Portugal already has much of the policy framework needed to tackle obesity – but people living with the disease are still waiting to see it translated into actual care, a
The post Portugal urged to turn obesity policy into action appeared first on Portugal Resident.
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Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners
Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws.
The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities.
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© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
by Brian Shilhavy
Health Impact News
Coconut oil’s health benefits are so numerous, that it should be the #1 dietary oil in everyone’s kitchen. The U.S. Government continues to demonize it through their USDA dietary recommendations simply because it is a saturated fat, and the FDA doesn’t like it either because it potentially takes away market share from many patented drugs.
One of the best places to find information on the benefits of coconut oil to contradict the negative propaganda from the U.S. Government, is in their very own database on their National Library of Medicine’s website, listing peer-reviewed journal articles published on the health benefits of coconut oil.
We maintain a list of these peer-reviewed journal articles on CoconutOil.com.
Here are a few new journal articles just published in 2026, showing how coconut oil helps with Crohn’s disease, neuropsychiatric disorders, and as a skin moisturizer for preterm neonates.
Nature Communications. 14 September, 2026
Public health advisory guidelines caution against the consumption of saturated fats, especially coconut oil (CO), yet CO is widely consumed in regions with low inflammatory bowel disease prevalence (IBD) and is often perceived as beneficial by IBD patients.
CO is rich in medium-chain saturated fatty acids, notably lauric acid (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0) which are negligible in mammalian tissues without dietary intake.
Because IBD is linked to saturated fats consumption, here we tested and unexpectedly found that CO and its saturated fatty acids are beneficial suppressing intestinal inflammation in SAMP1/YitFc mice, a chronic IBD model of Crohn’s disease-like ileitis.
In young mice, the early exposure to a high-dose CO-based diet prevented ileitis in 63.64% of animals (95%CI = 30.79-to-89.07%). Importantly, comparable protection was observed at lower doses amenable for human translation.
Although CO did not reverse established disease in adult mice, when combined with steroids, it prolonged the period of steroid-induced remission illustrating its therapeutic benefits in IBD.
Disease prevention was associated with myristic acid and correlated with anti-inflammatory microbiota shifts and enhanced regulatory T-cell responses, without adverse effects.
Findings challenge current dietary advisories against CO and support reevaluation of CO and myristic acid as anti-inflammatory dietary adjuvants for the prevention and management of established IBD.
Read the full article here.
Frontiers in Nutrition. October 2, 2026
Background: Chronic stress, often exacerbated by improper lifestyle, long-term physical confinement, and emotional distress, these are the major contributor to neuropsychiatric disorders, mostly through hippocampal dysfunction. Though synthetic drugs offer symptomatic relief, their side effects prompt a growing interest in natural plant-derived nutraceuticals.
Virgin coconut oil (VCO), rich in medium-chain fatty acids, polyphenols, and antioxidants, has demonstrated preliminary neuroprotective activity; however, its pharmacological basis in hippocampal dysfunction induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS) remains inadequately characterized.
Herein, we investigated the neuroprotective activity of VCO by administering it in a time-staggered manner (Pre-Treatment, Co-treatment, and Post-Treatment) and assessed its effects through physiological, behavioral, antioxidant, and histopathological analyses. Our secondary objective was to profile the phytoconstituents of VCO using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).
Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were randomized into six groups (n = 6): Control, CRS, VCO-alone, Pre-VCO, Co-VCO, and Post-VCO. VCO was administered in a time-staggered manner to delineate its prophylactic, adjuvant, and therapeutic potential. Animals underwent physiological, behavioral (Sucrose Preference Test, Elevated Plus Maze, radial arm maze), biochemical (corticosterone, lipid peroxidation, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase), and histopathological assessments (Nissl staining). Lastly, we performed phytochemical characterization using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).
Results: VCO significantly enhanced spatial learning and memory while attenuating anhedonia and anxiety-like behavior. Biochemically, VCO reduced corticosterone and lipid peroxidation levels, restored antioxidant markers, and reinstated hippocampal neuronal morphology, collectively indicating modulation of neurobehavioral activity and restoration of redox homeostasis.
Pre-VCO demonstrated superior neuroprotection, suggesting stronger prophylactic and adjunctive pharmacological activity. GC-MS identified caprylic acid possessing the most abundant chromatographic peak alongside polyphenolic compounds, supporting a plausible mechanistic basis for the neuroprotective effects of VCO.
Conclusion: VCO demonstrates significantly higher neuroprotective efficacy when administered as Pre-treatment in CRS rats. Overall, these findings establish VCO as a dietary functional food with measurable prophylactic and adjunctive neuroprotective efficacy. These may plausibly be due to the major content of the MCFA-like caprylic acid in VCO mitigating oxidative stress and hippocampal neuronal dysfunction.
This study provides GC-MS-based compositional evidence and in vivo functional validation supporting VCO’s translational potential as a dietary strategy to mitigate the chronic stress-associated neuropsychiatric burden in human populations.
Journal of Pediatric Nursing. October 6, 2026
Background: Preterm neonates have an immature skin barrier, increasing their susceptibility to moisture loss and impaired skin integrity. However, evidence regarding the most appropriate topical moisturising agent for this population remains limited.
Purpose: This trial aims to investigate the effects of applying coconut oil and a moisturising lotion to the skin of preterm neonates on their skin moisture, skin pH, skin integrity, and vital signs.
Methods: This randomised controlled trial was conducted with 90 preterm neonates with a gestational age of 320/7-376/7 weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between December 2024 and December 2025. The sample consisted of two intervention groups and one control group [Moisturising Lotion (ML) group (n = 30), Coconut Oil (CO) group (n = 30) and Control group (n = 30)]. The data were collected using an Infant Information and Monitoring Form, a skin moisture meter, a skin pH meter and the Neonatal Skin Condition Score (NSCS).
Results: Following the application, skin moisture rates in the abdominal, arm and leg regions significantly rose in the intervention groups compared with the control group (p < .05). A significant rise was found in intra-group skin pH values on the 3rd and 5th days in the ML group and on day 5 in the CO group (p < .05). The NSCS score significantly dropped over time in both intervention groups (p < .001). Effect size analyses indicated a more pronounced improvement in skin condition scores in the CO group (p < .001; η2 = 0.551).
Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that interventions of coconut oil and moisturising lotion may be effective in improving skin moisture and supporting skin integrity in preterm neonates. As coconut oil has a greater effect on the skin integrity of premature infants, using it as a moisturising topical agent is recommended.
Practice implications: Coconut oil and moisturising lotion may be considered low-cost and safe nursing interventions to support skin hydration and skin integrity in preterm neonates.
Read the full study here.
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This article was written by Human Superior Intelligence (HSI)
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The post New Studies Published on Health Benefits of Coconut Oil: Help for Crohn’s Disease, Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Skin Lotion for Preterm Neonates first appeared on Health Impact News.
The decision, announced on Monday, 19th October, completes the Council’s approval of the sixth revision of the EU’s Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive. The legislation introduces or updates exposure limits for cobalt compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1,4-dioxane and isoprene, while extending specific protections to work involving hazardous welding fumes.
According to the Council’s announcement, the measures could prevent approximately 1,700 cases of lung cancer and 19,000 other work-related illnesses across the European Union over 40 years.
The legislation addresses chemicals encountered in industries that remain important to European manufacturing and industrial employment.
Cobalt and its inorganic compounds are used in several industrial applications, including certain battery technologies, metal processing and specialist manufacturing.
Exposure to cobalt-containing dust and fumes can occur during production processes, particularly where workers handle powders or undertake activities that generate airborne particles.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, commonly known as PAHs, can arise during industrial processes involving combustion or the processing of carbon-containing materials. Workers in parts of the steel, aluminium and carbon industries may encounter these compounds.
The new legislation also covers 1,4-dioxane, a chemical used in industrial production processes, including applications connected with chemical and textile manufacturing.
Isoprene was added to the revised framework during negotiations between the Council and European Parliament. The substance is used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber and other industrial products.
Exposure limits establish the maximum permissible concentration of specified hazardous substances in workplace air, subject to the measurement methods and averaging periods laid down in the legislation.
Employers must also apply wider preventive measures, which can include replacing hazardous substances where technically possible, improving ventilation, containing industrial processes and monitoring workplace exposure.
One of the significant changes concerns welding fumes, which can contain hazardous substances depending on the materials and processes involved.
Welding is used extensively in construction, automotive production, shipbuilding, infrastructure maintenance and the manufacture of industrial equipment.
Workers may be exposed to mixtures of particles and gases produced when metals are heated, melted or joined.
The revised directive adds relevant welding fumes to the list of substances, mixtures and industrial processes subject to specific requirements under EU occupational safety legislation.
This is particularly relevant where the fumes contain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or harmful to reproduction.
The legislation does not prohibit welding. Instead, it establishes a clearer legal framework for assessing and reducing occupational exposure.
European institutions have also recognised the need for additional practical guidance to assist employers in applying the new provisions across industries using different welding technologies and materials.
The agreement reached by Parliament and Council in June included provisions addressing protective equipment and the conditions under which it should be used.
The legislation was negotiated against concerns that some manufacturers would require substantial investment to comply with the revised exposure limits.
Industrial employers may need to install extraction systems, improve ventilation, adapt production equipment or introduce additional monitoring arrangements.
For certain substances, the final compromise therefore includes transitional periods intended to give affected sectors time to make the necessary changes.
The agreed period for the application of new limits on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons extends to seven years, with provisions covering carbon and graphite manufacturers.
This was one of the modifications introduced during negotiations to balance occupational health requirements with the technical constraints facing individual industries.
The agreement also provides for regular breaks for workers required to wear personal protective equipment and clarifies how those measures interact with existing EU legislation.
Protective equipment remains part of the safety framework, although the directive also recognises the importance of preventing exposure through engineering controls and improved working practices.
The European Commission estimates that more than 2.5 million workers could be exposed to the substances or processes covered by the revision.
Occupational illnesses can produce substantial costs for workers, employers and public health systems, including treatment expenses, sickness absence, reduced productivity and long-term disability.
The Commission previously estimated that the updated legislation could generate up to €1.16 billion in healthcare savings over the coming decades.
These figures are projections derived from assessments of expected exposure reductions rather than outcomes already achieved.
Their accuracy will depend on how effectively Member States implement the legislation and how consistently employers comply with the new requirements.
The measures also form part of the EU’s broader programme to reduce workplace exposure to substances associated with cancer and other serious illnesses.
The directive will enter into force following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member States will then have two years to transpose its provisions into national law.
National authorities will remain responsible for inspections and enforcement, while employers will need to assess which new requirements apply to their operations.
For businesses operating across several EU countries, the revised framework is intended to provide more consistent standards, although national enforcement arrangements may differ.
The practical effects will be most apparent in industrial workplaces where airborne chemical exposure remains a routine occupational risk. Compliance will require manufacturers to examine their production processes before the new requirements become enforceable.
Andy Burnham has announced "big changes" to welfare to get one million NEETs back into work – but only once he's "rebuilt the education system". Sounds expensive, says Mary Gilleece. It’s clearly never going to happen.
The post Andy Burnham Will Never Cut Welfare appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Warning for other Arctic communities as residents told not to use water in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, one of the fastest-warming places in the world
Residents of a remote town in Norway that is in one of the fastest-warming places in the world have been told they must no longer drink tap water due to heavy metal contamination that scientists have linked to the thawing permafrost.
Longyearbyen, in the archipelago of Svalbard, gets its main drinking water supply from a 1.5 mile-long (2.5km) dammed lake called Isdammen, or “ice pond”. Higher temperatures as a result of the climate crisis have thawed permafrost, leading to newly exposed bedrock leaching metals into the pond.
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© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
© Photograph: Rimante_Hegland/Getty Images/iStockphoto
In the three weeks since a health worker’s death in Siberia, officials have stonewalled the WHO – setting a worrying precedent for future pandemics
Is there a plague outbreak in Russia? If the answer were a clear yes, there shouldn’t be much reason to worry. With swift medical intervention, plague is treatable. But in the nearly three weeks since a worker at a Siberian plague research unit died of a mysterious respiratory illness, state officials have been consistently tight-lipped about what happened and whether there were any further cases.
It is this uncertainty that has the World Health Organization (WHO) and international community worried: partly because there is a – very small – risk of an outbreak, and partly because it is yet another warning that the international coordination we rely on to prevent pandemics is fraying along with the rest of international politics, and could easily fail to protect us in the future.
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© Photograph: Smirnov Vladimir/Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Smirnov Vladimir/Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Smirnov Vladimir/Anadolu/Getty Images
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