10 Weird Things Humans Do

Weird Things Humans Do

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Cry

How odd that sadness causes water to spill from our eyes! Among all animals, we alone cry tears of emotion.

Not only do they serve the purpose of communicating feelings of distress, scientists believe tears also carry certain undesirable hormones and other proteins that are produced during periods of stress out of the body, which may explain the cathartic effect of "a good cry."

Lose Weight Smartly: 7 Little-Known Tricks that Shave Pounds

7 Little-Known Tricks that Shave Pounds

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Say no to numbers

When the ingredient list on packaged food includes numbers, put it down. Ingredients that include numbers as part of their names usually identify an item as a "convenience food" that’s full of fat and preservatives, said Dr. Carson Liu, a Los Angeles-based bariatric surgeon.

"If you're trying to lose weight, it's very, very difficult to do so with processed foods," Liu said, “because they have so many carbs, sugars and hidden ingredients."

Move It: Sitting Boosts Your Risk of Chronic Diseases

Sitting Boosts Your Risk of Chronic Diseases

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An inactive lifestyle may put you at risk for chronic diseases, even if you find time to hit the gym, researchers say.

"If people spend the majority of their time sitting, even with regular periods of exercise, they are still at greater risk for chronic diseases," said John Thyfault, assistant professor of nutrition and physiology at the University of Missouri. "If people can add some regular movement into their routines throughout the day, they will feel better and be less susceptible to health problems."

6 Foods That Are Good for Your Brain

Foods That Are Good for Your Brain

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Walnuts

They even look like little brains, so maybe that's Mother Nature's way of telling us what walnuts are good for.

Indeed, a 2009 study in the Journal of Nutrition found that diets in which nuts made up as little as 2 percent reversed signs of aging in the brains of old rats, including the ability of the brain to function and process information.

Music Can Soothe Cancer Patients' Anxiety

Music Can Soothe Cancer Patients' Anxiety

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Listening to music or playing an instrument may reduce anxiety and pain in cancer patients and improve their quality of life, according to a new review.

The findings suggest music therapy could be used in conjunction with other cancer treatments to improve patients' daily lives.

"I think it's definitely worth offering to patients [to] see if it works for them," said study researcher Joke Bradt, a music therapist and associate creative arts professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In contrast to anxiety-reducing medications, music therapy comes with almost no risk of adverse side effects and is cheaper, Bradt said.

Exercise Keeps Memories Safe from Infection's Effects

Exercise Keeps Memories Safe from Infection's Effects

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Exercise counteracts the memory decline that can occur after an infection, a new study of mice suggests.

The research adds to a growing body of evidence that exercise may help preserve cognition in the elderly. It may be that exercise reduces inflammation in the body that would otherwise contribute to cognitive decline, however the exact reason for the link remains unclear, the researchers said.

Researchers at the University of Colorado experimented on elderly mice, some of which they infected with a strain of E. coli. The mice were then tested to see how well their memories worked.