Wellness toolkit tips

Wellness tool kit tips relax, exercise and eat W hile COVID-19 is creating uncertainty, paying attention to personal hygiene, sleeping well, finding reliable information and staying tuned to our health is a priority.

Everyone enjoys good company but most of us also need peace and quiet. If we get stuck at home, we can make time for ourselves, keep in touch on smartphones and make sure we stay fit and well-balanced, eat well and sleep soundly.

Social wellness: interaction and discretion

Simple stress relief ● Think clearly and critically. ● Learn to recognize fake news and rumours. ● Pay attention to personal hygiene. ● Wear a mask if you are sick. ● Be discrete and courteous when with others. ● Share resources with others. ● Use electronic devices to stay connected with friends and family. ● If you feel anxious, breathe in deeply then breathe out while counting to five. Repeat. ● Discover the value of private time. ● Listen to your internal voice. ● If you feel lonely, chat with someone you trust: friends, or professional social workers on HKFYG’s Youthline, uTouch, Open up*. ● If you feel scared stay sceptical and factcheck news from unfamiliar sources. ● Concentrate on staying healthy with exercise and a balanced diet.

Read more • World Health Organization who.int/emergencies/diseases/ novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public • Centre for Disease Control cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html • Centre for Health Protection chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/statistics_of_the_ cases_novel_coronavirus_infection_en.pdf

Fitness and exercise: five types, five principles

Keep on exercising whatever else changes in your life. It’s good for all-round health and for mental stress relief. The various types of exercise suit people of different ages and each sport has its own unique training requirements for. For example, badminton requires muscle strength, flexibility and explosive power. For long distance running, endurance is vital. Depending on your preferred sport, various training principles apply.

5 types ● Aerobic ● Endurance ● Muscle and bone strengthening ● Flexibility ● Balance improvement

5 principles ● Equilibrium: Your muscles need to develop in a balanced way. ● Individualization: Everyone is different and training needs vary accordingly. ● Overload: Increase pace, duration or weights to continue gaining strength and endurance. ● Reversibility: Use your strength and fitness or lose it, but remember to rest too. ● Specificity: Workouts vary according to sport: dragon boaters train differently to marathon runners.

Support from HKFYG during disease outbreak *Hotline 27778899 Monday to Saturday 2pm to 2am *Whatsapp 62778899 Tuesday to Thursday 4pm to 10pm; Friday to Saturday 4pm to 2am *Facebook/Portal utouch.hk *Open Up openup.hk *SMS 91021012 Plus Useful tools for learning and working from home

Food Wellness: eat right to boost immunity

A healthy diet can boost both your immune system and your mood. For example, tryptophan is necessary for making proteins and other important molecules, including some that are essential for optimal sleep. It also affects the synthesis of serotonin which is believed to influence our moods. Good sources of tryptophan include poultry, tuna, soybeans, bananas, prunes, oats, bread, eggs, peanuts, milk, cheese, yoghurt and even chocolate. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are important for metabolic functioning. They include salmon, shrimps, clams, catfish, cod, walnuts, flaxseed oil, spinach, sardines and canola oil. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in olives, fish, nuts, and avocado are also good for you. A good guide is to try and eat upwards of 30 different fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds every week to help ensure a good range of vitamins, minerals, and to aid our microbiome - the useful microbes and bacteria that live on and in our bodies.

Mix your colours

Red fruit and vegetables contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of cancer and keep hearts healthy. Blue/ purple fruits and vegetables contain anthocyanin which also has antioxidant properties. Carotenoids are in orange/yellow vegetables and one of them, betacarotene, is found in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots. It is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Green vegetables contain a range of phytochemicals all of which have anti-cancer properties. Leafy greens such as spinach and bak choi are excellent sources of folate. Brown/white fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals such as allicin which is known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. Bananas and potatoes are a good source of potassium.

Vitamins and supplements – not always a magic pill Treat supplements like medicine, check the packaging and know what you are taking. Some dietary supplements can improve overall health and help manage some health conditions. Calcium and vitamin D help keep bones strong and reduce bone loss. Folic acid decreases the risk of certain birth defects. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils might help some people with heart disease. A combination of vitamins C and E, zinc, copper, lutein, and zeaxanthin (known as AREDS) may slow down further vision loss in people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, many supplements contain active ingredients that can have strong effects in the body. Always be alert to the possibility of unexpected side effects, especially when taking a new product. Interactions Some supplements and vitamins react with each other and with other medication. Some interactions are serious. Always check dosage and ask a specialist if in doubt.

Vitamin A can also cause problems. Too much vitamin A can cause headaches and liver damage, reduce bone strength, and cause birth defects.

Vitamin C For adults, the recommended daily amount [RDA] is 65 to 90 mg and the upper limit is 2,000 mg. For most people, an orange provides enough for a day. Overdoses of vitamin C might cause diarrhea, nausea, indigestion, headache and insomnia. Glucosamine Specialists in Australia have recently cautioned against taking glucosamine which may be harmful to those with food allergies because it can be made from seashells.

Read more ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/DS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.aspx

Removing masks Some kinds of surgical mask can lower the risk of getting an infection if you're in close contact with somebody with a respiratory illness and are careful not to touch the front of the mask when removing it. Most masks don’t offer any guaranteed protection against viruses and small airborne particles can get through. When you wear one, make sure it fits well. ● Wash your hands. ● Use the ear loops to remove the mask. ● Do not touch the rest of the mask unless you are wearing disposable gloves. ● Take off the mask, fold it, place in a bag or envelope then put it in a rubbish bin with a lid. ● Wash your hands again. Find more tips from HKFYG Emotional wellness and precautionary measures More details wmc.hkfyg.org.hk/call4care