Health IQ: Health consequences amid the Israel-Hamas conflict

Medical crisis in the Middle East

Hospitals in Gaza and Israel have been facing a “catastrophic” crisis in providing medical care to patients as ongoing attacks from Hamas and the Israeli military contribute to the soaring death toll among civilians caught in the crossfire.

“We are used to fighting, we are used to injured people that come into the hospital, but not in these numbers,” Dr. Ron Nobel, director of emergency and disaster management at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, Israel, told Global News this past week.

Nobel recounted a range of injuries among children, women and men, including bullet wounds, injuries from rocket explosions and burns resulting from Hamas militants setting fire to homes.

Across the border from Nobel’s town, hospitals in Gaza have also been struggling to treat thousands of injured civilians.

On Friday, following a call from Israel’s military for civilians to evacuate northern Gaza, the World Health Organization warned that moving severely ill hospital patients would be a “death sentence.”

The UN agency earlier said hospitals in the Gaza Strip were at a “breaking point.”

Read more on the medical crisis here.

Coping with the conflict

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, psychologists caution about the toll graphic visuals can take on our mental well-being.

When it comes to talking to children about something this complex, Dr. Taslim Alani-Verjee, a clinical and counselling psychologist with Silm Centre for Mental Health in Toronto, told Global News it is imperative that parents “address their own emotions first.”

“When we haven’t done that, then we might notice that our own judgments, assumptions and feelings are interfering with our ability to hold space for our young ones,” she said, adding it’s also best to convey objective information.

After that, try and find out what your children know about the situation and make the conversation “about them.”

Dr. Katy Kamkar, a clinical psychologist based in Toronto, said “the constant exposure to violent and disturbing news can have a significant impact on our mental health,” adding it can impact concentration, sleep and emotional distress.

In response to the conflict, several school boards across the country have issued statements to parents, with some encouraging families to monitor their media intake.

For more on coping strategies, click here.

— THE TOPIC —

Ultra-processed food addictions

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

New research published in the British Medical Journal this week found that 14 per cent of adults and 12 per cent of children around the world are affected by ultra-processed food addiction.

To put it in perspective, addiction to tobacco impacts 18 per cent of adults globally.

Ultra-processed foods can include anything from sugary drinks to potato chips to ready-made meals. These foods can cause withdrawal symptoms similar to people trying to quit smoking, prompting a team of scientists to advocate for the labelling of certain products as “addictive.”

“The ultra-processed foods are foods that are industrially produced,” Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, co-author of the analysis and neuroscientist with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in the U.S., told Global News.

“That means they don’t come out of your home kitchen. They are made by processes and have ingredients in them that are not available to the home cook. So you can think of things (like) unpronounceable ingredients on the back of a package.”

Dominic Wozniak, a registered psychotherapist in Toronto, said just like the use of drugs or other substances, food can also provide temporary comfort.

“And of course, with the more ultra-processed food, the more comforting it can feel in the moment,” he said. “It can take us away from other problems we have in our lives that we’re trying to cope with.”

With food addiction, Wozniak stressed that people who want to break the cycle “don’t have to do it alone.”