Detoxykall. To some, a new chance at weight loss. To me, just another in a literally endless stream of weight-loss scams. That such a product exists at all, and that it is generating interest among thousands of people, speaks to two unfortunate truths:
• There is tremendous suffering and desperation surrounding weight, weight-loss, eating and body image issues; and
• There are legions of unscrupulous predators eager to exploit that pain for their commercial gain.

By Dov michaeli MD, Ph.DThe April 14 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences carried an intriguing article titled “ Endogenous steroids and financial risk taking on a London trading floor”. Both authors, J.M. Coates and J. Herbert are from the Dept. of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at Cambridge University . But J.M.C.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of World Asthma Day, which occurs on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. It is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), in collaboration with healthcare groups and asthma educators to raise awareness about asthma and improve asthma care throughout the world. This year’s theme is “You Can Control Your Asthma.”
Asthma control is the goal of treatment and can be achieved in the vast majority of asthma patients with proper management. A person’s asthma is under control when he or she has:
• No (or minimal) asthma symptoms.

While on the talk show circuit to promote her new diamond-heist film, “Flawless,” Demi Moore has also taken to promoting her recent experience with leech therapy, which she underwent in Austria as part of a so-called “cleanse.” The 46-year-old actress told Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa on “Live With Regis & Kelly,” that with leeches, “They apply them to your body, and they suck your blood. They detoxify your blood.” But while it’s clear that the leeches do suck out some blood, it is equally clear, at least to me, that they don’t “detoxify” it. How could they?

Now, what would your Wednesday be without a little disgusting trivia centered around the Porcelain God, hm? Exactly.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so I thought I’d republish a posting from last year that helps dispel a few myths about this disease:
1- Colon cancer is primarily a disease of men. This is false. Colon cancer affects men and women equally, both in terms of diagnosis and death. Everyone must be aware of the risks of colon cancer.

More good news on the nasty habit/I-thought-this-was-junk front. Turns out all the gum-smackers of the world (myself included) have got a good thing going. Jeez, between this and the news from last week, could life get any better?!?
Here, a few reasons why sugarless (operative word) gum is great for you:

You love the feeling of the Big O (duh!), but getting to that point with your partner has become a little, um, lackluster. What was once fun, sexy and hotter than hell has now turned into a ritualistic lead-in to your ho-hum romp sessions.
This doesn’t have to be, people!

This past Sunday, CBS’ “60 Minutes” program took a look at the unfortunate medication errors that nearly killed actor Dennis Quaid’s infant twins last November at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. The babies were in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a staph infection when they were accidentally injected with adult strength heparin, a blood thinner, which was 1000 times the dose they should have received.

With a some spare time on my hands, I spent the morning wandering the blogosphere checking out what everyone has to say. Here’s what I found…
Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Workweek, shares his thoughts on various methods to get rid of the common cold with 4 Anti Cold Cocktails That Work: From Ancient China to German Alcoholics and Modern Labs. With winter on the way over here in New Zealand, this is one post I’ll be bookmarking for future reference.