Dear Health Conscious Friend,

We women will tell you that men are filthy... and a new study shows that we might actually be right - but probably not in the way most of us mean it.

Edward Martin tells us more about men's filthy habits...

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Anyone would be thrilled to hear they don't have Alzheimer's, but the frustration of a deteriorating mind is still a concern. See Dr Wright's solution to keeping your wits about you...

Dirty old men...
Edward Martin
Editor, Healthier News

The dirty details containing men's lack of cleanliness can be found in the American Journal of Public Health, where a study finds that only one third of men use soap when they wash their hands after using the bathroom... versus nearly two-thirds of women.

Next time I have to shake hands, I'm breaking out the hand sanitizer.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine used electronic sensors in British highway bathrooms to keep tabs on the hand-washing habits of some 200,000 people.

And what they found, aside from a lot of very dirty travellers, is that men and women also respond to hand-washing reminders differently.

The researchers were able to flash simple slogans about hand-washing onto LED screens in the bathroom to see which ones would get the best response.

Women generally needed only a gentle nudge to add soap – often anything with the words "germs" in it, like a message reading, "Water doesn't kill germs, soap does."

Men, on the other hand, needed some more colourful language. Messages like "Wash it off, or eat it later", and "Don't take the loo with you - wash with soap” were more likely to get them to wash properly.

Oddly enough, the message "Soap adds a fresh touch" was one of the best at getting men to use soap – but caused fewer women to use it.

Maybe we men value freshness more than anyone imagined.

Proper hand-washing is the simplest and surest way to limit your exposure to the worst of the microscopic nasties. One recent study even found that washing your hands 10 times a day could help you avoid illness.

But as this study shows, if you're not keeping clean, you're not alone – and not just at British highway rest stops. An Australian study found that just 40% of doctors wash their hands between patients!

I'm guessing they're men.

The bottom line here is that this shouldn't even be an issue. It's not that hard – all you need is a sink, some soap and a minute or so. It doesn't even matter if you use hot water or cold – all that matters is that you wash with soap.

Keeping the brain healthy and the mind sharp

Q: My mother is 86 years old and over the past few months, she has become more forgetful, is doing less and less, isn't reading or sewing much at all anymore and most of the time she seems a little depressed. But when we talk to her about it, she says "I'm fine," and when there's a social occasion, she actually can muster up the energy to act like her old self for a few hours. She let me take her to a neurologist who told us she doesn't think my mother has Alzheimer's disease, just that she's getting older.

She takes a multiple vitamin-mineral tablet, as well as some memory supplements, but none of this seems to make any difference. Is there anything else I can do?

Dr. Wright: Your mother's situation isn't at all unusual, but it doesn't necessarily need to stay that way. One of the simplest, safest, and least expensive things to try would be twice-weekly injections of vitamin B12, folic acid and B-complex. Very frequently, several weeks of these injections will make a noticeable difference in energy, low-grade depression and even memory in folks over 80.

Particularly when people age, the foods they eat, as well as vitamin-mineral tablets (a minor point: switch to capsules), don't break down and absorb as well, often because of declining digestive capability. Giving some of these nutrients by injection can do the job when swallowing them doesn't.

If the injections are effective or even partially effective, it's a good idea to have several tests done, starting with a "fasting plasma essential amino acid" determination. (Essential amino acids need to be digested from our diets, as our bodies can't make them.) In individuals over 80 who respond to B-vitamin injections, the essential amino acid test finds low levels of essential amino acids in an overwhelmingly large majority. Since these essential amino acids are transformed into both body proteins and neurotransmitters, supplementing them could improve strength, depression and memory.

It's also important to check for minerals and do tests for digestive efficiency (stomach acid test, stool test for digestion).

Since the B-vitamin injections (even though extremely safe) require prescriptions, and since the above suggestions are a lot to handle on your own, contact the South African Society of Integrated medicine on 021 887 5364 or lucia@integrativemedicine.co.za for a referral to a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional therapies who could help you and your mother put together a programme you can both follow easily.