When it comes to chocolate, we’ve all heard the message that it causes weight gain. Yet there’s also some conflicting information out there about the antioxidants in chocolate being good for you. So what’s true and what’s false? And can you enjoy chocolate guilt free?
Sleep and retirement? What’s the connection? Simply this: research is demonstrating that sleep is a key to both physical and brain health.
Nobel Prize-winning scientist and pioneering researcher into ageing, Elizabeth Blackburn, likes to talk about the healthy part of our life as our ‘health span’ and then as we age we move into the ‘disease span’. The trick is to try to lengthen our health span to keep the disease span as short as possible. This has the advantage that we age more slowly. And there are ways we can do that.
When researchers study the top 10% of happy people, the single most important factor that emerges is that these very happy people have good social relationships.
As dietitians, we love to celebrate successful results with all our patients. Whether you achieve a small goal or a big goal, it’s worth commemorating those moments when the hard work pays off. Jennifer was one of our patients with an impressive story.
What has happened to the good old-fashioned home-cooked meal? Decades ago, dinner time meant a simple home-cooked meal (meat and three veg) on a pre-set dining table surrounded by family. Protein powders, health bars and frozen dinners were unheard of and slogging it out at the gym was still something of the future.
Walking into my local shopping mall a while ago, I was confronted with a sign advertising ‘Happiness, only $99.’ Thinking that was a good deal, I approached the shop assistant to inquire.
While we all look forward to a good break and holiday over Christmas time, it’s very easy to forget our goals of healthy eating and exercise. The focus on relaxation takes over and we become a little more ‘varied’ with our eating choices. So, before you start celebrating the holidays, here are some handy tips to help you come back from vacation looking as smashing as when you left!
A Wellbeing Survey was published that used Martin Seligman’s five pillars underpinning the ‘flourishing life’ to comment on wellbeing. The survey also revealed a number of self-care activities that help in building wellbeing.
The rise of activity trackers has been useful for both fitness and health. They not only help keep track of how many steps you’re doing each day, but they’ve been shown to motivate you to get you out of your seat more often. How many steps a day should you aim for? The commonly cited goal is to achieve 10,000 steps a day.