174.Spring into Health (The Latest Health and Wellness) Update: FDA Weightloss Drug Approvals, Colon Cancer Screening, and Alzheimer's Insights

It's the first week of April and it is spring and it feels like a great time to get pro-active about our health, and we are  glad you are here because we are going to talk about some of the important news headlines in health, nutrition, weight loss and wellbeing.

This episode of Health Bite covers important news in health, nutrition, weight loss, and wellbeing, including the FDA's approval of a new indication for Semaglutide, the rise of colon cancer in younger adults, and the identification of modifiable risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. 

In this episode, Dr. Adrienne Youdim discusses important health news, nutrition updates, weight loss tips, and overall well-being. 

She highlights the FDA approval of Wegovy (semaglutide) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular issues in adults with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity. 

Stay informed and take proactive steps for your health and wellbeing.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode

• Learn about the FDA approval of Wegovy  (semaglutide) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular events in adults with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity.
• Find out about the changing guidelines for colon cancer screening, now recommended to start at age 45 instead of 50.
• Discover the rising cases of Alzheimer's disease and the three key modifiable risk factors identified in a recent study: diabetes, alcohol use, and traffic-related air pollution.

…please let's not hijack movement by marrying it to weight loss. The benefits of exercise to your health and well-being are so much more profound.”- Dr. Adrienne Youdim

How We Can Support Adrienne—and Each Other

Our community’s love and presence are powerful. Here’s how you can become a catalyst for this shared journey of transformation:

1. Share Your Voice with an Honest Review on Apple Podcasts. Your thoughtful reviews help spread Adrienne’s message to those who need it most. Take a moment to leave a genuine review and strengthen our community together. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/health-bite/id1504295718  
2. Stay connected by following Health Bite on Spotify. Share your reflections in the comments and join the conversation. Your experiences and insights add richness to our collective growth. Follow and comment on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2jwdHPnWJaoBs2ZJe0nnP6 
3. Send #LoveNotes and Reach Out on Instagram. Let Adrienne know you’re walking this path with her by sending a #LoveNote or a direct message on Instagram. Your encouragement fuels her journey and fosters the connection that makes this community thrive. Adrienne’s Instagram handle here: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/  

Together, we’re creating a space where vulnerability is met with support, and transformation is celebrated as a courageous act. 

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

It's the first week of April and it is spring and it feels like a great time to get pro-active about our health, and I am glad you are here because we are going to talk about some of the important news headlines in health, nutrition, weight loss and wellbeing.

Welcome back to Healthbite, I'm your host Dr Adrienne Youdim. I am triple board certified as an internist, obesity medicine and  physician nutrition specialist and I help people redefine nutrition to include not only the food that we eat well but all the ways we can nourish ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally.

And this week we are diving into some of the most important news headlines in health, nutrition, weight loss and wellbeing. We havnt done a healhtbite in several months so lets catch up..

Ok first on the agenda is just a note because I did an entire podcast on this topic early last month but it is so important that I want to re-mention that the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for use for Wegovy (semaglutide) injection (yup thats the weight loss drug)  to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in adults with cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight. As such Wegovy is the first weight loss medication to also be approved to help prevent life-threatening cardiovascular events in adults with cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight,” Given that heart disease is the #1 cause of death in men and women in the US this is a huge preventative strategy. It is also the kind of labeling needed to change the minds of third party payors particularly medicare who as of now refuses to cover any weight loss drug ever for any of their beneficiaries- an appalling fact in its own right, but change may be coming….

OK on to other news. March was national colon cancer awareness month and a good time to highlight some recent-sih research that  showed  Colorectal cancer is now the No. 1 cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the No. 2 cause of cancer death in women under 50. 

If you were born between 1981-1996, then studies show you have 2 times the  the risk of colorectal cancer as compared to people born in 1950. Thats a pretty surprising statistic. 

As a result of this trend, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force changed its recommendations in 2021 for people to begin getting colon cancer screenings at age 45 — instead of the previously recommended age of 50.

Again this is not a new change but it is still not well known and insurance companies are not necessarily on board with covering colonoscopies in younger folks and some physicians may also dismiss alarming symptoms in younger people as well which means that you should be pro-active in your own care. If you are 45 or older you need to be screened. 

Its not entirely clear why there has been an uptick in colon and rectal cancer in younger adults but lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity, lack of exercise, tobacco and alcohol use as well as environmental toxins can be to blame. And of course Family history is also an important risk factor.

But I want to point out that while these factors are named as potential culprits it happens in healthy people too so please dont use that as an excuse to avoid or delay screening. 

ALso keep in mind that certain symptoms like bleeding, severe constipation, urgency or the need to have frequent bowel movements, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain and obstruction are some signs that should be investigated (keep in mind, this  list is not complete)

OK bottom line, in the spirit of colon cancer awareness month that ended yesterday, get screened if you are 45 or older and follow up on any unusual symptoms no matter how old you are. 

An actionable study came out last week on Alzheimers disease. You may not know that AD is a significant disease in the US and is on the rise. An estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2024. Seventy-three percent are age 75 or older. About 1 in 9 people age 65 and older (10.9%) has Alzheimer's. And according to a new report that came out a few weeks ago from the Alzheimers Association, the  number of cases is predicted  the number of patients will double to almost 13 million by 2050. Again we dont know why cases are on the rise but again lifestyle factors are implicated and another study that came out last week identified 3 modifiable risk factors. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers looked through 40,000 brain scans from a large-scale database investigating the contributions of genetics and environment to the development of various diseases—to determine which environmental factors had the greatest impacts on the brain area affected by AD.

The researchers looked at 161 risk factors for dementia and ranked them according to their impacts on this region over and above what would be expected from normal aging. These were then divided into 15 broad categories: blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socializing, diet, physical activity and education. And found three key risk factors: diabetes, traffic related air pollution and alcohol use. OK I live in LA and might just have to let the air pollution thing go- theres not much I can do about that one. But alcohol- that one I can manage. And ok I know that abstinence is a tough sell- but as always I encourage you to meet yourself where you are at and take it from there. So maybe if you are a regular drinker you become a once in a while drinker. If you are a once in a while drinker and you binge when you do drink- set some kind of limit. ANy change is impactful. 

And in terms of diabetes. Well, a lot can be done there in terms of prevention and lifestyle related treatment. Alot can be said about the correlation between weight and diabetes- most people know about that one - but this is something that you may not know. Regular exercise, even if you dont lose an ounce, will reduce your risk of developing DM if you are at risk and if you do have DM will help manage blood sugars. Think about it - your muscles need energy or glucose to work and when you use your muscles regularly you bring down your blood sugar. Now here we are talking specifically regarding AD but that is not the only cause of dementia. Vascuar dementia is another cause and risk factor for vascular dementia are the same as cardiovascular disease- think DM, HTN, Cholesterol - and guess what exercise positively impacts all of them too! Take home message- lets not hijack movement by marrying it to weight loss. The benefits to your health are so much more profound. So if you are not yet moving- get moving.