Not drinking alcohol doesn’t make you less likely to take sick days, suggests a new study. Researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health were curious about the correlation between drinking habits and missing work, so they discovered an interesting phenomenon. Both non-drinkers and heavy drinkers were more likely to get sick, while moderate drinkers took fewer days off.

Not drinking alcohol might keep you from going to work

Many people tend to brag if they don’t consume alcohol, so Finnish researchers decided to see if this has any influence on their health. Therefore, they looked at how alcohol consumption influenced illness among workers in three countries: UK, Finland, and France. There was an impact indeed, but not how you would expect it.

Those who were more likely to take sick days were both non-drinkers and heavy drinkers. Many people used to think not drinking is a lot better than moderate drinking, but this study proves the contrary. The results showed drinking played an important role in the mental health of the employees.

Moderate drinkers were the least likely to take sick days

For instance, non-drinkers had 50 percent higher chances of taking sick days for issues related to their mental health. However, the same correlation applied for other conditions as well. Among other diseases, there were also digestive and respiratory disorders and injuries of the muscles and bones.

Interestingly enough, the big amount of sick days was present even among people who drank really small quantities of alcohol. This way, researchers identified a low limit for sake drinking. For men, this is of about 34 units per week, while for women the limit is of 17 units per week.

However, take these findings with a grain of salt. The study was merely observational and looked at the correlation between alcohol and sick days. It didn’t take into account other diseases caused by alcohol consumption, as some guidelines might indicate much smaller quantities of alcohol as safe.

Image source: Max Pixel

Researchers have come with great news for egg lovers, as it turns out egg consumption has a great benefit for the heart. Those who eat an egg per day seem to have a much lower risk of suffering from heart disease than those who do not eat eggs. This contradicts the previous knowledge that eggs are bad for our cholesterol levels but eating them with moderation can really be beneficial.

How does egg consumption impact heart health?

Heart disease is quite a common cause of death mostly everywhere in the world, leading to events like strokes and heart attacks. These are associated with a number of risk factors, and an unhealthy diet is one of them. Given their high cholesterol levels, eggs are on this list, so many people avoid eating them too often. However, they usually overlook the actual benefits of egg consumption.

These products are rich in plenty of nutrients. They are a great source of good protein, vitamins, but also other chemical components like biocarotenoids and phospholipids. However, researchers haven’t been able to find a clear association between egg consumption and heart disease. Therefore, the products have been seen as neither good nor bad.

People who ate eggs more often had smaller chances of suffering cardiac events

This is why a team of scientists from China decided to study these connections in depth. For the research, they looked at data collected from 512,891 people from 10 different Chinese regions. These participants were aged between 30 and 79.

The study started in 2004, when the researchers asked them some questions on their egg consumption. Afterwards, they kept a close look on them and potential diseases they might develop. From all of them, 13.1 percent consumed eggs daily in a moderate amount, while 9.1 percent declared they never ate eggs or did it only rarely.

This is how they observed that daily egg consumption was related to better health results. More precisely, it showed a 26 percent smaller chance of suffering a stroke, while the chance of developing heart disease was 18 percent smaller. Despite all the expectations, these products are actually good for the heart.

The study in question was published in the journal Heart.

Image source: Pexels

We all know of the benefits of fish on our health, but a recent study has highlighted a huge protective effect it issues on our health and blood vessels. It turns out that eating oily fish twice per week can really cut the risk of suffering a heart attack or a stroke. These findings were the result of a study developed by the American Heart Association (AHA).

Oily fish has dozens of benefits for heart health

Sixteen years ago, AHA released its first guidelines regarding the consumption of oily fish and heart health. Since then, science has evolved, and we have acquired more means to detect the beneficial effect of seafood. Given the fatty acids it contains, researchers have found some more healthy connections. Therefore, oily fish is great not only against heart attacks, but also against other cardiac events.

As a result, AHA decided to perform some new studies and update its guidelines according to the new findings. This way, the new recommendations indicate eating fish twice per week, in portions of 3.5 ounces each. However, for its effect to be complete, it’s better if you consume it non-fried. Also, make sure you choose oily fish, like mackerel, tuna, salmon, herring, sardines, or trout. These varieties have plenty of fatty acids and omega 3.

Avoid fried fish, as it loses the beneficial properties of omega 3

The link between oily fish and heart benefits comes from the great anti-inflammatory properties of omega 3. These acids prevent arteries from getting thicker and keep cholesterol and other fats from forming deposits on their walls. On top of that, researchers discovered some new benefits of omega 3. These fats improve the communication between cells, which is essential for the well-being of the heart.

Of course, an overly healthy diet is a lot more likely to improve your heart health. However, even eating oily fish from time to time can do the trick. What you need to keep in mind is that you need to avoid fried fish. By avoiding a diet rich in such products, you may cut your heart attack risk by 50 percent. The AHA study on the benefits of oily fish was published in the journal Circulation.

Image source: PxHere

Calories can be of all types. Some of the are good, as they give us energy and keep things going, while others are bad. However, it seems the bad category has more subgroups as well, some calories are a lot worse for health than others. Sugary beverages occupy a special place in this last category, as they pose a huge threat on our well-being.

Sugary beverages have a damaging effect on health

A team of researchers from UC Davis have identified sugary beverages as the products with the highest number of bad calories. Any types of calories actually increase the obesity risk, as well as other metabolic disorders. However, these drinks can get even more dangerous.

For the study, researchers wanted to see if all types of calories produce the same risk of obesity and diseases. This way, they identified a series of diets and foods that are more dangerous for health, and all of them agreed sugary beverages are the most dangerous. When comparing them with other high-calorie foods, the effect of the drinks was a lot more damaging.

Not all calories are so bad as we thought

In terms of other damaging and non-damaging calories, they made some other interesting findings. For instance, many people think aspartame, a sugar substitute, can turn people fat, but it’s actually not true. This basically happens because the sweetener has no calories.

Non-saturated fats are also a lot better than saturated fats. The former are found in seeds, vegetables, and nuts, and have a beneficial effect on health. However, some foods are still healthy, although they contain plenty of saturated fats. This category includes cheese or yogurt.

The paper highlights the difficulty to interpret the effect of calories. While some of them are generally regarded as bad, they might not be so damaging. Also, others might have different effects that everyone thought. However, all researchers managed to reach a consensus. Just like everyone knows, sugary beverages are really dangerous, so avoid them as much as you can.

The study in question was published in the journal Obesity Reviews.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Transplanting memories sounds like an impossible thing to do, but a team of researchers from UCLA has managed to perform this complicated operation on snails belonging to the species Aplysia. By using some RNA strands, they showed it was possible to bring back some lost memories.

Researchers tested transplanting memories on snails

Researchers wanted to do the impossible, so they started experimenting and transplanting memories from one sea snail to another. To do this, they used RNA, as it has a transporting purpose. However, RNA might have other roles as well. In the case of damaged cells, RNA might help with their fixing.

To see if transplanting memories was possible, the research team decided to experiment on three marine snails of the Aplysia species. They chose this animal because scientists have great knowledge of its brain. Therefore, it was easier to experiment with it and study all the processes in detail.

The unshocked snails showed the same reactions as the shocked ones

At first, researchers started with a series of electric shocks they administered to two of the snails, while the third one remained unshocked. This is how they noticed the shocked specimens had their muscles shrinking for a period of about 50 seconds. Afterwards, they extracted RNA from all three, and gave it to seven other snails that had no memory of any electric shocks.

This is where the interesting thing comes in. Those snails who had received RNA from the shocked snails exhibited the same reaction as them. This means their muscles also contracted, but it happened only over a period of 40 seconds. Therefore, these results might be enough to prove that transplanting memories is possible.

Despite some obvious differences, researchers think the brain cells of snails and those of humans are really similar. This makes researchers optimistic, as it might mean that transplanting memories might be possible for humans as well. The study can highlight some possible future treatments for PTSD or Alzheimer’s. If you’re curious about it, you can read it in the journal eNeuro.

Image source: Flickr

The scientific world was shaken by a shocking discovery made by a man in a forest in Minnesota. In 2016, he stumbled upon a two headed deer fawn, the first of its kind ever found in the US. The animal, a stillborn, might have conjoined during birth, thus offering a great object of study for researchers.

The man found a freshly dead two headed deer fawn

While walking in the forest to pick up mushrooms, the man found the unique specimen lying dead on the tracks. The animal seemed to have died recently and looked as if it hadn’t suffered any traumatic events. Its finder knew this was a remarkable scientific finding, so it took the two headed deer fawn and gave it to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Researchers concluded the twins must have conjoined at birth, and discovered they were also stillborn. They looked relatively clean and groomed, so their mother must have taken care of them soon after birth. However, stillborn animals rarely survive.

The man found no other deer nearby, so the twin’s mother and any other animals in the herd left for fear of predators. Stillborn fawns are a treat for scavengers as well, so the man must have reached the forest soon after the creatures’ death.

The unique exhibit will be on display for everyone to see

Researchers performed an X-ray on the two headed deer fawn and discovered how the joining occurred. They had individual necks, but they shared the lower areas of the spine. They also had their own heart, esophagus, and stomachs, while the liver was common.

Between 1671 and 2006, humans identified only 19 cases of two headed creatures among animals. When it comes to this specific species of deer, they had also identified two cases of conjoined twins. However, they were both found while still in the uterus. If you’re interested in seeing the two headed deer fawn in the flesh, the Department of Natural Resources in Minnesota will exhibit it at its headquarters.

Image source: Pixabay

We already know cigarette smoke is dangerous, but it turns out it can easily find its way indoors. This makes even non-smoking areas unsafe, since a person only needs to walk through a smoking area to carry a smoke aerosol inside with them. This can be called thirdhand smoke and is just as dangerous as the other ones.

Banning smoking inside might not be enough

Most countries in the world have banned smoking in closed spaces like restaurants, bars, or offices. This move was necessary to keep non-smokers healthy. Secondhand smoke, or the smoke inhaled by non-smokers when someone lights a cigarette nearby, is toxic even if not inhaled directly in the lungs.

However, a recent study is highlighting the existence of thirdhand smoke. This means that, whenever a person is passing through or near a cloud of smoke, an aerosol is created around them. Whenever they walk into a building, they carry the smoke inside. If the building in question also has air conditioning, the smoke start circulating.

Thirdhand smoke can easily find its way inside buildings

Therefore, researchers decided to find out how toxic thirdhand smoke is. All the nicotine and all the other chemicals travel freely through the air. This means they can reach even more people, and not even non-smoking areas are completely safe. Such bans are actually against secondhand smoke, but they do nothing against thirdhand smoke.

The results of the study show it’s a lot harder to avoid thirdhand smoke. Here is how everything works in more simplified terms. Smoke attaches to the clothes of smokers, but everyone is surrounded by some aerosol particles. It seems smoke can attach to these particles as well and then travel around people.

For instance, if you go out to smoke, you bring some toxic chemicals when you go back in. Even passing through a smoking area can get the chemicals attached to the aerosol, so thirdhand smoke is an actual threat. The study on the matter was published in the journal Science Advances.

Image source: PxHere

After suffering a car accident in 2013, a woman from Nebraska had an endlessly lasting runny nose. She thought it was caused by allergies, so she didn’t give much attention to it, but it turned out to be something a lot more serious. Five years later, the doctors finally discovered the liquid was actually cerebrospinal fluid that was leaking through her nose.

The woman had a non-stop runny nose for five years

Kendra Jackson was the victim of a serious accident, as she hit her face against the dashboard. Since then, she got a runny nose that lasted non-stop. The condition was so serious that she always had to have some tissues around. Jackson described the flow as a continuous waterfall which often went back down her throat.

However, it wasn’t just a runny nose she was experiencing. She also suffered from severe constant headaches that disturbed her everyday activities and woke her up in the middle of the night. Therefore, she went to see a doctor and find a cause for her condition.

On several occasions, doctors said the runny nose must be a result of allergies or shifting weather patterns. However, she somehow knew this was a direct consequence of her accident. In the end, she went to see Dr. Christie Barnes, a rhinologist from Nebraska Medicine, who made a correlation between her accident and her condition.

The liquid she was leaking was actually cerebrospinal fluid

This is how they discovered the woman was losing the equivalent of a coffee cup of cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid in question surrounds the brain and the spine so, if it leaks, it’s quite a serious condition. Fortunately, the doctors could solve the problem without much effort.

They performed a regular surgery where they collected some of the woman’s fatty tissue. Then, they used it to plug the hole the fluid leaked through. This was situated somewhere between her nostrils and her skulls, so it wasn’t such a complicated procedure. Even so, Jackson was incredibly lucky, as she could have suffered some serious infections that could have put her life in danger.

Image source: Public Domain Pictures

Researchers have previously discovered eczema is caused by an excess of bad bacteria on the skin. Therefore, they tried to solve the problem by applying a lotion with good bacteria and found out it alleviated the symptoms by 50 percent. Although it doesn’t treat the cause of the skin condition, it can make life easier for those who suffer from it.

Eczema sufferers have plenty of bad bacteria on their skin

During a previous study on eczema, researchers discovered those with the condition have an abundance of Staphylococcus aureus in that particular area of skin. This counts as bad bacteria and often causes serious infections. Usually, people treat the condition with steroids, but researchers might have come up with another treatment idea.

They thought of combating bad bacteria with good bacteria, so they created a solution of Roseomonas mucosa. For a few weeks, ten adults and five children had to spray it over their eczema. Afterwards, six of the adults and five of the children had significantly fewer symptoms. This is interesting, since researchers are not sure why good bacteria works.

Applying good bacteria seems to relieve the eczema symptoms

However, they suspected it might compete with bad bacteria and thus create a balance in the microbiome of the skin. Whenever eczema appears, there is an abundance of bad bacteria. If you add as much good bacteria, the microbiome gradually starts functioning a lot closer to normal. The changes it suffers relieve patients of 50 percent of their unpleasant symptoms.

To relieve the symptoms, researchers created a solution containing Roseomonas mucosa and some sugar. However, adding it in skin lotions might actually worsen eczema symptoms. Certain products present in skin creams might inhibit the development of good bacteria, which is bad news for the skin condition.

The source of good bacteria is tricky as well. All types of skin produce Roseomonas mucosa. However, if you take it from a person with eczema, it might favorize irritation. You can make skin healthier only if you collect it from people with no skin conditions.

Image source: Pexels

Peanut allergies are extremely common among a big number of people, but sometimes they are not so easy to diagnose. This is why a team of researchers from King’s College London decided to develop a peanut allergy blood test. The method, called the Mast Activation Test, is quite easy and a lot cheaper than other alternatives.

Peanut allergies are often misdiagnosed

There aren’t many ways to diagnose a peanut allergy. Currently, the most common is the oral food challenge, where doctors give a patient huge quantities of peanuts while they are in hospital. Even if the person is under medical supervision, the procedure is still risky. Another option is the skin-prick test, but this isn’t too accurate.

When it comes to children, these tests diagnose too many children. From all those who get a positive result on these tests, only 22 percent actually have an allergy. Therefore, the new peanut allergy blood test is much more accurate. Researchers say that, if this test is positive, it means the person is really allergic to peanuts.

The peanut allergy blood test is cheaper and more accurate

During the study for the peanut allergy blood test, researchers have selected 174 children as participants. These children had ages between six months and 17 years. From all of them, only 73 percent were allergic to peanuts.

This peanut allergy blood test is a way better alternative than oral food challenge. For the latter, doctors need sophisticated equipment in case the patient experiences a severe allergic reaction. This equipment is extremely expensive, so a blood test is more affordable.

Researchers are currently working on the peanut allergy blood test and are trying to make it suitable for other foods as well. Therefore, in short time, we might have a test for egg, milk, or nut allergies. They also developed a study on the matter that was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Image source: Pexels