Lets Talk About skin Care, Beauty And Health Tips

FDA is going to ban several counter skin lightening products that contain hydroquinone because studies on rodents has shown that hydroquinone, a kind of bleaching agent that may cause cancer. While the actual risk of hydroquinone is still unknown, FDA said the products should be restricted to prescription use under medical supervision. Before hydroquinone, another skin bleaching drug, ammoniated mercury, has been declared unsafe in 1990.

The fact that hydroquinone links to a disfiguring condition called ochronosis has been widely documented since 1975 in black women and men in South Africa, Britain and the U.S. The ochronosis is a condition marked by the darkening and thickening of the skin and appearance of tiny dome-shaped and grayish-brown spots.

Skin lighteners are usually used to treat skin problems such as freckles, blemishes, sun spots or age spots. While in some countries skin lighteners are not very popular, in other countries skin lighteners have been over used to gain a whiter complexion. Hydroquinone has been banned in some European countries, Australia and Japan.

FDA has published the proposed rule on August 29th, 2006 in the Federal Register and will accept public comments through December 26th, 2006. It has not confirmed when the rule will become permanent.

Cured meats, hmm... delicious! But don't eat cured meats in large portions. Recent study shows that people who consume large amounts of cured meats have about 3% reduction in lung function compared to those who never eat cured meats.

The study conducted by Graham Barr at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, U.S. surveyed more than 7500 people - 20% of them never ate cured meats, while another 20% were regular consumers of cured meats at least 14 times a month.

During the study, participants breathed into a machine that is used to measure lung function and test on how quickly they could blow out air. Participants who were regular consumers of cured meats blew out 115 milliliters of air less per second than those who never ate cured meats. A healthy person usually is able to expel about 2.5 litres to 3.0 litres of air from lungs per second.

According to Graham Barr, a link between processed meats and cancer has been found on previous studies and this is the first study to show an affect on lung function in humans.

The nitrogen-containing compounds that food producers use to cure meats may become reactive in the body and attack proteins that give lungs their elasticity. A 3% drop in lung function may not be noticed by average person, but it is a significant and noticeable reduction for those with lung disease.

However, more researches need to be done and this preliminary analysis should not stop you from eating cured meats, just watch out your portion, please!

LASIK surgery is a very popular eye surgery among people who wear contact lenses or glasses. LASIK eye surgery has been proved to successfully correct common vision problems (myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, astigmatism and a combination thereof) in most of LASIK patients.

Studies on LASIK outcomes reported that at least 90% of LASIK patients achieve 20/40 or better visual acuity after LASIK surgery. This means that only 1% or less of LASIK patients that experience complications after the surgery and even most of the complications are treatable with enhancement surgery.

LASEK is a relatively new eye surgery, developed for patients that will not do very well with LASIK. The condition is probably because they have too thin or too flat of cornea. LASEK is an abbreviation of Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis. It is basically a variation of PRK (Photo Refractive Keratectomy). PRK is an eye surgery that has existed before LASIK eye surgery.

Studies show that LASEK procedure may helps in reducing risk of LASIK complications that usually occur when cutting the corneal flap during the LASIK surgery - not ideal in thickness and diameter.

New research has proven that there is a connection between acid reflux and esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus.

Mayo Clinic's gastroenterologists, G. Richard Locke III, M.D., and Yvonne Romero, M.D., say that only five percent of individulas who experience acid reflux will develop Barett's esophagus and once it is diagnosed, the patients will have a 30- to 125-fold increased risk of developing esophageal cancer.

Barrett's esophagus is a condition which damage to the cells that line the esophagus and causes these cells to become abnormal. The damage is mostly caused by chronic acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or inflamed esophagus.

Acid reflux is a common and one of the most frequent causes of indigestion.

If you have Barrett's esophagus symptoms, such as heartburn pain at night, blood in the stools, swallowing problems and vomiting, please visit your doctor and tell him or her your symptoms before it get worse.