Keeping your bones healthy (part2)

Bicep curls

Hold weights with arms by your sides and palms facing forward. Bend your elbows and bring hands level with your shoulders. Slowly lower hands back to the starting position. Keep your elbows fixed at your sides throughout the exercise. Complete three sets of 12.

Tricep dips

Sit on a chair, rest your hands on either side of you, and place your fingers over the edge. Let your arms take your body weight and slide your bottom off the chair. Position your feet about a metre away from the chair, and slowly lower your body down towards the floor.

Keep your elbows in tight to your body and pointing backwards. Push with your arms and straighten your elbows. Complete three sets of 12.

Food for bones

‘Making a few dietary changes can reap dividends when it comes to helping prevent osteoporosis,’ says Antonia Adineji, Nutritionist and Lecturer in Nutrition at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine.

‘Phosphorous, found in poultry, fish, eggs and nuts is needed to aid other vitamins and minerals important for bone health, including vitamin D, zinc, magnesium and iodine. Vitamin D is very important for the absorption of calcium. As well as getting it from careful sun exposure, it can also be found in egg yolks, saltwater fish, margarine and liver,’ she says.

Bone-friendly foods include:

• dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurt etc)
• fruit
• nuts
• vegetables
• seeds
• oily fish.

What to aviod

We are all told to avoid smoking and cut down on alcohol and caffeine for a number of health reasons, but these substances can also wreak havoc with your bones.

Several studies have shown smoking to be a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone fracture, with fractures potentially taking longer to heal.

Excess caffeine can also contribute to bone breakdown, and alcohol interferes with the absorption of calcium and vitamin D.

Keeping your bones healthy (part1)

Osteoporosis affects huge numbers of the population, with sufferers more liable to bone fractures. But it’s never too late to improve your symptoms and outlook on life. Find out what simple measures you can take to help ward off and ease the condition.

Building strong bones

One of the best ways to help prevent osteoporosis is to make your bones as strong as possible. This means maximizing peak bone density and slowing the rate of bone reduction through physical activity and exercise.

There are two types of exercises that are important: weight-bearing and resistance exercise. Weight-bearing exercises are those in which your feet and legs are bearing your weight - such as jogging, walking, stair climbing and dancing. Resistance exercises are activities that use muscular strength to improve muscle mass and strengthen bones. These include weight training and body weight exercises.

Include exercise daily

‘Incorporating exercise into your daily routine is the easiest way to make an impact on osteoporosis,’ says Physiotherapist Paula Coates. ‘You can do any type of exercise, from marching on the spot to skipping - even jumping off the bottom step each time you come down the stairs will be beneficial.’ Coates also recommends gentle bodyweight exercises, such as squats and lunges, bicep curls for the arms and stretches for the whole spine.

For those who have osteoporosis, Coates recommends 30 minutes of exercise two to three times a week to help manage pain and slow disease progression. Healthy individuals can complete the following exercises to help prevent against osteoporosis later in life. They are also suitable for people who already have the condition.

Step ups

For step ups, you need a stable object. Step up one foot at a time, placing your whole foot on the surface. Step down one foot at a time, and repeat leading with the same leg.

Continue for one minute, rest for 30 seconds and repeat leading with the opposite leg. Complete two rounds.

Lunges

Stand with feet together and hands on hips. Lunge forward with your left foot, and bend your knees. Make sure you take a big enough step forward so that your left knee doesn't come past your left foot.

Keep your body weight on the back leg as if you're going to kneel on the floor. Push back to standing, and repeat on the right side. Complete three sets of 20.

Exercise 'beneficial' for wellbeing of breast cancer patients

 

Women with breast cancer can enhance their wellbeing by taking regular exercise, an expert has claimed.

Antonia Dean, clinical nurse specialist at the charity Breast Cancer Care, revealed that many patients gain weight during treatment.

'Regular exercise and following a healthy diet after breast cancer will have a positive impact on your wellbeing,' she advised.

'Exercise can also help to increase your range of movement after surgery and help reduce fatigue.'

Ms Dean also said that, although there is no specific diet recommended for women with breast cancer, experts do suggest a diet that is 'balanced and varied and provides all the right nutrients needed for good health'.

To achieve this, people should consume at least five daily portions of fruit and vegetables, lower their salt and alcohol intake, and limit the amount of foods that are high in fat.

The nurse's comments come after a study at the University of Colorado found that the leading cause of death for older women with breast cancer is actually heart disease.

The study, which is published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, revealed that of those breast cancer patients who died during the 12-year study period, more than two-thirds died from causes other than breast cancer.

8 natural ways to relieve PMS (part2)

Skin breakouts

You may experience spots at the time of your period. This is caused by the progesterone surge after ovulation. Oestrogen usually improves acne, whereas progesterone can make it worse.

Turn things around: try cutting dairy from your diet – the theory is that milk from recently pregnant cows contains progesterone, which could promote spots. But make sure you get calcium from other sources, such as almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts; broccoli, curly kale, okra, spinach and watercress.

Quick solutions: use tea tree oil to clear your spots. It's a natural antibacterial – so use a tea tree stick to dab on spots.

Headaches

Menstrual migraines are linked to a drop in oestrogen levels. It's not a low level of oestrogen that's thought to be the trigger, but the trigger is thought to be the dramatic fall in the level of oestrogen from one level to another.

Turn things around: try and keep levels stable with foods rich in plant oestrogen – such as soya, kidney beans, chickpeas, linseeds and lentils.

Quick solutions: place a hot or cold towel on the forehead to soothe aches and pains.

Menstrual cramps

Cramps and menstrual pains are caused by strong contractions in the musculature of the uterus. Around the time of your period, the body's prostaglandins – which hormones produced by the lining of the womb – are released and cause strong muscular contractions that squeeze out the blood from the womb lining.

Turn things around: a healthy lifestyle, with daily exercise, plenty of sleep and avoidance of stress, may help the severity of the cramps.

Quick solution: a warm bath with a few drops of lavender oil or a heating pad or water bottle on your lower abdomen and back is often helpful for relieving menstrual cramping.

Fatigue

Many women experience a lack of energy during their menstrual cycle. This could be due to blood being lost every month.

Turn things around: this means more iron is needed in the diet, so boost your diet with iron-rich foods such as spinach, eggs, beans, nuts and wholegrains. For many women, high-calcium foods like yoghurt and milk can help reduce the severity of PMS symptoms like fatigue.

Quick solution: lack of exercise can increase feelings of fatigue, so go for a walk in the fresh air. Eat little and often, especially low GI (glycaemic index) snacks such as oatcakes to keep your energy levels stable. But avoid sugary snacks and caffeine because this could make you 'crash' after the short-lived high and leave you feeling worse.

8 natural ways to relieve PMS (part1)

by Karen Gordon, health journalist

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS/PMT) is something that is familiar to most women. Around 90 per cent of menstruating women have an advance warning of a period coming because of physical and/or psychological changes in the days before it begins.

For some women, the days before the start of a period can be a nightmare and about a third of women say PMS significantly affects their life – with 5 to 10 per cent classifying their PMS as severe.

We look at some ways you can beat PMS naturally.

Irritability/mood swings

Some of the most common symptoms that women with PMS suffer from are: stress, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, losing their temper easily, loss of confidence, aggression and crying for no reason.

Turn things around: ask your GP about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). A therapist could help you to learn new ways of managing some of your symptoms. Exercise is a must – try and incorporate it in your daily regime. It not only reduces stress, but the endorphins released will help lift your mood.

Quick solutions: run yourself a nice bath with two drops of jasmine, geranium or camomile oil. Make sure you avoid stress. Relaxation and massage can work wonders.

Breast tenderness

Sore and tender breasts are a common symptom of PMS. This is due to fluctuations in the circulating level of hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen enlarges breast ducts, and progesterone boosts the growth of milk glands.

Turn things around: try taking evening primrose oil, which is rich in anti-inflammatory acids. And vitamin B6 is thought to relieve symptoms – good sources include beans, whole grains, oily fish, bananas and chicken.

Quick solutions: incorporate at least one portion of food that contains vitamin B6 into your daily diet. Or try a herbal supplement – black cohosh, raspberry leaf and chasteberry are some of the common herbs used to minimise symptoms.

Heavy bleeding

If you suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding, you're not alone. It's a common problem and can be a big disruption to your life. You may find yourself rearranging your plans or cancelling activities you enjoy.

Turn things around: if it's interfering with your quality of life, you should consult a GP or gynaecologist. But if you're just suffering with heavier periods than you’d like, you could try some herbal remedies – yarrow, nettles and shepherd's purse are all herbs that have been used for prolonged or heavy bleeding. Also iron deficiency is more frequent in women who have heavy periods, so you may have to take iron or folic acid supplements. In your diet, good sources of iron include liver, beef, wholemeal bread, cereals, eggs and dried fruit.

Quick solutions: stress can contribute to heavy bleeding – so learn some relaxation techniques such as mediation, or join a yoga or Pilates class.

Bloating

Fluctuations in hormonal levels can trigger water retention – you can gain between 3 and 7lbs of fluid before your period.

Turn things around: to reduce bloating, cut down on your salt intake and limit foods that are high in sodium. Eat a diet high in fibre-rich foods, such a cereals, seeds, nuts and beans. This will help your digestive system process food better and absorb more nutrients and also to regulate your blood sugar. Make sure you drink plenty of water, if you dehydrate your body will hold on to any water it can, which causes bloating.

Quick solutions: have a cup of dandelion tea. It's known for its diuretic effect (makes you urinate), which can help to reduce bloating.

Cocaine may cause hidden heart damage, scientists warn

 

People who use cocaine heavily may cause serious damage to their heart without even realising it, a new study has found.

Scientists from Pisa in Italy assessed the heart health of 30 long-term cocaine users who were enrolled on a residential drug rehab programme.

Participants had typically been using cocaine for 12 years and consumed around 5.5g of the drug each day.

All of the patients had normal heart function, but the researchers identified abnormalities in 12 of the 30 participants and discovered that 83 per cent showed signs of structural damage.

Almost half of patients had swelling in the lower left chamber of the heart and the degree of swelling was linked to an individual's level of cocaine consumption.

The researchers also found that 73 per cent of addicts had tissue scarring, which can be caused by a silent heart attack or toxic damage.

They noted that tissue scarring is irreversible, which means that heavy cocaine users may be causing serious damage to their heart without even noticing any symptoms.

Writing in Heart journal, the study authors concluded: 'We found a high prevalence of cardiac damage in asymptomatic cocaine addicts.

'This may indicate the need for screening in long-term users, even when they are asymptomatic.'

Experimental Vaccine Seems to Cure Prostate Cancer in Mice

Preliminary research shows that an experimental vaccine may cure prostate cancer in mice.


Unlike previous cancer vaccine attempts, the new prostate cancer vaccine appears to be smart enough to outfox prostate cancer tumors, but experts caution that the research is still in its infancy and has yet to be tested in humans.

The hunt for effective cancer treatment vaccines has been going on for decades with varying degrees of success early on, but the new prostate cancer vaccine takes a markedly different approach.

Instead of aiming at a few cancer-causing proteins or antigens on the tumor, the new vaccine casts a much a wider net. The goal of a cancer vaccine is to trick the body's immune system into recognizing the tumor as an invader and attacking it. This is typically done using a virus as a host.

The researchers developed a library of genetic material (DNA) from healthy human prostate tissue cells and then inserted them into a virus. The end product was intravenously injected into the mice, which recognized the antigens and launched a potent immune response, according to a report on the findings, published online June 19 in Nature Medicine.

The study reported no side effects, and none of the mice developed autoimmune diseases, which had been reported in previous cancer vaccine trials.

"Many cancer vaccines display one, two or few antigens and, although this is successful in alerting the immune system to the cancer, the tumor eventually outsmarts the vaccine and adapts," explained the study's lead author, Richard Vile, an immunologist and professor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Vile said he hopes that the new approach is smarter than the tumor. If the tumor adapts to the antigen, he explained, the vaccine launches a second wave of attacks.

The approach also makes the development easier, he said, as scientists don't have to identify specific antigens or targets. "We clone them all and let the immune system select which is most important," Vile said.

But, this may also prove to be a hurdle in getting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to study the vaccine in humans. "The FDA requires that the active proteins be well characterized, and we don't know which the active proteins are," Vile said.

Even so, he said, "we hope to try to put this vaccine into patients within the next three to five years."
Dr. J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, said that news of the study "certainly holds out hope that this may represent a true advance."
He cautioned, though, that "we have been looking to vaccines for cancer for many decades and have not yet seen a vaccine or immune therapy make the leap from interesting concept to something effective in the clinic."

That said, the approach outlined in the new paper is "very different," Lichtenfeld said, adding that he remains cautiously optimistic about the vaccine.

"We have been excited in the past by some of these reports, and the success has not panned out," he said. "There is still a ways to go before we can get excited and say it will have benefit for patients with prostate cancer."

Willem W. Overwijk, a cancer vaccine researcher at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, agreed. "We have to wait and see if it will work in people," he said. "They are inducing a broad immune response at many targets on the tumor, which makes it harder for the tumor to escape. [If it does], they make a new vaccine targeting the recurring tumor."
But the bottom line remains: "We have to see if this works the same way in people with prostate cancer," Overwijk said. "Stay tuned."

More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on prostate cancer.