If you suffer from depression you may want to get your bone density levels checked! New research suggests depression could increase the risk of developing the bone disorder – osteoporosis.

Researchers from the US National Institute of Mental Health found that 17 per cent of depressed women – compared to just two percent of those who were not suffering from depression – had thinner bones in the hip area. The researchers believe depressed women have overactive immune systems and this can cause the production of too many chemicals that can cause inflammation and bone loss. The women tested in the study were using antidepressants but no link was found between the drugs and the thinning of the women’s bones.

Tomatoes have been found to protect against sunburn and premature wrinkles and some experts believe they could be a new weapon in the battle against sun damage to the skin.

Researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Newcastle who presented their research at the annual meeting of the British Society of Investigative Dermatology in Oxford found that tomatoes boosted the skin’s ability to guard against harmful ultraviolet rays. Volunteers who ate tomato paste over a 12 week period developed skin that was less likely to burn. In fact, they were 33 percent more protected against sunlight than another group who were not given tomato paste. The research not only suggested that the effect of eating tomatoes was equivalent to a factor 1.3 factor sunscreen but that eating tomatoes could protect against wrinkles. Skin levels of procollagen, a molecule which helps the skin stay supple and young looking were boosted in the tomato eaters and the researchers believe a powerful antioxidant in tomatoes called lycopene may be responsible.

 

Lycopene has the ability to neutralise harmful molecules produced in skin exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays and damage inflicted by these molecules on skin can lead to premature ageing and skin cancer. Tomatoes are one of the richest sources of lycopene, the potent age-defying, immune boosting antioxidant that gives fruit and vegetables a red colour. Lycopene is at its highest levels in cooked tomatoes and tomato paste is made from highly concentrated tomatoes rich in lycopene.

According to the latest research stressed mothers to be are at almost double the risk of stillbirth.

A study from the University of Denmark of almost 20,000 women has revealed that those who are stressed, anxious or lacking self-esteem in the last three months of their pregnancy are more likely to suffer still birth. Animal studies show that the increased risk may be due to raised levels of stress hormones cutting the blood supply to the placenta – and the oxygen supply to the foetus. This research adds to the growing body of research on the effects of stress on pregnancy. Other studies show that stress trebles the risk of miscarriage in the first few weeks of pregnancy and that children from stressed pregnancies are more likely to be hyperactive and have emotional problems as well as suffering from stress themselves.