Health
Simple dinner table habit linked to poor diet and higher health risks in adults over 60
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Reaching for the salt shaker at the kitchen table may seem like second nature for some – but it could reveal troubling details about your health.
Recent Brazilian research, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, investigated the impact of adding salt to food with a focus on older adults.
The study used national survey data from more than 8,000 Brazilians over the age of 60, collected between 2017 and 2018.
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Participants were asked the question, “Do you have the habit of adding salt to food at the table?” The researchers then deciphered certain traits that were linked to the habit.
About 10.9% of older adults said they used salt at the table. Men reported this habit more than women – 12.7% compared to 9.4%, according to the published study.
About 10.9% of older adults said they used salt at the table in a recent Brazilian survey. (iStock)
Men not following a diet for high blood pressure were more than twice as likely to add salt compared to men who follow this diet.
Men who reported living alone had a 62% higher likelihood of using salt compared to men who lived with others.
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Women not following a high blood pressure diet had 68% higher likelihood of using extra salt.
Adding salt was also associated with a lower intake of fruits and vegetables among women. The odds of adding salt to food were 81% higher in women who did not eat fruit, and 40% higher in those who did not eat vegetables.
Women who have a high concentration of ultraprocessed foods in their diet were more than twice as likely to add salt to food, as were those living in urban areas.
Women who added salt were less likely to eat fruits and vegetables, the data showed. (iStock)
As this study was cross-sectional, it showed an association but could not prove that one thing caused another, the researchers acknowledged. Some of the information was self-reported, which could also limit the findings.
Diets high in sodium are known to cause an increase in blood pressure, which also raises the risk of heart disease, gastric cancer, obesity, osteoporosis and kidney disease, according to the World Health Organization.
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About 1.89 million deaths each year are associated with consuming too much sodium, the organization reported.
The WHO recommends that adults consume less than 5 grams of salt per day, or just under a teaspoon, for best health outcomes.
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Study co-author Dr. Débora Santos, a titular professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, called for alternative ways to decrease additional use of salt.
“The use of herbs and natural seasonings as alternatives to salt, or culinary techniques such as using the acidity of citrus fruits, may help reduce discretionary salt use while maintaining food palatability,” she wrote in a press release.
“Practical strategies, such as avoiding the routine placement of saltshakers on the table, may also help reduce habitual salt use.”
About 1.89 million deaths each year are associated with consuming too much sodium, the organization reported. (iStock)
Los Angeles-based registered dietitian nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein said adding salt to food before trying it is one of her “biggest pet peeves.”
“It’s interesting that this study found that men were significantly more likely to add salt to their food compared to women, because this is an observation I’ve had as well,” Muhlstein, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“It could be because women are more bloat-conscious overall and may be more informed on the medical harms of excessive salt, as well as the more superficial ones like making your rings hard to take on or off (when you’re dealing with water retention from increased salt intake).”
For men, Muhlstein suggested that those who live alone are potentially more likely to order takeout – and restaurants “tend to use much more salt than home cooking, which could make someone’s preference for salty food much higher.”
“Public health officials [should] promote nutrition education and the importance of whole foods, less processed foods and reduced salt intake overall,” a nutritionist said. (iStock)
“That is further reflected in the stats showing that the less fruits and vegetables one eats, and the more processed foods consumed, the more likely one was to add salt to their food,” she noted.
The finding that a low blood pressure diet positively influences a person’s salt intake is “promising and intriguing,” according to Muhlstein.
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“This should encourage HHS and public health officials to promote nutrition education and the importance of whole foods, less processed foods and reduced salt intake overall,” she said.
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A new, stronger flu shot could slash Alzheimer’s risk in half, according to new data.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), found that adults 65 and older who received a high-dose influenza vaccine had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who received the standard dose.
The immune system naturally weakens with age, making older adults less responsive to standard vaccines. To combat this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a high-dose flu vaccine for people over 65. This version is approximately four times stronger than the standard shot.
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Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older.
Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News senior medical contributor, weighed in on the impact of the flu shot on Alzheimer’s risk.
Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older. (iStock)
As the vaccine directly affects the immune system, it is possible that this interaction could decrease inflammation in the body and “thereby indirectly decrease Alzheimer’s risk,” Siegel, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
“Flu shots and their components do not cross the blood-brain barrier, meaning they aren’t directly affecting brain cells.”
“We can’t conclude from this that it is the flu shot itself that causes the effect.”
“I was stunned that, as a physician, I didn’t know a higher dose was offered,” lead study author Paul Schulz, professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, said in a press release.
Schulz also led a previous study linking general flu vaccination to a 40% reduction in Alzheimer’s risk.
While the previous research had already linked general flu vaccination to a reduction in Alzheimer’s risk, this new study looked specifically at the strength of the dose.
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“The public health department had seen our vaccine research and asked if I could come down to talk to them about it,” said Schulz. “We went through the findings, and they asked if there was a difference with different dosages; I was confused.”
Adults who received the quadruple-strength vaccine had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who received the standard dose. (iStock)
After sorting through data from nearly 200,000 older adults, the team found the adults who received the high-dose vaccine had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who received the standard dose.
Adults in the high-dose group had an almost 55% lower risk than those who weren’t vaccinated, significantly outperforming standard-dose protection.
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The protective effect of the high-dose vaccine was even more pronounced in women compared to men, although both groups saw significant benefits.
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This study shows a link, not a cause, the researchers noted.
Experts can’t say for certain that the flu shot itself stopped Alzheimer’s because people who get high-dose vaccines might also have other healthy habits, like better diets or more frequent check-ups.
The study focused on people over 65, so it’s unclear whether getting these shots earlier in life would provide the same level of protection. (iStock)
The researchers also looked at medical records after the fact, rather than following two controlled groups in real time, which can sometimes result in missing information or biases.
“This is not a cause/effect study,” Siegel reiterated. “We can’t conclude that the flu shot itself causes the effect; it could be something about the people who decide to take this shot.”
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The study also focused on people over 65, so it’s unclear whether getting these shots earlier in life would provide the same level of protection.
“This needs to be further studied, but it is already certainly another reason to take a flu shot,” Siegel added.
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The study was published in the journal Neurology.
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A TikToker in Mexico thought her cough that wouldn’t go away was just a reaction to the changing weather. Instead, it was her own nose ring, lodged deep within her lungs.
The 26-year-old, Monica Deyanira Cabrera Barajas, recently went viral on TikTok, amassing 4.7 million views after revealing the freak medical accident.
In videos, she shared that the stray accessory sat a mere 0.5 millimeters from her aorta, Jam Press reported.
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Deyanira, who has a large number of piercings, didn’t initially notice the jewelry was missing. It wasn’t until she developed a “chronic cough” lasting over a month that she went to see a doctor.
“The only theory I have, which I told the pulmonologist, is that I fell asleep, the little ball fell out, and that was it,” Deyanira told creatorzine.com.
What was supposed to be a routine 20-minute extraction turned into a high-stakes medical procedure. (Jam Press)
“I was lying on my back, I didn’t realize, and that’s how I messed up.”
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What was supposed to be a routine 20-minute extraction turned into a high-stakes medical procedure. During the initial attempt, surgeons were unable to budge the object because it had already begun attaching to her internal tissue.
“It ended up taking an hour and 20 minutes, and they still couldn’t remove it because it was attached to my body,” she said, according to the Jam Press report.
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Facing a second, more invasive surgery and the risk of a fatal hemorrhage, Deyanira prepared for the worst. The night before the surgery, she wrote a farewell letter to her loved ones.
The nose ring was lodged dangerously close to her aorta, the body’s primary artery. (Jam Press)
“I was honestly thinking, ‘I’m going to die,’” she said. “It’s a horror I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
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The woman’s surgeon was equally stunned by how close the metal was to her heart. According to Deyanira, the doctor told her, “It seems God takes care of his creatures.”
If the metal had punctured her lung or heart before doctors discovered it, Deyanira said she likely would have died from a lung collapse or perforated aorta.
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Now, the TikToker says her days of septum rings are over.
After the ordeal, Deyanira said she’s permanently done with piercings. (Jam Press)
“I love piercings, and I really liked my septum piercing, but in my case, I wouldn’t get it again because of the terror I experienced,” she said.
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Followers commented that the ordeal “unlocked a fear I didn’t know I had.”
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