Dried plums, or prunes, improve bone health in people of all ages, but may be most helpful for post-menopausal women, U.S. researchers say.

Bahram H. Arjmandi of Florida State University and colleagues at Oklahoma State University tested two groups of post-menopausal women over a 12-month period. The first group, consisting of 55 women, was instructed to consume about 10 prunes each day, while the second group — a comparative control group of 45 women — was told to consume a similar amount of dried apples.

All of the study’s participants received daily doses of calcium of 500 milligrams and vitamin D of 400 international units, Arjmandi says.

“Over my career, I have tested numerous fruits, including figs, dates, strawberries and raisins, and none of them come anywhere close to having the effect on bone density that dried plums, or prunes, have,” Arjmandi says in a statement. “All fruits and vegetables have a positive effect on nutrition, but in terms of bone health, this particular food is exceptional.”

The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found the group that consumed dried plums had significantly higher bone mineral density in the ulna — one of two long bones in the forearm — and spine, in comparison with the group that ate dried apples.

This was due, in part, to the ability of dried plums to suppress the rate of bone resorption, or the breakdown of bone, which tends to exceed the rate of new bone growth as people age, Arjmandi says.

What are the chances that you are buying and bringing BPA right into your own home? Probably pretty good, and there is reason to be concerned.

BPA – or bisphenol-A – shows up in a lot of the products we use each and every day and it is linked to developmental problems, cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and infertility. BPA is a compound that makes plastic softer and is commonly used in food packaging and packaging products in general. BPA is used extensively in epoxy resins lining food and beverage containers and as a monomer in polycarbonate plastics in many consumer products. Widespread and continuous exposure to BPA, primarily through food but also through drinking water, dental sealants, dermal exposure, and inhalation of household dusts, is evident from the presence of detectable levels of BPA in more than 90% of the US population.

For those want to reduce their exposure to this controversial chemical, here are five top ways to do just that.

1) Be Particular About Your Plastic

BPA can be found in plastic food containers and water bottles. It’s best to drink water from a stainless steel or a “BPA-free” labeled bottle. If you are using plastic food containers or buy food in a plastic container, check the bottom. BPA is used in polycarbonate (PC) containers that are often marked No. 7. Plastics with the recycling numbers No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 are safer choices.

2) Make Better Choices for Your Baby

BPA can actually leach into liquid formula sold in metal cans. Most manufacturers now offer baby bottles made without BPA but as a general rule, hard, clear plastic often contains BPA while soft, cloudy plastic usually does not. Avoid baby bottles marked “PC” or No. 7 on the bottom.

3) Cut Down on Canned Foods

BPA is also found in the lining of many canned food and juices. The chemical can actually leach from the liner into the food itself. Seek out cans labeled “BPA-free” and choose food items packaged in glass or tetrapak pouches to reduce BPA exposure. Experts also recommend rinsing canned fruit and vegetables with water before eating to reduce exposure.

4) Careful How You Handle Those Receipts

Several studies have found BPA in thermal paper including cash register receipts. If you don’t need the receipt, leave it or ask the cashier not to print one. If you need it, be sure to wash your hands after handling.

Certainly, never let your children handle store receipts. You can tell if the receipt is printed on thermal paper if it makes a mark when you scratch it.

5) Glass Is Good

There is evidence that BPA can leach into food when it is heated in plastic containers in a microwave, even those that labeled as “microwave safe.” To reduce potential exposure, heat your food in a glass or ceramic container.

The bottom line? Reducing BPA exposure is an important way to create a healthier home for you and your family. Do Your Part when buying and using products to make sure they won’t contaminate your food, your body, or our planet.

Healthy skin is an integral part of good health. Not only does the skin provide a physical barrier to protect us from the external environment, but also an immunological barrier defending against bacterial, fungal, and viral infection.

Among other functions, this semi-permeable membrane serves as a starting point in the synthesis of vitamin D. It is also responsible for up to 80% of heat transfer in the body, and prevents transcutaneous water loss, making it vital for fluid regulation.

Given the importance of this amazing organ, it comes as no surprise that even a mild disruption in barrier function could have major repercussions not just on skin quality, but on overall health.

Steps to Successful Skin Support
Skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne are a very emotive area of health, and understandably we are often looking for speedy, tangible results. From a Practitioner’s viewpoint, however, skin conditions require comprehensive treatment strategies, and it can be a quite a challenging road to improvement.

The fundamentals of healthy skin lie in promoting detoxification, balancing gut flora, and restoring epidermal integrity. In addition to this, other factors specific to the condition must also be considered. These include managing stress, balancing the immune response, supporting elimination channels, and of course good nutrition and lifestyle advice.

Achieving these goals takes time, but the good news is that providing rapid and effective relief from the pain and irritation of skin afflictions is no longer beyond reach.

Men who start to lose their hair by age 20 — a syndrome known as pattern baldness — are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer later in life, according to a new study.

Prostate cancer is the commonest non-skin cancer among men worldwide and, after lung tumours, is the second biggest cause of death from cancer among men in Australia.

Earlier research has shown that sex hormones called androgens play a key role in the development of both pattern baldness and cancer of the prostate, a walnut-sized gland near the bladder crucial to the male reproductive system.

Men who did not start to lose their hair until age 30 or 40 showed no increased risk compared to the control group of developing the Prostate Disease

But for those who had early-onset balding — a condition known to doctors as androgenic alopecia — at age 20, the risk doubled.

To probe further, a team of scientists led by Philippe Giraud of Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris asked 669 men — 338 of whom had a history of prostate cancer — how bald they were at ages 20, 30 and 40, using standardised images for reference

The findings suggest that premature balding could become a useful marker to help doctors screen for the disease, he said.

Another study published last year showed that finger patterns could also help identify which men should undergo regular screening.

Men whose index fingers are longer than their ring, or fourth, fingers run a significantly lower risk of prostate cancer, the study found.

On November 15, 2010, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010 featured presentations of the results of two studies which indicate that lifestyle has a greater impact on whether one will develop cardiovascular disease than being genetically predisposed to acquire the disease.

Diet, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking status, weight, and blood pressure and glucose levels were assessed at the beginning of the study and at the seventh and twentieth years of follow-up.

Among participants who maintained five healthy lifestyle factors (having a healthy body mass index, limiting alcohol consumption, consuming healthy amounts of potassium, calcium and fibre and a low intake of saturated fat; participating in regular exercise, and never smoking) 60 percent had a low risk profile for cardiovascular disease after 20 years. That percentage dropped to 37 percent for those who had four factors, 30 percent for three factors, 17 percent for two and 6 percent for one or none. Separate analyses for men, women, Caucasians and African-Americans turned up similar findings.

This clearly shows what we intuitively have known for years. Lifestyle and dietary habits have significant impact on our gene expression. It is what we do and how we live that determines our cardiovascular risk.