Healthcare

Nosing Around About Sleep Apnea

Dani Shetrit — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Renee Ghert-Zand

Special To The Jewish Week

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Adam Amdur is resting easier knowing that his daughter is not going to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea the way that he did for most of his life. Amdur, 37, who was in ill health for many years, was diagnosed with the condition only recently. But he recognized the symptoms in his now 4-year-old daughter when she was only a toddler, and got her the medical help she needed to be able to breathe properly at night and, therefore, function normally during the day.

An Alternative To Chemo

Lisa Shimabukuro — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:51:49 +0000

New genomic test helps women with breast cancer decide on course of treatment.

Renee Ghert-Zand

Special To The Jewish Week

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Both Jamie Gurvitch and Helene Schonbrun, each of them a working mom with three children, were diagnosed with breast cancer while in their 40s. Gurvitch, now 47, was told she had stage 1 invasive carcinoma in 2009. Schonbrun, now 45, was initially diagnosed at age 41 with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), also known as stage 0 breast cancer. But upon further testing, it turned out that she, too, had a malignant tumor.

Strangers In The Family

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Only after a cancer diagnosis did the author change her views of the ultra-Orthodox.

Deborah Friedman

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

For an open-minded girl from an academic, Modern Orthodox family, growing up in Brooklyn and going to Orthodox Bais Yaakov day schools can be quite a challenge. I learned about the beauty of Judaism, but it was counteracted by the intolerance I experienced in classes and in my neighborhood. By the time I reached college in 1999, I felt distanced from my people and quite bitter.

Then on Jan. 26, 2001 I was diagnosed with cancer, and my world changed forever.

I’ll Have A Nutrient In My Beverage, Please

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Technion researchers are figuring out a way to spike (in a good way) foods and drinks.

Staff Report

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Go into any supermarket or convenience store these days and you’ll see row upon row of vitamin water. Welcome to the world of “nutraceutical.”

According to 2011 Clemson University study, the nutraceutical industry is an $86 million one in the U.S. alone.

On The Probiotic Trail

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Israeli female scientist named Europe’s top young researcher for her work on ‘good bacteria.’

Meredith Mandell/ JTA

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Jerusalem — She’s young, smart and aims to help treat life-threatening diseases. Naama Geva-Zatorsky, 34, is among a growing number of Israeli women scientists who are gaining recognition for their contributions to scientific research.

The Weizmann Institute biologist was in Paris last month to accept the International UNESCO L’Oreal Prize for Women in Science. Dubbed “Europe’s top young researcher” by the prize committee, she received a two-year, $40,000 fellowship for her postdoctoral work at Harvard University.

A Former Israeli Squash Champion’s Positive Spin

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:12:50 +0000

Using positive psychology, author Tal Ben-Shahar outlines the antidote for what ails perfectionists.

Matt Robinson

JointMedia News Service

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

When it comes to the quest for perfection, former Israeli squash champion Tal Ben-Shahar puts a positive “spin” on things.

Ben-Shahar — who lectures at Harvard University, the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, and to Fortune 500 companies — doesn’t ask, “What’s wrong?” Instead, he uses positive psychology to look at what is working, and he explores this methodology in the recently published “The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life” (McGraw-Hill).

So What Is It With Jews And Medicine?

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:10:00 +0000

YU Museum show looks at the long and complicated history.

Hannah Dreyfus

Editorial Intern

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The term “Jewish doctor” is a loaded term: it has has inspired countless career goals, guilt complexes and matchmaking frenzies. But the Yeshiva University Museum’s new exhibit, “Trail of the Magic Bullet: The Jewish Encounter with Modern Medicine, 1860-1960," is not intended to be a self-congratulatory Jewish Hall of Fame. The exhibit’s aisles are filled instead with medical instruments, artifacts, images and documents, from a Rembrandt sketch of a Jewish doctor to the first syphilis cure.

‘From Flab To Fab’: Kosher Style Fitness

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:07:50 +0000

Isabella Freedman Retreat Center launches a new kosher weight-loss and fitness retreat.

Lisë Stern

JointMedia News Service

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Year after year, the No. 1 New Year’s resolution people make is to lose weight. And, according to Time magazine, it’s also the No. 1 broken resolution. Great intentions in January fall by the wayside and, come spring, warmer weather and lighter clothes remind us of those forgotten winter goals.

Healthcare May 2012

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:04:58 +0000

My son, the doctor, at YU Museum; kosher weight loss in the country; Israeli women scientists having their day.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A River Runs Through It

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:03:40 +0000

Camp for seriously ill children on both sides of the Jordan is symbol of pluralism in action.

Renee Ghert-Zand

Special To The Jewish Week

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Nine-year-old Hilla Pulvermacher from Jerusalem, who is an insulin-dependent diabetic, probably has no idea who Paul Newman was. Twelve-year-old Ayal Adler from Ashdod, who has colitis, probably doesn’t either. Nonetheless, it was because of the late actor that they had the time of their lives for a week last summer.

Hadassah’s Top Doc Looks To Future

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:14:46 +0000

Dr. Ehud Kokia on the soon-to-open new tower, the just-ended doctors’ strike and the position of physicians in Israeli society.

Stewart Ain

Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Dr. Ehud Kokia became the new director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem Nov. 1, succeeding Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, who stepped down after serving 11 years.

Hooked On Angry Birds?

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:09:00 +0000

An Israeli addiction specialist talks about the lure of Internet games, and more traditional substances.

Stewart Ain

Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Rabbi Eitan Eckstein is the founder in 1990 of Retorno, a nonprofit that specializes in the prevention and treatment of addiction. Based in Israel with branches in Latin America, it has an inpatient treatment center for 120 14- to18-year-olds and adults. Its program for prevention annually provides services to 24,000 teachers, students, soldiers and educators from Israel and abroad.

Smoking Out The Tobacco Urge

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:03:49 +0000

The only government-approved, hospital-based anti-smoking program stresses a holistic approach to big problem in Israeli society.

Michele Chabin

Israel Correspondent

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Jerusalem — Naomi Ohayon, a 52-year-old mother of four, smoked for over 30 years until she quit the habit — hopefully for good — a month ago. “I’d tried just about every stop-smoking program out there,” Ohayon said from her home in the southern city of Beersheva. “Once, I quit for three days, the other times I couldn’t stop at all.”

Ohayon, who has asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said she became increasingly motivated to kick the habit as her health deteriorated.

Navigating The ‘Gray Zone’ Of Personal Medical Decisions

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:00:06 +0000

In new book, doctors Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband encourage building up ‘health literacy.’

Masha Rifkin

JointMedia News Service

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Perhaps doctor doesn’t know best. In their new book, “Your Medical Mind: How To Decide What is Right For You” (Penguin Group), husband-wife physician team Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband lay the groundwork for making sound medical decisions.

None of our choices are completely independent, the authors say; rather, they are influenced by a set of values and history. Understanding what makes us tick is vital in making the correct medical decisions for ourselves.

‘Weight Is Not Everything’

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:52:41 +0000

New Israeli-German study shows health benefits even if people regain lost weight — provided they eat right.

Renee Ghert-Zand

Special To The Jewish Week

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

LynleyShimat Lys, a 34-year-old student in Jerusalem, has fought since her college days to take off 50 extra pounds, only to see them slowly come back on.

Los Angeles writer Gordon Haber, 43, went on the South Beach diet after consuming too much beer, kielbasa and pierogi while on a Fulbright scholarship in Poland in 2002. He got down to down to 170 pounds from 195, but now he is back up to 183.