Quote of the Day: Expectations for Kindergarten Have Risen, Putting Boys at a Disadvantage
'The data is clear men aren't superhealthy.'
MATT ENGLAR-CARLSON, founder of the Center for Boys and Men at Cal State Fullerton, on the higher increase in suicides by young men than by women, one of several data points showing that boys and young men are struggling.
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WIRED
11 minutes ago
- WIRED
It's healthy to talk about health
Feature With When it comes to our health, talking and sharing can have a positive impact on our wellbeing. Bupa's new Health Stories campaign aims to encourage even the most reserved amongst us to open up. Many of us don't want to talk about our physical and mental health. But new research suggests that doing so can actually have a positive impact on our wellbeing. Bupa, the international healthcare company, is encouraging all of us to talk about our health through a new global campaign, Health Stories , which launches today. The company has created a suite of films featuring people sharing their experiences of a wide range of health conditions. By capturing these incredible voices, Bupa is breaking down the barriers of stigma and embarrassment, while also tackling the sense of isolation that individuals too often feel as they cope with a cancer diagnosis or begin therapy for a mental health condition. It's all about removing the taboos that still affect us as a society when it comes to our health. One story within the new film series sees a brave woman sharing her response when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Her immediate reaction was: this cannot be happening to me. Imagine how many have felt that same emotion but kept it to themselves? Another person shares their experience of being a deaf person with ADHD, which is a condition he believes has never been discussed in public before. And an amputee explains how she was able to start enjoying life again after she expressed her feelings to her prosthetist who listened and understood. Dr Mohamed Maan, Head of Clinical Operations, Bupa Global explains why this campaign can have a positive impact: 'Hearing how another person has managed a health condition can make you feel so many things—connected, empowered, supported, hopeful, a sense of relief.' Ruby Tui, 2021 Rugby World Cup champion and a mental heath advocate. New research from Bupa shows that while four in five people believe that sharing their health stories can support physical and mental health, almost half (49 percent) have avoided addressing a health concern. Yet of those who have avoided a health concern, over half (53 percent) admitted that it caused them more worry, and over a third (31 percent) felt their health worsened. The overall picture is that people really do want to talk—they just need the means and encouragement to do it. Ruby Tui is a New Zealand rugby union player who has competed internationally, won gold at the 2020 Olympics, and was a member of the Black Ferns team that triumphed in the 2021 Rugby World Cup. Through openly sharing her mental health story, she advocates for others to do the same so they can get the support and help they need: 'Through the simple task of sharing, we can open ourselves up to different perspectives, and we can empower ourselves to find solutions. I hope this campaign from Bupa sheds light on the importance of our individual health and wellness journeys and inspires more people to make their health a priority that they talk about openly and honestly.' Junior who has Crohn's disease Bupa's ambition with Health Stories is to encourage people to proactively seek the care they might need—inspired by the stories they have watched. As a result of these conversations and moving testimonies, we can all realize that there are millions of us, every day, with a health condition that doesn't need to be endured alone. A simple conversation can make a big difference. For more inspiring real-life health stories, visit
CNN
27 minutes ago
- CNN
Does Your 'Filtered' Water Still Have Fluoride? - Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta - Podcast on CNN Audio
Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:03 Welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta, one of my favorite times of the week. I really love hearing from you. You know, we've been doing this for a couple of months now. I love reading your questions, hearing your questions, gives me an idea of what's on your mind. Whether it's something in the headlines, sometimes it's something happening in your own life, I'm here to help try and break it down. And we've got a great first question lined up. Kyra, wanna do the honors? Kyra Dahring 00:00:30 Absolutely. So, Paula in West Springfield, Massachusetts asks, in our household, we use filtered water coming out of the refrigerator. Does that eliminate the fluoride in the water? Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:41 'Okay, Paula, this is a great question. There's been a lot of news about fluoride lately. So let me give you a simple answer and then explain it. Most water filters are not going to remove fluoride. Keep in mind that fluoride is a mineral and it dissolves in the water, so it's actually quite hard to remove, to filter out. Most conventional filters are not going to do this. Now, there are a couple of ways to filter out fluoride. One is using something known as reverse osmosis, a reverse osmosis filter. This essentially is forcing the fluoridated water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane. Reverse osmoses is about 80 to 90% effective at removing fluoride. Another type is distillation, a distilling filter. Now, this essentially is boiling the fluorodated water and then capturing the water vapor, that steam that gets produced, and leaving the fluoride behind and that's nearly a hundred percent effective. Now again, I know there's a lot of discussion about fluoride lately, but two things I just want to make sure you know: in most places around the country around the United States, Fluoride is not going to be at a level that is high enough for concern. So despite the fact that we're talking about it a lot lately, there really isn't a lot of cause for concern. Second thing, there are ways to sort of figure out how much fluoride is in your water. There is something called a consumer confidence report that you can get from your water company, they're obligated to give it to you if you ask for it. That can tell you how much fluoride in your water. You can also go to the CDC's website and look for "My Water's Fluoride" and plug in where you live, that can also give you an idea of how much fluoride's in your water. But again, Paula, I just want to be clear for most people living in the United States, this is not a concern. Kyra Dahring 00:02:37 Okay wait, now Sanjay, let's just say the fluoride is removed from the drinking water. We have a question from a listener named Lucia in New York who wants to know if brushing her teeth with a fluoridated toothpaste or rinsing with a flouridated mouthwash, is that enough to protect her teeth? Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:02:53 Okay, yes, this is a great question. The short answer here is yes, fluoridated toothpaste or rinses are really effective at protecting teeth. One thing I just want to point out, if you look at the sort of overall impact of fluoridating water, the public health community often refers to that as one of the greatest public health achievements over the last century. And for good reason, it's made a huge impact. But at the same time, really since about 1975, the incremental benefit of fluoride in the water has gone considerably down. Why is that? Because around that time, 50 years ago, we started to have fluoridated toothpaste and more widespread access to dental care. So fluoridate toothpaste can make a huge difference. When you think about fluoridatied toothpaste, first of all, for children under the age of three, you don't need very much toothpaste, about a rice grain size amount of toothpaste is good for children under the age of three. That's not very much. And for adults, about a pea size amount a fluoridated toothpaste. When you're thinking about the fluoride, you want to make sure that it's sort of sticking to your teeth. And you don't want to rinse your teeth for a period of time after you brush your teeth, just let that fluoride sit on your teeth that's what allows it to of cause remineralization. Don't eat for 10 to 15 minutes afterward either. So no doubt then that brushing your teeth with a little bit of fluoridated toothpaste can make a huge difference. Now I will say that the impact of taking fluoride out of the water is a little bit hard to know. There have been some modeling studies, one came from a group of researchers at Harvard that basically predicted that over the next five years, if you remove fluoride from the water, it would lead to about 25 million excess cavities. Over 10 years, it would lead to about 54 million excess cavities, cavities being defined by something that needs a filling. So again, fluoridated toothpaste, fluoride rinses, they do a great job, but there's an impact as well at taking the fluoride out of the water. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:09 Okay, we're gonna take a quick break, but when we come back, we're gonna talk about foods to eat to keep your mind sharp. Stay with us. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:23 Alright. I know that sound. Kyra, who's up next? Kyra Dahring 00:05:26 Next up is Sam from Connecticut, and he has a question I think you're gonna love about brain food. Take a listen. Listener Sam 00:05:34 Hi, my name is Sam and I'm 68 in Norwalk, Connecticut. I don't know if you've covered this in one of the podcasts that maybe I've missed, but I'd like to know what are the best foods you could eat to nourish your brain? Memory, response time, accuracy? Thanks, have a great day and thank you for all the wonderful information. Bye. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:58 Okay Sam, thank you for your question and I do love the fact that you're thinking about how to keep your brain sharp. As you know, I'm a neurosurgeon, I think about the brain all the time, the most enigmatic three and a half pounds of tissue in the known universe. Now, with regard to how we nourish ourselves and its relationship to brain health, there is some solid science behind certain foods that support memory and cognition. In fact, I sat down on a previous episode of Chasing Life with Dr. Uma Naidoo. She's a nutritional psychiatrist, by the way, how cool is that? A nutritional psychiatrist, she's also a professional chef and she really digs deep into how food affects the brain. Listen to what she told me. Dr. Uma Naidoo 00:06:44 'Foods that will help cognition, we actually go back to those, those omega-3s, it's a group that's featured very frequently. Olive oil, also one that we lean into. The herbs and spices that showed up doing well for cognition and for thinking and for memory are turmeric with that pinch of black pepper, which makes it much more bioavailable, cinnamon, saffron, rosemary, ginger, sage. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:07:13 I hope you caught that last part. It's not only the specific foods, but also these added spices, which can make the foods much more bioavailable. If you eat foods that are good for you, but they're not highly bioavailable, that means they're not circulating around the body and the brain and doing their job. Now, Dr. Naidoo also gave us some great advice on caffeine and how, in moderation, it can actually help objectively with focus and memory. Dr. Uma Naidoo 00:07:41 Coffee was thought, if you keep your caffeine's consumption, or your coffee consumption, under 400 milligrams a day, it was thought to be healthy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:07:50 Now, I think it's important to point out that Dr. Naidoo's not just talking about these things as individual ingredients. Oftentimes we think of medicines as these single molecules, but when it comes to food, it's really about putting all these ingredients together into a meal that is tasty, but also brain healthy. Dr. Uma Naidoo 00:08:10 You know, for me, this is some guidance. While I know that those foods have been identified as healthy, it's also part of an overall plate, right? It's not just eating the nuts or eating the olive oil, it's putting that together in a meal that's still tasty makes a very big difference to balancing that out for people. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:08:28 'Beyond that, let me give you some of my thoughts on what the research shows about food and brain health. Studies have shown that eating just a handful of blueberries or a single serving of spinach or kale can slow cognitive decline by years even. There was this big study that tracked over 16,000 older women for 15 years and found that just a half a cup of blueberries, or a cup a strawberries a week, slowed memory loss by two and a half years. Another study found those who ate a serving of leafy greens, spinach, kale, collard greens, arugula, appeared many years younger in terms of their overall cognitive health compared with those who rarely or never consumed green leafy vegetables. Another one to add to the list, oily fish, salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines. They are all rich in something known as DHA. DHA is a fat that can help protect your brain. And then there was a study showing that eating fish just once a week was associated with slower cognitive decline and a lower risk of Alzheimer's. You know, I also want to mention eggs. They are packed with something known as choline, which is a key nutrient for memory and learning that many people just don't get enough of, eggs can be a great source. So Sam, if you're at the store, think about these foods, look for color in your foods, berries, greens, those brain-boosting spices Dr. Naidoo mentioned, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, rosemary, ginger, sage, and don't forget your salmon. That's a big one. But remember again, it's about building meals around these components. Make them tasty and pack them with these ingredients, that's great way to support your brain health over time. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:19 'Alright, that's all the time we have for today, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions. I love hearing what you're curious about. If there's something health-related you've been wondering about, you can record a voice memo, email it to asksanjay@ or give us a call at 470-396-0832, leave a message. Thanks for listening, and I'll be back next Tuesday. Chasing Life is a production of CNN Audio. Our podcast is produced by Aaron Matthewson, Eryn Mathewson, Jennifer Lai, Grace Walker, Lori Galaretta, Jesse Remedios, Sofía Sánchez, and Kyra Dahring. Andrea Kane Is our medical writer, our senior producer is Dan Bloom, Amanda Sealy is our showrunner, Dan Dzula is our technical director, and the executive producer of CNN Audio is Steve Lickteig. with support from Jamus Andrest, Jon Dianora, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Leni Steinhardt, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Ben Tinker and Nadia Kounang of CNN Health and Wendy Brundige.
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
When Junior Residents Challenge Chief Attendings
Life as a medical student is far from easy. Every day, you grapple with a vast course load, erratic shifts during clinical rotations, stress, anxiety, and burnout. Yet, once you've reached the summit of that academic journey and are conferred with your medical degree, you start your residency, shiny new objects surrounded by much more experienced people. As a young resident or medical student, the mere idea of disagreeing with an attending physician in a position of power may raise hairs. After all, junior residents and students often look up to attendings, seeing them as versatile healers who can seemingly fix any ailment as they attend to the wards they lead. As a third-year medical student on call late at night, Suresh Mohan, MD, found himself in disagreement with a senior physician — the chief resident — over the treatment of a patient, which then escalated into an acute emergency. 'I quickly realized [about this senior physician] 'I think you're letting your ego get in the way of doing the right thing for the patient.' That was the first time I disagreed with the way that I watched this person manage something…I realized it was a very human emotion that got in the way of them doing the right thing,' said Mohan. Bleeding Trachea, Bold Dissent Mohan is now an otolaryngologist and surgeon at Yale Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, with a specialty in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery for the face, head, and neck. But the experience he had as a third-year student still resonates with him. With few people around to help, Mohan found himself relatively alone. 'Sometimes, you're the only trainee in the hospital…the only doctor in the hospital that's responsible for all the patients that need ENT [ear, nose, and throat] care,' he said. While on call late that night, Mohan and his chief resident were called in on a consult for a patient's bleeding trachea after the patient had undergone a tracheotomy earlier that morning. During a tracheotomy, a surgical opening is made in the neck and a tube is inserted directly into the trachea. It is usually performed by an otolaryngologist. Bleeding from tracheotomies can range from minor oozing due to irritation or suction trauma to life-threatening hemorrhages if a major vessel is involved. Upon seeing the patient, the chief resident said there was nothing to worry about and they will continue to monitor the patient. An hour later, Mohan was called again, but his chief maintained that everything was fine. 'Of course, in the back of my head, I'm wondering if it's bleeding more,' said Mohan. Within the next few minutes, they were called two more times to see the patient, and yet his chief was adamant that no further action needed to be taken at that time. 'Eventually a code was called…we were rushing over there…and it turns out the trach was not fully in the airway,' Mohan said. 'The patient was having trouble breathing and causing more to happen from that…it escalated quickly into a much more acute emergent situation.' Mohan and the team started yelling for instruments, trying to get the trach tube back in place in the patient's trachea. Fortunately, they were able to secure the airway. One of Mohan's biggest takeaways from the experience: 'It doesn't matter if they call you three times, you still need to do the right thing.' Post-Bariatric Bleeding Incident As a third-year general surgery resident, Joshua Rarick, MD, found himself on call and alone at Covenant Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan. In the late evening during a 24-hour shift, a patient's vitals began to drop following a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Rarick had not personally performed the initial surgery, but as the resident on call, he had to respond to nurses messaging him with concerns about the patient's blood pressure dropping. 'To me, it looked like the patient was probably bleeding, so I had called the attending to update them,' he said. Rarick tried to temporize the bleeding, but his attending didn't agree. After a few hours of fluids, during which the patient would transiently respond, eventually the patient's vitals and pressure came back down because she was still bleeding. '[My attending] disagreed with my plan to go back to the OR [operating room], but eventually we had to go back to the OR because there was a bleeder that we needed to clip,' Rarick said. Rarick is now a fourth-year general surgery resident. He said these types of interactions aren't uncommon, and not all disagreements end with tempers flaring. 'Sometimes, attendings disagree with you, and they say, 'No, let's do this instead,' which is normal,' Rarick said. 'But that was one of the first times that there was an actual disagreement with what I thought the plan should be.' Advocating for Optimal Patient Care As a medical student or junior resident, if you truly feel a patient's case isn't being properly handled, don't be afraid to speak up in a conciliatory manner. 'There are many situations where seasoned attendings are so specialized, their knowledge in other areas of the field might be lacking or just not up to date,' said Mohan. 'So especially as residents who are on top of all the latest info, you have an opportunity to educate, but doing so in a way that's palatable is really important.' But what if an attending disagrees with a junior resident's or student's concerns, and the latter still feels strongly about the mishandling of a patient's case? In extreme cases where all other resources are exhausted, you'd want to contact a hospital ombudsman, clerkship director, site director, or even faculty mentor, said Mohan. 'If there's something egregious happening, and the resident or student doesn't feel comfortable approaching in a direct format, ombuds people are able to report a concern,' he said. Mohan listed an order of resources to consult before this, however. 'First, look it up to understand if your question is reasonable. Two, talk to a resident to try to get some more knowledge. Then, if you're still not feeling comfortable, and gently assuming that the attending is not receptive, I think finding other faculty mentors is probably the next place to go. And if you're really feeling lost, then contact an ombudsperson.'
