Top Five Health News of the Week: 12th Jan- 17th Jan
We hope your past week was as fruitful and progressive as it was for the medical world. The determined scientist and researchers are always on the look out to discover or invent new mechanisms for treatments in order to make the lives of common people like us easier. Just when you think you have the latest medical knowledge in the medical world, you face yet another round of updated discoveries and studies. And it is the work of us, at HealthJockey, to get the most recent news to you at just a click away. Like always we have hand-picked five of the most eye-catching news of the past week. Without further delay, let’s begin our Top Five Health News of the Week.
Cigarette smoking has always been a major cause of various illnesses and diseases in the medical zone. In spite of various public means of curbing smoking addiction in people, especially the youth, some people still continue smoking. If you thought nothing worse could happen, you may find this study quite disturbing. A latest study by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey says that menthol cigarette addicts may find kicking this addiction tougher than imagined. They say that menthol gives a cooling effect, thus inhaling nicotine gets easier for the smoker. Such cigarettes are considered much more fatal and dangerous than the regular cigarettes because of the exposure of the smoker to higher nicotine dosage. The addiction to such cigarettes is thus rated higher than the other forms of cigarettes. A lot of encouragement and inspiration is required on the part of a smoker’s loved ones, in order to urge them to quit smoking. In spite of being difficult, quitting smoking is not impossible. It is never too late to start a healthy life afresh. We suggest all smokers to go to their ashtrays and throw out the rest of your smoked and un-smoked cigarettes and breathe in some fresh air, for a change.
After our news on the fatal effects of menthol smoking, we move on to a study that presumes the causal effect of catching a common cold. Have you ever wondered why after a hectic day and restless night, you suddenly catch a cold the next day? No, it may not have been because of the extra scoop of ice-cream that you may have had the other day. The Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg study says that due to inadequate sleep a person may experience lower resistance to common cold. They say that sleep deprivation may influence a person’s immunity to cold resistance. Daily sleep of about seven hours at night is recommended in order to avoid the potential development of fatal cardiovascular diseases. It’s not a very big thing to ask. Who would mind sleeping a little extra every morning, right?
Usually after a restful nightly sleep, every morning people wish to wake up to the fresh smell of brewing coffee. Most people love to have a cup of coffee throughout their hectic day. However a latest study warns that high caffeine intake may give rise to hallucinations. Apparently this Durham University study says high caffeine users are three times more likely to hear voices or see imaginary things, as compared to their counterparts. The study authors however also say that hallucination is not a mental illness. Many people experiencing hallucinations live their entire lives normally. There are many organizations available though that can aid people disturbed with such experiences. They further say that a more detailed analysis is required in order to verify their study results. This does not mean that coffee consumption should be curbed entirely. Everything is good in limitation. In fact it is believed that moderate caffeine consumption may actually be good for you.
Moving from mind disorders to hormonal disorders, the researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, say that women with higher levels of the oestradiol hormone are more prone to cheat on their love interest. This sex hormone in women may trigger the urge to seek other partners. A study of these women revealed that those who believed themselves to be physically attractive were more likely to be adulterous, as compared to their counterparts. It is said that these women may not feel satisfied and fulfilled with a long term affair. Thus they may venture out in search of new mates. Don’t get us wrong, we are not suggesting every woman on the block to venture out and blame it on their innocent hormones!
Jokes apart, our final astounding and interesting news of the week is about the health benefits that senior citizens can take advantage of through moderate alcohol consumption. Yes, that’s right. You heard it right the first time itself. Moderate alcohol consumption is believed to prevent physical disability in healthy older adults. This UCLA study as highlighted the positive effects that moderate drinking can have on the well being of healthy older adults. The only reason why we are stressing on the word “healthy” is because if only you are relatively healthy can you prevent an illness from occurring, but if you are not healthy in the first place alcohol intake won’t help in any way. On the contrary it may prove to be more harmful than helpful. We would highly recommend older adults to stay healthy and indulge in an occasional glass of wine or any other drink. If nothing causes of it, you may have anyway pleased your taste buds!
The latest UCLA study brings us to the end of our top five news of the week. We hope to have stroked the right chords, and selected the most interesting news of the past week for our readers. You can read on in HealthJockey for many more news that you all may appeal to you. While you all catch up on the latest medical updates, many more researchers and discoveries will come into existence until next week. We wish all you readers to have a fun filled weekend and enjoy yourself. Catch you all next weekend. Until then read on!
