Traditional treatments that really work – olive oil massage for arthritis pain.
A 2012 study compared olive oil massage to the use of Piroxicam gel (an anti-inflammatory painkiller) in 58 people with osteoarthritis of the knee – and found threefold greater reduction in pain in the olive oil group after four weeks.
Olive oil contains anti-inflammatory ingredients that can penetrate the skin. This, plus the action of massage, can help improve circulation and affect the pressure nerves involved with pain.
Spending a few minutes each day practising slow, controlled breathing is a perfect example of something that is simple, quick, and completely life-changing; it can transform your mood and your health, and bring a quiet joy to your day.
That’s because just by changing how quickly and deeply you breathe, you can achieve amazing things: you can slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, reduce stress levels and combat anxiety.
There is also evidence that changing the way you breathe can reduce pain.
Try these breathing techniques:
4:6 breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of six
4–2–4 breathe in for a count of four, hold for two, then breathe out for a count of four
3–4–5 breathe in for a count of three, hold for four, then breathe out for a count of five.
In your 20s… Try HIIT training Short workouts that don’t need equipment or much space are a fun way to get rid of stress and boost energy.
In your 30s and 40s… Build strength Muscle and bone mass decrease from around age 30, so do strengthening exercises such as bodyweight workouts, weightlifting, Pilates and even heavy gardening.
In you 50s… Go walking Keep supporting bone health through a weight-bearing activity, such as brisk walking. It’s also great for weight management and mental wellbeing. This can be especially helpful because women can experience anxiety during the menopause.
In you 60s, 70s and beyond… Boost balance Low-impact seated or standing workouts that focus on balance, core strength and flexibility. The NHS recommends balance-supporting activities, such as tai chi, at least twice a week.
We’re frequently told that exercise is hugely beneficial for both our physical and mental well-being, but it’s important to remember you can have too much of a good thing. While you might logically think that the more exercise you do, the greater the endorphin hit and stress relief benefit – over-exercising can have the opposite effect by triggering your body’s stress response and raising your cortisol levels.
Is exercise effective for stress relief?
Any form of physical activity is a great way to relieve stress. Physical activity not only boosts our body’s ability to use oxygen, but it can also improve blood flow. As you probably already know, exercise releases feel good hormones such as endorphins and serotonin into the brain.
Exercise can also provide you with a distraction, taking your mind off work stresses, daily tasks and other issues you may be experiencing. While it doesn’t directly problem solve, exercise can provide clarity and allow for a more rational mindset.
While some people experience immediate euphoria after exercising, others can feel it over a longer period of time. The benefits of exercises (mental and physical) are built up by sticking to a consistent routine.
Can exercise increase your cortisol levels?
While exercise is a great tool for stress relief, over-exercising can have the opposite effect. The hormone cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone, has been shown to increase if you over exercise and over strain your body. Stress is often linked to a mental process; however, we tend to disregard the effect it can have on our body physically.
Exercising too much, or not performing stretches or cool downs when you do exercise can cause a number of physical strains on our muscles.
But what counts as over-exercising? Performing high intensity exercise for over 60 minutes a day can be shown to affect blood levels and neurotransmitters that can lead to feelings of stress, depression and chronic fatigue So, stick to between around 30 – 60 minutes of exercise 5 times a week to get the benefits you need and allow your body to recover.
Will exercising every day make me more stressed?
It is perfectly fine to exercise for under an hour every day, depending on the workout you choose. Some exercises like HIIT training can be more beneficial in shorter bursts. The healthy stress your body undergoes during HIIT sessions triggers autophagy, which put simply is the process your body goes through to clean out damaged cells and regenerate newer, healthier cells to help the body achieve optimum health, as well as being anti-ageing.
The NHS recommends exercising between 15-30 minutes every day, or 150 minutes per week. It is greatly beneficial to mix up your weekly routine, by switching between high intensity exercises like HIIT that can last 15-30 minutes and low intensity exercises such as long walks and cycling.
What are the best forms of exercise for stress relief?
While all types of exercise help with stress relief, aerobic exercise is considered most beneficial. Exercises such as cycling, walking, jogging, running or swimming have an incredible effect on your body and mind. Doing exercise outside can also help with stress relief. Fresh air does wonders for the mind. Plus, fresh oxygen stimulates the release of happiness hormones and boosts your immune system. A change of scenery also means your workouts never have to be boring or repetitive.
Rise and shine Training under the sun raises your vitamin D levels, giving you more than just a mood boost. It supports the immune system and is essential in the absorption of phosphorus and calcium. It aids bone health, helps weight loss and is a crucial ally in fending off illness.
Sweat it out By making your body work harder to keep cool, outdoor training can boost cardio fitness in as little as five days. There are two theories as to why this happens: that heat improves the bodies ability to deliver oxygen to the tissues that need it; and that it increases bloodflow, causing positive adaptation to our blood vessels.
Brighter minds Get up from your desk and go outside at lunchtime. Breathing in fresh air improves your ability to think clearly, as well as helping to alleviate stress and anxiety. Up the ante with a group or partner workout: exercising with others releases serotonin – AKA the feel-good hormone.
Glow up The combination of oxygen and sunshine acts as a kind of muscle Miracle-Gro. Breathing in fresh, outdoor air increases our blood oxygen levels, accelerating muscle repair. Plus, if your training routine feels stale, taking it outside can help you by firing up your motivation.
Better habits Making gains in the sun could also help those who struggle not to devour double helpings of their post-workout refuel. To regulate temperature, your body cuts back on digestion, reducing your appetite. We are likely to rehydrate more often, too, and choose foods that compliment our training.
The chemical messengers in your blood will help you smash your weight loss goals.
In the weight-loss conversation, almost everyone obsesses over diet and exercise. However, the latest science shows that not only are your hormones a defining factor in how you age, they also play a crucial role in the way you put on (or lose) fat.
Calories, of course, remain king. But armed with this crash course on hormones, you can expect to burn off a princely sum in your pursuit of a lean physique.
Leptin and Ghrelin Blame these two if your gut grumbles an hour after you’ve eaten. Leptin, released by your fact tissues, alters your appetite in the long term by telling your brain when you have stored enough fat. Ghrelin, produced in the gut, signals to your brain that you’re hungry. If either is out of sorts, cravings will strike.
Hack Eating 30g of protein at each meal reduces ghrelin – it‘s why you feel so full after a steak.
Irisin The latest weight-loss hero on the block, this ‘exercise hormone‘ was only discovered in the past decade. Scientists believe that Irisin has the superpower of converting white fat, linked with an unhealthy metabolism, to brown fat, which is linked with effective calorie burn.
Hack To make the most of this hormone, mix up your workouts. If you’re not throwing some high-intensity work into your routine, it’s time you started. It doesn’t even have to be a set plan: just spend 30 seconds with a skipping rope (or performing jumping jacks) between weight sets. Alternatively, introduce a few sprints to your usual run, or between lifting sets.HackHack To make the most of this hormone, mix up your workouts. If you’re not throwing some high-intensity work into your routine, it’s time you started. It doesn’t even have to be a set plan: just spend 30 seconds with a skipping rope (or performing jumping jacks) between weight sets. Alternatively, introduce a few sprints to your usual run, or between lifting sets.
Insulin This hormone keeps your blood sugar in check and helps your body to store fat and build muscle. Weight gain can lead to insulin resistance, which means your cells don’t respond well to it. As a result, your pancreas compensates by producing more. Over time, the combination of high insulin levels and insulin resistance can make it harder to lose weight.
Hack Instead of ‘low-carb‘, go for ‘slow carb‘. Your digestive system requires more time to process nutrient-dense carbohydrates. These foods slow down digestion and help you stabilise blood sugar and insulin levels. It’s the right season for it right now: parsnips, swede and celeriac are all at their peak.
Cortisol Exposure to high amounts of stress produces the hormone cortisol, which can cause muscle breakdown and a redistribution of fat to your gut. High levels at night are one of the biggest causes of weight gain, especially belly fat.
Hack Install a phone bowl in your bedroom – and keep it far away from your bed. That means no mindless scrolling in bed, and therefore no more sleep lost to the smartphone abyss. Another perk: a solid night of sleep is a natural stress-reliever.
HGH and IGF-1 Your pituitary gland produces HGH, which stimulates the production and secretion of IGF-1 by the liver. Both are growth hormones that break down fat and use the energy to strengthen your muscles.
Hack Set a snack curfew. Don’t eat anything for two hours before you go to bed. Food will reduce the natural surge in growth hormones during the early hours of the night (and no, staying up later will not reduce this effect). As an incentive, know that losing 5kg can raise your IGF-1 level.
There are three types of Diabetes: Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease where the pancreas produces very little insulin or no insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is, largely a lifestyle disease, found mainly in adults as they get older. Gestation diabetes is developed by pregnant women and it usually goes away after birth.
This suggests that type 2 diabetes can be both prevented and reversed. So what are the steps that can make sure we never suffer from it, or if we do, we manage to get out of its grip? In truth they are basic, but that’s what also makes them difficult, and they are just three:
Exercise
Diet
Nutrition
While this is the usual formula of “exercise more and eat less” the reality is a lot more involved and a number of very recent studies have given us a lot of what we need to successfully unpack it. Diabetes type 2 can be controlled with drugs but these sometimes have unpleasant side-effects and the quality of life of the sufferer drops, anyway so it is worth exploring the alternatives.
Exercise for diabetics
A 15-year long study that looked at two control groups, one using diet and exercise and the other medication found that the diet and exercise group fared by far the best, reducing the incidence of diabetes by almost a third, as opposed to just 18% in the group using medication.
Beginners could start with brisk walks and vigorous swimming and then, as their physical conditioning improves, move on to slightly more demanding aerobic activity.
Resistance exercise should be undertaken at least twice weekly on non-consecutive days involving either moderate or vigorous workouts.
The study however found that combined aerobic and resistance training three times a week in individuals with type 2 diabetes may be of greater benefit to blood glucose control than either aerobic or resistance exercise alone.
Diet for Diabetics
Diet can no more be divorced from effective diabetes type 2 prevention than it can from any other aspect of fitness and exercise. But that doesn’t mean restrictions. As a matter of fact restrictions, quite naturally, lead to over-indulging in other foods and also breaking the restrictions from time to time which means that overall health and weight goals are compromised.
Studies have shown that high-fat diets affect insulin production in the body and increase the likelihood of type 2 diabetes. So a reduction in fat intake is the first step. In addition to this, the latest studies have indicated that when diabetics eat vegetables and protein first and carbohydrates afterwards in their meal, glucose levels in the blood drop.
While more work needs to be done in this area, the suggestion is that the way foods are combined and the order in which they are consumed affects the chemical processes of the body in ways that can help those with diabetes type 2.
When it comes to protein a recent study found that people who ate diets high in red meat, especially processed red meat, had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate red or processed meat, so protein quality does matter.
As a matter of fact in what is definitely good news for those who suffer from diabetes and exercise, researchers discovered that whey protein, which is used by athletes and weightlifters to improve fitness, stimulates the production of a gut hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which boosts insulin.
From a dietary point of view then diabetes sufferers should:
Reduce fat in their diets
Generally have diets that in the long term are low in fat and carbs
Eat vegetables and protein first in their meals and carbohydrates last
Make sure there is high quality protein in their diet and use whey as a means of boosting their protein intake
For diabetes type 2, in particular, there is the suggestion that a diet that is high in protein can reverse the disease and when combined with exercise it can potentially cure it.
Nutrition for Diabetics
One of the problems with diabetes of all types is the fact that it damages nerve endings leading to reduced feedback, slowed responses and an impaired control over our body. The medical term for this is peripheral neuropathy and it can seriously affect the quality of life of diabetes sufferers.
There is good news here too with studies showing that nerve damage can be reversed provided nutrition is improved to include: Alpha lipoic acid (which protects nerve cells from further damage and assists in the repair of damaged nerve cells), L-arginine, (to improve blood flow), Omega-3s and omega-6s (which also aid in nerve repair) and B vitamins (there is some evidence that taking a balanced B complex, helps with peripheral neuropathy).
Having some extra virgin olive oil in the diet can help reverse a lot of the nerve damage and may also help combat type 2 diabetes directly.
Summing up
Type 2 diabetes does not have to be a permanent condition but we do need to take active control of our lifestyle by making the right choices in terms of staying fit, losing some weight and eating foods that help our body stay healthier. The quality of protein we consume is also important particularly when it comes to preventing type 2 diabetes or reducing its impact, when it is already present.
The body is a complex chemical factory. When things go awry we can still work to improve its chances of rebalancing and recovering through our own actions.
Why are nitrates in beetroot good for you, but those in bacon bad?
Nitrates are processed by the body in different ways, depending on their source. All nitrates we consume are converted to nitrates in the stomach, where they can be made into two other components.
The nitrates derived from vegetables such as beetroot, spinach and rocket tend to become nitric oxide, which protects cells, regulates heart rhythm and widens blood vessels.
The nitrates derived from processed meats are much more likely to convert into cancer-promoting nitrosamines before or after consumption. Nitrosamines form due to reactions with proteins and iron also found in the meat.
Drinking a small glass of orange juice with your occasional bacon sarnie can help, as vitamin C reduces the formation of nitrosamines.
New
evidence suggests that magnesium can help your body to regulate vitamin D
levels. Previous studies have shown vitamin D tends to be low when the
body’s magnesium supplies are depleted.
Latest research
found that the presence of magnesium in the body regulates higher levels of
vitamin D (a moderate vitamin D level has been linked to the lower risk of
cardiovascular disease).
It is
recommended getting magnesium from food sources rather than supplements – try
dark leafy greens, whole grains, dark chocolate, nuts, bananas and avocado.
We’re
living in a society where our to-do lists are never ending, and we’re expected
to do it all: work, raise children, keep up with social engagements, go to the
gym, cook meals, clean the house – the list is endless. We often get so
caught up in our commitments that we lose touch with how our bodies feel and
what they’re telling us.
We need to
let go of what our minds tell us we ‘should do’ and start listening to what our
bodies tell us we need. Here are just a few ways you can aim to reconnect with
your body’s natural cues:
Give yourself a break from exercise if you’re feeling fatigued We all know those days when we feel truly exhausted after a hectic week, a sleepless night, a stressful event, and going to the gym is the last thing we feel like. Instead of forcing a terrible workout, it might be a good idea to take a break and spend that extra hour relaxing or catching up on sleep.
It’s not
about avoiding exercise whenever you ‘don’t feel like it’- regular exercise is
important and can be a great stress reliever. However, on those days when
you’ve already over-worked yourself and are feeling truly sore or tired, it’s
important to take a day off to rest if your body tells you to. If you still want
to be active in some way, you could always go for a walk in the fresh air, or
do some slower-paced yoga.
Respect your injuries One of the worst things you can do when you’re experiencing an injury is to ignore it and keep going at full pace. Exercising with an injury can cause serious damage and will only worsen the injury, which means more recovery time and potentially putting your health at risk.
If you’re experiencing a serious injury, be sure to visit your doctor who will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed. Most minor injuries take a few weeks to recover at least, so you should avoid exercising or placing strain on your injury at all. Once you get back to the gym, start out slowly and build your way back up – it’s unrealistic to expect to get back at full form.
Prioritise sleep when you’re feeling run-down With so much going on in our lives, it can be difficult to get as much sleep as we need. While the number varies for different people, experts suggest adults need around eight hours of sleep a night.
When we
get run-down and our immune systems are compromised, getting enough sleep is
absolutely key to helping our bodies fight infection and keep us healthy. If
you’re feeling ill or low on energy, try to prioritise your sleep.
Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues Due to the effects of diet culture and our modern lifestyle, our relationships with food is complicated and many of us have lost the connection with our hunger and fullness cues; we either ignore hunger pangs when our bodies crave energy, or continue to eat past the point of feeling satiated.
Being
tuned in when our body needs food, and when it’s had enough, is key to our
physical and mental health. If you’re suppressing your hunger instead of having
a snack or meal when your body tells you to, you’re depriving yourself of
the energy you need to live. This can lead to crashes in your blood sugar,
mood, and much more serious consequences when driven to the extreme.
Alternatively, regularly over-eating when you’re not hungry, either out of
boredom or for emotional reasons, can lead to disease and weight gain.
Work to
distinguish when you’re actually hungry or full, or when you’re under- or
over-eating due to emotional or environmental reasons. Eating is intuitive,
therefore you’ll be surprised by what your body is actually telling you when
you start to listen to it.
