Lifestyle

Chances are if you’ve watched the news at any point in the past few years, you’ve seen something about medical marijuana. Previously a taboo subject because of its hallucinogenic properties, marijuana is now being altered for medical use. Another taboo treatment being studied at the moment is Methotrexate (MTX), which has been used as a cancer treatment in the past. However, there recently has been success with using it for rheumatoid arthritis. In the United States alone, 51.2 million people have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, or some form of arthritis by their doctors. Many of those people could be saved from a lot of pain by using new methods of treatment such as MTX and medical marijuana. That is precisely what two studies are attempting to illust...

A recently divorced German man has chosen the scorched earth approach after a recent divorce ruling. Many men and women have been ordered by a judge to divide up their assets 50/50, but this disgruntled former husband decided to take that rule a little too literally. A viral video shows an anonymous German man using power tools to cut all of his possessions right down the middle. The video has already racked up two million views and counting in just three days. Hoping to profit off his post-divorce stunt, the bitter ex even posted the items on eBay under the name "Der Juli." Pictures and videos show the man destroying furniture, a flat-screen television, an iPhone, a teddy bear, and even a car. According to a translation, the caption on the YouTube video reads, "Thank you for 12 'beauti...

Rates of sleeping disorders in Australia are at an all-time high, and sleep deprivation is becoming an increasingly alarming issue in our developed world. In a society where being busy or having no time to sleep is the mark of a successful or influential person, it is hard to get people to understand just how important sleep is for their bodies. In 2012 to 2013, some 75,000 people left a hospital with the diagnosis of a sleep disorder, and that’s really just the base of the issues associated with it. Not sleeping is almost as bad for you as smoking cigarettes, and it leads to Alzheimer’s, obesity, poor concentration at work or school, and a host of other issues It also costs $36.4 billion each year in Australia alone. People believe that if they “catch up” on sleep on the weekends, it do...

Many people sit down each year and map out a fitness plan, before falling off the wagon a month or so later and giving up. In the case of one Maryland woman, an attempt to look fit actually cost her her life. Kelly Mayhew passed away after going into cardiac arrest. News reports say this came after she had received silicone injections to her butt in the basement of a home in Rockaway. After the injections, she started struggling to breathe and gurgling. Her mother asked the so-called "doctor" who performed the procedure to call the police, but the phony surgeon instead made a run for it, speeding off in a gray SUV. Mayhew's mother called the police and performed CPR, but Kelly later died at an area hospital. These injections are more common than one would think. In fact, in 2013 alone, s...

If you’re driving through San Francisco any time soon, you’ll likely see at least one billboard reading “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.” Additionally, thanks to the newest legislation approved by city supervisors, soft drink advertisements are now required to warn consumers that too much soda pop could be hazardous to their health, much like the warnings on cigarette boxes. The bill was controversial from the start, according to Bloomberg and Entrepreneur, even though it likely couldn’t have passed in any state other than health-conscious California. The regulations exempt certain sugar-laden drinks, like most coffee beverages, but a new concern has popped up: Starbucks’s infamous Frappucinos, which are realistically mor...

Victoria Siegel, the 18-year-old featured in 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles, was found dead of a drug overdose June 6. Now, a representative for the family has released a statement saying that she had been battling a prescription drug addiction prior to her death. “Victoria had a history of seizures and was prescribed medication for this condition,” family spokesman Michael Marder’s said in a statement given to Us Weekly June 8. “Unfortunately she became dependent and struggled with this condition. She voluntarily underwent rehabilitation and was working hard to address this problem.” Her parents, David and Jackie Siegel, have been attempting for several years to build a 90,000-foot home in Florida, the subject of the documentary by Lauren Greenfield. The house is still under c...

Everyone wants brighter, whiter teeth. Over the last five years, the number of teeth whitening procedures being performed has risen an astronomical 300% -- and that's not even including at-home treatments and kits. As teeth whitening has become more popular and accessible, the use of at-home whitening kits -- which are both more convenient and more affordable than getting the same procedure from a dentist -- has become one of the go-to ways to do so. But are at-home whitening kits as safe as you think they are? Over growing concerns over these kits, the British Dental Association recently issued a warning to people, especially teenagers, to steer clear of at-home whitening kits. The BDA claims that some kits -- particularly those purchased online -- may contain harmful ingredients and ...

A new study has provided a physiological measurement of how interacting with pets can decrease anxiety in children with autism. “Previous studies suggest that in the presence of companion animals, children with autism spectrum disorders function better socially,” James Griffin, of the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which helped fund the new research, told the website Disability Scoop. “This study provides physiological evidence that the proximity of animals eases the stress that children with autism may experience in social situations.” For the study, researchers worked with 114 children between the ages of five and 12, a third of whom were on the autism spectrum. All the children were outfitted with wrist ...

A new meta-analysis suggests a positive link between depression and low back pain, which could lead to more effective treatments for pain. According to the analysis, patients who suffer from depression have an increased risk of developing new episodes of low back pain; furthermore, patients with more severe depression have a correspondingly greater risk. The meta analysis included data from 11 different studies; the combined data showed that those with symptoms of depression had a 60% higher chance of also experiencing new back pain, compared to patients who do not suffer from depressive symptoms. Some of the studies even revealed that patients with low levels of depression still had an increased risk of pain episodes, almost 50% higher. And among the studies that did include the severit...

Between medical conditions, sedentary jobs, and habits that more often include a Netflix marathon than a trip to the gym, back pain is one of the most commonly reported health problems in the United States. In fact, over 26 million Americans aged 20 to 64 say they live with back pain on a frequent basis. Now, doctors and researchers are finding new ways to treat back pain -- including a little known device and spider venom. A surgeon at the Toronto Western Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Shamji, says that an underused device could be the key to preventing and treating chronic back pain. The device, a neurostimulator, blocks pain signals as they're traveling to receptors in the brain. "We have other clinicians who are not necessarily aware that the technology could provide benefit for their patien...