According to a study by Japanese scientists, sniffing lavender or rosemary oil for just five minutes a day can reduce levels of a harmful stress hormone called cortisol.

It is known to cause oxidative stress, a destructive process that damages healthy cells. In the latest study, researchers at Meikal University, Japan, recruited 22 healthy volunteers and took saliva samples to test for a range of substances including cortisol.

Each one had to spend five minutes inhaling lavender or rosemary oil before the tests were repeated. The results in the Journal of Psychiatry Research showed a sharp drop in cortisol levels after sniffing the oil.

Missing breakfast has been shown to raise cholesterol levels in a small study at the University of Nottingham.

The study also found that women tend to eat more calories during the day if they had skipped breakfast, with implications for weight gain if they continued to skip breakfast over the long term.

Ten healthy women of normal weight were asked to eat breakfast before 8 am for two weeks followed by normal mealtimes. They were later asked to eat breakfast at midday for two weeks. Cholesterol levels were found to be higher after skipping breakfast.

Research published in the October, 2006 Journal of the American Society of Nephrology looked at the effects of making the body more alkaline on the risk of osteoporosis.

Dr. Reto Krapf of the University of Basel in Switzerland and colleagues conducted a study of 161 post-menopausal women whose average age was 59. Krapf split the women into two groups: The first received a daily supplement of potassium citrate for up to 12 months, and the second was given a daily supplement of potassium chloride for up to 12 months.

The researchers hoped to prove that potassium citrate — a base chemical — could make the body more alkaline and counteract the effects of acidity generally caused by poor lifestyle and dietary choices. Potassium chloride was used in the control group because it is a neutral chemical that does not affect body pH.

After six to 12 months, the researchers conducted bone mineral density tests on the participants’ lower spine and hips. The group taking the potassium citrate (alkaline) supplements experienced a one percent increase in bone mineral density in the lumbar spine area, as well as a one percent increase in bone density in the hips. Conversely, the group taking the potassium chloride (neutral) experienced a one percent loss of bone density at both test sites. The researchers also found that the women taking potassium citrate lost less calcium through their urine than those taking potassium chloride.

The important message here is one which I have discussed in detail in my book ‘Osteoporosis — the Silent Epidemic’ in that we need to eat a more alkaline diet with more fruit and vegetables in order to protect ourselves against loss of bone density and osteoporosis.