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Issue Date: September 28, 2008
Your bonus in breast-feeding
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womenshealth.gov
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You probably know that breast-feeding boosts a baby's health. But who knew how dramatically it benefits a mother? I didn't until I read a new Swedish study of 18,326 women, showing that mothers who breast-fed infants for 13 months or more were about half as apt to develop rheumatoid arthritis as those who did not breast-feed. Breast-feeding for one to 12 months reduced RA risk 26%. Experts can't fully explain the surprise, but they note that breast-feeding can change levels of immune-regulating hormones in ways that may discourage RA. There's more: A large analysis last year concluded that breast-feeding also might protect mothers against type 2 diabetes and breast and ovarian cancer.
To read more: Go to womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding.
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That suntan can kill you
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National Cancer Institute
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Melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, is now the second-most-common cancer among women ages 25 to 29, says the National Cancer Institute.
The biggest danger comes from, you guessed it, the desire to be tan. In fact, more young women are using indoor tanning beds, a probable cause of melanoma. My advice: Limit exposure to UV light from the sun, don't use tanning beds and get an annual total body skin exam from a doctor. (The most common spot in women for melanoma is the leg. In men, it's the back.)
To read more: Go to the National Cancer Institute's site, cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/melanoma.
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Fix your knees now, girl!
I've heard women say they won't have knee replacement until they can't stand the pain. Bad mistake, says Lynn Snyder-Mackler of the University of Delaware. Her new research shows that female candidates for total knee replacement have far more advanced osteoarthritis (loss of cartilage with "bone hitting against bone"), greater pain and more disability than male candidates. That puts women at a disadvantage because the worse your knees are before surgery, the less they improve after surgery. So, if your knees are bad enough to need replacement, don't wait, Mackler advises.
To read more: Go to www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2008/jan/knees010908.html.
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