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7
Medical beliefs disproved
 Researchers
from the Indiana University School of Medicine have
debunked seven common beliefs that seem so true that
even doctors believe them. Some are utterly untrue,
while others have no evidence, according to the
researchers.T
The
7 commonly-held medical beliefs are:
1.
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
2.
Reading in dim light ruins eyesight.
3.
Shaving causes hair to grow back faster and
courser.
4.
We use only 10% of our brain.
5.
Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals.
6.
Hair and nails continue to grow after death.
7.
Eating turkey makes people drowsy.
Studies
suggest that drinking excessive amounts of water can be
dangerous. Adequate fluid intake is often met by
drinking juice, milk, tea and coffee.
Expert
opinion is that reading in dim light does not damage
your eyes.
The hair that grows after shaving grows without the
finer taper seen at the end of the unshaven hair, giving
an illusion of thickness and courseness.
Eating turkey is believed to cause drowsiness because of
the tryptophan it contains. But chicken and beef also
contain the same amount of tryptophan. “Any large meal
can induce sleepiness because blood flow and oxygenation
to the brain decrease and meals rich in protein or
carbohydrate may cause drowsiness. Wine may also play a
role,” explained lead researcher Rachel Vreeman.
The researchers found little evidence to the claim that
mobile phones interfere with the electro- magnetic
instruments in the hospital.
Brain imaging studies show that no area of the brain is
completely inactive. Damage to any area of the brain
affects mental and behavioural capabilities.
The belief that hair and nails continue to grow after
death may be an optical illusion caused by retraction of
the skin after death. |
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Walnut and Blueberries
improve brain function
Research conducted at Tufts University in Boston, found
that walnut can reverse several parameters of brain
ageing, as well as age-related motor and cognitive
deficits.
Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential
Omega-3 fatty acid, and other polyphenols that act as
antioxidants and may actually block the signals produced
by free radicals, according to the researchers James
Joseph,Ph.D, and his colleagues Barbara
Shukitt-Hale,Ph.D. Free radicals can harm brain cells
and brain function and antioxidants wage war against
free radicals.
Earlier research by Joseph and his colleagues found that
blueberry and strawberry exhibited reversals of
age-related deficits in motor and cognitive function.
The present research found that walnut too, has a
similar effect.
Acetylcholine
is a brain chemical responsible for learning and memory.
Ageing results in the breakdown of acetylcholine and
affects learning and memory. Walnut extract has been
found to inhibit the breakdown of acetylcholine and
assist in reversing the decline in brain function.
In addition to improving the brain function, walnut
also help in improving the cardiovascular health by
reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood.
Individuals who consume enough fruits vegetable and
nuts are less likely to exhibit declines in cognitive
and motor function when compared to people whose
consumption of fruits, vegetables and nuts is less.
The best sources of antioxidants are cranberries,
blueberries & blackberries among fruits, beans,
artichokes & russet potatoes among veggies, pecans,
walnuts & hazelnuts among nuts and cloves, cinnamon &
oregano among spices.
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New
generation of superfoods
Researchers
at the Baylor University Medical Center found a new
generation of superfoods that promise to do double-duty,
when it comes to protecting our health.
Kiwi
tops the list. “Kiwi was found to be one of the most
nutritionally dense fruits out of 27 fruits,” said
Sephanie Dean, dietician with Baylor University Medical
Centre. Kiwis are full of antioxidant, vitamin E and
lutein. They ward off vision problems and
blood clots. They even lower bad cholesterol levels as
effectively as barley.
The
second in the superfood list is barley. The study found
that barley could lower bad cholesterol levels by as
much as 17.4 percent, which is a phenomenal percertage.
Next on the list, is cranberries. “The crimson
colour of the cranberries signals that they are full of
flavonoids. They help prevent everything from infections
to strokes and cancer.
The next spot goes to a drink called kefir (pronounced
kee-fer). It contains not only as much calcium as milk
does, but also more beneficial bacteria than yoghurt.
Kefir is a fermented milk drink, prepared by inoculating
cow’s or goat’s milk with kefir grains.
And finally, comes broccoli sprouts. “Broccoli
sprouts have been shown to actually contain 20 percent
more anti-cancer agents than regular broccoli,”
explained Dean.
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Surgery
without stitches
Surgical sutures date back some
4000 years, so a new approach is long overdue.
University of new South Wales’ researcher Dr. John
Foster’s invention, a thin polymer film measuring just
50 microns, that seals surgical wounds could make
sutures a relic of medical history.
The film is placed on a
surgical wound and exposed to an infrared laser, which
heats the film just enough to meld it with the tissue,
thus perfectly sealing the wound. Known as Surgilux, the
device’s raw material is extracted from crab shells and
has FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) approval.
Earlier researchers used ultra-violet rays to effect
sealing, but UV rays are damaging to living cells. The
beauty of infra red laser is that, it doesn’t cause any
tissue damage.
“Others have tried surgical glues but these are
mainly gel-like, so bonding to the tissue is uneven,
often resulting in leakages and they are not easy to
use. The strongest surgical glue is so toxic that it is
limited to external applications,” says Dr. Foster.
Test results indicate that it has strongest potential,
for use in brain and nerve surgery because it can avoid
the numerous disadvantages of invasive stitches /
sutures, which fail to seal and can act as a source if
infection. Upto 11% of brain surgery patients have to
return for repeat surgery due to leakage of cerebro-spinal
fluid and other complications arising from sutures.
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International Bad Product Awards 2007
Consumers International is a federation of over 400
consumer rights organisations supported by many
governments and international bodies. Over 300
nominations were submitted for the Bad Products Award by
the member organisations. The final four, including the
overall winner were chosen by CI Secretariat. Criteria
for final selection included the size of the company the
global scale of sales ad marketing, the direct impact on
consumers and the potential actionable change by the
corporation. The ‘winners’ are:
Bad Toys:
Mattel recalled over 21 million toys from around the
world, due to design faults and the use of poisonous
levels of lead paint. Mattel CEO Robert Eckert was
accused of stonewalling a US Congressional investigation
into the safety of the company’s products.
Bad Drinks
marketing: Coca-Cola has been marketing its
international brand of bottled water ‘Dasani’ which
contains nothing but tap water. But from its packaging
and marketing, public is led to believe that it is
superior to tap water.
Bad Food: Kellogg’s is known the world over for
its breakfast cereals. They spend more that one third of
the advertisement budget promoting products to children.
They make money by selling products that are high in
fat, sugar and salt. Foods containing 20% sugar is
deemed high in sugar content by authorities, whereas,
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes contains 40% sugar, Frosties
contains 37% sugar, CocoPops contains 36% sugar and
Cereals contains 33% sugar.
Bad Medicine
promotion: Takeda Pharma is the US subsidiary of
Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda. It released TV
advertisements at the beginning of the school year,
promoting its sleeping pills ‘Rozerem’. It used images
of children, chalk boards, school books and school bus –
under the tagline ‘Back to School’. The advertisement
ran without mentioning the serious side- effects,
including thoughts of suicide and it omitted the fact
that its safety and effectiveness in children has not
been established.
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Cigarette smoke-Alcohol combo
leads to
worst heart damage
Tobacco smoke-filled air is bad for cardiovascular
health and drinking alcohol at the same time makes it
worse, according to researchers at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham. The researchers found that taking
in both smoky air (tobacco smoke) and alcohol had the
effect of basically nullifying any potential heart
benefit from drinking alcohol by itself.
The study found that exposure to smoky air resulted in a
2.3 fold increase in artery lesions, heavy alcohol
consumption resulted in a 3.5 fold increase in artery
lesions, whereas the combination of exposure to smoky
air and alcohol consumption resulted in a 4.7 fold
increase in artery lesions. Artery lesions are a common
problem in heavy smokers and a key symptom of advancing
cardiovascular disease.
“Our study shows that exposure to cigarette smoke
when combined with alcohol consumption caused the
greatest degree of cardiovascular disease development
compared to either action or exposure alone,” said Scott
Ballinger, Ph.D, associate professor in the Department
pf Pathology and lead author of the study.
The study points to a greater need to understand the
negative biological impact of single or multiple risky
behaviours and the compounding effect of environmental
hazards such as second-hand smoke.
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Is
freezing water in plastic bottles safe?
The
internet has been flooded with email warnings to avoid
freezing water in plastic bottles so as not to get
exposed to carcinogenic dioxins. Dr. Rolf Halden, Ph.D
from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences,
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health has clarified
whether it is safe or not to use plastic bottles to
freeze water.
Dioxins
are environmental pollutants, sometimes referred to the
most toxic chemicals made by mankind. Dioxins are
released during manufacturing of pesticides & aromatics,
bleaching of pulp, incineration of waste etc. They are
also released during natural events such as wild fires
and volcanic eruptions. Dioxins can cause chloracne (a
severe skin disease), reproductive and developmental
disorders, liver damage and cancer.
Does freezing water in plastic bottles release dioxins?
“There are no dioxins in plastics. In addition, freezing
actually works against the release of chemicals.
Chemicals do not diffuse as readily in cold temperatures
which would limit chemical releases,” according to Dr.
Halden.
But there is another group of chemicals called
phthalates that are added to plastics to make them
flexible and little less brittle. Phthalates are
environmental contaminants that can exhibit hormone-like
behaviour by acting as endocrine disruptors. If you heat
up plastics, you could increase the leaching of
phthalates from the containers into water.
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In This Issue
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1.
7
Medical
beliefs disproved
2.
Walnut and Blueberries improve brain function
3.
New generation of superfoods
4.
Surgery without stitches
5.International
Bad Product Awards 2007
6.
Cigarette smoke-Alcohol combo leads to worst heart
damage
7.
Is freezing water in plastic bottles safe? |
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