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The study also reveals that Hispanics and Blacks are more impacted than other ethnicities, exposed to dangerous contaminants on a larger scale, and live closer to sources of pollution.

These sources reveal that nearly a hundred contaminants can, at the present time, be prohibited under the USEPA Safe Drinking Water Act.

Scientists discover new source of ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water – https://t.co/7HSlrL2zDw pic.twitter.com/NixPa6TpCq

— Local Now (@LocalNow) January 20, 2025

As a result, public water utilities need to sample these chemicals and work to make certain that levels are not above particular levels by putting in new treatment technologies and other appropriate steps.

What more are the experts stating?

According to the co-author Laurel Schaider, a senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, “Yet, we know there are thousands of other harmful chemicals that are not regulated that make their way into groundwater and surface waters and some of these chemicals can ultimately end up in drinking water supplies,” scitechdaily.com reported.

Schaider and her team focused on data captured in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) program gathered from 2013 to 2015.

Houses with high concentrations of the Hispanic and Black population, in general, were more exposed to those unregulated contaminants in drinking water and in closer communities around the wastewater treatment plant, airports, military operation fields, industrial sectors, etc.

“Our findings show that the percentage of Hispanic and Black residents in a community is a consistent predictor of poorer water quality,” described the lead author Aaron Maruzzo, a scientist at Silent Spring Institute.

'Forever Chemicals' in Tap Water Linked to Cancer. How to Lower Your Risk

Prior research has estimated that PFAS may be found in about 45% of US drinking water supplies. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (@EPA) does not regulate PFAS, though that will change in 2029… pic.twitter.com/d6aCo9q4vq

— Water Mark (@OtayMark) January 20, 2025

As recent testing has indicated, PFAS substances are nearly three times more prevalent in drinking water than has been estimated, and therefore, the number of residents affected by the contaminants at the time the information was gathered is still very low, according to Schaider.

In April 2024, the EPA proposed the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six out of the eighteen PFAS contaminants that had been in existence for eighteen years.

The study, therefore, recommends that the federal government should do more to help communities of color mitigate the effects of pollution by regulating additional contaminants, scitechdaily.com reported.

“Ultimately, we need to do a better job at protecting source waters and reducing discharges of pollutants into water bodies that feed into our drinking water supplies,” Schaider continued.

The post ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contaminating Water of One-Third Americans! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

The advisory, issued January 16, suggests that healthcare facilities confirm the presence of bird flu through a second test on samples other than blood for any patient with seasonal or H5N1 avian influenza – bird flu – history upon admission, US News reported,

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It also provides guidelines for starting antiviral such as Tamiflu without having to undergo a test first.

The Washington Post has reported that delays when it comes to bird flu can hinder investigations, delay treatment for exposed people, and impact healthcare infection control.

Is it seasonal flu or bird flu? CDC prompts hospitals to fast-track subtype testing of sick patients to tell the difference. https://t.co/U5rL7iufME

— Wisconsin State Farmer (@WI_State_Farmer) January 17, 2025

Patients who are not tested quickly may not recall where they might have been exposed seven to 10 days prior to getting infected or which others they may have been infecting the same, as mentioned by Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.

“The more time that passes, the more [a patient’s] memories fade,” he added.

What more are the officials stating?

Of the bird flu cases in the ongoing outbreak, bird flu has affected more people.

A few weeks before, a Louisiana man was the first American to die of bird flu, and a Canadian girl was bedridden with severe disease for two months.

CDC urges faster testing to find human bird flu cases https://t.co/EPJ5l9Zb1N pic.twitter.com/g268000VtW

— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) January 17, 2025

Other health departments have also substantiated similar rising incidences of bird flu infections that affected domestic cats feeding on raw pet foods or raw milk.

Who is more vulnerable?

The CDC has maintained its stance that bird flu is not really a threat to the average individual.

However, an updated public health risk assessment notes that certain groups face a higher risk, including:

"Bird Flu Raising Red Flags Among Health Officials, CDC Urges Faster Testing" – Benzinga #SmartNews testing for the bird flu or the injection? We know how speeding up injections can end! Sounds like they’re in a hurry, more. $$$! https://t.co/HrcmXQUE6v

— Emilyjo Collins (@EmilyJCollins10) January 17, 2025

1. Farm laborers involved in treating cattle or their products
2. Owners of backyard flocks
3. Animal care workers
4. Veterinarians
5. The public health staff that conducted the avian flu breakout

The post CDC Orders Intensive Bird Flu Testing Amid Rising Cases Across US appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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Omvoh binds to interleukin 23p19, which is involved in the regulation of inflammation in the intestines.

Omvoh is the first Crohn’s disease biological company to submit phase 3 efficacy data for two years of treatment in more than 15 years.

$LLY Omvoh is now FDA-approved for treating moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease in adults, providing a new treatment option for patients: https://t.co/n2UHa0Y3UH#Omvoh #CrohnsDisease #IBD #FDAApproval #EliLilly #HealthcareInnovation

— BioMedWire (@BioMedWire) January 17, 2025

The approval has been achieved thanks to the results of the multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 VIVID-1 trial involving adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease, intolerant or having failed corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and/or biologic agents.

For this investigation, patients were randomly allocated to a placebo or Omvoh.

Details of the study

The patients in the placebo arm who did not respond clinically at 12 weeks were then crossed over to active drug treatment Omvoh.

Both primary endpoints were attained; 53 and 36 percent of patients treated with Omvoh were in clinical remission at one year, and 46 and 23 percent of patients treated with Omvoh and placebo, respectively, presented discernible healing of the intestinal lining at one year.

FDA Approves Omvoh for Moderately to Severely Active Crohn Disease https://t.co/U0Q9U9j8NQ

— Drugs.com (@Drugscom) January 17, 2025

According to Daniel M. Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories and Lilly Immunology, “With Omvoh approved in both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, more patients now have a treatment option that may provide long-term disease control and address key symptoms that matter most to them, reflecting Lilly’s ongoing commitment to elevate care and improve outcomes for patients,” US News reported.

The post First ‘Biological’ Treatment for Crohn’s Disease in Years! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

This is found in a new study that raises fresh questions about the quality of drinking water in the US.

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The drinking water policy of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established, and they regulate over 90 contaminants legally.

This year, researchers from the nonprofit Silent Spring Institute determined that toxins from 27 percent of the 4,800 public water systems it surveyed contained at least one of four “harmful” types of chemicals that were not regulated by the EPA.

Silent Spring used EPA data from 2013 up to 2015 in its research. The EPA is testing the same again, but the data is not available yet, said the study co-author Laurel Schaider, who works at the Silent Spring.

About PFAS

There are around 12,000 types of PFAS – current tests cannot identify all types of the chemical.

In April, the EPA disclosed that it would set drinking water standards for six types of PFAS to limit public exposure to the chemicals by 100 million people by 2029, the New York Post reported.

Silent Spring revealed that Hispanic and black Americans will continue to be more exposed to contaminants in drinking water because their settlements are next to pollution sources: wastewater treatment plantations, airports, military training facilities, and industrial areas.

The study was conducted after discovering a new unidentified chemical byproduct in treated drinking water that is ingested by millions of Americans.

Let this sink in.

Over 97 million Americans have been exposed to toxic, unregulated contaminants in their drinking water that could harm their health, according to a new study that adds to growing concerns about the quality of US tap water.

The Environmental Protection Agency… pic.twitter.com/GNdd4LpIKW

— Luther ‘Ćyrus’ (@Censored4sure) January 16, 2025

If one is not sure whether one can drink tap, Schaider has advised that those worried about the quality of their tap water should consult their local water utility or health department to check if water has been tested for PFAS and other chemicals.

According to Schaider, “When choosing a filtering system, look for one that is NSF P473-certified or meets the NSF/ANSI 53 standard for activated carbon filters and the NSF/ANSI 58 standard for reverse osmosis,” New York Post reported.

“Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and replace the cartridges or membranes as recommended,” he added.

According to Schaider, bottled water may not be any safer than tap water since many bottling companies use water from municipalities.

The post 97 Million Americans at Risk, Deadly Chemicals in Tap Water! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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BMI is derived by comparing an individual’s weight to his or her height and can easily determine if one has a low BMI, normal BMI, high BMI, or Obesity BMI, although it has been found to be an imprecise predictor of body fat mass.

Doctors told to stop using only BMI to measure obesity due to overdiagnosis | @scoopit https://t.co/rSSWHcwcZP

— Enzo Calamo (@EnzoCalamo) January 15, 2025

More than 50 contributors to the report released Tuesday in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal suggest a different approach for physicians to classify obesity and screen patients.

About new recommendations

As much as the new recommendations still apply BMI as a screen for Obesity in a “first pass,” it goes deeper and asks whether one has pre-clinical Obesity or clinic obesity with other tools of measurement, according to Dr. Céline Gounder, who is the CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News.

“So what that means is, do you actually have excess fat?” Gounder states that there are three main ways to measure this, according to CBS News.

NEW PROPOSED DEFINITION OF OBESITY WOULD SIDELINE BODY MASS INDEX

Narrative A: The new definition provides a more nuanced and accurate approach to obesity diagnosis, moving away from the outdated BMI system to focus on actual health impacts. This change will help reduce… pic.twitter.com/3NY1aE52sG

— Verity (@improvethenews) January 15, 2025

1. Waist circumference, or a waist-to-hip ratio: “So if your waist is over 35 inches for a woman or 40 inches for a man, that means you do have excess fat, or are you apple-shaped versus pear-shaped?” Gounder said.

2. Directly measuring body fat: “Some older women might be familiar with a DEXA test to assess for bone thinning or osteoporosis. That can also be used to measure body fat,” Gounder said.

3. Effects on your daily living activities: “Can you climb up and down stairs? If you’re not able to because of your weight, that would be clinically obese,” she said. “Do you see damage to your organs, your kidneys, your heart, et cetera because of your Obesity? That would be clinical Obesity.”

What more are the experts stating?

New recommendations have been supported by 76 scientific societies and patients’ associations all over the world, the authors of the report pointed out, but it remains unclear how quickly and to what extent the amendments could be implemented.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BMI is an “inexpensive and easy screening method” that happens to be “strongly correlated” with weight-related medical conditions.

Move aside BMI: There's a better way to define obesity, a commission finds #fatass https://t.co/eBW4GDZPLk

— $mokecheddathaassgetta (@Latino69Heat69) January 15, 2025

However, BMI has attracted criticism in the recent past, with people condemning the identification method as not only inept but also as having prejudiced inclinations, specifically on gender and ethnicity.

“BMI is really looking at how much you weigh relative to your height. But not every, say, six-foot man who has the same weight is obese or healthy. Some of them may actually be strapping, muscular guys versus somebody who is truly overweight or obese. So we’re trying to distinguish between this,” as Gounder noted.

For instance, most professional players are clinically labeled as being obese even when, using the BMI scale, they are unable to differentiate between muscle mass and fat.

The post Is BMI Obsolete? Experts Reveal SMARTER Obesity Screening Methods appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

They have been reporting for years that the almost invariably fatal chronic wasting disease (CWD) – prion disease that alters deer behavior, frequently causing them to become confused, drooling, aggressive, and fearless of man – could be transmitted to humans.

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They have also noticed that the disease affects wild boars that scavenge on infected carcasses, and the researchers concluded that the disease is virtually across the bridge of infecting domesticated pigs and, therefore, humans.

According to a top infectious diseases researcher at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm, “We have some limited data now suggesting that feral pigs might be infected.”

Terrifying 'zombie deer' disease could soon infect humans. Experts urge caution as cases spread in deer and pigs. #CWD #PublicHealth #Prions https://t.co/ExpAJjWCmX

— CRN News (@CRNNewsNow) January 14, 2025

“If they can get infected, surely it’s possible domestic swine could also become infected? What would that do to the swine market? What would that do to the cattle market? These are huge issues,” he added, DailyMail reports.

Other authors of the report, sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, also state that the disease might jump directly to humans through infected deer that are hunted.

What is CWD?

CWD is terminal, and there is no cure and no vaccine or treatment for humans who are infected. Man or animal can be infected with the disease by coming in contact with saliva, feces, or blood of an infected animal.

“We know that people are being exposed [to CWD] through consumption [of meat] with prions,” Dr Osterholm added.

“What we don’t understand yet is what it would take for that prion to actually infect that human with ingestion,” he continued.

Dr Osterholm made the statements so that people develop awareness of the disease and the possible effects it has on humans.

“US Scientists suggest Zombie Deer Disease may have jumped to Humans”

I guess Monkeypox & Bird flu just weren’t scaring people enough. pic.twitter.com/SejNX2KYh0

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) January 13, 2025

During the preparation of the report, the authors, who invested two years in the work, demanded an increase in funding for measures to prevent the spread of the illness, DailyMail reports.

They also warned that new strains of the disease could emerge, some of which are more likely to endanger man.

Some estimates show that approximately 6 million deer are hunted in the US every year, and people consume nearly 1.5 billion pigs yearly.

The number of new cases each year is unknown, but CWD has spread across the country and has now been identified in 33 states plus Canada, including Wyoming, Wisconsin, Colorado, and certain regions in Pennsylvania.

Fears were voiced in the middle of April last year that it had gone one step further: to infect the human population and turn into Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).

The post Could ‘Zombie Deer’ Infect Humans? Experts Warn of Danger appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

found more than dozens of violations at a McDonald’s supplier associated with the E.coli outbreak that impacted over a hundred people and forced a recall of onions used in the company’s famous burgers.

These were highlighted in the report of the FDA inspection of Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs processing center, secured by CBS News from the agency through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The different violations observed are biofilm & food debris on equipment, inadequate food handling procedures, and insufficient sanitation programs, and finally, inadequate handling of ready-to-eat (RTE) produce.

According to the FDA’s inspectors’ statement, “Production employees handling RTE produce and food contact surfaces were not observed using any of the handwashing sinks in the facility,” US News reported.

What more are the officials stating?

As a result of the inspection, the FDA gave Taylor Farms a Form 483 because of conditions that are ‘injurious to health.’

Other violations discovered comprised failure by employees to wash their hands correctly as required, not drying utensils that were sanitized, and endangering the produce with hazardous cleaning chemicals.

The chemical mixtures used for sanitation wherein the stock concentration has exceeded the maximum prescribed concentration or where inadequacy of records for safe usage was another concern identified by the inspectors.

After that, the company withdrew thousands of packs of ready-to-eat onions that were supplied to food service establishments in six states.

“This is consistent with the fact that no illnesses or public health threat has been linked to these observations,” the company stated.

FDA Cites Dirty Equipment, Poor Sanitation at McDonald’s Onion Supplier After E. Coli Scare https://t.co/9QAkL0SXgu

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) January 13, 2025

Mcdonald’s, which had paused its supplies from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs outlet before, said it remained committed to food safety.

During the outbreak, 104 people from 14 states became ill, and 34 were hospitalized, though one older person in Colorado died, the FDA stated in a prior health update, US News reported.

As a result of the investigation and cross-checking information between the officials and restaurant employees, it was established that the possible cause of the cross-contamination was raw, slivered onions placed on its specialty burgers.

Though evidence for what caused the outbreak in the first place was scarce, Taylor Farms sourced onions that one of the samples was later identified as containing E. coli.

However, the FDA pointed out that the samples did not match the strain that had infected the patients.

The post E. coli Crisis: Multiple Violations Found at McDonald’s Onion Supplier! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

What more did the study suggest?

Children smokers of age 15 or less also are at a 27 percent higher risk of contracting COPD when they grow up than those who started smoking later.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a lung disease that leads to impaired breathing and has other symptoms that will be described in this content. At present, there is no complete treatment, and the symptoms aggravate continually as the years pass by.

According to Dr. Laura Paulin, senior researcher and a pulmonologist at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, “Our study suggests that a person with a childhood smoking history has an increased risk of developing COPD, regardless of current smoking status, smoking duration, cigarette pack-years and exposure to secondhand smoke,” US News reported.

Prior studies have established that COPD is prevalent in individuals who began smoking before the age of fifteen, the researchers noted in background information.

What more has the study suggested?

The new study was meant to establish whether childhood smoking contributes to COPD in the later years of life, irrespective of the amount of smoking that a person has done and second-hand smoking exposure.

From smokers for the research, scientists assess consistent data from over 10,100 individuals in a government-ongoing survey focusing on the health impact of smoking, known as the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study.

When restricted to ever-smokers, ever-smokers starting smoking younger than 15 years had a 29 percent prevalence of COPD, while ever-smokers starting smoking at or after the age of 15 years had a 21 percent prevalence of this disease, and never-smokers had less than 8 percent.

The current smokers were even more likely to be children, had begun smoking earlier, and were more exposed to secondhand smoke.

However, even after controlling for those factors, childhood smokers remained more likely to develop COPD than those who started smoking later in life, data have suggested.

As per Paulin, “Critical lung development occurs in childhood and early adolescence, making children’s lungs particularly susceptible to damage caused by cigarette smoking,” US News reported.

“These findings highlight the need for additional public health efforts to reduce, and ultimately prevent, childhood smoking,” he continued.

The post Childhood Smokers at Grave Risk of Fatal Lung Disease, Warn Experts appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

More about the findings

This study by the Tufts University of Boston unveiled that new accounts of type 2 diabetes totaled 2.2 million per year, and cardiovascular diseases were about 1.2 million potentially associated with sugar-sweetened sodas and juices, as stated in the press release.

The results were reported in Nature Medicine this week. The highest rates were associated with Colombia, where 48 percent of new diabetic cases were due to SSBs, and Mexico, where 29 percent of new cases were associated with SSBs, declared the researchers.

Diabetes, heart disease cases skyrocket — and scientists pinpoint one key reason – Fox News https://t.co/TjfzCz7oyx

— Kierzek4367 (@kierzek2018) January 10, 2025

In Latin America, the study identified that perhaps over 24 percent of new diabetes patients could be as a result of SSBs, and in sub-Saharan Africa, the study identified 21 percent of new diabetes patients as a result of SSBs.

Cases of new diabetes

In South Africa, new diabetes is estimated at 27.6 percent, and cardiovascular diseases at 14.6 percent could be linked to sugary drinks.

According to the research team, sugary drinks make blood sugars rise because they are “rapidly digested,” Fox News reported.

Hoping their findings can help inform people about the long-term consumption of these types of drinks, the authors pointed out that these beverages can also contribute to weight gain and the development of insulin resistance other than type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.

According to Professor Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s senior author, “Sugar-sweetened beverages are heavily marketed and sold in low- and middle-income nations.”

“Not only are these communities consuming harmful products, but they are also often less well-equipped to deal with the long-term health consequences,” he added.

Sugary drinks caused 2.2M new diabetes cases & 1.2M heart disease cases in 2020, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa & Latin America. The Health Promotion Levy (HPL) is a proven solution to cut sugary drink consumption & reduce NCDs. More: https://t.co/VKm95tpL46 #HPL #DelaysMeanDeath

— HEALA (@heala_SA) January 10, 2025

However, the researchers said, and as news agency SWNS reported, men and young adults may be at a greater risk of negative health impacts from sugary drinks.

New Jersey-based registered dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, who did not participate in the study, further stated that the result had been anticipated since foods containing added sugars are more likely to raise the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, Fox News reported.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages are a major cause of added sugar in the diet and easy to overconsume, as they provide little fullness,” she added.

Additionally, “The high-calorie content and lack of satisfaction due to little protein, fat or fiber in these drinks can lead to excess calorie consumption, which can lead to weight gain — especially gains in visceral fat (belly fat), which has been found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes,” she continued.

The post Diabetes, Heart Disease Surge – Experts Identify Alarming Trigger! appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

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Scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have claimed that the research showed that Fluoride in drinking water, which is below 4mg/L, reduces IQ scores, while levels below 1.5mg/L were found irrelevant.

According to the US Public Health Service, the recommended level of Fluoride in US drinking water is 0.7 mg/L.

What more are the experts stating?

According to the leader of the team of researchers, Kyla Taylor, a health scientist with the NIEHS’ Division of Translational Toxicology, “There were limited data and uncertainty in the dose-response association between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ when fluoride exposure was estimated by drinking water alone at concentrations less than 1.5 mg/L,” US News reported.

The analysis was restricted to the 11 most reliable studies in the review, which also reported a 1.14 IQ point loss per 1 mg/L of F in urine.

This new evidence review was published in the highly ranked JAMA Pediatrics at a time when fluoridation was under political fire.

The nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is an opponent of fluoridation.

Fluoride is added to drinking water to protect against tooth decay, a practice supported by groups like the American Dental Association.

Are high fluoride levels affecting your child’s IQ? Exploring the (controversial) evidence #Science https://t.co/2WHJo89akl

— Pure Science (@Pur3Science) January 8, 2025

Critics of the new review noted that none of the seventy four studies included in the review took place in the United States.

Furthermore, as Dr. Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, stated, “The public needs to understand that the levels examined in (the) report are from countries with high levels of naturally occurring fluoride that is more than double the amount recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service to optimally fluoridate community water systems and help prevent dental disease,” US News reported.

The new evidence review has been published in JAMA Pediatrics and emerges at the time fluoridation is heading for political controversy.

The research team found out that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can take legal action over a public water supply if the fluoride concentration gets to 4 mg/L and can post advisories at 2 mg/L.

As the NIEHS team concluded, “To our knowledge, no studies of fluoride exposure and children’s IQ have been performed in the United States, and no nationally representative urinary fluoride levels are available, hindering the application of these findings to the US population.”

“Although this meta-analysis was not designed to address the broader public health implications of water fluoridation in the United States, these results may inform future public health risk-benefit assessments of fluoride,” the team continued.

The post Child’s IQ at Stake? Fluoride Levels in Water Supply Questioned appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.