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Canker Sore Ointment may be the Next Revolutionary Weight Loss Drug

Canker Sore Ointment may be the Next Revolutionary Weight Loss Drug

Some people are prone to getting canker sores from time to time. These are small mouth ulcers that manifest inside the mouth. While the sore normally heals within a week or so, those who get it can expect agonizing pain whenever they eat, brush their teeth or even touch it with their tongue. A drug known as amlexanox is normally used to numb the pain. Amlexanox, however, may also prove to be an effective weight loss supplement.

A study conducted by the University of Michigan shows that the drug contains properties that make obese laboratory mice thin even without diet or exercise. So far, the test has only been performed on mice, and what works on rodents may not necessarily work on humans.

In the study, mice were given a high-fat diet, which ballooned their weight. The obese mice were then injected with amlexanox and subsequently lost weight, even though they were continually fed the same diet and did not exercise. When taken off the drug, the weight quickly came back.

If amlexanox has the same effect on humans, then it could potentially be one of the biggest breakthroughs since Viagra, which was originally intended as a drug for treating chest pain but was later found to be effective for correcting erectile dysfunction.

Amlexanox has been sold in drug stores for the past 15 years as an ointment for canker sores. The research, however, shows that it can also alter the genes that control metabolism.

The reason a low calories diet tends to be ineffective is because the body adjusts to the calorie restriction by slowing metabolism. Amlexanox has shown – for mice at least – that it has the capabilities of speeding up metabolism regardless of diet.

Researchers are already making arrangements to test the effectiveness of the drug on humans, which is expected to take place later this year.

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Chewing Foods for Longer Periods may Help Curb Appetite

Christmas is normally one of those rare moments when you allow yourself to indulge whatever is on the dinner table. This means scarfing down that extra helping of turkey and following up with a large plate of pie with a scooping of ice cream. Now that Christmas is over and New Year’s is approaching, dieting may be a part of your resolution for 2013. If so, then you may want to consider chewing your food for longer periods as a way of reducing appetite.

New research suggests that chewing every mouthful of food for a minimum duration of 30 seconds can serve as a powerful appetite suppressant. This means less snacking after a meal, which means less calories consumed.

The experiment was conducted at the University of Birmingham and consisted of 43 student volunteers who were all given identical meals of the same type and portion. A third of the participants were simply instructed to eat as they usually would without any deviation. Another third was told to pause for 10 seconds between each swallowing of food and the final third told to chew for 30 seconds with each bite.

Two hours after the meal, they were given a plateful of sweets and were monitored on the amount they consumed. The results showed that those that ate the meal in their normal manner and those that paused between bites ate twice the amount of sweets on their plate as those that chewed their meals for 30 seconds.

However, further analysis showed that chewing foods for prolonged periods also came with a price. Those in the study that were instructed to chew their foods for 30 seconds also reported less enjoyment of the food as it felt more like a chore.

Nevertheless, chewing your foods for longer duration may be worth a try if you are trying to fit into a new dress of pair of jeans for 2013.

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Study Suggests Hunger May be Tied to Memory More so Than Biological Factors

Hunger seems to be a straightforward logic. We eat whenever we are hungry and consume a portion amount in relation to the size of our appetite. This will normally stave off hunger until it is time for the next meal. However, a new research suggests that it may not always be our stomachs that dictate the level of our hunger.

Recent study shows that our perception of the amount of food on our dinner plate may have a huge influencing factor. Additional findings also suggest that other factors like eating while watching television or while browsing the Internet can cause one to eat more than usual.

The most recent research shows that short-term memory may also determine appetite levels and that hunger can be predicted not by the amount of food consumed but by how much one believes he has eaten.

The experiment was conducted in the U.K. and consisted of 100 adult participants. Each volunteer was given either a 10-ounce or 17-ounce bowl of soup and told to consume the entire portion. However, unbeknownst to the participants, the bowls actually contained a concealed tube that would either refill or drain the amount of soup that was in the bowl. This meant that those who eaten from the 10-ounce bowl may have actually consumed more and those with the 17-ounce bowl may have eaten less.

As expected, those who consumed more soup reported feeling more full. However, when asked again three hours later, the level of fullness was only dictated by the amount of soup that was believed to be consumed. Regardless of how much soup they really had, those who ate from the 17-ounce bowl reported feeling more stuffed than those that ate from the 10-ounce bowl.

The conclusion definitely seems to suggest that hunger and volume of food consumption is something that is dictated more by our eyes and perception rather than what our stomach actually feels.

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Yoga for Stress and Back Pain

Most people who work don’t need anyone to tell them that the environment can be stressful. Having to deal with rude customers and a boss that is breathing behind your neck and constantly critiquing you can certainly raise your anxiety levels. Depending on the environment, work can also be bad for your posture. If you work at an office cubicle and sit behind a desk and pound away at a keyboard all day, then your back is going to ache.

While there are all sorts of recommendations for relieving stress in the workplace, one study found that yoga is a good remedy for reducing anxiety and can also combat back pain. The study consisted of 74 workers between the ages of 25 to 64 who reported on a questionnaire that they experience moderate levels of stress and backaches. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which practiced yoga for eight weeks.

The yoga group took a yoga class during their lunch break or right after work once a week. Every participant was asked about their overall well-being after the study. When the research began, 10 in the yoga group reported back pain, compared to eight for the no yoga group. When the study concluded, only four in the yoga group reported back aches, while the number of those with back pain in the control group increased to 13. The yoga group also reported less stress and anxiety than the control group by the end of the study.

While the study definitely provides strong evidence that yoga is a strong stress and back pain reliever, researchers admit that the yoga group may simply feel less stress due to the placebo effect. The majority of the participants were also women, which means that it may not be applicable to men.

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Being Overweight may not be as Harmful to Your Health as Previously Thought

Obesity has long been associated with heart disease and scores of other health maladies. However, a study is beginning to challenge this idea. A researcher has discovered that people of normal weight who develop type 2 diabetes are in fact twice as more likely to die from the disease than diabetics who are overweight.

The study was done by Mercedes Carnethon who does research for diabetes at Feinberg School of Medicine. Her discovery is being called the obesity paradox. In further twists, multiple studies have shown that those who develop chronic diseases who are also overweight or obese tend to live longer than those who are within their recommended weight range. Separate studies have shown similar results for patients with dialysis and coronary disease; those who were overweight fared better and had an overall lower mortality rate than their normal weight counterparts.

Researchers are scrambling to find an explanation. One theory is that once a disease develops, the body will begin to use more energy and calorie reserves, which overweight people have more of stored in their body. Once those reserves are expended, the person will become malnourished.

Other researchers suspect genetics as the culprit. It is believed that thin people who develop health problems have gene variants that make them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of the illness.

Another study in 2005 showed that those who face the biggest risk of premature death were from the extreme ends of the weight spectrum: those who were either extremely obese or underweight. Those in the overweight category, however, had the lowest mortality rate of all, while those in the moderately obese category were no more at risk than those in the normal weight category.

The findings are truly puzzling and may completely change the way we think about weight and its association with disease and early death. Perhaps having those love handles may not be as bad after all.

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Lance Armstrong Relinquishes Titles Amid Doping Allegations

It has happened so often that every time an athlete blows away the competition, you just can’t help but wonder whether he or she resorted to any form of illegal substance to gain an unfair advantage. Doping allegations have plagued so many star athletes that it is hardly ever a surprise anymore. It certainly wasn’t much of a surprise when Lance Armstrong was hit with the allegations.

After extensive investigations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and Armstrong fervently maintaining his innocence, the Tour de France bicyclist has finally relented and announced that he will no longer be fighting the allegations.

By giving up the legal battle, Armstrong will be required to relinquish his Tour de France titles, all seven of them. He will also have to give up his bronze medal, which he earned at the 2000 Olympics. On top of that, he will be banned from competition for life.

Armstrong took home seven Tour de France titles, which he won from 1999 to 2005. However, his victories came under heavy scrutiny after fellow cyclists spread stories of doping and steroid use of which they claim Armstrong was a part of. One of his accusers was none other than one of his former teammates, Floyd Landis, who was himself stripped of a title.

Armstrong continues to maintain his innocence and says that he is giving up on the case because of the toll it has taken on his family and on his work for the cancer foundation he is running. He also took a swipe at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and slammed it for not taking into consideration the many drug tests he submitted and passed with flying colors.

Armstrong was not only a celebrated athlete, but also an inspirational hero to some. He emerged as a champion cyclist despite battling life threatening cancer. His inspirational life story will now be forever marred by the allegations of doping.

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Half of Pre-Schoolers not getting the Daily Recommended Exercise

Exercise is important no matter who you are. However, it is even more crucial for children. Youngsters who exercise regularly are more likely to get into the habit on their own as teenagers and adults. Of course, most children will not volunteer their own time to go out and exercise on their own. As parents, you must encourage your children by designating a time of the day where you can take them out for some outdoor exercise.

A study presented in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine showed that roughly half of children ages 3 to 5 do not get the daily exercise they need. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should get daily exercise by playing outside for at least 60 minutes. Research also shows that children who maintain daily physical activity are at a lower risk of developing childhood obesity. Exercise, in addition, also improves motor development and eyesight. Playing outside is also an opportunity for children to interact with their peers, which can help with their social skills when they begin school.

The study was done with 9,000 pre-schoolers. The parents were surveyed over how often they took their children outside. The results concluded that households with at least one parent who stayed or worked at home were more likely to take their children outside. Parents who exercised regularly themselves were also more likely to encourage physical activity with their kids.

As a parent, you probably do not wish for your child to develop into a couch potato. Children learn by example and will unlikely exercise on their own without you nudging them to do so. If you want your child to have a knack for fitness, then encourage them early. What you instill in their mind at a young age will stay with them for life.

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New Yoga Prison Reform Initiative

According to an NGO in the criminal reform business, there may be a new way of using Yoga to reform prisoners and criminals. The claim is that blending together Yoga and Behavior Therapy can bring a change to criminal behavior in society.

“Yogic Crime Theory is a fusion of yoga, criminology and behavior therapy — can modify and change human behavior,” Criminologists Society president Rameshwar Singh Jamwal told reporters.

The claim is that filling the brain of the criminal with neurons of positive thought eliminates negative forces in the mind.

“So far our approach has been to treat all sorts of offences and offenders by one yardstick, like treating all patients with one medicine and putting him on medication after he gets the disease, putting him in isolation wards without categorisation and without going into the cause of the disease..”

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World’s Heaviest Woman

Susanne Eman, a 32-year-old, 728-pound woman from Casa Grande, Arizona is trying to get into Guinness World Records as the “World’s Heaviest Woman.” She is hoping to reach this goal by the time she is 41-years-old. The last woman who held this title, 1,200-pound Rosalie Bradford, died back in 2006.

Eman told reporters she wants to shatter the record by putting on 1,600 pounds. This is her ultimate goal; weighing in at one ton.

Among Eman’s rivals, is one Donna Simpson, of Akron, Ohio, who currently holds the Guinness record for heaviest woman ever to have children. She has won the title by weighing a formidable 532 pounds after giving birth to her daughter, Jacqueline, in February 2007; an event which required 30 doctors.

Simpson says that she suspects that Eman is in-cahoots with her ex-manager and trying to garner publicity to compete for her fan base. Simpson also accuses Eman of trying to take away her “World’s Fattest Mom” title.

Eman’s diet consists of upwards of 22,000 calories daily, including six eggs scrambled in butter, a half-pound of bacon, four potatoes, six pieces of buttered toast and a 32-ounce shake for breakfast.

While Eman cannot speak to the press because of a contract she is under, a source close to Eman’s camp considers Simpson’s comments to be “a load of crap” designed to make Simpson a lot of money and get her a reality show. The source also said that while there is duress in the media to pit the two against each other, Eman prefers to stay focused on her own individual career.

Simpson does not deny having dreams of being on Television, but she says she has other priorities which she puts first.

While Simpson says she has been fat for the majority of her 43 years, Eman’s mission started just two years ago when she found that she could not stop packing on pounds. Actually, she was at 490 pounds when she made an important discovery.

Eman’s doctor, Patrick Flyte, has repeatedly told her that she is playing Russian roulette with her life, and does not recommend that anyone follow in her footsteps.

Dr. Flyte, though, admitted that her medical checks show absolutely no current problems and that she is of sound mind.

But Simpson insists that she is more tuned into her losses than her gains.

At her peak, she tipped the scales weighing in at 730 pounds and had set a goal of reaching 1,000 pounds. Nonetheless, she is now trying to get down to 370 pounds – a weight which she said will allow her to remain as fat as she wants to be.

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Hey! I needed that!

To go to trial this week is the dispute between a Kentucky man and a surgeon over the necessity of amputating the patient’s penis during a surgical operation in 2008 will go to trial this week.

The doctor insists that he found cancer in the man’s penis and that it had to be removed, says the physician’s attorney. The surgery was supposed to be a circumcision and was never actually authorized nor was given a chance to seek a second opinion.

It reminds me of the movie Malice, when Alec Baldwin is performing an operation on Nicole Kidman and while she is under the knife Dr. Baldwin says he must remove the patient’s uterus and husband Bill Pullman gives permission. Upon waking she sues Pullman for giving the permission without her consent, before protagonist, Pullman, realizes at the end that the whole things was a set-up to squeeze him dry.

Jury selection will begin Thursday in the lawsuit brought by Phillip Seaton of Waddy and his wife, Deborah, against Dr. John Patterson of Louisville.

The Seatons originally sued Dr. Patterson in Shelby County Circuit Court in 2008. Now in his 60s Seaton was having the procedure on Oct. 19, 2007, to better treat inflammation. The lawsuit claims Patterson removed Seaton’s penis without consulting either Phillip or Deborah Seaton.

George said during a pre-trial hearing on the 2nd of August that the case comes down to whether jurors believe the amputation “was a necessary part of the surgery.’

George said that the doctor’s post-surgical notes show that Patterson thought he detected cancer and removed the penis.

However, George added, the situation was not an emergency.

Robinson said previously that Patterson, a Kentucky-based urologist, had permission to perform any medical procedure deemed necessary and that the doctor found cancer in the organ while the patient was under anesthesia. Robinson said that
Patterson “had no reasonable option” but to remove the cancer.

“Mr. Seaton’s problem was not the surgery, it was the cancer,” Robinson said in 2008.

“I’m optimistic we can seat this jury,” Robinson told the press during the pre-trial hearing.

The Seatons want unspecified damages from Patterson for “loss of service, love and affection.”

The couple also sued Jewish Hospital, where the surgery took place. The hospital has settled with the Seatons for an undisclosed sum.