health briefs

Consider Moxibustion to Reduce Chronic Fatigue

About 1 percent of the global population suffers from the crippling fatigue, brain fog and joint pain of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), yet its origins remain obscure, and medications and therapy have been largely ineffective. A new metaanalysis from China’s Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine points to moxibustion, a 2,500-year-old practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as a possible treatment. It involves burning a cone or stick made of ground mugwort leaves on or near a patient’s acupuncture points, typically on the stomach. Analyzing data from 15 studies of 1,030 CFS patients comparing moxibustion with either acupuncture or medications, researchers found that moxibustion significantly reduced fatigue more effectively than the other approaches and yielded minimal side effects.

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Eat Fewer Sweets to Save the Planet

Sugary foods and drinks don’t just expand our waistline and hurt our health, they also harm the environment, according to new research from the University of South Australia. Analyzing 20 studies on the environmental impacts of food consumption, researchers found that nutrient-poor foods like sugar-sweetened drinks, alcohol, baked sweets and processed meats account for 27 to 33 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. Meat, grains and dairy contribute the most emissions, while fruit and vegetables are two of the lowest contributors. In New Zealand, the highest greenhouse gas emitters are meat, seafood and eggs at 35 percent, followed by highly processed foods such as pastries and ice cream at 34 percent. “Discretionary foods have a higher cropland, water scarcity and ecological footprint,” says review author Sarah Forbes. “By 2050, the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion people. There is no way we can feed that amount of people unless we change the way we eat and produce food.”

Try Lavender and Valerian to Reduce Fatigue

Fatigue that hampers daily activities is a major symptom of heart failure, the leading cause of U.S. hospitalization for people over 65. To explore inexpensive and accessible herbal treatments, researchers at the Aja University of Medical Sciences, in Tehran, Iran, divided 120 heartfailure patients into three groups: one received aromatherapy, breathing in lavender essence every day; another took 530 milligram capsules of valerian root extract daily; and the third group had conventional medical therapy with no herbal supplementation. After 15 days, fatigue was significantly reduced in both herbal groups, while individuals receiving only conventional care did not experience a noticeable relief in fatigue.

Keep Moving to Sidestep Depression

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were sitting around a lot more and getting depressed, report researchers from Iowa State University. Analyzing data between April and June 2020 from 3,000 participants throughout the country, they found that people that ordinarily met the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines of exercising 2.5 to five hours a week reported cutting back their exercise routines by 32 percent when pandemic restrictions kicked in. The same participants reported feeling more depressed, anxious and lonely. In a second study in the following months, people’s mental health generally improved as they adjusted to life’s new rhythms. “But for people whose sitting times stayed high, their depressive symptoms, on average, didn’t recover in the same way as everyone else’s,” says lead author Jacob Meyer, assistant professor of kinesiology. He suggests taking short walks before and after Zoom calls at home, as well as walking around the block before and after the workday to mimic the pre-pandemic commute.