Potassium

Potassium is a mineral rather than a vitamin but is important for good health. Eating foods rich in potassium will help cut your stroke risk. It's protective effect is thought to be linked to its blood pressure-lowering properties.

BUT If you have significant kidney problems or are on some blood pressure-lowering medications, too much potassium can be harmful, so check with your GP first if you are in one of these groups.

Top potassium sources include: baked potatoes, salmon, bananas, broccoli, milk, oranges, green beans, carrots and apples.

Good Housekeeping, January 2015

Slow Breath for Less Stress

Count how many breaths you take in a minute. If it's more than 16, you are a shallow breather and could be depriving yourself of oxygen and reducing you energy levels. Slow down and you'll become more resistant to stress.

Longer, slower breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, which means you are naturally more calm.

Bowen Technique practitioner Caroline Kremer (carolinekremer.com) has created Just Breathe, a technique to get you into the slow breathing habit. Take a normal breath, but when you exhale, make a 'sss' sound and keep going until your lungs are empty - when you feel like stopping, try to keep the 'sss' going a little lomger. You'll then automatically take a deep breath in. Repeat 10 times. Do it in the morning to feel energised all day.

Item in Good Housekeeping September 2014.

What Insurance Do You Need?

A quick run down on various types of insurance.

• Cars, vans and motorbikes must be insured. Beware of calling the insurer after a small scrape to see if if is worth claiming - it will put up your next premium whether you actually claim or not.
• Life insurance is only worth having if you have someone who is financially dependant on you. If you have children, then term assurance, which pays out if you die while they are in education, is good value. If you have a joint mortgage, insure both your lives so the debt is paid if either dies. Otherwise only insure your life if your death would cause a partner/family member financial hardship. Factor in what your pension scheme will pay.
• Income protection pays you if illness keeps you off work for a long time. Check how much and for how long it will pay out and factor in what your employer will pay. Don't confuse this with critical illness cover, which is generally worse value.
• Buildings cover is compulsory if you have a mortgage. If you own outright, it is a good idea as it is relatively cheap and protects against disaster. Usually it does not cover fences, sheds or garden items.
• Contents cover. Most people have elecronic devices, clothes, jewellery and possessions which would cost thousands of pounds to replace. So insuring new for old is a good idea. Make sure your home is kept secure and that the insurance still applies when you are out of the house or abroad. That can be the best way to insure mobile phones.
• Travel insurance is vital if you are going to countries where medical costs are highm such as the USA. Make sure it includes any sports you plan to do. Lost luggage and cancellations may be hard to claim for. An annual policy can be a good idea if you regularly take several foreign holidays a year.
• Most other insurance is very expensive for what it offers. Read terms and conditions carefully.

Paul Lewis's Your RT Money feature in Radio Times 21-27 March 2015

Build Confidence

We all have something we don't feel confident about - and every bit of low-esteem holds us back, especially in the workplace. And it's worse for women. Some of the obstacles are:

• Sexist cycle. The lack of female role models at senior levels exacerbates the perception among women that they are unlikely to make it to the top. The UK is in the bottom 5 economies when it comes to female chief executives, with only four in the whole list of FTSE 100 companies.
• Attainment vs potential. Research shows that while women are promoted for their potential with their past mistakes overlooked, women are promoted for what they have already achieved, and any imperfections on their CV won't be forgotten.
• Not as likely to give it a go. Men overestimate their ability while women underestimate theirs; women are therfore even less likely to attempt the task.
• Appearance vs ability. A survey by the Girl Guide Association found that 87% of young women felt they were judged on what they looked like, rather than what they can do.
• The brain. Many neurological studies show that the shape of a woman's brain and the way hormones are excreted mean she is more likely to worry, to be less emotionally resilient, to cling to negative experiences and to be less focused on winning and demonstrating prowess.

Linda Kelsey: You need to be seen doing something. Volunteer to take on tasks you may not be sure you can satisfactorily complete - you may do better than you think. Prepare for meetings and interviews in depth; work out how you can incorporate what you want to say even if you are not directly asked about something. Put a proper monetary value on your services. Dare to ask for more (it is a measure of your confidence); at worst you may not get it, but no-one will lose their respect for you if you put up a good case.

Ten ways to build confidence (Margaret McDonagh, General Secretary of the Labour Party)

1. Speak up early. If your fear is speaking up, force yourself to do it. If you make a bit of a mess of it, do it again. If you are going to a big meeting, plan to say something early on - don't wait until the end, because fear will increase. And find a buddy you agree with - you can support his or her point, and she or he can speak up for you.
2. Know yourself. Make a list of all the skills you need and rate your confidence level from 1 to 10. Where you have a low score, look for these qualities in your team. While caution may be perceived as a lack of confidence, it can be beneficial to organisations. Hedge funds run by women outperform those run by men.
3. Build your brand. Developing your 'brand' is key to moving up in an organisation. It's about how you stand, behave in meetings, manage your boss and, crucuially, knowing what you do well.
4. Ask for feedback. research shows managers are less likely to feed back to a woman (she might cry). Men are taken to one side for a quiet word and given the chance to learn from their mistakes. So just ask.
5. Create your own opportunities. If you can't change jobs, start volunteering - become a magistrate or school governor, teach kids sport, do an Open University degree -anything to build confidence.
6. Think far ahead. Research shows young women tend to think only about the current job, or one step ahead - they don't have a long term goal. Men do. You can only get somewhere if you know where you are going.
7. Get a sponsor. Women are over-mentored and under-sponsored. Sponsors will speak up for you in public, put you forward for new opportunities and stand by you. Half the women with a sponsor will ask for a rise; at senior level, men are 50% more likely to have a sponsor.
8. Move on. Women tend to be more loyal to their organisations than men, but often you have to move to get a more senior role.
9. Build emotional resilience. Don't try to protect your daughters - they have to be able to pick themselves up and keep going. They need to know that talent is not enough. Make sure they get a summer job that boosts their confidence in dealing with people.
10. Feel the fear and refuse to give in. Speaking up and being strong is much better than living in paralysing fear. Change happens because you make it happen. There is no natural evolution to equality - you need to fight for it, stand up for it, and make it happen.

Feature in Good Housekeeping October 2014

Screen Wallpapers

To find a more interesting computer desktop background try one of the following.

The Lifehacker website has what it calls Wallpaper Wednesday and draws together collections of wallpapers for you to download and make use of yourself. Try it out at http://lifehacker.com/tag/wallpaper-wednesday

Alternatively use a favourite search engine with a search phrase and 'wallpaper' (e.g. fish wallpaper) - this will find wallpapers for computers as well as material to paper your physical walls.

The easiest way to save an image that you find is to right click on it and choose 'Set as desktop background'.  Alternatively do a search in the search engine's image function, limiting the size of images to that or your monitor, download your image and then set it as your background.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update September 2014