BELOW ZERO

Women have fewer eating problems after having children compared to peers who remain childless, largely because they stop drinking as much and behave less impulsively. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology followed 1,206 initially childless women for six years. Women did show less disordered eating after having children, which the researchers found was largely due to a reduction in impulsive behaviour and a drop in alcohol use. But while women who remained childless showed increased satisfaction with their appearance over time, women who became mothers did not.

ZERO TO 20

Zinc reduces common cold symptoms

Zinc acetate lozenges taken within 24 hours of developing symptoms of the common cold reduces the duration and severity of symptoms, according to a report in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The average duration of cold symptoms (including cough, runny nose, and muscle ache) was about four days in the zinc group compared with seven in the placebo group. It was found that 56 per cent of the zinc group had complete resolution of their colds, whereas none of the placebo group was free of cold symptoms. The results of a number of biochemical tests suggested that zinc was having a true effect on the colds.

20 to 40

Vitamin D found to guard against artery disease

Vitamin D may protect against an artery disease in which fatty deposits restrict blood flow to the limbs. Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York, found that people with low levels of vitamin D experience an increased risk for a condition known as peripheral artery disease. PAD most often reduces blood flow to the legs, causing pain and numbness, impairing the ability to walk and in some cases leading to amputation. It develops when fatty deposits accumulate in the inner linings of artery walls, cutting blood flow and oxygen to the legs, feet, arms and elsewhere. The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

40 and above

Mid-life high cholesterol raises Alzheimer’s risk

High cholesterol levels in your 40s may raise the chance of developing Alzheimer’s Disease decades later. The study, involving 9,752 people in northern California, found that those with high cholesterol levels between ages 40 and 45 were about 50 per cent more likely than those with low cholesterol levels to later develop Alzheimer’s disease. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago.