Healthy Living - Food and Fitness

Want The Body? Eat Clean!

More healthy foods in this post, and I'll start with a couple of foods that are essential for healthy eyes; 

Salmon - Ideal if you work all day sat in front of a computer screen. Japanese research found that office workers reported a 54% reduction in eye fatigue, after taking astaxanthin, 5mg daily, for a month. A medium salmon fillet provides the perfect dose. 

Aubergine - Stop age-related vision problems by eating aubergines. A Columbia University study showed antioxidants found in the skin prevented the accumulation of vision-clouding pigments in later life. 


3 Quick Tips 

1. Train harder by sucking mints! Cyclists who could smell peppermint before training perceived 15% less effort, so went further, according to studies done in West Virginia.

2. Add 2 alcoholic drinks and three moderate cardio sessions into your week to reduce your risk of heart failure by 20%. But go steady, regular alcohol in-take, of 30 units or more a week, can lead to congestive heart failure. 

3. Lose an extra 33 lbs of fat if you swap running regularly for playing football, plus you can gain an extra 2kg of muscle too.

Health Benefits of Blueberries

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. 

Coffee Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk

A 20-year study of around 50,000 men, completed in the US, claims that drinking 3-6 cups of coffee a day can greatly reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer, which is one of the most prolific UK man-killers. The study also claimed to reduce your risk of dying by up to 60%. And even small amounts, 1-2 cups a day, lowered your risk of developing prostate cancer by 30%.
Decaff is said to do the same as regular coffee, as it's the antioxidants and plant chemicals that help you, not the caffeine. 

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. 

News In Brief - New Strain Of Deadly Bird Flu

Experts are said to be concerned about a new deadly strain of bird flu, that has already claimed the life of one woman in China. The 73-year old caught the H10N8 virus after visiting a live poultry market. 
Scientists who have studied the new H10N8 virus say it has evolved some genetic characteristics that may allow it replicate efficiently in humans. The concern being that it could ultimately pass from person to person, although experts say there is no evidence of this as yet.


The World Health Organisation say the globe is facing a huge 'tidal wave' of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered. The prediction is that, by 2035, there will be 24 million people diagnosed with cancer, compared to current levels of 14 million. 
The World Cancer Research Fund there was an 'alarming' level of naivety about diet's role in cancer.


Eating too many sugary sweets, desserts and drinks can lead to increased risk in having a heart attack, according to experts in the US. 
In the study, which looked at data on sugar consumption amongst tens of thousands of people in the US, as well as death rates from heart related problems, there was a significant link to the amount of sugar consumed and heart risk. 


Check back soon for more news, and also great tips and advice on healthy living and healthy foods.

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.