MAY 26 2018 LISTENER 33
NUTRITION
Healthy eating
doesn’t mean
showing o
with your diet34
FOOD
Tart and irm, the
granny smith is a
cook’s favourite
for good reason36
SPORT
Brad Shields’
departure for
England is New
Zealand’s loss40
McLean. They were badly finished and had hard
edges, or even appeared not to have been made
from the material claimed.
The Hello Cup is manufactured in Napier from
TPE and comes in three sizes. Robyn says the big-
gest market is among younger women, in particular
those aged 25-35.
Menstrual cups may be a game-changer but there
is one problem: recent research conducted in a
French laboratory suggests they may pose a greater
risk than tampons of the rare, but potentially fatal,
toxic shock syndrome. The study revealed that
even after cups were washed several times, Staphylo-
coccus aureus bacteria were still present.
Previous hygiene advice to users was that cups
should be wiped out or rinsed between wears, then
sterilised at the end of the period. Researchers have
suggested a safer approach is to have two cups and
sterilise before each use.
University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie
Wiles says science needs to do better. She wants
HEALTH BRIEFS
GETTY IMAGES“There are some great
ones out there, but also
some dodgy ones.”
to see more research to answer
basic questions such as whether the
material a cup is made from influ-
ences the stickability of the bacteria
(which are naturally present in the
vaginas of many women), how often
cups should be emptied, and the best
cleaning method.W
iles admits to being freaked
out by the idea of menstrual
cups.
“As a microbiologist all I can think
of is biofilms,” she says. “But clearly
they are a fantastic idea for lots of
reasons, including period poverty
[lack of access to sanitary products
because of financial constraints], so
I’m not going to dismiss their use.”
Instead, Wiles is proposing a
crowd-sourced project to conduct
further research both in the lab and
among women. It will have to be on
a large scale, because toxic shock syn-
drome is so rare. “You’d need 25,000
women in one study just to get one
case,” she says.
She has made a start by putting
out a call for researchers, compa-
nies, menstrual cup wearers and
funders willing to help (tinyurl.com/
NZLmenstrualcups).
“This is an amazing opportunity
to answer an important question
about women’s health in a way that
could showcase how science should
be done.”
McLean is keen for Hello Cup to
be involved in this research. In the
meantime, she advises good
hygiene and avoid-
ing wearing any
internal sani-
tary products
if you have
abrasions. If you
do start feeling
symptoms – includ-
ing sudden high fever,
vomiting, confusion and red-
ness of the eyes – remove the
cup or tampon and see a doctor. lWALK FOR LIFE
Exercise may improve a woman’s
chances of getting pregnant.
Research at the University of
Massachusetts among women
with a history of pregnancy
loss showed that walking for 10
minutes at a time was associ-
ated with improved chances of
conception among overweight/
obese women. Those reporting
more than four hours a week of
vigorous activity had signiicantly
higher pregnancy chances com-
pared to inactive women.FISH OIL BENEFIT
Just 1g a day of ish oil could
reduce the pain of osteoarthritis,
according to a new study from
the University of Surrey. Essen-
tial fatty acids in ish oil reduce
inlammation in joints. Losing
weight, exercising and eating
foods rich in vitamin K – such as
kale, spinach and parsley – were
also found to have beneits.AIR POLLUTION RISK
Prolonged exposure to air pollu-
tion triggers inlammation and
the appearance of cancer-related
genes in the brains of rats, say
scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medi-
cal Centre in Los Angeles. Coarse
particulate matter in the air of
the LA Basin found its way into
the body in two ways: inhaled
through the lungs, where trace
metals and other materi-
als enter
the blood-
stream; and
through
the nose,
where
the
materi-
als are
absorbed
more
directly into
the brain.