Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Winter is no friend to the body’s delicate skin, but an expert offers three key tips: moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. “It’s pretty intuitive, but it bears repeating,” said dermatologist Dr. David Pearson, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, in Minneapolis. “The environment treats our skin differently in the winter, and that means we may have to change our behaviors to acclimate.” As temperatures and humidity levels drop, your skin loses moisture, Pearson explained in a university news release. This is especially true in a cold, dry state like Minnesota. To help hydrate winter skin, Pearson recommends a thick moisturizing cream that has to be scooped out of a jar or squeezed out of a tube, rather than something thin that comes through a pump. “I don’t like a lot of additives, perfumes, scents, etc. — keep it simple,” Pearson said. When skin dries out, its ability to protect you from external allergens and infections is compromised. “Ceramides may be helpful in restoring the skin barrier, so those can be a good ingredient to look for,” he added. Pearson said some data suggests that humidifiers may also help, but likely less so than moisturizer. When washing, use a gentle soap and keep up your summer sunscreen routine. Even if you’re bundled up, a fair amount of UV light is reflected from the snow,… read on > read on >

Wastewater research isn’t for the squeamish, but it can get to the bottom of questions about such things as the effectiveness of COVID-19 air travel restrictions. Tests of toilet tank water from flights entering the United Kingdom helped Welsh scientists determine that steps meant to keep the virus from traveling among countries appear to have failed. “Despite all the intervention measures that the U.K. had in place to try to stop people with the illness getting on flights to the U.K., almost every single plane we tested contained the virus, and most of the terminal sewers, too,” said researcher Davey Jones, a professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Bangor University in Wales. “That might have been because people developed symptoms after testing negative; or were evading the system, or for some other reason,” Jones said in a university news release. “But it showed that there was essentially a failure of border control in terms of COVID surveillance.” For their study, the researchers tested the toilet tank water taken from long- and short-haul flights entering Britain at three airports — Heathrow, Edinburgh and Bristol — between March 8 and March 31, 2022. They also collected samples from sewers connected to arrival halls in the airport terminals and from a nearby wastewater treatment plant. During those three weeks, almost all planes had SARS-CoV-2 in their… read on > read on >

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be an even bigger predictor of depression and anxiety in adulthood than autism is, a new study finds — highlighting the mental health side of the disorder. It’s known that kids and adults with ADHD often have co-existing conditions, including depression and anxiety. Research suggests that about 14% of children with ADHD have depression, while up to 30% have an anxiety disorder, according to the National Resource Center on ADHD. Adults with ADHD, meanwhile, are even harder-hit — with each of those conditions affecting up to half. The new study, researchers said, adds to what’s known by showing that ADHD is even more strongly linked to anxiety and depression than “autistic traits” are. Autism, which impairs communication and social skills, is itself tied to higher-than-normal rates of those mental health conditions. The findings spotlight the mental health component of ADHD, according to Richard Gallagher, an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Health in New York City, who reviewed the findings. “There’s a notion that people with ADHD have a ‘simple’ problem with paying attention,” he said. “They just need to learn to sit down and focus.” But like autism, ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and it can cause significant problems at school, work, home and in relationships, Gallagher said. “Over time, it can impact quality of life,”… read on > read on >

B vitamins. These powerhouse nutrients help your cells function at their best, protect your brain and heart, support your immune system and can even improve your mood and energy levels. This critical class of vitamins needs to be part of a healthy diet. According to Harvard Health, B vitamins help enzymes do their jobs, including releasing energy from carbohydrates and fat to breaking down amino acids and carrying oxygen and nutrients around the body. Two of the most essential ones are B6 and B12. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is found in many foods, but it is also added to foods and supplements. B6 is a coenzyme that helps more than 100 enzymes perform various functions, including the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, according to Harvard Health. Meanwhile, vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is found in meats and fish. It can also be added to foods or supplements. It’s needed to make red blood cells and DNA, and it also has a role in the function and development of brain and nerve cells. What is vitamin B6 good for B6 helps maintain normal levels of the amino acid homocysteine, high levels of which can cause heart problems. B6 also supports the immune system and keeps the brain healthy. A recent study published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental found that taking vitamin B6 supplements may even… read on > read on >

Some college athletes take longer to recover from a concussion, but a new study offers them some good news. They may still be able to return to play — after one extra month of recovery, researchers report Jan. 18 in the journal Neurology. “Although an athlete may experience a slow or delayed recovery, there is reason to believe recovery is achievable with additional time and injury management,” said study author Dr. Thomas McAllister, from Indiana University School of Medicine. “This is an encouraging message that may help to relieve some of the discouragement that athletes can feel when trying to return to their sport. While some athletes took longer than 24 days to return to play, we found that three-quarters of them were able to return to sports if given just one more month to recover,” McAllister said in a journal news release. The study included 1,751 college varsity athletes who had concussions diagnosed by their team physician. About 63% of the athletes were men who primarily played football, soccer or basketball. The women primarily played soccer, volleyball or basketball. Participants were evaluated multiple times: within six hours of their injury; one or two days later; after being free of symptoms; after being cleared to return to play, and at six months. The athletes reported their symptoms daily for up to 14 days to medical… read on > read on >

While childhood obesity gets a lot of attention, some kids struggle with the opposite issue — they have trouble gaining weight. So, how can parents know if their child is “too skinny?” While the best resource is likely a child’s pediatrician, experts have also weighed in on the topic. “Underlying health conditions can result in children and adolescents being underweight. Additionally, underweight can indicate malnutrition,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a recent study about the prevalence of underweight kids in the United States. Just over 4% of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 were underweight in the United States in 2018, according to the study. To help figure out if your child is too skinny, here’s what to know. Children are considered underweight when their body mass index (BMI) is below the 5th percentile for their age and gender on growth charts, according to the CDC study. If a child is underweight, the pediatrician may ask more about medical history or could order testing to check for undiscovered health issues, Dr. Gary Kirkilas, a general pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, explained in a recent American Academy of Pediatrics article. “Children below the 5th percentile could have a nutritional shortfall — either not taking in enough calories or burning up more calories than they are getting, or both,” Kirkilas said.… read on > read on >

The key to losing weight sounds simple — eat less. Regardless of the diet you follow, dropping the pounds means burning more calories than you eat. That begs the question, how many calories should I eat to lose weight? According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, for most people, cutting about 500 calories a day is a good place to start. If you can eat 500 fewer calories every day, you should lose about a pound a week. Another easy way to figure out how many calories you should eat is to multiply your weight by 15, Harvard Health advises. That number will give you the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. To lose weight, simply cut that number. But counting calories isn’t enough, says Samantha Heller, a nutritionist at NYU Langone Health in New York City. “Everyone wants a quick fix, but weight loss is not an overnight proposition. We do not gain weight nor will we lose weight quickly,” she said. “If you want to lose 10 pounds, one important tool is keeping a food diary,” Heller said. Keep track of everything you eat for five to seven days. Then review your food record. See where you can cut back on sweets, snacks, large portions and alcohol. Let those discoveries help you make a plan for losing weight.… read on > read on >

Not all prescription drugs and dietary herbal supplements work well together. It’s important to be aware of possible drug/supplement interactions that could be harmful, according to the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a part of the National Institutes of Health. The organization offered tips on six potential issues. The supplement St. John’s wort interacts with many types of drugs, according to the NCCIH. Most often, it speeds up the processes that would change the drug into an inactive substance, meaning a person taking a certain medication would have less of that drug in the body. It can also interact with certain types of antidepressants, causing harmful side effects. Concentrated garlic extracts can thin the blood. That’s similar to what aspirin does. It can be a problem during or after surgery. Another type of supplement, concentrated green tea, can interact with the decongestant pseudoephedrine. The herb goldenseal has a high herb-drug interaction risk with some medicines, according to recent research. Some medications have what’s known as a narrow therapeutic index, meaning that if the drug amount is too low or too high, it can be problematic. Some drugs with a narrow therapeutic index include digoxin, cyclosporine and warfarin. Patients taking herbal supplements such as Asian ginseng or St. John’s wort, along with a medicine with a narrow therapeutic index, should be closely… read on > read on >

Meditation might help a person’s gut health — but it takes a lot of meditation over a long time. Tibetan Buddhist monks appear to have gut microbes that differ substantially from others living near them, a new study reports. Those differences have previously been linked to a lower risk of anxiety, depression and heart disease, according to the study authors. The findings suggest that regular deep meditation practiced for a number of years appears to regulate the gut microbiome and improve health, the researchers said. The report was published online Jan. 16 in the journal General Psychiatry. Meditation is more frequently being used to help treat mental health problems like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, traumatic stress and eating disorders. It can also help a person deal with chronic pain. To see whether meditation has a deeper effect on human health, the investigators analyzed stool and blood samples from 37 Buddhist monks from three Tibetan temples, as well as 19 people living nearby. These monks use a form of meditation derived from the ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda. They have been practicing this meditation at least two hours a day for between three and 30 years, the researchers noted. Stool sample analysis revealed that the monks’ guts were significantly enriched with a number of bacterial strains. “Collectively, several bacteria enriched in the meditation group… read on > read on >

It’s no secret: The standard American diet is at the root of the obesity epidemic and many of its associated diseases. But why is American food so unhealthy? It’s not just that Americans eat too much, which they do, but it’s also what they eat that’s unhealthy: fat, sugar, salt and ultra-processed foods. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the average American diet consists of excess salt, saturated fat, refined grains, calories from solid fats and added sugars. Americans also eat fewer vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy products and oils than recommended. Nearly 42% of American adults are obese, statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. One reason may be that healthy foods are often more expensive than packaged foods. Packaged foods tend to have higher amounts of salt, refined grains, sugar and unhealthy oils not recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The CDC notes that high blood pressure and high cholesterol caused by consuming too much salt are the leading causes of heart disease and stroke. Current guidelines recommend getting less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of salt a day, but most Americans consume more than 3,400 mg a day, on average. The culprit? More than 70% of the salt that Americans eat comes from packaged, processed, store-bought and restaurant foods, the CDC says. “Ultra-processed foods are designed to… read on > read on >