Health & WellnessS


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Acupuncture Could Relieve Period Pain

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© Getty Images
A recent study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics has found that acupuncture may be effective at reducing the pain experienced by women who are going through their period. Researchers evaluated 27 studies that included over 3,000 participating women. From these, the study team came to the conclusion that there is "promising evidence" concerning the viability of acupuncture in treating menstrual pain.

Doctors usually treat the nausea, diarrhea, migraine headaches, back pain, and other symptoms that accompany a woman's monthly period, with pain killer drugs. However, alternative treatments like acupuncture are gaining popularity because many have experienced superior relief from them without having to take pharmaceuticals.

The Kyung Hee Medical Center research team that conducted the study found that patients who underwent acupuncture treatment experienced a greater reduction in pain than did those who relied on drug treatments. They were unable to verify, however, whether or not the treatment actually affects womens' nervous systems when providing relief.

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Heal and Soothe Stomach Ulcers Without Mainstream Drugs

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Stomach ulcers are small holes or sores in the gastrointestinal tract which affect millions of Americans every year. The most common major symptom of an ulcer is a burning or gnawing feeling in the stomach area that lasts from half an hour up to three hours. Usually, the pain occurs in the upper abdomen, but may sometimes occur below the breastbone. Fortunately, there are several natural remedies which can heal and soothe stomach ulcers without the risk of mainstream drugs.

Appetite and weight loss are also common symptoms of ulcers. Other symptoms which may occur include recurrent vomiting, black stool, blood in the stool and anemia. Often ulcer pain is misinterpreted as heartburn, indigestion or hunger. A person with duodenal ulcers may experience weight gain due to eating more to ease discomfort.

Also known as peptic ulcers, stomach ulcers are caused by the destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosal lining of the stomach by hydrochloric acid, an acid normally present in the digestive juices of the stomach. Infection from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is thought to play an important role in causing both gastric and duodenal ulcers. H. pylori may be transmitted from one person to another through contaminated food and water.

Health

Kinesio taping setting gold standard for patients

Ice, wraps and medicine are all in the pain and swelling treatment arsenal but 3TV shows you a treatment that is setting a gold standard for patients.

At the Beijing Olympics Keri Walsh had everyone talking about the strange tape she was wearing on her arm. Since then that tape has made its way into more and more therapy rooms and lots of people are benefiting from it.


Health

Revealed: Pfizer's payments to censured doctors

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© Spencer Platt/Getty
They are billed as "healthcare professionals who spend years building expertise in their fields". Using materials firmly grounded in science, they educate their peers in the risks and benefits of drugs.

This is how Pfizer, the pharmaceuticals giant, describes the experts it hires to lead educational forums in which doctors are lectured on the use of its products.

Yet New Scientist has found that some of Pfizer's experts have been disciplined for deficiencies in patient care, while others have been reprimanded for how they conducted drug research trials.

The findings add to a growing controversy surrounding the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to market drugs by influencing patterns of prescribing.

Unknown influence

Doctors paid to educate peers are a particular worry, argues Sidney Wolfe of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen in Washington DC. "They are doing things that may be influencing your doctor and you have no way of knowing about it," he says. "It's made worse by the fact that some of them have been disciplined."

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Cholesterol Drugs Raise Diabetes Risk by 9 Percent

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A recent report out of the University of Glasgow has revealed that popular cholesterol drugs like Crestor and Lipitor are responsible for increasing user risk of developing diabetes. Published in the journal Lancet, the report quantifies the severity of the side effect for which doctors and researchers have only recently become aware.

The report analyzed 13 different studies about statin drugs, one of which showed a 25 percent increased risk in developing diabetes in those who take AstraZeneca's Crestor. That company funded study and others were aggregated together to arrive at the 9 percent statistic for the entire pool of statin drugs. Over 90,000 patients were evaluated in the various studies.

According to David Preiss, lead researcher of the Lancet study, the benefits gained from taking statin drugs far outweigh their risks. For every 1,000 patients that take a statin drug for a year, one of them develops diabetes while five other avoid heart attack and death. He believes such a statistic validates the safety and effectiveness of statin drugs.

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GMOs Alter the Genetic Make Up of Our Healthy Bacteria

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© redgreenandblue.org
Although GMOs have infiltrated our food supply, the results of human feeding trials have only been published on one single occasion. Unfortunately, that occasion offered some pretty disturbing findings. It found that the genetic code of GM soy can infiltrate the genetic code of the healthy bacteria in our guts - and change the genetic makeup of the healthy bacteria inside us. Nobody knows how these mutant bacteria will function inside us - yet given the proliferation of GM soy, most of the population probably already has them inside of them.

Mutating the genetic code of our healthy bacteria is incredibly dangerous because these healthy bacteria live inside us for a reason. They are our first line of immune defense and they keep us well by crowding out many harmful bacteria, fungus, and pathogens that cause innumerable diseases. But when their genetic structure is changed, who knows if they'll be able to do this job effectively? Who knows if they'll even be beneficial anymore? More than likely they won't.

Because GM soy transfers its genetic code into our healthy bacteria, it's possible that our own healthy bacteria will now produce abnormal GM proteins inside us for the rest of our lives. Mad cow disease is one example of a problem that abnormal proteins cause.

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How to Avoid Health Hazards of Lighting

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© spktruth2power
As the federally mandated phasing out of incandescent light bulbs approaches, you need to know about your new lighting choices. There are three options, of which one is no good if you value your health and don't enjoy eerie dim lighting. The options are CFLs (compact fluorescent lights/lamps), halogen bulbs, and LEDs (low energy diodes).

They are all energy efficient according to EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act) imposed standards. They cost more than incandescent bulbs, but last longer.

Heavily Promoted CFLs are the Most Unhealthy

Their light quality has improved, but is still not as good as all the other bulbs. The price range is from two dollars U.S to eight dollars. They last longer than incandescent bulbs, but before they expire completely, they begin to fade.

They are filled with mercury, which when broken will fill a room with more toxic vapors than you can safely tolerate. Most of you know that. And the mercury laden CFLs present land fill environmental problems, which means it's a hassle to get rid of them when they do expire. Most of you know that too.

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Millions Drink Toxic Water in the USA, But It's EPA-Approved!

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It has been so long since the federal law regulating tap water has been updated that since 2004, more than one-fifth of the U.S. population has consumed tap water that the government classifies as toxic, but still approves for human consumption.

"People don't understand that just because water is technically legal, it can still present health risks," said Pankaj Parekh, director of water quality for the City of Los Angeles.

Even though more than 60,000 chemicals are used in the United States each year and most have never been tested for human safety, the Safe Water Drinking Act regulates only 91 different toxins. Many of these are regulations have not been updated since the 1980s or even since the law was first passed in 1974. The law does not take into account newer findings that certain chemicals can be more toxic in combination than separately. To top it off, not a single chemical has been added to the law since 2000.

Science has passed the law by, as researchers have identified hundreds of new chemicals that can cause cancer or other diseases if consumed in tap water. Many of these chemicals are even regulated by some federal agencies, yet are still allowed in tap water.

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3D TV May Be Bad for You

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© IMDB.com3D is the latest craze thanks to blockbusters like James Cameron's Avatar.
Hollywood blockbusters Avatar and Clash Of The Titans have thrust the world of three-dimensional movies upon consumers.

Electronics companies have been keen to see the technology in living rooms, but experts are already warning of a potential for adverse effects on our health.

It seems manufacturers too have their own concerns, warning viewers about dizziness, convulsions and disorientation.

Three-dimensional televisions create their images by flashing up to 60 frames a second onto the screen.

Those pictures are then converted into three dimensions by battery-powered glasses linked wirelessly to the TV.

Associate Professor Alan Brichta, who studies brain chemistry and balance at the University of Newcastle, says people who suffer sea sickness or car sickness are most likely to have problems.

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Potentially Deadly Fungus Spreading in U.S. and Canada

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© American Society for MicrobiologyCryptococcus gattii
Washington - A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia, researchers reported on Thursday.

The airborne fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, usually only infects transplant and AIDS patients and people with otherwise compromised immune systems, but the new strain is genetically different, the researchers said.

"This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people," said Edmond Byrnes of Duke University in North Carolina, who led the study.

"The findings presented here document that the outbreak of C. gattii in Western North America is continuing to expand throughout this temperate region," the researchers said in their report, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens.

"Our findings suggest further expansion into neighboring regions is likely to occur and aim to increase disease awareness in the region."