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Nursing a hangover this morning? Our Drinkhacker has just the cure. While you’re washing those bananas down with water, read up on why you feel terrible in the first place: • Dehydration — “Each 250ml of alcoholic beverage will produce up to 500ml of urine. So, it is easy to see how a long night of drinking can lead to significant dehydration,” said Burke. While this is common knowledge, there’s a lesser-known twist to dehydration’s impact: Along with all that peeing go the vitamins and minerals you need to survive. • Acetaldehyde toxicity — Alcohol breaks down into something called acetaldehyde, which is essentially a toxin, a close cousin of formaldehyde, said Dr. Victor Sierpina. It causes headaches, nausea and vomiting — and the more AcA in your body, the worse you feel. Burke said AcA toxicity is the primary driver of hangover symptoms. • Glutamine rebound — Alcohol doesn’t just make toxins, it also prevents the body from creating certain nutrients. Glutamine, an amino acid that controls the nervous system, is one of them. Glutamine production falls while you drink, then goes into overdrive when you stop. This sudden burst of glutamine makes you anxious and irritable … and is why you can’t get back to sleep while you’re nursing your hangover. • Short-term alcohol withdrawal — It’s like “Trainspotting” on a very small scale. After a binge, you go through withdrawal, which can include (more) anxiety, mood swings, depression, a racing heartbeat, nightmares and even more fun stuff.

Nursing a hangover this morning? Our Drinkhacker has just the cure. While you’re washing those bananas down with water, read up on why you feel terrible in the first place:

• Dehydration — “Each 250ml of alcoholic beverage will produce up to 500ml of urine. So, it is easy to see how a long night of drinking can lead to significant dehydration,” said Burke. While this is common knowledge, there’s a lesser-known twist to dehydration’s impact: Along with all that peeing go the vitamins and minerals you need to survive.

• Acetaldehyde toxicity — Alcohol breaks down into something called acetaldehyde, which is essentially a toxin, a close cousin of formaldehyde, said Dr. Victor Sierpina. It causes headaches, nausea and vomiting — and the more AcA in your body, the worse you feel. Burke said AcA toxicity is the primary driver of hangover symptoms.

• Glutamine rebound — Alcohol doesn’t just make toxins, it also prevents the body from creating certain nutrients. Glutamine, an amino acid that controls the nervous system, is one of them. Glutamine production falls while you drink, then goes into overdrive when you stop. This sudden burst of glutamine makes you anxious and irritable … and is why you can’t get back to sleep while you’re nursing your hangover.

• Short-term alcohol withdrawal — It’s like “Trainspotting” on a very small scale. After a binge, you go through withdrawal, which can include (more) anxiety, mood swings, depression, a racing heartbeat, nightmares and even more fun stuff.

You work out your abs and glutes — why not your face? Watch our Justin Rocket Silverman try out “Face Yoga.”

(Source: youtube.com)

Yikes! A new study found that grapefruit can be deadly when paired with certain prescription drugs. Potentially dangerous ones include common cholesterol-reducing medications, such as Zocor and Lipitor, and blood pressure medications such as Nifediac and Afeditab.

Yikes! A new study found that grapefruit can be deadly when paired with certain prescription drugs.

Potentially dangerous ones include common cholesterol-reducing medications, such as Zocor and Lipitor, and blood pressure medications such as Nifediac and Afeditab.

Should birth control pills be available over the counter, without a presciption? A group of OB/GYNs think so. The simple argument: Easier access could help lower the nation’s 50% unintended pregnancy rate — a statistic that hasn’t changed in 20 years and costs tax payers about $1 billion each year.

Should birth control pills be available over the counter, without a presciption?

A group of OB/GYNs think so. The simple argument: Easier access could help lower the nation’s 50% unintended pregnancy rate — a statistic that hasn’t changed in 20 years and costs tax payers about $1 billion each year.

Before you trust someone wearing a white coat and stethoscope, make sure his medical degree is legit: He could be a doctor impostor. The number of fake physicians — they see patients, write prescriptions and even perform surgery — is growing nationwide, but exact figures aren’t available since local, state and federal law enforcement agencies all can make busts for practicing medicine without a license. Plastic surgeons are favorites of the phonies, a trend that alarms a professional group for the doctors who really are certified in the specialty. “Every plastic surgeon that I’ve spoken to about this issue over the last year and a half or two years is seeing an increasing number of unfortunate, and in some cases, disastrous outcomes because patients have not done their homework,” said Malcolm Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “It’s something that is all over the U.S.”

Before you trust someone wearing a white coat and stethoscope, make sure his medical degree is legit: He could be a doctor impostor.

The number of fake physicians — they see patients, write prescriptions and even perform surgery — is growing nationwide, but exact figures aren’t available since local, state and federal law enforcement agencies all can make busts for practicing medicine without a license.

Plastic surgeons are favorites of the phonies, a trend that alarms a professional group for the doctors who really are certified in the specialty.

“Every plastic surgeon that I’ve spoken to about this issue over the last year and a half or two years is seeing an increasing number of unfortunate, and in some cases, disastrous outcomes because patients have not done their homework,” said Malcolm Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “It’s something that is all over the U.S.”

Did you know skinny does not equal healthy? It’s actually possible to appear thin and still be deceptively, unhealthily fat. Call it skinnyfat: “A model was sent to me for high cholesterol and I thought, ‘How did that happen?’” marveled Maye Musk, a registered dietitian in New York (and, at 64, a model herself.) “It turns out she’d been eating cookies all day.” Musk’s sweet-toothed client and other Americans are “skinny fat,” a troubling health phenomenon sparking increasing concern from doctors who say that outwardly thin patients who neglect healthy nutrition and exercise may be “fat” on the inside, suffering from health woes ranging from poor muscle mass to high cholesterol, heart disease and fat build-up around vital organs.

Did you know skinny does not equal healthy? It’s actually possible to appear thin and still be deceptively, unhealthily fat. Call it skinnyfat:

“A model was sent to me for high cholesterol and I thought, ‘How did that happen?’” marveled Maye Musk, a registered dietitian in New York (and, at 64, a model herself.) “It turns out she’d been eating cookies all day.”

Musk’s sweet-toothed client and other Americans are “skinny fat,” a troubling health phenomenon sparking increasing concern from doctors who say that outwardly thin patients who neglect healthy nutrition and exercise may be “fat” on the inside, suffering from health woes ranging from poor muscle mass to high cholesterol, heart disease and fat build-up around vital organs.

The weekend is finally here! And our WKND style magazine is back, brimming with everything from technology etiquette from Emily Post’s great-great-granddaughter to medical advice for uncontrollable snarting (really). We picked a few of our favorites: 

For the real deal, tap open your Daily app. Have a great WKND!

breakingnews: West Nile cases in US jump 25% over last week The number of cases of West Nile virus reported in the U.S. rose 25% in the latest week. The number of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease jumped 32%, health officials say. Reuters reports: The 1,993 cases reported so far in 2012, up from 1,590 reported the week before, is the highest number of West Nile cases reported to federal health officials through the first week in September since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Photo: A Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is shown on a human finger in this undated photograph from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This type of mosquito is associated with transmission of the West Nile virus. (Handout / Reuters)

breakingnews:

West Nile cases in US jump 25% over last week

The number of cases of West Nile virus reported in the U.S. rose 25% in the latest week. The number of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease jumped 32%, health officials say.

Reuters reports:

The 1,993 cases reported so far in 2012, up from 1,590 reported the week before, is the highest number of West Nile cases reported to federal health officials through the first week in September since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Photo: A Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is shown on a human finger in this undated photograph from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This type of mosquito is associated with transmission of the West Nile virus. (Handout / Reuters)

Need to stay motivated? Here’s how to find the perfect wellness coach (and why everyone needs one):  Unlike a personal trainer or nutritionist, who offers a specific set of instructions, a wellness coach provides overall encouragement and motivation using positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy and other coaching techniques. Sessions are typically conducted in person, over the phone or via Skype. “The broadest way to put it is that wellness coaching is support,” said Meg Spencer, manager of training and development at Wellness Coaches USA, which offers workplace wellness coaching. “It works because of the relationship and the ability to chat with someone you can trust, so you can explore why health matters and whether or not to make any changes.” 

Need to stay motivated? Here’s how to find the perfect wellness coach (and why everyone needs one): 

Unlike a personal trainer or nutritionist, who offers a specific set of instructions, a wellness coach provides overall encouragement and motivation using positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy and other coaching techniques. Sessions are typically conducted in person, over the phone or via Skype.

“The broadest way to put it is that wellness coaching is support,” said Meg Spencer, manager of training and development at Wellness Coaches USA, which offers workplace wellness coaching. “It works because of the relationship and the ability to chat with someone you can trust, so you can explore why health matters and whether or not to make any changes.” 

Deaths from the West Nile virus have hit an eight-year high and the number of cases reported this summer are the most since the disease was first detected in 1999. Still, officials are scratching their heads over why mosquitos are out with a vengeance this year.  The death toll now stands at 27 and 693 cases have been reported by health officials, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta… “It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years,” Dr. Marc Fischer, a medical epidemiologist with CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch, said earlier this month.

Deaths from the West Nile virus have hit an eight-year high and the number of cases reported this summer are the most since the disease was first detected in 1999. Still, officials are scratching their heads over why mosquitos are out with a vengeance this year. 

The death toll now stands at 27 and 693 cases have been reported by health officials, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta…

“It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years,” Dr. Marc Fischer, a medical epidemiologist with CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch, said earlier this month.