Tick bites can cause crippling infections like Lyme disease in humans, but new research suggests they can also trigger a serious meat allergy in far more Americans than thought. Called alpha-gal syndrome, the condition may affect hundreds of thousands of Americans, U.S. health officials announced Thursday, but many doctors are not familiar with the condition, or how to diagnose or treat it. According to one of two studies from researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 110,000 suspected cases of alpha-gal syndrome reported between 2010 and 2022. But because diagnosis requires a diagnostic test and a clinical exam, many people may not get tested. On that basis, the CDC researchers estimated that as many as 450,000 Americans might be affected. In that study, researchers looked at lab results from 2017 to 2022 from a laboratory that, until August 2021, was the primary commercial lab offering such testing in the United States. More than 300,000 samples were tested, and more than 30% showed AGS infection. “Alpha-gal syndrome is an important emerging public health problem, with potentially severe health impacts that can last a lifetime for some patients,” CDC researcher Dr. Ann Carpenter said in an agency news release. “It’s critical for clinicians to be aware of AGS so they can properly evaluate, diagnose and manage their patients, and also…  read on >  read on >

People looking to stay mentally sharp as they age might want to swap out margarine for olive oil, a preliminary study suggests. The study, of more than 90,000 U.S. health professionals, found that olive oil lovers were less likely to die of dementia over the next three decades. Compared with their counterparts who rarely used olive oil, those who consumed more than a half-tablespoon a day were 28% less likely to die of dementia. Based on the researchers’ estimates, a small diet change could make a significant difference: Trading in one daily teaspoon of margarine for the same amount of olive oil might trim the risk of death from dementia by up to 14%. The findings were being presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, in Boston. They’re considered preliminary because they have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. And, experts said, studies like this can only show correlations — and not proof that olive oil protects the aging brain. “That said, omega-3 fatty acids are known to provide anti-inflammatory benefits, and olive oil is a good source of omega-3s,” said Connie Diekman, a St. Louis-based nutrition consultant who was not involved in the study. Inflammation is believed to be involved in the dementia process, and that’s one plausible way that regularly eating olive oil could be beneficial, according…  read on >  read on >

You’ve likely heard that “you are what you eat,” but a new study suggests what you eat also has something to do with who you are — genetically speaking. Researchers have identified nearly 500 genes that appear to directly influence what someone eats. These insights could help improve personalized nutrition to boost health or prevent disease, they said. “Some genes we identified are related to sensory pathways — including those for taste, smell and texture — and may also increase the reward response in the brain,” said research team leader Joanne Cole. She is an assistant professor in the biomedical informatics department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Because some of these genes may have clear paths toward influencing whether someone likes a food or not, they could potentially be used to create sensory genetic profiles for fine-tuning a person’s dietary recommendations based on foods they like to eat,” Cole added in a news release from the American Society for Nutrition. For the study, the researchers used data from the UK Biobank, which has information from 500,000 people, to do a phenome-wide association study. That enabled them to identify genes more strongly associated with diet than with any health or lifestyle factor. “The foods we choose to eat are largely influenced by environmental factors such as our culture, socioeconomic status and food accessibility,”…  read on >  read on >

When it comes to pregnancy and caffeinated drinks, less is best, says an expert, warning women to avoid energy drinks in particular. “Energy drinks contain varying amounts of caffeine, so check nutrition labels to understand how much caffeine and other ingredients they contain,” Dr. David Nelson said in a news release from University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He’s division chief of maternal-fetal medicine. The caffeine content of energy drinks can range from 50 mg to 500 mg in 8-ounce to 24-ounce cans and bottles, Nelson noted. During pregnancy or while attempting to become pregnant, U.S. guidelines recommend that women consume less than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day. That level does not appear to be associated with miscarriage or preterm birth, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. However, the relationship between caffeine consumption and fetal-growth restriction remains uncertain. A full-strength, 8-ounce cup of coffee contains just under 100 mg of caffeine. A 12-ounce Coke has about 34 mg of caffeine. Diet Coke has 46 mg of caffeine. A regular Mountain Dew has 54 mg. The small, 2-fluid-ounce energy shots have about 200 mg of caffeine. U.S. regulations on content labeling and health warnings for energy drinks are among the most lax, according to UT Southwestern. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate energy drinks. The impact of…  read on >  read on >

A new study offers strong evidence that eating fish or supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids supports lung health. The finding underscores the importance of including fish and other sources of omega-3s in the diet, researchers say. Many Americans aren’t meeting recommended guidelines, they noted. “We know a lot about the role of diet in cancer and cardiovascular diseases, but the role of diet in chronic lung disease is somewhat understudied,” said co-author Patricia Cassano, director of the division of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. “This study adds to growing evidence that omega-3 fatty acids, which are part of a healthy diet, may be important for lung health, too,” Cassano said in a news release from the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which supported the study. Past studies have suggested that omega-3 fatty acids may help maintain lung health because of their established anti-inflammatory action. To better understand this, researchers developed a two-part study. The first part was an observational study that included more than 15,000 Americans from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Pooled Cohorts Study. This large collection of NIH studies helps researchers examine determinants of personalized risk for chronic lung disease, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Participants were generally healthy and without evidence of chronic lung disease when the study began. The researchers followed participants for…  read on >  read on >

Every day, millions of people must take one or more pills to control their blood pressure and reduce their risk for heart attack or stroke, but if new research pans out, some may be able to scrap their pills for a twice-yearly shot with the same benefits. Given as a shot every six months, zilebesiran suppresses the gene that produces a hormone called angiotensin that causes blood vessels to contract. This contraction causes blood pressure to rise. The new shot isn’t ready for prime time yet, but phase 2 trials are underway. “This approach offers the potential for sustained reduction in blood pressure that may obviate the need for daily pills in select patients and may help overcome some of the challenges with adherence that compromise our ability to effectively treat high blood pressure,” said lead author Dr. Akshay Suvas Desai, medical director of the Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Many people with high blood pressure miss or skip pills because they are overwhelmed and don’t necessarily feel sick, among other reasons. For the study, 107 people with high blood pressure received either varying doses of zilebesiran as a shot, or a placebo injection, and were then followed for 24 weeks. The researchers also looked at the effect of the 800-mg dose of zilebesiran on blood pressure when…  read on >  read on >