Planning Ahead For Better Sleep

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Sleep: 6 Dimensions And 24 Hours!

A woman with dark hair, planning ahead for better sleep, against a white background.

This is Dr. Lisa Matricciani, a sleep specialist from the University of South Australia, where she teaches in the School of Health Sciences.

What does she want us to know?

Healthy sleep begins before breakfast

The perfect bedtime routine is all well and good, but we need to begin much earlier in the day, Dr. Matricciani advises.

Specifically, moderate to vigorous activity early in the day plays a big part.

Before breakfast is best, but even midday/afternoon exercise is associated with better sleep at night.

Read more: Daytime Physical Activity is Key to Unlocking Better Sleep

Plan your time well to sleep—but watch out!

Dr. Matricciani’s research has also found that while it’s important to plan around getting a good night’s sleep (including planning when this will happen), allocating too much time for sleep results in more restless sleep:

❝Allocating more time to sleep was associated with earlier sleep onsets, later sleep offsets, less efficient and more consistent sleep patterns for both children and adults.❞

~ Dr. Lisa Matricciani et al.

Read more: Time use and dimensions of healthy sleep: A cross-sectional study of Australian children and adults

(this was very large study involving 1,168 children and 1.360 adults, mostly women)

What counts as good sleep quality? Is it just efficiency?

It is not! Although that’s one part of it. You may remember our previous main feature:

The 6 Dimensions Of Sleep (And Why They Matter)

Dr. Matricciani agrees:

❝Everyone knows that sleep is important. But when we think about sleep, we mainly focus on how many hours of sleep we get, when we should also be looking at our sleep experience as a whole❞

~ Dr. Lisa Matricciani

Read more: Trouble sleeping? You could be at risk of type 2 diabetes

That’s not a cheery headline, but here’s her paper about it:

Multidimensional Sleep and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: Examining Self-Report and Objective Dimensions of Sleep

And no, we don’t get a free pass on getting less sleep / less good quality sleep as we get older (alas):

Why You Probably Need More Sleep

So, time to get planning for the best sleep!

Enjoy videos?

Here’s how 7News Australia broke the news of Dr. Matricciani’s more recent work:

!

Rest well!

Don’t Forget…

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  • 10 Ways To Delay Aging
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    Get more plants and spices in your diet with JoyFull cookbook. 125 plant-based recipes, clear and simple, perfect for expanding your cooking repertoire.

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  • The Longevity Diet – by Dr. Valter Longo

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    Another book with “The New Science” in its subtitle, so, is this one a new science?

    Yes and no; some findings are new, many are not, what really sets this book apart from many of its genre though is that rather than focusing on fighting aging, it focuses on retaining youth. While this may seem like one and the same thing, there is a substantive difference beyond the ideological, which is: while anti-aging research focuses on what causes people to suffer age-related decline and fights each of those things, Dr. Longo’s research focuses on what is predominant in youthful bodies, cells, DNA, and looks to have more of that. Looking in a slightly different place means finding slightly different things, and knowledge is power indeed.

    Dr. Longo bases his research and focus on his “5 pillars of longevity”. We’ll not keep them a mystery; they are:

    1. Juventology research
    2. Epidemiology
    3. Clinical studies
    4. Centenarian studies
    5. Study of complex systems

    The first there (juventology research) may sound like needless jargon, but it is the counterpoint of the field of gerontology, and is otherwise something that didn’t have an established name.

    You may wonder why “clinical studies” gets a separate item when the others already include studies; this is because many studies when it comes to aging and related topics are population-based studies, cohort studies, observational studies, or (as is often the case) multiple of the above at once.

    Of course, all this discussion of academia is not itself practical information for the reader (unless we happen to work in the field), but it is interesting and does give confidence in the conclusions upon which the practical parts of the book are based.

    And what are they? As the title suggests, it’s about diet, and specifically, it’s about Dr. Longo’s “fast-mimicking diet”, which boasts the benefits of intermittent fasting without intermittent fasting. This hinges, of course, on avoiding metabolic overload, which can be achieved with a fairly simple diet governed by the principles outlined in this book, based on the research referenced.

    In the category of subjective criticism, there is quite a bit of fluff, much of it self-indulgently autobiographical and very complimentary, but its presence does not take anything away from the excellent content contained in the book.

    Bottom line: if you’d like a fresh perspective on regaining/retaining youthfulness, then this is a great book to read.

    Click here to check out The Longevity Diet, and stay younger!

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  • Early Bird Or Night Owl? Genes vs Environment

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    A Sliding Slope?

    In Tuesday’s newsletter, we asked you how much control you believe we have over our sleep schedule, and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses:

    • 45% said “most people can control it; some people with sleep disorders cannot
    • 35% said “our genes predispose us to early/late, but we can slide it a bit
    • 15% said: “going against our hardwired sleep schedules is a road to ruin”
    • 5% said “anyone can adjust their sleep schedule with enough willpower”

    You may be wondering: what’s with those single-digit numbers in the graph there? And the answer is: Tuesday’s email didn’t go out at the usual time due to a scheduling mistake (sorry!), which is probably what affected the number of responses (poll response levels vary, but are usually a lot higher than this).

    Note: yes, this does mean most people who read our newsletter don’t vote. So, not to sound like a politician on the campaign trail, but… Your vote counts! We always love reading your comments when you add those, too—often they provide context that allow us to tailor what we focus on in our articles

    However, those are the responses we got, so here we are!

    What does the science say?

    Anyone can adjust their sleep with enough willpower: True or False?

    False, simply. It’s difficult for most people, but for many people with sleep disorders, it is outright impossible.

    In a battle of narcolepsy vs willpower, for example, no amount of willpower will stop the brain from switching to sleep mode when it thinks it’s time to sleep:

    ❝Narcolepsy is the most common neurological cause of chronic sleepiness. The discovery about 20 years ago that narcolepsy is caused by selective loss of the neurons producing orexins sparked great advances in the field

    [There is also] developing evidence that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder that may be caused by a T cell-mediated attack on the orexin neurons and explain how these new perspectives can inform better therapeutic approaches.❞

    ~ Dr. Carrie Mahoney et al. (lightly edited for brevity)

    Source: The neurobiological basis of narcolepsy

    For further reading, especially if this applies to you or a loved one:

    Living with Narcolepsy: Current Management Strategies, Future Prospects, and Overlooked Real-Life Concerns

    Our genes predispose us to early/late, but we can slide it a bit: True or False?

    True! First, about our genes predisposing us:

    Genome-wide association analysis of 89,283 individuals identifies genetic variants associated with self-reporting of being a morning person

    …and also:

    Gene distinguishes early birds from night owls and helps predict time of death

    Now, as for the “can slide it a bit”, this is really just a function of the general categories of “early bird” and “night owl” spanning periods of time that allow for a few hours’ wiggle-room at either side.

    However, it is recommended to make any actual changes more gradually, with the Sleep Foundation going so far as to recommend 30 minutes, or even just 15 minutes, of change per day:

    Sleep Foundation | How to Fix Your Sleep Schedule

    Going against our hardwired sleep schedule is a road to ruin: True or False?

    False, contextually. By this we mean: our “hardwired” sleep schedule is (for most of us), genetically predisposed but not predetermined.

    Also, genetic predispositions are not necessarily always good for us; one would not argue, for example, for avoiding going against a genetic predisposition to addiction.

    Some genetic predispositions are just plain bad for us, and genes can be a bit of a lottery.

    That said, we do recommend getting some insider knowledge (literally), by getting personal genomics tests done, if that’s a viable option for you, so you know what’s really a genetic trait (and what to do with that information) and what’s probably caused by something else (and what to do with that information):

    Genetic Testing: Health Benefits & Methods

    Take care!

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  • Make Your Negativity Work For You

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    What’s The Right Balance?

    We’ve written before about positivity the pitfalls and perils of toxic positivity:

    How To Get Your Brain On A More Positive Track (Without Toxic Positivity)

    …as well as the benefits that can be found from selectively opting out of complaining:

    A Bone To Pick… Up And Then Put Back Where We Found It

    So… What place, if any, does negativity usefully have in our lives?

    Carrot and Stick

    We tend to think of “carrot and stick” motivation being extrinsic, i.e. there is some authority figure offering is reward and/or punishment, in response to our reactions.

    In those cases when it really is extrinsic, the “stick” can still work for most people, by the way! At least in the short term.

    Because in the long term, people are more likely to rebel against a “stick” that they consider unjust, and/or enter a state of learned helplessness, per “I’ll never be good enough to satisfy this person” and give up trying to please them.

    But what about when you have your own carrot and stick? What about when it comes to, for example, your own management of your own healthy practices?

    Here it becomes a little different—and more effective. We’ll get to that, but first, bear with us for a touch more about extrinsic motivation, because here be science:

    We will generally be swayed more easily by negative feelings than positive ones.

    For example, a study was conducted as part of a blood donation drive, and:

    • Group A was told that their donation could save a life
    • Group B was told that their donation could prevent a death

    The negative wording given to group B boosted donations severalfold:

    Read the paper: Life or Death Decisions: Framing the Call for Help

    We have, by the way, noticed a similar trend—when it comes to subject lines in our newsletters. We continually change things up to see if trends change (and also to avoid becoming boring), but as a rule, the response we get from subscribers is typically greater when a subject line is phrased negatively, e.g. “how to avoid this bad thing” rather than “how to have this good thing”.

    How we can all apply this as individuals?

    When we want to make a health change (or keep up a healthy practice we already have)…

    • it’s good to note the benefits of that change/practice!
    • it’s even better to note the negative consequences of not doing it

    For example, if you want to overcome an addiction, you will do better for your self-reminders to be about the bad consequences of using, more than the good consequences of abstinence.

    See also: How To Reduce Or Quit Alcohol

    This goes even just for things like diet and exercise! Things like diet and exercise can seem much more low-stakes than substance abuse, but at the end of the day, they can add healthy years onto our lives, or take them off.

    Because of this, it’s good to take time to remember, when you don’t feel like exercising or do feel like ordering that triple cheeseburger with fries, the bad outcomes that you are planning to avoid with good diet and exercise.

    Imagine yourself going in for that quadruple bypass surgery, asking yourself whether the unhealthy lifestyle was worth it. Double down on the emotions; imagine your loved ones grieving your premature death.

    Oof, that was hard-hitting

    It was, but it’s effective—if you choose to do it. We’re not the boss of you! Either way, we’ll continue to send the same good health advice and tips and research and whatnot every day, with the same (usually!) cheery tone.

    One last thing…

    While it’s good to note the negative, in order to avoid the things that lead to it, it’s not so good to dwell on the negative.

    So if you get caught in negative thought spirals or the like, it’s still good to get yourself out of those.

    If you need a little help with that sometimes, check out these:

    Take care!

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Related Posts

  • 10 Ways To Delay Aging
  • Undoing Creatine’s Puffiness Side Effect

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small 😎

    ❝Creatine is known to increase “puffiness”, especially in my face. Are there any supplements that do the opposite?!❞

    So first, let’s examine why this happens: creatine is most often taken to boost muscle size and performance. Your muscles are, of course, mostly water by mass, and so building your muscles requires extra water, which triggers systemic water retention.

    In other words: you take creatine, exercise, and as the muscles start growing, the body goes “oh heck, we are running out of water, better save as much as possible in order to keep hydrating the muscles without running out” and starts putting it anywhere it can that’s not your bladder, so this will largely be the soft tissues of your body.

    So, this results in classic water retentions symptoms including bloating and, yes, facial puffiness.

    How much this happens, and how long the effects last, depend on three main things:

    • What daily dose of creatine you are taking
    • What kind of exercise you are doing
    • What your hydration is like

    The dose is relevant as it’s most common to get this puffiness during the “loading” phase, i.e. if you’re taking an increased dose to start with.

    The exercise is relevant as it affects how much your body is actually using the water to build muscles.

    The hydration is relevant because the less water you are taking, the more the body will try to retain whatever you do have.

    This means, of course, that the supplement you are looking for to undo the facial puffiness is, in fact, water (even, nay, especially, if you feel bloated too):

    Water For Everything? Water’s Counterintuitive Properties

    Additionally, you could scale back the dose of creatine you’re taking, if you’re not currently doing heavy muscle-building exercise.

    That said, the recommended dose for cognitive benefits is 5g/day, which is a very standard main-phase (i.e., post-loading) bodybuilding dose, so do with that information what you will.

    See also: Creatine’s Brain Benefits Increase With Age

    On which note: whether or not you want to take creatine for brain benefits, however, may depend on your age:

    Creatine: Very Different For Young & Old People

    Most research on creatine’s effects on humans has usually been either collegiate athletes or seniors, which leaves quite a research gap in the middle—so it’s unclear at what age the muscle-building effects begin to taper off, and at what age the cognitive benefits begin to take off.

    Want a quicker fix?

    If you want to reduce your facial puffiness acutely (e.g., you have a date in an hour and would like to not have a puffy face), then there are two things you can do that will help immediately, and/but only have short-term effects, meaning you’d have to do them daily to enjoy the results every day:

    The first is an ice bath; simply fill a large bowl with water and ice cubes, give it a couple of minutes to get down to temperature, hold your breath and plunge your face in for as long as you can comfortably hold your breath. Repeat a few times, and towel off.

    This helps by waking up the vasculature in your face, helping it to reduce puffiness naturally.

    The second is facial yoga or guā shā, which is the practice of physically manipulating the soft tissues of your face to put them where you want them, rather than where you don’t want them. This will work against water retention puffiness, as well as cortisol puffiness, lymphatic puffiness, and more:

    7-Minute Face Fitness For Lymphatic Drainage & Youthful Jawline

    Enjoy!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

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    Research Review: Collagen

    For something that’s a very popular supplement, not many people understand what collagen is, where it comes from, or what it does.

    In a nutshell:

    Collagen is a kind of protein. Our bodies make it naturally, and we can also get more in our diet and/or take extra as a supplement.

    Our bodies use collagen in connective tissue, skin, tendon, bone, and cartilage. It has many functions, but a broad description would be “holding things together”.

    As we get older, our bodies produce less collagen. Signs of this include wrinkles, loss of skin hydration, and joint pain.

    Quick test: pinch the skin on the middle of the back of one of your hands, and then watch what happens when you get low. How quickly and easily did your skin returns to its original shape?

    If it was pretty much instantanous and flawless, congratulations, you have plenty of collagen (and also elastin). If you didn’t, you are probably low on both!

    (they are quite similar proteins and are made from the same base “stuff”, so if you’re low on one, you’ll usually be low on both)

    Quick note: A lot of research out there has been funded by beauty companies, so we had our work cut out for us today, and have highlighted where any research may be biased.

    More than skin deep

    While marketing for collagen is almost exclusively aimed at “reduce wrinkles and other signs of aging”, it does a lot more than that.

    You remember we mentioned that many things from the bones outward are held together by collagen? We weren’t kidding…

    Read: Osteoporosis, like skin ageing, is caused by collagen loss which is reversible

    Taking extra collagen isn’t the only way

    We can’t (yet!) completely halt the age-related loss of collagen, but we can slow it, with our lifestyle choices:

    Can I get collagen from food?

    Yep! Just as collagen holds our bodies together, it holds the bodies of other animals together. And, just like collagen is found in most parts of our body but most plentifully in our skin and bones, that’s what to eat to get collagen from other animals, e.g:

    • Chicken skin
    • Fish skin
    • Bone broth ← health benefits and recipes at this link!

    What about vegans?

    Yes, vegans are also held together by collagen! We do not, however, recommend eating their skin or boiling their bones into broth. Ethical considerations aside, cannibalism can give you CJD!

    More seriously, if you’re vegan, you can’t get collagen from a plant-based diet, but you can get the stuff your body uses to make collagen. Basically, you want to make sure you get plenty of:

    Read: Diet and Dermatology: The Role of a Whole-food, Plant-based Diet in Preventing and Reversing Skin Aging

    Just be sure to continue to remember to avoid highly-processed foods. So:

    • Soy mince/chunks whose ingredients list reads: “soya”? Yes!
    • The Incredible Burger or Linda McCartney’s Sausages? Sadly less healthy

    Read: Advanced Glycation End Products in Foods and a Practical Guide to Their Reduction in the Diet

    Meat-eaters might want to read that one too. By far the worst offenders for AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products, which can not only cause collagen to stiffen, but also inactivate proteins responsible for collagen repair, along with doing much more serious damage to your body’s natural functions) include:

    • Hot dogs
    • Bacon
    • Fried/roasted/grilled meats

    Is it worth it as a supplement?

    That depends on you, your age, and your lifestyle, but it’s generally considered safe*

    *if you have a seafood allergy, be careful though, as many supplements are from fish or shellfish—you will need to find one that’s free from your allergen

    Also, all collagen is animal-derived. So if you’re a vegan, decide for yourself whether this constitutes medicine and if so, whether that makes it ethically permissible to you.

    With that out of the way:

    What the science says on collagen supplementation

    Collagen for skin

    Read: Effects of collagen supplementation on skin aging (systematic review and meta-analysis)

    The short version is that they selected 19 studies with over a thousand participants in total, and they found:

    In the meta-analysis, a grouped analysis of studies showed favorable results of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation compared with placebo in terms of skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles.

    The findings of improved hydration and elasticity were also confirmed in the subgroup meta-analysis.

    Based on results, ingestion of hydrolyzed collagen for 90 days is effective in reducing skin aging, as it reduces wrinkles and improves skin elasticity and hydration.

    Caveat: while that systematic review had no conflicts of interests, at least some of the 19 studies will have been funded by beauty companies. Here are two, so that you know what that looks like:

    Funded by Quiris to investigate their own supplement, Elasten®:

    A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density

    Funded by BioCell to investigate their own supplement, BioCell Collagen:

    The Effects of Skin Aging Associated with the Use of BioCell Collagen

    A note on funding bias: to be clear, the issue is not that the researchers might be corrupt (though that could happen).

    The issue is more that sometimes companies will hire ten labs to do ten research studies… and then pull funding from ones whose results aren’t going the way they’d like.

    So the “best” (for them) study is the one that gets published.

    Here’s another systematic review—like the one at the top of this section—that found the same, with doses ranging from 2.5g–15g per day for 8 weeks or longer:

    Read: Oral Collagen Supplementation: A Systematic Review of Dermatological Applications

    Again, some of those studies will have been funded by beauty companies. The general weight of evidence does seem clear and favorable, though.

    Collagen for bones

    Here, we encountered a lot less in the way of potential bias, because this is simply marketed a lot less. Despite being arguably far more important!

    We found a high quality multi-vector randomized controlled study with a sample size of 131 postmenopausal women. They had these women take 5g collagen supplement (or placebo), and studied the results over the course of a year.

    They found:

    • The intake of the supplement increased bone mineral density (BMD)
    • Supplementation was also associated with a favorable shift in bone markers, indicating:
      • increased bone formation
      • reduced bone degradation

    Read: Specific Collagen Peptides Improve Bone Mineral Density and Bone Markers in Postmenopausal Wome

    A follow-up study with 31 of these women found that taking 5 grams of collagen daily for a total of 4 years was associated with a progressive increase in BMD.

    You might be wondering if collagen also helps against osteoarthritis.

    The answer is: yes, it does (at least, it significantly reduces the symptoms)

    Read: Effect of collagen supplementation on osteoarthritis symptoms

    In summary:

    • You need collagen for health skin, bones, joints, and more
    • Your body makes collagen from your food
    • You can help it by getting plenty of protein, vitamins, and minerals
    • You can also help it by not doing the usual Bad Things™ (smoking, drinking, eating processed foods, especially processed meats)
    • You can also eat collagen directly in the form of other animals’ skin and bones
    • You can also buy collagen supplements (but watch out for allergens)

    Want to try collagen supplementation?

    We don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience…

    Check it out: Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides (the same as in most of the above studies), 90 days supply at 5g/day

    We selected this one because it’s the same kind used in many of the studies, and it doesn’t contain any known allergens.

    It’s bovine collagen, meaning it’s from cows, so it’s not vegan, and also some subscribers may want to abstain for religious reasons. We respect that, and/but make our recommendations based solely on the science of health and productivity.

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:

  • What you need to know about H5N1 bird flu

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    On May 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a Michigan dairy worker tested positive for H5N1 bird flu. It was the fourth person to test positive for H5N1 in the United States, following another recent case in Michigan, an April case in Texas, and an initial case in Colorado in 2022

    H5N1 bird flu has been spreading among bird species in the U.S. since 2021, killing millions of wild birds and poultry. In late March 2024, H5N1 bird flu was found in cows for the first time, causing an outbreak in dairy cows across several states. 

    U.S. public health officials and researchers are particularly concerned about this outbreak because the virus has infected cows and other mammals and has spread from a cow to a human for the first time. 

    This bird flu strain has shown to not only make wild mammals, including marine mammals and bears, very sick but to also cause high rates of death among species, says Jane Sykes, professor of small animal medicine at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. 

    “And now that it has been found in cattle, [it] raises particular concern for spread to all the animal species, including people,” adds Sykes.

    Even though the risk for human infection is low and there has never been human-to-human transmission of H5N1, there are several actions you can take to stay protected. Read on to learn more about H5N1 bird flu and the current outbreak. 

    What is H5N1? 

    H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that most commonly affects birds, causing them severe respiratory illness and death. 

    The H5N1 strain first emerged in China in the 1990s, and it has continued to spread around the world since then. In 1997, the virus spread from animals to humans in Hong Kong for the first time, infecting 18 people, six of whom died. 

    Since 2020, the H5N1 strain has caused “an unprecedented number of deaths in wild birds and poultry in many countries,” according to the World Health Organization

    Even though bird flu is rare in humans, an H5N1 infection can cause mild to severe illness and can be fatal in some cases. It can cause eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms, and pneumonia. 

    What do we know about the 2024 human cases of H5N1 in the U.S.?

    The Michigan worker who tested positive for H5N1 in late May is a dairy worker who was exposed to infected livestock. They were the first to experience respiratory symptoms—including a cough without a fever—during the current outbreak. They were given an antiviral and the CDC says their symptoms are resolving.

    The Michigan farm worker who tested positive earlier in May only experienced eye-related symptoms and has already recovered. And the dairy worker who tested positive for the virus in Texas in April only experienced eye redness as well, was treated with an antiviral medication for the flu, and is recovering. 

    Is H5N1 bird flu in the milk we consume?

    The Food and Drug Administration has found traces of H5N1 bird flu virus in raw or unpasteurized milk. However, pasteurized milk is safe to drink. 

    Pasteurization, the process of heating milk to high temperatures to kill harmful bacteria (which the majority of commercially sold milk goes through), deactivates the virus. In 20 percent of pasteurized milk samples, the FDA found small, inactive (not live nor infectious) traces of the virus, but these fragments do not make pasteurized milk dangerous.

    In a recent Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing, Dr. Maximo Brito, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, said that it’s important for people to avoid “drinking unpasteurized or raw milk [because] there are other diseases, not only influenza, that could be transmitted by drinking unpasteurized milk.” 

    What can I do to prevent bird flu?

    While the risk of H5N1 infection in humans is low, people with exposure to infected animals (like farmworkers) are most at risk. But there are several actions you can take to stay protected. 

    One of the most important things, according to Sykes, is taking the usual precautions we’ve taken with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses, including frequent handwashing, especially before eating. 

    “Handwashing and mask-wearing [are important], just as we learned from the pandemic,” Sykes adds. “And it’s not wearing a mask at all times, but thinking about high-risk situations, like when you’re indoors in a crowded environment, where transmission of respiratory viruses is much more likely to occur.” 

    There are other steps you can take to prevent H5N1, according to the CDC:

    • Avoid direct contact with sick or dead animals, including wild birds and poultry.
    • Don’t touch surfaces that may have been contaminated with animal poop, saliva, or mucus. 
    • Cook poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any bacteria or virus, including H5N1. Generally, avoid eating undercooked food. 
    • Avoid consuming unpasteurized or raw milk or products like cheeses made with raw milk. 
    • Avoid eating uncooked or undercooked food.
    • Poultry and livestock farmers and workers and bird flock owners should wear masks and other personal protective equipment “when in direct or close physical contact with sick birds, livestock, or other animals; carcasses; feces; litter; raw milk; or surfaces and water that might be contaminated with animal excretions from potentially or confirmed infected birds, livestock, or other animals.” (The CDC has more recommendations for this population here.)

    Is there a vaccine for H5N1?

    The CDC said there are two candidate H5N1 vaccines ready to be made and distributed in case the virus starts to spread from person to person, and the country is now moving forward with plans to produce millions of vaccine doses.

    The FDA has approved several bird flu vaccines since 2007. The U.S. has flu vaccines in stockpile through the National Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile program, which allows for quick response as strains of the flu virus evolve.  

    Could this outbreak become a pandemic?

    Scientists and researchers are concerned about the possibility of H5N1 spreading among people and causing a pandemic. “Right now, the risk is low, but as time goes on, the potential for mutation to cause widespread human infection increases,” says Sykes. 

    “I think this virus jumping into cows has shown the urgency to keep tracking [H5N1] a lot more closely now,” Peter Halfmann, research associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Influenza Research Institute tells PGN. “We have our eyes on surveillance now. … We’re keeping a much closer eye, so it’s not going to take us by surprise.”

    This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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