August 16, 2002
What kills 40 per cent of us despite being treatable at any age? What affects a third of the population yet only a small percentage knows they have it? And what can be accurately diagnosed within two minutes using a machine that costs less than £100?
The answer to all of the above is high blood pressure. The condition is also the biggest cause of strokes and heart disease in the UK and a major factor in heart attacks. It can lead to kidney and lung failure, internal bleeding, blindness and impotence. And yet many people have never even had their blood pressure measured.
This is why the Blood Pressure Association is hosting Blood Pressure Week from September 16 to 22. The charity hopes to make people understand the importance of blood pressure and encourage them find out their own levels. Hundreds of “pressure stations” across the UK will give free blood pressure measurements and advice on what to do if people’s readings are too high.
Read the full article →
August 9, 2002
Do you eat to live or live to eat? Do you turn to food when you’re depressed or anxious? If so, you could be jeopardising your mental and physical health, but there is a way out, and it’s all about breaking the cycle of dependence.
Comfort eating, or overeating, is an extremely easy habit to form and a difficult one to break. Experts readily compare it to smoking and many of the same techniques are used to helping people to give up.
But while smoking may not be exactly natural, eating to soothe the spirit is something we learn from an early age. Dr Linda Blair, clinical psychologist at the University of Bath and specialist in comfort eating, points out that feeding a baby when it cries is a normal response. As children, we are given sweets to cheer us up or as rewards – is it any wonder then that when in need of relaxation or reassurance many of us turn to food?
Read the full article →
