Are vegetarians thinner?

It’s well-documented that vegetarians are healthier than the general population. People who do not eat meat, fowl, or fish have a lower risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol, less incidence of type 2 diabetes, lower rate of hypertension, and lower overall cancer rates.

Now research shows vegetarians are skinnier, too. Because of the way the body metabolizes different types of food into energy, a plant-based diet can actually boost calorie burning by up to 16% for three hours after eating a meal.

Vegetarians tend to consume less fat, especially saturated fat, which mainly comes from animal products. Vegetarians consume more fiber, which is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, but not in animal products.

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Do Women Feel Pain More Acutely Than Men?

Millions of women who have soldiered through natural childbirth while their male partners wilted beside the bed may be shocked by a new study published in the Journal of Pain. According to the authors, who pored over the records of over 72,000 medical patients, "Women report more intense pain than men in virtually every disease category."

The study's senior author, Atul Butte, MD, PhD, points out that there have been other reports on men versus women and pain, but their investigation is the first to indicate that women feel pain more intensely than men. Butte's team looked at self-reported pain scores from 1 to 10 in over 160,000 cases across 250 diseases. "We saw higher pain scores for females practically across the board," said Butte.

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Fitness Myths, Busted: No Pain, No Gain

Here’s a top evergreen exercise myths that you’ll probably hear but can safely ignore:

Maybe this one took on a life of its own because it rhymes and is so easy to remember. Forget it. If an exercise causes pain, you’re either doing it wrong (a session or two with a personal trainer can set you straight) or you’ve already managed to hurt yourself.

Be sure to separate pain from muscle soreness, which comes on after you tax a lax muscle and will wear off in a few days. Actual pain can mean that you’ve exhausted a muscle or torn a ligament. If what you’re doing really hurts, STOP!

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The World's Tallest Transsexual

A 7ft tall butch basketball star is undergoing a sex change - and will become the world's tallest transsexual. Lofty American Greg Walker, now 25, grew up sports-mad with beautiful cheerleaders on his arm, but said he 'always felt different'.

Strapping teenager Greg - who has size 16 feet and weighs around 20 stone - regularly lifted weights and would ride motorbikes to mask his true feelings. He had dozens of girls chasing him but shunned their advances, preferring to become friends instead and discuss fashion and 'girly' things.

In his early 20s, Greg - now Lindsey - was unable to continue the 'charade' and began wearing women's clothes. He then sought medical advice and began taking oestrogen to become more feminine and now boasts a curvy woman's body - and a 38B bra size.

Now legally recognised as female after living as a woman for two years, Lindsey said: 'I was one of the popular kids in high school.

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Cost-cutting: AirAsia Suspends Flights

Australians who have booked flights to Europe with budget carrier AirAsia X after March will be affected by the airline's decision to suspend the flights in a cost-cutting move.

The long-haul unit of budget carrier AirAsia said yesterday it would suspend services to Paris and London and cut India flights in a bid to rein in costs. The Malaysia- based airline cited global economic uncertainty, soaring taxes and higher jet fuel prices for the move, adding it would redeploy its fleet to profitable Asian and Australian routes.

AirAsia X, a unit of AirAsia, will cease services to Mumbai and Delhi from January 31 and March 22, respectively while routes to London and Paris will end on March 30 and March 31 respectively. AirAsia X flies from to London and Paris from Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast via Kuala Lumpur.The airline said passengers who hold bookings after these dates would be given an alternative travel option at no additional cost.

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Porn Actors WILL Have to Wear Condoms

Porn stars will have to wear condoms while shooting films under new rules proposed for Los Angeles. The city council's measure means porn producers would have to provide and require the use of condoms on set in order to obtain permits to film in America's second-largest city.

The council voted 11-1 for the proposal earlier this week, but the plans still require a second vote next week for final approval. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been calling for mandatory condom use in adult films and urged council members to approve the 'ordinance'.

Foundation President Michael Weinstein said after the initial vote: 'This long struggle to move us to a place of making Los Angeles a safe place to make adult films has taken a huge leap forward today.' However, the Free Speech Coalition, the porn industry's trade association, issued a statement criticising the vote and the incursion of government into sex films.

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Woman Has Two Vaginas

Hazel Jones always wondered why she suffered from terrible cramps and heavy periods during puberty. But it wasn't until she turned 18 that she was given her astonishing diagnosis - she had two vaginas.

The blonde 27-year-old from High Wycombe has the million-in-one condition uterus didelphys, which means she has two separate uteruses and cervixes as well.
But she told ITV's This Morning she was comfortable with having the condition, despite the fact she had to effectively lose her virginity twice.

'Once I found out what it was I told everybody,' she told TV hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. 'I thought it was amazing and it's definitely an ice-breaker at parties'

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Nightmare Scenes As People Fought to Escape Sinking Ship

Survivors of the Costa Concordia have told of the panic and chaos as thousands of people desperately attempted to flee the stricken vessel. Incredible stories of survival have emerged today from some of the 4,200 people on board the cruise liner which hit the rocks off the coast of the tiny Italian island of Giglio.

Fathers desperate to be with their families ignored the order that women and children should go first. There was even fighting between some passengers who tried to get on lifeboats.

Some people described it as being an 'every man for himself' situation. The Foreign Secretary William Hague said today that all British passengers and crew on board have been accounted for and are safe.

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Lindsay Lohan Totally Comfortable with Nudity

With an acting career in the doldrums since her release from jail, Lindsay Lohan's attempt to restore her image by posing for fashion campaigns have so far continued to underwhelm.

Determined to prove that she is still a sought after celebrity endorsement, Hollywood's most notorious young actress has appeared recently in ads for little-known brands Philipp Plein and Jag Jeans.

But now the 25-year-old has been given a much-needed boost by popular British fashion label French Connection, which has used a photograph of Miss Lohan in an ad for its new fragrance, FCUK Friction. The steamy shot, which sees the actress frolic in bed with model Petey Wright, was taken by Yu Tsai, the photographer behind her famous Playboy cover at the end of last year.

But the picture was not originally taken with the FCUK Friction fragrance campaign in mind. The label bought the rights to the black-and-white shot after it ran as part of a photo story in Muse magazine in 2010.

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Google and Apple Race to Bring out Internet TV Sets

They have been locked in combat over mobile devices - and now Google and Apple are set to do battle in a technology war over 'smart' TVs.

LG Electronics just unveil its first internet-connected TV to run on the Android interface. Samsung is making its first set using Google software later this year, while Sony and Vizio have produced Android models already.

Apple look certain to bring in the iTV set this year. The company transformed the music and mobile phone markets, but it seems Google is trying to stay one step ahead of them with TVs.

Google said that chipmaker Marvell Technology Group and chip designer MediaTek were already on board as new partners in the venture. In a sluggish economy, TV manufacturers hope moving into the Internet TV market will help pick up business as consumer demand continues to slow.

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Coffee doesn't necessarily cause stomach pain

If you've ever blamed java for stomach discomfort, you might want to visit your doctor to see what else could be at the root of the problem. According to Lauren Gerson, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, "There is no evidence from reviewed studies that coffee causes ulcers or more pain in patients with documented ulcers."

She also notes that there is no evidence that coffee could be the cause of stomach pain in patients with indigestion. However, there is one type of digestive issue that coffee can aggravate; Dr. Gerson explains that drinking coffee may worsen heartburn symptoms, since it stimulates the stomach to produce gastric acid.

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Study: Coffee may boost fertility in men

"Studies have shown that caffeine has a positive effect on sperm motility-the ability of sperm to move toward an egg-and could increase your chances of [getting pregnant]," says John Wilcox, MD, FACOG, managing partner and reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility in California.

In fact, a study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo found that sperm motility was markedly higher in coffee drinkers versus non coffee-drinkers. And it turns out that it doesn't matter whether you drink one or ten cups a day: The only detectable difference was found between coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers.

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Best Sweeteners to Have in Your Kitchen

There's conflicting evidence regarding the safety of aspartame, a common chemical sweetener used in diet soda and other low-cal or low-sugar goods, but some people report headaches or generally feeling unwell after ingesting anything containing the chemical.

To make life easier for everyone, this is one instance where you may want to follow the "better safe than sorry" principle. That's because a University of Liverpool test-tube study found that when mixed with a common food color ingredient, aspartame actually became toxic to brain cells.

Making matters worse, aspartame is used in many diet sodas, and studies have found drinking diet soda may increase your risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Also of concern with aspartame, researchers have found that one harmful breakdown product is formaldehyde. Sweet? We don't think so.

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Do animals truly smile?

According to Professor Nicholas Dodman, head of animal behavior at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine, until recently, scientists have generally underestimated the emotional range of animals.

Dodman says that today it is widely accepted that mammals do experience primary emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and happiness and perhaps even some secondary emotions like jealously. He points out that your pet might not understand the exact details of your hard day, but is sensitive enough to curl up and listen.

We can't be sure if the animals pictured here are truly smiling, but looking at them may make you smile.

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Diabetes Doubles Alzheimer's Risk

In a study, which included more than 1,000 men and women over age 60, researchers found that people with diabetes were twice as likely as the other study participants to develop Alzheimer’s disease within 15 years. They were also 1.75 times more likely to develop dementia of any kind.

“It’s really important for the public health to understand that diabetes is a significant risk factor for all of these types of dementia,” says Rachel Whitmer, PhD, an epidemiologist in the research division of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a nonprofit health-care organization based in Oakland, Calif.

Whitmer, who studies risk factors for Alzheimer’s but wasn’t involved in the new research, stresses that many questions remain about the link between diabetes and dementia. The new study was “well done” and provides “really good evidence that people with diabetes are at greater risk,” she says, “but we really need to look at other studies to find out why.”

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Malaysia's Anwar Acquitted of Sodomy Charges

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted Monday in a stunning conclusion to a two-year sodomy trial that he had condemned as a conspiracy to cripple his resurgent political alliance.

“Thank God, justice has been served,” Anwar told reporters after being cleared of sexual misconduct with a young male aide, and pledged to topple the government in national polls expected to be held this year.

“In the coming election, voice of the people will be heard and this corrupt government will be toppled from its pedestals of power,” he added in a Twitter posting.

The unexpected decision set off pandemonium at the Kuala Lumpur High Court where Anwar was mobbed by his wife, daughters and opposition politicians. Thousands of opposition supporters who had gathered outside under heavy security erupted into cheers and raised their fists in the air.

In his brief verdict, Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah said he could not rely on controversial DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution in the case lodged by Anwar’s aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

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Jakarta to be World's Halal Food Center

Jakarta will be a center of the world’s halal food as headquarter of the World Halal Food Council (WHFC) that will be officially opened in January 16 2012.

"The office, located in the MUI (Indonesian Ulema Council) Building, Central Jakarta, will be inaugurated concurrently with the opening ceremony of the WHFC annual meeting," the Director of MUI Food and Drug Analysis Agency (LPPOM) Lukmanul Hakim said in a release received here, Thursday.

Indonesia as a world’s halal food center is supported by some international halal certification agencies such as those in United States, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore.Last year, Coordinating Minister of Economy Hatta Rajasa has signed the declaration that established Jakarta as the head office of the World’s Halal Food Council. and supports from the international keeps coming to Indonesia.

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Woman finds wedding ring after 16 years, on a carrot

A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago was flabbergasted when she found it again, around a carrot growing in her garden, media reported Saturday.

Lena Paahlsson had taken off the white gold ring before a Christmas baking session with her daughters in 1995, but it had disappeared from the kitchen counter where she placed it.

After looking everywhere, and even pulling up floorboards in the search, Paahlsson and her family, who live on a farm in northern Sweden, had given up on seeing the ring again, she told the Dagens Nyheter daily.

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The Television You Can 'Reach Iinside' to Grab Things on Screen

Television that you reach inside and interact with, like Willy Wonka’s Wonkavision in the classic 1970s movie, could be just around the corner.

Media student Jayne Vidheecharoen from the Art Center College of Design in California has designed a prototype TV that converts physical hands into virtual ones when users put them in the back of the box.

Google Streetview appears as a back drop courtesy of a green screen and digital objects can be manipulated and moved around at will. In Charlie And The Chocolate Factory we see spoiled Mike Teevee converted into a million pixels, miniaturised and beamed into a TV set.

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Apple May Hurt Shareholders with Patent War

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, told his biographer that he'd rather wage "thermonuclear war" with Google than make deals to share its technology with the maker of the Android operating system.

That was no empty threat. In the 18 months before Jobs died on October 5, Apple sued HTC, Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility, the three largest Android users. It alleged that the phone makers stole Apple's technology and asked courts to make them stop.

Now, as rulings start coming in, it might be time for a détente that helps Apple maximise the value of its patents, said Kevin Rivette, a managing partner at 3LP Advisors, a firm that advises on intellectual property. When courts side with Apple and impose bans on infringing products, competitors can often devise workarounds; in cases where Apple doesn't win import restrictions, it would be better off striking settlements that ensure access to a competitor's innovation, he said

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