Think you could taste the difference between recycled toilet water, bottled water or tap water? It’s unlikely, results of a blind taste test suggest. Years of drought in California have given momentum to household use of recycled wastewater. Six water agencies in the state already use wastewater that’s produced through a technology called indirect potable… read on >
A new British study of nearly 300,000 people dismantles the “obesity paradox,” a theory that claims being obese does not necessarily raise heart risks. Instead, the researchers found, obesity increases the risk for heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure, and the risk increases the more fat one carries around the waist. “The higher total… read on >
About 500,000 men have a vasectomy each year in the United States, preventing sperm from reaching the semen during ejaculation. While the operation is safe and highly effective in preventing pregnancy, it has its risks, the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says. The agency says any general discomfort, bruising and swelling… read on >
Children aren’t the only ones who need protection against a host of dangerous germs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Vaccines that you receive as a child may wear off over time, the agency says. The list of vaccinations that you’ll need as an adult will vary, based on your age, lifestyle,… read on >
Your need for calcium gets a lot of attention, but your body can’t use it without its partner, vitamin D, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Most adults need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. Recommendations for vitamin D range from the current recommended daily allowance of 600 International Units (IUs), all the… read on >
The Old Woman in the Shoe may have lost a tooth or two. Nursery rhymes aside, a new study reports that the more children a woman has, the fewer teeth she has in her later years. Mothers of three had an average of four fewer teeth than moms with just two children, according to the… read on >
You can add hearing loss to the many health risks of smoking, new research suggests. For the study, researchers analyzed eight years of health data on more than 50,000 people in Japan. After accounting for work-related noise exposure and other hearing loss risk factors, the investigators found that smokers were 1.2 to 1.6 times more… read on >
A new study of pregnant women in the Caribbean further confirms that Zika virus causes birth defects, particularly if infection occurs early in pregnancy. About 7 percent of Zika-infected women in French territories of the Caribbean delivered babies that suffered from birth defects of the brain and eyes, researchers report. These numbers are close to… read on >
Anxiety is a normal response to stress, but if it becomes overwhelming and difficult to conduct your daily routine, it may be time to seek help. Anxiety disorders affect nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States, the Office on Women’s Health says. Women are twice as likely as men to develop the problem.… read on >
Eating one serving of green leafy vegetables per day is associated with slower age-related cognitive decline, recent research suggests. Reported in the journal Neurology — the study involved 960 adults with an average age of 81 and no sign of dementia. The difference between those who ate the greens and those who did not was… read on >
