctuating hormone levels.” It can be hard to tell what's normal and what's not during this tricky time of life, according to Ford. “If your normal period was 3 to 5 days and now you're bleeding 7 to 10 days and it's heavy, then it's probably not a normal period.”

The odds of surviving cardiac arrest seem higher for patients who've been taking cholesterol-lowering statins, a new study shows.

Researchers in Taiwan studied the medical records of nearly 138,000 cardiac arrest patients. Those already using statins such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) or Crestor (rosuvastatin) were about 19 percent more likely to survive to hospital admission and 47 percent more likely to be discharged. Also, they were 50 percent more likely to be alive a year later, the study found.

"When considering statin use for patients with high cholesterol, the benefit of surviving sudden cardiac arrest should also be considered, as statin use before cardiac arrest might improve outcomes of those patients," said study author Dr. Ping-Hsun Yu.

Yu is a researcher from the National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine in New Taipei City.

The greatest survival benefit from statins was seen in patients with type 2 diabetes, Yu's team said.

Cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function. Death often occurs instantly or shortly after symptoms appear, according to the American Heart Association.

"We know that a large proportion of cardiac arrests occur due to coronary plaque rupture," said Dr. Puneet Gandotra, director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories at Northwell Health Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y.

RELATED: Bystander CPR Doubles Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates

"This rupture leads to a snowball effect in arteries and can cause arteries to get blocked, resulting in a heart attack or cardiac arrest," he explained.

So how might statins help?

"I feel that due to statin therapy, there is significant plaque stability and the effects of rupture are not as significant. Thus, an improvement in survival is noticed with patients on statin therapy who have cardiac arrests," Gandotra said.

Statins are often prescribed for patients after a heart attack or stroke as a way to prevent a second cardiovascular event. However, "this does not mean that everyone should be on statin therapy," Gandotra said.

These drugs can have side effects, such as muscle pain and weakness and higher blood sugar levels. In addition, the value of statins for preventing a first cardiac arrest or stroke is not clear, the researchers added.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women's Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said, "What we learn from studies like this is that [statins] have other benefits.

"A study like this gives me a reason to say, 'There are more reasons for you to take a statin than just to lower your cholesterol,' " Steinbaum said.

For the study, Yu and colleagues divided the medical records of almost 138,000 patients according to whether they had used statins for 90 days within the year before their cardiac arrest. The researchers also accounted for gender, age, other medical problems, number of hospitalizations, post-resuscitation and other variables.

Because more than 95 percent of the patients in the study were Asian, these results might not apply to other groups or ethnic populations, Yu said.

The findings were to be presented on Sunday at the American Heart Association annual meeting, in New Orleans. Data and conclusions presented at medical meetings are usually considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Cognitive therapy was aimed at 'getting people out of hibernation mode.'

Individuals with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) who participated in 6 weeks of daily cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) saw more improvement than those who used light therapy, with the advantage for CBT becoming apparent two winters post-intervention, researchers reported in AJP In Advance.

Two winters after receiving either CBT or light therapy, researchers found that those who received CBT experienced a smaller proportion of recurrence as measured the SIGH-SAD, a primary measure of SAD symptoms, as compared with those who received the light therapy (27.3 percent versus 45.6 percent, respectively), and larger proportion of remissions from SAD as defined by a score of  less then 8 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (68.3 percent  versus 44.5 percent, respectively), according to Kelly Rohan, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Vermont.

For the study, Rohan and colleagues randomized 177 patients to receive either light therapy on a daily basis for 30 minutes upon waking or to receive CBT-SAD, a type of intervention that delivered psychoeducation, behavioral activation, and cognitive restructuring specifically targeting winter depression symptoms in group therapy sessions twice per week for 6 weeks.

Rohan told MedPage Today that CBT-SAD therapy involved "getting people out of hibernation mode so they approach rather than avoid winter... the activities do not necessarily need to be outdoors or involve communing with snow. They involve anything the person finds enjoyable that can be done in the winter to experience pleasure, rather than withdrawing and socially isolating oneself, which breeds depression." This could involve staying active in one's routines, such as going to the gym, maintaining hobbies, or developing new hobbies to take the place of summer-specific hobbies, or seeing people socially, for instance.

The following winter, researchers contacted study participants in both groups, asking them to resume the treatment they received during the previous winter under their own volition.

Those who received light therapy the previous winter received a letter asking them to resume the daily light therapy upon the onset of the first depressive symptom and those who received CBT-SAD were encouraged to use the skills taught to them the previous winter. Researchers instructed participants in both groups that if recommended strategies were insufficient to relieve symptoms of depression, they should pursue formal treatment, and included contact information for local mental health centers.

RELATED: How to Survive Daylight Saving Time and Shorter Days

Researchers conducted in-person visits in January or February of the first winter following the initial intervention as well as the second winter.

Responses to CBT the first winter after the intervention strongly predicted its effectiveness the following winter. Those who were depression-free the first winter following the intervention were markedly more likely to be depression-free during the second winter compared with those had still shown depression symptoms during the first winter.

In contrast, those who received light therapy who remained depression-free the winter following the intervention were only twice as likely to avoid recurrence during the second winter compared with those without a substantial initial response.

Light therapy has long been used as a treatment for SAD, but one major obstacle to success in treatment includes lack of compliance. In the study, only about a third of subjects reported continuing light therapy at each follow-up, which may have been in part due to study design, according to the authors.

Said Rohan, "In practice, these data indicate that there are options for treating SAD. If someone is willing not only to use light therapy to alleviate current symptoms, but also to keep using daily light therapy until spring and resume using it each fall/winter season, that is a viable option -- however, if someone is willing to work on their thoughts and behaviors in CBT-SAD over 12 sessions in a winter, that is also an option. Better yet, CBT-SAD is a treatment that might have longer-lasting benefits than light therapy in terms of lower risk for SAD recurrence and less severe symptoms two winters later."

Rohan said she hopes to get rates of depression recurrence even lower following SAD treatment in her next study. "This may involve early fall booster sessions to reinforce use of CBT-SAD skills as the seasons change," she noted, or for those who receive light therapy, a conversation regarding increasing compliance with the daily regimen to offset depression recurrence.

Last week we posted a blog about the risks of PML for patients taking Tysabri, based on news from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) meetings which took place earlier this month. In the comments section, Chris asked that we check our facts and report back.

Well, once again, your commitment to the Life With MS Blog community has paid off.

I jotted off a quick e-mail to the Public Affairs department for Biogen/Idec and waited… and waited… and got nothing. Because, however, of the active participation of our community the conversation was noted and I got an e-mail asking if we needed any assistance directly from the senior manager for international public affairs.

I am not happy that I was wrong, but I am happy to know that we can get the correct information out to you today.

I had reported that Alfred Sandrock, MD, PhD, of Biogen/Idec, presented findings from the company’s study on progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in patients using Biogen/Idec’s MS drug, Tysabri. I was mistaken in my assessment of “immunosuppressive” (IS) therapy in the list of risk factors for PML.

Risk factors for PML include:

More than two years on Tysabri
Prior immunosuppressant therapy
Positive serology for JC virus infection
According to Biogen, immunosuppessants, in the context used by Dr Sandrock are limited as:

“A prior IS would be considered mitoxantrone, azathioprine, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate, cladribine, rituximab, and chemotherapy (not otherwise specified).”

Not included, as you can see, are any of the other MS disease modifying therapies (DMT) or even corticosteroids like Solu-Medral or Prednisone — which is normally considered an IS drug, but not for the case of the PML warning.

The original press release that I received on the topic was incomplete and I apologize for the misunderstanding.

As a side note, I took advantage of the conversation to request more information on the companies rational in keeping the patent on the JC Virus assay test that I also mentioned in that same blog post. I’ll update you on that conversation as soon as it happens.

Once again, your voice was heard by the people who have the answers and I think we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding. Thank you all for your continued involvement in our community. It makes a big difference in the lives of so many!

Wishing you and your family the best of health

He single-arm  is a classic exercise, but it's not always done correctly. You'll often see people rocking their entire upper bodies on the move, putting their lower back at risk for injury and not getting the most out of the row.

That's where this TRX row comes in, because it forces you to keep near-perfect form. It's an exercise that will keep you honest on all your single-arm rows, and combined with a at the end that's also on the , it makes a perfect finishing move to a pull-day workout.

Although the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is still on the rise, the good news is that most people with the disease know they have it, a new study shows.

The research suggests that over the past two and a half decades, the percentage of undiagnosed cases has dropped significantly.

"If you're going to your doctor, you probably don't have to worry about undiagnosed diabetes," said study author Elizabeth Selvin, a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Selvin explained that previous estimates suggested that over a quarter to 30 percent of people with diabetes probably didn't know it. But those estimates assumed that doctors were only doing one test for diabetes and not following up with a confirmatory second test, as the American Diabetes Association recommends.

However, "we found that's not consistent with how diabetes is diagnosed in clinical practice. In practice, an abnormal finding is confirmed with a second test for the diagnosis. When you use two tests, we see that we're doing a good job with screening and diagnosing diabetes," Selvin said.

In fact, the two-test method seems to capture about 90 percent of all diabetes cases, the researchers noted.

Selvin and her colleagues used data from U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys done from 1988 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2014.

RELATED: 9 Types of Medication That Help Control Type 2 Diabetes

The surveys showed that when the research began in 1988 to 1994, there were about 10 million adults with diabetes and confirmed undiagnosed diabetes (that means people who just had one test and didn't get a follow-up test). By 1999 to 2014, there were 25.5 million adults with diabetes or undiagnosed diabetes.

The new research revealed that the number of undiagnosed cases as a percentage of all diabetes dropped from more than 16 percent to slightly less than 11 percent over 26 years.

People who were undiagnosed were more likely to be overweight or obese, older, or a racial or ethnic minority. They were also less likely to have health insurance or access to health care, the study found.

"What we need to figure out is how to target our screening and prevention efforts to the group that actually is undiagnosed. Some of the people being missed have very high [blood sugar levels] and the efforts should be concentrated on getting those people to the clinic," Selvin said.

The findings were published Oct. 23 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Anne Peters is director of the clinical diabetes program at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. She wrote an editorial that accompanied the study.

"I think there are fewer undiagnosed cases than we used to think, but there are still a lot of people who are undiagnosed," Peters said.

"People with risk factors need to get tested. But people get afraid of the stigma. They get afraid of the disease. But diabetes doesn't have to be awful. People don't have to give up. We need a lot more public awareness and a lot more prevention," she said.

And that doesn't mean you have to lose 100 pounds. "Losing 15 pounds can make a big difference. Just walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week is incredibly beneficial. Take diabetes on in bite-sized pieces," Peters advised.

"There are so many new ways to treat diabetes. Almost everything has changed in the past 30 years. But the earlier you start treatment, the better. Some things are better to face," she said.

1 / 13   Seasonal Depression: Common But Treatable
If shorter days and shifts in weather zap your energy and make you feel blue, you’ve got classic symptoms of a seasonal mood disorder. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of seasonal depression triggered by the change in seasons that occurs primarily in winter. Why do some people get SAD? Experts aren’t certain, but some think that seasonal changes disrupt the circadian rhythm: the 24-hour clock that regulates how we function during sleeping and waking hours, causing us to feel energized and alert sometimes and drowsy at other times.

Another theory is that the changing seasons disrupt hormones such as serotonin and melatonin, which regulate sleep, mood, and feelings of well-being. About 4 to 6 percent of U.S. residents suffer from SAD, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, and as many as 20 percent may have a mild form of it that starts when days get shorter and colder. Women and young people are more likely to experience SAD, as are those who live farther away from the equator. People with a family history or diagnosis of depression or bipolar disorder may be particularly susceptible.

"It is important to treat SAD, because all forms of depression limit people's ability to live their lives to the fullest, to enjoy their families, and to function well at work," says Deborah Pierce, MD, MPH, clinical associate professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York. Here are a few SAD treatment options you might want to consider.

1 / 10   Not All Milks Are Alike

The milk aisle is changing, and has a growing number of options for what to pour on your cereal or drink down as a late-night snack. But what do the newer types of milk mean for your heart health if you have high cholesterol? Old-fashioned cow’s milk, for example, is loaded with calcium and vitamins A and D, which are all good for your heart and overall health. But the saturated fat in whole milk — and even in 2 percent milk — may counteract those health benefits. When you're trying to get to healthy cholesterol levels, you'll want to limit the amount of saturated fat in your diet.

Alternative milks can provide similar nutritional benefits if you're lactose intolerant, allergic to certain proteins in cow’s milk, vegan, or simply prefer something other than cow's milk. “People choose a milk based on tolerability and taste — in addition to health beliefs,” says Deborah Krivitsky, RD, director of nutrition at the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “Each milk will provide different pluses and minuses.”

Researchers believe so.

Guys who are 5'3" and under have a lower risk of developing blood clots, and smaller odds of heart attack and cancer.

Light therapy, a treatment for a kind of depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), may also benefit nonseasonal depression, a new study indicates.

"The combination of light and an antidepressant seems to work very well for treating nonseasonal depression," said study leader Dr. Raymond Lam, a professor and head of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Depression, a leading cause of disability worldwide, affects one in 20 people, according to background information with the study. Current treatments include psychotherapy and antidepressant medication, but recurrent episodes are common.

Since bright light treatment is used for people whose seasonal depression occurs in the darker months, the researchers hypothesized it might also lift depression that isn't brought on by light deprivation.

Lam and his team randomly assigned 122 adults with major depression not related to seasonal affective disorder to one of four groups. One group got 30 minutes of bright light treatment a day and took a placebo pill, while another used a device that was not light therapy and took the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac). A third group took a placebo pill and used a placebo device, while a fourth took Prozac and got light therapy.

The researchers followed the men and women for eight weeks, looking to see how many went into remission -- defined as having normal scores on a widely used depression scale.

"About 60 percent of the patients who got the combination [Prozac plus light] treatment went into remission with their symptoms compared to about 40 percent on light therapy alone," Lam said.

RESEARCH: 12 Ways to Treat Seasonal Depression

The antidepressant alone was not superior to placebo medication. Only about 30 percent of those on placebo medication and sham light treatment had remission, as did just 20 percent of those on Prozac with sham light treatment.

Light therapy alone was better than placebo, but not from a statistically significant point of view, Lam said.

Experts can't say for sure why light therapy works, but for seasonal affective disorder they think it may help correct disturbances in the body's circadian rhythms, or internal clock.

The same may be true for nonseasonal depression, Lam said. "Another theory is that light affects neurotransmitters in the brain such as serotonin [which affects mood]," he said. Or both could play a role, he added.

One limitation of the study, published online Nov. 18 in JAMA Psychiatry, is that patients' natural light exposure was not measured, the researchers said.

Simon Rego is director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center and an associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He said the study is the first well-designed comparison of light therapy and the combination of light therapy and antidepressant medications in adults with nonseasonal major depressive disorder.

"In this case, the authors found that the light treatment, whether delivered alone or particularly when delivered in combination with an antidepressant medication, was efficacious in the treatment of nonseasonal [depression] and, just as important, the treatments were well-tolerated by the subjects," Rego said.

"It appears that light therapy, which is already seen as an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder, may also be appropriate for nonseasonal [depression]," he added.

However, questions remain, Lam said, such as how long the combination treatment should continue.

Light boxes are sold at drugstores and other locations, Lam said, for less than $100 to $300. Some insurance plans cover them, he said.

Recommended treatment involves sitting in front of the fluorescent light box for a half hour daily as soon as possible after waking up. Lam said this can be done while eating breakfast or working on the computer.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the study. Lam reports serving as a consultant to or receiving honoraria for speaking from various pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly and Co., which makes Prozac.

You don't have to have been personally involved in a traumatic experience to suffer the effects.

Over the last few years, a long string of traumatic events have occurred and been widely covered in the news, including movie theater, school, and workplace shootings, as well as natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. These events can be devastating for those personally involved, yet their impact may also be felt by others not directly involved at all.

Many people can go through or hear about such traumatic events and be fine after some time without additional interventions, says Anthony Ng, MD, chief medical officer at Acadia Hospital and chief of the psychiatry service at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

But some people who experience such traumatic events — whether personally or just by hearing about them — can become depressed, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Traumatic life events were found to be the biggest single cause of anxiety and depression in a study by researchers at the University of Liverpool published in 2013 in PLoS One. 

RELATED: The Healing Power of Horse Therapy for PTSD

For some, traumatic events such as the Boston Marathon bombing and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting challenge their basic assumptions about how life works, says Irina Firstein, a licensed therapist who has lived and practiced in New York City for more than 25 years. They can become so scared that they develop a generalized anxiety or panic disorder, which can lead to depression, she says.

Depression and PTSD: What's the Connection?

People who continue to experience extreme symptoms of stress long after a traumatic event may have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can also lead to depression — a continued feeling of intense sadness that interferes with a person's ability to function normally.

Depression and PTSD often coexist, and their symptoms may overlap. A study on Vietnam veterans counducted 40 years after the war, published in 2015 JAMA Psychiatry, found that about a third of those who suffered from PTSD also had major depressive symptoms.

Symptoms of depression include sadness, feelings of loss, disillusionment, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping, Firstein says.

Symptoms of PTSD include:

Reliving traumatic events through flashbacks or nightmares
Avoiding experiences that remind you of the trauma
Panic attacks
Physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, trembling, shortness of breath, or headaches
Symptoms of PTSD and depression that commonly occur together include:

Trouble concentrating
Avoidance of social contacts
Irritability
Abuse of drugs or alcohol
How to Cope With the Effects of Traumatic Events

"Some of these symptoms are normal after such an event," Firstein notes. "However, if they persist, one should try to get professional help.”

Dr. Ng. says red flags that you're not managing well on your own include:

Missing a significant number of days of work or school
Withdrawing from family members or people around you
Experiencing mood swings, such as being irritable and angry to the point that it’s causing problems at home
Not being able to eat and losing weight
Not being able to sleep at night. “As a result, you feel exhausted and can’t function in the daytime,” Ng says.
Having thoughts of hurting yourself or others
Mental health professionals can help. “Psychotherapy; eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR therapy (trauma reprocessing using eye movements); and medication are very effective," Firstein says.

In addition to getting professional help, ways to cope with PTSD and depression include:

Spending more time with friends and family
Learning as much as you can about PTSD and depression
Taking part in activities you enjoy
Getting regular exercise
Learning relaxation techniques
Joining a support group
Avoiding drugs and alcohol
The following resources can help you find ways to cope with trauma and depression, as well as help you find therapists in your area: 

Your family doctor. “Tell your doctor, ‘I’ve experienced these symptoms. What can I do?’ Your doctor might treat you or refer you to a psychiatrist or counselor or therapist,” Ng says.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine. This organization's staff and volunteers can help you find treatment. Call 800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If you are having suicidal thoughts, call 800-273-TALK (8255). Counselors are available 24/7, and the service is free and confidential.
The American Psychological Association’s psychologist locator.
The PTSD Alliance.
The National Center for PTSD, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Don’t Ignore Symptoms That Persist

Unexplained and unexpected trauma has always been part of the human experience, and depression and PTSD are common results of these events. The best way to deal with them is to know the symptoms and ask for help.

Additional reporting by Beth W. Orenstein.