In The News: Department of Social and Behavioral Health
A recent change suggested by the Endocrine Society calls for stopping routine checks for Vitamin D and limiting Vitamin D supplementation beyond the recommended levels only to high-risk groups. These guidelines have recently been published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. These recommendations have sparked controversy in medical circles. Some support these guidelines while others oppose it.
Ultra-processed foods are gaining in popularity all over the world, particularly in North America. Some estimates show the North American diet consists of more than half of the calories in the form of ultra-processed foods. What are they? Ultra-processed foods have been created to replace fresh meals through a series of industrial processes such as hydrolysis, hydrogenation, extrusion, molding, milling, frying, the addition of flavors, the supplementation of emulsifiers, and the add-on of coloring agents.
Patanjali (200 BC), a saint has explained the eight steps of yoga or Ashtanga yoga. The eight steps refer to one’s societal behavior, physical training, and psychic preparation. The eight steps of Ashtanga yoga are (1) Yama, (2) Niyama, (3) Asana, (4) Pranayama, (5) Pratyahara, (6) Dharana, (7) Dhyana, and (8) Samadhi. The first four steps are often called bahirmukhi yoga (or outward yoga) and the last four are antarmukhi yoga (or inward yoga).
Fatima* (name changed upon request) and Salman* are new immigrants to the United States. They have a son Idris, in fourth grade, who is having a difficult time in school. His teacher, during the parent-teacher meeting, pointed out that he has difficulty reading aloud, has slow belabored reading, is poor with spelling, and is finding it hard to learn in school.
Depression, which is characterized by sustained deep feelings of sadness and melancholy, and bipolar disorder which is marked by mood swings between extreme elation and severe depression are two distinct but serious causes of disability. Both require correct diagnosis and distinct treatments. Bipolar illness usually starts in the early 20s but on average takes 8-10 years, often longer, for a correct diagnosis. Needless to say, this delay prolongs the agony of the patient and increases the negative sequelae for the patient and their families. Depression usually starts in adulthood but can occur at any age.
By 2030, the U.S. population of LGBTQ+ adults over age 50 is expected to reach 7 million. As this community grows, the need to address housing disparities in our state becomes more evident. Elders who live in urban areas, such as Las Vegas, face significant housing challenges due to lack of affordable options, fear of discrimination, social isolation, and socioeconomic and health disparities.
A recent review published by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) compared the updated blood pressure guidelines from the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). The chief difference between the criteria for the cutoff for hypertension in the US was ≥130/80 while in Europe was ≥140/90 mmHg. The guidelines in India are also akin to the European guidelines. This has caused some confusion.
From a full-time MBBS doctor in India to a celebrated author and public health expert in American academia, Professor (Dr) Manoj Sharma's journey is remarkable. A distinguished graduate faculty member at the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ, he was recently nominated by his students and received the prestigious Harry Reid Silver Slate Award 2024 for outstanding public health research.
One popular school of yoga is Kundalini yoga. However, there is a lot of mystery, myths, misperceptions, and commercialization associated with it. Here I present a scientific demystification of this system of yoga. This system of yoga begins with the seventh limb of Ashtanga yoga, that of Dhyana or meditation. The purpose of this yoga is to purify the self and make the electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of the brain subtler while one is awake so that one attains complete harmony with the environment.
Doug Hairgrove and Warren “Woody” Wood were together for 65 years. They met in college in 1959, worked side by side for more than three decades at a Southern California junior high school and got married in 2008 at their desert home in Palm Springs, California.
With heat waves breaking records this summer in various parts of the world, it has become imperative that we become aware of the signs of heat exhaustion and take proper steps to avoid it. Heat exhaustion occurs when the body overheats (gets too hot) and cannot easily restore its normal temperature if left untreated and the underlying conditions not corrected. A common cause is excessive physical activity or staying for prolonged periods of time in hot and humid weather conditions. During physical activity or exercise, the body starts to lose water through sweating and that can lead to dehydration which is a common contributor to heat exhaustion.
The word yoga as defined in Sanskrit is Yög meaning, ‘union.’ The word is usually used in mathematics to denote the mathematical function of addition or the summing of any two numerals. The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines yoga as “a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation.” To the uninitiated mind this definition of yoga serves no purpose and, on the contrary, presents confusion to the true significance and reason of yoga.