Scientists have pinpointed gene variants tied to the risk of developing cannabis use disorder, in which people build up tolerance to weed and struggle to cut back despite negative impacts on their life and health. For some individuals cannabis becomes problematic and involves tolerance, dependence, and difficulty to withdrawal. To probe potential g...

We've already discussed in this blog how so-called natural supplements can do more harm than good. But a new study brings that to the next level: Taking vitamin or mineral supplements could be feeding tumours and allowing them to grow. Common antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and selenium and zinc when taken additionally can all cause blood vesse...

1. Farmed salmon There's a lot of debate around whether farmed salmon is bad for health. On the one hand, all oily fish contain health-boosting omega-3 fats. On the other, salmon raised in fish farms has been compared to a "toxic junk food" by the Organic Consumers Association. The flesh tends to be fattier than that of wild-caught salmon and has a...

According to Freud, denial is a defense mechanism that protects the individual from emotional pain. It gives us time to adjust to difficult situations. However, staying in the denial phase can interfere with your ability to function in everyday life. If you're in denial, you're attempting to protect yourself from the truth. You might feel overwhelm...

​ Being transgender has to do with how a person feels about their gender, not how many X's or Y's they have. At birth, doctors look at the genitals of our bodies to see if we are a boy or a girl, and most of the time, when someone physically looks like a boy, they also feel like they are a boy in their brains. People whose feelings about their gend...

Consciousness is the ability to be conscious of ourselves and the surrounding. But I think this definition should extend to everything that exist in Nature, not just human beings. For example, according to Biology a virus may not be considered alive as it cannot reproduce on its own. However, a virus is aware of the surrounding since it targets cel...

To be real , something must be true, and to be true it must always be true. In other words it cannot be true today, and false tomorrow. Continuity is required for something to be true. According to Hinduism, Truth is defined as "unchangeable", "that which has no distortion", "that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person". It means t...

​ According to a new study, Statin users are at risk of 'cardiovascular disease' if they only take the medication without changing nutrition and lifestyle. This is the magic of the modern culture: "a pill will save me" where patients are under the wrong impression that a pill is all they need to get better. Unfortunately it's not so simple. Despite...

​ The short answer is: support your body-mind complex, don't go against it. And yes, there is more that just eating salads and walking. Lifestyle is important, but to have a conductive lifestyle requires some effort. It doesn't come natural for most of people. If you keep smoking, enjoying junk-food and drinking, you can't expect your body to alway...

​ Widely used antidepressants cause "emotional blunting", according to research that offers new insights into how the drugs may work and their possible side-effects. The study found that healthy volunteers became less responsive to positive and negative feedback after taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug for three weeks. The ...

​ Because it tends to treat symptoms, not the root cause of the problem. For example, if you experience low libido, your doctor may prescribe a test on testosterone levels and you may even get hormone therapy or viagra. Doctors give a name to your condition, like erectile disfunction, and you're done. This way a new patient is born and it needs to ...

E-cigarettes can carry serious risks, especially to the young, says the World Health Organization. We need to tighten up the regulations on their use. Vaping has grown exponentially over the past decade. Vaping shops have proliferated along British high streets, the global market for vapes has increased 8,000-fold since 2016 and vape manufacturers ...

Almost 35 years ago American drug regulators approved Prozac, the first in a series of blockbuster antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors ( ssris ). Prozac and its cousins were lauded by patients and doctors as miracle drugs. They lifted low moods quickly and seemed to have no drawbacks. Divorce, bereavement, problems at ...

More adults and even boys are experiencing a diminished sexual desire, or some kind of erectile dysfunction   What they'd do about it? The first thing is: don't panic. Sexual desire, or sex drive, can go up and down, and most of the time is totally normal. Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, t...

Sugar is almost everywhere in our diet, including the pizza you buy round the corner. But there are many side effects that may impact our health when we eat too much sugar, and it's not just about cavities. In 2012 the United Nations declared that, for the first time in human history, chronic non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer ...

In USA more than 1 in 7 (37 million people), are estimated to have chronic kidney failure. Transplantation is the treatment of choice for kidney failure, though transplants are in short supply. In USA there are about 100k people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. In 2021, over 4k patients on the kidney transplant list in the Eurotransplan...

Meningitis is an inflammation , or swelling, of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Common bacteria or viruses that can cause meningitis can spread through coughing, sneezing, kissing, or sharing eating utensils, a toothbrush or a cigarette. Careful hand-washing helps prevent the spread of germs. However, injuries, cancer, ...

Liquorice is an extract from the Glycyrrhiza glabra plant which contains glycyrrhizic acid. For thousands of years G. glabra has been used for medicinal purposes across all cultures, in particular in Chinese medicine where it's known as gancao. The following are properties of pure licorice extract, which is quite different from so-called licorice c...

Many women experience headaches caused by changes in their hormones. According to the National Migraine Centre, more than half of women who get migraines notice a link with their periods. These so-called "menstrual migraines" tend to be particularly severe. Migraine is most likely to develop in either the 2 days leading up to a period or the first ...

Yes of course, and that's what common sense usually suggests, but there are few implications in your question.  The 1st : Does Eastern medicine create dependencies as Western medicine? Yes. The 2nd : Does Eastern medicine work better that Western medicine? It depends. I think it's pretty common for an individual to look for alternatives if the...