According to this study, sponsored by the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority and published in Toxicology Letters,  just one ‘sugar coated’ tablet of an easy to obtain over-the-counter medication ‘can raise the levels of phthalates in the body by 100 fold before being quickly eliminated.’  Apparently, it’s quickly eliminated, but the fact that it even gets into the body at all is concerning.

And you have to wonder, does it really go away all together in someone who is taking the medication for long term use?

Or will the phthalates level remain elevated and cause the patient to be at increased risk of endocrine related health illnesses?

The simple solution – take the phthalates out of medicines.

But what seems obvious to us will probably require many more studies to be determined by the scientific community.

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Image details: Tomatos served by picapp.com

I don’t think anyone’s more excited about this news than me, but just in case you are, the FDA has lifted the tomato warning that has been plaguing these little red wonders for far too long now.

Salmonella cases are still popping up at a rate of 30 – 40 per day, but the maters currently found in fields and stores are getting the A-okay. Jalepeno and serrano peppers are not, however, so continue to beware of the spicies.

For more info, read here.

I’m off to make some nachos…with a whole lotta tomatoes!

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Source: Dr. Bonkers presents
The Nearly Genuine and Truly Marvelous
Psychoneuropharmacological Mental Medicine Show

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Especially not in the United States.

But here they are – marijuana dispensing vending machines.

In California.

To be more specific, in Los Angeles.

To be exact, at a Herbal Nutrition Center in Los Angeles.

Not that you or I are ever going to be able to use them – least I hope not cause they are only there for those who need marijuana for medicinal purposes. And even they have to prove that they need it – via a doctor’s prescription. But it’s an amazing development, given the controversy surrounding it’s use for medicinal (and recreational) use. In fact, marijuana use is still illegal under US federal law which, apparently doesn’t even recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.

Makes you wonder how long these marijuana vending machines will be allowed.

It also got me thinking about marijuana.

What is it about marijuana that causes such controversy?

What is it’s history?

How does it help medicinally?

And what’s bad about it?

So I started reading, reading, and reading some more. As a result, Healthbolt this week has turned into ‘Marijuana Week’ as I post about what I found out.

Stick around for the following:

19 Feb Marijuana: A Short History
20 Feb Medicinal Marijuana ?
21 Feb Marijuana: Why it’s Bad for Your Health
22 Feb Marijuana and the future

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Photo Credit

Step aside, Viagra. Science is getting ever-closer to a version just for the ladies. LibiGel, a testosterone-laden ointment which is intended to boost the libidos of women, will be tested at the University of Virginia (among 99 other institutions) in coming months. Fantastic news, considering hypoactive sexual desire disorder (lack of sexual interest) affects about one-third of American women.

If the FDA approves this potentially-miraculous drug, LibiGel’s manufacturer, BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., intends to offer the drug to any woman suffering from a low sex drive. At this point, however, only study participants with the following distinctions are eligible:

• Must be between the ages of 30 and 65
• Must have had both ovaries surgically removed
• Must be taking an estrogen supplement
• Must be concerned with lack of libido

The presence of ovariectomies (removal of ovaries, also known as surgical menopause) in study participants is important since the missing ovaries can cut testosterone production in women roughly in half. Testosterone is key for optimal sexual function in both men and women.

Packaged in a pump bottle, LibiGel is intended to be rubbed into the skin of a woman’s upper arm where, over the next 24 hours, the testosterone in the gel infiltrates her bloodstream, boosting both her energy and libido.

The best news of all? During its second-phase of clinical trials, LibiGel boasted a 283 percent increase in satisfying sex for women using the drug.

Thanks, BioSante Pharmaceuticals, for bringing LibiGel into our world. With the plethora of choices available for men, and the total lack of options for women, it’s high time the girls get a little love, too. Looking forward to hearing of an FDA approval.

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Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – it’s a gimmick and the guy really just wants to join the Blue Man Group. But no, it’s the real deal with a simple explanation.

Plagued by a bad case of dermatitis, Paul Karason started self-medicating with colloidal silver, a liquid made by extracting silver from metal. He both drank it and rubbed it on his face. And as a result, he ended up with a condition known as Argyria, an irreversible blue-gray discoloration of skin, gums, and nails.

This treatment, by the way, is not recommended by the FDA. In fact, they consider it neither safe nor effective for any disease. Besides turning blue, taking colloidal silver can result in other more serious side effects such as seizures, neurological problems, kidney damage, headaches, fatique, and indigestion.

That’s enough to discourage most people, but Paul is continuing to drink the colloidal silver solution. He’s just not rubbing it onto his face anymore.

Paul talks to CNN…

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Nice, but it’s missing something…

I have a very normal, balanced friend I’ll refer to herein as the Skritch who was misdiagnosed with ADHD as a child. To this day, her parents still refer sympathetically to her atrocious attention span, continuously seeking out new ways to help the poor thing just keep it all together. I say misdiagnosed because there is no possible way a rational creature would ever conceive of ADHD and the Skritch hanging out in the same room, let alone having any sort of “thing” together. As a teen, she sensibly held the Ritalin under her tongue until her parents were convinced she’d swallowed her dose, taking care to spit it out like a mushy pea at the soonest opportune moment (which she managed to patiently wait for with no trouble at all). Even if she had really had ADHD, all those little pills would have been a waste, because a study released today proves that Ritalin has no long-term benefits for children.

Earlier studies showing a benefit were probably grossly exaggerating things, say researchers. Now they tell us. Though Ritalin has been shown to initially quell the steaming urchins into meek obedience, benefits are conferred only briefly. Don’t worry, I’m going to help you out here: Big Pharma invented an illness and subsequent drug to treat the invented illness and now it is coming back to bite them in the poopmuffin. I know: the first time anything unexpected like this happens, it can be a shock, so don’t try to wrap your head around it all in one go.

The new study concludes that after the initial “benefit”, treated children go right back to being brats. As an added bonus, children treated for upwards of three years may experience stunted growth. The cure for that, of course, is Prozac, Frappuccinos and marijuana. I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Please. I love kids, especially breaded in a sandwich with a zesty aioli and a rugged amber ale.

- Photo

Defiantly yours…

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Remember that thing we used to do called the Morning News Fix? Good godlet, we’re neglectful. What’s up, kids? My toe is intact, my move is complete, and the cat says mew. Let’s get down to business, because we’re gangsta like that:

Mixing Vodka and Red Bull Is Unhealthy

More importantly, it’s disgusting. As usual, the health is really beside the point, isn’t it? Anyway, Fox is all in a tizzy about this study that shows college kids who drink caffeinated beverages mixed with alcohol are not only more likely to wear graphic tees with skulls and have skunk stripe highlights, they are also twice as likely to get sick and injured.

You Are Not Allowed to Blame It on a Spider Bite, Sicko

A rapist is blaming his actions on a spider bite. Apparently there were no Twinkies available. Here is a list of typical symptoms of a poisonous spider bite.

Dark Chocolate Heals the Heart

And we’re not talking about filling any gaping void of lovelorn loneliness here. Dark chocolate is good for your cardiovascular system, and your heart in particular. A Japanese study finds that dark chocolate increases blood flow to your thumper.

Captain Obvious Roundup

Music is good for your emotional health. Children are over-medicated. The FDA announces another new oversight committee to deal with all its screw-ups.

- Mug

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Adverse drug reactions – including deaths – have more than doubled since 1998. The FDA is facing harsh criticism from the AMA. The report finds that there is “plenty of blame to go around” as health care practitioners administer drugs incorrectly and fail to manage prescription use properly. And it gets better: a leading expert states flatly that the FDA is in denial about drug safety. So by better, we’re talking worse.

Fetal Testosterone Levels Linked to Autism

For the first time, a study has linked high fetal testosterone levels with later development of autistic symptoms. Scientists obtained hormone samples via amniocenteses and followed up with the parents at intervals for eight years. What is unclear is whether the sex hormone is a possible causative factor or a by-product of autism.

Identifying Intelligence

Scientists have reviewed 37 brain studies and identified a possible network for intelligence. The exact location of intelligence in the brain has long eluded neurologists, but this review suggests an integrated network holds the answer.

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A man who ate two to three bags of microwaved extra-butter popcorn for a decade has developed popcorn lung.

Thank You For Popping?

This is not the first case. Popcorn lung, or broncheolitis obliterans, is a deadly disease that ravages lung tissue and leaves its victims dependent upon an oxygen tank to survive. It turns out that popcorn lung is prevalent among popcorn factory workers and the buttered popcorn industry has known about the problem since 2002. This man’s particular story is the first time popcorn lung has gone public.

Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the man, but one practitioner who knew about popcorn lung decided to ask him if he had happened to be around popcorn at any point. His response: “I am popcorn.”

To be clear here, it’s not eating the butter flavoring that causes popcorn lung. It’s only inhaling the butter flavoring that is potentially dangerous. America’s favorite almost-butter contains the chemical diacetyl, which authorities remind us is totally safe for consumption. That’s good, because we all know how unhealthy real butter is. In people suffering from popcorn lung, the scarring to the lungs is so severe, a lung transplant is the only permanent solution.

The history of popcorn: from farm to factory

UPDATE: ConAgra has just announced they will be dropping diacetyl.

NOTE: B5 is having technical difficulties, so I really apologize for the suckitude interface and load times a la 1992. We’re working on it! Thanks for your patience, gang.

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