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Two sweet drinks a day ‘deadly’ for hearts, Alzheimer’s tool and how family dogs cut children’s asthma risk

Drinking two glasses of sweetened soft drinks a day can be deadly, warns the Daily Express.

It comes from a Swedish study that found that having just two 200ml servings of sweetened soft drinks – equivalent to a standard bottle of pop – every day increased the risk of heart failure by 23%.

The study authors suggest people should limit themselves to having only the occasional drink – or avoid them altogether.

An online ‘brain-training’ tool can help delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a report on Sky News.

The team from Kings College London encouraged people with the disease to play brain training games that challenge problem-solving and memory skills. Participants played the games regularly for 10 minutes at a time, over a six month period, and had improvements in measures of their day-to-day living, and in reasoning and verbal learning.

Lastly, having a pet dog while growing up can help children avoid developing asthma according to latest research, reports The Times.

A large study found people who had early exposure to a dog had a 15% reduced chance of developing asthma in later life, while exposure to farm animals halved their chance of the respiratory illness.

The study adds further weight to the so-called ‘hygiene hypothesis’ whereby exposure to microbes on animals can help develop a healthy immune system.

 


          

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