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Feelgood Friday, March 19, 2010
Picture: iStock
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The lost hour
Lack of sleep is having a dramatic impact on children’s intelligence, behaviour and weight: 8,9,10
SEA VEGETABLES
GP launches guide to cooking with seaweed: 4
SPINE TINGLING
Exercise is key to dealing with back pain: 5
SUN SMART
Spring is here — time to up the SPF count: 14
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After life-saving operations on their son, a couple is raising funds for Crumlin hospital, writes Colette Sheridan Kate O’Reilly WHAT’S ON FREE CLASSES: The community-based Life Long Learning Festival takes place from March 22 to 28 in and around Cork city, and has many interesting events, all free. Try a free Pilates class on Friday next March 26 at 11am in the Kinsale Road Women’s Gym. To book your class, call Jaconel on 085-1613 505. Or how about learning more about dyslexia and music? An illustrated talk on the challenges and benefits of learning music for dyslexics, people with learning difficulties and those who do not read music will be given by Tom Mulcahy at Civic Trust House, Pope’s Quay, Cork, on Wednesday next, March 24 from 1pm to 2pm. Call 021-4215101. Check www.corkcity.ie/learningfestival for information. CYCLING EVENT: Race Around Ireland 2010, one of Europe’s toughest endurance cycling races, is now calling for entrants. Next September, amateur cyclists get the chance to take to the starting line with the pros as they cycle a 2,100km route over the course of a week. Race Around Ireland 2010 is also encouraging groups of up to eight people (where each person will spend about three hours a day cycling) to take part. A free information day will be held in Dublin City University tomorrow Saturday, March 20, at 10am, or log on to www.racearoundireland.com TRAILTREKKER 2010: Trailtrekker is the Oxfam 100km team challenge across the Mourne Mountains and Cooley Peninsula. On September 4 and 5 2010, teams of four will walk through some of Ireland’s most spectacular terrain in under 36 hours. Or you could make 2010 the year you run a marathon for Oxfam Ireland. To find out more visit www.oxfamireland.org BEALTAINE FESTIVAL: Bealtaine, celebrating creativity in older age, runs in May with thousands of events across the country. Blow The Dust Off Your Trumpet, which began in the National Concert Hall in 2009, is also taking place in Cork in 2010. Older people are invited to bring along musical instruments they once played and with the help of music teachers, join an orchestra. Contact NCH, Dublin on 01-4170063 or Cork Arts Office on 021-4924736, for more details. Visit www.bealtaine.com, or call Age & Opportunity on 01-8057709. HEART CLINIC: The Irish Heart Foundation will hold a free blood pressure and cholesterol testing clinic at the Parish Centre, Carrigaline, on Wednesday next March 24 from 10am to 12am. For details call 021-4505822 or if you have questions about stroke or heart disease you can contact the Helpline 1890 432787. ■ Items for inclusion in this column can be sent to koreilly8@gmail.com
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Saying thanks
OLLOWING two life-saving operations on their infant son at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Cork couple Niamh Parker and Alan Beechinor are raising funds for the hospital at a darts event at the Angler’s Rest pub just outside the city. As part of the evening, one of the stars of The Apprentice, Breffny Morgan, will challenge a listener to Red FM (a local Cork radio station) to a game of darts. Griffin Parker-Beechinor was born on August 5 last year. After presenting with bilious vomiting, doctors at Cork University Maternity Hospital carried out tests which indicated that something was wrong. “Our world caved in at that point,” says Alan. “Griffin was transported to Our Lady’s Hospital. He had malrotation of the bowel, a rare condition. It means the bowel is twisted and it can lead to volvulus, a total breakdown of blood supply to the bowel. The condition is life-threatening and can lead to loss of the bowel.” Surgery was carried out on Griffin. His stomach was opened and the bowel readjusted. It was hugely traumatic. He was on antibiotics and morphine and found it hard to keep down milk which was fed to him in tiny amounts through a syringe. Three weeks later, Griffin had to be readmitted to Our Lady’s Hospital for further surgery. His bowel had an obstruction; Adhesions, which can occur in people after surgery, blocked the bowel. The wound
ALL SMILES: Alan Beechinor and Niamh Parker’s son Griffin has made a good recovery after two bouts of emergency surgery. Picture:Denis Minihane
from Griffin’s first operation had to be reopened and the adhesion repaired. “Griffin has made a good recovery but you don’t get any guarantees that this won’t happen again. We have to be vigilant, making sure that he doesn’t vomit green bile. Early detection is the key.” Alan sings the praises of the staff at Our Lady’s Hospital. “The staff there saved Griffin’s life. You can’t put a value on that.
We want to give something back by raising funds for the two wards Griffin was in. Money raised will go towards new blankets for the babies, cot mobiles, crockery for the parents’ kitchen and a breast pump. We noticed a lack of facilities at the hospital which is due to underfunding.” ■ Tickets for the darts event on March 26 are available from the Angler’s Rest, Carrigrohane, Co Cork. 021 4871167.
HEALTH NOTES THOUGH medical breakthroughs continue to be made, the incidence of chronic conditions such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes is expected to increase. According to a new study by the Institute for Public Health (IPH), we can expect to have a 40% increase in the number of people living with these conditions in the Republic of Ireland by 2020. IPH Associate Director who led the work, Prof Kevin Balanda said: “Unless we can address this increase in people living with these conditions we could be adding years of illness and disability to our lives.” For all the chronic conditions considered in the study, people living in more deprived areas are more likely to be affected. Further information: www.publichealth.ie . WOMEN are more likely to date a grey-haired man than a bald one. When asked if they would date someone who was almost totally bald, 11% said it was out of the question and 36% thought it highly unlikely. Two thirds of Irish singles prefer grey hair to the less natural look favoured by the likes of red-carpet stars Helen Mirren and George Clooney. According to new survey published recently by the Parship.ie online dating service, one third (35%) of men and just over a quarter of women (28%), claim to prefer the natural look to
CHILL OUT: Denise Soden, pictured here with her daughter Lilly, found ice helped during morning sickness. So she developed a range of fruit flavoured ice pops she has named Lillipops. dyed hair, while a further 40% of men and 26% of women say grey hair doesn’t detract from someone’s appeal, but in fact enhances it. Paradoxically, however, two thirds (68%) of women under 50 years of age said they would definitely dye their hair if it contained more than 25% grey, though the comparable figure for men was just 28%.
LICK morning sickness during pregnancy with naturally-flavoured Lillipops iced smoothies. Produced in Tipperary, Lillipops are available through pharmacies and health shops throughout Ireland in boxes of 20, F9.99. The product is the brainchild of mum Denise Soden who came up with the idea when pregnant and suffering from extreme morning sickness with her third child. Businessman Donal Duggan of Medical Solutions is responsible for introducing the product to Ireland. “Lillipops work by rehydrating the body, boosting energy and lowering temperature in a natural way,” he says. A volunteer with The Hope Foundation in Calcutta, Duggan aims to donate F10,000 from the first year of sales which will pay for more than 200 children to be immunised. Do note that lollipops are not a medical product. If symptoms are severe, a pregnant woman should seek the advice of her GP. IMPOTENCE can signal heart disease according to researchers. In a study carried out by the University of Saarland, 1,519 men from 13 countries who had cardiovascular disease and who were also impotent carried twice the risk of a heart attack or death. Impotence is linked to inadequate blood flow in the penile arteries. So a persistent failure to get an erection may be an early sign that his arteries are narrowing. Irene Feighan
feelgood@examiner.ie EDITORIAL: Irene Feighan 021-4802292 ADVERTISING: Niamh Kelly 021-4802215
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FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
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THE SHAPE I'M IN
Simon Delaney
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Lots of play time SIMON DELANEY is popping up on screen and stage these days. The 39-year-old Bachelor’s Walk star is appearing for the fourth time in Marie Jones’s Stones In His Pockets, which plays in the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork, tonight and tomorrow, March 19-20. (Tickets available at www.everymanpalace.com). But Raheny-born Simon also has a comic role in the six times IFTA-nominated film Zonad, which opened here on St Patrick’s Day. “I play the part of an alcoholic who breaks out of a fancy dress party while in rehab. He ends up in the west of Ireland where people presume he’s an alien.” For the past few weeks, Simon has been putting budding young performers through their paces in auditions for Fame The Musical. The show — which airs over 10 weeks on RTÉ One from April — searches for young stars to appear in an Irish run of the West End musical, Fame. “I’ve said no to a lot of reality TV in recent years but this attracted me because I owe my career to musical theatre. To be part of a process that will allow two kids to go in front of an audience of 2,200 people, eight shows a week, as a lead in a West End musical — well that’s a golden opportunity. It’s almost Willie Wonka,” says Simon, who’s married to Lisa and father to sons Cameron, three, and Elliot, 18 months. Simon stars alongside Conor Delaney in Stones In His Pockets. “The key to the success of this play is that there’s no set, only one costume, no props, just the two of us working our butts off for two hours — audiences appreciate that.” What shape are you in? I’m in reasonably good shape. Because my role in Stones In His Pockets is so physically demanding, I have to have a reasonable level of fitness. I always drop one or two stone when I do that play. Do you have any health concerns? My parents were both fairly young when they
died. Cancer took my mother at the age of 51. My dad had a heart attack while playing golf when he was 69. Things like that make you conscious of potential problems and, certainly, since having kids I think a bit more about my health. What are your healthiest eating habits? Lisa and I are pretty conscious of what we eat. I cook dinner most evenings — we’re not takeaway merchants. We eat a lot of vegetables and we have fish a couple of times a week. Because we’re cooking for kids, we don’t use a lot of salt and Lisa insists on our eating a lot of fruit. What’s your guiltiest pleasure? Chocolate and crisps. The cheaper and nastier the crisp, the more I like it — I could lose myself on a six-pack of onion rings. What would keep you awake at night? At the moment, my 18-month-old son. I’m also in a stressful job and the irregularity of work can be a worry — you can work for nine months straight and then not work for a spell. How do you relax? When I can, I go for a game of golf. I’m also a bit of a PlayStation man. I did a lot of archery last year. I was doing it four or five nights a week and got very competitive. I love throwing the bow in the car and going up to the club — it’s a great stress-reliever. Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Michael Palin, Peter Ustinov, Frank Sinatra for the entertainment, and Marilyn Monroe. When did you last cry? I cried last Sunday at the Fame auditions when we delivered our verdict on who was in and who was out. I cry a lot. When you have two babies you cry a lot — when they say things like ‘Daddy, I love you’, it’s hard not to get emotional. What’s your favourite smell? My babies … it’s just the sweetest smell — incredible. What would you change about your appearance? I’d like to be more svelte. What was the best book you read recently? Michael Palin’s latest book, Halfway To Hollywood. What trait do you least like in others? Social ignorance grates on me. I don’t like people who click their fingers or use ‘you’ to address waiters. What trait do you least like in yourself? Physically, my worst habit without question is that I’m a smoker. Other than that, I’m not very patient — I constantly need to work on that. Do you pray? Yes, as a last resort. I’d hesitate to describe myself as a lapsed Catholic because we all like to hang onto the belief that there is someone or something out there that will help us. What would cheer up your day? If I’m working, rehearsing or away filming, I love ringing home and I love if one of the boys answers the phone. It recharges the batteries, reminds me of why I’m away working and of what’s there when I come home. Helen O’Callaghan
IN CHARACTER: Simon Delaney stars in Stones In His Pockets, currently playing at the Everyman Palace, Cork. Picture: Anthony Woods
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FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
A DIFFERENT VIEW ON LIFESTYLE Your guide to fitness, health, happiness and lifestyle. Great writers and mentors. Where you come first. Every Friday
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After falling out of favour during famine times, seaweed is making a splash yet again. Rosie Shelley talks to Prannie Rhatigan about the nutritional power of sea veg
The tide is turning S
EXY and soundly nutritious, seaweeds or sea vegetables have been long overlooked in our quest for better health. Now Dr Prannie Rhatigan, a GP with a family rooted in the gathering and culinary use of these “mysterious nutritional powerhouses” is set to change that with her new book, the Irish Seaweed Kitchen. Aside from it’s glossy handsome appearance and timely reminder that we have all the ingredients for health to hand if we would only get back to basics and enjoy what nature provides, the book offers a comprehensive guide to harvesting seaweeds, their individual properties and a wealth of accessible recipes. Prannie grew up with seaweed — marking the seasons by garnering particular varieties and making the most of them in the kitchen. Her parents she says were “hugely into it” and when she moved back to Ireland, Prannie, who lives on the coast in Co Sligo, was invited to give courses in the use of seaweeds in the Organic Centre in Co Leitrim. The positive feedback she received led her to think that a book on seaweed would be useful. So why did the use of sea vegetables fall out of favour? There’s a negative association, Prannie says, with famine times, and having to prepare our own food. “A whole generation was lost out there” in terms of reaping the benefits. But judging by her local shops and healthfood stores, Prannie finds there is a marked increase in demand and feels the tide is definitely turning. “Apart from being rich in minerals, vitamins and trace elements, seaweeds contain other substances that are beneficial to health,” she says. Seaweeds can boast unusual phyto (plant) defensive compounds and unusual fatty acids that have a synergistic effect when eaten alongside land vegetables. She also points to research that shows “seaweeds have an apoptotic effect on cancer cells. This means that they cause cancer cells to die while otherwise protecting normal healthy cells”. In the book, cancer researcher Dr Jane Teas agrees “they have so much more to offer with specific compounds… all of which just don’t occur in land plants and each of which to date has shown strong anti-cancer properties”. The large variety of seaweeds available to us here, whether from the shore or the healthfood store, all have some powerful recommendations: nori for example, used in the cheese cake recipe, is rich in vitamins A and C, protein, calcium and iron, and one of the few plant sources of vitamin B12, while dulse is supremely high in iron and can combat the herpes virus and seasickness. All seaweeds are such good sources of the thyroid supporting mineral iodine but you
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Seaweeds cause cancer cells to die while otherwise protecting normal healthy cells
Baked lemon cheese cake with Nori Serves 6 BASE: 85g (3oz) butter, melted 225g (8oz) digestive biscuits, crushed 1 tsp nori, flakes or finely ground FILLING: 85g (3oz) castor sugar 2 eggs, beaten Zest of 1 lemon Juice of half to one lemon ½tsp nori, ground 500g (1lb 2oz) full fat cream cheese
SEA BOUNTY: Dr Prannie Rhatigan is putting sea vegetables back on our tables with her cookbook, The Irish Seaweed Kitchen. should consult your GP before eating them if you are on thyroid medication. Agar agar, traditionally used to deal with constipation and soothe the digestive tract, is a gelling agent that adds bulk to food without calories and is high in fibre — great for anyone concerned with weight loss. And kombu is a tenderiser, which when added to foods like beans aids with their digestion, and also helps to enhance the nutrition and flavour of anything cooked with it. It has anti-cancerous properties, can remove heavy metals from the body and is used for
rheumatic and arthritic conditions, water retention and high blood pressure, prostate and ovarian problems, thrush, hypothyroidism and obesity, and lymphatic swellings. Dr Rhatigan’s book, which has already been featured by Pat Kenny, Rachel Allen, John McKenna and the Afternoon Show, had its Irish launch last night on the eve of the County Sligo Food Festival, whose celebrations — including a seaweed walk with Prannie today and a buffet lunch tomorrow — are set to continue over this weekend. ■ For more information see www.prannie.com
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TO PREPARE THE BASE: Preheat oven to 175C/350F/Gas mark 4 1.Melt the butter, add the biscuit and nori 2. Press the mixture into a 22.5cm (9 inch) buttered loose-bottomed tin TO PREPARE THE FILLING: 1. Beat the sugar and eggs until pale. 2. Whisk in the lemon zest, juice, nori and cream cheese, until smooth. 3. Pour over base and bake for 30 minutes. 4. Run a knife around the edge of tin to loosen, allow to cool. From The Irish Seaweed Kitchen
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Whether it’s the odd twinge or agonising spasm, up to 70% of us will suffer at least one episode of lower back pain during our lives. Kathy Foley reports
EASING THE PAIN W
HEN former Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism Martin Cullen announced recently he was retiring from politics due to chronic back pain since breaking his neck in a car accident, many Irish people would have winced in recognition. From occasional twinges to paralysing spasms of pain, up to 70% of us will suffer at least one episode of lower back pain during our lives. According to the preliminary results of the Prime (Prevalence, Impact and Cost of Chronic Pain) study, which is ongoing at NUI Galway, lower back pain is the most typical cause of chronic pain in the under-65s. Unfortunately for those in genuine pain, having a “bad back” is often seen as an excuse for malingering and sometimes with good reason. Last year, a review by a public accounts committee found only 154 of 1,532 people in Dublin and Cork in receipt of a disability allowance for lower back pain were genuinely entitled to the payment. Even mild lower back pain can be discommoding, however. In most cases, the cause is not as serious as it was for Cullen. According to Dr David Delvin, the author of Back Ache: What You Need To Know, back pain in 19 out of 20 people is simple and linked to the way the bones, ligaments and muscles of the back work together. Poor posture, sitting, standing or bending for long periods, heavy lifting or damage from a fall are among the most frequent causes. In most cases, exercise is the best treatment, says Eileen Murphy of the
Dublin Spine and Sports Physiotherapy Clinic. Murphy has been physiotherapist to the Irish team at three Olympic Games. “The amount of exercise recommended is much more now than previously, doing 90 repetitions of an exercise rather than 30, for example. If you can walk, cycle or swim without pain, you need to be doing that for 40 minutes a few times a week, and to break a sweat. That releases endorphins, enkephalins and oxytocin to reduce pain. “Unless you have a serious pathology, such as a ruptured disc or a chronic nerve root irritation, diagnosed by your doctor or physiotherapist, you need to be moving. You can’t be fit enough or strong enough if you have a bad back.” In recent years, a plethora of alternative therapies have sprung up to treat back pain and other aches. These include osteopathy, chiropractic, the Feldenkrais Method, shiatsu, acupuncture and others. Sceptics ridicule practitioners of such treatments as ‘quacks’ and medical experts are often wary of encouraging use of alternative treatments. A paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine noted, for example, “the proven benefit of chiropractic spinal manipulation is far less certain than chiropractors tend to admit and its risks are not negligible”. However, certain alternative treatments may be beneficial in some cases. Another paper, published in the British Medical Journal in 2008, found that one-to-one lessons in the Alexander Technique from registered teachers have “long-term benefits for patients with chronic back pain”.
Although alternative therapies may help some sufferers, it’s important to remember that standards vary and these treatments do not tend to be backed by formal research. “It’s a big problem,” says Ruth Magee, a chartered physiotherapist at the Enniskerry Physiotherapy Clinic in Co Wicklow. “Medicine and chartered physiotherapy are evidence-based
Unless you have a serious pathology, such as a ruptured disc or a chronic nerve root irritation you need to be moving. You can’t be fit enough or strong enough if you have a bad back
Ten ways to stay in healthier shape 1. Sit up straight — Watch your posture. Sitting upright puts a 140% load on your lumbar spine. Sitting leaning forward increases that load to 190%, says physiotherapist Eileen Murphy. 2. Stay active — Complete bed rest used to be prescribed for bad backs, but now experts say it’s better to take some painkillers and keep moving. 3. Take a break — If you are seated for long periods, get up and walk around every now and then. 4. Bend your knees, not your back — Squat down to pick things up, instead of bending from the waist, to prevent twisting and straining your lower back. 5. Stop and think — If you hurt your back while doing an activity, stop immediately, instead
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of continuing and making matters worse. 6. Think hot, then cold — If you get back pain, put a wrapped hot water bottle against the sore area. If that doesn’t work, try a cold pack. 7. Sweet dreams — Choose a bed that is supportive and comfortable. Harder mattresses are not necessarily better for your back. 8. Exercise regularly — Make sure you get an hour’s cardiovascular exercise five times a week. 9. Watch your weight — Even a few extra pounds can put strain on your back. 10. Get screened — See a physiotherapist for a top-to-toe screening.
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practice. They use things like exercises and joint mobilisation, which have been shown to work. Many of the alternatives have not been shown to work. They are based on anecdotal evidence. If someone wants to pay F100 for an alternative therapy, that’s fine, but I would be more in favour of a practice based on research.”
FORCED OUT: Martin Cullen had to retire from the Dáil recently due to persistent back problems. Picture: Dan Linehan
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An unexpected stay in hospital taught Peter Cosgrove to appreciate his health and family, and he left with a greater regard for the selfless medical staff
The upside to being ill
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HANK God I got sick. I am glad it happened now, as opposed to later. Let me explain — after breaking a bone in my foot, which had me on crutches for six weeks, I subsequently developed a clot in my calf, which travelled to my lungs and turned into a very painful pulmonary embolism. A condition, I found out subsequently, that can be very dangerous. I had no shortage of ‘knowledgeable’ friends telling me stories of brain clots and internal bleeding. I am 38 years old, generally very fit and healthy, so, naturally, was not expecting this to happen to me. Why was I so happy? Having spent three days in accident and emergency, I had time to reflect on all the positives around this experience. Don’t get me wrong, I am not sure I want to repeat it, but it has given me some perspective. Firstly, the doctors kept telling me how young I was. Granted, even if the average age in A&E was double mine, a doctor telling you that you are young and healthy is good to hear. Being in hospital reminds you of how many people are sick and aged, and how difficult it is for them and their loved ones. It also highlights the difficulties you face as you reach old age, and selfishly made me think: ‘thank God that I am not there, yet’. It made me determined to stay fit and healthy, knowing that this was the best way to fight any illness. Secondly, we hear about the hard work that is done in our hospitals, but when you witness it every day it is truly inspirational. The work done by the orderlies, care assistants, nurses, doctors, and a multitude of other members of staff to keep things going is phenomenal to watch in action. In the most fraught of circumstances, in which patients are regularly far from rational, the staff were helpful, committed and genuinely full of a bonhomie. One girl, recently
arrived from England, had fallen while wearing heels and lost a tooth (a common occurrence, from what I saw in A&E), and the nurse had to be part medical aid and part counsellor as the girl spoke about her film career being in jeopardy. I run a recruitment business and delight when we find someone their dream job. A dream job is one, generally, where you care deeply about what you do. And nursing staff do care deeply. Being someone who does not like to ask for help, I found crutches very debilitating when I first started using them. As I was unable to carry anything as simple as a glass of water, it leads you to ask for help a lot more than you may want to, and, again, is not a bad thing. People are incredibly willing to help and I think our Irish tendency to tell everybody you are “grand” may not serve us well. I learnt that if you are in hospital you need to speak up or you may get ignored. As I lay there in pain, the first night, a guy in the next curtain howled in pain and received much attention, from a symptom I found out later was no more than trapped wind. I am not advocating a move in the direction of our American brethren, who will tell you their life story at a bus stop, but somewhere in between. I found that parents will remain parents regardless of what age you become, and always worry about you, with my mum determined to make it in to see me. “No winter vomiting bug is going to stop me,” she said. I have a family of eight siblings, who were very supportive. I realised that it should not take an illness to ensure that you stay in contact. Friends also came out in support. Naturally, many men find it diffi-
cult to ask anything that may come across as too emotional. They will just call you a klutz, or ask if it’s the maternity ward that you are in. This is the Irish male psyche: not keen on too much emotion, as it’s a perceived sign of weakness. This certainly seemed the case with my friends and, by association, with me also. Being a parent of two kids and with a very supportive and loving wife, you do also appreciate what you have. Most surprising was the contrast between my wife, who could not do enough for me and who was very worried, to the kids, who just get on with things and almost shock you with their insouciance towards the illness. Their lack of understanding of life’s endless cycle is refreshing. I saw some wonderful, heart-warming moments while in hospital. There is camaraderie with those beside you on trolleys. Perhaps, once you are in a gown, you have, somehow, lost most of your inhibitions and there is a feeling you are all in it together. I saw a woman get her test results, highlighting that she did not have cancer, which was an amazing moment for her, but one that touched all of us. I was in a bed beside a man who had been in hospital for three months. He was leaving the day before me: the kiss he and his wife shared when she arrived said everything about their love and companionship. Finally, the look on my own wife, Tara’s face when I was told my news, and her relief when I turned out to be okay, makes you realise that, whether you want to or not,
The work by the orderlies, care assistants, nurses, doctors and a multitude of other members of staff to keep things going is phenomenal to watch in action Feelgood
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you touch many lives. Of course, the health system is not perfect and there have been many articles written about the waits on trolleys, but what helped me was focusing on the positives. I know that I have to go on a blood thinner for six months, which means either none or precious little alcohol, so I will have to learn how to have a good time while sober and to manage nights out as a designated driver. I am perversely looking forward to this and it will be good for me. Let’s call it character building (whether I am so optimistic in a month remains to be seen). I have also learned how to inject myself in the stomach with a needle full of a drug called Clexane. This was not one of my life goals, but is strangely satisfying. Moments of reflection are hard to come by with family and work commitments, but I hope it will not take another hospital stay for me to remember to enjoy being young, the importance of staying healthy, and the fantastic network of friends and family that I have. As for the hospitals, if you could just get that TV in St Patrick’s ward working properly — okay, so I have one complaint.
HELP IS AT HAND: On crutches due to a blood clot, Peter Cosgrove learned how supportive others can be. Picture:
Maura Hickey
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The inner lives of students and teachers have been left out of the education debate — to our cost
A lesson in learning Tony Humphreys
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NE of the most important developments over the last two decades has been life-long adult education. However, I’m concerned that education is now more geared towards career development or with having something to do during the dark winter evenings rather than the pursuit of personal maturity. All education — no matter what the subject area — needs to address the in-formation of students and not just provide information. Education is no index of maturity as we’ve seen in the current social, health, religious, economic and political crises, not just in Ireland but worldwide. Bullying, too, has emerged as a frequent experience in many workplaces, including universities. When the Dáil is in session the aggressive behaviour of our political leaders leaves a lot to be desired. The question needs to be asked: what educational process has led these elected individuals to behave in ways that any teacher in a primary or second-level classroom would challenge firmly? While widely available educational opportunities are to be lauded, the intentions underlying these courses require examination. When delivering a course I consider my own interiority and to what degree what I’m teaching reflects my own beliefs, understanding of myself and how I want to be in this world. I am particularly focussed on the inner course of students because I know that their responses to what I teach will be determined by the present state of their inner terrain and level of personal and interpersonal maturity. It is by encouraging and noticing their responses to the material that I gain insight into their inner worlds and into the unconscious processes guiding their responses and that together we can maximise what they can gain from the particular course they are attending. Whether or not lecturers see it, each of their students has a different teacher and each student responds to what the lecturer says in a different way — no matter what the subject. All education needs to be geared to the individual and it is the mature teacher who knows that you cannot address a group — a group has no head or heart. There is an old saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”. This suggests that some students are not ready for learning
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or, indeed, that some teachers are not ready to teach. However, I believe the student is always ready to learn but it may not be the knowledge being presented by the teacher. For example, a colleague of mine once argued that you cannot teach a hungry child. My response was that the child is ready to speak about his hunger and the teacher’s focus needs to be where the child’s attention is. Similarly, when a student in a classroom is experiencing considerable inner turmoil, it is the mature teacher who notices and provides the opportunity on a one-to-one basis for the student to speak about what he needs to resolve the blocks to his mature progress. To condemn the student’s inattention out of hand is a call for the lecturer to examine his or her own inner terrain and ask the question: “Why I’m not in a place to draw out and create the safety for this student to acquire the learning he needs to resolve his inner turmoil?” After all, the word education comes from the Latin word ‘educare’ — meaning to draw out. Education is not about instilling information but about creating the opportunity for the student and teacher to know self. On this latter point a teacher’s level of personal maturity plays an essential role in how he or she teaches. After all, personal effectiveness is the basis for professional effectiveness, but, regrettably, the practice of examining one’s inner and outer behaviour in order to resolve the emotional, social, intellectual, sexual, behavioural and creative baggage we all undoubtedly carry from childhood has not been an integral part of the training of educational (and not just) professionals. We are now paying dearly for this very serious omission. In my experience, it is deep unconscious emotional processes — and not intelligence — that determines not only what we learn but how we learn. Equally, such unconscious processes determine what and how we teach. Opportunities need to be created for students to ask the question: what attracts me to a particular course? ■ To please my parents/others? ■ To impress others? ■ To fill a void? ■ Because the subject so energises me? ■ Because it is something I have always wanted to do? The answers to these questions will reveal a lot about the student’s inner terrain and, maybe, for a deeper inner learning to occur before attention can be fully given to their chosen subject. Those who teach need to ask similar questions but I will leave that to another day.
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CLASS ACTION: Each student has a different teacher and each student responds to the lecturer in a different way. Picture: iStock
Dr Tony Humphreys is a clinical psychologist/national and international speaker/author of several books including The Mature Manager. He will give a talk on The Adventure of Learning at the Lifelong Learning Festival, UCC, Boole 2, 7-9pm on Tuesday, March 23. For details on Tony’s UCC courses visit: www.tonyhumphreys.ie.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
A DIFFERENT VIEW ON LIFESTYLE
Your guide to fitness, health, happiness and lifestyle. Great writers and mentors. Where you come first.
Phone: LORI FRASER Tel. 021-4802265 Fax 021-4273846 lori.fraser@examiner.ie
Every Friday. For a different view
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the lost hour
Children get an hour less sleep than they did 30 years ago. In an extract from their new book, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman outline how this lost time influences IQ score, emotional wellbeing and growing obesity levels from infanthood to young adulthood
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ORGAN FICHTER is a 10-year-old fifth-grader in Roxbury, New Jersey. She’s fair-skinned and petite, with freckles across her nose and wavy, light brown hair. Her father, Bill, is a police sergeant on duty until 3am. Her mother, Heather, works part-time, devoting herself to shuffling Morgan and her brother to their many activities. Morgan plays soccer (Heather’s the team coach), but Morgan’s first love is competitive swimming, with year-round workouts that have broadened her shoulders. She’s also a violinist in the school orchestra, with two practices and a private lesson each week, on top of the five nights she practices alone. Every night, Heather and Morgan sit down to her homework, then watch Flip This House or another design show on TLC. Morgan has always appeared to be an enthusiastic, well-balanced child. But once Morgan spent a year in the classroom of a hypercritical teacher, she could no longer unwind at night. Despite a reasonable bedtime of 9.30pm, she would lay awake in frustration until 11.30, sometimes midnight, clutching her leopard-fur pillow. On her fairy-dust purple bedroom walls were taped index cards, each a vocabulary word Morgan had trouble with. Unable to sleep, she turned back to her studies, determined not to let her grades suffer. Instead, she saw herself fall apart emotionally. During the day, she was crabby and prone to crying easily. Occasionally Morgan fell asleep in class. Morgan moved on from that teacher’s classroom the next year, but the lack of sleep persisted. Heather began to worry why her daughter couldn’t sleep. Was it stress, or hormones? Heather forbade caffeinated soda, especially after noon, having noticed that one cola in the afternoon could keep her daughter awake until 2am. Morgan held herself together as best she could, but twice a month she suffered an emotional meltdown, a kind of overreacting crying tantrum usually seen only in three-year-olds who missed their nap. “I feel very sad for her,” Heather agonised. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone — I was worried it was going to be a problem forever.” Concerned about her daughter’s well-being, Heather asked the paediatrician about her daughter’s sleep. “He kind of blew me off, and didn’t seem interested in it,” she recalled. “He said: ‘So, she gets tired once in a while. She’ll outgrow it.’ ” The opinion of Heather’s paediatrician is typical. According to surveys by the National Sleep Foundation, 90% of American parents think their child is getting enough sleep. The kids themselves say otherwise: 60% of high schoolers report extreme daytime sleepiness. A quarter admit their grades have dropped because of it. Depending on what study you look at, anywhere from 20% to 33% are falling asleep in class at least once a week. The raw numbers more than back them up. Half of all adolescents get less than seven hours of sleep on week nights. By the time they are seniors in high school, according to studies by Dr Frederick Danner at the University of Kentucky, they’re averaging only slightly more than 6.5 hours of sleep a night. Only 5% of high school seniors average eight hours. Sure, we remember being tired when we went to school. But not like today’s kids. It is an overlooked fact that children — from elementary school through high school — get an hour less sleep each night than they did 30 years ago. While modern parents obsess about babies’ sleep, this concern falls off the priority list after preschool. Even kindergartners get 30 minutes less a night than they used to. There are as many causes for this lost hour of sleep as there are types of family. Overschedul-
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WAKE-UP CALL Because children’s brains
are a work in progress until the age of 21, and because much of that work is done while a child is asleep, this lost hour appears to have an impact on children that it simply doesn’t have on adults
Picture: Getty Images
ing of activities, burdensome homework, lax bedtimes, televisions and cell phones in the bedroom — all contribute. So does guilt— home from work after dark, parents want time with their children and are reluctant to insist they go to bed. (One study from Rhode Island found that 94% of high schoolers set their own bedtimes.) All these reasons converge on one simple twist of convenient ignorance — until now, we could ignore the lost hour because we never really knew its true cost to children. Sleep scientists have recently been able to measure the impact of this single lost hour. Because children’s brains are a work in progress until the age of 21, and because much of that work is done while a child is asleep, this lost hour appears to have an exponential impact on children that it simply doesn’t have on adults. The surprise is not merely that sleep matters — but how much it matters, demonstrably, not just to academic performance and emotional stability, but to phenomena that we assumed to be entirely unrelated, such as the international obesity epidemic and the rise of ADHD. Some scientists theorise that sleep problems during formative years can cause permanent changes in a child’s brain structure — damage
that one can’t sleep off like a hangover. It’s even possible that many of the hallmark characteristics of being a tween and teen — moodiness, depression, and even binge eating — are symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation. Dr Avi Sadeh at Tel Aviv University is one of the dozen or so bigwigs in the field, frequently collaborating on papers with the sleep scholars at Brown University. A couple of years ago, Sadeh sent 77 fourth-graders and sixth-graders home with randomly drawn instructions to either go to bed earlier or stay up later, for three nights. The first group managed to get 30 minutes more of true sleep per night. The latter got 31 minutes less of true sleep. After the third night’s sleep, a researcher went to the school in the morning to give the children a test of neurobiological functioning. The performance gap caused by an hour’s difference in sleep was bigger than the gap between a normal fourth-grader and a normal sixth-grader. Which is another way of saying that a slightly sleepy sixth-grader will perform in class like a fourth-grader. “A loss of one hour of sleep is equivalent to [the loss of ] two years of cognitive maturation
and development,” Sadeh explains. “Sadeh’s work is an outstanding contribution,” says Penn State’s Dr Douglas Teti, Professor of human development and family studies. The findings are consistent with a number of other researchers’ work — all of which points to the large academic consequences of small sleep differences. Dr Monique LeBourgeois, also at Brown, studies how sleep affects pre-kindergartners. Virtually all young children are allowed to stay up later on weekends. They don’t get less sleep, and they’re not sleep deprived — they merely shift their sleep to later at night on Fridays and Saturdays. Yet she’s discovered that the sleep shift factor alone is correlated with performance on a standardised IQ test. Every hour of weekend shift costs a child seven points on the test.
D
r Paul Suratt at the University of Virginia studied the impact of sleep problems on vocabulary test scores taken by elementary school students. He also found a seven-point reduction in scores. Seven points, Suratt notes, is significant: “Sleep
disorders can impair children’s IQ as much as lead exposure.” If these findings are accurate, then it should add up over the long term: we should expect to see a correlation between sleep and school grades. Every study done shows this connection — from a study of second- and third-graders in Chappaqua, New York, up to a study of eighth-graders in Chicago. These correlations really spike in high school, because that’s when there’s a steep drop-off in children’s sleep. University of Minnesota’s Dr Kyla Wahlstrom surveyed over 7,000 high schoolers in Minnesota about their sleep habits and grades. Teens who received As averaged about 15 more minutes sleep than the B students, who in turn averaged 15 more minutes than the Cs, and so on. Every 15 minutes counts. With the benefit of functional MRI scans, researchers are now starting to understand exactly how sleep loss impairs a child’s brain. Tired children can’t remember what they just learned, for instance, because neurons lose their plasticity, becoming incapable of forming the new synaptic connections necessary to encode a memory. A different mechanism causes
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
children to be inattentive in class. Sleep loss debilitates the body’s ability to extract glucose from the bloodstream. Without this stream of basic energy, one part of the brain suffers more than the rest — the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for what’s called “executive function”. Among these executive functions are the orchestration of thoughts to fulfill a goal, prediction of outcomes, and perceiving consequences of actions. So tired people have difficulty with impulse control, and their abstract goals like studying take a back seat to more entertaining diversions. A tired brain gets stuck on a wrong answer and can’t come up with a more creative solution, repeatedly returning to the same answer it already knows is erroneous. Both those mechanisms weaken a child’s capacity to learn during the day. The most exciting science concerns what the brain is up to when a child is asleep at night. UC Berkeley’s Dr Matthew Walker explains that during sleep the brain shifts what it learned that day to more efficient storage regions of the brain. Each stage of sleep plays its own unique role in capturing memories. For
example, studying a foreign language requires learning vocabulary, auditory memory of new sounds, and motor skills to correctly enunciate the new word. The vocabulary is synthesised by the hippocampus early in the night during “slow-wave sleep,” a deep slumber without dreams. The motor skills of enunciation are processed during stage 2 non-REM sleep, and the auditory memories are encoded across all stages. Memories that are emotionally laden get processed during REM sleep. The more you learned during the day, the more you need to sleep that night. To reconsolidate these memories, certain genes appear to work during sleep — they turn on, or get activated. One of these genes is essential for synaptic plasticity, the strengthening of neural connections. The brain does synthesise some memories during the day, but they’re enhanced during the night, when new inferences and associations are drawn, leading to insights the next day. Kids’ sleep is qualitatively different than grown-ups’ sleep because children spend more
than 40% of their asleep time in the slowwave stage (which is 10 times the proportion that older adults spend). This is why a good night’s sleep is so important for long-term learning of vocabulary words, times tables, historical dates, and all other factual minutiae. Perhaps most fascinating, the emotional context of a memory affects where it gets processed. Negative stimuli get processed by the amygdala, positive or neutral memories gets processed by the hippocampus. Sleep deprivation hits the hippocampus harder than the amygdala. The result is that sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories, yet recall gloomy memories just fine. In one experiment by Walker, sleep-deprived college students tried to memorise a list of words. They could remember 81% of the words with a negative connotation, like “cancer”. But they could remember only 31% of the words with a positive or neutral connotation, like “sunshine” or “basket”. “We have an incendiary situation today,” Walker remarked, “where the intensity of learning that kids are going through is so much greater, yet the amount of sleep they get to process that learning is so much less. If these linear trends continue, the rubber band will soon snap.” While all kids are impacted by sleep loss, for teenagers, sleep is a special challenge. Brown’s Mary Carskadon has demonstrated that during puberty, the circadian system — the biological clock — does a “phase shift” that keeps adolescents up later. In prepubescents and grownups, when it gets dark outside, the brain produces melatonin, which makes us sleepy. But adolescent brains don’t release melatonin for another 90 minutes. So even if teenagers are in bed at 10pm (which they aren’t), they lie awake. Awakened at dawn by alarm clocks, teen brains are still releasing melatonin. This pressures them to fall back asleep — either in first period at school or, more dangerously, during the drive to school. Which is one of the reasons young adults are responsible for more than half of the 100,000 “fall asleep” crashes annually. Persuaded by this research, a few school districts around the nation decided to push back the time school starts in the morning. The best known of these is Edina, Minnesota, an affluent suburb of Minneapolis, which changed its high school start times from 7.25 to 8.30. The results were startling, and it affected the brightest kids the most. In the year preceding the time change, math/verbal SAT scores for the top 10% of Edina’s 1,600 students averaged 683/605. A year later, the top 10% averaged 739/761. Getting another hour of sleep boosted math SAT scores of Edina’s best and brightest up 56 points, and their verbal SAT score a whopping 156 points. And the students reported higher levels of motivation and lower levels of depression. In short, an hour more of sleep improved students’ quality of life. Few districts have followed this lead. Conversely, 85% of America’s public high schools start before 8.15am, and 35% start at or before 7.30am Dr Mark Mahowald has heard all those arguments. As director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, he’s been at the centre of many school start time debates. But of all the arguments he’s heard, no one’s argument is that children learn more at 7.15am than at 8.30. Instead, he forcefully reasons, schools are scheduled for adult convenience. “If schools are for education, then we should promote learning instead of interfere with it,” he says.
■ PAGE 10: Affects on obesity and performance
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the lost hour
Children
NO REST: A key to staying thin is to spend more time sleeping. Sleep scientists have performed a huge number of analyses on large databases of children. All the studies point in the same direction: on average, children who sleep less are fatter than children who sleep more.
who sleep less are
Picture: Getty Images
fatter and can’t manage the daily grind as well
L
ET’S consider the hidden role sleep has played in the obesity epidemic. It’s often noted that in the last three decades childhood obesity has tripled. Half of all kids are at least “at risk of being overweight” — a BMI score two clicks down from obesity. Five years ago, already aware of an association between sleep apnea and diabetes, Dr Eve Van Cauter discovered a “neuroendocrine cascade” which links sleep to obesity. Sleep loss increases the hormone ghrelin, which signals hunger, and decreases its metabolic opposite, leptin, which suppresses appetite. Sleep loss also elevates the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is lipogenic, meaning it stimulates your body to make fat. Human growth hormone is also disrupted. Normally secreted as a single big pulse at the beginning of sleep, growth hormone is essential for the breakdown of fat. It’s drilled into us that we need to be more active to lose weight. So it seems a contradiction to hear that a key to staying thin is to spend more time doing the most sedentary inactivity humanly possible. Yet this is exactly what scientists are finding. In light of Van Cauter’s discoveries, sleep scientists have performed a flurry of analyses on large datasets of children. All the studies point in the same direction: on average, children who sleep less are fatter than children who sleep more.
Picture:Getty Images
This isn’t in America— scholars all around the world are considering it, because children everywhere are losing sleep and getting fatter. How sleep impacts hormones is an entirely different way of explaining what makes people fat or thin — we normally just think of weight gain as a straightforward calories consumed/ calories- burned equation. But even by that familiar equation, the relation of sleep to weight makes sense. While very few calories are being burned while blacked out on the sheets, at least a kid is not eating when he’s asleep. In addition, kids who don’t sleep well are often too tired to exercise — it’s been shown that the less sleep kids get, the less active they are during the day. So the net calorie burn, after a good night’s rest, is higher. In a 2005 paper in Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr Fred Turek called out traditional obesity researchers for ignoring sleep’s effect on metabolism. Turek is director of Northwestern University’s Center for Circadian Biology and Medicine. He noted that a standard reference guide for physicians on childhood obesity never discusses the effect of sleep loss on weight, not once in 269 pages. Dr Richard Atkinson, co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Obesity believes the research he’s seen on children’s sleep loss
In the last three
decades childhood obesity has tripled
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and obesity is positively “alarming.” Yet he regrets that it is just off the radar screens of most obesity researchers. Despite how convincing all this science is, somehow it still feels like a huge leap of faith to consider giving back an hour of our children’s lives to slumber. Statistical correlations are the currency of scientists, but for parents, we want more — we want control. Dr Judith Owens runs a sleep clinic in Providence, affiliated with Brown. Recently, a father came in with his 15-year-old daughter, who was complaining of severe headaches. Interviewing the patient, Owens quickly learned that her daily routine was a brutal grind — after flute lessons, bassoon lessons, dance classes, and the homework from honours classes, she was able to get only five hours sleep a night before waking every morning at 4.30 to tromp off to the gym. The father wanted to know if a lack of sleep could be causing her headaches. Owens told him that was probably the case. She recommended his daughter cut back on her schedule. The word “probably” made this father hesitant. He would let her cut back, but only if
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
Owens could prove, in advance, that sacrificing an activity would stop the headaches. Sure, he knew that sleep was important, but was it more important than honours French? Was it more important than getting into a great college? Owens tried her standard argument. “Would you let your daughter ride in a car without a seat belt? You have to think of sleep the same way.” But Owens’ pleadings didn’t persuade. In this dad’s mind, the transaction went the other way around: cutting back was putting his daughter at risk. What if the headaches didn’t stop, and she gave up one of her great passions, like dance, for no reason? Long before children become over-scheduled high schoolers gunning for college, parents — guardians of their children’s slumber — start making trade-offs between their sleep and their other needs. This is especially true in the last hour of our child’s day. During this time, children should be in bed, but there are so many priorities lobbying for another stroke of attention. As a result, sleep is treated much like the national debt — what’s another half-hour on the bill? We’re surviving, kids can too. Sleep is a biological imperative for every species on earth. But humans alone try to resist its pull. Instead, we see sleep not as a physical need but a statement of character. It’s considered a sign of weakness to admit fatigue — and it’s a sign of strength to refuse to succumb to slumber. Sleep is for wusses. But perhaps we are blind to the toll it is taking on us. University of Pennsylvania’s Dr David Dinges did an experiment shortening adults’ sleep to six hours a night. After two weeks, they reported that they were doing okay. Yet on a battery of tests, they proved to be just as impaired as someone who has stayed awake for 24 hours straight. Dinges did the experiment to demonstrate how sleep loss is cumulative, and how our judgment can be fooled by sleep deprivation. Nevertheless, it’s tempting to read of his experiment and think, “I would suffer, but not that bad. I would be the exception.” We’ve coped on little sleep for years, and managed to get by. But when it comes to a child, are we willing to keep taking the same brazen dare?
Sleep loss also elevates the stress horm one cortisol stimulating ke fat your body to ma
■ From Nurtureshock: Why Everything We
Think About Raising Our Children is Wrong by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, Ebury Press, £12.99.
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Understanding the building blocks of the body, PART 3: CARBS
Go with the grain and make wise choices
Roz Crowley
W
HETHER in the simple or complex form, carbohydrates get bad press, but are an essential building block of health. Eliminating carbohydrates has been proved to be unwise for us, especially when done unsupervised. We need them for energy and healthy organ function, but also to help in the digestion of other healthy foods. The body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars and glucose so they can get into the bloodstream to use as energy. What carbohydrates to choose is the big question. If we eat too many refined carbohydrates we can become tired and depressed, as well as overweight, while the right kind can give us sustained energy to allow us to get to the end of the day with energy to spare. The wrong carbohydrates or too many of any of them, especially when accompanied by fats and sugars in a product can easily lead to being overweight, developing diabetes or heart disease and there is some evidence to show degeneration of brain tissue too. WE MUST: ■ Choose the best source of carbohydrates which include whole grains — good quality wholemeal bread, unrefined oatmeal, brown rice. ■ Choose fresh vegetables and pulses such as peas, beans and lentils and eat as much of them as possible — the stalks of vegetables, outer leaves, vegetable skins (when you are sure of the source. Many vegetables such as carrots store chemicals in their skins). These are also high in valuable fibre and satisfying for hearty appetites and are good to add to meat dishes. ■ Fruit is another good source of carbohydrates when unpeeled and not put through a juicer. Fibrous fruit such as pineapple is a good source of carbohydrates with natural sugars which are also carbohydrates and a good source of energy. Dried fruit is good too. ■ Eat homemade soups and the best shop-bought ones which have plenty of good quality carbohydrates.
■
Cork Free Choice Consumer Group's next meeting will encourage and help those who want to grow their own vegetables. John Conway and Silvi Iyilikci from The Hollies Centre for Sustainability will talk to beginners about starting a 'no-till' garden, preparing the soil, sowing seeds and caring for plants. Crawford Art Gallery Café Thursday, March 25, at 7.30pm. Entrance F6 including tea or coffee.
Still on the Pig’s Back
GOLDEN BROWN: Brown rice and greens are good sources of the right kind of carbohydrates. The wrong carbs can lead to weight gain and diabetes. Picture: Getty Images ■ Eat patés made from beans and lentils such as hummous for snacking, ideally on brown bread. WE MUST AVOID: ■ Carbohydrates from white bread, white rice, pasta which is made from cheap flour. One way to judge pasta is to test its texture after a few minutes of cooking. Good pasta will keep its shape and not go flabby, even when cooked. It also has a taste of its own.
Wholemeal pasta is not always appetising so make up the fibre with lots of vegetables in the sauce. ■ Pastries, biscuits and cakes are a source of unrefined carbs which are often full of fat and sugar. When we eat too many of these we put ourselves in danger of upsetting the balance of insulin being produced in the pancreas. These are high glycaemic index foods which causes a sudden peak in blood sugar and then the predictable low.
WHAT good news to see a company expanding in these times. An integral part of Cork English Market, On the Pig’s Back, is now also in St Patrick’s Woollen Mills, Douglas, as a retail outlet and café. The premises also has state-of-the-art production kitchens and brings the total of staff in the company to 15, serving and making terrines, pâté and confit. Owner Isabelle Sheridan, pictured here, comes from the Loire valley and brings the best of French food traditions to this delicious enterprise. Picture:Larry Cummins
Val has the recipe for kidney patients
I
F EVER we needed proof that anything is possible, it’s Val Twomey. A survivor of a quadruple bypass, and for the last six years a recipient of a transplanted kidney, she is living proof of the benefits of organ donation. Her kidney disease resulted from her Type 1 Diabetes condition which was discovered 30 years ago. The increase in kidney disease resulting from Type 2 Diabetes, which is controllable with diet, is partly responsible for the demand for greater numbers of transplants. In Ireland 1,600 people are on dialysis and up to 140 receive transplants every year. A regular participant as a tennis player in the European Dialysis and Transplant Games, which this year will be held in Dublin, Val’s latest project is the culmination of at least 18 months of work. Truly Tasty is a cookbook
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with recipes tailored to adults with kidney disease. “It’s important for anyone on dialysis or watching the health of their kidneys to monitor closely what they eat,” says Twomey, 43. “It’s easy to eat too much protein for the kidneys to cope with. What I wanted to do with this cookbook is find recipes that could be used not just by those on treatment, but those close to them who want to entertain friends and family.” Enlisting celebrity chefs such as Rachel Allen, Neven Maguire, Rory O’Connell, Kevin Dundon, Denis Cotter and Clodagh McKenna, their recipes were sent to the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, where every recipe was analysed and tweaked to achieve the balance necessary to be safe for those with kidney disease.
“All the recipes I received were delicious, but only when you are a kidney disease patient do you realise that it’s possible to put too many herbs in a dish. Wild garlic and lemon balm are surprisingly not suitable for us. Peas, beans and lentils are high in potassium, and we can only eat a limited amount. The large format hardback includes recipes from courgette and mint soup to spiced tuna to roast peaches. All of them can be enjoyed by those striving to achieve balanced diets. At the launch in April, a CD of five songs written by dialysis patient Andy Dunne will also be launched. Val herself is only getting started. Watch this space for news of this dynamo. ■ Truly Tasty is published by Atrium in hardback, F19.95.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
NO LIMITS: Val Twomey from Crosshaven, who will be taking part in the World Transplant games in Australia. Picture: Des Barry
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Dr Niamh Houston
FAMILY
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Dr Niamh Houston is a GP with a special interest in integrative medicine. If you have a question about your child’s health email it to feelgood@examiner.ie or send a letter to Feelgood Irish Examiner City Quarter Lapps Quay Cork
I CONSTANTLY feel stressed and am “on edge” the whole time. Can stress do any harm to your physical or mental health? A. Stress is a fact of life, and is unavoidable for most people in our busy recession prone environment. Today’s many demands can result in people feeling overwhelmed by daily stressors and unsure if they’ll ever get a handle on it. When stress is always present, it can leave you feeling constantly tense, nervous or on edge. It can be a vicious circle as the less control you have over your stress and the more uncertainty present, the more likely you are to feel stressed. In the short-term stress does no harm, but continuous stress can lead to the long-term activation of your body’s stress-response system and the resulting over-exposure to cortisol and adrenaline can disrupt almost all your body’s processes. This puts you at increased risk of a number of health problems including heart disease, digestive problems, depression/anxiety, sleep problems, obesity, memory impairment and worsening of certain skin conditions, such as eczema. Try and carefully manage your time and energy. Avoid unhealthy substance use — alcohol or drug use will only worsen your anxiety in the long term. Exercise is a natural stress buster and effective anxiety reliever. As little as 30 minutes three times a week can provide significant stress relief. Don’t let stress or worries isolate you from enjoying your usual activities or meeting up with friends. It’s good to talk and regular social interaction and caring relationships will lessen your worries. Seek help early, speak to your doctor to make sure that your anxiety isn’t caused by a medical condition such as a thyroid problem or hypoglycaemia. If you find stress is interfering with your day-to day functioning — at work, your personal relationships, or on a social level, you may want to consider some professional counselling. It will help to accept that uncertainty is part of modern living. Constant worrying is a mental habit, and like any other habit you can learn how to break it. You can train your brain to stay calm and collected and to look at life from a more positive perspective. Mindfulness meditation is a type of mind-body complementary therapy that can result in a deep state of relaxation — by focusing your attention on such things as your breathing or a specific image or object. This removes the stream of jumbled thoughts and information overload that are crowding the mind and contributing to stress. Practiced regularly, meditation can reduce negative emotions, help you gain a new perspective on stressful situations, as well as focusing on the present. Anyone can practice it and all that is needed is a few minutes each day. Meditation has also been show to
CHANGING FOCUS: By focusing your attention on your breathing or a specific image or object, you remove the stream of jumbled thoughts and information overload crowding the mind and contributing to stress. Picture: Getty Images
help other conditions such as allergies, asthma, depression, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, chronic pain and sleep problems. The pay-off with stress management is peace of mind — and perhaps a longer, healthier life. ● See www.mindfulness.ie Q. I’m in my late 20s and want to change from taking the Pill to a different form of contraception. My doctor mentioned the NuvaRing. How does this compare to the Pill? A. The NuvaRing works the same way as the combined contraceptive pill in that it releases both oestrogen and progestogen. It is made of plastic, is flexible, comes in one size and is about the same diameter as a small jam-jar lid. The ring is easy to position in the vagina (you can do this yourself) and is left in place for three weeks, and then removed. A new ring is re-inserted after a break of one week, during which time you have a withdrawal bleed — similar to when taking the Pill. It contains less oestrogen than the combined pill, and both hormones are absorbed by the vaginal wall and distributed into the blood stream. The main advantages women find with the NuvaRing include not having to take a pill every day, it still works if you vomit or have diarrhoea, it doesn’t interrupt sexual intercourse — most women can’t feel the ring once it’s in place. It is as an effective contraception as the combined pill (99%). However if for health reasons you are un-
able to take the combined pill — then the NuvaRing may not be the most suitable form of contraceptive to use. This would occur if: ■ You are over 35 years and smoke. ■ Have unstable or complicated diabetes, or are obese. ■ Have high blood pressure. ■ A history of breast cancer. ■ A history of a thrombus (clot) or a close relative had a clot before the age of 45. ■ If you suffer from migraine with aura. ■ As the ring is kept in place by the vaginal wall muscles it would not be advisable to use if you have a prolapsed womb or bladder. Certain treatments including antibiotics and anti-epileptics can make the ring less effective — always discuss with your doctor if you are advised to take medication. Like the Pill, the ring does not protect you from sexually transmitted diseases, so if you are at risk use extra precautions such as condoms. Side effects of the ring include vaginal infection or irritation, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, and mood changes — these are usually temporary and tend to settle within a few months. Another risk when using the ring is that it may fall out — if this happens within three hours, it can be rinsed and re-placed in the vagina with no further concerns regarding loss of contraceptive efficacy. But if it is out for over three hours, the ring can be re-inserted, but extra contraceptive protection such as condoms will be necessary for the following seven days.
NOTE: The information contained in Dr Houston’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first
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Catherine Shanahan MUM’S WORLD Feelgood
NE of the many virtues of childhood is the enviable gift of the ability to exist in a parallel universe. Here, in this bubble of unreality, where imagination is unfettered by fact, the child can assume multiple personalities, time travel to his little heart’s content and perform any number of quantum leaps on any given day. He can wake up growling and snarling, and, leaping lazily from his lair, declare himself a tiger, by lunchtime he’s a 1963 Dodge Dart, the indefatigable Rusty, a beloved character from the Pixar movie Cars. Come teatime he is Thomas, the number one engine, busy with his trusty friends. Lost in time and space, all those around him assume the personas of his on screen chums: his sister ceases to be and in her place he sees a Plymouth Superbird, a veteran racing car known as The King. His mother is Chick Hicks, a 1980s Buick, the
steel tormentor of Rusty and co. Indulgence is the mainstay of this make-believe world where the impossible is always possible and where logic is null and void. This land without limits appeals to the mother stuck in the rut of routine. What a wonderful life her children must have in a cocoon of constant daydreams. She resolves to curl up with some cookies and milk and let her mind drift at the seams. First into this fool’s paradise is Calvin Man, fresh from the ads on TV. The mother is stirred by this vision in white who strides through her reverie. She coos with delight when he sits by her side on the shores of an azure sea. Next up is the bar man, replete with Bacardi and cocktails to make your toes curl. With temperature soaring and gentle breeze blowing, the mother prepares to un-
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wind. As she sips through a straw in the warmth of the sand, her worries dissolve one by one. The dystopian world from whence she came seems a lifetime away from her now. The silence is deafening and blissfully welcome — the only sound is the sea. She feels her eyes closing and gives into the tiredness — God knows, she could do with some sleep... Somewhere deep in her daydream she feels a warm breath inches away from her face. She throws out an arm to fine Calvin Man, amazed at how hirsute he is. Then out of the blue the silence is shattered by the sound of her neighbour’s voice. She hears him cry “Calvin! COME HERE Calvin boy,” as she reluctantly opens her eyes. A giant mastiff is drooling all over her bosom drowning her daydream in spit. Back to earth with a bang, she decides to leave make-believe worlds to her kids.
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Beat the break and protect your bones
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BONE BOOST: Resistance training using weights increases muscle strength and bone density.
Picture:Getty Images
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STROKE remains on the agenda with the Irish Heart Foundation’s Council on Stroke Annual Conference on next weekend. In Croke Park, Dublin, on Friday, March 26, presentations will be made on the state of play with Ireland’s third biggest killer. Attendees will hear about family mediated exercise for stroke survivors, driving assessment following stroke, stroke policy and services and stroke advocacy among other topics. One in five people will have a stroke at some time in their life and 10,000 people will suffer a stroke in Ireland this year.
TAKE
Deirdre O'Flynn
MOSTLY MEN know about osteoporosis — what it is, how it can be prevented and how it can be treated. It also focuses on fall prevention as those with osteoporosis are more susceptible to breaking a bone from a slip or fall. “Osteoporosis is a preventable and treatable disease — there have been 90 year olds who have improved their bone health after receiving treatment and I encourage people of all ages to make bone health a priority,” says Michele O’Brien of the Irish Osteoporosis Society. “Our skeleton is for life and needs to be cared for so a healthy lifestyle really is essential to avoid frailty and osteoporosis.”
Videos on asthma triggers NEW online videos on www.asthmasociety.ie contain advice and information on all aspects of asthma and allergies. Provided by the Asthma Society of Ireland, they cover a wide range of topics including the link between asthma and the environment, what happens during an allergy test, what are common asthma triggers in the home, how to keep an asthma friendly home and swimming with asthma. “Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma worldwide,” says Dr Peter Greally, paediatrician, who sits on the Asthma So-
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DRY SKIN: Skincare brand Vaseline has extended its range with the launch of new Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Cream. The fast absorbing cream formula is specifically designed to soothe and relieve very dry and stressed skin, both on dry patches and all over the body, by tripling the skin's natural moisture. Vaseline say this cream has been clinically proven to provide twice as much moisture as E45 cream after two weeks of use. It costs F4.99 for a 250ml tub.
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NE in five men over age 50 will fracture a bone as a result of osteoporosis. That’s why prevention is better than waiting for a fracture given that almost three out of four Irish seniors over 65 say that staying physically active is a major challenge. That’s according to new research from Home Instead Senior Care. This lack of activity can lead to a downward spiral of health resulting in frailty and broken bones with many men unable to maintain valuable independence. Indeed, many men — and women — don’t even know they are suffering from osteoporosis until a bone has been broken. It is estimated that only 15% of people with osteoporosis are actually diagnosed. To help promote bone health, Home Instead Senior Care has launched a new information guide, Beat the Break: A Guide to Osteoporosis and Fall Prevention. The guide explains everything you need to
The good news is that you can help to prevent osteoporosis. Ensure your diet is rich in calcium and vitamin D as these nutrients help improve bone strength. Calcium is best absorbed from dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt whereas oily fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines are all excellent sources of vitamin D. Resistance training using weights increases muscle strength and bone density. However, a person should be assessed by a medical professional to ensure they are doing appropriate exercises. Men should limit their alcohol intake to 21 units a week as over-indulging can increase the risk of fracture and can affect bone loss. The toxins in cigarettes also negatively affect bone health and should be avoided. ■ For further information on bone health, visit www.homeinstead.ie and download a copy of Beat the Break: A Guide on Osteoporosis and Fall Prevention. The guide is also available from any of the 17 Home Instead Senior Care offices in Ireland.
DId you know...
ciety’s medical advisory committee. “From listening to my patients, I saw a need for the issues and questions covered in the videos to be addressed, particularly in regards to asthma and swimming. The videos contain a wealth of information on many aspects of asthma and allergies. Addressing many common misconceptions, they will greatly benefit people who are unsure of triggers in the environment and INHALER KNOW-HOW: Dr Jean Holohan, in their own homes, and chief executive, Asthma Society of Ireland, how they can minimise their Health Minister Mary Harney and Liz Hoctor, exposure.” president of the Irish Pharmacy Union, ■ Call the Asthma Helpline launch a campaign for patients to get their on 1850-445465 to speak to inhaler technique checked. Picture:MAXWELLS an asthma nurse.
Men who bottle up their anger at being unfairly treated at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack (Source: Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden)
What’s new CHICKENPOX GEL: A new gel offering relief from the chickenpox rash has been launched in Ireland. New Care ViraSoothe contains Osmo 4 technology, which works by osmosis to provide cooling relief to the affected areas, reducing the urge to scratch. It can be used on babies as young as six months, has no odour, and can be applied to the face and body. “Chickenpox is highly contagious and can spread throughout a family, crèche or school. The red spots associated with the rash can often become itchy, inflamed, and infected with bacteria. Scratching these areas can spread the infection and can lead to permanent scarring,” said GP Dr Martin Daly. Care ViraSoothe is available in pharmacies and costs F7.50 for 50g, or F10.99 for 75g.
ALLERGY RELIEF: For many people, allergic symptoms are not just a summer nuisance brought on by hay fever, but an all-year-round problem. Allergies commonly cause itching, sneezing, a runny nose, nasal congestion and itchy, watery eyes. New Zirtek plus decongestant is a fast-acting and long-lasting treatment that combines an antihistamine and a decongestant to offer relief from allergy symptoms and nasal congestion. It costs F10.25, from pharmacies.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
PREGNANCY VITAMINS: Pregnancy, and caring for a new baby, are among the most physically demanding times in a woman’s life, so good nutrition is essential. The nausea, heartburn, and exhaustion of early pregnancy make it difficult to eat a balanced diet. Sona PregnaPlan Original, F11.85, contains 20 essential nutrients, including omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, the recommended level of folic acid and iron, and can be taken at all stages of pregnancy and after your baby is born. Sona has added two supplements to the range: Sona PregnaPlan Morning Sickness, F12.65, minimises the symptoms of morning sickness; Sona PregnaPlan Breastfeeding, F15.85, is for the post-natal period.
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The news on ... SMOKY EYES WE’RE a bit bored of the whole smoky eye malarkey — yes, it’s still a hot look, but only if you get it right. And Nicole Richie, pictured here, didn’t. Richie made an unusual style mistake at the Oscars with a completely over the top smoky eye that was too precise, too overdone, too silvery with liquid eyeliner and eyeshadow that was swept right up to her eyebrows. Keep it on the right side of cool by going for a more edgy, slept-in vibe with smudged eyeliner — try MAC’s Pearlglide Eyeliner in Black Russian for a suitably mussed-up look.
Emily O’Sullivan
Sunscreen not only protects — it’s also the latest fashion necessity
TAKE THREE
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TINTED MOISTURISERS
T MAY be gone by the time this goes to print, but right now, there is sun outside my window. Not rubbish, hazy, half-hearted sun — but proper, bright, glowing sun, with even the tiniest amount of heat in it. I know it was proper sun because I’ve got about four new freckles. Spring is here. And this means that the kind of SPF we are wearing should change to adjust to the change in light and the change in weather. Of course, no one is suggesting we suddenly start heaping on gloopy bottles of sunscreen while there’s still a big chill in the air, but a little light city block in a high factor will soon become a prerequisite in our beauty routine. At this stage, we’re all pretty well versed in the importance of wearing a high-factor sunscreen, especially as it comes into spring. If you’re looking to protect yourself against wrinkles, then this is the best way to do it. Not only that, but pale is finally cool — seriously cool. Not just catwalk cool, it’s now creeping into celebrity cool. Even perma-tanned Posh has decided to give the mahogany tones a miss. What’s sexy has changed — it’s moving away from tight, bright, blingy and tanned, into a look that’s more subdued, elegant, restrained and delicately pale. And on-the-ball actors know it too: Carey Mulligan, Diane Kruger, Rachel McAdams and Kristen Stewart all showed seriously pale skin at the Oscars, while Sarah Jessica Parker wore a deep tan that made her look decidedly out of date. The first line of defence is, naturally enough, an SPF. Skin needs to look even and porcelain-toned (if you’re desperate to have a glow, then get it from a little false tan mixed with moisturiser), and this means that pro-
IT’S TIME to lighten up on foundation. As the spring brings a new flush to our cheeks and the weather slowly becomes a little less harsh, we can afford to move from a foundation to a tinted moisturiser for a more sheer, less covered-up look.
It’s cool to be pale tecting it from the sun is priority number one. Using a good quality moisturiser with an SPF, or a foundation that has a built-in high factor SPF is a good way of getting a light smattering of protection in springtime, but as the spring progresses into summer, you’re going to need something stronger. It’s also good to bear in mind that SPFs do not last all day — a foundation you applied at 6am is going to offer you little or no protection by 3pm the same day. So remember to reapply if you need to. If you’re after something a little stronger, then I adore the light SPF coverage that comes
with the spate of new sun blocks — designed for use everyday, rather than on the beach. Clinique kicked off the trend years ago with their excellent City Block, and also launched Super City Block. Both are light and non-greasy, perfect for wearing underneath make-up. Clarins and Chanel also do good day screens — both have texture that sinks into the skin, making it easy to get on with your normal make-up routine without looking like you’ve just emerged from a sauna. Pale and matt is the way to go, not pasty and greassy — you have been warned.
Benefit You Rebel Lite Tinted Moisturiser, F32. This is really a very light tinted moisturiser, so it’s best for anyone that’s after a more sheer look, and quite pale skin. It only comes in two shades, this one and a slightly darker shade, but because it blends in well, it doesn’t need to match your skin tone exactly. It has a SPF 15 and contains vitamins and soothing aloe. Score: 6 Estée Lauder DayWear Plus Multi Protection Tinted Moisturiser SPF 15, F34. Love this one. It’s got a lovely fresh scent, is packed with antioxidants and really delivers a fresh, radiant look to the skin. Plus, it’s got an all-important SPF. Score: 10 Hydra Zen Neurocalm Soothing Tinted Moisturiser, F32. Designed for sensitive skin types, this light and soothing tinted moisturiser has a nice, rich almost balmy feel to it. It comes in three shades, has an SPF 15 and is designed to keep skin moisturised for up to 12 hours. Score: 8
STUFF WE LIKE Clinique Super City Block SPF 40, F20.50. This is just great. It has a really light texture and it’s perfect for wearing underneath make-up and over moisturiser. You’d never know you were wearing it, which is exactly what you want from a light daytime sunscreen. Chanel UV Essentiel, F44.50. Non-oily and non-shiny, there’s a texture to this screen that’s quite un-
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usual, but not at all unpleasant. I love its lightness — it sinks into the skin almost immediately, and with a SPF of 50 you know you’re getting the protection you need. Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation, F42. Foundations with high sunscreens are becoming more prevalent, but they’re still not widespread. This SPF 20 foundation from Armani delivers an acceptably high SPF and has a great texture that really feels like silk on the skin — no guesses why it got its name then.
Worth the investment. La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 20 Fluide Extreme, F21.50. This is a good choice for spring, and the formulation also comes in a SPF 50 for summer. It has a slightly heavier texture than many of its competitors, but this product offers the highest level of UVA protection on the market in the 50 + category, so you know you’re getting good quality protection. There’s also a new tinted version available.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
Mac Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50, F29. A great little product — it’s designed to prime your make up as well as protecting your face from UV rays. And it works. Make-up stays on well throughout the day with a comfortable texture and a matt finish. Great. Clarins UV Plus Day Screen High Protection SPF 40, F36. Good texture, nice and light and not greasy at all, it’s another winner for wearing under your make-up.
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Q
Megan Sheppard Do you have a question for Megan Sheppard? Email it to feelgood@examiner.ie or send a letter to Feelgood Irish Examiner City Quarter Lapps Quay Cork
Contact the company Whole Foods I’VE had trouble with Brand Management for information my eyes for some time on local stockists (0044-1782and recently cataracts 564512). Take three capsules daily. have developed. Is there anything that can help Q. My husband snores so loudly with my eyes or is surgery the only that I’ve been forced to sleep in a solution? separate room so I can get some A. You don’t mention what sort of rest. It doesn’t seem to bother him, trouble you have had prior to being but it keeps me awake on and off diagnosed with cataracts, so I am unall through the night. I would like sure whether or not you are referring to think that one day we could perto the gradual deterioration in vision haps sleep in the same bed again, which occurs as the cataracts develop, so would appreciate any informaor an additional problem with your tion you have on how to stop snoreye health. ing. Cataracts themselves are thought to A. How open is your husband to be a symptom of oxidative damage to dietary change? This is one condition the eye. The protein of the lens of where some simple long-term the eye becomes damaged, which rechanges to the diet can work wonsults in a clouding of the lens and viders. Cutting back on meat and dairy sion. Cataracts are far more common (both linked with excessive mucous in smokers and diabetics. You can and inflammation) is a good start, and prevent further damage by taking viincreasing the amount of brightly tamin C and E supplementation coloured fruit and vegetables will (500mg of vitamin C and 500iu of help with mucous and inflammation vitamin E). control. Vitamin C works by activating vitaIf your husband has weight to shift min E which then activates gluthen this will also lead to a high liketathione, a tripeptide considered to lihood of snoring. Just 30 minutes’ be the most important antioxidant in exercise a day is enough to have a the body. Not only does it regulate positive impact and help kick-start and regenerate immune cells, it is also weight-loss. Try taking a brisk crucial for DNA synthesis and repair, evening walk together; this is also a detoxification, antiviral activity, great start to re-establishing the conamino acid transportation in the nection that can be lost when couples body, and protein and prostaglandin are forced to sleep in separate beds or synthesis. rooms due to health issues. The following foods contain subOther potential indicators include stances that the body requires in orcigarettes and alcohol, so if these are der to manufacture glutathione: GREEN ENERGY: High levels of vitamin E help in the currently a habit, then now is a good chicken, fish, dairy products, brocprevention of cataracts. Sources are found in nuts, seeds, time to work on cutting back and coli, eggs, beans, capsicum, asparagus, wholegrains, olives, leafy greens and cold-pressed oils. eventually quitting. walnuts, avocado, garlic, onion, and Picture: iStock There is also one natural product most fresh fruits and vegetables. on the market which has seen reVitamin E is now seen to be of specific inmarkable success in treating snoring probterest with regard to cataracts, since studies lems. NeverSnore from Higher Nature inshow that low levels of this vitamin increase idation. It also improves night vision, which cludes the herbs sage, elderflower, bromelain, the risk of developing cataracts by four times. is why it was popular with British Air Force fenugreek, MSM (organic sulphur — repairs Nuts, seeds, wholegrains, olives, leafy greens, pilots during the Second World War. One and protects the nasal membranes) and a and cold-pressed oils are good sources of vistudy showed that a supplement containing number of enzymes which break down and tamin E. bilberry extract combined with vitamin E digest mucous proteins. Available from health Lutein and zeaxanthin are two other anwas able to stop the progression of cataract stores or www.highernature.co.uk (00 tioxidants which are key nutrients in mainformation in 97% of patients diagnosed with 44-1435-883484) NeverSnore costs £6.85 taining healthy vision. Leafy green vegetables senile cortical cataracts. (F7.55) for 30 capsules. are high in lutein, while eggs and brightly Bilberry is available from health stores in It can be daunting for some men to make coloured vegetables and fruits are rich in capsule and liquid form. Orthomol’s Vision such significant changes, however these zeaxanthin. Lutein and zeaxanthin are AMD is a supplement which has been put carotenoids which protect the retina from together to help treat age-related macular de- changes will have the added benefit of reducing the risk of other conditions linked harmful blue light and significantly reduce generation and cataract development. These with excessive snoring — heart disease, the rate of macular degeneration. capsules not only contain vitamins A, C, E, stroke, and hypertension. Blueberries and bilberries are another lutein and zeaxanthin, but also the crucial It is worth considering NeverSnore, since wonder food for eyes, due to the presence of B-vitamins, vitamin D3, a host of bioflaa bioflavanoid called anthocyanoside, which vanoids, betacarotene and lycopene, trace el- this has seen many couples back to enjoying a restful night in the same bed once more. works to protect the retina and lens from ox- ements, essential fatty acids and amino acids.
Megan puts the spotlight on: Tomato benefits
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OMATO extracts are already well known for their role in protecting and supporting prostate health, but a number of studies have suggested that lycopene, the phytochemical responsible for the positive results with the prostate, is also able to protect against many forms of cancer. In terms of tangible results anyone can replicate at home — men consuming more than 10 servings of tomato products on a weekly basis reduced the risk of developing prostate cancer by 35%. A number of other carotenoids were tested, such as betacarotene, alpha carotene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin, and it was found that lycopene was the only phytochemical with the ability to reduce the risk of cancer. We also know that cooked tomatoes increase the bioavailability of lycopene. So while it might seem counterintuitive that tomato sauce is better for you than fresh tomatoes, in terms of cancer protection, it appears to be true. While prostate cancer is the main subject of most lycopene research, it has also proven effective with reducing the risk of cervical cancer,
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breast cancer, bladder cancer and cancers of the digestive tract. Tomatoes are not the only source of lycopene, pink grapefruit, watermelon, pink guava, and papaya are all great sources, however these foods do not typically feature strongly in most people’s diets. Making sure you eat at least one serve of tomato-based foods daily is a lot more feasible. Plus tomatoes provides the additional nutrients of folate, ascorbic acid, and a host of other phytonutrients which are thought to work together with lycopene to lower the risk of developing cancer. Tomatoes alone aren’t quite enough. Eating tomato sauce along with fried unhealthy foods while continuing with other suboptimal choices such as smoking, drinking, and a sedentary lifestyle is not going to have much of an impact. Combining a tomato-rich diet with an active lifestyle, whole foods and a healthy attitude will get you much further in terms of general wellbeing and cancer protection.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
ONE TO WATCH Learn about parenting THE Incredible Years programme, developed by Dr Carolyn Webster-Stratton at the University of Washington in Seattle, enjoys a 30-year track record. Its award-winning programmes, now available in Ireland, aim to help reduce children’s aggression and behaviour problems while increasing social skills at home and at school. The “attention rule” is a key principle. Webster-Stratton writes: “Children will work for attention from others ... If they do not receive positive attention, then they will strive for negative attention since that is better than none at all.” Webster-Stratton’s says the foundation for successful parenting includes: play, praise, tangible rewards, limit-setting, ignoring, and teaching children to problem-solve. The Incredible Years programme offers parents a safe environment to develop skills to help their children mature. ■ See incredibleyears.com; archways.ie. Irene Feighan
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Confidence restored!
Before
After 6 Months
After 12 Months
“I am amazed at the results and my confidence has been restored. I can honestly say it was the best thing I have ever done!” RECENT studies show that Hairloss is a topic close to the hearts of up to 40% of Irish people. It affects both male and female alike and can be extremely upsetting, irrespective of the age or sex of the sufferer. When 24-year-old Corkman Tomas Horgan noticed his hair was getting thiner his confidence hit rock bottom.“I hated it” said Tomas. “I became very
conscious about my hair and I started wearing a baseball cap whenever I was in company, my confidence was very low, especially around women, I felt they were looking at my hair.” It was at this point that Tomas started to research on the internet about various treatments to combat hairloss. “Both my father and grandfather were bald and I read that thinning
hair leading to baldness was heriditary so I knew I had to do something.” Tomas discovered, after hours of trawling through various websites, that hair transplant surgery only replaced hair follicles that had already died, it did not prevent further hairloss. “It was during this research that I read about a laser treatment pioneered in the US that has gained full
FDA which can stimulate hair growth and thicken hair, but ONLY if the Hair Root is still alive, it CANNOT grow hair if the root is dead, so I knew it was important to do something as soon as possible, before it was too late.” “I found a company in Cork, one of only a handful in Ireland to offer this treatment. I went for a free consultation to find out more at
their clinic just off Patrick’s Bridge. I was told that as I had lost some roots already and that my hair was never going to be as thick as it once was but treatment would help stop any further hairloss and thicken the hair that I did have.” “I am amazed at the results and my confidence has been restored. I can honestly say it was the best thing I have ever done!”
No 2 Camden Place, St Patricks Bridge, Cork t: (021) 4552424
OPENING TIMES: Monday to Friday 8am-9.30pm
Please log on to www.thehairclinichlcc.com Feelgood
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010