Ten Common Myths about Eyes and Eye Health

You are probably aware of many of these myths about the eyes and the sense of sight. Many of us grew up with them. These myths have been passed from one generation to the next and despite ever-increasing access to accurate information, many of them still persist.

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Mistaken Reasons that People Take Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Many people take vitamin and mineral supplements, not because they have a poor diet, but as added insurance against a lack of certain nutrients. This is probably not needed at all but the attitude is better safe than sorry and a little extra won't hurt. The fact is, extra will not likely do anything but cost you money. Still, many people have more specific reasons for taking supplements, usually because of ideas they have derived from nutrition misinformation. This article explores some of these reasons.

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Pica: Craving Nonfood Items

Pica is the craving and eating of nonfood items. It can develop in any person but seems to be most often experienced by African American women (data is limited) in the pregnancy and postpartum period. In the southern United States, 16 to 57 percent of pregnant African-American women admit to pica. It is also generally more common in persons with severe impairments and mental retardation, although no connection whatsoever between the latter and the former should be assumed, and the underlying causes are probably different.

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Oxytocin

Oxytocin: A hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland which targets the smooth muscle of the uterus and mammary glands, stimulating uterine contractions amd the letdown of milk.

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Xanthine Oxidase in Homogenized Milk and Cardiovascular Damage

Xanthine oxidase is an enzyme in milk, found in the milk fat globules. It is a specific oxido-reductase involved in purine catabolism, catalyzing the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and of xanthine to uric acid Bibliography item fark not found.,Bibliography item harrison not found. It's antimicrobial role is due to its ability to help generate reactive oxygen species which are highly bactericidal or bacteriostatic. It may also be that its antimicrobial effect is derived from the formed hydrogen peroxide that participate in the lactoperoxidase system.Bibliography item harrison not found.

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Some Useful Singular and Plural Forms of Medical and Anatomical Terms

The plurals of medical, anatomical, and other scientific terms, having derived from Greek or Latin roots, do not follow the usual familiar rules of English.

The difference between diagnosis and diagnoses, for instance, isn't readily apparent to most people, although adding -es to the end of the word is often a way to make it plural, as we do for English words ending in z, s, x, ch, or sh. But this does not tell us what to do with scientific words like diagnosis. And there is no such word as "diagnosises." So what gives? There are some basic rules to remember to help you distinguish the singular and plural forms of medical terms. This page will run through some of these rules and list examples of each. Each rule is based on the singular form of "words ending in" a particular combination of letters.

Keep in mind, as you are using these guidelines, that they represent what is usually the rule. As with any grammar rules, they do not hold true in all instances.

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What Is the Babinski Reflex?

The Babinski reflex or Babinski sign is pathalogical (altered or abnormal) reflex of the lower limb which indicates damage to the corticospinal tracts of the spinal cord. These pathways are also called the pyramidal tracts after the pyramid-shaped parts of the medulla oblongata through which they pass. To elicit the Babinski reflex, an examiner forcefully strokes the edge of the bottom of a patient's foot (lateral plantar surface or sole) with a moderately sharp object from the heel to the toes. The Babinski reflex is named after its discoverer, Joseph Babinski, who described it in 1896.

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What is Adaptive Shortening?

A muscle can change it's functional resting length to adapt to the length at which the muscle is habitually used or positioned. Adaptive Shortening is muscle tightness resulting from a muscle being forced to remain in a shortened position for a prolonged period of time, being unable to lengthen due to the relaxation of the antagonist group. An example of this type of shortening is the shortening of the iliopsoas (one-joint hip flexors) in individuals who are confined to a wheelchair or who must spend most of their day sitting. Another example is the wearing of high-heeled shoes, which can cause adaptive shortening of the soleus since the foot must remain in plantar flexion. Apaptive shortening of muscles causes postural distortions which result in further imbalance between opposing pairs of muscle.

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Surprising New Nutrition Finding: Nutrition Articles on News Sites Suck

By Eric Troy

Not a week goes by when someone doesn't bring up his/her mistrust of science. No area of science has less trust these days than those associated with nutrition and health.

How can we trust science when science constantly contradicts itself? That is what people ask.

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The Aspartame Myth-information Campaign: You Can Live Without It

Aspartame gets such bad press and is the subject of a very intensive misinformation campaign. The myths about this non-nutritive sweetener are so ingrained that I doubt I can change many minds with this post. Well, that's okay. Why should I care whether you avoid aspartame? There is certainly nothing wrong with that. But wallowing in ignorance is an invitation to being easily victimized by money-grabbing gurus.

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What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. It generally affects the hands, wrists, knees, and feet, although any joint can be affected.

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Botulism Poisoning

Botulism is a food-borne illness caused by the Botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, a spore-forming anaerobic bacteria. Botulism poisoning is rare but extremely serious and potentially fatal. Approximately 10 to 30 outbreaks are reported each year. This poison is extremely potent; it is widely considered the most potent biological toxin for humans.¹

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Baking Soda and Vinegar for Bee Stings: It Works! But not Really.

You got stung by a bee, put some baking soda and vinegar on it, and ten minutes later the pain was gone! It worked. OR, maybe there is another explanation. Maybe you are not allergic to bee stings, had a minor local reaction, and the pain simply went away on its on. I personally seldom have the pain from a bee sting last longer than 10 or 20 minutes and I forget all about it. Yep.

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20 Home Remedies for Treating Minor Burns: Not!

Instead of listing out twenty tips in an obviously deceitful display of "yeah right you gullible fool," all I really need to say is this: Pick twenty random things from around your house that can be smeared on a burn, poured on a burn, etc. And you have your twenty home remedy tips.

Soy sauce. Mustard. Vinegar. Hey, take some chewing tobacco, chew it up real good, and spit it on your burns. I swear, it works wonders. My grandmother used to swear on it for bee stings, too. The point is it doesn't matter what I say, there is someone who will believe it.

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Overview of Categories of Controlled Substances in the United States

Controlled substances, are defined by The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Actu of 1970, which is usually referred to simply as the Controlled Substances Act. This act established the current categories of controlled substances by dividing them into five areas, called "schedules." Drugs classified in this manner are those which are considered to have a greater potential for abuse than prescriptions drugs. Schedule I drugs have the highest potential for abuse and schedule I the lowest. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is responsible for the regulation of controlled drugs, including oversight of manufacturing, distribution, storage and dispensing.

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