Regular visits to the chiropractor help promote and maintain spinal health, including the nerves and bones. Chiropractors adjust and realign joints that are out of place due to accidents or uncomfortable lifestyles. One uncomfortable lifestyle that can benefit from chiropractic care is pregnancy.

What are the risks?

If you are pregnant and concerned about the risks of chiropractic care, then you can rest easy knowing that the risks are few. In fact, most chiropractors are trained to work with pregnant women. They are aware of special needs required of a pregnant woman’s body, and they know how to work with those needs.

Some chiropractors even have special tables for pregnant women that reduce unnecessary and uncomfortable pressure.

What are the benefits?

As you are surely aware, your body endures significant changes when you are pregnant. Of the changes that your body goes through, the following are a few that can lead to a joint or spinal injury: changes in your pelvis, changes to your posture, and a protruding abdomen coupled with a larger back curve.

Chiropractors working with pregnant women seek to create balance and alignment in the pelvis. If pelvic balance is off, the baby may have less space to grow in. This restricted space is known as intrauterine constraint. This also makes it hard for the baby to find the best position before delivery.

Chiropractic care can help a pregnant woman have a healthier pregnancy and less severe nausea symptoms. It can also decrease delivery and labor time, as well as pain in the neck, back, and related joints.

Another amazing benefit of chiropractic care during pregnancy is its ability to prevent a C-section.

What does chiropractic care have to do with breech deliveries?

The Webster Technique is a technique used by chiropractors to create a balance in the pelvis and relieve stress in the uterus and supporting ligaments of a pregnant woman. Larry Webster, the founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, created this technique to promote ideal positioning of the fetus.

The Webster Technique, when applied to babies in breech position, has proven to be successful 82% of the time. This significantly reduces all of the dangers that can come from having a breech delivery or relying on a caesarean section at the last minute. The ICPA recommends that chiropractors apply the Webster Technique to pregnant women no less than eight months pregnant.

The ICPA also recommends that all pregnant women should take advantage of chiropractic care to promote pelvic balance, regardless of the baby’s position in the womb. As we explained above, high pelvic balance allows the baby to move into a position more ideal for delivery.

What now?

If you are unsure about whether chiropractic care is right for you and your pregnancy, be sure to see your regular doctor, as well as a chiropractor that he or she recommends. If your doctor is unaware of the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy, ask her to find out more so she can advise you as best as possible.

Katie Robinson is a former nurse and health blog writer.  Katie turns to a Kissimmee, Florida chiropractor for regular spinal adjustments.  She was extremely pleased with the treatment her doctor provided while pregnant; Katie attributes the much shorter labor of her second son to the chiropractic care she received during her pregnancy.

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Ambulances line up outside New York University Langone Medical Center to evacuate patients after backup generators failed when Sandy knocked out power in Lower Manhattan Monday.

John Minchillo/AP i

Ambulances line up outside New York University Langone Medical Center to evacuate patients after backup generators failed when Sandy knocked out power in Lower Manhattan Monday.

John Minchillo/AP

When a storm hits, people count on the local hospital to be ready â€" no matter what.

But when Sandy slammed into New York City, one of Manhattan's biggest hospitals buckled. After the power went out in Lower Manhattan, New York University Langone Medical Center's backup power generators failed, too.

That led to the evacuation of more than 200 patients to other hospitals, including Mount Sinai Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Patients were still being moved Tuesday morning, the Huffington Post reported.

"I don't know why we waited so long to evacuate," an unidentified NYU nurse told the Huffington Post. "Everything was okay in terms of people working together, and us having enough staff to complete the transfer. But it seems like we waited too long, especially with all the news we had about the storm."

At a media briefing Tuesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the evacuation of patients from NYU was "virtually complete." Two other hospitals â€" NYU-Downtown and the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Hospital â€" had been closed, he said. Coney Island Hospital had also been evacuated. Bellevue Hospital was still open, operating on backup power, he said.

"We've had significant challenges at many of our hospitals and health care facilities," he said. "Fortunately, as of now there has been no storm related fatalities at any them."

Here's a Storify roundup of some of the coverage.

Human embryos under a microscope at an IVF clinic in La Jolla, Calif.

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images i

Human embryos under a microscope at an IVF clinic in La Jolla, Calif.

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Doctors who specialize in treating infertility are making a big change in their position on a controversial practice. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has concluded that freezing women's eggs to treat infertility should no longer be considered "experimental."

The group plans to officially announce the change on Monday.

More and more women are using frozen eggs to try to have babies. Some older women use frozen eggs donated by younger women. Some younger women freeze their own eggs while they finish school, focus on their jobs or keep looking for the right guy.

That's why Jennifer Anderson did it last year.

"I really wanted to have the traditional experience of falling in love and getting married, and then having children. But I know every person's life path is different, and it hadn't worked out for me yet to fall in love and get married," says Anderson, 40, a consultant who lives in Arlington, Va.

So Anderson went to the Shady Grove Fertility clinic in Rockville, Md., to freeze some of her eggs.

"I guess I feel like I've stopped the biological clock, to some degree. That this gives me a few more years to find what it is that I'm really looking for," she says.

The practice of freezing eggs has long been controversial. Many experts argue there's too little data on how well it works or how safe it is. So they've mostly recommended it only for women whose fertility is at risk because they are undergoing chemotherapy or have some other medical problem.

But Eric Widra, an infertility doctor at Shady Grove, says that's changed. He chaired the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) Practice Committee, which prepared the report. It was the first time the group had reviewed egg-freezing since 2008.

"We no longer think that it should be covered under the experimental label. Sufficient studies have been done to warrant considering this a clinically available technique," Widra says.

The report reviewed nearly 1,000 published studies. Egg freezing and thawing techniques have gotten a lot better, he says.

"The available data for egg freezing indicate that it is safe and effective and has a good probability of success," he says.

So far, babies born from frozen eggs seem to be healthy. And a woman in her 40s or 50s seems to have about the same chances of getting pregnant as a woman in her 20s or 30s if she uses frozen eggs from a donor that young. "We think that is a reasonable expectation going forward," he says.

But the new policy, which is being published in the society's journal Fertility and Sterility, warns clinics against creating "false hope" by aggressively marketing egg freezing to women as a guaranteed way of stopping their biological clocks. There still haven't been enough studies to know for sure how well long-term egg freezing works, according to the assessment.

"Women who are considering doing this for elective reasons should understand that they are really at the leading edge of using this technology," Widra says, "and we're not yet certain that it will provide the promise that we hope it does."

That said, Widra says he thinks it's probably going to work for women seeking to postpone childbearing. "How good an assumption that is, time will tell. But at this point, we think the available data are strong enough to say it's reasonable to do," he says.

But the fertility society's shift is raising a lot of concerns. Some women's health advocates say there's still not enough data to really know how often frozen eggs actually produce healthy babies. The society's assessment was based on pregnancies, not healthy births, noted Amy Allina of the National Women's Health Network.

In addition, the hormone injections needed to get eggs to freeze can, in rare cases, cause potentially life-threatening complications in women.

"We're talking about a procedure that has some known risks and unknown benefits," Allina says.

There's also the worry that the policy shift will fuel the creation of frozen egg banks. Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society says that could lead to the exploitation of poor, younger women.

"It's pretty evident that there's usually a difference in socio-economic status between the women who are being asked to sell their eggs or rent their wombs, and the women who are using it," she says.

Some argue that society should make it easier for women to have kids when they are younger so they don't have to resort to technological fixes.

"It's an example of using technology to solve social problems," says Adrienne Asch, a bioethicist at Yeshiva University.

As for Anderson, she's just glad she had the option.

"To be honest, it just, it really took a lot of the anxiety away from my personal life, I guess, and my efforts to date and to find the right person," she says.

The fertility society plans to continue to collect data about the safety and effectiveness of egg freezing. In the meantime, Widra says the association hopes the new policy will encourage more insurance policies to pay for egg freezing.

Human embryos under a microscope at an IVF clinic in La Jolla, Calif.

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images i

Human embryos under a microscope at an IVF clinic in La Jolla, Calif.

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Doctors who specialize in treating infertility are making a big change in their position on a controversial practice. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has concluded that freezing women's eggs to treat infertility should no longer be considered "experimental."

The group plans to officially announce the change on Monday.

More and more women are using frozen eggs to try to have babies. Some older women use frozen eggs donated by younger women. Some younger women freeze their own eggs while they finish school, focus on their jobs or keep looking for the right guy.

That's why Jennifer Anderson did it last year.

"I really wanted to have the traditional experience of falling in love and getting married, and then having children. But I know every person's life path is different, and it hadn't worked out for me yet to fall in love and get married," says Anderson, 40, a consultant who lives in Arlington, Va.

So Anderson went to the Shady Grove Fertility clinic in Rockville, Md., to freeze some of her eggs.

"I guess I feel like I've stopped the biological clock, to some degree. That this gives me a few more years to find what it is that I'm really looking for," she says.

The practice of freezing eggs has long been controversial. Many experts argue there's too little data on how well it works or how safe it is. So they've mostly recommended it only for women whose fertility is at risk because they are undergoing chemotherapy or have some other medical problem.

But Eric Widra, an infertility doctor at Shady Grove, says that's changed. He chaired the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) Practice Committee, which prepared the report. It was the first time the group had reviewed egg-freezing since 2008.

"We no longer think that it should be covered under the experimental label. Sufficient studies have been done to warrant considering this a clinically available technique," Widra says.

The report reviewed nearly 1,000 published studies. Egg freezing and thawing techniques have gotten a lot better, he says.

"The available data for egg freezing indicate that it is safe and effective and has a good probability of success," he says.

So far, babies born from frozen eggs seem to be healthy. And a woman in her 40s or 50s seems to have about the same chances of getting pregnant as a woman in her 20s or 30s if she uses frozen eggs from a donor that young. "We think that is a reasonable expectation going forward," he says.

But the new policy, which is being published in the society's journal Fertility and Sterility, warns clinics against creating "false hope" by aggressively marketing egg freezing to women as a guaranteed way of stopping their biological clocks. There still haven't been enough studies to know for sure how well long-term egg freezing works, according to the assessment.

"Women who are considering doing this for elective reasons should understand that they are really at the leading edge of using this technology," Widra says, "and we're not yet certain that it will provide the promise that we hope it does."

That said, Widra says he thinks it's probably going to work for women seeking to postpone childbearing. "How good an assumption that is, time will tell. But at this point, we think the available data are strong enough to say it's reasonable to do," he says.

But the fertility society's shift is raising a lot of concerns. Some women's health advocates say there's still not enough data to really know how often frozen eggs actually produce healthy babies. The society's assessment was based on pregnancies, not healthy births, noted Amy Allina of the National Women's Health Network.

In addition, the hormone injections needed to get eggs to freeze can, in rare cases, cause potentially life-threatening complications in women.

"We're talking about a procedure that has some known risks and unknown benefits," Allina says.

There's also the worry that the policy shift will fuel the creation of frozen egg banks. Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society says that could lead to the exploitation of poor, younger women.

"It's pretty evident that there's usually a difference in socio-economic status between the women who are being asked to sell their eggs or rent their wombs, and the women who are using it," she says.

Some argue that society should make it easier for women to have kids when they are younger so they don't have to resort to technological fixes.

"It's an example of using technology to solve social problems," says Adrienne Asch, a bioethicist at Yeshiva University.

As for Anderson, she's just glad she had the option.

"To be honest, it just, it really took a lot of the anxiety away from my personal life, I guess, and my efforts to date and to find the right person," she says.

The fertility society plans to continue to collect data about the safety and effectiveness of egg freezing. In the meantime, Widra says the association hopes the new policy will encourage more insurance policies to pay for egg freezing.

Diabetes is such as disease, where what foods you eat and what foods you avoid can make a lot of difference in the outcome (control of blood sugar) of the disease. The main aim of management of diabetes is to control blood sugar level within normal limit and prevent complications from developing (which can be done only by keeping blood sugar under control). As eating right food and wrong food can make a lot of difference, it is more important to know what foods to avoid in diabetes than what foods to eat in diabetes.

Candy:

High sugar foods such as candy (sugar syrup, fructose syrup) lack nutritional qualities and contain only high calories in the form of simple carbohydrates. As it contains only carbohydrates and calories, it can increase blood sugar rapidly and also it can increase bodyweight, both of which have detrimental effects and can complicate diabetes. If you are fond of sugar and sweets, try to consume sweet foods with high quality complex carbohydrates such as fresh fruits. In diabetes eating fresh fruits such as apple, orange, berries, berries etc. is good, because these fruits contain lots of fibers (along with vitamins and minerals and other nutrients) and do not allow rapid digestion and absorption of complex carbohydrates and as a result do not cause rapid rise in blood sugar. Avoid candy and related foods, if you are diabetic for better control of blood sugar.

Fast foods:

French fries, potato chips and other fried foods should be avoided (potato has high glycemic index). They contain large amount of easily digestible carbohydrates which can cause tremendous rise in blood sugar rapidly. Fried foods are soaked in oil which is store house of calories and increase body weight as well along with increasing blood sugar. Obesity can complicate diabetes.

Bacon:

It contain high amount of saturated fats. Eating bacon may not cause rise in blood sugar but the saturated fats it contain can damage heart and cardiovascular system, raise cholesterol level and diabetics are already at high risk of cardiovascular diseases. To keep your heart healthy in diabetes, avoid bacon and other similar meat products.

Pancake, syrup and pastries:

These are loaded with simple carbohydrates (easy to digest and absorb) and cause tremendous rise in blood sugar very fast. Other than high calories (in the form of simple carbohydrates), these contain little else nutrients. These are made of refined flour, white flour, and sugar. Avoid these products and remain healthy and control blood sugar. These products should be avoided by normal healthy individuals too and not only by diabetics.

Raisins:

Although raisins and other dry fruits are better than candy/cookies, they should be avoided in diabetes. Because during process of drying (dehydration) the carbohydrate in raisins gets concentrated and when consumed can liberate high quantity of carbohydrate and raise blood sugar rapidly. The best alternative for raisins is fresh fruits.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Diabetes and Eating Out

It's a troubling story authorities think will unfold over the next month or so. An untold number of Americans who got steroid injections in their spine to relieve back pain may end up with a rare fungal meningitis. The drug was contaminated with the spores of a common leaf mold â€" nobody knows how.

Dr. Lucille K. Georg/CDC

The head of an Aspergillus fungal organism, a common leaf mold that most people breathe in every day without getting sick.

So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 35 cases of the fungal meningitis in six states: Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. Five patients have died.

The CDC conducted a joint media teleconference with the Food and Drug Administration Thursday, and has made the audio of the meeting available.

The potential problem is much bigger than the cases recorded so far. The contaminated drug, called methylprednilosone acetate, has been shipped to 75 hospitals and clinics in 23 states.

Three lots of the drug shipped out since July have been recalled. "Unfortunately, despite this current recall, we expect to see additional cases as this investigation unfolds," says Dr. Brad Park of the CDC.

 

More common types of meningitis, caused by bacteria and viruses, can have sudden and dramatic symptoms. But Park says the fungal form may be subtle at the beginning. It can cause headaches, nausea, stiff neck and stroke-like symptoms, such as difficulty finding words, numbness or weakness.

Patients and doctors who have had spinal injections of steroids recently should be alert to these symptoms. "It is possible that if patients are identified soon and started on appropriate anti-fungal therapy," Park says, "some of the unfortunate consequences may be averted."

The incubation period of fungal meningitis may be as long as four weeks. So cases could emerge over the next month or more, depending on how fast recalled vials are removed from the supply stream.

States that have received shipments of the contaminated lots of methylprednilosone:

California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas and West Virginia.

Surprisingly, the FDA says it has no idea how many doses of the tainted medicine have been shipped out. "We can't tell you when we'll find out," the FDA's Ilisa Bernstein said in response to a question from Shots.

The contaminated drug came from New England Compounding Center, a company based in Framingham, Mass., that abruptly suspended operations this week, took its main website offline and stopped answering phone calls.

FDA inspectors identified "fungal material" in a vial of methylprednisolone this week. And even though none of the company's other products has been implicated so far, Bernstein says the FDA urges doctors, clinics and hospitals to stop using any NECC medicine.

"Given the severity of the illnesses we have seen so far," Bernstein told reporters in the FDA-CDC teleconference, "we believe these precautionary measures are warranted to protect the public."

Compounding pharmacies, which provide up to 10 percent of U.S. pharmaceuticals, are more loosely regulated than traditional drug companies. As is common, NECC is licensed by a state pharmacy board, which doesn't have the staff to conduct regular inspections. The company has been cited for contamination problems in the past, as the Boston Globe reports.

The first case of drug-related fungal meningitis was identified last month at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"Dr. April Pettit, one of our infectious disease colleagues, was caring for a patient with a troublesome form of meningitis," Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt told Shots.

The male patient, in his 50s, wasn't responding to conventional treatment. So Pettit sent a sample of his spinal fluid to the lab.

"When the microbiology laboratory informed her that Aspergillus had been recovered from culture, this was a stunning and totally unexpected result," says Schaffner, an infectious disease expert.

Aspergillus is the name of a common leaf mold. Most people breathe in its spores every day without being sick. People don't get Apergillus infections unless they have severely compromised immunity.

Pettit learned the man had gotten a spinal injection a couple of weeks earlier. She put two and two together and notified state health authorities. They've identified 18 Tennessee patients infected by the contaminated medicine so far. Three have died, including Pettit's patient.

Schaffner says fungal meningitis requires weeks and months of intravenous medicine. Survivors may end up with permanent neurologic damage.

There's one lucky aspect of this disaster: Unlike more common forms of meningitis, this type can't be passed from person to person.