Chronic Pain Epidemic Continues to Grow
Vitality101 Newsletter
Hello Reader,
An NIH-funded study of 90,000 people found the chronic pain epidemic is worsening. It showed that the percentage of Americans with chronic pain grew from 20.9% in 2021 to 24.3% in 2023. That's a 3.4 absolute percentage point increase, which translates to a dramatic 16% relative rise in just two years.
It's no surprise that much of this increase was attributed to Long COVID, which triggers a secondary fibromyalgia.
The frustrating truth? Most people's pain could be eased, yet it often isn't. One big barrier is that many physicians receive too little education in pain care.
Three Steps to Reducing Pain
My published research in fibromyalgia as a model has shown that pain can be effectively treated by going after its root causes. This includes addressing:
Coffee, Tea and Caffeine Lower Risk of Dementia
A meta-analysis of 750,000 people showed that drinking coffee was associated with a 16% lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, drinking tea was associated with a 5% lower risk, and the risk reduced another 5% for each additional drink of tea people drank during the day.
So simple measures such as these may cut dementia risk in half.
Question to Dr. T on PAXLOVID for COVID
Question:
I just tested positive for COVID. Should I take PAXLOVID?
Answer:
I would defer this question to your physician. However, I can tell you that when I got COVID, I considered it but decided not to take it. It's not that I think it would do any harm, it's just that it wasn't covered by insurance, and I was too skeptical of its efficacy to pay for it. Here's what I would do instead:
Do you have a question for Dr. T? Visit Ask Dr. T at our website and send it to us (if a generally helpful question, we may ask for your permission to publish it here anonymously).
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When Animals Show Love Like Best Friends
Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. is one of the world's leading integrative medical authorities on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. He is the lead author of eight research studies on their effective treatments, and has published numerous health & wellness books, including the bestseller on fibromyalgia From Fatigued to Fantastic! and The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution. His newest book (June 10, 2024) is You Can Heal From Long COVID. Dr. Teitelbaum is one of the most frequently quoted fibromyalgia experts in the world and appears often as a guest on news and talk shows nationwide including Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show, Oprah & Friends, CNN, and Fox News Health.
