The Big, Unaddressed Health & Wellness Issue: Surging Air Pollution and Wildfires By Thierry Malleret, economist Seven million people die prematurely every year because of outdoor air pollution, making it one of the leading causes of early death. A recent update of the WHO air quality guidelines provides clear evidence of the damage that air pollution inflicts on human health at even lower concentrations than…
A 2023 study from University of Rochester medical researchers found that yoga has a powerful, positive effect on inflammation in cancer patients. The high-quality randomized control trial had 500 cancer patients do twice-weekly yoga or health education classes for a month. Blood tests showed that those practicing yoga had “significantly lower levels of pro-inflammatory markers” compared with patients in the education group. The researchers’ conclusion: “Clinicians…
A new study from Newcastle University-UK found that heart attack patients treated with a compound derived from a plant long used in traditional Chinese medicine, astragalus, experienced significantly reduced inflammation (up to 62%, and 30% more than with traditional anti-inflammatory medications.) Patients also experienced less chest and joint pains. Unlike current post-heart-attack treatments, the herbal treatment not only did not compromise patients’ immune systems, it actually…
The War on Obesity Heats Up: Big Food Drives Problem, Big Pharma Cashes In By Solving It By Thierry Malleret, economist The war on obesity is now ramping up, with new research estimating that the global cost will be a crippling $4 trillion by 2035. Telling: Novo Nordisk, the maker of obesity drug Wegovy, has seen such huge recent sales that it just overtook Nestlé…
GWI Previews Its Wellness Policy Toolkit on the Built Environment At the Wellness Real Estate Symposium held May 2 in Manhattan, 35-plus experts took the stage to discuss the future of “building well.” GWI researchers previewed their Wellness Policy Toolkit: The Built Environment. Because the $275 billion wellness real estate market is out of reach for the vast majority of people, GWI presented the case…
A small new study from the University of Victoria compared the impact of “green exercise” vs. the same exercise done indoors (in this case, a short walk). Using electroencephalography to measure the impact on cognitive function across almost all brain measures, exercise in nature proved the winner. It had a significantly bigger impact on memory, concentration and thinking speed. The researchers concluded that with growing…
