Feelgood 30-10-2009

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Feelgood Friday, October 30, 2009

It’s the simple things Craig Doyle and other high-profile Irish people on what makes them truly, deeply happy: 8,9,10

TUNNEL VISION

Coming back from the edge of death: 4,5

BEAUTY TREAT

Declan Cashin volunteers for a chocolate face mask: 7

HAIR DIY

Products to help you get the hottest looks at home: 14

Picture: Nick Bradshaw

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Regular checks of beauty spots and moles can help prevent them mutating into skin cancer, says Arlene Harris Kate O’Reilly WHAT’S ON MENTAL HEALTH: A two-day conference will take place next Wednesday and Thursday at The Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, UCC between 9.15am (registration) and 5pm each day.

The conference provides an opportunity to learn about, debate and discuss diverse and innovative ways towards and beyond mental health recovery.

There will be two keynote speakers each day followed by a series of workshops.

This conference is open to all, though, for space reasons, numbers are limited.

There is no admission charge. To register, e-mail: h.gijbels@ucc.ie indicating the day(s) you wish to register for.

BLOOD PRESSURE: The Irish Heart Foundation will hold blood pressure clinics at their Cork office, 24 Penrose Wharf, from 10am to 12pm next Tuesday, and in Midleton at the Family Resource Centre from 2.30 to 4.30pm on November 4. If you have questions about stroke or heart disease talk to an Irish Heart Foundation nurse in confidence on Locall 1890 432787.

PAMPERS CAMPAIGN: During October, November and December 2009, for every pack of Pampers nappies or wipes purchased with the ‘1 Pack = 1 Vaccine’ logo, Pampers will provide UNICEF with the funding for one life-saving tetanus vaccine. The Gift of Life campaign is working to help eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus by 2012. Since the campaign’s inception in 2006 Irish parents have been responsible for donating almost 3.5 million tetanus vaccines. To make a donation, or for further information about the campaign, visit www.pampers.ie or www.unicef.ie.

CONNECT ETHIOPIA: Connect Ethiopia is an Irish business-to-business charity set up in 2005 to encourage investment in Ethiopia. The charity’s annual fundraising ball takes place on Friday next, November 6, at Barberstown Castle, Co Kildare. Proceeds will go to the Illili Darartu Water Project an initiative to build wells. Tickets are priced at F1,500 for a table of 10 or F150 per ticket from Sandra O’Sullivan at sandra@connecethiopia.ie or 087-4171809.

HUSKY CHALLENGE: Join Oxfam for a once-in-a-lifetime challenge — sledding over 200 kilometres across the Arctic wilderness of Norway in January.

Be part of a team of 12 intrepid individuals and manage your own team of husky dogs on the week-long challenge starting on January 18. This trip will cost F5,500 and all profits will go to Oxfam Ireland. For more information contact KD Ryan at kd.ryan@oxfamireland.org or on 01-6350407.

Melanoma alert I T’S got to be the most famous beauty spot in the world, but despite being Cindy Crawford’s trademark, the American supermodel has recently admitted to worrying about the infamous mole over her top lip.

In a recent interview the supermodel said: “It’s not something I really like to talk about. But I have started getting my moles checked out every year as a matter of course. It should be an issue we all have to take seriously.”

In February this year, TV presenter Amanda Byram went one step further and had her beauty spot removed as she was worried about changes in its appearance.

Jane Curtin of the Irish Cancer Society urges people to check their moles regularly as, if ignored, some may turn into dangerous cancerous growths.

“In 2007, there were 667 new cases of malignant melanoma in Ireland,” she says.

“It is the most serious type of skin cancer and develops in the cells in the outer layers of skin. It can grow from a mole, freckle or a normal part of skin. Spotting a melanoma early and getting it treated as soon as possible can save your life.”

Jack Kelly, a consultant plastic surgeon at the Galway Clinic, says people are beginning to take skin cancer more seriously and MOLE FEARS: Cindy Crawford admitted concern about her trademark mole recently. are becoming more aware of changes to Picture:AP Photo/Evan Agostini) their body.

“Over the past few years I have seen a significant increase in patients looking to have moles removed,” he says. “Whether it’s down to increased exposure to the sun or deterioration of the ozone, skin cancer is definitely on the increase and people are becoming more vigilant.

“It is great to hear celebrities like Cindy Crawford speaking out about the need to be aware as it helps to get the message across.”

But Dr Patrick Treacy, chairman of the Irish Association of Cosmetic Doctors, says there are still many people who unaware of the dangers of skin cancer. “Almost one third of the skin cancers I took off last year were from patients who came in for something completely different.

“There is a common misconception that skin lesions have to be raised before they are dangerous — this is not always the case.

If anyone has any concerns, they should visit a doctor with experience in this area.”

The Irish Cancer Society advises people to follow their ABCD code: Asymmetry: Look for changes in symmetry Border: Changes to edges of mole Colour: Any change to colour or shade Diameter: Changes in size of mole.

■ For more information on skin cancer, visit www.cancer.ie or call helpline on 1800-200 700.

HEALTH NOTES your lifestyle as well as your interests.

“Any physical activity is good, but the best is the one you’re actually going to do. Winter’s the time when weight is gained and exercise regimes are shelved. Just half an hour of daily brisk walking will keep you in good condition, she said.

TRANSCENDENTAL Meditation (TM) reduces stress and improves mental health and emotional wellbeing in women with breast cancer, according to a new US study.

The research involved 130 women with breast cancer, all aged 55 and over, and assessed various aspects of their quality of life — such as energy levels, ability to meet family needs, satisfaction with how one is coping with the illness — every six months for two years.

Results showed improved quality of life in women practising TM twice daily at home.

They also reported better mental health, with less psychological distress and fewer limitations in social activities due to emotional problems.

THE newly-launched website of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) has embraced the YouTube age with an exclusive new poem by poet Rita Ann Higgins titled The Darkness that takes a hilarious and penetrating look at Ireland’s current economic chaos. 2009 Blogger of the Year Maman Poulet aka Suzy Byrne, who launched the site, said a website promoting the impact of policy on women’s lives is vital today.

“In a recession, with threats to important services and dismissal of issues as being irrelevant, I’m delighted to see the organisation adopt new forms of communication.”

As a woman with a disability, she said the web had been important to her, getting “the mouthy me out there, entering into debates all over the world”. Visit the website at www.nwci.ie.

STAYING FIT: A new campaign is aimed at 75% of nine-year-olds who don’t get enough exercise. Picture:iStock ALMOST 60% of Irish adults and three in four nine-year-old children don’t get the level of exercise recommended by the Department of Health and Children. Which is why the Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF) is urging people not to use the darker evenings as an excuse to hibernate for winter. NHF manager Dr Muireann Cullen advises choosing a physical activity that fits

SMOKING even one cigarette can increase stiffness in the arteries by 25%, putting one at greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

A new Canadian study compared the arterial stiffness of young people (average age 21), who smoke five or six cigarettes a day, to non-smokers. Post-exercise, stiffness levels in non-smokers’ arteries dropped by 3.6%. In smokers, the opposite occurred — even when they hadn’t smoked in the previous 12 hours, their arterial stiffness increased by 2.2% after exercise. After smoking one cigarette it increased by 24.5%.

Chewing nicotine gum increased a person’s arterial stiffness by 12.6%.

BE the star of a new ad campaign, yet be bald, chubby and toothless? Johnson & Johnson is searching for a child aged between three months and six years of age to feature in an advertising campaign for Provin, the ibuprofen children’s pain relief from the makers of Calpol. The ad will run in a nationwide campaign in the New Year. For more info, log onto www.provinstar.ie or pick up an entry form in participating pharmacies and post it — along with recent images — to Provin Star, PO Box 11597, Dublin 24. Closing date is November 30.

feelgood@examiner.ie EDITORIAL: Irene Feighan 021-4802292 ADVERTISING: Niamh Kelly 021-4802215

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THE SHAPE I'M IN

Alan Stanford

Making the moves ACTOR and theatre director Alan Stanford was born in Liverpool, brought up on the Isle of Wight and came to Ireland in 1969 to do a 12-week summer season in Killarney.

“Forty years later I’m still here,” says the 60-year-old, who is possibly best known for his work at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, where he has worked as actor, director and writer.

His 11-year stint on RTE rural soap Glenroe saw him play the role of Anglo-Irish gent George Manning.

“Glenroe is the most lied about programme. Everybody was always in denial about watching it, yet the whole country knew what was happening in Glenroe.”

Alan is about to embark on his third marriage to Dublin actress Maeve Fitzgerald and he has two grown-up children, aged 27 and 23.

He is director of the Second Age Theatre Company production of A Doll’s House, which runs at the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork, from November 4 to 6. To book, call 021-4501673 or visit www.everymanpalace.com.

What shape are you in?

Fairly good. Because I turned 60 this year, I decided I’d get fit again. I’m back in the gym five days a week and I’m on a strict dietary regime. I’ve lost two stone since May. What are your healthiest eating habits?

On principle, I’ve always tried to eat as much fresh food as I can. I try not to eat anything processed. There are a lot of food myths around at the moment — this notion of superfoods, for example. I believe all good quality, well-grown food is a superfood. People talk about organic lamb, but all the lamb in this country is organic — they all feed on mountains.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Chocolate — I love it. A good trick is to eat the very best chocolate you can get — good quality dark chocolate, but not too much of it.

What would keep you awake at night?

It’s generally not stress that keeps me awake. I’m just

not a big sleeper — five hours for me would be very good.

If something does keep me awake, it’s usually money-related — if I haven’t got work and I’ve got even less money.

How do you deal with stress?

I’d love to say walking on the mountains, but instead I like vegging in front of the TV. I also like listening to music — not reading so much because to me that’s just part of the job.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Oscar Wilde. I’ve been a huge fan from the first time I ever did one of his plays. I’ve been in all his plays and I feel he was the most remarkable writer and person. I’d probably invite Shakespeare as well, but Oscar Wilde would be a much better dinner guest because he loved good food and wine.

What would you change about your appearance?

Everything. I’ve always envied people with an aquiline appearance — that beautiful bone structure.

When did you last cry?

The last time I cried — actual sobbing crying — was probably at my mother’s funeral. I think crying is a good natural release, so I’m sure I’ve cried since then, but I can’t remember.

What’s your favourite smell?

The smell you get in a really good kitchen — the smell of roasting, of an oven door opening and the smells that come out.

What’s your best health tip?

Never ever eat anything called Death By Chocolate because sooner or later it will be.

What trait do you least like in others?

Duplicity.

What trait do you least like in yourself?

Laziness — it manifests a lot at weekends.

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Integrated Energy Therapy Training “Healing with the energy of Angels”

Do you pray?

I’m an atheist.

What would cheer up your day?

The unexpected pleasantry — warmth from an unexpected quarter — will always delight the day.

Helen O’Callaghan

GUILTY SECRETS: Alan Stanford admits he likes chocolate, but is also on a strict dietary regime and has lost two stone. Pic-

ture:Julien Behal/PA.

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Two survivors tell Michelle McDonagh about their out-of-body experiences

SEEING THE LIGHT T

HERE is no doubt in Colm Keane’s mind that the moment of clinical death, when our heart has stopped beating and our brain has flatlined, is not the end of the story.

“My own view from the evidence I have encountered is that somehow, in some shape or form, life does continue after death.

Whether that entails the survival of our mind or our consciousness separate from our physical form, or the departure of our ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ to another world, is not clear.”

For anybody who has lost a loved one, the thought that they are in a lovely, happy place and that they will meet them again gives great comfort. It’s a particularly reassuring thought for any parent who has lost a child, as Colm Keane is all too aware.

The death of his only child, Sean, from cancer at the age of only 20 on Christmas Day 2007, was a devastating blow to Colm and his wife, RTE newsreader Una O’Hagan.

While he stresses that Sean’s death did not inspire him to write Going Home — which he had already started work on — it did provide an added impetus to find an answer to the question of what happens when we die.

“I remember when Sean was dying on Christmas Day, myself and Una were holding his hands and talking to him.

We were so exhausted, but we kept talking to him. I told him that where he was going to was a lovely place and that all these people would come to meet him, like my brother who died some years ago, my parents and Una’s mum.

“I was sure he could DEATH BLOW: Colm hear and I was sure he Keane’s son died on Christmas Day 2007. was listening, but I wasn’t sure if I was right in what I was telling him. Sean was an astonishingly bright kid and I would never have lied to him or tried to bluff him, so I had an added impetus to find out if there was anything in what I had told him.”

While Sean’s death “neither inspired the book initially nor determined it in the end”, Keane says it’s been a great solace to him and his wife to know that they are going to meet him again some day.

The origins of the book — Going Home Irish Stories From The Edge of Death — date back to September 1990 when an account of a near-death experience appeared in the local press in Bray where Keane lives. He kept the newspaper clipping in a file and three years ago decided to start work on the book.

He interviewed 60 Irish people, many of whom had died and returned to life, and others who had experienced out-of-body travel and deathbed visions. The similarity of the accounts, not only of the experiences of those he interviewed, but by reports of such events going back through the centuries to the ancient texts, was startling.

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MARY KENNY

I floated over my body ARY KENNY from Ballinasloe, Co M Galway, floated away from her body during an unusually traumatic childbirth.

Picture: Hany Marzouk

“Most have travelled through dark tunnels, entered an intense brightness, been welcomed by deceased family and friends and encountered a superior being. The majority have felt a profound calmness and serenity.

Virtually all have been marked forever by these journeys.”

Working on this book, says Keane, has changed his whole view of life. “I’ve been in journalism a long time and I always took a very cynical, sceptical view of things, but I really have no doubt now that something lives on beyond the moment when we are declared clinically dead.”

A near-death experience describes a range of extraordinary occurrences that can happen at the point of death, Keane explains.

An estimated one in 10 people have an out-of-body experience, representing some 600,000 Irish men, women and children.

The incidence of near-death experiences is understandably lower, although still substantial. A Gallup poll conducted in the USA established that one in every 20 Americans experience them. Applying this ratio to Ireland, the figure amounts to some 300,000 people.

Keane comments: “Disbelievers claim that the proposition of a hereafter is nonsense and the result of wishful thinking at best. Stories of an afterlife, they argue, are the product of psychological distress, chemical imbalances and other responses to the stresses of dying.”

Among the theories put forward to explain the fantastic experiences that occur near death, is the proposition that they are hallucinations caused by a restricted flow or oxygen to the brain. However, Keane argues this theory is flawed as entirely different sensations such as mental turmoil, agitation and disorientation are invariably associated with oxygen

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

She gave birth to stillborn twins in November 1992. The twins had died at seven months, but she had to carry them to full term as she had a medical problem.

During the delivery, she became very ill and began to lose a lot of blood.

Suddenly she found herself floating over her body looking down from the ceiling.

She could see herself lying ashed faced in the bed, her husband Michael holding her hand and the medical staff around her.

“I saw the twins over in a corner at the window. The two of them were together in a plastic cot. I had never seen them up to then. I couldn’t have seen them from where I was in the room. They weren’t near me at all. They were actually in a little area off at the side of the room, but they were very visible to me from where I was up above.”

While she was out of her body, Mary became aware of a man who was in the hospital mortuary close to the maternity unit. She knew the man, but had not known he had died. A couple of days later she asked her husband about this particular man and was told his funeral had already taken place.

Mary is now a mother of seven.

deprivation, not the serene, peaceful feelings described by hear-death case histories.

Another proposition is that these experiences are caused by medication or drugs given to patients during surgery, or when they are dying, but as Keane points out there are many cases, including in his book, where no drugs whatsoever were involved.

Going Home has been flying off the shelves since it was published on October 12, going into its third print run after only one week. And radio stations have been inundated with people desperate to tell the stories of their own near-death or out-of-body experiences, stories which in many cases they have never spoken of before for fear of bring thought of as crazy.

■ Going Home — Irish Stories From The Edge of Death by Colm Keane, published by Capel Island Press, costs 14.99.

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while Colm Keane explains why he believes that somehow life continues after death

Picture:Getty Images

ALISON DAVIS

Extraordinary

All I kept seeing was loads of light

MANY well-know names have had near-death or out-of-body experiences.

Singer Mickey Harte from Co Donegal, had an out of body experience when he was about three years old. He had fallen on rocks in a stream and was unconscious. “I could see myself from up above. I was just hovering there, watching myself ... I was fairly close, about 20 feet up... It was all peaceful surroundings.”

Picture: Nick Bradshaw

LISON DAVIS from Shankill, Co A Dublin, saw bright lights and heard distant voices during her near-death experience

which occurred while she was moving in and out of a coma in hospital following a serious car crash.

“All I kept seeing was this light. There was loads of light. The light was a pinkish-white.

It was like a huge circle all around me. It was around the whole bed... I can still see it to

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this day... I could also hear voices and I thought: ‘I must be dead’. It was like the voices were saying prayers.”

Then, Alison felt someone holding her hand and patting her head.

A soft female hand was stroking her head and forehead. She could see the hand with a white sleeve attached but could not see a face.

Eventually she opened her eyes but could see nobody in the room. She rang for the

nurse who told her there had definitely been nobody in the room with her.

Alison says the experience totally changed her as a person. “I certainly knew I was being helped through that month and, in particular, through the very bad two weeks.

Something was definitely looking after me and I don’t know what it was. Seeing that light has given me hope and tells me there is more. It makes me feel that there is something there when I eventually pass away.”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

Actress Sharon Stone pictured here, experienced something similar while fighting for her life in hospital in 2001, having almost died when she haemorrhaged from a torn artery at the base of her skull.

Movie legend Elizabeth Taylor died for five minutes while undergoing surgery in the late 1950s. During the experience, she says she “went to that tunnel, saw the white light” and was met by her dead husband Mike Todd.

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A guilt trip is a pointless journey. Be responsible for your own feelings and don’t impose them on others

THE BLAME GAME

The

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FEELGOOD

Tony Humphreys

A

‘GUILT TRIP’ is either a journey you create within yourself or one another person attempts to arrange for you. The person who expects you to take responsibility for him can lay out the terms of the trip with such phrases as: ‘You only think about yourself ’; ‘You’re never there when I need you’; ‘Everything else comes first before me’ and more alarming, ‘I am nothing without you’.

The latter response is particularly worrying, as it may be a precursor to a future losing of all sense of one’s value following the break-up of a relationship. This is not uncommon among young men, wh o either threaten to, or take, their own lives following what they interpret as rejection of them by the young woman who ends the relationship.

When a person internalises the dependency of another, they experience guilt. The tendency is to interpret the guilt as about ‘letting the other person down’. This reaction is quite common between adult children and their parents, and is echoed in such statements as ‘I feel so guilty that I haven’t rung my mother’ (or father) or ‘I’m such a bad person for not visiting my parents’. However, when you interpret guilt as your being responsible for the well-being of another, you are cleverly avoiding a deeper issue that requires resolution.

I know several adults who religiously ring their parents on a twice daily basis and ‘call home’ two or three times weekly, even though the response they constantly get is critical, cold, heartless and dismissive. Of course, if they dared not ring or turn up, the result would be silent treatment and a reporting of their ‘heartless’ behaviour to all other members of the family.

In the face of such threats — which have persisted since childhood — seeing guilt as letting the other down is a wise and protective strategy. By projecting the guilt you now make even greater efforts to look after the person who is demanding and controlling of you, all in an attempt to reduce the ever present threat of utter rejection.

However, as an adult I need to find the help and support to separate out from a parent (or another) who has leaned on me all through the years. The protective response was to conform, and thereby create a co-dependency and lean-to relationship. The ma-

THE NATURAL HEALING CENTRES

DON’T LET ME DOWN: Living up to others’ expectations can lead to deep unhappiness. ture response is to take responsibility for your own life, and return responsibility for his or her own life to the person who depends on you. This separating out, this taking responsibility for self and your own actions, is an act of love and care for yourself and for the other. As long as we maintain a co-dependence, then the mature progress of both parties to the relationship is seriously blocked.

Feelings of guilt over your behaviour towards another arise from fear of rejection, this fear can only be resolved through an enduring unconditional love and acceptance of yourself. When you reach that place of solid interiority, then you are free to see that the dependency behaviour of another is about their hidden fears and only they can resolve those deep-seated insecurities. Collusion with another’s dependency needs maintains their fears and insecurities.

When you begin to find space between yourself and the dependent parent or partner or friend, you will then embrace guilt as a messenger of ‘how you let yourself down’ and the need for you to take responsibility for your self, not for another.

Only when we are independent are we truly in a place to love and empower another to come home to their own inner stronghold.

The hope is that once one party of a lean-to relationship moves towards independence, the other may take his or her cue from that modelling of maturity and set forth themselves on the road to a recovery of their true self.

Whether or not this mature process ensues, there can be no going back for the person who is now travelling the road less travelled — free from guilt and responsible for self.

Picture:iStock

■ Dr Tony Humphreys practices as a clinical psychologist and is author of several books on practical psychology, including Whose Life Are You Living?

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A chocolate facial proves surprisingly refreshing, reports Declan Cashin

0oh...what sweet pleasure A S WORK assignments go, they don’t come sweeter than this: I’m lying on a warm, vibrating couch waiting for a cocoa beauty mask to be applied.

“This kind of facial is not so much a clinical beauty treatment as a luxurious one,” explains Eavanna Breen, my beautician in Akina Beauty Clinic in Temple Bar. “But it’s just as good a facial treatment, because the cocoa is full of anti-oxidants which are vital for the skin’s health.

“Getting a chocolate facial is about taking the time out, relaxing, and appreciating the olfactory sensations of being slathered in chocolate.”

The good news is that this kind of facial treatment can be easily recreated at home, and that’s just one of the tips that chocolate connoisseurs can pick up during the Temple Bar Chocolate Festival in Dublin this weekend.

To start, Eavanna cleanses my skin. It’s been a long, stressful week, so my skin is pale, dehydrated, and, as I discover, congested around my nose.

She applies a first mask — a mixture of cacao (the raw form of cocoa) and French clay. It smells like a cup of hot chocolate. Lying there I have to fight every urge in my body not to start licking my own face, or peeling the mask off and eating it a la Hannibal Lector.

That mask is cleaned off, and Eavanna administers a short neck, shoulder and head massage. It’s heavenly. While I lounge in my semi-catatonic state, Eavanna proceeds to mix up 70% Green & Black Organic cocoa powder, oatmeal, cream, and honey in a bowl, and starts dabbing it on my face.

My sense of smell goes into overdrive: the chocolate mixture is cool and hydrating, and I can actually feel moisture getting back into my arid mug.

I lie still on the heated massage couch for the next 20 minutes with the mask on my face. My skin never feels like it’s drying out, even as the mixture begins to harden. Eavanna then starts removing the mask with soft sponges (be careful not to use the good towels if doing this at home), and finishes by applying sun screen (“the best anti-ageing cream there is”).

The result is amazing. I’m positively glowing. My skin is soft, and the dark circles under my eyes look considerably reduced. Chocolate is an anti-inflammatory so it helps to calm sensitivity and redness. As a result, my complexion is even, with none of the usual shine on my forehead or red splotches around my cheeks and neck.

I’m convinced, and I vow to return.

After all, who would turn down another chance to — literally — stuff their face with chocolate?

chocolate body wraps as part of its spa treatments (F95 for 90 min treatment).

Chocolate treatments near you:

Akina Beauty & Laser Clinic, 01-6708794, www.akina.ie. The chocolate facial costs F85 and lasts approximately one hour.

Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa (www.inchydoneyisland.com) provide a Chocolate Sensualite Ritual Body Treatment (F99).

Me-Time, 53 Cill Mhuire, Kenmare, Co Kerry (064-6648 727) offers

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: Main picture, Declan Cashin with his chocolate based face mask; Eavanna Breen applies the tasty mask made from oats, cacao and honey. Picture: Nick Bradshaw

Benefits of chocolate WHEN it comes to the healthy consumption of chocolate, the experts say to stick with the bars that have a 70% cocoa quotient.

“To put it very simply, the higher the cocoa content of chocolate, the more antioxidants they chocolate has,” explains dietician Sinead Shanley, who is giving a lecture tomorrow on the facts and fiction about eating chocolate (The New Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin, 1-2pm).

“Antioxidants are compounds that scoop up potentially harmful substances that occur naturally in our bodies called free radicals. These can lead to certain diseases like heart disease and cancer so these antioxidants can help to render the free radicals harmless. Just remember that you can’t take it with milk because milk blocks absorption of antioxidants.”

There are other surprising health benefits too. “One of the studies I looked at was the effect of chocolate on heart pressure,” says Sinead. “Over half of the Irish population over the age of 50 will have high blood pressure.

Taking a square — just one square — of 70% dark chocolate a day can help lower blood pressure.

“We know that chocolate doesn’t have chemicals that make it addictive, though people think it is. I think what people get addicted to is the sugar and fat content. That’s the danger of eating milk chocolate. It’s very high in calories and you will put on weight if you eat a bar of it a day. You also lose all the positive benefits if you eat more than the 70% square a day.”

Lying there, I have to fight every urge in my body not to start licking my own face or peeling the mask off and eating it a la Hannibal Lector Feelgood

■ The Temple Bar Chocolate Festival runs from today until Sunday. See www.templebar.ie or call 01-677 2255.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

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■ WEALTH OF HAPPINESS ■

Cost-free pleasures make life worthwhile A long soak in the bath, kicking up autumn leaves in the woods, spending time with friends and family or at a favourite hobby. These are some of the ways people stay content. Helen O’Callaghan asks seven well-known people what puts a smile on their faces despite the recession

A

MID dire predictions that NAMA’s going to fleece us and the budget’s going to cripple us — and constant reminders that this season isn’t simply winter, but an economic ‘winter of discontent’ — it’s a cheery, warm, toe-curlingly cosy thought that happiness might just come cheap.

That it might be a bar of chocolate, a long soak in the bath, a snooze in the middle of the afternoon, or a leisurely stroll in the park: These are the things that make us most happy, according to a 2007 study commissioned by the British National Lottery, which compared the ‘happiness levels’ of lottery jackpot winners with those who hadn’t won.

The research found that happy people — whether a jackpot winner or not — liked long baths, going swimming, playing games and enjoying their hobby, while those who reported they were less happy didn’t choose cost-free pleasures.

Dr Harry Barry, pictured here, who is author of Flagging The Problem — Pathways Out Of Depression

And Anxiety, a GP and director Aware, says happiness is about Mother Nature and raggy dolls. One of the first keys to happiness is living in the here and now, an attitude that Dr Barry calls ‘mindfulness’.

“A big contributor to happiness is learning to live in the present moment. Many people spend their time reflecting negatively on the past or catastrophising about the future,” he says.

“At the moment, everybody’s thinking about negative stuff, like how the politicians and banks have failed us, how awful the budget’s going to be, how we’re going to lose our jobs and our homes — without any proof that this is going to happen,” he says.

Keep close to nature and she will teach you how to live in the here and now, says Dr Barry. Take a walk in a forest park or along a beach. Adopt a pet.

“Staying close to nature always keeps us grounded.

There’s a peacefulness, a sense of

■ MUSICIAN JOHN SPILLANE, 48

things being the way they are. Instead of going backwards and forwards, we’re letting our emotional side experience Mother Nature,” he says.

The key happiness principle is not to rate yourself on any kind of scale or to allow others to do so. Dr Barry illustrates this with a 1980s cartoon series, which told what happened when a doll factory threw defective dolls into a reject basket.

“The dolls got tired of being called rejects. Instead, they called themselves the Raggy Doll Club and the series was all about their adventures. Many people spend their lives constantly trying to match up to their own or others’ assessments, and allowing themselves become disturbed when the rating isn’t good enough. Instead, learn to accept you’re a raggy doll — a normal human being like everybody else, who isn’t perfect,” he says.

It isn’t Celtic Tiger-type boom times or depressed, recessionary periods that dictate our happiness, says Dr Barry. It’s inner contentment.

“If you have that, you’ll survive — whether there’s plenty of material stuff coming in or very little,” he says.

Feelgood spoke to some well-known Irish people and asked them what happiness means to them, and what simple things make them happy.

Playing music, good craic How would you define happiness?

“My favourite definition of happiness is one I saw in a movie about Indian mythology, where five brothers had to answer certain riddles and one question they were asked was: What is inevitable? And the correct answer was: Happiness is inevitable — that is to say, we are all gonna be happy whether we like it or not.”

What simple things make you happy?

“Playing music, good craic in the pub, writing a brilliant song — I suppose that last one is a bit saucy.

“Also, eating the breakfast. I do like the old fry. You’re not allowed to, for

CALLED TO THE BAR: Singer songriter John Spillane seen enjoying a pint in his local, The Ferry Inn, Passage West, Cork. Picture: Cillian Kelly

■ PETER KELLY, AKA FRANC OF WEDDINGS BY FRANC, 41 ■ INTERNATIONAL SOCCER STAR RAY HOUGHTON, 47 Eadaoin. Kissing my kids good-

Jessie’s notes cheer me up How would you define happiness?

“Happiness is the state of your mind. It’s the health of your family.

To me, health is wealth.”

What simple things make you happy?

“Sleeping in the arms of my partner,

LOVE NOTES: Franc (Peter Kelly) receives a note from his daughter Jessie.

Picture: Des Barry

night and knowing they’re safe. I also love walking on beaches — my favourite is probably Broad Strand, in west Cork.

“Another thing that makes me happy is the friendship myself and Eadaoin have with some friends from college — Trevor and Jean Delaney. We’ve been friends for so long, and, to them, we haven’t changed — and, to us, they haven’t changed. That’s very comforting and we always have fun with them.”

What small thing would cheer up your day?

My daughter, Jessie’s habit of leaving notes everywhere, from the toilet to the windscreen to the car seat. It’s usually a drawing of herself and the other children, or herself with me and Eadaoin, telling us that she loves us. She’s seven and she’s been doing this for the past two or three years. It’s just her little thing.”

Seeing the kids grow up well

How would you define happiness?

“Being a family man with four kids, happiness is seeing them grow up well and happy — it’s when you do your best with the people you bring into the world and you see them going on to have happy lives of their own.”

What simple things make you happy?

“Just seeing my daughter, Harlee, who’s 13. After having three boys, I never thought I was going to get a girl.

“Being around friends is also important. Having a balance of friends is comforting. I’m still good mates with a chap I met at age 11, when I first came to school in London — Derek Tierney.

“In my group of friends, I’m in

charge of operations when it comes to nights out and weekends away. We haven’t seen a lot of each other recently, because some of the guys have had bereavements, so now — as team operations leader — I’m in the throes of organising a party for us all.

“Little things make me happy — I travel extensively, so whenever a flight’s on time I’m a very happy man.”

What small thing would cheer up your day?

“A nice meal — simple food, cooked by my wife, Brenda.

I’ve been piling on the pounds recently, so I’m cutting fat out of my diet and eating things like fish. Right now, I’m having seabass.”

■ PAGE 10: CRAIG DOYLE, GLENDA GILSEN AND MARTY WHELAN ■

Feelgood

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

cholesterol reasons and because of this real climate of fear we live in.

About once a month, I go into town and have the full Irish.

“Watching a good movie makes me happy, too. The best one I saw recently was a Ken Loach one, Looking For Eric. It was about a depressed guy in Manchester and his relationship with Eric Cantona. It was a very special movie.

“And when you enjoy your work, which I do — that’s happiness.”

What small thing would cheer up your day?

“A smile, a joke, a positive comment, a kind, loving, considerate person.”

■ WORLD RACE-WALKING SILVER MEDALLIST OLIVE LOUGHANE, 33

I like watching Eimear doing something new How would you define happiness? ”Being at peace with myself and everyone around me.”

What simple things make you happy?

“My three-year-old daughter, Eimear, doing something new. She had a little stroke before she was born, so she’s weaker on her right side. The day I found her sitting on top of the coffee table — which would stress most parents — was a great moment. All I could think was ‘she did that herself’.

“The day before this year’s world championship, in Berlin, I got a call from my friend, Yvonne, who’d moved to Paris to say she, her husband, and children were coming to the race.

She’d always had faith in me when I hadn’t in myself, and her being there felt like another piece of the jigsaw had fallen into place.

“It always brings a smile to my face when I’m away from home training

HOME GROUND: Ray Houghton says family and a home-cooked meal mean a lot to him .

Picture: Diane Cusack

and my good friends, siblings, and family send me a text or give me a call.

“And, of course, when I see things going well for friends and family, that makes me happy.”

What would cheer up your day?

“Eimear playing with the answering machine and chatting away to the voice on it, and not understanding why the person keeps repeating the same thing each time she plays it over.”

GROWTH SPURT: Olive Loughnane gets pleassure from watching her three-year-old daughter Eimear do new things. Picture:Larry Cummins,

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■ WEALTH OF HAPPINESS ■

Peace of mind is what matters to me ■ ITV SPORT PRESENTER CRAIG DOYLE, 38 How would you define happiness?

“Happiness is peace of mind. You can have all the money in the world, the grandest car, the biggest house, but peace of mind is what ultimately gives you happiness.”

What simple things make you happy?

“Being around my wife, Doon, and my kids, Quin, Muireann and Milo. The kids don’t give a damn about work, finances, house size, bills. All they care about is me giving them attention, fun and smiles.

“My dog Dasher makes me happy. He’s the skinniest, thickest eejit. He’s a rescue dog, a fabulous fellow. He follows me around, eats what I give him, does what I say.

“Sport is very important to me. Rugby is a very special sport. Unlike the football world, these guys aren’t being paid millions. They’re doing it for the love and pride in the game. I love the physicality of it.

“Happiness is also playing my drums. If I’m stressed, I put on the headphones and bash away.

My head’s full of music, the house is full of noise — it’s an instinctive thing to do because there’s a deep-rooted rhythm in us. I find playing the drums very cathartic.”

What small thing would cheer up your day?

“Something one of the kids might say — my daughter asked me the other day: ‘What’s your Christmas name?’”

BEST FRIENDS: Craig Doyle and his dog Dasher go walkabout in the wood. ‘He’s the skinniest, thickest eejit. He’s a rescue dog, a fabulous fellow. He follows me around, eats what I give him, does what I say.’ Picture:Nick Bradshaw / fotonic

■ XPOSE PRESENTER GLENDA GILSON, 28

Family friends and a big bar of Dairy Milk

How would you define happiness?

“Happiness is just one word — laughter.

When you’re laughing, you’re happy.”

How would you define happiness?

“It’s the love and company of family and friends. It counts so much when other things don’t work out.”

What simple things make you happy?

Picture: Billy Higgins “Waking up in Rome — the uniqueness of the place, I just love it.

“Listening to Frank Sinatra. He would sometimes say when leaving an audience — ‘may you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine’. For me, Frank Sinatra is as good as it gets. A new Sinatra album came out recently and I was so excited, I was like a child.

“One thing I particularly love is the four of us — my wife, Maria and the kids, Jessica who’s 19 and Thomas who’s 16 — being together for dinner on a Sunday.

It’s terribly important to all of us because — between ballet and boyfriends and football — we can all become very disparate.”

■ LYRIC FM AND WINNING STREAK PRESENTER MARTY WHELAN, 53

What small thing would cheer up your day?

“A bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate — and it’d have to be a big bar, not a small one.”

Feelgood

What simple things make you happy?

“Spending time with my family makes me happy. I’m very close to my brother, Damian, who’s five years older than me.

“My god-daughter, Nicole, who’s only four, always makes me happy. She’s the child of my first cousin, who’s like a sister to me. Nicole always has a story to tell.

Last night it was about SpongeBob SquarePants and the adventure he was going on. She wanted me to sit and watch it with her.

“I’m not going to say working out in the gym makes me happy. My trainer, Paul Byrne, trains the hell out of me.

What I love, though, is the energised feeling I get after a work-out.”

What small thing would cheer up your day?

“Having a good lunch always cheers up my day. Some days I have a crappy lunch and just grab what I can. But having a nice sit-down lunch — a good salad or pasta — is a happy thing.”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

My god daughter Nicole always has a story to tell me HAPPY DUO: Glenda Gilson with Nicole, who always makes her happy. Picture: Billy Higgins

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Food so good it’s scary I

LOVE autumn. It’s one of those guilt-free seasons, full of promise of long walks in crisp fallen leaves, returning home to a bowl of steaming soup and a hunk of brown bread.

Halloween, the celebration of the season, doesn’t involve Christmas-like excesses, yet allows us to immerse ourselves in the best of what nature has to offer. Apples, nuts and pumpkins cost little and can be used as food and decoration and for simple fun.

Apples deliver pectin, which works on cholesterol and toxins and helps lower blood sugar and the depression which can go with it. Excellent for undesirable digestive bacteria, they are good all rounders.

Nuts supply healthy oils, good fibre, and to maximise the nutritive value gently roast and then chew well. For good absorption eat with vitamin C-rich fruit such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit (there are delicious red grapefruits around at the moment), kiwis, green peppers, raw red cabbage.

Roast chunks of pumpkin flesh in the oven, drizzled with a little olive oil, for 30-40 minutes and purée with a little cream or yoghurt for a vegetable on the side, or add stock to make a soup. A touch of curry paste is good too. Eat pumpkin to help with breathing difficulties, for some help with cancer protection and as a particularly good source of protein for vegetarians.

Mimi’s Last-Minute Tea Brack Makes 2 loaves Dried fruit which makes up fruity bracks is packed with energy and concentrated forms of iron and vitamins.

The recipe here came from my late mother-in-law and uses no yeast, so is easy and quick to make. Soak the fruit overnight if possible, but a few hours will do. Over the years I have experimented with all sorts of teas; lemon flavoured is good and Earl Grey is delicious in it. I also add a few cherries, figs or dates if to hand.

450g mix of raisins & sultanas ½ pint (10fl oz) strong tea 225g brown sugar 2 teasp marmalade 2 eggs 1 teasp mixed spice 350g plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder (Soak the raisins and/or sultanas overnight if possible.)

Preheat oven at 180c/350f/gas 4.

To the sultanas and tea add the other fruit, such as cherries, figs or dates, a chopped cooking apple is great too.

Stir in the sugar, marmalade and egg, then the spices, flour and baking powder. This recipe works well with selfraising flour and no baking powder.

Feelgood

Seasonal Halloween treats like nuts, apples and pumpkins boost your health

Roz Crowley Avoid overmixing to keep it light. The mixture should be slightly wet so add a little more tea if necessary.

Pour into two 1lb loaf tins lined with greaseproof paper. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 40-50 minutes.

Check by pushing a clean knife into the brack. If it comes out clean, it’s ready, though allow for some stickiness from the fruit. Keeps for a few weeks.

Good for school and work lunches.

Beetroot Risotto Serves 4 This wonderful seasonal recipe uses arborio rice which absorbs the liquid and flavours better than long rice. It is easy to find in wholefood shops and supermarkets and makes a great Halloween supper, stretching to feed unexpected visitors. To stretch it further, serve chunky bread on the side and a salad of young spinach leaves dressed with olive oil and warm vinegar.

A special dish without being extravagant.

2 medium onions 4 medium beetroots 25g butter 25ml olive oil 300g Arborio rice 1 glass white wine About 1 litre hot vegetable stock 100g parmesan cheese Handful flat leaf parsley Salt

to sizzle, season with a little salt and turn the heat down. Cook gently for about seven minutes. The onions should soften, not brown.

Peel the beetroots and cut into a fairly small cubes, then stir into the onions.

Season with a little salt and cook for a further 10 minutes, giving occasional stirs.

Add the Arborio rice to the vegetables and give a good stir, then add the glass of white wine. Allow the wine to bubble up and reduce, then add a small amount of the hot vegetable stock. Cook for a couple of minutes, then start adding the stock ladle by ladle. Stir between additions.

Keep the rice cooking gently, more gentle bubbling than exploding volcano.

The rice will be cooked after 15-20 minutes, Check and maybe add more stock, or water if you’re out of stock. If the rice has the slightest bite to it, take it off the heat and beat in the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a sprinkle of chopped flat leaf parsley.

■ This recipe comes from Karen

Peel and chop the onions. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a pan and add the onions. As soon as the onions begin

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

Austin, whose evening class of Spanish food on Friday, November 13, will cover an exciting range of dishes from Spain. Her festive vegetarian class will be held on Saturday, December 12.

Con McLoughlin will give a gluten-free cooking class on Saturday November 7. All classes will be held in Fionnuisce, Herons Court, Bandon.

Enquiries: www.lettercollum.ie.

Apple Mush When the apples have been bobbed, you can be left with quite a mess of bits of tooth-marked apples. I came up with this solution a few years ago when I had lots of bruised apples to deal with.

Remove the worst of the bruises and wash and put what remains in a saucepan with a skim of water so they can steam. Cover with a lid and cook gently until soft. Pass through a sieve or mash and pick out the bits of skin and cores. Add a little honey or brown sugar to sweeten if necessary and serve as a sauce for slices of warmed barm brack to make an easy treat.

Tasty ghostly treats SCARY Horror Mix is a packet of bright and darkly coloured jellies with just a few chemicals. Concentrated grape juice provides some of the sweetness

and flavour, though the main ingredient is glucose syrup. Quite good as scary treats go and not too sweet tasting either. 150g for 99c from Aldi.

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Q

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

MY teenage son is very active and has been complaining of pain in his knee, especially after playing sports. His doctor said it could be Osgood-Schlatter disease. How is this treated, and will he have to stop his activities?

A. Osgood-Schlatter disease is not really a disease, but an overuse injury. It’s one of the most common causes of knee pain in adolescents. Teenagers increase their risk if they play football, tennis, gymnastics, basket-ball or any sport that involves twisting, running and jumping. It usually affects sporty teens at the beginning of their growth spurts — for boys this occurs between the ages of 10 and 15, and for girls between eight and 13 years. Growth spurts make teenagers prone to this condition because their bones, muscles, and tendons are growing quickly and not always at the same time.

Inflammation can occur at the bone, cartilage or tendon attaching the top of the shin-bone connecting the knee-cap. The pain can range from mild to severe, and tends to worsen with exercise. There may be swelling or tenderness under the knee and over the shin bone, or your teen may limp after exercise. The pain usually eases with rest. Talk to your doctor again if your child complains of pain at rest, thigh pain or severe pain that waken him from sleep, as it is not likely to be Osgood-Schlatter disease.

OSD usually goes away by age 18. Until then, only the symptoms need treatment.

Rest is the key to pain relief. In mild cases, children are advised to limit the activities that cause the pain. If symptoms flare up a short break from sports might be necessary.

More severe cases may need a total break from sports. This can be difficult for active children, but the knee cannot heal without rest.

To help keep discomfort at a minimum make sure shock-absorbent insoles are worn. A good scretching programme before and after the activity, focus especially on the hamstring and quadriceps muscles. Applying moist heat for 15 minutes before or icing for 20 minutes after can help minimise swelling. Some children may develop a permanent, painless bump below the knee.

Q. What should you do when your child gets nose-bleeds? My five-year-old gets upset when they happen.

A. Nose bleeds can be scary looking, for children and parents, but fortunately are much less dangerous than they appear. They are most likely to occur between the ages of two and ten in children. Most nose-bleeds come from the partition between the two nostrils, called the septum.

The lower front part of the septum has a large number of blood vessels called “Little’s

KNEE PAIN: Osgood-Schlatter disease usually affects teenagers who are active sports enthusiasts. Taking a break helps relieve the knee pain. Picture:Picture: iStock area”, so when this becomes irritated or inflammed, it bleeds. Inflammation usually happens due to colds, sinus infections, allergic rhinitis, or nose-picking. Also, just as dry air causes chapped lips and cracking lips, it has the same effect inside the nose, especially in cold weather. Trauma from accidents, fights, sports injury, or from younger children inserting objects in their nose can also cause nose-bleeds.

Since most nose-bleeds start from the septum, the first aim of treatment is to compress that area.

Pinching the upper part of the nose won’t help as it is made of bone. Pinch the nose firmly on the lower half and hold pressure on that part for 10-15 minutes without stopping. This can be uncomfortable, so encourage your child to breathe through his/her mouth while providing reassurance. Tell your child that the bleeding will stop in a few minutes and to breathe slowly. It is important not to tilt the head back — this can make blood drip back into the throat, which not only tastes bad but can also make some children feel they are choking. Keep the head tilted slightly forward so blood drips from the nose. If the bleeding doesn’t stop after 15-20 uninterrupted pressure, see a doctor. Further treatment, such as cauterization or nasal packing, can stop the bleeding.

Healthy children rarely bleed enough to lower their blood count or blood pressure, so blood tests are not routinely recommended for a nose bleeds. There are exceptions — if a child has frequent nose-bleeds, bleeds from the gums or bruises easily for no reason, your doctor should check whether your child’s blood clots normally. If nose-bleeds occur frequently your doctor can get a paediatric ear, nose and throat assessment for your child. This will help rule out causes, such as nasal polyps, or a deviated septum. If you notice persistent bleeding or discharge in babies or toddlers, especially from one nostril only — see a doctor, your child may have something stuck up their nose.

To help prevent nose-bleeds when your child wipes his/her nose, encourage wiping straight across the nostrils. Avoid attempts to stuff a tissue inside the nostrils. Discourage nose-picking or blowing the nose too hard. You can use saline nose sprays to keep the inside of the nose from drying or cracking. Applying Vaseline inside the nose can also help.

Homeopathic remedies that may help include Arnica (6c), especially if the nose-bleed follows an injury; Phosphorous (6c) if after violent nose-blowing. Either of these remedies can be taken every two minutes for up to 10 minutes.

NOTE: The information contained in Dr Houston’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first

Catherine Shanahan MUM’S WORLD

Feelgood

TRAVEL may broaden the mind but it also means frequent trips to the loo.

And so it was that Lughaidh and I lurched our way hurriedly towards the loo on his first Intercity train journey from Cork to Dublin.

Confronted by a set of big buttons, he instinctively reached for the brightest. “Door opening,” it said, when he pressed it and the entire wall to the toilet slid sideways.

“Open Sesame,” muttered Lughaidh, stepping inside and immediately clocking more buttons. A glowing red dial had caught his keen eye and there was nothing for it but to press it. “Door closing,” it said as the wall wrapped around us fuelling Lughaidh’s excitement. One button remained and it would have been a shame not to allow him to use it. “Door locking” it said as I turned my attention to readying Lughaidh for action.

When he was through I decided I too

would use the loo before settling down for the journey. In retrospect this was a foolhardy move in the presence of such temptation. As he hit ‘Door Unlock” I watched paralysed by shock as the wall gave way to the carriage...

If I could have jumped from the train such was my shame, I would have happily, gladly. But with a child in my care it would not have been fair to expect him to go it alone. So I returned to my seat, face burning, stomach churning, to resume my role as chaperone.

The train was a novelty for the first 15 miles by which time its attraction had dimmed. As we pulled into Mallow Lughaidh looked to get off as boredom began to set in. I prayed for fatigue and a meaningful sleep to see us through the rest of the trip.

By the time we reached Heuston we’d explored every carriage and watched

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

countless signals flash past. Both slightly manic from three hours confinement, I wondered how long more Lughaidh would last. We had yet to board the Luas to take us to the Dart for the final leg of our outing. Any rush he had got from riding the rails was unfortunately fast evaporating.

We had to do it all again that evening when returning to Cork. After disembarking, I thought I’d lost my purse and caused a minor panic among staff. A half hour was spent rummaging through rubbish on the off chance I’d dumped it by mistake. It emerged from Lughaidh’s schoolbag after we got home and once again I hung my head in shame.

Travelling alone may broaden the mind, but with family, the outcome’s much worse. It heightens the stress levels, lengthens the journey and inarguably lightens the purse.

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Remember Movember Deirdre O'Flynn MOSTLY MEN

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T’S time to let that moustache grow.

Movember, the month formerly known as November, has been taken over worldwide by men who grow temporary moustaches to raise awareness of, and funds for, cancer charities.

In Ireland, Action Prostate Cancer, an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society, is promoting Movember and is encouraging men to sign up for sponsorship and grow a mo (the Australian slang for ‘tache). Last year, over 1,700 Mo Bros (as the participants are known) took part in Ireland’s first Movember, raising a phenomenal F370,000.

Movember 2009 looks to be even hairier with a host of celebrities lending their faces for the month. Already signed up are Olympic boxing hero Kenny Egan, Niall Breslin from The Blizzards and Richie Egan of Jape. Louis Copeland has pledged to grow a Mo for the month and will be ensuring Mo Bros size up for the month. Original Mo Bro, Irish Rugby legend Donal Lenihan and legendary boxer Barry McGuigan have pledged to be Mo Mentors, offering Mo Bros advice and top tips on how to achieve a quiff upper lip.

“The Irish Cancer Society greatly appreciates the ongoing support of the Movember campaign in Ireland,” says John McCormack of the Irish Cancer Society. “It is wonderful to see such a large following of support in the community in such a positive way.”

It’s an important initiative, given that prostate cancer is the most common male cancer. Irish men have a one in 12 chance of developing prostate cancer during the course of their lifetime. Irish men are the most at risk in Europe with the national Cancer Registry of Ireland estimating there will be a

LIP SERVICE: Louis Copeland ensures Movember founders, Justin Coughlan, left, and Anthony Power, right, measure up for the campaign.

275% increase in the incidence of prostate cancer by 2020.

Mo Bros and Mo Sistas — women who want to support and encourage the campaign — can register at www.movember.com as individuals or as a team. For more information

Booklet aid for prostrate cancer

Asthma swine flu warning

MANY Irish men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer find understanding the treatment a major hurdle in the fight against the disease. Now, a new booklet, 4 Ways to Improve your Life, gives practical tips and guidance on how to enjoy life better while being treated with hormone therapy for cancer.

While the cause of prostate cancer is unknown, it seems to be linked to increasing age and generally only affects men over the age of 50. Hormone treatment plays an important role in the treatment but must be prescribed by the specialist physician. The booklet, published by Astellas Pharma Co Ltd, outlines four ways to enjoy life better while undergoing this form of hormone therapy: talk about the disease, pro-actively address side-effects, eat healthily and stay active to boost energy levels and moods.

■ For a copy of the booklet, contact the Irish Cancer Society on 1800-380380 or on 01-6697684.

THE Asthma Society of Ireland is urging people with asthma to be extra vigilant this autumn. The threat of swine flu poses an additional risk for people with asthma as numbers of swine flu cases are expected to increase over the coming winter months. New figures released by the Department of Health in Britain show that 25% of people hospitalised with swine flu have asthma.

“Visit your GP to get your asthma under control and avail of both seasonal and swine flu vaccines,” says Dr Jean Holohan, CEO, Asthma Society of Ireland. “If you are suffering from flu symptoms visit your GP to discuss anti-viral treatment if it is appropriate.”

■ Call the Asthma Society of Ireland helpline on 1850-445464 or visit www.asthmasociety.ie.

TAKE AS CHILDREN return to school after the Halloween break parents may be looking for some new ideas for their lunchboxes.

Anneliese Dressel, director of the Institute of Complementary and Integrated Medicine (www.icim-ireland.net.), has some tips…

Water. Dehydration is a common cause of fatigue and lack of concentration.

Dressel says it’s important to pack plenty of fluids in your child’s lunchbox.

Plain water is best, but if desired add fresh fruit juice or a squeeze of

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lemon and lime. Unsweetened fruit juice is also a good choice.

Innocent smoothies for kids, F3 for four, contain no added sugar, colours, or preservatives.

Other good fruit options include Tesco Kids Apples Bag 8/10pack F1.49 and Tesco Kids Easy Peelers 600g F2.19.

NEW LAUNCH: Pictured at the launch of the booklet were Micheal Sheridan of the Mercy Foundation and Paul Sweeney, MAC and consultant urologist.

Picture: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

on prostate cancer, contact the Prostate Cancer Information Service on Freefone 1800 380 380 or email prostate@irisahcancer.ie or via live cancer chat which is available at www.cancer.ie/chat (9am to 7pm, Monday to Thursday, and until 5pm on Fridays).

DId you know...

Four out of 10 back pain sufferers can’t sleep through the night

HEALTHY LUNCHES Flavoured yoghurts: Many types of yoghurt marketed at children contain high levels of sugar.

One brand Dressel recommends is Glenisk Kids Organic Yoghurt which comes in strawberry and vanilla or banana flavours in packs of four, F2.09.

Made using organic Irish milk, the fruit is puréed, which means ‘no bits’, which many kids prefer.

Cereal bars: These bars can be packed full of sugar (as much as 40%) and often high in saturated fat. Dressel likes nakd bars, F1.59 from Natural Balance Foods which come in flavours like Apple Pie and Berry Cheeky. Nakd bars are a 100% natural blend of unsweetened fruit, rolled oats, nuts and spices, which are low in fat and taste moist and sweet. You can find them in health stores or from www.eatnakd.com. Dressel says these are adult-sized snacks, so cut them into pieces to make them last the week.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

Savoury snacks: Cheese strings, crisps, crackers and similar snacks tend to be highly processed and often contain high levels of saturated fat and salt. Dressel recommends encouraging your child to eat snacks like unsalted popcorn, nuts, or mini rice cakes. She also suggests looking for healthier alternatives of your child’s favourite snacks. In Organix Goodies Snack Bags, 49c, saturated fat is kept low by using organic ingredients and by baking not frying them. These corn snacks contain a third less salt than most snacks.

Flavours: Cheese & Herb Puffs, Carrot Stix, Tomato, Cheese and Herb Puffs, Saucy Tomato Noughts & Crosses and Spicy Stars.

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The news on ...

HAIRDO IT YOURSELF I ’M suffering from recession hair — my highlights are looking dull and far from uplifted thanks to the clatter of products I’ve been chucking into my hair to try and get a bit more life from them. Not only that, but my ends are frizzy and depressed-looking, and my layers look like they are about to take off.

With less and less money to spend on haircuts, and with a haircut and highlights still costing over F200 in most Dublin salons, women are getting to the stage where it’s just not possible to visit the hairdressers every six weeks.

This means an increasing number of us are doing it all at home, but international celebrity hairstylist and spokesman for Pantene, James Mooney, says it could all end in tears.

“People need to learn how to treat their hair when they’re doing it at home,” says Mooney. “They can really damage their hair if they’re not doing it properly.”

With crimping, extra volume and expertly tousled hair being strong looks on the catwalk this season, getting to grips with home styling products and tools has never been more important. Hair can get seriously weakened from drying, crimping and tongs, and using a spray or serum to limit the impact of heat-styling tools is essential before you get started. And introducing an overnight hair repair treatment, or a deep moisturising mask, can also make a big difference to the quality of your hair.

It’s a good idea to try and tailor your haircare routine to your hair type — go with the natural movement of your hair, if it’s wavy, then stop straightening it — if it’s straight, then use good serums and conditioners to ensure it’s in the best condition possible.

Many of this season’s trends can be achieved without even a trip to their hairdressers. High-maintenance looks of the last few years are starting to wane. “We’re definitely seeing less fringes this year,” says Mooney. “While big-volume looks, textured pony tails and braiding are coming through more strongly.”

Treatments for mums to be ONE of the best times to visit a spa and be pampered is when you’re pregnant, but it’s also the time when the treatments you can actually avail of are at their most limited. Now Limerick’s uber-swanky No 1 Pery Square, which is described as “Ireland’s largest organic urban spa retreat“, has launched a range of treatments and programmes especially for expectant and nursing mothers.

We particularly like the sound of Total Body Bliss, (F179), which kicks off with gentle full body exfoliation with jojoba beads, followed by complete moisturisation with Vanilla Body Butter and a calming Indian Head Massage, followed by a full Pristine Pedicure. Bliss indeed. oneperysquare.com.

TAKE THREE Autumn scents THE new season brings with it a flood of fragrances. While it might be too early to decide what perfume you want for Christmas, here are a few scents to keep you interested along the way…

Emily O’Sullivan

You don’t need a hairdresser to get this season’s hottest looks

Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition 30ml, F40. With Donna Karan’s Cashmere Mist celebrating its 15th birthday this year, the eau de parfum has been updated with a modern, enhanced take on the original. The scent still embodies a brilliant mix between luxury, clarity and depth with intriguing notes of watery elements and bergamot with two jasmine absolutes, orange flower, ylang and muget, along with moss, blonde woods, amber, labdanum and vanilla.

Picture: PA Photo/Anita Cox

Benefit Gina my place or yours eau de toilette, F43. This woody oriental has a heady scent, perfect for winter with its mix of pink pepper, wild raspberry and patchouli. It’s quite sweet and young, but it’s sexy and fun at the same time. It’s also prettily packaged inside a wooden box with a door on the front, although the bottle sadly looks a bit cheap.

Volume featured strongly on the catwalks and hair can be boosted with volume shampoos and conditioners, volume sprays and mousses that big it up from the roots of your hair along with old-fashioned-curlers. The 1940s wave (parted at the side with soft wavy curls) was huge at shows such as Proenza Schouler, while at Anna Sui hair was impeccably healthy-looking, flowing and voluminous.

Women with long hair can mix their looks up a bit by going for one of the new-style updos. Plaiting hair may have become popular in 2008, but it’s still a big look for autumn. One of the easiest ways to get the look

is to go for a long, very textured low plait, which falls down the back. It should be messy, rather than incredibly neat. If you’ve got the patience, go for milkmaid braids, which run across the top of the head and can be pepped up with hair pieces.

At Donna Karan, hair was swept into a very neat, very modern bun, rather than loose and textured. And if you’re a fan of simple updos then you’ll love fashion’s currently obsession with Kirby grips — it’s as easy as could be to pin up the hair with these, and you don’t even have to hide them, on-show Kirby grips is a big trend this season.

Redken Extreme Iron Repair heat-activated protector for distressed/dull hair, F24.50. Poker-straight hair may be out, out, out this season, but that doesn’t mean that everyone’s going to chuck out their hair straighteners just yet. If you are still addicted to straightening, then the most important thing is to protect.

This product from Redken protects and treats hair regularly subjected to blowdryers, flat irons, curling irons and hot rollers.

ens the hair shaft and really boosts the hair by lifting it from the root. A heat shield technology also protects the hair from heat styling.

this is a great product for getting a more textured look to the hair. Rub it in your hands before applying it to your hair to get a more even coverage.

Pantene Pro-v Volume and Body Seriously Body Boosting Mousse, F5.49.

While many of us still believe hair mousses are stuck in the 80s, they have actually come a long way from their crunchy forefathers. Use this boosting mousse right at the roots, comb it through the hair and boost it all up with a hairdryer.

You’ll have 1960s-style vixen volume in no time.

Shu Uemura Art of Hair Essence Absolue, F50. This is a really expensive product and firmly in the treat category. But it does have multi-tasking abilities: the rich oil can be applied as a pre-wash conditioning treatment, as a leave-in conditioner or as an instant remedy for split ends. It has a very rich oily texture, so a little goes a long way, but it works a dream with nourishing camellia oil to help soothe course, dry or thick hair.

Thierry Mugler Angel Liquer de Parfum Eau de Parfum, F66. This crazy spiky bottle is uncomfortable to hold and makes the fragrance difficult to spray, but what makes this limited-edition version of Angel interesting is that it has been aged in a cherrywood barrel almost like a fine cognac.

The scent itself is slightly subtler, and a more refined version of the original with blasts of sweet and amber coming through.

STUFF WE LIKE Kerastase Age Premium Masque Substantif, F36. This is a great rejuvenating mask for more mature hair, which starts to thin and weaken over time. It gives it a great conditioning and volume boost and is enriched with hyaluronic acid.

L’Oreal Professional Play Ball Curl Candy, F17.20. If you have curly hair, stop tormenting it with straightening balms and products and learn to love your waves.

Though it has an almost overpowering smell of “cherry candy“, this gel crème from L’Oreal Professional is good for taming frizz while making the most of your natural movement.

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John Frieda Luxurious Volume Blow Dry Lotion, F8.49. Adored by some of the world’s top hairdressers, this blow dry lotion thick-

Toni&Guy Funky Gum, F7.70. It has a really sticky feel, and you only need the teeniest, tiniest amount, but

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

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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

UP to about two years continuing to take them. A wholeago, I suffered from foods diet, including fresh fruit claustrophobia and smoothies and fruit & vegetable juices knew I could never go will give you a boost in terms of vitainto a plane of lift or mins and minerals. Nuts, avocadoes, any confined space. Unfortunately, meat, fish, and dairy can provide now it has escalated into panic atmuch of the essential fatty acids and tacks. I get very uncomfortable other trace nutrients (plus they are and feel like getting out of the car necessary for the absorption of fat-soland running. uble nutrients). You can include garlic I now don’t like going into the in your food if you are keen on the city. My children love to go taste, and be sure to eat a range of seathough they are very understandsonal colourful fruits and vegetables ing about my difficulties. I still for their high antioxidant content. would love to take them without If you were to just choose a few esfeeling I’m going to pass out. sential supplements I would suggest I feel very comfortable around that you take a combination providing my own home or on short jourMSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, and neys, and up to last year I used healthy oils if joint health is a concern take my children to Croke Park, (some of these combinations also inbut this year I feel a lot worse and clude collagen, vitamin C, and other didn’t even contemplate it. nutrients essential for healthy tissue I have tried breathing techniques and joints) and a multivitamin and but they don’t work for me. mineral supplement, and a probiotic A. I’m so glad you have reached to ensure that your gut is working efout for help on this issue, as panic ficiently (Seven Seas manufacture a attacks can be quite debilitating, supplement which includes vitamins, stressful and overwhelming for all inminerals, and a probiotic all in one). volved. It can often be difficult to seek support since this is not a typiQ. My daughter is getting married cal experience and there will always in two weeks time. She is a very shy be individuals who feel that the soluperson and is getting nervous and tion is just to “get on with it”. tense as the big day draws near. Is What you describe, in particular there some natural, but effective, the fact that you live in fear of the product she could take before the next panic attack, sounds more like wedding to quell her anxiety, and panic disorder. This is a terrifying fear of crowds? condition because it causes the sufA. As for the first question, Rescue ferer to feel as if they no longer have Remedy and Emergency Essence are control over their reaction to situainvaluable tools when it comes to anxtions. iety, nerves and fears. These are typiThe first thing you should do is to cally available in drop, spray, and cream CLOSED IN: Panic attack causes the sufferer to feel as if they form, so there is bound to be a get in touch with Out and About Association (OandA). OandA provide no longer have control over their reaction to situations. method to suit all individuals and situPicture:iStock ations. support and information for agoraphobia and panic attack sufferers and I always take Emergency Essence taking these tablets for about six years. I their families. Contact 01-8338252 for more spray with me to weddings and spritz it about take: MSM, glucosamine, Omega 3, information. There is also a fabulous website the place to ease tensions and anxiety. Rememevening primrose, cod liver oil, vitamin B, ber to use some on yourself as well. It does www.panic-attacks.co.uk, which provides a garlic, vitamin C, multi-vitamins, and free course designed to help individuals livsound as if your daughter could also benefit coenzyme Q-10. A friend of mine has ing with panic disorder to work through this from taking a herbal combination such as Magtold me that I am taking too many. What condition and make positive progress. nolia Rhodiola Complex by LifeTime (from do you recommend?

Short-term solutions include Rescue local health stores or to order from 00 A. If you have been taking these suppleRemedy (from the Bach Flower range) or 44-173-3709100; www.victoriahealth.com). ments successfully for the past six years and Emergency Essence (from the Australian This formulation includes: rhodiola rosea, an feel they are helping with mobility and gen- adaptogenic herb which balances out the body Bush Flower range). Flower essences are ideeral wellbeing, then you should continue do- systems, relora (magnolia extract), which rids al for treating anxiety disorders and, best of ing what works for you. all, they are non-addictive, physically harmthe body of stress hormones while relaxing You can find many comprehensive supple- muscles and nerves, and L-Theanine, a neuroless and completely safe to take alongside ments today which combine many of the in- transmitter that stimulates production of alpha prescribed medication. Both combinations gredients you list, so you may be able to re- brain waves, creating a state of deep relaxation. are available from most health stores. Take as duce the number of different supplements required.

This is often useful for students around exam you take. time, where they need to feel calm and alert at If, however, you feel that the tablets are Q. I would like your advice on vitamin the same time. having little effect, then there is no point in tablets. I am 87 years old and have been All the best for your daughter’s big day.

Megan puts the spotlight on : Amalgam fillings contain between 50-75% mercury, depending on when they were done Feelgood

THERE is still much confusion as to whether or not mercury amalgam fillings are safe or hazardous to our health. What confuses the issue greatly is that dentists are so divided about what to do, and since amalgam is still the most common form of filling choice (partly due to the durability and cheaper cost), it’s no wonder that more than 20 years after the debate went public, we are no closer to a clear answer.

There is no doubt that mercury is not safe for consumption, the argument is whether or not mercury is leached from the fillings into our systems in significant quantities to merit concern.

While I feel that any mercury leaching into our system is too much, if you already have a mouth full of ‘silver’ fillings and are not experiencing any underlying health issues (such as

Mercury amalgam fillings fatigue, headaches, allergies, concentration and memory problems, depression, sinusitis, unexplained gastrointestinal disturbance, excessively bleeding gums, sleep disorders and so on), then you are probably best advised to leave well alone.

Disturbing the fillings can do more harm than leaving them in place — just be sure to request that any new or replacement fillings are mercury-free.

Amalgam fillings contain anywhere between 50-75% mercury (depending on when they were done — today around 52% is the norm), combined with copper, tin, silver, and zinc. Mercury is a very real concern, being the second most toxic metal known to humankind.

If you have a mouthful of metal and are not experiencing any significant health effects, be sure to avoid

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

whitening products as these have been shown to increase the rate at which mercury vapour is released from amalgam fillings by a factor of five.

Activated charcoal is an ideal supplement for those of us concerned about amalgams — plus it has the added bonus of whitening teeth naturally. Take half to one teaspoon in a glass of water each morning and night to help safely remove any heavy metals which are being leached from your mouth, and use it along with toothpaste to brush your teeth for a whitening effect.

If you decide to have your amalgams removed, please do your research first and choose a dentist who specialises in this process since there are very specific preparation and post-removal requirements to ensure a safe and effective removal.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009