Health Glance
Children who swim regularly in chlorinated pools are five times more likely to develop asthma, research has found.
Swimming is recommended as a good form of exercise for asthmatics because the warm humid air is less likely to trigger attacks than other physical activities.
But mounting research is suggesting that the chlorine used to keep the pools clean could be contributing to the development of the condition.
It is thought the chlorine fumes floating around the surface of the pool may help to trigger the condition by irritating the upper airways.
High intake of the artificial sweetener aspartame may lead to the degeneration of brain cells and various mental disorders, according to a research review conducted by South African scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo and published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Tobacco firms paid huge amounts for endorsements from the stars of Hollywood's "Golden Age".
Inhalers prescribed for serious lung disease may increase the risk of deadly heart problems, say researchers.
The idea that the fluoride added to municipal water supplies is "natural" is a common myth. While Calcium Fluoride is the 5th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, it is Sodium Fluoride (Sodium Hexafluorosilicate), a toxic by-product of Aluminum production, that is added to the drinking water of most states in the U.S.
Professor Hardell told the conference – held at the Royal Society by the Radiation Research Trust – that "people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20" had more than five-fold increase in glioma", a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system. The extra risk to young people of contracting the disease from using the cordless phone found in many homes was almost as great, at more than four times higher.
