NASAdude

Ok... the subject is a bit of a stretch. It jumps to a conclusion from a limited amount of information. Let's take a look at the study.

The researchers studied eight healthy young men on two different days. Each day, the men were served vodka mixed with an orange-flavored drink.

On one day, the drink was made with a “regular” mix containing sugar (sucrose). On the other day, the drink was made with “diet” mix.

The men fasted before each session. The drinks were the equivalent of three standard alcoholic beverages, Rayner told reporters in a teleconference.

The key questions:
* How quickly did the drink empty from the men’s stomachs
* How did the men’s blood alcohol concentration change 180 minutes after downing the drinks.

The results:
* The artificially sweetened drink was quicker to leave the men’s stomachs (21 minutes, compared with 36 with the sugar drink to empty half of the drink from the stomach).
* The men had a higher peak blood alcohol concentration after drinking the artificially sweetened drink (0.05 blood alcohol level, compared with 0.03 with the sugar drink).
* For both groups, blood alcohol levels peaked about 30 minutes after drinking the drinks.
Source

So what's wrong with this?

Continue reading "Get drunk quicker with artificially-sweetened mixed drinks" »

Posted by NASAdude at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Psychologists don't consider that there are, in fact, truly happy people, which is why they base their studies on the morose." -- Jason - commenter #5

This is the first time a post here is inspired almost entirely by a comment to a news article. Congratulations, Jason. He noted that there wern't any "happy" traits associated with the foods we like to eat... according to some psychologists.

The story is about how psychologists have determined that our personalities (one per person, please!) can be determined by the foods we like.

Angry: Meat
Sad: Sugary food, caffeine
In need of comfort: Custard, ice cream
Lonely: Rice, pasta
Stressed or ambitious: Crisps, soy sauce, onions
Sexually frustrated: Biscuits, bread
Jealous: Pile the plate with anything

No wonder I eat so much pasta and bread with an ice cream chaser. And don't get me started on chocolate (sugar and caffeine) *sob*

Posted by NASAdude at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's difficult to know who to believe when the news appears to contradict itself.

Homeopathy no better than placebo

Homeopathy, favored medical remedy of the royal family for generations and hugely popular in the UK, has an effect but only in the mind, according to a major study published in a leading medical journal on Thursday.

The conclusions of the Lancet analysis are a body blow for proponents of homeopathy, which has been around for 250 years and has attained cult-like status among its aficionados.

Swiss scientists compared the results of more than 100 trials of homeopathic medicines with the same number of trials of conventional medicines in a whole range of medical conditions, from respiratory infections to surgery. They found that homeopathy had no more than a placebo effect.

So are all those home remedies wrong? Could it be possible? But then there are other studies published that seem to disagree:

Butterbur Offers Hay Fever Relief (also here)

For the one in five Americans who suffer from hay fever, the herb butterbur may be an effective alternative to an antihistamine drug, according to what is called the largest trial on the plant extract done so far.

Researchers from Switzerland and Germany compared butterbur extract with fexofenadine (Allegra), an antihistamine commonly used to treat intermittent allergic rhinitis, better known as hay fever. Common symptoms of hay fever include sneezing, nasal congestion and watery, itchy eyes.

The investigators assigned 330 patients to one of three groups: the first group took butterbur extract (also called petasites), 8 milligram tablets three times a day; the fexofenadine group took a 180-milligram antihistamine tablet in the morning; and the third group received placebo pills.

Continue reading "Who to believe?" »

Posted by NASAdude at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I don't have much to add to the original article, other than saying it's a good idea, but not worth legislating. Down with trans-fatty-acids... a.k.a. partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

New York Restaurants Urged to Eliminate Trans Fats

No one would ever mistake a place teeming with steakhouses and French restaurants — not to mention street vendors hawking beef-laden hot dogs and margarine-covered bagels — as being particularly health-conscious.

But if the city's health department has its way, New York will become the first American metropolis whose restaurants do away with trans fats, chemically engineered ingredients in cooking oils that act like cement in the human heart.

Trans fats are created when unsaturated vegetable oils undergo a chemical process known as hydrogenation. That gives the oils a solid form that is essential to holding together a cookie or achieving the golden crisp of French fries.

Trans fats, known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, were developed years ago to replace saturated fats.

Scientists later discovered that trans fats, common in such things as baked goods and fried chicken, were even worse for the heart.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has targeted trans fats in grocery stores. Beginning Jan. 1, food makers must disclose levels of trans fats on nutrition labels.

Continue reading "Trans-fats" »

Posted by NASAdude at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This study focuses on the stress-reducing effects of hugging for couples, but how long until it expands to a larger population? Soon, we'll be expected to hug strangers at work, on the street, at the grocery store, at home... everywhere? When will the insanity end!

I'll be perfectly happy living and working alone where I don't have to hug or be hugged by anyone. Just leave my alone so I can crouch in the corner and rock slowly while muttering incoherently about people reading my thoughts.

How hugs can aid women's hearts

A team from the University of North Carolina studied the effects of hugging on both partners in 38 couples.

The study showed hugs increased levels of oxytocin, a "bonding" hormone, and reduced blood pressure - which cuts the risk of heart disease.

Continue reading "Stressed? Hug somone." »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I debated whether to categorize this as a "Health" article or one for "Religion". Even though this article examines how people believe what they are told about their previous food preferences, it strongly relates to why people follow a religion: They are told it is true, and they believe without good reason. What really surprised me is that it doesn't even have to be a direct relation that tells them what they liked/disliked as a child.

As I've said for a long time, people are sheep.

False beliefs about junk food could help diet

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For some people, simply suggesting that they had a bad childhood experience with a certain food may cause them to think twice before eating it again, researchers reported Monday.

The implication, they say, is that false beliefs about food could serve as a basis for a whole new form of dieting -- where, for instance, parents of a junk-food-loving teen tell him that a doughnut made him sick when he was 4.

In experiments with college students, the researchers found that they could make some believe that strawberry ice cream had made them sick as children, simply by telling them it had happened.

More to the point, some of these "believers" indicated that in the future, they would avoid the offending food.

Continue reading "People want to believe... a lie" »

Posted by NASAdude at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Summary: It's not in meat (muscle tissue). It's not in milk. About 20 people get it each year. It's more likely you'd be struck by lightning (and killed). Now ask yourself, why is it being hyped so much, and why is so much money being spent to prevent it?

Here's what I found from reputable sources in about an hour of searching.

Continue reading "Mad Cows need love too" »

Posted by NASAdude at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A new implantable device may alleviate depression.

Depression Treatment Device Sparks Debate

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) -- A tiny device about the size of a pocketwatch has treated hundreds of depression patients in clinical trials across the country. It's on the verge of being the first depression treatment device to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But the progress comes amid questions about whether the device's Houston-based manufacturer, Cyberonics Inc., has sufficiently proven that it's safe and it works.

Continue reading "anti-depression 'pacemaker'" »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's now decided. The case has been dismissed, on the basis of free speech.

Consumers Union, the folks who publish Consumer Reports, was sued by Sharper Image for disparaging its Ionic Breeze air filter product.

Comments on this case hypothesise how such actions might suppress future reporting by independent media, who may now fear legal reprisals when they issue a bad product review.

Continue reading "Ionic Breeze doesn't work as claimed" »

Posted by NASAdude at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An implantable contact lens that corrects vision in nearsighted patients is safe and does not have some of the side effects of laser surgery, a company that manufactures the devices said on Wednesday.

STAAR Surgical Co. said its lens corrected the vision of 95 percent of patients to 20/40 or better, and 60 percent had 20/20 vision.

Continue reading "Implantable contact lens safe - US study" »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A cream that blocks allergic substances from entering the nose seems to reduce symptoms in patients with hay fever, new research shows. The cream, known as Alergol, is applied inside the lower nose where it traps these substances.

Continue reading "Anti-pollen cream helps with hay fever" »

Posted by NASAdude at 01:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2004-08-05 15:08:32 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Paul Simao; Source

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Motorists who swerve to avoid deer, cattle and other large animals are almost as likely to end up in the emergency room as those who hit them, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

An estimated 10,080 people are treated for non-fatal injuries each year from crashes that occur after a driver swerves or slows down to avoid large animals, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading "Deer in headlights pose dilemma for motorists" »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Six weeks of dietary supplementation with vitamin E adds no benefit to the standard treatment of mild-to-moderate asthma in adults, according to researchers in the UK.

Continue reading "Vitamin E alone does not help control asthma" »

Posted by NASAdude at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Order the salad, but don't hold the fat: report By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People need to include moderate amounts of fat with their uncooked vegetables in order to absorb the beneficial nutrients, new research shows.

Continue reading "Order the salad, but don't hold the fat: report" »

Posted by NASAdude at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's interesting that high choesterol is indicated, but not high blood pressure.

It seems this is more of a psychological study, using TV viewing as a predictor of later lifestyle.  As such, the only surprising result is that high blood pressure isn't a factor.  Doesn't lifestyle relate to high blood pressure?

----

Source: http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/07/16/eline/links/20040716elin022.html

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of television watched as a child is directly related to the risk of health problems as an adult, new research shows.

Although previous reports have linked childhood television viewing with adverse health, no long-term studies have looked at the effects on adult health, lead author Dr. Robert J. Hancox and colleagues, from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, note in The Lancet medical journal.

Continue reading "Too much TV in childhood tied to poor health later" »

Posted by NASAdude at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)