Swedish News:

The funniest Swedes. Sweden's smallest summer cottage. “Körkarlen” best Swedish film. Chocolate against stroke. Breastfeeding continues to decrease 

  • The funniest Swedes
    Kristoffer Appelquist and Marika Carlsson are the funniest stand up comedians in Sweden. At least if you go by the Swedish Stand-up gala. When the winners there were presented (the gala took place at Södra teatern in Stockholm), Kristoffer and Marika were chosen as the funniest male and female stand-up comedians. Among other award winners were Niklas Andersson (the newcomer of the year), Babben Larsson (she received the jury’s prize) and “Värvet” (the laughingstock of the year, best humor online).

  • Sweden's smallest summer cottage
    Looking for a "cottage" by the beach? Do you have 150,000 SEK (about $22,500) to spend? Then why not spend it on this little “house” on the dunes? With 4 square meters (43 square feet) it is the smallest summer cottage in Sweden, and it is located at Melbystrand in Laholm. “We have yet to have any bidders, but several people have shown interest,” says Pernilla Kjellsson at Danfors Fastighetsförmedling. But what can the little cottage be used for? Can one actually live in there? Says Pernilla: “There are those who put a bed in there. But unfortunately there’s no electricity.”
    Read more and make your offer: Dynstuga/Badhytt - Danfors Fastighetsförmedling

  • 'The Phantom Carriage' best Swedish film
    Victor Sjostrom's classic silent film "The Phantom Carriage" from 1921 (Original movie title: “Körkarlen”) has been chosen the best Swedish film in history by the film magazine FLM. 50 film critics and experts voted on a total of 129 films. On second place is Bo Widerberg’s “Kvarteret Korpen” (“Raven’s End”), third Jan Troell’s “Här har du ditt liv” (“Here’s Your Life”). Ingmar Bergman can be found first on the fifth spot with “Fanny och Alexander” from 1982. Bergman, Widerberg and Roy Andersson each have two films among the top ten. All of the films on the top ten list, were directed by men, Mai Zetterling’s “Älskande par” (“Loving Couples”) from 1964 can be found on the 18th spot.

  • Chocolate against stroke
    A small piece of chocolate a day lessens the risk of getting stroke in men with all of 20 percent, according to a study done at the Karolinska Institute. And for the first time, researchers say that it doesn’t have to be dark chocolate, that dark chocolate can be good for us, is known previously. The latest study, which included 37 000 men, shows that light as well as dark chocolate protect men against stroke. The research team asked the men, ages 49-75, to fill in a questionnaire about their food habits, and included were questions regarding how often and how much chocolate they consumed. Ten years later, as the researchers put their answers together with the Socialstyrelsen’s (The National Board of Health and Welfare) patient register, nearly 2000 of the men had suffered a stroke. And it turns out stroke is more common among those who abstained from chocolate. The men who ate the most chocolate, around half a bar of chocolate a week, had the least risk of suffering a stroke. “We have no proof that eating more chocolate than that is good. If you do, you might gain weight, which in turn increases your risk for disease. It makes no difference if you eat a little bit every day or all at once,” says Susanna Larsson, researcher and nutritional epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in an article in daily Dagens Nyheter. The scientists can’t yet explain the link between chocolate and the decreased risk of suffering stroke. But the most likely reason they say is that chocolate includes so-called flavonoids, a type of antioxidants that protect the blood vessels. According to Larsson more studies are needed before a daily dose of the delicacy can be recommended. “But it feels good already to be able to refute those who believe that chocolate is unhealthy,” she says.

  • Breastfeeding continues to decrease
    Breastfeeding in Sweden continues to decrease according to new statistics. The routines at the maternity wards may have influenced this decrease, experts say. Statistics from Socialstyrelsen (the National Board of Health and Welfare) shows that in 2010, 97% of the moms breastfed their babies a week after delivery. But when the babies were 6 months old, only 63% of them were breastfed, which is a decrease with 9.5% compared to 2004. WHO (the World Health Organization) recommends that a baby be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of his or her life. The statistics also show huge differences between different regions in Sweden. Stockholm and Uppsala has the highest frequency of breasfeeding moms, while Värmland, Västmanland and Halland fall on the bottom. Socialstyrelsen has not studying why there’s a difference between the regions. There’s also no single reason as to why breastfeeding has decreased. But the authority has, in collaboration with researchers at Akademiska sjukhuset (Uppsala University Hospital) and Uppsala University have now begun a study to see what factors are involved. Midwife and researcher Kristin Svensson at Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset (Karolinska University Hospital) bring out delivery and the importance of the maternity ward. “If more hospitals let the mother have the child with her during the first hours after delivery, so that the baby seeks the breast by itself, the risk for breastfeeding problems decrease. But finances so often decide these things. Many babies must be delivered, and oftentimes you have to quickly leave your room,” she says. At Stockholmssjukhuset many women leave the hospital with formula, which may have been ordained for various reasons. “It’s all about a lot of knowledge for the personnel, and support for the mothers who do have problems nursing,” says Kristin Svensson. “There is help, but there aren’t breastfeeding centers everywhere, and many women aren’t informed they exist.”