Socially disadvantaged mothers who receive home visits from trained community visitors are less likely to deliver low birth weight babies than other mothers in similar circumstances, a new study finds. Moreover, the earlier that visits occur in a women’s pregnancy, the greater the reduction. These results held true even after researchers adjusted for factors such
Full Post: Home visits lower likelihood of low birth weight babies
With the festive season in full swing in Australia and elsewhere, in the run up to Christmas, scientists in the United States have made an attempt to ascertain if there is indeed a proven cure for a hangover.
Hangover cures abound and range from the ludicrous and ridiculous to the seemingly sensible but according to a study by two American doctors the idea you can cure a hangover is little more than a medical myth.
Suggested cures include aspirin, bananas, Vegemite and water, a good old-fashioned fried breakfast and even the ‘hair of the dog’, (more alcohol) and a trawl through the internet offers endless options for supposedly preventing or treating alcohol hangovers.
However researchers Dr. Rachel Vreeman and Dr. Aaron Carroll, from Indiana University School of Medicine say none of these supposed hangover remedies are effective.
The two carried out a comprehensive search of published scientific literature into a number of medical myths for evidence to support common claims and they say preventing or alleviating the after-effects of a night’s over-indulgence is little more than folk wisdom which regularly appears at Christmas with no foundation in fact.
Hundreds of remedies have been proposed over as many years, many of which are said to have a medical foundation and some are even advocated by doctors.
However Dr. Vreeman and Dr. Carroll found no evidence from randomised trials to suggest that any of them worked - they say good studies were available evaluating the herb borage, the artichoke, prickly pear, Vegemite, fructose, glucose, tolfenamic acid and propranolol and none were found to have had any effect.
They say they found no scientific evidence for preventing or treating hangovers in either traditional or complementary medicine and also warn that certain hangover cures carry risks.
The doctors say while a few small studies have suggested that fluid and salt replacement might be helpful, hangovers also get better with time - so whatever you have taken will eventually seem to work and the only guaranteed way to avoid a hangover is to not drink alcohol at all or to drink only in moderation.
The study is published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Posts:
Does sugar make kids hyperactive? Do we lose most of our body heat through our head? Will eating at night make you fat? Do suicides increase over the holidays? Are poinsettias toxic? Hangovers cures, do they work? These are some of the common myths that are fictitious, according to an article in the Christmas issue
Full Post: Does sugar make kids hyperactive? and six other myths debunked
Across the world New Year’s Eve revellers are being urged to drink responsibly in bringing in 2009. Ambulance and police officers and clubs and pubs are reminding party-goers to look after themselves tonight as New Year’s Eve festivities begin. Traditionally the night of New Year’s Eve and the early hours of New Year’s Day
Full Post: Drink sensibly tonight and remember - there’s no such thing as a hangover cure!
There is no strong evidence either way for several herbal remedies commonly taken to relieve troublesome menopausal symptoms, concludes the January issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin ( DTB ). And for some, there is hardly any evidence at all. Between 30% and 70% of women in industrialised countries will experience vasomotor symptoms around
Full Post: Question marks over herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms
In the run up to the New Year’s Eve festivities a scientist in Britain has chosen an opportune moment to warn revellers that drinking alcohol, even in relatively small amounts, can increase a tipplers risk of developing cancer. Dr. Rachel Thompson, from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) says that a large glass of
Full Post: Time to celebrate? Be warned! One tipple a day increases the risk of cancer
A Baylor University study has found that exposure during adolescence to moderate doses of alcohol in a binge-like fashion does in fact produce tolerance to high doses of alcohol later in life. Baylor researchers found that the alcohol a person might ingest when they are between 12 and 20, even at moderate doses, can alter
Full Post: Early alcohol use leads to tolerance to high doses of alcohol later in life --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
