Lower Miscarriage Risk with Multivitamins

Use of a multivitamin in early pregnancy may reduce the risk of miscarriage by 57% suggests a new study of 4,725 women. In this prospective study, women were assessed for use of prenatal or multivitamin formulas in early pregnancy.
Even after controlling for variables like age, education and smoking, it was found that women who reported using either a prenatal vitamin supplement or a multivitamin in early pregnancy had a reduced risk of miscarriage. While this study suggests a positive effect of vitamin supplementation on miscarriage incidence, the finding may also be related to healthier behaviours in vitamin users commented the study authors.

My comment: This is an important finding as it means that we should be focusing on making sure levels of all nutrients, and not just folic acid, are high enough both before we even think about trying to conceive as well as during and after pregnancy.

One of the key indicators of higher miscarriage risk I have come across is when levels of antagonistic copper and zinc are imbalanced. Copper rises as we approach the birth. If it rises too early, we are more at risk of miscarriage. One of the reasons this could happen is because the levels of zinc are too low, allowing copper to start at a higher level earlier on and therefore rise earlier than it should.

I often advise women to have a hair test to check levels of both of these important minerals before they conceive as a safeguard against such a distressing event. I wish that more couples would see me before they begin to start a family, just so we can make sure that nutrient levels are optimal. Optimum levels often equal easier conception and pregnancy, a happier, healthier baby and Mum is less likely to have post natal depression or breast-feeding problems. I have devised and used a really successful pre-conception programme which takes four months to get Mum and Dad into tip-top health. So, if you or someone you know is thinking of starting a family, please get in touch: four months’ preparation is not long, but will pay long-term dividends!

Cutting Edge Cancer Treatment

A recent report in the Daily Mail highlighted cancer treatments available to women who want to avoid mastectomy, but said ‘all too often patients simply aren’t told they exist.’

Traditionally the treatment for a breast cancer tumour of more than 3.5cm was a mastectomy.   Some NHS doctors now prescribe chemotherapy BEFORE surgery to shrink the tumour and reduce the need to remove the whole breast.  Around 75% of patients given this treatment respond to the drugs and need less of their breast removed.  In around a third of cases they need only a lumpectomy. One of the pioneers of this is Prof. Kefah Mokbel of St. George’s Hospital in London, who gives patients 16 weeks of chemotherapy before operating.  For 1 in 5 who have chemo first, their cancer is eradicated without surgery, with survival rates exceeding 92%. 

It’s estimated that if chemo was given before surgery in every hospital around 2,200 mastectomies would be prevented each year in UK.   Women wanting this treatment should ask their specialist where the nearest centre is and ask to be referred.

Call For ‘May Contain’ Labelling To Be Minimized

Allergy charity The Anaphylaxis Campaign (AC) also wants food companies to limit ‘may contain’ labelling to circumstances where it is “unavoidable”. The call comes as part of a programme by the charity aimed at improving the way allergens are managed during food production and increasing consumer trust in allergy information on food labels.

‘May contain’ labelling is the source of great confusion and misunderstanding among allergy sufferers. Overuse of the term by food firms ‘playing safe’ can lead to people with life-threatening allergies ignoring warnings, says the Anaphylaxis Campaign. The charity quotes one allergic shopper commenting “we ignore all ‘may contain’ warnings since we found one on a cabbage’.” Says it all! NPN June 09

EU Legislates On ‘Gluten-Free’ Labelling

The EU has passed new food labelling legislation aimed at protecting people with coeliac disease, reports the Anaphylaxis Campaign. In future people seeing food labelled ‘gluten-free’ will know that the finished product does not contain gluten exceeding 20 parts per million — a level thought to be safe for most people with coeliac disease. The on-pack statement ‘very low gluten’ will indicate that the level is within 100 parts per million. Food businesses have three years to comply with the new regulation.

Get BBP Out Of Our Cosmetics!

A recent study has shown that butyl benzyl phthalate, or BBP, a chemical found in lipstick and nail varnish may interfere with the healthy development of breast tissue. BBP is a man-made substance that accumulates in fatty tissue and is part of a group of chemicals that mimic oestrogen. The concern has been so great that they have already been banned in teething rings and dummies across Europe. The Women’s Environmental Network is campaigning to have them removed from all cosmetics on sale in Britain. Glenville June 09

Strictly Success

Ballroom dancing is helping to improve children’s behaviour and increase their interest in exercise according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.  A scheme called Essential Dance aims to improve children’s health & fitness.  Over 2,500 students aged 5-18 are learning to cha-cha, waltz & jive in twenty-nine UK primary and secondary schools.  The scheme was evaluated by Dr. Jeanne Keay, Dean of Education and Dr. John Spence, Head of Physical Education, at Roehampton University and is supported by Darren Bennett & Lilia Kopylova of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.  As well as improving youngsters’ fitness, they found it also improved social skills and particularly benefited those children not normally interested in taking part in sport. Why not see if your childrens’ schools can take part – sounds fun, and will go a long way to avoiding the childhood obesity that we’re seeing in epidemic proportions around the UK.

OJ Worst For Teeth Enamel

Orange juice is just about the worst drink for your teeth.  Its high levels of acid destroy enamel, and eventually will erode the entire tooth. People who drink fizzy stuff or fruit juices every day should consider changing their diet, say researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, who discovered the harm the drinks can cause. 

“The acid is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away.  The orange juice decreased enamel hardness by 84 per cent,” said research team leader YanFang Ren.  His team found that the juices caused the most damage when they were sipped slowly over a 20-minute period.  So if you can’t give up the juice, at least drink it quickly – and brush your teeth twice a day, although leave a good half an hour before doing so as the enamel will still be so soft, you could damage it even more.

(Source:  Journal of Dentistry, 2009; 37: 424-31). WDDTY June 09

New Easy Snack Delivery Company

Thanks to Pam who told me about this great new snack delivery system; I thought I’d pass it on for the rest of you to consider – anything that makes it easier to eat healthily gets my vote! Called ‘Graze’ to encourage people to graze through the day eating healthy foods, this company offers a list of different snack foods which they then put into a box for £2.99 including delivery. You can choose from fresh fruit, dried fruit, nut and seed mixes, crackers, ‘natural’ sweet treats and olives. The box fits through the normal letterbox and you simply take it to work with you the next day. Simple. Have to say for those of you who are less than organised, it could be a winner, but in reality, it’s much cheaper to buy the stuff yourself and make your own box. Use the site for ideas or for when you’re feeling like you need a bit of help! www.graze.com.

Live Long & Prosper

If you want to live a full, healthy life and not check out early, the results of a study into what causes preventable adult deaths in the US should make us all sit up and listen. Designed to assist policy makers prioritise health messages, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health set out to discover the effect of twelve identified risk factors on the 2.5 million adult US deaths in 2005.

The study The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparitive Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle and Metabolic Risk Factors (PLos Medicine, April 09) identified twelve risk factors: high blood pressure, high glucose levels, high LDL cholesterol, high intake of trans fatty acids, being overweight, deficiency of polyunsaturated fatty acids and of Omega 3 fatty acids, low fruit and veg consumption, high salt use, lack of exercise, smoking and drinking alcohol.

Using data retrieved from US national health surveys and statistics on the 2.5 million deaths from different diseases in 2005 from the US National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers applied a complex mathematical model to try to estimate the number of deaths related to each risk factor.

Smoking came top as the biggest risk factor with an estimated 467,000 preventable deaths attributed to the habit. High blood pressure came second with 395,000. Between them, these top two accounted for around one in every five or six US adult deaths.  Obesity came third with 216,000, followed by physical inactivity (191,000) and combined they are estimated to account for nearly one in ten US adult deaths.

Next came the specific dietary factors: high salt intake (102,000), low omega 3 fatty acids (84,000) and high trans fats (82,000). Whilst moderate alcohol use is thought to have actually prevented 26,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, it was far outweighed by the 90,000 deaths that were thought to be related to alcohol use which went on to cause preventable deaths from other cardiovascular problems, cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, alcohol abuse, road traffic, injury and violence.

Moral of the story? Here’s a checklist for long-term health based on their findings. Nothing new really, but it should serve to remind us that they are vitally important to long-term health. Follow as many of these as you can to live long and prosper!

1. Stop smoking
2. Keep your blood pressure controlled
3. Maintain a healthy weight, keep your blood sugar balanced, eat plenty of fruit and veg and develop a programme of regular exercise
4. Avoid added salt
5. Increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids with fish, nuts and seeds
6. Don’t eat trans-fats in processed foods
7. Drink alcohol in moderation

Homeopathic Flu Vaccine Available October

Some of you have already rung to see when the next Heels homeopathic flu vaccine will be ready as you should have 1 or 2 left for this year now. Heels have advised that they have ordered stocks and they should be available by October. They are working on getting the swine flu virus included, but it does already include the H1NI strain anyway. To order, you will need to call me as usual to get it on your behalf.