Sunscreen A little dab won’t do you

Press, 5 March 1987, Page 17

Sunscreen A little dab won’t do you

“Bodywork”

by

PORTER SHIMER

If you’re applying your sunscreen in the same lickety-split style you apply your perfume or aftershave, you’re not getting the protection you should, say researchers from Sweden. The Swedish study found that among 50 people tested, most applied sunscreens only about half as thick as needed to afford the product’s advertised degree of protection. “The amount applied, seems to be as important as the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of the product — particularly with products with high protection factors,” the doctors reported. Apply half the amount required and you get only half the protection claimed, the doctors said in their report. They also warned that in most areas of the country, 3 p.m. — not high noon — is when the sun does its worst burning. Religion protects the heart For years doctors have

been marvelling at how vegetarianism seems to protect Seventh-day Adventists against heart disease, but now it seems religion itself may keep watch over the human ticker.

Doctors compared the rates of heart disease in two groups of Jews, finding that those who consid-

ered themselves nonreligious had more than twice as many hearts attacks as those whose religious commitments were more demanding.

Reasons for religion’s protective halo, the researchers speculated, could be twofold: People who are religious usually benefit from the warmth and security of firm social ties, but “it is also possible that strong belief in a supreme being and the role of prayer may in themselves be protective,” said the doctors in their International Journal of Cardiology report. Raw shellfish is risky A recent upsurge in illnesses among lovers of raw shellfish has doctors warning that shellfish should always be adquately cooked. The problem stems from an organism called the Norwalk virus, which is present in sewage - contaminated waters, and hence in any

sea creature that has lived there.

Doctors in the past have felt that only shellfish eaten raw could pass this nauseous organism along, but now it seems even steamed shellfish could present dangers if the steaming has been light. As stated by Dr Herbert Dupont of the University of Texas Health Science Centre in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Centre: “The public should be informed that steaming shellfish is often inadequate to kill the viral agents responsible for clinical disease” — nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting being the most common.

The shells will open after only about 60 seconds of steaming, Dr Dupont explained, “but between four and six minutes are needed for the internal temperature to reach levels required to inactivate potentially harmful viruses.” Dr Dupont sid that restaurant

owners should be made aware of this — as should shellfish lovers at home.

Tight collars

impair vision

If you’re ever felt a little weird after wearing a tight collar for too long, chances are it really was in your head. Researchers from Cornell have determined that a collar that restricts blood flow to the head can choke circulation enough to impair vision, and even other senses.

“Our test focused on eyesight, but we suspect that all the major senses could be affected — intelligence included,” researcher Susan Watkins recently told Body Bulletin.

And how tight is too tight? A discrepancy of just a half-inch between shirt collar and true neck size could be enough to do the damage, the report concludes.

Copyright Universal Press.