Public Health
One of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition and lead author of a study appearing in a current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, said her team's findings suggest that the right type of carbohydrates a person eats may be just as important in weight control as the number of calories a person eats.
Current health guidelines suggest that limiting…
On July 18, “Naked Nelson” was detained for stripping off his clothes and trying to open an emergency exit on a flight from Boston to Oklahoma City. Athletes from the New England Revolution, a Major League Soccer team, helped apprehend the man and detained him until officials arrived at the scene. Yet it is unclear what sort of mood “Naked Nelson” was in to drive him to such extremes.
Robert E. Thayer who is a professor of psychology at California State University Long Beach has written several books regarding moods. In his 1989 book "The biopsychology of mood and arousal" he defines a mood…
Mark Mulac was once an avid lover of iced tea, downing up to six glasses a day. Unfortunately, he was forced to go cold turkey. Iced tea helped to bring on an excruciating bout of kidney stones that led to surgery at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, Ill.
Iced tea contains high concentrations of oxalate, one of the key chemicals that lead to the formation of kidney stones, a common disorder of the urinary tract that affects about 10 percent of the population in the United States.
Kidney stones are crystals that form in the kidneys or ureters, the small tubes that drain the urine from…
We are continuously bombarded with messages about the dangers of too much sun and the increased risk of melanoma (the less common and deadliest form of skin cancer), but are these dangers real, or is staying out of the sun causing us more harm than good?
For sun
Sam Shuster, a consultant dermatologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, says that sun exposure is the major cause of the common forms of skin cancer, which are all virtually benign, but not the rarer, truly malignant melanoma.
Shuster says that the common skin cancers develop in pale, sun exposed skin and are less…
In a diet-focused culture, desserts often get a bad rap, but if you have a sweet tooth don't despair. Some can actually be beneficial.
Desserts made with fruit, nature’s natural sweetener, are ideal, healthy after-dinner treats. Reducing the sugar and fats in a recipe can also Gettmake favorite desserts more healthy and still taste good.
The July issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers healthy dessert suggestions, including:
Grill fruit slices: Cut apples, pineapple, pears or peaches into chunks. Brush them lightly with canola oil and sprinkle with cinnamon. Grill the fruit on skewers…
A two-year study led by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) reveals that low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets may be just as safe and effective in achieving weight loss as the standard, medically prescribed low-fat diet, according to a new study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
In the study, 322 moderately obese people were intensively monitored and were randomly assigned one of three diets: a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet; a Mediterranean calorie-restricted diet with the highest level of dietary fiber and monounsaturated/saturated fat…
Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The researchers say the combination could be a potentially dangerous food source for some patients with heart disease, arthritis, asthma and other allergic and auto-immune diseases that are particularly vulnerable to an “exaggerated inflammatory response.” Inflammation is known to cause damage to blood vessels, the heart,…
Kombucha starts with a mushroom, but this is not a real mushroom it’s actually the skin that forms over the top of fermenting tea after it’s combined with yeast and the bacteria Acetobacter. Once the tea ferments in about one week, it has successfully become the much loved kombucha tea. In order for the tea to ferment sugar needs to be added and the bacteria can be used to ferment other liquids as well.
Scott Cap, a 65 year-old who has been in the kombucha business for ten years, says he would love to see the product prescribed by every doctor in the world for its healing properties. Cap has…
In Greek “Onycho” means fingernail or toenail and “phagia” is to eat or consume. Hence, “Onychphagia,” the clinical name for nail biting as a habit, which affects nearly 45 percent of adolescents. It may seem minor in comparison to addictions such as the excessive consumption of drugs or alcohol, but the biting of the nails can trigger oral herpes, dental problems like gingivitis, viral infections and studies have even shown loss of IQ due to the consumption of lead.
A scene in the 1998 movie “Great Expectations” shows an interaction between a convict played by Robert De Niro and a young…
Men bicycle frequently could be harming their health if they don't choose the right bicycle, according to consultant urological surgeon Vinod Nargund from St. Bartholomew's and Homerton Hospitals, London, in the urology journal BJU International.
He says problems include genital numbness, erection problems and soreness and skin irritations in the groin area. Men might also experience changes to their sperm function because of the excessive heat generated in the pelvic area.
No general link between cycling and male infertility has been established, but it is still recognised as a possible…