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Could a blood pressure or diabetes medicine make COVID-19 more severe? A proposed new theory says the coronavirus could be binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors in the lower respiratory tracts. Commonly used drugs ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), often used to control heart failure and blood pressure, can increase the number of ACE2 receptors in the body — making these patients more susceptible to severe COVID-19. Dr. James Diaz, a professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Public Health in New Orleans, warned of the possible risk in a letter to the editor published online March 24 in the Journal of Travel Medicine, based on an analysis of nearly 1,100 COVID-19 patients by Chinese researchers. That analysis found COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease often required treatment in an intensive care unit, were placed on ventilators or died. Diaz wrote these patients all had conditions that probably were treated with ACE inhibitors or ARBs and called for studies to see if these drugs were at least partially responsible for the severe outcomes. Diaz said the Chinese researchers did not include information on whether the patients studied were taking these drugs. However, cardiologists like Dr. David Kass, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, are urging that “people who take… 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 >

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 >

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 >

If you are feeling the aches and pains of what you think is the flu, a trendy diet may be the culprit instead, a new study confirms. Researchers took a dive into what’s become known as “keto flu” — the fatigue, headache, nausea and mental fog that some people develop soon after starting a ketogenic diet. The keto diet, which is loaded with fat and skimpy on carbs, has become a popular way to lose weight. By depriving the body of carbs — its main source of fuel — the diet pushes it to burn fat instead. The tactic “undeniably works” in spurring quick weight loss, said Ginger Hultin, a Seattle-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. At the same time, though, it can leave people feeling miserable, at least in the first few weeks. That so-called keto flu has been recognized for some time, and it’s thought to be the result of the radical dietary change. Keto plans typically recommend getting 70% to 80% of calories from fat, 10% to 20% from protein, and a mere 5% to 10% from carbs. “You’re asking your body to shift into a completely different metabolic state,” Hultin explained. For the new study, researchers looked to online forums to see what keto dieters had to say about their short-term side effects. First, they… 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 >

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 >

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 >

Starting the day with a big breakfast and keeping dinner light may help you burn more calories and keep you trimmer, new research suggests. Eating this way may also keep your blood sugar levels from going too high, the small study found. “Extensive breakfasting should be preferred over large dinner meals,” said study lead author Juliane Richter, of the University of Lubeck’s Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism in Germany. “This recommendation can be applied to healthy people to prevent metabolic diseases [such as diabetes], as well as to patients with overweight and obesity to reduce body weight,” she added. How could eating breakfast improve your weight and blood sugar levels? Richter said the reason isn’t clear yet and more study is needed. But it appears that digestion and metabolism keep pace with the body’s internal clock, she said. Another reason may be that if you don’t eat enough earlier, you’ll be more hungry throughout the day, Richter said. That could lead to overeating, or to eating the wrong kinds of foods later in the day. She also noted more calories are burned in the morning, so it just makes sense to eat more when calorie-burning is at its peak. But not everyone is convinced that a big breakfast is a must. Samantha Heller, a dietitian with NYU Langone Health in New York City, reviewed… read on >