Category Archives: Children Health

Climate Change Threatens Children’s Health – So Let’s Give a Holiday Gift to Our Children

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Climate Crisis for unhappy snowman_Pixabay+CPDI credit a recent Double Take Video from New England Journal of Medicine for inspiring this article on the holiday season. The instructional video focuses on Climate, Pollution, and Children’s Health. In about seven minutes, it eloquently highlights five key ways in which climate change causes a long-lasting negative impact on children’s well-being. I highly recommend everyone to watch it – a link is here.

When we face the reality of climate change, we realize that it has severe implications for human and planetary health, and certainly is a threat to children’s vulnerabilities. A growing body of research has shown that climate change has detrimental effects on children’s health through multiple pathways. So most unfortunately, climate change will have adverse impacts on children born today throughout their lifetime—their nutrition, health, education, and life.

Children are not little adults. They are at a higher risk for health hazards because of various reasons, including but not limited to

  • The way their bodies metabolize toxins during development,
  • The physiological fact that they breathe, eat, and drink more, relative to their body mass (or on a per pound basis), than adults do,
  • Their having less developed natural defenses (from skin and the blood-brain barrier to system and organ functions),
  • Thermoregulation – that is, they regulate their body temperature differently from adults,
  • Unique activity patterns and behaviors.

Understandably, children at varying developmental stages also respond differently to environmental extremes and stressors such as air pollution, UV exposure, increased frequency and severity of heat waves, and contaminated food or water.

Previously, I’ve talked about why the climate crisis is a health crisis and how climate change can impact cancer risk, and I’ve shared some ideas for taking “greener” actions combined with lifestyle modification on a daily basis. Now, let’s give extra attention to children.

As the global climate crisis intensifies, children are likely to bear the consequences of negative impacts over their life course if we don’t take action now. Worth mentioning is that disadvantaged children suffer from a disproportionally high and unjust health burden from climate change. As a result, the long-term impact of multiple physical and psychosocial stressors on children’s health may endanger their future.

Key Takeaway Point 

Climate change is a critical and huge problem. It cannot be solved by any one person. However, the solution can be achieved by collective efforts—from policy levels and organizational involvement to the practices of each of us. To this end …

This holiday, I’m giving my voice as a gift to this vulnerable population—not only my children but also all children in the world—for an important endeavor and a lasting purpose, in order to meet the challenge of climate crisis.

Please join me in taking action in whatever way you can and, consequently, promoting a harmony on earth where the coming generations can enjoy their holidays like us and, more importantly, for their long-term well-being.

Image credit: Pixabay; CPD

Artificial Sweeteners: What Helps and What Hurts

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Past-Present-Future on AS & CancerWhen it comes to artificial sweeteners, do you have mixed feelings? Are you confused about its link to cancer risk or not? Well, you’re not alone.

All over scientific literature, this topic remains intensely controversial. I summarized where we are on an association between consumption of artificial sweeteners and risk of cancer in a flowchart illustration here.

Briefly, little or no evidence from past decades shows common artificial sweeteners have a cancer-causing (i.e., carcinogenic) potential, except a link to bladder cancer in animals but inconsistent results in humans. The US FDA also approved the safety of several artificial sweeteners as food additives.

However, this view has shifted in recent publications. Especially, a large epidemiological study (102,865 adults, follow-up nearly 8 years) found that participants who heavily consumed artificial sweeteners—aspartame and acesulfame-K—showed a 13-15% higher risk of cancer (e.g., breast, obesity-related cancer), compared with non-consumers (Debras et al. PLoS Med. 2022). Keep in mind that obesity is linked to more than ten types of cancer. Meanwhile, the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) would place a high priority in the near future to evaluate the possible carcinogenic effect of aspartame on humans, as recommended by its advisory group.

So, what do you do? How the renewed awareness influences your choice on a healthy and palatable diet?

Artificial sweeteners exist in a wide variety of food (especially those packaged or processed), drinks, drugs, and hygiene products. Therefore, virtually everybody uses or ingests artificial sweeteners, knowingly or not.

An immediate concern is about unanticipated or undesirable consequences from its regular consumption, along with confusion, or worse, disinformation.

But this is more complex than what one may think.

To help clarify it, let’s examine what helps and what hurts in critical areas, so that you can strike a balance between benefits and risks, and make wise choices.

What helps –

Artificial Sweeteners packs_SmWe all have a sweet tooth, and often add a little amount of sugar to enhance our food’s flavors and pleasure.

Artificial sweeteners—as sugar substitutes—are calorie-free and nutrient-free. With their sweet taste or perception, these food additives may affect certain health outcomes. For instance, they are used as a strategy to reduce calorie intake in weight loss programs, though controversies exist. Furthermore, as for whether these sweet alternatives are advantageous, there is little evidence based on long-term studies to demonstrate that.

What hurts – 

Aspartame Structure_SmAfter all, artificial sweeteners are synthetic chemicals hidden in packaged foods and soft drinks, which are different from natural sugar contained in fruits and vegetables.

Excessive sugar intake can negatively impact human metabolism and health. Likewise, excessive consumption of artificial sweeteners is undoubtedly risky.

Of potentially grave concern is those pregnant women and young children who consume aspartame-containing foods and beverages in a large quantity, because research reveals that offspring of rodents exhibit increased incidence of leukemia and lymphoma after fetal or prenatal exposure to aspartame. And there is a clear dose-response correlation between aspartame exposure and occurrence of blood or lymphatic malignancies. Obviously, aspartame is a carcinogen in rodents.

Paradoxically in dietary intervention to counter weight gain, artificial sweeteners might not be as efficient as expected, or at least need to be considered cautiously.

First, we know that sugar is a driver of inflammation and weight gain, and artificial sweeteners are also inflammatory foods. After reviewing more than 100 studies that investigated aspartame in both higher (>40 mg/kg/d) and safe (<40 mg/kg/d) dosages, and ascertaining its harmful effects on various cells, tissues and organs, the authors concluded “aspartame use could not only exacerbate existing systemic inflammation but also cause inflammation if healthy individuals ingest it on a regular basis” (Choudhary & Pretorius. Nutr Rev. 2017).

Chronic, low-grade inflammation is a significant risk factor for the development of many diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s), and arthritis, right? So is malnutrition (or micronutrient deficiency). Malnutrition is associated with not only lower body weight but also obesity.

Taken together, it’s important to understand adverse effects of artificial sweeteners and their metabolites. For individuals with or susceptible to inflammatory bowel disease, it’s critical to avoid or at least limit artificial sweeteners, processed foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Again, lifestyle with a healthy diet is an integrative, effective solution. If you eat more veggies, fruits and less processed foods, you easily curb added sugar or artificial sweeteners without loss of nutrients. For example, you may sprinkle fresh fruits (such as pineapples, oranges, or watermelon, etc.) or dried fruits (such as raisins or dates) onto your salad (or other dish) as a sweet addition—not only making it palatable but also supplying antioxidants (i.e., a bonus). Alternatively, use a tiny amount of honey or maple syrup, when necessary, which is relatively healthier than artificial sweeteners.

So, take-home points:

Enjoy nutrients-dense foods and reduce sugar intake overall. Specifically, eat plenty of fruits and veggies for natural sweetness, and engage in more physical activity to prevent inflammation.

 

Image Credits: CancerPreventionDaily, Pixabay

Key References: click here

Key Vitamins for Holiday Meals at Home and during Travel

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Holiday Meals w-Vitamin A&DEating what you like (not what you really need) cheerfully at the Holiday table and/or eating poorly on the road are hazardous for your physical and immune health.

In this holiday season, I’d like to emphasize the importance of dietary vitamin A and vitamin D. Why?

First, it serves an update on some new knowledge of their role in gut health and immunity. Second, it is critical at this time, with ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, yet emerging a new variant “Omicron”. Finally, it is also significant for public health because micronutrient deficiency in children is a serious concern around the world.

Let’s start with the immune health.

Essentially, our immune responses to harmful invasion comprise two types of protection: one is from B cells, they generate antibodies to neutralize a virus or bacteria; and the other is from T cells, they kill virus-infected cells.

Consider this—if T cells can eliminate the human cells infected by the coronavirus, then they help prevent or stop the progression of COVID-19. That’s why your immune function is vital at this time for indulging the holiday season and fending the new variant in COVID transmission.

Now, we move to the gastrointestinal (GI) system.           

GI tract is a large, important organ/system of immunity. T cells, in fact, represent one of the most abundant immune cell population in the gut. In addition, the gut microbiota may be regarded as crucial troupes or team players of the human defense because fundamentally they regulate our GI immune system.

Gut microbiome play an important role in both health and many illnesses such as infection, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and etc., just to name a few.

Another example is functional dyspepsia (upset stomach), which is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurring symptoms of indigestion without obvious cause; it can be long-lasting, and hard to treat. And disturbance of the gut microbiota has been implicated in this problem, so has the immune cells.

Next, what these matters have to do with vitamin A and vitamin D?

A great deal. Diet is a principal regulator of the gut microbiota. Vitamin A and D play an indispensable role in this function and far beyond.

Vitamin D can be obtained from exposure to sunlight through outdoor activity and then followed by biological reaction and conversion in the body, whereas vitamin A is only acquired through diet. They have immunomodulatory effects on controlling acute and chronic inflammations.

Both vitamin A and vitamin D normalize the gut epithelial and mucosal immune functions by regulating gut microbiota, and consequently maintain homeostasis of the body. Deficiency in either one brings about less diverse, more imbalanced microbial communities, weakened defense by mucosal barrier, and increased susceptibility to injury or infection of the GI tract. In other words, the condition alters the microbiome and integrity of the GI epithelial barrier. It’s like the dam—once the gate is broken, the flood can rush in.

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Diet and Deficiency of the vitamins influence changes in your body.

Vitamin A deficiency, especially in childhood, may result in increased mortality related to GI and respiratory infection, cause anemia and blindness, and impair GI immune and/or vaccine responses.

People with autoimmune diseases share a tendency of vitamin D deficiency. A recent finding showed that over 80% of COVID-19 patients (out of 216) had a status of vitamin D deficiency. Evidently, vitamin D deficiency, old age, and obesity—though as independent risk factors, the combination contributed to COVID-19’s severity and unfortunate outcome.

How to turn this knowledge into health benefits for you and yours

Practical advice:

  1. Have fun with colors and immune boosters, along with creativity for flavor or taste in the holiday meals, whether as side dishes, desserts or smoothie. If you and yours are on the road, make sure to integrate carrots, mushrooms, green veggies, colorful fruits, and salmon or tuna into your food.
  2. Pay attention to your daily diet, esp. whether vitamin A and D are insufficient in your food. A healthy and balanced diet should provide you the adequate amount you need.
  3. It’s important that if vitamin A and/or D from foods are insufficient, ensure your infants or kids (6 months to 5 years) have adequate intake of dietary supplements, based on WHO’s recommendation. Keep in mind that liver (e.g., beef liver) is a rich source of both vitamin A and D.
  4. People with some diseases (e.g., those of digestive tract) or with very poor diets may need to take a vitamin A supplement, but it’s wise to consult with your doctor.
  5. If you need to take a supplement for vitamin A or D, make sure to take it with food, because vitamin A and D are fat-soluble.
  6. Don’t take these supplements to prevent or treat cancer. There is no clear evidence; in fact, some evidence suggests harmful effects.

Happy Holiday w-Vitamins_Sm-long for LIIn summation

When you and your family celebrate the holiday time, enjoy the “life-essential vitamin” (=vitamin A) and “sunshine vitamin” (=vitamin D) too!

Additionally, tampering down or subduing your appetite for certain food (i.e., high fat, high sodium, and high sugar) and holding back for another plate or portion, all can go a long way to protect your health and immunity. After all, your immune strength depends on more than antibodies or food alone.

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Holiday season!

 

Image credit: Pixabay and CPD

Protect Your Heart, Prevent COVID Heart

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Covid heart w-ECG_pexabay & CPDYou want a good, young heart, right?

What if your heart became a target of our enemy—coronavirus?

You’re in terror or at least concerned. And I’m here to help you.

Heart health is more critical in the COVID era than ever. This is why I’d like to deliver several key points for everyone through real life stories and tips.

Yes, these apply to virtually everybody; from healthy to frail populations, to cancer survivors with cardiovascular disorders who then contracted COVID-19, and to children, with specific strategies for each group.

Why does your heart deserve urgent and special attention?

Cardiovascular manifestations or lasting effects have emerged as one of the most significant and fatal complications of the COVID-19, although the primary target of coronavirus is known at the respiratory tract. COVID-19 affects the heart in both short-term and long-term.

This is because the virus can enter the human heart and cause damage, period. Notable and wide spectrum of injuries include myocarditis, acute cardiac injury, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats), cardiovascular clots, heart failure, cardiac arrest, … etc., leading to higher mortality.

LV Large Thrombus to insert in text_Covid myocarditisLook at this chest CT image—a large thrombus (a blood clot, indicated by red arrow) in the left ventricle of the heart (reported by Dr. Hudowenz’s team)

The case is about a 48-year-old man who presented at the clinic with typical COVID symptoms like fever, fatigue, breathing difficulty and coughing up blood, but actually had COVID associated myocarditis and other cardio-pulmonary damage.

(Fortunately, the intracardial thrombus was resolved through anticoagulation therapy, and the patient recovered.)

 What are the best and safest ways to protect your heart?

Let’s start with the most vulnerable population.

Cancer patients with cardiovascular disorders and also contracting COVID-19

COVID-19 can damage the cardiovascular system, which is one of the disturbing concerns for cancer patients or survivors already managing cardiotoxicity developed during their treatment, esp. chemotherapy. When adding one more layer—old age, elderly cancer patients will be at a greater risk for sustaining worse outcomes. It’s understandable that medical care for this population has been uniquely challenging in times of the pandemic.

Both cancer and COVID coexisting cardiovascular complications are full of complexity. Case-by-case evaluation and treatment are more appropriate. That’s why I emphasize not to delay your cancer treatment and care.

To preserve your heart function and maximize cancer treatment, it’s crucial to continue vigilant monitoring, optimal treatment, and care for quality of life while practicing COVID safe measures, particularly with more contagious variants around.

Thus, telemedicine is so advantageous at this time. You receive necessary care for personalized treatment and its related toxicities without an in-person visit, which can minimize your exposure to the ill people and the virus.

The good news is—COVID vaccination can prevent and protect you from serious ailment and death! So, consult with your doctor or oncology team for your COVID-19 vaccine recommendation based on your specific case.

Also stay connected with your family, friends, and support system through various ways.

Aging folks and those with comorbidities or health issues

COVID-19 harshly affected older adults and people with chronic diseases. You know that you or your loved ones in this group are at a high risk for life-threatening consequences once getting COVID-19.

Despite common COVID-19 manifestations resulting from the viral spread by contact and droplets, it’s wise to take into account your unusual signs or symptoms. So, you can be benefited from timely medical attention. The following story tells you why.

Kaur et al. reported that a 43-year-old man with diabetes and hypertension experienced acute right leg pain and difficult breathing. At the ER, clinical examinations, electrocardiogram (ECG), CT and lab evaluations showed various abnormalities including positive coronavirus testing. He was intubated, and given therapies; among which was anticoagulation to reduce the blood clots in the limb. Sadly, he died from cardiac arrest 2 days later.
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Evidently, there are similar cases. The point is that acute limb ischemia may exhibit as one of COVID manifestations, in which the blood supply to an extremity is blocked. Again, take advantage of telemedicine for safety and catching early signs before any disease strikes.

I’d also emphasize that whether aging or suffering from comorbidities, these conditions are often accompanied by chronic, low-grade inflammation, imagine COVID driving a higher level of inflammation. To mitigate inflammation and improve complications, lifestyle changes (including diet, exercise, sleep, weight management) would be one of priorities. (though I won’t go beyond the scope of this post and there are plenty of tips available )

Of paramount importance for protecting your heart is to control your blood pressure. Undoubtedly, stress and anxiety, particularly higher in the midst of COVID, can impact your blood pressure. Paradoxically, some folks disregarded appropriate care or skipped appointments due to fear or disinformation. Alarmingly, hypertension can be asymptomatic but potentially fatal, and lead to heart attack and heart disease that are not always reversible.

Children

Cardiovascular impact on children cannot be ignored, because most cases of pediatric COVID-19 mortality presented with heart oriented multi-organ failure.

The outbreak also altered otherwise healthy behaviors of diet, daily routine and lifestyle. One of safeguards for heart is physical activity.

As the pandemic persists, children’s wellbeing deserves our attention as always. Parents, schools and communities need to be creative yet vigilant, figuring out how to let kids stay physically active while implement safety measures and precautions.

Safe locations to engage in physical activities can be parks or fields with proper social distancing without crowded environments, and our homes including the backyard. Family members can enjoy many activities with their children, such as running, jogging, bicycling, stair climbing, jumping, or gardening, or Tai Chi and Yoga. Household chores are good for children as long as age-proper, such as cleaning, doing laundry, vacuuming, sweeping floors, yards or drive ways, and mowing the lawn or carrying groceries. So, you get the picture. The goal is to avoid kids and teens being occupied with mobile devices, electronic games or social media and for extended hours of sitting.

One thing particularly imperative is personal hygiene; parents need to practice healthy hygiene with children and cultivate healthy behaviors for children’s long-term benefits.

Healthy individuals

Finally, if you are healthy and COVID-free now, cheers and keep doing the great job.

At the moment, I’d like to stress two points, essentially for everybody. First, exercise regularly and moderately, not going for high-intensity and long-duration or those activities with high risk of injury, because not only may they weaken your immune system, consequently increasing a risk of respiratory tract infection, but also potentially trigger over-burdening of our health care system or even increase your risk of exposure to the virus. And next, never let your guard down, because COVID-19, plus new variants surfacing, can hit anyone at any time without discrimination of age, race or health status.

A bonus tip—heed your genetic susceptibility. If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, particularly any close family member(s) who have died of heart disease young, monitor your risk for developing a heart condition.

Extra point – Preventive care with COVID vaccination

Remember—anyone can get infected and re-infected. That’s why the vaccine’s winning game comes into play, not only can it protect you from the infection, but also lower your risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19 and dying.

As recent variants exist in the world including the US, it made an extremely infectious coronavirus more threatening.

The more virus transmission spreads in our communities, the more opportunities this virus can mutate, leading to more variants. The more frequent variants arise and stay, the harder we control them. Consequently, the more danger COVID will pose to our heart.

So, go for vaccination to protect yourself and your family, and grab the life-saving reward!

Take home message –

Cardiovascular involvement is a significant risk factor for poor outcomes of COVID-19 at all ages. So, safeguard your heart health and stop the virus transmission.

The greater you become aware of heart problem in the COVID era, the greater you value your heart health. The good news is—heart disease is largely preventable!

If your New Year’s resolution is failing, and February Heart month ended on the calendar, one thing you can always do is to take special care of your heart today for your better tomorrow.

 

Image credits:   Pixabay; CancerPreventionDaily

Transform Your Wellness in Uncertain Time

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Colorful Shapes for Ideas_CPD-Pixabay_2021A new year always marks a new, better beginning. we have new hopes in renewed energy, expecting new accomplishments and new happiness. Yet, 2021 is still an uncertain year; at least for sometimes, we cannot anticipate to return a full sense of normality.

The COVID-19 outbreak, the economic crisis, as well as racial tensions and consequential violence all bring a profound change in our daily life and affect our overall well-being. I’m concerned and wonder, just like many of you, when will most of us get vaccinated? what is the job and finance outlook for many folks experiencing economic hardship? How can our nation’s deep wound be healed? The challenges are in all shapes, but so are solutions.

Whatever you view our situation as a nation in turmoil or in transformation, a welcome opportunity to transform ourselves presents itself in front of us, especially for our health and wellness. I’m going to highlight a few important points.

First, lay the foundation for your health and well-being with three pillars—physical, emotional, and mental—and foster each support. The three pillars function like a tripod that establishes stability and connection. So, personalize your vitality and preventive care around each support. I won’t go through more details, as you can get some ideas from COVID-19 Era Wellbeing and Beyond: Perspectives for Year 2021.

Second, I’d like to talk about a circle of love and support as reinforcers for mental health. Mental health problems are not something new, but the pandemic lockdown and social distancing have exacerbated previous concerns of depression, loneliness and social isolation. This is one of the urgent and critical public health issues in 2021. An underpinning point is that loneliness and social isolation are linked to poor health outcomes, not only in elders but in people of any age. So, developing a circle of love and support is a great promoter of sustainable mental well-being. Even you have a very small family or are alone, you can still make a new friend or re-connect with old pals and your community. Seek for professional help when in need.

Don’t forget school kids and teenagers who are increasingly struggling with distance and disruption created by the pandemic. Their anxiety, loneliness, and social isolation may affect their grades now and result in potential trauma in the long-term. We need to steer them away from an avoidable drive down to a dark path as early as possible.

At this vulnerable time, one area of mental health involves how well your mind processes information and understand facts and data, which is an issue that has been too often overlooked or overwhelmed by disinformation in recent years. However, opening or shutting that flood gate is under your control. So, challenge your ability to detect and assess misinformation and falsehood. Remember that negative beliefs or perceptions influence your behavior and condition physically and emotionally. Consider gaining a fuller or richer understanding of another culture(s), maybe reach out to someone and exchange different worldviews, and maybe find a new meaning in your life.
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My point is that your worldview, spirituality, and personal growth can be an important element in lowering a risk for various diseases and in facing either physical illnesses or psychological sufferings. In other words, the mind and body are closely connected. Therefore, it is essential to illuminate the unattended dark and dusty corners of your mind with newfound knowledge, joy, laughter, and appreciation. All is an integral part of your well-being.

Third, strategize and manage by applying a series of squares/boxes (or areas). One can use boxes and bins for storage or office organization. We can also use them metaphorically to help in the quest for good health. You can do this by envisioning boxes that carry several risk factors of a specific disease, then tackling those areas through resources or actions. Alternatively, target lifestyle factors or areas that you want to improve. For instance, risk factors (boxes) for susceptibility to, severity of, and death due to COVID-19 include old age, obesity, pre-existing chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, lung disorders, chronic kidney diseases, and smoking, to name a few. Do you know—conversely—how COVID-19 can be a risk factor for other health problems? Research and clinical evidence show that this contagious virus can enter the cell and subsequently the body, damage the heart, brain, or multiple organs, causing lung injury and hypoxia as well as systemic inflammation resulting in overreactive immune response (or cytokine storm). There are things you can do to avoid or minimize these damages, and to prevent the transmission of infection, especially from the new coronavirus variants.

Finally, beyond doubt, with heightened fear and stress, some used-to-be top killers are sneaking into our lives. When most of us likely remain homebound for some time due to the pandemic, various health perils are prone to elevate. Unattended yet subsequent components could be high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and harmful cholesterol levels; all damage blood vessels and lead to increased probability of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke. So, pay attention to and prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCD), because people with NCD are vulnerable to the devastating impact of COVID infection. Also, climate change is evidently an imminent threat to our well-being in several ways; as detailed in The Climate Crisis Is a Health Crisis and in Key Strategies for Cancer Prevention.

Understandably, change is often not easy or comfortable. However, if you’re determined, you can embrace the process of change. Start with baby steps. The new year could be a nice, fresh point to start. So, gear up!

To your renewed health, happiness and well-being in 2021.

 

Image credit:  Pixabay; CancerPreventionDaily 

Hypertension Can Be Asymptomatic but Potentially Fatal

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

BP Measure & Heart_pixabayWhen is the last time you checked your blood pressure? How is your child or children’s blood pressure?

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a multifaceted issue, and I’d like to address why it matters in several brief, yet key points.

In case you are not aware, high blood pressure is redefined at a reading of 130/80 rather than 140/90 mmHg, according to 2017 guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

It’s important to pay attention to the new normal—i.e. the reading should be lower than 120/80 mmHg, because when systolic (top) number is 120-129 and diastolic (bottom) number is lower than 80 mmHg, your blood pressure is referred to “elevated status”. So, if your reading exceeds 130/80 mmHg, read further.

Hypertension a common risk factor for various cardiovascular and other chronic illnesses. It often remains overlooked in the absence of symptoms. However, hypertension is a silent killer.

Hypertension is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular mortality (heart attack and stroke), and can bring about end-organ damage including chronic kidney diseases and renal failure. Even if people survive a life-threatening emergency, many face challenges of disability and complications that reduce the quality of life.

Hypertension is positively associated with some types of cancer, specifically renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer.
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Hypertension is becoming more common in children and adolescents but is under-diagnosed among this population, including those with a normal weight without a family history of hypertension. This is not surprising given the obesity epidemic, which presents alarming statistics—more than 1/3 of youth are overweight or obese and nearly 20% of children/adolescents has obesity. The relationship between hypertension and obesity has been clearly established; both can cause severe long-term health consequences.

As we live at a moment of crises, the compounding effect of COVID-19 reached an out of control point. A recent research published on European Heart Journal (2020 June; 41:2058-2066) reveals that patients with hypertension have a two-fold increase in the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to those without hypertension. Antihypertensive treatment has lowered the mortality risk significantly compared with those left untreated.

The good news is that high blood pressure is a modifiable risk factor, and many hypertension-associated problems are preventable! So, focus on prevention.

The top strategy for preventing hypertension is lifestyle modification starting from a young age. Treating primary hypertension in children is almost exclusively a matter of an improved dietary and behavior regimen, including a more nutritional diet with reduced sodium intake, increased physical activity, and healthy weight. Pharmacological intervention is secondary strategy if your physician indicates it is needed.

A take-home-message: Watch your blood pressure, control your blood pressure to prevent acute cardiovascular events and help reduce the COVID-19 burden.

 

Image credit: Pixabay

A New Hope to Keep Cancer at Bay

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Hui-s Book_12-2019(This is Part 1 of Miniseries.)

Cancer is a devastating disease and indiscriminate regarding age, sex, genetic, economic or social status.

Do you want to avoid cancer? Do you know what to do to prevent cancer?

My book titled “Key Strategies for Cancer Prevention” is recently released. It translates science into life-saving strategies and speaks in lay people’s term.

This book helps you discover how to prevent cancer. It addresses the driving forces behind cancer development, and provides a comprehensive, concrete guide for a daily, healthy lifestyle in an enjoyable way. Through prevention, you can optimize your overall well-being.

The book starts with dissecting how cancer risk factors exist and influence your daily life, then addresses potential contributors to cancer before it draws your attention to the most common and deadliest cancers. The book also offers extra advice or tips for a healthy and cancer preventive lifestyle.

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Yes, most cancers are preventable! A lifestyle of mindfulness and modification can take you a long way, and importantly, you can achieve proven results with joy and love through step by step, incremental progresses.

My goal is to have more people embrace the powerful knowledge and ultimately save more lives.

If you are among folks who are eager to learn and take actions for a healthier, happier, and longer life, the book is for you.

Now please join me and help me bring this life-saving book to light. The book is available at bookstores (e.g., iUniverse, Barnes & Noble), and Amazon in paperback and kindle/eBook formats. Other eBook venues include Apple, Google Play, etc. Once you get your copy, read it, tell people around you, and desirably post review on Amazon.

Sharing is caring. By helping me spread the words about it, you also make a big difference in saving lives!

 

Stop Childhood Obesity or Dangerous Risks Persist

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

SeptToolkit_Childhood Obesity AwarenessWe are at the end of September, as you probably know that this is the month for national awareness of childhood obesity. But the problem doesn’t stop in September.

Childhood obesity is a continuous yet urgent issue that needs to be addressed and worked on every day.

1 in 5 children in the US are obese, and this obesity epidemic in children deserves our attention.

The good news is—childhood obesity can be prevented!

Before I talk about how to work towards a solution, let me outline what impacts childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is influenced by many factors, including

-          poor diet (esp. fast foods, sugar-sweetened beverages or sugary soft drinks),

-          sedentary behaviors or physical inactivity,

-          metabolic elements,

-          genetics,

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-          family dynamics or house environment, and

-          community and social impacts.

Importantly, parental lifestyle plays a crucial role in a child’s health outcome. Research shows that high pre-pregnancy BMI is an important contributor to excess adiposity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular or metabolic disease risk in the offspring during childhood.

Stopping childhood obesity is critical because the persistence of obesity into one’s adulthood has been associated with increased chronic illnesses and premature deaths.

Sure, there is no simple solution for this problem, but there are many ways to keep kids healthy. Here are eight key strategies and immediate actions:

  1. Prevention of childhood obesity starts with a healthy diet at home. Have regular family meals and model healthy eating for your kids.
  2. Pack nutrient-rich and fiber-rich snacks for your children.
  3. Let the kids participate in age-appropriate grocery shopping and cooking activity, in order to cultivate their knowledge or interests in healthy foods and beneficial diet habits.
  4. Encourage the kids get more physically active and exercise regularly. Do it with them too. Modern technologies provide too much sitting time or screen time for children.
  5. Dink safe and filtered water instead of Coke and sugar-sweetened beverages.
  6. Ensure your kids to have sufficient sleep. Shorter sleep period is linked to childhood obesity. So, take necessary measures to limit their screen time at night and remove the mobile devices from their bedrooms.
  7. Take care of children’s emotional health and help them with social issues.
  8. Execute early intervention and prevention at various fronts as early as prenatal period, if not earlier. This can provide the greatest protective effect on your kid’s early development and later life.

In brief, childhood obesity is a serious and urgent public health problem. Family interventions are the key strategy in our efforts to tackle this problem. Parental healthy lifestyle passing on to the next generation is an invaluable gift for children’s well-being.

2018 Noteworthy List of Top Health Concerns

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

2018 Sum_LTime flew. With the coming holiday season, we’re approaching the end of 2018. I can’t believe it…

First and foremost, thank you, dear readers, for taking time to read and support my blog articles during the year!

There is a lot that has happened this year. Looking back, I’d like to highlight a list of noteworthy health issues that should continuously call for our attention. Here goes:

1.      Consider cancer deaths of nearly 10 million

Thanks to scientific breakthroughs and technological advances, notable progress has been made in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Despite a steady decline in cancer mortality over the past two decades, cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with 609,640 cancer deaths projected this year by American Cancer Society. However, cancer statistics from WHO indicate an estimated 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths worldwide in 2018 alone. Cancer is expected to be the No. 1 cause of global death by the end of the century. So, cancer remains a major public health problem.

2.      Act on climate change more and fast

Experts from 13 government agencies just underlined the science and urgency of climate change in a recent assessment. Briefly, climate change can impact human health in various ways, including apparently increasing extreme weather, polluted air and water quality, the spread of new diseases via insects and pets, and changes to the availability of food. Any climate denial or skepticism is dangerous. Because global warming is a man-made problem, it goes beyond just acceptance, it requires pressing actions to protect our environment and preserve a healthy planet for the next generations.

3.      Take flu seriously and get vaccinated

Flu is a very contagious disease caused by the influenza virus. It kills more people than you may think. Last flu season (2017-2018) claimed a record-breaking 900,000 hospitalizations and 80,000+ deaths in the U.S. Particularly vulnerable are children aged 6+ months and adults older than 65 as well as people with heart and lung diseases; thus, a routine annual influenza vaccination is vital for these folks. Meanwhile, everybody should keep their immune system strong.

In fact, the CDC recommends that almost all children and adults get a flu shot. Remember that flu deaths primarily result from complications from flu, including pneumonia, dehydration, and ear or sinus infections. Flu can worsen existing medical conditions such as heart failure, diabetes, or asthma. So, learn the potential dangers of flu.

4.      End the opioid epidemic – complexity of addiction and suicide
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In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses (including illicit drugs and prescription opioids), according to the CDC. Also, U.S. life expectancy has dropped in recent years as opioid deaths rise. Current strategies and efforts still fall short, and relatively unnoticed are the data suggesting that considerable opioid-overdose deaths are suicides, as Drs. Oquendo and Volkow commented in “Suicide: A Silent Contributor to Opioid-Overdose Deaths”.

That’s why interventions should cover all bases from treating overdoses to screening suicide risk. Moreover, we all can help end the opioid crisis through actions such as raising more awareness, reducing stigma on individuals, and reaching out to those in social isolation.

5.      Protect our kids from e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug, although they don’t burn and release many carcinogens and chemicals as tobacco smoking does. They are increasingly popular among teenagers, especially with flavors appealing to kids. Important to remember is that e-cigarettes pose health risks for children, because nicotine can harm their brain development, and nicotine addiction can potentially lead them to traditional tobacco smoking. The FDA has taken steps to prevent the teen vaping “epidemic,” especially placing new restrictions on sales of flavored e-cigarettes and kid-friendly varieties. So, be aware of the dangers of this drug-delivery system called “e-cigarettes”.

6.      Recognize “The Year of Women” and beyond

Evidently, 2018 is the year of women in politics, as a record-breaking number of women candidates with a diversity of backgrounds were elected to our national leadership. I’d like to remind you of a less acknowledged concern for women—women’s health after experiencing sexual harassment or assault, because the problem can affect a woman’s long-term well-being significantly. Attack and trauma are associated with adverse effects on a victim’s mental and physical health, such as symptoms of gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and neurological problems. More common are also sleep loss, depression, impaired functionality, and worsened quality of life.

…..

Certainly, health headlines are beyond the short list above. Here I have focused primarily on serious or overlooked life-saving matters, which can be easily digested (without covering everything from Alzheimer’s disease to mass shooting). However, any of these changes won’t happen overnight, and require our continued efforts.

I wish you a happy, healthy holiday season and the best in 2019!

 

Image credits: labroots; clipartpanda; clipground; ogahealth; and CPD

Care about Childhood Cancers

By Hui Xie-Zukauskas

Think about Childhood CancerYour cute baby girl is your joy of life, yet she is suffering from leukemia. A neighbor’s little boy with a gorgeous smile just completed his cancer treatment. Sadly, many precious young lives have been taken away by childhood cancers…

If you’d like to learn ways to protect children from cancer, to help childhood cancer patients, and/or to improve the quality of life for pediatric cancer survivors, you came to the right place.

Let’s start with the challenges of childhood cancer patients and survivors.

Unique risk factors

Children are not “small adults”. In general, their care challenges are attributed to multiple factors, including their growth and development, psychological features, health condition, socioeconomic status, family and cultural dynamics, nurture at home and support outside of the home.

Childhood cancers are full of complexity and unknown. However, some known risk factors for childhood cancer have been established – mainly genetic and non-genetic ones.

Genetic or inherent risk factors include parental age, birth weight and congenital abnormalities. Some pediatric cancer incidences also vary by age, sex, and race or ethnicity.

Non-genetic factors are controllable and preventable, such as

  • High-dose radiation (The human fetus is very sensitive to radiation)
  • Prior chemotherapy
  • Exposure to environmental toxins or carcinogens, pesticides and air pollution
  • Exposure to infections – especially related to risk of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
  • Pre- and perinatal lifestyle factors: parental diet, maternal smoking, alcohol or marijuana use, maternal medication, etc.

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Things we can help

Keeping these risk factors in mind, each of us can do our part at each stage of a child’s life. Here is a list of things:

  1. Take a good care during pre-conception and pregnancy period. Unhealthy diet, maternal tobacco or alcohol use, medications and radiation are among the casual link of environmental factors to childhood cancer risk. Particularly, maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with not only childhood cancer but also weight problems, other health and behavior issues. Avoid or minimize your exposure to second-hand and third-hand smoke too.
  2. Eliminate toxins and carcinogens from home and environment at large. Endless exposure to toxic chemicals through air, water, foods, and products results in a serious impact on public health. Then imagine the threat to pediatric cancer patients and survivors as well as all children, how harmful an early life exposure to toxic chemicals can affect their health decades later. It’s critical to underscore that only a small number of chemical exposures are known – leaving the unknowns are our exposure to many more chemicals in daily life and disease consequences. That’s why environmental protection is vitally important, and a green planet signifies healthful generations.
  3. Get genetic consultation if you question any genetic abnormality. Evaluate how parents’ occupational, environmental, medical or other exposures may contribute to a child’s cancer risk.
  4.  Prevent childhood obesity. This should start as early as possible. Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been linked to childhood obesity, and that may pose a risk to develop obesity in adult.
  5.  Monitor and control kids’ screen time. The radiation emitted from cell phone has been proposed as “a possible carcinogen for humans” by International Agency for Research on Cancer, though controversies still exist. Given the fact that it poses a cancer risk and cell phone exposure or use often begins from an earlier age, it’s wise to keep cell phone safety in mind.
  6.  Ensure overall health status, such as promoting healthy lifestyle, enough sleep and sun protection.
  7.  Foster individual hygiene and infection prevention.
  8.  Get vaccinated. Parents should encourage and educate their children/teens to have vaccinated against HPV and practice safe sex.
  9.  Team up care from society such as in the school setting and community setting. Family dynamic considerations, socioeconomic status or poverty, violence issues are various factors that contribute to pediatric health challenges.
  10.  Advocate healthcare models or payment changes to ease financial burdens of childhood cancer treatment, and to drive disease prevention.

Last but not the least, improve care and support for pediatric cancer patients and survivors, including all generations of these individuals (i.e. some of them are adults now). Consider what would their life after cancer look like – because of some painful and practical challenges they are facing in daily lives.

Let me elaborate a little more on this. Thanks to medical and technological breakthrough, 5-year survival rates for childhood cancer patients exceed 80%. However, the long-term effects of cancer and its treatment on the quality of life take a huge toll among these survivors.

Specifically, because their treatments take place when they are very young, especially during vulnerable periods of development, the complications from cancer treatment have significant, long-lasting health impacts on these children. The complications of cancer therapy range from impaired growth and development, neurocognitive and psychosocial deficits, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine organ dysfunctions, and gastrointestinal problems.

In addition, children who survive their initial cancers remain at risk for having a cancer recurrence or developing new cancers (secondary malignancies), yet a majority of cancer survivors do not receive risk-based care.

Summary 

Cancer impacts our children’s well-being and life. We all have the responsibility to take care of children, and to protect them from a variety of dangers, including interruptions during pregnancy, genetic anomalies, perinatal injuries, congenital defects, malnutrition, environmental hazards, infections, poverty, violence, and trauma. So, we can do a lot to help address their unique needs and find solutions when we open our hearts and minds.

Please share your thoughts and let us know how we can help pediatric cancer patients – via

Support@CancerPreventionDaily.com  OR http://www.cancerpreventiondaily.com/contact/

 

Image credit: https://www.pixelsquid.com; http://www.icpcn.org; CPD