Category Archives: Health

Synthetic Pot is Far More Dangerous than Real Marijuana

If you are the parent of a teenager or pre-teen, you have a long list of dangerous drug trends to be concerned about, ranging from prescription pills such as Xanax and Oxycontin to illegal drugs to bath salts and even huffing of toxic substances.

Unfortunately, many of the illicit substances and drugs that are most popular with kids today are not purchased on the street, but instead found under your bathroom sink, in your medicine cabinet or at the local gas station.

Another easily-obtainable substance for parents to discuss with their children is synthetic marijuana, a legal drug that (in most states) medical experts agree is far more dangerous than real marijuana due to horrifying synthetic pot side effects.

Read More »

Posted in Health, Health Facts, Medical, Mental Health, News, Parenting, Studies | 339 Comments

Frequent Migraines Increase Depression Risk for Women

We are all familiar with having a common headache and the affects that they can have on us. From a continual throbbing to pain behind the eyes to even a stiffening of the neck, the severity of each headache, and for each individual, can vary. However, migraine headaches can be much more severe and, in some instances, literally debilitating.

According to recent research examining 14 years of medical data, women who experience frequent migraine headaches are more likely to develop depression.

Dr. Timothy A. Collins, a neurologist and headache and migraine treatment researcher at Duke University Medical Center who was not directly involved in the study, said that the study “confirms” what experts have long believed.

Read More »

Posted in Health, Health Facts, Medical, Mental Health, News, Studies, Women | Leave a comment

5 Ways to “Trick” Your Kids Into Eating Healthier

Recently, Tyson has been airing a chicken nuggets commercial in which kids describe the foods they dislike (“Spinach? Not a big fan;” “Mushrooms look like aliens;” “I don’t like lima beans”), only to be presented with a big pile of chicken nuggets that the narrator describes as “the one thing kids love, 100% of the time.”

There’s no doubt about it – children can be picky eaters. However, this doesn’t mean that parents need to resort to junk food (sorry Tyson, but we’ve seen the videos of what goes into chicken nuggets, and 100% natural does not equal 100% healthy food).

In fact, there are plenty of ways of getting your kids to eat healthy, more nutritious foods, and the best part is that they won’t be protesting or sticking their tongues out when you do.

Read More »

Posted in Diet, Food, Health, News, Nutrition, Parenting | 2,053 Comments

Foodborne Illness Vaccine is Coming Soon

Foodborne illness, also referred to as foodborne disease and food poisoning, is any illness that results from consuming food that has been contaminated, pathogenic parasites, bacteria, or viruses that contaminate food, as well as other chemical or natural toxins.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the (CDC), estimates that approximately 48 million foodborne illness cases occur in the U.S. each year with at least 128,000 individuals being hospitalized and over 3,000 dying from contaminated food.

If recent studies are any indication, a foodborne illness vaccine that will protect against norovirus – the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States – could be available to the general public well within the next half-decade.

According to Charles Arntzen of Arizona State University’s Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, norovirus vaccines have already been successful in multiple human trials, though additional studies are needed in order to determine how effective they’ll be overall.

Read More »

Posted in Food, Health, Health Facts, Medical, News, Studies | 4 Comments

7 Hours of Sleep is Just Right for Teens, Study Says

Sleep is a vital and necessary function of the human body as countless biological processes occur during periods of sleep. In addition, there are several health risks that have been associated with extended periods of sleep deprivation including weight gain, high blood pressure, weakened immune system, decreased learning, poor memory, hypertension, irregular heartbeat, and increased stress hormone levels.

This being said, how much sleep, on a consistent and regular basis, is really necessary to support a healthy lifestyle?

A few days ago, we reported that younger children tend to fall short of recommended sleep requirements, despite the fact that those recommendations are based on little medical, clinical, or scientific evidence.

Now, a recently published study is recommending an amount of sleep for teenagers with some actual scientific backing. According to researchers Mike Showalter and Eric Eide of Brigham Young University, approximately 7 hours of sleep is just right for teens each night.

Read More »

Posted in Health, Health Facts, Mental Health, News, Parenting, Studies | 1,526 Comments