Posts tagged “Health”

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What are you addicted to?

Posted on 7th December 2016 at 07:45

As we’ve mentioned before our blog posts usually spark some interesting responses from clients – and often these aren’t what we expected. A recent example of this are the couple of posts we did on sugar, highlighting how easily it becomes part of our diet without us ever realising it AND why it’s so addictive.

Much to our surprise, it was the second point – focussing on its addictive qualities – that has caused most comment. Not to mention some ruffled feathers with comments along the lines of:

“How could we possibly say that sugar was addictive? That’s not a “proper” addiction. What’s wrong with a sugary treat? It’s nothing like alcohol or drugs. Those are real addictions.”

Sugar the master of disguise, why it's such a problem

Posted on 23rd November 2016 at 07:45

A couple of weeks ago we looked at why we love sugar so much – and, “yes” human history does play a large part in this (!) – as well as some of the many ways sugar is “hidden” in our favourite foods.

This week we’re going to look at why a high sugar diet is so damaging and how it’s associated with so many health problems. While some of these may be obvious – such as tooth decay and soaring rates of obesity – many others are less so.

To do this we first need to remind ourselves of a few basic facts about sugar and how our bodies are designed to deal with it.

Sugar the master of disguise

Posted on 9th November 2016 at 07:45

Sugar – particularly the sugar “hidden” within so many foods we never give a second thought to – is a subject which has received much press coverage in recent years. It’s one we discuss regularly with clients and have mentioned many times before in this blog. And yet, despite it being linked to many long term health problems, the message still doesn’t seem to be getting through.

So why is this? The simple answer is that sugar fuels one of our most basic instincts. Sweetness equating to food being good – and safe – to eat. It’s been used by humans as a basic survival tool for thousands of years. Just think of the sweetness of any fruit, telling us when it’s ripe and ready to eat. And how unpalatable the same fruit is, if picked too early.

Unfortunately this association has now become our undoing, with our diets having changed out of all recognition in the past few decades. Let alone centuries.

Has illness become the new norm?

Posted on 26th October 2016 at 08:45

Having been in practice for a number of years we’re aware that our perspective on life generally – and health in particular – is rather different to everyone else’s (!). Or, as a younger family member so delightfully puts it, “You’re not normal, why can’t you be like everyone else?” Much to his annoyance we take this as a compliment, rather than the wind up he was intending!

In large part, we’d say this was down to our independent natures, possibly verging on delinquent at times (!) – coupled with a tendency to question things that everyone else seems to accept as true…

Why do we laugh?

Posted on 19th October 2016 at 07:45

Don’t you just love the questions children ask you – and they’re always the ones without a simple answer! Having been asked this one the other day, we thought it was time for a little research on something we all do every day without ever thinking about it…

Well, our answer – and the obvious answer at that – was that we laugh when we find something funny. But, as we all know, it’s much more than that.

There are so many different reasons why we laugh. And not only when we find something funny. Those uncomfortable - or inappropriate – situations, when we just can’t seem to help it. Or, perhaps, when we’ve hurt ourselves.

Is breakfast still the most important meal of the day?

Posted on 12th October 2016 at 07:45

You may well have heard the saying “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.” But is it still true today? Our answer would always be a resounding “yes” (!) and you only need look at the word itself to see why it’s so important.

Breakfast is an old english word which can be traced back to the 15th century. It’s a shortened form of “breaking the fast”. In other words the first meal of the day which “breaks the fast” of the previous night.

While we may sleep during the night our bodies don’t; with many vital housekeeping and detoxing processes running overnight. This is the reason why we wake up feeling hungry – and often thirsty too – as our metabolic rate, blood sugar, energy and hydration levels all tend to be at their lowest when we wake. Not forgetting the essential trip to the bathroom to get rid of the end results of all that work (!) and freshen up for the new day..

More joys of Autumn

Posted on 28th September 2016 at 07:45

Earlier this month we talked about the delights of foraging and encouraged you to make the most of the glorious autumn weather to go out in search of blackberries and elderberries. Not only is it great fun but incredibly satisfying too!

So let’s now talk about two other autumn goodies which are in plentiful supply this year. The first is one you’ve probably noticed – they really glow in the sunlight at this time of year – but never thought about using, Rose hips. Surprised? Many people are, thinking of them only for decoration.

The joys of Autumn

Posted on 14th September 2016 at 07:45

The schools are back and, as so often is the case, we’re now being treated to a glorious Indian summer. Although having said that here in Suffolk we’ve had a great summer – almost too hot at times for the true Brit!!!

To us, one of the pleasures of autumn is going foraging for all the edible goodies that can be found in the hedgerows at this time of year. Not only are they organic, but come with zero food miles and exercise built in.

Is your body parched and crying out for water?

Posted on 31st August 2016 at 07:45

With the recent spell of hot weather – well, hot for the UK (!) – it’s easy for people to become dehydrated without even realising it.

Perhaps it’s due to them not being used to hot weather and simply not recognising the warning signs. Having said that, many of the classic signs of dehydration seem so obvious – to us at least (!) – that it can sometimes be difficult to understand how people don’t seem to join the dots.

So, this week, we’re going to focus on the most common signs of dehydration. And, don’t be fooled, they apply all year round and not just in the summer (!).

100 not out (!)

Posted on 17th August 2016 at 07:45

And “no” we’re not talking about telegrams from the Queen or cricket either…

Just in case you haven’t guessed it yet, we’re talking about the 100 blog posts we’ve made over the last couple of years. Even though we’ve covered a huge range of topics – and some more than once – they all have the same underlying message. And it’s such an important one that we wanted to use this blog post – our 101st (!) – to focus on it.

If you need a hint it’s at the bottom of every blog post – even this one.

So what is it?

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