Frontline Health

#123 - Health Headline Highlights: Balancing Prevention And Personal Choice In A Noisy News Cycle

• Troy Duell

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A new flu variant is surging, the CDC just changed a long-standing recommendation for newborns, and a sweeping review questions the benefits many expect from medical cannabis. We unpack what’s real, what’s uncertain, and what to do next—without the hype.

We start with H3N2 subclade K, now dominant across the U.S. and Europe. After a slower start, holiday travel set the stage for a later flu peak, with children and older adults likely feeling the brunt. While vaccine match data remains unclear, we share practical strategies that always help: better sleep, steady hydration, nutrient-dense food, daily movement, sensible sun exposure, and simple hygiene. These basics are your everyday buffer against respiratory viruses.

Next, we examine the CDC’s shift on hepatitis B vaccination for newborns. Instead of a blanket shot at birth for everyone, the new guidance prioritizes immediate vaccination when maternal risk is positive or unknown and encourages shared decision-making when mothers test negative. We explore why perinatal transmission risk is low overall, why maternal screening matters, and how individualized choices can improve safety and trust without sacrificing protection.

Then we turn to two topics where clarity can change behavior. A large study links tanning beds to nearly triple the melanoma risk, undermining claims that indoor UV is safer than sunlight. We explain why controlled, non-burning sun exposure is still beneficial while artificial UV is not worth the trade-off. Finally, we dig into a review of 120-plus studies on medical cannabis: strong support exists for chemotherapy-related nausea, but evidence remains mixed for insomnia, chronic pain, and other widely marketed uses. We talk dosing, study quality, and how to approach cannabis with a simple “track and test” mindset that respects both data and personal response.

If this kind of clear, evidence-led guidance helps you navigate noisy health news, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review so others can find it. Your feedback shapes future topics and keeps this community focused on taking ownership of health—one smart decision at a time.

Thanks for listening to this edition of Frontline Health by Centurion. Remember, you are your best health advocate.

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SPEAKER_01:

Today on the Frontline Health Podcast. Yeah, I think it it makes sense. Anytime we try to make things that are similar to nature and make them fake, it's not going to be great for us. We know that the sun, when you get too much of it at an intense level, is not necessarily great for us, but it brings a lot of benefit. And you need to have exposure to the sun, but in doses, instead of getting burned and doing things a little uh over the top when it comes to that.

SPEAKER_00:

So hello, welcome back to another episode of the Frontline Health Podcast by Centurion Health, where we share health news, tips, and insights to help you take ownership of your health. My name is Evan Patrick. With me, Troy Duell, founder and CEO of Centurion Health. We're bringing you another round of health headline highlights to get us started off with the new year, the latest news in health. Troy, how's it going today? Good, Evan. How are you? I'm doing really well. Had a great Christmas. As I understand you did as well with the family.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Always too short, but uh a good time, and certainly a lot of headlines regarding health in the last month that uh excited to go over.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, to start with, one of those things that people may be thinking about after having all of those holiday get togethers, uh, giving lots of hugs and kisses with extended family traveling from all over the country. Our first headline, as new flu variant spreads in U.S., researchers unsure if more severe than usual. We're still in the middle of trying to figure out whether it's producing worse illness, one researcher says. But some things that we we know about this new variant, uh it's H3N2 subclad K is now dominant in the US and Europe, accounting for about 90% of recent flu cases, which seems like a lot. Research says it's still unclear whether the variant causes more severe illness or simply more infections, though children and older adults may be seeing higher impacts. And health agencies report rising flu activity overall while COVID-19 remains low and RSV is increasing mainly among young children. Troy, we have seen a slower start to kind of the cough-cold season. As I've had conversations with providers in my area, they have said that they have not seen as much early in the season as they usually do. Can we expect with this new flu variant uh that we're that we're hearing about, do you think that we will see a rise or an increase in flu as things have now gotten colder and as the cold and flu season goes on?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's kind of like the sun rising and setting every day. It's it's gonna happen. It's just a matter of when. And when you have kind of this perfect storm that's happened with this new flu variant that started really coming to peak just before Christmas, and then you have everybody starting to get together and cross the country and visit family and friends and all those things. I think it's really probably time for it to peak. And it may be a little later flu season, so you're looking uh January, February, but I still think we're gonna see a lot of flu. Uh, we've certainly had a little bit warmer weather that has kept people outside, that's kept people kind of away and getting more sun and vitamin D. But uh I think it's probably time for it to really kick off. So, yeah, it's kind of crazy that it seems that it's happening this late in the season, but uh every year is a little different. But we do know that the flu will come about and it's always going to be uh an issue for some people, especially if they're not healthy. So that's where the comorbidities come in that we've always talked about.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and I'm curious, I don't know uh I don't know how much you know about this, uh, but I wanted to want to pick your brain. I know a big topic every year um when flu starts rising is how effective this year's flu vaccine would be and helping to prevent people from catching that or to lessen the severity of it. Do you know anything yet about the about the flu vaccine that was has been given and this variant, the H3N2, is is it going to be effective in helping to prevent it?

SPEAKER_01:

Haven't really heard anything about whether the flu vaccine matched this particular variant or not. Uh so I have not seen any articles saying one way or the other, and it usually takes a little bit of time for uh the season to get past itself to to know how effective that vaccine was. But I mean, it's like everything. It's kind of kind of a crapshoot when you're just rolling the dice and trying to figure out which variant might be out there, and it seems like maybe they found it, and then they could possibly come up with some vaccine that helps. But uh always, in my mind, the best case scenario for all of us is to stay healthy, stay hydrated, uh, eat the right foods and exercise, and you're gonna do a much better job of keeping the flu or any other viral infection at bay if you do those things. So that's what I always like to uh point us back to, anyway, to try to take ownership of our health and not rely on a vaccine if at all possible, which takes us kind of into the other headlines this month. There were two headlines. The first said CDC stops recommending hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns. The agency adopted advice from its vaccine advisory panel, and basically they suggested that no longer having the routine hepatitis B back vaccine at birth for all newborns. Instead, they advise vaccination within 24 hours if the newborn was born to a mother who had hepatitis B or they didn't know the status, or maybe they were a heavy drug user, and the likelihood of hepatitis B uh is there for them. For babies born to mothers who are who test negative, the CDC now says parents and clinicians should weigh the risk and benefits with vaccination and start no earlier than two months of age. I think previously they would get it within uh 24 hours of birth. So this is pushing it out just a little bit longer to give the baby some time to develop their immune system and make sure nothing happens. But uh it's kind of an interesting topic and something that is a hotbed political issue right now. But really, if we continue to lean on the science, I think we can uh find a good place and ultimately allow you and me and anybody else to make those decisions on their own. The follow-up headline to that was why the CDC stopped recommending hepatitis B vaccination for most newborns. Most pregnant women, the subtitle was most pregnant women test negative for hepatitis B. So again, just talking about how the CDC stopped advising it. And what they found was that perinatal transmission risk is limited to about 0.5% of pregnancies, and that came mainly from women, which is no surprise, who had come from countries that had a high rate of hepatitis B, or from mothers who were uh in drug use or were drug users themselves. So that's really the idea behind it. There just wasn't much of a risk unless you came from a uh a mom who was doing drugs or from a country that had a lot of hepatitis B. So it seems like a smart move to me why we would give everybody this vaccine when you're talking about 0.5% chance that somebody might have hepatitis B when they're born. So does that affect the way you or your wife are gonna think about uh taking vaccines or giving vaccines to your kids?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, uh I received a stocking stuffer at Christmas this year that's a button that says yes, dear. And so um I might be pressing that some. Uh no, but in all seriousness, um, this is such an interesting topic for parents to be considering. Um, my wife has a great deal more knowledge about this than I do. She's a medical doctor. Um, we actually did have an interesting conversation about this topic recently, as it's been um in the news. I think the challenge is for her specifically, she works with uh a lot of high-risk patient populations where you don't always know has this person, is this person being honest about using drugs? Uh, is this person being honest about their sexual partners and history and that kind of thing? And so in those certain populations that I think a lot of doctors see a lot, it is hard for them to want to not do it just to be safe. Um, but for us personally as individuals and for a lot of people who are really taking ownership of their health and staying on top of things, they know that they and their partner have been faithful to each other. They know they're not, they're not using drugs. I totally agree. To me, it doesn't seem like it would be necessary. And it seems like there's a lot of people that fall into that category. And I think this is really an opportunity, once again, for us to get away from blanket approaches and to to get back to kind of individualized choices, um, informed consent and and and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and if if there's any potential for that vaccine to cause an issue for the child, and you're talking about 0.5% of those cases really leading to the need for the vaccine, it seems to me that the screening would then become the most important piece if they're in a high-risk area. And all you have to do is test to see if the mother has hepatitis B. If they do, then you can give them the vaccine if you think they're in a high-risk uh potential of having hepatitis B. So it seems easy to me, but uh for whatever reason, we like to make it harder than it should be when it comes to a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. And um definitely excited to see what we continue learning as there's more and more research into the hepatitis B vaccination and everything else that our current administration is seeking to uncover.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right.

SPEAKER_00:

Our next health headline, this one kind of hits home to me. Tanning beds nearly triple risk of melanoma study. So before we get into this one, Troy, I will share with you. I know you've had experiences like this as well. I had the my first spot cut off of my skin when I was 13 years old from sun exposure. Um, my dermatologist was worried that it could have been, or actually my my pediatrician at the time was was concerned that it could have been um melanoma. Went to the dermatologist, they cut it off, and my dermatologist told me, basically scared me straight, uh, told me this very thing that tanning beds, I think she said at the time, quadruple your risk of getting melanoma. And so I have been scared straight from a young age not to do this. Um, never really had a desire to, anyways. I've just accepted the fact that I am a pasty white boy. But um maybe there's are some others out there who need to hear this, who need to know that tanning beds are really bad for you and can can significantly increase your risk. Um, the subhead the subheading of this article uh actually says indoor tanning must be made illegal at the very least for minors, said one of the study authors. That's a very strong statement. A large peer-reviewed study found that tanning bed use is associated with a nearly threefold increase in melanoma risk, with 5.1% of users developing melanoma compared with 2.1% of non-users. Researchers showed that indoor tanning causes widespread DNA mutations in melanocytes across much of the body, not just sun exposed areas, undermining claims that tanning beds are safer than natural sunlight. And then the study authors and health authorities say the findings support stricter regulation, including banning tanning beds for minors and adding strong warning labels, as the World Health Organization classifies tanning beds as a top-level carcinogen. I mean, this really makes sense to me, Troy. Anything that has that great of a risk of causing cancer should probably be um restricted and especially to minors. Um and you know, if people want to make that decision as adults, then that is their prerogative. But um, what are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna have to wrap up my Christmas present and send it back now, which is a little disappointing. Uh that big tanning bed that I just got. But did you really just kidding? Um, no, no tanning bed for me. This uh this guy, as you said, is just as pasty white. Um, so and I've come to terms with that. But yeah, I think uh it it makes sense. Anytime we try to make things um that are similar to nature and make them fake, it's not going to be great for us. We know that the sun, when you get too much of it at an intense level, is not necessarily great for us, but it brings a lot of benefit, and you need to have exposure to the sun, but in doses, instead of um getting burned and doing things a little uh over the top when it comes to that. So not real surprising because I think we've heard it plenty of times before, at least I have, because I've been to plenty of dermatologists about my skin and taking it off different spots. So not too surprising, unfortunately, when it comes to that. So no no easy way to get that. But along those lines, our final health headline for the month, you've got tanning beds. Well, this one's all about medical cannabis, which is another uh thing that seems to be catching uh more attention and getting more popular. But this headline says review finds scant evidence of benefit for medical cannabis. I think that's probably going to come as a surprise for a lot of people. But the subheadline says patients deserve honest conversations about what the science does and doesn't tell us about medical cannabis, an author said. So they reviewed more than 120 studies and they found little evidence that supported medical cannabis for most conditions, including insomnia, uh, even though it seems to have the FDA approved indication for that very thing, which is kind of unsettling for us. Researchers said evidence was sufficient only for limited uses, such as treating chemotherapy, related nausea and vomiting. And then most of the other claims that you get with medical marijuana doesn't really have strong scientific support. And what they were talking about and really wanting was just honest debate over medical marijuana and getting greater clarity over the benefits and the risk of using it, which I think is what we're all about as a podcast and as a company is just letting the evidence come out there, good or bad, and allowing people to make the decision themselves. What are your thoughts on the medical cannabis side of things and this data that's come out? Was it shocking to you at all?

SPEAKER_00:

It is a little bit shocking. Um, I think for me, it's because I have heard so much support and so many people beating the drum for making medical marijuana, medical cannabis more available to people who need it and kind of dropping the stigma of that because people use it for recreational purposes. Um, but you know, you're absolutely right. Even with things like this, people want to say, you know, this is this is the magic bullet. And as we know, there are none. And so I think it's very important for people to not just buy into the hype of kind of the movement to make it more available without understanding how much it's actually going to be able to help and what exactly it's gonna be able to help with. Um, your your little note there on the FDA uh approval process is really interesting as well. It makes you you curious what all goes into those approvals. Um, because as we know, there are other ingredients out there that there is a lot of research behind that um that are not FDA approved. And so, yeah, I think it's think it's really interesting. And what I think about a lot with this headline and the prior headline is a lot of the health trends that we see for Gen Z and the choices that they're making. The the tanning beds one, I think a lot of Gen Z is very conscious of their skincare. And they, you know, like my wife, for example, wears sunscreen every single day. And a lot of people do that now. Um, we really are are aware of that kind of thing. But then when it comes to something like this, I think as we'll talk about in a future episode, we're seeing a rise in marijuana for recreational purposes and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01:

For sure. Uh I think uh you hit the nail on the head with that summary and uh your thoughts on it. So definitely something that as as it begins to gain even more popularity, I think it's something we have to keep our eyes on and keep watch over because um there's gonna be more and more evidence of both the good and the bad that comes out with it, and we need to stay on top of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, this has been a great episode of Health Headline Highlights for January of 2026 to get the year started. Thank you so much for listening. Uh, as always, we encourage you to go out and take ownership of your health in the new year because you are your best health advocate. If you enjoyed what you heard today on the podcast, please consider leaving us a review. We would love to hear your feedback and connect with you further. You can also follow us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. And for safe, effective, and affordable health and wellness products made in the USA, visit www.centurion.health. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.