For Papp, SPS impacts how she moves.

“I’m a fall risk. I’m on a walker 24/7,” Papp said. “It takes me probably tripled the amount of time to do anything.”

Papp also suffers from slurred speech, another side effect of the disorder. What hasn’t been impacted is Papp’s sense of humor.

“The slurring is a new gift. I’m gonna call it a gift, but it happens. It’s neurological,” said Papp.

Papp was one of many people stunned on Feb. 4, 2024, when Celine Dion appeared on stage to present one of the Grammy Awards.

“It was a big secret. But I kind of know why. Because she might have had a bad day and had to cancel,” Papp said.

Papp said she was in awe of how Dion looked on stage, but she says some in the SPS community were also concerned Dion’s appearance did not convey the seriousness of the disease.

“Right now, look at me. I mean, I’m happy. I’m out and about. People probably say, ‘She looks fine.’ But the amount of effort it takes me to shower, it takes me to get to sleep at night,” Papp said.

Coinciding with the Grammys appearance came the news that an upcoming documentary capturing Celine Dion’s daily life with SPS will be released in the future.

“Having that documentary air, people are just going to know and learn this disease,” said Dr. Amanda Piquet, Autoimmune Neurology Program Director at the University of Colorado.

Called “Stiff-man Syndrome” when it was first described by doctors in 1956, it was renamed after doctors recognized if affects more women than men.

Some estimates say SPS impacts one in a million people, but the exact number is unclear, as SPS is difficult to diagnose.

We need to, as a field, define the disease better, diagnose this disease better. And with the recognition now that this disease is getting, that will help and that will move the field forward with clinical trials,” Piquet said.

Since her diagnosis in 2021, Papp has worked with The Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation to help create a patient registry to help turn data into research.

“The rare disease world is fascinating. So I’m learning. It’s not like I’m sitting back just waiting for someone to do it. There isn’t anyone to do it, so I’ll do it,” Papp said.

Physical therapy and weekly infusion have helped tamper Papp’s muscle spasms. Set to celebrate her 56^th birthday in March, she remains optimistic.

“There can be a cure for this if we get the right information in the right hands,” Papp said.

Papp created an organization called “Moira’s Mission” to raise awareness. The group is hosting an inaugural fundraiser in Elmhurst on March 3, 2024.

“A Fight to Find a Cure for SPS” benefit and fundraiser will be held from 12 to 5 p.m. at Stage 119, located at 119 Commerce Avenue in Elmhurst.

For more information, click here.

“I think we all need that one spark to bring out a little bit more, shed light and help others,” DeRozan said Wednesday after Bulls practice at the Advocate Center in Chicago.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the 34 year old had been back on the University of Southern California campus, premiering his new digital series in front of student athletes at his former university.

“I was nervous doing it, stepping out of my comfort zone, showing another side of me, especially having to watch something in a room full of people. It’s something new for me but I was honored to be able to do that,” DeRozan said.

DeRozan’s Bulls teammate Nikola Vucevic supports DeRozan’s new series and what he’s trying to accomplish.

“It takes a lot of strength for people to do that,” Vucevic said. “It’s really awesome and for him to do it at USC, show it in front of student athletes there, especially nowadays I think it’s even more difficult for young athletes who go through it, with all the social media and all the extra pressure that comes with that.”

Available on YouTube, the series, called “Dinners With DeMar,” includes conversations with athletes aimed at breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

“I really admire and respect DeMar for the personal work that he’s put in, but also the vulnerability he’s willing to share,” said Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls Head Coach.

In the first episode, filmed in July 2022, DeRozan sits down with Golden State Warriors star Draymond Greene, whom DeRozan also calls a friend. In the 45-minute episode, Greene tells his friend, he’s “watching him reinvent DeMar, the person.”

Asked about the series at practice, DeRozan said his mental health journey has been a process.

“Being a father, being a friend, being a teammate — it’s a constant journey for me that its easier for me to recognize what I need to work on being one with my emotions and not shying away from them,” DeRozan said.

It’s that vulnerability that Donovan said is a sign of DeRozan’s strength.

“People on the outside looking in would think he’s got it all together, everything’s easy and he’s just persevered and battled through everything and things just came his way, but I think for him to talk about his own personal struggle of what he’s had to deal with I think gives people a lot of inspiration and hope,” Donovan said.

There’s no denying that fruit is healthy. It’s loaded with fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and other protective substances that guard against chronic diseases, from heart disease to cancer to mood disorders like depression and anxiety. But if you’re looking for the healthiest fruits to prioritize, here are some with impressive science-backed benefits.

What is the healthiest fruit?

Blueberries take the title of healthiest fruit. Blueberries’ stunning hue comes from their anthocyanins — an antioxidant believed to be responsible for their numerous health benefits. Long-term studies suggest that including blueberries in your regular lineup may lower the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Blueberries may also improve cognitive performance and strengthen your brainpower.

Additional research suggests that high blueberry intake may help you maintain a healthy weight. A study among healthy female twins found that the twin who ate more blueberries had lower body fat compared to the twin who ate less. Plus, high anthocyanin intake was associated with a 3% to 9% lower body fat mass and less belly fat among these ladies.

Top 15 healthiest fruits

There’s a whole world of fruit to explore, so while blueberries are linked with multiple benefits, there’s no need to ignore other fruits. Eating a variety of fruits ensures you’re getting a spectrum of essential nutrients, making it more likely that you’ll meet your daily requirement of various vitamins and minerals.

Plus, research suggests that eating a wide range of unique plant foods each week contributes to a diverse gut microbiome, a marker of a healthy gut. Since all roads to health begin with a healthy gut, varying your fruit intake is a great strategy.

Strawberries

Just 8 of these ruby red gems will score you all the vitamin C you need in a day. Vitamin C is an antioxidant involved in immune function and collagen production. There’s also evidence that strawberries may reduce markers of harmful inflammation and improve total and LDL cholesterol among people with high baseline levels.

Raspberries

A cup of raspberries has 8 grams of the 25 to 38 grams of fiber recommended daily. It also supplies key nutrients like magnesium, potassium and vitamin C. They’re also high in ellagic acid and quercetin, antioxidants that protect your cells from disease-causing damage.

Avocado

Although we often eat them as a heart-smart fat, avocados are technically a fruit. Much of their fat is monounsaturated, a type predominant in extra virgin olive oil, a staple of the ultra-healthy Mediterranean diet. One study found that replacing some of the carbohydrates in a meal with either a half or whole avocado was associated with several improvements in markers of heart health among overweight and obese individuals.

Watermelon

Watermelon may taste sweet, but a cup of this juicy fruit has less natural sugar than the same portion of many other fruits, including blueberries. Watermelon and 100% watermelon juice are notable for a compound called l-citrulline, which has been shown to reduce muscle soreness after exercising. Watermelon is also a good choice after a workout since it’s about 90% water. Each cup supplies about five ounces of water, so it can help on the hydration front.

Dates

One thing that makes dates so special is they’re sweet and caramely but have no added sugar and are low on the glycemic index. Dates make our list of the healthiest fruits because they’ve been associated with impressive benefits, including supporting brain and gut health. Additionally, a small study among people with type 2 diabetes found that dates may help lower total cholesterol and raise healthy HDL cholesterol without impacting blood-sugar levels.

Prunes

Many people think of prunes for their impact on digestive health, but their effect on bone health is worth mentioning, too. One study found five to six prunes per day preserved bone mass among postmenopausal women, while those skipping this daily habit experienced a decline in bone mass.

Kiwi

In addition to supplying more than 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement, kiwis may support better sleep, digestion and mood. A wide range of nutrients, antioxidants and bioactive substances are thought to be related to kiwi’s health benefits.

Cherries

Like kiwis, cherries have the potential to help you sleep better. Studies also indicate that cherries may help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress factors involved in initiating and promoting numerous chronic illnesses. Eating cherries may also reduce exercise-induced muscle soreness.

Bananas

Bananas get a bad rap, but we consider them one of the healthiest fruits because they have a slew of nutrients, including fiber, potassium, copper, magnesium and vitamin B6. They also get extra points for being portable, convenient and naturally sweet.

Apples

An apple a day really may keep the doctor away. In addition to supplying fiber, apples contain potent antioxidants. Daily intake of this fruit has been shown to lower blood pressure, total cholesterol, unhealthy LDL cholesterol and inflammation status while increasing good HDL cholesterol and supporting healthy endothelial function — a metric of how well your blood vessel lining is performing.

Grapefruit

The vitamin C in grapefruit helps promote collagen production, which supports skin health and helps prevent against wrinkling and sagging skin. This antioxidant also supports healthy immune functioning. This juicy fruit may also be a great weapon against cancer. Compounds in grapefruit may have anti-cancer properties and studies on vitamin C suggest that people with high intakes have lower incidences of numerous cancers, including bladder, breast, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancer.

However, eating grapefruit while taking certain prescription medications may cause serious health problems, so check with your doctor or pharmacist before eating grapefruit if you’re taking prescription drugs.

Pomegranate

Chemical compounds in this fruit act as an internal sunscreen, protecting you from UVB rays. Other potential benefits from consuming pomegranate and its juice include improved memory, protection against cancer, reduced blood pressure and less post-workout muscle soreness and fatigue.

Pears

The high fiber content in pears promotes digestive health, blood sugar control, heart health and weight management. Plus, evidence suggests that eating two pears each day improves metrics of metabolic health among people with metabolic syndrome.

Blackberries

In addition to being rich in fiber, compounds in blackberries have antiviral and antibacterial properties that target the germs associated with cavities and gum disease. Additionally, evidence suggests that blackberries may help promote insulin sensitivity and protect against obesity.

Mangoes

Carotenoid compounds give mangoes their golden color, and they’re also related to mangoes’ health benefits. Two of these nutrients — lutein and zeaxanthin — promote better vision, while a third, mangiferin, protects against cancer. Early research also suggests this nutrient may help reduce acne. 

Best fruits to eat daily

Berries will give you a lot of bang for the buck, but you don’t want to eat the same fruit on repeat for the rest of your life! Fruits vary in the types and amounts of nutrients they supply, but they all have superpowers. So it’s best to eat a variety of fruits to benefit from the spectrum of protective substances they provide. Most people could benefit from adding more fruit to their diets, and while we’ve listed some of the healthiest fruits to prioritize, it’s a good idea to eat a range of fruits throughout the week.

Whole fruit is the healthiest way to eat fruit

Reach for fruit in forms that don’t include added sugars, such as fresh and unsweetened frozen and dried fruits. A small amount of 100% fruit juice, such as 100% orange or grapefruit juice, can also fit within healthy dietary patterns and help you meet your nutrient needs. If you’re choosing juice, stick with one, 4-ounce serving and choose alternative forms of unsweetened fruit to meet the rest of your fruit requirements.

Are there any unhealthy fruits?

Many people are concerned about the sugar in fruit, but the sugar found naturally in fruit differs greatly from the sugar added to processed foods. Research shows that it’s beneficial to include fruit in your diet, so you don’t need to worry that certain fruits are unhealthy because they’re high in natural sugar.

Fruit drinks — punches, ades (such as lemonade) and cocktails — contain added sugar and potentially other additives, so it’s best to drink these infrequently, if at all. Dried fruit that’s coated in added sugar should also be swapped for unsweetened dried fruit when possible.

Best fruits for weight loss

While some diets, like keto and carnivore, shun fruit, evidence suggests that fruit can help support a healthy weight. The fiber in fruit contributes to feelings of fullness, helping you eat the right amount for your body’s needs while also supplying beneficial bacteria to your gut. Your gut is involved in nutrient absorption and weight regulation, so fruit can help support weight management via its role in gut health. Low-calorie, nutrient-dense fruit can also replace higher-calorie, heavily processed snacks. The bottom line is that any fruit is a good choice for weight loss.

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A national study found that women who exercised regularly — at least 2½ hours of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week — had a 24% lower risk of dying over the study period compared with women who didn’t exercise. By contrast, men who exercised regularly were 15% less likely to die than men who didn’t exercise. 

Men also needed more exercise than women to achieve the same health benefits: Five hours of moderate or vigorous exercise per week reduced their risk of dying by 18% compared with men who didn’t exercise. But just 140 minutes of weekly exercise had the same effect among women.

“Women got the same benefit at lower levels of physical activity,” said a co-author of the study, Dr. Martha Gulati, the director of preventive cardiology at Cedars-Sinai’s Smidt Heart Institute in Los Angeles. 

Women who exercised regularly also had a 36% lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular issue such as a heart attack or stroke, the study found, whereas men who exercised regularly had a 14% lower risk. 

The findings were published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The researchers analyzed the self-reported exercise habits of more than 412,000 men and women who participated in the National Health Interview Survey over from 1997 to 2017. 

Roughly one-third of the women regularly engaged in aerobic exercises — ones that elevate the heart rate, such as brisk walking, jumping rope or taking spin classes — compared with 43% of men in the study. Women were also less likely than men to do muscle-strengthening activities, such as lifting weights.

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Nevertheless, regular muscle strengthening — roughly one session per week, on average — was associated with a 30% lower risk of women dying from cardiovascular problems and a 19% lower risk of dying overall. Among men, the same weekly exercises lowered the risk of dying from cardiovascular problems by 11% and of death by the same percentage.

Gulati said one major limitation of the study is that it didn’t account for how active women were outside workout settings.  

“Missing from our data are the things that we do every day — the other physical activity that’s not going to the gym but running after kids, doing gardening, doing household chores,” she said.

Should men and woman have different exercise recommendations?

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, including two days of muscle-strengthening activities. 

But Gulati said those guidelines “can be very overwhelming to someone who does zero.” Many of her female patients struggle to find time for exercise, she said. 

“Women are busy. Women work. Women usually take the bulk of family responsibilities — whether that’s children, whether that’s elderly parents — and by the time the day finishes, there’s very little time,” Gulati said.

Data from the National Health Interview Survey suggests that women in 2022 were more likely than men to have been advised over the past year by doctors or other health professionals to increase their amounts of physical activity. 

“Rather than talking about 150 minutes a week, the way that we should be saying it is: What can you fit in?” Gulati said.

Paul Arciero, a professor of sports, medicine and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh, said it’s only logical to have separate exercise guidelines for men and women.

“There are clear, sex-based differences in response to exercise,” he said. “We have to move beyond thinking that men and women respond similarly.”

What’s causing the sex-based difference?

Many studies have shown that exercise doesn’t affect men and women in the same way.

Arciero’s research in 2022 found that women had greater reductions in blood pressure when they exercised in the morning, whereas men had greater reductions at night. A 2020 review also found that women’s muscles are more resistant to fatigue from high-intensity exercise.

But scientists have been less certain about how those differences affect people’s long-term health. 

The new study shows that “women are basically more efficient in responding to exercise, particularly when it comes to heart health and mortality,” said Arciero, who wasn’t involved in the paper.

Arciero said physiological differences may contribute to the advantage: Women have more capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in a given section of muscle than men do, which could allow more blood and oxygen to flow to the heart during exercise. 

Women also have higher levels of the hormone estrogen, which enhances blood flow, said Lynda Ransdell, the chair of the kinesiology department at Boise State University.

Ransdell pointed to a third factor as, well: Women tend to be less physically active, so it may take less effort to improve their health relative to their baselines.

“I would call it the principle of diminishing returns,” Ransdell said. “Since women typically start at lower levels of fitness, they can see significant gains with taking up a little less physical activity.”

But scientists have more to learn, she added.

“While I love this study and I think it’s groundbreaking and landmark, I also believe that it’s one piece of a puzzle,” Ransdell said. “I would love to see them do more research with objective measures of physical activity like pedometers or Apple watches.”

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According to NBC News, the report published Monday in Nature Medicine, revealed a previously unknown risk from excessive amounts of the vitamin, which is found in many foods, including meat, fish, nuts, and fortified cereals and breads.

The recommended daily allowance of niacin for men is 16 milligrams per day and for women who are not pregnant is 14 milligrams per day.

About 1 in 4 Americans has higher than the recommended level of niacin, said the study’s senior author, Dr. Stanley Hazen, chair of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and co-section head of preventive cardiology at the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute.

The researchers currently don’t know where to draw the line between healthy and unhealthy amounts of niacin, although that may be determined with future research.

“The average person should avoid niacin supplements now that we have reason to believe that taking too much niacin can potentially lead to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” Hazen said.

Currently, Americans get plenty of niacin from their diet since flour, grains and cereals have been fortified with niacin since the 1940s after scientists discovered that very low levels of the nutrient could lead to a potentially fatal condition called pellagra, Hazen said.

Prior to the development of cholesterol-lowering statins, niacin supplements were once even prescribed by doctors to improve cholesterol levels.

To search for unknown risk factors for cardiovascular disease, Hazen and his colleagues designed a multipart study that included an analysis of fasting blood samples from 1,162 patients who had come into a cardiology center to be evaluated for heart disease. The researchers were looking for common markers, or signs, in the patients’ blood that might reveal new risk factors. 

The research resulted in the discovery of a substance in some of the blood samples that is only made when there is excess niacin. 

That finding led to two additional “validation” studies, which included data from a total of 3,163 adults who either had heart disease or were suspected of having it. The two investigations, one in the U.S. and one in Europe, showed that the niacin breakdown product, 4PY, predicted participants’ future risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

The final part of the study involved experiments in mice. When the rodents were injected with 4PY, inflammation increased in their blood vessels. 

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The results are “fascinating” and “important,” said Dr. Robert Rosenson, director of metabolism and lipids for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

The newly detected pathway to heart disease might lead to the discovery of a medication that could reduce blood vessel inflammation and decrease the likelihood of major cardiovascular events, he added.

Rosenson hopes that the food industry will take note and “stop using so much niacin in products like bread. This is a case where too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.”

The new information could influence dietary recommendations for niacin, said Rosenson, who was not involved with the Cleveland Clinic research.

Scientists have known for decades that a person’s cholesterol level could be a major driver of heart disease, said Dr. Amanda Doran, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Even when patients’ cholesterol levels were brought down, some continued to have a high risk of heart attacks and stroke, Doran said, adding that a 2017 trial suggested that the increased risk might be related to blood vessel inflammation.

Doran was surprised to learn that niacin could be involved in driving up the risk of heart disease.

“I don’t think anyone would have predicted that niacin would have been pro-inflammatory,” she said. “This is a powerful study because it combines a variety of techniques: clinical data, genetic data and mouse data.”

Finding the new pathway may allow future researchers to discover ways to reduce blood vessel inflammation, Doran said.

“It’s very exciting and promising,” she said.

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ANAD, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, will presenting “This Is My Brave – The Show” on Feb. 27 in Evanston.

“We get to celebrate these 21 stories through song through dance through poetry and essay. And we get to just make it a night of community of hope and of healing,” said Jason Wood, director of community engagement for ANAD.

Wood is not just organizing the event. He is participating, sharing a poem about his journey after his husband, Matt, encouraged Wood to get help.

“I like to say that eating disorders are not about food. Food is just the tangible evidence that something’s going on inside,” said Wood.

Wood said his eating disorder was a manifestation of other mental health issues.

“It was anxiety. It was this need for perfection. I also battled OCD and PTSD from losing my parents at a young age, all of those different factors were contributing to my eating disorder,” Wood said.

Also, participating is Joce Leo, an art student who is bisexual. Leo said their eating disorder was delayed, because they didn’t fit the typical stereotype.

“There’s no race that eating disorder takes the form of. It’s not just teenage girls, it’s not just straight women. Anyone can have an eating disorder,” Leo said.

Makailah Dowell started showing symptoms at age 10 while living on public assistance with her grandmother, but her diagnosis took years.

“It was actually my dentist who ended up diagnosing me when I was around 17, because my oral decay was so bad, that couldn’t ignore it anymore,” Dowell said.

Dowell will join Leo, Wood and 18 others at the upcoming production of “This Is My Brave,” a non-profit that uses performance art to end stigma around mental health.

The first-ever event focused on eating disorders is planned at the McCormick Auditorium at Northwestern University. Tickets are available to attend in person, but the event will also be streamed online.

“We also wanted to have that virtual element because that’s what ANAD is all about. We have virtual support groups, we have our helpline where we can answer calls from people all across the country,” Wood said.

For warning signs of eating disorders, other resources to help and ticket information, click here.

“Scot has a new heart!” Dawn Pollard posted Friday night on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Surgery went well and I’ve been told the heart is big, powerful and is a perfect fit! Now on to the crucial part of recovery.”

She posted an update Saturday, writing: “Look who’s awake and is feeling great! Breathing tube came out early this morning and he started cracking jokes and singing, ‘I left my heart in San Fran-Nashville.’ We are all amazed at Scot’s recovery so far!”

Pollard, who turned 49 on Monday, needed a transplant because of damage to his heart from a virus he caught in 2021 that likely triggered a genetic condition he has known about since it killed his father at 54, when Scot was 16. Pollard’s size complicated efforts to find a donor with a heart big enough to fit his 6-foot-11, 260-pound body.

Earlier Friday, Dawn Pollard posted that a heart had been found.

“It’s go time!” she posted on X. “Please keep the prayers coming for Scot, the surgeons, for the donor and his family who lost their loved one. This donor gave the most amazing gift of life and we are forever grateful.”

Pollard was a 1997 first-round draft pick after helping Kansas reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in four straight seasons. He was a useful big man off the bench for much of an NBA career that stretched over 11 years and five teams. He played 55 seconds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, and won it all the following year with the Boston Celtics despite a season-ending ankle injury in February.

Pollard retired after that season, then dabbled in broadcasting and acting. He was a contestant on the 32nd season of “Survivor,” where he was voted out on Day 27 with eight castaways remaining.

Pollard went public with his condition last month and began the process of listing himself at transplant centers. He was admitted to intensive care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Feb. 7.

“I’m staying here until I get a heart,” he said in a text message to The Associated Press from his hospital room in Nashville, Tennessee. “My heart got weaker. (Doctors) agree this is my best shot at getting a heart quicker.”

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It is primarily home to the Burusho and Wakhi people, who for centuries have survived and thrived in remote villages — with minimal amenities and rudimentary health facilities. Studies have found that the average life expectancy here is around 100 years.

My husband was born and raised here, and is from the Burusho indigenous community. After we got married, I left the U.S. and we settled down in the Central part of the valley.

Here are some intriguing habits that help the people of Hunza live longer:

1. They consume apricot seeds and oil

Apricot trees are one of the most important local crops in the valley. Studies have shown that apricot seeds can help fight cancer and other sources of inflammation in the body, in part due to a compound called amygdalin.

Nearly every traditional Hunzai dish includes apricot oil. Back in the day, it was made by hand, but now locals use machines to extract it from their harvested kernels.

My mother-in-law told me that 50 years ago, it was all anyone used to cook food with, even meat. Dried versions of the fruit also help with altitude sickness, and are boiled into a soup come winter.

2. They never stop moving

People here are healthy and active throughout their lives, well into old age. It’s very common to see folks in their 80s outside, even in the winter. Elderly family members still graze their cows and sheep, collect wood, and do other household tasks.

They also participate in community activities like “rajaki,” which involves cleaning out the elevated water canals when spring arrives.

Locals of all ages cycle, skate, and play sports like soccer and cricket every day.

3. They drink glacier water

Hunza is filled with dozens of glaciers, all of which melt throughout the summer.

A shiny, dark-grey liquid, “Hunza water” has long held the interest of scientists. Unlike other water sources, this glacial water is naturally filtered by layers of ice and rock and contains precious minerals.

Some argue that the water contains quartz (sillica) minerals in colloid form, which are considered to be powerful antioxidants.

The runoff generally lasts from May to October each year, which is when you’ll find it served at restaurants and in homes. Locals swear by it, and prefer it to filtered water.

4. They rarely eat processed foods

Almost every piece of meat eaten in Hunza comes from a locally sourced animal that’s been recently killed.

People rarely eat processed foods, and you certainly won’t find any fast food spots here. Meals are typically prepared fresh in the home daily, and almost every household grows some kind of vegetable.

Spinach is especially popular, and other favorites like tomatoes and potatoes are grown locally and organically.

5. They have strong community values

Neighborhoods and villages are tight-knit, and the people of Hunza take care of each other, especially the older members of the community.

Retirement homes don’t exist here. Elders are highly respected and attended to by their families.

With essentially zero crime, it’s safe enough for kids to wander about on their own, even at young ages. It’s likely one of the last places where you’ll see more outdoor play than iPad play.

Having lived here for for the past two years, I can happily say that I’ve never had the privilege of experiencing a society as collective as this one.

Samantha Shea is a Polish-American travel writer from Connecticut. She lives and works remotely in Hunza Valley, Pakistan, and runs women’s tours to the region. Follow her on Instagram and YouTube. 

Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay.

Advocate Health Care partners with Young Hearts for Life to offer the free screenings for students age 12 to 24.

The program recently visited West Aurora High School where staff and volunteers hoped to perform electrocardiograms on 2,600 students in one day.

“This is absolutely free. We’re not taking the kids out of their regular day. It’s all done during their PE class,” said Meghan Hill, a physical education teacher at West Aurora High School.

With music playing and balloons filling the school’s gyms and fieldhouse, the screening event looks like a party, but this is personal for Hill, who lost her cousin 20 years ago.

“She was going on stage to dance at Waubonsie High School and she was backstage and she passed out and she never came back from that,” Hill said.

Hill’s cousin, Kathryn Bender, is the reason she helps organize the screenings.

“She passed away from Long QT syndrome, which is one of the heart conditions that these EKGs test for,” Hill said.

The electrocardiograms are administered by trained volunteers and then read by cardiologists, including Dr. Frank Zimmerman, a pediatric cardiologist at Advocate Children’s Hospital and the medical director of the Young Hearts For Life program.

“All they’re doing is recording electrical activity. It’s not delivering any electricity to the heart or anything like that. So it’s completely painless. It takes about 10 seconds,” Zimmerman said, showing the equipment needed to perform the screening.

Ten seconds hooked up to several leads, attached with stickers – that’s all it takes to detect potentially life-saving conditions.

“The most common condition that affects like athletes that have sudden cardiac arrest, is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and it’s an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle,” Zimmerman said.

The Young Hearts For Life program travels to a different high school each week during the school year. Nine more screening events are scheduled before classes end this spring and the program is already scheduling visits for the 2024-2025 school year. For more information, click here.

“I encourage every high school to do it,” Hill said.

Parental consent is required. Families should know abnormal results don’t automatically disqualify students from playing sports.

“What we’re learning is that it’s safe to participate in sports as long as you do it with certain precautions. So we want kids to participate safely. And that’s why we think that detection is so important,” Zimmerman said.

“This is something that even if we only find one kid with an undiagnosed heart condition, it is worth it. It’s worth it to this community and to enable our families to not have to go through what my family went through,” Hill said.

Maddie Grobmeier’s nickname was Maddog, a moniker given to her by her father at birth.

“I immediately thought of Cubs pitcher Greg “Maddog” Maddux because he was so unassuming, but when he got on the mound, he was a completely different person. And I thought, ‘That’s her!’ She’s just this petite, little child and then she lets out this cry,” said Frank Grobmeier, Maddie’s dad.

Maddie was known as Maddog not just at Lincoln Way East High School, but also in the gym where she competed as a gymnast.

She planned to compete in college at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, but tragedy struck soon after Maddie’s high school graduation in June 2019. She went to a concert with friends and collapsed.

“Someone had found her on the floor, unresponsive, clutching her asthma inhaler in her hand. She had been an asthmatic her entire life and she must have just suffered an attack that just took her down,” said Cyndi Grobmeier, Maddie’s mom.

Maddie wouldn’t recover and her parents celebrated her 18^th birthday by her side in the pediatric intensive care unit. The next day, Maddie saved three lives.

“She was able to donate her heart and liver to one woman and her two kidneys, one each to two people. She gave sight to two people, including a little two year old girl. And so far, her tissue donations have changed the lives of 11 people as far away as Seoul, South Korea,” Cyndi said.

Her parents were simply carrying out Maddie’s wishes that they had learned three months earlier, after Maddie had been in a serious car accident, but walked away with only with cuts and bruises.

“She said, I want to tell you guys something. If anything like that car accident were to ever happen again and the outcome wasn’t as good. I want to be an organ donor. And the dad instinct kicked in and I said, ‘No, no, no, we’re not having this conversation. We don’t talk about death and dying and that car accident was enough scare for a lifetime,” Frank said.

“And she was a tough kid. She pressed on and she said ‘No, you’ve got to know.’ And we did. Okay, check. We understand,” Frank said.

Up to eight people can be saved by one organ donor. That’s why the Grobmeiers formed the Maddog Strong Foundation, which has three pillars – education, registration and conversation.

“We’ve created an education curriculum called the Teach Life program, and it’s free to high school teachers to implement in their science, health, PE, driver’s education classrooms,” Cyndi said.

The foundation also encourages registration for organ donation, but Cyndi and Frank want people to go one step further and be sure to have a conversation about organ donation with friends and family.

“Thank God that we had that conversation that she pressed on about and we knew,” Frank said.

So far, the foundation has helped encourage more than 500 registrations, potentially saving up to 8,000 lives.

With more than 100,000 people nationwide on the waitlist currently for an organ, the Grobmeiers know there is more work to do.

“The key is just think about it, consider it, register and have that conversation with your family,” Cyndi said.

In sharing Maddie’s story, the Grobmeiers have met the families of other donors and received notes from all across the country.

“We tell people that her story did not end that day. Her story continues through the lives that she affected and changed and saved. And that gives us hope and gives us, you know, a sense of healing,” Frank said.

For more information about organ donation and to register to become a donor, go here.

The proposed legislation, SB3499, would create end-of-life options for the Terminally Ill Patients Act in Illinois.

Under the bill, which was introduced last week, a qualified patient with a terminal disease would be allowed to request that a physician prescribe them “aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to end the patient’s life in a peaceful manner,” the legislation states.

Requirements would include a patient needing to make two verbal requests to a qualified physician within five days of each other, along with one written request. Such requests can only be made by the patient, not by a surrogate decision-maker or health care proxy, according to the bill.

Patients will need to be informed of other options beyond “end of life” medications, such as hospice and palliative care, and no health care professional will be required to participate in “aid-in-dying care.”

There would also be a series of qualifications for a patient to be considered eligible for the prescription, including being 18 years or older, an Illinois resident with a terminal diagnosis and six-month-or-less prognosis, and what a physician deems to be the mental capacity to make such a decision.

The bill was introduced Friday by Senate Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes.

“Terminally ill Illinois residents should be able to opt for a gentle death with medical aid in dying and they should have the legal right to make this personal decision in consultation with their doctors and loved ones,” Holmes said in a release. “I am proud to sponsor the bill, and hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting this compassionate legislation.”

The legislation has been praised by several advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Terminally ill Illinoisans and advocacy groups praised lawmakers for introducing compassionate legislation Friday that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults to have the option to get prescription medication to peacefully end unbearable suffering,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Illinois residents who support the End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act are urging the Legislature to pass it during the Spring 2024 session.”

If passed, Illinois would become the 11th so-called “right to die” state in the U.S., with 10 others already having similar legislation. Those states include California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — as well as Washington, D.C.

“I’ve done everything I can to cure my cancer, including multiple cycles of chemotherapy, but the bottom line is I’m already dying,” Lombard resident Deb Robertson, a retired social worker with incurable, high-grade, stage four neuroendocrine carcinoma, an extremely rare and aggressive cancer, told the ACLU. “If I had the option of medical aid in dying here in Illinois, it would mean I could make a decision for myself about when it’s time to go. It would allow me to die peacefully. It would allow my wife and family to say goodbye, and to know that it’s okay to let go.”

Groups like the Archdiocese of Chicago have expressed opposition to what it calls “assisted suicide.” Disability advocacy groups like Access Living also criticized the legislation, saying it could disproportionately impact people with disabilities.

“Assisted suicide will only enable further healthcare discrimination against disabled people and other minorities,” the group stated. “Our healthcare system has too many leaks to assume that people who are NOT physicians won’t urge assisted suicide on people with disabilities. Instead, what we people with disabilities need is life-saving services and support to improve our ability to manage pain and our ability to be part of our communities.”

Bone fractures related to pickleball have increased 200% over the last 20 years, according to an analysis of a large government injury database presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons on Monday.

Pickleball, which is played with a perforated plastic ball and wooden paddles on a badminton-sized court, is the fastest growing sport in the U.S., with the number of players rising from 4.8 million in 2021 to 8.9 million in 2023, according to USA Pickleball.

What are the most common pickleball injuries?

The overall rate of injuries is likely much higher. The new analysis only looked at fractures, not the most common soft tissue injuries like sprained ankles or debilitating knee injuries such as damage to the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament. Other common pickleball injuries include rotator cuff injuries, worsening of arthritis, Achilles tendon tears/strains and foot fractures.

The vast majority of the fractures found in the new study, 92%, occurred during falls.

“While pickleball is a great sport, nothing is without risk,” said the study’s lead author, Yasmine Ghattas, who is in her last year of medical school at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando.

The researchers aren’t arguing for people to quit playing pickleball, just to be better prepared. “Well informed participation in any activity is key,” she said.

Ghattas had a personal interest in the topic.

“My fiancé and I play pickleball regularly and are both entering the orthopedic field,” she said. “During our clinical rotations, we noticed more and more patients coming in with pickleball-related fractures, so we looked to see if there were any studies and there weren’t, so we decided to take a deeper dive.”

The database the researchers used to explore the topic, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, contained a representative sample of injuries gathered from 100 U.S. emergency departments. Ghattas and her colleagues found descriptions of 377 pickleball-related fractures in the database between 2002 and 2022, which, when extrapolated to the entire U.S. population, totaled to approximately 5,400 pickleball-related fractures annually.

Women, especially those ages 65 and older, were more likely than men to experience a fracture. Most of those fractures were in upper-body bones, such as those in the forearms and hands. The researchers suspect they were related to osteoporosis or other bone-thinning conditions.

Even though women had more fractures overall, men were 2.3 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital after breaking a bone. Ghattas and her colleagues suspect that’s because men’s fractures tended to be in bones of the lower body, such as the hip and femur, which are more likely to result in a hospital stay than fractures in the upper body.

While the rise in injuries may mostly be tied to the growth of the sport, other factors may be coming into play, said Dr. Eric Bowman, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

For example, some of the people taking up the sport may not have learned enough about it in advance, said Bowman, who was not involved in the study.

“It’s not enough to just pick up a paddle and get out there,” he said. “As with any sport, you have to learn the mechanics and the form that leads to better performance and injury prevention. Some people may not have learned enough, or be physically prepared in advance.”

A study co-authored by Bowman that has not yet been published finds that between 2017 and 2022, the incidence of pickleball-related injuries rose faster than the growth of the sport’s popularity.

Bowman’s study found that soft tissue injuries were the most common overall. Fractures and a worsening of arthritis were increasingly found in patients 60 and older.

While a sport like pickleball might be good for the cardiovascular system, the study shows that people need to be careful about how they begin, said Dr. Spencer Stein, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in the division of sports medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

“You want to be careful any time you enter a new sport,” Stein said. “You should get checked by your primary care doctor and get screened for osteoporosis or thinning bones.”

It’s also important that you warm up before playing and choose the right shoes for the sport, Stein said. And you should learn a very important skill: falling in a way that’s unlikely to lead to injury, he said. “If you fall more towards your side, you can protect your head but not putting your wrists at risk,” he added.

People tend to think of pickleball as relatively safe because it’s a lower-impact sport than tennis, for example, Stein said. But even so, competitiveness may lead people to overdo it.

Stein notes that middle-aged women may already be losing bone, which puts them at risk for fractures. That’s why it’s important to get a bone scan, he said. “Typically people start getting those scans at 65, but if there’s a family history of fractures it makes sense to start earlier, even as young as age 50,” he added.

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“I thought maybe I had a little respiratory problem, maybe I was coming down with a cold,” the 51-year-old from New York City tells TODAY.com. But doctors discovered he had three blockages in his heart, went into congestive heart failure, and then had a heart attack.

He felt stunned by the diagnosis and that he had to go through triple bypass surgery.

“I was healthy. I exercise. I eat properly,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting a condition like this.”

Struggling to breath

In the spring of 2023, three days before he ended up going to the hospital, Baboolal felt really tired, but he wasn’t surprised by it. His wife was 12 weeks pregnant with their first child, he had recently worked extra overtime shifts and he was preparing their taxes. When he first felt winded, he figured his body was telling him to slow down.

“I called out (of work) just to get some rest,” he says. When he tried returning to work, though, his health had deteriorated. At first, he thought it was exhaustion, and he tried boosting his energy by doing some pushups. But it didn’t work.

“I started to feel winded again,” Baboolal says. “I was feeling worse. So, I texted my boss and said, ‘I’m experiencing shortness of breath. What should I do? Do you want me to come to work?’”

Baboolal works at Mount Sinai Health System, and his supervisor urged him to see a doctor. In addition to his shortness of breath, Baboolal’s blood pressure and pulse were elevated, and his primary care doctor told him to go to the emergency room at Mount Sinai Queens. Doctors ran tests and noticed a fluid buildup in his lungs, a sign of congestive heart failure due to a blockage in his heart.

The father-to-be was “very sick,” Dr. Ahmed El-Eshmawi, a cardiovascular surgeon at Mount Sinai who treated Baboolal, tells TODAY.com. “We found out after he got to the hospital that he had a heart attack. He was in congestive heart failure.”

Doctors transferred him to Mount Sinai in Manhattan, where they ran more tests. Baboolal had three blocked arteries to his heart, and he needed to undergo triple bypass surgery. While he understood that urgency of the surgery, he felt worried about his pregnant wife and his future as a dad.

“I was really concerned about her and the baby more than myself,” he says. “I said, ‘Am I going to be alright to be able to take care of my wife and baby?’”

Baboolal had so many plans for his new family and now he had “all these thoughts running through (his) head,” he recalls. Doctors assured him that because of his age, he would do well in the surgery and fully recover.

“The surgery went OK,” he says. “I spent like five days in the ICU, which was a nightmare. I couldn’t sleep. I had to lay flat on my back.”

While being in the intensive care unit felt tough, Baboolal felt better when he returned to a regular room. Soon after, he was able to return home but had to wear an external defibrillator vest.

“If I had any irregular heartbeat, this would trigger (a shock),” he says.

Luckily, he didn’t need it during his recovery. 

Heart attack symptoms require medical care

Too often Dr. George Syros, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Queens, hears about patients who wait too long to seek help for a heart attack. If you have any symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, you should consider it an emergency and seek medical care immediately, he says.

“I’ve seen particularly male patients ignoring their symptoms. (They say), ‘Oh it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,’” Syros tells TODAY.com. “When they come in, they’re coming in late. … This is really important: If you have severe symptoms, please seek help.”

According to the American Heart Association, symptoms of heart attack can include:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Pain in arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling faint
• Having cold sweats

Syros, Baboolal’s current cardiologist, notes “he was very sick when he came to us.”

When Baboolal transferred to Mount Sinai in Manhattan, El-Eshmawi performed his bypass surgery. He agrees people shouldn’t ignore symptoms. “As young people, you shouldn’t have shortness of breath when you walk or exercise,” he says.

When El-Eshmawi met Baboolal, “his heart function was only in the 20s,” according to an ejection fraction test, which measures how much blood your heart can pump out. A normal reading is 50-70%, the American Heart Association says.

“We did the triple bypass, and I felt confident he would respond well,” El-Eshmawi says. “He did really well given how sick he was.” 

Baboolal’s heart function is now “almost close to normal,” the surgeon adds. Both doctors encourage people to see a primary care physician annually so they can understand their risks for heart disease, such as elevated blood pressure or high cholesterol.

“Modifying every single risk factor that can be responsible for heart disease, it can make you live longer and happier,” Syros says.

He encourages people to get 150 minutes of exercise a week, eat a healthy diet, avoid smoking and maintain their weight to help reduce their risk of heart disease.

A new addition to the family

By July, Baboolal was able to return his regular work duty. In the middle of the month, though, his wife thought something was wrong with the baby, so they rushed to the hospital, where she received an emergency cesarean section.

After a short hospital stay, his wife returned home, but their baby needed to say in the neonatal intensive care unit. While stressful, the experience actually helped Baboolal in an unexpected way.

“I had to take (breast milk) to the hospital, so I’d take a 10-minute walk (there), 10-minute walk back and come home and go to work,” he explains. “It helped me with my rehab.”

His newborn daughter also inspired him to take his medications as recommended and keep active.

“I had the will to really get better,” he says. “I was so happy and relieved (that) I’ll be able to pick my baby up.”

Baboolal says he wanted to share his story to encourage others to be mindful of their health.

“Don’t take your life for granted. Don’t take your health for granted,” he says. “I thought I was healthy. … I did everything right and yet something happened.” 

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Now it may be killing him.

Pollard needs a heart transplant, an already dire predicament that is made more difficult by the fact so few donors can provide him with a pump big and strong enough to supply blood to his extra large body. He was admitted to intensive care at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Tuesday, and he will wait there until a donor surfaces who was big enough to be a match.

“I’m staying here until I get a heart,” he said in a text message to The Associated Press on Wednesday night. “My heart got weaker. (Doctors) agree this is my best shot at getting a heart quicker.”

At nearly 7 feet tall and with a playing weight of 260 pounds, Pollard’s size rules out most potential donors for a heart to replace the one that — due to a genetic condition that was likely triggered by a virus he contracted in 2021 — has been beating an extra 10,000 times per day. Half of his siblings have the same condition — as did his father, who died at 54, when Scot was 16.

“That was an immediate wake-up call,” Pollard said in a recent telephone interview. “You don’t see a lot of old (7-) footers walking around. So I’ve known that my whole life, just because I had that seared into my brain as a 16-year-old, that — yeah, being tall is great, but I’m not going to see 80.”

A 1997 first-round draft pick after helping Kansas reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in four straight seasons, Pollard was a useful big man off the bench for much of an NBA career that stretched over 11 years and five teams. He played 55 seconds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, and won it all the following year with the Celtics despite a season-ending ankle injury in February.

Pollard retired after that season, then dabbled in broadcasting and acting. He was a contestant on the 32nd season of “Survivor,” where he was voted out on Day 27 with eight castaways remaining.

Although Pollard, 48, has been aware of the condition at least since his father died in the 1990s, it wasn’t until he got sick three years ago that it began to affect his quality of life.

“It feels like I’m walking uphill all the time,” he said on the telephone, when he warned a reporter that he might need to cut it short if he got tired.

Pollard tried medication, and has had three ablations — procedures to try to break up the signals causing the irregular heartbeats. A pacemaker implanted about a year go only gets to about half of the problem.

“They all agree that more ablations isn’t going to fix this, more medication isn’t going to fix that,” Pollard said. “We need a transplant.”

Patients in need of an organ transplant have to navigate a labyrinthine system that attempts to fairly match the donated organs with the recipients in need. The matching process takes the health of the patient into account, all with the goal of maximizing the benefit of the limited organs available.

“It’s out of my hands. It’s not even in the doctor’s hands,” Pollard said. “It’s up to the donor networks.”

To maximize his chances, Pollard was advised to register at as many transplant centers as possible — “it’s increasing my odds at the casino by going to as many casinos at the same time as possible,” he said. But: He must be able to get there within four hours; the need to return for post-operative visits also make it difficult to get treated far from home.

Pollard listed himself at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in his hometown of Carmel, Indiana, and last week went through testing at the University of Chicago. He traveled this week to Vanderbilt, which performed more heart transplants last year than anyone else in the country. Pollard arrived on Sunday; on Tuesday, doctors admitted him to the I.C.U.

There, Pollard will wait for a new heart – one that is healthy enough to give him a chance, and big enough to fit his oversized frame. He had been living as Status 4 — for those who are in stable condition — but now that he is hospitalized he could be eligible for Status 2, the second-highest priority.

“They can’t predict, but they are confident I’ll get a heart in weeks not months,” he texted.

Pollard acknowledged it’s strange to be hoping for a donor to surface, which is essentially rooting for someone to die.

“The fact is, that person’s going to end up saving someone else’s life. They’re going to be a hero,” he said. “That’s how I look at it. I understand what has to happen for me to get what I need. So it’s a real hard mix of emotions.”

Until then, Pollard waits with the knowledge that the same genetic quirk that helped him a basketball star — so far, the defining achievement of his life — threatens to be a defining factor in his death.

It’s something he’s known since his father died.

“I’ve thought about that my entire life,” he said. “I’m from a family of giants. I’m the youngest of six and I have three brothers that are taller than me. And people are always like, ‘Oh, man, I wish I had your height.’ Yeah? Let’s go sit on an airplane together and see how much you want to be this tall.

“It’s not like being tall is a curse. It’s not. It’s still a blessing. But, I have known my entire life that there’s a good chance I wasn’t going to get old,” he said. “And so it gives you a different perspective on how you live your life and how you treat people and all that kind of stuff.”

The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer died at 62 on Feb. 5, 2024, his official website and social media said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family,” the message reads. “He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”

Keith had still been performing up until December, when he played shows in Las Vegas, one month after releasing his final album.

What did Toby Keith die from?

Keith died of stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer. The statement about his death noted that he “fought his fight with grace and courage.”

Stomach cancer is “not one of the more common causes of cancer death, but the problem is that, when it’s diagnosed, it’s oftentimes late stage,” Dr. William Chey, gastroenterologist at University of Michigan Health, tells TODAY.com, adding that in these cases, the cancer usually progresses faster.

In June 2022, Keith shared that he’d been diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021 and was undergoing treatment. He died a little over two years after his diagnosis.

“I’ve spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery,” he posted in his first public comments about his illness. “So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover, and relax.”

“I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”

Chey says that the treatments Keith was receiving “would be much more typical for late-stage stomach cancers.”

Keith shared an update on his condition on Sept. 28, 2023, when he received the Country Icon Awards at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

“I feel pretty good,” Toby told E! News at the time. “It’s a little bit of a roller coaster. You get good days and, you know, you’re up and down, up and gown. It’s always zero to 60 and 60 to zero, but I feel good today.”

Keith added that his tumor had shrunk by about a third of its size at that time.

He also performed at the event, singing “Don’t Let the Old Man In” from Clint Eastwood’s movie “The Mule.”

“I’ve been going through my cancer fight for the last couple of years, and it’s really inspiring for a lot of people,” he said during NBC’s pre-show event. “And coming back on TV for the first time and performing live in front of a live audience, I thought it was fitting.”

Keith’s last performances came in a trio of sold-out shows in Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 11 and 14, 2023.

“They’re kind of rehab shows, get the band back in sync, get me rolling again,” he said in a video announcing the performances. “First time in my whole life I’ve been off over two years. I’ve never been off a year in my life.”

“Through COVID and cancer, the old devil’s been after me a little bit,” he added. “I’ve got him by the horns right now, so instead of just sitting around and waiting, we’re going to get the band back together.”

What causes stomach cancer?

Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world and is caused by changes in the way stomach cells function, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Risk factors for stomach cancer include tobacco use, obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease, a diet high in salted and smoked foods, age and family history. Men are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than women, according to the NCI.

Drinking alcohol “to excess,” which is not uncommon among Americans, can also increase risk of gastric cancer, Chey says. “The lifestyle piece is hugely important to cancer.”

Worldwide, “the No. 1 leading cause for gastric cancer is an infection with a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori,” he adds. The bacteria is more common in other parts of the world where rates of stomach cancer are higher.

Stomach cancer symptoms

Stomach cancer can be hard to detect early because symptoms don’t usually begin to show until after the cancer has spread, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“A lot of times patients don’t get significant symptoms until the tumor is far advanced,” Chey says. “You might get a little bit of indigestion or abdominal pain (or) nausea. But those are symptoms that we all get and are easy to ignore.”

Stomach cancer symptoms include:

• Indigestion and stomach discomfort
• Feeling bloated after eating
• Mild nausea
• Heartburn
• Loss of appetite
• Blood in the stool
• Vomiting
• Weight loss for no known reason
• Jaundice
• A build-up of fluid in the abdomen
• Trouble swallowing

If you have any concerning, prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms, contact a health care provider.

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“I was totally going to become a military pilot, just like my dad,” Fountain said.

When Fountain was a baby, her dad was a test pilot with the U.S. Air Force. He would later become a commercial pilot for Northwest Airlines, but Fountain’s dream of following in his foosteps was dashed around age seven, when she got glasses.

“I became nearsighted when I was around seven or eight, and I got my glasses and I saw clearly for the first time, but my dad had to break the news to me that it had eliminated my option for a career in military aviation,” Fountain said. At the time, the U.S. military had specific vision requirements to become a pilot and corrective surgery was not available.

In a twist of fate, Fountain ended up studying to become an ophthalmologist. Four months ago, her dreams came full circle when she performed eye surgery on an airplane.

“It’s an amazing experience to be able to operate on an airplane,” Fountains aid.

The ophthalmic teaching hospital built on board a retrofitted MD-10 aircraft is run by the non-profit, Orbis International.

“Orbis builds strong and sustainable eye care systems globally, that put treatment and prevention within reach,” said Derek Hodkey, President & CEO of Orbis International.

Hodkey says about one billion people worldwide are living with vision loss.

“It’s really sad because of that billion people, 90% of that vision loss around the world is completely preventable. And the only challenge that that exists is access to care,” Hodkey said.

That’s where volunteers like Dr. Fountain come in. She spent one week in Zambia in October 2023.

“We had staff from six continents during the time that I was there. So it’s an international effort, and it’s a teaching effort. Again, the anesthesiologists are teaching the local anesthesiologists. The nursing staff is teaching the local nursing staff,” Fountain said.

“It is about training people within their communities to deliver care in their communities,” said Hodkey.

Fountain says teaching surgical techniques in the airplane operating room was surreal.

“It’s a wide body airplane, so the operating room is not as big as what we would have here in the States, but it’s certainly big enough to do everything that we need,” Fountain said.

While she may not have become a military pilot like her dad, Dr. Fountain says there are plenty of parallels between aviation & medicine.

“They’re both highly regulated industries where the training is long, and the cost of failure is great,” Fountain said. “So it’s been nice over the years to appreciate those parallels and to apply some of the things that my dad talked about in aviation for pilots to stay safe and keep their passengers safe, and for me to treat my patients and keep them safe as well.”

While psychedelics are still illegal under federal law, companies are jostling to try and patent key ingredients found in magic mushrooms, ayahuasca and other substances that have been used underground for decades or — in some cases — for millennia by indigenous cultures.

Wall Street’s sudden exuberance for hallucinogens has rankled longtime advocates and philanthropists, who dreamed of making low-cost psychedelics widely available for mental health and personal growth. Instead, many now see a very different future for drugs like psilocybin and LSD: as expensive, specialty medications controlled by a handful of biotech companies.

“It’s disappointing,” said Carey Turnbull, an investor and philanthropist who sits on the board of several psychedelic nonprofits. “All the air is getting sucked out of the room by these for-profit companies who say, ‘Wow, this stuff is awesome, if I could patent it I’d make a fortune.’”

Since 2010, Turnbull and his wife have donated millions to fund psychedelic research at New York University, Yale and other top academic centers.

Promising results from those studies have sparked a wave of popular interest in psychedelics, amplified by books, documentaries and articles touting their potential to reshape care for mental illness, trauma and end-of-life care.

But in recent years, Turnbull has pivoted to challenging what he and other advocates consider frivolous patents filed by companies entering the field.

Most psychedelic startups are backed by venture capitalists or tech investors looking for the next industry “disruptor.” Behind one of the biggest companies, Atai Life Sciences, is PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel, whose enthusiasm for psychedelics is shared by many in Silicon Valley.

About 50 such companies now trade on public stock exchanges, including developers of psychedelic drugs, retreats and training programs. Some analysts project the industry could grow to over $10 billion within the decade.

But recently investors have pulled back, amid reminders of the stark challenges of converting illegal drugs into money-making medicines.

Atai laid off 30% of its staff last March after its depression treatment failed in a key study. Stocks are down 80% to 90% from their highs across the industry with several smaller companies restructuring or declaring bankruptcy.

“They’re in this hype cycle, but then the reality of running a biotech company catches up with you,” said Chris Yetter of Dumont Global, which trades in cannabis and psychedelic companies. “You do drug trials and some of them succeed and some fail and every quarter your cash drains away.”

The cash crunch recently forced fundamental changes at the field’s leading nonprofit, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

For more than 30 years, MAPS’ efforts have been funded almost entirely by donations from wealthy individuals and foundations — including Republican political donor Rebekah Mercer and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, created by the hedge fund manager and New York Mets owner with his wife.

The group’s pharmaceutical arm, the MAPS Public Benefit Corp., is expected to win U.S. approval this year for the first psychedelic medicine accepted for review by the Food and Drug Administration: MDMA, or ecstasy, to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

But as investment opportunities have multiplied, charitable donations have dried up. The group was recently forced to take on private investors to continue funding the drug company, which changed its name to Lykos Therapeutics.

“We’re a victim of our own success,” said MAPS founder Rick Doblin. “It’s heartbreaking because I had hoped to go the whole way with philanthropy, but I was unable to raise the mega millions to do that.”

Psychedelics never fit the business model of the traditional blockbuster drug: an exclusive, patent-protected medicine that patients take regularly for years.

None of the psychedelics currently being studied are new. Synthetic drugs like LSD and ecstasy have been off patent for decades. Naturally occurring substances like psilocybin, found in certain mushrooms, can’t be patented by themselves.

And then there’s the challenge of administering drugs that bring about intense, disorienting visions and experiences. All the drugs vying for FDA approval will have to be given under professional supervision, typically during several therapy sessions lasting about six to eight hours each.

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All those hours and professional fees will drive up costs, which many analysts say could range from $5,000 to $10,000 for one course of treatment.

Psychedelic executives say the only way to defer those costs is to conduct large, rigorous clinical studies needed for FDA approval, which could compel insurers to pay for psychedelics. But funding those studies requires raising tens of millions from investors, who typically only back drugmakers with strong patents.

“The only way you’re going to bring about that broad and equitable access is with robust intellectual property,” said Kabir Nath, CEO of Compass Pathways, which is studying laboratory-made psilocybin for depression, anorexia and other disorders.

Compass is among the most aggressive companies in terms of trying to patent its technology, with dozens of applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

One submission describes the “soft furniture” and “muted colors” that would decorate rooms where patients take psilocybin. Another patent lays claim to a specific, microscopic structure found in Compass’ synthetic psilocybin, which the company claims is uniquely suited for mass production.

The company’s efforts have drawn ridicule from some researchers, who note that as early as the 1970s, psychedelic therapists had codified the settings and techniques described in Compass patents.

“It just seems like a blatant power grab,” said Frederick Barrett, a neuroscientist who directs Johns Hopkins University’s psychedelic center.

But attempts to challenge the patents on Compass’ synthetic psilocybin have been unsuccessful, despite years of work by Turnbull’s patent watchdog group, Freedom to Operate.

Other companies are taking more creative approaches to patenting psychedelics, such as reformulating them as dissolvable lozenges or films — or combining LSD and ecstasy into a combination pill. Skeptics note that that approach, dubbed “candyflipping,” has been used recreationally for decades.

One of the more intriguing reformulation efforts involves trying to shorten the duration of the psychedelic experience, or even do away with it entirely, while retaining the psychological benefits for patients.

The rush to innovate worries some psychiatrists who point to the many fundamental questions about psychedelics that remain unanswered, including exactly how they affect the brain and how long their benefits might last.

As companies develop more psychedelic derivatives and combinations, deciphering their strengths and weaknesses will become more challenging, says Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman of Columbia University. Unless researchers can clearly demonstrate their benefits, they risk another backlash like the 1970 federal ban that wiped out psychedelic research for decades.

“Psychedelics could have tremendous benefit for treating a number of illnesses,” Lieberman said. “But if we mess it up and rush the process, these drugs are going to get banned again and you lose that opportunity.”

“I struggled with my own issues, struggles, anxiety,” said Gale, 27.

That’s why the special education teacher created a community during the coronavirus pandemic called “Me2We.”

“It’s a message. It’s a mindset. It’s a lifestyle. But what I’ve grown to see throughout the few years we’ve been doing this, that it’s a community of driven individuals who want to make a positive impact on this world,” Gale said.

Post-COVID, that community has expanded to include in-person meetings every two weeks, called “WeTalk.”

“We create a safe space for people. But more than that, we call up a brave space,” Gale said.

NBC Chicago promotions producer Ryan Glatzhofer attends the “WeTalk” meetings.

“For folks that may need help, but don’t know where to go, it’s not therapy, but it’s therapeutic for you,” Glatzhofer said.

To be clear, the meetings are not led by mental health professionals. Gale leads them himself, putting his teaching skills to use with structured activities and goals.

“We have two activities, usually that kind of help us self-reflect. And the big thing I always say is like, my goal here is for you to self-reflect. If you want to share, awesome. If you don’t, we’ll continue to build towards that,” Gale said.

If you can’t make it to the support group meetings, which are held every other Sunday morning in an office space at 1014 Bonaventure Dr. in Elk Grove Village, Gale also created an Instagram profile for men to follow along for daily tips and motivation.

The feed includes “Monday Mindset” posts, a “Workout of the Week” and “Saturday Spark” videos to inspire positivity.

“The consistency with this group and with what Me2We stands for is outstanding,” Glatzhofer said.

The age range of participants varies from age 16 to 30. Gale also created merchandise to help promote “Me2We” and share the mission with more men who may be silently struggling.

“No matter who you are, you’re either going through something, you’ve gone through something or you will go through something, but no one’s going to know until we connect on it,” Gale said.

In support of National Heart Health month, the American Heart Association is asking people to wear red on Feb. 2 and join millions of people in raising awareness about efforts to eradicate heart disease and stroke through its “Go Red for Women” campaign.

This day is dedicated to spreading the word about the risks and how to prevent heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

When is Wear Red Day in 2024?

National Wear Red Day is celebrated each year on the first Friday in February, as health organizations and communities around the country bring greater attention to heart disease among Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

More than 60 million women in the United States are living with some form of heart disease and it is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What other ways can you support the campaign?

In addition to wearing red, the American Heart Association has created a fundraising page where you can donate and encourage others to do so as well. Learn more here.

Being informed about the facts surrounding heart disease — as well as the signs, symptoms and risk factors — can help protect your health and help you realize when you need to seek treatment.

The CDC has worked on investigating some of the risk factors of heart disease and how it could be prevented among Americans.

What are the most common risk factors for heart disease in women?

According to the CDC, having high blood pressure is a major risk factor for the disease and increases the risk of developing a stroke.

Several lifestyle choices can also lead to a heart disease, such as:

• Cholesterol
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Excess weight
• An unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Stress and depression

How can you reduce the risk of developing heart disease?

Check your blood pressure regularly and contact your health care team in case you see elevated results, and consider getting tested for diabetes, as it increases the risk of heart disease.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle also helps to prevent having a heart disease, some of them include:

• At least 150 minutes of physical activity each week
• Quit smoking
• Make healthy food choices
• Limit alcohol
• Manage stress levels

To know more about the risk and prevention of heart disease, visit CDC’s website.

The nation’s largest dental association said Thursday it will no longer recommend the use of lead aprons and thyroid collars on patients who are getting dental X-rays.

There are two main reasons for the change. X-ray beams are now more focused, so there is less concern about radiation hitting other parts of the body. Also, the aprons and collars can sometimes block dentists from getting the images they need.

The best thing to lower radiation exposure is to make sure the patient needs the X-ray and to do it right the first time, said Dr. Purnima Kumar, who chairs the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs, which released the recommendation.

Dental X-rays use a relatively small amount of radiation to begin with, she said.

“It’s like taking a flight from, let’s say, from Michigan to San Francisco, it gives you the equivalent of one dental X-ray,” Kumar said.

The association’s recommendation is just that. True change depends on state dental boards, dentists and patients, Kumar said. For example, California state rules require dentists to use the aprons.

Sanjay Mallya, a radiologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there is “no hard science,” that the aprons are needed.

“Yet at the same time, we do have the letter of the law that requires that,” said Mallya, who helped write the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology’s recommendation in the fall against the use of lead aprons and thyroid collars. Kumar noted it was that group’s recommendation that spurred the American Dental Association to look at the topic.

The most recent guidance is also backed by medical physicists with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mallya also said X-rays may cause patients and dentists to be complacent about the things that should be done to prevent unnecessary radiation exposure — such as making sure an X-ray is necessary and using digital X-ray instead of film ones because they use less radiation.

It will take advocacy and education to change more minds around the use of the aprons among patients, dentists and policymakers, he said.

“That is going to be the next step for us,” he said.

“There was no advance warning. The only thing I can tell you was I was carrying my granddaughter and three days later I woke up in the hospital,” said Malach, 70, who lives in Michigan.

Malach would later learn he was in sudden cardiac arrest. His son, Jeff, ran to check on his dad, who had collapsed on a neighbor’s lawn.

“I just didn’t know what to do, right? I attempted to put my hands on his chest. And I couldn’t tell you if I got one compression, two compressions or zero compressions,” Jeff Malach said. “Luckily a neighbor walked out. And then very quickly, Ashley and Claire showed up.”

“Someone pulled me aside and said there’s an emergency over here. There’s a man down. They can probably use your help,” said Ashley Kelly, who lives near where Malach had collapsed.

Kelly is a nurse anesthetist at Endeavor Health Highland Park Hospital.

Her friend and fellow nurse anesthetist, Claire Farren, also got a phone call from a neighbor, asking for help. Both women arrived just as another neighbor started CPR and then Kelly jumped in.

“And I just said to Ashley just let me know when you’re tired and I’ll take over CPR for you,” Farren said.

“It’s exhausting to do high-quality CPR, if you’re going fast and you’re pushing hard. And with Steve, we did end up breaking a rib and he did end up having a punctured lung and did need a chest tube, but in the end, he’s alive,” said Dr. David Davidson, a cardiologist with Endeavor Health.

Davidson is friends with Jeff Malach and was up the street trick-or-treating with his own children when Steve Malach collapsed. He too got a frantic phone call to help.

“The important thing is stay calm, perform high-quality CPR and early defibrillation — those are keys for success,” Davidson said.

Less than 10% of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive. So the Malach family knows Steve is lucky to not only be alive, but also to have no lingering effects.

“We were incredibly lucky, but most people can also be incredibly lucky because we’re talking about CPR. This isn’t surgery. Anybody can do it,” Jeff Malach said.

That’s why Steve, Jeff and the Malach family will reunite with those who performed CPR at a special community CPR training event on Feb. 3 at Highland Park Hospital.

Steve Malach is traveling in from Michigan for the event, with immense gratitude in this heart.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That’s all I can say,” he said, getting emotional as he shared what he plans to tell those who helped saved his life.

“My husband said, you know, he was super proud, and he was like, ‘You know, you guys went from ‘Mom mode’ to lifesavers,’” Farren said.

While they have medical training, becoming a life saver is something Farren, Kelly and Davidson all say anyone can do, if they learn CPR basics.

“Don’t be afraid to go fast and push hard,” Davidson said.

While Saturday’s community event in Highland Park is full, here are other resources to help you learn CPR basics:

American Heart Association Hands-Only CPR video:

Find an American Red Cross CPR/AED training courses near you here.

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“Although it’s not a mental health disorder, it is definitely a condition that is affected by the weather and us just being in like indoors for long periods of time,” said Logan Spicer, a licensed clinical professional counselor with Thriveworks in Chicago.

According to experts, symptoms of cabin fever can include:

• Irritability
• Moodiness
• Restlessness
• Insomnia
• Anxiety Over Small Things
• Difficulty Focusing

“Many, many people are going through this at this very same time,” Spicer said.

Who’s at risk for cabin fever? Theoretically, anyone can be, but mental health experts say some people are more susceptible, including people who live alone, those who have stressful jobs, or people who are simply extroverts and who need interaction with other individuals.

“They’re going to feel the effects more because of their isolation and being cooped up. And I’d also say people who already have anxiety and depression, those are just going to worsen,” Spicer said.

Missing out on sunshine could also be a medical reason for your moodiness.

Humans get a lot of our Vitamin D from the sun and spending time outside, so ask your doctor about getting a blood test to get your levels checked.

Spicer has a few more tips to help ward off the effects of that stuck inside feeling, including reframing your thinking.

“Instead of saying, ‘I have to stay in,’ say, ‘I get to stay in’ and maybe you get to finally do all those projects that you’ve never got to do inside your home,” Spicer said.

She also recommends using your creative side to help relieve stress through activities like painting, music or arts & crafts and sticking to routines whenever possible.

“Morning and nightly routines are the biggest ones. Those are the times where people get the most sad or depressed during those times, so significantly focusing on those routines will definitely help your health and your mental health,” Spicer said.

You can also use the tech skills gained during the pandemic to make virtual connections, as we wait for the warmer temperatures of spring time.

It’s “the world’s first and only swallowable, procedure-less gastric balloon for weight loss” and requires no surgery, endoscopy or anesthesia, according to Allurion Technologies, the Massachusetts company that makes it.

Three other gastric balloons currently have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug administration, but they require sedation and endoscopy for either placement or removal or both, Dr. Shelby Sullivan, an obesity medicine specialist and director of the gastroenterology metabolic and bariatric program at the University of Colorado, tells TODAY.com.

Sullivan is leading a clinical trial, sponsored by Allurion Technologies, designed to support approval for the balloon from the FDA. The company says it expects to have results by the end of 2024 and will begin the process of submitting its application to the FDA.

What is the Allurion ballon?

The Allurion gastric balloon is a balloon you swallow in capsule form, which a health care provider then fills with saline solution to take up space in your stomach and make you feel full. After four months, the balloon deflates and leaves your body in a bowel movement.

It’s not yet approved in the U.S. but already used in more than 70 other countries, including Canada, Mexico and Europe.

Patients lose about 10% to 15% of their total body weight, according to Allurion. In comparison, medications like Wegovy and Zepbound help people lose 15% to 20% of their body weight, according to their respective manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

The balloon is an alternative for people with obesity who don’t want bariatric surgery or weight-loss drugs — whether due to cost or fear of permanent body changes, Sullivan says.

“A lot of people don’t like taking medication — they don’t want to take medication. They want to lose weight so they can get off medication,” she explains. “Patients see (the balloon) as, ‘I’m just getting some help, but it’s not a medication that I have to stay on forever.’”

How do you swallow an Allurion balloon?

A patient swallows the capsule, which contains the balloon and an attached catheter, in a doctor’s office.

More than 99% of patients are able to swallow it, according to the company, but if someone is having trouble, Sullivan says she can use a medical instrument to quickly push it down into their stomach.

Fluid is then hooked up to the end of the catheter sticking out of the patient’s mouth and the balloon is filled with about 18 fluid ounces of saline, Sullivan notes.

When X-rays confirm the balloon is fully dilated, the catheter is detached and “the patient is on their merry way,” she says.

The outpatient visit takes about 15 minutes, according to Allurion.

After four months, the balloon opens, releases the fluid, deflates and leaves the body in stool.

What are the side effects?

They include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain as the stomach is getting used to having the balloon in place, Sullivan says. Those symptoms usually resolve within the first three to seven days.

Patients are initially put on a liquid diet, after which they transition to a pureed and soft food diet, and start eating normally after seven to 14 days, she adds.

Another side effect is that the stomach wall gets thicker in response to the weight of the balloon, but returns to normal about a month after the balloon is removed, Sullivan says.

How does the Allurion balloon work?

It works in two ways, Sullivan says: It takes up space in the stomach, so it makes the patient feel full for longer. It also delays gastric emptying so food stays in the stomach longer, increasing satiety.

But some experts are skeptical whether that will lead to lasting weight loss.

The concept of swallowable, procedure-less technology is “amazing,” but gastric balloons in general serve a very limited purpose, says Dr. Shauna Levy, a specialist in obesity medicine and medical director of the Tulane Bariatric and Weight Loss Center in New Orleans.

“For a long-term weight loss solution, I do not think balloons are the answer,” Levy tells TODAY.com.

“Obesity is hormonally driven, and these are space-occupying balloons. They allow you to get more full quickly, but they don’t really target your hormones. … Understanding the physiology of obesity, it seems to guarantee that the weight is going to come back” once the balloon is gone, Levy says.

Long-term results will be such an important consideration since the balloon is deployed very short-term, says Dr. William Yancy, medical director of the Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Still, there’s a continued need for additional options to help people with obesity lose weight because not all patients can tolerate weight-loss drugs, afford them or find a pharmacy with a supply, he adds.

“The balloon actually shares an attribute of these medications — feeling full sooner,” Yancy tells TODAY.com.

The fact that no procedures are required to place or remove the balloon “is an advance in making it accessible and likely more affordable,” he adds.

“Issues with this method will still regard tolerance and long-term efficacy — we’ll have to see when it’s used more broadly,” Yancy says.

According to Allurion, only 1-3% of those who use the balloon aren’t able to tolerate it and have to have it removed early via endoscopy, and on average, people sustain 96% of their weight loss one year after the balloon passes. The balloon comes with a “behavior change program” that includes nutritional coaching to create healthier habits, it notes.

There is also no limit on the number of times the Allurion balloon can be repeated, the company says.

Sullivan says in her experience, when the balloon comes out, patients don’t feel hungrier than they did when the balloon was in, possibly because it may alter the stomach’s production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, in a lasting way.

But there’s no long-term data on balloons’ weight-loss potential, Levy cautions. Bariatric surgery is the most durable option, and weight-loss drugs will also have better long-term results than balloons as long as people keep taking the medications, she adds.

Gastric balloons are often a “gateway procedure” to bariatric surgery, Levy says, but she’s concerned a balloon could cause scarring in the stomach that could potentially make a future surgery more challenging.

Allurion counters the balloon is made from a thin, smooth polyurethane film designed to be gentle on the stomach lining. There’s never been a case of stomach scarring that made a future bariatric surgery more difficult, according to data from the 130,000 patients the company has treated, it adds.

What is the Allurion balloon price?

Costs vary, but patients typically pay between $3,000 to $4,000 for the Allurion program, the company says.

In comparison, the list price for a month’s supply of Wegovy is $1,349, and $1,059 for Zepbound.

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“As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” says Dan Buettner, longevity researcher who coined the term “blue zones.”

“It gives your body the energy to make it through the day and can be an opportunity to get a lot of healthy foods into your body to start the day.”

DON’T MISS: Certain cereals can actually lower your energy to start the day. Reach for these breakfast foods instead

But the impacts of having breakfast in the morning trickle down to more than just your energy levels. Here are some ways that skipping breakfast can affect your overall health.

2 reasons why skipping breakfast isn’t harmless

1. Not eating breakfast doesn’t align with a longevity diet

In blue zones, communities with the highest life expectancies and the longest-lived people in the world, breakfast is a priority, according to Dan Buettner, which indicates that breakfast may be great for longevity.

“We have a saying, ‘breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper,'” Buettner says.

“In blue zones, they are eating the biggest meal of the day for breakfast and then eating smaller meals as the day progresses, oftentimes eating an early dinner and then not eating until breakfast the next day.”

Breakfast in blue zones also looks different than the typical breakfast in the American diet, he notes.

“People should avoid most of what is marketed to us in America as breakfast foods such as pop tarts, sugar laden cereals, yogurts and granola,” Buettner says. “Instead, people should take a page out of the blue zones and eat a hardy, healthy breakfast.”

Aim to eat these foods in the morning to align your eating style with the world’s healthiest communities:

• Beans
• Vegetables
• Rice
• Fruits
• Miso
• Oats

“I often start my day with a minestrone stew full of vegetables and beans,” Buettner says. “I challenge everyone reading this to try eating minestrone stew or rice and beans as their breakfast for a week and see how they feel.”

2. Skipping breakfast can negatively affect your mood and sleep quality

If you typically skip breakfast and notice your mood or sleep isn’t as great as you’d like, there may be a correlation.

A 2023 study with more than 700 college students as participants found that not eating breakfast was associated with effects on sleep chronotypes and increased depressive symptoms, which negatively impacted sleep quality. Researchers note that the effects of not eating breakfast on sleep quality weren’t significant, but there was a noticeable difference when compared to cases where people ate breakfast regularly.

A smaller study with 66 healthy adults in their 20’s found that the frequency of breakfast consumption was associated with changes in sleep quality, mood and even eating habits. Those who ate breakfast consistently had a “better perceived sleep quality, mood upon waking, and alertness upon waking compared to those that skip breakfast,” according to the study.

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The 75-year-old monarch is in good company. About half of men in their 50s have enlarged prostates and that prevalence climbs to more than 80% of men by the time they reach age 80.

It’s a common result of aging, said Dr. Stephen Nakada, a University of Wisconsin urologist.

“It’s like getting gray hair,” Nakada said.

An enlarged prostate doesn’t always cause symptoms, but when it does, it can be annoying. And some men have more trouble than others.

A look at the condition, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia:

WHAT IS THE PROSTATE GLAND?

The prostate is part of the reproductive system in men. It makes fluid for semen. It’s located below the bladder and it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out through the penis.

WHAT CAUSES AN ENLARGED PROSTATE?

First, it’s not cancer. The word “benign” in benign prostatic hyperplasia means the prostate isn’t cancerous.

What causes the prostate to grow isn’t completely clear, but it’s possibly caused by hormonal changes as men age.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF AN ENLARGED PROSTATE?

The symptoms of an enlarged prostate can include frequent urination and needing to get up many times in the night to pee. A man might have trouble getting started in the bathroom or dribbling when finished. The inability to completely empty the bladder is also a common symptom.

WHAT MIGHT HELP SYMPTOMS?

Doctors may first advise patients to stop drinking fluids after dinner. Antihistamines can contribute to symptoms, as can alcohol and caffeine.

“A good initial intervention would be to decrease caffeine and alcohol intake, even decrease spicy food intake, because those can irritate the bladder,” Nakada said.

HOW IS AN ENLARGED PROSTATE DIAGNOSED?

Doctors will ask about symptoms and medications. They will perform a rectal exam to determine the size and shape of the prostate.

ARE THERE MEDICATIONS THAT HELP?

Medicines are available that relax muscles and allow better flow of urine. Another type of medicine can be used to stop the prostate from growing. Erectile dysfunction drugs can help with urine flow too.

There’s not strong evidence for herbal remedies such as saw palmetto.

“I usually tell patients the only thing saw palmetto does is hurt your wallet,” Nakada said.

WHAT ARE THE SURGICAL OPTIONS?

There are various procedures to remove prostate tissue or widen the urethra.

Some use the pulse of a laser beam, microwaves, ultrasound, electric current or heated water. Another procedure inserts a stent to prop up the prostate and make more room for urine flow.

There are also surgical techniques to cut away tissue.

COULD THERE BE COMPLICATIONS FROM SURGERY?

All surgeries have potential complications such as bleeding and infections. Prostate surgery can cause urinary or sexual problems. Some of the less invasive procedures may need to be repeated if symptoms come back.

The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice.

“I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a certain point, and I want to make it clear I trust my children to take over that responsibility,” said Morgenstern, a professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and emergency medicine at the University of Michigan.

His wife, 59, intends to sign a similar document at 65.

Morgenstern has given a lot of thought to the often-divisive issue of when to stop driving. He co-authored a recent article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that found 61% of older adults with cognitive impairment continued to drive even though 36% of their caregivers were concerned about their performance.

Many of these seniors probably adapted by exercising caution and drawing on extensive experience behind the wheel, Morgenstern said. But, he noted, “there is undoubtedly a group of people who are driving and shouldn’t be because they’re a risk to themselves and to others.”

Relatively few studies have looked at how many older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia continue to drive, and there aren’t any national standards on when people should hand over the car keys. But the issue is a growing concern as the ranks of seniors in their 70s, 80s, and 90s — the age group most likely to have cognitive impairment — expand.

Nearly 50 million people 65 and older held driver’s licenses in 2021, a 38% increase from 2012, according to data compiled by the American Automobile Association. Almost 19 million were 75 or older, a rise of 31%. During this period, motor vehicle deaths for people 65 and older increased 34%, reaching 7,489 in 2021. The number of seniors injured in vehicle crashes that year exceeded 266,000.

For the most part, older adults drive safely. They use seat belts more often, are intoxicated less often, and are less likely to speed than younger adults. Compared with younger and middle-aged adults, they’re involved in fewer fatal car crashes each year. And they’re more likely to restrict where and when they drive — following familiar routes, avoiding heavily trafficked streets, and not driving at night.

Still, risks for older drivers rise with advancing age and the onset of medical conditions such as arthritis, glaucoma, and Parkinson’s disease. And when crashes occur, seniors are more likely to be severely injured or die because they’re more vulnerable physically.

Cognitive impairment and dementia pose especially worrisome challenges because decision-making, attention, judgment, and risk assessment are compromised in people with these conditions. 

“This is a big challenge when it comes to driving, because people don’t react appropriately and self-regulate,” said Emmy Betz, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who has studied advance driving directives.

This was the case for Morgenstern’s beloved father-in-law, who developed moderate Alzheimer’s disease in his 70s but remained convinced he was fit to drive. After he got badly lost one day, Morgenstern’s mother-in-law took away the car keys, and “he didn’t understand why. He was very unhappy,” Morgenstern said.

Morgenstern’s interest in advance directives for driving, an option he recommends in his paper, springs from this experience.

Several types of directives exist. One asks a person to name a family member or friend who will talk to them about whether it’s safe to continue driving. AAA and the American Occupational Therapy Association have endorsed a directive of this kind, which is not legally binding.

Obligations also run in the other direction, with family members agreeing to help the person explore ways to keep driving, if possible. If not, family members agree to help the person find other ways to get out and about by offering rides and helping them use public transportation, carpooling services, or volunteer-driver programs. Uber and Lyft, which have created programs for seniors, are newer options frequently used.

Another nonbinding directive, endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, recognizes that people with dementia will not be able to drive as their illness progresses. It, too, names people who should raise concerns about driving when it becomes important. But it goes further by stating: “I understand that I may forget that I cannot drive anymore and may try to continue driving. If this happens, please know that I support all actions taken, including removing or disabling my car, to help ensure my safety and the safety of others.”

At the University of South Florida Health, Lori Dee Grismore, an occupational therapist and certified driving rehabilitation specialist, said up to 75% of the seniors she evaluates have some type of cognitive impairment.

This becomes evident during the first part of Grismore’s comprehensive evaluation: an interview about the person’s driving habits and recent problems; a review of their medical history; a vision exam; a physical assessment; and a battery of six cognitive tests. “If someone doesn’t have insight, which is common, they don’t understand why these tests have anything to do with driving,” she told me.

If she thinks it’s safe, Grismore then takes older adults out on the road, checking their ability to follow directions, make turns, stay in their lanes, maintain appropriate speeds, and interpret signs, among other performance measures.

While most older adults with mild cognitive impairment pass these tests, Grismore usually recommends retesting at regular intervals and imposing restrictions such as driving only close to home and staying off highways. But she acknowledged there’s no guarantee seniors will remember these restrictions.

Grismore’s three-hour assessment costs $420. Medicare doesn’t pay — a barrier to seniors with low or fixed incomes. Older adults and families interested in finding a driving rehab provider can consult an American Occupational Therapy Association directory.

Elin Schold Davis, who coordinates the Older Driver Initiative at the occupational therapy association, recommends getting an evaluation of this kind when someone is diagnosed with cognitive impairment or when family members begin to notice problems.

“We should all be planning for our changing transportation needs in our 70s, 80s, and 90s,” she said. “The hard part is that driving is associated with independence, and this is such an emotional issue. But the more people look ahead, the more choice and control they can have.”

Steering Older Drivers to Resources

Many people with cognitive impairment continue to drive and don’t want to stop. There are no standards for when they should give up their car keys, but planning ahead is recommended. Here are some resources that offer guidance.

For basic information: Alzheimer’s Association: “Dementia and Driving”National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: “Driving and Alzheimer’s Disease”

Hitting the milestone:Healthwise: “Is It Time to Stop Driving?”

A conversation guide:The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence: “At the Crossroads: Family Conversations About Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia and Driving.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

On the bottom of each quencher made by the beverage container powerhouse is a circular barrier made of stainless steel, which covers a pellet that contains lead, a spokesperson for Stanley explains. The pellet seals the product’s vacuum insulation, and it is not accessible unless the stainless steel barrier comes off — which is possible but “rare,” the Stanley spokesperson notes.

“Our engineering and supply chain teams are making progress on innovative, alternative materials for use in the sealing process,” the spokesperson adds. In a separate statement to NBC affiliate WCNC, the company said all of its products follow all U.S. regulatory requirements.

In a recent flurry of social media posts, some Stanley customers say they are using at-home tests to assess if there’s lead in any of their Stanley products, to mixed results (though it’s often not clear what part of the cup is being tested and the quality of lead test being used).

TODAY.com spoke with multiple experts and government officials to understand why lead exposure is so dangerous and how contamination generally occurs.

Do Stanley cups contain lead?

Yes, Stanley uses lead in its manufacturing process for its cups, but they only pose a risk of lead exposure if the cover on the bottom of the tumbler comes off and exposes the pellet used to seal the cup’s vacuum insulation, a Stanley spokesperson says. (If this happens, you can submit a claim through the company’s lifetime warranty.)

The liquid inside a Stanley mug does not come in contact with the pellet, so there’s little to no chance of lead exposure from drinking liquid inside the container. The risk is if the circular cover comes off and someone touches the exposed lead and then touches their mouth or nose, experts say.

Lead poisoning activist Tamara Rubin, aka Lead Safe Mama, first brought attention to the presence of lead in Stanley tumblers in March 2023. (Rubin earns a commission on the products she recommends that are purchased through her website. Some of her recommendations include competitors to Stanley.)

She’s been passionate about protecting other parents from the dangers of lead poisoning ever since her then-7-month-old son became exposed to lead paint dust during a home renovation and suffered severe permanent brain damage. Rubin now advocates against the use of lead in any products that enter the home. In February 2023, she sent Consumer Reports a tip based on her own lead testing that later led to a product recall. She has also submitted reports to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on similar products that she says led to four additional recalls.

Related: The right and wrong way to clean a Stanley cup, according to experts

Rubin says parents often send her items that they suspect could contain lead, and she uses XRF technology, the same $35,000 spectrometer instrument used by the CPSC, to test for the presence of lead and other heavy metals. She says she’s tested several Stanley tumblers that people have sent her after the protective cover at the bottom has come off, and she has found lead.

“Though some people say (the) protective disc doesn’t come off easily, I’ve heard from many people who say that for them it has,” Rubin says, estimating that the latter group is in the hundreds.

She adds that, based on her own experience and what other parents have told her, heavy use, children fidgeting with the area and repeated washings can increase the likelihood the cover will come off. She says some people have told her they don’t know how the cover came off and weren’t even aware the cup was damaged at first.

The risks of lead exposure and poisoning

Lead is a naturally occurring metal found abundantly throughout the earth, per the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Soil usually contains lead concentrations of less than 50 parts per million, but many urban areas contain soil with up to 200 parts per million, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A relatively inexpensive, durable and stable metal that doesn’t rust, lead was once used en masse during the early-to-mid 1900s and could be found in toys, gasoline, food, jewelry, cooking utensils, ceramics, electronics, batteries, plumbing pipes, paint and even cosmetics.

Federal and state laws have since helped lower the amount of lead people are exposed to, but lead is still found in some products today. In fact, the CDC tracks lead-related product recalls, from children’s clothing to food to cosmetics to medicine.

“Most people think of lead poisoning as a thing of the past, but lead is still all around us, often at dangerous enough levels to cause significant harm,” Jenna Forsyth, Ph.D., research scientist specializing in epidemiology and environmental science at Stanford University School of Medicine, tells TODAY.com.

Lead poisoning is most commonly caused by breathing in lead dust or particles, but it can also occur by touching a surface where lead is present, then touching one’s nose or mouth, thereby ingesting trace amounts of the toxic metal, according to the CDC.

“One family I worked with had a young child who got lead poisoning from ingesting oatmeal that he had playfully smashed with the bottom of a water bottle where lead was exposed,” says Rubin. (This bottle was not made by Stanley.)

Once lead enters the bloodstream, it can accumulate and cause severe health consequences, including cardiovascular disease and brain damage. Ronnie Levin, a 40-year veteran scientist of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who now teaches at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com that lead is an “all-systems toxin. … There isn’t a system in your body — from your nervous system to your immune system to your reproductive system — that isn’t harmed by it.”

One study published in The Lancet estimates that in 2019, more than 5 million adults worldwide died from cardiovascular disease related to lead exposure. Children are especially vulnerable because they absorb lead more easily than adults.

“Even low levels of lead that were once considered safe have been linked to harmful changes in intelligence, behavior and health,” Paul Allwood, the lead poisoning prevention and surveillance branch chief at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, tells TODAY.com in an email. 

Does this mean I should get rid of my Stanley cup?

As long as that cover at the bottom of your Stanley cup stays in place, Levin says there is no risk in owning the product. “If that barrier remains intact, you won’t be exposed to any lead and won’t suffer any negative outcomes,” she explains.

What’s more, health issues rarely arise from a single instance of lead exposure. “Repeated exposure to lead is what’s most worrisome,” Dr. Vicki Iannotti, a pediatrician at ColumbiaDoctors in Tarrytown, New York, and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, tells TODAY.com.

It’s that kind of repeated exposure that concerns Rubin the most. “Children, and especially babies, like to fidget with things that have dimples they can rub,” she says. “If a parent lets their child fidget with an item like a Stanley mug after the bottom cap has come off, there is a very possible and likely transference of microparticulate lead via normal hand-to-mouth behavior in young children.”

Levin echoes similar concerns: “Though lead poisoning is unlikely to happen from a single instance, if a child puts the bottom of one of these cups against their mouth or rubs the surface with their fingers and then puts them in their mouth, contamination can occur.” 

Forsyth agrees that risk of exposure from a single instance of touching lead “is pretty low,” but says there are scenarios that could increase the risk, such as scraping the exposed led against a hard surface. For example, if a cup with exposed lead is slid across a counter or moved in and out of a cupholder with hard edges, then “tiny pieces of lead could flake off,” she says.

And when lead comes in contact with anything acidic, it can become more absorbable, Forsyth explains. This could occur if you’re drinking out of a cup with exposed lead and peeling an orange, then touch the exposed lead with fingers that have touched the orange, and then touch your nose or mouth. “Ingesting lead is what you need to avoid the most,” Forsyth says.

So, keep an eye on the bottom of your Stanley cup to make sure that cover stays where it’s supposed to be. And if the cover does come off and exposes the seal containing lead, customers can submit a claim under the product’s lifetime warranty.

Do other insulated tumblers contain lead?

Stanley is not alone in using lead-containing pellets to seal its insulated cups. The Stanley spokesperson says in the statement that the pellet the company uses is “industry standard.” And Rubin says that she’s tested bottles from other companies that make insulated cups with similar pellets covered in a similar fashion to Stanley.

It’s important to note that the CPSC monitors products, including insulated tumblers, for violating lead regulations and has recently recalled several children’s products for having accessible pellets that contain levels that exceed the federal lead content ban, CPSC press secretary Patty Davis tells TODAY.com. Examples include products sold by PandaEar, Cupkin, Tiblue, Klickpick, and Laoion.

Davis encourages consumers to report any lead-related concerns they have for any product currently on the market to the CPSC at www.saferproducts.gov. “Each report is reviewed and could potentially lead to a recall,” she says.

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“For me, tremors haven’t arrived yet, but gait issues, some balance issues, some cognitive issues come into play,” said Mike DeBartolo from Winnetka.

DeBartolo was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system, six years ago, but has had symptoms for 13 years.

“People can move more slowly with Parkinson’s. They can have some rigidity. They can have balance issues and then they also can suffer non-motor symptoms, so they can have an apathy, anxiety, depression,” said

Linda Egan, the Parkinson’s Program Coordinator for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital.

“Our mission here at Lake Forest Hospital is to provide innovative programming to those individuals with Parkinson’s and help them to promote exercise, well-being, support and socialization,” Egan said.

That’s why DeBartolo teamed up with Egan to create the Parkinson’s Players program, which involves playing golf and tennis in the summer months and now Ping Pong in the winter months.

“Many of us grew up playing in our basements. I mean, who knew that we were exercising and that it was going to affect our brain function in a positive way,” Egan said.

A study by the Fukuoka University School of Medicine in Fukuoka, Japan found that people with Parkinson’s who participated in a Ping Pong exercise program once a week for six months showed improvement in their Parkinson’s symptoms.

“It focuses on strength, balance, hand eye coordination, rhythmic movements, and motor planning, all of which are affected in Parkinson’s disease,” Egan said.

Rick Moon from Wauconda is on board. He attends the twice weekly sessions offered at the Lake Forest Health & Fitness Center.

“I was a PE teacher for 37 years, so I always knew the importance of play and now I find it’s really helpful in this stage,” said Moon, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about a year and a half ago.

“I think for those of us with Parkinson’s, it’s even puzzling why it works. But for me, I think it is this cognitive, spatial recognition of there’s a ball coming towards us, we’ve got to move our hand in ways that maybe we aren’t so comfortable doing,” DeBartolo said.

Since launching in December, the classes have not only help participants with their coordination, but also created comradery and friendly competition.

“Oh my gosh, this is a very competitive group. It’s a lot of fun,” Egan said.

“What this program has done, more than keep us active, is made friendships and that’s a beautiful thing,” DeBartolo said.

Anyone with Parkinson’s can join in for the free sessions offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Lake Forest Health & Fitness center and on Saturdays at the Edgewater Fitness Center.

Every Tuesday at noon, rain or snow or shine, two dozen women don their bathing suits and clip on their flotation belts, getting ready to hit the indoor pool at Superior Training in Willowbrook for a Fluid Running class.

“It’s a deepwater exercise program or class. You’re running to different intervals of length and speed and the classes are about an hour,” said Jennifer Conroyd, founder of the Fluid Running program.

The instructor, Conroyd leads the class that has become more than a workout for some of these women.

“We came together because of the class, but more importantly, we started doing breakfast,” said Carol Bobo, who has been taking classes for eight years.

Bobo’s first class was in 2015, shortly after she retired after 38 years in education.

“I knew I needed to do something and find people,” Bobo said.

Through Fluid Running, Bobo found her crew. She’s one of 12 women who regularly attend classes together.

“A lot of people are lonely. And I’m blessed that I’m not. Running has done that for me,” said Ana Sisson, 73, who lives in Oak Brook and takes classes three days a week.

The women socialize outside of the pool as well, some even vacationing together.

“Some of us have formed a Fluid golfing group. And we celebrate, we have parties, we have coffees after,” said Carla Peer, who has been taking Fluid Running classes for 10 years.

Studies have found social isolation has a huge correlation with negative health outcomes, but health experts believe classes like this can change that.

“The more that you put yourself out there and be vulnerable and want to have these experiences with people, it really does have great return on investment for just you as a human being,” said Dr. Julie Bruene, a sports medicine physician at Midwest Orthopedics at RUSH.

The group of women who have bonded at Fluid Running classes says they get the best of both worlds.

“You can get this amazing exercise and workout without any impact on your body,” Conroyd said.

They have also formed friendships that go far beyond the water.

“Just constantly sharing things. How can we lift each other up, support each other,” Bobo said.

“We grieve with people when there are losses. We celebrate when there are, you know, victories,” Peer said.

It’s more than the Fluid Running founder could have hoped for.

“They’ve just formed this really neat friendship and they support each other for good times and bad and it’s just it’s just been really neat to witness this community that’s formed from this exercise class,” Conroyd said.

Oh, are we still talking about Ozempic? We are.

And for those who are considering giving the injectable medication—originally marketed for treating Type 2 diabetes—a shot, well, Jillian Michaels has a few words of caution.

“I think the situation is becoming even more concerning as new information gets out about the drugs,” the trainer noted in an exclusive interview with E! News. And, as one might expect from the no-bulls–t host of podcast Keeping It Real, she didn’t hold back when asked about her apprehension toward the semiglutide injectable used by stars like Sharon Osbourne (who has since said she’s struggled to put weight back on) and Chelsea Handler, who said she didn’t like how it made her feel.

“With anything medical, whether we’re talking about a vaccine or antibiotics, there are always side effects,” she explained, listing the potential downsides. “So let’s start out with the side effects that are on the f–king website: We’ve got thyroid tumors, gallbladder problems, pancreatitis, kidney issues, vision loss, stomach problems now including stomach paralysis. There’s a class action lawsuit for stomach paralysis.” (A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told Reuters, the company “believes that the allegations in the lawsuit are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims.” A hearing is set for Jan. 25.)

Real Housewives Who Have Spoken Out on Ozempic

More anecdotally, she continued, experts like Dr. Peter Attia have warned of significant muscle loss and the oft-mentioned “Ozempic face,” in which the drastic weight loss can lead to sagging and other facial changes.

“People are always like, ‘Oh, It’s because of rapid weight loss,” noted Michaels. “No, it’s not.”

Across 11 seasons on “The Biggest Loser ” and even more as a personal trainer, “I’ve taken a tremendous amount of weight off of arguably tens of thousands of people,” explains the founder of The Fitness App. “I’ve seen a bazillion before and afters to my website. For everything I’ve ever done, personally, people always looked better, they never look worse. So anecdotally there’s something happening, in my opinion, that’s arguably causing the breakdown of collagen.”

Throw in vomiting, diarrhea and the number of hairdressers speculating about why they’ve been seeing increased hair loss in their clients, and it’s a strong no from Michaels.

And, to be clear, she’s not shaming those who have considered giving the seeming cure-all a shot. “I form zero, and I mean, zero judgment on this,” she insisted. “And what’s sad is that people are like, well, I don’t want to take the easy way out. And trust me, life is hard enough. If this was an easy way out, I would be the first one signing everybody up and selling the drugs through my website.”

But the way she sees it, hopping onto the Ozempic bandwagon “is the opposite of an easy way out.”

For starters, she explained, she doesn’t see a clear path for getting off of the drug. “And if you do all of the meta analyses shows that you gain the weight back—two-thirds within the first year alone and then some,” Michaels explained. “It is yo-yo dieting on crack.” (Responding to a 2022 study that showed patients regain the weight, Novo Nordisk, the makers of Ozempic and Wegovy, said in a statement, “Not unexpectedly, patients experience weight regain once they stop taking the medication. Obesity is a chronic disease that requires long-term management, much like high blood pressure or high cholesterol.”)

With the medication imitating GLP-1—a hormone that naturally occurs in the body, to lower blood sugar levels—it manages appetite by affecting both the stomach and brain.

“If I’m not giving my body food, and I’m consistently eating less than I burned in a day, it’s not like f–king Stephen King‘s Thinner, where you eventually disappear,” continued Michaels. “The body is like, ‘Oh, wow, we’ve got to change some things around here biochemically. And we’ve got to lower our metabolic setpoint.’ And it does this by changing out what hormones are released when and so on and so forth. So now you’ve lowered your metabolism, you’ve f–ked up your hormone balance, you’ve lost a ton of muscle. You’re working from all the way behind the eight ball if you ever get off of it.”

It’s also worth noting that Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk previously told E! News that the drug is not FDA-approved for chronic weight management, nor is it marketed as a weight loss aid.

For those that plan to keep using the medication forever and are willing to navigate both the hefty price tag and the supply issues caused by its increased popularity, a plateau looms.

While the experience varies from patient to patient, basically, hypothosized Michaels, the body will adapt to the medication “the way you adapt to coffee. Just the way people adapt to any other drug. Just the way we become insulin resistant or leptin resistant. And you plateau.”

Which is why she predicts a backlash will come next.

“Two years from now, you’re going to see the fallout from this, just like we did with all the other diet drugs over the years,” said Michaels. “And the fallout will be significant. Right now everyone is like, ‘I’ve been on for six months, I look and feel great.’ And then what happens when it’s no longer impacting your appetite and you plateau in a year and a half? Or what happens when you experience one of these side effects? Or all of a sudden your hair starts falling out six months in or you look like complete s–t?”

In other words, she summed up, “I cannot issue a strong enough warning.”

For those curious what Michaels is recommending it’s a return to the basics: Eat less, move more.

“I’m not saying it’s easy,” she admitted, “I’m saying it’s simple.”

She suggests springing for a smartwatch like her go-to iTOUCH Wearables and using it to track how many calories you burn each day.

From there, “You’ve got to spend two weeks learning how many calories are in the things you eat regularly,” she said. And while she understands calorie-counting gets a bad rap, “if I don’t tell you how to do it, you won’t be able to actually effectuate change. And then you don’t believe what I’m saying because you don’t realize how much you’re eating and you get discouraged and become vulnerable to more fads and trends.”

Stars Who Gained or Lost Weight for Roles

The goal, she continued, is to create a 500-calorie-a-day deficit, which will translate to losing roughly a pound each week.

And while, yes, she jokes, “I want you to eat, like, Moringa greens, grown by Tibetan monks in the third phase of the crescent moon,” she also wants to meet people where they’re at.

“If it’s too much to ask people to switch that pizza to a chicken salad, here’s what we’re going to do,” Michaels said. “Instead of half the pie, you’re going to do one slice of pizza and you’re going do a side salad. Or two slices of pizza and a side salad with the dressing on the side. And we’re going to opt out of the Coke. Or the two glasses of wine. Done. And all of this will work. I promise.”

In fact, noted Michaels, one of the benefits of the Ozempic obsession has been that “it’s evidenced what I’ve said for three decades. When you eat less food, you will lose weight.”

It’s just that her way of doing things, she noted, while undoubtedly slower, is also safer. “We’re not dealing with significantly less food forever, we’re eating a little bit less food,” she explained. “And we’re still able to get the nutrients from our food, we’re not messing with our biochemistry and our hormones. So we don’t have any of those negative side effects biochemically.”

Of course, the fitness pro isn’t the first to sound off on Ozempic’s increasing popularity.

Taken together, the three studies found that compared to a placebo, taking a daily multivitamin slowed cognitive aging by about two years, said Dr. Chirag Vyas, an instructor in investigation at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

The research was part of the COSMOS trial, a much larger clinical trial that explored whether a daily multivitamin (in this case, Centrum Silver), a cocoa extract supplement or both could be protective against heart disease and cancer. 

Results from the third and final study were published Thursday in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In it, 573 adults ages 60 and up took either a multivitamin or a placebo every day for two years. Researchers evaluated their cognitive function in person and with a series of tests at the beginning and the end of the study. The two earlier studies, which also compared a daily multivitamin to a placebo, used either phone– or web-based tests to measure cognitive function.

Pfizer, the company that makes Centrum Silver, provided the multivitamins and the placebo pills used in the study. Mars Inc., the candy and snack company, partially funded the larger COSMOS trial. Neither company had any role in designing the trials.

The three studies reliably showed that taking a daily multivitamin can have a modest effect on preventing normal memory loss that comes with aging, said Vyas, who led the third study.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com here.

“We find around one-third of cases to be a predominantly male factor infertility,” said Dr. Michelle Catenacci, an infertility specialist with Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago.

Now research published in the journal, “Food Science” found following a Mediterranean diet improved the condition for study participants.

“It looked like sperm function improved and hormonal function improved for the men that follow that diet,” Catenacci said.

Researchers looked specifically at sperm DNA fragmentation and the impacts it can have on conception.

“Men who have more breaks tend to have less quality sperm and can be at risk for infertility,” Catenacci said.

They found a low-carb, mostly organic Mediterranean diet made a difference.

“It did look at, basically, the quality of the sperm, which did seem to have a good improvement. The next step is to look at how does that improvement help with pregnancy outcomes,” Catenacci said.

Christine Palumbo is a Naperville-based registered dietitian and nutritionist. She says it’s not just men struggling with infertility who can benefit from a Mediterranean diet — everyone can.

“It reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer. It reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease, reduces your risk of diabetes,” Palumbo said. “It reduces your blood pressure and, you know, maybe this is the biggest one of all, it  increases your lifespan and your vitality.”

A Mediterranean diet focuses on consuming:

Vegetables
Fruits
Whole grains
Beans
Nuts and seeds
Olive oil
Seasoning with herbs and spices
In order to follow the diet:

Each day: eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains.
Each week: have fish, poultry, legumes and eggs
Enjoy some dairy products
Limit red meat and added sugars

“I think it has a huge impact on our overall health,” Catenacci said.

That’s why Catenacci is sharing the study findings with her male infertility patients.

“For couples who are on the fence on how much they want to change their lifestyle, we can see that there is evidence to show that sometimes these things can benefit them,” Catenacci said.

He was coughing and having trouble breathing, his father, Robert Thomas, told NBC News.

“It hurt really bad when he coughed, and he was having trouble catching (his) breath,” Robert Thomas recalled. He’d been using a finger monitor to keep track of his blood oxygen levels. “He noticed his oxygen was dropping, so he went to the hospital asking for oxygen first,” Robert Thomas said.

At first, the hospital sent Quenten Thomas, who had not received a flu shot this season, home to recover with water, food and sleep, his father said. But his oxygen levels remained low and he was still in pain, so he went back.

This time, doctors took his symptoms more seriously, but his condition quickly became more severe.

“They put them on a ventilator and eventually in a coma,” Robert Thomas said. He died on Jan. 6, 2024, leaving behind an 8-year-old daughter, as well as an 11-month-old boy and a 1-month-old girl.

“It’s unbelievable,” Robert Thomas said, adding that his son was a “healthy, hard-working young man,” and “there was no quit in him.”

2024 flu symptoms

Across the country, flu activity remains high, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far this flu season, about 9,400 people have died, and there have been 150,000 hospitalizations and 14 million illnesses. In the first week of January, the CDC counted 13 flu-related deaths in children, bringing the total to 40 pediatric deaths so far this season.

The data as of Jan. 12, 2024, (the most recent available) indicated that flu activity may be decreasing, but it’s possible that it will spike again, a CDC spokesperson told NBC News.

This flu season, some doctors have seen more severe flu symptoms than usual in young people, sometimes even if they got their flu shot, NBC News reported.

Dr. Dhaval Desai, director of Hospital Medicine at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, told NBC News that he’s recently treated people of a range of ages with severe flu symptoms. Desai himself struggled with a severe bout of influenza and ended up in the emergency room in November despite being vaccinated.

Common flu symptoms include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Runny nose
• Fatigue
• Muscle ache

Most people who get the flu will recover within a week, but some are at a higher risk for serious complications from the disease, particularly those with underlying conditions like asthma, heart disease and diabetes, as well as older adults. Rarely, the flu can be severe — and even deadly — for young, otherwise healthy people.

Desai and Dr. Rachael Lee, an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama, told NBC News that some of the more severe flu symptoms that they’ve seen this season include:

• Dehydration
• Wheezing
• Severe head and muscle aches
• High fevers, sometimes staying above 104
• Fatigue

With the flu continuing to spread alongside other respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, experts are urging people to take precautions, especially getting vaccinated and wearing a mask.

Robert Thomas is also urging people to take the flu more seriously. And he has a message for those who think they don’t need a flu vaccine: Don’t risk it.

“You might not need the flu shot. You might do just fine without it,” he said. “(But) you might spread the flu to your son, who’s younger than you are, who might die of it.

“If you love your family, don’t risk it. Why risk somebody you love you so much?”

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But it can be a real challenge to figure out what exactly will help your sore throat finally go away. Fortunately, there’s one surprising home remedy you may not have tried: pickles.

Unlike many of the other cold and flu trends going viral on social media, pickles and pickle juice actually have some science to support their use, experts tell TODAY.com.

What are some common causes of a sore throat?

“Sore throats are most commonly caused by respiratory viruses,” Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious diseases specialist at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, tells TODAY.com.

While strep throat, which is caused by bacteria, can also lead to a sore throat, only about 30% of kids and 10% of adults with a sore throat have strep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rest of cases are usually due to a respiratory virus.

Allergies and smoking, as well as secondhand smoke, can also cause a sore throat, according to the CDC. In rare instances, a fungal infection or medications can also lead your throat to feel sore, Yancey says.

Signs of a sore throat include:

• A tickling sensation in the back of your throat
• A dry, scratchy throat
• Pain swallowing
• Coughing, usually due to post-nasal drip from a runny nose, which is a sign you do not have strep

Sore throat home remedies

One of the best ways to get fast relief for a sore through is to gargle or consume a substance that is more concentrated than the fluids in your body, which will draw the water out of the tissues, reducing swelling and some of the pain, Yancey explains. The following sore throat remedies provide temporary relief for this reason:

• Gargling salt water
• Eating a pickle or drinking pickle juice
• Eating a spoonful of honey
• Drinking a warm, sweet drink
• Sucking on cough drops

Pickles and pickle juice for sore throat

Pickle juice may work to soothe a sore throat thanks to its main ingredients of salt and vinegar, Su-Nui Escobar, a registered dietitian based in Miami, Florida, tells TODAY.com. “It helps moisten your throat, reduce inflammation and fight bacteria, potentially easing discomfort,” she adds.

Although there’s little research on eating pickles or drinking pickle juice to relieve a sore throat, experts say pickle juice does have several health benefits. These include antioxidants to help fight infection, probiotic properties to keep your gut bacteria in balance, electrolytes, which boost athletes’ recovery, and preventing blood sugar spikes, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Plus, existing research supports the use of salt-water gargles as an effective remedy to relieve sore throats, so this “principal should apply to all concentrated salt solutions,” Yancey explains.

Escobar adds that she thinks “it is fine to try natural remedies,” provided that they’re not harmful, and while she’s not aware of any research supporting the use of pickles for sore throat, she think it’s safe to try for most people.

How to use pickles for sore throat

Escobar recommends gargling pickle juice instead of drinking it.

Yancey says drinking pickle juice and eating a pickle should yield the same benefits. But if you have a child with a sore throat, you may find it’s easier to give a pickle to snack on for fast relief.

“Salt water gargles work in adults, but it is hard to convince a kid,” Yancey adds.

If you or your child have a restricted salt diet, do not use pickles, their juices or salt water to treat a sore throat, Yancey advises. (If you have diabetes, you should also avoid honey or sweet tea to soothe your sore throat, she adds. And never give honey to babies less than 1 year old.

When to see a doctor for a sore throat

Yancey recommends seeing a doctor when the following accompanying symptoms with a sore throat:

• Persistent fever of over 101 degrees Fahrenheit
• White patches inside your mouth (which could indicate a fungal infection)
• Trouble eating or drinking

If anyone in your home has been diagnosed with strep and you start to develop a sore throat, it’s a good idea to see a doctor then, too.  

Generally most sore throats get better on their own within one week, but if symptoms persist longer, see your health care provider.

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All skincare and makeup products have them. It might be tempting to keep using an expired product, especially because of just how much they can cost, but experts would advise against that practice.

If you think it’s harmless to use beauty products without knowing their expiration dates, it’s not, says Dr. Michelle Henry, founder of Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan and clinical instructor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Using expired beauty products could dry out or irritate your skin because the concentration can change, Henry says.

“We’re putting this on our face; this is delicate skin. If [the product] is compromised in any way you can get an infection,” she warns.

“We’re putting things near our eyes, near our mouths where we have the mucosa that can more readily absorb these things. And those are areas where you can get an infection quite readily. So it’s about your overall health and safety.”

Here’s when you should typically replace your essential beauty products, according to Henry.

Here’s how often you should replace skincare, makeup products

Not all products of the same type share the same formula, so you should always look for the expiration dates on their containers. Typically, they’re labeled as six months or one year, which begins after you’ve opened the product.

Henry suggests labeling your products with the date of when you first opened and used them. “When products are unopened, they have a longer shelf life,” she says. “Most things are made to last at least two years when they’re unopened.”

Cleansers and toners: 6 months to 1 year

“Anything that’s water-based is going to have a higher propensity for growing bacteria and those sorts of things that can make continued use dangerous,” Henry says. Cleansers are often water-based and should be tossed no longer than a year after they’ve been opened.

Toners may need to be replaced even sooner, at six months to a year, because they are more “heavily water-based” than cleansers, Henry says.

Serums: 6 months to 1 year

There’s potential for bacterial growth in certain serums and for efficacy reasons, you may need to toss them sooner. “Depending on the serum, it might be closer to six months, especially if it’s something like an antioxidant like vitamin C that might not be as stable,” Henry says.

“Every time you open it, it’s getting oxygenated.”

Moisturizers and sunscreens: 6 months to 1 year

For moisturizers, Henry recommends replacing them every six months to a year, especially depending on how they’re packaged.

“If it’s a pot [and] you’re putting your finger into it, it’s coming into contact with more bacteria on a daily basis,” she says.

Moisturizers with airless pumps are growing in popularity because they “improve the stability of the product. It doesn’t break down as readily [and] is less likely to get contaminated with bacteria from daily use.”

Sunscreens are very similar to moisturizers and should be replaced within six months to a year once opened. “If you’re seeing it separate, then it’s probably time to get a new sunscreen,” Henry says, which can happen sooner than the expiration date because sunscreens typically break down from excess heat.

Foundations and concealers: 6 months to 1 year

Foundations and concealers “also abide by six months to one year,” Henry says. They’re similar to creams with water content and preservatives that can last for that length of time.

Mascara: 4 to 6 months

“People use their mascara way too long. We often see rashes and can see infections from that,” she says. Henry strongly urges you to replace your mascara within four to six months.

Lipsticks and lip glosses: 6 months to 1 year

It’s best to replace your lip glosses and lipsticks about six months to one year after your first use. “Lip gloss is going be [a] shorter [length] than lipstick, because the formulations are sometimes more water-based,” she says.

Blush and powders: 2 years or longer

Powder-based products typically have a longer shelf life, Henry says. You can find comfort in knowing that if you’ve had your blush or eyeshadow palette for less than two years, then it’s in pretty good shape.

Makeup brushes and beauty blenders

Though makeup brushes and beauty blenders don’t have expiration dates, they should be cleaned pretty frequently. Cleaning them after each use is a bit ambitious, so Henry recommends that you “replace or clean and sterilize [them] at least weekly.”

Don’t forget to do the same for your loofahs, Buf-Puf or other products that you use for applying skincare products.

Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay. Get started today and save 50% with discount code EARLYBIRD.

“Be cool. Give blood,” the shirt urged. The message — on young people, anyway — was effective. More than 70,000 people under age 35 responded to the call, rolling up their sleeves and giving blood in exchange for the coveted tees.

The need for blood is urgent. Over the holidays, the Red Cross had 7,000 fewer units of blood available than were needed by hospitals, said Dr. Eric Gehrie, the executive medical director of the American Red Cross. The organization speculated it would need about 8,000 additional donations every week in January to ensure that hospitals are fully supplied, he added.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

Blueberries are one of the foods I eat every day to promote longevity. They are tasty, low in calories, and filled with vitamins and antioxidants that protect your body from infection like a suit of armor.

Here’s why I consider it the holy grail of longevity-boosting foods:

1. They strengthen your cells

Antioxidants help defend healthy cells, prevent further damage, and are involved in processes that repair DNA — and blueberries have a lot of them. They are very high in antioxidants called anthocyanins, which is what makes them blue.

In addition to creating that vivid color, anthocyanins are thought to improve cognitive performance and vascular function. 

2. They are great for your eyesight

One cup of blueberries contains 16% of the daily value of vitamin C, which is known to boost eye health.

Vitamin C can help prevent age-related macular degeneration and reduce cellular oxidative stress in the retina, essentially making your eyes less susceptible to decline. 

3. They help with muscle recovery

Research is ongoing, but blueberries have been found to reduce muscle damage and soreness.

The vitamin C in the berries also promotes iron absorption and increases the production of collagen, the tissue that connects your bones and muscles.

One cup of blueberries contains 24% of the daily value of vitamin K, which helps with building bones and blood clotting. 

4. They boost your brain health

Along with physical benefits, studies have found that the antioxidants in blueberries could affect areas of your brain that are crucial for intelligence.

One study of over 16,000 people found that blueberries and strawberries were linked to delaying mental aging by up to two and a half years.

5. They reduce inflammation

Research has shown that the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in blueberries can help reduce inflammation and additional risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Blueberries also have a prebiotic effect that regulates bacteria, relieves gut inflammation, and can help to prevent colon cancer.

6. They lower cholesterol

Since blueberries are high in soluble fiber, they help to remove the bile in our gut, as well as things like fatty acids, salts, metals and bilrubin — a substance created from the breaking down of red blood cells.

This process can reduce bad cholesterol and also lower your risk of heart disease.

My favorite ways to eat blueberries

There are a number of ways to incorporate blueberries into your diet. I like adding them to salads and smoothies, snacking on them between meals, or mixing them into oatmeal. 

While you’ll likely get the most from blueberries by eating them raw, and some studies so show that baking and heat will lower the number of anthocyanins, consuming them in any form (like dried or frozen) will still provide benefits. 

Ultimately, blueberries are one small piece of the longevity puzzle. Including them in a rich and varied diet, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and managing stress can all help you lead a happier, healthier and longer life.

Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay. Get started today and save 50% with discount code EARLYBIRD.

Dr. Neil Paulvin is a longevity and regenerative medicine doctor and host of the Life Optimized podcast. As a leading expert in biohacking and human optimization, Dr. Paulvin is recognized for his exceptional work applying a hyper-personal approach to help his patients — including Fortune 500 executives, Olympic athletes and A-list celebrities — optimize their health. Follow him on YouTube and Instagram.

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Oranges — a winter fruit in many parts of the U.S. — are known for their high vitamin content, but they are also bursting with other nutrients like potassium, magnesium and various antioxidants. And since oranges are made up of mostly water, they’re a hydrating snack to have on hand before or after a workout.

Oranges are most well-known for their immune-boosting properties, but they combat inflammation and play a role in eye and heart health, too. Learn the nutrition facts and benefits of oranges and some surprising recipes to include them in your daily diet.  

Oranges nutrition

One orange has:

• 73 calories
• 1 gram protein
• 17 grams carbohydrates
• 3 grams fiber (12% daily value (DV))
• 232 milligrams potassium (9% DV)
• 83 milligrams vitamin C (110% DV)

Orange benefits

Let’s start with a well-known fact: Eating an orange provides you with a heaping dose of vitamin C, a nutrient that is most recognized for its role in immune health. Vitamin C protects the body against foreign invaders, and research suggests that having enough vitamin C in the diet may prevent and treat infections. Insufficient amounts of vitamin C in the diet can cause scurvy — a condition that is rare in modern times, but is accompanied by weakness, fatigue, anemia and frequent infections. 

Oranges are also a good source of potassium, a mineral that works to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance within the body. Because most Americans don’t meet their daily potassium needs (3400 milligrams for males and 2600 milligrams for females), the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans lists potassium as a nutrient of concern. Research shows that having adequate potassium in the diet is associated with lower blood pressure levels, reduced cardiovascular disease risk and decreased chance of having a stroke.

Oranges also contain an antioxidant called hesperidin, which suppresses inflammation and has been linked to cardiovascular health, immune health, cognitive function and bone health. The majority of the hesperidin in oranges is found in the peel. Since a whole orange (including the peel) is squeezed to make a glass of OJ, hesperidin is most abundant in orange juice. 

Lastly, oranges may help improve your sight. The fruit gets its color from a plant compound called beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. The National Eye Institute examined the role of beta carotene on age-related eye diseases and found that supplementation with beta carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc, and copper lowered the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the United States. In addition, oranges contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two plant compounds that have also been studied for their role in treating dry eye. 

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Are there drawbacks to eating oranges?

Eating oranges is not only safe — it’s encouraged. That said, oranges are an acidic fruit, and those who suffer from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) — a condition in which the stomach acid flows back up into the esophagus — may experience discomfort after eating oranges. In addition, individuals with kidney disease are usually advised to stay away from foods that are high in potassium, like oranges, since their kidneys cannot process the mineral. 

Fun facts about oranges

There are tons reasons to stock up on oranges besides the health benefits. Here are a few of them:

Eating an orange can help with hydration

There’s a reason orange slices are handed out at kids’ sporting events — they are tasty, sweet and hydrating. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, you should get about 20% of your daily water from food. One orange is 86% water, making it a hydrating fruit. Plus, potassium is one of the electrolytes we lose when we sweat, so eating an orange can help replace fluids after a tough workout. 

A glass of 100% orange juice is considered one serving of fruit

It’s a common misconception that orange juice is packed with sugar, but an 8-ounce glass of 100% OJ that is made from just oranges has zero added sugar. It also contains all the beneficial nutrients that are in oranges, like vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A and hesperidin.

So, if you don’t feel like eating your fruit — you can drink it instead! One 8-ounce glass of orange juice counts as one of your two daily servings of fruit. Plus, most brands of OJ are fortified, meaning that calcium and vitamin D are added, two nutrients that are essential for bone health. That said, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines suggest no more than half of your daily fruit comes from juice, so stick to one glass per day. 

How to use orange peel

Think twice about tossing that orange peel. Although it may seem useless, the orange peel holds a ton of flavor and has many culinary purposes. The easiest way to use the peel is to use a microplane to grate it into a flavorful zest. Add the zest to baked goods or a warm bowl of oatmeal. The peel also adds flavor to drinks, and it looks beautiful lining the rim of a glass for a cocktail or hot tea. You can also add the whole peel to simmering soups, jams and jellies for a citrusy flavor. Lastly, for a sweet treat, make a simple candied orange peel. 

Healthy orange recipes

The juicy, acidic nature of oranges lends itself well to sweet and savory dishes alike. For a fun way to use oranges in everyday food and drinks, try any of these recipes. 

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“In the blink of an eye it could all be taken away… Life is so precious. One second you have it, and the next second it can be taken away from you just like that,” Hodgson begins the post.

While traveling, “I had a freak accident on my trip and was electrocuted by power lines and ended up blacking out and being rushed to the ER in Thailand,” Hodgson wrote. “It’s been the worst 10 days of my life — going in and out of hospitals fighting to regain my strength and fighting for my life. I am so lucky to be here today.”

Alongside the caption, Hodgson shared a series of photos and videos including a selfie in a hospital bed, a photo of her IV line, a page of hand-written affirmations from a journal and images of flowers and “Get Well Soon” gifts.

“Thank you to each and every one of you for all of the phone calls, messages, voice messages, texts, flowers, breakfast deliveries, baked goods, chocolates, cards, and just the never ending support and love,” Hodgson wrote in the caption. “Each text and message, even when I was too weak to answer, made all the difference to keep me fighting when I was losing hope.”

Hodgson, who has more than 24,000 followers on Instagram and more than 97,000 followers on TikTok, frequently posts informational videos about dental health, getting braces and what it’s like to work in medicine.

She shared a few more details about the emergency and her recovery on her Instagram stories.

“Hi everyone. Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past 12 days. Still don’t have a lot of energy to type it all out but just posted about why I’ve been gone,” she explained in an Instagram Story posted on January 1, 2024. “In short, I am just so lucky to be here and to get to ring in 2024. Don’t ever take it for granted. Love you all.”

In another post, she continued: “I’m still not out of the woods yet – going to be a lot of upcoming doctor appointments, big lifestyle changes, need to regain my strength, my weight, and need a lot of help to recover from the PTSD of it all,” Hodgson wrote. “There are still unanswered questions, but I’m just so grateful to be here.”

Hodgson ended her Instagram caption with a message of gratitude — and a reflection on what this challenging experience has taught her as we enter the new year.

“2023, you’ve taught me something I think we all need to be reminded of when we get caught up in the little things: What a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love…just being alive, being able to breathe, eat, talk, move your body, is something grand and something to be celebrated,” Hodgson wrote.

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The U.S. is seeing a “sharp increase” in flu levels right now, particularly in the south, Cohen said Wednesday in an interview. Covid cases also appear to be climbing nationally, she said, while cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, seem to have reached their highest point this season.

“We’re seeing RSV peak a bit sooner, but we do not believe we’re near yet at the peak of flu or Covid,” Cohen said.

As of Dec. 9, the weekly number of positive RSV tests in the U.S. had fallen around 16% compared to the previous week.

The pattern is different from that of last year, Cohen said, when the three viruses “all seemed to peak around the same time.”

Read the full story at NBCNews.com here.

That sneeze often triggers the “sneeze etiquette” — a mysterious and silent message sent to the people next to you that unconsciously makes them say “bless you.”

Saying bless you is so ingrained in the American culture that if you sneeze and no one near you acknowledges, it creates a very noticeable, weird feeling.

“That person is rude. I guess you don’t care that I sneezed,” is how Elena, a woman from Orlando, Florida, described the awkward post-sneeze silence.

Where did the tradition come from?

“There are a lot of theories,” says Maralee McKee, founder of the Etiquette School of America. “We’ll never be sure if they’re right or not, but it’s part of what makes it so interesting.”

For something so deep-seated into the culture, the reasons why we say “bless you” or “God bless you” when someone sneezes are something of a muddled mess with a lot of theories floating around.

“I’ve heard that your heart skips a beat when you sneeze, so you’re supposed to say ‘bless you,'” said Angelica, from Los Angeles.

She’s not alone in that theory, one so popular that the Cleveland Clinic and dozens of other medical experts have officially and publicly debunked it.

There are a lot of other historical theories, some dating back centuries.

For many years in the Middle Ages, people believed that when you sneezed, your spirit left your body for a second. So, the thought went, to say “bless you” could bring you back to life and also keep evil spirits from entering you in the instant or two that you were believed to have been gone.

During the bubonic plague saying “God bless you” offered a desperate prayer for health and protection against the deadly disease. Pope Gregory is said to have encouraged people to embrace these blessings during that doom-filled era.

How do people react to sneezes around the world?

In place of “Bless you,” some Americans say “Gesundheit,” the German word for “health,” although many Americans don’t even realize it is a German word. The phrase appeared in America thanks to German immigrants.

As natural as it may feel to Americans, not every culture says something after someone sneezes. For instance, in Japan, silence is the norm. Only if you are having a sneeze fit, then someone will address your health.

In Turkey, a “live long and prosper” is the right way to address a person that just sneezed.

For Spanish-speakers, a “salud” is quite acceptable. For Portuguese-speakers, “saúde” does the trick.

Do we need to rewrite the sneezing etiquette rules?

“It’s the only bodily function we seem to react to,” McKee, the etiquette expert said about the ubiquitous American “bless you.”

“If someone burps, we ignore it. But a sneeze? Everyone notices.”

So, what if we could rewrite the sneezing etiquette rules? Would we ditch the “bless you” altogether? Opinions are divided: some advocate for a quiet response, while others see it as an unnecessary formality. Others see it as a polite way of acknowledging what can be a loud disruption.

Ultimately, the choice is up to the individual: stick with the trusty phrase or ditch it.

“It’s a form of habit,” said Elena. “I guess it doesn’t really need to be addressed.”

RSV, COVID and flu activity were already on the rise for the state heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, leading health experts to urge caution. But things have only heightened from there.

But now, as of the week ending Dec. 9, nearly half of Illinois’ 102 counties were at an elevated level of COVID-19 hospital admissions, according to CDC data.

Of the 48 counties at an elevated level, 10 are considered to be at a “high-level,” meaning that they have recorded 20 or more COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people in the preceding week.

“As we celebrate this joyous time of year with our loved ones, it is important to know your personal risk factors for severe health outcomes and learn how to protect those around you, especially those most vulnerable to severe disease. COVID-19, flu, and RSV continue to circulate across Illinois, and I encourage all Illinoisans to use the many tools available to stay healthy and safe,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said.

The CDC last week took the unusual step of sending a health alert to U.S. doctors urging them to immunize their patients against the trio of viruses.

So, what if you are sick? How long are you contagious and what can you do?

Here’s a look at what to know this holiday season:

COVID

Health officials are keeping an eye on a version of the ever-evolving coronavirus, known as JN.1. The omicron variant was first detected in the U.S. in September and now accounts for an estimated 20% of cases. The CDC expects it to reach 50% in the next two weeks, the CDC’s Dr. Manisha Patel said.

It may spread easier or be better at evading our immune systems, but there is no evidence that the strain causes more severe disease than other recent variants, health officials say. And current evidence indicates vaccines and antiviral medications work against it.

Symptoms

If you do suspect you’ve contracted COVID, here are some symptoms you might experience:

• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Altered sense of smell

Recently, a Chicago-area doctor said she’s noticed shifts in the most common symptoms her patients have reported when contracting the COVID-19 virus this fall.

Dr. Chantel Tinfang, a family medicine physician with Sengstacke Health Center at Provident Hospital of Cook County, noted that many of the recent cases she’s seen have reported less of the fever, body aches and chills, and more presented with sore throat, fatigue and coughing.

“We still see some patients experiencing decreased appetite, a loss of taste or smell. So it kind of depends,” she said. “One patient was just very, very tired. Like she couldn’t really do much. And that’s when you know … it’s different. It’s not just coughing and shortness of breath. We still see that though.”

She suggested consulting with your doctor if your symptoms don’t begin to improve outside of the recommended isolation period.

As for timing, symptoms can last for several days, but in some cases, even longer.

“Some people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term effects from their infection, known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC),” according to the CDC.

Such symptoms can last for weeks and possibly even years.

Testing

In the lead-up to the holidays, the federal government has increased the number of free tests available for U.S. households.

That means all households are eligible to order up to four free at-home COVID tests, but those households that did not order them earlier this fall can receive up to eight, according to the government.

But when should you test and how often?

Those who have symptoms are urged to take a COVID test as soon as possible, though officials continue to caution that a negative at-home test may not be as reliable as a positive one.

“If your antigen test is negative, take another antigen test after 48 hours or take a PCR test as soon as you can,” the CDC states.

Those who don’t have symptoms but may have been exposed should wait five days after exposure to take a test, according to the CDC guidance.

Some experts say you could test even earlier, but most recommend to continue testing through day five if those tests are negative.

“I would say the best rule of thumb is to start testing three days after exposure, and if you’re negative, test again on day four or five,” Dr. Michael Mina, a COVID testing expert and former professor of epidemiology and of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told NBC News.

PCR tests can also pick up lower levels of the virus and would offer a more accurate determination for those looking for one.

The steps for what to do if you test negative can depend on symptoms, however.

The FDA recommends symptomatic “people who get an initial negative result on an antigen test, take at least one more test 48 hours later.”

“Take a third test, 48 hours after the second, if the second test was negative and you don’t have symptoms. Self-tests are more likely to detect the virus if you have symptoms,” the guidance states.

You may also want to consider contacting a healthcare provider to check for additional tests for other illnesses.

The CDC recommends if you don’t have symptoms and test negative at least five days from your exposure that you repeat the test again 48 hours after your first test.

“If both tests are negative, then repeat testing after another 48 hours for a total of three tests,” the guidance states.

For those taking at-home tests, however, it’s important to ensure your test hasn’t expired.

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration dates of many popular at-home test products, which means some such kits may still be safe to use, CNBC reports. You can check expiration dates for each brand using a page on the FDA’s website.

Guidelines and Protocols

How long are you contagious?

The answer depends on several factors.

Regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate from others when you have COVID-19, the CDC reports. You should also isolate if you are sick and suspect that you have COVID-19 but do not yet have test results. 

If you test positive for COVID-19, you should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home. The CDC notes that people are “likely most infectious during these first five days.”

When you have COVID-19, isolation is counted in days, as follows:

If you had no symptoms:

• Day 0 is the day you were tested (not the day you received your positive test result)
• Day 1 is the first full day following the day you were tested
• If you develop symptoms within 10 days of when you were tested, the clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset

If you had symptoms:

• Day 0 of isolation is the day of symptom onset, regardless of when you tested positive
• Day 1 is the first full day after the day your symptoms started

If you had no symptoms, you can end your isolation after day five, but for those who experience symptoms, that line might be different, the CDC notes.

Those who have mild symptoms can end isolation after day five if they are fever-free for 24 hours, without using fever-reducing medication, but those with more moderate or severe illnesses will need to wait until day 10.

Those who have mild symptoms that are not improving should also wait until those symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours.

Those with more severe illness may also want to consult with their doctor before ending isolation and could need a viral test to end their isolation period.

Despite ending isolation, those who test positive should continue to avoid people and mask through at least day 11, according to the CDC guidelines.

Vaccines

In late summer, officials approved updated shots that have a single target, an omicron descendant named XBB.1.5. They replaced vaccines that targeted the original coronavirus strain and a much earlier omicron version. In September, the CDC recommended the new shots for everyone 6 months and older.

Americans have been urged to get different iterations of the vaccines for more than 2 and 1/2 years. This year, COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations fell to lower levels than seen in the previous three years.

“Studies have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines lower the risk of getting symptomatic COVID-19 and improve protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death,” IDPH said in a release. “New evidence is also emerging that it can protect you from long COVID and flu vaccines are also protective against heart disease.”

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus levels are on the rise in Illinois, but have not reached similar levels to those seen in 2022.

“This year we’re starting to see an RSV surge,” Dr. Julie Holland, the vice president for pediatric primary care with the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance and the head of general pediatrics for Advocate Children’s Hospital and Northshore University Health Systems, told NBC Chicago. “Now, this is a fairly typical time of year for us to start seeing RSV. Last year was a very unusual year in which we had a tremendous surge that started in about September. So it was early. It went much higher than normal, meaning a lot more cases. Our hospitals were full, our ICUs were full. So this year, we’re really hoping that doesn’t happen. But we are kind of in the beginning of what we would expect to see in a normal year with a normal surge. So fingers crossed that it doesn’t get much worse.”

Symptoms

Symptoms of RSV typically appear within 4-to-6 days after infection, according to the CDC. Those symptoms can include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, fever and decrease in appetite.

Infants typically experience different symptoms, including irritability, decreased activity and breathing difficulties. Symptoms appear in stages, rather than all at once.

How Long Are You Contagious?

According to the CDC, “people infected with RSV are usually contagious for three to eight days and may become contagious a day or two before they start showing signs of illness.”

The agency notes, however, that some infants or people with weakened immune systems can spread the virus even after their symptoms end, for as long as four weeks.

Vaccines and Treatment

Specifically, RSV vaccines are recommended for individuals who are 60 years of age or older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine is also recommended for pregnant women between weeks 32 and 36 of their pregnancy.

Finally, for children who contract RSV, a monoclonal antibody shot called nirsevimab is being recommended for infants under eight months and toddlers at high risk for serious side effects from the virus. Studies cited by the IDPH show a reduction in hospitalizations of up to 77% for those who are given the treatment.

And only 17% of adults 60 and older had received new shots against another respiratory virus. RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of mild coldlike symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and older people.

Flu

Traditionally, the winter flu season ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year, and is making a November entrance this year.

Tracking during flu season relies in part on reports of people with flu-like symptoms who go to doctor’s offices or hospitals; many people with the flu are not tested, so their infections aren’t lab-confirmed. COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses can sometimes muddy the picture.

Alicia Budd, who leads the CDC’s flu surveillance team, said several indicators are showing “continued increases” in flu.

There are different kinds of flu viruses, and the version that’s been spreading the most so far this year usually leads to a lesser amount of hospitalizations and deaths in the elderly — the group on whom flu tends to take the largest toll.

So far this fall, the CDC estimates at least 780,000 flu illnesses, at least 8,000 hospitalizations and at least 490 flu-related deaths — including at least one child.

Symptoms

According to the CDC, symptoms of flu include:

• fever* or feeling feverish/chills (not everyone will experience a fever)
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle or body aches
• headaches
• fatigue (tiredness)
• some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

In addition to the most common symptoms, the CDC also lists “warning signs” to watch for in both adults and children.

Those include:

In children

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish lips or face
• Ribs pulling in with each breath
• Chest pain
• Severe muscle pain (child refuses to walk)
• Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
• Not alert or interacting when awake
• Seizures
• Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine
• In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

In adults

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse
• Seizures
• Not urinating
• Severe muscle pain
• Severe weakness or unsteadiness
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

How Long Are You Contagious?

“People with flu are most contagious in the first three to four days after their illness begins,” the CDC states. “Some otherwise healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick.”

Vaccines

As for flu, early signs suggest current vaccines are well-matched to the strain that is causing the most illnesses, and that strain usually doesn’t cause as many deaths and hospitalizations as some other versions.

But the bad news is vaccinations are down this year, officials say. About 42% of U.S. adults had gotten flu shots by the first week of December, down from about 45% at the same time last year, according to the CDC.

High levels of flu-like illnesses were reported last week in 17 states — up from 14 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

“Folks are traveling a lot more this season. They want to see their families,” said the CDC’s Dr. Manisha Patel. “And all of that sort of adds to the mix” in the spread of viruses.

Health officials are keeping an eye on a version of the ever-evolving coronavirus, known as JN.1. The omicron variant was first detected in the U.S. in September and now accounts for an estimated 20% of cases. The CDC expects it to reach 50% in the next two weeks, Patel said.

It may spread easier or be better at evading our immune systems, but there is no evidence that the strain causes more severe disease than other recent variants, health officials say. And current evidence indicates vaccines and antiviral medications work against it.

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As for flu, early signs suggest current vaccines are well-matched to the strain that is causing the most illnesses, and that strain usually doesn’t cause as many deaths and hospitalizations as some other versions.

But the bad news is vaccinations are down this year, officials say. About 42% of U.S. adults had gotten flu shots by the first week of December, down from about 45% at the same time last year, according to the CDC.

Americans have also been slow to get other vaccinations. Only about 18% have gotten an updated COVID-19 shot that became available in September. At nursing homes, about a third of residents are up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.

And only 17% of adults 60 and older had received new shots against another respiratory virus. RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of mild coldlike symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and older people.

The CDC last week took the unusual step of sending a health alert to U.S. doctors urging them to immunize their patients against the trio of viruses.

The Carolinas are currently seeing the heaviest traffic for respiratory infections in emergency rooms, according to CDC data posted this week.

It’s not as dire as some past winters, but some patients are still waiting days to get a hospital bed, noted Dr. Scott Curry, an infectious diseases specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

“We’ve barely been cold in South Carolina, and flu tends to hit us very hard when people actually get some cold weather to deal with,” he said. “We could get worse, very easily, in the next four to eight weeks.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

“We’d like to think of arthritis as a grandma’s disease, but it’s not. It’s affecting all of us,” Berger said.

While it’s not clear why arthritis is affecting some people earlier, Berger says it’s leading to joint replacement surgery earlier in life.

“I operate on patients now in their 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s and even teens,” Berger said. “People are wearing out there joints quicker for lots of reasons. One is the increased activity level that we’re doing now.”

Many Americans are engaging in organized sports at an earlier age and continuing to play sports and exercise regularly into their 40s, 50s and 60s.

Berger says the good news is joint replacement surgery has evolved too. He uses a minimally invasive technique with replacement parts that can last for decades.

That’s one of the reasons that Pete Sturm, 35, opted to have his left hip replaced earlier this month.

“Shock is usually the initial reaction that I get out of everyone. I’m still dealing with the shock, so it makes sense,” Sturm said.

A two-sport athlete in high school, Sturm has completed two marathons, despite intense pain caused by degenerative arthritis.

“It’s bone on bone, pain I’ve been dealing with the last couple of years, so I had to pull the trigger and finally give in and get it done,” he said.

With a baby on the way this spring, Pete and his wife, Mallory, are glad he acted now.

“It’s not as daunting as maybe you might think,” Sturm said.

“Patients simply wait too long to have surgery. They’re either afraid, they don’t know what’s available or they think it’s going to be a long downtime,” Berger added.

Sturm went home from the surgery the very same day and is already seeing improvement less than two weeks later.

“It’s far beyond what I would have expected. I don’t feel any pain. I feel a lot more flexibility and mobility,” Sturm said.

“Once you recover from the surgery, you can really do anything you want, get back to anything,” Berger added.

There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates — earlier research found rates were dropping a little about a decade ago for those kids. But an update released Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate bounced back up a bit by 2020.

The increase echoes other national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children were severely obese during the same period.

“We were doing well and now we see this upward trend,” said one of the study’s authors, Heidi Blanck of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are dismayed at seeing these findings.”

The study looked at children ages 2 to 4 enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides healthy foods and other services to preschool-aged children in low-income families. The children were weighed and measured.

The researchers found that 2.1% of kids in the program were severely obese in 2010. Six years later, the rate had dipped to 1.8%. But by 2020, it was 2%. That translates to about 33,000 of more than 1.6 million kids in the WIC program.

Significant increases were seen in 20 states with the highest rate in California at 2.8%. There also were notable rises in some racial and ethnic groups. The highest rate, about 2.8%, was in Hispanic kids.

Experts say severe obesity at a very early age is nearly irreversible, and is strongly associated with chronic health problems and an early death.

It’s not clear why the increase occurred, Blanck said.

When WIC obesity rates dropped, some experts attributed it to 2009 policy changes that eliminated juice from infant food packages, provided less saturated fat, and tried to make it easier to buy fruits and vegetables.

The package hasn’t changed. But “the daily hardships that families living in poverty are facing may be harder today than they were 10 years ago, and the slight increases in the WIC package just weren’t enough,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a Duke University childhood obesity researcher.

The researchers faced challenges. The number of kids in WIC declined in the past decade. And the study period included 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic hit, when fewer parents brought their children in to see doctors. That reduced the amount of complete information available.

Despite it’s limitations, it was a “very well done study,” said Deanna Hoelscher, a childhood obesity researcher at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, “It gives you a hint of what’s going on.”

What’s happened since 2020 is not yet known. Some small studies have suggested a marked increase in childhood obesity — especially during the pandemic, when kids were kept home from schools, eating and bedtime routines were disrupted and physical activity decreased.

“We are thinking it’s going to get worse,” Hoelscher said.

Coughing is among the symptoms that could appear with a number of respiratory viruses — and could also last longer, continuing even after other symptoms clear up.

Dr. Juanbosco Ayala, a pulmonologist in the intensive care unit at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, said the reason a cough may linger is often “due to the local inflammation that persists.”

So what can you do to help it?

According to Ayala, not much.

“There’s not much to do for it,” Ayala said. “We typically recommend antihistamines, and sometimes you’ll have to cycle those. It’s usually something that subsides with time. But if it doesn’t, then obviously that may need to be looked at.”

Antihistamines can include over-the-counter medications like Claritin-D, Benadryl, Allegra and more.

For those with mucus symptoms, Ayala said Mucinex could be a better choice.

It’s important to keep an eye on your symptoms, though, and seek medical care if they persist. But Ayala said in some cases it can be worth it to try to treat symptoms at home first.

“As long as you don’t have some of the red flags, like a persistent fever, high-grade fever that lasts more than one to three days. Something that won’t go away, despite using temporary measures like Tylenol or Motrin. If this persists more than two or three days, this might be something that needs to be looked at,” Ayala said.

Like other doctors in the Chicago area have noted, Ayala has see a recent uptick in COVID-19 patients.

“There’s been a noticeable increase. Some of the recent strains may not be as lethal or severe, yet they continue to spread easily from person to person,” Ayala said.

As of Friday, 44 counties in Illinois were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. In all, 39 counties were at a medium level and five were under the “high” alert as the state saw a 20% increase in hospitalizations within the last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, data also showed that “broad acute respiratory hospitalizations” were increasing for COVID, flu and RSV, and officials said they were particularly concerned about pediatric ICU capacity, which is already limited in some areas of the state.

“As we anticipated, we are seeing an increase in respiratory viruses – including COVID-19, flu and RSV – both in Illinois and across the nation,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement last week. “IDPH is closely working with our health partners to educate the public, monitor our hospital capacity, and develop effective mitigation strategies as we experience this surge.”

So when should you seek medical care?

According to Ayala, those with symptoms that aren’t improving after 10 days, or anyone with difficult breathing should seek medical attention. Those with preexisting conditions like diabetes, asthma or COPD should also visit their doctor.

“If you have white spots on the back of your throat, this is a clear sign of an infection and will need medical intervention prescribed by a licensed medical provider,” Ayala said.

The high school technology and engineering teacher was 40 at the time and ready to head out for an annual pond hockey trip with his brother and some friends. But he felt tired, had a quick dizzy spell at his desk and had developed an odd lisp.

“I kept telling myself, I’m going on this big trip, maybe I’m just a little tired and hadn’t slept a lot,” Kenny, now 41, tells TODAY.com. His wife, a counselor at the same school, noticed he was slurring his words a bit and asked if he was OK. But he brushed off her concerns and got in the car.

On the five-and-a-half-hour drive from the Chicago suburbs up to the hockey event in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Kenny couldn’t shake the exhaustion. He napped in the car on the way up while his brother drove, and when they arrived, his lisp was more pronounced.

“My mind kept saying, this just doesn’t seem right,” he recalls, but he still chalked it up to not getting enough sleep and wanted to stick it out to experience the event that the group had waited for all year.

Someone in the group suggested he might have Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes sudden (but usually temporary) facial muscle weakness. But the next day, Kenny went to snowmobile the ice and realized his symptoms were getting worse.

“I go to try and start my sled. I grab with my left hand trying to pull, and I’m like, huh, I’ve got no strength,” he recounts, adding that he’d also had trouble getting his boots on that morning.

At that point, he finally took the guys up on their offer to drive him to urgent care — and Kenny learned just how serious his situation really was.

“The word ‘stroke’ never came to mind.”

At the urgent care center, Kenny was coherent and conscious but found it challenging to speak. “They asked me what was wrong and I could barely get the words out because my lisp was so heavy at that point,” he says.

Initially, the medical staff agreed that he might have Bell’s palsy, but they sent him for a CT scan anyway just to be sure.

“That was my life-changing moment,” Kenny says.

The staff literally ran into his room and told him the CT scan revealed he was actually having a stroke. “I remember the heart monitor that I was hooked up to just started beeping because my heart was going nuts,” Kenny says. “I was shaken.” 

Kenny was transferred to a hospital an hour away, and his wife drove through a blizzard to meet him there. The team there performed more tests — including an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart — and prescribed medication to keep him safe until he got home to see doctors in Chicago.

But, on the long drive back home, the doctors called Kenny to tell him the news: The echocardiogram showed bubbles in his heart, a telltale sign that he had a relatively common congenital heart condition known as a patent foramen ovale, which likely contributed to his stroke.

What is a patent foramen ovale?

A PFO is a flap-like hole in the tissue between the two upper chambers of the heart that may allow blood to flow between them.

On its own, a PFO isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. In fact, everyone is born with a PFO, Dr. Atman P. Shah, clinical director of cardiology and co-director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the University of Chicago, tells TODAY.com.

In the womb, “we don’t really need our lungs,” Shah explains, “because we’re just swimming in amniotic fluid.”

During that time, fresh oxygenated blood comes to the right side of the heart and, instead of going through the lungs, passes through a PFO to the left side of the heart, Shah says. From there, it circulates throughout the fetus.

And when we’re born, the PFO typically closes on its own.

“When we take our first breath, our lungs inflate and the PFO slaps shut,” Dr. Mingming Ning, associate professor and director of the cardio-neurology clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells TODAY.com.

But, in one in four people, that PFO doesn’t actually close. Many of those people live their whole lives without ever knowing they have a PFO. But, for others, their PFO contributes to serious health issues— including strokes and migraine attacks.

If you develop a clot in your leg, for instance, that can break off and travel up to the lungs, where it might get broken up more, Shah says. “But if there’s a PFO, those clots can transit directly to the left side of the heart, which is responsible for supplying blood to the brain and other vital organs and muscles,” he explains.

The PFO makes it easier for clots from elsewhere in the body to travel up an artery directly to the brain, which causes a stroke.

An opening in the heart like this may also allow homocysteine, a naturally occurring amino acid that encourages clotting, to go through the heart without being deactivated by the lungs like normal, Ning explains.

“It’s not just a hole that allows a clot to go through,” she says. It actually can change the blood’s chemistry, making it more likely to develop abnormal clots in the future, Ning adds.

Still, Ning wants to reassure people that, because PFO-related strokes are “opportunistic,” simple precautions to prevent clots can help prevent those events. For example, she recommends staying hydrated, keeping physically active and getting screened for clot risks before taking hormonal birth control pills.

The frontier of research right now is looking for ways to determine, out of the billions of people on the planet with a PFO, who has a benign PFO and who is likely to develop a stroke or other complication, she explains.

Treatment for PFO after a stroke

In people like Kenny who have a PFO and have survived a stroke, the first step is to connect with a neurologist who will order an exhaustive list of tests to look for other factors that may have led to the stroke. Kenny also wore a heart monitor on his chest for 30 days.

Once the team determines that the PFO was the major contributing factor to the stroke, patients have a choice, Shah says: They can take powerful blood thinners for the rest of their life or they may be a good candidate to have the PFO closed with a small implanted device.

There are a few similar PFO closure devices on the market that come in different sizes and, generally, all work the same way, Shah says. For Kenny, the choice was clear, and he received an Abbott Amplatzer Talisman device in mid-April 2023.

First, a tiny catheter is inserted into a vein in the patient’s leg, which goes all the way up to the right atrium of the heart. Using a specialized ultrasound probe, the medical team is able to precisely place the catheter through the PFO. From there, the team sends the small device into place via the catheter.

The device “looks like two frisbees connected by a pin,” says Shah, who implanted Kenny’s device. One frisbee sits on either side of the PFO, “so we’re kind of making a heart sandwich,” he adds. Once the team is comfortable with how the device is sitting, they unscrew it and leave it in place permanently.

Ning notes that not everyone with a PFO who’s had a stroke is eligible to have their devices covered by insurance because the original clinical trials of the devices excluded people in certain groups, she says, such as those with genetic risks for blood clotting and people over the age of 60 who have increased risk for atrial fibrillation.

That doesn’t mean people in those groups should not get treatment, especially because PFO-related strokes can happen at any age, Ning explains. But, as always, their treatment should be individualized based on their specific case and risk factors.

Healing and recovering — physically and mentally

For Kenny, the PFO closure was instrumental in also bringing him mental and emotional closure about his massive health scare.

As a passionate educator, he says it was hard to be away from the classroom for three months. “I remember my wife would come in and set my laptop up and turn it on. … I had tears looking at the kids,” Kenny recalls.

He also had to take a break from hockey. And his 11-year-old daughter was concerned about her dad, especially because it was hard for him to speak in the days following the stroke and he felt extremely exhausted.

Looking back now, Kenny knows all the signs of a stroke were there in the classroom on the first day. And he urges other people not to brush worrying symptoms like those aside.

“I will live with the fact if I had listened to my body and listened to the signs and been aware of this, I never would have gotten in the car in the parking lot,” he says. “I would have stayed home. I would have been with my wife and I would have (gone) to the hospital.” 

The idea that he could have been having a stroke at 40 “never occurred to me,” he says.

Coming to terms with the fact that he did have a stroke was part of his recovery. “It took a long time for me to be able to say the words, ‘I had a stroke,'” Kenny says, because he was worried that he would be judged for having a health issue like this so young.

However, as an engineering teacher, he says finding a reason for his stroke and a treatment for it helped pull him through and out of that mental hole. “I look at things from logic,” he says. “If someone’s broke, how do we fix it?”

Recovery from the PFO closure was relatively easy, he says. He spent the night in the hospital and went home the next day. Generally, patients are told to avoid lifting anything over 15 pounds for about a week to avoid popping the healing vein in the leg, Shah says. And they’ll likely go on to take baby aspirin for the rest of their lives to reduce the risk for a clot-related stroke, he adds.

Gradually, Kenny was able to hit his personal recovery milestones, including seeing his students, putting his ice skates back on and being able to go for a run again. And, about six months after his stroke, Kenny returned to Eagle River with his family and one of the members of his pond hockey group.

He woke up early and ran a lap around the lake where they play, down the road and back to where they were staying. Kenny calls it his “yes moment,” a reminder that he could still do all the things he loved. “It was an astonishing feeling,” he says.

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“The intervention is the first of its kind,” said Dr. Kathryn Gamble, director of veterinary  medicine at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Dr. Gamble first noticed the tumor in Zhang’s mouth, a type of cancer that had historically only been detected after a monkey succumbs to the disease.

“Lincoln Park identified several years ago that this is a problem for the species with these tumors. And up to this point, it had never been identified at an early enough stage to do something,” Gamble said.

With its early detection, Gamble developed a treatment plan that involved surgery and reached out to RUSH University Medical Center’s director of head and neck surgical oncology Dr. Kerstin Stenson.

“They emailed me and first it was, this is very cool. I want to help,” Stenson said.

After weeks of coordination, Dr. Stenson moved her entire operating room team to the zoo in May 2022 to remove the cancer on the roof of Zhang’s mouth.

Stenson said the surgery was similar to operating on a human, but on a smaller scale.

“His head is the size of a baby’s head. The teeth are much sharper. I guess we worked our way around that,” Stenson said.

Zhang did great in surgery and post-op, but the zoo’s veterinary team realized he needed another surgery one year later.

“And so we brought Dr. Kerstin in for a second procedure to help us move things around a little bit to try to cover a little bit more of the exposed bone and he’s done really well with that,” Gamble said.

Zhang recovered from the surgeries by watching cartoons, but Dr. Gamble only allowed him a couple of hours each day.

As he munched on snacks and swung around the primate house, Zhang doesn’t appear to mind. After one more checkup on Dec. 1, he can officially be declared cancer-free.

“We’re at 18 months and we don’t have tumor back, so we’re very pleased with that,” Gamble said.

“It is amazing and just very, very, very humbling,” Stenson said.

Dr. Gamble won’t take credit for saving Zhang’s life.

“I think Dr. Kerstin certainly did and we were able to work together to make sure that he got back with his group and now I think we can say we’ve saved the whole species line,” Gamble said.

Zhang is the only male with three females in his family group, so there’s high hopes for future langur babies. And now there’s a cancer-fighting process for fellow Francois langurs and potentially other animals as well.

“We have developed a really sound plan that allows us to do what we need to do and make them comfortable,” Gamble said.

“Just how it all came together was, was short of amazing,” Stenson said.

RSV, COVID and flu activity were already on the rise for the state heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, leading health experts to urge caution.

So what should you be watching for ahead of holiday gatherings and what can you do to protect yourself and loved ones?

Here’s a look at what to know this holiday season:

COVID

As of Nov. 21, COVID levels were elevated in nearly two dozen Illinois counties, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms

If you do suspect you’ve contracted COVID, here are some symptoms you might experience:

• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Altered sense of smell

Recently, a Chicago-area doctor said she’s noticed shifts in the most common symptoms her patients have reported when contracting the COVID-19 virus this fall.

Dr. Chantel Tinfang, a family medicine physician with Sengstacke Health Center at Provident Hospital of Cook County, noted that many of the recent cases she’s seen have reported less of the fever, body aches and chills, and more presented with sore throat, fatigue and coughing.

“We still see some patients experiencing decreased appetite, a loss of taste or smell. So it kind of depends,” she said. “One patient was just very, very tired. Like she couldn’t really do much. And that’s when you know … it’s different. It’s not just coughing and shortness of breath. We still see that though.”

She suggested consulting with your doctor if your symptoms don’t begin to improve outside of the recommended isolation period.

As for timing, symptoms can last for several days, but in some cases, even longer.

“Some people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term effects from their infection, known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC),” according to the CDC.

Such symptoms can last for weeks and possibly even years.

Testing

In the lead-up to the holidays, the federal government has increased the number of free tests available for U.S. households.

That means all households are eligible to order up to four free at-home COVID tests, but those households that did not order them earlier this fall can receive up to eight, according to the government.

But when should you test and how often?

Those who have symptoms are urged to take a COVID test as soon as possible, though officials continue to caution that a negative at-home test may not be as reliable as a positive one.

“If your antigen test is negative, take another antigen test after 48 hours or take a PCR test as soon as you can,” the CDC states.

Those who don’t have symptoms but may have been exposed should wait five days after exposure to take a test, according to the CDC guidance.

Some experts say you could test even earlier, but most recommend to continue testing through day five if those tests are negative.

“I would say the best rule of thumb is to start testing three days after exposure, and if you’re negative, test again on day four or five,” Dr. Michael Mina, a COVID testing expert and former professor of epidemiology and of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told NBC News.

PCR tests can also pick up lower levels of the virus and would offer a more accurate determination for those looking for one.

The steps for what to do if you test negative can depend on symptoms, however.

The FDA recommends symptomatic “people who get an initial negative result on an antigen test, take at least one more test 48 hours later.”

“Take a third test, 48 hours after the second, if the second test was negative and you don’t have symptoms. Self-tests are more likely to detect the virus if you have symptoms,” the guidance states.

You may also want to consider contacting a healthcare provider to check for additional tests for other illnesses.

The CDC recommends if you don’t have symptoms and test negative at least five days from your exposure that you repeat the test again 48 hours after your first test.

“If both tests are negative, then repeat testing after another 48 hours for a total of three tests,” the guidance states.

For those taking at-home tests, however, it’s important to ensure your test hasn’t expired.

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration dates of many popular at-home test products, which means some such kits may still be safe to use, CNBC reports. You can check expiration dates for each brand using a page on the FDA’s website.

Guidelines

Regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate from others when you have COVID-19, the CDC reports. You should also isolate if you are sick and suspect that you have COVID-19 but do not yet have test results. 

If you test positive for COVID-19, you should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home. The CDC notes that people are “likely most infectious during these first five days.”

When you have COVID-19, isolation is counted in days, as follows:

If you had no symptoms:

• Day 0 is the day you were tested (not the day you received your positive test result)
• Day 1 is the first full day following the day you were tested
• If you develop symptoms within 10 days of when you were tested, the clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset

If you had symptoms:

• Day 0 of isolation is the day of symptom onset, regardless of when you tested positive
• Day 1 is the first full day after the day your symptoms started

If you had no symptoms, you can end your isolation after day five, but for those who experience symptoms, that line might be different, the CDC notes.

Those who have mild symptoms can end isolation after day five if they are fever-free for 24 hours, without using fever-reducing medication, but those with more moderate or severe illnesses will need to wait until day 10.

Those who have mild symptoms that are not improving should also wait until those symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours.

Those with more severe illness may also want to consult with their doctor before ending isolation and could need a viral test to end their isolation period.

Despite ending isolation, those who test positive should continue to avoid people and mask through at least day 11, according to the CDC guidelines.

Vaccines

In late summer, officials approved updated shots that have a single target, an omicron descendant named XBB.1.5. They replaced vaccines that targeted the original coronavirus strain and a much earlier omicron version. In September, the CDC recommended the new shots for everyone 6 months and older.

Americans have been urged to get different iterations of the vaccines for more than 2 and 1/2 years. This year, COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations fell to lower levels than seen in the previous three years.

“Studies have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines lower the risk of getting symptomatic COVID-19 and improve protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death,” IDPH said in a release. “New evidence is also emerging that it can protect you from long COVID and flu vaccines are also protective against heart disease.”

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus levels are on the rise in Illinois, but have not reached similar levels to those seen in 2022.

“This year we’re starting to see an RSV surge,” Dr. Julie Holland, the vice president for pediatric primary care with the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance and the head of general pediatrics for Advocate Children’s Hospital and Northshore University Health Systems, told NBC Chicago. “Now, this is a fairly typical time of year for us to start seeing RSV. Last year was a very unusual year in which we had a tremendous surge that started in about September. So it was early. It went much higher than normal, meaning a lot more cases. Our hospitals were full, our ICUs were full. So this year, we’re really hoping that doesn’t happen. But we are kind of in the beginning of what we would expect to see in a normal year with a normal surge. So fingers crossed that it doesn’t get much worse.”

Symptoms

Symptoms of RSV typically appear within 4-to-6 days after infection, according to the CDC. Those symptoms can include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, fever and decrease in appetite.

Infants typically experience different symptoms, including irritability, decreased activity and breathing difficulties. Symptoms appear in stages, rather than all at once.

Vaccines and Treatment

Specifically, RSV vaccines are recommended for individuals who are 60 years of age or older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine is also recommended for pregnant women between weeks 32 and 36 of their pregnancy.

Finally, for children who contract RSV, a monoclonal antibody shot called nirsevimab is being recommended for infants under eight months and toddlers at high risk for serious side effects from the virus. Studies cited by the IDPH show a reduction in hospitalizations of up to 77% for those who are given the treatment.

Last week, the CDC expedited the release of more than 77,000 additional doses of a new drug designed to protect infants from RSV as experts warned of an ongoing shortage in the U.S.

Flu

Traditionally, the winter flu season ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year, and is making a November entrance this year.

Tracking during flu season relies in part on reports of people with flu-like symptoms who go to doctor’s offices or hospitals; many people with the flu are not tested, so their infections aren’t lab-confirmed. COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses can sometimes muddy the picture.

Alicia Budd, who leads the CDC’s flu surveillance team, said several indicators are showing “continued increases” in flu.

There are different kinds of flu viruses, and the version that’s been spreading the most so far this year usually leads to a lesser amount of hospitalizations and deaths in the elderly — the group on whom flu tends to take the largest toll.

So far this fall, the CDC estimates at least 780,000 flu illnesses, at least 8,000 hospitalizations and at least 490 flu-related deaths — including at least one child.

Symptoms

According to the CDC, symptoms of flu include:

• fever* or feeling feverish/chills (not everyone will experience a fever)
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle or body aches
• headaches
• fatigue (tiredness)
• some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

In addition to the most common symptoms, the CDC also lists “warning signs” to watch for in both adults and children.

Those include:

In children

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish lips or face
• Ribs pulling in with each breath
• Chest pain
• Severe muscle pain (child refuses to walk)
• Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
• Not alert or interacting when awake
• Seizures
• Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine
• In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

In adults

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse
• Seizures
• Not urinating
• Severe muscle pain
• Severe weakness or unsteadiness
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

Vaccines

Budd said that it’s not yet clear exactly how effective the current flu vaccines are, but the shots are well-matched to the flu strains that are showing up. In the U.S., about 35% of U.S. adults and 33% of children have been vaccinated against flu, current CDC data indicates. That’s down compared to last year in both categories.

Flu vaccination rates are better than rates for the other two main respiratory viruses — COVID-19 and RSV. About 14% of adults and 5% of children have gotten the currently recommended COVID-19 shot, and about 13.5% of adults 60 and older have gotten one of the RSV shots that became available earlier this year.

The one where exercise doesn’t have to be a pain.

Jennifer Aniston‘s trainer Dani Coleman recently revealed the approach she and the “Friends” star tap into when it’s time to break a sweat.

“The biggest tip I can give is to start small,” the fitness instructor told E! News in an exclusive interview. “When people think about working out, they make these grandiose goals. Fight those old-school notions that you have to break your body to get a good workout.”

As the health expert put it, “We really believe in working smarter, not harder for your body.”

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Coleman—who is the Director of Training at Pvolve and uses their method of low-impact, high-resistance workouts—noted that although Aniston loves a challenging work out, she also knows her limits.

“With any client, whether it be Jen or anyone that I work with, I always come in with a game plan that’s specific to their body’s needs,” Coleman explained. “Jen likes a nice balance of our Sculpt and Burn format, which is using strengthening blocks with cardio bursts in-between.”

She continued, “One of the beautiful things about functional fitness is, because it mimics how your body moves in everyday life, your body will feel energized.”

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But exercise isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works for Aniston might not be your cup of tea.

“It’s always about starting small with your goals,” Coleman reminded. “You know, getting those 10,000 steps in or choosing the stairs over the elevator. It’s those small, daily choices that build up to the idea of Jennifer Aniston.”

Coleman also pointed out that fitness isn’t the only way to work on your body.

“Something that I really respect and admire about Jen,” the trainer shared, “is that she’s been practicing self-care and prioritizing her wellness throughout her entire life. Consistency is key.”

As she noted, “When you look at someone like Jen, it’s a whole lifetime practice.”

And similar to how fitness looks different for everyone, so does wellness. “It could be drinking water,” Coleman explained, “getting the proper rest, listening to your body when it needs recovery and moving it when you feel like you can.”

When you work on your body, everything else falls into place.

Coleman summed it up best, sharing, “Movement is healing for emotions, mood and everything. That’s really where I like to focus as a trainer—feeling first, aesthetics second.”