Coolest health news from 2014

This last year was packed with health news; do this, don’t do that; eat this, avoid that; exercise like this, but never do any of that; however, there were some really interesting discoveries made that may have slipped under your radar. When it comes to health in 2014, some of the coolest discoveries were things that had the potential to impact everyday health.

The coolest health news from 2014

• Broccoli sprouts versus pollution: Air pollution was a big concern in 2014 due to the increase in the number of people suffering from asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and researchers worked diligently to find a way to combat pollution’s effects. A potential toxin blocker was discovered in broccoli sprouts. According to the research, broccoli sprouts contain a chemical that actively removes benzene, one of the most common air pollutants, from the body.

SEE ALSO: People who are lactose intolerant are less likely to develop cancer

• Honeysuckle tea for viral infections: During the main media coverage for the Ebola epidemic still raging in West Africa, researchers hinted that there may be an herbal remedy that could help people with the disease as well as people suffering from everyday illnesses like the flu. That remedy was the use of honeysuckle tea. Experts explained the tea?or more specifically the honeysuckle?contains a molecule that inhibits viral replication in the body.

• Worrying about your appearance makes you eat more: One of the more interesting tidbits from 2014 had to do with eating and self-consciousness. According to a study from the Netherlands, people who were worried–or at least aware of their appearance– actually ate more calories during the day compared to people who had no recent concept of how they looked.

• Lactose intolerance= less cancer: It  may seem like people who can’t eat dairy have the short end of the stick; they miss out on chocolate milk, cheese and ice cream, but 2014 showed there was a serious benefit to not being able to tolerate dairy. A research team from Sweden found lactose intolerant individuals were less likely to suffer from lung, breast, or ovarian cancer compared to people who had regular amounts of dairy in their diets.

• The human microbiome has a lot to do with our health: There were a handful of research papers this year that had to do with the human microbiome, the colonies of pathogens that naturally reside in and on our bodies. Researchers feel the human microbiome can influence everything from immunity to skin clarity, as explained by a study from the biotech company AOBiome. Experts found washing skin in the traditional everyday-twice-a-day manner may be counter-intuitive as it eliminates beneficial bacteria from the skin’s surface.

• The HIV-killing condom: Sexual health was a hot topic this year, especially when it came to HIV/AIDS. Not only did the World Health Organization issue new recommendations that all men having sex with men receive antiretroviral medication, a number of innovative products hit the market. One of these(though it is not yet available in the United States) is the HIV-killing condom. According the condom’s manufacturer, the gel inside the condom not only is 99 percent effective against HIV, it also protects against HPV and herpes.

SEE ALSO: The one thing you never thought might cure acne

Of course, there were thousands of other important health topics that hit the news in 2014. Ebola was in the headlines for a significant part of the year, as were discoveries related to asthma, autism, HIV/AIDS, and women’s reproductive health. Every so often we still saw a hint of GMO controversy, and obesity remained a constant topic as it has for almost a decade.

The above list may not be the most shocking or the most profound of health news, but the studies noted may one day have a significant impact on human health.

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