We all know that McDonald’s has a real image problem when it comes to weight loss and health. The problem is their food plain and simple. But now, as part of a broader effort to shed their unhealthy reputation, in Australia and New Zealand McDonald’s is teaming up with Weight Watchers to offer some menu items as healthy options that fit into the diet program’s points system.

McDonald menus will bear the Weight Watchers logo on certain meals. Right now that means chicken nuggets, the Filet-O-Fish …

It’s not just for Cheech and Chong anymore. Though illegal, Marijuana may relieve symptoms of certain chronic illnesses. It has been proven to treat nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite, and it may also ease pain in some users. It’s illegal in the U.S., but now certain states allow it to be used as medical treatment.

Click the link below for a handy state-by-state guide to medical marijuana use. The dark green areas on the map represent states that allow medicinal marijuana, while the light green shows …

If you love Papaya, you may be getting more than just a flavorful exotic fruit. Researchers are reporting that an extract from dried papaya slows the growth of cancer cells in the laboratory. It’s not clear if it will have the same effect on cancer in people, however.

University of Florida researcher Dr. Nam Dang and Japanese colleagues report that the papaya extract appears to affect the regulation of the body’s immune system and doesn’t cause side effects by harming normal cells.

“Based on what I have …

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Even though there was a ban imposed five years ago, some American service members are receiving breast augmentations, tummy tucks and other elective cosmetic surgery at taxpayer expense, according to a Pentagon audit. The study found lackluster accounting practices and record-keeping at 13 military hospitals in the U.S. and overseas.

A fact sheet summarizing the findings said the hospitals couldn’t produce billing and payment records for almost 75 percent of their cosmetic surgeries, even though troops are supposed to pay for the procedures in advance.

The …

I bet you don’t think about supermarket lighting very much. Me either. But it turns out that fluorescent lighting in grocery stores might increase the nutritional value of fresh spinach, according to a new study.

Many stores display fresh spinach in clear plastic containers, which are kept at around 39 degrees Fahrenheit in coolers exposed to fluorescent light 24 hours a day. In the study, researchers exposed fresh spinach leaves to continuous fluorescent light or darkness for three to nine days.

After three days, the spinach stored under …

The idea is that if people can’t afford bad food and drink, they might be healthier. So if the price of regular soda and other sweetened beverages increased by 18%, people would consume an average of 56 fewer calories a day and lose about 5 pounds a year, according to projections in a study out Monday.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina came to this conclusion when they studied the eating habits of over 5,000 young adults over …

Many women avoid drinking calorie-filled cocktails, wine, and beer because they’re worried about adding the pounds. But a new study suggests that women who are moderate drinkers actually tend to gain less weight over time than those who don’t drink.

Women who consumed between 1.5 and 3 drinks daily had a 27% and 61% lower risk of becoming overweight or obese than women who didn’t drink at all. But the researchers did not look at how their drinking may have affected their lives …

Women have to deal with hot flashes and it isn’t very pleasant. When they hit you it isn’t always easy to think clearly and figure out how to cool down. Luckily we have some tips. Interestingly enough some of them involve special tech/clothing.

Obviously turning down the heat helps just like using an ice pack will help, but there are other things you can do as well. Hit the link for more great ideas. Pajamas that help with hot flashes? Cleavage coolers?

[Health]

An herbicide that contaminates the tap water consumed by millions of Americans is no surprise, but it has been found to produce gender-altering effects in male frogs. It has been found that it is “chemically castrating” some and turning others into females.

Frogs in the experiment were exposed to amounts of the weedkiller atrazine that are comparable to the levels allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to lead researcher Tyrone Hayes of the University of California-Berkeley.

In Hayes’ earlier studies, atrazine caused male …

According to the Association for Psychological Science a dimly-lit room promotes dishonest and selfish behavior.
According to a study in the “Psychological Science” journal, darkness, even darkness from a pair of sunglasses, caused individuals to feel more anonymous. They were more inclined to lie, cheat and participate in self-centered behavior.

“Imagine that a person alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail,” said Chen-Bo Zhong, one of the study’s researchers in a statement. “Clearly, whether the …

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