Fresh back from vacation, I’m glad to bring you a round up of the most interesting (per me) recent articles from a favorite site of ours (mine), MedGadget.
Panty-Hose as a Caffeine Delivery System
Acupressure/Acupuncture Enabled Clothing for Athletes and Dieters
The Zero Tension Ergonomic Mouse for RSI Sufferers
Portable Device to Treat Migraines, Schizophrenia and Depression?
Add comment June 26th, 2006
While a Starbucks-style frappuccino may not be especially healthy, it is a relatively pleasant caffeine delivery system.
Blogger Derek Kurth documents his family’s recipe for the perky, sweet beverage that has a comparable flavor for a cost that ranges from about a third down to a fifth of the retail cost!
The nuts and bolts:
mix a pot of fresh brewed vanilla coffee with 6 cups of whole milk, 1 cup of sugar, and almost 1 tsp of powdered cocoa mix. Pour into sterile bottles and chill.
You may wish to substitute bulk Splenda for the sugar.
Read the full article:
Roll Your Own Frappuccinos
Via BoingBoing.
Add comment May 4th, 2006
While circumstances may have slowed the pace of our posting for a time, they cannot stanch the flow of MEDICAL PROGRESSS!
Therefore we bring unto you the gift of LINKS!
We are all doomed. See: Pimp My Snack (I can’t believe this site is not by an American!)
The Shangri-La Diet book goes on sale TODAY: The SHangri-La Diet by Seth Roberts
Don’t put staples in your ear to lose weight!
Add comment April 25th, 2006
Pancreatitis is a disorder wherein the body actually digests portions of the Pancreas. It is often caused by alchoholism, and has long been known to be inhibited by the consumption of coffee. A new study has finally found the reason for the coffee’s effect on the disease. This is as reported by the University of Liverpool in the publication TRENDS in Pharmacological Sciences and Gastroenterology.
A press release from U of L states:
Researchers at the University have now discovered that caffeine can partially close special channels within cells, reducing to some extent the damaging effects of alcohol products on the pancreas.
Professor Ole Petersen and Professor Robert Sutton, from the University’s Physiological Laboratory and Division of Surgery, have found that cells in the pancreas can be damaged by products of alcohol and fat formed in the pancreas when oxygen levels in the organ are low. Under these conditions, excessive amounts of calcium are released from stores within the cells of the pancreas. Special organelles, called mitochondria, also become damaged and cannot produce the energiser that normally allows calcium to be pumped out of the cells. The excess calcium then activates protein breakdown, destroying the cells in the pancreas.
Professor Petersen explains: “The primary cause of the build up in calcium ion concentration is movement of calcium ions from a store inside the cells into the cell water through special channels in the store membrane. We have found that caffeine, present in drinks such as coffee can at least partially close these channels. This explains why coffee consumption can reduce the risk of alcoholic pancreatitis. The caffeine effect, however, is weak and excessive coffee intake has its own dangers, so we have to search for better agents.
So, if you are a heavy drinker, think about switching to Irish Coffee, or making that hooch a chaser for a nice latte.
Add comment April 19th, 2006
C0ca-C0la Blak is the newest beverage from the C0ke people. It is billed as a “Carbonated Fusion Beverage”, which mixes C0ke and coffee. This results in a slightly bitter, effervescent toffee-flavored drink that is most, umm, different.
The caffeine content is not specified on the label, beyond acknowledgement of its presence. It did not have me “bouncing off the walls”. It did actually make me vomit, though.
For purposes of this review, I’m torn as to whether the three-word review should be:
Take your pick, either is appropriate.
(45 calories, 30 mg sodium, 12g carbs, all sugar)
1 comment April 10th, 2006
For those of you who simply cannot abuse your sleep-deprived bodies enough, we present the Buzzaire Caffeine inhaler. This unbelievable item has 120 mg of caffeine per puff, roughly equivalent to two 12 oz. cans of Jolt Cola or a regular cup of coffee plus a 12 oz. Coke. Available from ThinkGeek Caffeine.
Found via Medgadget.
Add comment April 5th, 2006
Read More:
Pink Power: TaB Is Back, Sort Of [Fox News]
Technorati Tags: diet soda, tonic, pop, energy drink, caffeine, ginseng, taurine, carnitine, Splenda, Sucralose
Add comment March 2nd, 2006
Sometimes, when driving late at night or early in the morning, I feel like this image. But no more! Brad Isaac, whose blog is called Achieve-IT! brings our attention to research from the Loughborough University which demonstrates that people who have had insufficient sleep are most alert after taking a “Caffeine Nap”. The test compared sleepy drivers who attempted to focus by, among other things, blasting the stereo, rolling down the windows and slapping themselves.
So what exactly IS a Caffeine Nap? Simply this: drink a cup of coffee, then immediately take a nap lasting exactly fifteen minutes.
From the article:
Researchers found coffee helps clear your system of adenosine, a chemical which makes you sleepy. So in testing, the combination of a cup of coffee with an immediate nap chaser provided the most alertness for the longest period of time.
Read More:
How to Take A Caffeine Nap [Achieve-IT]
via Lifehacker
Add comment February 16th, 2006
MAKE Mag points to D1llD0e’s blog post on DIY chocolate-espresso snacks.
The recipe calls for adding your favorite coffee beans, freshly ground (coarse), to melted semi-sweet chocolate, mixing well and spreading over buttered wax paper (parchment paper may be better, as suggested in one reader’s comment). Once the confection has cooled and been cut into 2×2 inch squares, popping a couple should perk you up nicely whenever the need arises.
Read More:
Chocolate Jolt! [D1lld0e.blogspot.com]
Add comment February 7th, 2006
One for the Coffee-heads:
The main ways of making coffee up to this point have been the percolator, drip, pressurised espresso method, cold-brew
As someone who has worked as a barrista in a previous life, I must say I’m a bit skeptical that this concentrate is a good substitute for straight espresso, (because there would be no Crema, the delicate pale brown foam that is the mark of a well drawn shot of Cafe Espresso). I’m willing to concede that it may make a perfectly acceptible “espresso-based drink”, such as a latte, cappuccino, cafe mocha or Americano.
As an aside, an Americano made in this way would be the same as a regular coffee made this way. That is actually appropriate, though, as the term Americano is used somewhat derisively by europeans who think US-style coffee tastes like watered-down espresso, anyway.
The main differences between this type of coffee maker and a french press are that the Aeropress has a open bottom and sits over a cup or container. After the coffee is properly brewed, it is pressed out from above using a plunger. Unlike a french press, the Aeropress is self cleaning. The reason the flavor is supposedly better than that of a standard press is that the special filtration system allows for a finer grind.
A normal french press requires a coarse grind and therefore a longer brew. Since the Aeropress can use a standard grind (as for a drip coffee maker) it is able to brew faster, picking up less bitterness and more pure-coffee flavor.
The Aeropress also has a more reasonable price than many of the other coffee making technologies available today - about US$30.00.
Read More:
The AeroPress Coffee Machine: a new concept in an ancient art [GizMag]
1 comment January 30th, 2006
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