Organic farming is not new, it has existed for thousands of years, in fact since farming began.  Over the last 60 years or so with the development of fertilizers and other modern technologies, traditional farming methods have gone into decline.  After World War II we saw advances in food production methods with the aim of decreasing the cost of food.  It is now the case that food production using modern technologies has become the norm.

Today, although organic farming still exists, it is carried out by a small minority of growers and farmers.  Very strict regulations are in place to determine if food can be classified as truly organic.  The use of certain fertilizers, perticides, genetic engineering , growth hormones, irradiation and antibiotics in the absence of disease are prohibited.

It is a commonly held belief that organic food is better for us and there is an ever growing consumer demand for this type of produce.  Organic food has certainly become extremely fashionable but it is also extremely expensive.

So is organic food actually better for us or not?  This is the question that the Food Standards Agency in the UK  addressed in a recent study it commissioned.  The study was conducted by the London School of Hygiene  & Medicine.  All papers published over the last 50 years relating to nutritional content and health differences between the two types of produce were reviewed.  The team concluded that there was no significant difference in nutritional value between organic and non organic produce.

Can we now breath a sigh of relief and abandon the organic section in our local supermarket?  I think not.  This is a perfectly fine study but it deals with only one issue i.e. nutritional value.  While it is a relief to know that we are eating food of good nutritional value it is not the full story. Food safety is a very important issue.  We do not have any idea for example, what the long term effects of growth hormones will be. We regularly consume these in meat and happily give them to our children.  Even from an aesthetic point of view do we really want to eat irradiated strawberries?  Isn’t is better just to wait until they are in season and just pick them?  What bothers me about the study is not the study in itself but the fact that it will be quoted as a reliable source in support of conventional farming methods without reference to the wider debate.

An essential oil is a concentrate extracted from plants which contain aromatic compounds. These compounds are usually found in the flowers and leaves of plants where they are responsible for the scent of the plant. Because they evaporate quite easily they are often referred to as volatile oils.  Many people believe that essential oils have therapeutic properties and so they are often used in alternative therapies such as message therapy and aromatherapy.

Tea Tree oil is obtained by distilling the leaves of the Meleleuca Alternifolia plant which is native to Australia. The Aboriginal people of Australia traditionally used this oil to treat bruises, insect bites and skin infections. They would crush the leaves and apply them to the affected skin. Scientific studies have since shown that Tea Tree Oil has antimicrobial properties effective against bacteria, yeast and viruses. In addition one study has shown that 5% Tea Tree oil is more effective than commercial medication for the treatment of scabies.

Tea Tree Oil can be found as a pure essential oil and can also be found as an ingredient in shampoos, soaps and creams etc.

There are some side effects associated with the use of this oil. Undiluted oil may cause skin irritation, blistering and itching. It should never be swallowed even in small doses. If swallowed it can cause amongst other things, diarrhea and central nervous system damage. It should also be avoided if you are pregnant or breastfeeding and it should be kept out of reach of children and pets.

Another rather surprising study found that three young boys who had used products containing Tea Tree Oil and Lavender Oil had developed enlarged breasts. When they discontinued the use of these products the breast size returned to normal.

Despite these side effects, if used properly Tea Tree Oil seems to  be a useful product against such skin conditions as Acne, Dandruff, Thrush and Athletes Foot.

I noticed in the media this week reports about two ladies who had opted to have liposuction as a means of controlling their body image. Sadly one lady died as a result of complications from the surgery. The other who also had breast reduction surgery regained all the weight she had lost and is now back to where she started.

What strikes me is the fact that both these women wanted to regain their figure following the birth of a child. Liposuction may be a solution for some women. I cannot say, I am not an expert. What I can say is that we are under increasing pressure to look perfect. We are surrounded by images of the perfect woman. The celebrity who looks perfect six weeks after giving birth is hailed as the ideal. Can we not even give ourselves time to enjoy a baby?  If appearance is what gives us validation in life then we are simply setting ourselves up for disappointment. We will be fighting this battle for the whole of our lives.

I believe in exercise and diet as a lifestyle choice. I believe it allows us to enjoy an active life maybe even to extend an active life. There is nothing wrong with a bit of glamour and fun and yes it is nice to fit into nice clothes. It is the search for the perfect body that is the problem. We have to begin to accept that it is the Hollywood image that is unnatural and not the rest of us.

Finally one sure way to begin to get back to your pre pregnancy shape is to breast feed. Not only does this stimulate your uterus to contract back to its original size but every pound your baby gains is a pound you do not gain yourself.

I have just read a book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. It’s a funny and very moving story written originally in French and now translated into 30 languages. I read it in English but I thought I would buy it in French for my daughter as she speaks the language. I checked on amazon uk and a French language version was 20 pounds. Then I had a little brainwave and I checked on amazon.fr to find the book including post would cost 12 euros. which is equivalent to 10 pounds.

Even though  I speak very little French there was no difficulty navigating the site as the format and the icons are the same as the English version. It occured to me that if you are sourcing items for sale on ebay that a look at foreign language amazon sites might yield some interesting bargains.

I recently came accross an article which mentioned a condition known as Nature Deficit Disorder. Being of a somewhat sceptical nature I assumed that this was some quack fashionable diagnosis for people with more money than sense. Looking into it some more however, I admit that there was a bit of a rush to judgment on my part.

Richard Louv is a respected writer who has published books and articles on community and family life. He writes  mainly about peoples’ relationship with nature. In his book, Child Lost in the Woods, published to hugh acclaim in the U.S. in 2005, he describes a condition which he calls Nature Deficit Disorder.

His basic premise is that the children of today are so protected that many rarely explore the environment beyond a few yards of their home. As a result their interaction with nature is severely limited. Some children never get to experience the smells of the countryside. They may not notice the changing colours of the seasons, they may never have been stung by an insect. They definitely do not get to play with the kind of abandon their parents would have experienced as children.

It is the case that parents are trying to protect their children from such things as traffic, drugs, lurking strangers or possible abduction. But Louv believes that overprotection carries with it its own risks. Certainly if you look at increasing obesity rates in children and the boredom and low mood in some children, Louv has a strong case to make.

I’m looking  forward to the publication of his book in Europe as I think he is covering a fascinating area that I would like to know more about. I will reserve judgment on the disorder claim until later, but I believe there must be some consequence to the sedentary lifestyle of the children of today.

If you would like to know more about  Richard Louv  you can visit his website here.

This week I took a few days off to go on a walking trip in the west of Ireland. Luckily the weather was fantastic. The most enjoyable achievement was the climb to the top of Croagh Patrick. This is a 2500 foot mountain which has been regarded as a sacred site since prechristian times. There is a tradition of pilgrimage to this mountain stretching back 5000 years. This is also the mountain where St. Patrick is reputed to have spent 40 days fasting and from where he banished snakes from Ireland.

The trek to the top is a difficult walk especially the final section where you walk on loose stones. The view from the top is breathtaking and luckily there was no mist on the day that we were there. However if the walk up was difficult the walk down was really hard. The loose stones just keep moving under your feet and it is so easy to slip. Its also a little disconcerting to see youngsters actually running on the mountain. I know they are in training for a triathlon called Gael Force which involves Kayaking on Killary Harbour, Cycling to Croagh Patrick and running  up and down!!!! Not for the faint hearted.

Here I am at the top of Croagh Patrick

There were lots of people climbing the mountain and there was a great sense of camararderie.  There is also a great sense of achievement which makes you think about the beauty and the wonder of the world.

There are reports in the media at the moment about the possible beneficial effect of eating curry.

The Alzheimer Society in the UK say that “Indian communities that regularly eat curcumin have a surprisingly  low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease but we don’t yet know why”. Curcumin is found in the spice Turmeric which is an ingredient in many curry mixtures.

Research carried out in mice suggests that curcummin may break down the amyloid plaques found in the brains of alzheimer sufferers. It is thought that it may also be effective in preventing the formation of theses plaques. More work in humans needs to be carried out to confirm these findings and of course it is possible that there is a completely different reason for the low incidence of alzheimers in Indians.

This has prompted me to share a recipe for cooking rice which I picked up at a cookery demonstration  couple of years ago. For six people you will need

• 18oz of good quality long grain rice
• 32 fl oz of stock
• 1 tablespoon of turmeric

Add the rice to a greased oven proof dish. Pour in the stock and mix in the turmeric. Cover and cook at 175C for 40 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. This is a simple way to cook rice. It works for me every time and the turmeric gives the rice a lovely warm flavour.

Maybe nothing will come of the research and it is possible that very large quantities of turmeric may need to be consumed in order to have a beneficial effect. In the meantime until we have the results of these studies it cannot do any harm to eat more curry!

A couple of years ago researchers in Queens University in Belfast undertook a study on homeopathy.

Basically the idea behind homeopathy is that like cures like. This is a belief that illness can be cured by small doses of a substance that causes the same symptoms as the illness itself. Homeopaths dilute these substances to the point where there may be none of the original active ingredient left in solution. They claim that the potions still work because the water or alcohol used for dilution retains a memory or imprint of the original ingredient. Not surprisingly this does not go down well with the scientific community. None the less homeopathy is very popular and many people believe in it.

The study conducted in Belfast came about when Professor Madeleine Ennis attended a conference where a speaker was promoting the concept of water memory. Expressing scepticism she was given a challenge to investigate this matter for herself.

Her study involved the use of basophils which are white blood cells. Basophils produce histamine during inflamation. When sufficient histamine is produced the cells stop producing any more. In other words, histamine at high concentrations, causes basophils to stop producing histamine. Professor Ennis and her team found that solutions that were so dilute they probably contained no histamine at all were successful in deactivating the basophils. This was a completely unexpected result for the team. Their work was published and the authors encouraged others to conduct further investigations.

This brings me to the James Randi Education Foundation. This foundation offers a million dollars to anyone who can show evidence of paranormal activity. Although I don’t know that I would regard homeopathy as paranormal, in any event the foundation accepted a challenge from the BBC to hand over a million dollars if it could prove the efficacy of a homeopathic remedy. The experiment was carried out for the Horizon programme by Wayne Turnbull  at Guys Hospital in London. The experiment was similar to but not identical to the Belfast experiment. Fortunately for the Randi Foundation the experiment failed to show a positive homeopathic result and their million dollars is safe.

Homeopathy was founded by Samuel Hahnemann about 200 years ago. Hahnemann was a doctor disillusioned by medical practices of the day claiming that they did more harm than good. This is not in any doubt and in fact his concept of like curing like is pretty much the basis of modern immunisation. There is no denying his commitment to science and his attempts to improve matters for patients. Conventional medicine has come a long way since those days but it does not take homeopathy seriously. I admit I am a non believer in homeopathy but the real issue here is not whether it is true but whether scientists are prepared to keep an open mind. If something cannot be proven does that make it false?

The Randi Million Dollar challenge remains open until 2010.

This is a phenomenon that many people are familiar with. Basically what happens is that people who are initially successful on a diet go on to regain all the weight they have lost. Not only does this happen, but you may also gain extra weight so you end up heavier than when you started. This can happen no matter what diet you decide on. As a result people try many different types of diet in an attempt to find the perfect one that will work that all elusive miracle. One quick look on line or in a bookshop will reveal countless diet books and their associated success stories. However if dieting were enough on its own then surely we would need only one diet book!

Many researchers have studied specific diets to ascertain their effectiveness. In 2007 a group of researchers at UCLA led by Traci Mann took 31 of these studies and  performed an in-depth analysis of them. They found that regardless of the type of diet undertaken, people typically lost 5 to 10 percent of their starting weight in the first six months. They then found that up to 2 thirds will regain more weight than they lost within four or five years. This figure may actually be higher as some studies had poor follow up rates. The researchers did not study the efficacy of individual diets, rather they studied the effect of dieting itself. They have concluded that diets are not an effective way to treat obesity.

Work reported from Stanford University is much in agreement with these findings. They find that 80 to 85 percent of those who lose a large amount of weight will regain it over time.

It would seem therefore that the yo yo effect is a true consequence of dieting. So if dieting does not work, then what does?

Exercise may be a key factor in sustained weight loss. According to researchers people who report the most exercise also report the most weight loss. Even simple tactics such as walking and using the stairs has been shown to be effective.

With the alarming rise in obesity rates in the west the focus now must be on how to maintain weight loss rather than how to achieve weight loss.  Here are some simple strategies that may be helpful.

• Keep a food diary for a week. Many people will be surprised by the amount they unknowingly consume. There may also be hidden calories in such things as drinks and juices that you don’t think about.
• Try to make some simple changes in your diet. For example instead of having a sweet drink you could substitute water (you can flavor this with a squeeze of lemon ). You should also cut down or eliminate completely snacks which contain sugar. These snacks are often only a habit.
• Look at your portion size and see if it is really too large. Again this is often a habit.
• Introduce exercise into your daily routine. For example you could park your car further from your destination or incorporate a walk in the evenings. Even introducing a little exercise will have a significant effect on maintaining weight loss.

The bottom line is that losing weight and maintaining the loss will require a lifestyle change. Changes that you introduce into your diet will have to be maintained to some extent after you have reached your target weight. If this is accompanied by an increase in exercise you will have a greater chance of succeeding.

Because my mother suffers from Parkinsons Disease I have a personal interest in the treatment options being developed for these patients. In Parkinsons disease there is a significant loss of brain cells and these cells cannot be replaced. Treatment consists largely of minimising the result of this loss. Up to now the greatest hope for the future has been in stem cell research but this is a very controversial topic. Scientists have worked with two types of stem cell, either embryonic or adult. However there has been an exciting new development coming from Dr.Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University who has developed a third option.

Embryonic Stem Cells. These cells are harvested from embryos and in doing so the embryo is destroyed. The cells are ideal for research  as they can be induced to form any of the more than 200 different cell types we have in our bodies. They are referred to as pluripotent and represent very powerful tools in the potential treatment of many diseases. The main problem here is the ethical issue which I believe is insoluble. Either you believe you are destroying human life in harvesting stem cells or you believe you are dealing with an undifferentiated clump of cells.

Adult Stem Cells. These are stem cells  are found in the tissues of our bodies. They can generate an unlimited supply of cells but only of the specific tissue from which they come. A well known example is bone marrow transplant. Blood cells are formed in bone marrow. Stem cells found in bone marrow have been successfully transplanted to people suffering from various blood disorders. There are very few ethical issues associated with the use of adult stem cells and there are no major issues associated with the source of the adult cells. However it has always been considered that embryonic cells offer greater potential for  future developments.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS). Dr.Shinya Yamanaka  has developed a technique for transforming ordinary adult cells into pluripotent stem cells. The benefit is that there can now be a supply of cells equivalent to embryonic cells but which carry no ethical problems for  scientists. The possibility for research and development is immense. This is all in the very early stages of development but Dr. Yamanaka hopes to have clinical trials running within 10 years.

This development will be too late for people of my mothers generation but the outlook for future sufferers of degenerative diseases is suddenly brighter.