A former Temple football player-turned-cyclist took the win in England.
 Joe Wentzell, center, is all smiles after winning the UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championship Joe Wentzell returned to Philadelphia victorious this month. The owner of Breakaway Bikes in Center City, he won a gold medal at the 2011 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championship on October 14th, placing first in his age group, men 40 to 44. Wentzell beat 23 cyclists from around the world at the event in Manchester, England. This victory closely follows his National Championship win in August, which was held locally at the velodrome in Lehigh Valley.
Wentzell, who took up track cycling at the age of 26, says, “I’ve been an amateur my whole career,” noting that it’s rare to turn professional later in life. A former Temple football player, Wentzell once weighed in at 285 pounds. He lost 80 pounds in two years by cycling and currently clocks in at a lean 190. Though he loves road racing, Wentzell believes that he races best on the track because it suits his body type and physiology.
For Wentzell, winning the Masters World Championship was a lofty goal. “It’s so rare to set a really high goal and actually achieve it,” he says. “It was definitely shooting for the moon.”
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Looks like you're at risk for lung cancer, even if you've never touched a cigarette.
Ready to be startled? Approximately one in ten people who develop lung cancer have never smoked. Researchers think it has to do with dangerous air pollution levels in the cities in which they reside.
Nonsmokers who live in areas with high air pollution levels are 20 percent more likely to die from lung cancer than people who live in places with cleaner air, according to a new study out of the University of Ottowa.
Lead author of the study Michelle Turner and her colleagues followed more than 180,000 non-smokers for 26 years and found that 1,100 people died from lung cancer.
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The dollars and cents of our sugar addiction
 It’s official: Our sweet tooths have set a new record—$2.3 billon, to be exact, the most ever spent on Halloween candy in the US.
The National Confectioners Association brings us the news (with bells on their feet, I’m sure) that sales of candy corn, bite-size chocolates and other Halloween goodies are up to an all-time high this year. Per capita, Americans will spend $7.36 a person on Halloween candy.
Speaking of candy corn, manufacturers made 35 million pounds of it this year, enough for each American to down 27 pieces.
Makes you wonder where all that candy and sugar actually goes. I’m guessing straight to people’s hips, thighs and midsections. If you want a refresher about what too much sugar does to your body (spoiler alert: nothing good comes of it), read this. And for healthier Halloween candy you can make at home, try these recipes.
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Philly’s catching on to the tea trend, and we couldn’t be happier. Kick your coffee habit at these five local tearooms.
 Photograph by Courtney Apple Tea is one of nature’s best health boosters, packed with antioxidants that may help with everything from digestion to cancer prevention. And with about half the caffeine of coffee, tea provides a jitter-free jolt that’s easier on the system. Eager to start steeping? Local tea guru Alexis Siemons, a tea blogger and consultant, offers her favorite sipping haunts in Philly.
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Researchers are trying to understand how python hearts swell without damage.
• Now this is different: Researchers in Colorado are studying python hearts to see if they can come up with a new kind of treatment for humans with heart disease. Python hearts swell to more than double their size without any signs of heart damage when the snakes gorge on food; researchers wanted to know why. Turns out, it has to do with particular fatty acids in their blood that signal the release of heart-protecting enzymes—a chain reaction they’re hoping to develop as treatment for humans with heart disease. Read more about research over here on Foxnews.com.
• Pennsylvania drug stores are taking a serious hit from mail-order prescription services. So they’re taking their complaints to the PA Senate and House, where they’re hoping to get legislation passed that would offer more protections and level the playing field. Philly.com has the story.
• In case you missed it on Friday, a Penn doctor is getting flack for jokes he made about fat people in a column he writes in an industry magazine. Boy, oh boy, are people mad.
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Thing is, no one's laughing.
I know someone who’s having a bad day: This guy—Penn orthopedic surgeon John D. Kelly IV. He writes a column in an industry publication called Outpatient Surgery Magazine, published in Malvern, and in his August article he made all kinds of jokes about obese patients. For whatever reason, people are just now getting wind of it. And guess what?
People. Are. Pissed.
I actually stumbled on the story circuitously, after clinking a link on Penn’s site about about breast cancer treatment. That’s where I found this, an official statement from the powers-that-be saying that the “Health System was shocked to read the article…and wants to make it clear that [Kelly's] misguided attempt at humor, while done on his own time, does not in any way reflect our views or values.”
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Learn to eat healthy on the go.
 Photo from albertsoncookingschool.com Chef Ann-Michelle Albertson has been trained in top culinary schools in Paris, Switzerland and California, and now she holds classes outside Philadelphia catering to the everyday cook. Assistant director of Albertson’s Cooking School, Albertson will offer a healthy cooking demonstration on November 1st at the Madsen Design Center in Broomall. The Healthy Eating on the Run session will teach busy individuals and families how to build nutritious, portable meals to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Tastings are included. Go here to print out a registration form.
$45, November 1st, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Madsen Design Center, 2901 Springfiled Road, Broomall, 610-649-9290.
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There might be one too many tricks in this treat
 Photograph by George Doyle While you’re watching out for zombies, vampires and witches, keep your eyes peeled for a new villain on Halloween: black licorice.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning earlier this week that consuming large quantities of black licorice can lead to heart arrhythmias along with other health problems, especially if you’re 40 or older. Adults eating two ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks can wind up with an abnormal heart rhythm.
The culprit? Black licorice contains a compound called glycyrrhizin, which can lower the body’s potassium levels and cause the heart beat to race or become out of sync. Glycrrhizin is also the very ingredient that gives licorice its sweet flavor.
More bad news: Black licorice can also lead to high blood pressure and edema. And according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, pregnant women need to be wary of black licorice as it can increase the risk of pre-term labor.
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Raise funds for lung cancer research and awareness programs
 Runners take off at last year's Free to Breathe event. Photo from the National Lung Cancer Partnership. Take on the Sixth Annual Free to Breathe Lung Cancer 5K to help battle one of the deadliest diseases in America, which accounts for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths. The November 6th race through Fairmount Park will support the Pennsylvania Lung Cancer Partnership’s research, education and awareness programs, and bring together both advocates and survivors. As an added incentive, all participants get discounted admission to the Please Touch Museum, where the event starts, now through race day.
$30, November 6, 8:30 a.m., Memorial Hall (across from Please Touch Museum), 4231 Avenue of the Republic.
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Hormones make it difficult to keep weight off, according to a new study
 Losing weight is hard. Your hormones, a new study found, make it even harder.
NPR reports on a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which looked at weight-loss stats of 50 overweight and obese adults, who were put on a restricted diet of just 550 calories a day for 10 weeks. Not surprisingly, they lost a ton of weight, but along the way researchers measured hormone levels of the dieters, including insulin, which regulates sugar absorption; leptin, known to suppress appetite; and ghrelin, which stimulates hunger.
What they found was a bit sobering. Despite the fact that the dieters had lost 14 percent of their body weight in 10 weeks—an average of 30 pounds—their hormone levels continued to surge, causing them to feel more hungry (and deprived) than their bodies actually were.
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