Osteoporosis and red grapefruit

I have mentioned the health benefits of red grapefruit in a previous issue, and now it seems that the pulp may increase bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. At present it is estimated there are three million people with osteoporosis in the UK and that half of all women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone from having this condition.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have published the findings of their recent research in the journal Nutrition and it is good news for anyone at risk of osteoporosis or having a family history of it. Their trial was conducted on rats and found that when they divided the group into three and fed them a different diet. The rats given red grapefruit pulp in their diet showed significantly lower calcium loss from their bones and lower levels of urinary deoxypyridinoline.

Rats on the non grapefruit diet showed the exact opposite with higher levels of calcium loss and urinary deoxypyridinoline – both of which are indicators of bone bone breakdown and a greater risk of osteoporosis.

The more grapefruit the rats had, the greater the protection. So follow their example and eat red grapefruit every day to help ward off osteoporosis.

3D images of your arteries now on show!

I love science, it is amazing to see the developments and increase in our knowledge that would have seemed unimaginable a few years ago. You need healthy arteries, and up to now it hasn’t been possible to get an all round view of them to help your doctor and surgeon to get a complete picture of what is going on. Now, it is a reality according to a report this week from Massachusetts General Hospital. They have shown the first 3-D all round view of the lining of a patient’s right coronary artery and it revealed a recently placed stent and lipid deposits. No more guesswork for the surgeon as they will be able to see more clearly and check for areas of inflammation or the calcium or lipid deposits that can cause a heart attack. Mass General developed the optical frequency-domain imaging (OFDI) device to get the 3-D views inside a human artery. The previous imaging device made by the same investigators could only examine tissues one point at a time, but this one can look at more than 1,000 points of artery tissue. The surgeon uses the device to physically probe through the coronary artery and as wavelengths are emitted and reflected back, they can in seconds get the data they need to create the detailed microscopic images.

Dr. Gary Tearney, associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School sees very positive benefits for this new technology. “The wealth of information that we can now obtain will undoubtedly improve our ability to understand coronary artery disease and may allow cardiologists to diagnose and treat plaque before it leads to serious problems.” A further development is the combining of the OFDI probe with intravascular ultrasound as it is not able to penetrate deep into tissues. This was the first venture, and it is hoped to have it available to surgeons within 1-2 years.

Christmas caution

As a child I received a tin of Quality Street, a box of Black Magic, a chest of All Gold and various other chocolate treats every Christmas. After the war that kind of easy access to things we had done without was irresistible, now 60 odd years later we can see the dangers. A recent study in the USA of obese children as young as 10 showed that they had the arteries of 45-year-olds and other heart abnormalities that greatly raise their risk of heart disease. Currently about a third of American children are overweight and one-fifth are obese and although many parents think that this kind of puppy fat will melt away as they get older it is establishing eating patterns and health habits that are best avoided. Ultrasound tests on the children found that they also had more rigid arteries than was expected and this is a possible sign of plaque deposits starting to form. So if you are buying presents for children, exercise love with caution and cut down on the selection boxes and chocolate in general.

Natural Christmas ideas

You know how keen I am for you all to rush out and try a herbal tea occasionally, and this present makes it easy – and fun. Teastar is a beautifully coloured star containing a mix of individually wrapped organic loose leaf teabags. It comes from one of my favourite tea companies, called Today was Fun, and you don’t just get amazing teas you also get an inspirational message with each one to read while you wait for it to brew. Each star has a ribbon threaded through the top and once opened, the box is like an old fashioned paperyap yap toy. You can peer inside and choose which tea you’d like to brew and then read the individual message attached to each bag. At the end of a dinner party when the inevitable who wants coffee/tea/herbal question is asked you could just put the star in the middle open it up and ask people to choose which one they want. Each star contains 2 x Happiness teabags, 2 x Sleepy, 2 x Inspiration, 2 x Love and 2 x Friendship for £9.99. I would hold off on the sleepy tea though, unless it’s you who are hosting the party!

Now about those socks, obviously I wouldn’t suggest anything so mundane but one idea I did find at the Mind Body Exhibition was some very ‘Star Trek’ looking socks. They have been designed by a reflexologist to help relieve pain and have unique patented ridges which stimulate specific reflexology zones on the bottom of the feet as you walk or stand. They look odd, but then who is going to see them inside your shoes? They have good testimonials from satisfied users, and are machine washable and apparently 91% of wearers say Reflosocks help to alleviate their aches and pains. Go have a look at www.reflotherapies.co.uk

The power of potted plants

The idea that plants can help your health is not a new one. I can remember everyone in my office in the 1970′s bringing in spider plants as there was a theory that they would help to have near a computer. It’s not just a theory, as many users have claimed they are effective in removing potentially harmful chemicals-including those in paints, varnishes, dry cleaning fluids, car exhaust fumes and tobacco smoke-from the air in your home.

The top 9 Air Purifying Plants are:

Dragon tree
Ivy
Ficus
Philodendrons
Spider plants
Peace lilies
Ferns
Chrysanthemums
Palms

Till now this has been anecdotal evidence – the kind I most like as it means that real people have found real results with it – but now, Japanese scientists are developing genetically engineered plants that can absorb formaldehyde. This is a pungent chemical compound used as adhesive in building materials and furnishing and is seen as a major factor in what is known as sick-house syndrome. This is now more common as people experience headaches, dizziness and other health problems triggered by the chemicals now found in most homes.

Researchers expect the plants to absorb formaldehyde, along with carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, and they found that the level of toxic gas fell to around one-tenth of the original level. They are now trying to apply the technology to common foliage plants, but in the meantime I am going out to buy some more spider plants and a large bunch of chrysanthemums.

Laughter yoga

With so much doom and gloom around we need all the help we can get, and this wonderful therapy is based on something we all knew when we were children. When you laugh, you feel better but sadly although children laugh about 400 times a day that has been whittled down to a mere 15 times when we are all grown up.

Developed by Madan Kataria, a family physician from India, laughter yoga is not really about humour (or yoga), but rather exploits the natural human tendency to laugh when others laugh, so you initiate it and see who joins in. Try smiling generously when you greet someone and you will see it returned, expand a smile into a laugh and people will join in. You can feel inhibited, embarrassed or a complete loon – or you could just decide today is your day to have some fun because research shows that when a group of people forces laughter, it quickly transitions to real, spontaneous laughing.

It is also a great stress reliever and particularly works well for companies to create a positive work environment. Laughter Solutions devise Laughter Workshops, Training and Team Building sessions, and they point out the health benefits of some good hearty laughter. It will naturally increase oxygen levels in the body and releases endorphins from the brain cells, to promote a sense of well- being and raise existing energy levels.

If you are lucky enough to live in Ireland, then you have easy access to their services and they can of course travel to the UK to bring the gift of laughter to your company. Founded and run by Anne McDonald, a creative artist, coach and Laughter expert, I can’t recommend them highly enough. She certainly made me laugh – do wear waterproof mascara if you attend one of her workshops, or none at all if you don’t want to look like a panda from the tears running down your face. As two satisfied customers said, “It’s the most fun I have ever had in a business suit.” “I laughed till I cried and felt a million dollars afterward.”

You will find Anne McDonald at www.mcdonaldcoaching.com/laughter.htm

Enforced vaccinations?

The subject of vaccinations for children is an emotional subject with parents feeling strongly for and against. I don’t have children so I can’t say what I would do, but I do believe strongly in the individual’s right to choose. That is why I want to draw your attention to a petition before Parliament by Mary Creary, a Labour MP. She wants to make vaccinations compulsory for children and if parents refuse she suggests their children should not be allowed to attend school and the parents should not receive child benefits.

Many alternative therapists, particularly homoeopaths, are against wholesale vaccination on health grounds as they can compromise the immune system of a developing child and they have got up a petition to voice their protests. Anyone can sign who wishes to and they have nearly six and a half thousand signatures so far.

The closing date to sign online is 29th November so you don’t have much time to make your voice heard. Here’s the link: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/forcedvaccines/

This is now closed – You can still see the results of the petition online at the link above.

Breakthrough for wheelchair users

Manually operated wheelchairs can take a lot of effort, but a new British invention which can be attached to any standard wheelchair can reduce the force you need to propel it by a staggering 40%. This means that the user can go further with greater ease, and with less strain on the body. This revolutionary system was conceived by Robert Orford when he was just 19 and after six years of research and development, helped by Professor Michael Craggs, Director of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the NuDrive system is available in the UK.

Disabled writer and BBC presenter Lara Masters, spoke about the challenges disabled people face and the need to be resourceful: “I try to see my physical restrictions as creative challenges and NuDrive symbolises my philosophy by presenting an opportunity for wheelchair users to maximise the potential of their “pushing power”, she said at the launch in October. With NuDrive, the user can propel themselves forwards and backwards, manoeuvre and brake, simply by pushing the levers – there’s no need to spin the wheel rims by hand. This improves posture and shifts the shoulder loading, helping to prevent shoulder strain and injury. It also makes going over uneven ground and up inclines a lot easier.

The ergonomically designed Drive Units allow users with arthritic or weak hands to self-propel as it requires no finger or hand dexterity. By removing the need to grip and release the wheel rims, NuDrive also eliminates the threat of Repetitive Strain Injury, protects hands from abrasion, and keeps your hands clean too. NuDrive attaches in seconds to almost any manual wheelchair with 24inch metal spoked wheels so there’s no need to buy a new chair. The concept is simple, but the technology is cutting edge and wheelchair users with a range of medical conditions and disabilities were involved throughout the research.

NuDrive costs around £349 and is 0% VAT rated, and what I particularly liked is that the company only employs qualified physiotherapists as sales clinicians to make sure you get the right advice as to whether it is suitable for you or not. For more information go to www.nu-drive.com where there is a interesting video on how it can improve the performance of your wheelchair, and reduce the strain on you.

Keep warm, keep costs down

Lowering the thermostat will help your bills, but you don’t want to get cold. If you want to increase your temperature generally, exercise can make a difference as it gives you a better blood flow to hands and feet. What you perceive as cold also depends on what you are used to. If you heat your home to a higher temperature than your neighbour you are always going to feel colder in their house, even though to them it may seem perfectly warm. A Canadian study found recently that mood can influence how hot or cold we feel and depression and loneliness make us more aware of the temperature. To stay warm, exercise, be more social and get enough sleep – and a big enough share of the duvet.

Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

** That big yeti like jumper may feel cosy, but you would do better with several thin layers, not one thick one.

** Bedsocks and a nightcap may seem like something from an old movie, but keeping your head and feet warm will pay dividends. Invest in a red santa hat and pretend Christmas has come early.

** Hot food, eaten regularly keeps your system stoked up and make sure you have plenty of carbohydrates as they provide long lasting heat sustenance. There is a reason stews and soups are so popular in winter, it’s not just their psychological effect, but the slow breakdown of those potatoes and pulses keep you warmer longer.

** Check your central heating thermostat and if it’s over 21C-24C then try reducing it to that optimum level.

** Alcohol and caffeine may seem like a good idea but they both increase blood flow to the skin, so you are actually losing heat.

** Keep moving as even small amounts of exercise will help. Don’t have the remote next to your chair, get up and walk a little – and make a cup of tea while you are up. to Avoid drinking too much of either if you’re trying to stay warm. Both

** Use your mind to make you warmer. If you are somewhere cold that you can’t control the temperature, just visualise somewhere hot and you will actually feel warmer. It works equally in reverse, so in summer imagine rubbing your feet on a nice cold ice floe – if there’s still one left.

Men – Relinquish that duvet!

The nightly battle of the duvet is an unreported phenomena of sharing a bed – and women seem to come off worse. No one has yet shelled out research money to find out why even the smallest and slightest of men has the grip of a stevedore when it comes to holding onto the duvet and hauling it over to their side of the bed – and I am sure someone will manage to get a grant after I have mentioned it! Well, appealing to your better nature chaps, although there is a lot of variation in how individuals feel the cold depending on a number of factors such as age, fitness, diet and sleep pattern there is one factor that is constant. Women tend to feel the cold more than men do – although I would say menopausal women are exempt from this as hot flushes can heat an entire room never mind a double bed.

Happily there is an expert to tell us why, and according to Mike Tipton, Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Portsmouth, it’s because we evolved on the Equator which makes us creatures of the Tropics. Since we all moved out to explore the world with our cooking pots and mammoths on a string, we have learned to reproduce our hot homeland by learning how to build fires and inventing central heating.

Although we feel hot and cold throughout the day, our core body temperature – that of our vital organs – is always kept at about 37C and we must maintain that level for survival. Just a 2C drop can cause hypothermia, a 12C drop results in death. If you want to keep, and feel, warm this winter you need to concentrate on your hands and feet. This is particularly important for women as research shows that they are better at conserving heat than men because they have a more evenly distributed fat layer and can pull all their blood back to their core organs. It’s thought that women do this because they carry less fat and muscle mass than men, and so need a more efficient technique of protecting their core body temperature. Next time someone suggests you are a bit overweight try blaming your core organs, it’s much more effective that saying you just can’t resist an extra biscuit.

BUT, because women operate in this way it means that less blood flows to their hands and feet, and as a result they feel cold – certainly colder than men usually do.

There are a number of factors that can affect how cold women feel, menopause obviously is one and so are various points of the menstrual cycle where the core body temperature can often vary by more than 1C. Most of us recognise that when we are tired we are also more sensitive to changes in temperature and feel the cold more, and as our body temperature falls at night, that’s when we women feel it most as they reach their minimum body temperature quicker than men.

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