ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

08Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Lab-Grown Chicken Is Safe to Eat, According to FDA

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“Slaughter-free” chicken — made from real animal cells grown in laboratories — could be coming soon to a restaurant and grocery store near you.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 16 that the lab-grown poultry, which takes living cells from chickens and grows them in a controlled environment to produce the meat, was safe for human consumption, and that it had “no further questions” about the product’s safety. This is the first “No Questions” letter from the FDA for lab-grown meat, poultry, or seafood.The voluntary premarket consultation is not an approval process, but it is an important first hurdle that the company needed to clear. In the United States, cultivated meat is regulated by both the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).UPSIDE Foods, the California…

08Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Common Chemicals in Personal-Care Products Cause Uterine Fibroids

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Exposure to chemicals found in hundreds of household products — including many soaps and shampoos — has long been associated with an increased risk of uterine fibroids. Now a new study offers fresh evidence that these chemicals, known as phthalates, can directly cause fibroids.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), phthalates are widely used in consumer and industrial products because they can make plastics more durable and help other materials dissolve. These chemicals can disrupt the body’s endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone regulation. Some previous research has tied phthalate exposure to an increased risk of neurological problems in children, asthma, early puberty, pregnancy complications like preterm birth, infertility, endometriosis, and fibroids.“These toxic pollutants are everywhere, including food packaging, hair and makeup products, and more, and…

08Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Emphysema Risk Is Higher in Marijuana Smokers Than Cigarette Smokers

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As the legalization of marijuana use has grown in recent years, so have concerns about its effect on one’s health, including the lungs.A new study suggests marijuana smoking may be more damaging to the lungs than cigarette smoking. Research published Tuesday in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America, found that emphysema (a lung condition that causes shortness of breath) and airway inflammation are more common in marijuana smokers compared with cigarette smokers.The study supports previous evidence in animals and humans indicating that marijuana use is linked to an increased likelihood of developing emphysema, but contradicts other research showing that marijuana is less harmful to the lungs than tobacco.“The results are unexpected and a replication study seems warranted — tobacco smokers consume many more cigarettes a day…

08Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

‘Protein Hunger’ Drives Overeating of Processed Foods, According to a New Study

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Highly processed foods like pizza, deli sandwiches, nutrition bars, and chips are a major part of the typical modern diet. Unfortunately, the preference for these convenience foods over a protein-rich diet is a major contributor to the high obesity rates in the Western world, according to a yearlong Australian study of dietary habits published in the latest issue of the journal Obesity.“As people consume more junk foods or highly processed and refined foods, they dilute their dietary protein and increase their risk of being overweight and obese, which we know increases the risk of chronic disease,” said the lead author, Amanda Grech, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Charles Perkins Centre in Sydney, in a press release.More Than Half Our Daily Calories Come From Highly Processed FoodsUnprocessed or minimally processed foods…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Disparities Persist for Black Women and Ovarian Cancer Care

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Most people with ovarian cancer don’t receive treatments recommended to give them the best possible survival outcomes, and the odds are even lower when patients are Black, a new study finds.Disparities in ovarian cancer treatment have persisted for years, caused in part by issues with access and affordability. But even after accounting for these factors, the new study found that Black women were 14 percent less likely than white women to receive all of the treatments recommended for ovarian cancer by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) (PDF).“While the ability to pay and the number of hospitals and specialists in the area impacts a patient's cancer care, these do not completely explain racial disparities in ovarian cancer treatment,” lead study author Mary Katherine Montes de Oca, MD, of Duke University…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Experts Announce First-Ever Guidelines for Integrative Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

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Regular physical activity is now strongly recommended for people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to the new summary guidelines on integrative therapies from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), presented on November 13, 2022, at the annual ACR Convergence Conference in Philadelphia. The full report, Guideline for Exercise, Rehabilitation, Diet, and Additional Integrative Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis, is under peer review and expected to be published in 2023.RA is a chronic, lifelong, progressive condition. For this reason, patients and clinicians constantly strive to maximize treatment for the inflammatory disease, which may include integrative approaches, says a co-principal investigator of the guidelines, Benjamin J. Smith, a doctor of medical science and the interim program director and associate dean at the school of physician assistant practice at Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee.First-Ever…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

High Intensity Exercise May Reduce the Risk of Metastatic Cancer

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Aerobic exercise may reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 72 percent, according to new research published in the November 15 issue of Cancer Research. The study is the first to investigate the impact of exercise on the internal organs in which metastases usually develop, like the lungs, liver, and lymph nodes.The findings suggest that high-intensity aerobic exercise, which derives its energy from sugar, can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer, said research leaders Carmit Levy, PhD, and Yftach Gepner, PhD, in a press release. “If so far the general message to the public has been 'be active, be healthy', now we can explain how aerobic activity can maximize the prevention of the most aggressive and metastatic types of cancer,” the authors said.Physical Activity and Cancer RiskThe evidence suggesting that higher physical…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

More Teens Are Vaping Within 5 Minutes of Waking

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Between 2014 and 2021, U.S. middle and high school students began vaping at an earlier age, with use among young people peaking in 2019. Although the number of teens using e-cigarettes has declined slightly since then, daily frequency of vaping and the number of teens using a tobacco product within the first five minutes of waking up are both on the rise, according to a new analysis published November 7 in JAMA Network Open.These findings may reflect the increasing use of nicotine for self-medication in response to adolescent depression, anxiety, tic disorders, and suicidality that rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers wrote.“The increasing intensity of use of modern e-cigarettes highlights the clinical need to address youth addiction to these new high nicotine products over the course of many clinical encounters,”…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Tyson Ground Beef Recalled Due to ‘Possible Foreign Matter Contamination’

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Tyson Fresh Meats is recalling approximately 93,697 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with foreign objects, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).The recall was issued after the company received customer complaints about finding “mirror-like” material in ground beef purchased at grocery stores in Texas, where Tyson is based, FSIS said in a statement.“There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products,” FSIS said. “Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.”This will go down as one of the biggest beef recalls in U.S. history. At least two recalls were larger, according to the USDA — one involving 143,000 pounds (PDF) of meat produced by Westland-Hallmark Meat Company that…

07Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

RSV Is Hospitalizing Seniors at an Abnormally High Rate

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Cases of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and other respiratory illnesses have been surging throughout the United States. While recent headlines have been focusing on how children infected with RSV have been filling hospitals to capacity, older adults are also being hospitalized at a rate that is unusually high compared with previous years.Latest data (as of the week ending November 5) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that seniors ages 65 and up with RSV are filling hospital beds at a weekly rate of 1.6 per 100,000. Since the 2014–2015 season, CDC figures show that this hospitalization rate had not risen above 1 per 100,000. In 2018 at this same time of year, seniors with RSV were being admitted to the hospital at a low 0.2 per 100,000…