(Mirror Daily, United States) – Last year, Americans experienced the lowest well-being levels since the financial crisis, a Gallup survey shows. In 2017, the perceived well-being of the dwellers of the strongest economy in the world took a sharp dive.

The poll shows that the sense of well-being dropped across 21 U.S. states. The Gallup metric tracks various factors including a sense of purpose, financial security, social relationships, and physical health.

The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index shows that the sense of well-being slid to 61.5 from 62.1 in just one year. The drop is the lowest year-to-year decline since the early days of the Great Recession in 2009.

Americans reported similar low levels of well-being in 2009, when they were facing high jobless rates. Mysteriously, 2017 was as challenging as 2009 when it comes to living and working in America, despite the huge improvements seen at a macroeconomic level.

‘Emotional Anxiety’ Sky-High among Americans

Gallup researchers noted that Americans are affected by the same amount of “emotional anxiety” as they were in 2009. Many of them reported “significant worry on any given day”.

Study authors couldn’t explain the disconnect between the respondents’ negative attitude toward life and the strong economic conditions last year. Most troubles, however, are emotional and psychological.

Americans scored the lowest at their perceived ability of achieving goals and connecting with their friends and family members. The financial security was not that of a big issue. Also, fewer Americans said they were smoking or obese, but more of them reported emotional pain and headaches.

This situation could fuel depression and anxiety which could lead to a spike in hospitalizations especially among people with chronic conditions like diabetes. This could add a heavy burden to the U.S. healthcare system, experts believe, unless the sufferers have a strong peer support.
Image Source: Wikimedia

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Indian authorities have recently arrested a man who injected the HIV virus in 33 people while impersonating a doctor.

Police said the fake doctor, Rajendra Yadav, used an infected needle to “treat” his patients.

The man reportedly visited his patients at their homes and even “prescribed” them medication for their ailments. He charged the unknowing patients a few cents for each treated condition. People in India agree to pay such wandering doctors since the country’s health system is too overburdened to take their cases.

In November, local authorities knew something was wrong when dozens of people from the same area tested positive for the HIV virus. Medics noted that many cases came from the same area, so they had to set up awareness sessions and treat the patients.

Fake Doctor Used the Same Needle on Dozens of Patients

All patients said Yadav gave them the shots without changing needles. Authorities suspect the needle was tainted with the deadly virus which causes AIDS. On Wednesday, the phony doctor was arrested at his residence in Bangarmau.

He now faces charges of homicide, doctor impersonation, and spreading a dangerous disease. The police said they aren’t 100% that the man is the sole responsible. There may be others, so the investigation is ongoing.

Very few people in the area where Yadav was operating knew what happened before the media covered the case. A local shopkeeper recalled that one of his friends told him that he had been diagnosed with HIV, but didn’t know how was that possible.

With a population of 1.33 billion Indians, the country faces a severe shortage of medics. So, many Indians who live in rural areas resort to untrained “doctors” for health care service.

According to official statistics, there was one physician to every 1,500 patients in India last year. Authorities are trying to fix the issue by investing more in new medical schools and revamping the existing ones.
Image Source: Maxpixel

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A new study suggests that eating certain foods can fuel tumor growth in some types of cancer. Researchers recommend staying away from asparagus to prevent cancer cells from further spreading.

The recent study analyzed the changes in the diets of patient diagnosed with breast cancer after multiple mouse studies had revealed that a nutrient in asparagus, asparagine, can fuel the spread of cancer to nearby tissue and organs. Asparagine is found in some other types of foods, not just asparagus.

When researchers reduced sick mice’s intake of asparagine they noticed that the growth of secondary tumors was reduced significantly. Cancer can spread to the brain, lungs, and bones. When that happens, the breast cancer patient dies.

Prof Greg Hannon, who led the study, was excited to announce the first study that offers a “scientific rationale” for changing diet plans to keep cancer in check. Hannon leads the Cancer Research UK Cancer Institute.

Asparagine Fuels Cancer

Asparagine is a naturally occurring aminoacid in the human body, but it is also found in some foods like dairy products, some types of meat, and vegetables.

In the study, the researchers zoomed in on a very invasive form of breast cancer in which mice’s bodies produce secondary tumors in just a few weeks since the initial diagnosis. The small animals also die of cancer in a matter of months.

The study, which appeared this week in the journal Nature, shows that mice that were given a drug that inhibits the production of asparagine had a significantly lower risk of cancer spread. Also, removing the compound from their diets altogether greatly helped.

To confirm their findings, scientists analyzed dozens of medical records and found that asparagine boosts the risk of tumor spread exponentially in human breast cancer patients, as well. A similar link was found in patients diagnosed with neck, head, and kidney cancers.
Image Source: Maxpixel

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A recently published Chinese study shows that consuming very hot tea can up the risk of throat cancer exponentially, especially if you also abuse alcohol or smoke cigarettes.

The findings, which appeared this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, revealed that smokers and heavy drinkers have a five-fold risk of being diagnosed with esophageal cancer if they their tea is too hot.

The Chinese study involved 456,155 participants in the 20-79 age bracket. The volunteers were followed for nine years, and their smoking, tea consumption, and alcohol consumption habits were self-reported.

Study participants also reported if their tea routine involved warm, hot, or scalding hot tea. Those who used to drink hot or scalding hot tea every day and were also abusing alcohol from time to time had a higher risk of developing throat cancer than their peers who did not drink their tea hot.

Also, smokers who drank their tea hot or very hot had a 56 percent increased risk of throat cancer, researchers reported. Participants who drank alcohol, smoked, and drank their tea burning hot or just hot had a five-fold risk of esophageal cancer.

Very Hot Tea Clearly Tied to Cancer

The study’s findings should be of concern since it is one of the largest studies of its kind. However, the analysis does have some limitations, as participants didn’t use thermometers to measure the temperature of the tea. The assessment of tea temperature was based on self-reports.

The Chinese study is not the first one to find that drinking very hot beverages can cause cancer. The World Health Organization’s research arm found that consuming “very hot beverages” can “probably” lead to cancer.

The safe temperatures for beverages seem to be below 149F or 65C. In the United States, coffee is usually consumed at around 140F. But for non-smokers and those who do not abuse alcohol, the risk of cancer is minimal.
Image Source: Pixabay

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Patient advocacy groups claim that overmedication of anti-psychotic drugs is still a huge problem at many nursing homes in the U.S., as the facilities use the powerful medication to pacify loud seniors such as those suffering from dementia.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the use of anti-psychotics on the elderly decreased from 24% two decades ago to 16% of the patients in 2017. Improvements have been reported in all 50 states.

However, experts are not convinced that things have changed that much in practice. U.S. nursing homes may now be using other types of sedatives to pacify their patients. The Center for Medicare Advocacy and other nonprofits that fight for patients’ rights said that even the 16% level of usage is still high.

Dementia and Anti-Psychotics Don’t Mix Well

Giving anti-psychotics to dementia patients poses a huge risk, as past studies have shown that the mix of dementia and anti-psychotic could be deadly for many patients.

Given the dire consequences, it should be zero,

Kelly Bagby of the  AARP Foundation Litigation said about the use of antipsychotics on such patients.

Bagby, who took part in many legal fights against nursing homes mistreating their patients, noted that the medication is used because it sedates the patients not because it benefits them.

The Human Rights Watch is now pushing for stronger regulatory protections for the elderly in nursing homes that are given anti-psychotics against their wish. One spokesperson for the group underlined that the protections look great “on paper,” while “in practice,” many health care facilities ignore the rules.

A decade ago, 270,000 dementia patients in nursing homes were being given the powerful class of drugs even though anti-psychotics have no real benefits in the case of dementia. Anti-psychotics are beneficial in conditions like bipolar disorders and schizophrenia.
Image Source: Flickr

(Mirror Daily, United States) – The family of a teenage boy in Indiana who committed suicide days after having caught the flu blames Tamiflu for the tragic outcome.

Charlie Harp, 16, reportedly used to thrive in school before he got the flu last Thursday.

His GP gave him Tamiflu to help him relieve the symptoms sooner. His aunt said the boy took the drug the moment they got out of the drug store. One day later, the boy’s aunt texted him but he never replied back.

 I knew something was wrong. My husband came home and found him in the house,

the aunt said.

They discovered the teen’s body in the family’s garage where he killed himself. His family said he was never depressed and never contemplated suicide, so Tamiflu might be to blame.

The medication is known for its ugly side-effects especially when kids and teens are concerned. Some kids hear voices, others have hallucinations, while others experience psychotic events. Because of that, Japan outlawed Tamiflu for kids and teens.

Dr. Jason Henney of the St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis said psychotic episodes are very rare in patients that take Tamiflu. He explained that if the flu symptoms last for a week, the medication can trim that period by 12 hours. So, taking Tamiflu does not improve the patient’s well-being dramatically.

The drug maker refused to comment on the news but acknowledged that some patients experienced “neuropsychiatric events” during its administration especially if they were children or teenagers.

The company also advised parents to keep an eye on their kids after giving them Tamiflu.

In 2007, Japan banned the drug because two teenage boys broke their legs after jumping out of their home’s windows. Other Japanese teens committed suicide after taking the drug. The ban hasn’t been lifted ever since.
Image Source: Wikimedia

A group of researchers were able to train a 14-year-old orca called Wikie to mimic English words like, “hello” and “bye bye” just like humans do. Wikie was even able to call her trainer by her first name.

Lead author Dr Jose Abramson explained that orcas also known as killer whales make noises through their blowholes, so they are virtually speaking out of their noses. Even though their speech is not perfect, the results were surprising.

The research team’s initial goal was to understand how orcas can imitate noises. Wikie was not able only to imitate the sounds made by her trainer. It also managed to reproduce the sounds emitted by one of its fellow orcas.

A research paper detailing the experiment appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The orca’s trainer instructed it to reproduce the sound with the command “do this”. Wikie also imitated several unique sounds uttered by its three-year-old calf which learned them from the trainer.

Orcas Have Rare Speech Ability

However, the real challenge was imitating human sounds as killer whales are not accustomed with them. Scientists confirmed that Wikie’s sounds and the original sounds were a match through computer algorithms and independent human judges.

The ability to imitate sounds so accurately is very rare in the animal kingdom, researchers said. Not even primates are capable of reproducing human sounds like orcas do.

Orcas, however, are very skilled at imitating sounds as their survival relies on it. Beluga whales and dolphins can also imitate environmental sounds, past research has shown.

In the wild, orca pods use different “dialects” to communicate. They can also mimic the sounds emitted by other species like sea lions and bottlenose dolphins. By imitating sounds, the animals acquire new dialects.
Image Source: Pixabay

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A 19-year-old teen from Florida battling a rare form of soft tissue cancer has just married his high school sweetheart.

Dustin Snyder, 19, told reporters that he knew Sierra Siverio, 21, “was the one” after her staying by his side throughout the entire ordeal.

On Sunday, the couple tied the knot in Plant City, Fla.

After her being there with me through this cancer, always supporting me and loving me, that’s when I knew she was the one,

the terminally ill teen said.

He added that he wanted to give the girl of his dreams something in return before his time was up. According to medics, Snyder has months to live, but family should be prepared as death could occur sooner.

The boy proposed to his girl on Thursday. According to a local newspaper, there has been an overwhelming community support. People bought the couple everything they needed from the gown and wedding rings to the restaurant. The couple was impressed with strangers’ kindness.

Snyder Was Finally Happy

The teen’s sister shared his story on Facebook and started a GoFundMe campaign. By Friday, the pair garnered about $13,000 for their wedding. According to an update, the family got everything they needed for the wedding, and the extra money will be used for medical expenses.

Snyder’s sister said she was shocked to find people could mobilize themselves so fast. She thanked God for being on the couple’s side and said she was happy because her brother was happy.

The teens first met in middle school, but they went separate ways at some point and reunited in high school. Those years have been critical for Snyder since he was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma the day before he was 18 years old.

His mother recalls that on that day they went to the hospital because he had severe chest pains. They thought that asthma may be at fault, but doctors found he had a rare form of cancer that damages soft tissue.
Image Source: Maxpixel

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A very popular ingredient in the Indian kitchen, turmeric, has been recently shown to boost mood and memory in middle-aged people.

Turmeric has many health benefits since it is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, it can improve brain function and keep heart disease at bay. But a recent study shows that the spice can also improve memory and mood in older people.

Last year, a study found that turmeric can improve the odds of survival in pancreatic cancer patients. Other studies have linked it to better outcomes for stroke and Alzheimer’s disease patients.

The many health benefits stem from a key ingredient found in turmeric – curcumin – which is the reason the spice has that yellowish color. Curcumin is a top anti-oxidant, which means that it can shield the body from the damage done by free radicals.

The latest study confirmed that turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and that it can protect the brain from age-related issues.

The findings appeared in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

The Study

Lead author Gary Small, MD, who works at the University of California’s Longevity Center and his team asked 40 participants to join their study, Half of the volunteers were asked to eat turmeric for 18 months and half of participants were given a placebo.

The turmeric group took 90 mg of Theracurmin, a highly absorbable type of turmeric, twice a day. All volunteers underwent cognitive tests at the start of the trial and every 6 months.

Thirty participants got their brains scanned via positron emission tomography (PET) at the start and end of the study as doctors wanted to assess the buildups of beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which mark the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

After 18 months, participants who consumed turmeric as asked saw a 28% improvement in memory tests. The turmeric group also reported better mood, unlike those in the control group.
Image Source: Pixabay

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A large British study revealed that cutting back on cigarettes still doesn’t prevent smokers from having an elevated risk of heart disease and stroke.

In fact, puffing just one cigarette per day is tied to a 50% higher risk of heart disease and 30% higher stroke risk. Experts recommend kicking the habit completely.

The findings, which appeared this week in the BMJ, show that smoking has no safe level when it comes to cardiovascular disease.

Surprisingly, heart disease is the top killer in the United States, not cancer. Around 48% of early deaths in people that smoke are caused by heart disease. While the percentage of smokers has been on a declining trend, more and more smokers tend to cut back to one cigarette per day.

The latest analysis revealed that smoking one cigarette daily still caused heart attacks in middle-aged men. The risk was not prevalent in women, but they too had a 31% higher risk of having a stroke. Men who smoked just one cigarette daily had a 25% higher risk for stroke.

Smokers Should Stop Completely

Lead author Allan Hackshaw noted that cutting back on smoking has some health benefits like lower risk of lung cancer, but it doesn’t trim the risk of cardiovascular disease. Smokers have to stop completely, Hackshaw said.

The study also found that men who smoke just one cigarette per day were 54% less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease and 59% less likely to be have a stroke than men who smoked a full pack per day.

Women were 69% less likely to develop a heart condition than their peers who smoked a full cigarette pack per day.

Researchers underlined that the risk of heart disease increases over a lifetime, but damage to the heart and lungs can be down within just a few years. One piece of good news is that former smokers seem to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke.
Image Source: Flickr