Category: Health & Fitness

I don’t know about you, but I can’t count the times my mother said, “You’ll catch your death!” if I even suggested going out in the cold weather. But I still went out in the cold and, guess what! I’m still alive! Now, whether I have superpowers, I got lucky or my mother was wrong and cold weather isn’t likely to kill you, before I tell you it’s safe and end up with your double pneumonia on my conscience, perhaps we ought to look at some evidence.

Why do people get sick more often in winter?

If people get sick more often in winter, when it’s cold, doesn’t that mean the rumours are true? Not necessarily! In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that staying out of the cold might be the real problem! Colds and flu are caused by viruses which spread more easily through dry air than moist air; in winter, people are more likely to have heaters on, which dries the air and when the temperature is below freezing, the air outside is also drier, creating optimal conditions to spread viruses. Furthermore, when the weather is cold, we are tempted to stay indoors, coming into contact with other people and putting ourselves into the firing-line of their germs! There are tips here for protecting yourself during flu-season.

Does this mean I have to go outside when it’s cold?

It’s clear that sitting out the winter in your house is neither practical nor possible; somebody has to go and buy teabags and jam, right? And if you’re still afraid of a little cold weather, think about how they do things in Sweden, where it’s always cold, so they really know about these things. In Sweden, it is, and has always been, common practice to put even newborn babies outside to sleep, even in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius. And why do they do this? To keep them healthy! Let me say that a little louder: TO KEEP THEM HEALTHY!! Of course the babies are snuggled up in their pram, cot, sometimes even a special sleeping-box. If the weather is particularly cold, their parents may put a blanket over the pram for added warmth but it has to be extremely cold by Swedish standards before they will be kept indoors. There is more about this practice, including how studies have shown this to prevent sickness in http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21537988.

But I don’t like the cold weather!

Nobody wants to be too cold, or too hot for that matter. The advantage that ‘too cold’ has over ‘too hot’ is that it’s a lot easier to do something about it. You simply need to wear appropriate clothing and, no, I don’t mean borrow your grandad’s long-johns and wear four pairs of socks under your wellies. Cold-weather clothing, such as that found at sealskinz.com, is a lot more sophisticated and stylish than it used to be. Sealskinz have a wide range of clothing, from warm winter hats to waterproof socks to keep you snug from head to toe. Joking aside, research shows that taking a brisk walk in the cold winter air is good for you, not only because of the usual benefits of exercise but also because you aren’t shut in with other people’s germs. Prolonged exposure to cold weather without suitable protection can, indeed, make you ill, but with the right clothing, the world is your oyster; it’s just a very cold oyster!

Marathon runners have been using energy drinks for many years now, and the wisdom of using such energy stimulants has been the subject of a debate which we have watched rise and fall over the years. The recent death of a runner in the London Marathon, however, has brought the debate very much to the fore again, and has really put the question of whether or not energy stimulants are safe.

Claire Squires was just 30 years of age when she collapsed and died just a mile from the finish line of last spring’s London Marathon. Subsequent investigation revealed that she had been consuming an energy drink, known as Jack3d, from her water bottle. This drink, which is now banned, contained a stimulant called DMMA, that was advertised as boosting your energy, as well as raising your metabolism and helping you to concentrate. What was not advertised was the fact that DMMA had also been associated with several medical conditions, including hypertension, vomiting, stroke and even death.

Do Not Confuse Energy Drinks With Sports Drinks

Before considering energy stimulants further, it is important to just take a moment to distinguish between energy drinks and sports drinks.

Sports drinks are primarily designed to ensure that your body remains hydrated. They also provide you with sugar, to replace the sugar that your body converts into energy, and electrolytes, to replace potassium and salt lost during exercise.

By contrast, energy drinks are designed to provide you with a stimulant, or range of stimulants, to boost your energy levels very quickly, and to a significant degree. One very commonly used stimulant is caffeine, which appears in a large number of energy drinks, often in very high concentrations. For example, a standard cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine, while an energy drink of the same size will typically contain an average of over 300 milligrams of caffeine. In some cases, caffeine levels for a standard sized energy drink are as high as 500 milligrams. Drinking caffeine is such high quantities is well known to lead to caffeine intoxication.

Do Energy Stimulants Present A Health Risk?

In addition to caffeine, energy drinks typically contain a range of stimulants including such things as green tea, yerba mate, bitter orange, guarana and ginseng. Many of these stimulants are known to cause health problems when taken alone and, in combination, there is good evidence of several serious cardiovascular risks. The real problem here is that we simply do not know enough about these stimulants, when used together, to draw any definitive conclusions. Here though are just three of the more commonly recognized problems:

Drug Interactions

Many of us today routinely take medication for one condition or another, either prescribed by our doctor, or which we have simply purchased over-the-counter from our local chemist. In many cases energy drinks can interfere with the action of even quite common drugs, and serious drug interactions can result.

Antidepressants

Most of us would probably be very surprised by just how many people are taking antidepressants these days, and this often extends to people who are very active, including marathon runners. Many commonly prescribed antidepressants are know to interact with a wide range of other drugs, and serious interactions have also been reported with stimulants in energy drinks.

Blood Pressure

It is argued that more people today suffer from high blood pressure than from any other condition, and many thousands of people routinely take medication to lower their blood pressure. Stimulants within energy drinks, such as yohimbine, can literally counteract the effect of many blood pressure medicines, effectively putting you back in line for a stroke or heart attack.

Should The Law Not Protect Us from Such Dangerous Stimulants?

Perhaps not surprisingly the world’s most litigious country, the United States, has attempted to tackle this problem through the courts and, in 2008, three American states (Kentucky, Maine and Michigan) tried to introduce legislation to stop the sale of highly caffeinated drinks to minors. Although the manufacturers claim that their drinks are aimed at adults, and specifically young adults between the ages of 18 and 30, it is well known that energy drinks are also extremely popular with young teenagers. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the states failed to win their case and the drink’s manufacturers lived to fight another day.

The fight will however go on, as evidenced by people like Roland Griffiths, from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who continues to pressure America’s Food and Drug Administration to examine the question of legislation to restrict the sale of energy drinks.

As a race we have become obsessed with performance, and fortunes today are won and lost trying to improve performance in every sphere of or lives, including sport. Energy drinks are just one example of a multimillion pound industry that is profiting from our desire to run faster, but is the price we are being asked to pay too high? We must each answer this question for ourselves, but there is probably not much doubt about what Claire Squires’ family and friends would say.

In colder weather our older people suffer more from the cold. Heating bills are continually on the rise and pensioners who are already working within a tight budget are often reluctant to turn the heating up. There are some ways to keep a house toasty warm without breaking the bank.

<h2>Keep it Out</h2>

Keep the cold from penetrating into the house by making sure that windows and doors are shut tightly and firmly latched. Any gaps in the door or window seals can be fairly easily fixed, either with a new replacement seal or by stuffing the cracks with fabric scraps, newspaper or even tape. When it is particularly cold outside draw the curtains tightly to trap the layer of cold that always seems to permeate the glass. Closing all the interior doors is another way to keep as much heat as possible inside, where it will do some good.

<h2>Heat up Your Insides</h2>

Be sure to eat hot meals and sip on hot beverages or soups and broths. Putting heat inside the body is an excellent way to keep warm; and it’s tasty too! Ageuk.org.uk suggests that baking or cooking is a good way to inject some heat into the house, as the hot air from the oven makes its way through the house, along with lovely tempting smells.

<h2>Wrap and Wrap and Wrap</h2>

Do not wear just the one thick layer. Apart from simply padding you out, this is not an efficient method of retaining body heat. Rather, wear several thinner layers of clothing that will trap more heat in between the layers as well as against the skin. Wearing many layers also makes it possible to be more comfortable as any fluctuations in temperature or activity can easily be adapted to according to wikihow.com.

<h2>Something Underfoot? </h2>

Put down carpets or rugs, especially on top of stone or concrete floors. Wooden floors do hold heat better, but can still feel very cold in winter and can greatly add to discomfort. A rug just under the feet can work wonders as far as heat retention goes.

<h2>Light a Candle</h2>

Candles are very small fires, literally just one flame, but they can generate a useful amount of heat, enough to make the difference between a deep chill and simply being a bit chilly. Candles, or candle heaters, are also useful in drying any dampness out of the air; this alone can make the difference to the feel of the room. Another benefit is purely psychological – the light and heat generated by even such a small fire makes us feel safe and more cheerful! Frugaliving.about.com advises purchasing decorative or scented candles when they are on special to enjoy the beauty and fragrance, while benefitting from the warmth.

<h2>Keep It Up, Two Three Four! </h2>

Exercise literally warms the body – top racehorses never suffer from frozen water in their troughs, even in the dead of winter because of the immense amount of heat the animals generate! The same principle applies to the human body and performing moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes per day will boost the metabolism, burning more calories and keeping the body warm. There are a wide range of exercises available, some aimed at the very fit, and others designed towards those with limited mobility, fitness and agility. An excellent side effect of exercising, apart from being physically fitter is the boost to the immune system and general health. Exercise also acts as a mood enhancer, banishing depression and gloominess and leaving a happier, more optimistic frame of mind.

<h2>Snuggle! </h2>

Body heated shared is body heat doubled, so indulge yourself with a quick cuddle, either with a partner or furry pet. If you have no-one handy, invest in a hot-water bottle, heating pad or electric blanket and enjoy snuggling on the sofa for a while!

Sadly, many older people pass away from allowing themselves to become too cold. Many do not realise how cold they are getting and hypothermia strikes insidiously. If you ever become so cold that you stop shivering, please do take that as a very serious warning sign – shivering is your body’s way of trying to warm up and when it stops it essentially means that the body has given up the task, and that the situation is nearly at the point of no return. Following the above tips should go a long way to alleviating the discomfort that cold weather brings with it, and if they do not, then maybe it is time to turn the heating on, even if only for a short while!