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Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success

Let’s file this under unsurprising news: many American adults report drinking more since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to a survey on alcohol use in the time of COVID-19. If you’re among them, you might want to start 2022 on a healthy note by joining the millions who abstain from alcohol during Dry January. Your heart, liver, memory, and more could be the better for it.

What did this survey find?

The researchers asked 832 individuals across the US about their alcohol intake over a typical 30-day period. Participants reported drinking alcohol on 12.2 days and consuming almost 27 alcoholic drinks during that time. More than one-third reported engaging in binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in about two hours).

Moreover, nearly two-thirds of the participants said their drinking had increased compared to their consumption rates before COVID. Their reasons? Higher stress, more alcohol availability, and boredom.

But we can’t blame COVID entirely for the recent rise in alcohol consumption. Even before the pandemic, alcohol use among older adults had been trending upward.

Why try Dry January?

If you recognize your own behavior in this survey and wish to cut down on your alcohol intake, or simply want to begin the new year with a clean slate, join in the Dry January challenge by choosing not to drink beer, wine, or spirits for one month. Dry January began in 2012 as a public health initiative from Alcohol Change UK, a British charity. Now millions take part in this health challenge every year.

While drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is associated with health benefits for some people in observational studies, heavier drinking and long-term drinking can increase physical and mental problems, especially among older adults. Heart and liver damage, a higher cancer risk, a weakened immune system, memory issues, and mood disorders are common issues.

Yet, cutting out alcohol for even a month can make a noticeable difference in your health. Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days slept better, had more energy, and lost weight, according to a study in BMJ Open. They also lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduced cancer-related proteins in their blood.

Tips for a successful Dry January

A month may seem like a long time, but most people can be successful. Still, you may need assistance to stay dry in January. Here are some tips:

  • Find a substitute non-alcoholic drink. For social situations, or when you crave a cocktail after a long day, reach for alcohol-free beverages like sparkling water, soda, or virgin beverages (non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks.)

    Non-alcoholic beer or wine also is an option, but some brands still contain up to 0.5% alcohol by volume, so check the label. "Sugar is often added to these beverages to improve the taste, so try to choose ones that are low in sugar," says Dawn Sugarman, a research psychologist at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital in the division of alcohol, drugs, and addiction.

  • Avoid temptations. Keep alcohol out of your house. When you are invited to someone’s home, bring your non-alcoholic drinks with you.
  • Create a support group. Let friends and family know about your intentions and encourage them to keep you accountable. Better yet, enlist someone to do the challenge with you.
  • Use the Try Dry app. This free app helps you track your drinking, set personal goals, and offers motivational information like calories and money saved from not drinking. It’s aimed at cutting back on or cutting out alcohol, depending on your choices.
  • Don’t give up. If you slip up, don't feel guilty. Just begin again the next day.

Check your feelings

Sugarman recommends people also use Dry January to reflect on their drinking habits. It’s common for people to lose their alcohol cravings and realize drinking need not occupy such an ample space in their lives. If this is you, consider continuing for another 30 days, or just embrace your new attitude toward drinking where it’s an occasional indulgence.

If you struggle during the month, or give up after a week or so, you may need extra help cutting back. An excellent resource is the Rethinking Drinking site created by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). For the record, NIAAA recommends limiting alcohol to two daily drinks or less for men and no more than one drink a day for women.

Be aware of problems that might crop up

Dry January can reveal potential alcohol problems, including symptoms of alcohol withdrawal ranging from mild to serious, depending on how much you usually drink. Mild symptoms include anxiety, shaky hands, headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and insomnia. Severe symptoms often kick in within two or three days after you stop drinking. They can include hallucinations, delirium, racing heart rate, and fever. "If you suffer alcohol withdrawal symptoms at any time, you should seek immediate medical help," says Sugarman.

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Embryo donation: One possible path after IVF

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For decades, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has enabled countless people to have children, often after years of disappointment. It’s a complex process, medically and emotionally. Those embarking on an IVF cycle are often laser-focused on the baby they long for. Most hope a cycle will yield several embryos, because it frequently takes more than one embryo transfer to achieve a successful full-term pregnancy.

Any remaining embryos may offer the hope of future pregnancies and additional children. Yet remaining embryos also bring difficult decisions to the fore — if not immediately, then in subsequent years. The decisions one person, or a couple, makes might be divided into five paths. One path — donating embryos to another person or couple hoping for children — carries with it many questions. This path, and those questions, are the subject of this post.

A decision pathway for people who became parents through IVF

If you became a parent through IVF and have remaining embryos, you are not alone. Estimates vary on the number of cryopreserved embryos in the United States, but it’s likely to be in the hundreds of thousands.

You may be among the many people or couples who plan to use their embryos, or among those whose family feels complete. And you may be starting to figure out what to do with your embryos, or you may be putting the decision on hold, paying for annual embryo storage and feeling no urgency to make a decision, since embryos can remain safely frozen for many years. Having “extras” in deep freeze may offer comfort, kind of a psychological insurance policy after years of disappointment and loss.

Sooner or later, though, most people find themselves at a decision point, considering these options:

  • You can discard your remaining embryos. This may feel harder than you anticipated but absolutely doable. You see these embryos as part of the IVF process that enabled you to have your cherished child or children. The word “discard” sounds harsh, but you are not prepared to parent another child and do not see donating them to others as an option.
  • You can decide to have an additional child. A larger family wasn’t what you’d planned on or hoped for, but you see extra embryos as part of IVF, and a new child as meant to be. You look at the family you have and decide it is worth undergoing at least one more embryo transfer before making a final decision to discard.
  • You can decide to donate your embryos to science. Unfortunately, if you begin to explore this, you’ll discover there is no easy route for it. Perhaps you will choose to explore other possible pathways, or decide to focus on one of the other options.
  • You can donate your embryos to another person or couple. For some, this feels natural: you have been given the gift of children and you want to pay it forward to others longing for pregnancy and parenthood. However, for many the decision to donate does not feel easy or natural. Rather, it poses a huge dilemma: you want to honor the embryos and offer them a chance at life, but you have unsettled feelings when you think of your genetic offspring being raised by another family.
  • Not to decide is to decide. In listing options, it is important to acknowledge that some of your fellow IVF parents are deciding not to decide. They are among the many who have “abandoned” their embryos (the term clinics use for families that avoid contact). They stop paying their storage fees; they fail to respond to outreach calls and letters.

What questions arise if you choose to donate embryos to another family?

Writing in TheNew York Times about facing her own decision about unused embryos, author Anna Hecker said, “For me this far surpasses discomfort. I see it as a life-or-death decision, which makes it nearly impossible to make.”Having worked with couples making this decision, I can attest that this sense of the “nearly impossible” passes over time, as people grapple with their choice and come to a place of clarity and peace.

Below are some — though not all — questions you are likely to confront as you think about donating embryos. If you are part of a couple, you can sort through these questions with your partner. (If you are single, the decision is yours to make.)

  • How would we feel about another family raising a child created with our genes?
  • Would it feel okay if we knew the family we donate to, or could that make it harder, seeing what might have been our child growing up with others as parents?
  • Is this fair to the children involved? How will our children feel knowing they have full genetic siblings in another family? What will they make of the fact that it was the random choice of an embryologist who determined which embryo would land in our family and which in another?
  • How will children who come from our donation feel? Will they feel displaced, like they landed in the wrong family? Will they, perhaps, feel a bit like a science-fiction project?
  • How will we feel about possible challenges in the future: our child gets sick, the family we donate to gets divorced, we fervently disagree with the parenting style and values of the other family?
  • If we decide to donate, how should we go about finding a family? Does geography or demographics matter — for example, will it feel good or more complicated to have them nearby? Should we donate to a same-sex couple, an older single woman, or others?
  • Do we want to tell family members and friends of our decision to donate our embryos? If so, how much do we share of this information?
  • If there are several embryos, do we donate all to the same family or divide them? For those who feel strongly about not wanting to discard embryos, it may be important to ensure that none are discarded when the receiving family feels complete.
  • If our embryos were created with the help of donor eggs and/or sperm, should we seek permission or approval from the donor? How do we go about this if we do not have access to the donor?

These questions are complicated, best made over time and with care. While you may want to make the decision soon so that you can feel closure and move on as a family, I have found this is one instance in life when moving slowly, visiting and revisiting a decision, accepting doubt and the need to take pauses, all contribute to you eventually feeling the rightness of your decision.

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Waiting for motivation to strike? Try rethinking that

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All of us know that motivation is a key ingredient to accomplishing goals in our personal and professional lives. But if you wait for motivation to strike like a sudden lightning storm, you’re a lot less likely to take a single step toward any goal. Even if you have a much-desired goal in mind, it’s all too easy to deplete motivation through feeling overwhelmed, procrastination, or impatience. The steps below can help you increase your motivation to accomplish the goals that matter to you.

The meaning of your goal

Before setting a goal, it is critical to clearly identify meaning — that is, why is successfully reaching this goal important to you? What will this achievement mean to you? For example, telling yourself “I want to lose 10 pounds so I have more energy to play with my grandchildren” conveys far more meaning than “I want to lose weight.” Or maybe your goal is to paint a room a different color because you feel that color will bring more joy into your life. That’s very different than setting a goal of “paint room.”

If you set a goal and find yourself procrastinating or not achieving it, revisit the meaning of the goal you have set. Is this a goal that continues to matter to you? If so, consider the meaning behind the procrastination or the difficulties that you are experiencing.

Operationalize your goal

Write out a detailed plan to achieve the goal. Use the SMART acronym to guide this plan:

  • Specific (What exactly do you want to accomplish?)
  • Measurable (How will you know when you have succeeded?)
  • Achievable (Is the goal you have set possible?)
  • Realistic (Does setting this goal make sense for you right now?)
  • Time-bound (What is the specific time frame to accomplish this goal?)

For example, a goal of “exercise more” is too vague, and will not set you up for success. Instead, set a goal of walking 50 steps in the next hour, or taking a 15-minute walk Wednesday morning. This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

Set up a to-do list — and tick it off

Once you identify a specific goal, make a to-do list to accomplish it.

  • What resources do you need?
  • What are the steps you’ll take toward your goal? Break down tasks into manageable mini-tasks and write each one down.
  • Set deadlines for each task. Make a schedule to accomplish these tasks, being sure to include regular breaks and realistic time frames.
  • Cross off each mini-task as you complete it. Step by step, you’ll see you’re making progress toward your goals.

If you are having difficulty breaking down your goal into smaller tasks, just begin working toward it. For example, if you set a goal of increasing the number of steps you walk each day, but have difficulty identifying the ideal number of steps as a goal, just start walking. You can figure out that ideal number later.

Include others

Invite a team to help you with your goal. You could join a running club, or ask family and friends to check on your progress in achieving tasks related to your overall goal. Perhaps friends can send email or text message reminders to keep you accountable. Finally, surround yourself by other people who are actively working on their own goals. Their efforts may inspire you, too.

Visualize success

Create an image of yourself achieving this goal. This image could be in your mind, or perhaps you could draw a picture of yourself achieving your goal. Imagine what achieving this goal will mean for you. How will you experience the success? How will it feel for you? Remember these positive emotions as you are completing the tasks on your to-do list to help fuel motivation.

Avoid distractions

Try to choose a space that is organized, free of clutter, and with minimal distractions. Focus on one task at a time, not multitasking. Close email and place your phone on silent. Avoid social media sites that make goals seem very easy to attain.

Track progress and time spent

Decide how often you’ll track progress toward your overall goal through your to-do list. Are you meeting the timeline you initially established? If not, identify stumbling blocks. Revisit the importance and meaning of this goal and how you initially set up your SMART model. If necessary, reconsider challenging aspects of your goal and make changes in your plan.

Think creatively about how to expand available time to work on your goal. Can you make certain tasks more routine in your life? Can you link unenjoyable tasks with more pleasurable activities? For example, if you dread your goal of taking 100 additional steps each day, could you listen to music or a podcast that you enjoy while you are taking these steps?

Embrace empathy

Be kind to yourself when tracking progress toward achieving your goal. Practice self-compassion on occasions when you fall short. Build small rewards into the process, and consider how to celebrate all your accomplishments.

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4 immune-boosting strategies that count right now

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It’s winter, as a glance outside your window may tell you. COVID-19 is circulating at record levels across much of the country. Keeping our immune systems healthy has taken on new importance, as many of us hope to ward off flu and winter colds as well as worrisome variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, whether Delta or Omicron.

Not surprisingly, marketers are taking advantage of our concerns. A whole cottage industry is devoted to chewables, pills, and powders that claim to “boost” or “support” your immune system. Some people even claim that healthy eating and vigorous workouts are all you truly need to avoid getting sick. But are any of these claims true?

The best strategies for staying healthy

I asked Michael Starnbach, professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School, for his advice on steps that can help us stay in good health this winter.

“Vaccination, skepticism of any other products claiming immune benefits, and staying away from places without universal masking are the best strategies,” he says. Here’s why these approaches count.

Get vaccinated

When it comes to improving your immune response, getting the COVID vaccine and booster shot, along with other recommended vaccinations, is best. Think of vaccination as a cheat sheet for your immune system. When a viral invader makes its way into your body, your immune system prepares to fight. But first it has to figure out what’s attacking, which takes time — time that allows the virus to keep multiplying inside your body.

A vaccine introduces the immune system to the invader ahead of time and allows it to develop a battle plan. So when the virus does show up at the door, your immune system can react quickly, which may mean no symptoms, or at least preventing serious illness. A booster shot is a refresher course to keep those lessons fresh.

While it is possible to become infected even if you are vaccinated, your immune system is primed to clear the virus more rapidly, so the infection is far less likely be severe or life-threatening. “We should get all available vaccines and boosters so that if we do get infected, we have a better chance of having a mild case,” says Starnbach.

Be skeptical

Any number of vitamin formulations and probiotics claim to boost or support your immune system. And while there is a grain of truth to some of those claims, the big picture is that they often don’t work. For example, vitamins do help immune function, but really only in people who have a vitamin deficiency — not in an average, healthy adult.

Probiotics also hold promise. This mini-universe of organisms living in your gut called the microbiome does play an important role in immunity. But experts don’t know enough about that role to create a product that can manipulate the microbiome to enhance immunity. That may change over the next decade — but for now, view probiotic claims with a healthy dose of skepticism, says Starnbach.

Mask up

Ultimately, nothing is better at keeping you well than avoiding exposure to a virus altogether. Wearing a mask isn’t on anyone’s favorites list, but it can help reduce the risk of spreading COVID (and some other viruses) to people who are unvaccinated, including children who aren’t yet eligible for the shot, and people with immune system deficiencies who don’t get adequate protection from the vaccine, says Starnbach. Masks are most effective when everyone around you is wearing one. “We now know clearly that the best way to prevent the unvaccinated from becoming infected is by indoor mask mandates,” says Starnbach.

Practice good health habits

But what about exercise and good nutrition? Do they have a role in supporting your immune system?

The answer is yes. Strategies to improve your overall health are never wasted. Healthy people are more resistant to disease, and often fare better if they are infected. Good health habits can help your immune system operate at its peak. Exercise and good nutrition aren’t the only habits that can help. You should also try to get consistent, high-quality sleep and manage your stress level. Lack of sleep and chronic stress can impair immune function.

But if you hope to avoid COVID-19 and other viruses, these strategies should come in addition to — not as a substitute for — vaccination and other protective measures.

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Tics and TikTok: Can social media trigger illness?

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A student suddenly develops leg pain and paralysis; soon hundreds of schoolmates have similar symptoms. Nuns begin biting each other, and soon the same thing is happening at other nearby convents. Three schoolgirls begin laughing uncontrollably, sometimes going on for days. When nearly 100 classmates develop the same problem, the school is forced to close down.

Yet in each case, no medical explanation was ever found. Eventually, these came to be considered examples of mass sociogenic illness, which many of us know by different names: mass hysteria, epidemic hysteria, or mass psychogenic illness. Over the years, many possible sources for these illnesses have emerged — and today TikTok and other social media sites may be providing fertile ground.

What is sociogenic illness?

The hallmark of these conditions is that multiple people within a social group develop similar, medically inexplicable, and often bizarre symptoms. In some cases, those affected believe they have been exposed to something dangerous, such as a toxin or contagion, although thorough investigation finds none.

The suffering caused by these illnesses is quite real and profound —even in the absence of a clear cause and presence of normal test results. And no, a person with sociogenic illness is not "just looking for attention" or "doing it on purpose."

Labeling people as hypochondriacs or "crazy," or illness as "hysteria," isn’t helpful. Hysteria and hysterical — drawn from hystera, the Greek word for womb — are loaded terms, often used to diminish women as psychologically unstable or prone through biology to uncontrollable outbursts of emotion or fear. And while some researchers suggest these illnesses more commonly affect women, most of the published literature on this condition is decades old and based on a limited number of cases.

Common features of mass sociogenic illness

Past outbreaks include illnesses in which people suddenly fainted; developed nausea, headaches, or shortness of breath; or had convulsive movements, involuntary vocalizations, or paralysis. Usually, these outbreaks occurred among people in close proximity, such as at a school or workplace. Rarely, cases appear to have been spread by shows on television. Now, social media is a possible new source.

Certain features are typical:

  • experiencing symptoms that have no clear medical explanation despite extensive investigation
  • symptoms that are temporary, benign, and unusual for those affected
  • rapid onset of symptoms and rapid recovery
  • those affected are connected by membership and interaction within a social group or by physical proximity.

Generally, treatment includes:

  • ruling out medical explanations for symptoms
  • shutting down a facility where it occurred
  • removing people from the site of supposed exposure (online or not)
  • separating affected individuals from one another.

Reassurance regarding the lack of danger, and demonstrating that the outbreak stops once individuals are no longer in close contact with each other, generally reduces anxiety and fosters recovery.

Tics and TikTok: a new driver of sociogenic illness?

The first known examples of social media-induced sociogenic illness were recognized in the last year or two, a time coinciding with the pandemic. Neurologists began seeing increasing numbers of patients, especially teenage girls, with unusual, involuntary movements and vocalizations reminiscent of Tourette syndrome. After ruling out other explanations, the tics in these teenagers seemed related to many hours spent watching TikTok videos of people who report having Tourette syndrome and other movement disorders. Posted by social media influencers, these videos have billions of page views on TikTok; similar videos are available on YouTube and other sites.

What helped? Medications, counselling, and stress management, according to some reports. Avoiding social media posts about movement disorders and reassurance regarding the nature of the illness also are key.

Geographic boundaries may have become less relevant; now, the influences driving these illnesses may include social media, not just physical proximity.

Dancing plagues, mad gassers, and June bugs

Sociogenic illnesses are nothing new. If you had lived in the Middle Ages, you might recall the "dancing plague." Across Europe, scores of afflicted individuals reportedly began to involuntarily and deliriously dance until exhaustion. And let’s not forget the writing tremor epidemic of 1892, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon during the mid-1940s, and the June bug epidemic of 1962.

The anxieties and concerns of the times play a role. Before the 1900s, spiritual or religious overtones were common. When concerns were raised about tainted foods and environmental toxins in the early 1900s, unusual odors or foods sparked a rash of palpitations, hyperventilation, dizziness, or other anxiety symptoms. More recently, some residents of the West Bank who thought nearby bombings released chemical weapons reported dizziness and fainting, although no evidence of chemical weapons was found.

Closer to home, reports are swirling that Havana syndrome may represent another example of mass sociogenic illness, although no firm conclusions can yet be made. Initially described among members of the US State Department in 2016 in Havana, Cuba, individuals who experienced this suddenly developed headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and memory loss.

These symptoms have been reported by hundreds of people in different parts of the world. Many are foreign service workers attached to US diplomatic missions. Soon after the first case reports, suspicion arose that a new weaponized energy source was causing the illness, such as microwaves fired from some distance. Cuba, Russia, or other adversaries have been blamed for this. Thus far, the true nature and cause of this condition is uncertain.

Nocebo, not placebo

One theory suggests that sociogenic illness is a form of the nocebo effect. A placebo — like a sugar pill or another inactive treatment — may help people feel better due to expectation of benefit. The nocebo effect describes the potential that people could have a negative experience based purely on the expectation that it would occur.

Think of it this way: you may be more likely to experience a headache from a medication if you’ve been warned of this possible side effect, compared with another person warned about a different side effect. Similarly, let’s say you see people fainting. If you believe this is caused by a substance they — and you! — were exposed to, you may faint, too, even if there’s no actual exposure to a substance that could cause fainting.

The bottom line

We don’t know why some develop sociogenic illness while others don’t. Plenty of people have lots of stress. Millions of people were stuck inside during the pandemic and turned to social media for more hours each day than they’d like to admit. Many people are prone to the power of suggestion. Yet, sociogenic illness remains relatively rare. Despite existing for hundreds of years, much about this condition remains mysterious. An open mind is important. Some cases of sociogenic illness may be due to an environmental toxin or contagion that wasn’t detected at the time.

If you or a loved one spends a lot of time on social media and has developed an illness that defies explanation, talk to your healthcare providers about the possibility of social media-induced sociogenic illness. We may soon learn that it’s not so rare after all.

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Why are women more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease?

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Did you know that of the 6.2 million people with Alzheimer’s disease who are age 65 or older in this country, almost two-thirds are women? This means that Alzheimer’s disease is almost twice as common in women compared to men. Why is Alzheimer’s disease more common in women?

Women live longer

The first and most important reason is that women tend to live longer than men. If you look at actuarial life tables, you can see that a baby girl born in 2019 is likely to live five years longer than a baby boy: 81 versus 76 years.

The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is age: the older you are, the more likely you are to develop Alzheimer’s disease. For example, out of 1,000 people, the incidence (the number who develop Alzheimer’s each year) depends on age:

  • 4 out of 1,000 people ages 65 to 74 develop Alzheimer’s each year
  • 32 out of 1,000 people ages 75 to 84 develop Alzheimer’s each year
  • 76 out of 1,000 people ages 85 and older develop Alzheimer’s each year.

So, one reason that there are more women with Alzheimer’s disease than men is simply that there are more older women than older men living in our society — 5.7 million more of them — and the older you are, the more likely you are to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

But that’s not the whole answer.

The incidence of Alzheimer’s is greater in women

Your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease late in life are somewhat greater if you are a woman than a man. One study followed 16,926 people in Sweden and found that, beginning around age 80, women were more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men of the same age. Similarly, a study based in Taiwan found that one’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease over seven years was greater in women compared to men. And a meta-analysis examining the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in Europe found that approximately 13 women out of 1,000 developed Alzheimer’s each year, compared to only seven men.

So, women living longer than men cannot be the whole answer as to why women are more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease, because even among individuals who are living and the same age, women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than men.

The incidence of non-Alzheimer’s dementia is not greater in women

One clue to the answer to this puzzle is that your chances of developing dementia from a cause other than Alzheimer’s disease is not greater if you are a woman. For example, the study examining dementia rates in Sweden found that both women and men were equally likely to develop a non-Alzheimer’s dementia as they aged. That rates of Alzheimer’s disease differ by gender, whereas rates of non-Alzheimer’s dementias do not, suggests that there must be a specific interaction between Alzheimer’s disease and gender.

Amyloid deposition in Alzheimer’s may be fighting infections

Another clue to this puzzle comes from the work of Harvard researchers, who have suggested that amyloid, one component of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, may be deposited in order to fight off infections in the brain. If their suggestion turns out to be correct, we might think of Alzheimer’s disease as a byproduct of our brain’s immune system.

Autoimmune disorders are more common in women

The last piece of the puzzle is that women are about twice as likely to have an autoimmune disease compared to men. The reason for this difference is not entirely clear, but it is clear that the immune system is generally stronger in women than men, and many autoimmune diseases are more common during pregnancy. It may be that women’s stronger immune system developed through evolution to protect the fetus from infections. So, as part of their stronger immune systems, women may end up having more amyloid plaques than men.

Putting the pieces together

By combining all of this information, one possible explanation as to why women’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease is greater than men’s — in addition to women living longer — is:

  • The amyloid plaques that cause Alzheimer’s disease may be part of the brain’s immune system to fight against infections.
  • Women have stronger immune systems than men.
  • As part of their stronger immune systems, women may end up having more amyloid plaques than men.
  • Because they may have more amyloid plaques than men, this theory may explain why women end up having a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Please note the italicized words "may" that I have used. Although the ideas I have presented here are logical, coherent, and form the basis of a good theory, they have not yet been proven to be correct. More research is needed!

The bottom line

You are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over your lifetime if you are a woman, because women live longer than men and, possibly, because women have stronger immune systems compared to men.

Does that mean that if you’re a woman, you’re more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and there’s nothing you can do about it? Not at all! You can do many things to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s today.

  • Engage in aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, jogging, biking, swimming, or aerobic classes at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week.
  • Eat a Mediterranean menu of foods including fish, olive oil, avocados, fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, and poultry. Eat other foods sparingly.
  • Sleep well — and clean those Alzheimer’s plaques out of your brain.
  • Participate in social activities and novel, cognitively stimulating activities.

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Making holiday shopping decisions quicker and with less stress

When faced with buying shoes, some people will be done in five minutes and be totally satisfied. For others, it’ll be a multiday process of reading reviews, comparing prices, consideration, and more consideration before making a decision.

Or not.

People can want to make a choice, but fear of making a bad one or of missing a better deal that might come gets in the way. The upcoming holiday gift-buying only ups the pressure.

“Making decisions is a taxing task,” says Dr. Soo Jeong Youn, clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

We’re doing it constantly, with what to wear and eat. It can also feel agonizing, even paralyzing, because sometimes we don’t know all the information, and so the brain fills in the gaps with worst-case scenarios, which does nothing to lower the stress.

Can we get better at making decisions? The short answer is yes. It takes some organization, but also a mindset shift in which we accept that there is no ideal choice. But before that, it helps to look a little more at why decision-making can be so difficult.

Knowing what to expect

Not all decisions cause the same stress. Big ones, like changing jobs or buying a house, take consideration, which we expect. Everyday choices, like our morning coffee order or groceries, are often automatic. And usually, the prefrontal cortex is in control. That’s the part of the brain behind the forehead, handling executive functioning skills — a term, Youn says, which tries to capture the complexity behind thinking. The prefrontal cortex processes information from the entire brain and puts it together to make a choice.

It’s the midlevel decisions — the new bike, winter jacket, toaster, or shoes — that become troublesome. They’re not huge purchases, but since we don’t make them regularly, we can spend more time weighing cost versus benefit. “We haven’t engaged in the thinking process,” Youn says.

Instead of the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system takes over. It’s the fight-or-flight response part of the brain, and there’s no careful weighing of factors. The goal is simple: survival, and it can cause us to make a less-than-optimal choice just to end the decision-making process — or to avoid the situation altogether by doing nothing, she says.

That’s not necessarily our goal. We want to make a good choice, but often there’s more in play, namely expectations. It’s tied into how we get viewed and what our worth is. If it’s a present, we worry about whether it expresses our feelings appropriately. As Youn says, “That decision is not just about that decision.”

And underlying it all is the fear and regret that you picked the wrong thing.

But to that, Youn poses a question: Wrong for what?

Get your focus

Often, people go into a purchase without being clear on what they need. Is the item for warmth, durability, exercise, style? Does it have to have special features? Do you need it quickly? Establishing a scope gives us something to refer back to and ask, “Does this fit with my purpose?” Conversely, with no parameters, we spend more time and angst making decisions, and sometimes keep looking under the belief that the “perfect” thing exists.

“We want this to check off all the boxes, even though we haven’t defined what all the boxes are,” she says.

For some people, the difficulty is in making the decision, but once done, the stress is over. But for others, the worry continues: the limbic system is still activated, and that’s when regret or buyer’s remorse comes in. Youn says to treat it like that song in your head that won’t go away, and give it some attention.

Examine the worry and name it. If you’re wondering about missing out on something, ask, “Why is that important?” And then with every assumption ask, “And then what would happen?” The process might reduce the magnitude of how much something actually matters. If that doesn’t work and you’re worried that you missed out on a better deal, then do some research. Whatever the result, even if it wasn’t in your favor, take it as a lesson that you can use for the next decision.

Lean on routines

New decisions take energy. That’s why routines are helpful — they remove the uncertainty of what to do in the morning or how to get to work. When possible, Youn says, use previous knowledge instead of constantly reinventing the wheel. If you like a pair of sneakers, there’s no problem with rebuying them if your needs haven’t changed.

If they have, just re-examine the new components, not the stuff you already know. And if you feel like you’re getting stuck in the evaluation process, ask yourself, “Is this worth my time?” The question creates a pause, brings you back into the moment, and allows you to decide how you want to proceed.

More research won’t help with decision-making or decision regret

It helps to realize that when we do our research, there comes a point where we’ve seen everything. In fact, more information becomes overload. What helps is to shrink down options as soon as possible. Maybe start with 10, but quickly get to five, then three, and finally two to compare before picking the winner. What can also help is setting the timer on your phone and giving yourself a certain number of minutes to make a choice. Sometimes that self-imposed deadline can keep us on track, and we can move on to the next decision.

But there can always be a nagging feeling that there’s more to know. In reality there isn’t, and actually we can’t know everything and don’t have to know everything — and that’s all right. As Youn says, “It’s an illusion.”

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HEALTHY-FOOD SPORT THE-BEAUTY

Saturated fat and low-carb diets: Still more to learn?

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Various versions of low-carbohydrate diets have been popular for many years. The details of what is allowed and what is not vary quite a bit, and the amount of carbohydrates also differs. Too often these diets contain plates piled high with bacon, meat, eggs, and cheese. Due to the high saturated fat content in these diets, doctors and nutritionists worry about their potential adverse effect on cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association recommends aiming for about 13 grams of saturated fat, which is about 6% of 2,000 calorie diet. Recently, a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that at least in the short term a low carb diet with a higher amount of saturated fat might still be heart-healthy. But is it that simple? Let’s take a look at what this randomized diet trial did and what the results really mean.

What did the study actually involve?

The 164 participants in this study were all considered overweight or obese, and had just finished a weight loss trial to lose 12% of their body weight. They were randomly assigned to one of three diets containing different proportions of carbohydrates and fat. Protein content was kept the same (at 20% calories) for everyone. They were not planning to lose any more weight.

The three diets were:

  • Low carbohydrates (20%), high fat (60%), saturated fat comprising 21% of calories: this resembles a typical low-carbohydrate diet and has much higher saturated fat than recommended.
  • Moderate carbohydrate (40%), moderate fat (40%), saturated fat comprising 14% of calories: this is not far from the typical American diet of 50% carbohydrates and 33% fat, and it is quite similar to a typical Mediterranean diet, which is slightly lower in carbohydrates and higher in fat than an American diet.
  • High carbohydrate (60%), low fat (20%), saturated fat comprising 7% of calories: this meets the recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and is a typical high-carbohydrate diet, including a lot of grains, starchy vegetables, and fruits or juices.

The study participants received food prepared for them for 20 weeks. They had their blood measured for a number of risk factors of cardiovascular disease, and a lipoprotein insulin resistance (LPIR) score was calculated using a number of blood markers to reflect the risk for cardiovascular disease. (LPIR is a score that measures both insulin resistance and abnormal blood cholesterol all in one number, and it is used for research purposes.)

The researchers found that at the end of eating these diets for five months, the participants in each of the three groups had similar values of cardiovascular disease markers, such as the LIPR score an and cholesterol blood levels.

What were the participants actually eating?

Alas, those who were eating the low-carbohydrate diet were not piling up their plate with steak and bacon, and those eating the high-carbohydrate diets were not drinking unlimited soda. All three diets were high in plant foods and low in highly processed foods (it is easier to stick to a diet when all the food is prepared for you). Even the low-carbohydrate group was eating lentils, a good amount of vegetables, and quite a bit of nuts.

Even the two diets with higher than recommended amounts of saturated fats also were high in the healthy poly- and monounsaturated fats as well. For example, the diets contained a combination of higher amounts of healthy (salmon) and a small amount of unhealthy (sausage) choices. In addition, fiber intake (at about 22 grams/day) was slightly higher than the average American intake (18 grams/day). Overall, except for saturated fat being higher than recommended, the diet as a whole was quite healthy.

What is the take-home message?

Striving for a plant-based diet with saturated fat being limited to 7% of total calories remains an ideal goal. But for people who choose a low carb, high fat diet to jump start weight loss, keeping saturated fat this low even for a few months is challenging. This study at least provides some evidence that higher amounts of saturated fat in the context of a healthy diet do not seem to adversely affect certain cardiovascular risk markers in the short term. How it would affect actual disease — such as heart attack, stroke, and diabetes — in the long run is unknown. However, there is ample evidence showing that a diet that consists of healthy foods and has moderate amounts of carbohydrate and fat can lower the risk of these diseases.

Preventing diseases is a long-term process; a healthy diet must not only be effective, but it should also be flexible enough for people to stick to in the long run. Could a diet with lower amounts of healthy carbohydrates and ample healthy fats with a bit more saturated fat be healthy enough? As the researchers state, we need long-term testing to help answer the question.

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HEALTHY-FOOD SPORT THE-BEAUTY

5 numbers linked to ideal heart health

How well are you protecting yourself against heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death? A check of five important numbers can give you a good idea.

“For my patients, I typically look at their blood pressure, blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides values, and their waist circumference,” says Harvard Heart Letter editor-in-chief Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, who directs interventional cardiovascular programs at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Those values provide a picture of a person’s overall health and, more specifically, what factors they may need to address to lower their chance of a heart attack or stroke, he says.

Below are the ideal values for each measurement, along with why they’re important and targeted advice for improving them. Universal suggestions for improving all five measurements appear at the very end.

How do your heart health numbers stack up?

While the ideal values are good goals for most people, your doctor may recommend different targets based on your age or other health conditions.

Blood pressure

Less than 120/80 mm Hg

Blood pressure readings tell you the force of blood pushing against your arteries when your heart contracts (systolic blood pressure, the first number) and relaxes (diastolic blood pressure, the second number). Your blood pressure reflects how hard your heart is working (when you’re resting or exercising, for example) and the condition of your blood vessels. Narrowed, inflexible arteries cause blood pressure to rise.

Why it matters to heart health: High blood pressure accelerates damage to blood vessels, encouraging a buildup of fatty plaque (atherosclerosis). This sets the stage for a heart attack. High blood pressure forces the heart’s main pumping chamber to enlarge, which can lead to heart failure. Finally, high blood pressure raises the risk of strokes due to a blocked or burst blood vessel in the brain.

What helps: A diet rich in potassium (found in many vegetables, fruits, and beans) and low in sodium (found in excess in many processed and restaurant foods); minimizing alcohol.

LDL cholesterol

Less than 100 mg/dL

A cholesterol test (or lipid profile) shows many numbers. Doctors are usually most concerned about low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, particles that makes up about two-thirds of the cholesterol in the blood.

Why it matters to heart health: Excess LDL particles lodge inside artery walls. Once there, they are engulfed by white blood cells, forming fat-laden foam cells that make up atherosclerosis.

What helps: Limiting saturated fat (found in meat, dairy, and eggs) and replacing those lost calories with unsaturated fat (found in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils).

Triglycerides

Less than 150 mg/dL

Perhaps less well-known than cholesterol, triglycerides are the most common form of fat in the bloodstream. Derived from food, these molecules provide energy for your body. But excess calories, alcohol, and sugar the body can’t use are turned into triglycerides and stored in fat cells.

Why it matters to heart health: Like high LDL cholesterol, elevated triglyceride values have been linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

What helps: Limiting foods that are high in unhealthy fats, sugar, or both; eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (such as fish); avoiding alcohol.

Blood sugar

Less than 100 mg/dL

High blood sugar defines the diagnosis of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is most common. It occurs when the body develops insulin resistance (insulin enables cells to take in sugar) and does not produce enough insulin to overcome the resistance.

Why it matters to heart health: High blood sugar levels damage blood vessel walls and cause sugar (glucose) to attach to LDL. This makes LDL more likely to oxidize — another factor that promotes atherosclerosis. Excess sugar in the blood also makes cell fragments called platelets stickier so they’re more likely to form clots, which can trigger a heart attack or stroke.

What helps: Avoiding sugary beverages and foods high in sugar; eating whole, unprocessed grains instead of foods made with refined grains (white flour, white rice).

Waist circumference

Whichever number is lower:

Less than half your height in inches

OR

Women: Less than 35 inches

Men: Less than 40 inches

Measure your waist around your bare abdomen just above your navel (belly button). A big belly — what doctors call abdominal or visceral obesity — usually means fat surrounding internal organs.

Why it matters to heart health: Visceral fat secretes hormones and other factors that encourage inflammation, which triggers the release of white blood cells involved in atherosclerosis.

What helps: Consuming fewer calories, especially those from highly processed foods full of sugar, salt, and unhealthy types of fat.

Universal advice to improve all five measures of heart health

If one or more of your numbers is above ideal levels, you’re far from alone. Most Americans are overweight or obese and have bigger-than-healthy bellies. Excess weight and waist circumference affect blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar. Eating a healthy, plant-based diet can help. Regular exercise also helps: aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking most days. Other lifestyle habits that can lower your heart disease risk include getting seven to eight hours of sleep nightly and managing your stress level.

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HEALTHY-FOOD SPORT THE-BEAUTY

If you have knee pain, telehealth may help

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Just about everyone experiences knee pain at some point in their lives. Most of the time, it follows an injury or strenuous exercise and resolves in a few days, but knee pain can last months or even years, depending on the cause. A new study suggests telehealth programs designed for people with knee osteoarthritis may help ease pain, improve ability to function, and possibly even lead to weight loss.

What is osteoarthritis of the knee?

Osteoarthritis (OA) — the age-related, “wear-and-tear” degeneration of the knee joint — is the number one cause of chronic knee pain, affecting nearly a quarter of people age 40 or older. It’s responsible for most of the 600,000 knee replacements in the US each year, and more than $27 billion in annual healthcare spending.

How is it treated?

No treatment for knee OA is ideal or works in every case. Standard approaches to treatment include pain management, exercise, and loss of excess weight.

For pain, people with knee OA may consider

  • anti-inflammatory drugs that are rubbed on the skin, such as diclofenac gel
  • anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen
  • pain relievers, such as acetaminophen
  • injections of corticosteroids.

Opiates, arthroscopic surgery, and other injected treatments are not routinely recommended due to risks, lack of proven benefit, or both. Knee replacement surgery has a high success rate for knee OA, but is generally considered a last resort because it’s major surgery that requires significant recovery time.

Virtual visits can help

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with knee OA regularly saw their healthcare providers to

  • monitor their pain and ability to function
  • consider changes in treatment
  • check for treatment side effects
  • determine if other problems are contributing to symptoms.

It turns out, much of this can be done virtually. The pandemic made it a necessity. And a new study suggests it works.

What did the study on knee osteoarthritis find?

The study demonstrated that telehealth visits are a good way to provide care to people with knee OA. The researchers enrolled nearly 400 participants who had knee OA and were overweight or obese. They were divided into three groups:

  • Group 1 was given access to a website that provided information about OA, including pain medications, exercise, weight loss, and pain management.
  • Group 2 received the same information as group 1, and also engaged in six exercise sessions with a physical therapist by videoconference. These sessions lasted 20 to 45 minutes and included advice about self-management, behavioral counseling, and education about choosing exercise equipment.
  • Group 3 followed the same format as group 2, and also had six consults by videoconference with a dietitian about weight loss, nutrition, and behavioral resources. These sessions also lasted 20 to 45 minutes.

After six months, participants in groups 2 and 3 reported pain relief compared to Group 1. On a pain scale of 1 to 10:

  • group 3 improved more than group 1 by 1.5 points
  • group 2 improved more than group 1 by about 1 point.

People in groups 2 and 3 also had better scores for function compared to group 1. All of these improvements were considered meaningful and held up for at least 12 months.

In addition, those assigned to group 3 lost about 20 pounds over the course of the study, while the other groups’ weights were nearly unchanged. That’s an important finding, because excess weight can worsen osteoarthritis of the knee. Losing excess weight can improve symptoms and help prevent the arthritis from getting worse.

Since there was no comparison with in-person care, it’s impossible to say whether these virtual visits were better, worse, or similar to an office visit. In addition, this study did not report the costs of these virtual sessions, the long-term impact of virtual visits, or whether repeated virtual visits could maintain the improvements people reported.

The bottom line

The pandemic is giving researchers an opportunity to seriously study the potential value and limitations of virtual care on a large scale. If these visits are as good as or better than in-person visits for certain conditions and the costs are no greater, that’s a big deal. A virtual visit can eliminate time spent in travel and the waiting room, and possible parking fees that can make a brief doctor’s visit an expensive undertaking that takes half the day. Virtual care also has the potential to reach patients who otherwise cannot get to their doctor’s office.

Of course, telehealth isn’t equally available to everyone due to language barriers, technical abilities, health insurance plans, or simply not having access to smartphones, computers, or data plans. Some states are letting emergency measures supporting telehealth services expire. And some insurers may resort to pre-pandemic rules about coverage or physician licensing that create uncertainty about the future of telehealth.

This study and others suggest that it may be a mistake to curb telehealth just when it’s catching on. More studies like the one described here may make the case to insurers, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, and patients that the future of medical care should rely on more, not less, virtual healthcare, and encourage approaches that overcome barriers to its use.