Healthy News Archive: Issue #8

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The Healthy Newsletter from AnnA

Your Weekly Health Prescription - September 12th, 2007

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Well I am sorry if you are receiving this newsletter a day late, but the flu virus has been unbelievably persistent and my work rate has dropped considerably! Happily, I am on the mend and this wonderful September sunshine is certainly helping and I am boosting it with regular doses of vitamin C and Echinacea to make sure I don't slide back again! If you like to start your day with a refreshing cup of tea then I have some good news for you and as the emphasis is more on prevention in this issue may I wish you the very best of continuing good health - AnnA

In this issue
-Health benefits of tea, green black, and now white
-Avoiding Varicose Veins with vitamin K
-Tai Chi and Flu Vaccines go hand in hand
-Cervical Cancer treatment has the way but needs the will

Health benefits of tea
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Although not a drinker of tea myself, other than green or herb teas, I know it is the way that many people like to stat their day, and the health benefits of tea are well documented. These include protection against some cancers, as well as showing anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, cholestrol lowering, antivivral and antibacterial properties. Research carried out at the Linus Pauling Institute in Oregon, USA, has now shown that white tea is able to prevent mutations of DNA two to five times more efficiently than green or black teas, which theoretically gives it greater potential in preventing cancer. There is also growing evidence showing a benefical relationship between drinking tea and reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attack. So put that kettle on quick, but have you considered trying a different kind of tea? It only takes 3 cups a day to give you the optimum amount for health and variety being the spice of life you might want to mix up your brew. All teas contain flavenoids, which is where the health benefits of tea are believed to come from, but green and black teas both contain different ones and so give slightly different benefits.

Now there is another healthy contender and that is white tea which comes from the same bushes as green or black tea but is produced by taking the buds before they are opened. White tea contains catechins, powerful antioxidants known to reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol as well as containing naturally occurring fluoride to give protection to bones and teeth. White tea from China has long been available, and now there is new source from Malawi which has been found by the UK specialist company called Nothing But Tea, surprisingly enough. White tea is best drunk without any additions and can be used several times to get the full range of flavour which ranges from delicate through to deep and aromatic. If you want to know more or try this easy health aid for yourself look out for their teas in specialist shops, or order from them online at http://www.nbtea.co.uk/ where you will also find an amazing range of other teas as well.

Avoiding Varicose Veins with vitamin K
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Varicose veins can be an inherited genetic trait, and if you feel you are susceptible, then there is a simple dietary supplement that may help. New research shows that the condition may be attributable to a lack of vitamin K according to a new study in the "Journal of Vascular Research." The matrix GLA protein (MGP) has been identified as a key element in the development of varicose veins and since vitamin K is required to activate MGP, it is therefore important that you get a sufficient amount in your diet if you want to prevent the development of varicose veins.

There are two main forms of vitamin K that you get through food. K1 (phytonadione) which is found in green leafy vegetables, including lettuce, broccoli, and spinach, and makes up about 90 percent of the vitamin K intake in the West. K2 (menaquinones) include several menaquinones and one type is found in meat and another in fermented food products like cheese and natto - a Japanese food from soybeans. Fermented cheeses include soft cheese like brie and camembert as well as emmental, gouda and good old cheddar. None of these foods are rare or difficult to include in the diet, so make sure you include them if you want to avoid varicose veins.

Tai Chi and Flu vaccine go hand in hand
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Traditionally autumn is when we get contacted by the Doctor's surgery for an annual flu shot. This is offered to those who are vulnerable to prevent flu and from developing complications such as pneumonia. If you want to make that protection even stronger there is new research that shows that Tai chi may boost the body's immune response to flu shot and this makes it more effective. I am a great fan of tai chi for many reasons, not least because recent studies have indicated that it has a number of health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving stability so there is a lower risk of falls and helping reduce arthritis symptoms. All in all it seems to help prolong a healthy and active life, and now researchers at the University of Illinois in the USA have added another reason.

They found that some older people who are at risk from flu fail to have a strong enough immune response to the vaccine to give them real protection from the flu virus. They then tested whether a combination of tai chi and qigong might bolster this group's immune responses to the flu vaccine by giving the group, who were mainly over 70, their first experience of tai chi in three one-hour classes per week and there was also a control group who did not take part in the classes. At the start of the study, all participants received a flu vaccine and blood tests taken over the next five months showed that the tai chi/qigong group produced more antibodies against the flu virus than the comparison. This means they had a much better response to the flu vaccine, and although this was only one small study it seems to bear out the main benefits of tai chi which are to cultivate relaxation and restore harmony to the body. The findings, published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, state that it's not yet clear exactly how, on a physiological level, the practices might enhance immunity but in my experience a calm body and a calm mind go a long way to promoting health. If you want to find a teacher in your area, and you don't have a personal recommendation, then this site can help: http://www.taichifinder.co.uk

Cervical Cancer treatment has the way but needs the will

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Cancer is a word that strikes fear into us, and our hope is always that a permanent cure or viable treatment will be happen. Millions are spent on research into this, but for cervical cancer in particular the shocking news is that it can be cured and treated with current technology and treatments but that it is not being applied worldwide. The findings of a seminar, recently published in The Lancet, led by Professor Schiffman of the National Cancer Institute, Maryland, USA concluded that there are enough options available to make successful treatment available to all those who need it, but what is lacking is the most important ingredient of all and that is 'sufficient will' to implement it. Cervical cancer made up about one tenth of all deaths in women due to cancer globally in 2002 - a total of 500,000 incident cases and 275,000 deaths - with over 80% of all cervical cancer cases happen in the developing world where it is the second most common cancer for women. Part of the problem lies in the fact that only around 5 percent of women in developing countries have been screened in the past 5 years compared with some 40 to 50 percent of women in developed countries. This cancer hits hardest on young women who are still raising their families, and if you want more information abouit the condition in the UK visit http://www.cancerresearchuk.org or if you would like to donate to help worldwide cervical cancer outreach there is a US site at http://www.nccc-online.org/donations.php

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I hope you have found this information useful, and please feel free to pass it on to others. Remember, I am not a doctor and cannot give you medical advice, so please always take appropriate action by consulting your own medical advisor if you have concerns about your health. Wishing you the best of good health, AnnA

www.catalystonline.co.uk
 

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Healthy News Archive: Issue #9

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The Healthy Newsletter from AnnA

Your Weekly Health Prescription - September 19th, 2007

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Something for everyone I hope in this week's newsletter.
The long going campaign to protect our supplements and natural
medicines from the bureaucratic workings of the EU gets a new
boost, and if you know a man with high blood pressure who doesn't
feel the need to get it treated, then just show him the first
item and see if that doesn't change his mind! A healthy diet is
something I often mention, but this week we are looking specifically
at arthritis and there is also disturbing news on the long term
impact of treating children with ADHD with drugs like Ritalin.
May I wish you the very best of continuing good health - AnnA

In this issue
-Extra health benefits for men in reducing blood pressure
-SOS for supplements
-Killer Tomatoes?
-ADHD drugs and risk of heart disease

Extra health benefits for men
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Over 16million adults in the UK currently are affected by
hypertension and it is certainly vitally important to control
high blood pressure to help keep your heart healthy. However,
now it seems that paying attention to your blood pressure can
also bring other benefits, particularly for men and some of the
concerns they might have around ageing. A study conducted by
researchers from Harvard and the Veterans Association (VA) in the
USA examined the medical records of more than 350 older men who
were part of the VA Normative Aging Study, which included a range
of neuropsychological tests. This is a way of looking at brain
function by summarizing the results of a series of organized mental
tasks such as ability to learn and retain information, problem solving
ability and intelligence for example. The key finding was that as the men aged, their overall neuropsychological function declined.

That is something you might expect, but what was startling was that
that decline was significantly more pronounced among men who had high
blood pressure but were taking no preventive measures or treatment to
control it. In particular this group showed a reduced ability to handle
language so that their verbal fluency and word recall was significantly
worse when compared to men who also had high blood pressure but who had
it under control. So if you want to keep on having lively arguments
using exactly the right words then make sure you monitor your blood
pressure levels!

SOS for supplements
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Your ability to freely choose and use natural medicines and
supplements has been attacked on various fronts over the past
few years. Campaigns have been ongoing to save specific supplements,
or dosages, and now Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) are diving in
with a campaign to Save Our Supplements by first targeting Gordon Brown
and the new minister for health, Dawn Primarolo, by starting with a
full page ad in The Guardian on the opening day of the Labour Party
Conference on September 24th. This ad will be an open letter to the
Prime Minister and a further letter will be sent to the President of
the European Commission, Jose Barroso as well as being placed in European
journals in 12 countries to bring pressure on the commission to safeguard
the future of consumer choice in the area of natural medicines and supplements.

Over 300 nutrients and nutrient sources that are already on the UK market,
and accepted as safe by the regulators, are not included on the 'Positive Lists'
the EU will accept and in order to get on the list it is estimated a
manufacturer will have to submit a dossier of information that is estimated
to cost around £250,000 per substance. This is obviously completely out of
the range of the many small herbal companies that have been in existence
for many years and it is anticipated that only 20 dossiers are expected to
be submitted. One of the main areas of concern is over what the EU can set
as maximum dosage for vitamins and minerals and these levels are likely
to be extremely low. it will be illegal to market supplements which
contain higher levels than these even though such levels have already been
established through long usage as being safe. There has been substantial
pressure from the pharmaceutical lobby and from the French and German
Governments, to only allow low dose supplements and th is would inevitably
mean that a great many safe, popular and effective higher potency supplements
will removed from the UK market. If you are a member of the Women's Institute,
you will be hearing more about this as CHC Director Sue Croft is in talks
with the WI to encourage their 211,000 members to lend their support to the
campaign. The WI has over 6,800 groups nationwide and is committed to improving
the nations health through diet, so they would make ideal campaign partners.
More information on how to help, or if you wish to make a contribution to the
campaign from the website at www.consumersforhealthchoice.com

ADHD drugs and risk of heart disease
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The number of children on anti depressants and other behaviour altering
drugs has quadrupled in the last ten years. In 2005 GP's wrote more than
631,000 prescriptions for drugs such as Prozac to under 16's as against
146,00 in the mid 1990's. This disturbing trend sees drugs being the first
line in the situation instead of other options such as counselling which
might be more appropriate. In line with the fact that the use of Ritalin
to control stress and aggressive behaviour in children has also increased
tenfold in the same period, there is a timely study being undertaken in the
USA to look at the potential heart risks from medicines used to treat
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality, will examine clinical data of about
500,000 children and adults who have taken ADHD drugs, including Ritalin.
The analysis is expected to take about two years and will include all
drugs currently marketed for treating ADHD. There are millions of people
taking these medicines worldwide and it is known they can increase heart
rate and blood pressure, and this has raised concerns they may therefore
raise the risk of heart attacks, strokes or other cardiovascular problems.
There have been cases reported of heart problems in both adults and children
who receive drug treatment for ADHD, but these patients have had known
underlying risk factors. What is not known is whether or not these events
are directly related to the drug treatment and the study hopes to get further information to protect from potential risks from heart disease.

Killer Diet for rheumatoid arthritis?
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First on the hit list are tomatoes, maybe not killers exactly but if you
suffer from arthritis they are certainly to be avoided. They are among a
group of foods that trigger inflammation and general discomfort because
they contain solanine, an alkaloid that is known for its toxicity. Other
foods that are high in solanine are potatoes, aubergines and peppers, all
of which you might know better as the nightshade plant family. The solanine
is found in their leaves and roots and its purpose is to provide natural
protection against insects for the plant. When we eat those foods the solanine
is neutralized in the intestine, but because of their ability to trigger
joint pain, some researchers believe that arthritis patients may not be able
to adequately process the solanine and so it is still toxic in their system.
If you suffer from arthritis then you know that dietary solutions can be very
helpful for some people, so that taking all the nightshade family out of the
equation can be beneficial. Unfortunately this does not make any difference
at all to other people with arthritis and that it is another factor entirely
that causes the most problems. An excellent book by Patrick Holford called
'Eat to Beat Arthritis' made this point many years ago, and pointed out that
certain foods can increase the severity of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and
these include milk, pork, red meat, cod, eggs and cereal. This is now confirmed
by research done in Norway and Sweden, which has shown that certain people may
be predisposed to develop rheumatoid arthritis when their diet includes plenty
of high-protein foods. If you do suffer from this painful condition then an
investigation into what foods affect you might well be very beneficial,
and the book I just mentioned is a good place to start with that.

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I hope you have found this information useful, and please feel free to pass
it on to others. Remember, I am not a doctor and cannot give you medical advice,
so please always take appropriate action by consulting your own medical advisor
if you have concerns about your health.

Wishing you the best of good health, AnnA

www.catalystonline.co.uk

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Healthy News Archive: Issue #10
 

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The Healthy Newsletter from AnnA
Your Weekly Health Prescription - September 26th, 2007
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Well I nearly got blown away this week when the weather
changed and the rain and wind battered my clifftop home.
It reminded me again of the need to be really prepared for winter,
so I was pleased to come across some new research
on Echinacea that I am reporting to you.

It's also the time of year when we may be prescribed antibiotics
so there is a helpful tip or two on how to
protect yourself from some of the side effects. Last time
I talked about the need to protect our health choices when
it comes to taking supplements and the National Association
of Health Stores has estimated that if the European
Commission does enforce tough new limits on vitamin and
mineral dosages that half of all independent health stores
could face extinction by 2009 and the larger health chains
would certainly cut their number of stores too. If you want
to protect your maximum health choices then sign the petition
at your local health storeor online at:
http://www.consumersforhealthchoice.com/

If you are fond of a fizzy soft drink, then I am
afraid I also have some news that might take the sparkle out
of it for you. May I wish you the very best of continuing
good health - AnnA

In this issue:
-Echinacea vindicated
-Natural help for antibiotic side effects
-How to cut increased eczema rates in babies
-The fizz that could be fatal


Echinacea vindicated
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It's a winter regular, the first sign of cold weather and
I head for the Echinacea tincture to strengthen my immune
system through the winter. Herbalists and anecdotal
evidence has long believed that Echinacea is very effective
at warding off colds and now there is further proof from
scientists at the University of Connecticut School of
Pharmacy. They have not identified the precise mechanism
by which it does this, but the study revealed that although
the common cold is caused by 200 different viruses,
Echinacea usage showed consistent reduction in the chances
of catching a cold by up to 58%. Their findings came from
reviewing the results of 14 separate clinical trials and
found that Echinacea not only helped prevent colds, it
also reduced the length of an established cold by a day
and a half. Time for me to take my tincture!


Natural help for antibiotic side effects
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I have mentioned before the problem with taking unnecessary
antibiotics, but if you have to taken them then it can
really help to take preventive measures to avoid some of
the more common side effects. Though their job is to knock
out infection-causing bugs, antibiotics often end up
destroying good bacteria, triggering stomach troubles and
yeast infections and often lead to low moods or depression
in susceptible people.

The most important thing you can do while taking antibiotics
is to reintroduce good bacteria into your body.
In between doses, take good probiotic supplements like
acidophilus and bifidus or a good probiotic yoghurt as that
will help with antibiotic-related diarrhoea that can occur
for those on antibiotic regimes in hospital. This last
affects around 25% of those in hospital and a recent trial
showed that simply drinking a probiotic such as Actimel
reduced their risk of getting diarrhoea by 17%, and would
certainly help anyone taking antibiotics at home.

Another problems associated with taking antibiotics
is yeast overgrowth, and this can cause vaginal yeast
infections and stomach upset. Help your body out by
drastically reducing the amount of sugar you have in your
diet in food, or in drinks, and increasing the amount of
garlic and onions you eat as they help keep yeast in check.
Antibiotics put a great strain on the liver, because every
drug we take has to be broken down in the body and that's
the liver's job. Support it by eating dark-green leafy
vegetables like kale, broccoli, beets and artichokes to
keep the bile flowing. To regenerate your liver cells,
take milk thistle supplements.

If you are susceptible to low moods or depression,
then antibiotics can be an problem as it is an associated
side effect with some of the antibiotic drugs so please
check that your doctor prescribes something that won't
trigger your low moods. For a natural help while on
antibiotics, take a good B complex, a gram of vitamin C
and St John's Wort as 'mood-enhancing' package every day.


How to cut eczema rates in babies
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You can't turn on the television without endless ads
promoting products that encourage us to eradicate every
single germ I the vicinity with a variety of chemical
products. My mother's favourite dictum of 'you've got to
eat some dirt before you die' is now deeply unfashionable,
but there was a lot of sense in it. For children to build
up immunity they need some exposure, so a completely
sterile environment is not the answer. WE are now seeing
a huge increase in cases of eczema - in fact the number of
children suffering from it has doubled in a generation. It
wasn't widely reported, but Dr Chris Steele spoke up on
television on the This Morning programme and suggested that
one reason why at least 35% of babies now suffer from sore,
flaking and itchy skin be in part due to the fact that our
drive for cleanliness means babies are being washed too
often and this causes damage.

Nor is it just children who are affected; eczema
affects more than 5% of adults and many skin experts agree
that a lot of it is down to our over use of artificial
cleaning agents, solvents and detergents. If you want to try
some natural solutions for dry, itchy skin and eczema then
first look at your diet and increase the amount of essential
fatty acids. A Danish study showed a 58% success rate when
patients were given fish oil supplements over a 4 month
period and every time you add oily fish like mackerel to
your diet you are giving yourself a dose of Omega-3 oil and
also vitamin D, both of which are good for the skin. Zinc is
an essential trace element for healthy skin and natural
sources include oysters, red meat, poultry, pumpkin seeds,
dairy products, beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and
wholegrain cereals. For more help with skin conditions
like eczema there is a useful website at http://www.skincarecampaign.org/


The fizz that could be fatal
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An ingredient widely used as a preservative in fizzy soft
drinks has triggered alarm for several years but now it
may be even more dangerous than was believed. Sodium
benzoate (E211) has been identified, when linked with
vitamin C in soft drinks, as a combination that forms
benzene, a recognised carcinogen. The Food Standards
Agency ordered four fizzy drinks removed from sale last
year after unsafe levels of benz\ene were dextected, though
it is still present in many other soft drinks. Now scientists
at Sheffield University have identified another danger from
E211 in that when it was tested on living yeast cells in a
laboratory it was seen that the benzoate was damaging an
important area of DNA. Peter Piper, the lead researcher,
stated that 'these chemicals have the ability to cause severe
damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they
totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.
If the mitochondria is damaged then the cell starts to malfunction
very seriously". Diseases that are linked with damage to this
DNA include Parkinson's, cirrhosis of the liver, a number of
neuro-degenerative diseases and of course the whole process
of ageing. I am a great advocate of label checking, I am
the one standing in the supermarket aisle for ten minutes
trying to read the small print, and in this case it would
be sensible to see whether your favourite soft drink contains
the vitamin C and E211 combination.

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I hope you have found this information useful, and please
feel free to pass it on to others. Remember, I am not a
doctor and cannot give you medical advice, so please always
take appropriate action by consulting your own medical advisor
if you have concerns about your health.

Wishing you the best of good health, AnnA
www.catalystonline.co.uk
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