Health & WellnessS


Heart

Researcher identifies early cardiac risk in sleep disorder

A research team led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researcher Dr. Aviv Goldbart M.D. discovered that Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can manifest similar cardiovascular complications in young children as it does in older children and adults. This study is the first to examine the relationship between systemic inflammation and cardiovascular morbidity in children.

OSA is a common disorder in which a person has one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they are asleep. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and often occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. OSA is the leading cause of daytime sleepiness, and if left untreated can lead to increased risk factors of high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity and diabetes.

Wine

New hints seen that red wine and a reduced calorie diet may slow aging

Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give impetus to the rapidly growing search for longevity drugs.

The study is based on dosing mice with resveratrol, an ingredient of some red wines. Some scientists are already taking resveratrol in capsule form, but others believe it is far too early to take the drug, especially using wine as its source, until there is better data on its safety and effectiveness.

The report is part of a new wave of interest in drugs that may enhance longevity. On Monday, Sirtris, a startup founded in 2004 to develop drugs with the same effects as resveratrol, completed its sale to GlaxoSmithKline for $720 million.

Cow

What does 'Certified Organic' really mean?

Buying organic is becoming more and more popular as some worry about the health and safety of the foods they eat. But what does it mean for a food to be organic?

According to the National Organic Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.

Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewer sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation.

Bulb

Getting Past the 'Protein Myth'

When I tell people that I'm a vegan, the most popular question, by far, inevitably follows: "But, how do you get enough protein?" There it is again, I think, the meat industry's most potent weapon against vegetarianism--the protein myth. And it is just that--a myth.

In fact, humans need only 10 percent of the calories we consume to be from protein. Athletes and pregnant women need a little more, but if you're eating enough calories from a varied plant based diet, it's close to impossible to not get enough.

Health

Flashback Babies at risk from fluoride

Babies having formula made up with fluoridated water are getting a dose that could affect their thyroid. The Safe Food Campaign is presenting material on fluoridation to Wellington City Council on their draft annual plan today at 10.50am.

Syringe

6 die in China after getting antibody injections

Six people have died in eastern China after being injected with medicine commonly used to treat infections such as hepatitis A and rabies, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.

The six died after being injected with immune globulin, and the company that sold the drugs was ordered to stop selling them, said a spokeswoman at the No. 2 Hospital at Nanchang University in Jiangxi province.

Health

The Brain: Caller May Be Out of Sight, but in Mind

A study may shed light on why talking on a cellphone appears to make drivers prone to accidents.

The study looked at how having a conversation with someone who is not present competes with those parts of the brain needed to perform visual tasks.

Evil Rays

Are Cell Phones Causing Tumors?

Ahead of Comprehensive Report, Leaks Suggest Health Risk

The world's most comprehensive study of the health effect of cell phone use, two years overdue, has yet to be published. But some of the studies that contribute to the report are raising old concerns about the long-term safety of using wireless technology, according to the Toronto Star.

Hourglass

Dying man wins £5,000 bet on life

A terminally-ill man has collected £5,000 after placing a bet that he would live past doctors' predictions. Jon Matthews was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in April 2006 and given just nine months to live.

But the 58-year-old, from Milton Keynes, made a £100 bet at 50-1 that he would beat the survival odds. He said: "I do get bad days obviously but I'm feeling fine today. Everyone's feeling fine if they're going to pick up five grand." It has now been 25 months and a week since mesothelioma was diagnosed.

Attention

Childhood Lead Exposure Linked to Adult Crime

Researchers are now reporting that lead exposure in early childhood, even as early as in the womb, can lead to permanent brain damage and may cause criminal behavior. Two separate studies indicate that people with high levels of lead in childhood grew up with not only blocks of missing brain cells, but with a propensity for crime, some violent. As a matter-of-fact, the lead effect is so strong it may account for a large percentage of inner-city area crimes, where old houses are likelier to have lead paint, according to Kim Dietrich of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Dietrich led one of the studies in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.