Category Archives: Preventative Medicine

Jeff Cremonte, a physical therapist and president of LEAP Health, leads his father, Tom Cremonte, left, in a exercise at the Hamburg Fitness Center, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. He'll lead a free Facebook-based weight loss challenge.(Photo: Jennifer Timar/Livingston Daily)

If your New Year's resolution is to meet yourweight loss and physical fitness goals in 2020, you're not alone.

Dropping unwanted weight tops lists of the most common New Year's resolutions, but most people will abandon their quests or fail to reach their goals.

Jeff Cremonte, a doctor of physical therapy and founder of LEAP Health, which operates out of Grand Rapids and Hamburg Township, said he wants to help people stick to their weight loss resolutions in 2020.

Cremonte gained more than 20 pounds in the last few months so he can workto lose it along with other people.

"I wanted to gain weight to show my confidence in the scientific method," said Cremonte, 26,who splits his time living at his family home in Brighton and a place he shares with roommates in Grand Rapids."I wanted to put my own body on the line. My personal goal is to be down to my normal weight at the end of the challenge. We can be accountable together."

He said he normally weighs around 165 pounds and is now nearly 190 pounds.

He will beposting videos and other free informational materialson a Facebook group, "Drop withDoc." To join the group, submit a request atwww.facebook.com/groups/dropwithdoc.

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The Pinckney nativesaid he hopes to harness the power of social media to provide the five-monthweight loss challenge and educational series.

Over the course of five months, he will cover topics includinggoal setting, exercise, nutrition andlifestyle modification.

He said he has scientific, expert advice to shareas a professional physical therapist and fitness business owner.

He received his doctorate in physical therapy from the Duke University School of Medicine.

"In a world of social media, fads and a lot of weight loss diets, it's important to have a reliable source of information," he said.

Cremonte said putting on weight was a struggle, just like dropping weight can be.

"It's all caloric management, energy management," he said. "I changed to calorie-dense foods. To gain weight, you have to intake more calories. I was eating in surplus, at least 1,000 more calories a day consistently for about three months."

LEAP Health President Jeff Cremonte, left, helps his father, Tom Cremonte, do an exercise at the Hamburg Fitness Center, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. He will launch a free Facebook-based weight loss challenge on New Year's Day.(Photo: Jennifer Timar/Livingston Daily)

"Drop with Doc" will showcase hisown weight loss progress. He'll reverse his weight-gaining habits to weight-losing habits.

"I'm going to show you how I am going about it," he said.

Cremonte said his "Drop with Doc" program will ask participants to not rush into working out.

"At the beginning, we're going to take a step back, learn how to set goals and learn emotional strategies to remove barriers to being healthier. I'm not going to suggest people start working out until a week or two into the program," he said. "We'll be planning, like making house blue prints."

He willpost tips about meal preparation, changing daily habits and behaviors, exercises for weight loss and other related topics.

"It will primarily be videos, some of them more instructional, like me in front of a whiteboard. Other videos will give a live look, like I'll be at the store and I'm deciding between two foods, one healthy, one not," he said.

He said he hopes many of the Facebook group's members will post questions, progress updates and success stories, but he said there is no pressure to actively comment.

"If you want to join just to pick up a few pointers and check in and see what's going on, that's good too," he said. "They have the community there for accountability if they want it."

Cremonte said everyone's body is different when it comes to weight loss.

"Five months seems like a long time, but when it comes to real weight loss, that can take longer," he said.

"If you can lose a pound a week or even a pound every two weeks, that's a win," he said. "You want to set goals for behaviors, not results, because what you can control are your behaviors. I want to say, by May, that I worked out and ate correctly for the last five months, because that's something I can control. The weight isn't in your control. If you change the behaviors, the results will eventually come. Whether it takes five months or five years, over the long term, you're going to be successful."

USA Today reported that most people give up on fitness-related New Year's resolutions mere weeks into January, but some stick to them.

About 80%of resolutions fail by the second week of February each year, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Statisticportal Statista surveyed more than 2,000 adults in the country about their 2020 resolutions.Eating healthier tied with better managing finances, with 51% of survey respondents identifying one or both of those as goals. About 50% resolved to be more active and 42% want to loss weight.

LEAP Health is a business Cremonte founded in the summer of 2019. It offers one-on-one fitness, performance and preventative medicine services. Clients can work with Cremonte and other fitness professionals at their home, office or at one of two partnering gyms, Hamburg Fitness Center and Grand Rapids City Gym. More information is available at http://www.leaphealthy.com

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ContactLivingston Daily reporterJennifer Timar at 517-548-7148 or at jtimar@livingstondaily.com.Follow her on Facebook @Jennifer.Timar99 and Twitter @JenTimar99.

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New Year's resolution: Physical therapist intentionally gains weight to help people lose it - Livingston Daily

The confetti is cleaned up and the New Year is underway. Millions of people are working on their resolutions, with some of the most popular goals centering on starting or improving healthy habits.

Some of the most popular resolutions focus on healthy eating, losing weight and quitting smoking or alcohol use. While all of these are important goals that reduce cancer risks, many forget to add preventative exams and screenings to their resolution roll calls.

Dr. Omar Khokhar is a gastroenterologist at OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington. He says simple screenings can save lives, especially when it comes to colon cancer. He suggests a simple conversation with your primary care provider to get the ball rolling.

Everything we know about medicine now is being proactive, Khokhar said. The days of getting sick and then going to the doctor are behind us now. Its about being proactive, looking ahead and doing things today that are going to ward off illness and sickness down the road. The best way to do that is getting screened. And in this particular case with colon cancer, its a completely preventable cancer, so why not get screened?

Colon and rectal cancers are on the rise in America, and at an alarming rate for younger adults. According to the American Cancer Society, since 1994, colon and rectal cancers have increased 51 percent among adults under the age of 50. These concerning numbers have prompted a shift in screening recommendations.

If you are 50 years old today and you havent been screened, you should be screened. And now the new guidelines from the American Cancer Society actually say age 45, Khokhar said. Thats a discussion you should have with your family doctor about whether you want to get screened earlier. But I think that we really need to focus on those two numbers: if you are 50 and you havent been screened, youre overdue. And if youre 45, its at least worth a conversation.

These screenings dont have to be intimidating. The gold standard in colorectal cancer screening is a colonoscopy. However, patients can also choose one of several other non-invasive tests, including home stool tests available by prescription.

Khokhar says to talk to your doctor about your options. However, dont limit your questions to your physician. When it comes to cancer screening recommendations, knowing your family history is important to help with early detection.

To learn more about OSF Medical Group's gastroenterology team and available screenings, click here.

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A healthy approach to the new year - AdVantageNEWS.com

The Food and Drug Administration cleared for market 48 new drugs through its main review office last year. Though that's lower than the 59 approvals seen in 2018, the agency's decisions still provided more treatment options for patients living with cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease and rare muscular disorders.

Notably, the agency ended 2019 with a flurry of earlier-than-expected decisions, bolstering the 2018 count with several drugs it was scheduled to finish review on this year.

It's unclear how or if the approval stream will change in the new year and decade. The first quarter of 2020, though, may prove a bellwether in the near term. Between January and March, the FDA is slated to make calls on a handful of impactful drugs, including these five.

The odds are good that, before January closes out, Aimmune's Palforzia will receive approval to treat one of the most common food allergies. That's because the committee responsible for advising the FDA on whether or not to approve new allergy medicines recently voted in favor of the drug's effectiveness and safety. While the agency doesn't have to follow the guidance of advisory committees, it typically does.

Getting to market isn't the last hurdle for Aimmune, however. The company needs to secure insurance coverage, a task analysts expect will be more difficult if the drug comes at a high list price. Consensus on Wall Street seems to be that the company will set a list price somewhere in the range of $5,000 to $10,000 for the first six months of therapy, with lower costs thereafter.

Aimmune's case could also be complicated by clinical results that showed patients on Palforzia needed epinephrine injections about twice as frequently as those on placebo. The drug's labeling and risk mitigation strategy will therefore be closely watched.

"Overall, we remain cautious on the peanut category as a whole and believe out year consensus sales estimates for Palforzia seem overly optimistic given the complexity of the therapy and tolerability profile for a preventative treatment," Stifel analyst Derek Archila wrote in an early November investor note. The investment bank expects Palforzia sales to hit $65 million in 2020 and $800 million in 2025.

Lowering so-called bad cholesterol has been a profitable endeavor for some pharmaceutical companies. At its peak, Pfizer's Lipitor, now generic, was bringing in revenue of nearly $13 billion a year.

Lipitor is part of a drug class called statins, which continue to hold a significant portion of the cholesterol drug market despite the entry of newer medicines. Amgen's Repatha and Sanofi and Regeneron's Praluent, each a member of another drug class called PCSK9 inhibitors, have continued to fall short of sales expectations because of their relatively high cost.

Yet with roughly a third of the U.S. population having high levels of bad cholesterol, and statins being insufficient for some patients, companies remain interested in carving out market share for statin alternatives or additions. Amgen, Sanofi and Regeneron have shaved down the list price on their medicines, while Novartis in November agreed to shell out almost $10 billion to acquire The Medicines Company and its experimental PCSK9 drug.

Esperion may provide an additional option with bempedoic acid, a prodrug that inhibits an enzyme involved in cholesterol production. The Michigan-based company should find out by Feb. 21 whether regulators have cleared its drug. Another approval application for the combination of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe the active ingredient in Merck & Co.'s Zetia has a review deadline of Feb. 26.

Though Esperion's drug raised some safety concerns, a series of five late-stage trials support its efficacy. The FDA also didn't require an advisory committee meeting for the drug, which analysts said bodes well for its chances of approval.

Blueprint may get its first marketable drug with avapritinib, a treatment for patients who have certain kinds of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The FDA is scheduled to make an approval decision by Feb. 14.

If approved, Blueprints drug would join a growing wave of targeted cancer therapies to reach market. That field has experienced an uptick in investment as well as big pharma interest, as evidenced by the recent buyouts of Loxo Oncology, Array BioPharma and Ignyta.

Avapritinib, however, has been the cause of some investor worries over the last few months. In late October, Blueprint disclosed that the FDA had split the drugs approval application which was going after two different portions of the adult gastrointestinal cancer population into two parts. The decision keeps one approval decision on track for the Feb. 14 deadline, but pushes the other back three months.

Analysts at SVB Leerink noted how this delay is problematic for Blueprint, as it could narrow the amount of time avapritinib has on market before the potential entry of a rival medicine from Deciphera Pharmaceuticals.

Allergan achieved an industry first last month, when its drug Ubrelvy part of a drug class known as CGRP inhibitors gained approval as an oral acute treatment for episodic migraine. Until that point, the FDA had only approved CGRP inhibitors like Amgen's Aimovig and Eli Lilly's Emgality, both injections, to prevent these severe headaches from happening.

But Ubrelvy may not have much time without direct competition. Biohaven's rimegepant, which, like Ubrelvy, is an oral CGRP inhibitor, could also gain approval in episodic migraine treatment before the end of the first quarter.

Piper Jaffray analyst Tyler Van Buren wrote in a recent note that, in light of Ubrelvy's approval, regulators are likely to sign off on Biohaven's drug as well. The investment bank models $40 million in rimegepant sales next year and more than $1 billion by 2024.

Bristol-Myers may have closed on its historic $74 billion Celgene acquisition, but its payments aren't yet complete. Former Celgene shareholders may still take home an additional $9 per share if three of the biotech's experimental drugs secure approval over the next two years.

One of those drugs is ozanimod, which targets the same receptor protein as Novartis' blockbuster multiple sclerosis medicine Gilenya.

Ozanimod has already faced one setback, when the FDA initially refused to review its application because of incomplete non-clinical pharmacology sections. Celgene resubmitted the application a year later, in March 2018, and expects to see an approval decision by March 25.

Despite the longer-than-expected regulatory timeline, ozanimod remains supported by positive clinical readouts. Salim Syed of Mizuho Securities USA contends that, "based on the data in the public domain, we don't see a reason for the drug to not get approved."

Read more:
5 FDA approval decisions to watch in the 1st quarter - BioPharma Dive

Amanda Kooser, provided by

NASA astronaut's blood clot in space gets treated by doctor on Earth

This article, NASA astronaut's blood clot in space gets treated by doctor on Earth, originally appeared on CNET.com.

It was like Grey's Anatomy in microgravity.

A NASA astronaut developed a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis - DVT) in the jugular vein partway through a long-term mission on the International Space Station. The space agency called in University of North Carolina doctor Stephan Moll, a blood-clot expert, to help develop a treatment plan for the tricky situation.

UNC School of Medicine blood-clot expert Stephan Moll at NASA.

NASA hasn't revealed the crew member's name or when the incident happened, though the astronaut discovered the clot two months into a six-month mission while getting a neck ultrasound for a research study.

When working with challenging cases, doctors often look to the medical record to see how previous occurrences have been handled. But there was no precedent for treating a blood clot in space.

"Knowing there are no emergency rooms in space, we had to weigh our options very carefully," Moll said in a UNC statement on Thursday.

Moll and a NASA medical team chose to treat the clot with blood thinners. The limited on-board supply of medicine required carefully meting out the dose until a fresh cargo shipment arrived from Earth.

The astronaut went through about 40 days of injections before switching to an oral pill. The NASA crew member discontinued the pills shortly before returning to Earth and required no follow-up treatment for the clot.

Moll co-authored a case study on the clot published in the The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.

The case study sheds some new light onNASA research published in November 2019 that looked into issues with astronaut blood flow during long-duration space missions. The report described the jugular clot in an otherwise healthy astronaut as "a newly discovered risk associated with spaceflight."

Moll and NASA scientists have called for more research into blood clots in space, including treatments and potential preventative measures.

"How do you minimize risk for DVT? Should there be more medications for it kept on the ISS? All of these questions need answering, especially with the plan that astronauts will embark on longer missions to the moon and Mars," Moll said.

Continued here:
NASA astronaut's blood clot in space gets treated by doctor on Earth - SFGate

Facebook removed personal injury advertisements early this week that contained misleading information about medications designed to prevent the spread of HIV, after months of outcry from LGBTQ organizations like GLAAD, The Washington Post reported. Encouraging people at risk of HIV to take these medications is a key strategy in efforts to reduce the transmission of the virus so misinformation around this drug is especially concerning. But doctors and public health experts have been concerned for years about the risks posed by similar ads from personal injury lawyers, without the same level of public outcry.

These types of ads have been ignored for so many years, says Liz Tippett, a professor studying drug injury ads at the University of Oregon School of Law.

Lawyers spend millions advertising lawsuits that claim people were injured by a drug or medical device companys products. These ads are often on television and serve as a way to bring in new clients. The ads usually use strong language to highlight the potential harms or risks that come with a particular drug and that language can affect how risky consumers think a drug or medical device is. Most ads dont tell viewers to talk with a doctor, and some dont disclose that theyre sponsored by lawyers.

In this case, the Facebook ads were created by personal injury lawyers bringing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies that make the medicine PrEP. The ads claim that the medication is harmful. Advocates warned that the ads scared patients away from the preventative drugs, which are considered highly effective by the Centers for Disease Control.

Research shows that these types of personal injury ads make people more likely to think a drug or medical device is risky, and can cause people to be less likely to decide to fill a prescription for a particular drug. In 2017, the US House Judiciary Committee held hearings on the advertising practices, and in 2016, the American Medical Association called for ads to include warnings that patients should speak to doctors about any concerns they have.

But patients havent mobilized around the issue before. Its very uncommon, says Lars Noah, law professor at the University of Florida. Its never reached the point that a community of patient activists would become alarmed. That might be because, before this point, advertisements typically didnt target drugs that were as important for public health as PrEP. Drugs advertised against to this point were often drugs that were marketed, but werent of a high therapeutic value, he says.

The response to these ads have also clearly focused on patient harm, Tippett says. In the past, trying to do something about these ads has been viewed as trying to help pharmaceutical companies, she says. This is the first really clear example of seeing consumer advocacy as the response.

The placement of these ads on Facebook brings up additional concerns not seen with television ads, she says: they can be targeted to specific demographic groups, which might increase their potency. Like on television, its not clear in many cases that the ads are sponsored by lawyers. Generally, these dont contain enough information to help people activate their natural defense mechanisms for this type of information, she says.

Facebook and other social media platforms are the sites of the next wave of these types of drug injury ads, says Jesse King, assistant professor of marketing at Weber State University. I think lawyers have been trying to figure out how to get these ads online for a while, he says. Ive heard their use is increasing.

However, social media may also have made it easier for the community responding to these particular ads to mobilize, Tippett says. It says who sponsored it, you can trace it back, and Facebook has an ad database. None of that is available when it comes to TV. In some ways, theres more potential accountability because theres a paper trail.

On social media, groups can also run counter advertisements to counteract drug injury ad messaging. Research shows that counter publicity may help to minimize or mitigate the impact ads have on perceptions of drug risk, she says.

The outcry over the PrEP advertisements, and the subsequent response, doesnt necessarily signal a shift in the way platforms, consumers, and lawyers handle drug injury ads, Noah says. The case is probably an outlier: the lawyers ads targeted a highly effective medicine and activated a particularly vocal community in response. Hes not optimistic it will trigger widespread change. But if it does, and leads to a closer look at the whole category of drug advertising by lawyers, I think that would be wonderful, he says.

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Ads for drug injury lawsuits were a problem long before they targeted HIV prevention medication - The Verge

HOUSTON The death of a 5-year-old boy is being investigated as a possible bacterial meningitis case.

The Montgomery County Public Health District said the case was reported to them on New Years Eve.

Myles Cheathams family told KHOU 11 the boy fell ill on Dec. 28 and died two days later at Texas Childrens Hospital in The Woodlands. MCPHD officials said Myles family was given preventative treatment and there is no risk to the general public.

Dr. Hana El Sahly, associate professor of molecular biology, microbiology and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, said not everyone who comes in contact with the bacteria that causes meningitis will get sick.

For most people the acquisition goes unnoticed," Dr. El Sahly said.

That is why its so important to be aware of your body. Dr. El Sahly said bacteria that can cause infections like meningitis are everywhere and are very serious.

People with weaker immune systems are more likely to develop meningitis.

Its usually coming in contact with someone who has the bacteria in their upper respiratory tract and transmission to another person, she said.

Dr. El Sahly said the disease causes inflammation of the lining of the brain. She said getting sick can happen really quickly.

Symptoms to be on the lookout for include fever, headaches, stiffness of the neck, nausea and vomiting.

Neurologic findings like fever and all of a sudden an inability to move or having particular neurologic dysfunction," Dr. El Sahly said.

She urges people to keep track how theyre feeling especially when something seems out of the ordinary.

Fever on its own that resolves or responds to certain medications should not be alarming, Dr. El Sahly said.

She added hygiene is crucial and so is keeping up with vaccines because they can help lower the risk of developing infectious diseases like meningitis.

RELATED: Vaccine group announces creation of Ebola vaccine stockpile

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What is bacterial meningitis and how do you protect yourself? - KHOU.com

The expansion of health coverage is certainly something to celebrate this holiday season. As 49,000 Idahoans and counting will have health coverage due to Medicaid expansion, we can all be grateful for the peace of mind, economic security and improved health that these families will enjoy. And we must continue to work together to help Idahoans get and keep the health coverage they need. As a physician practicing in rural Idaho, Im looking forward to more members of our community being able to receive preventative care and address chronic conditions that have gone untreated for far too long.

Medicaid makes it possible for low-income Idahoans to be healthy making sure they can work and take care of their families. It allows them to see a doctor when they are sick, get check-ups, buy medications and go to the hospital without fear of choosing between their health and groceries or paying their rent/mortgage. Medicaid offers financial protection for families so they dont have to go bankrupt when they face an unexpected illness or need to go to the hospital.

Medicaid expansion was achieved in Idaho through a bipartisan effort that included the support of former Gov. Butch Otter and several Republican lawmakers with deep knowledge and experience with Idahos health system. While a small group of Idaho legislators want to play Grinch and spread fear about people being kicked off private health coverage, the truth is that these Idahoans will still have health coverage without the burden of extra out-of-pocket costs that make their private plans difficult to afford.

Medicaid is more cost-effective and offers better health coverage for the vast majority of Idahoans who will qualify for Medicaid expansion. Efforts to keep some Idahoans who are newly eligible for Medicaid expansion on the state exchange would have cost taxpayers more money and added to the federal deficit, which is why the Trump administration rejected Idaho lawmakers request to do so.

Health care providers across Idaho, from hospitals, to physicians, to community clinics, have embraced Medicaid expansion and are working hard to enroll Idahoans and care for these individuals. As a physician, I know that Im looking forward to treating patients earlier before they have costly, more serious health conditions.

Medicaid expansion is a gift for Idaho. Idahoans who are struggling to make ends meet will now have access to health coverage and can receive preventative care to keep them healthy, or finally treat chronic conditions that have damaged their quality of life and ability to work. By 2022, Medicaid expansion will result in savings or offsets to the state totaling over $31 million, with a net savings of $3.5 million annually. Starting on Jan. 1, Idahoans across the state will have health coverage, reducing uncompensated care costs for rural hospitals, helping fund more Idaho physicians, saving local communities money and creating over $16 million in new economic activity. Its time to put politics aside and come together to fully support Medicaid expansion in Idaho.

Dr. Keith Davis is a family medicine doctor in Shoshone, Idaho and is affiliated with two hospitals in the Magic Valley. He is the owner, CEO and medical director of Shoshone Family Medical Center, where he has practiced for over 30 years. He received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine.

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Medicaid expansion is a gift - Post Register

NewsPoliticsIt may take more than positive thinking and a change in calendars to improve the economy, personal finances, health and sense of unity

Wednesday, 1st January 2020, 11:46 am

Boris Johnsons New Year message was brimming with optimism as he said the country could now turn the page on division, rancour and uncertainty which has dominated public life and held us back for far too long.

From his Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, there was a similar message to start the New Year. In an article for conservativehome.com, Mr Hancock said the coming decade holds great promise in the treatment of illness, through technology and social prescribing.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise

But given Brexit will happen at the end of this month, heralding an uncertain period for the economy and society, can the upbeat messages really match the reality of what lies ahead?

People are more optimistic than a year ago

A YouGov poll for The Times seems to suggest that the public are feeling generally more optimistic about their financial prospects in the coming year than they were last year - although a majority still feel they could worsen.

It is all relative: 20 per cent expect an improvement in prospects, up from 13 per cent a year ago, while 27 per cent are gloomy about their own finances, a figure which has, nevertheless, fallen from 40 per cent last year.

The survey found 24 per cent believed the economy was in good shape, compared with 18 per cent a year earlier while 34 per cent believed it was doing badly, down from 41 per cent.

Yet it is going to take more than just positive thinking and a change in calendars to improve the nation's economy, personal finances, health and sense of unity.

When Britain leaves the European Union on 31 January, there will still be uncertainty over the countrys future trading arrangements with both the EU and the rest of the world.

Warnings of recession

Post-Brexit Britain could mean an improvement for the nations finances, or it could spell trouble - particularly because there have been warnings of recession for other major economies at the start of this decade.

Nobody really knows how the UK economy will fare after Brexit, as no major country has left the EU before.

On health, Mr Hancock admitted in his article that great challenges as well as incredible promise lies ahead. He is right to say that harnessing new technology in the NHS will transform lives - including genome sequencing, which will be able to identify future health conditions at birth, focusing on preventative medicine which could in turn save the NHS billions.

The Health Secretary also placed great focus on new research in tackling dementia, one of the underlying drivers in the social care crisis that is only deepening as the population gradually ages.

Yet, despite the optimistic messages on health and social care, the fact remains that the NHS, according to experts, needs more money than has been pledged even in this supposed post-austerity era.

It is also the case that a long-term plan for tackling social care - not just focusing on future treatment for dementia or short-term funding boosts - has not been published by the government.

And given the period of division over Brexit and austerity that the country has just been through in the past decade, it is all too easy for the Prime Minister to say that a page can be turned, as if the change of a date can bring an end to societys troubles and political argument.

Mr Johnson may have overcome some disunity in Parliament with his 80-seat majority, but Scottish independence is back on the agenda after the SNPs landslide at the election, and the rest of the country may feel it needs to see more evidence that Project Positive can translate into reality.

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Will the rhetoric of Boris Johnson's New Year's Project Positive message match the reality? - inews

WeTheTrillions wants to make it easier for people - especially women - to eat healthier, with an ... [+] emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods.

Its long been said that food is medicine, but the healthcare system doesnt always treat it as such. Despite the fact that we need to eat every day, multiple times a day, just to stay alive, medical schools in the U.S. provide on average only 19 hours of nutritional education throughout a doctors training.

As a result, your doctor may be able to prescribe you a medicine to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, or any number of other conditions, but they simply might not know how to advise you to try to prevent illness in the first place.

But some folks are trying to change that. WeTheTrillions is a public benefit corporation that is approaching nutritious food as not just part of a healthy lifestyle, but as one of the first to leverage technology and prescription-grade delivered meals as the frontlines of preventative healthcare to stop the epidemic of chronic conditions touching more than 60 percent of adults in the US. The company is named for the trillions of microbes in each of our gut biomes along with trillions of cells, which make up the central focus of the companys food-as-medicine because of the gut biomes role in well, virtually every part of our lives and bodies.

WeTheTrillions main product is ready-to-eat customized meal and snack options, and those who subscribe to their weekly meal plans also have access to health specialists to discuss and stay on top of their goals and concerns. They also provide software to clinicians so they can track progress and help patients reach tangible results through a customized food program. This could be for patients suffering from IBS, diabetes, anemia or any other female-related hormonal imbalances.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 percent of doctors recommendations to patients with chronic illnesses are not followed and this number goes up to more than 70 percent when it comes to lifestyle changes like dietary guidelines, says Lamiaa Bounahmidi, Founder and CEO of WeTheTrillions. Closing that gap is already making WeTheTrillions an appealing solution to hundreds of doctors across the US who see this as an immediate intervention to leverage theory and practice for preventative healthcare and help save trillions of dollars in healthcare bills - effectively staunching the leading public health crisis of the 21st century: chronic disease.

To know your eligibility for a WeTheTrillions program, you first start by filling out a 3-minute online intake quiz and then have a 20-min call with a health specialist to fully customize your plan and agree on clear target biomarkers levels to reach. The process is based on an aggregation of evidence-based randomized controlled trials to provide a fully science-driven approach beyond fad diets.

Notably, theyre also looking to set up machines in urban and rural food deserts that offer affordable options via subsidization through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other government assistance programs. And all the food is 100% plant-based, a choice justified by medical evidence that currently points to a veggie-heavy diet for its abilities to fight heart disease, diabetes, and strokes as well as hormonal balance and gut health.

But their approach to food as preventative medicine is more specific and science-backed than simply offering healthy plant-based foods. While the meals are, theoretically, for anyone looking to eat well and improve their health, much of the emphasis is on using food to treat Polycystic ovary syndrome, menopause symptoms, fertility, and other issues pertaining to womens reproductive health. Even the general health issues WeTheTrillions seeks to address, like anemia, often disproportionately affect women, especially women of color.

Theres a reason to believe that this method of specifically targeting womens reproductive and general health could be an effective strategy in improving the overall health of society. Overwhelming evidence links maternal health to that of children, which together affect the overall health of society. A society with healthy women is more likely to have healthy children who will grow into healthy adults. WeTheTrillions emphasis on the health of female-sexed people is not exclusive, but it is strong and forward-thinking.

There are a plethora of premade or prepped meal kits on the market now, many of which are vegan, organic, and health-focused. Not all of them, however, can claim to have the medical emphasis of WeTheTrillions, with its specific issue-based meal plans and grand focus on making food accessible via work, school, physicians, and public assistance.In a way, its simplicity is inspiring: to improve the health of society at large, eat plants. The work of doctors, scientists, and public health experts boil down to some tasty vegetables on your plate customized to your unique health needs.

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WeTheTrillions Says The Future Of Public Health Is Female And Plant-Based - Forbes

We all know that high blood pressure increases the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke but rarely is information presented on the risks of low blood pressure. A number of medical studies have claimed little or no serious medical risk associated with low blood pressure with serious medical risk only being defined as a heart attack and stroke. Other medical studies suggest that low blood pressure does increase the risk of coronary artery disease, falling and even increases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In both traditional and on-traditional medicine, low blood pressure is usually ignored even if there are clinical findings of the blood pressure being too low.

The medical risks of chronic high blood pressure are now well defined. But it was not always the case. At the turn of the century, high blood pressure was so common in the elderly that it was considered the natural result of aging. The famous Framingham Heart Study (1949-1952) showed that those with a systolic blood pressure over 159 had a three to six times increased of heart disease. Since then the relationship between high blood pressure and illnesses has been clearly delineated. As a result, many medications are available to lower high blood pressure are available and numerous lives saved.

Low blood pressure is not uncommon but with the increasing use of medications, not limited to blood pressure medications, low blood pressure has become a relatively common. Besides high blood pressure medications, drugs often used for Parkinson's disease, depression/anxiety, sedative-hypnotics, pain medications and muscle relaxants all can cause low blood pressure. This effect can be intensified when specific medications are used in combination.

There is limited clinical research on low blood pressure but two recent medical studies are pertinent today. One large study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine looked at the risk of falls and loss of consciousness in almost one half a million people with low blood pressure. The concluded that a systolic blood pressure less than 110 significantly increased the risk of serious falls and loss of consciousness.

Another study in the Indian Heart Journal found that there is an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in people who had a history of dizziness with standing (serious low blood pressure). Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that increases the risk of blood clots, stroke and heart failure. It most commonly occurs in the elderly as does low blood pressure. Interestingly high blood pressure is also a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. In this study low blood pressure also increased the risk of stroke and a 50 to 100 percent increased mortality rate probably secondary to a higher incidence of coronary heart disease and heart failure.

Traditional therapy for low blood pressure includes graded exercise, generous salt intake and caution going from sitting/laying to standing. I have found that a critical review of a patient's medications, select herbs and regular meditation can be curative. Low blood pressure should be taken as seriously as high blood pressure.

Dr. Patrick Massey, M.D., Ph.D., is medical director of complementary and alternative medicine at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, and president of ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy, 1544 Nerge Road, Elk Grove Village.

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Low blood pressure is a risk and should be taken seriously - Chicago Daily Herald