For years, there has been vigorous debate over whether eating too much fish might be a risk factor for dementia. The culprit wasn't fish itself — there's some evidence that a regular diet of seafood may actually boost brain volume — but rather high levels of mercury (a toxin) in fish.

Well, in terms of dementia at least, it looks like fish are off the hook.

A recent study in JAMA found no cause for concern. In fact, quite the opposite: More seafood consumption was associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer's disease (based on brain autopsies of 286 individuals who had kept records of their dietary habits before their deaths).

The study isn't conclusive. It relied on self-reporting, which can be inaccurate. But study author Martha Clare Morris of Rush University told STAT, "This allays some concerns people have that by eating seafood every week, they're doing damage to the brain."

Is BMI Full of BM?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency charged with fighting job-based discrimination, is considering a proposed rule allowing employers to penalize employees up to 30 percent of health insurance costs if they don't meet certain "health" criteria, such as the Body Mass Index.

Most folks have heard of BMI, a measure of body fat determined by weight over height squared. The "normal" range is somewhere between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; greater than 30 is deemed obese.

BMI is easy to figure, but harder to judge. Indeed, many critics say it's wildly misleading. A well-muscled, professional athlete, for example, might have a BMI indicating obesity. Researchers at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara compared BMI scores with metabolic measurements, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, in more than 40,000 people to get a more precise picture of health.

They found that nearly half of BMI-determined overweight individuals and 29 percent of obese individuals were, in fact, metabolically healthy. In contrast, nearly one-third of individuals with a "normal" BMI were deemed cardiometabolically unhealthy.

The researchers concluded that if BMI was used as the main indicator of health, almost 75 million American adults would be misclassified, either wrongly thinking they were cardiometabolically healthy or unhealthy.

Body of Knowledge

In a single year, 100 percent of the atoms comprising your body will be exchanged. More than 70 percent of these atoms are swapped every 16 days. These are hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up water, which comprises more than 70 percent of your body.

Incidentally, it's estimated an adult human body is made up of approximately 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms.

Get Me That, Stat!

Experiencing even one concussion in ordinary life increases the long-term risk of suicide threefold, report scientists in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The risk increases by a third if the concussion is sustained on a weekend rather than a weekday, suggesting recreational concussions, i.e. those experienced playing sports, are more detrimental.

Counts

680: Millions of additional dollars requested in President Obama's 2017 budget for cancer research, part of his announced "moonshot" effort

Source: National Cancer Institute

Doc Talk

Obdormition: the numb feeling after you discover you've slept on your arm wrong, followed by paresthesia, the pricking, tingling sensation of nerves reawakening

Phobia of the Week

Trypanophobia: fear of needles or injections. This phobia is so common that it has other names as well: belonephobia and enetophobia

Best Medicine

News flash! Medical researchers have discovered a new disease that has no symptoms. It is impossible to detect, and there is no cure. Fortunately, no cases have been reported.

Hypochondriac's Guide

Vibratory urticarial is a form of hives or skin rash caused when mast cells in the body release histamine and other inflammatory molecules in response to vibration — from things as common as running, bumpy car rides or even clapping hands. New research has narrowed the probable cause to a single gene mutation.

Medical History

This week in 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first black woman to receive an American medical degree, from the New England Female Medical College in Boston. Crumpler began her medical career as a nurse, from 1852-1860. As a physician, she worked to improve the health of the black community and ultimately published an influential book with instructions for women on how to provide medical care for themselves and their children.

Self-Exam

At what temperature do non-stick coatings like Teflon begin to emit potentially harmful airborne chemicals? (Tip: Don't use such cookware in very hot ovens. Always use an exhaust fan.)

A) 250 degrees Fahrenheit

B) 300 degrees F

C) 400 degrees F

D) 500 degrees F

Answer: 500 degrees F

Sum Body

Finding new drugs and treatments — or just better understanding a disease or condition — often involves testing in animals, a prerequisite before clinical trials in humans. It can be a complicated process involving gene or tissue manipulation to create an animal model that most closely resembles the particular biology of people. Here are 10 non-rodent diseases we've given to mice in the name of science.

(On the upside, sometimes we've subsequently cured them — in mice, if not humans.)

1. Gonorrhea

2. Alzheimer's disease

3. Measles

4. HIV

5. Acne

6. Obsessive-compulsive disorder

7. Alcoholism

8. Huntington's disease

9. Autism

10. Schizophrenia

Medical Myths

It's easier to gain weight than to lose it. Or so the common refrain goes. Mathematically speaking, it's not necessarily true. For every 3,500 calories you consume more than you burn, you gain 0.3 pounds. For every 3,500 calories you burn more than consume, you lose 1 pound. There are variables, of course, that change the equation, but still ...

Med School

Q: How much mucus does the average human body produce daily?

A: 1 liter or 0.26 gallon

Last Words

"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt."

— American author Hunter S. Thompson's (1937-2005) suicide note. Technically not his last words. He fatally shot himself four days after writing the note.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Bureau of Land Management