Health

Hidden Hazard of Mobile Phones

31st March 2008

A study by award-winning scientist Dr Vini Khurana has concluded that use of mobile phones could claim more lives than smoking or exposure to asbestos. He is a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, and has published more than three dozen scientific papers. He reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has called on governments and the mobile phone industry to take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to radiation. His research focuses on the fact that tumours take over a decade to develop, and official safety studies have failed to take account of longer term health risks. Three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents.

Predictably, the Mobile Operators Association dismiss Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual", saying that he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".

Other governments are showing more concern than the UK: Germany advises people to minimise handset use, and earlier this year the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. The European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced.

Dr. Khurana states, "...there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade. Noting that malignant brain tumours represent "a life-ending diagnosis", he adds: "We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation." He fears that "unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps", the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically. It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking".

Congestion charge is saving lives

2nd March 2008

London's congestion charge may have delivered a small, unexpected health boost to the capital, say researchers.

The charge was introduced to cut traffic, but a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine says reduced pollution has aided health as well. Scientists from two London colleges calculated that since 2003, 1,888 extra years of life had been saved among the city's seven million residents. Transport for London described it as a "welcome side-effect" of the charge. The study is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

It currently costs a motorist £8 to enter the centre of London during working hours, and Transport for London data suggests that car journeys within the charging "zone" have fallen by a quarter.

The link between certain types of traffic pollution and health problems, including heart attack and breathing problems in children, are well-established, and Transport for London's own figures estimate that the capital's poor air quality is responsible for 1,000 premature deaths and 1,000 extra hospital admissions every year.

It recently launched a "Low Emissions Zone" targeting principally high-polluting heavy vehicles in a bid to meet London Mayor Ken Livingstone's target of a 16% improvement in air quality by 2012.

Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and King's College London wanted to examine further if traffic reductions since 2003 could have had a direct impact on health.

They used a computer model to work out changes in air pollution based on the traffic figures, and looked for any relationship between this and death rates in areas in or near to the charging "zone".

Within the central charging area itself - where relatively few people actually live - the benefits seemed more significant, with an extra 183 years of life saved for every 100,000 residents.

This does not necessarily mean that every resident received an equal but tiny slice of this, as the benefits to certain people, such as those with existing heart or lung problems, are likely to be greater.

Outside the congestion charge areas, the benefits were far less, totalling an extra 18 years of life per 100,000 residents.

However, because the number of residents there was much higher, this added up to a total of 1,888 years spread across the whole of London.

While acknowledging that the benefits were fairly "modest" in size, the researchers said that traffic-cutting schemes could still be considered as potentially health-improving policies.

They wrote: "Policies affecting a larger geographical area and residential population, and which directly aim to reduce vehicle emissions, are likely to have larger public health impacts."

Across the whole UK, the impact of traffic pollution is far more significant. Defra has estimated that, in a century, we lose approximately 39 million years of life.

A spokesman for Transport for London said that the congestion charge, together with the "Low Emission Zone", should dramatically reduce the number of people living in areas of the capital in which air pollution was a threat to health.

She said: "The congestion charge was introduced five years ago primarily to tackle congestion in central London, but has also had some success in reducing CO2 emissions and pollutants harmful to human health.

"This ground-breaking work in the capital is expected to have an impact throughout the world as other cities follow London's example."

Sperm damage can be

passed to children

20th Februrary 2008

New research has shown that if sperm are exposed to environmental toxins including alcohol and tobacco, the damage can be passed on to future generations. Previously the focus has been on maternal health prior to and during pregnancy, but the new findings show that the father's health is just as important.

Scientists say fathers who smoke and drink should be aware they are potentially not just damaging themselves, but also their heirs.

The US study was presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Tests on rats showed sperm damage caused by exposure to garden chemicals remained up to four generations later.

Professor Cynthia Daniels, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, has written books on male and female reproduction.

She said men who drank a lot of alcohol had been shown to have increased rates of sperm defects; and nicotine from tobacco found its way into seminal fluid as well as blood.

Professor Daniels said: "We need to open up our eyes and look at the evidence.

"My advice to young couples would be moderation. Substances that have an impact on reproduction are often also carcinogenic.

"If I was a young man I would not drink very heavily and not smoke two packets of cigarettes a day while I was trying to conceive a child."

Cut out bacon and

diet to avoid cancer

If you want to avoid cancer, scientists are recommending that you keep thin and cut out bacon from your diet. This is the conclusion of a five-year study. Surprisingly, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who chaired the expert panel assembled by the World Cancer Research Fund, concluded that even being moderately overweight increased the risk of cancer. the panel was assembled to review every all the evidence they could find to produce one of the most comprehensive reviews of cancer ever undertaken.

A healthy weight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) below 25. Sir Michael said: “A BMI of 25 is fine, but it would be bit finer if it was lower.....The healthiest thing is to be as low as possible within the normal range. I was a bit shocked by the strength of the evidence.”

The report also recommends moderation in the consumption of red meat (recommending 500 grams, or 18 ounces, per person per week) and complete abstention from processed meats, including salami, bacon, ham, or any meat preserved by salting, smoking, or curing. There is now convincing evidence that consumption of these meats increases the risk of cancer of the colon.

Exercise is also recommended as having a significant benefit. There is a convincing direct link between exercise and colon cancer risk, and a probable link to cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, breast, and endometrium (lining of the womb). Exercise also reduces the risk of obesity.

Pizza Hut serves

up a salt mountain

A new study has found that some fast-food chains are serving up shockingly high levels of salt. Hundreds of different drink and food items and combinations were examined at McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The worst was Pizza Hut Pizza Plus for Four family meal, which included a Super Supreme pizza, Cheesy Bites Meat Feast, chicken wings, garlic bread, potato wedges and cheesecake, and an astonishing 49.1g of salt, meaning that each portion contained more than twice the daily intake recommended for an adult or four times the limit for a six-year-old child. The saltiest children’s meal was a Pizza Hut Kids’ Chicken Wrap Factory plus soft drink, which contained 4.2g of salt per portion. Next worst, with 3.5g, was a KFC Kids’ Mini Fillet burger meal with regular BBQ beans.

Surprisingly, on its website, Pizza Hut gives nutritional information about its dishes and cites government guidelines that adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day, however this information is not included in menus or leaflets at the point of sale. Similarly, KFC does not give nutritional information on its menus, so no one ordering a KFC Deluxe Boneless Box to share between four people would know that it contained 5.2g of salt per person — almost a whole day’s limit for an adult and more than the recommendedmaximum for any child under 10.

Pizza Hut said that it had reduced salt levels in its food. They claimed that the survey focused on its most indulgent products and contained inaccuracies. KFC said that it had cut salt by 30 per cent across its range and that it was the only fast-food chain to remove salt from chips, allowing customers to choose whether to add salt.

Given it poor reputation it comes as something of a suprise that McDonald’s came out best. Their chicken Happy Meal with fruit bag and small cola, had just 0.6g of salt. The children’s meal with the lowest salt content at Burger King was Kids’ Chicken Bites, which had 0.778g; at Pizza Hut it was the Kids’ Macaroni Cheese and soft drink (1g) and at KFC it was the Colonel’s Crispy Strip, Corn Cobette and Munch Bunch Yoghurt (1.3g).

Carrie Bolt, a researcher for Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash), which conducted the study, acknowledged that some outlets had low-salt options but said: “Most children going to McDonald’s or Burger King will ask for a burger or chicken nugget and fries. If they are taken to KFC they will want chicken and fries and at Pizza Hut will choose pizza.” Graham MacGregor, of Cash, said: “The salt levels in some of these meals are staggeringly high. How can these companies justify selling food that contains more than the maximum daily limit in a single meal?”

Alex Callaghan, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Parents need to know that by taking their family for an innocent treat they could be giving them food loaded with hidden nasties.”

Most children’s burger meals contained 1.9g of salt, chicken nugget meals 1.5g and a typical pizza contained more than 2g.

Parents are advised to opt for meals without added cheese or bacon, which are high in salt, and be aware that milkshakes, cheesecake and muffins contain hidden salt. All standard meals at McDonald’s, and the majority at Burger King and KFC, had lower salt levels than Pizza Hut’s least salty meals.

Salt raises blood pressure, and can lead to strokes and heart disease. Children can develop a taste for salty food that lasts into adulthood.

Soft drink health warning

Parents have been warned to limit their children's consumption of soft drinks amid fears over the safety of E211, a commonly-used preservative. Research has shown that the chemical additive found in drinks such as Pepsi Max and Fanta can switch off vital parts of DNA, causing serious damage to cells. Laboratory tests suggest this could result in degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and cirrhosis of the liver.

However, the Food Standards Agency and drinks manufacturers insisted that the additive had been rigorously assessed before being approved for use.

The research into E211 - or sodium benzoate - was carried out by Peter Piper, a molecular biology expert at Sheffield University:

"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether .....The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously......And there is a whole array of diseases now being tied to damage-to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

Sodium benzoate has been used as a preservative for decades by the £74billion global carbonated drinks industry, where it is used to kill yeast, bacteria, and fungi in soft drinks, jam, fruit juice and salad dressing. However when mixed with vitamin C it forms benzene, a substance that has been proven to be carcinogenic.

Sodium benzoate is found naturally in some fruit including greengages, cinnamon, cranberries, prunes, ripe cloves and apples.

Professor Piper claimed that tests on sodium benzoate carried out by the European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were too old to be reliable:

"By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate.....Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago.....We are feeding vast amounts of them to children inadvertently. Is this a completely safe process? My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts.' His call for further tests was endorsed by Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chairman of Parliament's all-party environment group.

The MP said: "Professor Piper has studied this for some years so we should be taking his concerns seriously.

"I will be writing to the Food Standards Agency to ask them to carry out further investigation and I would advise parents to make sure there is no over-exposure to these drinks for their children."

Richard Laming, of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: "All ingredients used by the soft drinks industry are considered as safe to use by the FSA....The agency has assured us that the apparent concerns regarding sodium benzoate have already been investigated and it sees no reason to change its view that sodium benzoate is safe....Consumers can continue to enjoy soft drinks in the full confidence that they are safe to drink."

A spokesman for Britvic, which makes Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max, said: "We will only use ingredients that are thoroughly tested and approved for use by the FSA in the UK and approved by the EU."

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said: "Sodium benzoate and benzoic acid are approved for food use.

"Food additives are only permitted for use after a long and careful process of evaluation. This includes rigorous assessments for safety, undertaken by independent scientific committees.

"The FSA is aware of Professor Piper's paper, looking at the effect of sodium benzoate on yeast cells as published in 1999. This paper has already been considered by the agency and the relevance of this research to humans is unclear."

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, which makes Fanta, said: "All our ingredients have been approved as safe by the food regulatory authorities in Britain and the EU, and that is where we take our guidance from."

Chocolate's health benefits

A new study has found that eating a small amount of dark chocolate each day can help combat the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), according to UK researchers.

Dark chocolate has been frequently promoted as a ‘healthy' indulgence thanks to its high levels of polyphenols and flavanols which work to protect the body from cell damage. Sales of the product have risen as a result of its new health-conscious image and market analysts Leatherhead International say they now make up 19 per cent of global chocolate sales.

Researchers believe chocolate enhances the action of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, responsible for regulating mood and sleep, which could explain why the product can alleviate CFS.

In the new study, the results of which are available on the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust website, researchers fed a group of adults 45g of specially formulated dark chocolate – containing 85 per cent cocoa and rich in polyphenols – every day for eight weeks.

The participants reported feeling less fatigued after eating the chocolate and complained of greater tiredness when fed a placebo. None of those who took part reported any weight gain as a result of the study. Consultant endocrinologist at the NHS Trust, Professor Steve Atkin said: “No one has examined the effects of chocolate on CFS before and so this is a very interesting and exciting result for us.”

Wi-fi worry

Some schools are removing wi-fi networks after complaints from parents that their children suffer headaches. In what sounds like a re-run of mobile phone radiation panic, is there evidence for harm?

Sitting too close to the TV. Standing in front of the microwave. Spending too long on the mobile. Living under a pylon, or next to a phone mast. We've always worried about what the technology around us might do to our bodies.

Now, wi-fi is rolling out from the humble coffee shop hotspot to create swathes of wireless networks in towns and cities.

But some are concerned that we don't know enough about the health effects of electromagnetic radiation - the radio waves that allow the computer network to transmit (along with longwave, FM and TV and phone frequencies).

For others, headaches and skin rashes - that they feel are due to the radio waves - are prompting a big switch off.

The worry for parents is that children, who have thinner skulls and developing systems, are exposed to more gadgets and gizmos than previous generations. What might these be doing to their bodies?

Health expert advice is to limit mobile phone use among young people as a precaution. The government advises users to keep calls short.

Engineer Anthony Wood, a father with two young children from Bristol, refuses to install a wi-fi network to link his family's three home computers.

"I don't like the idea of transmitting a microwave into your brain. The frequency is important, not just the power. The higher the frequency, the more energy there is in the waves. I think wi-fi waves are close to microwaves, yet they're on all the time.

Source - BBC - 13/12/06

Too many crisps

Scottish children are putting their long term health at risk by eating too many crisps, according to a charity.

A British Heart Foundation survey of 1,153 UK children found 60% of eight to 15-year-olds admitted eating at least one packet a day.

According to the charity, this is the equivalent of a child drinking almost five litres of cooking oil every year.

The Food and Drink Federation said it welcomed debate, but believed "scare tactics" were a "waste of time".

The findings were released to coincide with the British Heart Foundation's Food4Thought campaign, which aims to highlight the risks of daily unhealthy snacking.

A new advert will feature a young girl drinking from a bottle of cooking oil with the caption - "what goes into crisps goes into you".

Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of Type 2 diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future Professor Peter Weissberg British Heart Foundation

The charity wants to make children and their parents more aware of the salt, fat and sugar found in snacks and ready meals.

BBC - 22/9/06

Parents smuggle

junk food into school

Pupils at a South Yorkshire school are being fed fish and chips through the gates by parents who say the canteen is not providing what their children want.

Students at Rawmarsh Comprehensive are not allowed out of the grounds at lunchtime, so some parents are taking their orders for the chip shop instead.

They say pupils are not being given enough time or choice for their meals.

But the school said it aimed to provide good quality food that helped pupils to concentrate in the afternoons.

BBC 15/9/06

Green tea bonus

Drinking green tea can substantially cut the risk of dying from a range of illnesses, a Japanese study has found.

The research, which looked at over 40,000 people, found the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease was cut by more than a quarter.

But British heart experts said the benefits may be linked to the whole Japanese diet, which is healthier than that eaten in the west.

The work is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, aside from water.

Three billion kilograms of tea are produced each year worldwide.

Studies carried out in laboratories and on animals have suggested green tea in particular has extensive health benefits.

In this study, which began in 1994, researchers from Tohoku University, looked at how humans could benefit.

They examined data on 40,530 healthy adults aged 40 to 79 in north-eastern Japan, where green tea is widely consumed.

Around 80% of people in the region drink green tea, with more than half consuming three or more cups each day.

The people in the study were followed for up to 11 years (1995-2005), when 4,209 people died from all causes.

The researchers also looked at seven years' worth of data (from 1995-2001) to look at deaths from specific causes,

In that period, 892 people died of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 1,134 participants died of cancer.

Compared with people who drank less than one cup per day of green tea, those who consumed five or more had a 16% lower risk of dying from any cause during the 11-year study.

They also had a 26% lower risk of dying from CVD in the seven years of follow-up.

There was no significant association between green tea consumption and death from cancer.

Throughout the study, the benefits of green tea appeared greater in women.

Those who drank five cups or more of green tea each day had a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who had less than one.

But the study failed to find a beneficial link between drinking black or oolong tea and a reduced risk of dying from CVD.

Dr Shinichi Kuriyama, who led the research, said: "The most important finding is that green tea may prolong people's lives through reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease."

But Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said the Japanese diet as a whole was particularly healthy, and the findings may not apply to people eating western diets.

"The rate of heart disease in Japan is already one of the lowest in the world, and the Japanese diet is believed to play a substantial role in keeping this low.

"Drinking 3-4 cups of green tea in parts of Japan is a daily habit."

"The average British diet contains more saturated fat than the average Japanese diet, and our levels of heart disease are relatively high compared to many other countries in the world.

"It is questionable whether drinking the same amount of green tea a day in the UK would have a significant impact on levels of heart disease."

She added: "Clinical trials are now needed to discover whether something as simple as green tea really can prevent deaths from heart disease."

Source - Natural Matters - 13/9/06

Juices may cut Alzheimer's risk Drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently may significantly cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. US researchers followed almost 2,000 people for up to 10 years - providing a powerful set of results. They found the risk was 76% lower for those who drank juice more than three times a week, compared with those who drank it less than once a week. The study appears in the American Journal of Medicine. Alzheimer's is linked to the accumulation of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. There is some evidence to suggest that this process may be controlled by the chemical hydrogen peroxide. Various studies have suggested that polyphenols - chemicals available in many foods - might disrupt these processes and provide some protection against Alzheimer's disease by neutralising the effect of damaging compounds called free radicals. Fruit and vegetable juices are particularly rich in polyphenols. Lead researcher Dr Qi Dai, of Vanderbilt University, said: "We found that frequent drinking of fruit and vegetable juices was associated with a substantially decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease. "These findings are new and suggest that fruit and vegetable juices may play an important role in delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease." Harriet Millward, of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Many scientists believe there is a link between the release of free radicals within the body and early changes to brain cells in people who ultimately go on to develop Alzheimer's disease. "Since fruit and vegetable juices are rich in antioxidants which 'mop up' free radicals, this interesting piece of research adds weight to this theory." Dr Millward said previous studies had produced mixed results, and some had suggested the benefits of fruit and vegetables were short lived. But she said the results of the latest study were significant because it was long-term, and had followed a relatively large group of people. "Diet almost certainly plays a part in every person's Alzheimer's risk - and diet is a magnet for research because it could offer a relatively inexpensive way to fight a disease that ruins countless lives and costs the NHS more than cancer, stroke and heart disease put together." Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said fruit and vegetables might also help cut the risk by helping to lower blood pressure, and keep the blood vessels in good order. Alzheimer's has been linked to poor blood supply to the brain. Source - Natural Matters Ben & Jerry's breaks ranks with Unilever over 'risky' GM ice cream additive Ben & Jerry's, the self-styled "all natural" ice cream manufacturer, has broken ranks with food giant Unilever amid controversy about GM ice cream. The breach follows a report in The Independent on Sunday last week revealing concerns from scientists over the risk to health from a synthetically produced "anti-freeze" protein, using a GM process, which Unilever is trying to get approved in the UK. A spokesperson for Ben & Jerry's said: "We would not dream of including anything like that in our products. One of the biggest problems is that we are affected by Unilever's actions even though they are nothing to do with the way that we behave. The fact that we are not using this GM ingredient shows that we are not following all of their decisions." The company is owned by Unilever, as are Wall's and Birds Eye. Unilever has described the ingredient as an "exciting new technology that has potential benefits for ice cream, including the possibility of increased fruit content and lower fat content". It declined to comment on the details of its application, beyond stating, "We believe that it will provide some real consumer benefit but we have to go through the approval system, so we'll have to wait and see." In a report to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), researchers from the Independent Science Panel warned: "Without long- term testing, we could be letting off an immunological time bomb." The FSA has confirmed that the submission is one of several that it has received. Its Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes decides on Thursday whether to allow the application to go to the European Union for approval. This comes as the bio-tech industry is taking advantage of free-trade rules to attempt to break into the European market, with dozens of applications to either grow or import GM produce, such as rice, potatoes, maize and sugar beet. Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, said: "Ben & Jerry's is showing some very sound commercial judgement."     Scientists concerned over electronic smog Scientists are concerned that electronic gadgets like mobile phones may be creating an invisible electronic smog which is causing cancer, suicides, miscarriages, and making people allergic to modern life. The evidence - which is being taken seriously by national and international bodies and authorities - suggests that almost everyone is being exposed to a new form of pollution with countless sources in daily use in every home. Two official Department of Health reports on the smog  have been presented to ministers, and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has recently held the first meeting of an expert group charged with developing advice to the public on the threat. 25% of world's children underweight The world is failing children despite global commitments to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015, Unicef said today. The average number of underweight children has fallen by only 5% in the last 15 years, and one in four children in developing countries is underweight, according to a new Unicef report. In some countries, including Iraq, Yemen and parts of Africa, the number is actually increasing due to conflict, food shortages and the prevalence of HIV/Aids, the study by the UN's children's rights group found. The report, "Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition", found 27% of children in developing countries, or around 146 million, are underweight, many to a life-threatening degree. More than half live in just three countries - Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In India, around 47% of under-fives are underweight. Guardian - 2/5/06 Useful links Unicef UN millennium goals UNDP World Bank Oxfam Christian Aid Mediterranean diet cuts Alzheimer's risk by 40% A study of the impact of food and drink on mental decline has found that eating a Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of Alzheimer's disease by up to 40 per cent. The diet of southern France, Italy and Spain, rich in olive oil and red wine, is known to protect against heart disease and high blood pressure. Now for the first time it has been shown to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Researchers monitored 2,258 healthy, elderly people in New York who were part of a research project into ageing. Their medical and neurological history was assessed, they had standard physical and neurological tests and their cognitive function was measured every 18 months. After four years, 262 of the participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, more than one in ten of the total. Records of their diets during the study period showed that those who adhered most closely to the Mediterranean diet, eating lots of fruits, vegetables, pulses, some fish and alcohol with little dairy food and meat had the lowest risk of Alzheimer's, down by 39 to 40 per cent. Push to add folic acid to bread Folic acid might be added to white bread The public is set to be asked if folic acid should be added to some types of flour to cut the risk of birth defects. A meeting of the Food Standards Agency this week is likely to sanction a 12-week consultation exercise, alongside consumer research. The FSA favours mandatory fortification, but will await the results of the consultation before making a recommendation to ministers. Folic acid cuts the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. As far as we are concerned adding a further micro-nutrient to flour makes complete sense Andrew Russell However, there is concern that adding the vitamin to popular foods could be harmful to some elderly patients, as it could mask a deficiency in another B group vitamin - B12. B12 deficiency is particularly common among the elderly - up to 10% of those aged 65 and older have borderline B12 levels and could tip into deficiency. In extreme cases, this can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system, called subacute combined degeneration of the cord. Last November the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommended the overall benefits of increasing people's folate levels would outweigh any risks. FOLIC ACID Cuts the risk of neural tube defects, like spina bifida Women recommended to take 400 microgram supplements when trying to get pregnant, and during first three months of pregnancy Can mask an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency May cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, and types of cancer Some evidence it might raise the risk of pre-cancerous polyps in the bowel The FSA favours adding folic acid to the nutrient mix already added to white flour. However, under its draft proposals the vitamin would not be added to wholemeal products, or speciality breads. Source - BBC - 5/4/06 Cancer chemical 'in soft drinks' Benzene levels are limited to one part per billion UK water ( pic by freefoto.com) Worrying levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene have been found in four soft-drinks available in the UK, the Food Standards Agency says. Benzene was undetectable in most of the 150 drinks tested. Two companies have already withdrawn their drinks from shops and the FSA says the other two should follow suit. The FSA urged drinks companies should reduce benzene levels - but says consumers should not be worried if they have drunk the affected products. Whilst it is important that industry take action, people should not be alarmed if they have drunk these products Dr Andrew Wadge, Food Standards Agency In the UK, drinking water should have a benzene level of no more than one part per billion. The World Health Organization's health limit is set at 10ppb. The FSA based its recommendations for the removal on drinks on the WHO levels. Its tests were carried out after a BBC investigation revealed industry data showed benzene levels at up to eight times recommended UK levels. Ingredient interaction In the tests, a batch of the Co-op's low-calorie bitter lemon drink with a best before date of June 2006, had the highest benzene level of 28 ppb. A second batch of the same drink, with an 10 August best-before date had 11ppb. The Co-op has already removed the affected batches from its shelves. Morrisons' no-added sugar pineapple and grapefruit crush, with a best before July this year, which had 11 ppb, is also being removed from sale, the company has announced. The other drinks with above WHO levels were: Popstar's still sugar-free lemon and lime drink - best before 22 April - 17 ppb Hyberry's no-added sugar blackcurrant squash - best before September - 12 ppb Source BBC 31/3/06 Salt climbdown due to vested interests 25th March 2006 It has emerged that sixteen of the seventeen members of the board that advised the Government’s food watchdog on salt reduction were members of the food lobby. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the maker of Pot Noodles were repeatedly invited to lobby against stringent salt-reduction measures by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Only one consumer representative — from the consumer organisation Which? — sat on the FSA’s “salt targets stakeholder group”. On Tuesday the FSA announced that it had watered down 85 targets after a year-long consultation. Campaigners say that this will put 15,000 lives at risk every year. The FSA has ruled that the amount of salt allowed in the potato snack Quavers by 2010 should be 3.4g per 100g, up from an earlier target of 1.4g. PepsiCo, which makes Quavers, was among those who had a representative on the “stakeholder group”. Opposition MPs questioned yesterday whether the FSA has enough power to stand up to the food industry. Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: “In a battle between Tesco and the FSA, we all know who is more powerful.” Last night the FSA denied that the advisory group was weighted in favour of the food lobby and said that it had brought in independent food technologists to evaluate supermarkets’ claims. A can a day- a stone a year! Drinking one soft drink a day can lead teenagers to put on 1lb a month (PYMCA) Research has found that teenagers who drink a can of sugary drink a day are likely to be up to a stone (6.4kg) heavier after a year than those drinking unsweetened versions. A study by American scientists has pointed to the impact of sugar-sweetened drinks on weight, and the global epidemic of childhood obesity. Researchers who monitored the weight of 100 teenagers, half of whom were put on to unsweetened drinks, concluded that a single 330ml can a day of sugary drinks translated to more than 1lb of weight gain every month. Veganism - the healthiest diet? The transformation of veganism from oddball movement to the fringe of the mainstream has taken 60 years. Its progress to the mainstream is likely to be much quicker. There are estimated to be at least 600,000 vegans in the UK, although there may be up to one million. The number is certainly growing sharply. Food surveys suggest that there were just 100,000 in 1993. The shelves of supermarkets are increasingly being stocked with products designed for vegans and the market for vegan food is thought to be growing by up to 15 per cent a year. Although there are no specific figures for veganism, the market research group Mintel estimated the meat-free market to be worth £626m in 2004 - a rise of 38 per cent in five years. Despite the rise in its popularity, vegans encounter countless questions about why they eschew the consumption of all animal products - unlike vegetarians who just avoid eating animals - and decline to eat, among other things, milk, cheese and eggs. Their reasons for adopting this lifestyle - from animal welfare to nutrition to environmentalism - increased by one yesterday. It seems that a vegan diet is better than a veggie or carnivorous diet for staying slim. Researchers who studied the eating habits of 22,000 people over five years, including meat eaters and vegetarians, found they all put on a few kilos but meat eaters who changed to a vegetarian or vegan diet gained the least. " The weight gain was less in the vegans than in the meat-eaters and somewhere in between in the other groups," said Cancer Research UK, which carried out the study with Oxford University. For vegans, the findings reinforced something which they have long held to be true: that a vegan diet is healthy. Vegan diets are healthy, according to followers of the philosophy. The only vitamin from animals that cannot be replicated elsewhere is B12 - important for the nervous system and preventing iron deficiency and anaemia. Vegans take supplements, but can also find B12 in food fortified with vitamins such as breakfast cereals. Famous vegans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Benjamin Zephaniah, Moby. The vegan could be about to move from being oddball to downright trendy. Source- Independent - 15/3/06 A quiet revolution On the shop shelves, in canteens and, most importantly, in our homes, a quiet revolution is taking place. We are eating more healthily and starting to avoid foods that lead to obesity and illness. The signs of a profound shift in our shopping and eating habits are growing apace. This week, evidence has abounded of a decisive move away from a fatty, sugary diet. The latest sales figures from a string of fast-food manufacturers reveal a dramatic slump. Britvic, the soft drinks company, lost £136m in share value yesterday, after acknowledging that the fizzy drink market was in clear decline. Market research shows that a sharp divide has opened up between the sales of healthy and unhealthy foods. Amid growing concern about obesity, the market research firm AC Nielsen's barcode data from 83,000 shops revealed sales of crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and other treat products are haemorrhaging. The trend appears to be a vindication of a government-sponsored public information campaigns on healthy eating, frequently criticised as evidence of an overly intrusive "nanny state". In a new initiative, government advisers recommended yesterday that chocolates, sweets and fizzy drinks should be outlawed from all school tuck shops and vending machines. Instead, the schools should stock up on fromage frais, yoghurts and healthier foods to avoid childhood obesity "spiralling out of control" . The recommendations come from the School Food Trust, set up by ministers after Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 series about school dinners last year, to promote healthy eating in youngsters. Research published by the Food Standards Agency showed 12 million more adults are aware of the need to eat at least five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day than five years ago. The Consumer Attitude to Food survey of 3,000 Britons paints a picture of rising consumption of fresh produce, more home cooking and a return to family meals. Far more people are totally avoiding ready meals, which tend to be loaded with salt, fat, sugar and additives. Fourteen million adults now claim never to eat them - a leap of 65 per cent in a year. Such deep changes are ensuring strong demand for fresh produce, nuts, beans and fruit juices and the shunning of burgers, cakes and frozen pizzas. Where once people may have munched crisps, they now snack on dried fruit. Source - Independent 3/2/06 Anti-Cancer Compound in Green Tea Identified 16/3/06 Researchers at the University of Murcia in Spain (UMU) and the John Innes Center (JIC) in Norwich, England have shown that a compound called EGCG in green tea prevents cancer cells from growing by binding to a specific enzyme. "We have shown for the first time that EGCG, which is present in green tea at relatively high concentrations, inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which is a recognized, established target for anti-cancer drugs, " says Professor Roger Thorneley, of JIC. "This is the first time, to our knowledge, a known target for an anti-cancer drug has been identified as being inhibited by EGCG," he added. Green tea has about five times as much EGCG as regular tea, studies have shown. It decreased rates of certain cancers but scientists were not sure what compounds were involved or how they worked. Nor had they determined how much green tea a person would have to drink to have a beneficial effect, he said. Thorneley said EGCG is probably just one of a number of anti-cancer mechanisms in green tea. "We have identified this enzyme in tumour cells that EGCG targets and understand how it stops this enzyme from making DNA. This means we may be able to develop new anti-cancer drugs based on the structure of the EGCG molecule," Thorneley explained. The scientists decided to look at ECGC after they realized its structure was similar to a cancer drug called methotrexate. "We discovered that EGCG can kill cancer cells in the same way as methotrexate," Dr Jose Neptuno Rodriguez-Lopez, of UMU, a joint author of the research published in the journal Cancer Research. EGCG binds strongly to DHFR, which is essential in both healthy and cancerous cells. But it does not bind as tightly as methotrexate, so its side effects on healthy cells could be less severe than those of the drug. Thorneley said EGCG could be a lead compound for new anti-cancer drugs. The findings could also explain why women who drink large amounts of green tea around the time they conceive and early in their pregnancy may have an increased risk of having a child with spina bifida or other neural tube disorders. Women are advised to take supplements of folic acid because it protects against spina bifida. But large amounts of green tea could decrease the effectiveness of folic acid. "This enzyme, (DHFR), is the one folic acid supplements are given for. Folic acid deficiency leads to neural tube development defects," Thorneley added.