Many stars will be present at the “Stand Up To Cancer” telethon on Friday night, including some who are cancer survivors themselves. Continue Reading

The contestants on “The Biggest Loser: Couples” all walked away winners with their significant weight loss and new self-images, but only one walked away with the big prize and title of “The Biggest Loser” on the finale Tuesday night on NBC.

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, has recalled romaine lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening illness, according to reports.

On May 5, 2010, the New York state Public Health Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, in Albany reported finding E. coli O145 in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods shredded romaine lettuce being recalled, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The recalled shredded romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, and some in-store salad bars and delis in the following areas: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to Freshway Foods.

The recalled shredded romaine lettuce has a “best if used by” date of May 12 or earlier. Freshway Foods advises restaurants, distributors, and retailers to throw out or refrain from using shredded romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods with these “use by” dates.  Freshway Foods is also advising consumers not to eat “grab and go” salads sold in-store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores.

FDA investigators are looking at a farm in Yuma, Arizona, as a possible source of the widespread E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce, according to The Associated Press.

Escherichia coli O145 bacteria (E. coli O145) causes a diarrheal illness often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, but some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

Click here for more details about the recall from Freshway Foods.

A voluntary recall has been issued of infant and children’s liquid products due to manufacturing deficiencies which may affect quality, purity, or potency, according to manufacturer McNeil Consumer Healthcare and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The recall includes certain liquid infant’s and children’s Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl products.  Click here for a complete list of recalled products.

As a precautionary measure, parents and caregivers should not administer these products to their children, the FDA reported. Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified; others contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles, according to the recall notice. While the potential for serious medical events is remote, FDA advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.

Consumers can contact the company at 1 (888) 222-6036 and also at www.mcneilproductrecall.com.

For more information from the FDA, click here.

Fans can download Toby Keith’s performance of “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” from the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards to support cancer research on iTunes.

Toby Keith’s song, “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song),” is dedicated to his late friend, jazz artist and former basketball star Wayman Tisdale, who died of cancer. Keith performed the song on Sunday night at the ACM Awards, which were held in Las Vegas and aired on CBS (click here for more about the ACM Awards, its stars, and early winners.)

To download the song, go to www.iTunes.com/acm (you may have to download iTunes in order to access it).

Real life Sleeping Beauty a Fairy Tale dream or a horrid nightmare? A real life Sleeping Beauty exists, and Louisa Ball knows it all too well.  This real life Sleeping Beauty can sleep through entire weeks of class, entire birthday parties, camping trips, and other memorable life moments.

The name of the ailment that is affecting Louisa Ball is Kleine-Levin syndrome. It’s not a very common ailment and chances are Louisa will grow out of the illness – or at least she hopes.

Can you imagine being a real life Sleeping Beauty, unable to know when you will fall asleep, only to wake up weeks later? Nothing could be scarier.  Her parents have to shove food down her throat and get her to use the bathroom, only for her to fall asleep again!

I’m all for a good nap every now and again.  In fact, just yesterday I took myself a couple hour snooze in the middle of the afternoon.  However, it’s not something I would want to do every day, and sleeping is definitely not something I would want to do for weeks at a time.

The longest that Louisa Ball, the Real Life sleeping beauty, has ever slept is for 13 days.

Not sleeping can really impact your appearance and overall health. In addition to causing your eyes to droop and look puffy, not sleeping enough can also lead to obesity, according to various research. Here are five tips for catching up on your beauty sleep.

1. Shut the lights off at least an hour before going to sleep. When you have the lights on, your body remains adjusted to the light and feels as though it should be awake. By turning off the lights, you will be able to gradually prepare your body for wanting to sleep.

2. Stop eating the wrong foods before bedtime. When we are eating a late night snack, many of us reach for the leftover pizza. It is important to keep in mind, however, that what you eat can determine how well you are able to sleep. Try to avoid eating anything for three hours before bed but if you feel the need to, you should try to eat a small piece of fruit or popcorn, which is high in fiber.

3. Try to clear your head of all the stresses in your life. Ever hear the old saying, “Never go to bed angry”? There is a lot of truth to this. Try to deal with anything that may cause you to feel stressed out, upset, or angry at least a few hours before bedtime.

4. Take a short nap during the day. Keep in mind that a short nap means one hour. The length of the nap is so important because if you nap for longer than an hour, you are going to throw your whole sleep routine off balance. The best thing that you can do is use an alarm when taking a short nap during the day.

5. Avoid drinking anything before bedtime. Just like eating right before bedtime, you will want to avoid drinking anything as well. Otherwise, you can expect to be up all night feeling the urge to urinate as you have dreams about waterfalls. Not drinking anything before bedtime is even more critical than not eating the wrong foods before you try to sleep.

As you can see, there are a number of different ways to increase your chances of getting a good night’s sleep. Since sleep is so critical to functioning like a regular human being, as you may increase your likelihood of getting into a car crash when you are overly tired, it is important to do all that you can to get a good night’s sleep. Beauty sleep will also help you out if you are trying to reduce puffy, droopy eyes that you wake up with in the morning.

Getting tested for STDs is quite easy if you are a woman. You go to your gynecologist. Unfortunately, there are not gynecologists who cater to men. Getting tested for STDs can be somewhat more challenging because many men have no idea where to go. Here are some of the different places where men can go for STD testing.

Doctor’s Office

Primary care physicians are the first place that men should go if they want to get a STD test. STDs are typically tested through blood tests. Your doctor may take the blood at their office, or send you somewhere to have your blood taken. The only downfall to getting tested for STDs at a doctor’s office is that most offices will require you to have health insurance before they will allow you to make an appointment. Even if they do, you are going to spend a lot of money on the lab work and appointment itself.

State Health Department

State health departments are another great place for men to get tested for STDs. The good thing about these locations is that they are ideal for anyone who does not have health insurance coverage, as they are low cost or free. Many state health departments are only offered in larger cities or well known areas, however. Doing a Google search for your state’s health department will help you find the location which is closest to you.

College and High School Health Centers

For male students, college and high school health centers are another place where you can go for STD testing. Just like state health departments, these centers can be free or low cost for those who do not have insurance. However, all schools have their own policies in regards to their health centers. Even if you are not given a STD test at one of these centers, they may be able to tell you where to go.

If you suspect that you may have a sexually transmitted disease, the best thing that you can do is get tested. Getting diagnosed with a STD, regardless of what it is, will prevent it from causing any serious damage to you and prevent you from spreading it to others in the future. Don’t skip out on getting tested for STDs just because you don’t know where to go. There are many options available for men who are interested in getting tested for STDs.

For some women, getting pregnant can be a hassle. There are a number of different factors which can prevent you from becoming right away. Some of these may be problems that are somewhat easier to overcome than others. Here’s what you should know about the most common causes of infertility.

Health Conditions

It is possible that you could have one of the health conditions which causes infertility. Endometriosis, which is a condition in which the uterine tissue can be found outside of the uterus, is one of the leading causes of infertility. Another condition which can prevent you from becoming pregnant is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This condition occurs when the body produces too much androgen, which causes irregularities with ovulation. There are also ovulation disorders which can prevent you from easily becoming pregnant, as well as pelvic inflammatory disease. Women with these disorders will often need the help of a fertility specialist in order to become pregnant, but this does not mean that it can’t happen naturally.

Other Health Problems

There are a number of other health problems which can prevent you from becoming pregnant. Fallopian tube blockage or damage, increased levels of prolactin, uterine fibroids, pelvic adhesions and early menopause are all some of the health factors which could cause you to have a hard time becoming pregnant right away. Also note that certain medications, thyroid problems, diabetes, and kidney disease are all some of the health problems which can cause infertility.

Lifestyle and Relationship Factors

Various lifestyle and relationship factors can prevent pregnancy from occurring right away. Stress, especially when it is in regards to your relationship, can make pregnancy all the more challenging. It is often said to never try too hard to become pregnant, but to enjoy yourself in the process because it is likely to happen when efforts are more natural. A poor diet, obesity, drugs, alcohol, cigarette smoking, and being over 40 years old are all factors which can prevent you from becoming pregnant right away.

Keep in mind that it is often assumed that a woman is the only one who can experience infertility issues. The truth in the matter is that men can also have health problems which can affect fertility. The best thing that you can do if you are having a difficult time getting pregnant right away is seek the help of a fertility specialist. Finding out what health problems could be affecting one or both of you will greatly increase your chances of finding a solution to the problem.