The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Vitamin D supplements don’t fend off colds, new study finds Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:31 AM PDT  A New Zealand study finds no evidence that taking vitamin D supplements can fend off colds. — shutterstock.com pic While prior studies have suggested that vitamin D plays a role in the body's immune system, a team from New Zealand did the "gold standard" of tests, according to the BBC, which means a randomised placebo-controlled trial, to see if supplements of the vitamin had any impact on colds. The researchers from the University of Otago in Christchurch assigned 322 healthy adults to take either vitamin D supplements or a placebo once a month for 18 months. Participants received either an initial dose of 200,000 IU oral vitamin D, then 200,000 IU one month later, or a placebo administered in an identical dosing regimen. As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, by the end of the study, both groups averaged just under four upper respiratory tract infections each, with symptoms lasting an average of 12 days in both groups. According to the BBC, adults catch between two and four colds a year and children up to 10 a year. While humans mostly get vitamin D from sunlight on skin, vitamin D does occur naturally in certain foods, such as oily fish like salmon and sardines. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| South Korea aims to bring calm at bridge over troubled water Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:46 AM PDT SEOUL, Oct 3 — South Korea aims to promote a message of life and hope and at a bridge over the River Han in the capital, Seoul that has the unenviable reputation as the favourite place for people wanting to commit suicide. South Korea's suicide rate has been the highest among developed nations for the past eight years, with almost 43 people choosing to end their lives every day. The Mapo Bridge, one of 25 over the capital's river, has seen 108 suicide attempts in the past five years but authorities aim to bring that down by placing signs along it with messages such as: "the best part of your life is yet to come". "At first we considered constructing a wall but that is just a band-aid," said Seoul city government officer Park Haung-jae. "In fact, more people came to the river after screen doors were installed at subway stations," said Park, referring to screens at subway platforms to stem a spate of suicides there. The messages on the railing on the Mapo Bridge were chosen by psychiatrists and are aimed at reducing tension and even getting people to relax with humour. "Did you know gorillas all have blood type B?" reads one message. Another bears a standard Korean greeting: "Have you eaten yet?" "Doesn't it feel good to be outside walking on a bridge?" asks another, while another simply says, "Worries are nothing". Some photographs of cheerful members of a family have been posted and there's even a statue of a person comforting another. Park Young-ki, chairman of the Korea Suicide Prevention Union, said people considering suicide were highly agitated. "By looking at phrases or images they like it may help them come to themselves," Park said. "Those who try to commit suicide want someone to stop them." Experts say a major reason for South Korea's high suicide rate is a reluctance to bring up issues like mental illness or stress in a society in which people fear being stigmatised. — Reuters |
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