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July 28 2010
Power of beetroot
A GLASS of beetroot juice a day could help lower the risk of heart disease and strokes, according to a new UK study.
Researchers from the Queen Mary University of London say that the nitrate content of beetroot juice is the key to lowering blood pressure, thereby cutting the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Study participants were given a glass of juice or nitrate tablets, and results showed lower blood pressure levels within just 24 hours.
“We… found that only a small amount of [beetroot] juice is needed – just 250ml – to have this effect, and that the higher the blood pressure at the start of the study, the greater the decrease caused by the nitrate,” says study author Professor Amrita Ahluwalia.
“Our previous study two years ago found that drinking beetroot juice lowered blood pressure; now we know how it works.”
New test to predict menopause
A simple blood test may be able to predict when women will reach menopause, according to an Iranian study.
The test measures hormone levels and was able to predict the age women had reached menopause to within an average of four months. Scientists say the test will help women to plan their families well in advance.
“The results… could enable us to make a more realistic assessment of women’s reproductive status many years before they reach menopause,” says lead study author Ramezani Tehrani.
“A woman may experience menopause at 50, but she will probably have been effectively infertile for several years prior to this.”
Experts say the results are promising but that further studies with larger trials are needed to confirm the findings.
Home more stressful than work?
A new UK study has found that most people find their home environment more stressful than being at work.
About 58 per cent of study participants said their partners caused them stress compared with 43 per cent who said their boss was the cause of their misery.
Eighteen per cent of women admitted that their husbands annoyed them, compared with just 12 per cent of men who said their wives gave them the pip.
The study is part of the Philips Health and Wellbeing Index report, and was carried out on 3000 people.
Many participants said that their health and wellbeing was worse than it was five years previously, but they believed that if they became seriously ill, medical technology would be advanced enough to provide a cure.
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