The American Medicines Agency (FDA) has rejected the request for marketing authorization of Qnexa, the experimental anti-obesity treatment of the laboratory Vivus Inc, because of health risks, according to a press release from the firm.

If the government takes no action, half of the American adult population will be obese by 2030. In any case, this is what a report published last week by the English medical journal, The Lancet, claims.

For public health experts, the societal changes that have taken place over the past century have helped to create an "obesogenic" environment which, whatever the will of Americans, makes it very difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

This study on the global obesity crisis gives some ideas for combating this scourge. The researchers recommend, in particular, to tax food that is too rich and unhealthy, and to invest in research and in monitoring programs.

The healthcare system on the front line

The authors of the text also specify that the obesity crisis will continue to worsen and therefore weigh more and more on the finances of the health system.

According to an article published last year by an American researcher at Duke University, Eric A. Finkelstein, obese people have 48% more hospital days per year than people who are not. Another example shows that an obese diabetic spends 6 times more on pharmaceutical products than a “classic” diabetic.

Companies also affected

According to the same article, the proper functioning of businesses would be more disturbed by obese employees than by others. An overweight person would have 0.5 to 5.9 more days of absence per year than an employee with a healthy weight. Also, according to the study, the obese would make more claims. They would ask for studied infrastructures, additional scheduling arrangements, etc.

More anecdotal, the rising rate of obesity among young Americans could jeopardize the future of their military. "It threatens the strength of our future army," said two former chiefs of staff, John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton. In fact, the more the number of obese people increases, the more the number of potential recruits decreases.

Although the report recognizes that everyone should be free to decide what they eat and how they want to live their lives, it also notes that the government has largely given up on this scourge.

Stephen Westaby, one of the largest medical eminences in the United Kingdom, has operated more than 12,000 hearts throughout his 40-year career, and estimates that he saved 97% of his patients.

However, it is the deaths he could not avoid that he remembers most.

Westaby has not only saved lives with his hands, he also created inventions that will continue to save lives once he is gone.

His story began in Scunthorpe, in the north of England, where he grew up in a state dwelling.

The renowned cardiac surgeon talked about his life and his work and recalled how he suffered during his childhood, watching his grandfather - a lifelong smoker - die slowly because of a heart problem.

"He suffered from severe heart failure, which is a miserable way of life," he said.

"Patients with this condition," he said, "can't wear shoes because their ankles are too swollen, they need bigger clothes because their bellies swell and there comes a time when they can't sleep lying down because they lack air."

Little Stephen, at 7, was present at the last moments of his grandfather's life. " I saw how it turned blue and died without being able to breathe, " he says.

That experience would mark him for life.

At that time - in the mid-1950s - cardiac surgery was just beginning to develop.

Doctors in the United States had just invented the heart-lung machine, better known as "the pump", which allowed a cardiopulmonary bypass: a technique that temporarily supplements the function of the heart and lungs during surgery.

This meant a giant breakthrough. Westaby learned of this novelty in 1955, when his parents bought his first black and white television and watched a program which showed cardiac surgery.

" I want to do that, " he thought.

The accident

He believed he could become talented as a surgeon because of something his grandfather had discovered when he was little: Stephen was ambidextrous and could use both hands with skill.

He was also a very good student and was the first of his family to go to college. But while studying in London, Westaby discovered that he had a great flaw: he was very shy and nervous.

"I was not encouraged to raise my hand in class to ask a question," he recalls.

The problem was no less for someone who aspired to become a cardiac surgeon, a profession that requires a lot of boldness to make life or death decisions in seconds.

However, your problem was solved in the most unexpected way.

One day, playing rugby, he suffered a severe blow to the head that fractured his skull. The impact damaged the part of your brain that controls inhibition and risk taking.

"Suddenly, I became the social secretary of the Faculty of Medicine and organized the parties," he says. "Very soon they named me captain of the rugby team. I was just fiercer."

This is how Westaby acquired the three talents necessary to be a successful surgeon: skillful hands, intelligence and boldness.

Operating children

He obtained scholarships to train abroad, working in a hospital in New York (USA) and in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). And he specialized in pediatric surgery, one of the most difficult branches of medicine.

The stories he tells about his little patients who failed to survive move even tears. One of the most heartbreaking was the case of a baby who managed to operate successfully in Riyadh.

The baby had a heart tumor and Westaby managed to remove it. But during the night the little boy died due to a failure in his pacemaker. The boy's mother, broken by pain, took her son, went to the roof of the hospital and jumped.

When Westaby tells it, one's blood is frozen. But he says that hours after that incident another baby continued to operate.

"I strongly believe that if you are going to perform extreme surgeries, if you are going to help patients who are sicker, you have to take distance if things do not go well," he says.

His dedication to medicine also had a high personal cost: he married and had a daughter, but less than a year later, he was already divorced.

You think you are the person who pollutes the planet the least. You try to avoid plastics, recycle the cardboard and share an Insta Stories every Friday to make people aware. You buy local and you take a house bag to not use a plastic one.

Another Friday comes – you go out to party. The next morning you take ibuprofen, without thinking that the triad of ibuprofen, cocaine and heroin is the dangerous cocktail that pollutes our rivers.

The experts have warned that we must consider the "emerging contaminants" in drinking water, the drugs. You still think that "you are doing well", that you have fulfilled your part and your sustainable quota is settled. Now your environmental cricket nugget will tell you how the drugs you consume are destroying the planet.

Our bodies only metabolize a part of the drugs we consume. This study by Harvard University demonstrates the adverse effects that these substances may have that are excreted through feces, urine and sweat and that end up in drains and surface waters.

When you use drugs and go to the bathroom, showers or loo, you are releasing a few pollutants and contaminants that passes sewage treatment plants because they are difficult to screen.

But there is also drugs that end up directly in the sea because drug traffickers hide them there to get rid of it. Not to mention the amount of gases and waste resulting from cutting and making synthetic drugs.

The current treatment plants were designed to eliminate organic matter and pathogens and although they do stop some substances, they are not designed to eliminate substances of such low concentration. If these pollutants continue to accumulate in the long term, they may end up affecting the health of rivers and their ecosystems.

The problem of drugs in water is nothing new. Already in 2006, a study conducted by the UB on the River showed that in the areas near the mouth the river carried daily loads between 1 and 15 grams of cocaine, 1 to 8 grams of ecstasy and 0.08 to 4 grams of amphetamine. The same study showed that during the holiday period, both summer and Christmas, a higher concentration of drugs in the water had been observed.

In 2011, a study highlighted the presence of drugs in the underground waters and found unmetabolized cocaine in several wells, in addition to other substances such as opiates, amphetamines or benzodiazepines.

From the IMDEA, some of the treatment plants in different regions have been studied – it has been concluded that there is enormous variability in the concentration levels of these substances between some treatment plants and others depending on the area.

The problem is that all these elements can seriously affect marine flora and fauna and rebound our health. The remains of cocaine and ketamine found in prawns in the United Kingdom and the hyperactivity of the Thames eels because of cocaine show that the problem of drug contamination would have reached the animals, altering their behavior.

This is a global problem that is catching up as environmental sensitivities increase. In several European countries, such as in France or Germany, the subject has been investigated to find a possible solution, but so far, we don’t have any.

Not only recreational drugs pose a high risk to the environment – the percentage is relatively small compared to other chemical pollutants that end up in the water and contribute to the destruction of our planet.

Some of the drugs that we usually use and that would most affect the environment would be the consumption of antibiotics, antidepressants, hormones (estrogen, progesterone or testosterone) or analgesics. Other substances such as caffeine, face or body creams or perfumes also potentially contaminate the waters of rivers and seas.

Scientists have already learned to deepen and accelerate the recovery processes that occur in our brain in a dream. Will this make us feel better, even when we go to bed too late and wake up too early?

We often talk about our difficulties with sleep. After all, they testify that we lead an extremely busy life.

Recall Thomas Edison, Margaret Thatcher and Donald Trump, all of them are famous for their short night's rest – 4-5 hours of sleep, much less than recommended by doctors for adults 7-9 hours.

It seems that many of us are following the example of these people: according to the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, more than a third of US adults regularly lack sleep. We ourselves sleep less often, and the consequences are very disturbing.

The consequences are known – from memory impairment to an increased risk of infectious diseases, from decision-making difficulties to obesity – but they are often ignored.

When our work needs exceed the capabilities of the usual daily schedule, the first thing we sacrifice is the hours of sleep.

But what if we could optimize the hours that we spend in a dream and make them more effective? Would we need less sleep then, and would it be deeper?

Such an opportunity is more realistic than we think. Techniques for optimizing sleep already exist, and experiments conducted around the world prove: we can very well increase the efficiency of brain activity at night.

First, we speed up the immersion in deep sleep, and then we increase the quality of our relaxation.

You think that sounds too beautiful to be true? Let's get it right.

Slowing down the rhythm

During a normal night, the brain goes through various stages of sleep, each of which has its own characteristic structure of “brain waves”. At the same time, neurons in different areas of the brain work synchronously, in a certain rhythm (approximately like a large crowd chanting something in chorus).

During the REM sleep phase, which is also called the phase of rapid eye movements (RGD), the rhythm of neurons is relatively fast – at this time we usually see dreams.

Those who suffer from lack of sleep are extremely difficult to convince of the need to change their lifestyle.

But at certain moments, our eyes stop moving, dreams stop occurring, and the rhythm of brain activity drops to one “heartbeat” per second.

And here we are immersed in that deepest unconscious state, which is called the phase of slow sleep.

It is this stage that is most interested in scientists studying the possibilities of optimizing sleep.

Margaret Thatcher, among other things, was also known for sleeping four to five hours a day – at least in those years when she was British Prime Minister

Scientists have found that strong beers may have the gut-friendly bacteria just like yogurt.

Until a few years ago, scientists thought that alcohol was bad for our intestines. One study showed that regular alcohol drinkers had several gastrointestinal problems. However, today's scientists are coming back on this topic and even praising the beneficial side of strong beers on our gut microbiota.

FERMENTATION AND YEAST THAT KILL THE BAD BACTERIA

Scientists say some beers can be "very healthy". They would have a more beneficial side to our intestines, thanks to the bacteria they contain.

This is what Professor Eric Claassen asserts. At an event organized by Yakult, manufacturer of probiotic drinks, the professor from the University of Amsterdam presented his point of view on the issue.

While most beers undergo only one fermentation process, Belgian beers undergo a fermentation twice. During this second fermentation, the use of yeasts produces toxic acids. These acids are toxic only for bacteria that are bad for the human intestines.

CONSUME IN MODERATION

Whenever a person drinks a strong Belgian beer, such as a Hoegaarden, Westmalle Tripel or Echt Kriekenbier, it strengthens its intestinal flora. Acids in beer eliminate harmful bacteria in the intestines. However, for this to be truly beneficial, Eric Claassen says you have to drink in moderation. A strong beer a day, no more.

"In high concentrations, alcohol is of course bad for the intestine. But if you only drink one of these (strong) beers each day, it could be good for you", he says.

The high dose of alcohol produces large intestinal problems. But, according to Eric Claassen, a strong beer a day produces the same effect as a yogurt on your intestines. The good news is, it won’t be the only benefit that beer has for our body.

Scientists have found that obesity can cause inflammation in the brain in adolescents. The results of the study were published as abstracts for the report at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Obesity in young people and adolescents every year is becoming an increasingly serious problem in developed countries. According to the World Health Organization, in 1990 there were 32 million children under the age of five overweight or obese in the world, and in 2016, already 41 million. In the United States, the percentage of obese children and adolescents has more than tripled since the 1970s.

Usually, obesity is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Scientists have identified another risk associated with overweight.

They used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a type of MRI that monitors the diffusion of water along the brain tracts of white matter, to study the brains of 59 obese teenagers aged 12 to 16, and compared the images with 61 healthy teenagers from the control group.

The DTI method allowed researchers to evaluate the level of fractional anisotropy (FA) for various regions of the brain, a biochemical parameter that indicates the state of white matter: the lower it is, the wider the damage, the cause of which, as a rule, is inflammation.

The results showed a decrease in the FA values ​​in adolescents with obesity in areas located in the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, as well as in the middle orbitofrontal gyrus, the area of ​​the brain responsible for emotional control and reward patterns. In no area of ​​the brain in patients with obesity have an increased level of FA.

“Brain changes found in adolescent obesity are associated with important regions responsible for controlling appetite, emotion, and cognitive function”, explained the first author of the study.

Scientists have found that changes correlate with a marker of inflammation such as leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that helps regulate energy levels and fat stores. In some obese people, the brain does not respond to leptin, and they continue to eat, despite a sufficient or already excess supply of fat. This condition, known as leptin resistance, causes fat cells to produce even more leptin.

The deterioration of the white matter was also associated with the level of insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Obese people often suffer from insulin resistance. A condition in which the body is resistant to the effects of the hormone leads to the development of type 2 diabetes.

A recent study published by Swiss researchers shows that a nap is good for the heart. This is another benefit added to the many others already discovered.

According to a scientific article published in the medical journal, napping would be beneficial for the heart. The article by four researchers at the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, says that one to two naps a week would reduce the risk of heart problems and stroke.

Their work is based on a recent study of 3,500 Swiss adults who provided a wealth of data on their nap and sleep habits.

In the sample, 155 people had a heart problem in the years following the study. The results indicate that the risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by 48% among those who reported taking one to two naps a week, compared to those who do not take nap time.

Although the study does not confirm that napping promotes good heart health, it does provide additional information on the proven benefits of this brief sleep time.

Compensate for a lack of sleep

In 2015, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that even short naps were beneficial to health.

The study, conducted on men who slept only two hours in the night, shows that a lack of sleep affects the levels of interleukin-6, a protein with antiviral properties and contained in saliva. "This hormone had fallen sharply after a very short night, but had returned to normal levels after a nap. This result is all the more telling when we know that it can help you keep up with your sleep deprived routine.

Fights stress and restores your immune system

In the same study, scientists also observed that napping time restores the levels of hormones and proteins needed in the body to combat stress and restore the immune system to function properly. “Just a thirty-minute nap can reverse the bad impacts of sleep deprivation, such as compromised immunity and stress" stated one of the authors of the study.

Exercising one's memory

In 2013, the German researchers demonstrated that napping supports memory consolidation.

To carry out the study, twenty-four volunteers had to memorize fifteen pairs of cards with symbols on them. A second series to memorize was then presented forty minutes later to half of the subjects who were kept awake, and twelve other volunteers who took a short nap. Results? They remembered on average 85% of the cards, against only 60% for those who remained awake.

The nap would make it easier to "download" the memories in an area of ​​the brain where "they could no longer be scrambled by the new information processed in the hippocampus," said Susanne Diekelmann, head of the study.

Improve your work performance

Still taboo in the US, napping at work would undoubtedly improve work performance. "Ten to thirty minutes of napping can enhance performance, decrease fatigue, and help improve alertness" according to Jamie Gruman, professor of behavioral organization at the University of Guelph (Canada) in an article. "Many companies, like Ben & Jerry's, Zappos and Nike, allow employees to take a nap at work," says the specialist, who finds that the practice is still absent in the US companies – in Japan and China, the professional benefits of taking a nap are really considered and recognized.

When you don’t put something to use for a long time, it eventually loses the ability to work. Same goes for your body – it has to adapt. Your body adapts just like your muscles do – if you exercise, they get stronger.

Cold therapy or Cryotherapy has recently gained popularity and has become an alternative to sauna. In the US, spas that offer this effective cold therapy is becoming more fashionable than saunas.

If we don’t expose our body to temperature variations, it could turn our immune system into a weak, no-good mechanism – that’s why nature has different seasons throughout the year for us to benefit from these changes. As we are warm blooded beings, temperature is something that regulates every single chemical reaction in our body.

Cold therapy aids in improving immunity

There are many advantages of cold therapy. It boosts immunity by activating the lymph nodes. Cold water contracts the lymph nodes – as a result, lymphocytes flow out from them throughout our body, clearing the vessels off of any harmful toxins. In a study, volunteers who were told to spend two hours in a chamber at 5 degrees after exercise or a hot bath. The researchers monitored these participants and noted that the number of "killer cells", that protect us from diseases, increased in the blood.

Prevent DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)

Ever wondered why athletes love bathing in a tub full of ice? It’s because the extreme cold helps in lowering the temperature of the damaged and constricts the blood vessels. It reduces inflammation and brings immediate relief to the over worked muscles.

Testimonial that cold therapy is effective

Wim Hof, a 58-year-old energetic Dutchman, traveled to the North Pole to beat the world record by holding his breath under the ice for six minutes and 20 seconds. He argues that we are not made for comfort. Our ancestors were hungry, cold and suffered during long walks outdoors, but they lived longer. Today, while we spend each day living in a perfect temperature, our immune system runs out of work to do – as a result, it goes crazy sometimes, attacking our healthy tissues with autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation.

Good news for coffee addicts! According to a recent study, their favorite drink would reduce their risk of developing the metabolic syndrome (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, stroke). Drinking up to 4 cups of coffee a day would reduce the risk of having type 2 diabetes by 26%.

According to another study, there would be a link between coffee consumption and metabolic syndrome that increases the risk of cardiovascular problems, heart attacks, and long-term strokes. The antioxidant-filled polyphenols that coffee contains cuts down the risk of having this syndrome.

Researchers have discovered that coffee helps reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and even heart diseases. After examining several cases, they found that for each additional cup of coffee (up to six or eight cups a day), the risk of suffering from this type of illness decreases (up to 25%) despite what previous studies had concluded.

According to the authors, people drinking between 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day would see their risk of developing type 2 diabetes drop by 26% compared to those who drink less than two coffees a day. Also, they found this protective link between the drink and the reduced risks of metabolic syndrome in both men and women.

Coffee: beneficial effects up to 4 cups of coffee per day

This protective effect, presented at the 13th European Nutrition Conference organized by the Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) in Dublin, would also be observed among decaffeinated drinkers.

Coffee and diabetes: polyphenols could be the cause of protective effects

After studying Polish and Italian cohort data, Professor Giuseppe Grosso of the University of Catania (Italy) considers that the polyphenols and antioxidants contained in coffee play a role in the prevention of the metabolic syndrome. It mainly puts forward phenolic acids and flavonoids.

The reviewed work also allows the scientist to make a connection between moderate consumption of coffee and reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Long-term coffee consumption is also associated with a lower risk of hypertension.

Several studies show that moderate coffee consumption is associated with reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. In short, drinking caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee is beneficial to health.