He hurts; she hurts, but she hurts differently–and probably more often. That’s the opinion of researchers at McGill University, who took a close look at the longstanding theory that pain is transmitted from the site of injury or inflammation through the nervous system using an immune system cell called microglia. […]
Author: Art Jahnke
Do Knee Braces Do Anything Useful?
Do knee braces to anything useful? That’s the question put to New York Times health columnist Gretchen Reynolds. The answer, says Reynolds, is possibly, but it depends on the brace and on the injury. Reynolds quotes Dr. Robert A. Gallo, an associate professor of orthopedic sports medicine at Penn State Hershey Medical […]
You Still Can’t Trust Your Pot Dealer
Drug dealers were never the most trustworthy of businesspeople, but that was usually because of a strategic disregard for the truth. Now comes a report claiming that many merchants of legal marijuana are selling pot whose potency labels are way off the mark, not for dishonest financial gain, but because […]
The Best Time of Day for Yoga
What’s the best time of day for yoga? It depends on what kind of yoga. No, this is not a joke; it’s serious advice offered in the Wall Street Journal by Andrew Tanner, a serious Framingham, Mass., yoga instructor and chief spokesman for the yoga teacher association, Yoga Alliance. Tanner points […]
Surgery For Arthritis Of The Knee? Think Again
Surgery for knee pain, at least knee pain caused by degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis, has no lasting benefits, according to researchers at the University of Southern Denmark. Worse, the operation exposes patients to serious health risks like deep vein thrombosis, infection, and pulmonary embolism. The New York Times reports that […]
Extreme Exercise Without Training Can Poison Blood
OK, it’s possible, but it’s not likely. When researchers at Monash University in Australia studied the biology of athletes who compete in extreme endurance events, like 24-hour marathons, they found endotoxins–gut bacteria that should be contained to intestines, in the athletes blood. No, it’s not good. HealthDay reports that the […]
Fasting-Like Diet Slows Aging, Reduces Cancer Risk
The study was first done with yeast, then with mice. A University of Southern California news release reports, researchers at the school showed that cycles of a four-day low-calorie diet that mimics fasting (FMD) cuts visceral belly fat and elevates the number of stem cells in several organs of old mice […]
Once Again, Chocolate Lowers Heart Risk
Yet another study offers good news for chocolate lovers. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland are convinced that eating about 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of chocolate a day reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. How do they know? Because they studied data from almost 21,000 adults […]
No, You Can’t Type Well On A Treadmill Desk
You’ve finally persuaded your boss to buy you a treadmill desk; congratulations. Now you have to persuade her that new research suggesting that walking while working seriously damages typing ability and mildly diminishes thinking ability is bogus. And it may be. After all, the research at Brigham Young University involved […]
Keeping Calm Under Stress May Keep Us Healthy
Keeping cool in stressful situations could be good for your long-term health, if researchers at Penn State University have things right. The researchers studied two key markers of inflammation, as well as the emotions, of 872 people as those people responded to stressful situations such as arguments or being discriminated […]