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“We wrote this article to alert patients and medical providers that they need to start thinking about air pollution and how it affects health,” says Philip Landrigan, MD, a professor and the director of the Global Public Health Program at Boston College and a coauthor of the paper, published on November 11, 2021, in the New England Journal of Medicine. “It needs to be added to the list of risk factors for heart disease and stroke,” he says....

But new research throws that idea into question, particularly when it comes to weight loss. The study, published in April 2019 in The Journal of Nutrition, found that men who weren’t allowed to eat until well after an early exercise session consumed fewer calories over the course of a day than men who ate before physical activity. “Skipping breakfast before exercise could conceivably help with weight loss simply by reducing total food intake across the day,” says study coauthor Javier Gonzalez, PhD, associate professor at the University of Bath in the England....

For the study, researchers asked 84 people with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 58 people with Crohn’s disease to follow a Mediterranean diet for six months. They all received dietary guidance from a nutritionist, who counseled them on how to follow a Mediterranean diet and how to space food intake out over two snacks and three meals a day; people with obesity also got advice on cutting calories. At the start of the study 14 patients with ulcerative colitis and nine patients with Crohn’s disease who had stable therapy throughout the study period and complete follow-up labs had active disease....

With much of the nation under lockdown last year, incidents of flu seemed to vanish. Now with fewer wearing masks and more people congregating together, some believe the flu will come roaring back. Recently, a flu outbreak at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus in Washtenaw County sickened at least 525 students. At the same time, COVID-19 numbers in the United States have been rising. USA Today analysis of Johns Hopkins University data on November showed that nationwide cases were above 600,000 per week compared with under 500,000 per week in late October....

AS is a type of inflammatory arthritis that can cause bones in the spine to fuse over time, according to the Mayo Clinic. This process makes the spine more rigid and may affect a person’s posture. “I do have upper neck stiffness. My knees were problematic a couple of years ago but are under control now,” explains Lovaine Cohen, an AS patient, advocate, and health and wellness coach. “Fortunately, AS doesn’t slow down what I need to accomplish on a daily basis because I refuse to let it do so....

Stress, Hopelessness, and Low Quality of Life According to the authors, from the Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention (DRISP) in Copenhagen, the higher rates of suicide among those with these brain disorders are likely the result of stress and feelings of hopelessness when they learn their diagnosis and prognosis. Although the symptoms of most of these conditions can be managed with drug treatments and other approaches, none can be cured — at least not yet....

As a result, the study authors say, teens who may benefit from specialized mental health support may not be getting screened for these services. The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Minnesota, included more than 60 percent of students in Minnesota public schools in grades 8, 9, and 11 — almost 100,000 teens in all. The researchers found that 9.4 percent identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer (any orientation besides heterosexual and cisgender), or pansexual (attracted to all genders)....

Sure, too many hours in the sun will turn us the shade of boiled shellfish, a box of color will turn our hair from brown to blond (and beyond), and surely the holiday season will add a couple of pounds around the midsection. But most of the changes to our outward appearance come slowly, over time. Even MS Usually Changes Us Gradually Like age, multiple sclerosis (MS) plays the long game as it changes our bodies....

A JRA Diagnosis Reached by Exclusion Today, there are some things that remain difficult for Ramsey. “It’s hard for me to stand for more than a half-hour at a time,” she says. “My ankles really start to hurt.” But that hasn’t prevented Ramsey from riding her bike. For the last 12 years, she has ridden her bike in the 8-day, 575 mile California Coastal Classic to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation....

While getting the right treatment for psoriatic arthritis is a must, your day-to-day lifestyle choices can also have a big impact on how you feel. Here’s what you need to know to avoid psoriatic arthritis triggers — and psoriasis triggers, too. According to the Arthritis Foundation, most people with psoriatic disease say a psoriasis flare often precedes a flare of arthritis symptoms. RELATED: 5 Tips to Recognize and Manage Psoriasis Triggers Why?...

Part of self-care involves treating yourself from time to time. But it can be confusing to know what’s more important: strictly following your RA-friendly diet, or allowing yourself to indulge in comfort foods every now and then. Ultimately, because there’s no one-size-fits-all diet for RA, you should mostly focus on eating a balanced, healthy diet. One caveat: Suleman Bhana, MD, FACR, rheumatologist at Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, New York, recommends avoiding simple or processed sugars — including things like high-fructose corn syrup — which can exacerbate inflammatory conditions like RA....

How Going Gluten-Free Became Trendy in the First Place In 2018, as first reported in an article published January 2018 in Vogue, the entire menu at the Golden Globes was gluten-free — and many celebs with no known gluten sensitivity, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey, swear by a gluten-free diet for the health benefits and detox effects. So how did gluten-free diets become so trendy? “I see many patients on gluten-free despite lack of clinical diagnosis of celiac disease,” says Abdullah Shatnawee, MD, medical director of the Center for Gut Rehabilitation and Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio....

Here’s what you need to know about the food trend on TikTok, including how to make kimchi cucumbers and if they can give you a healthier gut. (Hint: Not to the extent you may think.) What to Know About Kimchi and the Kimchi Cucumbers TikTok Trend Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish prepared with fermented vegetables such as cabbage, radishes, carrots, and onions. It can be found in soups or served alongside most meals in North and South Korea....

There are four subtypes (called “serotypes”) of dengue. Each serotype can infect you only once, but infection with one serotype doesn’t provide immunity against the other serotypes, so you can still become infected by the other serotypes of dengue. With your first dengue infection, you may have few or no symptoms. Unfortunately, the risk for severe dengue increases with each infection. FeverHeadache and pain behind the eyesSevere muscle and joint pain (the source of dengue’s nickname, “breakbone fever”)Extreme fatigueRashBloody stoolsNausea and vomiting...

A flowering plant with pink-purple petals, echinacea was named for its large, spiky seed pod, which resembles the scales of a hedgehog, or echinos in Greek, according to Mount Sinai. Despite the prominence of the seed pod, research has found that most of the plant’s health benefits are derived from the roots, leaves, and flower, which can be made into supplements or brewed as tea. While Native Americans used echinacea as a cure-all, research has only borne out its benefits for certain applications....

According to the AGA, symptoms of EPI can include: GasBloatingDiarrheaAbdominal painGreasy, oily stoolsFoul-smelling stoolsUnexplained weight loss Learn More About Symptoms of EPI. Chronic pancreatitisCystic fibrosisPancreatic cancer Learn More About Causes of EPI. Fecal Elastase Test This is a stool test that detects the enzyme elastase that is released during digestion. Typically, this enzyme is found in stool, so if there is little or none present, it could mean you have EPI....

Lupus is “the epitome of an autoimmune disease,” says Stuart D. Kaplan, MD, the chief of rheumatology at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, New York. “It’s the body fighting itself and making antibodies against one’s own cells.” This lifelong, chronic disease has the potential to affect almost every organ system in the body, although not all systems are affected in any one person. The first thing patients need to know is that lupus varies in symptoms and severity from person to person, adds Dr....

The disease affects the skin and the eyes, and it is one of the leading causes of preventable or avoidable blindness, second only to trachoma (a bacterial infection of the eye caused by Chlamydia trachomatis), notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1) The World Health Organization (WHO) lists onchocerciasis as one of 20 “neglected tropical diseases” (along with trachoma). (2) There is no preventive medicine or vaccine against onchocerciasis, but antiparasitic drugs used to treat the active disease in people have helped eliminate river blindness from multiple countries and regions, according to the Carter Foundation....

Caused by bacteria known as Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus), strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis) is spread by secretions from an infected person’s respiratory tract — often transmitted in droplets when that person coughs or sneezes. (1) While strep throat is prevalent in school-age children, it’s not the most common cause of a sore throat. (2) Infections caused by a virus are much more likely to be the culprit. While you or your child may recover from a sore throat without treatment, it’s important to get tested for strep if you suspect it might be causing your symptoms....

Allie Bennett, the self-proclaimed “CEO of the treadmill strut,” skyrocketed to viral TikTok fame in April 2022 when she decided to create a 36-minute treadmill workout set to a playlist of Taylor Swift songs: the original treadmill strut workout. In that first video, which has garnered 3.7 million views so far, she posted instructions for the workout: Starting with the first song on the playlist, find your pace. When the song changes, increase the pace of the treadmill by 0....