Health – Page 48 – Things Are Good

The Benefits of Coffee and Tea

The CBC has an article on the benefits of drinking coffee and tea, the benefits range from preventing cancer to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in women.

3 cups a day curbs memory loss?

Women aged 65 and older who drink at least three cups of coffee or tea a day are less likely to suffer memory loss, according to a French study published in the August 2007 issue of the journal Neurology.

Lead researcher Karen Ritchie, of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, said it was premature to suggest caffeine conclusively cut cognitive decline but she noted the psychostimulant appeared to have a positive effect on the brain.

The study also found the positive effects of coffee appeared to heighten with age. Women over 80 who drank three or more cups of coffee daily were found to be 70 per cent less likely to experience memory loss over those who didn’t drink coffee.

Ritchie and her team observed the caffeine intake and cognitive skills of 7,000 participants over the course of four years.

Keep reading at the CBC.

Uganda Bans Female Circumcision

From the BBC:

Ugandan MPs have voted to outlaw female genital mutilation – also known as female circumcision.

Anyone convicted of the practice, which involves cutting off a girl’s clitoris, will face 10 years in jail, or a life sentence if a victim dies.

The BBC’s Joshua Mmali in Uganda says it is not officially condoned but is still practised in several rural areas.

Read the complete article

Buy Things, Fight AIDS

A new organization called RED created a bit of a buzz this World AIDS Day. Along with the backing of the usual Irish rock singers and African soccer players, they’ve partnered with a number of major corporations to raise both awareness and funds. Apple, Nike, Starbucks and Facebook are some of the names involved. This means you can buy an iPod, and some of the cash you spend will go to The Global Fund. Just in time for the holidays!

(RED)â„¢ is a simple idea that transforms our collective power as shoppers into a financial force that helps those affected by HIV in Africa. To date, $140 million has been generated and 4 million people have been helped through Global Fund programs that (RED) supports. When you choose to buy products from (RED) partner companies up to 50% of the profit goes towards eliminating AIDS in Africa.

A Cure for Multiple Sclerosis – Maybe/Probably

That’s right, you heard me. Though experts are warning people not to get their hopes too high just yet, the initial results are pretty impressive.

The initial studies done in Italy were small but the outcomes were dramatic. In a group of 65 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (the most common form) who underwent surgery, the number of active lesions in the brain fell sharply, to 12 per cent from 50 per cent; in the two years after surgery, 73 per cent of patients had no symptoms.

DIY Glasses for the Poor

Something like 6 percent of the North American population wears glasses. If you’re amongst these four-eyes, you probably appreciate your local optometrist, who makes your vision possible. Unfortunately, people in developing countries don’t get to have a local optometrist — and that means no glasses. Happily, an inventor has just created glasses that people can adjust themselves, obviating the need for prescriptions and experts. And he’s getting them out to the people who need them.

The implications of bringing glasses within the reach of poor communities are enormous, says the scientist. Literacy rates improve hugely, fishermen are able to mend their nets, women to weave clothing. During an early field trial, funded by the British government, in Ghana, Silver met a man called Henry Adjei-Mensah, whose sight had deteriorated with age, as all human sight does, and who had been forced to retire as a tailor because he could no longer see to thread the needle of his sewing machine. “So he retires. He was about 35. He could have worked for at least another 20 years. We put these specs on him, and he smiled, and threaded his needle, and sped up with this sewing machine. He can work now. He can see.”