30 minutes of nature is all you need
Just 30 minutes a week spent outdoors are enough to lower your risk of developing high BP and depression, a new study has found. Researchers also found that city residents who made an effort to spend time in a green space once a week were more comfortable being in social situations, so it really is time to shut your computer and get some air. “If everyone visited their local parks for half an hour each week, there would be 7 per cent fewer cases of depression and 9 per cent fewer cases of high BP,” says ecologist Danielle Shanahan from the University of Queensland. The team analysed data from 1,538 residents of Brisbane, who were asked about their weekly habits when it came to nature and physical activity, and assessed on their mental and physical health. The participants’ experiences were measured by three factors — the average frequency of visits to outdoor green spaces during a year; the average duration of visits to these spaces across a week; and the intensity of nature in these spaces.
Gadgets couldTrigger Early Ageing: docs
Excessive use of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones and tablets, can cause “tech neck” that leads to early signs of ageing, health experts have warned. According to experts, tech neck, which leads to sagging skin, dropping jowls, and creases above the clavicle, seriously affects facial looks of the person by causing frown lines, undereye bags, and horizontal lines on the neck along with fat prominences. People who bend down constantly for long hours while using any handheld electronic device are more likely to get wrinkles. The bending position while texting can cause neck, back and shoulder pain, apart from headache, numbness, and tingling in the upper limb.
Curd lowers breast cancer risk
Intake of probiotics may help increase the proportion of beneficial bacteria in the breast and thus aid in preventing the risk of breast cancer. The findings showed that lactobacillus and Streptococcus, considered to be health-promoting bacteria, were more prevalent in healthy breasts than in cancerous ones. Both groups have anticarcinogenic properties. Thus, “our work raises the question that should women, especially those at risk for breast cancer, take probiotic lactobacilli to increase the proportion of beneficial bacteria in the breastIJ,” said Gregor Reid, Professor at Western University in Canada. Conversely, women with breast cancer also showed elevated levels of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis — harmful bacterias — known to induce double-stranded breaks in DNA in Hela cells. The study may lead to the use of probiotics to protect women against breast cancer.