Cramps

For other curious women who have also wondered about the biological necessity for menstrual cramps, here’s an explanation from the FDA :
… is a result of the normal production of prostaglandins by cells in the lining of the uterus. The lining of the uterus–which has built up and thickened during the early stages of the [...]

Green & leafy

Emily Bazilon, writes in Slate, about what we can learn from the recent E.coli outbreak in spinach.
In the wake of the E. coli disaster, food-safety experts have been pushing for more regulation—more money for government inspectors to patrol produce, tighter rules for water quality and workplace sanitation. By all means, clean up the fields. But [...]

Zoning fast food

A number of sunny small towns in California have a zoning ordinance against fast food resturants.  A New York Councilman wants to enact a simialar ordinance. The NY Times article reports the pros and cons on the issue. Resturant representatives rightly claim that obesity stems from nutrition diet and personal responsibility. But wouldn’t you say [...]

What’s Nature worth ?

When I took the ‘Environment & Population Assement’ class last year, we had an economic professor from Rice University come in and give a guest lecture on the economics of environmental policy-making. To be honest, he went a little too in-depth into economic theories for a public health class. But I did learn about the [...]

How Toxoplasma changed human culture

Here’s a fascinating story on how the parasite Toxoplasma gondii could have influenced (partly) the manner in which people from different parts of the world developed along different cultural lines.
When the parasite infects the brains of rats and mice, it alters their behavior, making them more reckless than normal–reckless enough that they don’t avoid [...]

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Most travelers resort to tackling jet lag with melatonin or sedatives and caffeine pills. But the most useful solutions to jet lag are actually napping and caffeine.
“Using a combination of nap and caffeine is better than using them separately, if you can believe it. It takes 15 to 30 minutes for caffeine to kick in. [...]

Don’t worry, be happy

Everyone knows that stress is detrimental to health, and new research shows that stress hormones can remodel the brain and also harm the immune system.
A good fix for mental stress is exercise. Now, if only we could find the time and energy !
Technorati Tags: stress, immune system, brain

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club

CNN has an interesting article on social isolation in the US. Despite being a modern country of nearly 300 million that prides itself on its technological connectivity, this nation has an increasing number of lonely people. Chronic loneliness can be a serious condition, and is a major risk factor for depression, high blood pressure, herat [...]

Curry power

Scientists at the National University of Singapore have discovered that curry eating enhances cognitive performance in the elderly. [Via] The compound curcurin found in turmeric (a staple ingredient of curry), is an antioxidant that may inhibit buildup of plaques in people with Alzheimer’s. Hmmm. I have two questions:
Has it been shown Alzheimer’s occurs less frequently [...]

Bottled blues

There are two remarkable facts regarding drinking water that I have observed as a newcomer to the US.
One is that tap water is perfectly drinkable. This may seem unremarkable to all Americans, but it is an abolute marvel to folks from developing countries where safe drinking water is a precious commodity. Certainly, all Indian households [...]