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As COVID-19 infection rates and deaths begin to decline, more attention to the pandemic’s effect on mental health is needed.

In “Amid declining COVID infections, worry about mental health remains” by Daniel Dunaief featured in the Feb. 24 TBR News Media newspapers and online, Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, cited two Centers of Disease Control and Prevention studies.

The research shows that the children’s mental health crisis alone has gotten worse during the pandemic. The CDC’s Household Pulse Survey also shows 39.2% of people nationally aged 18 to 29 had indicators of anxiety or depression between Jan. 26 and Feb. 7 of this year. As the group members increased in age, the percentage decreased, with 9.3% of those 80 years and above reporting mental health issues.

We have heard many times throughout the pandemic that the isolation and precautions needed to slow down the infection rate could increase anxiety and depression in people. At a press conference last week, held at the Smithtown Senior Center, elected officials discussed the importance of seniors returning to the activities they love and spending time with family and friends, which is vital for their overall well-being.

People need interactions with others to stay healthy and have someone to remind them that they are a good person and that the world is a better place with them in it. As we begin to remove our masks, it’s time to smile again and have conversations with those we encounter in our everyday lives.

Understandably, getting the virus under control during the height of the pandemic was a priority. Now, it’s more important than ever to talk about mental health and stop sweeping things under the carpet.

For most people, that could mean checking in with loved ones. Even if an in-person visit isn’t an option for some right now, a phone call or text message can make a difference.

While it was innovative and necessary to hold doctors’ visits, including those with psychiatrists and therapists, over Zoom during the pandemic, this is not the best option for everyone. Just as some students don’t do well with remote learning, many people don’t respond well to remote therapy.

Sometimes a person needs a one-on-one conversation face-to-face, not only with someone who isn’t judging them or doesn’t have an agenda, but also a professional who can see if they are making eye contact or fidgeting or not responding well to medication. Sometimes body language needs to be read to see if a patient is being truthful or just going through the motions.

While a conversation with a mental health professional is always a wise thing to do — whether in person or online — sometimes, for the real work to be done, it needs to be one-on-one in an office. So, if you need it, don’t hesitate to ask for an office visit. Most therapists are beginning to offer them again.

During the pandemic, people learned new ways of doing things to stay healthy, and some of those ways may be better. But meeting up with a friend and talking while eating or drinking coffee, or sitting on the couch in a therapist’s office — truly connecting — that can’t be beaten.

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

If I knew exactly when Russian president and peace shatterer Vladimir Putin were planning to attack Ukraine, I could be spectacularly rich.

Putin, however, knew exactly when he was going to give the order to start shooting, causing markets around the world to plunge.

No stranger to making a buck or two, Putin, whose wealth is estimated in the billions, may have seen the opportunity to create suffering for everyone else, while making himself even richer.

Have options markets around the world checked the trading just before the day he started killing people in Ukraine? Does anyone know whether he, through shell companies or, perhaps even more directly, through trades he holds in his own name, made a financial killing by destroying neighborhoods and shattering peace on a scale not seen since World War II?

Maybe he positioned his portfolio just as he was moving his military. He could have also dabbled in the commodities markets, where wheat, aluminum and gold prices have soared.

While the Russian president may not need the money personally, he could offset some of the effect of sanctions through the equivalent of his own “big short” on stock markets, betting in a game he helped control that the markets would fall.

Putin could have gone to stock markets outside of Russia, where he could have set up huge trades just a few days before a move the previous president of the United States described as “genius.”

Perhaps Donald Trump, who is also no stranger to capitalizing on financial opportunities, recognized the financial move Putin was making. Putin doesn’t appear to care much about the people he’s displacing or the Russian soldiers who may no longer return to their families to pursue a war against a neighbor whose biggest offense seems to be that they live in a democracy and want to join NATO, whose members consider an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them. As the “Between You and Me” column in these papers from last week made clear, Ukraine has abundant natural resources, which raise its appeal to Putin. At the same time, though, maybe he also saw this move as a chance to make money and to stay relevant.

It’s not every day that people write your name, even if it’s for nefarious actions, in papers throughout the world. Sitting on a stockpile of nuclear weapons that could easily turn Global Warming into a distant afterthought if he and his intended targets used them, Putin is dominating news coverage around the world, displacing COVID. Too bad there’s no vaccine for the world’s population against Putin.

By putting his nuclear forces on high alert after disrupting peace with his attack on Ukraine, he also gets to play bully and victim at the same time. He’s a bully for sending his armed forces into a neighboring country and killing men, women and children. Bullets don’t discriminate between innocent civilians and members of an opposition’s armed forces.

He is also a victim, claiming the heated rhetoric against his military’s unprovoked attack is enough of a threat to him that he needed to put his nuclear arsenal on high alert. His despotic desperation suggests maybe he needs a hug or some counseling.

He also defies logic by calling the Jewish president of Ukraine, Voldymyr Zelenskyy a “neo-Nazi,” when some of Zelenskyy’s own ancestors died in the Holocaust.

Putin may not make sense, but, at least in the first few days after his unjustified attack, he may be making tons of money.

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John Landy (right) with Roger Bannister in 2004. Photo from Wikipedia

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

These are difficult times, but we’re not going there. As President Joe Biden pointed out in his State of the Union Wednesday night, the war in Ukraine, inflation, Covid and climate change are some of the troubles before us. Further, for Pete’s sake, the owners and the players of major league baseball are so far apart in their negotiations that we don’t even have an opening day. And it seems that potholes on local roads multiply overnight. Let’s talk about other things.

Have you ever heard of John Landy? I had, but not by name. Many of us know who Roger Bannister was. It was breathtaking news when he broke the four-minute mile at 3:59.4 as a runner on May 6, 1954. Until that day, humans were not expected to run that fast. Bannister always gave credit to the guy behind him, and in the subsequent race billed as the Mile of the Century, on August 7, it was John Landy.

Landy, an Australian academic, was also a runner. Graduating from Melbourne University that famous year with a degree in agricultural science, Landy and Bannister, an Englishman and medical student at Oxford at the time, ran against each other on Aug. 7 at the British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was to be the first time two men would better four minutes in the same race. Landy had previously run on June 21, in Turku, Finland, scoring 3:57.9. (The current record, by the way, is 3:43.13, held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco.)  

They were the only two who had individually broken the four-minute mile record earlier that year, and their race generated huge excitement. Bannister finished first. Eight-tenths of one second separated the two. Bannister saluted Landy for offering the fierce competition that pushed him just a little bit harder to win. You might wonder how I know all this. Landy died last Thursday in Australia at the age of 91, and there was an appropriately in-depth obituary about him in Sunday’s The New York Times, so I attribute all this information to obit writers Frank Litsky and William McDonald.

“As expected, Landy led from the start, building a 15-yard lead. But Bannister … closed in on the last lap and Landy could sense him coming. Rounding the final turn, he peeked over his left shoulder to see where Bannister was. But Bannister was on his right, and as Landy’s head was turned, Bannister stormed by him, and won in 3:58.8. Landy came in second, in 3:59.6

“Only later was it learned that Landy had run the race with a wounded foot. By his account, he could not sleep the night before the race, so he got up and, barefoot, walked the streets — only to gash a foot on a photographer’s discarded flashbulb. He allowed a doctor to close the wound with four stitches, but only after the doctor swore that he would keep the incident quiet,” according to The NYT.

It was Dr. Roger Bannister, however, whose name “became synonymous with singular athletic achievement,” according to Wikipedia. He died in 2018, making Landy the winner in longevity.

A testament to Landy’s sportsmanship occurred in 1956 at the Australian track and field championships in Melbourne. (Bannister, by the way, retired from competitive running in 1954, to concentrate on medicine.) As Landy was running in the race, hoping to break the record again and participate in the coming Olympics there, a 19-yeaar-old competitor, Ron Clarke, was bumped and fell down ahead of him. When Landy leapt over his body, he inadvertently spiked his right shoulder. 

Landy stopped, ran back to Clarke, brushed cinders from Clarke’s knees and said, “Sorry.” “Keep going,” Clarke said. “I’m all right.” Clarke got up, and he and Landy started after the others, who by then were 60 yards ahead. Landy caught them and won in 4:04.2, according to The NYT.

Landy, in his own words, had “an extraordinarily interesting life.”  I hope you find his story uplifting in what is today a darker time.

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Chicken Curry. METRO photo

By Barbara Beltrami

There’s nothing that curries favor more with an adventurous appetite than (you guessed it) curry. A sauce made from different spices, most commonly turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin and pepper (curry powder is basically a combination of those spices), it is used with meat, fish, or vegetables, can be mild or spicy, but no matter what, it’s a ubiquitous and familiar comfort food all over Asia. 

Like so many foods, curry has as many interpretations as the cultures to which it is indigenous and the people who cook it.  During the British rule of India, it found its way into Western culture, and as the world has become more of a melting pot of immigration and resulting ethnicities, curry has become a welcome addition to our eclectic cuisine with those from India and Thailand being the most familiar (at least to me). 

Here are a few of my riffs on some simple, basic recipes.

Red Curry with Tofu

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

1 pound firm tofu

1 tablespoon oil

1” piece ginger root, peeled and minced

1 small onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 serrano peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons red curry paste

8 ounces unsweetened coconut milk

2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

Juice and zest of one lime

1 cup sugar snap peas

DIRECTIONS:

Slice tofu into one-inch slabs, place on paper towels, then top with another layer of paper towels and pat them down; let sit 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into 1” cubes. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, then add ginger, onion, garlic, peppers and cilantro and saute, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

Add mushrooms and saute until golden, about another 5 minutes, and season with salt; stir in curry paste and cook about 2 minutes, then add coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and zest. Stir and add tofu cubes and snap peas. Simmer until sauce thickens a bit and pea pods are tender, about 8 or 9 minutes. Serve hot with brown rice.

Beef Curry

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 pounds beef sirloin cubes, cut into 1” cubes

2 1/2 cups beef broth or stock

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven heat the butter over medium heat; add onions and garlic and, stirring, cook until onions are wilted, about one minute. Add spices and vinegar, stir a little; add beef and cover; cook for about 10 minutes, until beef starts to brown. Add broth, cover and cook over medium-low heat until beef is tender; add salt, pepper and lemon juice, stir, place in serving bowl and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve hot with rice or chick peas.

Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry. METRO pho

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

4 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh peeled ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

One 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1 2/3 cup chicken stock or broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot over medium heat, warm the oil; add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and, stirring frequently, cook until golden and no longer pink inside, about another 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, cayenne, turmeric, coriander and cumin; cook and stir just until they release their aroma, a minute or so. Next add tomatoes and broth, bring to a good simmer and stir in cream; season with salt and pepper and serve hot with naan and/or basmati rice.

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By Nancy Marr

During the pandemic, when we were reminded that farmworkers were working hard to provide food for the rest of us, farmworkers in Suffolk were working for long hours with no break, on farms where they had no running water or toilets, could not take time off to care for their children or family members who had COVID, were often not eligible for overtime and were often undernourished. Although they could be considered “essential workers” they had few resources. The people who work on our farms have long been at the bottom of the food chain. 

The first legislation that was passed was President Franklin Roosevelt’s National Labor Relations Act in 1935. It gave laborers the right to strike for better conditions, but it did not cover agricultural workers or anyone in domestic service. 

Recently, there has been new legislation to increase their rights, but it is not always effective because it may not be enforced. Also, many workers do not know what their rights are or fear that they will lose their jobs if they protest. 

In California, because of the efforts by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers, formed in 1971, the state passed the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, giving farmworkers in California the right to unionize and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. 

In 2019, New York State passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, even though it was opposed by the New York State Farm Bureau. The bill sponsor, Senator Jessica Ramos, said, “The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act has lingered in this body for twenty years, with seven sponsors on both sides of the aide. I have traveled to seven counties in New York, visited fourteen farms, talked to countless farmworkers, and held three hearings on this bill. There are 80-100,000 farmworkers that are the backbone of New York’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural industry.”  

The bill gave farmworkers the right to organize, and the right to bargain collectively but it did not give them the right to strike. The law also required farmers to provide Disability and Workers Compensation coverage, paid family leave, a day off each week, and overtime pay after sixty hours. (The current New York State budget may include help to farmers to pay the overtime pay.) The effectiveness of the law will depend on how much it is publicized.

This year, the first step toward unionization under the new law took place at the Pindar Vineyards in Peconic. The New York State Public Employment Relations Board officially certified Local 388, the union established by Pindar workers with the help of Angel Reyes Rivas, the Long Island Coordinator for the Rural and Migrant Ministry. Located in upstate New York, with an office in Riverhead, the Ministry is a statewide nonprofit organization that works with rural disenfranchised communities, helping them develop their own leadership. 

A group of workers on the East End has found a way through collective action to earn enough money to buy their own land. Last year, they formed the Long Island Farmworker Flower Cooperative with the help of organizers from the Rural and Migrant Ministry. Through the cooperative they support one another and can meet their economic and cultural needs through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. 

By learning agricultural management, including sales, finance, and accounting, and pooling their resources, they can become producers, buying land and greenhouses for their own flower production. They hope to be independent and be an example for other immigrant communities. To support their efforts, visit the Amandla Long Island Worker Education Center, 573 Roanoke Avenue, Riverhead (631-381-0498) or contact RuralMigrantMinistry.com. For more information, read Mark A. Torres’ Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood, published in 2021.

Nancy Marr is Vice-President of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631–862-6860.

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The following incidents have been reported by the Suffolk County Police:

Centereach

■ Ocean State Job Lot on Middle Country Road in Centereach reported a shoplifter on Feb. 18. A man allegedly stole assorted items including a heater and cleaning products valued at $110.

Commack

■ A woman called the police to report that a man had approached her in the Michaels parking lot on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack on Feb. 15 and allegedly snatched her iPhone from her as she was returning to her car. The phone was valued at $500.

■ A customer at Whole Foods on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack called the police on Feb. 13 to report that her wallet containing cash and credit cards had been stolen from her pocketbook which had been left in a shopping cart unattended.

■ Target on Veterans Highway in Commack reported a petit larceny on Feb. 8. A man and a woman entered the store and allegedly stole several air mattresses, clothing, pots and pans valued at approximately $380.

■ Speedway on Jericho Turnpike in Commack reported that a man entered the store on Feb. 12 and allegedly stole cigarettes and cash.

Huntington Station

■ OK Petroleum on East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station reported that someone stole $50 worth of gas on Feb. 11.

Lake Grove

■ Zales Jewelry at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove reported a grand larceny on Feb. 16. A man asked to see two gold necklaces, allegedly grabbed the necklaces and ran out of the store. The jewelry was valued at $7,450.

■ Macy at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove reported a grand larceny on Feb. 12. A man allegedly grabbed a gold chain valued at approximately $4,000 and fled the store.

Melville

■ Macy’s Backstage on Walt Whitman Road in Melville called the police on Feb. 14 to report a shoplifter. A woman allegedly stole assorted clothing worth approximately $1,000.

■ Dick’s Sporting Goods on Walt Whitman Road in Melville reported a petit larceny on Feb. 14. Two men allegedly stole men’s clothing valued at approximately $480.

■ Costco on Broadhollow Road in Melville reported a grand larceny on Feb. 18. A man entered the store and allegedly stole a Firman Generator, a Dyson vacuum and two Vitamix blenders. The merchandise was valued at $1650.

Miller Place

■ A resident on Oakland Avenue in Miller Place reported that someone entered their unlocked vehicle parked on their driveway on Feb. 16 and removed an iPod Touch and Apple AirPods valued at $320.

■ A resident on Rolling Road in Miller Place reported that someone entered their unlocked vehicle parked in the driveway on Feb. 15 and removed women’s sunglasses valued at approximately $300 and a $50 gift card. 

Port Jefferson Station

■ A resident on Grant Street in Port Jefferson Station called the police on Feb. 18 to report that an unknown person had entered their unlocked vehicle the night before and stole assorted gift cards and cash. 

■ Staples on Nesconset Highway in Port Jefferson Station reported a shoplifter on Feb. 17. A man allegedly stole a Brother Laser Printer valued at $200.

■ A resident on Superior Street in Port Jefferson Station reported that someone entered two cars on Feb. 15 and took a total of $330 in cash. The vehicles had been unlocked.

■ A resident on Hooper Street in Port Jefferson Station reported that a catalytic converter had been removed from their 2001 Honda Accord on Feb. 15. The item was valued at $500.

St. James

■ A resident on Grove Avenue in St. James called the police on Feb. 18 to report a rear window of a vehicle was broken and a child’s booster seat was stolen. The damage to the vehicle was $220.

Selden

■ Suffolk Wines and Liquors on Middle Country Road in Selden reported a shoplifter on Feb. 14. Two men allegedly stole two bottles of liquor valued at $225 before fleeing in a car driven by a third man.

■ Aldi Supermarket on Middle Country Road in Selden reported a shoplifter on Feb. 13. A woman allegedly stole 4 containers of Tide Pods and 6 bags of frozen shrimp valued at approximately $140.

Smithtown

■ A resident on Cygnet Drive in Smithtown called the police on Feb. 13 to report that someone had siphoned $48 worth of diesel fuel from their Audi Q7 the night before.

Sound Beach

■ A resident on Cedar Road in Sound Beach called the police on Feb. 16 to report that credit cards had been stolen from their unlocked vehicle the night before.

South Setauket

■ Target on Pond Path in South Setauket reported a grand larceny on Feb. 17. Two men entered the store and allegedly filled bags with an assortment of health and beauty products and walked out without paying. The value of the items was approximately $3,000.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.

— COMPILED BY HEIDI SUTTON

 

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Pixabay photo

Over the course of the last month, local elected officials were speaking out against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) plan to allow, potentially, accessory apartments to every home throughout the state. 

Members of Congress across Long Island bashed the idea, state senators and assembly members did, too. It even got to the hyper local level when Brookhaven and Huntington towns both held press conferences asking Hochul to reconsider the plan, saying that it would not fit into the landscape of Long Island. The Town of Smithtown strongly objected, too.

It was bipartisan. Members from both parties said that it would impact the way we live here, parking would be terrible, property values could decrease and the already concerning sewage issues we have on Long Island would worsen. It simply wouldn’t work. 

And just this week, it looks like all that kicking and screaming had an impact. Hochul decided to pull the plan from the state budget. 

So, what does this mean? 

The events that led up to her decision were important. All of those press conferences hosted by our elected officials were worth the time and effort. The stories that the media reported on got other people talking, thinking and writing. 

This shows how important it is to reach out to our local representatives. Tell them what you want and ask them to help make a change. That’s their job. 

Reach out to us, your local media and write letters to the editor. Voice your concerns and demand action. 

Some things cannot be changed or might take longer than desired. But there are other opportunities that can be fixed before they take flight. 

If it wasn’t for our local elected officials looking over the state budget and noticing the line about the apartments, some of us might not have known about the issue until it was too far along to be stopped. 

That’s when people begin to complain, but sometimes not much can be done. 

Stay vigilant and be proactive instead of reactive. Use what resources are available to us now to make continuous changes that will benefit us and our families.

We’re all in this together and the more we communicate, the better. But we should remember to say “thank you” to those who made it possible when you finally get your way. 

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Stock photo
Studies suggest the microbiome may influence weight loss or gain

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

Each of us carries trillions of microorganisms in our bodies. These make up each individual’s microbiome. It includes bacteria, viruses and single-cell eukaryotes. Our relationship to these organisms is complex, and much of it is still only loosely understood. What we do know, however, is that these microbes have key roles in our healthy functioning.

While the microbiome is found throughout our bodies, including the skin, the eyes and the gut, we’re going to focus on the gut, where the majority of the microbiome resides.

Why do we care? The short answer is it may have a role in diseases — preventing and promoting them. These include obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s, and infectious diseases, such as colitis.

Human Microbiome Project

Like the Human Genome Project, which mapped our genes, the Human Microbiome Project, funded by the National Institutes of Health from 2007 to 2016, sought to map and sequence the composition and diversity of these gut organisms and to spur future research. There have been some enlightening preliminary studies already.

What affects the microbiome? Drugs, such as antibiotics, can wipe out the diversity in the microbes, at least in the short term. Also, lifestyle modifications, such as diet, can have an impact. Microbiome diversity also may be significantly different in distinct geographic locations throughout the world.

Microbiome’s role in obesity

Obesity can be incredibly frustrating; most obese patients continually struggle to lose weight. Obese and overweight patients now outnumber malnourished individuals worldwide (1).

I know this will not come as a surprise, but we are a nation with a weight problem; about 70% of Americans are overweight or obese (2) (3). For the longest time, the paradigm for weight loss had been to cut calories. However, extreme low-caloric diets did not seem to have a long-term impact. It turns out that our guts, dominated by bacteria, may play important roles in obesity and weight loss, determining whether we gain or lose weight.

The results from a study involving human twins and mice are fascinating (4). In each pair of human twins, one was obese and the other was lean. Gut bacteria from obese twins was transplanted into thin mice. The result: the thin mice became obese. However, when the lean human twins’ gut bacteria were transplanted to thin mice, the mice remained thin.

By pairing sets of human twins, one obese and one thin in each set, with mice that were identical to each other and raised in a sterile setting, researchers limited the confounding effects of environment and genetics on weight.

The most intriguing part of the study compared the effects of diet and gut bacteria. When the mice who had received gut transplants from obese twins were provided gut bacteria from thin twins and given fruit- and vegetable-rich, low-fat diet tablets, they lost significant weight. But they only lost weight when on a good diet; there was no impact if the diet was not low in fat. The authors believe this suggests that an effective diet may alter the microbiome of obese patients, helping them lose weight. These are exciting, but preliminary, results. It is not clear yet which bacteria may be contributing these effects.

This definitely suggests that the diversity of gut bacteria may be a crucial piece of the weight-loss puzzle.

Possible role for gut bacteria in rheumatoid arthritis development

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that can be disabling, with patients typically suffering from significant morning stiffness, joint soreness and joint breakdown. What if gut bacteria influenced RA risk? In a study, the gut bacteria in mice that were made susceptible to RA by deletion of certain genes (HLA-DR genes) were compared to those who were more resistant to developing RA (5). Researchers found that the RA-susceptible mice had a predominance of Clostridium bacteria and that those resistant to RA were dominated by bacteria such as bifidobacteria and Porphyromonadaceae species. The significance is that the bacteria in the RA-resistant mice are known for their anti-inflammatory effects.

Counteracting antibiotics’ gut effects

Many experience gastrointestinal upset while taking antibiotics. This is because antibiotics don’t differentiate between good and bad bacteria when they go to work. One way to counteract the negative effects is to take a probiotic during and after your course of antibiotics. I recommend Renew Life’s 30-50 billion units once a day, two hours after an antibiotic dose and continuing once a day for 14 days after you have finished your prescription. If you really want to ratchet up the protection, you can take one dose of probiotics two hours after every antibiotic dose.

Although nobody can say what the ideal gut bacteria should consist of, we do know a few things that can help you. Diet and other lifestyle considerations, such as eating and sleeping patterns or their disruptions, seem to be important to the composition and diversity of gut bacteria (6). Studies have already demonstrated prebiotic effects of fiber and significant short-term changes to the microbiome when eating fruits, vegetables and plant fiber. The research is continuing, but we’ve learned a lot already that may help us tackle obesity and autoimmune disorders.

References: 

(1) “The Evolution of Obesity”; Johns Hopkins University Press; 2009. (2) cdc.gov (3) nih.gov (4) Science. 2013;341:1241214. (5) PLoS One. 2012;7:e36095. (6) Nutrients. 2019 Dec;11(12):2862.

Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com. 

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#51 Matt Anderson and #4 Kevin Mack celebrate their team's victory during Sunday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University men’s lacrosse team (2-0) used a second half surge to power past Robert Morris University Colonials (0-3), 18-14, to pick up its second consecutive win on Feb. 19. The 18 goals were the most that the Seawolves scored in a game since it found the back of the net 22 times in a win over Binghamton on April 16, 2021.

Stony Brook was paced by 10 different goal scorers and standout play from senior goalie Anthony Palma who made a career-high 17 saves en route to the victory. Sophomore attack Noah Armitage, sophomore attack Dylan Pallonetti, and graduate midfield Mike McCannell each finished the game with a hat trick.

Five Seawolves recorded multi-goal performances and six finished with multi-point games. Pallonetti (three goals, three assists) and graduate attack Kevin Mack (two goals, four assists) tied for the game-high with six points apiece. Junior face-off specialist Renz Conlon set the tone on offense as he won 20-of-34 face-offs and started the game 6-of-7.

Stony Brook jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter as senior midfield Matt Anderson led the attack with a pair of goals out of the gate. Robert Morris mounted a comeback and went on a 9-2 run and the teams were tied up at 9-9 after the first half of play.

The Seawolves pulled away from the Colonials in the third quarter as they outscored them, 6-1, in the frame to take a 15-10 advantage into the fourth quarter. Stony Brook sealed the game in the fourth quarter as it received goals from McCannell, graduate midfield Wayne White, and Pallonetti to ice the game.

“I thought it was a battle. We knew going in that this was going to be a physical, up and down, high-scoring game — and it was. I am proud of the guys for finding a way to win. There were some mental mistakes that I think being two games in its something that we need to continue to work through, but the guys battled and that’s what we were hoping for,” said head coach Anthony Gilardi.

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Even before the pandemic, stand up comics, who took to the air to entertain the rest of us with their clever observations, often spent considerable time describing the absurdities of airline travel.

The process, as each airline and each airport appears to have somewhat different rules, has become even more bizarre.

Each airline has its own baggage limitations. For some larger planes, you can take one carry-on and one personal bag. For some smaller planes, however, especially if you’ve bought the cheapest seats on smaller flights, which we do as a rule, you can only bring one carry-on. You can’t even get a boarding pass unless someone comes and inspects the size of your bag.

Once you have your boarding pass, you head to security with your mask on.

The first screener who checks boarding passes and IDs has to have one of the harder jobs. Everyone is trying to catch a plane, which means that, even if they are early, they are still under time pressure. Many feel the need to share their sense of urgency with people who fly under the radar in our lives unless something goes wrong. When these security agents do their jobs well, we expect it, and when they don’t, we are outraged, frustrated, annoyed and irritable. It’s a bit like being a referee or an effective traffic cop.

Anyway, we shuffle up to the line with the largest possible bag that won’t require checking. When we get to the front, we hand our ID and ticket over, wait for the cue, and then lower our masks.

I like watching people lower their masks. Many feel the need to smile, as if the person is taking a picture of them. It’s ironic because the photo from a driver’s license or a passport looks much more like a 6 a.m. mug shot than a, “this-is-me, this-is-my-face, I’m-about-to-go-somewhere-awesome smile.”

Every so often, someone is selected for random additional screening. On a recent trip, they checked my wife’s phone on the way out and my phone on the way back.

During that trip, one of the conveyer belts that enables the screener to look at x-rays of our underwear was moving especially slowly. Each time a new person approached the conveyor belt, that person could and sometimes did push his or her huge suitcase ahead of the ones from the people who were ahead of them.

Fortunately for me, I travel with a small but powerful force of nature, also known as my wife. She doesn’t allow dysfunctional systems to slow us down, even if that involves shaming people who are trying to shove their suitcases ahead of the ones on the belt.

My wife was so effective that the system not only worked as it should for the few minutes we stood there, but a TSA agent jumped in to reinforce what my wife was doing.

Once we get on a plane, the battle for overhead space begins, with the special people getting first dibs on that space while the people in the last groups get the leftovers. It’s so Darwinian: people who spend extra money are the Alpha Fliers, while those who fly economy get the scraps, with flight attendants telling them to gate check their allowable luggage, which will hopefully be waiting for them on the jetway when we arrive.

People jockey for position at baggage check, where they want to stand directly on a line with the ramp that delivers their luggage magically from below. I’m sure that magic requires considerable lifting and hefting from the people we rarely see.

The final competitive positioning occurs at the curb, where the faces of tired fliers often look much more like the pictures from their IDs than the faces they make at the beginning of their trips. The tired fliers stare at approaching vehicles, looking for their Ubers, family members, or buses to bring them back to their world.

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