National health news

Back pain? Move, dont rest!

Category: National health news | Published: 07/11/2011

Move if you have back pain, this is the advice of a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. Patients with acute low back pain who were advised to stay active despite the pain fared better than those who were told to adjust their activity in line with their pain.

The thesis looked at 109 patients with acute severe low back pain. They were randomly advised in one of two ways: "stay active even though it hurts" or "adjust your activity to the pain". They were also asked to keep a diary for seven days and to note how many steps they took each day, to what extent they could carry out their day-to-day activities and how they felt physically. They also completed a form to show whether they felt depressed or not.

In spite of having more pain, the group that was advised to be as active as possible recovered more quickly and did not feel depressed at the end of the follow-up.

"The other category, who had been advised from the very start to adjust their activity to their pain, were less mobile and felt slightly depressed compared to the patients who were active," says Olaya-Contreras, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy's Department of Orthopaedics.

She believes that this could be because some people who are depressed and in pain experience the pain more acutely. Another explanation could be that the more acute the pain is perceived to be, the less a person wants or is able to move. This, according to Olaya-Contreras, is in line with previous research.

"I think that if you're suffering with acute low back pain you should try to remain as active as possible and go about your daily business as well as you can. If you don't keep moving, it's easy to get locked into a downward spiral, as inactivity combined with pain can, in a worst case scenario, turn into long-term disability and an inability to work that, in turn, can lead to depressed mood and more pain."

Olaya-Contreras therefore feels that the health service should introduce a routine investigation to determine the underlying psycho-social causes of patients' back problems. This could measure the degree of perceived depression as well as anxiety and fear of movement.

"The results of the investigation and associated discussion could lead to patients taking a more active role and taking responsibility for their treatment," says Olaya-Contreras. "I also believe that it can help patients to focus more on the positive resources they themselves have to handle the pain and master various physical movements even though it hurts."

The thesis has been successfully defended.

BACK PROBLEMS: Low back pain affects up to 80% of people of working age at some time in their lives, though most will get better. Low back pain can be recurring, and some people will continue to suffer with some degree of pain. In 85-90% of cases the pain cannot be attributed to a specific illness or injury.

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www.cambridgefitness.co.uk/professionals/sportsmassage

Fortified corn flakes? fortified with iron filings

Category: National health news | Published: 02/11/2011

Just came accross this, I reccomend avoiding fortified foods and ceriels. The iron they often use is not in a digestable food from a food source but is in fact Iron filings. Check out the following video, you shouldn't be able to move your food with a magnet. They even extract the iron fillings. 

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youtu.be/V265pGgsBnM

Sugar stacks - How much sugar is in your food?

Category: National health news | Published: 19/10/2011

Came accross this website, I think its a great ilustration of how much sugar is in each food. It's important to remember that foods contain varried amounts of fibre which will slow down digestion so it isn't a simple as food = Sugar but its still a great illustration.

Im amazed by the cereal, Cherios was even beter than special K.

Let us know what you think?

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pt@cambridgefitness.co.uk

www.sugarstacks.com

Denmark introduces a \\\"Fat TAX\\\"

Category: National health news | Published: 19/10/2011

Denmark has introduced what is believed to be the world's first tax on foods containing saturated fat.

The Danish government is applying a surcharge to foods with more than 2.3 per cent saturated fats, in a bid to combat obesity and heart disease.

The new tax will be levied on food such as butter, milk, cheese, pizza, oils and meat. It means customers will be paying about $3 more per kilogram of saturated fats in a product.

Prices rose Saturday in many grocery stores as the tax came into force, while some customers cleared out shelves earlier in the week to stock up on fatty favourites.

Food industry managers have complained that the tax will be a bureaucratic nightmare.

in 2004, Denmark declared war on trans fats, making it illegal for any food to have more than two per cent of the artery-clogging oils. Austria has a similar law. In July 2010, Denmark imposed a tax on sugary junk food.

Both Canada and the UK are now debating weather to introduce this.

About 10 per cent of Danes are considered obese. Britain is the fattest nation in Europe; one third of children and nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese.

More than one in every four Canadian adults and almost one in 11 children are obese, with a body mass index of more than 30, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

to read the full article click the link below:

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www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/10/02/denmark-fat-tax.html