That's Fit

Check out your fingers. Is your ring finger longer than your index finger? Mine is. Uh Oh. That means I have nearly double the chance of developing osteoarthritis, according to a recent study.

Size differences between ring fingers and index fingers have already been linked to sexual and physical ability and performance in university exams, but researchers have now discovered that arthritis might also be connected to the size of fingers.

Type 3 Finger Pattern is what it's called when people have the common male trait of a shorter index finger, and it's now been linked to arthritis of the hips and knees. More common in women than men, the mechanism that accounts for this finding -- and one linking this finger pattern with early onset menopause -- is unknown.

Sounds like I could be headed for future health issues. How about you?

Pixie dust. That's what Ohio resident, Lee Spievak, says helped grow his finger back. But the truth is a little less magical and quite a bit more scientific. Spievak accidentally cut the tip of his finger off in the propeller of a model airplane. The finger was cut down to the bone and the missing tip wasn't found. With such damage and nothing to reattach, doctors told him the tip of his finger was lost for good. But Spievak was lucky enough to have a brother who works in the field of regenerative medicine.

His brother sent him the "pixie dust" (otherwise known as extra cellular matrix). Extra cellular matrix is an experimental medicine made from the cells in the lining of a pig's bladder. The material has yet to go through a complete clinical trial, but scientists hope that the sheets and powdered versions of extra cellular matrix will help reduce scar formations after injury or surgery and help regrow tissue.

In the case of Lee Spievak, that's exactly what the experimental material did. Spievak sprinkled the dust on his fingertip for 10 days. Within four weeks, his fingertip regenerated -- with full functionality, nerves, nail and all. Even his fingerprint grew back intact.

Only if you eat about ten thousand of them! Yucky, yuck, yuck! I can't tell you how many people have asked me this strange question throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry. Too many to count. So! To anyone else who may be concerned about the belly bulging effects of fingernail chewing, here is my answer.

I'm not exactly sure how many calories are in each nail per se, but since they are made of keratin, a sturdy fibrous protein....it couldn't be much.They'd probably just run right through you. In fact, I think you'd have to chew through the hands and feet of everyone you know to even equal a moderately satisfying snack. Hmmmmmm. Yummy!

The iLimb, from Touch Bionics, is now generally available and has been successfully fitted to patients all across the U.S. and in Europe. The iLimb is a big deal because it not only looks like a real human hand but it acts like one too, with 5 individually powered fingers and the ability to sense when enough pressure has been applied in delicate situations like picking up a glass or holding someone's hand. And it can even be adapted to fit people who only need a partial hand due to missing fingers from accident, war, or congenital defect.

This iLimb totally looks like something out of the movie iRobot, don't you think? Must be the white plastic.