Mediterranean Diet can help improve the heart and erections

Men suffering with erectile dysfunction are often linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke, but adhering to a healthy Mediterranean diet can decrease this risk, according to a new study.

The Mediterranean diet has repeatedly been linked to huge health gains such as ideal for weight loss, reducing the risk of cancer, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as being beneficial for the skin with various anti-aging boosts.

The diet is usually comprises of a daily consumption of plenty of fruit, vegetables, beans (legumes), grains, pasta, olive oil and nuts. It also contains moderate amounts of chicken and fish, with a small amount of red wine allowed as this has been shown to boost the health benefits of the diet, helping to thin the blood safely while providing its benefit through the antioxidant resveratrol.

Erectile dysfunction patients that have poor diets often have substantially more vascular and cardiac damage. Therefore, Grecian researchers wanted to conduct research to determine if the Mediterranean diet – touted as having cardiovascular benefits – could reduce the outcome of that risk, and explained their findings at the annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging in Austria.

The study included 75 men with erectile dysfunction with an average age of 56. All had attended Hippokration Hospital in Athens, Greece – thereby having a bigger access to Mediterranean food than most – and had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction.

Grecian doctor Dr. Athanasios Angelis, involved in the study, commented in a press release: “Erectile dysfunction is not a symptom of aging. It is a bad sign from the body that something is wrong with the vasculature. In 80 percent of cases erectile dysfunction is caused by vascular problems, and is a warning that patients are at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.”

It was discovered that those patients that were not sticking to a Mediterranean diet had hearts and vascular systems in a poorer condition in comparison to those that often consumed foods from the diet on a regular basis.

Dr Angelis added: “Patients with erectile dysfunction who had unhealthy diets had more vascular and cardiac damage than those who followed the Mediterranean diet. Previous studies have shown that patients with erectile dysfunction have vascular damage but we found that the heart is also damaged. This may help to further explain why these patients are more prone to cardiovascular events. The formation of atheroma, the stiffening of the arteries, and the poor functioning of the heart can eventually lead to a cardiac event.”

“Our findings suggest that adopting the Mediterranean diet can improve the cardiovascular risk profile of patients with erectile dysfunction and may reduce their chances of having a heart attack or stroke. This needs to be tested in a larger study.”

Dr Angelis also offered advice for those on a lower budget, saying: “Really simple changes in our diet may help a lot, for example using olive oil which contains monounsaturated fat. If someone doesn’t have the money to buy some of the foods they can substitute them with others, for example nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fat. Sometimes it’s difficult to adopt something if you consider that it’s part of a prescription, but the Mediterranean diet is not a prescription, it’s a lifestyle. It’s about having an awareness of what foods are healthy or unhealthy.”

He concluded: “Patients who have erectile dysfunction and don’t adhere to the Mediterranean diet have vascular and cardiac damage and are at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Our findings suggest that adopting a healthy diet can reduce that risk. We also advise patients to stop smoking, exercise and ensure that they have healthy levels of blood pressure and lipids.”

Would you shell out for a slimy snail facial?

As they slowly crawl about the garden, slimy snails can be an unsightly and an unwanted thing to see to say the very least. However, a ‘snail facial’ (yes, you read that correctly!), could actually offer anti-aging benefits for your skin, according to those offering this bizarre new procedure.

Having live snails slowly inching their way around your face may sound the stuff nightmares are made of, but this practice is being used as a beauty treatment in Japan.

Beginning today, the Clinical Salon health spa in the Ebisu district of Tokyo, is offering the snail facial for those brave enough to endure five minutes of snails being let free on the cheeks and forehead to randomly move around as they see fit.

This is part of a 60-minute treatment called the Celebrity Escargot Course. The treatment will set you back a whopping £161 (Y24,150), but the secreted snail mucus is said to contain several proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, which can apparently stave off dry skin, remove dead skin and minimise inflammation.

The hour-long therapy begins with the face being washed prior to the molluscs being placed on cheeks and the forehead. A series of massages comes next, followed by the use of masks, electrical pulse machines and creams containing snail mucus; all to make sure the live secretions infiltrate the skin.

Yoko Miniami, sales manager at Tokyo’s Clinical Salon which offers the treatment, said: “This salon is the only place in Japan where you can try a live snail facial. Snail slime can help the recovery of skin cells on the face, so we expect the snail facial to help heal damaged skin.”

Tokyo is probably a little too far to travel for Brits who have overdone the sunbathing during the recent hot weather – which is still continuing in the UK – but Miniami says the snail facial could help those with the after-effects of sun damage. She commented: “We are interested in the fact that snails have a function that can help heal skin damaged by ultraviolet rays.”

During the last two years in Japan and South Korea, snail face creams, serums and masks have become popular for many people looking to reduce wrinkles and have better skin. This is on top of other ‘out there’ treatments such as nightingale faeces facials and live fish pedicures.

These ‘alternative’ skin treatments are not for everybody however and may only appeal to a small percentage of those who wish to have younger looking skin.

Proven and popular treatments for acne and wrinkles include Differin Gel, Differin Cream and Epiduo Gel. They are available today from Medical Specialists Pharmacy with or without a prescription. If you are a little squirmish, they could prove a much better option than slithery snails being let loose onto your face!

Actress Anna Friel receives backlash for her extreme dieting

Keen readers of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy news area are always kept up to the date regarding the UK’s obesity crisis and how scientists learn new information about what factors can impact weight. However, slightly different news is on the agenda today after the actress Anna Friel has been heavily criticised for setting a bad example to impressionable kids, after she spoke about the extreme methods she undergoes for anti-aging and preserving her slender figure.

The 36-year-old Rochdale-born star found fame in the early 1990s after appearing in the Merseyside-based soap Brookside and has since featured in numerous films such as the Goal! Series and 2011’s Limitless which also starred Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

During an interview with Grazia magazine, Friel says she adhered to the detoxing ‘master cleanse’ diet for a two month period. The strict regime controversially involves banishing all food and instead restricting yourself to liquids, with Friel’s diet consisting of surviving on 12 cups per day of a cocktail of maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water.

In addition to its purported weight loss benefits, Friel told Grazia magazine that she also uses the diet to improve the condition of her skin, saying: “I’ve been drinking it for two months and I feel so much better and my skin has really benefited. If you’re vain, as you get older you start thinking, ‘I’ve got to do everything I can to save my skin. I’ve tried everything.”

It is not specified from the interviewer or Friel herself if she has been adhering to the diet for a sustained period of two months, but one would assume this is unlikely bearing in mind that on the master cleanse diet you are confined to a mere 600 calories a day. This could be viewed as almost starvation though when considering that many health experts state that for an average woman to maintain her weight, she needs to consume 2000 calories a day – although this does depend on the woman’s age and how much physical activity she is engaging in.

However, Sioned Quirke, of the British Dietetic Association, has criticised the diet, branding it ‘extreme and unnecessary’. The dietician commented: “From a nutritional point of view, you are lacking in all the essential nutrients which your body requires on a daily basis to function. How could you possibly feel better if you are depriving yourself of everything that your body needs to survive? If you are lacking in these nutrients for a matter of days, let alone weeks, your body will suffer. It’s a myth that what you eat affects your skin. We have a liver and it’s very good at its job. So any detoxing that needs to be done is done by the liver.”

Quirke, 31, doubted Friel’s claims of sticking to the diet for two months, adding: “I can’t imagine anyone surviving on it for longer than a week, let alone two months, so you’ve got to take what she says with a pinch of salt.”

The ‘master cleanse’ has also been tried by numerous other celebrities for weight loss such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé and Naomi Campbell. However, this diet is one of only a few things that Friel is trying in her quest for eternal youth. The actress is also undergoing ‘vampire facials’, a technique also recently used by Kim Kardashian, whereby blood plasma is taken from the body and then injected into the face.

Friel says: “Vampire facials involve taking two vials of blood from your arm and reinjecting it back into your skin. It’s meant to help your skin heal itself and boosts collagen. It makes my skin really glowy and tight again. And I always have a Cryoderm treatment before a red carpet. “People say I look really good afterwards [following a Cryoderm treatment]. I also do the old-fashioned method at home, where I fill my sink with ice cubes and hold them on my face for a minute. I felt sick recently because I found one or two grey hairs and I read that curry leaves help to maintain your hair colour, so I mix them with hot water and drink it as a tea. I’m always searching for pure, natural skin products and Trilogy is great for that too, their Everything Balm is fantastic.”

Of course, expensive Cryoderm treatments are not the only way to try and achieve younger-looking skin and there are other anti-wrinkle treatments available out there! Luckily Medical Specialists Pharmacy has such treatments and some of which work to combat adult acne too. Visit the anti-wrinkle page for a detailed look at the different products we offer to decide which is most suitable for you.