A slow start to the week, but towards the end it did get interesting! This week covers dangerous weight loss pills, cardiovascular disease, toxins in baby formula, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and bone strength.[divider]
Warning over illegal ‘weight loss’ chemical DNP (9th Oct)
The Food Standards Agency is launching a campaign to warn people of the dangers of an industrial chemical that is being sold illegally as a fat burning pill… Read more here.
This story is following the death of three individuals last year, who took the dangerous DNP chemical in an attempt to lose weight. It is very sad that people feel the need to take such drastic measures to get the desired body, but there really is no such thing as a quick fix. DNP is actually illegally sold online as a weight management pill, and works by drastically increasing your body temperature to the point where you may be hospitalized or killed. Weight loss is such as big business, and many (unethical people) see this as a simple way of making money, often lying about the effectiveness/ safety of some products. This story highlights how corrupt some sections of the ‘health’ industry are, and it is shocking that some people are getting away with it. If something seems too good to be true, there is a good chance it is – do background reading on products you are looking to buy!
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Exposure to aircraft noise may increase risk of hospitalization for heart problems (9th Oct)
Living next to an airport may be frustrating due to the constant onslaught of noise, but new research suggests that close proximity to these transportation hubs may also be detrimental to your health… Read more here.
This story is following a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, which investigated the relationship between exposure to constant aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease. These finding are not very surprising to be honest. We already know that constant background noise (such as that from motorways or planes) can increase stress and affect mood, so it is not very surprising that it will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease too. Until now though, the relation between noise and cardiovascular disease has only been speculation, this is the first time that it has been confirmed by a study. It will be interesting to see if anything will be done about this, with limited housing, and airports wanting to expand I’m not sure what options people will have about living near airports.
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Warning over aluminium in baby milk (10th Oct)
Experts are calling on the Government to take action after new research showed some types of baby formula contain 100 times more aluminium than breast milk… Read more here.
Relatively recently I wrote an article about breast milk vs the nutrients in formula milk – and breast milk won. Now it comes to light that there are other chemicals in formula milk, in this case aluminium, which is extremely dangerous. Aluminium is strongly associated with cancer development (particularly breast cancer), damaging DNA and disrupting the regulation of minerals like iron in adults. Babies are much more sensitive to toxins than adults, so the risk to babies is amplified. This just goes to show that you really do not know what is in your food (remember the horse meat scandal?). Sticking with nature is always safer, and breast certainly is best.
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Alzheimer’s breakthrough: Cure or hype? (10th Oct)
UK researchers have, for the first time, used a chemical to prevent the death of brain tissue in a neurodegenerative disease… Read more here.
A toxic chemical (which causes diabetes and weight loss) has been shown to prevent brain cells from dying in mice. This, in my opinion is more hype than a cure. The results are interesting, and may offer some promise for future development into a cure for Alzhimers, but it is still a long long way away from producing a treatment for humans.
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Cardiff University uses movie special effects to fight arthritis (1oth Oct)
A virtual reality centre – believed to be the first of its kind in the UK – has been set up at Cardiff University with equipment used to create special effects in films… Read more here.
A high tech bit of kit has been installed at Cardiff university, putting it at the forefront of arthritis research. The new equipment should allow researchers to study arthritis in much greater details, and is said to almost instantaneously produce calculations which otherwise would take much longer (sometimes years) to produce. This should hopefully result in some exciting developments in arthritis treatment and understanding soon.
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Vitamin D pills’ effect on healthy bones queried (11th Oct)
Healthy adults do not need to take vitamin D supplements, suggests a study in The Lancet which found they had no beneficial effect on bone density, a sign of osteoporosis… Read more here.
In a world where I would have thought everyone knew nutrients don’t work in isolation, I really need to question this study. There are genetic, environmental and other nutritional factors consider. A researcher at the University of Surrey said “I’m not surprised they didn’t find any evidence of the effects of vitamin D on bone density because there are so many other factors involved in osteoporosis, like genes, diet and environment. This whole study seems pointless, we know that bone density is related to other minerals (such as potassium and magnesium), other vitamins (such as vitamin K2), diet and exercise. To investigate if increasing one nutrient will make a difference seems little more than a waste of time – I think we all could have made an educated guess on the results, but at least now we do know.
[divider]What do you think about this weeks health news? Leave your comments below!
Images courtesy of Eivind Z. Molvær, potamos.photography, shyb, Liz Henry, ohocheese and SimonQ錫濛譙.
