Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip - Insulin and our Hearts

Insulin is an important hormone that allows sugar to move from our blood, after digesting food, into our muscles and fat cells to be either burned or stored

Diabetes, is the name we give to the disease related to problems with our insulin. Whilst some types of Diabetes are caused by factors out of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can usually be prevented in younger individuals by adopting a healthy lifestyle. What’s more, most of the lifestyle actions we can take to limit our diabetes risk will also help to improve our heart health! With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that: Eat more Fibre Fibre can not only help to reduce cholesterol levels but also helps to slow down how quickly our blood sugar levels increase. Try and swap white pasta and bread for wholegrain options, eat more fruit and vegetables, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds. Create Activity Opportunities Staying active is one of the most effective ways to maintain our weight and lower blood pressure. Consider how you can incorporate a minimum of one ‘activity opportunity’ every day, whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning your house, or dusting off your old bike. Remember to keep it fresh and do something you enjoy!

Take the 5% Challenge Reducing our bodyweight by more than 5% is an effective way to positively manage our future health, however any weight loss is beneficial, so start small and build on your success! Remember to set a goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-2lb per week is sustainable.

If you’d like to support Heart Research UK’s vital work into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk for inspiration on how you could help.

Know Your Numbers Eating excessive amounts of sugar over many years can be harmful to our health. Try and opt for foods with less than 5g of sugar per 100g most of the time, and limit high sugar foods such as fizzy drinks and sweets to less than twice per week. To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-recipes-2/ Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: https://heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Presenting:

Edward James Furniture Ltd

By Zara Harris

Discover the story behind Edward James Furniture in our interview with the founder, James as he gives us an insight into what the company is all about, why he set it up and his core values. Here’s what he had to say...

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR COMPANY.

We are a furniture shop in the centre of Kendal, selling high quality furniture for an affordable price. I started the business Edward James Furniture Ltd in 2012. This was after coming back from Australia in 2008 and trying to buy some decently priced, good quality furniture to no avail. This led me to opening up my own business to fulfil such a need. The name was derived from the middle names of my two boys, Charlie Edward and Harry James.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT EDWARD JAMES FURNITURE?

It’s a family run business located in Kendal, specialising in high quality British made furniture. Our Lakeland range of sofas are crafted from the finest materials. The furniture is constructed for strength and durability, with all components extensively tested for the customers peace of mind and all of the money goes back into Britain. I am proud to be British and our furniture is hand-crafted and tailored here in the UK.

The furniture has a free upgrade of Aquaclean fabrics on all sofas, as opposed to most selling this as a feature! Aquaclean® technology is a revolutionary fabric treatment that allows you to clean stains using water only. This provides you with simple fabric maintenance in the minimum amount of time. Aquaclean helps to remove the majority of household stains (wine, ink, sauce, fat, mud, chocolate, cream, etc) making life easier and giving you more time for the more important things. And it really does work.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE FURNITURE YOU SELL? (For example classic, neural etc..)

We have a variety of collections in all types of designs, in 100’s of quality fabrics and are all very comfortable, and will stay comfy! No cheap materials used whatsoever. Even the cushions are made of quality materials with duck feather inners. The furniture combines traditional techniques with modern technology to ensure the highest quality construction and superior comfort.

WHAT AREAS DO YOU COVER?

near them. We do direct home delivery from the factory to the client and free local delivery is to: Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Kirby Lonsdale, Ingleton, Sedbergh, Kirby Stephen, Coniston, Hawkshead, Ulverston, Grange over Sand, Arnside, Carnforth and Milnthorpe.

HOW DO YOU GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS?

We don’t pressurise our customers, we are there for the customer’s needs. I take the pressure off of the customers by listening to their needs and making sure their purchase is the right choice. Old fashioned quality with old fashioned service. We offer a free set-up service with delivery to the room of your choice, and the removal of all packaging.

WHAT PRICE ARE YOUR PRODUCTS?

I am proud that the furniture isn’t necessarily the cheapest, but by paying that little more, you’ll get furniture that will last over 15 years! I don’t want to sell a person a cheap sofa that only lasts 4 years. I know that in buying the right sofa, the best quality will please customers enough that they will then recommend us to their friends and family, and that’s better than a repeat purchase. WHAT ARE YOUR BEST SELLING PRODUCTS/ SIGNATURE STYLE?

We have seven best sellers, with a further five new models being introduced after Christmas, so stay tuned!

WHAT TRENDS HAVE YOU NOTICED?

Blues are very popular right now, with rusty orange and khaki following closely.

HOW DID THE BUSINESS ADAPT DURING THE PANDEMIC?

My business did OK during the pandemic as we already had orders to fulfil when the Kendal shop was closed. When it opened again, all those who had refunds from their holidays etc had money they wished to put into their homes, so business is doing well.

WHAT IS NEW FOR THIS YEAR AND NEXT?

We will be extending due to continued success with more choice, styles while still keeping the more traditional designs people know and love.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT CHRISTMAS DELIVERY LEAD TIME?

If you are thinking of a new sofa for Christmas, please consider ordering your sofa as soon as possible to guarantee Christmas delivery as due to the current circumstance and demand, the current lead time is 14 weeks from date of order.

Their full collection is available to view now at the Kendal showroom at: 37 Highgate, LA9 4ED N 01539 734439 F Edward James Furniture E enquiries@edwardjamesfurniture.com www.edwardjamesfurniture.com www.lancmag.com LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 35