The researcher, Serge Brochu, looked at the Montreal part of the NAOMI project (North American Opiate Medication Initiative). The NAOMI project was established after research showed that drug addicts who don’t respond to traditional treatment would benefit from the injection of pharmaceutical heroin.

The Université de Montréal study found that the NAOMI project did not “foster increased criminal acts, dangerous debris, deviant behavior or emergency interventions in its downtown community.”

Brochu’s study included interviews (conducted between May 2005 and June 2008) with several members of the community surrounding the clinic, including residents and business owners, as well as police officers, social workers and homeless people.

Do you believe heroin should be provided to addicts in medically supervised clinics?

(Image via stock.xchng)

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Medical Heroin Doesn’t Promote Crime

Previous studies at the Center for Cellular Neurobiology have shown that drinking apple juice helped mice perform better in maze trials and assisted in keeping mice sharp as they aged.

A new study by the same center, published recently in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, reveals that mice receiving two glasses of apple juice per day for one month produced less beta-amyloid — a small protein fragment responsible for forming the senile plaques frequently found in brains of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers believe these findings provide more evidence that regular consumption of apple juice might help keep your mind functioning at its best and perhaps delay aspects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Do you enjoy apple juice?

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Apple Juice Good for the Mind

Indeed, pine bark extract was shown to reduce jetlag in passengers by almost 50%.

The study, conducted in Italy at the G. D’Annunzio University and published in the journal of Minerva Cardioangiologica, included 133 passengers taking flights between seven and nine hours long. It used brain CT scans and a scoring system that showed Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all) lowered symptoms like fatigue, headaches, insomnia and brain swelling.

Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract that comes exclusively from the bark of the maritime pine growing along the coast of southwest France in Les Landes de Gascogne.

The ingredient is included in many vitamins and dietary supplements on the market already. You can find a retailer online. If you’re in the US, Whole Foods Market is one place to try. Talk to your doc or pharmacist for guidance on using this natural extract to fight jetlag.

Image via MorgueFile.

Post from: Blisstree

Is pine bark the answer to your jetlag?

I sometimes get the sense I just wasted 30 minutes to an hour or more. However, while I’m watching “The Big Bang Theory” or “Two and a Half Men,” I don’t have to think about anything or solve any problems. Perhaps it’s brain rest. . . . And I do get a few laughs too.

Could I do something more useful with that time? Of course! Will I? Hmmm.

I think I watch TV in moderation enough to be safe. There aren’t many shows I actually like anyway.

But what happens when you have too much time on your hands and you use TV as an escape?

A new study by University of Maryland sociologists found that unhappy people watch more TV!

According to the study, time spent watching TV might contribute to a viewers’ bliss in the moment, but with less positive effects in the long run. People who socialize and read instead were found to be more happy.

Based on time-use surveys in the study, TV viewing may increase dramatically as the economy gets worse. I can only assume that’s due to layoffs and the need to escape thoughts of money issues.

Do you believe that you watch more TV when you’re unhappy?

Read more: This study may be found in the December issue of Social Indicators Research.

Image via Newscom. Used with permission. Pictured: Jim Parsons (left) and Johnny Galecki in CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.”

Post from: Blisstree

Do Happy People Watch TV?

Sneezing may not be so bad after all!

New research from Cornell University provides evidence that allergies may help prevent certain types of cancer.

According to an article in the December issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology, allergy symptoms could work to prevent cancer by expelling foreign, potentially carcinogenic particles before they have a chance to come in contact with organs. The researchers also found that allergies may also help people know when there’s something in the air which should be avoided.

If allergies help prevent some cancers, is it good to suppress them with meds?

The Cornell researchers believe that more studies are needed to answer the question, but they hope their work will cause people to question whether allergies are disorders of the immune system.

Learn more:
Sherman, Paul W., Erica Holland, Janet Shellman Sherman, “Allergies: Their Role In Cancer Prevention,” The Quarterly Review of Biology December 2008

Image via MorgueFile.

Post from: Blisstree

Allergies May Help Prevent Cancer

Here are some of the findings of the 2008 survey, and some comparisons with historical numbers:

• 85% of participants say they wash their hands after making a bathroom trip. But in 2006’s survey, that percentage was 92.
• 46% of respondents say they spend 15 seconds or less washing their hands.
• 39% never or seldom wash hands after coughing or sneezing.
• 39% don’t always wash their hands before eating lunch. In 2006, that figure was 31%.
• 56% of participants knew that regular hand washing is seen as the best way to prevent colds and flu.

I have to be honest: The fact that only 56% of those surveyed knew that hand washing is a leading way to prevent illnesses makes me think that the survey is probably pretty worthwhile. If people don’t know basic hygiene like that, well, that’s a problem, and it indicates to me that there’s not enough hand washing going on.

How often do you wash your hands?

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

(image: SXC.hu)

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Americans Don’t Wash Their Hands Enough

Use your genes to grow more muscle

Manipulating genes to block naturally occurring muscle-growth inhibitors could allow athletes to boost their muscle mass. A lot.

Pop a blood-boosting pill

Who wouldn’t love a pill that delivers the same record-breaking benefits of synthetic EPO without the hassle of injections or getting caught?

Clinical trials are under way for a pill that tricks the body into thinking blood-oxygen levels have dropped, causing it to produce more red blood cells, thus improving muscle endurance.

When blood-oxygen levels drop, hypoxia-inducible factor, or HIF, kicks in to stimulate red blood cell production. Once oxygen is back to normal, the HIF breaks down and cell formation stops. The drugs, known as HIF stabilizers, stop the breakdown and keep blood production up.

Some suspect athletes may already be using HIF stabilizers, but the health risks are unknown. Read More >>>

I can’t help but think that any win, Olympic or otherwise, achieved by a doper has to have a hollow feeling along with it. What do you think?

Enter to win a Fertility Scope! Deadline: Friday, August 15, 11:59 p.m. ET.

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

(image: SXC.hu)

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, olympics, olympic games, beijing, 2008, doping, steroids, EPO, epoietin, injection, genes, muscle mass, cheating, athlete, HIF, HIF stabilizer, lively women, kristen king

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Innovative Ways to Cheat Your Way to the Gold: Genetic Manipulation, Pill Popping, and More!

Approximately 42 percent of adults aged 19 to 64 years old — 75 million people — were either underinsured or didn’t have health insurance in 2007. That represents an increase of 33 percent since 2003, when the last survey was done, Schoen said.

People who are underinsured are people who have health insurance but spend 10 percent or more of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses. For people below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, being underinsured means spending more than 5 percent of income on out-of-pocket medical costs.

Being underinsured also means paying deductibles of 5 percent or more of family income.

The researchers found that people who were underinsured were more likely to go without needed health care and have problems paying medical bills, compared with people who have adequate health insurance.

Here in the US, most folks have health insurance through their jobs. And with an economic slump like the one we’re experiencing right now, this is of particular concern because so many are being laid off and losing their coverage. This is scary not only for adults, but also for kids, as indicated by two studies from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center released earlier this year:

The first study shows that children whose parents lose or change jobs were twice as likely to lose their health care coverage as children whose parents did not lose or change jobs. In addition, children with private insurance were more than three times as likely to lose coverage.

“This is a particularly disturbing finding, coming at a time when job loss is becoming more common due to the economy,” says Dr. Fairbrother, Ph.D., the study’s lead author. “As unemployment rises, more and more children are likely to experience a break in coverage that affects their health care. Our study showed that most of these children are eligible for public coverage but are not getting the coverage to which they are entitled. Much more needs to be done to reach out to children with private coverage when their parents experience job loss or change.”

…The second study examined children who did not have continuous coverage — insurance in place consistently year-round — and found that they had unmet health care needs similar to the chronically uninsured. These children were three times as likely to have unfilled prescriptions and 14 times as likely not to have a usual source of health care as insured children.

And kids aren’t the only young people dealing with insurance issues. A report released in May of this year said that 13.7 million adults ages 19 to 29 lack health insurance.

The number of uninsured young adults in the United States rose to 13.7 million in 2006–an increase from 13.3 million in 2005–making the 19-to-29 age group one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the population without health insurance. According to a newly updated report from The Commonwealth Fund, 38 percent of high school graduates who do not attend college and 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation.

According to the report, Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, working young adults are much less likely than older workers to have access to health insurance through their employers. Just over half (53%) of 19- to 29-year-olds were eligible for coverage offered by their employers, compared with about three-quarters (74%) of 30- to 64-year-olds.

The idea of not having health insurance terrifies me. We used to have fantastic coverage through my job, but then I started freelancing and we switched to my husband’s company’s health benefits, which were considerably less generous. And now, he’s changing jobs (go, recession!) and our current coverage ends TOMORROW. So yeah, this is on my mind. We’ve gotten approved despite some preexisting conditions, but we just can’t AFFORD the plans we qualify for! And it’s not like we’re living large over here. It’s that costs are astronomical. But the potential cost of NOT having health insurance is far greater than the monthly premiums.

God forbid one of us get in a car accident, or develop cancer or some kind of chronic illness. Or, you know, we decide to have a kid. No way could we afford it. So we’re going to have to find some way to tighten our belts, suck it up, and make it happen.

This is one of those days that moving to Canada starts to look really, really good…

Do you have health insurance? Are you worried about your coverage with the recession?

Recommended reading:

• Insured But Not Protected: How Many Adults Are Underinsured?

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen KingTags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, health insurance, unemployed, unemployment, laid off, layoff, recession, underinsured, uninsured, lively women, kristen king

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What’s Worse Than Not Having a Job? Not Having Health Insurance

Environmentalists and the very health conscious have long argued that plastic bottles, or at least the cheap plastic kind, are bad for the environment because of the waste they produce and the resources they require. And increasingly, many have voiced concerns about ingesting chemicals that seep into food and beverages, prompting the popularity of reusable containers like Nalgene bottles and Kleen Kanteens.

Of particular concern is how these chemicals, specifically BPA, can affect children and infants. Says a recent ABC News article:

There’s a possibility that the chemical found in plastic water bottles, baby bottles and the lining of many food, drink and baby formula cans could be linked to health problems, including prostate cancer, breast cancer and early-onset puberty, according to a chemical evaluation released Monday night by the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program.

…The draft brief found some worry that exposure to the chemical bisphenol A, known as BPA, could have neural and behavioral effects on fetuses, infants and children at existing exposure levels.

“The possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed,” the evaluation noted.

Indeed, the study failed to put to rest long-standing worries about whether the widely used chemical is safe, and ensures that scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve BPA will continue. While some have argued the chemical is associated with health risks, the FDA and industry experts have stood by their controversial conclusion that the chemical is not harmful.

The chemical helps make plastic tough and shatter-resistant; the plastic is used in food and drink containers, bike helmets, dental sealants and more.

At the American Chemistry Council, Steve Hentges, executive director of the polycarbonate/BPA global group, said today that there’s still no evidence of serious health risks or need to remove BPA from the market. This evaluation echoes many of the already published findings about BPA, Hentges said.

You can get more details by reading the full article.

How do these findings make you feel about the water you drink and the products you and your kids ingest? Does this make you want to change anything, or do you think this is just an overreaction? Your opinion counts. Spout off in the comments.

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, BPA, water bottles, chemicals from plastic bottles, cancer, early-onset puberty, american chemistry council, lively women, kristen king

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BPA From Plastic Water Bottles (and baby bottles!) May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Dr Daniel Sliva of the Methodist Research Institute in Indianapolis said the mushroom extract reduced uncontrolled growth of new cancer cells, suppressed their aggressive behaviour and blocked new tumour-feeding blood vessels.

“We’re not yet able to apply this knowledge to modern medicine, but we … hope our study will encourage more researchers to explore the use of medicinal mushrooms for the treatment of cancer,” he said.

Read the full summary at Reuters.

Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, mushroom, breast cancer, Phellinus linteus, song gen, sang-hwang, meshimakobu, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, prostate cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, lively women, kristen king

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Anti-Cancer Mushroom Extract May Block Growth in Breast Cancer