JustCare

Category: Living well

  • Can RFK Jr. limit harmful chemical additives in our food supply?

    Can RFK Jr. limit harmful chemical additives in our food supply?

    Corporations add a multitude of chemicals into our food supply, about which you are likely not aware. What’s worse is that the FDA allows it. RFK Jr., our new Secretary of Health and Human Services, wants to limit these chemical additives in our food reports Sarah Todd and Lizzie Lawrence for StatNews.

    The chemical additives in our food are considered GRAS–generally recognized as safe–even though they have not been adequately tested. The FDA assumes they are save until they are proven otherwise.  So, corporations can include chemical additives in our food without FDA approval.

    The FDA has not looked at the toxicity of literally thousands of chemical additives in our food supply. Researchers are concerned about how they affect us. But, food manufactures continue to put more and more additives into our food. In the 18 years beginning 2001, packaged foods with chemical additives grew about 25 percent, from 49.6 percent to 59.5 percent.

    Kennedy’s conundrum is that the FDA needs money to investigate the harms of artificial food additives. But, President Trump is cutting FDA staff and funding. Already nearly a third of the staff responsible for food safety have been let go.

    Still, while many experts opposed Kennedy’s confirmation to head the US Department of Health and Human Services, they agree with him on the importance of studying chemical additives in food and ensuring food safety.

    Unfortunately, you cannot look at the ingredients on a food label to know whether the food contains harmful chemical additives. Any time you see “artificial flavor” or “natural flavor” on a label, thousands of possible chemical additives are in play in your food.

    It will be hard to regulate the GRAS chemicals in food. The food manufacturers are a powerful group. People have tried to change the rules about chemical additives in food since the Nixon administration. For change to happen, the FDA will need a lot more money and legal power, as well as time.

    Right now, the FDA does not even know which GRAS chemicals are in which foods. The manufacturers do not have to disclose this information, even to the FDA. They consider it a business trade secret. But, the FDA cannot protect us from dangerous chemicals in food without knowing which chemicals are in which foods.

    Not surprisingly, the FDA has not scrutinized virtually any GRAS chemical in our food supply. So, unsuspecting Americans can develop chronic conditions from them over the long-term or can get sick from them in the short term. For example, tara flour poisoned hundreds of Americans when it was introduced into our food supply in 2022; many were hospitalized. The FDA only then declared it to be unsafe.

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  • When looking into nursing home care, ask about staffing levels

    When looking into nursing home care, ask about staffing levels

    The vast majority of Americans would prefer to age in place–live out their lives in their homes. But, 1.3 million older Americans do not have the supports they need to age in place and end up living in a nursing home. In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Norma B. Coe and Rachel M. Werner explain why rules regarding adequate nursing home staffing literally saves lives.

    Today, under federal law, nursing homes must have a minimum staff level that ensure that around 13,000 nursing home staff do not endure a premature death and thousands more do not end up with bed sores and urinary tract infections. Even though these rules increase the costs of care in a nursing home, the Trump administration should stand behind them.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is likely to be the next head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. In his confirmation hearings, he made clear his opposition to these nursing home staffing rules. Contrary to his claim, rural hospitals can get exemptions from these requirements if they cannot find staff to meet them. RFK Jr.’s misplaced views aside, Republican attorneys general have brought a lawsuit to end these rules.

    The federal nursing home rules ensure nursing-home owners are able to provide residents with adequate care. A registered nurse must always be at the nursing home and nursing aides must be available for a few hours of care daily for each patient. In more than 80 percent of nursing homes, that was not the case in early 2023, before the staffing rules took effect.

    If you’re looking into nursing home care for yourself or others, always ask about nurse and nurse aide staffing levels. With more nurses and nurse aides, residents tend to get better care and live longer. They get fewer bedsores and urinary tract infections.

    For-profit chain nursing homes tend to have poor staff levels. Ninety percent of them did not comply with the minimum standards. About 60 percent of non-profit nursing homes also did not meet standards.

    Only about one in five nursing homes in the United States meet basic minimums. The for-profit ones claim low profits, but that is extremely misleading. The owners too often hide their profits through subsidiary companies they overpay to provide nursing home services or to rent the facility.

    The US is an aging society. Americans over 65 currently represent 17 percent of the population and will represent 22 percent by 2040. If we care about our elders, we should ensure they are being properly care for.

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  • With exercise, every move you make counts

    With exercise, every move you make counts

    Just as with memory, with exercise, small bites over an extended period can generate big returns. Haley Bennett reports for BBC Science that the latest research shows that every move you make, even doing a little activity throughout the day, can improve your health and well-being.

    It’s hard to believe, but some research shows that just three minutes of intense activity periodically could reduce your risk of stroke and heart attack by about 45 percent. (Study participants were women in the United Kingdom.)

    The researchers relied on data from  tracking devices people wear on their wrists, which captures the sum total of people’s activity during the day with excellent accuracy. So, the study reflects the benefits of “vigorous gardening”  and running upstairs, which many people do throughout the day.

    Another study of middle-aged and older people who do not exercise, again based on data from tracking devices, found that just one or two minutes of vigorous activity three times a day had a 40 percent reduction in mortality within seven years relative to people who did no vigorous activity.

    Yet another study of Americans 4o and older found that inactive people who walk an extra hour add six hours to their lives. They can add as much as 11 years to their lives through additional one-hour walks.

    To be clear, many experts, along with the World Health Organization, suggest we should be exercising moderately for at least 30 minutes a day five times a week or intensely for at least 15 minutes five times a week. Such exercise levels improve both our mental and physical health. But, only about two-thirds of adults around the world do so.

    So, if you are not exercising at the moment, consider walking in place  or doing a few jumping jacks every once in a while throughout the day. Do note, though, that the benefits of classic exercising–such as lifting weights or jogging or walking quickly–are large. Engaging in “exercise bursts” does not replace the benefits of traditional exercise. Not only is traditional exercise good for your physical health, it also could strengthen your memory.

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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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  • Tips for improving your memory

    Tips for improving your memory

    Andrew Budson and Elizabeth Kensinger, brain scientists, explain how to improve your memory in their book “Why We Forget and How to Remember Better.” Here are some of their research-based solutions.  Why not  give them a try?

    1. If you want to master a new skill (such as tennis or bridge) . . . spend a small amount of time several days a week rather than an extended amount of time less frequently. Our brains process what we learn when we sleep. Our brains also help reinforce what we learn. So, learning something over a longer number of sleep cycles benefits your recall. This rule for what’s called “procedural memory” applies equally to studying for an exam. You’re likely to get better results if you do so over an extended period of time than to cram.
    2. If you want to improve memory . . . consider six weeks of exercise. Exercising expands the volume of our hippocampus, which is vital for our memories; it also releases growth factors in our brains. When you exercise, you increase a “brain-derived  neurotrophic factor” chemical that is thought to boost the number of brain cells in your hippocampus and its volume. Brain cells tend to shrink in number as you age. Exercising is thought to reverse that shrinkage by as many as two years, improving memory function.
    3. If you pay attention . . . you will likely have fewer memory lapses and remember more. To better remember, you need to encode  details. If you don’t pay attention, features are not encoded in your memory.
    4. Calling up a memory . . . can slightly or even radically change the memory. Memories evolve. Your memory of an episode over the long-term is encoded, stored and then retrieved. But, your memory does not end with its retrieval. When you retrieve a memory, you are newly encoding it and updating it with whatever new information you have gathered.
    5. We hold numeric memories in three or four chunks of two numbers. That’s why phone numbers used to be seven digits.
    6. Avoid multitasking . If you multitask, you will weaken your memory. That said, listening to two things at once is harder on your memory than listening and looking at the same time. We have different storage systems for different types of information. Verbal and visual information in our working memory rely on systems in different locations of the brain.  Verbal information is stored in the left part of the brain primarily. Visual information is stored in the right part of the brain.
    7. Relax! Trying to remember someone’s name from a while ago? Think about the last time you saw the person and what you know about the person. Stressing out about the name will make it harder to recall it because stress causes you to think about the stress and deprioritize what you are trying to remember. Interestingly, it is also not helpful to come up with possible names. Having so many names to consider prevents us from recalling the correct name. We often recall the correct name later, after we are no longer caught up in a sea of possible names. (If you’re trying to keep in mind the name of someone you just met, try visualizing it.)
    8. If you want to maximize your ability to store facts in your memory . . . go to sleep. Sleeping frees up memory space in your brain. Your hippocampus, which stores your memories and helps your retrieve them, can only hold so many new memories. But, your cortex takes over from your hippocampus in calling up memories when you are sleeping and stores these memories over the long-term. This also frees up space in your hippocampus for new memories.
    9. If you want to protect your memory . . . don’t take weed. THC in cannabis impairs memory, However, some studies suggest that CBD can improve episodic memory.
    10. If you want a strategy for remembering . . . try this advice from the ancient Greeks. It’s  called a “memory palace” or “method of loci.” Pull up a visual memory of a building or home you know well. Now, in your mind, put things you want to recall into the building in different rooms, in the order that you want to recall them.

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  • The benefits of walking barefoot at home

    The benefits of walking barefoot at home

    Believe it or not, there are benefits to walking barefoot at home. Walking barefoot actually helps build muscular strength in your feet reports Anna Rahmanan for the Huffington Post. Walking barefoot can also help the skin beneath your feet.

    Barefoot is defined as wearing neither shoes nor socks. Once you’re wearing socks, your movements change. Your foot muscles do not react as they do when you are barefoot.

    Walking barefoot strengthens your foot muscles. These muscles deteriorate as we age and when we wear shoes. More important, these muscles improve our movement.

    When older people struggle to move, it’s often because they can’t use their foot muscles.

    When you walk barefoot at home, both the soles and tops of your feet can breathe. That keeps them from sweating and reduces the likelihood of getting fungal infections.

    In addition, walking barefoot allows you to feel the bottoms of your feet and the textures below them, improving your sensory skills and well-being. It can help you to be mindful.

    Should you walk barefoot at home as much as possible? Not necessarily. One risk is that you will expose your feet to dirt or allergens or chemicals. If you have sensitive skin, walking barefoot at home can lead to eczema or contact dermatitis. Though, if you wash, dry and moisturize your feet regularly, the risks of walking barefoot at home should be small. It’s all about proper foot care.

    Walking barefoot could also cause you to slip if you’re not careful or to step on something harmful to your feet.

    And if you have diabetes or bad circulation, walking barefoot at home could have severe health consequences.

    Moreover, if you walk barefoot too much on hard floors, you could tire out your feet or develop plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis causes inflammation of the tissue that links your toes to your heel bone. You can also hurt your joints.

    When should you wear socks and shoes at home? It’s important to support your feet when you are standing a lot, such as when you cook. Unlike when you’re barefoot, with shoes, you balance your weight over your whole foot.

    You can also simply wear socks. With socks, you lose the value of going barefoot. But, you protect your feet from dirt and other irritants on the floor.

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  • Older adults living alone need not plan ahead alone

    Older adults living alone need not plan ahead alone

    Who would pay your bills or oversee your health care if you were unable to do so? Who has access to your bank account? Do you have a plan? Resources and programs abound to help older adults living alone plan ahead.

    Posts on Just Care USA, like this one, this one and this one, help you understand what you need to do to plan ahead. You can also join a group program that helps you organize your financial, health and insurance information in collaboration with others.

    Judith Graham writes for KFF Health News that Dorot, a NYC nonprofit organization, offers a free course for older adults across the US called Aging Alone Together. There are also many Facebook and in-person groups, as well as printed materials.

    According to AARP, more than three in ten people over 50 live alone without children, or without children they can depend on for assistance. In some cases, their children are estranged from them. In other cases, they don’t believe their children can handle their health and financial matters.

    A range of resources enable older adults living alone to feel less isolated and engage with others. Often having others to speak with about planning for the future makes the difference between an older adult planning ahead and not planning ahead. It’s easy to delay action if no one is expecting you to act.

    The Dorot program involves six sessions over a total of nine hours. Each session is interactive and helps people prioritize their desires when they are unable to help themselves. The sessions focus on helping people build social supports, consider housing options, complete advance directions, such as living wills and health care proxies, and organize financial and legal matters.

    To learn more about Aging Alone Together, email [email protected] or visit the Dorot website.

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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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  • Amazon offers new health care products for a subscription fee

    Amazon offers new health care products for a subscription fee

    Amazon has decided that it can make money selling its Prime members monthly subscriptions for five health care services that insurance will not cover. Heather Landi reports for Fierce Healthcare that Amazon’s services are pay-per-visit and are available exclusively through telehealth. Here’s how it works.

    If you are looking for help with hair loss (men only), anti-aging skin care, erectile dysfunction, eyelash growth and motion sickness, Amazon One Medical offers a subscription solution. You pay upfront each month in exchange for a telehealth visit, a treatment plan and free delivery of the medications you are prescribed.

    Medicare does not cover these services, whether you are in traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. They are not considered medically necessary. But, if you would like any of these services, it’s not clear why you are better off subscribing to Amazon’s service than getting a prescription for them from your physician.

    Your primary care physician typically can prescribe medicines for hair loss and motion sickness. And, you can find plenty of anti-aging skin care products without paying Amazon One Medical providers $10 a month or more.

    What do these new services cost? 

    • Anti-aging skin care is available for $10 a month
    • Men’s hair loss is $16 a month.
    • Erectile disfunction treatment costs $19 a month (a 92 percent savings, according to Amazon)
    • Eyelash growth treatment is $43 a month
    • Motion sickness care is $2 a use.

    If you are not prescribed a treatment, you don’t pay.

    Amazon Clinic is already available throughout the US. It provides telehealth services for many common conditions, including pink eye, flu and sinus infection. Messaging visits are $29. Video visits are $49.

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  • Adults use dining app to make new friends

    Adults use dining app to make new friends

    We hear often about all the lonely people. We also know that social engagement is one of the best things you can do for your health. A new app, Timeleft, connects you with other friend-seekers at a dinner table in hundreds of cities across the US, reports Hira Qureshi for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

    Whether you’re 30 or 70, live in Miami or New York City, like Thai food or plain old American, Timeleft matches you with a small group of strangers at a local restaurant.

    You can engage in conversation about whatever suits your fancy. Everything’s on the table. Your work, your favorite restaurants, why you used the app. It’s not about dating specifically, but rather a way to build a network of friends or simply have dinner companions.

    Timeleft has taken off since its founding in 2020 and is now in 275 cities. In Philadelphia, it sets up dinners for people each Wednesday based on a questionnaire they complete. On the day of the dinner, you learn a bit about your dinner mates, including where they are from, their work and their zodiac signs.

    Timeleft picks the restaurants based on their cost and Google ratings. After the dinner, if people hit it off, they can continue connecting through Whats App. For sure, it’s a way to meet people you likely never would have met otherwise, without the pressure of being on a date with them.

    Different strokes for different folks. Some people make new friends on sports teams or at clubs. And, some people are simply looking for company on a given evening. Whether you live in the city or you’re from out of town, you shouldn’t have to eat alone.

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