Are you suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder?

A new study suggests that many of us, particularly women, are suffering from spending little time in nature and wilderness.

Spending time in nature and wilderness has proven therapeutic and restorative benefits, especially for women, according to a study disseminated by Awen Grove, an international organization that bridges the connection between people and nature.

With the average person spending an hour or less per week outside in natural surroundings, emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits of spending time in nature are being lost.

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Vets may be at higher risk of miscarriage

An Australian study suggests that female vets over-exposed to anaesthetics, X-rays and pesticides used could be at an increased risk of a miscarriage during pregnancy.

The concern is for those working in smaller practices where “scavenging” equipment used to suck away waste gases, such as nitrous oxide, may not be used.

Nitrous oxide inhalation can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage.

The risk to women exposed to these gases for at least one hour per week rose by around 250%, based on a research questionnaire carried out among 2,800 vets.

Those who carried out more than five X-rays per week had an 82% increased risk, and those who used pesticides had an 88% increased risk.

“We hope that our research will make vets aware of the need to fully protect themselves whilst they are working, especially if they planning to have a baby,” said lead researcher Dr Adeleh Shirangi.

(Via BBC News)

Tiny Tummy troubles — survey reveals 1 in 10 parents don’t sterilise

A new survey has revealed that 1 in 10 parents don’t sterilise their baby’s bottles and feeding equipment, putting them at risk of sickness and diarrhoea caused by bacteria in the bottles. The survey of 3,000 parents by sterilising experts Milton found that out of those who do sterilise, 36% only sterilise equipment once a day rather than before/after every feed as recommended by the NHS.

The survey also revealed that 25% of parents stop sterilising at 6 months, the time when a baby’s immune system is at its weakest, indicating that there is a lack of information given to parents about the importance of sterilising and good hygiene. 65% of parents revealed that they get their baby care advice from their GP or midwife however friends and family also have a strong influence for half of parents.

50% of the parents surveyed said their babies had suffered between 1 to 3 stomach upsets during their first 12 months, with a further 8% stating their babies suffered diarrhoea more frequently.

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Study Shows New Therapy Opens Blocked Fallopian Tubes, Returns Fertility Without Surgery

A study published in “Alternative Therapies In Health and Medicine” (Feb, 2008) reports that blocked fallopian tubes can be opened without surgery, enabling infertile women to become pregnant naturally.

Authors of the study “Treating Fallopian Tube Occlusion with a Manual Pelvic Physical Therapy,” became curious after a pilot study published in “Fertility and Sterility” (9/06) showed the treatment returned fertility in women with blocked and swollen tubes.

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Protect Your Adolescents Against More Than Just A Cold This Winter

As a parent, you often take extra health precautions to protect your child from “winter” illnesses such as colds and the flu, but the National Meningitis Association (NMA) wants to be sure you know about one preventative health measure that is often overlooked — vaccination against meningococcal disease.

Meningococcal disease, commonly called meningitis, is a potentially deadly bacterial infection that can strike adolescents and young adults. The disease moves quickly and can lead to death or permanent disability, such as brain damage, organ failure or limb amputations, within hours of first symptoms. While meningococcal disease can occur at any point throughout the year, cases peak in the late-winter and early-spring months reinforcing the importance of seeking vaccination this time of year rather than waiting for back-to-school physicals.

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Vaccines are Likely to Cause Insulin Dependent Diabetes in Over 2% of Children With a Strong Family History of Insulin Dependent Diabetes, New Data Indicates

Newly published data by Dr. J. Barthelow Classen shows that vaccines are particularly likely to cause diabetes in children with a strong family history of insulin dependent diabetes. Previous papers provided proof that vaccines cause diabetes in vaccine recipients at a rate which exceeds their benefit in the general population. New data indicates vaccines are particularly toxic to those with a strong family history of diabetes. For example, the hemophilus vaccine which had been proven to cause diabetes in approximately 1 in every 2,000 immunized children in the general public has now been linked to causing diabetes in 1 in every 50 immunized children (2%) who have a sibling with insulin dependent diabetes. The new data is published in the Open Pediatric Medicine Journal. An accompanying article in the same journal links the hepatitis B vaccine to insulin dependent diabetes.

“The recent data shows that common childhood vaccines are especially dangerous to children with a strong family history of diabetes. Parents of a child with a strong family history of insulin dependent diabetes or other should know that the administration of a full series of vaccines may have a greater than 5% chance of causing their child to develop diabetes.”

Classen’s research has become widely accepted. To view the published papers and to find out the latest information on the effects of vaccines on autoimmune diseases including insulin dependent diabetes visit the Vaccine Safety Web site

Study suggests higher levels of antisocial behaviour in children of mothers with depression

This study sits rather uneasily with me, though it’s worth bearing in mind that I only had access to a few brief paragraphs, rather than the entire paper.

However, for what it’s worth, researchers at King’s College, London, studied 1,116 sets of twins, finding much higher levels of antisocial behaviour in 7-year-olds whose mothers had suffered depression during the child’s first five years of life.

The greatest risk of “problem behaviours” were in children of mothers who also exhibited signs of antisocial personality disorder.

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Top 10 health topics parents wish their doctor would discuss with kids

A recent study has discovered the most important topics that parents would like their doctor to talk to their teenage children about during routine check-ups.

While there were differences between different ethnic groups and genders, these were the top ten most popular subjects overall:

1. Diet/nutrition
2. Exercise/sports
3. Physical changes of puberty
4. Drug use
5. Tobacco use
6. Sexually transmitted disease
7. Depression/suicide
8. Obesity
9. Drinking
10. Eating disorders

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Health concerns raised over bisphenol A (BPA) used in baby bottles

The health of young baby is of paramount importance to every new parent, so whenever there’s the potential for that health to be put at risk by a seemingly innocuous product, it’s worth taking notice.

A large number of state and national environmental health organizations in the U.S. and Canada are calling for an immediate moratorium on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and other food and beverage containers, based on the results of a new study that demonstrates the toxic chemical BPA leaches from popular plastic baby bottles when heated.

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Girls who eat with their families less likely to do extreme diets

Yet again, more research which shows the benefits of families eating together.

Teens who frequently (five or more times per week) eat together with the rest of their family are less likely to use extreme methods — such as binge eating and self-induced vomiting — to control their weight five years later.

That’s according to research by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and lead investigator of Project Eating Among Teens (Project EAT) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

The same doesn’t appear to be true for boys.

“Health care professionals have an important role to play in reinforcing the benefits of family meals, helping families set realistic goals for increasing family meal frequency given schedules of adolescents and their parents; exploring ways to enhance the atmosphere at family meals with adolescents; and discussing strategies for creating healthful and easy-to-prepare family meals,” said Neumark-Sztainer. “Schools and community organizations should also be encouraged to make it easier for families to have shared mealtimes on a regular basis.”

(Via Insight News)

Caffeine during pregnancy increases miscarriage risk, study suggests

A new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research suggests that a high intake of caffeine during pregnancy may lead to an increased risk of miscarriage, regardless of its source.

While previous research showed a link between caffeine consumption and miscarriage, this is the first study to thoroughly control for morning sickness, which typically causes many women to avoid caffeine, explained De-Kun Li, MD, Ph.D., an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and lead investigator of the study. “This study strengthens the association between caffeine and miscarriage risk because it removes speculation that the association was due to reduced caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women,” Li said.

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WellChild Helpline launched: UK’s only national children’s health advice line

The children’s charity WellChild today announced the launch of the WellChild Helpline, designed to offer comprehensive help and advice to anyone concerned about the health and well-being of children.

Staffed by a team of trained healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines, callers will either have questions answered, or efficiently passed to the most appropriate organisation.

BBC1’s Breakfast programme’s GP, Dr Rosemary Leonard, endorsed the WellChild Helpline, saying, “WellChild’s new service is extremely welcome as accessing the right information can seem daunting and not having access to concerns about health can cause a lot of anxiety. By having this multi-disciplinary team of experts at the end of a phone-line or email, WellChild will be putting people in touch with the right health information which could ultimately lead to saved lives as well as an enormous improvement in the quality of many more.”

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