Category: Health

Editor’s note: Find more information about long COVID in Medscape’s Long COVID Resource Center.

Sept. 22, 2022 – Entrepreneur Maya McNulty, 49, was one of the first victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Schenectady, NY, businesswoman spent 2 months in the hospital after catching the disease in March 2020. That September, she was diagnosed with long COVID.

“Even a simple task such as unloading the dishwasher became a major challenge,” she says.

Over the next several months, McNulty saw a range of specialists, including neurologists, pulmonologists, and cardiologists. She had months of physical therapy and respiratory therapy to help regain strength and lung function. While many of the doctors she saw were sympathetic to what she was going through, not all were.

“I saw one neurologist who told me to my face that she didn’t believe in long COVID,” she recalls. “It was particularly astonishing since the hospital they were affiliated with had a long COVID clinic.”

McNulty began to connect with other patients with long COVID through a support group she created at the end of 2020 on the social media app Clubhouse. They exchanged ideas and stories about what had helped one another, which led her to try, over the next year, a plant-based diet, Chinese medicine, and vitamin C supplements, among other treatments.

She also acted on unscientific reports she found online and did her own research, which led her to discover claims that some asthma patients with chronic coughing responded well to halotherapy, or dry salt therapy, during which patients inhale micro-particles of salt into their lungs to reduce inflammation, widen airways, and thin mucus. She’s been doing this procedure at a clinic near her home for over a year and credits it with helping with her chronic cough, especially as she recovers from her second bout of COVID-19.

It’s not cheap – a single half-hour session can cost up to $50 and isn’t covered by insurance. There’s also no good research to suggest that it can help with long COVID, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

McNulty understands that but says many people who live with long COVID turn to these treatments out of a sense of desperation.

“When it comes to this condition, we kind of have to be our own advocates. People are so desperate and feel so gaslit by doctors who don’t believe in their symptoms that they play Russian roulette with their body,” she says. “Most just want some hope and a way to relieve pain.”

Across the country, 16 million Americans have long COVID, according to the Brookings Institution’s analysis of a 2022 Census Bureau report. The report also estimated that up to a quarter of them have such debilitating symptoms that they are no longer able to work. While long COVID centers may offer therapies to help relieve symptoms, “there are no evidence-based established treatments for long COVID at this point,” says Andrew Schamess, MD, a professor of internal medicine at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, who runs its Post-COVID Recovery Program. “You can’t blame patients for looking for alternative remedies to help them. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people out to make a buck who are selling unproven and disproven therapies.”

Sniffing Out the Snake Oil

With few evidence-based treatments for long COVID, patients with debilitating symptoms can be tempted by unproven options. One that has gotten a lot of attention is hyperbaric oxygen. This therapy has traditionally been used to treat divers who have decompression sickness, or the bends. It’s also being touted by some clinics as an effective treatment for long COVID.

A very small trial of 73 patients with long COVID, published this July in the journal Scientific Reports, found that those treated in a high-pressure oxygen system 5 days a week for 2 months showed improvements in brain fog, pain, energy, sleep, anxiety, and depression, compared with similar patients who got sham treatments. But larger studies are needed to show how well it works, notes Schamess.

“It’s very expensive – roughly $120 per session – and there just isn’t the evidence there to support its use,” he says.

In addition, the therapy itself carries risks, such as ear and sinus pain, middle ear injury, temporary vision changes, and, very rarely, lung collapse, according to the FDA.

One “particularly troubling” treatment being offered, says Kathleen Bell, MD, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is stem cell therapy. This therapy is still in its infancy, but it’s being marketed by some clinics as a way to prevent COVID-19 and also treat long-haul symptoms.

The FDA has issued advisories that there are no products approved to treat long COVID and recommends against their use, except in a clinical trial.

“There’s absolutely no regulation – you don’t know what you’re getting, and there’s no research to suggest this therapy even works,” says Bell. It’s also prohibitively expensive – one Cayman Islands-based company advertises its treatment for as much as $25,000.

Patients with long COVID are even traveling as far as Cyprus, Germany, and Switzerland for a procedure known as blood washing, in which large needles are inserted into veins to filter blood and remove lipids and inflammatory proteins, the British Medical Journal reported in July. Some patients are also prescribed blood thinners to remove microscopic blood clots that may contribute to long COVID. But this treatment is also expensive, with many people paying $10,000-$15,000 out of pocket, and there’s no published evidence to suggest it works, according to theBMJ.

It can be particularly hard to discern what may work and what’s unproven, since many primary care providers are themselves unfamiliar with even traditional long COVID treatments, Bell says. She recommends that patients ask the following questions:

• What published research is there to support these claims?
• How long should I expect to do this treatment before I see an improvement?
• What are the potential side effects?
• Will the medical provider recommending the treatment work with your current medical team to monitor progress?

“If you can’t get answers to these questions, take a step back,” says Bell.

Sorting Through Supplements

Yufang Lin, MD, an integrative specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, says many patients with long COVID enter her office with bags of supplements.

“There’s no data on them, and in large quantities, they may even be harmful,” she says.

Instead, she works closely with the Cleveland Clinic’s long COVID center to do a thorough workup of each patient, which often includes screening for certain nutritional deficiencies.

“Anecdotally, we do see many patients with long COVID who are deficient in these vitamins and minerals,” says Lin. “If someone is low, we will suggest the appropriate supplement. Otherwise, we work with them to institute some dietary changes.”

­This usually involves a plant-based, anti-inflammatory eating pattern such as the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fatty fish, and healthy fats such as olive oil and avocados.

Other supplements some doctors recommend for patients with long COVID are meant to treat inflammation, Bell says, although there’s not good evidence they work. One is the antioxidant coenzyme Q10.

But a small preprint study published in The Lancet this past August of 121 patients with long COVID who took 500 milligrams a day of coenzyme Q10 for 6 weeks saw no differences in recovery than those who took a placebo. Because the study is still a preprint, it has not been peer-reviewed.

Another is probiotics. A small 2021 study published in the journal Infectious Diseases Diagnosis & Treatment found that a blend of five lactobacillus probiotics, along with a prebiotic called inulin, taken for 30 days, helped with long-term COVID symptoms such as coughing and fatigue. But larger studies need to be done to support their use.

One that may have more promise is omega-3 fatty acids. Like many other supplements, these may help with long COVID by easing inflammation, says Steven Flanagan, MD, a rehabilitation medicine specialist at NYU Langone in New York who works with long COVID patients. Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York are studying whether a supplement can help patients who have lost their sense of taste or smell after an infection, but results aren’t yet available.

Among the few alternatives that have been shown to help patients are mindfulness-based therapies – in particular, mindfulness-based forms of exercise such as tai chi and qi gong may be helpful, as they combine a gentle workout with stress reduction.

“Both incorporate meditation, which helps not only to relieve some of the anxiety associated with long COVID but allows patients to redirect their thought process so that they can cope with symptoms better,” says Flanagan.

A 2022 study published in BMJ Open found that these two activities reduced inflammatory markers and improved respiratory muscle strength and function in patients recovering from COVID-19.

“I recommend these activities to all my long COVID patients, as it’s inexpensive and easy to find classes to do either at home or in their community,” he says. “Even if it doesn’t improve their long COVID symptoms, it has other benefits such as increased strength and flexibility that can boost their overall health.”

Sept. 22, 2022 — Sonia Chavez was on the balcony of her midrise Dallas apartment when the unthinkable happened: As she was filming a thunderstorm with her cellphone, lightning struck her in a flash of blinding light and searing heat that knocked her off her feet.

The thunderbolt, which Chavez captured on film, damaged her eyes and left her with some cognitive, speech, and mobility issues.

But somehow, she survived.

“When it hit, it sounded like a bomb going off,” says Chavez, 38. “I felt this intense electric force that hit me hard, like a gut punch or whiplash. It was the biggest pain you could imagine. I remember seeing the electricity coming off my hands and seeing different colors — blue, then red, and then white — and there was ringing in my ears.

“I don’t remember much after that, but the next thing I knew I was in the closet of my apartment, pinching and scratching myself to see if I was dead or alive.”

As traumatic as the experience was, Chavez is one of the lucky ones. While she is still recovering from injuries caused by the strike 18 months ago, she lived to tell her story.

Many others struck by lightning don’t. And lightning fatalities are on the rise in the U.S., possibly due to an increase in severe storms tied to global climate change.

So far, the U.S. has recorded 17 lightning fatalities this year, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). That’s more than the 11 that occurred by this time last year and as many as were seen in all of 2020.

“I do feel like I’ve been lucky,” says Chavez, who is receiving physical and speech therapy, as well as ongoing treatments to address her vision loss from the strike. “I’ve had teams of people helping me, including my husband, who found me in the closet a half-hour after it happened [and] got me to the hospital.”

Aaron Treadway, a lightning specialist with the National Weather Service, explains that lightning-strike survivors like Chavez are not as rare as you might think. Indeed: Nine in 10 people struck by lightning survive the incident.

“On average around 300 people are struck by lightning each year, with roughly 10 percent of those being fatal injuries,” says Treadway. “For those who are struck and do not die, many have serious injuries.”

While lightning fatalities have been rising in recent years, they are still well below what they were 20 years ago, he says. Between 1970 and 2000, the average annual lightning death tally was over 70, National Weather Service figures show.

“The reduction in fatalities [since 2000] is due to the success of the lightning safety campaign that many people and organizations have contributed to,” Treadway says. “These include NWS offices across the country and our many partners in the broadcast and print media, outdoor and sports organizations, emergency management officials, and other safety organizations.

“Sayings like ‘When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors’ or ‘See a Flash, Dash Inside’ for our deaf and hard-of-hearing community are easy to remember and apply, keeping people safe.”

Lightning Strikes: By the Numbers

The National Weather Service maintains a detailed website of facts on lightning strikes that provides a compelling overview of how, when, and where people die during thunderstorms.

It offers a glimpse into the kinds of activities individuals were engaged in at the time of fatal strikes, providing key clues to how best to avoid risky behaviors during a storm.

For instance, of the 17 lightning deaths so far this year:

• Five people were struck during camping trips or visits to public parks.
• Four were killed while engaging in water sports: boating, jet skiing, or swimming.
• Four were hit as they were working around the house: doing yard work, loading tools into a van, standing on a roof, and replacing a window.
• Four died while walking a dog, flying a remote-control plane in a field, fixing a truck on a highway, and during Army training exercises.

The National Weather Service has also compiled an extraordinary online database of lightning survivors, including detailed interviews, their stories, and the health impacts they suffered.

Beyond these personal stories, the National Weather Service has publicized a wealth of information on these giant sparks of electricity in the atmosphere that often strike the ground.

According to the National Weather Service and other federal agencies:

• A typical lightning flash carries about 300 million volts. By comparison, a household current is 120 volts.
• Lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
• Lightning strikes somewhere in the U.S. 25 million times each year on average.
• Florida is the nation’s lightning capital, with the highest average number of cloud-to-ground strikes, ranked by flashes per square mile. The Sunshine State also has the most fatalities of any state due to the frequency of lightning and because most people are outdoors during the peak lightning season (June to August).
• Florida sees 1.2 million strikes in a typical year, covering 20 square miles. Next in line: Louisiana (875,136, 18.9 miles); Mississippi (768,126, 16.1 miles); Oklahoma (1.1 million-plus, 15.8 miles); and Arkansas (837,978, 15.7 miles).
• Worldwide, the U.S. had the second most lightning strikes in 2021. Brazil was first.
• Certain occupations carry a higher risk for lightning strikes, including those in the logging, construction, utility, lawn services, and recreational industries, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

National Weather Service officials have also collected a surprising list of lightning myths and facts. They are:

• Crouching down or lying flat on the ground in a thunderstorm won’t reduce your risk of being struck. You can still be vulnerable to ground current from bolts that strike the earth nearby. It’s better to run to a building or vehicle for shelter.
• Lightning can strike twice in the same place and often does. The Empire State Building is hit 23 times every year, on average.
• Even if it’s not raining outside you can still be struck by a “bolt from the blue” — literally — because lightning can strike 10 to 15 miles from the center of a storm.
• Metal watches, jewelry, and personal electronic devices such as cellphones and portable music players do NOT attract lightning.
• Your mother was right: Don’t stand under a tree during a storm. Being beneath a tree during a storm is the second-leading cause of lightning fatalities.

Why Are Fatalities Up and What Can You Do?

What’s behind the recent increase in fatal lightning strikes? Treadway says global climate change might be a factor. But he notes scientists aren’t entirely certain, in part because they have not been tracking the weather phenomenon for very long.

“While a warming climate will produce more ingredients that are conducive to the development of thunderstorms, quantitatively, the period of record of ground-based lightning detection is fairly short,” he explains. “In order to say that there is a substantial increase in lightning coverage, scientists need to have a longer period of data to make those types of conclusions.”

But that research has shown that education and awareness or risks can help reduce lightning fatalities overall.

“Lightning doesn’t follow rules; it strikes where it wants to,” he says. “It is up to the public to take those safety precautions and reduce their risk of getting struck overall.”

With that in mind, National Weather Service officials recommend keeping the following safety tips and information in mind to reduce your risk during an electrical storm:

• If you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you, so you should seek shelter in a building or hard-topped vehicle with the windows rolled up.
• Wait 30 minutes after you hear the last crack of thunder before going outside.
• Stay off landline phones, computers, and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity during a storm.
• Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths, and faucets.
• Stay away from windows and doors, and don’t venture onto porches or balconies.
• Don’t lie on or lean against concrete walls.
• Avoid elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, and peaks if you’re caught outdoors and can’t seek shelter.
• Don’t lie flat on the ground, and keep away from trees or objects that can conduct electricity (like metal or wire fences, power lines, and windmills).
• Don’t swim or go near ponds, lakes, or other bodies of water.

Treadway also recommends checking weather forecasts before engaging in outdoor summer activities and adjusting your plans accordingly.

“About two thirds of the victims were enjoying outdoor leisure activities before being struck, with water-related activities topping the list,” he notes. “Of the water-related activities, fishing ranked highest, with boating and beach activities also contributing significantly to the water-related deaths.

“Camping, ranching/farming, and riding an exposed vehicle (bike/motorcycle) also ranked highly in activities people were doing when fatally struck. Among the sports activities, soccer ranked highest, followed by golf and running. … Interestingly, about 80% of lightning fatalities are men.”

Looking back on her experiences, Chavez says she knew she was taking a risk standing on her balcony, filming the electrical storm on the day she was struck by lightning. She acknowledges that she didn’t believe she was at risk because it was not raining outside, which she now knows is a dangerous falsehood.

She is still in recovery.

“I’m a work in progress,” she says, noting that she struggles with vision problems and mobility. She speaks slowly and deliberately, but articulately, about her experiences.

But Chavez says she is regaining her abilities little by little every day. She recently returned to work as a project manager and even started jogging again — something she had to give up after the strike.

There is one surprising development she attributes to the lightning strike, she says: The experience gave her a new outlook on life and that her mind is calmer, with less “brain chatter” than before.

“Through this journey, I actually feel very blessed,” she says. “Having had a near-death experience completely changes your outlook on life. And even though this created such havoc on my mind and body, it actually helped my soul.

“The brain chatter I used to experience is gone because I can only concentrate on the current moment. And to me that is just so peaceful. You just hit this different space, and a few other survivors will tell you that they have felt similar things.”

Chavez also says she feels compelled to share her story, believing it may help others avoid what happened to her as well as those who’ve survived lightning strikes.

“There needs to definitely be more education around what happens to people who have been impacted by a lightning incident [and] who have experienced electrical shock in general,” she says. “A lot of us experience the same things, they do rattle our brains and nervous systems, and it’s not as rare as you think.

“I want to help as much as possible to spread awareness in hopes that it helps someone else.”

The day after his 8-month-old baby died, Kingsley Raspe opened the mail and found he had been sent to collections for her care.

That notice from the collections agency involved a paltry sum, $26.50 — absurd really, given he’d previously been told he owed $2.5 million for treatment of his newborn’s congenital heart defect and other disorders.

Raspe and his wife, Maddie, had endured watching doctors crack open the chest of their pigtailed daughter, Sterling, whom they called “sweet Sterly gurl.” The health team performed so many procedures. But they couldn’t keep her — or her parents’ dreams for her — alive.

The bills lived on for the Raspes, as they do for many other families of premature and very sick infants who don’t survive.

“What a lasting tribute to the entire experience,” Kingsley said angrily. “The process was just so heartless.”

More than 300,000 U.S. families have infants who require advanced medical attention in the newborn intensive care units every year. Some babies stay for months, quickly generating astronomical fees for highly specialized surgeries and round-the-clock care. The services are delivered, and in U.S. health care, billing follows. But for the smaller fraction of families whose children die, the burden can be too much to bear.

A patchwork of convoluted Medicaid-qualification rules seek to defray these kinds of bills for very sick children. But policies differ in each state, and many parents — especially those, like the Raspes, who have commercial insurance — don’t know to apply or think they won’t qualify.

Also, because many crises that befall premature or very sick babies are in-the-moment emergencies, there may not be time for the preapprovals that insurers often require for expensive interventions. That leaves parents in crisis — or in mourning — tasked with fighting with insurers to have treatment covered.

Three families detailed for KHN how medical bills compounded their suffering during a time when they were just trying to process their loss.

Bennett Markow needed a $71,000 ‘out-of-network’ emergency flight

As the hospital in Reno, Nev., was converting a parking garage into a COVID-19 unit in November 2020, Bennett Markow came into the world four months early. He weighed less than a pound. His care team loved to sing “Bennie and the Jets” to him as a nod to the jet ventilator keeping his tiny lungs working.

On Jan. 20, 2021, when he was 2 months old, Bennett’s parents were told he needed to go to UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., for specialized care that could keep him from going blind. The transfer team would be there in an hour. And the Nevada care team said that because it was an emergency, the family needn’t worry about their insurance or the method of transportation.

Bennett’s eye problem ended up being less severe than the doctors had feared. And Crissa Markow and her husband, A.J., were billed for the plane ride from REACH Air Medical Services, which turned out to be out-of-network. Jason Sorrick, vice president of government relations for REACH’s parent company, Global Medical Response, said the ride happened during a “lapse” in Bennett’s Medicaid coverage.

The Markows said there was no lapse. They hadn’t applied for Medicaid yet because they thought they wouldn’t qualify — the family is middle-class, and Bennett was on Crissa’s insurance. They did not know they should apply until a social worker at UC Davis gave them more information — after the flight.

Crissa Markow said her heart dropped to her toes when she realized she was being billed more than $71,000 — that’s more than she makes in a year as a social worker. (The federal No Surprises Act, which aims to eliminate surprise billing, could have prevented some of the family’s headaches — but Bennett was born before the law went into effect this year.)

Although Crissa was used to working toward solutions, the billing quagmires she found herself in were overwhelming as she juggled her job, caring for Bennett and her other son and the travel logistics required to stay with Bennett, who was now getting care about 2½ hours away from her home. Crissa estimates she spent six to eight hours a week dealing with medical bills to keep them from being sent to collections — which still happened.

Bennett died that July after doctors said his lungs could not fight anymore. The Markows spent their bereavement leave battling with insurers and other billing agencies.

Finally, Crissa called REACH, the air transport company, and said: “Look, my son died. I just want to be able to grieve, I want to focus on that. Dealing with this bill is traumatic. It’s a reminder every day I shouldn’t have to be fighting this.”

By October, the Markows had settled the bill with REACH on the condition that they not disclose the terms. Sorrick said that the company reaches agreements based on the financial and personal situations of each patient and their family and that the company’s patient advocates had talked to Crissa Markow 17 times.

“If every settlement amount was disclosed publicly, then those rates become the expectation of all patients and insurance providers,” Sorrick said. “Ultimately, that would lead to all patients wanting to pay below-cost, making our services unsustainable.”

Crissa Markow’s employer-provided insurance paid $6.5 million for Bennett’s care, not including what was covered by Medicaid. The Markows paid roughly $6,500 out-of-pocket to hospitals and doctors on top of their REACH settlement. But it was not those amounts — which the couple would have happily paid to save their son — but the endless harassment and the hours spent on the phone that haunt them.

“I just wanted to be with Bennett; that’s all I wanted to do,” Crissa Markow said. “And I just spent hours on these phone calls.”

Jack Shickel lived 35 days. His medical bill was $3.4 million

Jack Shickel was born with stunning silver hair and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Even though he was surrounded by wires and tubes, the nurses at UVA Children’s Hospital would whisper to Jessica and her husband, Isaac, that they had a truly “cute” baby.

But his congenital disorder meant the left side of his heart never fully developed. Each year in the U.S., over a thousand babies are born with the syndrome.

After two surgeries, Jack’s heart could not pump enough blood on its own. He made it 35 days.

Weeks after his death, when the Shickels were trying to muddle through life without him in Harrisonburg, Va., they called the hospital billing department about two confusing bills. They were then told the full cost of his care was $3.4 million.

“I laughed and then cried,” Jessica said. “He was worth every penny to us, but that’s basically $100,000 a day.”

Bills from out-of-network labs and other prior approval notifications continued to overwhelm their mailbox. Eventually, they figured out how to get Medicaid. The Shickels ended up paying only $470.26.

Jessica got the final bills in March, seven months after Jack’s death.

She noted that all of this was happening as the University of Virginia Health System said it was rolling back its aggressive billing practices — after a KHN investigation found the prestigious university hospital was putting liens on people’s homes to recoup medical debt.

When KHN reached out to UVA Health for comment on the Shickel case, a spokesperson, Eric Swensen, expressed condolences to the Shickel family, and added that the health system works to help patients navigate the “complex process” of evaluating financial assistance, including Medicaid coverage.

The Shickels also got a call from UVA after that, saying that the hospital was refunding their payment.

The hospital care team had given the family a pamphlet about what to do when grieving, but a more useful one, Jessica said, would have been titled “How Do You Deal With Medical Bills After Your Child Has Died?”

Sterling Raspe’s parents considered bankruptcy to pay their bills

Kingsley Raspe likes to say his daughter Sterling was “one special little lady” — not only did she have the same congenital heart defect as Jack Shickel, but she was also diagnosed with Kabuki syndrome, a rare disorder that can severely affect development. Sterling also had hearing loss, spinal cord issues and a compromised immune system.

An explanation of benefits from the Raspes’ commercial insurance indicated the couple would need to pay $2.5 million for Sterling’s care — an amount so large the numbers didn’t all fit in the column. Even Kingsley’s suspicion that the $2.5 million charge was likely erroneous — in large part or in whole — didn’t erase the sheer panic he felt when he saw the number.

As a computer programmer making $90,000 a year, Kingsley had decent insurance. He frantically Googled “medical bankruptcy.”

Sterling had been denied Medicaid, which is available to children with complex medical problems in some states. In rejecting the application, Indiana cited an income threshold and other technical reasons.

Everyone kept telling Kingsley and Maddie to get divorced — just so Sterling would qualify for Medicaid. But that wasn’t an option for Kingsley, a British citizen who is in the U.S. on a green card tied to his marriage.

Ultimately, Kingsley’s health insurer revised the faulty notice that he owed $2.5 million. The family was told the mistake had occurred because Sterling’s initial hospital stay and surgeries had not been preapproved, although Kingsley said the heart defect was discovered halfway through the pregnancy, making surgery inevitable.

Throughout Sterling’s eight months of life, Kingsley did his programming job remotely — usually from his daughter’s bedside in her hospital room. Using his web-developer skills, he created visualizations that break down Sterling’s expensive care — it helped him make sense of it all. Then, and in the months afterward, he and his wife compiled advice for other families navigating long NICU stays with their babies.

Kingsley cries when he remembers those days.

He hates that Sterling’s life has been reduced to a 2-inch stack of printed-out medical bills and the still-frequent phone calls he endures from errant billers.

Despite receiving a plethora of other bills in the tens of thousands of dollars, he and his wife eventually only had to pay their $4,000 deductible, and a smattering of smaller charges and fees for equipment rentals that weren’t covered. In April, Maddie gave birth to a son, Wren. Kingsley said he knows Sterling served as her brother’s guardian angel.

“My daughter passed away. I’m not unscathed, but I’m not in financial ruin. The same can’t be said for every family,” he said. “How lucky am I? I went through the worst thing imaginable, and I consider myself lucky — what kind of weird, messed-up logic is that?”

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit, editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that produces in-depth journalism about health issues.

Summer is here and so are our favorite outdoor activities. When spending time in the great outdoors, it’s important to take all the necessary precautions, including protecting oneself from harmful plants and insects. Below, Nikki Pham, MD, a Family Medicine physician with Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group, shares tips on how to safely enjoy the outdoors this summer.Continue reading

Breastfeeding can take a toll on the body, especially the lower back. Below, Sarah Fulop-Furlano, IBCLC a lactation consultant with Dignity Health Medical Group — Dominican shares tips for proper breastfeeding positions to protect your back, and help keep you and baby as comfortable as possible.Continue reading

Contributed by: Rachna Arya

What’s in a Beet? 

Beets are a popular bright-red root veggie used in many cuisines across the world. Commonly known as beets, they are vibrant, colourful, and robust root vegetables — and they’re powerful supporters of your health. Beets are a nutrition powerhouse that is chock full of antioxidants, essential vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds, some of which have medicinal properties. 

What’s more, they are easy to incorporate into your diet.

This article lists some incredible health benefits of beets. 

Beets boast an impressive nutritional profile.

They are low in calories, yet they are packed with the goodness of plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and bioactive compounds. Beets even contain a surprising amount of inorganic nitrates and pigments, both of which are plant compounds that have several health benefits.

Beets help to lower blood pressure 

Studies have shown that beets have the impressive ability to widen blood vessels and enhance blood flow, thereby lowering blood pressure over a period of only a few hours. This may lead to a significantly decreased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks, heart failure, and stroke. These blood-pressure-lowering effects of beets are likely due to the high concentration of the substance, nitrates that dilate the blood vessels and as a result improves blood flow and helps in lowering the blood pressure. 

Beets can improve athletic performance

A review of scientific research suggests that adding beetroot juice to athletes’ diets may enhance athletic performance by 1-3 per cent. This improved performance can be attributed to its high natural nitrate concentration. Nitrates appear to affect physical performance by increasing oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients for better muscle fuelling. Studies have validated that eating beets may improve sports performance and increase oxygen use by up to 20%. 

Beets may help fight inflammation

Chronic inflammation is associated with the development and progression of several diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, obesity, liver disease, and ulcerative colitis. Beets contain pigments called betalains which give beetroot its rich red pigment. A compound is a group of powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agents that potentially possess several anti-inflammatory properties. Along with betalains, beetroot also contains a high concentration of nitrates, which act as an anti-inflammatory compound and aid in the reduction of inflammation by removing harmful compounds from the bloodstream. The presence of betalains and nitrates complements each other and aids in the treatment of inflammatory conditions like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Beets may improve digestive health

Some anecdotal evidence suggests that beets can promote digestive health. Beets are chock full of fibre, a carbohydrate important for digestive health. They also increase the abundance of healthy gut bacteria. Working beets into your diet is a great way to prevent digestive conditions like constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, and diverticulitis.

Beets may help support brain health

Mental and cognitive functions naturally decline with age. This is due to a reduction in blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain. Studies have shown that the nitrates in beets may improve mental and cognitive function by helping to open up the blood vessels in the body and thus increase blood flow to the brain. Beets have been shown to particularly improve blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobe of the brain, an area which controls executive function skills like focus, decision making, and attention to detail. 

Beets may have some anti-cancer properties

Numerous studies have confirmed the anticancer properties of beets. The antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory nature of beets provide a holistic means to prevent cancer and manage undesired effects associated with chemotherapy. However, the current evidence is fairly limited. This can be attributed to the presence of betanin, a form of betalain, found that beetroot extract, which helps in the reduced growth of prostate and breast cancer cells.

Beets may help you lose weight

When added to a healthy diet, beets are a good addition to your weight-loss and detoxification program. Beets are an ideal food choice for anyone trying to lose weight as they are very low in calories and high in water. Despite their low-calorie content, beets contain considerable amounts of fibre which promotes a feeling of fullness. Furthermore, beets are enriched with vitamin C, nitrates, and folates that are needed to increase the metabolism rate and kick start the weight loss process.

Beets are a superfood that packs a powerful punch of nutrients that offer a wide range of unique health bonuses. With so many reasons to indulge in this vegetable, you definitely have to make it a part of your diet. Irrespective of whether you cook your beets or eat them raw, your body will reap the rewards of this superfood.

Also,  it is advised to have frequent preventive health check-ups to keep an eye on overall health, especially your cholesterol levels.

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Contributed by – Harleen kaur

Introduction

The healing herb often referenced as a miracle herb has long been used by people of every age. Aloe Vera is a new-age cactus-like wonder plant that usually grows in hot and dry climates. 

Apart from its healing properties, Aloe Vera protects the body from sunburns and provides nourishment from the inside out, not to mention the several other medicinal properties it possesses. 

Starting from supplying a lot of minerals and aiding a healthy digestive system to boost immunity, Aloe Vera not only nourishes the body from the inside but also helps to improve skin and hair quality.

Numerous healthy nutrients, including natural vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that are important for good health, are found in aloe vera.

Since aloe vera is an indoor plant and is low maintenance, you can easily keep it in your house and consume it organically instead of opting for the packaged ones. 

Furthermore, it helps you lose weight, controls your blood sugar levels, and reduces your chance of developing diabetes. 

However, if you haven’t yet experienced the benefits of the plant, check out this comprehensive guide that outlines the 5 benefits of this succulent plant you must know.

Reduces infection 

Aloe Vera has the ability to keep skin hydrated for a very long time which can prevent various infections on the skin. It is an antiseptic that provides protection against bacteria.

Aloe Vera is as safe as an all-natural moisturiser for dry skin. Moreover, it works as an astringent to constrict pores and remove excess oil, germs, and dirt from the skin. Furthermore, scientific research specifically examines aloe vera’s benefits on eczema.

Improves diabetes 

There are several ways in which Aloe Vera can help those suffering from diabetes. According to research, aloe vera juice or capsules provide a number of benefits for diabetics, including lower levels of fasting blood sugar, consuming Aloe Vera juice may improve people’s fasting blood glucose levels and help them lose weight.

Boost the immune system 

The detoxifying properties of aloe vera help to promote a healthy immune system therefore taking a regular intake of Aloe Vera juice or taking capsules helps. Aloe Vera boosts the immune system and fights off illness and infection more effectively.  

Promotes hair growth 

Aloe Vera gel helps promote new hair growth by boosting blood flow to the scalp. 

Additionally, it offers vital vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for the scalp. 

Proteolytic enzymes found in aloe vera help in the healing of dead skin on the scalp. Therefore, Aloe Vera is a great treatment for both men’s and women’s scalp issues that can easily be treated using this wonder herb. 

Helps cure arthritis pain 

Arthritis is a long-term disorder in which the inflammation of the joints causes stiffness and joint pain. Some enzymes and amino acids found in aloe vera are known to have anti-inflammatory properties which can help relieve pain. It’s recommended to drink Aloe Vera juice to prevent joint pain.

It helps in skin improvement

Aloe Vera serves as a protective layer against sun exposure while also keeping skin nourished and refreshed for long hours. 

It is abundant in minerals and antioxidants, both of which help to heal damage to the skin.

The gel of Aloe Vera is rich in beta-carotene and vitamins C and E. As a result, it contains anti-ageing qualities. Additionally, it also contains anti-inflammatory and antibacterial qualities that work in removing age lines and wrinkles from the skin.

Final thoughts 

Aloe Vera gel has cooling properties and helps in soothing and moisturizing the skin. Some studies suggest that Aloe Vera gel has the highest level of skin permeation as compared with other skin care products.

It is usually advised that aloe vera should be used fresh and not packed. People, nowadays, buy packed Aloe Vera juice and tablets which may not be fully effective and can have varied results. 

Aloe Vera gel is usually recommended by various doctors as it is more naturally processed than other forms, such as extracts. Using it on a daily basis can help in the improvement of skin as well as your overall well-being.

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Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Fact Checked

• September 22, 2022Download PDF

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Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Fact Checked

• September 22, 2022Download PDF

  7011