Type 2 diabetes has been an epidemic in the U.S. for more than a decade — 13 percent of American adults have diabetes and almost 35 percent are considered prediabetic, according to JAMA. Type 2 diabetes is more common in older adults -- the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. -- and raises the risk for heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, nonalcoholic liver diseases, falls, urinary incontinence, dementia, depression and hearing loss. 

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past 50 years, it’s that nutrition is an evolving science. What we think we know today may not be the case in a generation. And, as with any science, exciting findings in animal studies may never bear out in humans. 

The quest to learn if dietary fat affects cancer risk is a prime example. We’ve seen – and continue to see – individual studies that hint toward a possible connection. But a much larger body of evidence suggests the opposite. In the scientific world, the side with more data wins. 

Can turmeric help prevent cancer? It sure seems so – if you’re an incurable optimist. The truth is more nuanced than the hype about this supplement.

How much does your diet affect your risk for cancer and what role does it play? For decades researchers have looked for foods that lower your cancer risk or plant-based nutrients that are related to higher or lower risks. While studies in Petri dishes and animals have shown promise, most of that promise disappears once the studies are done in humans.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: COVID is surging nationwide and it’s still a dangerous disease — especially for the unvaccinated. Over the last six weeks, cases of the Delta variant have grown nationally and hospital wards are filling again. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there’s been an uptick in depression, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, both new diagnoses of depression and prescriptions for antidepressant medications rose over the last year and many existing anxiety and depression cases worsened.

Almost half of all Americans have high blood pressure, a condition that can affect blood flow and damage blood vessels in the brain, raising the risk for brain injury, cognitive impairment and dementia. In fact, a recent clinical trial determined treating blood pressure reduced mild cognitive impairment by as much as 19 percent, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. 

Interest in functional medicine is on the upswing; in fact, it’s a wellness trend of the 2020s. But what is functional nutrition? And how can it help you?

Join us for a lively event discussion on how to successfully get to a healthy weight and how to maintain it.

Please bring a friend and RSVP, as space is limited. We will have light refreshments and door prizes.

If you are NOT fully vaccinated, please bring and wear your mask and practice social distancing. 

RSVP by calling the office at 706-842-4210

Where: Wallace House @ Augusta Country Club, 655 Milledge Rd, Wallace House, Augusta

When: Thursday, August 26, 6:00 PM

Just as you thought we were in the home stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic, two new variants have emerged in the U.S., causing infection rates to rise, hospital beds to fill and regulators to recommend masks again.