Why doesn't a hangover occur the night before?

Alcohol ingestion can alter the normal daily rhythm of various body functions. After the assault upon the body from too much alcohol occurs, it takes time for the body to respond to the stress and eventually get back to normal. Thus a hangover is not immediate.

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Itching for Answers to a Mystery Condition

Dr. Gregory Smith wants people to know it's not all in his head. White fibers have been burrowing into his skin for the past two years, making him feel like he's under constant bombardment from insects or cactus needles. Shine a black light on these fibers and they'll fluoresce blue, he says, just like something you'd see in The Twilight Zone.

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Electricity Speeds Wound Healing by up to 50%

preliminary lab tests, researchers showed that by controlling the weak electrical fields that arise naturally at wound sites, they could direct cells to either close or open up a wound at the flick of a switch. By making the cells move faster, they were able to speed up wound healing by 50%.

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Study: AIDS Virus Hides in Gut

From the Journal of Virology: the AIDS virus hides out inside people's intestines. The virus replicates in the lining of the gut and does much of its damage to the immune system there. We need to be focusing our efforts on improving treatment of gut mucosa, where massive destruction of immune cells is occurring.

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Vegan diet reverses diabetes symptoms, study finds

People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday.


They lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, according to the report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association.

Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on the standard diet.

"I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs," Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study, told a news conference...more

CNN.com - Teenagers 'bagging' mothballs to get high

Practice of inhaling, chewing, is probably underreported, journal says

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Should we worry about soya in our food?

Whether you know it or not, you'll probably be eating soya today. It's in 60% of all processed food, from cheese to ice cream, baby formula to biscuits. But should it carry a health warning?

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More Americans too fat for X-rays and other scans

More and more obese people are unable to get full medical care because they are either too big to fit into scanners, or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate, radiologists reported on Tuesday.

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Doctors test anti-smoking vaccine

Doctors are testing a radical new way to help smokers quit: a shot that â??immunizesâ?? them against the nicotine rush that fuels their addiction. 300 people around the country are testing an experimental vaccine that makes the immune system attack nicotine in much the same way it would fight a life-threatening germ.

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Want To Lose Weight? Try Sleeping More

Michael Sivak presents calculations showing that replacing one hour of inactive wakefulness with sleep can result in a 6 percent reduction in caloric intake.

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Scientists turn fat cells into muscle

Stem cells taken from human fat can be transformed into smooth muscle cells, offering a way to treat diseases of the heart, gut and bladder, US researchers report.

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Cancer Medicine Found To Be "Toxic To The Heart"

A widely hailed cancer drug can damage cardiac tissue and may lead to heart failure, US researchers say.

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Study: Kids Should Play More

Doctors may soon have a prescription for health that even kids will like: more playtime.

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An Eye Test Could Detect Alzheimer's

Early dementia could be detected with a simple eye test, similar to those used to test for high blood pressure and diabetes.

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10 ways to cancer proof your future

The fear of the Big C strikes terror into all of us.Not surprising, when one in three men and one in four women will be directly affected by cancer before the age of 75. But according to Professor Ian Olver, from The Cancer Council Australia, 50% of all cancer cases are potentially preventable and "are directly linked to lifestyle factors."

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Bubbles Go High-Tech to Fight Tumors

You've bathed in them, popped them, endured bad song lyrics about them. Now, University of Michigan researchers hope to add a more sophisticated application to the list
â gas bubbles used like corks to block oxygen flow to tumors, or to deliver drugs.

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What Are Stem Cells? Good Page Giving Explaination

"Ever since the late 1990s, when researchers first isolated and grew human embryonic stem cells, scientists have tried to assess and harness the cells' healing potential. Unlike mature cells, which have a single, specialized function, stem cells are at an early stage of development and so have the ability to morph into different types of cells."

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World's tallest woman being treated for tumor (7.4ft tall)

Yao, 36, suffers from a large tumor in her pituitary gland, which has stimulated her body to release excessive amounts of growth hormone and has made her bones weak, doctors say.

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A bacteria a day keeps a cold away

The University of Newcastle Department of Immunology and Microbiology has discovered that a daily dose of a healthy bacteria (probiotic lactoacillus acidophilus) capsule over a month can reverse a problem in immunity in fatigued athletes.

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Is America's $8 Billion Bottled Water Industry A Fraud?

"In a trendy nightclub in New York City, the bartender tells guests they can only be served bottled water, which costs $5 for each tiny half-pint container. One outraged clubber is
stopped by the restroom attendant as she tries to refill the bottle from the
tap. "You can't do that," says the attendant. "New York's tap water isn't
safe."

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Why Mosquitoes Prey on Certain People More Than Others

Genetics account for a whopping 85% of our susceptibility to mosquito bites, and certain elements of our body chemistry make mosquitoes swarm closer. Any type of carbon dioxide is attractive, even over a long distance... larger people tend to give off more carbon dioxide. Movement and heat also attract mosquitoes.

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Study links asthma with indoor swimming pools

"The prevalence of childhood asthma and the number of indoor chlorinated swimming pools in Europe are linked through associations that are geographically consistent and independent of climate, altitude and the socioeconomic status of the country," said Professor Alfred Bernard

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Frappucinos pack more fat than a Big Mac and Coke COMBINED

Wake up and smell the coffee - that frappuccino you just drank contained more fat than a Big Mac and a medium Coke combined. A survey of national coffee chains Starbucks and Gloria Jean's Coffees, published in this month's Consumer magazine, reveals your coffee break could see you breaking the scales.

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18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

You'll remeber these tricks that you can do with your body when the time is needed.

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Seaweed extract protects against cervical cancer

Algae compound surprisingly effective at preventing cancer-causing viral infection.

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Breakthrough: kidney transplant with incompatible blood types

The first kidney transplant in Australia between a donor and recipient with incompatible blood types has just been performed in Melbourne.

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Study: Women Smokers' Lung Cancer Risk Twice That Of Men's

Cigarette-smoking women run twice the risk of lung cancer as men who smoke but are far less likely to die from the disease than males, according to a study published on Tuesday.

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Seaweed extract protects against cervical cancer

Algae compound surprisingly effective at preventing cancer-causing viral infection.

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Living Alone Raises Risk of Heart Attack

People who live by themselves are at twice the risk of serious heart problems compared to those who have a partner.

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Dick Hartzell - Intro to Bands

For More Health Videos, visit us www.ccmhi.org

Sleep Deprivation Doubles Risks of Obesity

Research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that sleep deprivation is associated with an almost a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and adults.


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Study Suggests Money is not as Dirty as We Think

The long-held belief that you can catch disease from handling money may be exaggerated, says an Australian researcher. A study by Dr Frank Vriesekoop, a lecturer in food science at the University of Ballarat, has found there are generally few pathogenic bacteria on banknotes and coins.

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The Smoking Airline

Non-Smoker's Alert!
Smoker's International Airways (SMINTAIR) is planning to take to the skies in March 2007 catering just for smokers. the first SMINTAIR 747 will fly between Dusseldorf and Narita (Tokyo).

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America's FAT!!

yea yea... we all know this but here's an interesting visual map of how fat we are. Come on.. lose some weight already!

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If artificial sugar is so splendid, why aren't we thin?

More than half of Americans using sugar free products, but our waistlines keep growing. Some studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners interfere with our ability to gauge calories from foods containing real food. That wouldn't be good considering even foods like peanut butter and soup come loaded with sugar these days.

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Needle-free avian flu vaccine - new genetic technology

British vaccine maker PowderMed Ltd. could soon become the first company to sell a needle-free H5N1 vaccine for humans. The new vaccine is made using a technology that is entirely different from the conventional flu vaccines. PowderMed chose instead a genetic technology where fragments of the deadly H5N1 virus are enclosed in tiny gold particles.

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New model of brain sheds light on triggers of autism

A new model of the brain developed by Dr. Stephen Grossberg, professor and chairman of the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston University, and Dr. Don Seidman, a pediatrician with the DuPage Medical Group in Elmhurst, IL, sheds light on the triggers of behaviors commonly associated with autism.

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Americans read food labels, then eat what they want, poll finds

It's not surprising, even a bit obvious, but why read them in the first place if it isn't going to affect your decision?

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Why Knuckles Crack and Joints Creak

What's behind the bodily percussive symphony? And is it okay to crack your knuckles?

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Health Tip: Cold or Flu?

Although colds and influenza are both respiratory infections, they are caused by different viruses. And while symptoms may seem similar, it is important to be diagnosed correctly to avoid complications from flu, like pneumonia.


According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu symptoms -- including body aches, fever, cough and fatigue -- are typically much more severe than a cold's. Congestion and a runny nose are more typical symptoms of a cold than the flu.


A cold will usually clear up on its own. The flu, however, can lead to serious complications -- especially in the elderly or people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Left untreated, the CDC says, flu can lead to pneumonia and bacterial infection.

Man offers free lawn mowing to lose weight

COON RAPIDS, Minn. - A local man who has struggled to lose weight is hoping a lawn mower will help him shed between 30 and 50 pounds.


After working up quite a sweat mowing his own lawn this summer, Darrell Nelson thought that he could get a good workout by mowing lawns for other people as well.

So, on the Web site Craig's List, he placed an ad offering to mow lawns for free.

He figures if he eats better and mows a lawn per day nearly every day of the week, he will be able to keep an exercise program going. He said he has a hard time keeping commitments to himself, but he will stick to commitments he makes to others.

"This is no joke or gimmick," he wrote on the Web site. "I need to lose weight. I have struggled on sticking to exercise programs, including just walking, for quite a while now."

Nelson is a former power lifter who's about 5-foot-9 and 258 pounds. Since news of his ad spread, he has fielded calls from the media, strangers — even some women who have asked him out on dates.

"My life has been turned upside down, man, unbelievable," he said. "I was planning on doing five lawns: Mine plus four others. Now, I'm doing six lawns: Mine plus five others. ... I was just trying to do some yards and lose some weight, and it just — voila — away it went."

Bird flu is getting closer - SPAIN

Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. The deadly strain was found in a water fowl in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria.


A protective area of 2 miles was declared outside the area where the bird — known as a great crested grebe — was found, the ministry statement said.

Spanish officials said late last year, as bird flu spread to several European countries, that it was only a matter of time before the disease made it to this country, which is on the route of northern-bound migratory birds from Africa.

Preventive measures taken so far had included banning outdoor poultry farming within a 6-mile radius of marshlands where migratory birds tend to gather.

Bird flu has killed at least 131 people worldwide since it started ravaging Asian poultry farms in late 2003, according to the WHO. Most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that makes it more easily transmissible among humans.

New Drug that Reduces Blood Flow to Tumors and Inhibits Growth Developed

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed novel anti-cancer drugs to treat solid tumors. These "small molecules" belong to a class of pharmaceutical agents called anti-angiogenics. The new compounds are a refined form of drugs that effectively reduce blood flow to the tumor, thereby inhibiting tumor growth.

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Burgers Out of Control

It's official... the fast food industry has accelerated their efforts to kill us.
Few people took notice when McDonald's recently introduced the
"DOUBLE Quarter Pounder" cheeseburger.
That's because Wendy's had already been selling
those half-pounder cheeseburgers for years prior to that.

But... when Wendy's brought back their infamous
"TRIPLE" (fully three quarters of a pound of beef), some
people did express concern... even disgust.
The burger even looked ridiculous with that inch-and-a-half thick
stack of three big slabs of beef between two buns.
Their "TRIPLE" was the equivalent of three of their
full-size regular cheeseburgers... and it was the equivalent
of SIX of their "Jr. Cheeseburgers"... all in one sandwich!

Now... hold onto your seat (literally)... because Burger King
has just introduced the new "B.K. Stacker" which is...
... I swear I am not making this up... FOUR big quarter-pound
slabs of beef... (a FULL POUND)... with FOUR cheese slices...
and wait, I'm not done... EIGHT STRIPS OF BACON on the top,
with a thick layer of mayo-based sauce!

That is the meat-equivalent of TEN (10) of their small cheeseburgers,
in just this one sandwich! Ten!!!!

I just went to the Burger King website... and they clearly state that
this is their one burger for which you cannot "have it your way"...
because, as they say, "no veggies are allowed" so they will
not honor requests for lettuce or tomato, etc. They call it a
"mountain of beef, bacon, and cheese" on a buttery bun.

The nutritional page says that this one sandwich alone has
ONE THOUSAND CALORIES and 68 GRAMS of FAT!

(For the average size person, their daily calorie intake should be
around 2,000 calories, and no more than 60 grams of fat....
and that is for the whole day.)

And you know that 90% of the people who order it are going to ADD
a large order of French Fries, and a Large Coke.

Break out your "man-dress" - you are going to need it.
God save us from ourselves... this is insanity.

Be healthier: Eat red, orange, and green foods

We’ve all heard the saying: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what is it about the apple that gives us health benefits? The answer could be in the food’s color. Madelyn Fernstrom, a “Today” contributor and director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was invited on the show to tell us which colorful foods we should be sure to include in our diets. Here are her tips...more

Stay hydrated without gaining weight

You need to pay more attention to your fluid intake in the summertime. In warm weather, you sweat more, and if you’re also more active, you’ll sweat still more. So it’s important that you hydrate. But not all fluids are equal. Some beverages are loaded with sugar — and calories. We don’t sense the calories in liquids the same way we do as in solid foods, so we don’t realize how many “hidden” calories we’re consuming when we’re drinking some beverages. This is true for alcohol as well as for non-alcoholic drinks. Madelyn Fernstrom, a “Today” contributor and director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was invited on the show to tell us which drinks to avoid — and which ones to choose...more

Health Tip: Know the Signs of Anorexia

Anorexia nervosa occurs when a person is consumed with body image, loses weight and often exercises compulsively. Although it can affect people of any age or gender, the American Academy of Family Physicians says it is most prevalent in teenage girls.


People with anorexia typically think they are fat, even though they may be very thin, and take drastic measures to lose weight.


Anorexics usually eat small portions of no- or low-calorie foods, often exercise compulsively, and are afraid of gaining weight or being overweight.


Other symptoms include no menstruation, dry or pale skin, hair loss, feeling cold, irritability and frequent illness. If the disease progresses for too long, an anorexic may die of starvation.


Anorexia is usually treated with counseling, and often hospitalization to address the underlying emotional issues. Many people with anorexia do not want or believe that they need help, making emotional support from family members and friends very important, the AAFP says.

Study finds breast feeding wards off bed-wetting

Children breast-fed as infants are less likely to wet the bed later on, researchers reported on Wednesday, probably because they have a developmental edge.


There is strong evidence that in many cases bed-wetting can "result from delayed neurodevelopment," said the report from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

"There is biological plausibility in inferring that breast-feeding protects against bed-wetting and our results show a strong statistical association" although not enough to prove a direct cause-effect, the study said.

Breast-feeding is beneficial because of the role that certain fatty acids passed onto the infant play in brain development, said the study published in the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The study was based on 55 children who were bed-wetters at ages 5 to 13 and 117 in the same age range who were not. Of the bed-wetters, 45 percent had been breast-fed, compared to 81 percent of those who were continent at night. The study also found that babies who received breast milk supplemented with formula had a similar rate of bed-wetting as those who received formula alone.

High Tylenol doses linked to liver woes

Healthy adults taking maximum doses of Tylenol for two weeks had abnormal liver test results in a small study, researchers found, raising concerns that even recommended amounts of the popular painkiller might lead to liver damage.




In the study, 106 participants took four grams of Tylenol — equivalent to eight extra-strength Tylenol tablets — each day for two weeks. Some took Tylenol alone and some took it with an opioid painkiller. Dummy pills were given to 39 others.

There were no alarming liver test results among the people who took the placebos. But nearly 40 percent of people in all the other groups had abnormal test results that would signal liver damage, according to the study that appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association...more

Canada confirms 6th case of mad cow

Canada confirmed on Tuesday its sixth case of mad cow disease and said it would investigate where the cow was born and what other animals may have eaten the same feed.


The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said test results confirmed what was suspected last week. The animal was at least 15 years of age, and was born before Canada implemented restrictions on potentially dangerous feed in 1997.

The agency said it was launching an investigation.

Mad cow disease is believed to spread through feed, when cows eat the contaminated tissue of other cattle. Humans can get a related disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, in similar fashion — by eating meat contaminated with mad cow. There have been more than 150 human deaths worldwide linked to the variant...more

You May Be Sleeping Even Less Than You Think

A study of the sleep characteristics of 669 middle-aged adults found that people sleep much less than they should, and even less than they think. Published in the July issue in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the study also found that blacks sleep less than whites, men sleep less than women, and the poor sleep less than the wealthy.

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Pomegranate juice can help fight prostrate cancer

A daily glass of pomegranate juice can hold back prostate cancer and could even prevent men dying of the disease, new research has shown. Just one glass per day increased the stability period of prostate cancer four-fold. The effect was so pronounced it may allow older men to avoid dying from the cancer.

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Health Tip: Proper Diet Can Help Constipation

Constipation refers to difficult or infrequent bowel movements.


Insufficient fiber and fluids in the diet are the most common causes of constipation, according to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Certain supplements and medications may also affect the regularity of bowel movements, including blood pressure medications, painkillers and antidepressants.


The ASCRS says the best way to get regular again is to increase daily dietary fiber, making sure to drink plenty of fluids. Bran, whole grains and whole wheat, fruits and vegetables are all high in fiber and will help constipation. Fiber supplements may also help, but laxatives should be used under a doctor's guidance, the society says.

Stay Safe When Lightning Strikes

Lightning may not strike twice, but just once is enough to kill or seriously injure. And summertime is peak time for lightning -- one of the top three causes of weather-related deaths.

Lightning strikes are most common between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m, say experts at the Medical College of Georgia Sports Medicine Center, Augusta.


They offer the following safety tips:

Check the weather forecast 24 hours before you attend an outdoor event.
When you're outdoors, identify a safe location you can use if there's a storm. Safe places include buildings and fully enclosed vehicles with the windows completely closed.
Avoid unsafe places such as golf carts, bleachers, high ground, open spaces, pools or other bodies of water, picnic shelters, and under or near trees.
If you can hear or see lightning, seek shelter immediately and stay inside until there has been no thunder or lightning for at least 30 minutes. Don't wait until it rains to seek shelter because lightning can strike before there's any rain.
If you're caught outside and unable to seek shelter, find the lowest point and crouch down with your feet together. Stay at least seven feet away from any tall structures such as trees or poles.
If you're indoors during a storm, stay away from doors and windows, don't make telephone calls, and avoid using sinks and other water sources. Turn off, unplug and stay away from appliances. Remove headsets.
If a person has been struck by lightning, it is safe to touch them. Lightning does not leave a residual charge. Call 911 immediately and attempt CPR.

Poll: Overweight America does read labels

Oh, the irony. A nation full of overweight people is also full of label readers. Nearly 80 percent of Americans insist they check the labels on food at the grocery store.


They scan the little charts like careful dieters, looking for no-nos such as fat and calories and sugars.

Yet even when the label practically screams, "Don't do it!" people drop the package into the cart anyway. At least that is what 44 percent of people admitted in a recent AP-Ipsos poll.

So attentive, yet so overweight. Two-thirds of people in the United States weigh too much. Why, then, don't labels make a difference? Why do people bother with them at all...more