JustCare

Category: Health conditions

  • Warning: Poor sleep can increase risk of dementia

    Warning: Poor sleep can increase risk of dementia

    Judy George reports for MedPage Today on new findings published in Neurology showing that women in their 80’s with poor sleep patterns are at increased risk for dementia. In fact, older women, who had no cognitive issues but whose sleep changed over five years and became increasingly sleepy, doubled their odds of dementia.

    The good news: The study found no link between older women who slept less at night and dementia.

    The bad news: The study found a link between changing sleep patterns of older women and dementia, as compared with women who had steady sleep patterns.

    The researchers found that for women in their 80’s, sleep patterns can change dramatically over the course of just five years. They looked at nighttime sleep, as well as circadian rhythms and napping.

    Pay attention to your sleep patterns. The researchers say that “Initiatives focusing on improving sleep efficiency, encouraging lifestyle changes, and implementing cognitive interventions may be essential in mitigating dementia risk in the aging population.”

    When older people’s sleep is disturbed, it can seriously affect their risk of dementia. The more sleepy older women become, the more at-risk they are. We need good sleep for our mental health.

    What can you do to improve your sleep?

    • Develop a sleep routine. Set a daily bedtime and wake-up time and stick to it. If you have an iphone or ipad, the clock app has a helpful bedtime setting. In addition to tracking your sleep, it turns off all the sounds on the device during bedtime hours.
    • Exercise daily. Even 20 to 30 minutes a day of exercise can help you sleep soundly.
    • Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine, especially directly before you go to sleep.
    • Relax before bedtime. Do something quiet and calming–take a bath, listen to classical music, read a book.
    • Let the sun wake you up. Bright sunlight has been shown to reset your biological clock.
    • Only go to sleep when you’re ready to fall asleep. It can be anxiety-producing and cause insomnia to lay in bed awake trying to sleep if you don’t feel tired.
    • See a doctor if you continue to struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep at night.  You might have sleep apnea, which can interrupt your sleep throughout the night. There are effective cures. Here are five proven interventions for sleeplessness or insomnia.

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  • Can early detection of dementia reduce your risk significantly?

    Can early detection of dementia reduce your risk significantly?

    Dementia rates are rising, reports Keren Landman for National Geographic. In BBC Science, Anthea Rowan reports on how early detection of dementia could reduce your risk significantly. Right now, most people incorrectly assume there’s no fighting dementia; it comes with growing old.

    A recent study in Nature Medicine reports that in the next 35 years, one million Americans will have dementia, double the number today. The good news is that more Americans are living into their 80’s and 90’s, when people are more likely to get dementia. This helps explain the rise in the number of Americans with dementia. However, more than four in ten Americans could develop dementia. How does it develop?

    Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Washington State have found that Alzheimer’s develops in two stages.  There’s a slow “stealth” phase, affecting only a relatively small number of brain cells. And, there’s a fast aggressive phase in which memory and functional lapses affect a person’s ability to manage.

    Two proteins are primarily responsible for causing cognitive decline and dementia: amyloid and tau. They result in disrupted communication between nerve cells and keep cells from functioning properly, leading to their death. Your brain’s neurons lose their equilibrium.

    Some researchers believe that dementia’s first “stealth” phase presents opportunities to detect, intervene and prevent symptoms. Detection might be possible through an MRI, spinal lumbar punctures and, even, blood tests.  But, these tests can be expensive and cumbersome. A new potentially simpler and less expensive test is in the works and should be available in the next decade.

    What can you do now to reduce your risk of dementia or, at the very least, delay it? The health of your brain is closely tied to the health of your heart. So, take care of your heart! Monitor and treat your blood pressure and cholesterol. And, there’s more!

    The Lancet offers 14 things you can do to lower your risk of dementia by as much as 45 percent:

    • Be sure to exercise, including strength training.
    • Use a hearing aid if you have trouble hearing. Even losing a small amount of your hearing can increase your risk of dementia two-fold.
    • Ensure you have good vision.
    • Stay socially engaged.
    • Don’t smoke.
    • Keep a healthy weight.
    • Don’t drink a lot of alcohol.
    • If you have diabetes, be sure to keep it in check.
    • Helmet use for kids while playing sports to minimize the risk of head injuries.
    • Good education.
    • Cognitively stimulating activities.
    • Effective depression treatment.

    Even if you can’t prevent dementia, you can slow it down and gain yourself a longer, healthier life.

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  • Colorectal cancer: How to minimize your risk

    Colorectal cancer: How to minimize your risk

    Fewer American’s over 65 have been getting colorectal cancer in the last 30 years. Older adults are getting screened and are more aware of the need to take care of themselves. But, colorectal cancer is rising among younger Americans at a rapid pace, writes Dr. Alessandro Fichera at healthmatters.nyp.org

    Some people have a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer. If you have a family history of a mother, father or sibling with polyps, you are at an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Get screened early, at least ten years sooner than your relative was diagnosed.

    Diet plays a significant role in whether you get colorectal cancer. Your diet can inflame your gut and your bowels. This inflammation can cause colorectal cancer. To some extent, you can minimize your risk of colorectal cancer by eating healthy.

    Here’s what to eat for a healthier colon:
    • Foods with fiber, such as plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables such as kale, leafy greens, spinach
    • Whole grains
    • Seafood
    • Nuts and berries
    Here’s what not to eat for a healthier colon.
    • Avoid ultraprocessed foods
    • Avoid foods high in fat, particularly animal fat
    • Avoid red meat and processed meat, particularly hot dogs, salami, cold cuts and bacon
    • Avoid sugary drinks, particularly foods with high fructose corn syrup
    • Avoid alcohol
    • Avoid smoking
    About four percent of men and women in the US will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Overall, the rate of people being newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer is declining (36.5 per 100,000,) as is the death rate (12.9 per 100,000) from colorectal cancer. There were nearly 153,000 Americans newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2024, representing 7.6 percent of all new cancer cases.

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  • In winter, expect more chronic conditions

    In winter, expect more chronic conditions

    We all know there are foods and behaviors we need to avoid in order to feel healthy. We might lose sleep or get stomach upset if we eat foods with gluten or drink wine. We might mess up our backs if we lift items that are heavy. Similarly, if we spend too much time in the cold, we might experience symptoms of psoriasis, asthma, arthritis and raynaud’s disease. Heidi Godman reports for Harvard Health on how winter exacerbates chronic conditions.

    Psoriasis causes your skin to grow quickly, developing red patches as a result of dry skin or excess indoor heat. A virus or strep throat in the winter can also lead to psoriasis.

    What can you do to reduce your risk of psoriasis? Don’t spend a lot of time in the shower and avoid using hot water. Humidifiers help, as does a moisturizer on your skin each day immediately after a shower. It’s also helpful to go out into the sun for at least 10 minutes a day, of course, with sunscreen.

    Asthma is a chronic lung condition that results from breathing in pollen or pollution. Your lungs inflame and your airways narrow. Cold air is a trigger, causing your airways to tighten. (NB: If you use an inhaler and you have Medicare, your out-of-pocket costs should come down soon.)

    What can you do to reduce your risk of asthma? Avoid going outside when it’s super cold. And, before you go out, take a precautionary puff of an inhaler. Wear a mask outside to keep your lungs warm. Avoid being near firepit smoke. And, wash your hands frequently when you are around others.

    Raynaud’s disease constricts your blood vessels in cold weather. As a result, your fingers and toes might turn white from lack of blood flow. It can be painful! Raynaud’s disease is particularly common among thin women.

    What can you do to reduce your risk of Raynaud’s disease? Don’t go outside in the very cold unless necessary and wear lots of warm clothing, including a hat, coat, gloves. If possible, use foot and hand warmers. The symptoms tend to fade once you’re back in a warm environment.

    Arthritis tends to flare up in cold weather, causing joint pain. It’s not clear why, the evidence is scanty.

    What can you do to avoid arthritis? Stay warm! Use a heating pad or take a hot shower. Consider wearing a brace on your joint to lower the risk of inflammation. Exercise also can help a lot, reducing inflammation and getting your blood flowing. That should ease your pain. If not, speak to your physician.

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  • Supplements can damage your liver

    Supplements can damage your liver

    Supplements are a multibillion dollar business in the US ($200 billion globally,) with more than half of Americans taking one or more of the 80,000 different supplements sold. But, in most instances, supplements are a waste of money. They provide no benefit or, worse, pose a threat to your health. Ali Patillo reports for National Geographic on the harm some supplements cause to people’s liver.

    What you don’t know about supplements can really hurt you. And, there is no good information helping you to distinguish the supplements that could cause you serious harm from others. It has a lot to do with the ingredients. So, if you care about your health, it’s almost always better to eat a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle  than to take supplements.

    In the last 25 years, researchers have increasingly found liver harm and liver failure associated with supplement use. Indeed, between 20 and 43 percent of liver harm is associated with herbal and vitamin supplements. People end up going to the emergency room. Check out additional resources on supplements on this government website.

    Just last year, one study found that 15 million people in the US take compounds that are known to cause harm to the liver, including: turmeric, ashwagandha, black cohosh, garcinia cambogia, green tea, and red yeast rice.

    If not liver issues, people who take supplements can suffer from changes in their mood, gastrointestinal issues, kidney stones and high blood pressure.

    As with chemical additives in our food, about which we have little clue their effect on our health, toxic compounds in supplements are on the rise, as are dangerous drug interactions and overuse of supplements. Still, more than eight in ten people believe supplements work and are safe, even though they have not been tested. Many Americans resist going to the doctor for a medical condition for a host of reasons. Instead, they trust supplements to treat their conditions.

    In some special cases, supplements can be helpful. Pregnant women might benefit from additional folic acid which prevents birth defects and older adults can benefit from vitamin B12 supplements. But, the available data does not show benefits from the vast majority of supplements.

    To be clear, most people who take the appropriate dose of a substance probably will not be harmed, except financially for spending money on a product that does not benefit them. But, experts advise to avoid supplements with herbal and botanical ingredients and dietary supplements, which present greater risk to people.

    Megadosing supplements is a particularly bad idea. It can disturb your body’s normal functioning. You can end up with headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues and heart problems.

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  • What can your nails tell you about your health?

    What can your nails tell you about your health?

    Your nails are an outgrowth of your skin. They are made of protein–keratin–which protects your toes and fingers. Jazmin Fox-Skelly reports for the BBC on what your nails can tell you about your health and what’s happening in your body. Usually, changes to your nails are of no consequence and likely result from an injury. But, if your nails lose their shape, get thinner or change their texture or color in some way for a long period of time, you should speak with your physician.

    Physicians can identify a range of health conditions simply by studying your fingernails. They can detect skin problems, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders and more.

    At the bottom of your fingernails is a somewhat white small half moon or lunula. It is the root from which your nails grow. It is located right on top of your cuticles, which are dead cells connecting the bottom of your nails to your skin. The lunula generates the cells that become your nail. Your cuticles play a critical role in preventing infection, keeping bacteria and other dangerous materials from getting into your skin.

    Nail shape: Your finger and toenails should have a convex shape, turning a bit outwards. They should be flat, without ripples. If they are not flat or your nail curves in or is not strong, you might have anemia–insufficient iron–or celiac disease.

    If your fingernails change shape, a physician might detect “clubbing,” which indicates low blood oxygen levels. The nails and their anchors are misaligned, so that your nails look like a spoon turned upside down. Your nails are not connected to your finger as they should be, almost floating. Your fingers look as if they are swollen.

    People with clubbing might have lung cancer, or a lung or heart infection, celiac disease, or liver cirrhosis. People with nail clubbing should get an X-ray to make sure that they do not have lung cancer.

    Nail lines: If you have lines across your nails, you might lack protein or zinc. You  might have diabetes or peripheral vascular disease, without enough blood circulation resulting in some cases from extra cholesterol or fat in your arteries.

    Nail flecks: It is not clear why people get white flecks on their nails. Most likely, you have injured your finger or toenails. You could have lead or arsenic poisoning or psoriasis. You could possible lack vitamins; but, the evidence is not certain.

    White nails: If your whole nail is white, you might lack protein in your blood, and you could have diabetes, kidney or liver disease. If your nail is blue, you might not have sufficient oxygen; that could mean you have heart disease or emphysema or a rare skin cancer.

    Nail bleeding: If you have bleeding underneath a nail that does not go away, you might have a splinter haemorrhage. It could look like a splinter of blood. And, your blood vessels could be inflamed as a result of a heart valve infection.

    Discolored toenails: If your toenails turn a different color–darker white or yellow, you might have a fungus. Sometimes, an over-the-counter medicine will kill it. The longer you leave it though, the harder it is to treat it.

    Brittle nails: If your nails are brittle, you could have hypothyroidism. Or, you could lack vitamin B7.

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  • New research finds link between drinking alcohol and cancer

    New research finds link between drinking alcohol and cancer

    Americans continue to drink a lot of alcohol. To quantify it in economic terms, we spend about $250 billion a year on our liquor. But, it’s probably time we cut down our alcohol consumption. The latest research supports the mounting evidence that drinking alcohol is linked to cancer, reports Robert Shmerling, MD for Harvard Health.

    NB: Moderate drinking comes with risks, but less than half of Americans know this. More research is needed on alcohol’s clear risks. No research shows that drinking alcohol has a causal effect on our health. It simply shows an association between those who drink and higher mortality and morbidity risks.

    Here are some of the many reasons we should consider stopping drinking altogether. Alcohol is linked to:

    • Cancer: In particular, liver, breast, colon, mouth, throat and esophagus cancer
    • Liver disease: Cirrhosis of the liver as well as liver failure
    • High blood pressure: Heart failure and dementia
    • Injury: Falls and drunk driving
    • Depression and anxiety
    • Alcohol poisoning: Physical harm and even death
    • Harm to social networks

    The Surgeon General’s most recent advisory from earlier this year recommended that all alcoholic drinks should bear the warning that alcohol can cause cancer. There is no amount of alcohol you can drink safely. But, Congress would need to pass legislation for this to happen. Today, alcohol labels warn of general risks to your health.

    The benefits of drinking alcohol? The jury’s still out on whether drinking a little is any more harmful than abstaining completely from drinking. Of note, some studies show that drinking a little–one to three drinks each week–reduced cancer and death rates over not drinking at all. And, a recent study found similar death rates between nondrinkers and light drinkers. Drinking alcohol can put people at ease and make them more likely to be engaged socially.

    Bottom line: It’s no longer clear that alcohol offers any health benefits. Whatever the benefits of alcohol–and they vary based on people’s lifestyle and genes–the harms are of serious concern. So consider skipping the alcohol, try a nonalcoholic drink.

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  • Minimize exposure to plastic, as much as possible

    Minimize exposure to plastic, as much as possible

    Chemicals in plastic can be harmful to our health. Yet, we can’t avoid our exposure to plastic, even in what we eat and drink. Kevin Loria reports for Consumer Reports on the dangerous health effects of bisphenols and phthalates  as well as thousands of other chemicals in plastic.

    Consumer Reports tested 100 food products and found chemicals that can hurt our endocrine and hormone systems, leading to metabolic and reproductive health issues. We don’t begin to know a lot about many of these chemicals, particularly how safe they are. Bits of plastic or microplastics end up in the air, our water and food.

    Today, likely everyone has plastic chemicals in their bodies. These plastics, sometimes called forever chemicals, include carcinogens, neurotoxic chemicals, and endocrine disruptors, which can be harmful to our organs and cause disease.

    Even when we have small amounts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our bodies, the health effects can be consequential. They mess with our hormone levels. We are more likely to gain weight, get diabetes or be diagnosed with cancer. Our babies can have issues with brain development.

    For the most part, coal, oil and gas are used in making plastic. If you live near a plant that extracts or processes these materials, you are likely to be surrounded by dangerous chemicals, even in the air.

    Different plastics have different additional chemicals to enable them to stretch or be flame-resistant. These additional chemicals can escape the plastics to which they are attached when heated in the microwave, the dishwasher, the bathtub or stored in a plastic container. From there, the chemicals get into our bodies.

    Even our clothing and furniture is often made of plastic that can expose us to toxic chemicals.

    We continue to manufacture plastic and increasingly are exposed to it. And, our government does little to protect us from chemicals in plastics.

    What can you do to avoid exposure to plastics? 

    • Avoid storing food in plastic containers.
    • Don’t eat processed foods.
    • Don’t microwave food in plastic containers
    • Throw away plastic kitchen utensils; use wood, steel or silicone utensils instead.

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  • Do you really need a tooth implant?

    Do you really need a tooth implant?

    If your dentist suggests you replace your teeth rather than fix them, get a second opinion. You should avoid getting tooth implants if you can. Not only are they extremely expensive, they are not likely to be a better alternative than crowns and root canals, reports Brett Kelman and Anna Werner for KFF Health News.

    Prosthetic teeth are not likely to function as well as your own teeth. One patient of ClearChoice, which provides people with dental implants, couldn’t chew for two years because the implants were not aligned properly. She needed corrective surgery.

    If you can save your teeth, do so. As a general rule, you should get implants when you have missing teeth or teeth so damaged that they cannot be replaced. Dentists’ primary goal should be to preserve their patients’ teeth.

    According to experts, implants are very costly and can lead to surgical complications. Moreover, they increase the likelihood of people having few ways to treat new problems with their teeth. Dental experts say that they find in most cases that they are asked to give second opinions about dental implants, teeth can be saved.

    No one should think that dental implants will hold up better or longer than your own teeth. Don’t believe the TV and social media ads that suggest otherwise. You have to take care of implants even more than you have to take care of natural teeth. You can get gum and bone infections or bone loss in the area surrounding implants. That can destroy the implant’s efficacy.

    Moreover, too often the implants do not fit well and need replacing. Dentists often have not been trained in how to provide an implant. Training is not required in any state except Oregon. Without training and experience, you can imagine what the results might be. Oral surgeons, periodontists, or prosthodontists have training but usually are not performing the implants.

    Many lawsuits have been filed against the dental implant chains, alleging negligence and malpractice. Private equity firms own a lot of dental implant chains. Their goal is to make money.

    What exactly happens when you get an implant? The dentist screws a metal post into your jaw and then attaches a fake tooth or a crown to it. For patients who have teeth that cannot be saved, dental implants can be a lifesaver.

    The companies that are pushing dental implants–ClearChoice, Aspen Dental, Affordable Care and Dental Care Alliance–refused to speak to a reporter about their implant services.

    Perhaps thanks to the marketing, in 2022, Americans had more than 3.7 million implants.

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  • New treatment for baldness?

    New treatment for baldness?

    Lots of men struggle with male pattern baldness as they age, as do plenty of women. Tom Howarth reports for BBC Science Focus on what may be a new cure. It’s a sugar that we create naturally in our bodies.

    The sugar is technically known as 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR). This sugar is critical to assorted biological processes in our bodies and those of animals.

    The new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, shows that this sugar could be almost as effective as the generic drug minoxidil, without its side effects. Though it’s still early days. The sugar has only been tested on mice to date.

    How does the sugar work? The theory is that it increases the blood going to hair follicles, which in turn spurs hair to grow.

    The researchers think it’s possible that this naturally occurring sugar could also help people who lose their hair as a result of chemotherapy.

    There’s still a lot to learn. We don’t yet fully understand the connection between blood flow to the hair follicles and hair growth.

    Other research published in Frontiers of Pharmacology shows that millet seed oil might be an effective treatment for people with alopecia who lose their hair.

    For now, most people use minoxidil or Rogaine to address hair loss. It can be used topically or orally. And, it tends to work. But, it does bring on side effects for some people including headaches, dizziness and nausea. Note: Minoxidil is also an anti-hypertensive.

    Some people use Finasteride, which also has been found to slow hair loss and stimulate new growth.

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