Medi Watch
Untreated milk boosts kids' immunity
Children who drink farm-fresh milk appear to be significantly less at risk of developing asthma and allergies, despite concerns that unpasteurised milk can contain disease-causing microbes such as salmonella. University of Basel studies of more than 14,800 children between five and 13 throughout Europe found that consuming raw milk and other farm-fresh dairy products provided the same level of protection against asthma and allergies, regardless of whether the children lived on a farm. The researchers haven't identified what properties of farm milk are beneficial, Reuters reports.
Apple bonus for baby
And children whose mothers eat plenty of apples and fish during pregnancy also appear to be protected from asthma and allergies such as eczema. A Dutch-Scottish study of more than 1,200 five- year-olds found that those whose mothers had eaten more than four apples a week were 37 per cent less likely to have ever wheezed, 46 per cent less likely to have had asthma symptoms, and 53 per cent less likely to have had doctor-confirmed asthma, compared with children whose mothers had eaten one or
no apples a week. Those whose mothers ate fish once or more a week were 43 per cent less likely to have had eczema by the age of five than children of mothers who never ate fish. The researchers speculate that apples may be beneficial because they contain flavonoids, healthday.com reports. No other foods tested, including vegetables, fruit juice or wholegrain products appeared to give the same defence.
Peel good factor wards off cancer
A study published in the US Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that most of the anti-cancer properties of apples is in the peel. The researchers identified a group of phytochemicals in the peel of Red Delicious apples that proved potent against at least three different types of human cancer cells: breast, colon, and liver, WebMD reports.
Toxic threat to country living
Pollution and excessive use of chemicals in food on the mainland are responsible for an alarming rise in the rate of cancer, which is already the No1 killer in cities and the countryside. Death rates from cancer in some rural areas have risen as much as 23 per cent, AFP reports, quoting China Daily, which gave no time period for the increase. 'The main reason ... is that pollution of the environment, water and air is getting worse by day,' says Chen Zhizhou of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Overworked and under ground
Meanwhile, a record number of Japanese worked themselves to death last year, despite a government campaign to reduce working hours. About 355 workers fell severely ill or died from overwork in the year to March - up 7.6 per cent from the previous year, the Ministry of Health says. Of these, 147 died, many from strokes or heart attacks, AFP reports. A record 938 workers claimed compensation for suspected illness or death from overwork, known as karoshi. A further 819 workers claimed they became mentally ill from overwork.
Jason Sankey is a tennis professional
