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Why Your Drawing Skills Could Reveal Risk Of A Stroke

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Could your drawing skills be the key to predicting your risk of a stroke?

A team of Swedish scientists believe so, after testing the theory on a group of older men.

Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden discovered that the way a person draws lines between ascending numbers, could help predict their risk of dying after a stroke.

The study involved questioning and testing 1,000 healthy men aged between 67 and 75 over a 14-year period.

Participants were asked to draw lines in between numbers and letters in ascending order as fast as possible during a simple cognitive test. The trail making test (TMT) scores ranged between 0 (being worst) and 30 (the best).

The volunteers were also given a mini-mental state exam (MMSE), which involved a series of challenges that tested their memory, numeracy and orientation skills.

Those who scored the lowest points with a low completion time “reflected impaired psychomotor speed” and were three times more likely to die from a stroke then those with higher scores.

Researchers are hoping that this method of testing stroke risks will help health experts spot the early signs of strokes in those most at risk. However, they pointed out that it would be most effective in predicting post-stroke mortality.

This study was published in the BMJ Open journal.

SEE ALSO

Dr Clare Walton from the Stroke Association said in a statement: "This is an interesting study because it suggests there may be early changes in the brain that puts someone at a greater risk of having a fatal stroke.

"This is a small study and the causes of poor ability on the drawing task is not known. Although much more research is needed, this task has the potential to screen for those most at risk of a severe or fatal stroke before it occurs so that they can benefit from preventative treatments."

Strokes affect around 150,000 people in the UK, where one person is stuck down with the condition every five minutes.

About a third of people who have a stroke make a significant recovery within a month. But most stroke survivors will have long-term problems. It may take a year or longer for them to make the best possible recovery. Sadly, in the most severe cases, strokes can be fatal or cause long-term disability.

Unfortunately, there are certain risk factors you cannot control when it comes to preventing your stroke risk, like gender (men are more likely to have a stroke than women), age (most people who have strokes are aged 55 and over) and ethnic background (South Asian, African and African Caribbean are more likely to have a stroke).

However, there are lifestyle changes you can make to help slash the risk of strokes:

Stop smoking
Smoking causes your arteries to fur up and makes a blood clot more likely. So stopping smoking is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of stroke.

Curb alcohol consumption
Binge drinking (more than six units of alcohol within six hours) in particular can cause your blood pressure to increase rapidly, which greatly increases the risk of a stroke.

Eat well
Being overweight increases your chances of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, all of which can increase your chances of stroke.

Get active
Healthy eating helps keep your heart and bloodstream in good form. Regular physical activity lowers your blood pressure, helps balance fats in your body and improves your ability to handle insulin.


How To Stop Thinking About Your Ex -- Using Technology

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Getting your ex out of your head becomes much harder if they're still in your space -- namely, if they're on your Facebook, phone contact list and Twitter.

Technology has made breakups more painful, as social networks can keep exes constantly connected whether they like it or not, according to YourTango’s Elisabeth LaMotte, therapist and social worker.

“It’s just way to easy these days to spend too much time and too much emotion and energy looking at photographs of your ex on Facebook or reading their tweets, checking to see if they’re on Gchat,” she says.

Half of women and 40 per cent of men say they look at their ex's Facebook page or online profile too much, according to YourTango.

So make your breakup easier on yourself and stop thinking about your ex with these tech tips:

Write An Angry E-mail -- But Don't Send It
Just like jilted lovers did in the good old days, pour your anger, sadness and frustrations into a letter. Except nobody writes letters anymore, so do it in an email. But (obviously) don't send it. You can also use a electronic notepad; Kristen Hawley of Popsugar recommends Apple's Stickies.

Eternal Sunshine
Chrome's Eternal Sunshine extension won't literally erase your ex from your mind (if only), but it will hide friends more effectively than Facebook's 'hide' option. Or you can unfriend your ex if you're totally ready to delete this person from your digital life.

Make A List
Knock your ex off their pedestal and list all the reasons why you're better of without them on your phone, LaMotte suggests.


"I've yet to find somebody that cannot come up with at least two, maybe more, reasons that you are better off without that other person."

Resist Temptation To Text
With the push of a button, you could tell your ex how much you miss them, how you made a mistake and how you could meet up to drop off all the stuff they left behind.


Stop right there! Just accept the relationship has ended, LaMotte says.


"If your ex still has things in your apartment, don't text them and ask them when they're going to come get it. Just put everything in a garbage bag and leave it in their lobby or leave it on their porch, and call it a day," she advises.

Online Dating
Nothing helps you get over someone like getting... online.


Creating an online dating profile when you're ready to get back out there can help you re-evaluate what realistic qualities you need in a partner. For tips on making your online dating profile attract the kind of person you want, check out Match.com.

Get Help
Instead of cruising your ex's Twitter feed, consider finding a therapist online. Just make sure you do your homework; check out your source's credentials, speak to them over email or Skype and make sure you trust them, BPS counseling suggests.

Unplug
When your cyberstalking goes to extremes, shut down your laptop and switch off your phone. Get outside! Take up rock climbing, or clog dancing, or take a trip. Whatever it takes to keep your mind off your ex.

Depression In Middle Age Linked To Dementia

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By Amanda Gardner

People who have symptoms of depression in middle age may be at increased risk of dementia decades later, a new study suggests.

Using medical records, researchers tracked more than 13,000 people in a large northern California health plan from roughly their 40s and 50s into their 80s. Compared to people who had never been depressed, those who experienced symptoms of depression in middle age -- but not later in life -- were about 20 percent more likely to go on to develop dementia.

Those who received a depression diagnosis later in life only were at even greater risk. That group had about a 70 percent increased risk of dementia compared to their depression-free peers, according to the study, which was published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry.


More from Health.com:
25 Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Depression in the Elderly: 7 Ways to Help
How You Can Help Someone Who's Depressed


In a first, the researchers also found that the timing of the depression seemed to predict which type of dementia an individual would develop. Late-life depression was linked with Alzheimer's disease, while mid-life depression was mostly connected with a related condition known as vascular dementia.

Although Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia share many of the same outward symptoms, they're associated with different processes in the brain. In Alzheimer's, memory loss and other symptoms are believed to be caused by protein deposits that interfere with brain function. Vascular dementia, on the other hand, appears to occur when blood flow to certain areas of the brain is interrupted, such as during strokes and so-called mini-strokes.

The study participants were 3.5 times more likely to develop vascular dementia if they'd experienced depression symptoms in both middle age and later in life, which suggests that "recurring depression over the life course seems to be triggering vascular changes that puts [people] at risk for vascular dementia," says lead author Deborah E. Barnes, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

By contrast, depression that appears for the first time in old age may simply be an early symptom of Alzheimer's rather than a stand-alone condition, Barnes says.

Charles Nemeroff, M.D., chair of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, says there is already "quite a bit of evidence" that depression is a risk factor for dementia. However, this study is among the largest to show a link between the two conditions, says Nemeroff, who was not involved with the research.

Previous studies have not distinguished between depression in middle age and depression later in life, making it difficult to determine if depression is a risk factor for dementia or an early symptom, Barnes says. "The question has been, 'Is depression a true risk factor for depression?'" she says.

The findings do suggest that depression tends to precede vascular dementia, but the study does have a number of limitations that prevent the authors from concluding that depression directly causes dementia.

For most of the participants, mid-life depression was assessed using a single question on a single questionnaire, and the researchers had no information on whether an individual had been depressed as a young adult or adolescent.

In addition, the dementia diagnoses were based only on symptoms and medical history, not brain imaging or spinal fluid measurements. The latter techniques are more reliable, especially since the distinction between Alzheimer's and vascular dementia isn't always clear-cut.

Finally, the authors didn't explore whether genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease may have played a role, Nemeroff says.

But perhaps the biggest unanswered question is whether treating depression in middle age would have had any effect on dementia risk. The study didn't include any data on whether the depressed participants received treatment, or what type of treatment.

That question is "really important," Nemeroff says. "We'd really like to know: If depression [were] aggressively treated with psychotherapy or antidepressants, could you stave off dementia?"

What's The Most Expensive City For A Club Sandwich?

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We adore double-deckers as much as the next food lover, but they can get pricey -- especially in world's most expensive city for a club sandwich.

Clubhouse sandwiches, found in every corner of the world, can be dirt cheap or cost an arm and a leg, a study by Hotels.com says. The survey studied the sandwich prices in 750 hotels across 26 countries, and discovered that one of the top costs reached nearly $55 -- for a sandwich. It's only bread, chicken, bacon, lettuce and mayo, people!

Check out which country has the most expensive club sandwich, shown in U.S. dollars, in the slideshow below (and satisfy your food porn craving while you're at it).

What's The Worst Mother's Day Gift?

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Surprise! It's a... shoehorn. Can you think of a worse Mother's Day gift?

Mothers don't always get what they wish for on their special day, the Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC) discovered in a poll of Canadian moms. Some of the worst Mother's Day gifts they've received include everything from cookbooks to oven mitts.

So put some thought into your gift giving on Mother's Day; get a yoga mat for your sporty mom, or a French press for your foodie mom. Or try the gift of giving and make a charitable donation in Mom's honour.

Whichever gift you give, stay far away from these duds -- especially the number one worst Mother's Day gift.

Worst Mother's Day Gifts:

10. White Noise Machine
9. Vegetable shredder
8. Shoehorns
7. Oven Mitts
6. Frying pans
5. Oversized clothes
4. Cookbooks
3. Microwave
2. Divorce papers
1. Chainsaw

Hoarding Made A Hit TV Show -- Now It’s Becoming A Sickness In The DSM

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The newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) -- the handbook of American psychiatry -- is due out next year, and hoarding is likely to be among the newest additions.

Want To Get Rid Of Your Beer Belly? Bring Out The Hot Sauce

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Capsaicin, the component which gives hot sauce its burning sensation, could play a key role in the future of weight loss.

Surgeries known as vagal de-affrentation, which uses capsaicin, and vagatomy can achieve weight loss and reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases with fewer side effects when compared to bariatric weight loss surgeries.

The study was conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and is published in the May issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences.

After testing the two surgeries in the lab, the researchers found that vagotomy significantly reduced total body fat, as well as visceral abdominal fat—the "beer belly" fat that pads the spaces between abdominal organs. Vagal de-afferentation also reduced these fats, but to a lesser degree.

However the researchers state the reduction is still remarkable.

"The reduction in visceral fat is particularly important," said Ali Tavakkoli, of the BWH Department of Surgery.

SEE ALSO

"High visceral fat volume is a marker of obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes. Preferentially lost visceral fat after vagal de-afferentation highlights the potential for this procedure."

Vagotomy involves removing the vagus nerve, which sends information between the gut and the brain. Vagal de-afferentation also involves the vagus nerve. But rather than removing the nerve completely, surgeons use capsaicin to destroy only certain nerve fibers.

Capsaicin destroys the nerve fibers that take signals from the gut to the brain, leaving intact the nerve fibers that send signals in the opposite direction, from the brain to the gut.

Between the two surgeries, vagal de-afferentation is associated with fewer side effects.

The researchers note that more work needs to be done on whether these surgeries can be used on humans, and whether capsaicin could be applied directly to human vagal fibers. The study results, however, provide promise of what the future can hold.

"As demand for surgeries that reduce weight and obesity-related diseases increases, procedures that can achieve success in a less invasive fashion will become increasingly important," said Tavakkoli.

"This is an important and developing surgical discipline, especially as diabetes rates soar worldwide, and people try to find effective therapies to fight this epidemic."

Slow Down! What Eating Fast May Be Doing To Your Health

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Slooooow down, fast eaters!

Research presented at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology shows that people who eat fast have a 2.5-times higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, compared with slower eaters.

"The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and becoming a world pandemic. It appears to involve interaction between susceptible genetic backgrounds and environmental factors," study researcher Dr. Lina Radzeviciene, of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, said in a statement. "It's important to identify modifiable risk factors that may help people reduce their chances of developing the disease."

For the study, researchers examined the eating habits of 468 people without diabetes and 234 people who had just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Everyone answered a questionnaire, where they explained whether their eating habits were slower, faster, or the same as others. The researchers also noted their waist and hip circumference, height and weight.

After adjusting for other factors like body mass index (BMI, a ratio of height to weight), smoking status, diabetes and education, the researchers found that Type 2 diabetes risk seemed to be linked with eating faster.

This is certainly not the first time research has suggested a link between eating speed and health risks. A previous study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that speed-eaters are more likely to be obese than slow-eaters.

And the faster people ate, the more their BMI rose - 2.8% for each "step" increase on the five-step eating-speed scale (equivalent to an extra 4.3 pounds), researchers found.

For tips on eating mindfully, check out the slideshow before:


Half Of Young Adults Have Gotten Sunburned In Past Year: Study

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Half of young adults have gotten at least one sunburn over the last year, which is a risk factor for skin cancer, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers also found that 32 percent of white women between the ages of 18 and 21 and 30 percent of white women between ages 22 and 25 participate in indoor tanning. The ultraviolet radiation that comes from indoor tanning (as well as from the sun) is a known cause of cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

Indoor tanning use in people under the age of 35 is known to be linked with a 75 percent increased melanoma risk, the researchers reported. Melanoma is an extremely dangerous form of skin cancer, and is the No. 1 cause of death from skin disease.

"More public health efforts, including providing shade and sunscreen in recreational settings, are needed to raise awareness of the importance of sun protection and sunburn prevention to reduce the burden of skin cancer," Dr. Marcus Plescia, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, said in a statement. "We must accelerate our efforts to educate young adults about the dangers of indoor tanning to prevent melanoma as this generation ages."

White women ages 18 to 21 who indoor tanned in the study visited a tanning salon an average of 28 times in a year, researchers found. Women of this demographic who live in the Midwest and the South were the most likely to tan (44 percent and 36 percent, respectively), according to the study.

For men between ages 18 and 29, the most common way they protected their bodies from the sun was by wearing clothes that covered their bodies, all the way down to their ankles (33 percent of them did this), while 26 percent of them kept in the shade, the study said.

For women ages 18 to 29, the most common way they protected their bodies from the sun was by using sunscreen (37 percent did this). Thirty-five percent of them kept in the shade. The researchers also found that black women were less likely to use sunscreen than others, and white women were less likely to keep under the shade than others.

Sunburn was also the most common in white people, with 66 percent of white adults between ages 18 to 29 reporting sunburn, compared with 11 percent of black adults of the same age.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 36 states have restrictions on minors' use of tanning beds. California has a completely prohibition of tanning-bed use by people younger than 18.

Earlier this week, on "Melanoma Monday," an American Academy of Dermatology survey showed that only about half of all U.S. adults know how to spot the signs of skin cancer.

The survey also showed that 74 percent of people didn't know that skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and 30 percent were unaware or weren't sure about how easy it is to treat skin cancer if it's found early on.

To protect yourself from UV rays, the CDC recommends that people try to stay in the shade between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m, wear clothes that cover the skin, wear a hat to provide shade to the face and head area, wear sunglasses that block as much UV radiation as possible, wear sunscreen (SPF 15 and up, with UVA and UVB protection) and to not indoor tan.

Time Magazine's Provocative New Cover Image

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In the provocative new cover story of its May 21 issue, TIME Magazine taps into a two-decade-long parenting conversation that has boiled over in recent months. Journalist Kate Pickert reports on the rise of attachment parenting, a set of techniques popularized by Dr. William (Bill) Sears in "The Baby Book," his 767-page treatise published in 1992.

In the article, Pickert explores who Sears is and why controversy surrounds his theories -- specifically baby-wearing, extended breastfeeding and co-sleeping -- but it's TIME's photographs of real mothers breastfeeding their toddlers that has everyone talking. (Scroll down for reactions on Twitter.)

The cover shows Jamie Lynne Grumet, a slim blonde 26-year-old California mom, breastfeeding her 3-year-old son. TIME photographer Martin Schoeller also shot three other families on the same day.

2012-05-10-time.jpg

On left: Jessica Cary and her 3-year-old daughter. Right: Dionna Ford with her 4-year-old and 5-month-old sons. For more from the TIME cover shoot, visit TIME LightBox.

“When you think of breast-feeding, you think of mothers holding their children, which was impossible with some of these older kids,” Schoeller said in an interview on TIME.com. “I liked the idea of having the kids standing up to underline the point that this was an uncommon situation.”

One notable mom who follows Dr. Sears's advice does not make an appearance in Pickert's piece. Actress Mayim Bialik, who recently published her memoir "Beyond The Sling", is a vocal advocate for attachment parenting and recently came under fire for writing about breastfeeding her own 3-year-old. While Bialik ignited big discussions about how much is too much when it comes to motherhood, TIME's story is elevating the conversation to a national debate.

The usual questions that come up when mothers are called out for breastfeeding in public (which happens often) include: Is breastfeeding indecent? Or natural? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all mothers breastfeed for a full year -- or longer if the mother so chooses, so how can we shame women who are just following the advice of the country's foremost medical establishment?

There is no doubt that the TIME cover strikes the public as shocking. But, as Pickert points out, the women featured are at one extreme end of this always-controversial discussion. On the other end, she says, are mothers who "endorse the idea of maternal closeness (who doesn't?) but think Sears is out of his mind." And the writer goes on:

"A third category includes mothers caught in the middle. These parents try to achieve Sears' ideal of nursing, baby wearing and co-sleeping but fall short for some reason and find themselves immobilized by their seeming parental inadequacy. They suffer from what two New York City parenting consultants call "posttraumatic Sears disorder."

Her point, in writing the in-depth profile of Sears, seems to be that there are many parents out there left wondering what's right, what's wrong -- and most important -- what makes sense for their families.

time magazine

CORRECTION: This article originally stated that the author of "The Baby Book" was Dr. Jim Sears. The book is by Dr. William "Bill" Sears. The article also misstated the age of Dionna Ford's youngest child.

Two Disputed Diagnoses Dropped From Revised DSM

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* Diagnoses fail to make cut in revised manual
* Field tests showed they were not reliable
* Group accepting comments on proposed changes
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO, May 9 (Reuters) - Two proposed psychiatric diagnoses failed to make the last round of cuts in the laborious process of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - an exhaustive catalog of symptoms used by doctors worldwide to diagnose psychiatric illness.
Gone from the latest revision, the first since 1994, are "attenuated psychosis syndrome," intended to help identify individuals at risk of full-blown psychosis, and "mixed anxiety depressive disorder," a blend of anxiety and depression symptoms.
Both performed badly on field tests and in public comments gathered by the American Psychiatric Association in its march toward a May 2013 publication deadline.
They have been tucked into Section III of the manual - the place reserved for ideas that do not yet have enough evidence to make the cut as a full-blown diagnosis.
What has survived, despite fierce public outcry, is a change in the diagnosis of autism, which eliminates the milder diagnosis of Asperger syndrome in favor of the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
That, too, could still be altered before the final manual is published, the group says. The APA opened the final comment period for its fifth diagnostic manual known as DSM-V on May 2, and it will accumulate comments through June 15.
Dr. David Kupfer, who chairs the DSM-5 Task Force, said in a statement that the changes reflected the latest research and input from the public.

'TRYING TO LISTEN'
Dr. Wayne Goodman, professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, said he was glad the task force was responding to feedback from professionals and the public.
"I think they are trying to listen," he said.
Goodman agrees with the decisions to drop both of the two disorders in the latest revision.
With the "mixed anxiety and depressive disorder," he said there was a risk that it would capture a number of people who did not qualify under a diagnosis of depression or anxiety alone.
"It could lead to overdiagnosis," Goodman said.
He said the "attenuated psychosis syndrome" diagnosis would have been useful for research purposes to help identify those at risk of psychosis, but there was a concern it might label people who were just a bit different as mentally ill.
"The predictive value is not clear yet," he said. "I think it's reasonable not to codify it until we have better definition of its predictive value."
Goodman, who worked on DSM-4, the last revision of the manual published in 1994, and is working on the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder section of the current revision of DSM-5, said the strength of the manual was that it can offer a reliable way for psychiatrists across the country to identify patients with the same sorts of disorders.
The weakness, he said, was that it largely lacked biological evidence - blood tests, imaging tests and the like - that can validate those diagnoses.
"DSM-5 is a refinement of our diagnostic system, but it doesn't add to our ability to understand the underlying illness," he said.
Goodman said he had no personal opinion on the debate over autism but that both sides had significant concerns. He said some were worried that eliminating Asperger syndrome would mean patients did not get needed services, while others said the change would not affect their ability to identify people with those issues.
Dr. Emil Cockcrow, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago Medicine, said changes in the DSM typically occurred because of new data.
Cockcrow, who is contributing to the new section in the DSM-5 on Intermittent Explosive Disorder, said there was no question that many people were not convinced some of the diagnoses needed to be changed or that there needed to be new ones added.
"This also happened the last time when they did DSM-4," he said, but that was nearly 20 years ago.
"You can keep waiting, but at a certain point you have to fish or cut bait and actually come out with a new edition. That is what is happening now," he said.
Comments to the manual can be submitted at www.DSM5.org (Reporting By Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Peter Cooney)

10 Reasons To Consider Preserving Food

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Think eating food from a jar is just for babies? Then obviously you haven't gotten into the very trendy practice of preserving fresh fruits and vegetables in cans -- and by trendy, we mean the tradition of keeping food fresh that was probably undertaken by your great-great-great-great-great grandparents.

Preserving -- or more specifically, canning -- has roots in the 1790s, when the French military offered a reward for inventing a way to keep food from going bad. Nicolas Appert, a confectioner, used his experience with sweets to try placing food into jars, heating them to destroy microorganisms and halt enzymes, and allowing the cooling to create a vacuum seal. His 'The Art of Preserving Animal and Vegetable Substances" is considered a cookbook classic, and his invention was later built upon by Louis Pasteur when he showed how the process kept bacteria at bay.

Now, with the growing season upon us and food recalls happening almost daily, doesn't it seem like a good time to get into preserving your own food again? But just in case you needed more convincing, the test kitchen at Canadian Living has put together its "The Complete Preserving Book" to walk you through every step of the way.

Here, courtesy of Tina Anson Mine at Canadian Living are 10 reasons to make your own preserves:

1. They’re unique. Why settle for the same-old strawberry jam from the grocery store when you can make so many other varieties at home? Try an old-fashioned gooseberry jam or a sophisticated cherry vanilla jelly. Make whatever you like, and enjoy every spoonful.

2. They’re pantry staples. With homemade preserves, there’s always something to make for dinner. Instead of ordering takeout, make a flatbread pizza topped with delicious pizza sauce or pesto from the freezer. Or whip up a kid-friendly quesadilla topped with zippy home-canned salsa.

3. They celebrate local, in-season foods. The best ingredients to preserve are the freshest ones, grown close to home. Putting up local foods is an excellent way to support your community’s farmers, and you can’t get fresher than food grown in your own backyard.

4. They can be cheaper than store-bought. Preserving does require some up-front investment in equipment, jars and ingredients. But it’s an investment that pays dividends after just a season or two. Jars are reusable and local food – especially food you grow yourself – doesn’t require expensive trucking and packaging.

5. They’re eco-friendly. As long as your canning jars are nick-free, you can use them for years. Homemade preserves can replace many of the packaged foods you commonly buy and help improve your environmental karma a little bit.

6. They get you out into the sunshine. Whether you plan to spend time at a U-pick farm or digging in your own garden, canning gets you out of the house and out into the fields to look for quality ingredients. Just don’t forget the sunscreen!

7. They’re mood boosters. Seeing all those full jars lined up is soul-satisfying. Preserving is also a way to feel connected to generations of family who have passed down the tradition – or it can be a new tradition you can pass down to your kids.

8. They’re a great excuse for a party. Preserving is easier, and much more fun, with many hands. Host a canning party with friends and split the fruits of your labour when you’re done. You’ll be able to make more, and everyone can take home
a delicious reward for the day’s work.

9. They make great gifts. Homemade means thoughtful. Put up a selection of sweet and savoury canned goods to give to friends and family at the holidays. Or tie a pretty bow around a jar or two and bring them to a dinner party instead of the
expected bottle of wine.

10. They taste amazing. Preserving is the best way to capture the taste of fruits and vegetables that are at their peak. Just imagine how sweet a spoonful of fresh summer fruit will taste in the middle of winter!

Sharing Opinions Feels At Least As Good As Earning Money

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By Sophie Bushwick
(Click here for the original article and podcast)

If you enjoy sharing all your likes and dislikes on Facebook, you’re definitely not alone: research finds that broadcasting personal opinions gives people the same sense of reward as earning money. The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Diana I. Tamir and Jason P. Mitchell, "Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding"]

Study subjects had their brains scanned while they either talked about their opinions or judged the beliefs of another. And sharing their own point of view stimulated more activity in the reward-processing parts of the subjects’ brains.

In another experiment, participants got to choose among reporting their own opinion, judging someone else's opinion or answering a true or false question. And for each choice, they could earn varying amounts of money.

Rather than maximize their winnings by answering the questions that were worth the most cash, people preferred to talk about themselves—even though they sacrificed an average of 17 percent of their potential earnings to do it. For the participants, sharing personal information was its own reward.

Which means that people like comedian Patton Oswalt, who tweets photos of what he's having for lunch, probably feel like a million bucks.

Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Could Be Dangerous, FDA Warns

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* At least 2 dead, one paralyzed from procedure
* Controversy about link between MS and blood vessel changes (Adds further FDA comment; recasts 1st paragraph)
By Anna Yukhananov
WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. drug regulators are warning people with multiple sclerosis that an experimental treatment that props open internal veins in the neck and chest can cause death or serious injury.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said at least two people had died from the procedure, which uses stents or balloon angioplasties to widen veins that connect the brain and spinal cord to the heart. One person was permanently paralyzed, and others had bleeding in the brain, suffered strokes, blood clots or other side effects.
It is unknown how many people received the treatment and how many had problems, as stents and angioplasties are not approved for this use by the FDA, the agency said. Stents are steel mesh coils that can keep arteries open, while balloon angioplasties use a balloon at the tip of a catheter to open blocked blood vessels.
The FDA could not immediately identify the stent models being used in such treatments.
The FDA announcement relates to a controversy that has developed in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community about the causes of the chronic, progressive disorder of the brain and spinal cord.
The disease, which affects about 2.5 million people worldwide and has no cure, attacks the central nervous system and can lead to numbness, paralysis and loss of vision. Drugs that treat the condition, from companies like Biogen Idec Inc and Sanofi SA, can often only prevent relapses or slow its progression.
The underlying cause of MS is unknown. Some researchers believe that although it is typically thought of as a disorder of the immune system, it may actually be caused by blood vessel changes. Their theory is that veins bringing blood from the brain and spine back to the heart sometimes become too narrow, making blood leak back into the brain tissue. They say that could trigger inflammation, eventually causing the balance and muscle problems seen in MS.
Other scientists have not been able to show a link between MS and compromised blood flow, which is called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, or prove the condition exists at all.
Meanwhile, MS patients seek new treatments, prompting patient advocacy and research groups to invest in more research studying the link between multiple sclerosis and CCSVI.
"Our position is that the evidence is simply insufficient to determine whether there's a link," said Dr. William Maisel, deputy director and chief scientist of the FDA's devices division. "We want patients to be aware this treatment (with stents or balloon angioplasty) is unproven, that there are significant risks associated with the treatment, (and) the benefits are uncertain."
The FDA said people who want to try the experimental treatment should first discuss the risks with their doctor, or should try the treatment while participating in clinical trials. (Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)

Police Shoot Alzheimer's Sufferer With Taser

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When 55-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer Peter Russell was ‘tasered’ by police as they attempted to take him to hospital, it was a desperately sad episode in a domestic drama that began with his diagnosis three years ago.

According to the Daily Mail, after Russell began ‘pushing’ his wife Diane, 50, doctors decided to section him under the Mental Health Act to review his dementia treatment.

However, on March 6, when two nurses and a psychiatrist visited the couple’s home, Peter became agitated at hearing talk of him going to hospital.

He began swearing and ‘slamming cupboards’, while Diane suggested he be given sweets and his favourite Noddy toy to calm him and then be driven to hospital by a neighbour.

Her advice apparently went unheeded, as later that afternoon six officers tackled the former farm worker, shooting him with a Taser him several times after Mr Russell reportedly subjected them to ‘a significant level of violence’.

Mrs Russell, of Epworth, North Lincolnshire, said: ‘He was fighting them off because he didn’t want to go to hospital. He was petrified and scared. He was shouting “get off” as they carried him. I was going mental and I remember saying “it’s not him, it’s the Alzheimer’s”.

According to The Sun, the Alzheimer’s Society charity have criticised the police, saying that using the weapon on a dementia sufferer must have been “very alarming” and “particularly distressing”.

Spokeswoman Sarah Moody said: “The Alzheimer’s Society is very alarmed at the use of a Taser gun on a vulnerable person with early onset dementia, which must have been a particularly distressing experience for the gentleman concerned."

Talking about the incident, mum-of-two Diane, added: “There was no need to use the Taser.

"If he was a wife beater or an armed robber then I could understand it but this is someone who will stop his tractor when ploughing a field and move a nest of mice to the side."

According to reports, Peter Russell was shot with several Taser stun rounds, before being manhandled into a police van - carried outside ‘like a bag of potatoes'.

Two months later, Peter is still receiving psychiatric treatment in hospital and his wife Diane remains traumatised, saying she has spoken out ‘to prevent other families suffering the same needless ordeal’.


Why Rapper Eminem Needs Tin Foil To Sleep

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With him being a world famous rapper and singer, you’d expect Eminem’s A-list demands to be pretty impressive.

However, forget the room of fluffy puppies and champagne fountains – all Eminem wants is a roll of tin foil so he can get a good night’s sleep.

According to The Sun, the 39-year-old hip-hop star suffers from insomnia, so when he travels, he comes packed with plenty of the silver stuff which he allegedly uses to cover up any sunlight from the windows in his bedroom.

"The noise and darkness gets Eminem the best night's sleep," a source told the newspaper. "He uses the technique as he's always jumping time-zones."

Eminem has previously spoken about his insomnia struggles, in particular straight after Michael Jackson’s death – another celebrity who suffered from sleep problems.

“When you read things about Michael Jackson it’s hard to decipher what is true, but there’s the story of how he woke up at whatever time and he needed something to go back to sleep because he had this or that and it didn’t work,” Eminem said, according to The Rehab Journal.

That’s exactly what used to happen to me. I would take a couple of pills and I would be up an hour later and I’d want more. Then I’d take more and that would be enough to maybe get me back to sleep for two more hours. Then I’d be wide awake again. So I definitely can relate.”

Perhaps he should try out these…

And it looks like Eminem isn’t the only singer to suffer from problems sleeping. Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose allegedly asked for his penthouse to be blacked out so he could get a decent night’s rest.

"When he was escorted upstairs, he asked that the floor-to-ceiling windows in his penthouse be completely blacked out, so he could sleep better," a source said, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Take a look at other celebrities who’ve battled insomnia…

Pregnant Man 'Films Ex-Wife's Violent Rampage... And Gives New Girlfriend Diamond Ring' (PICTURES, VIDEO)

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As the divorce between “pregnant man” Thomas Beattie and his estranged wife Nancy Roberts heats up, footage has emerged apparently showing a bust up between the pair.

The video, exclusively featured on TMZ, features Nancy lying motionless on the ground while one of the couple’s three children crawls over her. According to the website Nancy is “passed out”.

Nancy suddenly bolts up and drags their daughter into another room as the child wails. She then seizes a laptop and begins threatening to break it.

Thomas can be heard pleading: “Stop it, stop it Nancy” as she dumps the machine into a playpen, before rushing outside with it, bashing it against a rock and eventually hurling it into the pool.

Thomas begins to weep, begging her “don’t do it, don’t do it”, while one of their children looks on and repeats the plea.

The footage was revealed after Thomas reportedly bought his new girlfriend a diamond ring.

Radar Online claims Amber Nicholas is smitten with Thomas and “is not afraid to brag about everything – including their sex life.”

A source said: “Amber's wearing a big diamond ring that Thomas bought her on her right hand, but plans to move it over to her left hand as soon as his divorce goes through."

Scroll down for pictures of Thomas and Nancy in happier times

SEE ALSO:

Amber, 42, is the director at Tutor Time daycare centre, which Thomas and Nancy’s children used to attend.

Last month Thomas made claims he had been physically attacked by Nancy several times, including an episode which saw him struck in the crotch.

According to divorce papers seen by TMZ, in February 2012, Thomas claims he tried to stop his “visibly intoxicated” wife from driving their children to nursery.

The 38-year-old said he dialled 911 and claimed of Nancy: “She hit me in the crotch”.

The papers also claim Thomas was woken by Nancy at 2am in January 2012 by a punch in the face. He said: “This night, like every night [Nancy] hovers over me, threatening me with physical and emotional abuse.”

Nancy has denied the allegations and has filed her own documents claiming Thomas abused her.

A judge had issued a restraining order banning Nancy from contact with Thomas or their children, aside from three supervised visits a week.

The couple are due back in court next week to continue discussing custody and child support.

News of the split emerged with Thomas making an announcement during filming for The Doctors.

The 38-year-old admitted: "Like all marriages, we have our ups and downs, and we’re going through a rough patch right now. At the moment, we’re separated."

Thomas, who recently underwent his final round of gender-reassignment surgery, said his wife had not yet seen his new genitals, People Magazine reports.

He revealed: "Nancy hasn't seen the new me yet."

Thomas, bearded and breastless, happily showed off his bulging belly to the press during his three pregnancies.

The former model, who spent the first two decades of his life as Tracy Lagondin, had retained his female reproductive organs despite being legally declared a man in 2002.

During an earlier appearance on The Doctors, Thomas described the strain he suffered while trying to conceive and discussed his plans to have a hysterectomy.

When he was first pregnant, Thomas told the media: "Despite the fact that my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable and confident being the man that I am."

Slow Down! Does Eating Too Fast Trigger Diabetes?

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People who wolf down their food are two times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who chew their food slowly, a recent study has revealed.

Researchers from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences discovered that eating quickly leads to overeating which then develops into obesity, therefore making it an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

To test this theory, the study enlisted the help of 234 volunteers who had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and a further 468 healthy people without the condition.

Participants were given an in-depth questionnaire to complete, detailing their dietary habits, body measurements and eating speed (rated as slow, fast or average).

During the study, presented at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology, researchers took other diabetes risk factors into account (like family history, smoking, waist circumference and body mass index) but discovered a two-fold increase in diabetes risk in those with faster eating habits.

“The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and becoming a world pandemic. It appears to involve interaction between susceptible genetic backgrounds and environmental factors.

“It’s important to identify modifiable risk factors that may help people reduce their chances of developing the disease,” researcher Dr Lina Radzeviciene said in a statement.

SEE ALSO

This isn’t the first time research has suggested a link between eating speed and diet-related illnesses. A previous report by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association discovered that speedy eaters are more likely to be obese than slow eaters.

Role Of Meditation In Brain Development Gains Scientific Support

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Published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal in February, the study is the latest effort from the U.C.L.A. lab to determine the extent to which meditation may affect neuroplasticity -- the ability of the brain to make physiological changes.

What Do You Thank Your Mom For? (VIDEO)

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It's here -- the one day of the year to reward mom for every sleepless night she spent with you, any teenage shenanigans you may have subjected her to and a lifetime of her unconditional love. If you haven't found the perfect gift yet, or even written a creative card, start here to show mom how grateful you are for everything she does.

This Mother's Day spend a minute telling the world what's so incredible about your mom.

Record a short message or leave a comment thanking her for the best advice she gave you, a moment you'll never forget, how she helps with your own kids now and any other little thing you want her to know. Couple your message with a nice relaxing day off and mom we think mom will be thrilled. (Of course, this doesn't mean you're off the hook for those flowers.)

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