Heartburn-Free Pumpkin Spice Drinks and Snacks

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Autumn is here, and it seems every latte, muffin and cookie is pumpkin spiced. While your tongue may crave the sweet, comforting flavors, your sensitive stomach might pay the price with painful acid reflux. 

Create Your Own Pumpkin Spice Fall Foods

Many of your favorite fall foods and drinks are highly processed and contain preservatives and artificial flavors and colors. You can enhance almost any beverage, snack or breakfast item with natural ingredients to make your own pumpkin spice versions that won’t cause heartburn. You’ll need:

  • Canned pumpkin puree
  • A customized pumpkin spice blend of cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg

Here are a few heartburn-friendly pumpkin spice drinks and snacks you can create at home:

  • Pumpkin Spice Latte — Make this fall classic at home by warming some almond milk on the stove. Stir in 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree, some maple syrup or agave, and a dash of your pumpkin spice blend. Pour into a mug with decaffeinated coffee.
  • Pumpkin seeds — Roasted, lightly salted and pleasantly crunchy, pumpkin seeds are a perfect snack. You may also like pepitas, roasted pumpkin seeds with the shells removed. Sprinkle some pumpkin spice blend on the seeds and enjoy.
  • Pumpkin spice hummus — Create your own fall hummus with pumpkin puree, chickpeas, tahini, cumin and pumpkin spice blend.
  • Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal — Make traditional or steel-cut oat porridge according to package instructions. Add one tablespoon of canned pumpkin, a pinch of salt and a dash of your homemade pumpkin spice blend.
  • Pumpkin Yogurt — Add one tablespoon of pumpkin puree to plain yogurt and sweeten with honey or agave. If dairy products aggravate heartburn, try a plant-based yogurt like soy yogurt
  • Pumpkin Pancakes or Waffles — Bypass the frozen waffle section at the grocery store and make your own with whole wheat flour, eggs, coconut oil, baking powder, nondairy milk, pumpkin puree and one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Add a little drizzle of maple syrup and breakfast is served!

Call Your Gastroenterologist

If you are experiencing heartburn on a regular basis, make an appointment with a gastroenterologist before the end of the year. Chronic acid reflux is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a serious health condition that requires prompt treatment. 

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Can Alzheimer’s Disease be Predicted at an Eye Exam?

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The Eye-Brain Connection

Did you know that you have a small area in the center of your retina that helps with your precise vision? A recent study found that this central zone in the retina was significantly larger in patients in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease before they experienced symptoms.

The central nervous system and the retina are inextricably linked, and changes in the brain can often be detected in the eyes. Research shows that advanced Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to thinning of the central retina and degeneration of the optic nerve.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease affects 50 million people worldwide and is the most common form of dementia. For reasons that remain unknown, abnormal proteins begin to accumulate in the brain and interrupt central nervous system signals.

Protein deposits, known as plaque, can collect in the brain for up to 20 years before symptoms begin to appear. By the time Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, the plaque has already caused irreversible brain damage.

New Imaging Technique Indicates Early Alzheimer’s

A team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine used a technique called optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) to analyze the thickness of retinal tissue and optic nerve fibers in 30 patients who had no symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. OCT-A is an extension of optical coherence tomography (OCT) – one of the many standard tests you may receive at a comprehensive eye exam.

The patients then underwent traditional testing for Alzheimer’s disease including positron emission tomography (PET) scans and cerebrospinal fluid analyses. These tests showed that about half of the patients had elevated levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The research team found that the patients with elevated protein levels also exhibited significant thinning of the central retina.

The authors of the study are optimistic that routine eye exams could become an essential screening tool to determine who should pursue testing for Alzheimer’s disease. PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid analyses are invasive and expensive, so it is difficult to justify these tests in the absence of symptoms. If further studies confirm similar findings, eye exams would offer a cost-effective method to screen younger individuals to assess their risk for the disease.

Call Your Eye Doctor

In the future, when better treatments are available, early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease could open possibilities for earlier intervention to delay the progression of the disease. A comprehensive eye exam is much more than just a vision check-up. A full eye exam with dilation provides a window into your overall health, and the ability to predict Alzheimer’s disease may have just made that window a little larger.

Health Insurance Deductible Met? Schedule Your Orthopedic Procedure Now

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If it has, it means you could realize two major benefits before the year is out: saving costs and getting the orthopedic procedure you need to treat your joint pain.

How does it work? After you have met your deductible, your health plan will pay all or a portion of covered services for the rest of the year, depending on the terms of your individual plan. But — if you wait until January 1, 2019 when your deductible resets to zero, you’ll be paying much more for the same procedure, since you’ll have to first pay out of pocket to meet your deductible.

Minimally-Invasive Orthopedic Procedure May Be an Option

Oftentimes, orthopedic procedures can be performed using minimally invasive techniques. That means if your procedure is performed before the end of the year, your recovery may be quicker than a traditional surgery — so you can be back in even better shape than you were before soon after the New Year begins.

One minimally invasive technique called arthroscopy might be right for you. It can be used to treat a variety of orthopedic conditions and is offered on an outpatient basis. Arthroscopy allows a doctor to see directly into the joint using a small device with a light attached to a very thin tube that is connected to a video apparatus called an arthroscope. This allows a doctor to both diagnose a problem and treat it.

Benefits of Arthroscopic Surgery Include:

  • Less anesthesia is needed
  • Less pain
  • Smaller incisions
  • Reduced blood loss
  • Reduced risk of infection
  • No hospital stay
  • Faster recovery
  • Less scarring

Start Out the New Year with Less Pain

If you are experiencing pain in a specific area, there are procedures you can schedule before the end of the year that can help. For instance:

  • Back Pain: There are many different types of back pain, along with a variety of orthopedic procedures for treatment. One is called discectomy, which removes a herniated disk so it no longer pinches a nerve.
  • Foot Pain: Bunion surgery and hammertoe correction are examples of orthopedic procedures a doctor can perform that correct a deformity, as well as relieve pain.
  • Hand and Wrist Pain: If you are tired of coping with the numbness, tingling and pain that carpal tunnel syndrome is causing, now could be a good time to schedule a carpal tunnel release procedure. During the procedure, a ligament is cut to release pressure on the median nerve causing the pain.
  • Shoulder Pain: Rotator cuff tendinitis is a condition that usually occurs over time. An orthopedic surgeon can perform rotator cuff repair surgery to treat it.

How to Schedule Your Orthopedic Procedure

  • In order to ensure your orthopedic provider will be able to fit you in the schedule before the end of the year, make your appointment as soon as possible so you do not miss the opportunity.
  • Start by scheduling a consultation, if you haven’t already had one. During the consultation, your surgeon will educate you about the procedure and will explain benefits and risks.
  • At the end of the consultation, you can schedule your appointment. Your orthopedic surgeon’s staff will help you and will discuss dates that are available prior to the end of the year.

One final tip: If you’re not certain your annual deductible has been met, check your plan statement and call your health insurance provider to confirm.

Ambulatory Surgery Centers vs. Hospitals for Outpatient Services

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If your doctor recommends a low-risk, outpatient procedure like a colonoscopy or an upper endoscopy, you can enjoy considerable savings by scheduling it at an in-network ASC. An ASC is a freestanding medical facility that offers surgical and preventative services on an outpatient basis.

If you’ve never heard of ASCs, you’re not alone. Although they have been in existence since the 1970s, ASCs have become more well-known only in the past few decades. Many patients assume that high-quality medical procedures must be performed in a hospital outpatient department (HOPD), but that assumption is changing. Today, over half of all outpatient procedures and preventative services are performed at ASCs.

One of the most compelling reasons to consider an ASC for your next procedure is the rate of patient satisfaction with procedures performed at ASCs. ASC patients have reported a 92 percent satisfaction rate. According to questionnaires, patients are most impressed with the ease of scheduling, the safe and high-quality services, lower costs and personal attention.

As you can see, ASCs offer the same benefits as hospital inpatient departments but at a discounted cost:

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Contact Lens Care Dos and Don’ts

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If you wear contact lenses, you may remember how diligent you were when you first got them. You were likely very careful to follow your eye doctor’s instructions when it came to lens care and cleaning. Somewhere along the way though, you may have stopped reading lens manufacturer’s care instructions and warning labels, figuring that you had contact lens care under control.

It is always beneficial to review some basic tips in contact lens care. Most infections and eye injuries related to contact lenses can be avoided by following some basic guidelines. Here is a brief refresher on some “Dos and Don’ts” for contact lens wearers:

Along with Mammograms, Colonoscopies Save Lives

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to increase awareness of the second-leading cause of death among women in the United States. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, every two minutes, a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis, and every 13 minutes, a woman loses her life to breast cancer. There are 3.3 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today, thanks to early detection through mammography.

Early Detection of Colon Cancer Means Early Intervention

Early detection is also important when it comes to colon cancer. A colonoscopy is the most effective colon cancer screening method because it can detect and remove precancerous polyps before they become cancerous.

Researchers estimate between 60 and 90 percent of colon cancer mortality could be prevented if adults were screened at proper intervals. Unfortunately, one out of three Americans is not getting tested, and colon cancer continues to be the third-leading cause of cancer death among men and women.   

Know Your Colonoscopy Age

Preventing colon cancer begins with knowing your individual risk for the disease, which affects your “colonoscopy age.” Your colonoscopy age is the age at which you should get your first colon cancer screening, based on your specific risk factors.

On average, your lifetime risk for developing colon cancer is about one in 20, but factors like age, ethnicity, family history, diet and lifestyle habits can increase your risk. In May 2018, the American Cancer Society revised its recommended age for first-time colon screenings from 50 years of age to 45, but some individuals may need to be screened even earlier.

Know Colon Cancer Symptoms and Get Screened Today

Colon cancer is highly treatable when it is detected in the early stages, so it is essential to know the warning signs of the disease. Common symptoms include rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, nausea and weight loss. Contact your doctor if you have any of these symptoms, and pay attention to changes in your bowel habits. If you develop tarry stools, thin, pencil-like stools or have sensations of incomplete evacuation, call to make an appointment.

Every year, 50,000 Americans will die from colon cancer, a mostly preventable disease. You can stand up against colon cancer by staying informed about your risk and asking your doctor when you should get screened. Take action during Breast Cancer Awareness Month by scheduling a mammogram, colonoscopy and other preventative screenings to promote early detection and intervention. 

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How to Choose Eye-Safe Halloween Costumes and Masks

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Are you planning to buy a new Halloween costume for yourself or a child this year? Many Halloween costumes and masks can threaten your vision health. Before you make your selection, evaluate all elements of your costume based on these safety reminders:

Choose a Light-Colored Costume

Many Halloween costumes include dark colors, which can be a safety hazard at night. Light colors will help motorists see you and your children, so encourage kids to select a costume with lighter, brighter colors.

Widen Eye Holes in Masks

Most masks have small eye holes that limit the visual field and affect depth perception. If you or your child wants to wear a mask while trick-or-treating, you can widen the eyeholes with scissors to increase visibility. Be sure to try on the mask first to make sure there are no sharp edges around the eye openings.

Purchase Age-Appropriate Props

Read all warnings and labels on props and adhere to the recommended age guidelines. Inspect props carefully to ensure they are not broken, cracked or damaged. Avoid props that shoot or that have sharp edges, ridges or points.

Be Careful with Face Makeup

Applying makeup can be a safer alternative to wearing a mask, but makeup can cause eye issues as well. Read the ingredients in makeup before purchase and check the ingredients against the cosmetic section in the FDA’s Summary of Color Additives. Each color additive in your makeup should be on the FDA’s approved list of colors. When applying makeup, do not apply it near the eyes and wash it off as soon as you come home.

Avoid Decorative Contact Lenses

Decorative contact lenses can give you cat eyes or zombie eyes, but they can also give your eyes an infection or an abrasion. Non-prescription contacts can scratch your cornea or create a corneal ulcer, a dangerous bacterial infection. The colors and pigments in decorative contact lenses can make them less breathable and restrict oxygen to your cornea.

If you have specific questions about Halloween costumes and eye safety, call your ophthalmologist. If it has been over a year since you have had a comprehensive eye exam, schedule an appointment for yourself and your family. Staying current with eye exams will ensure that your family enjoys clear vision as we enter the holiday season.

Breast Cancer Awareness Begins with You

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Why is early detection so important? Because there is a much greater likelihood that with an early diagnosis, a patient will have:

  • Shorter treatment
  • Milder treatment
  • Fewer side effects
  • Less chance that cancer has spread to other parts of the body
  • Increased survival rate

Ways to Detect Breast Cancer

Breast cancer cannot be prevented, but you can take steps to help detect it as early as possible through these methods and screenings:

Mammogram: A mammogram is a type of x-ray that allows a healthcare specialist to see if there are any suspicious areas in the breast tissue. The American Cancer Society recommends the following schedule for mammogram screening:

  • Age 40-44: Should have the choice to begin having a mammogram every year, if of average risk
  • Age 45-54: Should get mammograms every year
  • 55 and older: Should get mammograms every two years or every year
  • Women at high risk: Should have mammograms as well as MRIs and should discuss this with their doctors

The American Cancer Society also advises breast cancer screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live 10 more years or longer.

Pap Test: During a pap smear, the doctor or gynecologist collects samples of cells from a woman’s cervix. These cells can show abnormalities that indicate an increased risk of developing cervical cancer as well as breast cancer. Both mammograms and Pap tests can detect breast cancer risk before a woman notices any symptoms.

Clinical Breast Examinations: During a woman’s annual health check-up, a doctor will perform a clinical breast examination. During this exam, the doctor will feel each breast to see if there are any changes in size, any lumps or any other abnormalities.

Self-Examination: According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 70 percent of breast cancer in women under 50 is detected by the women themselves; in women over 50, that percentage is almost half.  For this reason, it is important to perform a breast self-examination each month. For instructions on how and when to perform a breast self-exam, go to U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Self-Awareness: ACOG also recommends breast “self-awareness.” This means developing a sense of what is normal, so if a woman senses something in her breast is not right, she can see a doctor.

Be Aware of Risk Factors

Part of breast cancer awareness is being aware of your own risk. Review the risk categories below and talk with your doctor if you have questions or concerns:

Age. The risk of developing breast cancer increases as a woman ages. Approximately 80 percent of the time, it is detected in women who are 50 and older.

  • Personal history. If a woman has had breast cancer in one breast, she is at an increased risk of developing cancer in the other.
  • Family history. If a woman’s mother, sister or daughter has had breast cancer, it puts her at higher risk.
  • Genetic factors. If a woman has a genetic mutation, she is at higher risk.
  • Menstruation and child-bearing. Risks are also higher for women who:
    • Had their first period before age 12
    • Went through menopause after age 55
    • Have not given birth to a child

Make a Difference

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Use this opportunity to help spread the word about mammograms, Pap tests, and self-exams. Encourage the people you care about to get screened and share this important message with others!

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Schedule Mammograms and Colonoscopies During October

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Mammograms Detect Early Breast Cancer

The pink ribbons of Breast Cancer Awareness remind us that screenings save lives. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, but regular mammograms can help detect breast cancer early when it is most treatable. According to the American Cancer Society, all women should begin having annual mammograms by age 45, but they have the choice to begin yearly screening at age 40. At age 55, they can choose to schedule mammograms every other year.

Colonoscopies Detect Colon Cancer Early

A colonoscopy is equally important as a life-saving screening. Colon cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States among men and women, but it is mostly preventable through regular screening.

Although there are many other screening methods for colon cancer, a colonoscopy is the most comprehensive because it examines the entire colon for precancerous polyps called adenomas. If adenomas are detected during a colonoscopy, they can be removed so they cannot develop into cancer.

The American Cancer Society recently updated their guidelines on when average-risk adults should begin colon screening. Previously, the ACS suggested that screening should begin at age 50, but they revised the recommended age to 45 due to increased incidence of young-onset colon cancer.

Make an Appointment for a Mammogram and Colonoscopy

Prevention is always less expensive than treatment, so schedule your screening mammogram and screening colonoscopy in October. Medicare and private insurance plans cover most preventative screenings and well visits but call your insurance provider for specific details about your plan. If you have a family history of breast cancer or colon cancer, you may need to schedule a screening before you turn 45, so ask your doctor to review your medical history. 

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Why Mammograms Aren’t the Only Cancer Screenings Women Need

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Of course, women should be aware of breast cancer and its symptoms. But women should also be aware of colon cancer too, because it’s on the rise—particularly among younger women.

If you think that colon cancer only affects older people, that’s understandable—it is a disease that significantly affects people over 50.

However, a recent study found that colorectal cancer rates are up 62 percent among white females under the age of 49 and 50 percent up in the under-55 age group. So, this year, when you wear your pink, put on a little blue too. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death, but with awareness and action, it is preventable.

Toilet Talk

Statistically, women visit their doctor more frequently than men, but that doesn’t mean talking about personal bowel habits is at the top of the topic list.

But women need to know about the risk and the symptoms, so they know when to go to the doctor and have that conversation.

Risk:

  • All women are at average risk of colon cancer at the age of 50.
  • Women with relatives who have been diagnosed with advanced polyps or colon cancer are at greater risk.
  • Women with Lynch syndrome, a cancer that is the result of an inherited genetic mutation, are at even greater risk of colorectal cancer before the age of 50.

Symptoms:

  • A change in bowel habits (increased constipation, diarrhea, or ‘ribbon-like’ narrow stools)
  • Feeling like you need to have a bowel movement, but being unable to do so when you try
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Dark stools or blood in your stool
  • Cramping or abdominal (tummy) pain
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Unintentional weight loss

The most common colorectal cancer symptom for older Americans? No symptom at all. That’s why screening is so important.

Aged 45 or older? It’s time to get screened.

Breast cancer awareness campaigns have been successful in increasing the number of women who get routine mammograms, but it’s just as important that they get colorectal cancer screenings scheduled and completed by the age of 50—especially because the American Cancer Society recently lowered the recommended age for a first-time colon cancer screening to 45 years old.

Under 45 and experiencing symptoms? It’s time to get screened.

If you have symptoms that concern you, don’t delay. Talk to your doctor and ensure they know colorectal cancer is no longer the disease of the elderly. Don’t ‘die of embarrassment. Get screened.

If you are experiencing symptoms or need to schedule your screening colonoscopy, contact the expert gastroenterology team at the Central Texas Endoscopy Center at (877) 758-3476 or fill out an appointment request form and a team member will contact you soon. At the Central Texas Endoscopy Center, every GI physician is fellowship-trained in gastroenterology, the medical staff is highly specialized in endoscopic procedures, and you will receive the highest quality of care in a comfortable, private setting for a fraction of what hospitals charge for the same outpatient procedure. Get scheduled to get screened today—save your life!