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Healthwise is a regular column written
especially for laterlife.com members and
visitors by Helen Franks, journalist and author.
Welcome to healthwise 82.
For previous articles in the
healthwise series visit
'more
healthwise'
Helen Franks
Helen has specialised in writing about health and
ageing and is a member of the Guild of Health Writers. She has
written for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the
Guardian, Times, Observer, Woman, Family Circle, Vogue and
Choice.
Helen has also written several books including
Getting Older Slowly Your Guide to Successful Ageing and
Bone Boosters
co-authored with Diana Moran of TV Green Goddess fame.
Don't forget to take a look at Helen's separate
talkback
page too.
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Oily fish latest on Alzheimers and heart disease
New research into higher omega-3 intake (ie contained in oily fish) is
significantly related to a reduced risk of cognitive decline in later life
and also protects against cardiovascular arrhythmias in patients who have
suffered from heart attacks.
Kinds of oily fish include herrings, sardines, mackerel, salmon, fresh
tuna, and the ideal consumption is twice a week. The canned variety does not
contain omega-3. If you don’t get enough oily fish, then get it via
supplements. Equazen, Eskimo, Pulse, Higher Nature all do supplements.
Salt reminder
Around 75% of the salt we eat comes from processed foods, so the Food
Standards Agency (FSA) has been working with the food industry to encourage
reductions in the levels of salt in these foods.
To help guide the food industry as to the type of foods in which
reductions are required, and the level of reductions that are needed to help
reduce consumers' intakes, the Agency developed proposals for targets for
salt levels in a wide range of food categories (72 categories in total).
While some concerns have been expressed by some industry interests regarding
the acceptability to consumers of products containing lower salt levels,
there is evidence to suggest that consumer palates can readily adapt to
lower-salt products, particularly if these reductions are made in small
steps.
Dirty dozen?
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) in the US, has produced a new
shoppers' guide listing the fruits and vegetables that are the most
contaminated with pesticides (the "dirty dozen"), as well as those that
generally contain the lowest amount of pesticides (the "cleanest 12").
The information is based on nearly 43,000 tests. The last EWG Guide was
issued in 2003, and there have been several revisions to the list. Carrots
have been removed from the most contaminated list, but lettuce has been
added. Likewise, cauliflower is no longer listed as one of the cleanest
vegetables, but cabbage is now one of those "clean" 12. The guide may not
apply in the UK, but it’s useful to know.
The “dirty dozen” list includes:
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Peaches
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Apples
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Sweet bell peppers
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Celery
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Strawberries
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Spinach
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Cauliflower
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Lettuce
And the "cleanest 12"includes:
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Onions
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Avocado
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Cabbage
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Pineapple
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Asparagus
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Broccoli
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Carrots
Game contributes towards healthy eating
It’s too simplistic just to say “fat is bad for
you”. Some fat in our diet is vital, as it helps the body absorb
certain types of vitamins. Fat is also a good source of energy
and a way of providing us with the essential fatty acids that
the body can't make itself.
Too much fat can, of course, make you fat,
but in addition to cutting down our consumption of dietary fat,
we should also try to cut down the type of fat that is less
likely to benefit our bodies – saturated fat, which raises
cholesterol levels in the blood .
Research carried out by the food research
organisation, Leatherhead Food International, has revealed that
when three different types of game meat - partridge, venison and
pheasant - were tested, all were shown to have fat levels of
approximately 1g/100g of meat.
This was compared with the much higher
11g/100g for beef and 9.9g/100g for lamb. More importantly,
there was virtually no saturated fat in the game meats compared
with both the beef and lamb.
Pancreatic cancer and vitamin D
A survey of just under 50,000 women and 76,000
men showed that taking the recommended daily allowance of
vitamin D (5 International Units) can reduce the risk of
pancreatic cancer by 43%.
The survey was carried out by researchers at
Northwestern and Harvard universities. Vitamin D is provided by
the sun and by supplements and the researchers don’t know which
is more effective.
Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt to get the vitamin
via supplements.
Drinking overtime
Researchers from the Royal Bolton Hospital
report that some over 60s are drinking too much alcohol. Among
208 inpatients over 5 years, highest weekly intake was 371 units
for men, and 200 units for women.
Not surprisingly, drunkenness, falls,
circulatory problems, liver disease, were reasons for the
patients being admitted. The recommended intake for men is 21
units, and for women 14 units.
Change of name for Bristol Cancer Help Centre
One in three people in the UK are now living
with cancer and living longer too. The Bristol Centre has been a
pioneer in holistic care and is now changing its name to
commemorate its co-founder, Penny Brohn.
The new name is: Penny Brohn Cancer Care, and
the website is:
www.pennybrohncancercare.org.
Useful websites
www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
: the helpline to get advice and find nearest
doctor/dentist/optician.
www.besttreatments.co.uk : British Medical Journal source
regarding common conditions.
www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions : good for complementary and
orthodox therapies.
If in any
doubt about any of the information covered in
healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult
your GP.
IN THE PREVIOUS EDITION
In edition 81:-
A real
headache
How do you know if the symptoms are migraine?
Exercise and bowel cancer
New research claims that regular exercise can significantly reduce
one of the early signs of bowel cancer in men.
NICE recommends drug for NHL
A study shows that this is the first therapy in over 20 years to increase
the overall survival in patients with aggressive NHL
Eat lots of veg and stay mentally alert
Over-65s who eat up to three servings of vegetables a day reduce the decline
in their cognitive abilities by up to 40 % compared with those who eat
almost no vegetables.
Osteoporosis risk formula
A formula has been devised that can predict the risk of bone fractures in
women suffering osteoporosis.
Useful
websites
Useful health related websites
The
complete family health guide
 Essential medical reference that's a must for every home. Published
in association with the BMA, it includes comprehensive coverage of
every important aspect of health and medicine, as well as
user-friendly charts for at-a-glance information and easy reference.
Also lists the best medical websites...
 Maximise your memory
This work provides detailed instructions, illustrations and sample
exercises that show the reader how to build a system of personalized
frameworks for storing and recalling information on demand.
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