What sort of tired are you?

Diet and lifestyle play a hugely important part in enhancing or depleting energy levels, but what sort of tired are you? Understanding the weak points in your physical and mental energy is an important first step in identifying the diet and lifestyle strategies that might work best for you. There are any number of reasons why you might be feeling tired all the time, but here are some of the common factors. 1. Energy highs and lows If you tend to rely on caffeine or sugar for a quick burst of energy…

Why is sepsis so hard to spot?

Imagine a condition that causes between 20 and 30 million deaths worldwide each year. A disease that affects over 100,000 people annually in the UK, of which 37,000 will die. That’s more than breast and bowel cancer put together. However, many people have not heard of it, and even fewer understand what it is. The condition is called sepsis and it’s the reason many adults, children and families, including the family of William Mead, are grieving for their loved ones. William was only one year old when sepsis claimed his…

Are we ignoring the psychological impact of skin conditions?

If you had acne as a teenager, you’ll likely know that skin problems aren’t just a cosmetic issue, they can also massively affect your self-esteem. And chronic dermatological conditions, from psoriasis to eczema can have a huge impact on psychological health. But until recently, this hasn’t been talked about much. The British Association of Dermatologists considers the need for more psychological support for dermatology patients to be pressing. But with many trusts facing significant budget cuts, this is proving a tricky prospect. There’s a lot of stigma around certain skin…

This is why your cycle gets messed up when you travel

If your period has ever come super early or not at all while traveling, you’re not imagining things. Whether you’re crossing several time zones or waking up at the crack of dawn to catch the first flight of the morning, heads up: Any kind of travel can affect the two primary hormones—melatonin and cortisol—that control your cycle. “Even subtle changes to your daily pattern — waking up early one day and then sleeping late the next — can have a small effect on your melatonin levels,” Dr. Anita Mitra, an NHS gynaecologist, told…

7 drinks you need to stop buying now

1. Fruit juice Despite what the packaging may tell you, this does NOT provide an easy and convenient way to get in one or two of your 5-a-day. Most shop-bought fruit juices are pasteurised (essentially boiled), which destroys a lot of the valuable nutrients, whilst concentrating the sugars. The juice is also extracted from the whole fruit, leaving behind the fibrous part of the fruit that helps to slow sugar absorption into the blood. 2. Fizzy drinks This is an obvious one, but did you know that just one can…

Dear senior citizens, bi-weekly exercise can improve thinking ability, memory

Exercising twice a week may improve thinking ability and memory in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), suggests a recent study. Researchers explained that people with MCI have milder symptoms like they struggle to complete complex tasks or have difficulty in understanding information they have read, whereas people with dementia have trouble with daily tasks, such as dressing, bathing and eating. Mild cognitive impairment is a medical condition that is common with ageing. While it is linked to problems with thinking ability and memory, it is not the same as…