Category: health

What Your Eyes Reveal About Your Health

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a smartphone app that can detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions. The app uses the phone’s near-infrared camera to track changes in the size of a person’s pupils at a sub-millimetre level. These measurements can then be used to assess that…


The Medicine Cabinet: Ask the Harvard Experts: Track Your Heart Rate for Fitness and Heart Health

Q: How does tracking your heart rate provide information about your heart health? A: Checking your heart rate at rest and with exercise can provide information about your fitness level and may suggest a heart problem if your pulse is too slow, too fast or irregular. Three good times to check your heart rate are…


Could Chowing Down on Cocoa Fix Your Heart?

Flavanols from cocoa have emerged as a superfood for your heart, reducing death from cardiovascular disease as well as the incidence of heart attacks and stroke. STORY AT-A-GLANCE In the first large-scale trial to evaluate the long-term effects of cocoa flavanols on heart disease, notable benefits were uncovered Those who received cocoa flavanols had a…


Better Brain Health for Students and Seniors

Who can benefit from better brain health? If you said “everyone,” you’re right. However, we will focus on two groups of individuals with special reasons for focusing on brain health: students and seniors. First, however, let’s define brain health. The World Health Organization defines brain health as “the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory,…


90 Percent of Margarine Spreads Tested Contain Carcinogens

Butter is essential for pastry baking and cuisine cooking. The Consumer Council in Hong Kong has undertaken tests on 28 samples of butter, margarine, and spreads and found over 80 percent of margarine and spreads contain toxic 3-monochloroproanediol (3-MCPD). One even contains the highest amount allowed, 1,200 micrograms per kilogram. Fortunately, none of the samples…


Sugar Is Crucial for Immunity: 2 Kinds Boost Immunity and Help You Live Longer

Nowadays, the concept of a low sugar and no-sugar diet is very popular. Many people are beginning to pay attention to reducing sugar intake in their diet, and are even implementing a “zero sugar” diet to some extent. However, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that sugar…


Autumn Equinox|What to Eat to Prevent Skin Rashes and Eczema in the Fall

Does the dryness in autumn cause your skin to become uncomfortably dry? In this article, Wong Kwok-wai, a registered Chinese medicine practitioner in Hong Kong, gives some food recommendations that nourish your body and offset the dry air conditions.  According to the traditional Chinese calendar, Sept. 23 is the Autumn Equinox, referring to the day…


The Right Way to Shower, According to Experts

Taking a daily shower is a fairly recent development for Americans. Just 100 years ago, many thought getting their whole body wet at once (instead of taking the sponge baths that were common then) would invite diseases like pneumonia, and someone would “catch their death.” Nowadays, a long, hot shower is a daily ritual for…


Facial Pain Comes to Light

In Brief: Using an imaging technique to visualize pain signals in facial nerves, NIDCR researchers identified a protein that enhances neurons’ responses to painful stimuli. Blocking the protein in mice blunted pain signaling; the results could inform the development of safer, non-opioid pain therapies. From a throbbing tooth or aching jaw to a pounding migraine,…


Stevia Kills Lyme Disease Pathogen Better Than Antibiotics (Preclinical Study)

Lyme disease is exceedingly difficult to treat, due to its well-known shape-shifting (pleomorphic) abilities, with conventional antibiotics often failing to produce a long-term cure. Could the commonly used natural plant Stevia provide a safer, and more effective means to combat this increasingly prevalent infection? A promising new preclinical study has revealed that whole stevia leaf…