Food taboos are known from virtually all human societies. Most religions declare certain food items fit and others unfit for human consumption. Dietary rules and regulations may govern particular phases of the human life cycle and may be associated with special events such as menstrual period, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and -- in traditional societies -- preparation for the hunt, battle,...

The medical arena often encounters ‘taboo’ topics. These appear especially prevalent in women's health conditions, such as menstruation and menopause. Taboos are exacerbated by uncertainty, complex jargon, patients' misunderstanding of the human anatomy — impacting ability to actively participate a shared decision-making process with their doctor. In this commentary, we look at one example proc...

BACKGROUND Dying is inescapable yet remains a neglected issue in modern health care. The research question in this study was "what is going on in the field of dying today?" What emerged was to eventually present a grounded theory of control of dying focusing specifically on how people react in relation to issues about euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). METHODS Classic grounded t...

A cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of food taboos during pregnancy, types of foods prohibited and the associations of some of the socioeconomic parameters to food taboos, was carried out in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Two hundred ninety five healthy pregnant women who attended an antenatal clinic for routine check-up between February and May 1995, were included in the study. A...

Following the allocation of commercial franchises in 1997 the UK is expected to launch a UHF digital terrestrial television service in late 1998. A shortage of suitable taboo channels restricts the use of repeaters. Gaps in coverage area may be lled by 40 GHz MVDS technology.