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Researchers have discovered a downside to the Mediterranean diet: more nasty pesticides.
Newcastle University scientists asked students to eat a Western diet for two weeks, then swap it for a Mediterranean diet – full of fruits, vegetables and grains.
Each participant took urine tests to measure traces of four common pesticides. The Med diet caused residue to increase by a fifth, while traces of weed killers called organophosphates rose five-fold.
Exposure to these has been linked to memory loss and other issues.
But those who ate organic products cut pesticide exposure by more than 90 per cent.
Researchers in Newcastle University have warned that the famed Mediterranean diet may not be as healthy as once thought because of the presence of organophosphates
Blood test boost for mums-to-be
A blood test could predict complicated births in older mothers.
Manchester University scientists tracked 1,000 pregnant women across six UK hospitals, between 2012 and 2014, and compared outcomes, along with blood test results at 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.
They found that mothers over 35 with low levels of a protein called placental growth factor were more likely to experience problems such as small babies, premature birth and babies needing neonatal care.
