Have you ever heard that taking vitamin D supplements or following a ketogenic (keto) diet will protect you from the new coronavirus? In this Special Feature, we explain why these and other persistent myths are not grounded in science.

Even before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, their director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned of the danger associated with spreading false information about the virus.

At a conference on February 15, 2020, he declared that were not just fighting an epidemic; were fighting an infodemic.

Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus and is just as dangerous, he emphasized.

However, it can be difficult to tell what is credible and what is not given the sheer quantity of information that people are sharing both on and offline.

Previously on Medical News Today, we compiled a list of 28 myths surrounding the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In this Special Feature, we will take an in-depth look at five more persistent myths and explain why people should not take them at face value.

Some articles claim that if a person takes vitamin D supplements, they will be less likely to contract SARS-CoV-2.

In part, people have based these claims on a controversial paper that appears in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research.

The papers authors claim to have found a correlation between low mean levels of vitamin D in the populations of certain countries and higher rates of COVID-19 cases and related deaths in those same countries.

Based on this correlation, the authors hypothesize that supplementing the diet with vitamin D may help protect against COVID-19. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this would actually be the case.

In a rapid review of the evidence published on May 1, 2020, researchers from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom unequivocally conclude: We found no clinical evidence on vitamin D in [the prevention or treatment of] COVID-19.

They also write that [t]here was no evidence related to vitamin D deficiency predisposing to COVID-19, nor were there studies of supplementation for preventing or treating COVID-19.

Other researchers who have conducted reviews of the existing data surrounding a potential relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19 agree.

One report by specialists from various institutions in the U.K., Ireland, Belgium, and the United States which appeared in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health in May 2020 also points to a lack of supporting evidence in favor of taking vitamin D supplements to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2.

The reports authors warn that:

[C]alls [for high dose vitamin D supplementation as a preventive strategy against COVID-19] are without support from pertinent studies in humans at this time, but rather based on speculations about presumed mechanisms.

They also note that although sufficient vitamin D can contribute to overall good health on a day-to-day basis, taking supplements without first seeking medical advice can be harmful.

For example, taking too much vitamin D in the form of a dietary supplement could actually jeopardize health, especially among people with certain underlying chronic conditions.

Another widespread rumor is that taking zinc supplements could help prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 or treat COVID-19.

It is true that zinc is an essential mineral that helps support the functioning of the human immune system.

Starting from this notion, a team of researchers from Russia, Germany, and Greece hypothesized that zinc might be able to act as a preventive and adjuvant therapeutic for COVID-19. Their results appear in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine.

The researchers refer to in vitro experiments that apparently showed that zinc ions were able to inhibit the action of a certain enzyme that facilitates the viral activity of SARS-CoV-2.

However, they also point out the lack of actual clinical evidence that zinc might have an effect against SARS-CoV-2 in humans.

Other papers that cite the potential of zinc as an adjuvant in COVID-19 therapy including one that appears in Medical Hypotheses are more speculative and not based on any clinical data.

In a Practice patterns and guidelines paper from April 2020 which appears in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health nutritionist Emma Derbyshire, Ph.D., and biochemist Joanne Delange, Ph.D., reviewed existing data about zinc (alongside other nutrients) in relation to viral respiratory infections.

They found that, according to available research in humans, zinc supplementation may help prevent pneumonia in young children, and that zinc insufficiency may impair immune responses in older adults.

However, they note that there is not enough evidence about the role of zinc supplementation in preventing viral infections in general.

Rigorous trials [] are yet to determine the efficacy of zinc supplementation, they write.

Vitamin C is another essential nutrient that has received a lot of attention. Many people believe that it can prevent or even cure the flu or common cold.

Although it is true that sufficient vitamin C can help support immune function, current evidence regarding its effectiveness in treating or preventing colds and influenza is limited and often contradictory.

Despite this, there have been claims that this vitamin might help fight infections with the new coronavirus.

It is possible that people are basing these claims on an existing ongoing clinical trial in China, which is looking at the effects of high dose intravenous (IV) vitamin C on hospitalized patients receiving care for severe COVID-19.

The researchers expect to complete the trial by the end of September 2020. No results are available in the interim.

Commenting on the trial, experts from the Linus Pauling Institute which focuses on health and nutrition at Oregon State University in Corvallis explain that although high dose IV vitamin C might help alleviate COVID-19 symptoms in severely ill patients, regular vitamin C supplements are very unlikely to help people fight off infections with SARS-CoV-2.

The experts warn that IV vitamin C is not the same as taking vitamin C supplements, as they would never raise blood levels of this vitamin as highly as an IV infusion would.

They also warn people who may be tempted to up their dosage of vitamin C of the fact they could end up taking too much and experiencing adverse side effects.

Keto diets, which are high in fats and low in carbohydrates, have also received some attention in the context of treating or preventing COVID-19.

This may be because there is some evidence to suggest that keto diets could help boost the immune system. However, much of that evidence is based on animal studies rather than human trials.

Also, an upcoming clinical trial from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, proposes to look at whether or not a ketogenic intervention might help intubated COVID-19 patients by reducing inflammation.

The intervention would necessitate the administration of a specially devised ketogenic formula through enteral feeding. It would be a last-resort procedure for those in a critical condition.

There is currently no evidence to suggest that following a keto diet could help a healthy person prevent or treat infection with SARS-CoV-2.

However, there is evidence to suggest that keto diets can expose people to certain health risks such as by raising cholesterol levels. Keto diets may also have side effects, such as flu-like symptoms, headaches, nausea, and changes in blood pressure.

There are also claims suggesting that various herbal medicines might be able to fight off the new coronavirus.

This may partly be based on a statement issued by a Chinese official in April 2020, suggesting that certain herbal drugs could help treat COVID-19, as a communication in The Lancet on May 15, 2020, reports.

Author Yichang Yang from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China warns that people should take encouragements to use herbal remedies in the treatment of COVID-19 with a pinch of salt.

Yang warns that herbal remedies including the drugs that the Chinese official names can have unexpected risks and may not be as effective as some people claim. Also, evidence from human trials is very limited.

For similar reasons, he also notes that the mechanisms through which herbal drugs work on the body are often unclear, which may mean that they are not always safe.

A mystery herbal cure for COVID-19 on sale in Madagascar a herbal tea made from artemisia plants has also spurred worry among specialists, who say that the remedy may do more harm than good.

Matshidiso Moeti, director of WHO Africa, has also commented on this:

We [the WHO] would caution and advise countries against adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy.

Although people may be tempted to try anything and everything in the face of such a threat to health as SARS-CoV-2, the most important preventive step is to follow official national and international guidelines for public health, as well as individual health advice from doctors and other healthcare professionals.

For more information on the new coronavirus and how to stay safe during the pandemic, take a look at the information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the WHO.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

More here:
5 false claims about coronavirus remedies and why they are wrong - Medical News Today

A customer looks at the menu of the citys newest food truck, Vital Seen, started by former Brasserie du Soleil and Circa 1922 chef Tripp Engel. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)

WILMINGTON Long gone are the weeks when Tripp Engel was working overtime in Wilmingtons upscale restaurant scene. Now hes doing his own thing, serving Rastafarian vegan food from the citys newest food truck, Vital Seen.

Inspired by the food diet known as Ital, which uses purely natural ingredients to enhance ones livity, or life energy, Engels menu reflects a Rastafarian philosophy influenced by Jamaican, Ethiopian, Egyptian, and Indian food cultures.

I wanted it to be healthy and tasty, and I didnt want it to be a vegan truck thats trying to create meat substitutes. I didnt want to have fishless fish tacos or meatless meatloaf, he said.

RELATED: Leland local favorite Bridgewater Wines announce second location in Porters Neck

Engel, an executive chef for Brasserie du Soleil for 12 years, got his first kitchen job in the late eighties when he was 14 years old illegally, he noted for a sandwich shop on Long Beach in Oak Island.

I got paid under the table, four bucks an hour, cash, he recalled.

After years spent moving up the ladder in the restaurant world, Engel became a line cook at downtown Wilmingtons Circa 1922 restaurant in the spring of 2005. He then began spearheading the creation of Brasserie, and after opening the new restaurant within the year, he led the kitchen there for over a decade.

In 2016 he became the executive chef at Circa 1922 at the time, both were owned by the Circa Restaurant Group then called it quits in the summer of 2019.

I just got to the point in my life where, number one, I was ready to get out of the restaurant environment, Engel said. I didnt like the stress.

Although he had learned a great deal during his career, and had loved it for a time, he said it was time to cook the food he actually wanted to cook for less privileged customers. And he wanted to take better care of himself with the arrival of a baby; many colleagues over the years had developed health issues due to the demanding nature and fast-paced culture of the restaurant world, he said.

When Engel decided to start his own food truck business, he researched different truck options for months, even traveling to a food truck manufacturer in Virginia before he heard about a retired truck sitting in a repair shop in Castle Hayne. It took a year, he said, to install the electrical wiring, plumbing, walls, and kitchen equipment all with the counsel of Catch the Food Truck Chef Keith Rhodes before getting it up to code for the county food inspections department.

Tim Armstrong, on his way to the beach from New Jersey, orders what he would later say is the best drink hes ever tasted. Called agua de Jamaica throughout South America, and sorrel in Jamaica itself, its made from dried hibiscus flowers. (Port City Daily photos/Mark Darrough)

His menu is simple, just like his newfound goal with the food he serves no longer to tables covered in white cloth but from a window to guys like Tim Armstrong, in town from New Jersey.

Alkaline is the objective. No acid. Starch brings acid, Engel told Armstrong, who said he was lured in by the trucks logo next to the order window: a circle outlined in red, yellow and green, resembling the flag of Ethiopia, with the words, Roots, Garden, Food above a cluster of palm trees.

[The food philosophy] comes from the word Ital, which means pure and natural from the earth. Thats what the Rastafarian diet is. If it doesnt come from Mother Earth, you dont eat it, Engel explained.

The alkaline diet, he said, originates from a belief that acidic foods can affect the overall acidity of the body proponents of the diet say that lower pH levels help and treat and prevent diseases which is why he tries to avoid starches like sweet potatoes and French fries.

The menu includes Okra Chaat (Indian influence), Falafel Bowl (Egyptian), Quinoa Tabbouleh (Lebanon and Syria), and Mujaddara (an old Arab dish consisting of lentils and rice covered in sauted onions). While developing his food concept, he said he was particularly intrigued by a theory that the Egyptians began making falafels hundreds of years before other Arab nations began cooking their own versions of the deep-fried balls of chickpeas and fava beans.

Armstrong, who was heading to Wrightsville Beach when he pulled over at the parking lot of the Triangle Lounge to try the food, was particularly excited about a drink known throughout South America as agua de Jamaica. A dark purple, it is made from infusing dried hibiscus flowers.

It has a sweet flavor to it but isnt so overpowering, Armstrong said, reggae music playing overhead. Its got a little bit of a bitter taste to it as well, and they complement each other. Honestly its like nothing Ive ever had before. Its a little hard to describe: Its so refreshing and I want another one.

Five minutes later, Armstrong returned to the window and ordered another drink before heading to the beach.

Catch the truck this weekend. On Friday (11 a.m. 1:20 p.m.) it will be parked at the Eagle Island Seafood shop off U.S. 421 just over a mile north of the Isabel Holmes Bridge (2500 US 421). On Saturday (1 6 p.m.), it will be again parked in front of the Triangle Lounge (5920 Wrightsville Avenue).

Send tips and comments about Wilmingtons food and beer scene to the reporter at Mark@Localvoicemedia.com, @markdarrough on Twitter, and (970) 413-3815

Originally posted here:
Wilmington chef hits the road with new 'Rasta-vegan' food truck, Vital Seen - Port City Daily

As a new feature on The Beet,Elysabeth Alfanointerviews notable plant-based personalities to bring you stories designed to inform and inspire you on your plant-based journey. Here, she interviewed Dr. Dean Ornish, known as the Father of Lifestyle Medicine, on howadopting a plant-based approach can boost your immune system and help you stay healthy in a time of COVID-19.

Cities around the globe are convulsing,as the need for social justice has knocked the coronavirus pandemic off the front pages. But with thevirus still marching onacross the southern United States andsmaller outbreaks are croppingup like smallforest fires in the wake ofa massive burn, it's clear the virus is not going away, no matter how much news events overtake it.

So the question is now, how can we best protect ourselves and live a healthy life, given the fact that we are as stressed as ever. Weekly Beet columnist, Elysabeth Alfano, sits down (remotely of course) with Dr. Dean Ornish, one of the foremost leaders in reversing chronic diseases, to talk about the urgency ofboosting our immune systems, now and in the months and years ahead.

Respected the world over, Dr. Ornish has proven that genes do not determine your fate. In his practice, he has shown thatdiet and exercise and stress-relieving lifestylepractices can override any predisposition to heart disease and many other chronic ailments. In fact, dietary changesspecifically a plant-based diet that is low in oilcan even reverse early or advanced stages of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

These same lifestyle changes can also strengthen our immune systems, still the best-known defense against COVID-19, and certainly a way of avoiding the most severe symptoms if you do get infected. According toOrnish,consistently eating a whole food plant-based diet can increase your immunity and reduce the likelihood that were going to get sick, now or later in life.

In his book, UnDo It: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Diseases, written with his wife, Anne Ornish, Dr. Ornish walks us through how making some relatively small changes can, in short, reverse aging and protect us by keeping us strong. The book was recently featured by Oprah on her series, SuperSoul Sunday. She points out that it's easier to make these tweaks than to have to commit to a life of drugs, medical procedures and symptoms.

"Eat more, move more, stress less," says Oprah, summing it up, to which Dr. Ornish adds: Love more. Boom, that's it. His wife concludes: "It's really about self-love."

Its no wonder that Dr. Ornish was featured as an expert in the movie, The Game Changers. What athlete, or human, wouldnt want to age backward? However, we mere mortals arent concerned with batting 1000we just want to be able to leave our houses with a stronger immune system to protect ourselves from Coronavirus and feel as if we can live a healthy life.

Here is Dr. Ornish, on what you can do to boost your immune system now.

EA: Are your colleagues or other doctors making a connection between eating meat and the pandemic that were in right now? Or eating meat or not eating meat and having a stronger immune system?

Dr. Ornish:Well, unfortunately, most of the efforts have been on avoiding the virus rather than how we can boost our immune system to be more likely to avoid getting sick if were exposed to it. Both are important, but most of the effort has gone into the former and I think we need to put more emphasis on the latter: What we eat, how we respond to stress, how much exercise we get, how much love and support we have, how much sleep we get, and whether or not we smoke cigarettes.

Each of these are important factors that we do have control over, and I think that's important because its so easy to feel like, Oh my god, what can I do? Im a victim. Im powerless, and were not powerless.

It doesnt mean that you can go out and your immune system is so great that you dont need to worry about [the virus]. We need to avoid the virus, but it cant always be completely avoided, and so we also need to do these measures that can enhance our immune function.

Whats good for your immune system is good for your heart. Its good for diabetes. Its good for looking younger. Its good for just about most of the chronic diseases that I really think are just the same disease manifesting and masquerading in different forms, because they all share the same underlying biological mechanism. Things like, not only your immune function but chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, changes to the microbiome and telemeters and gene expression and androgenesis, and so on.

"Each one of these biological mechanisms is directly influenced, just like our immune function is, by four things:

So, its not that you only want to make these changes because of this pandemic thats out there. These are changes that are worth making because the other pandemic thats out there is heart disease and diabetes. 80 million people in this country have high blood pressure. 60 million are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. More people die of heart disease than anything else and yet its almost completely preventable if we put into practice what we already know.

The good news is the same lifestyle changes that can help prevent or even reverse heart disease and diabetes and prostate cancer and other conditions are the same ones that could help boost our immune system, to help ward off the coronavirus as well.

EA: I love that you say this. I love that its so empowering for people. You dont have to stand in line, you dont have to go to the doctor, you dont have to hope that very expensive pills will maybe fix your situation. You can actually fix your situation right here, right now, today. That power is right on your plate and it does so many things. Its very empowering to be plant-based.

Dr. Ornish:I dont want to give people the false sense that if they eat a plant-based diet then they can go out and be exposed to the coronavirus and their immune system will protect them. That would be foolish. But no matter how hard we try to avoid the virus, invariably there are times where we may get exposed unwillingly, and how our bodies interact with that is something that we do have more control over than we once thought.

EA: What kind of work are you doing in relation to a plant-based diet and Alzheimer's disease?

Dr. Ornish:Were doing the first randomized trial to see whether these same lifestyle changes that can reverse heart disease and diabetes and prostate cancer may also reverse Alzheimers.

"I have a new book I wrote with my wife, Ann, called Undo It, which is putting forth this radical unifying theory that these are really all the same disease masquerading and manifesting in different forms because they all share the same underlying biological mechanisms (as I explained above, but are worth mentioning again). Things like chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, changes in the microbiome and telemeters, and gene expression, and each one of these mechanisms isdirectly influenced by what we eat, how we respond to stress, how much exercise we get, and how much love and support (we have).

"So, eat well, move more, stress less, and love more.Were halfway through this Alzheimers study, and Im hoping that we may be able to show that we can stop or reverse the progression of Alzheimers because there are really the same mechanisms that affect Alzheimers that affect these other conditions.

EA: And we have control over it is what youre saying, at least some of it?

Dr. Ornish: "We hope so. You know, our genes are a predisposition, but our genes are not always our fate and we did a study where we found that over 500 genes were changed in only three months (when making lifestyle changes). Turning on the good genes (with these lifestyle changes) that keep us healthy and turning off the ones that cause us to get sick. And, since there are no good drugs that are highly effective for treating Alzheimers, if we can show we can reverse it, then we can prevent it. Stay tuned, we dont know yet what well find, but were hoping that we find something that will be exciting for people.

We love you, Dr. O! Thanks for keeping us healthy, strong, and wise now and in the future. So, go forth and 1) eat plant-based, 2) reduce your stress, 3) get in that exercise and 4) get your love groove on! Cmon what could be easier? We got this!

For the full interview, click here.Elysabeth Alfano is the host of the Awesome Vegans Influencer Series, and a plant-based expert, breaking down plant-based health, food, business, and environmental news for the general public on radio and TV.

See the original post:
Dean Ornish Shares 4 Tips for Healthy Immunity and Healthy Heart - The Beet

Indian fashion fraternitys self-appointed watchdog, Diet Sabya, has finally started reposting again and is giving us all lessons in the history of Gandi copies. The Instagram handle which is synonymous for calling out celebrities, stylists, designers, alike for ripping off the work of others had been raising awareness of the condition of employees working in Indian companies, fashion and otherwise, during the coronavirus pandemic, calling the companies out for mistreating their employees and wrongfully laying them off. And given that most celebrities are homebound, the handle which usually calls out Gandi copies, be it outfits or styling, was otherwise quiet. However, much to our delight, the handle finally posted a video giving us all some lessons into the history of plagiarism in Bollywood. The video collage had a model wearing a Versace jacket during one portion and in another were Madhuri Dixit Nene and Sanjay Kapoor, dancing to the tunes of the 90s classic, Akhiyan Milaoon Kabhi Akhiya Churau, in which Madhuri is seen wearing a gandi copy of the Versace jacket.

While the sparkling, embellished Versace jacket and matching crop top was worn by model Christy Turlington as she walked the ramp for Versace in 1992, Madhuris much less flashy version was seen in the 1995 movie, Raja. Diet Sabya cheekily captioned the post, Did you know? The real tea is that Ana Singh created a rather modest version of Gianni Versaces iconic 1992 collection worn by Christy Turlington for Madhuri Dixit Nenes iconic Raja song (released in 1995). Happy #25yearsofraja (Documenting this for fun so that kids can enjoy some fashion history), calling out Madhuris designer for that outfit, Ana Singh.

However, Ana Singhs response was so honest and on point that even Diet Sabya couldnt help but call her a legend.

Ana wrote very confidently of her work, My director sent me a reference to make so the call was not mine. Access to clothes was impossible and requirement needed to be fulfilled. I was sent the book Vanitas by Gianni Versace.She jokingly added, Just did the job. And sorry but no sorry its an excellent copy.

Diet Sabya posted her reply on their story dubbing Ana a legend, but this resulted in a flurry of responses from other designers and stylists who spoke of how they had to do what the client wanted, and how directors are adamant of what they want. One even said, Its what the client wants and what youre being paid for, is the implied message, to which someone responded that it was 100% true, and Diet Sabya posted the response in his story with the question, So clients and brands are the root of all evil?

Diet Sabya also posted another collage of a poster of the timeless 90s hit sitcom FRIENDS that was shot for the cover of Rolling Stones magazine by Mark Seliger alongside an eerily similar poster of the boy band Band of Boys Meri Neend.

Diet Sabya captioned the post, Meri Neend Ud Gayi Hai Mera Chain Kho Gaya Hai Tere Copy Mein Meri Jaan Yeh Kya Ho Gaya Hai. Left: @friends poster/Rolling Stones cover by @markseliger; Right: #bandofboys Meri Neend poster. #vintage #gandi #copy #history.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

The rest is here:
Diet Sabya gives history lesson in gandi copies with posts of Madhuri Dixit, Band of Boys ripping off... - Hindustan Times

By Eve Glazier M.D., , Elizbaeth Ko. and M.D. Andrews McMeel Syndication

Dear Doctor: My husband started having a lot of stomach pain and was also feeling queasy. Needless to say, I feared the worst cancer but, instead, his doctor says its gastroparesis. Is it dangerous? Whats the best treatment?

Dear Reader: Gastroparesis is the name of a condition in which the stomach is slow to empty its contents into the small intestine. This isnt due to any type of blockage. Instead, as the name of the condition suggests (gastro refers to the stomach, and paresis indicates nerve-related muscle weakness), the cause is a malfunction in the nerves that serve the region. This includes the vagus nerve, which animates the stomach muscles and helps send food to the small intestine. Symptoms include the pain and nausea your husband experienced, as well as poor appetite, feeling full after only small amounts of food or drink, heartburn and unintended weight loss.

When functioning properly, the stomach takes about four hours to saturate its contents with gastric juices, break everything up into smaller particles and pass the majority of it along to the small intestine. For people living with gastroparesis, the process takes significantly longer.

The result is delayed digestion, which can lead to a range of problems. Food that remains in the stomach for too long is susceptible to fermentation, which can encourage the growth of bacteria. The condition can interfere with appetite and sometimes leads to malnutrition. When the contents of the stomach are stalled, they can coagulate into a mass known as a bezoar, which can cause a blockage. And for people living with diabetes, the delayed movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine can interfere with glucose control.

Gastroparesis is often seen in people living with diabetes, which can cause nerve damage. It may also arise as the result of viral stomach infections, hypothyroidism, certain autoimmune or neurological disorders, or surgical injury. Its a known (albeit rare) side effect of medications such as opioids, antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants and calcium-channel blockers, which can impede digestion.

Diet is important in the management of gastroparesis, with an emphasis on nutrient density and ease of digestion. Patients are asked to eat small meals of soft, well-cooked food, and to avoid high-fat foods, which delay the emptying of the stomach. Foods high in fiber are difficult to digest and are also limited, or in some cases eliminated. Fruits and vegetables, which contain nondigestible fiber, should be served cooked, and in some cases pureed. For instance, instead of an apple, a patient will have a small serving of applesauce. They are also encouraged drink liquids that contain glucose and electrolytes, including clear soups, low-fat broths, low-fiber fruit and vegetable juices, or sports drinks. Since glucose control and malnutrition are both a challenge, many people with gastroparesis work with a registered dietitian.

When the condition cant be managed with diet, medications that cause the stomach to contract and emerging therapies such as electrical gastric stimulation may be an option. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary. We recommend that your husband seek out a gastroenterologist to fully assess his case and plan his treatment.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu.

Link:
Ask the doctors: Gastroparesis treated primarily with diet - The Spokesman-Review

Understanding rosacea: causes, symptoms, skincare and treatmentsDespite so much happening with the #skinpositvity movement, more needs to be done to show real skin on social media especially when it comes to inflammatory conditions likeadult acneandrosacea.

Rosacea is a long-term inflammatory skin condition which usually occurs on the face and affects one in 10 people in the UK, according to research fromBupa, with most in the 30-to-50-year-old age group, or who have fair skin.

The flare-ups that come with the condition are tough to conceal and can be as mentally hard for clients to manage as they are physically, which is why more needs to be done to normalise rosacea in the media, as well as helping clients to manage the symptoms correctly.

We quizzed top facialist Kate Kerr, owner ofKate Kerr London, on why rosacea occurs in the skin, covering the common symptoms and triggers that can exacerbate the issue, and the ways you can effectively treat the condition in your beauty salon or spa.

Rosacea is an inflammatory skin condition that generally affects the middle section of the face (known as the butterfly shape) the forehead, nose, cheeks, above the lips and on the chin. It can also thicken the skin tissue and often when people think of rosacea they think about the bulbous nose, says Kerr.

It is generally categorised into stages with redness, persistent redness, flushing, tingling and burning especially on the cheek area; broken capillaries and enlarged pores. You can also get papules and pustules but these are a bit different to acne spots, protruding above the surface in a more dome-like shape. They also tend to last longer than acne breakouts.

Kerr says that the causes of rosacea are not 100% certain, with some experts thinking it is a 50/50 split between genetics and environmental factors. What we know is that it is a much more common condition in fair skin and in skin that naturally blushes, even from a very young age, she explains.

I treat a huge number of rosacea clients in clinic and when I ask somebody if anybody in the family has had it, generally they tell me that either mum or dad suffers with it. Some clients dont even realise it might be a genetic thing, so I ask them: does your mum or dads skin flush? Have you noticed skin thickening on their nose? You need to ask your clients these key questions.

Persistent redness is one of the best known symptoms of rosacea and it commonly appears across the cheek area, but thats not all, as Kerr explains. Rosacea is an oily skin condition which is what people dont tend to realise. They just think of it as being sensitive skin but often youll find that people who have it will have suffered with acne in their teenage years, she says.

Rosacea is activated by oil and this causes a lot of inflammation you see a lot of vascularity in the skin, and it often starts with flushing, redness, and/or persistent redness and tingling in the cheeks. Broken capillaries are also a common symptom, which you might see in the corner of the clients nose or across the cheeks. Those are the first couple of stages, then you start to get the papules and pustules.

However, the symptoms will vary from client to client and you need to be aware of that when treating customers in salon. Experts tend to talk about the stages with rosacea stages one to four (pre-rosacea, mild rosacea, moderate rosacea and severe rosacea) but I dont think stages is the correct term because clients dont necessarily start at stage one and progress to stage four, explains Kerr.

You may have a customer suffering with symptoms in stage one and two, who then progress further in those two stages more severely, or another client who might just have stage one and three and have it super mild.

Rosacea is a condition that generally does progress it can go into remission or disappear at times, but it will come back. Unless youre treating it, it tends to get worse. As a therapist, you want to prevent the progression because its much harder to claw it back when rosacea has progressed to the later stages, explains Kerr.

With rosacea, the key thing is to make sure your client has a really strong barrier function, so work to strengthen it to prevent transdermal water loss (the evaporation of moisture from the skin), which will help with hydration and make the clients skin glow more.

Kerr also advises working to inhibit oil production, which will help to minimise inflammation. I want rosacea clients to have a really healthy skin cycle, so I get them on a regime which is going to do all these things. I often get them on a retinol to regulate all of the above, helping to thicken and strengthen the skin.

Then I look at things in 12 weeks time, which is two skin cycles, assessing: do we need to go any further with treatment? Do we need to step it up a gear? Or do we need to do a referral to a dermatologist or a GP? For example, say Ive corrected the papules and pustules but the client has still got some underlying redness and broken capillaries, then I would look (after two skin cycles) at using more advanced treatments like lasers, lights or IPL.

Salicylic acid will help control oil production but you also want clients to exfoliate, which a lot of people with an inflammatory skin condition are quite frightened of doing. When you speed up cell turnover, you speed up cell function too, so when people arent exfoliating, theyre accumulating dead cells on the surface which leads to dull skin, explains Kerr.

However, anything can get in when you exfoliate, which makes the skin more on edge the inflammatory systems within the skin are on high alert, so the clients complexion will become more easily inflamed. Strengthen that barrier and follow it with application of lots of antioxidants and sun protection, as the sun is a big trigger for rosacea. Clients also need to look at their diet and alcohol intake as all of these things are triggers for the condition.

I would be very careful with exfoliation, especially microdermabrasion, says Kerr. A lot of advanced treatments are actually very beneficial for rosacea as long as the skin is strong, resilient and prepped. You need to make sure the skin is calm and functioning beautifully first and foremost, then you can boost it further with peels or microneedling, which can help with healthy cell turnover and to refine the skins texture.

It depends on the severity of the rosacea. I also take into account their emotions as well as the physical symptoms. For example, If you have a client who just has some redness, flushing, and a few broken capillaries and spots, then I can treat that in clinic, but if the client has got thickening of the skin tissue, lots of breakouts which happen repetitively and really enlarged pores, then this is more long-term damage that wed like to prevent, so I would recommend a referral to a GP, says Kerr.

I also give clients the opportunity to choose the best course of action for them: I say, we can refer you now; or we can try and treat you in clinic and then refer you if we dont see the results we want; or we can do both I can refer you to a GP and treat you in clinic as I know how rosacea medications work, so I will be able to treat you safely alongside any prescribed medication.

Working in partnership with a medical professional could be the perfect combination for some clients, providing the best of both worlds. Often, when clients see medical professionals for these sorts of things, they are just treating the disease and the symptoms of the disease, theyre not looking at the overall skin health, which is where our expertise as facialists come in, explains Kerr.

The skin is our bodys biggest organ, so we need to check it is functioning well, and that every cell type within it is functioning right, so the client has skin that looks beautiful and is less likely to have disease. I believe in the three-prong treatment approach clinical, medical and skincare. Find out about the medical treatment of rosacea so you can work alongside a GP to help complement what theyre doing.

See the article here:
Understanding rosacea: causes, symptoms, skincare and treatments - Professional Beauty

Staying active daily, building meals and snacks from a base of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes (dried beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas), enjoying wine in moderation each day and being social with meals enjoyed with family and friends (even virtually!) are the main components of a Mediterranean lifestyle.

The Mediterranean Diet itself has been shown to help reduce the risk for lifestyle-based conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Coupled with aiding in weight maintenance, theres good reason the Mediterranean Diet has been voted the #1 Best Diet Overall for the past 3 years from U.S. News & World Report.

Following these Mediterranean Diet tips from Oldways is a great way to get started:

#1 Build your base with:

Vegetables

Fruits

Whole Grains

Legumes (dried beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas)

#2 Eat at least 2 times per week:

Fish

Shellfish

#3 Enjoy moderate portions daily to weekly:

Greek Yogurt

Cheese

Milk

Eggs

3 ounces Poultry and Lean Cuts of Meat

Meat mostly as a garnish in recipes

#4 Keep these as sometimes foods:

Sweets

Processed Red Meat

#5 Drink:

Water

Wine 1, 5-ounce glass/day for women; 2 for men

Begin trying more Mediterranean Diet-savvy, plant-forward recipes, like this one from the Almond Board of California, to add more flavor and nutrition to meals.

Garlic and Herb Almond Cheese from the Almond Board of California

Makes: 4, -cup servings

What You Need:

1 cup slivered or sliced California Almonds

1 cups warm water

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning, plus extra for garnish

teaspoon garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

How to Make It:

1. Place almonds and water into blender. Puree almonds, scraping down the sides of blender when necessary. It should not have gritty pieces.

2. Pour puree into saucepan and stir in lemon juice and salt. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently. Cook until water evaporates and mixture is thick like muffin batter, about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Stir seasoning and garlic into puree.

5. Divide mixture between two, 8-ounce ramekins or bowls.

6. Sprinkle additional seasoning evenly over top of each.

7. Cover and refrigerate until cold and firmer, about two hours.

8. Serve on whole grain crackers and bread as you would traditional chvre.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories 90, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 35 mg, Carbohydrates 4 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 3 g

Recipe, image and nutrition analysis from Almond Board of California. Visit almonds.com for more almond inspirations.

About the Author: Carrie Taylor is the lead registered dietitian nutritionist for the Living Well Eating Smart program at Big Y Foods and has been trained as a yoga teacher, mindful outdoor guide and Journey Dance apprentice. Have a nutrition question? Email livingwell@bigy.com or write Living Well at 2145 Roosevelt Ave, PO Box 7840, Springfield, MA 01102.

Read the rest here:
Living Well Eating Smart: Feeling your best with the Mediterranean Diet - MassLive.com