Includes bibliographical references and index.

CONTENTS:

Kitchen first aid : Do-it-yourself doctoring. Can a glass of warm milk cure insomnia? -- Can eating ginger cure motion sickness? -- Should you tilt your head back to treat a nosebleed? -- Can a pat of butter soothe a burn? -- What about aloe vera gel? -- Can urine cure a jellyfish sting? -- Does CPR require mouth-to-mouth? -- Can super glue heal wounds? -- Can chewing gum prevent heartburn? -- Can you swallow your tongue during a seizure? -- Does breathing into a paper bag help you if you're hyperventilating? -- Is hydrogen peroxide the best treatment for cuts and scrapes? –

Regular maintenance : your body, as time goes by. Is it dangerous to swallow chewing gum? -- Are growing pains caused by growth spurts? -- Can too much stress cause acne? -- Can vitamin E erase a scar? -- Is drinking lots of water good for your skin? -- Can smoking accelerate aging? -- Can acupuncture help you stop smoking? -- Are lefties more prone to migraines? -- Can cracking your neck cause a stroke? -- Can aspirin lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease? -- Is it dangerous to blow your nose when you have a cold? -- Is stifling a sneeze bad for you? -- What about holding in a fart? –

Calories count : the battle of the bulge. Is white meat healthier than dark meat? -- Is brown sugar healthier than white sugar? -- Is margarine healthier than butter? -- Can grapefruit increase your risk of breast cancer? -- Does mayonnaise make food spoil faster? -- Can eating green potatoes kill you? -- Can too much cola cause kidney problems? -- Is a sugar rush a better pick-me-up than caffeine? -- Can drinking tea reduce stress? -- Do spicy foods boost your metabolism? -- Will a spicy meal before bed ruin your sleep? -- What about chocolate : can it disrupt sleep too? -- Is there any truth to the Freshmen 15? -- Is there really such a thing as a runner's high? -- Does running on a treadmill burn fewer calories than running on pavement? -- Can stretching before a workout prevent injuries? -- Is it true the tongue is mapped into four areas of taste? –

Drink to your health : of cocktails and cures. Do calories from alcohol go straight to your midsection? -- Can alcohol warm you up in the winter? -- Can a little alcohol help you beat a cold? -- Do you get drunk faster when you drink at higher altitudes? -- Can some mixers make you more drunk? -- Can some types of alcohol cause worse hangovers than others? -- Are there any proven hangover cures? -- Does grape juice have the same health benefits as red wine? -- Can a silver spoon in a bottle of champagne keep it from going flat? -- Is New Year's the most dangerous time to be on the road? –

Love medicine : and other bedroom matters. Can sex be substituted for a workout? -- Do short men have less luck with women? -- Can being on birth control increase your chances of becoming infertile? -- Will there ever be a male birth control pill? -- Do women's menstrual cycles synchronize? -- Can bicycle seats cause impotence in women? -- Can a woman be allergic to semen? -- Can hot tubs cause infertility? -- Do Kegel exercises work? -- Are two condoms better protection than one? -- Can a woman get pregnant during her period? -- Does circumcision reduce sexual pleasure? –

Sperm meets egg : and other baby matters. Does mother's heartburn mean a hairy newborn? -- Can sexual position during conception determine a baby's sex? -- Can you predict the sex of a baby by the way the mother is carrying? -- Is morning sickness a sign of a healthy pregnancy? -- Does it mean a greater likelihood of having a girl? -- Can fetal heart rate predict the sex of the baby? -- Do identical twins have identical DNA? -- Do twins always skip a generation? -- Does a new mother really lose a tooth and gain a child? -- Is a baby's fever just a sign of teething? -- Will rubbing alcohol help cool a baby's fever? -- Do babies blink less than adults? –

Attack of the body invaders : following the five-second rule. Should you feed a cold and starve a fever? -- Can a cup of tea clear up your chest? -- Can taking zinc help you beat a cold? -- Is it a cold? Is it an allergy? How can you tell the difference? -- Is drinking hot water from the tap bad for you? -- Should you always cool hot leftovers at room temperature? -- Are public restrooms as filthy as everyone thinks they are? -- Can you disinfect a kitchen sponge by microwaving it? -- Is it true you should never eat shellfish in a month without an R? -- Does double-dipping spread germs? -- Is there any truth to the five-second rule? –

Hi, technology : modern life medicine. Can you stand too close to your microwave oven? -- Is it true that you should never use a cell phone on an airplane? -- What about cell phones in hospitals? -- Is hospital care worse on weekends? -- Do computer keyboards cause carpal tunnel syndrome? -- Does cold water boil more quickly than hot water? -- What's the safest seat in a car? -- Do some people dream in black and white? –

Weathering the elements : the active life. Does darker skin better protect you against skin cancer? -- Are high SPF ratings really better? -- Can the chlorine in pools cause hair loss? -- Can eating garlic ward off mosquitoes? -- What about vitamin B? -- Why is it so hard to swat a fly? -- Can you escape a swarm of bees by jumping into a body of water? -- Does a person struck by lightning retain an electrical charge? -- Can thunderstorms cause asthma attacks? -- Do changes in the weather cause heart attacks? -- Can mistletoe be deadly? What about poinsettias? –

World health : one big ball of germs. Can animals tell when a natural disaster is about to strike? -- Do they have a sixth sense? -- Does early to bed, early to rise, make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise? -- Can honey soothe a cough and other respiratory ailments? -- Can pomegranates increase virility? -- Are those acai berry drinks all they're cracked up to be? -- Is Guinness good for your health? -- Can eating licorice raise your blood pressure? -- Can HIV be transmitted through mosquitoes? -- Why was there an explosion in male babies in postwar Europe? -- Can hot peppers cure an ulcer? --

Epilogue : exercising the brain.