The high number of early deaths in Russia is mainly due to people drinking too much alcohol, particularly vodka, research suggests. The study, in The Lancet, says 25% of Russian men die before they are 55, and most of the deaths are down to alcohol. The comparable UK figure is 7%. Causes of death include liver disease and alcohol poisoning. Many also die in accidents or after getting into fights. The study is thought to be the largest of its kind in the country. Researchers from the Russian Cancer Centre in Moscow, Oxford University in the UK and the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer, in France, tracked the drinking patterns of 151,000 adults in three Russian cities over up to 10 years. During that time, 8,000 of them died. The researchers also drew on previous studies in which families of 49,000 people who had died were asked about their loved ones’ drinking habits. Study co-author Prof Sir Richard Peto, from the University of Oxford, said: “Russian death rates have fluctuated wildly over the last 30 years as alcohol restrictions and social stability varied under Presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin, and the main thing driving these wild fluctuations in death was vodka.” Binge drinking In 1985, the then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before lunch-time. Researchers say alcohol consumption fell by around a quarter when the restrictions came in, and so did overall death rates. Then, when communism collapsed, people started drinking more again and the death rates also rose. There was a huge increase in drinking and they were drinking in a destructive way. They were getting drunk on spirits and then buying and drinking more, producing a big risk of death.” The consumption rates for women also fluctuated according to political events, but they drank less so mortality rates were also lower. Most drinkers were smokers as well which researchers say “aggravated” the death rates. Russia brought in stricter alcohol control measures in 2006, including raising taxes and restricting sales. Researchers say alcohol consumption has fallen by a third since then and the proportion of men dying before they reach 55 years old has fallen from 37% to 25%.

SOURCE BBC NEWS

About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals, a large and rigorous new study has found. The findings, published on The New England Journal of Medicine’s Web site on Monday, were based on the first major clinical trial to measure the diet’s effect on heart risks. The magnitude of the diet’s benefits startled experts. The study ended early, after almost five years, because the results were so clear it was considered unethical to continue. The diet helped those following it even though they did not lose weight and most of them were already taking statins, or blood pressure or diabetes drugs to lower their heart disease risk. Heart disease experts said the study was a triumph because it showed that a diet was powerful in reducing heart disease risk, and it did so using the most rigorous methods. Scientists randomly assigned 7,447 people in Spain who were overweight, were smokers, or had diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease to follow the Mediterranean diet or a low-fat one.

elf

A large cup of Starbucks coffee contains more than three quarters of a person’s ‘safe’ daily dose of caffeine, according to a report. The 16oz ‘Grande’ coffee is said to contain nearly double the recommended limit for a pregnant woman, while a typical home-made 8oz cup of coffee is well above a 10-year-old’s daily allowance. But scientists stress that such statistical averages can vary widely from person to person, with factors such as gender and genetics having an impact on tolerance levels. A person’s tolerance can also be affected by other drug use, with women who take the contraceptive pill breaking down caffeine slower, and smokers process the stimulant faster than non-smokers. A study by the government regulatory agency Health Canada concluded that the average person can have up to 400mg of caffeine a day without experiencing negative affect, such as anxiety or heart problems. the average allowance for a pregnant woman is 200mg, according to the Food Standards Agency, and 75mg for a 10-year-old. A 16oz Starbucks coffee has 330mg of caffeine, according to a table compiled by Chemical and Engineering News. However, Starbucks deny the findings, saying their Grande contains just 140mg – still more than a third of the daily recommended limit. This is compared to an 8oz cup of brewed coffee, which contains 133mg, and an 8oz cup of instant coffee, which has 93mg. An 8oz can of Monster Energy has 92mg, while an 8oz Red Bull can has 83mg. A bottle of Coca-Cola contains 58mg of caffeine, while a an 8oz cup of decaf coffee has 5mg and hot chocolate has 9mg. University of Florida’s director of forensic toxicology, Bruce A. Goldberger, told Chemical and Engineering News: ‘People often don’t understand the potential risk of these beverages. ‘Caffeine is a stimulant and, when consumed at high enough levels, can have negative effects.’ A fatal dose of caffeine is thought to be around 10g – equivalent to around 75 8oz cups of coffee or 120 cans of red bull consumed within a few hours.

Source The Daily Mail

WELLINGTON – Women who “eat for two” when they are pregnant are increasing the chances of problems giving birth and lifelong health issues for their children, according to a New Zealand-led international study. The study found that 74 percent of women pregnant for the first time, gained excessive amounts of weight during pregnancy, quadrupling the chance of having an excessively large child at birth and increasing the number of cesarean deliveries in labor. “Big babies become big children and big adults later on,” said Professor Lesley McCowan, of the University of Auckland, who led the study. “Babies born large are at risk of traumatic birth, and cesarean delivery increases the chance of complications for the mother,” said McCowan in a statement. “These adverse outcomes can be modified by achieving optimal weight gain in pregnancy. This should be an important focus of ante-natal care.” Weight gain during pregnancy was also an important cause of obesity in women. “Most women who gain too much weight are not able to lose that weight after pregnancy and it puts those women on a trajectory to becoming obese,” she said. “Excessive weight gain during pregnancy will not only exacerbate existing obesity, but will contribute to later obesity in women who start pregnancy with a normal body mass index but have excessive weight gain in pregnancy,” she said. “Nutritional interventions can limit weight gain and improve pregnancy outcomes by reducing the chance of a big baby and also reduce the chance of the mother developing gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, conditions which can have lifelong consequences for mother and baby.” The study, covering 1,950 women in New Zealand, Australian and Ireland, found 7.2 percent achieved the recommended pregnancy weight gain, while 8.6 percent gained less weight than the recommended amount and 74.3 percent gained an excessive amount.

Source Xinhua

The Mediterranean diet is universally recognized as the healthiest one. It represent the”healthy eating” by definition, what is now clearly established. Its properties are also largely related, in addition to the good quality and quantity of filler in macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins), to its content of micronutrients such as vitamins and molecules with an antioxidant action and other ones with the same characteristic of phytochemicals. Although partially known, little has been published so far on the exact role of these dietary components and how to optimize their contribution within the frame of a healthy lifestyle and a choice strictly “Mediterranean”. There are tables of contents in vitamins, antioxidants and phytochemicals in most of the food consumed in the world published in Italy by INRAN (National Research Institute for Food) and in the U.S. by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Researchers at the Catholic University taking part in the famous Moli-Sani Project, have recorded and strictly monitored the eating habits of more than 24 000 volunteers in Molise’s population from 2005 to 2010. In a subgroup of about 13 thousand selected subjects have now been applied the above tables identifying two subgroups, one of which ate food (always belonging to the Mediterranean diet) with a global content of antioxidants and phytochemicals below a predetermined mathematical average and another above. In all of them were taken into account two irrefutable indicators of cardiovascular risk: the blood pressure and the so-called systemic inflammation identifiable with the PCR assay (C-reactive protein) blood. It being understood that eating “Mediterranean” is identical with the healty foods of nutritional scientists. Scholars (Pounis G. et al.) have published a few days ago in the journal European Journal of Clinical Nutrition their results: there is a possibility of access to a sort of Super Mediterranean Diet able to defend significantly better from the risk of hitting diseases such as arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, hypertension, stroke. In short, if pasta and bread are essential, but the powerful micronutrient intake is indifferent, it is clearly more effective in terms of health a daily choice based on leafy vegetables and tomatoes, cooked or raw, raw carrots and radishes, nuts, fish, olive oil olive and citrus trees, more than the one based on cabbage and broccoli, mushrooms and onions raw, cooked vegetables, vegetable oils, chicken and turkey, milk and low-fat yogurt and fruit without citrus.

Giovanni Spera

Endocrinologist and internist doctor

Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor at the School of Specialization in Endocrinology for over 40 years. Founder and Scientific Coordinator of the Master “Prevention and Treatment of Overweight, Obesity and Eating Disorders” at the Sapienza University of Rome. He organized and directed for 20 years the Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity and Eating Disorders at the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome

Findings from an Article suggest that short-term use of folic acid supplements is unlikely to substantially increase or decrease overall cancer risk, and has little effect on risk of developing any specific cancer. Stein Emil Vollset and colleagues’ meta-analysis assessed data for 49 621 individuals from 13 trials, who were given either a folic acid supplement (alone or combined with other B vitamins) or placebo. Those who took folic acid daily for 5 years or less were not significantly more likely to develop cancer than those who took placebo (7.7% new cases of cancer vs 7.3%).

A tipple before bedtime may get you off to sleep faster but it can disrupt your night’s slumber, say researchers who have reviewed the evidence. The London Sleep Centre team says studies show alcohol upsets our normal sleep cycles. While it cuts the time it takes to first nod off and sends us into a deep sleep, it also robs us of one of our most satisfying types of sleep, where dreams occur. Used too often, it can cause insomnia. Many advocate a nightcap – nursing homes and hospital wards have even been known to serve alcohol – but Dr Irshaad Ebrahim and his team advise against it. Dr Ebrahim, medical director at the London Sleep Centre and co-author of the latest review, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, said: “We should be very cautious about drinking on a regular basis. Sleep may be deeper to start with, but then becomes disrupted”. End Quote Chris Idzikowski Director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. “One or two glasses might be nice in the short term, but if you continue to use a tipple before bedtime it can cause significant problems. “If you do have a drink, it’s best to leave an hour and a half to two hours before going to bed so the alcohol is already wearing off.” He said people could become dependent on alcohol for sleep. And it could make sleep less restful and turn people into snorers. “With increasing doses, alcohol suppresses our breathing. It can turn non-snorers into snorers and snorers into people with sleep apnoea – where the breathing’s interrupted”. Alcohol reduces how much time we spend in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the stage of sleep where dreams generally occur. As a consequence, the sleep may feel less restful, said Dr Ebrahim. The Sleep Council said: “Don’t over-indulge. Too much food or alcohol, especially late at night, just before bedtime, can play havoc with sleep patterns. “Alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, but will interrupt your sleep later on in the night. Plus you may wake dehydrated and needing the loo”.

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(Source Bbc news)

Eating correctly helps to defeat breast cancer. Proper nutrition is generally able to prevent almost all kind of tumors. Recent evidence confirm, however, that specific food choices can also interfere with a malignant disease characterized by elevated hormonal component such as breast cancer. A European observational study (EPIC) involving more than 300,000 women in Europe has shown, in a subset of 11,000 cases, the protective action of dietary fiber of vegetable origin against this type of cancer, regardless of the presence or absence of menopause. In these days the results of an Australian study show the relationship between low levels of circulating vitamin D and higher risk of breast cancer. Insufficient endogenous production of this vitamin, which coincides with the low exposure of the skin to the sun and with the age, can and must be compensated by sufficient intake of foods that contain the highest amount. In addition to cod liver oil, other fish such as herring and salmon. It is also recommendable a constant intake of leafy vegetables and eggs together with whole milk and its dairy products.

Giovanni Spera

Endocrinologist and internist doctor

Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor at the School of Specialization in Endocrinology for over 40 years. Founder and Scientific Coordinator of the Master “Prevention and Treatment of Overweight, Obesity and Eating Disorders” at the Sapienza University of Rome. He organized and directed for 20 years the Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity and Eating Disorders at the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome

The whole scientific world in Rome to talk about the Mediterranean diet and health benefits. In La Casa dell’Aviatore, on 22 and 23 February, the second edition of the “I Giorni di Carlo Cannella” on “Mediterranean diet, a model of sustainability.” The event, organized by the University La Sapienza of Rome and the Ciscam, Inter-University Centre for International Studies on Mediterranean food cultures, will see speakers from around the world: L. Friars Rector of the University of Rome “Sapienza” E. Gaudio Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, A. Redler Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, A. Faggioni Director of the Department of Experimental Medicine, A. Lenzi Director, Section of Medical Physiopathology, Human Nutrition and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Alessi E. WWF Belahsen R. University of El Jadida (MA); E. Berry University of Jerusalem (IL); Borrello S. Ministry of Health; Brigidi P. University of Bologna; Cassi D. University of Parma; Del Balzo V. University of Rome “Sapienza”; Dernini S. Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures, MC Di Domizio FEDERALIMENTARE; Donini L.M. University of Rome “Sapienza”; Gamboni M. CNR; Gesmundo V. COLDIRETTI; Giusti A.M. University of Rome “Sapienza”; Iannetta M. ENEA Lairon D. INSERM-INRA, University Aix-Marseiile (F); Maiani G. INRAN; Malorgio G. University of Bologna; Marigliano V. University of Rome “Sapienza”; Merenedino N. University of Tuscia, Oriani G. University of Molise, Pinto A. University of Rome “Sapienza”; A. Polito INRAN, Rossi-Fanelli F. University of Rome “Sapienza”; A. Santoni University of Rome “Sapienza”, Scalfi L. University of Naples Federico II, L. Serra-Majem University of Las Palmas (E); Spera G. University of Rome “Sapienza”; Strollo F. INRCA; Trichopoulou A. University of Athens (GR), Turrini A. INRAN.

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Cancer is a curable disease, but even more preventable. According to the modern science of cancer, the most effective way for prevention is a proper nutrition, just like the “Mediterranean” diet. The Mediterranean Task Force For Cancer Control (MTCC) sponsored by CINBO, a Consortium of 17 Italian Universities for Bio-Oncology and the Mediterranean School of Oncology (MSO), is represented by scientists from almost all countries converging on the Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Switzerland, Tunisia and Turkey) and IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer – WHO).  Its “mission” is to promote all initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of cancer in the Mediterranean area. The Task Force has recently produced and distributed a document of extraordinary educational effectiveness. Based on all the latest and most accredited scientific evidence on diet and cancer prevention, a brochure clearly advertises that many food products are able to prevent almost all types of cancer if they are regularly consumed. The brochure is available in English / Arabic, Arabic / French and Croatian, Arabic, Albanian, turkish and Hungarian. It summarizes the best-known and essential behavioral axioms for the prevention. It enhances the effectiveness of the use of foods such as olive oil, cereals, legumes, vegetables and fruit (also against specific forms of cancer) and also fresh milk, yogurt and all their variants produced in different areas of the Mediterranean.

Giovanni Spera

Olive oil “new”, or the new-expression, fight alzheimer’s. Thanks all’oleocantale, a naturally occurring molecule found in olives – especially in those exposed to the sun – which makes it difficult the binding of ADDLs, toxic proteins that binds to neural synapses of the brain are due to the disturbance of the functioning of nerve cells leading to loss memory and global alteration of brain function. Just the binding of ADDLs to synapses of nerve cells is the first step to the beginning of Alzheimer’s. Olive oil is a real natural drug can slow down the Alzheimer’s, “says the VELINO Cyrus Dressed, medical phytotherapist of Rome and dietician. “The oleocanthal can do prophylaxis of Alzheimer’s disease”, inherited disease in alternate generations. “If you take this drug, please refer illness or even you can not avoid. And if you already are sick, “the slows and care,” insists Dressed recalling that “in Italy Alzheimer’s patients are millions.”