We all know how bad the obesity problem is but I found this article on MSNBC that is saying that the growth is people more than 100 pounds over - the Hyper Obese - is growing at an alarming rate. People who are 100 pounds or more over are the fastest-growing group of over people in the United States, researchers reported on Monday. They found the proportion of the severely obese was 50 percent higher in 2005 than it had been in 2000 — a startling rate of growth. “The proportion of people … [Read more...] about Fast rise in hyper obesity in the US
Health Issues
What to do about constipation
My family is a wealth of content for this blog. This week my 7 year old daughter has been constipated. We are always a little concerned about this because no one else in the house suffers from constipation and you really hate to see your kids suffering from anything. Usually for the first couple of days after the first day that my daughter is constipated we will just make jokes about poo, with kids there is always joking about poo so it is fine but after a while we will start laying Taylor on … [Read more...] about What to do about constipation
Don’t Drink the Purell
There is a nutty story making the rounds today about a woman that drank hand sanitizer, you know the stuff that you rub on your hands as a disinfectant. The people in the know about how to find alcoholic beverages in strange places apparently know that hand sanitizer is mostly alcohol...and probably do not care that it is very dangerous to drink. The 49-year-old Maryland inmate seemed seriously sick after he drank from a gallon-container of hand sanitizer. Described as "loony," "red-eyed" … [Read more...] about Don’t Drink the Purell
Shocking parents to help their fat kids
I was wondering how long it would take for something shocking to happen besides the images of childhood obesity. The Boston Globe is running a story about a $250,000 billboard campaign designed at getting parents to start acting in their kids interest in fighting the fat. The campaign also will include television spots and print advertisements. In addition to the campaign, the foundation has handed out more than $1 million in grants to schools, community centers, and social service groups for … [Read more...] about Shocking parents to help their fat kids
Tea Milk and heart disease
We have all heard about the great effects of green and black teas and their effect on people with heart problems lately but here is something that I had heard nothing about until today. Reauters is reporting a new study that shows that taking milk in your tea will significantly reduce the benefits of drinking the tea as per Functional Medicine Associates doctors. Drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke but only if milk is not added to the brew, German scientists said on … [Read more...] about Tea Milk and heart disease
Dangers of Teflon
The evidence against Teflon frying pans is really starting to stack up. I was thinking about this today as we threw out our last teflon frying pan because the Teflon was coming off of it. Steelworkers condemn Teflon The United Steelworkers (USW) is condemning DuPont for contaminating employees around the country with some of the highest levels of the Teflon chemical called PFOA, while denying workers information on potential health effects. The union says that DuPont is refusing to release … [Read more...] about Dangers of Teflon
Trans Fats banned in New York City restaurants
I wrote a bit a couple of weeks ago about Trans fats and the fact that New York city was going to be perhaps banning trans fats in restaurants. Well it has happened. I just saw the news break and that means that today there will be stories in the news all about What trans fats are, how they are bad for us, and how much we should consume. I hope that you remember that past article as it seems that there is not healthy amount of trans fats to consume so any amount is to much. It will be … [Read more...] about Trans Fats banned in New York City restaurants
Cranberry Juice for Urinary Tract Infections
On the weekend I had a problem of a burning sensation when I was peeing. This is not something that I have ever had before and I was a little concerned about it. This problem went on throughout Sunday and Monday and just like any guy I just hoped that it would go away, but it didn't. One of the pieces of folklore that I heard on Monday was that I should drink cranberry juice and if it was in fact some kind of infection then it would go away by itself with the help of the cranberry … [Read more...] about Cranberry Juice for Urinary Tract Infections
Why take naps?
I have not taken a nap in at least a couple of years now but many people will swear by the value of taking a nap on a daily basis. After looking atthe following I am thinking that taking a nap may be in everyones best interest. There is a great post that I ran across about naps and thought I would share it with you. To paraphrase the article here are five great reasons to take a nap: Reasons to Take Naps 1. Increased Alertness And Productivity “It seems nature definitely intended that … [Read more...] about Why take naps?
Canada Hershey Chocolate Salmonella Scare
As just about everyone knows I have a bit of a sweet tooth and am very fortunate that my metabolism allows me to eat some chocolate (my wife says I deserve to be fat). Anyway we had a bit of a scare this week when there was a recall and fears of salmonella poisoning involving many Hershey products made in Canada. I have grabbed a list that is here but also there is a number on the back that must be between 6417 to 6455 as I have stated below. I am no health official so if you have any real … [Read more...] about Canada Hershey Chocolate Salmonella Scare
Fast Food Nation – The Movie
Fast Food Nation is a movie coming out, or is out depending on where you live, that looks at the dark side of the fast food industry. Apparently 1 in 8 adults in America have at one point received a paycheck from a fast food chain and this is a real problem, you will buy what you know, and the food is terrible for you as we all know. One of the horrible things about the fast food chains though is the way that the supply train for the companies treat the workers all the way from the … [Read more...] about Fast Food Nation – The Movie
Link roundup
Today being Halloween and with two little kids I thought I would just drop a bunch of links to health news for you to check out at your leisure. A new sex study was released which found nothing new as far as I see although others may believe that it is more interesting than I think (I have no idea why I don't write more about sex issues on this blog...should I?) Here in Canada Kentucky Fried Chicken has announced that it will be cutting trans fats from their chicken. To bad that they are two … [Read more...] about Link roundup
You are now not feeling sleepy
Sleep is a big problem for a lot of people. I just ran across a story from last week that points out that many people are having trouble sleeping and are using alternative medicine, herbs, in order to fall asleep. The big story is supposed to be the use of herbs but the real story here is that people are getting insomnia on a much more regular basis then they were 20 or 30 years ago. The reasons for insomnia and most common sleep disorders can be narrowed down to a few causes. If you would … [Read more...] about You are now not feeling sleepy
PostPartum depression cures
My wife suffered mild postpartum depression just after our first girl was born and so when we started to try again for our second she was as you could imagine very nervous about it. No matter what Tom Cruise and others say anyone that is close to someone suffering from the baby blues know exactly how bad and how overwhelmingly sad this problem is for the woman that is feeling no love for their new born child and does not know why and is so incredibly frustrated by it. Two widely used … [Read more...] about PostPartum depression cures
Is getting sun OK for you?
After writing about how bad the sun is for you I have found this very balanced article by Robert Bazell at MSNBC that offers a great counter point to how good or bad the sun is for you. As always I believe that some good research is the most important way for anyone to decide weather they are doing the right thing or not as everyone has a bias as far as this subject goes. The heresy: the sun can be healthy. The heretic: Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University, a seemingly gentle, but combative … [Read more...] about Is getting sun OK for you?