Hot MedFax

Now something new to worry about. Did you know the fluorescent lights you most normally work under can steal your strength ? A new research in animals shows that excessive exposure to “light pollution” may be worse for health than previously known, taking a toll on muscle and bone strength, according to The New York Times. Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands tracked the health of rats exposed to six months of continuous light compared to a control group of rats living under normal light-dark conditions — 12 hours of light, followed by 12 hours of dark.  During the study, the rats exposed to continuous light had less muscle strength and developed signs of early-stage osteoporosis. They also got fatter and had higher blood glucose levels. Several markers of immune system health also worsened, according to the report published in the medical journal Current Biology. While earlier research has suggested excessive light exposure c...

I read this list with some trepidation.  What am I eating that I thought was good for losing weight that really isn't (though the scale probably tells me, anyway)? According to Greg Presto at yahoo health, the list contains some foods that are obvious, and others that aren't. Like, take, for example, Dannon Light&Fit yogurt.  I live on the Greek kind (hope that's not next!), but this one, says Presto, takes t he "light" part--removing the fat from the yogurt--a step that actually makes it less satisfying, "so you're bound to be starving an hour after eating." What's worse is the fat is replaced with sugar, 16 grams of carbs, 11 of which are, you guessed it, sugar. That's a popular trick of many "light" foods. They have to make it taste good somehow. Next foe of diets: instant breakfast drinks.  More than 50% of their ingredients are, yes, again, sugar. " This super-sweet beverage can actually make you hungrier,...

We have an assistant principal I adore but who says he is very affected by light and wears these really outlandish glasses at night that look like sunglasses but deaden the light so it's more soothing.  Now I'm thinking he may really be onto something. A new study has found that light affects our decisions.  "Th e next time you want to turn down the emotional intensity before making an important decision, you may want to dim the lights first," newswise.com reports. Researchers in Canada discovered that  human emotion, whether positive or negative, is felt more intensely under bright light. “Other evidence shows that on sunny days people are more optimistic about the stock market, report higher wellbeing and are more helpful while extended exposure to dark, gloomy days can result in seasonal affective disorder,” the Web site quotes A lison Jing Xu, assistant professor of management at  University of Toronto Scarborough   and the Rotman School of Managemen...

If you're like me, and your back acts up (thanks to a rear-end collision 25 years ago), some days you'd do anything to stop the pain and be able to move around like a human being again.  What if just by flicking a light switch, you could do that? smartplanet.com reports today that just such a solution is in the works.  Researchers believe that using controlled lighting "can reduce pain by stimulating a patient’s mood, sleep patterns and activity levels." Currently they're testing this theory "using a collection of LED and fluorescent bulbs that shine 'intensive light' that reaches the patient’s lower retina, an area of the eye that stimulates brain functions," the Web site notes. Now, I don't mean to make light of pain.  There are many, many people who suffer far worse than an occasional backache (which, I must disclose, isn't helped by running) and these are the people German researchers are hoping to help. “As a psychologist and ...