Chocolate: one of the twenty 'lifespan essential' foodstuffs!

Coffee and chocolate are the key to long life Chocolate, coffee and tea are among the key foods and drinks needed to live a long and healthy life, according to a leading nutritional scientist. (link via telegraph.co.uk) Excellent news, this! I love tea and I love chocolate! The article includes a list of 20 "lifespan essential" foodstuffs: • apples • blackberries • black tea • blueberries • broccoli • cereal bran • cherries • cherry tomatoes • coffee • cranberries • dark chocolate • green tea • oranges • peaches • plums • raspberries • red grapes • red onions • spinach • strawberries

Surfing the web is good for ageing brain

The internet beats books for improving the mature mind, say neuroscientists Scientists discovered that searching the world wide web exercised the mind far more than reading and was similar to completing crosswords and puzzles. Brain scans showed that going online stimulated larger parts of the brain than the relatively passive activity of reading a novel or non-fiction book. It was so stimulating that the authors of the study believe it could actually help people maintain healthier brains into their old age. (link via telegraph.co.uk) So as people get older, they should add surfing the net* to other mental activities like doing crossword puzzles and sudoku, to exercise the brain. *If you want to learn more: Learn the Net a guide to the Internet and World Wide Web.

Global Handwashing Day

Today, Wednesday 15th October 2008, is the first-ever Global Handwashing Day The campaign will focus on schools and children: Of the approximately 120 million children born in the developing world each year, half will live in households without access to improved sanitation, at grave risk to their survival and development. Poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases, accounting for 1.5 million diarrhoea-related under-five deaths each year. Children suffer disproportionately from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths. But research shows that children – the segment of society so often the most energetic, enthusiastic, and open to new ideas – can also be powerful agents of behavioral change. I can understand the problem in the developing world where running water and soap are not available to everyone but in the UK , the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine just released shocking results of a study of contamination levels on commuters’ hands in five UK cities (Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, London and Cardiff): A preliminary study of commuters found that the hands of people in northern UK were up to three times dirtier than those in the south, especially those of men, and overall, more than one in four commuters were found to have bacteria from faeces on their hands. (link via medicalnewstoday.com) Eeeew! I can't believe so many people don't wash their hands! It's not just disgusting but it spreads infectious diseases. What has happened to simple good hand hygiene? I can't believe people don't know how important hand washing is. Rather, it would seem that people are being very lazy.

Plans to abolish prescription charges in Northern Ireland

NI to scrap prescription charges Plans to abolish prescription charges in Northern Ireland have been announced by NI Health Minister Michael McGimpsey. The cost of a prescription in NI will be reduced to £3 per prescription in January 2009 and will be free of charge by April 2010. The charges were abolished in Wales on 1 April 2007 and are due to be abolished in Scotland. This leaves England as the only country in the UK to retain the charges. (link via BBC News) So much for it being the National Health Service - it's really four different NHS services (for the four countries that make up the United Kingdom: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England) across the UK since devolution and England appears to be the “poor relation” in healthcare compared with the rest of the UK.

Free cookbooks for all 11-year-olds in England

All 11-year-olds in England will be able to receive a free cookbook under a programme aimed at tackling obesity. Head teachers will be able to order the booklet, which has recipes for favourites such as spaghetti bolognese, roast chicken and jacket potatoes. Ministers are also announcing that £151m will be spent building food technology areas in schools. The initiatives are designed to pave the way for compulsory cooking lessons for all 11- to 14-year olds by 2011. (link via BBC News) The Real Meals cookbook, which contains 32 classic recipes and sauces and is endorsed by top chef Phil Vickery, was chosen after the public was asked to nominate the basic dishes every child should learn how to cook. Here is a list of the individual recipes contained in Real Meals. I think it's a good idea to encourage children to learn how to cook and providing free cookbooks is certainly a great way to start them on the path to learning! Hopefully, the cookery lessons will also help tackle the obesity problem in children. What do you think of the list of recipes in the cookbook? Which recipes would you recommend as the basic dishes that every child should know how to cook?

Parents of fat children to get official letters - Government campaign on childhood obesity

Government bans the word 'obese' to describe overweight children Parents of primary school children will start getting letters in September telling them how fat their children are. But however much they weigh, no child will ever be described as obese. The Department of Health has found in surveys that the term obese is a turn-off, so instead will use the term “very overweight” for those children whose body mass index exceeds 30, in an attempt to enlist parents’ support. (link via timesonline.co.uk) The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)- operated jointly by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). What do you think of this campaign? Do you think it will help the fight against childhood obesity? Sadly, I have my doubts that the programme will work since the parents of the children with the most serious weight issues are likely to ignore the letter, especially if the letters won't be using the word, obese.

New health blog by GP

The Financial Times presents an impressive new health blog by GP and columnist Margaret McCartney where she will discuss health care and policy issues in the news. I recommend her blog if you are interested in learning more about health issues in the news, and want to read a professional view (by a family doctor) about those issues. I think it's an excellent blog, and one that I plan to read regularly, so I've added Margaret McCartney to my blogroll.

National Health Service: 60th birthday today

The taxpayer-funded NHS celebrates its 60th birthday today. Aneurin Bevan launched the National Health Service on 5 July, 1948, with the promise that "everybody, irrespective of means, age, sex or occupation shall have equal opportunity to benefit from the best and most up-to-date medical and allied services available." Unfortunately, the promise hasn't been completely successful, particularly regarding "equal opportunity" since there are four different services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Also, due to the need to ration medical care, patients do not always get "the best and most up-to-date medical and allied services available" - in fact, for some treatments, it's more likely to be the cheapest treatment not necessarily the best.

The NHS is a fantastic scheme but there are problems that need to be addressed, such as dirty hospitals, understaffing, mixed sex wards, and the cost of health tourists (About a third of hospitals in England and Wales are ignoring government advice to charge foreign visitors for NHS treatment).

What are your thoughts about the NHS as it turns sixty?

Health stories in the news

Here is a selection of recent health stories in the news that merit a discussion: With society now obsessed by the desire to prolong life, Elizabeth Grice asks if we have lost the art of dying well and examines practical steps to change our attitudes. (link via telegraph.co.uk) As pointed out in the article, women in labour have a labour partner or a birth companion to support them during childbirth so should the dying have a "death companion"? A weight-loss drug that was refused a licence in the US because of fears it could cause depression and suicide has been approved for use in the NHS in England and Wales. (link via guardian.co.uk) How can that be right? Forty per cent of girls aged 9 or 10 have been on diets, an expert claims. We look at a trend that is also increasing among boys (link via timesonline.co.uk) This trend is very sad and also very dangerous. Is it due to pressures from society - particularly the media - or is it because so many parents are insecure and always trying a new diet? An aircraft-style safety test is to be implemented in all British hospitals to reduce the risks of surgery, using a simple checklist that has been proved to save thousands of lives. (link via independent.co.uk) I think this report is fascinating! It's such a simple idea and as pointed out in the article, research has shown checklists dramatically improve patient care – at virtually no cost. Hospitals have been accused of rationing IVF by denying the treatment to smokers, in a move that will reignite debate about the right to NHS care. (link via guardian.co.uk) In my opinion, I don't think the NHS should be offering IVF treatment to any woman. While I'm sure it's distressing for women who are experiencing fertility problems, infertility is not a medical condition that requires urgent treatment. When I read about people with cancer being denied certain cancer drugs because they are too expensive on the NHS, it makes me angry to think the NHS provides IVF treatment. Thoughts? Overcrowding of wards and staff shortages are contributing to a worldwide boom in hospital infections that are putting patients at risk, researchers say. (link via independent.co.uk) Those contributing factors in hospital infections make sense but I can't see any easy solutions. The NHS is already financially stretched. Experts have raised concerns about a UK-based online medical service which offers the contraceptive pill without the need to see a doctor. (BBC News) Do you think women should have to get a prescription to buy birth control pills?

Australia: the most obese nation in the world?!

Australia beats US to title of most obese nation, report finds (link via timesonline) I find this report really difficult to believe, and rather sad if it's true. I've never been to Australia but I always thought Australians were incredibly fit and healthy because they spend so much time participating in outdoor activities such as swimming and biking. What the heck happened?

Nurses (in England) to be rated on compassion

Nurses to be rated on how compassionate and smiley they are (link via guardian.co.uk) I think it should go without saying that patients expect nurses to be compassionate but should we really expect them to smile all the time too? Yes, it's nice when they smile (and I think most good nurses do try to be smiley and cheerful for their patients) but I don't think it should be so highly rated. I think the actual nursing care is far more important! From my own experience in NHS hospitals, the nursing care has always been first-rate. However, my first experience in an NHS hospital (in a maternity ward) was a nightmare because even though the midwives were fantastic, the ward was freezing cold, the bathroom was filthy and the meals were unpalatable. I think the government should concentrate on improving cleaning standards - and maintaining clean wards - plus improving the hospital food, rather than worrying about whether the nurses are smiling or not! Actually, after reading the article again, I think the nurses attitude toward patients is just a small part of the survey in this new government plan: The compassion index will be compiled by health regulators using surveys of patients' views while in hospital, including feedback about the attitude of staff. It will also measure standards of nutritional care, minimisation of pain, hand-washing, and safety on the wards. I'm not completely sure though how these surveys will make a difference regarding nutritional care, hand-wahing, etc. If the feedback from the patient's surveys is negative, what then? Surveys don't solve the problem, they just identify the problems and it seems to me that these issues have already been identified. Now they need to be addressed.

Almost a year after smoking ban in England: less heart attack cases

The number of heart attack patients being admitted to emergency wards has fallen sharply in more than half of England’s hospital trusts since smoking was banned in public places. The British Heart Foundation said that it showed the ban was the “most significant public health initiative this century”. These drops in the rate of heart attacks have been attributed to a large number of people stopping smoking, and far fewer people being exposed to airborne toxins through passive smoking. (link via timesonline.co.uk) I hope this report will encourage even more smokers to quit. I've never smoked and I was so pleased when England finally banned smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces in England last year (July 1st 2007). The other big (positive) change in the law was on 1st October 2007 when it became illegal for tobacco products to be sold to anyone under the age of 18 (an increase from 16) in England and Wales.

Gardeners: Beware decaying organic waste

I'm sure most people know that breathing in mould spores is bad for your health but I wonder how many gardeners know about the potential health hazard from inhaling poisonous fungal spores, commonly found in decaying vegetation? I certainly never gave it a thought until I read the sad story that a man dies after inhaling fungal spores from garden compost. The risk is low but still, it's something to be aware of. (link via guardian.co.uk)

The stuff of nightmares: 'dead' patient wakes up as surgeons about to take organs!

'Dead' patient comes around as organs are about to be removed France may have to reconsider its medical definition of death after a heart-attack victim came alive in the operating theatre as doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant. The patient, whose identity has not been revealed, recovered after a long period in intensive care and is now able to walk and talk. (link via independent.co.uk) Yikes! This will revive (sorry, bad pun) the debate about organ donation, especially the proposed "presumed consent" scheme in the UK. Currently, the UK operates an opt-in system for organ donation where people have to make their wishes known by registering their details on the NHS Organ Donation Register, carrying a donor card or telling their family. The opt-out system would mean health professionals would be able to assume everyone had consented to donating their organs (unless they had specifically registered that they did not want to become an organ donor). I know how desperate the need is for organs for transplant but personally I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of presumed consent. This latest story from France just underlines the fear that a lot of people must have, like I do, about the circumstances that might lead to just such a nightmare situation. I think the UK should stay with the current system where people have to choose to opt-in for organ donation. What do you think?