HEALTH

IS THE US TOO RESTRICTIVE RE: COVID19 VIRUS?

The government must balance protection vs. civil liberties and peoples’ rights. Do all coming from China need to be quarantined on a military base or should we just monitor those who test positive from home? Of course those from Wuhan should be screened more carefully. The World Health Organization advises against too restrictive measures.

Is more better? If you were captive on a military base or on a cruise ship, you might disagree. The quarantine on the ship docked in Japan wasn’t very effective, but we learned from it.

DITCH DAIRY?

The Canadian government has removed Dairy (milk products) as a separate food group and put in the protein category.  The evidence the dairy industry has been pushing (think: money) for years is pretty weak. The US food plate has also done this. Promoting milk as a source of calcium is true but too much calcium is not good for you and leaves the body in the urine which may cause kidney stones.  The countries that drink more milk have more fractures! These studies mentioned here are not perfect studies since it is hard to force certain children and adults to drink this or that for most of their lives.

Those countries which eat a lot of fermented milk (cheese, yogurt) have a lower incidence of heart attacks and strokes than the US which drinks more milk.  The thinking is that lactose (milk sugar) is a factor promoting hardening of the arteries. Milk does not promote weight loss or cause cancer, shorten life, or getting diabetes as far as we know. But we do know that pesticides that the cows eat are concentrated in their fat and we eat their fat in lard, meat, and milk products. Organic milk lack the hormones and pesticides sometimes found in standard milk but so far there is no proof that the more expensive organic milk will result in greater health; it takes years and years to develop most cancers.

Kids who drink milk grow taller than those who don’t. Maybe it is the hormones of the pregnant cows along with another hormone cows are bred to produce more of: insulin-like growth factor to increase milk output.  But there is some concern that maybe the hormones promote cancer when the children are older.

Cow ranches take a lot of water and contribute to pollution, contribute to global warming through the cow burps and farts, and may cause antibiotic resistance in humans. An alternative to milk and meat is plant-based protein in beans, nuts, and tofu.

There is good news on this front: ranches have been steadily reducing the carbon footprint, using less water, and producing less manure.  Improving the hormone issue was not mentioned in this article.

PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE AND THEN VOTE IN NOVEMBER.

If you didn’t vote, then you asked for the result we got. I realize many of you readers may not be citizens but others you know are and you should push them to vote to improve your situations.

EXCESSIVE MASCULINITY LINKED WITH HIGHER SUICIDE RISK

Men with excessive masculinity/ high traditional masculinity (HTM) ― a set of norms that includes competitiveness, emotional restriction, and aggression ― were about two and half times more likely to die by suicide than their counterparts without HTM. The finding underscores the “central role” of gender in suicide death. They think more about suicide as an option for solving their problems.  This philosophy is also a part of the white-supremacy movement and anti-LGBTQ thinking.  Some go so far as to troll or bully women or LGBTQson-line.

Be careful what you teach the young boys who look up to you.

If you add excessive masculinity to anger problems, access to guns, and school problems you have a recipe for disaster. These problems must be addressed effectively.

TEENS DON’T GET TESTED, DON’T GET CARE, AND DON’T SUPPRESS HIV

This is the same headline I have seen for many years and it doesn’t improve. If you know teens at risk for HIV, urge them to get tested, get to the specialist and take the medication consistently.

In a related story, many teens (and older, sexually active gays) are unaware they are spreading HIV and other sexually transmitted infections since they don’t know they have HIV and feel fine

NEW HEPATITIS C CASES TRACK WITH RISE OF HEROIN USE

The numbers rose fast from 2010 through 2016 and then slowed some afterwards. There is a massive number of new cases of Hepatitis C. Sterile needles are available in pharmacies. You may need a prescription—and for that you will need to find a compassionate medical provider. Pulling back on the syringe to flush more heroin from the syringe for a last push might add to the infectivity of the needle/syringe for the next user. Don’t share syringes, needles, etc. Get a prescription for Narcan® nasal spray for those in your house to use on the opioid user to save their life!  Look on YouTube for a video on how to use it.

Keep those questions coming, Be safe!

Daniel Pearce, D.O., FACOI, AAHIVMS

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine

Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine and HIV, Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine and Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine

HIV Specialist, Borrego Health (Riverside, San Bernardino, San Jacinto)

Member, Coachella Valley Clinical Research Initiative


REFERENCES: Medscape®