Self care

be well | self care

Self care

Being healthy and well starts with the care we take of ourselves. In this section, we offer regular articles and links giving simple guidelines to help you stay well and live life to the full.

If you have any worrying symptoms, please call your medical centre for an appointment with your GP or practice nurse.

Mediterranean diet - what really works

Research has been published in the BMJ showing that "some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life, according to this prospective cohort study from the Greek segment of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC). The researchers investigated the importance of individual components of the diet and found that eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts, pulses, and olive oil, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to people living longer, whereas following a Mediterranean diet high in seafood and cereals and low in dairy products was not an indicator of longevity."

Exercise for children

At least 60 minutes of exercise over the course of a day has been recommended for children and teenagers by UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in a recent public health guidance. Physical activity contributes to physical and mental wellbeing and is essential for good health later in life.

Health - the new wealth

Staying healthy and well is one of the best things you can do for your finances, as well as for your own happiness. Take a long term view – ask yourself if the way you live your life now is preparing for a healthy future, or sowing the seeds for long term illness.

Our tips for dollar-wise health:

Healthy eating

Eating healthy foods at meal times is the keystone of staying healthy. A well-balanced diet consists of the following every day:

3 - 5 servings of vegetables

include a variety of colours; red, green, orange and purple as they provide key nutrients depending on their colour
about 20% of your vegetable intake should be raw as this allows the body to get the most nutrients possible because none are removed via cooking methods.
Note - a serving is half a cup

Beat the blues

Modern life is stressful and in winter we have less resilience to the effects of stress and depression. Excellent scientific evidence links chronic stress to clinical depression which can present as loss of sleep and appetite, or the “burn out” state where we sleep and eat more.

Depression is incredibly common, comprising around a third of consultations to GPs (in many cases the presenting complaint will be one or more of the symptoms, without the person realising the link to depression).

The good news is depression is very treatable. The bad news is that left untreated, the underlying abnormalities causing depression lead to an increase in other chronic inflammatory disorders including heart attacks and Alzheimers disease.

Happiness is ...

Friends & family ... a friend close by. This interesting graphic on the International Herald Tribune website demonstrates the value to your happiness of living close to friends.

See also the research written up in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on happiness, social networks and health.

Top 10 health tips

Be nourished - eat regular meals of fresh, colourful foods
Be active – at least 30 minutes a day
Be sun-smart – never too much sun, nor too little as it’s an important source of Vitamin D

Allergies

Aaaaa…choo! The hay fever season peaks for many of us over the spring and summer months. In preventing allergy, we again see the importance of balance, moderation, and attention to our self care is key to minimising allergic conditions.

In this article, we look at why allergy is increasing in the Western world, and how we can self-manage to minimise the symptoms. Firstly, how does allergy work in our body?