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Research shows a link between racism and Alzheimer’s disease

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In the Spring 2023 issue of the journal, the Alzheimer’s Association cited two studies that linked racism to the event of Alzheimer’s disease. They linked this research to a call to handle the health disparities and inequities that Black people face.

As the magazine stated, this research declared that racism have to be addressed to make sure health equity and justice amongst all racial and ethnic groups. According to a study conducted by a team of researchers at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, exposure to racism is related to poorer memory in middle age.

As Dr. Jennifer Manly, professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said: “Overall, our findings indicate that racism impacts brain health and contributes to the inequitable burden of Alzheimer’s disease among marginalized groups.”

Manly added: “Black adults are approximately twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia in Latino adults as in white adults.”

Scientists have known for a while that discrimination causes health disparities and inequality, but they didn’t know whether discrimination had any effect on memory and considering in older adults. To test this theory, Dr. Kristen George, assistant professor of epidemiology on the University of California School of Public Health Sciences, conducted experiments that examined the connection between discrimination and cognitive function in black, white, Asian, Latino, and multiracial people whose average age was 93 years.

George found that folks who had experienced discrimination of their lives had poorer long-term memory for ideas, facts and concepts than individuals who had not experienced it. George told the web site: “These findings highlight that despite this group’s incredible longevity, discrimination has an indelible impact on cognitive health.”

In 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services added a section on combating systemic racism to this 12 months’s report update of the National Plan for Preventing Alzheimer’s Diseasewhich Dr. Carl V. Hill, MPH, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer on the Alzheimer’s Association, says is critically necessary.

“To achieve health equity – which is a step toward total inclusion and representation – individuals and society must identify and reduce racism and other forms of discrimination,” Hill said. “We must create a society where the undervalued, disproportionately affected and underrepresented are safe, cared for and valued.”

In January 2024, HHS commissioned a study regarding Literature on racial and ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s diseasewhich is the clearest indication that the federal government views this issue as a public health issue. Their study found that along with Black people’s experience of racism, Alzheimer’s disease can be attributed to a number of other aspects that disproportionately affect Black people. These aspects include, but will not be limited to: hypertension, heart failure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Racial bias within the healthcare industry, while circuitously linked to Alzheimer’s disease, is one more reason why black people receive different treatment in comparison with other ethnic groups.

In summary, the study found that there are persistent and unfavorable disparities between black and non-white people in Latin America compared with white people within the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, participation in clinical trials and other indicators of quality of care. The study didn’t explain why these disparities exist, but noted that additional aspects corresponding to education and poverty could also be at play.

“The reasons for these differences will not be well understood, but include possible genetic differences, the presence of other diseases which will increase the danger of Alzheimer’s disease, higher rates of poverty and lower levels of education. Additionally, differences in service use and spending could also be related to cultural differences and racial and ethnic discrimination. Although these disparities are well-known, little is understood concerning the effectiveness of assorted strategies, corresponding to cultural competence training, to handle these disparities within the context of Alzheimer’s disease, with almost no research available examining possible interventions.”

The study does offer a glimmer of hope for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Rather than simply attempting to ensure equal access to services, a higher solution is to find out what the suitable level of care is and be certain that the patient can receive that care at the correct time and in the correct setting.

“In seeking to alleviate these disparities, one of the important points made in the IOM report is that matching needs to services is a more important goal than trying to provide an equal amount of services to different groups,” it concludes. “Both under- and over-treatment can be a problem and it would be undesirable to insist that all patients be treated equally. Instead, the goal should be the right care, delivered to the right patient, at the right time, in the right setting.”


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

Dangers of sleep deprivation

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Most of us are all too acquainted with that dull, drained feeling after an evening of no sleep. But some social media users have taken their tiredness to the acute by collaborating in something they call the “no sleep challenge.”

A 19-year-old YouTuber, Norme, live-streamed his try and break the world record for probably the most consecutive days without sleep. After 250 hours, viewers he expressed concerns about Norme’s health and well-being, but he ultimately managed to realize a “sleep-free” time of 264 hours and 24 minutes.

Norme’s attempt earned him bans from social media platforms YouTube and Kick. However, despite his claims of breaking the world record, his experience was not enough to beat the last Guinness record holder, Robert McDonald, who amassed 453 hours – almost 19 days! – in 1986.

In 1997, Guinness World Records stopped tracking the record for longest time without sleep for safety reasons—and so they were right. Going without sleep for long periods of time may be incredibly dangerous.

Adults should strive for greater than seven hours of sleep a day frequently. Chronic inability to get enough sleep is related to an increased risk many conditions akin to depression, diabetes, obesity, heart attack, hypertension and stroke.

Sleep is a vital part of our each day routine. It allows many of our body systems to rest and give attention to repair and recovery.

During the primary three stages of sleep parasympathetic nervous system – which regulates rest and digestion – takes over. This reduces lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

In the last stage, the rapid eye movement phase (REM), the center activity increases and the eyes move – this stage is crucial for such cognitive functions as creativity, learning and memory. Alcohol Or caffeine Consuming before bed may disrupt sleep cycles.

Sleep deprivation may be acute or chronic. Acute deprivation may occur inside one or two days.

Although it could appear to be a brief period of time, 24 hours of sleep deprivation may cause a greater degree functional impairment than exceeding the alcohol limit. Symptoms of severe sleep deprivation can include puffy eyes or dark circles under the eyes, irritability, cognitive decline, brain fog AND food cravings.

On the second day without sleep, symptoms grow to be more severe, behavioral changes occur, and cognitive function continues to say no. The body’s need for sleep becomes stronger, causing “micro-sleep” – involuntary naps lasting about 30 seconds.

The body’s need for food increases, as do physiological responses akin to: systemic inflammation AND impaired immune responsewhich makes us more prone to disease.

The third 24-hour period may trigger a desperate need for sleep, increasing the likelihood of longer microsleeps, depersonalization – feelings of detachment from reality – and hallucinations. After the fourth day of insomnia, all symptoms grow to be much worse and progress to a state psychosis because of lack of sleep where you might be unable to interpret reality and feel a painful have to sleep.

Recovery from sleep deprivation varies from individual to individual; some people only need a solid night’s sleep to get well. For others, it could take days or even weeks.

However, studies have shown that restorative sleep often doesn’t reverse the metabolic changes that could cause weight gain and decreased insulin sensitivity, even for relatively short periods of sleep deprivation.

Shift employees may be chronically sleep deprived. Shift employees typically work a median of one to 4 hours less sleep per day than people whose working hours fall on daytime hours – which can increase their risk of premature death.

In fact, many studies have shown that too little sleep is related to increased risk of death. However, an excessive amount of sleep can also be related to increased risk of death.

It is subsequently best on your health to avoid social media challenges and as an alternative go for good sleep hygiene to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep. Your body will thanks for it.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

new health campaign highlights common source of anxiety

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For most individuals, the every day or near-daily ritual of having a bowel movement isn’t something we give much thought to. However, for some people, the necessity to do a double in a public restroom or at work might be fraught with significant stress and anxiety.

In response to the discomfort people may feel when passing stools at work, the Queensland Department of Health recently launched a social media campaign called ‘It’s OK to poo at work’.

The campaign gained significant popularity Instagram AND Facebook. This was praised by health and marketing experts for his or her witty tackle a taboo topic.

The colourful Instagram post comes with a caption warning of the health risks of “holding on,” including hemorrhoids and other gastrointestinal issues. The caption also includes the next note:

If you might have great difficulty relieving yourself within the presence of other people, it’s possible you’ll be affected by parkinsonism.

What is parkerosis?

Parcopresis, sometimes called “shame bowel”, occurs when people have difficulty or are unable to pass stool in public toilets as a consequence of fear of perceived control from others.

People affected by parkinsonism may have difficulty to make use of the bathroom in public places resembling shopping malls, restaurants, at work or school, and even at home when friends or family are around.

They may fear judgment from others about unpleasant odors or sounds during bowel movements, or how long it takes them to have a bowel movement.

Living with a digestive disease (no less than 4 in ten Australians c) may contribute to parcopresis as a consequence of fear of having to make use of the bathroom steadily and perceived evaluation from others when doing so. Other aspects, resembling past negative experiences or accessibility issues, can also play a task.

Some people may feel uncomfortable using the bathroom at work.
Motortion Films/Shutterstock

People with this condition may experience anxiety through rapid heartbeat, rapid respiratory, sweating, muscle tension, blushing, nausea, tremors, or a mix of these symptoms. They may feel constant anxiety about situations by which they might need to make use of a public restroom.

Living with parcopresis can affect many areas of life and overall quality of life. For example, victims could have difficulties with employment, relationships and social life. They may avoid traveling or attending certain events because of their symptoms.

How common is parkinsonism?

We don’t really know the way common parcopresis is, partly since it’s difficult to evaluate. It’s not necessarily easy or accurate to trace people to see in the event that they’re using or avoiding public restrooms (and why). Furthermore, observing individual bathroom activities can change an individual’s behavior.

AND conducted a study to higher understand how common parcopresis is. The study involved 714 university students. I asked participants to answer a series of vignettes, or scenarios.

In each vignette, participants were informed that they were in a neighborhood shopping center and needed to alleviate themselves. In the vignettes, the bathrooms (which had been recently cleaned) had configurations of two or three toilet stalls. Each vignette varied within the configuration of the available stalls.

Several scenes showing different toilet configurations.
In my research, various methods were used to evaluate parkinsonism.
First published in Current Psychology, Volume 42, Pages 1762–1772, 2023, by Springer Nature

The overall avoidance rate was just over 14%. However, participants were more more likely to avoid using the bathroom when other stalls were occupied.

About 10% avoided walking when all toilets were available. This percentage increased to about 25% when only the center of three toilets was available. Men were significantly less more likely to avoid walking than women in all vignettes.

Many of those that avoided using the bathroom said they might either go home to alleviate themselves, use an accessible disabled toilet, or return when the lavatory was empty.

Parcopresis at work

In the work environment, anxiety levels related to using shared bathrooms could also be higher for several reasons.

For example, people may feel more embarrassed about their bodily functions being heard or observed by peers than they might be by strangers in a public restroom.

People can also feel guilt, shame, and fear of being judged by colleagues or superiors in the event that they should make long or frequent trips to the lavatory. This could also be particularly true for individuals with gastrointestinal disease.

Reducing anxiety related to using the bathroom

Using a public toilet can understandably cause some anxiety or be unpleasant. However, for a small minority of people it could possibly be an actual problem, causing serious anxiety and affecting their ability to perform on a regular basis activities.

If pooping in the lavatory at work or in one other public place makes you anxious, be kind to yourself. Just a few strategies might help:

  • discover and query negative thoughts about using public toilets and remind yourself that using the lavatory is normal and that the majority people don’t concentrate to others in toilets

  • try to administer stress with rest techniques resembling deep respiratory and progressive muscle restwhich involves tensing and relaxing various muscles within the body

  • getting involved in gradual exposure it could possibly be helpful, which suggests visiting public toilets at different times and places, so you may gain confidence in using them

  • use grounding or distraction techniques when using the bathroom. These may include listening to musicwatching something in your phone or specializing in your respiratory.

If you are feeling like you might have parcopressive symptoms, significant impact in your life, seek advice from your loved ones doctor or psychologist who might help determine appropriate treatment approaches. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy.


This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

5 Picky Eating Habits – and How to Help Your Child Overcome Them

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Have you ever negotiated with a pint-sized dictator about eating a single pea? You’re not alone. Almost half of the kids undergo a period of picky eating that typically peaks around age three.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors developed a natural aversion to unfamiliar foods and bitter tastes to avoid taking in toxins. They also learned to search for and store certain types high-energy, tasty dishes to avoid hunger during times of food shortage.

But the food we eat from an early age shapes our food preferences for all times and eating regimen. So what are you able to do in case your child doesn’t want to eat familiar or latest foods or wants to restrict their eating regimen?

Here are the five most typical forms of picky eating and how to overcome them.

1. Eating only beige or white foods

When it comes to picky eating, beige and white foods tend to reign supreme. That’s because these foods are:

  • known – they’ve the colour of mother’s milk and are food products that we normally use when introducing solid foods, e.g. baby porridge

  • mild or with a light taste – they don’t overwhelm the little ones who’ve Over 30,000 taste buds (compared to over 10,000 adults)

  • easy – they are sometimes soft and easy to chew, which makes them attractive to toddlers developing chewing skills

  • harmless – are the other of what our hunter-gatherer ancestors taught us to avoid: the brightly coloured – and toxic – foods present in the wild.

While chances are you’ll be tempted to skip eating chicken nuggets at every meal, a eating regimen consisting exclusively of beige and white foods is probably going to be highly processed and low in dietary fiber. This may cause constipation. and depletion of healthy gut bacteria.

A beige and white eating regimen may also cause a deficiency of vitamins and minerals crucial for healthy development and growth, including vitamins B and C and iron.

To enrich your child’s eating regimen with healthier and more colourful food options:

  • mix things up. Combine less healthy beige and white foods with healthier ones, like mixing cannellini beans and cauliflower into mashed potatoes

  • make healthy swaps. Gradually replace your favorite white bread, pasta, and rice with whole grain versions; for instance, mix brown rice with a serving of white

  • Use familiarity to your advantage. Introduce colourful food options alongside the familiar beige and white, corresponding to offering fruit to dip in yogurt or a healthy red or green sauce for pasta.

2. Refusing anything but milk

It’s no wonder babies love milk. It’s been a relentless of their lives since birth. And it’s related to greater than just satisfying hunger – it’s there after they’re drained and about to go to sleep, after they’re nervous and need comfort, and after they’re having fun with the corporate of mom or dad.

It also comprises lactose, a sugar found naturally in milk, which is why it tastes sweet and stimulates the human hunter-gatherer instinct to search out foods high in natural sugar to avoid hunger.

Milk is related to greater than just satisfying hunger.
Ekaterina Bolovtsova/Pexels

Although dairy provides essential calcium for young children, it have to be a part of a balanced eating regimen. Australian Dietary Guidelines We recommend that children devour 1–1½ servings of milk (1 glass = 1 serving), yogurt (200 g = 1 serving) and cheese (2 slices = 1 serving) (or substitutes) per day.

If your baby drinks an excessive amount of milk, there’s a risk iron deficiencybecause milk is a poor source of iron and makes it difficult for the body to absorb it.

To wean your baby off milk, try:

  • fact-finding. When your child asks for milk, ask questions to understand what he really wants. Is he hungry, thirsty, or wants comfort? Offer that as an alternative

  • first eat solids. Tempt your toddler with healthy and interesting-looking foods, and offer milk only after eating something solid

  • smaller portions. Switch to serving milk in a smaller cup.

3. Avoid foods with the consistency

Refusal to eat lumpy, chewy, or strangely textured foods is common in young children who’re developing sensory and oral motor skills.

It can be common for folks to proceed to mix these foods because trying foods of various consistencies is commonly accompanied by a gag reflex.

To help your baby transition to foods of various textures and make certain they develop the muscles crucial to eat safely:

  • slowly increase the consistency. Start with a food your child likes, corresponding to blended carrots, and progressively mix for shorter periods to keep the lumps

  • stay calm in case your baby is choking. Let him understand it’s okay, and give them time to take care of it themselves. After coughing up, encourage your child to try one other spoonful or try again next time.

4. Refusal to eat vegetables

The consistency, brightness and bitter taste of some vegetables could also be repulsive for some children.

However, vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that young children need.

The toddler eats vegetables
Vegetables contain fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Cottonbro/Pexels

To overcome your child’s aversion to vegetables, get creative. Food appearance affects our perception of its taste, so make vegetables more attractive by arranging them in a fun way in your plate.

Get creative by incorporating veggies in latest ways, like grating carrots or kale into muffins or using a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles.

Focus on offering sweeter vegetables, corresponding to peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and roast them to bring out their natural sweetness. Children are more likely to reach for sweeter vegetables than bitter ones, corresponding to broccoli.

5. Refusal to eat meat

Meat comprises protein and iron, but many young children refuse to eat it due to its hard, rubbery consistency and intense taste.

If you would like your child to achieve each day protein intake (for instance 80 g of cooked chicken or 65 g of cooked lean beef) but you concentrate on it a challenge:

  • start small. Offer leaner, lighter-tasting meats in small portions which might be easy to chew, corresponding to ground chicken or slow-cooked meats

  • Involve your child in meal preparation. Ask them to select the meat for dinner and ask them to help prepare it.

There are also alternatives you’ll be able to offer as you’re employed to overcome your aversion to meat. Eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, and fish are also high in protein.

Problems with chewing and swallowing and food aversions could also be a symptom of underlying health conditions, so seek the advice of your GP or child and family health nurse in case your child’s picky eating behaviour continues beyond infancy or the preschool period.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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