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Sweet tooth: Sugar substitutes and your heart

Posted by Staff on Thursday, June 27, 2024

By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

The idiom “sweet tooth” describes an individual who craves chocolate, candies, cake, cookies or sweet desserts. Healthcare professionals including dentists warn of the dangers of too much sugar. These include heart disease, obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. An option to reduce sugar intake is a sugar substitute. 

In 1963, the FDA approved the sugar substitute xylitol as a food additive to help patients with diabetes. Xylitol has been approved in 35 countries as a replacement for sugar. Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar alcohol found naturally in small quantities in fruits and vegetables. When xylitol is used to enhance the sweetness of food, the levels can be 1000-fold higher than those found in nature. 

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Weekend Doctor: Facet joint pain

Posted by Staff on Saturday, June 22, 2024

By William Hogan, MD
Blanchard Valley Pain Management

Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, affecting millions of Americans every year. While conditions like herniated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves are often the suspected culprits, in many cases, the true source is facet joint pain.

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The Natural: IberogastTM for the gastrointestinal tract

Posted by Staff on Thursday, June 20, 2024

By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

The Natural was a 1984 movie based on the 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud about a naturally talented baseball player named Roy Hobbs.  The movie starred many famous actors including Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close. The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards. 

Many drugs originate from natural products including acetylsalicylic acid, which comes from the bark of the white willow tree.  The German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm known as Bayer AG was the first to launch acetylsalicylic acid in 1899 as their trademark product known as Aspirin. Bayer is still famous for aspirin today. 

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Weekend Doctor: Self-breast awareness

Posted by Staff on Saturday, June 15, 2024

By Jessica L. Otto, R.T. (R) (M) (CT)
Mammography Tech, EasternWoods Outpatient Center

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world today. Self-breast education and awareness for the public are crucial for each and every one of us in our own personal health. As we go through different phases of life, our bodies are constantly evolving. For all individuals, it should be a key principle to be self-aware of one’s breast health. By being self-aware, we should be able to observe any change that may occur. Noticing any abnormal changes could lead to earlier breast cancer detection. Self-awareness is one of the keys to early detection of breast cancer, as well as self-breast exams, clinical breast exams, and screening mammograms. Detecting breast cancer early often leads to a better prognosis. 

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A Change Is Gonna Come: Vaccines update

Posted by Staff on Thursday, June 13, 2024

By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

In 1964, Sam Cooke wrote the powerful soul ballad A Change Is Gonna Come.  Rolling Stone magazine listed this song at number 3 of their top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  

Some significant changes are coming for vaccines including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), flu and COVID-19. 

On May 3, 2023, the FDA approved the GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) RSV vaccine with the brand name of Arexvy.  The vaccine was approved for those 60 years of age and up to prevent RSV lower lung infection.  The GSK vaccine is a recombinant subunit of prefusion RSV F glycoprotein antigen (RSVPreF3) with an adjuvant to enhance vaccine response.  

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Weekend Doctor: What is an OB hospitalist?

Posted by Staff on Saturday, June 8, 2024

By Dawn Hochstettler, MD
Obstetrics & Gynecology, OB Hospitalist Program at Blanchard Valley Hospital

A growing number of hospitals are employing obstetric (OB) hospitalists as part of their clinical staff. But what is an OB hospitalist? How do they change the scope of obstetric care offered at a hospital? And what does this new model of practice mean for you or your loved one?

Hospitalist care first started in the mid-1990s. The OB hospitalist is present in the labor and delivery unit 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This model was developed as a way to help provide more immediate and efficient care to patients who present to the hospital.

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