living HEALTHY

It’s all about colours this month: do redheads feel more pain? Plus: how a golden latte a day could keep the blues at bay.

STRESS LESS

Inflammation is good if it’s temporary: if you’re injured or infected, your body will swell to protect that area. But high stress leads to chronic or continuous inflammation and, believes Edward Bullmore, professor of psychiatry at Cambridge University, there is growing evidence of a link between that and depression. ‘We know a lot of those cells and proteins that drive inflammation in the body can get into the brain… There is evidence that nerve cells exposed to inflammation are… less good at learning, less likely to replace themselves and may be more likely to die. The sequence of events starts with inflammation in the body and ultimately changes moods and behaviours.’ No pressure – but you need to de-stress! Or at least have a daily golden latte (see below left).

GUM SHY

Why do they say bad mouth hygeine can cause early death? Because, as a study in mice recently showed, the same bacteria that cause gum disease also affect how fast your blood vessels can heal themselves. So if you have that bad bacteria, the walls of your blood vessels are not healing as quickly as they should, which means your chances of heart disease – or of slow recovery after heart disease – increase. Remember to use a bamboo toothbrush (like all other plastic, old toothbrushes never die).

RED ALERT

A recent study looked at whether the old wives’ tale was true, and redheaded people really did experience more pain than the rest of us. Ten redheads and 10 brunettes were all anaesthetised and then given a mild electric shock. Turns out the redheads all needed more anaesthetic (19% more!) than the brunettes in order not to feel the shock. What does that prove, you ask? Well, that we all experience – and react to – pain differently, so don’t assume you know what someone else is going through. And that response to pain – or anaesthetic – may have a genetic component.