Free Republic

McDonald’s has introduced the “McVegan” burger Wednesday, but customers won't be able to find it just anywhere. The fast-food giant announced its newest menu item would only be made available at one restaurant location in Tampere, Finland, for a limited time only, Elite Daily reported. The burger was rolled out on Oct. 4 and will be available through Nov. 21. The burger consists of mustard, pickles, onion, lettuce, tomato and a soy-based patty on a sesame seed bun. Food & Wine reported veganism and vegetarianism have increased in the U.S. from 1 percent of the population in 2014 to 6...

BLUEBERRIES Blueberries While it’s considered a culinary trend this year, purple foods have more going for them than just good looks. Like all colorful foods, their dark hue indicates that they are nutrient dense and chock full of antioxidants. In general, the color is evidence of a range of antioxidants and flavanols that support good health, and help prevent a range of diseases. Blueberries will also have certain berry attributes, as will vegetables from the brassica family — such as purple cabbage and cauliflower — but all have a fair share of “good for you” that’s easy to spot....

Not too long ago, the British Tories were actually conservative. This meant that, among other things, they valued the individual and his rights. One of his most important rights was, the average Tory would've told you ten years ago, the "right" to be the master of his own body. Well, those days belong to the past now. Today, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that everyone will now be considered an organ donor unless they opt out of the system. This means, in effect, that the state will decide what will happen with your body when you die, unless you...

Some doctors are prescribing a walk in the park as good medicine for not just physical, but also mental healthA growing trend in medicine has doctors prescribing visits to parks for their patients. A pediatrician named Robert Zarr at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C., has worked with the National Park Service and other institutions to create DC Park Rx, an initiative that helps health care providers prescribe activity in outdoor spaces to patients. And National Geographic recently highlighted the rise of this practice in Vermont, where doctors are now prescribing thousands of visits to state parks. In the last...

Paris (AFP) - Flamboyant fashion designer Vivienne Westwood revealed the secret of her eternal youth Saturday -- only taking a bath once a week. The 76-year-old queen of punk fashion let it slip after watching her husband Andreas Kronthaler's spectacularly idiosyncratic show at Paris Fashion Week. Asked by reporters how she managed to look so young, Westwood smiled and said, "Don't wash too much." "She only takes a bath every week. That's why she looks so radiant," said Kronthaler, who Westwood has described as "the world's greatest designer". "I only wash once a month," joked the Austrian-born creator, who is...

Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Mild cases can last a few weeks while severe cases can last several months. Los Angeles County is experiencing an outbreak of hepatitis A. The majority of cases are occurring in individuals who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs. Outbreaks of hepatitis A in persons who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs are also occurring in San Diego and Santa Cruz counties.

Mothers who experience an infection severe enough to require hospitalization during pregnancy are at higher risk of having a child with autism. Two new studies from MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School shed more light on this phenomenon and identify possible approaches to preventing it. In research on mice, the researchers found that the composition of bacterial populations in the mother’s digestive tract can influence whether maternal infection leads to autistic-like behaviors in offspring. They also discovered the specific brain changes that produce these behaviors. “We identified a very discrete brain region that seems to be modulating all...

Death Wish coffee has been pulled from shelves amid fears that some of its products might contain a deadly toxin. Death Wish Coffee Co. marketed the beans as the world’s strongest coffee, but the company is now recalling all of its 11-ounce Nitro Cold Brew, saying the manufacturing process might have caused the production of botulin. According to the FDA, the toxin causes botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning and can cause the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. The FDA adds that difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distention...

The Senate faces a September 30, 2017, deadline to use budget reconciliation to repeal Obamacare this year. In the wake of the Senate’s recent failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, Senators Lindsey Graham (R–SC) and Bill Cassidy (R–LA) have released an updated version of their bill in a renewed effort to take advantage of this expiring legislative vehicle. Like others considered this year, Graham–Cassidy falls short of fully repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a new patient-centered system, but it does include significant improvements over current law by repealing the individual and employer mandate tax penalties, providing Medicaid reform, and...

Fewer than half of Coloradans now receive their health insurance through their employers — a shift that represents the first time businesses have provided a minority of health-care plans in memory, according to survey released today. The biennial Colorado Health Access Survey, administered by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) and funded by the Colorado Trust, found that the percentage of Coloradans who have insurance has gone up slightly over the past two years but that the way they get their insurance continues to evolve. While a greater portion of the state’s 5.04 million insured residents receive their insurance through Medicare...

Increased levels of prenatal fluoride exposure may be associated with lower cognitive function in children, a new study says. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, evaluated nearly 300 sets of mothers and children in Mexico and tested the children twice for cognitive development over the course of 12 years. Fluoride is not added to public water supplies in Mexico, but people are exposed through naturally occurring fluoride in water and fluoridated salt and supplements. The study found a drop in scores on intelligence tests for every 0.5 milligram-per-liter increase in fluoride exposure beyond 0.8 milligrams per...

As much joy as a pet can bring to the life of its human, when a beloved dog or cat falls ill, the emotional toll can be high. In fact, caring for an ailing animal often ends up placing a significant "caregiver burden" on its owner, new research finds. "Think of the phrase, 'Giving until it hurts,'" said study author Mary Beth Spitznagel. Essentially, it's the heavy emotional burden one can experience when the act of caring stretches a person's physical, emotional or even financial capacities to the breaking point. "We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill...

President Trump is killing me. Really. By Dana Milbank Opinion writer September 15 at 7:46 PM President Trump is killing me. No, really. He’s killing me. I went for my annual physical last month, and, for the first time in my 49 years, I had to report that I’ve not been feeling well: fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, even some occasional chest pain. My doctor checked my blood pressure, which had always been normal before: alarmingly high! What could this mean? I don’t smoke, I’m not obese and I swim most days. The doctor hooked me up to electrodes and ran...

While a third of American adults and one in six children are obese, a report Thursday suggests the rate of increase could be stabilizing in some states. Citing statistics collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said West Virginia had the highest obesity rate at 37.7 percent. Mississippi was second at 37.3 percent and Alabama and Arkansas were tied for third at 35.7 percent. The report says the adult obesity rate increased between 2015 and 2016 in Colorado, Minnesota, Washington and West Virginia,...

The North Shore Health Department has confirmed that two bats found in North Shore communities have tested positive for rabies. Both bats were captured by residents — one after contact with a human, the other with a dog. Rabies is a serious viral disease that can be transmitted from infected mammals to humans through a bite, scratch, or when animal saliva comes into contact with broken skin.

I have been on a low carb diet for about 4 years and have lost at least 30 pounds...but lately I was feeling poorly.I work out daily (at least every cardio to a sweat for 30 minutes and weights every other day).Don't know how I stumbled upon it, but I started doing daily veggie and fruit smoothies (in my ancient Osterizer blender). Great burst in energy and "general feel good." Did a bike ride yesterday after a two month absence and, though I took it somewhat easily, I was loaded with energy.Curious about yous guys thinking about veggie and fruit...

t was in the course of falsely arguing that in his denigration of women as creatures best suited to the barnyard and kennel he was only referring to Rosie O'Donnell that then-candidate Donald Trump explained the central cultural plank of his campaign. "I've been challenged by so many people, and I don't frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either." t was in the course of falsely arguing that in his denigration of women as creatures best suited to the barnyard and kennel he was only referring to Rosie...

Jack Webb, the co-franchisee of a Carl's Jr. in Alberta, Canada, was discovered to have committed multiple food safety violations while being filmed by in-store security cameras, CBC reported. The first clip of 10 shared with CBC shows Webb almost elbow-deep in barbecue sauce. Webb is mixing the sauce with his bare hands, a clear violation of food safety measures, going so far as to refuse a spoon when a worker offers it to him. Other clips show Webb mixing sauces and scooping them from one container to another with his bare hands. In one case, he uses a spatula...

It’s been a bad season for veracity (witness our recent political campaigns!): Unfounded claims abound. Product pitches assault us with no tether to reality. Science is misappropriated for commercial gain.One example of such things: fruit and veggie pills that claim they can take the place of the whole foods you’re not including enough of in your diet.Don’t get me wrong: I think there’s value in certain plant-derived nutrient supplements. Before it sounds like I’m dismissing an entire group of products, you should know that there are a few categories where these substitutes for fresh produce can have benefits.For instance, there...

The equation for the latest way to protect newborns from sudden infant death goes as follows: Technology + Smart, Practical Thinking = Greater Safety Credit doctors and nurses from three university medical schools for developing an ingeniously straightforward method that reinforces essential child care methods for sleep-deprived parents – at a time when they're most prone to overlook them. Specifically, these professionals determined, as stated in a news release announcing the findings, that a "series of educational videos delivered by text or email successfully encouraged new mothers to use safe sleep practices for their babies, reducing the risk of sudden...