ISLAND LIFE SHORTS
Weigh-ins keep pounds off
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Once you've lost some weight, a simple five-minute weigh-in with a nurse every couple of weeks can help you keep the pounds off.
New Zealand researchers found that the biweekly weigh-in, along with a call from the same nurse during the intervening weeks, helped women maintain their weight loss as well as a more expensive and intensive program using dietitians and exercise specialists.
— HealthDay
ANTIHISTAMINES, STEROIDS
GET YOUR HAY FEVER UNDER CONTROL
Got hay fever? If so, that's because your immune system is overreacting to pollen grains from grass, trees and weeds; we go from pollen in the air to streaming mucus in the nose; watery, itchy red eyes; and sneezing. For whatever reason, the immune system in some people comes to see pollen as a threat, and it sensitizes the body to react, producing histamine, which can cause inflammation and itching in the eyes, nose and throat.
There are two common treatments for people who have hay fever: antihistamines and steroids. Antihistamines block the effect of histamine on blood vessels, so histamine will have little or no effect. Steroids, on the other hand, control the production of histamine, reducing the number of mast cells in the blood and the amount of histamine they produce.
