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The herbal supplement berberine has become the latest social-media obsession for weight-loss, with some on TikTok calling it “nature’s Ozempic.” Experts don’t agree. “I would say it’s a big exaggeration to call it ‘nature’s Ozempic,’” said Dr. Melinda Ring, executive director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University, in Chicago. But berberine has been associated with a variety of health benefits, including modest weight loss, lower cholesterol and improved blood sugar levels, she said. Ring said she “wouldn’t swap one for the other” if someone is already prescribed a medication for any of these conditions. Berberine also has its drawbacks. It can cause potentially dangerous interactions if used with some other medications, and shouldn’t be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women or by children, Ring cautioned. “But that being said, it is one of my favorite compounds,” she continued. “The safety profile is good and the potential benefits are diverse. So I actually like it for people who have weight concerns. Especially if they have weight concerns and blood sugar issues and insulin resistance and high cholesterol, then I think it could be a good option.” Berberine has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 3,000 years, Ring noted. “Berberine isn’t a plant itself. It’s an alkaloid compound that’s found in a variety of plants,” she explained. Plants that contain… read on > read on >

It can be challenging for people with type 1 diabetes to exercise safely while controlling their blood sugar. People with the condition often struggle with this balance, according to a new study based on a survey conducted through social media groups restricted to adults with type 1 diabetes who run, jog or walk for exercise. The survey findings were presented Thursday at a meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Chicago. “Managing high and low blood sugar levels before, during and after aerobic exercise remains one of the greatest challenges for people living with type 1 diabetes,” said lead researcher Dr. Joseph Henske, an endocrinologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. “This study provides a number of key insights into the degree to which published guidelines and recommendations surrounding exercise with type 1 diabetes are understood and implemented in the real world,” he said in a meeting news release. In all, 102 adults with type 1 diabetes responded to the survey. Of those, 68% said they exercised four or more days per week, with weekly average of 23 miles. Nearly all (97%) said they used continuous glucose monitors. About 75% used insulin pumps. The respondents had a self-reported average HbA1C of 7.1%, indicating their diabetes was well-controlled. HbA1C is a measure of average blood sugar levels over the past three months.… read on > read on >

Just like their humans, dogs get cranky when temperatures and air pollution levels surge. Heat and air pollution have previously been linked to human aggression. Now, researchers say it also appears that there are more dog bites on hot, polluted days. More research is needed to confirm these findings, according to study author Tanujit Dey, of the department of surgery at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, and colleagues. For the new study, the investigators used dog bite data from 2009 to 2018 in eight U.S. cities: Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Chicago, Louisville, Los Angeles and New York City. The data included more than 69,000 reported dog bites, an average of three per day over 10 years. When the researchers compared this bite information with daily levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone, temperature, UV light and precipitation, they found that dog bites rose 11% on days with higher UV levels; 4% on higher temperature days; and 3% on days with increased ozone levels. Dog bites decreased slightly, by 1%, on days with higher levels of rainfall. No changes were seen in dog bites on days with higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution. The study findings were published online June 15 in Scientific Reports. These records did not include information about other factors that could have… read on > read on >

An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that COVID booster shots be updated for the fall to protect solely against one of the three XBB variants that have taken hold in the United States. Those three XBB variants, which are all sublineages of the Omicron variant, are XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 and XBB.2.3, CNN reported. What will be dropped from the updated vaccines will be protection against the original strain of the virus because experts believe it could contribute to lower vaccine efficacy against newer strains. “Your immune response likes to react to what it’s seen before,” Dr. David Ho, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University whose research was cited in FDA briefing documents, told CNN. “That’s why we made the recommendation that if you want to broaden out your antibody responses, it’s best to remove the ancestral spike in future vaccines,” Ho explained. Although the FDA will make the final decision on the updated vaccines, it typically follows the advice of its advisory panels. While infections have declined across the United States, the virus could be a concern next winter, the FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said as the daylong meeting began, the Associated Press reported. “We’re concerned that we may have another wave of COVID-19 during a time when the virus has… read on > read on >

For the first time, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have broken down statistics on depression among Americans, pinpointing which states the debilitating illness is most likely to strike. Adjusted for age, 18.5% of all American adults included in the new analysis said they’d been diagnosed with depression at least once in their lifetime. But incidence varied widely by state, from a low of 12.7% in Hawaii to more than double that (27.5%) in West Virginia, according to a team led by Benjamin Lee. He’s with the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The new findings should “help guide state- and local-level efforts to prevent, treat and manage depression,” depending on each state’s level of need, Lee’s group said. The need appears greatest in the Southeast and Northwest areas of the country. For example, besides West Virginia, residents in six other states in the Southeast — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee — had rates of reported adult depression near or above 23%, the study found. In the Northwest, Montana, Oregon and Washington all had rates of depression 21% and higher, the researchers found. Nearly 23% of adults living in Utah said they’d been diagnosed with depression at least once, and two states in the Northeast — Maine and Vermont — each had adult depression rates… read on > read on >

Intermittent fasting is all the rage due to the lengthy list of health benefits associated with this style of eating. Now, a new, small study suggests that one type of intermittent fasting — early time-restricted eating — may be key for preventing type 2 diabetes in people who are at high risk for the blood sugar disease. The study included 10 people with prediabetes and obesity. Prediabetes refers to when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be defined as diabetes. Obesity is also considered a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Folks in the study ate 80% of their daily calories before 1 p.m (early time-restricted feeding) or half of their calories after 4 p.m (usual eating) for one week, and then they switched to the opposite group during the second week. Early time-restricted feeding reduced blood sugar fluctuations and decreased the time that blood sugar was above normal levels throughout the day, and this was independent of any weight loss. “There is a large body of evidence that eating early in the day is beneficial for metabolic health, and many people experience weight loss even though their calories may not be restricted, but it was unclear whether these benefits were related to weight loss or independent, and this study suggests they are independent,” said study author Dr.… read on > read on >

While food allergies have not historically been top of mind for racial and ethnic minorities, new research shows that Hispanic, Black and Asian communities all face a higher prevalence of these issues. Money also mattered: In households where incomes were higher, at more than $150,000 a year, food allergies were less prevalent. “Food allergies are not frequently talked about impacting racial and ethnic communities,” said study co-author Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “It’s not on the radar. But we now know it does impact them more, and it’s important to improve awareness.” “It is also critical to improve access to diagnosis and treatments for food allergy,” Gupta said in a university news release. “It is an exciting time with new treatments, and it’s essential to make sure they reach racial and ethnic minorities who have higher rates of food allergy.” For the study, the researchers administered a survey online and via telephone to a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population, including more than 50,000 households with responses for nearly 80,000 individuals. The survey was given from October 2015 to September 2016. Food allergy affects 11% of adults and 8% of children in the United States. The study found that prevalence of food… read on > read on >

Regulators want your next tattoo to be as safe as it is trendy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a draft of new guidance aimed at helping manufacturers and distributors of tattoo inks prevent microbial contamination. “With about 30% of people living in the U.S. having a tattoo, it’s imperative that the FDA take all necessary steps to help ensure that tattoo inks are free of contamination,” said FDA Chief Scientist Namandjé Bumpus. “Pathogens or other harmful substances in these inks can cause infections and serious injuries,” she said in an agency news release. “The FDA is issuing this draft guidance to help tattoo ink manufacturers and distributors recognize situations in which tattoo ink may become contaminated with microorganisms and take steps to protect public health.” The FDA issued a safety alert on tattoo inks in May 2019. It advised consumers, tattoo artists and retailers to avoid using or selling certain tainted inks. Many people have reported to federal regulators illness caused by contaminated tattoo inks. Testing has found that many sealed tattoo inks in the United States have microbial contamination. “Unlike most cosmetics, tattoo inks are injected into the dermal layer of the skin, and therefore have the potential to introduce harmful pathogens directly into the body. Because of this, it is particularly important for tattoo inks to be manufactured using methods… read on > read on >

So-called “smart drugs” meant to enhance brain performance are more likely to leave users ineffectually spinning in place, a new study has found. These stimulants, typically used to treat ADHD, increased study participants’ motivation in solving problems. But the subjects also took much longer to complete tasks because they acted in a more erratic, scattershot manner while they worked, researchers reported in the journal Science Advances. For example, participants on the ADHD drug methylphenidate (Ritalin) took around 50% longer on average to complete a “knapsack task” than they did when they took a placebo, results showed. In this task, subjects are asked to figure out the most efficient way to fill a knapsack to a certain capacity, using a selection of items with various weights. “Although the use of these kinds of stimulant drugs in people without ADHD may be increasing their motivation in complex problem-solving tasks, they decrease the quality of the solutions, so their productivity is decreased,” said lead researcher Elizabeth Bowman, a neuroscientist at the University of Melbourne Centre for Brain, Mind and Markets in Australia. Students and white-collar workers have increasingly turned to prescription stimulants in an attempt to increase their productivity, said Pat Aussem, vice president of consumer clinical content development for the Partnership to End Addiction. Essentially, they are a modern-day spin on the caffeine pills that college students… read on > read on >

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are experiencing more mental health and substance use issues than their heterosexual peers, researchers say. According to a new government report released Tuesday, this includes major depressive episodes, serious thoughts of suicide, and more misuse of alcohol and drugs. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health includes a question about sexual orientation and has since 2015. Although that question on this 2021-2022 report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) focused solely on people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, the survey will include transgender and nonbinary people in 2023, CNN reported. “It is really important data, especially coming from an organization like SAMHSA that has such an influence over both national policy as well as resource allocation in terms of what kinds of prevention, treatment and recovery services get supported at the federal level,” Dr. Jeremy Kidd, a psychiatrist who has worked on studies to improve health outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer populations, told CNN. The report notes that “sexual minorities experience unique stressors that can contribute to adverse substance use and mental health outcomes.” Among the findings are that bisexual females were six times more likely to have attempted suicide in the previous year than their straight peers. Bisexual women were also three times more likely to have an opioid use… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Is Supplement Berberine Really ‘Nature’s Ozempic’? Experts Weigh Pros & Cons

Why Exercise Is Often a Challenge for Folks With Type 1 Diabetes

Dog Bites More Common on Hot, Hazy Days

FDA Advisers Say Next Round of COVID Booster Shots Should Target an XBB Variant

Are You Living in One of America’s Most Depressed States?

Fasting Later in Day Might Be Key to Controlling Blood Sugar: Study

Race, Income Affect Your Risk for a Food Allergy

FDA Proposes Tougher Rules for Tattoo Providers to Curb Contaminated Inks

For Folks Without the Condition, Taking ADHD Meds to Get ‘Smarter’ Could Backfire

Lesbians, Gays Suffer More Mental Health Issues, Drug Use Problems: Survey

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