Tag Archives: health

In My Hands Today…

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Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food – Chris van Tulleken

It’s not you; it’s the food.

We have entered a new age of eating. For the first time in human history, most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food. There’s a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, it’s UPF.

These products are specifically engineered to behave as addictive substances, driving excess consumption. They are now linked to the leading cause of early death globally and the number one cause of environmental destruction. Yet almost all our staple foods are ultra-processed. UPF is our food culture and for many people, it is the only available and affordable food.

In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. The solutions don’t lie in willpower, personal responsibility, or exercise. You’ll find no diet plan in this book, but join Chris as he undertakes a powerful self-experiment that made headlines around the world: under the supervision of colleagues at University College London, he spent a month eating a diet of 80 percent UPF, typical for many children and adults in the United States. While his body became the subject of scientific scrutiny, he spoke to the world’s leading experts from academia, agriculture, and, most importantly, the food industry itself. But more than teaching him about the experience of the food, the diet switched off Chris’s own addiction to UPF.

In a fast-paced and eye-opening narrative, he explores the origins, science, and economics of UPF to reveal its catastrophic impact on our bodies and the planet. And he proposes real solutions for doctors, for policy makers, and for all of us who have to eat. A book that won’t only upend the way you shop and eat, Ultra-Processed People will open your eyes to the need for action on a global scale.

In My Hands Today…

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The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness – Robert Waldinger, Marc Schulz

What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their “captivating” ( The Wall Street Journal) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, show that the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom was bolstered by research findings from many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it’s never too late to strengthen the relationships you already have, and never too late to build new ones. The Good Life provides examples of how to do this.

Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever.

In My Hands Today…

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The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine – Ricardo Nuila

Where does one go without health insurance, when turned away by hospitals, clinics, and doctors? In The People’s Hospital, physician Ricardo Nuila’s stunning debut, we follow the lives of five uninsured Houstonians as their struggle for survival leads them to a hospital where insurance comes second to genuine care.

First, we meet Stephen, the restaurant franchise manager who signed up for his company’s lowest priced plan, only to find himself facing insurmountable costs after a cancer diagnosis. Then Christian—a young college student and retail worker who can’t seem to get an accurate diagnosis, let alone treatment, for his debilitating knee pain. Geronimo, thirty-six years old, has liver failure, but his meager disability check disqualifies him for Medicaid—and puts a life-saving transplant just out of reach. Roxana, who’s lived in the community without a visa for more than two decades, suffers from complications related to her cancer treatment. And finally, there’s Ebonie, a young mother whose high-risk pregnancy endangers her life. Whether due to immigration status, income, or the vagaries of state Medicaid law, all five are denied access to care. For all five, this exclusion could prove life-threatening.

Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub, the county hospital where Dr. Nuila has worked for over a decade. Nuila delves with empathy into the experiences of his patients, braiding their dramas into a singular narrative that contradicts the established idea that the only way to receive good healthcare is with good insurance. As readers follow the movingly rendered twists and turns in each patient’s story, it’s impossible to deny that our system is broken—and that Ben Taub’s innovative model, which emphasizes people over payments, could help light the path forward.

World Hepatitis Day

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Every year on 28 July, the world comes together to commemorate World Hepatitis Day, a global health observance that aims to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and its devastating impact on individuals, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide. This day serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address this silent epidemic and work towards a future free from the burden of hepatitis.

Hepatitis, derived from the Greek words hepar or liver and it is or inflammation, is a term used to describe a group of viral infections that primarily affect the liver. Hepatitis can be caused by viral infections, autoimmune disorders, drugs, alcohol, or other toxins. There are five main hepatitis viruses – hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – each with its unique mode of transmission, symptoms, and potential for causing chronic liver disease.

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Hepatitis A and E are typically spread through contaminated food and water, while hepatitis B, C, and D are transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, or other body fluids. Hepatitis D virus, HDV is unique in that it can only infect individuals who are already infected with the hepatitis B virus, as HDV requires the HBV to replicate. While some forms of hepatitis, like hepatitis A, are acute and self-limiting, others, like hepatitis B and C, can lead to chronic infections that can progress to life-threatening complications, including liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The impact of viral hepatitis on global health is staggering. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, an estimated 354 million people worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis B or C infections. These viral infections are responsible for approximately 1.3 million deaths annually, making them a leading cause of premature mortality worldwide.

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A liver silently performs over 500 vital functions every single day to keep us alive. That’s why prioritising liver health is so important. The benefits of a healthy liver include living longer. Viral hepatitis still kills over a million people every year. Combined, hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause 1.1 million deaths and 3 million new infections every year. 350 million people are living with a chronic viral hepatitis infection and 3,000 people die from hepatitis every day. That’s one hepatitis death every thirty seconds. Over 8,000 new hepatitis B and C infections occur each day. That’s over 5 infections every minute. If the current trajectory continues, viral hepatitis will kill more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined by 2040.

Every 30 seconds, someone dies from a viral hepatitis-related illness. However, with the existing prevention, testing and treatment services that are available every hepatitis-related death is preventable. Hepatitis can affect anyone, but it has a disproportionate effect on the people and communities most underserved by health systems.

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Hepatitis infection is silent and liver health awareness is low. Most symptoms only appear once the disease is advanced, resulting in a huge volume of undiagnosed people living with hepatitis. Even when hepatitis is diagnosed, the number of people who go on to receive treatment is incredibly low. Most people discover they have hepatitis B or C after many years of silent infection, and only when they develop serious liver disease or cancer. Even after diagnosis, the level of treatment and care for people living with hepatitis is astonishingly poor. Only 10% of people with chronic hepatitis B are diagnosed. Only 22% of those receive treatment – that’s just 2% of the total global health burden. Only 21% of people with hepatitis C are diagnosed. 62% of those diagnosed receive treatment to cure them – just 13% of the total global health burden.

The establishment of World Hepatitis Day can be traced back to 2007 when the World Hepatitis Alliance, a non-profit organisation dedicated to addressing the global hepatitis crisis, launched the first-ever global awareness campaign on hepatitis. The date of 28 July was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered the hepatitis B virus and developed the first hepatitis B vaccine. In 2010, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, officially designated 28 July as World Hepatitis Day, recognising the urgent need for a coordinated global response to address the growing burden of viral hepatitis.

Since its inception, World Hepatitis Day has served as a platform for governments, healthcare organisations, patient advocacy groups, and individuals to raise awareness, promote prevention, and advocate for improved access to testing, treatment, and care for those affected by viral hepatitis. To eliminate hepatitis and achieve the WHO’s ambitious targets by 2030, simplified primary care services for viral hepatitis should ensure that all pregnant women living with chronic hepatitis B have access to treatment and their infants have access to hepatitis B birth vaccines to prevent infection. 90% of people living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C are diagnosed, and 80% of diagnosed people are cured or treated according to newer expanded eligibility criteria. Hepatitis C can be prevented by adequately screening all donated blood and ensuring safe injection practices in health care settings, at home and especially among people who inject drugs.

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Key priorities for the future include strengthening immunisation programmes by ensuring universal access to hepatitis B vaccination, particularly the birth dose, which is crucial for preventing mother-to-child transmission and protecting future generations from chronic hepatitis B infection. Scaling up access to affordable and reliable hepatitis testing and treatment services, particularly in resource-limited settings, is essential for reducing the burden of viral hepatitis and preventing its long-term complications. Combating the stigma and discrimination associated with viral hepatitis is critical to encouraging individuals to seek testing and treatment, and promoting their overall well-being and social inclusion. Implementing evidence-based harm reduction strategies, such as needle and syringe exchange programs, is vital for preventing the transmission of hepatitis B and C among people who inject drugs. Achieving a hepatitis-free future requires a coordinated and collaborative effort involving governments, healthcare providers, civil society organisations, and communities, working together to address the multifaceted challenges posed by viral hepatitis. Continued investment in research and innovation is essential for developing new diagnostic tools, more effective treatments, and ultimately, a cure for viral hepatitis.

As we commemorate World Hepatitis Day each year, let us renew our commitment to addressing this global health crisis and work towards a future where no one suffers from the devastating consequences of viral hepatitis. Through collective action, sustained advocacy, and an unwavering dedication to public health, we can turn the dream of a hepatitis-free future into a reality.

In My Hands Today…

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Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health – Rick Smith, Bruce Lourie

Pollution is no longer just about belching smokestacks and ugly sewer pipes – now, it’s personal.

The most dangerous pollution has always come from commonplace items in our homes and workplaces. Smith and Lourie ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround all of us all the time. This book exposes the extent to which we are poisoned every day of our lives. For this book, over the period of a week – the kind of week that would be familiar to most people – the authors use their own bodies as the reference point and tell the story of pollution in our modern world, the miscreant corporate giants who manufacture the toxins, the weak-kneed government officials who let it happen, and the effects on people and families across the globe. Parents and concerned citizens will have to read this book.

Key concerns raised in Slow Death by Rubber Duck include flame-retardant chemicals from electronics and household dust polluting our blood; toxins in our urine caused by leaching from plastics and run-of-the-mill shampoos, toothpastes and deodorant; mercury in our blood from eating tuna; and the chemicals that build up in our body when carpets and upholstery off-gas.

Ultimately hopeful, the book empowers readers with some simple ideas for protecting themselves and their families, and changing things for the better.