Wales considers law to tackle NHS nuisances

The law means disruptive and nuisance people can be removed from hospitals and GP surgeries.

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What it’s like to hear voices

Like Minds: One in 10 of us will at some point hear a voice that isn’t there.

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One cigarette a day ‘increases heart disease and stroke risk’

Smoking even one cigarette a day increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, a study finds.

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Century of data shows sea-level rise shifting tides in Delaware, Chesapeake bays

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Rise in severity of hottest days outpaces global average temperature increase

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Better than a hologram: Research produces 3-D images floating in ‘thin air’

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First monkey clones created in Chinese laboratory

Two monkeys cloned using the ‘Dolly the sheep’ technique could bring the world a step closer to human cloning.

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Health24.com | Dangerous fad: teens ‘eating’ laundry pods

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Health24.com | Neil Diamond and 6 other famous people with Parkinson’s disease

On 22 January 2018 there were reports that the music legend Neil Diamond had retired from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

According to HealthDay News, the 76-year old singer apologised to fans who bought tickets for the last leg of his 50th anniversary tour.

“The onset of the disease has made it difficult to travel and perform on a large-scale basis,” he explained.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement and causes trembling in the arms, hands, legs and jaw. It is caused when certain nerve cells die or become impaired. It affects 1 in 100 people over sixty.

While the symptoms can be controlled, there is nothing that can stop the disease from progressing.

Although the symptoms can be dramatically reduced, Parkinson’s disease can be challenging to live with as it doesn’t only cause difficulty of movement and cognitive skills, but can lead to depression, sleep problems, speech problems and pain.

The singer of hits like Sweet Caroline and Cracklin’ Rosie is not the only celeb affected by the illness. Here are six other famous people who are or were affected by Parkinson’s.

1. George H.W. Bush

It was reported in early 2017 that the former president of the United States had been placed in intensive care at the age of 92. Bush’s illness isn’t exactly Parkinson’s disease, but vascular parkinsonism, a disease that exactly mimics the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and causes the same devastating difficulties performing cognitive skills.

George HW Bush

2. Michael J. Fox

The American-Canadian actor, famous for his roles in Back to the Future and Spin City, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. He was only 29 – an unusually young age for the onset of the disease. In 2000 he formally retired from acting after his symptoms worsened. Since then he has become an activist for Parkinson’s and also created the Michael J. Fox Foundation to raise awareness of the disease.

Michael J Fox

3. Billy Connolly

This Scottish comedian announced in 2014 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer on the same day. Luckily, his sense of humour is helping him laugh about the situation and he often makes fun of his symptoms during shows.

Billy Connolly

4. Charles M. Schulz

The name might not ring a bell, but he is the creator of the beloved cartoon Snoopy. Parkinson’s disease severely affected the movement of his hands, making his passion for illustrating difficult. He tried to alleviate his trembles with beta-blockers. Schulz passed away in 2000.

Charles M Schulz

5. Robin Williams

Shortly after his suicide in August 2014, Robin William’s widow Susan Williams disclosed that he’d had progressive Parkinson’s disease and only three years left to live. His condition became progressively worse before his death.

Robin Williams

6. Muhammad Ali

This widely celebrated American boxer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984. It is said that blows to the head during his boxing career or a motorcycle injury could have led to the onset of the disease. In 1998 Ali became involved with Michael J. Fox’s foundation to create awareness for the illness. He passed way in 2016. 

Muhammad Ali

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons 

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Health24.com | Here’s why you shouldn’t post your cheat meal on Instagram

Now that it’s 2018, most of us have learnt by now that our social media footprints are basically permanent, so we have to be ultra-selective about what we choose to post and what we don’t.

Yet some people have apparently not gotten this memo. Case in point: the fact that Instagram and Facebook are being used as surveillance tools by sneaky personal trainers who want to see how their clients are spending their off-hours.

According to the New York Post, your personal trainer is totally spying on you via social media – and let me tell you, they don’t like what they’re seeing.

Read more: Find the best personal trainer for you

According to personal trainer Joe Holder, who’s based in New York City, some fitness instructors have no compunction about poring over your social media presence to see if you’re sticking to your diet.

“If you catch them doing something [unhealthy], you can call them out. If they’re doing something dope, you want to show them a little love,” he says.

Much like Santa Claus, they see you when you’re sleeping and they know when you’re awake (and stuffing your face with a pizza).

Read more: Try the Men’s Health pizza egg recipe for a cheat meal without the guilt

While most fitness instructors said they will draw the line at explicitly shaming their clients or calling them out in the comments, they’re not above a passive-aggressive jibe or two.

“I’ll see [my trainer] for our Saturday-morning sessions, and if I’m a little sluggish, he’ll be like, ‘Well, that’s probably because you had all those margaritas and ate all those tacos,’” one woman told the Post.

The end result is a relationship that is much more intimate (and arguably much more creepy) than the standard trainer/client dynamic.

Read more: Learn some lessons from Cape Town’s celebrity personal trainer

To be fair, this is something of a first world problem; if you can’t afford to hire a personal trainer in the first place (which, let’s be real, a lot of us can’t), this is not a particularly salient concern.

Also, if you do have a trainer, it probably isn’t an awesome idea to follow them on Instagram in the first place. You’re their client, not their friend. It’s kind of like being in high school and sitting with your Grade 10 maths teacher at break time.

But if you absolutely must follow your trainer on Instagram, at the very least, put your settings on private during your cheat days – or, alternatively, just check out our Belly Off Eating Plan and stick to your diet in the first place.

This article was originally published on www.menshealth.com 

Image credit: iStock

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