Excess Weight Can Weaken The Flu Shot

Being overweight or obese can diminish the effectiveness of a flu shot, researchers say. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images 

Being overweight or obese can diminish the effectiveness of a flu shot, researchers say.

Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu season is starting to ramp up — and it's not too late to reduce your risk with a vaccine.

But scientists have come to realize that flu vaccines are less effective for people who are overweight or obese. Considering that excess weight affects more than two-thirds of the U.S. Adult population, that's a significant shortcoming.

Researchers are studying why that's the case, with an eye toward developing better flu vaccines.

This issue came to light during the 2009 flu pandemic, the first major outbreak of the 21st century. Health officials noticed that the flu was taking a particular toll on people who were significantly overweight.

"We had never seen that before," says Stacey Shultz-Cherry, an infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"The virus is able to grow to higher [concentrations] and spread deeper in your lungs, which is not what you want during an influenza infection," she says.

And people weren't simply getting sicker — they were also more likely to spread the disease. That has the potential to amplify a flu outbreak.

Shultz-Cherry says this point is highlighted in a study of volunteers at the University of Maryland.

"The students who were overweight/obese actually had more virus coming out in their exhaled breath," Shultz-Cherry says.

Another research team studied families in Nicaragua during flu season and found that overweight people shed the virus by an extra day, on average, compared with people of lower body weight. That effect was bigger for people who had no or few symptoms.

"What's particularly disturbing for us is the fact that the vaccine doesn't work as well" in this population, says Melinda Beck, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She's been studying the effect of obesity on a person's ability to fend off infections, "and influenza is one of my favorite viruses, so that seemed like a natural thing to study."

She looked at the two different parts of the immune system: one involves antibodies, which are proteins that can neutralize viruses; the other involves cells that join in on the fight against disease.

"You usually think of the vaccine as protecting you with antibodies," she says. "And in fact, obese people could make a nice antibody response." The part of the immune system that fails in this case involves the T cells, she says.

As people become overweight, their metabolism changes. And Beck says that metabolic shift affects many cells, including immune system cells. She has studied the details of this in mice.

Elderly people face the same problem. "Sometimes they can make an antibody response, but it's their T cells that aren't functioning, so they can still get infected with flu even though they've been vaccinated," she says.

As a result, a "30-year-old obese person has the immune cells that look a lot like what you might expect in an 80-year-old individual," Beck says.

That may be why flu vaccines don't work so well in older people, either. So it's possible that improvements in the vaccine will help both people who are older as well as those who are overweight.

Shultz-Cherry is part of a new effort at the National Institutes of Health to come up with a next-generation flu vaccine.

"That's exactly our hope — that we can find a vaccine that will work for everybody, but especially for these higher-risk populations," she says.

That effort will take many years. In the meantime, Shultz-Cherry says it's still important for everyone to get vaccinated. People of all body types are at higher risk of heart attack or stroke if they get the flu.

There's a lot of reasons to get the flu shot," she says, "even if it doesn't work as well as we want in this high-risk population."

You can reach NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris at rharris@npr.Org.

Why would dietary sugar harm your heart?

Q: It makes sense that eating lots of unhealthy fats would lead to heart disease. But why do health experts say that sugar is also bad for your heart?

A: Excess fat and salt are well-known dietary villains, especially when it comes to heart health. But mounting evidence is why excess sugar has joined the list.

It’s not that all sugar is bad. We need glucose to power our cells, especially our brain cells. What matters the most is how dietary sugar is packaged.

Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. These types of foods have a low glycemic index. That means that our digestive system breaks them down more slowly into glucose and other simple sugars prior to absorption.

On the other hand, refined sugars used to make breakfast cereals, pastries, sodas, fruit drinks, and other sweet foods and beverages primarily contain glucose and fructose. They have a high glycemic index because these simple sugars are rapidly absorbed into our blood stream.

High glycemic index foods cause blood sugar levels to shoot up. In response, cells in the pancreas churn out extra insulin. This hormone helps cells sponge up glucose. But that surge of insulin also signals the body to store extra glucose as fat.

When you eat healthier carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index, blood sugar and insulin levels climb more slowly and don’t crest as high as they do with quickly digested carbohydrates.

Higher blood sugar and insulin levels increase your risk of heart disease. According to a recent study done over 15 years, people who got 17 percent to 21 percent of their calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8 percent of their calories as added sugar.

Exactly how excess sugar might harm the heart isn’t clear. Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages can raise blood pressure. A high-sugar diet also causes the liver to convert glucose and fructose into harmful fats, which then get dumped into the bloodstream. Both factors are known to boost heart disease risk.

What’s more, sugar delivers “empty calories” — calories unaccompanied by fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Too much added sugar often crowds healthier foods from a person’s diet.

Howard LeWine, M.D. is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. For additional consumer health information, visit health.harvard.edu.

Mosquito-borne Virus That Causes Brain Infections Found In N.J.

Updated Aug 30, 2019; Posted Aug 30, 2019

lehighvalleylive.com file photo

The Warren County Mosquito Commission has identified the county's first-ever mosquito sample found to be carrying Eastern equine encephalitis virus.

By Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com

No mosquitoes in Warren County have ever been found to carry the Eastern equine encephalitis virus – until now.

The first-ever positive test for the potentially fatal brain-infection-causing virus came from a mosquito sample collected Aug. 21 at Meadow Breeze Park in Washington Township, the county mosquito commission announced Friday.

The same sample also tested positive for West Nile virus, the county’s fourth this season.

“EEE is very rare, especially in northern NJ,” the mosquito commission said. Treatments are scheduled to kill mosquitoes in Washington Township, and more insects will be trapped for testing.

New Jersey has recorded one human case of EEE this year, in Somerset County. But the state health department says the virus has been found in 48 mosquito samples in 11 counties, the most the Garden State has seen by this point in the season in seven years.

The Eastern equine encephalitis virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. Human infections are rare – the CDC says New Jersey saw only one human case between 2009 and 2018.

But though they are infrequent, EEE infections can be very serious. The CDC says that about 30% of people infected die, and survivors could suffer from neurological problems. There is no vaccine for the illness.

The CDC says there are two kinds of infections that show symptoms after a four- to 10-day incubation period: A systemic infection is abrupt, lasting a week or two with chills, fever, malaise, and joint or muscle pain.

The other is encephalitis, an infection of the brain. Signs appear after a few days of systemic illness and can include fever, headache, irritability, restlessness, drowsiness, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, a blueish color to the skin, convulsions, and coma.

Andy Klevorn/Ludington Daily News for AP

The CDC says the best way to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses is to wear insect repellant and eliminate the insects' breeding grounds: standing water.

“The most effective way to prevent infection from ­­­Eastern equine encephalitis virus,” the CDC says, “is to prevent mosquito bites.”

That means using insect repellents that contain DEET, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Also, dump or drain any standing water on your property to eliminate mosquito habitats. The Warren County Mosquito Commission says that one neglected swimming pool can produce more than 1 million mosquitoes and affect people up to five miles away.

To anonymously report a stagnant swimming pool, call the mosquito commission at 908-453-3585 or visit www.warrencountymosquito.org.

How Cheat Days Affect Your Body, According To Experts

Even the most disciplined dieters can't live on vegetable and protein without indulging. Case in point: The Rock is notorious for his sushi Sundays. Terry Crews told Men's Health he downs apple fritters, pizza, mac and cheese and cobbler on his cheat days.

Naturally, you want to treat yourself after eating great and workout out all week. That's where cheat days come in. Some experts think cheat days are totally necessary to maintain your sanity. Others think they’re a recipe for disaster, leading you to overeat to the point that it actually hurts your weight loss and fitness goals.

The term "cheat" itself has negative connotations. The idea is that you're "good" if you eat clean, or "bad" if you cheat. This psychological barrier can be harder to overcome than the physical barrier of making small changes to your diet, which is why some people steer clear of cheat days completely.

So what’s the deal? Are cheat days harmless—or do they completely negate the hours of sweat you’ve poured into the gym?

Here’s what cheat days really do to your body and the best way to approach one if you want to indulge.

The idea of a “cheat day” has been around for decades. First, you eat “clean” for six days, meaning you stick to your diet. Your macros and calories are in check and anything that could be classified as “junk”—like fast food, dessert, and processed snacks—is off the table.

Then you let loose for the seventh day. This is where your Friday night beer-and-wings-showdown comes into play, because what's really the worst that could happen if you break the rules just once a week?

There's also a common misconception that cheat days can help boost your metabolism. The general concept: When you eat less, your metabolism slows down to “conserve” energy. When you eat more, it speeds up to digest and use that fuel. This, in theory, should allow you to stick to your strict diet for the remainder of your week.

The truth, though, isn’t quite that cut and dry.

​

​How Do Cheat Days Affect Your Body?

Ever what happens inside your body when it's overloaded with carbs, sugar, and fat?

"Nothing that scary, to be honest," says Abby Langer, R.D."

She explains that you pancreas will create more insulin to process high-sugar meals. Although you may feel bloated or have a stomach ache, you probably won't experience anything too severe.

That's because your body knows how to regulate itself, according to Lisa Ganjhu, D.O. at NYU Langone.

"The body has a great way of adapting to its needs," says Ganjhu. "If it requires more insulin, it produces more insulin. It’s not going to break. It will take care of business."

Food will take longer to digest if you're consuming larger portions, which means those cheat meals will sit in your stomach longer. As a result, you'll probably experience more gas and bloating, says Ganjhu.

Some believe that the proverbial “cheat day” improves metabolism. The truth? It doesn't. Eating more to burn more isn’t quite how things work. Your metabolism does increase after you eat, but if you binge on 1,000 calories worth of pizza or brownies, your metabolism doesn’t ramp up to burn 1,500 calories to handle what you just consumed.

Plus, for some people, overeating can lead to other unhealthy habits. In a study published in the journal Obesity, researchers found that “obesity prone” individuals—based on personal and family weight history—who ate 1.4 times their estimated calorie needs were less likely to move throughout the day after overeating compared to those who were less prone to obesity. This lack of movement could put you at risk for weight gain, and even harm your health overall.

“I never recommend cheat days,” explains Jim White, R.D., owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition in Virginia Beach. “I have seen people indulge so much in one day that it ruins their weekly gains.”

That being said, cheat days can have an upside. Indulging occasionally has the potential to help some people stick to their diets, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology suggests. The caveat: On their cheat day, the study participants still kept their portions in check, so they didn’t stray from their weekly calorie goals. (For delicious meals that will help you reach your fitness goals, check out the Metashred Diet from Men's Health.)

The Best Way to Approach Cheat Days

While the single-day binge can be helpful for some people, occasionally indulging in smaller portions of your favorite foods may be more sustainable for the long haul. That way, you can treat yourself a few times a week, rather than carving out an entire day to eat and feel like crap. Because let’s be real: while the idea of sitting down and slamming an entire pizza may sound appealing, the feeling of fullness after you chow down isn’t.

“Loosen up the reins a few times each week for some indulgent foods,” suggests White. “By allowing a couple smaller indulgences you give yourself a break from normal ‘dieting’ without sabotaging your results.”

Langer doesn't believe in cheat meals because they have a negative connotation psychologically. "Have you ever heard the word 'cheat' in a good context?," she asks.

Instead, aim to have treats comprise 10 to 20 percent of your daily calories. So if you're an average active guy who needs roughly 2,800 calories a day, 280 to 560 of those can be reserved for your “cheats” two to three times per week. (Find out how many calories you need here.)

But what if those small treats are a slippery slope? If the idea of a small cookie, for example, puts you into a downward spiral of “I ate one, so I should enjoy the entire sleeve” then the weekly indulgence might be a better approach for you.

Either way, one meal or snack is never going to make or break your fat loss goals. You need to look at the big picture. Eating should be enjoyable and not so rigid that every morsel of food that crosses your lips is weighed, measured, and counted. If you’re considering an entire cheat day, it’s likely that the rest of your diet is a bit too restrictive in the first place.

Is Bread Actually Good For You?

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with any advertisers on this site.

To find the healthiest brown bread, start by looking for whole grains. Adults should eat about 48 grams of whole grains a day, and studies show that they may help lower the risks of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Examine these labels to choose your loaf wisely.

●100% Whole Grains. This language indicates that a bread’s flour is made from the entire grain kernel — the bran, endosperm and germ. Refined grains, such as white flour, contain only the endosperm. The bran and germ are where most of the healthy stuff — antioxidants, B vitamins, fiber and other nutrients — is found.

●100% Whole Grain stamp. A 100% Whole Grain stamp means all of the bread’s grain ingredients are whole grain, and it has at least 16 grams of whole grains per serving. A 50%+ stamp means at least half are whole grains, and a stamp without a percentage means less than half are whole grains, but the product contains at least 8 grams.

●Whole Grain and Whole Wheat. Whole-wheat bread is made with whole-wheat flour. Whole-grain bread can also include other types of grains, such as oats, brown rice and barley. As long as the bread is 100 percent whole grain, the two types are equally nutritious.

●Made with Whole Grain. This phrase can be confusing — especially when “made with” appears in small print — because the bread may still contain mostly refined grains, which are not as nutritious as whole grains.

●Multi-Grain. This indicates a bread with more than one type of grain, but you won’t know how many — or whether they’re refined or whole — based on those words alone.

●21 Whole Grains and Seeds. How many types of whole grains a bread has matters less than where they appear in the ingredients list: Look for whole grains toward the top, which means they are a main ingredient. If they’re buried far down on the label, they may just be sprinkled in or added as a topping.

●USDA Organic. Breads with this seal are made with at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and the grains used were not grown with harmful synthetic pesticides.

●Good Source of Fiber. By Food and Drug Administration standards, a product with this claim contains between 2.8 and 5.3 grams of fiber per serving. But if you want to know the exact amount, check the fiber grams on the nutrition panel.

●Double Fiber. This typically means a loaf’s fiber is double the amount found in that same brand’s other whole-grain options. To get there, some brands use added fibers such as “cellulose fiber,” but our experts say fiber from whole grains is better.

 Copyright 2019, Consumer Reports Inc.

Why People Find It Hard To Lose Weight Even After Calorie Cutting?

Calorie cutting is the first thing that people do for a quick weight loss. It is mainly because several studies have already suggested the effectiveness of a low-calorie and a low-carb diet. Many of the popular diet plans, like Ketogenic (Keto) diet and Vegan diet, recommend low-carb meals for cutting down excess fat stored in the body.

But there is a hidden challenge behind every low-carb diet. Dieters often regain the lost weight and sometimes even more once they get back to their normal diet. The reason behind it has remained a mystery for several years.

And now, a research published in the journal Cell Press on Tuesday unlocked the mystery behind weight gain among dieters. The discovery could help people understand the reason behind the weight gain, stated lead researcher Ann Marie Schmidt, an endocrinologist at the New York University School of Medicine.

Through the study, the researchers found that weight gain among dieters is related to a type of protein, which is found on the fat cells’ surface of human and other mammals. The protein RAGE or the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products played some previously unobserved roles in controlling weight gain and weight loss in a mammal’s body.

RAGE was always associated with several chronic illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The research team stated the consequences related to RAGE are far beyond these chronic diseases. It can shut down a mammal’s ability to burn fat while it is on a bodily stress, like overeating or dieting.

In their study on mice, the researchers found a vast difference in weight gain among two types of mice – normal mice and those without RAGE pathway. The second group of mice gained much less weight than the first group of mice although both the groups followed the same high-fat diet and the same type of physical activity.

The mice whose RAGE pathway was deleted also expended more energy and had lower glucose levels. The researchers assumed that this protein plays a vital role in protecting the mammals when there is an unexpected reduction in energy supply.

“However, in time of plenty, when there is no shortage of nutrients, the receptor is still present and is able to continue to exert that unfortunate role of hoarding the energy and not allowing it to be expended,” Schmidt explained.

In short, RAGE has its own disadvantage in modern times when at least some people are eating more food than they need. Those people may experience a metabolic slowdown after enjoying a hearty meal.

“Weight loss is very, very difficult. Only by studying the good things, the bad things, and how sometimes things that were meant to be good can go awry can we figure out the big picture and how to safely make people’s lives healthier and better,

7 Cancer Preventing Foods For Your Dog!

Ask any pet parents their biggest fear for their pets and the response is likely to include ‘Canine Cancer’. Canine Cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs.

There are foods that can help prevent cancer in dogs or fight the adverse effects of cancer. It’s always a good idea to consult your vet before making any dietary changes for your pup.

As the month of May is the #NationalPetCancerAwareness month, Here are a few foods that may have cancer-fighting and cancer-preventing qualities.

1. Animal Fat and Protein

Tumors take a lot of protein from other areas of the body, leaving less protein available for muscle growth, disease immunity, and wound healing. To make sure your dog’s body has enough protein, they’ll need a high-protein diet. Animal fats and protein should make up the majority of the diet for a dog to prevent cancer.

2. Broccoli

Broccoli is rich in glucosinolates, which are broken down into biologically active compounds. These compounds protect cells from DNA damage, make carcinogens inactive, induce cell death in tumors, prevent tumor blood vessels from forming, and provide anti-inflammatory effects.

#ProTip: Give broccoli in small amounts.

3. Turmeric

Turmeric contains curcumin, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. It works as a cancer preventative as well as a treatment. Curcumin interferes with cancer development and can reduce or even kill tumors. Combining it with coconut oil can help increase the absorption of curcumin.

#ProTip: Do not give powdered turmeric. Natural turmeric only!

4. Apples

Apples are an antiangiogenic food, meaning it prevents the formation of new blood vessels from existing blood vessels. This is important in fighting cancer because it stops blood vessel formation in tumors, which starves the tumors and prevents them from growing. In tests on dogs, antiangiogenic foods starved tumors with a 60% response rate.

5. Pumpkin

Pumpkin is high in beta-carotene which is converted in Vitamin A within the body. Vitamin A is an antioxidant that prevents damage caused by free radicals. Beta-carotene, which gives pumpkin its orange color, can also slow cancer growth and boost enzymes that help clear cancer causing substances from the body.

6. Coconut Oil

The fatty acids in coconut oil provide numerous health benefits. For instance, they have anti-tumor properties. Coconut oil is beneficial for the skin and can clear up precancerous lesions. It protects against cancerous growths. Coconut oil can also kill bacteria which is associated with higher stages of cancer.

7. Blackberries

Blackberries are rich in anthocyanins, giving them powerful anti-inflammatory effects. In India, blackberries are ranked as one of the top 17 antioxidant variants of berries. They boost defenses against free radicals and can easily be mixed with other foods for a tasty treat for your pups.

Know any other cancer-preventing foods for dogs? Let us know in the comments!

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References:

1. https://dogtime.com/lifestyle/50861-10-foods-help-fight-prevent-cancer-dogs

2. https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/health/anti-cancer-diets-for-dogs/