health news headlines

Black man smothered to death at mental hospital

sarah16/03/2023 19 Views

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — Security camera footage from a mental state hospital shows a Black Virginia man who was handcuffed and shackled being pinned down by the deputies who are now facing second-degree murder charges in his death, a prosecutor said in court.

Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said during the seven deputies’ first court hearing Wednesday that Irvo Otieno was smothered to death, local news outlets reported.

The officers had no justification for putting Otieno, who was being checked in, on the floor, Baskervill said. The prosecutor said Otieno did not appear combative and was sitting in

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4 min read

Health News

‘Exercise, avoid bangs and invent fairy tales’: Henry Marsh’s guide to keeping brains healthy | Dementia

sarah15/03/2023 55 Views

Asa neurosurgeon, Henry Marsh has spent several decades making people’s brains better (and occasionally, as his memoirs document with breathtaking honesty, making them worse). But that job involved removing tumors and patching up the aftermath of serious head traumas. Keeping a brain in perfect health is an altogether different matter, not least because we understand so little about it.

A couple of years ago, the now 73-year-old Marsh agreed to have his own brain scanned. He was not overly worried about what it might show. He exercised well, stayed mentally active and was not displaying any significant signs of

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4 min read

Health News

This week’s Triangle sanitation scores (March 14)

sarah14/03/2023 25 Views

The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.

Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.

You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.

Here are sanitation scores in Triangle counties for the week of March 7-14.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database

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5 min read

Health News

Keto-style diet may be tied to heart disease

sarah08/03/2023 23 Views

A low-carb, high-fat “keto-like” diet may be linked to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and double the risk of cardiovascular events such as blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to new research.

“Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported diet, low in carbohydrates and high in fat was associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol — or “bad” cholesterol — and a higher risk of heart disease,” lead study author Dr. . Iulia Iatan with the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Center for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver said

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6 min read

Health News

Heart-healthy habits linked to a longer life without chronic conditions

sarah07/03/2023 27 Views

A woman wearing leggings and workout clothes runs up a staircase in the rain at night — A study found that heart-healthy lifestyle habits described in the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, such as physical activity and quality sleep, are associated with a longer lifespan and more years spent free of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. urbazon/Getty Images

The American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 is a concept that defines cardiovascular health based on four modifiable behaviors, such as physical activity and sleep, and four modifiable biometric measures, such as weight, blood glucose, and blood lipid levels, that impact cardiovascular health.
The composite cardiovascular health score measured using the

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6 min read

Health News

Middlesex-London Health Unit confirms measles case in London, Ont. -London

sarah25/02/2023 66 Views

Local health officials say a measles case has been confirmed in the community.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit and Southwestern Public Health say the person lives in London and works at Nova Steel in Woodstock.

The person reportedly got sick while traveling outside of Canada. After they returned, health officials said they had limited contact with others during the time they were infectious.

3 min read

Health News

Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women need help in earthquake-torn Turkey, Syria

sarah24/02/2023 59 Views

As It Happens6:54356,000 pregnant women in earthquake-torn Turkey and Syria need urgent help: UN

Zeynep Atılgan Özgenç has trouble wrapping her mind around the harrowing stories she’s heard from new and expectant mothers in Turkey and Syria.

As a communications analyst for the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency, Özgenç has spent the last nine days on the ground in some of the regions most affected by the powerful earthquake two weeks ago.

“I saw them in person. I heard their stories,” Özgenç, spokesperson for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Turkey, told As It Happens

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5 min read

Health News

A test of dark chocolate found traces of lead and cadmium. Do you need to give it up?

sarah14/02/2023 47 Views

For years, dark chocolate has been touted as good for you, in moderation.

Research has shown that there can be benefits for your heart, Cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Those are all still true, but a report published in December looking at the heavy metals in dark chocolate may leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Scientists with Consumer Reports, an independent non-profit based out of the US, tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium. They found either or both in all of the chocolate bars, some of which are sold in Canada.

Those heavy metals

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7 min read