Health briefs

Dec 19, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Hearing difficulty can be symptom of illness

Berlin (dpa) - Being hard of hearing is rarely an isolated ailment, but rather a symptom of underlying illness, and for this reason patients should undergo not merely a hearing test, but also a thorough ear, nose and throat examination.

Dirck Heinrich, head of the association of German ear, nose and throat specialists, says the origins of hearing difficulties could lie in tumours on the auditory nerve, ailments of the middle ear or noise-induced hearing loss.

Conductive hearing loss or degenerative processes could also be the cause. But Heinrich notes that hearing loss in the elderly is generally attributable to the normal ageing process.

Taking exercise makes giving up smoking easier

Berlin (dpa) - Smokers trying to quit the habit should put themselves on a fitness course, as sport and exercise cut back the insistent longing to smoke a cigarette, according to the German Lung Foundation (DLS).

Especially in the case of young and male smokers, regular exercise makes them less likely to start smoking again, as was shown by a study conducted by the West Virginia University School of Medicine.

The study, taking in a group of 233 smokers aged between 14 and 19 years, showed that a higher level of fitness improved breathing performance, which is usually negatively affected by frequent smoking.

Endurance sports like cycling, swimming and jogging have a particularly beneficial effect on breathing. In addition, the new non-smokers did not put on weight as easily as a result of their enhanced fitness.

The DLS reports that smokers often counter the urge for a cigarette by eating sweets, putting on weight as a result, at least temporarily.

A daily glass of orange juice sufficient for Vitamin C requirement

Berlin (dpa) - As little as 200 millilitres of orange juice per day contains 86 per cent of the recommended daily Vitamin C intake of an adult. The same amount is also taken in by eating two clementines, a German consumer organization says.

A single mandarin contains around 26 milligrams of Vitamin C, corresponding to 43 per cent of the recommended daily intake for an adult. Anyone who is put off by the pips in mandarins can switch to clementines - the seedless cross between a mandarin and an orange. The fruit provide not only Vitamin C, but also vital roughage. The walls dividing the segments are full of secondary vegetable matter that promotes the metabolism.

Diabetics can keep blood sugar under control with roughage

Berlin (dpa) - Diabetics are able to have a positive impact on their blood sugar levels by eating foods high in roughage content. For this reason, they should eat three portions of vegetables a day, along with two portions of fruit and whole-grain cereals.