Stick with Sparkling Water If You Prefer It

If you prefer a little fizz in your water, then rest assured that sparkling water is just as hydrating as plain water. Both contain the same essential compound – H2O. However, carbonated water – naturally or artificially – contains dissolved carbon dioxide gas which, through a chemical reaction, turns into carbonic acid, giving it that fizz.


“This does not interfere with the body’s ability to absorb water and stay hydrated,” said Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Actually, sparkling water may have an advantage. If you prefer it over plain, then you are more likely to drink more and be better hydrated than if you drink less. But choose ones without added sugar, advises Derocha.

Are There Any Benefits to Mouth Taping, And Is It Safe?

Mouth taping has recently gained popularity as a method to encourage nose breathing during sleep. It involves placing porous tape over the lips while sleeping, helping to promote breathing through the nose instead of the mouth. It is claimed to help with issues such as snoring and bad breath.


While mouth taping is not scientifically proved as a treatment, there is some evidence of limited benefits. The US Sleep Foundation undertook a small study of people with mild obstructive sleep apnoea who used a porous patch over the mouth to encourage nasal breathing. Researchers found the group experienced reduced snoring and fewer instances of interrupted breathing.

Some people also claim that mouth taping helps with fatigue, concentration issues, bad breath, and excessive thirst at night, although most of these claims have not been scientifically studied.

But mouth taping is not for everyone. There have been some reported side effects of mouth taping, including irritation on or around the lips, disrupted sleep due to irritation from the tape or difficulty breathing through the nose (especially if you have nasal congestion).

Additionally, anyone who feels anxious about having their mouth taped shut may find it unsettling.

As mouth taping is not considered a commonly accepted or proven practice, speak to your doctor before trying it. If you suspect you might have sleep apnoea or another sleep disorder, other treatments may be more effective.

If you have difficulty breathing through your nose due to a cold or sinus infection, allergies, nasal polyps or another reason, you should avoid mouth taping.

Can dehydration damage your kidneys?

It is a hot sunny day and you are on a walk, but you have forgotten your water bottle. Not a big deal, right? Maybe you get a light headache but you will be alright, right? Surprisingly, it might be a big deal for your kidneys.

Experts warn us that dehydration can negatively affect kidney function and actually contribute to life-threatening kidney diseases. Wish you would have taken your water bottle with you now?


How does dehydration affect my kidneys?

As we all know, water plays an incredibly important part in the working of our body. One of its most important roles is to remove waste from our blood in the form of urine. However, according to experts at Kidney Research UK, when our bodies are dehydrated, the urine we produce has a higher concentration of minerals and waste, which can lead to the formation of crystals within our bloodstream. These crystals can affect kidney function and contribute to kidney diseases such as kidney stones and even kidney failure.


How will I know if I have kidney problems?

Although it may be easy to tell if you have kidney stones, there are other symptoms of kidney problems that might not be so obvious. When we are severely dehydrated, our kidney function can be rapidly reduced, leading to an acute kidney injury (AKI). While AKI’s do not always cause symptoms, some signs of kidney include producing less urine than usual, nausea, fatigue, high blood pressure and swelling in the legs, ankles or feet. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention.


How can I prevent kidney damage?

Apart from staying hydrated, there are other ways you can protect your kidneys. We should get our blood pressure and blood glucose levels regularly checked by doctors as they can be good indicators of kidney health. And of course, the usual health advice applies to your kidneys as well as your overall mental and physical health: reduce your salt intake, manage your weight, create a regular exercise routine and moderate any alcohol.

1 Thing You Can Do Today

Have a warm shower before bed


Do you have trouble getting off to sleep? Try a warm shower before bedtime, say sleep experts.

Studies have found that people who bathe before bedtime fall asleep faster. In the hours before bedtime, a human’s core body temperature naturally cools, while skin temperatures of the hands and feet increase. Scientists believe that immersing your body in warm water aids this natural temperature regulation process, improving sleep as a result.

It is important to get the timing right, says sleep physician Dr David Rosen.

“Make sure your warm shower is at least one hour before bed, because that is what is best supported by research,” he says.

Dr Rosen says the warm shower habit can become part of your bedtime routine, like stopping harmful sleep habits such as screen time, and starting helpful ones like creating a restful bedroom environment.

Can a cold shower help you sleep too? While there are benefits to cold showers, improving sleep does not seem to be one of them. Cold water tends to be stimulating, raising levels of the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine which can boost your alertness.

Eat Smarter

Lentils


Lentils might be the perfect food. They are high in fibre, protein and complex carbohydrates, low in fat and calories, naturally gluten free, and have a low glycaemic index (GI). As a bonus, they are also cheap, last for ages in your cupboard and cook up quickly.

Want to do your bit to help the planet? We could feed the world more sustainably with lentils (and all pulses). They have a lower carbon footprint than most foods because they require a smaller amount of fertiliser and water to grow.

 

What can lentils do for you?

Protein: Combine lentils with a wholegrain and they provide the same quality protein as meat. A half cup serving of cooked lentils provides about 12 grams of protein – that is the same as two eggs or a half cup of Greek yoghurt.

Fibre: an unsung essential nutrient, most of us do not eat enough fibre. A half cup of cooked lentils provides 32 per cent of your day’s fibre needs. Fibre helps lower blood cholesterol, protects against colon cancer and type 2 diabetes, and nourishes the all-important gut bacteria.

Lentils will also top up your levels of iron, folate potassium and manganese – Start your love of lentils by making an easy dal.

Can Toothpaste Cure A Pimple?

Toothpaste is being touted on social media as a way to clear acne, soothe burns and whiten fingernails, reports the Washington Post.


But dermatologists say products designed for these purposes are much better options and warn that toothpaste may exacerbate skin conditions.

Because toothpaste is not formulated for the skin, it can lead to dryness, irritation and inflammation, potentially delaying the pimple healing process or worsening acne, they say.

To prevent pimples or treat them, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends over-the-counter products containing adapalene, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid.

Toothpaste is not an effective treatment for burns or to whiten fingernails, either. While toothpaste may have a cooling effect, one study showed that it can worsen burns. As for your fingernails, it can cause irritation.

Hidden Danger: When Odd Pains Mean Something More

If your coworker told you she felt exhausted, had odd body aches and felt slight nausea, would you recognise that she may be experiencing a heart attack?

We have all seen those movies where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to his knees. While that classic chest pain is more common in men, women often experience more subtle, ‘silent’ symptoms that can be harder to recognise.

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of women across the world and in the majority of countries, including those that are rich and all but the poorest. Yet many women do not recognise what is happening because their symptoms can be less obvious.


So what are common symptoms in women?

Women often describe heart attack pain as pressure or tightness in the chest, rather than the sharp pains experienced by men.

Medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Centre for Women’s Health in NYU and cardiologist, Dr Nieca Goldberg, says that often women report abdominal pressure that feels like an elephant is sitting on your stomach. Other symptoms may include unusual fatigue, cold sweats and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, or as Dr Goldberg says, “it can feel like you have run a marathon, but you didn’t move.”

Women and men can also feel discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulders, upper back, or even the upper stomach. These symptoms can build gradually, making them easier to dismiss as something less serious.

 

When should you call for help?

Here is a startling fact: according to a study by Dr Rita f. Redberg, director of Women’s Cardiovascular Services for the University of California, women generally wait longer than men before going to the emergency room. It is understandable: few people would consider sweating and back pains to be serious, so when do we know when to call for medical assistance?

Well, the key is to acknowledge what feels unusual. If you have uncomfortable pressure in your chest which lasts for a few minutes, uncomfortable and irregular discomfort in your arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach, shortness of breath, cold sweat and nausea, you should call emergency services immediately.

When it comes to your heart, waiting is a risk you cannot afford to take.

1 Thing You Can Do Today

Clean something for just 5 minutes

At the end of a work week, the last thing you feel like doing is heading home to start the ‘weekend shift’ of housework.

Instead, aim for five minutes of tidying or cleaning each day to reduce the overwhelm: even better if you can get your partner or kids to join the fun.

The five-minute approach to cleaning is as simple as it sounds: set a timer for five minutes and get to it!

Each of these tasks can be ticked off in five minutes with ease:

1. Do a quick sweep. This not only keeps your area free of crumbs and dust, it also keeps pests down.

2. Fill the dishwasher with dirty dishes and hit go.

3. Wipe your kitchen benches down.

4. Put clean dishes away in the cupboards.

5. Go through the fridge and get rid of unwanted food.

6. Give the toilet a quick scrub and wipe over the bathroom sink and counters.

7. Make your bed.

8. Put on a load of laundry.


9. Empty all the small bins.

10. Do a speed tidy – even just one room at a time.

While cleaning may not be your idea of fun, you would be surprised at how much you can get done in just five minutes, leaving you plenty of time to kick back and relax in your newly tidy space.

People Find Food Date Labels Confusing

A new study from RMIT University has found many people are wasting food because of unclear date labels and storage advice.

Use-by dates show the last day a product is safe to eat, while best-before dates show peak quality. Food should be safe past a best-before date if it is not damaged, deteriorated or perished. Even though many of the consumers interviewed, understood the difference between the two dates, they often discarded food when it reached either date.


Lead author Associate Professor Lukas Parker said date labels were widely misused by people because they were confusing.

“Consumers want clear, consistent and easy-to-read information,” he said.

“Date labels should be in a large font with contrasting colours so that they are easy to find and interpret.”

Parker said a solution could be labels with practical tips on properly storing food and sealing packaging, as the study found advice such as ‘store in a cool, dry place’ was interpreted as vague and unhelpful.

“Including specific temperature guidelines for storage on packaging would help,” he said. “Particularly in a cost-of-living crisis, people need information on how to properly store and prolong the shelf life of food.”

Value-adding: Living by What Matters

At this time of year, mention of the word ‘value’ might have you thinking of post-Christmas sales more than your psychological wellbeing, but it is also the perfect time to recommit to your personal values.

Psychologist and author of The Happiness Trap, Russ Harris, describes values as ‘desired qualities of action how you want to behave; how you want to treat yourself, others and the world around you’. Different to goals, values are more about who you want to be rather than what you want to do.

You can think about it as though your values are the map for your life journey, whereas goals are pitstops along the way.


Why define your values?

Research shows that understanding your values and acting in a way that agrees with them helps reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. Setting goals that match up with your values also reduces procrastination, because you are working towards something that is meaningful and important to you. Once you know your values, things like decision-making and goal-setting become easier.

Values-based living helps build meaningful relationships, both within your inner circle as well as the wider community. Overall, your values give you a clear direction and purpose which helps you to build a richer, more fulfilled life.


How do you define your own values?

At the heart of it, values are what matters most to you. Things like being creative, having integrity, or being kind are all values.

It can be hard when you first sit down to think about values to come up with a list without a guide. You will find many value lists online.

Once you have identified your top five values, it is worth thinking about how closely you are living to those values right now. If you find things are not matching up, think about why that is and what you can do to get back on track. Values may shift a little across your life, but your core values will generally be your guideposts as you move through different stages.

Steve Hays, co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy shares: ‘Values are like a compass: they help us navigate through the challenges of life’.


5 questions to define your values

Try asking yourself these questions to get started on your values quest:

1. Who do I admire and why?

2. What am I passionate about?

3. When am I at my happiest or most fulfilled?

4. What would I stand up for, even if it was unpopular?

5. How do I want to be remembered by the people I love?

These questions will help you dig deeper on what really matters to you.