I love dark chocolate. You love dark chocolate. Everyone but the most soulless, coldhearted, and puppy-hating among us love dark chocolate. And I hesitated even writing this post because the scientific evidence that dark chocolate offers numerous health benefits when consumed in moderation is substantial and, in my opinion, undeniable. However, there is a “dark side” to dark chocolate. That doesn’t mean dark chocolate is “bad,” just that nothing in this life is binary. Like any other healthy food we eat, there are caveats and limitations. Things to keep in mind.
So let’s take a look at some of the murkier aspects of dark chocolate to see if there’s anything we would be better of being aware of.
You might think that the worst thing about not getting sleep is being tired. And that definitely isn’t ideal. But, according to a small new study, one night of tossing and turning may also have unexpected effects on your body.
For the study, recently presented at this year’s meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), researchers took blood and urine samples from 15 participants before and after a 24-hour radiology work shift. During that shift, participants got an average of three hours of sleep. The researchers also took measurements of participants’ blood pressure and heart rate.
Their results showed that, after going 24 hours with just a few hours of sleep, participants’ blood pressure and heart rate were both elevated. Plus, the blood and urine samples showed elevated levels of cortisol (a hormone associated with the body’s physiological response to stress) and several hormones related to the thyroid gland, which helps regulate many processes in the body, including temperature and metabolism.
We’re not done with anatomy. We know a tremendous amount about genomics, proteomics and cell biology, but as Diane Kelly makes clear at TEDMED, there are basic facts about the human body we’re still learning. Case in point: How does the mammalian erection work?
The debate over electronic cigarettes rages on, despite the vaping industry’s best efforts to promote its value in decreasing the use of tobacco cigarettes. Proponents of e-cigs argue that the technology is safer than traditional cigarettes and can be used to quit smoking altogether. The scientific community is beginning to see things differently, however. Its consensus: vaping is a scam.
The myth of e-cigarettes as a safe alternative
“The evidence consistently shows that, while some people successfully quit smoking with e-cigarettes, most people using e-cigarettes have their chances of quitting conventional cigarettes reduced by about 30%,” Dr. Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center of Tobacco Control Research and Education, told Mic. “The most dangerous thing about e-cigarettes is that they keep people smoking cigarettes.”
Dr. Glantz conceded the possibility of e-cigs as a way to transition from tobacco cigarettes, but argued that the bulk of e-cig users are what are referred to as “dual users” — consumers who smoke both e-cigs and traditional cigarettes.
This article is part HuffPost’s Project Zero campaign, a yearlong series on neglected tropical diseases and efforts to eliminate them.
More than 1 billion people on the planet suffer from illnesses that the world pays little attention to.
Neglected tropical diseases are a group of at least 18 diseases that primarily affect people living in poverty in tropical regions of the world and are virtually unknown elsewhere, according to the World Health Organization.
These are diseases like river blindness, which has infected 18 million people worldwide and caused blindness in 270,000 people; or elephantiasis, a leading cause of disability worldwide, which affects over 120 million people and can cause severe swelling of the body parts, usually the legs or the scrotum.
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Alexandre Tremblot de La Croix via Getty Images
Photo of sushi, a dish that includes raw fish. Foodborne trematodiases are caused by worms, which people get by eating raw fish, shellfish or vegetables with larvae.
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Click link below for article, list of diseases and slideshow:
The germs living inside a person’s digestive system may affect symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, researchers reported Thursday.
Tests done on mice showed their symptoms worsened when they were dosed with microbes taken from human Parkinson’s patients but not when they got samples from healthy patients. And other tests on mice that develop Parkinson’s-like symptoms showed they only developed symptoms if they had gut germs to begin with.
The study doesn’t show that gut microbes cause Parkinson’s, but they may suggest a way to treat the incurable condition, which affects up to a million Americans and 10 million people worldwide.
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Artist’s concept depicting microbes in the gut instigating changes in the brain that can lead to Parkinson’s disease. People with Parkinson’s harbor distinct gut bacteria that influence the disease’s severity. Caltech
At age 14, Connor Ball had seen more of the world than many people could hope to see in a lifetime.
As a perk of his parents’ airline jobs, he got to travel with his family far from their home in Brentwood, New Hampshire, to Europe, South America and Africa.
He loved history and the outdoors, but like millions of teenage boys, he loved baseball more.
And despite his years of globetrotting, his favorite place of all was relatively ordinary: Boston’s Fenway Park, just over an hour’s drive away.
“The boy loved the Red Sox,” his mother, TaraBall, told NBC News. “If you saw him walking down the street, he’d always have a Red Sox hat or jacket.”
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Connor Ball was 14 years old when he took his own life in 2011. Courtesy of Ball family
The “magic mushroom” drug psilocybin can help cancer patients relax and feel less distressed about their disease, two teams of doctors reported Thursday.
The drug eased anxiety and depression in 80 percent of the patients who took it in the studies, and many described their one-time sessions as ranking among the most meaningful experiences of their lives.
While the drug is clearly not for everyone, it’s worth testing under carefully controlled conditions in more patients, the researchers concluded.
“We found that a single dose of psilocybin immediately reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients that had advanced cancer and life-threatening forms of cancer,” Dr. Stephen Ross, director of addiction psychiatry at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, told NBC News.
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Hallucinogenic mushrooms are cultivated at a farm in the Netherlands in 2007. Peter Dejong / AP file
Scientists have discovered an antibody that can powerfully neutralize many variants of the most common strain of HIV, opening up a door for researchers to explore treatment and prevention options for the potentially fatal virus.
Antibodies ― proteins created by our immune system that are in charge of spotting and neutralizing potentially harmful substances in our body ― are promising avenues for potential vaccines and treatments against the virus.
The new antibody, named N6, was isolated from the blood of a person with HIV. It managed to neutralize 98 percent of the HIV variants that researchers tested it on, including 16 out of 20 variants that are usually resistant to this kind of antibody protein.
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Álex Cámara via Getty Images
An antibody called N6 could theoretically help protect people against most HIV infections.
We get it, you vape. And if you don’t, maybe you’re curious: What is vaping? Is vaping bad for you? Will vaping give you popcorn lung, or cancer? Could vaping help you quit smoking? Will it keep you awake? Make your teeth yellow? Is vaping illegal? Is vaping just for men, or can women get into it?
And if you do buy a vape, you probably have questions about that too. What’s the best vape to get? How about the best cheap vape? Can vaping get you high? If you vape weed, will it smell? What’s that one funny vaping meme? And so on.
It’s OK! We’ve all asked these questions. Vaping is new, exciting and more popular than ever with young people. Plus, there’s a thriving culture surrounding it and cool new technology to check out — gadgets as sleek and well-designed as an iPhone. We’re here to answer your questions, from the most basic to the most complex. That’s why we put together this basic guide to vaping, health and the law. Vaping is the future, so we should all get informed.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Oh sooooo good!
James' World 2 