Amy Winehouse brings attention to TB's rise in Britain
As you may already know (and probably not care about), drug-addicted singer Amy Winehouse was recently hospitalized after a fainting spell. The singer was tested for tuberculosis, which sparked a great many rumors, but in the end, that test has reportedly come back negative.However, the fact of the matter is that drug-resistant TB is on the rise in Britain, and people with reduced immune systems, including those who are drug addicts, alcoholics, or lacking nutrition are more likely to contract the deadly disease. And, of course that means that someone like Winehouse would be fairly susceptible.
Friends and family of the singer hope that this serves as a wake-up call for the 24-year-old. She has several appearances scheduled for the summer, which she hopes to be able to attend, but a mouthpiece says she'll listen to her doctors' orders. You know, because she's listened so well to medical advice before now ...
Wouldn't it be grand if you simply had to eat a chocolate bar every day? Not complying with your daily prescription would mean the study of heart disease would take a hit. People could get sick, for goodness sake. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?
Is an apology really an apology when it's mandated? I don't think so, given the fact that it's not really rooted in sincerity. Maybe it's better than nothing, though.
If you drink water from a municipal water source (not well water), then chances are good that fluoride has been added. It's a common practice in the U.S. to protect teeth from decay. British Health Secretary Alan Johnson
A British friend of mine is always quick to point at America as being the nation spearheading the recent obesity crisis -- to him, most Americans live on little more than junk food. But if he wants to see an example of a gluttonous, junk-food-obsessed country, he needn't look further than his own home, according to
In what could be a really scary proposition for a major, industrialized country, British officials stated that a majority of its citizens could be obese by the year 2050. As a result, the country's health secretary concluded that a "shift" needs to occur in the way the nation tackles obesity.
In the Midwestern U.S. right now, allergies are a-plenty. Not a day goes by that the pollen, mold and ragweed counts are off the charts. It's being called one of the worst late-summer allergy seasons in a decade where I live.
People in Britain would
Would you pay attention if health symbols -- kind of a like a traffic light system -- were posted on your food labels? A green light would mean an item is low in fat, salt, and sugar, a yellow light would indicate medium levels of these additives, and a red light would signal high portions of these goodies. Some food companies in Britain use a system like this, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a similar practice.
In Britain, the cases of measles have seen an uptick recently, which caused the British Government to remind parents about childhood measles vaccinations.
When a couple finds out they're pregnant, one of the first questions after "When are you due?" is "Are you going to find out whether it's a boy or a girl?" Typically, the sex of the baby can be determined during an routine ultrasound done around 20 weeks gestation, but a 
In Britain this week, a group of influencers suggested that all primary schools should inform parents if their children are overweight or obese -- much to the chagrin of opposers who said that providing such information in the past had not been used because of fears over a child's stigmatization and bullying.
Before moving to Texas, I lived in the UK, where pub culture is popular culture, and wandering drunk through the streets while singing annoying 60s pop songs is seen as a rite of passage. According to UK officials, this is a culture that has to change.











