Oh really?

You know me, I love a good – really useless – piece of research that anyone with a brain cell could have deduced in a nanosecond. In this case, you will be astounded to learn that if you give very young children swimming lessons it will apparently not increase their risk of drowning. I would have thought it would actually be helpful, but truly I could not make this up, and am indebted to the researchers at the National Institutes of Health in the USA for this truly revelatory information.

The research came about because apparently health professionals in the US are concerned that giving swimming lessons to children under 4 might indirectly increase drowning risk by making parents and caregivers less vigilant when the kids are in the water. While acknowledging that even good swimmers can drown, they want to reassure parents that teaching kids to swim won’t increase their risk.

So glad to have cleared that up for you, and if you know of any research grants available for studying the effects on blood pressure of lying on a couch reading Georgette Heyer novels do let me know, I could make medical history.

Small waist – Good lungs?

A trim waist is usually admired, for beauty if not for health, but now there’s an even better reason to avoid putting on weight around your midriff. There’s more bad news for people who carry excess weight around their middle because having a big waist measurement is now shown to affect your lungs. The study was done at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research on 120,000 Parisians and found that factors such as whether the subjects had been or were smokers did not impact their lung function as much as having a large waistline did.

If you are wondering what ‘large’ means, they defined it as over 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.

Another reason to drink wine

One of the fastest growing cancers is Barrett’s Esophagus, which is a precursor to oesophageal cancer. That cancer has increased 500 percent in the last 30 years so anything that can help prevent it is good news. Just one glass of red wine a day can lower that risk by 56 percent, according to a new study by the US Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and reported in the March issue of Gastroenterology.

This little known condition currently affects 5 percent of the US population and happens when heartburn or acid reflux permanently damages the oesophageal lining. Unfortunately those who develop Barrett’s Esophagus have a 30 – 40 fold higher risk of developing oesophageal cancer because of the Barrett’s Esophagus cells ability to mutate into cancer cells.

If you regularly suffer heartburn and take over the counter or prescribed medicines for it then you must check with your doctor on a regular basis because you will not get any warning signs that you may have this condition because it has no obvious symptoms. It is usually diagnosed when someone has an endoscopy for a bleeding ulcer or heartburn and the condition is revealed.

There is also no treatment available at the moment, so anything that helps prevent it is to be welcomed. In this case that means drinking a glass of wine (red or white – they don’t mention rose) every day and that will reduce your risk by 56 per cent. It’s only wine that does this – spirits or beer had no effect – at least on the Barrett’s Esophagus risk. Wine is already known to be beneficial for the heart, but why it works here is not really known. It may be that the antioxidants in the wine neutralize the oxidative damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux – a known risk factor for Barrett’s Esophagus. Or, because most people drink wine with their meals, that the food reduces the potential for damage to the tissue in the oesophagus.

Not a drinker? Then keep your weight down and increase your 5 a day of fruit and vegetables to at least 8 portions and that will also reduce your risk. This research is also backed up by other studies looking at the same issue in Australia and Ireland.

However, if you do constantly suffer from acid reflux and heartburn it would be better to tackle it directly with dietary and lifestyle changes, rather than relying on antacids. Achieving and maintaining a normal body weight and ensuring your diet is high in antioxidants with plenty of vegetables and fruit will go a long way to helping.

Gout in men helped by vitamin C

Crusty old colonels with their feet propped on a cushion and waving a glass of port is the popular stereotype of gout, but sadly the truth is far more common. Traditionally, gout has most commonly developed in middle aged and older people – mostly men – but the condition is now being seen in younger people and also more frequently in women. A recent report suggested that, in the UK, it had increased by about 17 percent between 2007 and 2008. The reasons for this increase are unclear but it may be linked with dietary change and obesity definitely seems to increase the risk of gout.

It’s caused by a build-up of uric acid in the blood which forms crystal deposits in and around the joints, a form of arthritis, which is what causes the pain and inflammation typical of the condition. However a new study in British Columbia, Vancouver, has some good news – at least for men. The researchers suggest that vitamin C might affect the reabsorption of uric acid by the kidneys, increase the speed at which the kidneys work, or protect against inflammation; all of which can reduce the risk of gout.

They examined the relationship between vitamin C intake and gout between 1986 and 2006 in 46,994 men and during 20 years of follow-up, 1,317 men developed gout. Compared with men who had a vitamin C intake of less than 250 milligrams per day, the relative risk of gout was 17 percent lower for those with a daily intake of 500 to 999 milligrams, 34 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,000 to 1,499 milligrams per day and 45 percent lower for those with an intake of 1,500 milligrams per day or higher. For every 500-milligram increase in their vitamin C intake, the men’s risk for gout appeared to decrease by 17 percent. Compared with men who did not take vitamin C supplements, those who took 1,000 to 1,499 supplemental milligrams per day had a 34 percent lower risk of gout and those who took 1,500 supplemental milligrams per day had a 45 percent lower risk. and vitamin C appears to reduce the levels of uric acid in the blood.

What all those boring statistics actually mean is that vitamin C definitely seems to lower a man’s risk of gout so it’s worth supplementing to a level of around 1000mg a day, best in two doses of 500mg if you have any history of gout in your family

The only thing you need to know about losing weight

There are a million diets out there, but if you want to lose weight the only thing you need to focus on is eating less. Obvious but true, and now Dr. Frank Sacks, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that confirms what – if you have any sense – you already know. No one diet is better than any other, just find one you like and take in fewer calories than you are currently consuming. You just need to get the ratio right between the calories you burn up, and the calories you take in and the ideal diet plan would be to have 750 fewer calories each day than you are expending.

The Professor tested out various heart-healthy diets and asked the participants to also exercise 90 minutes a week. They all lost on average around 13 lbs.after six months of dieting, or about 7% of their starting weight, regardless of which diet plan they followed. As ever I am astounded that anyone would pay good money to prove something we all know – and may not like, but that’s another issue – but the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute handed over the funds for the study and they were delighted with the findings. However, most of the participants couldn’t sustain that 750 calorie mark and most by the end of the trial consuming only 225 calories less than they expended.

The researchers concluded that this target was too high, and a gradual reduction is better, and I entirely agree with them. A small reduction in calorie intake that is gradual and sustained will see the best results and a weight loss of just 5 percent can make a substantial difference to your health. So whatever diet you choose just eat less, and exercise more = boring, but effective.

Chamomile tea helps diabetics control blood sugar

Chamomile, also known as manzanilla, is believed to contain more antioxidants than nearly any other natural dietary source. It is a long-established herbal remedy for relieving stress and anxiety, improving sleep, and many other common complaints.

Now it seems it may also be able to help diabetics control their blood sugar and prevent serious complication. Just by having a cup of chamomile tea with meals could help prevent the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications is the conclusion of a study jointly undertaken by the University of Toyama in Japan and Aberystwyth University in Wales.

Chamomile appeared to reduce the activity of an enzyme called aldose reductase, which plays an important role in sugar metabolism. Aldose reductase helps turn glucose into sorbitol, a different sugar. In diabetics, the build up of sorbitol has been directly linked to neuropathy and blindness, as this sugar moves across cell membranes less freely than glucose and thus has a tendency to build up in nerve and eye tissue.

Chamomile tea isn’t everyone’s favourite – I can’t stand it myself – but this might be worth a try. Some of the best teas with chamomile are from the American company Celestial Seasonings as they have a depth of flavour that others seem to lack, but experiment and see what you like – adding a squeeze of lemon might help too.

The amazing health benefits of coconut oil

Fresh coconut milk is great health drink, but did you know that pure coconut oil has an amazing range of benefits if you add just 3 tablespoons of it to your daily diet?

The countries where consumption of coconut products is highest have very little heart disease compared to the west. India, Sri Lanka and the Phillipines for instance have only 2 deaths per thousand for heart disease as against the USA where it accounts for nearly half of all deaths. The ‘western’ complaints of heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity are far less common in these countries and it seems that their consumption of coconut oil is why.

The recommendation is that we don’t take in more than 10 percent of our daily intake from saturated fats, but in these countries they are taking in a whopping 50 percent of their calories from saturated fat from coconut products. You would expect therefore that they would be seriously at risk and yet they show no evidence of the most common heart diseases in the population.

When the study put these people on a western diet, they began to develop heart disease within days to weeks, but when they went back to their normal coconut-based diet, the diseases disappeared. So adding coconut oil to your diet is a good thing, but it has to be the right kind. Avoid hydrogenated or refined oil and only go for pure, unrefined, organic, coconut oil as that is what research has shown is most effective. In fact avoid hydrogenated fats and oils of any kinds as they do encourage high cholesterol.

This latest research using pure coconut oil found that people on the study who were given it were healthier at the end of the study than those who consumed the refined and hydrogenated coconut and/or vegetable oils or a low fat diet. In some US hospitals it is even being added to adult nutrition formulas for tube feeding because it is so nutritious. It helps reduce cholesterol, balance blood sugar and improve energy. You can substitute pure coconut oil for any cooking or baking purpose, even frying, and spread it on your toast instead of butter.

Lack of sleep encourages colds

We all know that a good night’s sleep can make many things better, but it can also protect you from catching a cold. The less sleep you get, then the more at risk you are of developing a cold if you have been exposed to the virus according to a study conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. Sleep is vital to help the body repair and renew itself and a poor sleep pattern can lead to a compromised immune system. However it wasn’t before realised that something as ordinary as our reaction to a cold is dependent on us getting a good night’s sleep.

So how much is enough? In the study, people who slept an average of less than seven hours a night were nearly three times more likely to develop cold symptoms than people who slept eight or more hours a night. Restless sleeper? Well unfortunately you are nearly six times as likely to develop cold symptoms than those who put their head down and sleep right through.

Infertility drug used to treat alcoholism

You do one story on infertility and lo another turns up right after it – but from a different angle. It’s not uncommon for a newly developed drug for one condition to have other applications, and in this case a common drug prescribed for male and female infertility and menstrual disorders could hold the key to a more effective treatment for alcoholism. This is not a small problem either, currently around 1 in 12 of the population are believed to have problems with alcohol dependence or abuse.

This new research was carried out at MLA University of California in San Francisco on Cabergoline, which is marketed under the trade name Dostinex. It is prescribed to treat conditions caused by excess of the hormone prolactin but when tested in a laboratory trial on rats it apparently decreased their alcohol consumption. Didn’t know rats had a drink problem, but it was reported in the Biological Psychiatry journal and they seem quite excited about it.

The drug didn’t make the rats seek out more sugar or water but was specific on reducing their alcohol consumption. The scientists are excited because the current drugs used for treating alcoholism have a side effect that decreases the pleasure of drinking and so people are more reluctant to stick with the regime. Relapse is another major issue in alcohol treatment programmes and another benefit of cabergoline is that is was shown to be effective in reducing the alcohol craving and the rate of relapse. It has also been tested in a pilot study on cocaine addicts, and the results are encouraging as there seemed to be a reduction in the drug’s use.

Up ‘cell periscope’ and away!

We are so used to the wonders of technology these days that we are almost blasé about it, but if you had told me that a periscope might be a diagnostic tool I would have said you were kidding. Not so, because the world’s smallest version of the periscope is now being used to look at cells and other micro-organisms from several sides at once.

The magnification involved here is phenomenal and scientists from Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (who have invented it) are justly proud of their achievement. Standard laboratory microscopes can only see cells from above and this new 3D view is a major breakthrough. This ‘periscope’ is truly microscopic in size, with the walls being about the width of a human hair and – another breakthrough – they are inexpensive to produce, unlike other, more complex methods for 3D microscopy and could mean the end of the traditional laboratory microscope.

So far, the researchers have used the mirrored wells to examine how protozoa swim and cells divide as this method is particularly well suited for studying dynamic processes within cells because it can follow them in three dimensions.

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