Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Stricter U.S. government standards for drinking water have reduced arsenic violations by public water systems, proving such safety regulations work, researchers say. Public water systems provide more than 80% of the nation’s drinking water. The new standard was introduced in 2001. Since then, the percentage of public water systems in violation fell from 1.3% in 2008 to 0.55% in 2017, researchers found. A few counties in California and Texas accounted for most of the violations. With fewer violations, the number of people drinking water with higher-than-allowed levels of arsenic fell by more than 1 million, to about 450,000, according to the study published Sept. 10 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. “This reinforces the point that safety regulations do work, especially when they come with a carrot-and-stick approach, like increasing resources for systems to comply and giving them flexibility to choose what works best for their community,” said corresponding author Molly Kile. She is an associate professor at the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Arsenic is categorized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 human carcinogen. That’s the most dangerous category and also includes asbestos, formaldehyde and mustard gas. In water, arsenic is tasteless, odorless and colorless. Long-term ingestion increases the risk of lung, bladder, liver, kidney and skin cancer. Arsenic… read on >

There are gaps in immunity against mumps among college-aged Americans who were vaccinated in childhood, researchers say. New findings show the need to learn more about the immune system response to mumps and mumps vaccination. Mumps is a highly contagious viral disease that can spread rapidly among people in close living quarters, such as college students and sports teams. In the last 15 years, several outbreaks have occurred across the United States. Outbreaks have recently been reported in U.S. migrant detention facilities. “Overall, the MMR [measles, mumps, rubella] vaccine has been great, with a 99% reduction in measles, mumps and rubella disease, and a significant reduction in associated complications since its introduction,” said Dr. Sri Edupuganti. She is an associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta. “What we’re seeing now with these mumps outbreaks is a combination of two things — a few people were not making a strong immune response to begin with, and the circulating strain has drifted away from the strain that is in the vaccine,” she explained in a university news release. The study, by researchers at Emory and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), included 71 people, aged 18 to 23, in the Atlanta area. Nearly all (69) had received two MMR doses, but 80% received their second dose more than a… read on >

The widely held belief that people with dark skin don’t need to use sunscreen is a potentially deadly myth, an expert warns. “There’s a common colloquial phrase, ‘black don’t crack’ — meaning your skin will always be good. You won’t get wrinkles and you don’t need sunscreen if you have melanin-rich skin,” said Dr. Jenna Lester, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). But there’s no truth to that, she added. Too much sun can cause common problems in people with dark skin, such as hyperpigmentation and melasma (dark spots), and dark skin doesn’t protect against the ultraviolet rays of the sun that can cause skin cancer. Believing otherwise can be fatal, she explained. “Melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, is less common among people of color, but they have a much higher rate of dying from it,” Lester said. “That has to do with this misinformation about darker skin. They may not even know skin cancer is a possibility,” she noted in a university news release. An example of the risk is music legend Bob Marley, who was only 36 when he died from an aggressive form of melanoma that mainly affects people of color. Black Americans have the lowest survival rates for melanoma of any racial group in the United States. This is because in blacks, melanoma is… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Your kids had a good summer. You were able to get them away from the TV and outside to play for lots of exercise. But now, they’re back to school and you want them to keep off the pounds. The Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati says lunches provided by many schools are loaded with fat. Packing a lunch for your kids is a healthy alternative, so you can control the amount of food. And include fruit and low-fat snacks, instead of potato chips. The medical center warns that after-school snacks can be full of fat. Yogurt and fruit are good choices for those times.

Tamping down inflammation is a must for people with a chronic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. But you can be exposed to damaging inflammation without having a specific medical condition. Inflammation prevents the body from adequately reacting to stressors and puts the aging process on an unwanted fast track, increasing the likelihood of problems like heart disease. The negative effects of inflammation can be so significant that leading researchers from the University of Bologna in Italy coined the phrase inflamm-aging. So making anti-inflammation lifestyle choices is good for everyone. How to Avoid Inflamm-aging Eat a heart-healthy diet focusing on foods like fatty fish, fruits and vegetables. Keep in mind that sugar is highly inflammatory. Get active with moderate cardio exercise. Remember: Good health guidelines call for 30 minutes a day on at least five days per week. Lose excess weight, especially if you’re carrying those pounds around your middle. Avoid exposure to all forms of secondhand smoke, and of course, if you smoke, quit. Limit alcohol to one drink per day if you’re a woman, two if you’re a man. Clock seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Some people need more, others need less, but this is the sweet spot between not enough and too much. Manage stress. Stress is often unavoidable, but you can minimize its effects with techniques like… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Broken bones and injured tendons or ligaments can cause significant pain. Casts and splints are designed to help relieve this pain by limiting movement, says the American Academy of Family Physicians. To care for your cast properly, the AAFP offers these suggestions: Cover your cast with a plastic bag when bathing and showering. Ask your doctor for safe methods to relieve any itchy skin. Keep the area around the edge of your cast clean and moisturized. Wiggle your fingers or toes to help with circulation. Apply a covered ice pack for 15 to 30 minutes over a cast or splint. Ask your doctor whether you can take over-the-counter pain medicine.

(HealthDay News) — A herniated disc is a spinal injury that can be caused by excessive strain, says the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Symptoms of a herniated disc can range from a soft back ache to extreme pain or numbness. After diagnosis, doctors usually recommend that patients maintain a low, painless activity level for a few days or weeks. For mild-to-moderate pain, patients can use anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy. Physical therapy may entail ice and heat therapy, electrical muscle stimulation and stretching exercises. For a herniated diss that causes severe pain, a doctor may recommend surgery.

(HealthDay News) — From a car accident to a sports mishap, any incident that snaps the head forward and backward can trigger whiplash. Hallmarks of whiplash include pain, decreased range of motion and stiff neck. Because the injury can’t always be seen in imaging tests, symptoms are the primary way to identify whiplash, says Cleveland Clinic. To treat whiplash, you can perform stretching exercises three-to-four times a day. Cleveland Clinic suggests that you rotate the neck from side to side, tilt the head from side to side, move the neck forward toward the chest and backward, and roll the shoulders in circles. Cleveland Clinic also recommends applying ice to the area to loosen tight muscles. If there’s significant pain, visit a doctor.