The Guardian · 13h ago
‘Ferritin face’: are social media claims about iron deficiency fact – or fiction?
Experts say symptoms such as dark circles under the eyes, grey skin, cracked lips and hair loss can be a warning sign – but there are other factors tooTikTok is rife with influencers warning of “ferritin face”, a term they use to describe the pallor, dark circles, dry skin, and hair loss claimed to indicate low iron stores. But is this based on fact or fiction, and when is it time to head to the GP? Continue reading...
The Guardian · 16h ago
The shocking rise of rib remodelling: ‘I wanted that hourglass shape’
It involves the fracturing of a patient’s ribs, before they spend three months laced into a corset. Some of those who have had this cosmetic procedure say it is like being ‘hit by a bus’. Why is it becoming more popular?Daniela Cesin was 14 when she began thinking about her looks. “I was a little bit chubby and I started to work out at home and lose weight. I saw the difference in my body: my abs, the muscles in my arms, and I started liking it,” she says. By 31, she had the slim, toned body she had hoped for, but something was still missing. “I wanted to have that guitar hourglass shape.”In August, Cesin travelled from Miami, where she has lived for the past 15 years, to her native Venezuela for liposuction and a fat transfer to her hips. She met her cosmetic surgeon for the first time the day before the procedure, and he realised she didn’t have enough fat to go ahead with it. Instead, he offered to perform RibXcar: a rib remodelling surgery that would involve fracturing three of her lower ribs on each side and binding them in a corset for three months, to set the ribs in a new position and give her a wasplike waist. Continue reading...
NPR · 1d ago
Some people with meat allergies from alpha-gal syndrome turn to exotic alternatives
People with alpha-gal syndrome can have allergic reactions to meat from mammals. Many of those affected change their diets to eat other proteins.
The Guardian · 1d ago
Donate your body later and your blood now | Brief letters
Life-saving | Winning words | Advice for young workers | New/old brooms | Not just any old ironThank you for the article on body donation (My mother donated her body to science. I really wasn’t prepared for what came next, 24 October). How about adding a link online to how people can donate their own or a connected person’s body in the UK, together with giving blood or plasma in life? When our brother died in the 1960s, our parents agreed that any useful bits could be recycled. I came late to regular blood-giving; even so, with the retirement age abolished, my number is over 100. Join us?
Peter Bottomley
London• The Word wheel puzzle in your print edition states “there is at least one nine-letter word to be found”. The nine-letter solution given for the puzzle of 20 October was “intricate”. There is a second nine-letter word: “triactine”, a zoological term for “three-rayed”. What do I win?
Kevin Ward
Quorn, Leicestershire Continue reading...
The Guardian · 1d ago
Trump-appointed CDC deputy director to resign after six months on the job
Jennifer Shuford is expected to leave her post after midterm elections ‘to spend more time with my family’The deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will resign after six months on the job, according to an agency email obtained by the Guardian.Dr Jennifer Shuford was appointed by Donald Trump in April as part of a four-person senior leadership team. Continue reading...
The Guardian · 1d ago
Perimenopause is everywhere. How do you know if you’re in it? - video
Perimenopause has become a hot topic, with celebrities sharing their experiences and doctors offering tips and advice online. But despite the benefits of growing awareness, a rising number of women are now encountering misinformation about treatments such as HRT. Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Paula Briggs, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health, about why experts have raised the alarm. Science correspondent Nicola Davis gives the facts on symptoms, tests and treatments Continue reading...
NPR · 1d ago
A 'Green Army' is out to thwart El Niño flooding
In Nairobi, a city prone to floods, workers in the "Green Army" are making preparations to prevent disaster when El Niño arrives.
The Guardian · 1d ago
Are seed oils unhealthy? Why are so many influencers speaking out against them? | Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz
Randomised trials of omega-6s do not show an increase in inflammation caused by the fatty acidRead more in the Antiviral seriesIf you’ve been online lately, you’ve probably been bombarded with the discourse about seed oils. Once a completely innocuous food that no one really talked about, they have become the enemy of the moment. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of health and human services in the US, has called them “toxic” and vowed to act against them. There are countless activewear-clad influencers online saying that nothing harms your health more than these products.Which is odd, because the Australian dietary guidelines say seed oils are basically fine. You should limit them because they’re high in calories but otherwise there’s no major reason – according to the guidelines and most experts – why you should avoid them. As Prof Lauren Ball, director of the University of Queensland’s Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing, says: “There’s no convincing evidence that eating seed oils like canola or sunflower oil in normal dietary amounts harms our health. In fact, these oils contain unsaturated fats, which are generally beneficial for cardiovascular health.” Dr Jason Wu, a professor at the University of New South Wales, agrees: “The evidence base consistently points to health benefits of eating seed oils.” Continue reading...
The Guardian · 1d ago
I struggled to come to terms with my mum’s death. Then I swam in the sea and suddenly felt connected to her
My mother was a keen swimmer, and she lived with depression. I wonder if she found the same respite in the water that has helped heal me since she passed awayIt was early morning in late September, off the coast of Kaş in Turkey. Watching the slightly choppy sea from a boat, the last thing I felt like doing was embarking on another 5km (3-mile) swim. Mind fog had sapped my energy, and my mood was decidedly Eeyore-like. But as I pulled on my cap and flippers, adjusted my goggles and took the plunge, something shifted.Head in the water, the knotted feeling in my throat began to loosen. Breathing came properly. There was respite. Continue reading...
The Guardian · 1d ago
Women: was your autoimmune condition misdiagnosed?
We want to hear from women with autoimmune conditions who received an incorrect or delayed diagnosisHundreds of millions of people – roughly one in 10 globally – are affected by autoimmune conditions, diseases in which the immune system attacks the body instead of defending it. But according to a new study, there is a stark gender divide in how these conditions are diagnosed.Research from Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia found women are 43% more likely than men to receive a psychiatric misdiagnosis, meaning an autoimmune issue is misdiagnosed as a psychiatric problem, and 74% more likely to receive a psychosomatic misdiagnosis, meaning symptoms are considered psychological or stress-induced rather than physical. Women also reported significantly longer periods between the onset of symptoms and receiving a diagnosis – one to two years, compared with less than three months for men. Continue reading...
The Guardian · 1d ago
Perimenopause is everywhere. How do you know if you’re in it? – podcast
Perimenopause has become a hot topic, with celebrities sharing their experiences and doctors offering tips and advice online. But despite the benefits of growing awareness, a rising number of women are now encountering misinformation about treatments such as HRT. Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Paula Briggs, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health, about why experts have raised the alarm. Science correspondent Nicola Davis gives the facts on symptoms, tests and treatmentsRead Nicola’s article about perimenopause misinformation hereSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...
The Guardian · 2d ago
NHS consultants to go on two-day strike in England in November
Industrial action by senior doctors to begin on 25 November with only emergency cover provided, BMA saysEngland’s most senior hospital doctors will strike next month in a dispute over their pay and hours, prompting NHS bosses to warn that patients will suffer “pain, discomfort and inconvenience”.Consultant doctors, who earn an average of £152,000 a year inclusive of overtime and merit awards, will stage a two-day walkout on 25 and 26 November, as hospitals gear up for the extra pressures winter brings. Continue reading...
