Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Skip artificial sweeteners if you’re trying to lose weight, warns the World Health Organization (WHO), noting the sugar substitutes aren’t effective for shedding pounds and may also cause harm. Long-term use of sugar substitutes may cause “potential undesirable effects,” according to new WHO guidance. This can include an “increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in adults,” CBS News reported. Consuming foods and beverages with ingredients like saccharin or sucralose or adding them to foods “does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children,” the WHO said after completing a systematic review. Among the artificial sweeteners WHO officials considered were acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives, according to the news report. “People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” said Francesco Branca, WHO director for nutrition and food safety. Artificial sweeteners “are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health,” Branca added. These recommendations do not apply to people who already have diabetes, according to the review. That group was not included in the review. This isn’t the only time these artificial sweeteners have raised… read on > read on >

Black and Hispanic communities in the United States are more often poor — and also more likely to have harmful levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their drinking water, a new study reveals. Sources of PFAS pollution — including major manufacturers, airports, military bases, wastewater treatment plants and landfills — are disproportionately sited near watersheds that serve these poorer communities, Harvard researchers found. “Our work suggests that the sociodemographic groups that are often stressed by other factors — including marginalization, racism and poverty — are also more highly exposed to PFAS in drinking water,” said study co-author Jahred Liddie. He is a PhD student in population health sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston. “Environmental justice is a major emphasis of the current administration, and this work shows it should be considered in the upcoming regulations for PFAS in drinking water,” Liddie said in a school news release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a first-ever national drinking water regulation for six PFAS, expected to be finalized by late 2023. That regulation would establish maximum contaminant levels of two PFAS compounds — PFOA and PFOS — at 4 parts per trillion (4 ng/L). It would also limit the other four. PFAS are widely used because they have stain-resistant and water-resistant properties. But they have extreme persistence in… read on > read on >

(HealthDay News) – Baby equipment is costly, so many parents buy it used, but they’re not always sure whether it’s still safe, a nationwide poll reveals. About half of the 932 parents surveyed in February said they had used pre-owned equipment for their baby, most often cribs and high chairs, according to a University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital poll released May 15. Yet, 2 in 3 said it was hard to tell if the equipment was safe. “Used child essentials are often more cost-effective, environmentally friendly and convenient,” said poll co-director Sarah Clark. “However, many parents in our poll weren’t completely confident they could identify safety concerns, such as unsafe wear and tear, recalls or hygiene issues.” About half said they were only comfortable with used equipment from family or close friends. A little less than half were also OK with items bought at resale shops and yard sales. Outdoor play structures, strollers, playpens and bath seats were among other items most often purchase. Parents were least likely to report using secondhand infant car seats or booster seats. “Regardless of whether they receive the item from someone they know well or from a garage sale, parents should take diligent steps to make sure the equipment meets current safety standards and is safe for their child,” Clark said in a university news release.… read on > read on >

It’s important to understand your bone health to avoid damage as you age. Losses of bone mineral density and bone mass can cause weakening, potentially leading to a fracture, especially in the hip, spine and wrist. Osteoporosis is considered a silent disease because it often has no symptoms until someone breaks a bone in an unusual way, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. “Breaking a bone after falling while in a standing position could be a sign of osteoporosis,” endocrinologist Dr. Jessica Starr said in a hospital news release. “Any fracture should prompt a discussion of bone health with one’s doctor.” Chances of that happening go up with age. Before osteoporosis comes osteopenia, a less-serious loss of bone density. This affects more than half of adults ages 50 and up in the United States. Women are at greater risk. Bones are living tissue affected by hormones and whether someone gets enough vitamins and minerals. People have peak bone mass at puberty and it continues into the 20s and the 30s, when the body constantly creates new bone. Menopause often brings on a loss in bone density. A bone density test can diagnose osteopenia and osteoporosis. It’s an X-ray that provides information about bone strength and fracture risk. Healthy women should have an initial bone density screening at age 65. Men… read on > read on >

Older Americans are dying of falls at more than double the rate of 20 years ago — with women, men and all racial groups showing increases, according to a new study. In 2020, the study found, just over 36,500 Americans age 65 and up died of a fall-related injury. That was up from roughly 10,100 deaths in 1999. Adjusted for age, those numbers translated into a more than twofold increase in the rate of fall-related deaths among older Americans: from 29 per 100,000 in 1999, to 69 per 100,000 in 2020. It’s well known that falls are the leading cause of injury death among older Americans, and that the problem is growing. The new findings underscore that, and show that no demographic is unaffected, according to researcher Alexis Santos-Lozada, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University. He found that fall-related death rates more than doubled among both women and men. Among racial and ethnic groups, white older adults had the highest death rate from falls, and the biggest increase — reaching 78 deaths per 100,000 in 2020. But death rates also rose among Black seniors, Hispanic seniors, Asian seniors and Native American seniors alike. “For every group, it’s going in the same direction,” Santos-Lozada said. “That’s concerning.” Yet, he added, “fall prevention is not something we talk about a… read on > read on >

Severely obese people may need more frequent COVID-19 booster shots to keep their immunity going, new research suggests. Protection from the shots declines more rapidly in those who are severely obese compared to those at a normal weight, according to scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. “Because of the high prevalence of obesity across the globe, this poses a major challenge for health services,” study co-author Sadaf Farooqi said in a Cambridge news release. She is from the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science at Cambridge. Past research has shown that COVID vaccination has been highly effective at reducing symptoms, hospitalization and death, including for people with obesity. Yet antibody levels may be lower in vaccinated obese people, potentially putting them at higher risk of severe disease and death, the researchers noted. To study this, a team from the University of Edinburgh, led by Aziz Sheikh, assessed data tracking the health of 3.5 million Scottish people as part of the EAVE II study. Specifically, they looked at hospitalization and death from COVID-19 in adults who received two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine or the AstraZeneca vaccine. (The AstraZeneca vaccine is not offered in the United States.) Those with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 — considered extreme obesity — had a 76% higher risk of severe… read on > read on >

Months before U.S. health officials warned that tainted eye drops were causing vision loss and even death, a Cleveland woman lost the sight in her eye in a case that puzzled her doctors. The 72-year-old went to an outpatient eye clinic last November complaining of blurry vision. She was sent to a hospital emergency department from there. Ophthalmologists evaluated her eye, cultured the infection and sent the woman home with a combination of strong antibiotic eye drops. But the next day her eye was worse, and she saw yellow discharge on her pillow. This time she saw a cornea specialist, and eventually she was referred to microbiologists and infectious disease experts. “We wondered if she’d accidentally touched something, or there was some freak accident,” said lead study author Dr. Morgan Morelli, an infectious disease fellow at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “It required a lot of thinking and digging to figure out what was going on,” Morelli said. “And we never thought it was related to a global manufacturing issue,” she added in a news release from the American Society for Microbiology. But that was the cause — tainted EzriCare Artificial Tears. Eye infections linked to the contaminated artificial tears have caused devastating infections for U.S. patients, leading to a warning by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in February. By March, the… read on > read on >

The first U.S. cases of drug-resistant ringworm infection have been reported in New York City. The cases of two women with highly contagious skin infections caused by Trichophyton indotineae are reported in the May 12 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . The fungus causes widespread, very itchy, and very hard-to-treat tinea infections. (Tinea is also known as ringworm, which can be misleading since no actual worm is involved.) “These are the first reported cases in the United States, but the infection is now spanning the globe,” said researcher Dr. Avrom Caplan, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. It has been spreading widely in India over the last decade and was termed “indotineae” in a report of two 2020 cases, he noted. “The name should not imply that it is only in India,” Caplan said. “We may see more of this infection over time.” The infection can be transmitted by direct contact; by contact with particles of dead skin, nails and hair shed by the host, usually animals and pets; or by contact with fungal spores. The infection is easily spread from person to person. Caplan said doctors should be aware of this infection and that topical antifungal creams aren’t going to be enough to treat it. “We also know that… read on > read on >

Toxic chemicals that develop from car exhaust, smoking and backyard grilling might increase your risk of developing the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis, a new study suggests. These chemicals are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). They form as coal, oil, gas, wood or tobacco burn. Flame grilling of meat and other foods also contribute to PAH formation, the researchers said. “While more studies are needed, the findings suggest that polyaromatic hydrocarbons may be a significant contributor to rheumatoid arthritis,” said lead researcher Chris D’Adamo, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “People at risk of rheumatoid arthritis should be cautious of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and consider minimizing modifiable sources of exposure.” Blood and urine samples from nearly 22,000 adults revealed those with the highest PAH levels had the highest risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease that primarily affects the joints, causing tissue damage and long-lasting pain. Joints may become deformed, and people with the disease may be unsteady on their feet. Women develop rheumatoid arthritis more often than men. The cause isn’t known, but is thought to involve genes, sex and age, and environmental factors, such as smoking, nutrition and lifestyle. D’Adamo said this study can’t prove that PAHs cause rheumatoid arthritis, only that there appears to be an association. “While the findings… read on > read on >

It’s easy to keep your skin safer in the summer sun if you have the right sunscreen. UCLA Health offers some tips for picking the best type and SPF level. Getting sunburned just five times in a lifetime doubles the risk of getting melanoma, the most serious skin cancer, so making sure you’re protected is worth the effort, the experts at UCLA Health said in a news release. Types of sunscreens can be divided into two categories: mineral and chemical. Each type has its pros and cons. Mineral sunscreen sits on the skin’s surface. It physically blocks ultraviolet (UV) light before those rays can penetrate the skin. While offering instant protection, it can be harder to rub in, needs to be applied more frequently and tends to leave a white film on the skin. Yet, it’s also gentler than chemical sunblock, making it a good choice for sensitive skin, according to UCLA Health. Mineral sunscreen contains titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, both recognized as safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Chemical sunscreens allow UV light to penetrate skin, after which the chemicals convert the UV light into heat. This is released from the skin. The downsides are that chemical sunscreens need to be applied at least 20 minutes before sun exposure and there are concerns about the ingredients in chemical sunscreens,… read on > read on >