Архив рубрики: Здоровье Америка

Remember the days when you didn’t know what raw milk was (and didn’t need to)? Well, those are over: raw—or unpasteurized—milk has been in the news for months. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is an ardent supporter of raw milk; at the same time, as H5N1 circulates, some raw milk is being recalled following the detection of bird flu virus in samples.

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Here’s what to know about the risks of drinking raw milk.

Can raw milk transmit diseases to humans?

“Infections caused by raw milk are rare,” says Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, “but when they occur they can be deadly, especially to children. This is a risk I would rather not take.”

Nestle is not alone in sounding the alarm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Dep..

The weight-loss drug Zepbound (tirzepatide) now has another major benefit: on Dec. 20, it became the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

In the trial that Lilly, the drug’s manufacturer, submitted in April to the FDA, scientists reported that the drug helped people who were overweight or obese with sleep apnea reduce a standard measure of restricted breathing by 63%, leading to 30 fewer interrupted sleep events a night on average compared to those given a placebo. The study, which followed people for a year, included two analyses; one involved people who took only Zepbound and were compared to a placebo group, and another had people take Zepbound paired with a positive airway pressure (PAP) device, which is currently one of the standard treatments for obstructive sleep apnea. That group was compared to one taking a placebo and using PAP.

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“This is the first pharmacologic therapy that ca..

Despite being practicing physicians and medical researchers, we’ve spent about as much time over the course of our careers thinking about fluoride as most Americans—very little. That changed with the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee the federal government’s medical, public health, and research infrastructure. Kennedy has voiced concerns over fluoridation of the public water supply, calling the practice into question while pointing to research studies about fluoride toxicity.

The sleepy topic of water fluoridation has quickly become a hot-button public-health issue, hopping over a long list of far more pressing health threats. How did we get here?

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We’re concerned that our rapidly expanding base of scientific evidence, coupled with increased public access to and familiarity with it, has made it easier to lean on “science” to distract from the important, yet often uncomfortable, discussions about values and tradeoffs that are truly at the ..

You’re probably very familiar by now with the most common respiratory illnesses that can cause winter misery: cold, flu, COVID-19, and RSV. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that cases of another illness are also on the rise.

Walking pneumonia has been steadily infecting more people since last spring, says the agency, with younger children accounting for the most cases. That’s unusual, since most walking pneumonia cases typically occur in school-aged children and older adults. But there is no formal national reporting system for walking pneumonia, so the CDC can only estimate, based on testing data from emergency rooms, that about two million cases occur in the U.S. each year. The latest data from one company’s testing information shows that positive tests for walking pneumonia have increased from 0.7% to 3.3% since last spring for people of all ages.

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Cases of walking pneumonia usually follow a pattern: they surge ..

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Wednesday the United States’ first “severe” human case of H5N1 avian influenza—or bird flu, a zoonotic infection which has stoked fears of becoming the next global pandemic.

The severe case involves a resident of southwestern Louisiana who was reported as presumptively positive for infection last Friday. The infected patient “is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition,” according to Emma Herrock, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Health, who said that the patient is over the age of 65 and has underlying medical conditions but that further updates on their condition will not be given at this time due to patient confidentiality.

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Read More: What Are the Symptoms of Bird Flu?

It is the 61st case of human H5N1 bird flu infection in the country since April this year. But the CDC said the overall risk ..

This year, the U.S. may get the gift of a relatively light COVID-19 holiday season.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, has followed a predictable pattern over the last few years: after a fall lull, it begins to spread more widely in November, and infection rates peak in late December or early January. This year, however, has “been weird,” says Katelyn Jetelina, who writes the Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter.

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COVID-19 activity was minimal throughout November. And as of the week ending Dec. 7, the amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in U.S. wastewater was still considered “low,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Levels have begun to tick upward but are still well below those of past Decembers.

Projections by Jay Weiland, a data scientist and infectious disease-modeler who tracks COVID-19, suggest that roughly three times fewer people in the U.S. will catch COVID-19 during this holiday season compared to..

Although cardiomyopathy might sound like a shorthand synonym for cardiovascular disease, there are important distinctions you should know about if you or a loved one is experiencing any issues with the heart. Cardiovascular disease is an umbrella term for many different conditions affecting heart function—including diseases of the valves or vessels—while cardiomyopathy affects the heart muscle specifically. With this condition, the muscle can weaken, stiffen, or become inflamed, making it more difficult for your heart to pump blood effectively.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as many as 1 in 500 adults in the U.S. could have cardiomyopathy. However, even with that level of prevalence, misconceptions abound, says Dr. Kanny Grewal, a cardiologist at OhioHealth Heart and Vascular Physicians in Columbus, OH.

“Because it’s not discussed as often as heart disease, people may think cardiomyopathy is rare, that it onl..

It’s the season for dry, itchy skin, from your flaky scalp all the way down to your cracked heels.

Why is winter so brutal on our bodies? You can thank the dry winter air—which is often made even drier due to cranked-up indoor heating systems—for your parched skin. “If your skin is less moist than the air, the skin will absorb water,” explains Dr. Dawn Davis, a professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. “If your skin is in an arid environment where there’s less moisture in the air, your skin will give off water.” Hence why your skin may be plump and hydrated in the summer humidity, but dry as a bone come winter.

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Escaping the chilly weather with long, hot showers only makes matters worse. Hot water strips the skin of its naturally hydrating oils and may also disrupt the skin barrier, a mix of cells and fats that form a protective outer layer on the skin. The skin barrier keeps pathogens out and moisture in. When it’s dam..

Dietary supplements are a booming business. More than half of U.S. adults take at least one, and the supplement industry is worth billions of dollars.

But many experts say people are better off saving their money. Regulations on the industry are so lax that supplement makers do not have to prove their products are safe and effective before they hit store shelves—which studies suggest many would have a hard time doing. Plenty of research finds that supplements aren’t all that beneficial for the average person, and may in some cases even be harmful or expose users to dangerous substances.

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The vitamins and minerals in supplements are no match for those found in real food, studies show. “Food contains innumerable other components that are also, ultimately, beneficial for you,” says Dr. Joel Mason, a professor of medicine and nutrition at Tufts University. “It’s better for us, in the long run, to be sustaining our health through a mindfully healthy diet,..

In today’s fast-paced, achievement-oriented society, productivity is often synonymous with time management. From to-do lists to time-blocking, we’re inundated with tips on maximizing every second of the workday. But what if the key to sustainable productivity lies not just in managing time, but in managing something just as crucial: our emotions.

As workplace stress and burnout continue to rise, the conversation about productivity is shifting. Research now shows that our emotional health plays a pivotal role in our ability to perform at our best. Those who can regulate their emotions effectively are better decision-makers, more resilient under pressure, and ultimately more productive.

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In other words, the productivity “hacks” we’ve been relying on may only scratch the surface—and addressing our emotional well-being could be the missing link to long-term success.

The Common Misconception About Productivity

We often think that to be productive, we nee..