Swedish News:

Öresund train trip—next to most expensive. Low education, more antidepressants. Red-Green lead. Concern in spite of health. More eggs 

  • The incredible, edible egg: Swedes eat more eggs, especially ecological eggs. One egg contains 72 calories, 6.3 grams protein, 6 carbs and 4.8 grams total fat.

  • Öresund train trip—next to most expensive
    Travelers who take the train between Malmö and Copenhagen pay for Europe’s second most expensive train trip ($16), when measured in price per kilometer, according to daily Sydsvenskan. Sydsvenskan bases its information on a survey by the International Union of Railways, in which prices and track fees on more than 130 railroads in Europe has been compared. The only passengers paying more than the ones traveling between Malmö and Copenhagen, are those who travel with Eurostar, a high speed railway service, from London to Brussels. Trains in general are cheap in northern Europe, but the Malmö-Copenhagen and Göteborg-Stockholm routes are the second and third most expensive. IUR estimated the kilometer price for the Malmö-Copenhagen route before it shrank from 52.7 kilometers to 35 kilometers thanks to the City Tunnel, which means the trip has become even more expensive per kilometer.

  • According to Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare, women with lower levels of education use antidepressants and sleeping aids nearly three times more than highly educated women.

  • Low education, more antidepressants
    Women with lower levels of education use antidepressants and sleeping aids nearly three times more often than educated women. This statistic comes from Socialstyrelsen’s (the National Board of Health and Welfare) annual progress report regarding habitual use of these type of drugs. It concerns women ages 30-64. Previous studies have shown that women with limited education feel they have a poorer mental health and more sleep- and anxiety problems in comparison to other groups. ”It’s worrisome that these drugs are being prescribed for regular use,” says Birgitta Lindelius, investigator at Socialstyrelsen. The drugs, known as benzodiazepines or varities thereof, may become addictive, which is why they should only be used for short-term treatments of anxiety and insomnia. Older people with lower levels of education are also affected when it comes to health issues. They are more likely to receive potentially inappropriate medications and more rarely see a specialist doctor than a person with higher education. Meanwhile, people with less education have poorer health in general.

  • Gender differences where you least expect it? In Sweden, men get different medical advice than women—or rather, men get an appointment with a doctor, while women get advice to ”wait and see.”

  • Red-Green lead
    The Red-Greens (the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party) are pulling further from the Center-Right Alliance (headed by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt), according to Svensk Väljaropinion, a voter index compiled by Novus for Ekot, a program on the Swedish radio. During January of this year, the Red-Greens received 51.7 percent of the votes, while the Alliance got only 37.6 percent.

  • The trip on an Öresund train from Malmö to Copenhagen will set you back $16, making it the second most expensive train trip in Europe when measured in price per kilometer.

  • Concern in spite of health
    A large number of the women who are called back for complimentary breast examinations following a mammogram but who have been pronounced healthy, suffer from psychological problems a surprisingly long time afterward, according to Anetta Bolejko, an X-ray nurse at Lund University, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on the topic.

  • More eggs
    ”The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket,” said Andrew Carnegie. Perhaps it is wiser still to eat the eggs? Swedes eat more and more eggs, and especially attractive are the ecological eggs. The total consumption of eggs went up 4 percent during 2012-2013; the consumption of ecological eggs alone went up 18 percent. One reason for the increased egg consumption may be that popular diets such as LCHF (the controversial Low Carb High Fat) and GI (the Low-Glycemic diet), where carbohydrates often are exchanged for protein, and where eggs are the solution.