|
|
The average human gut is home to perhaps 500 to 1,000 different species of bacteria.
Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. About 10% of Americans older than age 40 years have diverticulosis, which, when the pouches become infected or inflamed, is called diverticulitis. The main cause of diverticular disease is a low-fiber diet.
Aspirin is the most widely used drug in the world. It has even been recognized as such by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The highest suicide rate in the United States is among people ages 65 years and older. Almost 15% of people in this age group commit suicide every year.
Cancer has been around as long as humankind, but only in the second half of the twentieth century did the number of cancer cases explode.