News summary

Benefit of dairy products to older men

Elderly men’s bone strength is improved by the consumption of dairy products, according to a new study in the US. Dr Linda McCabe at colleagues at Purdue University, in Indiana, studied the relationship between nutrition and bone density in 745 black and white men and women aged over 60 and observed that the higher consumption of dairy foods is associated with greater mineral density at the hip and the upper femur in men but not so significantly in women.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Tea “may impede Alzheimer’s”

Drinking tea may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease, according to scientists at Newcastle University, who say it may slow development of the condition. The researchers’ results show that both green and black tea inhibit the activity of the acetylcholinesteras, which breaks down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter whose levels are characteristically reduced in Alzheimer’s sufferers. Tea also hinders the activity of butyrycholinesteras, which has been discovered in protein deposits found on patients’ brains.
(ABC Online)
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Appetite research

The Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen is looking for men aged between 20 and 50 for a study into a drink they may help with controlling hunger pangs. Dr Alan Rowe, chief executive of Rowett Research Services, says, “There may be potential to develop a drink which if taken instead of a mid-morning snack can reduce hunger pangs and so reduce the amount we want to eat at lunchtime.”
(BBC News Online)
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Driving under the influence of a supplement?

Prosecutors in the US are cracking down on people who drive under the intoxicating influence of kava. After a successful prosecution in San Mateo County in California, the authorities have filed three other cases. Kava is not considered a drug by federal health officials, and is classified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a nutritional supplement that can be used to relieve anxiety. However, according to San Mateo Deputy District Attorney Chris Feasel, people using it have a “thousand-yard stare”. “They’re drooling on themselves sometimes, their motor function is so bad,” he adds.
(Reuters Health Online)
www.reutershealth.com

Retailer fined over health claims

A supermarket at Swindon in Wiltshire has been fined £5,000 after making illegal claims about the health benefits of mangoes. Asda pleaded guilty to contravening food labelling regulations by saying the fruit has “anti-oxidant properties to help to fight cancer”. Outside the court, six Asda employees dressed as pieces of fruit demonstrated with banners reading “Healthy Not Guilty”. A spokeswoman for the company said, “It seems crazy to us that… the undisputed benefits appear on Department of Health and Food Standards Agency websites but that we cannot echo those statements in our stores.” Asda later said it was launching a campaign to change food labelling regulations.
(BBC News Online)
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Protective effects of red wine

A team at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain says each glass of red wine consumed daily reduces a drinker’s risk of lung cancer by 13 per cent in comparison with a non-drinker’s. Researchers surveyed 132 people with lung cancer and 187 hospital patients without, questioning them on their diet, and their smoking and alcohol habits. Report co-author Dr Alberto Ruano-Ravina, of the department of preventive medicine and public health at the university, says previous studies on wine and lung cancer had not differentiated between white and red. He adds that he would not recommend people drink more red wine, but says the study should be used to identify the components of red wine that reduce risk.
(BBC News Online)
www.bbc.co.uk