Omega-3 health benefits for babies

Despite the known benefits of omega-3 for a healthy heart, immune support and guarding against dementia, less than a quarter of British adults fail to reach even their basic requirement needs.

Now it seems that it is even more important for babies, but they need to have their supply from their mother while in the womb. In a detailed review of existing published scientific papers, published in Nutrition and Food Science Journal, leading dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton and Dr Emma Derbyshire, senior lecturer in Human Nutrition at Manchester Metropolitan University, examined the role and scope of omega-3 EFAs on health, as well as the likely intake needed to produce good results.

Baby asthma and eczema can be very distressing for new parents, and one discovery from their research has suggested that women who take fish oil capsules during pregnancy, and while breast feeding, may reduce the risk of asthma and eczema in their babies and aid normal brain and eye development. It also has benefit for the mother as having a good intake of Omega-3 can also reduce post-natal depression.

The benefits for the baby continue into childhood as it seems that children whose mothers had taken cod liver oil capsules (containing DHA and EPA) during later pregnancy scored considerably higher on mental processing tests than children whose mothers had taken a placebo during the research.

You may think you get enough Omega-3 from your diet, but the omega-3 content of certain foods is becoming more limited due to changes in farming practice, and if you eat fortified foods then they contain very little. Additionally, in the UK we are not meeting the Food Standards Agency’s recommended levels of fish intake by a long margin – and that’s another good source of Omega-3. Most adults would benefit from an Omega-3 supplement, and certainly anyone planning a family, or pregnant, needs to be its benefits in mind.

Adult obesity drugs given to children

Drugs that are licensed in the UK to be used only in adults for obesity are apparently being increasingly prescribed for children. Adolescents and children are being prescribed these drugs, and there has been a 15-fold rise since 1999. The fact they are not licensed for children is a cause for concern, but on the upside it seems that most stop using them before they could expect to see any benefit, usually after 3 months.

A recent study, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, shows under 18′s being given prescriptions for Orlistat, also known as Xenical or Alli. Orlistat has been approved for children as young as 12 in the US, but only for adults in the UK. It’s not known why they stop talking them so soon, but one theory by Russell Viner, one of the authors of the study based at the General & Adolescent Paediatrics Unit at University College London, is either they have excessive side effects or those taking them they could be expecting the drugs to deliver a miracle quick fix and stop using them when sudden, rapid, weight loss does not occur.

One form of Orlistat, Alli, is available now in the UK over the counter as a weight loss aid, but one of the potential side effects that occur is loose, oily stools if the overall fat intake is not reduced. The issue here, particularly for children, is that anti-obesity drugs are not the sole answer; they need to be used as part of a comprehensive weight-loss programme which includes both exercise and good nutrition.

Bees can fight tumours

The poor old bees, they are already under threat as their habitat is destroyed and now science has found a new use for them there may be even fewer. It’s down to their sting, because they pump toxic venom into their victims which has been analysed and now harnessed to kill tumour cells by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees. Good to know scientists have a sense of humour, bless them, and they found that in mice the bee toxin melittin stopped tumours from growing or shrank them. Hopefully this means they will have a good incentive to also start working out a way to prevent the bees from dying out altogether.

Music therapy helps stroke patients

By now, you all know my feelings on the healing power of music and a new study from Italy gives you another tool to use for anyone who has had a stroke.

The researchers examined the effects that different types of opera and classical music have on cardiovascular measures and they saws distinct physical changes. A fast tempo prompted increased blood pressure and faster breathing and heart rates. Slower tempo lowered blood pressure and brought down heart and breathing rates.

Despite what you might assume, it seems that quiet, soothing music is actually not the best music for the heart. You want something that alternates tempo between slower and faster, as well as lower and higher volumes. They recommend Nessun Dorma as being ideas as it is beneficial for both heart rate and general circulation.

Specifically for stroke patients, Diana Greenman (who heads up a UK charity that brings live music to hospitals and hospices) has said that she hears time and again of stroke patients who suddenly are able to move in time to the music after previously being paralyzed. Sounds pretty amazing, and there is proof to back it up in a study from the University of Helsinki.

Researchers there recruited 60 stroke patients who were divided into three groups; some listened to whatever music they liked, some to audio books, and some had no specific listening plan. All the patients were also receiving standard treatment for stroke rehabilitation. After three months, testing showed that focused attention and mental operation abilities improved by 17 per cent in the music group, but didn’t improve at all in the other two groups. Verbal memory scores were even more impressive: Music group: 60 per cent improvement. Audio books group: 18 per cent. Non-listening group: 29 per cent. Subjects in the music group also tended to be less confused and less depressed than subjects in the other two groups.

One stroke expert has said that more research is needed before widespread use of music as therapy can be recommended for stroke victims. As there are no side effects and plenty of benefits you have to wonder how much more research is needed. If you are in contact with a stroke patient, music therapy is best started as soon as possible, so go out and get a copy of Nessum Dorma and it will lift everybody’s spirit.

Cognitive therapy helps insomnia & pain

Sufferers from osteoarthritis often experience sleeplessness and around 60 percent report feeling pain at night due to their condition. Now some new research suggests cognitive behavioural therapy could be an effective way of dealing with the problem.

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has reported on a study done at the University of Washington, USA that specifically tested behavioural therapy on patients with arthritis. The majority of the test subjects were female, so it can’t be deemed conclusive for men as well, but the older adults in the study initially reported sleeping 21 minutes longer per night on average and 27 minutes longer a year after treatment.

That might not sound like much, but for anyone who has known the exhaustion of sleep deprivation then any increase is a bonus. Further, the patients also experienced a significant reduction in arthritis pain compared to those in a control group.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a well established method for helping facilitate behavioural change and attitude. For the study the subjects took part in for two months in weekly two-hour group classes led by an experienced clinical psychologist. They were put on a strict schedule of bedtimes and waking times, beginning with the amount of time they were actually sleeping told to lie in bed awake no longer than 15 minutes and to engage in no activities in bed other than sleep and sex. If they began to spend more of their time in bed asleep, their hours of sleep were increased by a maximum of one-half hour each week.

Cognitive restructuring techniques helped participants change unrealistic beliefs and irrational fears regarding sleep or lack of it. They also received relaxation training and instruction about other factors that might affect their sleep, such as getting enough sunlight and exercise and avoiding alcohol and caffeine.

They kept both sleep and pain logs and for the majority in the study there was a definite, and continued, improvement in both these areas. since most of the participants were women.

Men are better than women at dieting

Most men do not embrace the concept of dieting unless pushed to it by a health problem or a few gentle (ie nagging) remarks from their partner. But research shows that when they do decide to got it they are better at it than women.

Men have not been well served by the diet industry, partly because of inertia, but also because of embarrassment. The traditional dieting aids for women like slimming groups just do not attract men. Do not despair though because I have found a couple of resources that can really help.

First is a clever woman who realised men don’t like dieting in public, for example asking for a gin and slimline tonic still isn’t quite the thing – and actually from a health point of view that slimline tonic is worthless. It may have fewer calories but it also has a cocktail of chemicals in it – go for the real thing and get the benefit!

Jeni Blaskett decided to create a slimming group in which men would flourish and lose weight. One that meant that men could go about their daily routines without feeling they were losing face so she set up a website www.Beltdown.com exclusively for men

Beltdown’s key diet plan principle is unique, and couldn’t be easier to follow – ‘If you can’t wash it, try to avoid it’. So a cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms makes it onto the tick list, cake and biscuits do not. The website has plenty of info aimed specifically at men, such as which are the lowest calorie beers and curries, and the format allows for men to stay totally anonymous, whilst still getting the challenge, competitiveness and interaction of a group – but online.

If you have an internet connection, it costs £8 a month membership and is available 24/7 – so no more excuses skip over to www.beltdown.com

Men only

If you want a programme designed by a man who has been there and done that himself, then I can recommend Robert Paterson’s book ‘Warriors’. He found the same problems in going to slimming groups as Jeni describes so he put together a very successful programme that has all the elements needed for successful weight loss. It is particularly aimed at those who have found success in their careers but who, due to hectic lifestyles and lack of time, have lost their healthy body in the process.

He created a specially developed ‘business plan’ to show you how to: – Set targets you can meet – Devise sensible day-to-day eating plans – Motivate yourself when the going gets tough – Achieve long term success – Treat your body as your business

Robert was an international banker weighing 22 stone who lost 8 stone on his regime, and kept the weight off. He is now Chairman of the Emerging Markets Group and Chairman of Performance Consultants, Brasil. He is a spokesman for the British Heart Foundation and regularly competes in events to raise funds for them. You will find his book on Amazon by typing in his name and Warriors in their search box.

Complete Exercise Kit for Pregnancy

Celebrity mums go overboard in trying to return to their pre-baby shape, but there is a simpler solution that any pregnant woman can turn to.

Exercise is available to everyone through classes and videos, but there is a new solution in The Miracle Box. This kit contains an exercise/birthing ball recommended by midwives for core strength, posture and back pain relief during pregnancy and can also be used during labour to help with pain and to get baby in the right position.

The kit has three specific wall charts, one for exercise during pregnancy, one for postnatal exercise and one for general toning along with access to online charts showing you the exercises to make sure that using the exercise/birthing ball is both fun and effective. You also get a free DVD to show you simple, safe and effective core and pelvic floor exercises to strengthen muscles and get you back in shape.

Good for any expectant mum, and an ideal present so find out more at The Miracle Box website at www.themiraclebox.co.uk

New bone implants on the way

Throughout our lives our bones continue to break down, and be replaced with new material as part of our body’s natural cycle of growth. However, when whole bones need to be replaced after tumours, or accidents, then there has so far been no way to successfully grow replacement bones. It happened in fiction with J K Rowling’s description of Skele-Gro which magically re-grows bones in around 8 to 12 hours and is a very painful process. Many women with osteoporosis find that using a natural bone growth promoter like natural progesterone may take longer but certainly isn’t painful!

Not sure if the scientists at Imperial College London had this in mind, but it seems that there is a worldwide interest in producing bone-like materials derived from stem cells with stem cell technology. The research results were recently published in the journal Nature Materials and it is hoped will be able to be implanted into patients who have damaged or fractured bones, or who have had parts of diseased bones removed. The idea is that, ultimately, these bone-like materials could be inserted into cavities so that real bone could meld with it and repair the bone.

It is currently possible to grow small ‘nodules’ of what appear to be bone-like material in the laboratory from different types of bone cells and stem cells. It is these different types of material that the scientists from Imperial College London have been comparing and they have discovered significant differences between the quality of the bone-like material that these can form.

For example, they found that materials grown from bone cells from mouse skull and mouse bone marrow stem cells successfully mimicked many of the hallmarks of real bone, which include stiffness. However, they found that the material grown from mouse embryonic stem cells was much less stiff and less complex in its mineral composition when compared to the other materials.

So what we have here is a good starting point as Professor Molly Stevens, from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London, says: “Many patients who have had bone removed because of tumours or accidents live in real pain. By repairing bone defect sites in the body with bone-like material that best mimics the properties of their real bone we could improve their lives immeasurably. It brings us one step closer to developing materials that will have the highest chance of success when implanted into patients.”

Why you need lemon in your Gin & Tonic

I have always been a great advocate of aromatherapy – when in the hands of a trained aromatherapist it can have profound health and psychological benefits. It stimulates the immune system, strengthens resistance to disease and helps to combat infections. Aromatherapy can lower blood pressure, reduces stress, combat insomnia and other helps to deal with emotions such as anxiety, mild depression, and grief.

And what has this to do with my G&T I can hear you ask? Well some splendid Japanese researchers at Tokyo University have given aromatherapy a much-needed seal of approval by proving that your favourite drink can calm your nerves after a stressful day – but only if you include a decent slice of lemon in it.

When we get nervous, stressed and anxious our genes go into overdrive and can cause high blood pressure, sleeplessness and depression. These genes are affected by Linalool, a chemical compound found in lemons, lavender and mangos. That also explains why lavender oil is so popular to help people relax and go to sleep more easily.

It is the citrus aroma in that G&T that our bodies that respond to and the researchers have proved that Linalool can reverse the effects of stress simply by us inhaling that aroma. So you don’t even need to drink it, just give it a good sniff!

Up to 80% saving on treatment abroad

It has become more common for people to seek medical, and dental, treatment abroad. Around 80,000 people did so last year, including a friend of mine who went to Poland for expensive dental work and the flight, treatment and hotel still cost far less than a couple of sessions with his regular dentist. The range of things on offer range from fertility treatments to knee and hip replacements – and all parts of the body, internal and external, that you can think of.

The idea of combining treatment with a holiday might sound attractive – certainly better food while you convalesce in a hotel on the beach – but how do you know where to look and what sort of value you will be getting? Fortunately there is online help from Treatment Abroad, who have just released their 2009 survey of prices available to medical travellers. They surveyed 180 clinics and medical tourism operators in 39 countries and found that patients can make savings of over 80% on some common medical treatments.

Yes, but when it comes to health the price is only one part of the equation and quality of treatment, surgical expertise, reputation, patient safety are also vital factors. So too is communication and it really is not a good idea to have treatment if the staff involved don’t speak excellent English and you can’t make yourself fully understood.

If you are waiting on an NHS appointment it can certainly seem attractive and a good use of your money; for example, varicose vein treatment in Poland is on average 84% cheaper than in the UK and if wrinkles are getting you down then a trip to Cuba for a forehead lift could save on average about 87%. Other procedures such as elective surgery, cosmetic or dental work don’t have the same high saving, but still cost around 55% less than in the UK.

Other factors influencing patients to leave the UK for treatment are concerns about post operative infection in UK hospitals, the length of NHS waiting lists and the comparative high cost of private healthcare in the UK.

You can get more information and a free comprehensive guide to medical tourism from http://www.treatmentabroad.com and I advise you to study it carefully and weigh up all your options before you come to a decision.

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