This Week In Wellness

TWIW 176: Ancient viral RNA helps ward off new viruses

This Week In Wellness new research published in Science has shown that remnant viral DNA from historic infections can remain in the human genome and serve as antivirals that protect against present day viruses.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221027154145.htm
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7871
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TWIW 175: Banned Monsanto additive found in Tasmanian Salmon

This Week In Wellness residues of an antioxidant added to fish feed and linked to cancer has been shown to be in higher levels in Tasmanian farmed Salmon than were found in European studies before the European Union decided to ban the additive altogether, say experts who are calling for tighter regulations.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/26/fish-feed-additive-banned-in-eu-found-in-tasmanian-salmon-at-concerning-levels-researchers-say
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TWIW 174: Long hours leads to depression

This Week In Wellness a study in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that working long hours as a first year Medical resident leads to depression with those working 90 hours a week reporting 3 times the rate of depression as those working 45 hours.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221020/Depression-risk-increases-with-number-of-hours-worked-in-stressful-jobs.aspx
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2210365
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TWIW 173: Lifestyle, not heart disease, raises Covid risk

This Week In Wellness Michigan Medical researchers have determined that it is the lifestyle factors that increase heart disease risk, not the presence of heart disease itself, that raises the risk of Covid-19 death.
The study looked at over 5000 people admitted to Intensive Care Units with severe Covid in in the United States and found that those with cardiovascular disease were at no greater risk than those without, once risk factors such as age, smoking and diabetes were adjusted for. These risk factors led to a 30% higher chance of Covid whether they led to cardiovascular disease or not.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221012/Cardiovascular-risk-factors-e28093-not-preexisting-heart-disease-e28093-are-the-main-contributors-to-COVID-19-death.aspx
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.122.008942
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TWIW 172: Eating late bad for metabolism, hunger and obesity risk

This Week In Wellness a study published in Cell Metabolism has shown that eating late causes decreased energy expenditure, increased hunger, and changes in fat tissue that may increase the risk of obesity.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221004121928.htm
https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00397-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2f Retrieve%2fapi%2FS1550413122003977%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
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TWIW 171: New rules proposed for “healthy” foods

This Week In Wellness The US Food and Drug Administration wants to update its definition of “healthy” foods to have a greater emphasis on whole foods and allow foods like water, avocados, nuts and seeds and higher fat fish to be recognised as the health foods for the first time. Alternatively products that currently qualify as “healthy” such as white bread, highly sweetened yoghurt and highly sweetened cereals would be removed.
https://www.statnews.com/2022/09/28/fda-proposes-new-rules-for-which-foods-can-be-called-healthy/
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/use-term-healthy-food-labeling
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TWIW 170: Frequency over intensity when it comes to strength training

This Week In Wellness new research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine has shown that working out more frequently and less intensely maybe be the key to increasing muscle size and strength.
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/resistance-training-over-high-intensity-study
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sms.14220
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TWIW 169: The advantage of naturally acquired immunity for Covid

This Week In Wellness the New England Journal of Medicine has published a study suggesting that the presence of mucosal antibodies in the airways may be responsible for the decreased risk of Omicron Covid infection for those with naturally acquired immunity when compared to those who received vaccinations alone.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220914180010.htm
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2209651
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TWIW 168: Ultra-processed foods linked to cancer, cognitive decline and early death

This Week In Wellness two new large studies across two countries published in the BMJ have shown that ultra-processed foods were linked to an increased risk of heart disease, colo-rectal cancers in men and early death in both men and women whilst another study presented at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference has shown that just 20% of your diet coming from ultra-processed foods is linked to cognitive decline.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/01/health/ultraprocessed-foods-cancer-early-death-wellness/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/01/health/ultraprocessed-food-dementia-study-wellness/index.html
https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj-2021-068921
https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj-2022-070688
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TWIW 167: Your brain is checking your skin-folds

This Week In Wellness a study in Nature has shown that your brain actively surveys your fat cells to determine fat levels and down-regulate brown fat production and fat burning when it deems fat levels too be low.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220831113600.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05137-7
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TWIW 166: Australians live longer but sicker

This Week In Wellness a report by the Australian Institute Of Health and Welfare (AIHW) titled Australia’s Health 2022 has shown that while life expectancy has risen, so have the levels of chronic disease. Over half of all Australians now have one or more chronic health conditions and over a third of these due to preventable risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity or poor nutrition.
If you or anyone you know needs help:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or its COVID-19 support service 1800 512 348
Headspace on 1800 650 890
ReachOut at au.reachout.com
Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) on 1800 008 774
Brother to Brother on 1800 435 799
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2022-07-07/health-australians-living-longer-but-with-more-chronic-disease/101213626
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/australias-health
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TWIW 165: Poor sleep linked to fatty liver disease

This Week In Wellness sedentary lifestyle and poor sleep have been linked to fatty liver disease by Chinese researchers.
The authors of the study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism said that “People with poor nighttime sleep and prolonged daytime napping have the highest risk for developing fatty liver disease,” and that even a “moderate improvement in sleep quality was related to a 29% reduction in the risk for fatty liver disease.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220728091037.htm
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgac428/6648962?redirectedFrom=fulltext
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