An-apple-a-day gets a boost The old adage promoting an apple a day for better health just got a boost. A large Dutch study has found that eating apples and pears is associated with a lower risk of stroke. The findings counter the belief that most healthy fruits and vegetables are those that have deep,rich colours inside and out. The dark green of spinach and deep red of raspberries are produced by phytochemicals that are associated with better heart health and lower rates of cancer. Apples and pears,although red,light green or yellow on the outside,are considered white fruits as their largest edible portion is white. Researchers in the Netherlands tracked fruit and vegetable intake based on the colour of the largest edible portion of the food. The investigators analysed data collected from 20,069 men and women,aged 20 to 65,and who were free of cardiovascular disease at the start. During the next 10 years,the investigators documented 233 strokes among the participants. There was no relationship between stroke risk and consumption of any of the bright coloured fruits and vegetables. However,people who consumed at least 171 grams of white produce daily equal to about one medium to large apple had a 52 per cent lower risk of stroke than those who ate less than 78 grams of white fruit a day. The findings are published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Body odour? Gene disorder may be culprit For some people with troublesome,unexplained body odour,an uncommon genetic disorder once known as "fish-odour syndrome" may be to blame,according to a study. The condition,known clinically as trimethylaminuria,is caused by emitting excessive amounts of the compound trimethylamine (TMA). TMA is produced when people digest foods rich in a substance called choline,including saltwater fish,eggs,liver and certain legumes,such as soy and kidney beans. Individuals with the metabolic disorder trimethylaminuria may sporadically produce malodours despite good hygiene, wrote study leader Paul Wise,at Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia,in the American Journal of Medicine. trimethylaminuria is difficult to diagnose without specialized tests. Trimethylaminuria is caused by defects in a gene known as FMO3,which hinder the body's ability to metabolize TMA and turn it into odour-free compounds. TMA itself has a strong fishy smell,but only about 10 to 15 per cent of people with trimethylaminuria have that specific malodour,which may make it tougher to get a diagnosis. For someone to have the disorder,he or she must inherit a defective copy of the FMO3 gene from both parents,who themselves would be unaffected carriers. Of course,if either of the parents had the disorder,they would also pass it on. Painkiller use linked to kidney cancer People who regularly take painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen may be at higher risk of kidney cancer,according to new research. The findings suggest that the longer someone uses such drugs,called non-steroidal anti-inflammatories,or NSAIDs,the higher their risk of kidney cancer. But they cant prove that painkiller use causes cancer,and the difference between regular users and non-users in the study was small. Researchers calculated that if there is a cause-and-effect relationship,about 10,000 people would have to take the drugs regularly for one additional person to get kidney cancer. NSAIDs have been associated with a reduced risk of several cancers,including colorectal,breast,and prostate, study author Eunyoung Cho,from Harvard Medical School in Boston,told Reuters Health. The most important implication from our study is it raises the possibility that NSAIDs could increase the risk of certain kinds of cancer too.
