HEALTH | NEWS
New studies, books, apps and more to help you stay well in mind and body.
MENOPAUSE MATTERS
Growing awareness of both menopause symptoms and the treatments available has seen hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions soar. According to latest figures from the NHS, 11 million items were prescribed for HRT in 2022/2023, which is a 47 per cent increase from 2021/22. So, more women are accessing this treatment to reduce menopause symptoms of fatigue, low mood, sweats and poor sleep. Openness and education about menopause is championed by celebrities such as Davina McCall and Lorraine Kelly, as well as by Top Santé. However, there’s still a long way to go as more than twice as many patients were prescribed HRT drugs in affluent areas compared to the most deprived. A HRT prescription prepayment cer tificate to reduce the cost is available at £19.30 per year from nhsbsa.nhs.uk.
NEW READ
The Habit Mechanic: Fine-Tune Your Brain and Supercharge How You Live, Work, and Lead by Dr Jon Finn (£16.99, Tougher Minds Publishing). Fine-tune your thinking to drop bad habits and discover new tools for creating beneficial ones. It’s full of science-based insights and practical guidance to quickly transform your mindset so you feel better and perform better at work. The author has worked in performance psychology for more than 20 years, using the latest findings from behavioural science and neuroscience to help people become more resilient.
Wired to be veggie
Being a vegetarian may be partly in your genes, says a new study that suggests your genetic make-up plays a role in whether or not you can stick to a strict vegetarian diet. Scientists from Northwestern University compared UK Biobank genetic data from 5,324 strict vegetarians. The study identified three genes that are significantly associated with vegetarianism and another 31 genes that are potentially associated. Several of these genes are involved in lipid (fat) metabolism. It’s theorised that meat contains fats that some people need, whereas if your genes favour vegetarianism, you can synthesise them yourself. It’s hoped the findings will lead to improved personalised dietary recommendations.
COLD COMFORT
If you’ve ever had a cold that seems to drag on forever, you may have caught a “long cold”. The term is better known in relation to lingering Covid-19 symptoms. But you can also experience long-term colds after non-Covid-19 respiratory infections, says a new study from Queen Mary University of London. Common long cold symptoms are coughing, stomach pain and diarrhoea more than four weeks after initial infection. Findings suggest there are longlasting health impacts following non-COVID acute re
