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People with dementia have difficulties with their memory, attention, thinking, and reasoning that interfere with everyday activities. These cognitive difficulties are not part of the typical aging process.
The World Health Organization (WHO) report that there are around 50 millionTrusted Source dementia cases globally, with around 10 million new cases being diagnosed every year.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60–70% of cases.
About 5–10% of cases are associated with impaired blood flow to the brain — for example, as a result of a stroke — and are known as vascular dementia.
Genetic and environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle, are known to affect the development and progression of dementia.
However, a new study from scientists at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom suggests there is a link between eating processed meat in particular and an increased risk of developing dementia.
Processed meats include products such as sausages, bacon, salami, and corned beef.
That said, the research also indicates that red meat may have a protective effect against dementia.
The scientists analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a database of genetic and health information from around half a million volunteers in the U.K. aged 40–69 years.
On recruitment to the project, every participant filled out a dietary questionnaire and completed 24-hour dietary assessments.
This allowed the researchers to estimate the total amount of meat each participant regularly consumed and how much of each type they ate.
The database also allowed them to identify which participants had thegene variant APOE ε4 allele, which is known to increase a person’s risk of dementia.
They then used hospital and mortality records to identify subsequent cases of dementia from all causes, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia during the follow-up period of around 8 years.
Of the 493,888 participants, 2,896 had all-cause dementia. These included 1,006 cases of Alzheimer’s disease and 490 cases of vascular dementia.
To estimate the role of meat consumption, the researchers had to account for a wide range of other factors that are known to affect a person’s likelihood of having dementia.
These included age, gender, ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic status. In addition, the researchers accounted for lifestyle factors, such as smoking, physical activity, and consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, tea, coffee, and alcohol.
After these adjustments, they found that each additional 25-g portion of processed meat eaten per day was associated with a 44% increase in the risk of dementia from all causes.
This intake was also associated with a 52% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
By contrast, each additional 50-g portion of unprocessed meat eaten per day was linked to a 19% reduction in the risk of all-cause dementia and a 30% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The results for unprocessed poultry and total meat consumption were not statistically significant.
Eating large amounts of processed meat was also associated with a higher risk of vascular dementia, but the link with steadily increasing daily consumption was not significant.
As expected, the researchers noted that having the APOE ε4 allele increased the risk of dementia 3–6-fold. However, it did not significantly affect the observed associations between diet and dementia.
Processed meat and disease risk
A large body of evidence has linked consumption of processed meat to cancer. In 2015, the WHO even went so far as to define it as a carcinogen.
“Worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is increasing, and diet as a modifiable factor could play a role,” says Huifeng Zhang, a Ph.D. student at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, who was the lead researcher of the new study.
“Our research adds to the growing body of evidence linking processed meat consumption to increased risk of a range of nontransmissible diseases,” she adds.
It is important to note that the researchers have reported their results as percentage increases in the risk of developing dementia, or “relative risk.”
This is in contrast to the change in “absolute risk,” or how many extra cases there will be per 1,000 individuals, for example.
Ms. Zhang told Medical News Today that data from the UK Biobank are unsuitable for calculating absolute risk, because it is not a representative sample of the entire population.
For example, she said, it does not contain a sufficiently high proportion of individuals aged over 70 years.
The risk of dementia rises with age, so this imbalance would skew any calculation of absolute risk.
It is also worth noting that this was an observational study, so it could not prove that consuming processed meat causes dementia. It does, however, demonstrate a statistical association between the two.
“It’s always important to remember when looking at studies like this that they can’t attribute causation and [that] important confounding factors might account for apparent associations,” says Prof. Robert Howard, professor of old age psychiatry at University College London in the U.K., who was not involved in the study.
“As a doctor who works clinically with people with dementia and conducts research into potential dementia treatments, the data wouldn’t persuade me to give up my breakfast bacon,” he adds.
Researchers recommend patients should receive jab before surgery, urge governments to prioritise surgical patients for coronavirus immunisation
British and Nigerian researchers have recommended that patients waiting for elective surgery should get COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the general population – potentially helping to avoid thousands of post-operative deaths linked to the virus.
The researchers, according to a new study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the United Kingdom (UK), found that between 0.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent of patients develop COVID-19 infection after elective surgery. They found patients who develop COVID-19 infection are at between four- and eight-fold increased risks of death in the 30 days following surgery. For example, whereas patients aged 70 years and over undergoing cancer surgery would usually have a 2.8 per cent mortality rate, this increases to 18.6 per cent if they develop COVID-19 infection.
Based on the high risks that surgical patients face, the scientists calculate that vaccination of surgical patients is more likely to prevent COVID-19-related deaths than vaccines given to the population at large – particularly among the over-70s and those undergoing surgery for cancer. For example, whereas 1,840 people aged 70 years and over in the general population need to be vaccinated to save one life over one year, this figure is only 351 in patients aged 70 years and over having cancer surgery.
Overall, the scientists estimate that global prioritisation of pre-operative vaccination for elective patients could prevent an additional 58,687 COVID-19-related deaths in one year.
They said this could be particularly important for Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) where mitigation measures such as nasal swab screening and COVID-free surgical pathways, which can reduce the risk of complications related to the virus, are unlikely to be universally implemented.
The COVIDSurg Collaborative international team of researchers, led by experts at the University of Birmingham, UK has scheduled to publish its findings today in BJS (incorporating the British Journal of Surgery and the European Journal of Surgery), after studying data for 141,582 patients from across 1,667 hospitals in 116 countries -including Australia, Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, UAE, UK and USA – creating the world’s largest ever international study on surgery.
Co-lead author, Mr. Aneel Bhangu, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Preoperative vaccination could support a safe re-start of elective surgery by significantly reducing the risk of COVID-19 complications in patients and preventing tens of thousands of COVID-19-related post-operative deaths.
“Many countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries, will not have widespread access to COVID vaccines for several years. While vaccine supplies are limited, governments are prioritising vaccination for groups at highest risk of COVID-19 mortality. Our work can help to inform these decisions.”
Co-lead author, Dr. Dmitri Nepogodiev, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Restarting elective surgery is a global priority. Over 15,000 surgeons and anaesthetists from across 116 countries came together to contribute to this study, making it the largest ever-scientific collaboration. It’s crucial that policy makers use the data we have collected to support a safe restart to elective surgery; COVID vaccination should be prioritised for elective surgery patients ahead of the general population.”
Co-lead author and national lead for Nigeria, Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa, from the Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), commented: “Indeed vaccine supplies in LMICs are limited, but it is imperative to consider patients about to undergo elective surgery as a high risk group for COVID-19 vaccination.”
During the first wave of the pandemic, up to 70 per cent of elective surgeries were postponed, resulting in an estimated 28 million procedures being delayed or cancelled. While surgery volumes have started to recover in many countries, on-going disruption is likely to continue throughout 2021, particularly in the event of countries experiencing further waves of COVID-19. Vaccination is also likely to decrease post-operative pulmonary
The University of Birmingham is ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries.
“SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study” – COVIDSurg Collaborative is published by the British Journal of Surgery.
Many people have chronic stress and anxiety. They face symptoms such as nervousness, agitation, tension, a racing heart, and chest pain.
In fact, anxiety is among the most common mental health issues. In the United States, more than 18 percent of adults are affected by anxiety disorders each year.
In some cases, another health condition, such as an overactive thyroid, can lead to an anxiety disorder. Getting an accurate diagnosis can ensure that a person receives the best treatment.
In this article, learn about a wide range of natural and home remedies that can help with stress and anxiety.
Natural remedies for anxiety and stress
Natural remedies are generally safe to use alongside more conventional medical therapies.
However, alterations to the diet and some natural supplements can change the way antianxiety medications work, so it is essential to consult a doctor before trying these solutions. The doctor may also be able to recommend other natural remedies.
1. Exercise
Exercise may help to treat anxiety.
Exercise is a great way to burn off anxious energy, and research tends to support this use.
For example, a 2015 review of 12 randomized controlled trials found that exercise may be a treatment for anxiety. However, the review cautioned that only research of higher quality could determine how effective it is.
Exercise may also help with anxiety caused by stressful circumstances. Results of a 2016 studyTrusted Source, for example, suggest that exercise can benefit people with anxiety related to quitting smoking.
2. Meditation
Meditation can help to slow racing thoughts, making it easier to manage stress and anxiety. A wide range of meditation styles, including mindfulness and meditation during yoga, may help.
Mindfulness-based meditation is increasingly popular in therapy. A 2010 meta-analytic review suggests that it can be highly effective for people with disorders relating to mood and anxiety.
3. Relaxation exercises
Some people unconsciously tense the muscles and clench the jaw in response to anxiety. Progressive relaxation exercises can help.
Try lying in a comfortable position and slowly constricting and relaxing each muscle group, beginning with the toes and working up to the shoulders and jaw.
4. Writing
Finding a way to express anxiety can make it feel more manageable.
Some research suggests that journaling and other forms of writing can help people to cope better with anxiety.
A 2016 study, for example, found that creative writing may help children and teens to manage anxiety.
5. Time management strategies
Some people feel anxious if they have too many commitments at once. These may involve family, work, and health-related activities. Having a plan in place for the next necessary action can help to keep this anxiety at bay.
Effective time management strategies can help people to focus on one task at a time. Book-based planners and online calendars can help, as can resisting the urge to multitask.
Some people find that breaking major projects down into manageable steps can help them to accomplish those tasks with less stress.
6. Aromatherapy
Smelling soothing plant oils can help to ease stress and anxiety. Certain scents work better for some people than others, so consider experimenting with various options.
Lavender may be especially helpful. A 2012 study tested the effects of aromatherapy with lavender on insomnia in 67 women aged 45–55. Results suggest that the aromatherapy may reduce the heart rate in the short term and help to ease sleep issues in the long term.
7. Cannabidiol oil
CBD oil comes from the marijuana plant.
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a derivative of the cannabis, or marijuana, plant.
Unlike other forms of marijuana, CBD oil does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the substance that creates a “high.”
CBD oil is readily available without a prescription in many alternative healthcare shops. Preliminary research suggests that it has significant potential to reduce anxiety and panic.
In areas where medical marijuana is legal, doctors may also be able to prescribe the oil.
8. Herbal teas
Many herbal teas promise to help with anxiety and ease sleep.
Some people find the process of making and drinking tea soothing, but some teas may have a more direct effect on the brain that results in reduced anxiety.
Results of a small 2018 trial suggest that chamomile can alter levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
9. Herbal supplements
Like herbal teas, many herbal supplements claim to reduce anxiety. However, little scientific evidence supports these claims.
It is vital to work with a doctor who is knowledgeable about herbal supplements and their potential interactions with other drugs.
10. Time with animals
Pets offer companionship, love, and support. Research published in 2018 confirmed that pets can be beneficial to people with a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety.
While many people prefer cats, dogs, and other small mammals, people with allergies will be pleased to learn that the pet does have to be furry to provide support.
A 2015 studyTrusted Source found that caring for crickets could improve psychological health in older people.
Spending time with animals can also reduce anxiety and stress associated with trauma. Results of a 2015 systematic reviewTrusted Source suggest that grooming and spending time with horses can alleviate some of these effects.
Other treatment options
Therapy may help to treat chronic anxiety.
Anxiety that is chronic or interferes with a person’s ability to function warrants treatment.
Therapy can help a person to understand what triggers their anxiety. It can also help with making positive lifestyle changes and working through trauma.
One of the most effective therapies for anxiety is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The goal is to help a person understand how their thoughts affect their emotions and behavior and to replace those reactions with positive or constructive alternatives.
CBT can help with generalized anxiety and anxiety relating to a specific issue, such as work or an instance of trauma.
Medication can also help a person to manage chronic anxiety. A doctor may prescribe medications in any of the following groups:
antianxiety drugs called benzodiazepines, including Xanax and Valium
sleeping medications, if anxiety interferes with sleep
People should follow the doctor’s instructions when using these drugs, as they can have severe and possibly life threatening adverse effects.
Natural anxiety remedies can replace or complement traditional treatments.
Outlook
Untreated anxiety can get worse and cause more stress in a person’s life. However, anxiety is highly treatable with therapy, natural remedies, lifestyle changes, and medications.
A person may need to try several combinations of therapies and remedies before finding one that works. A doctor can help a person to determine which options are best.
SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, is not the only zoonotic coronavirus. In fact, it is the third to have emerged since the turn of the century. It was preceded by severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and MERS in 2012.
There are likely to be more coronaviruses if the recent past is any indication. However, there are not currently many drugs that can effectively combat them.
Researchers have been racing to identify existing drugs that may be of use in this fight, with one team last year identifying 21 existing drugs as showing promise. Among these was a leprosy drug called clofazimine, which has proven effective against both SARS and MERS in laboratory experiments.
A new study from researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in San Diego, CA, and the University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam suggests that it may also be useful in treating COVID-19.
Clofazimine exhibits antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 and limits the extreme inflammatory response that commonly occurs with COVID-19.
The study has undergone peer review and will soon appear in edited form in the journal NatureTrusted Source.
A drug that is well-known and safe
If researchers confirm clofazimine’s efficacy, experts could immediately deploy the drug against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
Co-senior study author Dr. Sumit K. Chanda — of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys — says, “Clofazimine is an ideal candidate for a COVID-19 treatment. It is safe, affordable, easy to make, taken as a pill and can be made globally available.”
Dr. Chanda explains, “We hope to test clofazimine in a phase 2 clinical trial as soon as possible for people who test positive for COVID-19 but are not hospitalized,” adding:
“Since there is currently no outpatient treatment available for these individuals, clofazimine may help reduce the impact of the disease, which is particularly important now as we see new variants of the virus emerge and against which the current vaccines appear less efficacious.”
The effect of clofazimine
In the study, the researchers administered clofazimine to hamsters with SARS-CoV-2 and prophylactically (preventively) to other hamsters that did not yet have the virus.
Both groups that the researchers treated with clofazimine had less SARS-CoV-2 in their lungs after taking the drug.
Clofazimine also prevented the often deadly inflammatory overreaction that commonly occurs in humans. This is called the “cytokine storm.”
Co-senior study author Dr. Ren Sun, of the University of Hong Kong, reports, “The animals that received clofazimine had less lung damage and lower viral load, especially when receiving the drug before infection.”
Dr. Sun adds, “Besides inhibiting the virus, there are indications that the drug also regulates the host response to the virus, which provides better control of the infection and inflammation.”
The study suggests that clofazimine fights SARS-CoV-2 by doing two things: blocking the virus’s entry into cells and disrupting RNA replication of the virus.
A partner for remdesivir and more
The researchers also found that clofazimine, when they administered it to hamsters, worked synergistically with remdesivir. This is the most prominent drug currently in use as a COVID-19 treatment.
Since clofazimine is affordable and easy to make, it may help stretch the limited — and comparatively expensive — supply of remdesivir.
Considering experts’ concerns regarding future coronaviruses, it is equally exciting that clofazimine seems to prevent the in vitro replication of MERS in human lung tissue.
“Potentially most importantly, clofazimine appears to have pan-coronavirus activity, indicating [that] it could be an important weapon against future pandemics,” says co-senior study author Dr. Kwok-Yung Yuen, of Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong.
High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that can damage your heart. It affects one in three people in the US and 1 billion people worldwide (1Trusted Source, 2).
If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure raises your risk of heart disease and stroke.
But there’s good news. There are a number of things you can do to lower your blood pressure naturally, even without medication.
Regular exercise can help lower your blood pressure.
Exercise is one of the best things you can do to lower high blood pressure.
Regular exercise helps make your heart stronger and more efficient at pumping blood, which lowers the pressure in your arteries.
In fact, 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, such as running, per week, can help lower blood pressure and improve your heart health (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
What’s more, doing even more exercise than this reduces your blood pressure even further, according to the National Walkers’ Health Study (5Trusted Source).
Bottom line: Walking just 30 minutes a day can help lower your blood pressure. More exercise helps reduce it even further.
2. Reduce your sodium intake
Salt intake is high around the world. In large part, this is due to processed and prepared foods.
For this reason, many public health efforts are aimed at lowering salt in the food industry (6Trusted Source).
Many studies have linked high salt intake with high blood pressure and heart events, including stroke (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).
However, more recent research indicates that the relationship between sodium and high blood pressure is less clear (9Trusted Source, 10).
One reason for this may be genetic differences in how people process sodium. About half of people with high blood pressure and a quarter of people with normal levels seem to have a sensitivity to salt (11Trusted Source).
If you already have high blood pressure, it’s worth cutting back your sodium intake to see if it makes a difference. Swap out processed foods with fresh ones and try seasoning with herbs and spices rather than salt.
Bottom line: Most guidelines for lowering blood pressure recommend reducing sodium intake. However, that recommendation might make the most sense for people who are salt-sensitive.
3. Drink less alcohol
Drinking alcohol can raise blood pressure. In fact, alcohol is linked to 16% of high blood pressure cases around the world (12Trusted Source).
While some research has suggested that low-to-moderate amounts of alcohol may protect the heart, those benefits may be offset by adverse effects (12Trusted Source).
In the U.S., moderate alcohol consumption is defined as no more than one drink a day for women and two for men. If you drink more than that, cut back.
Bottom line: Drinking alcohol in any quantity may raise your blood pressure. Limit your drinking in line with the recommendations.
When you’re chronically stressed, your body is in a constant fight-or-flight mode. On a physical level, that means a faster heart rate and constricted blood vessels.
When you experience stress, you might also be more likely to engage in other behaviors, such as drinking alcohol or eating unhealthful food that can adversely affect blood pressure.
Several studies have explored how reducing stress can help lower blood pressure. Here are two evidence-based tips to try:
Listen to soothing music: Calming music can help relax your nervous system. Research has shown it’s an effective complement to other blood pressure therapies (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).
Work less: Working a lot, and stressful work situations, in general, are linked to high blood pressure (23Trusted Source, 24).
Bottom line: Chronic stress can contribute to high blood pressure. Finding ways to manage stress can help.
7. Eat dark chocolate or cocoa
Here’s a piece of advice you can really get behind.
While eating massive amounts of dark chocolate probably won’t help your heart, small amounts may.
That’s because dark chocolate and cocoa powder are rich in flavonoids, which are plant compounds that cause blood vessels to dilate (25Trusted Source).
A review of studies found that flavonoid-rich cocoa improved several markers of heart health over the short term, including lowering blood pressure (25Trusted Source).
For the strongest effects, use non-alkalized cocoa powder, which is especially high in flavonoids and has no added sugars.
Bottom line: Dark chocolate and cocoa powder contain plant compounds that help relax blood vessels, lowering blood pressure.
8. Lose weight
In people with overweight, losing weight can make a big difference to heart health.
According to a 2016 study, losing 5% of your body mass could significantly lower high blood pressure (26Trusted Source).
In previous studies, losing 17.64 pounds (8 kilograms) was linked to lowering systolic blood pressure by 8.5 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 6.5 mm Hg (27Trusted Source).
To put that in perspective, a healthy reading should be less than 120/80 mm Hg (4Trusted Source).
The effect is even greater when weight loss is paired with exercise (27Trusted Source).
Losing weight can help your blood vessels do a better job of expanding and contracting, making it easier for the left ventricle of the heart to pump blood.
Bottom line: Losing weight can significantly lower high blood pressure. This effect is even more significant when you exercise.
9. Quit smoking
Among the many reasons to quit smoking is that the habit is a strong risk factor for heart disease.
Every puff of cigarette smoke causes a slight, temporary increase in blood pressure. The chemicals in tobacco are also known to damage blood vessels.
Surprisingly, studies haven’t found a conclusive link between smoking and high blood pressure. Perhaps this is because smokers develop a tolerance over time (28).
Still, since both smoking and high blood pressure raise the risk of heart disease, quitting smoking can help lessen that risk.
Bottom line: There’s conflicting research about smoking and high blood pressure, but what is clear is that both increase the risk of heart disease.
10. Cut added sugar and refined carbs
There’s a growing body of research showing a link between added sugar and high blood pressure (29, 30, 31).
In the Framingham Women’s Health Study, women who drank even one soda per day had higher levels than those who drank less than one soda per day (32).
Another study found that having one less sugar-sweetened beverage per day was linked to lower blood pressure (33Trusted Source).
And it’s not just sugar — all refined carbs, such as the kind found in white flour — convert rapidly to sugar in your bloodstream and may cause problems.
Some studies have shown that low carb diets may also help reduce blood pressure.
One study on people undergoing statin therapy found that those who went on a 6-week, carb-restricted diet saw a greater improvement in blood pressure and other heart disease markers than people who did not restrict carbs (34Trusted Source).
Bottom line: Refined carbs, especially sugar, may raise blood pressure. Some studies have shown that low carb diets may help reduce your levels.
11. Eat berries
Berries are full of more than just juicy flavor.
They’re also packed with polyphenols, natural plant compounds that are good for your heart.
Polyphenols can reduce the risk of stroke, heart conditions, and diabetes, as well as improving blood pressure, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation (34).
One study assigned people with high blood pressure to a low-polyphenol diet or a high-polyphenol diet containing berries, chocolate, fruits, and vegetables (35).
Those consuming berries and polyphenol-rich foods experienced improved markers of heart disease risk.
Bottom line: Berries are rich in polyphenols, which can help lower blood pressure and the overall risk of heart disease.
12. Try meditation or deep breathing
While these two behaviors could also fall under “stress reduction techniques,” meditation and deep breathing deserve specific mention.
Both meditation and deep breathing may activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This system is engaged when the body relaxes, slowing the heart rate, and lowering blood pressure.
There’s quite a bit of research in this area, with studies showing that different styles of meditation appear to have benefits for lowering blood pressure (36Trusted Source, 37Trusted Source).
Deep breathing techniques can also be quite effective.
In one study, participants were asked to either take six deep breaths over the course of 30 seconds or simply sit still for 30 seconds. Those who took breaths lowered their blood pressure more than those who just sat (38Trusted Source).
Try guided meditation or deep breathing. Here’s a video to get you started.
Bottom line: Both meditation and deep breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps slow your heart rate and lower blood pressure.
13. Eat calcium-rich foods
People with low calcium intake often have high blood pressure.
While calcium supplements haven’t been conclusively shown to lower blood pressure, calcium-rich diets do seem linked to healthful levels (39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source).
For most adults, the calcium recommendation is 1,000 milligrams (mg) per day. For women over 50 and men over 70, it’s 1,200 mg per day (41).
Bottom line: Calcium-rich diets are linked to healthy blood pressure levels. You can get calcium through eating dark leafy greens and tofu, as well as dairy.
14. Take natural supplements
Some natural supplements may also help lower blood pressure. Here are some of the main supplements that have evidence behind them:
Aged garlic extract: Researchers have used aged garlic extract successfully as a stand-alone treatment and along with conventional therapies for lowering blood pressure (42Trusted Source, 43Trusted Source).
Berberine: Traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, berberine may increase nitric oxide production, which helps decrease blood pressure (44Trusted Source, 45Trusted Source).
Whey protein: A 2016 study found that whey protein improved blood pressure and blood vessel function in 38 participants (46Trusted Source).
Fish oil: Long credited with improving heart health, fish oil may benefit people with high blood pressure the most (47Trusted Source, 48).
Hibiscus: Hibiscus flowers make a tasty tea. They’re rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols that are good for your heart and may lower blood pressure (49Trusted Source).
Bottom line: Researchers have investigated several natural supplements for their ability to lower blood pressure.
15. Eat foods rich in magnesium
Magnesium is an important mineral that helps blood vessels relax.
While magnesium deficiency is pretty rare, many people don’t get enough.
Some studies have suggested that getting too little magnesium is linked with high blood pressure, but evidence from clinical studies has been less clear (50Trusted Source, 51Trusted Source).
Still, eating a magnesium-rich diet is a recommended way to ward off high blood pressure (51Trusted Source).
You can incorporate magnesium into your diet by consuming vegetables, dairy products, legumes, chicken, meat, and whole grains.
Bottom line: Magnesium is an essential mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Find it in whole foods, such as legumes and whole grains.
Take home message
High blood pressure affects a large proportion of the world’s population.
While drugs are one way to treat the condition, there are many other natural techniques, including eating certain foods that can help.
Controlling your blood pressure through the methods in this article may, ultimately, help you lower your risk of heart disease.
SHOP FOR OVER-THE-COUNTER REMEDIES
If you want to buy any of the over-the-counter remedies listed in this article, then they are available online.
Early in the pandemic, research showed that almost one-third of people with COVID-19 in intensive care experienced potentially fatal complications as a result of excessive blood clotting.
Another study found that many of these patients had unusually “sticky” blood that tended to coagulate easily.
“As we learned about the connection between blood clots and COVID-19, we knew that aspirin — used to prevent stroke and heart attack — could be important for COVID-19 patients,” says Jonathan Chow, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.
By “thinning” the blood, aspirin helps prevent the formation of clots, or thrombi, that can block the blood vessels supplying the heart, brain, lungs, and other vital organs.
One widely recognized limitation of aspirin as a preventive treatment is that it leads to a small increase in the risk of bleeding.
Given the low cost of aspirin and the evidence of its overall safety and efficacy in cardiovascular disease, however, Dr. Chow and his colleagues decided to conduct a pilot study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Their analysis suggests that a low dose of aspirin shortly before or after hospital admission is associated with a significantly reduced risk of mechanical ventilation, admission to intensive care, and in-hospital mortality.
At the same time, the researchers found no evidence that aspirin increased the risk of bleeding.
“Aspirin is low cost, easily accessible, and millions are already using it to treat their health conditions,” says Dr. Chow. “Finding this association is a huge win for those looking to reduce risk from some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19.”
In addition to preventing clotting, aspirin reduces levels of an immune signaling molecule or cytokine called interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the blood. The molecule is associated with the immune overreaction, or “cytokine storm,” that can affect people with COVID-19 in intensive care.
The authors emphasize that other researchers will need to conduct randomized controlled clinical trials to confirm their findings.
Their retrospective study analyzed the records of 412 adults with COVID-19 who were admitted to one of several hospitals in the United States between March 2020 and July 2020.
Of these people, 98 took aspirin in the week before admission or during the first 24 hours after admission. The researchers compared the outcomes for these individuals with those for the 314 people who did not take aspirin.
Among those taking aspirin, the median daily dose was 81 milligrams, and the median length of treatment was 6 days.
In their analysis of the data, the researchers accounted for other variables that scientists have shown to affect the severity of COVID-19, including age, sex, body mass index, race, hypertension, and diabetes.
After these adjustments, aspirin use was associated with a 43% reduced risk of intensive care unit admission, a 44% reduced risk of mechanical ventilation, and a 47% reduced risk of dying in the hospital.
While there was no evidence that aspirin increased the risk of bleeding, the authors recommend caution:
“Until a randomized controlled trial of aspirin is performed, it is imperative to exercise cautious optimism and deliberately balance aspirin’s known risks against its potential benefits in patients afflicted by COVID-19.”
Large and small clots
Interestingly, the researchers found no difference in overt thrombosis between the aspirin and non-aspirin groups. Overt thrombosis is the term for large blood clots that show up in standard diagnostic images.
However, they point out that the number of cases of thrombosis in the two groups was low, which limits the statistical reliability of this finding.
In addition, they note that small blood clots, called microthrombi, are difficult to spot without the use of more specialist, nonstandard imaging techniques.
The researchers acknowledge that their sample size was modest and that the study was observational, meaning that it could not prove that aspirin reduced the severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.
The people who took aspirin may have received different medical treatments due to their underlying conditions, for example, which would skew the results.
The researchers were also unable to account for other medications that people may have been taking that could increase their risk of blood clots, such as birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
It has been just over a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. In that time, more than 121 million people have contracted the virus, and 2.6 million have died.
Researchers have developed multiple vaccines over the past year, which are being administered all over the world. Recently, in some regions, the number of new COVID-19 cases has gone down.
However, testing is vital, as it allows medical professionals to know who has the virus and act quickly to quarantine others who may be at risk of exposure.
A team led by researchers from the University of Surrey in Guildford, England, developed a new method to test for COVID-19. The test utilizes skin swabbing, which is a non-invasive procedure.
COVID-19 testing
There are two types of diagnostic tests that can detect whether a person has the virus that causes COVID-19 — molecular tests and antigen tests.
Molecular tests detect genetic material from the virus, and antigen tests detect proteins from the virus. These tests diagnose active infections, and medical professionals perform these tests by collecting mucus samples from individuals.
As both types of tests generally involve using a long test swab in a person’s throat or nasal passages, most people consider them invasive. Molecular tests typically involve a nasopharyngeal swab (a swab of the part of the throat behind the nose), a nasal swab, or a throat swab. Experts consider molecular tests to be highly accurate, but it can take days to get results.
Antigen tests take less time to get results, but these tests are generally less accurate. Antigen tests may have higher rates of false negatives compared with molecular tests.
Doctors also use antibody testing to find out whether someone has recently had an infection. This type of test requires a blood sample.
The current testing methods have some limitations — the molecular tests can take longer, the antigen tests can be less sensitive, and both can be invasive. However, vaccine researchers continue trying to improve COVID-19 testing.
Not only can improved testing methods encourage people to get tested, but accurate results can also reduce the spread of the virus.
Sebum testing
A team led by researchers from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom recently published a paper that describes a new method for testing COVID-19. The paper appears in The Lancet-EClinicalMedicine.
Instead of using mucus or blood samples to test for the virus, their method uses skin swabs to test sebum secretions.
The test analyzes the sebum secretions present on the skin. Sebum is “an oily substance, produced in the sebaceous glands.”
Sebaceous glands are located directly beneath the skin. Sebum is made up of a mixture of lipids, including triglycerides and fatty acids.
Study lead author Matt Spick says, “COVID-19 damages many areas of metabolism. In this work, we show that the skin lipidome can be added to the list, which could have implications for the skin’s barrier function, as well as being a detectable symptom of the disease itself.”
The sebum swab test works by analyzing the possible changes the virus causes in the body.
“Sebum sampling has the potential to support both needs by looking at what the virus does to us, rather than looking for the virus itself,” the authors write.
Testing sebum secretions for a disease is not new. Previous studies have identified changes in the profiles of sebum secretions in people with Parkinson’s disease and with type 1 diabetes.
“Investigating new methods of diagnosis and surveillance in a new disease such as COVID-19 that has had such a devastating effect on the world is vital,” says study co-author Dr. George Evetts, a consultant in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, U.K.
“Sebum sampling is a simple, non-invasive method that shows promise for both diagnostics and monitoring of the disease in both a healthcare and a non-healthcare setting.”
Skin-swab results
The team obtained samples from 67 hospitalized participants. Of the participants, 37 tested negative for COVID-19, and 30 tested positive.
Researchers collected the samples by swabbing a gauze on the upper back skin of the participants.
“A sample can be collected easily and non-invasively via a gentle swab of skin areas rich in sebum (for example the face, neck or back),” the authors write.
The lipid profiles showed that the levels of certain lipids were lower in participants who had tested positive for COVID-19 than people who had tested negative. The study authors noted that triglycerides were the most consistently reduced lipid in the participants with COVID-19.
The study authors note that the sample in the research was small, and the evidence is still preliminary.
However, senior study co-author Dr. Melanie Bailey thinks healthcare professionals could use this form of testing in similar situations in the future. She adds:
“Unfortunately, the specter of future pandemics is firmly on the top of the agenda for the scientific community. Our study suggests that we may be able to use non-invasive means to test for diseases such as COVID-19 in the future — a development, which I am sure, will be welcomed by all.”
New research provides further evidence of the dangers of consuming sugar, proposing that ingesting even moderate amounts of the substance may lead to a change in a person’s metabolism.
Researchers at the Medical University of Graz, Austria, and the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, recently reported their findings in theJournal of Hepatology.
Some sugars are natural components of fruits and vegetables. However, many of the processed foods we eat contain added sugars — sugar that the manufacturers add to foods and beverages to enhance their flavor or improve food’s appearance and texture.
In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that people eat no more than 5% of their daily calories from added sugar. For a diet of 2,000 calories per day, this would amount to 100 calories or 6 teaspoons or roughly 25 grams (g) of added sugar.
In 2015, market research firm Euromonitor reported that the average person in the United States consumes more than 126 g of sugar per day.
Meanwhile, the average person in the United Kingdom consumed 93.2 g.
Switzerland did not make the list of the top 10 countries whose citizens consume the most sugar. Still, the average person there consumed 76.1 g per day in 2015.
Examining moderate consumption of added sugar
Authors of the study were interested in finding out what happens when people consume moderate amounts of added sugar.
For their work, which they carried out between 2013 and 2016, they recruited 94 healthy male volunteers. The participants were aged 18–30 years and had a body mass index under 24kg/m2, which is considered a moderate weight.
The researchers selected participants under a certain weight to decrease the odds of recruiting people who had possibly already developed increased liver fat content.
Males who already consumed sugar-sweetened beverages daily or who logged more than 3 hours of physical activity per week were also excluded.
The researchers explained they did not study females, “as there is evidence for divergent metabolic effects of fructose on male and female subjects.”
Indeed, a 2008 study reported that fructose caused “markedly blunted” metabolic effects on young female participants compared with male ones.
Impact of sugar-sweetened drinks on the body
The researchers initially had the participants abstain from sugar-sweetened beverages for 4 weeks. The participants then started drinking sugar-sweetened drinks containing either fructose, sucrose, or glucose three times per day. A total of 80 g of each type of sugar was consumed daily.
A fourth group of participants were asked to continue sugar-sweetened beverage abstinence.
To examine how drinks with added sugar affected the individuals, the researchers used tracers, which are substances that can be followed as they move through the body.
Overall, the researchers found the participants did not consume more calories than they did before the study. The authors hypothesize that having sugary drinks increased the participants’ satiety, causing them to eat fewer calories from other sources.
The researchers also reported that even though the participants consumed the same number of calories, adding sugar-sweetened drinks to their diets impacted their overall health.
The participants who drank beverages sweetened with fructose had fat production twice as high as those who drank beverages sweetened with glucose and those who abstained from sugar-sweetened drinks.
“This was still the case more than 12 hours after the last meal or sugar consumption,” says study leader Dr. Philipp Gerber of the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Zurich.
Fat building up in the liver leads to serious health issues, such as type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
A particularly surprising finding by the researchers was that sucrose, or table sugar — the form of sugar humans most commonly consume — boosted fat synthesis slightly more than the same amount of fructose. Until now, most scientists believed fructose to be more likely to cause such changes.
Dr. Gerber notes that the typical Swiss does not follow the WHO advice to limit their daily sugar consumption to 25 g. “Our results are a critical step in researching the harmful effects of added sugars and will be very significant for future dietary recommendations,” he says.
The scientists also note some limitations to their research.
They say that they had “little control” over the participants’ compliance in the study and that they did not know their “intestinal capacity.” In other words, not knowing the participants’ individual tolerability of fructose may have led to variation in the results.
The researchers behind the study note that over the past 50 years, death rates from CVD have fallen in both males and females in the United States.
However, the rate of decline has been slower among females than males, and the rate of heart attacks in females aged 35–54 years is actually increasing.
In addition, research suggests that even though females have a lower incidence of CVD than males, they have a higher mortality rate and worse prognosis after an acute cardiovascular event.
As CVD seems to affect the sexes differently, there is an urgent need to determine whether doctors should offer different advice about prevention to their male and female patients.
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that the focus for females should be on maintaining or increasing muscle mass rather than losing fat.
The data came from a total of 5,627 females and 5,836 males, all aged over 20 years.
Based on the data, the researchers split the study participants into four groups:
low muscle mass and low body fat
low muscle mass and high body fat
high muscle mass and low body fat
high muscle mass and high body fat
In both sexes, the raw data showed that higher levels of fat were associated with higher CVD mortality, regardless of muscle mass.
However, after accounting for other factors that are known to affect CVD mortality, the relationship between body fat and the risk of dying from CVD changed completely in females.
After making these adjustments, the researchers found that females with high body fat and high muscle mass had a 42% lower risk of dying from CVD compared with females who had a low muscle mass and low body fat.
By contrast, males with high muscle mass and high body fat had a 26% reduced risk of dying from CVD compared with males with low measurements, while those with high muscle mass and low body fat had a 60% decreased risk.
Less emphasis on weight loss?
The researchers believe that their study supports the need for a shift in the focus of the advice that healthcare professionals give to females. This shift is toward increasing muscle mass through physical exercise and away from weight loss.
They write:
“[I]t demonstrates the potential importance of advice to maximize muscle mass in women. This diverges from the current emphasis on weight loss in CVD prevention, and thus methods to practically achieve such body composition alteration need to be further evaluated.”
It is worth emphasizing that the apparent protective effect of fat in females only emerged after adjusting for other CVD risk factors.
Among these CVD risk factors were:
cholesterol levels
high blood pressure (hypertension)
diabetes and prediabetes
hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
There is a highly complex interplay between body fat and these other risk factors. For example, excess body weight increases the risk of diabetes and hypertension, which, in turn, raise the risk of CVD.
Nonetheless, the authors note several plausible ways in which fat might provide some protection to females.
For instance, they highlight research suggesting that fat in the thighs and buttocks has a protective effect on metabolism that offsets the harm from abdominal fat.
They also note that in premenopausal females, the body stores about 50% of its fat just beneath the skin in the thighs and buttocks, whereas in males, the body stores 98% of the total fat more deeply in the upper body.
During and after menopause in females, however, fat tissue begins to accumulate in the abdomen, where it is associated with increased CVD risk.
The authors also note that in individuals of the same age and weight, the female body tends to accumulate fat by multiplying the number of fat cells, whereas the male body typically grows larger fat cells.
Large (“hypertrophied”) fat cells are associated with negative metabolic consequences, they write.
Limitations of the study
The researchers acknowledge some limitations of their study.
Firstly, the study design did not allow them to prove cause-and-effect relationships between muscle mass or fat mass and CVD mortality, only associations.
In addition, they say that the technique that they used to measure the body composition of volunteers — called “dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry” or DXA — can overestimate muscle mass in older people and individuals who lead sedentary lives.
As we pass the 1-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are still discovering the specific characteristics of this new disease.
Perhaps the most obvious physical impact of COVID-19 is on the lungs, but doctors and researchers have also found links between COVID-19 and various other organs and systems, including the heart, brain, and kidneys.
SARS-CoV-2 infection also appears to affect the largest organ of the body — the skin.
In a recent study, which appears in the British Journal of Dermatology, a group of researchers teamed up with the British Association of Dermatologists to develop a better understanding of the skin manifestations associated with COVID-19.
COVID-19 and the skin
The first mention of a link between COVID-19 and skin changes came from China in the early phase of the outbreak.
Initially, it seemed that skin changes were relatively uncommon. In one analysis from February 2020, for instance, researchers reported rashes in fewer than 0.2% of 1,099 people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 across 552 hospitals.
Shortly after, in March, a study identified “cutaneous manifestations” in 18 out of 88 patients, or 20.4%, who were receiving treatment for COVID-19 at one hospital in Italy.
Since then, a number of other studies have identified skin changes associated with COVID-19. However, some of these reports only included limited numbers of participants. To date, scientists have not identified the full extent and variety of skin changes related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The most recent study investigates the issue in a large sample of participants.
A fresh look
The authors of the recent study took data from the COVID Symptom Study app. This collects a wealth of data, including information about participants’ age, sex, ethnicity, weight, height, general health, and use of medications, as well as whether the person is a healthcare worker.
Since May 2020, the app has prompted users to report any SARS-CoV-2 testing and results. A person can also report any symptoms.
In all, the researchers had access to data from 336,847 app users, 17,407 of whom had undergone a SARS-CoV-2 test, either positive or negative. The scientists also included data from 54,652 people who had registered at least one symptom of COVID-19 but had not taken a test. The authors refer to this group as “symptomatic untested users.”
Additionally, the researchers sent out a survey, which was advertised on social media. This was not targeted at users of the app. It asked for information about when a rash appeared, how long it lasted, and what other symptoms were present.
From this survey, the researchers extracted usable data from 11,544 people. Of this group, 2,328 had provided a photo of their rash and gave permission to share it. The team selected a subset of these photos, which they whittled down to 260 images.
The images were “blindly assessed and independently categorized by four experienced dermatologists.” Among the 260 photographs, 52 were discarded by at least one dermatologist, and 208 images were analyzed.
Rashes linked with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Of the 2,021 app users who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 8.8% reported skin-related changes, 6.8% reported body rashes, and 3.1% reported rashes on the hands or feet, which are called acral rashes.
The authors note that only 1.1% of this group experienced both body and acral rashes, suggesting that the two occur for different reasons, the researchers believe.
The body rashes, they theorize, might be caused by “immunological reactions to the virus,” whereas acral rashes could result from blood clots or damaged blood vessel walls.
In the group of untested symptomatic users who reported at least one of the main symptoms of COVID-19, the results were similar, with 8.2% reporting skin changes.
From the independent survey of 11,544 participants, the researchers analyzed the timing of skin changes.
According to the analysis of survey respondents who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and experienced skin changes, 47% of these changes appeared at the same time as other COVID-19 symptoms. For 35% of the respondents, skin changes developed after other symptoms had started.
For 17% of the participants in this group, a rash appeared before other symptoms. And, interestingly, in 21% of participants, a rash was the only symptom.
Rash types
Using the photos of the participants’ rashes, the scientists identified the most common types, which were:
papular rashes (41.2%) — small, raised bumps
urticaria (30%) — red, itchy welts
acral rashes (23.1%) — lesions on the hands or feet
Acral lesions and papular rashes lasted for an average of 13 or 14 days, respectively, and urticaria for just 5 days.
The scientists have added the images to an online database.
Limitations
It is crucial to note that the participants in this study were predominantly white Europeans. As the researchers acknowledge, “We could not assess whether ethnicity affected the prevalence of cutaneous symptoms, as the number of non‐European users with skin symptoms was too low.”
Also, the authors explain that their study sample contained “larger proportions of female and younger individuals, compared with those observed in hospital settings.”
Another limitation is that the study relied on self-reported data. Countering this concern, the authors point out that “The presence of a rash, especially if symptomatic, is less subjective and more specific than other symptoms, such as fatigue or headaches.”
The team also recognizes that some skin reactions could have been caused by medications taken to treat COVID-19 or other conditions. However, the authors believe that “Drugs are unlikely to have been a major alternate cause of rashes.”
“Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 are sometimes the first or even the only sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” explains senior author Dr. Mario Falchi, of King’s College London, in the United Kingdom. He continues:
“Recognition of such early signs and symptoms of COVID-19 may enable identification of cases missed when relying only on the core symptoms, allowing preventive measures to be put in place to minimize further spreading of the infection.”
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