Health-and-Fitness online information.

Tight muscles can wreck a good workout. And they make everyday tasks like climbing stairs, lifting children or bending to tie your shoes pure agony. But the cramps, strains and pains that plague exercisers and couch potatoes alike can be prevented if you learn the healing power of a stretch.

Stretching increases flexibility, making it easier to work and play. Stretching also boosts blood circulation, which can shorten your healing time if you've had any muscle injuries. Regular stretching also improves posture, coordination and balance, and it can reduce your risk of injury when you exercise. And when you're under stress, stretching does wonders for relaxing tight, tense muscles.

What to stretch? Fitness experts say if you want to improve flexibility, focus on stretching your body's major muscle groups, namely calves, thighs, hip, lower back, neck and shoulders. Additionally, stretch muscles and joints that you use all the time, and any really tight muscles and problem areas. To stretch out those muscles, use your hands and arms, sit on the floor or stand, get on a machine at the gym or just ask another person to gently pull those tight spots.

And the best part of all, you can stretch anywhere, anytime--relaxing on the sofa at home, sitting behind the computer at work or standing at the bus stop.

The following tips will make your stretching session a success:

* Warm up before you stretch. You're probably thinking "Aren't you supposed to stretch to warm up?' Yes, stretching is part of the warm-up process, but stretching muscles when they're cold increases your risk of strains and pulls. Fitness experts advise that you start with at least 5 minutes of low-intensity activity, like walking or light jogging while gently pumping your arms, to prime your muscles for stretching.

* Go slow. Bouncing, swinging and twisting your body while stretching can cause small tears in the muscle. Scar tissue forms as these tears heal, making the muscle tight and prone to pain. Avoid this by focusing on control, not speed, while stretching. Lean slowly into the stretch in one smooth motion, hold it, then slowly release.

* Hold it, hold it, hold it. A common mistake people make when stretching is not holding the stretch long enough. Fitness experts say `hold your stretches for 30 seconds and even up to a minute for very tight muscles. However, stretch only to the point of tension, not pain. If your muscle starts aching or shaking, back off.

Do I now have another reason to be afraid to fly?'

BLOOD CLOTS AND AIRLINE PASSENGERS

Q I have been taking cross-country airline flights for business and pleasure for several years and never experienced any physical difficulty because of it. Now I hear that people who take long flights could become victims of dangerous blood clots that form in their legs as a result of sitting in one place too long. What is this all about? And do I now have another reason to be afraid to fly? T.P., Atlanta

A The condition you are talking about is often referred to as "economy-class syndrome," and it can cause some serious problems, doctors say. "Economy-class syndrome" refers to the relatively cramped seating space that airline passengers in the main cabin have to deal with. Because the tight quarters generally restrict one's maneuverability, it can cause circulatory problems.

While the legs are pressed against the edge of the seat during long flights, the pressure behind the knee can affect circulation and possibly promote clotting. The danger is that clots can form a blockage in a blood vessel and if the clot breaks free, it can travel to the lungs and heart, blocking an artery. Doctors says such a condition can be fatal.

During long flights, medical experts suggest that airline passengers try to prevent clotting by flexing the knee periodically or frequently wiggling the feet and toes to promote continuous proper circulation. While the seat-belt light is turned off, it's also a good idea to get out of your seat and walk around to ensure proper blood flow.

GENERIC DRUGS AND BRAND-NAME DRUGS

Q I take quite a bit of medication for a variety of medical problems, and the drugs I have to take are very expensive. I've never thought about asking my doctor to prescribe generic drugs because I didn't know if they would be as effective. What is the difference between generic and brandname drugs? M.N., Minneapolis

A Other than name and price, there's not much difference between a generic and brand-name drug. A generic drug is known by its chemical name and a brand name is what the manufacturer calls the drug.

Maintaining a strong, healthy, pain-free back is a top priority for sisters on the go. But as important as a sound back may be to us, summer is coming and we also want to look good in tank tops, bathing suits and strapless dresses. These six exercises will not only help ease back problems but also build strength and add definition you'll want to show off this season, says Tara J. Simpson, a personal trainer in Tallahassee, Florida. For best results she suggests doing three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of the exercises and combining them with regular cardio workouts.

SUPERWOMAN ON STABILITY BALL

Works the mid and lower back

Lie facedown on a stability ball, positioning it in the middle of your stomach, with your feet on the floor. Extend arms straight out in front of you from the shoulders. Contract abs to support the back, and look down at the floor to keep your neck aligned with your spine. Exhale as you lift your arms two to six inches higher than your heed. Hold for five seconds. Inhale as you lower your arms to the starting position. Note: If you're a beginner or have a previous back injury, do this move on the floor without the ball, raising one arm and its opposite leg for five seconds.

BENT-LEGGED DEAD LIFT

Works the mid back

Stand with feet slightly wider than hip width apart while holding a dumbbell weighing between two and ten pounds in each hand, palms facing back and knees slightly bent. Inhale and bend forward from hips, keeping your eyes focused forward and back straight. Make sure you don't round or curve your back. Reach for your toes with the weights in each hand, keeping arms straight. Contract abs to keep the back straight and support the spine. Exhale as you return to a standing position.

BENT-OVER ONE-ARM ROW

Works upper back

Place left knee and left hand on a flat bench, coffee table or couch. Keep knee aligned with hip and hand aligned with shoulders. Hold one dumbbell, 5 to 20 pounds, in your right hand, palms facing your side and your back parallel to the floor; contract your abs. Making sure not to hunch your shoulders, exhale slowly as you bring the weight up toward your waist, bending the elbow and keeping it close to your body. Inhale as you straighten the arm.

IT'S A WINTER MORNING AND YOU'RE RUNNING LATE. You flop out of bed and lift a weary hand to peek through the blinds. The sight of overcast skies or snow and ice can make you want to slink back under the covers. But before you scold yourself for being lazy or undisciplined, you should know you're not alone.

Have you ever wondered why it's so much harder to get up during the winter? Or why you suddenly feel down as nights grow long? Or why you feel so cranky on cold, damp days?

Psychologists have a name for our collective winter funk. They call it seasonal affective disorder or SAD, a depression that strikes about 10 million Americans--mostly women--according to statistics from Meharry Medical College.

"As winter approaches, there's less sunlight," says Dr. Zia Wahid, the director of Mehaury's residency training in psychiatry and assistant psychiatry professor. "That affects the brain's neurotransmitters that monitor our mood."

Wahid says SAD is a cyclical feeling of melancholy that many people who live in northern parts of the U.S. or Canada experience. It begins in mid to late autumn, but people usually shake off the depression as sunshine returns in March or April.

But before you move to sun-drenched states like Florida or Arizona, you should know there's another type of winter sadness that can affect everyone--even those living in warmer climes. Some call it the holiday blues.

"Winter is the time of getting together for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holidays," Wahid says. "Many people who have lost significant others, parents or close friends begin to miss them more. For many people it brings back sad memories."

Still others face the mental stress of meeting holiday expectations of gift-giving and creating lavish meals. When they can't meet these demand Wahid says, they get depressed.

But the good news is there's help. If you're tired of feeling blue or gropping your way to the shower, you might want to consider some of the following tips. Experts say incorporating these fitness and diet guidelines into your life can help you boost your energy and beat the winter blahs. They're also good practices to keep in mind year-round.

The key to feeling invigorated, experts say, is to keep your body and mind alert. One of the best ways to do that is through regular exercise.

CAN'T REMEMBER where you left the remote? Clueless about where the car keys are? Have a cup of joe. A small study at the University of Arizona suggests that coffee helps jog your memory, especially around 3 or 4 p.m., when memory naturally starts to slide--and especially in older adults.

Using a verbal learning test, researchers quizzed 40 people at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The volunteers, all over age 65, were given a cup of coffee before each test--but only half were given the real thing; the rest got decaf. The decaf group "showed a significant decline in memory performance from morning to afternoon," according to the researchers. But the caffeine drinkers had little to no loss in their daily short-term memory.

Caffeine's memory-boosting benefits first came to light about four years ago, when British scientists found that morning coffee drinkers retain new information better than coffee abstainers. This latest study suggests that caffeine also fights memory fade-outs over the course of the day. Hold that thought.

For many people, the enticing smell of a new car is as irresistible as the scent of freshly baked bread. But ironically, a study has found that a new vehicle's seductive aroma is loaded with toxins.

Australian researchers report that many common materials used inside new cars--vinyl, plastics, carpeting, glue--combine to release noxious fumes that can irritate the eyes and nose, and cause headaches and nausea. But the riskiest offenders appear to be phthalates (THAL-ates), softeners used in manufacturing plastic. Phthalates can leach out over time and are linked to kidney and liver damage and other serious health problems.

The small but worrisome two-year study, which was done by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, tested two locally manufactured cars and one import. The toxic emissions were higher in the Aussie-built cars because they went from factory to showroom faster than the import. But even in the import, volatile compounds stayed high for four months. The levels were considered unsafe by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council.

What's a new-car owner to do? Try to buy in warm weather and keep the windows open as much as possible for a few months. If you suffer from chemical sensitivities, try a portable air filter.

Core strength, core stability, lean and mean, lengthened not bulked: these are buzz words now in dance conditioning. What do they mean? How do they apply to you? It's all a matter of getting to know your inner unit.

To begin with, we know that all movement emanates from the torso. We've heard that in beaucoup dance classes, right? Every time we imagine a movement prior to executing it, our brain has already done enormous calculations to stabilize some body areas in order to move others. That's why having a thought rehearsal can be quite effective.

The center of gravity of a dancer's body lies in the bowl of the pelvis, generally accepted to be around the second sacral fused vertebra. You can find it by placing both your hands on your hipbones and sliding your thumbs down floe back of your pelvis, heading toward making a letter V. Think internally--your center's not on your back but actually a couple of inches inside the bowl of your pelvis. This inner unit is "computer central." If you can manage it well, you have better control of your torso, spine, and head, and you're in business.

So what exactly is the inner unit? It's a term used by Canadian researcher Diane Lee, PT, in her informative book The Pelvic Girdle (1999; Churchill Livingstone). She has done groundbreaking work with Scandinavian orthopedic researcher Dr. Andry Vleeming to better understand how the pelvis functions. What she's discovered is that the inner unit has four elements. There's the deep abdominal layer (transversus abdominus); the muscular sling of the pelvic floor at the base of the pelvis; the muscular respiratory diaphragm, which cuts the torso top from bottom; and the small but prolific multifidi postural muscles of the lower back.

So how do you work it? Get familiar with all parts individually, and then integrate them. First acknowledge that breath uses the diaphragm. In Pilates, we say to think of the breath coming from the expansion of the sides and the back of the ribs. Dancers need the stability of the lower back while they're moving. Exercises like those taught in Pilates knit the ribs to the pelvis in front, and then percussively use the breath, inhaling through tire nose and out through the mouth, to train the diaphragm to work like a piston inside the muscular cylinder of the torso.

What you can--and can't--expect to gain from short bouts of exercise.

Forget the notion that exercise sessions must last 20 to 60 minutes to get you fit.

"This is completely unrealistic for most people," says Glenn A. Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia who specializes in jump-starting sedentary adults.

Only about 15 percent of Americans comply with the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) recommendations for adult fitness, which prescribe 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five days a week, plus strengthening and flexibility exercises two to three days a week.

"Most people complain that they `don't have time'" for this much exercise, notes Gaesser, who co-chaired the committee that wrote these guidelines in 1998. For the first time, the ACSM's experts offered busy people a way to boost fitness without setting aside huge chunks of time.

"In parentheses, almost as an afterthought," Gaesser notes, "we stated that a daily workout of at least half an hour could be broken up into ten-minute segments if necessary throughout the day."

Nearly anyone could fit such short bouts of activity into their day, decided Gaesser, who created a program where people never had to exercise for more than ten minutes at a time. Participants performed 15 ten-minute "sparks" of exercise each week. These consisted of:

* Seven to ten "aerobic sparks," such as dancing to music, an early-morning "pick up the paper" walk, or a midday office stair climb.

* Two to four "strength-training sparks," such as calisthenics or resistance exercises using weights.

* Two to four "flexibility sparks," such as stretching at work or at home.

He combined these ten-minute exercise "sparks" with a sensible eating plan and tested the program on 40 sedentary people. On average, in three weeks, participants lost three pounds, boosted their aerobic capacity by 10 to 15 percent, showed strength and muscular endurance increases ranging from 40 to 100 percent, improved flexibility scores, and significantly improved their cholesterol profiles--with a reduction of as much as 34 points among those in the high-risk range.

"With relatively small amounts of exercise that people could easily fit into their daily lives, they were able to improve their health, fitness, and well-being," says Gaesser, who with coauthor Karla Dougherty has written a book called The Spark, which was just published in January by Simon and Schuster.

Anticipating enormous growth to fitness clubs and their suppliers in Latin America, The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) teamed up with Fitness Brasil for a major first-of-its-kind conference and trade show held in Brazil. Both organizations thought it was time for the approximate 3,500 health and fitness clubs, as well as the additional 15,000 public social and/or recreational clubs, to reach the next level of business sophistication.

IHRSA decided to hold the event in Brazil because of the size and long-term potential of the country's market. The choice to partner with Fitness Brasil was based on its strength and reputation in fitness-industry event planning.

"The Brazilian fitness market is poised for very strong growth in the next few years," says John W. Kersh, director of international development for IHRSA. "Indications are that there will soon be an increase in private investment in the club industry, both from sources inside and outside Brazil. Our goal at IHRSA is for this event to become the premier meeting point in Latin America for club owners, investors and suppliers."

The next conference is scheduled for September 11-13, 2001, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

One of your major goals this year was to start taking better care of yourself. Your eating habits are healthier and you've been working out at the gym on a regular basis.

Slowly but surely you're noticing a difference in your new body. Excited by your appearance, you decide to step on the scale to find out your current weight status.

After looking at the numbers (for a second time) you notice that something's not quite right. According to the scale you haven't lost but gained a couple of pounds instead!

Before you get discouraged or throw that scale out the window, remember that there are other ways to gauge your fitness progress.

Exercising burns fat cells and builds muscle tissue at the same time. When a scale measures weight, it does not differentiate from fat, which is less dense than muscle. This simple fact makes the scale feel more like an enemy for a while because you seem to gain more weight before you lose.

For more rewarding results try using a measuring tape as an alternate to the scale. This simple device is excellent for measuring the areas of the body where fat is stored most--the bust, hips, waist, thigh and upper arm. Keep a journal to record each measurement for a better indication of how many inches of fat have melted away over time.

Seeing is believing, so don't be afraid to see yourself as you really are. Stand in front of a full-length mirror completely naked (that's right, naked) and really look at your body carefully.

Does your stomach stick out too far? Are there rolls of fat where your waistline used to be? Do your thighs jiggle when you wiggle? Make a mental note and concentrate on these target areas during your workout. With a little patience and some dedication, a slimmer and toner reflection could be yours.

Wish you could still fit into those jeans from a couple of years ago? Then make that your goal. Using one of your favorite pieces of clothing from your past "smaller" size or buying something new in your "desired" size is a great form of motivation to keep you burning those fat cells away. Besides, it's more gratifying than looking at the numbers on a scale.

Pay close attention to how you feel.

Are you now able to climb that once dreaded staircase without having to stop midway in order to catch your breath? Chances are that if you've taken off a few pounds and added muscle, your energy level has increased. Take this new pep in your step as a sure sign of success in your overall fitness.

ONE is the No. 1 single cause of death to Blacks in the United States. The other is No. 3. Together, the twin assassins of heart disease and stroke kill 9,000 Blacks every month--more deaths to African-Americans than all other diseases combined.

But as devastating as cardiovascular disease is, research has shown that Blacks are actually more afraid of cancer and AIDS than heart disease. And most Black women believe that breast cancer (which kills 1 in 25 women) is their greatest health risk, although heart disease and stroke claim 1 in every 2 women.

In fact, the disparities in heart disease are widest for African-American women, who have a 69 percent higher death rate than White women. The reasons for the disparities include a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and obesity among Black women.

But there is good news. Doctors say the risk of having a heart attack--even in people who already have coronary heart disease or have had a previous heart attack--can be reduced by preventing or controlling certain risk factors.

One of the greatest risks is smoking. Cigarettes greatly increase the risk of fatal and nonfatal heart attacks in both men and women. Smoking also increases the risk of a second heart attack among survivors. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives have an even greater risk than smoking alone.

The good news is that quitting smoking greatly reduces the risk of heart attack. One year after quitting, the risk of having a heart attack drops to about one-half that of current smokers and gradually returns to normal in people without heart disease. Even among people with heart disease, the risk also drops sharply one year after quitting smoking and it continues to decline.

Another factor that increases the risk of heart attack is high blood pressure. Also called hypertension, high blood pressure makes the heart work harder than it should. Although it has no symptoms, hypertension is the most common form of cardiovascular disease. Two out of every three Blacks will develop hypertension by the time they are 60. Those who have high blood pressure have an 80 percent higher stroke mortality rate, a 50 percent higher heart disease mortality rate and a 320 percent greater rate of kidney disease than in the general population.

Walk by the sanctuary of New Life Ministries in New Orleans on a Tuesday evening, and you'll likely hear the uplifting sounds of contemporary gospel music. But if you took a peek inside the sanctuary, you'd be in for a surprise. The neat rows of chairs parishioners inhabit on Sundays are pushed off to the side so that Carla Allen, the first lady of the church, can lead as many as 100 parishioners and community members, including her husband, Pastor Glenn B. Allen, and their two children, ages 2 and 4, in low-impact "praise aerobics." "We're praising and worshipping God, but not in the traditional way," Carla Allen says.

The thrice-weekly wellness ministry includes the hour-long aerobics classes and health and nutrition seminars, taught by Carla and guest medical experts. For inspiration, she quotes dietary instruction found in Leviticus and other Scripture to show class participants what the Good Book says about caring for their physical selves. "The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit," Carla says. "But you have to do all you can to maintain it."

The number of faith based exercise and wellness programs is exploding. Wander through a Christian bookstore, and you'll probably find titles like Body by God and Moses Wasn't Fat. When Allen hosted a praise-aerobics workshop at a recent convention for churchwomen, more than 600 participants joined her in doing jumping jacks for Jesus.

WHAT IN THE LORD'S NAME IS GOING ON?

Health is widely recognized as a national concern," says La Vita Weaver, a personal trainer, ordained minister and author of Fit for God (Doubleday). "Now the church has begun to realize the many rewards of a healthy lifestyle. The healthier the congregation, the more productive we can be in ministry and fulfill our purpose in Christ."

Hallelujah! Perhaps the church can help save Black folks from the dangerous rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and other chronic conditions that claim too many of us.

IT is often said that "everything must change." And with the transition from great weather to foul weather, you may want to consider moving your workout indoors for safety--and comfort. That's probably a lot easier to do for those of you who have been working out year after year, making the summer, fall, winter transition seamlessly and without any bumps in the road.

But for beginners and those who need a bit more motivation, changing your workout with the change of season may be more difficult. Perhaps you don't want to go through the hassle of finding a winter workout, or maybe you haven't found anything that compares with a summer filled with running along the lake, mountain biking or rowing on the river. But it's important to remember, experts say, that sticking to your workout all year can lead to more improved health and fitness.

And, indoor-workout enthusiasts say, working up a sweat inside does have its advantages. What many people do during the crisp, cold days of winter is head to the local gym. If the weather turns nasty, the gym--with its climate-controlled environment and abundance of workout equipment--may be the best option for you. If you want a substitute for that morning neighborhood run, try the treadmill. If you want to continue your cycling routine, try the stationary bike. Hey, if you're paving for the equipment, you should use it.

Another way to stay motivated during the winter months is to join a class or try group exercises. High-energy, high-cardio workouts such as spinning, kick-boxing and aerobics are great ways to maintain your workout. Fitness classes are also a great way to meet other exercisers who may help to keep you motivated.

Deaneen Merritt, a KWANDO[R] instructor at Bally Sports Club in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, says her class is made for people who want to get the heart pumping indoors, and for those who want to get the same cardio workout inside that they would get outside. The class takes principles from kick-boxing, Tae Kwon Do, kicks and punches set to music to get your heart rate up.

"It's for someone who likes the indoor workout," says Merritt, who has been teaching the class for about a year. "It's a multilevel workout that you can do at your own pace. It's a class for everyone--really."

A For several years now, I have wanted to do something about the laugh and frown lines on my face, but I didn't want to go to the extent of routine plastic surgery. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about Botox and its effectiveness. What can you tell me about this latest miracle drug, and what should I expect if I decide to explore this possibility to help my appearance? E.L., Newark, N.J.

A Botox is getting all of the fanfare that comes with a new medical miracle, but it has been around and used by models, socialites and celebrities for years, particularly those in Hollywood. The muscle paralyzer that's gaining popularity as a wrinkle reducer--focusing on smoothing out laugh lines, crow's feet and frown lines between the eyebrows--has gone mainstream now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved that the drug can be marketed for cosmetic purposes.

A Botox injection, which varies in cost (ranging from about $250 to $500 per injection), is only a temporary fix for those unwanted facial creases.

One of the dangers is that too much Botox, or Botox injected into the wrong area, can cause such problems as drooping of the eyes, doctors say. Fortunately, this condition wears off, too.

If you're interested in getting Botox injections, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons strongly recommends that you check to make sure the plastic surgeon you choose is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the American Medical Specialties Board, which has tough educational and testing requirements.

How often do meat-eating teenagers turn to fast food? More often than their vegetarian peers, according to a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota.

The group studied more than 4,500 teen-aged boys and girls--with a median age of 15--from 31 middle and high schools in Minnesota and compared the students' diets to the Healthy People 2010 recommendations, dietary targets issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary intake was assessed by the "Youth and Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire," which asked whether foods such as eggs, dairy, chicken and fish were excluded. Nearly 6 percent of the students described themselves as vegetarian.

The results? The vegetarian teen-agers were much more likely than their carnivorous counterparts to meet the Healthy People 2010 objectives: getting less than 30 percent of one's daily calories from fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat, and eating more than two servings of fruit and more than three servings of vegetables daily.

"Vegetarian adolescents were more than twice as likely to eat less than 30 percent of their calories from fat and nearly three times more likely to eat less than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fat," the researchers wrote. "They were also 1.4 to two times more likely to eat two or more servings of fruit, three or more servings of vegetables and five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily."

The researchers also found that vegetarian teens got more iron, vitamin A, folate and fiber in their diets and drank more diet soda and caffeinated beverages. By contrast, they consumed less vitamin [B.sub.12]. Neither group of students consumed enough calcium daily.

The study was published in the May 2002 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

Ironically, the slowest man in the world works at the DMV

Gold-medal-winning Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey, dubbed "the fastest man in the world," was cited for speeding in his Mercedes.

Sure, but where is it when the trash needs taking out?

A doctor discovered that a device he created to relieve chronic back pain by stimulating the spinal cord could also give women orgasms.

Of course, that's until your wife catches you

A British study found that having sex three or four times a week cuts a man's risk of heart attack in half.

You have to finish yours if you want a pot brownie

Schools in the Limburg province of Belgium said they would start serving low-alcohol beer to children ages 3 to 15 as an alternative to sugary soda and fruit juice. The beer-appreciation group that instigated the plan noted that lager and ale are "good for their figure [sic] and very healthy as well."

Make them watch Providence, and guys will stop doing it altogether

The government of India announced an initiative to combat overpopulation by making TV sets cheaper, thus causing couples to have less sex.

Little-known fact: Tom Hanks is 97

A study found that Oscar-winning actors live 3.9 years longer than other people. Those who win more than one Oscar live six years longer.

The real reason Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone will do anything for an Oscar

Researchers studying 1,000-year-old remains learned that taller human beings have always lived longer than shorter ones. (See above item.)

Why you keep going back to that airport oyster bar

A British study found that chronic jet lag causes the brain to shrink, impairing memory.

Call us when they've perfected Viagra underwear

Japanese clothing manufacturers developed a shirt that releases vitamin C through the skin.

He celebrated with some Metamucil and a heart attack

A 101-year-old man sank a hole-in-one at a Florida country club, becoming the oldest golfer ever to do so.

Work out and make yourself a snack

The author of a new book on mosquitoes said that because the insects are attracted to the smells of lactic acid and carbon dioxide, you're more likely to get bitten when you're exercising. (They also go for guys with smelly feet.)

The only thing worse is not having any

Researchers in Ohio discovered that most paper currency is contaminated with bacteria that can cause such diseases as pneumonia and blood infections.

A study conducted at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine finds that broccoli contains a chemical called sulforaphane that kills helicobacter pylori, the pesky bacteria that causes stomach ulcers and potentially deadly stomach cancers. Sulforaphane can even wipe out strains of helicobacter that are resistant to common antibiotics. The findings, published in the May 28, 2002 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hold promise not only for everyday sufferers from annoying stomachaches but for millions in Third World countries. "In some parts of Central and South America, Africa and Asia," says Jed W. Fahey, a plant physiologist at Johns Hopkins, "as much as 80 percent to 90 percent of the population is infected with helicobacter, likely linked to poverty and conditions of poor sanitation." The research suggests that even "a relatively minor change in diet"--like eating more broccoli--can help people heal themselves.