Category: Health

What are we like?

We are like Sarah Jane Moss who does 6 classes a week for Healthy Generations.

“I became a fitness instructor to help people living with daily pain due to conditions I once lived with. I had lower back pain due to osteoarthritis in the lumbar spine and knee pain. With the right exercises I was able to manage my pain and conditions. I believe strongly in exercise to help manage medical conditions and  improve the quality of life, health and wellness.

I love teaching group exercise classes in the community. It’s a wonderful thing how health charities like Healthy Generations bring people together in a friendly and positive atmosphere. It helps to reduce loneliness in some people and is a good way to keep fit, socialise and meet new people.

Exercise helps with day to day activities improving the quality of life.

I find it so uplifting to see the joy in everyone’s faces as they begin to move their bodies through a series of exercises. I choose to teach face to face classes as I love the atmosphere and togetherness. In a class people connect to with each other which in turn helps with motivation and build relationships; and it’s so much fun! 

When coming to my classes expect to feel uplifted and energised. I will challenge you in a good way and you will leave feeling worked out! My mission is to help Islington’s older generation feel fit, functional and happy.”

This week the highlight is her “Exercise to Music” Class every Tuesday 10.00am at the West Library just off Caledonian Road.

To join click here

And she also does:

Monday Dance Fitness Sundial Centre 2.00pm – JOIN
Monday Older People Strength, Kings Square 12.00pm – JOIN
Tuesday Dance Fitness at Jean Stokes 3.00pm – JOIN
Thursday Seated Keep fit at Light Project 1.00pm – JOIN
Friday Highbury Fields Outdoors Keep Fit 9.45am – JOIN

Lactose – The Full Story

65 percent of all adult humans in the world are lactose intolerant. For the other 35 percent the ability to tolerate lactose (called lactose persistence because the ability persists into adulthood) is between 15 to 54 percent in Eastern and Southern Europe, 62 and 86 percent in in central and western Europe and more than 90 percent in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The two other areas with lactose persistence are the Maasai people in Eastern Africa and the Fulani in central and west Africa. All of us have a long history of farming cattle. So us adult Brits have an over 9 in 10 chance of being able to digest lactose.

All human infants are obviously lactose tolerant in order to feed on breast milk but then become increasingly intolerant after weaning and transition to adulthood.

Lactose intolerance is not an allergy – it’s an intolerance. An allergy is an adverse immune response which sometimes happens in response to the protein in milk which can affect between 2 and 3 percent of infants.

Cheese has more or less the same nutritional makeup as milk but has much of the lactose removed. Most of the lactose goes out with the whey which is the liquid part of milk left after milk has been curdled and strained in the production of cheese.

Lactose levels in milk are around 5 percent and is only 0.07 percent in Cheddar or Parmesan. That is a 70 fold reduction. The softer the cheese the more lactose it will contain. Ricotta can contain 3 percent lactose. Sensitivities to lactose vary so a lot of people who can’t tolerate milk can eat cheese, especially the harder ones. Butter also has very low lactose.

Yoghurt is also easier to digest than milk. The best yogurt for people with lactose intolerance is a full-fat, probiotic yogurt containing live bacterial cultures. The live bacteria helps break down lactose so your body has less to process on its own.

It’s best to look for yogurts labeled “probiotic,” which means they contain live cultures of helpful bacteria. Yogurts that have been pasteurized, a process that kills the bacteria, may not be as well tolerated.

Additionally, full-fat and strained yogurts like Greek and Greek-style yogurt could be an even better choice for people with lactose intolerance because full-fat yogurts contain more fat and less lactose-laden whey than low-fat yogurts. Greek and Greek-style yogurts are strained during processing. This removes even more of the whey, making them naturally much lower in lactose.

Things that can help – CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Two simple exercises that really help carpal tunnel syndrome.

Morning Exercise Routine

In the interests of coming up with the possible, Healthy Generations have put together a short exercise routine that you can do in five or six minutes. Three of the movements are to aid flexibility and large joint mobility. The last four are as a group known as the Nitric Oxide Dump.

The Nitric Oxide Dump is a fast way to increase the amount of nitric oxide in our bodies. The endothelium (inner lining) of blood vessels uses nitric oxide to tell the surrounding smooth muscle to relax, resulting in vasodilation, increasing blood flow, and lowering blood pressure. Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide within the body, while mouth breathing does not.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is found in foods in two main forms, mostly as cholecalciferol and in small amounts as ergocalciferol. Vitamin D is converted into another (active) form in the liver and then undergoes further changes in the kidney. In this form it works as a hormone in controlling the amount of calcium absorbed by the intestine. Vitamin D is also made by the action of ultra violet rays on the skin and this is the most important source for the majority of people since few foods contain significant amounts of vitamin D.
Experts say going outside for 10-20 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin.

Sunbeds do not provide you with Vitamin D.

If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis consider going to one of our remedial classes https://healthygenerations.org.uk/osteoporosis/ Instructor Petra Hind was trained at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London and we originally set the classes up after seeing research done at Loughborough University called the Hip Hop Study. They said, “The findings suggest that exercise could be used to target bone gains in areas of structural weakness. Further study found that the exercises also increased hip bone density in postmenopausal women.” Go to https://www.ncsem-em.org.uk/research/optimising-health-wellbeing/projects/the-hip-hop-study/ and have a look.

Vitamin D is essential for proper bone mineralisation. Poor diet or inadequate exposure to sun are viewed as the two main factors in Vitamin D deficiency.

VITAMIN D CONTENT OF SELECTED FOODS

(Average adult RDA is 400 IU, or 10 mcg)

The Anti Cancer diet

David Servan-Schreiber is a psychiatrist who, diagnosed with a brain tumour, was shocked at how little information there was on how to help yourself when faced with a cancer diagnosis.

The book is the story of his search for the science behind the effect of exercise, meditation, support groups, addressing the possible reasons for developing cancer and the best anti-inflammatory foods to eat and the worst foods to avoid.

It also explains how cancer develops and the fact that we all have cancerous cells that most of the time either don’t develop or get wiped out.

It is very well written and a good read beyond the invaluable information. Below are his recommendations for what foods to eat. For brevity I’ve left out why although in the book he explains the science and reasons. 

One thing I will say is this is not ‘woo-woo science hope this helps’. Everything suggested below has been researched and proven to make a difference.  

Green Tea

You can use decaf. Drink 6 cups a day

Olive Oil

Has to be cold pressed extra virgin. Have between half to one tablespoon a day used in cooking, salad dressing or added to vegetables.

Turmeric

Must be mixed with black pepper to be assimilated in the body. Ideally dissolve in olive oil. Mix a quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric powder with half a tablespoon of olive oil and a generous pinch of black pepper. Add to vegetables, soups and salad dressings.

Ginger

Add grated ginger to a vegetable or meat mix while cooking in wok or pan. Or marinate fruits in lime juice and grated ginger. Or cut into slices and steep in boiling water for 10-15 minutes and drink as a tea.

Cruciform Vegetables

Brussels sprouts, bok choi, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Only steam cabbage and broccoli to preserve necessary chemicals.

Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Chives

Eat all cooked or raw every day. (Garlic molecules are released when clove is crushed and dissolved in a little olive oil).

Vegetables and fruit

Carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, certain varieties of potimarron squash (Hokkaido squash), tomatoes, persimmons, apricots, beetroot, and all bright coloured fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes and tomato sauce

Tomatoes must be cooked to release necessary nutrients. Use canned tomato sauce with olive oil and no added sugar. Or make your own: cook tomatoes in olive oil. Add onions, garlic, tofu or eggs rich in omega 3 along with cumin, turmeric, pepper and seasonings. Avoid cans with plastic linings inside or choose brand in glass jar. Olive oil helps assimilation of nutrients.

Soy

Replace conventional milk with soy milk and yoghurt. Soy beans and mung beans can be cooked or sprouted. Also use tofu, tempeh, miso. Tofu can be cooked or eaten raw.

Mushrooms

Shiitake, maitake, cremini, portobello, oyster and thistle oyster mushrooms all good. Good for supporting immune system during chemotherapy.

Herbs and spices

Rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and mint.  Also parsley and celery.

Seaweed

Nori,  kombu, wakame, arame and dulse are main seaweeds although there are more – they are all brown seaweeds.

Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries.