My COVID Diet

It's not time to go grocery shopping yet, but a new published study suggests that a plant-based diet might protect people against COVID-19 infections.

The authors surveyed 702 adults, nearly half of whom has previously had COVID. Those who ate an omnivore's diet (meat, plants, everything) were more likely to have caught COVID (52%) than herbivores (40%).

There were obvious study limitations and caveats: People tend to struggle to remember and record what they eat, and meat-eaters typically have a higher rate of medical conditions, such as obesity and lower rates of activity, that are also known COVID risk factors.

So, if you're an eat-everything sort of person, not to worry (yet). More research is needed. If you're a vegetarian, relax and pass the peas, please.

Body of Knowledge

It has been estimated that one brow wrinkle is the consequence of 2,000 frowns.

Get Me That, Stat!

The weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are all the rage, but very expensive: roughly $900 for a month's supply, which you have to continue indefinitely. A study found that among price-challenged adolescents, nearly 1 in 10 opted for "budget Ozempic" or other risk ways to lose weight.

Budget Ozempic is berberine, a supplement touted to help reduce high levels of cholesterol, boost heart health and treat burns -- none of which have been scientifically confirmed. Other alternatives were chronic use of diet pills and laxatives, both of which pose significant and confirmed health risks.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Enemas for therapeutic purposes have been around for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians believed they flushed rot out of the guts and were invented by the god Thoth. They set aside three days a month for routine enemas and emetics (substances that induce vomiting).

The French King Louis XIII (1610-1643) was a particularly avid fan of enemas, purported engaging in hundreds each year, administered by his personal physicians. For the rest of French society, there were public pharmacists nicknamed limonadiers du posterior (lemonade-makers of the rear end). Sounds slightly better in French.

Doc Talk

Magenblase syndrome -- swallowing too much air during a meal, causing excessive gas and discomfort. Also known as stomach bubble syndrome.

Mania of the Week

Siderodromomania -- an obsession with train travel, i.e., a one-track mind

Best Medicine

My mother has a massive case of diarrhea, but she won't find out until she gets home and unpacks.

Observation

"It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone." -- American humorist Andy Rooney (1919-2011)

Medical History

This week in 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first Black woman to receive an American medical degree, from the New England Female Medical College in Boston. Crumpler began her health career working as a nurse from 1852 to 1860 in Massachusetts, and spent much of her career as a physician striving to improve the health of the Black community.

In 1883, she wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts," in which she focused on instructions for women on how to provide medical care for themselves and their children.

Self-Exam

Q: Can you literally "cough up a lung"?

A: Of course not. A typical adult human lung weighs 2.2 pounds and is a bit longer than 9 inches when breathing normally and 10.5 inches when fully expanded. An adult human trachea or windpipe is approximately 1 inch wide.

So, it's not physically possible for a lung to come flying out of the mouth during a coughing fit, but it is possible for a lung to become displaced -- at least on occasion. In a published case study, British doctors describe a 40-year-old female patient who complained of chest pains. She told doctors that she had asthma and had been coughing especially hard for a few weeks before the pain started.

An X-ray and CT scan revealed that she had coughed so hard that she had herniated her right lung, pushing part of it out through the space between her two lowest ribs.

Fit To Be Tried

There are thousands of exercises, and you've only got one body, but that doesn't mean you can't try them all. Here's an exercise to work out your quads, glutes, hamstring and core muscles that you can do at your desk at work -- or in any study chair that doesn't roll.

Sit with good posture in your chair, with one foot flat on the ground and the other leg extended straight out. Stand up on the foot that's flat on the ground, and keep your opposite leg extended out in front of you. Repeat at least 5 times on each side.

Curtain Calls

In 1975, Alex Mitchell, a British bricklayer, settled back one evening to watch "Kung Fu Kapers," an episode of the popular TV comedy series "The Goodies." The episode involves a character attacking others with a bowl of black pudding and another defending himself with a bagpipe.

Mitchell apparently found it hilarious and began laughing nonstop for 25 minutes until he heaved one last "Ha!" and died. His wife subsequently wrote to the TV show to thank them for making Mitchel's last moments joyful.

Much later, Mitchell's granddaughter was hospitalized after cardiac arrest and diagnosed with Long QT syndrome, an abnormality of the heart's electrical system that can lead to life-threatening arrhythmia and sudden death. Doctors suspect she inherited the condition from her grandfather.

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To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.