Do you have hard or soft water? How to find out...

About 85% of homes have hard water in the U.S. 

Hard water has more minerals in it which your plants may love - but which can also make every day tasks more of a chore. To find out if you have hard water, you can buy a test kit at a home improvement or hardware store for under $20. There are also a few simple tricks you can try without a kit:

* Microwave a mug of water, bringing it to a boil. Place a tea bag in there and let it steep for a few minutes. If your tea is clear, you’ve got soft water. If it has a film on top or appears cloudy, you’ve got hard water.

* Fill a plastic bottle halfway with water. Add a few drops of dish detergent and give it a good shake. If it fills with lather right away, your water is soft. The longer you have to shake, the harder your water is.

You can also determine hard water by white deposits left on faucets and in pots you boil water in. If you do have hard water, you may want to invest in renting or buying a water softening tank which connects to your water supply line.

Do you eat raw mushrooms? Why that’s a bad idea.

If you like mushrooms, you might want to skip the raw variety at the salad bar. 

Raw mushrooms contain trace amounts of a carcinogenic called agartine. Cooking them not only removes that - but also unlocks more of the mushroom’s healthy nutrients. Most mushrooms are cultivated in manure-based compost. While the manure is typically sterilized, gently washing and then cooking your mushrooms is recommended.

If you buy your mushrooms at the grocery store covered in plastic, get them out of there when you get home. It’s best to transfer mushrooms into a paper bag and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook and eat them.

Now we can take our sunscreen orally, in a pill. Are sunscreen supplements effective?

Did you take your sunscreen today? Oral sunscreen supplements, in pill form, are on the market - but don’t toss the lotion just yet. 

According to Dr. Rebecca Tung, Loyola University Health System dermatologist, oral sunscreens can be beneficial when used as an extra protective measure against UV rays. However, these products don’t necessarily prevent premature aging and skin cancer and should not be used in place of topical sunscreens. 

Oral sunscreens contain extracts of the cabbage plant which have powerful antioxidants and can clear up free radicals. That’s good news. But the pill protection varies from person to person, depending on the body’s ability to absorb them, and is no substitute for topical defense and protective clothing. 

Is there such a thing as snake oil?

Beware of snake oil salesmen! 

The term snake oil has been synonymous with rip-off for centuries - so how did snake oil get such a bad rap? The real deal was thought to have medicinal properties. Some Native Americans would treat rheumatism and other ailments with the grease of rattlesnakes. Settlers tried to cash in on this cure-all and rattlesnake hunting became big business. Just one ounce sold for up to twenty-five cents. 

By the late 19th century, fancy bottles of “snake oil” were all the rage and selling like hot cakes at carnival sideshows and social gatherings. Some formulas were even patented and sold off the shelves at the general store. Unfortunately, the average Joe and Jane would be hard pressed to distinguish real rattlesnake grease from other common oils, gums and tonics, usually laced with paprika or mustard to give it some bite.

How often do you eat dessert?

Do you consider dessert a special treat - or do you have some every day? 

In this supposedly health-conscious day and age, consumption of dessert is on the rise for a lot of us. In a recent survey, 40% of Americans say they indulge at least twice a week - a four percent increase in just three years. And it’s not just for after dinner anymore. Thanks to the hand-held variety, many consumers admit to eating dessert-like treats morning, noon or night - or even as a substitute for a meal. Another dessert trend on the rise is sharing. Restaurant customers say they’re more likely to order dessert with multiple forks or if mini portions are available. 

Can staring at women be good for men’s health?

If you heard about a recently published article about the health benefits of staring at women, you’ve been had. 

The hoax claims that medical research published in the New England Journal of Medicine proved staring at a women’s breasts for 10 minutes provided a boost in cardiovascular health for men, equivalent to a 30 minute workout. According to Urban Legends, this is an oldie but goodie. No such article has ever been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It originally appeared in a British tabloid in 2000, and has been busting out in various “news” sources ever since, most recently in the Nigerian Tribune. 

Do you suffer from anosmia? What it is and what could be causing it...

If your sense of smell isn’t what it used to be, you could be suffering from anosmia. 

It’s the medical term for losing that sense and it’s not unusual. It’s estimated that about 50% of people age 65 to 80 start losing that sense and about 75% of those over 80, which is considered part of the normal aging process . 

Now, there is new evidence that depression can trigger anosmia at any age. Experts say that the reduction of brain chemicals serotonin and noradrenaline experienced with depression can also mute sense of smell and taste sensitivity. Those who experience a loss in sense of taste and smell, should check themselves for symptoms of stress and depression and let their doctor know.

Your doctor wants you to ask him a question.

The next time you wind up in the doctor’s office, clinic or hospital, ask your doctor this question: 

“Did you wash your hands?” He or she will not be offended. Hospitals, in particular, want patients to be more assertive as they are under a lot of pressure to meet strict hand hygiene protocol. 

Antibiotic-resistant infections have been linked to roughly 100,000 deaths a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. John Jernigan, director of the CDC’s hospital infection-prevention efforts says hand hygiene is probably the most important thing healthcare workers can do to protect their patients from infection. Doctor’s and nurses should be washing their hands in front of you. If you don’t see them do it, go ahead and ask. 

That online review could be a fake. How to spot astroturfing...

Could you spot a fake review of a place or product online? 

If it sounds too good to be true, or sounds like a commercial, it’s probably astroturf. Astroturfing is the word used for fake reviews by users who are often paid or offered an incentive to post. Avoid falling for the following review:

* Those with links attached

* Flowery language, over-describing the product or place

* Excessive typos or grammar mistakes

It’s always a good idea to scroll down a bit for reviews. Astroturf often appears near the top, or often. Also, check the reviewers profile or history if they have one. 

Attention shoppers: October is a good month to shop.

If you’ve got the urge to buy something, head for the lawnmower aisle. 

The best deals on those tend to be in October. Here are some other good buys this month:

* Gas grills: The season is winding down and you could save hundreds of dollars on a new one.

* Digital Cameras: January and October are the best times to buy.

* Jeans: October is prime time, between the back-to-school rush and the holiday demand.

* Cooking gear: Manufacturers are serving up some big pre-holiday sales.

* Cars: Fall is a great time to get a good deal on a purchase or lease of the 2013s, as they make room for more 2014s on the lot.

Should we be stocking up on vitamin C for cold and flu season?

It’s true - vitamin C does offer us some added protection against illness, but don’t stock up on it just yet. 

According to Dr. Mark Levine, a researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, taking C supplements basically just gives you expensive urine. We need to get our vitamin C naturally, through a healthy dose of fruits and vegetables in our diets. Our bodies can only absorb so much and when we overdo it with supplements, our bodies excrete the excess in a matter of hours.

Aim to eat five fruits and vegetables a day to get your vitamin C. Taking a vitamin is fine if you don’t eat right, but keep in mind that anything over about 200 mg of vitamin C a day will be flushed away.

You know you’ve made it when they name a fragrance after you. Celebrity Scents...

If you think Brittany Spears and Justin Bieber are in their labs perfecting their fragrances, it doesn’t quite work that way. 

Some celebrities have absolutely little or no say in what their moniker perfume or cologne smells or looks like. While some stars claim they have a stake in their smell and picked it with their own nose, in most cases they were just paid big bucks to lend their name or face to the products.

Once an artist, actor or athlete hits it big, the fragrance companies move in. Typically, they strike a big money deal with the celebrities legal and management team that makes sense for all the players involved. The star is often asked to get in on the act by attaching a personal story to it. Lady Gaga claims she was inspired to create a scent by the memories of her jasmine garden growing up in Wisconsin and added “the great people at Coty and Universal Records were very supportive in helping me create a fragrance that reflects who I really am and what I stand for. This fragrance is for my fans as a way to thank them for their support and making me who I am.”

Do you ever get those little floaters in your field of vision? When that could be something serious...

Most people experience what are called floaters, a small speck or streak drifting across their field of vision. 

While floaters are usually harmless and common as we get older, there are some visual disturbances that could indicate a more serious problem. In about 15% of cases, the sudden appearance of floaters or a cobweb-like image could actually be a retinal tear. People who are nearsighted, diabetic or have had cataract surgery are at increased risk of retinal tear, which is an emergency and needs immediate treatment.

If you ever notice a sudden shower of floaters or flashes of light that look like shooting stars, you need to contact an ophthalmologist right away to prevent potential permanent vision damage or loss.

Does Apple own the letter i?

Can you guess what the “i” in the iPhone, iPad, iPod and other i-products stands for? 

If you guess Internet, you were probably around when the iMac debuted. Steve Jobs described that first i-product as the marriage of the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh. However, he didn’t stop there. Jobs went on to include the words individual, instruct, inform and inspire. 

So does Apple now own the letter “i”? Not exactly. While there have been several legal battles over the use of the “i” in front of a product name, Apple does not have a monopoly on it. However, products mimicking an Apple product and prominently displaying that "i" up front could be asking for an iSuit.

Great news for peanut butter lovers, especially girls...

If you like peanut butter - have another sandwich. 

A new study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment found that girls who eat peanuts or peanut butter twice a week were less likely to develop benign breast disease. Other studies have already spread some peanut and peanut butter health benefits, including a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and a boost to our antioxidant levels.

If you’re allergic to peanuts, consider working beans, lentils and soybeans into your diet, as they have many of the same good-for-us properties as peanuts.