health

In 2015, 3 million tonnes of cocoa beans were harvested to produce chocolate, and demand has been increasing by 2 to 5% each year. The global consumption of chocolate in 2019 reached 7.7 million metric tonnes (i.e. 7.7 billion kg - approximately 1 kg for each person in the world). Cocoa is...

The World Health Organization says that insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death and recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. They go even further, claiming that for additional health benefits...

The Guardian: Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs "Microplastic and nanoplastic particles are now discoverable in human organs thanks to a new technique. Microplastics have polluted the entire planet, from Arctic snow and Alpine soils to the deepest oceans. People are also...

Over the last few weeks I have been working on 20 new maps (more coming soon) showing indicators of health, activity, food and drink consumptions in and around Europe. Please visit the link. I will just post three of them here to illustrate. I was inspired in part by the discussion about the...

It's increasingly common to keep track of one's physical activity to keep fit. Walking enough everyday can help reduce your risk of these common health problems: Heart disease Obesity Diabetes High blood pressure According to Healthline, to lose weight one should aim for at least 10,000 steps...

In the USA, fundamentalist Christians and most people who consider themselves very religious tend to reject many biological facts (evolution of species, existence of genetic predispositions, genetics playing a major role in intelligence or temperament, etc.). I was wondering if this ignorance...

I long wondered about which of these three caffeine-rich substances conferred the most health benefits, so I did a little research. Coffee Coffee is rich in antioxidants, notably: - chlorogenic acid : known to slightly reduce blood pressure - cafestol : found especially in unfiltered coffee...

Have you ever felt annoyed by the fact that national holidays in your country are often religious holidays? In many European countries Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Assumption, All Saints' Day, Christmas and/or St Stephens' Day (aka Boxing Day in the UK) are...

It's not just interesting from a biological point of view, but that discovery could increase the supply of usable blood available for transfusions. LiveScience: Gut Bacteria Enzyme Can Transform a Blood Cell's Type "The key to changing blood types may be in the gut. Enzymes made by bacteria...

Forbes: Ancient Roman Poop Shows Rich And Poor Were Infected By Different Parasites "Using samples of ancient poop and dirt from a private house, public latrine, and harbor, a group of researchers has concluded that the rich and poor inhabitants of Ephesus, Turkey, may have been infected by...

Manipulating the temperature and the length of time under which cocoa beans are roasted can simultaneously preserve and even boost the potency of some bioactive and antioxidant compounds while protecting desired sensory aspects of chocolate, according to Penn State researchers. That finding...

An interactive chart by The Economist shows the relation between life expectancy, GDP per capita, and the proportion of elderly people living in good health. The results are somewhat surprising. While the French, Swiss, Italians and Spaniards live the longest, the graph shows that relatively...

Great news. After robotic limbs that move and feel like real ones, immunotherapy that heals some cancers in days, or gene therapy that cures incurable genetic diseases, medicine keeps progressing at a stupendous rate. BBC News: Vegetative-state patient responds to therapy "A man in France has...

Some so called scientist claimed that Goji is very bad for health. But Goji is called long live fruit in Asia. Do you eat Goji ? How do you feel about Goji?

So i just found out about a new genetest company Athgene.com It claims to give "information to improve your Fitness, Nutrition and Lifestyle and make choices that can improve your health and wellbeing" What is your opinion? Is it worth the €335 (30 points (categories) to spend) I'm not sure...

Now, this is a very exciting discovery, and if successfully implemented in people, it will extend human life and let us live healthier much longer. Everybody can be a centenarian one day. Convincing cells to die can make us stronger. The majority of our cells die noble deaths; they cease to...

Good news for those who are looking to lower their blood sugar or cholesterol levels, apple cider vinegar seems to work as well if not better than pharmaceutical treatments. This shows that folk remedy can be just as effective as conventional western medicine. BBC News: Are the health claims...

Our intestines are home to between 500 to 1000 of bacterial species. The delicate balance between these play an important role in our well-being, digestion, immunity, mood, but also in the production of certain vitamins. After writing about how to interpret your microbiome, I got curious as to...

Introduction The human body hosts hundreds of billions of bacteria, a number that varies with the food we eat, how often we wash ourselves, brush our teeth, take antibiotics or drink alcohol or other antibacterials (ginger, garlic, turmeric), but generally exceeds the number of human cells, and...

We already know about lactose persistence and consumption of diary products. Here comes a new research from Italy linking our preferences to various foods to genes in our DNA. Most of our taste in foods might not be acquired at all, but rather we are born already liking them. Forget about...