[ad_1]
We are living in a vaccine-hesitant moment, with conspiracy theories thriving on social media. We need to push back, says Simon Williams
[ad_2]
Source link
Tag: health
-
Conspiracy theorists are turning their attention back to HPV vaccines
-
Cancer deaths expected to nearly double worldwide by 2050
[ad_1]
Breast cancer cells
Connect Images / Alamy
The number of cancer deaths worldwide is expected to nearly double by 2050, largely due to increases in low and middle-income countries.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia made the discovery by looking at cancer cases and death rates from 185 countries, including 36 types of cancer, from the Global Cancer Observatory database. They then projected future cancer cases and deaths by applying these rates to the 2050 population predictions from the United Nations (UN) Development Programme.
They found that the total number of cancer cases worldwide is expected to grow by nearly 77 per cent between 2022 and 2050, which would mean an additional 15.3 million cancer cases on top of the 20 million that occurred in 2022. Global cancer deaths are also projected to rise by almost 90 per cent during this period, resulting in 8.8 million more deaths in 2050 compared with 2022, in which 9.7 million people died from the disease.
The largest increases are expected in countries with low-to-middle scores on the UN’s Human Development Index, which scores development based on average life expectancy, education level and income per person. Cancer cases and deaths are, on average, anticipated to nearly triple by 2050 in countries with a low score, such as Niger and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, countries with a very high score – such as Norway – are projected to see cancer cases and deaths increase, on average, by more than 42 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively.
This reinforces other evidence that shows cancer cases are trending upwards, says Andrew Chan at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was not involved with the study. Multiple factors are probably driving this trend, including that people across the world are living for longer, which raises the risk of cancer, he says. However, the work did not account for the advent of new or more effective cancer treatments.
Less developed countries are most likely seeing the greatest increases due to the “so-called Westernisation of populations”, says Chan. “Some of the habits that we traditionally associate with higher risk of cancer, such as rising rates of obesity and poor diet, are becoming a trend in low and middle-income countries.”
Topics:
[ad_2]
Source link -
Unbound Flick Review: A Ring Vibrator
[ad_1]
Jewelry that doubles as a vibrator is nothing new. If we go way back—I’m talking ancient Rome—there’s a good chance someone, somewhere along the line, used a piece of jewelry to rub one out just for the heck of it. After all, the Romans were known to be quite creative when it came to sexual pleasure.
But it wasn’t until the 2014 launch of the Crave Vesper, a necklace that contained a mini vibrator to stimulate all your favorite erogenous zones, that the union of jewelry as vibrators or vibrators as jewelry became a legitimate product. A product, I might add, that everyone wanted in their collection of jewels and vibes.
Now, 10 years after Crave Vesper hit the market, we have Unbound’s take on the concept. This time, it’s a stylish, eye-catching statement ring called Flick. Flick’s launch date is no accident. As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of the cocktail ring, Unbound wanted to come up with a piece of jewelry that not only pays homage to the iconic cocktail ring but also to the cultural revolution of the 1920s. It was a complicated time for women as they tried to navigate how to harness self-expression authentically against a backdrop that had yet to allow all women to vote. Flick embodies that spirit of boldness and celebration, inviting modern-day adventurers to explore their sensuality in style.
As Intense as It Is Discreet
Unbound is not a brand that’s new to me, which means I already knew I wasn’t simply getting a vibrator in a box with generic-looking instructions. But even for Unbound, the Flick’s packaging went above my expectations: clean lines, a commitment to only two colors—turquoise and pink—to enhance the overall aesthetic, nail art stickers, and a postcard signed by all the people who made Flick happen. It didn’t just look welcoming, it felt right.
-Lifestyle-On-Hand-SOURCE-Unbound-Babes.jpg)
Photograph: Unbound Babes
Although I knew I needed to wait for a full charge to properly indulge in Flick as a vibrator, as a piece of jewelry there was nothing to wait for. I slipped on the ring and it fit perfectly. This isn’t because Flick is a one-size-fits-all ring but because it has four band sizes that can easily be changed with the included screwdriver.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Is personalised nutrition better than one-size-fits-all diet advice?
[ad_1]
Each of us has a different metabolic response to eating the same bread
Matthew Ashmore/Alamy
Consider two slices of bread, one from an artisanal sourdough boule, the other from a cheap, mass-produced white loaf. Which do you think is healthier?
The correct answer is that you don’t know until you try. Some people will have an unhealthy reaction to the cheap stuff, with surging blood sugar levels. But others won’t, and instead have a sharp rise in blood sugar after the sourdough. Some will surge on both, others barely at all.
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here.
The same is true for other foods and other nutrients, especially fats, which can also surge dangerously in the bloodstream after eating. How our metabolisms respond to food is highly idiosyncratic, a shock discovery that is upending decades of nutritional orthodoxy and promising to finally answer that surprisingly knotty question: what should we eat to stay healthy?
Increases in blood glucose and lipids are quite normal after eating, but if they go too high too quickly – called spiking – they can cause trouble. Frequent spikes in glucose and a type of fat called triglyceride are associated with the risk of developing diabetes, obesity and heart disease. For decades, nutrition researchers assumed that all humans responded to a given food in roughly the same way, with uniform increases in blood sugar and fats.
Glycaemic index
Under that assumption, dietary advice was simple and one-size-fits-all. Reduce consumption of the foods that cause spikes. Unsurprisingly, those were mostly…
[ad_2]
Source link -
How to cut through the latest nutritional fads
[ad_1]
Loading up your plate has never seemed more complicated. Alongside appeals to avoid ultra-processed foods and “bad” fats, we are being bombarded by a growing array of sometimes conflicting dietary advice. Not only is it confusing, but it is hard to tell what difference these choices will really make in the long term.
Social media is filled with people talking about the health benefits of what they eat, with diets that promise a better hormonal balance going viral, for example. While it should go without saying that any nutritional advice delivered on TikTok should be taken with a pinch of salt, it is easy to get swept up in the excitement and start to believe that there must be a dollop of truth to such claims.
Then there are fermented foods, which are often sold as a dietary panacea. Do we really need to load up on kimchi and kombucha to be truly healthy?
Even nutrition science can add to the confusion. The more we hear about the latest discoveries, the more it seems we can tweak our diet to focus on specific outcomes, whether that is lowering chronic inflammation, improving our health and weight by eating at specific times or choosing what to eat based on our personal response to foods.
Not only is it confusing, it is hard to tell what difference these choices really make
To help navigate this minefield, we have put together a delectable special issue of New Scientist on how to eat better, focusing on seven of the hottest nutritional trends of the moment.
This has revealed a few surprises. Recent research, for instance, shows that snacking – long demonised as generally a bad thing – can actually be positive for our health and waistlines.
Then there is the surprisingly wide-reaching health effects of something that we already knew was good for our gut: dietary fibre. Unlike many ingredients touted as superfoods, this one does really live up to its promise, yet most of us aren’t getting enough of it.
So turn to our special feature for our evidence-based guide to what should really be on your plate to boost your chances of a longer and healthier life.
Topics:
[ad_2]
Source link -
The science of exercise: Which activity burns the most calories?
[ad_1]
James Blake/Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust
When I first started my fitness journey, I wanted to maximise my workout. If I was going to be sore and sweaty, I figured I might as well make the most of it.
Building fitness requires pushing your body to do more activity than it is used to. A good barometer for how hard you are exerting yourself during exercise is therefore the number of calories you burn. So, what exercise uses the most calories? It depends.
Research has consistently shown that aerobic exercises…
[ad_2]
Source link -
Fermented foods: Are things like kimchi and kombucha really good for your gut?
[ad_1]
Shutterstock/Natasha Breen
Humans have been fermenting food and drink for at least 13,000 years – and touting the health benefits for nearly as long. But despite our long history with them, we are only beginning to determine whether these foods are actually beneficial for our health.
Unlike our ancestors, however, we now know how fermentation works: microbes such as certain yeasts and bacteria break down sugars in grains, fruit, vegetables and dairy products in a way that prevents them from spoiling and produces unique flavours. But what does this mean for our health?
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here.
Numerous studies have linked fermented foods – particularly dairy versions – to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. For instance, a 2023 study involving more than 46,000 adults living in the US found that eating fermented foods was associated with lower blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference.
But much of the research lumps all kinds of fermented foods together, and given the health halo around these products, we know that people who consume them probably tend to look after their health in other ways too. Both of these factors make it difficult to determine what is actually providing any observed benefits.
Benefits of yoghurt
That said, the case is strongest for yogurt. Many large studies have linked its consumption to improvements in immunity, bone density and longevity and to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Yet determining cause and effect from these observational…
[ad_2]
Source link -
Hormone-balancing diets: Can we really balance our hormones by eating certain foods?
[ad_1]
Spend more than 5 minutes on Instagram or TikTok – especially as a woman of a certain age – and you are likely to meet a fit, attractive person showing you what they ate today. It is usually a bowl of oats, flaxseeds and berries, or a plate of leafy greens with lean meats or other “quality proteins”, or a salad of raw carrots and little else, all enviably presented and accompanied by the claim that these foods balance excess oestrogen, lower the stress hormone cortisol, support adrenal function or even help you get rid of that “hormonal belly”.
So-called hormone-balancing diets aren’t exactly new: self-help books positing hormonal balance as the way to wellness began appearing in the early 2000s, marrying scientific-sounding claims with weight-loss plans. But what does “hormone imbalance” really mean?
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here.
Not a lot, as it turns out. Hormones are the chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands located throughout the body, such as the thyroid, pituitary gland, ovaries and testes, that orchestrate many essential functions. “Hormones basically run the show, so to speak, in our bodies,” says Amelia Sherry, a registered dietician in New York. “Different hormones regulate everything, including sleep, hunger and fullness, growth, sexual development and desire, pregnancy, energy metabolism, blood sugar and more.”
So the concept of “balance” makes little sense in the perpetually changing endocrine system. ” ‘Hormonal imbalance’ is not a term endocrinologists… readily use because it suggests that something is wrong if hormones, when measured, are not always in the ‘normal range’,” says …
[ad_2]
Source link -
The surprising truth about the health benefits of snacking
[ad_1]
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
We are often told not to eat between meals, and there is a general perception that snacking is unhealthy. But, as usual when it comes to food, temptation prevails.
Snacking is very common, and increasingly so. In the early 1970s, for example, US adults consumed about 18 per cent of their total calories in snack form. By 2010, that had risen to 23 per cent. Similar numbers have been recorded in the UK, Brazil and Norway.
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here.
Given how common snacking is, it would be nice to know whether the received wisdom is true. But research on the health effects of snacking has produced a dog’s dinner of results. Some studies have found that, as expected, snacking has negative health consequences. But others have found the opposite.
To get a clearer picture, earlier this year, Sarah Berry at King’s College London, who is also chief scientist at the Zoe nutrition app, and her colleagues, re-analysed data they had gathered as part of an experiment carried out in 2018 and 2019, in which around 850 participants recorded everything they ate and when they ate it across two to four days. They were also tested on a range of measures of cardiovascular health, such as levels of blood fats and glucose.
[ad_2]
Source link -
Anti-inflammatory diets: Do certain foods reduce inflammation and help you live longer?
[ad_1]
It is one of the scourges of life in the modern world: chronic inflammation. This unhelpful response by the body’s immune system is linked to accelerated ageing and conditions such as stroke and heart disease.
What if we could dampen it down by consuming certain foods, such as spinach, walnuts and salmon? That is the promise of anti-inflammatory diets, often advocated in vague terms by the media and nutrition industry. That might prompt eye-rolling from the scientifically minded. But recent research reveals that this approach isn’t as faddish as it sounds and paints a nuanced picture of the links between food, inflammation and our long-term health.
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here.
Inflammation is a crucial part of our response to injury and disease. But when the body continues to deploy it even when there is no trauma, this results in chronic inflammation. Exactly why this occurs is unclear, but genetics, environment and lifestyle play roles. It can be detected by measuring certain chemical markers in the blood, and has been increasingly linked with poor health.
“Chronic inflammation is a driver of many common diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis and dementia,” says John Mathers at Newcastle University in the UK. It has also been implicated in some mental health conditions.
But how…
[ad_2]
Source link