The vegetarian crusade continues

Most people like meat so that has to be WRONG!

The data below is just correlational.  Maybe middle class people are more susceptible to the vegetable siren song and they live longer anyway

Many people struggle to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but new research suggests that even those who do manage it should be doing more.  The Spanish study revealed that people who eat seven-a-day live, on average, for more than a year longer than those who do not.

The research revealed that eating a lot of fruit and vegetables is particularly protective against heart disease.

Researchers at the Andalusian School of Public Health’s Granada Cancer Registry analysed 25,682 deaths among 451,151 people over a 13 year period, Science Daily reports.

They found that people who ate more than 569 grams of fruit and vegetables – seven portions – a day were 10 per cent less likely to die and lived, on average, 1.12 years longer than those who ate less than 249 grams a day.

The study also suggested that for every 200 gram increase in consumption, mortality risk falls by six per cent.

Therefore, the researchers believe that almost three per cent of deaths could be prevented if everyone ate six or seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Previous research has also shown that if everyone ate their recommended daily allowance of fruit and vegetables, the number of people with chronic diseases would fall and the risk of early death would fall by 10 to 25 per cent.

‘There is now sufficient evidence of the beneficial effect of fruit and vegetable consumption in the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases,’ lead author María José Sánchez Pérez told Science Daily.

‘For this reason, one of the most effective preventative measures is promoting their consumption in the population.’

The study also established that people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables are 15 per cent less likely to develop heart disease.

More than four per cent of heart disease-related deaths could also be prevented if everyone ate enough fruit and vegetables.

According to the researchers, raw vegetables are particularly good at reducing mortality risk.

They also found that eating a lot of fruit and vegetables was particularly good at reducing the mortality risk for people who consumed a lot of alcohol, were obese and who smoked.

They believe this is because of the antioxidant content of fruit and vegetables which reduces the oxidative stress caused by drinking alcohol, smoking, and being overweight.

SOURCE





Children who walk to school are calmer and more focused in lessons - and may be less likely to need drugs for ADHD

This is just self-report data in response to a survey by a group with a vested interest in getting the results they did.  Worthless

Walking to school helps children concentrate in lessons better and may even reduce the need for medication for conditions like ADHD, new research suggests.

A survey of more than 2,500 pupils showed that 80 per cent of those who walked to school reported feeling calmer and more able to concentrate when they got there.  They also said they felt healthier and looked better.

The survey was carried out by Henley-based health technology company Intelligent Health, which said that the link between exercise and school performance would also benefit children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The firm's founder William Bird said: 'Physical activity improves brain elasticity, which allows children to learn.  'Exercise also releases endorphins, which make you more relaxed.'

He told the Daily Telegraph that research in America, where children with ADHD are encouraged to play in parks, has shown such a calming effect from exercise that children were 'almost back to normal'.

ADHD is one of the most common childhood disorders, whose common symptoms include a short attention span, restlessness, and difficulty controlling behaviour.

Drugs such as Ritalin are prescribed to help control the symptoms and NHS prescriptions for them have doubled in England in the last six years - last year there were 657,000 NHS prescriptions for ADHD drugs, and nearly 5,000 private prescriptions.

Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission said the number of prescriptions rose by 11 per cent just from 2011 to 2012, and medications to help sufferers of ADHD are now said to cost the NHS £31m a year.

Mother-of-three Emily Parker, 39, of Hammersmith, takes her children to school on foot, covering a mile each way every day.

She said: 'I started noticing that on the days we did walk to school, rather than drive, the children had much better days.  They behaved better, ate better, and even slept better when they came home.

'Now we do it every day unless the weather is awful - I have no doubt there's a link between exercise and doing better at school.'

Other benefits reported by the children who took part in the survey included making new friends.  However only three in 10 teachers agreed that walking helped children to learn more.

Psychologist Oliver James said: 'I'm all in favour of children walking to school but ADHD is best understood as a form of anxious attachment, not something caused by lack of exercise.'

SOURCE