JustCare

Category: Your Health & Wellness

  • 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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  • Don’t trust social media for wellness advice

    Don’t trust social media for wellness advice

    You likely see dozens of clips each day providing wellness advice. Unfortunately, a lot of what you see on social media and TV should not be trusted. What should you do? Jude Joffe Block reports for NPR on what’s happening on social media. Reed Abelson and Susanne Craig report for the New York Times on the misleading information that Dr. Oz promotes, while benefiting financially.

    Dr. Oz has promoted Medicare Advantage plans endlessly, without warning people that they could struggle getting the care they need in a Medicare Advantage plan. Insurers offering Medicare Advantage delay and deny care inappropriately and routinely, particularly costly care. They have a powerful financial incentive to do so. Every treatment they delay or deny helps maximize their profits. Like the insurers, Dr. Oz profits from promoting Medicare Advantage.

    Dr. Oz also has profited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars from selling supplements, even when there is little or no scientific evidence to show any benefits from the supplements he promotes and, in some cases, people can be harmed.

    Some people are trying to fight online misinformation from wellness influencers with accurate information. That’s tough. You want to be sure that whatever wellness advice you’re taking is based on science and not hokum. You can save money by not consuming products that are of no value or, worse still, harmful to your health.

    Whose wellness advice should you take? You probably should not listen to anyone who makes money from providing wellness advice. Anyone profiting from providing advice has a conflict of interest, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services.

    For example, if you look at the scientific evidence, you should be getting a vaccines for Covid and a range of other conditions, even though RFK Jr. likely disagrees. Medicare covers a range of vaccines. And, for most, you have no out-of-pocket costs so long as you get them from a Medicare participating provider.

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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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  • 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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  • Why it’s so hard to find a primary care doctor?

    Why it’s so hard to find a primary care doctor?

    With the medical profession becoming increasingly corporatized and physicians burdened by administrative ordeals and unable to treat patients as they think appropriate, fewer people are becoming physicians, particularly primary care physicians. A new report on the situation in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission explains why it’s so hard to find a primary care doctor.

    These days, you can wait a long time to see a primary care doctor, and you are too often forced to switch from one to another. Insurers do not treat continuity of care as a value and limit your coverage to their ever-changing and often restricted network of providers. It’s hard to get an annual check up without a long wait.

    Massachusetts is looking into the shortage of primary care doctors with the goal of increasing their numbers. You need a primary care doctor. The shortage will continue unless government acts.

    Three key reasons for the shortage:

    1. The bulk of primary care doctors in the US are older, averaging 55 years old, and retiring by the time they are 65. Others are just exhausted by their workload and administrative demands on them.
    2. New physicians are less likely to go into primary care because insurers pay little for preventive services; the provider money is in procedures and tests to treat conditions. Moreover, medical school can be very expensive and becoming a specialist allows physicians to pay off their debt more quickly.
    3. Those primary care doctors who continue to practice either end up doing new services to make money or going into concierge medicine, which gives them more time with patients and less administrative hassle.

    What is the value of having a primary care physician? Preventive services help identify diseases early or stop them altogether.

    What is to be done? We need to pay higher rates to primary care physicians and reduce their administrative burdens. As a society, we need to be investing in primary care.

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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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