The makers of an over-the-counter gender prediction test say their product, the IntelliGender, will let expecting moms know the sex of their baby as  early as 10 weeks after conception.

It’s a simple urine test that’s based on the science that certain hormones found in the pregnant woman’s urine, when combined with a “proprietary mix of chemicals”, will react  differently depending on whether the woman is carrying a boy or a girl.

Apparenly, within 10 minutes of taking the urine test, the specimen will turn green if it’s a boy, and orange if it’s a girl.

But IntelliGender co-founder Rebecca Griffin is quick to say that they do not guarantee 100% accuracy. The test, after all, is not a  diagnostic tool.

For that, you need to wait for a sonogram at around 20 weeks.

So what do you think?

Would you take the test?

(article source)

Remember Healthbolt’s review ‘Seductive Delusions’, a book by Dr Jill Grimes about how ordinary people can easily and unknowingly get STD’s.

With April being the CDC’s  (Center for Disease Control) STD Awareness Month, Jill was looking for a way to promote risks of STDs to teenagers in particular. She came up with the idea of a video that could be posted on YouTube. After all, what better way of reaching teenagers these days than YouTube and social media networks.

The result - a quirky video about the ‘12 Days of STD’s’ in which Jill and a few teenagers sing about STD’s to a famous Christmas tune.

Check it out…

Here’s the facts behind the lyrics (reprinted with permission from Jill Grimes)

Day 1- “Anyone can catch an STD”

Fact: People of all races, ages, professions, and socio-economic groups catch sexually transmitted diseases. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can tell by looking whether or not someone has a disease!

Day 2- “Herpes crosses the belt”

Fact: Much of genital herpes is the result of oral sex. If one person has herpes in their mouth (aka. “cold sores” or “fever blisters”), they can transmit that infection to their partner’s genitals via oral sex- WHETHER OR NOT there are visible blisters present!

Day 3- “HPV is common”

Fact: 50-75% of people who have sex will become infected during their lifetime. There are over a million cases of genital warts per year in the United States.

Day 4- “Crabs are pubic lice”

Fact: Pubic lice are highly infectious! You can catch them from intimate behavior OR from sharing linens, towels or underwear with an infected person. This is why you should wear underwear when you are trying on swimsuits in stores!

Day 5- “Most STDs are SILENT!”

Fact: The majority of sexually transmitted infections are silent, which means you need to go to your doctor or other medical provider and specifically ask to be tested for these diseases to be certain that you or your partner are “clean”! They will draw your blood for HIV, syphilis, herpes and hepatitis. Urine samples and/or vaginal or urethral swabs will test for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomonas. A Pap test checks for HPV, the cause of cervical cancer. GET TESTED!

Day 6- “Oral Sex is RISKY!”

Fact: Many diseases are transmitted by oral sex. Herpes is very commonly transmitted this way, and HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and hepatitis can be passed in this way as well. Condoms used with oral sex help decrease transmission. Oral sex does not cause pregnancy, but it is NOT “safe sex”!!

Day 7- “Toilet seats are SAFE”

Fact: Sexually transmitted infections are NOT passed via toilet seats, no matter what your mother taught you! If the seat is wet, wipe it off with toilet paper and don’t worry.

Day 8- “Gonorrhea is RESISTANT!”

Fact: We’re down to basically one drug to treat gonorrhea, because it has become resistant to one antibiotic after another- that’s scary!

Day 9- ” Chlamydia scars your tubes”

Fact: Chlamydia and gonorrhea are often silent, yet can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and subsequent chronic pelvic pain and infertility! If we screened and treated every sexually active young woman in America for chlamydia, we’d prevent an estimated 8000 cases of infertility every year! It’s easy to treat when caught early, but you’ve to test for it to know it’s there!

Day 10- “AIDS has passed a million”

Fact: We have over a million people living in the United States with HIV infection, with over 56,000 new cases diagnosed each year. While survival rates are improving, HIV is a challenging disease with much drug resistance. [Note- there are not over a million people living with the actual diagnosis of "AIDS" (which is more advanced HIV infection), but we couldn't sing "HIV" fast enough to flow well, so we went with the single syllable "AIDS" for simplicity.]

Day 11- “Trich is not a treat”

Fact: Trichomonas is a difficult to diagnose but relatively easy to treat parasitic infection. The big deal is that when you are infected with “trich” (and 90% of men and many women have no symptoms) you are much more likely to catch other STDs, especially HIV. Trich infections make you more susceptible- no treat, indeed!

Day 12- “New partner? BOTH need testing!”

Fact: See all of the above! Make certain YOU are not going to transmit a silent infection to your new partner, and be fully aware of any disease that they can potentially transmit to you.

Trying to get some kids to eat vegetables is like pulling teeth. They’ll do just about anything to avoid that green, orange, or yellow thing sitting on the plate. Hiding it doesn’t work. Somehow, they always seem to know it there.

Well, turns out there’s an easier way to get your kids to eat their greens, yellows, and oranges.
Just give them a cool name like ‘X-ray Vision Carrots’, ‘Tomato Bursts’, or ‘dinosaur broccoli trees’ and the vegetables won’t stand a chance. They’ll be goobled up quick.

That’s the finding of a new study by Cornell University researchers. They presented 186 four-year old “X-ray Vision Carrots” and found that these pre-schoolers ate nearly twice as much as they did on the lunch days when they were simply labeled as ‘carrots’.

As researcher Brian Wansick says “Cool names can make for cool foods”. And the best of this is that once the kids started eating the carrots, they continued to eat them even on days when they were no longer labelled ‘X-ray Vision Carrots’.

Such a simple idea with great results. But I think that many mothers already knew this.

But the interesting thing is that doesn’t just work on kids. Adults too have an affinity for cool food names. For example, changing the name of seafood filet to ‘Succulent Italian Seafood Filet’ on a restaurant menu resulted in sales increased by 28% and taste rating increased by 12%.

Maybe it’s all in our mind.

(image source)

You simply have to applaud this kid’s audacity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Just 9 years old, Alex Greven doesn’t have a girlfriend and has never dated, and yet he’s already written a guide to dating that’s shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Entitled How to Talk to Girls, it’s based on his week long observations of his classmates in the playground.

It took a week to write. He showed it to his teacher, who showed it to the school’s principle, and the rest, as they say, was a total chain reaction. An appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show lead to a contract with Harper Collins and a whirlwind media tour across the States. The books have since been published in five countries and there’s plans for Alex to write three more books for Harper Collins: “How to Talk to Moms” (Mach release),  “How to Talk to Dads,” and “How to Talk to Santa.” Rumor has it that there’s also a movie deal in the works. I guess he’s got his career path mapped out.

As for his message about How To Talk to Girls, here’s a sampling…

• You have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments and have most of the power. If you know that now, things might be easier.
• It’s good to give a girl compliments.
• If you like a girl, don’t be silly and goofy.
• A crush is like a love disease - try not to let it get you down.
• Most girls like polite boys, but girls always like the smartest boys.

As for Valentine’s Day, Alex is not playing favorites. He’s planning on sending cards to all the girls in his class.

Sounds like this kid is on the right track.

(source)

President-elect Obama made many promises during the election campaign, but to his daughters, the biggest was probably that if he’s elected they would get a dog. A tough call, given that his eldest daughter, Malia, apparently has a ‘dog allergy’.

In his first press conference, Obama seemed to think that all would be okay if they found a ‘hypoallergenic dog’. Sounds like a great plan. But according to medical experts, it’s not all that feasible. In fact, soon after the press conference, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology  (AAAAI) issued a statement saying “There is no truly ‘hypoallergenic’ dog.”

According to the Academy, there are many misconceptions regarding dog allergies, chief among them being ‘that people are allergic to a dog’s hair, and it is falsely believed that a dog that sheds less will not cause a reaction.’ Not true!

Here’s the truth. The major allergen is a protein found in all dog’s serum and this protein is shed from their skin through sweat, as well as in their saliva and probably is also in their urine. So it’s next to impossible to find an allergy-free dog.

So what’s a President-elect to do? He’s made a promise that will be impossible to back out of.

Dr Corinna Bowser, an allergy and asthma expert from Pennsylvania recommends that the Obama’s do two things before bringing any puppy home: First, dog-sit a friend or neighbors dog to see how Malia’s allergies fare, and second, set some rules about how they’ll plan on handling any allergy issues.

Brower says “”What we tell our patients is draw an imaginary line in the sand. If the child has an ER visit for asthma or needs significantly more medication, or whatever you want to determine as the line, that’s when the dog has to go. And set these rules ahead of time, because then everybody knows that’s when the dog has to go.”

Combine this advice with the AAAAI guidelines list below and the Obama might just be able to pull of his most important campaign promise.

• Visit an allergist/immunologist to diagnose the allergy and discuss treatment, which may include maintenance medications or immunotherapy (allergy shots).
• Keep the pet out of the allergic person’s bedroom. Animal dander will collect on pillows, leading to worsened symptoms at night and morning.
• Bathe the animal weekly to reduce the amount of dander shed at home.
• Replace carpeting with hardwood or other solid-surface flooring for easy clean-up.
• Vacuuming may not be effective in decreasing allergen levels, but using a HEPA filter and double bags may help.
• Wash bedding and clothing in hot water. While animal allergens are not easily removed by high temperatures, these measures may help.

(Image credit: Newscom)

Did you know that more than five million children and adults in North America wear braces ?

For them, Halloween season can be a dangerous time. The hard, chewy, sticky or crunchy candy usually handed out can easily result in damaged or broken braces, a painful and costly experience.

So what’s a brace wearing trick or treater to do?

Well, according to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), people with braces should steer clear of these traditional halloween treats…

  * All hard candies
  * All chewy candies
  * Caramel
  * Nuts
  * Licorice
  * Taffy
  * Jelly beans
  * Hard pretzels
  * Bubblegum
  * Popcorn (including unpopped kernels)
  * Taco chips
  * Ice

Instead they should aim for braces-friendly Halloween treats such as soft chocolate candy, peanut butter cups and thinly sliced apples, dipped in yogurt or creamy chocolate sauce.

If that sounds a little on the boring and tame side, then check out these Brace Friendly Halloween Recipes created by celebrity chef Michael Chiarello…

Black and Orange Bon Bons

Pumpkin Cookie Pops

Spider Bites

They’re guaranteed to put the spook back into your Halloween fun.

But make sure you don’t forget to brush and floss after any candy treats. It’s more important than ever during the Halloween season, when teeth may receive more exposure to sweets that can cause cavities.

(Images provided by AAO)

With cold weather fast-approaching in the bulk of the U.S., methinks there are going to be plenty of seats heating up in cars across the nation. After all, that’s one of those luxuries we doled out big money for when we all purchased our gas-guzzling SUVs, right? Exactly.

However…

If you’re looking to add to your brood, have the man in your family rethink firing up their seat. Why? Preliminary studies have found that 90 minutes of warming his buns on a heated car seat created a significant increase in a guy’s scrotal temperature (makes sense). And because stress on the testicles (remember all those hot tub and tightie whitie warnings?) have been shown to negatively affect sperm quality, this study concludes that over time, it’s a possibility that these new-fangled heated seats may affect men’s fertility, too.

Keep in mind that at this point, the study has only examined short-term changes in scrotal temp and not the effects on a guy’s swimmers yet. But with the knowledge that normal sperm production is temperature-dependent and thrives best when the testicular temp is slightly lower than the body’s core temp, more studies need to be conducted to find out whether this extra heating is enough to do some disservice to a man’s reproductive future. Stay tuned for more info on this…

Source

As the kiddies head back to school (and back to scads of germ-acquiring opportunities) resist the urge to splurge on antibacterial soaps. Though the sheer impact of their title may make a weary parent squee with anticipation of heading off the beasties, antibacterial soaps are really no better than just plain soap and water.

True, many brands claim superiority, but the fact of the matter is that most of these drugstore soaps do not contain enough of the active ingredient triclosan to make them effective. In fact, in studies, families who used antibacterial soaps averaged the same number of germs on their mitts as those who lathered up with the old standby soap and water.

Lesson? Stick with plain old soap, but remember to wash often and well.

This has been your Healthbolt Easy Health Tip of the Day.

For all the mothers out there who are, secretly or not, celebrating the fact that their monsters children are returning to school this coming week…

…wouldn’t you, some days, love to put an ad in the paper or maybe on craigslist for a ‘Live-in Nanny’?

Most of us couldn’t afford to but if you could, would you start off the ad like this…

‘My kids are a pain’

Followed by…

“If you cannot multitask, or communicate without being passive aggressive, don’t even bother replying,”

And….

“If you are fundamentally unhappy with your life, you will be more unhappy if you take this job, so do us all a favor and get some treatment or move to the Rockies, but do not apply for employment with us.”

 Doesn’t sound like the best way of getting the help you need. But the  ‘Nanny Ad’ appeared to hit a nerve and took on a life of it’s own, featuring in numerous parenting blogs, e-mailed around the world, and even inspired an article in the New York Times.

And I guess, in time, maybe a book and/or a movie…

The position, believe it or not, has been filled so the ad is no longer on Craiglist but I did manage to find a copy of the full 1,000 word ad to read for you to read.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…..Enter here to win a DVD of the Food Matters Documentary…..

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If “Swift” and “Grace” were your nicknames as a kid, and nobody could ever accuse you of being particularly dexterous, guess what? That could spell trouble for you in adulthood. Because according to a British study, children who are clumsy and have poor hand control may be more likely to become obese as adults.

This finding is based on the tests of around 11,000 people who were assessed in hand control, coordination, and clumsiness at age 7 and 11, then followed until they were 33. The result? The risk of becoming obese as adults more than doubled in the seven-year-olds who “certainly” showed poor hand control and tripled for those who were clumsy.

I have to wonder if this obesity might be caused by the adults abstaining from physical activities because of their clumsiness (kind of hard to play tennis or run as you’re tripping over your own two feet), but hey, what do I know?

For the whole article recap, read here. And a special shout-out to Marijke at Womb Within and Help My Hurt for pointing this article out to me. You can also see her take on these findings right here.