HEALTH NOTES
VITAMIN D HELPS HEART HEALTH
BEING short on vitamin D as a child has been linked to a greater risk of heart disease, a study shows.
Vitamin D is needed for the body to absorb calcium for strong bones. We get it from sunlight as well as foods such as fish and milk products.
US researchers followed 775 children from birth to age 18 at the Boston Medical Centre.
Children born with low levels of vitamin D had an approximately 60% higher risk of elevated blood pressure between 6 and 18 which can lead to cardiovascular disease.
NATURAL WAY TO FIGHT DISEASE
THE NHS is carrying out a landmark trial to see whether antibiotics could be replaced by herbal alternatives.
Antibiotics are vital in fighting bacterial infections, but resistance to them is growing as bacteria evolve new ways to beat them.
This could lead to antibiotics being useless and common infections becoming deadly.
The new trial at 20 surgeries in South East England centres on a South Asian herbal remedy called andrographis, pictured, for patients suffering from colds and flu. Participants are randomly given herbal capsules or a placebo for a week. Around 33 trials have so far suggested it works.
INPATIENTS’ DRINK PROBLEMS
ONE-IN-FIVE people admitted to a UK hospital drinks to a harmful level while one-in-10 is alcohol-dependent, research suggests.
Experts from King’s College London said the issue is worse than previously thought and called for universal screening in hospitals to help support patients abusing alcohol.
They also said staff should receive specialist training on alcohol dependency.
The research, published in the journal Addiction, examined data from 124 earlier studies involving more than 1.6 million people.
Researchers found harmful alcohol use is 10 times higher in hospital inpatients compared with the UK generally.