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DO NOT COMBINE THESE! -- Alcohol affects your liver. So does the painkiller acetaminophen found in Tylenol and other brands. One thing you should never do is take any acetaminophen-based medication when drinking alcohol.

COMMON REMEDY FOR ECZEMA -- Use Noxema (the original formula) instead of lotions, that is what it was originally made for. Hence the name "Noxema" or no eczema.

VITAMIN B UPDATE -- New data from Nurses’ Health Survey indicate that women who consume high amounts of foods rich in vitamin B-9 (folic acid) and B-6 have a 50% lower risk of developing heart disease. Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables, oranges, lentils, while B-6 is found in bananas, potatoes, and garbanzo beans. These two B vitamins are believed to keep an amino acid called homocysteine from building up in the blood. Homocysteine is a breakdown product of animal protein that is strongly implicated in atherosclerosis.

FYI -- British researchers have confirmed some age-old advice: It is beneficial to lick your wound. The nitrite in saliva apparently promotes healing by breaking down into nitric oxide, a powerful antimicrobial compound.

8 TIPS FOR PREVENTING STROKES -- 1. Eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet. 2. Watch your salt intake, especially if you have a family history of stroke, heart disease, or high blood pressure. 3. Get regular exercise. 4. Practice relaxation. Stress can contribute to stroke by increasing blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and blood clotting. 5. Maintain normal blood pressure. Have it checked regularly. 6. Do not smoke. Smoking increases the clotting tendency of the blood. 7. Consider aspirin. Aspirin keeps platelets from clumping, reducing the risk of blood clots. Do not take aspirin if you have been prescribed the blood-thinning drug Coumadin. 8. Know the warning signs of a stroke, or a brain attack, which should be giving the same urgency as a heart attack. According to a recent survey by University of Cincinnati, 27% of adults could not name even one warning sign of stroke. They include sudden weakness or numbness of the face, leg, or arm on one side of the body; sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye, difficulty speaking or understanding speech, sudden severe headaches with no apparent cause, or unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness, or sudden falls.

FYI -- Apples will wake you up more than caffeine.

POISON IVY -- Keep this in mind next summer: for relief of poison ivy rashes, take a watermelon slice (the rind and the fruit) and glide it over the rash. Let it dry naturally. Within a day, the condition should improve greatly.

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE -- A great article in a previous issue of Time magazine picks up on the now famous "Nun Study" by Dr. David Snowdon, where a Minnesota order of 678 nuns has allowed science to intensively investigate their writing, diet, lifestyle, even their brains when they die. Some tentative, yet useful epidemiological results that may slow down the dreaded disease’s mental deterioration for all of us suggest that we: 1. get educated and keep ourselves mentally busy, to build up an "extra reserve of mental capacity" to stay functioning despite the loss of brain tissue; 2. avoid head trauma and strokes: wear a helmet when cycling, buckle your seat belt, drive a car with air bags, and keep your cardiovascular system in top shape by exercising, avoiding tobacco, and eating a healthy, balanced diet; 3. include folic acid in that diet; and 4. maintain a positive attitude.

FIND ANOTHER PLACE FOR THE MEDS -- One of the worst places you can store your medicine is in the bathroom. The chemistry of a medication can be altered due to the room’s heat and moisture.

HOME REMEDY FOR SCARLESS HEALING -- Carefully crack open a raw egg and remove the skin that is inside the shell. Put the wet side on the cut for speedy healing without a scar.

WEIGHT TRAINING TIP -- When using a leg extension machine to strengthen quadriceps, make sure you set the machine so that you do not sit too far forward which puts stress on your knees or sit too far back which can put stress on your back. If you do not get the right feel of it, ask a trainer to help you find the correct setting for your height.

FYI -- Carrots were first grown as a medicine not as a food.

VITAMIN E LATEST -- You should take a vitamin E supplement even if you think you do not need it. Recent research concludes that antioxidants such as vitamin E may indeed be protection against free radicals that contribute to diseases such as cancer and even arthritis. Exact recommended daily required amounts are still in contention but it is certainly safe to take 400 International Units daily.

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FEATURED MINI-ARTICLE #1

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Running may give the brain a workout, too. A new study finds that individuals consistently scored higher on intellectual tests after embarking on a running program. "These improvements, however, went down when the joggers stopped their training, which suggests that ongoing exercise is required to maintain the benefit," said study lead author Dr. Kisou Kubota of Nihon Fukushi University in Handa, Japan. The findings were presented in San Diego at a recent meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

Recent studies have suggested that exercise benefits both brawn and brain. Researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, reported earlier this year that seniors who embarked on a 4-month exercise program showed significant improvement in memory and other mental skills, also known as cognitive function. Other studies have shown that regular workouts can help fight depression, as well.

In their study, Kubota's team had seven healthy young people initiate a jogging regimen consisting of running for 30 minutes, two to three times a week for at least 12 weeks. Each of the runners also took a series of complex computer-based tests, to compare memory skills before and after the 3-month jogging program. After 12 weeks of jogging, scores on all of the tests "significantly increased" in the runners, as did their reaction times in completing the tests. The researchers point out that the study participants were given no time to practice the various tests between each evaluation. "These tests showed that joggers had a clear improvement in prefrontal function," Kubota said, adding that scores began to fall again if participants stopped their running routine.

Exactly how exercise might strengthen mental sharpness is unclear, but previous research suggests that maintaining a healthy flow of blood and oxygen protects the brain. The Japanese researchers note that oxygen intake rose along with joggers' test scores. The findings could have implications for the elderly, as well. In a "Society for Neuroscience" statement, Kubota said the research may someday help doctors find a way to use exercise and running to help aged people and those with Alzheimer's disease improve their cognitive function.

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FEATURED MINI-ARTICLE #2

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A Malignant Melanoma

Many popular websites carrying information about the most dangerous form of skin cancer are inaccurate, says a survey. Researchers writing in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" say doctors should be prepared to point web-using patients towards the best sites. More people than ever are searching the web for information after being diagnosed with cancer.

However, the researchers say that many sites contain incomplete information, which they say could increase the anxiety felt by patients. Christopher Bichakjian, a lecturer in dermatology, said: "No-one expects every website on a given topic to include every bit of information available, but the lack of even basic preventive, diagnostic, treatment and risk factor data on so many sites amazed us.

Search engines

"The fact that this kind of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, so often strikes young adults, who might be most likely to turn to the internet for medical information, gives website quality of even more importance."

Researchers conducted the study simply by typing melanoma into six of the most popular search engines, and two medical search engines.

They found 74 websites which contained information about the condition, and assessed whether they carried any of 35 different "gold standard" pieces of information, from basic definitions and incidence rates to specific risk factors and options for treatment. At least half the sites contained only eight of these pieces of information.

False information

One in eight sites contained incorrect information - some minor, but some potentially dangerous. Professor Timothy Johnson, director of the University of Michigan's melanoma clinic, who co-authored the study, said: "Some sites recommended unnecessary tests and more invasive, unnecessary surgery."

Only just over half the sites listed the signs and symptoms of melanoma, despite the fact that it can be easily visible on the skin's surface. Few also carried information on the importance of keeping out of the sun, or wearing sunscreen or clothing to protect the skin. Skin cancers of all types are among the most common cancers in humans - although melanomas make up only a small proportion of these.

Melanoma is dangerous because it is more likely to spread to other parts of the body than other skin cancers, making it harder to treat.

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FEATURED MINI-ARTICLE #3

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A study in Antarctica has supported theories that night shift workers are at increased risk of developing heart disease. Previous laboratory studies have led to similar conclusions, but this is the first time the link has been shown under real conditions, say researchers from the University of Surrey in Guildford.

The team says their findings could have major significance, as an estimated 20% of the United Kingdom workforce, around six million people, does shift work. Shift work has been found to disrupt circadian rhythms, the daily cycle. Previous studies have looked at how the stress of night shifts could be linked to increased heart disease risk.

This research examined how the body reacts after a meal, depending on what time of the day it is eaten.

Post-meal checks

Researchers looked at 12 healthy night shift workers aged 24 to 34 years at the British Antarctic Survey station at Halley Bay in Antarctica. Their hormonal and metabolic responses to meals were measured during daytime on a normal working day, during night time at the beginning of a period of night shift work and during the daytime on return from night working to daytime working. The workers did a week of normal 9am to 5pm shifts before changing to a week of midnight to 8am shifts with no time to adapt, then back again after another seven days. Blood and urine checks were also carried out. It was found that after a meal, night shift workers' blood levels of glucose, insulin, and triacylglycerol (TAG), a fat which stores energy, were significantly higher than in normal daytime hours.

Fat deposits

Levels of glucose and insulin returned to pre-shift levels two days after returning to daytime working, but TAG levels were still found to be raised. When TAG levels are high, it is easier for fat deposits to form on the inside of arteries, leading to vascular disease. Dr Linda Morgan, a reader in nutritional endocrinology who worked on the study, told BBC News Online: "This has a couple of implications.

"If you are working a rotational shift system, your body clock is probably not adjusting at all."

She said it was also important for night shift workers to eat healthily - something shift workers often do not do.

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HEALTHY RECIPE-OF-THE-MONTH