Anxiety-busters Upset tummy

GASTROENTERITIS frequently hits more often in the winter because norovirus, one of its common forms, prefers cooler temperatures.

People can also pass on gastroenteritis without suffering from it themselves, or before their own symptoms have developed.

Although the illness can be more serious for infants, the elderly and those who are immunecompromised, most people will recover in a few days as the body fights off the infection and recuperates on its own.

Treatment involves drinking plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration although doctors reject the old standby of a fizzy drink that has gone flat, as the sugar only makes diarrhoea worse. Small amounts of bland food are also recommended.

Salmon’s Omega­3 fatty acids can lessen inflammation in the body and, again, combat anxiety.

Last of all, chocolatepreferably dark ­ is rich in antioxidants but also offsets anxiety because it is linked to comfort.

Long Covid Burning issue

DOCTORS writing in the British Medical Journal’s Open Sport and Exercise concluded that golf was good for the health and “probably” better than Nordic walking.

Shortly afterwards, more experts described ways to burn calories without leaving the home.

Their recommended cold shower might not prove popular during Spain’s current cold snap and few women need to be told that housework is one way of working up a sweat.

HOUSEWORK: Burns excess calories.

Meanwhile, eating celery burns more calories than those consumed and chewing gum uses an extra 11 calories an hour, the investigators found.

A HARVARD study suggested that Long Covid rates could drop by half if people ate healthily and exercised.

Using data from more than 32,000 female nurses, scientists wanted to determine how underlying health dictated a person’s risk of fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath.

Those living healthily were nearly half as unlikely to suffer lingering symptoms after overcoming Covid. They also found that sleeping less than seven hours a night and a body mass index below 25 were the greatest risk factors.