Health: the colour of a rainbow!

Today, whilst reading an article from Medscape on diet and brain function, I came across the phrase "eating the rainbow". I hadn't heard this before, and further googling led me to a whole raft of sites, but this one stood out, and I shall certainly flag it up to my kids later.
http://www.todayiatearainbow.com/about/benefits-of-eating-a-rainbow/
I tend to naturally eat a rainbow, and the salad box from The Better Food Company on Whiteladies where I usually get my lunch, is always an incredible palette of colour. Eating healthily need never, nor should, be dull!

The latest thinking on Vitamin D.

It is Britain, it is August, it is grey! We are not exposed to sufficient amounts of sunshine to get the levels of Vitamin D we require to build and maintain healthy bones & teeth, and keep other diseases at bay. Do read this article from The Guardian, to access current thinking....
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/02/britain-not-sunny-enough-healthy-vitamin-d-levels-supplements

Give us a smile!

When I was young, our family dentist was an ex-army practioner we called Butcher Brown; he scared the living daylights out of all of us and my brother avoided going to one for decades afterwards, he was so traumatised. The modern dentist is a pleasure in comparison; courteous, kind and informative, I hug mine and go out of my way to hand-deliver his christmas card! These days there is nothing to fear, and this article from The Guardian shows there is every reason to give your oral hygiene the attention it deseves, and not just for keeping your whites pearly.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/19/why-neglecting-teeth-seriously-bad-health

More Healthy Gut stuff by Barbara.

Recent News or Old Hat. Must we squat to poop?

Prompted by the high recommendation from a patient I recently purchased a ‘squatty potty’ – no it’s not really a potty it’s actually a footstool to adjust your posture while you poop.  In fact the idea is to put you into the more natural position of squatting for healthy bowel elimination.

So I thought I’d try it and review it and I must say it’s absolutely brilliant.

Years ago I wanted to build a squatting toilet in the garden (long story) but my friends were against it and we went for the more conventional seat.  But with a footrest you can use a conventional modern toilet and just raise your knees and lean forward and you’re in a squatting position.  After extolling the virtues of my new piece of bathroom furniture I then found out that many of my friends already use either a homemade footrest or a manufactured for purpose prop.  AND they all swear by it.

So why is it so great?  Well it’s a posture thing.  By squatting we take the kink out of our colon by relaxing a muscle called puborectalis so poo doesn’t have to be pushed and squeezed around a corner - making it all so much easier to go.

You might have noticed in the press back in May that squatting is the new sitting as far as toilet behaviour goes.  Although squatting is as old as humanity this press coverage was all due to the recent success of a book by German Scientist Giulia Enders called Darm mit Charm in German or simply Gut in the recently published English translation.  It’s a great book, easy to read, entertaining and full of fun drawings by her sister who is a science illustrator.  I would recommend this book if you want an introduction into how the gut works, how a healthy gut is so important to our immune system and mental health and the latest research into the interactions of gut bacteria with our whole well being.  As a research scientist Enders has oodles of references in the back of the book but she also has a great skill in writing for a general readership.  She is an endearing speaker and her award winning ‘science slam’ based on her research went viral on YouTube in 2012 and is well worth looking up:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFsTSS7aZ5o

So if you’re interested in reducing the time you spend on the toilet, reducing your likelihood of getting haemmorhoids and anal fissures, reducing constipation and being kinder to your pelvic floor then look into a footrest to put you into a squatting position on the toilet.  There are many on the market - squatty potty seems to be the easiest to buy online in the uk but have a look. 

Barbara Moulang

"Bless You!"

The pollen is thick out there right now, and many of you are suffering. Hay Fever can be a blight for so many over the summer. Our allergy specialist, Gosia Gray, has provided some homeopathic suggestions to help ease you through the season of sneezes, itches, and general misery. May you breathe easy, your eyes be bright, and your tissues forgotten!

Allium Cepa - for symptoms of burning eyes, light sensitivity, watery discharges from eyes and nose, with a tickling sensation at the back of your throat.

Euprasia – burning sensation, swollen eye lids and watery discharges from the nose, with possibilities of a mild wet cough.

Sabadilla - eye lids red and watery eyes, with sneezing runny nose and a sore throat.

Arsenicum Album – burning and watery sensations in your eyes with sneezing, sore red nostrils, burning throat and dry cough.

Gelsemium – swollen heavy eyelids, sneezing sore throat and aching muscles.

 DOSE 30c one three times a day for 3 days and repeat as necessary if symptoms persist. 

Namaste!

As well as being the summer solstice, yesterday was also the International Day of Yoga.

http://idayofyoga.org/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=4

If you have never tried yoga before, or if you would like the opportunity to enrich your own personal practise, Mala runs individually tailored one-to-one classes on a Saturday morning at The Chandos Clinic.  http://www.chandosclinic.co.uk/treatments/yoga.html

Kids: takes risks now and be safer later!

A place which has holidayed 4 generations of my extended family for nearly 60 years, has recently fenced off an area of river-bank which had been open for as long as we've been going there.They have previously curtailed any intrepid exploring by creating wide wood-chipped pathways,(thereby removing the nessesity of bush-whacking nettles for hours); taken down rope swings and on-going, removed the lower branches on trees to deter children from climbing up them. When I took umbridge with the new fence, their reply was of course "Health & Safety". I asked them if they were planning to fence off the sea!

There are few places left where kids can run truly wild, take risks and get a handle on what is really dangerous and what may just culminate in a need for TCP, a compress of frozen peas, or a trip to the local A&E.

With this in mind, here's an article from this weekend's Observer, re-affirming that children who are allowed to take risks, learn an essential life skill in how to be safe.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/14/should-i-let-my-child-take-more-risks

An organisation who promote and uphold this value are "Playing Out" and they have a vibrant branch in Bristol. If you're keen to get your kids playing as kids should, take a look: http://playingout.net/