DAKSHAYANI SHANKAR, NBC News' , WTLV 8:54 PM. EST March 11, 2017

Is there a doctor in the house? It was a plane, but a woman's cries for help Monday were answered all the same by around 20 medical professionals on board, officials said.

The Southwest Airlines passenger's husband, retired Air Force Col. Tom McCay, fell ill on an Atlanta-to-Houston flight and was stabilized by five of the doctors who stood up to help.

"I was seats behind the couple but the wife started panicking and calling out for help. It became obvious that it was an emergency and I rushed to jump right in, squeezing through the tight seats to get to the patient," Dr. Jeffrey Aycock, an oral surgeon at University of Texas Medical Branch, told NBC News.

Aycock said the patient became semiconscious, sweaty and cold 30 minutes upon descent into Houston. He had to lay him down across three seats that acted as a bed to open the patient's airway and ensure his brain was getting oxygen.

"He had a strong but very, very low pulse rate which we were worried about. We knew, however, that he was going to be OK from his stable blood pressure counts," Aycock added.

Around 20 doctors all returning from an annual conference stood up to help, but five concentrated on treating the stricken passenger with the others standing aside.

It took the doctors approximately eight to 10 minutes to fully stabilize the patient, and McCay said someone given him an aspirin.

Tom McCay and his wife, Maggie, were returning to their home in Houston Thursday when Tom fell ill. Fortunately, more than 20 doctors were on board the flight and they rushed to his aide. Tom and Maggie McCay

"I passed out. I could hear people around me talking and then gradually I could hear more and more about my low pulse rate," McCay told NBC News."A fantasy of mine has been to help out a pilot if he/she ever passes out. Turns out it was me this time."

His wife, Maggie, said she felt even more helpless because she works as a nurse and couldn't fathom having to treat her own husband in a state of hysteria.

"I was crying, 'He is my world, please help him, please help him,'" Maggie McCay told NBC News. "I just feel like God was hovering over the plane with the amount of doctors there. We can never repay them."

The flight landed safely in Houston and was met by local medical staff, Southwest said in a statement.

"We are beyond grateful for the aid provided by several medical professionals to stabilize the passenger," Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said.

Aycock was joined by his work colleague, Dr. Andrew Grant, a professor of internal medicine, and three other physicians: Dr. Kristen Moore, an allergist at Houston Allergy, Dr. Lenora Noroski, an allergist at the Texas Children's Hospital and Dr. David Corry, a pulmonologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Grant, the McCays and Aycock commended Southwest staff on the plane for their quick response.

"Dr. Aycock jumped right in and we administered the oxygen source," Grant told NBC News. "The Southwest Airlines crew were impressive in their response. They left the medical bag for us and a male staff was constantly updating the pilot and discussing if an emergency landing was required."

Dr. Jeff Aycock (PHOTO: Click2Houston)

Aycock believes the patient's state of semi-consciousness arose from a shortage in fluid intake during the flight. Dr. Corry, however, said the gentleman had taken the medication with an alcoholic drink which he suspects caused the semi-consciousness.

"From what I heard last, the patient refused to seek emergency care after he landed as his condition was back to normal," Aycock said. "I am sure he will follow-up for his condition though."

Tom McCay told NBC News that he had visited Houston's Debakey Clinic to check on his condition, but would only be doing a slew of tests and a complete check-up in the future since there were no relapses. The former Pentagon veteran said he will be enjoying golfing and a non-restrictive diet in the meantime and ask his "golf buddies" to keep an eye on him.

"I hope we can figure out this out so there is no problem. And manage whatever we need to do," McCay said.

Noroski said most of the doctors on the flight were returning from an annual meeting at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Atlanta.

"I had a similar experience on the same airline where the patient had severe heart disease and died in-flight. I am glad that many physicians stepped up in this flight," Grant said. "That's what healthcare should be all about."

2017 NBCNEWS.COM

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Southwest passenger falls ill, 20 doctors on board offer help - Firstcoastnews.com

When it comes to your diet, you are where you eat.

For people trying to lose weight or even maintain a lower body weight, the temptation to overeat is stronger when meals are eaten in a social setting like a friends home or restaurant, and when eating alone, according to research presented last week at an American Heart Associations conference. The study followed 150 people (90% of whom were women) who used smartphones and a custom-developed app to capture data as dieters moved through their day.

The chance of diet lapse and/or overeating was about 60% when eating in a restaurant and 50% when eating alone, said Lora Burke, the lead author of the study and professor of nursing in the Department of Health & Community Systems at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. When asked if they wanted more food or a high-calorie food, the odds of breaking their diet were also 60%. Odds of a diet lapse were lower at work (around 40%) or in a car (30%).

One theory: You have more control over what you eat when you cook it yourself at home and, similar to the peer-support philosophy of Weight Watchers WTW, -0.33% eat with people who have the most intimate knowledge of your goals. A 2014 study published in Public Health Nutrition found that cooking dinner frequently at home is associated with consumption of a healthier diet. But theres an important caveat to that: People are more likely to snack as a meal when they are alone.

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The time of day also effects whether or not you are likely to break your diet. Eating snacks that are considered better for you such as nuts, vegetable slices or fruits peak at around noon, followed by a slightly smaller rise in savory and sweet snacks at the same time of day, according to data released in 2015 by market research company The NPD Group. Meanwhile, sweet snacks such as candy, chocolate and ice cream peak in the evening just after 8 p.m.

During Burkes most recent study, women weighing less than 200 pounds were given a daily diet target of 1,200 calories per day, and men at that weight had a target of 1,500 calories. For those weighing over 200 pounds, the goal was 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 for men, limiting fat to about 25% of total calories. The technique used, ecological momentary assessment (tracking movements over a long period of time) has been used to study addiction, pain, stress and asthma.

Research into understanding and preventing weight regain is vital for improving the public health, Burke said. The participants in the study were 90% women and checked in five times per day, reporting where they went, where they ate and who they were with, and if they broke their diet or were tempted to break it. Helping an individual anticipate challenges and problem-solve high-risk situations can empower them to stay on track with their weight loss/weight maintenance plan.

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Want to stick to your diet and lose weight? Avoid dinner parties and restaurants - MarketWatch

The Paleo diet, which prescribes that its followers eat only foods that our Stone Age predecessor would have eaten, might not be as period-correct as its advocates want to think it is. Here to disabuse Paleo follows of their beliefs is a team of Australian researchers, who tested the DNA of the calcified dental plaque found on Neanderthal teeth to discover what they really ate.

Spoiler: Unlike today's Paleo followers, who eschew carbs and modern processed foods in favor of nuts, meat, and avocado and macadamia oils (and sometimes, insects), the actual Paleolithic-era human was an omnivore, with a diet that varied based on geography.

[Photo: Anastasia Stoeckmann/iStock]

In Belgium, for instance, Neanderthals dined on wooly rhinoceros, wild sheep, and other meat. Meanwhile, evidence from the El Sidrn cave in Spain shows that a form of the Mediterranean diet existed even 48,000 years ago: Mushrooms, pine nuts, tree bark, and moss sustained the Spanish Neanderthal, who appeared to be completely vegetarian. The plaque of one Spanish cave-person also contained Penicilliumthe drug found in aspirinand the poplar bark from which it's derived. This Neanderthal had a tooth abscess; it's possible that chewing the bark was an attempt at self-medicating.

"When people talk about the Paleo diet, thats not Paleo, thats just non-carb," lead author Laura Weyrich told The Atlantic. "The true Paleo diet is eating whatevers out there in the environment."

The researchers, based at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, sequenced the DNA contained in the dental plaque of Neanderthals, which consisted, in part, of the food leftovers clinging to their teeth when they died. They found that the Neanderthals weren't quite so formulaic in what they ate as today's diet makes them out to be."They had a very good understanding of what foods were available to them," Weyrich said.

Paleo dieters are perhaps some of the ultimate subscribers to the belief that things were better in the olden days. And now, the followers of this fad diet have even more material to draw from if they want to recreate a historically accurate meal every time they sat down to eat: Some particular Neanderthal favorites, the researchers discovered, were moss and tree bark. For those who chose Paleo as an excuse to eat steak and eggs for breakfast, the news isn't so greatunless you can get your hands on some wooly rhino meat, that is.

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Sorry, Paleo Bros: Your Diet Is Not As Caveman-Like As You Think - Co.Exist

March 13 at 10:00 AM

Gluten-free diets are all the rage, but shunning gluten may offer no benefit to overall health for most people, a new analysis suggests.

In fact, the people in the study who ate more gluten were 13 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes over the 30-year study than those who ate less gluten, the researchers found.

For some individuals, there are health reasons to avoid gluten, a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Certain people, for example, have an intolerance to gluten, which can lead to abdominal pain, bloating or fatigue. Others have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects mostly the small intestine; when people with this disease eat gluten, their immune system responds by attacking the intestines lining.

However, even some people who do not have celiac disease or an intolerance to gluten believe that gluten-free diets are healthier than those that include gluten products, and the researchers wanted to see whether this belief might have any scientific merit, said lead study author Geng Zong, a nutrition research fellow at Harvard Universitys T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

[Science you can eat]

In the study, the researchers looked at surveys conducted every two to four years in which nearly 200,000 people reported what they ate. The researchers estimated the participants gluten intake based on this information, and then looked at which participants went on to develop Type 2 diabetes over the 30-year study period. Type 2 the most common form of diabetes occurs when the body has lost the ability to use insulin efficiently. This inability leads to high blood sugar levels, which can damage blood vessel walls, nerves and other tissues.

The researchers focused on studying the participants risk of diabetes because this condition is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, Zong said.

By the end of the study, nearly 16,000 particIpants had developed Type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that those who ate the most gluten had a 13 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during the study period than the people who ate the least gluten.

These findings suggest that there might be a link between gluten consumption and risk of diabetes, the researchers said. However, it is not clear why the people who ate more gluten were less likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes than those who ate less gluten, the researchers said.

One possible explanation is that the people who consumed more gluten also ate more fiber, which, as previous research has suggested, may help to lower a persons diabetes risk. However, more research is needed to examine the relationship between gluten consumption and diabetes, the researchers said.

Live Science

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Gluten-free diets may be tied to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes - Washington Post

Home Healthy Eating 400,000 American deaths linked to poor diet

A new study has found that around 400,000 American deaths in 2015 could be attributed to bad diets. An unhealthy diet contributes to heart disease and stroke. Not only does consuming unhealthy foods lead to premature death and disease, but excluding healthy food options such as nuts, vegetables, and whole grains can also increase the risk of disease.

Lead researcher of the study Dr. Ashkan Afshin explained, Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, killing more people in 2015 than any other cause. Poor diet is the top risk factor for cardiovascular disease death and, therefore, deserves attention from decision-makers in the U.S. when setting health agendas.

The study suggests that nearly half of heart disease and stroke cases may have been prevented if Americans adhered to a healthier diet.

The focus on healthy eating is often surrounded by avoiding foods and ingredients that are unhealthy, but this leaves out what foods should be eaten instead. Ashin added, This study highlights the urgent need for implementation of policies targeting these unhealthy food groups as well healthy foods, such as nuts, whole grains and vegetables.

The study explored data collected between 1990 and 2012, along with data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other sources.

The researchers then looked at deaths in 2015 that were related to heart and vascular causes. They uncovered that unhealthy diet choices and a lack of eating healthy foods contributed to over 222,000 deaths among men and 193,000 among women.

A crummy diet means the body has to work at Mach-10 to battle the onslaught of biochemical, physiological, and inflammatory consequences. No wonder so many of us complain about being exhausted all the time and suffer from very serious and oftentimes preventable cardiovascular diseases, Heller added.

A plant-based diet has been linked with reduced inflammation, improved immune system, gastrointestinal health, and greater energy.

Heller recommended simple swaps that Americans can try in order to incorporate healthier foods into ones diet, which includes sliced avocado, tomato, and hummus on whole grain bread instead of a ham and cheese sandwich; a veggie burger topped with salsa instead of a cheeseburger; brown rice and vegetable-edamame paella instead of mac and cheese; and a salad pizza instead of a pepperoni pizza.

Heller concluded, The good news is it is never too late or too early to ditch unhealthy foods, dig into a plate of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains, and watch how our bodies respond by getting healthier and happier.

Related Reading:

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https://consumer.healthday.com/senior-citizen-information-31/misc-death-and-dying-news-172/bad-diets-tied-to-400-000-u-s-deaths-in-2015-720485.html

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400000 American deaths linked to poor diet - Bel Marra Health

Kyle NewportFeatured ColumnistMarch 13, 2017

It's been nearly 35 years since Rocky III premiered, but even now we are learning things about it that we never knew.

This weekend, Sylvester Stallone shared a photo from the set along with some fascinating details. Apparently, the actor pushed his body to the extreme for the movie. Not only was his diet strict, but he also utilized some interesting techniques in order to do the fight scenes:

Just for fun A flashback from Rocky three. Between rounds I would get lightheaded and quite exhausted. I was on a very high protein diet which did not provide Much physical or mental energy. During the period I only ate very small portions of oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and up to 25 cups of coffee a day with honey and a couple of scoops of tuna fish. Sounds incredible right? At the time my body fat got down to 2.9 which is a really dangerous level. I may have looked pretty good on the outside but inside it was very dangerous thing to do. But I wanted the movie to be about change. How people have to adapt to different challenges because if they don't they will be conquered. I will always believe the adaptation is the key to survival and that's what this story was all about ... and while, getting smashed by Superstrong,CLUBBER LANG continuously four months of rehearsal plus the fight, tended to wear a person out so I would literally go to the corner between rounds, when I wasn't directing and try to get some blood back into my head so I could carry-on with the complicated fight choreography It's funny, I never knew this picture existed!

That's intense.

Given the legacy the Rocky films created, Stallone can look back at all the hard work and say it was worth it.

[Sylvester Stallone]

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Sylvester Stallone Shares 'Rocky III' Photo, Diet Details - Bleacher Report