Sylviawh.co.uk Blog

A few years ago I worked in a private hospital in South Africa. A patient was admitted for removal of spare fat after losing a lot of weight on what she called The Swedish Water Diet.

This well off lady spent some time in a clinic in Sweden and successfully lost four stone in weight, ( 56lb)

Before long she had all the other ladies that were interested on this diet.

Now unless you can drink lots of water The Swedish Water Diet is not for you, as it consists of eating all your normal meals but drinking at least 12 to sixteen pints of water a day.

We nurses were not to well pleased as our days were spent filling water jugs and emptying bedpans.

I don’t know how well this diet worked for others as eventually they went home, but you could give it a try if you enjoy drinking water as it is free.

There are now concerns that soft fizzy drinks like Fanta and Pepsi Max that contain a preservative called Sodium Benzoate, it is said to cause serious cell damage.

Sodium benzoate is a preservative that has been used for decades by the global carbonated drinks industry.   It derives from benzoic acid and occurs naturally in berries.

 It is used to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Fanta, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

 It has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA which are usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse.  It can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

This could also lead to controversy about food additives which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Sodium benzoate had already raised concerns about cancer because when it is mixed with vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.

High levels of benzene were found in four brands of soft drinks last year when a survey was done by The Food Standards Agency, four brands were removed from sale.

The Independent on Sunday were told “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

“The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson’s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing.”

Just a couple of tips here as I been so busy today shopping and wrapping Xmas presents.

If you are going on holiday to a foreign country and you are worried about getting that nasty tummy bug, a simple remedy  that you might enjoy, is take a tot of whisky every day while on holiday.  The bugs don’t like it and your tummy should stay bug free.

If you are going to a hot country, never wear perfume it attracts the mosquitos, and mosquito bites aren’t nice.

Every one should know that sun creams are essential, but be wise and wear a hat when the sun is hot, apart from getting skin cancer ladies, that hot sun  plays havoc with skin as you age.  Those brown patches that they call age spots are a result of all the sun you have caught when you were younger.

Once again the festive time is here, and with it comes the colds and flu and any other ailments to spoil the festivities.  The cold weather has set in and this brings an abundance of health problems, mainly Flu, colds, coughs, sore throats, and the dreaded stomach bug.

Any one of these leaves us feeling washed out and miserable, theres not a lot we can do about it except let them run their course.

Of course you can alleviate the suffering a little with all the remedies in the chemist shop, cough mixture, tablets, throat sweets, and of course all the herbal remedies.

There is only one way to try and combat these illnesses and that is by keeping our immune system as healthy as possible.

The immune system defends people against germs and micro organisms, it is made up of  special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, and in most cases, the immune system keeps people healthy by preventing infections.

Keeping fit is the natural way to stave off illness, but even the fit and healthy people can’t always escape the germs that that are easily passed from one person to another.

As the years roll on your immune system may need some help in the form of supplements or tablets to boost the system. 

 One of these is Glucasan it contains specific 1-3, 1-6 Beta-Glucans that prime the innate immune system, this is the part which reacts to disease-causing bacteria and other micro-organisms to keep us healthy.  At Stamford Bridge the Chelsea footballers are said to swear by it.

Another booster is Green tea it contains a mixture of antioxidants that help boost your immune system and neutralise free radicals in your body, these are available from your nearest Tesco stores.

Immunecare Lactoferrin which is more expensive at £29.99 for 60 tablets, It is a super supplement’ capable of preventing vicious viruses including HIV, CMV, herpes, hepatitis C and glandular fever. Lactoferrin stops viruses binding to the body’s healthy cells and so halts the viral infection before it can, literally, take hold, It is absorbed into the bloodstream where it binds to and inactivates unwanted antigens that commonly cause bacterial and viral infections.

There are many more remedies that can help but don’t expect 100% protection it doesn’t happen, just be grateful for staying healthy longer.

There is no doubt about it that cereals are the healthy start to the day. Cereal is packed with vitamins and provides more fibre, iron, folic acid, and zinc and less fat, sodium, sugar, and cholesterol, compared with other breakfast foods.

We are talking here about cereals such as Cornflakes, Shredded Wheat, Wheetabix, and those types of cereals, not the ones packed with sugar.

I lived on Cornflakes well into my teens and wasn’t interested in other foods, grapefruits were also a favourite when I got a bit older.  With this recipe for eating I never had any childish ailment and up to this day I have only ever suffered with a cold or the flu.

I do eat normally now but I think those cornflakes stood me in good stead.

Hear is what the researchers say.

Researchers also found that people who eat cereal have better overall diets. They drink more milk eat less fat, sweets, bread and fizzy drinks.

Scientists also recorded a big jump in physical activity on days when cereal was eaten. The researchers said: “Eating cereal for breakfast may have implications for healthier eating throughout the day, as cereal eaters ate more fibre and less fat all day.

I have recently been on a twelve day holiday to Toronto and I found a wonderful city.  One thing that amazed me was that during my entire stay I could count the number of over weight people I saw on possibly one hand.

This may be due to the amount of walking people seem to do, I must admit I have not done so much walking for a long time as it is not the type of City to take buses or trams unless you are going further afield.

Shopping is all underground, seventeen kilometers of it, it is a shoppers paradise, but very hard on the legs and feet if you are not used to it.

One thing I noticed in and around the city was lots of parks and leisure areas. Black squirrels were in abundance and seemed to have no fear as they searched for food and ran amongst the people.

This is not really a health subject but I felt I had to write about it as I was impressed with Toronto. I have travelled to many places including the US and south Africa but in all my seventy years The Niagra Falls was the most impressive sight I have ever seen.

It was such a thrill to sail under the falls even though I got soaked through.

French cardiologist Dr Olivier Ameisen believes he has found a cure for alcolism in the form of a pill. After trying the drug baclofen on himself he found it greatly reduced his drinking.

Baclofen, is commonly used to treat muscle spasms,but it also appears to suppress the craving for alcohol.  Dr Ameisen said that baclofen was so effective that it enabled alcoholics to return to social drinking rather than cutting it out completely.

A French agency that tests and approves drugs, is now considering “how to organise clinical trials”. But it  warns that baclofen does have side effects.

Tetanus can be extremely dangerous, but luckily it is now a rare condition due to injections that can combat the infection.

The cause of Tetanus is a bacteria (germs) that get into the body through cuts or a bite from an animal.  Gardening is one of the causes as it is so easy to get cuts while working in the gardening.

The cut can get dirty from soil or manure and the infection creeps in. Thorns are culprits as well, including rusty nails and other rusty objects.

It is important to clean and disinfect the cut area straight away and not leave it till later, especially if the wound is deep as the risk of tetanus could be great as a poison is released into the body.

The first signs that you have developed tetanus are spasms of the muscles close to the infected cut.  Once the poison gets into your bloodstream other symptoms start to occur, usually in the face. Spasms of the chewing muscles occur which make it hard to open your mouth, following those spasms in the throat muscles make it hard to swallow.

This may be followed by spasms in the facial muscles which give you the look of grinning. Breathing will become difficult as the spasms spread to other parts of the body.

Other symptoms include sensitivity to touch, a high fever, sore throat, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, headache, bleeding into the bowels, and diarrhoea.
If untreated tetanus causes death in about 60% of people..

The only way to prevent tetanus is to be immunised. A full course of tetanus immunisation consists of five doses of vaccine. This vaccine enables your body to create antibodies against the tetanus toxin, which then protects you from the illness if you become infected with the bacteria.

A common name for tetanus is lockjaw.

I just want to talk about what is going on the news today about teenagers and the hoodies they wear.

I am seventy years of age, and the hoody regime is is no different to the clothes regiment when I was a youngster. It was then the teddy boys with their long jackets and DA hairstyles.

Some of them got up to all sorts of trouble but others were just following the fads and fashion of that age.

Of course the trouble they got up to was mainly amongst themselves, drugs were unheard of so muggins and burglaries were not so widespread, and if they happened the teddy boys were not usually the culprits.

We had the same problems then, as they have now as far as past times were concerned. We had nothing to do in the evenings and would all meet in groups trying to find some thing to do.

We would moan about how dead the place was and long to live somewhere more exciting.

I must say we were always respectful to our elders, even though they would shove you out of the way to get on the bus or tram first. I hope I’m not like that!

Youngsters are always looking for something new or different to do, and when they grow old it will be just the same. They will be moaning about the youngsters today like we do.

Who knows, the teenagers today may have even more problems to contend with when they grow old, than we do now.

Edamame beans are classed as a super food. It is an asian bean that has been said to stave off heart disease and cancer.

Up to now the Edamame beans have been hard to get as the amount of frozen edamame beans imported has been limited. This super food is credited with maintaining Victoria Beckhams slim figure so it will be in great demand, but the good news is that it now being grown in Kent.

 Edamame beans are actually immature, green soy beans picked before they are completely ripe, and the reason they have been so hard to get is because until now, only been grown overseas.

They are said to be the only vegetable that contains all nine essential amino acids, making them a complete protein source in the same way as meat or eggs.

Studies have shown that people who eat soy products regularly have a reduced risk of several types of cancer.

The beans are a good source of fibre, folate, iron and zinc, and their low calorie-content means that they are widely recommended for dieters.

Edamame Beans will soon be readily available and affordable and they will be sold by the Supermarket Asda.