New Hampshire Health News Digest

Eat more FAT to stay HEALTHY: Food experts at war over new advice on nation’s diet Leading doctors and scientists said popular 'low fat' and 'proven to lower cholesterol' messages have had a disastrous impact on public health.  The National  Obesity  Forum said it was time to 'bring back the fat' with 'real  food' , like steak, eggs, butter and full-fat milk. They were essential for maintaining health and preventing diseases which cost the  NHS  tens of billions of pounds to treat. 

Strong statin-diabetes link seen in large study -- ScienceDaily : In a database study of nearly 26,000 beneficiaries of Tricare, the military health system, those taking statin drugs to control their cholesterol were 87 percent more likely to develop diabetes. The study, reported online April 28, 2015, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, confirms past findings on the link between the widely prescribed drugs and diabetes risk. But it is among the first to show the connection in a relatively healthy group of people. The study included only people who at baseline were free of heart disease, diabetes, and other severe chronic disease. "In our study, statin use was associated with a significantly higher risk of new-onset diabetes, even in a very healthy population," says lead author Dr. Ishak Mansi. "The risk of diabetes with statins has been known, but up until now it was thought that this might be due to the fact that people who were prescribed statins had gr...

Heart attacks could be caused by too LITTLE salt new study shows | Daily Mail Online : Their findings showed that regardless of whether people have high blood pressure, low-salt intake is linked to a greater incidence of heart attacks, stroke, and deaths compared to average intake.

Gluten-free diet could damage health of people without coeliac disease, expert claims. http://tiny.iavian.net/a9vp But writing in the Journal of Pediatrics, Dr Norelle Reilly, of Columbia University Medical Centre,  in New York, warned that gluten-free alternatives were often loaded with fat and sugar and lacked nutrients. “There is no evidence that processed gluten free foods are healthier nor have there been proven health or nutritional benefits of a gluten free diet. There are no data to support the theory of intrinsically toxic properties of gluten in otherwise healthy adults and children. “Gluten free packaged foods frequently contain a greater density of fat and sugar than their gluten-containing counterparts. “Obesity, overweight and new-onset insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome have been identified after initiation of a gluten-free diet. “It also may lead to deficiencies in B vitamins, folate, and iron, given a lack of nutri...

Eating junk food is like having diabetes. http://tiny.iavian.net/a80o

Children with ADHD may benefit from following healthy behaviors, new study suggests | EurekAlert! Science News : Recommendations include getting no more than 1 to 2 hours of total screen time daily; getting at least 1 hour of physical activity daily; limiting consumption of sugar sweetened beverages; getting 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night; and consuming 7 to 10 cups of water daily, depending on age. Holton and Nigg created a lifestyle index to summarize the total number of healthy lifestyle behaviors adhered to by 184 children with ADHD as compared to a control group of 104 non-ADHD youth. So kids with ADD don't have healthy behaviors, but I don't know if that necessarily means that the healthy behaviors improve ADD symptoms. 

Schizophrenia Not One Disease, New Genetic Evidence Shows : Fifteen of the 48 patients (31.25%) carried rare or novel variants in one or more of the four genes, and these subgroups of patients had significantly different symptoms. One gene is PTPRG (receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase gamma), which encodes a protein that allows nerve cells to connect as they form nerve networks. Patients with rare variants in this gene experienced earlier onset of relatively severe psychosis and had a history of learning disabilities. Despite high intelligence in some, they showed cognitive deficits in working memory, the researchers say. Another influential gene is SLC39A13 (zinc transporter family 39 member 13). Patients with mutations in this gene also experienced early onset of schizophrenia, but they showed globally disrupted cognition and the most severe psychopathology, including negative symptoms and severe suicide attempts. They had the lowest intelligence and the least educational ...

New research reveals sun benefits that AREN'T linked to vitamin D | Daily Mail Online : Even taking skin-cancer risk into account, scientists say the sun is healthy Research indicates it protects us against a wide range of lethal conditions. Specifically, sun exposure prompts our bodies to produce nitric oxide that helps defend our cardiovascular system

The sugar conspiracy | Ian Leslie | Society | The Guardian : In 1972, a British scientist sounded the alarm that sugar – and not fat – was the greatest danger to our health. But his findings were ridiculed and his reputation ruined. How did the world’s top nutrition scientists get it so wrong for so long?

White bread, bagels and corn flakes 'increase the risk of lung cancer by 49%' | Daily Mail Online : Are CARBS the new cigarettes? White bread, bagels and rice 'increase the risk of lung cancer by 49%', experts warn Foods with high glycemic index are linked to lung cancer, scientists found Such foods include white bread, bagels, corn flakes and puffed rice Study found a 49% higher risk of lung cancer in people with high GI diets  Scientists recommends people cut high GI foods out of their diet

Catalyst: Ancient Teeth - ABC TV Science : Scientists at the University of Adelaide have found this by analysing hundreds of skeletons dating back thousands of years. Our teeth went bad when farming began, 10,000 years ago.