But there’s more…

Research is revealing that one of our favorite types of drinks can counteract the effects of certain antibiotics, particularly against a specific bacterium responsible for some common and already difficult-to-treat infections.

And you know what happens when you take an antibiotic and it doesn’t fully kill the germ; it can supercharge the germ’s resistance even more.

Here’s what you need to know about which drink you should avoid when taking antibiotics. (Hint: it’s not alcohol).

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Re-think what you drink on antibiotics

After the examination of 94 different substances, researchers at the Universities of Tübingen and Würzburg were able to prove that everyday substances can influence how bacteria, such as E. coli, respond to antibiotics.

One of the worst offenders the researchers discovered when it comes to compromising the work of antibiotics is caffeine.

E. coli infections most often occur in your GI system or urinary tract, but can also migrate to cause infections in the bloodstream, prostate and gallbladder.

That means caffeinated drinks, like the coffee, tea and sodas (if you’re still drinking those) we rely on for a little extra energy, could decrease the power of antibiotics to help fight infections.

According to the scientists, that’s because caffeine triggers genetic regulators that control bacterial transport proteins. These transport proteins act as pores for the bacteria, determining what can and can’t get inside the cell.

Basically, caffeine closes down these pores to antibiotics like ciproflaxin, weakening their effectiveness.

“Caffeine triggers a cascade of events starting with the gene regulator Rob and culminating in the change of several transport proteins in E. coli, which in turn leads to a reduced uptake of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin,” explains researcher Ana Rita Brochado.

The scientists say that this contributes to what’s called ‘low-level’ antibiotic resistance, which is not due to classic resistance genes, but to regulation and environmental factors.

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How not to make antibiotics useless

Clearly, if you’re taking antibiotics, avoiding caffeine is a must to help ensure they’re as effective as you need them to be. So, at least until you’re done with the medication, lay off the caffeinated drinks.

Additionally, there are a few ways to help antibiotics work as they should when you do have to take them:

• Taking omega-3s – Researchers at Flinders University discovered that omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish oil, can make germs’ membranes more permeable to antibiotics. This makes the bacteria less resistant to the medicine.
• Adding in cranberry – A Canadian study found that cranberry extract made it easier for antibiotics to enter the bacteria that cause UTIs, pneumonia, and gastroenteritis. It also disrupted the mechanism that bacteria use to eliminate the antibiotic.
• Drinking green tea – Research has shown that a compound in green tea — epigallocatechin (EGCG) – is capable of making an antibiotic called aztreonam work against a dangerous, resistant bacterium again. In fact, the two compounds together were far more effective at killing the bacteria than either was alone.
• Eating more fiber – Research has shown that dietary fiber plays a crucial role in preventing the overgrowth of harmful gut bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Also, remember to support your gut microbiome when taking antibiotics. Probiotics help repopulate the gut microbiome after a round of antibiotics, but taking them regularly yields even better benefits…

Previous research shows that probiotics reduce the likelihood of getting common infections like respiratory infections and stomach bugs. They also reduce the duration and severity of these infections.

Sources:

E. coli infection – Cleveland Clinic

Your morning coffee could secretly be weakening antibiotics – ScienceDaily

The post The drink that makes antibiotics useless (and it’s not alcohol) appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, in the U.S. alone, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur every year, with new forms of resistance emerging at an accelerated pace.

You probably already know that the antibiotics used to fight bacterial infections can actually contribute to this resistance over time, especially when taken too frequently, when not finished as directed by a doctor, or when taken for conditions where antibiotics have no effect — viruses, for example.

But what you may not know is that other common medications are fueling the problem.

Two of the worst are likely in your medicine cabinet right now…

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The perfect conditions for resistant bacteria to thrive

Researchers from the University of South Australia have demonstrated that ibuprofen and acetaminophen not only drive antibiotic resistance when used individually, but also amplify it when used in combination.

In fact, their research showed that when taking these medications, along with the broad-spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin for E. coli (a common bacterium that causes gut and urinary tract infections), the drugs made the bacteria highly resistant to the antibiotic.

“When bacteria were exposed to ciprofloxacin alongside ibuprofen and acetaminophen, they developed more genetic mutations than with the antibiotic alone, helping them grow faster and become highly resistant. Worryingly, the bacteria were not only resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, but increased resistance was also observed to multiple other antibiotics from different classes,” observed lead researcher and associate professor, Rietie Venter.

According to scientists, taking Tylenol or ibuprofen actually activates the bacteria’s defenses, allowing them to expel the antibiotic and creating conditions that enable the bacteria to thrive.

Combat antibiotic resistance through wellness

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As the researchers point out, “Antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics anymore.”

And considering this is just one more antibiotic resistance threat in what seems to be an ever-growing list, it’s also one more reason why it’s vital to support your body’s natural immune response.

The key is to make sure that the response is balanced.

I say that because an immune response can be a double-edged sword. While an underactive response leaves the body open to illness, an overactive immune system cannot distinguish between the body’s own systems and invaders.

There are a few ways to help support your immune system so it’s up to the task…

Vitamin D3: A study published in the Frontiers of Immunology confirmed significant differences between the two types of vitamin D, with vitamin D2 having a questionable impact on human health. However, the study found that vitamin D3 could balance people’s immune systems by tamping down inflammatory response, and help strengthen defenses, even against viral infections.

Black seed or black seed oil: The black seeds of the Nigella sativa plant contain a compound called thymoquinone, considered to be an “immune system modulator,” meaning it promotes a balanced response.

Exercise: A 2005 study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise revealed that walking briskly for 30 minutes increased the number of natural killer cells, white blood cells and other important immune cells circulating in the body.

Thymus gland support: This gland is a key part of our immune system. Unfortunately, the thymus tends to shrink with age, and by the time we reach the age of 65, it’s largely unable to produce new T cells. But you can find ways to support it here.

When you do get a sickness that requires antibiotics, consider taking fish oil supplements with them. Research led by Flinders University discovered that omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish oil, can break down the ability of superbugs to become resistant to antibiotics.

Sources:

Common painkillers like Advil and Tylenol supercharge antibiotic resistance – ScienceDaily

Antimicrobial Resistance Facts and Stats – CDC

The post Over-the-counter drugs that supercharge antibiotic resistance appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the most compelling reason has to do with one special nutrient…

Unlike fish oil, krill oil also contains astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant that’s many times more potent than vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E.

Astaxanthin not only pumps up the omega-3 benefits of krill oil, it gives the body’s aging processes quite a challenge, in part because of its powerful impacts on the body’s most vital systems and organs.

So let’s dive into what this amazing antioxidant is, where it comes from and what the research says about it…

What exactly is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a red-colored ketocarotenoid first identified and isolated in 1938 by scientist Richard Kuhn, who discovered it while studying lobsters to find out what gave them their color. Kuhn won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on carotenoids and vitamins.

Astaxanthin is found mainly in the algae Haematococcus pluvialis and the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, both of which produce it naturally. The algae are a food source for a number of sea creatures, and astaxanthin is what turns their shells and flesh pink.

Because krill feed almost exclusively on these algae, they contain higher amounts of astaxanthin than other marine animals like shrimp, salmon, trout and lobster.

How astaxanthin works in the body

As a carotenoid, astaxanthin is fat-soluble and has antioxidant properties that help protect your cells from free radicals and oxidative stress.

Astaxanthin acts by neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the inner and outer layers of cell membranes. This keeps ROS from doing damage to the basic building blocks of the cell including DNA, protein and lipids.

Here are some specific ways astaxanthin supports your overall health….

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Astaxanthin and inflammation

Like many antioxidants, astaxanthin may help to reduce inflammation. But astaxanthin’s specific ability to neutralize ROS helps reduce proteins that can cause inflammatory diseases such as celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.

Not only does astaxanthin fight inflammation, it also assists our mitochondria, the energy powerhouses located in our cells. Having mitochondria functioning at their best gives our bodies optimal energy and helps it operate at peak performance.

By reducing inflammation, astaxanthin supports improved mitochondrial performance, as well as providing antioxidant support to ward off free radical damage.

Studies show astaxanthin’s anti-inflammatory capabilities can help with exercise recovery by protecting the body from overproduction of free radicals, inhibiting the production of excess lactic acid in the muscles, reducing fatigue and improving muscle strength.

Astaxanthin and immune system health

Along with fighting inflammation, astaxanthin can boost your immune system by helping to activate white blood cells known as T-cells as well as natural killer cells. T-cells attack malicious cells based on antigen markers, while natural killer cells work even faster to stop foreign invaders from harming your health.

But as important as it is for an immune system to be reactive — it’s just as important not to be overactive to avoid an autoimmune response. Astaxanthin’s anti-inflammatory properties help modulate a balanced immune response.

Astaxanthin and brain health

Carotenoids like astaxanthin help support good brain health by reducing the risks for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cognitive impairment.

But one advantage astaxanthin has is that its molecular structure is small enough to allow it to cross the blood-brain barrier. This gives it added ability to protect the brain and possibly even slow the onset rate of cognitive disorders.

Astaxanthin may also literally grow your brain. According to one study, astaxanthin can promote the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Researchers also found that those new cells had even greater learning and memory capacity.

Astaxanthin and heart health

Like omega-3s, astaxanthin has great benefits for your heart, including blood pressure. In one double-blind placebo-controlled study, postmenopausal women who took astaxanthin experienced a 7 percent reduction in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 4 percent reduction in diastolic pressure (the bottom number).

Astaxanthin can also help reduce LDL, the “bad” kind of cholesterol, and raise HDL, or “good” cholesterol. And since astaxanthin works in tandem with omega-3s in krill oil, you get a greater cholesterol-lowering benefit than with regular fish oil.

Results of one study showed patients who took 1 to 1.5 grams of krill oil a day showed a significantly higher decrease in bad cholesterol than patients who took three times that dose in fish oil.

Astaxanthin and blood sugar problems

Astaxanthin could be useful in preventing diabetic nephropathy, a disorder of the kidneys. According to one study in mice, the antioxidant activity of astaxanthin helped lower blood sugar, reduce stress on the kidneys and prevent renal cell damage.

Another study showed astaxanthin protected cells against the oxidative damage caused by high blood sugar levels. This damage can cause several complications in diabetics, including kidney disease, nerve damage (neuropathy) and vision problems (retinopathy).

Astaxanthin and eye health

While chemically astaxanthin shares some similarities with other carotenoids (like beta-carotene), it’s more closely related to oxygenated xanthophylls like lutein and zeaxanthin, both known for improving eye health. And like these two nutrients, astaxanthin can also help protect your vision.

But here astaxanthin has an extra edge, like it does in the brain…

Not only can the antioxidant cross the blood-brain barrier, but the same process holds for the retinal barrier.

In studies of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), supplementing astaxanthin and other carotenoids were found to significantly improve retinal electrical outputs, which helps slow AMD damage.

Glaucoma involves an increase in the pressure of fluid inside the eyeball that causes oxidant damage and loss of blood flow and eventually results in retinal cell death. In eyes with experimentally induced glaucoma, astaxanthin restored these retinal parameters to normal.

Another study showed that astaxanthin supplementation resulted in a 46 percent reduction of eye strain caused by visual display terminals.

Astaxanthin and skin health

Astaxanthin appears to act as a sort of natural internal sunscreen by helping to protect your skin from damage by the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. The nutrient builds up in the top two layers of skin, helping to block UV penetration and reduce existing sun damage like wrinkles and lack of elasticity.

Astaxanthin and longevity

Researchers have found that astaxanthin can significantly increase the activation of the so-called “longevity gene” located in our heart tissue. In fact, animals in one study that were fed large amounts of astaxanthin had a 90 percent increase in the activation of this gene.

Healthy aging is a hot topic in discussions surrounding lifespan. This is the intersection referred to as healthspan. Numerous studies have shown that supplementing astaxanthin appears most beneficial for many of the aging processes and organs most challenged by aging including the brain, eyes and skin, not to mention energy levels.

To supplement or not to supplement

There’s no doubt that seafood is a rich source of astaxanthin — but it has to be the right kind. Wild salmon contains between 26 and 38 mg of astaxanthin per kilogram, while farmed salmon only contains 6 to 8 mg per kilogram.

Some experts recommend getting about 3.8 mg of astaxanthin a day, the amount found in roughly 5.8 ounces of salmon. However, others say a therapeutic dose of astaxanthin is anywhere from 4 to 12 milligrams a day, which makes it difficult to get through diet alone.

That’s why supplementing with astaxanthin-rich krill oil is a great alternative. Just remember, because it’s a fat-soluble carotenoid, take it after a meal for best absorption in the body.

Sources:

Health Benefits of Astaxanthin — Nourish by WebMD

Health effects of astaxanthin have been long studied — Natural Products Insider

Beneficial and Detrimental Effects of Reactive Oxygen Species on Lifespan: A Comprehensive Review of Comparative and Experimental Studies — Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Biological and neurological activities of astaxanthin (Review) — Molecular Medicine Report

Astaxanthin: Sources, Extraction, Stability, Biological Activities and Its Commercial Applications—A Review — Marine Drugs

Clinical Applications of Astaxanthin in the Treatment of Ocular Diseases: Emerging Insights — Marine Drugs

The Microalgae-Sourced  Carotenoid That Delivers Broad Spectrum Antiaging Benefits — Clinical Education

The post Astaxanthin: The antioxidant that challenges aging appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That was decades ago. So why am I thinking about this now?

Because it makes me susceptible to a painful condition that affects about ten percent of people who have had chickenpox — and you’ve probably guessed that I’m referring to shingles.

That may not sound like a big risk. But some research I’ve read lately has me thinking more and more about getting the vaccine, not only to prevent this condition, but also because of its fascinating connection to dementia…

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What is shingles?

Like me, you may have had chickenpox as a child. If so, you now have a virus lingering deep in the roots of your nerves that can be reactivated at any time.

If that virus wakes up, it can cause you to suffer painful blisters and searing nerve pain, possibly even long-term nerve damage.

This is shingles, also called herpes zoster, after the virus that causes it.

In mild cases, a band of fluid-filled blisters that itch intensely will appear, most commonly around the left or right side of the body.

In more severe cases, though, the pain of shingles can be so intense that even a slight breeze or pulling a sheet over the body can cause unbearable pain. This pain can last months or even years and is known as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

There are also several variations of shingles that have varying degrees of severity:

Ophthalmic shingles, or shingles of the eye, can cause complications including corneal ulcers, glaucoma and potential blindness.

Ramsey Hunt Syndrome is a form of shingles that can cause blisters in and around the ear and mouth on one side of the face. The virus attacks a central facial nerve and can result in loss of hearing, facial paralysis, ear pain and changes in the ability to taste.

Internal shingles happens when the virus affects the body but does not cause a rash. Symptoms may be mistaken for the flu: fever, headaches, muscle aches, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. If the virus attacks internal organs, pneumonia, hepatitis, or encephalitis can result. If you feel sick but have neurological symptoms, like numbness, tingling and burning under the skin, you need to get medical treatment immediately.

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Shingrix does more than we bargained for

Since 2006, a vaccine called Zostavax has been used to prevent shingles, and in 2018, a new shingles vaccine called Shingrix was approved.

Unlike Zostavax, it does not use live viruses and is considered safer for people with compromised immune systems. But here’s an interesting “bonus” to both these vaccines:

In July 2024, research published in Nature Medicine revealed that the original Zostavax vaccine was associated with reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. At the time, the newly approved Shingrix vaccine, which became the treatment of choice for shingles, reduced that risk even more.

However, in these previous studies based on health records, researchers could not account for a significant source of bias: Vaccinated people tend to be more health-conscious. Behaviors such as diet and exercise, for instance, are known to influence dementia rates, but are not included in health records — so it was hard to truly narrow the reduced rates of dementia specifically to the vaccine.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the findings of a seven-year “accidental experiment” published in Nature in April 2025 appear to have strengthened the vaccination’s impact on dementia even more.

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An ‘accidental’ clinical trial

A fortuitous “natural experiment” in the rollout of the shingles vaccine in Wales that began in 2013 seemed to sidestep the bias. The vaccine used then contained a live-attenuated, or weakened, form of the virus.

How the vaccine rollout was designed — intended to ration the limited supply of the vaccine — meant that the slight difference in age between 79- and 80-year-olds made all the difference in who had access to the vaccine.

By comparing people who turned 80 just before Sept. 1, 2013, with people who turned 80 just after, the researchers could isolate the effect of being eligible for the vaccine.

The researchers compared the health outcomes of people closest in age who were eligible and ineligible to receive the vaccine, over seven years. By factoring in actual vaccination rates — about half of the eligible population received the vaccine, compared with almost none of the people who were ineligible — they could derive the vaccine’s effects.

By 2020, one in eight older adults, who were by then 86 and 87, had been diagnosed with dementia. But those who received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia than the unvaccinated.

“It was a really striking finding,” said Pascal Geldsetzer, M.D., PhD., assistant professor of medicine and senior author of the recent study published in Nature in April 2025. “This huge protective signal was there, any which way you looked at the data.

“What makes the study so powerful is that it’s essentially like a randomized trial with a control group — those a little bit too old to be eligible for the vaccine — and an intervention group — those just young enough to be eligible.” 

They also found that protection against dementia was much more pronounced in women than men. This could be due to sex differences in immune response or in the way dementia develops, Geldsetzer said. On average, women have higher antibody responses to vaccination, and shingles is more common in women than in men. More women are also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia than men.

The circumstances, well-documented in the country’s health records, were about as close to a randomized controlled trial as you could get without conducting one.

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Over 60? You’re at higher risk

While it’s not entirely clear what the connection is between dementia and the shingles vaccine, scientists have two possible explanations.

Here’s one: When a baby is born, specific molecules that potentially could cause inflammation and accelerate aging are silenced. But viral infections like shingles can reactivate the production of these molecules, which could lead to dementia.

Another possibility is that certain viruses, like the one that causes shingles, have the potential to support the rogue form of Amyloid-β proteins that accelerate the onset of dementia.

It’s also unknown whether a newer version of the vaccine, which contains only certain proteins from the virus and is more effective at preventing shingles, may have a similar or even greater impact on dementia.

Geldsetzer looks forward to a large, randomized controlled trial, which would provide the most decisive proof of cause and effect. Participants would be randomly assigned to receive the live-attenuated vaccine or a placebo shot.

As effective as the vaccine seems to be at reducing the risk of developing shingles (and potentially reducing the risk of dementia), it’s not entirely risk-free…

It carries an FDA warning about Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder, considered an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system attacks the nerves. In some adults over 65, there was a slightly elevated risk for developing GBS within 42 days of receiving it. Researchers describe the risk as “about three excess GBS cases per million vaccinations.”

It’s a personal decision, and you may have many factors to weigh, including your family history or genetic risk for dementia.

Sources:

Study strengthens link between shingles vaccine and lower dementia risk — EurekAlert

New Shingles Vaccine Does Even Better Job of Delaying Onset of Dementia — Science Alert

The recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with a lower risk of dementia — Nature

Herpes Zoster Vaccination Reduces Risk of Dementia — nih.gov

Newer Shingles Vaccine Edges Out Its Predecessor — Jefferson Health

The post The connection between dementia and the shingles vaccine appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

A severe injury like a car accident or a burn, a heart attack or stroke, or pneumonia is just a few of the ways you could land in the ICU.

Even the need for observation and monitoring after a complicated surgery could make you an ICU patient.

And statistically, the moment that happens, the more likely you are to die.

That’s because addressing the life-threatening conditions that arise in ICU patients has been a challenge.

That may be changing…

A new way to predict which critically ill patients are more likely to face a higher risk of death within the coming 30 days is a tool that could improve treatment and turn those odds to a higher rate of survival.

But the real chance of survival is up to you and starts way before you ever find yourself in an ICU…

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A sign your ICU stay could end in 30 days

A team of doctors from the University of Chicago and the University of Amsterdam has created an index of markers in a patient’s feces that can help gauge their risk of mortality within 30 days.

Dr. Alexander de Porto and his team have named this index the Metabolic Dysbiosis Score, or MDS. It can potentially help ICU doctors work around a diagnostic challenge they often face.

You see, patients admitted to an ICU often develop sepsis.

Let’s say you’re fighting pneumonia, or a kidney infection. Sepsis happens when your immune system goes into overdrive and starts killing things it shouldn’t, triggering body-wide inflammation and a real risk of organ failure and death.

But not everyone who develops sepsis does so in the same way, which means that two patients with the same syndrome may respond to the same treatment very differently.

According to Dr. de Porto and his team of researchers, one approach is to target specific traits rather than treating “sepsis” as a whole.

Knowing that critically ill patients often have reduced diversity in their gut microbiota (bacteria in the gut), the trait they focused on was dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut bacteria where harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial bacteria.

The researchers studied fecal samples collected from 196 patients exhibiting respiratory failure or shock, using them to develop the MDS, based on concentrations of 13 distinct fecal metabolites.

“The MDS performed well in predicting mortality in the training cohort of medical ICU patients, with 84 percent accuracy, 89 percent sensitivity, and 71 percent specificity,” the researchers said.

They also noted: “The metabolites comprising the score, such as short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan metabolites, point to biological pathways that might be targeted therapeutically …”

Potential interventions may include dietary modifications and the use of probiotics.

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What does all this mean for you?

First and foremost, this data underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy and balanced gut microbiome as a primary defense against serious illnesses.

For example, the MDS linked an underproduction of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) to a higher risk of mortality.

So where do you get SCFAs? SCFAs are produced by the “friendly” bacteria in your gut when you eat fiber — a critical nutrient that the majority of Americans do not get near enough of.

When the fiber you eat reaches your large intestine, it ferments and releases three types of short-chain fatty acids when broken down by gut microbes:

• Butyrate. A key energy source for cells lining the large intestine, butyrate may play a role in mitigating inflammation and supporting immune function.
• Propionate. Besides preventing constipation, propionate supports brain health and may protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.
• Acetate. Not to be confused with the plastic chemical found in products like paint and packaging, the presence or absence of the SCFA acetate affects gene expression, metabolic regulation and enzyme activity.

The following fiber types can help you produce these valuable SCFAs:

Inulin – found in onions, leeks, wheat and asparagus.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) – also found in onions and asparagus, as well as in many other fruits and vegetables, especially bananas.

Pectin – good sources of pectin include apples, apricots, carrots and oranges.

Arabinoxylan – found in cereal grains, especially in wheat bran, making up about 70% of the total fiber content.

Hopefully, you won’t ever end up in an ICU, but if you do, you’ll want plenty of those SCFAs to help you get through it.

Sources:

Something in Your Poop May Predict an Imminent Death — Science Alert

Fecal metabolite profiling identifies critically ill patients with increased 30-day mortality — Science Advances

The post Forget reading tea leaves: How poop predicts mortality appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

While antibiotics are invaluable for fighting bacterial infections, they can also present serious risks if overused or misused, and it appears that physicians are finally getting that message.

For instance, antibiotic overuse has been linked to gut problems because it destroys much of the friendly bacteria that make up the gut microbiota. One study found that it takes the gut microbiota as long as six months following antibiotic use to recover. Still some species of bacteria may never return.

When this happens, the effects extend far beyond the gut, potentially interfering with healthy aging and metabolic health, for starters.

As if that weren’t bad enough, researchers have discovered another lasting way antibiotics harm the gut — even if you haven’t taken them recently…

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Antibiotics’ effect on the gut lining

While previous research has shown the impact of short-term antibiotic treatment on the intestinal environment, it is less clear how repeated antibiotic use over time affects the gut.

So, researchers at Umeå University in Sweden teamed up with those at Tartu University in Estonia, who had built a deep cohort of individuals who provided stool samples and health records, to learn more.

The research team selected individuals who had taken at least five courses of antibiotics in the past, but not within six months of the stool collection. They then compared the microbiomes of these individuals with those of individuals who had not used any antibiotics within the last ten years.

As expected, analysis revealed changes to gut bacteria composition, indicating that repeated antibiotic use can have a lasting effect on the microbiome that can persist at least months after the most recent treatment, according to Kertu-Liis Krigul, a Ph.D. student at Tartu.

But that wasn’t all…

The researchers transplanted the human microbiota into mice and used specialized methods to analyze the function of the gut’s protective mucus layer. This continuously expanding layer lines the intestines and prevents bacteria from crossing it. However, if the gut microbiome is disrupted, the barrier can lose its ability to function properly.

They observed that bacteria from humans with a history of repeated antibiotic use contained higher amounts of bacteria that damaged the mucus layer, resulting in increased permeability.

That means dangerous bacteria could penetrate the intestinal lining, a symptom of a condition known as leaky gut syndrome, which can trigger inflammation and potentially contribute to the development of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

“Looking at the bacteria present in the gut in more detail, we could see that bacteria known to feed on the mucus layer were present at higher levels in these mice,” says Rachel Feeney, a Ph.D. student at Umeå. “This further supports a role for the gut bacteria in determining how well the mucus barrier can function.”

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Antibiotics themselves can do damage

In a separate study conducted as part of another international collaboration, researchers administered the antibiotic vancomycin to normal and bacteria-free mice.

By doing so, they discovered that the antibiotics themselves can directly disrupt the mucus lining in a manner independent from gut bacteria. The antibiotic was found to disrupt mucus expansion within a few minutes of application.

“Together, these two studies suggest that antibiotics can damage the mucus layer through at least two independent mechanisms, and that they may have long-lasting effects through an altered gut bacteria,” says Björn Schröder, docent in infection biology in the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå. “This further supports the notion that antibiotics should be administered in a responsible manner.”

There may be times when you can’t avoid using antibiotics to fight off an infection. When you do have to take them, it’s essential that you pair them with probiotics to help shore up your gut health.

There are plenty of foods that contain probiotics, including yogurt, kefir and fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and miso.

You can also get probiotics from supplements — but if you do, make sure the supplement you take contains live cultures. And be sure to take it two hours apart from your antibiotics.

Sources:

Antibiotic usage can damage the protective mucus layer in the gut — ScienceDaily

Antibiotics damage the colonic mucus barrier in a microbiota-independent manner — Science Advances

Antibiotic Use and Stewardship in the United States, 2023 Update: Progress and Opportunities — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The post How antibiotics wreak lasting damage in your gut appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

With the number of antimicrobial-resistant infections surpassing 2.8 million annually in the U.S. alone, the situation is not just alarming but also on a steady rise.

Recent findings from an international research team have shed light on a new factor contributing to the persistence of antibiotic resistance, adding to our understanding of the issue.

And it makes the best-known reasons for antibiotic resistance (overuse/misuse of antibiotics) pale in comparison…

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Nanoplastics overload and sabotage

As the troubling news has come out, we’ve shared that microplastics and nanoplastics are building up in the human body — found in blood clots, artery-clogging plaques, and human brains.

These plastic particles, smaller than 0.001 millimeters, are considered particularly harmful to humans thanks to their small size.

Because they are so tiny, you never see them, but you consume them in the fish and seafood you eat; they slide into your body when you drink bottled water, leach into your food from take-out containers, and hitchhike into your body on the air in your home.

In fact, the researchers say nanoplastics are a vastly underestimated danger indoors…

“The micro- and nanoplastic load is around five times higher there than outdoors. Nylon is one of the reasons for this: it is released from textiles and enters the body via respiration, for example,” says study author Lukas Kenner.

He and fellow researchers have discovered a new way they bring our health down — by binding to the medication we take and disrupting how it should function…

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Destroying antibiotic effectiveness

Using complex computer models, the researchers proved that nanoplastics can bind the broad-spectrum antibiotic tetracycline, which treats many bacterial infections, such as those of the respiratory tract, skin or intestines.

This binding can not only impair the effect of the drugs, but it could also cause the antibiotic to be transported to areas of the body it wasn’t meant for, so it either loses its intended effects or even causes undesirable effects.

Even worse, it could promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

 “Our finding, that the local concentration of antibiotics on the surface of the nanoplastic particles can increase, is particularly worrying,” said Kenner.

This is especially true considering they saw that certain plastics, such as nylon, can bind more strongly to tetracycline, which could worsen the antibiotic-resistance epidemic.

“At a time when antibiotic resistance is becoming an ever greater threat worldwide, such interactions must be taken into account,” Kenner continued.

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Reducing nanoplastic exposure

With that in mind, how can you limit the amount of nanoplastics your body is exposed to daily?

1. Don’t use nonstick pans – Nonstick cookware gradually loses its coating, releasing tiny plastic particles into the food cooked in them. In fact, a single crack in a Teflon-coated pan can discharge a whopping 9,100 plastic particles.
2. Filter your water – Skip the bottled water and instead use a reverse osmosis filter in your home.
3. Say goodbye to plastic – Toss out plastic food storage containers, dishware, cups, and plastic wrap for food storage. Instead, use glass, stoneware or porcelain.
4. Exercise regularly – Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA have been found in sweat, so getting in your exercise may help your body release these dangerous plastics.
5. Eat your veggies – Some cruciferous vegetables can act as chelators by binding to chemicals from plastic so that your body can sweep them from your body. Eat at least two servings of foods like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, or dark leafy greens like kale daily.

Also, to help your body deal with antibiotic issues, add a probiotic supplement to your daily regimen. Research has shown that people who take probiotics are less likely to require antibiotic treatment.

Sources:

Antimicrobial Resistance Facts and Stats — CDC

Nanoplastics impair antibiotic effectiveness and promote resistance — News Medical Life Sciences

The post The threat increasing your body’s resistance to antibiotics appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

However, because the cases to date have been mild, it’s been easy to ignore.

Unfortunately, the first severe case of the H5N1 virus was recently confirmed in a patient in Louisiana who has since died while hospitalized.

This has led many of us to wonder…

Is it time to worry about bird flu?

Details of the case

According to federal officials, the Louisiana patient is one of 61 people identified to have been infected in the U.S. so far this year.

But it’s important to note that in an interview with NBC News, Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said he’s heard reports of flu-like illnesses on dairy farms where the virus has been identified in animals.

“It’s certainly not a large amount,” he said, “but there’s probably a lot of [human] cases that are not documented.”

What’s different about this fatal case is not only the severity of the illness but that it was the first instance of a patient being infected by poultry from a backyard flock.

Additionally, the strain of the H5N1 virus that infected the patient is different from the strain that was found in poultry, cattle and infected farmworkers earlier this year.  Instead, the CDC says, this particular strain is much more similar to one that infected wild birds, as well as two people in Washington State and British Columbia.

The risks and how it spreads

Although the rest of the cases in the U.S. have produced only mild symptoms, in other countries, H5N1 bird flu has resulted in death for up to half of patients infected.

This makes it important to understand the risks of contracting the virus. Bird flu is a respiratory disease. Like other types of flu, it primarily affects the nose, mouth, throat and lungs, and spreads through saliva, mucous and feces. Infection may occur by breathing in the virus or if it enters the eyes, nose or mouth.

Per the CDC, people who have close contact with animals that could carry the infection, like workers on poultry and dairy farms, are at the highest level of risk.

However, anyone who has a backyard flock, like the patient in Louisianan can be exposed to bird flu and should take extra precautions when handling the birds. These precautions include:

• Wearing PPE, like goggles, N95 respirator, coveralls, rubber boots and disposable gloves to handle sick or dead birds
• Using PPE when coming in contact with feces, litter, or any surface or water source that could be contaminated
• Avoiding stirring up dust, bird waste, and feathers when cleaning or disinfecting areas where birds are kept

Anyone who hunts fowl is advised to take precautions as well.

Because viral bird flu fragments have turned up in the milk supply, it’s also recommended to avoid drinking raw milk and stick instead to pasteurized milk and milk products.

Symptoms to look for

The patient who became the first U.S. fatality was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions. Even with influenza and COVID-19, we’ve learned the health and age of an infected person can have a significant impact on their outcome.

As with any virus, precautions can help you avoid infection. It’s also important to know the symptoms you could experience ranging from pink eye, fever and fatigue, to congestion, runny nose, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath. Other symptoms include muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Medical experts do point out that symptoms can vary depending on how infection occurs.

For example, pink eye was the most common symptom of the farm workers infected earlier in the year, possibly because they were exposed to the virus by rubbing their eyes.

On the other hand, the patient in Louisiana was exposed due to a backyard flock and likely inhaled the virus. At the time he was admitted, he was experiencing severe respiratory problems and was considered to be in critical condition.

Preparation rather than worry

While it’s easy to draw a parallel between what we’re seeing with bird flu right now and what we went through with COVID-19, there’s actually good news.

According to Dr. Ben Bradley, assistant professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine’s pathology department, because we already have tests to identify the virus, “What we’re facing with H5N1 is a very different landscape than COVID-19.”

He does say however that we should be on the lookout for warning signs that the virus might be mutating or becoming more dangerous — especially any cases where bird flu was likely transmitted from person to person.

Also, Dr. Diego Diel, a virologist at Cornell University shared that he thinks the risk remains low, in an interview with The New York Times.

“However, it is important that people remain vigilant and avoid contact with sick animals, sick poultry, sick dairy cattle, and also avoid contact with wild birds,” he added.

In the meantime, it’s always a good idea to follow common sense advice for staying healthy during any flu season.

This includes following a healthy diet to keep your immune system strong and beefing up particular supplements with a long history of supporting immune health, like vitamin C, vitamin D and probiotics that promote microbial balance in your gut to help fight off pathogens.

Hibiscus tea is popular in traditional medicine where it’s the go-to drink to fight congestion, and the underlying causes of congestion — often cold and flu viruses. Its antiviral reputation likely comes from the fact that it contains a lot of vitamin C and antioxidants.

If you think you may be infected with any virus, or exposed to bird flu, see your doctor.

Being a bird lover, I had questions about my bird feeders and whether I should take them down. After reading what several trusted online sources had to say, I’ve opted to keep them up. The experts say the risk of transmission to common songbirds is low. However, poultry owners are advised to take down wild bird feeders or keep them well away from their captive flock.

Sources:

US has first severe bird flu case. When should we start to worry? — USA Today

First Bird Flu Death in U.S. Reported in Louisiana — The New York Times

Backyard Flock Owners: Protect Yourself from Bird Flu — CDC

Should you be concerned about bird flu? — Easy Health Options

Avian Influenza Outbreak: Should You Take Down Your Bird Feeders? — Cornell Labs All About Birds

The post Here’s what we know about the first U.S. bird flu death appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Norovirus is actually a term for a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It is also commonly referred to as “the stomach flu.”

There are about 2,500 norovirus outbreaks reported annually in the United States. The outbreaks can occur throughout the year but are most common from November to April. It’s not unusual to see surges during the holidays when people gather in close proximity and some may cook and prepare food not yet realizing they are infected.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, most people who think they have food poisoning actually have contracted norovirus from a contagious food handler.

And not only is norovirus highly contagious, it’s everywhere: offices, homes, schools, stores, hospitals, you name the place, it’s likely there.

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Causes And Risks Of Norovirus

Anyone who is actively infected can spread norovirus in public areas or at home. It spreads rapidly on hard surfaces like doorknobs, countertops and furniture.

It’s considered a food-borne illness also because it can spread easily through: 

• Infected people touching food with feces or vomit on their hands; 
• Food being placed on surfaces with tiny drops of feces or vomit; 
• Tiny drops of vomit from an infected person spraying through the air and landing on food or surfaces.

Note: If you or someone you know has norovirus, keep in mind that while symptoms can go away in a few days, a person is still contagious for three days after symptoms disappear. Unfortunately, many people who have norovirus feel better and engage in social functions while still contagious.

While the stomach flu is widespread and contagious, those with a strong immune system who wash their hands (I can’t emphasize hand washing enough!) and surfaces (ditto!) regularly are at lower risk. However, adults and children are at greater risk than infants or toddlers.

Uncomfortable Symptoms

Often the norovirus is spreading at the same time as the flu, but symptoms of these two conditions are not the same. As mentioned above, the norovirus is a virus of the gastrointestinal system, so symptoms of this group of viruses include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping (in the upper part of the abdomen). Secondary symptoms include headache, body aches, low fever, chills and fatigue.

Dizziness can be a prominent symptom due to dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea as well as a lack of thirst and upset stomach that limit fluid intake. Dehydration can be a serious problem, so please ensure you are drinking plenty of fluids all day, more so if you are in the vomit/diarrhea stage. Seek medical attention if dizziness persists more than episodically.

Treatment And Prevention

My son got the stomach flu and passed it on to me. Medically, there are no treatments (antivirals or vaccinations) for norovirus-caused gastroenteritis. And, as in the case of the flu, antibiotics do nothing, since those drugs can attack bacterial infections, not viral illness.

On my quest to reduce my symptoms, I worked through several rounds of different foods, beverages and supplements.

I found a few items that worked for me and made my life more bearable.

Food and beverages: A difficulty with food as therapy during a bout of gastroenteritis or norovirus is your aversion to eating. Everything is moving out of the body quickly, in one direction or the other. However, there are measures that help.

For instance, drinking ginger tea is a good way to reduce stomach upset and settle down the nausea and vomiting. You can buy (and have on hand) ginger granules that dissolve in hot water or teabags of green tea with ginger.

I prefer taking a fresh 2-inch piece of ginger root, chopping it up and boiling in 10 ounces of water until the water turns murky. I drain the fluid of particles and pour it into two 4-ounce cups for consumption. I found that taking it twice per day, morning and evening, works well. More than that can irritate the stomach or intestines.

I also kept on hand containers of organic chicken broth and organic vegetable broth. Both are nourishing to the stomach and keep you well hydrated. I heated the broth, poured it into cups, and drank as it if were a warm beverage. When you feel a bit better, you can eat chicken or vegetable soup, avoiding the kinds that are tomato-based.

Once diarrhea and vomiting subsided and appetite returned, the old BRAT diet standby worked well: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Low fiber and bland is the name of the game for a short while, especially if you still feel a little nauseous.

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For fast relief of stomach upset and heartburn associated with gastroenteritis, fill a teacup with warm (not hot) water and add a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of organic raw honey. Avoid making the water too hot, as that will kill the live honey, which is good for digestion. The apple cider vinegar helps decrease stomach acid and settles the stomach.

Supplements: Your stomach may not be ready for supplements until the nausea is gone. So when you feel able to “stomach” them, they can be helpful because the immune system is impaired or overworked and the body is losing nutrition from not eating, as well as the expulsion of food and liquids.

I focus on omega-3 fatty acids; a gluten-free, live, whole-food multivitamin; turmeric/curcumin; and a stress formula with the essential B vitamins. Boosting immune function, reducing inflammation and pain, and ingesting live nutrients are essential to lessen symptoms and for faster recovery.

Of course, vitamin D is a must year-round to support your immune system response.

Be On Guard

In the case of norovirus, if someone else is sick, do not touch or kiss him or share food. Be mindful of hard surfaces that contagious people have touched. Wash your hands several times a day, and keep your home and workspace clean and disinfected.

Wash all fruits and vegetables before consuming them; you don’t know if they’ve been handled by someone infected with norovirus.

Prevention is always the best cure. Good hygiene, a strong immune system, ample rest, and a nutritionally dense diet go a long way to protecting you from the stomach flu. And remember, even when symptoms have disappeared, you are still contagious for three days to a week. Be mindful of this when interacting with others.

(This article was updated and republished.)

The post Norovirus: What to know and how to avoid it appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The most common bacteria that can cause pneumonia and is typically found in the mouth is Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus).

The longer you let the bad bacteria brew, the more likely they are to travel to other places in your body — especially your lungs…

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See your dentist to keep pneumonia away

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University found that regular dental visits can reduce your risk of developing the dangerous respiratory infection, pneumonia, by an astounding 86 percent.

These researchers examined the health and dental records of 26,000 people and concluded that those who never visit the dentist for check-ups are 86 percent more likely to develop pneumonia than people who visit the dentist twice a year.

Of course, if you’ve only missed one or two dental visits, your pneumonia risk isn’t quite that sky-high. But you’re heading down a dangerous road…

A 2014 study confirmed the perils of putting off your dental visits too. In this study, Brazilian researchers found that people in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who received extensive dental care from a dentist were 56 percent less likely to develop a respiratory infection while in the hospital than those who just received run-of-the-mill dental care.

Clearly, there’s a connection between bad bacteria in your mouth and bad bacteria in your lungs… which makes perfect sense. If there are more bad bacteria lurking around anywhere in your body, there’s a greater risk of it going rogue and causing serious health problems.

And it’s not only your lungs that are affected. Bad mouth bacteria can make their way to your heart, blood and other organs too. It’s even been tied to an increased risk of cancer.

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Next-level oral hygiene

When life gets busy, it’s easy to let healthy practices fall to the wayside… including your biannual trip to the dentist.

But don’t put twice-yearly dental visits off too long. Because, if you do, it could set the stage for a serious infection. With the cold, flu and COVID viruses now circulating, we’ve got more to contend with. About a third of all pneumonia cases start as a respiratory illness.

Of course, it’s also critical to practice good oral hygiene in between dentist visits. That includes obvious habits like brushing and flossing daily, as well as less obvious habits like eating a healthy diet, supplementing for oral health and practicing the ancient art of oil pulling.

If you want to try it (my holistic dentist swears by it!) any edible oil will do, even though after using it to rid your mouth of nasty bacteria you should spit it out. Popular ones include coconut, sunflower or sesame seed oil. I am a fan of black seed oil because its known to promote a balanced immune system response and is effective against the inflammation that’s so closely tied to gum disease.

It comes in bottle or supplement form. I take a black seed oil supplement, so since I keep them on hand, I will break one open and mix it with a little coconut oil. Here’s a short primer on how to do it:

1. Put about 1 tbsp of oil in your mouth
2. Swish it around your mouth for about 15 minutes
3. Spit out the oil, then proceed with brushing your teeth

Sources:

1. “Regular dental visits may help prevent pneumonia, study shows.” ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

2. “Proper dental care linked to reduced risk of respiratory infections in ICU patients.” ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

3. T. Bellissimo-Rodrigues, et al. “Effectiveness of a Dental Care Intervention in the Prevention of Lower Respiratory Tract Nosocomial Infections among Intensive Care Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 2014; 35 (11): 1342.

The post How to reduce pneumonia risk by 86% appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

On one hand, that first day of crisp fall air absolutely thrills me…

But on the other hand, almost simultaneously, I begin waking every morning with dark circles under my eyes and raging congestion, followed by a nose that runs like a faucet.

Is it allergies, sinusitis, a cold or what?

In years past, I’d swear off the idea of allergies because I wasn’t sneezing and I didn’t have watery eyes. But after 50 years of it, something finally clicked… everyone doesn’t have the exact same allergy symptoms. And as far as seasonal allergies can go, fall takes the ticket by throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you — including mold!

This year, I’m ready. I’m armed with a full understanding of what’s attacking me — and how to tame it without feeling drugged up…

What the heck is stirring up your fall allergies?

I chose to write about my allergy issues (and how I’ve finally been able to relieve them) because so many other people are in the same boat right now. More than 24 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies.

Sometimes the symptoms can be confusing because colds are usually making the rounds this time of year as well. However, colds are more apt to present with a runny nose, sore throat and possibly a fever.

If you experience a postnasal drip (which can lead to throat irritation), headache, watery or itchy eyes, ear congestion and mild fatigue, it’s a good bet you suffer from allergies.

But what’s causing it? Well, let me count the ways that fall socks it to us…

Allergic rhinitis: This is typically the culprit when people blame hay fever for their misery. But it’s more likely that your trigger is ragweed — not hay. This plant and its irritants start in mid-August and can wreak havoc until the first freeze.

Lingering warm weather: If unseasonably warm days stick around longer than usual, rhinitis symptoms can last longer, too. And when those warm days include high humidity, you can blame mold spores for that horrible headache. Even a dry, windy day can help circulate these irritants.

Leaves, leaves everywhere: Aren’t the colorful fall leaves just beautiful? Yes, until they fall. First, they can trap moisture… and that means mold. Then, when we start raking, we’re stirring up that mold and agitating pollen. Yikes!

These are just a few of the things causing seasonal allergies… now let’s talk about what you can do to feel better through them…

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My first fall free of allergy symptoms

I stopped reaching for prescription and over-the-counter antihistamines a couple of years ago. Once I learned that most of the active ingredients in them were anticholinergic drugs, I cleared out my medicine cabinet.

That’s because anticholinergics (like diphenhydramine, found in products like Benadryl and Nytol) block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is critical to memory function. My colleague Joyce Holman has written about about how anticholinergics can put people at higher risk for developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and ultimately, Alzheimer’s disease.

My close family history of Alzheimer’s is too high for me to take that risk. Instead, as with most things health-related, I’ve chosen a natural route to get relief, starting with the golden oil of the Nigella sativa plant’s black seeds.

Black seed oil, as it’s more commonly known around the globe, was found to be an effective treatment for symptoms of allergic rhinitis when you want to avoid the effects of other allergy drugs. In a study of 66 patients, symptoms including nasal congestion, nasal itching, runny nose and sneezing were relieved during the first two weeks of taking it.

Last fall was my first year to try it. It was such a relief to wake every day without having to immediately grab a tissue and run for the medicine cabinet. Instead, before bed each night I took a supplement that contained the cold-pressed golden oil, then one with breakfast the next morning. I’ve never felt better, and it was probably the first fall I lived through without feeling like I was in a medicated fog.

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Other natural allergy symptom relievers

If the natural world can throw allergens at us, is it surprising that the answer to taming those allergens can be found in nature as well? If anyone understands the concept of balance, it’s Mother Nature.

Here are a few more remedies to help make fall your favorite allergy-free season of the year…

Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapples that helps thin mucus and alleviate swelling in the nose and sinuses. Even though I eat some pineapple every day, to get enough to help with allergies you’d need to supplement. Avoid if you’re on antibiotics, and talk to your doctor about it if you’re on blood thinners.

Quercetin, found in apples, red grapes, onions and teas is a natural decongestant, antihistamine and antioxidant that can stop the release of histamines by your body’s immune system. Supplementing would provide enough to help with allergy symptoms.

Eucalyptus not only smells great but if used in a vaporizer it can really open your sinus passages. You can even add a few drops to a small pot of boiled water and breath in the warm steam, carefully.

Sources:

Allergy Facts — American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Four Things You Might Not Know About Fall Allergies — American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Herbal treatment of allergic rhinitis: the use of Nigella sativa — The American Journal of Otolaryngology

Natural Remedies for Grass and Ragweed Allergies — Midwest Allergy Relief

The post The golden ticket to a fall free of allergy symptoms appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy and inexpensive way to head off the “crud” the kids inevitably transport home and to anyone else they come in contact with?

Well, research indicates there just might be a non-drug way to help them get over these infections quickly — and reduce the spread…

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Saline nasal drops could do the trick

A team of researchers enrolled 407 children aged up to six years in the ELVIS-Kids study. When they developed a cold they were either given either their usual care or hypertonic saline ~2.6 percent (saltwater) nasal drops.

Overall, 301 children developed a cold. In the nasal drops group, parents were given sea salt and taught to make and apply the nasal drops to their children’s noses. They administered three drops per nostril at least four times a day until the child was well.

The researchers found children using saltwater nose drops had cold symptoms for an average of six days, compared with the children receiving usual care, who had symptoms for eight days. The children receiving nose drops also needed fewer medicines during their illness.

“Children have up to 10 to 12 upper respiratory tract infections, what we refer to as colds, per year, which have a big impact on them and their families,” says Steve Cunningham, a professor at the University of Edinburgh. “There are medicines to improve symptoms, such as paracetamol [acetaminophen] and ibuprofen, but no treatments that can make a cold get better quicker.”

When children received saltwater nose drops, 46 percent of their households reported family members catching a cold, compared with 61 percent of households for children receiving usual cold care.

Also, 82 percent of parents reported that nose drops helped the child recover quickly, and 81 percent said they would use nose drops in the future.

“Reducing the duration of colds in children means that fewer people in their house also get a cold, with clear implications for how quickly a household feels better and can return to their usual activities like school and work, etc.,” Cunningham says. “Our study also showed that parents can safely make and administer nose drops to their children and therefore have some control over the common cold affecting their children.”

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Why it works

ELVIS-Kids chief investigator Dr. Sandeep Ramalingam, a consultant virologist for NHS Lothian in Edinburgh, U.K., notes that saltwater solutions are often used by people in South Asia as nasal irrigation and gargling to treat a cold.

The way the drops work hinges on the salt, or sodium chloride, in the water. “Chloride is used by the cells lining the nose and windpipes to produce hypochlorous acid within cells, which they use to defend against virus infection,” Cunningham says. “By giving extra chloride to the lining cells, this helps the cells produce more hypochlorous acid, which helps suppress viral replication, reducing the length of the virus infection, and therefore the duration of symptoms.”

Ultimately, saltwater nasal drops represent a safe, simple and inexpensive solution for reducing the duration of colds by two days, thus slashing the health and economic burden of colds on families.

The researchers hope to further study the effect of saltwater nose drops on wheeze-related colds. Initial results from this study showed children who received the drops had significantly fewer episodes of wheezing (5 percent versus 19 percent in children receiving the usual treatment).

To make your own saline nasal drops at home, add 1 teaspoon of non-iodized salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 2 cups distilled or boiled water that must cooled to room temperature before use. You can then use a sterile squeeze bottle to apply them.

If making your saline solution seems like too much of a hassle, saline nasal drops and sprays are inexpensive and readily available in drugstores. There are brands made specifically for use in children and for adults.

And even though saline solution drops were only tested in children, it probably would make sense for adults to try them as well to reduce cold duration — given how easy they are to use and what we’ve learned about how chloride from salt is instrumental in immune defense, why not?

Sources:

Saline nasal drops reduce the duration of the common cold in young children by two days — EurekAlert!

Saline Nasal Washes for Children: Care Instructions — MyHealthAlberta.ca

The post Using saltwater to shorten colds and stop the spread appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And that’s a shame because gardening comes with health benefits beyond growing your own organic food or favorite succulents…

For starters, it’s a great outdoor activity that supports good joint health and reduces stress. Even better, people who are dedicated gardeners get a significant longevity boost from it.

And if your “garden” only consists of houseplants, well, you can thank them for keeping your indoor air clean.

Now, there’s even more evidence of gardening’s positive impact on our health — especially for those like me who live in an urban environment…

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Soil, microbes and your immune system

Research has previously shown us that getting our hands dirty has benefits.

That’s because contact with microbially rich materials derived from nature, like dirt and plants, alters the human microbiota.

In a collaborative study between the University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland and Tampere University in Finland, subjects committed to try their hand at urban gardening to see if gardening on a constrained level could still be of benefit.

One group of participants used a growing medium for their plants that had high microbial diversity emulating the forest soil — while the other used a microbially poor peat-based medium that’s widely used, especially when getting plants from a nursery.

The results were amazing. After one month of gardening indoors, the participants who used the forest soil medium experienced an increase in their skin’s bacterial diversity and higher levels of anti-inflammatory molecules in the blood.

But the peat-based medium group? They had none of these benefits.

What this means is that gardening could lead to long-term changes in immune system functioning — but microbes are the key.

“The findings are significant, as urbanization has led to a considerable increase in immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases, generating high healthcare costs,” says doctoral researcher Mika Saarenpää from the University of Helsinki. “We live too ‘cleanly’ in cities.”

Saarenpää notes that urbanization leads to reduced microbial exposure and changes in the human microbiota. “This is the first time we can demonstrate that meaningful and natural human activity can increase the diversity of the microbiota of healthy adults and, at the same time, contribute to the regulation of the immune system,” he says.

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Urban gardening: Little space, big benefit

Saarenpää says at its best, microbe-mediated immunoregulation can lower the risk of immune-mediated diseases or potentially even reduce their symptoms. Increasing this healthy microbial exposure at the population level could even reduce the healthcare costs and improve people’s quality of life.

“We don’t yet know how long the changes observed in the skin microbiota and anti-inflammatory cytokines persist, but if gardening turns into a hobby, it can be assumed that the regulation of the immune system becomes increasingly continuous,” he adds.

According to Saarenpää, exposing children to nature and microbes is especially important since immune system development is most active in childhood. He recommends introducing plant boxes filled with microbially rich soil at kindergartens, schools and even hospitals, especially those located in densely built urban areas.

To minimize risks associated with urban gardening, he cautions to ensure the skin on your hands is unbroken and avoid inhaling dusty growing media.

So, if you live in an apartment in an urban area like me, what can you do to gain the benefits of gardening?

Beneficial microbial exposure through gardening can be practiced easily at home year-round with minimal space or financial investment.

In the study, participants gardened in regular flower boxes filled with plants like peas, beans, mustards and salads that came from regular shops.

It’s easy to start growing plants indoors, near a window. Then, if you’re lucky enough to have access to a balcony or roof space, or even a tiny plot of a yard, you could move your garden outdoors when the weather warms up.

That way, you’ll gain the benefits of fresh air and sunshine along with the microbial benefits of the garden.

Sources:

1. Urban gardening may improve human health – Research subjects benefitted from microbial exposure that boosts the immune system — EurekAlert!

2. Urban indoor gardening enhances immune regulation and diversifies skin microbiota — A placebo-controlled double-blinded intervention study — Environment International

The post Grow an indoor garden and watch your immune system flourish appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But how much exercise should you get? And how hard should your workout be?

Studies run the gamut on this front. But overall, the common advice is that your workout should at least be at moderate intensity for a total of 150 minutes (or five 30-minute sessions) per week.

Moderate intensity means you’re breathing hard enough that if you tried to sing, it would be difficult, whereas with vigorous activity you would find it hard to talk as well.

If you really want to supercharge your health, vigorous exercise appears to have greater benefits than moderate exercise.

However, there may be one area where the opposite is true….

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Hard exercise and the immune system

On the whole, exercise seems to be good for the immune system. In fact, one study observed that exercise appears to jump-start cytotoxic T cells, making them more able to attack cancer cells. That’s pretty impressive!

However, there is some evidence that exercising too much for too long can actually release stress hormones that suppress the immune system.

One team of U.S. researchers was interested in finding out if vigorous exercise can increase the odds of contracting respiratory infections. So they tested the blood, urine and saliva from 11 firefighters before and after 45 minutes of intense exercise involving carrying up to 44 pounds of gear over hilly terrain.

After examining 4,700 post-exercise fluid molecules, the researchers found the expected physical changes that help the body maintain the increase in fluids, energy and oxygen demanded by exercise. But they also discovered a decrease in molecules involved in inflammation, as well as an increase in opiorphin, a dilator of peripheral blood vessels.

It’s not clear what these changes mean for short-term immune system functioning. But in their paper, the researchers note that opiorphin may increase blood flow to muscles during exercise to improve the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. And they theorize that the decrease in inflammatory molecules they observed in the saliva after exercise could be an adaptation to improve gas exchange in response to higher cellular oxygen demand.

The researchers also observed a change in the participants’ oral microbiome, including an increase in antimicrobial peptides that was possibly compensating for the immune suppression.

“However, this increase in antimicrobial peptides had no effect on inhibiting E. coli growth, suggesting a limited capacity of antimicrobial peptides within the oral cavity to protect against host infections,” the researchers write in the study.

They conclude “there is evidence supporting a relationship between physical demands and a higher incidence of respiratory infections.”

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When to press ‘pause’ on exercise

Given the results of previous studies showing a link between exercise and improved immunity, there is a chance the changes observed in this study could be an indication of heightened surveillance and regulation by the immune system, not immune suppression. Still, the results warrant further examination.

There were some caveats to the study. Because firefighters experience exposure to distinct pollutants during fires, this could also change their immune reactions. And because the study considered only healthy, active men, further research needs to be done among a broader population to confirm the findings.

Until then, it may be a good idea to hold off on vigorous exercise at certain times, such as when you’re not feeling 100 percent. If you’re already feeling like you’re coming down with a cold or the flu, the last thing you want to do is suppress your immune system.

You may want to take extra precautions to bolster your immune system, especially if you have a physically demanding job. Here are some tips that might help:

• Try black seed oil. Used in ancient Egypt, the oil of the black Nigella Sativa seeds has been found to hold over 100 different compounds with analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Two of the most studied, thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone, target the immune system.
• Get enough sleep. Shortchanging your sleep can suppress your immune system, so be sure to get eight hours a night.
• Take probiotics. Studies have demonstrated that taking a regular probiotic can support your immune system. Add a daily supplement to your routine and eat more probiotic-rich foods like kefir, yogurt and sauerkraut.

Sources:

1. Study Finds Potential Downside to Vigorous Exercise We Didn’t Know About — Science Alert

2. Elucidating regulatory processes of intense physical activity by multi-omics analysis — Military Medical Research

3. Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 — NHS

The post The one time the benefits of exercise don’t hold up appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I shower every morning, and when I do, I let the soapy water run down onto my feet as I wash the rest of me, but I don’t specifically wash my feet. To stand on one foot and soap up the other just seems like an invitation to a fall.

But I’ve learned that there are some good reasons I should be paying more attention to my feet in the shower…

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It turns out that there’s more to cleaning feet than just letting some suds touch them every morning. After all, they work hard every day, carrying me around and getting crammed in and out of shoes, socks and sandals.

I could be doing a lot more to prevent the calluses, itchiness and toenail fungus that I’ve learned to live with. Maybe you’re in the same boat…

Here’s what I’ve learned about the proper care and tending of my hard-working feet…

Why wash?

I’ve learned that there are three very good reasons to wash my feet at least once a day, and none of them have to do with blue toenail polish. Here they are…

To prevent odor. No one wants smelly feet. But a more important reason to wash is to get rid of the bacteria that cause foot odor.

“Bacteria [like] to feed on waste products that come out of your sweat glands, and they produce odor as they build up,” says Dr. Robert K. Lee, chief of podiatric foot and ankle surgery at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica.

Just thinking of all those microscopic critters feasting on my feet is enough to get me scrubbing.

To exfoliate. I exfoliate my face daily, so why not my feet? Dead skin clogs pores and can be the repository for waste products that feed bacteria.

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To avoid infections. Three types of foot infections that are all too common are staph infections, athlete’s foot and plantar warts.

• Staph infections — The staphylococcus bacterium lives even on the skin of healthy people. But when it gets into the body through a cut, even one you don’t notice, it can cause an infection. A staph infection of the foot can cause boils, blisters or painful rashes, and you’ll need an antibiotic to cure it.
• Athlete’s foot — Athlete’s foot is a common fungal infection that people tend to pick up when they walk barefoot in moist, public places. This is because damp, humid environments allow the fungus that causes it to thrive. But you can also end up with a case of athlete’s foot if your feet sweat a lot and you don’t clean them enough.
• Plantar warts — The human papillomavirus virus (HPV), of which there are at least 100 types, is the culprit here. It enters your body through an opening in the skin on the bottom of the foot and causes warts to grow on pressure-bearing parts of the foot, often the heel. But instead of protruding, plantar warts actually grow inward, causing a lot of tenderness and pain when you’re walking or standing.

When should you wash your feet?

If your feet are naturally very sweaty, or if you engage in sports or other activities during the day that cause your feet to sweat, you should be washing them every night. Taking all those bacteria and fungi to bed with you is just asking for trouble.

It’s really not a bad idea for all of us to do a nightly footwash. We all accumulate sweat, bacteria and dead skin that can cause infection and odor.

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How to clean your feet

With a few simple daily steps, you’ll have smooth, soft feet in no time. And again, this is important not just for cosmetic reasons.

Start by washing your feet with gentle antibacterial soap and a bristle brush. This will thoroughly clean them, and the exfoliation will help to prevent dry, cracked heels and calluses.

Next, dry them. Then, dry them again, especially between the toes. Any moisture you leave behind increases the chance of fungus or bacteria settling there.

For natural nail fungus care, various essential oils have been reported to have antifungal and microbial properties including coconut oil and black seed oil. These oils can be massaged into the nail bed and between your toes.

Finally, apply a thick, moisturizing foot cream, and put on a pair of cotton socks (but not to bed — that’s the time to let your feet “breathe”). Preventing dry skin will prevent the cracks that allow bacteria and fungus to enter.

And, if you want to go the extra mile, try an activated charcoal foot mask to absorb odors and draw impurities from the body.

Sources:

1. Um, do you actually need to wash your feet? — Self.com
2. Why you must try an activated charcoal foot mask — footfiles.com
3. Why you should be washing your feet every day — footfiiles.com
4. Warning signs of athlete’s foot — Health Prep

The post How to clean your feet to avoid infection, fungus and warts appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

What if I told you that an inexpensive over-the-counter remedy that’s probably sitting in your medicine cabinet right now could drastically reduce your chances of coming down with one?

You might be skeptical, to say the least.

But this kind of thing happens all the time. Through persistence and careful research, science finds cures that have been right under our noses all along…

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Neosporin stimulates immune system response

Currently, most therapies used to fight respiratory viral infections are delivered intravenously or orally. Their purpose is to keep existing infections from spreading and worsening.

However, a new study by Yale University researchers suggests that a therapy delivered through the nose would have a much better chance of stopping infections before they can spread to the lower respiratory tract and cause severe disease.

The study found that mice treated intra-nasally with the common antibiotic neomycin showed a strong interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) defense against both the SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza A virus.

And in healthy humans, nasal application of the over-the-counter ointment Neosporin — a triple-antibiotic ointment containing neomycin — also triggered a swift immune response by ISGs.

Interferon (IFN) is a natural substance produced by white blood cells. It helps the body’s immune system fight infection by signaling the expression of ISGs so they can keep viruses from replicating within the body.

“This is an exciting finding, that a cheap over-the-counter antibiotic ointment can stimulate the human body to activate an antiviral response,” says Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine and co-senior author of the new study.

“Our findings suggest that we might be able to optimize this cheap and generic antibiotic to prevent viral diseases and their spread in human populations, especially in global communities with limited resources.”

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Other ways to rouse your immune system

If the idea of applying an ointment usually reserved for cuts and burns to your nose doesn’t delight you, there’s something else you can do to simulate interferon signaling to kick ISGs and your immune response into gear…

According to Professor Colin Smith, lead author of research published in 2022 in Frontiers of Immunology, “We have shown that vitamin D3 appears to stimulate the type I interferon signaling system in the body — a key part of the immune system that provides a first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Thus, a healthy vitamin D3 status may help prevent viruses and bacteria from gaining a foothold in the body.”

That same research differentiated vitamin D3 from the more common form, D2. According to Professor Susan Lanham-New, co-author of the study, “While we found that vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 do not have the same effect on gene activity within humans, the lack of impact we found when looking at vitamin D2 means that a larger study is urgently required to clarify the differences in the effects. However, these results show that vitamin D3 should be the favored form for fortified foods and supplements.”

If you’re prone to respiratory infections, your lungs could probably use a little extra protection. Omega-3s can help there…

Researchers who analyzed genetic data from a large European study of over 500,000 patients drawn from the UK Biobank found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood correlated with better lung function and a reduced rate of decline in lung function.

Sources:

Common antibiotic may be helpful in fighting respiratory viral infections — Yale News

Intranasal neomycin evokes broad-spectrum antiviral immunity in the upper respiratory tract — PNAS

Protective Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on COVID-19-Related Intensive Care Hospitalization and Mortality: Definitive Evidence from Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis — Pharmaceuticals

The post The medicine cabinet ointment that fights respiratory viruses appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

After all, water is a building block your body needs to keep away aches and pains and prevent foggy thinking and brain aging.

And now that I’ve hit the perimenopausal years, it’s a must to keep bladder infections away.

That’s why I keep my reusable water bottle close at hand. It’s not only convenient but also great for helping me keep track of how much water I’m drinking.

However, according to a report by the Cleveland Clinic, if we’re not careful about how we’re using them, they can lead to sickness instead of wellness…

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When’s the last time you washed your water bottle?

According to Marianne Sumego, MD, a primary care physician with the Cleveland Clinic, “Everything that touches our reusable water bottles can transmit bacteria. We put our mouth to the water bottle, we lift the straw, we set it down — so bacteria can be transferred from any contact that’s made.”

And thanks to the moist environment a water bottle creates, bacteria and molds can thrive.

Unfortunately, these bacteria and molds tend to be invisible to the human eye. So while you don’t even know they’re there, they can be damaging your health on a daily basis.

Those bacteria can result in symptoms similar to food poisoning. And the mold growing in your water bottle can cause a flare-up of allergy symptoms.

Take Lauren Garkow, a Los Angeles-based medical student, for example, who discovered that the recurrent throat problems she had been living with were due to a buildup of mold in her water bottle.

“I noticed there seemed to be a film on the inside, so I got a paper towel to scrub it and then noticed the mold,” said Garkow. “I made sure to scrub all the way to the bottom, and the whole inside of the bottom was a molded film.”

Thankfully, once the mold in her bottle disappeared, so did her throat issues.

“The biggest misconception [about reusable water bottles] is that they’re really safer than they are,” said Sumego. “Folks feel like they can’t get sick from them, and they forget that it’s a drinking source – like every other glass we use.” 

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Keeping your water bottle clean

Because, as Sumego reminds us, “The amount of bacteria that can collect on your water bottle is often more bacteria than there might be in your kitchen sink and other surfaces that we regularly recognize as being dirty,” — it’s important to do more than simply rinse out your bottle.

Instead, to get rid of the germs and mold that can infest your bottle:

• Scrub all of the tiny nooks and crannies that make up your bottle with both soap and hot water using a wire brush. This includes all of the removable pieces. Do this at least every day, if not between each use.
• Keep more than one water bottle on hand so that you have a backup if you don’t have time for a thorough cleaning.
• Stick with glass or stainless steel bottles since it’s harder for bacteria to stick to their surfaces. Stainless steel is best if you have allergies because a buildup of mold is less likely.
• Consider putting your water bottle in the dishwasher rather than hand washing, since the high temperatures help to kill off bacteria and mold.

Sources:

Can your Reusable Water Bottle make you Sick? — Cleveland Clinic

Your Water Bottle Could Be Germier Than Your Kitchen Sink — WebMD

The post The surprising risk from reusable water bottles appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Not only has it resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, it has now been detected spreading in both cattle and goats, as well as a cluster of cats on a Texas dairy farm, which scientists didn’t believe were even susceptible to the virus. And because bird flu has made its way to dairy cows, viral fragments are turning up in the milk supply.

It has recently infected a person after close contact with animals carrying the virus.

But in an interview with NBC News, Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said he’s heard reports of flu-like illnesses on dairy farms where the virus has been identified in animals.

“It’s certainly not a large amount,” he said, “but there’s probably a lot of [human] cases that are not documented.”

So, the question most of us have is should we be worried about bird flu? And if so, what do we need to know?

‘Enormous concern’

According to the WHO, because the H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading from one species to another, including to humans there is cause for ‘enormous concern’.

As the UN health agency’s chief scientist Jeremy Farrar explains, “The great concern of course is that in… infecting ducks and chickens and then increasingly mammals, that virus now evolves and develops the ability to infect humans and then critically the ability to go from human to human.”

From 2003 to April 1^st of this year, the WHO has followed a total of 889 infections in humans in 23 countries. These infections have resulted in 463 deaths, which puts the fatality rate for bird flu at approximately 52 percent.

That is in comparison to COVID-19, for which Johns Hopkins places the fatality rate in the U.S. at just 1.1 percent.

Despite the high fatality rate of bird flu in humans, however, there may be variance based on country and level of care received. There have been only 2 documented cases of infection in the U.S.

In 2022, a prison inmate was infected from birds at a poultry farm in Colorado, the only symptom was fatigue.

According to AP News, the person most recently infected in Texas only reported symptoms of eye redness.

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Avoid the risk

Bird flu is currently not spreading via human-to-human transmission, and the CDC believes the current risk of A(H5N1) infection to the general public remains low. Those most at risk are people with close and prolonged exposure to infected animals and their environments.

So it’s a good idea to avoid contact with animals that may be infected and places where these animals are kept — particularly poultry and dairy farms.

Although the findings of the virus in milk are a worry, scientists say that the genetic material found is not the same as infectious virus. And they believe that pasteurization inactivates the virus in milk. That means raw, unpasteurized milk could be potentially dangerous.

However, as Dr. Rick Bright, a virologist and the former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), says, “There’s so many critical things that we still need to know to get a better perspective on how bad this is, or maybe it’s not so bad.”

If you’ve been in contact with an animal you think might be infected or experience symptoms, talk to your doctor.

In the meantime, it’s always a good idea to follow common sense advice, such as following a healthy diet to keep your immune system strong and beefing up particular supplements with a long history of supporting immune health, like vitamin C, vitamin D and probiotics that promote microbial balance in your gut to help fight off pathogens.

Also, it’s important to note that a 2016 study in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Science found that hibiscus tea extract significantly and quickly reduced the virus and stopped it from replicating in Petri dishes.

Sources:

WHO Warns Growing Spread of Bird Flu to Humans Is ‘Enormous Concern’ — Science Alert

What to know about the latest bird flu outbreak in the US — AP News

As bird flu spreads in cows, here are 4 big questions scientists are trying to answer — NPR

MORTALITY ANALYSES — Johns Hopkins

Bird flu cases are likely being missed in dairy workers, experts say — NBC News

The post Should you be concerned about bird flu? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And for many of us, the virus has hit more than once.

Unfortunately, even when bouts with the virus are mild, experts are now warning that repeated infections can have serious consequences.

That’s because the more times you have COVID, the higher your odds are of suffering from long-haul symptoms…

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Debilitating effects and potentially lifelong consequences

Aptly named long COVID, it’s a phenomenon wherein the initial virus seems to clear, but the problems it brings linger.

Known for causing a host of conditions, long COVID has been linked to micro-clots in the blood and includes debilitating symptoms such as:

• Extreme fatigue
• Brain fog
• Memory issues
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Joint and muscle pain
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Tinnitus or ringing in the ears

While global estimates now put the number of people living with long COVID at around 65 million, it’s been difficult to determine how likely anyone who’s been infected is to end up with the long-haul symptoms. Research has shown the odds could vary anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent.

But now, it appears the variable in that equation may have to do with the number of times a person has been infected with the virus.

Reinfection leads to long COVID in multiple organ systems

Epidemiologists followed 138,818 US veterans with SAR-CoV-2 infections across two years and found that reinfection increases the risk of long COVID in multiple organ systems.

In fact, their study showed that the negative health effects of two rounds of COVID-19 infections are worse than one. And three infections are even worse than two!

In other words, long COVID is actually a cumulative problem. And every time you’re infected, your risk goes up.

As physician Rambod Rouhbakhsh puts it, “Each subsequent COVID infection will increase your risk of developing chronic health issues like diabetes, kidney disease, organ failure and even mental health problems.”

And he warns, “This dispels the myth that repeated brushes with the virus are mild and you don’t have to worry about it. It is akin to playing Russian roulette.”

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So how do repeated COVID rounds lead to long-term problems? Well, as is much about COVID-19, it’s not completely clear yet.

However, what we do know is that the virus attacks the cells in our body most critical for creating long-term immunity. It sweeps its way into our memory T cells and causes them to self-destruct.

This means that whether you suffer from a mild or severe infection, the virus leaves these cells depleted and your body more open for additional infections, whether from COVID again, or another disease, like the flu or pneumonia.

Long COVID help

The good news is that for those of us living with the symptoms of Long COVID, researchers are also exploring ways to help…

#1 – Help for COVID fatigue

One of the main symptoms of Long COVID is extreme and often debilitating fatigue. Research has shown that resetting the vagus nerve can provide dramatic relief from this symptom. A supplement combo, including L-arginine and liposomal vitamin C, has been shown to help in a matter of days.

#2 – Supporting cellular energy

COVID-19 has been found to zap mitochondria — the “power generators” within cells. CoQ10 and PQQ are two nutrients that have been researched for their support of mitochondria.

#3 – Reduce risk of infection

Past research shows that vitamin D helps reduce the risk of respiratory infections. In fact, low vitamin D levels raise the risk of both respiratory diseases (like tuberculosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and respiratory infections caused by bacteria and viruses. Low levels of the vitamin have also been linked to fatigue.

Sources:

Every COVID Infection Increases Your Risk of Long COVID, Study Warns – Science Alert

Most Americans have now had Covid-19 – but experts are predicting the next surge – CNN

The post Understanding who gets long COVID and why appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

This phenomenon came further to the forefront during the pandemic, when it became clear that people with diabetes were more likely to develop severe lung disease after contracting a serious COVID-19 infection. In fact, about 35 percent of those with COVID-19 who died during the pandemic had diabetes. That’s roughly 1 in 3 COVID-19 sufferers!

Research shows that high blood sugar weakens your immune system, which not only means you’re more open to infection but that it takes longer for that infection to heal. What has been less clear is why.

Now, investigators at the Weizmann Institute of Science may have hit upon the mechanism behind the link between diabetes and more serious lung infections…

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How sugar levels affect lung dendritic cells

The researchers exposed diabetic mouse models to a variety of viral lung infections. Just as in humans with diabetes, the diabetic mice developed a severe, fatal lung infection following exposure to pathogens such as influenza. This resulted from severe impairment to the immune reaction that normally eliminates the infection and drives tissue healing.

To help unravel what’s behind this heightened risk, the team evaluated gene expression in more than 150,000 single lung cells of infected diabetic and nondiabetic mice — experimenting with immune and metabolic mechanisms and performing an in-depth assessment of immune cell gene expression.

“High blood sugar levels severely disrupt certain subsets of dendritic cells in the lung, preventing these gatekeepers from sending the molecular messages that activate the critically important immune response,” says Dr. Samuel Nobs, a postdoctoral fellow who was the study’s first author. “As a result, the infection rages on, uncontrolled.”

More importantly, they learned how high sugar levels disrupted the normal function of those gatekeeper cells: Altered sugar metabolism led to an accumulation of metabolic byproducts that disrupted the normal regulation of gene expression. This led to production of an abnormal immune protein.

Next, the scientists explored ways to prevent the harmful effects of these high sugar levels in lung dendritic cells. When blood sugar was closely controlled with insulin, the dendritic cells were able to regain their immune response capacity.

They also found administering small molecules reversed the sugar-induced dysfunction of the dendritic cells. Both of these protective responses could prevent the cascade of events leading to a life-threatening viral lung infection.

“Controlling sugar levels may make it possible to reduce this pronounced diabetes-associated risk,” says Eran Elinav, a professor at Weizmann. “In diabetic patients whose sugar levels are not easily normalized, small molecule drugs may correct the gene alterations caused by high sugar levels, potentially alleviating or even preventing severe lung infection. Local administration of such treatments by inhalation may minimize adverse effects while enhancing effectiveness, and merits future human clinical testing.”

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Tips on reducing lung infections

While these results are encouraging, they’ll need to be duplicated in humans before any therapies can be developed.

Until then, if you have diabetes, it’s imperative to make sure your blood sugar is well-controlled to avoid complications in general. And it turns out that a group of foods recommended by The American Diabetes Association (ADA) can help in more ways than one…

As part of the ADA Diabetic Plate method, they advise:

• Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and leafy greens.
• Fill one-quarter of your plate with protein that’s minimally processed and low in fat, like chicken, fish, tofu or beans.
• Fill one-quarter of your plate with carbohydrates like fruit or whole grains.

Now, pay close attention to what I’m about to tell you about the foods listed in the first bullet…

Like your gut, your lungs have a protective lining or barrier. It’s made up of two layers: one of endothelial cells and one of epithelial cells. The layers allow oxygen to enter, but they must also be strong enough to keep pollution, viruses and bacteria out.

Research has identified a gut-lung axis linking diet to protection against lung infection via the endothelial cells in one of those layers. The food they found that offers the most support for your lung’s protective lining is cruciferous vegetables. So adhere to the recommendation to add broccoli and cauliflower to your plate.

Next, keep your omega-3 levels up. A large two-part study found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood correlated with better lung function and reduced rates of decline in lung function.

Lastly, if you do find yourself hospitalized with a severe lung infection, brushing teeth twice daily during your stay may reduce the risk of serious respiratory complications.

Sources:

1. Why people with diabetes are more prone to respiratory risk — EurekAlert!

2. Lung dendritic-cell metabolism underlies susceptibility to viral infection in diabetes — Nature

3. Tips for Eating Well — American Diabetes Association

4. Protein — American Diabetes Association

5. What superstar foods are good for diabetes? — American Diabetes Association

The post Why diabetics have higher risk of severe lung infections appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You’ve probably heard of T-cells, those powerful disease-fighters we all need.

But have you ever wondered why they’re called “T” cells and not “B” or “F” cells?

The “T” stands for thymus, a small gland located in the chest, between the lungs and behind the breastbone.

Your thymus is the organ that produces those powerful T cells and “trains” them to recognize invaders, like bacteria or viruses, and not to attack your body — which otherwise could lead to autoimmune disease.

But for a long time, the thymus has not been considered important in adult life…

Convention has held that it begins to shrink into adulthood and by the time you’re 65, it’s pretty much “done for” — the result of an aging immune system.

But when researchers looked at the gland in older Swedes, they found it may be possible to head off this degeneration — giving us an opportunity to revive the little gland that’s key to a lifetime of good health…

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Fatty thymus reflects aging of the immune system

The SCAPIS study (Swedish cardiopulmonary bioimage study) examined CT scans of the thymus gland in 1,000 Swedish individuals aged 50 to 64.

At the same time, they analyzed cells in their blood and saw that individuals with fatty degeneration of the thymus showed lower T-cell regeneration.

Dr. Mårten Sandstedt of the Department of Medicine and Health Sciences at Linköping University described certain conditions that made fatty degeneration of the thymus more likely to occur — and they’re the same factors that lead to fat in other areas of the body…

“We saw a huge variation in thymus appearance,” he says. “Six out of ten participants had complete fatty degeneration of thymus, which was much more common in men than in women, and in people with abdominal obesity.

“Lifestyle also mattered. Low intake of fibers in particular was associated with fatty degeneration of thymus.”

Professor Lena Jonasson of the Department of Medicine and Health Sciences at Linköping University, says that this finding presents an opportunity to support our thymus before it’s too late.

“This association with T-cell regeneration is interesting. It indicates that what we see in CT scans is not only an image, it actually also reflects the functionality of the thymus.

“You can’t do anything about your age and your sex, but lifestyle-related factors can be influenced. It might be possible to influence immune system aging,” she says.

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Slim down your thymus

Clearly, adding some fiber to your diet can only help your immune system. It can also support your health in a multitude of other ways — but most importantly it can help you avoid the abdominal fat associated with a fatty thymus.

One study showed that for every 10 additional grams of fiber people eat, their visceral fat (the type that collects deep within the belly) shrinks. 

There are a few other things you can do to support an aging thymus so hopefully, it can keep supporting your immune system…

• Get more antioxidants. One study found that antioxidants — including vitamin C — can protect the thymus from free radical damage and some of that age-related thymus shrinkage.
• Reduce wheat in your diet. Research has shown that a chemical in wheat called wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) contributes to thymus shrinkage.
• Supplement zinc. It’s the most important mineral your thymus needs. Correcting a zinc deficiency may prompt the thymus to grow and start generating T cells again.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners. Studies have found artificial sweeteners like sucralose shrink the thymus gland in rats.
• Try tapping. Tapping your chest over your thymus gland may stimulate a sluggish immune system. Try tapping the center of your chest, below your collarbone, for 15 to 20 seconds a few times a day. Hum as you do for even better results.

Sources:

Immune system aging can be revealed by CT scan — Science Daily

Complete fatty degeneration of thymus associates with male sex, obesity and loss of circulating naïve CD8+ T cells in a Swedish middle-aged population — Immunity & Ageing

How the immune system’s key organ regenerates itself — Medical Express

The post Scans revealed how to slow immune system aging appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

At this level, candida is harmless. It’s when it starts to grow out of control that it becomes a problem. This happens when the balance of healthy bacteria and yeast is thrown out of whack.

Mild Candida overgrowth is responsible for diseases like thrush, diaper rash and vaginal yeast infections. However, if it really gets out of hand, it can lead to invasive candidiasis, a life-threatening infection that targets your blood, bones, brain and heart.

And that’s not all. Scientists are beginning to discover that even mild Candida overgrowth can affect your health in sneaky ways. Candida has been linked with diarrhea, brain fog, memory loss, constipation, insomnia, joint pain, headaches and more. In fact, mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been connected to Candida infection.

It gets worse. Candida overgrowth can actually trigger an infection that mimics a disease dreaded by aging adults…

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How Candida sneaks into the brain

Previous research has indicated fungi could be linked to chronic neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. However, there has been limited understanding of the role they play in the development of these diseases.

A team of researchers worked with animal models to discover how Candida enters the brain and generates amyloid beta (Ab)-like peptides. Ab peptides are toxic protein fragments that are believed to be central to the development of Alzheimer’s.

The researchers also examined how the fungus activates two separate mechanisms in brain cells that promote its clearance.

First, the team found candida produces enzymes called secreted aspartic proteases (Saps) that break down the blood-brain barrier, allowing the fungus to access the brain.

Prior research had shown that a Candida brain infection is fully resolved after 10 days in otherwise healthy mice. In the more recent study, the researchers identified two mechanisms triggered by Candida in brain cells called microglia.

“The same Saps that the fungus uses to break the blood-brain barrier also break down the amyloid precursor protein into AB-like peptides,” says first author Dr. Yifan Wu, postdoctoral scientist in pediatrics at Baylor University. “These peptides activate microglial brain cells via a cell surface receptor called Toll-like receptor 4, which keeps the fungi load low in the brain, but does not clear the infection.”

Candida also makes a protein called candidalysin that binds to microglia via a different receptor. “Candidalysin-mediated activation of microglia is essential for clearance of Candida in the brain,” Wu says. “If we take away this pathway, fungi are no longer effectively cleared in the brain.”

Results of this study represent another crucial piece of information regarding the development of Alzheimer’s.

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“The current explanation for this condition is that it is mostly the result of the accumulation of toxic Ab-like peptides in the brain that leads to neurodegeneration,” says corresponding author Dr. David Corry, a professor of pathology and immunology and medicine at Baylor University.

Corry notes that the main line of thinking is these peptides are produced endogenously, meaning our own brain proteases break down the amyloid precursor proteins from which the toxic Ab peptides spring.

However, in the study, the researchers show Ab-like peptides can be made by Candida, which has its own set of proteases for generating them.

Corry says these findings in animal models support further studies to evaluate Candida’s role in Alzheimer’s, which could lead to new therapeutic strategies.

Keeping the fungus under control

Knowing how Candida works in the brain to cause damage definitely gives us more reason to control it. There are a couple of things you can do to keep it from running rampant in your body.

The most important is to not give Candida food to feed on. And the food it loves best is sugar.

The Candida diet suggests not only eliminating most sugars but also improving gut health and restoring the balance of the bacteria and yeast in the body.

Per their site, they suggest non-starchy vegetables, fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, low-sugar fruits like blueberries, proteins like chicken and fish, and pseudo-grains like quinoa — and avoiding pro-inflammatory triggers like gluten and processed foods.

Also be aware that some common medications can upset your body’s pH and make your body ripe for candida to flourish, most notably broad-spectrum antibiotics and oral corticosteroids. Antacids and acid blockers do as well. That’s why it’s important to take probiotics or eat yogurt. Just be careful of the yogurt you choose as most store brands are high in sugar.

Sources:

Fungal infection in the brain produces changes like those seen in Alzheimer’s disease — ScienceDaily

Toll-like receptor 4 and CD11b expressed on microglia coordinate eradication of Candida albicans cerebral mycosis — Cell Reports

Candida Albicans — Cleveland Clinic

The post The fungus that causes Alzheimer’s-like brain changes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But some viruses don’t go away when your symptoms do. They stick around silently for years and can put you at risk for serious diseases in the future.

Take the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) as an example.

This common virus causes mononucleosis (aka the kissing disease), which sweeps high school and college campuses every fall. Mononucleosis can keep you glued to the couch for days, weeks or even months. But eventually, the symptoms go away and you’re back to your normal self again.

The only problem is, once you get EBV, everything doesn’t go quite back to normal. EBV lies latent in your body for the rest of your life. And as a result, you have a much higher risk of major diseases like cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Now, the Epstein-Barr virus is a member of a larger family of viruses known as the herpesvirus family. And it turns out, EBV isn’t the only herpesvirus that can set you up for serious health problems down the road.

The latest research shows that several herpesviruses are connected to another major disease — Alzheimer’s.

Herpes increases Alzheimer’s risk

I already mentioned that mono is caused by a herpesvirus. But there are plenty of other herpesviruses besides EBV. In fact, there’s eight of them… human herpesvirus 1 (HHV-1) through human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). They cause everything from genital herpes to cold sores to chicken pox.

And now research shows these common viruses may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s…

A study published last month by researchers at Arizona State University and Icahn School of Medicine found that people with Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to have human herpesvirus-6A and human herpesvirus-7 (both of which cause the childhood disease roseola) in their brains.

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This discovery inspired researchers to look back at other studies on herpesviruses and dementia, and here’s what they uncovered…

A 2018 study and a 2017 study found that human herpesvirus-3 (the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles) increases dementia risk too.

Plus, another 2018 study found that human herpesvirus-1 and human herpesvirus-2 (the ones that cause cold sores and genital herpes) more than double the risk of dementia. People with these viruses were 2.5 times more likely to develop dementia than people without them.

Can antiviral treatment prevent Alzheimer’s?

After hearing about this alarming connection between common herpesviruses and Alzheimer’s, you’re probably wondering…

If herpesviruses increase the risk of dementia, can antivirals help prevent dementia?

And based on this latest study, the answer is yes.

People in the study who took antivirals to treat their herpes infections had a 10 times lower risk of Alzheimer’s. Pretty amazing, huh?

So, if you have a herpes infection of any kind, get it taken care of. If you prefer natural antivirals, my colleague Joyce Hollman recently wrote about six ways to cure the common cold sore, which is caused by a herpesvirus. She recommended antivirals and immune-boosters like:

• Lysine
• Licorice root
• Peppermint oil
• Vanilla oil or extract
• Lemon balm
• Manuka honey

She suggested applying these remedies to a cold sore topically. But they can be taken internally too. You can also try powerful, antiviral herbs like garlic, oregano, echinacea, olive leaf, astragalus and elderberry. Whatever approach you choose, do your brain a favor and get those herpesviruses in check before it’s too late.

The post This common virus more than doubles Alzheimer’s risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Growing up Jewish, this comes as no surprise to me. Chicken soup was the standard remedy for colds and flu, before medicine, before a visit to the doctor.

Well, I’ve found out a few things since then.

First, Jewish mothers aren’t the only ones pushing chicken soup. It’s used as a remedy in many cultures around the world, each with its own variation.

And second, there are real, medicinal qualities that make chicken soup more than just, well, chicken soup.

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Sweet, sour, bitter, salty and…

There’s a fifth category of taste called umami, often described as a “meaty” taste.

But not all umami foods are meat or poultry. Cheese, mushrooms, miso and soy sauce have it, too.

And it’s the umami taste in chicken soup that starts the healing process.

When you have a cold, your appetite often decreases, and you don’t get enough nutrition to help your body heal.

Studies show that the umami taste in chicken soup may help to spur a better appetite—and you know what they say about feeding a cold.

Chicken soup promotes nutrient absorption

Umami also seems to prepare our bodies to receive nutrients that are especially important when our bodies are healing.

Once the brain senses umami through our taste buds, our digestive tract becomes primed to absorb proteins more easily.

Not only does this help with healing, but it may also relieve gastrointestinal symptoms that can go with the flu, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

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Chicken soup reduces inflammation and congestion

Inflammation is part of our body’s natural response to injury or illness. Inflammation occurs when white blood cells migrate to inflamed tissue to help with healing.

In the case of upper respiratory illnesses, it’s our nose, throat and upper airway that need healing, and so white blood cells migrate there, causing the dreaded stuffy nose, thickened mucus and coughing.

If you can reduce white blood cell count in the nasal passages, you reduce inflammation.

And guess what does that?

Research shows that chicken soup can inhibit the ability of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to travel to the inflamed tissues, thus reducing the white blood cell count and reducing inflammation. This can help relieve a stuffy nose — and that’s a big deal, now that we know some of the popular OTC decongestants just don’t work.

Also, the steam from hot chicken soup can increase blood flow to the nasal passages, which also helps with inflammation. One study showed that chicken soup does this more effectively than the steam from a hot bath or shower.

And soup also prevents dehydration, which could cause mucus to harden, making it difficult to expel.

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A recipe for recovery

It is important to clarify that we’re talking about homemade soup here, not the ultra-processed chicken soup that you get from a can.

Not only do the canned versions contain few hearty vegetables, but they’re also devoid of the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals you’ll get plenty of when you make homemade chicken broth/soup including:

• Essential fatty acids – help with rebuilding membranes like those in the nose and throat.
• Protein – repair tissue and fight infection.
• Iron – your body uses it to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of your body.
• Selenium – an essential component of proteins that protect against cell damage and infection.

Be sure your soup is chock-full of vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions. They all have vitamin C, which we know helps to cure colds by acting as an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals.

Be generous with the chicken. It’s a great source of vitamins B3 and B6 and tryptophan, an essential amino acid that helps the body produce its “feel good hormone,” serotonin.

And for the extra energy your body needs during recovery from illness, add noodles — an easily digestible carbohydrate.

Lastly, maximize the healing potential of chicken soup by inhaling the vapors as they rise from your steamy bowl or mug. This increases the temperature of nasal and respiratory passages, which loosens mucus and helps you breathe easier quickly. Add a little spice and garlic and this will work even better!

To get you started, here are two easy and wholesome recipes that contain a lot of the ingredients we’ve talked about here:

Slow cooker chicken soup with white beans and spinach

Roast chicken soup

Sources:

Chicken Soup Has Been a Remedy For Thousands of Years… But Why? — Science Alert

The Nutrients Behind Chicken Soup — Mom’s Meals

Sharing umami with the world — Umami Information Center

Umami flavor enhances appetite but also increases satiety — The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro — CHEST Journal

The post Recipe for recovery: The science in chicken soup appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and associate director for the School’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, in an interview with the Harvard Gazzette earlier this fall, said COVID has killed more than 100,000 Americans this year already.

And that, he says, is twice what would be considered a bad flu year.

The good news, though, is that for those hardest hit, an effective treatment has come to the forefront…

Widening blood vessels and reducing viral load

Patients with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 pneumonia often experience critically low oxygen levels, which presents a real and present danger in both the short and long term.

In the short term, this oxygen deprivation starves the organs and increases risk of death. And in the long-term patients who survive the initial onslaught can experience sensory and motor neurological problems, like weakness and pain in the arms and legs.

Now, a treatment that is used to treat severe cardio-pulmonary conditions in newborns and adults is showing real promise in reversing oxygen deprivation even in the most critically ill patients and reducing the risk of long-term suffering.

The treatment used is known as inhaled nitric oxide gas, which widens blood vessels in the lungs.

And a recent multicenter international phase II clinical trial led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) is proving it may change COVID-19 treatment for the better…

Investigators randomized 193 adults with COVID-19 and respiratory failure who were on ventilators at four hospitals in the United States and one in Sweden to receive high-dose nitric oxide (up to 80 parts per million)  for 48 hours or usual care.

And it was clear that patients given nitric oxide fared much better…

The results showed that treatment with nitric oxide not only improved oxygenation, it also reduced the risk of patients developing long-term sensory and motor neurologic symptoms.

If that weren’t enough, patients given nitric oxide also had lower levels of SARS-CoV-2 in their blood and sputum, which the researchers say points to the anti-viral power of nitric oxide.

And unlike so many other care options, inhaled nitric oxide was not linked to any serious adverse events.

It’s worth noting that nitric oxide was also found beneficial for treating another coronavirus in 2004. You may remember Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as SARS, which originated in southwest China in 2002. That research was the reason that some frontline doctors turned to it without question at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The history of nitric oxide

So what is nitric oxide and why is it so powerful?

Those answers were found in the Nobel Prize-winning work of three pharmacologists…

Fred Murad, Robert Furchgott and Louis Ignarro found this incredible vasodilator molecule in the endothelial lining of the blood vessels. They discovered that nitric oxide works as a signaling molecule, capable of telling the blood vessels to relax, which allows for healthy blood flow and oxygenation throughout the body — to all organs, including the lungs.

That’s why nitric oxide has been shown to help in the case of numerous health conditions, including:

• cardiometabolic syndrome
• support for brain health
• healing diabetic foot ulcers
• reducing erectile dysfunction
• bringing long-term blood sugar down

Because of its effects on blood flow and oxygenation, nitric oxide can even help increase endurance making it vital for athletes and non-athletes alike.

It has also been heavily studied in regard to benefits for people experiencing high blood pressure.

All of this, along with the latest success in COVID-19 treatment, means that nitric oxide might just be one of the most important health discoveries of our century.

Sources:

Clinical trial reveals benefits of inhaled nitric oxide for patients with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 pneumonia — EurekAlert!

The post Nitric oxide successfully treats viral lung injury appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It’s a habit I started during the pandemic — and it just stuck. That’s a good thing…

Because it seems the pandemic also spurred on some new habits for scientists too — like diving into research that shows us the sheer amount of germs or bacteria we’re exposed to in our day-to-day activities, where to find them in high concentrations and how long they thrive on all kinds of surfaces.

Remember what they told us about toilet plumes? I know I’ll never flush with the lid up again.

Plus, we’ve learned certain items can gather and retain these germs, like your pillowcase or cell phone. For instance, cellphones tend to be particularly dirty, containing 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats!

Well, there’s a new item to add to the list of things to sanitize to keep infections at bay…

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Wristbands are crawling with germs

More and more of us are using wristband devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers. We wear these devices every day, yet few of us ever think about cleaning them.

A group of researchers from Florida Atlantic University recently decided to test wristbands worn by active individuals for potentially harmful pathogens. They examined wristbands made of plastic, rubber, cloth, leather and metal to see if there is a link between type of material and prevalence of bacteria.

After looking at bacterial counts, type of bacteria and distribution on the wristband surface, the researchers found that 95 percent of the wristbands were contaminated.

However, metal wristbands — especially gold and silver — had little to no bacteria, while rubber and plastic wristbands had higher bacterial counts. The most significant predictors of bacteria load were the texture of the wristband material and the hygiene of the subject wearing it at sampling time.

“Plastic and rubber wristbands may provide a more appropriate environment for bacterial growth as porous and static surfaces tend to attract and be colonized by bacteria,” says Dr. Nwadiuto Esiobu, senior author and a Florida Atlantic University professor.

On average, the trend of bacterial load from greatest to least was cloth, plastic, rubber, leather and metal.

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As for specific bacteria, the researchers discovered multiple species of Staphylococcus on 85 percent of the wristbands and E. coli on 60 percent. They also found multiple species of Pseudomonas on 30 percent of the wristbands.

Staphylococcus can cause a wide variety of diseases including skin infections, endocarditis, bone infections and pneumonia. Pseudomonas can cause infections in the blood, lungs (pneumonia) or other parts of the body after surgery. E. coli usually infects people through fecal-oral transmission and in some cases can cause severe stomach pain, bloody diarrhea and kidney failure.

Those who had gone to the gym showed the highest staphylococcal counts.

The researchers say the results show how necessary it is to regularly sanitize these wristbands.

“Even at relatively low numbers these pathogens are of public health significance,” Esiobu says. “Importantly, the ability of many of these bacteria to significantly affect the health of immunocompromised hosts indicates a special need for healthcare workers and others in hospital environments to regularly sanitize these surfaces.”

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The best disinfectants for your wristband

In addition to detecting bacteria, the researchers identified the best protocols to properly disinfect the wristbands. They screened the effectiveness of three different disinfectants: Lysol Disinfectant Spray; 70 percent ethanol, which is commonly used in hospitals and alcohol wipes; and apple cider vinegar, a natural disinfectant.

The results show both Lysol Disinfectant Spray and 70 percent ethanol had a 99.99 percent kill rate within 30 seconds of application, regardless of the wristband material. Apple cider vinegar, by contrast, required a full 2-minute exposure to reduce bacterial counts and wasn’t as potent at doing so as the other two disinfectants.

For all the disinfectants, antibacterial effectiveness was increased significantly at 2 minutes after application versus 30 seconds.

Esiobu says other potential forms of bacterial transmission such as earbuds or cellphones should be similarly studied.

Just be sure to clean your electronic items carefully to avoid damaging their components, and give it a few hours before you wear them, in case your skin is sensitive to disinfectant. If you have a known sensitivity, you might opt for the apple cider vinegar method.

Sources:

1. Common wristbands ‘hotbed’ for harmful bacteria including E. coli, staphylococcus — EurekAlert!

2. Prevalence and Disinfection of Bacteria Associated with Various Types of Wristbands — Scientific Research

3. Surface Cleaning and COVID-19: What You Should Know — WebMD

4. Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 — NHS inform

5. Staphylococcal Infections — MedlinePlus

6. Your Cell Phone Is 10 Times Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat. Here’s What to Do About It — Time

The post How your smartwatch or fitness tracker can make you sick appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The good news is that the potential to become severely ill or die from COVID-19 has lessened. The existing variants circulating right now appear to be milder, and we have plenty of health measures in place to take care of those who contract more significant forms of the illness.

Still, no one wants to feel the COVID-19 crud for 7 to 10 days. Or worse, have to take that nasty antiviral Paxlovid to help with symptoms.

Luckily, there’s one nutrient that a growing body of evidence shows may be essential to COVID-19 protection…

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Vitamin D can help shorten COVID-19 duration

While vitamin D has long been associated with bone health, its importance as an immune-supporting nutrient has really come to the forefront…

Studies have found that vitamin D deficiency can leave people open to more severe viral and bacterial illnesses, and that supplementing specifically with vitamin D3 can help fortify the body against these illnesses.

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers discovered a correlation between low vitamin D levels and greater COVID-19 severity. More recently, at least one clinical trial has been conducted that showed vitamin D supplementation helped reduce severity and death in patients with COVID-19.

Now, a team of U.S. researchers has dug deeper into the impact of vitamin D on COVID-19. To do so, they enrolled 40 patients who had just or very recently tested positive for SARS-Cov-2 to measure levels of vitamin D and other nutrients.

Here’s what they found:

• Participants with low vitamin D experienced COVID-19 symptoms for 22 days, compared with 14 days for those without vitamin D deficiency.
• Those with low vitamin D levels also experienced significantly higher severity of two symptoms: cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. All other individual symptoms were also more severe in the low vitamin D group, although the differences were not considered significant.
• About 78 percent of participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and had higher vitamin D levels than those who didn’t. This finding suggests higher vitamin D levels support greater antibody production.
• Seven of the study participants had vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL and active COVID-19 infection. This subgroup received 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day for two weeks, followed by 5,000 IU a day for three weeks. The supplementation was well-tolerated and raised vitamin D levels from 26.3 to 41.4 ng/mL after 2 weeks. Also, these participants experienced mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms at the start of treatment, and none of them became severe.

Vitamin D wasn’t the only nutrient the researchers tested for. They found the participants had unusually low levels of vitamins A, C, E and MK-7 (a form of vitamin K2), but normal levels of zinc and higher levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).

The researchers say this indicates a pattern of increased oxidative stress and that supplementation with high doses of these nutrients should be investigated along with vitamin D supplementation.

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Vitamin D deficiency remains a common phenomenon

Clearly, more of us need more vitamin D in order to avoid deficiency and give our immunity the boost it needs to fight off illnesses like COVID-19. Here are the stats to prove it…

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate nearly 1 in 3 Americans have deficient or insufficient vitamin D levels. The CDC defines deficiency as less than 30 nmol/L, and insufficiency as 30-50 nmol/L.
• Only 23 percent of U.S. adults aged 19 or older meet the adequate intake of vitamin D from diet alone.
• Only 37 percent of Americans consume vitamin D supplements.

However, just because some participants in this study were given 10,000 IU a day, that’s not where you should start to ensure adequate levels — unless directed to do so by your physician. In fact, he can test your levels and make recommendations.

Of course, reasonable amounts are found in over-the-counter vitamin D supplements ranging from 400 to 5,000 IU. These amounts have been found safe for adults.

Remember it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for dosage recommendations. If you follow this commonsense rule about supplementing vitamins, you get all the benefits without any of the worries.

Also, make sure you’re taking vitamin D3, not vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is more easily absorbed by the body and, according to the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, most evidence indicates that vitamin D3 increases serum 25(OH)D levels to a greater extent and maintains these higher levels longer.

Source:

1. Vitamin D and Covid-19 — Natural Medicine Journal

The post The treatment study that pitted vitamin D against COVID-19 appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Many people don’t take off work when they feel bad, so they go to work often passing the germs to others, contaminating surfaces and spreading the misery.  This often leads to more people getting sick.

Catching a cold is one of the most commonly occurring illnesses; on average, children have six to eight colds per year and adults have two to four.

The cost of the common cold

The cost of a simple cold can really add up. U.S. Consumers make approximately 26 trips a year to purchase over-the-counter products to treat their symptoms with the average consumer spending $338 per household, according to the data collected by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

That makes a serious dent in your pocket. Then there are the concerns about over-the-counter cold remedies…

For at least 10 years, research has linked anticholinergic drugs — a type of drug that includes nighttime cold medicines — with cognitive impairment and an increased risk of dementia in older adults.

And the most widely used cold medications containing phenylephrine have been removed from shelves after the FDA found they do not help relieve decongestion.

Is there a better way? Well, there’s no magic cure for the common cold, but you might find a way to ward one away, shorten the duration or ease your symptoms.

We have all heard about garlic which is believed to be useful for the treatment of the common cold. But does it actually work?

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Clinical research

The most researched antibacterial activity of garlic is attributed to allicin. It is believed that Louis Pasteur, a French biologist, described the effect of garlic for the first time in 1858, although no reference is available.

And as the years of interest in garlic have ticked on, modern research has found garlic to be effective against many strains of bacteria.

But what about the virus behind the common cold?

There have been mountains of research to see how it stacks up. But in the scientific world, it’s almost standard practice to end research conclusions with, “… although the results were reliable this single trial isn’t enough to validate that garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties…”

So, we’ll just share the research and let you make up your mind…

• After reviewing the evidence of a 2014 study that assessed 146 participants for over three months, researchers concluded: People who took garlic daily instead of a placebo had fewer colds when comparing to the placebo group.
• Another study explored the effects of aged garlic on the immune system.  This study concluded that aged garlic could partly be responsible for the reduced severity of colds and flu reported by the participants..
• A large 12-week study revealed that a daily garlic supplement reduced the number of colds by a whopping 63 percent when compared to a placebo. Not only that, but the average length of cold symptoms was also reduced by 70 percent!

Overall, garlic appears to carry some clout for preventing the common cold, and we may know why…

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Getting your garlic on

Allicin, which is the active ingredient in garlic, and other sulfur-containing compounds in garlic have been shown to boost the disease-fighting response of some types of white blood cells in the body when they encounter viruses.

Garlic products sold as supplements vary widely in the amount of allicin, they contain. The lower the amount of allicin, the less effective a garlic product may be.

But considering the effects of eating enough raw garlic to boost your health, supplementing may be the less offensive route.

American Family Physician suggests one to two cloves of raw garlic per day. More than that and you may experience a burning sensation of the mouth or stomach — not to mention heartburn, gas nausea, body odor and bad breath.

Garlic is safe to consume by mouth for most people however some can have allergic reactions. Raw garlic can cause severe skin irritation.

Garlic is a natural blood thinner, so if you’re on blood-thinning medication, make sure your doctor gives you the OK to either supplement it or eat more of it.

Sources:

Garlic for the Common Cold — Cochrane

Consumer Healthcare Products Association Statistics — CHPA

Aged Garlic Extract Modifies Human Immunity — The Journal of Nutrition

Preventing the common cold with a garlic supplement: a double-blind, placebo-controlled survey — Advances in Therapy

Garlic: A review of Potential Therapeutic Effects — Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine

Antiviral activity of garlic extract on influenza virus — ResearchGate

The post What garlic can do for the common cold appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The CDC recommends anyone getting a flu vaccine should do it by the end of October.

But it’s important to know, as they state on their site, that the protection provided by a flu vaccine varies from season to season. Some of the variables include the age and health status of the person getting the vaccine and the similarity or “match” between the viruses in the vaccine and those in circulation.

In other words, it’s not going to make you 100 percent less likely to get the flu. They say it should fall between 40 to 60 percent, but for the last five years of available data, it didn’t breach 40 percent.

In fact, last year’s (2021-2022) was estimated to be 36 percent effective, with the highest effectiveness seen in individuals 6 months to 8 years of age (43%) and the lowest effectiveness observed in individuals aged 50 years or older (10%), per Pharmacy Times.

The good news is, they have higher hopes this year — estimating a 54 percent effective rate. But the last time we saw effectiveness rates near that level was in 2011.

Now don’t get me wrong — it’s not that I don’t place any value in a seasonal flu shot. I just want you to know that trying to stay well during flu season may be best approached from multiple angles.

What’s the old saying — never put all your eggs in one basket, right? So, I’d like to share with you additional precautions you can take to reduce your risk of infection this flu season…

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Immune-boosting vitamins and minerals

Vitamin and mineral nutrients are vital to a healthy body and for an effective immune system. I used to believe that the best sources of these nutrients were whole foods.

However, truly nutritious whole food can be troublesome to find these days. I could go on and on about the problems associated with genetically modified foods, pesticide-ridden produce, meat that increases your risk of antibiotic resistance and how over-farming has depleted soil to a point that there are fewer vitamins, minerals and micronutrients for plants to uptake as they grow… but I won’t today.

I will suggest that you do your best to eat a well-balanced diet, full of fruits and vegetables (preferably organic) and grass-fed beef and farm-raised chicken, if possible. Don’t forget fatty fish at least twice a week (your heart will thank you).

But I think it’s very important to supplement just get even basic nutrient levels. Just follow the manufacturer’s guidelines about recommended servings.

However, there are very few vitamins that most of us can get too much of, especially if eating the standard American diet.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Vitamin A deficiency is associated with impaired immunity and increased risk of infectious disease. Vitamin A supports and maintains your mucosal surfaces, like the lining in your sinuses, where pathogens can be trapped and attacked by your body’s “killer” T-cells — your body’s first line of defense. Food sources include mango, sweet potato, carrots, squash, tuna fish, cashews and peanuts.

Vitamin C has been the “go-to” nutrient to strengthen the immune system for as long as I can remember. Studies also support its immune-enhancing properties. During infection and stress on the body, vitamin C concentrations decline. But supplementation has been found to improve components of the immune system such as antimicrobial and natural killer cell activities.

Excess amounts of vitamin C leave the body through urine, so don’t be afraid of getting too much. If you get diarrhea and know it’s not because you’re sick, that’s a sign of too much vitamin C. Food sources of vitamin C include citrus fruit, green and red bell peppers, kale, broccoli, and strawberries. 

Vitamin D is extremely valuable to the immune system. In fact it’s considered “the lost cure.” But in the U.S. alone, 42% of adults are deficient. Studies have shown that vitamin D, which is produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight, signals an antimicrobial response.

Get as much as you can safely from the sun, but supplement, too. Food sources include salmon, fortified milk, fortified cereal, pork, eggs, and mushrooms. When supplementing choose vitamin D3, not D2, and here’s why…

Research at the University of Surrey concluded that both types of vitamin D do not have the same effect. They found evidence that vitamin D3 had a “modifying effect” on the immune system that could fortify the body against viral and bacterial diseases.

They stated, “We have shown that vitamin D3 appears to stimulate the type I interferon signaling system in the body — a key part of the immune system that provides a first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Thus, a healthy vitamin D3 status may help prevent viruses and bacteria from gaining a foothold in the body.”

Zinc is an immune-booster on its own, but it is mighty in combination with vitamin C. Most Americans get enough zinc through their diet, but research has shown the value of a “zinc burst” to activate the immune system. Vitamin C and zinc can together reduce the risk, severity, and duration of infectious disease. Food sources include beef, cooked oysters, spinach, cashews, and wheat germ.

Quality matters when supplementing

Let me say a thing or two about the kind of supplements you might use, and I’m not referring to brand…

Most vitamins come in the form of rock-hard horse pills. These vitamins are very hard to digest. Most of it will probably exit your body barely digested. If you’ve been taking those kinds of vitamins, no wonder you might be skeptical about their benefits.

Luckily, vitamins come in different forms. I enjoy my little round B12 tablets, flavored like cherry, that melt in my mouth and enter my bloodstream quickly. You can also find time-release forms that stay with you longer, not just for B12 but for others as well.

Liposomal vitamin C is a form that is generally better absorbed and can raise blood levels of vitamin C more efficiently. A study in 2020 found it almost twice as bioavailable as other forms of the vitamin.

Vitamins A and D are fat soluble. That means with a little fat, as in your diet, they are better absorbed and used by your body. A higher-quality supplement will include a bit of fat in the formulation, often safflower oil. Compared to vitamin D2, D3 was shown to raise blood levels faster and maintain them better.

Quality matters for supplements. That doesn’t mean they have to cost an arm and a leg — but if you’re looking for cheap ones, you may get cheated of the results you’re expecting. Just take time and choose wisely.

For more dos and don’ts about supplementing, check out these tips.

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The healing power of garlic

Your flu season survival plan is not incomplete without garlic.

Garlic contains a powerful compound known as allicin that is likely responsible for its long-standing reputation as a traditional cure-all. It’s even been reported to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In studies, allicin has demonstrated antiviral, antifungal and antibiotic effects. Odorless garlic capsules are available in stores, but I think you get more of garlic’s medicinal benefits when you cook with it. Most dishes could benefit from a couple of cloves of garlic without being overpowering.

Below is a recipe for garlic broth that could be made ahead of time to store in the fridge to sip on daily or use as a base in soups or other recipes. Mashed potatoes are especially good made with broth instead of milk.

Ingredients for Garlic Broth:

• 8 cups organic vegetable stock
• 1.5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• A pinch of dried sage
• Shitake mushrooms (see why below)
• Salt to taste

Bring to a boil then simmer for about half an hour.

Now, mushrooms have been part of the human diet and used medicinally for about 3,000 years. And many immune-boosting formulas of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) include mushrooms, particularly Maitake, Shitake, and Reishi.

The shitake mushroom is especially recommended by practitioners of TCM for enhancing immunity. It contains lentinan, an antiviral substance that possesses strong immune-stimulating activity. They also contain something called beta-glucans which has been extensively studied as an immune-booster. Shitake mushrooms can be added to recipes or you can consume shitake tea or soup. I would visit a good natural health food store for tea and dried soup mixes. You can also find mushroom powder online.

Good luck! I hope you make it through this flu season unscathed.

The post How to prep to survive flu season appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The Ayurveda tradition, which began in India, from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, may be the most familiar to most of us.

You may not know a lot of specifics about it, but chances are you’ve heard of it, especially if you’re of the mindset that you’d rather avoid getting sick in the first place than have to work harder at treating or reversing a condition… a difficult thing to do (though, not impossible) once disease has a hold on the body.

That last part is something our modern health system has never quite embraced. We go to the doctor when we’re sick — not when we’re well, except for maybe that yearly checkup which provides the perfect opportunity for your doctor to increase whatever current medicines you may take.

But Ayurvedic practices advocated the maintenance of good health through oral traditions which included a vast knowledge of healing plants. Finally, doubters can put their money where their mouth on at least one of those ancient remedies..

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The history of Nigella sativa

The Nigella sativa plant — also called black cumin, black sesame and black caraway — is native to Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean. And much of the earliest information we have about it was written by “the most influential philosopher of the pre-modern era.” His name was Avicenna and he put those oral traditions down in writing in two books: The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine. These books were created around the years 1020 and 1025 and remained the standard of medicine through the mid-17^th century.

Though Avicenna may have provided the most thorough ancient information on Nigella sativa, Hippocrates and Dioscorides also mentioned it in their texts. And the Bible describes it as the “curative black cumin” (Isaiah 28:25, 27 NKJV).

The seeds were used in foods and poultices. They were also ground to powder. But the golden oil of the black seeds was also extracted and consumed.

Apparently, it was so widely used for a vast array of conditions that it was referred to as “the remedy for all disease.” But modern research has been focusing on one area where its scientific credibility is stacking up…

The mounting research on Nigella sativa and blood sugar

Type 2 diabetes is considered preventable. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to do so. Many conditions can contribute to it and make it harder to reverse, including obesity, hypertension and metabolic syndrome.

But there is quite a bit of published research that indicates Nigella sativa could help. Here are few with impressive findings:

• The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism found that, in mice, black seed oil, “causes gradual partial regeneration of pancreatic beta-cells (the ones in your body that make insulin), increases the lowered serum insulin concentrations, and decreases the elevated serum glucose.”
• A study in human participants found that at a dose of 2 grams per day, black seed oil was able to lower fasting blood sugar, decrease insulin resistance, improve pancreatic beta-cell function and lower HBA1c (average blood sugar level over a two to three-month timeframe).
• A published review in the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders from 2013 found black seed oil could be effective against obesity.

Some of these studies were small, some on animals, but also some on humans. But before I get behind something, there’s one scientific method I prefer to see… a systematic review of the evidence.

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The evidence stacks up

Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials provide the clearest evidence for the benefits of a healthcare intervention. Recently, a (published in May 2020) comprehensive systematic review was performed that looked at the published results about Nigella sativa.

And here is what the researchers determined:

• Nigella sativa has a key role in herbal medicine as an adjuvant remedy for the treatment and management of patients with Diabetes Mellitus and its complications.
• The beneficial effects of Nigella sativa preparations depend on dosage forms, prescribed active ingredients and duration of the intervention.
• The best dosage to improve glycemic indices and lipid and lipoprotein profiles is 2 g daily powdered Nigella sativa for at least 12 weeks.

According to the review, dietary supplementation with Nigella sativa preparations can improve various secondary complications of diabetic patients because it possesses anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive and anti-obesity effects. Additionally, it was shown to help:

• Restore the antioxidant defense systems
• Decrease inflammatory biomarkers
• Improve endothelial dysfunction, and hepatic, kidney, heart and immune system functions

Before type 2 diabetes digs its claws in, blood sugar spikes slowly decrease insulin sensitivity and lead to pre-diabetes. Along with a healthy diet and exercise, it appears this simple seed’s golden oil could be the prevention, not prescription, we should reach for.

If you suspect you could have pre-diabetes, watch out for these 12 signs.

Sources:

1. Avicenna — Wikipedia

The post Black cumin seed and diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

One, what do you think is the dirtiest place in your house?

And two, how often do you launder your sheets and pillowcases?

If you’re like most of us, your answer to the first question was “the bathroom, of course!”

After all, it’s where we go to clean off the day’s dirt and “relieve” ourselves. Not to mention that flushing the toilet is the most effective way to disperse bathroom germs far and wide!

It’s a good guess, but you’d be wrong…

Turns out that those comfy sheets and pillowcases you’re sleeping on every night are home to more harmful bacteria than you’ll find in any bathroom.

Here’s what you need to know, and how to keep your bed from making you sick.

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The four types of bacteria living in your bed

According to a recent report, there are four main strains of bacteria that thrive on your unwashed pillowcases and sheets:

• Gram-negative rods are the most common. They cause pneumonia and other infections. And, the CDC tells us that most gram-negative rods can lead to antibiotic resistance.
• Bacilli cause a range of infections from food poisoning to meningitis and endocarditis.
• Gram-positive cocci, the most well-known being staphylococcus and streptococcus. These bacteria are also behind a range of infections that includes strep throat, sepsis, urinary tract and blood infections.
• Gram-positive rods, which are not typically harmful to humans.

A dirty pillowcase has more bacteria than a toilet seat

A recent study looked at just how infectious your sheets and pillowcases get during a period of just four weeks.

To see just how many tiny critters collect on sheets and pillowcases, volunteers swabbed their sheets for four weeks without washing them.

After one week, both pillowcases and sheets contained between three and five million CFUs (colony-forming units) of bacteria per square inch.

By week four, they both had almost twelve million CFUs.

Pillowcases that were washed just one week ago had over 17 thousand times the number of bacteria found on a typical toilet seat!

In particular, pillowcases harbored more bacilli and gram-positive cocci.

In other words, after just one week, your pillowcase could be a breeding ground for some nasty infections.

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How often should you wash your bedding?

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends washing your sheets at least once a week.

But pillowcases should be swapped out at least 2-3 times per week!

“When you get into bed, you contaminate your bed linens with dead skin cells (about 50 million per day), sweat, makeup, lotions, hair, and anything else you’ve picked up during the day, from pollen and pet dander to fungal mold and dirt particles to bacteria and viral particles as well,” says Dr. Hadley King, a board-certified dermatologist in New York.

Dead skin cells and sweat provide food for dust mites, adds Dr. King, attracting them to your bed and helping them multiply.

A few more tips to avoid a germ-filled slumber

The following tips can help you keep your sheets, pillowcases, blankets, and even your mattress relatively germ-free.

Use heat. Wash your bedding in hot water. But if washing instructions on your sheets say to wash in cold water, the Mayo Clinic recommends putting them in the dryer for at least 15 minutes first, at a temperature above 130 degrees. Then wash and dry.

Wipe down your bed rails or headboard. The CDC recommends doing this to lower your exposure to pathogens.

Make your bed. Dr. Alok Vij, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic, says that making your bed “will reduce the moisture that dust mites and bacteria need to proliferate.”

Sources:

Unwashed pillowcases contain more bacteria than toilet seats: report — New York Post

Bacteria in your Bed — Amerisleep

Why a Derm Says You Should Be Changing Your Pillowcases Every Couple of Days — Well + Good

How Often Should You Change Your Sheets—Really? — Well + Good

The post Toilet seat or pillowcase: Which holds more infectious germs? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

What if we could increase our healthspans, which means not just adding years to our lifespans — but healthier ones?

What if we could support and replenish our aging mitochondria so our cells have the energy they need to keep on going — and keep us going?

What a game-changer that would be — as long we could get enough…

Can an amino acid molecule slow aging?

These are the questions that Dr. Vijay Yadav, assistant professor of genetics & development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, had in mind when he launched a study involving dozens of researchers around the world who study aging.

Taurine first hit Dr. Yadav’s radar during previous research into osteoporosis that uncovered taurine’s role in building bone. Other researchers, around the same time, were seeing how taurine impacted immune function, obesity and nervous system functions.

That’s when a lightbulb went off…

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“We realized that if taurine is regulating all these processes that decline with age, maybe taurine levels in the bloodstream affect overall health and lifespan,” Dr. Yadav says.

When the research team analyzed levels of the amino acid in the bloodstream of mice, monkeys and people, they saw something often revealed over and over again in aging research — a deficiency.

Taurine levels had dropped substantially with age. Specifically in people, the taurine levels in 60-year-olds were only about one-third of the levels in 5-year-olds.

“That’s when,” Yadav says, “we started to ask if taurine deficiency is a driver of the aging process, and we set up a large experiment with mice.”

Taurine levels decline with age: what if we raise them?

The study included about 250 14-month-old male and female mice (the equivalent of 45 in human years). The mice were fed an amount of taurine or a control solution daily.

By the end of the experiment, they found taurine had increased the average lifespan of female mice by 12 percent and 10 percent in males. For the mice, that meant three to four extra months — the equivalent of about seven or eight human years.

But what about the impact on the animal’s health?

For that answer, Dr. Yadov looked to other researchers who investigated the effect of supplemented taurine on the health and lifespan of several species…

After measuring various health parameters in mice, they found that at age 2 (60 in human years), animals supplemented with taurine for one year were healthier in almost every way than their untreated counterparts. In fact, the amino acid:

• Suppressed age-associated weight gain in female mice (even in “menopausal” mice)
• Increased energy expenditure
• Increased bone mass
• Improved muscle endurance and strength
• Reduced depression-like and anxious behaviors
• Reduced insulin resistance
• And promoted a younger-looking immune system

At the cellular level, supplementation:

• Decreased the number of “zombie cells” (old cells that linger and release harmful substances)
• Increased survival after telomerase deficiency
• Increased the number of stem cells present in some tissues (which help repair other cells)
• Improved the performance of mitochondria
• Reduced DNA damage
• And improved the cells‘ ability to sense nutrients

But supplementing isn’t the only way they found we can increase our levels. The researchers measured taurine levels before and after a strenuous cycling workout. They found a significant increase in taurine levels in both seasoned athletes and sedentary people.

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Taurine: A natural anti-aging option

Dr. Yadav is quick to point out, however, that “these are associations, which do not establish causation, but the results are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human aging.”

Randomized clinical trials, considered the gold standard in research, are needed for the definitive answer on taurine’s anti-aging benefits.

“Taurine abundance goes down with age, so restoring taurine to a youthful level in old age may be a promising anti-aging strategy.”

Dr. Bruce Ames, a Senior Scientist with a career spanning seven decades, would likely agree. His “triage theory” argues that, by skimping on inadequate amounts, we’re cheating ourselves of valuable “longevity vitamins” critical to long-term maintenance. He considers taurine one on a list of about 10 he considers valuable longevity nutrients.

Taurine is available in supplement form and is found naturally in foods like eggs, dairy, scallops, tuna, tilapia, octopus, seaweed, chicken, turkey and beef. Adding more of these foods to your diet can only help.

Supplementing taurine in reasonable amounts is safe. But if you have kidney health problems, discuss with your doctor first.

Sources:

Taurine may be a key to longer and healthier life — Eureka Alert

Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging — Science

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Scientists from the National Institutes of Health found 22 connections between viral infections and neurodegenerative conditions in their study of around 450,000 people.

Senior author Michael Nalls, a neurogeneticist at the National Institute on Aging, says the impetus for this study came when he and other scientists read previous research linking the Epstein-Barr virus with a 32-fold increased risk of multiple sclerosis.

“After reading [this] study, we realized that for years scientists had been searching — one-by-one — for links between an individual neurodegenerative disorder and a specific virus,” says Dr. Nalls.

“That’s when we decided to try a different, more data science-based approach,” he said. “By using medical records, we were able to systematically search for all possible links in one shot.”

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The viral link to neurodegenerative disease

The research team analyzed the medical records of around 35,000 Finns with six different types of neurodegenerative diseases.

They found 45 links between viral exposure and neurodegenerative diseases, then narrowed this to 22 links when they analyzed another 100,000 records from the UK Biobank.

Here are some of the connections they discovered:

• People treated for viral encephalitis were 31 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (around six percent of people with encephalitis went on to develop Alzheimer’s).
• People hospitalized for pneumonia — after catching the flu — appeared to be more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
• Intestinal infections, meningitis and shingles, all caused by viruses, were also connected with the development of several neurodegenerative diseases.
• Some of the exposures were associated with an increased risk of neurodegeneration up to 15 years after infection.

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Lower your susceptibility for viral infection

If you or a loved one has had one of these viral infections, please don’t panic.

Although there’s a pile of research linking viruses to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, the researchers are clear that their study does not demonstrate that these viruses cause neurological disease.

But this research does provide one more way to lower your risk for these terrible diseases that, as study co-author Andrew Singleton points out, “there are very few effective treatments and many risk factors” for.

“Our results support the idea that viral infections and related inflammation in the nervous system may be common — and possibly avoidable — risk factors for these types of disorders.”

What can you do on your own to lessen your susceptibility to a viral infection going forward — and lower risks for developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?

Supplement zinc. Research shows a “zinc burst” may regenerate an aging thymus. That’s the gland that plays a vital role in the maturation of T cells — the cells that are critical for mounting a strong immune system response. The thymus gland shrinks with age and that’s why older folks are at greater risk of infection.

Increase antioxidant intake. A 2015 study found that antioxidants can protect the thymus from free radicals and prevent age-related thymus shrinkage. Antioxidants also support against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s since the brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress.

Maintain physical activity. It’s the surest way to help your thymus produce T cells like your 20-year-old immune system did. Physical exercise also lowers risk for dementia and Parkinson’s because of a common hormone produced during exercise: irisin.

Sources:

Study of 500,000 Medical Records Links Viruses to Alzheimer’s Again And Again — Science Alert

Virus exposure and neurodegenerative disease risk across national biobanks — Neuron

Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis — Science

The post Half a million medical records link viruses to neurodegeneration appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

People with long COVID often experience persistent fatigue that’s so profound, in one study, almost half of patients reported it decreased their quality of life. And another study found that even if a person’s case of COVID had been relatively mild, they could still develop chronic fatigue syndrome.

Investigators are striving to figure out what exactly it is about COVID that leads to this type of long-range fatigue — and most importantly, how to relieve it. A research team in the U.K. may have hit a nerve…

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Underactivity in the central nervous system

The Newcastle University researchers conducted behavioral and neurophysiological tests on a group of 37 volunteers with post-COVID fatigue. Then, they compared the results with those of 52 control subjects. The tests included a startle reaction time test, an electrocardiogram and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

What they found in patients with post-COVID fatigue was eye-opening:

• There was underactivity in certain cortical circuits that caused a slower reaction in specific areas of the brain.
• There was also impairment in the autonomic nervous system, the network of nerves that regulates unconscious bodily functions such as blood pressure and breathing rate. This impairment can have wide-ranging effects on several different body processes.
• There were abnormalities in muscle fibers that caused them to become more easily fatigued after exercise.

This breakthrough has given them a lead on a possible therapy…

Research Assistant Natalie Maffitt, co-author on the paper, said: “Following on from these findings, we are beginning testing at Newcastle University on whether the autonomic nervous system can be modulated to improve symptoms in post-covid fatigue.”

And to do that, their focus is on stimulating the vagus nerve, an integral part of the autonomic nervous system…

Resetting the vagus nerve to treat Long COVID fatigue

Based on previous research into chronic fatigue conditions, the Newcastle team believes stimulating the vagus nerve might relieve the fatigue of long-COVID.

But there’s another connection as well: upper respiratory viral infections have been known to trigger dysfunction of the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve is a cranial nerve that begins in the part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord, but it splits off into many “branches,” first extending down either side of the neck, then through the heart, around the lungs, through the abdomen and into the intestines.

The far-reaching nerve provides nerve signals to various parts of the body — and one of those is the ears.

“We’re examining a non-invasive method which involves clipping an earpiece to the tragus on the ear and delivering small electrical currents to the vagus nerve using a TENS machine…,” says Maffitt.

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Stimulating the vagus nerve

Researchers have previously turned to stimulation of the vagus nerve to relieve symptoms of numerous conditions including epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroparesis, vasovagal syncope (fainting) and treatment-resistant depression.

And because the nerve affects multiple body systems, many symptoms can indicate vagal nerve dysfunction, including acid reflux, abdominal pain and bloating, dizziness, hoarseness, unexplained weight loss, chronic mood disorders and more.

If I had to guess, I’d say the Newcastle team is on the right track. In 2019 researchers at the University of Leeds recruited volunteers, aged 55 and up, and gave each of them tVNS (transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation) therapy via the ear for 15 minutes a day for two weeks.

Participants not only showed an increase in parasympathetic activity and a decrease in sympathetic activity, which demonstrated a rebalancing of their autonomic nervous systems, but also reported improvements in their mental health and sleeping patterns.

It’s not sure when tVNS might be widely available as an official therapy for long COVID. But portable TENS units are safe and affordable for home use and rather low-priced on sites like Amazon.com.

If a little ear tickle is not your preferred method to improve fatigue that could be related to long COVID, there are other ways the nerve might be stimulated.

Also, a previous study found that long COVID patients given a combination of L-arginine and liposomal vitamin C experienced less fatigue.

Sources:

Unlocking the secrets of long Covid — Newcastle University

Neural dysregulation in post-COVID fatigue — Brain Communications

Long COVID: What Do the Latest Data Show? — KFF

Global prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome among long COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis — BioPsychoSocial Medicine

TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) — NHS

The post Relief for long COVID fatigue: Resetting the vagus nerve appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You take the antibiotics and spend weeks on the couch re-watching every season of Downton Abbey. But you still aren’t feeling better. So, you go see your doctor again. This time she looks more concerned. She sends you for a CT scan. The diagnosis? Lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a very treatable disease if you catch it early. But those weeks you spent immersing yourself in early 20^th century aristocratic Britain, your cancer was spreading. And now your odds of surviving are lower.

Talk about a nightmare. But it’s more than a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, diagnostic errors are one of the most common — and serious — medical mistakes. Over 100,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled because of them.

The question is… how do you prevent a nightmare like this from becoming your reality?

Well, it’s helpful to know which conditions are most likely to be misdiagnosed in the first place. And lucky for you, a new study just revealed the top three…

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Misdiagnosing these serious conditions leads to death and disability

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality just figured out the three disease categories that are most likely to be misdiagnosed: vascular events, infections and cancers.

They did a thorough analysis of 11,592 malpractice insurance claims and found that these three types of disorders make up three-fourths of all misdiagnoses that lead to death or permanent disability. More specifically, they found that:

• 8 percent of serious misdiagnoses were cancer
• 8 percent of serious misdiagnoses were vascular events
• 5 percent of serious misdiagnoses were infections

If you’d like to know even more precisely what conditions to look out for, researchers identified the most misdiagnosed condition in each of these three categories:

• The most misdiagnosed cancer is lung cancer
• The most misdiagnosed vascular event is stroke
• The most misdiagnosed infection is sepsis

Besides the big three listed above, several other conditions were likely to be misdiagnosed and lead to death or disability, like:

• Heart attack
• Venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the legs and lungs)
• Aortic aneurysm and dissection (a rupture of the aorta)
• Arterial thromboembolism (a blockage of the blood supply to internal organs)
• Meningitis
• Encephalitis
• Spinal infection
• Pneumonia
• Endocarditis (a heart infection)
• Breast, colorectal, prostate and skin cancers

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Don’t become a misdiagnosis statistic

How can you use this information to decrease your odds of becoming one of the people a misdiagnosis harms?

Well, I’d start by paying close attention to the big three: lung cancer, stroke and sepsis. If you ever develop symptoms that correspond with these diseases, don’t be shy about asking your doctor whether he or she has ruled these serious conditions out. And if you have a gut feeling that your doctor’s diagnosis is wrong, seek out a second opinion. It’s your life on the line, after all.

Sources:

Researchers identify health conditions likely to be misdiagnosed — MedicalXpress

Serious misdiagnosis-related harms in malpractice claims: The “Big Three” – vascular events, infections, and cancers — Diagnosis

The post 3 serious conditions most likely to be misdiagnosed appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Despite all that’s come out in recent years about the negative impact these sweeteners have on health — such as increasing blood sugar problems, heart attack and stroke risk — they’re still popular.

Yet, while many people turn to these low-cal or sugar-free beverages to reduce their calorie intake and lose weight, they’ve actually been shown to do just the opposite! In fact, artificial sweeteners are worse for weight gain and waistlines.

But as far as health goes, the news just keeps getting worse. A new study shows they can damage your gut and allow nasty bacteria to break through your intestines, cause infection and invade vital organs…

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Artificial sweeteners help germs invade your gut lining

In fact, previous studies have already shown that artificial sweeteners can affect the balance of bacteria in your gut. That means you could have a healthy, balanced microbiome — which promotes the health of your entire boy — only to have it ruined by artificial sweeteners.

Now, a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences is the first to show the pathogenic effects of some of the most widely used artificial sweeteners.

The culprits:

• Saccharin – found in that pink package we all recognize as Sweet ‘N Low
• Sucralose – a sugar derivative made with chlorine and found in Splenda
• Aspartame – one of the most common artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas and sugar-free gums

According to the researchers, these three sweeteners make it possible for two types of bacteria commonly found in the gut — E. coli (Escherichia coli) and E. faecalis (Enterococcus faecalis) — to wreak havoc on the intestinal lining, by attaching themselves to, invading, and killing the epithelial cells responsible for keeping the gut barrier strong, and you well.

The Trojan horse: two cans of soda

This new molecular research, led by academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), has demonstrated that artificial sweetener from the equivalent of just two cans of soda makes the E. coli and E. faecalis bacteria pathogenic.

E. faecalis is known for crossing the intestinal wall to enter the bloodstream to congregate in the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, causing all sorts of infections including septicemia.

But normally, that’s no easy task — as long as the lining of the intestinal lining is healthy and strong. When working properly, it forms a tight, saran wrap-like barrier that helps control what enters the bloodstream. Like a highly regulated security team, it lets in nutrients so they may be absorbed while keeping pathogens, toxins and undigested foods out.

The opposite of that would be a leaky gut, which occurs when small openings develop in the lining.

Enter artificial sweeteners…

These not-so-sweet villains not only increase the amount of E. faecalis in the gut, giving them an unfair advantage, but also increase the formation of biofilms along the gut wall. This film aids the bacteria in doing its dirty work by helping it adhere to the lining and by providing an antimicrobial-resistant “covering.” From there the bacteria set out to secrete toxins and express “virulence factors,” which are disease-causing molecules.

Is a full-body invasion that starts in your gut and can infect your entire body worth that “refreshing” diet soda, now?

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A stern warning about artifical sweeteners

Senior author of the paper Dr Havovi Chichger, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “There is a lot of concern about the consumption of artificial sweeteners, with some studies showing that sweeteners can affect the layer of bacteria which support the gut, known as the gut microbiota.

“Our study is the first to show that some of the sweeteners most commonly found in food and drink — saccharin, sucralose and aspartame — can make normal and ‘healthy’ gut bacteria become pathogenic. These pathogenic changes include greater formation of biofilms and increased adhesion and invasion of bacteria into human gut cells.

“These changes could lead to our own gut bacteria invading and causing damage to our intestine, which can be linked to infection, sepsis and multiple-organ failure.”

If you haven’t given up the fake sweeteners yet, now’s the time to get serious about it.

There are plenty of other safe and natural sweeteners you can try including stevia, blackstrap molasses, and agave, along with six other options with health-boosting properties.

Sources:

Study shows potential dangers of sweeteners — EurekAlert!

The post The link between artificial sweeteners, infection and multi-organ failure appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

She was never quick to reach for the medicine bottle when my sister or I were sick.

Instead, she sat with us, gave us warm tea or cold compresses to make us more comfortable, and had us tell her about our symptoms.

Only then did she decide if it was time for a doctor’s visit.

Mom also knew nothing about antibiotic-resistant infections, but she was never one to ask for an antibiotic unless the doctor offered one.

A fever wasn’t always cause for aspirin, either. Mom had this notion that a low-grade fever was better left alone than treated.

Decades later, research is proving her right…

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Fever: A natural attack on pathogens

Believe it or not, having a fever is a good thing.

A fever is the regulated increase in body temperature that is part of a systemic reaction to infection. This reaction has evolved over thousands of years, not just in humans but in most animals.

Fever makes its appearance in the acute phase of an illness when symptoms first appear.

The heat of a fever improves the performance of immune cells. It also stresses the pathogens that are causing the illness.

The term “immune brinksmanship” describes how the body uses fever to help cure illnesses.

Essentially, the body induces harm to both itself and the disease-causing pathogen, gambling that it can endure those costs more than the pathogen can.

The problem with jumping to medicate a fever

Quite simply, having even a low-grade fever is uncomfortable. It causes chills, fatigue, headache and loss of appetite. No one wants those things to stick around for long, so we reach for the NSAIDs that will get rid of them.

But I tend to wait before reaching for the fever reducer. I want to see just how sick I really am. If I squash the fever down before it reaches its peak, I’ll be eliminating one of the only clues I have as to whether I’m seriously ill or just need to stay in bed for a while.

A recent study shows that even fish use this biological response to control disease…

Researchers found that a mild fever helped clear fish of infection in about seven days — half the time it took for fish the experimenters prevented from exerting a natural fever response. Fever also helped shut down inflammation and repair injured tissue.

The study’s lead author, immunologist Daniel Barreda, believes the research suggests we should not rush to bring down mild fever with medications. We may end up feeling better but, he adds, “… you’re also likely giving away some of the benefits of this natural response.”

Not letting fevers do their job poses problems for society at large as well. This has become particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the same could apply to influenza too.

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Three public health problems stem from not letting fevers do their job:

• First, fevers are used to monitor health. If you’ve ever had your temperature taken before being allowed to enter a building, you know this. Masking high temperatures with medication makes this public health measure less effective.
• Second, reducing your fever will help you “feel” well, but you are probably still contagious and your infection could be worse than it appears.
• Third, when you get rid of a fever, you’re really getting rid of a protective mechanism your body uses against disease. This, too, can cause further spread of an infectious disease.

What to do instead

This is what I do when I’m feeling ill but don’t think it’s anything too serious:

I go to bed with some hot tea, water, warm blankets and a thermometer. I leave the ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet and monitor my temperature.

Within 24 hours, I usually see the highest temperature I’m likely to reach. If it’s remained below 100 degrees, I start taking ibuprofen if I really want relief from my headache, body aches and chills.

Or I sometimes just let it run its course, continuing to monitor my temperature.

The Mayo Clinic says that fevers above 102 degrees tend to cause discomfort and often require treatment. They suggest a fever reducer at that point.

But if an adult doesn’t feel that bad and wants to stick it out, they suggest that if the fever reaches 103 or higher, doesn’t respond to medication, or lasts longer than 3 days, you should call your doctor.

And regardless, you might want to chat with your trusted healthcare practitioner, especially if you have any existing conditions they’d be familiar with. They would also know what might be going around at the time, and help you decide if you need to be seen.

Sources:

Mild fever helps clear infections faster, new study suggests Science Daily

Fever integrates antimicrobial defences, inflammation control, and tissue repair in a cold-blooded vertebrate eLife

Let fever do its job Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

The post Feed a cold, starve a fever (or leave it be for faster recovery) appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Too little can wreak havoc on your health by increasing your chances of developing heart disease, cognitive issues, kidney disease, high blood pressure, weaker bones, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression.

Too much can actually put you at greater risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes than too little of it.

Clearly, the solution is to land in that “just right” sweet spot — of seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

By doing so, you’ll be supporting the health of your heart, brain, bones and metabolism — not to mention cutting down on infections….

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What’s sleep got to do with it?

Evidence already exists that sleep problems can raise your risk of infection. A previous study found people infected with rhinovirus were less likely to catch a cold if they reported healthy sleep.

To confirm this link between infection and sleep issues, a team of researchers in Norway collected 1,848 surveys of patients visiting their GP. The surveys asked them questions about their sleep quality and whether they had had any infections or used any antibiotics in the previous three months. The survey also included a scale to identify cases of chronic insomnia disorder.

The researchers found that patients who reported sleeping less than six hours a night (defined as chronic insomnia disorder) were 27 percent more likely to report an infection. They also had a higher risk of needing an antibiotic to overcome an infection.

Those who reported sleeping more than nine hours a night reported an even higher likelihood of infection: 44 percent.

“The higher risk of reporting an infection among patients who reported short or long sleep duration is not that surprising as we know that having an infection can cause both poor sleep and sleepiness,” says Dr. Ingeborg Forthun, corresponding author of the study. “But the higher risk of an infection among those with a chronic insomnia disorder indicate that the direction of this relationship also goes in the other direction; poor sleep can make your more susceptible to an infection.”

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Finding your sweet spot

We’ve written extensively about good sleep hygiene and the various natural steps you can take to fall asleep and stay asleep.

But first, it’s a good idea to keep a sleep journal to determine if you’re sleeping too much or too little. In this journal, you should record the following:

• The time at which you go to bed
• An estimate of when you fall asleep
• When and how often you wake up in the night
• Sleep quality
• How you feel when you get out of bed
• How you feel during the day

If after tracking your sleep for a few weeks you find that you’re consistently sleeping more than nine hours a night, you could be suffering from hypersomnia.

Hypersomnia could be caused by narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia or other sleep disorders. Or it could be a symptom of another health condition like depression, anxiety, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic pain or hypothyroidism (also known as low thyroid).

Talk with your doctor and share your sleep journal with them so they can help you get to the root of your hypersomnia and correct the issue.

Many of the same tips that help with insomnia can help with hypersomnia. They include:

• Setting a regular sleep schedule. If you go to bed and wake up at the same time each day it will help you avoid sleep loss and feeling like you need to make up for it by oversleeping.

• Creating a bedtime routine. Your routine should help you relax and prepare for sleep. This means no electronics in the hour or two before bedtime, as the blue light they emit can delay sleep onset.
• Setting a proper sleep environment. Make sure your bedroom is at a cool temperature and is protected from excess light and noise.
• Keeping active during the day. Daily exercise and sunlight exposure help you sleep well at night. But don’t exercise too close to bedtime, as this can make it hard to fall asleep.
• Napping Early. If you’re going to nap during the day, make it earlier rather than later. Late afternoon naps can make it hard to fall asleep on time at night.

Sources:

1. Sleep too much or too little and you might get sick more, scientists find — Frontiers Science News

2. The association between self-reported sleep problems, infection, and antibiotic use in patients in general practice — Frontiers in Psychiatry

3. What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

4. Too Much Sleep Can be Bad for Your Health — Premier Health

5. Oversleeping — Sleep Foundation

The post For infection prevention, hit the sheets appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

A common intermittent fasting schedule involves a 16-hour overnight fast that usually envelops breakfast before giving way to an 8-hour eating window. Of course, there are many reasons breakfast usually ends up on the chopping block…

But whatever the reason, skipping breakfast can have some serious repercussions…

In fact, it could have a detrimental effect on your ability to fight off infection and increase your risk of heart disease…

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Fasting may weaken the immune system

“There is a growing awareness that fasting is healthy, and there is indeed abundant evidence for the benefits of fasting,” says lead author Filip Swirski, Ph.D., Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai.  

“Our study provides a word of caution as it suggests that there may also be a cost to fasting that carries a health risk.”

The health risk Dr. Swirski is referring to is that skipping meals triggers a response in the brain that negatively impacts immune cells known as monocytes.

Monocytes are white blood cells made in the bone marrow that play many critical roles in the body, including fighting off infections, heart disease and cancer.

When examining blood work from mice, Dr. Swirski’s team noticed differences in the number of monocytes between two groups. One group ate breakfast right after waking up, with breakfast being their largest meal of the day. The other group had no breakfast.

At the beginning of the study, all mice had the same amount of monocytes. But after four hours, 90 percent of monocytes in mice from the fasting group disappeared. The number declined even further at eight hours. Meanwhile, the number of monocytes in the non-fasting group was unaffected by the passage of time.

When the researchers looked more closely, they discovered the monocytes in the fasting group traveled back to the bone marrow to hibernate — and production of new monocytes in the bone marrow diminished.

Monocytes in bone marrow typically have a short lifespan. But these monocytes survived longer in the bone marrow and aged differently than the monocytes that stayed in the blood. Then, after 24 hours when food was reintroduced to the mice in the fasting group, the monocytes hiding in the bone marrow surged back into the bloodstream within a few hours.

This lead to an increased level of inflammation. Instead of protecting the body from infection, these altered monocytes made the body less resistant to infection.

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Inflammation, stress and being “hangry”

This research is considered among the first to make the connection between brain and immune cells during fasting.

The study also demonstrated that fasting triggers a stress response in the brain that makes people “hangry,” a combined feeling of hunger and anger. This stress response is the mechanism that caused the monocytes to surge back into the bloodstream, increase inflammation and lower resistance to infection.

But their damage doesn’t stop there…

“Because these cells are so important to other diseases like heart disease or cancer, understanding how their function is controlled is critical,” he adds.

It may seem impossible to gain both the benefits of intermittent fasting and eating breakfast. But there may be one way to strike a compromise between fasting and breakfast: scrap dinner instead.

Many health experts recommend eating your largest meals earlier in the day anyway. So if your following the adage, “breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper,” it won’t be that tough to skip what would have been a light dinner anyway.

Sources:

Skipping Breakfast May Compromise the Immune System — Mount Sinai

Monocytes re-enter the bone marrow during fasting and alter the host response to infection — Immunity

The post Why skipping breakfast means getting sick more often appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

At least one team of international physician-researchers emphasized the role of good nutrition in shoring up the immune system.

They recommended getting the following nutrients every day, whether through diet or supplementation:

• Vitamin C, which helps immune cells grow and plays an important role in antibody production.
• Vitamin D, which helps regulate the immune system and may cut the risk of developing a respiratory infection by nearly half.
• Zinc, which has proven antiviral properties.
• DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that helps prevent disease by reducing inflammation and improving the function of B cells that produce antibodies.

Then there was the open letter from an international group of 120+ respected scientists and researchers that called on “all governments, doctors and health care workers — worldwide — to immediately recommend and implement efforts appropriate to their adult populations to increase vitamin D, at least until the end of the pandemic.”

Now that the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us, you and a lot of other people may be wondering what was ultimately decided. Does vitamin D have exceptional clout or not?

Researchers in Italy took a conclusive look back at the vitamin that stole the spotlight during our darkest time, and here’s what they had to say…

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Vitamin D’s ‘protective effect’ stands out

The research team from Italy conducted a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) of five existing trials of vitamin D in COVID-19 patients. In other words, they did their homework…

A TSA is a method where scientists take what they gathered from a meta-analysis (the results of multiple studies), weigh any potential errors and estimate when the effect is large enough to be unaffected by further studies.

They confirmed a few things first:

• Vitamin D was already shown to protect against respiratory issues prior to the pandemic.
• Various studies conducted before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic showed that patients who received vitamin D supplements had a lower risk of acute respiratory infections and a shorter duration of symptoms. This was true among patients taking between 400 and 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily for up to a year.

Then they reinforced a definite correlation between taking vitamin D supplements and less severe outcomes for COVID patients…

• Recent data have suggested a protective role of vitamin D in COVID-19-related health outcomes.
• Vitamin D administration results in a decreased risk of death and ICU admission.
• The TSA of the protective role of vitamin D and ICU admission showed that, since the pooling of the studies reached a definite sample size, the positive association is conclusive.

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No official support — yet

With all this mounting evidence, you would think government health agencies would finally get off the fence and start advising the use of vitamin D as part of a COVID-19 mitigation strategy.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The most recent statement from the U.S. National Institutes of Health insists there’s still insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the use of vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

It’s a mystery why they’re dragging their feet on this. But what is clear is that keeping your vitamin D levels up is something you don’t need a government agency to sanction.

It’s not easy to maintain optimal vitamin D levels. We often don’t get enough sun exposure for the body to make its own vitamin D. And it can be even harder to produce and maintain vitamin D if you have a health condition like chronic kidney or liver disease, obesity, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease or osteoporosis, among others.

If you supplement, make sure you’re getting vitamin D3. Research published in 2022 in Frontiers of Immunology found key differences in vitamin D3 and D2…

According to Professor Susan Lanham-New, co-author of that study, “We have shown that vitamin D3 appears to stimulate the type I interferon signaling system in the body — a key part of the immune system that provides a first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Thus, a healthy vitamin D3 status may help prevent viruses and bacteria from gaining a foothold in the body.”

She went on to add that D2 did not have the same effect and that D3 should be the favored form for fortified foods and supplements.

Also, when supplementing be sure to follow serving recommendations.

Sources:

New study finds vitamin D lowers risk of death among Covid patients – ‘protective effect’ — Express

Protective Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on COVID-19-Related Intensive Care Hospitalization and Mortality: Definitive Evidence from Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis — Pharmaceuticals

COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines: Vitamin D — National Institutes of Health

The post Conclusive: Vitamin D’s viral ‘protective effect’ appeared first on Easy Health Options®.