High Intensity Training

High Intensity Training is also referred to as HIT exercise. 

Short bursts of high intensity activity within a period of exercise can improve aerobic fitness, insulin sensitivity and muscle strength. 

HIT breaks down the stored glucose in muscles very rapidly, activating more than 70% of your muscle cells.

Just 3 minutes a week of 20 seconds or 30 seconds where you push your body to its limits is needed. Start with a warm up, then alternate 20 to 30 seconds of HIT with 30 seconds of gentle exercise for 3 minutes.

HIT exercise can be cycling (including using an exercise bike), swimming, running and skipping.

Sunscreen Allergy

Some people develop an allergy to the usual range of sunscreens. The sun filters in the products break down in bright sunlight, a process which can cause an itchy, eczema-like rash on some skins.

Kalme Day Defense uses plant based ingredients; in trials it was found to reduce redness and sensitivity by 70%.

(Source unkown, noted May 2011)

Baking pastry and biscuits

Chill pastry and biscuits before baking for best results. Wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes.

Crops in Unheated Greenhouses

Many people only use their greenhouse for growing plants in the summer, and for storage (e.g. plant pots and seed trays) in the winter. But your unheated greenhouse can be used for growing crops most of the year.

An unheated greenhouse is up to 5° warmer than the temperature outside and will keep plants frost free in all but the worst of winters. So here are some tips to make the most of your greenhouse.

• Keep plants on the dry side and they are less likely to freeze. 
• Dry conditions also lessen the risk of fungal infections.
• Maintain an even temperature. Close the door and window vents in frosty or windy weather, and open on warm sunny days to prevent overheating.
• Keep plants away from contact with the glass.
• Remove summer shading to miximise light levels.
• Clean thoroughly between summer and winter use.
• Either a pile of bricks or a bucket of water in the greenhouse will absorb warmth by day and release it over night. 

What to grow? Try the following:

• Lettuce
• Basil and other herbs
• Chard and spinach beet
• Late sown carrots (no problems with carrot fly!)
• Chillies grown in summer will continue to fruit, just reduce the watering in autumn.
• Potatoes for Christmas; grow and early crop and cover with fleece on cold nights.

Portion control (1)

When beginning to eat healthily, it is important to learn portion control. So here are some ideas that will help you.

• Put food onto individual plates, not in serving bowls (and you will eat 20-25% less). 
• Remember your last main meal before snacking (this will help you eat up to 30% fewer calories). 
• Drink water 30 mins before a meal (and eat 13% fewer calories).

Hay Fever Facts

The pollen season is variable, and can extend from just after Christmas right round to the autumn, as shown below:

• Tree pollen: typically between January and June, with the worst month being April. Silver birch pollen is usually around in March and April.
• Grass pollen: typically from May through to September, with the highest levels on warm, sunny days in June and July.
• Rapeseed pollen: typically from mid-April to June. There is some dispute as to whether this is real or due to the simultaneous end of the birch pollen season and the start of the grass pollen season; however, it is also known that rapeseed releases volatile oils which can affect the airways.

An early mild spring can mean an earlier start to the season, and more pollen is released in windy weather.

Flowers are rarely a problem since because they are mostly pollinated by insects.

Fresh pollen in contact with water (or moisture in nasal passages or eyes) leaks allergen granules. Rain washes pollen out of the air but also releases allergen granules.

Wine can make hay fever worse, as it contains histamine.

Sugar Facts (1)

Switching to diet drinks might seem like a useful strategy to help with weight loss but beware as studies have found that sweeteners such as aspartamine and saccharine stimulate the appetite.

The most likely explanation is that when you taste sweet food or drink your body releases hormones that prepare it for the expected energy intake. When this doesn't happen, you are left feeling hungry and end up snacking more and so putting on weight.

So stick to water, or make it more interesting by adding a squeeze of lemon or lime, or fresh mint leaves. Alternatively, dilute fruit juice half and half with water.

Good Housekeeping, July 2013

On holiday, one can of cola a day could lead to a gain of nearly a pound in weight, so choose fizzy water instead.

Good Housekeeping, August 2013 

The Tribes of Britain

The Tribes of Britain: Who are we and where do we come from? by David Miles.
[Published by George Weidenfeld & Nicholson (May 2005)]

Who are the English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish? New scientific techniques can be used to explore this complex genetic jigsaw—ancient Britons and Saxons, Celts and Romans, Vikings and Normans, and more recent migrations. Drawing on the latest discoveries, this book both challenges traditional views of history and provides new insight into the British and Irish today.

Insect Pests - Ants

Keeping ants out of the kitchen

• Clean up spills straightaway. Store opened food and drink in the fridge.
• If you find ants indoors, put a few drops of liquid insecticide (e.g. Nippon Ant Killer) on to a non-absorbent surface near the ant run.
• If you have small children or pets around, use an ant trap such as Bait Station. The worker ants take the sweet bait back to the nest and feed it to the colony, which is then destroyed within a few days.
• Discourage their return by blocking up the entrance holes and wiping down surfaces with peppermint oil.

[Good Housekeeping July 2013]

Osteoporosis

As we age, our bodies change over time and that includes our height. Starting at about age 40, people typically lose about half an inch each decade. Although loss of bone density (often diagnosed after bone fractures) is often the symptom that leads to diagnosis of osteoporosis, a faster than usual loss of height may also indicate this condition. 

It's a good idea to keep your bones as healthy as possible, so here are some tips.

• Sleep on your side, or on your back with a pillow under your knees. 
• A bone healthy diet includes plenty of calcium, fish, fruit and vegetables (especially kale, spring greens and broccoli).
• Get plenty of exercise while young; girls aged 11 to 13 create as much bone as they will lose in the 30 years post menopause. 
• Try resistance exercise (e.g. Pilates, press-ups) and load bearing exercise (jogging, working with weights in the gym, skipping and yoga). 
• Get enough vitamin D with 10 to 15 minutes in the sun in the summer months and vitamin D3 supplements for the rest of the year.
• Avoid smoking, alcohol, and cola drinks (the acid content is not good for bone health). 
• If you have osteoporosis, avoid eating too much watercress and spinach as they contain oxalic acid which blocks uptake of calcium and fizzy drinks, which contain phosphates which may cause damage to bones. 

Flight Delay Facts

If you are stuck at the airport, you should get two free phone calls, faxes or emails, plus food and drink 'appropriate to the delay'. If you are delayed overnight, you should get hotel accomodation and transfers. But whether you are entitled to any of this depends on where you are flying to and the length of delay.

• A two-hour delay for flights under 932 miles (i.e. short-haul EU destinations)
• A three hour delay for flights between 932 and 2,174 miles.
• A four-hour delay for flights that are over 2,174 miles.
• If the delay lasts five hours or more (and the flight isn't cancelled), you can choose not to travel and get the cost of your tickets refunded.

[Good Housekeeping July 2013]

European Health Insurance Card

If travelling to Europe, make sure your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) hasn't expired. They only last for three to five years.

Your EHIC lets you get state healthcare at a reduced cost or sometimes for free. It will cover you for treatment that is needed to allow you to continue your stay until your planned return. It also covers you for treatment of pre-existing medical conditions and for routine maternity care, as long as you're not going abroad to give birth. The EHIC is valid in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries, including Switzerland.


Beware of websites charging up to £20 for the card. Renew your card for free online at the official website:
www.ehic.org.uk or call 0845 605 0707.

[Good Housekeeping July 2013]

Useful Mulches

Mulching is a useful technique in the vegetable garden to save on weeding and help conserve moisture. There are various products around, so which is best?

Straw: can be effective, especially for conserving moisture but in a wet summer it will harbour slugs. It does keep your boots nice and clean, though.

Grass clippings: free and effective. Just cut grass can get too hot for growing plants as it breaks down, so lay it out in the sun to dry, cool it down and spread it around. Especially good round potatoes, squashes, pumpkins and courgettes. As it rots it will add valuable nitrogen to the soil.

Strulch: a mineralised straw product. Not cheap but it suppresses weeds incredibly effectively and has a poor capacity to hold water so rain runs straight through to the soil. This means the surface stays dry, which helps keep the slugs away.

Bark: not a good choice for the veg patch as unless its properly rotted down it can cause nitrogen lock-up and it harbours slugs.

Alys Fowler in The Guardian Weekend, 2011

Keeping Water Clean

Although we often don't think about it, we add a number of chemicals into the waste water system simply through use of everyday products.

Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug. As with the contraceptive pill, our bodies do not use all of the active ingredients and the excess is excreted in our urine. Water companies are looking at working with pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs that our bodies can absorb better.

Triclosan is an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal found in soaps, deodorants, toothpastes, mouth washes and cleaning supplies. Surprisingly it is also increasingly found in other items such as kitchen utensils, toys, bedding, socks and rubbish bags. The American Food & Drug Agency found that soap is just as effective in the home, except in mouth wash, or in hospital to reduce the spread of MRSA.

The cost of removing Triclosan at sewage works in the UK is about £32bn. Denmark's public awareness campaigns have seen a 54% reduction in use. Some UK supermarkets are now eliminating it from their own brand products.

TributylTin (or TBT) is a highly effective fungicide. It is used in sports clothing to reduce odours from sweat but a small amount is enters the sewer system every time an item is washed. It's difficult to know if your kit contains TBT, but there are restrictions on importing products with high levels.

[Wessex Water Magazine Autumn/Winter issue 2013]

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the normal activity we do in everyday life – climbing stairs, folding laundry, walking around house, etc. But we are less active than previous generations as more people work in an office, drive taxis, lorries and buses for a living, and watch TV or use a computer in our leisure time. Consequently many people now spend 80% of their day sitting.

Research has shown that the more you sit, the greater your risk of diabetes and heart disease. And taht applies even if you do a gym workout every day and then spend the rest of the day sitting.

But it is easy to make changes and become more active and increasing movement can burn 500 calories a day. All these little things add up, so we need to get active.

• Try standing: to use the phone, to use the computer, have standing meetings at work.
• Walk rather than use the car, use the stairs instead of the lift, or walk to someone's office to talk about an issue or a decision instead of phoning or emailing them.
• Wiggle your toes or legs while watching TV, and get up an walk around in commercial breaks.
• Never have a duvet day.

Vinegar for cleaning

Vinegar is useful for various cleaning purposes. It removes white deposits from glassware, can be used to descale kettles and shower heads, and for cleaning windows.

Clean bathroom and kitchen tiles with a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar - it leaves them sparkling.

But you need to use distilled white vinegar and not malt vinegar - even white malt vinegar - as these contain sugar, which will leave a sticky residue on surfaces unless you rinse them thoroughly afterwards.

If you can't find it in shops, try Natural Collection (natural.collection.com) which sells Dri-Pak distilled white vinegar in 500ml sprays.

Good Housekeeping 2013

Currency cards

Currency cards are more convenient than traveller’s cheques. You load money onto the card by phone or internet – meaning you can upload extra money while on holiday.

If your card is lost or stolen, your money is protected, just like cheques; call your card company to block your account, reimburse any lost money, and post out a new card. 

As money is loaded onto the card, if it is stolen the thieves can’t get hold of your bank details. 

No expiry date, and money can be converted back to sterling on return if wished. You can also opt for a secondary card, if you and your partner both want one.

(Clipping dated 2013)