Take a walk through a typical grocery store and you will see the shelves stocked with edibles boasting “low fat”, “fat free”, or “heart healthy-no fat”! This low-fat diet trend was widely popularized in the late 1980s and early 1990s so much so that government run nutrition programs also became great advocates. Removing fat from …
Category: Health and medicine
Why Ebola is Still a Problem: It’s in the Genes
In the early months of 2014, news headlines screamed warning of an epidemic sweeping through West Africa. The Ebola virus spread through Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and several other countries before a case was reported on American soil and the disease received much more attention from residents of the United States. Ebola may not receive …
Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios: Eat Up! You May Live a Longer Life
If you’ve been slathering peanut butter on your sandwiches to get the protein from nuts, nothing beats the real thing. A new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that eating approximately 10 grams of peanuts every day can lower your chance of death over 10 years by 23 percent. Tree nuts seemingly …
Boston’s Blizzards May Be to Blame for Its Rough Allergy Season
Boston set a new record for snowfall last winter, and pretty much everyone in the area wants to just leave it in the past. However, it’s hard to do so when you’re sneezing endlessly. Medical experts now say that this past winter could be to blame for horrendous seasonal allergies. Although the amount of pollen isn’t more …
Antidepressants May Not Be As Risky During Pregnancy As Originally Thought
Previous research suggested that women should have a bit of concern while attempting to conceive if they are on antidepressants. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, were thought to increase the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns. Now, a study published in JAMA shows that perhaps women don’t need to be as hesitant about SSRIs as they …
The Science of Sun Safety
Our whole world revolves around the sun, both literally and figuratively. It promotes the growth of the food we eat, provides a timeline by which we order our days, and gives us physical light, which greatly aids in vision. Although we rely on the sun to meet some of our most vital needs, the constituents …
Study: Why Are People Dying in Your Neck of the Woods?
We would all ideally like to go out in a blaze of glory, but sometimes, death just isn’t that attractive. A new study led by New York State Cancer Registry Research Scientist Francis Boscoe gives us a glimpse into the most distinctive causes of death in various areas of the country. The study shows that the most …
Slow Down! Report Shows 24,400 Injuries Linked to Treadmills in 2014
With more Americans becoming obsessed with losing weight, the treadmill seems like an obvious tool to use in the quest to be thin. However, more people appear to be taking safety less seriously in the process. A study conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows that in 2014, there were more than 24,400 …
4 Common Mental Health Stigmas That Slow the Process of Healing
The days of rash lobotomies and electro-shock therapy as “cures” for mental illness may be gone, but the stigma surrounding these diseases are not. As an individual with first-hand experience, I’ve faced some of the most interesting and unfortunate misconceptions out there. In addition to having to address these conditions, stigmas give patients even more …
Research Shows Bi-Polar and Depressed People Feel Sadness Differently
What does sadness mean to you? If you happen to have a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder or depression, it could be a world of difference. A new study conducted by researchers in the Netherlands shows that there are differences in the brain activity of individuals with clinical depression and bipolar disorder. This would …