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Is there any reason to drink coconut water?

20 Mar 2017

Yes. If you like the taste and don’t mind unloading your wallet, drink it by all means. But if you are thinking of making coconut water a part of your life for some perceived health benefit or as...

Dr. Oz's Sweet Tooth

20 Mar 2017

Dr. Oz is talking and nutritionists are shuddering. It’s almost a daily occurrence. This time he is all excited about a sugar substitute that according to him does not have a “chemical taste,”...

The Perils of Inflammation

20 Mar 2017

A couple of years ago the Montreal Gazette had a stunning headline: “Floss or Die!” it screamed on the front page. Another sensationalized piece of journalism, I thought. Not flossing may make you...

Stressful Situations Making you Sick?

20 Mar 2017

If positive thoughts can lead to pleasure sensations and feelings of well being, is it possible that negative thoughts that characterize stressful situations can make you sick? That’s just what the...

Cat Blood, Dog Liver and a Dose of Luck: The Story of Heparin

20 Mar 2017

Jay McLean walked into Dr. William Howell’s laboratory at Johns Hopkins University and placed a beaker of cat blood on his desk. “Can you please tell me when the blood clots” he asked? It never did...

Why does a barber’s pole have a red stripe?

20 Mar 2017

It represents the colour of blood. During the Middle Ages monks were required to shave the crown of their head, a function commonly performed by itinerant barbers. Also, under ecclesiastic law,...

Cinnamon and Health

20 Mar 2017

Just mention cinnamon, and I can smell and almost taste my mother’s apple strudel. She made it from scratch, gently pulling the pastry on a table until the dough was paper thin. The filling was...

Do Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections work for wound healing and baldness?

20 Mar 2017

Blood is composed of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), plasma (which is a clear fluid carrying the cells,) and platelets. Platelets are a natural source of different growth factors...

Leeches

20 Mar 2017

Have you ever wondered why hippopotami spin their tales when they defecate? African Bushmen say that they are showing God that they have eaten only grass and not fish as fulfillment of the...

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