Hot MedFax

They don't know if they're coming or going.  Doctors are now saying that alcohol is good for your heart.  But maybe not so much for your breasts, ladies. Turns out a whole confluence of studies has found that one drink a day, every day, keeps your heart healthier but may contribute, somewhat significantly, to the development of breast cancer.   But any more than that, not so much.  And as for those who really don't imbibe at all, we could be in the worst shape of all. According to The New York Times, research into how alcohol consumption affects health has been going on for a long time. A 1990 prospective cohort study included results of more than 275,000 men followed since 1959. Compared with those who never drank alcohol, those who consumed one to two drinks a day had a significantly reduced mortality rate from both coronary heart disease and “all causes.” Those who consumed three or more drinks a day still had a lower risk of death from coronary heart ...

What do you do when you're stressed ? Reach for a half-pound bag of M&M's, like I do, or a couple glasses of merlot like my friends do?  Or maybe watch a Housewives Reunion where they all scream at and accuse each other of everything from copying their Jimmy Choo Belgravias to calling each other's kids spoiled? Well, the sad truth is that feeling stressed may prompt you to go to great lengths to satisfy an urge for a drink or sweets, but you're not likely to enjoy the indulgence any more than someone who is not stressed and has the same treat just for pleasure, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association, as reported by newswise.com.  "Most of us have experienced stress that increases our craving for rewarding experiences, such as eating a tasty bar of chocolate, and it can make us invest considerable effort in obtaining the object of our desire, such as running to a convenience store in the middle of the night,...

We all know physical activity is practically commanded by the Bible in the way we're all ordered to practice it.  It can prevent breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, you name it, even Alzheimer's, according to some studies.  And now it's being touted as a way, along with occasional drinking (?), to keep your eyesight strong well into old age.   newswise.com reports that a  physically active lifestyle and occasional drinking "are associated with a reduced risk of developing visual impairment." (Does this mean we should all become "occasional" drinkers to save our eyes?) But it's not just losing your sight we should be worried about, the Web site notes.  It could also affect the way, and how well, we live. Visual impairment – sight loss often caused by eye disease, trauma, or a congenital or degenerative condition that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses – is associated with a poorer quality of life and, when severe, loss o...

Yet one more reason to hate getting older.  If you're 55 or older, one drink may do you in.  At least, for driving . According to a new study, once you reach a certain age, "T hat single serving may hit you hard enough to make you a dangerous driver." newswise.com reports that research showed that  a blood alcohol level of 0.08, all states' legal driving limit, or equal to just one drink, can affect the driving abilities of older drivers. “These simulations have been used a lot in looking at older adults, and they have been used at looking how alcohol affects the driving of younger adults, but no one’s ever looked at the combination of aging drivers and alcohol,” the Web site quotes University of Florida doctoral candidate Alfredo Sklar. In one part of the study r esearchers put together a group of 25-to-35-year-olds and another one of people ages 55 to 70.  Each group was completely sober.  On a s imulated winding 3-mile stretch of country road, researc...

Just our luck.  Wouldn't you know it?  Women's livers are more at risk from drinking than men's. According to newswise.com, that's because we're smaller and have less body water than men (but, just to make everything even, of course, we get the lion's share of fat). “As a result, women who are already predisposed by genetics to have liver disease should limit their alcohol consumption or stay away from alcohol altogether,” the Web site quotes Dr. Howard Monsour, chief of hepatology at Houston Methodist Hospital. Say what?   He adds, " There is a misconception that you have to be an alcoholic to develop serious liver disease. Not true. In fact, if you have a genetic disposition, drinking more than a moderate amount could be very damaging, especially for women." About 20 to 30 percent of the population has a genetic disposition to cirrhosis of the liver and Monsour said it is important for people to know if they have a family history of cirr...

When was the last time you saw someone smoking in a movie?  Used to be that everyone smoked on-screen.  But today it seems only the bad guys are the ones who smoke, almost as if that's another reason we shouldn't like them. But alcohol, on the other hand, has become much more visible at the movies, according to a story by Reuters, as reported by Fox News. Movie characters smoke less since 1998 regulations that stopped tobacco companies from buying on-screen brand placements, according to a new study. But the number of times alcohol brands appear has exploded in movies rated PG-13 and below, while the amount of time characters spend drinking hasn't changed. I love "Two and a Half Men," at least, when Charlie Sheen was on, and there was never a scene where he didn't have some kind of glass in his hand. A lot of people see this as a real problem.  "In movie reality, it seems like every occasion is right for a drink," David Jernigan, head of t...