"MedicalBenefits" news and stories

It is amazing how easy it is to find artisanal honeys in Paris. On my last trip, I found a store that not only offers a gorgeous array of honeys but also medicinal products made from honey, everything from throat lozenges to anti-aging moisturizing creams and soaps. From the second I entered Famille Mary at No. 35 rue Cler, the shopkeeper asked how he could help me and if I had any ailments. He pointed me towards a wall stacked with the largest variety of honey-made products I had ever seen.

The storekeeper at Famille Mary picks out specific honeys and honey-made items that address health issues relating to your specific body, such as stress, insomnia, blood flow, digestion, menopause, memory, vision, and weight gain. In essence, the store is a pharmacy full of sweet honey-made medicines developed in laboratories by doctors and apiarists (beekeepers).

Not only does Famille Mary create remedies to treat existing health problems, but it also concocts candies, pills, toothpastes, and syrups to prevent health ailments from arising in the future. The products are made with propolis, a natural resinous material collected by bees from tree buds. Propolis is believed to prevent cataracts and promote heart health. Three of the most bizarre medicinal products from Famille Mary can be found after the jump.

Here we go again - just as us wine lovers were feeling smug over the health benefits of imbibing moderate levels of vino, along comes a new study that debunks the idea.

Following an indepth look at a long series of studies, researchers in Canada and Australia have found a systematic error in the design of previous studies that may have exaggerated the health benefits of alcohol. These studies divided groups into "drinkers" and "abstainers" and among the abstainers were people who had reduced or quit drinking for medical reasons. Originally it seemed that the abstainers had higher death rates from heart disease than drinkers as they did not receive its protective benefit, but it now seems that "those in the abstainer category were often already frail and predisposed to death."

The study authors warn that their report does not deny the positives of light alcohol intake, defined as two drinks or fewer per day, but say much is still unclear.

[Cartoon By George - 10 great cartoons viewable from this link]

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