Researchers from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, have found that women who are sexually satisfied score higher on wellbeing and vitality measures than women who are dissatisfied. This goes to show that sexuality is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of women's (and men's) health.

Source: Wellbeing Magazine Issue 124, page 12.

Sitting up straight in your chair isn't just good posture; it also gives you more confidence in your own thoughts. Researchers found that people who were told to sit up straight were more likely, in that posture, to believe thoughts they wrote down concerning whether they were qualified for a job. Those who slumped over their desks were less likely to accept these written-down feelings about their own qualifications. The results show that your body posture can affect not only what others think about you, but also how you think about yourself. It is another example of how the body and mind are in a continuous loop and how your mind often takes its cues from what is going on in your body. So sit up straight and be careful what you think, because you will believe it.
Source: European Journal of Social Psychology

Mobile phones are often carried in pants pocket or on the belt. Using dual X-ray absorptiometry, researchers compared bone density on the side where men wore their phones vs the opposite side. The men carried their phones for an average of 15 hours a day & used cell phones for an average of 6 yrs. The results showed a slight reduction in bone density of the pelvis on the side where the men carried their phones. The researchers point out the men were relatively young (average 32 yrs) & that further bone weakening may occur with longer follow-up.
Source: Journal of Craniofacial Surgery

Biofield therapies such as Reiki and therapeutic touch use subtle energy to stimulate the body's healing process. These techniques have been used over millennia in various cultures but have only recently been under the scrutiny of Western scientific methods. In a review of 66 clinical studies looking at biofield therapies, researchers found strong evidence that biofield therapies reduce pain intensity, moderate evidence that they ease agitated behaviours in dementia and moderate evidence that they reduce anxiety in hospitalised patients. More research is needed, but the fact that Western analysis is finding that these therapies do work in some areas suggests that maybe thousands of years of usage can be trusted.
Source: International Journal of Behavioural Medicine

Putting aside for one moment any issues surrounding the safety or need for vaccination, many parents do vaccinate their children. Many people choose, and are advised, to take a painkiller before a vaccination to minimise after-effects. New research shows this may be the wrong thing to do. When immune cells were exposed to over-the-counter painkillers paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen, their ability to produce antibodies was diluted. This is probably because the pain-killing action of these drugs is due in part to reducing the action of an enzyme called cox-2. This is not a good idea in the context of vaccination, however, because the cox-2 enzyme is necessary for the optimal production of B-lymphocytes, the immune cells that produce antibodies.
Source: Cellular Immunology

Flaxseeds contain essential fats, fibre, protein and lignans, and a new piece of research suggests they lower cholesterol. Researchers analysed data from 28 clinical trials on flaxseed and found that:
* Adding flaxseeds to the diet decreased blood levels of Total and LDL (bad) cholesterol by an average of 0.21 mmol/l and 0.16 mmol/l respectively.
* Taking a lignan dietary supplement decreased blood levels of Total and LDL cholesterol by an average of 0.28 and 0.16 mmol/l resepectively.
* Flaxseeds and lignan supplements worked best in people with higher initial cholesterol levels and in postmenopausal women.
* Flaxseed oil did not have a significant effect on blood cholesterol levels in any of the groups studied, probably because the lignans are concentrated in the fibre portion of flaxseeds, not in the oil.
Source: Am J Clin Nutr