Bladder Tips

Bladder capacity: A women's bladder capacity is not that much smaller than a man's but women tend to limit the capacity of their bladders by continuing to go more than we need to - the 'just-in-case' habit. And it's not helped by the current obsession with drinking huge amounts of water. You only need 24ml of water per kilogram of body weight every 24 hours. So a 60kg (9st 6lb) woman needs just 1.4 litres (just under 3 pints) of water a day - and that's from everything you consume, including food. Though we do need a little more in hot weather or when exercising.

Our bladders can hold perhaps as much as a litre of fluid, but the 'micturation point' (when our bladder says 'now') is about 150 to 200 ml and varies between individuals. Some drinks have a diuretic effect (making you produce more urine for a while) so while out either avoid or restrict fizzy drinks containing aspartame, anything caffeinated, white wine and champagne.

At age 25, an average person's bladder can hold 2 cups of liquid.
At age 65, the average is half that capacity.

Female Urination Devices (FUDs) are funnel shaped pieces of plastic or card that allow women to pee standing up. They are useful medically: if you need to provide a urine sample, after surgery to help avoid catheterisation, and for women who have had a hip repalacement and find it difficult to sit down to pee. And in everyday life they can be a boon too: take one in the car on long journeys for emergencies, use in grotty public toilets, and at open air concerts where the queues can be lengthy. FUDs are now easily available and easy to maintain. Tip: There's a knack to using these, so practice in the shower at home first.

Cystitis: While the best position for a woman to urinate is squatting, as the pelvic floor is completely relaxed, urinating standing using a FUD won't cause cystitis. If you are worried about urinary infection, the top tip is to urinate straight after sex.

Good Housekeeping, August 2013

Figure Flattery

The right styles, colours and patterns can make all the difference.

• Play up to your best bits: Keep clothing in proportion and draw attention to what you like. Show off legs in a knee-length pencil skirt or fitted crop trousers. Emphasise a trim waist with fitted jackets or belts. Wearing baggy clothes top-to-toe makes you look bigger than you are.
• Stand tall: Heels do make your legs look slimmer. But you don't have to teeter around in stilettos - wedges, platforms and chunky heels all have the same slimming effect.
• The print rule: Bright, large-scale patterns and wide stripes will add pounds. To look smaller go small with pinstripes, polka dots and petite florals.
• Clever disguises: Clothes that are ruched, wrapped or draped divert attention from problem areas and are flattering for all sizes. A heavy jersey fabric will add support and smooth over lumps and bumps. Three quarter length sleeves are slimming and a good choice if you prefer to cover your arms.
• Tummy tamers: Narrow, tunic-style tops worn over slim trousers will draw the eye away from your tummy. Wear flat front trousers to smooth and reduce a muffin top.
• Buy the right underwear: Wearing a bra that fits properly can make the bust look smaller. Shapewear may not look sexy, but it works wonders. Buy a vest with a control panel or high waisted pants for a svelte sihouette.
• Use black strategically: a classic slimming tip, wear black on the parts you'd most like to visually slim. (My variation on this: Actually, not everyone likes or suits black and this works just as well with other dark colours such as navy, bottle green, deep burgundy and dark brown.)

Good Housekeeping, August 2013

Sugar Facts (2)

Sugar and your skin
A recent study comparing high levels of glucose in the blood and how old the subjects appeared. The older people appeared to be - on average it was five months older than they actually were - seemed to correlate with a high rate of blood sugar. The reason is that glucose attacks collagen and makes skin more brittle.

Michael Mosley in Radio Times, October 2013

High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is sweeter than sugar and interferes with leptin, a hormone that has a key role in controlling appetite.

Sugar and heart attacks
Sugar is a higher risk factor than fat for cardiac disease. So avoid low fat products as these typically contain higher levels of sugar to compensate for the lower fat content.

Fructose
Fructose is easily converted to fat in the body. When the liver is overloaded with sugars, leptin (the hunger controlling hormone) simply stops working, so the body doesn't recognise that it is full.

Phone Calls Abroad

Save money on phone calls made while abroad.

1. When you arrive at your destination, buy a local SIM to phone home for less.
2. Switch your mobile phone's 3G and roaming services off to avoid a hefty bill whenyou get back. For iPhones, go to: settings/general/mobile data. For Android, it's settings/data usage.
3. If you have free WiFi access, download Whatsappto send free texts to other Whatsapp users. Otherwise texts cost 11p a time within the EU, and more elsewhere. Receiving texts is free.

Good Housekeeping August 2013

Frozen Food

If the freezer is cold enough (-18C) and there are no power cuts, it doesn't matter how long food is frowzen from a safety point of view. But the texture and flavour may suffer, so label and date goods and use within these time periods.

• Cakes: 6 months (iced ones loose quality after 2 months)
• Bread: 4 weeks
• Uncooked pastry: 3 months
• Cooked fruit pies: 6 months
• Meat pies: 3 months
• Sauces, soups & stocks: 3 months
• Beef: joints (8 months); steaks, mince & cubed meat (3 months)
• Poultry: whole (1 year); pieces (3 to 6 months)
• Pork: 6 months
• Lamb: joints (6 months); cutlets (3 months)
• Sausages: 1 to 3 months
• Fish: 6 months
• Fresh vegetables: whole or sliced, blanched first (1 year - except for cauliflower - 6 months)
• Fresh fruit: whole or sliced (1 year); purees (6 to 8 months); juice (4 to 6 months)

 Good Housekeeping August 2013

Fresh vegetables don't need to be blanched if storing for less than 3 months. [Unknown source.]