"cure" news and stories

Scientists are working on research that will give us yet another reason to drink red wine, although the experiment is still in its early stages. Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City found that drinking a moderate amount of red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, to be specific, may reduce the deterioration of brain and memory functions that is typically associated with Alzheimer's disease. Cab Sauvingnon seemed to be able to prevent the buildup of "plaque" in the brain, the main characteristic of Alzheimer's.

The study has only been conducted with mice, where the results of the red wine were compared to the results of groups that received water or ethanol, so more testing is needed before a conclusion about how this will affect humans is made, but since the amounts given were within the USDA guidelines for wine consumption (1 glass per day for women, 2 for men) it probably wouldn't hurt to get a head start, just in case.

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A nutrition study conducted by Barry Popkin, of the Department of Nutrition and Economics at the University of North Carolina, has determined that the number of overweight or obese people in the world outnumber the starving, with approximately 800 million starving/near starving and 1.3 billion overweight people. Popkin has also followed the lives of more than 15,000 people in China for the past 17 years, noting that none of them were obese when his study started, but nearly 25% are now. Using this as a baseline for other countries, Popkin points a finger at a "considerable" drop in the consumption of cereals (grains) and an increase in the consumption of fats, what he calls a "classic Westernization pattern".

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In search of "something to ease my mind back into the day," and "something to tighten up the valves downstairs," Fraser at blogjam combined his two favorite hangover remedies-Pepto-Bismol and ice cream. It looks like a pretty standard vanilla ice cream recipe, plus the addition of a bottle of Pepto. The color apparently wasn't what Fraser hoped for, so some red dye had to be added as well. The results? Fraser says the ice cream tasted similar to black cherry, and that the vanilla tamed the Pepto taste a bit. Its medicinal properties are still questionable, however.

The best way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation and stay hydrated throughout the night. There is no "cure" for a hangover.
A team at the University of Pennsylvania examined eight remedies reputed to lessen or even cure the symptoms of a hangover, including such items as propranolol, fructose/glucose, prickly pear extracts and a yeast based product. The team also noted that very few studies have been done to test such remedies and even fewer have been reliably conducted. Their findings revealed why because there is no conclusive evidence that any of the tested remedies actually prevented or cured a hangover.
There are too many home remedies to test every one, but logic should reveal that if food items such as bananas, eggs and milkshakes acutally cured hangovers, people would have noticed by now. Feel free to try toast and honey, if you're so inclined, but it is best to avoid "the hair of the dog that bit you" and other home remedies in favor of good sense and self control to avoid a hangover.

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