http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7174665.stm
Healthy living ‘can add 14 years’
Flats on an estate
Social class was
Taking exercise, drinking moderately, eating sufficient fruit and vegetables
and not smoking can add as much as 14 years to your life, a study has found.
Research involving 20,000 people over a decade found those who failed on all
criteria were four times more likely to have died than those who succeeded.
The findings held true regardless of how overweight or poor they were.
The Public Library of Science Medicine study suggests many could increase
their lifespan through simple changes.
The research was carried out by the University of Cambridge and the Medical
Research Council in the English county of Norfolk between 1993 and 2006.
Participants were aged between 45 and 79. They were socially mixed although
overwhelmingly white, and as far as they were aware at the time, did not
have cancer or any heart problems.
Taking off the years
A point was awarded for each of the following: not currently smoking,
consuming between one and 14 units of alcohol per week (the equivalent of
between half a glass and seven glasses of wine), eating five servings of
fruit and vegetables each day and not being inactive.
It means a large proportion of the population really could feel health
benefits through moderate changes
Professor Kay-Tee Khaw
University of Cambridge
This last category was defined as either having a sedentary occupation and
taking half an hour of exercise a day, or simply having a non-sedentary job
like a nurse or plumber.
Not only did the team find that those with four points were significantly
less likely to have died over the period than those with none, they also
found that a 60-year-old person with a score of zero had the same risk of
dying as a 74-year-old with the full four points.
"We’ve know that individually, measures such as not smoking and exercising
can have an impact upon longevity, but this is the first time we have looked
at them altogether," said Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, who led the research.
"And we also found that social class and BMI – body mass index – really did
not have a role to play.
"It means a large proportion of the population really could feel health
benefits through moderate changes."
Everyone gains
It was in the reduction of deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease where
the findings were most pronounced, with those scoring zero five times more
likely to succumb than those scoring four.
But there was also a relationship between score and cancer deaths.
While the main analysis excluded people with known disease, the researchers
found that those with serious conditions fared better the higher they scored
than those who scored lower.
Health campaigners welcomed the study.
"This is good news and shows that by living a healthy life, people can
reduce their risk of dying from heart and circulatory disease," said Judy
O’Sullivan of the British Heart Foundation.
"By not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, taking regular physical
activity and eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, people can improve
their chances of living longer."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Everyone has responsibility for
their own health, which was highlighted last year when we kickstarted the
Small Change, Big Difference initiative to show people that there are simple
changes they can make in their lives that will have a direct impact on their
health."
# – Prahladananda Swami – 8/1/08

“Neem Active” brand toothpaste is a popular item in many stores around the
world, but Canadian health officials have banned it
TORONTO: The Canadian health department has advised people against using a
Neem toothpaste from India, claiming that it contains high levels of harmful
bacteria and a chemical found in antifreeze, which was discovered earlier.
Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium, made by Calcutta Chemical Co Ltd. in
India, should not be used, Health Canada warned.
It claimed that ingesting the product could trigger fever, urinary tract
infections and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and
abdominal pain. The health department warning noted that while toothpaste is
not meant to be swallowed, young children often do so while brushing their
teeth. Children and people with weakened immune systems would be at the
highest risk of negative side-effects from using the toothpaste, Health
Canada said, adding that Neem Active Toothpaste is not approved for sale in
Canada.
“Infants, children and vulnerable populations such as patients hospitalised
for severe underlying diseases or with compromised immune systems are more
sensitive to these effects. Severe vomiting and diarrhoea could lead to
potentially life-threatening dehydration,” it said in a press release. Late
last month, Health Canada warned Canadians not to use the toothpaste because
it alleged that the product had been found to contain unacceptable levels of
diethylene glycol or DEG, used in the making of antifreeze.
# – Prahladananda Swami – 21/9/07

Cat at nursing home has talent for predicting death
Curls up to patients who only have a few hours left
DEATH could come in a furrier form than most people imagine.
A hospice cat at a nursing and rehabilitation centre in the US has a talent
for sensing when patients are going to die – and curls up beside them for
their final few hours.
Oscar the cat’s inside knowledge is so reliable, workers have begun alerting
patients’ families when he chooses to settle on their bed, the Associated
Press reported today.
"Many family members take some solace in it," Dr David Dosa of Brown
University told the news agency.
"They seem to appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their
dying loved one."
Dr Dosa wrote an essay on Oscar’s macabre talents – observed in up to 25
cases at a Rhode Island nursing home – in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
The 2-year-old feline, who was adopted as a kitten, has even received a wall
plaque commending his "compassionate hospice care", AP reported.
When Oscar chooses a patient, it usually means they have only a few hours to
live. # – Prahladananda Swami – 2/8/07

A single cannabis joint could damage the lungs as much as smoking up to five tobacco cigarettes one after another, scientists in New Zealand have said.

The research, published in the journal Thorax, found cannabis damaged the large airways in the lungs causing symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.

It also damaged the ability of the lungs to get oxygen to, and remove waste products from tissues.

Experts say the study confirms that the drug represents a serious health risk.

"This research confirms that cannabis poses a serious health risk to the lungs, and smoking a joint can be more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette"
Dr Keith Prowse
British Lung Foundation
In the study researchers from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wakefield Hospital and the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, studied 339 volunteers.

They took CT scans of their lungs and tested their lung function through breathing tests to assess their lung damage.

Participants were divided into four groups – cannabis smokers, combined cannabis and tobacco smokers, tobacco smokers, and non-smokers, and gave them a questionnaire on their smoking habits.

Cannabis smokers were included if they had smoked at least one joint per day for at least five years, while tobacco smokers had to have smoked 20 cigarettes per day for one year.

Cannabis smokers reported symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and excessive phlegm production.

The drug also reduced the numbers of small, fine airways that transport oxygen and waste products to and from blood vessels in the lungs.

And it damaged the function of the large airways of the lungs, obstructing air flow and forcing the lungs to work harder, so contributing to symptoms such as coughing, and the development of bronchitis.

The extent of this large airway damage was directly related to the number of joints smoked – the more joints smoked, the more damage was seen.

However, in this study, people who smoked only cannabis were not found to suffer from emphysema, a serious and crippling lung disease which was previously thought to be linked to the drug.

Impact

The authors said: "The most important finding was that one joint of cannabis was similar to 2.5 to five tobacco cigarettes in terms of causing airflow obstruction.

They said the impact of cannabis was likely to be due to the way in which cannabis joints are smoked – joints do not usually have filters, and they reach higher temperatures with users inhaling more deeply and holding their breath for longer than cigarette smokers.

The British Lung Foundation welcomed the research, and Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the foundation said: "This research confirms that cannabis poses a serious health risk to the lungs, and smoking a joint can be more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette.

"It’s important to remember, though, that tobacco continues to be more harmful overall because it is typically smoked in much higher quantities than cannabis."

The warnings come after recent research suggested cannabis smokers were 40% more likely than non-users to suffer psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Danny Kushlick, of the campaign group Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said the finding that smoking cannabis did not cause emphysema suggested it was wrong to characterise the drug as more harmful than tobacco.

He said: "The relative dangers of smoking dope are far less of a public health problem than those associated with the use alcohol and tobacco."

He also stressed that making the drug illegal did nothing to reduce any dangers that might be associated with it. In fact, he argued that its illegal status led to a lack of quality control.

# – Prahladananda Swami – 2/8/07