Encouraging Health

From msnbc.com/health:

The baby-faced kid is crushed against the chain-link octagon, swallowing punches from a fighter twice his size. His skin glows under the lights, until something gives way, and soon he’s covered in blood. He’s done — pinned, but too proud to tap out — yet the crowd jeers when the ref stops the fight. Even his father protests. Somehow, this Cleveland cage fight has become Caesar’s coliseum.

Why so angry? That’s the question I’m mulling ringside. And I’m not talking about the grapplers. As combatants in the unofficial minor leagues of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, one of the fastest-growing sports in America, their anger is subsidized. I’m talking about the fans. According to a 2006 Harvard study, 10 million adult men in the United States are so angry, they’re sick. In fact, their disease has a name: intermittent explosive disorder, or IED.

The condition has been on the books since 1980, but the Harvard study claims it’s far more common than anyone believed. Few people see psychiatrists because they can’t control their tempers. And those who do, say the researchers, are often misdiagnosed with other mental problems. Previous estimates put the number of IED sufferers in America at less than 0.5 percent of the population. But if the Harvard researchers are correct, almost 1 in 10 adult men routinely display wildly disproportionate aggression, and are so angry that they’re likely to damage property, or threaten or injure others. (The researchers estimate that only half as many women suffer from IED.)

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men’s rage, intermittent explosive disorder (IED)

men’s rage, intermittent explosive disorder (IED)

From CNN.com Health:

Nothing sounds — or tastes — better than the idea of eating your way out of cancer. So it’s disappointing news indeed that the Food and Drug Administration has deemed that tomatoes, so rich in antioxidants and other good things such as beta carotene, may not protect against many types of cancer after all, as some earlier studies had found.

The agency responded Tuesday to applications from two tomato-product groups, including H.J. Heinz Co., which planned to tout the anticancer benefits of tomatoes on their product labels. After a review of dozens of studies, however, the FDA found that there was “very limited evidence” to support any association between tomato consumption and reduced risks of prostate, gastric and pancreatic cancers. As for the believed cancer-fighting effects of lycopene, the key anti-cancer fighting ingredient in tomatoes, the FDA was even more discouraging, saying there was “no credible evidence” to suggest that the chemical could reduce the risk of such cancers of the prostate, lung, colon, breast, ovaries or pancreas.

The FDA’s findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was an especially big blow to pasta-loving men everywhere. The first study to reveal tomatoes’ anticancer properties, conducted in 1989, had found that men who consumed one or more weekly servings of tomato sauce reduced their risk of prostate cancer by as much as 60%. Another large 12-year study of more than 47,000 men by Harvard researchers in 2002 found similar effects. Since then, however, other studies have failed to show the same benefits.

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tomato,anticancer properties

tomato, anticancer properties

From msnbc.com Health:

China banned diethylene glycol — a thickening agent in antifreeze — from use in toothpaste Wednesday, one of its most significant concessions yet as it struggles to regain international confidence in the country’s beleaguered exports.

Chinese-made toothpaste containing the toxic substance, which can cause kidney failure, paralysis and death, has been yanked from sale in North and South America, Europe and Asia in recent weeks.

Diethylene glycol is used as a low-cost substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly found in drugs, food, toothpaste and other products. Although there have been no reports of health problems stemming from the toothpaste, dozens of people in Panama died last year after taking medicine contaminated with the chemical imported from China. It was passed off as harmless glycerin.

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China, Diethylene glycol, toothpaste

China, Diethylene glycol, toothpaste

From http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH

What happened? A new study reports that saw palmetto — a nutritional supplement widely used to treat prostate enlargement — is ineffective in relieving symptoms of enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH).

Saw palmetto is thought to prevent the breakdown of testosterone into a form of the hormone that increases prostate growth. In fact, earlier studies have shown saw palmetto to be as effective as the prescription medication finasteride. But the latest study disputes those findings.

Among 225 study participants, saw palmetto was no more effective than a placebo in improving urinary symptoms or objective measurements of prostate enlargement — regardless of the severity of symptoms or size of the prostate gland.

What does this mean to you? The study didn’t identify any adverse effects from taking saw palmetto. So there’s no harm in continuing to use it, if you think it’s working for you. But if you’re considering other treatments for enlarged prostate, discuss your options with your doctor. There are many proven ways to treat the signs and symptoms of an enlarged prostate — including medication, heat therapy, stents and various surgical procedures.

Saw palmetto, enlarged prostrate

Saw palmetto, enlarged prostrate

From RealAge.com:

Taking time away from work to squeeze in some exercise? Good for you — and your company.

That’s right. The less time you spend sitting on your bottom, the better your — and your company’s — bottom line. Here’s how and why.

Fit and Confident
Researchers suspect that the boost in confidence and energy that people get from regular exercise may spill over into their careers, giving them an edge. So not only does exercising keep your weight in check, but it also may give you a better shot at reaching your personal and professional goals.

Run Up Your Sales
But it may require more than a 10-minute walk at lunchtime to be a real go-getter. In a study of entrepreneurs, the business owners that ran regularly were the ones who enjoyed personal and professional side benefits. Not the runner type? Strength training also was linked to better personal-goal progress (although pumping iron didn’t affect company performance).

exercise, professional goals

exercise, professional goals

From realage.com:

Knees ache? Make a promise to lose 1 pound.

Yes, you heard right. Just 1 pound could mean a lot to your knees. If you are overweight or obese, losing 1 pound feels more like losing 4 pounds to this all-important joint. Here’s why.

Extra Weight and Your Gait
When you carry excess weight, your gait changes to accommodate your size and help you keep your balance. Often, these gait changes involve placing a disproportionate amount of stress on already strained knees. That’s why losing weight — even as little as 1 pound — helps give your knees a much-needed break. Losing weight can even help reduce your risk of knee osteoarthritis. What’s your risk of knee arthritis? Answer these questions and find out.

More to Lose?
Now, of course, losing more than 1 pound would be even better, if you’re carrying a lot of extra weight.

osteoarthritis, achy knees

osteoarthritis, achy knees

RealAge.com has this article about your Liver:

Your liver does oh so many things for your body — from filtering your blood to pumping out bile so you can digest fats.

So do something nice for your liver. Treat it to a fruit-and-yogurt parfait. People who regularly eat fruit and yogurt may have a lower risk of liver cancer than people who don’t indulge in these good-for-you treats.

Have Half a Cupful
You don’t have to go hog wild for fruit and yogurt to help your liver; even a small amount may be good. In a study, people with various medical conditions (that didn’t involve the liver) who ate just half a cup of yogurt and over 5 ounces of fruit a week (about the equivalent of a large apple) had a lower risk of liver cancer.

Good Things Inside
Researchers have yet to pinpoint why yogurt may have an impact on liver health. It could have something to do with retinol, the animal-based form of vitamin A found in yogurt, milk, and eggs. In previous studies, retinol has been linked to a reduction in the risk of liver cancer. The cell-protecting flavonoids found in abundance in fruit may be what makes them liver savers.

liver, liver cancer, fruits, vitamin A, flavanoids

liver, liver cancer, fruits, vitamin A, flavanoids

From www.RealAge.com:

If you’re a health nut, munch on almonds with the skin they’re in.

The skins give almonds extra heart-protection powers, especially if you take some vitamin E or vitamin C to boot. So what’s in the skin?

Almond Attributes
Almonds abound with heart-healthy goodies, including vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, arginine, potassium, and fiber. The skins add even more nutrition: They’re bursting with flavonoids that help protect cells from oxidation and inflammation.

Synergistic Effects
In a lab study, almond-skin flavonoids helped prevent LDL cholesterol (what’s that?) from oxidizing — and that’s a very good thing, because when LDL oxidizes, it can lead to heart attack. Adding vitamins E and C enhanced the effect by working synergistically with the almond-skin flavonoids.

almonds, flavonoids, cholesterol

almonds, flavonoids, cholesterol

From www.RealAge.com:

Your odds of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: about 1 in 50.

But you can reduce your risk by 21 percent if you are a man or by 41 percent if you are a woman by doing a little bit more of something you’re probably already doing — exercising. How much do you need to sweat to see your risk drop?

Risk Raisers
Rates of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) continue to climb, and researchers aren’t really sure why. Risk rises in people who have a weak immune system, have infections like Epstein-Barr or Helicobacter pylori, have a family history of the disease, or experience toxin exposure (e.g., pesticides).

Exercise This Much
But men and women who get about 4-5 hours per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity have much lower rates of NHL compared to their inactive peers. So that means doing something more intense than taking a leisurely stroll through the park now and then. Get that Learn how to calculate your target heart rate with this article.

heart pounding a little — whether you do it by playing volleyball, chasing down Frisbees, walking briskly, or swimming laps. Each spike, catch, step, and lap helps strengthen your immune system, enhances antioxidant activity, improves insulin sensitivity, and combats obesity — all of which can help decrease your risk of NHL.

Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma, Walking, Obesity

Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma, Walking, Obesity

From the Associated Press:

Villagers in central China spent decades digging up bones they believed belonged to flying dragons and using them in traditional medicines. Turns out the bones belonged to dinosaurs, and now scientists are doing the digging.

Until last year, the fossils were being sold in Henan province as ‘dragon bones’ at about 25 cents a pound, scientist Dong Zhiming said Wednesday.

The calcium-rich bones were sometimes boiled with other ingredients and fed to children to treat dizziness and leg cramps. Other times they were ground up and turned into a paste applied directly to fractures and other injuries, he said.

Dong was part of a team that recently excavated in Henan’s Ruyang County a 60-foot-long plant-eating dinosaur that lived 85 million to 100 million years ago. The find was shown to the public Tuesday.

Dong said that when the villagers found out last year the bones were from dinosaurs, they donated 440 pounds to him and his colleagues for research. Over the last two decades, the villagers had dug up an estimated 1 ton of bones.

‘They had believed that the ‘dragon bones’ were from the dragons flying in the sky,’ said Dong, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Whats the oddest health home remedy you’ve heard of?

chinese, dinosaur bones, home remedy

chinese, dinosaur bones, home remedy