Study confirms benefits of tanning, sun exposure for the production of health-promoting vitamin D

(NaturalNews) Exposing your unprotected skin to natural sunlight and even using a tanning bed are not necessarily the highly dangerous, cancer promoting activities that many in the government and media would have you believe they are. A new study out of Oslo University Hospital (OUH) in Norway confirms what we here at NaturalNews have been saying for a long time — regular exposure to moderate levels of sunlight promotes good health through the healthy production of vitamin D in the body. Johan Moan, a scientist and researcher from the Department of Radiation Biology at OUH’s Institute for Cancer Research found that the benefits derived from exposure to vitamin D-producing UV rays far outweigh the miniscule risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). In fact, it is primarily overexposure in the form of sunburns that is responsible for UV-related cancer risk. “Sun exposure is commonly supposed to be the main cause of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in most populations. However, the matter is disputed,” said Moan and his research team in conjunction with their findings. “It can be estimated that increased sun exposure to the Norwegian population might at worst result in 200-300 more CMM deaths per year, but it would elevate the vitamin D status by about 25 nmol/l (nanomoles per liter) and might result in 4,000 fewer internal cancers and about 3,000 fewer cancer deaths overall.” But the risk of getting skin cancer from exposing skin to natural sunlight or a tanning bed, might even be less than that. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health and treasurer of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), wrote last year in a blog that the actual risk of getting skin cancer from using a tanning bed is about 0.2 percent, and this risk likely only includes those that overexpose themselves (http://www.naturalnews.com/029895_skin_cancer_tanning_beds.html). Russian health authorities also recognize the benefits of tanning beds, as they last year installed tanning beds in Russian prisons to help improve inmate health (http://www.naturalnews.com/030416_tanning_beds_prisoners.html). Vitamin D deficiency is linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, endocrine dysfunction, infections, autoimmune disorders, kidney problems, neurological disease, respiratory illness, skin problems, and cancer, among other things (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/). Sources for this article include: http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/sunbed-cancer-risk-may-be-worth-it-study/5/106749

Moms can reduce risk of eczema in their babies by taking probiotics

(NaturalNews) About 20 percent of babies and toddlers have the condition known as eczema which causes red, swollen and intensely itchy skin. It usually develops on the forehead, cheeks, and scalp, but it can spread to the arms, legs, chest and other parts of the body. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 65 percent of eczema cases develop in the first year of life and 90 percent develop symptoms before the age of five. While many babies with eczema get better before they are two, others have cases of eczema that persist into adulthood. Evidence has accumulated over the past decade that this common skin problem is connected to something going on in the gut — and that probiotics, beneficial microorganisms similar to the “friendly” bacteria found naturally in the body’s digestive system, can help. For example, a review of 21 studies, published last year in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology , concluded probiotics were most useful in preventing atopic dermatitis, the most common type of eczema, from developing in the first place. And a groundbreaking new study, just published in the British Journal of Dermatology , found that when moms drank a probiotic supplement during their pregnancy and after their babies were born, the rate of eczema in their offspring was slashed by about half. This research, conducted by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), is especially convincing because it was a randomized, double-blind study comparing mothers who drank one glass of probiotic milk daily to women who drank milk containing a placebo. The research subjects drank the probiotic or placebo-laced milk beginning at week 36 in their pregnancy and continued consuming the drinks for three months after giving birth. The results were dramatic: the women who received the probiotic drink reduced the incidence of eczema by 40 percent in their offspring. “The taste of both products was similar, and the milk was delivered in unmarked milk cartons. This means that neither the participants in the study nor the researchers knew who had received probiotic milk or placebo milk,” NTNU scientist Torbjorn Oien said in a statement to the press. “We can therefore say with great certainty that it was the probiotic bacteria alone that caused the difference in the incidence of eczema between the two groups.” In fact, although earlier studies have provided evidence that ingestion of some probiotics by children may prevent eczema, this is the first study to show that probiotics given to mothers during pregnancy and breast-feeding prevents eczema. As NaturalNews has previously reported, probiotics in dietary supplements or in food such as yogurt, have also been found to be useful and safe in treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea children (http://www.naturalnews.com/026037_Chi_alternative_therapies_health.html). For more information: http://www.ntnu.edu/probiotic-use-in-pregnancy http://www.naturalnews.com/probiotics.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/762045-overview

High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as regular exercise

(NaturalNews) Recent research is indicating that traditional approaches to exercise that involve spending hours in the gym every day may not be the best way to stay strong and healthy. Interval training, a high-intensity type of workout that was originally created for Olympic athletes, may actually be twice as effective as regular exercise, and it can be done in a fraction of the time. Most people are familiar with workout regimens that claim to build strength and endurance in mere minutes a day. Though seemingly deceptive, there may be more truth to such claims than one would have originally thought, depending on the technique. A few minutes of strenuous exercise a couple days out of the week is actually more effective than spending an hour or two every day in the gym. According to Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, interval training is far superior to traditional exercise. She believes that everyday people should aim to do four, four-minute workout sets with three-minute recovery times in between. In order to maximize results and achieve optimal muscle response, these sets should be intense and somewhat straining to the body. While formerly thought to be too extreme for the average person, interval training is emerging as the exercise technique of choice among many experts, thanks to recent studies showing that common people stand to benefit from it. Part of this research includes evidence that interval training can double a person’s endurance, improve their body’s use of oxygen, and increase their speed and strength. Officials in both the U.S. and the U.K. typically advise people to engage in roughly two-and-a-half hours of moderate exercise a week in order to maintain proper weight and a healthy heart. Such recommendations, however, will do very little to improve fitness ability, strength, or endurance. Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old martial arts enthusiast, explained in an interview that he was able to greatly improve his endurance by undertaking 45-minute interval training workouts once a week for six weeks. If he had been doing regular workouts, it would have taken him roughly three months to achieve the same outcome. Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter, explained why better results can be achieved from interval training in a fraction of the time. “A lot of the [benefits] from exercise are due to a stress response. If you disturb your muscles, there’s an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments,” he explained. In other words, moderate workouts may be longer than interval workouts, but they do not push the body hard enough to elicit an effective muscle-building response. Short, high-intensity workouts actually convert existing muscle fibers into ones that absorb oxygen more efficiently and effectively, helping people to burn fat, build muscle, and improve overall strength. Sources for this story include: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsAw5NSIsgcooRTDJ0exZlM0e0HgD9E3G4MO2