GordonMoyes.com

In a recent report on food labelling the RSPCA has pointed out that the terms “free-range”, “corn-fed”, and organic are not used in a consistent, standardised manner across the range of animal-derived food products, and are calling for mandatory national standards.

Last week Australia observed Teal Ribbon Day held to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and its impact on the community. Ovarian cancer has no screening test yet like a mammogram or ‘pap’ smear that women can have regularly to make sure they do not have other female cancers. It is important, therefore, for each woman to know the symptoms of ovarian cancer so they can monitor their own body for any indications that all is not well.

Public health Professor Dr Sunmin Lee’s research team at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA has focused on how various social variables can influence people’s health. As well as examining the effects of occupational stress, marital transitions, socio-economic status on cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline in elderly using cohort studies she has recently shifted her attention to the effect of childcare on older women.

The experts tell us that consuming small amounts of alcohol, the equivalent to just 2 standard drinks per day for men and 1 drink for women, is safe and may even offer protection to your heart. In 2001 the National Health and Medical Research Council published Australian Alcohol Guideline: Health Risks and Benefits in order to educate people about what risks they were taking by drinking any more than that.

Experts say that society is not facing the facts about the terrible effects of divorce. The saddest cases can lead to self-destructive behaviours and eventual suicide. Many divorced people let their good health habits go by the wayside and they no longer look after themselves properly. Men are particularly at risk.

The responsibility for taking care of older family members almost always falls to the women in the family, whether they have jobs outside the home or not. These responsibilities are going to be increasing greatly over the next decade, a report has found.

‘Thrive’ is a British organisation whose motto is “Using gardening to change lives”. They research ‘social and therapeutic horticulture’ in association with the Centre for Child and Family Research at Loughborough University in Leicestershire.

Last week when I read about the new Double Angry Angus, the newest burger being promoted at Hungry Jacks, I could not believe my eyes. Just one of these burgers contains nearly double the amount of fat and salt that anybody should eat in an entire day, according to the standards advised by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Chances are we have all been eating a lot of GM food for some time now, especially if we eat any processed foods that use products from GM corn, GM canola oil, or GM soybeans. Those are the main food crops affected in Australia.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) has been used to treat menopausal women for many decades. It was believed to have many benefits in addition to addressing the familiar symptoms of hot flushes, night sweats, etc by protecting women from heart disease, cognitive decline, and the usual weight gain of middle age.