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Tag: Health

  • Chocolate reduces stroke risk in men According to a recent article from the Guardian, research in Sweden shows that men who eat a standard-sized chocolate bar each week could lower their chance of suffering a stroke in later life by 17%. The study carried out by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute, also suggests that eating more than a bar per week could lower…

  • Could broccoli really be a superfood? A recent article published by the Daily Mail says that sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli, could prevent the spread of breast cancer. A laboratory study at the University of Michigan carried out directly on breast cancer cells and mice injected with cancer cells found that sulforaphane halted the progression of tumours…

  • Echinacea has hit the headlines, based on a press release issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Further information can be found on the NHS, BBC and Daily Mail websites, links below. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/08august/Pages/echinacea-allergy-warning-for-children-under-12.aspx http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19318309 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2191024/Echinacea-trigger-allergies-children-12-warns-UK-drugs-watchdog.html

  • The truth about cereal bars: Recent research by the consumer group Which? has found that most cereal bars are high in sugar and fat, making their healthy image a “myth”, according to the BBC and The Independent. This story has been covered by a number of other newspapers, including the Sun, which calls the snack…

  • Update on The Royal College of Midwives e-petition for 5,000 more midwives

    A little while ago we posted about an e-petition from The Royal College of Midwives calling for 5,000 more midwives. The petition closed today (22nd August 2012) at 11:53am with a staggering 75,723 in support of the Government taking action to recruit more midwives. Although not the 100,000 signatures RCM was calling for, the petition…

  • New campaign urges middle-aged to check their sun-damaged skin: A striking new campaign was launched today urging people with the common condition actinic keratoses to have any suspicious lesions checked out by a GP for fear of developing a form of skin cancer. The national skin disease research charity, the British Skin Foundation is launching…

  • Yoga: a cost-effective treatment for back pain sufferers?  Specialised group yoga classes could provide a cost-effective way of treating patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain, according to the UK’s largest ever study of the benefits of yoga. Led by the University of York, and funded by Arthritis Research UK, the study provides an…

  • How much sun is too much sun? We all know that we need the vitamin D the sun provides, but we also know that over exposure and excessive tanning can put us at risk of skin cancer. But do you know how much sun is too much for your skin? A new study has launched…

  • Study shows that exercising in midlife can protect the heart, as report by the BBC: In the study, which is published in the journal Circulation, people who did the recommended 2.5 hours of exercise a week had the lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood.  Full article Image: iStockphoto

  • Good news for chocoholics!  Dark chocolate may lower blood pressure: The Cochrane Group’s report said chemicals in cocoa, chocolate’s key ingredient, relaxed blood vessels. Full article Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

  • Aromatherapy massage for menopause relief, as reported by Reuters Health: Aromatherapy oils included lavender, rose, rosemary, almond and evening primrose. The women completed a standard menopause symptom-rating scale before and after the four-week treatment period. In the end, women in the aromatherapy group reported the biggest decline in symptoms. They fell from an average score…

  • New study on compassion for preventing emotional burnout: Training people to be compassionate rather than empathic might help to solve problems such as depression, burnout and narcissism, according to Tania Singer at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. “People with a lot of empathy want to change that to compassion so…