To enable me to give an update regarding the many health developments, I occasionally choose to give an overdose of health news updates. Here is my spring round-up of what is happening in the world of health.
Diet soda drinks, which very often include artificial sweeteners, increase the risk of a stroke or a heart attack by 43 per cent- Kathryn Borg
We all know that prunes keep us ‘regular’, and it has been scienti-fically established that glucosamine is good for joint pain and that probiotics help the gut stay healthy. However, very soon it will be illegal for manufacturers in Europe to state these facts, some of which have been known for generations.
The European Parliament is intending to outlaw these claims in addition to around 2,500 other commonly known claims. It should become law from next month and the new directives will prevent manufacturers of food and vitamin supplements from making health claims which may be true and may even be supported by scientific studies.
Once again, the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), which is the consumer action group fighting EU restrictions on alternative and nutritional health products, is asking everyone to alert their local MEP about the health claim legislation urging them to vote against it. Find out more from www.anh-europe.org/health-claims-veto-2012.
Moving on to diet drinks, an analysis of 2,564 people, in a study carried out by Columbia University in New York City, assessed the risks of stroke over a 10-year-period. They discovered that people who drink diet soda drinks every day are far more likely to suffer a stroke or heart failure.
The drinks, which very often include artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, increase the risk of a stroke or a heart attack by 43 per cent in those who drink them daily when compared to someone who never drinks them.
The researchers say that the threat is in the frequency of consumption. Those who drink diet soda or cola occasionally, such as once a month, were unlikely to see the threat increase. Those who drank at least six diet drinks a week were at risk. (J. Gen. Intern. Med., 2012).
Men who use laptops could be affecting their fertility. Researchers believe that the damage is being done by wifi (the wireless connection that most laptops use to access the web and e-mails).
Wifi appears to affect both sperm movement (which could prevent them from reaching the egg in the womb) and the genetic code the sperm carries. A research team from Argentina and the US placed pots of sperm next to a laptop connected to the internet via wifi, and placed other pots in a general wifi zone, but not next to a laptop.
After just four hours, the sperm placed near the laptop were already showing damage. As a result, the researchers say their results warrant further investigation. In fact, the findings support earlier case reports of laptops burning the testicles which may also affect sperm quality. The remedy is to place the laptop on a desk (Fertil. Steril., 2011).
Once again vitamin C has proved to be supportive to our health. As well as supporting our immune system, vitamin C can also keep your heart healthy and can even prevent a fatal attack after heart failure. The researchers say that even a ‘moderate’ intake of the vitamin is enough to protect the whole cardiovascular system.
The basic government guidelines of five portions of fruit and vegetables each day will provide enough vitamin C to reduce your risk of fatal heart failure by 2.4 times, compared with someone who has low levels of the vitamin.
Vitamin C also reduces the amount of high sensitivity C reactive protein in the body. This is a marker of inflammation which, in turn, is one of the principal causes of cardiovascular disease.
Consider that a smoker will have a much lower level of vitamin C and therefore the government guidelines will not always cover the requirements, so supplements may be necessary. (American Heart Association, 2011).
Finally, in this group of health updates, Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic compound, which is a colourless solid that is soluble in organic solvents, but poorly soluble in water. Having two phenol functional groups, it is used to make polycarbonate polymers and epoxy resins, along with other materials used to make plastics.
BPA is controversial because it exerts weak, but detectable, hormone-like properties, raising concerns about its presence in consumer products and foods contained in such products. Starting in 2008, several governments questioned its safety, prompting some retailers to withdraw polycarbonate products.
A 2010 report from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raised further concerns regarding exposure of foetuses, infants, and young children. In September 2010, Canada became the first country to declare BPA a toxic substance. In the US and Canada, BPA use is banned in babies’ bottles.
However, canned soups and drinks can dramatically increase levels of BPA in the body. Just one serving of soup will raise the amount of the chemical in the body by 20 times. The research team from the Harvard School of Public Health were shocked by the amount of which BPA was increased in the body after consuming just one serving of soup.
The levels are “among the most extreme reported in a non-occupational setting”, say the researchers, led by Jenny Carwile. The Harvard researchers are calling for can manufacturers to eliminate BPA from their products (JAMA, 2011).
kathryn@maltanet.net