Covering the most noteworthy news stories in the health and wellness industry for the Filipino community.
A bill introduced Monday, Feb. 2, in the Nevada Senate would require preteens in the state to be vaccinated against meningitis and the human papillomavirus (HPV) before enrolling in private or public schools or daycare. “If we vaccinate people, we can prevent diseases that are not only horrific but deadly,” said Joe Hardy, a Boulder…
Many activities in the modern world involve sitting: working at an office, watching TV and driving are just a few. It turns out that sedentary behavior like this, according to a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, increases the risk of developing diseases or conditions that result in premature deaths, regardless of…
A Canadian woman who recently returned from China has become the first North American documented to have the H7N9 bird flu, the Canadian government said Monday, Jan. 26, according to Reuters. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Gregory Taylor, said the risk of transmission of this type of flu among humans is low. However, there have…
Researchers have confirmed that the death of a 4-year-old Louisiana boy was caused by a microorganism called Naegleria fowleri, which digests neural tissues. The boy, Drake Smith Jr., spent most of a day in July 2013 playing on a slip ‘n slide. Nine days later he experienced severe headaches, vomiting and developed a 104-degree fever….
A new study from the JAMA Internal Medicine journal has linked commonly used medicines, including over-the-counter treatments for conditions such as insomnia and hay-fever, to dementia. Medical experts say that people do not need to panic or stop taking their prescriptions. The medication types in questions are all drugs with an “anticholinergic” effect. Researchers at…
Soybean workers exposed to agrochemicals found in Monsanto biocides and herbicides experience cell damage and elevated DNA, a new study has found. The study, published in the journal Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, examined 127 individuals, 81 of whom were exposed to biocides while out on Brazilian soybean fields. The remaining 46 were not…
A new study published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that drinking coffee could reduce the risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by as much as 20 percent. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and the Yale School of Public Health found…
HealthCare.gov, the government’s health insurance website, is sharing users’ data with private companies, according to a recent report from the Associated Press. Specifically what type of information is shared or how it is used is not clear, but may include income, age, zip code, whether or not someone is pregnant and if a person smokes….
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” –Abraham Lincoln As the Small Business Specialist/Coach at SIPA, I work with clients aspiring to be entrepreneurs. They come to us with bold ideas, a passion to bring a unique product/service to market, and a strong determination to succeed. Additionally, as a Holistic Health…
HUMAN feces may be part of the answer to addressing sanitation issues that cause thousands of deaths each year. A new system called the Omniprocessor, developed by Janicki Industries Inc. and funded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, converts human waste into drinkable water and elecricity. In a video posted on Gates’ blog, the Microsoft founder is…
A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that eating a small bowl of oatmeal everyday may be the secret to a longer life. The long-term study, published Monday, Jan. 5 in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that eating more whole-grain foods—especially bran, the fibrous outer layer of cereal grain—could lower an individual’s risk of…
Bad genes and poor lifestyle choices aren’t the only reasons some people get cancer. A Johns Hopkins Medicine research study attributes most cancer cases to plain old bad luck. “All cancers are caused by a combination or bad luck, the environment and heredity, and we’ve created a model that may help quantify how much of…
THE flu has become a national epidemic, and the number of deaths it is blamed for—including 15 children this past year—continues to increase, as flu season begins its peak usually between the months of December and February. The latest figures, released Wednesday, Dec. 31 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cover the…
Tips from Balitang America’s Steve Angeles As the New Year approaches, we tend to jot down a list of resolutions, whether it’s staying organized or saving more money. One resolution that continues to top individuals’ lists is to lose weight, leading to lofty plans of joining a gym and eating healthier. However, how many people…
A POTENTIALLY life-threatening disease is making its way into the United States through a parasite called Chagas, also known as the “kissing bug.” The Centers for Disease Control reported in July that an estimated 300,000 people in the US were infected, but the number of cases has surpassed that, according to Al Jazeera. “This is…
US officials planned to unveil an improved healthcare insurance website over the weekend, hoping for a smoother second enrollment period under President Obama’s health reform plan. The reconfigured, improved insurance marketplace website went live on Sunday night before the three-month open enrollment period begins on Nov. 15, allowing existing policyholders to change their coverage. The HealthCare.gov website is…
It is often said that getting a good night’s sleep is important, but what is not so widely known is that poor sleep quality may reduce the size of the brain. A recent study published in an online edition of the journal “Neurology” examined 147 participants between 20 and 84 years old and suggests a…
A RECENT study found that working a job with irregular shifts comes with a price tag greater than the challenge in adjusting sleeping patterns: doing so has a long-term effect on cognitive abilities. The study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, revealed shift work can impair memory, speed and selective attention abilities. Researchers…
LOS ANGELES—Retail giant Wal-mart announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7, that it would terminate health insurance coverage for about 30,000 part-time workers in the US. Wal-Mart joins a line of retailers that have cut back benefits in response to the Affordable Care Act, which requires large companies to offer coverage to employees working 30 or more…
LOS ANGELES — In a new study by the New England Journal of Medicine, long-term birth control is found to work best for preventing pregnancies and abortions in sexually active teens. The Contraceptive CHOICE Project based in St. Louis gave 560 young women, who were deemed “at high risk” for pregnancy, free access to birth…
A RARE illness that starts off as the common cold and has already affected more than one thousand children in multiple states is becoming far more serious, doctors say. The not-yet identified disease could very likely become a nationwide threat to kids. Health officials suspect a rare respiratory virus, known as enterovirus 68, that is…
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The international group Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday that the world is losing the battle against Ebola and lamented that treatment centers in West Africa have been “reduced to places where people go to die alone.” In separate remarks after a United Nations meeting on the crisis, the World Health Organization…
LOS ANGELES – Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles and the Organization of Chinese American-Greater Los Angeles hosted “Affordable Healthcare & You” — a free educational forum for the community about the Affordable Healthcare Act. The forum began with a press conference, led by…
Tilapia was in the news lately as a food item that contains “higher levels of potentially detrimental long-chain Omega-6 fatty acids than 80-percent-lean hamburger, doughnuts and even pork bacon.” The study was reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In biblical times, tilapia was popularly called St Peter’s fish because reportedly, he caught…
You may be thinking, “hmm… another health/wellness company. Who cares?” and you wouldn’t be the only on thinking that. When we started VG Wellness, we asked ourselves that exact question, Who Cares? The answer to this question is the foundation on which we built our company. We Care. We care about providing the best nutrition…
The snake oil scam of yesteryears took decades to travel from town to town. Obviously, that saved a lot of “potential” victims. With the advent of the internet age, scams, in general, including fraudulent health products and unfounded “food supplement” claims are disseminated with lightning speed around the globe through the world wide web, reaching…
The move of the Senate to pass the Sin Tax Bill is a vital step forward in improving and expanding public health safety nets for all Filipinos, a Palace official said on Wednesday. Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday after the Senate passed the Sin…
For cigarette smokers and those who may be tempted to start, here’s a bit of truly disturbing new information from the American Chemical Society. New research revealed that tobacco smoke causes genetic damage within minutes of inhalation of cigarette smoke, not years. The adverse effects are almost instantaneous as the smoke gets into the lungs….
Anyone who has ever been a bride, a bridesmaid, mother of the bride, a debutante, or someone who has dolled up for a special occasion, shares an unguarded secret about getting ready for a major event: It pays to hire a professional hair and make-up stylist! Virtually, every bride can benefit from having their make-up…
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), commonly known as arthritis, which causes the usual aches and pains in the various joints in the body, especially among the elderly, affected about 47.8 million people in the United States in 2005. It is projected to rise to 67 million by 2030. RA is also found among those who are between…
