When we slather up with sun tan lotion, most of us bypass our lips.  We coat our arms, our legs, our foreheads and noses with a suitable SPF -- but putting lotion on the lips is a non starter. And few people use a separate protective lip balm.  In fact, a recent study out of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas found that fewer than 25 percent of Americans protect their lips from the sun.

That's a big problem, because our lips are among the most vulnerable places on our bodies -- exceptionally prone to cancers and aging damage.  According to dermatologist Christine Brown, "When skin cancer occurs on the lower lip, it has the potential to be much more aggressive and metastasize to surrounding lymph nodes."

Ever since the feminist revolution, debate has raged about whether it's nature or nurture that determines the behavior of young boys versus girls. Are young boys born with an urge to wheel toy trucks across the floor and crash them into walls, while young girls come equipped with a preference to cuddle Raggedy Anns -- or does socialization create these differences?  Now, a new study by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, may have the nurture (versus nature) advocates a bit rattled.

A new study of 1256 elderly people affirmed that people who have a positive outlook suffer from far less memory loss than their worried peers.  At the initiation of the study, all participants completed surveys about their negative emotions. Then, every year for 12 years, they were assessed for cognitive impairment.  At the conclusion of the study, the subjects who tended to maintain a negative outlook had more memory loss than the more optimistic subjects. In fact, those indicating the highest degree of distress at the outset were 48 percent more likely to develop memory loss than those subjects who were the most positive.

Question:

I've had hand tremors for the last five years, but within 72 hours of taking your carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula for the first time, the tremors completely stopped. Is that possible? Could this fomula do that? If so, how did it happen?

First let me explain that my carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula was not designed as an anti tremor formula and is not sold to treat tremors -- or any other medical condition for that matter. It was designed to protect the body against the ravages of sugar and aldehydes in the bloodstream and to nutritionally extend the life of cells. And in that regard, it does a spectacular job. Nevertheless, over the years, I've had a number of people relate similar experiences to yours using variations of this formula. How can this be? There is an answer.

A new study shows that high blood pressure may have even more to do with diet and how your body processes food than with genetics.  The study, led by researchers at the Imperial College London, analyzed the chemicals found in the urine of 4,630 middle-aged adults in Great Britain, the US, China and Japan.  They discovered significant differences between the metabolic profiles of the Eastern and Western participants even when the genetic profiles were similar. Notably, Japanese participants living in the West showed metabolic profiles closer to those of Westerners.  The researchers concluded that these results indicate that lifestyle and diet determine blood pressure levels to an even greater extent than genetics. Furthermore, they found a strong link between hypertension and specific chemicals in the urine of the sample population, which gave strong indications as to what exactly triggers a rise in blood pressure.

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that pet dogs and cats have an extensive mix of toxins circulating in their systems.  According to an article in the New York Times, the researchers tested the blood and urine of 20 dogs and 37 cats at a Virginia clinic and discovered high levels of mercury, as well as 48 industrial chemicals (out of 70 chemicals tested) used in manufacturing fabrics, furniture, plastics, food packaging, and electronic goods. These chemicals included a high percentage of known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and reproductive system disrupters.  The toxins mirrored those found in human subjects, but many were at considerably higher levels.  For instance, when compared with human subjects, the cats tested at 23 times the level of fire retardants (PBDEs), and more than five times the amounts of mercury, while the dogs showed more than double the level of perfluorochemicals, including toxic stain-retardants.

Scientists at Sapporo University Medical School in Japan may have developed a method to stop the progression of liver cirrhosis, and in fact, to actually reverse the disease. Until now, the disease has been considered incurable (at least by the medical community) with liver transplant the only real option.

Cirrhosis occurs when the liver becomes overtaxed by excessive consumption of alcohol or carbohydrates, or in response to certain diseases such as Hepatitis B and C. Hepatic stellate cells within the liver respond to liver damage by producing collagen, a fibrous, sticky substance, which in turn scars and hardens the surrounding tissue. To address this condition, the researchers developed molecules that actually block collagen production. They then found a way to encase the collagen-blocking molecules in vitamin A -- which the stellate cells naturally absorb -- and injected the "disguised" molecules into rats that had cirrhosis. The "tricked" stellate cells absorbed the disguised molecules, which in turn blocked continuing collagen production.

Citizens in California expressed anger recently when state health officials denied that aerial pesticide spraying over three counties last fall had triggered 463 illness complaints filed shortly thereafter. The spray consisted of a product known as "Checkmate," intended to control brown gypsy moths. According to a report just issued by the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment, "scientists were unable to find a link between aerial spraying and illness complaints."

If you think you're being a model of dental virtue because you brush your teeth vigorously after every meal, here's something to chew on.  Dental erosion -- the loss of the protective enamel coating on the teeth -- has increased in the US, according to a new study. When the enamel diminishes, nerves become exposed, causing victims pain and increased sensitivity.  Plus, the teeth yellow and become brittle, more likely to decay, and they develop ugly V-shaped notches.

A new study out of Duke University recently found that approximately 5.2 million seniors -- or 22 percent of those over age 71 -- showed symptoms of mental decline.  Although the subjects did not have full-blown dementia, they did have difficulty remembering things, making decisions, and communicating. If you add to these numbers to the 3.1 to 4.5 million people who either have fully developed dementia or Alzheimer's, then at least 34 percent of the aged population suffers from mental deterioration.