A recent study confirmed a link between breast cancer and hormonal birth control (including pills but also the patch, implant and some IUDs). Give yourself two seconds to freak out, then take a deep breath, and let's discuss.

Teenage bullies have more sex than non-bullies, according to reports of a new study. With sexually harassing bullies all over the news and in many of our workplaces, it seems both sad and true that people who abuse and manipulate others would have more sex. But this study tells us more about how teens respond to surveys than about some universal truth of human sexuality.

Were you afflicted by the devastating epidemic, first recognised less than a decade ago, of people bending their necks to look at their phones? Then you had "text neck", a disease that almost certainly never existed in the first place.

Do epidurals prolong labour? Read the recent headlines and you'd think we finally answered that question once and for all - with epidurals turning out to have no effect. But the study actually asked what happens if you already have an epidural, and turn it off as you're pushing out the baby.

A study released this month in The Lancet found a link between high carbohydrate intake and risk of death. The resulting headlines had dedicated low-carb dieters celebrating and low-fat vegans spoiling for a fight. But as with most dietary studies, there is more to it than the headlines claim.

This week's study on alcohol in pregnancy got spun both ways: Light drinking is totally safe according to some some news stories, a definite no-no in others. Sorry, but this one's a buzzkill.

A 2014 article from The Atlantic is making the rounds again, fuelled by an inflammatory headline. It's a pretty straightforward write-up of the research, but the headline is driving angry shares from the way it puts the blame on women.

Infertility is rough enough without headlines implying your yoga practice is to blame. A recent study found that certain flame-retardant chemicals may make it harder for you to have a baby, but despite the downward-dog stock photos, yoga mats weren't involved in the research.

Instagram's not just for checking up on your ex or indulging your love of small, strange dogs. The visually driven social media network is also a way of browsing services: hairdressers, tattoo artists, and -- it's a bit of a leap but it also makes sense -- plastic surgeons.

Walnuts already have an image as a healthyish food, but the California Walnut Commission wanted to know more. A new study asked if walnuts -- already associated with lower risks of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes -- might deliver some of their health benefits by changing our brains' reactions to food.

A recent study found that people who played first-person shooter video games showed shrinkage in their hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for both memory management and spatial navigation. But is playing Call of Duty really that bad for you, and if so, can a daily dose of Super Mario 64 balance everything out?

You wipe your kitchen sponge all over the grossest things in your sink, so it makes sense that it would accumulate some pretty gross bacteria. But is it possible to clean or sanitise that sponge? Yes, it turns out -- but only as a short-term fix.

A recent study found that sweet snacks were associated with depression in men, but not women. Does sugar have special powers to bum men out? Probably not. Let's dig in.

If you eat a plant-based diet, you don't get an automatic get-out-of-heart-disease-free card. (There's definitely such a thing as vegan junk food.) But a new study that supposedly confirms some plant-based diets are better than others... actually wasn't comparing plant-based diets to each other at all.

Two new studies found that coffee drinkers live longer. They are good studies, large and well done -- but that doesn't mean coffee is an elixir of longevity.

This world must be a special kind of hell if just smelling food is enough to make you gain weight. The latest headlines on obesity research are saying just that -- but smelling is probably only making "you" fat if "you" are a very particular type of mouse.

It's time to do another reality check on the latest health news. This week people are telling us to snort cocoa powder but not to eat our own personal organ meats. Does their advice check out? Let's dig in.

Welcome back to Dose of Reality, where we see whether the week's health news is really worth worrying -- or celebrating -- about. Today we're facing down death and disease, and the news is actually mostly good!