All posts tagged: Health

Does intermittent fasting improve gut health? Why it’s hard to say

Does intermittent fasting improve gut health? Why it’s hard to say

Published by skeptic

How does intermittent fasting change the gut microbiome? Oliver Leedham/Alamy Stock Photo There is evidence that intermittent fasting alters the gut microbiome, and while this is often believed to improve gut health, some studies are now raising doubts about whether that is always the case. The idea behind intermittent fasting is relatively straightforward: instead of focusing on what you eat, you focus on when, cycling between periods of fasting and eating. The most popular approach limits all meals and snacks to the same 8-hour window each day. Source link

US Customs and Border Protection Quietly Revokes Protections for Pregnant Women and Infants

US Customs and Border Protection Quietly Revokes Protections for Pregnant Women and Infants

Published by skeptic

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has quietly rescinded several internal policies that were designed to protect some of the most vulnerable people in its custody—including pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and people with serious medical conditions. The decision, outlined in a memo dated May 5 and signed by acting commissioner Pete Flores, eliminates four Biden-era policies enacted over the last three years. These policies were intended to address CBP’s long-standing failures to provide adequate care for detainees who are most at risk—failures that have, in some cases, proved fatal. The May 5 memo was distributed internally to top agency leadership but was not announced publicly. CBP justified the rollback by stating in the memo–titled Rescission of Legacy Policies Related to Care and Custody–that the policies were “obsolete” and “misaligned” with the agency’s current enforcement priorities. Together, the now rescinded policies laid out standards for detainees with heightened medical needs—requiring, for instance, access to water and food for pregnant people, ensuring privacy for breastfeeding mothers, and mandating diapers and unexpired formula be stocked in holding …

AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics

AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics

Published by skeptic

Mental health services around the world are stretched thinner than ever. Long wait times, barriers to accessing care and rising rates of depression and anxiety have made it harder for people to get timely help. As a result, governments and healthcare providers are looking for new ways to address this problem. One emerging solution is the use of AI chatbots for mental health care. A recent study explored whether a new type of AI chatbot, named Therabot, could treat people with mental illness effectively. The findings were promising: not only did participants with clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety benefit, those at high-risk for eating disorders also showed improvement. While early, this study may represent a pivotal moment in the integration of AI into mental health care. AI mental health chatbots are not new – tools like Woebot and Wysa have already been released to the public and studied for years. These platforms follow rules based on a user’s input to produce a predefined approved response. What makes Therabot different is that it uses …

You Need to Know about Health Care Sharing Ministries

You Need to Know about Health Care Sharing Ministries

Published by skeptic

Take just one minute NOW to tell your elected officials to support this bill to bring much needed transparency to these organizations and demand they ensure consumers are protected and informed. Humanists, we need your help to stop religious organizations from tricking families into signing up for fake health plans. Tell your elected officials in Congress to support the Health Share Transparency Act, sponsored by Representative Huffman (CA-2), which establishes transparency requirements for deceptive religious organizations masquerading as health insurance. Health care sharing ministries are tax-exempt religious organizations that pretend to offer products better than real health insurance, with promises of low costs and caring for the “whole person.” These ministries have zero obligation to reimburse any medical expenses. The result is families surprised with steep medical debt, confusing limitations, and curt responses to their pleas for help. One enrollee in a health care sharing ministry was told “we’ll pray for you” when he called his plan about an unpaid $60,000 bill after a stroke. They target vulnerable people in search of inexpensive care – …

TODAY anchor breaks silence after stepping away from show mid-coverage over ‘significant’ health scare

TODAY anchor breaks silence after stepping away from show mid-coverage over ‘significant’ health scare

Published by skeptic

The Kentucky Derby proved to be another successful weekend for all the involved participants, celebrity attendees and even the assigned news teams, including NBC’s TODAY. The morning news show sent Third Hour anchor Dylan Dreyer and NBC Sports anchor Mike Tirico to cover the annual horseback racing run at the Churchill Downs, won this year by Sovereignty. However, while Dylan’s regular pilgrimage to Louisville ended as well as it always did, the voyage to the Derby didn’t pan out so well for Mike. © InstagramMike and Dylan flew to Louisville to cover the Kentucky Derby On Saturday, the 58-year-old NBC anchor shared that he had to step away after the first day of races, tweeting: “Hate being a scratch after making the starting gate @KentuckyDerby. Just a significant reaction to my nut allergy. If you have one you know how it can knock you down.” While confirming he was okay, he continued: “Profound thanks to @ChurchillDowns for their care. And to our amazing @nbcsports horse racing family.  Especially Randy, Jerry & Ahmed Fareed. So lucky …

Scientists link immune system proteins to mental health conditions like schizophrenia and depression

Scientists link immune system proteins to mental health conditions like schizophrenia and depression

Published by José

New research suggests that immune system activity may play a role in the development of several major mental health conditions. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, identified 29 immune-related proteins that appear to contribute to the risk of disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. Many of these proteins are already being targeted by drugs used for other conditions, raising the possibility that treatments focused on the immune system could one day help people with psychiatric disorders. The researchers undertook this study to clarify whether immune system dysfunction actually causes mental health conditions or merely correlates with them. In recent years, many studies have found that people with depression, schizophrenia, and other disorders often have signs of increased inflammation. However, it has remained unclear whether this inflammation is a consequence of the illness, a contributing factor, or unrelated entirely. Resolving this uncertainty is essential for guiding the development of new therapies. To investigate this, the research team, led by Christina Dardani and Golam Khandaker at the University of Bristol, used a method …

Trump’s Tariffs Are an Accidental Win for Public Health

Trump’s Tariffs Are an Accidental Win for Public Health

Published by skeptic

The EBCreate “Miami Mint”–flavored vape is truly a wonder. The device is not particularly technologically advanced; the electronic components inside consist of little more than a battery and a heating coil that turns liquid into mist. The vape smells like a mojito that’s gone a bit sour. But for $25 at my local vape shop, I got this tiny trinket that, by one estimate, contains the amount of nicotine found in 25 packs of cigarettes. Along with nearly every other flavored vape, it’s also illegal. Though these products are popular and easy to find, they haven’t received the regulatory approval necessary to be sold in stores. Health officials have been unsuccessful at cracking down on these e-cigarettes in large part because they are made overseas and then smuggled into the country. Without government oversight, these devices can be unsafe: Vaping is essentially the equivalent of inhaling a pharmaceutical drug from an unregistered factory, and the devices risk hooking teens on nicotine. But the tricky thing about vapes is that eradicating them might not be in …

7 committee hearing findings from health experts

7 committee hearing findings from health experts

Published by skeptic

The health sector must take on “increased accountability” for SEND provision, experts have said, as they warned a national focus on NHS reform “crowds out” local ambition for greater partnership working. The Parliamentary education committee also heard that cuts to integrated care boards (ICBs), NHS bodies responsible for planning health services in local areas, will have an impact on SEND and are hindering greater collaboration. MPs heard evidence from experts in speech and language therapy, educational psychology and officials from local and national health organisations. Here’s what we learned. 1. Health must take more accountability Alison Stewart, head of SEND at the South West London Integrated Care Board, was asked if it was fair for most of the accountability in the system to sit with local authorities. “I don’t think it’s fair. I think there does need to be an increased accountability for the local area, the local system, and that should be the local authority and the ICB and the providers within that. She also said we needed to “move with statute to a …

US plans massive health database to study autism – will it work?

US plans massive health database to study autism – will it work?

Published by skeptic

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images When Robert F Kennedy Jr took over as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year, it was clear that identifying causes of autism would be one of his top priorities. Before becoming the country’s highest-ranking public health official, Kennedy spent much of his career peddling debunked claims that vaccines were behind rising autism rates. Now, he has declared autism an epidemic – and is launching a $50 million initiative to address it. Source link

First signs of a youth mental health recovery

First signs of a youth mental health recovery

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles When the pandemic hit, it didn’t just disrupt learning; it exposed and deepened an existing youth mental health crisis. Teachers and pastoral staff have shouldered that burden since. Our latest report, published today, reveals encouraging signs of recovery, but also stark reminders of how uneven that recovery remains. New polling from Public First at the heart of this report shows that 77 per cent of young people rate their mental health as ‘quite good’ or ‘very good’, rising to 84 per cent among 11- and 12-year-olds. And there is evident progress since 2021. Then, 60 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds were worried about their mental health, including stress and anxiety. This has now dropped to 39 per cent. Reports of negative feelings and behaviours such as restless sleep, difficulty concentrating and loneliness have declined across the board, and the proportion of this age group rating their mental health as ‘quite poor’ or ‘very poor’ has fallen from 21 per cent to 10 per cent. These improvements speak to …