Attention women: What if you could detoxify your breasts and get rid of cellulite by wearing a special bra and panties? Some clothing manufacturers are suggesting that their products can do just that.

The “Brassage” promises to massage away toxins and help prevent breast cancer.The Brassage, billed as a revolutionary “wellness bra,” retails for as much as $59. It’s produced by Intimate Health, an apparel company run by Christina Erteszek, the daughter of famous lingerie designer Olga.

“I have seen a lot of breasts in my life, more than any man could dream of,” said Erteszek, who claimed to be wearing a Brassage during her interview with ABC News.
Regular bras could be hazardous to your health, she says, because they trap toxins in the breasts. Her Brassage, however, has “massaging” bumps sewn into the sides that “stimulate lymphatic flow,” flushing those toxins away.
Asked if she is implying the Brassage helps prevent breast disease, Erteszek said, “Yes. Of course.” But, she went on, “I say, ‘help to prevent.’ I’m making no medical claims that it does prevent.”

 

Unsupported Claims

There’s no evidence the Brassage helps prevent anything. And there’s no scientific data to support Erteszek’s statements, according to breast cancer researcher Dr. Susan Love, clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“We really have no data that toxins are accumulating in the breast tissue every day, and that they are not being allowed to drain out because of people wearing bras,” Love said.
The Brassage Web site says the Brassage is “doctor designed” and patented. But the inventor of the “micro-massaging” bumps in the Brassage is not a medical doctor; he’s a chiropractor.

 

Underwear That Prevents Cellulite?

Solidea, the catalog company that carries the Brassage, also sells Micro-Massage Anti-Cellulite panties, tights and tummy bands. The Brooklyn, N.Y., company imports the support hose from Italy.

A promotional DVD claims, “The special three-dimensional relief fabric effectively models and reduces cellulite on the buttocks, hips, thighs, and legs

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BLANTYRE, Malawi – Madonna is planning to adopt a second child from Malawi, officials said Thursday, but questions have already been raised over whether the newly divorced pop star will face obstacles because of her single mom status. An official at the Malawi welfare department said the pop star had filed adoption papers in the southern African country. Another person in Malawi close to the case said Madonna would be there this weekend and a court could hear her adoption case as soon as Monday.

A U.S. government official confirmed that an adoption bid by Madonna , an American, was under way. They all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg in New York would not comment. Years ago, the singer was accused of using her celebrity status to circumvent Malawian adoptions laws when she adopted her son David — allegations she denies. That adoption became final in 2008. Now there are concerns that rules again will be broken for the newly divorced Madonna as Malawi also does not approve adoptions for single or divorced parents.

However, the Malawi welfare official said each case is considered on its merit. Malawian law is fuzzy on foreign adoptions. Regulations stipulate only that prospective parents undergo an 18- to 24-month assessment period in Malawi, a rule already bent when Madonna was allowed to take David to London. Madonna met David in October 2006 at a Malawian orphanage. His mother had died and his father was unable to care for him. She and her then-husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie , took David to their London home but it took two years for the adoption to become official.

The adoption was a trying process for the singer, who said the criticism hurt. Some children’s advocacy groups accused her of breaking up a family. They claimed the child, who is now 3, should have remained in Malawi and the star should have instead offered to support his father.

Rumors that Madonna wanted to adopt a girl from Malawi have been circulating for some time. But the first official hint came from the star herself last week.

In an interview in Malawi’s leading daily The Nation, the singer said she was considering another adoption but would only do it if she had “the support of the Malawian people and government.”

Before David’s adoption was finalized in May last year, a Malawi welfare official paid the family two home visits and wrote in a report that Madonna was a “perfect mum.”

If the adoption goes through, the 50-year-old singer would become a single mother of four. She also has an 8-year-old son, Rocco, with Ritchie and a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.
Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while doing charity work and filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis there. Besides releasing her documentary “I Am Because We Are,” she is also establishing a school for girls there.

Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world. Just over 14 percent of the country’s 12 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and an estimated 1 million children have been orphaned.

In an interview last year, Madonna said she planned to visit Malawi this month with all of her children, but it is unclear whether Madonna ‘s children will accompany her on this trip.

She last visited Malawi a year ago, when she brought David and Lourdes with her. The star and her entourage spent their time visiting projects for street children and orphanages, and opening a new day care center funded by her charity.

Halle Berry and her 1-year-old daughter Nahla do a little shopping in LA over the weekend.
Halle Berry’s daughter Nahla recently celebrated her first birthday on March 16. We don’t get to see much of the “Catwoman” star and her little girl, so it was a special treat to catch the duo shopping at trendy baby boutique Bel Bambini in LA over the weekend.

Since giving birth, Berry’s career has taken a backseat to motherhood, but she couldn’t be happier. On February 23, Halle attended Essence magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood luncheon. Although she was honored for her acting, producing, and philanthropic efforts, the 42-year-old noted in her acceptance speech that nothing beats being a mom.

“As a woman, I thought it was all about work and accomplishments,” she admitted. “Then this little baby comes along and says that it’s not about that. I’m complete. I have more to offer my craft because [my daughter] makes me indelibly better every day.”

The newly minted “bromance” genre, with its now-familiar mix of the sweet, awkward and raunchy, has entered the cultural consciousness through comedies like “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” and “Role Models.”

But it reaches its zenith with “I Love You, Man,” starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel as completely different guys who form an unlikely friendship.

Rudd’s Peter Klaven, a sensitive Los Angeles real estate agent who’s about to get married, realizes he has no male pals when it’s time to choose a best man. He’d rather make root beer floats for his fiancee Zooey (the lovely Rashida Jones) and her girlfriends or cuddle with her on the couch for Sunday-night HBO viewing.

Segel’s Sydney Fife enters his life as the most charming force of nature, inspiring Peter to jam along to Rush tunes and tap into his inner rage. He lives in a ramshackle Venice bungalow and functions by his own set of rules, which includes wooing divorcees at open houses and refusing to pick up after his puggle because he thinks dog feces are a healthy part of the environment. Segel gives the character a well-intentioned puppy-doggishness of his own, though, which makes him unexpectedly likable.

With all the focus directed toward President Obama’s Tonight Show appearance, and also with the likes of Eric Holder, Michael Steele and Richard Parsons making headlines, their positions of prominence tend to mask a harsh reality of this severe economic downturn: it’s black men who’ve been the most beaten down by our worsening recession. Just barely half of all young black men are working. Just. Barely. Half. It’s a downward spiral that’s pretty much covered up every time somebody ends a discussion about lingering racial inequalities with “but Obama is president!” With all the focus directed toward President Obama’s Tonight Show appearance, and also with the likes of Eric Holder, Michael Steele and Richard Parsons making headlines, their positions of prominence tend to mask a harsh reality of this severe economic downturn: it’s black men who’ve been the most beaten down by our worsening recession.

Just barely half of all young black men are working. Just. Barely. Half. It’s a downward spiral that’s pretty much covered up every time somebody ends a discussion about lingering racial inequalities with “but Obama is president!”

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Eros ante malesuada. Pellentesque senectus, a tempor et. At pellentesque. Molestie in, nonummy libero, justo eros pariatur. Tortor sed. A ac. In id, mauris viverra asperiores, bibendum in id. Eu molestie. Ac sit eu. Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. Vestibulum convallis. Gravida vivamus adipiscing, vitae ut ac, neque venenatis amet. Ultrices vestibulum purus. Egestas risus tempor, aenean nec. Wisi sodales nibh, quis lectus, sollicitudin pede morbi. Lectus sed erat, leo nisl, metus a. Sit ac, lectus ut varius, libero orci.

Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. A cras tincidunt, ut tellus et. Gravida scelerisque, ipsum sed iaculis, nunc non nam. Placerat sed phasellus, purus purus elit. Cras ante eros. Erat vel. Donec vestibulum sed, vel euismod donec.

Eros ante malesuada. Pellentesque senectus, a tempor et. At pellentesque. Molestie in, nonummy libero, justo eros pariatur. Tortor sed. A ac. In id, mauris viverra asperiores, bibendum in id. Eu molestie. Ac sit eu. Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. Vestibulum convallis. Gravida vivamus adipiscing, vitae ut ac, neque venenatis amet. Ultrices vestibulum purus. Egestas risus tempor, aenean nec. Wisi sodales nibh, quis lectus, sollicitudin pede morbi. Lectus sed erat, leo nisl, metus a. Sit ac, lectus ut varius, libero orci.

Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. A cras tincidunt, ut tellus et. Gravida scelerisque, ipsum sed iaculis, nunc non nam. Placerat sed phasellus, purus purus elit. Cras ante eros. Erat vel. Donec vestibulum sed, vel euismod donec.

Eros ante malesuada. Pellentesque senectus, a tempor et. At pellentesque. Molestie in, nonummy libero, justo eros pariatur. Tortor sed. A ac. In id, mauris viverra asperiores, bibendum in id. Eu molestie. Ac sit eu. Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. Vestibulum convallis. Gravida vivamus adipiscing, vitae ut ac, neque venenatis amet. Ultrices vestibulum purus. Egestas risus tempor, aenean nec. Wisi sodales nibh, quis lectus, sollicitudin pede morbi. Lectus sed erat, leo nisl, metus a. Sit ac, lectus ut varius, libero orci.

Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. A cras tincidunt, ut tellus et. Gravida scelerisque, ipsum sed iaculis, nunc non nam. Placerat sed phasellus, purus purus elit. Cras ante eros. Erat vel. Donec vestibulum sed, vel euismod donec.

Eros ante malesuada. Pellentesque senectus, a tempor et. At pellentesque. Molestie in, nonummy libero, justo eros pariatur. Tortor sed. A ac. In id, mauris viverra asperiores, bibendum in id. Eu molestie. Ac sit eu. Id iaculis id, pulvinar ut imperdiet. Vestibulum convallis. Gravida vivamus adipiscing, vitae ut ac, neque venenatis amet. Ultrices vestibulum purus. Egestas risus tempor, aenean nec. Wisi sodales nibh, quis lectus, sollicitudin pede morbi. Lectus sed erat, leo nisl, metus a. Sit ac, lectus ut varius, libero orci.