Medical Quackery or Innovative New Studies?

I kind of lump these in with the "a beer/ glass of wine/ shot of liquor a day" cures 'x' stories...

Chocolate 'may help keep people slim'


By Michelle Roberts
Health reporter, BBC News

Chocolate contains antioxidants but is also high in fat and sugar. People who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner, new research suggests.

The findings come from a study of nearly 1,000 US people that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity.

It found those who ate chocolate a few times a week were, on average, slimmer than those who ate it occasionally.

Even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favor weight loss rather than fat synthesis, scientists believe.

Despite boosting calorie intake, regular chocolate consumption was related to lower BMI in the study, which is published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The link remained even when other factors, like how much exercise individuals did, were taken into account.

And it appears it is how often you eat chocolate that is important, rather than how much of it you eat. The study found no link with quantity consumed.

According to the researchers, there is only one chance in a hundred that their findings could be explained by chance alone.

Lead author Dr Beatrice Golomb, from the University of California at San Diego, said: "Our findings appear to add to a body of information suggesting that the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining their ultimate impact on weight."

This is not the first time scientists have suggested that chocolate may be healthy for us.

Other studies have claimed chocolate may be good for the heart.

Consumption of certain types of chocolate has been linked to some favorable changes in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol level.

And chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, does contain antioxidants which can help to mop up harmful free radicals - unstable chemicals that can damage our cells.

Dr Golomb and her team believe that antioxidant compounds, called catechins, can improve lean muscle mass and reduce weight - at least studies in rodents would suggest this might be so.

Mice fed for 15 days with epicatechin (present in dark chocolate) had improved exercise performance and observable changes to their muscle composition.

They say clinical trials are now needed in humans to see if this is the case.

But before you reach for a chocolate bar, there are still lots of unanswered questions. And in the absence of conclusive evidence, experts advise caution.

While there's no harm in allowing yourself a treat like chocolate now and again, eating too much might be harmful because it often contains a lot of sugar and fat too.

And if you are looking to change your diet, you are likely to benefit most from eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Popcorn is healthier than fruits: Study

Kounteya SinhaKounteya Sinha, TNN
Mar 27, 2012, 03.20AM IST

NEW DELHI: Popcorn - your regular partner every time you hit a movie theatre - seems to be the latest "nutritional gold nugget".

Scientists report that popcorn, which is a 100% unprocessed whole grain, contains more of the highly healthy antioxidant substances called polyphenols than fruits and vegetables, if it isn't dipped in butter, oil or salt.

The hulls of popcorn - the part that everyone hates for its tendency to get caught in the teeth - has been found to have the highest concentration of polyphenols and fibre. The levels of polyphenols rivaled those in nuts and were up to 15 times greater than whole-grain tortilla chips.

Joe Vinson from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, who has been a pioneer in analyzing healthful components in chocolate, nuts and other common food items, presented these findings at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) scientific society on Sunday.

Vinson said one serving of popcorn will provide more than 70% of the daily intake of whole grain needed by an adult.

"Popcorn may be the perfect snack food. It is 100% unprocessed whole grain as against all other grains which are actually processed and diluted with other ingredients - meaning only 51% of the weight of the product is whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way," Vinson added.

Jyoti Arora, head of nutrition at Artemis Health Institute, said popcorn's high content of fibre makes it nutritious and healthy.

"Whole grains like popcorn are high in fibre that helps in relieving constipation and leads to weight loss, better blood sugar control besides keeping cholesterol levels under check," Arora said.

Vinson, however, cautioned that the finding should not make people give up fruits and vegetables.

"Popcorn cannot replace fresh fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and other nutrients that are critical for good health, but are missing from popcorn," he added.

Vinson explained that the same concentration principle applies to dried fruit, which holds a polyphenol edge over regular fruit.

Previous studies found low concentrations of free polyphenols in popcorn, but Vinson's team conducted the first study to calculate total polyphenols in popcorn. "The amounts of these antioxidants were much higher than previously believed," he said.

Vinson cautioned that the way people prepare and serve popcorn can quickly put a dent in its healthful image. If cooked in a pot full of oil, slathered on butter or the fake butter used in many movie theaters and poured on salt and eaten as kettle corn, the end result could become a nutritional nightmare - popcorn suffused with fat and calories.

"Air-popped popcorn has the lowest number of calories. Microwave popcorn has twice as many calories as air-popped, and if you pop your own with oil, this has twice as many calories as air-popped popcorn. About 43% of microwave popcorn is fat, compared to 28% if you pop the corn in oil yourself," Vinson added.

The new study found that the amount of polyphenols found in popcorn was up to 300 mg a serving compared to 114 mg for a serving of sweet corn and 160 mg for all fruits per serving. Besides, one serving of popcorn would provide 13% of an average intake of polyphenols a day per person in the US.

Fruits provide 255 mg per day of polyphenols and vegetables provide 218 mg per day to the average US diet. Polyphenols are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages only about 4% water, while polyphenols are diluted in the 90% water that makes up many fruits and vegetables

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What say you?

Truly Inspirational...Worth Your Time

Usually, emails and blogs about inspiration; usually from dying or dead people, kinda fall flat to me. I get the sentiment, however, they unfortunately become repetetive to me and lose their meaning. The news of the death of former CNN sportscaster Nick Charles is one that touches me. I never really cared for Charles as a broadcaster but respected his talents as such and enjoyed his banter with Fred Hickman for many, many hours in the 80's. His life story is truly amazing and American. To me, his life with cancer, while tragic, is an example of how I wish I would act when or if the situation happens to me. As I get older, the Reaper seems to be visiting more and more people I'm aware of, know, or love. As Jean Luc once head, "I'm aware there are more days behind me than ahead". The below is one example of "how to go".


from http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/25/nick.charles.obit/


Renowned CNN sports broadcaster Nick Charles dies at 64
By Wayne Drash, CNN
June 25, 2011 2:38 p.m. EDT


(CNN) -- Nick Charles, who started off as a taxi driver and later became the first sports anchor at CNN, died Saturday after battling bladder cancer since 2009. He was 64.

Charles died peacefully, looking out at the spectacular land that drew him to Santa Fe, New Mexico, his wife, Cory, said.

Charles began at CNN on the network's first day, June 1, 1980, and covered nearly every sporting event over the years.

He was paired with Fred Hickman for most of the next two decades on "Sports Tonight," a show that beat ESPN in ratings when the upstarts were battling for viewers. To this day, he and Hickman remain one of the longest-lasting anchor duos in television.

Topps, the trading-card company, put Charles' million-dollar smile on a bubble gum card, a rarity for a television personality. People magazine once dubbed him one of the most handsome men in America.

"Nick was your friend from the moment you met him -- and he stayed your friend forever," said Rick Davis, one of Charles' producers at CNN in the 1980s. "All of us who had the very good fortune to have been his friend have so much to remember about how he touched our lives in his own special way," said Davis, who is CNN's executive vice president of News Standards and Practices.

At his home in Santa Fe recently, Charles pointed to his signature mop of curly black hair as he scrolled through photographs of his on-air days. "Look at that thing," he said with a laugh. "It's my Billy Ray Cyrus mullet."

Facing death, Charles embraced life

While the world knew Charles for his sportscaster days, it was his battle with cancer that inspired tens of thousands of people. In a recent CNN.com article, he talked openly about the dying process and preparing his family for when he was gone. He made birthday video diaries for his 5-year-old daughter, Giovanna, in the years to come.

"This is a gift from God where I need to build these memories for her, so that I'm not a blur," he said. "I feel that when I go, that I'm going to prepare a place for my daughter and my wife. I'm going to be in their heart and soul. I tell them that every day."

His message, he said, is to "never give up on life."

"It's an imperfect world, but, boy, it's still beautiful."

"What is life?" he said. "It's 20 percent what happens to you and 80 percent how you react to it."

"Find that little kernel every day that brings you pleasure and joy -- and fasten onto that. That's what's going to make life worth living. Always look for the best."

"When you're contemplating your mortality and your life," he said, "those are the things I reflect on."

Colleagues remember Nick Charles The son of a taxi driver who was mostly absent from his life, Nicholas Charles Nickeas grew up poor in inner-city Chicago. In grade school, during the frigid winters when his dad didn't pay the heat bills, Charles would curl up in bed with his mother and brother to stay warm.

He struggled in high school. He had no mentors. He was too busy working late-night jobs at produce docks in desolate Chicago neighborhoods. Once, his boss pointed to mounds of rat feces, threw lye all over the floor and handed the 17-year-old Charles a pair of gloves, rubber boots and a hoe.

He scrubbed away, but thought to himself: "I'll never be trapped again in life. Never. Never."

"That was a watershed, life-changing moment for me. It really drove me to the point where I had focus in my life."

He eventually went to Columbia College Chicago, where he studied communications and journalism.

He drove a taxi to help pay for college. Even in the driver's seat, he was practicing for his broadcast career.

"I wasn't nosey, but just curious about people's life. I'd ask, 'How'd you get to this country? What was the spark that motivated you in life?' ... I don't know what it was, but people would open up."

Charles was still driving taxis in the fall of 1970 when he auditioned for his first television job, at WICS in Springfield, Illinois.

Two days later, he got the job. He took a pay cut to enter the television business: $130 a week as a sports anchor, compared with $200 driving a taxi.

He was told by his news director that his Greek name was too ethnic and to change it to something more "vanilla."

"Nick Nickeas, sounds like you got a stutter, too," the news director added.

At the age of 24, Nick Charles was born. He covered sports for WICS, before the job rolled into just about anything, from farm reports to fluff. A wolf once urinated on his leg: "The mother wolf was a little mad. We got a little too close to her cubs."

From Springfield, he worked at local stations in Baltimore and Washington before joining CNN.

And it's at CNN where he shined.

In his prime, he and Hickman had chemistry, charisma and dynamism -- a duo of boundless energy. The two were revolutionary for their time, a white and black man sitting side-by-side live every night in studios from the once-segregated South.

"We just clicked from the very beginning," Hickman said in an interview before Charles' death. "In television, you always have personality conflicts. Nick and I never had one. Nick and I have always had a tremendous relationship."

Hickman's favorite memory with his long-time friend came in the 1980s when they arrived in Los Angeles for the Cable Ace Awards. Stretch limousines and other luxurious cars were parked everywhere. "We pulled up in a red Ford Tempo," Hickman said with a laugh.

His favorite line ever uttered by Charles came after Mike Tyson demolished an opponent: "Tyson tore his meat house down."

"I still don't know what it means," Hickman said, "but I love it."

Charles covered everything from the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the Kentucky Derby. But boxing was his passion.

He covered some of the most classic boxing matches -- when Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear, when Roberto Duran quit and told Sugar Ray Leonard, "No mas."

Seeing an undefeated Tyson get knocked out by Buster Douglas in Tokyo in 1990 was epic.

"That night was magical," Charles said. "It speaks to the uncertainty, that anybody's cloak of invincibility can be ripped away."

Charles would cry when he talked about the strength of boxers, because when he looked at the ring, he saw young men like him from the inner city who had to rely on themselves to reach success.

"You have to walk down that alley way to the ring," he said. "You're going to get hit. You have to take pain to get it. You have to fight through fear."

"There's just such an empathy I have for these guys. They want it so badly."

Tyson on Saturday sent a message on Twitter: "Mourning the loss of a true warrior. My friend & brother, Nick Charles."

In an interview in March, Charles had said he hoped to make it to one more Easter, to see his dream home completed in May, to see his daughter play the piano, to reach his 65th birthday on June 30. He made three of those four goals.

"If I don't make it," he said, "there's no need for any pity parties."

"People won't remember who you are or what you said," he said. "It's really about: Are you going to be remembered as a good person?"

"That's victory to me. That's success."

Charles is survived by his wife, Cory, of 13 years and their daughter, Giovanna. He has three children from two previous marriages: Jason, 39; Melissa, 36; and Katie, 24.

"His passing is a loss to CNN, to the sports world and to the fans and friends everywhere who were with him to the end of his extraordinary life," said Jim Walton, Charles' field producer in his early days and current president of CNN Worldwide.

Nick Charles and his family formed the "Embrace Life" project to help stop child trafficking and abuse, increase access to education and allow children to embrace life. Working with the humanitarian organization World Vision and the TEACH NOW: Preventing Child Labor in the Philippines project, the family welcomes support here: www.worldvision.org/EmbraceLife.



 

The Force Is STRONG With This One

Darth Vader star David Prowse clear of cancer
By Josh Layton; Lee Cain

Darth Vader star David Prowse yesterday spoke of his joy at winning his year-long battle with prostate cancer.

Star Wars actor David, 74, who played the 6ft 6in villain in the first three films, got the all-clear last month.

The former body-builder - and TV's Green Cross Code - stunned doctors by making a full recovery after intensive radiotherapy at London's Royal Marsden Hospital.

Speaking from his home in Croydon, Surrey, David said: "I've won the fight and I'm feeling better than ever. Everyone was shocked by how well it all went."

David admits he was lucky to be diagnosed early after a Prostate Cancer Support Association worker urged him to ask his GP for a blood test.

Now David, whose brother also beat the disease, advises men over 50 to get tested. He said: "I've had people saying I've saved their lives. I got the same with the Green Cross Code, it's happening again."

Happy New Years Day!

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Happy New Year's Day!

Hopefully NOBODY'S reading this and are instead enjoying the 1st new day of the year and decade..

I'm at work, so life sucks- HAHAHA!

here's some things on the interweb today

NEW LAWS ARE IN EFFECT- YAY! -- In SC, the biggest of changes or laws in SC concerns picture ID's on those hanging vehicle placards for the disabled or handicapped. The new law involves a completely new process for acquiring and displaying handicap placards. Beginning Jan. 1, placards will contain a photo identification, along with certificates verifying eligibility. Current placard holders can keep their placards until it expires, or Dec. 31, 2010 – whichever comes first. In NC, the biggest change involves smoking in public places. Other laws involve safeguards against racial profiling, expanded film credits, supervision of minors during arrests of their guardians, ethics training for municipal officials, stricter rules for denying unemployment compensation, increased requirements for animal adoption and recovery from shelters and the promotion of year-round water conservation. And those are just for the new year. Earlier this month, North Carolina banned texting while driving, a misdeamenor carrying a minimum $100 fine.

For more information about the North Carolina laws, visit ncga.state.nc.us. For more about the South Carolina law, visit scdmvonline.com.

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After thousands of nominations of words and phrases commonly used in marketing, media, technology and elsewhere, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University on Thursday issued their 35th annual list of words that they believe should be banned. OBAMA-prefix, CHILLAXIN', BROMANCE, TOO BIG TO FAIL, TOXIC ASSETS, STIMULUS, IN THESE ECONOMIC TIMES, TEACHABLE MOMENT, FRIEND (as a verb), SEXTING, TWEET, APP, CZAR, TRANSPARENT/TRANSPARENCY, and SHOVEL-READY.

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The Walt Disney Co. completed its $4.24 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. on Thursday, bringing Spider-Man, Iron Man and 5,000 other characters under the same roof as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

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A new study confirms that smoking raises a person's risks of the major forms of esophageal and stomach cancers, while drinking has more narrow effects and affected only the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the form found in the upper part of the esophagus. People who, at the study's start, drank more than 30 grams of alcohol per day -- equivalent to two to three glasses of wine -- were nearly five times more likely to develop the cancer than abstainers were

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Jubilant gay couples have rung in the New Year in New Hampshire with wedding vows to celebrate the state's new law legalizing same-sex marriage. At midnight, New Hampshire joined Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa in allowing gay marriage.

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Bill Powell, the first African American to build, own and operate a golf course, died Thursday. He was 93. Full Story »

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Police say a man who appeared in the Discovery Channel show "Deadliest Catch" is wanted for three bank robberies in Oregon and has been arrested in Illinois.

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Congratulations to the Navy's USS Ross. The destroyer has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in U.S. Navy history. The only warship in production for longer was the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Thanks to a decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Arleigh Burke destroyer production will continue for at least a few more years. The defense budget signed by President Barack Obama in December includes money for the first of at least three more ships. There's talk of many more being built.

Cancer

It’s that time of year again. It’s “National Breast Cancer Awareness” month. Let’s see what other months or times of the year we should “be aware of” or “remember” cancer

January 2009
 National Cervical Cancer Awareness Screening Month
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February 2009
 Coaches vs. Cancer® Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend (January 30-February 1)
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March 2009
 National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
 National Cancer Nutrition Awareness Month
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April 2009
 National Cancer Control Month
 National Minority Cancer Awareness Week (April 19-25)
 National Cancer Volunteer Week (April 19-25)
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May 2009
 Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
 Cancer Research Month
 Melanoma Monday (May 4)
 Women's Health/Cancer Awareness (Mother’s Day: May 10)
 National Women's Health Week (May 10-16)
 World No Tobacco Day (May 31)
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June 2009
 National Cancer Survivors Day (June 7)
 Men's Health/Cancer Awareness (Father's Day-June 21)
 National Men's Health Week (June 8-14)
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July 2009
 UV Safety for Cancer Prevention Awareness Month
 Sarcoma Cancer Awareness Month
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September 2009
 National Ovarian Cancer Month
 Childhood Cancer Month
 Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month
 National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
 Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (Sept. 10-16)
 Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month
 Take a Loved One for a Cancer Check-up Day (Sept. 22)
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October 2009
 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
 National Mammography Day (Oct. 16)
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November 2009
 Great American Smokeout for Lung Cancer Awareness (Nov. 19)
 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic® Weekend (Nov. 19-20)
 Lung Cancer Awareness Month
 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
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My big question is, who ISN”T aware of cancer? I’d like to MEET someone who says “Cancer, what’s THAT?!??!” I mean, who HAS NOT heard to get themselves checked early; checked often for cancer. Basically, August and December are the only months that aren’t cancer specific or have anything dedicated to cancer awareness. What if someone’s ONLY paying attention in August and December? Seriously, through proactive measures and the check early, check often mantra, many lives have at least been extended; if not saved. You can’t argue with that. But to me, it’s getting a little out of hand. Despite the above, it seems that every 2 weeks there’s SOME sort of run, walk, bicycling, crayfish eating event, etc for cancer. Specifically the Susan Komen Cancer Foundation fund or the ilk. Much money has been and will be raised.

Did you guys know that between 2003 and 2006, becoming a Susan G Komen Foundation non profit was one of the top 5 money making small business /independent start ups according to the US Small Business Administration - www.sba.gov/
That’s when I was doing research for story ideas for a bi-weekly PSA show or a news story.

Now there are stories and TONS of negative press about “the business of cancer” and even plausible ‘conspiracy theories” about big pharmaceutical companies not allowing survivable cancer medicine to be announced or produced. Much akin to the theories about how the automobile industry suppressing engines that runs on water or compressed air no doubt.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m kinda getting sick of the new marketing ways for cancer and cancer awareness. It seems like those involved are worrying about interest drying up, so they’re creating NEW and IMPROVED ways to remind us on a daily or weekly basis about awareness.

Look at HIV/AIDS – Remember the hype and glory that began in the early to mid 80’s? Remember the never ending debate, school programs, TV shows, movies, and all of the safe sex/abstinent ads and awareness walks, campaigns? Those pretty much have died down in the past 15 to 20 years. Even though between 2004 and 2007, AIDS rates have continued to rise dramatically. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm. However, with the advent of the various medical ‘cocktails’, people with HIV/AIDS are living longer.

Take the various forms of cancer. Most cancer rates have decreased. Take this National Cancer Institute study last year - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/health/research/26cancer.html

Yet the Susan G Komen walks, runs, concerts, pie eating contests, et all have increased significantly.

For giggles, check out THIS website about what the different colored ribbons means –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awareness_ribbons.

This site will tell you about ALL of the colors and what THEY represent - http://www.craftsnscraps.com/jewelry/ribbons.html

I lost someone who was like a mother to me years ago to brain cancer. Last year, my mother-in-law fought with cancer while dying of a COPD related illness. I’ve known too many people who have succumbed to SOME sort of cancer- both male and female oriented, and then the non discriminate forms- like brain and lung cancer. Though technically, breast and colorectal aren’t mutually exclusive to one sex or the other, but you wouldn’t believe it by the clever marketing that goes on. Chances are very likely that I myself will be diagnosed with some sort of cancer in the near future. One day either my morbid obesity and unhealthy lifestyle will get me; or just simply being born in 1966 and exposed to unhealthy things such as 2nd hand cigarette smoke, lead paint, disco, lawn darts, whatever. I cannot begin to imagine what cancer sufferers or survivors go through. I am aware of what their love ones face. That’s why that the daily/weekly reminders bother me. It seems that after the grieving and coping with loss time is over, people don’t know HOW to cope and choose to live their lives as a constant reminder. Maybe I’m wrong. What say you?