The Health Travel Guides blog has a new home!

Make Losing Weight a Family Affair

A study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that obesity is "socially contagious"  -  if  you have a friend who is obese, your chances of also becoming obese rise by 57 percent. 

Although there has been much talk of the 'fat virus' dubbed AD-36, the word 'contagion' here does not refer to a virus.  There has been no hard evidence that fat is not catching in the classic sense, i.e. through a bug or infection. 

Fat as social contagion refers to the the transmission not of a virus, but  of behaviors, e.g.  you join in on the weekly happy hours, pizza ordering etc, and evolving social norms e.g. people you admire/respect gain weight; both change your perceptions of what is normal/OK for your social circle, including you.   

Fear Not the Fat!   Just as fat seems to be catching, so does fat loss.  Dr. Nicholas Christakis (Harvard Medical School) reports in the NEJM study that weight loss was also contagious—people who considered themselves the friends of newly slim friends reported theylost weight themselves.

This supports the research from the Stanford School of Medicine bariatric surgery program ( published in the Arhcives of Surgery) which shows that when a patient has gastric bypass,   family members show a tendency to lose weight, eat better and exercise more; the finding was dubbed  gastric bypass ripple effect. 

At Health Travel Guides we see evidence of this all the time. Like this story of an Arizona husband and wife team losing a combined 150 pounds!

"Former co-workers don't recognize me!"

My husband had Gastric Plication surgery with Health Travel Guides in January, 2011. Following his surgery, I modified my eating habits and accelerated my activity and was able to lose approximately 30 lbs prior to my own weight loss surgery in September, 2011.

Since surgery I have lost 45+ lbs more.  I started weight and strength training twice a week in January 2012 and added Zumba Gold twice a week, in addition to working in the yard on nearly a daily basis. I have gone from a size 1X/2X or 18/20 clothing to Medium/Large or 12/14/16 since surgery.  Friends and former co-workers do not know me when they see me now. I am extremely happy with my progress as well as my husband's progress (75+ lbs) since surgery. We both look much better, feel much better, have much more energy and stamina, and both feel far healthier than prior to surgery. In fact, he is now off blood pressure and cholesterol medication..   

Weight Loss Drugs, Weight Loss Surgery Options
With more than a third of US adults obese, and fully two-thirds overweight, there is obviously a 'big' market for weight loss alternatives - everything from pills to new surgical procedures.  Weight loss surgery alternatives are increasingly minimally invasive, and geared to help patients get a jump start on the road to health.  Topping the list are the sleeve plication sugery with no resection and no devices, and the new Green Zone Weight Loss Surgery Options made possible by Irish medical device maker Crospon.

How Many Hospitals Should Serve McDonald's?

Take a guess - how many hospitals do you think in the US have McDonald's on site?

a. 1-9
b. 10-19
c. 20-29
d. 30+

Our blog has moved, but you can get the answer by clicking here.  The answer will surprise you..especiall when you find out what famous brand name shares space with the Golden Arches.

 Thanks for visiting the Health Travel Guides blog!

60% Would Toss A Pension For THIS Perk

How does health affect work, and how does work affect health?

A gym membership is the most common and, as it happens, least interesting health perk a company can provide.  That's what the Fit to Perform survey conducted among 554 executives reveals.

The executives were asked how they support the health and well-being of their workforce. 

Fully 60% rated free or subsidized health care as the most important perk in perkdom.   These results are the preliminary findings as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the critical health care issues around the world.   Maternity leave continues to not be commonly provided but to be commonly thought important.

It is part of the GE "Health of Nations"  research and analysis program , created by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Health Care Benefits Go International

Quality health care doesn't need to be subsidized if it's affordable in the first place - something employers are learning is the case with international health care. 

Private health care in places as diverse  as Thailand, India and Malaysia  - and as close as Mexico, Argentina, Panama and Costa Rica (where 15% of annual visitors are actually dental tourists, according to the Costa Rican government) - is often less than half US costs - that's even with all the perks and extras that most US patients would like to expect from domestic health care, including modern 5-star facilities, private patient rooms, top surgeons and nursing staffs and US medical devices. 

Join the Health Travel Guides mailing list to learn more.

Diabetes, Obesity, Superhero Workouts Top Internet Health Searches of 2011

What do obesity and pin-thin Ryan Gosling have to do with each other? Well, a lot, according to Google. Seems "obesity", and "Ryan Gosling workout" are among the top two topics among Internet searchers in 2011.   

With more than two-thirds of the population overweight, and one third obese, America is flabbier than ever. But that may be about to change, if the search topics of 2011 are an indication:  among the most searched terms were "high protein diet" the "Thor" workout, the “Ryan Gosling workout,” the “Chris Hemsworth workout,” and the “Captain America workout.”

The most searched diet term: the “Dukan diet” (also known as the Kate Middleton pre-wedding diet, and also also known (by the British Dietetic Association) as one of the top 5 worst celebrity diets to avoid).  The “four-hour diet” and “17-days diet" were also in the top three.

With more than two-thirds of the population overweight, and one third obese, America is flabbier than ever. But that may be about to change, if the search topics of 2011 are an indication. 

Other top health-related search terms include:

• diabetes symptoms
• obesity
• gall bladder symptoms
• diet
• poison ivy 
• sunscreen
• sinusitis
• bipolar disorder

The most popular search terms at Health Travel Guides: obesity, diet, diabetes, joint replacement, and fertility treatment.   Our most popular articles include:

• Is American Medicine Losing It's Edge?
• Why Ginger Grant Would Never Marry a Dentist 
• Woman Refuses to Cash IRA for Hip Replacement Surgery

Popular New York Times Health Searches 
The New York Times reports the most highly searched health topics include alternative therapies, the brain and mental health, and happy relationships.  Below are some links to the Times' most searched articles of the year:

“How Meditation May Change the Brain”
People who meditated 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had changes in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

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“Go Easy on Yourself, a New Wave of Research Urges”
A new area of psychological research suggests that self-compassion, a measure of how kindly people view themselves, may be the first step toward better health.

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“One Sperm Donor, 150 Sons and Daughters”
As the number of children born through artificial insemination increases, concern is growing about having many children fathered by the same donors.

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“Can Exercise Keep You Young?”
A new study finds that exercise reduced or eliminated signs of aging in mice genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.

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“Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her Own Struggle”
Across the country, people with severe mental illness live what appear to be normal, successful lives. Now, a small number of them are openly discussing their struggles.

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“Counting Calories? Your Weight-Loss Plan May Be Outdated”
The newest findings on what specific foods people should eat less often — and more importantly, more often — to keep from gaining pounds as they age.

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“Alzheimer’s Therapy Focuses on Care”
Science is weighing in on many aspects of taking care of dementia patients, applying evidence-based research to what used to be considered subjective and ad hoc.

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“Left-Handedness Loses Its Stigma but Retains Its Mystery”
Over the centuries, left-handers have been accused of criminality and dealings with the devil; today, the riddle of handedness remains.

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“Talk Doesn’t Pay, So Psychiatry Turns Instead to Drug Therapy”
Many psychiatrists, in large part because of how much insurance will pay, no longer provide talk therapy.

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“Calcium and Vitamin D – Who Needs It, and How Much”
New recommendations for calcium and vitamin D have left many people wondering whether they are getting enough, or perhaps too much, in their diets and supplements.

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“The Hazards of the Couch”
Increasingly, research is focusing not on how much exercise people get, but how much of their time is spent in sedentary activity, and the harm that does.

Is Green the New Black? Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Now Even Green Zone LAP-BAND

Allergan, makers of LAP-BAND, reports that more than 350,000 people around the world have had the LAP-BAND stomach restriction procedure for weight loss. Recently, the FDAapproved relaxed requirements for LAP-BAND, with millions more meeting the qualifying requirement of BMI > 30.

• QUIZ: Not just for soccer moms! What NFL lineman - and coach- had LAP-BAND?

The FDA change is just in time for more patients to take advantage of the latest innovation in non-invasive stomach restriction procedures: the Green Zone  LAP-BAND.  This evolution of the non-invasive procedure will help patients lose post-op weight faster than before, thanks to an FDA-approved medical device by Crospon called the  Endolumenal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe- or EndoFLIP.

Recently I watched a demonstration of the EndoFLIP, which allows the gastroenterologist surgeon to take multiple (up to 16) real-time images of the bariatric patient's gastroesophogeal tract, enabling very precise placement of the LAP-BAND so the patient feels a restriction that is not too loose (not enough weight loss) and not too tight (leading to nausea or reflux, and discomfort during and after eating), but just right for optimized weight loss.

Most importantly, the EndoFLIP enables the surgeon to perform the first fill of the LAP-BAND interoperatively - so patients leave the hospital with a 'jump start' to their LAP-BAND.  Most patients won't need their next fill for 5 or more months, a significant savings on hassle and cost compared to the regular LAP-BAND, which requires the first fill to take place within 4-6 weeks of band placement, and at least another band fill in the first six months. 

 

 Medical Travel Talk radio recently hosted Health Travel Guides on its show to learn about Green Zone LAP-BAND - case manager Leslie McDeavitt has worked with thousands of LAP-BAND patients having their procedure with the top Allergan-certified  obesity surgical team at the Weight Loss Surgery Center at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana Mexico, just 20 minutes from downtown San Diego, where more than 5,000 US patients have had their LAP-BAND placed by Dr. Juan Lopez Corvala.  

Thanks to a special arrangement with Irish medical device maker Crospon, the Green Zone LAP-BAND is available exclusively at Hospital Angeles, a super state-of-the-art facility in a gated medical campus that is the shining star of Mexico's largest private hospital network.

The all-inclusive Green Zone LAP-BAND medical travel program is offered at $5,950 including 2 nights at the hospital and all associated pre-op tests, doctor, surgeon, and medical fees.  Patients are also enrolled in a one-year follow-up program and receive one year of free fills   from Hosptal Angeles.

• read about other medical device manufacturers going abroad

Thanks to Leslie for providing the following information: to find out if you’re a candidate for Green Zone LAP-BAND and learn more about the medical travel process: 

•  click here to email  Leslie 

• call toll free 866.978.2573 x 119

•  securely submit you  personal medical history online (under age 18 use this form) 

  Related Articles:

  • FDA Approves Relaxed Requirements for LAP-BAND
  • VIDEO: This US Doctor Had His LAP-BAND in Mexico

Dogs and Horses Gain Quality of Life with Stem Cell Treatments...Will People?

38-year old Yankee pitcher Bartolo Colon had it ..and pitched a shut-out, reviving his professional career. A race horse by the name of Be a Bono, had it... and went on to earn more than $1.25 million in winnings.

"It" , of course, is adult autologous stem cell transplantation - what many are calling the future of medicine, and which has been applied successfully to a number of chronic disease conditions:

• Click here to read Top 10 Stem Cell Treatments in the Next 10 Years

But are stem cells a ‘fountain of youth" (as Sports Illustrated breathlessly reported) or a dangerous patient rip-off? (as bioethicist Arthur Kaplan crankily opined on MSNBC).

• Click here to visit a Bioheart Stem Cell Center of Excellence for the treatment of Congestive Heart Failure.

• Click here to watch a video of US pharmacist Mort Farina, who received adult stem cell treatment for stroke and heart attack in a private Mexico hospital on the advice of his UCLA cardiologist.

• click here to find out who said "the potential uses for ...adult stem cells.... are nearly limitless"

This blogtalkradio interview, sponsored by Health Travel Technologies' Medical Travel Talk program, features Julia Szabo, a New Yorker who got stem cell treatment for her dogs - that's right,  two dogs. Julia hopes to have an adult stem cell treatment herself for a chronic health problem, and is writing a book about how stem cells have changed her - and her dogs' - life.

Download the interview here: Stem Cell Therapy From Fixing Fido to Firing Fastballs 08/10 by MedicalTravelTalk | Blog Talk Radio

To find out more about the ICMS-registered stem cell treatment protocols available at the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Hospital Angeles Tijuana for treatment autism, cerebal palsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), erectile dysfunction (ED), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's, ASL, "Diabetic Foot", Type 2 Diabetes, and more, contact a Health Travel Guide Toll Free at 866.978.2573.

If you are one of the 50 million people in the US without insurance, or if you are one of the more than 25 million so under-insured you find out-of-pocket costs too high, Health Travel Guides takes the guesswork out of finding the highest quality treatments with board-certified specialists around the globe.