Health news

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Poisonous shampoos

‘For shiny hair and a healthy scalp,’ so go the shampoo advertisements. But

how healthy are these products? Not many publications are as thorough as the

German research magazine Öko-Test (October 2003). The magazine tested 30

shampoos and could only find one ‘very good’ product (which was also the

most expensive, from the organic manufacturer Dr. Hauschka). The best that

could be said of the rest was some were less poisonous than others. A

general tip from Öko test: don’t wash your hair every day. And, when you do

wash it, do so only once. Before you wash your hair, brush it thoroughly to

remove the remains of styling products. After you wash it, rinse it very

thoroughly to wash out all the shampoo. Look for a shampoo with the fewest

possible chemical additives. WellBeing (issue 94, 2004) also conducted a

test and found that 8 of the 10 most popular shampoos on the market are in

fact poisonous cocktails that can lead to itching, dandruff and hair loss.

The worst offenders are the sulphate-based cleansing products.

 

 

 

 

News

 

High blood pressure? Reach for Fido or Fluffy

If you need to chill out, says Focus (February 2004), get a four-legged

friend. For her study of the benefits of pet ownership, previously published

in Hypertension, Karen Allen, a psychologist at the State University of New

York, didn’t sign up just anyone. Instead, she went right for the most

stressed-out group, overworked stockbrokers, and asked half of them to adopt

a dog or cat from the pound. When researchers then confronted these harried

financiers with demanding situations, their blood pressure was less than

half that of the group without pets. The only down side, according to Focus,

was what would happen to the pet owners’ blood pressure when Fido or Fluffy

died.

Pets can apparently do more than reduce stress. According to Lilipoh (winter

2003), dogs are ideal family therapists. And as if this weren’t enough, they

also help shoulder the burden of child rearing, playing for hours with

toddlers so that mums and dads can take care of business. When the kids hit

preadolescence, at around age 10, canines play an even more important role.

Many adults appear convinced that during that time, their dog was the only

creature who truly understood them.

 

Medication in drinking water

Water experts in the United States have discovered medical residues,

including antibiotics, steroids and antidepressants, in drinking water. E

Magazine (March/April 2004) assures readers there is no cause for alarm

regarding public health, but new research indicates that antibiotics affect

the resistance of certain water organisms to pathogenic agents and that

steroids could interfere with under-water reproduction. Medical residues,

which are unregulated in water, enter the drinking supply indirectly,

through sewage systems that cannot break down the chemical components of

drugs. Another source is unused medications that are flushed down toilets.

This situation could be remedied, says Christian Daughton, a scientist for

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if pharmaceutical companies would

take back any unused medication, as is done in some European countries and

Canada. (I expect The Pill is included in this toxic cocktail, as it is in

UK Thames river water.N)

 

Magnets help ease pain

When it comes to pain management, magnet therapy is an increasingly popular,

but hotly contested treatment. Alternative Medicine (September 2003)

assuages some of the scepticism by publishing a study on foot problems among

diabetics. For four months, 259 patients wore magnetic insoles, day and

night. Even the worst sufferers reported a 30% decrease in pain. Michael

Weintraub, a neurology professor at the New York Medical College and author

of the study concludes: ‘The magnets have no side effects and are cheaper (a

pair of the insoles cost around €60) than most medicines.’

 

Mental weight loss

Losing weight is not so much a question of dieting, but of mentality.

According to the American doctor James Ferguson, overeating has less to do

with hunger than emotions. In Natural Health (May/June 2003) he gives

readers tips on how to achieve the right mental attitude. Before you eat,

tell yourself: ‘I do not have a shortage of food and I am not going to feed

my stress, anxiety or fatigue.’ Take time to smell your food and taste its

structure. The more you enjoy it, the less you will eat. After you finish

tell yourself: ‘I have eaten a good, balanced meal and I don’t need anything

else.’ If necessary, repeat the first affirmation.

 

 

Dumb struck

Sex sells, at least when it comes to men. Researchers at McMaster University

in Canada have demonstrated that men have trouble thinking straight after

seeing pictures of beautiful women. Groups of men and women were asked to

roll dice. If they rolled double digits they were given the choice of taking

home ‘between $15 to $30 the next day, or take $50 to $85 after a wait of

one week to eight months’. The Globe and Mail (December 12, 2003) reports

that men that had been shown picture of attractive women prior to rolling

were far more likely to choose the immediate, but significantly lower amount

than those that hadn’t been shown pictures. Women chose overwhelmingly for

the larger, but less immediate amount regardless of whether they had been

shown photos of attractive men or not. The photos were taken from a popular

website inviting people to submit and rate photos of ‘hot’ men and women.

Scientists explained the results by declaring that men subconsciously linked

the photos with courtship and mating rituals, which are apparently still

associated with a need for money in Western culture. Women, on the other

hand, are purported to take a more long-term view on courting.

 

Scaly, but not stupid

Disconcerting news for fishermen: fish are more intelligent than we think.

Experts have recently proven that they have a three-month memory and that

they can even tell the time. Scientists at Plymouth University in the United

Kingdom trained fish to feed themselves by pressing on a lever. The food was

only available for one hour a day at a specific time and the fish quickly

learned to regulate their feeding routine accordingly, reports Kindred

Spirit (Winter 2003). So why do they keep swallowing the bait? (They feel

pain too apparently.N)

 

Sleep on it

Having trouble picking up Spanish? Try getting a good night’s sleep. Studies

by scientists at the University of Chicago indicate that getting sufficient

rest can help us better memorise higher-level intellectual tasks like

learning languages. A series of tests showed that subjects who had slept for

12 hours were better able to generalise – the ‘hallmark of higher-order

conceptual tasks’ according to one researcher. Scientists had previously

known that sleep was good for the processing of lower-level memories, such

as learning how to ride a bike or memorise facts, reports New Scientist

(October 11, 2003).

 

‘Here’s to longevity!’

Teetotalers may be missing out on the best years of their life. Red wine

contains reservatrol, one of a class of chemicals that scientists claim will

prolong life. The chemicals are thought to imitate the effects of a

low-calorie diet. The International Herald Tribune (August 26, 2003) writes

that biologists suspect that the chemicals trigger an ancient survival

reflex and could help us to live up to 30% longer. Testing on animals has

not yet begun and it could take up to ten years before drugs based on the

chemicals become available. The good news is that, in the meantime, red wine

remains readily available in abundance. So, if you’re keen on enjoying a few

more of your golden years you can wait for the reservatols, or you can start

cutting down on the calories and pour yourself a nice glass of Cabernet

Sauvignon. Corkscrew anyone? (I just read that having 3 drinks a day

destroys braincells and promotes Alzheimers! N)

 

Let the sun shine

We all know the drill: if you want to avoid skin cancer, stay out of the

sun. But what we don’t know is that our fear of sunlight may be increasing

our risks of contracting other forms of cancer. New Scientist (August 9,

2003) reports that some scientists have begun to suggest that underexposure

to the sun may leave us increasingly vulnerable to colon, breast, prostate,

lung and even skin cancer. The key to the matter is sunshine’s role in

triggering the body to produce vitamin D, which is thought to slow cell

proliferation. A lack of it could make us more susceptible to cancer – cells

multiplying out of control. Other sources of vitamin D, such as diet (oily

fish and dairy products) or vitamin supplements, are not readily available

in sufficient amounts to a significant portion of the world’s population.

Sunshine is. Scientists and doctors remain unanimous in their condemnation

of overexposure to cancer-causing UV rays. But a few US studies have shown

strong correlations between lower exposure levels and higher cancer rates.