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For people who want to stop drinking, the world’s oldest alcohol support group is still the best way, a new review concludes. In an analysis of 27 studies, researchers found that Alcoholics Anonymous was typically more effective than behavioral therapies when it came to helping people remain abstinent. AA also appeared as good as those therapies in reducing excessive drinking, and the consequences of it. The researchers said the results might sound surprising: Behavioral therapies are delivered by mental health professionals, while AA is a support group run by lay people. Lead researcher Keith Humphreys said he was once a skeptic. “Early in my career, I thought it sounded silly,” said Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. “What could come from a bunch of people sitting around talking?” But it turns out, Humphreys said, that the program can give many people what they need — fellowship. That includes other group members who are dealing with the same issues, and a “sponsor” who can serve as a role model — someone who has managed to stay sober and get his or her life back on track. AA was founded in 1935, by two men in Akron, Ohio, who were looking for a way to stop drinking. They began a support group, then later developed AA’s famous “12 steps” —… read on >

The coronavirus crisis has millions of Americans questioning whether it’s wise, or even safe, to travel this spring. Now, an infectious disease expert has created a checklist to help you decide whether to go ahead with your trip or cancel it. COVID-19 is an illness caused by a new coronavirus. For most people with healthy immune systems, infection appears to result in mild symptoms — similar to a cold or flu. However, infection appears to be most severe, and occasionally fatal, for the frail elderly or those with chronic health issues or compromised immune systems. Dr. Susan Wootton, an infectious disease pediatrician at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, has developed this nine-point checklist to help you decide whether your trip is a go or a no. If your answer matches the response in parentheses to each question, move on to the next question. If not, you may need to rethink your travel plans. Are the travelers healthy? (Yes.) Have the travelers received flu shots? (Yes.) Do any of the travelers or anyone the travelers have had contact with have any underlying high-risk conditions for the virus, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? (No.) Are any travel restrictions for your destination listed on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or U.S. Department of State websites? (No.) Is the trip a… read on >

Your morning cup of coffee may help your focus and problem-solving skills, but it won’t kick-start your creativity, a new study says. “In Western cultures, caffeine is stereotypically associated with creative occupations and lifestyles, from writers and their coffee to programmers and their energy drinks, and there’s more than a kernel of truth to these stereotypes,” said study first author Darya Zabelina, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arkansas. Increased alertness, heightened vigilance, greater focus and improved motor performance are known to be associated with caffeine, but its impact on creativity is less known, Zabelina noted. She and her colleagues assessed the effects of caffeine on 80 volunteers’ convergent and divergent thinking, working memory and mood. Convergent thinking is used in problem-solving while divergent thinking is used in creativity. Volunteers were given either a 200 milligram (mg) caffeine pill — equivalent to one cup of strong coffee — or a placebo. Caffeine improved convergent thinking but had no real impact on divergent thinking. Researchers also found that caffeine didn’t significantly affect working memory, but it appeared to affect mood — those who took it reported feeling less sad, according to the study in the March issue of the journal Consciousness and Cognition. “The 200 mg [of caffeine] enhanced problem-solving significantly, but had no effect on creative thinking,” Zabelina said in a university… read on >

Kids get more calories from the snacks they eat after sports than they burn while playing, which could add up to thousands of extra calories a year, a new study warns. “So many kids are at games just to get their treat afterwards, which really isn’t helping to develop healthy habits long term,” said senior study author Lori Spruance, an assistant professor of public health at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. “The reward should be, ‘I got to have fun, I got to run around with my friend or score a goal.’” For the study, Spruance and her team tracked the activity levels of third- and fourth-graders during 189 games of soccer, flag football, baseball and softball, along with their post-game snacks. The researchers noted that parents supplied snacks 80% of the time, and nearly 90% of the post-game drinks were sugar-sweetened. While kids burned an average 170 calories per game, they consumed an average 213 calories afterward, the study revealed. On average, that included 26.4 grams of sugar — more than the total daily recommendation of 25 grams. Sugary drinks were the main source. The 43-calorie difference between snacking and what kids burn off while playing might seem trivial, but it could add up to thousands of extra calories a year if a child plays once or twice a week, the researchers… read on >

While many Americans are ready to celebrate the end of winter, those with seasonal allergies are already dreading the sneezing, wheezing, itchy eyes and runny nose that spring brings. “Spring allergies can be tricky to treat because not everyone is allergic to the same things, even though symptoms may look a lot alike,” said Dr. J. Allen Meadows, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “There are some really effective treatments out there, but unfortunately no magic bullets.” Knowing what you’re allergic to is the key to dealing with spring allergy symptoms, he noted. Meadows’ advice? See an allergist to find out what you’re allergic to and to learn about the most appropriate ways to treat your allergies. Then, be prepared. Start taking allergy medications two to three weeks before you expect symptoms to begin, he urged in a college news release. That will make them easier to control. Remember: The start of allergy season depends on where you live. If you’re allergic to pollen, take steps to keep it out of your home, car and clothes, as well as your hair, eyes and nose. Keep windows in your house and car closed in the spring. After being outdoors, remove your shoes when you go inside and consider immediately washing your clothes to remove pollen. Shower at night before bed to make… read on >

No matter whether your favorite team wins or loses, March Madness will likely put a slam dunk on your sleep habits. For many Americans, staying up late to watch NCAA basketball tournament games is a much-anticipated annual rite. But the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) warns that those late-night games can cause problems. “A lack of sleep can lead to trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling emotions and more,” AASM president Dr. Kelly Carden said in an academy news release. An AASM survey found that 58% of Americans said they stayed up past their bedtime to watch sports, including 72% of men. “It’s important to ensure sleep is a priority — even if there is a great game on — because getting healthy sleep on a regular basis positively impacts health, well-being and performance,” Carden explained. And, sleep isn’t only important for fans. Athletes who get more sleep perform better, according to the AASM. A 2011 study published in the journal Sleep found that when members of Stanford University men’s basketball team got more sleep, their shooting accuracy improved, with both free throw percentage and 3-point shots increasing by 9%. The players also improved their average sprint time. This year’s tournament begins March 15 and concludes April 6 with the national championship game in Atlanta. More information The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood… read on >

If losing an hour of sleep with the switch to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday leaves you feeling tired, you’re not alone. Fifty-five percent of Americans feel the same way, according to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) survey. For most Americans, the clock will “spring forward” at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8. Besides disrupting sleep habits for up to a week, the transition also poses health and safety risks, two new studies report. One report, published in Current Biology earlier this year, reported that the risk of fatal traffic accidents in the United States rises 6% after the spring switch to Daylight Saving Time. A second study, scheduled for publication in the May issue of the journal Sleep Medicine, found an increase in hospital admissions due to atrial fibrillation for women after the transition. “Studies consistently show that the spring transition to Daylight Saving Time is associated with negative consequences for health, safety and productivity, all of which may be related to sleep disruption caused by the time change,” said AASM resident Dr. Kelly Carden. According to the AASM Daylight Saving Time Health Advisory, the spring and fall clock changes can negatively affect sleep and wake patterns for five to seven days. To minimize the adverse impacts, AASM offers this advice: Sleep for at least seven hours in the nights before and… read on >

Few heartbreaks are as devastating as when a beloved family dog falls ill with cancer. But a new research paper could spur development of more and better treatments for a canine companion who has a brain tumor — because it’s possible that those same therapies will help human kids, too. Dogs’ brain cancers are genetically akin to those found in children, a new study in the journal Cancer Cell reports. “These dog tumors were much more similar to the tumors we find in kids than the tumors we find in adults,” said senior researcher Roel Verhaak, associate director of computational biology at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Conn. “This is important because it means whatever results we find in preclinical experimental therapy studies involving canines is going to be most applicable — and maybe even only applicable — to children’s brain tumors,” he added. Striving to cure pet dogs with brain tumors and learning which therapies work best — and why — could inform cancer treatments for children with these tumors, the researchers concluded. It’s been thought for some time that family dogs might be better for testing experimental cancer drugs than lab animals like mice or monkeys, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. That’s because dogs live tightly alongside humans, sharing the same exposures from home and… read on >

Go ahead and crack that egg. Eating one a day isn’t likely to increase your risk of heart disease, researchers say. The three-decade study showed no association between moderate egg consumption and risk of heart disease. The report — led by a team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston — should help reassure uneasy egg eaters. “Recent studies reignited the debate on this controversial topic, but our study provides compelling evidence supporting the lack of an appreciable association between moderate egg consumption and cardiovascular disease,” first author Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, a visiting scientist, said in a Harvard news release. He’s an assistant professor at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. For the new study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 173,000 women and over 90,000 men in the United States who did not have heart disease, type 2 diabetes or cancer when initially assessed. The study participants were followed for 32 years, during which their diets and other lifestyle habits were recorded. The researchers also analyzed 28 studies with up to 1.7 million people. This meta-analysis supported the finding that moderate egg consumption is not associated with increased risk of heart disease in Americans and Europeans. The investigators also found some evidence suggesting that moderate egg consumption may be associated with lower heart disease risk in Asian populations, but the finding may… read on >

As the new coronarvirus extends its reach, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family, experts say. “As with any respiratory virus, the main recommendations hold true with the novel coronavirus,” said Dr. Rachael Lee, a health care epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). “Wash your hands, cover your cough with your arm, and stay home if you feel sick.” Also, know when it is and isn’t safe to travel. So far the virus, known as COVID-19, has sickened more than 90,000 people and killed more than 3,000, mostly in China. Check guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health care authorities regarding travel to areas with the coronavirus, said Lee, who is also an assistant professor in the division of infectious diseases. “This has become dangerous because this is a first-of-its-kind type of coronavirus, and all humans do not have immunity built up to fight it,” Lee said in a university news release. Wearing surgical masks out in public is not recommended, she said, as brief exposure to the virus in public is unlikely to make a person sick. “Most cases have occurred when there has been prolonged contact, such as with health care professionals or family members serving as a caregiver. Use of masks is recommended for health care professionals, caregivers… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

AA Still Best to Beat Problem Drinking, Review Finds

Should You Cancel Travel Plans Due to Coronavirus? Take This Quiz

Will a Jolt of Java Get Your Creative Juices Flowing?

Post-Game Snacks May Undo Calorie-Burning Benefit of Kids’ Sports

An Allergist Offers His Expert Advice for a Sneeze-Free Spring

Skipping Sleep to Watch Sports is The Real March Madness

Get Ready for Clocks to ‘Spring Ahead’

Brain Cancer Research Could Help Dogs — and the Humans Who Love Them

Unscrambling the Egg Data: One a Day Looks OK

Common Sense on Shielding Yourself From Coronavirus