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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

How eating breakfast can cut a man's risk of a heart attack by a quarter compared to those who don't

  • Researchers say regular morning meal may help regulate body's metabolism
  • Changes in sugar and hormone levels make heart disease more likely
By Daily Mail Reporter
|
Most important meal of the day: Researchers found older men who don¿t bother eating after they get up are a quarter more likely to have heart problems
Most important meal of the day: Researchers found older men who don¿t bother eating after they get up are a quarter more likely to have heart problems
 
 
Skipping breakfast puts men at greater risk of a heart attack, researchers have warned.

Older men who don’t bother eating after they get up are a quarter more likely to have a heart attack or die from coronary disease than those who do, they found.

The researchers say missing a morning meal – or eating very late at night – may trigger changes in the body’s metabolism that lead to coronary heart disease.

It may affect blood sugar and hormone levels that make heart disease more likely, they say.

In a study spanning 16 years, the US researchers tracked the health of 26,902 male health professionals aged 45 to 82 and asked them to complete a series of eating questionnaires.

Altogether 1,572 men had a first-time ‘cardiac event’ during the period, according to the study reported in the medical journal Circulation.

Men who skipped breakfast were found to have a 27 per cent higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than breakfast eaters.

Even after accounting for modest differences in lifestyle, the link persisted.

The men who did not eat breakfast were younger than those who did, and were more likely to be smokers, employed full-time, unmarried, less physically active and to drink more alcohol.

Men who ate after going to bed had a 55 per cent higher coronary heart disease risk than those who didn’t, but it was a small minority of the total.

Lead researcher Leah Cahill, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said: ‘Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may in turn lead to a heart attack over time.’

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘In the morning rush it can be all too easy to skip breakfast, but this study suggests this could have a bigger impact on our health than we might think.’

Men who skipped breakfast were found to have a 27 per cent higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than breakfast eaters (file picture)
Men who skipped breakfast were found to have a 27 per cent higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than breakfast eaters (file picture)


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2374693/Eating-breakfast-cut-mans-risk-heart-attack-quarter.html#ixzz2ZsePurOF
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Saturday, July 20, 2013

When fruit and vegetables are BAD for you: Getting your five-a-day is responsible for HALF of all food poisoning cases

  • Fruit and vegetables cause 46% of all food poisoning cases in the U.S.
  • Leafy greens, like spinach and lettuce, are the most common cause because they tend to be eaten raw so bacteria are not killed
  • In extreme cases, contaminated bagged salad can cause kidney failure
  • Meat and poultry causes just 22% of food poisoning cases
By Emma Innes
|
Fruit and vegetables are responsible for 46 per cent of food poisoning cases, recent research shows.

The study by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that leafy vegetables, namely lettuce and spinach, are the worst offenders.

It also showed that meat and poultry are responsible for 22 per cent of food poisoning cases.




Fruit and vegetables are responsible for 46 per cent of food poisoning cases - and leafy greens are the worst offenders
Fruit and vegetables are responsible for 46 per cent of food poisoning cases - and leafy greens are the worst offenders. Meat and poultry are only responsible for 22 per cent
 
 
The study found that every year one in six people in the U.S. fall ill with food poisoning – about nine million people.


The majority of cases of foodborne illness caused by leafy vegetables are caused by pre-cut greens which are bought in plastic bags.


The reason for this is that these products tend to be eaten raw. In contrast, the bugs in meat and poultry that many people would expect to be the cause of most cases of food poisoning, are usually killed during cooking.
 
Dr Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Centre for Food Safety explained to Modern Farmer that lettuce is particularly dangerous as harmful bacteria can form within the plant tissue.

This means that when the lettuce is washed, the bacteria will not be washed away.
He added that leafy greens can cause E.Coli, salmonella, and listeria.

 
These bugs tend to come from animals which carry them in their intestines.
If the animals’ manure gets into soil or water, it can contaminate vegetables.

Salmonella is especially likely to be transmitted in this way as manure can be blown around by the wind when it dries out, and salmonella is known to be tolerant to drying.

In extreme cases, contaminated bagged salad can cause fatal kidney failure, according to Dr Doyle. 
 
Dr Doyle says that the only way to prevent lettuce-related food poisoning is to ensure that farmers are doing something to kill bacteria in the field, as soon as the leaves are picked.

He believes that farmers should be using disinfectants to achieve this – he says that currently they typically use chlorine but that this is not very effective at killing bacteria.

However, Dr Doyle accepts that the odds are in the consumers favour as millions of bags of salad are sold every year and the number of food poisoning cases is small.

This data is supported by a recent study from the Food Standards Agency which showed that there are 120,000 extra cases of food-related illness during a British summer.

Dr Lisa Ackerley, a microbiologist, believes this is not due to undercooked meat so much as poor hand, surface, and utensil hygiene when people are cooking outside.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2368961/When-fruit-vegetables-BAD-Getting-day-responsible-HALF-food-poisoning-cases.html#ixzz2ZbIf6bEe
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Friday, July 19, 2013

Lung cancer is no longer just a 'smokers' disease', claims leading doctor

  • Today, about 20% of lung cancer patients are non-smokers
  • Number of smokers is falling so smoking-related cancer cases are falling
  • But number of non-smokers developing the cancer is static meaning the proportion is increasing
  • Asbestos exposure and air pollution are among the possible causes
By Emma Innes
|
Lung cancer is no longer just a 'smokers' disease', according to a leading doctor.

Dr Harpal Kumar said that while the number of smokers is falling, which is leading to an overall reduction in the number of those developing lung cancer, there are still a steady 6,000 people developing the disease who do not smoke.
Of those, causes of the cancer include asbestos exposure and air pollution.
Lung cancer is no longer just a smokers' disease because the number of smokers is falling meaning there are now less smoking-related cancers but the number of non-smokers developing the disease has not changed
Lung cancer is no longer just a smokers' disease because the number of smokers is falling meaning there are now less smoking-related cancers but the number of non-smokers developing the disease has not changed
 
 
The Telegraph reports that Dr Kumar, who spoke at the launch of a major study into lung cancer, said: ‘It is not so long ago that we used to say more than nine in ten lung cancers were smoking-related, and now we say eight in ten.

‘People tend to think it is just a smokers' disease, but it isn't. It is a significant problem, and one that is growing globally.’

Dr Kumar went on to explain that there has been no real improvement in lung cancer survival figures since the 1970s because it is often diagnosed late.

However, yesterday a £14 million study was launched to track genetic changes that cause tumours to grow, and which allow them to become resistant to medication.

It is hoped that the research will lead to the development of new treatments as it will look at how tumours mutate as they grow.

This is expected to be helpful as one of the major barriers to the development of effective treatments is the fact that continuous evolution means that different cells in the same tumour can be very different.

There has been no real improvement in lung cancer (pictured) survival rates since the 1970s which is partly because it is often diagnosed late
There has been no real improvement in lung cancer (pictured) survival rates since the 1970s which is partly because it is often diagnosed late
 
 
To carry out the study, scientists will spend nine years analysing the tumours of 850 lung cancer patients to learn about the genetic variations within individual tumours, and between different patients.

Professor Charlie Swanton of Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and University College London, who is leading the study, told The Telegraph: ‘Success in treating lung cancer has been difficult to achieve but we're hoping to change that.’

The news comes shortly after it was revealed that even low level exposure to traffic fumes can increase a person’s risk of developing lung cancer.

Research, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, revealed that people’s chance of developing the disease rises with greater exposure to small sooty particles generated by diesel exhausts.

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK, claiming almost 35,000 lives in 2010. In the same year, 42,000 Britons were diagnosed with the disease.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2368442/Lung-cancer-longer-just-smokers-disease-claims-leading-doctor.html#ixzz2ZVWteKPg
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Working up a sweat could cut your risk of a stroke by 20%

By Daily Mail Reporter
|

Breaking into a sweat may be an unpleasant side-effect of the current heatwave but doing so during exercise can reduce the likelihood of a stroke, according to researchers.

Scientists found that inactive people are 20 per cent more likely to experience a stroke or mini-stroke than those who exercise at a moderate or vigorous intensity – enough to work up a sweat – four times a week.

Among the men in the study, only those who exercised at the same intensity four or more times a week had a lowered stroke risk.
The research supports a previous study which found that physical inactivity is second only to high blood pressure as a risk factor for strokes
 
But when it came to women, the relationship between stroke and frequency of physical activity was less clear.

The study, published in the journal Stroke, looked at more than 27,000 Americans aged 45 and older who were followed for an average of 5.7 years.

Author of the research Doctor Michelle McDonnell, a lecturer in Health Sciences at the University of South Australia, said: ‘The stroke-lowering benefits of physical activity are related to its impact on other risk factors.
Sweating during exercise can reduce the likelihood of a stroke, according to researchers
 
‘Exercise reduces blood pressure, weight and diabetes. If exercise was a pill, you’d be taking one pill to treat four or five different conditions.’

The research supports a previous study which found that physical inactivity is second only to high blood pressure as a risk factor for strokes.
The conclusion was based on self-reported data about the frequency of exercise, but not how long people were physically active each day.

Participants were divided relatively equally between black and white and male and female, with a majority from the ‘Stroke Belt’ states in the south-east of America.

Dr McDonnell added: ‘We can tell you how much your stroke risk improves for each cigarette you cut out or every point you reduce your blood pressure, but we still need good studies on the amount you can reduce your risk of stroke by taking up exercise.’



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2369815/Working-sweat-cut-risk-stroke-20.html#ixzz2ZVNz6HLM
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