* to what degree many apples a day...

* to what degree many apples a day does it take to hold fast the doctor away? The National Cancer Institute (NCI) commends up to nine, reports Newsweek. steady though the U.S. Department of Agriculture's viands pyramid has recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables since 1991 the NCI has started a of recent origin campaign to remind everyone of its daily recommendations. While five servings of fruits and vegetables are sufficient for children, women ne at least seven servings, and men ne nine. Those numbers might pretend high, but they are attainable: six spears of asparagus, eight medium strawberries, or united half cup of salsa equals a serving.

* "Wash up!" research results presented at the Interscience colloquy on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy put in mind of that automated voice reminders may increase hand-washing and bring infection in hospitals, reports Internal Medicine stranges In the study, voice reminders were activated when staff bodys attempted to leave a latitude in a surgical step-down intensive care unit without washing. After six month the reminders helped increase the likelihood of hand-washing according to 40 percent. In addition, infections in patients who worn out more than two days in the hospital unit were reduc by the agency of 22 percent.

* The nightly glass of wine with dinner or beer while watching the evening of the present days may do more than ease the tension of the day. According to a subject of attention published in the New England Journal of Medicine, drinking a little alcohol almost each day reduces the risk of a heart attack. The research followed 38,077 men 40 to 75 years of age for 12 years. Men who consum alcohol had 35 to 40 percent fewer heart attacks during the investigation period. The best results came from drinking almost each day-not just on the weekends. The research also showed that the pattern of alcohol did not affect the risk factor. This information, however, should not be constru as a license to drink.

* Neither the classes nor the participants at recently made known York's CBGB punk club tread close upon the norm when it tend hitherwards to aerobics. Instead of doing the grapevine to J look they do the air guitar to the Ramones. For weights, they use bricks. And instead of spandex leathern strings they sport mohawks and tattoos. According to an article published in Newsweek, trull Rock Aerobics was started by way of two Boston women who wanted a class that "we would fare to." Punk Rock Aerobics participants might grab candy bars or head to a real bar after class, where their healthiest choice might be the tomato juice in a ensanguined Mary.

* Increasingly, Baby Boomer are seeking revitalization between the walls of cosmetic plastic surgery. Data compiled by dint of the American Society of Plastic Surgeon and cited in American Demographics exhibit to that the number of patients who sought cosmetic improvements increased by dint of 1,125 percent from 1996 to 2001 and many of those patients were members of the "Me Generation." In fact, more than individual half of persons who had Botox injections, tummy tuck-nets and buttock lifts in 2001 were 35 to 50 years of age.

* It's no surprise that obesity and diabetes have become more belonging to all in this country. But it is alarming that Americans still don't assume to be heeding the warning to shape up According to inspect findings published in JAMA, the rates of obesity and diabetes continue to rise in adults of the two sexes and all races, educational evens and smoking levels. The telephone scan of more than 195,000 adults reveals that the prevalence of obesity rose to 209 percent in 2001 up from 198 percent in 2000 Diabetes was also more prevalent, increasing from 73 percent in 2000 to 79 percent in 2001

* "Attention acne victims! There is now a blue-light special just for you." Known as ClearLight, this high-intensity, narrow-band in the blues light has been approved by dint of the U.S. Food and unsalable article Administration for treatment of moderate inflammatory acne. ClearLight breeds blue light at 410 to 420 nm the optimal wavelength to annihilate Propionibacterium acnes, the bacteria that causes acne. According to inquiry results published in Family Practice of the present days patients who had one side of their face expos to the light for 15 minutes twice a week for single in kind month saw a 50 percent reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions in succession the treated side.

* Here's one good news for those who drink coffee regularly: coffee may not raise your offspring pressure. But if you don't drink coffee each day, even decaffeinated coffee may affect your cardiovascular hypothesis In a small study published in Circulation, 15 coffee drinkers (six habitual and nine nonhabitual) drank a triple missile of caffeinated or decaffeinated espresso Although the two groups had increased sympathetic nervous activity after drinking caffeinated coffee no other than the nonhabitual drinkers had increased posterity pressure. Even more surprising, vital fluid pressure was increased in the nonhabitual drinkers who drank alone decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that substances in coffee other than caffeine may have an drift on the heart.

* More proper news! A study published in The Lancet indicates that long-term survival rates for many marks of cancer have substantially improved in past decades. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and last Results database of the U National Cancer Institute was analyzed for survival rates in patients diagnosed with cancer between 1978 and 1998 Five-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year relative survival rates were calculated in 1998 The period estimates of relative survival rates were approximately 63 percent (five years), 57 percent (10 years), 53 percent (15 years), and 51 percent (20 years). Early detection and breakthroughs in treatment have been large contributors to the increase in long-term survival rates.