Just a small cut in saturated fats 'reduces heart disease risk'
Conclusion
This study shows an association between increased intake of individual saturated fats and increased risk of coronary heart disease.
It also shows a link between the replacement of these fatty acids with other types of fat, plant protein, or wholegrain carbohydrates and a reduction in coronary heart disease risk.
The strengths of this study are the large sample size and long follow-up period that looked at repeated measures such as diet, lifestyle and health outcomes.
It also provides clear support for dietary guidelines that recommend replacing dietary energy from saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats as well...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 25, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news
Review questions recent official vitamin D guidance
Conclusion
So, who's right? The authors of the BMJ review are certainly correct in their argument that, ideally, we can get all the vitamin D we need through a combination of diet and sensible exposure to sunlight.
They are also right that the evidence does not show that people with normal levels of vitamin D benefit from taking supplements.
But we don't live in an ideal world. The truth is many people in the UK eat unhealthy, vitamin D-poor diets and also don't get enough exposure to sunlight.
A sensible approach would be to consider taking vitamin D supplements as recommended, but also be alert for possible signs of exc...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 24, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Medication Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news
Men's attitude towards fatherhood 'affects child behaviour'
Conclusion
It may seem obvious that children would benefit from having fathers who are happy and confident about their role. But there hasn't been much research on which aspects of a father's role are important for children, so this study adds some useful information.
It's important to remember that all the children in the study had both parents living with them in early childhood, so this isn't a comparison of children in single parent families with dual parent families.
The study only looked at the attitudes of fathers who were living with their children, asking questions including whether they had a strong bond with th...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Mental health Source Type: news
Can a high-tech treatment help combat some of our oldest fears?
Conclusion
This experimental study assessed whether it is possible to counter-condition people against their fear memories by using reward without actually having to re-expose the person to the fearful stimulus.
The researchers conclude that they have shown this can be done, all with participants remaining unaware of the content and purpose of the procedure. They further suggest the procedure may be an initial step towards novel treatments for fear-related disorders such as phobia and PTSD, via unconscious processing.
While these findings show promise, there are some key limitations, the main one being the small number of ...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 22, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Source Type: news
Bagged salads 'pose salmonella risk,' say researchers
Conclusion
This laboratory study principally demonstrates that salad leaf juice – released from salad leaves when they are damaged or broken – supports the growth of salmonella bacteria, even at fridge temperature. If leaves are contaminated with salmonella, this isn't removed by washing in water.
The results don't show that all packaged salad leaves are contaminated with gut bacteria like salmonella.
What they do show is that if the bags have been contaminated with gut bacteria, these bacteria will replicate, even in the fridge, and there's little you can do to remove them.
The best thing to do is to throw the bag o...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 21, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
