Hello health and wellness-minded readers, my name is Caitlin and I’m here to keep you up to date with the latest health news you may have missed and what it means for you.
Here’s what our team looked into this week:
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Social media users are wearing chin straps to sleep in the hopes of reducing snoring and looking “sleepier”. But are the health claims genuine? Kelly Justich spoke to experts to ask if they would recommend the habit.
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Do you take a daily multivitamin? Colin Miller examines why taking a pill doesn’t actually help you live longer, even if it has other benefits.
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Plant-based vs. real meat: Which is better for your heart health? A new study has the answer, but experts say it’s not that simple.
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Kayla Blanton has bad news for you: experts don’t want you to drink gin and tonics on a plane, but if you insist (wink, wink), here’s how to do it right.
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Gun violence is a major health issue. Should doctors be talking to their patients about it? Here are some perspectives on the issue.
Here are three other news stories you need to know this week.
🦠 COVID cases are on the rise
COVID-19 cases have been on the rise this summer, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reporting rising cases in at least 44 states as of June 25. Experts say more contagious subvariants such as KP.3 and KP.2 (part of the FLiRT variant) and LB.1 (which may be more contagious than the KP variant) are fueling the rise in cases.
What this means for you: This is not the first summer wave of COVID-19 we have seen, and while outdoor gatherings (more common in the summer) may lead to fewer infections, increased travel and general activity with other people is one reason the virus becomes more active as the weather gets warmer.
Fortunately, none of these spreading variants are thought to cause more severe disease. Symptoms doctors commonly see include fever, sore throat, and cough, as well as muscle aches and fatigue. However, it is important to note that infection can lead to long-term COVID-19, and new reports highlight the severity of the disease, which can lead to chronic fatigue and other symptoms.
The usual measures to avoid COVID-19 remain valid, such as wearing a quality mask, avoiding contact with sick people and getting up-to-date on vaccinations, which are due to be released later this year.
🦟 Mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise
This week, the CDC reported that Americans are at increased risk of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that causes flu-like symptoms and can be fatal. While rising temperatures due to climate change mean there are more dengue-infected mosquitoes than usual, summer is also a particularly dangerous time for Americans due to increased travel to places like Puerto Rico. The Caribbean island and U.S. territory previously declared a public health emergency after nearly 1,500 cases of dengue. The virus is also ever-present in American Samoa, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, with sporadic cases and small outbreaks in Florida, Hawaii, and Texas.
What this means for you: In the United States, your best bet is to stay away from standing water, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. You can also check the dengue status in your area (or where you are traveling) to see if you need to take other precautions, like using an EPA-registered repellent. To be effective, the repellent should contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), paramenthan-3,8-diol (PMD), and/or 2-undecanone.
🍚 Rice Zenpic is the latest wellness trend
TikTok users are claiming they’ve seen incredible weight loss thanks to a new drink called “Rice Zempik,” a play on the brand name Ozempic, a drug used to manage diabetes and touted for its weight-loss side effect. Made from leftover starchy rice water and lime juice, Rice Zempik drink is said to act as an appetite suppressant, and some claim they can lose up to 14 pounds a week sipping the starchy beverage.
What this means for you: This isn’t the first food concoction to claim to mimic the effects of semaglutide. Previously, social media users have claimed that “Oatsenpic” (which is basically the same idea as “Ricezenpic” but with a blend of oats instead of rice) can lead to rapid weight loss and appetite suppression. Like the Oatsenpic before it, Ricezenpic is little more than a cleverly named social media trend with limited effectiveness at actual weight loss.
There is no scientific basis to believe that rice cereals help with weight loss. While starches may provide energy and expand in the stomach, making you feel full, there is no mechanism by which this recipe actually helps you lose weight. Semaglutide, on the other hand, mimics the hormones that regulate blood sugar and appetite. This reduces “food noise” – intrusive thoughts about food and physical feelings of hunger – and helps maintain a calorie deficit that leads to weight loss.
