Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America - www.aafa.org.
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
The human body creates roughly 2.5 million new red blood cells every second, with a comparable number dying.
GET ME THAT, STAT!
Approximately 1.4 million Americans age 65 and over live in nursing homes, reports the 2006 study "Caregiving in America." Four times that number receive care at home.
STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM
Britain's first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745) ate almost 180 pounds of soap over a period of years in an attempt to get rid of a stone in his bladder. The stone didn't go away; neither did Walpole, who held his government post for 21 years - the longest such term in British history.
MEAT YOUR MAKER
To paraphrase an old saying (kind of), the cured is worse for the disease.
Researchers say frequent consumption of cured meats increases the odds of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an affliction of the lungs and the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States.
Dr. Rui Jiang and colleagues of Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that the "odds ratio" for developing COPD among people who ate cured meat products 14 times or more per month was 1.93. An odds ratio greater than 1 implies a higher probability of something occurring within that group.
"Cured meats, such as bacon, sausage, luncheon meats and cured hams, are high in nitrites, which are added to meat products as a preservative, an antimicrobial agent and a color fixative," said Jiang.
Once consumed, the nitrites turn into nitrates, which Jiang said can cause lung damage by "producing structural changes resembling emphysema."
In 2004, more than 11 million American adults were estimated to suffer from COPD, which is characterized by chronic bronchitis and emphysema, both inflammatory conditions that interfere with breathing.
PHOBIA OF THE WEEK
Barophobia - fear of gravity
BEST MEDICINE
Some time ago, Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote the song "Hokey Pokey," died. His death was peaceful; however, his funeral was problematic, particularly when mortuary workers tried to place the body in the casket. They'd put his left leg in and ... well, you know the rest.
OBSERVATION
Have you noticed that all the people in favor of birth control are already born?
- Benny Hill, otherwise known as English comic Alfred Hawthorn Hill.
CURTAIN CALLS
In 1673, the French playwright and actor Moliere was overwhelmed by an unscripted coughing fit during the fourth performance of his newly written play, "Le Malade Imaginaire." He collapsed on stage, and was carried to his home where he died. The play was about a hypochondriac.
