Feelgood 18-02-2011

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Feelgood

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fit for politics

With election day just a week away, our five main political party leaders talk fitness, health and the odd indulgence: 8,9

Picture: Getty

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FED UP

Eating disorders affect all ages: 4, 5

NEW ARRIVALS

Compelling TV documentary on Cork University Maternity Hospital: 6

GOLD NECTAR

Many medicinal uses of honey: 12

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2 News front Kate O’Reilly WHAT’S ON ■ PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: An introduction to personal development course, open to men and women, is being run by the Social & Health Education Project in Ballincollig, Co Cork, starting on Monday next, February 21.

This eight-week (20 hours) evening course provides an opportunity to explore issues that affect emotional well-being and growth, including the management of feelings, stress, listening, communication and relationships.

The cost is F50 (or F25 unwaged). For further information phone 021-466 6180.

■ STROKE SUPPORT: The first meeting of the North Cork Stroke Support Group will be held on Friday next February 25, from 2pm to 4pm in the Gilbert Centre, Mallow. There will also be a Stroke Support meeting in Cork city on Wednesday, February 23 from 2pm to 4pm in the Activity Centre, St Finbarr’s Hospital. The Irish Heart Foundation will also hold a free Blood Pressure and Cholesterol testing clinic at the Parish Centre, Carrigaline on February 23 from 10am to 12pm. For further details on any of these events call the IHF Munster office on 021-4505822. If you have questions about stroke or heart disease, contact the helpline at 1890-432787.

■ OPEN MORNING: There will be an open morning at the Natural Healing Centre, Thompson House, MacCurtain Street tomorrow from 9am to 1pm. All are welcome to go along and find out more about upcoming courses in reflexology, massage and sports massage and the centre’s tai chi and relaxation classes. For further details contact 021-4501600 or visit www.nhc.ie.

■ PARENTS GROUP: On the last Friday of every month, from 10am to 12 noon, in Brú Columbanus (across from CUMH), Wilton, Cork, Noreen and Valerie, two mothers of twins, dedicate their time and experience to parents and expectant parents of multiples while twins, triplets and their siblings mix and play together. The Cork Multiples Club will be celebrating its second anniversary next Friday. For more information, Valerie can be contacted on 087-2171303 or visit www.imba.ie.

■ ENDOMETRIOSIS MEETING: If you would like to know more about endometriosis, or if you have been diagnosed with endometriosis and would like to meet other women who are going through experiences similar to yours, come along to the next support group meeting of the Endometriosis Association of Ireland. Partners, friends and family members are also welcome to attend the meeting at the Carmichael Centre, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 on Saturday, February 19, from 2.30pm to 5pm. More information at www.endo.ie, or 086-3203855.

■ CLIMB KILIMANJARO: A team from Oxfam Ireland is due to begin a Kilimanjaro trek next Friday, and the charity is also seeking volunteers for their next trek in October. See www.oxfamireland.org/kilimanjaro.

Items for inclusion in this column can be sent to koreilly8@gmail.com

FeelgoodMag

Feelgood

FeelgoodMag

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An obsession with social networking can affect sleep patterns and be detrimental to health, writes Arlene Harris

Switch off M

ODERN technology is a wonderful thing, but could our growing obsession with instant entertainment and social networking be harmful to our health?

A recent study conducted by the Travelodge hotel chain has revealed some surprising statistics about its customers’ bedroom habits: ■ 65% of the customers surveyed check Facebook before falling asleep.

■ 60% check their phone before closing their eyes.

■ 7% have stopped making love to check a text message.

■ 25% get a work text from their boss in bed.

■ 10% of singletons among the respondents check dating websites in bed.

■ 15% send a ‘tweet dreams’ message.

■ 20% check celebrity pages before snoozing.

Lee Tiller, a clinical hypnotherapist, says the reliance on multi-media is having an impact on our quality of sleep.

“Based upon my own experience, I can testify to the fact that there appears to be a significant increase in insomnia and stress related issues throughout Irish society,” he says. “What percentage of this is borne out of social networking is difficult to quantify, namely because of the severity of current economic stressors. However, a reduction in deep restorative sleep (DSR) is a direct

EASILY DISTRACTED: A reduction in deep restorative sleep (DSR) is a direct contributor to depression and increased anxiety.

Picture: Getty Images

contributor to depression, increased anxiety and stress and will directly and negatively affect our circadian rhythms.

“But while I cannot see any evidence that logging on before bedtime detrimentally affects sleep any more than watching the TV, if someone upsets you online with a toxic comment or you become cerebrally active through a challenge, then you’ll probably find it difficult to calm your mind sufficiently for sleep to come,” he says.

Business psychologist, John Deeley agrees.

“Stimulation of this kind is counterproductive before sleep as you need to calm your mind,” he says. “And when you log on or engage in texting, there is the possibility that

you could be exposed to something that will worry you and undermine the quality of your sleep.

“Everyone should allow themselves some time to switch off before they go to sleep — whether that means reading a book or having a bath, your brain needs time to rest.

Working or interacting socially right up until your head hits the pillow is counter-productive and could affect sleep patterns.” ● For more information on sleep issues visit www.kerryhypnotherapy.ie or call 087-6123301 ● And for advice on career psychology visit www.pinpoint.ie or call 01-6425721.

HEALTH NOTES AN estimated six in 10 adults and two in 10 children and teenagers are either overweight or obese. With experts predicting an epidemic, a new website packed with information on our growing obesity problem is timely.

The Health Well Obesity Hub — at http://obesity.thehealthwell.info — will help health experts, social planners, campaign groups and the media to keep up-to-date and use information to respond more effectively to address the obesity problem.

The site was developed by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) in association with research partners in Cork, Dublin and Belfast.

BOOTS Ireland is offering customers the chance to buy-one-get-one-free on a number of toiletry lines all this week in association with the Irish Hospice Foundation.

With every purchase of selected toiletries — including brands like Dove, Carex and Imperial Leather — customers will receive a complimentary product, and Boots will donate 5c to IHF. Last year, Boots Ireland raised F100,000 and this year’s target is F200,000. The promotion is running in all Boots stores until Sunday.

NEW online research from Aviva Health Insurance reveals that Irish smokers consume an average of 23 cigarettes every day, 10 more than research revealed last year, costing the www.irishexaminer.com www.irishexaminer.com

COLLEGE students and office workers all over the country are thinking pink this week, by wearing a pink accessory or donning a pink outfit to raise funds for the Marie Keating Foundation. Ballygowan Pink also encouraging people to think pink by choosing the pink Ballygowan bottle in support of breast cancer awareness.

BREAST DEFENCE: Sarah McGovern sports a pink outfit and the pink Ballygowan bottle for Think Pink Week in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Picture: Colm Mahady / Fennells

smoker approximately F293.25 each month and F3,519 per year. Irish women are smoking double the number of cigarettes compared to men, an average of 12 more than men.

The risk of developing lung cancer is set to increase by 59% for men and 136% for woman by 2020 according to the National Cancer Registry.

www.irishexaminer.com feelgood@examiner.ie

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

MEN who start losing their hair at the age of 20 double their chances of developing prostate cancer in later life, a study has found.

Researchers suggest that an anti-baldness pill, finasteride, could be given to at-risk individuals as a preventative anti-cancer treatment.

Male hormones play a role both in male-pattern baldness and prostate cancer. Finasteride, marketed as Propecia, prevents the conversion of testosterone to a form that promotes baldness.

Until now there has been conflicting evidence about links between balding and prostate cancer. But the new Paris Descartes University study found that those with prostate cancer were twice as likely as healthy individuals to have started losing their hair when they were 20.

Going bald at 30 or 40 had no effect on prostate cancer risk. Nor was there any association between early baldness and an early diagnosis of prostate cancer, or the pattern of hair loss and cancer development. The findings were published in Annals of Oncology.

Editorial: 021 4802 292

Advertising: 021 4802 215

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In profile

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THE SHAPE I'M IN

J

JOHN GILES

On the ball

OHN GILES is humble about the fact that his book, A Football Man, was one of the most popular on the Christmas 2010 shelves. Shortlisted in the sports book of the year category of the recent Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards, the autobiography was launched to mark the soccer legend’s 70th birthday.

“I didn’t think it would be as well received. It’s unexpected, to be honest, but I’m delighted with it,” says the man who grew up in Dublin’s Ormond Square.

The RTÉ soccer pundit — who left Manchester United in 1963 and became a midfielder with Leeds United, where he stayed for 12 years — was named by the FAI in 2004 as the greatest player from the Republic of Ireland of the previous 50 years.

Giles is a father of six and has eight grandchildren. Based in Birmingham, he’s looking forward to taking a well-earned rest after publicising his book. “Hopefully I’ll be able to take it easy. To do a book you have to dash around a lot and do signings.”

What shape are you in?

I’m not too bad. I’ve put on a bit of weight. I play golf.

Do you have any health concern?

I had a hip replacement 10 years ago. That was a great success. Now I hope to get a job done on the other one next summer — I’m having the same symptoms as I had before. I had my prostate tested last summer — I got a good report. The reading was a bit high but I had a biopsy, which came back clear.

What are your healthiest eating habits?

I probably don’t eat as healthily as I should. I try to eat as many salads as I can. I’ve never been into sweets or biscuits. It’s not willpower — it’s just that I’ve never had a taste for the rich stuff.

What’s your favourite smell?

I like the smell of fried onion. I can’t eat them though.

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What would you change about your appearance?

I’m small but that never bothered me. I have enough hair to keep me going.

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When did you last cry?

I can’t remember. I don’t cry easily.

What trait do you least like in others?

Loudness — it usually goes with a bit of arrogance and bad manners.

What trait do you least like in yourself?

I’d like to show emotion to the family a bit more. I’ve never been good at it. Neither was my mother.

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Do you pray?

I would pray in my own way, not in an orthodox way.

What would cheer up your day?

A birdie on the first hole when I’m playing golf.

Helen O’Callaghan

SOCCER LEGEND: John Giles, now 70, is planning a second hip replacement this summer. Picture:Sasko

Lazarov / Photocall Ireland

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The Oriel House Hotel Leisure Club & Spa

invites you to attend our spectacular

Wedding Fayre

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Nothing too drastic — probably fish and chips.

What would keep you awake at night?

There’s not much that would keep me awake. I’ve always had a bit of discipline around going to sleep. I say ‘I can do nothing about it tonight so I’ll have a good night’s sleep’. I’ve never watched TV in the bedroom. I go to bed to sleep.

How do you relax?

Mostly by watching sport or the Discovery Channel.

David Attenborough would be one of my favourites.

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I’d like to show emotion to the family a bit more. I’ve never been good at it.

Neither was my mother Feelgood

3

Ballincollig, Cork.

T: +353 (0)21 420 8400 sales@orielhousehotel.ie www.orielhousehotel.ie FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

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Coping with life

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As we head towards World Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Lucy Taylor

explores the experiences of sufferers and treatment options available in Ireland

People of all ages

are struggling

W

E ALL need food to live and it can be a great source of enjoyment in life, but for some people issues around food that lead to bulimia, anorexia and binge eating can literally take over their life. But what causes these conditions? Can we put the blame on the promotion of unattainable stick-thin figures in the media, or is it more complicated than that?

Jacinta Hastings is CEO of eating disorders support organisation Bodywhys. “An eating disorder is a complex, serious condition,” she says. “And there is no one reason a person may develop it. However, factors like poor body image and low self-esteem can be significant contributing factors and both of these have been proven to be influenced by media messages and the environment the person is living in.”

It seems young Irish people are more than aware of body size messages put out by the media. In the Eating Problems In Children and Adolescents research conducted by Professor Fiona McNicholas of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, 71.4% of Irish adolescents said they felt adversely affected by the media portrayal of weight and shape.

There are no absolute figures for the number of people in Ireland suffering from eating disorders, but the Department of Health and Children estimates that up to 200,000 may be affected.

According to a Health Research Board report, 17% of under-18s admitted for in-patient psychiatric treatment in 2008 were admitted for an eating disorder, making it the second highest of all psychiatric categories for in-patient admission.

And, according to Jacinta Hastings, eating disorders are not just affecting teenage girls, traditionally thought to be the main sufferers.

“Those affected are increasingly coming from the whole spectrum of Irish society across the age, gender and socio-economic divide. Men are increasingly presenting with issues around eating disorders,” she says.

Earlier this week, Suzanne Horgan, director and founder of the Dublin-based Eating Disorder Resource, centre said male and female children as young as seven and eight are suffering from full-blown anorexia.

“One of the major trends amongst eating disorders is that sufferers are getting younger and younger,” she said.

Treatment for an eating disorder will depend on what kind of problems a sufferer has and include the help of a number of different health professionals including GPs, counsellors, psychotherapists, nutritionists, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, as well as eating disorder recovery programmes in hospitals or in oth-

Picture: Getty Images

Feelgood

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

EARLY PAIN: Suzanne Horgan, of The Eating Disorder Resource Centre says sufferers are getting younger.

Picture: Getty Images

er treatment centres.

A major hurdle many families face is how to pay for treatment as many health insurers will not cover it. A residential eating disorder treatment programme can cost as much as F10,000 — not an inconsiderable sum to raise in today’s straightened times.

There are a number of different treatment centres in Ireland, the vast majority of which are private. Lois Bridges Eating Disorders Treatment Centre in Sutton, Co Dublin, has six residential beds and offers outpatient treatment to male and female sufferers over 18.

There are eight beds for over-16s in St John of God Hospital in Stillorgan, Co Dublin and further beds in St Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin.

Both hospitals are in the private sector but some patients may be able to access in-patient treatment through the HSE. Additional private centres that provide counselling and/or outpatient therapy options include the Shandon Therapy Centre in Cork and the Marino Therapy Centre in Dublin.

NEVER SIMPLE: Jacinta Hastings from Bodywhys says an eating disorder is a complex condition to have.

FAMILY members play a crucial role in recognising an eating disorder and helping the sufferer to get help. “The sooner the issue is raised in conversation, the better,” says Jacinta Hastings.

“Bodywhys has developed a specific resource for parents, as well as information leaflets on ‘approaching someone’ and ‘supporting someone,’ which may be useful to anyone who has a concern about a friend or loved one. We also run a support group for family and friends of people experiencing an eating disorder.”

Families play a key role in a sufferer’s recovery from an eating disorder. Teresa Moorhead, pictured, who is director of Clinical Services at Lois Bridges Treatment Centre, says: “We see families as an important tool in supporting their loved one through the recovery process. It is necessary to explore family relationships in therapy and important to train the family/parents in how they can support their loved one. They need to separate the person from the illness.”

According to Jacinta Hastings, more work needs to be done to provide sufficient public services for those with eating disorders.

There are currently just three public in-patient beds in St Vincent’s, Dublin, which are only available to the catchment area.

“Current policy, Vision for Change (2006), recommends that the public beds for eating disorders be 24 — six beds in each of the four HSE areas,” says Hastings. “The problem has been identified and the solution offered.

The recommendation needs to be implemented as a matter of urgency.”

Meanwhile, if a public patient from Tralee needs in-patient care, the HSE will arrange multi-disciplinary treatment in one of three private Dublin eating disorder centres.

“It’s not an ideal situation,” says Hastings.

Few would disagree with her.

■ World Eating Disorder Awareness Week runs from 21-25 February ■ For information on Lois Bridges Eating Disorders Treatment Centre, see www.eatingdisordersdublin.ie or call 01-8396147.

Lois Bridges is running a two-day workshop in the Marine Hotel on March 12 and 13 for parents and carers who have a loved one with an eating disorder.

■ Bodywhys — The Eating Disorders Association Of Ireland, 01-2834963, www. bodywhys.ie

Feelgood

I was five stone at one point

A

A family affair

PAINFUL TIME: Judy Blake, above right, who struggled for years with bulimia, with her mother, Jennifer Kelly. Picture:Nick Bradshaw

I am now well but can’t ever go on a diet again

J

UDY BLAKE is 37 and from Dublin.

“As a teenager, I developed quickly, overnight, and was taller than my friends and classmates and very sensitive to comments about my weight or height.

I went on diets from about the age of 12 that wouldn’t last. I would starve myself, then, when I ate again, I couldn’t stop, so I started abusing laxatives to get rid of food.

“Later, I would stick my whole hand down my throat to force myself to be sick. I could be bingeing and purging every day, then spend the whole night in the loo. It was painful and I always swore it was the last time. I knew what I was doing was horrendous, but I couldn’t see any other way. It’s like it’s your best friend and worst enemy,” she says.

Judy’s mum, Jennifer Kelly, remembers that time well. “There are very few obvious symptoms of bulimia, so it’s not easy to spot. One night, Judy broke down and told her sister what she was doing — it was a shock. We didn’t know how to deal with it, and didn’t know anyone who had an eating disorder. Over the next 15

years, Judy tried a number of things, including hospitalisations and counselling.

He weight would fluctuate and she suffered from severe bouts of depression,” she says.

Life changed for Judy seven years ago, when she returned to Dublin for a wedding and decided she wanted to stay in Ireland. “I could see myself bingeing on my parent’s couch for the rest of my life, and really didn’t want that, so I decided to get treatment,” she says. “I went into a centre and had counselling.

“I am now well, but I can’t afford ever to go on a diet again — I can’t skip a meal, because it may lead to bingeing afterwards. Some people recover from eating disorders quickly, but mine went on for a long time.”

Jennifer says positives can come out of such a tough experience. “After my experience with Judy, I became a founder member of Bodywhys. I want to say to people with an eating disorder that they shouldn’t give up hope, even if they’ve had it a long time, because people can, and do, recover.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

5

ISLING (not her real name) is now 30 and living in Dublin.

Her problems with food started at age 10 and led to serious bulimia and anorexia by the age of 18.

“I would either binge all the time or control food so much I hardly ate a thing and went down to five stone at one point. It was horrific living with it. I started drinking heavily and began stealing to fund my bulimia — I used to spend F100 a day on food. It took over my life.”

On days when she was multiple bingeing, six or seven times a day, Aisling would eat the following: eight jumbo sausages, four large rolls stuffed with noodles and mayonnaise, an eight-pack of KitKats, a tub of ice cream. She would drink a half a bottle of vodka to finish off.

Aisling’s eating disorders also had an effect on her family — her dad would lock bread and milk into the boot of the car and had a big chest with a lock on it be- Picture: Getty Images cause she would eat everything.

She had her own toilet downstairs because no one wanted to use a loo that always smelled of sick.

“I went in and out of general hospital and treatment centres for both anorexia and bulimia,” she says. “They would feed me for anorexia to get my weight up then I would relapse into bulimia about a week after finishing treatment — it was a vicious cycle. I had become addicted to sleeping tablets and codeine as well as drinking a lot of alcohol and at one low point tried to take my own life.”

Eventually, Aisling started seeing a specialist counsellor and after a year she decided to go into the Lois Bridges Eating Disorders Treatment Centre, but her health insurance would not cover the cost.

“I tried every bank for a loan, and in the end my boyfriend and I re-mortgaged our apartment and asked 20 friends and family members for F500 each. Now we are paying them back and I am so grateful to them because it changed my life.”

Her treatment at the centre cost F10,000 and the additional treatment amounted to F14,000.

“I am slowly getting to know myself. For the first three or four months of treatment I couldn’t feel any difference at all and just took it a day at a time.”

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6 Under the camera

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Colette Sheridan says 9,000 babies were born last year in Cork University Maternity Hospital, and a new RTÉ series follows some of these life-giving stories

Labour exchange T

HE joy and anxiety associated with pregnancy and childbirth is charted in a new, six-part documentary series for RTÉ One, which starts on February 22. From Here to Maternity follows expectant mothers, nervous fathers and busy staff at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), where 9,000 babies were born last year.

Filmed over four months, with unprecedented access to the labour and neonatal wards, the series is an insight to the emotional journey of bringing new life into the world.

Among the mothers taking part in the series is Skibbereen-based midwife, Catherine Kingston, who works at CUMH. Although Kingston has delivered more than 200 babies in her career, she knows that every pregnancy is unpredictable and presents its own challenges. She says that she and her husband, Sam, were concerned when she became pregnant, unexpectedly, last year at the age of 43. The couple had two children; Shane, now aged seven and Niall, aged four and a half.

“I had always thought I might love to have another child. But Colin (now nine months) was a complete surprise,” says Kingston. “We were in Costa Brava, on holidays, where it happened.”

Despite being an experienced midwife, Kingston says that she couldn’t fully control her labour. “I had a horrendous time with Colin. I haemorrhaged and had high blood pressure. You can’t control things like that.

When I was haemorrhaging, I had to go to the high-dependency unit. I had also haemorrhaged after the second boy. While I knew what was happening, I was still the new mummy in the bed.”

Now, Kingston says that she “celebrates Colin’s life every day. He’s a perfect baby. I’m really enjoying him. I could have had a baby with a problem that would involve going to Crumlin Hospital, or I could have had a child with a life-long disability. I mightn’t have been able to go back to work. So, despite what happened, I don’t dwell on it.”

Kingston says that maternity care has changed for the better. She remembers the days in Cork when public patients were unable to avail of epidurals on certain days of the week. “It has evolved from that archaic stuff. The choice is there and allows women to have more control over birth.”

is up there at number one. It has changed me, without a doubt. Before you have a child, you can be a bit naive and do things without thinking. Now, my life revolves around Ellie and Katie.”

Jason Coughlan, 25, says that the birth of his first child has made him “see women in a new light. If any man turned around and said they got nothing from being at the birth of their child, I’d say they’re lying.”

Ellie, aged eight and half months, was born to Coughlan’s partner, 21-year-old Katie McCleary. “The pregnancy wasn’t planned. We were both living with our parents. When we got the news, we were shocked, but not upset. We knew we’d be well able for it. Fair play to Katie’s parents for allowing me to move in with them,” he says.

Bandon-based Coughlan, who is unemployed, is a stay-at-home dad while McCleary is studying social care. The pregnancy was straight forward, but Coughlan says he

The documentary also traces Katherine McCarthy and her husband, Cian, who are expecting triplets. The couple already has two children under the age of three. “We decided we’d have one more baby,” says Katherine. “When I went for the first scan and was told there were three heartbeats, I just imagined there was one baby with all these heartbeats. I rang my husband straight away. It was a massive shock. It’s overwhelming to be carrying three babies. It’s like I’ve never been pregnant before.”

As the series progresses, one of the babies begins to struggle and doctors warn the McCarthys that this child may not survive. Tune in to RTÉ on Tuesdays, at 8.30pm, to see the outcome of this complicated pregnancy.

Feelgood

Fewer staff, more births

YOUNG LOVE: Jason Coughlan and Katie McCleary,above, with their daughter, Ellie Coughlan. Jason says being at his daughter’s birth has made him see women in a new light. Picture:Denis Minihane.

ROLE REVERSAL: Mmidwife Catherine Kingston. left, with son Niall and baby Colin who was born when she was 43 years old.

Picture:Denis Scannell

was a nervous wreck at the birth. “It was crazy. The labour went on for 24 hours. I was all over the place and didn’t know what to think. Holding Katie’s hand, I had fear and excitement. It was very emotional, especially during the last half hour when Katie was really pushing. When Ellie was coming out, I was going nuts altogether. But the experience

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

THE Irish Nurses and Midwife Organisation (INMO) is due to go to the Labour Court next month to get vacant midwifery and nursing posts at Cork University maternity hospital filled.

The union claims that patients’ lives are being put at risk.

Industrial relations officer for the INMO in Cork, Patsy Doyle, cites the report of an independent midwife consultant from Britain, Marie Washbrook, who reported to the HSE (Health Service Executive) in 2009 on the number of staff needed at CUMH, on foot of a Labour Court recommendation for 376 staff.

With births increasing since the hospital opened in 2007, Ms Washbrook “found that 31 additional midwives were needed,” says Ms Doyle.

The posts, amounting to 407, whole-time equivalent midwifery and nursing posts, “have never existed at CUMH. On any average day, even with agency staff, [the figure] is just 335 whole-time equivalents,” says Doyle.

On March 2, the INMO will go to the Labour Court asking to have vacant positions filled. “So far, the HSE has said we have to taper our expectations in the financial climate,” says Doyle “Staff are being stretched to the point of being unsafe ... Lives are certainly being put at risk.”

However director of midwifery at CUMH, Geraldine Keohane, says: “On any given day, we’re delivering the best standard of care that we can stand over.”

Since the hospital opened, four years ago, it has experienced a sharp increase in births. Hospital managers say they are unable to create more nursing posts, due to the employment moratorium in the public sector.

“This necessitates hiring agency staff,” says Keohane. “We are managing our resources to the best of our ability. It would be nice if the moratorium was lifted, because we’d be in a position to recruit staff.”

She expresses concern over the INMO’s claims. “We’re not delivering a sub-standard service. We are delivering a very busy service. We’re lucky that we’re able to recruit agency staff, albeit staff that are not getting permanent employment.”

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Psychology

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Those who govern should first learn to accept responsibility for their own faults

Taking charge

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Tony Humphreys

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OLITICS has never been a favourite topic of mine. However, given the political lies and cover-ups, not to mind arrogance, party before people and personal gain before national gain we have been exposed to, before and since the onset of the recession and the banking crisis, I believe everyone in Ireland, including myself, has become more politically-conscious.

Certainly, we cannot afford to put the type of politician into power whose immature personal qualities have been part and parcel of the major downturn in Ireland’s social and economic fortunes. What is crystal clear is that it was not the Fianna Fáil government that landed us in such an appalling state — it was individual, government politicians. It is never a system — political, social, economic or religious — that perpetuates neglect, it is always an individual.

Systems are created by individuals and it is other individuals who conform and collude with a system. A system has no head or heart — how can I talk to a system that needs to be challenged and changed? Change is only possible through individuals, and individual political leaders and those who head the various civil service departments need to be held accountable for their professional decisions and actions.

While individual politicians have been seriously challenged — and rightly so — it appears that those governors of civil service departments have not been called to examine their tenure in office. After all, over the last four months, while all the politicians — those in and out of office — have been tending to their own political survival, the country has continued to be run or run-down by civil servants.

There has been little declaration of ‘mea culpa’ by individual government politicians, neither has there been authenticity and accountability by individual bankers. What is of great concern is that many of those leaders are still in power, as are many of the heads of government and local government bodies. But, at least, on February 25, we have an opportunity to change the panel of individuals who govern our country.

What is important is that we don’t vote for a party, be it Fine Gael, Labour, Greens, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil. We need to vote for individuals who show maturity.

A politician who possesses a solid interiority, who is not addicted to power or status, who is independent of how others see him or her, who operates from a centred, authentic, real and genuine place of care of self and others, and is responsible and accountable for what he says and does, would not engage in the narcissism, greed, lies, cover-ups and cosy cartels that have infested the members of the outgoing government.

However, make no mistake about it, these behaviours are also present in members of non-government parties.

I understand, and I deeply believe, that those individual politicians, civil servants, bankers and other business leaders who plummeted the country into the present, social and economic abyss did so unconsciously. However, a consciousness of the hidden roots of these dark responses has not been forthcoming, and the very powerful, unconscious defence of denial is maintaining this lack of accountability. When consciousness does emerge, a responsibility and an accompanying accountability follows, and it is for those individuals I would vote. We all make mistakes — but it is the mature individual

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The MEA CULPA: While individual politicians have been challenged, the governors of civil service departments have not been called to examine their tenure in office.

who admits the mistakes, examines the process, personal and systemic, that led to these mistakes and finds ways of learning and progressing from their personal and political blunders.

When individual politicians have not learned to govern self, how can they even remotely, effectively and affectively, govern a country?

I also have grave concerns about some members of the opposition parties, who spend so much of their time blaming their government peers and not employing more of their intelligence, creativity, time and energy on devising ways of getting us out of the economic hole we are in. Indeed, ‘mud-slinging’ is a common phenomenon among politicians and hasn’t anybody told them that it is a serious sign of personal and professional immaturity?

Blaming emerges from another powerful, unconscious defence mechanism known as projection, and I certainly would hesitate to give my vote to a political candidate whose sights are on what other politicians have or have not done, rather than on examining his or her own level of personal maturity and fitness to govern. When individual politicians have not learned to govern self, how can they even remotely, effectively and affectively, govern a country? The mature qualities of self to look for in the individuals who are seeking your all important vote are: ■ Genuineness — no pretence ■ Authenticity — no hedging questions ■ Independence — no looking over their shoulder ■ Responsibility — no ‘passing the buck’ ■ Accountability — no blaming the system ■ Transparency — no cover-ups ■ Compassion — no heartless decisions ■ Decisiveness — no endless waffling ■ Directness — no ‘beating about the bush’ ■ Clarity — no ‘political spin’ Vote for maturity, not for ‘personalities’, not for traditional reasons and certainly not for ‘party’. ● Dr Tony Humphreys is a clinical psychologist, author, national and international speaker. His recent book with co-author Helen Ruddle, Relationship, Relationship, Relationship: The Heart of a Mature Society is relevant to today’s topic.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

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8 Cover story

The way we live

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We’ve all heard their policies and how they propose to return the country to full health. But what about their own health? How do they keep themselves fit and well as they weather the gruelling campaign trail? Arlene Harris spoke with the five main party leaders about their 24/7 lifestyles and asks dietitian Aveen Bannon to give some tips

LEADERSHIP LIFESTYLES John Gormley: Green Party

I’m a semi vegetarian. I love pasta and potatoes and I probably eat too much butter and eggs for my good

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“I’m probably not as fit as I could be but given the nature of the job, I get as much exercise as I can. I cycle to and from work every day and get out for a walk every now and then, so I fit exercise in around my other commitments.”

A semi-vegetarian, the 51-year-old politician enjoys a reasonably good diet, but feels he should cut down on some of his more calorific favourites.

“I don’t eat meat and only eat fish occasionally, so I tend to rely on carbohydrates,” he admits. “I love pasta and potatoes and probably eat too much butter and eggs. But whenever I am in town, I go to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch or dinner so that is always very healthy.

“I really like chocolate — milk and dark — and although I try not to have it very often, if it is left around the house, I will eat it.”

And when he is away from the office, the Dublin man likes to switch off and enjoy time out with his loved ones. “I have a very busy work schedule but I try to take Sundays off to spend with my wife Penny and the family,” he says. “It’s not always possible, but I really enjoy getting together with friends and doing things with my wife and children. The nature of my job can be quite stressful, so I wind down by watching television and reading. I usually have a book of short stories that I read before bed and I always try to get to sleep before midnight.”

A health-conscious man, Mr Gormley is aware of the need to remain fit and healthy for the future.

“I don’t smoke and only have the occasional glass of wine so I don’t have to worry on that score, but I probably eat too many dairy products and, although I don’t have any health concerns as such, I do have high cholesterol so I have to watch that as I get older.”

■ Dietician Aveen Bannon: “John has the right intentions but needs more consistency with his diet to get the balance right. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy but you need to replace protein-rich foods with meat alternatives, for example, pulses, beans, nuts, quorn, tofu, eggs. Beans and pulses are also a good source of soluble fibre which can help lower cholesterol.

“If he eats enough fruit and vegetables along with a protein-rich food twice a day, John should soon notice that he won’t be as reliant on pasta, potatoes and chocolate for energy.

“Also it seems John’s diet might be a little low in iron which is important for maintaining energy levels. He should aim to include some dark green vegetables in his diet daily to provide folic acid, iron and immune-boosting vitamins.”

Eamon Gilmore: Labour Party

Late nights and long days mean I drink more coffee than I should and the more I drink, the more biscuits I have to have

“I stay fit by walking and climbing. My home in Shankill is close to a long beach which runs from Killiney to Bray, there is also a magnificent regional park nearby, lots of country roads and of course the Dun Laoghaire piers. I walk them all on different occasions and on a good day I would climb Carrickgollogan Hill.”

Much of a politician’s life is on the road so the 55-year-old has to fit his health regime around his work schedule.

“Weight is a constant struggle for me and I don’t always win,” he admits. “I try to eat a balanced diet and exercise when I can but it’s not always easy in politics, sometimes I have to grab a sandwich and eat on the run.

“But there is one thing for sure, I haven’t been short of exercise during the past few weeks — mental and physical. Pounding the pavements and the cut and thrust of the campaign may have helped me to shed a few pounds.”

Long hours and stressful working conditions can lead to slip-ups in the healthy-eating department — so how does the Galway man stay on the straight and narrow?

“Late nights and long days mean I probably drink more coffee than I should and the more I drink, the more biscuits I have to have — so I’m thinking of switching to herbal tea,” he laughs.

“When I’m not working, I really value time out with my wife Carol and the family. Politics is very demanding so we try to make the most of our time together. And to help me unwind, I enjoy cooking, reading and supporting the Galway senior hurling and football teams. I also like listening to Blues.”

The Labour leader hasn’t had many health concerns but knows that he has to remain fit to stay in the political running.

“I don’t rely on any supplements as I get my omega 3 from eating lots of Irish smoked salmon and I have never had any alternative therapies but remaining healthy and active is a big concern of mine,” he says.

■ Dietician Aveen Bannon: “Eamon should ensure he eats something every three to four hours to help reduce energy dips throughout the day. When we keep going for long periods of time it is easy to rely on coffee and the odd biscuit but drinking water and eating regularly will give you more energy in the long run.

“Eamon mentions he gets lots of omega-3 from smoked salmon but unfortunately the essential fatty acid is destroyed in the smoking process — he should try to choose fresh or tinned salmon instead.”

Enda Kenny: Fine Gael

I am partial to a bag of crisps but discipline is essential to keep the pounds off.

I try to eat properly and exercise

“I KEEP fit by walking, mountaineering and hill walking. I also swim occasionally and although I often exercise alone, it is more usual that I will go out for a walk with my wife, Fionnuala, and my daughter Aoibhinn, or get in a bit of cycling with my two boys, Ferdia and Naoise.

With his busy work schedule, how does the 59-year-old keep his weight in check?

“I probably don’t manage my weight as well as I should,” he admits. “Fionnuala cooks sensible food and I have a good diet — but I am partial to a bag of crisps every now and then. Discipline is essential if you are to keep the pounds off. I just try to eat properly and exercise when I can. I don’t take any supplements, just do my best to eat well and generally mind myself.”

And when the stress of his working life gets too much, Kenny likes to wind down with a few tunes or a walk in the fresh air.

“I love listening to music. Bruce Springsteen in particular, but there are a few others I like too,” he says. “I also love walking in cold but dry weather. I’ve climbed Croagh Patrick in January when it was minus eight degrees — that was absolutely unforgettable.

“And after a long cycle or a strenuous walk, I find that a good shower and a decent sleep are invaluable for restoring the mind and body.”

With his healthy diet and love of the great outdoors, the Mayo politician is fairly happy with his overall fitness.

“I don’t have any health concerns that I know of,” he says.

“And thanks to my generally robust and healthy constitution I have rarely had to attend the doctor, except once for a broken nose.”

■ Dietician Aveen Bannon: “The best way to keep those few pounds at bay is to ensure a balanced diet. All of the politicians say they eat good dinners at home but it is important to think about snacks during the day. Keeping hydrated is one of the most important factors in maintaining energy levels and limiting snacking.

“Often when we crave crisps our bodies want us to eat something salty to encourage thirst and therefore more fluid. ”Enda is right, though, with a good intake of fruits and vegetables in the day there is rarely the need for extra supplements and regular exercise is key to overall good health.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

Micheál Martin: Fianna Fail

I haven’t had a biscuit for 20 years but I have good dark chocolate every evening before I go to bed

“I am very focused on my health and do plenty of exercise to keep in shape. I don’t really like gyms and I’m not into stretching so walking, cycling and swimming are my favourite pursuits. I would swim all year round in the sea if I had the time, or if we had the climate.”

Keeping fit isn’t just about exercise and Micheál takes his diet just as seriously as is politics.

“Eating well is very important and although I don’t have a problem with weight, it can vary — especially during the summer when I am more likely to have a few pints. So I make sure I have a good diet — I start every day with a banana, half a grapefruit, some melon and berries if they are in season. After that I will have porridge with linseed and pumpkin seeds, then some brown bread and a cup of green tea.

“It’s a ritual for me and if I don’t have my morning fix, I’m not right for the day. I usually have soup or salad for lunch and maybe a stir-fry in the evening — although I would have the odd steak at the weekend.”

“I haven’t had a biscuit in over 20 years but I do have a sweet tooth for home-baking. I love apple and rhubarb tarts like my mother used to make and also homemade chocolate cake. I also have an addiction for good dark chocolate and have to have a couple of squares every evening before I go to bed.”

Politics is a stressful business so the 50-year-old makes sure that he finds time to wind down.

“My work life is very busy, particularly at the moment, but I like taking time out whenever I can — watching matches with the kids, going for walks and spending time with my wife Mary and the family.

“I also find Lyric fm very relaxing and usually have it on in the car. I love reading so would try to wind down with a few pages of a book every evening — I recently read Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann and it was the best book I have read in ages.”

And whatever turmoil is taking place in the political world, Mr Martin has no health concerns.

“I could be fitter but am in reasonable condition. I eat well, take regular exercise and take Udo’s Oil daily so I’m doing as much as I can and hope to age gracefully.”

■ Dietician Aveen Bannon: ”Micheál has a great attitude to health and diet. He doesn’t mention what type of protein-rich foods he eats during the day. Ideally, it’s good to get a mix between red meat, poultry, fish, eggs and pulses. We all need a protein-rich food twice a day in our diet to maintain muscle mass and supply us with essential vitamins and minerals. Including some pulses or lentils with his soup could be a good idea or some oily fish with his salad.

“Nuts would also be great Micheál to snack on while on the road. Ensuring a good intake of protein will keep his energy levels up.”

Gerry Adams: Sinn Fein

I don’t put weight on I think it’s because of roughage.

I love my porridge and eat a lot of vegetables and pulses

“My friends always joke about the fact that I am such a big eater but don’t seem to put on any weight. I think it’s because I eat quite a bit of roughage — I love my porridge and eat a lot of vegetables and pulses. I’m also very fussy about what I eat and stay away from processed foods, especially sliced bread — the whiter the bread, the quicker you’re dead.

“I used to go the gym a bit but I found it boring and then because of security issues, I had to stop going. I now go hiking instead. I walk wherever I am, usually about three or four times a week. I’ve been walking in the hills, the bog, the beach — no matter where the location is, I will find somewhere for a ramble. And it’s more than just exercise for me, I just love being at one with nature.”

Stretching his legs is also a great stress-buster for the 62-year-old. “There is always so much going on in the political world, so it is great to get out for a hike, either on my own, with the dogs or with a friend. There is no better way to clear the head than to pack a bag with a sandwich, a flask of tea or a beer and head for the hills.

“And whenever I need to let off steam, I shout uproariously at the television, and believe it or not, I sing wonderfully well.

“Aside from that, I deal with stress by remaining positive. I don’t take things personally and always try to live in the now and let go of the things that have happened in the past.

“I have never eaten a packet of crisps in my life and although my wife, Collette, has a passion for chocolate, I have a sinus problem so have to steer clear.

“But I really love porter cakes and plum puddings like they used to make long ago. Martin McGuinness’s mother used to make wonderful cakes so if there are any good bakers out there who would like to make me something, I’d be delighted.

“My other guilty pleasure is red wine and I have this fear that if I put the cork back in the bottle, it will go off so, of course, I have to finish it all.

“I take a lot of vitamin C as I believe it helps to ward off colds and flu and I also take multi-vitamins and cod liver oil every day. So far I’ve been blessed with good health — long may it continue.”

■ Dietician Aveen Bannon: “Cod liver oil is a great source of vitamin D which tends to be low in the Irish diet particularly a diet low in meat. Also as Gerry generally has such a good intake of fruits and vegetables he probably doesn’t need a vitamin C supplement as our body will only use a certain amount each day and eliminate the rest. Basing the diet on fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses is a very healthy way to live.”

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10 Medical matters

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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

MY daughter is three and a half and suffers from constipation since she was two. Her bottom gets very sore — at one stage it got so bad she tore it a little. Her diet is varied and includes fruit, juice and water. The doctor recommended Movicol which we used daily in orange juice. It worked for a while and she was able to go but lately it’s too strong and, some days, even though she is toilet trained, I put a nappy on her.

She now tries to hide when she needs to go to the toilet and ends up having an “accident”.

A. It sounds as if your daughter is subconsciously holding back the stool to prevent a painful evacuation. It may appear as if she has diarrhoea but it is due to “overflow” constipation. With chronic constipation the stool builds up in the rectum and only the more liquid stool leaks through, often by accident. This can also cause soiling of the underpants, as well as leaving the remaining stools even drier, harder and more painful to pass.

Usually, a child who has a bowel movement fewer than three times a week, and whose stools are hard and difficult to pass is constipated. For whatever reason, a child may refuse to go to the toilet. Painful bowel movements in the past can result in a child being reluctant to use the toilet for fear it will hurt again. But the longer children leave it, the more painful it can be when they finally go and this can put them off going again.

This cycle of hard stool-pain-withold can be broken. You mention that her diet is varied. To help soften the stools, increase the amount of fluid and fibre your child gets each day. High-fibre foods include fruit and fruit juices such as pear, prune, apple or grape juice, and vegetables (broccoli, peas, beans, and wholegrain breads, cereals). Offer water instead of sugary drinks. Reduce foods that increase constipation, such as fatty, or processed foods that are low in fibre.

Any change in diet — even when weaning, or making the transition from breast milk to formula or cow’s milk or introducing new foods can affect bowel movements. Occasionally, passing hard motions results in cracks (anal fissure) that are painful and as a result constipation becomes more persistent.

Encourage your child to use the bathroom

chronic constipation, it is best to seek advice on a constitutional remedy.

Q. I find that at this time of the year — winter/spring — my psoriasis gets worse.

It mostly affects my arms and legs and stops me going swimming. I’m alternating various steroid creams, but would like to know of there is anything else I can do?

PAINFUL PROBLEM: Drinking water and eating high-fibre foods are two of the measures that can help ease toddler constipation. Picture: iStock at regular times during the day, especially after meals (ideally 30 minutes after) or whenever she feels the urge to go. Let her sit for at least 10 minutes at a time. Put a stool under her feet, as this will give her leverage to push. Provide storybooks, music or a portable DVD while she is on the toilet to help her relax and take her time. If no stool is passed, make no fuss — children can sense their parents’ anxiety.

Praise her each time for trying. Make sure your child gets out to play for at least 30 minutes every day. Exercise helps with the movement of food through the digestive system.

Discuss with her doctor about trying another laxative — faecal softeners such as glycerol (Babylax) or an osmotic laxative — Duphalac which contains lactulose will also help unblock the bowel and your child to relearn normal bowel habit.

Homeopathic remedies that may be used to manage constipation include Silica, Nux Vomica, Bryonia or Alumina. However, in

A. Winter brings dry air, colder temperatures, and reduced exposure to sunlight — all of which can worsen the symptoms of psoriasis. Most cases of psoriasis are mild, and management includes keeping your skin moist with creams and moisturisers. Other causes of flare-ups besides a cold climate, include stress, infections, certain medications such as NSAIDS, dry skin and infections.

There are many types of treatments that can help keep psoriasis under control. You may need to try different combinations of treatments to find what works for you.

Make your showers short and keep at lukewarm temperature. Shower no more than once a day, especially in winter when indoor air tends to be dryer. Avoid scrubbing which can irritate the skin and make psoriasis worse.

You cannot moisturise enough and one of the best times is after a shower. Apply three to five minutes after you towel off after a shower, damp skin will help seal in moisture. There are many creams and ointments available, and petroleum jelly is one of the best moisturisers, despite its greasiness.

Light therapy also called phototherapy has been used to treat psoriasis for a long time.

However most people with psoriasis need multiple sessions of light therapy. One option is UVB. This emits the part of the UV light spectrum most helpful for psoriasis — for some people up to 30 treatments are needed to clear the skin.

Check with your doctor for an up-date on your medication. Besides applying medicated creams or ointments, systemic treatment such as methotrexate or injectables such as Humira can be used to treat psoriasis.

Stress plays a big part in making any skin condition worse. Take time to eat healthily, exercise, and do whatever you think is stress-reducing. Relaxation and stress-reduction techniques can help people manage their psoriasis.

■ See www.psoriasisireland.ie

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

AVING kept sketch for almost three weeks — advising mammy when to hide — Lughaidh decided it was high time to shake the guys whose kissers littered his hallway.

Fed up with the dripfeed of leaflets good for nothing but recycling, he wondered what possessed strangers to push their mugshot through his letter box?

He asked mammy for an explanation but she lost him at the words “general election”, even though he could have sworn he heard mention of a party. Surely the pamphlets weren’t party invites?

Granted, they all bore the words “No 1”, but his friends were aged four or more and he scarcely remembered the days of first birthdays when everyone went around in nappies and vocabularies were atrocious.

And since when was it the trend to send invites with pictures of airbrushed adults? (Not that they resembled models, far from it, truth be told, they looked more like someone’s mammy or daddy). And whoever heard of an invite featuring words like “opportunity” and “investment”, as if a birthday was some sort of business transaction leading to job creation?

“Time to call in the party police,” he thought to himself, before summoning his little sister.

Having taken counsel, he approached mammy with paper and pencil.

“Doggie for sale,” she wrote at his instruction. “Eats anything but children and is fond of

political jokers.” (He knew they were jokers because his daddy kept saying so).

“That should do the trick,” he thought as he stuck the note in the front porch before retiring to bed that evening.

On the mat the next morning lay a leaflet with a hand-written note in the top right-hand corner that mammy said read: “Not afraid of the dog, afraid of the owner”. To her son’s puzzlement, she seemed to think this was funny and he heard her mention No 1 for a certain party. “Whose birthday is it?” he asked “and are we all invited?”

His confusion grew when mammy explained that this was a party where no-one ate cake or blew candles or held treasure hunts or played pass-the-parcel, although game-playing was high on the agenda, and charades in particular was popular. “People pretend to be all sorts of things when they’re hoping to run the country,” mammy said somewhat mysteriously as Lughaidh nodded wisely.

Secretly, he hoped never to be invited to the kind of “celebration” where everyone discussed the state of the nation and playing musical chairs had entirely different connotations. He hoped never to deliver litter for a living, clogging strangers’ hallways with promises he had no chance of delivering. He would rather sweep streets than be a politician. Who was it that said they would promise to build bridges where there wasn’t even a river?

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

He heard mum mention No 1 for a certain party and asked: “Whose birthday is it and are we all invited?”

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Life choices 11 Despite a doctor’s predictions, Down syndrome hasn’t stopped Thomas Garry from leading a full life. Helen O’Callaghan tracks a journey of hope and triumph XH - V1

I love greyhounds

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HOMAS GARRY’S ambition is to have a greyhound good enough to run in the Irish Derby in Shelbourne Park. He has been a greyhound enthusiast since before he could walk, even since his mother, Marie, first started bringing him to the track in Mullingar.

“It’s a great interest for me. It’s my life actually,” says the 21-year-old, who has Down syndrome. “We’re all big into greyhounds here. We have eight of them, as well as four pups. We’ve had a few winners. Tina Beag won last October in Mullingar and Kilcooney Billy has won over F4,000 in prize money.”

Marie recalls how when Thomas was six, they had a litter of greyhound pups. “I told him they’d all have to be sold,” says Marie, who recalls a visit from an elderly man one Sunday morning that changed her mind. “He asked Thomas which of the pups was his. I said, ‘Don’t be encouraging him’, and the man responded by telling me I’d never have a day’s luck if I sold that dog. So I didn’t and she won lots of races for Thomas. We had the dog for years and when she died, Thomas wasn’t devastated — he accepts the inevitable.”

Thomas is halfway through a Contemporary Living Course in Trinity College, has played hurling and football with his local GAA club and trains with Tullamore Special Olympics every Monday evening. A big sports fan, he’s been to Manchester to see Manchester United and recently attended a rugby international.

But when Thomas was born, a consultant doctor told his parents not to have high hopes for their youngest child. “He said he’ll never be like your other children. He’ll never go to mainstream school. Later I told the doctor never to say that to another parent because we don’t know — we don’t get a cert with any of our children as to how they’re going to turn out.”

At the time Marie thought her world had ended. “From the time I was pregnant with Thomas, I felt there was something wrong,” says the mother of six. “He was 10 pounds and three ounces when he was born. Most babies with Down syndrome are half that. He was big and strong and he took off. He didn’t have a lot of the ailments other children with Down syndrome have.”

In Ireland, about 110 babies are born every year with Down syndrome, which is caused by a chromosomal abnormality that occurs at conception. According to Down Syndrome Ireland, there are between 6,000 and 7,000 people in Ireland with the condition.

While Marie initially felt she wouldn’t be able to cope with a child who had a disability, her natural instincts to fight the system kicked in. “I said I’d give it my best shot. I’d get Thomas as good as I could.” And she feels huge gratitude to the therapists, teachers and family members who set Thomas on the road to achieving his potential.

“The early intervention nurse was outstanding,” Marie recalls. “She came until he started playschool at the age of three. She did exercises with him and gave him the stimulation he needed. He got speech therapy and his speech came at about two. He was almost three when he started walking — that was because of his sister Bronagh, nine years older

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Thomas is very determined.

Anything he has ever wanted to do, he has tried and he gets there

Stay on course

MAN’S BEST FRIEND: Thomas Garry with his greyhounds at home in Ballykeen, Geashil, Co Offaly. Picture: James Flynn/APX

than him. She persevered with him and would put him in the middle of a room and get him to walk to her.

“He went to mainstream national school. It was the making of him. He got to know everybody in the area and everybody got to know him. Thomas is very determined — anything he has ever wanted to do, he has tried and he gets there.”

The biggest challenge, she says, has been the way people underestimate him. “These are people who should know better. They’re inclined to put him in a box. The reality is he has a mild intellectual disability. He can manage most things. Right now, he’s attend-

ing his course at Trinity College three days a week. He gets the train to Dublin on a Tuesday and he stays with his sister Bronagh. In the evenings after the course, he makes his way independently to her home. He has managed that very well, far better than one might expect, which is why nobody should underestimate him.

“I’d like to see him continue his very good social life. I’d like him to have a job he’d be interested in. He’s a great people person.

With lots of encouragement I feel he has a great future.”

■ Visit www.downsyndrome.ie

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

■ On Saturday, February 26, a nationwide fundraising night — A Night At The Dogs — will be held across 10 greyhound stadiums in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland.

It’s the first time a nationwide event of its type will be held and all funds raised will be distributed to national and regional branches of Down Syndrome Ireland.

Tickets to the family-friendly evening include access to the races, plus a race programme. All venues will have entertainment, goodie bags for children, raffles and auctions.

Admission tickets cost F10. Family tickets (for two adults and up to four children) are priced at F20.

The event will run in Cork, Shelbourne, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Mullingar, Newbridge, Thurles, Tralee and Waterford. Doors open at 6:30pm. The Irish Examiner is media sponsor.

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Healthy food

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The buzz on honey Roz Crowley

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INNIE THE POOH knows a good thing when he sees it.

The tubby cartoon bear beloved by children worldwide just can’t get enough honey, raiding wild bee hives whenever he gets a chance. And why not? It’s brimming with goodness and the sweet sensation works just as well in your food cupboard as the medicine cabinet.

It’s a good idea to keep a jar of honey handy as an inexpensive addition to your first aid kit for many emergencies. And, as honey is a natural preservative, it won’t go out of date too quickly either. A simple change of habit from sugar to honey could help in boosting our immune systems.

Honey has more than 180 properties which can help to keep us in tip-top shape. Externally it is antibacterial so an open wound, as long as it doesn’t need to be stitched, can be healed. In cases where there is already oozing infection, honey can help to clean it up. And we don’t have to splurge on an extra-expensive honey, the basic one will give us plenty of benefits.

The use of honey as medicine goes back as far as records begin — experts say we began collecting honey 10,000 years ago. But it wasn’t until Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin that honey took a back seat. For acute infections which need fast action, antibiotics are still to be recommended, but honey can still be useful.

In her book Honey — Nature’s Golden Healer (Kyle Cathie, F15), biological scientist and lecturer Gloria Havenhand has a world of useful information on how to keep hives (she has two bee farms in the English Peak District to service her bee products and bio-active honey company) and to make beeswax candles and skin cream.

Here are the top ten ways to use honey: Burns: Apply directly onto burns to help pain and promote healing.

Gastric ulcers: Caused by the helicobacter pylori bacterium which attacks the stomach wall, try two teaspoons of honey up to three times a day for several weeks to halt the multiplication of the bacterium.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Honey feeds the friendly bacteria so take 3–4 teaspoons a day to subdue symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

Heart health: There are small traces of the chemical compound acetylcholine in honey which help transmit impulses of the nervous system, particularly the autonomic nervous system which keeps organs functioning. The compound helps slow down and stabilise the heart rate slightly, but enough to be measurable. Try 2-3 teaspoons of honey just before

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BEE A HELP BEES need water and can easily fall into sources that are too deep. Keep shallow trays of water for bees — old bird baths, chopped crockery work well. Place a layer of pebbles at the bottom and cover them lightly with moss. This way the bees can suck the water from the moss. It’s a good way to attract bees to the garden to pollinate plants too.

For those who want to keep bees and harvest honey, there are beekeeping classes in local schools and good videos on the web. For information visit: www.irishbeekeeping.ie and beekeepinginireland.com.

Picture: Getty Images

bedtime.

Thrush: A course of antibiotics can kill good bacteria so after a course take at least 4 teaspoons a day for at least four to five weeks to build up good gut bacteria.

Constipation: Especially good for the elderly, honey will help with diets that are low in fresh fruit and vegetables and high in processed food.

Water retention: Honey helps to get rid of excess water from joints and tissue which means relief of inflammation. Take 2-3 teaspoons a day.

Calcium: If you need to take calcium supplements, honey can help boost the amount the body absorbs. Add to calcium-rich foods such as yoghurt.

Colds: As honey is anti-viral it is useful for fighting and preventing colds. Replace sugar

■

THINKING ahead for Mother’s Day, localmarkets.ie has a good idea. Penny’s Best Bits is a selection of samples from Irish producers featured on their website where food can be ordered for delivery.

By signing up for Penny’s Best Bits you will get an assortment of five to eight tasting samples from different local producers.

Bakery treats, cheese, fish and meat, as well as catering food for parties, chutneys, cakes and lots of goodies can be delivered within 48 hours. www.localmarkets.ie.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

Free choice BRITISH investigative food journalist Joanna Blythman will speak at the next Cork Free Choice Consumer Group’s meeting on Thursday next at 7.30pm at Crawford Gallery, Cork. Entry of F6 includes tea or coffee.

with honey on cereals and in hot drinks. A hot lemon and honey drink is hard to beat, with some fresh ginger for extra heat.

Sore throats: Gargle with a mixture of 2 teaspoons honey, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar and water. For chest congestion add some lemon juice.

Insomnia: Honey can help with poor sleep. Try adding 2-3 teaspoonfuls to warm milk or water half an hour before bedtime.

■

DR Brian Clement, director of Hippocrates Health Institute (Florida) and Bernadette Bohan, pictured, cancer survivor and author will give a talk at 7pm on Friday, March 11, at Cork International Airport Hotel and at 11am on March 12 at Moran’s Red Cow, Dublin. Cost: F25. Enquiries: 022-25518. www.grovehealthspa.com

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Male health

Tom’s feat with foot on peddle

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OM Kavanagh has cycled the length of the country three times as part of the annual Mizen2Malin cycle.

What makes his feat all the more remarkable is that Tom Kavanagh, 45, has been blind for 20 years and only took up tandem cycling in 2008.

“I was born with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and was in my mid-20s when sight loss began to kick in,” says Tom, who lives in Sligo with wife, Helen. “I was 14 when I was first diagnosed and was happy to have a name for it, because I was always aware that my night vision was different to my friends. But I was told I’d be in my 60s before sight loss kicked in.”

Originally from Cobh, Tom had to give up his job, and went to Sligo to do a telephony course with the National Rehabilitation Board. Along the way, he got a guide dog, in 1998, and got in touch with Shane Hayes, sports inclusion disability officer (SIDO) at Sligo Sport & Recreation Partnership, who wanted to acquire a tandem bike.

It was a meeting of minds and Tom took up tandem cycling. “The tandem pilot is in charge of steering, gear changes and the brakes, but I’ve got to pedal as hard as him,” says Tom. “It’s all about communication be-

Deirdre O'Flynn MOSTLY MEN

LIFE CYCLE: Blind tandem cyclist Tom Kavanagh with cycling partner Sean McGowan on an early morning spin near Lough Gill in Sligo. Picture:James Connolly / PicSell8

tween him and me. We tell each other about the traffic and he tells me about upcoming turns.”

Shane Hayes is just one of many SIDOs in Ireland, attached to sports partnerships in each county. Their aim is to increase the number of people with disabilities participating in sport and physical activity on a regular basis. They also seek to increase the number of participation opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sport and physical activity.

“I get a great confidence boost from the

cycling,” says Tom, adding that Sean McGowan was his tandem pilot on the Mizen to Malin cycles, one of four tandem pilots involved.

“There’s a great sense of physical wellbeing and there’s a good social side and banter to the cycling,” says Tom, a member of Innisfree Wheelers.

This year’s Mizen to Malin cycle will take place on Saturday, May 21, when 80 cyclists

Course reaches out One in five Irish has a to offer male support neurological condition THE Social and Health Education Project (SHEP), the Cork-based training organisation, is running a course on Men’s Health and Wellbeing. The course aims to support men in being comfortable with their feelings and expressing them to the benefit of themselves, their families and communities.

There will be a maximum of 16 men participat-

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ing and the male tutor will base the content on the needs of the men in the group. The course will run in Ballincollig for eight weeks on Tuesday nights from 7.30am until 10pm, starting on February 22.

Participants need to book in advance: SHEP, 021-4666180.

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NATURAL WINNER: Voted best natural range in the Natural Health Beauty Awards last year, Weleda offers a range of products for all the family that are free from synthetic ingredients. Dermatological tests show that Weleda’s pomegranate regenerating hand cream, F9.95, increases the skin’s moisture level by 34% and reduces roughness by 9.1% in four weeks. This combination of organic, antioxidant agents, which includes shea butter, is formulated to promote cell renewal and help prevent the premature formation of age spots.

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ALMOST one-fifth of people in Ireland have a neurological condition such as stroke, epilepsy, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease, acquired brain injury and multiple sclerosis. Yet, Ireland’s neurological care lags behind the rest of Europe, with the lowest number of neurologists and consultants in rehabilitation medicine.

Thinking Ahead is a new campaign calling for the prioritisation of neurological care by the next government. The campaign

is driven by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI), the national umbrella organisation representing 30 neurological charities.

“The incoming government must realise that neurological conditions will be the cancer of the future, in terms of their impact on developed countries like Ireland,” says Professor Orla Hardiman, consultant neurologist in Beaumont Hospital and spokesperson for Thinking Ahead.

■ For information, visit www.thinkingahead.ie

and their support team will arrive in Bantry to partake in the eleventh annual cycle in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The team of cyclists will include five tandems and 60 solo cyclists.

■ For more information, check out www.mizen2malin.ie. For more information about the SIDO programme in your county, contact your local sports partnership.

DId you know...

A full bladder wakes one in five men at night (Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham, US)

Picture: Getty Images

with Kate O’Reilly

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NIGHT CREAM: Also developed for sensitive skin, Pai instant-therapy hand cream, F19.95, contains Fragonia, Rosehip and Sea Buckthorn to soothe and regenerate dry, chapped skin.

Nelson’s homeopathic dispensary, which stocks the Pai range, advises using it at night with cotton gloves for extra-moisturising. Nelson’s also recommend SOS barrier hand cream F15.87, for anyone suffering from psoriasis or eczema. It’s formulated with shea butter, calendula and omega oils, to hydrate and strengthen the skin’s barrier against irritation. Tisserand intensive hand and nail cream, F7.95, containing the aromatherapy oils of rose and geranium, leaves hands velvety soft and also helps to condition nails. Annemarie Borlind hand balm, F5.45, contains natural, moisturising ingredients to smooth rough, chapped hands.

This light and non-greasy balm also contains UV filters. Nelson’s dispensary, Duke St, Dublin 2, on 01-6790451 to mail order.

Hand Cream

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FAVOURITE FORMULA: Harsh weather is hard on the hands, making them dry and chapped. Neutrogena Norwegian formula deep moisturise hand cream has been clinically proven to penetrate 10 layers deep into the skin. The Norwegian formula story started at sea, where Norwegian fishermen reported soft, supple hands, despite enduring harsh conditions.

Neutrogena discovered that the oils in the fish they were handling contained moisturising properties, and developed a synthetic version of these oils, designed to soften and soothe hands in one, daily application. Neutrogena Norwegian formula hand cream, either scented or unscented, is F5.63, while Neutrogena anti-age hand cream is F6.57.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

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SOOTHING BLEND: Green People’s Help at Hand is a soothing cream for dry hands and is suitable for people who may be prone to eczema and psoriasis.

Highly commended at the 2010 Natural Health Beauty Awards, it acts as a light non-greasy barrier cream and contains rose geranium, lavender and hemp. See www.greenpeople.ie.

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Beauty

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Make-up is about improving how your skin looks, not covering it up

Emily O’Sullivan

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T’S been a long time coming, but foundation is finally getting a shake-up.

Yes, foundation — that stuff you smooth over your skin when you’re trying to hide what your skin looks like, which, of course, is the last thing you should be doing with it. But, unfortunately, that’s what most of us use it for.

Ultimately, foundation is about improving how you look. And that means that it should show the natural essence of your skin while covering up little imperfections and evening out skin tone.

Sadly, lots of people, particularly very young girls, trowel it on, in a shade too dark for their skin tone and they end up looking way too made-up. A good foundation shouldn’t be seen — it should blend beautifully into your complexion like a hyper-real second skin.

This season, foundation is back. Properly back. And we don’t mean that it’s back to its ’80s incarnation where we walked around wearing weird pan-stick masks. We mean, it’s now okay to use foundation again. Cool even. It fell out of favour for a while, as tinted moisturisers and super-light skin tints took over, but now beauty is embracing it again in a big way.

Key to the reinvention of the stuff is Chanel’s new Vitalumiére Aqua, an eagerly awaited launch that follows up the super-successful Vitalumiére Satin Smoothing Fluid.

Aqua is a foundation for a new generation who want their base to work harder without looking like it’s working at all, which is pretty much what it does.

It washes across the skin, almost painting a veil upon the complexion with an ultra-fine texture that makes you think it’s not going to make any difference at all. This is like a

The news on ...

SILKSKIN

Foundation tone

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IF you wake up in the morning with creases on your face, then you’ll probably appreciate that your pillowcase can, in some small way, affect how you look. This is the theory behind the range of Silkskin Silk Pillowcases, which were developed for dry ageing skin and claim to help lock in moisture and even “protect [your skin] from developing more lines or deeper creases”. Now the company has developed a range of beauty products, including Age Reversal Serum, F145, Face Lift, F82 and Radiance Cream, F105. All available from Harvey Nichols, Dundrum, Co Dublin.

TAKE THREE MELTING CLEANSERS Melting cleansers, though they sound a bit weird are actually reasonably straightforward. They do “melt” your make-up off, but a melting cleanser is also known for its ability to morph from one texture to another — ie, gel to oil, oil to milk, etc.

Best of all, they’re very soft on the skin, and very effective.

Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel, F27. Ooooh, new favourite cleanser alert. This is really lovely. Not only did it take off all our make-up very effectively, but it also left our skin feeling fabulously soft. It goes on as a gel, which feels like it softens into an oil as you rub it in, and then it washes off as a milk water.

high-tech “second skin”, making your complexion look energised, fresh, pepped up and radiant while hiding all the bad bits. Plus, a UVB filter and mineral sunscreen give it the upscale extras that your skin should be demanding for daytime.

Another great choice is Skin Illusion SPF 10 Radiance Enhancing Foundation from Clarins. As well as having a beautifully fresh, spring-like scent, it glides over the skin, giving you a glowing complexion. It feels like the perfect modern foundation — a great one for anyone that feels their complexion is a little below par, but doesn’t want to pile on the make-up. It’s our top choice.

Long-lasting foundations have traditionally

had a heavy, slightly sticky, almost gluey texture that has often meant they look far too noticeable on the skin, but Rimmel’s new Lasting Finish 25-Hour Foundation changes all that.

Clearly, wearing foundation or wanting to wear foundation for 25 hours is lunacy, but there must be a psychology behind Rimmel using it ( ‘Oh, look, it says this lasts for 25 hours, that must mean it definitely lasts for eight’ etc). We’re not sure our skin looked the exact same 12 hours later as it did the morning we applied it, but this is a good choice for people who want to make sure their foundation stays put, without a dated effect.

fection. It gives a subtle, natural effect, but that’s how we should be using foundation these days. If you find it too light, use a concealer to tone down areas of redness or imperfection.

Our only quibble is that the plastic bottle isn’t very user-friendly and the liquid can flow too quickly (also the liquid tends to separate if not used for a while, so give it a shake before applying). A pump applicator would have been better.

shouldn’t look like it’s caked and this new foundation from Boots ensures just that. It keeps things shine-free while also allowing the skin to show through. Good news all round.

Lancôme Baume Eclat, F24.40.

This balm to oil massage cleanser was one of the first of the melts on the market. You can wipe it off or rinse it off and it can be used on the face, eyes and lips … handy.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleanser Gel, F23. Another great product, Clarins’ gel has a very soft gentle texture, which again goes from a gel to an oil and an oil to a milk. It washes off well, and uses marula oil to sensitively cleanse the skin.

STUFF WE LIKE Rimmel Lasting Finish 25-Hour Foundation, F8.75. We’re not very fond of the packaging of this one — but that seems like a pretty shallow complaint. In reality, this is a good-quality foundation for people who want lasting coverage. It’s not too heavy, but equally, you need to be careful and use just a little. It’s easy to blend and lasts well.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, F38.50. This sets a new foundation trend with an ultra-light, fine liquid texture that almost feels like you’re painting your skin with a veil of per-

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Boots Beautifully Matte Foundation, F18.95. Matte is back, but there’s a big difference between bad matte and good matte. The new-look matte may mean the skin isn’t dewy, but it also

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation, F31. Mac’s new Studio Fix Fluid is a liquid version of their famous Studio Fix powder foundation. A good matt foundation, it provides medium to “buildable” (a polite word for heavy) coverage, has an SPF, is oil-free and long-wearing.

Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation SPF 10, F29. Light, flattering and very wearable, this is a foundation that’s bound to score a hit with women in their late 30s

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011

and 40s. It looks light and radiant on the skin and peps the skin up to look fresh and natural. Nice square-shaped glass bottle with easy-to-use pump.

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Natural health

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

SOME time ago, you gave a cure for constipation, which involved taking two or three kiwi fruit and psyllium. I tried it on a modest scale — one kiwi and a dessertspoon of psyllium. The results were excellent for eight days. Then I developed a rash which in 24 hours became large blisters over my body. I called South Doc and the doctor said it was an allergy. After an injection and some tablets everything was clear the following morning. It was very disappointing. Could you suggest any variation worth trying or anything else that might help?

safely, and heal numerous digestive and bowel issues. If you wish to combine it with fruit, then for the most gentle approach use mild fruits such as pears (fresh or stewed), bananas, nashi pears, and golden or red delicious apples (fresh or stewed). Bananas in particular help tremendously with any sort of detox reaction, although they can be a little constipating in some people, and pears are one of the foods recommended to help with allergies.

Q. I have just been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and was wondering what natural steps I can take to deal with this condition. I am also concerned about my fertility. I am 25, but would like to have children some day.

A. I am so sorry to hear of what you went through, it must have A. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome been a very upsetting experience. It (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder is unusual you were able to tolerate where the ovaries are covered in a sethe combination for eight days beries of tiny fluid-filled cysts — the refore your body reacted. This could sult of too much testosterone and an be due to a number of factors. inability to control blood sugar levels.

There are a small number of peoCommon symptoms associated with ple who are intolerant to salicylates, PCOS include unwanted facial hair, natural constituents of many vegetaacne, weight gain and menstrual bles and fruits which help protect irregularities. the plant against insect and fungal This can be a very distressing diagattack. They occur in varying denosis, particularly when you are told grees, and kiwi fruit are reasonably that your future chances of becoming a high in this natural chemical. Other mother are at stake. I know more than high-salicylate fruits include grape25 women who have PCOS and have fruit, mandarins, melons, mulberhad no trouble conceiving and carryries, nectarines, some varieties of ing children to term following careful apple (golden delicious and red delinutrition and herbal supplementation. cious apples are relatively low salicyThis is a positive sign that this condilate), peach, apricots, avocado, tion can be easily treated naturally, but berries, cherries, grapes, all dried also an alarming indication of how fruits, guava, oranges, plums, common this condition has become — prunes, strawberries, tangelos and only five or six years ago I could count ALLERGY ALERT: There are a small number of people who tangerines. And that is just the the women I knew with PCOS on are intolerant to salicylates in vegetables and fruit. Kiwi is fruits. one hand.

It may well be that this is an issue particularly high in these natural constituents.

Begin by reducing your intake of for you, although it is uncommon high GI foods, and ensure you are eatPicture: Getty Images for a reaction to take longer than a ing a diet high in wholefoods and local minute or so after eating the food. I fresh produce. Many women find that shouldn’t rule it out though, because when eating four to five small meals throughout I have come across many alarming and ex- the day works well to stabilise insulin proconstipation is severe, it can slow bodily retreme reactions as a part of this release, parsponses considerably. duction and avoid a spike in blood sugar levticularly skin rashes ranging from mild itchIf you have ever noticed a rash around els. Protein with each meal can help to proing and inflammation to severe open wounds vide a stable source of energy and reduce the your mouth, or small cuts appearing in the corner of your mouth after eating any of the and pustules. Both the bowel and the skin rate that glucose is absorbed into the bloodabove foods, or some of the non-sweet fruits are very effective and immediate organs of stream. elimination, and the health of the two is such as tomato, chilli, cucumber or capHormone-balancing agnus castus is usually closely linked. This is connection is worth sicum, then chances are you would do well very effective in helping to treat this entaking into consideration. I would also high- docrine disorder since it is an adaptogenic to observe a low-salicylate diet. light the importance of working closely with herb with an affinity for the female reproAnother important factor worth considera health practitioner who knows your coming is that the body shuts down into protecductive system. Bioforce’s Agnus castus tinctive mode, hence the constipation, and when plete history and current situation. ture is available from Here’s Health, As for a variation on the recipe — psylliwe cleanse the system it gives a signal that (www.hereshealth.ie; 021-4278101), where um taken with pure water works extremely toxins can be released so that healing can 50ml costs F10.50. well and is unlikely to provoke such a reactake place. This can throw the body into a For further details check out the book shock state, depending on what is stored and tion since it helps to soothe the mucous Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, by Dr Adam membranes, transport toxins from the body how long it has been stored for.

Carey and Colette Harris.

Megan puts the spotlight on:

W

HILE at least half of the population are drinking coffee, cola, energy drinks, or even high-caffeine tea to help them stay awake during the day, it turns out that caffeine actually robs your body of precious energy.

Caffeine reduces the production of serotonin — the feelgood neurotransmitter responsible for creating balanced moods, quality sleep, appetite, muscle contractions and cognitive function. Low serotonin leads to depression, poor digestion, insomnia, difficulty regulating appetite and memory troubles.

The caffeine levels in coffee, cola and energy drinks fool your body into releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine, hormones secreted by the adrenal glands as

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part of the important “fight or flight” response.

These emergency hormones are released in response to a decent hit of caffeine (one strong coffee is enough), leaving your adrenals taxed. It does provide a kickstart, but your body and mind pay a heavy price.

All of this naturally leads to increased stress levels, and trouble sleeping — the time when our body does some of the most crucial repair and rejuvenation.

When caffeine gets into the bloodstream, your heart rate increases, you perspire more, your blood sugar is thrown off balance, and your muscles become more tense.

We already know that caffeine is a

Caffeine — the energy thief powerful diuretic, which means that for every caffeinated drink — you will need two glasses of water for every one cup of coffee or can of coke just to keep your hydration in check. When your body is in a caffeinated state, the very vitamins and minerals that contribute to energy and hormonal balance are used up to deal with the stress, so you then become depleted in crucial nutrients.

So, how much is that coffee, cola, energy drink, or high-caffeine tea really costing you? Load up instead on nutrient-rich foods, juices, soups, salads, and smoothies and drink plenty of water if you truly want to blast through the 3pm slump without stealing from your precious energy reserves.

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Are you sick and tired of being overweight?

Are you sick and tired of fad diets?

Take action now!

Call Motivation Maria O’Meara, from Cork City centre, who lost 5 stone 1lb

“ In May 2010 I decided I needed to change my lifestyle and lose weight. As a result I joined Motivation and from my first consultation my experience has been a positive one. Each member of staff has been welcoming, understanding, supportive and encouraging. Positive thinking has been a major factor in my success. With the help of the staff and the programme, I am a new, more positive, and confident person. I now eat healthy nutritious food. Each day I eat four to six meals a day, two of which are protein supplements. These are delicious and a great help to curb my cravings. With the help of the staff and the tools provided within the programme, I have become much more educated about food.

My social life did not have to change and I now make much healthier choices. I am much healthier now and I can honestly say for the first time in my life I am proud of myself. I now enjoy shopping and buying clothes that I want and not just those that fit. My whole family have been very supportive and encouraging and they are very proud of me. Thanks to all at Motivation.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I have lost 5 stone and 1lb!”

At Motivation Weight Management Clinics, we clearly understand that it’s not just about what you eat but why you eat.

• Private individual Consultations with our caring Doctors and Consultants • Lose weight quickly but safely without feeling hungry or deprived • Over 100,000 success stories • Weight loss programme for adolescents • Behaviour Evaluation to identify the underlying causes of your weight problem

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• Now 15 years in operation

Maria before

www.motivation.ie Call 1800 22 44 88 Today • Grand Parade • Ballincollig • Carrigaline • Limerick • Clonakilty 023-8821956

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011