News From the World of Medicine

UNWILLINGNESS TO TRY NEW FOODS LINKED TO RISKS

There is a scientific term for a reluctance to try food you haven’t encountered before: ‘food neophobia’. A study from Finland and Estonia associated this behavioural trait with lower quality diets, which may explain why it was also linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and more inflammatory biomarkers in the blood. To add more variety to your diet, you need to be persistent. “An individual may need to try new food ten to 15 times before getting accustomed to it,” says co-author and dietitian Heikiki Sarin.

PENICILLIN ALLERGIES CAN BE OUTGROWN

Nearly 90 per cent of patients with self-reported penicillin allergies have been found not to be allergic upon formal testing. According to several studies, many patients with a penicillin allergy documented in their medical records were found not to have a true allergy. The assumptions were often based on non-allergic side effects of antibiotics, such as nausea or diarrhoea, according to Dr Christopher Bland, a researcher at the University of Georgia. In other cases, patients who had an allergy once – such as a rash, hives, swelling in the throat or even anaphylaxis – grew out of it. “Five years after the event, 50 per cent of people will no longer have a reaction,” says Dr Bland. “After ten years the number goes up to 80 per cent.” A skin test can indicate whether you still have a penicillin allergy: positive tests result in an itchy red bump.

HOW TO SHIFT YOUR BODY CLOCK AHEAD

‘Night owls’ taking part in a trial were able to adjust their cycles by an average of two hours within three weeks. Each day, they got up earlier than usual, had breakfast soon afterwards, took in as much morning outdoor light as possible, ate lunch at a set time, avoided caffeine and napping, ate dinner before 7pm, and went to bed early. The tweaked routine saw them performing better and feeling less sleepy, less stressed and less depressed.