Health & WellnessS


Hearts

Working overtime could be bad for your heart

Ben Spencer
Daily Mail
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 19:41 UTC
heartbeat
© Getty Images
Working more than 55 hours a week significantly increases the risk of developing serious heart problems, researchers have found.

People who work such long hours are 40 per cent more likely to suffer an irregular heartbeat than those who work a normal working week of 35 to 40 hours, according to a study.

Long shifts were already known to increase the risk of stroke, but the link with heart rhythm problems - known by the medical term atrial fibrillation - was not previously known.

A study of more than 85,500 British and Scandinavian people found those who worked long hours were far more likely to develop atrial fibrillation over the next decade.

The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, revealed that for every 1,000 people in the study, an extra 5.2 cases of atrial fibrillation occurred among those working long hours.

Comment: See also:

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Apple Red

4 Reasons Apple Cider Vinegar is Beneficial For Your Feet

Jessica Max
Sott.net
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:32 UTC
apple cider vinegar
There's no doubt Apple cider vinegar has lots of uses and benefits. It is popularly used for its health benefits like regulating blood sugar, helps in digestive functions and prevents weight gain. On top of these benefits, apple cider vinegar is also used as a home remedy for issues with feet. Below are reasons why you should start using apple cider vinegar on your feet.

1. Eliminates foot odor

Do you feel conscious taking your socks and shoes off? Have you received complaints from your loved one of your feet's unpleasant smell? Foot odor is not something that you should dismiss off. To eliminate foot odor, make your own foot deodorizer wipes using this steps:
  • Use baby wipes and pour one cup of apple cider vinegar over it (you can also use a thick size paper towel)
  • Put the wipes in the fridge and let it soak overnight
  • Store it inside a zip-lock to use when needed
Apple cider vinegar contains acid which alters your skin's PH level. This eliminates the bacteria which is the cause of your foot odor. Some people don't like the smell of vinegar; don't worry though as the smell will just dissipate once it dries.
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Ambulance

Cholera cases in Yemen pass the 300,000 mark


CBC News
Mon, 10 Jul 2017 11:39 UTC
Yemini infant suspected of cholera infection
© Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty ImagesA Yemeni infant suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment in Sanaa, in June.
A 10-week cholera epidemic has now infected more than 300,000 people in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday, a health disaster on top of war, economic collapse and near-famine in the impoverished country.

"Disturbing. We're at 300k+ suspected cases with ~7k new cases/day," ICRC regional director Robert Mardini said in a tweet.

The World Health Organization has said there were 297,438 suspected cases and 1,706 deaths by July 7, but it did not publish a daily update on Sunday, when the 300,000 mark looked set to be reached. A WHO spokesman said the figures were still being analyzed by Yemen's health ministry.

Although the daily growth rate in the overall number of cases has halved to just over 2 per cent in recent weeks and the spread of the disease has slowed in the worst-hit regions, outbreaks in other areas have grown rapidly.
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Health

Mouth microbiome altered by diabetes fosters periodontitis


GEN News
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 16:39 UTC
oral microbiome diabetes
© University of PennsylvaniaResearchers found that diabetes (panel on right) shifts the oral microbiome, transforming it into a more inflammatory environment and promoting bone loss, characteristics of the gum disease periodontitis.
The past several years has provided groundbreaking awareness of the role that microbial species on and within our bodies play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the onset of disease. Now, a team of investigators led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has recently found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity. Findings from the new study—published recently in Cell Host & Microbe in an article entitled "Diabetes Enhances IL-17 Expression and Alters the Oral Microbiome to Increase Its Pathogenicity"—not only show that the oral microbiome of mice with diabetes shifted, but that the change was associated with increased inflammation and bone loss.

"Up until now, there had been no concrete evidence that diabetes affects the oral microbiome," noted senior study investigator Dana Graves, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., interim chair and professor at Penn's School of Dental Medicine. "But the studies that had been done were not rigorous."

Comment: Your oral microbiome has a significant impact on your overall health

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Life Preserver

Newly published research suggests that a 'fasting mimicking diet' may cure Type 1 diabetes

Chris Kresser
ChrisKresser.com
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the loss of insulin-producing 𝛽 cells in the pancreas and has largely been thought to be irreversible—until now. Newly published research suggests that there might be a cure for type 1 diabetes after all. Read on to get all the details.

While type 2 diabetes is known to be reversible with diet and lifestyle changes, type 1 diabetes has long been thought to be a permanent condition that requires lifelong insulin dependence. Excitingly, a new study published just last month (1) suggests that a "fasting mimicking diet" could effectively reverse the pathology of type 1 diabetes in mice. While the potential for translating these findings to humans is still unclear, this is such a pivotal study that I wanted to take the time to unpack it piece by piece. First though, a bit of background to set the stage.

What is a fasting mimicking diet, anyway?

We know that water-only fasting provides many health benefits, including reduced blood glucose, regeneration of the immune system, and cellular maintenance (2). But prolonged fasting is difficult for most people and can cause adverse effects on physical and mental health due to its extreme nature. Researchers have therefore been attempting to design diets that mimic the physiological benefits of prolonged fasting without the burden of complete food restriction.

Comment: See also:

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SOTT Logo Radio

SOTT Focus: The Health & Wellness Show: Hazed and confused: The psychology of hazing


Sott.net
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 15:00 UTC
hazing
Hazing is defined as any activity required implicitly or explicitly as a condition of initiation or continued membership in an organization whether it be a college fraternity, sports team, military unit or social club. Hazing negatively impacts the physical and psychological well being of initiates and is said to create bonds between members, but is that really the case? Does shared PTSD make people closer? Is hazing really effective in making people want to join a group and even like the group they are joining? Some researchers believe that hazing produces cognitive dissonance and wears down an individuals sense of identity. Undergraduates prone to hazing are reported to have lower self esteem, relying too much on peers and suffering from a dislike of solitude.

Today on the Heath and Wellness show we will discuss the psychology of hazing. At least one hazing death a year has occurred on a college campus every year since 1969 - and many years, multiple deaths have transpired. Is hazing part of evolutionary psychology as some suggest or is it just bullies out of control? Join us as we discuss hazing stories that have captured headlines and what is being done to address the issue.

Running Time: 01:11:52

Download: MP3

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Newspaper

Mice shed weight when they can't smell—but not because they stop eating

Mitch Leslie
Science
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
Weight loss
© Unknown
When you have a stuffy nose, a slice of freshly baked apple pie tastes like mush. But not being able to smell your food could have a surprising effect on your metabolism, potentially helping you remain thin even when you eat fatty foods, a new study in mice suggests.

"This is a very exciting study, and the outcome is quite compelling," says neuroendocrinologist Tamas Horvath of Yale School of Medicine, who wasn't connected to the research.

To conduct the study, molecular biologist Andrew Dillin of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues turned to a variety of genetically altered mice. The scientists gave them regular doses of the diphtheria toxin—which causes a temporary loss of odor-sensing neurons—to suppress their sense of smell. They then fed the rodents either a normal diet or fatty foods—the mouse equivalent of cheesecake and pizza—that usually induce obesity.

Comment: There are other natural ways humans can reduce their weight instead of depending on the pharmaceutical drugs or sprays.

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X

Is an annual pelvic exam really necessary?

Erin Elizabeth
Health Nut News
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 18:07 UTC
pelvic_exam
© Bigstock
Once a young lady has her first menstrual cycle, the ObGyn expects to see her and if not then, certainly by the time she is 18 years old. And thus begins the annual "lady days ritual," as I call it.

For those of you who don't know what happens, we take off our clothes, put on a backless medical gown, hop up on the examination table and put our feet into a pair of stirrups- but only after we've slid down almost to the point of falling off the table.


At that point, the doctor looks at our genitals and inserts a plastic disposable or cold metal speculum into the vagina. It's cranked open and a swab is taken. Then, the doctor inserts a finger or two and pokes around to feel our internal organs.

Super.
"In 2010, doctors performed 62.8 million of these routine pelvic examinations on women across America. In total, gynecological screenings cost the U.S. $2.6 billion every year. And yet, a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicinereports that there is no established medical justification for the annual procedure. After scouring nearly 70 years of pelvic exam studies, conducted from 1946 to 2014, the researchers found no evidence that they lead to any reduction in "morbidity or mortality of any condition" among women. In light of the study, the American College of Physicians, a national organization of internists, has crafted a new set of guidelines warning doctors that exams conducted on otherwise symptomless women can 'subject patients to unnecessary worry and follow-up' and can 'cause anxiety, discomfort, pain, and embarrassment, especially in women who have a history of sexual abuse.
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Ambulance

FDA approves leukemia treatment using disabled HIV to reprogram the immune system


RT
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:13 UTC
lab worker
© Joel Page / Reuters
A Food and Drug Administration panel has approved the first-ever gene therapy to treat Leukemia. The immunotherapy works by genetically alters a patient's own cells to fight cancer and bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease.

A panel of cancer experts unanimously endorsed the leukemia treatment on Wednesday in a 10-0 vote, according to AP. The FDA is not required to follow the panel's recommendation, but often does.

"This is a major advance," said panel member Dr. Malcolm A. Smith of the National Cancer Institute. He added that the treatment is "ushering in a new era."

Called CART-T, and devised by the University of Pennsylvania and Novartis Corp, it works by creating a separate treatment for each patient.

Millions T-cells (a type of immune cell) are from removed the patient's blood. The technique employs a disabled form of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to carry new genetic material into the T-cells to reprogram them. The process turbocharges the T-cells to attack B-cells, a normal part of the immune system that turn malignant in leukemia. The T-cells hone in on a protein called CD-19 that is found on the surface of most B-cells.
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Health

Saturated Fats and CVD: AHA Convicts, We Say Acquit

Nina Teicholz; Eric Thorn, MD
Medscape
Wed, 12 Jul 2017 16:07 UTC
eggs and bacon
"Coconut oil is bad for health!" announced headlines recently when the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a new Presidential Advisory[1] on saturated fats, stating that these fats really do most definitely cause heart disease. As a writer who's spent more than a decade researching the science, and as a cardiologist whose practice is based on the most updated findings, we can say that the AHA paper is an outlier, with at least nine other expert reviews finding weak to nonexistent evidence for this link. Who's right?

The official notion that saturated fats cause heart disease goes back to 1961, when the AHA published[2] the world's first recommendations to avoid these fats, along with dietary cholesterol, in order to prevent a heart attack. This "diet-heart hypothesis" appeared as a windfall for a panicked public grappling with a disease that had risen quickly from the 1920s on to become the nation's leading cause of death. Yet the diet-heart hypothesis had never been tested in a clinical trial—the only kind of science that can establish cause and effect—meaning that the AHA advice, despite being adopted by most leading experts, lacked a firm scientific foundation.

Comment: See also Saturated Fat: Health Food or Health Hindrance?

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