Suzy OGawa

The High Costs of Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in College Students

March 19, 2012

It only takes a quick drive through a college campus on St. Patrick’s Day to notice that drinking is still one of the favored past times of college students.  Throughout college, I have been to my share of parties where drinking games like “wizard staff” and “Edward 40 hands” encourage binge drinking that can often [...]

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Eat Your Way To A “Vegetable-Kissed” Tan

March 12, 2012

A few weeks ago I wrote about the dangers of sun exposure in my post about metastatic cancers. However, many faithful tanners know about these dangers and continue their liberal worship of the sun. I have to agree that the warmth of the sun is an indulgent feeling and one that I seek out. However, [...]

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Veggies, Olly Olly Oxen Free! Children don’t mind if you’re in their cake

March 5, 2012

Fortunately for my parents, I was one of those rare kids who ate their vegetables growing up. While I had finicky friends, I always gobbled up my vegetables and I still do! Well, except for lima beans, and who really likes lima beans? I was even a vegetarian for my four years in undergrad. But [...]

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New Skin Cancer Drug Almost Doubles Survival Times In Some Metastatic Melanoma Patients: the research and how you can prevent skin cancer

February 27, 2012

The Research New research out of the Jonsson Cancer Center at the University of California found that a new cancer drug, vemurafenib or Zelboraf, almost doubles the survival times of advanced melanoma cancer sufferers. Previous skin cancer treatments, such as dacarbazine, a chemotherapy drug, provides only a six to 10 month survival time. The new [...]

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Cold Weather Athletes, Proceed With Caution

February 20, 2012

If you are like me and can’t stand the gym, you may find yourself exercising outdoors in the frigid temperatures of winter for part of the year. Well, first of all, good for you. Keep at it. Research has shown many benefits to spending time outdoors, from soaking up Vitamin D to breathing in fresh [...]

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From Tree To Heart: the sustainability and health benefits of chocolate

February 13, 2012

If you picked up this month’s Scientific American or listened to The Diane Rehm Show on NPR last week, you may be worried about the impending apocalypse. Yes, that’s right. The future of chocolate may be doomed. In February’s Scientific American, Harold Schmitz and Howard-Yana Shapiro discussed the fate of this most beloved indulgence in [...]

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The Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax: Reducing Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

February 6, 2012

The Soda Tax, or what we Midwesterners like to call the “Pop Tax”, has been in the headlines over the past few years as a way of reducing consumption of sugary-sweetened beverages while also providing tax income to help pay for the cost of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Well it’s back in the headlines. The [...]

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Type 1 Diabetes on the Rise

January 30, 2012

As obesity and unhealthy eating rises, we are seeing the rates of type 2 diabetes rise. Unfortunately, our remedies have been slow to counteract the increase in this disease, mostly because it is a disease that develops from years of unhealthy behaviors, behaviors that are difficult to change. Most recently, Paula Deen has announced that [...]

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The Disappearing of America’s Safety Net Hospitals – Disadvantaged Populations Detrimentally Affected

January 23, 2012

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) represents the culmination of a shift in thinking about healthcare delivery in the United States. PPACA and its push for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) is moving the US healthcare system towards integration. With the downward push in costs and incentives for quality and efficiency, mergers and [...]

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The Science Influencing the CDC Panel Recommendation for the HPV Vaccine for Boys

January 16, 2012

In October 2011, a CDC Panel recommended that the HPV4 (Gardasil) vaccine be included in the course of vaccines (routine use) given to young men and boys starting as early as age 9 with full vaccination by age 11 or 12. This follows the Panel’s 2006 recommendation that girls aged 11 or 12 should receive [...]

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