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Thursday, August 6, 2009

New Drink Likened to Legal Marijuana

New Drink Likened to Legal Marijuana, Holding a Grudge Can Harm Your Health, and Why Dandelions Are Good for You

A look at what Health.com editors are reading today
  • Ever wonder why you’re a size 12 in one store and an 8 in another? Retailers have caught on to how happy it makes us when we fit into smaller sizes, and they’ve scaled down their sizing. While it sure does make us feel good, it may actually decrease our motivation to lose those few extra pounds. [That’s Fit]
  • What’s the opposite of needing a little pick-me-up? Needing a little nap? Whatever you want to call it, there’s a new solution: a relaxation drink. The concoction, called Drank, is made with mellowing melatonin, valerian root, and rose hips. Some are calling its drowsy side effects a legal alternative to marijuana! [Vitamin G] Read More

DEET in Bug Spray Tied to Neural Damage in Mice

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) — New French research suggests the main ingredient used in many insect repellants may affect the central nervous system, at least in mice.

And combining this ingredient — DEET (N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) — with carbamates, a type of pesticide that is often used with DEET, compounded the effects.

Although the authors, publishing online Aug. 5 in BMC Biology, warn of potential dangers to humans, they also acknowledge the need for more studies on the subject. Read More


Young Vets With PTSD More Prone to Heart Risk Factors

TUESDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) — Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts who have mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are also at higher risk for having cardiovascular disease risk factors, a new study suggests.

While previous studies have found that those with PTSD, a common mental health problem among veterans who have seen combat, are at increased risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease, risk factors for heart attack and stroke have not been evaluated in this group, said Dr. Beth E. Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and staff physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Read More


Livalo Approved for High Cholesterol

TUESDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) — Livalo (pitavastatin) is the newest statin to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat high cholesterol.

As with other statin drugs, Lavalo is meant for people in whom diet and exercise fail to lower cholesterol, the agency said in a news release. Statins do this mostly by curbing the liver’s ability to produce an enzyme called HMG Co-A reductase. Read More



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