Your health: Parents who fight risk harming kids

Warning for parents who fight

Warring parents who fail to resolve their disagreements are putting their children’s mental and physical health at risk, according to new research, Sky News reports.

Experts claim exposure to family feuds can cause physical problems in youngsters such as headaches, stomach pains and reduced growth.

The study by relationship charity OnePlusOne looked at the differences between destructive and constructive conflict within the family home and examined the effects.

Destructive conflict, such as sulking, walking away, slamming doors or making children the focus of an argument, puts youngsters at greater risk of a range of social, emotional and behavioral difficulties, the study found.

Children react better when parents can relate to each other more positively during arguments and when conflicts are resolved, it said.

Dr Catherine Houlston, co-author of the book, “Parental Conflict: Outcomes And Interventions For Children And Families,” said, “We know that conflict is a normal and necessary part of family life. It’s not whether you argue but how you argue which matters most to kids.

“Research suggests that over time, the impact of being exposed to arguing between their parents can put children’s physical health at risk.”

However, not all arguing has a negative outcome.

Dr Houlston said, “If a child sees his or her parents in conflict then work things out, they understand it’s possible for difficult situations to be resolved and they feel more secure.

“Evidence suggests that working with couples at an early stage in their relationship, or during times of change, we can modify destructive patterns of conflict behavior.”

Werewolf Diet

Forget teenagers pining over Taylor Lautner in “Twilight,” werewolves are hot in a whole new way in the world of fad dieting.

A little-known diet is gaining popularity, with celebrities like Demi Moore and Madonna reportedly choosing to follow the “Werewolf Diet,” Grazia reports.

Also known as the Lunar Diet, it is based on the idea that the moon affects the water in our bodies in the same way that it determines the tides of the oceans, and that this power can be harnessed to help you lose weight, The Daily Mail says.

Some websites detailing the diet even claim it is possible to lose up to six pounds in 24 hours.

Though there are numerous variations of the diet, they essentially involve a liquid cleanse for a few days of the month; either at the full moon, new moon or beginning of a moon phase.

Fans of the diet claim the moon exerts the same gravitational pull on the water in our bodies as it does on the world’s oceans.

They claim this pull is biggest during a full and new moon, and undergoing a liquid fast during this time will enable the moon to flush toxins out of the body aiding weight loss.

Some people also claim the moon can affect your mood and that fasting during these points in the lunar calendar will reduce cravings.

Worryingly, health experts fear this diet offers very little in the way of actual effectiveness.

Speaking to the MailOnline about the “Werewolf Diet,” British Dietetic Association spokesperson Jeanette Crosland, said, “There may be some evidence that fluid retention occurs at some points in the menstrual cycle, and therefore at other points in the cycle this fluid will reduce.”