As the Formula One racing circus visits Singapore for its latest race, air pollution and the haze created has been brought into sharper focus than for a long time. There are reports of the haze closing schools in Malaysia and fears for the visibility and wellbeing of the F1 teams and their drivers in Singapore. Suddenly, something that is a constant for those who live in the region becomes big news.

But what is Haze?

The definition is that it is an atmospheric phenomenon where suspension of extremely small dry particles in the air obscure the clarity of the sky.

Its components can be gases such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Particulate matter also in the air includes benzene sulphate, organic carbon, microbial components and pollen.

These particles can penetrate respiratory and circulatory systems and can cause damage to the health of an individual exposed to it for any length of time, or on a regular basis,

Haze and your health.

But it’s not just the head that is affected. By breathing in particulate matter, this can cause problems in the throat with irritation, dryness and soreness causing coughing.

Extreme cases can create chest discomfort and respiratory tract infection. Asthma attacks are often prevalent and even something as natural as drinking water can be an issue if the drinking water is contaminated by dense haze. This can lead to stomach upset and vomiting. The skin can also be irritated by constant exposure to Haze.

So what precautions can be taken to prevent all these outcomes?

Spend less time outdoors.

Sadly, at a time when we are encouraging our children to spend less time on their iPads and more time outdoors, the advice in areas of high air pollution is to reduce outdoor activities such as jogging and cycling amongst others.

Drink plenty of water as long as it does not fall into the contaminated category.

Wash your hands and face on a regular basis and especially after outdoor activities and finally, please make sure that if you are prescribed medicines by your doctor that you take them on a regular basis especially if you have an underlying respiratory or cardiovascular dilute disease.

We will be revisiting the subject of air pollution in future blogs but in the meantime stay safe.

Mayfair, we care.

For years now we have all loved bottled water and it has been the fastest growing area of drinks in the world with a forecast estimate of $215 billion by 2025.

Amazing isn’t it? A commodity that a lot of the world can have, freely available from our kitchen taps, is selling for around 2000 times the price in the supermarkets and we are buying it!

Why are we buying bottled water?

Do you buy bottled water or spring water because of the minerals?

Once again testing has indicated to tap water has a relatively high concentration of beneficial minerals like calcium and magnesium – more than most bottled brands.

Plastic pollution.

Health

Improving the environment and your health; it’s a powerful argument to turn away from plastic bottles of water.

Mayfair, we care.

Carbohydrates get a bad press of these days for a variety of different reasons but a number of widely held beliefs do bear closer examination. 

Weight loss

However, not all research backs this up and whilst it may be true that some studies have found low-carb diets to be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets in the short-term, in the longer term both approaches produce modest weight loss at best.

A 2015 review of the research on different types of diet found that low carb diets marginally outperformed the low-fat diet. However the difference in weight loss on the groups of dieters was tiny with the low-carb dieters losing about one girl kilogram more after 12 months.

One expert advised that the best way of losing weight was simply to eat less of everything in a way that can form a habit and be maintained over a long period. That sounds less complicated to us!

A low-carb diet is healthier?

However, there is a big difference between unrefined and refined plant foods.

A diet high in unrefined whole grains protects against cardiovascular disease and Type II diabetes, but swap these for refined grains like white flour, white bread, sugar and white rice and your risk of poor health will increase.

Wholegrains and carbohydrate rich foods such as legumes also encourage a healthy diversity of gut bacteria, something that is linked to reduced inflammation, better immunity and improved mental health.

One recent study found that switching to a high-fat, no carb diet lowered the number of beneficial bacteria residing in the gut.

Avoid fruit – really?

We hope that this clarifies some of the myths surrounding low-carb diets.

Mayfair, we care.

Gluten is an umbrella term for certain protein group found in cereal grains, like wheat. These proteins are what allows the dough to stick together, to be elastic and capable of being formed in many shapes.

Recently, gluten-free products have taken over the world and have become usual in many households. Usually, gluten-free alternatives are more expensive, but... Gluten is bad for you and your health is more valuable than saving money, right? Well, things are a little bit more complicated.

Do All People Have to Avoid Gluten?   

The short answer is no. Gluten-free products can only cause problems for certain people with existing medical conditions. The research right now is just not significant enough to draw such drastic conclusions as "gluten is bad for everyone". Nonetheless, it is advisable to experiment with your diet. Maybe you have one of those conditions which we will mention soon, or maybe your body just functions better without gluten in your diet.     

Wheat Allergy     

If you have a wheat allergy, your immune system is destined to react abnormally to wheat products and certain proteins in wheat. It means that you should avoid all products with wheat, as symptoms can range from mild inconveniences to life-threatening. To people who suffer from a wheat allergy, it is uncommon to experience anaphylaxis shock after ingesting a wheat product. That being said, most of us have wheat daily, so chances that you have wheat allergy with life-threatening risk is low, as you should have already experienced it.    

In spite of that, you might have a wheat allergy and ingesting wheat might cause slight problems breathing, a headache or nausea. You might get those symptoms but attribute them to any problems, so it is important to get tested for wheat allergy and know for sure if you can eat wheat.    

Celiac Disease    

This is the disease which is most commonly associated with gluten. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease. If you suffer from celiac disease, ingesting gluten causes inflammation throughout your body, mainly in the small intestine. It, in turn, causes damage to the lining of your small intestine, which might result in diarrhea and stomach ache. In addition, full-body inflammation can cause brain-fog, depression and weaken your immune system.     

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS)    

In case you are sure that you have neither wheat allergy nor celiac disease, but still suffer adverse effects from eating gluten, you might have NCGS. It is a condition when a person is sensitive to gluten despite obvious causes. Reasons for non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not known and for that reason cannot be easily treated. If you experience brain fog, drop in energy, abnormal bowel movement or other unpleasant symptoms after eating gluten, you might have NCGS and it is advisable that you go on a gluten-free diet.    

Final Words    

So, is gluten-free a craze or is gluten bad for you? In brief, if you have a wheat allergy or a celiac disease, gluten-free is the way to go. Otherwise, if you are happy after your tea and toast breakfast and do not feel any worse, avoiding gluten will not make you any healthier.

Remember, Mayfair we care.

Improve your sleep

Escaping stress

Healthy Snacking

Guilty pleasure.

Milk chocolate is only 10 to 20% cocoa and mainly consists of cocoa butter, fats and sugar – so less good for you.

Memory boosters

One top tip to help you remember things is to write it down – writing by hand strengthens the memory more-so than recording things on a keyboard. The process of writing, along with the sense of touching paper and hep aids memory

Easy exercising

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.

Nowadays many of us live a life in a way that is not really natural for either our bodies, or in many cases, our mental state. Of course, we are tough and many will adapt sooner or later.

However, there are negative side effects that many of us have to deal with and severe fatigue is definitely one of those side effects.    

The pace of an average person's life has increased significantly over the past two decades. And even at primary school, we all have countless pressures and often too much to deal with.

Important Note:   Severe fatigue can be a side effect of countless diseases and mental illnesses, and as such it is extremely important to visit your personal doctor as soon as possible if you are facing constantly weary.        

What is Severe Fatigue?     

The severity of fatigue is rather hard to determine as we all deal with fatigue in different ways. What might be an extreme case for one person may be just tiredness for someone else and if you are simply tired, or even exhausted, by the end of a tough and long day, you are not facing severe fatigue. The term severe fatigue is used when one is constantly tired.

When one must deal with very low energy levels all day every  day for then you've probably got severe fatigue on your hands and should definitely schedule an appointment with your doctor to check your physical and mental health.

How to Fight Severe Fatigue?     

Once you have determined that the cause of severe fatigue doesn't actually lie in health issues, then it is time to take the matter in your own hands. For a healthy person to be facing severe fatigue, it absolutely means s/he is doing quite a few things wrong and that s/he should make some lifestyle changes ASAP.    

Understanding that modern-day pace of life can result in many perfectly healthy individuals facing severe fatigue too often. For those, we offer the following hints and tips to get your energy levels back to normal.     

Get more sleep    

Many of us deal with the crazy pace of work and life in general by creating longer days and cutting down on sleep hours to work longer or fit in some leisure time. Keep in mind that we all need to get between 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Sleep is basically recovery time and we just can't function properly without getting enough of it.    

Change your dietary habits    

Just as sleep is the recovery time, the food we consume is the fuel. If the fuel is of poor quality, it is just not providing our body with the nutrients it needs. Our body needs enough minerals, vitamins, healthy fats, fibre, proteins, and complex carbs. As such proper diet is as equally important as sleep. Examine the possibility of having a well balanced diet and try cutting out or reducing the amount of fast and processed food intake.   

Exercise      

It might sound strange to deal with severe fatigue by exercising, but a human body is built to move. You should aim to get at least 30 minutes of some sort of exercise performed daily. Walking is one of the healthiest choices. Also add some straight exercises, such as push-ups, squats, and lunges.

When we exercise our bodies produce hormones that will elevate your energy level and help you cope with severe fatigue.    

Everyone needs a relaxation    

If we are mentally exhausted, our physical state won't be any different. As such it is important to treat yourselves with some sort of relaxation that best suits you on a daily basis.

Meditation and Yoga (which will at the same time cover the above point) tend to be the most effective ones, but it can be anything you like that helps you relax and clear your mind; reading, or a hobby you enjoy are other alternatives to help you switch of from the daily grind.

In summary

If you believe you are dealing with severe fatigue, first schedule an appointment with your doctor. If you are physically and mentally healthy, you should change your lifestyle by improving all four aspects that affect your energy levels the most - SLEEP, DIET, EXERCISE, and RELAXATION.         

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.

List of sources: 

https://www.healthline.com/health/fatigue#causes   https://www.webmd.com/balance/how-tired-is-too-tired#1   https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/fatigue/basics/causes/sym-20050894   https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248002.php

Stress can be a contributory cause to many conditions experienced by society today Some of these issues are widely known but others may come as a surprise and we examine five as well as two coping mechanisms that we hope will help. 

Depression and anxiety.

Headaches.

It is widely recognised that stress is one of the most common causes of chronic migraines and tension headaches. Both are debilitating conditions and add to the likelihood of depression and anxiety developing.

Diabetes.

Heart conditions.

Early death.

Research has indicated that people under a great deal of stress are over 60% more likely to die at a younger age than those who are less stressed.

So what can we do?

Deep Breathing.

If suffering from a panic attack, one technique is to use a small paper bag and breathe into it filling up the bag completely when exhaling, then another deep breath and fill the bag again. Do this until the feelings pass.

This is a widely used technique, not only for panic attacks but for more general stress relief during the day, several minutes of deep breathing four times a day can produce positive results over a period of time.

Avoid Catastrophising by using Perspective. 

“What’s the worst thing that could happen to me?“.

               Answer “well, I could die.“

“Yes of course you could put has this feeling happened before?”

               Answer “yes, it has!"

“And are you still alive?“

               Answer “Yes I am!"

“Well then just console yourself with the fact that the feeling, however unpleasant and frightening, will pass."

Please be aware that we would always encourage anyone suffering from a stress related condition to seek professional medical advice.

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.

We have more labour-saving appliances, smart gadgets and improved ways of working than we have ever had before. However, this does not appear to be freeing up any time and most people seem busier than ever.

The pace of life, the pace of change, and the pace of technology is increasing at year on year. This is not necessarily a good thing for us as individuals. Perhaps we need to be aware that by slowing down a little we can improve our life immeasurably?

Everything seems fast these days from fast food, to fast deliveries of goods we order, to superfast Internet and smart lanes on motorways getting us to places quicker, the advances in technology are vast and enable us to carry out increasing numbers of tasks quickly and easily. Doing more things more quickly does not translate into more ‘me’ time though, in fact during what should be ‘me’ time we spend it in front of our mobile phones, tablets or laptops getting more stimulation and the more stressed we become as a result.

We are now in addicted to this fast pace of life, This ability to connect and be connected with information on the outside world every minute of the day. Next time you are on public transport please take a look around you and count up the number of phones that are being stared at as opposed to the number of people actually talking to one another. The result is frightening.

On the rare occasion when we might experience an Internet outage we are frantic because we are not connected and this expectation of constant connectivity means we are losing our relationship with the natural rhythms of life.

So how can we correct this shift to experience a slower pace of life?

Here are some ideas.

Digital detox.

If you truly believe you are addicted to your smartphone then why not try to detach yourself from the it for periods of time every week.? Initially, try an evening without the phone, then perhaps half a day, then a full day. You may be surprised at how enjoyable it is to read a book or concentrate on the television programme instead of it being on in the background. On public transport, why not leave the phone in your pocket and people watch or enjoy the journey.

Stretching.

A gentle 5 to 10 minutes stretching routine before bed each night whilst concentrating on your breathing will not only calm you this will also cooks you away from your phone before bedtime.

Exercise.

Go for a walk in the evening without your smart phone and enjoy the scenery in your neighbourhood take in the different architecture, trees and shrubs. This will have a calming influence.

The weekends.

There is a tendency to cram as much activity into leisure time as we possibly can. This somewhat contradicts the term leisure time! Why not schedule time just to sit in the garden and read, listen to music, have a coffee, enjoy the surroundings. You may be surprised at how much you enjoy this.

So your challenge is to fit periods of slow living in to your busy life and become engaged on a different level, allowing your mind to switch off and simply be you in achieving a great work / life balance.

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.

As any driver who spends a lot of time in the car will testify, driving takes its toll on the body.

Repetitive movements and vibration are two significant factors that negatively impact on the body when we are driving. Both can lead to muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders.

General discomfort and lower back pain are frequent complaints that are reported by drivers as well as foot cramps, stiff neck, sore shoulders from poor posture, stress and tension.

Tension when driving is a big issue with today’s helter-skelter motorways and a roads; everyone rushing to be somewhere at a certain time whether that is school run, business appointments, deliveries or shopping trips. The roads can be like a battlefield.

Driving issues.

Repetition. 

Even though you’re in a seated position you are performing several repetitive movements. Your hands are on the steering wheel forcing your arms into an unnaturally high position than for other activities such as working at a desk. To operate the brake, clutch and accelerator pedal you have to extend your legs forward at regular intervals with feet at an angle. With a manual vehicle you have the added movement involved in using the clutch and gearstick.

Vibration. 

When driving a car over uneven or pot holed roads (road surfaces are an increasing problem in today’s world), your body will experience the vibrations up, down or sideways movement. The force on your body will depend on the speed of acceleration of deceleration.

Changing places

Being comfortable and well positioned in the vehicle can help reduce the negative effects of driving and minimise the risk of injury. Here are seven tips that may help you drive more ergonomically. 

• Raise your seat to allow maximum vision of the road and ensure that there is adequate clearance between your head on the roof.
• Knees should be bent to comfortably operate the accelerator, clutch and brake. Check that the steering wheel doesn’t come into contact with your thighs.
• Thighs should be supported along the length of the seat while avoiding pressure behind the knees.
• Invest in a backrest that gives support along the length of the back and allows your shoulders to be positioned slightly behind the hips.
• The lumbar support whether adjustable or not should provide comfort with no pressure points or gaps between spine and the car seat and S sheep spine is a safe shape.
• Adjust the steering wheel to ensure elbows and shoulders are in a relaxed position with hands put positioned below shoulder level. A good test is when you put your arms straight in front (above the top of the steering wheel), the top of the wheel should sit approximately at your wrist level.
• Don’t forget your neck. The neck should be in a neutral position with the headrest positioned centre of the head.

Following these tips will reduce some of the effects of driving long distances but do remember to stop on a regular basis and don’t wait until you feel tired – that might be too late!

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.

We take our eyes for granted but we rely on them every minute of the waking day.

Do we take proper care of them? Do we take note when they’re tired because of digital eyestrain, tech fatigue or computer vision syndromes which are all terms to describe tired and overworked eyes.

It’s not a serious condition but anyone who regularly stares at a screen for more than two hours at a time will be familiar with the symptoms.

Driving long distances, reading fine print or focusing on detailed work close up for extended periods can also have the same affect and strain our eyes.

Why does this happen?

Any activity where you tend not to blink as often as you would normally do can cause symptoms of eye fatigue. You may also clinch the facial muscles muscles around your eyelids, temples and jaw as your eyes work to stay focused. This adds to the discomfort.

Refractive vision problems due to regular irregularities in the shape of your eyes may also lead to eyestrain. The good news is that eye strain does not cause you permanent damage.

The symptoms

·       Burning sensation in the eye area.

·       Watery or uncomfortably dry eye.

·       Difficulty focusing.

·       Sensitivity to light.

·       Blurred or double vision.

·       Headaches.

·       Sore neck shoulders or back due to muscle tension.

Looking after your eyes.

The best treatment for eye strain is rest which will usually ease the discomfort in the short term.

You should also: 

• Take regular breaks when you’re focusing close up for long periods as when reading or when using electronic devices like computers and smartphones and also when driving.
• Adjust the lighting so that the light is behind you and focus directly on your book when reading.
• Use lubricating eye drops which can help to reduce dryness and redness.
• Adjust the contrast brightness and font size on your screen to make it easier to read.
• Adjust the monitor so the top of the screen is just below eye level.
• Keep your screen clear to avoid glare and reflection caused by dust and dirt.

Summary

Your eyes are far too important to neglect. Make sure that you see you’re at optometrist for regular eye tests and specific exercises to strengthen your eye muscles.

Good luck!

Mayfair, we care.