Recent Blog Posts

  Is the Junk-Food Gene Making You Crave Fattening Foods? Plus, How to Overcome It Junk food, fast food, we know it’s all unhealthy, yet we still order takeout and frequent drive-throughs, sometimes several times a week. The top five reasons Americans eat junk food are convenience, availability, no time to cook, it’s quick and affordable -- but at what cost to their health? Kids with the so-called “junk-food gene” are more likely to eat junk food -- and more of it -- than kids who don’t. A study conducted by the American Institute for Cancer Research showed that a quarter of the calories Americans consume come from nutrient-poor choices, otherwise known as “junk food.” Soft drinks accounted for 7.1 percent of the calories consumed by the 4,700 people surveyed. Altogether, soft drinks, sweets, desserts and alcoholic beverages made up nearly one-quarter (23.8 percent) of the total calorie intake! Junk Food Cravings -- A Genetic Link Could it be that genes are responsible for this overload of junk food in our diets? Well, a study released by the New England [...]

  What is the World’s Most Dangerous Sport? (We Bet You’ll NEVER Guess) Plus summer camp for some is right around the corner! Between 1982 and the spring of 2010, there were over 1,100 catastrophic injuries in high school and college sports, which includes any severe or fatal injury that occurred while participating in the sport. Cheerleading can instill confidence, leadership and athletic ability into girls … yet its gymnastic-like stunts, coupled with lacking safety regulations, make it one of the most dangerous sports around. Yet, a great portion of those injuries did not occur during a football, hockey, wrestling or any other type of contact sport, like you might suspect. They did not all occur during a baseball, soccer or basketball game either. As it turns out, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which recently released its 26th annual report on the topic, the sport that causes more serious and deadly injuries among women than any other sport is … cheerleading. In all, during the period [...]

  The Biggest Firework Display? How Many Used Yearly? And More Fireworks Facts   The Fourth of July is just around the corner, and other than watermelon and barbecued burgers what's on everyone's mind is, of course, fireworks. Deep blue and bright white fireworks are the most difficult to produce, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. This American tradition has much older roots than most people know, and actually didn't originate in America at all. In fact, it's said that the first fireworks came from China in the 800s, when bamboo shoots were filled with gunpowder and set off at the New Year to ward off evil spirits. What else do you not know, but secretly want to, about fireworks? Macy's department store in New York City claims to hold the world's largest fireworks display. Every year at 9 p.m. on July 4, four barges in the East River, set just between 23rd and 42nd streets, set off 20,000 aerial shells and special effects. The New York Fire Department also operates "fire boats" on the river that shoot red, clear [...]

  10 Foods that Keep Your Arteries Clean   Your arteries are blood vessels that transport oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. In order for this important process to occur, your arteries should be flexible, strong, elastic and clear of any deposits. All fruits and vegetables are said to help prevent heart disease, but certain varieties (like apples) pack a particularly powerful punch. However, over time deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances can build up in your arteries. These plaques can severely restrict blood flow and, even more seriously, they can cause your arteries to rupture, leading to blood clots. Blood clots can then block your blood flow entirely, leading to heart attack and stroke. In fact, a build-up of plaques in your arteries, known as atherosclerosis, is the main underlying cause of heart disease. So keeping your arteries clean is not only a key part of your heart health, it's a key to your health overall. Exercising on most days of the week is an excellent way [...]

  WARNING: “Worst Mosquito Season in Two Decades" Predicted -- What You can Do to Prevent West Nile Virus and Other Mosquito-Related Risks Mosquito season is upon us in the United States and that means your next picnic, barbecue or walk around the neighborhood may be accompanied by some unwanted pests. Mosquito bites are, of course, itchy and sometimes a bit painful, but mosquitoes' real risk comes from their ability to transmit disease. Due to an abundance of wet weather, certain areas of the United States are predicting this may be the worst mosquito season in two decades! In the United States, mosquitoes can carry West Nile Virus (WNV), an infectious disease that first appeared in the United States in 1999 and since then has appeared in all contiguous 48 states. About one in 150 people bitten will develop a serious case with a few who can or will die. When bitten by an infected mosquito (mosquitoes often become infected from biting infected birds), West Nile Virus can enter your bloodstream and multiply, where it then moves to your brain, [...]

  What REALLY Makes Your Hair Turn Gray? (And is Stress a Major Factor?) It happens to just about every U.S. President as they struggle through their term in office, and it reportedly happened to Marie Antionette in the days before she was guillotined. Of course, just about every parent of a teenager (or a 2-year-old, for that matter) has likely experienced it too: Gray hair! You may not be able to blame your gray hair on your teenaged children and demanding job after all! Yet, contrary to the old wives' tale that stress will make your hair turn gray, scientific studies showing such a link are lacking. Rather than the emotional stress we often associated with premature gray, a new study in the journal Cell found that cell stress may be a more likely cause. DNA Damage May Color Your Hair Gray Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University found that cellular stress, caused by damaging agents like chemicals, ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation, may explain why your hair turns gray. As the study’s lead author, Emi Nishimura, pointed [...]