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Laterlife Healthwise - 25
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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. For previous articles in the healthwise series visit 'more healthwise' Don't forget to take a look at Helen's separate talkback page too. |
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They are naturally occurring substances in food that have a
hormone-like action in the body that makes them able to relieve symptoms of the menopause.
They are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, but most notably in soya, chickpeas,
lentils and, the richest source, red clover. These
contain the most beneficial type of phyto-oestrogens. If they are not a regular part of your diet (red
clover? Are you kidding?) then the chances are that your average daily intake is just 5mg,
which could account for the high incidence of hot flushes and night sweats in British
women. It may be no
coincidence that the Japanese consume 20mg-80mg and seem to avoid hot flushes and night
sweats, though no research collating the two facts has been carried out. Even so, phyto-oestrogens are considered by many to be a useful ‘natural’ alternative to HRT for menopausal women. Natural menopause experts recommend women include 45mg of isoflavones each day in their diet. You can get this from 50g of tofu or 1 pint of soya milk, or buy one of the supplements widely available from chemists, health stores and supermarkets. Guides to much healthier eating Healthy eating is considered one way to protect against cancer. Reducing intake of fats, sugar and processed foods,
increasing vitamins, eating fresh fruits and vegetables are all on the agenda, and that
makes sense for anyone concerned about their health, energy levels, weight and teeth. The Bristol
Cancer Help Centre has produced three recipe videos based on their renowned nutrition and
healthy eating programme. For the
sweet-toothed, there’s one called ‘Sweet but Unrefined’ which does the seemingly impossible, offering
recipes for desserts, cakes and cookies without using refined sugars. The
other two are ‘Dairy Free and Delicious’ and ‘Juicing and Raw Power’,
all by Jane Sen, consultant chef and dietary adviser to the Bristol Cancer Help Centre. The
dairy-free video contains recipes that don’t use cream, cheese or other dairy
products, but still manage to produce foods that are creamy in texture. And the juicing one offers ideas for fruit and veg
drinks and how to get more vitamins and minerals naturally. The videos
cost £10 each plus £1 postage and packing. You
can order on the website: www.bristolcancerhelp.org
or by telephone on 0117 980 9522. PS Also available
through the website is a new CD Rom called ‘You Can Live with Cancer’, produced
by the Assagioli Foundation in Holland. It
offers exercises, music, moving images, text on ways to overcome the negative feelings
that cancer patients so often experience. Price
is £12.99, and the CD requires a PC with
minimum 300 MHz speed and good speakers. Users
can join a discussion group of others using the CD, again through the website or through www.assagioli.nl Chewing gum helps memory? Whatever next? The extraordinary claim comes from the University of Northumbria, where an experiment with gum-chewers showed that long-term memory improved by 35% and short-term memory was also given a boost. One theory is that chewing raises the heartbeat and produces insulin which can help the process. Well, you can give it a try… Other memory
boosters are ginseng, phyto-oestrogens (whose other qualities are described above), sage
and gingko biloba. Even a single dose of
ginseng has shown promising effects on the 70-plus age group - but remember, ginseng can raise blood pressure and
should not be taken on a regular basis. All of the above work in different ways. Some are thought to stimulate neurotransmitters, others to promote new nerve connections or to encourage blood flow in the brain. The research is highly promising, though, say scientists, more of it is needed to find optimum dose for best effect.
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Adults who develop diabetes have certain things in common: they are most likely to be diagnosed when they are in their fifties; they are likely to be overweight or have high blood pressure or have a family history of the condition. Early diagnosis is important as diabetes can be controlled by diet or drugs. If it is not detected and treated early enough, complications like heart disease, kidney failure and blindness can follow. But in some cases a patient may have the condition for many years before
being diagnosed. Symptoms are not always very clear
- consisting mainly of thirst, passing excessive amounts of urine, weight loss, genital
itching and infections, skin infections, fatigue, vision difficulties, pins and needles in
hands and feet. A new blood test from America may help to catch the problem earlier, and there are plans to introduce it in the US for people known to be at risk. It will probably come to the UK too in due course. But obesity being one of the highest risk factors, here’s an incentive to keep weight under control. That should reduce the chances of being fifty plus and developing diabetes.
A condition you might not grow out of Eczema is often thought of as a condition of childhood. But many people never grow out of it, and for some the problem increases with age. Often, doctors prescribe a course of steroids. They usually work for a while but as soon as the course is finished the eczema often comes back. In any case, many people do not like the idea of using them long term. What are the alternatives? A herbalist or acupuncturist may help. Or for a self-help approach there’s Aloe Vera, preferably taken in capsules. No miracles are promised, but it’s worth a try.You can get Aloe Vera from health stores and chemists. Those elastic bandages people use for dodgy knees - do they really do any good? The answer is yes, and it’s not all in the mind. Researchers at Nottingham University randomly assigned some patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis with a standard bandage, and others with an elastic bandage. After 2 weeks, the groups switched, and after each ‘bandage experience’ they were tested for knee pain, strength and sway when standing still. The elastic bandages were found to significantly reduce pain and improve stability. The standard bandages didn’t do a thing. Case proven. An Italian study confirms earlier findings that the risk of having an ischaemic stroke (due to lack of oxygen to the brain) is greatest in the morning. An analysis of 1,656 patients with such strokes showed that this was the most likely time of day, followed by another peak in the evening. The reason may be due to a variability of blood pressure, which tends to be higher in the morning for most people, including those with normal blood pressure. The researchers suggest that risk might be reduced by targeting drug treatment to lower the early-morning rise. If you take drugs for raised blood pressure, discuss the timing with your doctor.
If in any doubt about any of the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.
In edition 24:-
Elderly rats gained remarkable signs of a new lease of life after being fed two common diet supplements Lending a hand - try our FREE offer Hands that wash dishes are not the only ones that suffer dryness in winter Tea, wine, chocolate, coffee - good or bad? Advice on good and bad foods changes so rapidly, that it`s difficult to keep up Help for bleeding gums - another FREE offer According to the British Dental Association 95% of adults in the UK suffer from some form of gum disease There is a new herbal medicine that has been shown to reduce migraine attacks by 62% One of the known indicators for people at risk of osteoporosis is a family history.
Index to all previous Healthwise editions For books on Health visit the Amazon Family and Health Section. Don't forget if you buy books or videos from Amazon by linking from laterlife, you generate money for Charity.
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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6 weeks to super health
Tai Chi
Visit our Product section too: Health and Beauty in laterlife where we have selected a small range of Health stores where you can buy products online. Between them they cover the spectrum of traditional and alternative health products and therapies that you might be interested in. For more information on Health and Health related matters visit our Health section
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