For most, eating is a simple, routine activity- sitting down to share and enjoy a meal with friends or family or simply in solitude. But for Elise Baynard, a 25-year-old healthcare assistant from Dover, Kent, eating is far from normal. A rare condition known as achalasia has rendered swallowing food almost impossible, leaving her vomiting up to 60 times a day and having to stand to eat in order to avoid choking. The illness has not only impacted her physical well-being but also severely affected her mental health.

Elise's experience with achalasia started in January 2020, when she suddenly began to have trouble swallowing. What began as a slight discomfort quickly developed into a sensation of tightness in her chest, which made it hard to eat even simple foods. Her GP initially diagnosed her with acid reflux and prescribed medication, but the medication did little to ease her symptoms.

Gradually, the condition worsened. Bread and pasta were impossible to consume, and even swallowing liquids was a chore. As her health continued to decline, Elise lost an enormous amount of weight, reaching only seven stone. Fed up and eager for solutions, she consulted with specialists, who consistently "fobbed her off" as her condition remained undiagnosed for years.

Following referral to a gastroenterologist in 2021, Elise had several tests, including an endoscopy. These were all normal, and she was left without a diagnosis. It wasn't until November 2024 that she was referred to a specialist in London, who diagnosed her with achalasia—a rare condition where the muscles of the esophagus do not contract normally, so food cannot pass into the stomach.

The diagnosis was established by a manometry test, which detects movement of muscles within the esophagus. "There is no activity in my throat—it's basically broken," Elise said. "It's not a death sentence, but it's no way to live."

What's It Like Living With Achalasia?

For Elise, each meal is a struggle. Unlike most individuals, she is unable to sit down to eat, since gravity is instrumental in getting her food into her stomach. "I have to stand up when I eat, so the food actually goes down," she explained. Even with this accommodation, she still experiences severe regurgitation, which can happen as many as 60 times a day.

One of the most excruciating aspects of her condition is the esophageal spasms. "It literally feels like having a heart attack," she described. "Some days, I’m sobbing on the floor in pain." These spasms cause intense pain in her jaw, neck, and back, making daily life incredibly difficult.

Beyond the physical challenges, achalasia has severely impacted Elise’s mental health. The constant struggle to eat has led to an overwhelming fear of food. "It’s always on my mind, and I’m developing a fear of eating," she admitted. "It affects every part of my life."

Social interactions have grown to be more challenging. Going out to eat with friends is well nigh impossible, and even informal dining at home is filled with tension and discomfort. The loneliness that accompanies her illness has made her feel stuck in a pattern of pain and worry.

Is There A Treatment for Achalasia?

In spite of the difficulties, Elise holds on to hope that a specialist procedure known as peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) might give her a way back to a normal life. It is a minimally invasive procedure where muscle is cut along the lower esophagus to dilate the opening and enable food to flow more freely into the stomach.

However, she faces a long wait for a referral from her specialist. "I have to wait for my specialist to refer me for the procedure. But it took years to get a diagnosis—I don’t know how long this will take," she said. "I’m desperate for the procedure."

Without the surgery, Elise worries that her condition will continue to worsen, making day-to-day tasks even more difficult. "I just want to be able to eat normally again," she said. "I want to enjoy food without fear of being sick."

What is Achalasia?

Achalasia is a very rare condition, occurring in just 1 person per 100,000 population every year. It results from damage to the nerves within the esophagus, so the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is unable to relax normally. This makes it impossible for food to pass into the stomach easily, resulting in regurgitation, dysphagia, and rapid weight loss.

Since achalasia is such an unusual condition, it is regularly misdiagnosed or mistaken for acid reflux, as with Elise. Some typical signs and symptoms include:

• Trouble swallowing (dysphagia)
• Bring-up of uneaten food
• Chest ache or pain
• Weight loss
• Spasms in the esophagus and resultant intense pain

There isn't a recognized cure for achalasia, but treatment via balloon dilation, Botox injections, or the POEM procedure can decrease symptoms and allow a better life.

Elise's experience serves to underscore the necessity for more widespread awareness of rare diseases such as achalasia. "I felt ignored for so long," she explained. "If doctors had listened to my symptoms sooner, I would not have spent years without diagnosis."

She wants to encourage others who have similar symptoms to get help and demand appropriate testing. "No one should have to wait years for a diagnosis," she said. "People need to know that this condition exists and that help is available."

Although Elise's experiences with achalasia have been painful and frustrating, she is optimistic that the POEM procedure will bring her the relief she so desperately desires. Meanwhile, she continues to adjust to living with the condition, doing her best to manage her symptoms.

"I just want to be able to eat without fear," she said. "I want to sit down for a meal with my friends and family, like everyone else."

Being the most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memories, thinking skills and behavioral abilities. These symptoms eventually grow enough to interfere with daily tasks. According to the Alzheimer’s Association over seven million Americans live with Alzheimer’s and that number is said to increase to 13 million by 2050. Nearly 12 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementia issues.

However, are there certain places that have more people affected by Alzheimer’s? According to the South Texas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Texas has the fourth highest number of Alzheimer’s and second highest number of deaths from Alzheimer’s in the US. The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation states that the Starr County is where 26% of Medicare beneficiaries come from. It is a rural Hispanic centric county in the Rio Grande City.

What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease?

National Institute on Aging explains that one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s is aging, most people develop Alzheimer’s when they are 65 or older with less than 10% cases happening before this. Other things include genetics, and research has shown conditions such as heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure could also be risk factors.

Researchers do not fully understand what causes Alzheimer's. They think it's due to clumps of proteins in the brain that damage brain cells. It's likely a mix of genes, how people live, and what's around them. However, one common factor that has been observed by the researchers is that many of these families come from poor economic backgrounds.

Being poor might play a big role because people in poorer areas often have worse air, drive more instead of walking, have more stress, and don't see people as much. She also mentioned that there might be bad things in the water, like arsenic, that can hurt the brain. The very hot weather in Texas could also be a problem, adding stress to the body. Finally, she noted that the large Hispanic population in the area might be more likely to get dementia for reasons we don't yet know.

How Socioeconomic Background of People Affects Alzheimer's

To understand how financial backgrounds could affect Alzheimer's, a 2018 study done by the International Journal of Alzheimer's Disease showed that the number of people without jobs in a region didn't seem to change how much Alzheimer's affected lifespan. This study looked at different areas in Slovakia to see if things like how much money people have, how many people have jobs, and how much education people get affect how long people might live if no one ever got Alzheimer's disease.

However, they found that the amount of money a region had (GDP), the average pay people got, and how educated people were, did have an impact.

More education seemed to indirectly lead to a bigger impact from Alzheimer's on lifespan, which matches what other studies have found. Surprisingly, they also found that when wages and the overall wealth of a region were higher, Alzheimer's seemed to have a bigger effect on shortening lifespan. This is different from what other studies have suggested, where more money usually means less Alzheimer's.

Gardening preserves cognitive function and may also help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, among others. A new study, which was conducted by researchers in the UK, showed that those who grew and nurtured plants as well as lived in greener environments slowed down their cognitive decline. Intrestingly, there is already enough empirical evidence that shows plants reduce stress and improve memory and recall.

It is because of this that many countries have care farms, which get their name from the way they serve people's impulses to work and connect with others. Speaking to the BBC, Henreitte Bringsjord, whose parents founded one of such farms, said, "My mum and dad loved farm work, and they thought about how hard it is for people with dementia to stop working and lose their social life. So, they wanted to help people with dementia become a part of life again."

How Do Plants Help You Boost Neurological Pathways?

The study, which was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, stated that nature can significantly increase physical activity and social connection while reducing stress, which has multiple positive knock-on effects such as blood pressure, blood sugar control and healthy weight. According to health experts, physical activities really have immense health benefits, but gardening surcharges those.

To test the same, researchers from the University of Edinburgh investigated if there might be a link between gardening and changes in our intelligence over our lifetimes. The study compared the intelligence test scores of participants at age 11 and age 79. All the participants in the study were residents of Edinburgh and were traced throughout their lifetimes. Of the 467 people tested, almost 31 per cent had never gardened, but 43 per cent regularly did. The results showed that those who spent time gardening showed greater lifetime improvement in their cognitive ability than those who never or rarely did. "Between the ages of 79 and 90, cognitive ability, including memory, problem solving, and word fluency, generally declined across the board, but the earlier advantage of gardeners endured", researchers of the study said.

Besides gardening, these are the activities that can also help you boost cognitive health.

1. Physical Exercise: Improves blood flow to the brain and promotes neurogenesis.

2. Mental Exercises: Engaging in puzzles, chess, and memory games enhances problem-solving skills and memory.

3. Reading and Learning: Reading diverse materials or learning a new language strengthens neural connections.

4. Playing Musical Instruments: Enhances cognitive processing and coordination.

5. Social Interactions: Meaningful conversations and group activities stimulate cognitive and emotional processing.

6. Mindfulness and Meditation: Reduces stress and improves focus and attention span.

7. Adequate Sleep: Supports memory consolidation and cognitive function.

8. Healthy Diet: Consuming foods rich in omega-3s, antioxidants, and vitamins promotes brain health.

9. Hobbies and New Skills: Learning new skills or hobbies keeps the brain active and engaged.

10. Cognitive Training Apps: Apps designed for memory and focus training can provide structured mental workouts.

ALSO READ: 6 Tips To Take Care Of Your Gut Health By Celebrity Doctor Steven Grundy

John Cena, the beloved WWE wrestler and actor, has opened up about his skin cancer diagnosis. Being diagnosed with melanoma twice, he recalled getting a phone call twice as his doctors told him the biopsy for came out cancerous. The first spot had appeared on his pectoral muscle and a year later it was in a different spot on his upper trapezius muscle. He explains that this information was sobering and prompted him to change his life.

He has also now become the face of Ultra Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen SPF 70 that moves to normalize the use of sunscreen among men. He admitted he always neglected sunscreen, but now he has added it to his daily routine. While there has been a rise in the number of cancer diagnoses, there hasn’t been a clear reason why.

Is There A Gender Gap For Sunscreen?

Cena noticed that women talk about skin care and sunscreen more openly than men. He believes it can be harder for men to start these conversations. But he thinks it shouldn't be that way. "Men are becoming more aware of taking care of themselves," he says. "We just need to make it a normal thing." Cena wants more men to use sunscreen as often as women.

Studies show that women are much more likely to use sunscreen than men. However, by the age of 50, men have a higher risk of getting melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer, than women. At any age, men are more likely to die from melanoma. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, only a small percentage of men (12.3%) always used sunscreen when outside in the sun for more than an hour, compared to a much larger percentage of women (29.0%). Younger men used sunscreen the least.

A recent survey done by Neutrogena also found that a third of people never go to a skin doctor for check-ups. Women were also more likely to be told to wear sunscreen every day compared to men. Cena believes that sunscreen is often linked to beauty in women's minds, which might explain why they use it more.

Why Is Melanoma Becoming An Increased Issue?

According to 2023 review published in the Cancer journal, in the US, the number of melanoma cases have increased by 40% from the years 2009 to 2019. The number of new cases that have been predicted to happen is 110,000, which is a drastic increase considering the 65,000 in the year 2011. The study says that there is a disproportionately higher risk of men developing cancer and by 2040, melanoma will be the second most common cancer overall.

Cena says he doesn't care if men use sunscreen for health reasons or to avoid wrinkles – he just wants them to use it. He compares using sunscreen to going to the gym for looks but getting healthier in the process. He says using SPF is "super easy," like brushing your teeth. His hope is that men will start keeping sunscreen next to their toothpaste and use it every day. Cena says his own life perspective changed after his cancer scares, and he wants to encourage others to be proactive about skin protection before it's too late.