Were you going to include broccoli in your Christmas dinner?

Loading... 27 view(s)
Were you going to include broccoli in your Christmas dinner?
 Here at Osmio Water we would like to wish all of our customers a very happy and healthy new year. Were you going to include broccoli in your Christmas dinner? Here are some great reasons why you should:A concentrated form of a compound that is found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli could be used to treat leukaemia, researchers have reported. Writing in the Public Library of Science journal ONE, US researchers say that purified sulforaphane, a natural compound found in broccoli, could be used to help treat the disease.Previous studies have shown that people who eat a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables have a lower risk of some cancers and the compound is believed to have both preventive and therapeutic properties in solid tumours. Now a study by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, suggests that sulforaphane could reduce the number of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells, following success in a laboratory setting. Dr Daniel Lacorazza, assistant professor of pathology and immunology, and colleagues focused on purified sulforaphane because there have been no definitive studies that show how the compound interacts with blood cancers.  Researchers incubated human-derived leukaemic cell lines and primary lymphoblasts from paediatric patients with the compound. The cancer cells died while healthy cells that were obtained from healthy donors remained unaffected. Studies tested in pre-clinical mouse models showed similar results. Calling for further research into the effects of the compound, Dr Lacorazza said it works by entering the cells and reacting with certain proteins. It is believed that the compound could one day be used as a treatment option in combination with current therapies.Have you been prescribed antibiotics for a cough this winter? You may want to think twice before taking them, here is some interesting information:The winter may be peak season for coughs and colds but there is no point in taking antibiotics to shift them, experts say. The largest randomised placebo-controlled trial of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections has shown that they are no more effective at relieving symptoms than taking a sugar pill. Even older patients given the drugs did not recover more quickly or have fewer symptoms than those who simply waited for the untreated illness to run its course.The international study run in 12 European countries including England and Wales included more than 2,000 adults with chest infections who were randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin, the commonest antibiotic prescribed by GPs, or a placebo. After taking the drugs three times a day for seven days, the two groups were assessed. Little difference was found in either severity or duration of symptoms, even among patients over 60. Those taking antibiotics reported more side effects including rash, nausea and diarrhoea.Medical authorities around the globe, including Dame Sally Davies, the Government’s chief medical officer in the UK and Dr Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organisation, have appealed to doctors and patients for restraint in use of the drugs to conserve them for serious conditions. The world is awash with antibiotics and there is a growing threat from antibiotic resistant bacteria which could transform common infections into untreatable, and potentially fatal, illnesses. The findings of the latest study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, lend weight to their appeal.  Paul Little, professor of primary care research at the University of Southampton, who led the study, said:“Using amoxicillin to treat respiratory infections in patients not suspected of having pneumonia is not likely to help and could be harmful.” A commentary on the findings, published alongside, says:“[The researchers] have generated convincing data that should encourage physicians in primary care to refrain from antibiotic treatment in low-risk patients in whom pneumonia is not suspected."Our gift to you this Christmas is a 5% discount on all orders over £50 when you enter coupon code broccoli.