Everyone tires, sooner or later, of being told what to do, especially when the advice is confusing, conflicting or plain contradictory. Nowhere is that more evident than in the area of diet.
The response to this week's report from the World Cancer Research Fund, the largest review of the link between diet and cancer which distilled the findings of more than 7,000 studies, was predictable. It concluded that a third of cancers were attributable to diet – something scientists have been saying for the past 25 years – and warned of the dangers of being overweight, where evidence of its role in at least six cancers is stronger than ever.
But what really stirred the passions of red-blooded Englishmen was its verdict on meat.
Consumption of red meat – beef, lamb, pork – should be cut to 500g a week and processed meats – bacon, sausage, salami, ham and other staples from the delicatessen – should be avoided altogether, it ruled.
"Save our bacon" trumpeted one front page the next day while others asked querulously "So what is safe to eat?" It was an understandable response. We have come to accept the idea that smoking causes lung cancer and that cigarettes kill. But who has ever suggested that a favourite uncle died because of his love of roast beef?
This is the crux of the problem. The link between smoking and lung cancer is crystal clear – cigarettes account for almost 90 per cent of deaths from lung cancer. If there were no smoking there would be almost no lung cancer.
Nothing in our diets has anywhere near this impact on our health. With lesser causes such as red and processed meats, other mitigating factors play a greater role – genetic inheritance, exercise, other elements in the diet. And while cigarettes have only negative effects, most foods have a mix of positive and negative effects – sugar, for example, is good for energy but rots the teeth. The message on diet is therefore necessarily complex – there is no magic bullet as there is with lung cancer (stop smoking).
Take the world's most widely used superfood, tea. It is drunk by millions, not because it is healthy but because it is soothing, thirst quenching and delicious.Recent research has shown that it is high in antioxidants and may protect against heart disease and cancer.
But adding milk and, worse, sugar, may negate its health-giving benefits. For people who drink a lot of tea the dash of milk in each cup adds up and can contribute significantly to the amount of fat in the diet, increasing the risk of heart disease and cancelling the protective effect of the antioxidants. Tea can be good or bad for you, depending on how it is drunk.
Source - Independent
Friday, November 30, 2007
In your dreams: The mysteries of sleep
We all know that we need it – and most of us want more than we get. But no one has ever been able to explain why we sleep, or what makes us dream.
Why do we sleep? More than 80 years after the world's first sleep laboratory opened in Los Angeles, and in spite of intensive investigations of the sleeping brain, we still do not know the answer. Sleeping and dreaming remain among the greatest mysteries of the human organism – essential to life, yet inexplicable and frustratingly unproductive.
We spend one-third of our lives asleep. Imagine the possibilities if we could do without it. It would be the equivalent of adding 25 or 30 years to the average life-span – an enormous gain, at the expense of nothing more than the loss of slumber.
The idea exerts a strong fascination for scientists and lay people alike, and it is investigated in a new exhibition, Sleeping and Dreaming, at the Wellcome Collection, which opens today.
Presented in a dark and dramatically lit space, more than 200 exhibits chart the scientific exploration of sleep, and the social and cultural areas of our lives to which it is linked. They include art works by Goya, Henry Fuseli and Catherine Yass.
While sleep is essential to life, most of us feel we do not get enough of it – even those with homes and beds to go to. We are a nation of insomniacs, with two-thirds of the population complaining they cannot sleep. Insomnia is so common that doctors say the preoccupation with it is now itself a medical problem. The greatest enemy of sleep is worry about not getting enough of it. Most people who lose sleep will be able to recover it the next night, and will be able to cope in the meantime.
Source - Independent
Why do we sleep? More than 80 years after the world's first sleep laboratory opened in Los Angeles, and in spite of intensive investigations of the sleeping brain, we still do not know the answer. Sleeping and dreaming remain among the greatest mysteries of the human organism – essential to life, yet inexplicable and frustratingly unproductive.
We spend one-third of our lives asleep. Imagine the possibilities if we could do without it. It would be the equivalent of adding 25 or 30 years to the average life-span – an enormous gain, at the expense of nothing more than the loss of slumber.
The idea exerts a strong fascination for scientists and lay people alike, and it is investigated in a new exhibition, Sleeping and Dreaming, at the Wellcome Collection, which opens today.
Presented in a dark and dramatically lit space, more than 200 exhibits chart the scientific exploration of sleep, and the social and cultural areas of our lives to which it is linked. They include art works by Goya, Henry Fuseli and Catherine Yass.
While sleep is essential to life, most of us feel we do not get enough of it – even those with homes and beds to go to. We are a nation of insomniacs, with two-thirds of the population complaining they cannot sleep. Insomnia is so common that doctors say the preoccupation with it is now itself a medical problem. The greatest enemy of sleep is worry about not getting enough of it. Most people who lose sleep will be able to recover it the next night, and will be able to cope in the meantime.
Source - Independent
Onions 'cut heart disease risk'
Eating a meal rich in compounds called flavonoids reduces some early signs of heart disease, research shows.
An Institute of Food Research team focused on one of the compounds, quercetin, which is found in tea, onions, apples and red wine.
The Atherosclerosis study examined the effect of the compounds produced after quercetin is broken down by the body. They were shown to help prevent the chronic inflammation which can lead to thickening of the arteries. Previous research has shown quercetin is metabolised very quickly by the intestine and liver and is not actually found in human blood.
So instead the researchers concentrated on the compounds that enter the bloodstream after quercetin is ingested, absorbed and metabolised.
The compounds were used - in concentrations similar to those that would be produced following digestion - to treat cells taken from the lining of the blood vessels.
Source - BBC
An Institute of Food Research team focused on one of the compounds, quercetin, which is found in tea, onions, apples and red wine.
The Atherosclerosis study examined the effect of the compounds produced after quercetin is broken down by the body. They were shown to help prevent the chronic inflammation which can lead to thickening of the arteries. Previous research has shown quercetin is metabolised very quickly by the intestine and liver and is not actually found in human blood.
So instead the researchers concentrated on the compounds that enter the bloodstream after quercetin is ingested, absorbed and metabolised.
The compounds were used - in concentrations similar to those that would be produced following digestion - to treat cells taken from the lining of the blood vessels.
Source - BBC
When 17th-century women would seek out hare spittle
Despite the wonders of modern medicine, seeking treatment for infertility can still be a heartbreaking experience. But spare a thought for British women living in the 17th century.
Anyone having difficulty conceiving all those centuries ago might have come across one William Sermon, a notorious physician whose 1671 book recommended a bizarre array of cures for infertility, such as drinking wine mixed with hare spittle or mouse ear.
A copy of his book, The Ladies Companion, Or The English Midwife, has been unearthed in a Surrey attic and is expected to fetch up £2,000 when Sotheby's auctions it next month.
Sermon (c1629-1680) is said to have decided to study medicine after witnessing a woman giving birth alone in a wood while he was out hare-shooting – which may explain why hares feature so prominently in his cures.
"Take the slime that a hare will have about his mouth when he eateth mallows and drink it in wine," Sermon instructs his readers. "Two hours after lie with your husband and fear not (faith my author) but that you will conceive."
Another remedy Sermon recommends to husbands is to secretly feed their wives the womb of a hare. "Give to the woman without her knowledge the womb of a hare to eat. Or burn the same to powder, and give it to her in wine to drink."
Other fertility treatments read like a witch's spell book. "Take Mouse-ear three handful, Elicampane, Liquorice, of each half ounce, Currants... boil them in two quarts of old wine... of which drink a small draught every morning."
Although the remedies might appear bizarre and positively useless by modern medicinal standards, advice such as Sermon's would have been widely distributed and followed.
Source - Independent
Anyone having difficulty conceiving all those centuries ago might have come across one William Sermon, a notorious physician whose 1671 book recommended a bizarre array of cures for infertility, such as drinking wine mixed with hare spittle or mouse ear.
A copy of his book, The Ladies Companion, Or The English Midwife, has been unearthed in a Surrey attic and is expected to fetch up £2,000 when Sotheby's auctions it next month.
Sermon (c1629-1680) is said to have decided to study medicine after witnessing a woman giving birth alone in a wood while he was out hare-shooting – which may explain why hares feature so prominently in his cures.
"Take the slime that a hare will have about his mouth when he eateth mallows and drink it in wine," Sermon instructs his readers. "Two hours after lie with your husband and fear not (faith my author) but that you will conceive."
Another remedy Sermon recommends to husbands is to secretly feed their wives the womb of a hare. "Give to the woman without her knowledge the womb of a hare to eat. Or burn the same to powder, and give it to her in wine to drink."
Other fertility treatments read like a witch's spell book. "Take Mouse-ear three handful, Elicampane, Liquorice, of each half ounce, Currants... boil them in two quarts of old wine... of which drink a small draught every morning."
Although the remedies might appear bizarre and positively useless by modern medicinal standards, advice such as Sermon's would have been widely distributed and followed.
Source - Independent
How eating a burger and chips can make your baby a boy (and chocolate will produce a girl)
Folklore holds that what mothers eat is the key to the sex of their child.
Red meat and salty snacks are said to lead to boys while chocolate is thought to help to produce girls.
Now science suggests the stories may be true: mice with low blood-sugar levels - a good indicator of a sugar-rich diet - produce more female than male offspring.
Researchers gave 20 female mice a steroid, dexamethasone, which kept their blood-sugar levels low. The sex of their litters was then compared with that of 20 mice on a regular diet. Those eating normally produced offspring that were 53 per cent male. But those on the steroid produced litters that were only 41 per cent male.
The results showed that, in mice at least, a diet that is high in sugar can lead to more female offspring.
The scientists who carried out the research at the University of Pretoria in South Africa say the same could be true in humans.
But Elissa Cameron, who led the project, said it was unclear how blood-sugar levels affect the
sex of the offspring. Sex is determined by a chromosome contained in the sperm - X for a girl and Y for a boy. Women have two X chromosones.
But diet, in men, can have an impact by altering the proportion of sperm carrying X and Y chromosomes.
The latest research suggests food may affect the environment in the womb, creating conditions which are more favourable to male or female sperm.
Professor Cameron said her work raised the possibility that diet can influence the proportion of males and females in a population.
She said it also offered a possible answer to a key question in evolutionary theory - understanding the mechanisms through which animals 'select' the sex off their offspring.
Source - Daily Mail
Red meat and salty snacks are said to lead to boys while chocolate is thought to help to produce girls.
Now science suggests the stories may be true: mice with low blood-sugar levels - a good indicator of a sugar-rich diet - produce more female than male offspring.
Researchers gave 20 female mice a steroid, dexamethasone, which kept their blood-sugar levels low. The sex of their litters was then compared with that of 20 mice on a regular diet. Those eating normally produced offspring that were 53 per cent male. But those on the steroid produced litters that were only 41 per cent male.
The results showed that, in mice at least, a diet that is high in sugar can lead to more female offspring.
The scientists who carried out the research at the University of Pretoria in South Africa say the same could be true in humans.
But Elissa Cameron, who led the project, said it was unclear how blood-sugar levels affect the
sex of the offspring. Sex is determined by a chromosome contained in the sperm - X for a girl and Y for a boy. Women have two X chromosones.
But diet, in men, can have an impact by altering the proportion of sperm carrying X and Y chromosomes.
The latest research suggests food may affect the environment in the womb, creating conditions which are more favourable to male or female sperm.
Professor Cameron said her work raised the possibility that diet can influence the proportion of males and females in a population.
She said it also offered a possible answer to a key question in evolutionary theory - understanding the mechanisms through which animals 'select' the sex off their offspring.
Source - Daily Mail
Online, you needn’t suffer alone
Chatrooms provide invaluable support for people with a wide range of illnesses.
It’s a familiar pattern, and it tends to go like this: doctor delivers diagnosis of (manageable) ailment. Patient leaves doctor’s surgery confident. Patient checks condition on the internet. In seconds, patient is convinced that death is imminent.
Knowledge is power, according to the adage, but when it comes to our health and the internet, power can be confusing. Anyone who has turned to the web for advice on a medical condition will know that that way madness lies. Instead of finding hard facts and much-needed reassurance, the unwary surfer can swiftly drown in a tidal wave of scaremongering.
But if you use it correctly, the web can offer not just information but a much more valuable currency for the newly ill or scared: companionship. Message boards (also called discussion forums) and live, real-time chatrooms are proving an invaluable source of support, information and advice for people with every kind of health problem. Most health charities now have one.
Keying the words “cancer forums” into Google yields more than two million responses. The Department of Health acknowledges that the increase in the number of chatrooms over the past few years has been “significant”. And Saga reports that health is one of the most popular message subjects among users of Saga Zone, its new social networking website for the overfifties.
But as well as offering practical and emotional support, these forums have developed into an empowering tool for patients. In some cases they can also affect the prescribing habits of doctors, inform research and bring top-level medical expertise together. They have become more than online confessionals: exchanges and tips on symptoms, treatments and side-effects fill their pages.“People sometimes become lost for words when they see their physician,” says Dr Shani Orgad, a lecturer in the department of media and communications at the London School of Economics, who has researched breast cancer forums.
Source - Times
It’s a familiar pattern, and it tends to go like this: doctor delivers diagnosis of (manageable) ailment. Patient leaves doctor’s surgery confident. Patient checks condition on the internet. In seconds, patient is convinced that death is imminent.
Knowledge is power, according to the adage, but when it comes to our health and the internet, power can be confusing. Anyone who has turned to the web for advice on a medical condition will know that that way madness lies. Instead of finding hard facts and much-needed reassurance, the unwary surfer can swiftly drown in a tidal wave of scaremongering.
But if you use it correctly, the web can offer not just information but a much more valuable currency for the newly ill or scared: companionship. Message boards (also called discussion forums) and live, real-time chatrooms are proving an invaluable source of support, information and advice for people with every kind of health problem. Most health charities now have one.
Keying the words “cancer forums” into Google yields more than two million responses. The Department of Health acknowledges that the increase in the number of chatrooms over the past few years has been “significant”. And Saga reports that health is one of the most popular message subjects among users of Saga Zone, its new social networking website for the overfifties.
But as well as offering practical and emotional support, these forums have developed into an empowering tool for patients. In some cases they can also affect the prescribing habits of doctors, inform research and bring top-level medical expertise together. They have become more than online confessionals: exchanges and tips on symptoms, treatments and side-effects fill their pages.“People sometimes become lost for words when they see their physician,” says Dr Shani Orgad, a lecturer in the department of media and communications at the London School of Economics, who has researched breast cancer forums.
Source - Times
Cannabis compound 'halts cancer'
A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body, US scientists believe.
The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.
Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports. The authors stressed that they were not suggesting patients smoke marijuana.
They added that it would be highly unlikely that effective concentrations of CBD could be reached by smoking cannabis.CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site - a process called metastasis.
Past work has shown CBD can block aggressive human brain cancers.
The latest work found CBD appeared to have a similar effect on breast cancer cells in the lab.
Source - BBC
The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.
Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports. The authors stressed that they were not suggesting patients smoke marijuana.
They added that it would be highly unlikely that effective concentrations of CBD could be reached by smoking cannabis.CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site - a process called metastasis.
Past work has shown CBD can block aggressive human brain cancers.
The latest work found CBD appeared to have a similar effect on breast cancer cells in the lab.
Source - BBC
Half a glass of red wine 'protects from cancer'
Half a glass of red wine a day could protect you from colon cancer, scientists have discovered.
The study found that a diet rich in grapes can help prevent the third most common form of cancer, one that kills more than half a million people worldwide and over 16,000 in Britain every year.
The University of California, Irvine cancer researchers found an ingredient in grapes, called resveratrol, blocks a chemical pathway that helps cancer spread. They hope that as well as preventing cancer, the discovery could lead to new therapies for sufferers.
"This is truly exciting, because it suggests that substances in grapes can block a key intracellular signalling pathway involved in the development of colon cancer before a tumour develops," said Dr Randall Holcombe, who led the research.
The team studied patients diagnosed with colon cancer. One group was given 20 milligrams daily of resveratrol as a pill; another drank 120 grams (4oz) daily of grape powder mixed in water; and a third drank 80 grams (3oz) daily of grape powder.
While the supplements did not have an impact on existing tumours, biopsied colon tissue showed the patients taking 80 grams of grape powder drastically reduced the inter cell signals needed for tumours to spread.
Source - Daily Mail
The study found that a diet rich in grapes can help prevent the third most common form of cancer, one that kills more than half a million people worldwide and over 16,000 in Britain every year.
The University of California, Irvine cancer researchers found an ingredient in grapes, called resveratrol, blocks a chemical pathway that helps cancer spread. They hope that as well as preventing cancer, the discovery could lead to new therapies for sufferers.
"This is truly exciting, because it suggests that substances in grapes can block a key intracellular signalling pathway involved in the development of colon cancer before a tumour develops," said Dr Randall Holcombe, who led the research.
The team studied patients diagnosed with colon cancer. One group was given 20 milligrams daily of resveratrol as a pill; another drank 120 grams (4oz) daily of grape powder mixed in water; and a third drank 80 grams (3oz) daily of grape powder.
While the supplements did not have an impact on existing tumours, biopsied colon tissue showed the patients taking 80 grams of grape powder drastically reduced the inter cell signals needed for tumours to spread.
Source - Daily Mail
Magnolia bark can take bite out of bad breath
Adding a pinch of magnolia bark to mints or gum can eliminate bad breath by killing most odor-causing germs, U.S researchers have found.
Most bad breath occurs when bacteria in the mouth break down proteins, producing foul-smelling sulfur compounds. But many anti-bacterial agents cause nasty side effects like tooth staining, making them impractical for oral care. Magnolia bark extract - a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat fever, headache and stress - has proven effective against germs that cause ulcers, and recent studies have shown it has low toxicity and few side effects.
Scientists at chewing gum maker Wm Wrigley Jr Co wanted to see if it could kill halitosis-causing bacteria, and if it could be used in a gum or mint. Researchers Minmin Tan and colleagues, reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, tested magnolia bark's germ-killing ability in a Wrigley lab.
They found it highly effective against three types of oral microorganisms, killing 99.9 per cent of bad breath bacteria within five minutes.
Source - Daily Mail
Most bad breath occurs when bacteria in the mouth break down proteins, producing foul-smelling sulfur compounds. But many anti-bacterial agents cause nasty side effects like tooth staining, making them impractical for oral care. Magnolia bark extract - a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat fever, headache and stress - has proven effective against germs that cause ulcers, and recent studies have shown it has low toxicity and few side effects.
Scientists at chewing gum maker Wm Wrigley Jr Co wanted to see if it could kill halitosis-causing bacteria, and if it could be used in a gum or mint. Researchers Minmin Tan and colleagues, reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, tested magnolia bark's germ-killing ability in a Wrigley lab.
They found it highly effective against three types of oral microorganisms, killing 99.9 per cent of bad breath bacteria within five minutes.
Source - Daily Mail
Being overweight could be good for you, say U.S. researchers
Being overweight might not be all bad as far as health risks go, claims a group of U.S. researchers. They say it does not appear to raise your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease - and may even help people survive some illnesses.
However, the chances of dying from diabetes and kidney disease go up as the bathroom scales rise - and those who are classified as obese rather than just overweight have a higher risk of death from a wide range of disorders including cancer and heart problems.
A new study in the Journal of the Amercian Medical Association says there is a "grey" area where being up to around a stone and a half overweight may not be all bad.
But the findings are disputed by some specialists who point out the study looks only at death - not sickness and disability - and it's all too easy for people to end up going from pleasantly plump to obese.
The new study is the second carried out by US Government scientists who two years ago first suggested that deaths from being too fat were overstated. The report further analyses the same data, this time looking at specific causes of death along with new mortality figures from 2004 for 2.3million U.S. adults.
Lead researcher Dr Katherine Flegal, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which funded the study, said: "Excess weight does not uniformly increase the risk of mortality from any and every cause, but only from certain causes."
Source - Daily Mail
However, the chances of dying from diabetes and kidney disease go up as the bathroom scales rise - and those who are classified as obese rather than just overweight have a higher risk of death from a wide range of disorders including cancer and heart problems.
A new study in the Journal of the Amercian Medical Association says there is a "grey" area where being up to around a stone and a half overweight may not be all bad.
But the findings are disputed by some specialists who point out the study looks only at death - not sickness and disability - and it's all too easy for people to end up going from pleasantly plump to obese.
The new study is the second carried out by US Government scientists who two years ago first suggested that deaths from being too fat were overstated. The report further analyses the same data, this time looking at specific causes of death along with new mortality figures from 2004 for 2.3million U.S. adults.
Lead researcher Dr Katherine Flegal, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which funded the study, said: "Excess weight does not uniformly increase the risk of mortality from any and every cause, but only from certain causes."
Source - Daily Mail
Vitamin D 'may help slow ageing'
A vitamin made when sunlight hits the skin could help slow down the ageing of cells and tissues, say researchers.
A King's College London study of more than 2,000 women found those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA. However, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study stops short of proving cause and effect.
A lack of vitamin D has already been linked to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The genetic material inside every cell has an inbuilt "clock", which counts down every time the cell reproduces itself.
The shortening of these strands of DNA called telomeres is one way of examining the ageing process at a cellular level.
Source - BBC
A King's College London study of more than 2,000 women found those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA. However, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study stops short of proving cause and effect.
A lack of vitamin D has already been linked to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The genetic material inside every cell has an inbuilt "clock", which counts down every time the cell reproduces itself.
The shortening of these strands of DNA called telomeres is one way of examining the ageing process at a cellular level.
Source - BBC
Babies 'show social intelligence'
At the age of six months, most babies have barely learnt to sit up, let alone crawl, walk or talk.
But, according to new research, they can already assess someone's intentions towards them, deciding who is a likely friend or enemy.
US scientists believe babies acquire the ability to make social evaluations in the first few months of life. It may provide the foundation for moral thoughts and actions in later years, they write in the journal Nature.
"By six months, babies have learnt quite a lot and they are taking things in," said Kiley Hamlin, lead author of the research. We can't say that it is hard-wired (exists in a newborn baby) but we can say it is pre-linguistic and pre-explicit teaching," she told BBC News.
"We don't think this says that babies have any morality but it does seem an essential piece of morality to feel positive about those who do good things and negative about those who do bad things - it seems like an important piece of a later more rational and moral system."
Source - BBC
But, according to new research, they can already assess someone's intentions towards them, deciding who is a likely friend or enemy.
US scientists believe babies acquire the ability to make social evaluations in the first few months of life. It may provide the foundation for moral thoughts and actions in later years, they write in the journal Nature.
"By six months, babies have learnt quite a lot and they are taking things in," said Kiley Hamlin, lead author of the research. We can't say that it is hard-wired (exists in a newborn baby) but we can say it is pre-linguistic and pre-explicit teaching," she told BBC News.
"We don't think this says that babies have any morality but it does seem an essential piece of morality to feel positive about those who do good things and negative about those who do bad things - it seems like an important piece of a later more rational and moral system."
Source - BBC
Girls 'link weight to happiness'
Girls as young as seven believe being slim and attractive will mean you are more happy, popular and successful, research suggests.
A study published by Girlguiding UK found girls associated being overweight with being bullied and sad. However, girls polled said their families and friends made them feel happy and good about themselves.
The authors are calling for primary schools to teach children how the media airbrushes photographs of stars.
Researchers spoke to seven to 10-year-old members of the Brownies in a series of focus groups on body image and self-esteem for the report, published by Girlguiding UK and eating disorders charity beat.
Source - BBC
A study published by Girlguiding UK found girls associated being overweight with being bullied and sad. However, girls polled said their families and friends made them feel happy and good about themselves.
The authors are calling for primary schools to teach children how the media airbrushes photographs of stars.
Researchers spoke to seven to 10-year-old members of the Brownies in a series of focus groups on body image and self-esteem for the report, published by Girlguiding UK and eating disorders charity beat.
Source - BBC
Breast milk cuts heart disease risk
BREASTFED babies could have a reduced risk of heart disease in later life, research showed yesterday, putting more pressure on women not to bottle-feed their children.
The new study found that heart-disease risk factors were reduced in adults who were breastfed as babies. The research is the latest evidence to emerge on the benefits of breast milk over formula feeds. But midwives and campaigners said women who could not or did not want to breastfeed should not be made to feel guilty. In Scotland, a target was set for 50 per cent of all mothers to breastfeed by 2005. Figures earlier this year showed that only 44.2 per cent were breastfeeding - a drop of nearly 1 per cent in a year.
The latest research, presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Orange County, California, involved almost 400 mothers and 1,000 of their children.
The research, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, found that middle-aged adults who were breastfed as infants were 55 per cent more likely to have high levels of "good" cholesterol, known as HDL. High levels of HDL cholesterol help protect against heart disease and stroke
Source - Scotsman
The new study found that heart-disease risk factors were reduced in adults who were breastfed as babies. The research is the latest evidence to emerge on the benefits of breast milk over formula feeds. But midwives and campaigners said women who could not or did not want to breastfeed should not be made to feel guilty. In Scotland, a target was set for 50 per cent of all mothers to breastfeed by 2005. Figures earlier this year showed that only 44.2 per cent were breastfeeding - a drop of nearly 1 per cent in a year.
The latest research, presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Orange County, California, involved almost 400 mothers and 1,000 of their children.
The research, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, found that middle-aged adults who were breastfed as infants were 55 per cent more likely to have high levels of "good" cholesterol, known as HDL. High levels of HDL cholesterol help protect against heart disease and stroke
Source - Scotsman
Omega 3 oils cut the risk of Alzheimer's, say experts
DIET rich in fish, omega 3 oils, fruit and vegetables could lower the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's, according to research published last night.
But consuming oils rich in omega 6, such as sunflower or grapeseed oil, could increase the chances of developing memory problems, it found
Published in the medical journal Neurology, the study examined the diets of 8,085 men and women aged over 65 who did not have dementia at the start of the research.
Over four years of follow-up, 183 of the participants developed Alzheimer's and 98 developed another form of dementia.
Source - Scotsman
But consuming oils rich in omega 6, such as sunflower or grapeseed oil, could increase the chances of developing memory problems, it found
Published in the medical journal Neurology, the study examined the diets of 8,085 men and women aged over 65 who did not have dementia at the start of the research.
Over four years of follow-up, 183 of the participants developed Alzheimer's and 98 developed another form of dementia.
Source - Scotsman
Arts and minds
Scientists are discovering how love, art and beauty affect our brains.
According to the 19th-century poet Keats, beauty is truth, truth beauty, and “that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know”. Modern neuroscientists beg to differ. They want to know much more. Today the UK’s largest medical research charity will announce that it is ploughing £1 million into the search for the nerve mechanisms that explain beauty – and with it love, truth and happiness.
The work is controversial because for the first time, brain researchers are scientifically measuring abstract concepts that artists, philosophers and clerics have long regarded as eternal.
The work is being led by Semir Zeki, the Professor of Neurobiology at University College London – one of a group of scientists who are using functional MRI brain scanning to study the “neural correlates of subjective mental states” – in layman’s terms, what happens in the brain when we experience strong feelings.
Zeki’s research has already revealed that beauty really does have a seat in the brain. Scanning the brains of volunteers looking at paintings they classified as ugly or beautiful, he found that beauty engaged a part of the brain called the orbito-frontal cortex. For Zeki, it was a rejection of Plato’s view that beauty had an independent existence of its own, but an affirmation of the more Kantian view that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Measuring the truth of beauty
“What my studies show,” Zeki says, “is that when you view a painting you regard to be beautiful, not only is there activity in the orbito-frontal cortex, but the more beautiful you perceive something to be, the more activity there is. So what you can say is that there is now an objective measurement of a subjective feeling. And you can also say that if you know something to be beautiful, that subjective opinion is far more important than any objective measurement.
Source - Times
According to the 19th-century poet Keats, beauty is truth, truth beauty, and “that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know”. Modern neuroscientists beg to differ. They want to know much more. Today the UK’s largest medical research charity will announce that it is ploughing £1 million into the search for the nerve mechanisms that explain beauty – and with it love, truth and happiness.
The work is controversial because for the first time, brain researchers are scientifically measuring abstract concepts that artists, philosophers and clerics have long regarded as eternal.
The work is being led by Semir Zeki, the Professor of Neurobiology at University College London – one of a group of scientists who are using functional MRI brain scanning to study the “neural correlates of subjective mental states” – in layman’s terms, what happens in the brain when we experience strong feelings.
Zeki’s research has already revealed that beauty really does have a seat in the brain. Scanning the brains of volunteers looking at paintings they classified as ugly or beautiful, he found that beauty engaged a part of the brain called the orbito-frontal cortex. For Zeki, it was a rejection of Plato’s view that beauty had an independent existence of its own, but an affirmation of the more Kantian view that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Measuring the truth of beauty
“What my studies show,” Zeki says, “is that when you view a painting you regard to be beautiful, not only is there activity in the orbito-frontal cortex, but the more beautiful you perceive something to be, the more activity there is. So what you can say is that there is now an objective measurement of a subjective feeling. And you can also say that if you know something to be beautiful, that subjective opinion is far more important than any objective measurement.
Source - Times
The hidden danger of driving - sitting badly at the wheel
Thousands of drivers are suffering unnecessary injuries every day, but not as the result of drink-driving, speeding or other accidents.
Sitting in cars for long periods can cause long-term damage to the neck, back, arms, shoulders and knees, experts say.
At least half of high-mileage business drivers suffer from pains in their lower back from sitting — or slouching — according to reseachers at Loughborough University, who are now setting guidelines to prevent driving-related strains and injuries.
“Driving long distances is one of the worst things you can do to your body,” said Brian McIlwraith, an osteopath who specialises in car ergonomics. “There’s a tendency for you to be forced into a slumped position, so your back is bent, putting pressure on the hips, lower back and intervertebral discs.” Other potential dangers include stretching to reach steering wheels or pedals, and the way you pull yourself out of your seat, he added.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common form of work-related ill-health in Britain, with an annual cost of more than £200 million — and employees who drive more than 20 hours a week are at particular risk.
Source - Times
Sitting in cars for long periods can cause long-term damage to the neck, back, arms, shoulders and knees, experts say.
At least half of high-mileage business drivers suffer from pains in their lower back from sitting — or slouching — according to reseachers at Loughborough University, who are now setting guidelines to prevent driving-related strains and injuries.
“Driving long distances is one of the worst things you can do to your body,” said Brian McIlwraith, an osteopath who specialises in car ergonomics. “There’s a tendency for you to be forced into a slumped position, so your back is bent, putting pressure on the hips, lower back and intervertebral discs.” Other potential dangers include stretching to reach steering wheels or pedals, and the way you pull yourself out of your seat, he added.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common form of work-related ill-health in Britain, with an annual cost of more than £200 million — and employees who drive more than 20 hours a week are at particular risk.
Source - Times
In defence of homeopathy
Picture this. I am staying in a remote cottage in Cornwall without a car. I have a temperature of 102, spots on my throat, delirium, and a book to finish writing. My desperate publisher suggests I call Hilary Fairclough, a homeopath who has practices in London and Penzance. She sends round a remedy called Lachesis, made from snake venom. Four hours later I have no symptoms whatsoever.
Dramatic stuff, and enough to convince me that while it might use snake venom, homeopathy is no snake oil designed for gullible hypochrondriacs. Right now, though, a fierce debate is raging between those, like me, who trust homeopathy because it works for them, and those who call it shamanistic claptrap, without clinical proof or any scientific base.There have been a number of articles in the press recently criticising homeopathic remedies as worthless at best, and potentially lethal at worst, if they are being taken instead of tried-and-tested conventional medicines for conditions such as malaria or HIV.
I have found myself cited, and drawn into this, because I am on record as supporting homeopathic practice in general, and in particular the Maun homeopathy project, a clinic in Botswana set up by Fairclough.
The organisation Sense About Science and journalists such as Ben Goldacre and Nick Cohen are targeting a symposium in London in December that will discuss HIV and Aids and the homeopathic response to such diseases. Of particular concern is a claim by the British homeopath Peter Chapel and his Dutch colleague, Harry Van Der Zee, that Chapel has developed a remedy, PC1, that can be used to treat the HIV virus.
Source - Guardian
Dramatic stuff, and enough to convince me that while it might use snake venom, homeopathy is no snake oil designed for gullible hypochrondriacs. Right now, though, a fierce debate is raging between those, like me, who trust homeopathy because it works for them, and those who call it shamanistic claptrap, without clinical proof or any scientific base.There have been a number of articles in the press recently criticising homeopathic remedies as worthless at best, and potentially lethal at worst, if they are being taken instead of tried-and-tested conventional medicines for conditions such as malaria or HIV.
I have found myself cited, and drawn into this, because I am on record as supporting homeopathic practice in general, and in particular the Maun homeopathy project, a clinic in Botswana set up by Fairclough.
The organisation Sense About Science and journalists such as Ben Goldacre and Nick Cohen are targeting a symposium in London in December that will discuss HIV and Aids and the homeopathic response to such diseases. Of particular concern is a claim by the British homeopath Peter Chapel and his Dutch colleague, Harry Van Der Zee, that Chapel has developed a remedy, PC1, that can be used to treat the HIV virus.
Source - Guardian
How to beat the winter blues
As the nights draw in, millions of us feel gloom setting in. But there are ways to lift your mood in the colder months.
The summer of 2007 has already gone down in history as the wettest since records began. If months of grey skies, rained-off barbecues and ruined trips to the seaside weren't depressing enough, this lack of sun could also be having an effect on the happiness of millions of us. Whether you are a signed up sufferer of seasonal affective disorder – along with more than a million other people in the UK – or simply feel your mood dip as the nights get darker, the consequences of a lack of sun can leave people lethargic, depressed, anxious and more likely to get colds and infections.
There are a number of theories about exactly what causes SAD but the common theme is that light triggers messages to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This controls sleep, mood and appetite so it's thought that the lack of sunlight in winter has an impact of how effectively it manages these functions.
However, there are a number of ways to combat SAD and one of the most effective is simple to use and can have results within three days. Exposure to bright light – phototherapy – helps 80 per cent of SAD sufferers, according to the mental health charity Mind. Ordinary light bulbs aren't strong enough, though, as the average domestic or office light only emits an intensity of 200-500 lux while the minimum dose necessary to treat SAD is 2,500 lux. The easiest way to get this kind of light is by investing in a light box – prices start from about £60 – and sitting in front of it for around one or two hours a day. Boots has seen sales of its range of light boxes soar by 147 per cent this year.
Source - Independent
The summer of 2007 has already gone down in history as the wettest since records began. If months of grey skies, rained-off barbecues and ruined trips to the seaside weren't depressing enough, this lack of sun could also be having an effect on the happiness of millions of us. Whether you are a signed up sufferer of seasonal affective disorder – along with more than a million other people in the UK – or simply feel your mood dip as the nights get darker, the consequences of a lack of sun can leave people lethargic, depressed, anxious and more likely to get colds and infections.
There are a number of theories about exactly what causes SAD but the common theme is that light triggers messages to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This controls sleep, mood and appetite so it's thought that the lack of sunlight in winter has an impact of how effectively it manages these functions.
However, there are a number of ways to combat SAD and one of the most effective is simple to use and can have results within three days. Exposure to bright light – phototherapy – helps 80 per cent of SAD sufferers, according to the mental health charity Mind. Ordinary light bulbs aren't strong enough, though, as the average domestic or office light only emits an intensity of 200-500 lux while the minimum dose necessary to treat SAD is 2,500 lux. The easiest way to get this kind of light is by investing in a light box – prices start from about £60 – and sitting in front of it for around one or two hours a day. Boots has seen sales of its range of light boxes soar by 147 per cent this year.
Source - Independent
Cancer and the bacon sarnie
When Professor Martin Wiseman published his study on cancer this month, he had no intention of demonising the bacon sarnie. Here, he sets the record straight
When I saw the headline in the Daily Express about "food fascists", I wondered what the story was about. On closer examination, I realised that they were actually talking about my colleagues and me.
The subject of the writer's ire was the World Cancer Research Fund report on cancer prevention, which we published this month and which, in my role as project director, has taken some six years.
While the Express headline might have been the extreme, even the general press coverage seemed to give the impression that our supposed war on the humble bacon butty was the greatest threat to the British way of life in living memory.
As someone not used to being in the public eye, I found this rather bemusing. I wonder whether the people have an image of us as a bunch of puritans who want to ban bacon and who consume nothing but brown rice, water and vegetables in a desperate attempt to live to 110.
The truth, I'm afraid, is rather more prosaic. Like many people, I enjoy good food and wine and when it comes to healthy living, including reducing cancer risk, there are areas where I could do better.
But this report was never about wagging the finger at people, nor about making them feel scared or guilty about the fact that their lifestyle is not as healthy as possible. We have never attempted to tell people how they should live. If my next-door neighbours want to have bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then that's up to them. What is important is that any decisions they make should be informed ones. Doctors have to give people information, some of it unwelcome, to help them decide between two treatment options, for example. But whether people like the facts or not, they need them if they are going to be able to make an informed choice. Our report has given them those facts.
Source - Independent
When I saw the headline in the Daily Express about "food fascists", I wondered what the story was about. On closer examination, I realised that they were actually talking about my colleagues and me.
The subject of the writer's ire was the World Cancer Research Fund report on cancer prevention, which we published this month and which, in my role as project director, has taken some six years.
While the Express headline might have been the extreme, even the general press coverage seemed to give the impression that our supposed war on the humble bacon butty was the greatest threat to the British way of life in living memory.
As someone not used to being in the public eye, I found this rather bemusing. I wonder whether the people have an image of us as a bunch of puritans who want to ban bacon and who consume nothing but brown rice, water and vegetables in a desperate attempt to live to 110.
The truth, I'm afraid, is rather more prosaic. Like many people, I enjoy good food and wine and when it comes to healthy living, including reducing cancer risk, there are areas where I could do better.
But this report was never about wagging the finger at people, nor about making them feel scared or guilty about the fact that their lifestyle is not as healthy as possible. We have never attempted to tell people how they should live. If my next-door neighbours want to have bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then that's up to them. What is important is that any decisions they make should be informed ones. Doctors have to give people information, some of it unwelcome, to help them decide between two treatment options, for example. But whether people like the facts or not, they need them if they are going to be able to make an informed choice. Our report has given them those facts.
Source - Independent
Natural protein 'heals the heart'
Scientists have found a naturally occurring protein can protect against heart cell damage after a heart attack.
Nerve growth factor (NGF) was thought to act only on nerve cells in the body, but mounting evidence suggests it acts on heart muscle cells too.
A Bristol Heart Institute team tested NGF in rats and this had promising results, Cell Death and Differentiation journal reports.
They are hopeful that the treatment would also benefit humans. Heart disease is the most common cause of death in the UK. In 2004, there were about 231,000 new heart attacks.
Heart attacks happen when one of the coronary arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked. If the blood supply is cut off, a part of the heart muscle dies. And this can lead to complications such as heart failure.
Drugs are already available to help prevent and minimise the damage caused by a heart attack.
These include aspirin, which works by thinning the blood to improve blood flow, and clot-busting drugs called thrombolytics to dissolve clots in the artery.
Source - BBC
Nerve growth factor (NGF) was thought to act only on nerve cells in the body, but mounting evidence suggests it acts on heart muscle cells too.
A Bristol Heart Institute team tested NGF in rats and this had promising results, Cell Death and Differentiation journal reports.
They are hopeful that the treatment would also benefit humans. Heart disease is the most common cause of death in the UK. In 2004, there were about 231,000 new heart attacks.
Heart attacks happen when one of the coronary arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked. If the blood supply is cut off, a part of the heart muscle dies. And this can lead to complications such as heart failure.
Drugs are already available to help prevent and minimise the damage caused by a heart attack.
These include aspirin, which works by thinning the blood to improve blood flow, and clot-busting drugs called thrombolytics to dissolve clots in the artery.
Source - BBC
Spinach 'helps you survive a heart attack'
To generations of children, it is the unpleasant-tasting vegetable that gave Popeye his bulging muscles.
Now it seems that spinach may be able to give our heart extra strength too.
Previous research had already indicated that eating spinach reduces the chances of having a heart attack in the first place.
But the latest findings suggest it also boosts survival rates by a third for those who do suffer an attack.
The tests also revealed that nitrite - found in high quantities in green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce - speeds recovery.
Biochemist Dr Nathan Bryan, of the University of Texas, which carried out the study, recommends eating five to nine ounces of nitrite-rich vegetables a day, three times as much as is typically consumed on current estimates.
Cardiovascular disease is Britain's biggest killer, accounting for four in ten deaths and claiming more than 75,000 lives a year.
The researchers found that mice whose drinking water was supplemented with nitrite for a week before having a heart attack fared better.
They suffered much less cardiac damage and were 33 per cent more likely to survive, reports the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Source - Daily Mail
Now it seems that spinach may be able to give our heart extra strength too.
Previous research had already indicated that eating spinach reduces the chances of having a heart attack in the first place.
But the latest findings suggest it also boosts survival rates by a third for those who do suffer an attack.
The tests also revealed that nitrite - found in high quantities in green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce - speeds recovery.
Biochemist Dr Nathan Bryan, of the University of Texas, which carried out the study, recommends eating five to nine ounces of nitrite-rich vegetables a day, three times as much as is typically consumed on current estimates.
Cardiovascular disease is Britain's biggest killer, accounting for four in ten deaths and claiming more than 75,000 lives a year.
The researchers found that mice whose drinking water was supplemented with nitrite for a week before having a heart attack fared better.
They suffered much less cardiac damage and were 33 per cent more likely to survive, reports the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Source - Daily Mail
Plastic beads work magic on wounds that refuse to heal
Tiny plastic beads are being used to help chronic wounds heal.
The treatment has been shown to help heal wounds that have failed to respond to other treatments for as long as four years.
Chronic wounds — such as leg ulcers and pressure sores — are a major public health problem, with more than half a million people in the UK affected. The NHS spends up to £1 billion a year on treating the problem, but in many cases the wounds fail to heal for weeks, months or even years. In severe cases, the only answer is limb amputation.
The wound healing process is complex — many different types of cells move to the area around a wound within a few hours. Their jobs include sealing the wound as quickly as possible, halting blood loss and creating a cover to stop infection getting in.
If wounds fail to respond in the first two to four weeks, despite treatment, they are classed as chronic.
A number of factors may be to blame, including poor blood flow, infection and a weakened immune response.
Source - Daily Mail
The treatment has been shown to help heal wounds that have failed to respond to other treatments for as long as four years.
Chronic wounds — such as leg ulcers and pressure sores — are a major public health problem, with more than half a million people in the UK affected. The NHS spends up to £1 billion a year on treating the problem, but in many cases the wounds fail to heal for weeks, months or even years. In severe cases, the only answer is limb amputation.
The wound healing process is complex — many different types of cells move to the area around a wound within a few hours. Their jobs include sealing the wound as quickly as possible, halting blood loss and creating a cover to stop infection getting in.
If wounds fail to respond in the first two to four weeks, despite treatment, they are classed as chronic.
A number of factors may be to blame, including poor blood flow, infection and a weakened immune response.
Source - Daily Mail
Bionade: The health drink that looks like beer
When Bionade launches in the UK next month, the makers of the German health drink may be thankful that we are a nation of beer-drinkers: that way, at least they won't have to explain what fermentation is.
That fermentation has anything at all to do with a health drink may take some explaining, as might the fact that Bionade is made by a brewery. "We have had people assume that Bionade must be some low-alcohol beer, especially because it comes in what looks like a beer bottle," concedes Peter Kowalsky, the company's managing director. "And in Germany we do have a lot of beer drinkers that drink Bionade when they can't drink beer, because it has that similar malty, tangy taste they recognise. But it is a health drink."
And something of an unexpected hit. When Bionade was relaunched in 2005, first year sales were just 20 million bottles. Last year it sold 70 million. This year, with distribution having rolled out to Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, it will sell 250 million bottles, and that is before it launches in the US, where health drinks are a boom market.
Indeed, Bionade might well claim to have invented the market, given that the drink was first sold in 1995. It was also the product of desperation. The Peter brewery was a small Bavarian family business that was being squeezed towards closure by major beer brands. Dieter Leipold, Kowalsky's step-father, was its master brewer and he spent five years, and almost the company's last pfennig, finding a way in which the fermentation process with which he was so familiar could be used to turn sugars into something drinkable but alchohol-free. The breakthrough came when he experimented with the bacterium kombucha, using it to convert sugars into gluconic acid. The result was Bionade, a naturally-flavoured soft drink made to the same ancient and exacting purity laws as German beer.
The whole idea was ahead of its time, never mind the method – there was no health drinks market, consumers were used only to big taste, high-sugar products and more educated attitudes to nutrition and diet were yet to develop. Now Bionade could hardly be more timely: last year juices, fruit and health drinks accounted for nearly 41 per cent of the entire soft drinks market, having grown some 31 per cent over the past four years alone, according to Key Note, the market research company. The health drink market is worth £2.8bn a year.
And no wonder, perhaps: last year a study by the Federal Drugs Administration in the US found some soft drinks containing benzene above the safe limits for tap water, while in Britain irritability in children has been attributed to their fondness for fizzy drinks."
"When we launched we didn't think there was a market for a health drink at all. You already had water, juices, mixtures of the two, products that came out of nature. And then you had typical sugary soft drinks that so many people liked. But nothing in between," says Kowalsky. "Even now launching a health drink is a high-risk venture which is why most play safe and tend not to have either a distinctive taste or content."
That certainly couldn't be said of Bionade. Its premise was a health drink in the sense that nothing unhealthy went into it, but one that was closer in taste and impact to a can of pop. This was a radical new take on what a soft drink could be. Many soft drinks are packed with stabilising and flavour-enhancing chemicals. Bionade has none. It is very low in sugar but because gluconic acid shares a similar molecular structure to glucose, drinkers are fooled into tasting sweetness. And while soft drinks are often loaded with cheap, aggressive acids, Bionade's is a product of natural micro-organisms at work. "And the presence of micro-organisms is a good indication of a healthy product," suggests Kowalsky. "Put these in a cola and they'd die."
Source - Independent
That fermentation has anything at all to do with a health drink may take some explaining, as might the fact that Bionade is made by a brewery. "We have had people assume that Bionade must be some low-alcohol beer, especially because it comes in what looks like a beer bottle," concedes Peter Kowalsky, the company's managing director. "And in Germany we do have a lot of beer drinkers that drink Bionade when they can't drink beer, because it has that similar malty, tangy taste they recognise. But it is a health drink."
And something of an unexpected hit. When Bionade was relaunched in 2005, first year sales were just 20 million bottles. Last year it sold 70 million. This year, with distribution having rolled out to Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, it will sell 250 million bottles, and that is before it launches in the US, where health drinks are a boom market.
Indeed, Bionade might well claim to have invented the market, given that the drink was first sold in 1995. It was also the product of desperation. The Peter brewery was a small Bavarian family business that was being squeezed towards closure by major beer brands. Dieter Leipold, Kowalsky's step-father, was its master brewer and he spent five years, and almost the company's last pfennig, finding a way in which the fermentation process with which he was so familiar could be used to turn sugars into something drinkable but alchohol-free. The breakthrough came when he experimented with the bacterium kombucha, using it to convert sugars into gluconic acid. The result was Bionade, a naturally-flavoured soft drink made to the same ancient and exacting purity laws as German beer.
The whole idea was ahead of its time, never mind the method – there was no health drinks market, consumers were used only to big taste, high-sugar products and more educated attitudes to nutrition and diet were yet to develop. Now Bionade could hardly be more timely: last year juices, fruit and health drinks accounted for nearly 41 per cent of the entire soft drinks market, having grown some 31 per cent over the past four years alone, according to Key Note, the market research company. The health drink market is worth £2.8bn a year.
And no wonder, perhaps: last year a study by the Federal Drugs Administration in the US found some soft drinks containing benzene above the safe limits for tap water, while in Britain irritability in children has been attributed to their fondness for fizzy drinks."
"When we launched we didn't think there was a market for a health drink at all. You already had water, juices, mixtures of the two, products that came out of nature. And then you had typical sugary soft drinks that so many people liked. But nothing in between," says Kowalsky. "Even now launching a health drink is a high-risk venture which is why most play safe and tend not to have either a distinctive taste or content."
That certainly couldn't be said of Bionade. Its premise was a health drink in the sense that nothing unhealthy went into it, but one that was closer in taste and impact to a can of pop. This was a radical new take on what a soft drink could be. Many soft drinks are packed with stabilising and flavour-enhancing chemicals. Bionade has none. It is very low in sugar but because gluconic acid shares a similar molecular structure to glucose, drinkers are fooled into tasting sweetness. And while soft drinks are often loaded with cheap, aggressive acids, Bionade's is a product of natural micro-organisms at work. "And the presence of micro-organisms is a good indication of a healthy product," suggests Kowalsky. "Put these in a cola and they'd die."
Source - Independent
Could lazy living give you a double dose of diabetes?
Our unhealthy habits are making us prone to a new - and even more serious - form of this rampant disease.
Overweight and unhealthy, we are turning ourselves into a nation of diabetics. More people than ever before suffer from the condition - there are already 2.4 million in the UK, with the number rising at a rate of 100,000 every year.
While some people are born with the condition, the majority have developed it as a result of obesity. Treating diabetes costs the NHS more than any other disease, according to figures published last week.
But against this background, leading scientists think we might have been looking at the disease in the wrong way. Rather than suffering from the usual type 1 or type 2 diabetes, many people could have a new type - 'double diabetes', which is a mixture of the two. (It's also called, rather confusingly, type 1.5.)
And the consequences for their health are doubly serious because doctors have to treat both types at the same time - meaning more the needs of your body, then medication - and sufferers are at higher risk of complications such as heart disease and blindness.
Source - Daily Mail
Overweight and unhealthy, we are turning ourselves into a nation of diabetics. More people than ever before suffer from the condition - there are already 2.4 million in the UK, with the number rising at a rate of 100,000 every year.
While some people are born with the condition, the majority have developed it as a result of obesity. Treating diabetes costs the NHS more than any other disease, according to figures published last week.
But against this background, leading scientists think we might have been looking at the disease in the wrong way. Rather than suffering from the usual type 1 or type 2 diabetes, many people could have a new type - 'double diabetes', which is a mixture of the two. (It's also called, rather confusingly, type 1.5.)
And the consequences for their health are doubly serious because doctors have to treat both types at the same time - meaning more the needs of your body, then medication - and sufferers are at higher risk of complications such as heart disease and blindness.
Source - Daily Mail
Are you getting enough?
Modern life is too demanding to turn out the lights and we're more sleep deprived than ever before. How can we get back in the habit of grabbing shut-eye?
Ask someone how they are and their response, more often than not, is "fine but a bit tired". Not surprising when one in three of us have sleep problems, according to recent research.
The medical profession calls it tatt, short for "tired all the time". It's one of the most common complaints that doctors hear. The disappearance of rest from daily life is also one of the themes of a major new exhibition on sleep at the Wellcome Collection in London. Modern life is too demanding to turn out the lights and we're more sleep deprived than ever before. How can we get back in the habit of grabbing shut-eye?
We just aren't getting enough sleep and it's slipping down people's list of priorities. It seems modern life is just too demanding - and exciting - to switch off.
As a result sleep deprivation is becoming a national problem, say experts.
Sleep is so important because it allows the brain to recover from the rigours of the day. Not getting enough has been found to increase the risk of obesity, heart disease and depression. The government is keen to tackle these health issues, efforts doomed to failure unless getting enough sleep is made a priority as well.
"Sleep is as important as diet and exercise when it comes to the nation's health," says Doctor Neil Stanley, a sleep expert at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Source - BBC
Ask someone how they are and their response, more often than not, is "fine but a bit tired". Not surprising when one in three of us have sleep problems, according to recent research.
The medical profession calls it tatt, short for "tired all the time". It's one of the most common complaints that doctors hear. The disappearance of rest from daily life is also one of the themes of a major new exhibition on sleep at the Wellcome Collection in London. Modern life is too demanding to turn out the lights and we're more sleep deprived than ever before. How can we get back in the habit of grabbing shut-eye?
We just aren't getting enough sleep and it's slipping down people's list of priorities. It seems modern life is just too demanding - and exciting - to switch off.
As a result sleep deprivation is becoming a national problem, say experts.
Sleep is so important because it allows the brain to recover from the rigours of the day. Not getting enough has been found to increase the risk of obesity, heart disease and depression. The government is keen to tackle these health issues, efforts doomed to failure unless getting enough sleep is made a priority as well.
"Sleep is as important as diet and exercise when it comes to the nation's health," says Doctor Neil Stanley, a sleep expert at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Source - BBC
The cures in your kitchen cupboards
Most of us keep the bathroom cabinet stocked with remedies for common ailments - but we could just as well look in our kitchen cupboards instead. Many everyday ingredients can double as home cures for a host of complaints, from toothache to sciatica - and with no worry of side-effects.
MOUTH ULCERS
Camomile tea can help soothe the pain of mouth ulcers, according to London GP Dr Rob Hicks. Allow the herbal brew to cool with the tea bag in, then swill liquid around the mouth before swallowing. Do this every couple of hours. It is thought the herb contains substances that relieve inflammation.
URINARY INFECTIONS
To relieve the pain of a urinary tract infection, such as cystitis, mix half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in an 8oz glass of water and drink, says Dr Jenni Byrom, a gynaecologist at Birmingham Women's Hospital. This changes the pH level of the acidic urine so that it will burn less when passing water. Do this once or twice a day at the first sign of infection.
Drinking a glass of homemade cranberry juice twice a day can also help, she says. Cranberry juice contains chemicals which inhibit the activity of E. coli - the bacteria most often responsible for cystitis. To make the juice, boil fresh or frozen cranberries until soft, liquidise when cool and drink a standard glass. This way you know you are getting the benefit of pure fresh fruit, unlike with a commercial drink which may be diluted and contain added sugar.
(Article continues)
Source - Daily Mail
MOUTH ULCERS
Camomile tea can help soothe the pain of mouth ulcers, according to London GP Dr Rob Hicks. Allow the herbal brew to cool with the tea bag in, then swill liquid around the mouth before swallowing. Do this every couple of hours. It is thought the herb contains substances that relieve inflammation.
URINARY INFECTIONS
To relieve the pain of a urinary tract infection, such as cystitis, mix half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in an 8oz glass of water and drink, says Dr Jenni Byrom, a gynaecologist at Birmingham Women's Hospital. This changes the pH level of the acidic urine so that it will burn less when passing water. Do this once or twice a day at the first sign of infection.
Drinking a glass of homemade cranberry juice twice a day can also help, she says. Cranberry juice contains chemicals which inhibit the activity of E. coli - the bacteria most often responsible for cystitis. To make the juice, boil fresh or frozen cranberries until soft, liquidise when cool and drink a standard glass. This way you know you are getting the benefit of pure fresh fruit, unlike with a commercial drink which may be diluted and contain added sugar.
(Article continues)
Source - Daily Mail
Healthy diet 'cuts dementia risk'
More evidence that a diet rich in oily fish and vegetables can reduce the chances of dementia later in life has been uncovered by scientists.
Studies published in US journals suggested that a "Mediterranean diet" or long-term beta-carotene supplements could ward off the illness. Both contain anti-oxidants, which could protect the brain from damage.
The Alzheimer's Society said that most people could cut their risk by eating a healthy diet. The first study, in the journal Neurology, looked at the diets of more than 8,000 healthy men and women aged over 65.
They found that those who regularly ate omega-3 oils, found in some cooking oils and certain types of fish, were far less likely to develop dementia over the following four year period. People who ate fish at least once a week had a 40% lower risk of dementia, while eating fruit and vegetables once a day reduced the risk by 35%.
However, eating other types of cooking oils containing omega-6 - such as sunflower oil - rather than omega-3 doubled the risk.
Dr Pascale Barberger-Gateau, from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Bordeaux, said: "These results could have considerable implications for public health."
The second study looked at the effects of beta-carotene supplements over an average of 18 years.
Source - BBC
Studies published in US journals suggested that a "Mediterranean diet" or long-term beta-carotene supplements could ward off the illness. Both contain anti-oxidants, which could protect the brain from damage.
The Alzheimer's Society said that most people could cut their risk by eating a healthy diet. The first study, in the journal Neurology, looked at the diets of more than 8,000 healthy men and women aged over 65.
They found that those who regularly ate omega-3 oils, found in some cooking oils and certain types of fish, were far less likely to develop dementia over the following four year period. People who ate fish at least once a week had a 40% lower risk of dementia, while eating fruit and vegetables once a day reduced the risk by 35%.
However, eating other types of cooking oils containing omega-6 - such as sunflower oil - rather than omega-3 doubled the risk.
Dr Pascale Barberger-Gateau, from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Bordeaux, said: "These results could have considerable implications for public health."
The second study looked at the effects of beta-carotene supplements over an average of 18 years.
Source - BBC
'Delay' in ADHD children's brains
The brains of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do not mature at the same rate as their peers, a US study says.
Researchers looked at 450 children - half of whom had ADHD - and found an average delay of three years in the development of the cortex. This, the brain's outer mantle, is key for both attention and planning.
Researchers say the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study may pave the way for new treatments.
The team from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) looked at when and where the brain reached peak "thickness", a marker of maturity.
Among the 223 youngsters with ADHD, half of 40,000 cortex sites examined reached peak thickness at 10.5, compared to age 7.5 in a matched group without the disorder. But the researchers did find that despite the delay, the brain does follow a normal pattern of development.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, in children with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help to explain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder," said Philip Shaw, the lead researcher.
Finding out why
Future studies will now look into why the delay happens, and examine ways of boosting recovery.
However UK experts warned that the findings do not indicate that children with ADHD "catch up" after the three year delay, as the brains of children without the disorder will continue to advance.
"During these later stages of development the cortex of the brain gets thinner due to a process called pruning which occurs as the brain refines its connections and becomes more organized," said Dr David Coghill of the University of Dundee.
Researchers looked at 450 children - half of whom had ADHD - and found an average delay of three years in the development of the cortex. This, the brain's outer mantle, is key for both attention and planning.
Researchers say the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study may pave the way for new treatments.
The team from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) looked at when and where the brain reached peak "thickness", a marker of maturity.
Among the 223 youngsters with ADHD, half of 40,000 cortex sites examined reached peak thickness at 10.5, compared to age 7.5 in a matched group without the disorder. But the researchers did find that despite the delay, the brain does follow a normal pattern of development.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, in children with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help to explain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder," said Philip Shaw, the lead researcher.
Finding out why
Future studies will now look into why the delay happens, and examine ways of boosting recovery.
However UK experts warned that the findings do not indicate that children with ADHD "catch up" after the three year delay, as the brains of children without the disorder will continue to advance.
"During these later stages of development the cortex of the brain gets thinner due to a process called pruning which occurs as the brain refines its connections and becomes more organized," said Dr David Coghill of the University of Dundee.
Pregnancy link to active children
Mothers who are active during pregnancy end up having children who do more exercise, research shows. Children are also more likely to be sporty if they have an autumn birthday, the findings suggest.
The Bristol University-led study of 5,500 11 to 12-year-olds, ruled out any biological factors, the British Medical Journal reported.
Instead, the researchers said active pregnant women were likely to continuing to do exercise after birth.
Role models
This meant that they set the children a good example and encouraged their children to get into good habits.
Lead researcher Calum Mattocks said: "The early pre-school years are so important. It seems if they see their parents doing regular exercise this will have a positive impact."
The team gathered data on 11 and 12-year-old children's activity over the course of at least three days, analysing these against several factors including how active mothers were during pregnancy.
They found the children of those that took part in regular brisk walking and swimming while pregnant ending up 3% to 4% more active.
It comes as statistics show child obesity has doubled in the last decade with one in four now obese.
Source - BBC
The Bristol University-led study of 5,500 11 to 12-year-olds, ruled out any biological factors, the British Medical Journal reported.
Instead, the researchers said active pregnant women were likely to continuing to do exercise after birth.
Role models
This meant that they set the children a good example and encouraged their children to get into good habits.
Lead researcher Calum Mattocks said: "The early pre-school years are so important. It seems if they see their parents doing regular exercise this will have a positive impact."
The team gathered data on 11 and 12-year-old children's activity over the course of at least three days, analysing these against several factors including how active mothers were during pregnancy.
They found the children of those that took part in regular brisk walking and swimming while pregnant ending up 3% to 4% more active.
It comes as statistics show child obesity has doubled in the last decade with one in four now obese.
Source - BBC
Dogs to sniff out owner diabetes
Researchers at a Belfast university are to investigate if dogs can sniff out diabetes.
Dr Deborah Wells, from the School of Psychology at Queen's, said there were anecdotal stories of dogs detecting a drop in blood sugar in their owners.
She and Dr Shaun Lawson, from the University of Lincoln, have been awarded £10,000 funding from Diabetes UK for a year-long study.
They want 100 Type One diabetics to complete an online survey.
The researchers are also seeking video footage of dogs reacting to their owner's 'hypos' or low blood sugar levels.
Source - BBC
Dr Deborah Wells, from the School of Psychology at Queen's, said there were anecdotal stories of dogs detecting a drop in blood sugar in their owners.
She and Dr Shaun Lawson, from the University of Lincoln, have been awarded £10,000 funding from Diabetes UK for a year-long study.
They want 100 Type One diabetics to complete an online survey.
The researchers are also seeking video footage of dogs reacting to their owner's 'hypos' or low blood sugar levels.
Source - BBC
Kids' TV can 'harm' children and hamper their development, study shows
WATCHING even an hour of popular children's television programmes such as Power Rangers or Scooby Doo can damage the intellectual development of children under the age of three, a study has shown.
Researchers say "violent" programmes targeted at children can double the chance of youngsters showing signs of attention deficit disorder.Dr Dimitri Christakis, associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Washington, said the first three years of a child's life involved critical brain development, specifically connections between neurons. Watching such programmes during this early period of brain "plasticity" meant children were being conditioned for a high level of stimulation which they were not going to get later in life.
With nearly a quarter of young children having a television in their bedroom, the latest findings will add to the debate about parents using the box as a "babysitter". This is the first time programme content has been investigated in such studies.
The research project found that popular shows such as Power Rangers, Lion King and Scooby Doo, involving fighting, hitting people, threats or other violence central to the plot, were shown to increase the signs of attention disorders.
But even "non-violent" entertainment such as Rugrats and The Flintstones carried a substantial risk of attention problems, but slighter lower.
Educational programmes such as Arthur, featuring the adventures of a well-adjusted anthropomorphic aardvark, or Barney the Dinosaur and Sesame Street had no adverse effects.
Source - Scotsman
Researchers say "violent" programmes targeted at children can double the chance of youngsters showing signs of attention deficit disorder.Dr Dimitri Christakis, associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Washington, said the first three years of a child's life involved critical brain development, specifically connections between neurons. Watching such programmes during this early period of brain "plasticity" meant children were being conditioned for a high level of stimulation which they were not going to get later in life.
With nearly a quarter of young children having a television in their bedroom, the latest findings will add to the debate about parents using the box as a "babysitter". This is the first time programme content has been investigated in such studies.
The research project found that popular shows such as Power Rangers, Lion King and Scooby Doo, involving fighting, hitting people, threats or other violence central to the plot, were shown to increase the signs of attention disorders.
But even "non-violent" entertainment such as Rugrats and The Flintstones carried a substantial risk of attention problems, but slighter lower.
Educational programmes such as Arthur, featuring the adventures of a well-adjusted anthropomorphic aardvark, or Barney the Dinosaur and Sesame Street had no adverse effects.
Source - Scotsman
Lack of B vitamins linked to obesity
BABIES whose mothers do not get enough essential B vitamins around the time of conception may grow up predisposed to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
A study of ewes showed that reducing their intake of B12 and folate prior to pregnancy produced major physical effects in their future offspring. At two, the young sheep were 25 per cent fatter than normal, had
A study of ewes showed that reducing their intake of B12 and folate prior to pregnancy produced major physical effects in their future offspring. At two, the young sheep were 25 per cent fatter than normal, had