Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Ayahuasca, a powerful psychoactive drug derived from a South American plant, is a traditional Amazonian-based medicine and an increasingly popular hallucinogenic brew used by devotees worldwide. But what is the ayahuasca experience really like? An international survey of thousands of men and women who have tried the drug for religious, therapeutic or recreational purposes provides some clues. On the downside, the vast majority said the drug induced some significant side effects, ranging from nausea and vomiting to the onset of nightmares, disturbing thoughts and a feeling of disconnection. On the upside, however, only a very small minority said they needed medical care to handle their physical discomfort. And among those reporting psychological disturbances, nearly 9 in 10 said they were just part of an experience they considered beneficial. “Ayahuasca has seen rapid growth in popularity over the last 15 years, via Western tourists heading to South America, and underground facilitated ceremonies being offered in alternative healing and spirituality settings in Western countries,” said study author Daniel Perkins, an associate professor and senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia. “However, it remains fairly niche.” Generally, ayahuasca is a brownish-red drink with a strong taste and smell. The active drug it contains is considered a Schedule 1 drug in the United States, like heroin, and therefore illegal. In most cases, Perkins said, it’s taken… read on > read on >

Regular aerobic exercise improves blood flow to the brain, which should help keep seniors sharper as they age, a new trial has revealed. At least a half-hour of power walking or jogging four to five times a week promoted better blood flow in and out of the brain among a small group of older adults, said study co-author Rong Zhang. He directs the cerebrovascular laboratory at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. “The intensity was like if you’re rushing to a meeting where you are 10 minutes late,” Zhang said. “You’re brisk walking, and you feel a shortness of breath.” The brain requires about 20% of the body’s total blood flow to maintain its function as an organ, he said. But as people age, blood starts to flow less freely in and out of the brain, a condition called cerebrovascular impedence. Less blood flow means the brain is receiving lower levels of oxygen and nutrients, Zhang said. It also means that toxins could build up in the brain, since reduced blood flow is less able to carry away waste products generated by the brain’s high metabolism. To see whether regular exercise could help people maintain healthy blood flow to their brain, Zhang and his colleagues recruited 72 people between the ages of 60… read on > read on >

Babies born via cesarean section may not mount as strong an immune response after some childhood vaccines compared to babies delivered vaginally, researchers suggest. Antibody levels can be checked in blood or saliva, and babies born vaginally had higher levels of antibodies in their saliva to pneumonia shots at one year and meningococcal shots at 18 months, a new study showed. But the study authors are quick to caution that their findings are not a reason to skip recommended childhood vaccinations. “Vaccines are one of the best ways that you can protect your child against disease,” said study author Debby Bogaert, a clinical fellow and honorary consultant in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. “Although we observed differences in how the two different groups of babies responded to the vaccines, there was still enough of an immune response in both groups to provide protection against infection.” The findings also can’t be inferred to say whether babies born via C-section are more likely to develop other infections such as COVID-19, flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), all of which are circulating now. “Our research only focused on vaccines that are currently given in early childhood that protect against certain lung infections and meningitis,” Bogaert said. The study took place in the Netherlands, where vaccine schedules and recommendations differ from the United States.… read on > read on >

Americans aged 25 to 44 — so-called millennials — are dying at significantly higher rates from three leading killers than similarly aged people just 10 years ago, the latest government data shows. Looking at data collected between 2000 and 2020, the new report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) finds the biggest jump in deaths from injuries, heart disease and suicide occurred after 2019, when the pandemic began. Death rates among millennials for “unintentional injuries” — which would include drug overdoses, fatal accidents and homicides — “experienced the greatest annual increases from 2019 to 2020,” the new report found. As usual, race mattered: Between 2019 and 2020, Black Americans experienced a 47% rise in deaths from unintentional injuries; Hispanic Americans charted a 30% uptick; while white Americans saw a lower (but still significant) 23% rise in these fatalities. Death rates for the number two killer, heart disease, also shot up sharply among millennials, rising about 15% overall between 2019 and 2020, regardless of ethnicity or race. For suicides — the third leading killer of people aged 25 to 44 — rates rose sharply during the past few years among Black and Hispanic Americans, but not white people, the report found. Both Black and Hispanic Americans had seen a long period of relative “stability” in suicide rates since 2000, the researchers noted. However,… read on > read on >

One in 5 privately insured American adults hospitalized for a traumatic injury end up with medical bills they can’t pay, a new study finds. Among more than 3,100 working-aged insured adults who suffered a traumatic injury, the risk of incurring co-pays and deductibles they couldn’t afford was 23% higher than among similar adults without traumatic injuries. These patients were also more likely to be hounded by collection agencies, the study showed. “The amount of medical debt in America is $88 billion, and this is on top of what patients are already paying, so this is what they can’t pay,” said lead researcher Dr. John Scott. He is an assistant professor of surgery and a member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “And we accept this system where there’s nearly $100 billion of excess debt on the backs of the sick and the injured, who are unable to pay — that’s just the normal everyday America that we live in,” Scott said. On average, those with outstanding bills owed more than $6,000 and had a 110% higher bankruptcy rate compared to uninjured patients. For the study, Scott’s team used Blue Cross Blue Shield and credit report data. The study doesn’t reveal patients’ credit scores or how much debt they had before getting hurt, so researchers can’t… read on > read on >

Comedian Jay Leno, former host of “The Tonight Show” and an avid car collector, suffered burn injuries when one of his cars burst into flames last weekend. Leno, 72, is recovering at the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, where he is in stable condition and being treated for “burns that he received to his face and hands from a gasoline accident in his garage over the weekend,” hospital spokeswoman Aimee Bennett said in a statement, CNN reported. “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet,” Leno told Variety, according to CNN. Leno had been expected to perform at The Financial Brand Forum conference in Las Vegas on Sunday, an opening night event for attendees who purchased a gold pass. “His family was not able to provide us very many details, but there was a very serious medical emergency that is preventing Jay from traveling,” read an email sent to conference attendees. “All we know is that he is alive, so our prayers go out to him and his family tonight.” Leno had been working on one of his cars at the time of the accident, CNN reported. “He is in good humor and is touched by all the inquiries into his condition and well wishes,” Bennett said. “He… read on > read on >

Patients with advanced ankle osteoarthritis have two surgical options to restore their quality of life, and the good news is a new study shows both have good outcomes. Deciding which one is better depends on the patient. “Our aim in this trial was to provide the data that patients need to make informed decisions about these operations,” said study author Andrew Goldberg, a consultant orthopedic surgeon for University College London (UCL). “We’ve clearly shown that both joint replacement and fusion provide significant patient benefits. We also found that the type of joint replacement seems to have an effect, but this needs further research,” he added in a university news release. The study compared total ankle joint replacement with ankle fusion, a procedure where the ankle joint is pinned to prevent movement. The trial included 280 patients aged 50 to 85 who underwent procedures meant to relieve pain caused by advanced osteoarthritis. Half had total ankle replacement, while the other half had ankle fusion surgery. The researchers compared the two procedures, finding that both significantly improved patients’ quality of life. Patients were assessed before their operation and 12 months after surgery. The investigators then also looked at the type of total ankle replacement most used in the United Kingdom. Compared to ankle fusion, they found significant improvement in clinical scores and quality of life with this… read on > read on >

COVID-19 swept across the world far more effectively than previously thought, with a stunning number of cases left unreported as recently as the summer of 2021, a new World Health Organization (WHO) study says. About 3 out of every 5 human beings carried antibodies against COVID-19 in their bloodstream as of September 2021, according to a review of millions of virus blood tests. That translates to 10.5 actual COVID infections for each case reported between June and September of 2021, researchers estimate. In other words, public health officials found out about only 9.5% of all COVID cases during that period, the study says. “Particularly in the beginning as COVID struck, there was a great reluctance for people to attribute illnesses to COVID,” said Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the Bethesda, Md.-based National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “There was a great sense at the time that the reported cases were exaggerated. Actually, they were vastly underreported.” The global scale of COVID-19 infections has remained a mystery, researchers noted. More than 1 million are dead from COVID in the United States and more than 6.5 million worldwide, but no one can say exactly how many people have been infected by the novel coronavirus. “This virus can produce a lot of infections without symptoms or mild symptoms,” said Schaffner, who was not part of the study. “Indeed,… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Nov. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Too little of the “sunshine vitamin” — vitamin D — in Black Americans could raise their odds of developing diabetes, new research suggests. Two new studies found an association between levels of vitamin D in the blood and insulin resistance, a precursor to full-blown diabetes. It’s been long known that low blood levels of vitamin D “are associated with an increased risk of diabetes in white populations, but our research strongly suggests that this relationship also holds true for African Americans,” said Amaris Williams, a co-author on both studies and a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Ohio State University. In their new investigations, the researchers looked at data from two major heart-health studies, each of which tested patients’ blood for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the biological “precursor” of active vitamin D. It’s a common clinical measure for assessing whether or not an individual has levels of vitamin D needed for good health. Researchers examined vitamin D levels in the blood collected from more than 3,300 Black participants in the Jackson Heart Study between 2000 and 2004. Over a median of 7.7 years, 584 developed diabetes. They also examined more than 5,600 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study, none of whom had diabetes at the study’s outset. This group included a range… read on > read on >

A new study harnesses the power of mindfulness to help overanxious people calm themselves — and the benefit may equal the use of an antidepressant, according to researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Olga Cannistraro said practicing mindfulness certainly helped her. “There was something excessive about the way I responded to my environment,” she explained. Cannistraro, now 52, decided to join a study on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for anxiety disorders 10 years ago. The study was led by Dr. Elizabeth Hoge, who directs the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at Georgetown. MBSR “gave me the tools to spy on myself,” Cannistraro explained in a center news release. “Once you have awareness of an anxious reaction, then you can make a choice for how to deal with it. It’s not like a magic cure, but it was a lifelong kind of training. Instead of my anxiety progressing, it went in the other direction and I’m very grateful for that.” The latest study by Hoge’s team seems to confirm those earlier, positive results. Published Nov. 9 in JAMA Psychiatry, the study recruited 276 people with anxiety disorder who were seeking treatment at hospitals in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. All were offered either the SSRI antidepressant escitalopram (brand name Lexapro, commonly used to treat anxiety) or eight weeks of MBSR. The mindfulness… read on > read on >