A study published in the Journal of Nutrition claims that eating prunes can help ward off heart disease. American researchers discovered that when mice were fed on regular snacks of prunes they were less likely to develop atherosclerosis – furring of the arteries with fatty deposits and a risk factor for heart disease. In the study, scientists gave powdered prunes to mice with high-cholesterol diets. Prunes are low in fat and high in fibre, which is beneficial for the cardiovascular system. Five months later they measured the amount of cholesterol that had accumulated in the blood vessels and found that cholesterol levels were significantly lower in those mice fed a daily diet of prune power.

A recent study from Nagoya City University in Japan (published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention), found that walking for just half an hour a day can more than halve a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Women who walked regularly and take further gentle exercise were 55 per cent less likely to get a tumour than those who did not keep fit. The findings back earlier studies, which also indicate that gentle exercise is crucial for preventing the disease.

Another study from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendal, Japan, (published late last year in the British Journal of Cancer) found that exercise can cut the risk of breast cancer overall (because it helps reduce body fat and fat tissue produces more oestrogen, which increases cancer risk), but only if exercise is followed by a good night’s sleep. The US study of thousands of women found significantly lower levels of breast caner among the most physically active, but sleeping less than seven hours a night wiped out the benefits and actually increased the risk of cancer. Scientists believe sleep disruption interferes with the production of a vital hormone called melatonin, which could play an important role in protecting against cancer.

 

In addition to regular exercise and quality sleep, research from the University of California (published last month in the journal of Carcinogenesis) suggests that eating broccoli regularly can dramatically decrease the risk of breast cancer. Along with other cruciferous vegetables, such as kale and cauliflower, broccoli is already known to contain certain chemicals that prevent cancer. But this study found that specific compounds in broccoli, called isothiocyanates, inhibit the rapid growth of tumour cells in a similar way to chemotherapy drugs. Virgin olive oil also has potent anti-cancer properties according to a study released this month from the Catalan Institute of Oncology and published in the journal BMC Cancer.

 

Last, but by no means least, a daily dose of happiness can also protect against cancer. A study from Ben Gurion University of Negev (and published in the journal BMC cancer last month) found that women who were happy and had a positive outlook could cut their risk of cancer by 25 percent. However, a stressful life could have the opposite effect. Women who suffered two or more traumatic events, such as divorce or bereavement, had a 62 per cent greater risk of cancer than those whose lives were less stressful.

According to a recent study, thinking too much can make you fat. Researchers found that the stress of over thinking can make people seek out more calories and they believe that the details of their discovery could explain the current obesity epidemic.

A research team from the University Laval in Quebec, Canada, who published their research in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, measured the spontaneous food intake of 14 students after each of three tasks. The first task was to relax in a sitting position, the second task was reading and summarising a test and the third task was completing a series of memory, attention and vigilance tests on a computer. After 45 minutes of each task all the students were invited to eat as much as they wanted from a buffet. The researchers had previously discovered that each session of intellectual work only requires three more calories than the rest period. However, despite the low energy cost of mental work the students spontaneously consumed 203 more calories after summarising a test and 253 more calories after computer tests. This suggests a 23.6 percent increase and 29.4 percent increase respectively compared to the rest session. Blood tests taken before, during and after each task revealed that mental work causes bigger fluctuations in glucose and insulin levels than periods of rest.

 

The researchers believe that increased calorie consumption following mental work combined with the fact that people are less physically active when they are doing intellectual tasks could be contributing to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialised countries where a large proportion of the working population are desk bound.