Can This Drink Raise Your Risk For Cancer?

Did you know alcohol is a risk factor for cancer? If you answered no, you’re not alone. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AIRC), only about one in four Americans realize that alcohol affects your risk of developing cancer, even at low levels of drinking. And yet, in the US, alcohol accounts for about 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths.

“Cancer isn’t just one disease; it’s a bunch of diseases,” says Keith Roach, MD, Sharecare’s chief medical officer and member of its Scientific Advisory Board. “There are many cancers clearly linked to alcohol. Pancreas and liver are the best, well known types.” 

In November 2017, the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), concerned about the lack of awareness, issued a statement about the risks of alcohol for developing a wide range of cancers, including cancers of the breast, esophagus, stomach, throat, mouth and colon. It further stated that the greatest risk is posed by heavy, long-term use. Roach says ASCO’s statement is, “not really a surprise because excess alcohol use does bad things to your immune system and it also causes direct harm to tissues.”

Higher risk of certain cancers
Imbibing too much and too frequently increases the risk of some cancers over others. For example, your risk of developing cancer in the upper digestive tract—in the larynx (voice box), esophagus, throat and oral cavity—are the highest. That makes sense: when you drink, alcohol comes in direct contact with these organs. It also makes sense that the more you drink, the higher your cancer risk. ASCO warns, however, that the risk of cancer exists even if you are a low-to-moderate drinker.

What you drink matters, too
“People who drink higher concentrations of alcohol, such as distilled spirits, have a greater risk [for alcohol-related cancers] than people who consume drinks with lower amounts of alcohol, such as beer or wine, even when corrected for the total amount of alcohol consumed. This is true at least for cancer of the esophagus,” Roach says.

Is any amount safe?
The only way to eliminate your risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer would be to abstain. However, most of us enjoy a drink or two from time to time. Therefore, AIRC recommends limiting alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women and two per day for men.

Roach says these levels are probably fine from the standpoint of optimal health. In fact, it may be that low levels of alcohol consumption can even confer benefits, such as reducing your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. “However, don’t think that if one glass of wine is making you feel good, and may possibly have some benefit to your heart, two or three glasses, or more, will have more benefit,” Roach explains. “There comes a net harm when a woman exceeds two drinks and a man exceeds three [in one day].”

Be smart about drinking
Know how much alcohol is in your beverage. A standard alcoholic drink does not necessarily correspond to the amount you pour for yourself or are served. One standard drink equals a 12-ounce regular beer (about 5 percent alcohol), a 5-ounce glass of wine (about 12 percent alcohol) or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits, like vodka, whiskey and tequila (about 40 percent alcohol).

Drink with food. Eating slows down the absorption of alcohol to some extent, Roach says, and allows your body to more safely detoxify the alcohol before your blood levels get so high that it becomes toxic to your brain (intoxication). So, if you’re going to drink, eat something at the same time.

Finally, Roach says, “Everything is a poison in the right dose. Alcohol is a poison at high doses. But like many poisons, it may be that, at levels that are not obviously toxic, there are still some ongoing effects. This is particularly true with cancer, which takes years or decades before people develop signs of it. It’s wise to be cautious with our alcohol intake."

The above article is from ShareCare here.

Does Your Blood Type Effect Your Risk?

Most people know their blood type—and you’ll definitely find out if you ever need a blood transfusion, or have an organ transplant. Your doctors will take special care to use the blood type that matches, or is compatible with, yours.

A mismatch could cause an immune system reaction that could result in complications like kidney damage or failure, blood clotting leading to organ damage or stroke and, in more extreme cases, death. Fortunately, today’s sophisticated testing techniques greatly reduce the chance of a mismatch.

Understand Blood Basics
All blood has a number of shared building blocks:

• Red blood cells carry oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the lungs
• White blood cells are immune cells that attack invaders
• Platelets clot together to prevent bleeding
• Plasma holds it all together

But there are differences as well. There are possible two antigens—A and B—on the surface of your red blood cells. Their presence, or absence, determines your blood type which is inherited, based on the blood types of both of your parents.

What’s your type?
There are four main blood types: A, B, AB and O. Type A has the A antigen; type B has the B antigen; Type AB has both; type O has neither. You’re probably aware that your blood type is either positive or negative, but what does that mean?

There is a third antigen, a protein called the Rh factor, which may also be present on the red blood cells. If you have this protein, your blood type is positive; if not, your blood type is negative. Most people have a positive blood type.

Type O positive is the most common type in the US, while AB negative is the least. There are some ethnic variations as well. For example, more African-Americans and Asians are type B positive than are Caucasians and people of Hispanic descent.

How blood type affects your health
Obviously, it’s not possible to change your blood type. But research suggests that certain blood types can raise your risk of potentially serious conditions, says Carla Bell, a genetic counselor at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas.

Awareness can help you proactively take steps to curtail these risks. On the other hand, certain blood types may be associated with a lower risk of certain diseases. While that’s not a get-of-jail-free card, it’s good to know that your blood type may give you an extra health boost. You’ll still need to make smart lifestyle choices, like eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.

Risk of hemorrhage
Losing a large quantity of blood is common after severe trauma such as after a car accident or other injury. In many causes, hemorrhaging can be stopped and lost blood replaced by a transfusion, but people with type O blood may be at a higher risk of uncontrolled bleeding, according to new research. An observational study published in May 2018 in Critical Care looked at the medical records of 900 Japanese people admitted to emergency care medical centers for severe trauma between 2013 and 2016.

Trauma-related death rates for those with type O blood were 28 percent, compared to 11 percent among those with other blood types. While more research is needed to understand the link between blood type and post-trauma outcomes, the study authors suggest that type O blood contains lower levels of blood clotting agents, which may contribute to more bleeding.  

Risk of heart disease and blood clotting conditions
Some researchers believe that people with types A, B and AB blood have an increased risk of coronary heart disease, due to increased levels of inflammatory markers and certain proteins in the blood that lead to blood clotting. That translates into an increased risk of venous thromboembolisms, which are blood clots that start in veins (as opposed to arteries). Estimates vary, but the most recent and rigorous studies put the risk at about double.

Heart attacks and stroke are also clotting problems. If a clot blocks blood flow to the heart, that’s a heart attack; if it blocks blood flow to the brain, it’s a stroke. People with blood type A have a 24 percent higher risk of heart attack than people than people with AB or O blood types. For stroke, people with type AB blood have an 83 percent higher risk.

Risk of memory problems
A 2014 study published in Neurology of more than 1,000 people suggests that people with blood type AB have an 82 percent greater risk of cognitive impairment than people with other blood types.

On the other hand, type O may protect against memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease. A 2015 study published in Brain Research Bulletin found that out of 189 people who had undergone brain MRIs, the brains of those with blood type O had the greatest amount of grey matter in their brains, providing possible protection against dementia.

Risk of stomach conditions
The link between blood type, stomach cancers and peptic ulcers was first discovered in the 50s. Since then, additional research has provided further evidence of that link. In a 2010 study published in American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers looked at data from more than 1 million people. They found that people with blood type A had the highest risk for gastric cancers, while people with blood type O were at greater risk for developing peptic ulcers.

Risk of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in the US; this aggressive form of cancer also has one of the lowest survival rates. Since the 1940s researchers have been aware of a link between blood type and pancreatic cancer. But over the years, study results as to which type poses the greater risk have been mixed.

In some cases, type A was believed to be the culprit; other studies of pancreatic cancer patients found a prevalence of blood type B. More recent studies have found that, in general, people with non-O blood type carry a greater risk.

But a more definitive answer has been uncovered by a major 2010 study from the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium (PanScan), which included 1,533 people with pancreatic cancer. The researchers found that those with blood type A with one specific gene mutation were at the highest risk. Another finding that most researchers agree on is that people with type O blood have the lowest incidence rate of pancreatic cancer.

Risks in pregnancy
So far, the A and B antigens have played a role in disease risk. But what about the Rh factor? Rh factor comes into play during pregnancy, if the mother has Rh-negative blood and her fetus’s blood is Rh-positive.

It’s known as Rh incompatibility. Usually, the mother’s blood is separate from the baby’s blood, but during childbirth and in other cases, such as amniocentesis, the blood can mix. Then, the mother’s immune system attacks the baby’s red blood cells.

“The body doesn’t usually react much during a first pregnancy,” notes Bell. “But in subsequent pregnancies it can be a problem.” That’s because the first baby is born before the antibodies have a chance to develop against the baby’s Rh-positive blood. Once formed, the antibodies stay in the body.

Symptoms of Rh incompatibility may be mild, causing jaundice or low muscle tone. For more serious cases, complications to the baby can include:

• Lethargy
• Fluid buildup
• Brain damage
• Problems with movement, speech and mental function
• Seizures
• Heart failure
• Death

“In the past, babies did not generally make it to term when there was Rh incompatibility,” says Bell. “The mothers miscarried pretty early on.” Today, expecting mothers can get a RhoGAM shot to head off any Rh incompatibility. “It’s basically Rh factors injected into the mom so her body recognizes any Rh antibodies the baby has,” Bell explains.  

Risk of malaria
Of particular concern to travelers and people who spend time in the tropics, the blood type O protects somewhat against—but does not provide immunity to—malaria, a fever-causing parasite spread by mosquitos that kills about half a million people worldwide.

Researchers believe that the parasite that causes malaria secretes proteins that stick to the surface of red blood cells, making them hard and causing them to adhere to blood vessel walls. This can lead to wide range of malaria symptoms, from fever and anemia, to coma and death. The proteins tend to stick more strongly to type A red blood cells, but more weakly to type O blood cells. “You don’t accumulate as much of the parasite in your body if you have type O blood,” says Bell.

The bottom line
For many of these conditions, like heart disease and cancer, lifestyle and other factors will increase or decrease your risk much more than blood type. “It’s important to remember that the effects of these are pretty small,” says Bell. “No one will be doomed to have a heart attack because of their blood type. For all people, the way to reduce their risk of disease is common-sense steps like no smoking. While it’s measurable, the net effect of blood type on disease risk is relatively small.”

Article taken from ShareCare here.

Sound Waves Reveal Diamond Cache Deep In the Interior Earth

There may be more than a quadrillion tons of diamond hidden in the Earth’s interior, according to a new study from MIT and other universities.

But the new results are unlikely to set off a diamond rush. The scientists estimate the precious minerals are buried more than 100 miles below the surface, far deeper than any drilling expedition has ever reached.

The ultradeep cache may be scattered within cratonic roots — the oldest and most immovable sections of rock that lie beneath the center of most continental tectonic plates. Shaped like inverted mountains, cratons can stretch as deep as 200 miles through the Earth’s crust and into its mantle; geologists refer to their deepest sections as “roots.”

In the new study, scientists estimate that cratonic roots may contain 1 to 2 percent diamond. Considering the total volume of cratonic roots in the Earth, the team figures that about a quadrillion (1016) tons of diamond are scattered within these ancient rocks, 90 to 150 miles below the surface.

“This shows that diamond is not perhaps this exotic mineral, but on the [geological] scale of things, it’s relatively common,” says Ulrich Faul, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. “We can’t get at them, but still, there is much more diamond there than we have ever thought before.”

To read more please go here.

Papa John's Founder Resigns

Amidst the wave of angry backlash that Papa John's has received, John Schnatter resigned.

You will recall that on a conference call back in May, he is alleged to have used the "N" word. Supposedly, the comment was that "Colonel Sanders called blacks 'n-----s'."

Since the report of this conference call has come out, stocks have plummeted with Papa John's, losing 4.8-percent by the close yesterday. This leaves market value at $48.83. That makes a loss of $96.2 - million dollars.

Folks, this only proves that it is time for the world not to notice the color of the skin, but the color of the heart. We are supposed to be the most civilized humans who have ever lived, and yet there are so many who are still so far from being civilized.

Schnatter's late attitude, even with his resignation, will mean I will never purchase another Papa John's pizza. Ever.  

What do you think about John Schnatter's attitude? You know for someone to use that word that it isn't the first time he has done so. It's just the first time he's been caught at it.

Does Meditation Help In Times Of Stress?

According to Inc.com, the recent rescue of the twelve trapped young soccer players and their coach may have been helped by the boys practicing meditation while waiting for rescue. As a matter of fact, they were deep in meditation when they were originally found.

Their coach, 25-year old Ekapol Chanthawong, was raised as an orphan in a monastery, so his early training to be a monk may have been what actually kept the boys alive.

When last checked before rescue, the oxygen level in the cave was at 15-percent. Normal is 22%. Their level was toxic and without the meditation their own respirations could have killed them, but by practicing meditation and slowing their respirations, they were able to survive until all were rescued.

We can overcome much through meditation and prayer. We are thankful that all of the soccer team and their coach are now safely out of harm and can hopefully begin to recover physically and mentally from their ordeal.

The Latest Asthma Treatments

Explore your options from inhalers to biologics for asthma.

For anyone who has lived with asthma for a while, one of the top questions has got to be: "Is this the best treatment out there?" With scientists always on the hunt for better drug therapies with fewer side effects, it's possible that the drug you're on now isn't the best option for you.

To make a smart decision with your doctor, it helps to know about the latest stuff available. For that, we talked with Stephen Wasserman, MD, professor of medicine in the division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at UCSD.

Are There New Quick-Relief Medicines?
Turns out, there are still two main options for when you need immediate help—beta-agonists and anticholinergics. These drugs temporarily relax the muscles around the airways to relieve asthma symptoms quickly. Anticholinergics don't work as quickly as beta-agonists, so some doctors don't consider them true relief medications. Also, Dr. Wasserman says most people seem to find beta-agonists, such as albuterol, to work the best for them, but that studies show the two drugs to be about the same in terms of effectiveness.

Are There New Controller Medicines?
First, some inhalers combine a long-acting beta agonist (LABA) with a steroid in a single device. LABAs help open up the small airways inside the lungs. If someone's asthma isn't well controlled on an inhaled steroid alone, they usually step up to this type of inhaler. Once controlled, you can try to step back down under your doctor's guidance.

Examples include Advair (salmeterol and fluticasone), Breo Ellipta (vilanterol and fluticasone), Dulera (formoterol and mometasone) and Symbicort (formoterol and budesonide).

Wasserman doesn't recommend one brand over another, but says some people like the convenience of the once-a-day options. He notes, though, that the FDA has put a "black box" warning on LABA drugs because of early studies that showed an increased risk of death in patients with asthma. That's why LABA drugs are recommended only as "add-on therapy" to be used with a steroid.

Second, several studies show that long-acting anticholinergics work for asthma, too. Originally developed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), these drugs stop the muscles from tightening around the larger airways, which happens when the lungs are irritated.

There's only one long-acting anticholinergic drug approved for asthma, called Spiriva Respimat (tiotropium). There's no black box warning for anticholinergics, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're better or safer, says Wasserman. Some doctors prefer to start their patients on this type of combo inhaler.

And there are a few oldies but goodies worth noting. Singulair (montelukast) is a pill that works well for some people, but it's not as likely to help as other long-acting drugs. Theophylline is another "old-fashioned" asthma pill that's related to caffeine and may cause the same jitters, says Wasserman. It fell out of favor because it can be toxic at high doses, but he says it's still a reasonable drug to consider if you're having trouble controlling your asthma, especially if you're one of the 25-30% of severe asthmatics who smoke.

What Are Biologics for Asthma?
The above treatments usually work for people with mild to moderate asthma, but they may not be enough to fully control more severe asthma. This gap has led scientists to test a new type of drug, called biologics. These drugs act similar to natural antibodies in your body.

The first biologic approved for allergic asthma is Xolair (omalizumab). Wasserman says this drug is very effective for asthma, probably even in people who don't have allergic asthma. The success of this medicine for difficult-to-treat asthma has sparked a lot of interest. More biologics that work in different ways are being tested, but it's not clear yet which patients will benefit most from which therapy.

Wasserman warns that biologics should be considered the final drug someone would add to their regimen. "Biologics are pricey, require injections and require monitoring," he adds.

How Do I Know I'm on the Right Drug?
If you're reading this, chances are you're not totally satisfied with your asthma drugs. If your doctor thinks you're already on the best medicine, they may increase the dose to see if that helps. They'll probably also ask you if you're truly taking it as prescribed, since 30-70% of people with asthma don't follow their doctor's orders exactly.

The real key is figuring out why you're not happy, Wasserman says. If you're not doing well, ask your doctor: What more could we do or what are we missing? If you don't like the drug delivery, try a dry powder inhaler, for example. If the drug tastes bad or makes you feel sick, tell your doctor. There's probably an alternative you can try. Talk over your concerns and goals with your doctor to come up with the right treatment plan for you.

****Taken from ShareCare here.