As I’m sure many of us have heard Tiger Woods (Real name: Eldrick Tont Woods) has run into some problems in recent years. During the U.S. Open in June 2008, Woods seemed to be in pain, occasionally wincing after tee shots and favoring the left foot to keep weight off of it. Despite the pain, Woods managed to force the game into a sudden death playoff with Rocco Mediate which Woods won when Mediate missed his putt for par.

Now I’ll grant you that the phrase ‘sudden death’ can make anything more interesting, even golf, but what everyone considers the most impressive feat of that day is the fact that Tiger Woods managed to win while suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and a double-stress fracture of his left tibia. Or as fellow PGA golfer Kenny Perry so succinctly put it, “He beat everyone on one leg.”

For those of you familiar with sports, you may not be surprised to hear of an ACL injury in basketball, football, rugby or American football since most injuries of that kind are due to quick acceleration, deceleration or changing direction (especially in contact sports), but a torn ACL in golf? Unpossible. And in this case, you’d be right. Although chronic problems may have contributed to the injury, the actual ACL injury happened while running near his Florida home sometime after the British Open in 2007, according to Woods.

This injury left Woods conspicuously absent from the world of golf for the latter part of 2008 (it also left spectators conspicuously absent from golf), and although he seemed to be getting back into the swing of things since he started playing tournaments again in February 2009 before taking a break at the end of this year. But is this injury going to intensify his chronic knee problems and continue to handicap him, or are there ways to manage the condition? Furthermore, where the heck is an ACL and what does it do?

Glad you asked, because the ACL plays an important role in stabilizing your knee so the lower leg doesn’t wobble around under you like a pirate’s poorly fitted peg leg. In order to more fully understand the impact of Tiger’s injury on his golfing performance, we’ll take a look at some basic knee anatomy.

The knee is often considered the most complex joint in the body because it allows for flexion and extension (right leg in, right leg out) as well as slight rotation (shake it all about), and it has to do all this while supporting the full weight of the human body. The complexity of the joint is not manifested in the bones as the knee is comprised of only 3 bones; the femur (thigh bone), the tibia (big, weight bearing shin bone in the lower leg) and the patella (kneecap). The fibula (little bone in the lower leg that runs down the calf) connects to the tibia below the joint and is thus not included in the actual joint functioning.

The way these bones are shaped and fit together is integral to the joint’s function. As you’ll see from the diagrams, the bottom end of the femur and the top end of the tibia where they form the knee joint, are formed into two rounded knuckles which are referred to as the Medial and Lateral condyles. This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense until you do what the medical profession did and think of an imaginary vertical plane bisecting your body equally into left and right halves, otherwise known as the median plane or midsagittal plane. In reference to this imaginary plane, the condyle on the outside of either knee is referred to as the Lateral condyle because it is further away from the median plane and the condyle on the inside of the knee is called the Medial condyle for obvious reasons.

These condyles are incredibly important because they function as a point of attachment for the many tendons and ligaments necessary for the function of the knee, while the space in between the condyles of the femur creates a groove for the patella (kneecap) to slide through. The condyles of the femur and tibia are what support the weight of the entire human body, which in some cases, can be considerable.

In order to prevent these bones grinding together during joint movement, there are pads of fibrous cartilage-like tissue between each condyle of the femur and tibia called menisci (plural), if you couldn’t guess already, they’re referred to as the Lateral meniscus and the Medial meniscus. The menisci of the knee are attached to each other as well as to surrounding parts of the knee by fibers of varying strength. Despite being anchored firmly in the knee, the menisci are sufficiently free moving to allow them to slide over the top of the tibia when the knee is rotated, while also being able to move over the condyles of the femur during extension or flexion of the knee.

Other forms of protection against wear and tear in the knees come in the shape of bursae, which are saclike structures that are strategically placed to reduce friction between soft tissues as well as around prominent bone structures in joints. There are at least 13 bursa in and around the knee, I told you it was a complicated joint. While usually not a problem, any of these bursae may become irritated, and possibly fill with fluid, becoming a cystic mass putting pressure on the joint instead of reducing friction.

Actually linking the bones together are the ligaments of the knee. The ones least relevant to us today are the patellar ligament joining the patella to the tibia, and the quadriceps tendon which connects the quadriceps muscle to the patella. Today we’ll focus on the four major ligaments of the knee; the cruciate ligaments and the collateral ligaments which are there for the purpose of stabilizing the knee.

The medial collateral ligament (MCL) runs from the medial epicondyle of the femur (fancy terminology for the outside of the femur’s medial condyle) to the medial condyle of the tibia, it prevents the knee from bending inwards towards the median plane by forces applied to the lateral side of the knee, which are called valgus forces. The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) runs from the lateral epicondyle of the femur to the top of the fibula and protects against varus forces which push the knee away from the median plane. If you’re an avid sports watcher, you may have seen a football, rugby or American football video where someone gets tackled hard and comes out with a knee bending to the side. That would be strong evidence for a collateral ligament injury.

Now while the collateral ligaments protect the knee from bending the wrong direction, i.e. sideways, the cruciate ligaments are there to protect your tibia from sliding out from under your knee either forwards or backwards. The posterior cruciate ligament, or PCL, (posterior refers to it being located towards the back) is attached between the medial condyle of the femur to the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia (in between the condyles), it prevents the lower leg from moving too far backwards relative to the femur and can usually only be damaged by direct trauma. The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL (posterior/back, anterior/front) runs between the lateral condyle of the femur and the anterior intercondylar area. This ligament prevents the tibia from moving too far forward relative to the femur and is unfortunately easy to injure, usually while the knee is being twisted or bent.

Now we’ve waded through that terminally exciting parcel of medical academia, we can move onto more Tiger-centric knee information. Woods has had a string of surgeries on his left knee throughout the years, starting in 1994 with a surgery to remove a benign tumor. During this surgery doctors discovered substantial scar tissue related to childhood injuries from skateboarding, crashing dirt bikes, etc. Although it makes me wonder, if Woods had practiced skateboarding as much as golf when he was a kid, maybe he could’ve given Tony Hawk a run for his money? At least the games would’ve been better.

In 2002, Tiger went in for arthroscopic knee surgery, which is a minimally invasive surgery procedure where the arthroscope and other surgical tools are inserted through holes made in the skin in order to reduce the amount of anesthetics, cutting and recovery time of the surgery. The 2002 arthroscopic knee surgery was done to drain fluid around the ACL and remove a benign cyst. Apparently Woods enjoys surprising his doctors because this time during surgery, it was discovered Woods’ ACL was overly stretched.

Now, golfing can be fairly inimical to your knees, depending on your swing. For right handed players, on the back swing your left foot is planted as you rotate your hips to the right, this means that your tibia rotates externally relative to the femur and the rest of your body. On the swing and follow through golfers transfer the weight to the outside of their left foot, rotating the tibia inwards while the femur rotates externally bringing the hips and trunk around in rotation to the left. This can put a lot of stress on the knee joint if you don’t carry the kinetic force generated by your swing into the trunk and arms, leading to rotational overload of the knee.

Before his surgery in 2002, while many people stood in awe of Tiger’s swing, although he did have a nasty habit of forcing his knee into hyperextension for more distance. This puts an incredible amount of force on your knee, and when the knee is in hypertension it puts a much greater force on your ACL relative to the PCL, which could have contributed to the worrying stretching that doctors found in the ligament during the arthroscopic surgery in 2002.

For those who either really like golf or just enjoy stalking Tiger Woods, you’ll probably know that in 2003-4 after having recovered from his surgery, Woods decided to change his swing. After a period of time, he drifted away from his previous swing coach, Butch Harmon and ended up working with Hank Haney as his swing coach from early 2004.

Now, I understand nothing about keeping the golf club in the same ‘plane’ on the upswing and down, but both Haney and Woods consider this important as it will allow the body a tighter swing. What they’re really talking about is making sure when Tiger swings the club, he’s taking full advantage of the kinetic chain effect where energy is more efficiently transferred from the feet, through the knees and hips, up into the rotating shoulders, down the arms and through the club into the ball. The less energy lost in transfer through the chain means less stress put on the joints, so the smoother the swing, the less wear and tear on Tiger’s knee.

While Tiger’s game started to improve in 2008, meaning the new swing was working for him, something had gone wrong as he was once again limping on the green during the U.S. Open. A few days after the tournament, Tiger announced he would be undergoing surgery once more. This time it would be for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a double stress fracture in his left tibia.

When Tiger found that his ACL had been stretched after his previous surgery in 2002, he may have started training his legs hard to compensate, as having strong quadriceps and hamstrings lends extra support to the knee. However, repeated overworking after the surgery may have contributed to or even caused the stress fractures in his shin. As for the ACL injury he picked up while running, it is entirely possible that with his history of knee problems and an already stretched ligament, he may have just put his foot down wrong, forcing his knee into hyperextension which caused the tear in his ACL.

Now in 2009, Tiger seems to have rehabbed well after the 2008 surgery on his knee as he has been doing fairly well this year, winning a number of tournaments. However, assuming Woods intends to keep playing the game into the SPGA, or at least keep walking without pain for the rest of his life, he’ll need to look after his knee. In order to do this, he’ll need to condition his legs so that the leg muscles help support the knee, he’ll also have to avoid underestimating the power of a proper warm up and stretching regimen. Then again, he plays sports for large sums of money, so we’re probably not springing any surprises on him.

While some poor souls in the U.S. may be wondering whether acne or bunions could lead to them being denied insurance, most of the rest of the developed world is concerned with reality and other things of actual significance. Matters of importance, such as: is today the day my iPod explodes and makes me a Eunuch; what is Kanye West’s major malfunction, and when is my lunch getting here?

But what many don’t realize is that some of the same kinds of technologies that imperil your reproductive organs with fiery touch screen shrapnel, and turn Kanye’s boneheaded outbursts into the butt of every joke on the internet are being applied to medicine with less dangerous and infinitely more useful and less cringe worthy results.

Watching What You Say

While many of you may have watched a video of Kanye making an ass of himself, researchers from the University of East Anglia have found that computers and videos can do so much more than just making people look profoundly stupid.

A team from the University’s School of Computing Science has come up with a computerized lip-reading system that far outshines human lip readers. The system is able to recognize what words are being said based on features that show the shape of the face and does not require a full video like humans do. The system works so well that when tested against human lip-readers, the computerized system was capable of recognizing 80 percent of the words compared to the 32 percent recognition rate achieved by humans at the same task.

This has greater implications than just being a handy way for our robot overlords to know what hairless apes are talking about. Indeed, it’s already causing some to rethink how we teach the hearing-impaired to read lips. Traditionally, we show people pictures and try to teach people to recognize key shapes the lips make during speech. However, the study showed that it may be more helpful to teach people to recognize signs that the entire face gives off as it makes noise. The researchers hope that this could give rise to a raft of new video-based, lip-reading education tools so we can stop shouting at granny around the dinner table.

Accessible Gene Therapy

I’d open up with a joke about someone taking their Levis to group therapy, but gene/jean jokes sound more tired than Kanye after a good cry with Leno (see what I mean about being the butt of every internet joke?). If you read news for actual information about the world, a laughable practice that rightly seems to be dying out, you may have read that some scientists in the US bequeathed the gift of full color vision to some adult male squirrel monkeys, which are naturally unable to distinguish between red and green. Female squirrel monkeys are able to distinguish these colors naturally, males, not so much. Nature is totally sexist, I know. By injecting therapeutic genes into the part of the eyes where the light-sensing cells reside, they were able to coax the cells into being able to differentiate between red and green. What’s great is that this shows proof of concept that you can cure color-blindness in primates; i.e. us. You’ll no longer be able to use the ‘I can’t differentiate red & green’ excuse when you run a red light. Go team Monkey Science!

So what gives? Gene therapy has been a term bandied about since the late 90s and could very well end up being the duct tape of medicine, curing everything from cancer to diabetes, but we’re only curing sight impaired monkeys now? Sad, I know, I was hoping for super mutant powers by this point. However, the reason gene therapy isn’t curing all that ails us is that performing actual gene therapy correctly, and safely for that matter, is incredibly hard. In effect, you’re trying to introduce foreign genes to correct problems in the patients DNA that give rise to diseases such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia or hell, even male pattern baldness. As you could imagine, this has problems not just in terms of how you get the genes into the person in the first place, but whether or not they’ll even be compatible with the patient’s personal biology. To date we’ve tried a lot of methods involving viruses, retroviruses, adenoviruses and a bunch of non-viral methods with really big words. However, with the advent of nanotechnology we may have a way that is safer and more effective.

Not content to just keep their bling on their ring fingers, a team of researchers at Northwestern University have pioneered a novel gene therapy technique involving surface-modified nanodiamonds. The problems faced by current gene delivery mechanisms are biocompatibility and efficiency of delivery. In English, it means they need something that won’t be toxic to human cells once inside the body, but will still get the new DNA to the right place in sufficient quantities. Our intrepid scientists started with a commercially available polymer used in DNA delivery called polyethelene-800 (PEI800) which has good biocompatibility but isn’t very efficient at delivering DNA and tried to improve it. What they found was when they coated nanodiamonds with PEI800 the delivery efficiency was over 70 times greater than PEI800 by itself with the added bonus of not causing massive cell death. While this is a first step with much more research needing to be done before it can be used to treat diseases, it shows that recent advances in technology are opening entirely new avenues of medical treatments for some of the most crippling illnesses on the planet.

Better Prosthesis through Granny Abuse

What do you do with your Grandmother? Keep her in the old folk’s home? Locked in the basement? Either way, I bet you’re not using her to advance science are you? One enterprising 71 year old is helping researchers at Nunnery Orthotic & Prosthetic Technologies (nothing to do with nuns) come up with better prosthetic legs by tripping her as she runs on a treadmill. While making old people fall down is generally frowned upon, if you put them in a harness that stops them hitting the floor and cover them in movement and pressure sensors it seems to be okay. When we trip or stumble our body can react almost instantly to try and recover from it. So, the researchers are trying to gather information about these kinds of physiological reactions through methods very similar to the motion capture technology used in movies and videogames.

The end result is to try and see if the research team can use the data they’ve collected from their test subjects (both able-bodied and those wearing prosthetic legs) to find a way to detect the body’s reaction to stumbling. If they can detect the reaction fast enough, they can program an appropriate response into the prosthetic limb so that it would work in tandem with the rest of the amputee’s body and provide active stumble protection, much akin to anti-lock brakes on legless people. Either way, our adventurous septuagenarian volunteer seems to enjoy overcoming all obstacles in her one-legged path.

Think Small

What do you get when you combine small things and lotion? Contrary to the deviants giggling about what they did to themselves last night, you get some astounding improvements in medicine. With nanotechnology beginning to come of age, it is fundamentally changing what we thought possible in terms of what we can make previously mundane materials do.

One of the ways our growing mastery of engineering and manipulating ridiculously tiny things is opening new worlds for us is in the realm of nanoemulsion. An emulsion is an ingenious method of getting two liquids that have no business mixing together to do just that. Generally, this occurs as an emulsion of oil and water based substances because trying to get these two kinds of liquids to mix any other way is like trying to herd cats. The end result is a usually cream, lotion or other kind of semi-gelatinous liquid, so pretty much any kind of ointment the Doctor gave you to rub on yourself is an emulsion.

What’s that you say? If we can herd cats and mix oil and water into goop, what makes nanoemulsion so special? Well, with regular emulsion we can make butter, with nanoemulsion we can take soybean oil, water, alcohol and detergents and turn them into a cream that is capable of the wholesale slaughter of most bacteria, viruses and fungi. Scientists seem to have created the Genghis Khan of the microbial world that may also provide us with a new vaccine for smallpox and HIV. Suck on that, butter.

By emulsifying four fairly simple ingredients and forcing them down a narrow, possibly partitioned tube (also known as extrusion) until they make droplets that are 400 nanometers big, we’ve made one of the most versatile medical breakthroughs in the world. Scientists at the University of Michigan, where all the cool nanotechnologists are hanging around these days, are testing the benefits of using nanoemulsions in treating second degree burns. Because the small size of the emulsion allows it to penetrate deeper into the skin, it is capable of reducing bacterial growth much better than the anti-bacterial cream currently used to prevent infection in burn victims.

The nanoemulsion’s small size offers it a number of unique properties which make it incredibly useful in medical settings. It can transverse mucous membranes (which are not limited to the snot factory in your nose) easily and it also spurs the body to produce a more comprehensive immunological response which gives it immense appeal as a platform for new vaccines. Nanoemulsion’s physical properties give it a novel way of destroying bacteria, which it does by disrupting their cell membranes, which means bacteria do not have a chance to develop resistances to anti-biotics. The fact that it can do all this while remaining non-toxic to most human cells means that you could very well be seeing a new wave of emulsion-based vaccines you administer through your nose, sans needle, that can protect against everything from gonorrhea to herpes.

Made to Match Organs

We all know that the only line longer than the one at the DMV is the one for getting an organ transplant. But what if you could go in to the doctors, have a sample taken, and then come back later when they’ve grown your replacement organ? Sound good right? As incredibly handy as that sounds, tissue engineering just isn’t that far along yet. Up till now, tissue engineering’s success has been mostly limited skin and cartilage growth. Most applications of the science have been limited to frivolous activities such as growing ears on mice and the Australian ‘performer’ who had an ear grafted to his arm. This, of course, gives credence to the views that science is awesome and performance artists are like carnies (small hands, smell like cabbage), minus a safe place to keep them away from the general populace.

The reason we’re not engineering free standing spleens yet is because when you start trying to grow organs you need a way to get nutrients to the entire structure and remove waste before it builds up, much like your arteries, blood vessels and veins do in your body. Without a system to feed the growing organ, you’re going to end up with a rotting fleshy mess in the Petri dish. Previous attempts to overcome this irrigation issue have centered on photolithography, the process used to make computer chips. However, because you have to individually engrave layer after layer with channels and grooves, the method is expensive and time-consuming, making it ill suited for the purpose of growing organs.

Feeling that tissue engineering had gone too long without a mad scientist moment, two colleagues from Texas A&M took inspiration from Frankenstein, deciding that lightning was the way to go. Thankfully they’re not reanimating corpses on campus, but instead running electricity through plastic. Using a phenomenon known as the Lichtenberg Effect as a conceptual starting point, they team used electron beam irradiation to electrically charge an acrylic (plastic) block, and then they hammered a nail into one side of the block or another. Each strike on the nail causes the electricity to run through the inside of the plastic like tendrils of lightning, leaving behind empty, interconnected trails.

The result is that the block is filled with branching, interconnected tubes that can carry liquid throughout the entire 3-dimensional area, which oddly enough is exactly what you need from an engineered vascular system. While this method is in its infancy, the study’s authors have already shown that the vasculature can be reproduced reliably, quickly and en masse, establishing it as a more cost-effective method than photolithography. With a few more modifications they will be able to create the vascular systems in porous, biodegradable material which would provide a medium in which to insert cell cultures around the vascular system to make blood vessels and kidney cells. With a little more experimentation in kidney molds, we could be seeing individually grown organs before you can sew a corpse together and strike it with lightning.

From the nanotech revolution to the computer mapping tricks that make movie magic possible, novel applications of technologies both new and old can inspire incredible breakthroughs in the medical world. We should value and cherish those whimsical folk who don the white lab coat for the good of us all. For showing us that there is always a reason for tripping the old and disabled, for showing us that our computer overlords vastly outstrip our capabilities, even in recognizing our own speech patterns, and for coming up with new ideas that may save us from our unhealthy ways; we salute you, you glorious nerds.

As a child, you’re pretty carefree about the things you and you’re also pretty feckless as to the effects of pretty much everything. But part of growing up is finding out how much all the fun things you used to do are going to come back and bite you. Hard.

I still remember the day my mom caught me eating wall candy, only to tan my hide as she educated me about the dangers of lead based paint. Who’d a thunk that those tasty flakes of paint on the wall could retard the mental development of… Ooh look, something shiny.

So in the spirit of celebrating our youthful indiscretions and the unforeseen consequences, we’re going to be covering 6 medical findings you wouldn’t have thought true, and even if you did have an inkling, you wouldn’t want to believe it.

1. Frequent sex and masturbation increases your chance of prostate cancer.

What man doesn’t like sex? Even puritans will admit they enjoy it as a guilty pleasure. Which is why a recent study by a group of UK researchers published in BJU (British Journal of Urology) International, caught me by surprise like a cold draught up a kilt. The study took an in depth look at 431 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 409 control subjects and their findings show that men who are extremely sexually active in their 20’s and 30s are more likely to develop prostate cancer. The study also makes it clear that it’s generally more of a problem for people

Even statues do it

engaging in frequent self-loving rather than sexual intercourse with another person.

Hormones play a large role in prostate cancer, with therapy being one treatment used to reduce hormones that seem to stimulate cancer cells. In the words of one illustrious author of the study “A man’s sex drive is also regulated by his hormone levels, so this study examined the theory that having a high sex drive affects the risk of prostate cancer.” Ouch. Not all is lost though, as small levels of sexual activity for men in their 50’s afford them a measure of protection against the disease. Still though, if you’re in the 20-30 age range and don’t have a girlfriend, it may be worth it to put yourself down and go find one. She may give you ulcers, but she could reduce the chance of cancer.

2. The long term repercussions of concussions.

Firstly, try saying that five times really fast. Secondly, don’t get a concussion. Researchers from the Montreal University in balmy Canada carried out a large array of tests on 40 former athletes now aged 50-60, 19 of whom had sustained at least one concussion in their youth. The tests included short term memory tests, following simple verbal and written commands, and motor control. Their findings were that people who suffered one or two concussions

Anatomy of a Concussion

earlier in life performed poorer in the tests than the other test subjects. Overall, they had a more difficult time with the memory tests, slightly delayed reactions to unexpected events and took a little bit longer than their counterparts to complete the motor control tests.

There were, thankfully, no signs of more serious problems such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease, and the former athletes are all leading active, healthy lifestyles. However, it remains to be seen whether the slight effects noted in the study would begin to worsen as the subjects get older. One Andrew Scheuber, from the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, pointed out the glaringly obvious when he said “Sportsmen and women should take extra care to avoid head trauma.” Oh really?

3. Video games are no end of terrible for you.

I’m sure this may come as no surprise to some of you, but a recent study from Brigham Young University, the Mormon university in Utah, shows a negative relationship between people’s video game and internet habits, and their relationship quality, perception of themselves, and risky behaviors like drug usage and sex. You know, fun.

Not what a healthy social life looks like.

The findings indicate that the more you play video games the more your relationship quality deteriorates, and apparently girls with high internet and video game use have lower self esteem. Also noted were the fact that people who play video games daily smoke twice as much marijuana as other players, and three times as much as people who don’t play games.

As tempting a target as it may be for some, the results should not be over generalized. The study contained 813 undergraduate students from BYU, 500 females and 313 males, 73% were European Americans, and most subjects came from a middle class family. Add onto that, the fact that University admittedly is 98.6% Mormon, and you hardly have a balanced cross section of American gamer society and even less representative of gamers internationally. Either way, many nerds will now suffer an unending string of “I told you so” from their girlfriend… If they have one.

4. Alcohol and Tobacco more dangerous than Mary-Jane and LSD?

Britain’s drug regulations are supposed to be based on how much harm it does or risk is poses, but seems to lack clarity as to how they are assed. Enter the University of Bristol. A study they published in the Lancet aimed to asses the of harm and risks of regulated drug on a clearer scale, measuring three things: the physical harm done to the user

One last dance with Mary-Jane

by taking the drug; how addictive the drug is, or how likely it will be to induce dependency; and the effect that drug use has on families, communities and society at large. The findings were pretty interesting.

They assessed 20 drugs, 5 of which were legal but in danger of abuse, Heroin topped the charts followed by cocaine and barbiturates. That is to be expected, but this is where it gets a bit strange. The experts rated Alcohol 5th and Tobacco 9th, while cannabis came in at 11th, LSD 14th and Ecstasy coming in close to the bottom at 15th. It’s always fun to see experts call government classifications arbitrary and unspecific, but it may not be advisable to bump into a politician and tell him the experts decided the ecstasy you’re rolling on is less harmful than the glass of scotch and cigar in their hands.

5. Daily smokers have higher risk of Major depression and suicidal thoughts.

The Henry Ford Health System did a study of 1,000 people aged 21-30 over a 5 year period. Their findings were

Mmmm depression.

notable both for what is showed was linked, and what was not. The study found that not only were smokers at risk of major depression, but depression may increase the amount of smoking in people who already smoke. Smokers with a history of major depression were found to be three times as likely to become daily smokers. Despite this finding, there was no conclusive data that depression makes you more likely to start smoking, or that depression makes it harder to quit.

The study’s authors say that it’s possible that depressed smokers are self medicating their moods with the effects of nicotine, but that more studies may be needed. I think I’ll go have a cigarette and a nice long cry now.

6. Diabetes before you hit the age of 60 could increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

A Swedish study published in the journal Diabetes showed that people who contract diabetes before the age of 65 have a 125% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The risk is especially significant for middle age people who develop diabetes, with the risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias substantially higher than people who develop diabetes after the 65 age mark.

If you were waiting for an upshot, prepare to be disappointed because the study’s authors say that the risk of diabetics developing dementia may be greater than the numbers in the study. The fact that diabetes has an earlier onset than dementia and an increased mortality rate means that the size of the sample available for the study could have been reduced. On top of that, about 30% of older adults with diabetes haven’t been diagnosed yet and would not have been available to the study. So stay healthy, because it would be a horrible set of circumstances where you’re constantly forgetting to check you insulin.

So there you have it, six medical findings that most of us probably wish weren’t the case. Having written this, it makes me wonder what little daily habits I have that will eventually conspire in my downfall. So, whether you’re the pot smoking gamer with poor relationship skills, or the depressed nicotine addict, it may be time to reassess your life and try to be healthier, or you could just go smoke another one.

Happy New Year to all our readers, we hope that you had a good one.

Now with that out of the way its time to start the year off right and discuss the incredibly morbid topic of which illnesses have managed to kill the most people throughout human history. Every other day it seems like we are being told about some new disease that is going ravage humanity and destroy society as we know it. What you probably don’t know is that this is an ongoing plot throughout human history, and every couple of hundred years a new disease has come out of left field in an attempt to remove us from the planet. With that in mind, in no particular order here are the 10 scariest illnesses and diseases in human history:

10. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE – Mad Cow Disease

BSE is a disease that primarily occurs in cattle that basically melts the animal’s brain and spinal cord. The origin of this disease is, at present, unknown; but it was discovered that the BSE epidemic through much of the European cattle population was caused primarily by feeding the remains of dead cows to living cows in the form of meat and bone meal (MBM). This BSE infection then spread to humans who ate the infected beef and caused something that science has termed New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (or NVCJD).

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease basically causes an infected individuals brain to become porous (great big holes develop), and the individual begins to exhibit signs of dementia, memory loss, speech problems, loss of balance, loss of motor control, seizures, and finally death. While NVCDJ is not Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, it does exhibit the same symptoms in both bovines and humans, which lead to the name ‘Mad Cow Disease’.

Where NVCDJ was found to be present in humans there was a 100% mortality rate, and currently 171 people around the world have died from the disease. Another variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is quite common in the native population of Papua New Guinea, primarily in societies that are prone to cannibalism. This proves that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is easily spread by eating infected animals/people, and that you should always be careful of what you eat.

The thing that is so disturbing about NVCJD is that there is the possibility that it still exists in the worlds cattle population as the condition has an incubation period of 4 – 5 years, and that infected cattle will usually be slaughtered for consumption prior to displaying any symptoms. In this vein, while the disposal of 4.4 million cows during the height of the infection was a confidence inspiring move, it makes us wonder if the next burger we eat could ultimately lead us to developing BSE.

Now all the vegetarians reading this are saying to themselves ‘you know, there is a reason I don’t eat meat’ and you would be quite right, if it weren’t for the fact that beef is so incredibly tasty.

9. Necrotizing Fasciitis - Flesh eating bacteria

Despite not being the biggest killer out there Necrotizing Fasciitis is just scary. Imagine this, you’re in an accident and you cut your hand. Now the cut may be severe and require the help of a medical professional, or you may not even notice it, what has happened though is that you are now infected with a bacterium that causes Necrotizing Fasciitis. Depending on how deep the cut is you may not know that this has even happened, until you start vomiting and the cut starts to weep puss. Your skin might start to change color, and blisters form around the outside of the cut, while inside your tissues are slowly dying as toxins are released by this, now, thriving bacterial colony. Eventually this colony will grow up your arm and reach your torso where, if you havn’t received medical help, you have a 30% chance of surviving.

If you are grimacing at that idea, don’t worry, we are too. The worst thing about Necrotizing Fasciitis is its ability to spread extremely fast, so fast in fact that even if you do receive medical attention in time, your chances of survival are still extremely low. And if you do survive the infection you will more likely than not be permanently scarred for the rest of your life.

The most common form of treatment for Necrotizing Fasciitis is the use of next generation antibiotics or, if the infection occurs on your limbs, amputation of the affected body part. The biggest risk of death from Necrotizing Fasciitis actually occurs when the bacterial toxins are released into your blood, resulting in sepsis and ultimately death. At present Necrotizing Fasciitis has a 25% mortality rate for individuals who seek medical attention in a timely manner. Basically, its one of those things you hope the doctor never says.

8. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – MRSA

MRSA (pronounced Mursa), is the acronym for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which is probably why this scourge of the hospital was abbreviated. Back in the 1800’s people were legitimately scared of going to the hospital. It wasn’t because of all the funky smells or sick people however, but rather because they didn’t want to catch any nasty illnesses. MRSA is the modern day equivalent of Typhoid and Cholera (two diseases that, due to their penchant for infection spread rapidly in medical facilities) for the hospital community.

MRSA is a mutation of the common Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, except that this mutation is resistant to most modern day antibiotics including Penicillin, Methicillin and cephalosporins, meaning that once you have it, its probably not going away. Discovered in 1961 in the United Kingdom MRSA has become a huge problem for hospital staff around the world. It has become such a big problem in-fact that a 2007 study by the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that MRSA infections are responsible for more deaths in the USA every year than AIDS, quite a staggering statistic. At present there are no definitive numbers on how many people have died from MRSA infections since it was discovered, but latest figure place the death rates in the USA at around 278,000 in 2005.

Staphylococcus aureus most commonly infects an individuals nose, and you could actually have a Staphylococcus aureus (we’re going to abbreviate this to SA now) colony in your nose and never know it. One of the only ways to tell if a person has a SA infection is to swab the inside of their nose and run tests on the gold that is found. However if you do present with a fully developed MRSA infection, expect rashes and puss filled boils which can spread rapidly and cause flesh eating pneumonia, which sounds to us like an awesome way to spend a couple of weeks.

In order to treat a MRSA infection the boils have to be lanced and drained, the patient needs to be isolated and basically you have to be treated with a whole bunch of really sophisticated, really expensive, antibiotics, which may or may not work. On the plus side however, maggot therapy (literally getting maggots to feed on the MRSA colony) has been shown to provide a viable, less expensive treatment option. Awesome, we guess, but only if you’re not opposed to the idea of maggots chowing down on your flesh. But hey, at least it proves that someone in the medical community is thinking outside the box.

7. Mononegavirales Filoviridae – Ebola and the Family

We’ve all seen the awesome Dustin Hoffman film ‘Outbreak’, and when you think about this fun organism, that’s exactly what you should be imagining. In the most layman terms possible, the Ebola family of viruses spreads via bodily fluids (although it has been known to spread through skin or membrane contact), and then hides in its host for between 5 – 10 days. After this an infected person will usually spike an extreme fever, become weak, and complain of abdominal pain. The problem with these initial symptoms is that they can be linked to a whole host of tropical diseases, so until the secondary symptoms appear the treatment given to a patient is usually wrong, one of the main reasons for the virus’ high mortality rate.

The secondary symptoms are just plain freaky. Imagine this, you think you have the flu, and you hope that’s the reason that you’re sick, then all of a sudden the diarrhea starts, and instead of feces, it’s all blood. It’s around this time that the vomiting will start, and again, nothing but the red stuff baby! Oh, and on a side note, you may also begin to bleed from your eyes, ears, nose, etc. as well as suffering from what scientists like to refer to as ‘a million tiny internal cuts’ (the main cause of death, due to hemorrhaging). Nice huh?

The hemorrhagic virus family (which includes the Marhburg Virus, Zaire Ebolavirus, and Hanta Virus), contains some of the scariest illnesses to ever infest the earth. One of the things making this virus family so incredibly unnerving is that fact that most of the diseases in it have stupidly high mortality rates (90% in the case of Zaire Ebolavirus), and extremely short incubation periods. In fact, its only due to the short incubation period that these viruses have been contained, as people are usually too sick to travel. But if Ebola ever got into a major city near you then it’s probably time to have a party and see the world out in style.

Since 1976 more than 1,800 people worldwide have died due to the Ebola virus, and this illness is still hanging around in Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, in 2007 all three of those countries reported outbreaks with a death toll of 157, not much, but considering the disease, pretty scary.

6. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax – Malaria

Planning a fun filled holiday in an exotic destination? Don’t forget the bug repellant, and even then you’re running a major risk. Malaria is endemic in over 100 countries around the world and is a huge risk for approximately 40% of the population. This disease may not be as high profile or fear inspiring as, let’s say, hemorrhagic fever or BSE; but according to WHO estimates Malaria causes 300 – 500 million infection cases every year, of which, 1 million result in the death of the patient. Current statistics show that in any calendar year about 10% of the worlds population will suffer from Malaria, meaning that while it doesn’t have the highest death rates, it is probably the most wide spread disease currently in existence.

Malaria is a vector borne disease, meaning that it is not spread directly from person to person. The illness is instead spread through mosquitoes carrying parasites and infected blood, and as such it is extremely hard to stop an outbreak once it begins (think the Black death on a much larger level). If Malaria was any more virulent then the chances are that humanity wouldn’t have made it to the 21st century and that we would have become extinct as soon as the west made it to Africa and Asia.

Despite this, and despite the fact that almost 1 million people die from the disease every year (almost the entire population of Trinidad and Tobago), Malaria is largely forgotten by society as a horrific killer. But just in case, make sure you have your injections before going on holiday.

5. Dengue Fever

Located in the same regions as Malaria, this tropical virus is a relative of West Nile Virus, Viral Encephalitis, and Yellow Fever. However it has one major difference, while most viruses have been eradicated from metropolitan areas, Dengue Fever manages to spread rapidly through urban centers mainly through mosquitoes.

There is vaccine available for Dengue Fever, and the only medical support that patients receive is targeted at managing the diseases symptoms. The symptoms of dengue fever display as high temperature, vomiting and bloody diarrhea, low red blood count, and low plasma count, all of which can contribute to the death of the victim.

Dengue fever first came onto the global scene in the 1780’s and immediately proved what an incredibly serious organism it was, causing three simultaneous epidemics in North America, Africa, and Asia. Since then global outbreaks of the Dengue virus have tended to occur every 5 - 6 years, during which time the virus mutates, creating a whole new level of worry for the medical profession.

4. Influenza A Virus Strain H1N1 – The Spanish Flu

We all know that during a flu season you are probably going to get sick. In fact outside of the actual sickness part, many people love the flu season, as it gives them a fairly valid reason to stay at home and play the newest Xbox game all day long. However, if you came down with the flu from March 1918 until June 1920, you had a good chance of dying. The scariest thing about the Spanish Flu (which actually originated in France, Sierra Leone, and the USA), was that young healthy people were more likely to die from the illness than old unhealthy people.

The H1N1 flu strain actually attacked the body’s immune system, and individuals who had stronger immune systems actually gave the virus more ammunition in its war to control their body. It was this effect that ended up killing approximately 50 – 100 million people world wide (the combined populations of Italy and South Korea), and creating one of the scariest epidemics of the 20th century.

The thing about the Spanish Flu that has scientists and healthcare professionals literally running for the hills is that it hasn’t died out. If you watch TV, or read the news, at all during the winter holiday season then you’ve probably noticed a lot of fuss being made over the flu and the various vaccines that accompany the flu season. The thing about the flu is that it can rapidly mutate and become a whole other level of scary in the space of about six months, and if that happens then it’s Spanish Flu time all over again.

In case you were wondering, Bird Flu or H5N1, is just the latest attempt by the flu virus to permanently remove us from the planet, and despite its lowly 213 death count (don’t forget that there was a global mortality rate of 62%), has proven that it has what it takes to make the Spanish flu look like the common cold.

3. Yersinia Pestis – The Black Death

First exposed to western civilization in the 6th century AD, The Plague of Justinian, as it was first known, managed to kill 40% of all people living in Constantinople (claiming up to 10,000 lives a day), and a full quarter of the total population of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Plague of Justinian, and a later outbreak of the disease in 588 AD, where responsible for 25 million deaths across Europe, and was one of the first major disease epidemics in human history.

The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, made a triumphant return to Europe in the 14th century, and hung around until the 1700’s growing in strength and virulence every time it made an appearance. After a plague outbreak it was not unusual for up to 50% of the population in major urban areas to have died, leaving large portions of Europe deserted ghost towns. According to modern estimates the Plague claimed approximately 137 million lives (slightly more people that the total current population of Nigeria) in its successful 400 year run, and had firmly instated itself as one of the most vicious diseases to ever manifest itself on earth.

In the late 1700’s European society began to change and because of that hygiene standards started to improve. People stopped hanging out with rats (the source of the disease) and started washing their hands, loosening the disease’s grip on western civilization. However, this fun filled bacteria continued to wreak havoc in Asia well into the 20th century causing mortality rates in excess of 75% whenever it struck.

Bubonic plague is characterized by blackened bumpy nodes appearing in the areas of a sufferers lymph nodes. It was these nodes that gave rise to the name ‘The Black Death’ as anyone exhibiting these blackened spots was almost certain to die. The bacterium that causes the Plague is spread predominately by the bites of infected fleas that have been living on rats carrying the disease. If your concerned about plague in the modern world, just look for large numbers of dead rats and rodents, as that’s a pretty good sign that it is about to strike.

2. Variola major/Variola minor – Small Pox

This lovely relative of chicken pox and the measles is now extinct (we hope) outside of two WHO reference laboratories, meaning that this virus has been relegated to helping scientific research. However small pox (not to be confused with the ‘Great Pox’, Syphilis) was one of the most deadly diseases of all time, and if there ever was another outbreak of this disease the consequences would be disastrous. In fact, Small Pox is single handedly responsible for annihilating entire societies (see ‘Pilgrims and Spaniards go to America’), which makes us wonder if all those blankets that we received for Christmas may have had other agendas.

It is estimated that during the 20th century, until 1979 when it was deemed to be completely irradiated, small pox killed between 300 – 500 million people, or the equivalent of the total current population of the United States or European Union. The Small Pox variation, Variola major, had a mortality rate of 30 – 35% and both strains were responsible for killing up to 400,000 Europeans each year during the 18th century, giving this virus the title of ‘worst disease ever’.

One of the major problems in controlling the spread of Small Pox is the fact that the disease spreads through the air, and not purely on contact with infected pustules, leading to its ability to rapidly move through a population. However, a large scale vaccination effort in the mid 20th century relegated this disease to the path of the Dodo, and outside of the weaponized versions contained in many military arsenals; most ordinary people don’t have much to fear from Small Pox any more. However, while small pox may be the only illness that has ever been removed from nature by humanity, it did cause more deaths during its reign as the King of viruses than anything else experienced before Aids. But the fact that it is now extinct means that we can shrug our shoulders and go ‘meh, who cares’.

1. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome – HIV/Aids

HIV/Aids is the pandemic that is currently effecting every man, woman and child on the planet. Originating in Sub-Saharan Africa during the mid 20th century, Aids has spread to every country on earth and current infection estimates state that approximately 33.2 million people worldwide are living with the virus, and that more than 25 million people have died as a result of infection since 1981 (slightly more people than the current population of Malaysia).

Caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Aids is spread via contact with infected bodily fluids (blood to blood, or sexual transmission). The progression from HIV to Aids can take up to 10 years, which is one of the biggest concerns about this disease as individuals infected with the virus may not know that they have it, increasing the risk of the infection spreading. Once the disease has progressed to full-blown Aids, without antiviral therapy, a person’s life expectancy is only about 9 months.

The scariest thing about HIV/Aids, outside of the fact that it is incurable, is that the virus itself doesn’t actually do anything apart from attack and weaken an individual’s immune system. Once your immune system is weakened however, any infection from any malevolent organism (bacterium or virus) can have a deadly effect. On top of this, HIV uses your own immune system to reproduce, staging a type of stealth warfare inside your body to the point where white blood cells start to attack each other. Once this happens and once the virus has developed into Aids, there is not much that can be done.

Out of all the diseases on this list HIV/Aids probably scares more people, only because it is a real, ever present threat. But if you practice safe sex, and stop playing with other peoples blood, you should be marginally safer than the rest of the population.

There you have it, our top 10 diseases and illnesses of all time. Now if you’ll excuse us; we’re going home to hide.

When I was growing up there was a rule in the house imposed by my mother, and that rule was ‘if you don’t have a temperature of 105 you are going to school’. It didn’t matter how bad you said you felt, you were given something ‘herbal’ and sent packing. In the adult world I often find myself looking back on those funky tasting pills, and when I get a cold or start feeling run down, wonder exactly what my mother was putting into me. With that in mind here is our guide to those magical natural medicines that mothers all over the world seem to know about, while the rest of us remain blissfully ignorant.

10. Arnica

Used as a natural treatment option for over 500 years, Arnica is an extremely versatile natural remedy. In the same biological family as the common sun flower, this plant has proven incredibly effective in treating, and reliving pain associated with, bruises, arthritis, sore muscles, sprains, and minor cuts and scrapes.

Arnica was a big hit in my house, mom used it for everything. Got a cut? Here’s the Arnica. Sprained your ankle during the game? Here’s the Arnica. Run into a wall? Here’s the Arnica. Running into the wall tended to happen quite a bit in our house, probably more than normal, but the arnica was always at hand, ready to be smothered on the offending painful area.

Arnica is picking up quite a bit of mainstream recognition as a quick natural pain reliever, and as it becomes ever more available, it may be useful for you to have a stock on hand.

9. Aloe/Aloe Vera

You could easily be forgiven for not being persuaded to love the Aloe plant at first glance. Short, spindly and squishy, Aloe has a dark – puke green color. But this is not to say that the plant does not have its uses. The juice/gel from the Aloe leaf is an extremely effective remedy for minor cuts and burns, so effective in fact that many people have taken to growing Aloe and keeping plants around the house. Most commercial burn remedies will contain Aloe Vera, and the gel from the leaves has also proven to be an extremely good moisturizer, leading to many cosmetic products including it in their ingredients.

Aloe is also an extremely powerful laxative, and scraping the juice out of the hard part of the leaf and then ingesting it will help remove any blockages you may be experiencing. However, using the plant in this way can cause extremely painful cramping and is usually only recommended if nothing else has worked.

8. Papaver Rhoeas and Papaver Somniferum – Poppy plant

The poppy has been a key natural medicine since 1200 BC when the Greeks began to grind up the flowers and create very effective pain relieving tablets. Nowadays the poppy has received a lot of bad press as it is the key ingredient in both Opium and Heroin; however the plant still continues to provide a valuable service to the medical world in the form of Morphine.

Traditionally the poppy was used to treat a number of conditions such as coughing, insomnia, sore throats, and hemorrhaging. But today this humble flower is relegated to the position of the world’s ultimate pain management system, and due to the fact that all by-products of this plant are extremely addictive it has been declared illegal, or placed on controlled substances lists all over the world, and its for this reason that the Poppy only makes number 8 on this list.

Needless to say, this was one natural remedy that could not be found in mom’s supply. On an interesting side note however, the USA buys approximately 80% of the annual poppy crop in both India and Turkey and the poppy (in the form of Morphine) appears on the WHO’s list of essential medicines.

7. Echinacea

While my mother may not have stocked up on poppies, she most definitely did have an abundant supply of Echinacea pills and teas. Echinacea, or the Purple Coneflower, only grows natively in North America and has been used by indigenous inhabitants of the continent for hundreds of years, mainly in relation to preventing colds and flu’s.

Echinacea has been the subject of many debates as to the actual benefits of the plant. However, studies conducted in June 2007 state that taking an Echinacea pill can reduce an individual’s risk of developing a cold, and in the event that a cold developed the duration of the illness can be lessened by up to a day and a half.

While the plants properties as an immunostimulator (something that stimulates the immune system) have not convinced science 100%, there are still a large number of supporters out there who claim that Echinacea is the best natural cure available. Dubious test results mean that this plant is relegated to the upper count of the list leaving Echinacea at number 7 on the countdown.

6. Lobelia – AKA: Puke weed

Probably one of the cooler sounding names on this list, the term Puke weed was coined when 19th century physicians used the plant to induce vomiting, purging the patient’s body of toxins and purifying the digestional tract.

The plant was traditionally used by Native Americans to help treat asthma and other respiratory disorders, and in the modern world Lobelia is still considered extremely effective in clearing mucous and other congestants from an individual’s lungs, bronchial tubes, and throat.

Lobelia contains lobeline, a natural substance that acts much in the same way as nicotine (stimulating nerves and the central nervous system). Historically the plant was smoked in the same way as tobacco and due to the smoother respiratory effects was actually touted as an alternative to traditional tobacco products (cigarettes, etc.). However, in 1993 the US FDA prohibited the sale of Lobelia products designed for inhalation as there was no conclusive proof that individuals who smoked the plant would stop smoking cigarettes.

Lobelia can be found in the medical traditions of cultures all over the world, and its inclusion as one of the 50 herbs fundamental in Chinese medicine (Bian Ban Lian) helps it to its position on this list. The lack of any major scientific studies on this plant however, means that it goes no higher than 6.

5. Garlic

France and Italy have loudly, proudly, and extremely pungently, proclaimed the brilliance of this bulbous herb to the world; but they have good reason to do so. Garlic has made an appearance as both a tasty addition to meals, and a vital medicine, in cultures all over the world for over a thousand years. As a member of the onion family (albeit the smelly uncle who lives alone in the corner), Garlic has made a resurgence into mainstream medicine in recent years as science continues to uncover more about this wondrous herb.

Garlic was used by the French gravediggers in the 1700’s (they drank a garlic infused drink to prevent the Plague) and in both World Wars to prevent gangrene. Today garlic is known to have a number of positive health benefits such as decreasing the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease, regulating blood sugar levels, acting as an immunostimulator to help fight illnesses such as the common cold, and there are studies that point to garlic as being a crucial factor in the fight against cancer.

New studies are being preformed on this herb every year, and more and more is becoming known about how garlic acts in helping your body stay healthy. So even though you may think that it is extremely stinky, and may not enjoy the taste that much, as my mother always said ‘eat it, its good for you’.

4. Grapes

For about 6000 years cultures around the Mediterranean have been eating grapes and drinking grape products as a way to stay healthy. From the Ancient Egyptians, to almost every nationality and culture in the modern world, grapes have long been heralded as one of the best ways to stay healthy and fight illnesses. A key example of the health benefits offered by grapes is evident in what modern science refers to as ‘The French Paradox’.

The French paradox is so named due to the fact that the French tend to eat large amounts of high cholesterol and fatty foods (cheese and red meat), however the incidence of heart disease in France is relatively low. Studies have shown that this is due to the high quantities of red wine drunk throughout the country. Red wine (in moderate quantities) has be shown to reduce the chances of an individual developing any form of heart disease, and this is due to a compound found in many types of grape called resveratrol, and for those of you who are too young or who simply don’t enjoy alcohol, purple grape juice is said to have the same effects.

In fact, the antioxidants in grape juice tend to linger in an individuals body longer than the antioxidants contained in wine, so essentially you get more bang for your buck when you drink the juice. However, wine is more likely to increase the amount of good cholesterol in your body than grape juice, so it may be a case of having to drink both!

There is an emerging market in grape-based beauty products as more and more is discovered about the health aspects of this fruit. High Cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer and pancreatitis are all conditions that are believed to be vulnerable to grapes and their byproducts. So if you haven’t yet, why not go out and by a bottle of red wine today; just remember to drink in moderation.

3. Peppermint

In the holistic medicine world peppermint is often referred to as the world’s ‘oldest medicine’. I know mom loves her peppermint tea in the evening, but I never quite understood why. Apparently the stuff is really good for you. Outside of the fact that peppermint smells extremely nice (the plant contains menthol which is used extensively as a taste enhancer), peppermint has been shown to provide an great amount of relief to individuals suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, improve digestion, soothe upset stomachs, and can relieve tension and headaches.

Peppermint has been shown by modern science to be one of the best digestive aids available in the world and individuals who suffer from digestive problems are often told to use peppermint products for short term relief. From flatulence, menstrual cramps, gallstones and viruses, to skin irritation, itching, and colds, peppermint is a key ingredient in healthcare and beauty products used by many people everyday. In fact this herb is so versatile that it has moved away from purely being a food product and can now be found in everything from toothpaste to shaving cream.

So if you are suffering from a digestive condition that you just can’t seem to shake, or if your life has become a little too stressful, peppermint may just be the answer that you are looking for.

2. Willow Bark – aspirin

Before the days of commercially mass produced pain relieving drugs cultures all over the world used the bark from Willow trees as the way to treat and cure a number of ailments. In fact the use of Willow bark to treat conditions such as headaches and inflammation was so prevalent that one of the first mass produced pain relievers in the world was a chemical relative of the tree, and you probably know it as Aspirin.

The historical use of Willow bark as a medicine dates back to the time of Hippocrates (the same person who is responsible for the Hippocratic Oath) in, about, 400BC. Since then not much has changed for this natural cure and it, or medicines based on it, have been in use ever since.

Willow is used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation/swelling associated with an injury, and it did such a good job at this that the French chemist Charles Gehardt developed a synthetic, easily producible, form of the main ingredient in Willow Bark; Scalicin. The primary difference between willow extract medicine and Aspirin is that willow has a higher tendency to irritate an individual’s bowel while the synthetic/diluted products lessen that effect.

Willow bark has proven extremely effective in treating headaches, pain of the lower back, arthritis, menstrual cramps, ful, fever, and tendonitis. In addition to providing relief for these conditions Scalicin has also been proven to prevent heart disease, and doctors recommend that for people who are more likely to develop (or who have already developed) a serious cardiovascular condition, they should take an aspirin a day.

Willow has the historical clout and versatility to make number one on this list, however the serious side effects, such as the irritation of an individual’s bowel and the fact that a significantly high proportion of the population is allergic to Scalicin related products relegates this cure to a close second.

1. Cannabis Sativa/Cannabis Indica

The top natural cure on this list is definitely not one that my mother would approve of, mainly due to the incredible stigma that has blown up in conjunction with it use in the latter half of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st. However, leaving the entire legalization/recreational aspect of the Cannabis plant aside, historically it has been used for approximately 4,800 years as a viable treatment option all over the world.

Ancient civilizations in Asia, Africa, North and South America all used the cannabis plant as a veritable ‘wonder drug’. Cannabis was used to treat gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, headaches, and as a pain reliever. In the modern world Cannabis is still being used in much the same way, however science has come up with a range of new uses for the plant.

‘Medical Marijuana’ initiatives are in place in countries all over the world, and prescriptions are usually given to individuals and patients who are in a large amount of pain due to conditions such as cancer or glaucoma. In addition to these medical schemes medicines are being developed from cannabis that are totally independent of the plant (non-smokable, and do not cause the ‘high’ that is associated with regular marijuana). Sativex, for instance, is a spary developed using the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) from the cannabis plant and has been cleared by a number of governments around the world for the treatment of the symptoms and pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis.

In addition to the Sativex, cannabis based medications are already being developed for the treatment of such illnesses as Parkinson’s Disease and Muscular Distrophy, and with more and more research being preformed on the plant and its chemicals, cannabis based treatment options are likely to grow.

The fact that cannabis has been used throughout human history to help treat such a wide range of conditions gives it the staying power to make number one on our list of natural cures, even though my mom will give me a lot of grief when she reads this.

There you have it, the top 10 natural cures and treatments in the world. Some of the ‘cures’ we have listed above are readily available on the open market while it may take some time to find others. If you are thinking about using a natural cure or alternative therapy for your medical condition you should talk to your doctor first and understand the full impact of the treatment.

With the costs of healthcare rapidly rising everyone is looking to become healthier, mainly so that they can stay away from the doctors office. We have provided some fairly comprehensive advice as to how you can drink yourself to a healthier lifestyle.

1. Drink Beer After Sport

A recent study by Spanish scientists has discovered that it may be better for athletes to have a beer after they play sport than to drink large amounts of water. The study showed that beer, because of its carbonation, was better able to quench thirst than water, and that the carbohydrates found in beer where able to help an individual retain fluids better than any other energy drinks. Even though many previous studies have shown alcoholic beverages to have a diuretic effect, scientists claim that one beer after exercise would not have a high enough alcohol content to create a loss in fluids.

What does this mean? Drinking a beer after working out can help you retain fluids and stay hydrated, keeping your body healthy and happy.

2. Drink More Water

Water makes up approximately 60% of a persons total weight, and is one of the most essential ingredients of your biochemical make up. Over the years there have been many studies on the effect that water has on individuals and how much water a person should drink every day and while there are no hard and fast rules, scientists are fairly certain that everyone in the world should drink approximately 2.2 liters of good old fashioned H₂O everyday.

Why should you drink more water? Outside the fact that water is a major part in your body’s chemistry, it also flushes toxins and unnecessary chemicals from your organs, carries nutrients to cells, and generally makes you feel happier.

3. Find Alternatives to Pure Liquids

Many people find it hard to meet the scientifically prescribed liquid requirements each day. Let’s face it, trying to guzzle down 2.2 liters of water can be tough, and that’s if you remember to do it. There are alternatives out there to help you get the essential liquids that you need that do not involve drinking at all. Food provides almost 20% of a person’s daily total liquid intake, and eating foods that have a high water concentration, such as water melon or cucumbers can be an easy way to avoid having to use the tap.

Failing to absorb more water than you need is one of the major reasons for dehydration, and eating water rich foods can help avoid this as well as provide you with some essential vitamins and minerals. Don’t limit yourself to traditional liquid sources as there are alternatives.

4. Have the occasional glass of red wine

Red wine is a source of a number of beneficial chemicals and minerals that have the potential to prevent a myriad of serious diseases. Science has found that particular compounds in wine known as catechins and resveratrol have anti oxidant and anti cancer properties, and can help you to live longer. A moderate amount of red wine (one to two glasses a day) can help lower a person’s risk of heart disease and decrease the risk of a person developing a peptic ulcer. There can be too much of a good thing, however, and over indulgence of any alcoholic beverage can lead to some dire health consequences, so only imbibe in moderation.

5. Drink more tea

A study by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that drinking tea is actually better for your body than drinking water. Tea actually re-hydrates your body better than water, and coupled with the fact that tea is thought to prevent a number of serious health conditions, such as cancer, it quickly becomes evident that if you want to drink your way to a healthier lifestyle then tea is the way to go. Drinking 3-4 cups of tea a day can severely reduce the risk of an individual suffering from a heart attack in addition to the fact that tea is able to reduce tooth decay and plaque build up, strengthen bones, and provide large amounts of essential antioxidants. If you want to stay healthy, drink more tea.

As the global costs of healthcare continue to rise there has become a unique offering in the Asian medical market as nations like India, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia are moving to capitalize on their ability to offer high quality medical treatments at lower costs than anywhere else in the world. This new phenomenon of “medical tourism” is becoming increasingly more lucrative for a number of South Asian nations as their operating costs in the healthcare industry tend to be much lower than those associated with the western market; and because the operating costs are lower the cost of treatments is consequently low as well.

Medical tourism comes at a time when the number one reason for individuals in the USA to declare personal bankruptcy is because they are unable to afford their medical bills. The costs of healthcare in the western world have risen to such an extent that it is becoming risky, in the financial sense, for many people to receive the care that they need as by doing so they are potentially lining themselves up for big economic losses. However, with medical tourism comes a plethora of previously unavailable treatment options and the ability to receive quality healthcare at a much lower price than in America or Europe.

The rise of medical tourism as a viable healthcare industry sector around the Asia Pacific region is becoming more evident as innovative healthcare reforms are being instituted by a number of Asian governments. In India the government has established specialist medical tourism service centers to help foreign nationals receive the best treatment possible, Thailand has taken a different route by offering healthcare services in a 5 star resort surrounding complete with tours of Bangkok. Whatever the various governments are doing to entice individuals from overseas into using their medical service, it is working.

In 2005 Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok received approximately 150,000 patients from overseas, while Singapore saw an estimated 374,000 medical visitors for the year. The reason that these countries are so successful is the fact that they are able to offer the same quality of care as can be found in one of the USA’s top hospitals but for a fraction of the price. A typical heart bypass procedure in the USA can cost up to US $130,000 without any complications. This same procedure in Thailand will cost, on average, approximately US$ 11,000 and $ 10,000 in India. Even adding in the costs round trip airfare and the costs of receiving treatment in an Asian medical facility are much lower than that same treatment in an American or European hospital.

Even though the costs associated with a medical tourism destination or hospital may be comparatively lower than many patients are used to they can still be quite expensive. A US$ 10,000 medical bill may be easier to afford than one that costs US$ 100,000, but it is rare for any individual to have that much disposable money ready for just such an event, and in the case of many of the procedures that are gaining popularity in the medical tourism market, they are medically necessary (that is to say that the rather than being cosmetic surgeries, the patient needs the treatment in order to live). The benefits of the medical tourism industry are evident, however it can still be risky to obtain the treatment that is deserved as patients are still liable to significant financial losses as many local insurance plans will not cover treatments overseas.

The only way to protect yourself or your loved ones in a world where medical costs are becoming increasingly more expensive and where local health insurance plans limit a patients ability to choose where they choose treatment is with an international medical insurance policy. By allowing yourself the full range of treatment options associated with an international health insurance plan you are able to choose hospitals and doctors anywhere in the world for your medical care. In a world where the medical tourism industry is exploding and the costs of medical treatment are rising all the time, an international health insurance plan makes sense.

All over the world, when a woman becomes pregnant, they are customarily expected to act in a certain way and observe local traditions. Customary maternity practices will differ depending on what part of the world you are in, but the most visible differences come from the maternity customs practiced in the West and those that are observed in China. Here are some of the major differences.

Western Maternity Practices

Maternity practices in the west are generally based on large amounts of medical and scientific research as to what is best for mother and child. In terms of these practices, modern western traditions are approximately 200 years old having their roots in the early 1800’s when the modern medical profession began. As such western parents take a rational and logical approach to the whole issue of pregnancy, and tend to follow their doctor’s orders to the letter.

While there are no hard and fast rules pertaining to a western pregnancy it is expected that the mother should eat correctly, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and avoid tobacco and alcohol. A western pregnancy is exemplified by regularly visiting the doctor, receiving comprehensive check ups, and basically ensuring that both mother and child are in good health. Overall western maternity practices make extensive use of all the modern technology available, this included prenatal tests for genetic defects, and ensuring that the child’s development is progressing as expected.

The most common complaint that pregnant women in the west have when pregnant is “morning sickness”(also known as Nausea, Vomiting of Pregnancy or Emesis Gravidarum). Morning sickness is a phenomenon that is experienced by approximately 50 to 95% of all women during their pregnancy and is displayed with symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Although NVP can occur at any point during the day it is most common when a pregnant woman wakes up from a night of sleep, ergo the name, morning sickness.

A developing theory in regards to unborn child development in the west is that by reading aloud to the fetus, and playing classical music (Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach) will have a positive impact on the child’s neural development and essentially make the baby smarter. This has not been conclusively proven by science but is still a popular theory and many expectant mothers in the west will spend their evenings at home reading Shakespeare and Dickens aloud while listening to Mozart.

During western pregnancies it is common for the expectant mother to have a party for the unborn child. These parties are referred to as “baby showers” and typically close friends and relatives will gather to celebrate the new life and give the parents gifts that will be useful when the baby is born. Baby showers have no medical significance, but are considered an important aspect of any western pregnancy, and can be likened to a bridal shower for when a woman gets married.

In terms of the western ideals of keeping both mother and child healthy, these will typically follow the normal standards of modern healthy living. Western pregnancy traditions will not change dramatically from country to country although currently there is an ongoing debate in regards to the circumcision of male children and whether this actually causes more harm than good. Traditionally circumcision was important in times when genital hygiene was not rigorously practiced and, especially in tropical locations, infections of the foreskin were common. Nowadays there is a strong argument the circumcision is no longer medically necessary leading to a departure from this once standard tradition.

Traditional Chinese Maternity Practices.

In contrast with the very tame, unchanging, and scientifically based maternity practices in the west, Chinese traditions, especially to someone who has not experienced them before, can seem rather strange. Chinese pregnancy traditions start when a couple is first married with the husband carrying his wife over a pan of burning coals when entering their home for the first time. This is meant to ensure that when the woman does fall pregnant she will pass through her labor successfully. The roots of this tradition date back to times where there was a high chance of death while in childbirth, however, according to modern science there is no reliable basis that this practice actually increases the woman’s chance of surviving the birth.

Once pregnant an expectant mother, according to Chinese traditions, must guard her thoughts against anything negative or hurtful as it is believed that everything experienced by a mother will have an effect on the unborn child. With this in mind it is expected that a pregnant Chinese woman will read beautiful stories and poetry (not necessarily aloud), not look at contrasting colors, sit on crooked mats (this will affect the child’s balance), loose her temper (this will cause the child to have a bad outlook on life), or gossip. Sexual activities are forbidden during a Chinese pregnancy as this, it is believed, can potentially have a severe and lasting impact on the child and cause them to be social outcasts for their future lives.

Food plays a very important part in any Chinese pregnancy and there are many ancient taboos in regards to what an expectant mother may or may not eat. If foods are not prepared properly it is believed that they can cause the child to have a poor social disposition and by eating light colored foods a mother can cause her child to have a lighter complexion (in traditional Chinese social structures this is important because field workers and peasants often have a darker complexion than anyone else in society due to the fact that they spend so much of their time in the sun). Spicy foods are believed to cause heart problems, and cold foods can affect the child’s brain. Seafood, it is thought, (especially shellfish that are not properly prepared) can cause birthmarks or harelip (cleft pallet), and other cosmetic deformities. Overall the stringent conditions attached to food have their roots in a time where disease was rife and food was not properly cleaned and cooked. Essentially all taboos relating to food are a safety measure against disease.

It is traditional for Chinese women to drink a strong herbal potion during their pregnancy (usually one containing willow bark), this has been noted to have some extremely beneficial anesthetic effects and is similar in idea to the pain relieving medications given to western mothers. Traditionally women are expected not to fear the labor and birthing process as this was customarily considered “the career” or sole function, of women in Chinese society.

Overall both Chinese and Western practices, while having the potential to be drastically different and rooted in conflicting cultural ideals and social mores, have the same interests at heart; the protection of both the mother and the child and the successful completion of the birthing process. In the modern world we have the ability to understand more about the way that different cultures react to maternity and the reasons for these reactions. This gives women all over the world new options for how they approach their pregnancy and give them a higher chance of having a healthy and happy baby.