Before & After Photoshop: Exposing Examples Of Slight Airbrushing’s Big Effects
Get in Shape For Summer With Me! I’m Determined To Start Working Out Again…
Happy Earth Day, Sugar: Natural, DIY Mediterranean-Inspired Beauty Moves
Pop Philosophy: 13 Inspirational Quotes From My Favorite Old Hippie Philosophy Book
Blisstree Bookshelf: The Beauty Experiment by Phoebe Baker Hyde
Reese Witherspoon’s Arrest: Bratty Behavior Or Relatable Reaction? The Blisstree Writers Debate
This may not surprise you, I don’t know; it surprised me: I was visiting California for one week and I had no trouble purchasing medical marijuana. Maybe I shouldn’t say “no trouble”—I spent some money, told a few minor lies and had an embarrassing encounter involving Burger King coupons. Overall, though, it was surprisingly easy to get a doctor’s letter saying I could purchase prescription weed in Los Angeles. More
The Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it would add stronger warning labels to Yaz, Yasmin and other birth control pills containing drospirenone (a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone) about the associated risk of blood clots. But, the FDA emphasized, the risk is still small; smaller, in fact, than the risk of blood clots during pregnancy or the postpartum period, and small enough that women taking the pill shouldn’t worry and should “continue taking their pills as directed unless told otherwise by their healthcare professional.” But headlines like “FDA’s Yasmin and Yaz Blood Clots Warning is a Victory for Consumers” and “The Birth Control Warning You Need To Know About” would make you believe otherwise. So we spoke to Planned Parenthood‘s Vice President of External Medical Affairs, Vanessa Cullins, to find out what we really need to know. More
Whitney Houston‘s death weighed on the Clive Davis Pre-Grammys Show on Saturday night, where she was scheduled to perform. Producers decided that the show must go on, but performers, including Tony Bennett, grappled with the news of her death on stage. Many honored the late singer, but Bennett took it a step further, urging for the legalization of drugs, which he implied might prevent tragedies like Houston’s early passing. But as more evidence comes out about Houston’s death, it seems that it was likely caused by legal prescription drugs. So while Bennett’s suggestion may not have prevented her death, we do need a better solution. More
I’m happy to report that I made it another week in my quest to quit smoking without any relapses. I’m actually amazed at how little I’ve thought about cigarettes at all—even grabbing a drink in a smoky bar didn’t set me to pining. I think the bupropion pills I’m taking must be making a difference, because it can’t naturally be this easy for your brain or body to get over a long-term smoking habit. So for my quitting smoking chronicles this week, I thought I’d explore a little further just how bupropion works to help people quit smoking. More
Insomnia doesn’t just feel like some sort of bizarre torture while you’re experiencing it—it can also have long-term health consequences, upping risk for diabetes, obesity, heart disease and depression. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania found people with ‘sleep disturbances’ at least three nights per week were 35% more likely to be obese, 54% more likely to have diabetes, 98% more likely to have heart disease and 80% more likely to have had a heart attack. A 2002 study found people with chronic insomnia were five times more likely to develop anxiety or depression and more than twice as likely to have heart failure. Chronic insomnia is defined as insomnia that lasts for a month or more. But many of us without chronic insomnia still experience bouts of sleeplessness now and then, and I’m curious how people deal with it. More
Paula Deen‘s response to critics like Anthony Bourdain has thus far included zingers like “get a life.” But today, she announced that she’ll be donating a portion of her earnings from her diabetes drug spokesperson deal with Novo Nordisk to the American Diabetic Association (ADA), in what seems like a bid for fans’ approval. But all things considered, I still think she’s doing more harm than good with her messages about diabetes. More
Surprise! Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes—the type most commonly caused by high-fat, high-sugar diets. Just kidding, that wasn’t really surprising at all. But what will shock you is that she’s already set to make a small fortune off her diagnosis, thanks to a multimillion dollar deal with the pharmaceutical company Novartis to be their newest spokesperson. Her food already gave me the creeps, but the way she’s turning profits on an abominably unhealthy lifestyle is just disgusting. More
As of January first, California won’t be selling cough syrup to minors under the age of 18, thanks to the “robotripping” law proposed by two Palo Alto cops back in 2004. But, especially coming on the heels of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to make Plan B unavailable to minors without prescription, it seems ridiculous that this is only getting passed in California. If the HHS doesn’t think Plan B is safe for teens (despite ample evidence–from the FDA–that it is), then why should anyone be selling drugs that are easily turned into dangerous illegal drugs? More
Heading into 2012, it seems the issue that’ll be dominating sexual health headlines is access to Plan B, the ‘morning after’ birth control pill. The next move in the ongoing political saga over emergency contraceptive sales lies with a federal judge in Brooklyn—and that could be a very good thing. More
Clueless Mom Gives Birth on a Bike Without Realizing It
The Sweetest Twitter Marriage Proposal You’ll Ever See
8 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Bed
True Or False: Marathoners Can Eat Whatever They Want
Why Don’t More Women Talk About Masturbation?
Children who go into the foster care system may have behavioral problems, but that doesn’t mean they need to be put on severe psychotic drugs. A new report on the status of kids in foster care reveals that a surprising number of kids in the system are being doped up on medications used for severe bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The New York Times reports that these findings are the first to investigate how foster care kids are sometimes given two anti-psychotic drugs at once to curb their temperament. Doctors say that there is not enough medical evidence to support this prescription use in very young kids. Overall, foster care kids are twice as likely to be on antipsychotic drugs than children with homes despite that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are rare in small children.
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This week, Michael Jackson‘s physician Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. It’s a huge headline, and not just because it involves the death of a celebrity. Prescription drug abuse is a huge epidemic, and celebrities aren’t the only ones involved. Around the world, there is shockingly little oversight over the drugs that are prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacists every day. In Jackson’s case, he was taking a highly potent drug cocktail and Dr. Murray had more than enough information to do something about it before the singer died. More
Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter yesterday, the jury unequivocally placing blame on his bad medicine–specifically, an irresponsible propofol prescription–for Michael Jackson‘s death. Their verdict isn’t just a moment to be remembered by Jackson’s family, or the throngs of fans that could be heard cheering outside the courthouse in Los Angeles yesterday; it was a watershed moment in medicine, setting a precedent for medical ethics, declaring that it’s time for more doctors to take greater responsibility for patient care in their medical practice. Which, frankly, if we look around us at the crumbling condition of America’s health: It is. More
Holy Zoloft—nearly one in 10 Americans now takes antidepressants, according to the CDC. That’s 11% of U.S. citizens 12 and over, making antidepressants the third most common prescription drug taken overall and the most frequently taken drug among people 18-44. The most frequently taken drug among people 18-44 (I felt that bared repeating). Since Elizabeth Wurtzel wrote Prozac Nation in 1994, the rate of antidepressant use in the U.S. has increased nearly 400%. But has our understanding of depression and antidepressant use kept pace? More
The first drugs that will successfully slow the aging process should be available within five to 10 years, Australian researchers say. Between these drugs and stem cell therapies, the ability to extend human life to at least 150 years old isn’t far off. But medical technology could outpace the social and economic systems needed to support old old age—or even outpace other health developments necessary to make living longer short of miserable for most people. More
