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As Americans empty grocery shelves over fears of possible shortages during the coronavirus pandemic, one nutritionist says healthy eating doesn’t have to fall by the wayside. There is no need to hoard because there is plenty of food in the United States and food distributors are working to keep shelves stocked, said Diane Rigassio Radler, director of the Institute for Nutrition Interventions at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. However, it is a good idea to have plenty of food at home to reduce the number of times you have to go grocery shopping, she added. When you go shopping, try to go at times when stores are less crowded so that you can maintain adequate social distancing. Another option is online grocery shopping. Wash your hands as soon as you get home from grocery shopping. Then unpack your bags. Wipe off packaged foods with an alcohol-based paper towel or commercial antimicrobial wipe, and wash all produce. If you have reusable bags, wash them if possible or wipe them down with an alcohol-based towel. Follow the same routine if you order groceries online, she noted in a university news release. Stock up on canned, frozen and dried non-perishable foods, but understand the differences. Canned foods last for years, but generally have a higher sodium content than the others. Frozen foods will last for months, but could… read on >

Schools are closing. Sports and other activities have been cancelled. Everything is changing. In the midst of this chaos, how do parents keep kids from stressing too much? “For families, this is truly now hitting home,” said psychologist Robin Gurwitch, from Duke University and the Center for Child and Family Health, in Durham, N.C. “Families now need to think about how to manage having children at home for extended periods of time. First, families need to set up a schedule and a routine. Keeping as much routine as possible is important,” she said. But Gurwitch added that it’s important to be flexible, too. “Things change quickly and anxieties are running very high. Parents will have to be more patient and attentive to their child’s needs,” she said. And, what about the elephant in the room — should you talk to your child specifically about coronavirus? Dr. Eric Herman, a clinical psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, said, “It’s going to be hard to tell kids that everything is going to be fine when we’re closing schools. They have to think that something big is going on.” Herman said to let them ask questions, and to really listen and respond to the specific questions they’re asking. Gurwitch recommended a more proactive approach: “Ask children what they know. Ask, ‘What do you think about this?’… read on >

Even if you’re stuck at home waiting for the coronavirus all clear, you can still keep a healthy lifestyle. “Prevention is key in limiting the spread of coronavirus, and with more people working remotely or limiting their exposure to crowds, it’s important to maintain healthy habits at home,” said Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer for prevention at the American Heart Association (AHA). “Wash your hands often and stay home when you feel sick, but don’t disregard your physical activity and healthy eating habits,” he continued in an association news release. “These are the foundation to maintaining and improving your health.” Here are some tips for keeping healthy at home: Do a workout. Pick some exercises you can do at home like jumping jacks, lunges or jogging in place. Exercise in short bursts and repeat two to three times a day. Cook heart-healthy meals. Canned, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables, frozen meat and dried grains are great options to have on hand for recipes. Try a vegetarian three-bean chili or slow cooker barbecue chicken. Don’t stress out. Take a few minutes each day to meditate, practice good sleep habits and stay socially connected with friends and family via text, videochat or phone call. While the overall risk of getting seriously ill from the new coronavirus right now may be low, the AHA said that… read on >

If you have asthma, you are among those at greatest risk in the coronavirus pandemic and must take precautions, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) says. It’s important to keep your asthma well-controlled, so continue your medications. No asthma medications — including inhaled corticosteroids and biologics — have been shown to increase the risk of getting COVID-19, according to the ACAAI. And, the group added, if you do get the virus, there’s no information that asthma medications will make your infection worse. The ACAAI recommends contacting your allergist if you have any questions, have trouble breathing or your asthma symptoms become more severe. Other people at higher risk from the coronavirus include the elderly, and people with immunodeficiency or other chronic conditions that weaken the immune system. For now, the ACAAI is advising those with asthma or who may have immunodeficiency to continue with treatments. Nebulizers should be used and cleaned properly. It’s important that your asthma remains well-controlled. So far, 80% of coronavirus cases are mild and last for a limited time. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The ACAAI is advising people to follow these U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations: Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are sick. Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Wash your hands often with soap and… read on >

The novel coronavirus appears to be seasonal in nature, with major outbreaks occurring mainly in regions that match a specific set of climate conditions, a new study argues. All areas experiencing significant outbreaks of COVID-19 fall within a northern corridor that has an average temperature of 41 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit and an average humidity of 47% to 79%, according to virology researchers. These affected regions — China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Northern Italy, Seattle and Northern California — all fall within a band between 30 to 50 degrees Northern latitude. There’s been a lack of significant spread of COVID-19 into countries farther South. “To us, this suggests temperature and also low absolute and specific humidity could hold a key role in transmission,” said lead researcher Dr. Mohammad Sajadi, an associate professor of medicine with the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, in Baltimore. “Putting all this together, we think the distribution of significant community outbreaks along restricted latitude, temperature and humidity are consistent with the behavior of a seasonal respiratory virus,” Sajadi continued. This doesn’t mean that COVID-19 infection rates can be expected to fall with the coming of summer, however. Infectious disease experts note that the novel coronavirus has proven particularly infectious, given that humans have no established immunity against it. The coronavirus has an estimated transmission… read on >

A plant-based diet can benefit your heart, but only if you eat certain healthy types of food, researchers say. They tracked the eating behavior and the development of heart disease among more than 2,000 adults in Greece over 10 years, starting in 2002. Compared to those who ate more animal-based foods, men who ate more plant-based foods had a 25% lower risk of heart disease. Though the same trend was seen among women, it was less strong: Those who ate the fewest animal-based foods cut their heart disease risk by 11%. On average, people whose diet was heavier on plant-based foods ate three animal-based foods a day. Others ate five animal-based foods a day, according to the study being presented Wednesday as part of an online meeting of the American College of Cardiology and World Congress of Cardiology. “These findings highlight that even a small reduction in the daily consumption of animal-based products — principally the less healthy foods, such as processed meat products — accompanied by an increase in healthy plant-based foods may contribute to better cardiovascular health,” said lead author Demosthenes Panagiotakos. He’s a professor and vice rector at Harokopio University in Athens. Panagiotakos and his colleagues then focused on people who ate more plant-based foods in order to determine whether their diets were healthy (high amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts,… read on >

Brain inflammation may be more of a factor in dementia than previously believed, a new British study suggests. “We predicted the link between inflammation in the brain and the buildup of damaging proteins, but even we were surprised by how tightly these two problems mapped on to each other,” said co-author Thomas Cope of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. The findings could lead to new treatments for several types of dementia, his team said. Brain inflammation has been linked to depression, psychosis, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, the researchers investigated whether brain inflammation is also associated with other types of dementia. They used brain scans to assess 31 patients with three types of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). FTD is a family of conditions caused by the buildup of abnormal “junk” proteins in the brain. In all three types of FTD, the more inflammation there was in each part of the brain, the greater the buildup of harmful junk proteins, the study found. To confirm that link, researchers analyzed 12 brains donated after death. “There may be a vicious circle where cell damage triggers inflammation, which in turn leads to further cell damage,” study co-author Richard Bevan Jones said in a university news release. James Rowe, a professor of neurosciences at the Cambridge Center for Frontotemporal Dementia who was… read on >

Even in the midst of rising rates of suicide and substance abuse, nearly 117 million Americans live in what is known as “health professional shortage areas.” Put another way, only 27% of mental health needs in those areas are being met, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). More than 6,300 additional providers would be needed to erase the gap. How did things get so bad? The dearth of mental and behavioral health professionals — psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists and others — is not a recent development. It has slowly snowballed since the 1980s when state psychiatric hospitals were deinstitutionalized. “This has been a problem that’s been building over decades and decades, and now we’re at a crisis point,” said Angela Beck, director of the Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Primary care physicians provide around half of all behavioral health services in the United States, Beck noted. “Unmet need,” the metric that HRSA uses, refers to the more serious or complex issues that require a trained mental health provider. “We’ve got demand going up,” Beck said, “but we don’t have a pipeline or a supply that’s expanding to keep pace.” Help wanted The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects a shortage of 3,400 psychiatrists by 2032. “We have an opioid crisis, we… read on >

Staying calm during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t easy, but a few simple steps will help you stay informed yet relaxed. Keep up-to-date with reliable sources. “Given the onslaught of media coverage and information, it’s important to make sure you are getting updates from reputable sources,” said Nathaniel Van Kirk, coordinator of inpatient group therapy at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. Good sources include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. “Using these guidelines as a foundation, while acknowledging that you won’t be able to get 100% certainty in an evolving situation, may help you continue to live your daily life,” he said in a hospital news release. “It can help you keep your entire day from being consumed by anxiety or worry and instead let you focus on what you can control.” Limit your exposure to media, including social media, which has a lot of misinformation, and skip watching the news right before bedtime, experts advise. Try to stay calm. Kathryn Boger, program director of the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, said being aware of two common thinking traps can help you avoid falling into them. One is catastrophizing, where you imagine the worst-case scenario, and the other is overgeneralizing, where you think the worst is much more likely to happen. “We… read on >

Coronavirus is officially a pandemic, and Americans are adopting “social distancing” to prevent a surge in potential illnesses and death. So, what if you run a fever or experience shortness of breath? Should that send you running to an emergency room? Not necessarily, since most coronavirus cases are mild and there’s no need to panic, experts note. The first thing to do is match your symptoms to those experienced by COVID-19 patients, said Dr. William Jaquis, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Fever, a dry cough and shortness of breath are the three most common symptoms, Jaquis said. Headaches, body aches, sore throat and fatigue sometimes occur but are more often associated with the flu, medical experts say. A runny nose rarely occurs with COVID-19, and sneezing is not a symptom of the virus. Next, assess the severity of your symptoms. Don’t just rush to the hospital. If you can still breathe reasonably well or your fever responds to over-the-counter remedies like acetaminophen (Tylenol), you should call your family doctor to discuss your best options for care, experts say. According to Dr. Aimee Moulin, an emergency medicine physician with the University of California, Davis, “If your symptoms are mild, you can reach out to your primary care physician, and if you feel like you can manage at home, folks are advised to… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Don’t Abandon Healthy Eating During Coronavirus Pandemic

Calming Your Child’s Coronavirus Fears

Healthy Living at Home to Ward Off Coronavirus

What You Need to Know About Coronavirus If You Have Asthma

Study Suggests COVID-19 Might Follow Seasonal Pattern

For Heart Health, Not All Plant-Based Diets Are Equal: Study

Study Ties Brain Inflammation to Several Types of Dementia

The Doctor Gap: Where Are All the Mental Health Care Providers?

Keeping Coronavirus Anxiety at Bay

Think You Have COVID-19 Symptoms? Here’s What to Do