Pumping Marvellous

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Healthy Lifestyle Day with Rosegrove Nursery School in Burnley

This morning we were helping the children of Rosegrove Nursery school with making and eating some yummy smoothies made out of low fat milk, low fat yoghurt and fresh berries including strawberries, raspberries and blueberries among other fruits.

The children were having a “Healthy Heart Week” with Pumping Marvellous and the Burnley Healthy Lifestyle Team helping the children with the teaching staff to make them aware of healthy foods and the importance of regular exercise. The children were all set a test, in aid of sponsoring Pumping Marvellous and the BHF led “Heart of Blackburn Appeal” for a new scanner, on Monday to learn 10 different types of fruit and vegeatables and then on Friday they would tell the teachers what they had learn’t. Teachers and parents were asked to sponsor the children based on how many fruit they would remember on Friday. Let’s wish them all good luck because they certainly were getting stuck into the smoothies this morning.

I suppose in the light of the new figures published by Heart UK on the BBC website it makes you realise that especially in the Lancashire area there is a need for education and a different approach as to how that is delivered.

Here is the link to the BBC website

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Carers 12 Days of Christmas Special – Day 6

Food is ever so important – you are what you eat

Stress can affect eating habits in different ways. Some people will eat anything they can get their hands on, particularly carbohydrates. Others tend to go into a “starvation” mode and not eat much at all. These are both normal reactions, as our bodies behave differently when we are chronically stressed. However, neither of these responses will help relieve stress or contribute to a healthy body and mind.

Maintaining good nutrition habits is tough for anyone, but it’s especially difficult for a carer. Often your loved one is on a special diet or has a particularly selective appetite. There may be other family members to feed, and your time and energy are certainly limited. But you’ve still got to eat correctly. Good nutrition is a habit that you have to consciously cultivate. It begins at the supermarket. Learn to read labels. Start buying foods that benefit your body and mind. If you don’t bring it home, you can’t eat it.

You can train yourself to eat right, one food at a time. Your goals should include foods low in saturated fat, transfat, cholesterol and sodium (salt), and lots of fruit and vegetables every day, whole-grain/high-fiber foods, lean meats, poultry, fish (at least twice per week), and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. You should also use monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Also, cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars and salt. If you’re not going to eat much, at least eat smart. Foods that have a lot of “bang-for-the-buck” include deeply colored fruits and veggies (e.g., spinach, broccoli, carrots, berries and peaches), whole-grain/high-fiber foods (e.g., whole-wheat, oats/oatmeal and brown rice), oily fish (e.g., salmon, trout and herring).

Vegetables and fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber — and they’re low in calories. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease by lowering your blood pressure. Eat deeply colored vegetables and fruits because they tend to be higher in vitamins and minerals than others.

Related articles

• Carers 12 Days of Christmas Special – Day 6 (pumpingmarvellous.com)
• Eating Your Way to Heart Health (everydayhealth.com)
• Helpful Hints to Instill Healthy Nutrition Habits for Children (prweb.com)

Dry nasty coughs

As some of you may already know as you are experiencing a dry cough already it is uncomfortable and sometimes can put you in uncompromising situations. There could be numerous reasons for a dry cough but one of the most likely if you are a heart failure patient is the taking of ACE inhibitors. Below you will find some information on potential easing a dry cough.

ACE Inhibitors

ACE inhibitors are a commonly prescribed class of medications for high blood pressure. Most of their generic names end in -il, for example, lisinopril or ramipril (although verapamil is a drug for hypertension that is in a different class). About one in five people who uses these drugs develops a constant cough that simply won’t go away. Persons of Asian or Latin American Hispanic descent are more likely to have a bad reaction to this class of drugs, but a related class of medications call the ACE-receptor blockers does not have this side effect.

What can you do about a chronic cough? Aside from treating the underlying conditions, try these helpful considerations.

• Take a vitamin B supplement that includes vitamin B6. You may not experience greater lung capacity, but you will probably experience less wheezing and coughing.

• Eat a piece of fruit every day and servings of green vegetables several times a week. Studies in the UK of people with asthma, chronic bronchitis, or COPD who never ate fruit or vegetables have consistently noted dramatic improvement after including even one serving of fruit and vegetables a day in the diet.

• Indentify your personal coughing triggers, whether they are tobacco smoke, some frequently eaten food, fumes, dust, or pollen, and make a point of avoiding them.

• If you are allergic to pollen, limit your time outdoors between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., when most plants pollinate.

• Try yoga. You don’t have to do the asanas (postures) perfectly. The breathing practice that accompanies yoga will help you control cough and breathe more deeply.

And, finally, try eating onions. Onions, as well as whole apples, grapefruit, and grapefruit juice, are great sources of the antioxidant quercetin. This plant chemical is a natural antihistamine, stopping the process of inflammation in the lungs, nose, and throat that keeps air passages constantly irritated.

In a Finnish study involving 10,000 men and women, the flavonoids quercetin, hesperitin, and naringenin, found in apples and oranges, protected against asthma. Other fruits and vegetables, such as grapefruit, cabbage, and various fruit and vegetables were not associated with a decreased risk of asthma. A British study focusing on consumption of apples found that eating 1-1/2 oz (42 g) of apple a day reduced risk of asthma attacks by about one-third. Many people who eat these foods on a regular basis report that their coughing is greatly improved, and in some cases, coughing completely disappears.

It’s worth a go anyway. Remember always discuss supplements and changes in your regular diet to your Doctor or Nurse.