PUBLISHED BY

READ ONLINE | SIGN UP


Expert advice to help you live well every day.

(Abbey Lossing for The Washington Post)

Tara Parker-Pope

Happy Shark Week! We'll be testing your shark knowledge today, plus offering bonus sea creature stories. But before we get to that . . .

This week's must-reads:

Having trouble achieving your goals? Maybe your brain just needs a reminder.
A new cardiovascular risk: Extreme heat and bad air can take a toll on the heart.
Take off those yoga pants! Why you can't wear some stretchy clothes in an MRI.
Long covid and the brain: For some, cognitive problems persist for at least two years.

Test your shark knowledge

Ask shark researchers about the risk of getting bitten, and they have an odd way of reassuring you. Several shark experts told reporter Teddy Amenabar: You've already been swimming with sharks and didn't even know it!

Where was the shark bite capital of the world last year?

A. Florida

B. New York

C. Australia

D. Cape Cod

Last year, 57 people around the world were bitten by sharks in unprovoked bites, according to the International Shark Attack File. A bite is counted as provoked when humans are fishing near, feeding, harassing or harming the shark.

Most of those bites, 72 percent, happened in the United States. And Florida is the correct answer to our question. It's the international capital of shark bites, with 16 unprovoked bites, none of which were fatal.

Meanwhile, New York had eight unprovoked shark bites, Australia had nine, and there were no recorded shark bites on Cape Cod last year.

"It makes sense for us to be respectful of any large wild animal. And that is equally true for sharks," said Catherine Macdonald, director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami. "At the same time, the number of shark bites is incredibly small and has remained incredibly small despite vast increases in the number of people using the ocean for recreation."

It's also worth noting that in the battle between humans and sharks, the sharks are losing. One-third of all sharks are under the threat of extinction because of overfishing.

If you want to know more about sharks, you'll enjoy our quiz. And remember: "Jaws" was not a documentary!

Scared of sharks? Take our quiz for, uh, reassurance.

Chances are you've already been swimming with sharks and didn't even know it, say experts

By Teddy Amenabar

If you're loving the ocean vibe of today's newsletter, here's some bonus sea-life content.

It swims. It plays. It steals surfboards.
Orcas just want to have fun. And no, they don't want to eat you.
Sea lions aren't biting you because they're hungry. They're feeling unwell.
Trying to set personal boundaries? Just ask an octopus for advice.

(Abbey Lossing for The Washington Post)

How a tick bite can make you allergic to meat

Alpha-gal syndrome, sometimes known as red-meat allergy, happens when a tick bites a person and injects a sugar molecule found in its saliva.

In some people, that sugar causes an allergic reaction, which can be further triggered by eating red meat. The reason: Beef, pork and lamb also contain the sugar, known as alpha-gal.

Other food products from mammals, such as cow's milk, other dairy products and gelatin, can also cause allergic reactions. The reactions range from mild, such as hives and itchy rash, to more severe, including difficulty breathing and drops in blood pressure.

Unlike many allergic conditions that often show up quickly, symptoms for the red-meat allergy do not typically appear until two to six hours after eating, researchers and physicians said.

The typical case involves someone who has a big dinner that includes some version of red meat. "Often the fattier the meat, the more likely they'll have a reaction," said Scott Commins, an allergist and immunologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

To find out more, read the full story from health desk reporter Lena H. Sun.

Tick-linked meat allergy may be far more common than previously known

Longer summers, rising temperatures and ticks' expanding geographic ranges are leading to an increased chance of human exposure to pathogens, experts say.

By Lena H. Sun

Does acupuncture work for chronic pain?

This week, a reader asks about how well acupuncture works for pain. The centuries-old treatment has been dismissed in the past, but a round of new research is showing it can offer benefits in some cases.

Learn more in our latest Ask a Doctor column. Our columnist is Trisha S. Pasricha, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. And she's ready to answer your questions! Use our Ask a Doctor form to submit a question, and we may answer it in a future column.