Two dozen people in Brooklyn landed in a local emergency room after smoking fake pot. Police officers were called to the scene after multiple people complained about bad reactions to synthetic marijuana.

According to police, 25 New Yorkers were rushed to the hospital because of side-effects to the drug. Medics said all patients’ conditions have stabilized and their life is not at risk anymore.

Patients said they used a drug called synthetic marijuana that contains no real marijuana. Fake weed aka K2 is made of plants that are coated in chemicals which can be inhaled with a vaporizer or smoked like real marijuana.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) warns that the side-effects of fake pot can be life-threatening, “unpredictable,” and more dangerous than those of real marijuana.

Fake Pot Can Be Deadly

All 25 patients overdosed on the false drug at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway in a well-known location by the police. Two years ago, more than 30 people experienced adverse side-effects to fake pot in a single day at the same location.

Between July 11 and July 13, 2016, around 100 pot users were rushed to the hospital after using false weed, according to a report by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Earlier this year, the NIH warned pot users in four states including Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Maryland against the dangers of synthetic pot. The most cases related to the drug were reported in Illinois.

In April, more than 100 pot users were taken to the hospital with severe bleeding problems from fake pot laced with a chemical normally used as rat poison. Of those patients, three couldn’t be saved, according to a report by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Image Source: Flickr

Investigators found that a rheumatologist from Texas intentionally falsely diagnosed patients to give them treatments they didn’t need to fund his lavish lifestyle. Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada allegedly prescribed even chemotherapy to patients that had no use of it.

The 61-year-old doctor is now accused of running a health care fraud worth $240 million which included false treatments and misdiagnoses. Some patients were told that they had rheumatoid arthritis or cancer so that the doc could get more money.

Zamora-Quezada allegedly used the money to buy several luxury homes in Mexico and Colorado, a private jet plane, and a luxury car that had his initials on it. One of his former patients, Maria Zapata, told investigators that she visited the doctor because her knees were hurting.

Zamora-Quezada told her she had arthritis and prescribed her injections in her knees. When the woman’s husband questioned the treatment, the doctor assured the couple that the shots would “strengthen the cartilage” in no time.

When her legs become discolored, the woman went to a second specialist who told her that she had been misdiagnosed.

Doctor Was Behind International Money-Laundering Scheme

Former patient Nora Rodriguez recalls that the doctor violently removed her from his office when she asked him why she wasn’t getting any better with the treatment he had prescribed.

 He kept getting upset when I was asking him why I was feeling worse and not getting better,

the woman told CNN.

She added that Zamora-Quezada yelled at her and asked her to get out of the office as she was no longer his patient.

Prosecutors reported that the doctor’s office was a hub for a $240 million money-laundering scheme that was run from Mexico.
Image Source: Pixabay

A new study suggests that people having physically demanding jobs are more likely to die prematurely than their peers working less strenuously.

The study which appeared this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that we have a “physical activity paradox.” The meta-analysis included 17 past studies about leisure and hard work.

Researchers found that exercising while not at work is very healthy but overdoing it at work can lead to a premature death.

Strenuous jobs were tied to 18 percent higher risk of premature death in men. Researchers found no similar link in women with physically challenging jobs.

Past studies have tied physical activity at work to many health benefits. For instance, a British study from the 1950s found that London tram conductors had a lower risk of heart disease than drivers. Unlike drivers, conductors had an active job.

However, tram conductors’ physical activity at work cannot be compared to the physical activity of a construction or warehouse workers.

Strenuous Jobs Can Literally Kill You

Because of technological advances, physically demanding jobs have been greatly reduced in recent decades. So, there are very few highly active occupations out there, and people engaged in them usually come from a low socioeconomic layer.

Past studies have shown that poor people are in worse health condition than better-off people. What’s more, poor people are more likely to be heavy drinkers or smokers and eat less healthy, which can lead to an early death too.

Now, the latest study suggests that a strenuous job can trim their lives even further. Researchers insist that despite the other risk factors, a physically challenging occupation can lead to a poorer life outcome in men.

Study authors explained that physically demanding jobs require people to stay active for long periods of times, sometimes between six and eight hours, with little time for recovery. By contrast, physical activity as a pastime leaves a lot of room for resting and deloading.
Image Source: Pexels

The World Health Organization has been working on a plan to help countries remove the unhealthy trans fats from the world’s food supply by 2023. The fats, which are found in margarines, shortenings, and some cooking oils are known to boost the risk of heart disease, stroke, and heart attack.

In 2004, Denmark was the first state to ban the unhealthy fats via a law. Some countries soon followed suit, but the WHO thinks that things are moving to slow. In the U.S., for instance, it took the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 40 years to outlaw trans fats.

Meanwhile, across many countries around the world, people and businesses are still using hydrogenated oils for frying or baking food. According to WHO’s numbers, trans fats kill 500,000 people every year globally.

The organization partnered with the Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies to make a change. On Monday, the WHO unveiled a guide called “Replace” that instructs governments on how to gradually replace trans fats with healthier alternatives over the next five years.

Trans Fats Literally Kill People

The agency is confident that the change could prevent 10 million deaths worldwide by cutting down the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Trans fat is an unnecessary toxic chemical that kills,

former CDC official Dr. Tom Frieden, who was behind the initiative, said.

It is the first time in WHO’s history that the international body calls for the total elimination of a risk factor for a noncommunicable disease. The organization has taken such strict measures only in the cases of communicable diseases like river blindness or smallpox.

Frieden explained that modern-day disease like diabetes and heart conditions have become deadlier than infectious diseases in many countries of the world.
Image Source: PxHere

A recent study has found a link between eating healthy and a shaper hearing ability in women. Brigham researchers have reported that sticking to a healthy diet can slash the chance of hearing loss by 30%.

The new study is in line with past studies that have found that some foods can affect hearing loss risk.

Study authors focused on the link between hearing loss and three types of diet: the DASH diet, the AHEI-2010 diet, and the Alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED). Around 71,000 women were involved in the study and tracked for 22 years.

The analysis revealed that eating healthy can curb the risk of hearing loss.

Interestingly, we observed that those following an overall healthy diet had a lower risk of moderate or worse hearing loss,

lead author Sharon Curhan noted.

Curhan explained that a healthy diet can boost the good health while trimming the hearing loss risk.

Healthy Diets Linked to Better Hearing Ability

In the study, researchers surveyed the women on the DASH and aMED diets on their dietary habits every four years. Those women had a 30% lower risk of developing an impaired hearing ability than women following less healthier diets.

A separate analysis focusing on 33,000 women revealed that the risk might be curbed even more than 30%. This analysis had more details on participants’ hearing ability and its evolution over time.

The greatest health benefits for the hearing ability were observed in the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 or AHEI-2010 diet. The AHEI diet is high in vegetables, fruit, grains, and olive oil. It also includes fish, while it cuts the intake of alcohol.

The DASH diet, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is very low in salt and includes fresh fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy.

The findings appeared in The Journal of Nutrition.
Image Source: Wikimedia

Over the last five years, the diagnoses of major depression or clinical depression have jumped 47% among Millennials. Experts expect depression to become the top cause for a shorter life by 2030.

Overall, the number of cases of depression jumped 33% between 2013 and 2018, according to a report from Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the nation’s biggest health insurers.

The report was based on the insurance claims of Blue Cross’ 41 million members. The company deemed the condition the “second most impactful condition” for insured Americans after high blood pressure.

People living with depression also develop a series of health issues including substance abuse, eating disorders, and chronic illnesses. These people usually need more health care and the conditions get worse over time if they are left untreated.

Blue Cross’ chief medical officer, Trent Haywood, noted that depression can slash 9.7 years of life expectancy in both men and women.

Teen Girls’ Depression Rates Are 65% Higher

More depression cases have been reported for every age group, but the most affected are the younger population. In just five years, depression rates jumped 65% among teen girls, and 47% among Millennials and teen boys. Women are more likely to develop the condition than men, the report shows.

Some U.S. states are more likely to have high depression rates than others. Depression rates in Utah, Rhode Island, and Minnesota currently stand at 6%. In Hawaii, only 2% of the population has been diagnosed with major depression. Yet the differences may be caused by different screening methods and socioeconomic discrepancies across the said states.

It is worth noting that these alarming numbers refer only to the privately insured population. Among the general population, the situation could be much worse, researchers warn.
Image Source: Pixabay

In a bid to help curb the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation, Walmart unveiled new restrictions on drug prescriptions at its locations. Under the new rules, all prescriptions will be filled digitally, and the duration of the prescriptions will be greatly limited.

On Monday, the retailer said it would cut acute opioid prescriptions to seven days and lower the Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) for these opioids. MMEs are guides that enable pharmacists to give the right dosage for each opioid.

Walmart has more than 5,000 locations.

The new limitations are a response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new recommendations. CDC researchers recently found that people who take opioids for at least a day have a 6% higher risk of becoming addicted. The people who take the drugs for eight days or more have a 13.5% higher risk of getting hooked.

CDC also reported that patients who take larger doses of the drugs have a higher risk of being killed by an overdose.

Walmart Poised to Fight Off the Opioid Epidemic

In some states, the duration of opioid prescriptions is already limited to up to seven days. Walmart announced that it will comply with local laws in states that set the duration to less than seven days.

Starting 2020, the retailer will require all prescriptions for controlled substances to be filed electronically. The company thinks that a digital system would prevent errors and fraud.

It is not the first time the U.S. retail giant takes measures to help fix the nation’s opioid epidemic. In January, the company unveiled a safer way of getting rid of unused opioids at home. Walmart encouraged opioid users to pour a mixture of water and a powder called DisposeRx in the containers of leftover drugs to make it impossible to remove the drugs from the containers.
Image Source: Flickr

A new annual poll has revealed that Americans are growing more anxious by the year. The American Psychiatric Association found that Americans are chiefly stressed out about their health, safety, and finances.

The poll which involved more than 1,000 people shows that the U.S.A. is affected by a wave of financial anxiety, with many Americans dreading paying the bills. According to the APA, the national anxiety score jumped 5 points to 51 from last year’s levels.

This means that most Americans now have anxiety issues. Around two-thirds of participants said they were anxious or severely anxious about paying for their expenses or bills. The national financial anxiety score was 56% last year.

However, not all people are equally worried about their finances. The poll revealed that women tend to stress themselves out more than men when it comes to the budget. Women also scored higher than men on the anxiety scale when compared to last year’s levels.

Women More Anxious than Men

According to the poll, 57% of American women and 38% of American men reported feeling more anxious than they were last year. What’s more, 80% of Hispanics said the bills gave them anxiety. Eighty percent of women and adults in the 18-to-34 age bracket reported stressing themselves out over the bills.

Just one in five Americans said they were less anxious than they were in 2017, with 39% being more stressed out this year.

APA president Anita Everett explained that the higher levels of anxiety and stress can lead to serious health issues, including mental health problems which can have a disastrous impact on families. Yet Americans were more anxious about safety and health than not being able to make ends meet.

America’s financial stress is mainly caused by stagnant wages, higher credit card debt, and high housing costs.

Image Source: Flickr

According to a recent study, smartphones and cordless phones could lead to a deadly form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

Researchers found that the rates of glioblastoma jumped twofold from 1995 to 2015, which is the same period people have started using mobile phones.

The research shows that the number of patients with glioblastoma skyrocketed from 2.4 to 5.0 over just two decades. Also, researchers found that many of the brain tumors were located in that part of the brain that is closer to a mobile phone in use.

The findings appeared this week in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health.

The new research reflects an “alarming” cancer trend. Researchers urge authorities not to brush the study under the carpet like it happened with similar other studies. It is worth noting that in the case of tobacco smoking, the initial discovery of a link between the habit and lung cancer had drawn fierce opposition and criticism.

Brain Cancer Is Still Rare

Past studies have also found that mobile phone use can lead to brain changes and brain tumors. However, there are other risk factors that may fuel brain cancer.

Lead author Alasdair Philips noted that the latest research is not about mobile phones, but about the changes in the brain and the risk of cancer. Philips noted that most recent gliomas appeared in the temporal and frontal lobe areas of the brain.

In other words, cancer made a debut in those brain areas that are the closest to your ear and forehead. This is why scientists suspect that mobile phones may have played a huge part in brain cancer.

Dr. Philips also said that brain tumors are a rare occurrence, so even if the latest findings hold water, the risk of brain cancer remains relatively low.

Nevertheless, scientists are still divided over the topic. While some studies found no link between mobile phone use and cancer, other studies have found such link.
Image Source: Flickr

A new study has revealed that exposure to tablets’ and smartphones’ blue light can dramatically increase the risk of prostate and breast cancer among heavy users. The risk is higher in people that use the devices at night.

University of Exeter researchers found that the blue light from screens can double the risk of prostate and breast cancer.

Past studies have shown that exposure to the blue light can severely disrupt the body clock, with people using mobile devices before bedtime having a hard time falling asleep.

The new study also found that the blue light-related changes affecting the hormonal system can lead to cancer. It is worth noting that we are exposed to blue light even outdoors from street lights as well.

Study authors reported that blue light exposure can boost cancer risk. The study involved 4,000 participants.

Nighttime Exposure To Blue Light can Up Cancer Risk

Researcher Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, MD, insisted that humans are built to enjoy light during daytime and darkness during nighttime. People living in cities have a higher risk of having their body clocks disrupted by the artificial blue light.

Researchers claim that they found a “strong link” between nighttime blue light exposure and cancer. As a follow-up, they plan to further analyze the association between nighttime blue light and risk of cancer.

Blue light is the No. 1 suspect in cancer cases involving nightshift workers worldwide. The light severely disrupts the body’s levels of melatonin, a hormone that keeps the body clock balanced.

Study authors believe that blue light can mess up other types of hormones which can lead to hormone-related cancers, like breast and prostate ones.

Street lights powered by LED bulbs are also a source of blue light. This type of public lighting has become increasingly common in major cities. The latest study found that participants who were exposed to blue light outdoors had a higher risk of cancer.
Image Source: Pxhere