Sleeping Beats Sitting? What a New Study Means for Patients

The European Heart Journal – November 16, 2023

By Kristin Canning

Sit less, move more. Or stand more. Or sleep more.

Replacing 30 minutes of sitting a day with equal time standing or even sleeping could improve obesity markers like body weight and waist circumference, according to a new cross-sectional study investigating the impact of movement behavior on cardiometabolic health.

The findings suggest that, while higher-intensity activity may offer benefits sooner, [ physical fitness and so..]

Adding more light activity or more standing, or even going to bed earlier, could improve heart health measures over time.

When I am asked…what is the best exercise to do for the average person?….. and I say… [with shocking looks from the patients ]….”well…. Walking……Casual walking….No power walking… jogging/running/hopping…!!!

Read more.

Adult Obesity Prevalence Remains High; Support for Prevention and Treatment Needed

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Press Release: Thursday, September 21, 2023

New population data from 2022 show 22 states have an adult obesity prevalence at or above 35%, compared to 19 states in 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Just ten years ago, no state had an adult obesity prevalence at or above 35%. The 2022 Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps highlight the need for population-based interventions to ensure that all people have access to healthy foods, safe places for physical activity, stigma-free obesity prevention and treatment programs, and evidence-based health care services such as medication and surgery.

The 22 states with an adult obesity prevalence at or above 35% include: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Read more.

Statins and Causal Risks

Hydrophilic or Lipophilic Statins?

Drugs can be classified as hydrophilic or lipophilic depending on their ability to dissolve in water or in lipid-containing media. The predominantly lipophilic statins (simvastatin, fluvastatin, pitavastatin, lovastatin and atorvastatin)

• Lipitor/Ator-vast-atin
• Zocor/Sim-vador
• Lescol/Fluvastin
• Mevacor/Altoprev.
• Livalo

Lipophilic Statins in Subjects with Early Mild Cognitive Impairment: Associations with Conversion to Dementia and Decline in Posterior Cingulate Brain Metabolism in a Long-term Prospective Longitudinal Multi-Center Study

Journal of Nuclear Medicine May 2021,  62 (supplement 1) 102;

by Prasanna Padmanabham, Stephen Liu and Daniel Silverman

Abstract

Objectives: Studies of the relationship between use of statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) and subsequent cognitive performance have been variously reported to demonstrate beneficial, harmful, or no significant effects. We aimed to help clarify the relationship between statin use and subjects’ long-term cognitive trajectory in subpopulations prospectively and longitudinally examined, as stratified by 1) neuropsychological status at baseline, 2) relatively high vs. low serum cholesterol levels at baseline, 3) statin use vs. non-use and, among users, type of statin used. The present analysis focuses upon outcomes of subjects with early mild cognitive impairment (eMCI), comparing users of statins with known moderate (atorvastatin) or high (simvastatin) lipophilicity and blood-brain barrier penetrance (LS), to non-users (nonS), or users of other statins (OS).

Methods: Subjects were drawn from a consecutive series enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative at over 50 North American sites. Of a total of 392 eMCI subjects, 303 had cholesterol levels available at baseline. Subjects were then grouped into those above (n=103) or below (n=200) the median cholesterol level of the nonS subjects (206 mg/dl). The significance of differential dementia conversion rates of eMCI subjects was assessed by Chi-Squared tests. Statistical parametric mapping of FDG PET scan data was used to perform paired t-test analyses to identify any regions of declining cerebral metabolism within each statin group. Read more.

What’s in Your Salt?

American Airlines STRIPPING Pilots of Medical Freedom: Captain Saliba Files Lawsuit in Response

When will pilots stand up and say “enough is enough.”? Captain Bahig Saliba is here to detail his lawsuit and fight for medical freedom.

Wearing a mask made it harder for pilots to focus and breath clean air.

The masks endangered lives and Bahig Saliba refused to wear a mask.

He also refused to take the vaccine bioweapon.

Bahig Saliba has now sued American Airlines and their union because its new collective bargaining agreement would forbid pilots from settling their complaints inside a courtroom. According to reports, airplanes are being restocked with masks in preparation for new mandates.

The FAA never regulated the masks which means the Airlines were operating outside of their certificates.

The Airlines forced pilots to get the clot shot and some have died. Others can no longer fly because they have damaged hearts. Some pilots are hiding their vaccine induced heart defects in order to keep their jobs.

This means some pilots are flying planes full of passengers at a great risk of death.

For more information on this story go to http://www.pilotgateway.com/

Estimated Lifetime Gained with Cancer Screening Tests

JAMA Intern Med. Published online August 28, 2023.

A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Michael Bretthauer, MD, PhD¹; Paulina Wieszczy, MSc, PhD^1,2; Magnus Løberg, MD, PhD¹; et al Michal F. Kaminski, MD, PhD^1,2,3; Tarjei Fiskergård Werner, MSc⁴; Lise M. Helsingen, MD, PhD¹; Yuichi Mori, MD, PhD^1,5; Øyvind Holme, MD, PhD¹; Hans-Olov Adami, MD, PhD^1,6,7; Mette Kalager, MD, PhD¹

Author Affiliations

Full Text

Key Points

Question: Cancer screening tests are promoted to save lives, but how much is life extended due to commonly used cancer screening tests?

Findings: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 long-term randomized clinical trials involving 2.1 million individuals, colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy prolonged lifetime by 110 days, while fecal testing and mammography screening did not prolong life. An extension of 37 days was noted for prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen testing and 107 days with lung cancer screening using computed tomography, but estimates are uncertain.

Meaning: The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy may extend life by approximately 3 months; lifetime gain for other screening tests appears to be unlikely or uncertain. Read more.

Risky Drinking Common in Cancer Survivors

August 23, 2023 by Megan Brooks

Alcohol consumption, including risky drinking behaviors, is common among adult cancer survivors, even people currently receiving cancer treatment, new research shows.

An analysis of more than 15,000 adults with a cancer diagnosis revealed that nearly 80% were current drinkers. Among current drinkers, 13% consumed a moderate amount of alcohol in a typical day, while close to 40% engaged in hazardous drinking.

The numbers are “staggering,” Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, told Medscape Medical News. “Most concerning,” said Cao, “is that those on cancer treatment are engaged in a similar level of risky drinking.”

The study was published online August 10 in JAMA Network Open.

Drinking alcohol can increase a person’s risk for a variety of cancers, including oral and pharyngeal cancer as well as esophageal, colorectal, liver, and female breast cancers.

Consuming alcohol is also associated with numerous risks among people diagnosed with cancer. In the short term, alcohol consumption can worsen post-surgical outcomes as well as impair cognition and amplify cardiotoxicity in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

In the long term, drinking alcohol can elevate a person’s risk of recurrence, secondary tumors, and mortality.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently issued a statement reinforcing the need to prioritize alcohol consumption as a key modifiable behavioral factor in the cancer control research agenda.

The current American Cancer Society guidelines indicate that it’s best to avoid or, at least, minimize alcohol consumption. Men should limit their intake to no more than two drinks per day and women should have no more than one drink per day.

Walnuts are Good for the Brain

5 Nutrient Deficiencies That Make You Overeat

By Power of Positivity – Published on August 11, 2016

Have you ever thought that maybe the cause of your snacking and overeating could be that you are trying to make up for the nutrient deficiencies that you have from not eating the right things?

It’s possible that your body has cravings because it’s trying to tell you to eat more of the essential nutrients that it needs to be healthy.

Overeating can lead to weight gain, which is something that most of us are trying to avoid. Your binge snacking or continuous grazing throughout the day is hurting your health, so let’s examine the 5 nutrient deficiencies that might be making you overeat.

Believe it or not, a nutrient rich diet allows you to practically eat as much as you want, without the kind of overeating that leads to gaining weight. The National Bariatric Center says that a 2004 study found that individuals who ate a nutrient rich diet were able to lose weight without reducing the total amount of calories consumed.

Study participants were placed on a nutritionally balanced diet of 2100 calories per day divided into seven equal servings. The participants were encouraged to eat all of the portions and even more if they were still hungry. Even with the additional food intake, they lost significant amounts of weight and also lost fat around the waist.  Read more

“Dupixent” Television Commercial – 2022

NO SOUND

Tena Intimates “Life Happens Fast” TV Spot

NO SOUND

Tena “Men/Control” Ad

‘Healthy’ doctor, 32, died after rare severe reaction to AstraZeneca Covid jab

Yahoo News – by Helen William, PA Media UK – April 19, 2023

A “fit and healthy” doctor died from the “unintended consequences of vaccination” after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, a coroner has concluded.

As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr. Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic. He died 10 days after the jab.

His widow, Charlotte, is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca, which had its Covid vaccine approved in December 2020, a month before Dr. Wright was given his dose.

A small group of people, Dr. Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at London’s Southwark Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday. Dr. Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and “vaccine-induced thrombosis”. He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to King’s College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.  Read more

The Miracle That Inspired the Movie, “Breakthrough”

Heather Finn – Good Housekeeping Magazine

John and Joyce Smith – People Magazine

“Breakthrough” centers around the true story of teenager John Smith, a young man from St. Charles, Missouri. Just like any other kid his age, John — who was adopted by his parents, Joyce and Brian, when he was just a baby — attended middle school and played sports … until tragedy struck.

On January 19, 2015, then-14-year-old John and two of his friends were messing around on frozen Lake St. Louise when the ice broke open beneath their feet and they plummeted down into the brutally cold water. One boy was able to climb his way out, and another was quickly rescued. John, however, became trapped and sank down to the lake’s floor.

After 15 minutes underwater, the teenager was finally pulled to the surface by first responders and taken to the nearby St. Joseph Hospital West. His body was cold and lifeless, and doctors tried to administer CPR for 43 minutes with no success. Emergency room doctor Kent Sutterer was preparing to deliver the tragic news to John’s mother, Joyce, when she entered her son’s hospital room and quickly said a desperate prayer: “Holy Spirit, please come and give me back my son!” she prayed aloud, according to People.

As the story goes, that was the moment that everything changed: Immediately after Joyce uttered those words, her son’s heart began beating once again. And he just kept continuing to defy the odds from there — although his doctors had told Joyce and Brian that he would likely never regain neurological function, John was awake and answering questions within 48 hours of his rescue. Read more

Working from Home is Less Healthy Than You Think

March 14, 2023

The New York Times Opinion by Jordan D. Metzl

As companies struggle to find the right balance between in-person and remote work and workers fight for autonomy, the debate about returning to in-person work has largely focused on productivity. If employees are equally productive in remote settings, why ask them to return to the office? All things being equal, remote work is cheaper and more convenient than commuting.

Although productivity is important, we haven’t given sufficient consideration to the potential negative health effects of remote work for some people. Those who have the luxury of working from home might end up realizing that remote work is disadvantageous to their mental and physical well-being.

A recent compilation of evidenced-based studies investigating the mental and physical effects of remote work found mixed results. Some workers thrived in the remote environment, citing more time for healthy behaviors, including exercising and bonding with family,

while others became less active, gained weight and reported feelings of isolation and depression. Read more

Employee Health Matters. How to Keep Your Team Well

Better employee health leads to better outcomes for both employees and employers.

Inc. by Larry Alton

When your employees are healthy, they’re happier, more productive, and less likely to miss work because of illness. But many employers still neglect employee health as a strategy. What steps can employers take to improve and support employee health, and how can you make this approach cost-effective?

The Value of Employee Health

Let’s start by taking a closer look at the true value of improving employee health.

• Productivity and attendance. Healthier employees are going to be more productive and less absent. If they’re in better health, and they’re getting sick less often, they’re going to miss fewer days, and they’re going to be much more efficient (and happier) when present. According to Nathan Jones, CEO of proactive health company Xlear, “every year, people in the United States collectively suffer millions of illnesses, most of which could be prevented by being more proactive in your hygiene and health routine. If you can prevent just a few of those in your business, both you and your employees will be better off.” Jones continues, “In my opinion, the reason Haven (the Buffett-Bezos-Dimon health care venture) failed is that the focus was on treatment and not on prevention. If you really want to save money, don’t get sick in the first place. Motivate your team to be proactive, work out, and have access to better hygiene tools.”
• Morale and confidence. When you genuinely care about employee health and take active measures to preserve it, your employees are going to have higher morale and more confidence in their positions. You’ll benefit from higher employee retention and more employee referrals.
• Cost savings. Protecting employee health can save you money in the long run. Though it requires an upfront investment, its effects on productivity, employee retention, and insurance costs should speak for themselves. It’s also important to note that proactive health management is almost always less expensive than reactive health management. Investing in preventative screenings, regular exercise, and even prophylactic products can help employees avoid ridiculously expensive interventions later on. The importance of good oral and nasal hygiene cannot be overemphasized.
• Reputational value. With healthier, happier employees, your organization will benefit from a reputational boost. You’ll naturally attract more employees, and you might even make a better impression with prospective vendors, clients, and partners. Read more

The Microbiome Theory of Aging (MTA)

by Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN

This article is protected by copyright. Dr. Ross Pelton has been provided approval to share this article.

Abstract

The Microbiome Theory of Aging (MTA) explains how microbial imbalance in the intestinal tract, which is also referred to as dysbiosis, causes health problems that accelerate biological aging. The underlying mechanisms involved include increased inflammation, elevated levels of zonulin, destruction of intestinal tight junctions, and intestinal permeability, which allow lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to leak into systemic circulation. LPS is a powerful endotoxin that causes chronic inflammation throughout the body. Chronic inflammation is associated with chronic diseases and the acceleration of biological aging. Postbiotic metabolites are compounds that are created by probiotic bacteria in the colon. Postbiotic metabolites have been called the new frontier in microbiome science due to their key roles in regulating the structure and function of the gut microbiome and many aspects of human health.

Revolutionary advancements in technology, especially next-generation gene sequencing (NGS), have resulted in a new understanding of the structure and function of the human gut microbiome and its fundamental role in regulating health and aging.1

#1 Game Changer

The Cleveland Clinic is a highly respected medical institution. It was ranked the second hospital in the nation and the first hospital for heart care in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-22 Best Hospitals rankings.2

In 2016, the Cleveland Clinic assembled a panel of top doctors and scientific researchers to create a list of medical innovations that they expect to be major game changers in the coming years. When the panel of medical and scientific experts announced their list of the top 10 medical innovations that are most likely to transform healthcare in 2017 and beyond, topping the list as the #1 Game Changer expected to transform healthcare was using the microbiome to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.3

A wide range of diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors influence the aging process, and over time, numerous theories of aging have been proposed. The microbiome theory of aging (MTA) isn’t intended to dislodge or negate previous theories. The theory’s purpose is to emphasize the critical role that the gut microbiome plays in regulating many aspects of human health, which directly influence people’s rate of physical decline and biological aging. Read more

WHO urges ‘immediate action’ after cough syrup deaths

Trader Joe’s is sued over lead, cadmium levels in dark chocolate

The FAA has very quietly tacitly admitted that the EKGs of pilots are no longer normal. We should be concerned

Man Found Alive at the Bottom of the Sea, 3 Days After Boat Sank

15 Most Advanced Countries in Medicine

Deprived of Sleep, Many Turn to Melatonin Despite Risks

10 Celtic Sea Salt Benefits

Sperm counts worldwide have plunged 62% in under 50 years: study

We Are Rebranding Suboptimal Care as Real-World Practice

Funeral Director: 95 Percent of the Corpses He Has Been Seeing Had Received COVID-19 Vaccine within 2 Weeks of Their Passing

The High Risk of Toothpaste

Have you seen the “Warnings” on toothpaste boxes?

Investigation into Lucky Charms after more than 100 customers complaints of sickness

ABC News – April 19, 2022 – by Kelly McCarthy

The cereal marketed as “magically delicious” is under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration after more than 100 customers claimed the cereal made them sick.

On Saturday, as first reported by The Associated Press, the agency said it had received over 100 complaints related to Lucky Charms so far this year.

Boxes of General Mills Lucky Charms cereal are displayed at a grocery store. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The FDA confirmed the investigation to ABC News and said it’s “aware of consumer complaints regarding illnesses associated with Lucky Charms cereal.”

“The FDA takes seriously any reports of possible adulteration of a food that may also cause illnesses or injury. Complaints of a less serious nature or those that appear to be isolated incidents are monitored and the information may be used during a future inspection of a company to help the FDA identify problem areas in a production plant,” an FDA official told ABC News. “The complaints are also discussed with company management during these inspections.”

Questions about a possible link between the cases of reported illness and the cereal after hundreds of consumers posted on a food safety website called, iwaspoisoned, with complaints of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. According to the platform, over 3,000 posted complaints as of Monday.

General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis-based company that makes Lucky Charms and other cereals, said its own investigation has not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to Lucky Charms. Read more.

British Pilot Trainee Dies from Mosquito Bite

New York Post – By David Propper – July 6, 2022

A British woman training to become an airline pilot was killed after being bitten by a mosquito in Belgium, a report said Wednesday.

Oriana Pepper was bitten by the insect while in Antwerp in July 2021 and suffered an infection that moved to her brain, according to the BBC.

The 21-year-old went to the emergency room after the bite near her right eye appeared swollen and infected, according to a judicial inquiry obtained by the outlet.

The Suffolk native was prescribed antibiotics and sent home. However, she was rushed back to the hospital two days later by her boyfriend after she collapsed.

She died on July 12, 2021 — five days after she was bitten. The cause of death was septic emboli in the brain.

Nigel Parsley, Suffolk’s senior coroner, explained in the inquiry that the woman died “as a result of a serious infection caused by an insect bite to the forehead.” Read more

Why most Americans are losing the battle of getting into pre-COVID Shape

New York Times – by Erin Kelly – June 1, 2022

Squeezing back into a pair of jeans bought before March 2020 is a challenge for lots of Americans — and a new study found that injury may be to blame. The study of 2,000 adults, by OnePoll in partnership with CURAD, found that seven out of 10 respondents said they stopped working out during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eighty-eight percent said they had every intention of getting back to their pre-pandemic bod, but 56 percent have since sustained an injury. Of them, 64 percent of people admitted they jumped back into their normal routine too quickly after sitting on the couch for a year and some change. Others — 56 percent, to be exact — said they got back into their competitive sports too soon, and 45 percent either pulled a muscle or “moved too quickly.”

Where respondents received their injuries:

• Knees: 37%
• Hands/feet: 36%
• Torn muscles: 36%
• Ankles: 35%

“It’s important to ease back into your old workout routine, especially if you’ve been away for a while,” NCAA Team Physician and Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Gloria Beim said. “Jumping back in too quickly can put you at risk of pulling muscles or even more serious injuries.” Read more

Dairy Consumption Increases Risk for Cancer

Health and Nutrition News – May 12, 2022

Dairy consumption increases the risk for cancer, according to a study published in BMC Medicine. Researchers compared dairy consumption and cancer risk for over half a million participants in China for 11 years. For every 50 grams (less than a 1/4 cup) of milk and other dairy products consumed per day, overall, liver, and female breast cancer risk increased by 7%, 12%, and 17%, respectively. As more people in China drink milk regularly, intake of saturated fat and hormones associated with cancer development also increase.

Read the full BMC Medicine Journal article.

Can Cancer Blood Tests Live Up to Promise of Saving Lives?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Calcium Supplementation

Dove Press Journal – Clinical Interventions on Aging

A Review of Calcium Intake on Human Health

Calcium is an important integrative component of the human body and critical for human health. It has been well established that calcium intake is helpful in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, which has become one of the most serious public health problems across the world.

However, community-dwelling adults with and without osteoporosis are rarely concerned or even not aware of the potential side effects of high or inappropriate doses of calcium intake. Some recent studies have revealed that excessive calcium intake might increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

The purpose of this article was to review the health benefits, costs, and consequences of calcium supplementation on osteoporosis/osteoporotic fractures, cardiovascular events, kidney stones, gastrointestinal diseases, and other important diseases.

In the end, we suggest that calcium supplementation should be prescribed and taken cautiously, accounting for individual patients’ risks and benefits. Clearly, further studies are needed to examine the health effects of calcium supplementation to make any solid recommendations for people of different genders, ages, and ethnicities. Read Full Article.

Vitamin C, Doxycycline and Cancer Stem Cells

Sagecancercare.com – Alex Speers ND, MS

Within a single tumor, there are a variety of different cell types. One type, called cancer stem cells, or CSCs, are unique because when they divide, they can produce a variety of different cell types in addition to producing more stem cells. This is important because it means that if CSCs are present within a tumor, that tumor has a potential source for any cell type it needs to sustain itself and grow.

Now consider what happens when we try to kill a growing tumor. Even if a treatment successfully kills a significant number of cancer cells, that tumor may still be able to regrow if CSCs remain alive. Think of cancer like a weed, growing wildly inside the body. CSCs are the root, and as any good gardener knows, if you don’t kill the root, there’s a good chance that weed will eventually grow back. Read more

Young Man and the Seal

SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL, Calif. (KABC) — February 15, 2022

Consistent with the classic novel, “The Old Man and the Sea”, it’s a modern-day true tale.

Lost at sea, with no land in sight, a Southern California boater fell into the ocean and thought he was spending his final moments on earth.

“I thought to myself, great, this is how I’m going to die,” boater Scott Thompson said. “Today is the day I’m going to die.”

Thompson accidentally fell out of his boat and into the water last month. He wore only shorts and a T-shirt in the middle of the frigid Santa Barbara Channel at night, miles away from land.

Panic set in as he watched his boat motor on without him.  Read more

COVID Brain Fog a ‘True Neurological Condition’

Medscape – by Pauline Anderson – January 24, 2022

Impaired cognition associated with COVID-19 appears to have a biological vs psychological basis, early research suggests.

Investigators found abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and other risk factors, including diabetes and hypertension, present in individuals with mild COVID-19 experiencing persistent cognitive problems, often referred to as “brain fog.”

“We’re seeing changes to the [CSF] in the brain of most people who report cognitive changes,” Joanna Hellmuth, MD, assistant professor of neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, told Medscape Medical News.

“We’re just in the beginning stages, but I hope this study will provide some legitimacy to this being a true neurologic condition.” The study was published online January 18 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.

There is currently no guidance on how to identify patients with COVID-related cognitive changes, said Hellmuth. “The term ‘brain fog’ is not based in science or medicine, but that’s the most common term we use to describe this.”

The analysis included adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection not requiring hospitalization who were enrolled in the Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC) study.

Participants underwent a structured interview that covered COVID-19 illness, past medical history, preexisting cognitive risk factors, medications, and cognitive symptoms following onset of COVID-19. They also completed an in-person battery of cognitive tests.  Read more

Man Dies of Hypothermia in an Unplugged Freezer

Claim: A man locked in an unplugged freezer imagined himself freezing to death and died as a result.

by David Mikkelson – Snopes

A man finds himself locked in a walk-in freezer. He is convinced he will die and begins writing letters. His letters end with a final passage where he is saying he cannot write anymore because his fingers are beginning to freeze. When they find him dead, not only do they find the letters, but they discover that the freezer’s temperature never dropped below 50 degrees. Thus, the man pretty much psyched himself to death.
[Van Ekeren, 1988] – The expression “worried to death” has more truth to it than you might think.

There is a story about Nick Sitzman, a strong, young bull-of-a-man, who worked on a train crew. It seemed Nick had everything: a strong healthy body, ambition, a wife and two children, and many friends. However, Nick had one fault. He was a notorious worrier. He worried about everything and usually feared the worst.

One midsummer day, the train crew were informed that they could quit an hour early in honor of the foreman’s birthday. Accidentally, Nick was locked in a refrigerator boxcar, and the rest of the workmen left the site. Nice panicked.

He banged and shouted until his fists were bloody and his voice was hoarse. No one heard him. “If I can’t get out, I’ll freeze to death in here,” he thought. Wanting to let his wife and family know exactly what had happened to him, Nick found a knife and began to etch words on the wooden floor. He wrote, “It’s so cold, my body is getting numb. If I could just go to sleep. These may be my last words.”

The next morning the crew slid open the heavy doors of the boxcar and found Nick dead. An autopsy revealed that every physical sign of his body indicated he had frozen to death. And yet the refrigeration unit of the car was inoperative, and the temperature inside indicated fifty-five degrees. Nick had killed himself by the power of worry. Read more

Woman Wakes Up From Covid-19 Coma on Her Last Day on Life Support

New York Post by Yaron Steinbuch

November 19, 2021

Bettina Lerman suffered no organ failure and is seemingly mentally sharp after waking up, according to her son. Courtesy Andrew Lerman

A comatose Florida woman on a ventilator with COVID-19 stunned her family when she suddenly woke up more than a month later — on the day she was expected to be taken off life support.

Florida resident Bettina Lerman, 69, who was not vaccinated, was visiting Maine with her son Andrew Lerman to help care for his cancer-stricken father, who also contracted COVID-19 but has recovered, CNN reported.

After getting infected with the deadly bug, Lerman was hospitalized at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Sept. 12 and was placed on a ventilator nine days later, according to the network.

Doctors told the family they didn’t expect her to make it as her condition worsened.

“We had a family meeting with the hospital because my mother wasn’t waking up. No matter what they (did), they couldn’t get her to wake up,” Andrew told CNN. “They said that her lungs are completely destroyed. There’s irreversible damage — that it’s just not going to happen.”

Bettina, who had planned to get the jab when she became ill, has multiple underlying medical conditions, including diabetes. She had also suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery two years ago, her son said.

The family picked out her casket and headstone as they prepared to say goodbye, he said, adding that he and his siblings flew down to Tavares, Florida, to cancel their mom’s lease and donate many of her possessions, the Washington Post reported.

“It was the end of the line,” Andrew told the paper. Read more

FDA Drugs Approved on Fraudulent Research Stay on Market

In 2010, the FDA uncovered violations it later called “egregious” and “pervasive” at a major pharmaceutical testing lab. But even though the agency no longer knew for sure that drugs tested at the lab were safe, it allowed them to remain on pharmacy shelves with no new testing — in some cases until now. And the FDA won’t name the drugs.

by ProPublica: April 15, 2013

Key Points

• In 2011, the FDA announced years’ worth of studies from a major drug research lab were potentially worthless.
• About 100 drugs were on the U.S. market based in part on these tests.
• The FDA let the drugs stay on pharmacy shelves with no new testing (in some cases until now).
• As the FDA investigated and ordered re-tests, its European equivalent pulled seven drugs from the market.
• The FDA says it has no evidence that any of the drugs were unsafe or that any patient has been harmed.

The FDA has never named the drugs, saying to do so would reveal trade secrets. On the morning of May 3, 2010, three agents of the Food and Drug Administration descended upon the Houston office of Cetero Research, a firm that conducted research for drug companies worldwide.

Lead agent Patrick Stone, now retired from the FDA, had visited the Houston lab many times over the previous decade for routine inspections. This time was different. His team was there to investigate a former employee’s allegation that the company had tampered with records and manipulated test data.

When Stone explained the gravity of the inquiry to Chinna Pamidi, the testing facility’s president, the Cetero executive made a brief phone call. Moments later, employees rolled in eight flatbed carts, each double-stacked with file boxes. The documents represented five years of data from some 1,400 drug trials.

Pamidi bluntly acknowledged that much of the lab’s work was fraudulent, Stone said. “You got us,” Stone recalled him saying.

Based partly on records in the file boxes, the FDA eventually concluded that the lab’s violations were so “egregious” and pervasive that studies conducted there between April 2005 and August 2009 might be worthless.

The health threat was potentially serious: About 100 drugs, including sophisticated chemotherapy compounds and addictive prescription painkillers, had been approved for sale in the United States at least in part on the strength of Cetero Houston’s tainted tests. The vast majority, 81, were generic versions of brand-name drugs on which Cetero scientists had often run critical tests to determine whether the copies did, in fact, act the same in the body as the originals. For example, one of these generic drugs was ibuprofen, sold as gelatin capsules by one of the nation’s largest grocery-store chains for months before the FDA received assurance they were safe.

The rest were new medications that required so much research to win approval that the FDA says Cetero’s tests were rarely crucial.

Stone said he expected the FDA to move swiftly to compel new testing and to publicly warn patients and doctors.

Instead, the agency decided to handle the matter quietly, evaluating the medicines with virtually no public disclosure of what it had discovered. It pulled none of the drugs from the market, even temporarily, letting consumers take the ibuprofen and other medicines it no longer knew for sure were safe and effective. To this day, some drugs remain on the market despite the FDA having no additional scientific evidence to back up the safety and efficacy of these drugs. Read more

Nasal Spray Company Pushes CDC, FDA to Accept Its Claims to Help Treat COVID

September 10, 2021

Newsweek – Bill Powell – With his job approval rating plunging and the Delta variant of Covid19 still raging, President Biden this evening laid out new directives—including vaccine mandates for companies with 100 or more employees—to try to get the virus under control.

For a group of companies and medical researchers scattered around the world, the speech was yet another disappointment in what has been a year full of them. To them, Biden’s speech represented a missed opportunity to promote a simple, inexpensive and widely available tool for dealing with the virus: nasal sprays.

How can nasal sprays help combat COVID 19? The virus and its variants infect patients primarily by adhering to the nasal membrane as the original source of infection, explains Nathan Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Xlear, the American Fork, Utah-based maker of nasal sprays as well as an array of dental care products.  Read More.

12 Foods That Are Ruining Your Smile

Healthfully – written by Maressa Brown

When it comes to caring for your well-being, dental health may not rank as high as other concerns, like cardiovascular and digestive health. Yet, when something goes wrong with your chompers — think bleeding gums or a cavity — figuring out how to improve your dental hygiene quickly becomes top of mind.

Besides keeping up with regular visits to your dentist, brushing and flossing, one of the best ways to maintain dental health is by steering clear of certain foods and drinks that can chip away at your mouth’s wellness.

“Certain ingredients may not only be damaging to your waistline but to your teeth as well,” says Sarah Jebreil, D.D.S. **, a dentist in Newport Beach, Calif. Here are seven foods that dentists are quick to sideline for the sake of dental health. **  Read More.

Are Fruit Juices Just as Unhealthy as Sugar-Sweetened Beverages?

JAMA Network Open

In the past few years, the health effects of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been a matter of scientific and public interest. Sugar-sweetened beverages include any beverage with added sugar or other sweetener, such as carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, fruit punch, fruit juice concentrates, powdered drink mixes, and energy drinks. Sugar-sweetened beverages typically contain 140 to 150 kcal and 35 to 37.5 g of sugar per 12-oz serving, and they are the largest source of added sugars in the US diet.1 Substantial efforts have been devoted to discourage the consumption of SSBs, including policies for taxation and restrictions on marketing to children.

Fruit juices are still widely perceived as a healthier option than SSBs. However, they often contain as much sugar and as many calories as SSBs. Although the sugar in 100% fruit juices is naturally occurring rather than added, once metabolized, the biological response is essentially the same.  Read More.

The “Cov-Hard” Facts: Covid . . . What Have We Learned So Far?

HealthQuest Radio, August 21^st.

Dr. Kolbaba welcomed Dr. Paul Marik to the show today for an encore interview. He is the nation’s top critical-care physician, pulmonologist and professor of medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Tell your friends and family about today’s show….The podcast is available to download now!

Here are links to therapeutic treatments and a list of physicians (scroll down the page) that Dr. Marik was referring to on today’s show.

Listen to our first interview with Dr. Marik: “Covid Crisis: Is Anyone Listening?”… a special 2 hour show!

Don’t buy the hysteria: The Delta variant is actually less dangerous

New York Post by the Post Editorial Board – On Wednesday, the Delta variant became America’s dominant COVID strain. Yet it’s no cause for panic: The numbers — especially in Britain, which Delta hit hard — show it causes far fewer hospitalizations and deaths, while vaccines remain highly effective against it.

Most media hype the fear: “Americans should be more concerned about the Delta variant,” a Forbes piece declares. “Scientists have good reasons to sound the alarm,” New York magazine insists. “It’s hard to understand how worried to be,” a CNN analysis claims.

No, actually, the numbers are clear. Yes, Delta, first found in India, does appear more contagious than the Alpha variant first found in Britain — about 50 percent more transmissible, which is why it’s outpaced Alpha there.

Rising cases even prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the end of restrictions. But the huge case spike didn’t lead to similar hospitalization or death spikes, so Britain’s back on track to lift regulations July 19.

The seven-day average of new UK cases is above 25,000, the highest since late January, when the weekly average had just dropped from a peak of 50,000. But only 2,000 COVID cases are hospitalized, vs. nearly 40,000 in January. Daily deaths average under 20, vs. more than 1,000 in January.  Read more

Half of Health Care Workers Refuse the Covid Vaccine

Undercurrents – What do frontline health care workers and first responders know about COVID-19 vaccines that politicians and their public health advisers don’t?

According to a January analysis by Gallup, 51 percent of health care workers and first responders polled in December were unconvinced of the merits of getting vaccinated, even if the vaccine “was free, available, FDA approved and 90% effective.”

Gallup found these results especially concerning since those at highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 were the likeliest to refuse vaccination (34 percent).

In California, over half of Tehama County’s hospital workers at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, an estimated 50 percent of frontline workers in Riverside County, and 20 percent to 40 percent in L.A. County refused the vaccine, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

In Georgia, according to an estimate in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, only 30 percent of health care workers have been inoculated. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine reported that 60 percent of nursing-home workers refused the vaccine. In Texas, the Texas Tribune reported in February that home-health and assisted-living agencies may not be able to service their clients because so many caregivers are refusing to be vaccinated. A CDC survey of skilled-nursing facilities published in early February found that fewer than 40 percent of staff took at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Read more

Confirmed: Diet Influences Colorectal Cancer Risk

Medscape Medical News – It’s now confirmed: What you eat does affect your risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC).

An umbrella review of studies and meta-analyses found “convincing evidence of an association between a lower CRC risk and higher intakes of dietary fiber, dietary calcium, and yogurt and lower intakes of alcohol and red meat.”

However, more research is needed to address the link between CRC and other foods, including dairy products, whole grains, processed meat, and specific dietary patterns, the authors conclude.

“We can say that the existing recommendations for diet in the primary prevention of colorectal cancer is confirmed,” commented lead author Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk, PharmD, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, Salt Lake City, Utah.

“It makes sense to encourage healthy diet, including those rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy, and reducing red meat and alcohol intake,” he told Medscape Medical News. “However, some of them may not yet have convincing evidence to fully support the claim.”

Other lifestyle factors, including excess weight and physical inactivity, also play a role in cancer risk. Chaiyakunapruk pointed out that their review was focused only on diet and that they had set out to confirm factors for which there was strong and convincing evidence.

The review was published online in JAMA Network Open. Read more

Just a one week binge of junk food is enough to damage your brain AND more

By Vanessa Chalmers Health Reporter for MAILONLINE and Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent for THE DAILY MAIL

• Study participants ate an abundance of fast food and milkshakes for a week
• They performed worse on brain tests suggesting the hippocampus was impaired
• The hippocampus normally stops us from gorging on more food when full
• When it’s not working properly, we feel unable to resist food, researchers say

Eating a diet of junk food for just one week was enough to damage part of the brain that stops us eating more when we are already full, research suggests.

Study participants who ate an abundance of fast food and high-fat milkshakes had increased cravings for more after seven days.

They performed worse on cognitive tests, with results suggesting an area of the brain called the hippocampus was impaired.

The hippocampus normally stops us from gorging on more food when we are full by suppressing memories of how tasty it is. Read more

The Truth About Dangerous Cookware

Written by Kathy Stevenson

Kitchenairy.com

When we use the term “The Truth About Dangerous Cookware ” we’re referring to the type of cookware that can cause health problems if used over an extended period of time.

It’s surprising that this type of cookware is still in use these days. But unfortunately! consumers don’t know The Truth About Dangerous Cookware. In regard to what’s the safest cookware to use and which type of cookware can potentially damage their health. And it doesn’t take extremely high temperatures to cause this dangerous cookware to emit fumes that are harmful to humans and lethal to birds. Read more:   www.kitchairy.com

This is the maximum age humans can physically reach, scientists say

By Hannah Frishberg 

Researchers believe they have identified the upper limit of human mortality: 150 years old.

This would top the current record for oldest human — Jeanne Calment, who passed away in 1997 at 122 years — but it sure does put a damper on efforts to live forever.

Using an iPhone app and a huge amount of medical data from volunteers in the UK and US, scientists think they’ve confirmed the maximum age people can anticipate ever living to, the researchers wrote in a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

Artificial intelligence analyzed the health- and fitness-related information, and researchers determined that the human lifespan is most significantly based on two data points: biological age (associated with stress, lifestyle and chronic diseases) and resilience (how quickly the person returns to normal after responding to a stressor).

Using these findings and related trends, researchers reckoned that, at around 120 to 150 years old, the human body shows “a complete loss” of resilience, resulting in an inability to recover, according to a press release. Read More

Chinese Rocket Debris Falls to Earth

Antibiotics Aimed at Covid-19 Escalating Another Threat

Marcia Frellick – In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a twin threat looms, affecting someone in the United States every 11 seconds and leading to a death every 15 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Antibiotic-resistant infections are on the rise, although they pale in comparison to COVID-19 deaths, which have now hit 535,000 in the United States. But the fear is that what has, in some cases, been overtreatment of COVID-19 might make the problem of antibiotic resistance even worse.

Public awareness of the urgency of the antibiotic-resistance threat is low, says Paul Auwaerter, MD, clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Although a large number of Americans have experienced a COVID-19 death in their circle of family and friends or have seen reports of suffering in the media, few have witnessed a death that happened because there was no drug to treat someone’s infection. Read More

Report: Pregnant Women Show Strong Immune Response to Covid-19 Vaccines

By Lynn Allison

Dreamstime

NewsMax Health – A new report discovered pregnant and breastfeeding women enjoy a robust immune response to COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers found the mothers’ antibodies were present in their umbilical cord blood and breast milk, suggesting that immunity is passed on from moms to their offspring.

According to NBC News, the study, which was published Thursday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is of utmost clinical importance since pregnant women were excluded from the trials of vaccines now available and there is little data on their efficacy in this population. Read More

All Diseases Are Predacious