A dove rests on a tree near a Chinese flag fluttering at a park on April 1, 2013, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) An 80-year-old man is Hong Kong's first death from the H7N9birdflustrain, health officials in the region say. Just three weeks ago, the virus appeared in Hong Kong for the first time, an indicationthat it is spreading beyond mainland China where it first emerged earlier this year. (ABOVE: Bird Flu Strikes China) The man who died had...

(Thinkstock/Photodisc) For thousands of years, “warming” foods such as cayenne pepper (pictured above), coffee and chocolate, which all grow in tropical climates, have been used to promote sexual arousal. Many more of nature’s oldest-known aphrodisiacs are Mediterranean — almonds and lavender, for example, both thrive in a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern climate. Both have also been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. French author Alexandre Dumas reportedly used almonds as his love potion of choice, while Egyptian pharaoh...

Added sugar is everywhere, padding your waistline and upping your risk for a host of diseases. In the following photos, each cube of cane sugar equals one teaspoon, meaning that each time you eat the listed serving size of these foods, you’re consuming that many teaspoons of sugar. (Edecio Martinez and Camille Mann/Weather.com) If you're thinking about weight loss this diet season, think about sugar. It's the top dietary contributor to the worldwide obesity epidemic, experts say, leading some to...

Frankenstein used lightning to bring his monster to life. The Flash gained super speed after a strike bathed him in chemicals. Thor and Zeus used it to rule. Lightning’s raw power sparks the imagination, leaving many to wonder: “What would actually happen if I were struck by lightning?” Unfortunately, the answer doesn’t involve super powers. The human body isn't meant to withstand30,000 amps of charge and 50,000-degreeFahrenheit temps. “[Lightning] does a lot of damage to the tissues and causes burning....

((Thinkstock/Altrendo Images)) Eating at home might be a necessity when a winter storm hits, but a recent trend shows that Americans should always make an effort to avoid food away from home. More Americans are eating at home, while decreasing their amount of daily caloric intake and improving their diets, according to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture. (MORE: The WORST Diets in the World) Researchers found that a 12.9 percent decrease in money spent on food...

There are plenty of excuses not to exercise: It’s too hot out in summer, and it’s too cold out in winter. Although there might be a winter storm outside your door, spring (and then the dreaded swimsuit season) isn’t that far off. If you need some inspiration to get moving, check out these feats of strength — you won’t believe your eyes. The Flying Push-Up: Without a doubt, this will be the craziest push-up you’ve ever seen. The Phone Book...

Warnings to stay out of the sun may be overlooking a potentially important health benefit of sunshine, new findings suggest. While too much sun exposure may bring on skin cancer, researchers have found evidence getting some rays could protect against high blood pressure, a condition known as the silent killer. Researchers in the United Kingdom gave healthy study volunteers a dose of Ultraviolent-A (UVA) radiation in a lab, correspondingto what they would receive while under the sun for about 30...

“I couldn’t move any part of my body at all. It was just like being cemented in place with just your face above,” Edwin LaMair told news9.com in Colorado. LaMair and his brother survived an avalanche in Colorado in December 2013. But the day before he told his story to the media, two other people died in separate avalanches in Idaho and Wyoming. On Jan. 7, another skier would die in a Colorado avalanche, this time the grandson of the...

If there’s one upside to the brutal cold blanketing much of the country, it might be this: Cold weather may cause your body to burn fat — and help you lose weight. Here’s how: When you’re cold, your body has to work harder to keep your core temperature up. You shiver, which burns five times the number of calories as resting, according to LiveScience.com. Cold also activates brown fat — the “good” type of body fat that burns energy, rather...

(Shutterstock) A woman in Texas who died in 2012 succumbed to a rare blood cell disease, which was caused by the mosquito-borne dengue virus infection, according to a report of her case published Thursday. The case shows that while dengue remains rare in the United States, vigilance for the disease is important, and health professionals should be aware of the complications the virus can cause. The woman died after herdengue infectionbrought on another condition called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), in which...

(Thinkstock/Stockbyte) A new study sheds light on the environmental factors that may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Exposure to the pesticides DDE and DDT may up a person’s risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease, researchers from Rutgers University report in the new issue of JAMA Neurology. “Alzheimer’s patients had, on average, more than four times the [blood] levels of DDE than controls,” study author Jason R. Richardson, associate professor in the department of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert...

Conventionally produced meat damages our health and environment because of farming missteps, public health researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Pew Charitable Trusts say in a new analysis. This is not the first time the independentPew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) has sounded the alarm. Five years ago, the group, which is compromised of food, animal science and public health researchers from around the country, called on Americans to fight against current...