Grass Roots Health

This past summer, I visited a Native American Museum in the Ozark Mountains. An Iroquois saying on a painting caught my attention: “We should consider the results of every decision on the next seven generations that follow us.” Smart people were the Iroquois!

Unfortunately, we adults in modern times have not been smart. Plastic pollution will be the legacy that we leave our children, grandchildren, and at least, the next seven generations of our descendants. We are leaving those that follow in our footsteps a “plastic pollution disaster.” 

The problem with plastics is that they are not biodegradable, and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Only 10% of plastic waste is recycled.

Therefore, most of our plastics just sit there in the soil in landfills as an environmental pollutant. Worse yet, about 11 million tons of plastic enter our oceans yearly, affecting fish, other marine life, humans, and ecosystems.    

Listen and learn about plastic pollution as host Tim Jordan interviews Janice Brahney, Ph.D. about this issue.

Resources for this podcast:

• Utah State University Website: usu.edu

• Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University: qcnr.usu.edu

• Department of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University: qcnr.usu.edu/wats/

• Blog: (2024). “Plastic Pollution is All Around Us. You Should Care.” https://1795group.com/plastic-pollution-is-all-around-us/

• Plastic Pollution Coalition: Plastic Pollution Facts. https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/learn/plastic-pollution-facts

• Denver Post Article (2020). Carried by Wind and Rain, Plastic Pollution is Contaminating Rocky Mountain National Park and Other Western Wildernesses. https://www.denverpost.com/2020/06/11/plastic-pollution-wind-rocky-mountain-national-park/

• Audubon Society Article (2020). Microplastics are Literally Raining on our National Parks and Wilderness Areas. https://www.audubon.org/news/microplastics-are-literally-raining-our-national-parks-and-wilderness-areas

• Wired Article (2020): Plastic Rain is the New Acid Rain https://www.wired.com/story/plastic-rain-is-the-new-acid-rain/

• Animation Narrated by Dr. Janice Brahney: https://x.com/voxdotcom/status/1289321212569559040

• Utah State Today Article (2022). USU Professor Studying How Plastic Moves Its Way Through Bear River System. https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-professor-studying-how-plastic-moves-its-way-through-bear-river-system

• Florida Today Article (2023). New Study Shows Some May be Breathing in the Equivalent of a Credit Card of Plastic Weekly. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2023/06/14/study-finds-some-may-be-inhaling-a-credit-card-worth-of-plastic-weekly/70309006007/

• Utah State Today Article (2024). New Research Finds that Dust in Atmosphere is Feeding Algae in Mountain Lakes. https://www.usu.edu/today/story/new-research-finds-that-dust-in-atmosphere-is-feeding-algae-in-mountain-lakes

=========================================

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced and hosted by Tim Jordan.

Dr. Brahney was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers collectively represent the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer in the U.S. GI cancers account for just under 30% of all cancer deaths. This type of cancer can affect the esophagus, stomach, pancreas and biliary tract, small intestine, liver, colon, rectum, and anus.

 GI cancers share risk factors, including: 

• Occupational exposure to carcinogens 

What is strange is that gastrointestinal cancers are increasing in younger people, and the incidence rate is growing faster than other early-onset cancers. For example, colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for people ages 20–49, and the average age of diagnosis has dropped significantly in a short amount of time. In fact, people born between 1981–1996 are twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer than those born in 1950. What is going on? Why is this occurring? As a result, have screening guidelines changed?

Listen and learn as host Tim Jordan interviews Xavier Llor, M.D., Ph.D. about this issue.

Resources for this podcast:

• Yale University Website: Yale.edu

• Yale University School of Medicine: https://medicine.yale.edu/

• Yale University Gastrointestinal (GI) and Pancreatic Prevention Program: https://www.yalemedicine.org/departments/gi-and-pancreatic-cancer-prevention-program

• Xavier Llor's Faculty Website at Yale: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/xavier-llor/

• Article: “No One Is Immune.” Boseman’s Death Shows Colon Cancer Affecting the Young and Black Americans. https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/No-one-is-immune-Boseman-s-death-shows-15530635.php

• Article: Why are Colo-Rectal Cancer Rates Rising Among Younger Adults? https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/with-colorectal-cancer-rates-rising-among-younger-adults-a-yale-cancer-center-expert-explains-there-may-be-more-factors-behind-this-worrisome-trend/

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced and hosted by Tim Jordan.

Dr. Llor was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

Many citizens of the U.S. think that they have the best health care system in the world. I have bad news for them: The U.S does not. It has one of the worst health care systems in the world. Of similar developed countries, the U.S. has the most expensive, broken, reactive, sick care system that yields some of the worst patient outcomes. Our sick care system has little to do with health.    

Maternal and child death rates are often used as an indicator of the quality of medical care in countries around the world. So how is the U.S. doing in that area? It has the highest maternal and infant death rates among comparable developed countries. Further, the survival rates for Black American mothers and their infants are even worse! Black American women across the income spectrum and from all walks of life are dying from preventable pregnancy-related complications at three to four times the rate of white women, while the death rate for black infants is at least twice that of infants born to white mothers. We Americans should be angry and embarrassed! 

What’s more, Black American mothers are twice as likely to have a baby who dies by their first birthday. Although other women of color also experience an elevated risk of poor outcomes—notably in American Indian, and Alaska Native (AIAN), and some Latina communities—available data show that racial disparities between Black Americans and whites are the starkest. What is going on?

In this episode, our host, Tim Jordan, interviews three young experts in the field to find out what is going on:          1) Duane Herron, 2) Tiffiny Jones, and 3) Elizabeth Williams.  Is there racism in maternal and child health in the United States?  Listen, learn, and find out!

Resources for this podcast: 

1) Podcast:  The Fractured U.S. Health Care System.  https://1795group.com/episode/episode-2/

2) Podcast:  Is There Racism in the U.S. Health Care System?  https://1795group.com/episode/episode-4/

3) Article to Read:  Racism Creates Inequities in Maternal and Child Health, Even Before Birth. (2021).  https://www.childtrends.org/publications/racism-creates-inequities-maternal-child-health-even-before-birth?

4) Article to Read:  Systemic Racism – A Key Risk Factor for Maternal Death and Illness. (2021). https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ne/2021/systemic-racism-key-risk-factor-maternal-death-and-illness?

5) Article to Read:  Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health:  Current Status and Efforts to Address Them (2022).  https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/?

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced and hosted by Tim Jordan.

All three guests were booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

People think like this:  If it is not in my “backyard” and not affecting me and/or my family, I really do not pay much attention to it and really do not care. Well, this is an issue that impacts at least 12 million of you. That’s how many of you get your drinking water from the Lake Erie watershed.

Do you care about your health? Do you care about the quality of your drinking water? You should care enough to listen to this podcast.

Lake Erie is like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to the health of the Great Lakes. More than 30 million people rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water – 10% of the U.S. population and 30% of the Canadian population. Without safe drinking water, many of us are doomed.    

In this episode, our host, Tim Jordan, interviews Sandy Bihn, a Lake Erie Waterkeeper and one of the most knowledgeable people about the current challenges facing Lake Erie. Listen and learn!

Resources for this podcast: 

1) TV News Video: 13 Action News Big Story: The Lake Erie Algae Bloom. July 11, 2024. https://www.13abc.com/2024/07/11/13-action-news-big-story-lake-erie-algae-bloom/

2) Blog Post: Five years later:  Lessons from the Toledo Water Crisis. August 1, 2010. Alliance for the Great Lakes. https://greatlakes.org/2019/08/five-years-later-lessons-from-the-toledo-water-crisis/

3) Article to Read:  Campbell Soup accused of polluting Lake Erie with discharges from Ohio plant. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2024/03/21/campbell-soup-ohio-plant-lake-erie-pollution-lawsuit-claims

4) Article to Read:  Department of Justice, environmental groups sue Campbell Soup, alleging it’s been polluting Lake Erie. CBS News.

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/21/campbell-soup-ohio-plant-lake-erie-pollution-lawsuit-claims

5) Website: Water Keeper Alliance  https://waterkeeper.org/

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced and hosted by Tim Jordan.

Sandy Bihn was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

On October 7, 2024, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip killed at least 1,139 Israelis and injured many more (Aljazeera News, 2024). Hamas also took more than 250 from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including older people, women, children, and men. According to the Washington Post (2024), 84 hostages are believed to be still alive and in captivity. Since the attack this past October, 112 hostages have been freed. 

In retaliation, the Israeli army killed at least 36,439, including women and more than 15,000 children. More than 10,000 are still missing (Aljazeera, News, 2024). Much of the population of Gaza has been displaced and the people there are facing a man-made famine. 

Israel's defense minister has said publicly that Israel will stamp out all signs of life of Hamas and look for an alternative local governing body for Gaza instead of Hamas.  

Many Americans (maybe even you), think like this: These problems between Israel and other countries around it have been going on for a very long time. I really do not understand these issues. Therefore, if it is not affecting me and it is not in my backyard, I really do not pay attention much to what happens. 

Should Americans care?  Listen first and then form your opinion. 

Resources for this podcast: 

1) Article to Read: Aljazeera News. Updated June 2, 2024.  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-mediators-urge-israel-hamas-to-finalise-truce#:~:text=At%20least%2036%2C439%20Palestinians%20have,still%20held%20captive%20in%20Gaza

2)Article to Read: BBC News. April 5, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67039975

3) Article to Read: AP News. Updated May 23, 2024.  https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-end-insurgency-0fcb4e20821ba8c0e49edf6571486d3b

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced and hosted by Tim Jordan. Maha Zeidan was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

In the U.S., informal, family caregiving is on the rise. In 2015, there were 43.5 million, informal care givers. In 2023, there were more than 100 million adults who are informal care givers. The direct cost of caregiving is nearly $44 million dollars, given the loss of 650,000 jobs and approximately 800,000 individuals who report absenteeism from work.

Providing care to others is personally costly. According to research, 70% to 76% experience sleep problems. Only 23% of informal caregivers report "good" mental health, and 40% say that their caregiving responsibilities negatively impact their stress levels.

Caregiving duties can harm workers' lives. Balancing work with caregiving responsibilities puts a strain on caregivers in ways that negatively affect their social lives, marriages, employment prospects, working lives, and income. Many caregivers have to take off work to meet additional caregiving demands.  

Approximately 41% of caregivers report low overall well-being, about 32% more than non-caregivers. Only 1 in 4 caregivers report good physical health; 1 in 5 rate themselves highly at eating healthy and exercising; and only 1 in 3 say they keep up with annual physicals and routine doctor appointments. This inattention to their own needs can introduce health risks for informal caregivers.

Listen as host, Tim Jordan, explores the costs of being an informal caregiver with Tina and Tyrone Layson. What are the costs that they experienced? What helpful advice to they have for us?  Let’s find out!           

Resources for this podcast:

Article: (2024). Informal caregivers in cancer: roles, burden and support.  PDQ® Supportive and Palliative Care Editorial Board. PDQ Informal Caregivers in Cancer. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 03/12/2024. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/family-friends/family-caregivers

Research Report: (2023). Smith, M. & Kuretich, C. Informal caregiving: measuring the cost and reducing the burden. Society of Actuaries Research Institute.  https://www.soa.org/498ea3/globalassets/assets/files/resources/research-report/2023/informal-caregiving-reducing-burden.pdf

Article: (2019).  Caregiving for family and friends – a public health issue.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. https://www.cdc.gov/aging/caregiving/caregiver-brief.html

=============================================

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact us at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Tina and Tyrone Layson were booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/  Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

Every day in this country, hundreds of patients of all ages receive bad news from their health care providers. What is it like to be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness? What do you think about? What are your emotions? How does you cope with the associated losses such as a loss of energy, function, a job, or a career? How do others treat you?

Many patients in this condition say that it feels like they have a “scarlet letter” etched on their forehead but that only others can see it. They believe that others communicate with them and treat them differently. Many of the patient’s “friends” stay away because they do not know what to say. Patients in this condition say that their social life becomes much smaller, and that “superficial” friendships are dropped in favor of spending time with those who really count.

Patients with life-threatening illnesses indicate that health care providers focus too much on medical and physical interventions, give too little information, appear uncomfortable talking about death, and do not include family members in conversations. Furthermore, informal caregivers (e.g. family member) report exhaustion and a lack of information. The informal care givers say that health care providers do not appreciate the impact of the illness on their lives and rarely consult them. Family members of the patient wish that health care providers would tell them when death is inevitable and would avoid telling them about futile medical treatments.  

Listen as host, Tim Jordan, explores these and other issues with Jacob and Beanna Martinez. How have they learned to live with and cope with life-threatening illness? Listen and find out.          

Resources for this podcast:

Article to Read: (2022). Schimming, C. Eight tips for coping with a serious diagnosis.  The Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/8-tips-for-coping-with-a-serious-diagnosis

Article to Read: (2024). Robinson, L., Segal, J., and Smith, M. Coping with a life-threatening illness or a serious life event. Illness and Disability HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-a-life-threatening-illness.htm

==========================================

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Jacob and Beanna Martinez were booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/

Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

At the end of February 2024, I talked to people in Ohio’s snowbelt region, and they all said the same thing, “I think the snowplow guy maybe came twice.” Only twice! Wow! The snowplow guys probably liked the lack of snow!   

You see, in major parts of the U.S., winter never arrived. According to preliminary data from AccuWeather, this winter was the warmest on record in the U.S thanks to El Nino and our warming climate. 

This past summer, it was really hot in many places of the world for extended time periods. Should we care?  Let's ask our guest. In this March 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores the issue of our water and land growing warmer with special guest, Annalisa Bracco, Ph.D. Listen, learn, subscribe, and share. Thanks!

Resources for this podcast:

Georgia Institute of Technology: www.gatech.edu

The School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institutes of Technology:  www.eas.gatech.edu

Dr. Bracco’s Lab: https://eas.gatech.edu/people/bracco-dr-annalisa

Her Personal Webpage: https://sites.gatech.edu/annalisabracco/

Article to Read: February on Course to Break Unprecedented Heat Records

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/17/february-on-course-to-break-unprecedented-number-of-heat-records

Article to Read: Ocean Warming: NASA. Global Climate Change. Vital Signs of the Planet. December 2023. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ocean-warming/.

Selected Recent Scientific Publications by Dr. Bracco:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04330-8

https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.12.021054

https://theconversation.com/ocean-heat-is-off-the-charts-heres-what-that-means-for-humans-and-ecosystems-around-the-world-207902

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Annalisa Bracco was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/  Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

Let me ask you a question. Are these things related? Historic redlining, racism, food scarcity, and obesity. Are people who live in previously redlined areas worse off, and do they have worse health outcomes than those who live elsewhere?

In this February 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores these questions and more with Anthony Goodwin, the young man who did this research and answered these questions. Listen, learn, subscribe, and share. Thanks!

Resources for this podcast:

National Co-op Grocers:  https://www.ncg.coop/

Article:   Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America. University of Richmond. https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/

Article:  A Forgotten History of How the U.S. Government Segregated America. Terry Gross (2017). https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america

Research Study:  Study Finds that Socioeconomic Conditions - Not Genetics of Lifestyle Choices - Account for the Racial Life Expectancy Gap. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition.  https://ncrc.org/study-finds-socioeconomic-conditions-not-genetics-or-lifestyle-choices-account-for-racial-life-expectancy-

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact at:

[email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact:  [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Anthony Goodwin was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/  Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com

Were you aware that we are literally “swimming” in a sea of chemicals that may be killing us?

These chemicals are everywhere and in everything including our air, food, water, medical devices, medical implants, non-stick pans, personal care products, stain-resistant carpet and furniture, cardboard packaging, building materials, and firefighting foam.

These chemicals called “forever chemicals” or PFAS (i.e., per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) were discovered in the 1930’s and were not regulated (for some strange reason) by the U.S. EPA until the early 2000s. Meanwhile, millions of unsuspecting Americans (maybe even you) have been exposed to them repeatedly.

These chemicals are called “forever chemicals” because of how slowly they break down in the environment and in our bodies. Researchers have reported that exposure to certain levels of these PFAS chemicals increases human risk of cancer, decreases fertility, and damages our immune systems.   

In this January 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores this topic with one of the most knowledgeable people in the United States: Jamie DeWitt, Ph.D., Director of the Environmental Health Center at Oregon State University. You will want to listen to this!       

Resources for this podcast:

• Article: Samora, S. (2023). The History of PFAS: From World War II to Your Teflon Pan. https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/the-history-behind-forever-chemicals-pfas-3m-dupont-pfte-pfoa-pfos/

• Oregon State University: https://oregonstate.edu/

• Dr. DeWitt’s Academic Department: https://emt.oregonstate.edu/

• Dr. DeWitt’s Website: www.toxicologychick.com

• NC State University’s Superfund Research Center: https://superfund.ncsu.edu/

• Environmental Working Group PFAS Map: https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/

• Green Science Policy Institute PFAS Data Hub: https://pfascentral.org/data-hub/

• Movie: “Dark Waters” - On YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAOuhyunhY

• Listen to all episodes of Grass Roots Health: FREE! https://1795group.com/podcast/ or wherever people get podcasts.

• Blogs on Important Issues: Free! https://1795group.com/blog/

=========================================================

Interested in becoming a sponsor of this podcast? Contact me:  [email protected]

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions for topics or guests? Contact me at: [email protected]

Grass Roots Health is sponsored by the 1795 Group. www.1795group.com

Grass Roots Health is produced by Tim Jordan. Jamie DeWitt, Ph.D. was booked by Tim Jordan. Artwork by Danielle Procopio. Audio editing and mastering by Christopher Stoll of Audio Flare Recording, Toledo, OH: https://www.audioflare.com/  Website design by Alex Brinkman, Green Tree Media, Perrysburg, Ohio www.greentreemediallc.com