Do you think multivitamins are good for you? Researchers say you should think again
One study found that health data from nearly 400,000 Americans show that people who take multivitamins have a slightly higher risk of premature death than those who don’t take multivitamins. Meanwhile, data show that alcohol-related health problems are on the rise.
Los Angeles Times: Why you should think twice before taking a daily multivitamin
If you’ve been taking multivitamins to live longer, a new study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute may prompt you to reconsider. After analyzing health and nutrition data from nearly 400,000 Americans, the researchers found that people who took multivitamins had a slightly lower risk of premature death, but a significantly higher risk, than those who avoided supplements. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, may seem surprising. (Kaplan, 6/26)
In other health and wellness news –
Statistics: According to the statistics: Alcohol-related health problems are rising rapidly in the US
In the trough of the pandemic, when there was no one to see and nowhere to go, and horrors unfolded daily outside the front door, there was one reliable bright spot for many: the 5 p.m. drink that marked the end of the workday. (Couto and Parker, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Scientists have discovered another way we’re exposed to ‘forever chemicals’: through our skin
The first study of its kind has found that “forever chemicals” – toxic compounds found in everyday beauty and personal care items such as sunscreen, waterproof mascara and lipstick – can penetrate human skin and enter the bloodstream. “If you apply some of these products directly to your skin and they contain PFAS, they are very likely to be transferred into the skin,” said study co-author Stuart Harrad, whose research was published this week in Environment International. … It was previously believed that PFAS were unable to penetrate the skin barrier. (Ajasa, 6/26)
CBS News: Smoked salmon sold at Kroger recalled from supermarket shelves due to listeria risk
Foppen Seafood is recalling smoked salmon sold at Kroger and Pay Less Super Market stores in 15 states after routine testing found listeria in the product. The recall involves smoked Norwegian salmon slices — toast-sized, 8.1 ounces, identified by lot number 412 in the clear plastic window on the front of the package, the Harderwijk, Netherlands-based company said in a notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday. (Gibson, 6/26)
The Washington Post: What is avocado hand? Injuries while cutting avocados are on the rise
Thousands of people cut their hands and fingers each year while cutting avocados, and research shows that most of these injuries occur between April and July. Hand surgeons see these injuries so often that they’ve given it a name: avocado hand. Eric Wagner, a hand surgeon and associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, and his colleagues encountered so many patients needing hand surgery due to avocado-related knife wounds that in 2020 they published a study examining the nationwide prevalence of the phenomenon. They found that between 1998 and 2017, more than 50,000 people in the United States went to emergency rooms for treatment of avocado-related knife wounds. (O’Connor, 6/26)
KFF Health News: Chorus or cacophony? Cicada song affects some people’s ears more than others
Shhhhoo. Wee-oo. Chick, chick, chick. That’s the sound of three different cicada species. For some people, these sounds are the song of summer. Others wish the insects would turn it down. The cacophony can be especially disturbing for people on the autism spectrum, who have hearing sensitivities. (Dyer, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Fossils reveal Neanderthal community cared for child with Down syndrome
The word Neanderthal is sometimes used as a synonym for stupid or brutish, but a new fossil analysis has bolstered the hypothesis that our prehistoric cousins were actually cooperative or even compassionate. Evidence that a Neanderthal child with Down syndrome survived until age 6 suggests that the child was cared for by a social group, according to a new study. The bone fragment was found at the Cova Negra cave site in Spain’s Valencia region and analyzed by a research team led by Mercedes Conde-Valverde of the University of Alcalá in Madrid. The results, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, concluded that the fragment likely came from the inner ear of a 6-year-old child. (Viñals, 6/27)
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