Category: Health Updates
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Artificial sweetener in soda, other drinks may increase food cravings, appetite in women and obese people
Diet soda and drinks that contain the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase food cravings and appetite in women and people who are obese, researchers say. null In a new study led by the University of Southern California’s (USC) Keck School of Medicine and published in JAMA Network Open, scientists studied the effects of an artificial sweetener – or a nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) – both…
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Trick-or-treating amid COVID-19 pandemic: CDC director weighs in
Looking to partake in Halloween festivities this year? Celebrate outdoors, limit crowds and trick-or-treat in small groups, says Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Oh gosh I certainly hope so,” Walensky told CBS’ Face the Nation, when prompted whether it was safe for kids to trick-or-treat this year. “If…
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COVID-19 vaccine boosters: Who is eligible?
U.S. health authorities’ move last week to authorize and recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to certain populations who received a second dose six months ago has left about 20 million Americans eligible, according to Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator. Booster shots are aimed to extend and enhance protection against severe COVID-19 disease and related complications among…
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Vaping linked to increased eating disorder risk among US college students
Recent vaping or e-cigarette use was associated with an increased risk of an eating disorder and a higher likelihood of a self-reported eating disorder diagnosis, according to a recent study.null While vaping is common among young adults and eating disorder onset typically occurs before age 25, the association was unknown among a national sample of college students, researchers wrote.…
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Unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19: CDC study
Unvaccinated people face a far greater chance of death from the COVID-19 delta variant, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control. null The study monitored incident of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in 13 U.S. jurisdictions during two periods between April 4 and July 17 in 2021. Findings showed that numbers for all categories were…
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One alcoholic drink raises risk of irregular heartbeat
A single alcoholic drink was associated with a two-fold increased risk of atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, researchers found.null The findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, appear to contradict the perception that alcohol can be “cardioprotective,” according to the University of California San Francisco. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism…
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J&J: Potential HIV vaccine falls short in mid-stage study
A potential HIV vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson did not provide protection against the virus in a mid-stage study, the drugmaker said Tuesday.null J&J plans to end that study, which involved young women in sub-Saharan Africa. But researchers will continue a separate, late-stage trial involving a different composition of the vaccine in men and transgender people.…
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Some alcohol consumption may benefit heart disease patients
Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may offer some protective benefits for patients with heart disease, a new study suggests. The research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, pulled from a combined sample field of 48,423 patients, thousands of whom had history of myocardial infarction, angina or stroke. null The team noted that lifestyle and dietary habits play a major role…
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What is the new delta plus variant?
As cases of COVID-19 surge in the United States due to the highly contagious delta variant, a new version of that mutation called the delta plus is causing concern among many health care professionals. The delta plus variant is similar to the delta variant, but unlike delta, this sub-strain has a spike protein mutation called K417N; these spike proteins latch onto…
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J&J says COVID-19 booster shots after eight months supported by data
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that a second dose of its COVID-19 vaccine was found in a study to generate a strong immune response, justifying a booster shot after eight months.null The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it expects single-dose J&J vaccine recipients would need boosters but has held off on making recommendations as it…
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