Living Life blog

Winter health guides

Now that winter has well and truly arrived - and the shops are full of warm clothes as well as all manner of Christmas goodies, we thought we'd point you in the direction of some of the better guides to winter health that are available online.

For up to date news on winter health issues such as flu and virus outbreaks the gov.uk site has a page called Winter Health Watch - which collects all of Public Health England's health bulletins in the one place.

The Gurdian's Life section has a very good winter health guide (click here to visit) - the article focusses mainly on the preventative side of things, recommending ways to get the right vitamins  - such as vitamin d, levels of which can dip when sunlight is scarce, since sunlight is how we synthesise it. The article provides example of the types of foods we should get to help shore up our levels of this and other nutrients.

 At this time of year it's also especially important for older people to make sure the colder months are a time of maximum wellbeing, and Age UK has a handy guide entitled Winter Wrapped Up that includes a lot of useful advice - click the link above for information, and there's also handy and detailed guide on a PDF there too, which you can print off and keeo to hand.

And for parents, there's an extensive and fact-filled winter guide on the Parenting site - with useful information on different temperatures, hwo to help kids avoid slipping on ice, as well as some useful outlines for what to wear when doing various winter sports.

Does winter bring on joint pain or exacerbate joint pain you already experience? Then this guide - overcoming winter aches and pains - takes us through what to wear, posture and so on for optimum winter joint health.

 

The Top 5 Don’ts of Dental Health

Knowing dental health and maintaining a great smile

The basics of dental health are very well promoted and pretty much anyone with an interest in the health sphere will know the steps to keeping up good oral hygiene as well as what dental cover such as this example here) can offer. Regular brushing, check ups and so on. 

But as with all things health related, there’s always more that we can do in order to ensure that we keep our smiles in tip top condition, so we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 don’ts to watch out for in maintaining optimum oral health.

5 Don’t just concentrate on the surfaces when cleaning your teeth. It’s also important to floss, making sure you’re removing food and plaque in the spaces between each tooth.

4 Don’t overlook your diet. We all know that eating too many sugary snacks and knocking back too many sugary drinks can be bad for the teeth. But it’s also god to avoid too many things that stick to the teeth like maize snacks or certain types of dried fruit. And be sure to oncorprate things in your diet that will help keep your teeth strong and healthy, such as calcium rich dairy products like milk.

3 Don’t brush too soon after a meal. Eating food and drinking things like cola mean that your mouth needs time for the acid to neutralise. Brushing too soon can actually damage the surface of your teeth. Instead, try chewing gum which will freshen your breath, help dislodge any bits of food that have got stuck between the teeth, and also get the saliva flowing to help neutralise the acid.

2 Don’t smoke. Aside from all the other health risks associated with smoking, it’s also bad for oral health – it stains the teeth, can cause gum disease, and is also responsible for increased risk of various cancers.

1 Don’t forget that oral health and hygiene is more than just about cleaning the teeth. Paying attention to the gumline while cleaning is also important. Using mouthwash can also help kill bacteria in the mouth and help keep breath fresh, and if it’s a fluoride mouthwash you will also be helping to protect teeth against cavities.

Healthy eating: does it make you radiate wellness?

Stop! Put that pork pie down and read the rest of this blog post...

We all know that fruit and veg is good for us. Or, most of us do.

Ask people what kind of benefits you get from eating youre five a day, and you' likely get a renge of responses:

They contain iron, vitamins, etc.

Some greens like spinach contain good amounts of minerals essential for optimal body function

Fruit and veg provide dietary fibre

etc.

And then more general reasons such as 

Eating fresh stuff makes me feel better than stodge

Eating 5 a day gives me more vitality

And so on.

Some people would possibly even claim that fruit and veg makes them look better - and I don't mean by putting a cucumber disc over each eye and plastering your face with mashed up avocado either.

And those people might ctually be right - recent research suggests that eating fruit and veg can enhance your looks by adding a bit of a glow. And apparently it's not just down to a glow of health from eating healthful foods like these: certain red and yellow pigments (carotenoids) could be having an actual optical effect. Actually this isn't all that difficult to believe - after all, there are those stories of people turning orange after eating one too many carrots.

Of course, the best thing about fresh fruit and veg is the way they taste and the nutrients they contain - any added glow or upping of the looks quotient is, as they say, just a bonus!

The Expensive Trend for Home Births

It's not the first time I've heard of home births being trendy, but this article on the amount of money many women are now willing to pay to guarantee a home birth was eye opening.

While the NHS do currently offer home births, the plans can be changed last minute if the hospital is short staffed - which is why many women are now paying as much as three or four thousand pounds to have their baby at home.

The article reports that many women are hiring private midwives to receive a more personal level of care, and so that they definitely know who will be with them at the time of having their baby.

I know at the moment this isn't something that most family health insurance packages would offer, but if the trend kicks off who knows? Anything could happen at this point....

What do you think about the expensive trend for home births?

 

Summer Fun

Although the summer is drawing towards a close the nights are still long and you can still get out and enjoy yourself, and do some mild exercise while you're out and about. The best way to do this of course is just to take a long stroll with the family [or with your dog].

It is that simple to exercise after all, you don't have to go out running with all the snazzy gear and potentially do yourself a mischeif, and we wouldn't like that mnow would we?

But then again maybe you are already a decent enough trainer that you would want to go for a run or for a game of football with the kids, it does you good to keep in shape and it also helps keeping the bills down. Private medical Insurance isn't cheap at the best of times so anything that you do to keep it at it's cheapest is good.

So, on you go, it's a marvelous evening and not the time to be watching the last of those summer evenings fade away, get out there and enjoy it, it's free after all

Walk to work.

In my humble opinion, too many people these days drive everywhere. When I was but a lad not everybody had a car [never mind two], so people always used to walk to places. Remember I'm not talking about the 1930s or 40s here, no I mean the 1980s. Me, my Mum, Dad and Sister used to walk  to the Supermarket every week. Even when the family got a car, we still walked to the supermarket, because it simply was not seen as too difficult a chore.

This is what really baffles me, it is that so many people drive all the way to work, when they only live a short distance away. I would walk if it wasn't for the fact that I live miles away from my job [I'm thinking of getting the company to move closer soon though], but it's easy to say that isn't it?

Surely it isn't too hard just to get up half an hour earlier and stroll, not only does it help keep you healthy, it will save you money in both the long and the short run. But now I'm sounding like an old person. So I'll just leave it up to you, we all know we can do a little bit more, it's just a matter of will.

Health insurance quotes in this economic climate

With this 'economic downturn' showing no tangible signs of easing for us 'ordinary' consumers (unemployment still on the rise), those of us lucky enough to have a job and a house are having to prioritise and shop around for the best deals on everything we buy.

 

The downturn over the last few years has affected our society in a myriad of ways (some of which we probably are not aware of yet) - and one of these has undoubtedly been in health - the NHS has been stretched to its limits as more people fall ill from stress related illnesses, this has made it even more difficult to get an appointment with a specialist if you fall ill.

 

Therefore, even though our finances are somewhat under pressure, there are still many people who wish to have the security of private medical insurance behind them, to protect them just incase. Most consumer experts will encourage you to shop around for your health insurance quote. This can be done effectively online, there are numerous health insurance comparison sites, however, sometimes it may be wise to go direct to the company themselves. Most of the biggest health insurers should be able to give you a free no obligation quote.

 

Good luck with getting your quote, if you have any experiences which may be useful please feel free to let us know.

5 of my favourite health and fitness videos

1) 100 life saving health food tips - some very solid advice here on the best foods to eat

2) Eating healthily on a budget - Not all of us can afford to eat luxury organic brands and products. This video has some great advice on spending your money wisely on the correct foods.

3) Healthy Eating - Another good video on eating healthily

4) Calorie burning workout routine

5) 15 Fitness Exercises - A great series of fitness videos to get you in shape

What are your favourite internet health and fitness videos?

Getting healthy

After the excesses of the festive period i have vowed to myself that my health and fitness MUST become a priority for me in 2010. Over the last 18 months or so work and life commitments have begun to get in the way of the activities that i used to enjoy (im sure im not alone!), but this year i am aiming to claim them all back and restore some of my physical and mental wellbeing. This has obviously had a knock-on effect on my weight (i need to lose about 10kg).

I aim to keep this blog, mainly as a diary of how i manage to progress in the coming months. Hopefully i won't bore you all too much, im approaching all this with an open mind. Among the plans that i have are:

• Getting back into Mountain Biking
• Playing regular five-a-side football
• Honing my skills on the golf course
• Tennis
• Regular excercise (i.e sit-ups - push-ups)

Sounds like there could be some fun ahead.....back soon with my first update!