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Laterlife Healthwise - 32          
Nov 2002

 

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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 33.

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.


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.


The Future Is Here

A conference entitled Health Trends recently took place in Copenhagen, organised by the Danish Society of Orthomlecular Medicine. Two topics caught the eye of laterlife.com - a weight loss supplement called CLA and new findings on melatonin. 

CLA stands for Conjugated Linoleic Acid, an ingredient found in cooked, usually fried food. The cooking process can produce mutagens that are linked to cancer, but CLA unexpectedly works in the opposite way, acting as an anti-carcinogen in tests conducted on mice subjected to the mutagens from a fried hamburger.

Further research revealed that CLA prevents the uptake of fat in fat cells, which may be why it offers protection.  And from there came the realisation that it blocks fat gain, so preventing fat cells from growing bigger. So far, the research has been with mice and pigs, both of which gained less body fat than expected when on an otherwise normal diet.

However, CLA is available as a diet supplement for humans, eg BIO-CLA from Pharma Nord. Laterlife cannot endorse the product, and the makers stress that fat loss must be carried out by a regime of diet and exercise.   However, there is evidence that CLA can help, mainly by preventing loss of muscle tissue.

Check out latest information on: www.wisc.edu/fri
/clarefs.htm
  and www.pharmanord.com.

 

Melatonin and ageing

Yes, it’s the stuff that people swear by to take the lag out of jet lag, since it helps regulate sleeping and hormone patterns. Melatonin is not a hormone or even a chemical. It is described as a ‘signal’ in the pineal gland, derived from serotonin, and is thought to be strongly connected with ageing. 

As we age, melatonin levels decline, especially at night. The decline, according to the Copenhagen conference, is associated with degenerative and age-related diseases and the breakdown of the autoimmune system. 

Pineal gland transplant from young to old mice prolongs the life of the recipients, while the experiment in the opposite direction, from old to young, shortens life. It’s the melatonin content that is thought to cause the effect. 

In human terms, it means adding 25-30 years to life, say the scientists.  

Arthritis remedy may help prevent spine shrinkage

Glucosamine sulphate is a widely used nutritonal supplement for arthritis, helping to maintain cartilage. Now, according to  research published in the European Journal of Chiropractic, it might prevent shrinkage of the spine. As the report states, ‘this study is the first to imply that glucosamine sulphate supplementation can affect the spinal height of normal, non-arthritic subjects by either increasing the total body height of the average subject or reducing the amount of diurnal spinal shrinkage’.

After 8-weeks on 500 mg of glucosamine sulphate, takers showed significant increases in spinal height.  There were no such changes in those given a placebo, or dummy pills. No one is quite sure why the changes occurred, and If the success is repeated, glucosamine sulphate, which is available from health food stores, might be recommended for osteoporosis or to aid spinal mobility.

Health Perception, the company that supplied the high-strength glucosamine sulphate, plan to sponsor further research.

 

Eat yourself slim

Based on the recipes and menus that will feature in Rosemary Conley's television series, of the same name, this book has suggestions for those who want to enjoy fine food and control their weight, or lose some weight at the same time.

 

The natural beauty & bath book

This book gives you 70 recipes for beauty and bath products that you can make yourself, using ingredients you will find at your local grocery and health food shops. Pamper yourself from head to toe with these natural formulas:

6 weeks to super health

Whether you are looking to lose weight, get healthy or get out of a rut, this eminently readable, well-designed, informative and authoritative guide is guaranteed to have a permanent effect on your lifestyle.

Tai Chi

This book explains: what Tai Chi is; how to use Tai Chi for health and healing; the best way to train in Tai Chi. This book is an ideal guide for anyone who wants to understand the fundamental ideas and practices of this ancient martial art.

Stop smoking

   
This new edition of the bestseller aims to help the reader use the "Easy way" method to eliminate the psychological reasons for smoking, handle withdrawal symptoms, avoid temptation situations, and stay a non-smoker! 

 

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.  

  

   Nutricentre2.jpg (19300 bytes)


Keeping up the walking

Good news for postmenopausal women. Researchers have found that brisk walking for two-and-a-half hours a week will reduce risks of cardiovascular disease by 30 %.  That’s just 20 minutes of walking every day, so it should be an achievable target for most.

The results, from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, were based on a survey of 73,743 postmenopausal women aged from 50 to 79. For more non-drug ideas on the menopause, see the What Doctors Don’t Tell You website: www.wddty.co.uk

If sheep are anything to go by (and it seems they are) the best way to keep bones from getting brittle is to give them a good shake up. Leg bones of sheep increased in bone density when the sheep were placed on a vibrating platform. Now trials are starting on humans.

But there’s no need to wait for results. Doctors already know that short bursts of high-impact activity are great for bones. So get jumping, stair climbing, weightlifting, tennis playing and of course do keep on walking.

 

Don’t slip up in the shower

This, says an occupational therapist, is something you’re going to love, if you are prone to dropping the soap in the shower. Instead of bending down to retrieve it, thereby risking a slip and a possibly nasty encounter with the tiling, you use a product called the Soap Assistant instead. 

If the soap does slip out of hand it remains within easy reach. Just insert your favorite soap and use right through the soft stretchable casing. It’s machine washable, made of mould resistant materials and comes in cheerful colours. To view the product visit the website http://www.
soapassistant.com

 

THE LONGEVITY X-FACTOR: why are the Japanese living longer?

The inhabitants of southern Japan are among the very small groups of people around the world who are living healthy and active lives beyond the age of 100. A report from the Japanese government says that the number of centenarians from the region reached a record high this year. In all, 17,934 centenarians are alive in Japan right now, up by 2,459 on last year. Of these, 80 per cent are women. In 1963, there were just 153 centenarians in the country.

Health researchers reckon the increase is caused by the warm climate in southern Japan, a healthy diet and tight-knit social groups found in the area. However, these are reasons that were all in place in 1963, which suggests a Factor X at play over the 40 years since then.

What is Factor X? A purpose to live is one of the key components for a long and healthy life, possibly through a useful or worthwhile activity. Belief that involves a community, such as an organized religion, can also help. All of this presupposes a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and sensible diet.

This and other info is available from the website of What Doctors Don’t Tell you.  If you want to download a FREE COPY of a report ‘100 Ways to Live to a 100’, visit the  website: http://www.wddty.co.uk for your copy.

 

Prostate cancer - when less is more

Men who’ve been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer are faced with a difficult choice: do you undergo radical surgery immediately, or do you wait until the symptoms worsen, a strategy known as watchful waiting?

Doctors often fail to point out the downsides of immediate surgery and the affect this can have on quality of life. For example, penile erection is much more difficult to achieve, and urinary leakages are more commonplace.

Researchers have found that men who have surgery are twice as likely to suffer penile dysfunction and urinary leaks as those who watch and wait. The one advantage for those who had the surgery was that they were less likely to suffer urinary obstruction.

Overall, in a study carried out by a Swedish research team, it took four years for the differences between the groups to level out, suggesting watchful waiting may be the better course in the immediate future. It’s certainly something to discuss with your doctor.

Waiting may produce another long-term benefit.There are reports of a vaccine which may protect against prostate cancer and also more accurate testing could be on the way, though not for some time yet.           

If in any doubt about any of the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.

 

In edition 31:-   

Men and sex

Three recent trials with new treatments show encouraging results for ED 

 

Five a day

A problem many people have is knowing just how big one portion of fruit or veg is..

 

A few things to know about feet

Some helpful ways of avoiding future foot problems.

 

Painful progress

Different categories of pain explained, and organisations that can help.

 

Fast healing for cuts and grazes

Some first aid to help minor injuries heal quickly

 


Index to all previous Healthwise editions

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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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