We’re all busy with the hustle and bustle of life. It’s tempting to grab fast food or buy ready-to-eat food to avoid cooking after a long day. But choosing those ultra-processed foods may cost you more than the money in your wallet. We already know that processed food is bad for your health, but an August 2022 study in The BMJ suggests that consuming ultra-processed food may increase risk for a serious disease – colorectal cancer. Let’s unpack these study results and what they mean for Latinos.
What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
Ultra-processed foods – industrial ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat formulations made of little or no whole foods – now contribute 57% of total daily calories consumed by American adults, according to the study. These foods are usually rich ...
Volunteering for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s helps other people. It gives the volunteer a nice emotional boost, too. So why not volunteer your "voice" or "actions"? We at Salud America! invite you to take or start these 11 actions to promote health equity for Latino and all families this holiday season!
1. Start a School Food Pantry!
About 1 in 6 children are food insecure. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Your school can help these kids! Try the Salud America! “School Food Pantry Action Pack.” This is a free guide to help school personnel talk to decision-makers, work through logistics, and start a School Food Pantry to help hungry students and reduce local food insecurity. A School Food Pantry accepts, stores, and redistributes ...
How does COVID-19 affect the brain? Researchers at the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio are looking for the answer and need your help. Volunteer for the 7T MRI Study of How COVID-19 Affects the Brain! Study volunteers will get an advanced state-of-the-art MRI scan to compare brain imaging of those recovered from COVID-19 to those who have never tested positive for the infection. “This study is to identify the long-term neurological and psychiatric effects of a COVID-19 infection,” according to the Biggs Institute study team, including Drs. Mitzi Gonzales, Gabriel de Erausquin, Sudha Seshadri, Monica Goss, and Mohamed Habes. To volunteer for the 7T MRI Study, contact Vibhuti Patel (210-450-7186), Erin ...
TV personality Oprah Winfrey has selected Dr. Amelie Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio as a "Cycle Breaker" for her groundbreaking work to build health. Cycle Breakers is a video series from the Smithsonian Channel that spotlights leaders who are solving health issues. Each Cycle Breaker is chosen by Oprah to augment her documentary that chronicles how some people are suffering from substandard healthcare. Ramirez's episode, released Oct. 3, 2022, features her life's work to break the cycles of difficulties and non-medical drivers of health that impact people. "Cycles are tough to break. Amelie Ramirez is the driving force behind an innovative health program that’s delivering real information & changing perspectives within the healthcare industry," according to the ...
Timothy Leech acababa de celebrar su cumpleaños número 40, cuando recibió una noticia que cambió su vida. Timothy fue diagnosticado con carcinoma de células escamosas en etapa 4, una forma de cáncer de piel, en 2014. Los médicos le dijeron que le quedaba poco tiempo de vida. “Claro que me asusté, Pensé que me iba a ir muy rápido", dijo Timothy. Pero hoy, ocho años después, Timothy es un sobreviviente de cáncer. Él le da crédito a su esposa, Katie Leech, a su equipo médico y a un estudio clínico por llevarlo a donde está hoy, no completamente libre de cáncer, pero "tan pequeño que no se puede medir". Un estudio clínico es un estudio de investigación que ayuda a los investigadores a aprender más para ayudar a reducir el progreso, controlar y tratar ...
Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones have new reason for hope after positive results from clinical trial of a new treatment called lecanemab. Lecanemab – a drug designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting amyloid plaque buildup in the brain – reduced the progression of cognitive decline among trial participants by 27% over 18 months, compared to placebo, according to UsAgainstAlzheimers. “This is very important and quite positive news that gives our nation’s 6 million Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones reason to hope again. In fact, the data is a reminder that each drug in this class of therapies is quite different,” said George Vradenburg, chair and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimers. What do the results show, and how will ...
Created in 2016 by President Joe Biden, the Cancer Moonshot initiative aims to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. Since then, the government program has accomplished a lot, including more than 2,000 scientific publications and 49 clinical trials – all to better understand how to treat and prevent cancer. President Biden has now reignited the Cancer Moonshot program and set a new national goal: cutting the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years, and improving the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. But how will the Cancer Moonshot impact Latinos?
The Latino Cancer Crisis
Cancer is the #1 cause of death in Latinos. Latino cancer cases are expected to rise 142% in coming years. There are higher rates ...
Latinas have lower cancer screening rates than their peers in South Texas and the nation. To find out why, we conducted a Zoom webinar — “Ladies, Why Should You Get Screened for Cancer?” — at 1 p.m. CT on Oct. 4, 2022. This webinar featured guest speakers and patient advocates to help health care professionals and the Latino public to help health care professionals and the Latino public understand the cultural and other barriers to cancer screening and demystify screening tests. Speakers also shared testimonials of their cancer journey and why they get screened. This is the sixth and final webinar of a series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT ...
Hispanic Heritage Month is here! This annual U.S. observance, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We at Salud America! invite you to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in these awesome ways.
1. Learn How Hispanic Heritage Month Started
U.S. Congressmen Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and Henry B. Gonzales were among those who introduced legislation on the topic in 1968. President Lyndon Johnson implemented the observance as Hispanic Heritage Week that year. U.S. Rep. Esteban E. Torres of Pico Rivera proposed the observance be expanded to cover its current 30-day period. President Ronald Reagan implemented the expansion to Hispanic ...
