National Pistachio Day

National Pistachio Day is the time to celebrate this popular nut, which happens to be native to the Middle Eastern areas of the globe, including the areas that are now Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and even southern Russia. It is thought that pistachio nuts date back pretty far into human history. In fact, they are believed to have been not only eaten by humans for at least 9000 years, but they have become an interesting part of some cultures and traditions!

Some historians have said that the famous hanging gardens of Babylon probably contained pistachio plants (which hang in groups similar to the way grapes do), some time around the year 700 BC. In fact, pistachios are only one of two nuts that are actually mentioned in the Old Testament portions of the Bible which are believed to have been assembled some time around 500 BC or so.

Pistachios are so special that, at one point, legend has it that the Queen of Sheba restricted the eating of pistachios to the royal court and forbade commoners to grow them!

It probably wasn’t until the 1st century AD that pistachios made their way to Europe as they travelled there with the Romans. Fast forward another several hundred years or so, and the pistachio was imported to the United States during the 1800s, at the request of various Americans who had roots in the Middle East.

Finally, in the early 1900s, they became a popular snack food throughout the US and could be found almost everywhere, even in vending machines.



Read more here. . . .

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19

February 23, 2023

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-125-masks-memories-middle-ground

"Masks, Memories, & Middle Ground"

In "Masks, Memories, & Middle Ground," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the state of the pandemic in the US and around the world, the newly released CIDRAP Coronavirus Vaccine R&D Roadmap, and the rise of vaccine misinformation and disinformation.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

• 5 VACCINATIONS IS THE MAXIMUM AT THIS TIME.  I ANTICIPATE THEY WILL RECOMMEND EITHER ONCE A YEAR OR TWICE A YEAR VACCINATIONS BUT WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR.
• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION
• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION.  ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT THE J&J VACCINE IS PICKING UP STEAM AND GIVES SOLID LONG-TERM PROTECTION.
• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.
• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON THIS TEST IF YOU HAVE CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS.
• MASKS OF THE KN95 AND N95 VARIETY CAN BE HELPFUL. CLOTH MASKS AND SURGICAL MASKS ARE CURRENTLY NOT AS EFFECTIVE WITH DELTA VARIANT 
• THE THREE/FOUR/FIVE VACCINE REGIMEN IS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HOSPITALIZATION. DEATHS AMONG THE VACCINATED ARE MASSIVELY REDUCED.
• GET YOUR BOOSTERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection.  Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

After you received your COVID vaccinations, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



BUT FIRST.......

PLEASE COMPLETE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO US!

What we need:

1. Your name
2. Date vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

**Email your COVID vaccine completed info HERE

Preventing long COVID-19. There's new research out that says there might be some simple steps to reduce the risk of lingering symptoms.

Millions of Americans are struggling with long COVID. Symptoms like fatigue and brain fog that don't go away. This new research says a healthy lifestyle might be the solution.

Why do some people suffer long COVID symptoms and others don't?

New research in JAMA Internal Medicine looks at six lifestyle factors: diet, exercise, not smoking, healthy weight, adequate sleep and moderate alcohol consumption.

Women who have five or six of these healthy building blocks are about half as likely to get long COVID, compared to women who have one or two.

"What if Americans all had five or six of these healthy lifestyles instead of whatever they do have now? Ph.D. Andrea Roberts said. "And we calculated that about 36% of long COVID cases would have been avoided."

The study looks at data on more than 32,000 female nurses at the start of the pandemic and follows them for a year. It says inflammation may play a critical role.

Read more here. . . .

At our office, we are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will strive for ways to keep our patients and staff safe.



We recommend that all unvaccinated and vaccinated patients and visitors entering our office cover their nose and mouth at all times.

To prevent further spread of the Delta & Omicron variants, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on March 21, 2022, to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19.

We have a limited supply of paper masks and will make these available to patients while they last, however, we encourage you to bring your own facial covering.

Covid can cause damage to the heart on a cellular level that can lead to lasting problems, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure, preliminary research suggests.

Covid’s effects on the heart have been well documented, but a new study zooms in on the microscopic changes thought to be caused by the virus.  

Researchers from Columbia University in New York City examined autopsied heart tissue from people who had Covid, and found that the infection damaged the way cells in the heart regulate levels of calcium, a mineral that plays an important role in how the organ contracts and pumps blood throughout the body. In another part of the study, the same damage was seen in mice with Covid.

The findings, presented Monday at the Biophysical Society Meeting in San Diego, have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Read more here. . . .

Stay Safe!