A new study went to analyze the lifestyle choices of British people. According to it, over 20 million people living in Great Britain are quite physically inactive, which could come with serious risks to their health. The study and report come from the British Heart Foundation or BHF, a charity organization based in the United Kingdom.

According to the researchers, they considered ‘physically inactive’ any person which did not follow the governmental health guidelines. These state that every individual should accomplish 150 minutes of physical activity each week. This doesn’t even have to be intense, it can have a moderate intensity. Also, they should perform strength activities at least every two days throughout a week.

The BHF found that women are more likely to be physically inactive than men. More exactly, they are 36 percent less active which accounts for some 11.8 million people, compared to 8.3 million men.

The Rates Of Physically Inactive Also Varied According To Region

In its report, the charity also presented a list with the least activity regions in the United Kingdom. North West England residents placed first, with a 47 percent rate of inactivity. They were followed by the Northern Ireland population with 46 percent and the Welsh with 42 percent. North East England and London residents rounded up the top 5 less active.

According to the BHF, this lack of physical activities poses more risks than initially believed. The charity claims that it leads to over 5 million deaths each year at a worldwide level. Exercising regularly is recommended as it can help reduce the risk of circulatory problems and heart disease. This can be reduced by as much as 35 percent. The early death risk can also see a significant reduction thanks to regular exercises, one of up to 30 percent.

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This month is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. This condition is often associated with old age. Despite this fact, more young people are starting to develop this type of cancer. A new study shows that colon cancer is increasing among Millennials.

The study conducted by the American Cancer Society shows that more and more young people are suffering from this condition. This type of cancer is the second deadliest one. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned that more people should get a colonoscopy.

After the age of 50 getting a colonoscopy is a normal preventive measure. When you are young you might think that this test is not necessary. Apparently, it can affect younger people too. The number of cases of colon cancer at young people increased in the last few years.

This new study recommends doctors to talk to their patients about this type of cancer. People should know more about how to prevent and treat cancer. In order to decreases the number of colon cancer cases, the American Cancer Society launched an initiative named “80 by 2018”. This project has the goal to make 80% of older people over 50 to get a colonoscopy by 2018.

The research about the increasing cases of colon cancer in young adults was published in JAMA. Researchers also mentioned that the risk of death is decreased if people catch cancer early. This way, the treatment is much more efficient.

Because of the fact that this type of cancer is a slow-moving one, people are more likely to fight it. They have more time to catch it and to treat it. Unlike other types of cancers, colon cancer is developed in years and it can be avoided if people take the test.

People need to stay alert and to see if something changes in their body. If they observe signs like blood in the stool, unexpected weight loss, stomach pain, and change in bowel habits, they should go to the doctor immediately. It is important to go to the doctor sooner than later.

What is your opinion about this study? Did you know that colon cancer can affect young adults too?

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Breastfeeding has been known to bring a lot of benefits to kids. Some studies say that it can make the child smarter, while others state that it can make him or her develop faster. A new research shows that some of the benefits of breastfed kids might not be real.

While it is great for children to be breastfed, the benefits are not that big as it was previously believed. This new study focused on understanding the benefits that may come to breastfed kids. It showed that they might be less hyperactive than kids that were not breastfed.

This is not the first study that looks for evidence about the cognitive development of breastfed kids. Despite the fact that this research wanted to strengthen the idea the breastfeeding makes children smarter, the researchers were not able to find a link.

In order to conduct this study, scientists analyzed almost 8,000 kids. These children were monitored by scientists since they were 9 months old. When the kids turned 3, the researchers evaluated their cognitive abilities. The parents were also asked about the development of their children.

Researchers were trying to find a strong connection between breastfed kids and their stronger cognitive abilities. They were not able to find the link. This is because the difference between breastfed kids and the children that were not breastfed were not that big.

The only benefit found is the lack of hyperactivity. Kids that were breastfed for at least 6 months were less likely to be hyperactive when compared to children that were not breastfed. This benefit was only applicable to 3 year-olds.

When the kids turned 5, the risk of hyperactivity was almost the same for both breastfeed kids and the other children. The researchers also mentioned that children who were breastfed for a shorter period or were not breastfed at all did not show any delays in cognitive development.

A limitation of the study is the fact that only kids who were breastfed for more than 6 moths were studied. This shows that the most important thing is for how long they were breastfed, not if they were or not.

What is your opinion about this study? Did you know that breastfed kids are less likely to be hyperactive?

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Sepsis is a condition that kills around 300,000 Americans every year. The problem is that there is no treatment for it. Despite the fact that many experts tried to find one, all of them were ineffective or dangerous.

A doctor mentioned that he might have stumbled upon a possible treatment for this problem. This happened in 2015 when Dr. Paul Marik was treating a woman who had a severe case of sepsis. He observed that her kidneys stopped working as well as her lungs.

He mentioned that the case was so severe that he had to think outside the box. This is when he decided to try a treatment that had shown a moderate success. This treatment consists of intravenous vitamin C. In order to make it more effective, the doctor added a low dosage of corticosteroids. He also administrated another vitamin known as thiamine.

He mixed all of these vitamins and injected the women with them. When he came back the next morning, he was expecting to see the woman dead. Instead, the woman was alive and on the road to recovery.  After this case, he tried the same treatment for his next cases. When he treated more than 50 patients with this mixture, he wrote the results.

Despite the fact that this is not the usual, standard way of testing a possible treatment, the doctor was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of this mixture. Dr. Marik continued to treat his patients with this mixture. The fact that he discovered a possible treatment for sepsis could save the lives of millions of people.

Health experts have started a trial in order to test the possible treatment. They mentioned that, if the mixture is effective, it is going to have a major impact on public health. Despite the fact that many people are excited about this possible treatment, health experts warn that there were a lot of possible treatments that did not pass the follow-up research.

The fact that this possible treatment is made out of vitamin C makes people even more skeptical. Most health experts can’t believe that this simple vitamines can save so many lives. Let’s hope that it passes all of the trials and it becomes an official treatment for sepsis.

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The changes our planet is experiencing have an effect on all of us. Animals are the ones that suffer the most. Many species are on the verge of extinction due to human activity that has caused global warming and climate change. In order to save the species that are endangered or threatened, some companies are taking action.

Great Initiative For The Bee Population

One of the species that has experienced a decline in population numbers is the bumble bee. Bees, in general, are affected by human activity. Despite the fact that they are doing a great thing for our economy, people don’t protect these insects enough.

The bee population is declining more and more every year. This is why a cereal company decided to take action. Cheerios is that company. In order to raise awareness about the bee population decline, they decided to remove their mascot from the cereal box. Their Honey Nut Cheerios product no longer has no mascot.

Until this change, every box of Honey Nut Cheerios had a bee as a mascot. The bee is now removed and instead, there is only the shape of it. The campaign made by Cheerios is running in Canada and the US. Their main goal is to boost the global bee population.

In order to save these insects from going extinct, the company wants to distribute free packets of wildflower seeds. They are also encouraging their customers to plant the wildflower seeds so that the bee population starts to increase.

After people get the seeds and plant them, they can also post pictures of the resulting wildflowers. This initiative was launched last year, in Canada. Now it’s spreading all across the US. The hashtag of the campaign is #BringBacktheBees.

In order to distribute the seeds, the company is organizing events in the US. One of those events took place at FLEUROTICA.  This is an innovative floral fashion show. Today, they are also organizing another event. Cheerios is going to transform the Pioneer Plaza in Chicago into a flower garden.

They are running their campaign on Twitter too. Cheerios is posting updates about it and the event’s outcomes on its respective social media page. The company wants to show, once again, what the bee population does for us. These insects are pollinating more than 35% of the food supply worldwide.

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Genetic engineering is one of the most controversial topics nowadays. Due to the fact that scientists are now allowed to use stem cells and grow them in order to cure people of diseases, genetic engineering is more popular.

Some doctors claim that sickle cell anemia can be cured with genetic engineering. Despite the fact that there is no actual proof of the power of genetic engineering, many people believe that it can be a revolutionary method for the medicine available these days.

Despite the fact that medicine has evolved, doctors and scientists believe that there is always room for improvements. This is why genetic engineering could be the next step in medicine. Although it is approved for tests, this type of medicine can only be used to treat diseases or to prevent them.

Sickle cell anemia is considered to be a slow killer. People who suffer from this condition are in pain. In the US, this disease is not uncommon. One in every 360 black babies is born with this problem. Worldwide, more than 275,000 infants have sickle cell anemia.

Doctors from the Necker Children’s Hospital mentioned that there is a case that proves sickle cell anemia can be cured with gene therapy. After a trial treatment, a boy got rid of this condition. This patient took this treatment for more than 15 months when he was 13. The doctors that conducted the trial mentioned that he is well now. The boy is off his meds and he doesn’t need them anymore.

In order to treat him, doctors extracted bone marrow from the boy and they harvested stem cells. After that, the gene code was altered in order to become normal. After the doctors started administrating the trial treatment, the boy was feeling much better. He didn’t experience so much pain and he did not need blood transfusions anymore.

The doctors that made this trial treatment to treat sickle cell anemia are also preparing a treatment for thalassemia. This is another blood disorder that acts similarly to the sickle cell anemia. Doctors mentioned that they are going to continue their tests on this anemia type to see if gene therapy is the cure.

What is your opinion about this treatment? Do you think that it is effective?

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A strain of the highly contagious bird flu has been discovered at a commercial chicken farm in Lincoln County, Tennessee. The presence of H7 avian influenza has been confirmed by the United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently confirmed the first case of H7 bird flu, also known as HPAI, in commercial poultry in 2017. The entire flock of chicken measures 73,500 specimens and it is located near the Mississippi flyway.

The chicken flock experienced increased mortality, prompting health officials to take samples, which were tested at the Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory. The final confirmation of the results took place at the APHIS National Veterinary Service Laboratories, located in Ames, Iowa. The scientists are working to isolate the virus in order to determine its “N-type”, expected to be revealed within 48 hours.

Currently, APHIS is working with local Department of Agriculture officials to develop a joint incident response. They managed to quarantine both the premises and the birds part of the affected flock. Furthermore, the grounds will be depopulated in order to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Agriculture officials are also making sure that the poultry farm workers from the facility are taking the proper precautions to prevent any illnesses and contain the disease without spreading. Officials reminded concerned people that cooking all poultry eggs at 165-degrees Fahrenheit kills viruses and bacteria.

Current bird flu response plans involve the joint effort of both Federal and State partners to implement additional surveillance and testing programs in the nearby areas. The USDA will make use the AI surveillance program to detect the disease in various commercial poultry facilities, as well as in live bird markets and migratory wild birds.

The bird flu virus strain can travel in wild birds without making them appear sick. Therefore, people should avoid all contact with nearby birds and especially those what look sick or died, be it poultry or wild birds. In the case of accidental contacts, people should wash their hands with soap and water, change their clothing before any other contact with domestic birds.

What do you think about the latest bird flu case in the US? Were your ever affected by such an outbreak?

Image source: Pixabay