I found this great slideshow on Men’s Health yesterday depicting a 175 lbs Men’s Health editor working in with NFL football star Dwight Freeney during one of Freeney’s offseason workouts. It is hilarious, fun, interesting, and educational all at the same time. You will get an idea of how NFL players train in the offseason, [...]
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Recently at Project Swole there has been some discussion of post-workout nutrition. I typically recommend Biotest Surge but several people in the last 6 months or so have suggested chocolate milk. The reality is that chocolate milk really might be the best and cheapest drink you can use post-workout. This is an update from an [...]
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Kicking the smoking habit is a challenge for many people – but one that’s well worth the effort. After only five years away from cigarettes, a smoker’s lung cancer risk drops by half. Quitting smoking also reduces the risk of other diseases including heart disease, cancer of the oral cavity, cancer of the bladder or kidney, pancreatic cancer, and stroke.
One unpleasant side effect of smoking cessation that most smokers have to contend with is nicotine withdrawal. Could flavored chewing gum help with this problem? A new study shows that chewing gum not only helps nicotine withdrawal symptoms, but certain chewing gum flavors work better than others.
Withdrawal from nicotine causes symptoms similar to a mild case of the flu. Fortunately, these symptoms are only temporary and usually subside once the body adjusts to no longer having a steady supply of nicotine.
The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include headache, difficulty focusing, problems sleeping, fatigue, sore throat, cough, sweating, nausea, nasal stuffiness, and anxiety. Usually these symptoms start to peak after two days and then slowly subside, although it can take several months to feel completely normal again.
In a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, researchers gave 49 smokers one of several flavors of gum to chew on for four weeks. The smokers were asked not to light up for two days during each week of the study – and to chew one of various flavors of gum to see how it would affect their symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Were some chewing gum flavors better than others for easing nicotine withdrawal symptoms? The smokers who chewed vanilla and apple cardamom flavored gum had the fewest symptoms of nicotine withdrawal during their period of abstinence. They experienced less anxiety, tension, and fatigue compared to those who chewed no gum – and relative to smokers who chewed the other flavor tested – peppermint. This is surprising since mint is among the most popular nicotine gum flavors.
It’s difficult to draw solid conclusions from this study since the smokers weren’t quitting smoking permanently, just taking two day breaks from smoking each week. On the other hand, if you’re chewing gum to ease the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, chomping on vanilla flavored gum may offer some additional benefits. Apple cardamom gum seems to work too, but it could be more difficult to find.
Would chewing on vanilla mints, candies, or sniffing vanilla oil also help the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal? Maybe this will be the focus of a future study.
Confectionary News. “Vanilla flavoured gum may cut nicotine withdrawal effects, study”
Addictive Behaviors. Volume 35, Issue 11, November 2010, Pages 955-960.
You might believe these messages because they seem to be well-researched. But for sure, unconsciously, you might also be wondering about the veracity of such reports. Here are some examples of those widely circulated emails that have been (and still are) going around.
Can Anti-Perspirants Really Cause Breast Cancer?
This is perhaps, the oldest and most widely circulated hoaxes in the internet. According to the email messages going around the net, the use of anti-perspirants could lead to breast cancer by preventing the lymph system from purging the toxins through sweating. The email says that these toxins do not “just magically” disappear and instead deposit themselves in the lymph nodes below the arms. This causes a high concentration of toxins to remain in the body, and that leads to cell mutations: a.k.a. cancer.
But according to experts, this issue is absolutely a hoax. It has no basis at all. The lymph system does not eliminate toxins through sweating. Experts also say that no studies have clearly established the correlation between the use of deodorants or anti-perspirants and breast cancer. People should check out first with their doctors before believing in “health messages” that are being passed around in the internet.
Can Using Cellular Phones Really Lead to Brain Tumor?
The rumors even go as far as saying that putting the cellphones in pants pockets could even cause testicular cancer!
According to experts, there are no scientific studies that could back up that rumor. Present scientific knowledge does not prove that radiation from cellular phone transmitters could cause cancer.
Are Shampooo and Toothpaste Cancerous Too?
The email messages say that sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), a substance that makes shampoo and toothpaste foamy and sudsy, causes cancer. It claims that SLS is a very strong substance that is a main ingredient in garage floor cleansers.
Experts from the Health Canada has investigated the circulating letter and discovered that the email warning is a plain hoax. According to the article published by Health Canada “The letter is signed by a person from the University of Pennsylvania Health System and includes a phone number. Health Canada contacted the University of Pennsylvania Health System and found that it is not the author of the sodium laureth sulfate warning and does not endorse any link between SLS and cancer.”
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I also have links to my other articles through my blogs: Sharing my Thoughts and Lifestyle Magazine for Moms
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Acetic Acid Wash is another cervical cancer management and screening method that can detect abnormal cellular changes in the cervix much earlier and can thus help prevent cervical cancer from developing further. Pre-cancerous cells detected at this early stage are still 100% curable.
According to the doctors, if every woman often undergoes cervical examination or check-up even once in their lifetime or, even better, every 5 years, then they can expect 84% protection from cervical cancer.
In Acetic Acid Wash Detection Method, a large cotton swab is immersed into 3% to 5% acetic acid and is placed on the cervix for about 2 minutes. The cotton swab is then removed. Visual inspection of the cervix follows.
If the areas of the cervix turn whitish after about 5 minutes, there could be some abnormal cancer cells already. Other signs that may indicate cervical cancer: a grossly misshapen cervix, ulcers or irregular mass formations on the cervix, and tissue that bleeds easily.
Patient positive for cervical cancer will be immediately referred to a obstetrician-gynecologist for immediate colposcopy (a diagnostic tool to determine the cause of abnormalities found in Pap smears) with Pap smear and biopsy if needed.
Lesions that eventually lead to cancer can be removed thus preventing full-blown cervical cancer.
For cervical cancer, the most important risk factor is infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). This infection can be passed from one person to another during sexual intercourse. Having unprotected sex, especially at a young age makes HPV infection more likely. Women with many sexual partners (or who have sexual intercourse with men with many sexual partners) have a greater chance of getting HPV.
Smoking is also another risk factor for cervical cancer. Tobacco smoke can produce chemicals that may damage the DNA in cells of the cervix and make cancer more likely to develop. Women smokers are about twice as likely to get cervical cancers than non-smokers.
Diet could also play a part as well in the prevention of cancer. Eating more fruits and vegetables may be linked to a lower risk of some cancers.
The main warning of invasive cancer of the cervix is unusual bleeding from the vagina at any time, especially after sexual intercourse. Although bleeding is often due to conditions other than cancer, medical advice should be sought immediately even if you have had a recent Pap test.
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I also have links to my other articles through my blogs: Sharing my Thoughts and Lifestyle Magazine for Moms
Want to know how to earn extra dollars through writing articles like this? Just visit: Earning Through Writing Articles
