Tuesday 19 April 2011

Healthy Lifestyle

Welcome to the second of a series of fact sheets aimed at raising awareness on health and wellbing issues. In this weeks blog we highlight the benefits of healthy living and offer some suggestions to improve the way you live your life.

Benefits of a healthy lifestyle

By adopting a healthy lifestyle you are likely to reduce your chances of developing illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, liver problems, lung problems and some cancers. Other benefits include:

· You will have more energy

· You should maintain a healthy weight (put less pressure on your bones/joints)

· You will feel more alert and focused

· You will be less stressed, anxious or depressed

So what can you do to stay healthy?

Eat a healthy diet

· AT LEAST 1/3 OF THE FOOD WE EAT should be fruit and veg. This equates to between five portions, and 9 portions per day

· AT LEAST 1/3 OF THE FOOD WE EAT should be starch-based such as cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta – try and eat wholegrain varieties as often as possible

· INCLUDE some dairy every day, this could be a smaller portion of the high fat varieties or regular portion of the low-fat options (milk, fromage frais, cheese, yoghurt)

· INCLUDE at least one portion of meat, fish, eggs and beans/peas/lentils per day. Opt for lean cuts of meat, remove all visible fat (including chicken skin) and grill where possible. Pulses are naturally low in fat and an excellent source of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Aim for at least 2 portions of fish per week (at least one of which should be 'oily' (such as salmon or mackerel).

· LIMIT the amount of food and drink you consume that is high in sugar and fat. If you do fry use a vegetable oil such as sunflower, rapeseed or olive.

· REDUCE salt to the recommended maximum of 6g per day for an adult

· DRINK plenty of water (at least 2 litres per day) and avoid calorie laden drinks

Physical Activity

The Government recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise per day on at least 5 days of the week. You do not have to do all 30 minutes at once it can be broken down into 3 x 10 minutes and will have the same benefits as long as your heart and lungs are working harder(increased heart rate).

Your exercise plan could include: dancing, walking, cycling, playing football, rugby, badminton or tennis, swimming, jogging or running, doing the garden or housework, taking the stairs instead of the lift.

Quit Smoking

If you stop smoking you will reap the benefits straight away. You reduce the risk of getting serious illness no matter what age you give up but the sooner you do so the greater the reduction in risk. If you give up before you are 35 your life expectancy is only slightly less than people who have never smoked and before 50 you decrease the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases by 50%.

Reduce your alcohol intake

It has been said that drinking alcohol in moderation (1-2 units per day) may help to protect you from heart disease. However, too much alcohol can be harmful. So what are the safe limits? It is recommended that: Men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week (and no more than four units in any one day) and women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week (and no more than three units in any one day) The more you drink above these limits the more harmful the alcohol is likely to be. Binge drinking (e.g. 10 or more units twice per week) can be harmful although still in the recommended safe limits.

Lose the extra pounds

If you are overweight you are putting your health in jeopardy. By losing just 5-10% of your body weight you will put less stress on your heart and joints and feel more energised. Adopting a healthy eating programme does not mean starving or depriving yourself - you can still eat the foods you love just in moderation.

Stress less

Not all pressure is bad for you, a little pressure can lead to increased productivity, improved performance and increased motivation, it only becomes a problem when the pressure becomes excessive – this then leads to stress. Stress is thought to have a detrimental affect on our health but this is difficult to prove. It is suggested that increased stress levels can lead to cardiac problems later in life. With a proactive approach and by learning some simple coping mechanisms, you can help to reduce this risk.

I hope you have found this blog useful. To see our other fact sheets on Health and Wellbeing please visit our website

Wishing you health and happiness

Renée

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Stress Management

Welcome to the first of a series of fact sheets aimed at raising awareness on health and wellbeing issues. In this weeks blog we are talking about Stress, its signs and symptoms and also offering some simple coping mechanisms to help minimise it.

So what is Stress? The HSE describes stress as:

"The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them."

Not all pressure is bad for you, a little pressure can lead to increased productivity, improved performance and increased motivation, it only becomes a problem when the pressure becomes excessive – this then leads to stress. Our individual tolerance levels vary, what may be perceived as a stressful situation to one person may be completely comfortable to another.

Stress may seem to appear suddenly but is usually a build up of pressures that become overwhelming and result in your ability to cope. By learning to recognise the symptoms you can reduce your risk of becoming stressed. Some of these symptoms include:

· Becoming more anxious/depressed

· Aches/pains/digestive problems

· Nausea/panic attacks/increased heart rate

· Increase heart rate/blood pressure

· Unhappy/depressed

· Change of eating/sleeping habits

· Dependency on alcohol/drugs/cigarettes

· Mood swings-angry/frustrated/tearful/irritable

Stress is thought to have a detrimental affect on our health but this is difficult to prove. It is suggested that increased stress levels can lead to cardiac problems later in life. A proactive approach and learning some simple coping mechanisms you can help to reduce this risk. Below are our top 10 tips to help you:

1. Recognise what causes your stress and take control

Many of us know we get stressed but often do not take the time to understand what causes it. It could be something simple such as sitting in traffic or the queue at the supermarket checkout but unless you know what causes your stress you will never break the cycle and will continue to place unnecessary stress on yourself.

2. Make time to relax

Relaxation is the perfect antidote for reducing stress. Popular relaxation methods include yoga, meditation, massage, listening to music, reading a book, taking a hot bath and deep breathing. When we are born our natural breathing pattern is to inhale oxygen deep into the Diaphragm, as we grow our breathing becomes shallower and our intake of oxygen is restricted resulting in increased stress on the body. Deep breathing releases tension from the mind and body and will help to reduce stress levels.

3. Organise your time

How much time do you waste during the day worrying about not having enough time? Do you procrastinate on the jobs you dislike and then stress at the end of the day as you have not had time to do them? Could you work smarter (not harder) and make more time for yourself?

4. Take a positive approach

Are you a glass half full or half empty sort of person? The way you see life can have a profound effect on your stress levels. Sometimes our view on a situation is justified but often it is not. By talking to friends or colleagues you will often find that the situation is not as bad as you first thought.

5. Keep yourself fit and healthy

To perform to our optimum level we need to be fit and healthy both physically and mentally. By ensuring we eat a healthy diet, take regular exercise, reduce our intake of alcohol, quit smoking and maintain a healthy weight we will be giving our mind and body the support it needs to be healthy.

6. Connect with others

Things are often not as bad as you perceive them, by talking to a friend or relative about your situation it will help you see things in a new light and address the issue with a more positive approach. When we connect with others it has a positive effect on our emotions and helps reduce our stress levels.

7. Find a hobby

When you are stressed you often spend time focusing on the negatives and the stress can spiral out of control. By engaging in a hobby that you really enjoy and that has no pressures or deadlines will help you take your mind off your stressors. Engaging in a hobby can bring many benefits such as an increase in creative thinking, a heightened sense of belonging and a feeling of achievement.

8. Accept that change is inevitable

Change is happening all the time, how you deal with that change will affect how you feel. If something in your life is not going the way you wish and you have the chance to change it do so. If the situation is out of your control then you have to accept this and move on. Spending time and energy worrying over the issues you have no control over will just lead to more stress.

9. Avoid turning to unhealthy habits

When people are stressed the first thing they often do is turn to alcohol or cigarettes to ease the situation but in reality this only makes it worse. Drinking alcohol may give an instant feeling of calm but side effects include: dehydration, disturbed sleep patterns, sweating, liver disease and addiction. Nicotine is a stimulant and too much makes the body react to trigger the stress response system increasing anxiety symptoms and only exasperating stress levels.

10. Volunteer

People who volunteer their time are often more resilient to stress. You can volunteer your services in many organisations from the National Trust to your local charity shop. Helping those less fortunate than yourself can often lead to reduced stress levels by readdressing your own issues and you can gain so much by connecting with others.

I hope you have found the above blog useful. To see the full factsheet which also offers ideas on how to implement the above points please visit our website

Wishing you health and happiness

Renée