More Studies I Plan To Ignore

Sometimes I come across health studies that are perfectly legitimate... but they don't persuade me to do anything differently.

For example, there was that study that says raw broccoli is much better for you than cooked broccoli. Or another one that said room-temperature watermelon has more antioxidants in it than if it's refrigerated.

Well, I say the heck with those studies! I hate raw broccoli and like my watermelon cold and so I'm going to barely glance at the details.

However, if you are someone who likes warm watermelon or raw broccoli, these studies are not lame and ignorable, they are great discoveries! So I realize that one persons "health news" can be another person's "health snooze." (Sorry... that was really awful, wasn't it?)

So in the spirit of "I can't think of anything the least bit interesting to blog about today" "we're all different and isn't that wonderful," here are some recent studies that for various reasons, I didn't want to know much about but you very well might!

As it turns out, there are many different reasons to blow off health studies. So I've grouped these in Crabby-centric terms: why I didn't want to look much beyond the headline.

1. Because I know I'm Not Gonna Bother:

Cooking carrots before you cut them preserves about 25% more falcarinol, an anti-cancer compound, than if you cut the carrots first and then cook them.

Well, when I cook carrots it's mostly in soups or stews. And I do not want to start cooking the damn things whole and then fishing them out all hot and drippy and messy and then cutting them up. I'll just assume that that the sneaky little falcarinol stuff is now hiding in the soup. And if you scientists happen to know that it doesn't work that way? Don't tell me, ok?


2. Because I've heard the opposite thing too many times:

The New York Times Health Page has been torturing me lately with their "guess what, everything you ever heard is wrong" reports. Remember when they said exercise isn't all that good for you? Well, this one is equally annoying but more specific, and has to do with strengthening your core.

So you know how all the exercise experts always tells you the same thing: be sure to pull in your stomach as you work your abs. This is so that you can strengthen the "transversus abdominis" muscle which will help prevent back injuries.

In fact, exercise expert Rupal over at 101 Exercises just recently explained the importance of activating the deep abdominal muscles. And she's very convincing!

So now there's a smarty-pants New York Times article calling this into question. According to them: "There’s growing dissent among sports scientists about whether all of this attention to the deep abdominal muscles actually gives you a more powerful core and a stronger back and whether it’s even safe."

Well dagnabbit. I hate when exercise advice changes!

But to be fair, there are some good alternative core exercises they suggest, like side planks, bird dogs, very-very-modified crunches, and something called "stirring the pot." The video is pretty darn helpful as this stuff is hard to describe. (And thanks to reader Lulu for drawing this article to my attention!)

But I think my favorite source for Core Workouts? Still gotta be Bossy:


3. Because some new statistic pisses me off and/or depresses me.

A new study about teens and contraceptive use says that: "After major improvements in teen contraceptive use in the 1990s and early 2000s, which led to significant declines in teen pregnancy," contraceptive use declined between 2003 and 2007. And it's not because there's been any decrease in teen sexual activity.

"Teens are still having sex," one of the study's authors said, "but it appears many are not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections."

The report suspects the reason might be faltering HIV prevention efforts and "more than a decade of abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education that does not mention contraception unless it is to disparage its use and effectiveness."

Which of course is what most of the health educators and experts predicted would happen. But we got federally funded "abstinence only" sex ed anyway.

I do not have a teen, so that's another reason for me not to spend too much time pondering the why's and wherefores. (And if I did, rather than take the high road and try to educate them myself, I suspect I'd send them over to the Midwest Teen Sex Show and let the fabulous Nikol school them on condoms and other sex ed topics. (Caution, graphic language and very NSFW).

4. Because it's a silly study.

Did you know that if you participate in a research study you think is about choosing colors, and the researchers offer you some soup for lunch, but don't tell you that they've rigged up your soup bowl to re-fill automatically...

...that you'll end up eating more soup than someone with a regular bowl?

Er... duh?

It's true that the people who didn't have sneaky self-refilling bowls had servers visibly refilling them, so the study does say something about how lame we are at telling just from our stomachs how "full" we are. But is this really a surprise???

And this study just seemed doofy on all kind of levels. Doesn't the whole "let's stop and have soup for lunch during our research study on colors" cover story sound kinda unconvincing? As a suspicious crab, I'd just assume they might be watching what I was eating and I'd try to control myself--though I suppose it would be the same weird artificial experience no matter which kind of bowl you had.

Anyway, I thought it was dumb use of research money. We haven't yet found cures for cancer and MS and all the other awful diseases out there. But we have money to rig re-fillable soup bowls to confirm the obvious fact that people use visual cues to tell them how much to eat?

Note: to add an additional embarrassing level of irrelevancy, this study was posted on the well-respected blog Cognitive Daily less than a week ago. But it turns out it's a rerun from 2007! Science blogs are allowed to have reruns? Crap! Why do I always notice the dates on studies after I write them up? Anyway, sorry, next time I'll check more carefully, and try to bring you recent silly studies, not old ones.


So, any studies or advice you've seen lately that you've chosen to ignore?

Obesity, Probiotics, and Pregnancy

Photo credit: mahalie

Good news for pregnant yogurt-lovers! Scientists in Finland looked into the effects of probiotic consumption during pregnancy. And they found that probiotics helped reduce post-pregnancy obesity levels.

Probiotics, as you may recall, are those "good" bugs that live in cultured foods like yogurt and kefir. (As opposed to the "bad" bugs you get when you drop your food on the kitchen floor and, if no-one's looking, decide to invoke the "five second rule" and eat it anyway.)

Nachos: Sadly, not a great candidate for the 5 second rule.
Unless you're really, really, hungry.

Photo: AKMA

So, you might wonder, what if you're not pregnant--can you eat a bunch of yogurt or takes some capsules and lose some quick belly fat?

Well, I wondered that too. And I am still wondering that. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of research yet. But in the meantime, there are lots of reasons you might benefit from eating probiotics anyway.


But First, The Pregnancy Study

The researchers assigned 256 pregnant women randomly into one of three groups. The first group (we'll call it the "Lucky" group) got capsules with lactobacillus and bifidobacterium as well as dietary counseling. The second group (the "Dummies") got dietary counseling and placebo "dummy" pills with no good bugs in them. The third group (the "Loser" group) got bupkus--no dietary counseling and no real capsules, just the placebos.

The women took the capsules starting in their first trimester of pregnancy, and continued until "the women stopped exclusive breastfeeding, after up to six months." (Presumably they meant after the baby stopped exclusive breastfeeding--unless there are some very odd diets new moms are trying out these days).

The researchers were particular interested in "central obesity," which is worse for your health than the big-butt kind of obesity. Central obesity was defined as "a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more or a waist circumference over 80 centimetres." (Or for those of us who live in the United States where we're too damn lazy to just suck it up and switch to the metric system like the rest of the world--80 centimetres is about 31 and a half inches.)

(Picky, boring research side note: Here's where I thought the methodology got kinda funky. How accurate are stomach measurements during pregnancy at capturing actual fat gain? Probably not very. Because one woman might be carrying twin sumo wrestlers, while another woman may be pregnant with a tiny future ballerina. So the researchers didn't gather initial waist measurements, even though central obesity is what they were mostly interested in. Apparently they couldn't go back in time and get them pre-pregnancy. Instead it looks like they just used post-partum averages to compare the groups, which would mean a lot of noise in the data).

Anyway, turns out only 25 per cent of the women who had been given the probiotics as well as diet advice fell into the "central obesity" category, compared to 43 per cent of the women who got dietary counseling alone, and 40 per cent of the women who got neither diet advice nor probiotics. The average body fat differences were less dramatic, but I'm assuming they were statistically significant: 28 per cent, 29 per cent, and 30 per cent respectively.

Blah blah blah. You lost me at 256 pregnant women. Get to the point, willya?


Oh, hi there! Yeah, so it seems like there's at least something interesting going on with probiotics perhaps helping fight post-pregnancy obesity. Keep an eye out for further studies.

(And does anyone else find it interesting how little impact dietary counseling had compared to the probiotic pills? Sounds like either most women pretty much blew off the advice, or that the standard nutritional advice doesn't do squat towards preventing obesity.)


Why Did They Just Study Pregant Women?

One might wonder why the researchers chose to study the probiotic/obesity connection in pregnant women since pregnant women are so hard to measure and all?

Well, it turns out one of the reasons was that the researchers wanted to keep following the women and their babies to see whether the pre-natal probiotics will influence the babies' health.

“Particularly during pregnancy, the impacts of obesity can be immense, with the effects seen both in the mother and the child. Bacteria are passed from mother to child through the birth canal, as well as through breast milk, and research indicates that early nutrition may influence the risk of obesity later in life. There is growing evidence that this approach might open a new angle on the fight against obesity, either through prevention or treatment.”

Dang it. Cute babies... they win every time!




So Should We All Start Eating Yogurt For Weight Management?

Alas, I couldn't find much other non-pregnancy research on probiotics fighting obesity, other than the "scientists are looking in to it" kind of thing. But it's possible that my hours and hours of scholarly research 3 minutes on google might have missed something useful.

However, you can bet if it turns out there's any connection, scientists and product marketers will be all over this one.


But There Are Other Great Reasons to Get "Cultured" Too!

Mayo Clinic has a brief run-down on some of the medical benefits of probiotics. Like they can:

• Treat diarrhea, especially the kind you get after taking antibiotics
• Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections
• Treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Reduce bladder cancer recurrence
• Shorten the duration of intestinal infections
• Prevent and treat inflammation following colon surgery (pouchitis)
• Prevent eczema in children
• Aid in general health
  

Which Bugs for Which Problems?

While the supplements in the pregnancy study were the commonly seen lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, there are lots of other different probiotics strains out there. Some work better than others for specific medical conditions.

For a helpful guide to probiotics you may want to check out Love That Bug (Old-timer Cranky Fitness readers may recognize that as that the site of our friend Dawn Rotarangi of The Flightless Writer). There are lots of specifics there, whether you're dealing with hay fever, IBS, "women' stuff," or a bunch of other medical issues.

And speaking of "women's stuff"...


Why Women MUST Eat Yogurt!

I probably ran this video already, since it's a year old and I thought it was hilarious when I first saw it. Anyway, here it is again:





So do you folks make an effort to get some good bugs in your diet? Would you eat more if it turned out it discouraged extra fat around your waist?

Random Friday: teenagers, sleep, and sex with stopwatches

[By Merry, by gosh]

Here's another candidate for the Didn't we just see a study about that? category:
Eating breakfast helps teens lose weight. Old news, you say? Well, yes, but it's apparently not sinking in. Surely, the best way to make sure you do not eat any breakfast is to eat a high-fat meal late at night.

That's why I'm irked with Taco Bell for promoting this Fourth Meal concept. You've probably never darkened the halls of this fast-food joint, but they're pushing the idea of adding another meal between dinner and breakfast. Trust me, bean sprouts are not on the menu. Granted, teenagers often make stupid food choices (unless they've changed radically in the last 20 years), but you want them to eat breakfast!

Oh all right, I'll stop. The world isn't perfect, and I'll have to accept that. I do wish there were a Complaints' department for all the things in the world that irk me. (Mind you, it would have to be a pretty big Complaints' department.)

On the other hand, this has been a great week for high-class posts on this blog.
Thanks to Charlotte, you're prepared to deal with any pregnant women (including yourself, if applicable) with appreciation for their size -- they have a reason to gain a few extra pounds. And frankly, it's nice not to be judged in any case. Unless you're in a beauty pageant, like this size 16 teenager. (I like the idea of everyone being in good shape, but I like the idea of people not being sneered at even more.)

Note: This doesn't apply to Fast Food corporations. Please be judgmental about them.

As luck would have it, a lot of this week's guest blogs would come in handy if you want to overcome the Fast Food Corporations and their evil machinations. (Hey, if you can't be profound, use big words.)

• You can bet that Ashley didn't make a habit of late-night runs to the nearest greasy spoon when she lost 60 pounds.
• And Jen gave some good tips on how to kick ass -- or at least improve the one you're sitting on. (And I'm especially glad that she put up with all the 'bottom' puns, even though they must have seemed 'end'less. Okay, okay. I'm finished. Honest.)
• If you take Lisa's advice about planning your shopping trips, then you won't need to go for a late-night fast food run in the first place.
• And if you take Monica's advice and make exercise part of your daily life, you'd be too pleasantly tired in the evening to want to drive around looking for fast food.

Another study that sounds strangely familiar: sleeping is the key to weight loss. Less than 7 or more than 9 hours a night, you're apt to put on the pounds. I love how specific they are. They even specify the different hours of sleep recommended for people of different ages.

If you happen to have a teenager in your vicinity, and they get cranky in the evening hours, perhaps they don't need more late-night meals. Another study claimed that surly teenagers need 9 hours and 12 minutes of sleep at night. (I especially love that "and 12 minutes" part. What happens if they only get 9 hours and 4 minutes sleep? Are they only going to be mildly cranky?)



Then again, those crazy scientists time everything. A new study out claims that the "optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes." (No, not counting foreplay.) What amused me about this study was that the scientists, who studied heterosexual couples, equipped all the women with stopwatches. Geez, no pressure there. And is nothing private any more? Next thing you know, they'll be timing how long people spend reading blogs at work!

Have a great weekend everyone! By next week, I hope to hear some news from our travelin' crab.

Babies Are Overrated

Today's guest post is courtesy of the awesome blogger Charlotte of The Great Fitness Experiment. Charlotte also blogs at The Huffington Post.

With childbirth these days, it's not about what you gain (a baby) but all about what you lose (fat, skin, your sanity). As if carrying a squirmy watermelon with sharp heels for nine months (ten really, if you're counting by weeks) wasn't hard enough, now pregnant women are held to the impossibly skinny standards of the media as well.

Any woman who has been pregnant in the last few years or so already knows exactly what I'm talking about. Suddenly a baby bump has become the new it bag. But it isn't enough to have a healthy baby. You have to look like a stick bug with a basketball tucked under your shirt. Especially so you can fit into the belly baring, body conscious maternity fashions that are so popular now. Don't get me wrong, I was no fan of the tent dress but there has got to be a happy medium between that and this (look, a pregnant high-end hooker! Who doesn't want to hit that?):



(Although I must admit I laughed myself silly when I saw this one.)

The Toll

The worst part though is after the baby is born. With my last child, people started asking me months before he was even born how fast I thought I was going to "lose the weight." Just typing that phrase strikes terror into my heart. Isn't it bad enough that we have to worry if everything will come out with ten fingers and ten toes and possibly your mother-in-law's nose? Must we add "losing the weight" to the list?

Heidi Klum lost the weight from her 3rd baby in a record-breaking 4 weeks so she could strut her sexy stuff on the Victoria's Secret catwalk. The same sexy stuff, I might add, that gestated, birthed and nursed an actual baby. Side note: I'll never know how men manage to look at women in lingerie and yet still not connect the baby making apparatus with a living, breathing baby. Add to Heidi's example the recent spate of celebs who lose their baby weight in ever-shorter amounts of time. Keri Russel! Trista Rehn! Tori Spelling! Julia Roberts! Nicole Richie! The list goes on and on and on. (Do they ever lose the baby too? I mean if you are losing stuff that darn fast, those little guys are pretty easy to misplace. I'm just saying.)

But it is not with men that I make my complaint. Every person who asked me about losing the weight was a woman. I even had one girlfriend tell me that she envied my extreme morning sickness at the beginning. "You're so lucky! You get to lose all that weight. It probably keeps your overall weight gain down too. I wish I was a puker!"

J.Lo.

Except that somehow it didn't keep my overall weight down. That was why I could totally relate when I read about the Jennifer Lopez's fear about her weight gain while she was pregnant.

"Jennifer is delighted to finally be pregnant. However, she has already put on more than three stones and is only around four months gone. She is huge and freaking out," said a source.

Three stone is about 42 lbs. I gained 47 with my first pregnancy - well above the "recommended" 25-35.

So what's a mom to do? "J. Lo, who is famous for her curvaceous backside, is taking extra precaution against the weight that may be left after she has given birth by waking up at four in the morning to work out."

And if that doesn't work? "Her face has become really puffy from retaining a lot of water. She plans to do a Victoria Beckham now and hibernate for the last few months. You won't be seeing much of her in public from now on," the source says.

So it's come to this: a beautiful pregnant woman had to go into hiding to have a healthy baby and a normal pregnancy. Not because people don't want to think about how she got knocked up but because people will call her fat.

And now that she has given birth to two healthy and - if they got her genes and not Marc's - beautiful babies, the tabloid race is on to see how fast those famous abs flatten out.

The Skinny on Baby Fat
I first read this story on the Skinny Website. And I almost choked on my lunch (the irony of eating lunch while reading a site called "the Skinny Website" is not lost on me) when I read Rian's closing line "It will be interesting to see how fast Jennifer loses the baby weight. Will she be one of the ones who lose it so fast we barely see it at all, or will she be like Britney and not ever take off the extra few she gained? What do YOU all think?"

Rian also points out that Jessica Alba is indeed "gaining weight all over" as if it were a capital crime. Don't people realize that you need your legs to get bigger to support that sack of fluid and flesh? It ain't made of air, people!

This is what pregnant women have to deal with. Britney's baby is not even two and already she is judged as "not ever" being able to take off the weight? I'm no fan of Ms. Spears but you gotta give a girl some time. Jessica Alba is a picture of health and gestation. Jennifer Lopez is a gorgeous mama regardless of the status of her baby-got-back. Enough is enough. Pregnancy, more than any other time, should be a safe haven from weight criticism.

Are you pregnant? Head for Australia, quick!

[By Merry]

A science article in the Telegraph suggests that the season in which you are born can influence your personality. For example, women born in May are often more impulsive, while women born in November are more reflective. (Or so says John Eagle, of Aberdeen University.)

The article goes on to quote other researchers, who found that "people born in the autumn will tend to be physically active and excel in football while those born in the spring will be more cerebral and may be better suited to chess."

(Am I impulsive? Moi? I need to reflect a bit on that, frankly. And I stink at chess, so there's another question mark right there.)

All these claims sounded wacko to me, but then I read further. What I liked about these studies is that the May/November conclusions apply only to the Northern Hemisphere. If you look at people born down under, the findings are reversed. Kiwi November babies get the impulsive label slapped on them instead. (Being labeled 'impulsive' doesn't strike me as a compliment.)

According to another researcher, Jayanti Chotai, at Umea University in Sweden, levels of crucial hormones produced by a pregnant woman change based on the seasons (due to temperature, light levels, changes in nutrition levels, and so on), and this can "hard-wire personality traits while the baby is in the womb."

So apparently we've got another reason to blame our parents for whatever it is we don't like about ourselves. It's not my fault I don't exercise enough. If my parents had had the foresight to arrange matters so that I was born in the fall, I could be off playing football right now.

I don't know nuthin' about birthin' babies*, but if you're in the process of producing a baby in northern hemispherical spring season, and you want the little'un to be into fitness, it sounds as if this might be a good time to emigrate to Australia and give birth in their autumn. On the other hand, if you want to produce the next braniac... hmmmn. Tough choice there. I suppose you could always compromise and give birth on the Equator somewhere.

What do you think? Does the idea of womb-wired personalities require a little seasoning?

Astrological clock thanks to flickr.


*Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

Friday It Is!

It being Friday, Cranky Fitness prepares for the weekend in the traditional way: throwing a bunch of unrelated junk into a post and hoping you can find something in there worth reading. Good luck!

Play Ball!
In a recent Danish study (no, not of the pastries, though Crabby would very much like to volunteer for that Danish study), researchers found that soccer beat out jogging as exercise, and was more fun to boot! (Sorry). A bunch of guys in their early thirties were sent out to either run, play soccer, or do nothing in particular 3 times a week for about an hour. After three months, the soccer players had more muscle, less fat, and a lot more fun than the joggers or the couch potatoes. The joggers were in better shape than the spuds, but found their routines fairly miserable. However, like this was apparently the old-fashioned kind of jogging that involves slogging along at an even pace, not the new fancier kind with lots of intervals and variety. And hey--plenty of Cranky Fitness readers are Big Time runners who aren't the least bit whiny about it!

Overloaded
According to this USA Today article, many Americans are getting too big for their cars. Cars actually do have weight limits, in order to ensure tire safety, and it's not that difficult for heavier folks these day to top these limits in certain cars, especially two-seaters. For example, some Miatas and Corvettes aren't supposed to carry two 200-pound adults. And many five-passenger vehicles max out if their occupants average more than 170 pounds apiece.

Is this really anything to worry about? Well, possibly, yes! Overloading is considered a factor in tire failure (very, very bad; you really don't want this going on underneath you while zooming down the freeway). And guess what else? If you exceed the weight limit of your car, automakers may be able to claim they don't have any responsibility for a part that fails causing you to you crash. Yikes.

Spin This Any Way You Want
Via the always awesome Fitness Fixation, did you know there's now such a phenomenon as Spin Rage? Well at least according to the attorney for a Wall Street Broker with some serious anger management issues. Apparently Broker became enraged at Hedge Fund Manager pedaling next to him (can't you just picture this gym?) because of all his grunting and hooting. Words were exchanged, then Broker proceeded to pick up Fund Manager and his bike, and hurled them into a wall. So, are you looking for a good excuse to skip your spin class and can't think of any new ones? You're welcome.

Not a Very Nice Way to Wake Up...
At your own autopsy. With a scalpel cutting into your face. The guy's fine though, and still quite handsome despite the car accident, the being declared dead and all, and the rude awakening in the morgue.

Tick Tick Tick
Crabby had never come across this weirdly addictive world time clock before, but our friend Dr. J. just brought it to her attention. Check it out! (Though the site was down once on a recent visit; seems to be back up now.) Once you start watching all the numbers roll by and grasp the ramifications of some of them, you can start to feel a bit... well, freaky.

After The Stork Flies Away...
Moms, want a refreshing dose of reality about women's bodies, post-pregnancy? Many of you may have probably found this site already, but if you haven't, check out The Shape of A Mother. (After you read the introduction, click "enter" and you will be taken to photos readers have sent in of their bodies both during and after pregnancy. There are (gasp) stretch marks on view! It's sweet and real and a nice place to get a sense of perspective back about what's natural.

Okay, warning, now we're gonna get decidedly weirder...

Don't Do it, Steve!
So were we just speaking of new mothers and their unique physiology? Here's a somewhat related blog post that's part of the series Steve, Don't Eat That! But Don't Click Just Yet, Caution is strongly advised as some may find this distasteful and possibly offensive. And yet Crabby nonetheless found it quite amusing. OK, have at it if you dare.

And our final bit of silliness?

More Gratuitous Animal Exercise Videos!
So last time Crabby tried to embed a video it broke her feed! So this time, those of you with time on your hands may want click these links to watch this little guy or this big gal do their respective things.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Urinal Lot of Trouble Now...

It's Random Friday, Special Tasteless Edition!

It had to happen eventually: Cranky Fitness descends to bathroom humor to fill out a Friday post. However, don't panic: the actual urinal pictures don't appear until the end and you can cut away well before that and go visit a much more grown up health blog.

Like for instance, That'sFit, where Crabby stole noticed these three items:

Apparently this past Wednesday was declared Sex Day in Russia, as couples in the Ulyanovsk region were given the day off work in order to, well, do their best to personally boost declining population numbers. For those with excellent timing, prizes like cars, or TV's will be awarded to reward couples who give birth exactly nine months later on "National Day." Quoth the Dude in Charge: "If there's a good, healthy atmosphere at home within the family, if the husband and wife both love each other and their child, they will be in good spirits... so there'll be a healthy atmosphere throughout the country!"

On the other hand, there's this depressing statistic: One in ten American women smoke while pregnant! Actually it was even worse than that: 22% smoked at least sometime during their pregnancy, and 12% were classified as nicotine dependent. The smokers also suffered high rates of depression which made it harder to quit. Reading this, Crabby found herself suffering a sudden high rate of depression and the emergency administration of Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds was required. (Is there a Patch for that?)

But on a more cheerful note, folks in Baltimore have been taking advantage of free exercise equipment stationed around Druid Park, including rowing, elliptical, back and leg press machines. Crabby will try to stow her usual pessimism and assume the absence of vandalism and the existence of magical Equipment Maintenance Fairies (or perhaps Druids?) to keep the things in working order. Or perhaps these machines function differently than the ones in her gym and do not break down ever three minutes.

And a couple more quick heath notes for women: First, get some sleep! Women are much more susceptible than men to blood pressure problems if they don't get more than 5 hours of shut-eye every night. And second, if you take the Pill and are worried about cancer--a new study suggest that cancer risk may actually be slightly reduced among Pill takers, at least for those taking it fewer than eight years. The study looked at data from 46,000 women over 36 years, back far enough to include years when the dosage was much higher than it is now. It also appeared the protective effects lasted at least 15 years after stopping.

Enough health? Now on to the Usual Randomness! (And the first few aren't even tasteless).

For those who haven't already found this over at The Goat's Lunch Pail or at Women of Mystery, there is a quick, fun, and often Weirdly Accurate Personality Test that tells you what famous novel you most resemble. There are only six questions to answer, and the answers tend to be put in mostly flattering terms, so there's little to fear!

Unfortunately, Crabby has been alerted to another funny blog, and she's not sure she she's supposed to get anything done if she keeps reading random posts and laughing and being overcome by murderous jealousy hearty appreciation and everything. (The culprit who alerted her was Vanilla over at Half-Fast, but Crabby is not even going to link to him again because he's going to think she's stalking him. But you know where to find him, or if you don't--just keep refreshing this page and adding to Crabby's Page View statistics looking for his blog until it magically appears in the blogroll over on the side bar).

This Awkwardness Survival Guide is also quite amusing, as it includes instructions on what to do in quite a few uncomfortable situations, including when:

"A waiter entreats you to enjoy your meal and you respond with 'you too;'

"Out of habit, you end a phone conversation with 'I love you' when not talking to your significant other; or,

"You call your teacher 'mom.'"

Crabby has done many of the Embarrassing Things listed, so she found it reassuring to discover there were others out there just as clueless.

And so, now to the Potty-related Part of the Post!

First up, Jennifer at Off-Beat Homes brings us, for real, plans for building The Poop House. She asks if you'd ever consider living there. Crabby says, "No Way in Hell!"

And then The Lethological Reader introduces us to A Perplexing new Product: Pee Powered Batteries!

And next are two pictures of Urinals, one that Crabby found Amusing, and the other Downright Offensive! Try to guess which is which, and feel free to tell her what you all thought, as well as sharing any thoughts, feelings, opinions, or off-color jokes or whatever else you may have going on in your Clever Creative minds!

First Urinal, photo courtesy of NerdTests:



Second Urinal, brought to you by Gadling:



And have a great weekend folks!