How Does Alcohol Affect My Blood Sugar Levels?

It is not uncommon to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or to have drinks after work with friends. Alcohol consumption is very prevalent in the United States.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2014:

• 87.6 percent of people age 18 and older reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lifetime
• 71 percent reported drinking in the past year
• 56.9 percent reported drinking in the past month

For many people, a glass of alcohol here and there does not pose a problem. For those with certain health conditions such as diabetes, however, alcohol can affect blood sugar levels and pose a health risk. It is important for them to understand what alcohol is and how it affects blood sugar levels.

Read more: How Does Alcohol Affect My Blood Sugar Levels?

The way that alcohol affects the body differs from person to person. People with diabetes and other
blood sugar-related illnesses must be extremely careful when consuming alcohol. Cocktails and
mixed drinks are full of sugar, so should be avoided by people with blood sugar problems.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Take This Vitamin And You Will NEVER Get Another Bite From A Mosquito Again!

Ah… summer. Longer days, sunny skies, sandy beaches… and mosquitoes. Lots and lots of mosquitoes.

For some, this isn’t too big of a deal, as mosquito repellent has been on the market since 1956.

But, if you’re like me at all and you not only want to stop smelling like the burnt remains of a chemical plant after using repellent, but also are scared of the adverse effects of DEET in sprays and are more prone to getting bit (seriously though, mosquitoes seemed to love me and only me at parties), then taking Vitamin B1 could be your saving grace.

Vitamin B1 (also known as thiamine) is an essential vitamin your body needs. It can be found in foods such as yeast, oatmeal, brown rice, asparagus, kale, liver and eggs and is important in fighting stress and boosting immunity.

Read more: Take This Vitamin And You Will NEVER Get Another Bite From A Mosquito Again!

Source: SimpleCapacity

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Fertility: What You Need to Know

Polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS for short is a disorder that causes an imbalance in female sex hormones. The imbalance can lead to a variety of symptoms and also affect a woman's fertility.

To understand what PCOS is and how it affects a woman, it's helpful to learn a little about how the ovaries work.

Every month in women of childbearing age, tiny fluid-filled cysts called follicles develop on the surface of the ovary. One of the follicles will produce a mature egg, which is released from the ovary. Female sex hormones including estrogen cause the egg to mature and break through the follicle.

In women who have polycystic ovary syndrome, there is an imbalance in female sex hormones. The imbalance may prevent mature eggs from developing and being released. Without a mature egg, ovulation does not occur, which leads to infertility.

Read more: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Fertility: What You Need to Know

The imbalance in female hormones may prevent ovulation, leading to infertility. If showing any
symptoms of PCOS, it is wise to see a doctor in order to prevent further complications. Unless a
woman is trying to get pregnant, birth control pills may be used to correct the hormonal imbalance.

Source: MedicalNewsToday.

Five Signs Of Hormone Imbalance You Shouldn't Ignore

Be vigilant of these five signs of hormonal imbalance, from poor sleep to chronic acne.

Hormones affect everyone from birth to death, yet the word has a negative connotation. Most people use "raging hormones" to explain teenage angst, or "hormonal" to describe PMS in women, and maybe for good reason: hormonal symptoms have a lot to do with our lifestyle, diet, and environment.

Hormone problems are very common, so feeling like we're experiencing a hormonal balance, or a fluctuation in hormones, is not unusual.

Read more: Five Signs Of Hormone Imbalance You Shouldn't Ignore

Source: MedicalDaily

Watch video: 'Super Growth' Chickens Raised on High Hormone Quantities

Melanoma May Be Stoppable With Drug That Halts Cancer Cell Proliferation

A drug already being tested in people as a treatment for cancer appears to show great promise in halting melanoma skin cancer. The drug - called pevonedistat - works in a way differently than intended and could also be effective against other cancers.

So says a new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville that was published in the journal EBioMedicine.

Lead researcher Tarek Abbas, assistant professor of radiation oncology, says:

"In fact, the drug is very effective on all melanomas, including those for which an effective therapeutic is lacking."

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer that develops when melanocytes - the cells that give skin its color - mutate and become cancerous.

Read more: Melanoma May Be Stoppable With Drug That Halts Cancer Cell Proliferation

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer that develops when cells that give skin its color mutate and
become cancerous. The researchers say they have found a drug that may stop the cancer progressing.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Ten Interesting Facts About Body Temperature

Body temperature can be affected by various circumstances

In order to maintain a healthy metabolic process, our enzymes need to be functioning at a certain optimal temperature – 37°C or 98.6°F. Body temperature is the balance between heat loss and heat production.

Fortunately, we are able to maintain a healthy body temperature regardless of external outside temperature. For instance, putting a jacket on if you are cold or taking off your sweater if you feel yourself getting warm.

Read more: Ten Interesting Facts About Body Temperature

Source: TheActiveTimes

Watch Video: Ten Interesting Facts About Body

'We Can Completely Reverse Alcohol Dependence'

Scientists have discovered a way to entirely remove the urge to drink alcohol compulsively in an animal model. The researchers hope that, with enough funding, a solution to this age-old problem might be on the horizon.

Alcohol has been brewed and consumed by humans for almost 10,000 years.

In 2014, 87.6 percent of Americans over the age of 18 reported that they had consumed alcohol at least once in their life.

Although commonly available, it is an incredibly addictive substance. In the United States, an estimated 16.3 million adults over the age of 18 have an alcohol use disorder, and around 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually.

For these reasons, thousands of researchers are dedicated to understanding the causes behind a compulsive need to drink alcohol and ways in which it might be curbed.

Read more: 'We Can Completely Reverse Alcohol Dependence'

Could alcoholism finally be on the way out?

Source: MedicalNewsToday

Sepsis And The Hematology Laboratory

An affordable, widely available test can impact today`s biggest healthcare challenge.

Sepsis, the inflammatory response to infection, is quickly becoming one of the biggest healthcare problems worldwide. No matter the perspective one takes, the numbers are staggering. Currently the number of diagnosed cases per year in the United States is at least 750,000; some estimates surpass one million. Worldwide mortality estimates are as high as 20 percent, and thus we are dealing with one of the biggest drivers of mortality in modern medicine. Sepsis kills nearly as many people as heart attack, HIV, and breast cancer combined.

Viewed from the perspective of health economics, the average in-hospital cost per case is approximately $20,000 dollars, and yearly estimates of sepsis-related expenses in the U.S. alone exceed $20 billion.

Read more: Sepsis And The Hematology Laboratory

Source: MedicalLaboratoryObserver

There Is Now A Sixth Taste – And It Explains Why We Love Carbs

As any weight-watcher knows, carb cravings can be hard to resist. Now there’s evidence that carbohydrate-rich foods may elicit a unique taste too, suggesting that “starchy” could be a flavour in its own right.

It has long been thought that our tongues register a small number of primary tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Umami – the savoury taste often associated with monosodium glutamate – was added to this list seven years ago, but there’s been no change since then.

However, this list misses a major component of our diets, says Juyun Lim at Oregon State University in Corvallis. “Every culture has a major source of complex carbohydrate. The idea that we can’t taste what we’re eating doesn’t make sense,” she says.

Read more: There Is Now A Sixth Taste – And It Explains Why We Love Carbs

Mmm… taste that delicious starch

Jonathan Knowles/Getty

Source: NewScientist

Watch Video: Scientists have discovered a sixth taste!

Spike In Teen Obesity Explained By Decreased Calorie Burn In Puberty

The rise in obesity rates during adolescence may be due to a substantial fall of calories burned during the rapid growth phase of puberty, finds a new study by the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 20 percent of adolescents age 12-19 years are obese in the United States. Obese teenagers are more likely to have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for the development of diabetes.

Adolescents who are obese are also at a greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, social and psychological problems, and they are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Read more: Spike In Teen Obesity Explained By Decreased Calorie Burn In Puberty

During puberty, the number of calories girls and boys burn while at rest plummets.

Source: MedicalNewsToday