Cell phone use is linked to cancer. Who saw this coming?!  Sorry, you don’t get a prize.. But guess what, as usual, the findings were deemed inconclusive. The study was conducted over the past 10 years and pooled data from hundreds of researchers who interviewed thousands of people and studied a whole boat load of different cell phones. This international study, quite ingeniously named “Interphone”, found evidence that people using their cell phones for at least 30 mins a day for 10 years have a greater risk (maybe as much as a third higher) of developing brain cancer. The study is to be published this week and governments from around the world are eager to get their hands on it – as are the cell phone execs. Somehow, I don’t think this multimillion dollar study took into about the crazy cell-phone-wielding kids? And what about hands free devices and the thing where you can make your car stereo turn into a phone (is it still called a stereo?!). No doubt more money will need to be spent on this.

Ok, next. Gluten is good for you (unless, of course, you’re allergic). The hot new diet is the no-gluten one (Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham are big fans), but apparently, not consuming gluten is bad for you. It can lead to headaches, tiredness and weight gain! Yep, that’s right. Gluten is found in bread, pasta, beer.. So don’t feel bad about eating french toast or pizza! It’s good for you! Dietitans have looked into the pros and cons of gluten free diets, and found that initial weight loss will happen, but switching to gluten free food will induce weight gain because people are more likely to eat potatoes, rice, buckwheat.. Also, foods that are manufactured as “gluten-free” contain more sugar and salt – which is super unhealthy. And, like organic and free-range things, gluten free will do a number on your wallet because its very expensive. So crack open a cold one and enjoy it with some garlic bread – it’s all part of a balanced diet!

This last tit-bit of stupidity made me laugh. Research has shown that insomnia is caused by our inability to “switch off” at night. No kidding! Apparently, the doctor behind this groundbreaking finding thinks we should look to the cavemen for the secret to a good night’s sleep.. Of course we can’t switch off at night – we have a million different things to worry and stress about! Did I turn the stove off? Is the door locked? Is the tap dripping? Mr. Caveman didn’t have any of this to disturb his slumber. He may even have found that the gentle sound of running water near his cave was relaxing. AND, lets not forget the invention of the light bulb. This has had such a big impact on how we sleep – instead of darkness and stars, there’s always that dim city glow.. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in the country. But still, we need down time. If you can’t find time to nap during they day then at least try not to work through lunch or at home.. We all need breaks – I’m sure Mr. Caveman took breaks during the day too! We have to rediscover the art of stopping.

With that being said, it’s time for a cup of tea!

It’s been a few weeks since my last “Stupid Health News” post, and I think it’s time for another one!

Well, this stupid news comes just in time for Easter – so don’t worry about having to run away from people carrying big chocolate Easter eggs! According to the Chocolate Police, you are allowed to indulge – provided it’s only 1 square of chocolate per day. A small quantity of chocolate – about the size of a quail’s egg, can apparently lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of heart disease. So, it’s  official: chocolate is now good for you, but only in small quantities? Well, the phrase “everything in moderation” seems to ring a bell…..??

I read this and almost fell off my chair! Scientists are developing mirrors that can analyze our health. So apparently, this technology which is around 10 years away, will be able to analyze the way we look when we’re brushing our teeth in the morning and it will report any major changes to our doctor – via email. As if those scales that tell you how much mid-section fat you have aren’t bad enough, you will now have to have a mirror tell you that you look a bit rough first thing in the morning – “Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the most hungover of all!” No Thank You.

And lastly, this isn’t really health news, but it’s about fruit, so it fits!

This bizarre fruit is the Pineberry. It is a strawberry looking fruit which is white with red seeds. The texture is that of a strawberry, but the taste and smell is that of a pineapple. They go on sale in Waitrose in England tomorrow for £2.99 / 125g and the price will go up to £3.99 after April 13 - which, quite frankly, is bloody robbery. They would make an exceedingly pretty cocktail decoration, and they would probably make very tasty pina coladas <3 mmm or maybe a pineberry mojito… <3 Ok, enough, since my Chinese doctor told me that I can’t drink.. maybe a virgin pineberry daiquiri?

I have been seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor for about six weeks. Normally, a Chinese doctor examines you by taking your pulse, looking and your tongue and checking your blood pressure. Chinese doctors can tell pretty much straight away what is wrong with you by taking your pulse. It is even believed that they can tell if a regular patient is pregnant by using this method!

So, on my first visit, the Doctor Wong took my pulse and concluded that the state of my health was awful. Then she asked to see my tongue – and upon seeing my tongue piercing she let out a huge sigh and said “OH… THAT’S why!”. She proceeded to explain to me how detrimental tongue piercings are to an individuals’ health. Traditional Chinese medicine holds the belief that the health of the body is determined by what happens when you’re still a fetus and also by your surroundings after you’re born.

In terms of piercing, Doctor Wong explained that any that run down the middle of your body are BAD – i.e. tongue, belly button. Traditional Chinese medicine believes in meridians – these are channels by which our energy (“Chi” or “Qi”) can flow. Metals interfere with the flow and blockages can make us really sick.

The body’s central meridian is also known as the “Conception Vessel”.  So, needless to say, it could mess with your fertility, but also with your ability to conceive new ideas – so it messes with your head too. Most traditional Chinese doctors will tell pregnant women or women who are trying to conceive or women who are nursing to remove their belly piercing, as it could harm the baby.

The belly button is where the umbilical chord is which joins to your mother. Doctor Wong said that Chinese doctors believe that the belly button is very important, as it’s a source of life and nourishment. CV8 – which is the belly button’s actual meridian point, is believed to impact the entire central nervous system. All of our primal, early nerves pass through and around this sensitive area, so piercing it – although cute – may not be a good idea. I mean, for a lot of people, even putting your finger inside your belly button is enough to make you squirm!!

The centre of the tongue is linked to the stomach. So people with stomach piercings could be more prone to stomach related ailments and digestive problems. So I guess that explains my overly sensitive stomach.

Doctor Wong looked at the various piercings in my ears and decided that those ones could stay. But she did tell me to warn my friends about the perils of piercings. Anything that you do to one tiny little part of your body can greatly influence the whole.

Check out this site if you’re interested in what Traditional Chinese doctors say about body piercings.

I think that being part Chinese, I always thought that my mum was nagging about all this weird Chinese medicine stuff, and I didn’t really believe in the whole “Chi” thing.. But after seeing this doctor, I think that they are actually right. I’ve seen a few Chinese doctors – some of them have been not so reputable – but this doctor says it how it is. So she has me drinking this special herbal tea that looks a bit like garden rubbish and smells a bit funny. But if it will fix me, then bottoms up!

Have any of you sought any kinds of non-mainstream medical treatments? Tried acupuncture? Let me know!

Crack out the bottle opener ladies! According to “new” studies, a glass of wine every day will help you stay slim.

This American study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston  studied 19,200 women aged 39 and over and asked about their drinking habits. Their weight gain was recorded for the following 13 years. Not surprisingly, all of the women gained weight, but those who reported to drink “moderate” amounts – which consisted of a glass or two of wine each day gained the least weight.

But the researchers noted that not all types of alcohol are equal – hard liquor and beer are less friendly to the waist line.

So, with this information, the researchers decided that one theory for this is that the livers of regular drinkers develops a separate method of breaking down alcohol, with surplus energy turned into heat, rather than fat.

Another theory is that maybe the age old saying of “everything in moderation” could be true…

Or alternatively, since this study does not appear to prove that wine is the sole reason behind these women gaining less weight. It could be that they exercise more, or that they eat a more balanced and healthy diet? Or it could just prove that women who throw back a few glasses of wine each day lie about their weight! Who knows!

It’s groundbreaking research, nonetheless!!!

Also, it has been proven that eating too much fruit will make you fat. And the acid in fruit – if ingested too much – can lead to tooth decay.

Fruit is of course, very good for you. I am not trying to tell you to not eat fruit. But it’s the crazy people who take it a step too far, and go and a diet, vowing to be more healthy. And instead of eating a salad and an apple for lunch, they eat 6 salads, 5 apples and 2 grapefruits.

*Just because it’s healthy, doesn’t mean you should eat 70 times more of it*

The fact that someone needs to research this means that there is clearly a problem. I mean, isn’t it just common sense!? It’s like telling someone that water is good for them, so they go and drink 6 gallons of water. What will happen? They will die from drinking too much water! Ok, this may be a bit of an extreme example, because I don’t think too much fruit can actually kill you, but I think you see my point.

Eating reasonable amounts of nutritious food with a bit of excercise – even just a brisk walk will make you healthy.

And I’m not even going to start on the study by the British fish & chip people claiming that cutting the chips bigger will be more healthy – something about how the oil is absorbed when they are fried.

If they’re that bloody concerned about obesity etc, then the governments and councils should stop allowing McDonalds and Burger Kings to be built on every corner! Keep the humble chippy and let the fast food joints go!

I feel like I need to create a chart on healthy vs unhealthy vs deadly, because I’m getting very confused over here.

Ok, so in latest health news, if you’ve been ingesting a whole ton of antioxidants in an attempt to fast-track your way to good health, then put down the green tea and goji berries and keep reading. Nutritionists have been pushing the idea that anything “antioxidant” is magical and really extra super good for your health. These foods were believed to lower the risks of cancer, lengthen life and allegedly can lead to better sex!

But new studies by the Cardiorespiratory Exercise Lab at Kansas State University have revealed that too many antioxidants makes the chemicals in the body unbalanced. The body needs antioxidants and pro-oxidants (essentially the evil twin of antioxidants) in order to maintain a balance. So a lack of pro-oxidants can lead to the body crying out for the missing pro-oxidants. So downing too much green tea and popping too many blueberries is actually not a good thing.

In the last few years, the word “antioxidant” has become a buzz word. Everyone has been jumping onto the health food bandwagon. But these new studies are claiming to show that although antioxidants can slow down and even reverse some effects of aging, some of the changes that the body go through are not good.

One of the main points in the study was to show that the antioxidants hinder the way that blood flows by taking out vasodilators – which are chemicals that help open the blood vessels. As you can imagine, this is not good for the body! In older people, this results in individuals getting out of breath quicker, which in turn stops them from exercising.

One of the researchers behind this study, Steven Copp, said that antioxidant therapy takes away hydrogen peroxide (a naturally occurring vasodilator) which can impair the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. This causes muscles to be sore and for individuals to get tired easily when exercising – because the muscles are being starved of oxygen.

Copp says that his findings should be treated as cautionary. Antioxidants and their functions and effects need to be studied more in order for nutritionists to recommend certain foods to their patients.

I think the “everything in moderation” is applicable to this.

I do enjoy writing these, it seems there are SO many stories in the news of what is good/bad for you. Maybe I’ll try to do them daily!

Ok, so lets see what changed from last week! Well, this week, “Sunshine” and “Blueberries” are good.. Whereas “Rickets” and “The ability to choose” are bad.

Sunshine, lolly-pops and rainbows… Yes, sunshine is amazing. It’s warm, it gives life.. And according to some new studies from France, it cuts the risk of cancer – just like beer. Having high levels of vitamin D in your blood may lower the risks of developing bowel cancer. If you live in a cave – far, far away from sunlight, then 2 alternatives are supplements and eggs! You might get more vitamin D for ordering your eggs “sunny-side up”!!!! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!!

Next up is the little blueberry. I don’t like blueberries – either by themselves or in muffins etc. yuck. But apparently, they have the power to protect from memory loss! Research conducted in the USA on senior citizens showed that a pint of blueberry juice each day for a 3 month period led to 33% of the subjects doing better at memorizing lists, 40% of the subjects doing better at word association tasks. Supposedly, it is the “anthocyanins” (what makes the blueberries blue) that is responsible for this – and also is said to help ward off things like heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Pretty impressive for a little tiny berry! Of course there are more tests to be done, but so far researchers are calling the results “very encouraging”.

You’d think that modern life would mean the end to diseases from nearly two centuries ago.. But no. Poor diets and lack of playing outside is causing a vitamin D deficiency in children and subsequently a lot of kids are developing Rickets. Researchers are saying that children are staying inside and playing their video games and not taking things like cod liver oil. Who took cod liver oil as a kid? I did.. mmm… Children who have Rickets suffer from bowed legs and fragile bone structure. The condition is linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune conditions. Someone get these kids outside and give them some eggs!

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all week. Apparently, when we are given too many things to choose from, we feel depressed. For example, imagine you’re at the market and you’re standing in front of 18 kinds of apples, and you don’t know which one to buy, the uncertainty and confusion will make you miserable. A Professor from Stanford University said that this could lead to increased anxiety, depression, drug abuse and even suicide. What a bloody load of rubbish. According to the specialists, choice is supposed to be a sign of freedom. But in the context of shopping, choice is merely price comparison and branding coupled with pretty packaging – “Same sh*t, different bucket”, if you will… Modern life has turned everything into an anxiety attack waiting to happen: kids picking their major in school, buying appliances for your home – like how the new hot thing is red washing machines.. What happened to simple white appliances?! Too much choice is bad.. but it’s good for people in the marketing field and the pharmaceutical companies as more and more people will need crazy pills for their anxiety and depression resulting in too much choice!!

Check out the “Health” section for more health & wellness related “news”

So beer may offer cancer-fighting benefits, but don’t even think about sitting down to enjoy your pint. According to some preliminary research, sitting is deadly.

An article posted in the British Journal of Sports Medicine states that sitting for a prolonged period of time is bad for your health. This applies to everyone –  those who religiously work-out and couch potatoes. Even if you’re a health nut who goes to the gym 8 days a week, but have a sitting-behind-a-desk-for-8-hours, this applies to you!

According toElin Ekblom-Bak, the Swedish researcher behind the study, sitting for over 4 hours causes the body to send out harmful signals. According to her work, the genes that regulate the amount of glucose and fat in the body begin to shut down. And sitting for too long is linked to obesity, individuals being too fat, having heart attacks and even death.

So, health officials in pretty much EVERY country  have been issuing guidelines about how physical activity is beneficial. Even the kids’ channels have ads telling the kiddies to go outside and not just watch Sponge-Bob or play their World of Warcraft and Rock Band. But there is nothing, as yet, that highlights the dangers of sitting.

A study done in Canada last year apparently reported that people who sat more had a higher risk of death – regardless of whether or not they exercised.

Although there is not yet enough evidence to say how harmful sitting actually is, Ekblom-Bak believes that people should keep exercising because of it’s health benefits. She said that people that have 9-5 office jobs should try to not sit for 8 hours straight and should get up as much as possible, for example, instead of emailing a colleague, you should physically go over to talk to them. Hm, I see a lot more “coffee breaks”, maybe some useless faxing and photocopying! Or what if everyone was given those Pilates balls to sit on? Would that help?

It’s not sitting though, I think it’s just a plague of modern life. If we all lived back in the stoneage again, this wouldn’t be an issue. I’m sure the cavemen spent ample amount of time sitting on their animal-fur-clad behinds. So what’s the difference? Well, for starters, they didn’t have imitation, genetically modified dinosaur to snack on, or low calorie half fat and pesticide covered berries.. They didn’t microwave or refrigerate anything. They didn’t have diet pills, soft drinks or jobs. Their job was survival. If they wanted Tyrannosaurus tail for supper, they’d have to go out and catch one.. or settle for crappy leaves and twigs. It’s not like trying to decide between sushi or pizza.

Modern life gives us very little to enjoy. We spend every day working too much, earning too little, not sleeping enough and eating modified garbage. What kind of world is it when sitting is bad for you?! Ugh, I don’t buy it. What do you think?

Just remember that when you’re having your cancer fighting pint, you should stand at the bar, and not sit! Cheers!!

It’s BEER!!! German researchers at a cancer centre in Heidelberg have “discovered” that there is a magical molecule in beer that protects against breast and prostate cancer.

I’m not really surprised that this research was conducted by a German lab.. and I wonder where their funding came from.. Is there a brewery in Heidelberg? Just from a quick Google search, Heidelberg appears to be what Bordeaux is to wine… interesting!

So it’s supposed to be the hops in the beer that is what is preventing the spread of cancers by blocking hormones and protein. The beers with the highest amount of hops include IPA (India pale ales), traditional bitter beers and ales. Light lagers contain less hops so would be less effective.

But of course, you shouldn’t go over the top with drinking, just because some scientists say that beer is good.. it’s like being on a diet and eating 6 heads of lettuce.. Not a good idea!

fruit & vegetables vs. pills & medication

Ok, it’s time for another round up of the week’s stupid health news.

I found this fantastic article on Wednesday with a dreadfully long winded headline: Don’t eat cereals that change the colour of the milk: Unlikely but brilliantly simple rules that will transform the way you eat

No, I didn’t make that up!!! Feel free to read it, it’s really quite insightful! Here are some of my favourite bits:

Don’t eat cereals that change the colour of the milk
Um, I thought that it was because of cocoa powder – which is good for you, right?! I get the ones that are coloured purple or bright green etc, because I’m sure that’s all awful chemicals and colourants etc.. but what about Nesquik? It looks suspiciously like dog food, but cocoa is natural.. actually, I guess it depends on whether or not cocoa is good for you or not this week! And what about Fruit Loops?

Avoid foods Grandma wouldn’t recognize
I’m not sure that my Grandma would know what tofu is let alone recognize it.. Or goji berries.. Or ginseng.. Well, my Chinese Grandma would of course know what they are and how to best cook them.. Is this rule calling White people stupid?! lol

Buy smaller plates and glasses
I’m pretty sure that if I went by this rule, it would only encourage me to help myself to more helpings – since the tableware is smaller!!! Makes me think of Zoolander “What is this.. A school for ants?!?”

It’s not food if it has the same name in all languages
I’m going to pull the Chinese card again and say “TOFU”!! … I wanted to be smart and think of more things, but I got nothing…!

Ok, that’s enough of that.. If you want to read more of these stupid rules, then check out the link!

Now for some happier health news! A study done in the UK showed that the average woman burns 48,000 calories per year by shopping! So now we have an excuse to go running around the shops! But it’s true, especially if you don’t drive and you have to rely on public transport or walking to bring all of your new treasures back home! Carrying stuff is a workout in itself!

And finally, this isn’t really health news, but I’ll throw it in anyway. According to yet another useless study, the weight of the average woman’s purse/handbag has decreased by 50% over the last two years. Apparently, this is due to the take-over of gadgets like BlackBerries and iPhones replacing the heavy cell phone and bulky address books/planners. I don’t know about you, but my purse always weighs a ton! And it’s full of so much crap! I have to have about 5 lip glosses and hand cream, and maybe some ibuprofen, and maybe a book, and of course my glasses case, a nail file or 2.. and then there are receipts, loose change, old bus passes, Mentos <3 .. And what doesn’t help is the fact that the new hot thing is those great big giant purses – even “small” bags are still really big. So ok, your phone might not weigh 2lbs like it did before, but to me, if there’s more space, then I’ll cram more crap in there. Maybe an additional hand cream and a few more lip glosses!!!! Did I mention that make-up makes me happy???

They should have factored in the weight of a woman’s handbag when doing that shopping study.. I remember when I was in college, they had some chiropractor people come in and weigh people’s school bags to see what kind of long term damage hauling a heavy bag around all day was doing to them.

Check out last week’s stupid health news too!!

The internet is amazing, think of how the use of the internet has changed our lives in just the last 10 years. We’ve gone from merely sending e-mails to things like Skype, reading the news, watching movies and tv, finding out pretty much anything and everything you can think of with the click of a mouse! But now, when we’re sick or don’t feel well, the first thing we do is hit the internet and Google our symptoms.

This is great if you know that you have a sinus infection, so that you know whether or not you’re contagious, what you need to take and how you need to treat yourself in order to get better again..

But if you wake up one morning with a headache, and decide Google headache types, you’ll see “brain tumor” in the related searches section. So then, you start looking up “brain tumor symptoms” and you find that you have a few of them – maybe weakness, you’re lethargic and have trouble concentrating. And boom! After just a few clicks, you’ve managed to convince yourself that you have a brain tumor. So in a complete panic, you decide to go to the doctor, you demand that he give you an MRI and you want a referral to see a neurologist.

But then it turns out all you need is a new pair of glasses because you can’t see too good and the strain on your eyes is giving you a major headache. And maybe the weakness and trouble concentrating is because you’re overexerting yourself at work.

I mean, obviously its better to be safe than sorry, but there is a very fine line between being cautious and turning into a super-extra hypochondriac. But think of how many sites there are out there that help you self diagnose yourself: WebMD, YourDiagnosis, FamilyDoctor, SymptomDiagnosis, etc, etc… Do you think these online medical diagnosis sites are good or bad? Are they useful? Have you used them? Personally, I prefer going to talk to a pharmacist, so that I don’t have to wait for 16 hours in the doctors office – unless I REALLY need to.

Check out these stupid health stories that I found across the web from this week