Lead-free for Christmas

Christmas means toys but if you are not careful it could also mean poison. The health dangers of lead are well known, and can cause blood and nervous system disorders, and even lead to death in extreme overdose cases. Children are particularly vulnerable, and although the recommended international safety limit is 0.06%, (the UK limit is 0.1%), experts believe that even such low levels can affect children’s intellectual development.

Dr Gill Lewendon, acting director of public health for North and East Cornwall Primary Care Trust, has carried out research looking at the effect of lead on children and she has said, ” research suggests there’s actually no safe level of lead in the blood.” Although she is conscious of the success achieved in reducing lead levels by introducing lead-free petrol and taking lead out of paint the reality is that some items do slip through. Children’s toys often find their way into their mouths so there has been a highly effective campaign that has made using lead based paint in children’s toys virtually unknown in the UK. However, imports are a different matter and China in particular does not have a good track record in this instance. Although there is legislation covering toys imported here, there is nothing covering children’s jewellery and high levels of lead have previously been found in such items. Shopping for Christmas, be aware of this and check the point of origin of anything you are buying.

Also, if you are planning on buying yourself a new computer this Christmas the good news is that the Intel Corp. has announced plans to stop using lead as a soldering agent in its microprocessors. Lead is particularly useful as a semiconductor, due to its specific electrical and mechanical properties. Intel began phasing out the use of lead in its products in 2002, with the introduction of a tin-silver-copper soldering alloy. This alloy had replaced lead as a soldering agent in nearly all Intel chip sets and processors by 2004, with the exception of 0.02 grams of lead that continued to be used inside each chip. This small amount will now be eliminated entirely by using a tin-silver-copper alloy, beginning with the Penryn line of processors. The company plans to have its microprocessors be lead-free by the end of this year, and to phase out lead in its 65-nanometer-process chips in 2008.

Science Fiction Comes to Life

In my teens I was a great science fiction fan, particularly the ‘golden age’ of the 1930′s to the 1950′s. I have watched bemused as so much they wrote about has come true. The idea of a meal in a box ready in minutes in a small microwave was laughable in the 1950′s and the replacing of currency with plastic was another source of entertainment. These guys were clearly highly creative, and mad as hatters. However, one of the final areas of their predictions is now in sight. Personalised medicine, where you get treatment specifically tailored to your unique genetic profile, has been one of the main dreams of the gene revolution and it was hoped that, but putting it into practice is proving tough. The decoding of the human genome in 2000 sparked hopes that a new era of tailored medicine was just around the corner and although small advances have been made it is now looking like another 20 years before it is a true reality. In fact, uncovering the genetic differences that determine how a person responds to a drug, and developing tests, or biomarkers, for those differences, is proving more challenging than initially hoped. At the Reuters Health Summit in New York last week, major drug manufacturers met to discuss this new field of Pharmacogenetics and although they could not promise widespread innovation in the short term they are optimistic that there will be very specific examples available that are currently being developed.

We are all aware of the ‘hit and miss’ prescribing that goes on – particularly for complex diseases like depression – where an individual’s reaction to the prescribed drugs are so variable and that frequently many different prescriptions have to be tried before finding the combination, or single drug, that makes the difference.

It will make future prescribing infinitely more accurate, with no risk of adverse drug reactions, so although it is not here yet, it really is on the way.

Alternative Screening for Colon Cancer

A colonoscopy is the normal method of screening for colon cancer, but it is invasive and unpleasant.

Now there is news of an alternative method called computed tomographic colonography (CTC) which has been developed over the past few years. This method is also known as “virtual colonoscopy” because it’s minimally invasive, requiring a catheter to be inserted into the rectum to fill the colon with air, followed by non-invasive optical scan. It may be less invasive, but is it as effective in detecting colon cancer? A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported this month on US researchers at the University of Wisconsin Medical School who set out to find the answer. They compared similar numbers of patients who had undertaken one or other of the screening methods and found that with traditional colonoscopy screening 123 advanced tumours were found, compared to 121 in the CTC group which is not a significant difference statistically, but vital to the two people whose tumours were detected.

There is a drawback to traditional screening in that perforating the colon during the procedure is a risk, and in fact this occurred on 7 occasions during the study while it is obviously not a risk with CTC.

Another difference is that traditional colonoscopy routinely removes all polyps that are detected, and in fact 2,434 were removed as against only 561 for those having CTC screening. This huge difference is not about whether the polyps are detected, but arose from the fact that patients were given the option of leaving very small polyps in place or undergoing an additional procedure to remove them. It’s certainly true that very small polyps may never become a problem, but with a traditional colonoscopy they are automatically removed before they can develop further. However, in the Wisconsin study 8% of the patients underwent a follow-up colonscopy after undergoing CTC.

On balance the researchers concluded that traditional colonoscopy was still the safest and most effective screening treatment at the moment.

Preventing Childhood Allergies

As any parent will tell you, the rise of allergies amongst children is almost epidemic with asthma being a particular concern. To avoid lengthy testing and treatment prevention has got to be the better option.

There is now evidence from a Spanish study on children from birth to 6 years of age that if their diet has over 40 grams of vegetables daily (about a third of a cup) then they were less likely to suffer with symptoms of childhood asthma.

The study showed that some vegetables were more effective than others and these included cucumber, tomato, aubergine, green beans and courgettes. If you want to really protect children from inherited childhood allergies, the study done in Menorca also showed that if the same children were given small, regular, helpings of omega-3 fish such as mackerel, tuna, herring, sardines or salmon then they were less likely to from genetically inherited childhood allergies.

How do they do that? These vegetables and the oily fish contain high levels of antioxidants and are also anti-inflammatory. This means that they produce a protective and healing effect on the bronchial passageways thus offering some protection from allergies and asthma.

Decaffeinated doesn’t always mean caffeine-free

Did you know you can get withdrawal symptoms like headache and sluggishness from just 100mg of

caffeine? That’s why many people choose to reduce their caffeine intake for their health’s sake and switch to decaffeinated coffee for at least part of their daily consumption. They do this on the confident belief that when they see the words ‘caffeine-free’ that meant that the product contained no caffeine or at least only very tiny amounts. However, that is not the case as the people from the Consumer Reports organisation recently found out.

They sent out a team of ‘secret shoppers’ with the arduous task of buying cups of decaffeinated and ‘normal’ coffee from six major US concerns: Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Seattle’s Best, 7-11, McDonald’s and Burger King. At least four of those brands are available in the UK and Europe and the results were not impressive when the different coffees were analysed for their caffeine content.

If you drink a can of coca cola or pepsi – the regular kind – you are getting around 30mgs of caffeine, but you get over that (32mg) if you got a decaf from Dunkin’ Donuts. Containing a third less caffeine, but still weighing in at a whopping 20mg was Starbucks. If you want to get coffee with the lowest caffeine levels (in a decaffeinated blend) then McDonalds came out best with less than 5 mgs.

If you like your caffeine content to be high, then again the amount varies wildly. In a 120z cup the levels ranged from 58-281 mgs – and at that highest level it’s practically giving your nervous system the equivalent of an electric shock.

What’s the answer? Don’t worry so much about the levels, but monitor the effect on your nervous system – if the coffee revs you up and boosts your adrenalin levels so you feel an increased heart rate, or perhaps jumpy and nervous, then you know you are getting a caffeine hit – whatever the label says. Herb tea anyone?

Think Z’s for winter protection

I am not talking about catching up on your sleep, though winter is the time for slowing down and even hibernating if you are a bear! Z is for zinc and although perhaps it’s best known, and most popular effect is on the sex drive, it is also essential for supporting the immune system.

Many people get shots for flu or pneumonia with the onset of winter, but their effectiveness is reduced if you don’t have a strong immune system to help support their benefits. It’s a bit like swallowing vitamins to help your health,but not eating regularly or well – they will not do the job on their own. The truth is that once you get over the age of 55, you are likely to have a zinc deficiency and this leads to a greater susceptibility to infections, and increased oxidative stress. The good news is that this is easily reversed by taking a zinc supplement for just one year. The suggested dose is 45mg daily and a US study that showed that just that amount reduced the incidence of infections and inflammation. Speaking specifically about pneumonia, there is a new study from the Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in the US that looked at residents in Nursing homes in Boston. Half the residents were given a placebo, and half given daily supplements of vitamins, including zinc. The trial lasted a year and at the end of it everyone was given a blood test to check their zinc levels. Interestingly the trial only gave people half the recommended dietary allowance, and yet those who received the supplements and had nearly normal zinc levels had less incidence and duration of pneumonia, together with less use of antibiotics. Of those who were given antibiotics, the patients with low blood levels of zinc needed greater amounts than those with reasonable zinc levels.

The researchers were very clear that taking zinc supplements could help the over 55′s to reduce the frequency and serious effects of attacks of pneumonia – which can be fatal in vulnerable patients.

Although the US study suggested 45mg a day for supplementation, the RDA (recommended daily allowance) is just 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women. Many nutritionists consider the RDA to be far too low but you might want to start with that and gradually increase the amount – or talk it over with your doctor if you are concerned.

Need more reasons to up your zinc levels? As well as helping protect your immune system zinc is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, protects your eyes from age-related macular degeneration and it inhibits the abnormal blood clotting that contributes to heart disease. Don’t like supplements? Make a point of adding zinc-rich foods to your daily diet such as red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains, and dairy products. Two of the best sources are oysters and cabbage, though not at the same time if you have any respect for your taste buds!

Women smokers at greater risk for heart attacks

Traditionally women have enjoyed a natural shield against a major cardiac event such as a heart attack. Being a woman has ensured a huge nine year barrier before women become more prone to heart disease, but now a new finding has been reported by the American Heart Association. A study of more than 7,000 men and women undertaken at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has found that women who smoke eliminate that beneficial barrier and their risk of a heart attack is exactly the same as a man’s.

In real terms, this means that up to now, women who do not smoke would not normally present with heart problems until on average around the age of 71 but women smokers are being seen with heart problems at around the age of 62. That is a loss of nine years, but if you need an even greater incentive to give up – or persuade the woman in your life to do so = then the researchers also found that if a woman quits smoking for at least six months, her risk factors for heart attacks reverts to average.

Interestingly, the analysis of men showed virtually the same, although men only lost 3.8 years because of smoking. Men who didn’t smoke tended to show up with a heart attack at age 61; men who smoked showed up at the emergency room when they were 57.

A final cheery note from the director of the New York University Women’s Health Program. “Smoking among women causes heart attacks, lung disease, and wrinkles so this study is just another reason for women to quit or never start. It takes nine years off your life.”

Three minutes a day for a better back

Suffering from back pain and poor posture is sadly all too frequent these days. We spend a lot of time sitting for long periods, whether at a computer or in front of a television and what our back needs is gentle and regular stretching and exercise.

Visiting a chiropracter is essential for serious or chronic back problems, but if you want a simple, preventive routine then the British Chiropractic Association have devised a three minute daily stretching routine that will improve your posture and strengthen your spine. The exercises have delightful names like Twirling Star, Humming Bird and Butterfly – or if you are feeling a little more warrior-like there is also Extending the Sword and Tightrope.

They also offer you some good advice, like checking the weight of your bag or briefcase and dumping any unnecessary items out and implementing the ten minute rule – if it takes less than that to walk, then do so and leave the car at home.

To get your copy call the British Chiropractic Association on 0118 950 5950 or download a copy straight from the web, it’s only a couple of A4 pages at www.straightenupuk.org and click on the downloads link. There are two leaflets, one for adults and one for children, just click on the one you want, print it out and off you go on your way to a healthier back.

Is organic always worth it?

The sales of organic food has rocketed with our increasing concern about the effects of herbicides, pesticides and pollution. However, it can be an expensive alternative and recent research has shown that for some foods it is worth paying the difference, but not for others. Here’s how it checks out:

- Organic whole milk was shown to contain 68% more beneficial omega 3 fatty acids in one UK study

- Potatoes and Green Beans both have a much higher vitamin C content than their non-organic equivalent

- Peaches contain more nutrients in terms of their vitamin content when organically grown

- Kiwi fruit studied by the University of California scientists were revealed to have 17% more cancer-busting polyphenols and 14% more vitamin C than non-organic fruit

BUT if bananas are your favourite fruit, don’t waste your money buying organic as one study found that the fruit was so well protected by its thick skin from the 50 or more chemicals routinely used during growing and storage that virtually no trace was found of them in the fruit itself.

Natural remedy for cold sores

Lemon Balm is best known for its calming properties, and has been used for centuries as a mild form of tranquilliser, (a sort of medieval form of Valium if you like), and it has properties that inhibit bacteria and viruses. It now appears that it can also help you with one of winter’s biggest bugbears, cold sores. A study carried out in Germany at the University of Heidelberg has found that the plant contains a naturally occurring ingredient that actually stops the herpes virus from getting into the skin cells. If you are prone to this unpleasant and unsightly condition, then get a natural lip balm from the health store that contains the herb, or make a daily cup of lemon balm tea part of your winter regime – it makes a very refreshing herbal tea and would be a very calming start, or end, to the day – certainly a bit healthier than coffee!

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