Talk about health

I'm really not improving very much, am I? Another week has flashed by without my writing a post for the blog, so I'm trying to start the week on the right foot by writing something before I get embroiled in other work.

While I'm watching the TV, I sometimes feel obliged to shout at it when I reckon there is some rubbish being spoken on health matters. (Don't get me started on reality programs on any other subject either!!)

Anyway, I had occasion to yell last week when there was a short piece about three submariners who were using the new smoking ban in the UK and the fact that they were going on a three month tour of duty under the waves to quit smoking.

A noble and worthwhile aim I must agree, and one that would surely improve their long-term health. So what's the beef?

It was one of these sailors who began by using nicotine patches to help wean him off the habit. So far, so good. The theory is to start with strong nicotine patches each day for a few weeks, then switch to a middle strength for a few more weeks and conclude with the weakest strength until you feel you can stop altogether.

It's a classic dose reduction technique that has been used for years to get people off various habits from hard drugs to chocolate. It has at its root some scientific logic that has stood the test of time and given good results.

So, this guy begins with the usual enthusiasm of a job that will prove smooth and worthy, and with the TV cameras there too, to give an additional impetus to success. Then, things start to go wrong after the first week or so. He is studying for some promotional exam and he decides that the stress brought on by this prospect will certainly be too much for him to bear without a cigarette.

What he does is to throw away his patches (not very far if he is in a submarine!) and try to quit without them. My shouting starts here. "What are you doing, you twit. Don't you understand that you need to keep going? What makes you think you will succeed without the crutch, especially when you are under more pressure than usual with your exam on the horizon? Do you think it is clever to try this just because of the cameras? etc, etc, etc..."

The postscript to the piece was the anchor telling us that he had failed to stop smoking and was back to his habit with a vengance.

Surprise? I think not. He did everything wrong. He thought he knew better than the many brains that devised the nicotine replacement program. He didn't bother to ask for help and advice to smooth his path and help him cope with the inevitable stresses along the way. At the first sign of an impending problem he rushed off to get his cigarettes.

The bottom line? I think he didn't really want to quit. He was only doing it to get on TV and have his 5 minutes of fame. He though that quitting would be easy with his nicotine replacements stuck on his body.

I've known many people who smoke whilst applying patches. I've heard of people who try to smoke the patches. I had a close friend who gave up smoking and all was well until he had a close shave when his car narowly missed being in an accident. The first thing he did was to rush to the nearest tobacconist for a pack of cigarettes. It took him a long time to quit again - but he did. Because he really wanted to.

The thing is, to give up any habit is difficult. it takes an amazing amount of willpower. You have to start with the real desire to stop whatever it is you want to do - lose weight, give up smoking, eat more vegetables, cut out the chocolate!

You will not succeed if your heart isn't in it with you. This sailor was a prime example of his heart and mind not being on song with his aim.

The moral of the story is don't start down such a difficult road unless you really want to succeed and get as much help as you can along the way. You can do it. For your health's sake, you should do it.

The bottom line is that if you choose to start down a particular health route you really should listen to the experts for that route and not think you know better. By all means find out what the theory is and what you are trying to achieve. It seems that nowadays people think you can pick up a profession in a few short minutes and know more about it than a professional who has been in the job for thirty years.

Take advice but don't expect to succeed if you ignore it and go your own way.

Check out my site at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk or leave your thought here on the blog.

Wishing you the best of health.

It's funny what catches my eye. I came across an aticle in my paper the other day that struck a chord. At a time when we are being exhorted to be more careful about what we consume - food, energy, fuel, etc, etc ... this piece pointed out the quantity of food we in the UK are wasting. And the authors laid the balme squarely at the door of TV chefs.

It's a by-product of the popularity of the vast number of cooking programmes that grace the small screen here. As time passes the chefs involved have done 'simple' and 'plain' recipes to death - at least that is what they think! The result is they are seeking out ever more exotic dishes with ever more exotic ingredients to fill their alloted TV slots and put into their latest compilation books. Ah, the draw of the fast buck!

Us poor consumers watch these TV delights and consider that we, too, could prepare that exotic meal for our family and friend. We rush to the supermarket or deli and demand fresh crab, balsamic vinegar and the like. Then, our confidence wanes as reality dawns. What exactly do we do with this and how many more strange and expensive ingredients do we need to complete this culinary delight?

"Never do today what you can put off 'till tomorrow" some wag once said. We subscribe to this wholeheartedly and leave our purchases at the back of the fridge. Investigating the unusual smell some days later, we come across the said ingredients well past their best, and with a little relief, throw them out.

The lesson learned is that most of us stick to what we know and like. Generally, this is simple, nourishing food like mom used to make. We add some new recipes to our repertoire and adjust older ones to accommodate different and interesting ingredients. But overall, the latest complex and exotic recipes simply don't register. it may be entertainment, but it isn't reality.

This process of making life ever more complex is driven by the media seeking to maintain an edge over the competition and bears little resemblance to life. Food is a basic necessity for all of us and speaking as a health writer you simply can't beat natural ingredients prepared in a simple but interesting way to get the very best nutritionally out of food.

So, when fresh fruit is healthy and nutritious just as it comes from the plant, why is it necessary to chop or puree it, add refined and processed flour or sugar, heat it to destroy vitamins, put it into pies and cakes, and generally muck-it-about and mess it up.

Just wash it and eat it. You'll get the maximum nutrition from it for your general health and it tastes good as well.

I have to admit that I watch cookery programmes too, probably too many. Occasionally I find a recipe that appeals to me. But, instead of rushing off to the deli, I just sit a little longer and forget all about it. For me, the less heating and fewer processed additions to my food the better.

The newspaper estimated that we in the UK throw away £60 million unused food a year. That's an enormous price to pay and an mountain of food that might have been useful to someone else.

As a foot note, isn't it strange that so many of us rush out to try a new recipe, yet so few actually take on board a health-improving tip.

Wait a moment .. the new cookery programme is just starting ...


Check out the site at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk for more health information, or reply to this post with your views and questions.

Wishing you the best of health.

This time I've got no excuse. Time just seems to fly by and when I finish the things I have to do there's no time left to write these pieces.

Something that struck me the other day was to wonder whether people who are interested in health treat it just as they do the many cooking and gardening programmes on the TV. I enjoy watching these programmes and making mental notes to try to be a little more adventurous with my meal preparation. But when it comes to action, I slip easily into the rut of buying and preparing the same old ingredients to make the same old 'favourite' meals.

Don't get the idea that I do all the cooking in my house. Not by a long shot. But once or twice a week the evening meal is all my own work. The rest of the time, I make a reasonable bottle and dish washing assistant!!!

Gardening is slightly different - only slightly. I tend to do most of the physical part of gardening. The planting choices and garden design are done under the direction of my wife. But, here too I favour the routine type of gardening, rather than the adventurous way portrayed on the TV.

So, despite the raft of good advice and entertaining presentation, most of it goes through my mind and out the other side.

For me, health information is a different animal altogether. I listen carefully and analyse what I've been told. I look for the flaws and try to come to some sort of reasonable conclusion as to whether it is relevant to my situation. I make a note, physically or mentally, to research a little further to satisfy my curiosity. I consider if I could write an expanatory article about it, so making the point clearer to others. And if it might help my own health, I think how it might be incorporated into my life.

Now, this might seem a little grand to you, and as I read it it strikes me as a little pompous too. I am trying to say that I treat health info a little differently from other things that interest me. Is it because my training and experience is all health based, therefore I start off knowing some more that my friends and list members? Do I worry more about my health than you? Is that because you are perfectly healthy right now? If you were unwell, would you be looking for specific health information rather than general stuff that didn't relate to your problem?

If you happen to be struck down by some problem, I'm sure you (and I) would want to know as much as I can about it - causes and treatments, chances of control or cure, and so on. Therefore you would be on the lookout for help everywhere you could think of. Maybe, then general health information would only be of incidental interest.

Now more than ever, we expect to live for ever, we think there should be a cure for everything no matter how complex or severe the disease. And we're disappointed and distraught when a loved one dies or conventional medicine says it can do no more.

I think we should be a bit more realistic and accept that illness does indeed harm ond even kill a great many people every day. Conventional medicine does not have all the answers. Neither does alternative medicine. The best of both gets closer to cure.

If you don't take some advice about healthy living; if you let health information wash over and through you like those cooking and gardening programmes; and if you don't make small, subtle adjusments or even major changes to your life to improve your health and reduce your risks of disease; then you'll have little chance of sitting in a lovely garden or eating a healthful meal for as long as you can.

Good health is at the root of a long and fulfilling life. Don't let it pass you by because you couldn't be bothered. Try to make the changes you can. Get more information if you need it and take a moment to review your situation. As they say in the adverts, "because you're worth it!"

Need more info? Visit http://www.healthexplored.co.uk and subscribe to my free newsletter or reply to this blog with your comments and questions.