HEALTH NOTES
DON’T GET STRESSED OUT ABOUT FEELING STRESSED
STRESS and anxiety aren’t always bad, according to leading psychologists.
Experts gathered in Chicago to discuss how diagnosis of the mental health conditions are increasing across Europe and the US.
Much of this is thought to be down to better diagnosis.
However the annual convention of the American Psychological Association heard that greater awareness of mental ill health can cause problems when certain emotional states are viewed as abnormal.
Psychologist Lisa Damour told: “Many Americans now feel stressed about being stressed and anxious about being anxious.
“Unfortunately, by the time someone reaches out to a professional for help, stress and anxiety have already built to unhealthy levels.”
Damour insisted it is important people understand that stress can result from both bad and good events.
For instance being fired is stressful but so is bringing a baby home for the first time.
“Stress is a given in daily life,” she said. “It causes harm when it exceeds any level that a person can reasonably absorb.”
THE DIET CHANGE THAT COULD HELP CANCER PATIENTS
CUTTING out meat could help cancer patients tackle tumours, new research suggests, by making chemotherapy and radiotherapy more effective.
The researchers focused on restricting the amino acid methionine, which affects metabolism and is found in meat, fish and dairy products.
When it was cut from rodent diets, animals with cancer saw tumour growth inhibited. Initial human trials suggest a similar effect.
Study leader Jason Locasale, of Duke University in North Carolina, said: “These findings provide evidence that dietary manipulation can affect tumour cell metabolism.”