Welcome to the latest Healthbolt Carnival. It’s a mixed bag of tricks from diet and green sex toys to politics and how to avoid hangovers. So grab a coffee, settle back, and have a look around. Hopefully, there is something here for everyone…

Walter from Highlight HEALTH presents 2008 Presidential Candidates on the Issues of Biomedical Research and Healthcare, saying, “A major determinant of America’s health and competitiveness in the world is progress in the life sciences. Over the past twenty years, the life sciences have had a tremendous impact on human health through the understanding of the molecular basis of disease and the development of new diagnostics, therapeutics and other medical products. Given the significance of biomedical research on healthcare, this article highlights the 2008 presidential candidates’ positions. With the election less than a week away, it is paramount that voters know where the presidential candidates’ stand on these essential issues.”

Brain Blogger is also in a political state of mind with Health Care and Politics I – The Republicans, saying, “No matter which side of the political fence you sit on, most Americans agree that our health care system is broken. Health care costs in the United States are approximately 16% of our gross domestic product (GDP), and they are expected to reach 20% of the GDP by 2017. That amounts to a staggering $4.3 trillion! Costs are clearly out of control, yet 47 million Americans remain uninsured.”

And you can’t look at one party without looking at the other, so here’s Brain Blogger take on Health Care and Politics II – The Democrats, saying, “Most Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to make health care reform possible, but, like politicians, they disagree about what reforms should take place.”

Alexandra from Fat Butt Flying asks Why Do People Hate Fat People?.

TherapyDoc from Everyone Needs Therapy talks About those 8 Ways to Spot a Dishonest Date, stating that, “Emotionally unhealthy people can be unhealty for you.”

Clara Myers from Mind Mart looks into Green Sex Secrets, asking, “Do you know what’s in your sexual aids?”

Turn the page for more interesting health links…

Pregnancy Hut from Pregnancy Calendar provides information on what’s happening at 12 Weeks Pregnant.

Trevor Watkinson from SaveYourSweat.com Blog writes that even doctors agree that exercise is not necessary for weight loss in his post Self Evident Truths.

Grace R Young OT suggests you Work Smarter Not Harder.

fitnchic from FitNChic.com weighs the pros and cons of Diet food.

Patricia Turner from EKG Classes looks at Stumbling Blocks to Weight Loss.

Margaret Garcia from Radiology Technician Schools offers ways to Give your Metabolism that Much Need Boost..

Nancy Millerfrom Becoming A Radiologist provides Cholesterol Facts You Must Know.

myln from ManageYourLifeNow.com looks at 25 Ways to avoid Hangover, saying, “There are a number of ways to avoid a hangover and safe yourself from the terrible effects it creates to your head and stomach the next morning. Avoiding hangover has to do with a number of techniques you can follow before and during the period of alcohol consumption.”

Caffeine Junkie from Caffeine Addiction suggests ways to figure out the Caffeine Content in your drink.

Eric Twitty from You Can Achieve Success! looks at the 7 Rules for Highly Effective Workouts.

Dean Moyer from The Back Pain Blog writes about Mysterious Morning Neck Pain, saying, “In this post we review the various ways to apply heat therapy for temporary relief of back and neck pain.”

Pastor WD Favour from wdfavour.com asks Do You Have An Addiction?, saying, “if you think you do, start by doing a personal check. Is there a specific activity, or a set of activities, that you are engaged in to the detriment of your health, mental state or social life? You might be blinded by the positive effects of that activity – probably you are making money from it or whatever: but if it’s hurting your health, mental state, or social life, its an addiction.”

Fiona King from Massage Therapy Careers provides a list of the Top 100 Men’s Health Blogs.

Roy Schwartz from A Disease A Day looks at TTP – Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

KimberlyKA from Food Talk 101 defines what Body Mass Index (BMI) is.

NickIrons from Get Results! Fitness Blog writes about the Top 5 weight loss myths, saying, “These days you can’t go anywhere without hearing about a new weight loss breakthrough. A pill, a cream, or a new fad diet – you name it and it’s going to solve all of your weight loss problems in 30 days or less. Or not.

AndrewB from Stop Binge Eating suggests you Stop Binge Eating by Eating a Healthy Breakfast, saying, “How to stop binge eating? I’m asked this question often when others learn about my binge eating recovery. They want to know how I did it, they want all the secrets and the dirty little tricks to stop binge eating.”

Ray Burton from BuildingBodies offers A Diet Plan To Lose Weight, saying, “This article has a very personal feel as I talk about the state of todays nutrition and how proper eating is the key to lasting health and not diets.”

FitBuff from FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog asks ‘Does Fruit Make You Fat?’, saying, ‘I decided to put the question to the test for myself with a detailed self-experiment. Here’s what I found…’

And that’s that. Hope you enjoyed this edition of the Healthbolt Carnival.

You can submit your health blog article to the next edition of Healthbolt Carnival using the carnival submission form.

And always, you can find past posts and future hosts on the blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a healthbolt carnival, blog carnival.

Post from: Healthbolt

Then start fantasizing about all your favorite foods ’cause a new study has found that this seems to be a possible way of coping with chronic and acute pain.

The study had

“…60 healthy subjects to submerge their hand in icy water to determine their pain threshold and tolerance. During the second round, participants were instructed to imagine a favorite meal in detail, a neutral scene, such as people walking, or they were not instructed to fantasize about anything.”

The results, according to Dr. Hamid Hekmat, professor of psychology and lead author of the study, was that

‘…food fantasies such as imagining eating your favorite ice cream, chocolate cake or meal had a strong pain-attenuating effect. It enhanced mood, reduced anxiety, and helped coping with ice water pain.”

So what foods did the participants fantasize about…

Well, it’s probably no surprise that chocolate topped the list as the most common food fantasy, with 32% of the participants focusing in it’s mouthwatering qualities.

The next most common…

31% of the participants went for roast dinners, followed by pasta (14 percent), pizza (8 percent) and fruit (4 percent.)

So next time you’ve got a migrane or sore toe, why not try visualizing about that delicious roast dinner, chocolate bar, or banana split.

You never know, it might just do the trick…

(news source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Don’t you just love when your favorite “bad” foods suddenly appear with a glowing halo hovering above them? Yeah, me too. Makes my day.

Like today. Suddenly that steak craving I’ve been having is validated, as is the beer I’m sure to consume throughout the weekend. Why, you ask? Why, I’m so glad you asked. Please, allow me to share:

Steak builds muscles. Okay, so you may not become the next Ah-nold (or Arnold-ette) by sidling up at the nearest steakhouse, but you’ll be happy to know that women who at 10 oz. of lean beef every day lost more weight than women who ate the same amount of calories, sans the meat. Why? Because meat contains amino acids that help maintain muscle, and we all know that the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (y’all do know that right? Right?)

Beer lowers BMI. Hallelujah for that fabulous Nurses’ Health Study. It found that women who drink one to two glasses of liquid gold (aka beer), wine, or liquor per day had a 15% lower BMI (body mass index) than those who abstain. Why? Alcohol helps regulate insulin levels, which then regulate weight. Of course, everything in moderation, my dear friends. More than two drinks a day can actually cause weight gain and increase your risk of assorted diseases. Not cool.

So isn’t this great news, right in time for Happy Hour? You betcha! Glad I could help. Now you can enjoy your weekend – guilt free!

Want to know more about Beer with Benefits? Check out Health and Men for the skinny.

Post from: Healthbolt