Tag: health tips

Heart research UK Healthy tip – National Cholesterol Month

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

National Cholesterol Month: The benefits of eating oats

October is National Cholesterol Month. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is needed in the cells of your body. Too much cholesterol in your blood can lead to a build-up in your arteries, which increases your risk of having a heart attack.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in fibre is a good way to keep your cholesterol healthy. Oats contain a type of soluble fibre known as beta-glucan, which can help to lower your cholesterol. In this healthy heart tip, we provide some ideas for increasing your consumption of oats.

Start your day with a warm bowl of porridge

As the weather gets cooler, you could start your day with a comforting bowl of warm porridge. Rather than adding sugar, honey, jam or syrup to your porridge, you could try adding fruit, such as berries, chopped apple or sliced banana and a sprinkling of chopped nuts, seeds or cinnamon. 

Save time in the mornings by preparing an oaty breakfast the night before

If warm porridge is not your thing, you could try starting your day with Bircher. Bircher is made by soaking oatmeal overnight in yogurt and adding fruit, nuts and/or seeds. Why not try out some of these Bircher recipes from BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/bircher-recipes

Add oatmeal or oatbran to soups and casseroles

You can get more oats in your diet by adding oatmeal or oatbran to soups and casseroles. This will increase the amount of fibre as well as helping to thicken your soups and casseroles.

Swap wheat crackers for oatcakes

If you tend to choose wheat crackers with your cheese, why not switch to oatcakes instead. You could also reduce your saturated fat intake by having a low fat cheese spread on your oatcakes, rather than a hard cheese, such as cheddar. Hard cheeses tend to be high in saturated fat, which can raise your cholesterol.

You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

Heart Research UK Healthy tip – Reducing your sugar intake

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Reducing your sugar intake

Around 63% of adults in the UK are either overweight or obese. Excess weight gain occurs when you consume more calories (energy) than you need. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of heart disease. Sugar provides energy and consuming too much can lead to weight gain.

In this Healthy Tip, we provide some tips for lowering your intake of sugary foods and drinks to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Check food labels

When checking food labels be aware that added sugar can be listed in a variety of ways, such as sucrose, glucose, maltose, fructose, dextrose, honey, syrup, molasses, treacle or fruit juice concentrates. The food label may also provide information on
how much sugar is contained.

High in sugar – Foods that are high in sugar contain 22.5g or more of total sugars per 100g

Low in sugar – Foods that are low in sugar contain 5g or less of total sugars per 100g

Save sugary foods and drinks for an occasional sweet treat

We all like to have a treat from time to time, but if we consume sugary foods and drinks too often, it can be a risk to our health. Sugar is added to many commonly consumed food and drink products, such as cakes, biscuits, puddings, sweets, chocolate, soft drinks and sweetened yoghurts. Try to limit the amount of these foods and drinks in your diet by eating them less often and in smaller portions.

Reduce sugar in your drinks

If you usually add sugar to hot drinks, why not cut back gradually on the amount of sugar you add, until you can cut it out altogether. Alternatively, you could opt for an artificial sweetener, however this will not help you to adjust your taste preference for less sugary drinks. Try swapping sugary soft drinks for water, sugar-free or reduced-sugar drinks. Unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies also contain sugar so try to limit your intake to no more than 150ml a day.

Reduce your sugar intake at breakfast time

Frosted, chocolate or honey-covered breakfast cereals tend to be high in sugar. Try replacing these with unsweetened wholegrain breakfast cereals. For added sweetness, you could top your breakfast cereal with fruit, such as sliced bananas or berries and this will also contribute to your 5 a day.

Switch to low-sugar desserts

For a low-sugar dessert try adding fruit to a low-fat and low-sugar yoghurt. If using tinned fruit, choose tins in juice rather than
syrup. If you cannot resist a sugary pudding, eating a smaller portion is a better option as it will contain less sugar than a regular-sized portion.

What about the sugars contained in fruit?

Fruit contains naturally occurring sugars as well as fibre, vitamins, minerals and water. In this combination fruit is generally regarded as being good for our health. Eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day is recommended as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Are honey and brown sugar healthy options?

Although they are often marketed as healthier options, brown sugar and honey are not better for you than white sugar. These products are simply different forms of sugar and they are all high in calories. Brown sugar is the same as white sugar, with a small amount of molasses added in to give it a brown colour and a different flavour. Although honey is a natural product, it has a low nutritional value and it is also high in calories. Therefore, you should try to reduce your intake of honey and brown sugar as well as other types of sugar and syrups.

Further information

If you would like further information on weight management, you can get advice and support from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-weight-loss-plan/

You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip: Smoking

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

SMOKING

In the UK around 6.9 million people over the age of 18 smoke. Although rates of smoking have decreased in recent years, the number of people who smoke remains high.

Smoking harms almost all organs in the body and it is the leading cause of preventable deaths in England. Smoking can damage your blood vessels and heart, which increases your risk of having a heart attack.

Quitting smoking can be very difficult, but it is an important step for reducing your risk of heart disease. We provide some tips for stopping smoking below.

List your reasons for stopping smoking

If you are trying to quit smoking, an effective and simple thing you can do to stay on track is to write a list of the reasons why you wish to quit smoking. Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, you can read this list and it should inspire you to keep going.

Decide a time

As soon as you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease will reduce. The sooner you decide to quit the better. Try to choose a date within the next two weeks. If you leave it too long, you will give yourself time to change your mind.

Make a plan for when you quit

Make a plan to quit smoking and ask your friends, family and co-workers for their support. Identify the triggers that make you feel like smoking and work out how to deal with them in advance. For example, if you hang around with other people who smoke, you could plan to spend more time with non-smokers or do smoke-free activities with friends who are smokers.

If you usually smoke during your break at work, plan to go for a walk instead. Dealing with cigarette withdrawal can be tough and it can lead to you feeling emotional and upset. Before quitting, ask people to be patient and understanding and remind yourself that these feelings are temporary.

Distract yourself when you get cravings

Cigarette cravings are intense urges to smoke. Quitting smoking requires a huge amount of willpower. Cigarette cravings are temporary and they can last for 5 minutes. To avoid giving in to cigarette cravings, try to distract yourself for 5-10 minutes. You could try doing some physical activity or a bit of housework, do a bit of colouring in or planning a healthy dinner. Once the craving has passed, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

You could also consider using a stop smoking aid, such as nicotine patches, gums, lozenges or nasal sprays to help stop the cravings.

Get support to stop smoking

There is a lot of support available for people who want to stop smoking. Getting support with stopping smoking can increase your chances of success. You could try contacting your local Stop Smoking Services or chatting to your GP. If you know someone who is also trying to quit smoking, you could offer to support each other. You could also seek advice from a friend or family member who has successfully stopped smoking.

You can get further support with stopping smoking and a free Personal Quit Plan from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree.

For more healthy tips, recipes and advice, visit heartresearch.org.uk

Heart-healthy diet tips

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written and read by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Heart healthy diet

Over seven million people in the UK are living with heart or circulatory disease. By eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of physical activity, avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, you can reduce your risk of heart disease.

A healthy diet can improve your blood pressure and cholesterol as well as helping you to manage your weight. Heart Research UK have some tips to help you reduce your risk of heart disease by improving your diet.

Increase your fibre intake

A diet that is high in fibre can reduce your risk of heart disease. Good sources of fibre include fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses and wholegrain foods, such as granary bread, brown rice and wholemeal pasta. Try choosing a wholegrain breakfast cereal, such as muesli, porridge or bran flakes and add some chopped fruit or berries.

Choose healthier fats and oils

Fats and oils are high in calories and it is important not to consume too much. Different types of fat are present in foods. Saturated and trans fats can increase your cholesterol and your risk of heart disease. It is recommended that saturated and trans fats are swapped for small amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated fats

Eating too much can increase your cholesterol and your risk of heart disease.

Examples include

  • Fatty meats
  • Hard cheeses
  • Butter
  • Cream
  • Coconut oil

Polyunsaturated fats

Small amounts are recommended for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and providing essential fatty acids.

Examples:

  • Oily fish (e.g. salmon)
  • Walnuts
  • Seeds (e.g. flaxseeds and sesame seeds)

Trans fats

Eating too much can increase your cholesterol and your risk of heart disease.

Examples:

  • Hard margarines
  • Fried food
  • Biscuits and cakes

Monounsaturated fats

Small amounts are recommended for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.

Examples:

  • Rapeseed oil
  • Olives and olive oil
  • Nuts
  • Avocados

If you eat meat, you could swap fatty meats for fish and lean meats, such as chicken (without skin), as well as cutting away visible fat from fatty meats, such as bacon.

Coconut oil is often promoted as a health food, however, it is high in saturated fat and can increase your cholesterol. If you currently cook with coconut oil, you could try switching to rapeseed oil.

Reduce your salt consumption

Too much salt in your diet can increase your blood pressure and your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Try swapping snacks that are high in salt, such as crisps and salted nuts, for healthier snacks, such as fruit, carrot sticks and hummus, popcorn and unsalted nuts and seeds.

Read the food labels to identify snacks that are lower in salt. Try to cut back on the amount of salt used in cooking gradually over time and increase the amount of herbs and spices to add more flavour.

Examples of some heart healthy recipes can be found on our website, at heartresearch.org.uk/recipes

Holiday health advice from NHS24

guide books

WITH the start of the school summer break, people in Scotland are being urged to prepare ahead to ensure they have a safe and healthy holiday, whether at home or abroad.

Scotland’s national telehealth and telecare service, NHS 24, is advising people to visit www.nhsinform.co.uk to get helpful tips and advice on summer holiday health issues, from sunburn and stings to travel sickness and heat exhaustion.

The online health resource includes a section dedicated to a ‘Safe Summer in Scotland’ providing information on how to stay safe in the heat and sun, as well as travel tips and advice about the safe preparation of food.

NHS 24 Medical Director Professor George Crooks said: “It is always a good idea to be prepared whether on holiday at home or abroad and the wide range of information available at www.nhsinform.co.uk can help you do just that. Whether it is finding out what vaccinations to have before travelling, what to do when an upset tummy strikes or how to deal with insect bites, the information is readily available.

“If you take regular medication, make sure you have enough to last for your whole trip. Remember to order and pick up your repeat prescription in plenty of time before your departure to prevent any last minute delays or unnecessary panic.

“It is essential to always wear sunscreen when out in the sun, even in the UK.  I would urge everyone to use a high factor sunscreen to protect themselves against the sun’s harmful rays. And if you are planning any picnics or barbecues in the coming weeks, it is important to keep food refrigerated until you leave home and use a cool box or bag to transport fresh food, particularly if you are taking meats or dairy products.

“For people planning to holiday in Europe, they should make sure they have a European Health Insurance Card. Information on where to apply is available at NHS inform.

“By taking these simple steps, you can help minimise or even prevent minor health problems from ruining your holiday.”

For more information, visit:

http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-in-focus/campaigns/safe-summer-in-scotland/

Follow us at @NHS24 and @NHSinform and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nhs24