BONES OF CONTENTION: Findings from a recent European study have shown that Irish women are not doing enough to prevent the risk of developing osteoporosis.
With more than 33,000 Irish women over the age of 50 experiencing bone fractures as a result of a minor fall and one in three women in the State suffering from the condition, the Irish Osteoporosis Society has produced a booklet to help women protect their health as they get older. Essential Health Information for Women gives an overview of the important aspects of health for women and suggestions of how to achieve both immediate and long-term benefits for healthy bones. For further information, contact 01 6774267 or www.irishosteoporosis.ie
SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY: World Suicide Prevention Day is next Friday, the 10th September. To mark the occasion, a candlelit vigil will be held between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the forecourt of the Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin. All are welcome to join with the GAA president, Seán Kelly, in what the organisers say will be a solemn occasion of remembrance and acknowledgement for those who have died.
HEALTHY TEACHINGS: School principals and teachers should start healthy eating lunch box campaigns, according to the Irish Nutrition and Dietetics Institute. In a move designed to reduce childhood obesity, the INDI recommends that school lunches include one or more serving from each shelf of the food pyramid to meet one third of children's daily nutritional requirements. See www.indi.ie for fact sheet on healthy lunches.
SMART EATING: Eating broccoli and tomatoes in combination could maximize the amount of cancer protection both foods offer, according to a study on rats. Lead study author, John Erdman, professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana, said the study showed the rats had markedly less prostate cancer tumour growth than rats fed either food alone and also less tumour growth than rats fed the specific cancer-fighting agents isolated from tomatoes and broccoli. The synergy between foods is a growing area of interest among food scientists.