THE HIDDEN LINK BETWEEN NUTRITION AND MEASLES

-

 THE HIDDEN LINK BETWEEN NUTRITION AND MEASLES













Picture a vaccine as armor against disease. Now imagine that armor slowly wearing thin when a child doesn't get enough to eat. That's exactly what scientists at McGill University just discovered about measles - and it's raising alarm bells worldwide.

In a groundbreaking study of over 600 vaccinated children in South Africa, researchers found something troubling: kids who weren't getting enough nutrition had much weaker protection against measles, even though they'd received their shots. When children were undernourished and showed stunted growth around age three, their measles antibodies dropped by nearly a quarter by the time they turned five.

"We've been missing a crucial piece of the puzzle," says Jonathan Chevrier, who led the research at McGill. "Getting kids vaccinated is essential, but making sure they have enough to eat might be just as important for keeping measles at bay."

The timing couldn't be more critical. Measles is staging a comeback in places where it was once rare - even Canada saw its highest number of cases in nearly a decade last year. While the COVID pandemic disrupted vaccination programs worldwide, this new research suggests hunger might be fanning the flames of these outbreaks.

The numbers are sobering: About 148 million children under five worldwide—more than one in five—aren't getting enough nutrition to grow properly. The problem hits hardest in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where food insecurity often coexists with other health challenges.

"We're facing a perfect storm," warns Brian Ward, a professor at McGill. "Measles was on the decline until 2016, but now it's surging back. Add climate change to the mix, which could help spread more diseases, and we've got a serious challenge on our hands."

The research team isn't done yet. They're monitoring these children as they grow up, trying to determine whether poor nutrition in early childhood leaves a lasting mark on their immune systems.

Their message is clear: Fighting infectious diseases isn't just about vaccines—it's about ensuring kids have full bellies, too. In a world where hunger and measles are on the rise, that's a lesson we can't afford to ignore.

The study, published in Vaccine, was supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your brain on cannabis: it's more complicated than you might think.

-
Image
  Your brain on cannabis: it's more complicated than you might think.   A fascinating study published in JAMA Network Open reveals some surprising insights about how heavy marijuana use affects our mental machinery, especially when it comes to memory. Picture this: researchers at the University of Colorado rounded up over 1,000 young adults, ages 22 to 36, and put their brains to the test. Using sophisticated brain imaging technology, they watched what happened inside the minds of heavy cannabis users, moderate users, and those who'd never touched the stuff. The results? Heavy cannabis users showed noticeably less brain activity during memory-related tasks, particularly in three key brain regions: the anterior insula (think emotional processing), the medial prefrontal cortex (decision-making central), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (the brain's multitasking maestro). Their brains were running on energy-saving mode, but not in a good way. Here's where it gets int...
Read more

Learn How the NEW Nutrition Facts Label Can Help You Improve Your Health

-
Image
  Learn How the NEW Nutrition Facts Label Can Help You Improve Your Health The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new regulations changing the  Nutrition Facts  label external  icon  on packaged foods. This is the first major change to the label since it was introduced in 1994. The changes are based on updated science, the most  recent dietary  recommendations, external  icon , and public input. Using the new label can help you choose foods for a healthy diet. The label will be required on all packaged foods made in the United States and imported from other countries. The new label is already appearing on packages. Most items will have the new label by January 1, 2021. What is changing? Calories & Fat Larger, darker letters make calories the easiest item to see on the new label. When it comes to health outcomes, the type of fat you eat matters more than the overall amount of fat. For this reason, the label will no longer show the per...
Read more

OMEGA-3 MAY SLOW AGING

-
Image
  OMEGA-3 MAY SLOW AGING Want to turn back the clock? Popping a daily omega-3 supplement might be the best way to find the youth fountain. A groundbreaking study from the University of Zurich revealed something fascinating: taking one gram of omega-3s daily could slow biological aging by up to four months. While four months might not sound like much, this is a significant breakthrough in understanding how we can influence aging. The story begins with the DO-HEALTH study, an ambitious research project that followed over 2,000 people aged 70 and up across Europe. Scientists were interested in more than just how old people's birth certificates said they were—they wanted to know how old their bodies were at a molecular level. To understand this, they used epigenetic clocks. These sophisticated biological timekeepers measure how our DNA changes as we age. They are like high-tech fitness trackers, but instead of counting steps, they count the chemical changes that mark the passage of tim...
Read more