Health

It's been spotted in the hands of celebrities, a murky-looking drink with an exotic name: kombucha. The beverage originally hails from China, where it first earned a reputation as a health tonic nearly 2,000 years ago. In the U.S., kombucha has gone through several reincarnations. Its benefits haven't been proved.

Ate too many nachos? Consider a banana chaser -- your heart might thank you for it. A new study suggests that consuming twice as much potassium as sodium can halve your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

The California Air Resources Board on Thursday banned popular in-home ozone air purifiers, saying studies have found that they can worsen conditions such as asthma that marketers claim they help to prevent.

Both night-shift work and chronic sleep deprivation are increasingly implicated in mental and cognitive problems. * Alzheimer's risk: Abnormal insulin levels (common in shift workers and sleep-deprived people) may increase the risk for certain neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, scientists at the University of Washington have found.

Laurie Gray's mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 41, more than 30 years ago. For Gray, a Brentwood attorney, a cloud of concern lingered over her own health.

GORDIE BAILEY JR. had been in college only one month before he overdosed on alcohol. Urged on by members of a frat house he was intent on joining, the 18-year-old drank until he passed out, was dumped onto a couch and was found dead the next morning.