Tick, tick, Ick!
Around 59 million Americans participated in hiking activities in 2021, in part because fresh air, exercise, and beautiful scenery helped shake off COVID-19 angst.
But to truly enjoy the outdoors, you need to protect yourself from tick bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that around 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are caused by tick bites annually, accounting for 86 percent of reported cases of tick-transmitted illness. Untreated, Lyme disease can lead to chronic fatigue and arthritis, neurological problems, heart palpitations, and shooting pain.
Another tick-borne illness is alpha-gal syndrome. The American Gastroenterological Association has just released clinical guidance to help doctors and patients figure out if unexplained digestive symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, come from this infection, which triggers an allergy to eating meat from mammals, as well as mammal-derived products such as dairy. A blood test can identify immunoglobulin E antibodies to alpha-gal. Relief comes from not eating those foods — which I advise everybody to do anyway in order to live younger longer. There’s also an alert out about the tick-borne illness babesiosis, caused by the same tick that transmits Lyme disease. Early symptoms include fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea and hemolytic anemia.
For protection from tick bites, hike on cleared trails; wear socks, long pants and long sleeves; use tick-repellent DEET. When heading indoors, check your body for ticks and remove them with sharp tweezers. Save the critter in a pill bottle and if you develop symptoms, see a doctor (with your captured tick) for treatment pronto.
Keeping your good HDL cholesterol in good shape
From 2002 through 2018, more than 21 million statins were bought annually in the U.S. to lower levels of lousy LDL cholesterol — known to clog arteries and cause strokes and heart attacks.
In contrast, no one thinks much about “good” HDL cholesterol, which is designed to shuttle excess LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream and soft plaques in artery walls to the liver, where it’s ushered out of the body. It also stimulates production of nitric oxide, which helps counter high blood pressure and prevents blood clots. But it isn’t always such a good guy. Various particles of HDL can help transfer fat into (not out of) LDL and cells and power up LDL with oxygen so it’s even more destructive. The key to getting the positive benefits of HDL is to have it — along with LDL and triglycerides — at healthy levels. You want HDL at 45 mg/dL to 60 mg/dL, triglycerides at less than 50 mg/dL and LDL below 70 mg/dL. (You may be told higher levels than that for LDL and triglycerides are acceptable for optimal HDL functioning, but they aren’t optimal for avoiding a heart attack or stroke.)
A blood test can reveal your lipid levels but getting your apolipoprotein B (apoB) level measured provides a clearer idea of your cardiovascular disease risks. If your HDL is low:
■ Exercise regularly doing moderate-intensity activities and/or HIIT.
■ Lose 5 percent to 10 percent of your weight, if needed.
■ Ditch highly processed foods. Add lean protein: skinless poultry, fish, tofu, beans and lentils.
■ Limit alcohol to one to two drinks daily.
■ Stop smoking — anything.
Magnificent magnesium
When Popeye declared, “I’m strong to the finish, ‘cause I eats me spinach!” he probably had no idea why spinach had such powers. Well, it turns out that in addition to providing around 30 percent of your daily value for vitamin C, 12 percent of B6, 8 percent of iron and 6 percent of calcium in 3.5 ounces, it’s dishing up 6 percent of the magnesium your body needs. That mineral helps your muscles, nerves, bones, and heart function smoothly and protects you from vitamin D deficiency. And now it turns out it’s also important for brain health.
A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that getting more than 550 milligrams of magnesium a day is associated with greater brain volume and a younger brain age, especially in women. (The recommended daily allowance for adults age 19 to 51+ is 400-420 milligrams daily for men and 310-320 milligrams for women.) Other studies indicate that getting the mineral from food provides more benefits than supplements do — maybe because of its interaction with certain nutrients. Go for cooked spinach, plus Swiss chard, almonds, cashews, peanuts, beans, salmon, poultry, bananas and 70 percent dark chocolate.
Folks with Type 2 diabetes are at risk for a deficiency — insulin resistance increases urination, which flushes out magnesium along with elevated blood sugar — and some meds, including diuretics and proton pump inhibitors for acid reflux, deplete magnesium.
To check your level, get a total serum magnesium blood test (a healthy level is 2.1mg/dL or a bit higher). There are also tests of magnesium levels in urine and red blood cells.
Driving after a serious illness — what’s safe, what’s risky
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman survived a fiery crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500 in February of 2020 — and was able to return to the track at Daytona the next August. He was lucky to be able to get back behind the wheel and not pose a safety risk to himself or other drivers. Not everyone can do that.
If you have been in intensive care, contending with a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer, you may be eager to get back behind the wheel. It helps you go to work, shop, see friends, and get to doctor appointments more easily. But it may not be a smart move.
Around 60 percent of adults have persistent problems with cognition, emotional well-being and/or physical functioning — called post-intensive care syndrome — after a critical illness, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open. Researchers looked at 196 patients who had critical illness and found that 16 of them resumed driving a month after they left the hospital — but half of those folks tested at risk for cognitive impairment (a serious impediment to safe driving).
So how do you know if you’re ready to drive again? Ask your doctor about getting an assessment of your cognition, mood, physical strength and flexibility. Work with a physical therapist to improve coordination and reaction time. Start slowly: When your doc says it’s OK, practice with a copilot. Driving again has enormous emotional and practical benefits, but you want to do it safely.
Passing weight challenges and health hazards to generations
The heaviest woman to give birth, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, weighed 532 pounds. That’s mind boggling. But in the U.S., more than half of women who deliver a live-born infant are overweight (26 percent) or obese (29 percent) before they become pregnant. That increases the risk of serious complications that affect the mother, fetus and child, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and high blood pressure, premature birth, birth defects and miscarriage. Plus, we now know that if an overweight/obese woman has a daughter, the child will likely end up with an elevated BMI and increased fat mass by age 6 to 9. (Interestingly, this risk doesn’t happen in sons, although they incur other risks.) That sets up a cycle of poor health from one generation to another.
One reason this happens, according to a study on mice, is that in utero over-nutrition rewires a fetus’s developing brain, making a child favor unhealthy food and encouraging overeating. Other factors may be genetic (or epigenetic), the family food and activity environment, and daughters’ emulation of their mother’s behavior.
Are you thinking about becoming pregnant and are overweight or obese? If you want your pregnancy/birth experience and your child’s future to be as joyous as possible: See a nutritionist; get a life-long weight control plan from “This is Your Do-Over” or “The Great Age Reboot;” aim to get 10,000 steps a day, and adopt stress-management techniques, like meditation. Then you can look forward to you and your child having a healthier future.
Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic.
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