Stacy Cantu completed both her BS & MPH at Texas A&M University (gig ‘em!), and is passionate about all things public health. She curates content on Healthy Food and Healthy Minds.
The way you eat can have a significant impact on your overall health. Food choices can even be the cause of developing invasive cancers, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Spectrum. Researchers found that individual diets could play a factor in 80,110 of the newly reported invasive cancer cases in 2015. That's 5.2% of the total number of cases among U.S. adults from that year. “Our findings underscore the opportunity to reduce the cancer burden and disparities in the United States by improving food intake,” said Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, one of the study's authors and a cancer, nutrition researcher at Tufts University.
About the Study
Researchers analyzed nationally-representative information to identify trends between ...
The rate of uninsured childbearing-age women in Texas (39.4% Latino) is more than double the national average. Over 25% of women ages 18 to 44 are not covered, according to a new study from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The national average? 12.3%. This disparity reflects the state's Medicaid expansion policy choices, Joan Alker, the center’s executive director, told KUT News. "Low-wage workers don’t have offers of affordable health insurance in a state like Texas, perhaps more so than other states," Alker said.
Insurance Access and Overall Health
Researchers set out to discover whether or not state Medicaid expansions through the Affordable Care Act would impact the rate of insured women. Their results illustrate a clear message: Where ...
Cancer, mortality rates continue to decline for men, women, and children, according to an annual report released by the National Institutes of Health. Great news, right? Not so fast. In a special section of the report, researchers found that cancer development and mortality rates increased between 2011 and 2015 for women ages 20 to 49 — whereas men, who historically have higher rates than women, did not experience such gains. The data also shows continuing disparities among Latinos and other racial/ethnic populations. “We are encouraged by the fact that this year’s report continues to show declining cancer mortality for men, women, and children, as well as other indicators of progress,” said Betsy A. Kohler, executive director of North American Association of ...
Latino children are far more likely than their peers to suffer depression and many other psychological issues that will go untreated at higher rates than their peers. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is crucial to not only address this issue at-large but also to consider the inequities that impact underrepresented communities. Latino students in Philadelphia (14.1% Latino) are capturing those disparities and trials that can lead to the development of harmful mental conditions, through an initiative by the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity (P-CHE) and Thomas Jefferson University. This is one of many innovative solutions communities and schools are developing to promote healthy minds. Other programs across the country are also trying to change the status quo, ...
Most Americans living in rural communities say they are content with most aspects of their lives; however, two significant concerns stand out: Financial insecurity and the high medical costs. Two surveys, conducted through a partnership between NPR, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that 40% of that demographic struggle with healthcare, housing, and food expenses.
Healthcare Access, or Lack There Of
The surveys also found that 26% of rural Americans said they had not received desperately needed medical attention due to their limited budget. However, nine in 10 respondents did report having health insurance. An increase that is attributed to the implementation Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. A decade ago, this was ...
Latino workers are more likely to die on the job than anyone else. Most of the Latinos killed are also immigrants, according to a news report by KALW radio. “In 2017, we lost 376 workers [in California],” Jora Trang, a managing attorney at the labor rights’ organization Worksafe, told KALW. “That’s more than one worker a day.”
Latinos & Job Fatalities
Latinos have disproportionately died on the job for quite some time. In 2016, 879 Latino workers were killed on the job. In 2017, that number rose to 903. This puts the Latino fatality rate higher than the national job fatality rate for all workers, Latino Rebels reports. “This is a national crisis. And it’s well past time that our elected leaders in Washington, D.C., stop playing politics and take ...
In California (39.1% Latino) there will soon be a ban on the widely utilized pesticide, chlorpyrifos. The state, which is one of the most prolific agricultural producers in America, is reportedly the most significant users of the chemical. "This pesticide is a neurotoxin, and it was first put on the market in 1965," State Environmental Secretary Jared Blumenfeld told The Californian. "So it's been on the shelf a long time, and it's past its sell-by date.
What is Chlorpyrifos & Where Is It Found?
Chlorpyrifos controls foliage and soil-borne insects on a variety of food and feed crops, according to the EPA. The chemical can be found in both agricultural and non-agriculture operations and is used: Mainly as a treatment, in terms of total pounds, in corn
On soybeans, ...
Medical access can be a determining factor in whether or not someone lives a healthy life. Lack of healthcare treatment especially impacts undocumented Mexican immigrants, according to new findings published in the Journal of Latinx Psychology. Not only does this have immediate effects on Latinos, but research also shows this demographic can suffer long-term psychological and physical impairments related to their migration, according toTexas Medical Center News (TMCN). “We knew there was a high prevalence of loss and trauma in this population—we expect it because we know the many challenges they face. However, they were so much higher than I could even imagine, particularly in terms of repeated exposure or multiple losses,” said Dr. Luz Garcini, the study’s lead author and a ...
A lack of access to healthy, sustainable food is causing Latino kids to develop severe health conditions including issues with their internal organs. One significant issue of concern is pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The rate of diagnoses is increasing among Latino kids, Kaiser Health News reports. “Fatty liver disease is ripping through the Latino community like a silent tsunami and especially affecting children,” said Dr. Rohit Kohli, chief of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The ailment is also linked to genetics as well as high levels of sugar and fat in diets.
Fatty Liver Disease & Latino Kids
Before 2006, many doctors did not know that children could develop ...
