Hot flushes are a major inconvenience to many women’s lives. A review of 12 studies involving 869 women has found that acupuncture can help reduce their frequency and intensity during menopause (Journal of North American Menopause Society).
The effect may be immediate and doesn’t seem to be dependent on the number of acupuncture sessions or duration of the treatment. During trials, ‘real’ acupuncture outperformed the ‘sham’ sessions acting as a placebo. Benefits were reported for up to three months after treatment.
A new major study has found that olive oil can help prevent heart failure by making a damaged heart function more efficiently. Oleate, a fat in the oil, helps the heart to contract and pump blood and may break the vicious cycle of heart failure, say researchers from the University of Illinois. By contrast, fats from dairy, meat and palm oil worsen heart disease and failure.
Oleate has a “significantly positive effect” on heart health, even when the heart has started to fail.
When laboratory rats with failing hearts were given olive oil, their hearts improved in the way they contracted and pumped blood, said lead researcher Douglas Landowski.
We all know that walking is good for us. However, what type of walker are you? Researchers have found that one in 10 people are very slow walkers; these are twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia within 12 years.
All apples have non-digestible compounds that encourage the growth of friendly bacteria in the colon
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the US said that people may walk slowly for a variety of reasons, such as arthritis or balance problems. However, the risk is assessed as greater if the slow walkers are asked a few simple questions about their current cognitive abilities, such as their memory or problem-solving abilities. It may still be possible to decrease your chances of dementia by changing lifestyle habits such as dieting, stopping smoking and losing weight. All these will improve blood flow to the brain and therefore ward off the approach of dementia (Neurology, 2014).
An apple a day doesn’t just keep the doctor away, it may also help you stay slim. Granny Smith apples, in particular, fight obesity and some of its worst effects, say researchers. The apples counteract problems associated with obesity, such as low-grade and chronic inflammation that can lead to diabetes. They also interfere with metabolic processes associated with obesity and make you feel satisfied and full.
All apples have non-digestible compounds that encourage the growth of friendly bacteria in the colon. But the very best are the Granny Smiths, say researchers from Washington State University.
A new study has found that herbs can be effective for treating diabetes. Introducing oregano and rosemary into your diet can be as effective as medication for controlling sugar levels. These interfere with two enzymes associated with diabetes, which are also known targets of diabetes drugs, say researchers at the University of Illinois.
The team tested four varieties of the herbs (from greenhouse grown to dried commercial types) to see which is more effective in controlling type 2 diabetes. Commercial extracts of Greek and Mexican oregano and rosemary were more effective in inhibiting enzymes, even though the greenhouse varieties contained more polyphenols and flavonoids.
These findings are significant, as type 2 diabetes affects large percentages of western populations. For example, in the US, the annual American medication cost is around $175 billion to control the symptoms (J. Agric. Food Chem., 2014).
Think of death from an extreme allergic reaction, or anaphylactic shock, and you probably think of nuts or even bee stings. However, the biggest allergen of them all is prescription drugs.
Drugs account for 58 per cent of all deaths from allergic reaction, while foods, including peanuts, are responsible for just 6.7 per cent of the total. Antibiotics were most likely to cause an allergic reaction, followed by radio-contrast agents for diagnostic imaging and chemotherapy drugs.
The rate of deaths from medicines has doubled in the past 10 years, although the overall figures are low. According to research by Yeshiva University, 2,458 people in the US died from anaphylactic shock from 1999 to 2010 (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2014).
Irritable bowel syndrome sufferers should check the state of their teeth. Oral bacteria can flare up the condition, according to a new study. Oral streptococcal bacteria aggravate symptoms of colic and inflammatory bowel disease, say Osaka University researchers.
British Dental Foundation chief executive Nigel Carter says any tell-tale signs of gum disease (such as bleeding or swollen gums, infections, bad breath and loose teeth) should be treated immediately, especially if you have IBS. (Oral Dis., 2014).
kathryn@maltanet.net