Hello, and happy Friday. Today I will be discussing if 10,000 steps daily is a magic number. In addition, I will talk about the germiest things you touch every day Also I will give summaries of the most noteworthy health headlines of the week
Is 10,000 Steps a Day Really Necessary For Good Health?
Did you ever start pacing around your kitchen at night just to reach that magic number: 10,000. Is it really necessary for good health? Where did that number even come from—and does walking more actually mean living longer?
The Germiest Things You Touch Every Day
Germs are sneaky. They hide in places we touch every day without even thinking. As a general internist, I can tell you some of the dirtiest things you come in contact with might surprise you. And no, it’s not just toilet seats. Let’s take a little tour of the germiest stuff in your life, and what you can do about it — without needing a hazmat suit.
Healthy Headlines
CDC Data Show Unintentional Fall-Related Deaths Rising Among Older Americans
The AP (6/18, Stobbe) reports that a new CDC report published Wednesday shows an increase in unintentional fall-related deaths among older Americans. The report found that “from 2003 to 2023, death rates from falls rose more than 70% for adults ages 65 to 74,” more than 75% for adults ages 75 to 84, and “more than doubled for seniors 85 and older.” Data show that “more than 41,000 retirement-age Americans died of falls in 2023,” which suggests “that falls were blamed in about 1 of every 56 deaths in older Americans that year.” In addition, “more than half of those 41,000 deaths were people 85 and older, the CDC found, and white people accounted for 87% of deaths in the oldest category.”https://apnews.com/article/elderly-adults-falling-death-us-41d7acc0c038ff3d761fba9e00da3b71
We’ve all heard that precision medicine is the new face of medicine. But what, really, is it? And does it truly stand to transform our health? Dr. Ashley, chair of the Department of Medicine, explored the realities—and dispelled a few myths—of this revolutionary approach to personalized health care. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvheq1FJZuc All 17 experts ousted from the federal vaccine advisory committee have spoken out about the drastic changes that anti-vaccine advocate and current US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made since taking office. Those changes include unilaterally restricting access to COVID-19 vaccines and summarily firing the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which had guided federal vaccine policies for more than 60 years.https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/06/all-17-fired-vaccine-advisors-unite-to-blast-rfk-jr-s-destabilizing-decisions/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user/ArsTechnica |
