Nurse Kaci Hickox 'Will Go to Court' Over Maine Ebola Quarantine Rule

Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated Ebolapatients and threatened to sue New Jersey over being quarantined before she was discharged, today threatened to sue Maine if officials there do not lift a 21-day quarantine restriction.

“I will go to court to attain my freedom,” Hickox told “Good Morning America" today via Skype from her hometown of Fort Kent, Maine. “I have been completely asymptomatic since I’ve been here. I feel absolutely great.”

Maine's health commissioner said Tuesday night the state will "pursue legal authority if necessary" to keep her quarantined.

Hickox, 29, arrived at Fort Kent Monday, but is not staying at her home. She was discharged from a New Jersey hospital after spending the weekend quarantined in an outdoor isolation tent at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.

The Doctors Without Borders nurse was checked by officials at Newark Liberty International Airport Friday after arriving from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. Hickox says she believes the temperature that officials said prompted her detainment in the hospital isolation tent was incorrect.

“I believe that the forehead scanner used to take that temperature was completely inaccurate,” Hickox said. “I didn’t take any anti-fever medicines while at the airport and when I arrived in the isolation facility they took my temperature by an oral thermometer and it was completely normal.

“You don’t get rid of a fever without taking something within a couple of hours, so I think we need to discuss also the instrumentation that officials are using,” she said.

When Hickox arrived in Maine, the state’s governor ordered her to abide by that state’s policy that health care workers who arrive from West Africa remain under a 21-day home quarantine, with their condition actively monitored.

“I remain really concerned by these mandatory quarantine policies for aid workers,” Hickox said today. “I think we’re just only adding to the stigmatization that, again, is not based on science or evidence.”

Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said Tuesday night, "We acknowledge that this protocol may go slightly beyond the federal guidelines," but called it a "common-sense approach."

Mayhew also said that Maine will insist on the protocol being observed.

"We do not want to have to legally enforce an in-home quarantine. We are confident that the selfless health workers, who were brave enough to care for Ebola patients in a foreign country, will be willing to take reasonable steps to protect the residents of their own country. However, we are willing to pursue legal authority if necessary to ensure risk is minimized for Mainers," Mayhew said.

Hickox’s attorney, Steven Hyman, says his client, who last treated an Ebola patient Oct. 21, does not meet the threshold for quarantine.

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Why Being Sore After a Workout Isn't Always a Good Thing

Okay, we get it, your workout was soooo hard yesterday, and you can’t. move. a muscle.

While we’re all guilty of wearing our soreness as a badge of post-workout pride once in a while (and you totally deserve it for giving your workout your all), experts say the feeling is not, in fact, a reliable measure of your fitness progress.

“If someone gets really sore, it doesn’t indicate they’re building more or less muscle, or did more or less damage, per se. It’s usually just a novel stimulus,” says Peak Performance trainer Ethan Grossman, who’s worked extensively with professional athletes and physical therapists and has degree in exercise science. “You feel accomplished. But feeling like crap doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting closer to making changes in your body.”

Here’s what it does mean.

Why You’re Sore

By a “novel stimulus,” Grossman means you’ve switched up your workout and surprised your body with something totally new. So if you’re a barre class regular and go for a 5-mile run for the first time in years, your legs might not want to move 24 hours later. If you’re a Barry’s Bootcamp junkie and suddenly go to yoga, bendy is probably not the only thing you’ll feel the next day. (Which explains why CrossFitters are always sore and dying to talk about it, since their workouts change day-to-day.)

Soreness also tends to occur with lots of eccentric (lengthening) muscle contractions, which you can think of as the “lowering” or “decelerating” phase in a weight-bearing exercise, he says. So if you’re bench pressing, the part where you’re lowering the weight back down will encourage soreness, while pushing a sled (a common exercise at Peak), which is all concentric contraction (shortening), might not.

What to Do on Achy Days

In a locker room recently, a group of women were chatting about aching muscles. “It’s so good to work out when you’re sore,” one gushed. Well, not necessarily.

Grossman says on those special shaky days, he’d usually recommend that you do more of an active recovery-style workout. “If you’re extremely sore in a particular area, I probably wouldn’t recommend training that area again,” he says. Instead, do something at a lower intensity that will get blood flowing to the muscles but not over-tax them. You could also focus on concentric movements, he says, so you don’t just keep piling on soreness.

Pain Equals Progress?

At the end of the day, cross-training is effective, but if you really want to make meaningful changes, Grossman says, you have to build some consistency into your workout regimen and also allow for recovery. Refine Method founder Brynn Jinnett agrees.

“It’s expected and normal and fine if you experience soreness, but people associate that soreness with progress,” she says. “In a good program, you should be sore, and then not sore. And then you should be sore again if you add weight or change up an exercise.” In other words, constant pain does not necessarily equal maximum muscle gain—it probably just means you’re piling on new movements.

Jinnett recommends focusing on a set of movements for a four- to six-week cycle before going back to that painful place. It’ll be better for your body, and your friends will probably be less annoyed by your workout bravado, too.

Beyond Ice: What to Do for Sore Runner’s Knees

Aches and pains are unfortunately common among runners of all levels — and ice can do only so much. “When a runner comes to me with pain at a joint [hip, knee, or ankle], I always reference the ‘bad-neighbor theory,’” explains Wes Pedersen, running coach and Equinox personal trainer. “That means you should look for any tightness, weakness, or asymmetry…both above and below the site of pain.”

If you’re dealing with knee pain, Pedersen’s two-prong prescription includes stretching your hip flexors and quads while strengthening your glutes and hamstrings. (If shin splints are your problem, try these tips.) To stretch the muscles along the front of your body, Pedersen recommends this dynamic stretch series, which the team at Equinox deems the “world’s greatest.” And, to strengthen your posterior, start deadlifting.

“The one thing that I find that most runners do wrong is that they only run,” Pedersen adds. “Try to balance each running workout per week with one strength-training session or restorative routine.” Focus on cross-training workouts that utilize lateral and rotational movement patterns not present in running, he explains. And, of course, if the pain persists or is really intense, check in with your doctor.

The bottom line of the “bad-neighbor theory” is that we should treat our body as a whole rather than only addressing individual parts. You know what they say: The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone.

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Shake It Like Beyonce and Burn Mega Calories

Fact: I will never be able to dance like Beyoncé though I, like most everyone else, dream of being able to move my hips with her godly perfection. Instead, I’m the Taylor Swift of my friends, the girl who awkwardly (though I like to think adorably) shakes her head from side to side. Still, when the opportunity arises to learn dance moves directly from one of Beyoncé’s choreographers, you strap on your stilettos and go.

Luam Keflezgy, who is responsible for that shoulder-shaking opening number in “Run the World,” is also putting her moves on New York Fashion Week. She choreographed Athleta’s debut fashion show, a high-energy spectacle that included models doing back flips, running in the air on harnesses, and break dancing on the runway, all in the line’s bright athletic wear. She also gave us a dance lesson.

Turns out, there’s a trick to good dancing: just listen to the music. “Just kind of lose yourself in it because everybody has their own pocket, their own rhythm,” Keflezgy said. “If you sync in with the music, I promise always you will look good doing what you do well.”

And Keflezgy is an expert at making people look good—she’s worked with many pop stars including Britney Spears, Kelly Rowland, Alicia Keys, and of course, Queen Bey. Beyoncé, she says, is a “a very hard worker…people are sitting down, she’s up there still practicing.” And she’s always in stilettos. “She lives in heels. She definitely wants to make sure that she rehearses as she’s going to perform.”

Cat Manturuk, a dancer and personal trainer at The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers in New York City, said Beyonce fans could burn 300 to 500 calories by doing the moves below for about 45 minutes. Dance-inspired routines “help lean out the body because they focus on finer muscle groups,” she said, adding: ”You can dance everyday because it’s not like pounding the joints into the pavement.”

Of the opening sequence to “Run the World,” Keflezgy told us Beyoncé wanted “something really feminine and strong.” “In our culture [Keflezgy is Eritrean], just dancing with the shoulders, there’s this really, really powerful dance that the women do, and I just kind of brought my own mother to rehearsals!” she told us. Beyoncé got into the cultural inspiration, too. “She really took it on and embodied it.”

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The Best Butt Exercise You’ve Never Tried

To firm your butt and hips, you don’t need a gym membership or archaic seen-on-TV contraption — all you need is a water bottle.

The move you see above is known as the Cook hip lift, named after its creator, physical therapist Gray Cook. It’s a cousin of the basic hip raise — a butt-toning exercise in which you lie on your back, place both feet on the floor, and lift your hips. (If you’re imagining something dirty, you’ve got it right.) But Cook’s variation not only works your core, glutes (butt muscles), and the back of your legs, it’s also kinder to your lower back.

Start on your back with your knees bent about 90 degrees, your feet planted on the floor in line with your shoulders. Grab your right thigh and pull your right knee toward your chest, pinning a water bottle, a tennis ball, or a rolled-up towel in the crease of your hip. Lift your left toes off the floor. Keeping the bottle in place, raise your hips as high as you can, pause, and lower your rear back down.

“Too often during a normal bridge with both feet on the ground, people have a tendency to move more from the lower back and round the low back too much at the top of the exercise,” said sports medicine expert Lee Burton. By using your lower back to lift your hips, you neglect the body parts the exercise is meant to target: your glutes (butt muscles) and hamstrings (back-of-thigh muscles).

The fix: Pulling your thigh to your chest prevents your low back from arching. This trick also keeps the lower back locked into the same position during the exercise, which prevents it from flexing to help you raise your hips up. With those muscles out of the picture, you force your glutes and hamstrings to initiate the movement.

“Clenching an object between your thigh and belly ensures that you keep your thigh in the right place,” Burton told Yahoo Health. “If the object drops, you’re not holding the thigh in and you’re getting too much motion in your low back.”

Raising the toes of the other foot makes you press your heel into the ground as you lift your hips. This sends a neurological signal to your glutes and hamstrings that activates these muscle fibers during the exercise, Burton said.

To make the Cook hip lift harder, don’t hold your leg with your hands. “Now you’re forcing yourself to actively keep that knee and thigh at your belly since your hands aren’t helping you,” Burton said. In addition, move your supporting leg in toward the midline of the body so your core has to work harder to keep your body stable.

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The Max Amount of Weight You Could Realistically Gain in One Day

Of course you try your very best to stick to a relatively healthy diet and exercise plan. But some days, you’re bound to go overboard—after all, you’re only human. Perhaps it’s that time of the month and you just can’t stop munching; perhaps you had one too many margs at happy hour and find yourself housing enough tacos at dinner to win an eating contest; or perhaps you’re so overtired that you double up on breakfast because your stomach feels like a bottomless pit. Point is, everyone overindulges on occasion. But while it’s easy to freak out and think you “blew your diet,” don’t—because you didn’t.

“It’s virtually impossible to gain weight overnight, even if you really blew it on bar food,” says Cassetty. “The reason comes down to calorie math. Though it’s not 100 percent precise, the basic principle stands true: In order to gain weight, you’d have to eat 3,500 more calories than you typically eat and burn off to maintain your figure.” So let’s say you eat 2,000 calories per day on a normal day. You’d have to eat 3,500 additional calories, totaling 5,500 calories, to gain a single pound. And that’s not even taking any physical activity into account.

What does 3,500 calories look like, exactly? “To get 3,500 more calories, you could eat your regular diet and then also have three glasses of wine (370 calories), two chicken wings (110 calories), some onion rings (340 calories), a portion of chips and queso (290 calories), one burger with the works (860 calories), and a slice of chocolate cake (795 calories). That’s a lot of food—and you haven’t even hit the mark yet!” says Cassetty.

There’s even more scientific evidence that it’s pretty hard to gain real weight after one day of overeating: “Although people typically say they gain five to 10 pounds over the six-week holiday period, the best study to date, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that, on average, most people gained just one,” says Cassetty. “Fewer than 10 percent of the study participants actually gained more than five pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.”

Of course, a bad diet day could leave you feeling incredibly bloated and just “ugh” the next day. “But as long as you course correct the next day—i.e., you eat responsibly and get back to your fitness routine—you’ll keep the real pounds from piling on,” says Cassetty. So as you go into the holiday season, remember: It’s okay if you love your mom’s cooking so much that you eat a lot of it. Just don’t make a habit of it, and be sure to stay consistent with your gym routine.

And if you do get off track in a more significant way, check out what not to do after you’ve gained weight.

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Milk May Do a Body More Harm Than Good

For decades, we've been told that milk "does the body good," but too much of a good thing could take a toll on our health, according to new research.

Contrary to popular belief, drinking large amounts of milk each day does not lower a person's risk of bone fractures and instead may be associated with a higher rate of death, according to a new study. This is counterintuitive to what has long been championed by some doctors and nutritionists: A diet rich in milk products can build strong bones and reduce the likelihood of fractures for those at risk for age-related bone loss.

The idea is simple. Our bodies do need calcium to build and maintain healthy bones as well as aid in other important tasks, such as regulate the heart's rhythm and help blood to clot. And when it comes to food sources, milk and other dairy products have among the highest concentration of calcium per serving. However, a growing body of research suggests that calcium alone does not lower the risk of fractures because the body cannot absorb the calcium it needs without the help of vitamin D. And milk is also high in two types of sugar — lactose and galactose — that have proven to speed up the aging process in animals by increasing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.


The goal of the current study was to find out if these sugars had the same effect on humans. So researchers analyzed data from 61,433 women (ages 39-74 years) and 45,339 men (ages 45-79) who completed questionnaires inquiring how often they consumed 96 common foods, including milk, yogurt, and cheese. The women were tracked for an average of 20 years, while the men were tracked, on average, for 11 years. The number of deaths and fractures in both groups were recorded.

"We indeed found higher oxidative stress and inflammation in women and men who consumed several glasses of milk per day compared with those who drank lower amounts," lead author Karl Michaëlsson told Yahoo Health. Michaëlsson and his research team also found no reduction in fracture risk with higher milk consumption. Furthermore, women who drank more than three glasses of milk a day (average 680 ml) had a higher risk of death than women who drank less than one glass of milk a day (average 60 ml).


Michaëlsson was quick to point out that these findings only show an association between milk and an increased risk of death, and they do not prove a cause-effect relationship. That said, oxidative stress, which occurs when the oxygen in our bodies reacts with molecules called free radicals, has been linked to several health risks, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and age-related bone loss. Chronic inflammation has been linked to a similar and wide range of diseases, including stroke, depression, cancer, and heart disease.

Still, despite the findings, Michaëlsson said that both children and adults should not omit milk or other dairy products from their balanced, healthy diet. "It's too early to make specific recommendations based on our findings," he said. "This study should not be viewed in isolation but as one piece in the puzzle of evidence."

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Can You Catch Ebola on the Subway?

Ebola continues to dominate the news with the latest diagnosis of a patient in New York City, leaving many Americans on edge, especially New Yorkers, who awoke this morning to learn that the patient had take three subway lines before he was diagnosed.

So, what are the odds of catching Ebola on the subway? Here are a few Ebola facts to calm your nerves.

"There are fundamental things we do know about Ebola and it's those things that can make most people in America rest very well at night that they don't have a risk of contracting this disease,” said ABC News chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser during a recent ABC News Ebola town hall event.

What If I Stand Next to Someone With Ebola on a Subway?

You probably won't catch it in that situation, Dr. Jay Varma, New York City’s deputy commissioner for disease control, said during the town hall event.

"Casual contact like you would have somebody pass you on the bus or on the subway, I’m not worried about it for myself and I’m not worried about it for my wife and kids," Varma said.

When Does Ebola Become Contagious?

Ebola is contagious when someone is symptomatic, Besser said. A fever is the first symptom of Ebola, which means the virus is beginning to multiply in the patient’s blood when a fever sets in.

As an Ebola patient gets sicker and sicker, the amount of virus in his or her blood multiplies, making them even more contagious.

How Is Ebola Spread?

Ebola is spread through close contact with an infected person, and it’s not airborne, Besser said.

“We also know from the studies in Africa that it’s a hard disease to get,” Besser said. “If this disease was spread through the air or was spread easily -- that you could get it from someone you’re standing next to in the market or sitting next to on a plane -- this outbreak would be far larger than it is today.”

People who contract Ebola usually do so because they've cared for someone who was infected in a hospital setting or at home, Besser noted, or they've touched the body of a person who died of Ebola.

Can It Become Airborne?

“The majority of scientists say that while it’s possible, it’s highly unlikely,” Besser said, explaining that the virus would have to mutate significantly.

What If Someone With Ebola Sneezes on Me?

Sneezing is not a symptom of Ebola, Besser said. Neither is coughing until the very late stages of the disease, when the person is clearly sick and near death. On top of that, the disease is not airborne.

How Long Can the Virus Survive on Surfaces Like Tabletops and Doorknobs?

“This is one of these areas where we don’t really know enough,” Varma said. “We do know that these viruses can survive on surfaces for a few hours.”

He said how long it can survive depends on the surface and the environment.

Should You Take Precautions Before Taking Public Transportation?

“We think this is not a disease that you can get from simply being next to somebody,” Varma said. “Absolutely if somebody vomits on you or you get their body fluids on it, of course you can be at risk, but we think that airplane travel, traveling on subways -- all of that -- is the type of contact where this is not a disease that's transmitted.”

He said he’s more worried about getting the flu on public transportation than Ebola.

Can I Get Ebola From Someone’s Sweat?

There’s very little data on how much of the virus is in a sick person’s sweat, Besser said.

He added that carrying a person who is sick with Ebola can be a “risky situation.” He said one man who had Ebola on a plane didn't spread it to fellow passengers but inadvertently gave it to the people who helped carry him once he got off the plane.

“Touching the skin -- whether he had other body fluids or sweat on his skin at that point -- was a risk,” Besser said.

Can Ebola Be Spread Through the Water Supply?

Ebola is not a water-borne disease, according to researchers at the Water Research Foundation. Therefore, it cannot spread through the water supply.

“Once in water, the host cell will take in water in an attempt to equalize the osmotic pressure, causing the cell to swell and burst, thus killing the virus,” the foundation noted in a statement.

Bodily fluids flushed by an infected person would not contaminate the water supply, the statement went on to say, because the virus is so fragile. Once separated from its host it is neutralized within minutes.

Can Ebola Be Used as a Terrorist Weapon?

Ebola could theoretically be used by terrorists but it is unlikely, Varma said

Studies suggest that Ebola could in theory be delivered in mist form by spraying it out of an aerosol can. However, since the virus is not known to take an airborne route, this would likely be ineffective.

It is also possible that a terrorist willing to be infected with the virus could walk among the general population. However, since the virus has a long incubation period and is not highly contagious until the later stages of the disease, most experts say this would be impractical.

Can Ebola Be Spread by Mosquitoes?

Neither mosquitoes nor rats can spread Ebola, Besser said. "Not all viruses are adapted to survival and transmission through every vector," he noted.

Only mammals such as humans, bats, monkeys and apes have shown the ability to spread and become infected with the Ebola virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other studies have shown that dogs and pigs can be infected with the virus but they don't show symptoms and there are no known cases of these animals passing the virus along to humans.

Is There a Vaccine Coming?

There are two vaccines being tested in clinical trials now, Besser said.

“There’s a lot of efforts underway to try and move a vaccine forward but vaccine development takes a long time,” he said, adding that one of the companies working on one has said it won’t know whether it works until 2015.

Even if it does work, it will take more time to manufacture.

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Step Away From the Scale: Daily Weigh-Ins Won't Help You Lose

For many, the scale in the bathroom might as well be a rattlesnake—something you go out of your way to avoid stepping on.

But when it comes to shedding pounds, you need to summon the courage to weigh yourself in order to gauge whether your diet and exercise plan is actually working. There is, however, one caveat: Experts can't seem to agree on how often a person should weigh in for the best results. Past research has shown that people who weighed in daily lost more weight, but experts didn't know whether the weigh-ins were helping the weight loss or if people who lost more weight were simply more motivated to jump on the scales every day.

A new study has made things a bit more clear. Researchers split 183 obese people into two relatively even groups. One was given a set of scales and asked to step on daily. The other group was specifically told not to weigh in. After three months, there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two groups—the scales neither helped nor hindered weight loss.

"A scale can either be a tool or weapon," Susan Albers, author and psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, told Yahoo Health. As a tool, it helps people keep stats and monitor progress. If a person is losing weight quickly, it can be a good motivator. "But we can also become tied to the scale," added Albers. "When you step on it, it can either make or break your mood; you either feel great, or you feel awful." So weighing in daily becomes a gamble, and the more you do it, the greater chance of a letdown.

Weigh yourself on Wednesday

Every day your body experiences natural weight fluctuations caused by what you eat, how much water you drink, and your level of physical activity, said Albers. So daily weigh-ins won't give you an accurate picture how well things are going. But that doesn't mean you should avoid the scale completely.

"People should try to weigh themselves once a week at the same time of day and under the same conditions," she said. For example: Wednesday morning before you get in the shower. "A lot of people are tempted to do it on Monday, which is often not the best time because it's after the weekend when people are more likely to get out of their routine," Albers continued. "Wednesday or Friday is often the best day."

Stop thinking about numbers

When trying to lose weight, people like to focus on one number. They want to lose 10 pounds, or they want their weight to be X pounds. Albers suggests people should try to pay more attention to how they feel, and the numbers will take care of themselves. "When people step away from the scale, they are forced to be more mindful of their body and what they are eating," she said. "If they don't have to focus on a specific number, they are much more tuned in to what is going on inside, instead of using an external device, the scale, to measure their progress."

Daily goals, not weigh-ins

Losing weight is all about setting goals, but it's important to set them in a way that will help. Many times people have what Albers calls "outcome goals," meaning they want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, for example. "That kind of goal can be frustrating because it is longer term," said Albers. "It's better to make daily goals — or process goals — things you can cross off a list, which will lead to the ultimate goal of losing 10 pounds." An example might be to walk for 20 minutes today, so when you cross that off the list, it feels really good and it will help get you to the main goal. But you are more focused on the present instead of worrying about what will happen in two weeks.

Pumpkin Is Scary-Good for You! How to Tap Its Superpowers

‘This the season for pumpkin. By now, you’ve probably already indulged in at least one pumpkin spice latte — or at least sipped on a bottle of pumpkin ale. How do we know? Because America is obsessed — still — with the orange-colored squash.

Clearly, pumpkins have become more than Halloween decorations—in fact, they just might be the ultimate fall super-food. And that’s not only because they taste amazing: “Pumpkins give you bang for your buck,” said Wahida Karmally, director of nutrition at the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University. “It’s a nutrient-dense food.”

Pumpkin is low in calories and packed with the good stuff: fiber, vitamins (A, C, E), minerals (copper, calcium, potassium), and antioxidants (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin). And think twice before tossing the seeds: They’re an excellent source of protein, fiber, magnesium, and good-for-you monounsaturated fats.

Not surprisingly, recent research has revealed a handful of surprising health benefits from the seasonal staple — even beyond its incredible nutritional profile. (Keep in mind: To tap into the fall fruit’s power, you’ll need to eat the real deal, not pumpkin-flavored coffee or muffins). Luckily, we have easy, delicious ways to incorporate pumpkin into your dietary repertoire.

Superpower No. 1: Lowers your cholesterol

Pumpkins may look spooky when carved up and staring at passersby from your front porch. But when it comes to your heart, they’re a real treat: In a 2011 study, older women who consumed 2 grams of pumpkin seed oil per day for 12 weeks showed a significant increase in HDL “good” cholesterol and a drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number). Bonus: The pumpkin eaters also reported fewer headaches, less joint pain, and a decrease in the severity of their hot flashes. Credit the phytoestrogens in pumpkin oil, which may stave off the cardiovascular trouble associated with the drop in estrogen levels after menopause, according to the researchers.

Superpower No. 2: Combats hair loss

If your head is starting to resemble a pumpkin — smooth and shiny — it may be time to add the orange stuff to your plate: In a 2014 study from Korea, 76 balding men took either 400 milligrams of pumpkin seed oil per day or a placebo; after 24 weeks, the guys who had consumed the oil had 40 percent more hair than at the start of the study, compared to just a 10 percent increase in the placebo group.

One explanation: Pumpkin seed oil may block the action of 5-alpha reductase, a chemical involved in the production of testosterone, one of the key hormonal culprits behind male pattern baldness, the scientists say.

Superpower No. 3: Fights breast cancer

Snacking on pumpkin seeds may protect your breasts. In a 2012 study in Nutrition and Cancer, researchers found that older women who regularly munched on pumpkin or sunflower seeds had a significantly lower risk of developing breast cancer. Why the protective effect? Pumpkin seeds contain lignans (a type of plant-based estrogen), as well as alpha linoleic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid), both of which may help shield against breast cancer, the scientists said.

And it’s not just your chest that pumpkin protects: The autumn staple has also been linked to a reduced risk of gastric, lung, and colorectal cancers, according to an Indian study review.

Superpower No. 4: Tames your blood sugar

Overloaded on Halloween candy? Pick up a pumpkin. Around the world, local healers regularly prescribe pumpkin to treat diabetes — and research suggests they’re spot on: Pumpkin has been shown to lower the blood sugar of people with type 2 diabetes, according to a 2010 paper in Nutrition Research Reviews. One explanation: Pumpkin may encourage the release of insulin, although the mechanism of its magic still isn’t clear, the researchers say.

How to prepare pumpkin

Not sure how to make pumpkin palatable? “Pumpkins can be intimidating because they’re big and heavy,” acknowledged Allison Fishman Task, a chef and contributing editor at Cooking Light magazine. But with the right tools — a long chef’s knife or a serrated knife, plus a cutting board large enough to accommodate a pumpkin — you can easily conquer the fall fruit.

Start by cutting your pumpkin in half, and scraping out the insides with a spoon (remember, save the seeds!). Slice up the flesh up the way you would a watermelon, then cut the slices into cubes. Coat the pieces with olive oil, salt, and pepper then bake them at 450 degrees F for 40 minutes. Other ways to prepare them: grilling, steaming, mashing, or boiling.

One thing to consider: Although all pumpkins are edible, some are better than others for eating — Fishman Task likes to roast the tiny, desk-size pumpkins, since they’re usually sweeter than larger ones. (Check out this primer on the best pumpkin varieties for cooking.)

As for those seeds you saved? Rinse them in cold water, and after you’ve drained and dried them in a colander, toss ‘em with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Bake at 300 degrees F until they’re crisp and golden, about 20 to 30 minutes



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Should the Ebola Quarantine Be Longer Than 21 Days?

The quarantined family members of Thomas Eric Duncan are set to be released on Oct. 19, after having spent 21 days in isolation — the amount of time widely considered to be the maximum duration for Ebola incubation. But is that really long enough? New research from Drexel University, published in PLOS Currents: Outbreaks, suggests the answer may be no.

According to study author Charles Haas, the current 21-day recommendation likely stems from data for the 1976 Ebola outbreak in Zaire. “In that outbreak, the latest case to convert did so at 21 days,” he said. One problem: The analysis from this outbreak included only 109 cases. “I wouldn’t say [the analysis] has been lacking — I would say they had a small data set,” he said. “And the WHO and CDC apparently never updated their recommendations with data sets from succeeding outbreaks.”

When Haas included data from other Ebola cases — for example, the 1995 outbreak in Congo, as well as 4,010 confirmed and probable cases from the first nine months of the current outbreak in West Africa — he made a startling discovery: There’s up to a 12 percent chance that the incubation period could extend beyond the 21-day mark.

Related: Can You Get Your Dog Sick?

In fact, the Ebola incubation period can vary widely: The average was about six days for the Zaire outbreak, while it's closer to 12 days this time around. “Each individual case has an [individual] incubation time, determined by the dose that somebody was exposed to,” Haas said. “If you were helping a person with their daily hygiene needs — maybe assisting with intubation or other medical procedures without adequate coverage — you would have more intense contact. Increasing intensity would increase the dose, and you would expect that to decrease the incubation time.”

So how long is long enough? “I believe it should be greater than 21 days,” Haas told Yahoo Health; in the paper, he noted that “21 days may not be sufficiently protective to public health.” Based on data from the Congo outbreak, the necessary period could be as long as 31 days.

Related: First Ebola, Now Marburg. How Do We Stop Future Outbreaks?

However, crunching numbers shouldn’t be the sole basis for an updated recommendation, cautioned Haas. “I think that number should be derived by people coming from a scientific background who have looked at the data, plus people who have knowledge of the economics and practicalities of putting a quarantine order into effect.” In other words, an updated quarantine time should balance the likelihood of infection beyond 21 days with the cost of extending the isolation period.

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5 “Health” Foods That Are Worse Than a Donut

The American supermarket is like a Halloween parade in reverse. To go trick or treating, neighborhood kids dress up as goblins and try to take sugar out of your hands. But at the supermarket, gruesome creatures dress up as kindly benefactors and try to put sugar into your hands.

At Eat This, Not That!, we’re pulling the mask off of seemingly healthy products seemingly healthy products that are secretly packed with truly unhealthy levels of sweetener. And more and more, health experts are targeting sugar—not fat—as our greatest dietary health scourge. Recently, the World Health Organization announced we should reduce our intake to a tiny 5 percent of daily calories—half of what the organization previously recommended. For someone on a 2000-calorie diet, new guidelines mean a sugar limit of about 100 calories, or 6 sugar packets.


How hard could it be to limit yourself to 6 sugar packets a day? A lot harder than you think. Sugar is in thousands of places where it doesn’t belong, dressed up in disguises like corn syrup, maltodextrin and sucrose. Eat This, Not That! found five hidden sources of sugar you need to know about—“healthy” foods that, in some cases, serve up more sugar you’ll find in half a dozen donuts!

“HEALTH” FOOD IMPOSTOR #1: Whole Grain Cereal

Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Raisin Granola

Per cup: 345 calories, 4.5 g fat, 27 g sugar

SUGAR EQUIVALENT: More than 6 Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts!

 It may not shock you that cereals with the words “froot” or “chocolatey” on the box contain added sugar; but equally devious are certain “healthy,” “whole grain” cereals. Steer Clear of the Three C’s: “Crunch,” “Crisps,” and “Clusters.” These words usually mean that there are clumps of crispy rice held together by sugar and fat.

Kashi Autumn Wheat Whole Wheat Biscuits

Per cup: 180 calories, 1 g fat, 7 g sugar

“HEALTH” FOOD IMPOSTOR #2: Dried Fruit

Ocean Spray, Craisins, Original

Per ¼ cup: 130 calories, 0 g fat, 29g sugar

SUGAR EQUIVALENT: More than 7 Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts!

 In moderation, dried fruit can be a healthy, fiber-filled snack or salad topping, but in many cases, it might as well be candy. Not only is the sugar more concentrated in dried fruits than fresh, manufacturers often coat dried fruit in more sugar, so check ingredient lists.

Eat This instead:

Sun Maid Pitted Plums

Per ¼ cup: 100 calories, 0 g fat, 15 g sugar

“HEALTH” FOOD IMPOSTOR #3: Salad Dressing

Kraft Salad Dressing, Fat Free Catalina

150 calories, 0 g fat, 350 mg sodium, 7 g sugar

SUGAR EQUIVALENT: More than 2 Dunkin’ Donuts sugar raised donuts!

Salad dressings, particularly light and fat-free versions, are loaded with salt and sugar to compensate for the flavor lost by cutting out the fat. Be wary of ketchup-based dressings (French, Russian, Thousand Island) and fruity vinaigrettes (raspberry, pomegranate), as they typically include added sugar. As a general rule, choose varieties with less than 2g of sugar per 2 tablespoon serving.

Eat This Instead:

Bragg, Healthy Organic Vinaigrette

90 calories, 9 g fat, 60 mg sodium, 2 g sugar

 “HEALTH” FOOD IMPOSTOR #4: Fruit Yogurt


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Sick of Being Tired? Sneaky Signs Your Thyroid Is Slacking Off

Dragging throughout the day after logging enough shut eye is one of the most common symptoms of an under-active thyroid.

For all the attention paid to the popularity of sleep medications, it’s surprising to find out that the No. 1 prescription drug in America is one that’s meant to help people out of bed.

With 23 million brand-name prescriptions filled between April 2013 and March 2014, according to IMS Health, the top pill popped in America is the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine. The drug is used to treat hypothyroidism, which occurs when the body doesn’t produce as much thyroid hormone as it needs. Nearly 5 percent of U.S. adults have the condition, according to the most recent estimates available. And its most common form, Hashimoto thyroiditis, is now considered the most common immune disease in America. The number of prescriptions for levothyroxine has increased by more than 40 percent over the past five years.

Doctors say the number of prescriptions might vastly underestimate the disease’s true prevalence. According to the American Thyroid Association, up to 60 percent of people with some form of thyroid disease don’t know that they have it.

“It is now clear that the tests that we thought could easily determine if a person suffers from hypothyroidism are missing the majority of people who could benefit from treatment,” said Kent Holtorf, MD, medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group and president of the National Academy of Hypothyroidism.

In its first update on screening for thyroid dysfunction since 2004, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a new draft recommendation Monday. The expert panel concluded that “the current evidence is insufficient” to recommend for or against screening adults without symptoms.

However, “That’s not necessarily great advice for each individual person to follow,” said endocrinologist Richard Shames, MD, author of Thyroid Mind Power. “Low thyroid is one of the most common illnesses in the country, and the symptoms are many and varied.”

Common symptoms complicate diagnosis

The symptoms of hypothyroidism read roughly like a description of the modern human condition: fatigue, weight gain, digestive issues, irritability, and depression, to name a few. High thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism) is less common and can trigger weight loss and sleep difficulties.

“Some people have only one symptom, some people have several, and no person has the same presentation,”  “This is all due to the fact that thyroid is the metabolic gas pedal. But it’s a gas pedal that runs everything, not just the speed of the motor. It runs the volume of the radio, the crispness of the air conditioner, how fast the windows go up and down. That’s what a thyroid does—it’s your metabolic control. And no one thinks about it as long as it’s doing fine. It can affect anything, and that’s why it seems to affect everything.”

Could you have a thyroid problem?

Internist and hormone expert Erika Schwartz, MD, has worked with more than 15,000 patients in prevention and hormone balance during her career. The following are the telltale signs of hypothyroidism, as Schwartz’s clients have described them to her.

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How Hard Is Moderate Exercise? Not As Hard As You Might Think

No pain, no problem: A brisk walk is enough to qualify as moderate exercise for most people. (David Jakle/Corbis)

Working out doesn’t have to be hard work — and moderate activity is much better than none at all. The problem: Many people overestimate moderate exercise intensity, reports recent research from the University of Manitoba, which can be a deterrent from getting off the couch.

A study published by the Canadian team last year found that 80 percent of inactive older adults couldn’t tell when a workout qualified as moderate intensity activity. The researchers wanted to see if active young adults fared any better.

In the new study, researchers recruited 51 regularly active adults from the university’s fitness facility. The experts asked each person to run or walk on a treadmill at an effort level that the subjects felt was a moderate intensity. The participants could adjust the treadmill’s incline and speed until they found the right pace, which they had to keep steady for five minutes so that researchers could get accurate heart rate readings.

The heart rate data showed that 80 percent of subjects were actually exercising at a vigorous, not moderate, intensity. “This is great news because people are doing more than what’s needed,” study author Danielle Bouchard, PhD, told Yahoo Health. “And it’s also great because we know that vigorous intensity exercise has more health-related benefits than working out at a moderate intensity.”

People who avoid exercise because it feels too difficult may be encouraged by the study’s findings, which suggest that moderate activity might be easier than many people think, Bouchard said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommend that adults clock at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. You can also do some combination of both. The guidelines account for the fact that vigorous activity confers additional health benefits, such as strengthening your heart, in less time.

In contrast to Bouchard’s results, other research has found that people overestimate how hard they’re working. A study released earlier this year in PLOS One asked people to walk or jog at three different effort levels: light, moderate, and vigorous. On average, subjects didn’t work hard enough to meet heart rate recommendations for moderate and vigorous exercise. But there was also a big difference from person to person, with some running too hard and others going too easy.

"I think people are all over the map is the short of it," said exercise physiologist Tom Holland, author of Swim, Bike, Run, Eat. “People are just confused about what’s moderate and what’s hard. Weekend warrior types tend to train in that gray area, so it’s not really easy, it’s not really hard, and they could get much more out of it.”

A brisk walk is usually enough to raise your heart rate into the moderate-activity zone. Add short bursts of speed and play around with your pace to burn more calories and make it more interesting, Holland told Yahoo Health. “For basic heart health, walking is just one of the easiest, simplest, most efficient ways to get your cardiovascular exercise in,” he added.

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Burnley 1-3 Everton

Burnley only winless team in top four divisions
First win at Turf Moor in 44 years for Everton
Everton's first successive league wins since April
Only Villa have scored fewer than Burnley

Samuel Eto'o scored twice as Everton climbed into the top half of the Premier League to leave joint-bottom Burnley still without a league win.

Eto'o's powerful early header was cancelled out by Danny Ings when he capitalised on a Romelu Lukaku mistake to convert Lukas Jutkiewicz's pass.

Yet Lukaku soon made amends when his scuffed shot found the left corner.

Eto'o then made the points certain with a superbly curled shot before being denied a hat-trick by the post.

It was the ideal end to an encouraging week for Toffees manager Roberto Martinez as his team finally begin to build some momentum following last weekend's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and a battling 0-0 Europa League draw in Lille.

The Clarets' problems continue to mount, meanwhile, and they will go bottom on Monday if QPR avoid defeat by Aston Villa.

While Sean Dyche's team could not be faulted for industry, they struggled to break down a Toffees side who never had to find top gear.
The visitors showed no signs of being affected by their busy schedule, beginning purposefully at Turf Moor, with a sweeping move that culminated in a cross from the overlapping Leighton Baines being emphatically headed home by Cameroonian veteran Eto'o.

But the Clarets showed their fighting spirit by responding within 14 minutes as Jutkiewicz cut out a sloppy Lukaku pass back towards his defence before threading the ball to Ings, who rounded goalkeeper Tim Howard and slotted in.

Lukaku soon atoned, however, when he finished off another flowing Toffees move which saw them string together 24 passes.

The Belgium international controlled Steven Naismith's pass before rolling Jason Shackell and beating Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton with a scuffed shot after his first attempt was blocked.

Naismith then almost doubled the visitors' advantage before the interval with a looping header against the crossbar from Leon Osman's cross.

But the visitors made the points certain when substitute Steven Pienaar fed Eto'o, who bent a brilliant shot inside the right post from 22 yards.

Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle

Magpies secure their first away league win since March
Tottenham with one win in seven matches
Ameobi scores within seconds of the restart
Perez scores first goal for club

Newcastle battled back from a goal down to beat Tottenham and ease the pressure further on manager Alan Pardew.

Some fans had called for his sacking in recent weeks, but he made two half-time changes which helped turned the game in Newcastle's favour after they had gone behind to Emmanuel Adebayor's header.

Winger Sammy Ameobi fired in within 10 seconds of the restart.

And then fellow substitute Remy Cabella provided the cross for Ayoze Perez to head in his first goal for the club.

That effort for the Spain Under-21 international marked an exceptional 13-minute turnaround for his club, who never looked like threatening Spurs in a lacklustre first-half display.

They needed an injection of energy from somewhere and Pardew provided it in the form of Ameobi and summer signing Cabella.

Straight from the restart, the ball was played back to midfielder Jack Colback who floated forward a brilliant ball for Ameobi down the left. The younger brother of ex-Magpies forward Shola eased past marker Eric Dier before crashing in from the angle.

QPR 2-0 Aston Villa

Charlie Austin scores in each half
QPR off the bottom of the table
Villa have lost five games in a row
Visitors have gone more than eight hours without a goal

Charlie Austin struck twice as Queens Park Rangers lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premier League with victory over Aston Villa.

Rangers took the lead against the run of play when Bobby Zamora laid the ball off for Austin to lash home from the edge of the area in the 17th minute.

The hosts secured victory midway through the second half when Eduardo Vargas raced down the right and crossed for Austin to finish at the near post.

Villa have lost five games in a row.

Perhaps more worrying for Paul Lambert's side is that they have failed to score in more than eight hours of football since the Scot signed a new four-year deal after beating Liverpool at Anfield on 13 September.

In that time, they have conceded 13 goals in defeats by Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and now QPR.

QPR, however, are showing signs of improvement - building on an impressive display in last weekend's 3-2 defeat by Liverpool.

With Zamora supporting Austin up front, they have struck upon a partnership which can cause opposition defences problems.

Austin's brace was significant in that it lifted Rangers off the bottom of the league for the first time in almost a month - at the expensive of his former club, Burnley.

If his opening goal was a surprise - coming after Villa had caught out the hosts three times on the counter and seen Carlos Sanchez test Rob Green with a 30-yard shot - the second was reward for a change in tact from Harry Redknapp.

While Zamora was causing the Villa defence problems with his physical presence, he once again tired as the second half wore on and, perhaps sensing the need to inject some width into a congested contest, Rangers boss Redknapp replaced the former England striker with winger Junior Hoilett.

Almost immediately, Hoilett cut in from the left and curled a right-footed shot against the post.

Moments later, Sanchez needlessly gave the ball away and Vargas powered down the right before putting in the perfect delivery for Austin to nip in front of his marker and secure victory.

Villa, who had seen Ciaran Clark stab wide from six yards out, sent on Joe Cole and Darren Bent to try to salvage something. Instead, QPR almost netted a third when Vargas was played in behind the Villa defence but fired a tame shot into the legs of Brad Guzan.

Villa's best opportunity came when Green failed to hold on to Tom Cleverley's shot from the edge of the area, but Sandro did just enough to put off Clark at the follow-up.