For centuries, people in pain have turned to acupuncture. And for nearly as long, people have tried to figure out how and why the poking practice seems to work.

An essential component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncturists strive to balance yin and yang, the two opposing life forces. When imbalanced, yin and yang block the flow of qi.

via Medbroadcast: To unblock qi, acupuncturists insert hair-thin metallic needles into the body at strategic “trigger points” along networks of energy called meridians. Practitioners work along some 14 to 20 meridians connecting approximately 2,000 acupuncture points.

Research pinpoints the effects … all the way down to the molecular level. [Read more →]

We’re all creatures of habit, and bedtime is rife with habits and rituals - both good and bad - that cue our bodies that it’s time for beddy-bye.

Kids demand one more glass of water or another read-through of an oft-read storybook. Teens text or tweet just one or ten more messages to their friends. Other sleep-seekers read a page or two of a magazine or click around online until their eyes grow heavy and the shades finally fall.

But many of us, it seems, usually partake of one particular pre-snooze pastime. [Read more →]

Imagine you have a stressful event ahead of you - a mid-morning presentation or a blind date or whatever puts you on edge. Envision your frazzled nerves and your sweaty palms - and add to that a rumbling, anxious stomach. What would you eat beforehand to calm down and ease your nerves?

You probably wouldn’t eat a slab of leftover birthday cake. And you likely wouldn’t want that bloated feeling of that you get from a couple slices of microwave pizza.

A team of researchers at Penn State have a suggestion … [Read more →]

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections out there. The thing about HPV is that there are over 100 types of the virus, and it often reveals no symptoms.

Some strains of HPV may pop up as cold sores on the lips while others spring up as genital warts in very, ahem, intimate spots like around the anus, on a man’s penis, or around a woman’s vagina. Yet other types of HPV increase a person’s risk of developing certain kinds of cancers.

And not to freak us all out or anything, but you can easily catch it and pass it around without even knowing it. It can spread by simple genital skin-to-skin contact, and though condoms protect you from other STIs, they won’t protect the areas outside of the condom. Play Six Degrees of HPV to discover just how insidious HPV can really be …

More info:
How Well Do You Know Your Partner?
Genital Warts and HPV
Pap Test 101

We hear so much about the health benefits of antioxidants. And many of us actively try to squeeze as many of the cancer-fighting, cell-supportive nutrients into our diets as possible.

Fruits and vegetables are the out-and-out champs when it comes to antioxidant content, but what happens when we cook them? Does microwaving zap the advantages? Does boiling burst the benefit bubble or boost it? And are there particular fruits and veg that make the pan-to-plate journey with their antioxidant power intact? [Read more →]

To mark National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, we are featuring a guest post by Elena, a woman whose husband is in dire need of a liver transplant. Please read her story and click on the related links to learn more about the gift of donation.

My husband Constantin has a rare liver disorder called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). There are no known treatments for the disease except for liver transplantation.

He is currently on a waiting list for a deceased donor organ. However, his liver is very weak already and with the shortage of organs available and the expected wait time, his chances of survival before receiving such an organ are dim.

In addition to encouraging people to register at BeADonor.ca, I am sharing Constantin’s story in hope to find him a living donor willing to give a gift of life.

Unfortunately, I am not suitable to be a donor so I am really left with no choice but to ask others to donate a piece of their liver to give my husband a second life as soon as possible. His blood compatibility is type A and O blood.

Visit my blog and Facebook page for more info on live donation. Please spread the word at the very least to the people you know: Share this, Tweet it, tell others by word of mouth - anything. Even if you spread the word to just ONE person, that person can be the one who saves Constantin.

Thank you!

Elena

Related Links

Elena’s blog

Elena and Constantin’s Facebook page

BeADonor.ca