Cyberspace Health Clinic: Health News: Health News: Beginning Wk 16 Oct 2000

Round-Up of Global News In Health and Complementary Medicine

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News Beginning Wk 16 Oct 2000

Link Between Breast Cancer And Fatty Diet
Kick Colds With A Little Soup
Dieting Fears Amongst Teenagers
Beat Cancer With A Glass Of The Grape
Vaccines Via Shampoos
The Love Zone
Obesity Fed By Mothers' Milk
Aims To Reduce Smoking

Link Between Breast Cancer And Fatty Diet

Latest research has shown that those people with fatty diets run a higher risk of breast cancer. A fatty Western diet could destroy a nutrient that is needed by the breast tissue to protect against cancer. The nutrient is as yet unidentified but is thought to be more abundant in vegetables and pulses than in meat and dairy products. Epidemiological studies have long pointed to an increased incidence of breast cancer with high fat diets. The main cause of breast cancer remains unknown but other risk factors include obesity, being aged over 30 at the birth of your first child, and exposure to radiation, but all these together only account for 26 per cent of breast cancer cases.

The Independent 18 October 2000

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Environment/2000-10/fatty181000.shtml

Kick Colds With A Little Soup

If you needed any proof that what you eat can affect your health then read on. American scientists have proved what every Jewish mother instinctively knows - chicken soup can cure a cold. Dr Stephen Rennard and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska compared the anti-inflammatory properties of his wife's favourite recipe with several commercial brands. Almost all off the soups blocked the migration of cells that stimulate the production of mucus in the respiratory passages. The team has published their findings in the medical journal Chest, but Dr Rennard acknowledged that the soup's chemical composition isn't the only reason for its effectiveness. "There could be a TLC factor. If you know somebody prepared soup for you by hand, that might have an effect."

The Times 18 October 2000

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,21025,00.html

Dieting Fears Amongst Teenagers

Concerns about dieting fads amongst the teenage population have been heightened. Teenagers are increasingly worried about their weight and body image, according to a new survey. The Schools Health Education Unit conducted a survey of 37,000 school children aged between 10 and 15. It found that 60 per cent of girls aged between 14 and 15 believed they were overweight and needed to go on a diet, despite less than one in eight girls being clinically overweight. Boys were also concerned about their weight, with 28 per cent admitting they wanted to lose a few pounds. The man in charge of the project, Dr David Regis, said: "We can relate this desire to low self-esteem and general anxiety about appearance."

Health campaigners said schools needed to encourage pupils to be more immune to images of people presented in the media. Experts stressed that dieting is not the best solution, and that healthy eating and exercise is better for you. The SHEU survey also found that 50 per cent of 14 and 15-year-olds confessed to having had an alcoholic drink in the last week, while one in five teenagers said they had tried cannabis.

The Independent 16 October 2000

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Health/2000-10/teen161000.shtml

Beat Cancer With A Glass Of The Grape

Good news for vino lovers! A glass of wine a week greatly reduces the risk of getting bowel cancer, according to new research. American scientists have found that while 12 per cent of teetotallers had pre-cancerous polyps in their gut, only one per cent of regular wine-drinkers had them. The effect doesn't extend to beer drinkers, of whom 18 per cent were found to have polyps. Moderate wine consumption is known to have other health benefits. Two glasses a day cuts the risk of heart disease by 25 per cent, and can also protect against Alzheimer's disease. The high levels of manganese in Chablis are said to ease arthritic joint pain, and Cabernet Sauvignon is rich in a compound known to prevent cancer and heart disease.

Daily Express 16 October 2000

Vaccines Via Shampoos

New technology could ease the pain of vaccines by needle. Indeed the latter could be a thing of the past with the development of a new "shampoo" vaccination. Scientists have found that the surface of the skin has a better immune response than an injection into the bloodstream. Prof Tang Dechu, at the University of Alabama, has found that one of the skin's main roles is as a barrier to germs. It contains millions of immune cells that react to stimulation. Although the skin cannot absorb a normal vaccine, Prof Tang has found a virus that can act as a "carrier" to allow a vaccine to enter through the skin. The new technique is about to enter human trials after it was used successfully on monkeys to vaccinate them against influenza, tetanus and malaria. The technique could be most useful in the Third World, where it would not need to be applied by medical personnel, who are in short supply. It could also cut the spread of HIV through infected needles.

The Times 16 October 2000

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,19739,00.html

The Love Zone

Want to know the seat of those loving feelings? Scientists at University College London have pinpointed the areas of the brain that switch on when we see our beloved. They found that one such area is also involved in controlling the gut. "This might explain why we get butterflies in our stomach", said one researcher.

The Observer 15 October 2000

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4076802,00.html

Obesity Fed By Mothers' Milk

A new slant on the benefits of breast feeding this week. Mothers' milk could hold the key to childhood obesity, according to a new study. American researchers found that mice with a genetic predisposition for obesity and diabetes were less obese if nursed by a lean foster mother. But other mice with similar genetic tendencies put on weight faster and were more likely to develop diabetes if nursed by an obese mother. The research indicates that chemicals in the mother's milk may work together with genes to determine whether or not the offspring becomes obese or develops diabetes. Professor Edward Leiter, of Cold Spring Harbor in Maine, said the finding had "potential health implications for obese human populations" and that it might soon be possible to identify the genes responsible for obesity with a view to preventing the condition.

Daily Express 14 October 2000

Aims To Reduce Smoking

The potential deaths from smoking were highlighted this week. If current smoking patterns persist, some 500m people alive today will be killed by tobacco use, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). Smoking-related deaths are expected to increase to 10m a year within three decades, exceeding all fatalities caused by HIV infection, malaria and tuberculosis. This week, government officials from the 191 members countries of the WHO are meeting in Switzerland to draw up an international framework convention to limit tobacco use.

Philip Morris and British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's two biggest tobacco multinationals, were yesterday trying to develop tactics against the WHO's treaty to campaign against smoking. Philip Morris claimed to support a 'strong' international convention curbing tobacco use and said it wanted a constructive partnership with the WHO. BAT said that tobacco control should be left to national governments but both companies acknowledged that smoking was addictive and dangerous. All the statements made by the two companies were received with scepticism by anti-smoking campaigners and the WHO.

The WHO's convention is likely to recommend that national governments enact legislation, which will eventually ban all tobacco advertising and sponsorship, shift towards standard taxation rates and crack down cross-border smuggling.

The Guardian 13 October 2000

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4075888,00.html

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