Here are a few of my favorite health articles from the last month.
Man’s secret to longevity: ‘Keep smiling’
Joseph Gray turned 100 last month. His secret to living long and well?
“Keep smiling,” he said, according to his daughter Ellie Gray.
Joseph is hard of hearing but is well aware of what’s going on around him. He also “reads voraciously, watches the news, follows the stock market, loves to take walks — unless it’s 120 degrees outside,” she said about her father’s routine.
How to live to 100: Eat less sugar
A doctor has revealed the secrets behind the “world’s healthiest village”– and there it all comes down to eating less sugar.
Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra – who describes himself as a former sugar addict – has spent years studying the reasons behind rocketing rates of heart disease and obesity in Britain.
Key to his research were residents of the village of Pioppi, in southern Italy, where diabetes is unheard of and many live to over the age of 100.
Diet was a key factor as was lack of stress, seven hours of sleep a night and eating sugar just once a week.
He has concluded that “simple lifestyle changes such as consuming less sugar were more powerful than any medication doctors could prescribe”.
Dangers hidden inside ‘healthy’ food
Dried fruit
A 2015 study on so-called healthy snack alternatives marketed towards children found that packs of raisins can contain the equivalent of more than four teaspoons of sugar.
Orange juice
One 250g glass of orange juice is estimated to contain up to 21g of sugar. (The NHS currently recommend people aged 11 and over consume just 30g of sugar a day.) It’s also believed that juice in general is assimilated by the body faster than whole fruit, which means it creates a bigger spike in your blood sugar levels and is more likely to be converted to fat.
Honey
A team of nutritionists said that honey has the same effect on the body as white sugar and high fructose corn syrup, a cheap and widely used sweetener.
Granola
Though it has been touted as a healthy breakfast alternative, experts have recently suggested that granola might be as bad for you as an average bowl of cereal. Store bought and even many homemade versions, typically contain enough sugar that it could technically be considered a dessert.
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat bread has been touted as the healthy alternative to sliced white bread. However, whole wheat might not be so wonderful, thanks to the actions of scientists back in the 60s, who altered genes in wheat in an attempt to increase the yield, making modern wheat less nutritious than previously. Studies have also shown that eating wheat could lead to inflammation and increased cholesterol.
Fish as Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Researchers say frequent ejaculation could save lives
Scientists say frequent ejaculations could be the key to keeping the semen-producing gland healthy and avoiding cancer.
In fact, in a study of almost 32,000 men published in the journal of European Urology, researchers found high levels of sexual activity can reduce the risk of contracting prostate cancer by 33 per cent.
The optimum number is 21 ejaculations per month.
We’ve done a few quick calculations and that’s equal to 252 times annually — or almost 70 percent of days in a year.
Experts aren’t exactly sure why ejaculation lowers the risk of prostate cancer, but they speculate it might help flush out cancer-causing toxins.
Regular sex can help prevent heart disease
Research found having sex several times a week can slash levels of homocysteine in men, whereas women benefit far less from regular romps.
The harmful chemical is found in the blood and can trigger potentially life-threatening cardiac problems.
It’s thought men getting regular sex often have better circulation and healthier blood vessels. This is crucial for preventing a build-up of homocysteine.
A major review of scientific data in 2015 found raised homocysteine levels increased the risk of death from heart disease by 66 percent.
Mirror