The Most Popular Health Questions Americans Searched in Google for 2019

A new set of entertaining 2019 trends by way of Google's Year in Search 2019 report were revealed and the list is all about the most popular health questions Americans asked the world's biggest search engine in the 2019 calendar year.

What Are the Top 10 Health Questions Americans Asked Google in 2019?

Google is the largest and most active search engine in the world today, and has continued to expand its reach with a multitude of acquisitions and partnerships to ensure their futuristic success. Most notably, they've purchased Fitbit, YouTube, Waze, and more companies that make it possible for them to extend their reach and services to the world.

Many consumers turn to Google's search engine results to get information about nearly anything under the sun. From the price of Bitcoin to the local store hours of a dollar store, Google always has a suitable answer worth searching for to better understand the topic at hand. Recently, Today.com decided to look at the top ten questions consumers asked about health and wellness industry in 2019.

In the United States, here are the questions American health searchers prioritized on “Dr. Google” this year:

As a primer, here is the video of the hosts of Today.com had to say about America's most common searches about health this year:

How to Lower Blood Pressure?

About a third of all adults suffer from high blood pressure, but only about half of those sufferers manage to keep it controlled. Though there are medications that can be used to alter blood pressure with a doctor, some of the natural solutions may include eating less salt, implementing a regular exercise regimen, reducing stress, and losing weight.

If these natural methods don’t work, it is best to reach out to a medical professional that can offer medication. Allowing your blood pressure to remain high can increase the risk of stroke or heart attack, which is why making these lifestyle changes is crucial.

What is Keto?

The ketogenic diet has picked up a lot of traction, as its been endorsed by many celebrities in its time (but word of caution about the online Keto scams). The diet involved depriving the body of carbohydrates to such a degree that it enters a metabolic state called ketosis, which forces the digestive system to use fat as food instead. Much of this diet involves eating a substantial amount of fat, a heavy helping of protein, and some other foods. While it has proven to be successful for many people, anyone that goes off the diet plan often struggles to keep the weight off. As mentioned, the low carb high fat diet has also brought its fair share of snake oil sellers to the market so be careful when considering Keto weight loss diet pills, as Dr. Oz and Lori Greiner are on a mission to separate the marketing schemes from the benefits of doing the ketogenic diet.

How to Get Rid of Hiccups?

Hiccups are incredibly inconvenient to deal with, but it never seems like anyone knows how to get rid of them in a timely fashion. Generally, they will go away pretty quickly, but they are fairly hard to ignore and can be a bit discomforting at times. Some of the methods that may help them subside at a faster pace include breathing into a paper bag, holding your breath, being startled, shocked or scared, or even gargling ice water.

NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres says that hiccups can be solved by drinking from the backside of the cup, forcing the water to touch the roof of the mouth. The roof of the mouth is filled with nerve endings, and their stimulation would contract the diaphragm, which is where the hiccups stem from.

Torres recently referred to the top 10 list in a tweet, showing off his technique for anyone that may misunderstand and accidentally dump water on themselves.

Google users has a lot of questions about hiccups this year. The top 10 health-related searches for 2019 included two questions about hiccups. So I’m going to show you my favorite and most successful technique for getting rid of them, drinking from a cup upside down. pic.twitter.com/9T66XCvrd2

— John Torres (@DrJohnTorres) December 12, 2019

How Long Does the Flu Last?

Getting sick is the worst, and many Google users felt the same. When it comes to the flu, most people notice the signs pretty quickly – body aches, fever, chills, and feeling downright terrible. Most of the time, the flu only lasts for about five to seven days (but that’s about five to seven days longer than anyone wants to have it in the first place).

This time can be cut down by a lot by having a flu shot during the season, though Tamiflu and Xofluza are a few flu medications that can reduce the time that individuals suffer from the symptoms.

What Causes Hiccups?

Considering that hiccups are so common, it isn’t a surprise that they are already on the list, but to cover two health questions on the top 10 list of all questions asked to Google is quite a feat. Hiccups are caused by spontaneous contractions of the diaphragm, and they can strike pretty much at any time. They can be brought on by nervous or excited jitters, eating too much, drinking alcohol, or even just chewing gum.

In the article by Today, Al Roker is featured in a Twitter post to reveal his way of dealing with hiccups.

.@alroker shared his secret for getting rid of the hiccups! pic.twitter.com/QHKuQVhgBx

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 13, 2019

What Causes Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones, also known as renal calculus or nephrolith, are painful, regardless of whether they are as tiny as a piece of sand or as large as a golf ball or ping pong ball. However, they are as painful as they are common, impacting one in every 10 people at some point in their lives. They are caused by the hardening of substances in the urine, which is why dehydration is the leading issue amongst people that have them.

If you are dehydrated, the risk that any minerals – like calcium – will become hard and crystallized in the kidneys jumps. To make matters worse, having kidney stones at any point makes the sufferer more likely to deal with this ailment again.

Some of the symptoms of kidney stones include:

• Extreme lower back pain on either side.
• A constant but vague pain near or at the stomach.
• Blood in the urine.
• Nausea
• Vomiting.
• Cloudy urine
• Urine with a foul or otherwise malodorous smell.
• Fever
• Chills

Prevention of kidney stones can be as easy as continually drinking fluids and not being hydrated. Though there’s no definitive ruling over how much water the average consumer should have, the Institute of Medicine states that 13 cups of fluid a day should hydrate a man, while a woman needs 9 cups. Other sources suggest that the number of ounces correlates with half of the number of pounds someone ways. For example, a 150-pound woman would need 75 ounces of water a day to stay hydrated, under this rule.

What is HPV?

Considering that the majority of adults over the age of 20 have already been exposed to HPV, it is both reassuring and worrisome that people wanted to know what it is. HPV, or the human papillomavirus, is a sexually-transmitted virus, and it is the primary cause of cervical cancer, anal cancer, and some types of mouth and throat cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that HPV actually covers about 150 related viruses, and about 80% of people will have an infection related to this virus in their life, at some point. There are some types of HPV that are less risky, like a strain that causes genital warts. However, other strains can cause cancer, which is why it is becoming more and more important to be vaccinated.

The vaccine against HPV has a high success rate and should be given to men and women before age 26. Last year, the FDA approved the HPV vaccine to be used up until age 45.

How to Lower Cholesterol?

The health of the heart is clearly a big concern of consumers that go to Google for their big health questions, as lowering blood pressure is already on the list. There are presently over 100 million adults in the United States that have high levels of cholesterol in their body, making them a prime spot for heart disease.

Cholesterol is produced by the liver by combining natural compounds in the body, along with foods high in animal fat and foods made from trans fats. Any food that is plant-based is typically cholesterol-free. However, the entirety of high cholesterol isn’t that simple, as there is both good and bad cholesterols.

High-density lipoproteins, or HDLs, are good cholesterols, as they do not stick to blood vessels and do not clog arteries. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDLs, do exactly the opposite, building up in the walls of blood vessels and putting the individual at risk for heart disease.

There are many drugs on the market that are meant to lower cholesterol called statins, which reduce LDLs. Some of these medications include Lipitor, Mevacor, Crestor, and Zocor, though it is not enough to just take a simple medication. Lifestyle choices have to be made to create a healthier body, which means that individuals that suffer from high cholesterol need to choose more foods that include either HDLs exclusively or no cholesterol at all.

How Many Calories Should I Eat a Day?

As many different diets trend on Google and social media, consumers may be asking this question to find out what their body actually needs, rather than what a diet plan says is okay. While counting calories alone is not a smart or helpful way to lose weight, being aware of what counts as excessive can give a better perspective on the foods that consumers eat.

According to the U.S. dietary guidelines, the number of calories that should be eaten daily will depend on three main factors – age, current weight, and activity level. A woman in her 40s, for example, should be eating about 1,800 calories a day, assuming that she is of average weight. However, a man in his mid-20s is recommended to consume 2,400 calories a day.

Consumers that want to lose weight will go by different numbers. To lose a pound, the body needs to burn through 3,500 calories, which is why some consumers restrict calories on diets down to 1,200 calories, which is still pretty low. That being said, any diet changes or questions for the dieter’s specific body and age should be discussed with a doctor, rather than Google.

How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?

When it comes to this question, there are many variables to consider. The liver is only able to generally process a drink per hour, which leaves the rest of the alcohol in the body while it burns through. As a rule of thumb, that means that the number of hours that it takes to metabolize the alcohol someone drinks depends entirely on how many drinks were consumed.

The CDC, as well as the American Heart Association, states that it is safe for men to drink up to two alcoholic drinks a day, while women should have no more than a single drink a day. Exceeding this amount can put the drinker at risk for stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and even cancer.

Top Health Questions of 2019: Final Word

What a fascinating list of searches to study more about as we continue to learn, understand and advance the conversation on healthy living. In the year 2020, health is going to be a major topic of interest and demand, especially as New Year Resolutions season kicks off soon. The Health Radar covered the top 2019 diets as well as the top fitness searches in 2019 already, and now we have reviewed the top Googled medical questions of 2019 along with providing healthy answers to these search inquires.

If we had a crystal ball and could fast forward 365 days later, it will be intriguing to see what the 2020 top health questions will be, but one thing is for sure – people are more interested in how to be, feel and think healthy, and that is why our quest of putting wellness on the map in 2020 and beyond is going to be a fun, exciting and even thrilling challenge to bring you the best research and reviews to start living a higher quality of life. Stay tuned for our detailed report on the top 100 healthy living actions everyone should start applying in their lives for more energy, clarity and happiness.