Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas. You cannot see, smell or taste radon but it may be a problem in your home. When you breathe air containing radon, you increase your risk of getting lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeons General’s Office have urged widespread testing for radon. They estimated that as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused each year by radon. Next to smoking, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

The EPA says that nearly 1 in 3 homes checked in seven states and on three Indian lands had screening levels over 4 pCi/L, the EPA’s recommended action level for radon exposure.

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Noise exists all around us, externally in the form of things like traffic, television, and cell phones, and internally in the form of constant thoughts. More and more, both mainstream and alternative experts are encouraging increased silence, both from outside and inside your mind, as a way to improve your health and well-being.

Hospitals Reduce Noise to Help Healing

Noise levels at hospitals around the world are known to be incredibly high, and now anti-noise campaigns have been started to help keep things quiet.

According to Margaret Amato, clinical director of nursing at Montefiore Medical Center, noise levels during a shift change in a hospital can reach 113 decibels (a motorcycle, for comparison, is 95 decibels).

“Hospital noise levels are far too high internationally, and this has been known for decades,” said Roger Ulrich, a professor of architecture at Texas A&M University.

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Back pain is extremely common, with four out of five adults facing it at least once during their lives, according to the Mayo Clinic.

And a nationwide phone survey of over 1,200 Americans, sponsored by Stanford University Medical Center, ABC News and USA Today, found that back pain was the most common type of pain reported (followed by knee and shoulder pain, joint pain and headaches).

Because your back is part of your body’s core muscles, and is necessary for nearly every movement you make, it’s also very vulnerable to injury. In fact, most back pain is caused by overusing, straining or injuring the muscles, ligaments and disks that support your spine.

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As many as 3 million U.S. women may be unknowingly at risk of heart disease because they suffer from coronary microvascular syndrome (CMS), according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study.

Women with CMS may have shortness of breath or chest pain, but, upon visiting their doctor, be told nothing is wrong and sent home. That’s because CMS is not detected by an angiogram, which is widely accepted as the best test for diagnosing heart disease.

Unlike typical heart disease cases, in which accumulated plaque in the large arteries shows up as bulky clogs, in CMS plaque “evenly coats” the very small arteries of the heart. The arteries are too small to appear on the angiogram, much like “seeing a pine tree’s branches but not its needles,” said Dr. George Sopko, a heart specialist at the National Institutes of Health.

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Beekeepers have been raising bees to produce honey since at least 700 BC. Back then, this sweet, natural sweetener was a rarity used in religious ceremonies and for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.

Typically, the only people who could afford honey for eating were the very wealthy.

Nowadays, you can find honey in a variety of colors, flavors and textures (not to mention qualities) in just about every supermarket.

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How many times have you vowed to lose 20 pounds starting with the New Year or said that this was the year you were going to cut back on your drinking or quit smoking once and for all?

After celebrating on New Year’s Eve and using it as the last hurrah to overindulge, most people set out on a stringent quest of resolutions beginning the very next day. Then around the end of January, many fail to live up to their stated resolutions, give up and go back to their former lifestyle.

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About one-third of U.S. adults, and 16 percent of children and teens, are currently obese, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while it’s known that obesity increases your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and even cancer, what’s not entirely known are all of the causes.

Experts agree that overeating and lack of exercise are two major contributors to excess weight. But recent research has suggested that something else may also be at play — a virus that’s as easy to catch as the common cold.

Is There an Obesity Virus?

Studies suggest that an adenovirus called AD-36 may be involved in some cases of obesity. There are more than 50 types of adenoviruses that cause illnesses such as the common cold and gastroenteritis. Typically, the illnesses are not serious and resolve on their own.

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While most people visualize their Thanksgiving Day as a warm and loving time surrounded by family, cozy aromas of turkey and stuffing cooking in the oven and feelings of gratitude, it can also induce stress brought on by high expectations, hectic preparation for the big day, family spats and nagging worries of overeating. It’s things like this that build up and many times take the joy out of what could be a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday.

The key is to be prepared in advance before the holiday to create your ideal Thanksgiving, one without stress and chaos.

If you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner there are 10 things on your checklist to make it as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.

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