No, vitamin A does not prevent measles
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As measles spreads in Texas, New Mexico, and other states, a Texas child died from measles for the first time in the United States since 2015. In a March 2 Fox News editorial, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hinted at the importance of vaccination and stated that good nutrition, including vitamin A, is a โbest defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.โ
However, doctors and public health professionals say that vitamin A is not a replacement for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Vitamin A is sometimes used to treat measles in the hospitalโparticularly in developing countries where people with poor nutrition tend to be vitamin A deficient. Experts also say that taking vitamin A when your body does not need it can be dangerous.
โItโs really important to distinguish prevention and treatment, and measles can be prevented, and it can be prevented one way: through vaccination,โ Dr. Preeti Malani, infectious disease physician and professor at the University of Michigan, tells PGN. โThe best treatment is to not get measles in the first place.โ
Read on to learn the facts about vitamin A, what itโs used for, its risks, and what you should do to prevent measles.
What is vitamin A, and what does it have to do with measles?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means that itโs stored in the bodyโs fatty tissue and in the liver, and itโs absorbed with the fat in a personโs diet. Vitamin A helps with our vision, reproduction, growth, and immunity.
Vitamin A deficiency can increase the risk of death from measles, among other infections. The World Health Organization recommends it as a supplement along with vaccination for children at risk of vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
However, vitamin A deficiency is rare in the U.S. because most people get enough of it through their diet. (Malani says thatโs why research about the use of vitamin A to treat measles is limited in countries like the United States.)
โVitamin A deficiency is a major problem in developing nations, particularly those that donโt have access to staple foods that have vitamin A,โ says Andrea Love, PhD, a biomedical scientist and founder of the health communication organization Immunologic, to PGN. โThe problem is that thatโs been kind of extrapolated to high-income countries [like the United States], where vitamin A deficiency is really not a concern.โ
Under Kennedyโs direction, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to recommend the use of vitamin A to treat severe measles in young children, but specifically in a hospital setting and under a doctorโs supervision.
Does vitamin A prevent measles?
No. Vitamin A does not prevent measles. The MMR vaccine is the best way to prevent a measles infection.
โVitamin A is not an alternative to vaccination,โ Malani adds. โWe have a safe and highly effective vaccine thatโs been available for decadesโit will protect individuals [and] communities from an outbreak.โ
Are there any risks to taking vitamin A?
Yes. If your body doesnโt need extra vitamin A, there are risks.
According to the National Institutes of Health, taking too much vitamin A (specifically, the type found in supplements and some medications) can cause nausea, severe headaches, blurred vision, muscle aches, and problems with coordination. In severe cases, it can also lead to coma and death. Taking too much vitamin A while pregnant can cause birth defects.
โIf youโre already getting sufficient vitamin A from your diet, then when you consume more than what you need, those levels are going to build up in your body, in your fat stores, in your tissues, and youโre going to be at risk of both acute and chronic toxicity,โ adds Love.
Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C โget filtered out by your kidneys and you would pee it out, but fat-soluble vitamins [like vitamin A], donโt get processed and excreted as quickly; they start to build up in the body,โ she says.
What can I do to protect myself from measles?
The MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from measles. The CDC recommends children get two doses of the MMR vaccine: the first dose between 12 and 15 months and the second one between 4 and 6 years old.
Experts recommend that adults who are not sure about their vaccination or immunity status against measles get at least one dose of the MMR vaccine. Additionally, adults who are at high risk for measles (like health care workers and people who travel internationally) may need two additional doses.
According to the CDC, you can also get an MMR vaccine within 72 hours of initial exposure to measles, which can give you some protection or make your illness less severe. Additionally, thereโs an antibody (a protective protein called immunoglobulin) that a doctor may recommend for high-risk people within six days of being exposed to measles.
For more information, talk to your health care provider.
This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Those โwhat I eat in a dayโ TikTok videos arenโt helpful. They might even beย harmful
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You may have come across those โwhat I eat in a dayโ videos on social media, where people โ usually conventionally attractive influencers wearing activewear โ list everything they consumed that day.
They might seem like harmless fun but in fact they can reinforce dangerous ideas about food, weight and body image.
Iโve worked with people with eating disorders who watch these videos and have seen first hand how harmful this content can be.
Hereโs what the research says and what you need to know.
Iren_Geo/Shutterstock Videos that promote โhealthโ can be unhealthy
โWhat I eat in a dayโ videos have been popular for over a decade, with views reaching in the billions.
They target both men and women and many claim to promote health and nutrition. Yet videos such as these can do more harm than good.
Very few of these creators have formal qualifications in health or nutrition, increasing the potential for misinformation.
They often depict low calorie diets, exclude entire food groups or promote โclean eatingโ (a problematic idea at best).
Some even encourage dangerous behaviours such as skipping meals, eating very little or using laxatives to purge food.
They can also send harmful messages about body image. Many such videos use beauty filters to create images promoting unrealistic body ideals.
These videos often feature shots of how the person looks from the front, the side, in the gym, and in tight, form-fitting clothes. There may even be some โbefore and afterโ weight loss pics, sending the harmful message this should be everyoneโs goal.
The subtext is clear: โeat what I eat in a day and you can look like meโ.
But thatโs not just a dangerous idea โ itโs a totally false and erroneous one.
Knowing what a certain person โeats in a dayโ doesnโt mean youโll look like them if you follow their lead.
In fact, a 24-hour rundown of one personโs food intake doesnโt even provide accurate information about that personโs nutritional health โ let alone yours.
These videos can target both men and women. Veja/Shutterstock You are not them
Like our health, our nutritional needs are unique to us and can vary day to day.
What constitutes a โhealthyโ choice for one person might be totally different for another depending on things such as:
- genetics
- environment
- age
- what we enjoy eating
- how much energy we use and
- our medical history.
Links between health and diet are best examined over time, not in a single day.
Basing our food intake on a brief snapshot of what someone else eats is unlikely to lead to better health. It might leave you worse off overall.
5 ways these videos can affect mental health
What we watch online can affect our mood, behaviour and body image.
Alarm bells should ring if you frequently see these videos and notice youโre doing or experiencing these five things:
1. disordered eating. Eating less than your body needs, skipping meals, cutting out entire food groups, binge eating and purging are all signs of disordered eating that can lead to serious mental health problems such as eating disorders
2. low mood. Watching videos promoting low-calorie diets can worsen our mood; you might find yourself feeling deflated after comparing yourself to others (or rather, to the version of themselves they promote online)
3. poor body image. Research shows watching โwhat I eat in a dayโ videos can leave people feeling worse about their bodies and appreciating them less
4. obsessive thinking and anxiety. Obsessing over the โperfectโ diet can increase anxiety about food and eating. Diets that encourage a very detailed approach to nutrition โ including breaking meals down into components such as carbohydrates and proteins or weighing food โ can further fuel obsessive thoughts
5. narrow life focus. Having your social media feed filled with these types of videos can create an overemphasis on the importance of food, eating and body image on your self-worth. This ultimately affects your health and wellbeing.
What we watch online can affect our mood, behaviour, and body image. GaudiLab/Shutterstock OK, so what can I do?
If youโre encountering โwhat I eat in a dayโ videos often and find theyโre affecting your mood, eating behaviour or sense of self-worth you can try to:
- understand that these videos are not tailored to your individual health or nutritional needs and that many contain harmful messaging
- avoid engaging with videos that promote disordered eating, idealised beauty standards or that make you feel bad after you watch them
- unfollow accounts that regularly post such videos, or tap โnot interestedโ on the TikTok video to stop the algorithm showing you more of them
- balance your social media feed with content focused on other areas of life besides food and eating (such as art, design, animals, books, sports or travel). Fill your feed with interests that improve your personal sense of wellbeing
- consider taking regular breaks from social media and seeing if you feel better overall.
If you do want to view posts about food, seek out creators attempting to buck these negative trends by focusing more on fun and taste.
And if youโre experiencing low mood, disordered eating or body image issues, seek help from your local GP. They can connect you with practitioners who provide evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy.
If you have a history of an eating disorder or suspect you may have one, you can contact the Butterfly Foundationโs national helpline on 1800 334 673 (or via their online chat).
Ultimately, โwhat I eat in a dayโ videos arenโt really helpful. They contain very little useful information to guide your health or nutritional goals.
If you are considering making changes to your diet, itโs important to consult a qualified professional, such as an accredited practising dietitian, who can learn about your situation and monitor any risks.
Catherine Houlihan, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Finish What You Start โ by Peter Hollins
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For some people, getting started is the problem. For others of us, getting started is the easy part! We just need a little help not dropping things we started.
There are summaries at the starts and ends of sections, and many “quick tips” to get you back on track.
As a taster: one of these is “temptation bundling“, combining unpleasant things with pleasant. A kind of “spoonful of sugar” approach.
Hollins also discusses hyperbolic discounting (the way we tend to value rewards according to how near they are, and procrastinate accordingly). He offers a tool to overcome this, too, the “10โ10โ10 rule“.
Also dealt with is “the preparation trap“, and how to know when you have enough information to press on.
For a lot of us, the places we’re most likely to drop a project is 20% in (initial enthusiasm wore off) or 80% in (“it’s nearly done; no need to worry about it”). Those are the times when the advices in this book can be particularly handy!
All in all, a great book for seeing a lot of things to completion.
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More Reasons To Enjoy Watermelon
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.
Watermelon is generally thought of for what it most superficially is: a refreshing, juicy, sweet summer fruit.
Now, its water content alone is actually highly beneficial in several ways, but research has highlighted more benefits than just that!
First let’s quickly touch on those “several ways”:
- One way is because enjoying food that contains water is generally more hydrating than just drinking water: Things Many People Forget When It Comes To Hydration
- Another way is that its volume (which is only possible because of its water content) increases satiety too: Some Surprising Truths About Hunger And Satiety
For how it goes beyond these benefits, though, let’s get to…
Worth its weight
Examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers (Dr. Kristin Fulgoni et al.) found that people who enjoy watermelon in their diet tend to have higher overall diet quality and higher intake of fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, lycopene, and carotenoids.
You can read about it here: Watermelon Intake Is Associated with Increased Nutrient Intake and Higher Diet Quality in Adults and Children, NHANES
But that only shows the association, not that the watermelon brought all of that (although it does bring all those nutrients, but cannot be given the credit for the entire overall higher diet quality). So, what of watermelon’s proven benefits?
Another plucky band of researchers (Dr. Mรดnica Volino-Souza et al.) did a review of vascular health evidence reports that show how watermelon and its compounds, especially l-citrulline, support endothelial function and nitric oxide* production.
*For understanding why this is important, we recommend: The Nitric Oxide (NO) Solution โ by Dr. Nathan Bryan & Janet Zand
The reviewed clinical and experimental evidence also shows improvements in vascular function measures, including blood vessel dilation and circulation-related markers.
There were other indicators of even more extra benefits too, such as maintaining vascular function during hyperglycemia, but the evidence was at best preliminary from that particular study (remember, this paper was a review of studies, so this was just one study of many in the paper):
โWe acknowledge that while the sample size was small (18 healthy young men and women) and more research is needed, this study adds to the current body of evidence supporting regular intake of watermelon for cardio-metabolic health.โ
You can read this paper in full, here: Current Evidence of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Ingestion on Vascular Health: A Food Science and Technology Perspective
You may be wondering whether someone will kindly do both sets of science together, and the answer is yes, and for that we must look to Dr. Vania Paschoalin et al., whose narrative review focuses on watermelonโs nutritional composition, emphasizing its high water content, lycopene, vitamin C, and l-citrulline as key bioactive components.
They also discuss how l-citrulline and l-arginine contribute to nitric oxide production, whichโas we’ve notedโis important for vascular relaxation and cardiovascular health.
One last thing this paper gets into is watermelon’s additional cardioprotective effects through antioxidant activity, as well as the improved vascular function that we talked about.
You can read this paper in full for free, here: Watermelon Nutritional Composition with a Focus on L-Citrulline and Its Cardioprotective Health EffectsโA Narrative Review
Want to learn more?
Check out:
Lycopeneโs Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More โ tomatoes are famous for their lycopene content, but watermelon has more!
Enjoy!
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Finish What You Start โ by Peter Hollins
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.
For some people, getting started is the problem. For others of us, getting started is the easy part! We just need a little help not dropping things we started.
There are summaries at the starts and ends of sections, and many “quick tips” to get you back on track.
As a taster: one of these is “temptation bundling“, combining unpleasant things with pleasant. A kind of “spoonful of sugar” approach.
Hollins also discusses hyperbolic discounting (the way we tend to value rewards according to how near they are, and procrastinate accordingly). He offers a tool to overcome this, too, the “10โ10โ10 rule“.
Also dealt with is “the preparation trap“, and how to know when you have enough information to press on.
For a lot of us, the places we’re most likely to drop a project is 20% in (initial enthusiasm wore off) or 80% in (“it’s nearly done; no need to worry about it”). Those are the times when the advices in this book can be particularly handy!
All in all, a great book for seeing a lot of things to completion.
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
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Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
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What is gingivitis? How do I know if I haveย it?
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Do your gums look red and often bleed when you brush them, but theyโre not painful? If so, you could have the gum disease gingivitis.
Gingivitis is one of the most common inflammatory oral diseases. It affects an estimated 50โ100% of adults and children at some point in their lives.
Luckily, gingivitis can be treated if caught in time. However, if left untreated, it can lead to more severe disease that could mean losing your teeth.
Here are some tell-tale signs of gingivitis and how you can work with a dental professional to treat it.
Helena Lopes/Pexels What does gingivitis look like?
The term gingivitis tells us what to expect. Itโs when the gums (the gingiva) are inflamed (-itis). Itโs essentially the bodyโs immune response to microbes in the sticky biofilm or plaque on the tooth surface.
You might notice subtle redness of the gums, close to where they meet the teeth, or of the part of the gums between the teeth. You might notice mild-to-moderate swelling of the gums. Or your gums might bleed when you brush or floss.
It can affect the gums close to a few or multiple teeth. Sometimes, it can lead to bad breath (halitosis).
Gingivitis generally develops over time. And youโll see the most common form starting to develop if you havenโt brushed your teeth well (and have not removed the plaque) for a few days. Gingivitis is painless to start with.
But if itโs not treated it may lead to a more severe form of disease called periodontitis. This is when you also lose some of the bone that holds teeth in place. If periodontitis is left untreated, your teeth loosen and may fall out.
See how the gums are red and inflamed close to where they meet the bottom front teeth. This could be gingivitis. Ozkan Guner/Unsplash How did I get it?
Several factors increase the chances and severity of gingivitis, beyond poor oral hygiene.
For instance, changes in sex hormones during puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and oral contraceptive use can increase the severity of gingivitis. This is due to increased blood flow or a change in plaqueโs microbial composition.
Other conditions that can worsen gingivitis include diabetes, leukaemia, if you donโt produce much saliva, and certain medications.
An infectious disease could also be behind gingivitis. Bacterial infections (such as streptococcal disease, syphilis and tuberculosis); viral infections (herpes, human papillomavirus, hand-foot-and-mouth disease); and fungal infections (candida thrush) can all involve gingivitis. But unlike the more common type, gingivitis related to infectious disease can also come with fever and enlarged lymph nodes.
A new growth โ whether benign (non-cancerous), precancerous (could develop into cancer) or cancer โ can present as localised lesions with inflamed gums.
Finally, gingivitis can be traumatic. That is, if you brush your teeth too hard, use cocaine or other drugs, or burn your mouth while eating or drinking hot food and drink, you might see acute inflammation of the gums.
Can I manage it at home?
Only to a limited extent. If you get in at the early stage (one to three days of symptoms), brushing your teeth well will help remove plaque, and so some of the microbes that cause the inflammation.
But if you leave it any longer and the plaque begins to calcify, a dentist or a dental hygienist will need to remove these hardened, rough, surface deposits known as calculus.
They use tools called ultrasonic scalers or manual scalers to remove the calculus and overlying plaque. After this treatment, signs of gingivitis usually resolve.
However, if there are underlying health issues that contribute to gingivitis, they will need to be addressed to see any improvement.
For instance, this could be treating an infection before, during or after scaling. You might also be prescribed a special mouthwash to help healing or relieve symptoms.
If you have a growth, or are diagnosed with periodontitis, youโll be referred for specialist treatment.
Can mouthwash help?
Mouthwash often helps reduce the bacterial load in plaque. But you canโt rely on it as your only treatment. It is, however, often recommended after your gingivitis has been treated professionally, during the healing phase.
Your dental health professional may recommend chlorhexidine mouthwash twice daily for up to two weeks. You can buy this in the supermarket or pharmacy.
But using mouthwash long term to manage gingivitis (or for other reasons) is not advised. Prolonged use of chlorhexidine mouthwash can lead to side effects such as staining of the teeth and an altered sense of taste.
Some mouthwash also contains a small percentage of alcohol, which might not be the best option for people with a dry mouth as alcohol can be dehydrating. You might also want to avoid these in children, who might not like the burning sensation. There are alcohol-free versions, which are just as effective.
How do I prevent gingivitis returning?
You can prevent gingivitis, and most oral diseases, by brushing your teeth well twice a day and flossing once a day.
Regular dental check-ups also give dental professionals a perfect opportunity to detect and manage most gingivitis (and tooth decay) before it progresses.
Dileep Sharma, Professor and Head of Discipline – Oral Health, University of Newcastle
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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5 Ways Your Pets Can Make You Sick
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Having a pet often improves oneโs health, due to such things as the pleasant company and increased exercise (depending on the pet, of course).
But itโs not always so:
Watch out forโฆ
None of these are fun:
- Cat scratch disease: infection with Bartonella bacteria transmitted through a bite or scratch from a catโespecially kittens carrying infected fleasโcausing a bump at the wound followed weeks later by fever and swollen lymph nodes.
- Salmonella from reptiles: infection with Salmonella bacteria carried on the skin or shell of turtles, frogs, and other reptiles or amphibians, which can spread through contaminated surfaces like sinks or bathtubs used to clean their habitats.
- Fish tank infection: skin infection with Mycobacterium marinum can be acquired while cleaning a fish tank, producing a slowly spreading rash along the arm.
- Bird fancierโs lung: a form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by inhaling proteins from bird feathers or droppings, leading to chronic cough, lung inflammation, and shortness of breath in people exposed to birds.
- cutaneous larva migrans (hookworm infection): parasitic larvae from dog or cat hookworms burrow into your skin after contact with contaminated soil or sand, producing an intensely itchy (and migrating) rash.
For more on each of these, plus illustrative case studies of how bad it gets with each, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesnโt Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
If you have a pet as a kid, does this lower your risk of asthma and eczema?
Take care!
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