A consumer advocacy group is asking the government to prohibit the sale of the Ortho Evra birth-control patch, according to a story from the Associated Press.

The group, Public Citizen, said the patch is “a poor choice for women,” when it filed it’s petition with the Food and Drug Administration on May 8.

The problem is blood clots, according to the story. Although blood clots are a side effect of many estrogen products, studies have shown that women using Ortho Evra have a much higher risk of developing clots because the patch releases more estrogen into the body than pills to.

Public Citizen also charges that the patch is no more effective than birth control pills are when it comes to preventing pregnancies.

First, big ups - I mean large ups - to Joy, who commented on the posting “Three little steps to weight loss.”

She send me to fitday.com, which helps you track your daily intake of carbs, calories, fat, etc. It’s free and registration only takes a minute.

I haven’t been on the site long, but I’m already impressed. The forms are easy to fill out. Now, if you don’t like facing the truth - like the real deal about that fried chicken sandwich I got at McDonald’s - you might not want to sign up. But remember this: you can plan your intake. So tonight, I’m having a salad, maybe some baked chicken and some steamed veggies to balance the calorie count for the day.

Thanks again, Joy.

Crystal’s response to the “Good health on a budget” posting sent me browsing through web sites and thumbing through books. She wrote that her weight was “too hard for me to lose.”

I feel her pain. I’m trying to drop 10 pounds by the end of the summer and, quite frankly, exercising is not my thing. So for Crystal, myself, and others who are trying to get the weight off, I’m posting these tips I’ve gleaned over the years. Many of them come from Weight Watchers. I’ve joined off and on numerous times. I’m not presently a member, but their advice is great.

1. Take it slow. That weight wasn’t gained in a day and it won’t be lost in a hurry. Aim to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds each week, so they’ll go off and stay off.
2. Watch your portions. I can’t say this enough. Portion distortion is a major obstacle to weight loss. It’s also difficult to judge the correct sizes, especially if you eat fast food or at chain restaurants. I’ve recommended a book “Eat This, Not That!” Read it and weep. Then change your habits.
3. Drink water. (I’m talking to myself here; coffee is my best friend) Eight glasses a day -roughly the equivalent of three 20-ounce bottles of pop - will fill you up and keep you hydrated.

Those are my three steps. If anyone has anymore, I’ll be happy to post them.

African Americans are notoriously, and understandably, suspicious when it comes to participating in medical studies and trials. We’ve never forgotten the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, even though it was several decades in the past.

But we might want to put those suspicions aside and investigate “The Sister Study.” This is a long-term study of women whose sisters have had, or have, breast cancer. The study is reaching out to women from under-represented groups: African Americans, Latinas. Right now, only 4,448 African American women have enrolled, and only 2,055 Hispanic women are enrolled in the study, which is looking into how environment and genes affect breast cancer. Researchers aim to enroll a total of 50,000 women.

Here’s why we need to be involved. Breast cancer death rates among African-American women are higher than those for white women. And the disease is more virulent among African-American women, because it only responds to chemotherapy.

In an earlier posting, Dr. Ramona Swaby of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, noted that genetics was a major risk factor for breast cancer. So look into the Sister Study, and spread the word to folks who might be able to enroll.

All the flack over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and whether the Democratic super delegates will swing toward Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton has pulled attention away from strategies to fix the national health care system. But the fact that there are 47 million uninsured Americans means the issue is bound to become more important once the parties’ nominees are chosen.

So let’s  start talking issues. I’m posting links to each of the candidates’ positions on health care and health insurance.

John McCain has an entire sub-site dedicated to healthcare, with a video that’s prominently displayed. Of course he’s taking a free-market approach; he is a Republican.

Hillary Clinton’s site has position papers with a video down at the bottom of the page. But she talks specifically about ways her plan will help African Americans and women

Barack Obama’s position paper is here. He also has a list of frequently asked questions that explains how his proposal will affect ordinary Americans.

If you don’t have health insurance you are, unfortunately, not alone. Forty seven million Americans are sitting in the same boat, according to figures from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In order to bring attention to the issue, the organization has proclaimed this week as “Covered the Uninsured Week.”

The information they’ve put forth will sit you down for sure: 47 million uninsured Americans; 9 million of those folks are children; more than 8 out of 10 of those uninsured are working.

And if you’re a white-collar worker, you’ll want to pay attention. More and more professionals are losing their health insurance because employers don’t want to, or can’t cover the costs, according to this article by Maggie Mahar. Mahar writes for Alternet, a progressive online news magazine.

For more information on the campaign, go to www.covertheuninsured.org The site also has a state-by-state information guide for people who lack health insurance.

Our bodies are helping us protect our hearts. According to this article in the New York Times,  many African Americans carry a gene that mimics the behavior of beta blockers, an important class of drugs used to treat heart disease.

Beta blockers protect the heart by decreasing its response to epiniphrine (which used to be called adrenalin)  and norepiniprine, hormones that make the heart pump faster during times of emotional stress.

You’ll probably have to register with the nytimes.com in order to read this story. If you aren’t registered, do so. Reporter Gina Kolata has written an understandable story that explains this complex subject.  If you have heart disease, and are taking a beta blocker without seeing much improvement, show this article to your doctor.

If I had any doubts over whether the country is in a recession, they were erased after I talked to my neighbor. She’s the president of our suburb’s garden club. This year, she isn’t growing flowers in her garden. She’s growing vegetables. And she didn’t buy the little seedlings that are crowding the shelves at the home improvement stores. She started her veggies from seeds.

Talk about saving money! Well, we were. And that chat got me thinking about ways to be physically fit without laying out a hunk of dough. Here’s what I came up with. Contribute anything else you can think of.

1. Walk around the block instead of running at the gym. You’ll get the exercise you need, and you’ll save a bunch of loot to boot.
2. If you can’t exercise outside, go to the Goodwill store and buy an exercise machine. I see them there all the time. Take the machine home and put it in the den, family room or even your bedroom. Just use it.
3. Use canned vegetable as weights. I learned this one from my physical therapist. She had me hold a 15-ounce can of tomatoes in each hand while doing my shoulder exercises. It worked.
4. Grow your own food. If you don’t have a yard, don’t fret. All you need to grow lettuce is some potting soil, an 8-inch pot, some seeds and a sunny window. Use the same supplies to grow radishes, scallions or any type of salad green.
5. Join or start a community garden. Gardening is great exercise. And you’ll save a mint on the food bill when the summer rolls around.
6. Buy exercise tapes from a thrift store. Or, better yet, check them out from your local library. If you do the latter, you’ll have a new routine every three weeks when it’s time to turn the tape or DVD in.

All right. These are my hints. What are yours?

Last week marks the fourth time I’ve gotten a email that starts this way:

“This is how Sheryl Crow got breast cancer she was on the Ellen Show and she said the exact same thing…”

The email goes on to explain that the poor breast cancer victim- a friend’s mother - drank from a bottle of water that had been left in a car. A doctor told the woman that the heat and plastic created chemicals that can lead to breast cancer.

This is an urban legend. Read the background at snopes.com But ladies who are concerned about breast cancer can develop important habits.

1. Exam your breasts at least once a month.
2. Get an annual mammogram once you hit 40.

These are practical steps you should take to guard against the most common cancer afflicting African American women. When compared to white women, African American women face a greater risk of dying from the disease.

“White women get breast cancer with greater frequency, but it’s more virulent with African Americans,” says Dr. Ramona Swaby, an oncologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

She says that African American women tend to get triple negative breast cancer that only responds to chemotherapy. This form of breast cancer is aggressive and tends to re-occur.

Does that mean plastic water bottles are completely safe when it comes to cancer? The jury is out.

There is a growing controversy over whether Bisphenol-A, a synthetic compound found in a lot of consumer products and in dental sealants, is tied to early puberty. In a preliminary report, the National Toxicology Program, which is a part of the National Institutes of Health, called for more research into the effects of the compound on children.

When it comes to breast cancer though, major risk factors are aging and heredity.

“By the time a person gets to 80, the incidence of breast cancer is 1 in 8,” Swaby says. “For 5 to 10 percent of folks, there is a hereditary component.”

So what is the best defense? A good offense that includes monthly self-examination and an annual mammogram. The five-step self-examination can be done in the shower. If money is preventing you, or someone you know, from getting a mammogram, go to this page at the website of the American Breast Cancer Foundation for information on financial assistance for all sorts of diagnostic tests.

It seems like every health article explaining the disease of the week must contain a dire warning that the featured ailment is “the (fill in the number here) leading cause of death for African Americans.”

Yes, health issues are a problem in our community. But just how sick are we?

This list might give some idea. It’s the top 10 leading causes of death for African Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Although the data comes from 2004, these are the latest available figures.

1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Diabetes
5. Unintentional injuries
6. Homicide
7. Kidney disease
8. Chronic respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis and emphysema
9. HIV/AIDS
10. Septicemia, or bacteria in the blood (usually associated with a severe illness.)

In case you’re wondering, here are the top 10 causes of death for the all Americans.

1. Heart Disease
2. Cancers
3. Cerebrovascular disease, such as strokes and brain aneurysm.
4. Chronic lower respiratory disease, like bronchitis and emphysema
5. Unintentional injuries
6. Diabetes
7. Alzheimer’s Disease
8. Influenza and pneumonia
9. Kidney disease
10. Septicemia