Women who drink unfiltered tap water during pregnancy may unwittingly be doubling their risk of serious heart or brain effects in their unborn child.

Studies carried out in Taiwan on 400,000 babies found a definite link between chemicals formed in chlorination and the occurrence of certain abnormalities, such as a hole in the heart and cleft lip. And the odds of brain defects were almost doubled, the Journal Environmental Health reported. It isn’t just tap water but water from showers, swimming pools and even a steaming kettle that may contain problem chemicals called THMs or trihalmomethanes. Experts believe the problem chemicals may harm the unborn baby or damage a baby’s eggs.

Golf isn’t the most strenuous of sports but it appears to have a great many health benefits according to a study of 300,000 golfers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The study, which was published this month in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, revealed that golfers were 40 percent less likely to die at any given age than those who did not play. A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours in the fresh air, walking at a fast pace for a few miles and this kind of mild to moderate exercise is known to be good for your health. However, the lower death rate among golfers may also be due to the social and psychological aspects of the game which keep golfers feeling challenged and involved; all important anti ageing strategies.

Every month or so there seems to be a new pronouncement on HRT and recently we were all informed that HRT is safe for women to take at menopause after all. A panel of experts informed the public that they feel the health risks have been greatly exaggerated and that HRT is safe to take for women aged between 50 and 59 to give them relief from such symptoms as hot flushes and to maintain healthy bones.

‘It does not significantly raise heart disease risk and its impact on breast cancer is minimal’ said a review from the first Global Summit on Menopause Related Issues. The experts argue that although the risk of heart disease and breast cancer is slight it is dwarfed by other risk factors, such as obesity, drinking alcohol and eating fatty foods.

 

The above findings are designed to set the record straight after six years of health scares which have led many women to stop taking HRT and the recommendation is to urge more doctors to prescribe HRT for women going through the menopause.

 

My initial reaction to this pronouncement was concern that many women may unnecessarily decide to take a drug with unpleasant side effects and serious health risks. Apart from the fact that the experts in the study do acknowledge there may be a slight risk, it’s impossible to ignore the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative Study which found that women on HRT for several years had a massive 26 per cent increased risk of breast cancer and a 29 percent increased risk of heart attack. In addition, the team of experts did not mention any of the side effects caused by HRT which can include any of the following:

 

·         endometrial (womb) cancer

·         undesirable weight gain/loss

·         breast tenderness/enlargement

·         bloating

·         depression

·         thromblophlebitis (inflammation of a vein)

·         elevated blood pressure

·         reduced carbohydrate tolerance

·         skin rashes

·         hair loss

·         abdominal cramps

·         vaginal candidiasis (thrush)

·         jaundice

·         vomiting

·         cystitis-like syndrome

 

Also there was a particularly significant piece of research published in the National Cancer Institute Bulletin in 2007.  Researchers looked at breast cancer rates in the year following publication of the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative results that had scared women off taking HRT.  They found that the rate of breast cancer dropped by 12 per cent in 2003 among 50-69 year old women: the largest single drop in breast cancer incidence within a single year.  Establishing even further the very definite link between HRT and breast cancer.

 

And last, but by no means least, the team of experts also failed to mention that a great many women have found that simple diet and lifestyle changes are all that are needed to ease their symptoms and reduce their health risks. In short, you don’t have to take HRT at the menopause there are highly effective natural alternatives.