Coffee Pregnancy Side Effects. Is coffee bad for pregnant women and their babies? The latest research on this subject suggests that too much of the beverage is. According to a study released in March this year by Germaine Buck Louis of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, coffee drinking is linked to higher levels of pregnancy loss.

This is not the first time that researchers found some coffee pregnancy loss link. In fact, a study published in 2014 by Greenwood DC, et al arrived at the following conclusion: Continue reading Coffee Pregnancy Side Effects: How Much Coffee Beverage is Okay? →

Ice Cream Side Effects: Listeria and Salmonella Infection? Lead Poisoning? We all know that ice dream is delicious. Heck, we like it so much we don’t mind eating a pint every week even if it means more time running at the gym. Despite its deliciousness, you should know that ice cream can be dangerous to your health.

No, we don’t mean the fact that ice cream adds more pounds to your weight. Neither are we talking about the bad cholesterol or the high blood sugar levels that you have to bear after eating ice cream. Instead, we are talking about the dangerous listeria monocytogenes that may be found in your ice cream.

Did you know that in the past 30 days, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recalled four ice cream products because they were found to have listeria monocytogenes?

Continue reading Ice Cream Side Effects: Listeria Infection Can Make You Sick →

Coffee Side Effects. What are the side effects of the drink of the gods that is coffee? Well, according to the Mayo Clinic, if you over-drink coffee (more than 500 to 600 mg) you might feel any of the following:

• Insomnia
• Nervousness
• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Stomach upset
• Fast heartbeat
• Muscle tremors
• Sudden urgency to remove shirt.

Hah! Does one really have the sudden urgency to remove one’s shirt if s/he’s drinking too much coffee. Not really. We added that as a joke because if you search “people drinking coffee” this shirtless photo of Jesse Metcalfe drinking a mug of coffee turns up on Google.

Continue reading Coffee Side Effects: High Blood Pressure, Fast Heartbeat, and Jitters →

Caffeine Content in Coffee and Other Drinks. We mentioned in our post on coffee side effects that you should not drink more than 4 mugs of coffee a day. We also mentioned that a mug of brewed coffee contains 140 milligrams (mg) of caffeine while a mug of instant coffee has 100mg of caffeine.

Now, those of you who are curious about the caffeine content in common drinks such as Coca Cola and Mountain Dew will be happy to know that the University of Washington has released a guide that shows the caffeine content in common drinks and foods.

Continue reading Caffeine Content in Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and Mountain Dew →

Swallowed Chewing Gum Side Effects? What are the side effects of a swallowed chewing gum? Does it get stuck in your gut or does it get digested and eventually come out like other ordinary food? Does swallowed chewing gum expand and balloon in the stomach? And is there truth to reports that it takes seven years to digest a swallowed chewing gum?

Well, those of you who asked the above questions because you happen to swallow a chewing gum will be happy to know that a) it does not get stuck in your gut, b) it does not expand and balloon inside your tummy, and c) it does not take seven years for you to digest the gum.

More from Dr. Michael F. Picco of the Mayo Clinic: Continue reading Swallowed Chewing Gum Side Effects →