Topic: recent study

Women’s Studies: Blaming Us For Social Problems Isn’t Fair

I like to read the news first thing in the morning, as we all do, but sometimes it can be a real downer of a way to start my day. There’s poverty, disease, war; all of which can do serious damage to our happiness and wellness, even from afar. Today, when I read two different studies back to back, first that women’s sleeping patterns are the cause of marital strife then that women are more prone to depression than men, I really began to feel like the scientific community was reaching out beyond the pages of my Google Reader, grabbing me by the throat, and shaking all the loose marbles about in my head. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m getting the impression scientists and researchers want me to know I was born a moody cow, there’s nothing I can do about it, and all relationship problems I’ve ever had, am currently having, and will have in the future, are my fault. Yeah, this is getting a little tiring, and is totally bumming me out. Science, I thought you were my friend!
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Smoking Makes You Thin (And Other Unhealthy Ways To Lose Weight)

All the smokers I know have always credited their tar and formaldehyde addiction for their slim figures, and now their addiction-enabling beliefs have scientific backing: A new study says that nicotine suppresses your appetite. No shit. I can just see the banner billboards now: “Smoke Yourself Thin!” and “Hey Fatties! Go From Piggy To Ciggie!” Thank you, Marlboro Man for that extra special scientific study into stuff that doesn’t help us at all. What are we supposed to do with this report? Start smoking FOR our health? More »

A Dirty Diet Could Boost Your Immune System, But Don’t Stop Washing Your Produce

A new study published in The Quarterly Review of Biology is digging up the dirt on our diets, literally, and surprisingly, researchers are saying there’s not enough of it on our fruits and vegetables. After analyzing 480 cultural practices from around the world, researchers at Cornell University in New York found that those who consumed dirt (not top soil, but deeply dug earth, closer to the level of mud or clay) had protected stomachs against ingested parasites and plant toxins, in addition to higher iron, zinc, and calcium levels. That’s great, but I won’t stop washing my fruit and veg just yet. More »

Research Says We Scorn (Not Celebrate) Other Women’s Weight Loss Achievements

Let’s face it: Our culture is weight-obsessed. We’re fascinated with the quest for lean, hard bodies, and always scouring the latest trends and studies for new ways to achieve it. We may or may not measure ourselves by our appearance, but when someone achieves a significant weight-loss, it’s treated as a momentous event. Richard Simmons, The Biggest Loser, Dancing With The Stars, and Celebrity Fit Club have all made it okay for us to talk about our health and fitness goals, especially when the scale shows us the difference in our bodies. But new research suggests that we actually look down our noses at weight-loss winners, especially when it comes to women. More »

Poll: Would You Want To Know When You’re Going To Die?

The Spanish National Research Center in Madrid has developed a new blood test which could approximate how long we have to live. The test measures the tips of our chromosomes, called telomeres, which indicate our “biological” age (i.e.how old our body feels and functions) as opposed to our actual chronological age. If you’ve ever seen The Biggest Loser, they often perform a similar test on contestants, revealing how health risks such as obesity, smoking, and other illnesses can increase your biological age. So while chronologically you may only be 40 years old, biologically, your body could actually function like it’s been around for a lot longer. This new telomere test is scheduled to be available over the counter in the United Kingdom in a few months (with a hefty price tag of nearly $700). But forget the high cost: If this test could accurately tell you when you’re due to die, would you want to know, or does this just sound like a less sexy, more sad version of the Time Traveler’s Wife?

Sorry! This poll is now closed.

Liver #Fail: How Drinking Alcohol (Or Not) Could Affect Your Health

With so many studies out there telling you what you should and shouldn’t consume in order to maintain health, it’s easy to get confused. When some new study says exercise is great, another new study will say that exercise will kill you dead in your tracks. Sometimes you have to ignore the de rigeur medical miracle and go with what your gut tells you. Or, in this case, what your liver tells you. A new study out of Japan says that moderate weekly drinking of wine and beer could actually reduce the inflammation of a fatty liver. If you’re like me, and you don’t drink at all, you’re thinking, “Well I guess that’s good for those who enjoy a pint after work, but it doesn’t affect me.” Wrong! To add confusion to the mix, the study also suggests that teetotalers are actually at greater risk at developing a fatty liver than a moderate drinker. Wait, what? After years of telling us that alcohol consumption is a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver disease (including failure), now scientists want us to drink up? Excuse me if I don’t immediately run to my local pub to make up for lost time. More »

Study Links Depression To Chemicals In Our Blood, But Treatment Remains The Same

A new study from Japan has revealed the possible links between depression and the chemicals found in our blood. The medical research group Human Metabolome Technologies studied the concentration of phosphoric acid in the blood of 66 people. When 31 subjects were diagnosed with depression, the team found that many of them were low in ethanolamine phosphate, which could account for their depression. What are these chemicals? How do they play a role in our feelings? And is this treatable? More »

Men Dig Happy Women And Chicks Dig Bad Boys (But We Don’t Dig Bad Studies)

I always thought that there is nothing more attractive than a person’s smiling face, but according to a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia, all the men I’ve fancied must have been ugly as puke. Published in the American Psychological Association journal Emotion, their study (which sounds like it was spearheaded by Andrew Dice Clay) says that happy guys finish last, since women, by and large, find brooding, misanthropic Hamlets to be the height of sexual attractiveness. Meanwhile, pride worn by women is seen as unattractive by their male mates. Got that ladies? You’re only allowed to fancy assholes, but you’re not allowed to be one yourself. Adhere to these strict guidelines, or die alone. More »

Orgasms Are All In Your Head, And That’s A Good Thing

Orgasms Are All In Your Head, And Thatâ��s A Good Thing

Despite its popularity, we still don’t know much about the big O. We can (and do) speculate all we like, but at the end of the day, we’re not sure why we have orgasms (or why we don’t). It’s estimated that one in four American women have had difficulty achieving an orgasm in the past year, while between 5 and 10% of women have been unable to achieve an orgasm at all. To add insult to injury, there are few treatment options available for women who might want help. But a new study has emerged which has made the cause of female orgasms a mission (God bless ‘em). The conclusion is that, unlike men, there are two – yes, two – ways for a female to achieve orgasm. So if you’re having trouble reaching “zen” with your “little Buddha,” read carefully… More »

What We're Reading:

This One Time, At Band Camp, I Played The Flute, And Research Says It’ll Keep Me Young

We’ve all heard that musical training gives students an edge in the classroom, and just yesterday I wrote about the positive emotional effects of experiencing art, but researchers have yet another reason to become a true renaissance woman. A new study published in the online journal PLoS One states that those who know how to play musical instruments stay younger and healthier for longer. Aren’t you wishing you paid closer attention during tuba practice in high school now? Or, even better, joined that dorky marching band? More »

Jenny Craig Offers The Best Weight Loss Plan, But It’ll Cost You

Consumer Reports magazine has ranked Jenny Craig as the best weight loss program on the market because clients manage to lose weight and keep it off for years, in addition to offering the best mentoring support system. Comparing Jenny Craig to other weight loss programs such as Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, The Zone, and Atkins, Jenny Craig scored extra non-fattening brownie points for their nutritionally-sound meal plans, and the cost of the system weighed (har har) against the short and long term results. Oh Valerie Bertinelli, is there anything you can’t do? More »

Research Says Obesity Is Contagious, But We Say Fat-Shaming Isn’t A Good Look

Listen carefully to me, readers, because I have some important information to reveal to you right now about your weight-loss goals. If you have friends who are heavier than you, you need to kill them, and quickly. Barring that, at least run them out of town. Throw stones and heavy rocks at them if you can, that should drive the point home. In essence, you are not allowed to have a heavier friend within a 50 mile radius of you. Nature abhors them, and therefore you must as well. At least, that’s what researchers at Arizona State University are implying with their new study that states obese friends encourage the normalization of larger figures. Fat is contagious like a virus, they say, and if you want to remain oh-so svelte and trim, you need to “cut the fat” if you will. More »

New Meal Replacement Drink Not a Solution For Weight Loss

A new Dutch study developed by the team at Unilever Research and Development found that those consuming a replacement meal shake containing gelling alginate felt full for longer than volunteers drinking the shake without alginate. Oh, this is new? I’ve been drinking that drink for years, it’s called ANYTHING WITH CAFFEINE. According to the study, the alginate, which is a dietary fiber (and sounds a little too much like “algae” for my palette) , expands only under gastric conditions, thereby making it easy to swallow and a preferred treatment for curbing hunger. My question is, if you’re practicing healthy eating habits, why are you worried about curbing your hunger? More »

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