A recent study discovered how lower prices could save us. If healthy foods, such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables cost less, we would be able to save several thousands of lives every year. This adds up to the beneficial effect of higher taxes on junk food and high-fat meat. If unhealthy foods cost more and healthy foods cost less, people are more likely to make the best dietary choices.

Making healthy foods cheaper can convince people to take better care of themselves

The study discovered that changing the prices of seven dietary items, both unhealthy and healthy foods, would reduce mortality rates all over the country. These foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, sweetened beverages, and both processed and unprocessed meats. A change of only 10 percent in their price, either up or down, would cut around 23,000 deaths every year.

However, changing the prices even more would lead to an even better outcome. If healthy foods were to cost 30 percent less, and unhealthy foods 30 percent more, then 63,000 deaths would be prevented. Also, around 9.2 percent of all these prevented deaths would be related to cardiovascular and metabolic causes.

These price changes can really reduce mortality rates

Even if it doesn’t sound like a major change, people would definitely be motivated to change their diet if healthy foods were cheaper. Jose L. Penalvo, one of the researchers, explained which changes would have the biggest impact on the incidence of diseases.

“The largest changes were viewed after reducing the prices of fruits and vegetables and increasing the price of sugary drinks.”

Lower consumption of sweetened beverages could decrease the number of deaths associated with diabetes. On the other hand, consuming more fruits and vegetables could reduce the number of deadly strokes. Therefore, the financial part is really convincing when it comes to making people eat healthy foods.

The study has been published in the journal BMC Medicine.
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If you use mouthwash daily, you might want to start using it less often. A recent study developed by researchers from Harvard University revealed that using the product two times a day could seriously increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes and struggling with obesity.

Mouthwash kills both good and bad bacteria

Many people use mouthwash for a better oral hygiene, as some types might prevent the teeth from accumulating plaque bacteria. However, its primary function is to maintain your breath fresh. Dentists say daily use of the product is not mandatory to maintain your oral health, and it doesn’t always keep all the bacteria away.

In fact, the substance might actually destroy some healthy bacteria. By using it too often, you risk killing some microbes which protect the body against obesity and the related diseases. The research revealed that those people who used mouthwash twice per day had 55 percent more chances to develop diabetes in three years.

This is the first study which highlights the bad effects of using this oral hygiene product. The main purpose of the oral solution is to destroy the bacteria in the mouth. However, it cannot tell the good microbes from the bad ones, so they are all annihilated. Therefore, instead of targeting only the harmful bacteria, it kills everything.

Using mouthwash twice a day increases the risk of diabetes

They reached this conclusion after studying 1,206 participants aged between 40 and 65. They were all suffering from obesity and at risk of developing diabetes. Around 17 percent of them developed diabetes before the study ended. However, the chances were of 20 percent for those who used mouthwash daily, and of 30 percent for those who used it twice a day.

The good microbes in the mouth help our bodies produce nitric oxide, which protects the body from diabetes and obesity. However, if these microbes disappear, there’s more room for the bad ones to develop. Therefore, overusing mouthwash doesn’t keep you protected.
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If you enjoy drinking alcohol from time to time, it might be better to cut it down, as you put yourself at a great risk. A recent statement released by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) states that even a moderate consumption of alcohol can increase the risk of developing certain cancer types.

Alcohol can seriously increase the cancer risk

The researchers at ASCO looked at a series of cancer deaths in the United States, and discovered that 3.5 percent of them were related to alcohol. Also, drinking causes about 5.5 percent of new cancers and 5.8 percent of cancer deaths worldwide.

Women put themselves at huge risks by consuming alcohol. Those who only consume alcoholic drinks rarely have a breast cancer risk higher by 4 percent. Moderate drinking raises this risk to 23 percent, while heavy drinking is linked to a 63 percent risk. This happens because alcohol has the potential to increase the levels of estrogen, leading to tumor growth.

People should stop drinking if they wanted to reduce their cancer risk

Heavy drinking over a long period of time is bad for both genders. Such habits increase the chances of developing any type of cancer by 500 percent. However, the most common cases associated with alcohol are neck, liver, throat, mouth, or head cancer. Also, it doesn’t matter what kind of beverages you prefer, as they all pose the same risk.

What is even worse is the fact that people are not aware of it. A recent survey revealed that over 70 percent of Americans didn’t know that alcohol could increase their risk of developing cancer. If they want this risk to get smaller, then they should start drinking less, and maybe even stop it altogether. Twenty years after quitting, their risk can return to that of a non-drinker.

The statement has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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At the moment, there are thousands of names on the waiting transplant list in the U.K. However, there are few citizens who take the necessary measures to be registered as organ donors.

A new report found that even though people announce authorities of their decision, their relatives might not allow doctors to extract their organs. Around 505 transplants were canceled in the last five years at the pressure of the deceased’s family.

Hospital Practice Allows the Family to Override the Status of Organ Donors

The National Health Service assessed that 457 English patients lost their lives in 2016 as they were too low down on the waiting list for a transplant. In the same year, 1,413 deceased were registered as potential donors. However, 91 of them didn’t help those in need for a healthy organ as their families denied the procedures.

However, the reason for these rejections seems to have nothing to do with religious believes in some cases. Instead, relatives were under the impression that the process would take too much time. The law allows doctors to respect the deceased’s choice to sign the Organ Donation Register. However, in practice professionals are respecting the decision of the family.

The staff at the NHS Blood and Transplant department contact families whenever hospitals report a dying prospective donor. Nurses check out the information with the Health Resources & Services Administration. Afterward, they encourage family members to grant the wish of their deceased. However, if they don’t consent, no hospital would go through with the transplant operation.

Family’s Influence in This Matter Is Controversial

The views regarding these missed opportunities are diverse among specialists. On the one hand, some look at these rejections as frustrating. These situations stand in the way of hundreds of potentially lifesaving transplants.

On the other hand, other specialists in the field believe a sense of empathy should be in place at these moments. Families are going through a shock when they learn of their loss. Seeing their loved ones as organ donors against their wish could only deepen their grief.

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No living thing can stop advancing in age, and one of the drawbacks of aging is a dulling of the senses. Since owls are known for having the most amazing hearing in the animal kingdom, it would seem that a decline of this sense would be crippling. But recent research has indicated that members of one of the world’s most common owl species don’t appear to lose their hearing at all.

Barn Owls and Their Bird Advantage

All bird species need and have superior vision and hearing. Because they hunt in dim and changing types of light, owls, in particular, heavily rely on their keen hearing to detect prey. So it’s fortunate that cells in the inner ears of owls and other bird species can regenerate when damaged.

This is a trick that mammal species are unable to replicate. Elderly birds have been shown in studies to have suffered some hearing loss as part of the aging process. However, this loss is minimal, at least when compared to mammals.

Also, a new study noted that some bird species appear not to be affected by it at all. Recent research conducted at the University of Oldenburg in Germany indicates that aging has no effect on the hearing of barn owls.

Scientists carried out hearing tests on individuals of this species ranging from the very young to the rather elderly birds. These tests had the specimens respond to audible cues, and researchers consistently saw no change in their hearing levels across the spectrum.

What this Advantage Could Mean for Humans

Researchers are hoping that the information gleaned through this barn owls study could be used to help hearing impaired humans. Currently, an average individual can expect to lose a significant amount of hearing, around 30 decibels, between birth and old age.

Still, if scientists manage to approximate and replicate a barn owl’s hearing regeneration in humans, then a day may come when hearing aids are obsolete. So while people may never enjoy the “wisdom” of barn owls, they may get to experience their remarkable hearing instead.

Details on the study and its results are available in a paper in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

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