Men who drink one normal-sized soft drink per day are at greater risk of getting more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study.

“Among the men who drank a lot of soft drinks or other drinks with added sugar, we saw an increased risk of prostate cancer of around 40 percent,” said Isabel Drake, a PhD student at Lund University.

The study, to be published in the upcoming edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed over 8,000 men aged 45 to 73 for an average of 15 years.

Those who drank one 330-millilitre soft drink a day were 40 percent more likely to develop more serious forms of prostate cancer that required treatment.

The cancer was discovered after the men showed symptoms of the disease, and not through the screening process known as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).

Those who ate a diet heavy on rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent, while a high intake of sugary breakfast cereals raised the incidence of milder forms of the cancer to 38 percent.

The men in the study had to undergo regular medical examinations and kept a journal of their food and drink intake.

Previous studies have shown that Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the US develop prostate cancer more often than peers in their home countries.

• If your DNA was laid out straight, it would reach to the moon 6,000 times.
• Your right lung takes in more air than your left lung.
• There are an average of 100 billion neurons in your brain.
• Yawning can cause a 30 percent increase in heart rate.
• Seven in 100 men have color blindness. Only one woman in 1,000 has the condition.
• Only one percent of bacteria cause disease.
• Odors inhaled by the right nostril are more pleasant than those detected by the left nostril.
• By age 50, most people lose half of their taste buds.
• Backache is second only to headaches as the most common location of pain.
• The skin on your feet is thicker than it is anywhere else on your body.
• Watermelon consists of 92 percent water and eight percent sugar.
• Babies that are exposed to cats and dogs in their first year of life have a lower chance of developing allergies when they grow older.
• Walking just 20 extra minutes a day can result in a seven-pound fat loss within a year.
• Eating approximately 20 tart cherries a day can reduce headaches and inflammation.
• Laughter has been medically proven to be an effective pain killer.
• The scent of rosemary can make you feel more alert and can improve mental performance.
• If eaten with your nose plugged, an apple, potato and onion all taste sweet.

Do you experience swollen and painful joints? Do your knees, hips and knuckles feel like they are on fire? Are you finding it harder to be active and agile? These complaints are common symptoms of arthritis. The word arthritis, when translated from the Greek words, arthron and itis, simply means “joint inflammation”. There are many different types of arthritis, the most common being osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a debilitating condition that is commonly seen in middle aged and older people; the constant pain and reduced mobility can make simple, everyday tasks more challenging and greatly impair quality of life.
The Impact of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is a slowly progressing disease that involves degradation of the soft cushioning around the joints. It can lead to significant pain and inflammation in the joint, as well as loss of movement. The condition commonly targets the hips and knees, however many smaller joints such as the fingers and spine can also be affected. Unfortunately, the damage may already be done by the time you notice the discomfort. With the aid of quality nutrients, the symptoms of arthritis can be reduced and managed more effectively, enabling you to do things that may have been previously limited.

Nutrients for Knees and Hips
The following nutrients are a fantastic way to provide therapeutic benefits to help alleviate pain, swelling and inflammation in your joints:
• Glucosamine: Is a key building block for your joints. It may stimulate the production of substances which lubricate and act as shock-absorbers for the joints. Glucosamine encourages the rebuilding of cartilage that has been damaged and can be used as long-term support to protect
against joint degeneration.
• Gelatin: Supports healthy joint structure and connective tissue repair. Gelatin may help reduce the pain of osteoarthritis and reduce requirements for pain relief medication. Patients with osteoarthritis noticed an increase in mobility and strength in affected knees after gelatin supplementation.
• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): Is a naturally-occurring nutrient found in small amounts in fruits and vegetables. As well as having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, MSM is an essential building block especially for joints and cartilage. Combining glucosamine and MSM has been shown to be superior compared to using either nutrient alone, resulting in greater reductions in the pain and swelling of osteoarthritis.
• EPA/DHA: The omega-3 essential fatty acids (EPA/DHA) from fish oil can help to reduce the intensity of pain, inflammation and morning stiffness associated with arthritis.
Looking After Your Joints
Adopting the following simple dietary and lifestyle tips, can help keep your joints healthy and happy for years to come:
• Stay active. Exercising is essential to keep those joints mobile so try activities such as swimming, walking, cycling, yoga and daily stretching as these are great ways to keep your
joints moving.
• Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for supporting joint health. Carrying extra weight can put pressure on your joints, especially hips and knees.
• Enjoy at least eight glasses or two litres of pure water each day. Reduce caffeinated beverages to one to two per day and minimise alcohol intake.
• Eating a diet that is full of anti-inflammatory foods can optimise your long-term health and vitality, as well as support your joints from top to toe. Aim for a diet plentiful in fruits and vegetables, unrefined grains and protein-rich foods such as fish, poultry, nuts and seeds. Also remember to limit lean red meats and sweets.
Use It or Lose It
There is a great deal of truth in the old adage “use it or lose it”. Stay active and take positive dietary and lifestyle steps to keep you and your joints healthy and happy. Looking after
the nutritional needs of your joints can help minimise their degeneration, as well as improve the pain, inflammation and impaired mobility of arthritis.

If you look old, your heart may feel old, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012.

In a new study, those who had three to four aging signs – receding hairline at the temples, baldness at the head’s crown, earlobe crease, or yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid (xanthelasmata) – had a 57 percent increased risk for heart attack and a 39 percent increased risk for heart disease.

“The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biological age, not chronological age, and are independent of chronological age,” said Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, M.D., the study’s senior author and professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Individually and combined, these signs predicted heart attack and heart disease independent of traditional risk factors. Fatty deposits around the eye were the strongest individual predictor of both heart attack and heart disease.

Researchers analyzed 10,885 participants 40 years and older (45 percent women) in the Copenhagen Heart Study. Of these, 7,537 had frontoparietal baldness (receding hairline at the temples), 3,938 had crown top baldness, 3,405 had earlobe crease, and 678 had fatty deposits around the eye.

In 35 years of follow-up, 3,401 participants developed heart disease and 1,708 had a heart attack.

Heart attack and heart disease risk increased with each additional sign of aging in all age groups and among men and women. The highest risk was for those in their 70s and those with multiple signs of aging.

In the study, nurses and laboratory technicians noted the quantity of gray hair, prominence of wrinkles, the type and extent of baldness, the presence of earlobe crease and eyelid deposits.