Dry January

Dry January

Writing this, as I am on New Year’s Eve, it seems a bit strange to be promoting Dry January when tonight will possibly be the biggest drinking night of the entire year!

But the truth is that when all the partying is done and those New Year resolutions are staring us in the face, many of us might be thinking about what we can do to clean up our act a bit for the coming year. 

There is no doubt that alcohol in moderation can be a boost to our health and to our mood and can help us enjoy social occasions by helping us relax.  But when drinking gets out of control we see lives and careers wrecked and a downward spiral that can see people ending up on the street or even dying as a result of their addiction to alcohol.  There have been many very high profile cases of people who could not get on top of their dependence on alcohol despite the fact that they had plenty of money to buy themselves the best treatment and detox available. George Best and more recently Gazza are cases in point but there are many millions more who suffer in silence and whose families suffer in silence as things go from bad to worse to disastrous. 

So now Dry January 2014 is almost here and you can sign up at the website that is featured below.  The organisers are very excited about this year’s campaign and hope you’ll sign up and take on the challenge. Their aim is to start a new conversation about alcohol. Your challenge is to go booze free for 31 days in January 2014. It’s your chance to lose weight, feel better, save money and make a difference. And don’t worry; the Dry January team will be with you every step of the way. With Xmas excess gone, banish the booze this January and make a healthy start to the New Year.

Dry January remind us that by taking on the challenge you’re sure to lose a few pounds while saving a few quid. And with no hangovers you’ll find time and energy you never knew you had, oh and your skin will look better too. And you could go into it with some friends and fund raise together while you give each other support. So go on, think about your drinking and prove to yourself that you can say no to a tipple or two.

The money you donate will help Alcohol Concern make a real difference and help raise awareness of the problem of alcohol misuse.

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge and does not substitute professional medical advice or treatment. So please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on the UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

 UK Heath Radio

http://www.dryjanuary.org.uk/

Beauty, In the Eye of the Beholder?

Beauty, In the Eye of the Beholder?

So there you were, in another life, reclining on a chaise lounge being painted in all your voluptuousness by Botticelli.  Or perhaps you live in the South seas where special teams of adoring tribes people are employed to massage your enormous stomach as more and more food was forced into you to make you the fattest, and in that time and place, the most beautiful, matriarch.

Definitely times change and our idea of what we find attractive changes with them.  Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell would be laughed at or pitied in Botticelli’s time.

In the 19th Century being beautiful meant wearing a corset despite these instruments of torture causing breathing and digestive problems. Nowadays we try to diet and exercise ourselves into the acceptable shape of our time often with even more serious health consequences.

TV and advertising across the board shows  'beautiful people' all the time, and especially as Christmas ramps up the pressure for us to fit into that perfect Christmas outfit. In reality however, the current media ideal of thinness for women could only be achieved by around 5% of the female population!

Apart from this 5% most women are trying to achieve the impossible: standards of female beauty have, in fact, become more and more unrealistic during the 20th century. In 1916, the perfect woman was about 5ft 5in tall and weighed almost 10 stone. Over the past 25 years the gap between top models and beauty queens and us mere mortals has gone from a weight difference of 8% to around a whopping 24%. Some of us will already be thinking about the strict diets we will be going on in the New Year.  But before you start stocking up on cabbage for after Christmas this year, try visiting your doctor first.  He or she will have some very good pointers for you to make sure your efforts in the New Year bring the results you want. 

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Have a great Christmas!

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

Sofrigam and Cold Storage Transportation.

Sofrigam

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the people from Sofrigam who are involved through their group, Coldshop, in the storage and transportation of medicines that have constant temperature requirements.  It made me think how much of what goes into medical treatment and medicines, that we take for granted.  

Specialising in temperature-controlled packaging Coldshop.com are the perfect partner for Sofrigam Group who have been developing and advising on cold chain packaging for the past twenty years. 

The transportation of medicines and other medical items for which a constancy of temperature is essential is a very daunting and challenging task, as is convincing authorities that the items transported have been kept at the optimal temperature for the duration of their voyage.  Any failure in this could lead to the consignment becoming unviable or even dangerous.

The advanced laboratory testing facilities and business know how of Sofrigam have carved them an enviable niche in this market with a well-deserved reputation for undisputed reliability.

The Sofribox is one of the products that is much in demand and that allows the storage of heat sensitive products at their required temperature for however long is required.  The thermal performance of the Sofribox comes with a guarantee that all products will keep their integrity during travel.  With an impressive temperature range of +2/+8 degrees C and at the other end of the scale -18 degrees C it’s one to one hundred litre capacity makes it a very popular choice.   There are options to suit every need with iceboxes, refrigerated pouches and gel packs.

These are just a few of the different transporting and cooling options available through this innovative company and a visit to their website coldshop.com is highly recommended. 

Perhaps next time we reach for one of those medicines that have to be kept refrigerated we might think about the bigger picture and the people who make the safe transport of the medicines and medical items, that improve countless number of lives, possible.  There will be a factory visit in the New Year and I will report back to you then on the way that the whole process is engineered, in more detail.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

HIV/AIDS Awareness

HIV/AIDS Awareness

On the first day of this month it was World AIDS awareness day.  This is the day that promotes talking about HIV and the day that aims to get information about the disease out there.  When HIV first hit us there was talk of little else but due to the work that has gone on to help arrest the progress of the disease now it is not exposed to as much discussion.  By keeping the conversation going about HIV it is hoped to eradicate some of the secrecy that still surrounds it. Greater understanding about HIV and AIDS means less prejudice and better prevention.

HIV is a disease that attacks the body's immune system and affects the body’s ability to fight infection and disease.   AIDS develops when the immune system can no longer fight infections that it would normally be able to combat.

There are several misconceptions that tend to surround HIV. For example that only gay men contract the disease.  While more than 34,000 gay men do live with HIV in Britain, many sufferers are heterosexuals and one third of those are women.

What about the myth that there are no symptoms of the disease?  This is true for some people.  But others may develop symptoms that include a rash, fever or a very sore throat.

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease but can also be passed on through the sharing of equipment used for injecting drugs.  While there is no cure for the disease, treatments can help sufferers live active lifestyles, albeit with side effects.

World AIDS Day promotes safe sexual practices and discourages the sharing of injecting equipment for drugs. While spreading information about HIV and AIDS, is aimed at reducing the stigma for those who are living with HIV.

You can wear a red ribbon to symbolise support for the pro-active attempts to tackle the spread of this disease and to contribute to reducing discrimination.

If you do one thing in recognition of World AIDS Awareness then you can learn the facts about HIV and AIDS and also help educate friends and family to ditch the myths.   With 80,000 people in the UK living with HIV every day, and discrimination the biggest problem among non-sufferers, it is more vital than ever to raise awareness.

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge.  It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

 learn the HIV/AIDS facts

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

It's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month once more this December. Every year about 1500-1700 children are diagnosed with cancer and fifty per cent are under the age of five.

There can be nothing more devastating than being told that your child has cancer.  It is a word that strikes fear into most of us and even more so when it is our children that are affected.  The thought of them suffering and going through treatment that we know will make them feel very poorly is undoubtedly very scary.  That's why it's so important so draw attention to the reality of the statistics and what people can do to help.   If enough people fundraise then the better the chance is of raising money that will go towards funding for research.  Who knows?   Maybe one day some of that money you've donated will go towards a discovery that will really help young children recover from cancer.

The most common childhood cancers include lymphomas, leukaemia and brain cancer.   To find out more about the different conditions, visit the website for more information.  We should not forget that many parents have to be amazingly strong and it's difficult to keep a stiff upper lip when your child is suffering.  There is help to guide parents so that they do not dwell on the fact their child has a cruel condition, but instead focus on allowing their child to have as normal and happy a life as possible. 

One young man who recently succumbed to cancer really was a person who lived his life to the full!  When he wasn't studying hard at his education he was putting his all into acting or drawing!  Young people like that are a real example of how courageous children can be.   Follow the link to see what you can do to help children with cancer and organise your own event this Christmas time.   It is a time that means a lot to children so what better month of the year to remember those children who face the threat of cancer.

You could volunteer your services and take part in the Big Bucket Collection to help raise £100,000 for children and young people with cancer and their families to cope and to come through the other side -  and most of all to know that they are not alone.

Please note that all information and content on UK Health Radio and this blog are provided by the authors, producers and companies themselves and are only intended as additional information to your general knowledge and not as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. So please do not delay or disregard any medical advice received due to information gathered on UK Health Radio.

UK Health Radio – the health radio station for the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond at www.ukhealthradio.com – is kindly sponsored by www.1-stop-health-shop.com

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio

 Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.