Category Archives: Health

Saalt menstrual cups review

Posted on by

Anyone who reads Frost regularly will know that I care about the environment and I am always trying to lower my carbon footprint. My period is not environmentally friendly. I struggle with this and have even bought environmentally friendly pads and cotton tampons. I want a more permanent solution so I was excited to try the Saalt menstrual cup. I have seen them in shops but I was a cynical. I have a heavy period and  I was not sure whether or not they worked.

Now the review! First, always sterilise it first and make sure it is cleaned regularly. The cup comes with instructions. It is fiddly to put it in the first time but you soon get used to it. I worried that it would be hard but it is not. It is not uncomfortable either. You forget that it is there.

Taking it out is fiddly the first time but everything becomes easy quickly. I cannot recommend this cup more. It holds a huge amount and I had no leakage. It is also comfortable and easy to use. Great for the environment and for your pocket. It lasts up to ten years and you can wear it all day or night. It is odour free, which is more than I can say for some other period products, and non-toxic. It has no BPA, no latex and no chemicals. I cannot recommend it more.

saalt period cup, menstrual cup, period cup, environment,

  • Reliable: wear up to 12 hours
  • Comfortable: soft silicone moulds to your shape
  • Natural: naturally non-toxic and odour free. Maintains the body’s natural Ph
  • A cup for every ‘body’: Saalt cups in two firmnesses (Saalt Cup/Saalt Soft) and two sizes (small/regular) – a perfect fit for all!
  • Rounded Cuff: reinforces the seal to prevent leaks
  • Soft Grip Hold: helps you get a grip on the cup/ get a grip on life 😉
  • Soft Flex System: easy removal and comfort

Saalt cups are available at Feelunique.com, Amazon and Saaltco.com.

 

periods, what your period is trying to tell you, saalt, menstrating cup,

No Sew Face Mask Video Tutorial | Make Your Own Face mask

Posted on by

face mask, home made, how to make, pillow case, make a face mask, coronavirus, covid-19

face mask, home made, how to make, pillow case, make a face mask, coronavirus, covid-19
 

Thanks to the amazing lovecrafts.com for these tutorials.

Easy Ways To Cook Vegetables. How to Get Your 5-a-Day.

Posted on by


Getting our 5-a-day is hard. Or at least, I have often found it so. It is easy to grab a piece of fruit but eating vegetables requires more effort. At least that is what it feels like sometimes. Since lockdown it has been harder to get some foods. We have had a weekly delivery of fruit and veg. There are a number of companies that do this.

It has set a challenge to use everything up as I refuse to have food waste. This has always been the case but even more so now. I will be sharing tips on the coming weeks but here is what I am doing at the moment.

Every few days I make a a huge salad or a traybake of roasted vegetables. This does as a lunch for a few days and also a side for supper. It is very easy to do. Sure there is a lot of chopping, and my children are usually trying to get my attention, but because you only have to do it every three days it is not that bad.

Salad potatoes can be boiled for 15 minutes. I add rosemary or parsley to them.
potatoes with herbs, cooking vegetables, how to cook potatoes,

Cauliflower can be boiled in 15 minutes. Carrots take 5 minutes. I add as many herbs and spices to the various vegetables as possible. A lot of  fruit and veg boxes come with a bag of fresh herbs. You might also have some in your cupboard. Five spice anyone?

Aubergine can be roasted for 20 minutes in the oven. I tend to add olive oil and salt and pepper. It tastes delicious. You can also pan fry it. Beetroot is great baked in the oven for 45 minutes. You can even bake it whole. Add olive oil and wrap in foil. I tend to cook things at 180. The roast vegetables can be added to the salad and vice versa. I love adding fruit to veg. Oranges go great with aubergine. It is a lot of work cooking and, lets be honest, tedious, but when you make a lot you only have to do it every three days. That is for a family of four.

Eating raw food is great and retains nutrients. I find raw cabbage tastes amazing and has a satisfying texture. I have a large Mason Cash baking bowl which I make a huge salad in. There was one week where we did not get a fruit and veg box and my husband and I really noticed the difference to our health. A plant based diet is the easiest way to great health.

In the evenings and weekends I write in the kitchen while my husband looks after the kids. I am right near the fridge which is not good, but instead of snacking on unhealthy foods I just dip into my huge bowl of salad. Try it, put all of your favourite fruit and veg in a big bowl and pick at it when you are hungry. It will change your life and your health.

Please share any cooking tips or recipes with me. Lots of love and stay safe, Catherine xx.

 

 

Coronavirus SARS-COV-2 Health Advice From GPDQ’s Dr Gero Baiarda

Posted on by

NHS GP Dr Gero Baiarda is one of the hundreds of GPs currently on-call at GPDQ – the UK’s leading GP-on-demand service. Dr Baiarda has myth-busted 10 common beliefs associated with the SARS-COV-2:

The virus is a living organism that we can kill. It is not alive. It is a protein chain of RNA within a protective layer of fat. Since the virus is a protein super molecule rather than a living organism, you cannot kill it. It will, however, decay spontaneously given enough time. The time it takes to break down depends on the environmental temperature, humidity and type of material upon which it settles.

People are most contagious before they even know they have the virus. This is untrue. Infected cells are invaded and destroyed by the virus, allowing millions of new viruses to burst forth and be shed on surfaces or passed to other people. Spread is most effective, therefore, in coughed droplets. Patients who are asymptomatic can, however, pass on the virus as soon as they are infected.

SARS-COV-2 is a hardy virus. It isn’t. SARS-COV-2 is surprisingly fragile. The only protection it has is a thin outer layer of lipid or fat. That is why any soap or detergent (both of which break down fat) will destroy it – even washing up liquid works well. By dissolving the external lipid layer of the virus, the virus is rendered completely inert and unable to penetrate human cells. Hence why washing hands often with soap and water is so important.

If delivery drivers wear gloves, they won’t spread it. This is wrong. Every item that a gloved hand touches can then be contaminated. According to a recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can live up to eight hours on cardboard. To stay safe, the best advice is not to touch the parcel until ideally the following day.

The virus can’t be passed on by food. It can be transferred easily. If someone who has the virus on their hands touches food, it is very likely to become contaminated for many hours. To denature and inactivate the virus, food should either be washed or cooked at 65 degrees celsius at least for 4 minutes or more.

Alcohol-based sanitizer with a 60 percent alcohol concentration is as effective as washing your hands in soap and water. Wrong. Squirting a little bit of alcohol gel on your palms and rubbing them together is not effective. You need to cover the entire surface of both hands including fingers and thumbs, but this should be done only after the hands are free of any residues – such as after sneezing. The small nozzle on bottles of sanitizer are part of the problem, as people assume a small amount is ample.

Drinking alcohol will prevent people getting the virus. This is not true. The only alcohol that will help to prevent the spread of the SARS-COV-2 is that in hand sanitizer. This is only for external use, and even then, it is only effective if it has a concentration of 60 percent or above, if you use enough, and in the right way.

Moisturising hands after washing reduces cleanliness. Incorrect. Moisturizing the skin is very important. The virus can lodge itself in damaged skin on your hands cracked by repeated washing, so it’s important to try to avoid this. Keeping fingernails short will reduce the risk of sheltering and passing on the virus too.

Washing hands isn’t as important when self-isolating, as you’re all virus-free. Wrong. If there are any external items (shopping / deliveries / post etc) entering your home, hand washing remains important. Every time you wash your hands you will break the chain of infection. If in doubt, give them a wash! Do this for at least 20 seconds with warm, soapy water and if you have paper towels that you can throw away, this is better than using a communal towel. If using towels, dedicate one to each person in the house, keep them separate, and wash them daily.

Vinegar is good for keeping bathrooms and kitchens free of the virus. Incorrect. Vinegar will not work against SARS-COV-2 and is not advised. The cleaning of bathrooms, kitchens and surfaces is still best carried out with hot water from the tap and a surface detergent as you have always done. If you have a case of SARS-COV-2 in your house and want to disinfect common areas, you can use a dilution of household bleach or hydrogen peroxide – this is a mild antiseptic.

Living with the long term effects of cancer

Posted on by

Cordelia GalgutI couldn’t possibly have imagined, when writing my latest book, Living with the long term effects of cancer, last year, from my dual perspective as psychologist and woman who has had breast cancer, that we would all be facing a pandemic such as this appalling Covid19 one we are now enduring. This situation is a huge challenge for so many of us; not least, it’s such a shock and everything else in our lives has taken something of a back seat, for very understandable reasons. This has included, in my case, trying to make light of my own health problems and related psychological challenges. And yet I am in the “vulnerable” category due to the long term effects of cancer that I experience. I am therefore at greater risk of experiencing a bad version of this virus. And I am realising increasingly, day by day, that these infernal long term effects are actually being heightened and worsened by the difficulties of the current situation, as are many other people’s problems. This situation is a veritable Pandora’s box of potential problems and very scary unknowns.

Why I wrote the book

I wrote my book on cancer’s long term effects because, since being diagnosed with breast cancer twice, in 2004, I had realised, over time, that side effects from the treatments I had, both physical and psychological, weren’t subsiding in the way I had been told they should. In fact, some were actually getting worse, eg. muscular skeletal problems, immune function and dread of the local recurrence and spread of cancer. However, despite the fact that other “survivors” were telling me they were in a similar state, what numbers of us have found is that there is little, if any, recognition of our suffering. It’s invisible to many, who look but do not see, who listen but do not hear. And the net result of this is that our problems are often enough belittled and we are judged for not ‘getting over’ cancer and not ‘moving on’. I know that this judgement is often unintentional, but it’s impact is still hard to bear.

Getting over cancer and moving beyond it is a tall order

The reality is that it is nigh on impossible to, for example, get over a cancer that could return or indeed, has returned. And cancer’s  treatments often enough cause long term effects, as well. So, I wanted my book to validate the suffering of those living with and beyond cancer and I also wanted it to inform those in healthcare and in the world at large about the plight of those living with cancer’s long term effects, across a range of cancers.

Long term effects are an increasing problem as more of us survive

Very scary though cancer still is, not least because it can still kill its hosts, it is increasingly becoming a chronic condition for many who live beyond their diagnosis, whether they are free of cancer or not. 1 in 2 of us will get this disease and many many of us will even survive for years, so my book effectively speaks to everyone. It’s a stark fact that we will all be affected by cancer in our lifetimes one way or another, if we haven’t already been.

My book is relevant for those with other long term conditions, too.

In this new Covid19 world, I hope my book can offer emotional support to those of us with other chronic conditions too and even to those of us struggling emotionally with this horrible new reality in one way or another. The support and strategies I offer are transferable to many situations and many other conditions, too.

An interesting podcast featuring me: https://twitter.com/JKPBooks/status/1247951884272443392

The Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer: A Psychologist’s Insight as a Patient is available here.

Stay In Work Out: Rachael Attard Helps You Stay Fit and Active At Home

Posted on by

Rachael Attard , PT, workouts Australian PT Rachael Attard has shared a free 7-day cardio workout on her website to help us keep active and beat self-isolation blues.

Following government coronavirus advice, people around the world have been urged to stay home but that doesn’t mean you need to miss out on a workout.

Women’s fitness expert and personal trainer Rachael Attard is giving everyone the opportunity to get moving and take part in her cardio sessions without having to part with money, in a bid to keep the world active while at home and help cure self-isolation blues.

Rachael Attard has launched ‘Quarantine Cardio’, a seven-day cardio workout plan that you can do from your home. You can access the workouts for free via Attard’s website here.

The workouts are appropriate for all fitness levels and abilities, require minimal equipment and most importantly can be done without leaving the house. The videos can be done alone or you can encourage those you’re quarantined with to get involved, so grab your mom/housemate/bff if applicable. The videos range from brief one minute tutorials to full length follow at home workouts.

Get ready to get your heart racing, it’s time to take advantage of the free workouts led by Attard or her Mom (a cardio instructor with over 25 years experience)!

Day 1: At Home Cardio Blast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPc71ec6IHM

This is a great alternative workout to power walking or running. Attard is joined by her mom in this workout so if you’re self-isolating with others why not get them involved too.

This workout is a full length, follow at home workout and will take around thirty minutes.

Day 2: Full Body Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-B8IOB7GvE

A full-body resistance workout that won’t leave you feeling exhausted. It’s low impact and suitable for all fitness levels.

This is a one minute workout demo. Attard demonstrates how to properly execute each exercise within the comfort of your own home.

Day 3: Core Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVZVYRz8AlU

A super quick ab workout that can be done anywhere. If you have sliding discs, dig them out, if not grab some small towels or paper plates.

This is a one minute workout demo. Attard demonstrates how to properly execute each exercise within the comfort of your own home.

Day 4: Couch Booty Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYV5iwmuCPk

It’s time to work on your glutes and legs. To do this workout, stay in your living room as you’ll need to use the couch.

This is a one minute workout demo. Attard demonstrates how to properly execute each exercise within the comfort of your own home.

Day 5: Rest and Replenish

Day 5: Rest and Replenish

As important as it is to move your body, it’s also important to give your body time off to rest and recover.

Pro tip: Make sure you sleep on the right bed. A hybrid mattress that comes with an additional layer to relieve pressure from the most sensitive areas can help your body recover overnight

Day 6: Boxing Workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb6ik1ivQHo

Attard is once again joined by her mom for a boxing workout that will help tone your core and upper body.

This workout is a full length, follow at home workout and will take around 40 minutes.

Day 7: Full Body Burn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP8Bm0BQ4Ro

To finish off this 7-day plan, Attard has prepared another low to moderate intensity routine that will work your whole body.

This workout is a full length, follow at home workout and take a little over thirty minutes.

 

Great Tasting Water On The Go: ZeroWater Portable

Posted on by

I love the ZeroWater filter so I was excited to see they now do a water bottle. The portable bottle has the all-powerful filter that filters out 95% of nasties. It is a good-looking bottle and is great for the environment. Highly recommended.

Research suggests 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used each year, that’s on average 150 plastic bottles every year per person according to Water UK. Help cut down your own personal plastic footprint by making a small yet active change to the way you keep hydrated by carrying a reusable water bottle at all times, not only reducing your own use of plastic but also saving you money in the long run too.

zerowater, portable, water bottle,

Enjoy pure-tasting water anywhere you go! Offering 0.8L capacity the ZeroWater Portable combines all the top-performing filtration technology of the standard ZeroWater filtration jug but in a stylish, convenient cup complete with textured easy grip lid. So you can enjoy great tasting water out of your tap whether you’re at home, work or the gym, a resounding success for you and the environment.

The ZeroWater Portable uses the iconic patented ZeroWater filtration system, which combines FIVE sophisticated technologies that work together to remove virtually all dissolved solids from your water.  The only pour-through filter pitcher on the market that’s certified by the NSF to reduce lead.

What Does The ZeroWater Remove?

According to government figures 8.5 billion plastic straws are used each year. Which is why reusable straws are a great alternative and the ZeroWater Portable comes with just that, offering durability and a hard wearing design that seamlessly reflects the aesthetic of the portable cup. Another fantastic example of how the ZeroWater Portable is such a great alternative to single use plastic bottles.

How Long Will The Filter Last?

On an average water reading of 200 ppm you get 19 litres of filtered water from each ZeroWater Portable filter but please note it is dependent on the initial quality of your unfiltered tap water and daily consumption as the amount of dissolved solids in tap water varies across the UK. Each of the ZeroWater Portable filters employ a next-generation filter replacement technology. A “Colour Change” window which indicates when you need to replace your filter for added convenience. Once the replacement filter has then been fitted the other can be recycled at most Household Waste & Recycling Centres in the UK.

The ZeroWater Portable is available to buy online for £14.99 from ZeroWater, replacement filters (2 Pack), £14.99 from ZeroWater.

Living with Alzheimers – Waving from the Road by Chris Suich

Posted on by

Waving from the Road

After a restless night I knew what I had to do. I had to see Bob come what may!

I stood in the side road next to the care home and the care worker brought Bob to the  window on the first floor. He looked down at me and I waved madly but he didn’t seem to know me at first. As I waved my hanky at him the emotion overwhelmed me and the tears spilled down my cheeks as I tried to smile at him and do a ‘thumbs up.’  The lady opened the window and shouted down, ‘He says he loves you’ .

‘I love you too, darling, I love you too and I miss you madly. ‘ I shouted unaware of who else might be in the street watching this lunatic woman.

My lovely Bob is now in a care home as I simply couldn’t cope anymore. The lack of sleep due to the terrible nightmares and terrors that occurred at 4am most nights and the physical demands of it all had finally got to me. I knew the time had come. It had been 5 years and 3 months since we were told there was a memory problem. It had got much worse in the last 2 years and since the hospital admittance October 2018 for severe anxiety.

How was I to know that the next day the home would be in lock down and 2 weeks and 3 days later I still had not held his hand in mine or been able to kiss or hug him.

It was a different kind of torture.

I have transferred one nightmare for another! So I am taking in to the reception area of the home photographs of us and the boys in happy times, little letters to be read to him, pictures that we had at home and cards with little newsy updates on. His soft comfy blanket for the bed, he must have that!

I am trying to keep the memory of us alive. I hope he will remember me a little longer but I know in his heart I am there and he will always be in my heart and soul! I am lucky to have been so loved by him, my husband, loyal and supportive.

This CV19 is a terrible virus and we are all having to make sacrifices but for me it couldn’t have come at a worse time.