Health Chat
KARIN BHAGAT | Monday November 1, 2010 00:00
Answer
Yes, it is true that drinking a lot of tea can cause a drop in haemoglobin. The tannins in tea are the culprits - these are naturally occurring polyphenols (antioxidant compounds) that can give tea an astringent taste if it is brewed too long.
Tannins can lower haemoglobin because they block iron absorption. However, the effect of tea tannins on iron absorption seems to be limited to non-heme iron found in vegetables and grains, not heme iron from meat, fish and poultry. You're unlikely to run into a problem with iron absorption or a drop in haemoglobin unless you're a vegetarian who drinks a lot of tea.
Incidentally, tea (green or black) isn't the only food that influences iron absorption. Other caffeinated beverages, eggs, milk, and bran also interfere. Foods that enhance iron absorption include orange juice and other foods high in vitamin C, as well as fermented foods such as yogurt. Foods that provide iron include red meat, beans, lentils, millet, chickpeas, dark leafy greens, dried apricots, dried peaches, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds and soybeans.
Skimping On Sleep.
I'm tired during the day because of decreased depth and length of sleep. I awake after 5 hours or so, go to urinate, then can't fall asleep again or attain the level of deep sleep I used to. I've heard that sleep deprivation is related to the onset of many illnesses.
Answer
You're right that sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on health. Perhaps the most striking link comes from studies showing that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to become obese. And, as you know, obesity increases the risk of a long list of diseases.
In 2005, researchers at Columbia University in the US published an analysis of 10 years worth of data from nearly 10,000 people showing that individuals between the ages of 32 and 49 who slept four hours or less per night were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who reported sleeping between seven and nine hours per night.
The same study showed that people who got only five hours of sleep had a 50 percent higher risk of obesity than those who were getting a full night's rest.
Laboratory studies also suggest that sleep deprivation may elevate the body's production of stress hormones, raise blood pressure and boost blood levels of substances that are responsible for increasing inflammation, which appears to be a major risk factor for heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and even obesity. Sleep loss and poor quality sleep are often central contributors to health concerns, and that good sleep is critical to good health. I suggest an evaluation of your personal sleep pattern and related habits by your health practitioner in order to address them productively.
Eliminating Age Spots?
Are there any natural
ways to eliminate age spots?
Answer
Age spots, sometimes called 'liver spots' (even though they have nothing to do with the liver), are brown patches that develop on sun-exposed areas of skin, usually on the face, hands or chest. Known medically as lentigos, they can get pretty big - up to 3cm in diameter. There are more common in light-skinned people.The brown pigment in age spots is lipofuscin, a complex mixture of fats, proteins, and metals, especially iron. It is waste material from worn-out cellular structures that the body cannot easily eliminate, and it piles up inside cells, including heart muscle cells and nerve cells. We do not know whether accumulation of lipofuscin is a cause of aging or a result of it, or whether cells stuffed full of it suffer damage. In the skin these accumulations are considered a cosmetic problem.
I'm afraid there's no natural way to eliminate them. Over-the-counter whitening or 'fading creams' don't work. The only topical products that can lighten the spots are Retin-A (available in Botswana with a prescription), which contain retinoic acid and alpha-hydroxy acid and are available mostly by prescription. These drugs can fade age spots over time; if you apply them as directed. Your regular physician or dermatologist can prescribe Retin-A, but bear in mind that both of these drugs increase the skin's sensitivity to the sun, so that once you begin to use them, you'll have to apply sunscreen daily in order to avoid burning.
Even if you decide to live with your age spots, it's a good idea to see a dermatologist about them just to make sure they are not precancerous lesions that have to be removed for medical, not cosmetic, reasons.