BlueSkies Newsletter - January 2011
Welcome to the January edition of the BlueSkies Newsletter.
We hope that you find the articles informative and useful.
In this edition, we look at:
Pre-Exercise Stretching - not for performance?
Also this month, find out about the nutritional benefits of kale and how you can learn to Scuba Dive in conjunction with BlueSkies.
If you have any comments or there is a particular topic that you would like us to cover in the future, please contact us by email.
Eating Well At Work
Was one of your New Year's Resolutions to eat more healthily? Is your time at work making it difficult to stick to this resolution? If so, you're not the only one - it can be really tough to eat healthily at work. Most offices have biscuit tins, chocolate tins and birthday cakes in the office on a regular basis and some even have vending machines. However, by following our advice, you can beat the temptations!
Be Prepared!
Invest a little time in making your lunch the night before and putting some healthy snacks in your bag in the morning. This will help prevent the mid-morning vending machine raids and that almost inevitable cake that goes so well with the mocha-choca-latte! Try lunches based around cous-cous, rice or pasta - they're quick to prepare and taste great the next day.
Eat Breakfast!
Eating breakfast will boost your metabolism. This means that you 'burn' more calories throughout the day, improve your mental ability and help regulate your food intake during the day. Good breakfasts contain fibre and protein to help prevent those mid-morning biscuit tin raids! Healthy breakfast choices include porridge with fruit, wholegrain bagels and peanut butter, yoghurt with fresh fruit and honey, baked beans/scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast or fruit smoothies made with yoghurt.
Stay Hydrated!
To stop dehydration taking its toll on your mental and physical well-being, aim to drink about 1 to 2 litres of fluid per day. Dehydration causes headaches, reduces concentration & mental capacity and causes fatigue - all of which affect productivity. Plain water tends to be the healthiest option but try alternating this with sparkling water, fruit teas, squash, pure fruit juice and, yes, the odd coffee or tea.
Go Nuts!
Seeds and nuts are convenient, healthy snacks but go easy on the quantity if you're watching your waistline as they're pretty calorie dense. However, they are full of nutrients, are a good source of protein and tend to contain 'healthy fats' which may lower bad cholesterol. Avoid the salted, dry-roasted or chocolate covered varieties though!
Avoid Meetings!
No, not because they're a tedious waste of time but because when we're at meetings, we normally end up munching on biscuits and drinking loads of coffee. If avoiding meetings isn't feasible, try to arrange to have water, fruit, seeds and nuts available instead or take your own with you.
Speak To Your Boss!
Most employers are willing to look into suggestions to improve staff productivity. Could you suggest fresh fruit and water at meetings? Is it possible to ask for a water-cooler in the office if you don't already have one? Can your vending machine be stocked with healthier alternatives? Or would you all benefit from a BlueSkies healthy eating seminar or health screening day? If you don't try, you will never know!
BlueSkies offer a range of cost-effective corporate services including:
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Education services including seminars, workshops and lectures
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Health screening services including cholesterol, diabetes risk, body composition and blood pressure assessments
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Weight management services which can be conducted on-site or on-line
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Physical activity and fitness services
For more information on any of BlueSkies corporate services, please email us or visit the Workplace Well-Being pages by clicking here.
Food Of The Month - Kale
It may be chilly outside but this is perfect weather for Kale which is abundant in the colder months of the year. Most of us may have heard of Kale but many of us will never have tried it - so just what is Kale and should it be on your shopping list? Well, it's a dark green leafy vegetable with the most commonly found variety being curly kale.
As a member of the Brassica family of vegetables which includes cabbages, broccoli and sprouts, kale is rich in Vitamins C, A & E as well as being high in iron, calcium and potassium. In addition to this, it is rich in cancer-preventing phytochemicals such as sulphoraphane and low in calories. Kale can be used instead of cabbage or spinach in most dishes as well as being a great ingredient to include in soups & stews.
Forget Pre-Exercise Stretching For Performance
For many years, there has been debate about when and how we should stretch. Should we be doing static stretching or dynamic stretching, before or after exercise? Well, current consensus is that dynamic stretching should be used as part of the pre-exercise warm up and static stretching has its place as part of the cool down process.
Static stretches were traditionally used in warm ups with the thought that they would help to lower injury risk and improve performance but there is no credible evidence to support these theories. In fact, the majority of recent research finds the opposite to be true and concludes that static stretching may hinder performance and increase injury risk.
Generally, research findings have shown that pre-exercise static stretching can decrease performance by up to 30% in activities that require strength, power and speed and this may last for up to 60 minutes. For example, Brandenburg et al (2007) found that static stretching reduced performance in a vertical jump performance test. In this study, static stretching reduced vertical jump height by 1.4cm as compared to performing no stretching prior to the jump test.
Several studies came out around the same time a few years ago looking at the influence of static stretching on endurance performance, particularly distance running. The conclusion of these was that stretching prior to long-distance running may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running which would obviously be detrimental to overall performance e.g. Wilson et al (2010).
Interestingly, research from the British College of Osteopathic Medicine (2010) has shown that omitting all stretching from the pre-exercise routine may be beneficial for athletes requiring endurance. This study focussed on hamstring muscle endurance and tested the influence of static stretching, dynamic stretching and no stretching on hamstring muscle endurance. The results showed that detrimental effects on performance, as assessed by both fatigue index and total work done were seen in both static and dynamic stretch groups as compared no stretching. It is possible that stretching puts the muscles into a fatigue like state before activity and therefore reduces performance.
With regard to injury prevention, should stretching be performed pre-exercise to achieve this? Current thinking suggests not. Most sound scientific studies are unable to link pre-exercise static stretching with reduced injury rates. However, flexibility itself may be linked to injury risk so there is a case for flexibility training at other times.
Diabetes - The Risks We Face
Diabetes is a potentially life-threatening condition which is becoming more common in the UK and there are many reasons for this increase. Most new cases of diabetes that are not congenital are caused by preventable factors such as a person's weight and physical activity levels. However, there are certain 'risk-factors' that are outside of our control such as our gender. Here we look at the factors that can increase our risk of diabetes.
Being Male - Men aged 35-54 are almost twice as likely to have diabetes compared to their female counterparts, according to a report published in 2009 by Diabetes UK. 2.4% of men in England aged 35-44 have diabetes compared to just 1.2% of women in this age group and 6% of men aged 45-54 have this condition as opposed to 3.6% of women of the same age. What's more, diabetes has risen 4 times faster in men aged 35-44 over the last 12 years as compared to women of the same age.
Being Black or of South Asian Origin - These ethnic groups are 5 times more likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Being Overweight - Obesity is a major diabetes risk factor - not all people with diabetes are overweight but statistics show that over 80% of those diagnosed with this condition are. With more and more people being diagnosed as obese, it follows that the incidence of diabetes will rise. Carrying excess fat mass interferes with the body's ability to use insulin and research shows that losing weight can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes in those at high risk by 58%.
Being Apple-Shaped - Having a waist circumference of over 37" (94cm) in men (over 35" (90cm) in Asian men) or 31.5" (80cm) in women increases a person's risk of developing diabetes. In fact, carrying excess fat around the waist can more than quadruple a person's risk of heart disease because this type of fat pumps out chemicals which affect the use of insulin within the body.
Being Inactive - Staying physically active decreases the risk of diabetes as it helps the body to use insulin effectively and lowers the risk of insulin resistance. What's more, physical active helps a person to maintain a healthy weight which is an important factor in diabetes-prevention. Taking part in regular physical activity can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 64% in those at high risk.
If you think that you may be at risk of diabetes, a simple blood test can reveal whether you are. These are available through your GP or as part of BlueSkies Health MOTs - click here for more details.
Activity Of The Month - Scuba Diving
If you've never tried Scuba Diving, here are a few reasons why you might want to give it a go:
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You can escape the world that you know and enter a peaceful place. -
Scuba diving can renew your energy levels and excite your senses.
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You can explore new places such as historic shipwrecks and pristine coral reefs, safe in the knowledge that there are few other people that have had these experiences.
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You will feel closer to nature and experience a feeling of freedom.
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It is relatively inexpensive compared with getting started in other popular adventure sports.
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the largest diver training organisation in the world and BlueSkies have teamed up with them to offer our readers the opportunity to try a "Discover Scuba Diving" experience. This 2-for-1, pool-based, introductory offer includes time with a qualified PADI diving instructor and the hire of all necessary equipment.
To take advantage of this great offer and to try a new sport, all you have to do is check out the PADI website www.padi.co.uk/two4one to locate your nearest PADI participating dive centre and contact them to arrange your session. The dive centre's friendly staff will be happy to tell you all about the Discover Scuba Diving experience and advise you about the different courses that are on offer to fit around your lifestyle and needs. If you need more information, call 0117 300 7802 or visit www.padi.com
Thanks For Reading!
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