Health Advice

Fat can be categorised into good fats and bad fats, some make you overweight and some can help you lose weight. There are those which are plant based like vegetable oil which are considered to be healthier than animal fats, although all fats essentially provide the same number of calories the physical make up of them differ.

Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are considered good fats. Saturated and Trans fats are both considered bad fats. Olive oil is the richest in omega-3s which are known to lower harmful cholesterol levels and therefore referred to as cardio protective and the best oil for health as this can reduce inflammation and provide immune system benefits too. Studies show that people who increase monounsaturated fat intake lose weight without decreasing calories.

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We all know the benefits of cardio exercises but there is also a theory that high impact repetitive cardio exercises such as step and running can cause pre-mature damage to your joints. There is also evidence to suggest that these types of activities can also prolong the effective life of your joints. Osteoarthritis is when the spongy tissue that cushions our joints and breaks down – this can be from too much of a single exercise, increasing your training too quickly, wrong trainers and a poor training technique. Signs of osteoarthritis are pain in your joints during or after your workout. Some simple rules to follow include:

• Wearing appropriate footwear.
• Start with small sets of workouts and increase gradually.
• Change the type of workouts – step, skipping, running etc.
• Stay in line to ensure your alignment through hips, knees and ankles.

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Running is one of the most effective cardio-vascular exercises you can do to improve overall fitness. Start by buying a good pair off running shoes - this doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive. Most god stores should be able to recommend running shoes for you and the correct type are needed to prevent injuries and for the correct type of running. Prices vary by brand but you should expect to pay about £40-£120. If you’re new to running you’ll find it extremely difficult to do 20mins continuously - start off by doing short bursts of jogging and walking. If you’re already using the treadmill and want to try outdoor running it’s recommended that start by short distances as environmental factors such as rain, wing and heat can change your body’s responses to running. Also the ground will play a big role - grass will have less impact on your knees then concrete.

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It is believed that that the chemicals and nutrients contained in food cause various reactions in the body and if a particular food has the effect of muscles making them weak then it would be concluded that a person has an allergy to it. Allergic reactions can cause a host of other problems such as headaches, tension, colds, tiredness and a general susceptibility to acquiring any passing infections.

There are two simple allergy tests that can be tried at home to determine if there is any sensitivity or allergy to certain types of foods, alternatively you can buy self test health kits if you think you may have an allergic reaction to certain food types, these so called self allergy testing kits, are fast becoming popular as more and more people are taking conscious decision to be more proactive regarding their health.

In 2007 a survey was carried out on 5200 in the UK which showed that 59% reported themselves as having food intolerance and a staggering 41% of them reported having classic food allergy symptoms, for example nuts.

Most allergy tests use a method based on a theory that by utilising the acupuncture pressure points on the fingers or toes to measure the resistance of the body to certain intolerances.

As the NHS waiting times increase for patients Home Test Kits are becoming even more popular allowing individuals to monitor and manage their own healthcare, as well as allergy testing some of the other home test kits can also be bought for testing Diabetes and Cholesterol.

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In the 1980’s a survey was carried out in the US and results showed that virtually all types of food poisoning was down to two main areas, improper cooling of food, and the improper refrigeration of food.

For individuals its worth remembering that to avoid harmful bacteria growing once you have bought frozen food or food that needs to be chilled you need to refrigerate it as soon as it arrives in the kitchen, so bacteria can capitalise on the sudden fluctuation in temperature immediately.

For businesses it’s not uncommon to have different refrigerators for different food items. Large scale catering companies often spend millions to ensure that the quality of their food is not compromised, as a direct result of the strict standards set by the industries food regulator, who monitor and can impose fines or even shut down the entire kitchen if food storage is found to be compromised in any way, the two most important things to remember is that the specification of whichever one you choose must allow you to ‘control the temperature’ and enable hygiene maintenance.

To keep food at the right temperature there are general operating temperatures published for example:

• Cooked foods need to be between 0 to 3 degrees.
• Frozen foods to be from -18 to -21 degrees.

These temperatures not only help maintain food safety but also the quality of it in the long term, the law also states that storage information and instruction should be displayed clearly on the packaging on all frozen food items.

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High Intensity Workouts is a form of training also known as ‘HIT’. The technique is applied to any form of aerobic exercise from rowing to stepping of even power walking around the park. If for example your doing a 30 minute work out session the aim is to up the intensity every four minutes which makes you train extra hard for the period of 30 seconds to 1 minute. After the minute is up you go back to your usual workout level again. The theory is that by repeating this throughout your workout you will not only burn more calories but increase your fitness levels.

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Clean air is vital for everyone be it indoors or outside, as pollution levels rise and temperatures soar more and more people are installing Air con units to regulate indoor temperature making the environment as comfortable as possible for people to live and work in. More so as many individuals spend at least 5-10 hours a day in the office it’s essential for companies to ensure a pleasant surrounding with regulated air temperature to avoid the huge cost of potential absentee problems, whilst simultaneously improving peoples health with clean and fresh air ventilation.

Air Con units are being used to address the issue of maintaining thermal comfort and it’s vital that these are of high quality and installed correctly to avoid a risk of health hazards. For those buildings which provide Air Conditioning units occupants can also breathe fresh air distributed by the ducted ventilation system. Good air ventilation can help avoid health issues specially during heat waves and it’s been known that some authorities even set up public cooling centres for those who don’t have access to quality air conditioning systems at home, It is also vital to check that Air Con units that are bought aren’t noisy which can have an adverse effect to the comfort of the home or work place.

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