Eat colourfully for bone health

You know you ought to eat 5 helpings of fruit and vegetables a day for optimum health, and now it seems that if you choose carefully both men and women could be improving bone strength and lessening the risk of osteoporosis. It’s the antioxidant pigments (carotenoids) from plants that may play a protective role in taking care of bones and protect against bone loss in older men and women.

Osteoporosis used to be thought of as exclusively applying only to women, and men were rarely diagnosed with it, but that is now changing. The lifetime risk for a woman to have a bone break through osteoporosis is 30-40 per cent and in men the risk is about 13 per cent. Researchers at Tufts and Boston Universities used data from the ongoing Framingham Osteoporosis Study and their findings have revealed that an increased intake of carotenoids, and particularly of lycopene, gave some protection against bone mineral loss. It was different for the men and women in the study; men gained bone mineral density at the hip but women gained it in the lumbar spine.

Another reason to have a colourful salad with red tomatoes, and eat watermelon and pink and red grapefruit to ensure a good source of lycopene in your daily diet.

An apple a day keeps old age at bay

I know the original saying is that it keeps the doctor away, but there is new evidence that the cognitive decline we associate with growing older can be delayed with the help of apple juice.

The Center for Cellular Neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts have been studying laboratory mice and found that using the standard maze trials the mice performed better than was normal after drinking apple juice. Our ability to carry out mental tasks like working out how to negotiate a maze does decline with age as our cognitive ability is lessened. The mice got the human equivalent of 2 glasses of apple juice a day for 1 month and it was found that they were producing less beta-amyloid. This is a small protein fragment that is responsible for forming the “senile plaques” that are commonly found in the brain of those suffering from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The lead researcher suggested that if everyone was to drink two glasses of apple juice a day they would lessen their risk of cognitive decay and help keep their mind functioning at their best. For the most effective juice, buy organic or juice your own – the taste difference is really amazing.

Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s link confirmed

Cambridge University and the University of Michigan, have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older people. In northern climates there can be a lack of vitamin D, particularly in the winter months, when we suffer from grey skies and not enough sunshine.

Vitamin D is vital to our immune system and to keep our bones strong in the process of breaking down old bone and building up new bone. This process goes on throughout out lives, but it can slow down without the right levels of vitamin and mineral support. We obtain our supply from sunlight, foods fortified with vitamin D like cow’s milk, soya milk and cereals and oily fish. Unfortunately, as we get older we are less able to absorb vitamin D from sunlight so need to increase our intake from other sources or take supplements.

This new study is important because it reinforces the connection between vitamin D, cognitive function and dementia as in Alzheimer’s. The researchers assessed cognitive function in 2000 adults aged 65 and over in England, and what they found was that as levels of Vitamin D went down, their levels of cognitive impairment went up. In fact they had double the chance of being cognitively impaired than those in the study who had good levels of vitamin D.

As prevention is infinitely better than cure – which, sadly, in the case of Alzheimer’s is still being sought – it makes sense to do all you can to weigh the odds in your favour. Keep mentally alert with quizzes, crosswords or bridge. Take up a new hobby that stretches your brain (line or sequence dancing works well for this) and think about learning a new language or skill. Book a holiday in the sun in the winter and sensibly enjoy exposure to sunlight as often as you can. Supplements are easy to obtain, but there are cautions with them so don’t exceed the dose recommended by your doctor or a qualified nutritionist.

Prebirth link to cause of childhood obesity

You must have noticed the strenuous efforts the Government is making to get our children healthier. It is a real cause for concern as being overweight is now much more common in the under 10′s than ever before. There are probably many factors that influence this, including lack of exercise and a high-fat diet, but a new study has shown that there is also a factor that comes into play before birth.

It was reported this month in the Environmental Health Perspectives Journal that a study done in Flanders in Belgium has revealed that when a woman is pregnant there is a link between how many environmental pollutants she is exposed to and the weight of her baby, right up to the first three years of life.

Certain chemicals are known to disrupt the endocrine system, but it hasn’t been realised that even brief exposures early in life can be a problem. Body weight may be increased if mother and baby are exposed to like pesticides, chemicals such as dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene, dioxin-like compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) – the ones found in aerosols. Children between one and three years of age were found to have a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) if exposed to these chemicals and more so if their mothers also smoked. For babies they tested blood from the umbilical cord to measure and identify any chemical pollutants at birth.

Your Doctor in a Twitter

If you are not familiar with online social networking sites like Facebook, Friends Reunited and Twitter, this may come as a bit of a shock. Most people use these sites to contact their friends and post photos of themselves and information about what they are doing. However, it now emerges that doctors in the US are also using them to find information about difficult cases.

If they get a patient with symptoms that confuse them, or they haven’t seen before, then they are asking questions on the web of other doctors in the hope they can help. Sounds sensible, but given the way that such sites are vulnerable to invasion and piracy I am not sure I want my doctor asking an unknown faceless person on the web what he thinks of my rash. Given the way people hide behind false identities on the web, they may not be talking to other doctors at all.

Astrological health profiles – Aries

Aries 21 March – 20 April

Courageous, fast-moving and highly motivated, this sign can also be hot-headed and impulsive, good in some situation, but not so great for your health. Watch out for:

* Being accident prone leading to cuts, scalds, burns and bruises * Unusually severe and frequent stress-related headaches * Short temper and extreme tiredness due to surges of adrenaline * Teeth are vulnerable, so have regular check-ups

Sounds like some stress management or mood calming therapies might be helpful. Some Buddhist mindfulness around being present might help eliminate some of those careless accidents where your mind is somewhere else and those surges of adrenaline might be caused by too many stimulants such as coffee, sugar or chocolate. A more balanced diet with plenty of carbohydrates to even out your blood sugar should help.

Bad memory? Pop a pill

Let’s face it we all get ‘senior moments’, I was regularly having them in my 30′s but then I always was ahead of myself. Lists help some people, a rubber band around the wrist is also an alternative, but now there is news of a possible ‘memory pill’ that could make forgetfulness a thing of the past.

Originally developed to treat Alzheimer’s, they are now being promoted to help with exam revision and memory loss – which of course is a much bigger, and more profitable, market. AstraZeneca is ahead in the race to get this product to market as an over the counter item as what they term a ‘lifestyle pill’. And here was me thinking it was something you only got in Sunday supplements.

This isn’t the first such drug to catch the eye of the consumer, and students have apparently been trying a drug called Provigil, used to treat narcolepsy, to help them stay awake. Whether for studying or partying isn’t known yet, but there is some evidence that ADD drugs like Ritalin are being used to help promote concentration – which they would certainly need if they are regularly using drugs to keep them awake beyond their own body’s tolerance.

It isn’t illegal to buy these drugs over the Internet, but there are risks as there are with all medicines. In particular these drugs can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels but not all clinicians agree. Barbara Sahakian is professor of clinical neuropsychology at Cambridge and she has likened these new cognitive drugs to products like Red Bull and other drinks that stimulate with caffeine and sugar, seeing them as not so different.

Not sure I agree, there is a limit to the number of soft drinks you can down to get a stimulant effect, but with drugs it is all too easy to just take another dose and we just don’t know what the cumulative effect in the system might be.

Your online doctor will see you now

I know it can be tedious hanging around the doctor’s surgery – no matter what time the appointment it’s rare you get in there on time isn’t it – but a new trend from the USA could make that a thing of the past. We are now internet savvy; from banking to shopping online we are used to remote contact – but how do you feel about expanding that to include your doctor?

What do you do when you feel a cough, cold or sore throat coming on? Head to the pharmacy or make an appointment to see the Doctor. If you are a busy New York casting director you do a Star Trek and have the doctor beamed into your office. No, really! This chap just switched on his laptop where he has an account at something called hellohealth.com which is a ‘virtual’ doctor’s office. There, for a monthly fee, you can ‘visit’ by video link with a doctor to ask questions, get diagnosed, and have a prescription phoned to your nearest pharmacy to collect.

The doctors communicate in the modern way and you can connect via the internet, email or mobile, and it is certainly catching on in busy New York. Obviously the amount of diagnosis is limited over a video link, but as a first call to pick up any problems it does have its advantages. You get an appointment at your time of choosing and can talk online via video, e-mail a question or visit a Web site where, for a small fee, a doctor will answer your medical questions instantly.

The future is here … Ever pop into Asda? Well their American parent, Wal-Mart has set up clinics in some of their stores in Texas where patients speak via videolink to a physician who works in a central office. The doctor can see a patient’s throat and ears via a camera at the end of medical instruments. Emergency medical technicians at the clinics operate the instruments and do hands-on tasks such as taking blood pressure and temperature. A basic office visit costs $59. Got a medical question? If you need information on your medication or symptoms for measles then there are online sites that have various specialists on hand to give quick answers. Current charge is around $16 – roughly £9.81 per answer, so you might do better to use a great free service here in the UK. I find that NHS Direct does a good job for answering questions for free, and they are very helpful. If you want to try them they are on 0845 4647

PMS Relief

I know many women suffer greatly from a variety of physical, mental and emotional symptoms with PMS (Pre Menstrual Syndrome) and their partners usually also suffer the fallout with monthly regularity. There are some very simple, natural, tips that can help and before you next lock yourself in a dark room with a hot water bottle and some painkillers, it might be worth trying some of these ideas first:

** Get your mineral balance right in particular calcium and magnesium. Just 400 mg of calcium carbonate daily has been shown to help with mood swings, bloating, and headaches. Several large studies have shown that women with PMS have lower calcium levels than women with a good intake from food sources who had very few symptoms.

** Calcium is best taken with magnesium for the best effect and a supplement of 200mg a day can significantly improve PMS mood changes and reduce weight gain, swelling of the hands and legs, breast tenderness, and abdominal bloating.

CAUTION: Anyone with heart or kidney disease should not take magnesium supplements without consulting their doctor.

** Herbal relief comes from taking agnus castus, which was reported in the British Medical Journal to significantly reduce PMS symptoms such as irritability, depression, headaches, and breast tenderness. Other popular remedies include Black Cohosh which is available in supplement form and used extensively in Germany for the treatment of PMS. Ginkgo Biloba extract can be helpful as well when you take 80 mg twice a day from day 16 of one menstrual cycle to day 5 of the next cycle.

** Eating well can make all the difference, so eat little and often rather than a large blow out meal twice a day. This will help stabilize your blood sugar, particularly if you suffer from bloating and swelling of the hands and feet, breast tenderness, and dizziness. You want to reduce your sugar and salt intake and increase potassium-rich foods such as fish, beans, and broccoli. Give up caffeine, including tea, and switch to something milder and herbal like Green Tea. Avoid alcohol as it can affect hormone metabolism which means that high levels of alcohol can make symptoms like anxiety, depression, and breast tenderness worse.

** Vitamins that have been used include vitamin E (300iu) and vitamin B6 around 100-200 mg per day and both can help reduce your overall symptoms.

** Get moving, even – and especially – when you least feel like it. The benefits of gentle exercise will help with your mood swings or depression and it’s the frequency of your exercise regime that will make all the difference. Again, little and often is best. In China, a study was conducted on women who increased their consumption of tea and found that the more of the caffeinated drink they consumed, the higher prevalence of symptoms.

Vicks Vapour Rub – Stop rubbing?

I am afraid I am revealing my age when I recall childhood colds being resolved with a horny handed rub from my mother of Vicks VapoRub on my chest and a firm covering of a red flannel liberty bodice. It did my chest a world of good, though not so brilliant on the rubber buttons, and I still use a few drops under my nose if it is stuffy and blocked in the winter.

Alas, this popular over-the-counter treatment has come under the scrutiny of the American College of Chest Physicians and they sound a warning that it may stimulate mucus and airway inflammation. This applies particularly to infants and toddlers and they suggest it could dangerously interfere with their ability to breathe.

The study was carried out at Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Pediatrics Department as a result of treating an 18-month-old girl who went into severe respiratory distress after the salve was rubbed under her nose. Now obviously you can’t test this on children, so the researchers used ferrets to study mucus production as well as the build up of fluid in the lungs.

Who would have guessed it, but apparently ferrets have an airway anatomy and cellular composition similar to people – so no more stuffing them down your trousers as they are somewhat distantly related to us. Perhaps not kissing cousins, but you get the idea. The ferrets were regularly anointed with Vicks Vapour Rub and the results showed their mucus secretion rose significantly and that mucus clearance decreased. When relating this to children, the problem is that they have airways that are much narrower than those of adults, so any increase in mucus or inflammation can narrow them more severely.

This is not just Vicks Vapour Rub, but any similar product as some of the ingredients can cause irritation. These include camphor, menthol, Eucalyptus oil, turpentine and petrolatum, made from petroleum. Such products are not meant to be used on children under age 2, but with the best intentions some parents use it to relieve their child’s cold and flu symptoms. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that anything you can buy over the counter is safe, but you must always read the label carefully for any warnings, and ask the pharmacist if you are in any doubt. Dr. Rubin, the chief researcher goes further and points out that cough and cold medicines and decongestants are dangerous and neither effective nor safe for young children. American College of Chest Physicians also agree, and Dr Rubin makes the case that natural therapies are a much better alternative and suggests a very old remedy indeed for congestion: using a warm water salt solution to wash out the nasal passages and some good old fashioned chicken soup to boost the immune system (home made from organic chicken of course).

If you still have a jar in the medicine cabinet, there is an alternative use for it in killing toenail fungus, as recommended by an old-fashioned doctor.  Just apply on the top, all around the toenail and as much under the nail as you can get. In a few days you will see the nail start becoming darker, which means the fungus is being killed off.

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