Health & WellnessS


Family

More Women in Britain Giving Birth At Home

Colin Gentry
Guardian.co.uk.
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:58 UTC
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© Maartje Blijdenstein/AFP/Getty ImagesA midwife tests a newborn baby's reflexes after a home birth.
More women in Britain are giving birth at home, which a recent study suggests is as safe as going to hospital.

When it comes to giving birth, more mothers-to-be are deciding that there's no place like home. In what can be a painful and at times scary experience, it is easy to imagine the appeal of creature comforts, far away from the clinical environment of a hospital.
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Cheeseburger

High-Fat Diet May Make You Stupid and Lazy


LiveScience
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:45 UTC
By now, we've all heard that high-fat diets are bad for our health in the long run. But what about the short-term?

A new study on rats finds that 10 days of eating a high-fat diet caused short-term memory loss and made exercise difficult. While the finding may not seem a big surprise, the researcher say it might suggest that high-fat diets make humans lazy and stupid.

"Western diets are typically high in fat and are associated with long-term complications, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart failure, yet the short-term consequences of such diets have been given relatively little attention," said Andrew Murray, co-author of the study and currently at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. "We hope that the findings of our study will help people to think seriously about reducing the fat content of their daily food intake to the immediate benefit of their general health, well-being, and alertness."
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Why Are Smart People So Ignorant When it Comes to Health, Vaccines and Vitamin D?

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:00 UTC
A heart disease patient of late
Had an IQ of 168.
His brain was immense
But it lacked common sense
And it never engaged when he ate.
- by the Health Ranger

As an observer of human behavior, one of the most fascinating things I've ever witnessed is really smart people dying of diseases that are easily preventable through basic nutrition (vitamin D, plant juices, targeted supplements, superfoods, etc.). I know doctors dying of cancer who take chemotherapy over vitamin D supplements. I know members of MENSA who are killing themselves with junk foods and diabetes. I know extremely intelligent attorneys and physicists who are among the smartest people in their respective fields; but when it comes to basic health, they're completely ignorant.

In fact, if you look around at all the "smart" people you know, you're likely to find the vast majority of them are incredibly ignorant when it comes to their own health. They know nothing about basic nutrition, the benefits of superfoods or the dangers of pharmaceuticals. They eat processed junk foods, dairy products and food products contaminated with pesticides and toxic chemicals. They may be the smartest people in the world in their labs or offices, but when it comes to their own bodies, they are among the most ignorant people on the planet.
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People

Redheads more likely to skip dentist, fearing pain: study


Reuters Health
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:03 UTC
Not many people enjoy visiting the dentist but people with red hair tend to fear the dentist more than others -- and genetics could explain this, according to U.S. researchers.

A few studies in recent years have found that redheads tend to be less responsive to local pain-blockers and may need larger doses of anesthetics to get the same pain relief as people with other hair colors.

But the latest findings by U.S. researchers, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, found redheads tend to be particularly nervous about the dentist, possibly because of the heightened fear of pain.
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Chocolate 'cuts death rate' in heart attack survivors


Agence France Press
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:52 UTC
Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week cut their risk of dying from heart disease about threefold compared to those who never touch the stuff, scientists have reported.

Smaller quantities confer less protection, but are still better than none, according to the study, which appears in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Earlier research had established a strong link between cocoa-based confections and lowered blood pressure or improvement in blood flow.
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Study Gives Lift to Mastectomy Patients

Lauren Cox and Courtney Hutchinson
ABC News
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:42 UTC
Study May Overturn the Standard No-Lifting Advice for Mastectomy Patients

For decades, women who underwent a mastectomy were told they could not do much lifting or they might risk developing a painful arm swelling condition called lymphedema.

That meant no lifting of grocery bags, toddlers, heavy boxes or even buckets on the side of the mastectomy for the rest of their lives.

But according to a new study, in most cases, doctors should have said the opposite. Expert-guided weightlifting may reduce the uncomfortable leathery skin texture, heaviness, and pain symptoms of lymphedema, according to an article published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Mutation Tied to Need for Less Sleep Is Discovered

Tara Parker-Pope
New York Times
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:29 UTC
Researchers have found a genetic mutation in two people who need far less sleep than average, a discovery that might open the door to understanding human sleep patterns and lead to treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders.

The finding, published in the Friday issue of the journal Science, marks the first time scientists have identified a genetic mutation that relates to sleep duration in any animal or human.

Although the mutation has been identified in only two people, the power of the research stems from the fact that the shortened sleep effect was replicated in mouse and fruit-fly studies. As a result, the research now gives scientists a clearer sense of where to look for genetic traits linked to sleep patterns.
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If You're Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be Too, Says Veterinary Study


ScienceDaily
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:14 UTC
In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified.

The study, published in the current issue of Applied Animal Behavior Science, also showed that using non-aversive or neutral training methods such as additional exercise or rewards elicited very few aggressive responses.

"Nationwide, the No. 1 reason why dog owners take their pet to a veterinary behaviorist is to manage aggressive behavior," Meghan E. Herron, lead author of the study, said. "Our study demonstrated that many confrontational training methods, whether staring down dogs, striking them or intimidating them with physical manipulation does little to correct improper behavior and can elicit aggressive responses."
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Attention

Pesticides In Your Peaches?

Monica Eng
Chicago Tribune
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:53 UTC
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As we munch into the fragrant core of peach season, shoppers face an array of choices for the same fuzzy fruit but little guidance on which type to pick. Expensive organic? Pricey farmers market? Cheap peaches from the grocery store?

Cost is certainly important. But there are essential numbers that go beyond the price tag of a peach, or any other item from the produce aisle.

Which contain the highest levels of pesticides?

Preliminary 2008 U.S. Department of Agriculture tests obtained by the Chicago Tribune show that more than 50 pesticide compounds showed up on domestic and imported peaches headed for U.S. stores. Five of the compounds exceeded the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and six of the pesticide compounds present are not approved for use on peaches in the United States.
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Ladybug

A Debate About Soil, Organics and Nutrition

Tom Philpott
Grist
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:19 UTC
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Inert medium for turning agrichemichals into food, or a teeming, diverse ecosystem?
"The whole problem of health - in soil, plant, animal, and man - is one great subject."
- Albert Howard, The Soil and Health
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