Category: Wellness (Page 13 of 116)

Summer Heat Can Be Deadly But Why?

July 5, 2012 / Staff

Record heat has claimed 23 lives and the weather shows no signs of letting up.

But what is it that causes people to succumb to high temperatures?

The ability to sweat is what keeps the body cool.
Once high humidity becomes part of the equation, sweating is no longer as effective.

Extreme temperatures make it difficult for a heat-stressed individual to be aware of the danger since the brain and central nervous system are particularly sensitive to high internal temperatures.

Hot weather alone is not dangerous, said Chris Minson, an environmental physiologist at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Instead, it’s a combination of hot temperatures, high humidity, and often preexisting health conditions that can push a person’s core body temperature to reach the danger zone of 104 F. At that point, the nervous system goes haywire, the heart experiences excessive stress, and organ systems begin to fail.

Research, Wellness

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Over The Counter HIV Test Approved By The FDA

July 3, 2012 / Staff

The FDA has approved a rapid at home HIV test.

OraSure Technologies Inc. of Bethlehem PA. has produced OraQuick for over-the-counter sales.

The hope is that the at-home test will reach the 20 percent of HIV infected people who do not know that they are infected.

Taking the test will not eliminate the need to follow up with further testing.

The test has the potential to identify large numbers of previously undiagnosed HIV infections. An estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV infection. About one of every five don’t know they’re infected. About 50,000 new HIV infections are diagnosed every year.
percent accurate in correctly identifying positive results, a measure known as sensitivity, clinical trials showed. That means that one false negative test result could be expected out of every 12 tests.
It was also about 99.98 percent accurate at correctly identifying negative results, a measure known as specificity. That means one false positive would be expected out of every 5,000 test results in uninfected individuals.

OraSure expects the at-home HIV test to be available starting in October at more than 30,000 retail outlets across the U.S. and online.

Quality Control, Resources, Wellness

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Caffeine May Lower The Risk Of Common Skin Cancer

July 2, 2012 / Staff

The caffeine in coffee as well as in tea, soda and chocolate may be responsible for lowering the risk of Basal Cell Carcinoma ( BCC ).

A twenty year study has shown an inverse relationship between coffee drinkers and those who develop BCC.

“These results really suggest that it is the caffeine in coffee that is responsible for the decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma associated with increasing coffee consumption,” Jiali Han, associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston as well as the study’s lead author, said in a press release. “This would be consistent with published mouse data, which indicate caffeine can block skin tumor formation. However, more studies in different population cohorts and additional mechanistic studies will be needed before we can say this definitively.”

Along with sunscreen, limiting sun exposure and regular check-ups, caffeine could be an enjoyable way to help prevent skin cancer.

Research, Wellness

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Will Eating After Dark Pack On The Pounds?

July 1, 2012 / Staff

Does eating late make you gain weight?

There are those who would say that calories are calories and as long as you don’t consume more than you use then you won’t gain weight.

But the research has shown that it is a bit more complicated than that.

There are optimal times for our body to burn fat and one is at night.

New studies reveal that to burn the most fat, you need to go 12 hours without eating—say, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. So it’s smart to time your calorie intake accordingly.

You’re most likely to make healthy food choices when you’re not tired.

Choose nutritious foods and don’t eat when it’s dark outside.

Pretty simple.

Nutrition, Research, Wellness

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