Health & WellnessS

Health

That buttery aroma from popcorn might be toxic

Pop Weaver, one of the largest producers of microwave popcorn, is removing a controversial chemical flavoring agent from its products.

The chemical -- diacetyl -- adds buttery taste. Government worker safety investigators have linked exposure to the synthetic butter to the sometimes fatal destruction of the lungs of hundreds of workers in food production and flavoring factories.

And while Pop Weaver has dropped diacetyl from its product, it remains in widespread use in thousands of other consumer products, including the microwave popcorn brands Orville Redenbacher and Act II.

Red Flag

Flashback Popcorn flavoring killing Californian workers

SOUTH GATE, Calif. -- She was once in constant motion; her co-workers compared her to a roadrunner because of the way she darted around the workplace. But now Irma Ortiz sits at the edge of her couch, too winded to sweep her patio or walk her son to school without resting. She is slowly suffocating.

Health

Grower recalls 34 tons of spinach

More than 68,000 pounds of bagged fresh spinach are being recalled by a Monterey County grower after routine testing found salmonella in a sample taken from a Watsonville packing plant.

There have been no reports of illness from the spinach, but state and federal health officials said they are working with Metz Fresh of King City to determine the source and scope of contamination.

Nuke

Only ten minutes on a mobile could trigger cancer, scientists believe

Mobile phones can take as little as ten minutes to trigger changes in the brain associated with cancer, scientists claimed yesterday.

Bomb

Flashback Cell phone signals excite brain: study

WASHINGTON - Cell phone emissions excite the part of the brain cortex nearest to the phone, but it is not clear if these effects are harmful, Italian researchers reported on Monday.

Their study, published in the Annals of Neurology, adds to a growing body of research about mobile phones, their possible effects on the brain, and whether there is any link to cancer.

Evil Rays

Flashback Mobile phone company to remove mobile mast where cancer rate has soared

A mobile phone company is to remove a mast from a block of flats after seven residents were struck down by cancer.

Three have died and another four have battled the disease since two masts were erected on the roof of the five-storey block which has become known locally as the Tower of Doom.

©SWNS
The mast (circled) on the block known to locals as the Tower of Doom.

The cancer rate on the top floor - where residents of five of the eight flats have been affected and the three who died all lived - is 20 per cent, ten times the national average.

Question

Mystery illness kills 68 in central DR Congo

Some 68 people have died from a mystery illness over the course of nearly four months in central Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said Wednesday.

A total of 212 cases have been detected in Western Kasai province, said Fortunat Tumba Tshitoka, the provincial health minister.

Magic Wand

Study suggests we remember the bad times better than the good

Do you remember exactly where you were when you learned of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? Your answer is probably yes, and researchers are beginning to understand why we remember events that carry negative emotional weight.

In the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston College psychologist, Elizabeth Kensinger and colleagues, explain when emotion is likely to reduce our memory inconsistencies.

Info

Mothers' baby cradling habits are indicator of stress, suggests new research

Mothers who cradle their baby to their right hand side are displaying signs of extreme stress, a new study suggests.

Although most mums feel stressed in the early stages of their baby's life, the study by Durham University researchers suggests their baby cradling habits are a key indicator of whether this stress could become overwhelming and lead to depression.

Previous research has already shown that the majority of mothers prefer to cradle their baby to their left regardless of whether they are left or right handed.

As at least one in ten women develop post-natal depression, studying non-verbal cues such as baby cradling could potentially help doctors and health visitors identify which mothers are in need of extra professional support before it gets too late.

Experts say that stress in mums can lead to depression which can have a detrimental effect on their baby's mental development and wellbeing.

Bomb

Manto fails to make the grade

The African National Congress (ANC) came out in defence of embattled Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang this week, reiterating its confidence in her ability to "implement the policies of the ANC-led government in working to achieve better health for all".