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Health & Wellness
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Holy Water Ban To Halt
Swine Flu
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex.stm
A bishop has advised that holy water be
removed from churches in a bid to halt the
spread of swine flu.
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend
John Gladwin, said at some churches people
were invited make a sign of the cross using
holy water.
"The water in stoups can easily become a
source of infection and a means of rapidly
spreading the virus," he said.
In a directive to priests in Essex, he
added: "It is not our intention at this
stage to cause panic."
He said priests should also advise members
of their congregation who have flu-like
symptoms to stay at home.
The Bishop also issued advice about taking
holy communion warning if anyone had
flu-like symptoms not to "drink wine from
the chalice".
He assured congregations that they could
receive full holy communion by just taking
the wafer of bread.
He discouraged pastoral visits and said if a
visit was necessary priests should wear
sterile gloves, an apron and a face mask.
Chaplain Chris Newlands added: "People need
to be reassured that the church is doing
everything it can to stop the spread of
infection."
The advice comes as swine flu-related deaths
in the UK rose to 17.
On Tuesday, a post-mortem examination ruled
that a GP who died after contracting it was
not killed by the virus.
Nearly 200,000 concerned people have
contacted NHS Direct since April. |
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Fish Fuels Young Men's Brains
DARTMOUTH, NS, July 6 /CNW/ - (Ocean
Nutrition Canada) - Swedish
researchers have found a clear link between
fish consumption and higher
cognitive scores among teenage males.
According to a new study published in
Acta Paediatrica, a monthly international,
peer-reviewed pediatric research
journal, 15 year old males who ate fish at
least once a week had higher
cognitive skills at age 18 than those who
ate it less frequently.
"There are a number of studies linking
Omega-3 EPA/DHA found in oily fish
to thinking, reasoning, and remembering
abilities - our cognitive functions -
in infants and the elderly," said Ocean
Nutrition Canada's Chief Sales and
Marketing Officer, Jon Getzinger. "We know
that Omega-3 EPA/DHA is a critical
nutrient for these age groups, but studies
like this demonstrate that Omega-3
EPA/DHA from fish oil is important for our
bodies and minds not just when
we're young or older, but throughout our
lives. In addition to validating the
essential need our bodies have for Omega-3
EPA/DHA, such studies highlight its
deficiency in our diets, a deficiency easily
addressed by eating fatty fish,
by taking Omega-3 EPA/DHA dietary
supplements, and by consuming Omega 3
EPA/DHA fortified foods. And, given how
difficult it can often be to get
younger children and teens to eat fatty fish
- many of them just don't like
the taste - Omega-3 EPA/DHA enhanced foods
are an easy way to incorporate this
nutrient into their diets."
The study, called Fish intake of Swedish
male adolescents is a predictor
of cognitive performance, examined fish
consumption in healthy teenage Swedish
boys at age 15 to see if was associated in
any way with intelligence at age
18.
In conducting the study, researchers
compared the responses of the 3972
males who took part in the study at age 15
with their cognitive scores
recorded three years later when they entered
compulsory military service,
finding a definite link between frequent
fish consumption and cognitive
function. Researchers found that 58 percent
of study respondents ate fish at
least once a week, while 20 percent ate fish
more than once a week. When the
young men ate fish more than once a week,
their combined intelligence scores
were, on average, almost 11 percent higher
than those who ate fish less than
once a week. Boys who consumed fish once a
week scored almost seven percent
higher on their combined intelligence
scores. Verbal scores were about nine
percent higher than those who ate fish less
than once a week and those who ate
fish once a week scored about four percent
higher. This same pattern was also
seen in visuospatial scores, with those who
ate fish more than once a week
scoring about 11 percent higher than those
who consumed it less than once a
week.
Researchers believe this is the first large
scale study to explore the
benefits of fish consumption on adolescents.
The findings are considered
significant due to the age group of the
young men who took part in it -
educational achievements during these
crucial developmental years often shape
the rest of a teenager's life.
About Omega-3:
Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid (EFA),
consisting of EPA
(eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic
acid), and ALA (alpha-linolenic
acid). Oily fish (such as sardines,
anchovies, mackerel, and salmon) are the
only known natural sources of Omega-3 EPA/DHA.
ALA is found in plants, such as
flax and chia. It is important to note that
only EPA and DHA contribute to the
many health benefits associated with
Omega-3. While the body can convert ALA
into EPA/DHA, it does so very inefficiently
(less than one percent), making it
impossible to derive Omega-3-related health
benefits from plant sourced ALA.
Furthermore, although Omega-3 EPA/DHA is
vital to overall good health, the
human body is not able to produce it on its
own, so supplementation is
required, either by eating oily fish or
foods fortified with Omega-3 EPA/DHA,
or by taking fish oil supplements. Learn
more about the health benefits of
Omega-3 EPA/DHA at
www.meg-3.com. |
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Study finds calorie restriction prolongs
life
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090709/health/health_disease_food_us
Thu Jul 9, 5:02 PM
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A nutritious but
calorie-restricted diet can increase life
expectancy and reduce the risk of
age-related diseases, including cancer,
according to research published in the
journal Science Thursday.
The study, conducted over 20 years on dozens
of rhesus macaque monkeys, provides new
insight into the way the phenomenon works
and its potential implications for humans,
according to the research authors.
"We have been able to show that caloric
restriction can slow the aging process in a
primate species," said Richard Weindruch, a
professor of medicine at the University of
Wisconsin and an author of the research.
"We observed that caloric restriction
reduced the risk of developing an
age-related disease by a factor of three and
increased survival," added Weindruch, who
led the National Institute on Aging-funded
study.
The incidence of cancerous tumors and
cardiovascular disease among animals on a
calorie-restricted diet was less than half
that seen in the control group of monkeys,
who were allowed to eat what they wanted.
The study also found that none of the
calorie-restricted group suffered from
diabetes or glucose impaired regulation,
despite the usual frequency of such problems
in monkeys.
"So far, we've see the complete prevention
of diabetes," Weindruch said.
Co-author Sterling Johnson, a neuroscientist
at the University of Wisconsin, said the
caloric reduction also improved brain
health.
"It seems to preserve the volume of the
brain in some regions," he said. "It's not a
global effect, but the findings are helping
us understand if this dietary treatment is
having any effect on the loss of neurons"
associated with aging, Johnson said.
Scientists have been interested in the
potential for calorie-restricted diets to
extend lifespan since the 1930s, when tests
were carried out on rats. Since then,
researchers have undertaken studies on
calorie reduction on subjects ranging from
spiders to humans. |
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Health: Mouth Turning Dry? Blame Multiple
Medications
Washington, July 10 (IANS): More than 90
percent of dentists are of the view that
patients complaining of dry mouth take
multiple medications, says a nationwide
survey conducted by the Academy of General
Dentistry (AGD).
Dry mouth, or xerostomia, is caused by a
decrease in salivary function. It affects
approximately one in four Americans, placing
more than 25 percent of people at risk for
tooth decay.
“The number of xerostomia cases has
increased greatly over time because people
are taking more and more medications,” said
Cindy Kleinman, member, AGD.
“General dentists are seeing this trend in
their offices, which is why they are trying
to learn all they can about this condition.
The more they know, the better they will be
at diagnosing and treating patients,” she
added.
There are more than 400 prescription and
non-prescription drugs associated with
xerostomia, according to Raymond K. Martin,
member AGD.
“Anti-depressants, pain-killers, diuretics,
antihistamines, tranquilisers and anti-hypersensitives
can all contribute to dry mouth,” said
Martin. “People who take several of these
medications are more susceptible.”
The most common symptoms reported by
patients include constant thirst and
difficulty eating, swallowing, or speaking.
Foamy or stringy saliva, irritation of the
tongue, burning of the tissues inside the
mouth, painful ulcerations and dentin
hypersensitivity (extreme sensitivity in one
or more teeth) are also dry mouth symptoms.
Over time, xerostomia sufferers may
experience extensive tooth decay, tooth loss
or gingivitis (gum disease) due to the lack
of saliva, said an AGD release.
Keliman presented these findings at the
Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) 57th
Annual Meeting & Exhibits in Baltimore, held
between July 8-12. |
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The Petroleum Equipment
Institute Report on Gasoline Fires Started
by Sparks
Source:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/sparks.htm
Robert Renkes, the Petroleum Equipment
Institute, and a report on fires started by
static electricity are real. The institute
is sponsoring a project called "Stop
Static."
Static electricity is the build-up of an
electrical charge, such as around a person,
that can be discharged when coming into
contact with the ground or anything
connected to the ground, such as a light
switch, an elevator door, or even another
person. When that happens, people feel a
"shock" as the electricity discharges. To
minimize the danger of static sparks
igniting gas vapors, the pump nozzles at gas
stations have a wire that "grounds" the
nozzles to the equipment. The Petroleum
Equipment Institute says there are many
fires that have been started by flame,
cigarettes, or electrical sparks, but until
recently, there had not been much
documentation about fires started by sparks
from static electricity. Further, the fires
happened where there was no open flame, no
cigarette, and the pump nozzle was properly
grounded.
In a report on their website (www.pei.org),
the institute says it has collected data
regarding more than 150 fires that they
believe have been started by static
sparking. They recommend more research, but
their conclusion is that most of the fires
resulted from a motorist scooting in and out
of the car during the refueling, which
caused a build-up of static electricity.
Then when the motorist touched the pump
handle or the area around the gas cap, the
spark discharge and ignited the gas vapors.
The "Stop Static" campaign recommends three
rules for making refueling a vehicle safer:
1. Turn off the engine. 2. Extinguish any
cigarette. 3. Don't get in and out of the
car during the refueling.
Some of the other findings in the PEI report
include that all of the fires took place on
days of dry weather, usually also cold
weather, and that the drivers mostly wore
shoes with rubber soles. One of the versions
of this eRumor says the incidents happened
mostly to women, but there is no information
in the report about that.
The PEI report did not blame any of the
fires on cell phones. Although some gas
companies and cell phone manufacturers say
cell phones should not be used at gas
stations, there have been no gasoline fires
or explosions that anybody knows of caused
by radio transmissions from cell phones.
Click here for more details. |
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