It’s not just bumper-to-bumper highway traffic that’s causing your blood pressure to spike during your daily commute. New research shows that the exhaust fumes spewing from all those vehicles triggers a significant increase in car passengers’ blood pressure. The observed increase is comparable to the effect of a high-salt diet, researchers found, and the effect can last up to 24 hours. “The body has a complex set of systems to try to keep blood pressure to your brain the same all the time. It’s a very complex, tightly regulated system, and it appears that somewhere, in one of those mechanisms, traffic-related air pollution interferes with blood pressure,” said researcher Dr. Joel Kaufman, a University of Washington physician and professor of environmental and occupational health sciences. For the study, his team drove healthy adults ages 22 to 45 three times through rush-hour Seattle traffic while monitoring their blood pressure. Unfiltered road air was allowed to enter the car on two of the drives, while on the third the car was equipped with high-quality HEPA filters that screened out 86% of the air pollution from traffic. Breathing unfiltered air resulted in blood pressure increases of more than 4.5 millimeters of mercury, compared to the drives with filtered air, researchers said. The increase occurred rapidly, peaking about an hour into the drive, and it held steady for at…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Nov. 27, 2023 (Healthday News) — Three more brands of cantaloupe have been recalled by U.S. health officials after salmonella infections linked to the fruit more than doubled in just a week. The case count now includes nearly 100 people in 32 states, with Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio having the highest number of illnesses reported. Two people have died in Minnesota, while 45 have been hospitalized nationwide, according to an updated health alert issued Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s original recall, issued Nov. 14, included Malichita brand whole cantaloupe, Vinyard brand pre-cut cantaloupe and ALDI whole cantaloupe and pre-cut fruit products. Rudy brand whole cantaloupes and Freshness Guaranteed brand and RaceTrac brand pre-cut cantaloupes have now been added to the recall. The actual number of people infected with salmonella in this outbreak is likely even higher, the CDC said, because many recover without care and are never tested for the bacteria. The recalled fruits should be thrown away and any surfaces the fruits touched should be washed with hot, soapy water or in a dishwasher, the CDC advised. Salmonella is the most common form of bacterial food poisoning in the United States, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The symptoms of salmonella typically include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps within six days…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, Nov. 23, 2023 (Healthday News) — Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday eating season, when everyone is constantly tempted by sweet treats, rich foods and fancy, high-calorie drinks. But before diving into decadent eating, consider trying to make healthy food choices during the festivities, one expert suggests. “The holidays are a time for celebration and social gatherings, delicious meals and an abundance of sweet treats. It’s a time when people look forward to indulging in their favorite dishes, but also take the time to enjoy the company of treasured friends and family,” said Dr. Luis Rustveld, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Spending quality time with family and friends are integral to overall well-being and mental health. Starting these [healthier eating] habits during the holiday can lay the foundation for a healthier new year.” Any time of year can be a good time to adjust your diet, Rustveld noted, but the holidays may encourage more mindful eating because you can practice strategies like portion control, moderation and appreciating textures, flavors and smells of food. Taking your time while eating to focus on these details is one way to enjoy your meal and prevent overeating, he said. People should not deprive or limit the amount of food they eat in the days leading up to…  read on >  read on >

FRIDAY, Nov. 17 (Healthday News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it has found early evidence that cinnamon may be the source of high levels of lead in fruit puree pouches that have now sickened 34 children. The agency, in partnership with the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, has been investigating illnesses linked to the consumption of Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree pouches made in Ecuador and sold under the WanaBana, Weis and Schnucks brands. All of these products have already been recalled. In its updated alert, the FDA said health officials have detected very high levels of lead in one product sample of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Puree collected from Dollar Tree. The level detected was 2.18 parts per million, which is more than 200 times greater than the action level the FDA has proposed in draft guidance for fruit purees and similar products intended for babies and young children.  So far, sample analysis of WanaBana, Weis and Schnucks fruit puree pouches that do not contain cinnamon and are not part of the recall have not shown elevated levels of lead. The agency said its leading hypothesis is now that the cinnamon used in the recalled pouches is the likely source of contamination, but the agency has not yet been able to collect and test samples of the cinnamon used in the recalled…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking action against e-cigarettes disguised to look like everyday items that appeal to young people. The FDA sent warning letters Thursday to seven online retailers that were selling unauthorized vape devices that look like drink containers, toys and phones. The products’ design could appeal to young people and help them conceal e-cigarettes from adults, FDA officials believe. They also might be confused with an everyday object by young children and accidentally ingested. “As we continue into the school year, it’s critical that parents, teachers and other adults are aware of illegal e-cigarettes deceptively packaged to look like everyday items,” Brian King, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in an agency news release. “These types of products can be easily concealed and contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm the developing adolescent brain.” The warning letters cover unauthorized products that are designed to imitate youth-appealing drinks like milk cartons, soda bottles, convenience store slushies and children’s sippy cups. Others are designed to look like dice, phones and action figures. E-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among both high school and middle school students for 10 years in a row, the FDA said. More than 2.1 million young people reported vaping in 2023.  There has been an encouraging decline in e-cigarette use among…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Nov. 13, 2023 — In an unexpected finding, new research suggests that antibodies arising from common food allergies may also raise risks for heart trouble. These IgE antibodies didn’t even have to be present in quantities high enough to produce an actual food allergy to have this unhealthy effect on the heart, noted a team from the University of Virginia Health (UVA) System, in Charlottesville. “What we looked at here was the presence of IgE antibodies to food that were detected in blood samples,” researcher Dr. Jeffrey Wilson said in a UVA news release. “We don’t think most of these subjects actually had overt food allergy, thus our story is more about an otherwise silent immune response to food.” “While these responses may not be strong enough to cause acute allergic reactions to food, they might nonetheless cause inflammation and over time lead to problems like heart disease,” said Wilson, an allergy and immunology expert at the UVA School of Medicine. All of this could mean trouble for a large swath of the population: According to the researchers, about 15% of adults produce IgE antibodies in response to cow’s milk, peanuts and other foods. Not everyone who produces the antibodies will have a symptomatic food allergy, however. In their research, Wilson’s team collected data on almost 5,400 participants involved in either a national U.S.…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Nov. 13, 2023 (Healthday News) — Two new gene-editing treatments that target dangerously high levels of cholesterol in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition were found safe and effective in new, groundbreaking research. While powerful drugs like statins can help manage cholesterol in most people, they can’t treat those who have genes that predispose them to heart troubles. But the duo of studies, presented Sunday at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Philadelphia, may one day change that. Both treatments will need years of additional research before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would even consider approving them, but that didn’t dampen the excitement among heart experts. “There is no way to categorize this other than revolutionary,” Dr. Hugh Cassiere, director for critical care services at South Shore University Hospital, Northwell Cardiovascular Institute, in New York, told NBC News. He was not involved with either study. One of the treatments, from Boston-based Verve Therapeutics, uses a gene-editing approach that targets the PCSK9 gene, making a tiny change to the gene. The effect is akin to a permanent eraser, deleting the gene’s ability to fuel a rise in cholesterol levels, Verve co-founder and CEO Dr. Sekar Kathiresan told NBC News. In theory, the one-time treatment should last a lifetime. “Instead of daily pills or intermittent injections over decades to lower bad cholesterol, this…  read on >  read on >

Cutting out just one teaspoon of salt every day lowers blood pressure almost as much as medication does, new research shows. Investigators said theirs is one of the largest studies ever to include people taking high blood pressure meds in a look at the effect of reducing dietary intake of sodium. “We found that 70-75% of all people, regardless of whether they are already on blood pressure medications or not, are likely to see a reduction in their blood pressure if they lower the sodium in their diet,” said study co-author Norrina Allen, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.   She said researchers previously didn’t know if people already on blood pressure meds could lower their blood pressure even more by reducing their sodium intake. In the study, middle-aged to elderly participants reduced their salt intake by about 1 teaspoon a day.  “The result was a decline in systolic blood pressure by about 6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), which is comparable to the effect produced by a commonly utilized first-line medication for high blood pressure,” said co-principal investigator Dr. Deepak Gupta, an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tenn.  Systolic blood pressure is the pressure in your arteries as your heart beats. It’s the first number in a blood pressure reading.…  read on >  read on >