Sleeping pills significantly raise the risk of dying

The study found people who took 18 sleeping pills or fewer per year had more than 3.5 times higher a risk for death than those who didn't take any sleeping pills. What's more, people taking more than 132 sleeping pills per year were at 5 times higher risk for death and 35% higher risk for cancer. The risk was found for every age group, but was greatest among 18- to 55-year-olds. Researchers found these elevated risks after ruling out other factors that may contribute to death risk. Read more on CBSNews

Demi Moore’s unhealthy diet

Beautiful Demi Moore is in trouble, she has some serious health problems. They say her daily diet is a table spoon of tuna, lettuce and Red Bull! If it's true, we don't know, but if it is, than she has a big problem. She was so beautiful, why lose so much weight, to keep her beauty? It just makes her looks older! Demi...eat normal, you are gorgeous! There is one thing you can't control and that is aging! But you can still be beautiful if you are 50 years or older. Eat healthy and enjoy your healthy children and life!

Drinking black tea good for high blood pressure

Flavonoids in tea are thought to improve the blood vessels' tone and reduce body weight and abdominal fat. A Dutch population study also found that high tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease. Researchers in Australia observed the effects of black tea among 95 men and women, both groups were similar in age and weight status. The researchers found that drinking black tea long-term was shown to lower blood pressure in people with normal to high levels. For 6 months, half the participants drank three cups of black tea per day, while the other half were given a placebo drink that simulated the flavor and caffeine content of tea.

 

By the end of the study, those who drank black tea experienced an average reduction of between two to three points in their 24-hour average systolic blood pressure levels. Earlier Green tea was also shown to have similar effects on the same cells in a study out of Greece. Source: NYDailyNews

Exposure to sun lower risk to suffer from depression

Although vitamin D is found in oily fish, and is routinely added to milk, diet accounts for very little of the nutrient that actually makes it into the bloodstream. Children with the highest levels of the ‘sunshine vitamin’ have a 10% lower risk of developing mental health problems. Those with low levels of  vitamin D are more likely to suffer from depression, claim scientists. The scientists looked at vitamin D levels in more than 2,700 children when they were aged nine and 13. Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more likely to show signs of depression.

Slim Weight Patch

The study investigated levels of two forms of the vitamin D2 and D3 and found the strongest anti-depression link with D3. Lead researcher Dr Anna-Maija Tolppanen, of Bristol University’s school of social and community medicine, said further research is needed before a change in medical practice could be recommended.
Source: DailyMail

Yves Saint Laurent new cream Forever Youth Liberator will be a hit

Peter Seeberger, of the Max Planck Institute, said the sugar complexes in the new cream had been shown to have "clear beneficial biochemical changes" on the skin. They say it gives the appearance of youthfulness and also gives it the properties of younger skin too. A small test of 50 women found almost nine out of 10 of them said their skin looked more luminous after using it, while 72 per cent said fine lines appeared less visible.

 

General manager of Yves Saint Laurent, Amandine Ohayon, said: "This is one of the most amazing scientific breakthroughs we have discovered in relation to anti-aging. Forever Youth Liberator is already pre-orderd by 5000 women. The new cream is not cheap, for a one-ounce (30g) pot you must pay £50,00. The Forever Youth Liberator range will go on sale in England this week. Source: DailyMail.

Two slices of bacon a day can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer

It is known that eating meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer, it's not so much known about other cancers and pancreatic cancer has poor survival rates. So as well as diagnosing it early, it's important to understand what can increase the risk of this disease. Eating two rashers of bacon a day can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 19% and the risk goes up if a person eats more, experts have said. Eating 50g of processed meat every day the equivalent to one sausage or two slices of bacon increases the risk by 19%, compared to people who do not eat processed meat at all. For people consuming double this amount of processed meat (100g), the increased risk jumps to 38%, and is 57% for those eating 150g a day. Evidence was inconclusive, the researchers said. Men who ate 120 grams of red meat per day saw their pancreatic cancer risk increase 29 percent, compared with men who don't eat red meat.



This effect was not seen in women, however, possibly because men in the study ate more red meat than women, the researchers said. The numbers sound scary, but experts say this added risk is relatively small when you factor in overall pancreatic cancer rates in the general population. According to the National Cancer Institute, 13.6 per 100,000 U.S. men develop pancreatic cancer, compared with 10.7 pancreatic cases per 100,000 women. The researchers also said smoking is a bigger risk factor, which increases pancreatic cancer risk by 74 percent. Pancreatic cancer is called ‘the silent killer’ because it often does not produce symptoms in early stages. Even when it does, the symptoms are often vague such as back pain, loss of appetite and weight loss. Professor Susanna Larsson, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said: ‘Pancreatic cancer has poor survival rates. ‘So it’s important to understand what can increase the risk of this disease.’

First Ab Belt Toning system cleared by the FDA, The Flex Belt®

It makes your stomach look like you've done 120 sit-ups a day. Professor of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Wisconsin; 'The Flex Belt® works all three muscle groups of the stomach simultaneously because the pads are located in the middle as well as the sides. Based on the studies we've done, there is no question that it is going to increase strength, firmness and tone people's abdominal muscles'. No trips to the gym, no walks in the rain, no pricey exercise classes… just anytime, anywhere, at the touch of a button."

Back pain could be solved by man-made spinal discs

Degenerative disc disease, where the shock-absorbing discs that cushion the vertebrae of the spine wear away, affects almost everyone over 50. In the most severe cases, the damaged discs are removed in a major operation and the vertebrae fused together using rods, pins and other devices to stabilise the spine. But recovery can take months and may not be completely satisfactory. But now, back pain could be solved by man-made spinal discs, which could be available within a decade. The ‘living’ discs are packed with shock-absorbing cells and, in preliminary trials, behaved just like the real thing when implanted into bad backs.

Read more: DailyMail

Hospital infections are riskier worldwide than flying

If you were admitted to hospital tomorrow in any country your chances of being subjected to an error in your care would be something like 1 in 10. This compared with a risk of dying in an air crash of about 1 in 10 million passengers, professor Liam Donaldson, England's former chief medical officer said. The risk of acquiring infections is significantly higher in intensive care units, and is particularly associated with the use of devices such as urinary catheters and ventilators, the report said. The impact of the infections implies longer hospital stays, higher chances of long-term disability, increased antibiotic resistance, a massive financial burden for health system, high costs for patients and their families, and excess deaths. Evidence suggests that health care-associated infection can be prevented and the burden by as much as 50 per cent or more.

Source: CBC News

Babies should exercise, to avoid obesity later in life

In a new campaign against obesity, the British government issued guidelines on Monday recommending that children under the age of five exercise every day. The guidelines recommend children under five be physically active for at least three hours per day, they also say that babies should be doing tummy time or in-swim lessons with their parents to help them gain strength. The goal is to avoid obesity when the children become adults. Doctors say exercise prevents heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers later in life. More than one in 10 children ages 2 to 10 are obese, according to the U.K. Department of Health. Now, for the first time, exercise recommendations released by the agency aim to prevent and reduce obesity, not just among the pub-going masses, but among a much-younger group: children under age 5. Wales’ chief medical officer Dr Tony Jewell yesterday said: “For the first time we’re giving parents advice on how much exercise or activity their under fives should be doing – three hours a day when they’ve learnt to walk. “When you are talking about babies, it’s about having them on a mat reaching for things – have some tummy time. “You can do baby yoga, you can do baby gyms – but you don’t have to. “If you have a mat or a towel on the floor you can just let them play. Toys are always great but you don’t need them.

Source: BBC

People with type 2 diabetes should eat nuts, olive oil and avocados

They conclude that mixed, unsalted, raw, or dry-roasted nuts have benefits for both blood glucose control and blood lipids and may be used to increase vegetable oil and protein intake in the diets of type 2 diabetic patients as part of a strategy to improve diabetes control without weight gain,” the researchers write. Researchers found that when people with type 2 diabetes replaced some of their usual carbohydrates with about a half-cup of mixed nuts each day, the study participants' blood sugar and "bad" cholesterol levels dipped slightly over three months. “There are two important factors in caring for diabetes: blood sugar control and heart health,” study researcher Cyril W.C. Kendall, PhD, of the University of Toronto, says in a news release. For people who are not crazy about nuts, there are other sources of monounsaturated fat, like olive oil and avocados. While this study did not look at those foods, Kendall said it would be a wise move to replace some carbs with those fats. The findings are published in the journal Diabetes Care.
Source: Reuters

Blueberries in your daily diet helps your skin look younger

Recent studies showed that people who ate 1 cup of blueberries a day performed 5% better in motor function skills than those who ate no blueberries. They are packed with flavinoids, tannins, antioxidants, phytochemcials, iron, manganese, Vitamin C, and vitamin E - all of which can help prevent serious illness and disease. When it comes to looking younger, blueberries can‘t be beat! It seems that inflammation is a major cause of skin aging and wrinkling so, once again, the powerful anti inflammatory properties of blueberries come into play. In fact, the world renowned dermatologist Dr. Nicholas Perricone recommends including blueberries in your daily diet in order to help you skin look younger.

Death of an Arizona resident is linked to Europe's sprout-related Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak

The CDC confirmed that the Arizona patient had the same strain of E. coli that has swept Europe. More than 4,100 people in Europe and North America have been infected in two outbreaks of E. coli infection, one centered in northern Germany and one focused around the French city of Bordeaux. Five of the US patients had traveled to Germany before they got sick, and one was a close contact of a Michigan patient who had HUS, a serious kidney disorder. The Arizona Department of Health Services had previously said that the patient is a man older than 65 who died in mid June after he was hospitalized for HUS, according to a Jun 24 report from the Arizona Republic. An imported lot of fenugreek seeds which was used to grow sprouts imported from Egypt by a German importer is the most common likely link," the European Food Safety Authority said in a statement this week.

Lady Gaga fan of the baby food diet

Baby food sales are surging in supermarkets. A Coles spokeswoman said baby food sales had jumped 20 per cent in the past quarter. A Woolworths spokesman said they had experienced a 10 per cent year-on-year jump. Baby food diet advocates claim it is possible to lose 9kg in six weeks when the diet is combined with workouts.

Baby food products are subject to stricter nutrition controls than any other products, limiting salt, sugar and other additives. Pots and packets of baby food often contain between 400 and 600 kilojoules. The Jennifer Aniston version of the baby food diet is said to include up to 14 small pots a day to stave off hunger pangs, plus a regular meal of fish and steamed vegetables.



Dietitian Karen Inge said: "It is not an effective weight loss solution, as it has inadequate levels of calcium, fibre and kilojoules for adults, and is bland, so it will leave them hungry, bored and dissatisfied." The diet's creator is Tracy Anderson, the personal trainer who is also credited with sculpting the figures of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Dietpill Nuratrim

She said: "Liquid cleanses do help you lose weight but you will gain more the next week. I wanted something where you can eliminate toxicity, break bad habits but still have your digestive system going. Stars including Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Cheryl Cole are believed to have used the baby food diet.