In this week’s article, we provide a roundup of some of the most recent health and nutrition related articles in the news, five items comprising:
- Athletes have poor teeth despite brushing twice a day, study finds
- ‘Major improvements’ needed to meet children’s Vit D needs
- An optimistic outlook ‘means you live longer’
- Blueberries aid healthy ageing, studies suggest
- City parks lift mood as much as Christmas, Twitter study shows
Athletes have poor teeth despite brushing twice a day, study finds
British Olympic and professional athletes could be damaging their teeth by regular using sports drinks, energy bars and gels, according to a study.
Researchers from University College London surveyed 352 female and male athletes across 11 sports, including cycling, swimming, rugby, football, rowing, hockey, sailing and athletics. The study concluded that elite athletes had poor oral health despite efforts to care for their teeth.
The findings, published in the British Dental Journal, showed 94% of athletes brushed their teeth twice a day, compared with 75% of the general public, while 44% flossed regularly, compared with 21% of the public.
Read the full article here.
Related Cytoplan blog
The impact of nutrition on dental health
‘Major improvements’ needed to meet children’s Vit D needs
Major improvements are needed to teach parents about the importance of vitamin D and their children’s requirements as too many do not know the facts, according to researchers at Leeds Beckett University.
In the survey, involving nearly 200 parents, researchers found that around half of the parents reported receiving no information about vitamin D during pregnancy and breastfeeding or for their child.
23% of parents did not know why vitamin D is important for health and only 26% of parents reported giving their youngest child a vitamin D supplement on most days of the week.
Read the full article here.
Related Cytoplan blogs
Vitamin D – functions, forms and latest research
An optimistic outlook ‘means you live longer’
Optimists are more likely to live longer than those who have a more negative approach to life, a US study has found.
Positive people were more likely to live to the age of 85 or more. The theory is that optimists may find it easier to control emotions and so be protected from the effects of stress.
And researchers said pessimists could benefit from doing things like imagining a future where everything turns out well.
Read the full article here.
Related Cytoplan blogs
Blueberries aid healthy ageing, studies suggest
A collection of new studies further quantifies how blueberry consumption can contribute to healthy ageing.
Consuming a cup of blueberries a day can improve blood vessel function and decrease systolic blood pressure, according to a collection of new studies that add further evidence on the health benefits of the fruit.
As a cause, the authors of the study, which appeared in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, cited anthocyanins, which are phytochemicals that give blueberries their dark colour.
Read the full article here.
Related Cytoplan blogs
Stop the clock: nutrition and skin ageing
City parks lift mood as much as Christmas, Twitter study shows
Feeling unhappy and cranky? The treatment: take a walk under some trees in the park.
That may not be the exact prescription of your doctor, but a first-of-its-kind study shows that visitors to urban parks use happier words and express less negativity on Twitter than they did before their visit – and that their elevated mood lasts, like a glow, for up to four hours afterwards.
The effect is so strong – a team of scientists from the University of Vermont discovered – that the increase in happiness from a visit to an outpost of urban nature is equivalent to the mood spike on Christmas, by far the happiest day each year on Twitter.
Read the full article here.
Related Cytoplan blogs
The practice of Mindfulness – Part 1
The practice of Mindfulness – Part 2
If you have any questions regarding the topics that have been raised, or any other health matters, please do contact me (Clare) by phone or email at any time.
clare@cytoplan.co.uk, 01684 310099
Clare Daley and the Cytoplan Editorial Team
Last updated on 3rd November 2022 by cytoffice
