Cyberspace Health Clinic: Health News: Health News: Health News: Beginning Wk 07 Nov 2000

Round-Up of Global News In Health and Complementary Medicine

Monthly Archive

News Beginning Wk 07 Nov 2000

Playing Games For Health
Alcoholism Could Be Linked To A Sweet Tooth
Diabetes On The Increase
Ladies Better With Stress
Weird Food Cravings In Pregnancy
Shorten Labour With Exercise

Playing Games For Health

You thought that playing games was just for fun but latest research has shown that participation can actually help to boost your immune system. Playing bridge cause the body to produce increased numbers of immune cells. Professor Marian Diamond of the University of California, Berkeley, believes stimulating the frontal lobe of the brain, for example by playing bridge, positively influences the immune system. Her research supports the theory that positive thinking helps overcome illness. Professor Diamond suggested that it may be possible to 'control voluntarily the level of white blood cells to help combat disease and other illnesses.

Daily Telegraph 9 November 2000

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=003808672615630&rtmo=kCY13J3p&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/00/11/9/nbridg09.html

Alcoholism Could Be Linked To A Sweet Tooth

New research suggests that there is a link between excessive alcohol intake and a sweet tooth. Researchers in America studied 19 pairs of genetically identical twins, and found that despite different life experiences the twins displayed the same sweet and alcohol preferences. Twins also reported similar emotional responses to eating sweets, often stating that it made them feel less irritable. The findings support old advice from Alcoholics Anonymous stating that eating sweets can reduce the urge to drink. There is now hope that a 'sweet test' could be developed to predict potential alcoholism. Dr Alexey Kampov-Polevoy of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York said: "This test could be used to detect those with a predisposition to alcoholism, which might allow early education and prevention."

The Independent 7 November 2000

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Health/2000-11/tooth071100.shtml

Diabetes On The Increase

The extent of diabetes in the population is on the increase and set to continue to do so well into the future unless we make lifestyle changes now. Increasing globalisation and the resulting adoption of a Western lifestyle by people on other continents has led to an 11 per cent increase in the last five years alone. The International Diabetes Foundation discovered that more than half the sufferers are aged between 20 and 59. Up to 2.4 million Britons could be suffering from the disease, and those in poor urban areas are more likely to develop the disease than people who live in rural areas.

Diabetes is the result of the body's inability to control the level of sugar in the blood. The effects can range from chronic pain to heart disease, blindness and stroke. Circulatory problems can necessitate limb amputation. The effects of diabetes make it the developed world's fourth most important cause of death.

Doctors fear that increasing levels of obesity could be to blame for the epidemic - the NHS spends more money on weight-related diseases than on those resulting from smoking. One Japanese expert described diabetes as a 'McDisease' in a reference to the alleged role of fast food in causing obesity. Other known risk factors include being over 40, having a family history of the disease, and being of Asian or Afro-Caribbean origin.

Prof George Alberti, the president of the IDF, said: "Diabetes can cause an enormous burden to people and economies worldwide and this research should convince governments to put it at the top of the healthcare agenda."

The Times, Financial Times 6 October 2000

Ladies Better With Stress

A new study has shown that women's hormones may be a great benefit in coping with everyday stress. Scientists at the University of California looked at 200 studies of stress behaviour, and found that a female tendency was to 'tend and befriend' rather than adopt the male stance of 'flight or fight'. This approach means that women are better bosses because they work well in teams and communicate better, all in keeping with newer styles of management. Researchers have pointed to a hormone called oxytocin as one factor in the female reaction to stress. Oxytocin exerts a calming influence at times of stress and is amplified by the female hormone oestrogen. However, male hormones such as androgens seem to diminish oxytocin's effects.

Daily Express 6 October 2000

Weird Food Cravings In Pregnancy

If you have been pregnant do you remember those strange cravings for foods? A recent survey has shown that children's gym shoes, ice lollies in mustard, and chocolate with salad cream are amongst the gastronomic delights favoured by British women during pregnancy. The survey of 200 pregnant women by vitamin maker Sanatogen has revealed a bizarre range of cravings, including ice cream with pineapple and prawns. It also found that one in 10 women were still uncertain about what they are allowed to eat during pregnancy. A spokesperson for the Maternity Alliance has said: "If a craving seems very bizarre, it's worth checking with your doctor or midwife first."

The Guardian 6 November 2000

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4086669,00.html

Shorten Labour With Exercise

Further news this week for those who are pregnant. Scottish research has indicated that those women who exercise during pregnancy could dramatically reduce the time they are in labour. Prof Craig Charles and colleagues at Stirling University found that every stage of labour could be shortened by moderate exercise, and that the baby's birth weight was not affected, as previously thought. "Water-based exercise such as swimming and aqua-aerobics are particularly good," Prof Charles said.

The Daily Telegraph 6 November 2000

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=003808774623823&rtmo=asHRes2L&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/00/11/6/npreg06.html

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