Stepping out and other Health and Beauty snippets

DIETARY researcher and author Professor Tim Spector agreed recently that working out was good for overall health.

But exercise was useless for weight loss without a change of diet, he maintained.

The Professor Spector’s warning might disappoint those who reach their daily target of 10,000 steps and believe that a few more should compensate for a drink or two.

That they are mistaken was confirmed recently by mobile app WeWard’s investigators who found that walking off the 225 calories of one glass of red wine requires an extra 5,575 steps.

Stepping out DIETARY researcher and author Professor Tim Spector agreed recently that working out was good for overall health.

But exercise was useless for weight loss without a change of diet, he maintained.

The Professor Spector’s warning might disappoint those who reach their daily target of 10,000 steps and believe that a few more should compensate for a drink or two.

That they are mistaken was confirmed recently by mobile app WeWard’s investigators who found that walking off the 225 calories of one glass of red wine requires an extra 5,575 steps.

Stressed-out A CERTAIN amount of mental and physical strain could be beneficial as we age.

American psychiatrist Dr Firdaus Dhabhar, who heads a research laboratory studying stress and resilience, explained that spikes of short-term stress once helped our ancestors fend off predators.

Mild-to-moderate stress can now help to keep our body’s processes functioning, from the immune system to the muscles and the brain, Dr Dhabhar said.

“Short-term stress lasting from minutes to hours has positive effects, while chronic stress persisting for months or years, can harm us.”

Cause or effect DIETARY experts questioned a Brazilian study which claimed that ultra-processed foods caused depression.

After analysing students’ eating habits and mental health, researchers blamed chocolate, crisps, biscuits, ice cream, cakes and ready meals for depression rates that were approximately 80 per cent higher in those who ate highly-processed foods.

After reviewing their findings, dietitians and nutritionists in the UK pointed out that there was no proof that this was a one-way process. It was also likely, they maintained, that the participants had turned to ultra-processed comfort food because they were depressed.

Tracker alert RECENT research in the US found that fitness trackers could interfere with implanted cardiac devices.  

There is a danger that the electrical current in smartwatches, smart rings and smart scales which monitor fitness-related activities could affect pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators, investigators found. 

Dr Benjamin Sanchez Terrones from the University of Utah said the results did not convey immediate or clear risks to patients wearing the trackers. 

However, the different levels of electrical current they emitted could result in pacing interruptions or unnecessary shocks to the heart. Further research was needed to determine the actual level of risk, Dr Sanchez added. 

 Cabbage patch APPROXIMATELY six million people in the UK admitted relying on TikTok and other social media sites for healthcare information.

Most are millennials born between 1981 and 1996, or their Generation Z successors, who often feel let down by the NHS, although medical professionals warn that they are buying into false hopes and misinformation.

Cabbage juice, overflowing with vitamins and minerals, is a current TikTok craze, hailed as a miracle cure for countless ailments including gastritis, a condition requiring medical attention.

In any case, older generations were there first.  Surely elderly readers will remember being given – or forced to drink – the water strained off from the just-boiled greens?

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram