Rude Health News & Events

The latest news, research and events from the world of natural health

CBT can help insomnia sufferers

Researchers from Queen's University in Canada have reviewed the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) when delivered in primary care. They assessed 13 studies, involving more than 1,500 patients and published their paper in the British Journal of General Practice. CBT-I involves four to six sessions with a therapist teaching sleep restriction, managing worries about sleep and relaxation training. The results of the study suggest that this form of CBT can help people with insomnia get to sleep more quickly and spend less time lying awake.

“What do white spots on my nails mean?”

Naturopath Elle Fox answers for CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine)

The odd white spot on your nails is likely to have been caused by a small bump or knock to the nail or nail bed. However, if you have many of these spots, across the nails of both hands, you may find they resolve by increasing your zinc intake.

Lower zinc levels are associated with other skin complaints like cold sores, acne and warts as well as poor wound healing. If you suffer from any of these, you can boost your intake of zinc-rich foods by including organic, free-range meat and eggs, chickpeas, lentils and beans, oysters and all seeds, especially pumpkin and sesame seeds.

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The new period

Did you know that an average woman uses 15,000 single use sanitary pads throughout her periods during her life?

Making the switch to reusable pads can dramatically reduce that number to 48, and you don’t have to buy that many at once. In research carried out for ‘Women’s voices for the Earth’ a number of toxins and chemicals were found in disposable sanitary wear, including styrene, chloromethane, chloroethane, chloroform and acetone. And the period cup is another development in greener periods. It has never been easier to cut down the amount of waste your period creates.

Retailers vote for their favourite products!

Independent health stores nationwide have been busy nominating and judging their favourite products of the year, in the prestigious Health Stores Ireland Product Awards 2019. The winners were announced as part of the Vitality Expo weekend of September 28-29 in Dublin and presented by a panel of retailer representatives.

The Irish Association of Health Stores created the awards in order to recognise products that are core to the health food trade. It’s a natural extension of the Health Stores Ireland Select project which sets important criteria for core health food sector product qualification. The awards use a completely independent nomination system with all the shortlisting and final voting carried out by retailers.

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Plant-based diet associated with lower diabetes rates

Researchers from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School in Boston have looked at the results of nine studies looking at the diets of 300,000 people and their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study found that a more plant-based diet was associated with a 23% reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers defined plant-based diets as any diet where a person ate more plant-based foods and less animal-based. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Menstrual cups as effective as pads and tampons

Menstrual cups are a relatively new invention for women’s periods – made from medical-grade silicone in the shape of a bell, they are inserted into the vagina where they collect blood. The cup is emptied, and the cup is washed and re-used. They last for up to 10 years and cost 5% of the amount spent on pads or 7% spent on tampons. Using a cup uses less than 7% of the plastic produced by tampons and pads.

Researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University College London and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the UK, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bill and Melina Gates Foundation in India and the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kenya looked at 43 studies into pads, tampons and cups and found that cups work just as well as the alternatives and 73% of women said they wanted to continue using them after the study was over.

Healthier lifestyles linked to lower dementia risk

Researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School, University of Oxford, University College London, The Alan Turing Institute, University of Michigan, University of South Australia and the University of Hamburg have analysed data collected over eight years from almost 200,000 adults aged 60 in a large UK cohort study looking into a link between healthy lifestyle and dementia.

The researchers found that of the participants who had a higher genetic risk of getting dementia, only about 11 in every 1,000 who followed healthier lifestyles with regular exercise, not smoking, drinking sensibly and eating a healthy diet developed dementia, compared with about 18 in every 1,000 who had unhealthy lifestyles. The study was published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Cycle for Pieta House

David Gillick, Irish international track and field athlete, is supporting the Pieta 100 cycling challenge to raise awareness and vital funds for their suicide and self-harm prevention, intervention and bereavement services. Races of 50 and 100km take place on 29 September – Pieta 100 Cycle Limerick is from Mungret St Pauls GAA Club, and Pieta 100 Cork is from Scoil Mhairtin, Kilworth. For more info on how to register www.pieta100cycle.com

September Events

Irish Heart month
1-30 September
Irish Heart Foundation www.irishheart.ie

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Read news stories from previous issues of Rude Health Magazine here