Health News Round Up

Hold on to your shorts because I am gonna tell you the ten surprising places where germs lurk, waiting to claim unsuspecting victims!

According to this article the following are some of the most commonly neglected places where germs are left to roam free.

1. Your vacuum cleaner – think of the brushes that go from place to place spreading germs.

2. Your Weight Lifting Gloves – think of your own sweat and snot.

3. The grocery cart – think of cart handles.

4. Gym equipment – think of how many people have touched them bars.

5. The restaurant menu – again, think of how many people have handled the menus.

6. The flight attendant – Think of confined places.

7. Your bed - Think of dust bunnies.

8. The lemon wedge in your drink – Think of yucky cutting surfaces.

9. Your contact-lens case – Think of used cleaning solution.

10. Your shower curtain – Think of soap scum.

Now go clean!

Do you travel frequently across international boundaries? Do you have a hard time adjusting to new time zones? Does an overwhelming jetlag keep you from enjoying places you visit and causes you waste time?

Well, then, research has good news for you!

A new Harvard University study points to possible solution.

Not eating.

Yes, that is right! Who knew it was this simple.

A period of fasting, basically avoiding meals on your long journey and eating when you reach your destination, can help you adjust to the new time zone much faster.

Lead researcher Clifford Saper provides an example of traveling from the US to Japan where the time difference is eleven hours.

If you don’t eat for about 16 hours before you arrive in Japan, then you will have no problems with jetlag.

The problem, of course, is whether or not you can resist the temptingly delicious plane food and can starve yourself for that long.

How many psychiatrists does it take to define normal sex?

We may never find out.

The American Psychiatric Association announced recently that a group of people in the profession will be working on a new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) manual.

But they are having a hard time.

The Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders part of the manual has to define what is and what is not a disordered behavior when it comes to sex, perception of sexuality and gender.

This of course is controversial.

After all, in the first DSM, homosexuality was defined as a mental disorder. Masturbation was considered abnormal.

These days, both of the above behaviors are considered normal in most parts of our society.

Hold on to yourself because a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has made a startling discovery about the causes of global warming and the current world food crisis.

It turns out it is all obese people’s fault.

For one thing, over weight people eat more, 18% above their skinny counterparts.

And on top of this, obese people use more fuel which equals to more gas emissions.

So, what are environmentalists to do now?

Stop recycling, cease building eco friendly houses, and forget about clothe diapers and organic produce.

There is now literally a bigger fish to fry!

They need to think obesity, the new environmentalist front.

They need to target their obese friends and keep in check their own waist lines.

I love studies like this that really get to the root of the problem.

Atta boy!

Your nine year old daughter comes to you and complains about stomach pain.

You wait to see if it would pass.

When the pain persists, you decide to get her checked out by a doctor.

What would you suspect is the problem?

Probably something along the lines of food poisoning, stomach worms, or a parasite, right?

Well, parents of a little girl in Athens, Greece were in for a huge surprise when they took their ailing nine year old daughter into the hospital.

It turned out she was carrying her embryonic twin that was found to be about two inches (six centimeters) long and was in the early stages of developing a head, some hair, and eyes.

The doctors have removed the long dead embryo and the girl has recovered well.

It has been known for a while that air pollution raises our odds of heart disease and stroke.

However, a new study on 2000 people, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, discovered that it also increases the risk of blood clots in the legs.

This condition of developing clots, also known as Deep Vein Thrombosis, can be fatal if the blood clot travels up to the brain.

So, what do you do if you live in an area where air pollution is widespread?

I suppose you will have to move, live with these risks, or stop breathing!

In this day and age, air pollution doesn’t seem to be an escapable problem.

And if we don’t fundamentally change how we currently live, it is only going to get worse.

Don’t you love it when some research confirms what you have always known?

Those of us who are the oldest children in our families have always known birth order matters.

We have witnessed our younger siblings get away with murder.

We have seen our parents turn into relaxed, patient, normal people by the time our sisters and brothers come up.

But still, it is nice to have research back up our assertion in case our younger siblings try to deny the facts!

According to a recent study, parents are often toughest on the oldest children.

Older children are punished more and have stricter rules to deal with than younger kids.

In other words, oldest children have it the hardest.

Now, let the “middle children have it the worst” whining begin!

You are in luck.

Research has good news for you!

Apparently, the fat on the butt can help cut the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A Harvard Medical School Study from the Journal of Cell Metabolism has discovered that subcutaneous fat, the kind that often accumulates around the butt and legs, doesn’t have the ill effects on health as it was previously thought.

In fact, subcutaneous fat may be even good for you. Rumor has it that it may produce a nifty hormone that is known as adipokines. This hormone boosts metabolism.

Instead, now the new bad boy fat is visceral fat, the kind that wraps around your internal organs.
So, next time you exercise, keep in mind that you need to concentrate on losing the fat around your organs not on your butt.

Because if you lose your butt fat, you better watch your back!  Type 2 diabetes may come and get you!