There’s also some evidence that globally, vegetarians and vegans are more at risk too, because they don’t eat any meat or fish – foods that contain the more absorbable form of iron called haem iron. However, vegetarians who eat a well-balanced diet are no more likely to have iron deficiency anaemia than non-vegetarians.

If I think I’m low in iron, should I take a supplement?

It’s important to hold off on the supplements until you know iron is the problem.

The only reliable way of telling if you are iron deficient is through a blood test, so always visit your doctor to get checked out. All those symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and breathlessness can indicate other health conditions, too. Incorrectly self-diagnosing can be dangerous and may delay you getting the treatment you need.

Another reason not to rush into buying iron supplements is that even if you are iron deficient it may not be a problem with your diet. You could have difficulties absorbing iron due to a gastrointestinal disorder such as coeliac disease, or you’ve been a bit heavy handed with zinc supplements, which can affect iron absorption too.

Taking additional iron when you don’t need to can also interfere with your body’s absorption of other vital minerals, such as zinc and copper.

And if you do need supplements, always take them exactly as your doctor advises. That’s because the human body isn’t particularly good at excreting iron, and you could poison yourself if you take more than the recommended dose.

Children are especially at risk of iron toxicity, so always keep iron supplements tightly capped and out of children’s reach.

Should I eat more red meat?

Depending on your level of deficiency, you may be able to restore your iron levels through eating more iron-rich foods. While red meat is a particularly good source of iron, some actually get most of their iron from non-meat sources, such as wholegrains.

Good source of iron include:

• Meat, poultry, organ meats like liver, and seafood. These contain the more absorbable heme iron.
• Wholegrains, and iron-fortified breakfast cereals and breads.
• Dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and kale; dried fruits including raisins, prunes and dried apricots; nuts and seeds; and legumes such as dried beans, peas, lentils, and soy beans (including tofu).

Vitamin C increases iron absorption, so eat plenty of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables with your meals.

Avoid tea and coffee around mealtimes as the tannins in them can bind to iron, making it harder for your body to absorb.

To decrease the risk of fire at your workplace, follow these vital steps:

1. Keep your workspace clean and tidy.

Clutter increases the ‘fire load’ of an area or building, which means there are more items that can catch and fuel fire. Clutter in corridors, stairs and fire exits can prevent the swift evacuation of people, so these should be always kept clear.

2. Store flammable materials safely.

All stock should be safely stored, but particular care should be given to any flammable materials and liquids. These should always be kept in appropriate containers, so read the label for instructions. Never store oily or solvent soaked rags - these should be placed in a covered metal container and disposed of regularly.

3. Keep an eye on electrical equipment.

Electrical equipment is often the cause of workplace fires. Old wires with frayed ends, overloaded plug sockets that overheat, and faulty electrical equipment can quickly become fire hazards. Always report any suspect or faulty equipment.

4. Only smoke in designated areas.

Observe any ‘no smoking’ signs and always dispose of cigarettes in the bins provided.

If you see smoke or fire

Recommended procedure:

1. Remain calm, do not panic or shout, and remember RACE

• RESCUE: Rescue any people in immediate danger – if it’s safe to do so.
• ALARM: Raise the alarm – ring the Fire Department; notify your switchboard; notify the staff member in charge
• CONTAIN: if practicable, close all doors and windows to contain the fire – only if safe to do so.
• EXTINGUISH: Try to extinguish the fire using appropriate firefighting equipment only if you are trained and it is safe to do so.

2. After carrying out RACE:

• Follow the instructions of your Fire Warden
• Prepare to evacuate if necessary
• Leave the light on
• Save records if possible

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2. Head to a local park.

Nature can have a powerful effect on our mental state, says Dr Jason Strauss, instructor in psychiatry at Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance. There’s a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced stress, anxiety and depression. While exercising in nature brings double benefits, simply listening to natural sounds or looking at something pleasant like trees and greenery can distract your mind from negative thinking.

3. Challenge your thinking.

When you feel low you can tend to overthink. If you think that everything is going wrong, ask yourself if that’s really true, suggests psychologist Alice Boyes. It’s easy to feel that all you experience is bad luck, she says, but if you do a more honest analysis of what’s going wrong and what’s going right, you’ll see that the ratio of good to bad things in your life might be more 50:50 than 10:90.

4. Try something new.

Sometimes when we feel low, we’re simply bored with the same old activities, people, perspectives, and routines, says Boyes. If this rings true for you, try something new. It could be a visit to somewhere you’ve never been, or something as simple as a walk in a different area or cooking a new recipe.

Sometimes a low mood can signal a more serious medical condition such as depression. If you’re finding it hard to work, socialise or function, make sure you see your doctor or a healthcare professional.

Our ability to endure discomfort may be getting worse, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Patience is a skill we can develop – and it might just make us happier.

You notice immediately when people are impatient. Drivers honking at traffic lights, customers complaining loudly about the service in a restaurant, workmates frustrated when you are a little slower with a task.

The patient among us don’t get the same attention. But patience – the ability to keep calm in the face of disappointment, distress, or suffering is worth cultivating, says Sarah Schnitker, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University. Her work has linked patience with life satisfaction, self-esteem, self-control and even being better able to pursue and accomplish goals.

“When you’re patient, you’re calmer, so you’re able to keep persisting when it’s difficult,” she says. “You’re also able to know when to act and when to conserve energy.”

Schnitker’s research has also found impatience to be linked with loneliness, a higher incidence of depressive symptoms and negative emotions. Other research links impatience with a higher risk of heart problems and even to shorter telomeres, the part of our DNA that influences how cells age.

Patience is a skill

If you recognise that you lose your temper pretty quickly, can you learn to be more patient? Schnitker believes you can.

Don’t rely on sheer will. If you’re serious about cultivating patience, says Schnitker, you need to think of it as another skill that takes practice. Any time you feel frustration or adversity, you can practise patience. Whether you’re at home with the kids, at work with colleagues, or at the supermarket check-out, taking some deep breaths and practising patience can make the difference between getting annoyed and staying calm.

Remind yourself you’re only uncomfortable. When minutes feel like hours – such as when you’re stuck in traffic or being put on hold forever – it can feel uncomfortable because you have little or no control over the situation. Try to remember that you are simply uncomfortable. When you recognise and accept discomfort you’ll find it much easier to cope.

Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If the reason for your impatience is another person, flick the switch in your head to empathy. Maybe your co-worker has a lot on his plate, or the person in the supermarket queue is elderly and struggling to find her cash. Reminding yourself that they are only human can help you become more patient in the moment.

And take heart. Even the most zen of us can’t be patient all the time and patience can quickly evaporate when we’re over-tired, sick, in pain, hungry, stressed or even overheated. Be patient with yourself when you’re learning patience.

We live in a noisy world

While one of the major causes of hearing loss is ageing, another common cause is exposure to noise.

This can come from voluntary exposure such as noisy cars or motorbikes, loud concerts or night clubs, or listening to loud music through headphones.

You can also be exposed to too much noise when you’re at work. Many people work in an environment where they are exposed to loud noise. If you’re in manufacturing and construction, you’re more likely to be affected.

Excessive noise at work can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss, or tinnitus (ringing in the ears). If you work in a noisy environment the damage to your hearing can be cumulative, even taking a number of years.

The degree of hearing damage will depend on:

• the level/s of noise you’re exposed to;
• how often and how long you have been exposed to the noise, e.g workers who are exposed to hazardous noise on a daily basis at work are at a far greater risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss; and
• your susceptibility to noise.

What you can do

The most effective way to control noise is to eliminate it completely or reduce it. But when this isn’t possible, it’s important to always wear personal hearing protectors, such as ear-muffs or ear plugs, and make sure you wear them correctly.

If you do suspect you have some degree of hearing loss, see your doctor, who can organise for you to have a hearing test.

Quick noise level check

It’s not always obvious when noise levels are hazardous. A quick test you can do is the ‘one metre rule’. If you need to raise your voice to talk to someone about one metre away, you can assume the sound level is likely to be hazardous to hearing.

Sounds a crazy idea? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. The benefits of icy cold plunges have been known for centuries, even practised by the Romans in their famous bath houses. Science is now catching up, with evidence that regular cold showers can lift your mood, increase alertness, and improve your immune system.

A recent study from the Netherlands found cold showers could reduce the number of sick days people took.

The 3000 participants in the study were asked to finish their morning showers with a 30-, 60-, 90-second blast of icy cold water, or to shower as they usually did, for 30 consecutive days.

They found the cold shower groups were absent 29 per cent fewer days than people in the control groups.

“This is the first high-level evidence showing that cold showers can benefit your health,” says lead researcher Dr Geert Buijze.

Even though many of the participants initially hated the cold shower experience, they stuck it out. By the end of the study two-thirds of the people decided to continue with them, said Dr Buijze.

Want to give it a try? Ease yourself in with 10 seconds, then build up gradually. If you have a medical condition and are not sure you should have icy cold showers, talk to your doctor. People with weaker immune systems and serious heart conditions, for instance, should get their doctor’s approval first.

• Another great way to feel more connected and purposeful is to volunteer for a cause that’s important to you. This could be online volunteering in the evening, or in real life on weekends.
• And of course, if you have a dog, make the most of having your very own friend-finding machine. Take your dog to the local dog park or café at a regular time, and you’ll soon find yourself bumping into and getting to know other dog owners. Dogs have the ability to break down barriers and get even the shyest people talking.

How to calculate how much sugar you’re eating

Food labels can tell you how much sugar is in a food, but they don’t tell the whole story.

There are two parts to a food label: the list of ingredients and the nutrition information panel (NIP). The NIP is also called the nutrition facts label in some countries.

The NIP will list total sugars per serving and per 100g. What it won’t tell you is whether that sugar is a natural part of the food or added by the manufacturer. This can be very misleading with a food such as natural Greek yoghurt. While the NIP will list sugar, this is the lactose – an intrinsic, natural sugar of diary foods. If you want to know whether a pot of yoghurt has sugar added, you have to read the list of ingredients.

When sugar is added to a food it must be included in the list of ingredients. You’d think sugar would be easy to spot, but there are over 40 different names for added sugar, including barley malt, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, dextrose, molasses, and maltose. Going back to the example of yoghurt, and added sweetener may appear as sucrose, fruit juice concentrate or honey.

Before you make a resolution not to let any sugar pass your lips, even WHO don’t recommend zero intake, most people would benefit from reducing our intake, but we don’t need to totally quit. So that’s good news for the chocolate lovers among us.

Which sugar is the healthiest?

Coconut sugar, rapadura, maple syrup, agave, rice malt syrup – they are all sugar, all act in a similar way in the body, and all have the same kilojoules. Some may be slightly less processed and contain trace amounts of nutrients but nothing that’s going to make a significant difference to your health – only your wallet.

Ways to be wise around sugar

• Don’t drink your sugar. Sweetened drinks are the easiest way to over-consume sugar, and these include soft drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juice.
• Read the labels on the foods you eat most often. Some will have more added sugar than you suspect. And if any form of sugar is listed in the top three ingredients, that suggests it’s a high-sugar food.
• Want to work out how many teaspoons of added sugar a product has? One teaspoon holds about four grams of sugar.
• Enjoy baking? Cut the sugar by at least one third – you’re unlikely to notice the difference.
• Don’t avoid whole fruit and dairy because of their intrinsic sugar – these are foods that are part of a healthy diet and haven’t been linked to any adverse health outcomes.

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a disease, but it is a symptom of other medical conditions. It can be caused by neurological damage, vascular disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism and long-term exposure to loud noise.

Short-term tinnitus can be due to wax build-up in the ears, or even a reaction to medication such as aspirin or antibiotics.

What can I do about it?

Although tinnitus can’t be seen or heard by others, it can be diagnosed through hearing tests, so see your doctor or an audiologist.

Your doctor may be able to identify the underlying cause of the tinnitus and find ways to manage that. For example, if your tinnitus is caused by medication, they might suggest switching to another type.

You can also try the many proven treatments and therapies. While these therapies can’t get rid of tinnitus, they can help reduce the perceived severity and make it easier to deal with.

What are the treatments for tinnitus?

• Hearing aids

Around 90 per cent of people with tinnitus also have hearing loss, but even if you’re in the other 10 per cent, a hearing aid can still help.

• Sound therapies

External sounds can help mask, distract or help your brain ignore your particular tinnitus noise.

• Emotional therapies

The psychological impact of tinnitus is significant, and therapies which help you manage the stress and distress it causes can make a huge difference.

• Wellness and lifestyle

Stress, alcohol and caffeine can make tinnitus worse, and many people have found that changes such as healthier diet, exercise, meditation and yoga can help.

What meditation CAN do

Meditation, along with its offshoot mindfulness, is proven to boost your mental and physical health.

Thousands of studies suggest it can help you reduce stress, improve sleep, increase focus and improve anxiety, depression and insomnia, and even reduce blood pressure.

There are too many studies to go into here, but let’s focus on some of the most popular benefits:

• Stress reduction

Meditation is scientifically proven to reduce stress within eight weeks of regular practice.

Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, found that meditating can change your brain, particularly the parts of the brain linked with stress.

She conducted a study of people who had never meditated before, and put one group through an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program. In the group who learned meditation, she found differences in five areas of the brain, including the parts involved in mind-wandering, in learning, cognition, memory and emotional regulation; in empathy and compassion and in the amygdala, the part for anxiety, fear and stress.

• Focus

Meditation is proven to help you improve your focus, and in today’s “attention economy”, that’s something of a superpower.

Researchers from the University of Washington studied the impact of an eight-week course on mindfulness-based meditation on a group of knowledge workers. They found those who trained in meditation stayed on tasks longer and made fewer task switches as well as reporting less negative emotion afterwards.

• Anxiety, depression, and insomnia

A 2014 literature review of 47 trials in 3,515 participants suggests that mindfulness meditation programs show moderate evidence of improving anxiety and depression.

Another 2012 review of 36 trials found that 25 of them reported better outcomes for symptoms of anxiety in the meditation groups compared to control groups.

What meditation CAN’T do

While meditation and mindfulness are proven to help deal with the challenges of life, they’re not a cure-all.

One of the reasons people give up or get frustrated with meditation is the expectation that it will solve all your problems and transform your life.

Recently, numerous psychotherapists and meditation teachers have voiced concern about the commercialisation of mindfulness.

Dr Nicholas Van Dam, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, was a co-author of a paper called Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Along with psychiatrists, psychologists, and mindfulness experts from 15 different institutions, he says we need to be wary of people over-selling the benefits of mediation.

“I think the biggest concern among my co-authors and I is that people will give up on mindfulness and/or meditation because they try it and it doesn’t work as promised,” says Dr Van Dam.

Another concern is that when people are told they can, and should, ease their stress with mindfulness, it can imply that our stress is caused by us and our inability to control our minds, not by the inequalities of the system we live in.