The warm breeze and blossoming flowers signal that the spring has finally arrived in South Korea. It is certainly time to peel off those excess layers of heavy clothing. But what about that extra weight you gained over the winter? A healthy way to slim down is to swap the fat-packed snacks with those containing whole-grain carbohydrates, powerful protein and healthy fat to keep you from feeling hungry and at the same time fuel your energy.1. Throw away a 100-calorie snack pack of cookies and rep

Researchers in the United Kingdom have claimed that several habits deemed to be bad can be beneficial for us.Dr. Hilary Longhurst, consultant immunologist from the Bart’s NHS Trust, said that biting one’s nails could help improve the immune system. It introduces bug’s to the body, which then remembers them and how to counteract.According to Dr. Nick Read, a consultant gastroenterologist for the charity the IBS Network, belching helps our stomach not to splash up acid into the gullet, preventing

Most people do not realize it, but carrying a heavy bag may cause various health concerns. 　Wandering around the streets full of youth, many trendy men and women carrying stylish tote bags or backpacks in vogue can be seen . Most youngsters nowadays prefer big-sized bags as they have ample space to put things in and are fashionable at the same time. However, recklessly stuffing too many items into a bag and carrying it around for a long time can induce serious muscle pain and straight neck syndr

With the increased interest in our looks, many people are focusing on preventing skin aging. Skin aging can be caused by external factors due to the environment, and internal ones due to the decline in our body function with age. The most important external factor is ultraviolet light. Many people even without specialized medical knowledge know that ultraviolet light can cause pigmentation of the skin, but more importantly, ultraviolet light also produces skin wrinkles as well as skin cancer.Sun

Samsung Medical Center, one of the top hospitals in Korea, has expanded its cancer center to offer customized services to patients with world-class medical techniques and equipment. The newly launched Comprehensive Cancer Center aims to offer surgeries to patients diagnosed with cancers within a week of diagnosis through an integrated service system. “We will promote Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center as one of the world’s top five hospitals for cancer care and research,” said SMC head Song Jae

A team of scientists from the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand said they that have identified ways in which genes increase the chance of someone becoming a heavy smoker.A study by Duke University did an analysis of previous studies find out which genes affected smoking behavior. They then tracked 1,000 people living in New Zealand from birth to age 38, to see if those with a high-risk genetic profile took up smoking more quickly as teenagers and found it harder to stop smoking.Those with a genetic pro

The Korean term for hemorrhoids originally referred to various diseases that occur in the anal area, including hemorrhoids, tears and fistulas, but the term usually refers to hemorrhoids.Hemorrhoids were believed to be caused by dilation of submucosal venous plexus in the anus, but more recent studies have shown that they are not simply caused by the dilated venous plexus, but due to protrusion of the so called “anal cushion” consisting of blood vessels, muscles and connective tissue.  Symptoms

Interest in “two-jaw operation” has been steadily growing among those who have bimaxillary protrusion, a dentofacial deformity commonly found among Asians where the upper and lower incisors emerge forward, making the teeth and lips protrude. The operation, however, is a surgical method neither designed to correct the facial distortion nor to improve a person’s facial image. It was actually devised to treat diverse functional inconvenience such as the misalignment of the teeth. A facial contourin

Looking at a woman tottering on 10 cm high heels might make one wonder what could happen to her ankles or her back in the future.The damaging effects of high heels are well documented, but researchers have suggested a silver lining -- that wearing high heels could strengthen the ankles.A research team at Korea University studied the ankle joint movements and muscular strength of two groups of women -- those who wear high heels on a daily and those who do not. The average height of heels was 8 cm

People age 52 and older who are socially isolated are at higher risk of dying, than those not socially isolated, British researchers say.Andrew Steptoe, Aparna Shankar, Panayotes Demakakos and Jane Wardle of the University College London said they assessed social isolation in terms of contact with family and friends and participation in civic organizations in 6,500 men and women age 52 and older who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging in 2004-05. A standard questionnaire measure

Overweight/obese, “breakfast skipping,” teen girls who ate a high-protein breakfast reduced their unhealthy snacking later in the day, U.S. researchers say.Heather Leidy of the University of Missouri said the study involved 20 overweight or obese adolescent females ages 18-20 who either skipped breakfast, consumed a high-protein breakfast consisting of eggs and lean beef, or ate a normal-protein breakfast of ready-to-eat cereal. Each breakfast consisted of 350 calories and was matched for dietar

A high concentration of methane and hydrogen gasses in the gut is closely linked to bad breath, U.S. researchers have suggested. Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles conducted a large-scale study with some 800 participants to analyze their breath content. They found four patterns: normal breath content, high levels of methane, high concentrations of hydrogen, and high levels of both gases. Test subjects with a higher density of both methane and hydrogen were found to have bad brea

The thought of donating stem cells might arise fear in many, conjuring up images of large needles. But if there was a relatively painless way to help someone in need, would you still hesitate to do it? Not many people know about “Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation,” a procedure to extract stem cells that gives a helping hand to those suffering from leukemia and other types of stem cell-related disease. There are two ways to transplant stem cells: the traditional method is called bone mar

Do cold sores lead to mental disorders?Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center claimed that the virus that causes cold sores might be associated with memory loss and mental diseases.In the study, performed in collaboration with the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, the researchers tested the mental function of 1,625 participants with aged 69 on average and living in New York.Participants who had high levels of infections such as herpes simplex virus in the blood were