Your blood type is determined by tiny markers on the surface of your red blood cells. The two main systems are ABO, which gives you A, B, AB, or O, and the Rh factor, which makes you positive or negative. Together they produce the eight common blood types: A+, A−, B+, B−, AB+, AB−, O+, … Read more
Yes, menopause can raise your risk of high blood pressure. The drop in estrogen that comes with menopause changes how your blood vessels relax and how your body handles sodium, and those changes can push blood pressure upward. It is not a guarantee you will develop hypertension, but it is one reason blood pressure tends … Read more
Counting is one of the most common compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. It can look like counting steps, ceiling tiles, breaths, or repetitions of a ritual until a number “feels right.” The most effective way to stop it is not to fight the counting directly, but to change how you respond to the intrusive thought that … Read more
Inflammation is a normal immune response. It becomes a problem when it stays switched on at low levels for months or years. The foods most consistently linked to higher chronic inflammation are sugary drinks, refined carbohydrates, processed meats, fried foods and foods high in added sugar. Cutting back on these is the practical answer most … Read more
A fine line buckthorn that is dying is almost always losing one of three things: water, oxygen at the roots, or light. This plant is a narrow columnar form of buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula ‘Fine Line’, also sold as ‘Ron Williams’). It is grown for its fine, fern-like leaves and upright shape, not for fruit or … Read more
Air dry clay is not toxic to breathe in its wet form. The risk comes from the dust. Once clay dries, sanding or breaking it releases fine particles into the air. Breathing that dust can irritate airways in kids and pets. Most air dry clays sold for craft use are water-based and labeled non-toxic, but … Read more
No, John F. Kennedy was never diagnosed with ADHD. The condition was not formally defined in his lifetime, and no school records or medical papers attribute attention or hyperactivity symptoms to him. The idea that he had ADHD is a modern retrospective theory built on secondhand descriptions of his childhood behavior, not on clinical evidence. … Read more
Blood stops flowing during a blood draw when the needle moves out of the vein, the vein collapses under suction, or a clot blocks the tube. The most common cause is the needle tip slipping partly or fully outside the vein wall, so the vacuum pulls tissue fluid or nothing at all instead of blood. … Read more
Black castor oil is a dark, thick oil made from castor beans that have been roasted and sometimes fermented before pressing. The roasting gives it its color and a stronger, smokier smell than regular castor oil. People use it mostly on hair and skin, and the main compound in it — ricinoleic acid — is … Read more
Molly is a street name for MDMA, a synthetic drug chemically related to both a stimulant and a hallucinogen. People are trafficked for Molly in two main ways: they are moved and controlled as forced labor in the drug trade, or they are exploited sexually in connection with the drug. Traffickers use the drug itself … Read more