Legal-Highs Can Kill

The number of UK deaths linked to so-called "legal highs" has risen in recent years - from 10 in 2009 to at least 68 in 2012, figures show.

Legal-high Gogaine

Researchers compiled post-mortem test results for the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths. 

Designed to mimic the effects of illegal drugs, "legal highs" are chemically different enough to not be covered by the law. They are on sale openly on websites and high streets across the UK.

The chemicals - known as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) - are made on an industrial scale in countries like China and India and then packaged and distributed throughout Europe. Suppliers can sell many of them legally as long as they write "not for human consumption" on the packets. They are often sold as plant food or bath salts.

The government says it is leading the way globally by banning new drugs quickly.

But often new versions are then cooked up and come on sale almost immediately after a ban comes into place. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction identified 73 new substances in 2012 alone.

Read more on this story, and the devastating effects it's had on one family, on the BBC news website. 

Measles Global Death-Rate Down By 78%

Measles Global Death-Rates Down By 78%

The World Health Organization has estimated that global death-rates from measles dropped 78% between 2000-2012. 
New figures show that around 13.8 million deaths were prevented during this time period. Campaigns to vaccinate children, and good routine immunisation levels are said to be the reasons for such good figures. 
According to the World Health Organization, around 84% of the worlds infants receive the first dose of measles vaccine before their first birthday. 
It also says that, 145 countries have also introduced a routine second dose of measles vaccine to ensure immunity and prevent outbreaks.

Despite the great news, there are still concerns that measles remains a worldwide threat. The regions of Africa, South-East Asia, and Europe all suffered large outbreaks in 2012. 


In other latest news......

Health Experts Back Car Smoking Ban; More than 700 doctors and health experts have put their names to a letter urging MP's to back a ban in England, on smoking in a car, while children are present. 
The issue is due to be voted on in parliament on Monday.
These signatories include nurses, surgeons and doctors working for the NHS.



High Increase In UK Insulin Use; The number of people using insulin in the UK, to treat diabetes has trebled between 1991 - 2010, according to researchers from Cardiff and Bristol Universities. 
They say the increase is due to a large rise in the number of people with type 2 diabetes, using the drug.
It found that, UK insulin users increased from 136,800 to 421.300, while people with any type of diabetes rose from 1.4 million, to 2.8 million users. 

Mental Health News and More

According to the NHS regulator, the number of people being held under the Mental Health Act has risen 12% in the last five years. 
Last year, the act was used over 50, 000 times, the highest ever number. 
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has also criticised the bans on activities such as internet use, phone use and access to outdoor space. Read more on this story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25926205


In other latest news, it's said that pesticide may be linked to alzheimer's. Exposure to the once widely used pesticide, DDT, may increase chance of developing alzheimer's disease. A study published in JAMA Neurology has showed that people with alzheimer's, had four-times the level of DDT in the body than healthy people. 
Alzheimer's Research UK has said there needs to be more evidence to prove DDT was linked to dementia. 


Hong Kong has began culling 20,000 chickens after the H7N9 bird flu virus was found in poultry imported from mainland China. 
The Government is said to have banned the import of live chickens from the mainland for 3-weeks.


Please check back soon very more news, tips, advice. 

Beat Diabetes with Red Wine & Chocolate

Beat Obesity Playing Football

Researchers say you can cut male obesity by taking up participation in football. A bit obvious to me.....any form of running around constantly for two 45 minute periods, on a regular basis, will drastically cut your risk of obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease. 
Around 375 overweight football fans were invited to take part in a 12 week programme of training sessions at their local football clubs. A year on, the men had lost around 5 kgs each compared to the same number of participants put on a waiting-list. 
Co-author Prof Kate Hunt, from Glasgow University, said: "Weight management and dieting are often wrongly viewed as women's issues, meaning that some men do not want to take part in existing weight management programmes."


Beat Diabetes with Red Wine and Chocolate

Scientists say you can beat diabetes with red wine and chocolate. Dark chocolate, berries and even red wine contain flavanoids and now it has emerged that eating high levels of the compounds can provide protection from type 2 diabetes by helping the body regulate sugar levels. 

Professor Aedin Cassidy has led the research at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

She said: "Small changes to the normal diet you have can have significant effects on prevention efforts.

Women Risking Lives Missing Cervical Tests

A charity warns that women are risking their lives missing cervical tests. The simple test, to which all women aged between 25 and 64 are invited regularly, is vital to help doctors spot any abnormal cells which could later turn into cancer.

Cervical cancer kills around three women every day in the UK, and is the most common type affecting women under 35.

Yet research, commissioned by Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, showed one in three 25 to 29-year-olds do not take up their invitations for a smear test.

While 26% of young women were delaying their first screening because they worried it would be painful and embarrassing.

Latest Health News

Today's blog post focuses on some of the latest health news from around the world, including why weight-lifting can cut diabetes risk.

Research taken out in the US shows that women who pump iron in the gym, reduce their risk of developing diabetes. 

Lifting weights, doing press-ups, or similar resistance exercises to give muscles a work-out was linked with a lower risk of diabetes, and we're recommended to do such exercise twice a week. 

Experts already know that regular aerobic exercise, such as jogging, brisk walking or swimming, can help stave off type 2 diabetes.

The latest work suggests adding resistance training to exercise regimes - something already recommended by the NHS - will give further protection.

The Harvard Medical School researchers point out that their work is not perfect - it looked at only nurses who were mostly Caucasian and relied on the study participants reporting how much exercise they did rather than directly measuring it.

They believe the explanation may be partly down to maintaining a greater muscle mass to act as a buffer against diabetes.

Nearly a third of a million people are being diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK, according to the charity Cancer Research UK.

It says around 50,000 more people are finding out they have cancer every year than a decade ago.

The rise is due to more people living to a ripe old age.

Meanwhile, research by the University of Exeter suggests patients want cancer symptoms to be checked out more quickly than NHS guidelines recommend.

Age is the biggest risk factor for cancer.

And as life expectancies have increased in the UK, so too has the number of people being diagnosed with cancer.

There's been a big rise in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems since the recession, according to The Royal College of GPs.

It also says doctors are not being given the right training to help spot and deal with the problem.

GPs have estimated that tens of thousands of 15 to 34-year-olds are suffering from depression, stress and/or anxiety.

They say that in the most serious cases, young people are self-harming and taking their own lives.

The Royal College of GPs says that some of the issues are on the increase because young people are struggling to cope with lack of money, jobs and opportunities.

Read more on these stories at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health/ and please check back soon for more posts on health and fitness, including more news, tips and advice and much more.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11613195/?claim=5ynerpvc9bb">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>