UF Health Podcasts

We’re about two months into 2025 … how are your New Year’s resolutions holding up?

Whether you have decided to save money, stick to a more consistent sleep schedule, or lose weight, you still have plenty of time to accomplish your goals this year.

A common New Year’s resolution is to exercise more, but even as winter ends, the weather in many parts of the country can give you an excuse to stay inside.

Our perception of temperature changes with the seasons. The first cold air in a season freezes us to our core. But after about ten days of exposure, our skin starts feeling less cold.

Even if you feel as though you can handle the chill, you must keep your core temperature regulated and your extremities warm while you exercise outside. So, bundle up, even with a sweat.

Be mindful that cold-weather workouts are naturally harder. You face the risk of hitting the wall or getting dehydrated. That’s because your muscles don’t work well when they’re cold, meaning you need more muscle fibers and energy to exert a given force.

Experts say your body burns at least 10 percent more energy during a cold-weather hike or bike ride than you would in warmer temperatures.

But the good thing is your lungs won’t actually freeze from the cold air. Instead, the dryness is what irritates your respiratory system, often leading to symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, excess mucus, and chest tightness.

Consider covering your mouth with a neck gaiter so your airflow slows and you retain some of the moisture from your exhaled breath.

The debate over whether red wine is good for you will likely never end. But a new study has found that moderate consumption of red wine could reduce the risk of having a cardiovascular complication.

Researchers from Spain studied just over 1,200 participants with an average age of 68. Of that pool, 685 had experienced a cardiovascular event in the past.

Rather than asking people to self-report their drinking habits, the study used biology to determine consumption levels. The researchers measured the amount of tartaric [tar-dare-ek] acid — a compound almost exclusive to grapes and wine — in the participants’ urine to determine how much red wine they drank.

The results showed that drinking between one glass of red wine per week and less than half a glass per day classified as light drinking and reduced the risk of having a cardiovascular complication by 38%. Those who consumed between half a glass and one glass per day were considered moderate drinkers and saw a 50% reduction in the risk of having a cardiovascular complication.

The study also found a strong association between moderate wine consumption and a lower risk of heart attacks, particularly among men and diabetics.

But there’s a catch. Participants with very high levels of tartaric acid, who were likely heavy wine drinkers, did not enjoy the same cardiovascular benefits as the light and moderate drinkers.

The researchers’ findings suggest that like most pleasures, red wine is best consumed in moderation, so no need to down the bottle. Still, wine lovers can take a bit of relief, knowing that one 5-ounce glass of red may keep them and their heart happy.

It’s second-hand smoke writ large. The culprit isn’t a cigarette. It’s a forest.

East Coast residents might feel confident that ever-more-frequent western wildfires pose harm only to those living close to the blaze. It might hit a lot closer to home than you’d think.

Consider the summer of 2023. Canadian wildfires burned more than 40,000 acres, an area the size of Georgia. That smoke climbed into the atmosphere and drifted across the nation.

Now, a recent study by Maryland researchers found that all that smoke might have triggered a nearly 20% increase in hospital visits for heart and lung problems in their state. That was during the six days in June when smoke from 2,100 miles away turned Baltimore skies dark.

Scientists tapped 2 million de-identified patient records from the University of Maryland Medical System. They also analyzed satellite and other data to identify six days during which standards for safe air were exceeded in each of the state’s 23 counties.

The study tracked an 18% increase in doctor visits for complications related to cardiopulmonary or heart-lung conditions, compared with previous years. This included outpatient, emergency rooms, and hospital admissions. Outpatient clinic visits alone rose 55%.

Those patients were more affluent, tended to be older and were nonsmokers, compared with those seeing a doctor on clean-air days. That suggests an unequal access to care.

Of course, states in the path of the smoke between western Canada and Maryland no doubt saw their own impacts from the fires.

Scientists say pollution from wildfires leads to higher death rates. Environmental hazards don’t abide human-made borders.

OK, time for a pop quiz: What’s the biggest cause of throat cancer in the U.S.?

Smoking would be a logical guess. So would alcohol consumption.

But both would be wrong. In the past 30 years, throat cancers have increasingly been attributed to human papillomavirus [pap-uh-low-muh-virus], or HPV.

HPV is now responsible for an estimated 60% to 70% of all throat cancers in the U.S.

So, another question: If you knew a vaccine would protect you from 90% of all HPV-related cancers, would you get it?

A new study from the University of Southern California shows that most American adults are not aware that HPV can cause throat cancer. What’s more, less than 7% of eligible adults have completed the three-dose vaccine.

Besides throat cancer, HPV can cause five other types of cancer, including cancers of the anus, cervix, penis, vagina, and vulva. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 92% of HPV cancers could be blocked by vaccination.

The researchers found a hefty gap between adults’ knowledge about the vaccine and cancers the virus can cause. In 2020, less than one-third of the public understood the link between the HPV vaccine and throat cancer.

Much of the early talk when the vaccine was first used focused on the need for girls and young women to avoid cervical cancer later in life. Since 2006, there has been an 81% drop in the infections that cause most HPV cancers in women. In teens, the infections dropped 88%.

Men are twice as likely to get HPV-related throat cancer from HPV as women, the typical patient being a nonsmoking white man in his 50s or 60s.

Perhaps, the researchers said, it’s time for a concerted, man-centric push.

You may need to reconsider how you view vitamin D supplements, especially if you are north of 50 years old. That’s the message for older adults from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Task force members note while vitamin D supplements can be helpful for older adults with some medical conditions — osteoporosis, primarily — taking them does not reduce the risk of falls or prevent bone fractures.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 1 of 4 older adults take a spill each year. That leads to 3 million emergency visits as well as 1 million hospitalizations. These falls are a common factor in hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries.

So, what can you do to lessen your fall risk? After all, health is wealth.

First, remaining active is essential. Activities like aerobic exercises, weightlifting, and balance training help maintain mobility. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. Experts also recommend osteoporosis screenings plus vision and hearing tests.

If you are deficient in vitamin D, several foods can naturally provide your body with what it needs. You can eat fish, like salmon, halibut, and canned tuna, or egg yolks, and mushrooms. Milk and orange juice are packed with vitamin D, too.

Being outdoors and absorbing sunshine is a sure way to supplement your body. Perhaps you combine some of these strategies by taking a walk around the block on a bright, sunny day. Wear sunscreen, of course.

It’s a small investment in your long-term health and staying mobile deep into your golden years.

Veterinarians in the military play a vital role in rebuilding and improving animal care systems in underdeveloped and war-torn countries. They also provide valuable public health capabilities through veterinary medical and surgical care, food safety and defense, and biomedical research and development. On this show, Dr. Chris Lanier, a veterinary clinical pathology specialist who served for 20 years as an Army Veterinary Corps officer, will share his insights about the range of experience military service can provide to veterinarians, how the public benefits and why future veterinarians might consider a role in the military as a potential career.

For most of us, dental caries, or tooth decay, is a routine, albeit unpleasant issue.

Typically, it comes with most of the standard gripes you’d think of: dental visits, toothaches, and fervent promises to be better about flossing.

But for underserved communities, tooth decay is a serious — and costly — concern. Now, new research highlights just how significant the economic impact of tooth decay can be, particularly in the United Kingdom, where the lifetime cost per person can soar to around to $22,910.

That’s the highest of six countries examined, including Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, and Italy.

The study used a simulation model to calculate the health care costs of dental caries across different socioeconomic groups. Notably, researchers found that the most disadvantaged populations carry the heaviest financial burden.

But there’s good news, too: Early intervention and targeted prevention could slash these costs significantly. The study estimated that measures such as water fluoridation, sugar taxes, and better public education about oral health could reduce caries progression by as much as 30%.

Applied to those most at risk, the savings could be substantial, reaching up to $17,728 per person in the UK alone.

This research points to a clear solution: a leveling-up approach to oral health. By focusing on the most vulnerable, the study suggests that it may be possible to not only reduce the economic strain of tooth decay but also improve overall oral health.

It’s a simple step that could save millions — and, in turn, improve just as many lives.

As the debate continues over the benefits and safety of consuming raw milk, a recent study reveals a strike against drinking milk that has not been pasteurized.

Researchers at Stanford University discovered that influenza, or the flu virus, can survive and remain infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days. This includes bird flu. Experts have noted that an outbreak among dairy cattle could lead to a pandemic in the human population.

Raw milk advocates argue that drinking untreated milk maximizes its nutritional benefits. This goes against the accepted science that emphasizes the importance of the pasteurization process, where raw milk is heated to kill potentially harmful pathogens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that pasteurizing milk does not alter its nutritional profile.

For this study, researchers observed the human flu virus in raw, refrigerated milk and found that in addition to the virus remaining infectious for up to five days, the flu virus RNA was detectable in the milk for at least 57 days. However, the pasteurization process eliminated the infectious flu virus plus about 90% of the remaining viral RNA.

The FDA has tied raw milk to more than 200 outbreaks of illnesses, including E. coli and salmonella, but over 14 million people in the U.S. consume raw milk each year.

Researchers say this study presents more strong evidence that the benefits of drinking raw milk do not outweigh the risks.

Food safety has made incredible strides in the past two centuries but it’s important to remember why these processes were put in place to begin with: the safety of ourselves, our family, and our friends.

You may not need to wash your mouth out with soap, but the rest of your body still needs a good scrub.

That  includes nooks and crannies like those behind your ears, between your toes, and inside your bellybutton. According to a George Washington University study, doing so keeps the microbiome, or collection of microbes living on and in the human body, balanced — and less healthy strains from taking over.

To test the “Grandmother Hypothesis,” named for a study author’s grandmother’s advice to always wash behind your ears, between the toes and in the bellybutton, researchers had more than 100 graduate and undergraduate students collect their own skin microbiome data, swabbing moist and oily “hotspots” like the navel, between toes and behind ears, as well as dry areas like the calves and forearms.

The researchers’ theory? Areas washed less often, when compared with the skin on arms or legs, could harbor different types of bacteria.

The students extracted and sequenced the DNA in the skin samples, comparing the microbes living in the trifecta of hotspots to those in dry, exposed control regions.

Researchers found that the forearms and calves contained a greater diversity and thus potentially healthier collection of microbes, compared with those from the hotspots.

Why does this matter? Your microbiome hangs in a perfect balance that works for you and your body. When troublemaking microbes threaten to shake up your ecosystem, conditions like eczema or acne can crop up.

Or, better put: Research supports that soaping up everywhere, in all the spots your grandmother suggested, is a recipe for success.

Of the 8 billion people who inhabit our planet, nearly 1 billion of them have a painful infection that’s existed since the antiquities but still has no cure: herpes.

Herpes simplex virus, or HSV-1, mostly causes oral infection in the form of cold sores. HSV-2 causes genital ulcers. Both are contagious.

The World Health Organization research used sophisticated mathematical modeling to find that in 2020, roughly 846 million people between the ages of 15 and 49 carry the herpes virus. That age range is generally when adults tend to be most sexually active.

The researchers said the surprisingly high numbers suggest far more must be done to help stop the virus’ spread. Vaccines are needed. So is better treatment.

Despite the virus having been around for centuries, we don’t talk about it much. The stigma is enough to keep many affected by the virus from discussing it. There is often reluctance to be tested or even to date.

While its symptoms can be obvious, and painful, that is not always the case. Most have few or no symptoms, which can delay diagnosis and helpful antiviral medicines.

Having the virus can be a danger. Research has shown that anyone with HSV-1 or HSV-2 is twice as likely as noncarriers to later develop dementia. A pregnant woman with the virus can pass it to the infant during delivery, which can be fatal. And those who have HSV have much higher odds of HIV infection.

One thing is sure: With 25 million new cases of genital herpes a year, and the cost in health care and lost work time tagged at $35 billion a year, the need for prevention — and a cure — is urgent.