Health

Aspirin Vs. Melanoma: Study suggests headache pill prevents skin cancer

Richard Knox — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:15:25 +0000

It's not the first study that finds the lowly aspirin may protect against the deadliest kind of skin cancer, but it is one of the largest.

And it adds to a mounting pile of studies suggesting that cheap, common aspirin lowers the risk of many cancers — of the colon, breast, esophagus, stomach, prostate, bladder and ovary.

The new study, in the journal Cancer, looked at melanoma in 60,000 post-menopausal Caucasian women.

Feds outline what insurers must cover, down to polyp removal

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:15:42 +0000

The Obama administration on Wednesday released its final rule on essential health benefits, which sets out the coverage insurers must offer starting in 2014.

Insurers must cover 10 broad categories of care, including emergency services, maternity care, hospital and doctors' services, mental health and substance abuse care and prescription drugs.

Essential benefit requirements apply mainly to individual and small group plans.

Mixing alcohol with diet soda may make you drunker

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:31:13 +0000

Looking to cut back on the calories in your cocktail by mixing, say, diet soda and rum?

New norovirus strain rips through the United States

Scott Hensley — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:18:52 +0000

It's here. A variant of norovirus first spotted in Australia is now sweeping the U.S.

The wily virus causes stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea. The sickness is sometimes referred to as the stomach flu, though influenza has nothing to do with it.

Since the strain called "GII.4 Sydney" was identified in Australia last March, it's been getting around. The U.K. has had a bang-up norovirus season with more than a million people sickened.

What makes you feel fear?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:04:53 +0000

In shorthand often used to describe the brain, fear is controlled by a small, almond-shaped structure called the amygdala.

But it's not quite that simple, as a study published Sunday in Nature Neuroscience demonstrates.

One of the best ways to figure out how parts of the brain work is to study people who have damage in those specific areas.

Natural living: 5 myths about nature vs. technology

Gabriel Spitzer — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:01:00 +0000

Technology has made us healthier in a lot of ways. It’s beaten back old threats from smallpox to stillbirth to scarlet fever. But many think the march of progress has gone too far, and we need to get back to nature.

Author Nathanael Johnson says most of us are in the middle – suspicious of technology run amok, but unwilling to trade the condo for a mud hut. He investigates whether the natural approach is really better for us in his book, “All Natural.”

Nathanael also laid out five common myths about nature versus technology. Get the gist below, or click below and listen to the full conversation:

No mercy for robots: Experiment tests how humans relate to machines

Alix Spiegel — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:07:41 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kf9coMuVuI

Been to the Emergency Room a lot? Let’s talk.

Keith Seinfeld — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:55:32 +0000

If you’ve been to an emergency room in Washington in recent months, you're probably in a new database.

The goal is to treat more injuries and illnesses outside the emergency department, in a simpler setting, which should save money, curb drug abuse and also benefit patients.

Small meals, big payoff: Keeping hunger and calories in check

Joe Palca — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:07:01 +0000

When presented with a tempting buffet of French food, not overeating can be a challenge. But a new study by researchers in Lyon suggests there are strategies that will help people resist temptation.

People trying to keep off excess weight are frequently told that it's better to eat small amounts of food frequently during the day, rather than the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In the battle between health and taste, why white bread still wins

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:51:16 +0000

The tantalizing aroma of freshly baked brioche is hard to resist, while a virtuous loaf of whole wheat often lacks that same allure. Blame it on the ferulic acid.

See, whole-wheat bread contains all parts of the wheat, including the bran, but white bread does not.

Can You Get A Flu Shot And Still Get The Flu?

Rob Stein — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:03:03 +0000

This year's flu season started about a month early, prompting federal health officials to warn it could be one of the worst in years. They're urging everyone to get their flu shots.

But like every flu season, there are lots of reports of people complaining that they got their shot but still got the flu.

Skinny isn't all that: Survey finds fewer American women are dieting

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:28:55 +0000

Our perceptions about dieting and our attitudes about overweight people are shifting, according to a new survey by the NPD Group.

"Women are leading the decline in dieting," according to Harry Balzer, NPD's chief food industry analyst. In a survey of 3,800 adults, he found that about 23 percent of women reported being on a diet in 2012.

As norovirus rages, a robot named 'Vomiting Larry' gets his closeup

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:34:15 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me21QEpg760

Research: A Little Extra Fat May Help You Live Longer

Allison Aubrey — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:03:21 +0000

Being a little overweight may tip the odds in favor of living a long life, according to a new analysis. Researchers say there may be some benefit to having a little extra body fat.

This isn't the first time researchers have raised questions about the link between body weight and how long someone will live.

Another side effect of chemotherapy: 'chemo brain'

Patti Neighmond — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:26:24 +0000

It's well-known that chemotherapy often comes with side effects like fatigue, hair loss and extreme nausea. What's less well-known is how the cancer treatment affects crucial brain functions, like speech and cognition.

For Yolanda Hunter, a 41-year-old hospice nurse, mother of three and breast cancer patient, these cognitive side effects of chemotherapy were hard to miss.

"I could think of words I wanted to say," Hunter says. "I knew what I wanted to say. ... There was a disconnect from my brain to my mouth."

Before getting treated for cancer, Hunter led a busy, active lifestyle.