Fast Diet guru Michael Mosley sorts fact from fiction

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Fast Diet guru Michael Mosley sorts fact from fiction

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  • How to be healthy – Fast Diet guru Michael Mosley sorts fact from fiction

    How much sleep do we need? How many eggs should we eat? Is red wine better than white? Lucy Cavendish puts ten common health questions to the expert
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    How to be healthy – Fast Diet guru Michael Mosley sorts fact from fiction
    Written By
    Michael Mosley

    5:41 PM, 10 October 2013
    1. It’s often said that we should drink two litres of water a day? Is it really necessary?

    There’s no study to suggest this is the case so it falls firmly in the “myth” category. There is no evidence that we are all permanently dehydrated. You need to monitor your urine. If it is dark then you’re not taking in enough liquids. If it is straw-coloured, all is fine. It’s the output, not the input, that you need to monitor.

    2. Aspirin is said to be good at warding off heart disease and suppressing types of cancer. Is it OK to take as a drug of prevention?

    A study published in The Lancet in 2012 suggested there’s a 37 per cent reduction in cancer risk, particularly colon and prostate cancer, for those who take a therapeutic low dose of aspirin – anything from a quarter of a 300mg tablet to a whole one – once a day over a period of five years.

    Aspirin is also great at preventing heart attacks, especially if you’ve had one already. However, a side effect is that it may make your stomach bleed. Experts have flatly contradictory views about aspirin. Part of the problem seems to be that people self-medicate and therefore take too much. Also, no one can quantify the risks. A stomach bleed can be catastrophic so I am not going to take as aspirin as I don’t like the idea of bleeding internally. In the end, it depends what you are most afraid of.

    3. Do we really need seven hours’ sleep every night?

    Broadly speaking, yes. There is a huge variation in how much people need, but seven to eight hours is ideal. Some can get by on a lot less, but studies show if you increase from six hours a night to seven, it reduces your risk of heart disease. It seems that if you cut back on sleep in the long term it makes your blood sugar levels go crazy and, after a week or so, you can enter a diabetic state. The longest anyone has stayed awake is 12 days. A man from Cornwall holds that record! Sleeping more than ten hours is also bad for you, yet no one knows why.

    4. Can eating too many eggs give you high cholesterol?

    No. Eggs have been wholeheartedly demonised for no reasons at all. All those rumours of eggs giving us high cholesterol have now been utterly disproved. The advice from the British Heart Foundation is to eat as many as you like. Eggs are brilliant, full of nutrition and protein. I eat two a day in every form but not fried as that does raise cholesterol because of the fat in the oil.

    5. Are people who eat breakfast really slimmer than those who don’t?

    The problem with the studies on eating habits is that they ask people about their eating patterns and then base their results on that. For example, they talk to people who don’t eat breakfast then make them eat breakfast, and they get those who do eat breakfast to stop and take their evidence from these studies. However, the problem with making non-breakfast eaters eat breakfast is that it makes them want to eat more during the day and so they actually put on weight, so this falls into the fallacy category I think. If you don’t like eating breakfast, just don’t eat it.

    6. Does St John’s wort work for depression?

    Yes. There is a strong body of evidence that shows it does work for mild depression.

    7. If drunk in moderation is red wine better for me than white wine?

    Sadly, there’s no evidence to support this or any real benefit of drinking wine. Anything beyond a quarter of a glass is drunk for pleasure rather than medicinal purposes. The level of resveratrol in red wine – sometimes hailed as a wonder drug that can extend life and cure cancer – is so tiny that there really is no health benefit of red over white or wine in general at all.

    8. Is there such a thing as a successful hangover cure?

    I suffer very badly with hangovers and the only thing that works for me is two paracetamol before bed and lots of water. Beyond that, not much and by the time you wake up it’s too late anyway!

    9. Is HRT OK for women to take or is it health-wise a disaster?

    This totally divides the experts. The effects of HRT depend on the age of the woman taking it. There is evidence it reduces the risks of heart disease and obviously it reduces the symptoms of the menopause, but it can also raise the chances of breast cancer. It’s really for each woman to make her own informed decision about it.

    10. Is there any evidence that eating sugar ages your skin?

    Yes. In a recent study 600 men and women had their blood glucose levels measured and were rated for how old they looked. The older people appeared – on average it was five months older than they actually were – seemed to correlate with a high rate of blood sugar. The reason is that glucose attacks collagen and makes skin more brittle.

    @wiltldnrusa

    “2. Aspirin is said to be good at warding off heart disease and suppressing types of cancer. Is it OK to take as a drug of prevention?
    A study published in The Lancet in 2012 suggested there’s a 37 per cent reduction in cancer risk, particularly colon and prostate cancer, for those who take a therapeutic low dose of aspirin – anything from a quarter of a 300mg tablet to a whole one – once a day over a period of five years.”

    Having experienced a prostate biopsy recently, I have read more about prostate cancer.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate_cancer

    Most of the men on this forum, over the age of 45, may want to have awareness of this.

    Again, it seems that what we eat has an impact on this. There is little mention of fasting in regards to any preventive measures. There is mention of eating recommendations that would be a preventive diet.

    I received a “benign” phone call.

    For now.

    Hi Rocky, I have had the scare myself several yrs ago. My PSA was starting to creep up, around the 6 mark so I had the Bi-Opsi and like you was given the all clear. In May my new Doctor called me in and informed me that following a PSA test my reading was 8.5. She wanted to do another Bi-Opsi. I declined because it is not that pleasant. We are on active watch patrol at the moment but I am aware that diet can have an impact. Fingers crossed though.
    I wish you well with your health.

    Rocky. Pleased to hear you are ok. Long may you be so. And USA. I have taken that quarter of a 300mg aspirin for the last several years, as there is a history of heart disease in my family. My dad, his dad etc., almost but not quite every day. My dad died of a heart attack at 43. Thought it was better to err on the side of caution, and it was recommended by my GP. As it’s a small dose decided it would be ok.

    @ toms mantis
    “I have taken that quarter of a 300mg aspirin for the last several years, as there is a history of heart disease in my family. My dad, his dad etc., almost but not quite every day. My dad died of a heart attack at 43. ”

    My Dad also had a heart attack, which eventually caused his death. I will rethink taking the aspirin.

    Thanks for your response.

    Couscous
    ” We are on active watch patrol at the moment but I am aware that diet can have an impact. ”

    I feel that I received a temporary reprieve and must also be watchful. I can also empathize with others that will experience this.

    It’s added another reason for fasting and eating healthier.

    Be well.

    Rocky. It is such a small dose. If it keeps you safe, why not. Together with the fasting and healthier eating it all helps, hopefully. Keep well, fast well.

    rockyromero

    i think ur right we should tell others

    i’m not on as often w

    would u create a topic4 this forum 4 the people u r concerned about

    thanks & take care

    usa

    toms

    so did my dad

    i now always look 4 a white ring around the pupil

    that is a sight of fat around the heart

    i take enteric coated 80 mg aspirin every night

    also have a little packet powder version next 2 my bed
    2 take in case of emergency don’t know what mg

    with that kind of history we both have in our families

    as u said the side of caution

    take care

    usa

    Hi USA. Hope you are well again. Missed your posts. Yes, I take 75mg aspirin. Sometimes I forget, but not often. Recently had an eye test for new specs, and optician took a photo of the inside of my eye. He showed it to me saying – “these are the arteries in your eyes. If these are healthy then the rest of your arteries are healthy. Yours are perfectly fine”.

    Take care all. Fast well.

    Movember is a benefit to recognize prostate cancer in men for the month of November.

    http://us.movember.com

    A signature recognition for any man participating is to grow a mustache.

    I can barely grow any facial hair nor do I look good with one. I still may grow something.

    However, I thought some of the men here may want to be aware of this?

    Michael…. Screened on TV in Melbourne this week on your new “Trust me I’m a Doctor” series you had 3 groups of participants in a Cholesterol test and the diet group, eggs were on the list of foods not to avoid.

    Here, in this forum you have the view as many are saying now that eggs are ok, including my GP.

    Can you add more to this comment.

    I eat my 2 eggs a day, poached, and all of my cholesterol’s are normal. Probably my whole diet because they have been normal for 30 years. I will start to eat the oats as suggested. On average the HDL over that time is 5.2 and as an experiment I will see if I can lower that like you did for my next annual checkup. All of the other markers are within limits.

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