Top 10 Weirdest Prescription Drug Side Effects

Most of us take prescription drugs -- drugs that, by law, must be prescribed by a doctor -- at some point in our lives. If all goes well, the drug works for you as it's supposed to. But there's no "magic bullet," or drug that works the same for everyone without any risks or side effects. A side effect is basically an unintended occurrence that results from taking a drug. Side effects can be good or bad, depending on how you use the drug. For example, antihistamines, used to help with allergy symptoms like itchy eyes and sneezing, have the side effect of making you feel very sleepy. If you're having trouble sleeping, this side effect is great. If you need to deal with your allergies as well as drive your car or function at your job, however, it's bad.


When you pick up a prescription at a pharmacy, you get a list of common side effects. Regardless of the drug, the most common side effects are nausea and vomiting, allergic reactions, drowsiness, insomnia, heart problems (such as heart palpitations) and dependence. Often, there's something that you can do to help lessen the possibility of unwanted side effects. Some medications can make you feel nauseated if you take them on an empty stomach, for example, so it's a pretty simple fix to eat something.


There are some prescription drugs, though, that can cause side effects that are wildly different from those listed above. In some cases, the side effects were discovered during FDA trials and were deemed acceptable risks. In others, the side effects turned out to be catastrophic but weren't well-known until after the drug was widely used.

Weird Side Effect 10: Amnesia

Amnesia is a condition right out of movies and soap operas; a character suddenly appears somewhere with absolutely no memory of who he is or where he came from. Sometimes it's caused by a head injury (and another knock on the head miraculously brings all of the memories back) while other times, it's caused by a traumatic event. In real life, some prescription drugs can also cause amnesia, although total amnesia is incredibly rare.



This is the case for some users of Mirapex (generic name pramipexole). Mirapex was developed in 1997 to control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and is also prescribed for people with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). You'll see it several more times in our top 10 due to the wide range of weird side effects that its users can experience. One of these weird side effects is amnesia. Some patients reported short-term memory loss, such as not remembering what they did the day before. Going off Mirapex seemed to get rid of the problem.

This side effect can also happen with patients who take statins, a class of drugs that are supposed to lower cholesterol. Duane Graveline, a former astronaut, reported coming back from a short walk and not recognizing his wife while he was taking Lipitor. Then he lost memories of any events beyond his high school graduation. Thankfully, the memory loss was only temporary.Some researchers theorize that the statins may work almost too well, blocking the creation of cholesterol necessary for neurological function. However, they still believe that the benefits of statins like Lipitor outweigh the risk of this rather scary side effect.

Weird Side Effect 9: Aches and Pains

There are many prescription drugs to help with different types of bodily aches and pains, but some drugs that have nothing to do with pain relief can actually cause pain instead. Then you have to take something to combat the pain -- and that's how people can end up on multiple drugs for multiple conditions. People who take the antihistamine Allegra (generic name fexofenadine) are trying to get rid of their hay fever and other allergic symptoms like sneezing, coughing and itching eyes. They may end up with muscle pain and backaches, however.

Patients who take Lipitor (generic name atorvastatin) can experience pain and stiffness as well as weakness in their muscles. In 2004, some patients began reporting that their weakness and pain was severe, and they were also experiencing loss of muscle control and coordination. Going off Lipitor seemed to alleviate these symptoms.

Lipitor's maker, Pfizer, cautions patients experiencing pain and weakness to alert their doctor, especially if they're already not feeling well. Some patients have filed lawsuits, claiming that the drug caused permanent muscle and nerve damage.

You won't believe your eyes when you read about the side effect that's number eight on our list.

Drugs of "Dune"

Frank Herbert's epic novel "Dune" (and the films based on it), included several drugs with interesting visual and aural side effects:

• Elacca turned people's skin orange while destroying their self-preservation
• Sapho turned mouths and skin red while strengthening psychic powers
• Semuta produced ecstatic feelings that were amplified by listening to a certain kind of music
• Spice melange turned eyes completely blue and eventually distorted bodies while granting the power of forethought (among others)

Weird Side Effect 8: Vision Problems and Other Screwy Senses

Have you ever swallowed a pill and been left with a nasty taste in your mouth, especially if you didn't drink water immediately afterward? Unless they're meant to be chewed or dissolved, most pills don't taste all that great. But some pills don't just leave a bad taste -- they can completely distort your sense of taste. And taste isn't the only sense that can be affected by pill side effects.


Vasotec (generic name enalapril) is a drug designed to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. However, it can affect almost all of your five senses. Vasotec can cause you to lose your sense of smell (a condition known as anosmia) and taste, as well as have ringing in your ears (tinnitus) and eye problems like blurred vision and dry eyes. All of these are referred to as minor side effects, but if you were experiencing them all at once, you might consider them major.


An unrelated drug, Viagra (generic name sildenafil citrate), can also cause strange things to happen to your vision. Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Patients taking it have reported experiencing not only blurred vision, but also blue vision and problems distinguishing between the colors blue and green. In 2005, researchers at the University of Minnesota theorized that Viagra users can experience permanent vision loss due to blood flow to the optic nerve being cut off, known as nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Weird Side Effect 7: Colored Urine

Rainbow urination might sound kind of cool. But in some cases, if your urine is any color other than clear, yellow or yellowish-orange, you could have something seriously wrong with you. Very dark orange, reddish or brown urine, for example, probably has blood in it and could indicate an infection. Some prescription drugs, though, can turn your urine different colors just by virtue of passing through your system. Red urine can also be caused by taking drugs such as phenazopyridine, used to treat urinary tract infection pain, or deferoxamine, used to treat iron poisoning.

Here are some other potential urine colors and some of the drugs that can cause them:

Black - can result from taking Flagyl (generic name metronidazole), furazolidone and several other antibiotics. Aldomet (generic name methyldopa), used to treat high blood pressure in pregnant women, can make urine appear to be black because it darkens upon contact with bleach -- often used to clean toilet bowls.

Purple - can be a side effect of taking phenolphthalein, used for a long time as a laxative but falling out of favor due to concerns that it may cause cancer.

Green - can result from taking Elavil (generic name amitriptyline hydrochloride), an antidepressant also used to treat bed-wetting in children, or Robaxin (generic name methocarbamol), a muscle relaxant used to treat muscle spasms.

Blue - can be a side effect of taking Dyrenium (generic name tariamterene), a diuretic, or methylene blue, a chemical compound used in medications like Urised to help reduce irritation caused by bladder infections.

Weird Side Effect 6: Hallucinations

You might expect to see or hear something that isn't actually there if you were taking an illegal drug like LSD or even a heavy painkiller like morphine. However, some of the most unlikely prescription drugs have "may cause visual and auditory hallucinations" as one of their side effects, and it's probably not the ones that you'd expect.

Mirapex, along with its many other potential side effects, can also cause hallucinations. Parkinson's disease patients have reported seeing everything from snakes crawling the walls to people hiding in their closets.Though it's frightening and disturbing to have these hallucinations, reducing or even ceasing the medication often leads to the return of their tremors and other impairments.


Lariam (generic name mefloquine) was invented by researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to prevent and treat outbreaks of malaria in the U.S. Army. Until recently, it was given routinely to soldiers deployed overseas as well as many tourists. Lariam carries some serious side effects -- one of them being hallucinations. Both soldiers and tourists have reported experiencing frightening hallucinations as well as violent psychotic behavior soon after taking the drug.Since the early 2000s, the FDA has required that patients be screened for a history of depression and psychosis before taking Lariam.

Weird Side Effect 5: Strange Sleep Behaviors

We all have weird dreams at times, right? Some prescription drugs give patients disturbing dreams every time they go to sleep, and others can actually cause users to sleepwalk and behave violently while asleep. One of the lesser side effects of Chantix (generic name varenicline), a prescription drug designed to help people stop smoking, is nightmares and night terrors. Night terrors aren't just scary dreams; people who experience them are struck by fear and partially awaken out of sleep, sometimes screaming or moaning. They don't usually wake up completely, and they don't always remember that the incident even happened.


Some drugs with this side effect are directly related to sleeping; that is, they're designed to help people with chronic insomnia. Lunesta (generic name eszopiclone) is a hypnotic drug -- meaning, it induces sleep -- prescribed for sleeplessness with directions to take on an "as needed" basis. But its users, as well as those of Ambien (generic name zolpidem), have also reported night terrors and nightmares. Both Lunesta and Ambien patients, though, have experienced an even weirder effect: performing activities in their sleep.

These activities include not only sleepwalking, but eating, making phone calls, having sex and driving -- yes, driving. Patients taking these sleep aids have woken up while backing their cars out of driveways or while shopping at all-night grocery stores. Some "Ambien drivers" have been arrested for driving while impaired and causing accidents.Both drugs' makers include warnings about these side effects and emphasize that they shouldn't be taken with alcohol (which can exacerbate the effect).

Weird Side Effect 4: Bowel Control Problems

Weight loss: it can be an embarrassing subject. But is it more embarrassing than fecal incontinence? Many people would do just about anything to shed their excess weight, and it shows. All of the products sold that claim to assist in weight loss add up to a billion-dollar industry. This includes prescription drugs designed to help during dieting. One of those prescription drugs has a particularly nasty side effect.

Xenical (generic name orlistat, now sold over the counter in a lower dosage as Alli) is designed to prevent the body from absorbing fat and therefore decrease the actual calorie intake of its users. During Xenical's clinical trial, researchers found that up to 30 percent of ingested fat was excreted unabsorbed by subjects.

Patients must follow a low-fat diet of around 15 grams of fat per meal. If they don't, there can be disastrous results. According to Roche Laboratories, side effects of Xenical include "gas with oily discharge, an increased number of bowel movements, an urgent need to have them, and an inability to control them, particularly after meals containing higher amounts of fat than are recommended".Alli came on the market in 2007, and although it's a lower dosage of orlistat than Xenical -- 60 mg instead of 120 mg -- it still has the same side effects (which Roche calls "treatment effects"). Roche's Alli Web site states that "it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work" when you first begin taking Alli.Alli was initially very popular with dieters. Sales have declined sharply, however -- quite possibly due to this rather weird and gross side effect.

Weird Side Effect 3: Compulsive Behavior

Not all drug side effects are physical; some drugs can cause people to radically change their behaviors. Many patients taking Mirapex started noticing behavioral problems that they'd never experienced before. People who had only been occasional drinkers started drinking heavily, becoming alcoholics. Others who had never been interested in gambling found themselves at their nearest casino multiple times in one week, or sitting for hours in front of gambling Web sites. Some people became shopaholics, going thousands of dollars into debt because they couldn't control their spending habits. Others became hypersexual or constantly binged on food.In short, Mirapex can lead to compulsive behaviors in some patients.

Mirapex works by increasing the production of dopamine in the brain, which helps the basal ganglia regulate movement of the body. Parkinson's disease is usually diagnosed in people 50 and older, and these people naturally have lower levels of dopamine. Mirapex binds to some of the dopamine receptors in the brain that also involve behavior, reward and moods.


Since 2005, Mirapex prescriptions have come with warnings about these potential side effects. Some claim this was a case of "too little, too late," and several lawsuits are in the works. In August 2008, a man who claimed that Mirapex caused his gambling addiction won an $8.2 million lawsuit against its makers, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Weird Side Effect 2: Suicidal Ideation

In addition to causing hallucinations, Lariam has been blamed for the suicides of some soldiers and has also been named as the reason behind the murders of several soldiers' wives.

It hasn't been officially established that Lariam can lead to paranoia and suicidal ideation (the medical term for suicidal thoughts) in patients. However, its manufacturer, Roche Pharmaceuticals, added, "Some patients taking Lariam think about killing themselves, and there have been rare reports of suicides" to its list of potential side effects. In 2005, the Army stopped routinely distributing Lariam to its overseas troops.

Lariam is not a drug that one would routinely associate with mental instability, but Paxil (generic name paroxetine) is. Paxil is an antidepressant, used to treat everything from depression to post-traumatic stress disorder. But many patients have reported suicidal ideation while taking Paxil. In 2003, the FDA advised that children and adolescents under the age of 18 shouldn't be prescribed Paxil to treat major depression, due to this potential risk.The advisement was later expanded to include adults up to age 30. There are currently numerous lawsuits alleging Paxil's role in suicides and suicide attempts (as well as the severe withdrawal symptoms that some patients have experienced). Documents in one of these lawsuits revealed that Paxil's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, may have hid data demonstrating the link between the drug and increased thoughts of suicide.Chantix can also lead to suicidal ideation. In February 2008, the FDA issued a warning which included not only the possibility of suicidal thoughts but actual suicide. It reports that at least 40 suicides and 400 attempted suicides have been linked to the drug.

We'll end our list with something so terrible that one of the drugs that can cause it is still well known today -- and was mentioned in the history-spanning Billy Joel song, "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Weird Side Effect 1: Birth Defects

When a woman becomes pregnant, her doctor usually gives her a huge list of do's and don'ts. She should stay away from certain medications, for example, because they can cause problems during pregnancy. There are several prescription drugs that work very well at resolving the condition they were prescribed for, except that they're teratogenic. That means that they can interfere with fetal development and lead to birth defects.

Thalidomide is one of the most infamous teratogenic drugs. First synthesized in Germany in the 1950s, this drug was prescribed as a sleeping aid and anti-nausea pill to thousands of pregnant women in nearly 50 countries (although it hadn't been approved in the United States). Unfortunately, it was never proven to be safe for pregnant women. Between 1956 and 1962, nearly 10,000 women who took Thalidomide gave birth to babies with phocomelia.Often referred to as "flipper babies," these children were born with extremely short or missing limbs.

Thalidomide was taken off the market and drug testing and approval practices across the world were tightened. Surviving victims of Thalidomide, whose families received compensation from the drug's manufacturer, Grunenthal, are currently seeking additional compensation from both Grunenthal and the German government.Thalidomide has recently returned, with strict controls, for treatment of a certain type of leprosy lesion as well as multiple myeloma, a type of cancer.

Accutane is a drug used to treat severe acne that can also cause phocomelia. Because of this, women who are prescribed the drug must commit to following a strict regimen so that they don't become pregnant while taking it. This includes certifying that they will use two methods of birth control (and have an emergency backup) and also have their blood drawn monthly to test for pregnancy before receiving a prescription refill. They also agree not to donate blood so they don't pass the drug on to other women.


Ultimately, all drugs have some side effects, and most of them aren't as weird as the ones we've discussed here. Always read the side effect information that comes with your prescription drugs and discuss them with your doctor.

Read more

Read more...

How can alcohol be good for your heart?

From the time we're old enough to understand the word "alcoholic," we learn about the evils of alcohol. They're myriad: addiction, drunk driving, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, alcohol poisoning, kidney disease and so on. The strange thing is not that there are endless ways to die from a beverage. The strange thing is that this deadly beverage might actually be good for you under certain circumstances.


Alcohol has for decades been considered bad for your heart. It's linked to high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and heart attacks, for a start; and people with heart disease, especially heart disease associated with high blood pressure, are almost always counseled to abstain completely. Recent evidence, though, suggests that people with heart disease might benefit considerably from drinking particular types of alcohol in particular dosages.


So where might alcohol fit in with reducing the risks associated with heart disease?


It's a snug fit, for sure, but research implies it's definitely there. The results have to do with a condition called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is also known as clogging or narrowing of the arteries, and it's the primary cause of heart attacks. Cholesterol is a major contributing factor in atherosclerosis.


Cholesterol is a sticky, fatty substance, and when there's too much in the blood, it gets stuck to the artery walls. This ends up turning into a sticky plaque. Particles in the blood called platelets in turn get stuck to this plaque. Platelets cause your blood to clot so you don't bleed to death whenever to cut yourself. But this clotting ability can be deadly when it happens in the heart. Blood clots in arteries restrict blood flow, so oxygen-rich blood can't get to the heart. That's when a heart attack happens.

In a strange twist to conventional wisdom, it seems alcohol might decrease the chances of developing atherosclerosis and having a heart attack. It seems to have something to do with cholesterol.

In this article, we'll find out how alcohol might be beneficial to the heart, explore the particular circumstances that could lead to this benefit and find out what the heart experts have to say about it.


First, some quick background: There are two types of cholesterol that affect your heart, LDL and HDL. High levels of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and low levels of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) can lead to plaque buildup in the heart's arteries. High levels of HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, can prevent this plaque buildup. That's where alcohol comes in.

Does Alcohol Have a Plus Side?

It seems that having a couple of beers after work can raise your level of HDL cholesterol -- that's the good stuff -- and possibly prevent clotting, too. No one's exactly sure why this might be, but a study published in the journal "Circulation" set forth a possible reason why HDL levels might be boosted: Ethanol might increase the speed at which HDL proteins can travel through the blood.

Whatever the reason for the positive effects on the heart, those effects seem to be legitimate. One of the most recent studies to find heart-healthy results from drinking was published in January 2008.

Danish medical researchers tracked 12,000 men and women for two decades to see how alcohol and exercise affected their hearts. The first finding was to be expected: In both men and women, regular exercise decreased the risk of heart disease by about 32 percent. The surprise came when they looked at the effects of alcohol.


People who were active and did not drink alcohol at all had the 30 percent drop in heart disease. People who were active and consumed at least one alcoholic beverage a week had 50 percent fewer occurrences of heart disease than the people who exercised and drank no alcohol.


The benefit also applied to people who didn't exercise: Nonactive people who drank were 30 percent less likely to develop heart disease than the nonactive people who didn't drink. Of course, exercise alone also decreased the risk of heart disease, but exercise and drinking some alcohol produced the lowest heart-disease numbers overall.

Don't go out and get drunk just yet. The "some" distinction is a crucial one. The people in the Danish study who had a 50-percent decreased chance of heart disease were drinking one alcoholic beverage per week .The importance of moderation is backed up in every study on this topic. A 2007 U.S. study focusing on men found that those who drank one to two drinks a day had fewer heart attacks than those who drank less and those who drank more.In 2001, a University of Buffalo team looked at the drinking habits of women who already had heart disease and found that those who had one drink per day were less likely to have heart attacks than those who drank nothing In that study, wine was found to be more heart-healthy than liquor. The University of Buffalo scientists point out in their results that alcohol consumption increases a woman's chances of developing breast cancer.


That's the problem with the healthy alcohol concept: It's just not. Whatever benefits might be achieved by drinking between one and 14 alcoholic beverage per week, they're outweighed by the downsides of alcoholism, cancer, liver disease, obesity and, yes, heart disease. While alcohol might reduce clogging of the arteries under certain circumstances, it almost always raises blood pressure, causes weight gain and boosts triglyceride levels in the blood, all risk factors for heart disease. Triglycerides are fatty substances than can build up in the liver if the body doesn't break them down properly, and even small amounts of alcohol inhibit the body's processing of triglycerides.

The American Heart Association does not recognize alcohol intake as a legitimate heart-healthy activity. It advises against it, not only because alcohol is inherently unhealthy (it's a poison, after all), but also because the AHA doesn't believe the studies have proved that moderate alcohol consumption -- and not the drinkers' lifestyles -- leads to healthier hearts.

Even those scientists who published the studies do not recommend that any nondrinker start drinking to avoid heart disease. What to do, then? The same old boring, heart-healthy things: eating a low-fat diet, reducing salt intake and getting out for some exercise every day.

Read more

Read more...

11 foods that can make you happy

You’ve had a bad day. You’re feeling cranky and lonely. What to do? Aside from finding ways to fix your problem, try these comfort foods to make you happy. The secret is in choosing foods rich in omega-3 fats, folic acid, selenium, and vitamin B12. These nutrients can lift your mood, so let’s check them out:

1) Milk, preferably skim milk. Milk products are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid our brain needs in order to make serotonin. Serotonin is a natural chemical that makes us happy and calm. Anti-depressants work in a similar way by conserving the brain’s serotonin. Milk also contains antioxidants, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 that help fight stress and aging. Have some skim milk every day. It’ll make you happier and the calcium content is good for your bones, too.

2) Chocolate. Who needs an excuse to eat chocolate? Not me. Chocolate contains anadamine, a brain chemical that helps brighten our mood. Scientists believe that other chemicals in chocolate cause anadamide to stay longer in the brain, thus enhancing its positive effect. The sugar in chocolate also boosts our levels of endorphins, another hormone that makes us happy. Don’t eat too much, though.

3) Rice, bread, noodles or pasta. Here’s our favorite comfort food – carbohydrates. Don’t believe all those low-carb diets; they can actually make you crabby and gloomy. Eating carbohydrates can increase our serotonin levels, which has a calming effect. But to prevent sudden jumps in your blood sugar, choose healthier carbohydrates like brown rice, wheat bread, and vegetables. These good carbos are digested more slowly and make you fuller and possibly happier for a longer time.

4) Oily fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines. Oily fishes are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which can lift our mood. A study in Finland shows that people who eat more fish are less likely to be depressed. High doses of omega-3 may even be used to treat clinical depression. Most fish are also packed with vitamin B6 and B12, which are involved in the production of serotonin. As an alternative, you can try omega-3 supplements. Foods rich in omega-3 will not only make you happier, they’re good for the heart and brain, too.

5) Bananas. Bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin. And we know that serotonin is a hormone that makes us cheerful. Bananas contain carbohydrates as well to boost our energy. Its high potassium content also prevents cramps and it’s good for exercising individuals. Experts believe that bananas are one of the world’s healthiest fruits. So take two bananas a day to keep the doctor away.

6) Broccoli. Broccoli is another amazing food that is full of vitamin Bs, the vitamin that helps fight stress. Studies show that folate or folic acid in broccoli can improve our temperament. Aside from lifting our spirits, broccoli is a potent anticancer food, proven in laboratory studies to inhibit cancer cells.

7) Spinach. Popeye’s favorite food! If you want to be so full of zest like Popeye, it pays to eat your spinach. Like broccoli, spinach is packed with folic acid, an important B vitamin for making serotonin, the body’s feel-good chemical. It’s about time we taught our kids about this incredible vegetable. Eat a cup of cooked spinach to obtain approximately 250 micrograms of folic acid. This amount is enough to make you feel like Popeye, full of vigor to face the day.

8) Blueberries. Blueberries are abundant in antioxidants and vitamin C, which are known stress-busters. Antioxidants help remove toxins (called free radicals) that circulate in our body. These free radicals damage our organs and cause us to age faster, that’s why we need to remove them. Blueberries are also loaded with fiber, which is good for digestion. Some studies show that blueberries and strawberries may prevent cancer by removing these destructive free radicals.

9) Beans and soybeans. Beans are packed with soluble fiber, folic acid, and omega-3 fats, the three ingredients known to improve our mood. Beans are also excellent sources of iron and calcium, which can increase our red blood cells, and are good for the bones. Moreover, soy contains genistein, a weak estrogen-like substance, which may prevent prostate and breast cancer. If you like soy milk and taho, they’re good for you, too.

10) Nuts. Nuts are nutritional powerfoods, rich in protein, minerals (especially selenium), and omega-3 fats. Nuts also contain vitamin E, an antioxidant to fight stress. Locally, we have nilagang mani (boiled peanuts) and cashew nuts. Studies show that Brazil nuts are the number one source of the mineral selenium. Seafood is another good source of selenium. Aside from lifting our mood, nuts are considered as “brain food” because of their high content of omega-3 fats. Omega-3 helps improve the blood flow in our brain. (Students, take note.) Take an ounce of nuts every day. Don’t eat too much of them though, because nuts are salty and high in uric acid, which can be bad for those with high blood pressure and gout.

11) Coffee. A study from Brazil shows that people who drink coffee with milk every day are less likely to suffer from depression. Caffeine is probably the world’s most popular mood-enhancing drug. But it has its pros and cons. Coffee boosts your energy levels, makes you feel more alert, and can improve your memory. A single cup of coffee with milk in the morning can jumpstart your day. However, too much coffee can also wreck your disposition, cause heart palpitation and anxiety, and make it difficult for you to sleep. A cup or two a day is okay. Small doses of caffeine can improve your mood but too much coffee can be bad for your health.

Finally, any food you crave can be considered your own personal comfort food. Eating anything delicious stimulates the production of endorphins, making us happy. Endorphins can reduce pain sensation, too, and is like the brain’s natural painkiller.

Read more

Read more...

No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells

Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood.

It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own.

But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies.

Forever fertile? Infertile men and women could have their own biological children using the breakthrough sperm and eggs

Opponents argue that it is wrong to meddle with the building blocks of life and warn that the advances taking place to tackle infertility risk distorting and damaging relations between family members.

The U.S. government-funded research also offers the prospect of a 'miracle pill' which staves off the menopause, allowing women to wait longer to have a child.

It centres on stem cells, widely seen as a repair kit for the body.

Scientists at Stanford University in California found the right cocktail of chemicals and vitamins to coax the cells into becoming eggs and sperm.

Controversial: Britain's oldest mother Elizabeth Adeney, 67, who went abroad for IVF, is pictured here with her newborn son in June this year

The sperm had heads and short tails and are thought to have been mature enough to fertilise an egg.

The eggs were at a much earlier stage but were still much more developed than any created so far by other scientists.

The double success, published in the journal Nature, raises the prospect of men and women one day 'growing' their own sperm and eggs for use in IVF treatments.


The American team used stem cells taken from embryos in the first days of life but
hope to repeat the process with slivers of skin.

The skin cells would first be exposed to a mixture which wound back their biological clocks to embryonic stem cell state, before being transformed into sperm or eggs.

Starting with a person's own skin would also mean the lab-grown sperm or eggs would not be rejected by the body.

The science also raises the possibility of 'male eggs' made from men's skin and 'female sperm' from women's skin.

This would allow gay couples to have children genetically their own, although many scientists are sceptical about whether it is possible to create sperm from female cells, which lack the male Y chromosome.

The U.S. breakthrough could unlock many of the secrets of egg and sperm production, leading to new drug treatments for infertility.

Defects in sperm and egg development are the biggest cause of infertility but, because many of the key stages occur in the womb, scientists have struggled to study the process in detail.

Researcher Rita Reijo Pera, of Stanford's Centre for Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Research, believes new fertility drugs are just five years away.

However, safety and ethical concerns mean that artificial sperm and eggs are much further away from use.

Dr Reijo Pera said any future use of artificial eggs and sperm would have to be subject to guidelines.


'Whether one builds the boundaries on religion or just on an internal sense or of right and wrong, these are important. In this field, it is not "anything goes".'

Scientists at Newcastle University claimed to have made sperm from embryonic stem cells earlier this year but the research paper has been retracted.

Dr Allan Pacey, a Sheffield University expert in male fertility said: 'Ultimately this may help us find a cure for male infertility. Not necessarily by making sperm in the laboratory, I personally think that is unlikely, but by identifying new targets for drugs or genes that may stimulate sperm production to occur naturally.

'This is a long way off, but it is a laudable dream.'

Dr Peter Saunders, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said that IVF should be the preserve of married couples.

'The question is, why are we creating artificial gametes (eggs and sperm) and aborting 200,000 babies a year when there are many, many couples willing to adopt?'

Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, warned that any flaws in the artificial sperm or eggs could be passed on to future generations.

Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: 'The use of artificial gametes in reproduction would distort and damage relations between family members.

'There are no instances of any major medical advance achieved by abandoning basic ethical principles such as safeguarding the right to life.'

Read more

Read more...

What Does a Smart Brain Look Like?: Inner Views Show How We Think

A new neuroscience of intelligence is revealing that not all brains work in the same way

Key Concepts

Brain structure and metabolic efficiency may underlie individual differences in intelligence, and imaging research is pinpointing which regions are key players.

Smart brains work in many different ways. Women and men who have the same IQ show different underlying brain architectures.

The latest research suggests that an individual’s pattern of gray and white matter might underlie his or her specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses.

We all know someone who is not as smart as we are—and someone who is smarter. At the same time, we all know people who are better or worse than we are in a particular area or task, say, remembering facts or performing rapid mental math calculations. These variations in abilities and talents presumably arise from differences among our brains, and many studies have linked certain very specific tasks with cerebral activity in localized areas. Answers about how the brain as a whole integrates activity among areas, however, have proved elusive. Just what does a “smart” brain look like?

Now, for the first time, intelligence researchers are beginning to put together a bigger picture. Imaging studies are uncovering clues to how neural structure and function give rise to individual differences in intelligence. The results so far are confirming a view many experts have had for decades: not all brains work in the same way. People with the same IQ may solve a problem with equal speed and accuracy, using a different combination of brain areas.


Men and women show group average differences on neuroimaging measures, as do older and younger groups, even at the same level of intelligence. But newer studies are demonstrating that individual differences in brain structure and function, as they relate to intelligence, are key—and the latest studies have exposed only the tip of the iceberg. These studies hint at a new definition of intelligence, based on the size of certain brain areas and the efficiency of information flow among them. Even more tantalizing, brain scans soon may be able to reveal an individual’s aptitude for certain academic subjects or jobs, enabling accurate and useful education and career counseling. As we learn more about intelligence, we will better understand how to help individuals fulfill or perhaps enhance their intellectual potential and success.

For 100 years intelligence research relied on pencil-and-paper testing for metrics such as IQ. Psychologists used statistical methods to characterize the different components of intelligence and how they change over people’s lifetimes. They determined that virtually all tests of mental ability, irrespective of content, are positively related to one another—that is, those who score high on one test tend to score high on the others. This fact implies that all tests share a common factor, which was dubbed g, a general factor of intelligence. The g factor is a powerful predictor of success and is the focus of many studies.

In addition to the g factor, psychologists also have established other primary components of intelligence, including spatial, numerical and verbal factors, reasoning abilities known as fluid intelligence, and knowledge of factual information, called crystallized intelligence. But the brain mechanisms and structures underlying g and the other factors could not be inferred from test scores or even individuals with brain damage and thus remained hidden.

The advent of neuroscience techniques about 20 years ago finally offered a way forward. New methods, particularly neuroimaging, now allow a different approach to defining intelligence based on physical properties of the brain. In 1988 my colleagues and I at the University of California, Irvine, conducted one of the first studies to use such techniques. Using positron-emission tomography (PET), which produces images of metabolism in the brain by detecting the amount of low-level radioactive glucose used by neurons as they fire, we traced the brain’s energy use while a small sample of volunteers solved nonverbal abstract reasoning problems on a test called the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices.

This test is known to be a good indicator of g, so we were hoping to answer the question of where general intelligence arises in the brain by determining which areas showed increased activation while solving the test problems. To our surprise, greater energy use (that is, increased glucose metabolism) was associated with poorer test performance. Smarter people were using less energy to solve the problems—their brains were more efficient.

The next obvious question was whether energy efficiency can arise through practice. In 1992 we used PET before and after subjects learned the computer game Tetris (a fast paced visuospatial puzzle), and we found less energy use in several brain areas after 50 days of practice and increased skill. The data suggest that over time the brain learns what areas are not necessary for better performance, and activity in those areas diminishes—leading to greater overall efficiency. Moreover, the individuals in the study with high g showed more brain efficiency after practice than the people with lower g.

By the mid-1990s we were focusing on efficiency as a key concept for understanding intelligence. But then, in 1995, we discovered a difference in the way male and female brains work, giving us our first clue to what we know today: the concept of efficiency depends on the type and difficulty of tasks involved, and there are individual and group differences in brain function during problem solving, depending on who is doing the thinking. In the 1995 study we tested a specific mental ability—mathematical reasoning. We selected college students with either very high or average SAT-Math scores and used PET to investigate their brain function while they solved mathematical reasoning problems. Unlike the g studies, this study showed the people with high math ability using more brain energy in a certain region (the temporal lobes), but this was true only for the men and not for the women—even though both men and women performed at the same level on the test.

Gender Matters

These observations have now been replicated by us and other researchers, especially in studies using advanced electroencephalographic (EEG) mapping techniques. In addition to these experiments showing differences in brain function, brain structure also seems to play a role—studies have suggested that other gender differences in cognition, such as the tendency for men to have better visuospatial ability, may be rooted in architecture.

For example, in a series of papers published in NeuroImage starting in 2004, we used structural MRI scans to investigate correlations between gray and white matter volume and scores on intelligence tests. Gray matter, made up of neuron cell bodies, does the computational work of the brain. White matter enables communication among regions of gray matter via axons, brain cells’ long, wirelike appendages. Our studies point to a network of areas distributed throughout the brain where more gray or white matter is related to higher IQ scores. The specific areas in this network are different in men and women, suggesting there are at least two different brain architectures that produce equivalent performance on IQ tests. In general, we found that in women more gray and white matter in frontal brain areas, especially those associated with language, was correlated with IQ scores; in men IQ scores correlated with gray matter in frontal areas and, especially, in posterior areas that integrate sensory information.

Children also show different developmental brain patterns related to IQ, depending on their gender. In a series of imaging studies with large samples, published from 2006 to 2008, neuroscientist Vincent J. Schmithorst of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and his colleagues found that as girls age they show increasing organization—that is, well-defined paths between disparate brain regions—in their right hemisphere. Boys, in contrast, show this developmental trend in their left hemisphere. We do not yet know how these findings relate to behavioral or learning differences, but the research points the way for future studies to determine how brain development relates to boys’ and girls’ cognition and academic achievement.

A New Definition

Gender differences were merely the first indication that not all brains work the same way. In 2003 we investigated whether we could observe functional variations during passive mental activity without a task assigned. Again we used PET in two groups of volunteers selected for high or average scores on the Raven’s test. Both groups watched the same videos passively with no problem solving or other task demands. The group with high test scores showed different brain activations in posterior visual-processing areas as compared with the average group. The data suggest that early stages of information processing are more engaged in individuals with higher intelligence, perhaps suggesting that the smarter people in the study were not watching the videos “passively” after all—they were actively processing what they were seeing.

Although more and more evidence shows that problem solving and even passive sensory processing does not look exactly the same in every brain, we still are able to identify a network of areas that seem to give rise to intelligence in general. In fact, defining the crucial regions and connections will help us delineate exactly how each person’s brain works—every individual uses some combination of these areas in a unique way.

In 2007 neuropsychologist Rex E. Jung of the University of New Mexico and I reviewed the 37 neuroimaging studies on intelligence that existed at that point. In the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, we identified salient brain areas found in both structural and functional studies with some consistency. The 14 areas are distributed throughout the brain, refuting the long-held notion that the frontal lobes alone are the primary location for intelligence. In particular, parts of the parietal lobes, located under the crown of the head and known to be involved in sensory integration, play a significant role. Because areas in the parietal and frontal lobes were most represented across the studies we reviewed, we called our theory of intelligence based on this network the parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT). The 14 P-FIT areas are involved in attention, memory, language and sensory processing.

Identifying the P-FIT network implies a new definition of general intelligence based on the brain’s measurable characteristics. Both the amount of gray matter in certain P-FIT areas and the rate of information flow among these areas are likely to play key roles in intelligence. Earlier this year studies at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing used functional MRI to determine the efficiency of connections throughout the brain, pinpointing P-FIT areas where connectivity was especially associated with IQ scores. The findings support the idea that general intelligence not only arises from gray matter volume but also depends to a large extent on the white matter connections between crucial gray matter areas. More efficient connections allow information to flow faster—and quick processing times seem to go hand in hand with a high IQ.

Everyone Is Unique

But IQ scores do not tell the whole story—not even close. Intelligence seems to arise from varying combinations of the P-FIT brain areas in different people, which may explain each person’s individual strengths and weaknesses. The challenges of identifying these patterns are well illustrated by the extremely rare cases of autistic savants. Daniel Tammet, for example, is an autistic young adult with uncommonly high IQ scores. He sees numbers as colors and shapes, which allowed him to memorize the value of pi to 22,514 digits. He also learned to converse fluently in Icelandic after only seven days of instruction. Tammet leads an independent life and wrote a best-selling autobiography describing his extraordinary numerical and language ability. What would his “brain profile” show?

Although we are not currently able to deduce from a scan of Tammet’s brain how his extraordinary abilities arise, the most recent wave of neuroimaging studies has given us clues to how we might one day do exactly that. New studies have found correlations between gray matter in certain areas and specific intelligence factors.

In March psychologist Roberto Colom of the Autonomous University of Madrid and his collaborators (including me) reported on the relation between gray matter volume and different intelligence factors in 100 young adults. Each person completed a battery of nine cognitive tests known to indicate different intelligence factors, including g, fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence and a spatial factor. We found a positive correlation between scores on the g factor and the amount of gray matter in several areas predicted by P-FIT. And once we accounted for the common g factor, we found that gray matter volume in certain brain areas was related to the other specific intelligence factors.

One of the most tantalizing ideas to come out of this recent research is the possibility of matching an individual’s gray and white matter pattern to his or her g and to other specific intelligence factors. In other words, the tissue in P-FIT areas may predict a person’s unique pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses across a range of mental abilities. These differing brain profiles may explain why two people with an identical IQ score may show very different cognitive abilities. The data from Madrid illustrate this idea nicely. The person in our volunteer group with the highest g score showed far more gray matter than the group’s average amount in several P-FIT areas—perhaps not surprisingly. But it is interesting to note that two people with identical g scores of 100, the average for the group tested in the study, exhibited different cognitive profiles, suggesting different cognitive strengths and weaknesses.

The idea that we all have our own pattern of variations in brain areas that contribute to different intelligence factors is underscored dramatically by a structural MRI study in March of 241 patients with brain lesions. Psychologist Jan Gläscher of the California Institute of Technology and his colleagues showed that the site of each lesion was correlated with specific factor scores. For example, perceptual organization suffered—patients had trouble consciously understanding raw information from their senses—when their right parietal lobe was damaged.

A Smarter Future

These most recent studies suggest that neuroimaging could one day become a supplement or even a substitute for traditional paper-and-pencil intelligence testing. An individual brain profile could be valuable. In education, for example, a learning program could be tailored for an individual student, at any age, based on that student’s brain characteristics. Perhaps vocational success could also be predicted—are there patterns of gray matter across some areas, for example, that make for the best teachers, fighter pilots, engineers or tennis players? People seeking a better life with vocational and career consultation certainly will want the choice of having a brain assessment if there are data to support its usefulness.

But it is worth remembering that, contrary to older dogma, the brain is not set in stone or in genetic immutability. Exactly the opposite is true. The brain is plastic—it changes. A brain profile detailing a person’s strengths would offer a guide rather than a prescription—perhaps suggesting ways to practice skills or improve education so that a person could become better suited for the activities or careers he or she is most interested in. Fascinating recent studies show that learning to juggle increases the amount of gray matter in brain areas relevant to motor activity. When the training stops, the additional gray matter disappears. Because regional gray matter is related to intelligence, can training beyond conventional education approaches be directed at specific brain areas to increase intelligence? We do not yet know, but the prospect is exciting.

The next phase of neurointelligence research may include studies designed to answer such questions, including education experiments to determine whether different strategies produce specific brain changes and whether students selected on the basis of their individual brain characteristics are more likely to maximize learning in a particular subject with one educational strategy versus another. The goal would be to enhance current educational decision making by adding customized information about each student’s brain. How any specific brain characteristic develops and how it may be influenced are critical, but separate, questions for research.

Whether everyone agrees on precisely the same definition of intelligence or not, progress in neuroscience is inexorable. We will continue to discover how the brain manages the complex information processing that undoubtedly underlies all notions of intelligence. Given the ravages of brain disease, aging, the technical needs of modern societies, the challenges of education and the joy of experiencing the world through intellect, there is some urgency to understand how smart brains work. It is not too early for discussion about the implications of the search for neurointelligence and our willingness to go where the data lead.

Boosting Healthy Brains

The latest research into the neural roots of intelligence may lead to better drugs and tools for cognitive enhancement. In the future, drugs may enhance the neurotransmitters that regulate communication among the salient brain areas underlying general intelligence or more specific mental abilities. Other drugs could stimulate gray matter growth or white matter integrity in relevant areas. Certainly such advances would be welcome as potential treatments for mental retardation and developmental disabilities. They may also be welcome by any individual looking for more intelligence.

If an effective “IQ pill” becomes available, are the societal and ethical issues the same as for performance-enhancing drugs in sports, or is there a moral imperative that more intelligence is always better than less? Apparently, many scientists agree with the latter. An online survey of 1,427 scientists conducted in 2008 by Nature found that 20 percent of respondents already use prescription drugs to enhance “concentration” rather than for treating a medical condition. Almost 70 percent of 1,258 respondents who answered the question said they would be willing to risk mild side effects to “boost their brainpower” by taking cognition-enhancing drugs. Eighty percent of all the scientists who responded—even those who did not use these drugs—defended the right of “healthy humans” to take them as work boosters, and more than half said their use should not be restricted, even for university entrance exams. More than a third said that they would feel pressure to give their children such drugs if they knew other kids at school were also taking them. Few appear to favor the “ignorance is bliss” position.

Intelligence is a critical resource for the development of civilization. As the global economy evolves and small countries compete with larger countries, assessing, developing and even enhancing intellectual talent may well become the neuroscience challenge for the 21st century.

Read more

Read more...

DOMINIC O'BRIEN: How stress can seriously harm your memory

Brain food: Exercising your memory will strengthen it

Mislaying your car keys, climbing the stairs and wondering what for, making a cup of tea and forgetting to drink it - all signs that your memory is not quite up to speed.

Then there are all those PINs, passwords and other codes we must memorise. Surely life was less stressful a few years ago?

I have noticed that most of my clients coming to me for magical reversals of memory impairment lead highly stressful lives.

Researchers are now convinced that stress is one of the biggest factors contributing to memory impairment. Exposure to prolonged or excessive stress is highly damaging to memory.

Don't get me wrong, we need stress. As humans, not only are we well equipped to deal with it but without it, life would become drab. But numerous studies show that those with continuously high levels of the stress hormone cortisone perform poorly in memory tests. As a rule of thumb, if you allow yourself three to five years of over-exposure to stress, expect some form of deterioration in your memory. The good news is that memory impairment due to stress can be reversible.

The answer is to direct one's efforts at both reducing stress and stimulating the brain - with memory, it is a case of use it or lose it.

The more I memorise, the more capacity I feel I have to store information. Why should that be? The brain consists of billions of cells or neurons. Most of these cells are just floating around in a saline solution waiting to be stimulated so that they too can transmit and store data.

It's reasonable to suggest that the more of these cells that can be switched on, the greater the processing capability of the brain.

So what's my best advice? Exercise your memory regularly. Play games with it. Try to memorise ten playing cards, ten shopping items, ten names.

Read more

Read more...

Foods That Improve Your Brain Function

The right brain nutrients

The brain uses carbohydrates for energy and omega-3 fatty acids for the formation of its cell structure. B vitamins play an essential role in brain function. Clinical observation strongly links folic acid to brain development. In combination with folic acid, vitamins B6 and vitamin B12 help manufacture and release chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. The nervous system relies on these neurotransmitters to communicate messages within the brain, such as those that regulate mood, hunger, and sleep.

In addition, foods rich in antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin A, C and vitamin E and beta-carotene, help protect brain cells from free-radical damage caused by environmental pollution. They are known as free radical scavengers and defense from free radicals is important to protecting the brain well into the golden years. Studies suggest that taking supplements of vitamins C and E can prevent the risk of Alzheimer's disease and slow the progression of memory loss.

How brain foods help you think sound?

The brain utilizes 20 percent of the body's carbohydrate supply. When the brain receives a steady supply of sugar for fuel, it chugs along smoothly at a steady pace. But when levels of sugar in the blood fluctuate, the brain doesn't get its steady fuel supply. As a result, you may experience mental confusion, dizziness and if severe, convulsions and loss of consciousness. Foods with a low glycemic index provide brain friendly carbohydrates because they do not push the pancreas to secrete excess insulin, so the blood sugar tends to be steadier. Vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fruits and dairy products are foods with best brain sugars.

Sugars with high glycemic index can adversely affect the thinking and actions of some children. The sugars at fault include glucose, dextrose, and sucrose, and the highly refined, highly processed junk sugars found in candy, icings, syrups, packaged baked goods, and table sugar. The roller-coaster affects produced by these sugars affect moods and concentration in some children and adults, leading to sugar highs and sugar blues.

Proteins in the diet affect brain performance because they provide the amino acids from which neurotransmitters are made. The two important amino acids, tryptophan and tyrosine, are precursors of neurotransmitter. Fats are major components of the brain cell membrane and the myelin sheath around each nerve. So, our diet must include adequate amount of fat and the right kinds of fat can greatly affect brain development and performance.

Minerals are also critical to mental functioning and performance. Magnesium and manganese are needed for brain energy. Zinc is essential in protecting your mind and brain from the aging symptoms of forgetfulness. Sodium, potassium and calcium are important in the thinking process and facilitate the transmission of messages. Iron is also required to carry oxygen to the brain cells and aids in the formation of brain neurotransmitters, which affect attention and learning capacities.

List of foods that improve your brain function

Nuts

Nuts contain protein, high amounts of fiber, and they are rich in beneficial fats. They also contain plenty of vitamin B, E, and magnesium which are essential to cognitive function. They can clear up that brain fog and enable you to think clearer and are positive mood enhancers. Filberts, hazelnuts, cashews, and walnuts are great choices, with almonds being the king of nuts.

For those avoiding carbohydrates, macadamia nuts are much higher in fat than most nuts. Peanuts are not a good choice as many people are allergic to peanuts and have less healthy fat than many other types of nuts.

Seeds

Try seeds like sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and tahini (a tangy, nutty sesame butter that tastes great in replacement of mayo and salad dressing). Seeds contain a lot of protein, beneficial fat, and vitamin E, as well as stress-fighting antioxidants and important brain-boosting minerals like magnesium.

They boost your mood and brainpower. Sunflower seeds contain tryptophan, an important amino acid that the brain converts to serotonin, which is a natural way to relieve mild depression and insomnia. Additionally, sunflower seeds are high in thiamine, an important B vitamin, which increases memory and cognitive function.

Eggs

Eggs are a precious source of high-quality proteins and rich in vitamins and minerals. The selenium in organic eggs is proven to help your mood. Nutrient called choline, found in eggs, can help boost the memory center in the brain. Choline increases the size of neurons, which helps them fire electrical signals more strongly and rebound faster between firings.

Two antioxidants found in egg yolk called lutein and zeaxanthin help prevent the risk of age-related cataracts and macular degeneration, two of the most prevalent age-related eye conditions.

Avocado

For brain health, avocados are nearly as good as blueberries. Avocados contain mono-unsaturated fats, which contribute to healthy blood flow, the main requirement for a healthy brain. To include avocados to your diet, add 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado to one meal daily as a side dish. Start each day with a mix of high-quality protein and beneficial fats to build the foundation for an energized day. Avocado with scrambled eggs are a great combination that serve the above purpose.

Berries

Berries contain antioxidants that help boost cognition, coordination, and memory. Blueberries are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index, thus they are safe for diabetics and they do not spike blood sugar. Blueberries are possibly the best brain food on earth as they boost the potency of neuron signals. They are also known as the "brain berry", and are considered a super food when eaten in their natural form. They are also known to protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Antioxidant-rich strawberries can prevent age-related neurological declines by improving brain cell abilities to send and receive the ’signaling’ molecules. The brain uses these signaling molecules to communicate. Blackberries are rich in nutrients called anthocyanins that help protect our brain from oxidation stress, which in turn fights degenerative brain diseases.

Pomegranate

Pomegranates contain blueberry-like levels of antioxidants, offering brain and memory protection. It carries a lot of vitamin C, A and E as well as fiber, iron and potassium and anti-inflammatory attributes help in strengthening the immune system.

Coffee

Coffee is good for your brain. You can safely enjoy 2 cups daily. Coffee is rich in antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Recent findings show it to be one of the best brain foods, reducing the risks of mental decline including diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.

Green tea

Green tea enhances memory and focus and fights mental fatigue. It contains catechines, which help you relax mentally and maintain your focus as well.

Green tea also helps maintain positive mood states and fights against many brain disorders. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in green tea that can boost the availability of the important signaling brain substance dopamine in brain circuits.

Brown rice

Whole grains like brown rice are essential for maintaining concentration throughout the day and improving memory. That's because they contain the perfect mix of carbohydrates and fiber to fuel your brain while keeping you full. The low-glycemic complex carbohydrate present in brown rice is excellent for people sensitive to gluten who still want to maintain cardiovascular health. Wholegrain breads and cereals are also rich in folate and Vitamin B6, an important brain vitamin.

Chocolate

Dark chocolate has brain boosting compounds; it’s rich in antioxidants and contains several natural stimulants which increase the production of endorphins while enhancing focus and concentration. It also releases dopamine, to enhance cognition and mood. It is also rich in fiber. It has high content of flavanol epicatechin that facilitate blood supply to the brain and enhance cognitive skills.

Milk chocolate jump starts impulse control and reaction time. It has also been known to improve visual and verbal memory.

Garlic

Garlic is one of the most potent nutritious foods. It is fabulous for reducing bad cholesterol and strengthening your cardiovascular system, and it exerts a protective antioxidant effect on the brain. It can potentially help against stroke, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Green leafy vegetables

Spinach, kale, chard, romaine, arugula, lolla rossa and other green vegetables should be consumed on a daily basis. These vegetables are high in iron (slightly less "green" iron sources include beef, pork and lamb). Folate and vitamin B6, found in broccoli and kale, help convert tryptophan into serotonin, a brain chemical that boots mood alertness.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are fantastic brain foods as there high content of lycopene make them an ideal source of unique of antioxidants. Lycopene is particularly good for brain - helps protect against free-radical damage to cells, which prevents brain from ageing and is believed to be a primary factor in cases of dementia, and particularly, Alzheimer’s disease.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a super food with high overall nutrient content. High levels of chemicals called homocysteines are linked with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. In order to break themselves down, homocysteines require folate and B12 or B6, vitamins found in vegetables like broccoli. It is a great source of vitamin K, which enhances cognitive function and improves brainpower.

Wholegrain foods

Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid are essential in protecting your memory. Wholegrain foods, such as whole grain breads and wheat germ are part of the best brain foods. Whole grain breads, cereals, barley, popcorn boost blood flow to the brain.

Wild salmon

Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood go hand in hand with higher levels of serotonin, a mood-enhancing brain chemical. Thus, these fatty acids are responsible for improved cognition and alertness, reduced risk of degenerative mental disease (such as dementia), improved memory, improved mood, and reduced depression, anxiety and hyperactivity. Wild salmon is a premium source of these beneficial fats. Salmon is also rich in protein, calcium and vitamins A, D and B group.

Tuna

In addition to being another rich source of DHA (docosahexanoic acid), a type of omega-3s; tuna, particularly yellow fin, has the highest level of vitamin B6 of any food. Generally, the B vitamins are among the most important for balancing your mood. B6 in particular influences dopamine receptors, the "feel good" hormones along with serotonin.

Olive oil

A diet rich in healthy fats is essential to clear thinking, good memory, and a balanced mood. Olive oil is rich in antioxidants for healthy brain function. The extra virgin organic variety is best because the oil is produced naturally without chemical treatment. Raw unprocessed organic olive oil also contains fibers, and proteins.

Avoid processed fats as eating the wrong fat can literally alter your brain’s communication pathways.

Things that drain your brain

There are some foods that will cause a brain drain and work against your efforts.
It is advised to stay away from foods with high-fructose corn syrup; sugary drinks, colas, and juices; refined white sugars; items with trans fats and partially-hydrogenated oils, and other processed foods. Alcohol and nicotine are also known to cause reduced brain function.

A high carbohydrate meal

A high carbohydrate lunch makes you feel sleepy and sluggish. It is advised to opt for a light meal with some quality protein, such as a salad with grilled chicken breast or vegetables and hummus or wild American shrimp and avocado.

Corn syrup and sugar

They lead to health problems like diabetes and obesity, and are terrible for your brain. Don’t eat sugar except on special occasions or as an infrequent treat. Sugary fruit drinks, colas, and juices are among the worst offenders.

Nicotine

It constricts blood flow to the brain, so while it may soothe jittery nerves, smoking can actually reduce your brain function severely and the effects are cumulative.

Alcohol

Alcohol interferes with dopamine production. Moderate amounts of alcohol, particularly resveratrol-rich red wine, can help improve your health, but any alcoholic drink beyond a glass or two of wine daily is a recipe for reduced brain function and energy loss.

Read more

Read more...

British scientists create new drug that 'kills' leukaemia - even in worst affected adults

Laboratory experiments on a new drug found it killed malignant cells from patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia but left normal cells

Scientists have discovered a drug which they say can kill malignant leukaemia cells.

Tests show PBOX-15 can even destroy cancerous cells from adults whose health outlook is poor because of the disease's resistance to existing treatments.

Laboratory experiments found it is effective at killing malignant cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, but spares normal cells.

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin, in partnership with University of Siena, Italy, say the findings show 'significant potential' as the first agent of its kind.

Professor Mark Lawler, of TCD's school of medicine, said: 'We are still at an early stage. We have to move it on to see if there are any side effects and bring it forward as a potential therapy for patients. But it's very exciting. We want to give hope to cancer patients.'

He warned, though, that it could be another three to five years before the drug is used as a lifesaving treatment.

In the UK around 3,700 patients a year are diagnosed with CLL. It is the most prevalent form of adult leukaemia, affecting more than a quarter of patients.

The disease may progress slowly, causing problems over months or many years, but some patients respond very poorly to current drugs.

The new study, published in the international journal Cancer Research, shows that PBOX-15 works by interfering with the structure of cancerous cells.

It activates a mechanism which induces death in the cells, even those which have become resistant to chemotherapy.

Professor Lawler, lead investigator on the study, tested PBOX-15 on samples given by 55 patients.

He said it was more effective than fludarabine, the current medication used to treat the disease, and also killed CLL cells that were resistant to treatment.

The professor said the advance was made possible by cooperation across the different disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine at TCD, together with colleagues in Siena, St James's Hospital, Dublin, and Belfast City Hospital.

He said: 'The complementary expertise allowed us to approach the problem of killing CLL cells from a number of angles'.

The professor added: 'The need for novel treatments is acute in CLL, especially for the sub-group of patients with poor clinical outcome and drug-resistant disease.

'This study identifies a novel agent with significant clinical potential.'

Read more

Read more...

Why daily aspirin could be a danger: Stop giving it as routine protector, doctors told

DOCTORS should stop prescribing aspirin to ward off heart attacks in people without heart disease, a leading doctor has said.

Giving aspirin to these patients can do more harm than good, raising the risk of dangerous stomach bleeding while having a 'negligible' effect on curbing death rates, he warned.

Thousands of people with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are prescribed low-dose aspirin in line with medical guidelines because their doctors consider they are at high risk of heart attack.

Risk: Healthy people taking aspirin could actually be doing more harm than good

In addition, hundreds of thousands of healthy middle-aged people - the 'worried well' - regularly take aspirin, many of them daily, in case it does them some good.

This is based on its established role in reducing the risk of repeat heart attacks and stroke by up to a third, even though doubt persists over whether aspirin has the same benefit in patients who have never suffered an attack.

Growing evidence in recent months has increased the view that giving aspirin for primary prevention - where patients do have symptoms of heart disease - is counter-productive. Now Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor of the respected Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, says the practice should be 'abandoned' because the evidence does not back it up.

Some 2.3million Britons have type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked with growing levels of obesity, and they are up to five times more at risk of heart disease than the general population.

Several guidelines issued between 2005 and 2008 by professional health bodies recommend routine use of aspirin for people aged 50 and older with type 2 diabetes and those with high blood pressure. 'But current evidence makes it hard to recommend starting aspirin for primary prevention,' said Dr Iheanacho.

'We believe the evidence is against low dose preventive treatment in these patients,' he added.

A British study released in September found aspirin can double the chances of dangerous internal bleeding in people without a history of heart disease, while having no effect on the rate of heart attacks or strokes.

Dr Iheanacho said patients taking aspirin for this reason should not stop without consulting a doctor.

He urged doctors to review all their patients taking low-dose aspirin for primary prevention whether prescribed by themselves or whether it was bought overthecounter by the patients.

'The decision about whether to continue or stop treatment should be made only after fully informing patients of the available evidence. Some patients may see a small risk of harm as worth taking because they gain a small degree of possible benefit,' he added.

June Davison, of the British Heart Foundation said: 'It is well established that aspirin can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among people with heart and circulatory disease. They should continue to take it as prescribed by their doctor.

'But for those who do not have heart and circulatory disease the risk of serious bleeding outweighs the potential benefits. We advise people not to take aspirin daily, unless they check with their doctor.'

Read more

Read more...

Want to quit smoking? Switching to mild cigarettes will NOT improve your chances

Smokers who hope to kick the habit by first switching to a low-tar or mild brand of cigarette may actually find it harder to quit, researchers said today.

They found that smokers who traded to light cigarettes were 50 per cent less likely to kick the habit.

'It may be that smokers think that a lighter brand is better for their health and is therefore an acceptable alternative to giving up completely,' said study author Dr Hilary Tindle from the University of Pittsburgh.

Her study of 31,000 smokers found that 12,000, or 38 per cent, had switched to a lighter brand.

Nearly half of these said they had switched brands because they wanted to smoke a less harmful cigarette and hoped to give up smoking completely.

And although they were far more likely to have tried quitting between 2002 and 2003, they were 60 per cent less likely to actually succeed, according to Dr Tindle's team.

'Forty-three percent of smokers reported a desire to quit smoking as a reason for switching to lighter cigarettes. While these individuals were the most likely to make an attempt, ironically, they were the least likely to quit smoking,' Dr Tindle said.

Research published in The Lancet revealed smokers compensate for low tar cigarettes by taking deeper puffs more often.

And a study in the British Medical Journal found all current smokers had a far greater risk of lung cancer than people who had never smoked no matter what the tar level of their brand.

Read more

Read more...

100 Very Cool Facts About The Human Body

The human body is an incredibly complex and intricate system, one that still baffles doctors and researchers on a regular basis despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it shouldn’t be any surprise that even body parts and functions we deal with every day have bizarre or unexpected facts and explanations behind them. From sneezes to fingernail growth, here are 100 weird, wacky, and interesting facts about the human body.

The Brain

The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered.

1. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.
2. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.
3. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. Or any other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.
4. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.
5. The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.
6. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream. While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.
7. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.
8. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.
9. The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.
10. 80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.

Hair and Nails

While they’re not a living part of your body, most people spend a good amount of time caring for their hair and nails. The next time you’re heading in for a haircut or manicure, think of these facts.

11. Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body. If you’ve ever had a covering of stubble on your face as you’re clocking out at 5 o’clock you’re probably pretty familiar with this. In fact, if the average man never shaved his beard it would grow to over 30 feet during his lifetime, longer than a killer whale.
12. Every day the average person loses 60-100 strands of hair. Unless you’re already bald, chances are good that you’re shedding pretty heavily on a daily basis. Your hair loss will vary in accordance with the season, pregnancy, illness, diet and age.
13. Women’s hair is about half the diameter of men’s hair. While it might sound strange, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that men’s hair should be coarser than that of women. Hair diameter also varies on average between races, making hair plugs on some men look especially obvious.
14. One human hair can support 3.5 ounces. That’s about the weight of two full size candy bars, and with hundreds of thousands of hairs on the human head, makes the tale of Rapunzel much more plausible.
15. The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. And the nail on the middle finger of your dominant hand will grow the fastest of all. Why is not entirely known, but nail growth is related to the length of the finger, with the longest fingers growing nails the fastest and shortest the slowest.
16. There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. Humans are not quite the naked apes that we’re made out to be. We have lots of hair, but on most of us it’s not obvious as a majority of the hairs are too fine or light to be seen.
17. Blondes have more hair. They’re said to have more fun, and they definitely have more hair. Hair color determines how dense the hair on your head is. The average human has 100,000 hair follicles, each of which is capable of producing 20 individual hairs during a person’s lifetime. Blondes average 146,000 follicles while people with black hair tend to have about 110,000 follicles. Those with brown hair fit the average with 100,000 follicles and redheads have the least dense hair, with about 86,000 follicles.
18. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails. If you notice that you’re trimming your fingernails much more frequently than your toenails you’re not just imagining it. The nails that get the most exposure and are used most frequently grow the fastest. On average, nails on both the toes and fingers grow about one-tenth of an inch each month.
19. The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average. While you quite a few hairs each day, your hairs actually have a pretty long life providing they aren’t subject to any trauma. Your hairs will likely get to see several different haircuts, styles, and even possibly decades before they fall out on their own.
20. You must lose over 50% of your scalp hairs before it is apparent to anyone. You lose hundreds of hairs a day but you’ll have to lose a lot more before you or anyone else will notice. Half of the hairs on your pretty little head will have to disappear before your impending baldness will become obvious to all those around you.
21. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it’s flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. If you’ve ever wondered how your how clogs up your pipes so quick consider this: hair cannot be destroyed by cold, change of climate, water, or other natural forces and it is resistant to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals.

Internal Organs

Though we may not give them much thought unless they’re bothering us, our internal organs are what allow us to go on eating, breathing and walking around. Here are some things to consider the next time you hear your stomach growl.

22. The largest internal organ is the small intestine. Despite being called the smaller of the two intestines, your small intestine is actually four times as long as the average adult is tall. If it weren’t looped back and forth upon itself it wouldn’t fit inside the abdominal cavity.
23. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet. No wonder you can feel your heartbeat so easily. Pumping blood through your body quickly and efficiently takes quite a bit of pressure resulting in the strong contractions of the heart and the thick walls of the ventricles which push blood to the body.
24. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades. While you certainly shouldn’t test the fortitude of your stomach by eating a razorblade or any other metal object for that matter, the acids that digest the food you eat aren’t to be taken lightly. Hydrochloric acid, the type found in your stomach, is not only good at dissolving the pizza you had for dinner but can also eat through many types of metal.
25. The human body is estimated to have 60,000 miles of blood vessels. To put that in perspective, the distance around the earth is about 25,000 miles, making the distance your blood vessels could travel if laid end to end more than two times around the earth.
26. You get a new stomach lining every three to four days. The mucus-like cells lining the walls of the stomach would soon dissolve due to the strong digestive acids in your stomach if they weren’t constantly replaced. Those with ulcers know how painful it can be when stomach acid takes its toll on the lining of your stomach.
27. The surface area of a human lung is equal to a tennis court. In order to more efficiently oxygenate the blood, the lungs are filled with thousands of branching bronchi and tiny, grape-like alveoli. These are filled with microscopic capillaries which oxygen and carbon dioxide. The large amount of surface area makes it easier for this exchange to take place, and makes sure you stay properly oxygenated at all times.
28. Women’s hearts beat faster than men’s.The main reason for this is simply that on average women tend to be smaller than men and have less mass to pump blood to. But women’s and men’s hearts can actually act quite differently, especially when experiencing trauma like a heart attack, and many treatments that work for men must be adjusted or changed entirely to work for women.
29. Scientists have counted over 500 different liver functions. You may not think much about your liver except after a long night of drinking, but the liver is one of the body’s hardest working, largest and busiest organs. Some of the functions your liver performs are: production of bile, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification.
30. The aorta is nearly the diameter of a garden hose. The average adult heart is about the size of two fists, making the size of the aorta quite impressive. The artery needs to be so large as it is the main supplier of rich, oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.
31. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart. For most people, if they were asked to draw a picture of what the lungs look like they would draw both looking roughly the same size. While the lungs are fairly similar in size, the human heart, though located fairly centrally, is tilted slightly to the left making it take up more room on that side of the body and crowding out that poor left lung.
32. You could remove a large part of your internal organs and survive. The human body may appear fragile but it’s possible to survive even with the removal of the stomach, the spleen, 75 percent of the liver, 80 percent of the intestines, one kidney, one lung, and virtually every organ from the pelvic and groin area. You might not feel too great, but the missing organs wouldn’t kill you.
33. The adrenal glands change size throughout life. The adrenal glands, lying right above the kidneys, are responsible for releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. In the seventh month of a fetus’ development, the glands are roughly the same size as the kidneys. At birth, the glands have shrunk slightly and will continue to do so throughout life. In fact, by the time a person reaches old age, the glands are so small they can hardly be seen.

Bodily Functions

We may not always like to talk about them, but everyone has to deal with bodily functions on a daily basis. These are a few facts about the involuntary and sometimes unpleasant actions of our bodies.

34. Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph. There’s a good reason why you can’t keep your eyes open when you sneeze–that sneeze is rocketing out of your body at close to 100 mph. This is, of course, a good reason to cover your mouth when you sneeze.
35. Coughs clock in at about 60 mph. Viruses and colds get spread around the office and the classroom quickly during cold and flu season. With 60 mph coughs spraying germs far and wide, it’s no wonder.
36. Women blink twice as many times as men do. That’s a lot of blinking every day. The average person, man or woman, blinks about 13 times a minute.
37. A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball. No wonder you have to run to bathroom when you feel the call of the wild. The average bladder holds about 400-800 cc of fluid but most people will feel the urge to go long before that at 250 to 300 cc.
38. Approximately 75% of human waste is made of water. While we might typically think that urine is the liquid part of human waste products, the truth is that what we consider solid waste is actually mostly water as well. You should be thankful that most waste is fairly water-filled, as drier harder stools are what cause constipation and are much harder and sometimes painful to pass.
39. Feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat a day. With that kind of sweat-producing power it’s no wonder that your gym shoes have a stench that can peel paint. Additionally, men usually have much more active sweat glands than women.
40. During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools. Saliva plays an important part in beginning the digestive process and keeping the mouth lubricated, and your mouth produces quite a bit of it on a daily basis.
41. The average person expels flatulence 14 times each day. Even if you’d like to think you’re too dignified to pass gas, the reality is that almost everyone will at least a few times a day. Digestion causes the body to release gases which can be painful if trapped in the abdomen and not released.
42. Earwax production is necessary for good ear health. While many people find earwax to be disgusting, it’s actually a very important part of your ear’s defense system. It protects the delicate inner ear from bacteria, fungus, dirt and even insects. It also cleans and lubricates the ear canal.

Sex and Reproduction

As taboo as it may be in some places, sex is an important part of human life as a facet of relationships and the means to reproduce. Here are a few things you might not have known.

43. On any given day, sexual intercourse takes place 120 million times on earth. Humans are a quickly proliferating species, and with about 4% of the world’s population having sex on any given day, it’s no wonder that birth rates continue to increase in many places all over the world.
44. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm. While you can’t see skin cells or muscle cells, the ovum is typically large enough to be seen with the naked eye with a diameter of about a millimeter. The sperm cell, on the other hand, is tiny, consisting of little more than nucleus.
45. The three things pregnant women dream most of during their first trimester are frogs, worms and potted plants. Pregnancy hormones can cause mood swings, cravings and many other unexpected changes. Oddly enough, hormones can often affect the types of dreams women have and their vividness. The most common are these three types, but many women also dream of water, giving birth or even have violent or sexually charged dreams.
46. Your teeth start growing 6 months before you are born. While few babies are born with teeth in place, the teeth that will eventually push through the gums of young children are formed long before the child even leaves the womb. At 9 to 12 weeks the fetus starts to form the teeth buds that will turn into baby teeth.
47. Babies are always born with blue eyes. The color of your eyes depends on the genes you get from your parents, but at birth most babies appear to have blue eyes. The reason behind this is the pigment melanin. The melanin in a newborn’s eyes often needs time after birth to be fully deposited or to be darkened by exposure to ultraviolet light, later revealing the baby’s true eye color.
48. Babies are, pound for pound, stronger than an ox. While a baby certainly couldn’t pull a covered wagon at its present size, if the child were the size of an oxen it just might very well be able to. Babies have especially strong and powerful legs for such tiny creatures, so watch out for those kicks.
49. One out of every 2,000 newborn infants has a tooth when they are born. Nursing mothers may cringe at this fact. Sometimes the tooth is a regular baby tooth that has already erupted and sometimes it is an extra tooth that will fall out before the other set of choppers comes in.
50. A fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months. When only a small fraction of the way through its development, a fetus will have already developed one of the most unique human traits: fingerprints. At only 6-13 weeks of development, the whorls of what will be fingerprints have already developed. Oddly enough, those fingerprints will not change throughout the person’s life and will be one of the last things to disappear after death.
51. Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell. All life has to begin somewhere, and even the largest humans spent a short part of their lives as a single celled organism when sperm and egg cells first combine. Shortly afterward, the cells begin rapidly dividing and begin forming the components of a tiny embryo.
52. Most men have erections every hour to hour and a half during sleep. Most people’s bodies and minds are much more active when they’re sleeping than they think. The combination of blood circulation and testosterone production can cause erections during sleep and they’re often a normal and necessary part of REM sleep.

Senses

The primary means by which we interact with the world around us is through our senses. Here are some interesting facts about these five sensory abilities.

53. After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp. If you’re heading to a concert or a musical after a big meal you may be doing yourself a disservice. Try eating a smaller meal if you need to keep your hearing pitch perfect.
54. About one third of the human race has 20-20 vision. Glasses and contact wearers are hardly alone in a world where two thirds of the population have less than perfect vision. The amount of people with perfect vision decreases further as they age.
55. If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it. In order for foods, or anything else, to have a taste, chemicals from the substance must be dissolved by saliva. If you don’t believe it, try drying off your tongue before tasting something.
56. Women are born better smellers than men and remain better smellers over life. Studies have shown that women are more able to correctly pinpoint just what a smell is. Women were better able to identify citrus, vanilla, cinnamon and coffee smells. While women are overall better smellers, there is an unfortunate 2% of the population with no sense of smell at all.
57. Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents. While a bloodhound’s nose may be a million times more sensitive than a human’s, that doesn’t mean that the human sense of smell is useless. Humans can identify a wide variety of scents and many are strongly tied to memories.
58. Even small noises cause the pupils of the eyes to dilate. It is believed that this is why surgeons, watchmakers and others who perform delicate manual operations are so bothered by uninvited noise. The sound causes their pupils to change focus and blur their vision, making it harder to do their job well.
59. Everyone has a unique smell, except for identical twins. Newborns are able to recognize the smell of their mothers and many of us can pinpoint the smell of our significant others and those we are close to. Part of that smell is determined by genetics, but it’s also largely do to environment, diet and personal hygiene products that create a unique chemistry for each person.

Aging and Death

From the very young to the very old, aging is a necessary and unavoidable part of life. Learn about the process with these interesting, if somewhat strange facts.

60. The ashes of a cremated person average about 9 pounds. A big part of what gives the human body weight is the water trapped in our cells. Once cremated, that water and a majority of our tissues are destroyed, leaving little behind.
61. Nails and hair do not continue to grow after we die. They do appear longer when we die, however, as the skin dehydrates and pulls back from the nail beds and scalp.
62. By the age of 60, most people will have lost about half their taste buds. Perhaps you shouldn’t trust your grandma’s cooking as much as you do. Older individuals tend to lose their ability to taste, and many find that they need much more intense flavoring in order to be able to fully appreciate a dish.
63. Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing. When babies look up at you with those big eyes, they’re the same size that they’ll be carrying around in their bodies for the rest of their lives. Their ears and nose, however, will grow throughout their lives and research has shown that growth peaks in seven year cycles.
64. By 60 years of age, 60-percent of men and 40-percent of women will snore. If you’ve ever been kept awake by a snoring loved one you know the sound can be deafening. Normal snores average around 60 decibels, the noise level of normal speech, intense snores can reach more than 80 decibels, the approximate level caused by a jackhammer breaking up concrete.
65. A baby’s head is one-quarter of it’s total length, but by age 25 will only be one-eighth of its total length. As it turns out, our adorably oversized baby heads won’t change size as drastically as the rest of our body. The legs and torso will lengthen, but the head won’t get much longer.

Disease and Injury

Most of us will get injured or sick at some point in our lives. Here are some facts on how the human body reacts to the stresses and dangers from the outside world.

66. Monday is the day of the week when the risk of heart attack is greatest. Yet another reason to loathe Mondays! A ten year study in Scotland found that 20% more people die of heart attacks on Mondays than any other day of the week. Researchers theorize that it’s a combination of too much fun over the weekend with the stress of going back to work that causes the increase.
67. Humans can make do longer without food than sleep. While you might feel better prepared to stay up all night partying than to give up eating, that feeling will be relatively short lived. Provided there is water, the average human could survive a month to two months without food depending on their body fat and other factors. Sleep deprived people, however, start experiencing radical personality and psychological changes after only a few sleepless days. The longest recorded time anyone has ever gone without sleep is 11 days, at the end of which the experimenter was awake, but stumbled over words, hallucinated and frequently forgot what he was doing.
68. A simple, moderately severe sunburn damages the blood vessels extensively. How extensively? Studies have shown that it can take four to fifteen months for them to return to their normal condition. Consider that the next time you’re feeling too lazy to apply sunscreen before heading outside.
69. Over 90% of diseases are caused or complicated by stress. That high stress job you have could be doing more than just wearing you down each day. It could also be increasing your chances of having a variety of serious medical conditions like depression, high blood pressure and heart disease.
70. A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated. While it might be gross to think about, the blood in the head may be enough to keep someone alive and conscious for a few seconds after the head has been separated from the body, though reports as to the accuracy of this are widely varying.

Muscles and Bones

Muscles and Bones provide the framework for our bodies and allow us to jump, run or just lie on the couch. Here are a few facts to ponder the next time you’re lying around.

71. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Unless you’re trying to give your face a bit of a workout, smiling is a much easier option for most of us. Anyone who’s ever scowled, squinted or frowned for a long period of time knows how it tires out the face which doesn’t do a thing to improve your mood.
72. Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood the number is reduced to 206. The reason for this is that many of the bones of children are composed of smaller component bones that are not yet fused like those in the skull. This makes it easier for the baby to pass through the birth canal. The bones harden and fuse as the children grow.
73. We are about 1 cm taller in the morning than in the evening. The cartilage between our bones gets compressed by standing, sitting and other daily activities as the day goes on, making us just a little shorter at the end of the day than at the beginning.
74. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. While you may not be able to bench press much with your tongue, it is in fact the strongest muscle in your body in proportion to its size. If you think about it, every time you eat, swallow or talk you use your tongue, ensuring it gets quite a workout throughout the day.
75. The hardest bone in the human body is the jawbone. The next time someone suggests you take it on the chin, you might be well advised to take their advice as the jawbone is one of the most durable and hard to break bones in the body.
76. You use 200 muscles to take one step. Depending on how you divide up muscle groups, just to take a single step you use somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 muscles. That’s a lot of work for the muscles considering most of us take about 10,000 steps a day.
77. The tooth is the only part of the human body that can’t repair itself. If you’ve ever chipped a tooth you know just how sadly true this one is. The outer layer of the tooth is enamel which is not a living tissue. Since it’s not alive, it can’t repair itself, leaving your dentist to do the work instead.
78. It takes twice as long to lose new muscle if you stop working out than it did to gain it. Lazy people out there shouldn’t use this as motivation to not work out, however. It’s relatively easy to build new muscle tissue and get your muscles in shape, so if anything, this fact should be motivation to get off the couch and get moving.
79. Bone is stronger than some steel. This doesn’t mean your bones can’t break of course, as they are much less dense than steel. Bone has been found to have a tensile strength of 20,000 psi while steel is much higher at 70,000 psi. Steel is much heavier than bone, however, and pound for pound bone is the stronger material.
80. The feet account for one quarter of all the human body’s bones. You may not give your feet much thought but they are home to more bones than any other part of your body. How many? Of the two hundred or so bones in the body, the feet contain a whopping 52 of them.

Microscopic Level

Much of what takes place in our bodies happens at a level that we simply can’t see with the naked eye. These facts will show you that sometimes that might be for the best.

81. About 32 million bacteria call every inch of your skin home. Germaphobes don’t need to worry however, as a majority of these are entirely harmless and some are even helpful in maintaining a healthy body.
82. Humans shed and regrow outer skin cells about every 27 days. Skin protects your delicate internal organs from the elements and as such, dries and flakes off completely about once a month so that it can maintain its strength. Chances are that last month’s skin is still hanging around your house in the form of the dust on your bookshelf or under the couch.
83. Three hundred million cells die in the human body every minute. While that sounds like a lot, it’s really just a small fraction of the cells that are in the human body. Estimates have placed the total number of cells in the body at 10-50 trillion so you can afford to lose a few hundred million without a hitch.
84. Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour. You may not think much about losing skin if yours isn’t dry or flaky or peeling from a sunburn, but your skin is constantly renewing itself and shedding dead cells.
85. Every day an adult body produces 300 billion new cells. Your body not only needs energy to keep your organs up and running but also to constantly repair and build new cells to form the building blocks of your body itself.
86. Every tongue print is unique. If you’re planning on committing a crime, don’t think you’ll get away with leaving a tongue print behind. Each tongue is different and yours could be unique enough to finger you as the culprit.
87. Your body has enough iron in it to make a nail 3 inches long. Anyone who has ever tasted blood knows that it has a slightly metallic taste. This is due to the high levels of iron in the blood. If you were to take all of this iron out of the body, you’d have enough to make a small nail and very severe anemia.
88. The most common blood type in the world is Type O. Blood banks find it valuable as it can be given to those with both type A and B blood. The rarest blood type, A-H or Bombay blood due to the location of its discovery, has been found in less than hundred people since it was discovered.
89. Human lips have a reddish color because of the great concentration of tiny capillaries just below the skin. The blood in these capillaries is normally highly oxygenated and therefore quite red. This explains why the lips appear pale when a person is anemic or has lost a great deal of blood. It also explains why the lips turn blue in very cold weather. Cold causes the capillaries to constrict, and the blood loses oxygen and changes to a darker color.

Miscellaneous

Here are a few things you might not have known about all different parts of your anatomy.

90. The colder the room you sleep in, the better the chances are that you’ll have a bad dream. It isn’t entirely clear to scientists why this is the case, but if you are opposed to having nightmares you might want to keep yourself a little toastier at night.
91. Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria. This is to your advantage, as the mucus that lines your nose and throat, as well as the tears that wet your eyes are helping to prevent bacteria from infecting those areas and making you sick.
92. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil. If you’ve seen the Matrix you are aware of the energy potentially generated by the human body. Our bodies expend a large amount of calories keeping us at a steady 98.6 degrees, enough to boil water or even cook pasta.
93. Your ears secrete more earwax when you are afraid than when you aren’t. The chemicals and hormones released when you are afraid could be having unseen effects on your body in the form of earwax. Studies have suggested that fear causes the ears to produce more of the sticky substance, though the reasons are not yet clear.
94. It is not possible to tickle yourself. Even the most ticklish among us do not have the ability to tickle ourselves. The reason behind this is that your brain predicts the tickle from information it already has, like how your fingers are moving. Because it knows and can feel where the tickle is coming from, your brain doesn’t respond in the same way as it would if someone else was doing the tickling.
95. The width of your armspan stretched out is the length of your whole body. While not exact down to the last millimeter, your armspan is a pretty good estimator of your height.
96. Humans are the only animals to produce emotional tears. In the animal world, humans are the biggest crybabies, being the only animals who cry because they’ve had a bad day, lost a loved one, or just don’t feel good.
97. Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. This doesn’t have a genetic basis, but is largely due to the fact that a majority of the machines and tools we use on a daily basis are designed for those who are right handed, making them somewhat dangerous for lefties to use and resulting in thousands of accidents and deaths each year.
98. Women burn fat more slowly than men, by a rate of about 50 calories a day. Most men have a much easier time burning fat than women. Women, because of their reproductive role, generally require a higher basic body fat proportion than men, and as a result their bodies don’t get rid of excess fat at the same rate as men.
99. Koalas and primates are the only animals with unique fingerprints. Humans, apes and koalas are unique in the animal kingdom due to the tiny prints on the fingers of their hands. Studies on primates have suggested that even cloned individuals have unique fingerprints.
100. The indentation in the middle of the area between the nose and the upper lip has a name. It is called the philtrum. Scientists have yet to figure out what purpose this indentation serves, though the ancient Greeks thought it to be one of the most erogenous places on the body

Read more

Read more...

20 reasons why vitamin D is better than a swine flu vaccine

The news is out: Vitamin D is better than the swine flu vaccine at halting H1N1 infections. In fact, without vitamin D, chances are that a vaccine won’t generate much of an immune response in the first place.

That’s because vitamin D is essential for healthy, active immune function. That’s just one of the reasons smart people are choosing vitamin D instead of the swine flu vaccine. Here are nineteen more reasons:

#1 Vitamin D activates your immune system to respond to any viral exposure (not just one virus).

#2 Vitamin D naturally belongs in your body.

#3 Vitamin D has been functioning as medicine in the human body since the beginning of the human species.

#4 Vitamin D is available right now and there’s no shortage of it.

#5 Vitamin D won’t cause your brain to swell and put you into a coma.

#6 Vitamin D doesn’t require an injection with a scary needle.

#7 Vitamin D is found naturally in many foods such as sardines or salmon.

#8 Vitamin D has a perfect safety record. No one ever died from consuming it.

#9 Vitamin D is affordable. You can even get it for free (from sunlight).

#10 Vitamin D doesn’t contain viral fragments from diseased animals (like vaccines often do).

#11 Vitamin D doesn’t contain thimerosal or other chemical preservatives.

#12 Vitamin D doesn’t need a warning sheet describing possible side effects.

#13 Vitamin D doesn’t hurt your arm when you take it.

#14 Vitamin D also improves sugar metabolism, bone density and healthy moods.

#15 Vitamin D is safe for the environment.

#16 Vitamin D doesn’t contain squalene or other inflammatory adjuvant chemicals.

#17 Vitamin D works on everyone and is safe for everyone, including infants and children.

#18 Vitamin D is made in nature, not a laboratory.

#19 Vitamin D is found naturally in breast milk.

#20 You can walk, and chew gum, and generate vitamin D from sunshine all at the same time!

Skip the vaccine. Get more Vitamin D!

Read more

Read more...

7 Myths About Sleep

1. To function best, you need to get eight hours.
There's nothing magic about that number. Everyone has different sleep needs, and you'll know you're getting enough when you don't feel like nodding off in a boring situation in the afternoon, says New York University psychologist Joyce Walsleben, Ph.D., co-author of A Woman's Guide to Sleep .

2. If you can get it, more sleep is always healthier.
You wish. Some studies have found that people who slept more than eight hours a night died younger than people who got between six and eight hours. What scientists don't know yet: Whether sleeping longer causes poor health or is a symptom of it, says Najib Ayas, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia. Long sleepers may suffer from problems such as sleep apnea, depression, or uncontrolled diabetes that make them spend more time in bed.

3. Some people function perfectly on four hours of sleep.
Legendary short sleepers — including Bill Clinton, Madonna, and Margaret Thatcher — don't necessarily do better on fewer Zs. "They're just not aware of how sleepy they are," says Thomas Roth, Ph.D., sleep researcher at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Too little sleep is bad for your health and your image: It can make you ineffective (it impairs performance, judgment, and the ability to pay attention), sick (it weakens your immune system), and overweight. In fact, women who slept five hours or less a night were a third more likely to gain 33 pounds or more over 16 years than women who slept seven hours, according to a Harvard Nurses' Health Study. Oddly, cutting too much sleep and getting less than six hours is associated with the same problems as sleeping too long: a higher risk of heart problems and death. And, of course, cheating on sleep hurts you behind the wheel: "Wakefulness for 18 hours makes you perform almost as though you're legally drunk," says Walsleben.

4. Waking up during the night means you'll be tired all day.
Au contraire: It might be our natural cycle. Many animals sleep this way, and there are a lot of indications that our ancestors did, too, perhaps stirring nightly to talk or have sex, says Thomas Wehr, M.D., scientist emeritus at the National Institute of Mental Health. When 15 people in one of his studies lived without artificial lights for a few weeks, they wound up sleeping three to five hours, waking up for one or two, then sleeping again for four or more hours — and they said they had never felt so rested.

5. You need prescription drugs if you have insomnia every night.
Sleep meds are designed for short-term sleep problems, caused by stressful events like the loss of a job or taking a transatlantic flight. People with longer-term problems benefit more from cognitive behavioral therapy — essentially, retraining your perceptions of sleep and learning better sleep habits, such as going to bed at the same time every night, avoiding TVs and computers before bed, staying away from caffeine at least six hours before sleep, and other lifestyle changes. In fact, in 2005, the National Institutes of Health concluded that this type of therapy is as effective as prescription drugs for short-term treatment of chronic insomnia. In many cases, a sleeping pill may not even solve your sleep problem. "About half the people who think they have insomnia may have anxiety or depression," says Daniel Kripke, M.D., a University of California at San Diego sleep expert.

6. You can make up for lost sleep on weekends.
Bingeing on Zs over the weekend and not sleeping during the week — what Harvard sleep expert Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., calls "sleep bulimia" — upsets your circadian rhythms and makes it even harder to get refreshing sleep. Sleeping until noon on Sunday generally prevents you from hitting the sheets by 10 that night. So instead of correcting your deficit from the week before, you set up a no-sleep cycle for the week to come. "The body loves consistency," says Donna Arand, Ph.D., spokeswoman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Best to rise around the same time every day, even on weekends.

7. Tylenol PM is better than a prescription sleep med for an occasional bout of insomnia.
Not if the bout lasts longer than a few nights, says Helene Emsellem, M.D., of the Center for Sleep & Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, MD. Tylenol PM is no better than a prescription drug for people who have trouble falling asleep, and may be less effective than some prescription drugs, she says. The active ingredient in Tylenol PM is an antihistamine, and its side effect is that it makes you drowsy. Some have reported a greater possibility of feeling "hung-over" after taking antihistamines than after taking prescription drugs. If you do decide to take antihistamines, don't do it in the middle of the night: They may stay active in your system for eight hours or more. Another difference: Prescription sleep drugs are thought to allow you to go through all stages of the sleep cycle; no word on whether antihistamines do the same.

Read more

Read more...

The A-Z of (conflicting) health advice: We try to get to the bottom of all those contradictory medical theories

Every week, it seems, a scientific study disproves last week's research.

In the latest about-turn, after years of focusing on the benefits of aspirin, a medical review now pronounces: Aspirin Is Bad For You.

Experts say that for otherwise healthy people any protection against cardiovascular disease may be outweighed by an increased risk of internal bleeding.

In the past couple of weeks, against decades of advice to the contrary, we have also learnt that a father's presence at childbirth is bad for the mother, that coffee can protect against liver disease and that drinking alcohol cuts a woman's chances of conceiving by IVF.

We reviews the ups and downs of medical research.

A IS FOR ALCOHOL

GOOD FOR: The heart, in moderation. Though the effect is chiefly seen in middle-aged men, two or three alcoholic drinks a day can cut the risk of heart attack by at least 30 per cent.

BAD FOR: The liver. Liver disease and alcohol dependency are rising. Other effects are less obvious: one drink a day increases a woman's risk of all types of cancer by six per cent.

This week, scientists from Harvard Medical School presented findings showing couples having IVF, who drank one bottle of wine a week, cut their chances of a live birth by a quarter.

B IS FOR BETA BLOCKERS

GOOD FOR: They are among the most widely prescribed drugs for preventing heart attacks in people with high blood pressure but without existing heart disease.

BAD FOR: Patients undergoing surgery, millions of whom have been given them to reduce the risk of heart attack following an operation. Last year, an international study concluded that the practice had caused 800,000 deaths worldwide due to an increased risk of a stroke.

C IS FOR COFFEE

GOOD FOR: Caffeine is the world's most widely used stimulant drug and coffee is the form in which millions of people prefer to take it. It improves short-term memory, boosts muscle power, raises alertness - and tastes delicious.

BAD FOR: Linked with an increased risk of heart disease, arthritis, stillbirth and raised blood pressure.

D IS FOR DIETING

GOOD FOR: Getting into that wedding dress; preparing for the beach; dealing with all the Christmas excess. Much harder to sustain.

BAD FOR: Anorexics, bulimics and all other diet obsessives. Yo-yo dieting increases the risk of heart disease, kidney cancer and osteoporosis.

E IS FOR EXERCISE

GOOD FOR: The heart, the lungs, the muscles, circulation - you name it. Helps prevents heart disease, cancer and extends life.

BAD FOR: The joints, if you run a lot (over 20 miles a week), without proper shoes and on hard surfaces. Heart attacks do occur (remember Jim Fixx, father of jogging? He died of one), but rarely, and mostly in those taking up exercise for the first time.

F IS FOR FOLIC ACID

GOOD FOR: Preventing spina bifida in unborn babies, 1,000 of which are born each year despite advice to pregnant women to take folic acid supplements.

BAD FOR: Elderly people with pernicious anaemia, a deficiency of vitamin B12, which folic acid may mask and can have neurological effects if undiagnosed. Fears folic acid increases the risk of bowel cancer have been discounted by the FSA.

G IS FOR GENETIC TESTING

GOOD FOR: Those unlucky enough to have inherited genes that increase their risk of disease; such as BRCA1, which raises the lifetime risk of breast cancer to 80 per cent. They can then have annual mammograms to treat cancer early or undergo preventive mastectomy to avoid cancer developing.

BAD FOR: People with genes for conditions, such as Huntingdon's disease or Alzheimer's, that are untreatable. Learning they are at risk blights their lives without conferring benefit.

H IS FOR HOLIDAYS

GOOD FOR: Fun, relaxation and unwinding, travel, time with the family, change of routine.

BAD FOR: Digestion, hangovers, accidents, illness and - this may come as a surprise - mental breakdown. The World Health Organisation says mental problems are among the leading causes of ill health for travellers and 'psychiatric emergency' is one of the commonest reasons for evacuation by air ambulance.

I IS FOR INFECTION

GOOD FOR: Young children, who need exposure to viruses and bacteria in early life to develop their immune systems. Those who miss out on such exposure are more likely to develop allergies, such as asthma, later on.

BAD FOR: Just about everybody else.

J IS FOR JUICE

GOOD FOR: People who don't like fruit and prefer to have it squeezed for them. But it only counts as one portion towards your five-a-day, no matter how much you drink.

BAD FOR: Teeth - the acid in orange juice rots the enamel - and kids who drink too much lose their appetite for solid food, a condition doctors call 'juice-drinking syndrome'.

K IS FOR KISSING

GOOD FOR: Welcoming, congratulating, comforting, seducing, fostering intimacy, parting.

BAD FOR: Catching the 'kissing disease' - glandular fever - which is spread in saliva. Also strep throat, cold sores, colds and flu. Hepatitis B can be transmitted by kissing.

L IS FOR LASERS

GOOD FOR: Zapping unsightly blemishes on the skin, cauterising blood vessels, correcting eyesight, cleaning arteries, drilling teeth.

BAD FOR: Patients going for eye laser treatment who end up with blurred vision and dry eyes. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is investigating the level of side-effects from the treatment.

M IS FOR MILK

GOOD FOR: Children born a generation ago who needed the calcium for developing bones and keeping blood pressure down.

BAD FOR: The adults and children of today, who eat a much richer diet. Thickening of the arteries leading to heart disease begins in childhood and high-fat foods - like whole milk, butter and cheese - are key culprits.

N IS FOR NUTS

GOOD FOR: Lowering heart disease risk, according to Harvard School of Public Health. Also vegetarians for whom nuts are an important source of protein.

BAD FOR: Anyone with a nut allergy - at least 25,000 people in Britain.

O IS FOR OILY FISH

GOOD FOR: Protecting against heart disease in adults, boosting brain function and IQ in children, and in the developing foetus, thanks to the Omega 3 fatty acids that it contains.

BAD FOR: Mercury, a toxic chemical absorbed by oily fish, which can affect IQ and increase the risk of heart disease.

P IS FOR PAINKILLERS

GOOD FOR: Killing pain, just like it says on the tin - whether it is aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen or stronger drugs.

BAD FOR: The stomach. Thousands of people end up in hospital each year because of internal bleeding and ulcers caused by painkillers.

Q IS FOR QUEUES

GOOD FOR: Ensuring the neediest NHS patients get seen first. Patients may queue for hours to be seen in A&E or for weeks for a hospital appointment.

BAD FOR: Those who have waited too long. Doctors complain government- imposed targets have distorted clinical decision-making. But it is thanks to targets that, over the last decade, the longest waits for treatment have been cut from 18 months to 18 weeks.

R IS FOR ROUGHAGE (FIBRE)

GOOD FOR: The bowels, digestion and preventing cancer of the gut. Also lowers heart disease.

BAD FOR: Flatulence, abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea. Several large reviews have failed to find any protective effect against heart disease or cancer.

S IS FOR SUNSHINE

GOOD FOR: Making vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and to protect against a range of diseases including cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

BAD FOR: Causing sunburn which can trigger melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer. This led to doctors telling people to cover up and use sunscreen. But the message has been modified because of the importance of vitamin D. A little sun is good for you but too much could be dangerous.

T IS FOR TEA

GOOD FOR: Black tea reduces heart disease. It also reduces stress, increases mental alertness and may also boost the immune system and help to prevent diabetes.

BAD FOR: Adding milk counteracts its effects. Sugar makes it worse.

U IS FOR UNDERWEAR

GOOD FOR: Fashion, support, sex, hygiene.

BAD FOR: Fertility in men when worn too tight. Testicles need to be below body temperature to produce sperm.

V IS FOR VITAMINS

GOOD FOR: Maintaining health, particularly in the sick or elderly, who may be vitamin deficient because they are not eating properly or cannot absorb vitamins from their diet.

BAD FOR: Your wallet, if you are healthy and eating a balanced diet. Supplements are seen as a modern panacea but they do little for most people other to than create expensive urine.

W IS FOR WATER

GOOD FOR: We cannot live without it, but how much is enough? The common advice is that humans need 2.5 litres daily - but that includes liquid from all sources including food.

BAD FOR: Too much can result in water intoxication, hyponatraemia (low salt levels) and even death.

X IS FOR X-RAYS

GOOD FOR: Diagnosing broken bones, decayed teeth and disease.

BAD FOR: X-rays are the largest man-made source of radiation to which we are exposed. Research suggests the radiation emitted by X-rays causes six of 1,000 cases of cancer a year.

Y IS FOR YOGHURT

GOOD FOR: Probiotic yoghurts and drinks are sold with the promise they can improve digestive health.

BAD FOR: A review by the European Food Standards Agency last month rejected all 180 health claims made for probiotic ingredients.

Z IS FOR ZZZZ

GOOD FOR: A few hours of quality sleep is better than eight restless hours thrashing about. Most adults can manage with seven to nine.

BAD FOR: Shift workers; a body clock out of phase with the environment is thought to be harmful, affecting production of the hormone melatonin.

Read more

Read more...

20 Memory Tricks You’ll Never Forget

Give Your Brain a Boost

Can't remember where you put your glasses? Blanked on your new colleague's name? "Forgetting these types of things is a sign of how busy we are," says Zaldy S. Tan, MD, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "When we're not paying good attention, the memories we form aren't very robust, and we have a problem retrieving the information later."

The key, says Harry Lorayne, author of Ageless Memory: Simple Secrets for Keeping Your Brain Young, is to get your brain in shape. "We exercise our bodies, but what good is that great body if you don't have the mental capabilities to go with it?" Sure, you could write everything down, keep organized lists and leave electronic notes on your BlackBerry, cell phone or PDA. But when you don't have access to those aids, or if you want to strengthen your brain, try these expert-recommended strategies to help you remember.

Brain Freeze #1
"What the heck is his name?"

• Pay attention. When you're introduced to someone, really listen to the person's name. Then, to get a better grasp, picture the spelling. Ask, "Is that Kathy with a K or a C?" Make a remark about the name to help lock it in ("Oh, Carpenter -- that was my childhood best friend's last name"), and use the name a few times during the conversation and when you say goodbye.

• Visualize the name. For hard-to-remember monikers (Bentavegna, Wobbekind), make the name meaningful. For Bentavegna, maybe you think of a bent weather vane. Picture it. Then look at the person, choose an outstanding feature (bushy eyebrows, green eyes) and tie the name to the face. If Mr. Bentavegna has a big nose, picture a bent weather vane instead of his nose. The sillier the image, the better.

• Create memorable associations. Picture Joe Everett standing atop Mount Everest. If you want to remember that Erin Curtis is the CEO of an architectural firm, imagine her curtsying in front of a large building, suggests Gini Graham Scott, PhD, author of 30 Days to a More Powerful Memory.

• Cheat a little. Supplement these tips with some more concrete actions. When you get a business card, after the meeting, jot down a few notes on the back of the card ("red glasses, lives in Springfield, went to my alma mater") to help you out when you need a reminder.

Brain Freeze #2
"Where in the world did I leave my glasses?"

• Give a play-by-play. Pay attention to what you're doing as you place your glasses on the end table. Remind yourself, "I'm putting my keys in my coat pocket," so you have a clear memory of doing it, says Scott.

• Make it a habit. Put a small basket on a side table. Train yourself to put your keys, glasses, cell phone or any other object you frequently use (or misplace) in the basket -- every time.

Brain Freeze #3
"What else was I supposed to do today?"

• Start a ritual. To remind yourself of a chore (write a thank-you note, go to the dry cleaner), give yourself an unusual physical reminder. You expect to see your bills on your desk, so leaving them there won't necessarily remind you to pay them. But place a shoe or a piece of fruit on the stack of bills, and later, when you spot the out-of-place object, you'll remember to take care of them, says Carol Vorderman, author of Super Brain: 101 Easy Ways to a More Agile Mind.

• Sing it. To remember a small group of items (a grocery list, phone number, list of names, to-do list), adapt it to a well-known song, says Vorderman. Try "peanut butter, milk and eggs" to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Happy Birthday" or even nursery rhymes.

• Try mnemonic devices. Many of us learned "ROY G BIV" to remember the colors of the rainbow, or "Every Good Boy Deserves Favors" to learn musical notes. Make up your own device to memorize names (Suzanne's kids are Adam, Patrick and Elizabeth, or "APE"), lists (milk, eggs, tomatoes, soda, or "METS") or computer commands (to shut down your PC, hit Control+Alt+Delete, or "CAD").

• Use your body. When you have no pen or paper and are making a mental grocery or to-do list, remember it according to major body parts, says Scott. Start at your feet and work your way up. So if you have to buy glue, cat food, broccoli, chicken, grapes and toothpaste, you might picture your foot stuck in glue, a cat on your knee looking for food, a stalk of broccoli sticking out of your pants pocket, a chicken pecking at your belly button, a bunch of grapes hanging from your chest and a toothbrush in your mouth.

• Go Roman. With the Roman room technique, you associate your grocery, to-do or party-invite list with the rooms of your house or the layout of your office, garden or route to work. Again, the zanier the association, the more likely you'll remember it, says Scott. Imagine apples hanging from the chandelier in your foyer, spilled cereal all over the living room couch, shampoo bubbles overflowing in the kitchen sink and cheese on your bedspread.

Brain Freeze #4
"What's my password for this website?"

• Shape your numbers. Assign a shape to each number: 0 looks like a ball or ring; 1 is a pen; 2 is a swan; 3 looks like handcuffs; 4 is a sailboat; 5, a pregnant woman; 6, a pipe; 7, a boomerang; 8, a snowman; and 9, a tennis racket. To remember your ATM PIN (4298, say), imagine yourself on a sailboat (4), when a swan (2) tries to attack you. You hit it with a tennis racket (9), and it turns into a snowman (8). Try forgetting that image!

• Rhyme it. Think of words that rhyme with the numbers 1 through 9 (knee for 3, wine for 9, etc.). Then create a story using the rhyming words: A nun (1) in heaven (7) banged her knee (3), and it became sore (4).


Brain Freeze #5
"The word is on the tip of my tongue."

• Practice your ABCs. Say you just can't remember the name of that movie. Recite the alphabet (aloud or in your head). When you get to the letter R, it should trigger the name that's escaping you: Ratatouille. This trick works when taking tests too.

Brain Freeze #6
"I just can't memorize anything anymore!"

• Read it, type it, say it, hear it. To memorize a speech, toast or test material, read your notes, then type them into the computer. Next, read them aloud and tape-record them. Listen to the recording several times. As you work on memorizing, remember to turn off the TV, unplug your iPod and shut down your computer; you'll retain more.

• Use color. Give your notes some color with bolded headings and bulleted sections (it's easier to remember a red bullet than running text).

• Make a map. Imagine an intersection and mentally place a word, fact or number on each street corner.

Read more

Read more...