8/4/2019 Gardening proves to be the wonder drug for a wide variety of human ailments

1/1

A17WESTCOAST NEWS ||BREAKING NEWS: VANCOUVERSUN.COM | SATURDAY, APRIL18, 2009

HEALTH&SCIENCE

QUICK STUDY | Pregnancy

Giving up smoking before15 weeks may benefit baby.

THEQUESTION Ifa womanquitssmoking earlyin pregnancy,doesher babystill facehigherrisksthanif shehadneversmoked?

THISSTUDY analyseddata on2,504pregnant women.About80per centwerenon-smokers,10per centquit smoking before

the15th weekof pregnancyand10per centcontinuedto smokewhilepregnant.Ratesof prema-turebirths andsmaller-than-nor-malbabies werehighestamongsmokers andvirtually thesameamongwomenwhoneversmokedandthose whohadstopped:For prematurebirth,10percent amongsmokersvs.fourpercentfortheothers;forsmallbabies,17percentvs.10per

cent.Uncomplicated deliveriesweremore common amongwomenwhohad stopped smok-ingthan thosewhosmoked.

WHOMAYBE AFFECTED?Preg-nantwomen.Smokingduringpregnancyexposesthe babyinthewombto nicotine andcar-bonmonoxide,which canrestrictthechildsaccessto oxygenandfood.Smokingby pregnantwomenalsohasbeenlinkedto

anincreasein stillbirths,ectopicpregnancies,miscarriages,pre-maturedeliveriesandbabiesweighingless thannormalatbirth.

CAVEATSThewomens smokingstatuswasbasedon theirre-sponsesto questionnaires.Theauthors encouragedall pregnantwomen tostop smoking,notingthatimprovedpregnancy out-comeshavebeen notedin

womenwhostopbyas late as32weeksgestation.

FINDTHIS STUDYMarch26 on-line issueofBMJ.

LEARNMORE ABOUTsmokingandpregnancyat www.lun-gusa.org(searchfor pregnancy)andwww.acog.org(clickPubli-cations,thenPatient EducationPamphlets).

Theresearchdescribedin Quick

Studycomesfromcredible,peer-

reviewed journals.Nonetheless,

conclusiveevidenceabout a treat-

mentseffectivenessis rarelyfound

ina singlestudy.Anyoneconsider-

ingtreatmentofany kindshould

consultwithaphysician.

Washington Post

URBAN CRITTER | The silver-haired bat

WHAT ITS CALLED:Thesilver-hairedbat,or inLatin,Lasionyc-teris noctivagans.

WHAT IT LOOKSLIKE: NotabitlikeDracula notevenadistin-

guished silver-hairedone.Foronethingits bodyiscoveredinfurandrarelygrowstomorethan10centimetres inlength,the sizeofa cigar.(Itswingspancan bethreetimesthat.)And contrary towhatits name implies,itsfur ismainlyblackor sootybrown.Itsonlyalong thebatsback thatitstippedwithwhite or silverystrandsas ifit hadbeenstreaked

ina salon.Italsohasa spotof or-angefur behindeachsmallroundear.

WHERETO FINDIT:AllthewayfromAlaska tonorthern Mexico.

Itshappiestin anold-growthfor-estwhereit buildsroostsin thecavitiesof largetrees,butit cansurvivein forests of buildingstoo.Aslong as thebuildingshaveviews.The silver-hairedbatprefersopensheds,garagesandotheroutbuildingsto anythingwitha closeddoor.Andunlikeother,hardierbats,the silver-haireds ecies findswinterhere

toocoldtobe endured,so itmi-gratessouthin autumnandnorthin spring.But onceitsfounddigsitlikes,itstickstothem.The silver-hairedhas been

knownto travel172kilometrestoa favourite roost.

WHAT IT EATS: Insects espe-ciallymoths,caddisflies,house-flies,midges,mosquitoes,bee-tles,cricketsand ants.Infact,abatwilleatmillionsof insects(aswell astheoddspider)duringitspotentiallylong life.

WHAT EATS IT:Fewnon-human

predatorswill attackbats,thoughraccoons,skunks,weasels,martens,domestic cats,snakes,owlsand hawkshavebeenknownto killthem.By contrast,

humans willdestroytheir homesthroughhabitat destruction;starveor poisonthembykillingtheirprimary foodsourcewithinsecticides;andinterrupttheirhibernationpatternsby wakingthemup.Theseinterruptionssapa batsenergyandmaymakeitimpossibleforit tosurvive thewinter.

HOWIT REPRODUCES:Unlike

otherspecieswhichthrive incolonies,thesilver-hairedbat is aloner.It wonttolerategroups ofmorethan threeor fourindividu-als.Malesandfemaleswillgetto-

gether longenoughto breed.Butalmostnothing is knownabouttheirbreedingbeyondthe factthattwoyoungareproducedinlateJune orearlyJuly,andthatmalesand femalesmaysegre-gatewhenthe femalesare readytogive birth.

NicholasRead

110 LABEL 18 TOP OF PAGE

HEALTH

Tooth bleaching slightly reduces enamel strengthNew research shows human teeth lost some enamel hardness afterthe application of several different products used in the home to

whiten teeth.The study suggests future generations of such productsmight be reformulated in an effort to reduce these side-effects.

The researchers noted that teeth typically can restore their previoushardness after losing small amounts of enamel calcification.However,this is the first study to showat a nanometre scale measuring inbillionths of a metre how human teeth are affected by the popularhome whiteners.

There is some significant reduction in nano-hardness of enamel, butwe are talking on a very minute scale. So even though it may not bevisible to the human eye, its important for research because thatshow we improve products,said Shereen Azer,assistant professor ofrestorative and prosthetic dentistry at Ohio State University.

HEALTH

Technology detects silent heart attacks more commonA studyusingnew imagingtechnologyfound"silent"heart attacksmaybefar morecommon,andmore deadly,than suspected,U.S.researcherssaidon Friday.Some studiesestimatethat theseoftenpainlessheart at-tacks,also knownas unrecognizedmyocardial infarctions,affect200,000peoplein theUnitedStateseach year.

ButDr.Han Kimof DukeUniversityin NorthCarolina,whosestudywillappearnext weekin thePublicLibrary of Science journalPLoSMedicine,suspectsthe numbersmaybe far higher.

Doctorsusuallycantellwhether a patienthas hada recentheartattackbylooking forsignaturechangeson a testof theheartselectricalactivi-tycalled anelectrocardiogramand bycheckingfor certainenzymesintheblood.

For a heartattackthatmighthave occurredin thepast,doctorslookforchangeson anelectrocardiogramcalled a Q-wave,a markerfor dam-agedtissue.Butnot all silentheartattacksresult inQ-waves.

Tospot these,Kim andcolleaguesused a newtype of magneticreso-nanceimagingtechnologycalled delayed enhancement cardiovascularmagneticresonance,whichis especiallyadept atfindingdamagedhearttissue.

SCIENCE

Meat for sex in wild chimpanzeesWild female chimpanzees copulate more frequently with males whoshare meat with themover long periods of time, according to a studyled by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for EvolutionaryAnthropology in Germany.

In recent research conducted in the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast,Cristina Gomes and Christophe Boesch show female chimpanzeescopulate more frequently with males who share meat with them onat least one occasion, compared with males who never share meatwith them,indicating that sharing meat with females improves amalesmating success.Although males were more likely to share meatwith females who had sexual swelling (i.e.estrous females),excludingall sharing episodes with estrous females from the analysis,did notalter the results.This indicates that short-term exchanges alone (i.e.within the estrous phase of the female) cannot account for therelationship between sharing meat and mating success.

LEARNED THIS WEEK

BY AMY OBRIANVANCOUVER SUN

Aime Taylor is well versed in thepower of plants.Not in their medici-nal or nutritional uses, but th e

healthybenefits of simplybeingnear them.Growing them, nurturing them, harvest-

ingthem Taylor hasseenfirst-handhowplants can give purpose, pride and a senseofcommunityto those whomight befeelingisolated,depressed, or helpless.

If you look at the research in environ-mentalpsychology,it shows thatgardeninghelpspeople recover from stressand itcanhelp people focus less on their problems,Taylor said. Evidencehas shown thatgar-dening makes people feel more optimistic,givesthem a regularroutine,a sense ofpur-pose and achievement.

Taylor is a horticulture therapist whoworks in Vancouvergardens alongside dis-abled adults and seniors living in carehomes.

She and her colleagues have seen seniorsgo from listless to animated when intro-ducedto soiland seedlings. Theyhaveseenpeople in wheelchairs who once ex-pressed feelings of physical defeat workhappily in raised garden beds. They haveseen signs of recognition on the faces ofthosewithAlzheimersas theyhelda roseorpicked a tomato.

It is extremely inspiring to see it work,Taylor said. Certainly it seems to be some-thing thats up andcoming.

A developing body of research is addingscientific strength to the widely held beliefthat working in a garden is good for your

mentaland physicalhealth.Abehaviouralresearchstudy conducteda

few years ago at Rutgers University foundthe presenceof flowers atthe bedside or

outside a window triggers happy emo-tions, heightens feelings of life satisfactionandaffects socialbehaviourin positivewaysthatexceedwhatwas previously believed.

Anearlier study,conductedby healthcaredesign expert Roger Ulrich, compared thehospitalrecordsof patientsrecoveringfromgall bladdersurgeryand found those witha

viewof treesratherthana view ofa brickwall spent less time in the hospital andrequiredfewer and less-potent drugs to re-main comfortable.

Horticulture therapy has been around inthisprovince for decades,but is experienc-inga surge ininterest aspeoplediscoverthehealth benefits of digging in the dirt andgrowingtheirown produce.

ChristinePollard, a horticulture therapistwho has grown and raised her own food intheCowichanValleyforyears,soundedvin-dicatedwhen shesaid ina recent interview,Imtrendy. I never thoughtId betrendy.

Pollardhasworked asa horticultural ther-apist and educator for 25 years. She hascountless stories about the people she has

worked with andthewaysin whichtheyvebeen helped byhorticulturetherapy.

What I love about horticulturetherapy isthat we dont look at what people cantdo.

We look at what theycan do and go fromthere,she said.

Pollardonceworkedwitha manwhowasblind and autistic, but very interested inplantsand gardening.

Helearnedhowto identifyplants byfeelandscent,she said.

An elderly woman she once worked withwas stubborn and inactive because she feltconstrained byher walker.

Three months later, she had tossed her

walkeraside andwas outweeding, Pollardsaid.

Forseniorswhogrewupin thecountry orhadgardenswhentheywere younger,flow-ers and vegetables can help them tap intotheir long-term memory.

Butthere is nosweepingmodelfor every-body. Horticulturetherapistsare trainedtodesign specificprograms based on individ-ualneeds andskills.

Forpeoplewithmentalhealthissues,hor-ticulture therapy can be particularly effec-tive.

Gardensareseenasa safeplaceto beandgardeners are seen as safe people, Pollardsaid.

If you take responsibility for a garden,youtake responsibility foryourself.

Pollard will be leading a course in horti-culturetherapy at VanDusenBotanicalGar-denstarting attheend ofApril.

Butforsomethinglessstructured whichwillstillsatisfytheurgeto getdirtunderthefingernails Pollard is a big supporter ofthecommunitygardenmovement.

Nobodycaresabout yourincome oryourjob. They only want to know if you growgoodtomatoes,she said.

Gardeningis a great leveller.For more information on horticulture

therapy, see Aime Taylors website at:www.horticulturaltherapist.com, orC h r i s t i n e P o l l a r d s w e b s i t e a t :www.christinepollard.org

aobrian@vancouversun.com

Gardening proves to be the wonder drugfor a wide variety of human ailments

HORTICULTURE THERAPY

Interest in horticulture therapy surging in British Columbia

GLENNBAGLO/VANCOUVERSUN

Aime Taylor has seen the benefits of horticulture therapy with disabled adults and seniors living in care homes in Vancouver.

CRISTINAGOMES/MAXPLANCKINSTITUTEFOR EVOLUTIONARYANTHROPOLOGY

Utan, an adult male chimpanzee, holding a piece of meat of a redcolobus, with Kinshasa, an adult female chimpanzee with herinfant Kirikou on her back, begging from Utan.