One of the many untold effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the toll it is taking on patients without COVID. During the initial wave of COVID cases, staying home was universally urged to protect people from exposure to the infection, but, in the process, many people ignored serious medical issues that should have sent them to their provider or an emergency room. One survey found that almost one-third of people admitted to delaying or avoiding emergency care even though they needed it. While access and affordability continue to be a huge problem in healthcare, many today are wondering if it is safe to see the doctor for routine visits yet.

Join Kris Kington Barker as she hosts the program from homeamid concerns about the spread of theCOVID-19 virus. She will be speaking with Susan Polk, owner of Susan Polk InsuranceAgency and Lindsey Faucette,DO, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer at SLO Health-Family and Integrative Medicine as they discuss how COVID-19 is impacting healthcare access, utilization and insurance coverage for non COVID care.

You are invited to listen, learn and participate in the conversationtoday, Thursday, between 1-2 pm. Call in and be part of the discussion at(805) 549-8855 or email questions to voices@kcbx.org.

Broadcast date: 8/13/20

Central Coast Voices is sponsored by ACTION for Healthy Communities in collaboration with KCBX and made possible through underwriting by Joan Gellert-Sargen.

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Central Coast Voices: COVID-19 and its impact on non COVID care - KCBX

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --The expertise of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and all public health agencies is critical to protecting Americans' health during the COVID-19 crisis, said a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar from 347 health and public health organizations released today.

The authoring organizations, including the American Public Health Association, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Big Cities Health Coalition, National Association of County and City Health Officials and Trust for America's Health, expressed "deep concern" about increasing reports of resistance to evidence-based public health messages and threats to public health leaders and agencies, and called on the Secretary to be an advocate for public health.

At this sentinel moment, during the worst public health emergency in over a century, all of the nation's leaders must resist any efforts that would undermine the critical role of the CDC to respond to the pandemic and must be an advocate for increased investment in public health, said the letter signatories.

"Secretary Azar, we urge you to speak up and amplify the critical role of CDC and that of all public health agencies during this monumental crisis," the letter said.

The public health community's work to respond to the pandemic, via the federal government, including within the CDC, and at the state, local, territorial and tribal levels, has been tireless but has been hamstrung by shrunken programs and inadequate technology; the result of decades of underfunding.

Public health leaders are calling attention to the need for CDC to play a central role as the nation's navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

"CDC is the world's premier public health institution and should be treated as such during this pandemic. It must be appropriately funded and allowed to speak based on the best available science and with an unfettered voice," said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America's Health.

"When you look at the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries that listen to and prioritize public health fare best," said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. "Trying to fight this pandemic without daily, public guidance from the CDC is like fighting with one hand tied behind your back."

"There's no federal agency better suited to lead the response to this unprecedented pandemic. CDC has experts who have studied and helped control coronaviruses and other viral threats for decades, and can help our country emerge from this crisis," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the CDC, Co-Chair CSIS Commission on Strengthening America's Health Security.

The COVID-19 crisis has also illuminated the ways in which racial inequities impact health. Higher rates of COVID-19 deaths within communities of color illustrate the importance of all of CDC's work, including its focus on chronic disease prevention. It is not possible to effectively meet the needs of the American people if that scope is narrowed.

The letter furthermore calls on Secretary Azar to be an advocate for increased funding for CDC's core budget. While emergency supplemental funding has been critical to begin to address the immediate COVID-19 response needs, robust, sustained, and predictable funding for its full public health mission is essential to sustain its public health activities and to prevent the next emergency. Increasing the federal investment in public health will be particularly important, as state and local government budgets are likely to be severely hampered in the coming fiscal year due to tax revenue losses during the COVID-19 related economic shutdown.

Today's laser focus should be on preventing further deaths and disruptions due to the pandemic and the CDC, as the world's premier public health institution, should be at the helm of that effort, the letter said. Once the pandemic is controlled, the CDC, other federal agencies, state and local leaders and the public health community should collaboratively evaluate their performance and must acknowledge and address shortcomings of the response in order to be better prepared for the next public health emergency.

Signing the letter were:

1,000 Days Academic Health Resource Academy for Eating Disorders Action on Smoking and Health Advocates for Better Children's Diets AES Consulting AFSCME AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families AIDS United AlohaCare Alzheimer's and Dementia Alliance of WI Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM) Alzheimer's of Central Alabama Alzheimer's Orange CountyAmerican Kidney Fund American Lung Association American Medical Women's Association American Organization for Nursing Leadership American Public Health Association American School Health Association American Sexual Health AssociationAmerican Society for Clinical Pathology American Society for Microbiology American Society of Hematology American Society of Pediatric Nephrology American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene American Thoracic Society American University Department of Health Studies APLA Health Arizona Community Health Workers Association Arizona Public Health Association Art & Science of Health Promotion Institute Asian Health Coalition Asian Health ServicesAssociation for Prevention Teaching and Research Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Association of American Cancer Institutes Association of American Medical Colleges Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) Association of Food and Drug Officials Association of Immunization Managers Association of Maternal & Child Health ProgramsAssociation of Minority Health Professions Schools Association of Ohio Health Commissioners Association of Population Centers Association of Public Health Laboratories Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Association of SNAP Nutrition Education Administrators Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Association of State Public Health Nutritionists Autistic Self Advocacy Network Big Cities Health Coalition Bipartisan Policy Center Black AIDS Institute Black Men's Health Initiative Boston Public Health Commission Bristol Health Equity Zone Bronx Health REACH California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health California Immunization Coalition California Pan-Ethnic Health Network California School Nurses Organization Cambridge Public Health Department Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Cancer Council of the Pacific Islands Caring Ambassadors Program Cascade AIDS Project Center for Community Resilience Center for Health and Learning Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers Ceres Community Project ChangeLab Solutions Child Welfare League of America Children's Environmental Health Network Children's Mental Health Network Christian Council of Delmarva City of Houston Health Department City of Milwaukee of Health Department Climate for Health, ecoAmerica Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas Coalition of National Health Education Organizations Cohen Veterans Bioscience Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials Colorado Public Health Association Colorado Public Health Nursing Leaders Community Access National Network Community Education GroupConnecticut Public Health Association Cooley's Anemia Foundation Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Counter Tools County Health Executives Association of California Cuyahoga County Board of Health Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Delaware Academy of Medicine Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association Delaware Academy of Medicine and the Delaware Public Health Association East Shore District Health Dept. Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action Education Development Center Element Health, Inc. Endocrine Society Enlace Chicago Epilepsy Alliance America Equality California Eta Sigma Gamma Families USA Family Voices Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Information Network FHI 360 FIRST Family Service Center Fletcher Group, Inc. Florida Institute for Health Innovation Florida Public Health Association Foundation for Healthy Generations Galaxy Aviation Corp Gateway Region YMCA George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice Global Health Council Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) Global Healthy Living Foundation Global Liver Institute Grand Traverse County Health Department Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Harm Reduction Michigan Hawaii Public Health Association Hawaii State Dept of Health, Office of Primary Care and Rural HealthHealth by Design Health Care Improvement Foundation Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) Health Resources in Action Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma CountyIndiana Public Health Association Louisiana Community Health Worker Outreach Network Louisiana Public Health Association Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc. Macoupin County Public Health Department Maine Public Health Association March of Dimes MaryCatherine Jones Consulting, LLC Maryland Association of County Health Officers (MACHO)Maryland Office of Minority Health Massachusetts Public Health Association Medicago MEND Foundation Metropolitan Group Michigan Association for Local Public Health MindWise Innovations Minneapolis Health Department NAPHSIS NASTAD National Adult Day Services Association National Association of Chronic Disease DirectorsNational Association of Community Health Workers National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners National Association of School Nurses National Athletic Trainers' Association National Birth Equity CollaborativeNational Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University National Center for Healthy Housing National Coalition for LGBT Health National Coalition for the Homeless National Coalition of STD Directors National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention National Hemophilia Foundation National Kidney Foundation National Lipid Association National Medical Association (NMA) National Network of Public Health Institutes National Nurse-Led Care Consortium National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives National REACH Coalition National Safety CouncilNational Viral Hepatitis Roundtable National WIC Association Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors Network for Environmental & economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ Nevada Public Health Organization Nevada Rural Hospital Partners New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials New Jersey Public Health Association New York State Public Health Association North Carolina Healthcare Foundation Northwest Center for Public Health Practice NYU Grossman School of Medicine NYU School of Global Public Health Ohio Public Health Association Onyx Strategic Consulting LLC Population Association of America Population Health Alliance Prevent Blindness Prevent Child Abuse America Prevention Institute Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association Public Health Advocates Public Health Alliance of Southern California Public Health Foundation Public Health Institute Public Health Law Center Public Health Solutions Puerto Rico Public Health Association Pulmonary Hypertension Association Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness GWU Research!America Residential Eating Disorders Consortium Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies Respiratory Health Association Rhode Island Department of Health RiverStone Health Rural Health Association of Tennessee Rural Health Association of Utah Safe Routes Partnership Safe States Alliance Samueli Integrative Health Programs SANIPLAN School-Based Health Alliance SF Hep B Free - Bay Area SHAPE America - Society of Health and Physical Educators Shoals Community Clinic Silver State Equality-Nevada Smoke Free St. Joe Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Washington State Association of Local Health Officials Washington State Department of Health Washington State Public Health Association WelCore Health, LLC West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition Whitefoord Winer Family Foundation Wisconsin Public Health Association Women of A Certain Age WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart DiseaseWomen's Resource CenterWoodhull Freedom FoundationXavier University for Population HealthYMCA of the USAZell Community Health Strategies

SOURCE Trust for America's Health

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Nearly 350 public health organizations implore HHS Secretary Azar to support CDC's critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic response - PRNewswire

Your doctor diagnoses you with high blood pressure, orders various tests and sends you home with a prescription to keep it under control.

Thats the old-school model of a typical healthcare experience.

UCI Health, with its emphasis on evidence-based integrative health, is new-school, with world-class specialists who treat the immediate symptoms of heart disease and other conditions, as well as the mind and spirit of patients.

In addition to running traditional tests, integrative health doctors and nurses also conduct sophisticated diagnostic assessments and examine patients health history and lifestyle in depth including diet, exercise habits and other factors to devise a treatment plan.

Its a whole-person approach, says Dr. Ailin Barseghian, who specializes in preventive cardiology and integrative heart health at UCIs Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute.

An assistant clinical professor in the School of Medicine, she is one of many physicians who will be offering this integrative approach to wellness at UCI Health Newport Beach, a multispecialty medical office opening in August in the Newport Center business complex surrounding Fashion Island.

The emphasis on integrative health at the new clinic, located at 2161 San Joaquin Hills Road, is being spearheaded by UCI Health cardiologist Shaista Malik, executive director of the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute and founding associate vice chancellor for integrative health at UCIs Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences.

UCI Health Newport Beachs services will include integrative cardiology, gastroenterology, dermatology and pain management, along with such therapies as acupuncture, massage, naturopathic medicine, mindfulness and yoga.

Reducing risk factors

With advanced testing and other supportive treatments, Barseghian says, we can personalize care for each individual and help reduce their risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

To be sure, traditional cardiologists also recommend that patients improve their diets, exercise a certain number of times each week and make other lifestyle changes, she says, but with integrative cardiology, we work as a team that includes an exercise specialist, a dietitian and other therapists to help guide people.

With a patient who has high blood pressure, for example, the goal is to get to the root of the problem, Barseghian explains: We assess nutrition and fitness, as well as sleep patterns and any possible stressors such as whether someone is going through a divorce or a difficult time on the job to see if theres an underlying cause. We might also try acupuncture, which studies show can lower blood pressure if a regular regimen is maintained.

Whats different about UCI Health Newport Beach, she adds, is that specialty care and most integrative health services are available in one location. The clinic is 7,000 square feet and will employ 13 non-provider staff members, with about five providers working each day.

Its certainly a unique resource in this area, Barseghian says. Some of these complementary therapies, like acupuncture, arent new. Were just including them when it comes to assessing the overall health of our patients.

Dedicated physicians

Barseghian, who graduated from New York Medical College, did most of her training at UCI. She completed an internal medicine residency and cardiovascular disease fellowship at UCI Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in New York City.

Shes been on the faculty at UCI for five years and currently is seeing patients at the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute in Costa Mesa, UCI Health Tustin and the UCI Health Cardiovascular Center in Orange.

When I did my general cardiology training here, she says, I linked up with Dr. Malik. She had already started the preventive cardiology program, and I focused my training on that. She was my mentor.

Stress management, Barseghian notes, is an important element of integrative cardiology.

For instance, she says, its not uncommon to see blood pressure or a heart rate change based on stressors, especially prolonged or situational stress. And those are hard to manage with traditional pharmaceutical therapy, because the stressor still can surpass the medication benefit. So the focus then becomes finding ways to manage that stress to avoid a surge in blood pressure.

I love my work, Barseghian continues. In medicine, the biggest drive is your connection with your patients and having the opportunity to help and guide them. As an interventional cardiologist, I put in stents and treat heart attacks, and I see the disease progression. Being able to concentrate on prevention from the integrative standpoint just gives me more tools beyond the traditional pharmacological one.

Excerpt from:
Treating mind, body and spirit - UCI News

As states gradually reopen even as the pandemic wears on, many of us are concerned about our health and well-being. Especially now, with some continuing to stay at home and social distance while others join the throngs at nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, it may even be a priority.

From state to state, the loosening of restrictions vary, and within our local communities, the reality is that not only do people have different ideas on what constitutes social distancing but for many others still, in the face of racial inequality, the desire to create social change far outweighs the potential risk of spreading or catching the virus.

It's all the more reason to make sure we're taking the best care of ourselves to fortify against the disease. But while living a healthy life may be a desired goal, how to achieve it is another story.

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support the nation's longest continuously published newspaper serving the African American community by making a contribution.

Even if you're someone whose healthful habits were perfected to a tee during pre-pandemic times, you may find yourself struggling to engage in even the most basic self-care in these increasingly unpredictable days.

That's where a wellness routine can come in handy.

I'm not talking about a spa escape every so often or even regular massages or chef-prepared meals (though all of that may sound really nice). I'm talking about creating your own personalized routine that will benefit you physically and emotionally, one that simply requires a regular commitment to yourself.

Creating a wellness routine allows you to shift from diet culture and adopt healthy habits that easily fit into your daily lifestyle. What's more, having a routine allows you to focus on health goals by creating structure and organization, which can be particularly beneficial when things seem out of your control, like life during an unprecedented pandemic and simultaneous upheaval as people fight against social injustice.

In fact, predictable routines, or ritualistic behavior "developed as a way to induce calm and manage stress caused by unpredictability and uncontrollability, heightening our belief that we are in control of a situation that is otherwise out of our hands," according to researchers at Tel Aviv University.

"We need an internal structure because our external lives have become totally unstructured and that triggers anxiety and stress," said Robin Foroutan, a New York City-based integrative medicine dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

"In the beginning, we thought this was going to be a little break; a couple of short weeks, and then we'd resume life as we knew it. Now we know that probably is not going to be the case. We don't know how long this will last, but we can find ways to stay steady and structured on the inside amidst the chaos outside."

And while social obligations, travel and other commitments typically make it challenging to start new habits, being stuck at home without these distractions provides an opportune time to start creating a wellness routine that is accessible, doesn't require a lot of money and is something that you can count on during this uncertain time and in the future, too.

How to create a wellness routine

Health experts say it's important to create a manageable routine that you can stick with as part of a lifestyle not something overly ambitious that you can't sustain. One way to do that is to start small and build upon it, as you feel comfortable.

Here are some tips to get started in creating your personal wellness routine.

Set regular times for sleeping, eating and exercise

For sleep: Everyone's sleep schedule is different, and that's OK, as long as you stick to your natural circadian rhythms, experts say. That means going to sleep when the sun is setting (or a bit later) and waking up when sun is rising (or a little later, according to your individual needs).

Aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep is key, as it helps to "reduce the stress hormone cortisol and your adrenal load," Cardwell said.

Getting adequate sleep also bodes well for engaging in other healthful behaviors by going to bed at a reasonable hour, you'll be less likely to engage in nighttime eating or mindless eating in front of the TV, and you're more likely to wake up early and start exercise, Cardwell explained.

For eating: Setting regular meal times, and taking a break to eat your food mindfully is key, Cardwell advised, but when you actually eat is up to you. "Some do well on three meals per day with an afternoon snack; others prefer three smaller meals and three snacks."

Regardless of the pattern you choose, aim to eat at least every four hours, which prevents blood sugar from crashing and can lead to overeating. For example, if you're eating three meals and one afternoon snack, you might choose to eat breakfast at 8 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m., a snack at 4 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

Taking a few deep breaths, enjoying the wonderful smells of the food you are about to eat and chewing food really well can all help make mealtime a healthful ritual, Foroutan explained.

Additionally, dinnertime can become a daily social ritual by sharing the meal with family or friends, advised Jen Scheinman, a Denver-based registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Jen Scheinman Nutrition, a virtual nutrition coaching practice. "Even a Zoom dinner with a friend if you're by yourself can help you feel connected."

For fitness: Pick a time that you're most likely to stick with. That might mean taking a morning walk before your day gets started, or scheduling your favorite fitness class on your calendar so you won't forget.

"I shut my day down with a run or yoga at around 5:30 p.m. That's my last thing for the day. The more you can make it a routine, the less you have to think about it," Scheinman said.

Plan for food, fitness and sleep

Planning what you will eat and how you will exercise means that you are more likely going to do what you intend to do, which will ultimately help you achieve your health goals. For example, planning meals in advance means you'll be less likely to reach for quick sugary snacks when you run out of energy. It also helps to limit shopping trips.

"Not only does planning your meals ahead of time help cut down on the number of times you're going to the grocery store, but it can also help reduce food waste and ensure you have meals that were intentionally picked to fit your nutritional goals," said Denver-based registered dietitian nutritionist Kelli McGrane.

For food: Eating a nutrient-rich breakfast sets the stage for making other healthful choices throughout the day.

Choose protein-rich breakfasts like egg whites, cottage cheese or smoked salmon on a bagel; Greek yogurt, smoothies with low-fat milk, high fiber cereals with milk or peanut butter on whole wheat toast.

Scheinman recommended preparing breakfast foods ahead of time, like making overnight oats with milk. "It makes the breakfast routine less daunting."

For lunch and dinner, Cardwell encouraged a fist-size portion of protein, such as fish, chicken or beans; a fistful of carbohydrates like whole wheat pasta or brown rice; and a half plate of veggies. This will help meet your micronutrient needs, as well as fiber. Use fats sparingly, as a condiment, to make your food taste better, but limit fried foods and saturated fat, Cardwell advised.

For snacks, choose protein and carb combos, like cheese with crackers, sliced fruit with peanut butter, nuts and seeds with dried fruit or Greek yogurt. Pairing protein with carbs "helps keep your blood sugar level stable, and helps you stay fuller longer," Cardwell said.

Scheinman recommended using the weekends for batch cooking, like making chili or soups, which you can freeze to enjoy later in the week. Washing and chopping veggies and fruit during the weekend can also save you time during the week.

For fitness: Pick a fitness activity that inspires you and is doable. There are a lot of fitness apps offering free trials and online Zoom fitness classes, so you can use this time as an opportunity to try something new. Cardwell recommended aiming for at least 30 minutes per day, if possible.

If you are looking for a simple at-home cardio workout, MaryAnn Browning, founder and CEO of Browningsfitness in New York, recommended jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks, burpees and switch jumps during which you'll jump to turn 180 degrees and then back again for 15 seconds each. Then repeat the circuit five to 10 times, depending on what you can handle.

For at-home fitness essentials, Browning recommended getting a set of yellow, green and red resistance bands, which can be used for back, bicep, triceps, shoulders and leg work. She also recommended looped bands to go around the calves or thighs, which strengthen the glutes and can help prevent knee and back injuries.

If you want to weight train but don't have equipment, anything that will give you muscle tension will be beneficial, such as jugs of water, books or even your children. "I use my kids I'll do planks and have them sit on me ... or I'll do leg presses while letting them do airplane," Cardwell said.

And don't forget to keep moving throughout your day. Tracking apps like Lose It! are a good way to see how normal daily activities can all count toward our daily fitness goals.

"Dancing with your kids or partner, yard work, house projects, sex and cleaning are all trackable activities. Doing these activities with intention and extra vigor all count towards a healthy lifestyle," said Cardwell, who is also a contributing dietitian for Lose It!

For sleep: Engage in a bedtime routine where you can quiet down and prepare for sleep. "Turn off electronics, including the TV, iPad, and cell phones an hour before bedtime," Scheinman advised. This helps to reduce exposure to blue light, which "the brain perceives as daylight, so your brain is not quite getting the signal that it's nighttime and melatonin is not produced."

Unplugging also prevents you from checking one more email or scrolling through social media while in bed, which can be stimulating and interfere with sleep, Scheinman explained.

Other tips for a successful wellness routine: a morning ritual and self-care

Most experts recommended engaging in a morning ritual that brings you pleasure. "Starting your day with the same routine each morning can bring steadiness and calm to the rest of the day. You are starting from a more grounded and positive place, versus waking up; grabbing the phone and checking the news and getting stressed out," Foroutan said.

"The morning is a nice time to start integrating things you didn't have time for previously like taking the dog for a longer walk in the morning, making a nice cup of coffee you can sit and enjoy or engaging in a meditation practice," Scheinman added.

"It sets the day off with a healthy intention, with a sense of comfort. ... I know this is what I do," Scheinman said.

Foroutan enjoys waking up and writing down three things she is grateful for. "Starting the day with a thought about gratitude can be really centering. Writing it down does something extra it solidifies the thought and intention. Not every day is good but there's something good in every day. Even if it's one small thing that gives you a sense of gratitude that's really grounding and it can help shift your perspective."

Stretching your body after you wake up or doing a sun salutation can help to get your blood flowing and your body moving in the morning.

It's also important to prioritize self-care. "Make stress relievers like enjoyable activities a non-negotiable right now," Cardwell said. That may include knitting, taking an extra-long shower or bath, reading, taking a tea break, enjoying a glass of wine or calling family members. Even better, schedule these stress relievers into your day just like mealtimes and other obligations.

"We're taking stock of what's important ... and [our] health is important. Doing these things now can help you deal with the stress of right now," Cardwell said.

It can also keep you healthy and feeling good well into the future, too. That's a gift from quarantine life if there ever is one.

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Why a wellness routine is your top priority amid protests and the pandemic and how to start - The Philadelphia Tribune

But despite our tremendous spending power, Black women are still overlooked and undervalued in the beauty industry with fewer than 1% of Black female founders receiving funding. It's a reality that directly affects their communities, but it's something consumers can change right now. "By supporting businesses owned by Black people, you empower our success," explains Nyakio Grieco, founder of Nyakio Beauty. "By investing in Black and brown people with your dollars, you are helping to eliminate generational poverty."So, as the world comes together to protest police brutality and racial injustice in our country, and you're asking: What can I do? How can I help? The answer which also includes electing Black officials, reforming racist judicial systems, and employing Black leadership can also be as simple as buying a new lipgloss. Talk is cheap, and putting your money behind Black-owned businesses is an easy step that can have a measurable impact. Check out 50 of our favorite Black-owned beauty brands, ahead.

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50+ Black-Owned Beauty Brands To Support Year-Round - Refinery29

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With America on lockdown the past two months, many people turned to the woods for safe isolation and social distancing. And now as sections of the country reopen and summer approaches, the outdoors will be filled with hikers, campers, hunters and fishermen. It will also be filled with ticks that may be carrying the bacterial infection that spreads Lyme disease to humans and pets.

Unlike a mosquito bite where people know immediately if they have been bitten, a tick bite may go undetected; and one of the challenges with Lyme disease is that symptoms may not appear for two to six weeks. That makes it critically important to take steps to avoid catching the disease and to know its warning signs so treatment can begin early when it is most effective.

While not all deer ticks cause Lyme disease, it is still smart to avoid areas where deer ticks live, especially wooded, bushy areas with long grass, said Sean McCloy, M.D., a family medicine physician with an expertise in Lyme disease at the Integrative Health Center of Maine. You can decrease your risk of getting Lyme disease with some simple precautions, such as wearing shoes, long pants tucked into your socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. And after spending time in vulnerable areas you should always check your clothing, yourself, your children and your pets for ticks; and remove any that you find as soon as possible with tweezers. Only a minority of tick bites leads to Lyme disease; but the longer the tick remains attached to your skin, the greater your risk of getting the disease.

For those who are bitten by an infected tick, early warning signs include fever, headache, fatigue, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, weakness in the limbs and a characteristic skin rash often in a bull's-eye pattern. If untreated, new symptoms could include neurological problems and, though less common, heart problems (such as an irregular heartbeat), eye inflammation, liver inflammation and severe fatigue.

If you think you've been bitten and have signs and symptoms of Lyme diseaseparticularly if you live in an area where Lyme disease is prevalentit is critical to get tested as treatment is more effective if begun early, said Robert Dracker, M.D., chairman of the heart, lung and cancer committee for the Medical Society of New York and medical director of Summerwood Pediatrics and Infusacare Medical Services in New York. Fortunately, new tests are available that are easy to administer and provide results faster than ever.

Leading the way in Lyme disease testing is the innovative Sofia 2 Lyme FIA test. This in-office test provides a patient as well as his or her physician with indicative results within minutes as opposed to days, which has historically been the norm. Performed in the privacy of a doctors office or local clinic, it is also the only test that can get results from a simple finger prick of blood. The test was developed by Quidel, a California-based diagnostic healthcare manufacturer and one of the nations leaders in developing rapid diagnostic health solutions.

Given that the vast majority of patients tested are negative, getting results quickly will mean discernable peace of mind and remove a significant weight off a persons shoulders, said Dr. Dracker. Not having to wait days for test results allows physicians and nurse practitioners to more rapidly treat those patients with positive results while more quickly pursuing other diagnosis and treatment for those who test negative.

Patients seeking more information are encouraged to contact their private physician to find out more about the availability of this innovative new test in their area. More information on Quidel may be obtained at quidel.com.

About Quidel Corporation

Quidel Corporation serves to enhance the health and well-being of people around the globe through the development of diagnostic solutions that can lead to improved patient outcomes and provide economic benefits to the healthcare system. Quidels products aid in the detection and diagnosis of many critical diseases and conditions including not only Lyme disease but, among others, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, strep A, herpes, pregnancy, thyroid disease and fecal occult blood. Quidels research and development engine is also developing a continuum of diagnostic solutions from advanced immunoassay to molecular diagnostic tests to further improve the quality of healthcare in physicians offices and hospital and reference laboratories. For more information about Quidel, visit quidel.com.

The rest is here:
Knowing Signs and Symptoms of Lyme Disease Is Critical for Early Detection and Treatment, Says Industry-Leading Quidel - Business Wire

Quick and Cheap: RT-Lamp COVID-19 tests to cost up to Rs 200, give results in less than an hour, says CSIR  |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI): The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed an MoU with Reliance to develop a new RT-LAMP COVID-19 diagnostic kit, which is cheap and gives a quick result, said Director-General Dr Shekhar C Mande on Wednesday.

COVID-19 RT-LAMP (Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification) test is a nucleic acid-based test carried out from nasal or throat swab samples from the patients. The test has been developed and successfully demonstrated using synthetic templates.

Talking about the test, Dr Mande said that "RT-LAMP test is cheap because you don't need to have instrument cost. It's also quite quick. You can actually take it into different areas. You can very quickly take it into the rural area."

The CSIR on Tuesday had announced that the Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu has tied up with Reliance Industries Ltd to develop and scale-up a new RT-LAMP based COVID-19 diagnostic kit.

Dr Mande said that the new testing kit "could cost between Rs 100 and Rs 200. It will take less than an hour for a test to do. Within one hour, we can get the result."

Talking about the difference between Feluda test and RT-LAMP kit, Dr Mande said: "Technological basis of Feluda kit and RT-LAMP kit is different. Faluda is based on technique call crisper cash, while RT-LAMP is based on RT-PCR. There is isothermal PCR. So, the technology of both kits is different."

"RT PCR requires a specialised machine. The first step is a reverse transcription that is common to both RT-PCR as well as RT-LAMP. The second step is once DNA is made from RNA, the PCR quantitative to PCR machine does three cycles of temperature," added he.

The CSIR-DG said further said: "In this condition, you do something at 92 degrees; you do something at 55 degrees; you do something at 73 degrees, and you keep cycling between these three temperatures about 25 and 30 times, and in each cycle the number of DNA molecules doubles and you measure. That is in the fluorescent level. So that is a base of RT-PCR."

"But RT-PCR required this machine the fluorescent level is costly and it takes time. On the other hand, the RT-LAMP test is using only four to six primers for the amplification of DNA. It uses four and six primers and you do the amplification of DNA. First of all, it is common for converting RNA into DNA. When in the second step, you use only a single temperature something like 60-degree Celsius," he added.

Dr Mande informed that the Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu and Reliance Industries Ltd have agreed that they will scale up the production of the test kit.

Originally posted here:
Quick and Cheap: RT-Lamp COVID-19 tests to cost up to Rs 200, give results in less than an hour, says CSIR - Times Now

Pediatric neurology patients frequently use integrative medicine; however, providers may feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar with these therapies. Child neurologist attitudes toward integrative medicine and educational needs in integrative medicine have not been assessed. A national, anonymous survey was distributed to Child Neurology residents (n=294) and program directors (n=71) to assess attitudes toward specific integrative medicine modalities, practices in discussing integrative medicine with patients, and perceived need for a curriculum on integrative medicine; 61 (17%) partially and 53 (15%) fully completed the survey. Comparative analyses applied chi-square and independent tests. Qualitative content analysis was performed on free text responses. Most providers surveyed consider mind and body practices safe (93% of respondents) and effective (84%), but have concerns about the safety of chiropractic manipulation (56% felt this was harmful), and the efficacy of homeopathy (none considered this effective). Few inquire about patient integrative medicine use regularly. Child Neurology residents are interested in further education on this topic.

PubMed

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Integrative Medicine in Child Neurology: What Do Physicians Know and What Do They Want to Learn? - Physician's Weekly

Dear CannaCurious:I keep reading about all the benefits of CBD for adults, but what can it do for children? Are there benefits and cautions I should be aware of? - A Loving Parent

Dear Loving Parent: You are right that CBD is in a popular topic. As a reminder, CBD or cannabidiol is one of the main products produced by the cannabis plant and it is not an intoxicant.

The reason that it is so popular is that it battles inflammation naturally, which can help your bodyheal itself. If you ever hear of a medical condition that ends in itis (as in arthritis for example), it is a condition that is caused by inflammation. In the past, many of us have taken Tylenol or Advil, but these over-the-counter pain relievers tax our internal organs and can cause damage in the long run. They also mask the pain rather than help in the healing process.

When considering how CBD canhelp children, I consulted medical cannabis expert Dr. Swathi Varanasi better known as Doctor Swathi. She is an Integrative Health Pharmacist and Medical Cannabis Consultant. Here are the questions that most patients ask:

What childhood conditions respond to the use of CBD?

Of the many possible uses of CBD in children, conditions with the most notable research include epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and anxiety, said Dr. Swathi. The only FDA-approved medication containing cannabidiol isEpidiolex, indicated to treat two rare types of epilepsy in children:Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. With prolonged use, studies show that children diagnosed with autism who were treated with CBD had demonstrated improvements in symptoms such as seizures, restlessness and agitation. CBD hasalso been shown to decrease feelings of anxiety and increase levels of alertness in children.

What starting dose shoulda parent/caregiver administer? And is there a method of administration (drops, salves, transdermals, etc.) that works best for children?

Startwith CBD drops or tinctures (provided that the child doesnt have circumstances that would make giving drops difficult)at a doseof 4 milligrams per day andincrease by about 4 milligrams per day. The overall idea is to start with a low dose and then increase the dose until relief is achieved. This process may take some time and most children will end up taking a dose of roughly 25 to 35 milligramsof CBDor more. Of course, the best course of action is to work with your health care providerto come up with a health plan,and this information in no way, replaces medical advice.

Should a parent/caregiver use full spectrum CBD or isolate or something else?

Dr. Swathi noted, Selecting full spectrum, broad spectrum and/or CBD isolate depends on many factors including but not limited to the childs diagnosis, lifestyle and other medications in their regimen.Any product chosen should be organically grown, carefully processed and third-party tested.

Are there any side effects?

The use of CBD by childrengenerallyresults in few side effects.Make sure to let your health provider know all of the medications a child is taking, which will help alert you to possible drug interactions.Occasionalside effects includediarrhea, changes in appetite, and fatigue, especially in high doses.

What advice would you give a parent/caregiver who is considering giving their child CBD?

Parents and/or caregivers considering CBD as a treatment modality for their child should consult a clinician with a specialty in cannabis, Dr. Swathi said. Keep in mind that cannabinoid medicine is not a required part of any health professionals training in the United States, so finding a practitioner with a vested interest and training in the intricacies of the endocannabinoid system is vital when selecting the optimal dose and formulation.

When dealing with children and CBD, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Always do your own research and work with a knowledgeable health care provider when evaluating medical options.

Rob Mejia is president of the cannabis education company Our Community Harvest and Adjunct Cannabis Professor at Stockton University. Helives in New Jersey and enjoys tennis, cooking and home repair.

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Q&A: Your child and CBD - The Spokesman-Review

What could you do if you sprained your ankle during the COVID-19 pandemic? Or if you suffer a bad cut? You may feel that the last place you want to visit these days is a hospital. But do you have options? Maybe its time to learn more about light therapy. Its sometimes called low-level laser therapy or low-intensity light therapy. And with one of the many portable devices available on the market, you can safely treat yourself at home. So, what should you know about this therapy as you get older and invariably develop various aches, pains, injuries and infections?

Dr. Mary Dyson, Emeritus Professor at Kings College, University of London, England, is an international expert on wound healing. She reports that light therapy provides a jump-start to the bodys natural healing process, delivering energy thats transformed into biochemical energy. The end result is increased blood supply and accelerated healing.

Dr. Tina Karu, Professor of Laser Biology and Medicine of the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow, is an expert on basic laser research. She too has published articles about the positive healing qualities of laser therapy.

Dr. Fred Kahn, Director of the Meditech Laser and Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto, explains that light therapy triggers the release of endorphins, morphine-like substances, that inhibit pain sensation. It also increases cortisol, the forerunner of cortisone, and angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels.

Kahn says many medical conditions benefit from this therapy. The majority of his patients suffer degenerative arthritis involving the lumbosacral spine. And 60% of these patients also have degenerative disc disease causing compression of the spinal nerves.

Kahn adds that over the last 20 years he has treated hundreds of patients suffering from pain due to spinal disc disease. Many of these patients had previous back surgery or were scheduled for an operation. And by using light therapy he has been able to relieve their pain in a high percent of cases.

Another large number of patients suffer from a variety of sport injuries. Others complain of pain in the shoulder and neck due to long hours of working at the computer. These younger patients respond quickly to light therapy.

But light therapy treats more than aches and pains. It helps several skin conditions such as psoriasis, allergic contact dermatitis, acne, ringworm, impetigo, herpes lesions and warts, many of which fade away after 5 to 10 treatments.

The current epidemic of diabetes is causing more patients to suffer from chronic leg and foot ulcers due to decreased blood supply. Conventional medical treatments often involve compression, which requires months for the healing to occur, and pain medications become the common prescription for coping. Infected ulcers can require antibiotics. But light therapy can have a dramatic effect on healing these ulcers. A study published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment reported an average 83% improvement from light therapy, with no side-effects.

Many patients are informed by their doctors of only their medical options. But few are told about the restorative potential of light therapy. Why? Because schools of medicine around the world have neglected to train physicians in integrative health practices that draw on natures many wonders. Light therapy is a natural approach to muscle injuries, cuts and wounds, ulcers, and other ailments. It does not require prescription painkillers and is a non-invasive treatment. Today, any treatment that reduces the use of painkillers is a step in the right direction.

During our lifetime its hard to escape lifes aches, pains, injuries, infections and aging joints. Even without a viral epidemic its convenient to have a light therapy home unit on hand for use as needed it. Several types are available, some more expensive than others depending on the quality.

Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, aka Ken Walker, is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School. You can reach him online at his website, docgiff.com, or via email at info@ docgiff.com.

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The Doctor Game: What you should know about light therapy - The Westerly Sun

Jihan Huang,1,* Yingchun He,1,* Qianmin Su,2 Juan Yang1

1Center for Drug Clinical Research, Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, Peoples Republic of China; 2Department of Computer in College of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, Peoples Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Jihan Huang; Juan YangCenter for Drug Clinical Research, Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #1200 Cailun Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai 201203, Peoples Republic of ChinaTel +86 21 51322420Email huangjihan@shutcm.edu.cn; janeyang5006@163.com

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the fundamental characteristics of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) clinical trials registered in China.Methods: COVID-19 clinical trials registered in China were analyzed from databases on ChiCTR and ClinicalTrials.gov. The study designs, samples, primary end points, and intervention measures were evaluated.Results: In total, 262 intervention clinical trials were retrieved on March 10, 2020. Overall, 181 (69.1%) trials involved two groups, 200 (76.3%) trials were randomized parallel trials, 24 (9.2%) trials were double blind, and 60.3% of trials included 100 participants. Sixty (22.9%) trials considered symptom improvement as the primary endpoint and 43 (16.4%) trials considered the rate or time at which the subjects became virus-free as the primary endpoint. Of 262 intervention studies, chemical drugs and biological products were studied in 105 (40.1%) intervention studies, of which antiviral drugs accounted for 15.3% and malaria drugs accounted for 8.4% of the studies. Among all trials, 27.9% of the studies used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), 10.3% used cell therapy, and 5.0% used plasma therapy.Conclusion: This study is the first snapshot of the landscape of COVID-19 clinical trials registered in China and provided the basic features of clinical trial designs for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 to offer useful information to guide future clinical trials on COVID-19 in other countries.

Keywords: COVID-19, clinical trial, interventional, randomized, blinding

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Characteristics of COVID-19 Clinical Trials in China Based on the Regi | DDDT - Dove Medical Press

Eyeball-licking geckos, wiggling brain cells and a whole planets worth of weather are among the winners in the University of WisconsinMadisons 10th Cool Science Image Contest.

The quality of the images and videos produced on campus by scientists and people passionate about science is always so impressive, says Terry Devitt, a judge and one of the founders of the contest. It is always a very hard job, but a very enjoyable one, to choose the best among them.

A panel of nine experienced artists, scientists and science communicators judged the scientific content and aesthetic and creative qualities of the 101 images and videos entered in the 2020 version of the contest, which began as part of The Why Files, one of the first popular science news websites.

Cameron Batchelor and Ethan Parrish, graduate students, Geoscience, for a look at the climate-describing bands of color in a slice of stalagmite.

Natalie Betz, associate director, UWMadison Master of Science in Biotechnology, and Anya Wolterman, Macalester College undergraduate geology student, for their section of rock from a rift in the Earths crust in the Lake Superior region.

Caitlin Carlson, graduate student, Department of Bacteriology, for a view of a pair of leaf cutter ants sniffing out each others pheromone thumbprint.

Collin Roland, graduate student, and Lucas Zoet, assistant professor, Department of Geoscience, for a birds-eye view of bluff erosion on the Lake Michigan shore.

Guilherme Gainett, graduate student, and Prashant P. Sharma, assistant professor, Department of Integrative Biology, for an electron micrograph of the spiny leg of a new species of spider.

Ran Zhang, scientist, and Dalton Griner, graduate student, Department of Medical Physics, for an X-ray of flowers used to test and improve mammograms.

Nisha Iyer, postdoctoral fellow, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, for a picture of a crested gecko licking its own eyeball.

Robert Morgan, graduate student, and Keith Bechtol, assistant professor, Department of Physics, for a snapshot of thousands of distant galaxies made while hunting for the source of a single subatomic particle.

Michael Petersen, Edward Williams and Ray Collier, all staff of the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center; and Frank McFarland, graduate student, Department of Agronomy, for their image of the first transgenic hemp plants.

Miranda R. Sun, research specialist, Department of Comparative Biosciences, for a brightly colored section of a developing mouse embryo.

Rick Kohrs, instrument technologist, Space Science and Engineering Center, whose animation of 90,000 satellite images shows a full year of Earths weather.

Chris Morrow and Tiaira Porter, graduate students, Department of Neuroscience, for a video capturing the movement of neural stem cells switching from dormancy to activity.

STORY CONTINUES AFTER GALLERY

1 This slice of stalagmite at 250,000 years old, the oldest dated stalagmite in the Midwest is being used to study the climate of ancient mid-continental North America. The colored layers reflect changes in soil above the cave in which the stalagmite formed, with rich soil (and thicker vegetation) revealed in deeper orange bands and less organic matter (and fewer plants) in light green.

Cameron Batchelor, and Ethan Parrish, graduate students, GeoscienceDigital camera

2 This thin section of troctolite, an igneous rock composed of feldspar and olivine, was collected near Duluth, Minnesota, from the Proterozoic Midcontinent Rift. The rift is a tear in the Earths crust caused by continental plates colliding in the Lake Superior region. Polarized light accentuates vivid colors.

Natalie Betz, associate director, UWMadison Master of Science in Biotechnology; Anya Wolterman, Macalester College undergraduate geology studentPetrographic microscope

3 Each colony of leaf cutter ants has a unique chemical thumbprint, a combination of pheromones that members of the colony can recognize as their own. These two Acromyrmex echinatior ants from different colonies are inspecting each others pheromone signatures.

Caitlin Carlson, graduate student, BacteriologyDigital camera with macro lens

4 Storm-driven Lake Michigan waves cut away bluffs in Warnimont Park in Cudahy, Wisconsin, while the freeze and thaw of seeping groundwater wear at the crest. Researchers study the intertwined effects of waves and groundwater on erosion with three-dimensional models of coastal bluffs based on overhead images captured by drone flights.

Collin Roland, graduate student, and Lucas Zoet, assistant professor, GeoscienceDJI Phantom 4 Advanced unmanned aerial vehicle

5 The spines armoring the leg of a tiny, newly described species of huntsman spider, Zalmoxis adze, are a remarkable work of sexual dimorphism theyre completely absent in females. While leg details were an important way to differentiate this spider as a new species, little is known about how the heavy spikes serve males in the leaf litter on the forest floor of Papua New Guinea. But it may be very showy or very violent.

Guilherme Gainett, graduate student, and Prashant P. Sharma, assistant professor, Integrative BiologyField emission scanning electron microscope

6 Flowers stand in for healthy breast tissue in this mammography image, while added calcifications Can you spot them all? represent the sort features doctors look for in X-ray images in an effort to catch breast cancer in early, treatable stages. UWMadison researchers are working to improve detection of patterns of tiny calcifications for faster, safer, more effective diagnosis.

Ran Zhang, scientist, and Dalton Griner, graduate student, Medical PhysicsSelenia Dimensions Mammography System

7 Crested geckos have clear, immovable eyelids, and a swipe of the tongue is the best way to keep them clean and moist. With veritable superpowers like the ability to see in the dark and climb vertical surfaces, geckos often serve as models for bio-inspired engineering.

Nisha Iyer, postdoctoral fellow, Wisconsin Institute for DiscoveryDigital camera

8 This snapshot of the sky contains thousands of distant galaxies, each containing billions of stars. The UWMadison physicists who made it were looking for the flash of the explosion of a single star, the potential source of a sub-atomic particle called a neutrino, spotted zipping through the Earth by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. The distant galaxies, swirling billions of light years away, are all the harder to see because of nearby objects, like the pictured Helix Nebula.

Robert Morgan, graduate student, and Keith Bechtol, assistant professor, PhysicsDark Energy Camera and Victor M. Blanco Telescope

9 Thanks to a gene similar to one that makes some fish glow, leaves of the first transgenic that is, augmented with genes from another species hemp plants appear red when seen through a special filter, while leaves of an unaltered plant are a familiar green. Successfully engineering changes in hemp opens the door to alterations that could affect disease resistance, crop yield, fiber quality and cannabinoid compounds. It offers potential benefits for farmers, consumers and medical applications.

Michael Petersen, Edward Williams and Ray Collier, all staff of the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center; and Frank McFarland, graduate student, AgronomySmartphone with specialized filter

10 This section of the head of an 11-day-old mouse embryo was expertly prepared to highlight blood vessels marked by the green and red of endothelial cells and laminin protein, respectively in the developing brain (the heart-shaped structure at the center). The vessels are particularly dense at the lower end of the two black slits that will become nostrils, where tissue is fusing together to form the upper lip. If the tissue fails to fuse, the mouse will be left with a birth defect studied by the researchers in the lab that produced the image: a cleft lip.

Miranda R. Sun, research specialist, Comparative Biosciences, School of Veterinary MedicineEpifluorescence microscope

Combining more than 90,000 individual images taken by five satellites two American, one Japanese and two from the European Space Agency perched 22,000 miles above the Earth makes for an animated view of global weather patterns. Strong storms span many days, and seasonal shifts come and go as the sunlight over the poles waxes and wanes and the planet spins from March 2019 to March 2020.

Rick Kohrs, instrument technologist, Space Science and Engineering CenterGeostationary satellites

Neural stem cells switch from a dormant to an active very active, in many cases state in this video from the lab of Neuroscience Professor Darcie Moore. The vigorous wigglers are starting a protein-maintenance program critical for efficient activation and differentiation into health brain cells.

Chris Morrow and Tiaira Porter, graduate students, NeuroscienceConfocal microscope

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE

There was enthusiastic support right out of the gate, and that enthusiasm has grown year after year, says Devitt, once editor of The Why Files and the recently retired director of research communications at UWMadison. Sharing science through imagery is another way to show how science works, and what you can learn from getting a close-up view of nature. And we all love to see something new and amazing.

The contest winners along with a slideshow of all entries are typically displayed each fall in the McPherson Eye Research Institutes Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery on the ninth floor of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Ave. An exhibit will be scheduled and announced as activity on campus allows.

The 2020 winners show off the breadth of research and technical and scientific expertise at UWMadison. The images were captured by experts in their scientific fields, trainees, students and curious amateurs, using flying drones, smartphones, cutting-edge electron microscopes and Earth-facing satellites orbiting tens of thousands of miles away.

Their subjects are both everyday and ephemeral, large enough to encompass billions of stars, and more minuscule than an ant.

The Cool Science Image Contest helps recognize the technical and creative skills required to capture images or video that document science or nature, and benefits from sponsorship by Madisons Promega Corp., with additional support from DoIT Digital Publishing and Printing Services and the UWMadison Division of the Arts.

Winning entries are shared widely on UWMadison websites and in public exhibitions, and all entries are showcased in a slide show at the Wisconsin Science Festival.

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Photo gallery The winners: Cool Science Images 2020 - University of Wisconsin-Madison

University Health System physicians say each scent offers a unique effect.

SAN ANTONIO Over the past few months most of us have gotten used to wearing masks, whether it is in the grocery store, outside, or for some at all times, and in many cases it just isn't comfortable.

Dr. Jan Patterson, the Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program and an Infectious Disease Physician at University Health System, and Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, spoke to KENS 5 about the study among UHS where they found essential oils to improve mask comfort.

"When COVID happened we realized we had to shift some of our focus to the staff with universal masking which we are very grateful for because it helps us protect each other," she said. "We started in early April with our hospital staff and went to different departments. We are doing both clinical staff and non-clinical staff. More recently weve open it up to patients, some of our patients who are in the clinics who are here for quite a while for infusions and so forth. We would like to try it and see if it makes a difference for them as well."

Rebekah Kendrick, a nurse specializing in pain management told us, "People are feeling different effects from wearing these all day so we wanted to offer them something that might alleviate some of those complaints. Essential oils are really becoming a new thing, so theres new interest in it."

Some of the most common mask complaints include anxiety, fatigue, poor mental focus, headaches, and shortness of breath. Dr. Patterson said, "We know that essential oils, not only do they smell good, but they can affect us very positively in terms of our mood."

The oils go directly to the brain through the olfactory nerve or smell nerve, and they can also affect the respiratory system by opening up the lungs, making breathing easier. The doctors say each scent does something different.

The doctors told us, "Lavender would be great for that to help alleviate some of the anxiety with that and mental focus. The orange oil, we call it happy oil, which is a very happy and calming oil. The lemon oil is brightening and cleansing. People get their headaches relieved through peppermint oil and it can help with mental focus fatigue and breathing. Eucalyptus it's a strong oil we like to say it opens the mind as well as the lungs."

Dr. Patterson spoke about how you apply the oil and said, "Once we choose an oil we simply get a very small drop and put it on the outer edge of the inner mask."

But the ones you get online could be stronger and have a more pleasant effect than the ones you get at the grocery store

Dr. Patterson said, "The ones you get at the grocery store or drugstore or at a lower price point, so sometimes they are diluted and have synthetics in them but you may still get a positive affect. We wanted to use some very pure oils that are what we call therapeutic grade, because we think it has a better affect because they are purer and they last longer.

Dr. Kendrick added, "We have a lot of different options that can help make it a little more of a pleasant experience."

Dr. Patterson also told us how the study they are conducting works. She said, "The survey simply ask things like whats bothering you and how is the mask affecting your anxiety level your mood your fatigue your mental focus. We go through that survey and we help them choose an essential oil that we think is best for them."

Make sure to start with one drop and if you need more add one at a time.

For more information about family health call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of Wear The Gown stories, just go to WearTheGown.com.

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Wear The Gown: Using essential oils to improve mask comfort - KENS5.com

A quiz.

Q. You are walking on one side of a sidewalk. Someone strolling toward you veers within six feet of you. You dont have any room to move but the other person does. You call out through your mask, Six feet!

The correct action for that person is:

a. Pretend not to hear and stay the course.

b. Give you the finger and swerve a little.

c. Create some distance by moving away.

The right answer is c.

As some of our COVID-19 pandemic lockdown rules in Illinois are easing and the spring weather is bringing us outside more frequently to walk, run and bike, Ive been navigating the new normal while social distancing. There is no best practices manual for this.

Im a speed walker. I aim at five miles a day. As I roam around, Ive made it a point to observe social or physical distancing behavior who among us tries to observe the six feet; who doesnt; and whether lapses appear willful or the result of being oblivious. Ive become a student of the various tactics people are using and developing some of my own.

Without getting into the heavier political issues associated with wearing masks and social distancing as President Donald Trump ignores both I want to share my evolving rules of the road for folks finding themselves sharing the same sidewalks, paths and streets.

In writing this column, I consulted with two specialists at Northwestern University working on caution fatigue behavior during this pandemic: Dr. Melinda Ring, executive director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, and her colleague, Jacqueline Gollan, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

Caution fatigue, Ring said, is a loss of interest in following the recommended guidelines due to mental or physical exhaustion.

Gollan told me in an email, Caution fatigue can influence our ability to comply (with) the new rules. This occurs when people show low motivation or energy to comply with safety guidelines. We may become impatient with the warnings, or we dont believe the warnings to be real or relevant (or) we interpret the risk incorrectly. We may stop safety behaviors, like washing our hands and social distancing.

Caution fatigue occurs because we become desensitized to warnings or risk. Initially, when we hear pandemic warnings, we become fearful and take action. But being intensely fearful is highly taxing on the brain. We adjust psychologically to reduce the fear and desensitize to the pandemic information.

And with that, here are the Sweet Outdoor Rules of the Road:

1. Its on me.

Social distancing is key to avoiding the spread of COVID-19. There are all sorts of persuasion messaging and advertising campaigns ongoing to convince people to stay six feet apart. Yet people dont. Maybe its a spatial dissonance thing? A political statement? Youthful rebellion? Entitlement? Free floating hostility? Ignorance? Doesnt matter why.

Since I care more than you may do about this six-feet thing, its on me to get out of your way.

In general, what we know is, Ring said, you cant change another persons behavior. You can only change your own.

2. Make peace with doing the easiest thing to create the six feet: cross the street, take a turn, whatever. Remember we are living in difficult times.

We are seeing a rise in depression, anxiety, PTSD, Ring said. Add to that people struggling with financial and relationship burdens.

3. Maintain situational awareness. Do not stop in the middle of a sidewalk or path to read your email or chat on the phone. Move off the sidewalk or path.

4. Its also on you.

When you are walking, running or biking behind someone who doesnt know you are there, it is your responsibility to create the six feet of space. Slow down, which, for heavens sake, is not the end of the world. Please call out something like on your left so I can scramble out of your way.

5. End the blockades. Dont be a sidewalk hog. No, you cant always walk or run three abreast with a dog if the path is crowded. Single file.

6. Distance shaming can backfire. Reserve calling out six feet when there is no alternative.

It sounds like a mother scolding a kid, Ring said.

7. Signal. This is for walkers. Sidewalk hogs get a warning when you stick out your arm to create some safe distance and flap it up and down a little. The nonverbal cue is effective in getting folks to fall into single file. Yes, I look a little crazy.

Many folks are great. I zig, they zag, and it works out. Dont get worked up. Said Ring, take some deep belly breaths beneath your mask and move on.

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Exercising while social distancing: Rules of the road for walking, running and biking - Chicago Sun-Times

A world in the middle of a pandemic can be difficult to explain to children, pulled out of their daily routines of attending school and socializing with friends, but experts in the mental health field say being honest and observant is the best move for parents.

Its different with little kids. The main thing to keep in mind is they dont understand whats going on and they see whats happening as a reflection of themselves, said Dr. David Spiegel, director of the Stanford Center on Stress and Health and medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Spiegel, with more than 40 years of experience studying the effects of stress on health, said that not spending time outdoors is an issue for children who struggle with managing high bouts of energy.

One of the problems is kids are full of energy that needs release and its hard to do that when theyre not outside, said Spiegel. Try to get physical exercise. Thats important, and make sure they get sleep. When we dont, were falling asleep in the middle of the day. Kids just get agitated.

Although younger children may be excited their parents are spending more time at home, Spiegel said teens who have greater independence and feelings of being invincible may find the extended isolation difficult with which to cope.

Its different with teens who miss hanging with friends. One thing that helps older children is giving them tasks to make them part of the team, not just a burden, said Spiegel.

In the short term, children may show signs of stress through outbursts of agitation and restlessness, but parents can help their children regulate those emotions by legitimizing their feelings, said Mark Cloutier, chief executive officer of Caminar.

Kids are dealing with a loss of stimulation from the loss of going to the park, to school. The presence of physical activity improves your mood and a lack of it can lead to anxiety and depression, said Cloutier. Parents with kids with special needs have even more complications and I think kids are vulnerable. This is a confusing time for them. Its a confusing time for parents to engage more deeply with them to evaluate how theyre feeling. Normalize that so they dont feel isolated.

Caminar is a nonprofit behavioral health organization founded in San Mateo serving 20,000 individuals across San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Solano and Butte counties. During a remote program hosted by Caminar, Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics at the New York University School of Medicine said helping to structure days, empathizing with loss and validating emotions can help young children and teens manage through the uncertainty.

We want to stay close, we want to be connected and yet at the same time we recognize social distancing has to happen. So help them manage that. Thats a really difficult thing because everything about evolution is driving our kids towards being together and of course theyre going to want to break the rules and spend time together, said Shatkin.

Spiegel recommends guardians consider their childrens baseline of behavior, noting if they tend to be sad or avoidant. He said worries should arise if kids begin engaging in arguments and escalating fights that may occur due to a change in routine.

Going to school is a protection and escape for kids who are feeling disassociated or risk harming themselves. If they begin saying they dont want to be around anymore or have a history of those thoughts, take it seriously and contact health professionals, said Spiegel. The thing I worry about with teens is that they think theyre immortal and they are less likely to review social distancing. Parents need to reinforce to them how important it is. And things like vaping and smoking put you at a higher risk of lung inflammation. Whatever you did before, dont do it now.

Spiegel said it is too early to tell what the long term effect will be on children experiencing chronic stress brought on by the pandemic, but research shows an increase of the stress hormone, cortisol, can have long term effects on the expression of mental disorders like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health disorders.

Parents can monitor their own behavior as an immediate effort to alleviate possible stress on their children, said Spiegel, adding that children are highly receptive and will pick up on emotions.

We have to watch ourselves. Our fuses can get short because were worried about infections, financial problems, all sorts of things. We all have to be extra careful, said Spiegel. As an adult youre passing stress. When youre short tempered they just see that as their family members dont love them that much. They think its them and if thats the attention theyre getting theyll do things to provoke that response.

He said maintaining a sense of normalcy can mitigate long term consequences and this moment of crisis can be an opportunity to either do damage or to pull together.

We cant do anything to the damn virus but we can do something to cope, set aside time to heal yourself, said Spiegel.

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Parents and children coping with isolation during shelter-in-place orders in San Mateo County - San Mateo Daily Journal

Artificial intelligence, ethics in technology, the origins of life, astrophysical data these exciting but complex subjects are the focus of the University of WisconsinMadisons fourth round of cluster hires, the Office of the Provost announced today.

The hires, which are made as a group across departments rather than individually within departments, build upon the universitys existing strengths. They foster collaborative research, education and outreach by creating new interdisciplinary areas of knowledge.

UWMadison first launched the Cluster Hiring Initiative in 1998 as an innovative partnership between the university, state and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. In its first phase, the initiative authorized nearly 50 clusters, adding nearly 150 new faculty members through several rounds of hiring. In 2017, the Office of the Provost authorized phase two of the initiative, with a goal of supporting at least 12 clusters.

Previous clusters were announced in April 2019 andSeptemberandFebruaryof 2018. This latest round brings the total of clusters supported to 19. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, each cluster will be given at least two years to complete its hiring plans. New cluster competition will be suspended for at least the next academic year.

The latest cluster hires are:

Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medical Imaging and Diagnostics

Proposal advanced by: Thomas Grist, professor of radiology, medical physics and biomedical engineering; Kristin Eschenfelder, associate director of the School of Computing, Data and Information Sciences; Rob Nowak, professor of electrical and computer engineering, computer sciences, statistics and biomedical engineering; Vallabh Sambamurthy, dean of the Wisconsin School of Business.

Through new approaches to data acquisition and analysis, advances in artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the way in which medical imaging affects clinical care and scientific discoveries in medicine. This cluster outlines three key faculty positions that will be foundational to an expansion of UWMadisons leadership in the field. It will also address urgent opportunities for curriculum development in areas of interest to multiple colleges and schools on campus and extramural entities.

Next-generation medical imaging uses AI techniques to improve its diagnostic accuracy and predictive power, enabling advances in basic understanding of human disease, treatment monitoring and long-term surveillance of disease.

Collaborations like those forged by the cluster hire will contribute to the realization of the full potential of AI for precision medical imaging and diagnostics.

Ethics in Computing, Data, and Information

Proposal advanced by: Alan Rubel, professor in the Information School and director of the Center for Law, Society and Justice; Michael Titelbaum, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy; Loris DAntoni, professor of computer sciences; Aws Albarghouthi, professor of computer sciences; Noah Weeth Feinstein, director of the Holtz Center for Science, Technology and Society and a professor of curriculum and instruction and community and environmental sociology.

Computational systems, data analytics, artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision systems affect large and important facets of society, including governance, education, commerce, democracy and media. These tools can be used to advance social goods, but they can also go awry, used for bad purposes by bad actors. The tools can also reflect and engender unfair social structures.

To effectively address ethical issues in AI, data, and information systems requires collaboration between scholars working on computational systems, on the social facets of information technologies, and on conceptual and moral questions about how such systems function and how they are used.

UWMadison is well-positioned to be a world leader in these areas because of its current strengths and existing collaborations. The cluster proposes hiring three faculty members working on distinct facets of the ethics of computing, data and information.

Exploring the Origins of Life Across the Galaxy

Proposal advanced by: Sebastian Heinz, professor and chair of astronomy; David Baum, professor of botany; Judith Burstyn, professor and chair of chemistry; Greg Tripoli, professor and chair of atmospheric and oceanic sciences; Jeff Hardin, professor and chair of integrative biology; Ken Cameron, professor and chair of botany; Chuck DeMets, professor and chair of geoscience; Annie Bauer, assistant professor of geoscience; Tristan LEcuyer, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences; Robert Mathieu, professor of astronomy; Steve Meyers, professor of geoscience; Phillip Newmark, professor of integrative biology; Andrew Vanderburg, assistant professor of astronomy; Susanna Widicus Weaver, professor of chemistry; John Yin, professor of chemical and biological engineering; Tehshik Yoon, professor of chemistry; Ke Zhang, assistant professor of astronomy.

Questions about the origins and nature of life are as old as humanity itself. Today, the search for understanding the origin of life extends to the cosmos, as recent work has uncovered countless planets orbiting stars throughout the Milky Way, each potentially bearing life of its own. But how do we detect life on planets we can never visit? And how do we know how common life might be if we dont know how it arose on Earth?

The search for evidence of life on other planets is by nature interdisciplinary. Chemistry, biology and geoscience combine to understand how life arose on our planet and how it might have done so on other worlds, while astronomy and atmospheric sciences can probe for evidence of that life from light-years away. This cluster will allow the hiring of researchers who straddle these fields and who can bridge the gaps between expertise across the participating departments. The group will also establish the Wisconsin Center for Origins Research to house new and existing faculty and encourage new collaborations in astrobiology.

Breakthrough Science with Multi-messenger Astrophysical Data

Proposal advanced by: Albrecht Karle, professor of physics; Keith Bechtol, assistant professor of physics; Francis Halzen, professor of physics; Kael Hanson, professor of physics; Sebastian Heinz, professor and chair of astronomy; Sebastian Raschka, assistant professor of statistics; Justin Vandenbroucke, associate professor of physics; Jun Zhu, professor and chair of statistics; Ellen Zweibel, professor of astronomy.

For millennia, humans learned about the night sky only from the light from distant stars. But recently, astrophysicists have gained access to signals that go beyond light. These messengers about the universe include gravitational waves and neutrinos ghostly particles that rarely interact with other matter. UWMadison is the headquarters of the worlds largest neutrino observatory, IceCube, which surveys a billion tons of Antarctic ice for signs of rare neutrino collisions.

Now, the IceCube project is preparing for a major upgrade to generation two. This cluster hire will invest in the astronomy, physics and statistics faculty necessary to continue and expand UWMadisons leadership in multi-messenger astrophysics. This data-heavy field requires collaborations between these three fields to probe the constant stream of information recorded by IceCube and to find the sources of the neutrinos that stream toward Earth. That analysis can help answer fundamental questions about the physical laws governing the universe and help us understand complex phenomena like black holes and cosmic rays.

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UWMadison announces its fourth round of cluster hires - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Coronavirus RNA airborne, but unlikely to be infective: Study

Scientists in China have found genetic fragments of the virus that causes coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in airborne droplets in medical and staff areas during the outbreak in February and March in two Wuhan hospitals, but they stopped short of saying the disease is airborne. Read more.

Tremendous gain in Covid-19 situation, considerable relaxations after May 3, hints Centre

The Centre has indicated that after the Covid-19 lockdown ends on May 3, there will be considerable relaxations in many areas.The Centres announcement - the first such official indication of what to expect after May 3 - came hours after the government relaxed the norms for migrant movement. Read more.

Nations that mandate TB vaccine may have lower Covid death rates

Countries that mandate the Bacillus Calmette-Gurin (BCG) vaccine for newborns to prevent tuberculosis, including India, Peru, Portugal and Saudi Arabia, have fared 3.4 times better on the Covid-19 fatality rate (CFR) than nations that havent made the vaccine obligatory. Read more.

Antiviral drug remdesivir could hold promise in fight against Covid-19: Study

An investigational antiviral drug could hold promise in devising a treatment for Covid-19. In a trial, evaluating 5-day and 10-day dosing durations of the drug remdesivir in coronavirus patients, it was found that the administration of the drug in patients with a severe manifestation of Covid-19 achieved improvement. Read more.

Happened due to a misunderstanding: Kamran Akmal on Asia Cup clash with Gambhir

Pakistans wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal has been known in cricketing circles both for his ability with the gloves and bats as well as for being a chatterbox behind the stumps. Read more.

Natalie Portman, Angelina Jolie on Irrfan Khans death: I remember the intensity of his commitment, and his smile

Hollywood actors Natalie Portman and Angelina Jolie have shared condolences on the death of Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan. He died on Wednesday in Mumbai at 53. Read more.

Facebook hits record 3 billion monthly users on its services

Facebook earlier today reported its Q1 2020 earnings where the company witnessed a slow growth owing to the pandemic.It however hit a record 3 billion monthly users who are on its suite of apps including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Read more.

RIP Irrfan Khan: The actor par excellence and his famous quotes on society, work and the craft of acting

As we bid adieu to the master of the craft, here are some of his famous lines that he shared on acting, life, success, society, hope and just being human at the end of the day. Read more.

Covid-19: India begins testing possible cure on patients at PGI Chandigarh

Indias premier scientific research body announced Covid drug trial. CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicines director spoke on the trials. Sepsivac, a new drug used against sepsis, being tried on Covid patients. There are going to be 3 different kinds of trials on various sets of patients. Watch here.

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News updates from Hindustan Times: Coronavirus RNA airborne, but unlikely to be infective, shows Study... - Hindustan Times

Now that Im homebound, Ive been experimenting with more ingredients than ever before. I meanwhat else is there to do but to make jars upon jars of homemade salad dressing and smoothies using every condiment in your fridge like some manic mad scientist? Thats when I decided to get nerdy about what I was actually using most frequentlyboth honey and agave. The fact that I had been using them interchangeably might not have been the appropriate culinary protocol given at how different they are. Lets take a look at the ways in which they differ.

As trendy as high-quality honey has become, you wont see any vegan influencers posting about it any time soon. Some vegans consider honey non-vegan because it's produced from the labor of bees, says Patricia Bannan, MS, RDN, dietitian-nutritionist and healthy eating expert. They believe that exploiting the labor of bees and then harvesting their energy source is immoral. They also believe that the practices of large-scale beekeeping operations can harm or kill the bees.

Theres a reason we dip the apples in the honey during Rosh Hashanah for a sweet new year: its so sweet and satisfying itll pierce your tongue (but, like, in a good way). According to the journal Integrative Medicine Insights, its made when Apis mellifera bees collect nectar from floral nectar or aphid (insect) secretions. The bees then store their honey in wax-like containers called honeycombs.

Like wine, honey boasts a different taste and appearance depending on its geographical location, climate, and harvesting and storage techniques. (Seriously, impress your friends with a honey tasting). Heres what you can expect at the grocery or specialty foods store, according to Bannan.

Clover: With its rich golden color and mild flavor, this honey variety made of clover flowers is one of the better known types.

Avocado: Like the avocado plant from which it blooms, this honey has a buttery taste and dark color.

Tupelo: This Florida-derived honey is light golden in color with a distinctive yet mild taste.

Manuka: More than just a pretty face, this gold standard of honey is made from the New Zealand-based manuka plant. Due to its higher concentration of the active organic compound methylglyoxal, it boasts numerous health benefits including wound healing and tissue repair

Not all honey is of the same quality either. Certain low-grade honey contains granulation composed of small particles of leftover honeycomb, which can lead to crystallization, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Over time, granulation can harden the honey leading to chunky, coarse crystals that make it difficult to spread, scoop or stir.

Honey ranges in color on the Pfund scale from water white to dark amber, with the lighter varieties seen as higher quality. In general you want to look for honey marked Grade A, which earns its score by being translucent and absent of any visible and sensory defects.

Honey is often stirred into tea, smoothies, and hot water for its purported medicinal benefits, but these claims might be overblown, according to Bannan. It only contains trace minerals like copper, iron and magnesium, and a serving wont nearly cover your recommended daily intake. Honey does contain antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, but it wont singlehandedly cure you of the flu or a sore throat either. Your best defense against illness is to stay hydrated (since water helps reduce congestion and allows the kidneys to flush out waste, according to Michigan State University). And if adding honey to your tea encourages you to drink up, then go ahead and treat yourself to a heaping teaspoon or two. The bottom line is that honey is still a sweetener, and contains roughly the same amount of calories as table sugar. Honey should be enjoyed in moderation for its flavor and sweetness, any nutritional or health components are just a bonus, says Bannan.

Wedderspoon Raw Multifloral Manuka Honey

With its naturally occurring enzymes and comforting caramel flavor, youll never have to open and close a jar lid with sticky fingers again thanks to its BPA-free squeeze bottle.

While documentation in Spanish art illustrates honey harvesting as far back as 8,000 years ago, agave is a relatively newer trend, with its official entrance into the American market at an Anaheim, California health trade show in 1995. Affectionately referred to as the century plant for its rare blooms, early documentation in Mexican history suggests the plants uses range from medicine to needles, clothes, and of course, sweet nectar. Agave syrup is made from the leaves of the agave plant. The plant is first cut and pressed to extract the sugary sap. The refining and processing of agave tends to destroy much of the beneficial health effects, says Bannan. There are 200 known agave succulent plant varieties, which can reach upwards of eight feet tall and 100 pounds.

Though the plant might look intimidating in size, using its nectar in everyday cooking is far from it. Since becoming vegan, Ive seamlessly incorporated it into smoothies and dessert recipes as I, admittedly, struggle to reduce my artificial sweetener intake.

According to Bannan, agave can boast several different characteristics depending on how its harvested.

Light: Light and mild in both flavor and color.

Amber: Darker in color with a more caramel flavor.

Dark: Strong in caramel flavor and color.

Raw: Light in color and flavor, its produced at a lower temperature so as not to destroy its naturally occurring enzymes.

Blue: Made from the blue agave plant, its light in flavor with a medium-golden hue. The blue agave plant produces a rich, sweet nectar, which is also used to make tequila.

The agave plant on its own does contain numerous health benefits. Unfortunately, the process of pulling fructans from the nectar eliminates them, according to the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. One of the reasons agave is popular is the fact that its lower on the glycemic index as compared to other sweeteners, says Bannan, adding that it s likely to raise blood sugar at a slower rate. Since agave is primarily made up of fructose instead of sucroseand high amounts of fructose in the diet may play a role in weight gain and LDL (bad) cholesterol levelsagave should be enjoyed for its flavor rather than health benefits, just like honey, says Bannan.

Kirkland Signature Organic Blue Agave Nectar

Many brands use fillers or extra sugar to pad their product, but this contains 100 percent pure blue agave. If organic is something that matters to you, this is a great bet.

Flavor profile:

The main difference between agave and honey when cooking is their flavor profile, says Bannan. Honey has a distinct, and stronger flavor, while agave is more neutral. If you want the flavor of honey as part of the dish, use honey. If you simply want a sweet element that doesn't have an overpowering flavor, use agave.

Texture:

While both sweeteners boast a syrup-like consistency no matter the variety, agave tends to be thinner than honey, making it generally easier to measure accurately, stir into liquid recipes like salad dressings and drinks.

Shelf life:

Unopened, Bannan says honey can last for decades, but is subject to quality changes once opened and stored. Generally, a shelf life of one to two years is stated on packages of honey to account for these changes in quality, she says. Most agave nectars, however, have a shelf life of two years.

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What's The Difference Between Honey and Agave? - The Daily Beast

By Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute CEO

Jeff Moyer, CEO of Rodale Institute

The world is slowly reopeningbut the COVID-19 crisis isnt over, and everyone still has concerns. While in many areas, the number of cases is decreasing, our health will remain in danger until we make a major change and paradigm shift.

That change is closer than you might think. Its in your kitchen, your backyard garden, and at the farmers market you visit every weekend.

The solution is our soil and in our food. What we eat is critical to protecting our health, and our broken food system needs an overhaul.

...

The coronavirus pandemic has focused the spotlight on the importance of health, immunity, and disease prevention. We watched as our medical systems became inundated with patients, while feeling helpless to support our own health in the face of an invisible threat.

As we return to a new normal, it is imperative that we stay vigilant about maintaining our health. Sales of organic food rose 22 percent in March, 18 percent in April, and 16 percent in May as consumers looked for ways to boost their immune systems. We cannot return to our industrial, chemical food system as the crisis recedesa food system that is harming both people and the planetand expect positive impacts on our personal health. We need resilient agriculture for the future.

What we eat is directly related to how we feel and how we protect our health. So why have we allowed an agricultural system that sprays our food with chemicals, disproportionately harms vulnerable communities, and poisons our environment be the main source of food for our families? Why is our medical system so out of touch with the role that food plays in our physical health, prescribing pharmaceuticals for lifestyle diseases that create even more side effects and problems?

...

For too long, farmers and doctors have been siloed while pursuing the same goal: keeping people healthy. Remember the grade school adage an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Its far past time that we bring these individuals, and professions, back together.

The path towards change can be found in Regenerative Healthcare. Regenerative organic food is free of the threat of chemicals like glyphosate, a probable carcinogen. At Rodale Institute, our research has shown not only that organic can feed the world, but that it can feed the worlds families more nutrient dense food, full of natural antioxidants and phytonutrients that can prevent, suspend, and even reverse the most wide-spread of lifestyle diseases.

And yet, the Standard American Diet comprises only 11 percent of its calories from whole plant foods, and more than 50 percent from highly processed products. Today, over 70 percent of global deaths are due to lifestyle-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic immune disorders.

When facing a threat as strong as COVID-19, we need to avail ourselves of every support system we have. Our diet is one of the simplest ways to improve our health and take control over our lives. And yet, nutrition is roundly downplayed in the medical community. In fact, many medical students receive less than 25 hours of training in nutrition during their entire education.

We need to deploy a health care system in which farmers and physicians work together to inform a prevention-based approach to human and environmental health. Regenerative Healthcare is the only path forward.

We must combine what we know about the power of food with our knowledge of nutrition and our bodies, working to prevent disease through an organic, whole-foods, plant-forward diet that begins on farms that work in harmony with nature.

...

For over 70 years, Rodale Institute has been researching the benefits of regenerative organic agriculture. From the beginning, our mission has been to support healthy soil that grows healthy food, feeding healthy people.

Results from Rodale Institutes Farming Systems Trial, a 40-year side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional grain cropping systems, has shown conclusively that organic systems are not only comparable to conventional systems in terms of yields, but can yield up to 40 percent higher in years of inclement weather like drought. Organic systems also use 45 percent less energy, reducing carbon emissions.

We started this research in 1981, long before a world-wide pandemic upended our society. The wholesale benefits of a regenerative organic food system were true then and are even truer now. Consumers clearly understand that organic food is healthier, as organic grocery sales and CSA memberships have skyrocketed since the pandemic took hold.

...

Adapting the holistic, regenerative model to our nations healthcare systems is a crucial step in improving human health. A shift in our medical system away from pharmaceutical-based disease management towards an integrative system founded on lifestyle medicinesupported by organic, nutrient-dense whole foodscould dramatically alter the trajectory of chronic disease and create a healthier future.

Let us agreewe cannot forget the critical role our food plays in protecting our health. Though the everyday threat of COVID-19 will eventually be a memory, the decisions we make about our food will always affect us. Take the first steps to protect your health now. You wont regret it.

Interested in more solutions? Rodale Institute, with our partners at The Plantrician Project, have released a new scientifically documented white paper that brings together, for the first time, doctors, scientists, and farmers to analyze the ways our food system has failed us, and, more importantly, solutions for a new path. The Power of the Plate: The Case for Regenerative Organic Agriculture in Improving Human Health is available for download at RodaleInstitute.org/poweroftheplate.

Jeff Moyer is the Chief Executive Officer of Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He has worked in regenerative organic farming for over 40 years and is the author of Organic No-Till Farming: Advancing No-Till Agriculture.

An op-ed by Jeff Moyer, CEO of the Rodale Institute

Despite the risks of COVID-19, millions of citizens have sparked protests and riots in their cities to demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the thousands of other victims killed by police brutality and violence.

Mayor Sal Panto comments on the protests and unrest following the death of George Floyd.

By PA State Police Commissioner Col. Robert Evanchick

What we saw this weekend in Philadelphia was not a protest - it was a riot. In fact, nearly every major city across the nation was ravaged by looting, violence and arson.

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As the world reopens, a threat to our health still looms - WFMZ Allentown

Futuristic Reports, The growth and development of Global Nutrigenomics Market Report 2020 by Players, Regions, Type, and Application, forecast to 2026 provides industry analysis and forecast from 2020-2026. Global Nutrigenomics Market analysis delivers important insights and provides a competitive and useful advantage to the pursuers. Nutrigenomics processes, economic growth is analyzed as well. The data chart is also backed up by using statistical tools.

Simultaneously, we classify different Nutrigenomics markets based on their definitions. Downstream consumers and upstream materials scrutiny are also carried out. Each segment includes an in-depth explanation of the factors that are useful to drive and restrain it.

Key Players Mentioned in the study are Danone, Genomix Nutrition Inc., Cura Integrative Medicine, Nutrigenomix, Metagenics Inc, Nutrigenomics New Zealand, WellGen Inc., GX Sciences, BASF SE, XCODE Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., DSM N.V., DNALIFE, NutraGene

For Better Understanding, Download FREE Sample Copy of Nutrigenomics Market Report @ https://www.futuristicreports.com/request-sample/15824

Key Issues Addressed by Nutrigenomics Market: It is very significant to have Nutrigenomics segmentation analysis to figure out the essential factors of growth and development of the market in a particular sector. The Nutrigenomics report offers well summarized and reliable information about every segment of growth, development, production, demand, types, application of the specific product which will be useful for players to focus and highlight on.

Businesses Segmentation of Nutrigenomics Market:

On the basis on the applications, this report focuses on the status and Nutrigenomics outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, and growth rate for each application, including-

Comprises Obesity Diabetes Anti-Aging Chronic Diseases Others

On the basis of types/products, this Nutrigenomics report displays the revenue (Million USD), product price, market share, and growth rate of each type, split into-

Reagents & Kits Pharmaceutical Food and Nutrition Services

Grab Best Discount on Nutrigenomics Market Research Report [Single User | Multi User | Corporate Users] @ https://www.futuristicreports.com/check-discount/15824

NOTE : Our team is studying Covid-19 impact analysis on various industry verticals and Country Level impact for a better analysis of markets and industries. The 2020 latest edition of this report is entitled to provide additional commentary on latest scenario, economic slowdown and COVID-19 impact on overall industry. Further it will also provide qualitative information about when industry could come back on track and what possible measures industry players are taking to deal with current situation.

or

You just drop an Email to:[emailprotected] us if you are looking for any Economical analysis to shift towards the New Normal on any Country or Industry Verticals.

Nutrigenomics Market Regional Analysis Includes:

Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada.) South America (Brazil etc.) The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt.)

Nutrigenomics Insights that Study is going to provide:

Gain perceptive study of this current Nutrigenomics sector and also possess a comprehension of the industry; Describe the Nutrigenomics advancements, key issues, and methods to moderate the advancement threats; Competitors In this chapter, leading players are studied with respect to their company profile, product portfolio, capacity, price, cost, and revenue. A separate chapter on Nutrigenomics market structure to gain insights on Leaders confrontational towards market [Merger and Acquisition / Recent Investment and Key Developments] Patent Analysis** Number of patents filed in recent years.

Table of Content:

Global Nutrigenomics Market Size, Status and Forecast 20261. Market Introduction and Market Overview2. Industry Chain Analysis3. Nutrigenomics Market, by Type4. Nutrigenomics Market, by Application5. Production, Value ($) by Regions6. Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2016-2020)7. Market Status and SWOT Analysis by Regions (Sales Point)8. Competitive Landscape9. Analysis and Forecast by Type and Application10. Channel Analysis11. New Project Feasibility Analysis12. Market Forecast 2020-202613. Conclusion

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Nutrigenomics Market 2020 Global Analysis and Opportunity Assessment | Danone, Genomix Nutrition Inc., Cura Integrative Medicine and Others Cole...