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How Fish Is Cooked Affects Omega 3 Levels

We know all about the heart benefits of eating fish high in Omega 3, but did you know that how you cook it can seriously affect the levels? Research carried out by the University of Hawaii and was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions on November 20 and found that if you want to get the maximum benefit your fish needs to baked or boiled, rather than fried, salted or dried.

You can also enhance the benefits by adding low-sodium soy sauce or tofu when cooking it. Frying does not generally get many health points and fish is no exception – despite the wonderful crisp batter from my local fish and chip shop – and in fact has several associated health risks.

The researchers studied the intake of various forms of omega 3 including tinned fish, soy products like tofu and shoyu and studied the results.

The Gender Difference

Men with a high Omega-3 intake from fish had a lower risk of death due to heart disease, but women got the same heart protection from both fish and plant sources. The researchers theorised that, for women, eating omega-3s from shoyu and tofu that contain other active ingredients such as phytoestrogens, might have a stronger cardioprotective effect than eating just omega-3s from fish alone. Also, that eating salted and dried fish was a risk factor in women, but not in men.

Before you start shaking that soy sauce bottle, please note that the benefits apply only when using a low salt version as the standard one is very high in salt which can raise blood pressure. You might do better to make tofu a regular part of your diet as that also seemed that eating it also had a cardio-protective effect. Personally I think it’s like eating your school eraser but without the added taste benefit of ink, so soak it in low salt shoyu before using it, or try smoked tofu instead as that has more flavour.

So, banish that frying pan and steam/bake your fish instead for a healthier option. Interestingly they didn’t study microwave cooking, and as this is a very fast way of cooking that essentially steams the food it would have been useful to see if that was also a good method for preserving the Omega 3.

How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Everyone occasionally has trouble sleeping, but if it becomes a habit then it a very damaging one for your health. You need a certain level of deep, uninterrupted sleep to help your body do its essential maintenance during the night and if you don’t get it then you definitely will suffer – ask any new mother!

New research has shown that an amazing 64% of us have a bad night’s sleep at least once a wee

k, with nearly one in five of us having sleep problems every night of the week and one in three of us is getting a minimal three to six hours a night. The main reason for sleep difficulties is usually down anxiety and stress and sadly most people put up with it, just lying there hoping to eventually fall asleep.

There are some six simple tips that can help, so let’s see if any of these work for you:

1 Pretend you are a child again and have a regular, enforced, bedtime.

2 Establish another routine in helping you unwind and relax before bed – not watching an adrenalin fuelled movie on tv, but maybe a relaxing bath or quietly meditating to or thinking of what you have to be grateful for that day. It will all help you let go of the stress of the day and be able to relax into sleep.

3 Keep the last hour of the day totally non tech and don’t watch TV, use the computer, mobile phone or iPod. However pleasurable, these will all over stimulate your brain and that’s the last thing you need when you are trying to get to sleep.

4 Make your bedroom a relaxing place that is just where you sleep and not where you keep books or TV or computers.

5 If your worries are keeping you awake, try writing them down before you go to sleep and tell yourself they are taken care of until the morning. Just doing this will help you put anxiety to one side during the night.

6 Spend some time and thought in making your bedroom a really calm, comforting sanctuary. It is your retreat from the world so make it a real pleasure to be in there.

Extra Help

If you still have trouble, before you resort to sleeping pills, do try these natural ways to encourage a good night’s sleep. I use them to combat the effects of the wind and rain which are making me anxious at the moment!

Lavender is very soothing so try having a lavender oil bath, or spray lavender in your bedroom to help you unwind.

Valerian and Hops are two herbs traditionally used to help sleep and there are two herbal remedies from Lane’s you might try. One is called Quiet Life which is particularly helpful if your sleeplessness is due to anxiety and worry and another called Kalms, especially for night time use.

Honey is used in India, just add two teaspoons to a cup of hot water and drink before bedtime.

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that helps regulate the body’s biological clock. When your sleep pattern is disturbed then this rhythm is thrown off and supplementing with melatonin may help.

LightSleeper is a new product from a student who used to have terrible sleep problems. It uses the fact that the way the eyes track a book when reading can be soothing and she has mimicked that movement by using a light source instead. LightSleeper projects a light onto the ceiling and it moves in a controlled, circular motion, and it is claimed that following it encourages the mind to relax into a good night’s sleep. I am trying it myself so I will let you know how I get on, but if you want more information go to the website at www.lightsleeper.co.uk and you can also find it online at www.boots.com

Natural Help For Dandruff

Dandruff has had a bad reputation as people have mistakenly linked it to poor or inadequate hair washing, which is far from the case. It is caused by eczema or seborrhea, and also affected by climate and genetic factors.

Many dandruff shampoos are a cocktail of chemicals, so for a more natural approach: you could try using a shampoo that is gentle and preferably organic with ingredients like Rosemary and Tea Tree oil. Just Google Natural Dandruff Shampoo and you will get plenty of ideas.  Wash daily, or every other day until the dandruff is gone and then wash only about twice a week.

Your scalp needs moisture, so add some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) to your diet in the form of Evening Primrose Oil and omega-3 fatty acids from ground flaxseed or fish oils to prevent flaking.

Pomegranate Power

If these fruits are not on your shopping list, add them now if you want to treat chronic inflammation, and the diseases that go along with it.

Previous research has already suggested that pomegranates may help prevent or reduce the risk of a number of inflammation-linked diseases, including breast and prostate cancer. It also has a role in preventing heart disease by increasing the amount of oxygen it receives and the way it prevents LDL (“bad”) cholesterol from oxidizing. Some evidence is also linking it improvements in the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, if the juice is taken over a long period of time.

Short-term inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic inflammation has been linked to a number of diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, dementia and autoimmune disorders. Scientists are increasingly coming to believe that pomegranate helps combat inflammation, in part due to its exceptionally high content of antioxidants.

Pomegranate extract was first shown to combat inflammation as long ago as a 2005 study which showed that when injected into human cells, pomegranate extract lowered inflammation and levels of enzymes that can cause cartilage to break down, as in arthritis.

More research followed which confirmed this and the latest is from the University of South Carolina and is the first to study its effects in human cells. Pomegranates are something I always associate with winter, and that cheery red and yellow skin is hiding a powerhouse of benefits so make sure you eat the fruit – one by one with a hatpin as was traditional in my house – or save yourself time and effort and buy the juice!

Tight turbans Can Cause Premature Baldness

According to Sikh religious laws, the turban is required to cover a man’s long, uncut hair, which is wound into a knot, along with a turban, on top of the head. Ironically, the long hair required by Sikhs to create the ‘rishi’ knot is being put at risk by the practice itself, as the knot pulls on the hair, resulting in hair loss.

Male Sikhs start to wear their hair wound into a knot from as young as 5-years-old, which then continues when they begin to wear a turban. Permanent removal of the turban is then forbidden. Accordingly, most Sikhs wear this style for 24 hours a day, leading to noticeable premature hair loss – particularly in the frontal scalp area. The turban is steeped in 400 years of history, meaning that the majority of the 10 million male Sikhs worldwide aren’t aware of the problems that can arise from wearing one.

They need to loosen the turban as apparently more Sikh men, as young as 20, are seeking hair transplant treatment for this type of traction alopecia and it can also be caused by hair braiding, hair extensions, tight ponytails and wearing tight fitting hats.

Yoga Show Highlights

I went to the annual Yoga Show at Earls Court last week and apart from feeling that too long has passed since I could ‘salute the sun’ there were some interesting things on display that might be of interest to those you who already do, or are about to take up, this very healthful practice.

The first thing to note is that there so many varieties of yoga on offer that you really need to spend some time researching the possibilities. If you want to sweat your way to fitness then Bikram or Hot Yoga is for you, and you might be interested in some yoga mats on the market that have a towelling cover so you don’t slide off in a mist of your own perspiration. I always thought yoga mats came in plastic and rubber, but there are also jute and bamboo for the adventurous.

Yoga for health problems

Many people do turn to yoga to help with things like having greater flexibility of stretching tight muscles, but an organisation of yoga teachers has taken it one step further. Yoga therapy for health practitioners have two years of specialist training in anatomy, physiology and pathology so they can tailor a practice to your specific health problem. They work with people who suffer from back pain, weight issues, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, asthma, chronic fatigue, diabetes, anxiety and depression.

They specialise in lower back pain and have developed a system for computer assisted low back assessment (CALBA) which allows them to see if your back pain involves a herniated disk. If it does then they can offer advice on therapeutic exercises tailored to the stage of progression of the disk.

Yoga information at www.yogatherapy.org and CALBA at www.calba.net

Yoga for the Mind

If you live in, or have access to, London then this form of yoga is aimed specifically at emotional healing for depression, anxiety and stress. They unite yoga therapy, mindfulness and psychotherapeutic holding with the latest research in neuroscience and the psychobiology of stress. It is a long way from the lotus pose and saying OM, but these courses could be a different way of tackling a long standing problem. Further details at www.yogaforthemind.info

Yoga For Children With Special Needs

Again, this one is London based and works with children, their parents and carers offering yoga, support groups and massage.

It was started in Brazil in the 1970’s and been running in the USA since the 19990’s. It is a charity and came to the UK in 2001 to offer one to one yoga, group classes and in schools together with training for special needs teachers, occupational therapists and parent and family members. They support children with a wide range of conditions including cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, Willi Praeder, autism, epilepsy, ADD as well as other physical and developmental difficulties.

Their website is at www.specialyoga.org.uk

QiYoga for Seniors

If you are looking for something that combines Hatha yoga and Qi Gong then QiYoga might be for you. Available as a DVD to work with at home, this method was developed in Australia and has three different routines to help you gain strength and flexibility, improve your circulation and relax you. More information at the website www.QiYoga.org.uk

Music for Meditation

Finally, if all that yoga has worn you out, the traditional ened to a session is a short relaxation or meditation. Music can be helpful to set this mood and the master of this is Tim Wheater who has been providing mellow sounds for many years. If you are new to his music you can listen to a sample on his website, and at the show his personal recommendation for my readers was his In Unity album. www.timwheater.com

Attention Cruise Ship Travellers

I travel a fair bit on cruise ships as a speaker, and I know a number of my readers enjoy this form of holiday – after all many of us met when you came to one of my talks onboard! The fear of any traveller is being ill while away and the Norovirus has been a real challenge over the past couple of years with many ships, and passengers succumbing to outbreaks.
Now a new report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases last week on a combined research project from Boston University School of Medicine, Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts University School of Medicine, has worrying news for us.
They have found that widespread poor compliance with regular cleaning of public bathrooms on cruise ships may predict subsequent norovirus infection outbreaks. This is the first study of environmental hygiene on cruise ships where outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis often occur because of the close proximity of such a large group of people. Recent studies into outbreaks of gastroenteritis have confirmed that 95 percent of cruise ship outbreaks are caused by norovirus. It should be said that all this research was done on 66 ships monitored by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so is US based, but I think we can learn a lesson from it .

The problem seems to be mainly around how thoroughly everything in a public bathroom is cleaned and disinfected as only 37 percent of the 273 randomly selected onboard bathrooms were thoroughly cleaned daily.
The most neglected area for cleaning was any handles on stall doors, or entrance and the researchers found that the stand of cleaning did not vary by cruise line and did not meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores.
Washing your hands is of course essential, but this is no help if the bathroom doors are not clean. The solution as ever is preventive action so carry antibacterial gel and handwipes and do not touch the doors with your bare hands – use a barrier such as a handwipe of tissue to cut down the possibility of infection.
It’s not generally realised that one of the biggest sources of infection in public areas are the handrails – whether on a ship, or anywhere else. Avoid using them if you can, and if you have to put your bare hand on them then always use an antibacterial wipe of gel before touching food or drink, or your own face.
The good news is that although the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning was 30 percent on more than half of the ships, near-perfect cleaning was documented on several vessels, so it can be done and is being done on ships that maintain high standards of cleaning and monitoring.

Relaxation in a bar

No, not AT the bar – that was just your wishful thinking.  We are well used to the idea of meal replacement bars, healthy and unhealthy alike, but there is now a new take on the idea.

WILDBAR, apart from its odd name for something meant to relax you, has a unique ingredient in the blue-green algae called Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) which is phenylethylamine.  Rather than scraping down the side of the fish tank, this is in a palatable form combined with raw cacao, also high in phenylethylamine.

The benefit of this is that it is a neuro-amine we produce naturally in the nervous system when we are calm, happy and focused. It has been proven to dramatically improve mood, concentration, mental energy and libido and all without leaving the comfort of your kitchen cupboard!

WILDBAR combines Cacao and AFA with Macadamia Nuts, Agave Nectar, Hemp and Poppy Seeds, Mesquite (a sweet nutty tasting flour) and Himalayan Crystal Salt.  Exotic enough for to relax you just reading the ingredients ,and if you can’t find them in your local health store then go to http://www.simplyvital.com/

Oh really – retirement and sleep

You have got to admire those researchers, they keep coming up with ‘new’ ideas.  Apparently a new study in the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances, particularly in men, management-level workers, employees who reported high psychological job demands, and people who occasionally or consistently worked night shifts.
No, really?  Guess why? Because the researchers have concluded that once you have no work-related stress it means you are likely to sleep better.  Who would have thought it?

Results showed that the odds of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower than in the seven years before retiring and the greatest reduction in sleep disturbances was reported by those who had suffered depression or mental fatigue in their work life.
The study involved employees from the French national gas and electricity company, Electricité de France-Gaz de France, and research also indicated that the results were perhaps related to the fact that the participants had enjoyed employment benefits such as guaranteed job stability, a statutory retirement age between 55 and 60 years, and a company-paid pension that was 80 percent of their salary.
Not any more, I suspect and it doesn’t tally with my purely anecdotal research which indicates the opposite. Retirement with its sharp decline in income and adjustment to a different way of life can bring its own stresses.  Those working in a busy environment suddenly find life a little flat, with no one to exchange views with, discuss last night’s match or have their brains stretched solving a problem.
When I was working in my local library I found that the greatest number of books taken out by the elderly. Now although they are great readers, many also told me that they didn’t sleep as much as they used to so had given up trying and took out more books to see them through the night.

Has retirement affected your sleeping habits?

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