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.

Lower blood pressure with grapes

Ever wondered why grapes are the most popular fruit to take to hospital? Or why the visitor ends up eating them as well as the patient? It could be because visiting someone in hospital – or being a patient – is a stressful time and it seems that grapes help lower blood pressure and improve heart function.

High blood pressure can lead to heart attack, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure and admittedly this study was sponsored in part by Californian grape producers, but we already know that flavonoids, the beneficial chemicals found in grapes, green tea, cocoa and tomatoes, have an effect on blood pressure and this seems to confirm that.

So buy an extra large bunch next time you are visiting, or treat yourself to one at home. Oh, and drinking a herb tea containing hibiscus may also lower blood pressure according to Diane L. McKay, Ph.D., of Tufts University in Boston, who reported the good results to the American Heart Association. Hibiscus is rich in Vitamin C and could help in reducing cholesterol. If you have difficulty finding it, Hambledon Herbs do an excellent organic one. www.hambledenherbs.com

Arthritis pain relief

Damp, cold days can set off arthritic aches and pains, and we have certainly had more than a few of those recently. Taking non steroidal anti inflammatories such as Nurofen is the conventional route, but if you want a natural solution pop down to Boots or your health store and get some Arnica cream from the Natural Remedies section. You simply rub it onto the affected area to relieve the pain, but don’t use it if your skin is raw or cut in any way.

Whatever Is Tigger Doing?

At this time of year parents and grandparents are under constant bombardment to buy for Christmas and the marketing is ruthless and clever – often using favourite cartoon and tv characters. However, I did think there was one that was safe from this persuasion by well-loved characters and that was in the drug industry. Well, not any more. Pharmaceutical reps working for the drug company AstraZeneca, have been urged to used popular Disney characters to promote psychiatric drugs to children.

What A A Milne would think is anyone’s guess, but some of Winnie the Pooh’s best-loved friends have been rebranded to promote sales of Seroquel, an antipsychotic. Tigger apparently is now described as “bipolar” and poor old Eeyore – who has quite enough to worry about – is apparently described as suffering from “depression”. Presumably the Hundred Acre Wood has also been stripped of all plant life to make new and better drugs.

Cancer risk and stress

The International Journal of Oncology has been looking at whether the stress in your life can cause you to develop cancer, and the answer lies in your diet. Particularly in vegetables such as that Christmas favourite, the brussel sprout.

These are very stressful times, so anything we can do to help our bodies deal with it will also help us avoid diseases like cancer. We know that stress impacts our immune systems and ability to fight off invading organisms so that we become more vulnerable to all kinds of diseases and illnesses. This current study goes a long way toward documenting the link between stress and cancer and stressing the importance of our own role in preventing illness.

Chronic high levels of stress result in chronic high levels of norepinephrine and adrenaline. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that is similar to adrenaline and these hormones act together to produce increased heart rate and blood pressure – the precursor to our ‘fight or flight’ mode. So how do you inhibit the production of norepinephrine in this stress-filled times? You increase the amount of sulforaphane in your diet. This is a compound that you get from eating cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, turnip, radish, rocket, and watercress.

Sulforaphane has potent anticancer activity that triggers the production of enzymes that help detoxify cancer-causing chemicals and is particularly abundant in broccoli sprouts. A concentrated extract from broccoli sprouts may cut the development of bladder cancer by more than 50% and researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that eating just one ounce of broccoli sprouts provides as much sulforaphane as more than a pound of cooked broccoli. The have devised a product, called Brocco Sprouts, that is on sale in supermarkets in the USA but in the UK your choice is a bit more limited.

The healthiest option is to grow your own sprouting seeds and you can get broccoli sprouts from here www.nickys-nursery.co.uk and apparently they are good in sandwiches, mild rather like alfalfa. Personally, as a total non-broccoli fan I get my cruciferous boost by juicing with the addition of a sweet apple and carrot which is the only way I can deal with them!

If eating healthy amounts of cruciferous vegetables does not appeal to you, try adding broccoli sprouts to a sandwich or salad. Broccoli sprouts don’t have to be eaten daily to provide their full effect. A one ounce serving is good for three days worth of full spectrum antioxidant protection from sulforaphane comparable to the best antioxidant supplements on the market. A box of sprouts contains four of these servings and retails for about 4 dollars.

Juicing is another good way to consume cruciferous vegetables, particularly if you have digestive difficulties. You can add cruciferous vegetables to your vegetable juice recipes. One large stalk of broccoli makes only about an inch of power packed juice in a glass, so it doesn’t have a huge impact on the taste of the recipe.

Supplements of broccoli sprouts are available at health food stores and online health retailers such as Vitacost or Lucky Vitamin. The best known is called Broccoliv. Vitacost has a less costly house brand.

Blood test to detect early Alzheimer’s

There is no doubt that the fear of Alzheimer’s is a major concern for many people as they get older. A natural, and normal slight memory loss – those ‘senior moments’ – can develop into a genuine worry about the development of the disease. Part of the problem has been that there is no foolproof way of predicting who is vulnerable, no reliable test, or how to spot the disease in its very early stages. Now there may be a way to overcome this through a simple blood test.

Scientists at a California biotech company claim that the test is about 90% accurate and can detect Alzheimer’s two to six years before the onset of symptoms. It works through the signals the brain sends to the body’s immune system. These signals pick up changes in the blood proteins in the brain and certain changes in these proteins produce a pattern that’s characteristic to Alzheimer’s.

There are more than 100 different types of dementia, but Alzheimer’s is the most common and there are 417,000 people diagnosed with it in the UK – predicted to rise to over 1 million by 2025.

It will be a few years before this test is available for use by doctors and it would be offered first to those whose close relatives have the disease and who may be suffering memory loss themselves. It may be that you don’t want to know in advance if you have this disease, but an early diagnosis can give patients a chance to make changes to their diet and exercise more in an effort of slowing or staving off chances of getting the disease.

SELF HELP PROGRAMME
Despite common belief, heredity only plays a part in getting Alzheimer’s and it is more likely that environmental factors play a part – particularly the role of free radicals as they cause damage to cells. Cortisol, a stress hormone, may be a causative factor, particularly when produced over a long period of time and good nutrition and herbal treatments prevent and fight damage from free radicals and reduce stress. Toxins such as aluminium and mercury are also a problem since they can be taken into the body and remain in the tissues.

There are a number of things you can do to help lessen some of the symptoms, or the onset, of Alzheimer’s and these are just a few of the supplements that have been found to be effective in many cases:

*Ginkgo biloba for improved memory, attention and mood.

*B vitamins, particularly Folate, which is important to the nervous system and helps eliminate homocysteine from the blood.

*Vitamin E is a scavenger of free radicals and it is fat soluble so readily enters the brain where it is thought to slow cell damage.

*The Ayuredic herb Ashwagandha (Withania somniferum) is used as a brain tonic and reduces stress hormone levels

*DHEA is a hormone used to help cognitive function

*Chlorella aids in the detoxification process of heavy metals.

For more information on Alzheimer’s and dementia, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk

Music on the move may not be good for your heart

Music has great power to soothe and de-stress, and is very beneficial to those recovering from illness or surgery or just needing to relax, but a new study reported at an American Heart Association meeting may mean rethinking that. It seems that an mp3 player could potentially cause interference and affect heart devices like pacemakers or implanted defibrillators. Apparently it is not the player itself that is the problem, it’s the earphones as many makes have the magnetic substance neodymium, which helps with sound reproduction. It is this that may interfere with the devices if placed directly on your chest above heart level.

It’s not about the listening, but about where you store the headphones while carrying the mp3 player around with you. Dr.William H. Maisel, director of the Medical Device Safety Institute in Boston, USA ran extensive tests and found that the biggest concern was for defibrillator patients, because the magnet can temporarily deactivate it. However, pacemakers are not exempt from concern as they are designed to boost slow heart rhythms, and when exposed to magnets, they may deliver signals that tell the heart to beat faster, whether it needs to or not.

In the new study, the researchers attached eight types of headphones to iPods and mp3 players. These were either earbuds or clip-ons, not the larger noise-cancelling varieties favoured by business travellers to also exclude external noise. Around 23% of the participants experienced electromagnetic interferencewhen the headphones were placed on the chest – directly over the heart. However, there weren’t any problems if the headphones were 3 centimetres, or about 1.2 inches, or more above the skin’s surface.

This is not a conclusive study, but if you have a pacemaker or defibrillator it is sensible advice to not tuck the headphones into the front pocket of your jacket or let them trail over your shoulders near the heart area when they are not in use.

Germs – Don’t spread them about!

I know you are amazingly conscientious about washing your hands, especially when you have a cold. BUT … scientists in the Virology Department of the University of Virginia, have found that cold sufferers can leave active germs around the house on surfaces they have touched – like door or fridge handles, and even the TV remote – and they can live for two days or longer. This confirms previous research they carried out two years ago, when they showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in. You may avoid shaking the hand of a person with a cold, or kissing them on the cheek, but you never think about the everyday places in the home where these germs can lurk. Antibacterial wipes are one answer, or just wait on the invalid hand and foot and never let them near the remote.

Health insurance says ‘no’ to mistakes

We take out insurance to protect ourselves against what might happen in the case of house, home, or health insurance and against what will happen in the case of life insurance. Now there is a new twist that is hitting hard in the USA, and as we seem to follow their lead in most things I thought I would give you a heads-up on this one. Medicare is the federally-funded medical plan for Americans age 65 and over that covers medical expenses such as doctor’s visits, hospital stays, drugs and other treatment – similar to the NHS, but here comes a major difference. They have just announced that they will no longer pay to correct medical errors. So, for instance if during your operation the surgeon amputates the wrong toe then the hospital itself will have to pay for corrective treatment, not Medicare. And quite right too, you might think, but in the UK this would mean that it was coming out of your hospital’s budget from the NHS which would mean less money for initial treatments. Now, we don’t want to reward bad work, but if the US trend is followed here – and the private insurers have quickly followed suit there – then the next part of Medicare’s announcement will impact us as consumers as well.

Medicare will not provide any insurance cover for what they are calling “reasonably preventable” conditions. They have listed 10 of these, including post-operative infections from select procedures,bed sores, injuries resulting from falls, and incompatible blood transfusions. In other words ‘mistakes’ that happen in hospitals every day. It is making hospitals performance oriented, which as we have seen with patient and operation targets does not always work in the way it was intended. Medicare’s Payment Advisory Commission also recently recommended that hospitals with high readmission rates had their payments reduced. So if you live in a chronically unhealthy area, or one with a high number of elderly people they are being asked to treat the same number of people for less money – and how will that impact patient care?

Men have a biological clock too

I don’t know chaps, can’t you let us have anything for ourselves? We would willingly pass on giving birth, at least 50% of the time, but you haven’t lined up for that one yet. What you now are laying claim to is having the same sort of biological clock that we thought was exclusive to women. Despite news stories of men fathering children at the age of 80 and upwards, the average man’s fertility does not go on forever.

Although men constantly produce sperm every 90 days for as long as they live, the actual potency of those sperm has been brought into question. We have seen numerous stories about man’s declining levels of fertility where young men today produce a quarter of the sperm their grandfathers did, and have assumed that it was just environmental factors causing greater delays in men being able to get their partners pregnant. In cases referred to fertility clinics, the ratio is now 50/50 for men and women in assessing where the medical problem lies. Now a French study has found that a father’s age could have as much of an impact on the rate of pregnancy and miscarriage as a mother’s age – obviously Charlie Chaplin was an exception.

Generally, in fertility studies, the older either potential parent is then the chances of conception are reduced, and sadly the rate of miscarriage is increased. Statistically, if the man is younger than 25, around 92% will get their partner pregnant in under a year. However, adding just 10 years to the mix certainly alters the statistics, as the number taking under a year then drops to 85%. It’s not just the increased time it can take to create a viable pregnancy. The older a man is, then the greater the risk to the child of Downs syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Also, fathers over 55 seem to have a greater potential for fathering children with psychological problems with around 37% of them having children who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in life.

It seems that for men, as for women, the biological clock ticks loudest between 30 and 35 and delaying starting a family may have sound financial reasons – but not necessarily the best health ones.

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