Healthbolt

May 17th, 2008

Sexbolt Saturday: Fun with Sexual Role Playing

Congratulations! You’ve been in a committed relationship for a while now. That’s great, right? Well, sure. Unless you consider the staleness your sex life seems to have taken on.

Let’s face it folks, after a while, sex with the same person day in and day out can get…monotonous. While this is surely not true for every couple, many couples are looking to heat things up, but are unsure how.

Enter: Sexual Role Playing.

Yes, this takes some effort. Yes, it can be awkward at first. Yes, you run the risk of freaking each other out if you’re not ready to accept or consider your partner’s (or your own) fantasies. But what your relationship has to gain can far outweigh these potential “cons”.

Ready to learn more? There are all kinds of great articles out there that can help the two of you decide if role playing in the bedroom (or elsewhere, wink wink) is right for you. Take a look:

One man recounts having sex with someone new every night. This is a great look into the actual process of role playing and will give you an idea if it’s something you’d like to try.

Once you decide to give it a go, you might want to look at the mechanics of things. The How-To aspect, if you will. This is a great article to explore just that.

And once you’re square in the mechanics department, it’s time to decide which fantasies you’ll act out. From patient/doctor to pizza guy/customer, this article gives you several role-play ideas and tips.

And finally, as you head to the “advanced” level of role playing, you may want to spice things up even further. If you’re looking to add some kinkier elements to your sexual rendezvous, this is the article to check out. Hot stuff!

Great reading today, folks. Just try and get through all this without grabbing your partner and hitting the sheets (or the washer/dryer/yard/pool table/etc).

Enjoy! Here’s wishing you a very sexy Saturday!!

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By Liberty -- 0 comments

May 16th, 2008

You Know the Saying ‘Everyone Has a Twin’?…

You’ve heard it time and again. Somebody tells you that you look just like so and so, and you eek out the standard reply: “Well, they say everyone has a twin.”

Well, if you’re a seemingly normal 9-year-old girl in central Greece, you not only have a twin, but you carry her (or him) around in your stomach.

Yes, this is true. The girl, who was suffering from stomach pains and a swollen belly, went to the hospital where doctors surgically removed a growth that was found to be the girl’s embryonic twin. A formed fetus, it was two inches long and had a head, hair and eyes - but no brain or umbilical cord.

The girl has since made a full recovery, but the staggering thing is that this phenomenon has happened before. While it certainly isn’t considered common, instances where one of a set of twins absorbs the other in the womb (called fetus in fetu) happens in about one in 500,000 live births.

Once again, I am in awe of the human body and mysterious behavior of Mother Nature. You?

Source: msnbc.com

More reading on fetus in fetu
Even stranger reading on fetus in fetu

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By Liberty -- 2 comments

May 16th, 2008

My Pick - Healthbolt’s Top 5 Posts.

I suddenly realized that Liberty and I have just passed our 5 month anniversary as Healthbolt bloggers. Wow, how time flies when you’re having fun. And it is fun. Getting to research and post on all the interesting, informative, bizarre, and oddball health and medical things is like a dream come true…

I did some maths and five months working on ‘the Bolt’ equates to around 250 posts between us. That’s a whole lot of words.

My choice for Top 5 Posts…

Doing a Hasselhoff…new medical slang and it’s companion piece Pumpkin Positive - more medical slang would be my all time favorite post to write. I simply laughed my way through it.

On the other hand, it was tears and laughter when writing Randy Pausch’s ‘The Last Lecture’ Revisited. Randy is a true inspiration.

Liberty probably ruined a lot of people’s day when she posted Dangit! Now Diet Soda is Bad for You Too?!?. Healthbolt had already highlighted What Happens To Your Body If You Drink [Regular] Coke Right Now? and now it turns out diet sodas not much better…guess that just leaves water!!!

Longevity is a theme Healthbolt has been running with lately, asking questions like Can Our Earth Support Us As We Age?, and then daring you to take the Vitality Compass quiz to see how well you will age.

And who could forget this post - A Fella’s Willy - Handle With Care - that reminded us that some parts of the human body are more fragile that others. Everything, it seems, has a breaking point.

So what’s your favorite posts?

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By Liz -- 1 comment

May 15th, 2008

In Recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month

In case you missed it, the other day, we at Healthbolt heard from Tris Hussey, a b5 pal and long-time depression sufferer. Tris’s interview was surely enlightening and hopefully encouraging, but in addition to his story, there are many, many other ways to explore depression and mental health in general.

Thus, in honor of Mental Health Awareness month, the entire b5media Health & Wellness channel rallied together to bring you the best explorations of mental health we could. The awesome Alicia at Mental Health Notes was our gracious host for this month’s theme day, and compiled all of our post links together in a one-stop-shop sort of manner for you.

Take a look through the links to learn what our amazing and insightful bloggers have to say and leave your own comments and ideas as well. Thanks so much for joining us in this special recognition. We hope you find the information very beneficial.

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By Liberty -- 0 comments

May 15th, 2008

How Fit Are You?

You might think you’re fit.

But are you ?

Find out with the President’s Challenge Adult Fitness Test.

It’s been designed by The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, a group of volunteers who advise the government and ultimately the President about fitness, physical activity, and sports in the U.S.

It measures your aerobic fitness, muscular strength & endurance, flexibility, and body composition by having you…

Walk one mile or run 1.5 miles and log in your time.

Count the number of half sit-ups you can do in a minute.

Count the number of push-ups you can do in a minute.

Do a sit-and-reach flexibility test.

Measure your height, weight, and waist.

The results are then entered and an evaluation and tips for improvement will be done.

As this was only launched yesterday, I doubt anyone has had the chance to try it out. But if you have, please let us know how it went…

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By Liz -- 5 comments

May 14th, 2008

College Education = Good Health?

We’ve been talking quite a bit about the intriguing topic of longevity lately. And if living to a ripe old age is on your “To Do” list, you may want to consider gaining a higher education.

So, does that mean those with a college degree will live longer than their less-educated counterparts? Perhaps.

Epidemiologists from the American Cancer Society and scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) teamed up to analyze the data and death certificate information of more than three and a half million deaths which occurred between 1993 and 2001. During that time period, an evident gap emerged between those in different educational brackets. The most educated folks saw a significant decrease in death rates from causes such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc, while the death rates for the least educated groups remained nearly unchanged.

This is the first study to look at recent socioeconomic inequality trends concerning death rates from all causes, as well as from several of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Potential contributors to this discrepancy? Less educated folks have fewer financial resources to help them stay healthy, including health insurance and stable employment, and they also tend to be less educated on health matters. What’s more, this group is three times more likely to be a current smoker than those with college degrees. And with smoking comes issues like heart disease, lung disease and cancer.

With such an unnerving discovery, we’re left wondering: what can be done to change this?

What would you do if you were the president? How would you bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots, at least from a health standpoint? Or is this issue simply too far gone and hopeless? Weigh in - we’d love to hear your ideas…

More reading:
The Washington Post
American Cancer Society

Image: Newscom

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By Liberty -- 2 comments

May 14th, 2008

Healthbolt’s Healthy Health Links of the Week.

Location, Location, Location. The catch cry of real estate agents throughout the world. Turns out it’s also an important variable when it comes to your health. Check out Cranky Fitness’s post ‘Does You Hometown have ‘Issues’?’ to find out more.

X-rays as Art? Apparently so. You can find out more about contemporary X-Ray photography artists over at Cultcase. They highlight five artists that convert X-rays into Art.

By the way, did you know that May is National Bike Month? To help you get into the biking groove, Fitness for Mommies explains how to Go from ‘rookie cyclist’ to ‘respected newbie’ with these tips and Smarter Fitter discusses Bicycle Fitting for the Ladies.

Meanwhile over at Fat Man Unleashed, guest blogger Sarah Scrafford suggests that you should Pound the Pavement to Keep Vacation Pounds Away.

FitHacks offers a list of the Top 10 Worst Ways to Lose Weight.

Nerd’s Do It Better lists 25 Ailments That Can Be Cured by Having Sex.

And the New York Times Well Blog looks at the lack of airplane etiquette and asks ‘What’s Really in That Seat-Back Pocket?’ . It’s enough to put you off flying for good!

That’s it.

Have you got any to add?

Leave a comment and let us know your best blog posts this week…

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By Liz -- 4 comments

May 13th, 2008

Blood Pressure Problems? Put Down that Energy Drink!

Image details: Arm with blood pressure cuff ‘ Color served by picapp.com

Love the buzz of a Red Bull or Rock Star? If you have high blood pressure, you may want to fall out of love…quickly!

A study by Wayne State University in Michigan which was recently presented at the American Heart Association found that the blood pressure and heart rates of healthy adults increased after they downed 2 cans of energy drinks a day. Most of these drinks, of course, are packed to the gills with caffeine and taurine, an amino acid which can adversely affect the heart.

The important thing to note about this study is that it was done with healthy adults. And though the study subjects did not see dangerous levels of bp and heart rate increases, the increase that was seen could potentially be enough to put someone already suffering with (or at risk for) high blood pressure over that “dangerous” threshold. You don’t want to be that person, do you? Me either.

So, one more thing we must be aware of. My apologies to all you high blood pressure-having Red Bull addicts out there. Just please, please don’t shoot the messenger, hey? ;)

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By Liberty -- 2 comments

May 13th, 2008

NASA Wants You…to stay in bed!

So who hasn’t dreamed of spending a day or two in bed? Maybe even a week?

But what about lying around in bed for three months and getting paid $5000 a month for doing so?

Well, according to Wired Science that’s just what NASA is asking people to volunteer for.

NASA is running a ‘Bed Rest Study’ at it’s Human Test Subject Facility at Johnson Space Center to examine the effects of microgravity on the human body.

Want to know more - check out this Q&A with a NASA Scientist about the study.

It might sound like a dream but it could easily turn into a nightmare…

On the other hand, if you combined it with the Getting Paid to Eat Chocolate research, it might just be worth it!!!

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By Liz -- 0 comments

May 12th, 2008

Depression Doesn’t Play Favorites: An Exclusive Interview with a Depression Sufferer

Tomorrow is theme day once again here at the b5media Health & Wellness channel and this month is all about depression. Not a sunny topic, I know, but one that is vitally important and has most likely touched each and every one of us in some way or another.

Thus, I am so honored to have been able to interview Tristram Hussey, our very own blogger training extraordinaire. Tris has been suffering with depression for many years and has some incredibly valuable insight to share regarding diagnosis, treatment, triggers and more. Tris’s hope is that if this interview helps even one person see a doctor for treatment, we have accomplished something great. Indeed, Tris.

And now, the interview:

1. Depression is often considered a quiet disease or one that many folks live with for quite some time without treatment. Have you found that to be the case with you, and if so, how did you finally decide to seek treatment?

Personally I lived with depression from when I was in my teens until my mid-30s, yes a very, very long time. I figured I could handle it. I knew that I suffered from more than just the blues, but I also didn’t want to take medication. I was afraid that the medications would mess around with the one thing I treasured–my mind. What I didn’t know was that the medications just help my brain work better.

Why did I finally get help? Frankly I hit rock bottom. My marriage was falling apart and my professional life was not going well. Finally I went to my doctor. The best decision of my life, it probably saved my life.

2. Why do you believe people wait so long to seek treatment?

There are lots of reasons, especially for men, the biggest I think is the stigma of being “mentally ill”. Men also don’t want to feel like being less of a man or that they “can’t handle it” themselves.

Even though many, many men and women suffer from and are treated for depression, the stigma is still there. This is one reason that I talk openly about it. I suffer from depression, I take medication, and I’m okay.

2. Do you believe depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain or by circumstances? Or both?

For me, the cause is chemical, but the triggers are circumstances. You can have “situational depression” and still need help to get out of it. So, it is both. And, for me, the chemical reasons make it easier to grapple with.

3. Once you’ve received treatment for depression, are you “cured” or is recovery an ongoing process?

I don’t know about being cured. Maybe for people who have something related to a specific event, but for me, it’s going to be the rest of my life. Will I be able to reduce my medication in the future? Maybe. That is something that I work with my doctor on. Working with your doctor is critical to success.

4. What are some triggers you’ve experienced?

Read Tris’s answer to this question and the remainder of the interview after the fold…
Read More

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By Liberty -- 3 comments