Eat Curry, Live Longer. And Get A Dog

Away from anything virus-related, some of the other wellness stories which have been making the news this week.

For those craving a curry, you’re onto a good thing. According to Harvard researchers, spicy foods are associated with longer life. People who ate spicy foods almost every day had a 14% lower risk of death than those who only ate spicy foods once a week. Why? According to the study’s author Dr Lu Qi:
"(There is) Some evidence from other studies suggests the bioactive ingredients in spicy foods such as capsaicin may lower 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides and improve inflammation." Paneer tikka masala, please
If ever there was any more justification needed for getting a dog, there now seems to be cardiovascular reasons. New studies have found that having a dog is associated with multiple health benefits, including improved heart health. To invoke another animal, the researchers aren’t sure if it’s chicken or egg thing. “What we really want to know is whether owning dogs produces better health or if it just means that healthier individuals are more likely to own dogs.”

Want to make fewer mistakes? Try meditation. Researchers suggest that by practising meditation, you are able to recognise mistakes and are more likely, therefore, to stop them from happening again. Two hundred people who had never meditated before were tested and though the study did not find that the number of mistakes in the test was reduced overall, it was clear that meditation did increase error awareness.
A new study from Yale University argues that smokers can contaminate public spaces by carrying dangerous chemicals through their bodies and clothes. Known as ‘third-hand’ smoking - when residual cigarette smoke contaminates walls and other surfaces - the new study has revealed that third-hand smoke can travel in large quantities indoors via humans.
As one of the researchers explained, “People are substantial carriers of third-hand smoke contaminants to other environments. So, the idea that someone is protected from the potential health effects of cigarette smoke because they’re not directly exposed to second-hand smoke is not the case.”

And, erm….

Could the cure to arthritis be… scorpion venom? Research shows that a protein found within scorpion venom could one day be used to treat arthritis. Although the study is several years off human testing, it is believed that the venom could be used to provide relief for long-term sufferers. Current steroid treatments carry the risk of higher blood pressure and an increased chance of infection, so it is hoped that this could be a safer approach for the 10 million sufferers of arthritis in the UK, and 54 million in the US.

Mar 13 This News Will Change Your Life. Or Not