A weekly round-up of news affecting your health
ANOTHER PALEO WARNING
The controversial Paleo diet is dangerous and increases weight gain, say University of Melbourne researchers.
Their new study involved overweight mice with pre-diabetes symptoms with one group put on a high-fat and low carbohydrate Paleo-type diet while the others ate their normal food.
After eight weeks, the group on the first diet gained more weight - 15 per cent of their body weight - their glucose intolerance worsened, and their insulin levels rose.
"To put that in perspective, for a 100 kilogram person, that's the equivalent of 15 kilograms in two months," said researcher Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos.
"This level of weight gain will increase blood pressure and increase your risk of anxiety and depression and may cause bone issues and arthritis."
Despite the surge in celebrities swearing by the Paleo diet, the researchers say it could be risky particularly for overweight people with sedentary lifestyles.
JET LAG CURE?
Exposure to short flashes of light at night while people are sleeping could be the way to prevent jet lag.
A small US study found the technique could speed up the process of adjusting to a different time zone before a trip.
The light beam travels through the eyelids, tricking the brain to reset the body's inner biological clock, say the Stanford University researchers.
It's a kind of "biological hacking" that fools the brain into thinking the day is longer while you get to sleep, they said.
After arriving in a new time zone, the body will eventually adjust on its own, but at a slow pace of about one hour a day.
OVARIAN CANCER CONCERNS
Australian women with ovarian cancer want more affordable medicine and access to more treatment options.
Despite having one of the highest incidences of cancer in the world, it takes longer for patients to access new treatments than those in the UK, Canada and Germany, says Ovarian Cancer Australia after releasing a report on what the women want.
The organisation said the Australian system often questions the cost-effectiveness of funding new treatments that may increase quality of life, but are not life-saving.
"While women with ovarian cancer want a cure, the fact is that for many, this is not a reality at this stage," said lead researcher Dr Catherine Holliday.
Their message for decision makers, researchers and the medicines industry was to continue to find treatment options, including ones that will help them maintain their quality of life, and for the government to then make them available, but also affordable.
GO ORGANIC?
Organic meat and milk are better for certain nutrients than conventionally produced products, suggests a new study by UK scientists.
They found the organic versions contain around 50 per cent more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.
Organic meat has slightly lower concentrations of two saturated fats that are linked to greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
Organic milk contains 40 per cent more linoleic acid, and slightly higher concentrations of iron, vitamin E and some carotenoids.
But conventional milk contains 74 per cent more of the essential mineral iodine and slightly more selenium.
The researchers, who analysed more than 250 papers from around the world, said switching to organic would go some way to improving intakes of nutritionally important fatty acids.
TEXTING WARNING
Texting in the dark has a negative effect on the sleep and school performance of teenagers, says American research.
Students who turned off their devices or messaged for less than 30 minutes after lights out were found to have significantly better grades than those who messaged for more than 30 minutes in the dark.
And those who continued to text in the dark slept fewer hours and were more tired during the day.
The researchers said short wavelength "blue light" can delay melatonin release, making it more difficult to fall asleep.
These effects are intensified when people look at smartphones and tablets in a dark room.
