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Let’s begin this week’s research review with a study on the potential long-term benefits of probiotic use in infants. Researchers in Slovenia collected data on 316 healthy-weight newborns whose parents had test-confirmed allergies. The families were divided into two groups: 115 infants were placed into a probiotic group and received probiotics every day between the […]
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “What we don’t know could kill us” and that’s truer today than at any other time. While we may argue about masks and social distancing, there’s just still too much we don’t know about the novel coronavirus. The critical factor is that because of what we don’t know, we […]
Obesity may be a contributing factor to the severity of symptoms for those who get COVID-19. The best explanation I’ve found why that may be true is in a paper in Nature Reviews Endocrinology published in April. There are several reasons in addition to the cardiovascular and endocrinological co-morbidities associated with obesity. Just a reminder, […]
This week we’ll examine reports about comorbidities and other factors associated with the severity of the COVID-19 virus. We’ll begin with a question from a long-time reader and family member who shares DNA with Paula: her brother, Steve. Both have blood type A, which has been in the news as a factor in the severity […]
To satisfy my own curiosity, I wanted to do a run/walk to see how wearing a mask might impact my performance. This is tricky for someone with a scientific background; trying to duplicate everything with the exception of the one variable, the mask, is difficult when you’re outdoors. But the weather has been pretty stable: […]
If one considers the elemental purpose of a mask, it’s to provide a barrier to reduce the spread of exhaled, potentially virus-containing, droplets. Many opinions on social media cover the size of the viruses, droplets, and the fabric density of masks. I’m not going to do that because it’s the wrong argument. Instead, I’m going […]
When I finished last week’s Friday Memo with “Wear the damn mask!” I knew it wouldn’t be the last of it. I spent the weekend reading the research about what masks could and could not do to limit our exposure to the COVID-19 virus. The primary goal of wearing a mask is to prevent you […]
Our look at diseases associated with COVID-19 continues in this pre-4th of July memo. Let’s turn to diabetes. We know, based on prior reports, that people with type 2 diabetes as well as other comorbidities are susceptible to getting the worst symptoms of COVID-19. But now, there are also some reports that COVID-19 infections may […]
With the ACE2 receptor implicated in the long-term side effects of COVID-19, let’s begin with the digestive system. The gastrointestinal distress such as cramping, pain, and diarrhea are obvious, but there are reports that some people have had to have their entire small intestine removed due to damage from the COVID-19 virus. How could that […]
The number of cases of COVID-19 continues to rise and rise and rise. As restrictions on shopping, dining, and entertainment have been reduced, and then sometimes reinstated, the debate over which businesses should be open, social distancing, and even whether to wear a mask continues. Let me make it simple for you: wear your mask […]
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