Category Archives: All

Shampooing and the ‘No Poo’ Method

Image result for shampooing

Source: Live About

Victor Liaw

From hair stylists to dermatologists, experts now agree that hair does not need to be shampooed everyday. However, a recent movement in hair care has taken this to the extreme. The theory behind the ‘No Poo’ (no shampoo) Method is that the synthetic chemicals found in traditional shampoos damage hair by removing natural sebum. Sebum is the oily secretions from the scalp that protects and moisturizes the skin.  It makes hair feel greasy.

Your scalp responds to frequent shampooing by producing excess sebum, making hair feel even greasier.  Then you need more shampoo for hair to feel clean, and the cycle continues. Proponents of the ‘No Poo’ Method believe they can break this cycle by using gentler options, including baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and even water alone. These alternatives purportedly have the same effect as shampoo, but are much milder. The idea is that persistent use can result in your scalp producing less sebum and hair will become less greasy.

Although some believe that the ‘No Poo’ Method is a better alternative to shampoo, outside of testimonials from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, there is no evidence to support this belief. That being said, the ‘No Poo’ Method isn’t detrimental. How you choose to wash your hair is a personal choice, as neither choice will drastically affect your health. Frequency of hair washing is also largely preferential, but people who sweat a lot, have very fine hair, or a naturally oily scalp might consider daily washing if it helps to limit itchiness, dandruff, and head acne

https://www.nopoomethod.com/

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/general-science/no-poo-craze

https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/how-often-wash-hair

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-should-wash-your-hair-every-day-2018-1

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319848.php

How Effective Will CAR T-Cell Therapy be in Treating Solid Tumor Cancers?

Image result for mesothelioma cancer alliance

Source: Mesothelioma

Guest Piece written by David Haas

David Haas is a health advocate specializing in mesothelioma. He works to ensure the continuation of awareness about the disease and supports active research being conducted to find a cure.

 The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States this year. Oncologists and researchers are working to develop new treatment options in hopes of increasing both the duration and quality of life of people with cancer. One relatively new treatment (CAR T-cell therapy) extracts and modifies T cells from the blood (type of immune cell), gives them a receptor that directs them to the specific type of cancer (Chimeric Antigen Receptor, or CAR) the patient has, and then places them back into the bloodstream. Patients are monitored closely because reintroduction of a large number of T cells can lead to life threatening complications. One possible complication is Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS): the release of an excess of cytokines (an inflammatory molecule). CRS can cause a steep drop in blood pressure, high fever, and swelling of the brain, which can be fatal. These risks do not deter many patients who have limited treatment options left.

Given the success of CAR T-cell therapy for liquid tumors such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL; 83 percent remission rate in some clinical trials) there is discussion of how this treatment could impact solid tumors. However, site-specific drug delivery is more difficult for solid cancers.

The National Cancer Institute recently granted 11 million dollars to the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center to study T cell therapy for solid tumors. This research will focus on a rare lung cancer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), which has a notoriously poor prognosis. For people with late-stage mesothelioma, it’s unusual to live more than two years after diagnosis. If successful, research interest in CAR T-cell therapy for rare solid tumors may expand.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) researchers have enrolled 12 people with MPM in a clinical trial of CAR-T-cell therapy. The early results are promising, showing no signs of toxicity, with one patient remaining clinically well eight months after T cell infusion.

It may be a while before this treatment is widely available, as one hurdle is price. The two FDA approved T cell treatments cost more than $370,000. This price would leave the average cancer patient in a debilitating amount of debt even with optimal insurance coverage. Regulators are looking to have these prices reduced.

While research may establish CAR T-cell therapy as effective for solid tumor cancers such as mesothelioma, the timeframe for accessible treatment may be several more years since it is experimental and prohibitively expensive.

***If you are interested in writing a guest piece on our website about a topic of interest, please feel free to reach out to us at kavyarajesh@utexas.edu and David.Ring@austin.utexas.edu to discuss an idea. We hope you enjoyed this piece and we look forward to hearing from you!

 

Sources

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17726-car-t-cell-therapy/risks–benefits

https://labiotech.eu/features/car-t-therapy-cancer-review/

https://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/

https://www.targetedonc.com/publications/targeted-therapy-news/2018/august-2018/early-signs-of-efficacy-seen-with-mesothelin-car-tcell-therapy

Juicing – Health Revolution or This Month’s Trend?

Image result for fruit juice

Source: Beverage Daily

Vandana Dubakula

You may consider grabbing a cold pressed juice as a healthy substitute for soda. Given that there seems to be a juice shop on nearly every corner,  you decide it’s time to hop on the juice trend. But there are a few things you should be aware of prior to taking that first sip.

Juice seems like an easy and efficient way to get all the vitamins and minerals present in fruits. However, these components are overshadowed by the large amount of sugar in juices. In fact, juices contain as much sugar and calories as sugary soft drinks. Juicing eliminates an important component that is present in whole fruits: fiber. Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. Eating whole fruits moderates the amount of sugar that is being absorbed into your body at one time.

Experts even say that juicing can be unhealthy because of how easy it is to consume large amounts of sugar in a short period of time. Whole fruits take time to chew and swallow, and the fibrous elements make you feel full after eating. However, in juice you are consuming the equivalent of many fruits in one short sitting and you often don’t feel fulfilled after consuming the drink. Moreover, the way liquid sugar is processed in body is different from the way food is processed. When you consume large amount of sugars quickly, the liver cannot process the sugar quickly causing your body to store the unprocessed sugar as fat. So if you’re trying to lose weight, juicing may not be the best option for you.

Along with this, the metabolization of liquid sugars doesn’t lead you to have the same hunger satisfaction as when you eat food. With juice and even with smoothies that do retain the fiber element present in whole fruits, you add extra sugar into your diet but don’t compensate the calories by cutting down on other food. In reality, you gain more calories without significant nutritional benefits.

Verdict: should I juice or not?

Given the negative consequences of consuming copious amounts of juice, it would be healthier for you to just eat the fruits whole. However, if you do not enjoy eating fruits, and are able to monitor the amount of calories you are gaining from fruit juice, then drinking juice can still provide you with the vitamins and other nutrients that fruits contain. Juices are better than fast food and can be a good addition to everyday diet, provided they are consumed in moderation.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/07/health/is-fruit-juice-healthy-food-drayer/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/04/26/people-think-juice-is-good-for-them-theyre-wrong/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fd041881ab96

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/juicing/faq-20058020