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Week of March 20, 2001


Parents may someday be able to treat their children's ear infections with a dose of good bacteria.  Although antibiotics can clear up an ear infection, they kill the good bacteria in the ear, leaving the child susceptible to a second infection.  In a Swedish study, children with acute ear infections were treated with a spray containing five bacteria that are usually part of the middle ear.  They found those children were less likely to have a recurrent infection than kids who were given a placebo.  

 

And parents may want to limit their child's soft drink intake if the child has a weight problem.  An American study showed that children who drank even one sweetened soft drink a day had a 60 per cent greater chance of becoming obese.  And the soft-drink link is independent of the food children eat, how much television they watch or how much exercise they get.

 
In other nutrition news, fat food can make you stupid.  A study in Toronto compared the cognitive function of rats on a high-fat diet, with rats that were fed low-fat foods.  After three months, the junk-food rats showed severe impairment on a wide range of learning and memory tasks.  Researchers say people may want to reconsider a popular weight loss diet that promotes high-fat and low carbohydrates.

 

 

 


 
 
 

© TVOntario, 2003

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This website contains general information on the stories featured on Your Health. Although it’s our goal to provide comprehensive information on health and medical issues, please be advised that we cannot provide individual medical advice on specific health problems.
  


© TVOntario, 2000