Month: September 2020

When it comes to Hollywood stars and other celebrity figures, it can be easy to forget that they are people like everyone else. Sure, they have unparalleled fame and wealth (must be nice), but they also have issues with their families, have been in bad relationships, and struggled with health problems. No more so is that evident than in the recent and untimely death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away on Aug. 28 from colon cancer at just 43 years old. And Boseman was not alone in his struggle with cancer among the Hollywood community. In fact, many famous figures we all know have dealt with serious, life-threatening medical conditions over the years—often while their careers were thriving. Th...

The more I delve into research from around the world, and the more I listen to the experiences of patients, the more convinced I am of the importance of the way we choose to live our lives over the genes we were born with. The meals we eat and snacks we munch, the hours we spend at our desks or in the garden and the exercise (or lack of) we take, over the years, has a profound effect on whether we go on to develop serious diseases — and if we do, how our bodies will fight back. When I’m not in my clinic at Bedford and Addenbrooke’s hospitals (where I practice as a consultant oncologist and teach Cambridge University students), I am often to be found in a research clinic conducting trials into which foods or habits can most benefit patients — and everyone else. The mor...

By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) - The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Shortage of 'naive' T cells raises COVID-19 risk in elderly A lower supply of a certain type of immune cell in older people that is critical to fighting foreign invaders may help explain their vulnerability to severe COVID-19, scientists say. When germs enter the body, the initial "innate" immune response generates inflammation not specifically targeted at the bacteria or virus. Within days, the more precise "adaptive" immune response starts generating antibodies against the invader along with T cells that either assist in antibody production or seek out and attack infected cells...

People develop orthorexia when they become fixated on healthy eating to the point it impedes on their quality of life. Common symptoms of orthorexia include obsessive nutrition label checking, labeling food as "good" or "bad", and not eating out at restaurants.  Orthorexia can be treated with therapy and nutritional counseling.  This article was medically reviewed by Alisa Ruby Bash, PsyD, LMFT, a licensed family therapist in Malibu, California. Visit Insider's Health Reference library for more advice. Orthorexia is an eating disorder that is characterized as an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.  It often involves restricting certain food groups and over emphasizes "clean eating" to a point where it interferes with quality of life.  It is difficult to est...

431 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Massachusetts, 8 additional deaths Updated: 4:34 PM EDT Sep 18, 2020 The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported an additional 431 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the statewide total to 124,570.There were 22,217 molecular tests conducted, with a 1.94% daily positive rate. State health officials also confirmed 8 new COVID-19-related deaths across Massachusetts, bringing the state's confirmed coronavirus death toll to 9,059.About 3.26 million molecular tests for COVID-19 have now been administered in the state to more than 2 million individuals. Click here to see a graphical look at COVID-19 da...