Hot MedFax

I don't know which way you lean, but just about anyone can see the ass NJ Gov. Chris Christie is making of himself.  Don't know whether Bridgegate is true (I think it is), but some say his very narcissism  -- though it's sure hurting him now -- is also what's made him a great leader, according to newswise.com. And here's the upshot: " Though narcissists were more likely to attain leadership positions, there was no direct relationship between narcissism and leaders' success." Researchers reviewed existing literature and aggregated past and current research to come up with the answer. "Our findings are pretty clear that the answer to the question as to whether narcissism is good or bad is that it is neither. It's best in moderation," said Emily Grijalva of the University of Illinois, the lead author of the study, at newswise.com. "With too little, a leader can be viewed as insecure or hesitant, but if you're too high on narci...

According to the experts, we're changing how we eat .   Our priorities have shifted, they say. Some of us have jumped on the gluten-free wagon while others now snack over 50% of the time they eat, newswise.com notes.  Here are the facts as the Web site reports them:    1. In a single day, American’s typically eat and drink 14 different kinds of food and beverages from sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, carbonated soft drinks, milk, coffee, potatoes, salty snacks, juices, and ready-to-eat cereal (NPD, 2013). 2. The largest restaurant chains in America from highest grossing are McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, Wendy’s,  Burger King, Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Chik-fil-A (Technomic, 2013).  3. Forty-five percent of Millennials and 24 percent of Boomers have adopted a special diet (e.g., gluten-free or vegan). One-third of all Millennials’ eating involve global cuisine; 56 percent of Millennials want something healthy for their next snack (H...

We called them Bugs back in the 70's, with their cute little snub noses and engines in the hood. But did you know that Volkswagen Beetles, the new ones, are a brand you should walk -- no, run -- away from on the used car lot? According to Steven Lang at autos.yahoo.com, a new quality index will help consumers stay away from the lemons.  What's considered low quality? The highest defect level at trade-in. Lang categorizes the losers: 10. Volkswagen New Beetle  (automatic transmission issues and cheap interior components; diesel models with 5-speed manuals are by far the best powertrain option.) 9. Mazda 626  (automatic transmission issues, all models.) 8. Lincoln Aviator  (a gussied-up, unpopular Ford Explorer that had unique sensor and software issues which negatively impacted the overall powertrain and electronics.) 7. Jaguar S-Type  (Extensive transmission and engine issues on all V-6 and V-8 models. Along with Limited edition models with ungodly...

Didn't we learn our lesson from "fat-free" potato chips?  Guess not.  Now Haribo sugar-free Gummi bears have eaters racing to the toilet. Me, personally, I've always hated those things, like chewing on rubber bands.  But a lot of America is not like me.  According to Medical Daily, " Consumers on Amazon's reviews for the product wrote about the little kick to their bowels they received.  " Sabrina Bachai   writesof a consumer, who, somewhat too evocatively, said, "I t felt like I was firing out hot liquid magma.” It's the sorbitol and other laxative-like ingredients that usually replace the sugar. In fact, poeople hoping for a quick weight loss have been rushing to buy them (and then, apparently, to the loo!). Some say that, "T hough they did have those nasty side-effects it was a quick way to lose weight, and it was a perfect cleanse prior to undergoing a colonoscopy," Bachai relates. She notes that  Haribo does not claim re...

If you're anything like me, if a doctor says something that insults  or embarrasses you, you may never go back, a new study has found. I can remember when I was lugging around 30 post-partum pounds and a new internist I was planning to start seeing told me I really needed to lose weight.  I dropped the pounds (he was actually my incentive to join Weight Watchers) but I never went back. But not everyone gives up on a doctor who challenges them.  Some people lie the next time they see the doctor ("Oh yes, I cut 'way back on my calories"), while others decide to draw the wagons around and take the advice. Shame and guilt as a direct result of interacting with a doctor are quite common, says Christine Harris, professor of psychology in the UC San Diego Division of Social Sciences, as are both positive and negative reactions at newswise.com.  Gaining insight into patient reactions is important, the she and her co-authors write, because “more than one third of all...

You may have already figured this out but diet soda may hurt you more than help you, when trying to lose weight. That's because  overweight and obese adults who drink diet beverages consume more calories from food than obese or overweight adults who drink regular soda or other sugary beverages, according to newswise.com. “Although overweight and obese adults who drink diet soda eat a comparable amount of total calories as heavier adults who drink sugary beverages, they consume significantly more calories from solid food at both meals and snacks,” said Sara Bleich, PhD, associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management and lead author of a paper on the subject, at newswise.com. "Artificial sweeteners, which are present in high doses in diet soda, are associated with a greater activation of reward centers in the brain, thus altering the reward a person experiences from sweet tastes. In other words, among people who drink diet soda,...

I've always believed this, but my husband, the atheist, laughs at me. I just dismiss his cynicism but a new study has proved me right: participants normally prone to depression who had strong religious or spiritual beliefs had thicker brain cortices than others, guarding them against developing the illness, according to newswise.com. " The relatively thicker cortex was found in precisely the same regions of the brain that had otherwise shown thinning in people at high risk for depression," the Web site reports. It sort of bears out my hypothesis that those who have a rich spiritual life are protected, in some ways, against life's hard knocks.  Not that they don't still happen -- I've survived cancer twice -- but you somehow get through it and maybe suffer less, feeling shielded from, or cared for,by a force greater than yourself. Some people even believe religion or spirituality cured them, or made their disease less serious. I'm not there yet!   ...