Kilt protection against heart disease?

Press, 6 October 1989, Page 38

Kilt protection against heart disease?

NZPA-AAP London One way for men to reduce the risk of heart disease was to wear kilts and no underpants. That is the advice from Malcolm Carruthers, a consultant pathologist at the Maudsley Hospital in London, whosays testosterone, the hormone controlling men’s fertility, can be affected by temperature. Cool testicles produce more testosterone than warm ones, it seems. Until now scientists believed higfc levels of testosterone made cardiovascular disease more likely, but Dr Carruthers said research now showed the hormone may protect men by balancing out the ravages caused by other body chemicals, such as adrenalin. His research was sparked because Scots men are emerging as being one of the highest heart-attack risk groups in the world. “I think abandoning the kilt for trousers has accelerated the epidemic,” Dr Carruthers said. According to his theory it is not just an appalling appetite for cigarettes, alcohol and fatty food which is killing the Scots. “It is a genetic tendency to produce excess hormones,” he said. Scots were trying to enjoy the twenti-

eth century with the body chemistry or their wild northern forebears, he said. “If undesirable hormones like adrenalin and noradrenalin are not dispersed by physical exercise like tossing the caber... their effect on the heart over time can be very damaging,” Dr Cur- , ruthers said. So convinced is he that Dr Carruthers is calling for volunteers to test his theory scientifically. After a control period in which the volunteers will behave normally and wear their usual clothes, the men will be split into groups. One set be asked to dress in kilts and no underpants for a period and the other will be asked to concentrate on cooling their testicles by using a relaxation technique known as autogenic training. Dr Carruthers will measure the blood and fat levels of all volunteers throughout. Other eminent heart specialists lent support for the theory. Mr Mike Rayner, senior research officer of the Coronary Prevention Group, told the "Sunday Times” that previous studies had shown eunuchs rarely suffered from heart disease. The logical conclusion, he said, was that anyone who was truly serious about heart disease should be castrated.