Tag: health and medicine

Protein Hunger and Overeating

B1 – Intermediate

There are many types of dietary habits that people are trying to adopt in order to stay fit and healthy and one of those is the low-protein diet. However, this type of dietary habit could result in overeating, according to new research.

Read the article and listen to the audio to learn more about “protein hunger”.

https://eslnewsstories.com/articles/2022-12-18-protein-hunger-and-overeating/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “prevalent” mean, “Eating more of the food that is prevalent in modern supermarkets, also means eating more calorie-dense types of food.”? Give 2 at least 2 synonyms of this word and use them in your own sentences.
  2. What does “dietary” mean, “Researchers from the University of Sydney followed the dietary habits of almost 10,000 Australians for one year.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the expression “make sense” mean, “It makes sense that our bodies want protein because it does many things for us.“? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to the new research mentioned in the article?
  2. Have you tried a low-protein diet? How was it?
  3. Do you have a dietary habit? If yes, what is it? If not, why?
  4. Do you think you get enough protein? What foods do you get your protein from?
  5. Which healthy and unhealthy foods do you often eat?
  6. Do you often eat processed food? Why/why not?

People Drink Bleach

B1 – Intermediate

Even before the alarming concern for treating COVID-19 with the use of household disinfectants, bleach cure has been in practice for some Americans with the belief that ingesting it would cure autism. During the coronavirus pandemic, this became even more common due to a suggestion by then US president Donald Trump that bleach could possibly treat COVID.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript to know more about the dangers of this ingesting bleach.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/people-drink-bleach-level-2/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. Define the word “former“. Give two synonyms. Use each in sentences. Ex. “In 2020, former US president Donald Trump said that disinfectant may help treat COVID-19.”
  2. What does “disinfectant” mean? “In 2020, former US president Donald Trump said that disinfectant may help treat COVID-19.” Use this word in a sentence.
  3. What does the word “bleach” mean? “MMS is an industrial bleach which went on sale in the 1990s.” Use this word in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Did you hear of any alternative unproven remedy for the treatment of coronavirus during the pandemic? What were they?
  2. What other ways could food and drug agency do to educate people on hazardous household products?
  3. What additional precautionary measures should companies implement to prevent this intentional ingesting of household disinfectants?
  4. What hazardous household products do you have at home? What have you noticed about their warning signs?

Voice Help Diagnose Illness

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Several studies have been conducted on and have proven how a person’s voice holds key information about their health. 

A team of 45 investigators from Europe and North America are working together to collect human voices as data. They hope to use this information to help identify a variety of medical conditions in patients just by analyzing their voices with the help of AI computer softwares.

Watch the video to know more about how one’s voice could help diagnose illnesses.

https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-could-your-voice-help-diagnose-your-next-illness/6941387.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “tackle” mean, “The study is one of four data generation projects funded by the National Institute of Health bridge to artificial intelligence program designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”gap” mean here, ”They realized that there were such a big gap between the technology that we had available and the clinical knowledge and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.”? Give two synonyms and use these words in sentences.
  3. What does the word “enroll” mean? “The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this study?
  2. In your own opinion, is our voice a good indicator of our underlying or imminent disease or condition? Explain your point.
  3. How would you like your voice to be used to diagnose an illness that you might have?
  4. What might be the good and bad things about using our voice to help diagnose some medical conditions?
  5. Would you be willing to participate in such a study? Why or why not?

Dangerous Slimming Pills

B1 – Intermediate

Most people wish to be slimmer. Some take slimming pills to help them lose weight.

But it had been a disaster for some people in the UK. 33 people died after taking a dangerous pill that they thought could help them make their weight go down.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about dangerous slimming pills.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/a-dangerous-pill-level-2/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is a “supplement”? “DNP isn’t a medication or a nutritional supplement.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. Give 2 synonyms of “consume”. “At least 33 people died in the UK after they consumed a pill to lose weight called DNP.” Use them in sentences.
  3. What does “battle” mean, “People died after taking DNP; their families won a long battle with authorities to change the chemical’s classification.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news?
  2. What are your thoughts on slimming pills?
  3. What are the pros and cons of taking slimming pills?
  4. Do you think there are more negatives than positives about such pills? Share your opinion.
  5. What are some healthy ways to lose weight?

The ‘Benjamin Button’ Effect

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Aging is inevitable and everyone goes through it. Not everybody enjoys the aging process and some even hope they don’t age a day. Recently, in molecular biologist David Sinclair’s lab at Harvard Medical School, old mice are growing young again. Scientists have the goal of doing the same for humans.

Read this article to know more about the ‘Benjamin Button’ effect.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/02/health/reverse-aging-life-itself-scn-wellness/index.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “caveat” mean, “With that caveat, Sinclair is willing to share his tips: He keeps his starches and sugars to a minimum and gave up desserts at age 40 (although he does admit to stealing a taste on occasion).“? Use this word in a sentence.
  2. What does “ravage” mean, “It’s a permanent reset, as far as we can tell, and we think it may be a universal process that could be applied across the body to reset our age,” said Sinclair, who has spent the last 20 years studying ways to reverse the ravages of time.“? Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “expunge” mean, “A study published in 2016 by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, showed signs of aging could be expunged in genetically aged mice, exposed for a short time to four main Yamanaka factors, without erasing the cells’ identity.“? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this research? Do you support this kind of research? Why or why not?
  2. Do you think it’s possible to reverse the aging of humans without any complications? Share your thoughts.
  3. In your opinion, what do you think are the pros and cons of reverse aging?
  4. Would you like to be young again? Why or why not?

Stem Cell Donation

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Stem cells are used in treating certain conditions. They help tissues regenerate to treat skin damage and blood diseases like leukemia. 

It is crucial that we raise awareness about stem cell donation to make it less intimidating and for every information about it more accessible to everyone and so many will be enticed to register to be donors and help save lives.

Read the article about one man’s experience donating his stem cells and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/through-my-eyes-stem-cell-donation#Screening-and-preparation

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the expression “a walk in the park” mean? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  2. What does it mean “to do someone or something a disservice”? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  3. What does “uncharted territory” mean? Use this phrase in your own sentence. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some of stem cells uses?
  2. How would you feel about donating your stem cells? 
  3. What are some effects of G-CSF injections?

Drink Water Often to Live Longer

B1 – Intermediate

Drinking water on a regular basis is the best thing we do to our bodies. Water can make us stay alert and focus. When we are properly hydrated, the circulation in our body will be good, too.

Read the article below about the benefits of staying hydrated.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2301/230105-staying-hydrated.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “more likely” mean here, “They added that adults who did not drink enough water were more likely to die at a younger age.“? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does the word “prolong” mean? “The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down ageing and prolong a disease-free life.” Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does the verb “encourage” mean in this sentence, “She encouraged people to drink more fluids, like water and juice, and fruit and vegetables with a high water content.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on this, “half of people worldwide do not drink enough”?
  2. What might be some reasons people do not drink as much water as they should?
  3. What is the importance of drinking water?
  4. How does drinking water benefit our health? What are the benefits of drinking water for your mind?
  5. Do you think you drink enough water? Why or why not?

Health News in 2022

B1 – Intermediate

The year 2022 had yet been another memorable year for all. Each industry has had their breakthroughs and outstanding developments, including, the health and medical field. Loads of life-changing progress were achieved in the health sector in the said year.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about some advancements in the health sector for the year 2022.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/2022-health-news-level-3/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the expression “to keep one’s eye on something” mean? “A driving simulator teaches teens with ADHD to keep their eyes on the road.” Use it in your own sentence.
  2. Give 1-2 synonym/s of the word “glance”. Use them in your own sentences.
  3. What does “immersive” mean? Use it in your own sentence. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of these new technologies?
  2. Which one do you think is the most helpful and why?
  3. What other medical technologies do you know were invented in 2022? Describe them and their uses.
  4. What health device have you started using? Talk about how it helps you in your day-to-day life.

Prepare for the Next Pandemic

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The COVID-19 cases may have declined significantly in the two years since the pandemic began, but our experiences are still fresh in our minds. We didn’t see that coming and were totally unprepared for it.

There have been a number of outbreaks in recent decades, thus future outbreaks of infectious diseases are regrettably unavoidable. If we are ready for them, we may be able to prevent them from spreading and becoming pandemics.


Read this article to learn how to prepare for the next pandemic.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03362-8

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “inevitable” mean? “Finally, governments must abandon the idea that spread of a respiratory pathogen is inevitable.” Use this word in a sentence.
  2. Based on the context of the sentence, “This necessitates the participation of the private sector alongside governments, given its role in vaccine research, production, and distribution.”, what does the word ‘necessitate’ mean?
  3. Explain the meaning of the word “emerge” in your own words. “It is crucial that we quickly obtain and share the genetic sequences of viruses as they emerge.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think the five ways to prepare for the pandemic in the article are effective? Why or why not?
  2. How else can we prepare for the pandemic?
  3. In your opinion, do you think doing these things would actually prepare us for the next pandemic?
  4. Are you physically, mentally, and financially prepared for future pandemics? How so?
  5. How does your national government prepare for pandemics?

Amazon Alexa’s Symptom Checker: The Pros and Cons

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Amazon’s digital voice assistant Alexa seems to have the answer for nearly every question one might have and that includes your health or medical queries.

Read the article to know more about the pros and cons of using Alexa’s symptom checker in monitoring one’s health.

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/amazon-alexa-symptom-checker

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “nuance” mean? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “narrow down” mean here, “From there, Alexa will ask a series of yes-or-no questions to help narrow down which underlying medical conditions might be related.”? Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “resounding” mean? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the pros and cons of Alexa Symptom Checker?
  2. When it comes to your health, would you entrust it with a digital voice assistant? Explain.
  3. How often and for what do you use your AI assistant for? Do you think people would be more dependent on them in the near future? Why or why not?