Living Life blog

Dental health news: the danger snacks

The writer for today's post is Jen Jones, a health blogger who specialises in wellbeing topics incuding dental plans, nutrition and stress management.

Pretty much all of us who have an avid interest in fitness and wellbeing also try to eat as healthily as possible too.

But one of the the things about healthy eating is that it's about balance. So even the mega-healthy living among us will from time to time have a little snacky treat. Nothing wrong with that at all.

The thing with snacks though is that some of them can pose more of a risk to the teeth than others. And this week there was a new story about the danger of overindulging on crisps in terms of dental health.

While the obvious things like fizzy drinks and sugary confectionary products can be harmful to the teeth if we eat too manyof them, apparently crisps aren't great for the teeth either. Most of us probably assume that eating crisps is kind of tooth-health neutral compared to these other products, but according to the British Dental Health Foundation's chief exec, crisps are "one of the worst things for your teeth" since they can stick to them for hours. And when you think about it, there are certain types of crisp snacks that really do seem to form a paste that's quite adhesive on the teeth. 

So, as part of your tooth health regime, it may well be an idea to keep certain things to a minimum.

Marathon running: the big fitness deal

There's something addictive about running. Yes, it's pretty hard work to run long distances, and often, before going out training, it can feel a bit daunting. But most times once you're out there you start to feel good. 

Running, after all, is one of those things that the human body is designed for - right back to when we emerged, newly evolved and with opposable thumbs, speech and all the rest of it - from, well, wherever it was we emerged from. A cave, maybe. 

And it doesn't much of a stretch of the imagination to conclude that - if this is what we're designed for - maybe this is why exercise is good for us?

There are some caveats though. Running has its risks - blistered feet, maybe the odd knee problem now and then. Having said that, for many of us running is a great way to keep weight under control and it's also a good mood booster too. How many of us go for a run after work on a miserable midweek rainy evening and come home feeling great? Exerted and maybe a bit sweaty - but definitely revitalised. Exercise is also known to be a good way fo getting rid of stress too.

Personally, I favour the shorter runs myself. I enjoy the process of doing 10k at a decent pace. And while I'm not the fastest runner that ever lived - probably not the fastest runner living on my block, to be honest - the fun is there in the process of completing the distance.

The longest race I've taken part in was a half marathon. It took months of training, and it was still a very big effort and an exacting challenge to get through it. It was fun to do, though - and despit enjoying it, decided not to embark on training for any race that length again. My excuse? Well .. I really didn't have the time to train for a full marathon and also had concerns about both knees and one of my hip joints at the time. But i did keep running shorter distances and still thoroughly enjoy it.

So massive respect due to everyone who's taking part in the London marathon which takes place next month. I will be with you in spirit although sadly not among you on the tarmac. Best of luck with it, and I hope to see some of you on television!

International living, international health

Even if you're just a very occasional traveller, it's impossible to escape the happy fact that different countries are very different from each other. And if you're looking at buying international health insurance plans, providers such as AXA PPP International health insurance have country guides on their websites that give a brief summary of the health systems in various popular expatriate locations.

Over at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website there's a very comprehensive set of information for people travelling abroad - and one of the things that is most interesting is the extent to which things vary - and that as health systems vary across the world, so do the health risks.

And you don't even have to travel all that far for things to be different from home. Take rabies for instance, which - although thankfully almost wiped out and as time goes on ever more increasingly rare - was always something that you were quite aware of when entering continental Europe through France when I was a kid. They had these big scary posters to warn people that smuggling pets could have very serious health consequences, and as a kid it all looks a bit scary - but of course that was just the authorities' poster campaign way of discouraging any behaviour that would spread the disease.

Then of course there are also diseases like malaria, which require prospective travellers to visit their doctor about two months before setting off, in order to ensure that all the relevant vaccinations or prescriptions are sorted.

On the whole though, it does seem that the further afield you travel the more different things get - so it definitely pays to do a bit ofresearch if you're going somewhere particularly remote and exotic.

 

Business health: fit note versus sick note

The new 'fit note' - which was potentially going to herald big changes in workplace absence - was introduced just under 3 years ago. Essentially it means that a doctor can assess someone who is unwell as being well enough for a return to work.

 But has it made any difference?

 Well, according to the business wellbeing news pages recently, the much heralded fit note has had little practical effect on the day to day sickness absence management dealt with by employers.

 And in a recent Personnel Today article, it's reported that fewer than 10% of GPs in the country have been trained in the use of fit notes.

 Could it be time for a radical rethink of the system?