Wellnews by Scott LaFee

Acne is not a modern affliction, though it probably feels that way to the more than 17 million Americans who suffer from it, most of them in adolescence and young adulthood.

Research into the causes or aggravation of acne has varied with time. From the late 1800s to around 1960, the focus was on dietary culprits, most notably chocolate, sugar and fat. After 1960, however, many researchers began suspecting other agents, such as hormones and stress.

A new published meta-analysis by researchers at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development brings some of the focus back to food.

Reviewing studies between 1960 and 2012, the researchers concluded that a high glycemic index/high glycemic load diet and frequent dairy consumption were leading factors in linking diet and acne.

In other words, overconsumption of foods that rapidly break down and elevate blood sugar levels (think white bread, potatoes and other carbohydrate-rich edibles) and dairy products appears to influence or aggravate acne. There is no evidence that they alone cause the condition.

The researchers suggest that patients and their dermatologists consider dietary counseling when devising acne treatments.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

An adult human spine compresses roughly 0.59 inch from morning to night.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

A Spanish study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that people who consumed a Mediterranean diet (high in olive oil and nuts and low in dairy and meats) had about a 30 percent lower risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying from a cardiovascular cause. The study diet made no constraints on calories consumed or amount of exercise.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A Wendy's Avocado Bacon Supreme sandwich contains 607 calories, 216 from fat. It has 24 grams of total fat or 37 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 1,687 milligrams of sodium (70 percent), 66 grams of total carbohydrates (22 percent), 12 grams of sugar and 32 g of protein.

COUNTS

56 — Overall effectiveness, as a percentage, of this year's flu vaccine in preventing infection (about average)

27 — Percentage effective for people aged 65 and older

9 — Percentage effective for people 65 and older against H3N2 flu strain that has caused the most illness this flu season —Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

DOC TALK

Crump — To experience a sudden change for the worse, as in "That patient suddenly crumped and died."

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Venustraphobia — Fear of beautiful women

NEVER SAY DIET

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for cherrystone clams is 312 in 6 minutes, held by Sonya Thomas. Warning: Most of these records are held by professional eaters; the rest by people who really should find something better to do.

BEST MEDICINE

The scene: A courtroom during cross-examination of a wrongful death lawsuit.

Lawyer: "Before you signed the death certificate, had you taken the pulse?"

Pathologist: "No."

Lawyer: "Did you listen to the heart?"

Pathologist: "No."

Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"

Pathologist: "No."

Lawyer: "So, when you signed the death certificate, you weren't actually sure he was dead, were you?"

Pathologist: "Well, let me put it this way. The man's brain was sitting in a jar on my desk, but I guess it's possible he could be out there practicing law somewhere."

OBSERVATION

"Doctors automatically know what's wrong with you. They have a sick sense." —Unknown

CURTAIN CALLS

Li Po, an 8th-century poet and courtier, reportedly tried to kiss the reflection of the moon in the waters beside the boat in which he was travelling. He accidentally toppled overboard and drowned.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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