Sheila Mota is the embodiment of resiliency. The Utah native has overcome a debilitating illness and the loss of her father to cancer, and is now committed to improving the delivery of healthcare and increasing the quality of life of those who “grew up on the wrong side of the train tracks.” She is a master’s-degree student in public health and healthcare administration at the University of Utah. She also is a health educator at the Health Advocate and Interactive Health, Inc., and is a certified medical assistant at Granger Medical Clinic in West Valley, Utah. She already has experience in front-line patient care and the design and implementation of programs to address health promotion and wellness, especially among the underserved. To further her training and ...
May is #HepatitisAwarenessMonth. The number of U.S. Latinos with hepatitis C (2.6%) is higher than the number of overall people with hepatitis C (1.3%). Hepatitis C disease progression has also shown to be faster in Latinos than in Whites. Worldwide, hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most common risk factor for liver cancer. Latinos have much higher liver cancer rates than Whites, too. Why is this the case? What prevention can be done? What should Latinos know? Let’s use #SaludTues to tweet-chat on Tuesday, May 16, about liver issues, resources, and solutions for Latinos. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Get the Facts – Latinos, Hepatitis, and Liver Cancer”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, May 16, 2017
WHERE: ...
Even as U.S. cancer rates decline, liver cancer rates remain on the rise, especially among Latinos. But why? A new UT Health San Antonio study found that Latinos with liver cancer had much higher levels of aflatoxins than those without liver cancer. Alfatoxins are cancer-causing chemicals produced by mold that can contaminate improperly stored foods. People can ingest aflatoxins in contaminated corn, nuts, rice, sesame seeds, wheat, and some spices. For the study, researchers gauged aflatoxin exposure in 42 liver cancer cases and 42 non-cases from clinics in San Antonio, Texas. Two-thirds of the pairs were Latinos. Liver cancer cases had 6 times higher odds of having detectable levels of aflatoxins in their blood, compared to non-cases. "This study means that Latinos ...
More Latinos get their news via smartphones, but the number of Hispanic newspaper journalists has dropped by half since 2005. That's why Arizona State University has created a digital platform where students get real-world experience reporting critical health, education, economic, and other news in Spanish for local Latinos. The platform is called Cronkite Noticias/Mixed Voces. It is led by ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and funded by Raza Development Fund, which fosters economic growth and opportunities for Latino families across the country, ASU Now reports. The platform is guided by bilingual multimedia journalist Valeria Fernández who works "with a team of six bilingual Cronkite students to produce a variety of in-depth, Spanish-language ...
The New York Milk Bank-the first milk bank in New York state (19% Latino)-opened early 2016 and was off to a successful start, at least, in terms of donations and handling. Delivery; however, was a problem. Julie Bouchet-Horwitz, the nurse practitioner and lactation consultant who opened the milk bank, struggled to deliver milk to babies in need in Manhattan (25% Latino) due to traffic. Increasing breastfeeding rates among Latina mothers could reduce risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and improve overall health for mother and infant. Additionally, breast milk is linked to significant early brain growth in premature babies. Bouchet-Horwitz thought about motorcycles weaving their way through traffic jams with the precious cargo. “So I did a ‘Google search’ ...
Today, March 23, marks the 6th anniversary of the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law by President Barack Obama. An estimated 20 million people have gained health insurance since the ACA went into law in 2010. Latinos have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the ACA; in 2014, an estimated 8 in 10 uninsured Latinos qualified for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), or lower costs on monthly premiums through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The ACA is providing the tools to help transform our health care system to one of better care, smarter spending and healthier people. More than 6 million uninsured young adults have gained health insurance coverage since 2010. For Latinos, 4.2 million between the ages of 18-64 gained health insurance ...
In 2013, Shaun Lee wanted to start a company that would allow people access to fresh healthy foods, in and around San Antonio. Lee's company, Truckin' Tomato is a trailer-turned-farmers market, that delivers online ordered foods to homes in San Antonio on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Lee works with various local farms across the state to pick in season vegetables that are at their peak in freshness, allowing people to have fresh local foods. But some areas of the city are hard to reach with limited funds to expand his business. Working to expand his deliveries, Lee is using a crowdfunding campaign to help him reach new delivery sites in San Antonio and work on ways to address the needs of the larger community to learn about healthy eating and cooking habits. In some delivery ...
A new study revealed that a natural sugar called trehalose helped prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)in mice. Dr. Brian DeBosch, MD, Ph.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist found that Trehalose, a natural sugar found in plants and insects, may help combat the toxic levels of fat that can build up in the liver. Mice in the study also lost fat, and had lower cholesterol, fatty acids, and triglycerides, but Dr. Debosch warns that there is still research needing to be done to address whether the mice lost bone or muscle mass as well. Dr. Debosch encourages his patients to always avoid foods like sugar-sweetened beverages that have added fructose as consumption of sugars, especially fructose found in junk food and sodas, can lead to fatty liver disease, diabetes, high ...
The Oliver Foundation is a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to preventing childhood obesity. They provide a variety of resources for students, educators, parents, and health professionals, with a strong emphasis on eating/preparing nutritious foods and maintaining healthy weight. The Oliver Foundation also offers grants for schools and summer programs aimed at improving eating or physical ...
