Study Shows Probiotics Reduce Cold & Flu Symptoms in Children

 Just in time for the start of term, a new study published in the respected journal Pediatrics, has found that daily probiotic supplementation may reduce ‘cold and flu’ symptoms in children by 50%.

In the study, 326 children aged between 3 and 5 were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and received twice daily for six months the single L. acidophilus, a combination of L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis, or a placebo.

Results showed reductions in the incidence of fever, coughing and runny noses, a reduction in the use of antibiotics and fewer missed school days in children taking either of the probiotic interventions.  The duration of symptoms was reduced compared to placebo groups, with a 32% and 48% decrease observed in the single strain and combination groups, respectively.

 

The authors, led by Gregory Leyer and his co-workers from Tongji University (Shanghai), the University of Texas at Houston, and Sprim USA (Frisco) commented, “daily probiotic supplementation during the winter months was a safe effective way to reduce episodes of fever, rhinorrhea, and cough, the cumulative duration of those symptoms, the incidence of antibiotic prescriptions, and the number of missed school days attributable to illness”.

Study comment: the use of a probiotic supplement for reducing respiratory illness in children may be particularly relevant to recent concerns about the safety of over the counter and prescription cough and cold medicines for this age group.  The probiotic supplement used in this study was well tolerated and given in a twice daily dose of ten billion CFUs of either L acidophilus NCFM or a 50:50 mixture of L acidophilus NCFM and B lactis BI-07.

Source:
Pediatrics 2009, Volume 124: e172-e179
Leyer, Mubasher, Reifer & Ouwehand.  “Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children” Nutri News Aug 09

Ed’s Comment: there are many different probiotics on the market, unfortunately many of them a complete waste of money as they are manufactured or stored wrongly, are too weak to do any real good, can’t get through the stomach acid or simply are dead before you buy them. That’s why I will only use specific ones. If you need help with what to give your child, please ask.

And on the back-to-school theme, here is a copy of the Purehealth Guide to Packed Lunches:

Celery – So Good For You

In Chinese Traditional Medicine, celery is used as a cure for high blood pressure. It is now known that celery contains phytochemical compounds called phthalides, which not only give flavour but have also been shown to lower blood pressure. Studies have shown that celery extract can lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the formation of the arterial plaques that can result in cardiovascular disease.

Antioxidant celery compounds called coumarins are the focus of much current scientific research due to their potential as anti-cancer substances. Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C, which has anticarcinogenic properties through its role as an antioxidant, and is rich in folate, a vitamin required to make DNA and to prevent pre-cancerous changes to it. NPN August 09

“PRISONERS HAVE A BETTER DIET THAN HOSPITAL PATIENTS”

Patients in NHS hospitals are far more likely to go hungry than criminals in jail, a new study from Bournemouth Uni has warned.  They say frail and elderly patients do not get the help they need with meals and nobody checks whether they get enough to eat. 11 million NHS meals are thrown away a year. Despite years of Government promises to tackle poor hospital nutrition, food can still arrive cold and patients often miss meals because meal times clash with tests.   Latest figures show that 242 patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in 2007 – the highest toll in a decade.  Over 8,000 patients left hospital under-nourished, double the 1997 figure.  Earlier this year it was revealed that some hospitals spend less per day on food than the £2.12p a day allocated for food by the prison service.  One hospital spends just £1 a day on food.   Prof. John Edwards said the nutrition content of prison food is “extremely good”. The NHS say they are working on an action plan on how nutritional care and hydration can be improved.  D. Mail 31.8.09

Ed’s Note: My advice is always to take food in to people in hospital if you can, or to aim to be there at the main meal time to check they’re eating properly. I’m sure most nurses and doctors care greatly, but simply don’t have the time to check. A flask of home-made wholesome soup can go a long way to keeping a frail person nourished, just remember to check with the nurses that they are not on ‘nil by mouth’ or anything. And whilst you’re at it, take in a cloth with some teatree, lavender or sweet orange essential oil on it and have a wipe around to protect them from superbugs too.

Before going into hospital, it’s a good idea to get the level of good bowel bacteria up to keep immunity strong. Try 1 capsule per day for a month beforehand. If having an op, Heels homeopathic Traumeel for 2 weeks before, whilst in hospital and for a month afterwards pays dividends in speeding up healing and keeping bruising and swelling down.  It’s cheap but very effective and can be put as drops into your everyday water or straight onto the tongue.

“ASPIRIN COULD BE BAD FOR YOU”

A study at Edinburgh Uni has found that daily use of aspirin almost doubled the risk of dangerous internal bleeding of the stomach or brain, while having no beneficial effect on preventing heart attacks or strokes.  There is pressure for ‘blanket prescribing’ of aspirin for all people who are middle-aged or above. The findings support 6 other trials which suggest that aspirin’s side-effects mean there is no net benefit for healthy people taking it.  These findings were presented in Barcelona at the European Soc. of Cardiology, attended by over 30,000 heart specialists.  Study jointly led by Prof. Gerry Fowkes. D. Mail 31.8.09

Ed’s Note: The vast majority of people taking aspirin daily are doing it to keep their blood thinner and prevent clotting as a preventative measure against heart disease and stroke. Never stop what you’re taking and talk to your GP, but I will say it again, there are several alternatives you could consider, without the side effects: Vitamin E, ginkgo and fish oils are all good blood thinners. Vitamin E Complex and good quality fish oils both also have a raft of other cardiovascular health benefits.

Ordering From Natural Dispensary – Phone, Online or Via Me

Now I’m no longer racing to the post office every day, I’ve got a bit more time to help you with your ordering! You can continue to call or order online as usual but, if you prefer, you can now call, email or text me with what you need and I will order from Natural Dispensary for you.

I simply give them your name, numbers and order details and they then call you for payment and to arrange delivery. This is the system I already use for the Heels remedies and it works well. Hopefully, it should save you some time in your busy lives and you should get what you need swiftly!

I’ve also clarified some other ordering tips with them for you.

1. Not everything is on the website yet so it’s best to call them or go through me. If it’s not an item they have been asked for before, they will get it in asap, put it on the website and have some spares so next time it should be in ready for you. That’s the beauty of using a bespoke company…
2. Sometimes, products change or get discontinued. In this instance, they will inform me and I advise which product I want you to have instead. This is vital because not all products are the same, despite being called the same things on the label! Please don’t guess.
3. If you are ordering online and can’t see something, need something else you’ve forgotten, or simply have a query, you can add a note in the special instructions to merchant box at the end. They will then call you to advise/arrange delivery and payment. Alternatively, you can always email michael.hill@naturaldispensary.co.uk and he will sort you out. Or contact me, of course.
4. Some orders went walkabout recently which is the result of the post office action. However, if you haven’t received your order within 3 days of ordering, simply call Natural Dispensary and they will resend it for you. If the original parcel turns up, they will send you a return bag.

Hope all that helps. If in doubt, contact me or Michael Hill. Thanks.

Leave A Message

Please note that I am unlikely to pick your call up if it comes up as Private or Withheld. I’m not ignoring you, it’s just that I get a lot of sales calls (yawn!) so always leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you. Calls are also logged by time so you won’t lose out on your bargains!

Rubbish Supermarket Fruit

Is it just me or has most of the fruit you’ve bought this Summer from supermarkets been pretty tasteless or too hard to eat? It gets on my nerves. Picked too early, ‘ripened’ artificially or left to ‘ripen in the bowl’ (ha!), stored for months etc really isn’t conducive to us getting tasty, ripe nutritious fruit. In a fit of pique, I thought I’d try M&S (after all it’s not just fruit, but M&S fruit, I thank you!) and the fact that they were all half price must have helped too. What a revelation! Their fruit is actually edible, tastes yummy and, OK, even half price at M&S is still pretty expensive, but I’d rather have fruit I can eat than throw away. Now all we have to do is to encourage them to go organic and we’re away! Obviously I would prefer to get it locally, but I would say this comes a good second when you’ve got the fruit munchies.

Beauty Tip

When skin needs a bit of a perk-up, the temptation is to slather on a thick layer of foundation, but I’ve discovered that less is definitely more in this area. When I look a bit mottled, shall we say, I have found applying a light sweep of the Annemarie Borlind Compact make-up around the chin, base of the nose, under each eye and between the eyebrows makes such a difference, yet doesn’t feel at all ‘cloggy’. This helps you look fresh and hides a multitude of sins, but leaves your cheeks and forehead naturally rosy. Try it!

Crumble Cake

I read about this great traditional German recipe the other day and thought it was a fab idea. I love crumble. I love cake. Here we have the two together – how yummy! I’ve adapted it as usual to make it healthier:

Simply make a crumble mix using 300g wheat-free flour (like Dove’s Farm), 75g ground almonds, 2tsp gluten-free baking powder,150g Pure dairy-free spread and 100g brown sugar (or Zylosweet/Perfect Sweet for those of you needing to keep sugar low). Mix together with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs and bigger bits. Pop most of this mix into a greased dish, leaving about a third and then bake in a low oven (3/175 degrees) for 15-20 minutes.

Meantime, stew some fruit in season (apple and rhubarb would be good) with 1 tsp vanilla extract and a big spoonful of orange juice, or mash down some fresh fruit. Simply pop the fruit mixture onto the baked layer and then cover with the rest of the crumble. Turn the heat up to 6/200 degrees and bake again for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool and then cut into slices. If it collapses into a heap, don’t worry – it’ll taste delicious anyway! I think a bit of xantham gum might help in view of the lack of gluten in the flour, so use that if it doesn’t turn out cakey enough for you.

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!