Kiss Kiss Kiss, Reeking What You’ve Eaten!?

It’s no secret, I’ve dated a stinker, a wonderfilled woman – full of talent and wit – who had the misfortune of suffering from halitosis, a condition that turned my bog-standard-bipolarized-blond-bird into a slinky-stink-bomb. Brooksy’s condition was initiated by a specific combination of food, give this girl a combo of  garlic and red wine and you’d have to stand five feet away to avoid the pong, no joke, possibly THE most rancid smell my nose has ever been exposed to!

Most of us have had a similar experience, an outwardly gorgeous buddy who turns our nose. So were does the stink come from; diet, perspiration or bad personal hygiene, are we truly what we eat? ::

Alternative medicines like Ayurveda and Homeopathy reckon that toxins in our body – from impure or improperly digested food – can cause our body odour and breath to pong. According to mainstream medicine and science however, the causes of bad body odour are not yet fully understood.

Modern medicine says that bodily smells are caused by numerous factors working in combination, including the chemicals in sweat reacting with bacteria that have made a home on our skin. And while science is busily looking at our diet, conclusions are currently sparse. It’s easy to imagine that what we eat might sneak out through perspiration :: Read the full article »»»»

Australia: Obesity Epidemic Affecting Autopsies

Australians are getting more obese by the day, with experts warning body fat is masking the diagnosis of other illnesses. It is causing stress on Australia’s public health system and the people who have to examine the grossly overweight bodies. South Australian forensic pathologist Roger Byard says the problem is so bad he cannot get some of his clients onto his examination tables, reports Rebecca Brice from abc.net.au.

Dr Byard says obesity is one of the most frightening epidemics he has seen in his four decades in medicine. ”We have antibiotics for infections, we have chemotherapy for cancer, so we take two steps forward but with the obesity problem we’re almost taking three steps back,” Dr Byard said.

Dr Byard says since 1986 the rate of morbidly obese bodies entering his Adelaide mortuary has risen from just over 1 per cent to almost 5 per cent. At times the bodies are so big he has to dissect them on the floor. ”We try to avoid this obviously, but if a body is so large that we can’t safely put the body on a trolley then we have to perform the autopsy on the floor, which is terribly difficult.”

The bigger the bodies, he says, the harder it is to dissect them and the harder it is to find the cause of death. ”Obesity comes with so many diseases – it’s almost how do you choose which is the problem,” he said. ”As well as the fact that they have to carry this excess weight around, their heart’s being compressed and this adipose tissue material is secreting toxins that people think actually cause death of heart cells. So they’re being attacked on all fronts.” Dr Byard said.

The problems are not confined to the morgue. Some obese hospital patients do not fit into CT scanning machines and excess fat can hinder the taking of blood using syringes, which impedes diagnosis in both the dead and the living.

WHO Allows Publication of Controversial Bird Flu Research

After months of controversy, the World Health Organisation – WHO – has decided to allow the publication of controversial research into bird flu. Scientists in the Netherlands and the United States have made versions of the virus which could potentially spread more easily between humans. There were calls for the research to be kept secret, and WHO indicated earlier this month that this was their preference, but the WHO has decided it is in the public interest to release it.

The disease remains a huge problem in countries from Indonesia to Egypt. When the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been contracted by humans, more than 60 per cent have died, making it one of the most lethal strains of flu ever detected. An expert panel convened by the WHO has decided the research should be published in full. The panel says the research should not be published until it has increased public awareness and understanding and reviewed issues of bio-safety and biosecurity. Read the full article »»»»

UVA Radiation Causes DNA Damage in Skin?

There is new evidence that the sun’s UV rays are even more damaging than previously thought.

The sun emits two kinds of UV rays to the earth’s surface: UVA and UVB. It had been thought that those rays do not damage the deeper layers of the skin as much as they damage the top layers. New research from Kings College London has found that is the case for UVB rays, but not for UVA rays. The study has found UVA rays are more carcinogenic than previously realised – a finding scientists say underscores how important it is to limit exposure to the sun and to tanning studios. The study was led by Antony Young, Professor of experimental photobiology at King’s College. Read the full article »»»»