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Laterlife Healthwise - 70
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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 70. 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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It’s that burning pain felt in the chest area, usually experienced after a meal or during the night. The sensation is known as acid reflux, which is when stomach acid escapes back into the oesophagus (wind pipe) causing pain. Foods that trigger heartburn include coffee, alcohol, fizzy drinks, spicy and fatty foods, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, citrus fruits. Some medicines also increase symptoms. How do you treat it? Three ways. Alginates such as Gaviscon form a protective layer which floats on top of the contents of the stomach. Acid Reducers such as Zantac work by reducing acidity in the stomach. Proton Pump Inhibitors such as Losec and Zoton stop the stomach from producing too much acid (and should never be taken with acid reducers). To find out more, NHS Direct has produced a free leaflet, Heartburn Explained. See the website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or ring them on 0845 4647. A quarterly newsletter for anyone interested in the menopause and midlife issues, the Menopause Exchange specializes in independent information about HRT, complementary therapies, nutrition, osteoporosis. Founder and director, Norma Goldman, is a pharmacist with special interest in the menopause. A recent issue covered features on ‘Stages of the menopause’, essential vitamins, ‘Coming off HRT: why, when and how?’
Annual membership(4 issues of the newsletter and regular fact sheets)
costs ?18 for individuals; ?22 for local organisations; ?30 for
companies. Email:
norma@menopause-exchange.co.uk for further details or
write to: Menopause Exchange, PO Box 205, Bushey, Herts WD23 1ZS. Suffering from a cold or flu? You can speed up recovery time by resting and drinking plenty of fluids. Take as much vitamin C as you can without upsetting your stomach. Natural is best, so ideally go for freshly-squeezed fruit juice and lots of fresh fruit. Try complementary remedies. To fight congestion, bioflavonoids act as natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory agents (Allergy Research Group Bioflavonoids capsules ?12.81 for 100) or try an anti-inflammatory enzyme like bromelain to act as natural decongestant and help relieve the aches associated with flu. (Vitamin Research Products, Bromelain capsules ?14.95 for 100.) For quick congestion relief, inhale the steam from six drops of eucalyptus oil (Tisserand Eucalyptus Oil 20ml ?5.99) in a cup of boiling water. Licorice extract also helps alleviate congestion, especially if the immune system has been compromised by stress (Nature’s Plus, Licorice 500mg, ?9.25 for 60.) For a sore throat, gargle with a mix of water and pure tea tree oil– or just let a teaspoonful of organic honey gently soothe the affected area. Boost the immune system with echinacea, which is said to work by stimulating the production of white blood cells to protect against bacteria, and helps the body produce more of the protein interferon for increased protection against viruses. (Potter’s Elixir of Echinacea comes in three different forms: the original elixir, effervescent and tablets with added garlic.) All products are available from The Nutri Centre, where pharmacists and nutritionists are on hand to give their advice. For more information, to order telephone: 0800 587 2290 or call 20 7436 5122 for advice or visit www.nutricentre.com .
Support Groups and Charities :
Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer Campaign
Bristol Cancer
Help Centre
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...
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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Are you at risk of a heart attack?
To discover your ratio, measure your waist at the navel area, and your hips around the buttocks. Divide the waist size (in inches or centimetres) by your hip size. A ratio greater than 0.8 in women and 0.95 in men, suggests a higher risk of heart attack. Researchers reporting in The Lancet were able to prove the accuracy of the waist to hip ratio after testing various methods on 27,000 people. The body-mass index (BMI) was by far less accurate as it fails to take into account muscle density and other factors.
Those who were obese, as judged by the waist to hip ratio, had
experienced more heart attacks than those who were obese according to
the BMI measure. Adding a new chemotherapy drug to standard treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer has shown dramatic improvement in survival, a new study from Cancer Research UK reveals. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and those diagnosed with the disease have an overall one year survival rate of only 13 %. Preliminary results of a phase III clinical trial have shown patients receiving a new combination of chemotherapy drugs have a one year survival rate of 26% compared to 19 % for those on the trial receiving the standard chemotherapy. The trial, called GEMCAP, recruited over 500 UK patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. One group had the standard treatment of a chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine. The second group had a combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine. The new drug can be taken in tablet form, allowing patients to take it at home, and not have to spend extra time in hospital.
Pancreatic cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in
the UK, causing around 7,000 deaths each year. It is the eleventh most
common cancer in the UK. The main risk factor for the disease is
smoking and it is very strongly related to age, with over 85 per cent
of cases occurring in people over 60. Dementia perhaps has come a step closer to being slowed or halted as a UK-based company announced the grant of a European patent for the use of a sophisticated form of B vitamins in treatment and prevention. Formulations from COBALZ Limited, who specialize in dementia research, drastically lower blood levels of the toxic amino acid homocysteine and could one day be used to prevent dementia - potentially saving health services billions of pounds annually. High levels of homocysteine are a risk factor for stroke and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Raised levels damage nerves and blood vessels and lead to a loss of brain tissue in patients.
Formal trials are starting in the first quarter of 2006 in the US
to confirm that this unique combination can slow or arrest dementia
during the early stages of the disease.
In edition 69:- In edition 69 of healthwise Helen covers 7 new topics:
A high intake of fish reduces the risks of dementia and Alzheimers See how you can reduce your risk of cancer Men warned against buying prescription medicines on the internet Men are risking their health, read on..... Human beings need regular exposure to sunlight on their skin... About 2% of the adult population is affected by SAD Check out what is and what isn`t safe.. And finally, when it comes to Christmas.... Over-indulgence is a common cause of indigestion, but...
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.
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The
complete family health guide
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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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