U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, standing at nearly 78 years, the government reported Wednesday. The increase is due mainly to falling rates in almost all leading causes of death. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2007 is nearly three months longer than for those born in 2006. The preliminary data are based on about 90 percent of the death certificates collected in 2007. The information comes from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More…

By Sarah Gordon Three in four parents are risking their child’s eyesight by failing to make them wear appropriate protection in the sun, experts warned today. Youngsters need sunglasses with UV protection when they are out in the sun but 76 per cent of parents admit their child does not always wear glasses. The survey for The College of Optometrists, found that although the vast majority of parents use sun cream to protect their children’s skin from harmful rays, 29 per cent never buy sunglasses for their youngsters. Read More…

Snack foods like popcorn and many popular breakfast cereals contain the same amount of healthy antioxidants as fruit and vegetables, claim researchers. By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent Fruit and vegetables — and foods such as chocolate, wine, coffee, and tea — have become renowned for their role in reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer because they contain the health-giving substances known as polyphenols. Until now, however, no one knew that commercial snack foods and hot and cold whole grain cereals were also a great source for the compounds. Polyphenols are a group of...

Pandemic showing summer decline but health officials prepare for second wave in autumn Owen Bowcott The number of deaths from swine flu in Britain has climbed to 59 but infection rates have continued to fall through the summer, according to the Department of Health. The latest figures released today show the disease on the wane during the holidays with about 260 people still being treated in hospital, fewer than last week. Of those, 30 were in intensive care. There were an estimated 11,000 people diagnosed with H1N1 flu in England last week, the cases spread uniformly across the country, and representing...

Bob Hepburn It is hard, these days, to turn on an American TV channel without seeing politicians or right-wing pundits ranting about how bad Canada’s beloved medicare system supposedly is. Their fear-mongering is aimed at frightening Americans and ultimately derailing President Barack Obama’s proposals, timid as they are, to reform U.S. health care. For weeks, Americans have been told that Canada pushes its sickest and weakest to the bottom of wait lists, that our health care is inferior, that it’s the government that decides who lives and who dies. Read More…

by Dan McLaughlin One of the central selling points used by President Obama to push the Democrats’ health care plan is the notion that a comprehensive overhaul of the health care system will reduce costs. But costs to who, and how? Let’s step back a minute and try to figure out how Obama’s cost-cutting argument could possibly be so. First, a quick reminder of two reasons why cost-cutting is such an important selling point. Number one, the core of what the Democratic base, in particular, wants from health care “reform” is universal coverage. Read More…

Study Blames a Chain Reaction That Makes Hair Bleach Itself From the Inside Out By Miranda Hitti Feb. 25, 2009 — Scientists may have figured out why hair turns gray, and their finding may open the door to new anti-graying strategies. New research shows that hair turns gray as a result of a chemical chain reaction that causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out. The process starts when there is a dip in levels of an enzyme called catalase. That catalase shortfall means that the hydrogen peroxide that naturally occurs in hair can’t be broken down. So hydrogen peroxide builds up...

U.S. Life Expectancy Rose By More Than a Year From 1997 to 2007 By Miranda Hitti WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MD Aug. 19, 2009 — Life expectancy continues its upward trend in the U.S., notching up by about two-and-a-half months in 2007 over 2006. That may not sound like a lot, but step back and look at the gain over a decade: Babies born in 2007 have a life expectancy that’s 1.4 years greater than babies born in 1997. Here are the latest life expectancy figures, as published by the CDC today, based on preliminary data from 2007: Read More…

By MARTIN FELDSTEIN Although administration officials are eager to deny it, rationing health care is central to President Barack Obama’s health plan. The Obama strategy is to reduce health costs by rationing the services that we and future generations of patients will receive. The White House Council of Economic Advisers issued a report in June explaining the Obama administration’s goal of reducing projected health spending by 30% over the next two decades. That reduction would be achieved by eliminating “high cost, low-value treatments,” by “implementing a set of performance...

Swine flu (swine influenza) is a disease of pigs. It is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by one of many Influenza A viruses. Approximately 1% to 4% of pigs that get swine flu die from it. It is spread among pigs by direct and indirect contact, aerosols, and from pigs that are infected but do not have symptoms. In many parts of the world pigs are vaccinated against swine flu. Most commonly, swine flu is of the H1N1 influenza subtype. However, they can sometimes come from the other types, such as H1N2, H3N1, and H3N2. Read More…