Category: Health – Happiness

How to lower your blood pressure? Home remedies, tricks to control high blood pressure.

USA Today

How to lower your blood pressure? Home remedies, tricks to control high blood pressure.

Mythili Devarakonda, USA TODAY – February 17, 2023

High blood pressure can be dangerous and put you at risk for heart disease and can ultimately, be fatal.

Nearly half of American adults — about 116 million people — have a high blood pressure, or hypertension, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure greater than 130mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 80mmHg.

In 2019, about half a million died with high blood pressure as the primary or contributing cause of death in the United States. However, CDC says one in four adults with hypertension have their blood pressure under control.

First it was blood pressure medication.: Now FDA eyes more drug recalls for cancer-causing chemical.

Drug, blood pressure medication recalls: Full list of FDA recalls since 2012

What can you do to lower your blood pressure?

A normal blood pressure range is less than 120/80 mmHg, according to the American Heart Association. Blood pressure can be lowered through lifestyle changes or medication or a combination of the two. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for high blood pressure once a person is diagnosed with it. Here’s how AHA advises to obtain a lower blood pressure.

  • Table salt can the most common culprit of increasing your blood pressure. Cutting back on processed foods that are packed with high sodium levels can help with lowering your blood pressure.
  • Limiting your alcohol consumption can lead to a controlled blood pressure. AHA suggests no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men should be consumed if you have a high blood pressure.
  • Stress management is a skill that can bring a multitude of changes to your life including a lowered blood pressure. Stress releases hormones which make your heart beat faster and constrict your blood vessels which can cause your blood pressure to be raised temporarily.
  • A continuous monitoring of your blood pressure can make you aware of the catalysts that spike your blood pressure, which can later be avoided.

While these tips can aid in lowering blood pressure, the AHA advises you to check with your doctor for the best solution.

All too common: More Americans than ever are being diagnosed with high blood pressure.

What are some foods that can help in lowering blood pressure?

According to an article by Harvard Medical School, “a healthful diet is an effective first-line defense for preventing high blood pressure,” so here are some foods recommended to lower blood pressure in individuals.

Fish and shellfish, unsalted nuts, fruits and vegetables, whole-grained carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa and oats, vegetable oil instead of butter are good dietary choices.

Avoid canned fruits or vegetables, packaged sauces, and salted butters, spreads and dressings which are high in sodium.

Is the air in East Palestine safe to breathe? Here’s what experts and officials say.

The Columbus Dispatch

Is the air in East Palestine safe to breathe? Here’s what experts and officials say.

Monroe Trombly, The Columbus Dispatch – February 15, 2023

In the week since officials conducted what they called a “controlled release” of vinyl chloride from five derailed train cars in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, concern has grown among some over the quality of the air in and around the village of nearly 5,000 people.

The decision to conduct the release of the carcinogen was made after officials said they noticed a drastic temperature change inside the cars. Fearing an explosion with potential shrapnel, the vinyl chloride was released in liquid form into an area surrounded by a barrier and ignited, sending a giant column of flames and black smoke into the winter sky.

Here’s what we know about the air quality in East Palestine and the surrounding area:

Is the air in East Palestine safe to breathe?

Some East Palestine residents who have since returned to their homes after being evacuated have reported experiencing headaches and nausea. Others say the air has a foul odor to it.

Bruce Vanderhoff, director of Ohio’s health department, said during a news conference Tuesday that most of the chemicals on the Norfolk Southern train that derailed Feb. 3 are volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

VOCs are emitted during everyday activities like pumping gas, burning wood or natural gas, he said.

More:Ohio train derailment: What’s still unknown after chemical disaster forced evacuations?

Low levels of VOCs can be smelled and sometimes cause headaches and irritation, said Vanderhoff, who noted that most people can be around VOCs at low levels without feeling ill. High levels can result in longer-term health effects, he said.

Vanderhoff said recent testing shows the air in East Palestine was just like it was prior to the train derailment.

“We have taken every step possible to ensure people’s safety was first and foremost,” Vanderhoff said.

What does the EPA say?

When burned, vinyl chloride gives off hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosgene.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that it had stopped monitoring the air in East Palestine for phosgene and hydrogen chloride the day before.

“Since the fire went out on Feb. 8, EPA air monitoring has not detected any levels of health concern in the community that are attributed to the train derailment,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said in a statement on the agency’s website. “Air monitoring data was provided to state health agencies on Feb. 8 for review prior to the state’s decision to lift the evacuation.

Shore also said in her statement that vinyl chloride has not been detected in any of the nearly 400 homes that the EPA had screened under a voluntary program as of Tuesday morning. Sixty-five additional homes were scheduled to be screened that afternoon, she said.

What is acid rain?

Acid rain, as defined by the EPA, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms.  This can include rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents, the EPA says on its website. The SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These then mix with water and other materials before falling to the ground.

Coal-burning power plants are responsible for most of the nation’s sulfur dioxide pollution and a significant portion of nitrogen oxide emissions. Sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased substantially over the years.

Coal has historically been the largest electricity source in the Ohio. However, in 2019, it was overtaken by natural gas.

Could acid rain have formed after controlled release?

Acid rain could have formed after the controlled release and burn of chemicals on Feb. 6, Kevin Crist, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the director of the Air Quality Center at Ohio University, said. If it did form and fall, it would have most likely occurred downwind of East Palestine.

When burned, vinyl chloride gives off hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosphene, which was used as a weapon during World War I. Vinyl chloride in the atmosphere breaks down into hydrochloric acid, a component of acid rain.

“There would maybe be localized problems, but once that plume is gone, it’s gone. Unless it’s sticking to a residue,” Crist said.

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

East Palestine residents may want to wipe down surfaces in homes for possible residual material, he added.

“We’ll just have to listen to what Ohio EPA has to say about what their estimates about how much chemicals were spilled and how they are planning to monitor its movement,” Crist said. “And everybody should pay attention to where they’re getting their own water. If they have municipal supply, what they say about the level of risk.”

Monroe Trombly covers the workplace and environmental issues for The Dispatch.

The Water Crisis No One In America Is Fixing

Time

The Water Crisis No One In America Is Fixing

Bryn Nelson – February 16, 2023

drone photograph showing the continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio
drone photograph showing the continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio

This photo taken with a drone shows the continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 9, 2023. Credit – Gene J. Puskar—AP

On Feb. 3, 2022, a train loaded with toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a fire and forcing the controlled release and burn of vinyl chloride, a known cancer-causing compound, to avert a disastrous explosion. The environmental catastrophe killed thousands of fish in nearby streams and has triggered growing concerns over the impact on residents’ health and on the village’s surface, ground, and well water.

East Palestine joins a long list of other places in the United States facing major threats to clean water. In October 2022, a campaign called “Imagine a Day Without Water” asked Americans to stand with those who lack adequate drinking water, sanitation, or both. In one of the richest countries on Earth, the tally of those who live even without basic indoor plumbing might surprise you: more than 2 million.

The acronym WASH, which stands for “water, sanitation, and hygiene,” is often associated with nonprofits like the World Toilet Organization, working in developing parts of the globe. But the lack of access to clean drinking water, sanitary bathrooms, and treated wastewater is an ongoing emergency for many parts of the U.S. as well. In rural and urban communities throughout the country, water tainted by pollutants, woefully inadequate sewage treatment, and a lack of restrooms (or plumbing at all) have laid bare the legacy of neglect.

This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 7, 2023.<span class="copyright">Ohio National Guard/AP</span>
This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 7, 2023.Ohio National Guard/AP

In her book Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, author Catherine Coleman Flowers describes how rural residents in Lowndes County, Ala., often have no means of wastewater treatment. They lack what most of us take for granted, “because septic systems cost more than most people earn in a year and tend to fail anyway in the impervious clay soil,” Flowers writes. “Families cope the best they can, mainly by jerry-rigging PVC pipe to drain sewage from houses and into cesspools outside.” With her assistance, researchers found that more than one-third of 55 stool samples collected from county residents tested positive for hookworms—intestinal parasites often associated with poor sanitation in developing countries.

To the west, historic flooding incapacitated an aging water treatment plant in Mississippi’s capital of Jackson in September 2022, leaving residents of the predominantly Black city without safe drinking water for weeks. When students returned from their holiday break in January 2023, more than half of the city’s public schools lacked water and had to hold virtual classes after cold weather again damaged the system. The majority-Black Michigan cities of Flint and Benton Harbor faced severe lead contamination in their own drinking water, a consequence of aging lead pipes leaching the toxic contaminant into the water supply. And in West Baltimore, E. coli bacteria contaminated the water, a crisis again blamed on aging water treatment infrastructure.

A 2021 analysis, “The widespread and unjust drinking water and clean water crisis in the United States,” found that nearly half a million U.S. households lacked complete plumbing, while many more were living in communities with unclean water. Surveys suggest that the former problem is a disproportionately rural issue while the latter is disproportionately urban. “As it currently stands, counties with elevated levels of incomplete plumbing and poor water quality in America—which are variously likely to be more indigenous, less educated, older, and poorer—are continuing to slip through the cracks,” the authors of the study concluded.

Without urgent action, those cracks will only continue to widen. The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, released by the American Society of Civil Engineering, gave a dismal D+ grade to the country’s more than 16,000 wastewater treatment plants, a significant fraction of which have reached or exceeded their design capacities. The U.S. drinking water infrastructure earned only a marginally better rating, with a C-grade.

Read more: We’re in a Water Crisis. We Need to Act Like It

As local and state investment in vital infrastructure has faltered, so too has federal action. Amid decades of chronic underfunding, the U.S. government’s share of capital costs on water infrastructure fell from more than 60% in 1977 to less than 10% 40 years later. A 2020 report by the American Society of Civil Engineering spelled out the growing investment gap in stark terms. But the costs of failing to update the country’s aging and deteriorating drinking water and wastewater infrastructure could be far greater, with trillions lost in preventable diseases, higher medical costs, lost productivity, and environmental pollution.

That inattention couldn’t come at a worse time. A 2021 study by Just Security, based at the NYU School of Law, explained how extreme weather events—exacerbated by global warming—are leading to even more failures of inadequate and poorly maintained infrastructure. Undoing the harm will require sustained attention, especially in what environmental justice pioneer Robert Bullard at Texas Southern University describes as the “invisible” communities of color that have disproportionately shouldered the burden of environmental racism.

Effecting change will require a major investment in urban and rural systems. Nearly $800 million in federal funds have been earmarked for water projects in Jackson. And in 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture launched the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative, to be piloted in Lowndes County and ten other underserved communities where residents lack basic wastewater management. The federal Inflation Reduction Act provided another $550 million for water systems in disadvantaged communities—not nearly enough but a start in reversing the decades of damage.

Well-considered projects could make a big impact by not only improving public and environmental health, but also redistributing wealth back to those same communities. More wastewater treatment plants are becoming resource recovery facilities, preventing pollution from the treated liquid waste and extracting valuable resources. Biogas and electricity, pure water, charcoal-like biochar, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and soil amendments can all be recovered, creating new sources of local wealth.

At the grass-roots level, organizations like PHLUSH (Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human) are pushing for equitable access to toilets and sanitation systems. PHLUSH has positioned public restrooms as critical elements of the U.S. infrastructure, rightfully arguing that they are “as essential to community well-being as sidewalks, traffic signals and street lighting.” For people experiencing homelessness, a lack of access to sanitary toilets can be dehumanizing, dangerous, and disease-causing. The public health crisis for that segment of the population is growing throughout America, with a recent report calling for more stigma-free access to WASH facilities in rural areas.

In rural communities from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, advocates are introducing advanced biofilters and composting or incineration toilets as more affordable, sustainable, and sanitary alternatives to leaking, broken, or altogether lacking septic systems. Installing these systems in large enough numbers to make a difference will require revisions to outdated or punitive local codes and a rethinking of what might be recouped through long-term investments in our communities.

The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, founded by Flowers, is working to “eliminate the health, economic and environmental disparities suffocating rural and marginalized communities.” Doing so will be easier with renewed local, state, and federal backing, bolstered by public awareness and the recognition that reinvesting in neglected communities helps us and our environment. Most of all, it will require a reaffirmation that access to water and sanitation are fundamental human rights—no matter where you live.

Florida Gov dons brownshirt with his white boots: Ron DeSantis requested the medical records of trans students who sought care at Florida’s public universities.

Insider

Ron DeSantis requested the medical records of trans students who sought care at Florida’s public universities. Now students are planning a statewide walkout.

Annalise Mabe – February 16, 2023

Students at USF gather on USfF campus
Students at the University of South Florida gather to protest the request.Justin Blanco
  • Ron DeSantis told all public universities in Florida to hand over the medical records of trans students who sought care.
  • Insider has confirmed six of the 12 universities have complied with the request.
  • Now, college students across the state are planning a walkout to protest the governor’s request.

Students across Florida are planning a statewide walkout after Gov. Ron DeSantis requested all public universities comply in delivering data from student health services on transgender students who sought gender-affirming care at the institutions.

DeSantis asked to see the records of any student who has experienced gender dysphoria in the past five years. In addition, he wants their ages and the dates they received gender-affirming care. The deadline to submit those records was February 10.

Insider has confirmed that University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida International University, and the University of North Florida have complied with the request, but has yet to hear back from the rest.

Students at these universities are now planning rallies for next week along with the statewide walkout on February 23. Ben Braver, a junior at the University of South Florida and the outreach officer for the school’s College Democrats chapter, is leading the initiative, known as the Stand for Freedom Florida Walkout.

“Hate is spread when it’s innocuous, when it seems silly, and when it seems like taking a stand is an overreaction,” Braver told Insider. “We, just like any generation, need to stand for the civil rights that have already been fought for, the ones that have been won, and those which are at stake right now.”

Andy Pham, a senior and long-standing member of the University of South Florida’s Trans+ Student Union, said he sees the state’s move as a direct attack on trans rights.

“They want to legislate us out of existence,” Pham said. “That starts with attacking our healthcare, attacking our right to exist in public spaces, attempting surveillance — all of that.”

In January, 20 students at the University of South Florida held a rally protesting DeSantis’ request. They then started an online petition asking the school’s administration not to submit the medical records. The petition received over 2,600 signatures, but officials at the school said they plan to send over the records anyway. Insider hasn’t been able to confirm whether the University of South Florida sent over the data.

“As a state university, USF has an obligation to be responsive to requests from our elected officials,” the university said in a statement, according to WUSF. “However, the university will not provide information that identifies an individual patient or violates patient privacy laws.”

Among those signing on to support the walkout are the Dream Defenders, Florida College Democrats, state lawmaker Anna Eskamani, and 26-year-old Congressman Maxwell Frost.

“The governor’s abusing his power,” Frost told Insider. “He’s targeting folks that disagree with him — people who might not see eye to eye with him, marginalized communities.”

When Insider asked why the state has requested the health data of transgender college students, the state’s deputy press secretary referred to DeSantis’ second inaugural address, in which the governor stated: “We are committed to fully understanding the amount of public funding that is going toward such nonacademic pursuits to best assess how to get our colleges and universities refocused on education and truth.”

The American Civil Liberties Union reports that during this legislative session, Florida lawmakers have introduced 85 bills restricting gender-affirming healthcare, up from 43 bills last year.

Eskamani said DeSantis should prepare for student backlash.

“When students see the visual representation of their peers around them standing up and walking out, they’re going to get plugged in and help us fight back,” she said. “That will happen.”

Fetterman hospitalized to be treated for clinical depression

The Hill

Fetterman hospitalized to be treated for clinical depression

Al Weaver – February 16, 2023

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) checked into the hospital on Wednesday night to be treated for clinical depression, his office announced on Thursday.

“Last night, Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s chief of staff, said in a statement.

“On Monday, John was evaluated by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. Yesterday, Dr. Monahan recommended inpatient care at Walter Reed. John agreed, and he is receiving treatment on a voluntary basis,” Jentleson said.

According to Jentleson, doctors at Walter Reed “told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to himself.”

“I stand by John Fetterman and his family. This a challenge, an unimaginable challenge, that he has faced in life. He deserves the very best in professional care and I’m sure he’ll get it at Walter Reed,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.).

Asked if Fetterman will be able to serve a full term, Durbin said, “I believe he can.”

“I believe with the proper care, which he will receive, that he’ll be back in our ranks, joining us soon,” he said.

The situation comes a little more than a week after Fetterman was hospitalized after feeling lightheaded during the Senate Democratic retreat.

A Fetterman spokesman said at the time that test results showed no evidence that he suffered a seizure, with tests also showing that he did not suffer a second stroke in less than a year.

He was released from the Washington, D.C., hospital the following day and returned to the Senate on Monday.

The Pennsylvania progressive underwent a procedure shortly after his stroke in May to have a pacemaker implanted.

He also continues to deal with auditory processing issues as a result of that stroke, forcing him to rely on closed captioning in order to converse with other lawmakers.

Fetterman’s desk has been outfitted with a monitor to allow him to follow along with Senate proceedings. The upper chamber’s sergeant-at-arms has also allowed for live audio-to-text transcription for his committees.

“After what he’s been through in the past year, there’s probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John. I’m so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs,” Fetterman’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, tweeted on Thursday.

Alexander Bolton contributed. Updated at 3:21 p.m.

First it was blood pressure medication. Now FDA eyes more drugs for cancer-causing chemical.

USA Today

First it was blood pressure medication. Now FDA eyes more drugs for cancer-causing chemical.

Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY – February 16, 2023

For people managing high blood pressure, recalls of the carcinogen-tainted drug quinapril might sound familiar.

Since 2018, more than 12 million bottles of blood pressure-lowering drugs such as valsartan and losartan have been removed from the market because they contained cancer-risk chemicals called nitrosamines.

The same family of contaminants triggered recalls of the heartburn drug Zantac, the diabetes drug metformin and the smoking cessation medication Chantix.

The flurry of drug recalls because of carcinogens has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to assess the scope of the problem.

The federal regulator has asked drugmakers to evaluate all products for any risk they might contain nitrosamines. Companies that identify any such risk must conduct follow-up testing, report changes and take action by October.

DRUG RECALLS: Full list of FDA recalls since 2012

LATEST: 1 in 10 new drugs don’t achieve main goals despite FDA approval

What are nitrosamines?

Nitrosamines are found in water, cured and grilled meats, dairy products and vegetables, according to the FDA. While nearly everyone is exposed to trace amounts of nitrosamines, studies link the contaminants to increased cancer risk if people are exposed to large amounts over long periods of time.

Public health experts have long been aware of the small risk associated with sustained exposure to these contaminants.

Food safety experts have worked to reduce nitrosamines in food such as cured meats to far below levels found in the 1970s and 1980s, said Dr. Stephen Hecht, a University of Minnesota professor of cancer prevention.

“The difference is with drugs it’s totally avoidable,” Hecht said. “I don’t think this could have happened in the 1970s because there was much greater awareness of the consequences.”

MORE: New cancer therapy takes personalized medicine to a new level

What to do if your prescription drug is recalled

The FDA has said the risk for anyone exposed to nitrosamines in drugs is small.

The agency has set acceptable limits on six types of nitrosamines, which equal up to one case of cancer per 100,000 people exposed to the contaminant.

Some recalled drugs have exceeded that amount. For every 8,000 people on the highest dose of valsartan for four years, FDA scientists concluded there would be one more cancer case above average rates for that population. Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, estimated the risk to be one cancer case for every 3,000 patients.

As with the valsartan and losartan recalls in 2018 and 2019, the FDA has advised people on recalled quinapril to continue the medication until their doctor or pharmacist can identify a replacement.

Dr. Yul Ejnes, a clinical professor of medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said people might panic and immediately stop their medication when they hear about a recall. For a patient on a blood-pressure-lowering drug to manage conditions such as heart failure, halting the drug can create an immediate medical problem.

He generally recommends people call their pharmacist, who can check whether their drug is part of the recall. If it is, the pharmacist might be able to locate the same version of the drug that’s not part of the recall. Or the pharmacist and doctor can find a substitute drug.

“The key message is it’s a small risk; there’s no imminent danger,” said Ejnes, chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine. “There’s no need to stop the drug. Now, we can find replacements.”

What’s being done to protect consumers?

Though the FDA said the risk is small for people who ingested these drugs, lawyers have filed thousands of lawsuits in state and federal courts on behalf of people who say they have been harmed.

In 2019, heartburn drug Zantac was removed from store shelves after the FDA found unacceptable levels of a nitrosamine called NDMA, or nitrosodimethylamine, in brand and generic versions.

In December, a Florida federal judge dismissed thousands of claims that alleged Zantac caused cancer. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs’ experts did not use reliable methods linking the drug to cancer.

More than 1,000 claims against valsartan manufacturers are pending in federal court.

Meanwhile, FDA officials said the agency expects drug manufacturers who have identified a potential risk to complete testing and report changes they’ve made by Oct. 1.

“We continue to closely evaluate this type of impurity and will continue to investigate and monitor the marketplace and manufacturing efforts to help ensure the availability of safe, quality products for U.S. consumers,” said FDA spokesman Jeremy Kahn.

Makers of generic drugs, which produce about 9 of 10 prescription drugs dispensed in the United States, have pushed back on the FDA’s required comprehensive review. The generic drug’s industry group, the Association for Accessible Medicines, said in a position paper that to review every drug would be a “Herculean task” that would divert resources and focus and could exacerbate drug shortages.

Instead, the organization wants to conduct a more efficient “risk-based” review that looks for the source of such impurities across all facets of drugmaking.

Why are we seeing so many contaminated drugs?

Independent experts say the recent recalls are partly the result of a system that values inexpensive manufacturing over drug quality.

David Light is CEO and co-founder of Valisure, an independent lab that first discovered Zantac and its generic versions contained nitrosamines. His lab’s testing led to the voluntary nationwide recall of the medication for supermarket and drug stores. Since then, his lab has flagged potential harmful contaminants in consumer products such as hand sanitizers and sunscreens.

Though the FDA sets standards for drug companies to follow, it’s up to the drug manufacturers to ensure their products are safe and free from impurities. This regulatory approach is an “honor system,” Light said, adding that “some manufacturers are going to do a better job than others.”

Generic drug manufacturers want to make inexpensive products and seek to control manufacturing costs. Insurers and consumers expect to pay less for generic medications.

“The fact that we have a broken market system where we’re only valuing price and just assuming quality certainly increases the risk for these kinds of issues to crop up,” Light said.

See a list of the latest food and drug recalls from the FDA here.

Plant-based foods may reduce prostate cancer progression, study says

The Washington Post

Plant-based foods may reduce prostate cancer progression, study says

Marlene Cimons, Special to The Washington Post – February 15, 2023

A diet heavy in plant-based foods – fresh fruits and vegetables – can reduce both the progression of prostate cancer and the likelihood that it will return, new research shows.

Eating fruits and vegetables has many health benefits, such as reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and contributes to a longer life span, said Vivian Liu, clinical research coordinator for the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of California at San Francisco and lead study author.

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“Now, we have evidence that they can influence this very common – and sometimes deadly – cancer in men,” she said.

Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in men, after skin cancer, with an estimated 288,300 new cases and 34,700 deaths projected for this year. Risk factors include age, with most cases occurring in men older than 65; race, with African Americans at an increased risk; and certain gene mutations.

“This is something men can do for themselves with a healthy grocery shopping list,” Liu said. “And it doesn’t require drugs or other medical interventions.”

Higher amount of plant-based foods, lower cancer growth risk

The link between diet and cancer risk has been explored in many studies. Eating certain foods such as low-fat products and shunning others such as red meat have been linked to a lower risk of certain cancers, chief among them breast and colon. For prostate cancer, eating foods rich in the antioxidant lycopene, such as tomatoes, appears to lessen the risk.

Liu and her team focused on men who already had prostate cancer and were at risk of the cancer growing or returning after treatment. The researchers found that men with prostate cancer who reported diets containing the highest amounts of plants had a 52 percent lower risk of disease progression and a 53 percent lower risk of recurrence compared with those whose diets had the lowest amounts of plants.

The disease advanced in 204 of the more than 2,000 participants during the study period, Liu said. “This is a small number, which is significant,” she said.

She said the analysis involved scoring for good and bad foods, and though the participants reported the amounts they ate, it was not possible to state the amounts as individual or recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults should consume 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit equivalents and 2 to 3 cups of vegetable equivalents daily.

The results of this as-yet-unpublished observational study will be presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium this week in San Francisco. The research was a sub-study of the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor, or CaPSURE, which is a large multisite study of 15,000 men started in 1999 and looking at many aspects of prostate cancer.

The plant-based sub-study research began in 2004 and involved 2,038 men with early-stage prostate cancer – cancer that had not spread or whose spread was limited.

They completed questionnaires about how often they ate about 140 foods and beverages, including such items as broccoli, red meat and potatoes, trying to gauge both the good foods and the bad, Liu said.

“We did not tell the men what to eat, since this was an observational study,” she said. “They ate what they wanted to eat and told us what it was.”

Many things influence cancer – people who eat healthy foods often engage in other healthy habits – and the investigators took other factors into account, including walking pace – a faster pace seems to help prostate cancer patients – smoking, diabetes, family history of prostate cancer, household income, education level, height, body mass index, alcohol use, and multivitamin and supplement use.

Implications for future studies

These findings are consistent with previous research “and extend the health benefits” and “few risks of a plant-based diet,” said Donald Hensrud, associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, who was not involved in this recent research. One large study, for example, found that consuming plant-based foods was linked to a lower risk of developing aggressive forms of prostate cancer, especially among men younger than 65.

Other scientists called the work important but said future research needs to include more specific analyses of genetics and metabolism to better understand the impact of foods on prostate cancer.

“More such studies in larger populations of cancer patients, with even more detailed studies of dietary elements and measures of blood and tissue levels of nutrients, will be very helpful in designing a more specific cancer-risk reducing, and even cancer-therapeutic diet,” said Jeffrey Jones, professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine and a urologic oncology specialist. He was not involved in the study.

“Future studies also need to look at the molecular and genetics of the people, and the mutations driving the cancer,” said Nicholas Mitsiades, professor of medicine and chief translational officer at the University of California at Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, who also was not part of the research. “We need to know how [the patients’] metabolism is programmed because different people may process food differently.”

Mitsiades also pointed out that socioeconomic status may discourage some populations from eating a healthful diet, as fresh fruits and vegetables often are costly or inaccessible. “It’s more expensive to eat a plant-based diet than to go to McDonald’s and have a burger,” he said. “So, it’s not always easy.”

Still, he always advises his cancer patients to avoid animal saturated fats – especially red meat – and to increase plant intake. “This diet is healthy for many other cancers,” Mitsiades said. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to put all these diets into a pill, which is probably what most Americans would like.”

Liu and her colleagues next plan to analyze plant-based diets in relation to prostate cancer-specific mortality, or death, and quality of life at specific intervals – two, five and 10 years – following diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Liu suggested that men – with or without prostate cancer – fill their plates with plants and stick to fresh foods, avoiding plant-based meat substitutes, which tend to be high in fat, she said.

“I love those burgers myself, but unfortunately not all diets are equal in terms of risk factors,” she said.

Stick to the basics, she advised, “fresh fruit and vegetables – and whole grains. The more you can fit in, the better.”

It is a common refrain that fruits and vegetables are good for you, Liu said. “And now, here’s another reason to say it.”

How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the long-term risks

The Conversation

How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the long-term risks

Andrew J. Whelton, Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University – February 15, 2023

Several cars that contained hazardous chemicals burned after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment. <a href=
Several cars that contained hazardous chemicals burned after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped.

State officials offered more details of the cleanup process and a timeline of the environmental disaster during a news conference on Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a dozen cars carrying chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, derailed on the evening of Feb. 3, and fire from the site sent up acrid black smoke. Officials said they had tested over 400 nearby homes for contamination and were tracking a plume of spilled chemicals that had killed 3,500 fish in streams and reached the Ohio River.

However, the slow release of information after the derailment has left many questions unanswered about the risks and longer-term impact. We put five questions about the chemical releases to Andrew Whelton, an environmental engineer who investigates chemical risks during disasters.

Let’s start with what was in the train cars. What are the most concerning chemicals for human health and the environment long term, and what’s known so far about the impact?

The main concerns now are the contamination of homes, soil and water, primarily from volatile organic compounds and semivolatile organic compounds, known as VOCs and SVOCs.

The train had nearly a dozen cars with vinyl chloride and other materials, such as ethylhexyl acrylate and butyl acrylate. These chemicals have varying levels of toxicity and different fates in soil and groundwater. Officials have detected some of those chemicals in the nearby waterway and particulate matter in the air from the fire. But so far, the fate of many of the chemicals is not known. A variety of other materials were also released, but discussion about those chemicals has been limited.

State officials disclosed that a plume of contamination released into the nearby creek had made its way into the Ohio River. Other cities get their drinking water from the river, and were warned about the risk. The farther this plume moves downstream, the less concentrated the chemical will be in water, posing less of a risk.

Long term, the greatest risk is closest to the derailment location. And again, there’s limited information about what chemicals are present – or were created through chemical reactions during the fire.

It isn’t clear yet how much went into storm drains, was flushed down the streams or may have settled to the bottom of waterways.

There was also a lot of combusted particulate matter. The black smoke is a clear indication. It’s unclear how much was diluted in the air or fell to the ground.

How long can these chemicals linger in soil and water, and what’s their potential long-term risk to humans and wildlife?

The heavier the chemical, often the slower it degrades and the more likely it is to stick to soil. These compounds can remain for years if left unaddressed.

After the Kalamazoo River oil pipeline break in Michigan in 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency excavated a tributary where the oil settled. We’ve also seen from oil spills on the coasts of Alaska and Alabama that oil chemicals can find their way into soil if it isn’t remediated.

The long-term impact in Ohio will depend in part on how fast – and thoroughly – cleanup occurs.

If the heavily contaminated soils and liquids are excavated and removed, the long-term impacts can be reduced. But the longer removal takes, the farther the contamination can spread. It’s in everyone’s best interest to clean this up as soon as possible and before the region gets rain.

Air-stripping devices, like this one used after the derailment, can help separate chemicals from water. <a href=
Air-stripping devices, like this one used after the derailment, can help separate chemicals from water. U.S. EPA

Booms in a nearby stream have been deployed to capture chemicals. Air-stripping devices have been deployed to remove chemicals from the waterways. Air stripping causes the light chemicals to leave the water and enter air. This is a common treatment technique and was used after an 2015 oil spill in the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana.

At the derailment site in Ohio, workers are already removing contaminated soil as deep as 7 feet (about 2 meters) near where the rail cars burned.

Some of the train cars were intentionally drained and the chemicals set on fire to eliminate them. That fire had thick black smoke. What does that tell you about the chemicals and longer-term risks?

Incineration is one way we dispose of hazardous chemicals, but incomplete chemical destruction creates a host of byproducts. Chemicals can be destroyed when heated to extremely high temperatures so they burn thoroughly.

The black smoke plume you saw on TV was incomplete combustion. A number of other chemicals were created. Officials don’t necessarily know what these were or where they went until they test for them.

We know ash can pose health risks, which is why we test inside homes after wildfires where structures burn. This is one reason the state’s health director told residents with private wells near and downwind of the derailment to use bottled water until they can have their wells tested.

The EPA has been screening homes near the derailment for indoor air-quality concerns. How do these chemicals get into homes and what happens to them in enclosed spaces?

Homes are not airtight, and sometimes dust and other materials get in. It might be through an open door or a window sill. Sometimes people track it in.

So far, the U.S. EPA has reported no evidence of high levels of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride in the 400 or so homes tested. But full transparency has been lacking. Just because an agency is doing testing doesn’t mean it is testing for what it needs to test for.

Media reports talk about four or five chemicals, but the manifest from Norfolk Southern also listed a bunch of other materials in tanks that burned. All those materials create potentially hundreds to thousands of VOCs and SVOCs.

Are government officials testing for everything they should?

People in the community have reported headaches, which can be caused by VOCs and other chemicals. They’re understandably concerned.

Ohio and federal officials need to better communicate what they’re doing, why, and what they plan to do. It’s unclear what questions they are trying to answer. For a disaster this serious, little testing information has been shared.

In the absence of this transparency, misinformation is filling that void. From a homeowner’s perspective, it’s hard to understand the true risk if the data is not shared.

2nd Amendment sanctuary measure overturned in Oregon

Associated Press

2nd Amendment sanctuary measure overturned in Oregon

Claire Rush and Lindsay Whitehurst – February 15, 2023

FILE - A man enters a gun shop in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 19, 2021. An Oregon court decided Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, that local governments can't declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and ban police from enforcing certain gun laws within their borders. The opinion was the first court test of the concept, which hundreds of U.S. counties have adopted in recent years. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, that local governments can’t declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and ban police from enforcing certain gun laws within their borders. The opinion was the first court test of the concept, which hundreds of U.S. counties have adopted in recent years. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)
FILE - Firearms are displayed at a gun shop in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 19, 2021. An Oregon court decided Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, that local governments can't declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and ban police from enforcing certain gun laws within their borders. The opinion was the first court test of the concept, which hundreds of U.S. counties have adopted in recent years. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)
Firearms are displayed at a gun shop in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 19, 2021. An Oregon court decided Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, that local governments can’t declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and ban police from enforcing certain gun laws within their borders. The opinion was the first court test of the concept, which hundreds of U.S.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Local governments in Oregon can’t declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and ban police from enforcing certain gun laws, a state appeals court decided Wednesday, in the first court case filed over a concept that hundreds of U.S. counties have adopted in recent years.

The measure in question, which was approved in Columbia County, forbids local officials from enforcing most federal and state gun laws and would impose thousands of dollars in fines on those who try.

The state Court of Appeals ruled that it violates a law giving the state the power to regulate firearms. The ordinance would effectively, it found, “create a ‘patchwork quilt’ of firearms laws in Oregon, where firearms regulations that applied in some counties would not apply in Columbia County,” something lawmakers specifically wanted to avoid.

Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions have been adopted by some 1,200 local governments around the U.S., including in Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois and Florida, experts say. Many are symbolic, but some carry legal force like the one in Columbia County, a conservative, rural logging area in deep-blue Oregon.

The sanctuary movement took off around 2018 as states considered stricter gun laws in the wake of mass shootings, but it had not previously faced a major legal challenge.

The Oregon case was filed in 2021 under a provision in state law that allows a judge to examine a measure before it goes into effect. A trial court judge originally declined to rule, a decision that was appealed to the higher court.

The ordinance’s supporters included the Oregon Firearms Federation, which said in a statement Wednesday that the ruling “calls into question the legitimacy of the court and the likelihood of getting fair rulings from it.”

Opponents included the legal arm of the group Everytown for Gun Safety, which had argued that the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution. Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, called the court’s decision “a win for public safety and the rule of law.”

“Opponents of gun safety laws have every right to advocate for change at the ballot box, statehouse, or Congress, but claiming to nullify them at the local level is both unconstitutional and dangerous,” Tirschwell said.

State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who has also sued two other Second Amendment sanctuary counties, also applauded the ruling.

“Today’s opinion by the Court of Appeals makes it clear that common sense requirements like safe storage and background checks apply throughout Oregon,” Rosenblum said. “Hopefully, other counties with similar measures on the books will see the writing on the wall.”

Whitehurst reported from Washington, D.C.

A New Study Hints That 38% of Cognitive Decline Is Impacted By These Lifestyle Factors

Eating Well

A New Study Hints That 38% of Cognitive Decline Is Impacted By These Lifestyle Factors

Karla Walsh – February 14, 2023

an illustration of a person's head with various symbols surrounding it
an illustration of a person’s head with various symbols surrounding it

Getty Images

If you can still sing along to every boy band song of the early 2000s and can recite your childhood best friend’s phone number, you might be thinking you’ll never have to worry about memory challenges.

While it’s true that a minority of Americans are officially diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, it’s probably far more common than you might expect. According to an October 2022 study published in JAMA Neurology, 1 in 10 American seniors is currently living with dementia, and another 22% of those 65 and older experience mild cognitive impairment; one of the early signals that more serious cognitive challenges may be on the horizon. That’s about one-third of all individuals 65 and older.

Cognitive decline naturally occurs as we get older; it’s natural that our ability to remember details, understand, learn and think degrade slightly over time. But when it starts to impact the quality of daily life and the ability to lead a happy, healthy, secure life, that’s when a brain-related diagnosis might occur.

Family history certainly plays a role in the risk for dementia and other cognition-related conditions, and scientists have discovered a variety of habits can also move the needle. Things that have been previously shown to reduce the risk for cognitive complications later in life include:

But there still appears to be a gap in the understanding of all of the possible risk factors for cognitive decline, so researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Michigan decided to focus their recent efforts to help clear up the cognitive confusion…and potentially prevent cases of cognitive decline in the future.

According to a study published February 8 in the journal PLoS ONE, a handful of less-commonly-cited factors account for about 38% of the cognitive function variation at age 54: personal education level, parental education, household income and wealth, race, occupation and depression status.

What This Brain Health Study Found

For this study, lead author Hui Zheng, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Sociology at Ohio State University and his team crunched the numbers from more than 7,000 American adults born between 1931 and 1941 who had enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study. This cognition-related study includes participants’ health biometrics from 1996 to 2016, and also has details about lifestyle, such as exercise, smoking status, medical diagnoses and socioeconomic factors.

Dr. Zheng and his team used a statistical approach to try to estimate the role (if any) and the percentage each of their studied factors might impact neuropathology (aka diseases of the brian, such as cognitive decline). They found that early life conditions and adult diseases and behaviors played a fairly small role—about 5.6%. But teaming up to contribute a whopping 38% in risk level was a combo platter of socioeconomic status (including education level of both the person and their parents, income/wealth and occupation), race and mental health.

Prior to this study, doctors and scientists had mainly suggested that an individual’s choices and actions matter most in maintaining cognitive functioning. This study suggests that it’s time to turn some attention to social determinants of health, too.

Related: 7 Sneaky Signs You Could Have Cognitive Decline, According to Experts

The Bottom Line

This new brain health study found that education level, income, race and depression status, in tandem with healthy lifestyle habits, play a surprisingly large role in the potential development of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

You can’t isolate one habit or factor and deem it the cause of cognitive decline. Brain health is impacted substantially by personal well-being throughout the lifespan. This includes how secure one feels at home, whether or not they’re experiencing a mental health challenge like depression, thier level of financial freedom and how much they’ve been able to study to build up their “brain bank.”

All of this points to the importance of viewing brain health through the individual and the systemic lens. A community must be designed in a way to support economic and educational access, mental health resources, has safe places for physical activity, access to a wide variety of foods and the opportunity for social connection. Admittedly, this is a lofty and substantial prospect, and is much easier said than done. But with nearly one-third of all Americans over 65 affected by cognitive impairment, it certainly can’t hurt to start exploring ways to improve our current landscape.