Good Living Guide

HEALTH

These Antimicrobial Hand Tools Keep You From Touching Door Handles, ATM Machines and Much More

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Have lockdowns and quarantines made you scared to touch anything that might be a germ factory? Public surfaces like elevator buttons, keypads and restroom doors get thousands of touches a day. With these antimicrobial hand tools, you never have to touch one of those gross, germy surfaces again.

Keep the Cooties Away

The aptly named Kooty Key works like an extra set of fingers. You can use it to touch door handles, kitchen sinks, gas pump pads, ATM keypads, elevator buttons, retail payment pads, sink faucets, garbage cans and toilet handles.

The Kooty Key fits on most keyrings. It’s small enough to carry in your pocket, and it comes with an attached reel.

Best of all, it’s made from sturdy, antimicrobial plastic that repels germs on contact.

Get Bold and Brassy

The Keychain Touch Tool features a hook and pointer design in solid brass. It works on most doorknobs and door handles, trash bin lids and sink faucets. It also protects you from ATM touch screens, retail payment pads, public restrooms and more.

It’s a beautifully made object that’s attractive to carry in your purse or pocket.

Since it’s solid brass, this touch tool is naturally antimicrobial. It will last for years without tarnishing or wearing out.

Keychain Touch Tool

PEEL | Keychain Touch Tool

Keep It Clean

The CleanKey is another tool that works to keep your hands off as many public surfaces as possible. You can use it to avoid directly touching keypads, buttons, doors, faucets and payment touch screens. Use it to lift trash can lids, open shared refrigerator doors and more.

It’s made of blended copper and zinc. That makes it durable, easy to clean and not too heavy to carry around in your pocket. Copper naturally repels germs and microbes.

The CleanKey comes with a retractable carabiner that makes it easy to use everywhere.

Embrace Your Inner Germophobe with Antimicrobial Hand Tools

These tools allow your inner Adrian Monk or Howie Mandel to come out. There’s no time like a pandemic to be afraid of germs. Use these tools whenever you leave the house to avoid touching anything grimy.

Antimicrobial Hand Tools

Special Face Mask Lights Up When It Comes Into Contact With Coronavirus

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It sounds like science fiction, but it’s actually science fact. A team of researchers is developing a face mask that doesn’t just prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It actually lights up when it’s in the presence of the virus.

Lighting the Way to Better Health

If this reminds you of Bilbo Baggins’ sword that glowed when it was near orcs or the light sabers that Star Wars made famous, it’s for good reason. This mask actually changes to a fluorescent color when it picks up the presence of the virus on a person’s sneeze droplets.

The project began years before the pandemic. A team of bioengineers and medical researchers from Harvard and MIT joined forces back then to create a mask that would signal the presence of the Ebola and Zika viruses. Today, they’re turning their efforts toward developing a signaling mask for COVID-19.

Many Potential Uses

Jim Collins is the lead researcher on the project. He told Business Insider that the mask is only in the early stages, but it has enormous potential. Its main benefit would be to identify people who are carrying the disease but don’t know it.

“As we open up our transit system, you could envision it being used in airports as we go through security, as we wait to get on a plane,” Collins said. “You or I could use it on the way to and from work. Hospitals could use it for patients as they come in or wait in the waiting room as a pre-screen of who’s infected.”

Creativity and Crisis

The ongoing pandemic has led to some creative solutions to public health problems.

A medical team at the University of Kentucky is working on a face mask that would actually kill the coronavirus on contact. If you could combine both features in one mask, you’d never have to worry.

Face Mask

‘Robot Dog’ Unleashed In Public Park To Encourage Social Distancing

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Spot is one of the most popular names for companion canines in the history of dog names. Modern dogs likely wouldn’t be pleased to know the name was popularized by a 1930’s book series and a couple named Dick and Jane who had a pet cat named Spot.

Later on in the series, the cat was changed to a dog, but the name Spot endured. Today, however, Spot looks a little different than Dick and Jane’s furry friend. For starters, his name is SPOT®. He has no head and no tail. And he is available to rent.

Robot Dog

Youtube | CNA

Meet SPOT®, the Robot Dog on a Mission to Stop COVID-19

SPOT® is powered by remote control and can see in 2D and 3D with a 360-degree range of vision. But this isn’t even the most remarkable part. SPOT® also talks in American English using a soft, feminine Asian accent.

As you have likely guessed by now, SPOT® is a robot dog. Built by Boston Dynamics, SPOT is currently on duty patrolling the grounds of the popular Singapore park Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

His mission? To maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Currently, SPOT® can be seen daily roaming about the park, often stopping to scan passersby for the appropriate one-meter distance as they walk, jog or cycle on by.

Cute or Creepy? You Decide

SPOT® can sit, lay down, stand up, walk, stand and run. His yellow and black body looks more like a bumblebee than a canine and his gait is vaguely catlike as he lopes along throughout the park grounds.

Instead of barking, SPOT® continually repeats a message to maintain safe social distancing. What park-goers don’t see is the small army of park officials and operators behind the scenes who are controlling the robot remotely.

Will SPOT® be able to do what the best human efforts to date have not? If he can, he is a wonder-dog indeed.

Robot Dog

Banana Tea May Be The Solution For A Good Night’s Sleep

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Are you ready to enjoy deep, restful sleep? Are you ready to wake up refreshed rather than groggy without the use of dangerous, addictive sleeping pills? If you are, you should brew a batch of banana tea.

Banana Tea

Brew Your Bananas

Banana tea is all the rage right now as a natural solution for insomnia.

This simple tea uses ingredients you probably have in your home right now. If you’ve had a history of insomnia, why not give it a try? Our simple recipe makes it easy to enjoy a sweet, soothing cup of banana tea.

How Does Banana Tea Work?

Bananas are high in the minerals potassium and magnesium. When your body is low in its levels of these key minerals, you’re likely to be nervous, anxious and unable to sleep well.

What’s the magic ingredient? It’s the banana peel.

On his blog, nutrition expert David Wolfe writes that, “Bananas are rich in potassium and magnesium, but what most people do not know is that the banana peel has even more potassium and magnesium than the banana itself, and it is often thrown away as trash. Not anymore! With this simple recipe, you can get the benefits of the potassium and magnesium in the banana peel.”

People Are Going Bananas for This Natural Sleep Aid

Potassium and magnesium aren’t the only secret ingredient in banana tea. According to HerbalTeasOnline, banana peels are high in the amino acid tryptophan, which is “a mood-boosting neurotransmitter which regulates the stress level and sleep pattern. A cup of banana or peel tea would have a refreshing effect on your mind, facilitating a good sleep.”

Banana Tea

Can Banana Tea Work for You?

Would you be willing to brew banana tea? If you’ve already tried it, let us know how it worked for you.

Banana Tea
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Banana Tea

Are you ready to wake up refreshed without the use of dangerous, addictive sleeping pills? If so, you should try brewing a batch of banana tea.

Course Drinks
Author Good Living Guide

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a boil.
  2. Rinse entire banana under running water.
  3. Slice off both ends, but leave the rest of the peel on the banana.
  4. Add banana to the boiling water.

  5. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes.

  6. Pour the banana water through a strainer.
  7. Add a pinch of cinnamon (or your favorite sweetener).
  8. Enjoy!

Banana Tea

 

Virologist Says Coronavirus Can Survive On Fresh Grocery Store Produce

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Don’t skimp on washing your fruits and vegetables as soon as you get them home from the grocery store or farmer’s market. That’s the word from a specialist in infectious illnesses who’s warning us to take the coronavirus threat seriously.

Virologist Says Coronavirus Can Survive On Fresh Grocery Store Produce

Are You Bagging Bacteria?

The advice also applies if you’re getting grocery delivery.

Timothy Newsome is a virologist who teaches at the University of Sydney in Australia. In an interview with the British newspaper Mail Online, he reminded us that the virus can survive on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables.

“We have to remember that every surface is potentially contaminated and with any surface there is a risk,” he said.

Virologist Says Coronavirus Can Survive On Fresh Grocery Store Produce

Soapy Scrubbing

Newsome suggests using soap and warm water, but he doesn’t say what kind of soap to use.

On a Canadian news show, two infectious disease specialists also suggested washing your produce if you’re not going to peel it or cook it.

Is That Extreme?

Some experts say using soap to wash our produce is going overboard.

A simple water rinse can remove more than 90% of pesticides and bacteria.

In fact, according to food safety expert Teresa Hunsacker, “There is no data that suggests anything more than water will do a better job of eliminating coronavirus on produce.”

You can add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the rinse water. Both are antibacterial.

Virologist Says Coronavirus Can Survive On Fresh Grocery Store Produce

Staying Safe

Here are some tips for food safety:

  • Wash your hands in soap and warm water before you handle food.
  • Wash fruits and vegetables in clean water. Use a scrub brush for hard produce like carrots and potatoes.
  • Don’t wash produce until you’re ready to eat or cook it.
  • If you use reusable grocery bags, spray or wipe them with sanitizer.

Would you consider washing your produce with soap? We hope everyone is staying safe out there.

Study: Elderberry Has A Potent Direct Antiviral Effect Against The Flu Virus

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If your grandmother told you to take elderberry syrup for a cold or flu, she was right. Scientists in Australia have published an important study finding that elderberry extracts can fight the viruses that cause these illnesses.

Elderberry

New Research for an Old Remedy

Elderberries are an old-fashioned remedy for the cold, flu, bronchitis and fever. Now that researchers have given them the stamp of approval, you can rest easy knowing that you’re not wasting your money by taking these supplements.


How Elderberry Heals You

According to the researchers, concentrated elderberry extract works in several ways to help you heal. It stops viruses from getting larger, weakens their power and strengthens the human immune system. The study’s findings hit the news while Australia struggled with a record-breaking flu epidemic.

Another study found that taking a commercial elderberry fruit extract shortened the duration of flu symptoms by more than 50% and reduced the severity of muscle aches and fever.

How Should You Take Elderberries?

There are many commercial elderberry extracts on the market.


You can turn fresh elderberries into jam, pies, tea and wine. Never eat raw elderberries, which are poisonous.

Elderberry Jam

You can use dried elderberries to make elderberry syrup. One natural health expert suggests using this syrup on desserts and pancakes. That sounds like a medicine that will go down very easy.

You can buy elderberry remedies over the counter in most places. Doctors warn that you still need to get proper medical care for the flu, especially if you’re very young, very old or have a weak immune system.


Study: Elderberry Has A Potent Direct Antiviral Effect Against The Flu Virus

Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Is Skyrocketing Among Young Adults

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Leading doctors are sounding the alarm about a growing medical menace among young people. It’s common, its devastating, and it’s totally preventable. It’s alcohol-related liver disease, and it’s killing America’s young people.

Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

Reputation and Reality

Serious, alcohol-related liver diseases used to strike older people, but now, they’re happening among younger people.

Young people have a reputation for partying and hard drinking. Recently, that reputation has become reality. Experts think a rise in so-called binge drinking has fueled the rise in deaths from liver disease.

Death Rates From Cirrhosis Have Doubled

On a recent, eye-opening discussion on the Mayo Clinic Radio Show, doctors discussed various studies which find that deaths from alcohol-related diseases have doubled among people aged 25 to 40.

Doug Simonetto, a Mayo Clinic hepatologist or liver specialist, said it doesn’t even take that much alcohol to damage the liver. He said the big danger to young people is their tendency to binge drink.

What’s In a Binge?

Health professionals define binge drinking as having more than four drinks in two hours for women, and more than five drinks in two hours for men.

Hepatologist Joseph Galati, known as “Dr. Joe,” is also sounding the alarm. In a YouTube presentation, the popular doctor said cirrhosis rates are up 65% among young adults. Rates of liver cancer, which is linked to excessive drinking, have doubled.

We Need to Wake Up

“These are our children,” Galati says. “This is unbelievable and unacceptable. It’s alarming, and we all need to wake up to what is happening.”

This Implantable Artificial Kidney Could Eliminate Need For Dialysis

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Dr. William Fissell has created an artificial kidney that uses cellphone technology and lightweight plastic. Fissell, a medical researcher at Vanderbilt University, says the device shows true hope for the many people suffering and dying from kidney disease.

Artificial Kidney

WBIR

Facing Grim Choices

The development could have incredible implications for the more than 700,000 people who suffer from kidney disease.

In most cases, their choices are grim. They can get on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, which can take years, or they can face the pain, inconvenience and expense of dialysis treatments.

Artificial Kidney

WBIR

The Holy Grail of Medical Research

Medical researchers have long tried to develop a usable artificial kidney that would replace both of those options. Developing a kidney transplant that was lightweight, usable and workable was their Holy Grail.

At a 2019 medical conference, researchers from the University of California announced that they had been able to implant an artificial kidney into a pig.

Turning the Corner

The successful transplant was the first time a large mammal successfully used a fake kidney. At the time, they predicted that a true artificial kidney was just around the corner.

Fissell’s prototype is part of his work at Vanderbilt University’s Kidney Project. It will still have to go through clinical trials and human testing.

Eyes On the Future

Fissell’s research team recently won an international prize that gave his research a major financial boost.

“We still have our eyes on the prize,” Fissell said.

Artificial Kidney

Dr. William Fissell / WBIR

Husbands Are Taking Way Too Long To Poop, Experts Say

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Does your husband spend a suspicious amount of time in the bathroom? If you suspect he might be using bathroom time as break time, you might be right. On the other hand, spending unusual amounts of time on the throne could point to a serious health problem.

What’s Normal?

According to health professionals, the most time a healthy adult should spend perching on the porcelain is five minutes.

While it’s true that some men use their bathroom time to primp, read, chill out, get away from work or even take a nap, some of them really are taking a long time to poop.

Husbands Are Taking Way Too Long To Poop, Experts Say

Longer Pooping Times Could Mean Serious Problems

Here are some troubling reasons your favorite guy might be spending too much time on the throne:

  • He’s dehydrated. Men who don’t drink enough water produce dry, hard stools that are hard to pass.
  • His diet is bad. A high-fiber diet full of vegetables, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats makes it easy to empty your bowels.
  • He could be getting hemorrhoids. Taking too long to do his business can result in painful, embarrassing hemorrhoids.

Husbands Are Taking Way Too Long To Poop, Experts Say

What Can You Do About It?

If you’re concerned about all the time your partner is spending behind closed doors, it’s time to speak up. You might discover that he’s doing something harmless like reading his email or checking sports scores.

On the other hand, if it’s genuinely taking him a long time to get moving, it’s time to consider some lifestyle changes or a call to your doctor.

Cities Are Building Elder Playgrounds For Boomers To Exercise And Play

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Playgrounds aren’t just for children anymore. These days, recreation areas are designed for an aging population. These elder playgrounds come with fitness equipment, free exercise classes and a chance to work out in the great outdoors.

Elder Playgrounds

Health and Happiness

Studies have found that these fitness-themed playgrounds do wonders for seniors’ health. Movement is important at all ages. Keeping fit helps seniors develop better balance and core strength while staying mentally alert.

The parks also give seniors a new option for meeting other people. Loneliness is a serious problem for the elderly, and these parks are a great way for them to socialize.

Beach Views and Balance Wheels

In one Galveston, Texas park, seniors can use a variety of fitness equipment, climbing bars and balance wheels while enjoying a gorgeous view of the beach.

Some of the playgrounds are designed to let kids and their grandparents play together. The health organization Humana has declared a mission to build these so-called intergenerational playgrounds in at least 50 cities across the U.S.

They have caught on like wildfire as seniors discover a great alternative to gyms or sitting at home alone. As one senior told a news report, “I don’t mind acting like a kid again.”

Elder Playgrounds Provide Fun For All Ages

The trend began in China and has spread to countries everywhere. In Spain, elderly people are flocking to parks where they can play with their grandchildren instead of just watching them play.

These seniors are enjoying fresh air, exercise and fun with their families. It sounds like the perfect recipe for health and happiness at any age.