Practical advice

CONTROVERSY continues to surround the safety of UV nail dryers.

An article published last January by scientists from the University of San Diego announced that exposure to the dryers’ ultraviolet light can cause mutations in DNA and damage to cells.

Professional manicurists questioned their claims that lamps used to harden shellac lacquer and gel nails are a skin cancer risk, as hands are exposed for a total of around three minutes once or twice a month.

As warnings continue to surface since the beginning of the year, one Spanish manicurist offered some practical advice.

“If you’re really worried, use some protection ­ 50 sunscreen beforehand,” she suggested.

Wonderful water

HEALTH gurus have always recommend drinking eight glasses of water each day to ensure that the body is hydrated.

But dozens of studies also point to the importance of drinking water when trying to shift extra kilos.

The more hydrated you are, the easier your body will find it to complete activities that range from thinking to burning fat, scientists have found.

Drinking water can boost the rate at which your body burns calories, it increases motivation and glassful before a meal will help to suppress the appetite, they said.

Keep busy

REGULAR exercise ­ and that includes gardening and cleaning, together with sports ­ could lessen the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in women.

Those who exercised most had a 25 per cent lower rate of contracting the disease when compared to those who exercised the least, Dr Alexis Elbaz from the Inserm research centre in Paris found.

“Exercise is a low­cost way of improving health overall, and our study sought to determine if it could be linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease,” Dr Albaz said.

“Our results have now provided evidence that exercise programmes could help to prevent it.”