Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Linda Hall • Updated: 15 May 2023 • 23:19 • 6 minutes read
FRUIT JUICE: Could be less healthful than we believe Photo credit: Pexels/Jeshoot
Fruit juice warning SOME nutritionists now condemn fruit juice as worse than fizzy drinks.
They base their criticism on its high sugar content, arguing that although the sugars found in fruit juice are natural they remain sugars.
Drinking copious amounts could lead to a rapid spike in blood sugar levels, which could be problematic for people with diabetes or insulin resistance.
Consuming large amounts of sugar in any of its guises also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, health experts say.
They also point to fruit juice’s low fibre content, which again can produce a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.
Sun spot spot-check VITAMIN C, always a dietary must, is also great skin-brightener and helps to banish hyperpigmentation, too.
This is the time of the year when we all spend more time in the sun, and hyperpigmentation – uneven colouring of the skin – can crop up. This appears as brown, black, gray, red or pink spots or patches variously described as age spots, sun spots or liver spots.
The condition affects all skin types and ages, occurring when pigment-producing cells become unstable and produce excessive melanin, owing to the sun, hormone changes, pregnancy, medical conditions and even medication.
Most will fade if nothing else damages the skin, but extra Vitamin C in your diet and in face creams, moisturisers and serum will all help.
Blame the weather SUMMER arrived early on the Costas but has now surrendered to typically unpredictable May weather.
Inevitably, changes in weather patterns have had an effect on our health, prompting many people to link the occurrence of allergy-related symptoms to the increased presence of pollen in the spring.
But in certain cases, and as is happening at present, anomalies in atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity can lead to the onset of allergies and symptoms that are not caused by pollen, although they include coughing, sneezing and nasal congestion.
Rules broken SOME UK sunbed salons are flouting the law by admitting underage teenagers.
This could have catastrophic results for their health, putting them at risk of skin cancer, Mail on Sunday investigators revealed recently.
The disease kills six Britons each day and doctors warned that the young are particularly vulnerable owing to social media advertising campaigns.
The newspaper’s undercover team found tanning salons routinely disregarded legislation by accepting bookings for a 16-year-old without asking for ID of any kind.
Figures suggest that approximately 60,000 under-18s visit the UK’s 4,000 tanning salons, although regulations specify that customers who look under 25 must be asked to produce ID giving proof of their age.
Veg off the menu BEAR GRYLLS, adventurer and writer, recently told an interviewer that he feels embarrassed about his previous promotion of veganism.
In a complete turnaround, the 48-year-old who now shuns vegetables, claims that he has never felt stronger and that his skin and gut “had never been better” after taking the decision to jettison his plant-based diet.
Grylls now eats red meat, blood, bone marrow, salted butter, eggs, fruit and honey while avoiding processed foods, bread and pasta.
But despite his claims, nutrition experts argue that a vegan diet can be perfectly healthy and vegetables are essential for any kind of balanced diet.
Learn Spanish and fast GOOD news for all those living in Spain who are determined to get to grips with the language.
Brain surgeon and neuroscientist Dr Rahul Jandial declared that people who learn a second language get a significant brain boost that can last a lifetime.
“A remarkable 2007 study in Toronto showed that people who speak more than one language developed symptoms of dementia about four years later than those who only spoke one,” Dr Jandial said.
He is also an advocate of skipping breakfast and the benefits of intermittent fasting. Going without food for a day contributes towards increasing the brain’s natural growth factors, which in turn support the survival and growth of neurons by helping to keep neurodegeneration at bay.
Toenail giveaway ALTHOUGH it affects around 60 per cent of adults, many are unaware that they have high cholesterol levels.
But looking at their feet could provide them with a clue, Dr Sami Faroozi from the Harley Street Clinic recently told the Huff Post.
When the blood contains too much cholesterol, this can cause peripheral aerial disease (PAD) where fatty plaque has built up in the arteries and limits blood flow to the legs.
This in turn can affect the toenails, making them grow slowly or become brittle.
While the condition can occur in any blood vessel, it is most common in the leg, hence its affect on toenails, Dr Faroozi said.
Reach for the stars ADOPTING a posture like an astronaut’s in space could give you a great night’s sleep.
The zero-gravity sleeping position with the head and legs raised above the heart, and the body’s mid-section below them, is designed to recreate a sensation of weightlessness.
The position, which was conceived to help astronauts to balance their weight and relieve stress on their bodies, helps to reduce acid reflux, opens up the airways and improves the circulation.
Achieve the same affect with an adjustable bed or extra pillows to elevate your feet and head.
Better diet, more fitness EATING five pieces of fruit and vegetables each day could be as good for the heart as a daily 4,000 steps, investigators found.
Harvard researchers found that participants who kept to a Mediterranean-style diet had the same fitness level as people who took around 4,000 steps per day in previous studies.
“This study provides some of the strongest and most rigorous data thus far to support the connection between better diets and higher fitness,” Dr Michael Mi from Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, said.
No silver bullet HIGHLY effective weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, originally prescribed for diabetes, are not a “silver bullet” for solving obesity global rates.
The kind of communication surrounding these drugs, which implied that a solution had been found, was “wrong”, Francesco Branca, the World Health Organisation’s Nutrition and Food Safety director said.
“Drugs for obesity are helpful but must form part of a holistic approach to weight-loss,” Branca declared. “Other interventions, including diet and exercise, remain critical to help manage obesity.”
Unsafe fumes FUMES from meat cooking on barbecues, wood-burning stoves, traffic and cigarettes could all trigger rheumatoid arthritis, new research suggests.
A study reported in BMJ Open found that people with the highest levels of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), also produced by gas cookers, had the greatest risk of contracting the inflammatory disease.
The investigators noted that PAHs apparently accounted for most of smoking’s impact on the rheumatoid arthritis risk.
Cheap and cheerful classic PETROLEUM JELLY, invariably identified as Vaseline by English-speakers, is a classic budget buy, available practically everywhere and anywhere.
Marilyn Monroe famously applied Vaseline under her makeup, but it’s also great for dry lips as well as feet that have been chafed by new summer sandals.
Still recommended by dermatologists, especially to treat the irritation that can be caused by anti-ageing retinols, many people are happy to use Vaseline as a cheap and cheerful – but effective – moisturiser for hands and feet.
Undemanding mood-enhancers FORTY PER CENT of dementia cases are preventable, the UK charity Alzheimer’s Society believes.
Preventive measures range from eating a few squares of dark chocolate as well as broccoli, asparagus, peas, lettuce, beans and whole grains, each day.
Experts also recommend mood-enhancing and calming activities like stroking dog – a neighbour’s makes a good substitute for those who aren’t pet-owners – as just one of the undemanding things that help to keep the brain from ticking over well into old age.
Statin stats DESPITE the benefit of statins in controlling cholesterol levels, approximately 50 per cent of those prescribed them have reduced their dose or stopped taking them.
Their principal complaints centre on muscle pain and constipation although a 2022 study of four million patients published in the European Heart Journal believed that statins’ side-effects were probably close to 10 per cent.
Other researchers maintained that muscle pain, for example, was more likely to be the result of ageing rather than the medication.
Choc defence NUTRITIONIS Rhiannon Lambert, author of Re-Nourish: A Simple Way to Eat, debunked as a myth the popular belief that chocolate causes acne.
“Small amounts of chocolate won’t hugely impact skin health although chocolate with less sugar and dairy is preferable,” she said.
Hydration was more important for skin health, she added: “You should be drinking between 1.5 to 2 litres – six to eight glasses – of water each day.
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Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca province and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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