All tunas are bad

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/04/13/rsbl.2010.0156.full

Too much mercury. If you must eat tuna, maybe yellowfin tunas are less dangerous to eat, because they're caught younger so they have accumulated less mercury in their bodies. But then do you eat more of them to satisfy your appetite? If you do, the same amount of harm is done. Just avoid tunas.

New "golden" ratios for facial beauty

January 2010 issue of "Vision Research" has an interesting paper:
New "golden" ratios for facial beauty. If you look at these faces (source from their article):



don't you think the two in the black frames look better? That's because, as the researchers find out, given a specific person, i.e. not comparing one person with another, there is something you can do to beautify yourself. Specifically, when the vertical distance between the line connecting two pupils and your mouth is 36% ("length ratio") of the distance between the lower edge of the frontal hair and the chin, the face looks the most attractive. Similarly, a most attractive image is achieved when the distance between the pupils is 46% ("width ratio") of the face width (measured between inner edges of ears). Since both widths can be controlled with hairs, these findings should be exciting news for people seeking natural beauty.

Doctors may have given you too much X-ray

I've known this for years. Your doctor may have ordered too many X-ray's or CT scans on your body, increasing the risk of cancer, particularly leukemia, thyroid, and breast cancers. Children are at significantly higher risk, because (as a medical professional friend told me) their bone marrows are still developing. Next time when you visit your doctor, refuse or question the decision to take X-ray. Read Dr. Weil's latest article at
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400702/Too-Many-CT-Scans.html

"doctors order all these scans not for medical reasons but to protect themselves from the ever-present threat of malpractice litigation... the owners of for-profit health care centers must use them [X-ray or CT scanners] a lot to recoup their investment."

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do once the genes are already damaged by the X-rays.

CT's are much stronger X-rays, in case you don't know. For the dosage and their risk, see "Table: Average Radiation Doses Associated With Common Imaging Studies" at

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/523000_3

(It needs an account, which is free.)

For your convenience, this is the interesting part of that article,

Table: Average Radiation Doses Associated With Common Imaging Studies

Diagnostic Examination, Effective Dose (mSv)
X-rays
Chest (PA film), 0.02
Head, 0.07
Cervical spine, 0.3
Thoracic spine, 1.4
Lumbar spine 1.8
Abdomen, 0.53
Pelvis/hip, 0.83
Limbs/joints, 0.06
Upper GI, 3.6
Lower GI, 6.4
Screening mammogram, 0.13
CT
Head, 2.0
Abdomen, 10.0
Chest, 20-40
Pulmonary angiography, 20-40
PET - CT, 25

Other interesting readings:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/523000_4
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/523000_10

Bitter Melon (苦瓜) Extract Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

February 23, 2010, in Cancer Research (a journal of the American Association of Cancer Research)

News on Dr. Weil: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/WBL02184/HRT-and-Heart-Disease-The-Risk-is-Real.html#1

Abstract of the research article: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/70/5/1925
Full text: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/70/5/1925

This humble bitter melon (bitter gourd, 苦瓜, ku3 gua1) very popular in China is rarely found in grocery stores in the US. It's gratifying to see the medicinal effect scientifically tested and proved, not just for breast cancer prevention, but for diabetes control and AIDS. Since bitter melons are grown in the southern part of China, I wonder if more Chinese women in the north than the south are diagnozed with breast cancer.

Non-Stick Pans and Thyroid Disease

Association Between Serum Perfluoroctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Thyroid Disease in the NHANES Study

http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901584

Higher concentrations of serum PFOA and PFOS (perfluoroctane sulphonate) are associated with current thyroid disease in the US general adult population.

Other interesting points from the publication (click "Download: PDF"):

Individuals with more education had higher PFOA levels...Similar differences were
found in PFOS concentrations.

people reporting having Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) may be less likely to be in the highest PFOA concentration quartile

Production of PFOS was halted in 2002 in the USA by its principal producer, due largely to concerns over bioaccumulation and toxicity. Since then, voluntary industry reductions in production and usage of other perfluorinated compounds, such as the US EPA initiated PFOA Stewardship Programme (US EPA 2006) have contributed to a decreasing trend in human exposure for all perfluorinated compounds (with the notable exception of perfluorononanoic acid, PFNA)

Modest associations between PFOA and thyroid hormones (negative for free T4 and positive for T3) were reported in 506 PFOA production workers across three production facilities (Olsen and Zobel 2007). There were no associations between TSH or T4 and PFOA and the free hormone levels were within the normal reference range.