Marla Ahlgrimm | Women And Diabetes

A metabolic disease, diabetes is a condition that results in high blood sugar. This, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, can happen when a person cannot produce or accurately process insulin. And while diabetes can affect people of all ages and sexes, women tend to fare worse than their male counterparts after diagnosis.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that men have historically been diagnosed and treated for diabetes more often than women. However, for a multitude of reasons, including less aggressive treatment and hormones, diabetes has a death rate twice as high for women when compared to men.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Does COVID-19 Discriminate?

The novel coronavirus is nothing more than a piece of genetic material, albeit one that’s making a lot of people sick. And, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, it should not necessarily have a greater impact on either sex. But it does.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that women seem to have a leg up compared to their male counterparts when it comes to COVID-19. In the United States, deaths are overwhelmingly male. Similar statistics have popped up all across the world, and even in Western Europe, which has suffered a staggering number of losses per capita, seven out of 10 deaths are men.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Hormone And Allergies

Allergies are a seasonal nuisance, and histamine gets the blame for all of the sniffling, sneezing, and itching we experience once things start to bloom. However, according to hormone specialist Marla Ahlgrimm, histamines do much more than make you sneeze.

Q: What is histamine?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Histamine is a neurotransmitter. It’s produced in many different parts of the body and is often triggered in response to an allergen. However, histamines also play a role in everything from female reproduction to digestion and mental health.

Q: Is it true that some foods contain histamines?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Yes. Many different types of foods, including sauerkraut, wine, and cheese – basically anything that has been aged or fermented – contains histamines. Others, including tomatoes and citrus fruits, have very low levels. When you eat foods out of this latter group, they stimulate the release of histamines from immune cells.

Marla Ahlgrimm: What Is A Coronavirus?

In December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus slowly began spreading from China across the globe. But, what, exactly, is the coronavirus? According to retired pharmacist Marla Ahlgrimm, a coronavirus is simply a blanket name for a family of germs that cause respiratory – and occasionally gastrointestinal – symptoms.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that the new coronavirus, now dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, is inciting fear throughout the world. Although coronaviruses are not new, and they are usually not harmful in the long-term, COVID-19 is a novel virus, meaning that it is a new strain. This is not unlike versions of the flu that pop up each winter.

Coronaviruses, like most other bugs, are spread in a few different ways, says Marla Ahlgrimm. The most common is through the air. If someone with the virus sneezes into the air, for example, within six feet of another person, that person is exposed. Not everyone who is exposed to coronaviruses will come down with symptoms. Marla Ahlgrimm notes that most children, although not immune, tend to carry the virus without showing symptoms.

Marla Ahlgrimm: Put Down The Granola

If you believe the television, there are plenty of foods out there that are super healthy. According to Marla Ahlgrimm, women are especially targeted by food manufacturers hoping to capitalize on our body insecurities. But before you start filling your pantry with yogurt and granola, read this. Here, will take a quick look at foods that aren’t as healthy as the voice over on that commercial might lead you to believe.

Flavored yogurt

To be fair, it Greek yogurt is one of the healthiest foods in the dairy aisle. But when you start adding sugars, Marla Ahlgrimm says you negate most of the health benefits. A small package of fruit-flavored yogurt may contain 20 or more grams of sugar.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Flu Season Is Almost Over

While attention to the coronavirus has been hot and heavy in the news, Marla Ahlgrimm says the US remains in the grip of an unusually long flu season. Ahlgrimm explains that flu started making its way through back in October, and doctors continue to see cases, especially in pediatric clinics.

According to Marla Ahlgrimm, there are three different types of flu. These are A, B, and C. The former two are what we think of when we think of the flu, and they are the ones that easily make their way between students and other groups of people in close contact with one another.

All three flu viruses cause fever, stuffy nose, coughs, and body aches. There are only a few subtle differences. Type A, explains Marla Ahlgrimm, is usually the most severe, and is the one that doctors say can change quickly. This makes it extremely difficult to formulate a foolproof flu vaccination each season. Type A is also unique in that it can spread between humans and animals.

Flu type B is usually not widespread. However, it does tend to become more prevalent toward the end of the flu season. Although usually less dangerous than type A, flu B can also cause high fevers and can linger for up to two weeks.

Marla Ahlgrimm | 4 Pharmacists Whose Names You Should Know

Pharmacists are some of the most important people in our medical history, says Marla Ahlgrimm. Unfortunately, many people never get to hear the names of the men and women whose contributions have helped to save countless lives in the US and abroad. Here are four whose names you should know.

Dora Akunyili

Dora Akunyili was a Nigerian politician and the Director General (from 2001 to 2008) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration in Nigeria. Her educational credentials include receiving a Bachelors of Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria in 1978. She won numerous awards for her work in both human rights and pharmacology, and was a staunch advocate of fighting against counterfeit drugs. According to Marla Ahlgrimm, Dora Akunyili took up this cause when her sister died after receiving counterfeit insulin injections.