Weekly Gravy « Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

A startling number of Americans have witnessed a mass shooting in their lifetime, a new study suggests. About 1 in 15 adults have been present at the scene of a mass shooting, and more than 2% have been injured in one, researchers say in JAMA Network Open. “This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies, but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences,” senior researcher David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Institute for Behavioral Science, said in a news release. Younger generations are significantly more likely to have been in the middle of a mass shooting than their parents or grandparents, researchers found. Generation Z – adults born after 1996 – are at greatest risk. “Our findings lend credence to the idea of a ‘mass shooting generation,’ ” Pyrooz said. “People who grew up in the aftermath of Columbine have these unique experiences that are really distinguishable from the older population.” He was referring to what remains as one of the most infamous school massacres in U.S. history. On April 20, 1999, two 12th-graders murdered 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado. For the study, researchers surveyed 10,000 U.S. adults in January 2024. Participants were asked a series of questions, including “Have… read on > read on >

LED light therapy is touted by social media influencers as a trendy way to treat acne. And it actually appears to work, a new evidence review suggests. Both red and blue LED light therapy are safe and effective in clearing up mild to moderate acne, researchers reported in JAMA Dermatology. “We found individuals who use red and/or blue LED devices experienced a significant reduction in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne lesions compared to the control groups,” senior researcher Dr. John Barbieri, director of the Advanced Acne Therapeutics Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. LED light therapy is thought to work by targeting the bacteria that causes acne and reducing skin inflammation, researchers said in background notes. Blue LED light therapy also might reduce activity in the sebaceous glands of hair follicles, causing them to produce less pore-clogging oil, Harvard Medical School says. It affects the uppermost layer of skin. On the other hand, red light is believed to act on skin cells that play a role in producing collagen, a protein that helps skin recover when damaged, Harvard says. Red light penetrates deeper into skin. For their review, researchers pooled data from six studies of LED therapy for acne involving 216 participants. The LED devices resulted in about a 45% improvement in acne lesions and symptoms compared to… read on > read on >

Female cancer survivors who walk and exercise more have a lower risk of dying from heart disease, a new study suggests. One hour a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity reduced women’s risk of death from any cause by 40% and risk of death due to heart disease by 60%, results show. Likewise, each additional 2,500 steps per day was associated with a 34% reduction in their risk of death from heart disease, according to findings presented Sunday at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in New Orleans. “Encouraging cancer survivors to be more active, sit less and take more steps every day could be a feasible approach for prolonging survivorship and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality,” lead investigator Eric Hyde, a research analyst at the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. Physical activity is a key component of Life’s Essential 8, the AHA’s list of health behaviors and factors that support the best heart health. The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity like walking or gardening, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity exercise like running or swimming. A combination of these is also an option. And it’s known that cancer survivors are at an increased risk of heart disease, due to the rigors of both cancer and toxic treatments like chemotherapy… read on > read on >

Your daily cup of tea might do more than help you relax — it could also help remove harmful heavy metals from your drinking water, new research suggests. A Northwestern University study found that tea leaves can naturally pull lead and other dangerous metals out of water as tea steeps. About 5 billion cups of tea are consumed each day worldwide, according to one estimate. “You can see the implications,” said Vinayak Dravid, a materials scientist at Northwestern and an author of the study. “How often do we touch billions of people?” Heavy metal contamination — especially lead — is a growing concern, especially in areas with aging pipes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 9 million U.S. homes get their water through pipes that contain lead, The New York Times reported. Those pipes can allow the toxic metal to leach into drinking water. Even small amounts of lead exposure can be dangerous, especially for children, potentially leading to developmental delays and behavioral problems. In the study, David and his team tested a variety of teas — including black, white, oolong, green, rooibos, herbal, loose leaf and plain Lipton — to see how well they absorbed lead from water during various steeping times. The researchers found that black tea was the most effective at pulling lead from water. “Green tea and black… read on > read on >

The makers of two popular weight-loss drugs — Wegovy and Zepbound — are cutting prices to make the medications more affordable for people without insurance. Novo Nordisk, the Danish company behind Wegovy, announced Wednesday that it has lowered its monthly cost by 23%. The new price — $499 per month — takes effect immediately. The price had been $650 a month. The discount applies to all dose levels of the medication, NBC News reported. The lower price is available to both uninsured patients and people whose insurance does not cover weight-loss drugs, the company also said. Last week, Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound, also cut prices for its starter dose to $349 per month. Larger doses will now cost $499 per month through the company’s self-pay program. People using these GLP-1 meds start with smaller doses and gradually increase to higher amounts over time. The price cuts come as supply issues ease. Both medications have recently been removed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list, allowing the companies to meet growing demand. As a result, compounding pharmacies, which were allowed to make off-brand versions during the shortage, will need to wind down production. Both Wegovy and Zepbound belong to a class of drugs that have been shown to help people lose weight by reducing appetite and increasing the feelings of fullness. More… read on > read on >

Music therapy can help lift the spirits and ease depression in people with dementia, a new evidence review has found. Findings suggest that music-based therapy probably improves depressive symptoms and might even improve behavioral issues by the end of treatment, researchers reported. “This review increases our understanding of the effects of music therapy and strengthens the case for incorporating music in dementia care, particularly in care home settings,” said lead investigator Jenny van der Steen, an associate professor of epidemiology at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands. “Music therapy offers benefits beyond those of other group activities, helping to support mood and behavior in a way that is engaging and accessible, even in later stages of dementia,” van der Steen continued in a news release. “Care home managers should consider integrating structured musical sessions as part of a person-centered approach to dementia care,” she added. For their review, researchers pooled evidence from 30 studies involving more than 1,700 people. The studies looked at how music therapy might improve emotional well-being, quality of life, mood disturbances, behavioral problems, social behavior and thinking and memory skills (cognition). Most participants were in care homes, with the therapy provided individually or in group settings. Researchers concluded that “when compared to usual care, providing people with dementia with at least five sessions of a music-based therapeutic intervention probably improves… read on > read on >

Getting essential vitamins and minerals during pregnancy can help a woman maintain healthy blood pressure into middle age, new research suggests. High levels of the minerals copper and manganese in pregnant women were associated with lower blood pressure decades later, as well as a reduced risk of high blood pressure, researchers reported. Higher levels of vitamin B12 also were associated with lower blood pressure in later life, according to findings published March 6 in the journal Hypertension. “Optimizing these essential metals, minerals and vitamins — particularly copper, manganese and vitamin B12 — during pregnancy may offer protective benefits against hypertension in midlife, an especially critical time period for women’s future cardiovascular risk in later life,” lead researcher Mingyu Zhang, an epidemiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a news release. For the study, his team analyzed data from an ongoing long-term study of nearly 500 pregnant women recruited between 1999 and 2002. The women underwent blood testing during their pregnancy for their levels of healthy essential minerals, such as copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium and zinc, researchers said. They also were tested for levels of folate and vitamin B12. After nearly 20 years of follow up, researchers checked in again with the women, who’d now reached an average age of 51. The women’s blood pressure was tested during this check in, and… read on > read on >

Teens who sleep fewer than 7.7 hours are more likely to have high blood pressure, a new study suggests. Likewise, those suffering from both insomnia and a lack of sleep are five times more likely to have high blood pressure exceeding 140 systolic, according to research presented Thursday at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in New Orleans. (Systolic pressure is the force of your blood against artery walls when your heart beats.) High blood pressure in teen years could set these kids up for a lifetime of heart health problems, researchers warn. “While we need to explore this association in larger studies on teens, it is safe to say that sleep health matters for heart health, and we should not wait until adulthood to address it,” said senior researcher Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, director of behavioral sleep medicine at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Penn. “Not all teens who complain of insomnia symptoms are at risk for cardiovascular issues,” he continued in an AHA news release. “However, monitoring their sleep duration objectively can help us identify those who have a more severe form of insomnia and are at-risk for heart problems.” For the study, researchers recruited 421 students at three school districts in and around Harrisburg, Penn. The kids told researchers whether or not they suffer from insomnia, and then stayed overnight in… read on > read on >

It’s a cook’s maxim that everything’s better with butter. Except your health, a new study suggests. People who eat loads of butter have a higher risk of premature death, while those who use mostly plant-based oils like canola or olive oil have a lower-than-average risk, researchers found. What’s more, swapping butter out for plant-based oils like canola or olive oil causes a person’s risk of premature death to drop dramatically, researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine. Substituting 10 grams of butter a day — less than a tablespoon — with plant-based oils could lower by 17% a person’s risk of death from any reason and from cancer specifically, results show. “What’s surprising is the magnitude of the association that we found — we saw a 17% lower risk of death when we modeled swapping butter with plant-based oils in daily diet. That is a pretty huge effect on health,” lead investigator Yu Zhang, a research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. The findings are based on diet and health data from more than 220,000 people followed for more than three decades as part of three long-term studies of health professionals. Every four years, participants answered questions about their diets. Total butter intake included butter and margarine blends, spreadable butter and butter used for baking and frying at home.… read on > read on >

Breastfeeding can promote lower blood pressure among children, a new study says. Longer-term breastfeeding appears to populate a baby’s gut with diverse bacteria that could help lower blood pressure, researchers found. Children who were breastfed for at least six months had lower blood pressure at age 6, researchers report in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Our findings suggest a potential significance of early-life gut microbiota on cardiovascular health in early childhood,” concluded the research team led by senior investigator Noel Mueller, an associate professor of epidemiology with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. For the study, researchers reviewed data on 526 children enrolled in a Danish study of childhood asthma. As part of the study, stool samples were collected from each child at 1 week, 1 month and 1 year of age. These samples were analyzed to determine the content of their gut bacteria. The study also checked the children’s blood pressure at 3 and 6 years of age. Researchers found that children with more diverse gut bacteria at 1 month had lower blood pressure at age 6. The blood pressure-lowering effect of diverse gut bacteria was further amplified among children who were breastfed for at least six months, results show. Children with highly diverse gut bacteria had systolic blood pressure about two points lower than average at age 6 if they… read on > read on >

Weekly Gravy

Look Good – Feel Good – Feed Good

A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

1 In 15 Americans Have Survived A Mass Shooting, Survey Says

At-Home LED Therapy Effective Against Acne

Walking Can Save Cancer Survivors From Heart-Related Death

Could Your Cup of Tea Help Remove Lead From Drinking Water?

Makers of Wegovy & Zepbound Cut Prices for Those Without Insurance

Music Soothes Depression In Dementia Patients

Select Vitamins, Minerals During Pregnancy Protect Heart Health Later

Poor Sleep Drives High Blood Pressure In Teens

Butter Is A Deadly Delight, Study Says

Breastfeeding Improves Heart Health In Children