You’re allergic to bananas.  You don’t put them in your cereal, you don’t drink smoothies, you don’t travel to Central America.  You even hate monkeys, they like bananas so much.  Your whole life, you’ve avoided bananas because your mom told you that your doctor did a test when you were a kid and said bananas could kill you.  But maybe it’s not so simple.  Maybe, just maybe, a banana won’t kill you after all.

A study published in this week’s Journal of the America Medical Assocation highlights the complexity of diagnosing and treating allergies.  The paper is a review of more than…

Barack Obama’s doctor just told him he needs to quit smoking.  It’s not the first time he’s heard it, and it probably won’t be the last–smokers have to quit multiple times before they’re finally done smoking.  Here’s a quick run-down on what you and Obama can both do to increase the odds that the next time you quit will be the last time.

First, be ready to quit.  Quitting is often a tough process, and there’s no point in starting if you know it won’t work.  If you’re not ready to quit, figure out why not.  Consider what you enjoy about smoking–an escape from the office,…

People who drink more soft drinks are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, claims a new study from Singapore.  The researchers followed about 60,000 people for around a decade, and found that those who consumed more soft drinks–around 5 drinks per week–were 85 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who abstain from soft drinks.

It might seem surprising that a non-radioactive, tobacco-less, industrial waste-free product could cause cancer.  Sure, it makes you fat and gives you cavities, but cancer?  The theory is that the mega-doses of sugar contained in…