Although Americans dread the possibility of experiencing dementia and other debilitating cognitive decline as they age, they can do more than let fear rule their lives — or twiddle their thumbs waiting for Big Pharma to drop billions of dollars more to develop magical and, so far, unworkable pills. Instead, doctors, epidemiologists, and public health….
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This could ‘tick off’ red meat lovers: Pest’s bite leads to lasting food allergy
To those who don’t consider the summer complete without devouring racks of sizzling barbecued pork ribs or slabs of charred beef steaks, experts have an odd but true warning: Watch out for the so-called lone star tick. Amblyomma Americanum, a parasitic species distinguished by a prominent light or white dot on the females’ abdomen, has….
Continue ReadingCalories, not clock watching, are key to weight loss, researchers say
Americans’ obsession with weight control can lead them to embrace diet theories and convert too many of them into conventional wisdom. Alas, when medical researchers put widely accepted notions to scientific testing, they can evaporate faster than a rain drop on a hot summer sidewalk. That’s the potential fate of the idea that when people….
Continue ReadingU.S. economy really feeling financial crunch of caregivers staying home
A glaring gap in the U.S. health care system — the giving of care at home — is burgeoning into a costly chasm. Pretty much everybody involved needs to pay close attention and finally act to deal with the nation’s failure to support home caregiving for the sick, injured, debilitated, and aged. The consequences of….
Continue ReadingAs U.S. shatters death record, trauma and grief grow unrecognized
Death has not taken a holiday in this country. It has, instead, had a field day, with 2021 breaking records, recording 3.465 million American lives lost — 80,000 more than in history-setting 2020, federal statisticians say. The coronavirus pandemic gets much of the blame for the nation’s grim toll, which was made all the worse….
Continue ReadingFor happy holidays, ensure safety of gifts, decorations, food prep
With seasonal festivities getting into their full swing, be sure to take common sense steps to ensure that the holidays stay safe and healthy as well as fun. As the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported: “Unsafe toys, cooking fires, decorating, holiday trees and candles lead to thousands of injuries and deaths each year…..
Continue ReadingCut the salt in prepared and packaged food, U.S. urges makers and sellers
Americans of all ages adore fast food and prepared meals, but one of the lures is these tasty items are loaded with salt. Now federal regulators have proposed new guidelines that they say could save millions of lives by reducing the salt content of commercially prepared and packaged foods. The Food and Drug Administration’s standards,….
Continue ReadingRoads turned deadly during the pandemic. And, tragically, they’re staying so.
The nation keeps zooming toward a tragic and preventable fatality measure: Our roads are staying as deadly as they became during the coronavirus pandemic, and 2021 is racing to be one of the most lethal vehicular years in a decade. As the Washington Post reported of data on the year’s first quarter from the National….
Continue ReadingMillions stuck in nightmarish recalls of sleep apnea breathing devices
Millions of patients with serious, diagnosed sleep disorders now are wrestling with a daytime nightmare: Medical devices designed to help them avoid damage from their conditions have been recalled for major and concerning defects. But consumers complain that they’re getting poor and too little information about their health options until the device maker more fully….
Continue ReadingSexually transmitted infections spike for sixth year in a row, CDC reports
While the coronavirus pandemic savaged the country, another infection spiked, too, with nasty consequences: The nation set new records in 2019 and likely in 2020 for cases of sexually transmitted diseases or infections, illnesses that once were on the brink of control. As Raul Romaguera, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and….
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