Health

By Ben Jackson As millions embark on their summer vacations, most holidaymakers will be seeking a brief refuge from their year round 'always on' status Across the world, luxury-end holidays have learned the value of prising the smart phones from the hands of frenetic Silicon Valley types, while ‘being unplugged’ has been cited as one of the ten top travel trends for 2017. More esoteric breaks, including: monasteries, wellness sanctuaries, country retreats and even activity holidays, all increasingly, offer options...

Green tea could improve learning and help combat memory loss caused by a high fat and sugar western diet, a new study suggested. The drink rich in a chemical that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and heart protection properties also protects against diabetes and obesity. Green tea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat everything from headaches to depression. The popular drink is also richer in antioxidants than other teas because of the way it is processed by...

A jab to protect pregnant women's babies against the Zika virus could be on the horizon. Experiments on mice found a single dose of a new vaccine crossed the placenta and protected unborn pups from contracting the disease. While relatively harmless in most people, causing mild fever and joint pains, the effects on pregnant women can be devastating. Last October mums-to-be in Britain were urged to cancel trips to Florida after two UK tourists caught the bug, which can cause...

New analysis of Google data has revealed searches for anxiety and its symptoms have increased significantly over the past decade - and it could be down to one factor. The research suggests people are turning to the internet and its resources to help deal with this mental health condition in greater numbers, with noticeable spikes around terrorist incidents. The latest NHS Psychiatric Morbidity Survey indicates that around 15 per cent of the UK population (some nine million people) suffer from...

The family of an artist who created paintings inspired by her terminal skin cancer and the way it made her body feel are hosting a posthumous exhibition of her work. Mother-of-three Lori Murdock began making the colourful and uplifting art after being told she had just months to live. Her family said the paintings were inspired by changes she could feel going on inside her body and the Cat scan images which revealed her cancer. File photo of Lori Murdock...

Word puzzles such as a daily crossword can give pensioners some of the the brain functions of people ten years younger, a new study has revealed. The puzzles improve memory, attention and reasoning and regular problem solving, leads to a sharp brain in later life. Puzzling could also help ward off cognitive decline and it has been proven that keeping an active mind reduces a decline in thinking skills. But experts say more studies need to be done to link...

Do you have things bugging you incredibly hard on a daily basis? Maybe your teeth are yellow or stained and you can’t seem to get rid of this problem. Or maybe you have really bad sleeping patterns that are destroying your productivity and making your life a mess.  Here, we will give you some really interesting “life hack” type tips for how you can make your health levels go off the charts. That might be a little bit of an...

THE world’s first scan using twin growth charts has taken place in the UK today at St George’s Hospital in south west London – marking a monumental moment for multiple birth families across the country. The charts mean twins can be accurately measured in the womb so health professionals can instantly recognise whether they are growing appropriately. It means hundreds of tiny lives could be saved when, previously, growth issues were misdiagnosed and inappropriately managed. The £25,000 research project to...

A damning report has described meat consumption as a "major public health concern". The 'Meat the Truth' report unveils how harmful eating meat really is and claims if people knew the facts, they wouldn’t take the risk. It includes ground-breaking scientific evidence that shows meat offers no health benefits and is linked to Britain’s biggest killers – heart disease and cancer. The risk of early death increases rapidly even at low intakes of red and processed meat. An 85g serving (a...