It’s a habitual claim often made by social media influencers, or in wellness blogs and self-help books. Namely, that it takes 21 days to imprint a new habit on your mind so that it becomes almost automatic. New research indicates that a one-word technical term might be used to describe the accuracy of this claim: Hogwash. Try 59 to 66 days. That’s according to recent research from Australia. Scientists there found two to five months is required to form habits that stick with you and don’t evaporate like morning fog. And for some people, it can take as long as a year. Researchers analyzed data from 20 studies involving 2,600 participants who sought to form healthy habits. Those included things like flossing their teeth, drinking more water, and getting more exercise. As most people can attest, a New Year’s resolution to get fit or eat fewer treats doesn’t just happen like the flipping of a light switch. It takes commitment and repetition until it becomes second nature. One key finding of the study is that it isn’t just a matter of repeating the same behavior for a couple of months. Other factors can dictate whether we’ll be successful. For example, morning routines are easier to maintain. One thought is that we are fresher before the day begins, as our stores of energy not yet depleted. Later in the day, we also face more distractions. Investigators also report that simple habits are more likely to be maintained than complex ones. In addition, habits we select ourselves tend to be more achievable than those thrust upon us by others. Remember: There are no shortcuts to good health.…

Your family physician might throw the yellow penalty flag over the food advertised during televised professional football games. Millions of Americans watch NFL games every fall and winter. Football is the nation’s most popular sport, and advertisers want to tap the millions of people focused on every pass and tackle. A recent study in JAMA Network Open urges us to pay as much attention to the nutritional labels of the food advertised during games as we do the score. That’s because the food is often as unhealthy as a blindside hit on the quarterback. Researchers studied 102 food-related commercials during 10 NFL games played from September to November 2023. The ads included store-bought food and restaurant fare. The ad menu, it turns out, is packed with calories, salt, and fat. Of the store-bought products like chocolate bars and chips, the median number of calories was 490. Median sodium levels stood at a staggering 910 milligrams. Meals from fast food chains measured 1,400 calories and were also astronomically high in salt. The results, of course, aren’t surprising. After all, the ads included foods like chocolate bars, chips, and a range of offerings from the nation’s best-known fast-food joints. American broccoli farmers aren’t spending much time pitching their produce. Scientists said the frequency of the ads took them aback. It’s a challenge for physicians to influence our dietary choices in the face of slick advertisements. Researchers say it’s worth family doctors asking patients if they watch much football and warning them about the unhealthy foods that will tempt them. Don’t play games with your health.…

Is an energy bar truly workout fuel? If you look at the nutrition facts, most bars seem healthy. But many don’t deliver as well as you might expect. Energy comes from calories. All carbohydrates are converted into glucose, a sugar that is used by cells for energy. Simple carbs, such as sugar and white flour, are broken down fastest by your body. That means they are most helpful for fueling extremely demanding workouts. Many bars serve up a combination of carbs, fiber, protein, and fat, but the ingredients could very well be processed. For the healthiest energy bar, look for whole grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. These are packed with nutrients. If you are considering a grain-based bar, look for something made with whole grains, like oats or quinoa [keen-wah]. Whole grains reduce inflammation and harmful cholesterol, ultimately protecting your heart. On the calorie front, even some of the healthiest bars can pack a punch. Some weigh in at 400 calories or more, which is a lot if you don’t exercise regularly. Added sugar is another issue. The American Heart Association recommends only 25 grams of added sugar daily for women and 36 grams for men. Therefore, experts suggest staying at or under 7 grams of sugar to avoid overindulgence. Processed protein and processed fiber should also be reconsidered. The processing itself strips away nutrients. For instance, soy or pea proteins are extracted from the original food source, leaving them with no other nutrients to offer. The next time you wander down the energy bar aisle, don’t make a hasty decision. You don’t want to end up with a glorified candy bar.…

If you thought it wasn’t possible to speed up your metabolism in a week, check this out: New research has found that elderberry juice can significantly improve metabolism and blood sugar regulation in just seven days. Elderberry has long been used in traditional medicine to treat conditions like colds and flu, skin infections, urinary tract infections, and more. You might be used to seeing it in gummy form as an immune-boosting supplement. Now, researchers from several American universities say improved metabolism is among its benefits. Eighteen overweight but otherwise healthy adults participated in the study. Each drank 12 ounces of elderberry juice per day for a week with doses split between morning and night. They then did the same with a placebo beverage for another week. A three-week break separated the two study weeks. Results showed that participants saw a 24% reduction in blood glucose levels following a high-carbohydrate meal after drinking elderberry juice for a week. Elderberry consumption was also linked to a 27% increase in fat burned compared with placebo consumption. Researchers also found that elderberry juice increased bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids, which are compounds essential to gut and metabolic health. Elderberry’s superpower comes from its high concentration of anthocyanins [ann-tho-sigh-ann-ins], compounds that have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic effects. So, forget the metabolism-boosting energy drinks. Consider trying some elderberry juice to help manage your weight and improve your metabolic and immune health.…

A ‘boom’ of post-World War II babies once filled American nurseries, expanding the population. And as these baby boomers age, they’re expanding a population of a different sort: the ranks of people diagnosed with dementia. A new National Institutes of Health-funded study offers troubling news for Americans. The risk of developing dementia after age 55 is now 42% — that’s more than double the risk reported in earlier studies. The risk for men is 35%, and 48% for women. Dementia, a progressive decline in memory, judgment, and concentration, is tied to aging. Other factors include genetics, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, lack of exercise, poor diet, and mental health challenges like depression. The study suggests that dementia was previously underestimated for multiple reasons, including faulty health records and death certificates, little oversight of early-stage cases, and underreporting. The data come from a large study that, since 1987, has tracked the vascular health and cognitive function of nearly 16,000 people as they age. The coming dementia wave calls attention to the need to boost resources to address this health care concern. While the condition is expected to double in the next four decades for white people, it could triple for Black people. Researchers say better nutrition education could help buck the trend by improving diets that play a role. Hearing loss also demands attention. Poor hearing is also tied to higher dementia risk, but only one-third of older adults who need them use them. The study’s authors say affordable hearing aids must be more widely available. In the meantime, wear ’em if you’ve got ’em.…

Sometimes nature can feel cruel, but humans can step in to help out. Scarlet macaws lay up to four eggs per clutch — that’s the group of eggs produced during one nesting event. But whether in the wild or in captivity, the parents routinely feed only one or two of the chicks, leaving the others to starve. This happens to healthy chicks and whether food is plentiful or scarce. For reasons not well understood, the last chicks to hatch are the ones left to die. But now a fostering program removes neglected chicks from one nest and places them in another where chicks have been lost to predators. The foster parent birds raise the chicks as their own, allowing them to thrive. If the program remains successful, it may help endangered parrot species too.…

It’s not unusual for people to prioritize their pet’s health over their own. That’s especially true for vulnerable folks with limited means. But one university is taking a unique approach to people who neglect their own care in lieu of addressing their pets’ needs. The University of Minnesota’s One Health Clinic is a pilot program that will provide health care for pets and their family members together. The clinic, scheduled to open in 2025, will be run by students from the College of Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine, all working under faculty supervision. The clinic’s initial focus will be on those who don’t have routine access to health care and have little or no health insurance.…

In November 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to six companies selling unapproved drugs said to control seizures in dogs and cats. The products were sold online without requiring a prescription or veterinary oversight. The letter cautioned that animals taking anti-seizure drugs should be supervised by a licensed veterinarian who could diagnose and manage their conditions. Many abnormalities can cause seizures. The FDA has conditionally approved two drugs for canine epilepsy — that is, seizures of unknown origin. KBroVet-CA1 [KAY-broh-vet-C-A-1] is a form of potassium bromide, and Fidoquel-CA1 [FI-doh-quell-C-A-1] is a phenobarbital agent. If you think these might help you pet, ask your veterinarian.…

Have you ever wondered why cats’ claws retract and dogs’ claws don’t? It all has to do with function dictating form. Cats are solitary hunters that surprise their prey. Retracting claws let their footpads support them in silence. They also use their claws to kill their prey, so they must keep them sharp. If a cat’s claws were always extended, surface contact would wear them down. Dogs are another story — they’re pack hunters that chase their prey to exhaust them before the kill. They use their claws to gain traction and make quick turns. So, what about cheetahs that run at high speeds? They also need their claws for traction. Despite being cats, their claws function more like dogs’.…

What is it about cats and closed doors? Why do so many of our feline friends swipe, scratch and paw to get under or through them? There are likely several reasons. Feline FOMO is one of them — their fear of missing out. Cats are very curious by nature, and they want to keep tabs on everything happening in their ’hood. In the wild, they’re both prey and predator, so they must be super vigilant to stay alive and be successful hunters. Cats also like to have control and make their own choices, and that doesn’t happen when their human closes them out. Closing a door also changes their environment, and they can’t stand that, either. Many cats also love the attention they get from their human family members — the ones who are often behind those closed doors.…

The bird flu doesn’t only affect birds — cats are vulnerable to it as well. Since 2022, over 80 cases of bird flu have been reported in domestic cats. Most of those cats were from dairy farms, but some were indoor cats with no known exposure to animals shedding the virus. It is surmised that they may have consumed virus-contaminated raw diets or unpasteurized milk. Some commercial raw food brands were recalled recently after testing positive for the virus and being linked to illness and death in cats. Nearly 70% of cats infected with bird flu will die, so it’s not worth taking a chance on a raw food diet. Even freezing temperatures won’t destroy viruses, so stick with commercial pet foods that are heat-treated to get the job done.…

Mexico is on the verge of joining other regions in eliminating dog-transmitted rabies. These include the U.S., Western Europe, Canada, Japan, and some Latin American countries. Other places, like Australia and many Pacific islands, have never had the problem. But make no mistake. Nearly 60,000 people around the world still die from rabies every year. Some countries still have high rates of canine-transmitted rabies. And just about everywhere, rabies is spread by wildlife, like bats, raccoons, skunks, and other mammals. So, it remains crucial to vaccinate pets and livestock while also raising public awareness about how rabies is spread. That’s best done with a One Health approach, which recognizes that environmental, animal, and human health are intertwined.…

If you’re a pooch parent, your ears likely prick up at the mention of canine kennel cough. But what is it, and how can you best protect your dog? Kennel cough isn’t just one disease, it’s a group of viral and bacterial diseases collectively known as canine infectious respiratory disease complex. The classic sign of kennel cough is a persistent honking cough. But depending on the infection involved and the strength of your dog’s immune system, signs can range from lethargy and loss of appetite to pneumonia and other severe illnesses. Because kennel cough is highly contagious, vaccination can lower the risk of infection and reduce the severity of illness. During outbreaks, it’s also important to limit your pooch’s contact with other dogs.…

One new example of a designer pet is the so-called bully cat. They’re meant to be feline versions of American bully XL dogs, like pit bulls but stockier and with shorter coats. Bully cats are produced by mutant breeding, which combines specific genetic mutations to achieve a certain look. Here, a mutation causing hairlessness in sphinx cats is crossed with another that causes short legs in munchkin cats. But the bully cat’s quality of life takes a real hit. Hairless cats are more susceptible to respiratory infections, skin cancer — even impaired navigation due to their lack of whiskers. What’s more, their short legs limit jumping and can be painful. Remember, money talks — and we can withhold support from breeders who create cats with extreme traits.…

If you have backyard chickens and are confused about the bird flu, you’re not alone. The bird flu in the news these days refers to highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. It’s spread by the H5N1 virus that you’ve been hearing about. Waterfowl can spread H5N1 in their saliva and droppings even if they don’t look sick. But the bird flu is rapidly fatal in chickens, so limiting the spread of disease is crucial. That includes preventing flock contact with wild birds, keeping their living area clean and not sharing materials or birds with other folks. New chickens should be quarantined at least 30 days before introducing them to your flock. Also, make sure to contact your veterinarian immediately if you notice any of your birds looking “off.”…