You hear a lot of stories about road rage. Drivers who get cut off by another car or who just want to go faster and feel another is obstructing them – drivers who resort to violence or running another car off the road because their frustration and rage is too great to contain.

I think about that often when faced with hairy traffic situations. Some people don’t seem to understand the concept of stop signs, red lights or simple courtesy. When a another car cuts me off, runs a stop sign, assumes the right of way or doesn’t seem to know that those blinking lights on his car are for signalling his intentions, I generally mutter or say something sarcastic. This is a great release for me but hardly effective because the other driver never hears my witty words of driving wisdom.

Tailgaters make up a large percentage of the bad drivers on the road, and may be the most dangerous if they aren’t quite “balanced” emotionally.

We have all experienced it. The car that stays inches off your bumper for miles. If you dared take your eyes off the road for a second, you could probably see their eye color in your rearview mirror, but you don’t dare because at any minute, they could come crashing into your car. Because someone made the unwise decision to license that jerk, you have to put up with their offensive driving attitudes. Worse, you can’t do a thing about it, because you don’t know if their driving is the most dangerous thing about them or if they pose another threat.

So when I read this story about Bernadette Head, a 39 year old woman who took arms against a sea of traffic, I didn’t know whether to decry her or applaud her.

Bernadette was a little fed up with tailgaters too. In the heat and frustration of rush hour traffic in Detroit, Bernadette pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot at the tires of a pickup she said had been tailgating her.

What Bernadette did is really just another form of road rage and bullying on the streets. The best form of defensive driving is to keep cool and not let what other drivers do affect your concentration or reactions.

But, if you listen very carefully, you might hear a silent cheer from all of us who secretly fantasize about doing the same thing.

Black soya beans could be the key to losing weight and cutting your diabetes risk, according to new research at Hanyan University in Seoul.

Rats were allowed to indulge in a fatty diet but were also given various amounts of black soya. After two weeks, rats that were getting 10% of their energy from black soy had gained only half as much weight as the control group. To top it off, the rats’ cholesterol went down, especially LDL levels. LDL or low-density lipids are considered the “bad cholesterol”.

Sounds like black soya beans could own the only true “eat all you want and still lose weight” diet claim.

Magic Beans – Anti-obesity soya could help prevent diabetes

February is American Heart Month and as we reported, the American Heart Association is encouraging women to check up on their heart health and know their personal risk of heart disease.

What many women may not know is that a woman’s symptoms of heart attack can be very different from the symptoms a man experiences. Men usually have tradtitional symptoms such as a squeezing pain or pressure in the chest, but women are more likely to experience shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, back and jaw pain.

Often neither the woman suffering these symptoms nor her physician recognize that the symptoms signal a heart attack and may be dismissed as stress, panic attacks or hypochondria. Delay in diagnosis and treatment can impact the chances of a good outcome following a heart attack.

In addition to knowing the signs of a heart attack, knowing what to do if you think you are having these symptoms is equally important.

From Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, here’s some tips on what to do if you suspect you or someone else is having a heart attack:

1. Take immediate action; call 9-1-1 immediately. Don’t take time trying to reach your doctor. And don’t try to drive yourself or someone else to the hospital in this situation. Remember, every minute of delay means more heart muscle is damaged.

2. Chew one aspirin. Most heart attacks are caused by blood clots in the arteries, and aspirin reduces the growth of these clots.

3. CPR. If the person is not breathing, start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If you haven’t taken a class in CPR, sign up today. It might be the best present you ever give to someone you care about.

Cedars-Sinai.edu

One in three women get heart disease. It’s essential that women know their individual risk for develping cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association has just released its guidelines for preventing cardiovascular disease in women, updated for 2007. The new guidelines feature expanded recommendations on lifestyle changes, nutrition, physical activity and smoking cessation as well as covering HRT, aspirin therapy and some supplements.

In addition you can take the Go Red Heart Checkup test and assess your own risk for developing heart disease.

Read about the new guidelines for women

Take the Go Red Heart Check up