Marijuana as medicine

Debbie Hughes was quoted in the Daily Mail saying: ''I love looking after my granddaughters. I never thought I would be looking after another baby of my own."

She conceived naturally and gave birth to a healthy baby, saying "it's the same as winning the lottery".

Breakthrough of the week

A British company hopes to gain US Food and Drug Administration approval for a marijuana-based mouth spray to treat cancer pain.

The product, called Sativex, contains two components of marijuana, delta9-THC and cannabidiol. It has been approved in Canada, New Zealand and some European countries to relieve muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.

Sativex is currently in advanced clinical trials. Maker of the drug, GW Pharma, hopes to get FDA approval for use of the medicine in cancer patients by the end of 2013. - AP

If you do one thing for your health

Don't eat protein or certain amino acids before an operation.

Limiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery - either protein or amino acids - may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health study.

The study was undertaken by James Mitchell and Wei Peng on mice. They will soon try to determine whether dietary preconditioning works as well lowering surgery-related risk in humans as it does in rodents.

Nutrition bite

Get your children to boost their vitamin D levels by feeding them oily fish like sardines and letting them play in the sun.

Scientists from Bristol University's school of social and community medicine said higher levels of vitamin D can lower the risk of mental health problems in children. Children with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to suffer from depression, claimed the scientists. Vitamin D is mainly made by the action of sunlight on the skin, although it can also be found in oily fish. - Audrey Nyathi

Source: The Times