CHAMOMILE TEA MAY HELP AILMENTS
British researchers say chamomile tea may actually help relieve a wide range of health ailments, including colds and menstrual cramps. Study leader Elaine Holmes, a chemist with Imperial College London, says drinking the tea was associated with a significant increase in urinary levels of hippurate, which is linked to increased antibacterial activity. That is why drinking the tea may boost immunity and fight infections. It also was associated with high urinary levels of glycine, an amino acid that can relieve muscle spasms -- helpful in relieving menstrual cramps, according to the study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
DIETS DIFFICULT TO CONTINUE
It's not the type of diet that's the important factor for losing weight -- it's how long people stick to them, a U.S. study finds. The one-year study, by Dr. Michael L. Dansinger of Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, assessed adherence rates of four diets. The researchers found the average weight loss at 1 year was 4.6 pounds for Atkins, 7.1 pounds for Zone, 6.6 pounds for Weight Watchers, and 7.3 pounds for Ornish. No single diet produced satisfactory adherence rates. The higher discontinuation rates for the Atkins and Ornish diet groups suggest many people found them too extreme. The authors write the findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "did not support the notion that very low carbohydrate diets are better than standard diets."
DEEP BREATHING EASES STRESS
Deep breathing can help lower blood pressure, slow heart and respiration rates, as well as ease muscle tension, say Minnesota researchers. The January issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource advises five minutes a day of deep breathing can calm and refresh. The newsletter says people should sit in a comfortable chair with their feet flat on the floor, and close their eyes. They should pay attention to breathing, inhale slowly through the nose and visualize the diaphragm moving down to create more space for the lungs to expand. The next step is to lower the abdomen, relax while it fills with air and, when the lungs and abdomen are full, slowly let air out through the mouth and allow the diaphragm to collapse. Then repeat the exercise.
CREATING SAFER HOMES
Only a third of homes with a child age 6 or younger had window guards or locks to keep children from falling out of upper stories, finds a U.S. study. In a third of the homes with stairs, at least one set of stairs had no handrail or banister. A quarter of the households reported using grab bars or handrails in bathrooms, while 64 percent said they used bath mats or anti-skid strips in the tub. Falls are the second most common cause of death from unintentional injury, after motor vehicle accidents, according to Carol W. Runyan, of the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center. The findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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(EDITORS: For more information on CHAMOMILE TEA, contact Michael Bernstein (202) 872-6042 or [email protected]. For DIETS, Melissa McPherson at (617) 636-3265. For BREATHING, subscription information is at (800) 876-8633, ext. 9PK1)
