Category: Health

  • Nutritionist reveals 7 things she would never eat – and there are some surprises

    Nutritionist reveals 7 things she would never eat – and there are some surprises

    The goalposts for what constitutes a healthy diet are being constantly shifted – often to encompass some pretty strange fads.

    Recently – and in spite of their low life-expectancy – eating like a Neanderthal with the Paleo Diet increased in popularity, with restaurants and cookbooks popping up.

    While it seems just like yesterday that the Atkins Diet was all the rage, nowadays we’re being told to ‘eat clean‘.

    The bad news about our diets seems to be coming in thick and fast. White pasta and bread has recently been labelled as a no-no and those partial to a bacon sandwich better reconsider.

    It can be easy to get confused and fed up with the mixed and sometimes contradictory messages coming in from a range of sources. But what would a professional do?

    Nutritionist Helen Bond cleared up a couple of myths, and shared some surprisingly ‘unhealthy’ items with the Mail Online, Derbyshire-based Helen revealed a list of seven foods she’d never eat.

    1. Canned soup

    With a bit of buttered crusty bread, a bowl of hot soup can be incredibly comforting. But if you think soup is healthy it’s one the healthier items on the menu, think again.

    Why is it bad?

    “Some canned soups are quite salty, so you’ve got to watch that. High salt intake leads to high blood pressure.

    “‘They contain all the additives and the preservatives and the colours.”

    Not all soup is unhealthy, so be sure to read the ingredients

    It’s not all bad news

    Choose your soup carefully – some manufacturers have lowered their salt and sugar content. Some can even be healthy.

    “‘If you have half a can of Heinz tomato for lunch, it’s one of your five a day and a great source of lycopene.

    “Combined with a crusty roll for fibre, it’s low in fat and sugar, contributes to fluid intake, and will give you energy for the rest of the day.”

    2. Smoothies

    Smoothie and juice bars may seem like they’re the preserve of the health conscious, but they’re not as sin-free as they may seem.

    There are downsides to consuming smoothies

    Why are they bad?

    As Ms Bond explains, “While smoothies are undoubtedly better than sugary, fizzy drinks and can help you on your way to one or even two of your five-a-day, the health benefits of some are questionable.

    “Many of those purchased in shops and supermarkets are very high in calories, with added whole-milk yogurt, syrups, sugar, even peanut butter and chocolate.”

    There’s also no fibre contained in them, meaning they’re not as nutritious as whole fruits and vegetables and won’t keep you as full as the whole fruit would.

    Plus they can damage the tooth enamel.

    3. Popcorn

    Often touted as healthy and guilt-free snack amounting to barely any calories, this came as a surprise to us.

    Why is it bad?

    Because of the sneaky extras a lot of brands add:

    “Popcorn is a wholegrain so it can be a low fat snack. The air popped one is healthy – it’s when you begin adding things to it that it becomes a problem.

    There’s something irresistible about popcorn – but watch out for any naughty additions

    “Eating foots slathered in butter or sugar regularly will only add calories to your diet.

    “Popcorn is being promoted as guilt-free, lighter snack. But be vigilant of the naughty types.”

    4. White chocolate

    If you’re a firm believer in ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’ and you’ll help yourself to some white chocolate once in a wile, you may want to switch to a darker brand.

    Why is it bad for me?

    Breaking chocolate-lovers hearts’ everywhere, Ms Bond explained how white chocolate is not technically ‘proper chocolate’ as it has no cocoa solids in it.

    With Easter round the corner, will you be able to resist white chocolate?

    Cocoa solids are the good bits, and the higher the content is of them, the more flavenoids there are – and these assist in weight loss and protecting the brain and heart.

    It’s not all bad news

    The darker the chocolate, the more flavenoids – so you can still indulge a little bit at Easter.

    5. White bread, pasta and rice

    As comfort food goes, starchy carbohydrates are up there with the best – but they’re linked to an increase in our blood sugar levels.

    Why are they bad?

    “These foods have been stripped of their outer bran coating and inner germ during the milling process, leaving only the starchy endosperm.

    “These ‘whiter’ cereals provide up to 75 per cent less nutrients like vitamin E and selenium, than their wholegrain form.

    “They also have a very high glycaemic index (GI) .”

    Swap your white loaf for brown

    Instead try this

    Ms Bond advises going for oats, wholegrains and wholemeal instead of white white, processed carbohydrates.

    This is because, “they are higher in fibre to keep your digestive system in tip-top condition and running smoothly.

    “Plus their ‘low glycaemic index’ value means they’re slower to enter the bloodstream, resulting in a steadier rise in blood sugar and energy levels.”

    6. Breakfast sandwiches

    Firstly, it’s not all bad news: “Eggs and bacon doesn’t need to be unhealthy.”

    Why are they bad?

    However, “the processed ingredients in breakfast sandwiches tend to be high in fat and lacking in nutrients.”

    “The sandwiches are normally made from white bread, so they’re lacking in fibre.

    Turns out, it’s not the best way to start the day

    “They contain sausages and bacon – processed meats high in saturated fat. This is not something you should be enjoying on a daily basis.”

    Recent studies have shown that processed meat can raise our risk of diseases like cancer.

    One possible reason is that the compound that gives red meat its colour, haem, may damage the lining of the bowel.

    In addition, when meat is preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or by adding preservatives, cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) can be formed.

    Egg, sausages and bacon being fried in a frying pan

    Instead try this

    You can still have a ‘healthy’ breakfast sandwich, with Ms Bond encouraging people to make it from scratch using fresh ingredients including wholemeal bread and eggs instead.

    7. Fizzy drinks

    It perhaps comes as no surprise that a nutritionist wouldn’t touch a can of Coke – there’s seven teaspoons of sugar in one.

    “Added sugar provides little more than calories (one level teaspoon of sugar – 4g – contains 16 calories).

    Sugar in any form is increasingly being linked to our growing waistlines

    “So by drinking sugar fuelled drinks to excess, you will be adding lots of unnecessary ’empty calories’ to your daily diet and getting little nutritional value in return.”

    Much like smoothies, fizzy drinks can also damage your tooth enamel.

    Ms Bond recommends instead, “a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a sprig or two of mint, or try herbal teas which add flavour without the sugar.”

    via : dailyrecord – Health

  • This woman wants you to 'take a good look' at her breast and then share the photo – it could save a life

    This woman wants you to 'take a good look' at her breast and then share the photo – it could save a life

    A woman has shared a photograph of the underside of her breast to raise awareness of a little-known symptom of breast cancer.

    Kylie Armstrong, from Melbourne in Australia, was diagnosed with cancer after a slight change in her skin caused her enough concern to ask doctors to investigate.

    She then posted the photo to Facebook, asking others to share it.

    Kylie wrote: “Please take a good look at this photo. These 3 very, very subtle DIMPLES on the bottom of this breast are a sign of breast cancer! This is what my breast cancer looks like.” (sic)

    She goes on to explain that she didn’t feel a lump – a symptom more commonly associated with the disease – and neither did her GP.

    But after Kylie inisted there was something different about her breast, her doctor paid attention.

    Please take a good look at this photo. These 3 very, very subtle DIMPLES on the bottom of this breast are a sign of…

    Posted by Kylie Armstrong on Monday, 29 February 2016

    She said: “She listened to me when I said my breast looked different to usual and when I raised my arm I could see very, very faint dimples on the underside of my breast.

    “The GP sent me for a mammogram to be sure. It wasn’t obvious on the scan so they sent me for an ultrasound.

    “The ultrasound found the cancer deep in my breast close to the muscle. These three dimples have turned my world and my family’s world upside down.

    Have you been affected by breast cancer? Share your story using the form below or email [email protected]

    “We are shocked, we are numb, we are emotional, we are sometimes OK, we are pretending it’s not happening, we are trying to absorb information, we are dealing with tests, we are crying, we are trying to continue as normal.

    Kylie says her family’s world has been turned upside down since her diagnosis

    “We are angry, we are sad. We have more questions than answers. We are doing our best to cope.

    “I am sharing this because I hope I can make people aware that breast cancer is not always a detectable lump.

    “Please go straight to your GP if you notice ANY change in your breast. It could save your life.

    “Please share to spread awareness.”

    Since Kylie posted the picture to Facebook, it has been shared over 124,000 times and counting.

    If you have concerns or want to know more about breast cancer, information on the symptoms is available on the NHS website here . Always consult your GP if you are worried about your health.

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    via : dailyrecord – Health

  • Girl who BLEEDS from her EYES, EARS and MOUTH describes misery of horrifying condition which leaves her housebound

    Girl who BLEEDS from her EYES, EARS and MOUTH describes misery of horrifying condition which leaves her housebound

    It seems like something from a horror film – a girl who is unable to leave her home because blood can start spontaneously seeping from her eye, ears, beneath her tongue and from her scalp at any moment.

    But for 17-year-old Marnie-Rae Harvey, this horrific scenario is her everyday life.

    Her mother is terrified for her daughter and says she has to “shake her every morning to check she is alive”.

    Baffled doctors have no idea what is causing the bleeding, which is steadily getting worse, and have dubbed her the “Mystery Girl” as they struggle to come up with a diagnosis.

    Until they do, the teenager is forced to stay at home as the bleeding could start at any time, and must cope with the stigma of her condition which means she has lost most of her friends.

    Her mother said: “Every morning I have to shake her to see if she is still alive. It’s absolutely devastating. It happens every single day. We’ve just gone through 12 days of solid bleeding from her tongue and scalp. She is sick four or five times a day, vomiting blood.”

    Mystery: Her eyes started suddenly bleeding in July

    Last July, the teenager woke up with blood seeping out of her eye. She was rushed to hospital by her terrified family, but doctors could do nothing.

    Soon after, blood started seeping from her ears and from under her fingernails.

    In the last couple of months the mysterious bleeding has spread to her scalp and under her tongue.

    Cath said that her daughter had been coughing up blood and suffering from excruciating migraines for a couple of years before the bleeding started, meaning she was often to ill to go to school.

    She said: “It feels like we are living in a horror movie.

    “At first it was only her eye. She woke up in a pool of blood. She came downstairs with the blood pouring from her eye. We rushed her to A&E but they could do nothing for her.

    “Then it started coming from inside her ears, big blood clots, and then from under her fingernails. Recently, she tipped her head upside down and blood started spurting out from her scalp.

    “The strangest thing is that her eye can be pouring blood until her face is covered and then suddenly it stops and the whites of her eyes are clear.

    Start: The condition started with her eyes and ears but has since spread to her scalp, tongue and fingernails

    “The bleeding comes from the base of her tongue, a string of blood. She has to sit there with a cotton pad in her mouth to stop her swallowing blood.”

    Cath, who works as a shop assistant in her home town of Stoke-on-Trent, said her other daughter Leigh, 25, and her dad have to stay with Marnie during the day as she cannot be left alone.

    She added: “I wake up in the night with her vomiting blood and then I have to go to work. I can’t think of anything else, it’s a constant worry.”

    One of the worst things for the family is the reaction of other people when they see her daughter.

    She said: “There’s the scare factor. We go to A&E all the time in a panic at the symptoms but there is nothing they can do. Last time we were there everyone was taking pictures of her and saying how disgusting it was. I had to take her outside, where she passed out.”

    Read more : Young cancer sufferer writes moving open letter to stranger who saved her life after donating stem cells

    Cath said she feels frustrated that doctors are unable to diagnose her daughter’s condition.

    She said: “We’ve had it confirmed that Marnie does not have a brain tumour.

    “Her blood tests come back clear and healthy, her iron levels are strong.

    “She has no tumours, no blood diseases and no blood clotting disorders. Her blood clots well. Doctors have no answers, they are shocked. My local GP calls her the Mystery Girl. He knows what it isn’t but not what it is.”

    An ultrasound scan showed her liver, kidneys, womb and ovaries and confirmed all organs are functioning perfectly, she added, and her eyes, ears, nose and throat are all fine.

    She has also had MRI scans, CT scans and multiple blood tests, but the only problem anomaly doctors can identify is that she has a low immune system.

    Marnie is waiting to see the gynaecologist to see if the condition, which gets worse around her periods, is linked to her uterus.

    Hope: All Marnie wants to do is get a diagnosis and start living her life again

    Marnie said the worst thing about her condition was being unable to leave the house or carry on with her life.

    She said: “I’s weird, scary, really scary. I woke up the first time in a pool of blood. I walked downstairs and my eye was bleeding and the whole side of my face was covered in blood. My family were so shocked.

    “I applied for a hairdressing course but I had to stop for fear of bleeding on the customers.

    “I’ve lost most of my friends, they don’t want to see me. I’m always at home. My life is on hold, I can’t go to college.

    “My eyes are the most shocking thing. I wish the doctors would just find what it is. No one has ever seen anything like it before.”

    There have been a couple of reports of people bleeding from their eyes, including a man from Tennessee who was diagnosed with a condition called haemolacria, but none involve bleeding from other orifices.

    The family are sharing their story in the hope someone somewhere has heard of the condition and could help them.

    Cath said: “We know there will be silly comments, people calling her a vampire. But we hope someone, somewhere will have witnessed it and give us something, anything to help.

    “We want to raise awareness, there must be someone else in the world with this.”

    via : dailyrecord – Health

  • Tragic two-year-old gas blast orphan undergoes emergency operation after suffering from breathing difficulties

    Tragic two-year-old gas blast orphan undergoes emergency operation after suffering from breathing difficulties

    A TODDLER who survived a horrific gas blast which wiped out his family has been rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

    Mohammad Sudais was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow yesterday after suffering from breathing difficulties.

    The two-year-old previously had extensive surgery on his face to repair third-degree burns caused by the explosion in December 2013.

    His uncle, who campaigned to bring Mohammad to Scotland after his family died in Pakistan, has asked people to pray for the tot.

    Caring: Uncle Mohammad Asif brought the tot to Scotland

    Mohammad Asif said: “Please keep baby Mohammad Sudais in your prayers.

    “He is having an emergency operation today at the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

    “He is suffering from breathing difficulties. He is going to transfer to the high dependency unit.

    “We are told by the doctors that he will be in hospital for some time.”

    Little Mohammad was brought to Scotland in February 2014.

    He was only two months old when his parents Mohammad and Sumaira died alongside his 13-month-old brother Abdul Haseeb in the city of Peshawar.

    The youngster suffered 80 per cent skin loss to his face, but his body remained unscathed because he was wrapped in blankets.

    Angelic: Mohammad Sudais before the explosion which killed his parents and brother Angelic: Mohammad Sudais before the explosion which killed his parents and brother

    Referring to the tot’s breathing trouble, Mohammad added: “The doctors said it might have been caused by scar tissue in his nose and throat.”

    Medics may be forced to reopen a tracheostomy – a hole in his throat.

    Mohammad said: “He’s such a brave boy, though he’s starting to not enjoy the hospital any more.

    “But the staff here have been amazing. We are just so thankful to everybody.”

    via : dailyrecord – Health

  • Two Scots women who suffered devastating effects of being hooked on prescription drugs fight for helpline and change

    Two Scots women who suffered devastating effects of being hooked on prescription drugs fight for helpline and change

    TWO Scots whose lives have been ravaged by prescription drugs are battling for ­recognition of the devastating withdrawal issues as well as proper support for victims.

    Fiona French, 61, from Aberdeen, and Ann Kelly, 52, from Dunbartonshire, have suffered physically and mentally since they stopped taking their medication.

    Health Secretary Shona Robison has now agreed to ask chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood to investigate the claims.

    Health Secretary Shona Robison

    Fiona was on ­benzodiazepines – an anticonvulsant drug used to treat anxiety, insomnia, ­agitation, seizures, muscle spasms and alcohol ­withdrawal – for more than 40 years as a treatment for mild epilepsy.

    It is recommended only for short- term use because of known problems with withdrawal and has widely been discredited as useful for epilepsy.

    She stopped having seizures shortly after taking the drug but continued to take it unchecked.

    Only after ­stopping the drug did she realise she no longer had the ­condition.

    Ann was on antidepressants for 15 to 20 years. Her doctor told her she was “one of the worried well” when he prescribed the drug.

    But as the effectiveness of the medication decreased, her doctor raised the dose. Ann believes her mild anxiety did not need anti­depressants at all and the mental health ­symptoms she had were caused by the drugs.

    Since they weaned themselves off the drugs both women spent months unable to walk as well as suffering a host of other painful symptoms.

    They believe there may be ­thousands like them, with up to one million Scots prescribed anti­depressants at one point in their lives.

    The women have started a campaign called Action on Prescribed Drug Dependence, calling for a national helpline for sufferers as well as proper recognition that their conditions were caused by prescribed drug withdrawal.

    After the Record drew the matter to the attention of Robison, she ­promised to investigate.

    She said: “If there is emerging evidence for the need for better ­monitoring, for example, or a regular review then that’s something I will ask the chief medical officer to give me some advice on.

    “If there is a need for better support for people coming off medication then, of course, I would want the chief medical officer to give me some advice on whether that is the case.

    “The first thing I would want her to do is tell me whether there is an issue here and what the extent of it is.”

    Robison said she would “expect regular monitoring of any ­medication”.

    She added: “As we move forward, one of the benefits of the new models of primary care and the multi-­disciplinary nature, which will use pharmacists to a larger degree, is the review of medicines generally could happen on a more systematic basis.

    “For some people medication will be the right thing but, if there is a wider range of services as an ­alternative, there is the option to refer somebody to services that could help to avoid anti­depressants being given. But these will always be clinical ­decisions.”

    Fiona’s story

    For almost four decades Fiona French obediently took prescribed drugs for her diagnosed epilepsy but when she weaned herself off them she was bedridden for more than a year.

    Fiona, 61, from Aberdeen, ironically was formerly an NHS researcher, working with doctors on research on medical education and training.

    She was on nitrazepam, a benzodiazepine, which has been widely discredited for long-term use for epilepsy. But she was also on antidepressants for a condition she believes was caused by the other drug.

    She weaned herself off the drug over a long period of time but became progressively more ill. In her case she blames only the benzodiazepines for her condition and not the anti­depressants. When she stopped the antidepressants much later it did not worsen her condition.

    She said: “It shows how every drug works differently on every individual, which means more care should be taken in prescribing and monitoring drugs.”

    Within a few days of stopping the nitrazepam she realised she did not have epilepsy.

    She said: “It could have resolved itself years ago for all I know. I had been on this drug since 1975 and at no time did they ever suggest my underlying depression was caused by the drug.

    “I only found out when I stopped taking it.

    “I was very ill when I stopped taking it but it took about six months for it to dawn on me that I wasn’t depressed any more.”

    But physically she was terribly ill. She said: “When you stop taking this drug it does something to your brain. I struggled to lift my head off the pillow. It was difficult to even get out of bed to get myself something to eat.

    “I just felt so terribly ill. It is difficult to describe.

    “I lost sensation from the waist down. I got pressure inside my head and a squeezing sensation on the brain.

    “After the numbness started to resolve itself it changed to unbearable nerve pain for a few months. But it has gradually eased off.

    “But my memory and concentration have been shot to pieces and I can’t bear noise or light.

    “It took 18 months for me to be able to sit up in bed without head support and it took two years to be able to walk outside the house.

    “It took another few months for the cognitive side to come back to normal and I am still waiting for the physical side to come back to normal.”

    Fiona has started a petition to the Scottish Parliament calling for support for people coming off these drugs.

    She said: “There needs to be better training for doctors. Not everyone is bedridden for two years but a lot of people are suffering.”

    Ann’s story

    Ann Kelly was trapped behind a mask on antidepressants but, when she weaned herself off them, her life was destroyed by painful symptoms and anxiety.

    Ann, 52, from Dunbartonshire, went to her doctor with mild anxiety and was put on antidepressants by a GP who told her: “You are one of the worried well.”

    She said: “I was going about my business but I felt insulated, living my life behind a mask, not really relating properly to people. Anti-depressants wipe out bad feelings but they wipe out good feelings too.

    “The problems happen when you try to allow your body to work without the drug.”

    Ann decided she had been on the drugs long enough and tapered off them over a period of two years after consulting with her doctor.

    But she said: “When I came off them two years ago, the symptoms were horrendous.

    “Trying to get off them is like you are caught in a leg snare. You can bleed to death or try to escape and it will rip your leg off.

    “I had dizziness, co-ordination problems, balance problems, forgetfulness, gastric problems and was agitated beyond belief.”

    At one point she was so ill, her brothers had to lift her in and out of bed. But when she went back to the doctor she was told these were all symptoms of her original condition.

    Ann refused to believe the diagnosis and saw an expert psycho-pharmacologist who confirmed she was suffering withdrawal. With the help of her local MSP Jackie Baillie, she organised a meeting with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s head of psychiatric services Dr David Gerber, who also conceded her condition had been caused by the drug withdrawal.

    Ann has set up a help group in Helensburgh called Recovery and Renewal for anyone struggling from the effects of the drugs.

    She said: “Once you take an antidepressant it becomes a dance that never ends.”

    via : dailyrecord – Health