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Jim Greene – Men’s Health

October 21, 2019

A recent study in the journal Neurology is shining the spotlight on your vegetable garden. Researchers were studying lycopene and stumbled upon some remarkable results. Lycopene is found in many different fruits and vegetables and is responsible for the red coloring of your tomatoes.

The study was conducted on over 1000 men over a 12 year period and discovered that the subjects who had higher levels of lycopene in their blood were much less likely to have a stroke in their future. The researchers also looked into other potential causes such as beta-carotene, vitamins A and E. These levels did not seem to have an impact on the reduction in the risk of a stroke.

Besides the increased levels of lycopene tomatoes are filled with things that your body craves. Inside a tomato you will find fibre, vitamin C, select B vitamins, potassium, and a number of antioxidants. A single tomato has almost no fat content, is quite low in sodium, and only possesses about thirty calories.

Lycopene can be found in a number of places in nature including tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, and guavas. One of the interesting facts that came out of this research is that the best way to get lycopene is not through supplements but tomatoes in their processed form. Tomato juice, ketchup, sauces and tomato paste are all sources of lycopene. Processed tomatoes are recommended due to the higher level of absorption that is possible.

By Deidre McPhillips – CNN

February 18, 2021

Life expectancy in the US dropped a full year in the first half of 2020, according to a report published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Experts say that Covid-19 was a significant factor contributing to the decline. The life expectancy for the entire US population fell to 77.8 years, similar to what it was in 2006, CDC data shows.

Changes to life expectancy also widened racial and ethnic inequities. Compared to 2019, life expectancy for non-Hispanic Black people in the US fell about three times what it did for non-Hispanic White people, by 2.7 years. It fell by twice as much for Hispanic people, by 1.9 years. Covid-19 is sending Black, Latino and Native American people to the hospital at about 4 times the rate of others.

Life-expectancy disparities between Black people and White people had been shrinking in recent years, but these latest figures reverse some of that progress. Over the past 40 years, life expectancy has increased slowly but rarely declined. Between 2014 and 2017 — a peak period of the opioid epidemic — life expectancy declined a third of a year, which itself was significant.

Life-expectancy estimates before 1980 have been measured less consistently, but experts told CNN that estimates for drops in life expectancy after World War II range from less than a year to three years. The pandemic has taken a massive toll on the US population. About 490,000 people have lost their lives to the disease, and the CDC estimates excess deaths in 2020 to be even higher. 

“A year of life expectancy lost doesn’t really give you a true sense of how serious this has been. Millions of life years were actually lost,” Eileen Crimmins, a professor at the University of Southern California who has researched changes in mortality, told CNN. “Covid is on track to cause more deaths than cancer or heart disease, and that’s important.”

Most deaths due to Covid-19 have been among older adults, which would have a small effect on overall life expectancy.  But Theresa Andrasfay, a researcher at the University of Southern California who has published work on the potential impact of Covid-19 on life expectancy, notes that while deaths among younger adults may be less common, the numbers are still substantial. “Those deaths have a significant effect on life expectancy because they contribute to more foregone years of life,” she told CNN.

Disparities in years lost among Black and Hispanic people are in line with the disproportionate effect Covid-19 has had on communities of color. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black people are both about twice as likely to die of Covid-19 than non-Hispanic White people, according to the latest data from the CDC. 

“At the beginning of the pandemic, we may have thought this was a virus that affected everyone equally,” Andrasfay said. “We were aware of these longstanding health disparities, but this really drives home how the Black and Latino communities were disproportionately affected.”

The new life-expectancy estimates from the CDC mark the first time the agency has published these figures using provisional data that comes from death certificates that were received and processed for the first half of 2020. Because it is based on deaths recorded between January and June, the report notes that the estimates “do not reflect the entirety of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, or other changes in causes of death.” Certain geographic areas were affected more than others earlier in the pandemic, and timely reporting of deaths varies by jurisdiction.

An expert explains how to conquer the emotional minefields that come with tidying up

By Ellen Byron – The Wall Street Journal – Jan. 13, 2021

To conquer the clutter in our homes we must also be ready to deal with the many emotions buried in it, says Jes Marcy, a professional organizer in Poestenkill, N.Y. Ms. Marcy leads online classes on how to get rid of unnecessary items and on social media runs a private support group for people trying to organize their homes, a process that can be fraught with stress, guilt, resentment and grief, she says.

Ms. Marcy tells clients that when they start to unclutter their homes of physical possessions they inevitably will find connections to emotional, financial and relationship issues in their lives, too. “It’s all clutter and it’s all connected,” she says.

Ms. Marcy discussed how to navigate decluttering landmines, why you shouldn’t buy anything to get organized and how to deal with boxes of items that could draw tears. 

How has the pandemic affected people’s relationship with clutter?

For some people it has sparked this idea that we need to stockpile. Others say “I’m going to lose my mind if I have to look at this stuff any longer.” There comes a point where stockpiling is more hazardous than not stockpiling. Physical hazards exist with clutter because you can trip, it creates dust and mold and it can be a fire hazard. Anybody who has lived through a natural disaster or any sort of emergency will attest that skills are more important than stockpiles. We’re also realizing the importance of having functional space. We don’t tend to look at our space, except maybe our kitchen counters, as functional space. For years we’ve been converting space in our house to storage. Then we take away that ability to add a desk when we need to, for example.

Why do people today struggle with clutter in a way that their parents or grandparents didn’t?

Clutter is a modern challenge. Hoarding is an evolutionary advantage that we have relied on as a species to succeed. Even 100 years ago we needed to hoard food and firewood to get through winter. Then, in a millisecond, life completely shifted because there is so much inexpensive stuff in our world now and we have removed every barrier for things coming into our house. We don’t have to produce a credit card or even leave the house: Stuff just shows up on the doorstep. On top of that we’re taught to keep and cherish everything that’s been given to us, that’s the Depression Era mindset. We feel that if we throw something out we’re a bad person. It’s such a dramatically different world now.

What mistakes do you see people make when tackling their clutter?

The biggest mistake is buying things for organization. Decluttering shouldn’t cost you money. Most people have clutter because they have more stuff flowing into their house than flowing out. If you had a clogged toilet, you wouldn’t use that toilet until you’ve cleared the clog. Clutter in your house is a clog. I ask people to commit to not bringing anything into their homes while we’re working together, except for essential items like medication or produce. We have to increase the flow of stuff leaving our homes and decrease the flow coming in until we’re living within our space.

Why is decluttering emotional?

Often when we’re clearing a space we come across a decluttering landmine. That could be a box of papers, a shirt or anything that has a deep emotional tie to an event in our past. Then we get sucked into the emotional journey that this object sparked for us. It either stops us in our tracks and we can’t move forward or it adds emotion to a simple project.

Is that why it’s easy to procrastinate?

That’s part of the reason. Another is that decluttering is delayed decision-making. For example, every single sheet of paper represents a transaction in your life. Mostly it’s a financial transaction, sometimes you gave your time to get this sheet of paper because you went to a conference, or it’s a very emotional transaction like divorce or death. With every single thing that you touch you replay the transaction and the emotion attached to it. All those boxes of divorce papers are reliving and rethinking that decision. You need to decide whether to keep it. If you don’t know where it goes in your house, that’s another decision. The more decisions you have to make the harder it is to make a decision.

What if you don’t know how or where to start?

Start anywhere. Say you walk into a closet and feel overwhelmed. Close your eyes and touch something then make a decision on whether you will deal with this now. Start with anything that is emotionally easy. If it’s not emotionally easy, go to the next thing. Keep going until you find that one thing you can deal with.

How do you suggest tackling sentimental clutter, like photos or inherited items?

Sentimental items should always be left for last because you have to build your decluttering muscle, your skill set, before you get to the really emotional stuff. Put sentimental items into one specific spot, that way you can control your interaction with them. If you know that there’s a box in the back of the closet that will make you cry, and you can’t go into the closet because of that box, take it out. When you have the support that you need, then you can start dealing with that box.

How should people deal with items that are tied up in grief?

Know what support you’re going to need while you declutter these items. If you’re going to need a therapist, schedule that so that it coincides with the project. Tell a friend or your spouse that you’re planning on dealing with these items and will need support. Maybe you need to order dinner, or you need a massage – whatever it is, know what’s going to give you support that you can count on to help you get through this emotional process.

Source: American Cancer Society, news release, Jan. 12, 2021

TUESDAY, Jan. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Improved lung cancer treatment is a major reason for the 31% decline in cancer death rates in the United States between 1991 and 2018, including a record 2.4% decrease from 2017 to 2018, the American Cancer Society says.

How the COVID-19 pandemic will affect this downward trend is unknown, the society noted.

“The impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnoses and outcomes at the population level will be unknown for several years because of the time necessary for data collection, compilation, quality control and dissemination,” according to the report’s lead author, Rebecca Siegel.

“We anticipate that disruptions in access to cancer care in 2020 will lead to downstream increases in advanced-stage diagnoses that may impede progress in reducing cancer mortality rates in the years to come,” she said in a cancer society news release.

The American Cancer Society said about 3.2 million cancer deaths were prevented from 1991 through 2018 due to declines in smoking, earlier detection, and improvements in treatment that led to long-term decreases in deaths from the four leading cancers: lung, breast, colon and prostate.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death, causing more deaths than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.

While there’s been slow progress against breast, prostate and colon cancers in recent years, declines in lung cancer death rates grew from 2.4% a year during 2009 to 2013 to 5% a year during 2014 to 2018.

Lung cancer accounted for nearly half (46%) of the overall decline in cancer deaths in the past five years, driving the record single-year drop of 2.4% from 2017 to 2018 for the second year in a row, according to the cancer society’s new report on cancer statistics, which was published Jan. 12 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The report also appears in Cancer Facts & Figures 2021.

Recent large reductions in lung cancer deaths reflect better treatment for the most common subtype of the disease — non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Two-year survival for NSCLC increased from 34% among patients diagnosed in 2009 to 2010 to 42% among those diagnosed in 2015 to 2016, including gains of 5% to 6% for every stage of diagnosis. Two-year survival for small cell lung cancer remained at 14% to 15% over that time period.

In 2021, nearly 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States and there will be over 608,000 cancer deaths, the cancer society estimated. However, that prediction is based on 2017-2018 data and doesn’t account for the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also said that cancer is the leading cause of death in Hispanics, Asian Americans and Alaska Natives. In addition, the 5-year survival rate for all cancers combined that were diagnosed from 2010 through 2016 was 68% in white patients and 63% in Black patients.

For all stages combined, survival is highest for prostate cancer (98%), melanoma of the skin (93%), and female breast cancer (90%), and lowest for cancers of the pancreas (10%), liver (20%), esophagus (20%) and lung (21%). Survival rates are lower for Black patients than for white patients for every type of cancer except pancreatic cancer.

“While recent advances in treatment for lung cancer and several other cancers are reason to celebrate, it’s concerning to see the persistent racial, socioeconomic and geographic disparities for highly preventable cancers,” said Dr. William Cance, the American Cancer Society’s chief medical and scientific officer.

“There is a continued need for increased investment in equitable cancer control interventions and clinical research to create more advanced treatment options to help accelerate progress in the fight against cancer,” Cance added.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on cancer prevention.

Texas Dept. of Insurance

Unfortunately, even in a global pandemic, some people try to steal a buck. Scams related to COVID-19 are the latest threat. Here are common scams and how to avoid them.

Scams you might see

• Someone may call or email asking for your credit card number to pay for a vaccination. Don’t go along. The shots are free. You can’t buy a vaccination through the mail, online, or in stores.
• You might get a call offering virus test kits. This is an attempt to steal your money or personal information. Talk to a doctor if you’re sick or think you need a test.
• Scammers can fake phone numbers or email addresses to look like you are hearing from a doctor’s office or insurance company. Be wary of calls or emails warning you about problems with your insurance plan. Someone could be trying to get you to reveal personal information.
• Some scammers pretend to be COVID-19 contact tracers. Legitimate contact tracers will never ask for your Medicare number or financial information.

Ways you can avoid scams

• Don’t answer calls or respond to texts from unknown numbers and never click on links in messages from someone you don’t know. You could download damaging malware or let criminals think they’ve found a possible target.
• Never share your Social Security number, banking information, or your health insurance policy number with someone you didn’t contact. No one from a vaccine site or insurance company will call to ask for that information.
• Medicare won’t call to offer COVID-19 products, services, or benefit review.

For more information on COVID-19, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services website.