A Bright Idea? I Think Not…

Lastly, this quote I read recently made me laugh, although it’s not really a laughing matter:

“In answer to a question in Parliament by MP David Davies about how to safely dispose of a broken fluorescent light bulb, the House of Commons Commission said people should put on a protective mask and gloves, ventilate the room, place the bulb in a sealed sturdy box with a damp cloth in the box to stop it breaking,  seal with tape and take to waste disposal contractor!”

Well, there you have it. No wonder the government has seen fit to make sure we all have to buy non-traditional lightbulbs for our homes from 1^st September. You couldn’t make it up, could you? Safe until they’re broken it seems. I am looking into how we might be able to get round having to use them – let me know if you have had any bright ideas (geddit?! God, I’m too good at this…)

Children: They Are What They Eat….

If you want your children to have plenty of energy and be able to cope with the day to day demands of school life, after-school clubs, peer pressure, exams and the like, their diet is crucial. It’s a fact too that diet has a huge impact on behaviour, learning ability and concentration levels. So, take this time as the kids go back to school to review what your children are eating.

A lot of parents are now waking up to the idea that school dinners may not provide their children with the healthy nutritious meals their kids need. Packed lunches are a good way to take more control. However, there is a lot of peer pressure when kids take lunches that are different to what’s in their friends’ lunch boxes, so you do have to get a good balance to keep them healthy, but not make them appear too different.

A good packed lunch could include

• a wholemeal roll filled with organic chicken or good quality meat (no packet meats, please) and salad
• Or try peanut butter* (no salt or sugar variety) and mashed banana
• Tuna and mayonnaise with bits of cucumber and tomato
• As a change from sandwiches, give them a cold brown/corn pasta salad or a brown rice salad with interesting bits in that they like. You could include cherry tomatoes, small bits of broccoli, olives, gerkins, sundried tomatoes, cashew nuts, raisins etc with a little olive oil dressing on
• Their lunchbox should also include at least one piece of fruit. Try a little pot of berries, a couple of plums or a pear to vary it from the ubiquitous apple.
• Add in a few cherry tomatoes, a little pack of nuts* and raisins or, even better, a few organic nuts and a couple of unsulphured dried apricots.
• Give them a flask of filtered water, organic diluted apple or orange juice or include a good quality fruit smoothie such as the Innocent ones
• Alternatively, give them a food flask that has a good quality yogurt in it – preferably a plain live soya yogurt to which you have added some honey and berries or stirred in some pure fruit jam such as St Dalfour’s strawberry which is delicious.

 

Try to avoid rubbish foods like pre-prepared sandwiches and salads, fruit yogurts, sweets, crisps and sugary drinks. Remember, if you give them junk or money to take to school, they will always choose junk. If they have no choice, they’ll eat what they’re given and eventually their palate will start to change for the better.

If you can’t control what your kids are eating at lunchtime, try not to worry about it – do what you can, and make sure they’re eating really well, preferably organically, when they’re at home. A good breakfast and tea will go a long way to helping you nourish your kids well. If they are eating in this way most of the time, the odd bag of crisps or sugary snacks here and there won’t hurt.

If you would like more information on how to keep your children healthy this next school year, call or email me for a free Back To School Factsheet. For more in-depth issues such as recurrent infections, eczema, weight gain or behavioural difficulties, please book in for a free 15 minute chat – we can normally help.

*Note that many schools now have a no-nut policy due to children suffering from peanut allergy, so please remember to check before sending your child to school with nuts.

Study Shows Probiotics Reduce Cold & Flu Symptoms in Children

 Just in time for the start of term, a new study published in the respected journal Pediatrics, has found that daily probiotic supplementation may reduce ‘cold and flu’ symptoms in children by 50%.

In the study, 326 children aged between 3 and 5 were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and received twice daily for six months the single L. acidophilus, a combination of L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis, or a placebo.

Results showed reductions in the incidence of fever, coughing and runny noses, a reduction in the use of antibiotics and fewer missed school days in children taking either of the probiotic interventions.  The duration of symptoms was reduced compared to placebo groups, with a 32% and 48% decrease observed in the single strain and combination groups, respectively.

 

The authors, led by Gregory Leyer and his co-workers from Tongji University (Shanghai), the University of Texas at Houston, and Sprim USA (Frisco) commented, “daily probiotic supplementation during the winter months was a safe effective way to reduce episodes of fever, rhinorrhea, and cough, the cumulative duration of those symptoms, the incidence of antibiotic prescriptions, and the number of missed school days attributable to illness”.

Study comment: the use of a probiotic supplement for reducing respiratory illness in children may be particularly relevant to recent concerns about the safety of over the counter and prescription cough and cold medicines for this age group.  The probiotic supplement used in this study was well tolerated and given in a twice daily dose of ten billion CFUs of either L acidophilus NCFM or a 50:50 mixture of L acidophilus NCFM and B lactis BI-07.

Source:
Pediatrics 2009, Volume 124: e172-e179
Leyer, Mubasher, Reifer & Ouwehand.  “Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children” Nutri News Aug 09

Ed’s Comment: there are many different probiotics on the market, unfortunately many of them a complete waste of money as they are manufactured or stored wrongly, are too weak to do any real good, can’t get through the stomach acid or simply are dead before you buy them. That’s why I will only use specific ones. If you need help with what to give your child, please ask.

And on the back-to-school theme, here is a copy of the Purehealth Guide to Packed Lunches:

Celery – So Good For You

In Chinese Traditional Medicine, celery is used as a cure for high blood pressure. It is now known that celery contains phytochemical compounds called phthalides, which not only give flavour but have also been shown to lower blood pressure. Studies have shown that celery extract can lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the formation of the arterial plaques that can result in cardiovascular disease.

Antioxidant celery compounds called coumarins are the focus of much current scientific research due to their potential as anti-cancer substances. Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C, which has anticarcinogenic properties through its role as an antioxidant, and is rich in folate, a vitamin required to make DNA and to prevent pre-cancerous changes to it. NPN August 09

“PRISONERS HAVE A BETTER DIET THAN HOSPITAL PATIENTS”

Patients in NHS hospitals are far more likely to go hungry than criminals in jail, a new study from Bournemouth Uni has warned.  They say frail and elderly patients do not get the help they need with meals and nobody checks whether they get enough to eat. 11 million NHS meals are thrown away a year. Despite years of Government promises to tackle poor hospital nutrition, food can still arrive cold and patients often miss meals because meal times clash with tests.   Latest figures show that 242 patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in 2007 – the highest toll in a decade.  Over 8,000 patients left hospital under-nourished, double the 1997 figure.  Earlier this year it was revealed that some hospitals spend less per day on food than the £2.12p a day allocated for food by the prison service.  One hospital spends just £1 a day on food.   Prof. John Edwards said the nutrition content of prison food is “extremely good”. The NHS say they are working on an action plan on how nutritional care and hydration can be improved.  D. Mail 31.8.09

Ed’s Note: My advice is always to take food in to people in hospital if you can, or to aim to be there at the main meal time to check they’re eating properly. I’m sure most nurses and doctors care greatly, but simply don’t have the time to check. A flask of home-made wholesome soup can go a long way to keeping a frail person nourished, just remember to check with the nurses that they are not on ‘nil by mouth’ or anything. And whilst you’re at it, take in a cloth with some teatree, lavender or sweet orange essential oil on it and have a wipe around to protect them from superbugs too.

Before going into hospital, it’s a good idea to get the level of good bowel bacteria up to keep immunity strong. Try 1 capsule per day for a month beforehand. If having an op, Heels homeopathic Traumeel for 2 weeks before, whilst in hospital and for a month afterwards pays dividends in speeding up healing and keeping bruising and swelling down.  It’s cheap but very effective and can be put as drops into your everyday water or straight onto the tongue.

“ASPIRIN COULD BE BAD FOR YOU”

A study at Edinburgh Uni has found that daily use of aspirin almost doubled the risk of dangerous internal bleeding of the stomach or brain, while having no beneficial effect on preventing heart attacks or strokes.  There is pressure for ‘blanket prescribing’ of aspirin for all people who are middle-aged or above. The findings support 6 other trials which suggest that aspirin’s side-effects mean there is no net benefit for healthy people taking it.  These findings were presented in Barcelona at the European Soc. of Cardiology, attended by over 30,000 heart specialists.  Study jointly led by Prof. Gerry Fowkes. D. Mail 31.8.09

Ed’s Note: The vast majority of people taking aspirin daily are doing it to keep their blood thinner and prevent clotting as a preventative measure against heart disease and stroke. Never stop what you’re taking and talk to your GP, but I will say it again, there are several alternatives you could consider, without the side effects: Vitamin E, ginkgo and fish oils are all good blood thinners. Vitamin E Complex and good quality fish oils both also have a raft of other cardiovascular health benefits.

Ordering From Natural Dispensary – Phone, Online or Via Me

Now I’m no longer racing to the post office every day, I’ve got a bit more time to help you with your ordering! You can continue to call or order online as usual but, if you prefer, you can now call, email or text me with what you need and I will order from Natural Dispensary for you.

I simply give them your name, numbers and order details and they then call you for payment and to arrange delivery. This is the system I already use for the Heels remedies and it works well. Hopefully, it should save you some time in your busy lives and you should get what you need swiftly!

I’ve also clarified some other ordering tips with them for you.

1. Not everything is on the website yet so it’s best to call them or go through me. If it’s not an item they have been asked for before, they will get it in asap, put it on the website and have some spares so next time it should be in ready for you. That’s the beauty of using a bespoke company…
2. Sometimes, products change or get discontinued. In this instance, they will inform me and I advise which product I want you to have instead. This is vital because not all products are the same, despite being called the same things on the label! Please don’t guess.
3. If you are ordering online and can’t see something, need something else you’ve forgotten, or simply have a query, you can add a note in the special instructions to merchant box at the end. They will then call you to advise/arrange delivery and payment. Alternatively, you can always email michael.hill@naturaldispensary.co.uk and he will sort you out. Or contact me, of course.
4. Some orders went walkabout recently which is the result of the post office action. However, if you haven’t received your order within 3 days of ordering, simply call Natural Dispensary and they will resend it for you. If the original parcel turns up, they will send you a return bag.

Hope all that helps. If in doubt, contact me or Michael Hill. Thanks.

Leave A Message

Please note that I am unlikely to pick your call up if it comes up as Private or Withheld. I’m not ignoring you, it’s just that I get a lot of sales calls (yawn!) so always leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you. Calls are also logged by time so you won’t lose out on your bargains!

Rubbish Supermarket Fruit

Is it just me or has most of the fruit you’ve bought this Summer from supermarkets been pretty tasteless or too hard to eat? It gets on my nerves. Picked too early, ‘ripened’ artificially or left to ‘ripen in the bowl’ (ha!), stored for months etc really isn’t conducive to us getting tasty, ripe nutritious fruit. In a fit of pique, I thought I’d try M&S (after all it’s not just fruit, but M&S fruit, I thank you!) and the fact that they were all half price must have helped too. What a revelation! Their fruit is actually edible, tastes yummy and, OK, even half price at M&S is still pretty expensive, but I’d rather have fruit I can eat than throw away. Now all we have to do is to encourage them to go organic and we’re away! Obviously I would prefer to get it locally, but I would say this comes a good second when you’ve got the fruit munchies.

Beauty Tip

When skin needs a bit of a perk-up, the temptation is to slather on a thick layer of foundation, but I’ve discovered that less is definitely more in this area. When I look a bit mottled, shall we say, I have found applying a light sweep of the Annemarie Borlind Compact make-up around the chin, base of the nose, under each eye and between the eyebrows makes such a difference, yet doesn’t feel at all ‘cloggy’. This helps you look fresh and hides a multitude of sins, but leaves your cheeks and forehead naturally rosy. Try it!