There are two types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat is located beneath the skin in places like the abdomen, thighs, hips, and buttocks. You know it, you see it, you hate it. Visceral fat, better known as belly fat, is located deep within the midsection, surrounding the liver, heart, lungs, and digestive tract. And it’s invisible to the naked eye. “People are self-conscious about the fat they can see,” says Heather Hausenblas, associate professor of exercise and health psychology at the University of Florida’s College of Health and Human Performance, but “hidden fat, in people of any size, poses the bigger threat.” Why? Visceral fat churns out inflammatory substances called cytokines that can wreak havoc on the body’s organs.
The cinnamon challenge was sparked by the emergence of YouTube videos showing people swallowing large quantities of the common kitchen spice without water. Upon finishing the challenge, contenders are often immediately hit with a severe coughing fit and sometimes vomiting. But these are just side effects of the challenge’s more serious consequences, which can include lung collapse, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema (the abnormal build-up of fluid in the lungs).
But it’s actually good to go through the insane despair and bouts of endless tears that result from being dumped, contends bestselling author and relationship expert Susan Piver. We should embrace these feelings rather than run from them, she argues in her book, The Wisdom of a Broken Heart. “As unlikely as it may sound, this sorrow is the gateway to lasting happiness,” she writes, speaking of her own two-year experience recovering from heartbreak. Piver and other experts described ways to ride through those uninvited waves of grief.
But avoiding dairy also comes with a warning. “There are compounds in plants that bind to calcium and prevent you from absorbing it,” Anding says. “Although they’re good sources of calcium on paper, physiologically, the amount of calcium is not so great. Dairy calcium is biologically available, meaning you absorb what’s in the product.” The way around this, she adds, is to “make sure you’re varying your sources.” While nothing can undo the effects of these compounds, in general, vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium—so make sure you get enough of this, too. (The government recommends 15 micrograms of vitamin D per day.)
Here’s a look at six diets that allow drinking, with the first five listed in the order they’re ranked among Best Weight-Loss Diets. One diet has not been evaluated by U.S. News as part of its Best Diets rankings. Each diet allows for at least one drink a day, and doesn’t require compensating with exercise or by shaving calories elsewhere.
Your morning “cup of Joe” may do more than deliver the jolt you need to get going — it may also help you stave off type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. But, before you pour yourself a second cup know this: The study authors said their research was done with cell cultures and there’s no proof yet that coffee has any ability to keep type 2 diabetes at bay.
“Honestly, we didn’t actually know what to expect,” admitted “Lion King” cast member Ben Jeffrey, who plays the supporting lead role of Pumbaa, the warthog. “There was a pretty constant amount of noise — sort of a sensory overload for everyone. But you really got feedback during the performance. You could see that the music, in particular, seemed to have a very strong effect. You could actually hear the hush coming over the house when it started to play,” he said.
Ruvio and a colleague used 134 surveys of men and women in Israel, average age 23.5 years, to examine the influence of personality, attitudes and values on driving. The researchers also looked at the factors of risk attraction, impulsivity, driving as a hedonistic activity and perceptions about time pressures among another 298 people.
The study authors found that people who believe their car is a reflection of their self-identity are more likely to drive aggressively and disobey the rules of the road, and that people with compulsive tendencies are more likely to drive aggressively without regard for potential consequences.
Judge Blocks FDA Plan for Graphic Cigarette Warnings: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s plans to require graphic warning labels on cigarette packs was derailed temporarily Monday when a federal judge blocked the effort, suggesting it was a violation of the tobacco industry’s First Amendment free-speech rights.
Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia said it was likely that the tobacco industry would succeed in a lawsuit to overturn the requirement, so he blocked the FDA initiative until the court case is resolved, which could take years, the Associated Press reported.
For most existing beneficiaries in 2012, the monthly Part B premium will increase only $3.50, to $99.90 from $96.40. Some more recent beneficiaries have already been paying either $115.40 or $110.50 a month, so their premiums will actually decline in 2012. In addition, the annual deductible for Part B expenses is being lowered by $22 next year, to $140 from $162.
Higher-earning beneficiaries (above $170,000 for married couples and $85,000 for individuals) pay larger premiums based on their modified adjusted gross incomes. Here, too, however, 2012 will bring lower premiums.
The increase in Part B premiums was preceded by last week’s announcement that Social Security benefits will rise by 3.6 percent in 2012 due to its annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). Low rates of inflation meant there was no COLA in either 2010 or 2011. Under the government’s “hold harmless” rules, that meant Part B premiums could not rise for existing beneficiaries. However, the premiums did increase for new beneficiaries in 2010 and 2011, and also for higher-income beneficiaries. Now, with a COLA increase in 2012, Part B premiums were permitted to rise as well, and most observers had expected larger increases than those announced. Because the premiums are paid out of monthly Social Security payments, the good news about Part B premiums is that seniors will keep most, if not all, of the 2012 COLA.
The 30-year-old woman arrived at the Henry Ford Hospital emergency room in Detroit out of breath and coughing blood.
It didn’t take long for doctors to figure out why: The woman admitted to having been at a party at a hotel five days prior at which she — and others — received injections of liquid silicone to “enhance” the buttocks and various body parts.
The silicone was not the medical silicone that is sometimes used for implants, but the type easily procured at hardware stores like Home Depot. The fat solvent used to make the silicone had quickly traveled to her lungs and gotten stuck in the airways, resulting in “silicone embolism syndrome,” or clots, in this case, in the smaller vessels in her lungs.
