Holiday season that just ended is known for its food and beverages indulges. What goes up is the number of people who drink alcohol during this time, which could lead to many diseases, including breast cancer. Amid this, America's top doctor, the US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk. This outlines the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased risk of cancer.

Just as with the labels of cigarettes, Surgeon General is calling for cancer risk warnings on alcohol.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol consumption is the 3rd leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States. The first two are tobacco and obesity. The report that the US Surgeon General's office released talks about at least 7 types of cancers that could be caused due to alcohol consumption.

What are these 7 types of cancer that can happen due to alcohol?

While the advisory talked about the 7 types of cancers, it also included recommendation including updating alcohol labels to include cancer warnings.

The advisory also called for reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption. The following cancers linked to alcohol consumption which Murthy wants to be included in the label are:

• Breast
• Colon
• Throat
• Liver
• Voice box
• Esophagus
• Mouth

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Murthy said that alcohol leads to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the US alone. This number is greater than the alcohol related traffic accidents each year, which stands at the average of 13,500 cases.

"While scientific evidence for this connection has been growing over the past four decades, less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer," Murthy's office said in a statement. "This advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”

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Who are at risk?

Middle-aged individuals are drinking more heavily. It is more prominent in males over 30 and women aged 18 to 64.

The trend can be seen where the middle-aged uses alcohol as a tool to cope with the day-to-day life, whereas for youth, it is to have fun and to explore the adult life.

Is there any safe drinking limit?

High intensity is defined as consuming an excessive number of drinks in one session: eight or more for women and ten or more for men.

While binge drinking is characterized by having four or five drinks within two hours.

Health risks other than cancer

Alcohol is known to increase your snoring noises, especially if you drink just before going to bed. This can cause problems for you to achieve proper REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. It is a sleep stage when most dreams occur. During REM sleep, a person's brain activity, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure increase and their eyes move rapidly while closed. The muscles in the arms and legs also temporarily become unable to move.

YourA new study has found that while many long-term vegans consume enough total protein daily, a significant number still fall short of essential amino acids, raising concerns about protein quality in plant-based diets.

Conducted by a team of nutritionists from Massey University in New Zealand, the research analysed the diets of 193 vegans using four-day food diaries. The team used data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Zealand FoodFiles database to estimate amino acid intake from various plant-based foods. Their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, shed light on the challenges vegans face in achieving complete protein nutrition.

According to the study, around 75% of participants met their total daily protein needs. However, only about half reached the required intake for two crucial amino acids—lysine and leucine. These amino acids are classified as "indispensable" because the human body cannot produce them on its own and must obtain them through diet.

“Meeting adequate total daily protein intake in a vegan diet does not always guarantee a high protein quality diet,” the researchers warned. “Simply considering total protein intake without evaluating protein quality may lead to an overestimation of nutritional adequacy among vegans.”

Lead researchers Bi Xue and Patricia Soh emphasized the importance of including a diverse range of plant foods to meet the full spectrum of amino acid needs. While the body can synthesize many amino acids, nine must be sourced directly from food—making dietary balance crucial, especially in vegan diets.

The study pointed to legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products as valuable sources for boosting lysine and leucine intake. These plant-based options can help vegans meet both their total protein requirements and maintain the right amino acid profile necessary for overall health.

“Achieving high protein quality on a vegan diet requires more than just consuming enough protein,” the team noted. “It also depends on the right balance and variety of plant foods to supply all the amino acids in the quantities our body needs.”

The researchers concluded by calling for further studies to explore effective strategies for improving amino acid intake in vegan populations. As more people adopt plant-based lifestyles, understanding how to maintain both protein quantity and quality is becoming increasingly important for public health.

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While the world is still trying to catch its breath from the aftermath of COVID-19, a new virus is quietly gaining prominence in the headlines—H5N1 avian flu, or bird flu. The recent upsurge of this highly pathogenic virus among the dairy cattle of the United States, and the increasing number of human cases, has raised alarm among global health experts. Is H5N1 taking silent steps toward becoming the next pandemic? The key is to carefully look at the numbers, the science, and the public health response.

In a frightening trend, Idaho has become the hotbed of the ongoing H5N1 outbreak in U.S. livestock, with the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) verifying 86 cases in dairy cows—the second-largest in the nation following California. The outbreak, which took a massive turn in March 2024, has now reached 17 states, with more than 1,047 cases detected in dairy herds.

This is a troubling change in the behavior of the virus, previously recognized to infect wild birds and poultry. The spread of the virus into mammalian livestock and now into humans suggests a chilling evolutionary trend that health authorities are scrambling to contain.

Why the H5N1 Human Infections Is Growing?

As reported by the Global Virus Network (GVN), more than 70 human infections have been confirmed in the U.S. since the outbreak began, with one reported fatality. Although human-to-human transmission has not yet been reported, scientists caution that virus mutations—particularly in mammalian hosts—may enhance the potential for person-to-person spread, potentially leading to a pandemic.

Dr. Sten H. Vermund, GVN Chief Medical Officer, explains, "In its capacity to infect animals and humans, as well as in recent genetic evolution, the threat of H5N1 disease highlights the need for active surveillance and immediate response."

Why Is H5N1 a Serious Threat?

Avian influenza A(H5N1) is an extremely contagious virus that, while initially infecting birds, can also cross-species, including to mammals and humans. When contracted by humans—most commonly through close contact with infected animals or contaminated surroundings—the disease tends to be severe and potentially deadly.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that if this virus develops to transmit effectively among humans, it has the potential to create a world health emergency equal to previous pandemics. Already, 168 million birds have been slaughtered in the U.S. since 2022 because of avian flu outbreaks, and the threat to food supply chains, animal well-being, and human health is staggering.

The GVN, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has called on governments around the world to implement a multi-pronged preparedness strategy to prevent the virus from spreading before it mutates into a pandemic-strain. The strategy entails:

• Increased surveillance on farms, milk chains, and wastewater, as well as systematic testing of those who have been exposed to infected animals.
• Accelerated genomic data sharing to monitor the mutation and spread of the virus.
• Improved farm biosecurity, such as compulsory PPE use and sanitization practices.
• Rapid diagnostic testing of farm workers, especially self-testing with rapid healthcare access.
• Development and deployment of human and animal vaccines at high risk.
• Readiness for clinical research, such as pre-approved vaccine and antiviral trial protocols in the event that the virus continues to spread.
• Collaboration at the international level to exchange real-time information, coordinate response strategies, and support vulnerable areas.

What Is the Risk to the General Public?

Even as the outbreak was large, the CDC insists that the risk to the general public is still low. The agency has, however, suggested added caution for those who are in close contact with animals, particularly dairy and poultry workers. Hygiene, wearing of PPE, and prevention of exposure to ill animals continue to be paramount.

The CDC also insists on vigilance and says:

"We are following people with exposures to animals very closely, and continue to closely monitor the situation."

Could H5N1 Be the Next Pandemic?

The short answer is: not yet—but we shouldn't wait for it to do so. The virus has yet to reach sustained human-to-human transmission, the key element which converts an outbreak into a pandemic. But the spread of the virus in cows, coupled with the number of human infections and a confirmed death, are troubling indications that urgently need global notice.

Learning from COVID-19, experts call on policymakers to act now and not respond later. Research on vaccination, quick diagnostics, public health preparedness, and international collaboration need to be prioritized in order to remain ahead of the next move of the virus.

The H5N1 epidemic sweeping the United States is an awakening call. Short of a pandemic, it is a definite indication that the edge between animal and human viruses is rapidly growing thin. Whether or not H5N1 becomes an actual worldwide menace hinges on how quickly and efficiently we act now.

Heart failure continues to pose a major health threat in the United States, with approximately 6.7 million adults currently living with the condition. Alarming projections suggest that this number could climb to more than 8 million by 2030.

However, a promising new analysis published in Circulation: Heart Failure reveals that hospitals involved in the American Heart Association’s multiregional IMPLEMENT-HF initiative have significantly improved their adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)—the most prevalent form of heart failure.

Launched in 2021, the American Heart Association’s three-year quality improvement initiative was designed to drive the uptake of quadruple medical therapy and incorporate assessments of patients’ health-related social needs into standard care. This quadruple therapy includes a combination of four proven, evidence-based drugs that reduce mortality: angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), evidence-based specific β-blocker (BB), mineralocorticoid antagonist (MRA), and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i).

The initiative built upon the Association’s long-running Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure program and involved over 100 hospitals nationwide. The latest study, drawing on data from more than 43,000 patients across 67 participating hospitals, highlighted several key outcomes:

The use of all four recommended drug classes for HFrEF patients increased from 4.7% to 44.6% at hospital discharge and from 0% to 44.8% within 30 days after discharge.

The improvement in care was observed consistently across race, ethnicity, and gender.

Hospitals also made significant strides in implementing tools to assess patients’ social needs, marking a vital step toward equitable heart failure care.

"This initiative represents an important leap forward in closing the treatment gap in heart failure," said Dr. Andrew Sauer, a volunteer with the American Heart Association, lead author of the study, and cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. "By supporting collaborative learning and leveraging real-time data, IMPLEMENT-HF enabled hospitals to better serve patients in varied communities."

HFrEF accounts for nearly half of all heart failure hospitalisations and is associated with a grim five-year mortality rate of 75%. Although clinical trials have long demonstrated that quadruple therapy can significantly enhance survival, its adoption has remained frustratingly low across the U.S., especially among underserved and underrepresented populations.

The IMPLEMENT-HF initiative created a collaborative “all-teach, all-learn” environment that empowered participating hospitals to identify care gaps, share effective practices, and monitor outcomes at both the local and regional levels.

The impressive results underscore the value of collaboration in healthcare. “The improvements we’ve seen through IMPLEMENT-HF highlight the power of teamwork,” the American Heart Association said in a statement. “We remain committed to transforming systems of care to ensure every person—regardless of where they live—has access to the highest standard of heart failure treatment."