Health

Despite claims by the dairy industry that dairy products may help people to lose weight, a new study based out of the U.S. indicates that neither dairy nor calcium intake has an effect on weight loss.

Two researchers - Amy Joy Lanou of the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Dr. Neal Barnard with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington evaluated 49 clinical trials from 1966 to 2007. All of these trials assessed the effects of milk, calcium intake, or dairy products on both body weight and body mass index, with or without dieting.

Of the 49 clinical trials, 41 showed no effect. One showed a lower rate of weight gain and five showed weight loss. The review of these studies, which was published in the journal "Nutrition Reviews" indicated that neither dairy or calcium supplements help in weight loss efforts.

In a statement, the authors said, "Our findings demonstrate that increasing dairy product intake does not consistently result in weight or fat loss and may actually have the opposite effect."

Peanut allergies seem to be on the rise, and often appear within the first three years of life. Those individuals who are allergic to peanuts suffer from a range of reactions including minor irritation to a more life-threatening response called anaphylaxis. But now, an expert has revealed that a form of immunotherapy which could prevent people from being allergic to peanuts is likely to exist within five years.

Dr. Wesley Burks, a food allergy expert at the Duke University Medical Center, recently wrote in the "Lancet" medical journal that a solution may be forthcoming.

"I think there's some type of immunotherapy that will be available in five years. And the reason I say that is that there are multiple types of studies that are ongoing now," wrote Burks.

According to Burks, the therapy would be able to change a person's immune response to peanuts from an allergic to a non-allergic state. This could be accomplished in a variety of ways, including using engineered peanut proteins as immunotherapy or even Chinese herbal medicine.

Medical experts now claim that taking vitamin D supplements during early childhood may dramatically cut the odds of developing Type 1 diabetes later in life. Researches found that children given additional vitamin D were up to 80% less likely to develop Type 1 diabetes than those not given the supplement.

They also found that the higher and more regular the dose, the lower the likelihood of developing the condition. These findings came from the analysis of five studies in various countries.

One of the studies that was looked at was a Finnish sudy that followed more than 12,000 children born in 1966 in Finland. Their study showed that those who took any amount of vitamin D had a lower rate of diabetes than those who did, and those who took recommended amounts of vitamin D were at an 80% reduced risk of developing it.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the immune system destroys its own cells. It develops when insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas are destroyed.

Who's the daddy? The answer to that question can now be obtained by a quick trip down to your local Rite Aid drugstore, who have just begun stocking the $150 DNA paternity tests.

To find out whether the kid you've been raising all these years is really yours, all you need is a cheek swab from the mother, the child, and the man. Send off the swabs, and 3 to 5 days later you'll have your answer.

It is important to know that the results of the drugstore DNA paternity test is not admissible in court, so if you want to the real daddy to pay up, you'll need to go the route of a traditional, more expensive DNA test done at a medical facility.

The DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit recently went on sale at 4,363 Rite Aid drugstores throughout the U.S. According to the test's manufacturer, Identigene, the tests have been selling on a trial basis since November in California, Washington and Oregon, where they're already a hit.

Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy are expecting their first child in July, but its not the wife that's pregnant. Thomas is the one with child.

Thomas, however, is not a true man, and lacks male reproductive parts. He was born a woman and had a sex change operation that involved chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy. However, no change was made to reproductive organs.

In order to get pregnant, Thomas stopped taking testosterone injections. He still has facial hair and looks like a man, but also has a large protruding belly. Thomas was artificially inseminated with a donor's sperm after the couple learned that Nancy could not have a baby due to severe endometriosis.

Beatie has admitted that his situation "sparks legal, political and social unknowns."

The only vaccination required by Belgian law is that for polio, a debilitating disease that doctors around the world are struggling to be rid of. While doctors in other countries try to persuade parents to get their children the important vaccine, Belgium takes it one step further by enforcing prison sentences for those who do not comply.

Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently given five month prison sentences for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each of the parents were also fined 4,100 euros, or about $8,000 USD.

The parents will still have the opportunity to avoid the prison term, as their sentences were delayed to give them one last opportunity to give their children the vaccination. However, if this next deadline passes, the parents will be serving their time in prison.

Due to privacy laws, Belgian officials could not talk about the specifics of the case, including why the parents refused to vaccinate their children, or how much time left they had to vaccinate them.

Exceptions to the polio vaccine law in Belgium are only granted if parents are able to prove that their children may have a adverse physical reaction to the vaccine.

The state of Oregon will soon be conducting a very unique kind lottery: a health insurance lottery. Beginning this week, the state will draw names for the opportunity to enroll in a health care program designed for those who aren't poor enough for Medicaid, but are still too short on cash to buy their own health insurance.

Since registration opened for the lottery in January, more than 80,000 people have signed up. Of those, just a few thousand will be chosen to participate in the program.

According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, an estimated 600,000 people in the state are uninsured. Those selected in the lottery will be eligible for a standard benefit program. The program at its peak in 1995 covered 132,000 Oregonians. In 2004, state budget cuts forced the state to close off the program to newcomers. Fortunately, the program now has several thousand openings, and to fairly decide who of the many who need it will actually be accepted, the state is holding the lottery.

Winners in the health insurance lottery will be chosen over a series of drawings to take place over the next few months. The program covers basic health services, medications, and limited dental, vision, and hospital services at little to no cost.

Las Vegas police revealed today that a man is in critical condition after having stayed in a motel room where vials of ricin, a deadly poison, were later found. The victim, who has yet to be named by police, called for an ambulance two weeks ago when he was staying in the room.

The man complained of breathing difficulties. Another man who identified himself as a relative stopped by the room to retrieve the victim's belongings. The room had been unoccupied since the victim was taken in to hospital care, but when the relative stopped by to pick up his things, he discovered vials of powder in a plastic bag.

It was confirmed on Friday by local health officials that the powder found is ricin. Six other people, including 3 police officers and 3 hotel staff, have been hospitalized in relation to the incident, but only as a precautionary measure. The man who stayed in the room is currently in critical condition.

An FBI spokesman, Richard Kolko, told press today that the FBI is assisting local police in the investigation, and that "this event does not appear to be terrorism related."

The ricin, along with some castor beans from which the substance is made, were found at the Extended Stay America Motel, which is not too far from the famous Las Vegas Strip.