Foods that are high in fats and carbohydrates and salt, frozen meals, reconstituted meats such as salami, and snacks that are stable on the shelf for a long time also contain substances that are linked to cancer. If a person increased these to a level 10% higher in their diet, then they had an 11% higher risk for cancer and 12% for breast cancer. Eating organic food prepared at home is the healthiest way to go. You may have to cut out some screen time to make healthy meals at home and to pack in your lunches. I make soups and red rice stir-frys for my lunches along with a Kale/banana/prune/peanut/homemade yogurt smoothie for breakfast. Much of my vegetables come from my organic gardens. I am a member of a local community garden.
QUICK, WHERE CAN I GET A FREE CONDOM?
In the Philippines, there is an app like Pokemon Go that shows people where the nearest free condom station is. This is to combat the rising HIV epidemic in the Philippines.
MARIJUANA MAY HELP FATTY LIVER IN HIV/HEPATITIS C PATIENTS
People with Hepatitis C with HIV are at risk for developing fatty liver. After a large analysis, the investigators found that those using marijuana had about a 40% less chance of having a fatty liver diagnosis on the ultrasound test.
MORE DIFFICULT TO QUIT CIGARETTES IF YOU HAVE SOME MENTAL PROBLEMS
The average rate for staying off cigarettes after quitting for 6 months is 25%. This means that 75% didn’t make the 6 months. Be alert and disciplined to stop yourself from smoking since it is easier after quitting, than when you restart. Those with mental illness have only a 10% chance of being off cigarettes after quitting for 6 months. Discuss this with your regular medical provider as well as your mental health provider to plan the most successful strategy.
PROS AND CONS OF VAPING TOBACCO
A study last year showed that there are less cancer-causing chemicals entering the body when a person vapes instead of smoking, but they still found two cancer markers in the urine of people who vape. It is hard to know if there are going to be actual cancers happening. There will be databases that track those who vape to see if they get more cancers than a normal person or more than those who smoke cigarettes. You might want to wait the 10-20 years till we figure this unknown risk out, or just never start the path to addiction.
Vaping tobacco seems to be introducing more teens to tobacco addiction and then it is very hard to quit. Some move to cigarettes.
- ROBOT CAN HELP YOU
Artificial intelligence is diagnosing, skin cancer off of photos, lung cancer from X-rays, and estimate the risk for a seizure. They recognize patterns in data or in images such as X-rays. Accuracy and the number of tasks performed are continually improving and the results are better than or equal to a trained physician. Good thing I am near retirement! Although HIV specialists are getting harder to find since many are retiring and not many are going into this specialty.
C dif TREATMENT OF FECAL TRANSPLANT IS NOW IN A GUIDELINE.
These were just experiments and many examples, but with more research the Infectious Disease society of America decided to put this in a guideline. The good bacteria from a healthy person’s feces are put in a capsule and those bacteria out-compete the C dif—which causes infectious diarrhea in hospitals and nursing homes and is very difficult to cure with antibiotics; in fact antibiotics kill the good bacteria and promote the C dif to grow! C dif kills 15-30,000 people in the US per year.
EXERCISE DURING CHEMO?
A study found that those who exercised during chemotherapy for cancer were more active 4 years later! There seems to be no end of the benefits of exercise. There is another study highlighting the importance of exercise in postponing Alzheimer’s disease.
BLOOD TEST FOR CONCUSSION
Now there is an approved blood test for proteins liberated from the damaged brain. They are detectable up to 12 hours after the injury. If the test is negative then a CAT scan is not needed. This study highlights the fact that significant brain trauma does damage tissue.
HIV AND ABDOMINAL FAT GAIN ARE RISKS FOR DIABETES
Another large study found that having HIV for a long time, even if treated well, was a risk for diabetes apart from other risks such as genetics and gaining weight at the waist.
SHOULD A BEER COMPANY FUND GLOBAL HIV EFFORTS?
Many have written the Global Fund about their concern that Heinekin, a Dutch beer company, will help with the Global Fund. The Fund responded that the beer maker’s money would go to distributing medicines and supplies and “information/computer services” and there will be no beer promotion. They take alcoholism seriously.
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, Assistant TB Physician, Riverside University Healthcare System, Public Health (Department)
Member, Coachella Valley Clinical Research Initiative
REFERENCES: Medscape®