HEALTH & WELLBEING

Actress Reese Witherspoon was struck by an 84-year-old woman driver while she was jogging across the street. The elderly driver claimed that her view of the intersection was obstructed by a large tree. Reese is said to have suffered minor injuries and is resting at home.

After a supposedly lifetime ban on blood donation by men who had sexual contact with another man was implemented in Britain in the 1980s as a response to the spread of HIV/AIDS and the lack of adequate HIV tests, United Kingdom Department of Health said on September 8, that it was lifting the ban.

The findings of a study conducted on 123 middle-aged and older adults, who added yoga classes to their standard diabetic care, yielded favourable results.

According to the American Chemistry Council, a family of plasticizer compounds called phthlates are fine and dandy additions to everything from wall coverings, flooring, toys, perfumes, shampoos and IV tubes.

Oxfam Australia is calling on the Just Group to ban sandblasting on its jeans manufacturing process due to serious health concerns it poses on workers.

The agriculture departments of four states in Australia are jointly taking action to prevent the further spread of the deadly avian paramyxovirus.

Skip the pesticides and try one of these natural methods for getting rid of lice.

“The virus causes only mild, short-term conjunctivitis or influenza-like symptoms [in humans],’’says Australian chief veterinary officer Dr Mark Schipp. A rare type of avian paramyxovirus has infected and killed a huge number Victorian pigeons.

On Hawaii's Big Island, a Starbucks outlet sells Ecuadoran bananas. It's a trivial example of the way the twisted logic of global business creates its own unsustainable reality.

Cancer remains one of the most feared diseases on the planet -- and cancer patients being treated by mainstream medicine are usually bombarded with radiation and subjected to toxic chemotherapy that destroys healthy cells and weakens the body while trying to kill tumors.

Having one of the world's highest crime rates,South Africa has revealed plans to ban alcohol advertising in an attempt to curtail violence driven by excessive drinking, the health minister said.

Tasmanian officials issued on Wednesday an alert over a virus that has infected racing and show pigeons in Victoria. The alert was over the risk of the Avian paramyxovirus being spread by the birds that cross the Bass Strait.

A review of the Australia’s food labelling laws early this year failed to recommend a mandatory traffic light system for unhealthy food, pointing out that the system should only be implemented on a voluntary basis.

The Obesity Policy Coalition says the new mobile app called Traffic Light Food Tracker will enable users to work around the food industry's hesitation in supporting traffic light labelling. Obesity Policy Coalition spokeswoman Jane Martin says the system has been shown to improve people's eating habits.

If you want to avoid nighttime heartburn then strictly follow this rule: refrain from eating three to four hours before going to sleep.

Researchers from the Victoria Department of Primary Industries have studied the DNA of five modern Tammar wallaby genes and reproduced a 60-million-year-old gene. The scientists will use the reproduced gene to develop a compound they plan to use to fight superbugs in hospitals.

Experts have found out a new and healthier way to cope with emerging food shortages. The solution is said to be rich in protein and calcium which will definitely meet the body’s demand for nutrients.

Australian scientists from the Centre for Cancer Biology at SA Pathology have discovered an inherited gene defect which predisposes some people to developing acute leukemia. Furthermore, individuals who are high risk of developing the disease are possible to be identified, monitored and treated much sooner.

“More needs to be done to prevent unexpected, unnatural or violent deaths in the mental health system - and to ensure grieving families and the public are told why such deaths are occurring, and at such a high rate.” said Colleen Pearce, The Public Advocate. The number of deaths in mental institutions called the state’s urgent attention.

Vampire bats and Malaysian pit vipers’ mouths are potentially lethal, producing life taking and life-saving substances according to Chron.com and AFP.

Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) had received clearance to begin testing a drug that it says can improve the quality of life for patients suffering acute heart attacks.

We are our own worst beauty critic, appears to be an overwhelming truth in the research released by Dove today, as over 85% of Australian women agree to this. Women cited hatred and dislike for everything from the stomach and hips to the tips of their toes. Majority of women (88%) believed that the pressure to be beautiful is everywhere, and half of Australian women (50%) admits that the biggest influence is the pressure they exert upon themselves to look beautiful.

A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia today pinpoints home renovations as the reason for a new wave of cases of asbestos-related cancer.

Consumers will now be able to track fat and sugar content in their food when new mobile phone application launches in Melbourne on Monday.

About 1,200 McDonald's stores in Britain now have calorie counts on their menu board. The increasing number of overweight and obese Britons alarmed the government.

About 165 million Europeans or 38 per cent of the continent's population are suffering from mental ailments, according to a new study released by the Dresden University in Germany.

Dr. Kevin Buckwalter of Henderson, Nev., has a history of malpractice and shady dealings during the time when he still had a practice and a license to prescribe controlled substances.

September heralds the beginning of spring. Flowers are all in bloom, grass and leaves are greener and pollen abounds. Spring ushers in common illnesses like allergic rhinitis and bee stings.

There's nothing like a hurricane or power outage to make you appreciate the basic things. Like tap water.