Changing weather often brings with it unwelcome sniffles and coughs.  While medications offer some relief, bolstering your immunity from within is key.  Dates, a nutritional powerhouse, are a perfect food to combat these seasonal ailments.  Beyond their delightful flavour in desserts, dates offer a wealth of health benefits, from improved digestion and heart health to effective management of diabetes.  They also shine as a traditional remedy for cold, cough, and flu.

Health Benefits Of Dates:

Both ripe and dried dates are packed with Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that strengthens immunity against infections.  They also provide essential vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B5, and A1.  As noted in ‘Healing Foods’ by DK Publishing House, dates have long been a traditional remedy for respiratory ailments, offering relief from sore throats, colds, and bronchial catarrh when consumed as an infusion, extract, syrup, or paste.  Khajur ka doodh, a popular Indian beverage, is a delicious way to harness these benefits. Rich in fibre and minerals, dates also contribute to warmth within the body, explaining their frequent use in winter sweet treats like ladoos and halwa.

Khajur Ka Doodh Recipe:

This simple recipe allows you to easily prepare Khajur ka doodh at home:

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup dates (deseeded and chopped)
1 1/2 tbsp almonds
Half tsp powdered cinnamon
Sugar (to taste) or 1 tbsp honey

Instructions:

1. Soak the Dates: In half a cup of milk, soak the chopped dates for approximately 40 minutes to soften them. This step helps in blending the dates smoothly.
2. Blend the Mixture: Transfer the soaked dates and milk into a blender. Add the almonds to the mixture as well. Blend the ingredients until you achieve a smooth consistency. Set this mixture aside.
3. Heat the Remaining Milk: In a separate pan, boil the remaining milk.
4. Combine and Simmer: Once the milk starts boiling, add the date and almond mixture to the pan. Incorporate the cinnamon and sugar (or honey) at this stage. Simmer the combined ingredients for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together.
5. Serve Warm: Pour the Khajur ka doodh into serving glasses or mugs. Garnish with roasted almonds for added texture and visual appeal. Serve hot for maximum comfort and relief.

This warm and nourishing beverage not only tastes delicious but also offers a natural way to combat common illnesses. The combination of dates,milk, and spices creates a soothing and immune-boosting drink.  Enjoy a glass of Khajur ka doodh to stay healthy throughout the changing weather.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday that the new coronavirus found in bats is currently not a cause for concern.

There is no reason to believe the virus poses a threat to public health at the moment and no infections have been detected in humans, according to the federal health agency.

“CDC is aware of a publication about a new bat coronavirus, but there is no reason to believe it currently poses a concern to public health,” the agency said in a statement. “The publication referenced demonstrates that the bat virus can use a human protein to enter cells in the laboratory, but they have not detected infections in humans.”

Chinese researchers, including from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and Guangzhou Medical University, published a paper in the journal Cell on Friday indicating they had discovered a new bat coronavirus that could have the potential to infect humans.

The newer coronavirus is known as HKU5-CoV-2 and is a type of merbecovirus, which is the same family of another coronavirus known to infect humans called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

In a lab study, the new coronavirus was found to have the potential to enter cells through the ACE2 receptor, a protein found on the cells’ surface.

This is the same way the virus that causes COVID-19 infects people, which theoretically means the new coronavirus could pose a risk to spilling over into humans.

The spike protein of the new coronavirus infected human cells that had high levels of the ACE2 receptor in test tubes, as well as in small models of human airways and intestines.

The researchers found that the virus did not enter human cells as readily as the virus that causes COVID-19 — which is called SARS-CoV-2 — writing that the “risk of emergence in human populations should not be exaggerated.”

None of the animal studies that were conducted examined the virus’s ability to cause disease or its transmissibility.

If the virus were to infect humans, the researchers suggested antiviral drugs and monoclonal antibodies — laboratory-produced proteins that mimic the antibodies the body naturally creates when fighting a virus — could be effective.

There are hundreds of coronaviruses circulating in nature. Only a few can infect humans, causing illnesses ranging from mild respiratory tract infections to more severe conditions such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

Coronaviruses include some variations of the common cold, the virus that causes MERS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the virus that causes COVID-19.

The researchers wrote that “bats harbor the highest proportion of genetically diverse coronaviruses,” posing a risk of spilling over into humans.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Attorney General Derek Brown signed onto a letter along with attorneys general from 37 other states to ask the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the safety of weight loss drugs.

The letter asks the FDA to “ramp up enforcement against any compounding pharmacies that may be illegally participating in the market,” per a press release issued Wednesday by Brown’s office.

Brown said Friday that because of our “physical location,” Utah is dealing with a drug epidemic that includes the danger of buying and selling fake drugs. He added in the press release that the FDA needs to further investigate and protect consumers “against all the illegal and deceptive conduct.”

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy have become popular in recent years. Their main ingredient, semaglutide, has been traditionally used to treat diabetics, but according to a study by KFF last year, 1 in 8 Americans have used it to lose weight.

Generic prescription drugs usually save consumers money because they are the same as the name brand, but the patent has expired. But a new study published in the journal Production and Operations Management suggests not all generic drugs are the same.

Researchers say they have uncovered significant disparities in the safety of generic drugs manufactured in India compared to those produced in the United States. The research, led by In Joon Noh from Korea University, found that generic drugs made in India are linked to a 54% increase in severe adverse events, including hospitalization, disability, and death, compared to their U.S. counterparts.

The study, which involved matching 2,443 generic drugs from the U.S. and emerging economies, highlights the critical role of manufacturing location in drug safety. John Gray, co-author and professor at Ohio State University, said that regulatory and quality assurance practices differ significantly between emerging economies like India and advanced economies such as the United States. This difference, he noted, can have a substantial impact on drug safety.

A focus on India

Despite the FDA’s assurances that all generics should be equivalently safe and effective, the study’s findings challenge this notion, particularly concerning Indian-manufactured generics. George Ball, a co-author from Indiana University, stressed the importance of transparency in drug manufacturing locations to enhance consumer safety.

The research team, which includes experts who have collaborated with the FDA, were able to link drugs to their manufacturing plants using the Structured Product Labeling dataset, overcoming the FDA’s lack of transparency on this front. This breakthrough allowed for a direct comparison of pharmaceutically equivalent drugs from both countries.

The study also revealed that mature generic drugs, those on the market for a longer time, were primarily responsible for the increased adverse events. The researchers attributed this trend to intensified competition and cost-cutting measures in the pharmaceutical industry, which they suggested may compromise drug quality.

While the findings raise concerns, Gray cautioned against halting overseas production, acknowledging that there are both good and bad manufacturers in India and the U.S. Instead, he advocated for improved regulatory oversight, including unannounced inspections of overseas manufacturing plants, to ensure consistent drug quality.

The study’s authors recommend that the FDA increase transparency regarding drug manufacturing locations and quality, enabling consumers to make informed choices and incentivizing higher standards in the industry.

If you don’t personally know a narcissist, you can likely think of a few celebrities or politicians who display entitlement, lack empathy and crave constant admiration.

Grandiose narcissists, also known as overt narcissists, are particularly notorious for their inflated sense of self-importance and relentless need for attention — traits that may match the description of someone you just thought of. Unlike covert narcissists, who mask their behavior with self-pity, grandiose narcissists rely on charm and manipulation to thrive.

Now, a new study has found grandiose narcissists are not only more likely to feel ostracized but are also genuinely excluded more often than those with less egocentric personalities.

How narcissism and exclusion fuel one another

Narcissists often display disruptive behaviors in social settings, such as aggression or arrogance, that increase the likelihood of others distancing themselves over time. These self-absorbed individuals are also highly sensitive to social status and ambiguous cues, making them more likely to perceive exclusion even when it’s not happening, according to the study.

“There’s a very thin-skinned quality to narcissistic people, so if they even get a whiff that they are being left out, they’re going to be acutely aware of that,” said Los Angeles-based licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula, who treats people with narcissistic personality disorder and has written several books on the topic, including “It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing From Narcissistic People.” “It’s picking up a glance or not liking a social media post.”

But when narcissists overreact to perceived acts of ostracism, friends, family members or colleagues may start avoiding them out of concern for their behavior.

To navigate relationships with narcissists, Durvasula recommends a strategy known as disengagement — intentionally withdrawing contact or interactions. Narcissists often interpret this behavior as exclusion, but it may be necessary for your mental health.

Nevertheless, these actions create a destructive cycle identified in the study that explains how narcissism and ostracism fuel each other.

Narcissists tend to view themselves as victims when they feel ostracized. This victim mentality intensifies their antagonistic behaviors, pushing people even further away, said Christiane Büttner, lead study author and social psychologist at Switzerland’s University of Basel.

“This suggests that ostracism doesn’t just affect narcissists in the moment — it might shape their personality development in ways that perpetuate future exclusion,” Büttner said.

While the new study examined individuals who scored high on narcissism tests, it did not specifically focus on those with pathological narcissism, Durvasula noted. She said she believes the effects of narcissism and exclusion would be even more extreme in individuals with clinical narcissistic personality disorder.

The study also found that individuals who exhibit narcissistic rivalry, viewing others as competition and acting more aggressively, are more likely to be ostracized than those with high levels of narcissistic admiration, who seek attention and status in socially engaging ways rather than isolating themselves, Büttner said. This pattern is particularly common in workplace dynamics.

“There’s actually a natural social perceptiveness narcissistic people have, which is why they can be quite successful in leadership and business,” Durvasula said.

However, narcissists typically only use this skill when it benefits them and blame others in most situations.

Can narcissists change?

Narcissistic behaviors need to be addressed early on. This proactive approach is challenging because schools can attempt to enforce anti-bullying policies to counteract such behavior, but outside of the classroom, social exclusion is harder to control, Durvasula said, pointing to the example of a child not being invited to a birthday party.

“I think that anti-bullying practices should be just as much about anti-ostracism behaviors to look out for the kid who may not be fitting in with peers as well and monitoring the situation,” Durvasula said.

If children don’t receive therapy for narcissistic traits, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to change as they enter adulthood, and narcissistic tendencies may intensify over time.

To improve, narcissists need consistent intervention through therapy. Therapists must also be mindful of developmental traumas, childhood environment, attachment issues and any other psychological factors that may have shaped their narcissistic personality, according to Durvasula.

“Usually the (final straw) that gets a narcissistic person to therapy is either sadness or anxiety, but they will still often pin it to something happening outside of them,” Durvasula said. “My boss is never fair to me, I can’t get promoted, I don’t have enough money, my spouse is mean to me.”

Social skills training or cognitive behavioral therapy could help narcissists challenge assumptions that people are excluding them, while doing deep breathing exercises or mindfulness meditation and reframing negative thoughts could help them develop healthier coping mechanisms to prevent future ostracism, Büttner said.

Handling a relationship with a narcissist

The study primarily examined examples of narcissism in the workplace, but Durvasula said dealing with a narcissist in a family or friend circle is often more challenging due to the deeper emotional history involved.

Whether you’re navigating a work or personal relationship with a narcissist, Durvasula suggests empathic disengagement or yellow rocking, a strategy of remaining pleasant and polite in their presence without overperforming or sacrificing your mental well-being to satisfy them.

Narcissists in work and personal relationships create challenges for others who have to manage their disruptive behaviors and pick up more responsibilities because they can’t rely on them.

In work settings, this might look like a narcissist colleague not pulling their weight in a team of five. Other team members may hesitate to confront this person for fear of the reaction, ultimately picking up their share of the work instead, Durvasula said.

Family members face similar challenges, often creating backup plans to avoid last-minute chaos, as they can’t rely on a narcissist to follow through on commitments, such as picking someone up from the airport.

As for when to disengage fully, Durvasula said it’s a personal decision. Some people may need to cut ties after just a few negative experiences, while family members might tolerate behavior for years or even decades from some narcissists.

A new study has found a potential link between the use of six popular muscle-building supplements and symptoms of body dysmorphia in teens.

The author of the study found that substances such as whey protein powder, creatine products, and other supplements are often taken by teens who are trying to gain muscle. The study also found a pattern of excessive gym time and obsessing over food intake.

But even with these connections, the study is observational, which means that it is hard to fully determine whether the use of these supplements is what increased the symptoms of body dysmorphia or if the people who have body dysmorphia are just more likely to take these bodybuilding supplements.

Additionally, it found that people may be using these popular supplements in place of anabolic steroids, which have been found to be harmful to the body.

The study was recently published in the journal PLOS Mental Health.

In a significant development for pancreatic cancer treatment, a phase 1 clinical trial has highlighted the potential of personalized mRNA vaccines to treat the deadly disease.

This research comes at a critical time, as pancreatic cancer is known for its grim prognosis, with less than 13% of patients surviving beyond five years.

The disease is often diagnosed at advanced stages due to a lack of early symptoms and routine screening.

Pancreatic cancer woes

Pancreatic cancer is particularly challenging because around 90% of cases are found when they are already advanced.

The nature of this cancer often allows it to spread to other parts of the body before it can be effectively treated.

A vaccine for pancreatic cancer could serve as a promising new therapy.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York, an experimental approach to treating the cancer with a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutic vaccine “continues to show potential” in reducing the risk of the disease returning after surgery, according to a press release.

Results from the phase 1 clinical trial, published in the journal Nature, revealed that the vaccine triggered an immune response in a small patient group.

This immune-cell activation persisted for nearly four years after treatment, the release stated.

Patients who received the vaccine and showed an immune system response were more likely to remain cancer-free by their three-year follow-up.

Vinod Balachandran, MD, principal investigator of the trial and senior study author at MSK, stated his optimism about the efficacy of this treatment.

“We find that with RNA vaccine technology, we can teach the immune system to recognize pancreatic cancer, and this immune response could potentially last for many years,” he said.

“The ability to trigger a robust, long-lasting immune response is a requisite feature for any cancer vaccine.”

As pancreatic cancer is “difficult to treat,” Balachandran shared his surprise that the immune system responded in some patients.

“We are encouraged to see that our approach can teach the immune system to recognize pancreatic cancer, that the immune response is potent and that it may potentially impact patients,” he said.

“The ability to trigger a robust, long-lasting immune response is a requisite feature for any cancer vaccine.”

“Although the findings are promising, these vaccines are still in the early stages of testing,” Balachandran said.

The team is planning a larger study “to further test these therapeutic cancer vaccines in patients with surgically removable pancreatic cancer.”

Of the 16 participants, the vaccine stimulated an immune response in half of them. The cancer vaccine was personalized for each participant to target specific proteins found in their form of the disease.

The patients also received an immunotherapy drug (atezolizumab) and standard-of-care chemotherapy after receiving surgery.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines like this one, referred to as autogene cevumeran, are meant to treat the cancer instead of preventing it, by training the immune system to “recognize cancer cells as foreign,” according to the researchers.

The vaccine is meant to target early stages of cancer that have not spread, where tumors can be surgically removed, to “help delay or prevent recurrence.”

Balachandran noted that this approach could potentially be applied to other forms of cancer as well.

“If you can do this in pancreatic cancer, theoretically you may be able to develop therapeutic vaccines for other cancer types.”

“For patients with pancreatic cancer, our latest results continue to support the approach of using personalized mRNA vaccines to target neoantigens in each patient’s tumor,” he said.

“If you can do this in pancreatic cancer, theoretically you may be able to develop therapeutic vaccines for other cancer types.”

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers, as only about 13% of patients are alive five years following diagnosis, according to MSK and the American Cancer Society.

Common therapies like chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapies are “largely ineffective” against pancreatic cancer, MSK stated, which makes new therapies “urgently needed.”