HEALTH – Page 20

Do You Need To Floss More Or Are Your Parents Responsible For Your Cavities?

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SELF-CARE

Do You Need To Floss More Or Are Your Parents Responsible For Your Cavities?

To “cry poor mouth” is an expression used to habitually complain about a lack of money. A literal poor mouth, however, represents one of the most widespread global diseases: tooth decay. Cavities resulting from poor oral health can drive everything from emotional issues to low self-esteem and health concerns. The health of your teeth has a major effect on your body. Rudy Fargo/Unsplash, CC BY Even more critical is the socioeconomic impact of tooth decay. Cavities are a “hidden cost” across a person’s lifespan. They can affect the ability of children to learn, result in absenteeism and a loss of productivity for employees and employers, and increase health costs for retirees. Untreated tooth decay can result in health complications including poor nutrition, if it is painful to chew; sever...

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SLEEP

Sleep, How Much Do You Really Need?

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why do I need to sleep for a long time at night? – Sly M., 6, Cambridge, Massachusetts Just like eating, drinking or breathing, sleep is an essential part of life. In fact, all animals do it – with some interesting variations. A dolphin, for example, sleeps with one eye open and only half of its brain snoozing at a time. This is likely because dolphins need to be partly conscious to breathe while in the water. Zebras sometimes sleep standing up in case they need to wake up and quickly escape a predator. Bats sleep upside down. When someone’s asleep, it can look like they are turned “off” and not doing anything at all. But, t...

Beware Of Claims That Ecstasy Is A Magic Bullet – MDMA May Help Treat PTSD

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH, VIDEO REELS

Beware Of Claims That Ecstasy Is A Magic Bullet – MDMA May Help Treat PTSD

Recent clinical trials, including one soon to be published in Nature Medicine, have suggested that MDMA combined with psychotherapy may help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The news generated considerable optimism and excitement in the media, and some in the scientific community. As a psychiatrist and an expert in neurobiology and treatment of PTSD, I think these developments may be important – but not the major breakthrough that some people are suggesting. This approach is not a new magic bullet. A combat veteran discusses his experience with PTSD. PTSD, a disorder of emotional memories Post-traumatic stress disorder is a result of exposure to extreme traumatic experiences, such as natural disasters, motor vehicle accidents, assault, robbery, rape, combat and torture. Base...

Want To Persuade Americans To Swap Out Beef For Plant-Based Burgers, Taste Alone Won’t Do It

9Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

NUTRITION

Want To Persuade Americans To Swap Out Beef For Plant-Based Burgers, Taste Alone Won’t Do It

The big idea Consumers are more likely to choose a plant-based meat substitute when the restaurant’s advertising highlights the social benefits of doing so rather than its taste, according to recently published research I conducted with a colleague. We also found that showcasing the social costs of meat consumption also leads to a preference for plant-based “meats.” To reach this conclusion, we conducted two online experiments to examine the advertising of plant-based burgers and meatballs. Participants were recruited via the crowdsourcing website Amazon Mechanical Turk. In the first one, 156 participants were shown one of three commercials for a plant-based burger. They saw either a social appeal (“good for the environment and animal welfare”), a health appeal (“good for your health – n...

Teens Use Viral Trend TikTok To Speak Out About Their #MeToo Sexual Harassment Experiences

14Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SELF-CARE

Teens Use Viral Trend TikTok To Speak Out About Their #MeToo Sexual Harassment Experiences

A recent TikTok video that has been liked by almost half a million people encourages girls to record themselves putting one finger down for every time they have been sent unsolicited dick pics, begged for nudes, catcalled, repeatedly asked out after already saying no, and forced to do something sexual when they didn’t want to. Similar videos about sexual assault posted by young women became popular in 2020. The new video is aimed at teens and focuses on sexual harassment. By calling attention to how common sexual harassment is for teen girls, the “Put a finger down: Sexual harassment edition” video has become the 2021 TikTok teen version of the #MeToo movement of 2017. This trend brings together two nearly universal realities in the lives of teen girls: the ubiquitous presence of social ...

Online Communities Are Important Sources Of Support, But They Also Pose Risks For Young People

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SELF-CARE

Online Communities Are Important Sources Of Support, But They Also Pose Risks For Young People

Aristotle called humans “the social animal,” and people have recognized for centuries that young people need to be in communities to develop into healthy adults. The ongoing pandemic has caused concern about the effects of isolation on children and teenagers’ social and psychological growth. But while young people today may not be able to gather in person as often as they’d like, they aren’t necessarily isolated. They have long used online communities to explore their identities and conduct their social lives. They’re involved in anonymous hip-hop discussion forums, ADHD support groups on Facebook, biology class group chats on Instagram and comments sections under popular YouTube videos. There are many of these online communities, and collectively they cover a wide range of subjects. The...

The Fermenting Microbes – Chocolate’s Secret Ingredient That Make It Taste So Good

14Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

NUTRITION

The Fermenting Microbes – Chocolate’s Secret Ingredient That Make It Taste So Good

Whether baked as chips into a cookie, melted into a sweet warm drink or molded into the shape of a smiling bunny, chocolate is one of the world’s most universally consumed foods. Even the biggest chocolate lovers, though, might not recognize what this ancient food has in common with kimchi and kombucha: its flavors are due to fermentation. That familiar chocolate taste is thanks to tiny microorganisms that help transform chocolate’s raw ingredients into the much-beloved rich, complex final product. In labs from Peru to Belgium to Ivory Coast, self-proclaimed chocolate scientists like me are working to understand just how fermentation changes chocolate’s flavor. Sometimes we create artificial fermentations in the lab. Other times we take cacao bean samples from real fermentations “in the ...

Some Types Are Better Than Others – But Too Much Sitting Is Bad For You

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SELF-CARE

Some Types Are Better Than Others – But Too Much Sitting Is Bad For You

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a number of new behaviours into daily routines, like physical distancing, mask-wearing and hand sanitizing. Meanwhile, many old behaviours such as attending events, eating out and seeing friends have been put on hold. However, one old behaviour that has persisted, and has arguably been amplified due to COVID-19, is sitting — and it is not surprising to see why. Whether sitting during transportation, work, screen time or even meals, everyday environments and activities are tailored nearly exclusively to prolonged sitting. As such, sedentary behaviours, like sitting, make up the vast majority of our waking day. Pre-COVID-19 estimates place the average Canadian adult’s sedentary behaviour at around 9.5 hours per day. Current daily sedentary time is likel...

14Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SELF-CARE

No, Old Age Is Not A Bitch

Many women age 70 and above often complain to me, "Old age is such a bitch". Usually, my response is, "Well, yes, old age may be a bitch, but it doesn't have to be.. " You've heard the expression, "Life is what you make it"? It's not just a saying, It's true. Old age may seem to be a bitch because of poor health, loneliness, financial problems, or you don't look like you used to look, but here's the reality: if you still can complain, you can change things. You may not be able to do a lot, but often you can do more than you think you can if you make up your mind to TRY. Just the act of trying is energizing. Let's think about things said to plague older people -- and what to do about it. "I'm a victim": There may be more than a few of us who are noncompos mentis, but if we are smart eno...

We Found Dangerous And Stigmatizing Stereotypes Prevail While Studying Depression Messages On YouTube Videos

12Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MENTAL HEALTH, VIDEO REELS

We Found Dangerous And Stigmatizing Stereotypes Prevail While Studying Depression Messages On YouTube Videos

Rates of depression have tripled in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recent estimates suggest these numbers remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic rates of mental health problems. Even before the pandemic, depression was a leading source of disability, affecting over 17 million Americans each year. In a society where mental health education is not uniformly taught in schools, and where most people with depression go untreated, this is a recipe for disaster. Psychologists have proposed ways to reform mental health care such as increasing access to care through telehealth. These actions are important. However, few experts have provided recommendations for how everyday citizens can flatten the depression curve by reducing stigma. To better understand why ...