HEALTH NOTES
CHILDREN who reduce sugar in their diet “suffer like drug addicts” according to a study.
Junk food diets are packed with added sugar and researchers have observed the effect on teenagers who cut their intake for just three days.
Participants, aged 13 to 19, who switched from fizzy drinks to milk and water reported headaches, less motivation and suffering from cravings.
All were overweight and normally had at least three sugar sweetened drinks a day before going “cold turkey”.
Lead author Jennifer Falbe, of California University, said: “An abundance of research points to sugary drinks as contributing to a number of chronic diseases.
“Our findings that these drinks may have addictive properties which make their ubiquitous availability and advertising to youth even more concerning for public health.”
THAT real Christmas tree, right, could be causing more problems than just a few pine needles on the floor. More than a third of us suffer from an increase in hay fever-like symptoms during this time of year, known as ‘Christmas tree syndrome’.
Signs include an itchy nose, watery eyes, chest pains and coughing, and it can affect adults, children and even babies.
Thousands of asthma sufferers are admitted to hospital every year in December as a result of mould that develops on Christmas trees. Mould grows on fir trees and thrives when brought into a warm environment.
THE festive period can be a challenging time for our stress levels and it’s even harder for those with mental ill-health. The Mental Health Foundation (mentalhealth.org.uk/) is the UK’s charity for everyone’s mental health.
With prevention at the heart of all it does, the group aims to find and address the sources of mental health problems.