The very thought is scary to new parents: A recent study conducted in six Canadian cities found that babies born to moms who’d had higher intakes of fluoride during pregnancy – from toothpaste, tea and food, as well as from drinking water – tended to have children with slightly lower intelligence.
One study is certainly not definitive, and the IQ difference was typically just a couple of points the researchers say.
Still, as the science on this issue evolves, they suggest women consider curtailing their fluoride intake during pregnancy – just as a precaution.
Tom Norris, now retired from the military, has tried all the usual strategies for easing injury-related aches and burning pain in his back and hips -- including peer support groups, which he helps leads.
But the deeply immersive relaxation Norris gets when he straps on a virtual reality headset and “swims with dolphins” for just 10 minutes, or so, brings relief that lasts well beyond the session.
"It's fantastic -- I really feel like I'm there," says Norris. "I get a strong feeling of pleasure, relaxation and peace.”
He’s not alone. A hospital-based study published this month found that similar virtual reality sessions reduced surgical and cancer patients’ rating of their pain by “about three times as much” as watching relaxing TV, according to the physician who led the study.
Consider it an epidemic of desperation. Intent on keeping a loved one from becoming a statistic – one of the 130 Americans a day, on average, who die from an opioid overdose, or who succumb to another drug – moms, dads, siblings and friends make a call to a rehab clinic.
But not all those clinics are offering proven treatments. This week Indianapolis-based health reporter Jake Harper investigates what can go wrong when you choose a treatment not approved by the FDA – for example, an infusion called “NAD” therapy.
The chemical infusion is being heavily marketed on TV, the internet and other media across the U.S., without scientific backing. The starting cost for such a treatment: $15,000, and not covered by insurance.
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