WELLNEWS

WELLNEWS: Your fingernails are growing while you read this

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/CELIA STOREY
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/CELIA STOREY

Millions of people think they have a food allergy, and millions of people actually do — but maybe not so many as think they do. Reported in JAMA Network, researchers surveyed more than 40,000 adults about whether they thought they were allergic to particular foods and, if so, what kinds of symptoms they had.

Symptoms of genuine food allergy included problems like chest pain, throat tightening or hives. Mere gastrointestinal distress didn't count.

Nineteen percent of surveyed adults believed they had an allergy, but only 11 percent actually did. The scientists' advice: People who think they have a food allergy should be tested.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Fingernails grow at 0.02 inches per week, four times faster than toenails. This translates to 0.0028 inches in a day or 0.000119 inches per hour. The middle fingernail grows fastest; the thumb slowest.

The Pacific Plate — one half of what makes the San Andreas Fault — is moving northwest at roughly 3 inches per year, three times faster than fingernails grow.

SELF-EXAM

Q: What percentage of the average person's waking hours is spent thinking about something other than what he's doing?

a) 10 percent

b) 29 percent

c) 33 percent

d) 47 percent

See answer below.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

March is national awareness month for bleeding disorders, colorectal cancer, endometriosis, kidneys, nutrition, gambling addiction, trisomy disorders (such as Down syndrome) and cheerleader safety.

A 2015 study found that high school cheerleading ranked 18 out of 22 sports studied in terms of injury rate, but was second after gymnastics in terms of severity of injuries. Concussions were the most common cheerleading injury.

Within March, there are awareness weeks for patient safety (March 10-16), brains and sleep (both March 11-17). March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. March 26 is American Diabetes Alert Day.

IG NOBEL APPRISED

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate research that makes people laugh — and then think.

In 2007, the Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition went to Brian Wansink of Cornell University for a study in which participants partook of a self-refilling bottomless bowl of soup. The hypothesis was that if consumers didn't see how much they had eaten, they would eat more, despite feelings of satiety. The bottomless bowl consumers — who did not know the bowl was self-refilling — ate 73 percent more, but did not think so, nor did they perceive themselves as more sated than those who ate from normal bowls.

MEDICAL MYTHS

A gleaming white smile doesn't indicate healthier teeth. Tooth hue is influenced in part by genes and age, combined with stains from smoking, eating, drinking and taking certain medications. These may or may not have any relevance to your underlying dental health.

Also, as you get older, teeth can yellow as enamel wears away, exposing the dentine beneath. Abrasive toothpastes and chemicals, some intended to whiten teeth, can accelerate this process.

SELF-EXAM ANSWER

The answer is d) 47 percent — according to researchers at Harvard University.

GOOD MEDICINE

"What happened to you, Mr. Smith? You look terrible."

"Well, Doc, you told me to take this medicine for three days and then skip a day. All that skipping wore me out."

BETTER MEDICINE

A brief history of medicine:

2000 B.C.: Here, eat this root.

A.D. 1000: That root is heathen. Say this prayer.

A.D. 1850: That prayer is superstition. Drink this potion.

A.D. 1940: That potion is snake oil. Swallow this pill.

A.D. 1985: That pill is ineffective. Take this antibiotic.

A.D. 2019: That antibiotic doesn't work. Here, eat this root.

BEST MEDICINE

Smoking will kill you. Bacon will kill you. But smoking bacon will cure it.

Syndicated science writer Scott LaFee's column of health-related humor appears occasionally in Style.

Style on 03/18/2019

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