Tag Archives: health

Fermented food: why eating sauerkraut helps your gut stay healthy

Elena Hramova/Shutterstock Manal Mohammed, University of Westminster For decades fermentation was used to preserve foods, enhance shelf life, and improve flavour. But many people are not aware about the health benefits of fermented food. Fermented foods are generally defined as “foods or beverages produced through controlled microbial growth, and the conversion of food components through enzymatic action”. That might be …

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Sugar detox? Cutting carbs? A doctor explains why you should keep fruit on the menu

Ripe berries and sugar crystals are both sweet, but one offers much more than just calories. Chris George/PhotoPlus Magazine/Future via Getty Images Jennifer Rooke, Morehouse School of Medicine One of my patients – who had been struggling with obesity, uncontrolled diabetes and the cost of her medications – agreed in June 2019 to adopt a more whole-food plant-based diet. Excited …

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What happens to your body when you’re stressed

Luckily stress doesn’t do this to you! from www.shutterstock.com Holly Blake, University of Nottingham We all feel stressed from time to time – it’s all part of the emotional ups and downs of life. Stress has many sources, it can come from our environment, from our bodies, or our own thoughts and how we view the world around us. It …

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Médecins sans frontières, un pionnier du « business model » des ONG

Michel Ferrary, SKEMA Business School Qu’elles soient du domaine de l’humanitaire, de la protection de la nature ou de la défense des droits de l’homme, les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) constituent des acteurs majeurs de nos sociétés dont l’importance ne cesse de croître. Médecins sans frontières (MSF) en est le parfait exemple. Créée en France en décembre 1971, cette start-up …

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Breastfeeding is tough: new research shows how to make it more manageable

Jacob Lund/Shutterstock David Comerford, University of Stirling The benefits of breastfeeding are wide-ranging and life-changing. Breast milk contains antibodies that reduce the risk of asthma, allergies, diarrhoea and ear infections. Breastfed infants are hospitalised less frequently than infants who are not. In later life, breastfed children and less likely to be overweight and have higher IQs. And women who have …

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Children who eat more fruits and vegetables have better mental health – new study

Primary and secondary school students who ate five servings of fruit or veg daily had better mental wellbeing. Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock Ailsa Welch, University of East Anglia and Richard PG Hayhoe, Anglia Ruskin University Around 10%-20% of adolescents globally suffer from a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression, according to the World Health Organization. It’s also been …

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Cold showers are said to be good for you – here’s what the evidence shows

Lindsay Bottoms, University of Hertfordshire A cold shower in the morning is a pretty unpleasant way to start the day. Yet many have been tempted to take up the habit because being immersed in cold water has many purported health benefits, both physical and mental. Cold showers were first administered for health reasons in the early 19th century when doctors …

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Vaping: smokers who switch could be less likely to use cigarettes again

shutterstock Markos Klonizakis, Sheffield Hallam University One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to stop smoking. Quite rightly so, considering smoking is the biggest leading, preventable cause of death, worldwide. In fact, tobacco is the only legally-available product that kills up to one in every two users, when used as intended. There are a number of ways to …

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A diet consisting mainly of fruit is bad for you

Fruitarianism is one of the most restrictive diet choices available. Julia Zolotova/unsplash James Brown, Aston University Plant-based diets have become increasingly popular in recent years, both for health and ethical reasons. One extreme form of plant-based diet is “fruitarianism”, a diet based largely on consumption of raw fruit. At first glance, this may sound healthy, but what effect will this …

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Why it is vital to decriminalise abortion: the case of Malta

Claire Pierson, University of Liverpool and Liza Caruana-Finkel, University of Liverpool If accessing abortion in countries where it’s criminalised wasn’t hard enough before the pandemic, lockdowns and COVID-19 travel restrictions have made the process that much more difficult. In fact, the issue became so pronounced at the start of the pandemic that the European parliament and the Council of Europe’s …

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