Category Archives: All

All, Common Myths

10,000 Steps: Just a Number?

We have all heard 10,000 as the magic number of recommended daily steps. In fact, your FitBit vibrates and fills the screen with streamers when you hit that step goal. But 10,000 steps is roughly equivalent to 5 miles, a distance that many of us don’t have the time to meet daily.  Does this mean that we aren’t reaching our optimal level of health? Research suggests that exercise has benefits with far fewer steps. 

The 10,000 step goal originated in the 1960’s in Japan, when a company was trying to promote fitness after the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. This company created pedometers called Manpo-kei, which translates in English as “10,000-steps meter.” This was essentially a marketing tactic, but it took root over time. 

A study from 2019 put this number to the test and found that walking reduced mortality rates until about 7,500 steps a day, and then leveled off.  The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. This corresponds to just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. A brisk walk for 30 minutes is about 4,000 steps and has notable health benefits. 

Walking in any amount is good for your heart health and overall wellbeing. Physical activity can reduce your likelihood for many medical conditions, increase your mood and memory, improve your immunity, reduce stress levels, and much more. So, don’t worry too much about the specific number of steps. Go out and get a brisk 30-minute walk in today!

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/well/move/10000-steps-health.html

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10000-steps-a-day-or-fewer-2019071117305

https://www.wsj.com/articles/10-000-steps-a-day-is-a-myth-the-number-to-stay-healthy-is-far-lower-11591968600

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

All, Coronavirus, Medicine

Antibody Testing For COVID-19

Image from sfgate.com

 

There’s a lot of talk about antibody levels as a measure of immunity against COVID-19 after infection or vaccination. This clashes with the knowledge that the immune system remembers prior invaders and can be reactivated if there is a new exposure. 

Antibodies are proteins the body uses to recognize foreign substances that should not be in your blood and flag down immune cells to destroy the invader. When a pathogen, such as a virus or bacterium, enters the body, the immune system is triggered to produce more antibodies. Vaccines often work by introducing an unharmful or artificial part of a pathogen into your body to make it produce antibodies. The level of antibodies may wane, but the B-type immune cells remember and can ramp up production of the invader returns. 

 Antibody tests detect whether a specific antibody is currently circulating in your body which is generally considered a marker of recent infection of immunization. Initially, COVID-19 antibody testing was used as one measure of whether or not a person had been infected with the virus. However, because it can take 1 to 3 weeks after the initial infection for antibodies to be measurable in your body, the tests are not used to detect a recent or active infection.  

The way antibody tests are often discussed in the media gives the impression that circulating antibodies are a measure of immunity against the virus. The real measure is whether or not your immune system is capable of mounting a new response to the virus, not whether a response is currently underway.  Circulating antibodies are a marker of an active immune response. 

So, antibody testing cannot tell you if your body is capable of producing an effective immune response against COVID-19. You may be able to mount a strong response even if you have no measurable antibodies in your blood.   

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antibody-tests.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2Fcovid-19%2Finfo-by-product%2Fclinical-considerations.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/expert-answers/covid-antibody-tests/faq-20484429

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2785530?guestAccessKey=63cc3fb6-a5f2-4a8c-af81-12e27cce9e77&utm_source=silverchair&utm_campaign=jama_network&utm_content=covid_weekly_highlights&utm_medium=email

All

Do face masks cause harmful levels of carbon dioxide in the air we breathe?

Image from www.goodhousekeeping.com

Alejandro Perez

Since the start of the pandemic, face masks have become a part of our everyday life. Even with masks mandates loosening up, the CDC recommends using a face mask while indoors regardless of vaccination status. On occasion, you might hear someone voice a concern about potential detrimental effects of wearing a mask. At one point there was a discussion about levels of carbon dioxide inhalation with masks.  

Carbon dioxide is toxic at levels of 10 percent in the breathed air. Carbon dioxide, oxygen, and other gases easily pass through masks. The molecules are so small only a solid barrier would prevent their passage. 

Respiratory droplets that carry the COVID-19 virus are much larger than carbon dioxide molecules and cannot pass through the masks. Even while undergoing intensive exercise, face masks have been found to be completely safe with only a slight reduction in physical performance due to slight restriction of airflow. 

Doctors, nurses, and surgical technicians have long worn masks for extended periods of time during surgery, up to 18 hours without impairment and with no increase of carbon dioxide levels in their blood. 

Low levels of carbon dioxide are not always harmful. For example, carbonated drinks, which are fizzy due to carbon dioxide being released from the liquid, are completely safe to consume. The carbon dioxide levels in carbonated beverages are way too low to have an effect on our bodies, and the same can be said about face masks and the normal carbon dioxide concentration in our environment of 0.04 percent that we inhale and exhale.

The concept of face masks causing harmful inhalation of carbon dioxide runs counter to knowledge, experience, and common sense. The idea is harmful and stressful at a time when we do not need any additional stressors and we need to take action to limit the pandemic.  Wearing a face mask is safe and allows us to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. For more information about the COVID-19 virus, visit the CDC website. Stay safe!

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/why-it-feels-like-you-cant-breathe-inside-your-face-mask-and-what-to-do

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210309/wearing-a-mask-wont-ruin-your-workout#1

https://uihc.org/health-topics/do-face-masks-make-you-retain-carbon-dioxide

https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/does-wearing-face-mask-increase-co2-levels

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16499405/