Hard Lines and other Health and Beauty snippets

Hard lines SPAIN’S hard-surfaced tiled floors can be tough on the feet after years of walking on carpets in the UK.

Consultant podiatrist Helen Branthwaite explained that hard floors will focus the load onto certain parts of the foot.

People who are born and grow up here are used to the unforgiving floors and develop stronger muscles in their arches, she said.

“But a hard floor focuses the load onto certain parts of the foot and the increased amount of impact forces going through the foot makes the muscles work harder than carpet which leads to a repetitive strain effect, she said.

In the swim EXERCISE may seem like a memory from the past for older adults with mobility or health challenges.

It’s undeniable that with age some types of physical exercise can take a toll on the body, but swimming is an activity that many seniors find undemanding.

Better still, it has multiple health benefits and is an excellent way to stay fit, active, and engaged.

Doctors, physiotherapists and fitness coaches alike coincide in agreeing that swimming has the potential to overcome many of the other barriers that older people encounter when wanting to exercise.

Tame those hot flushes POST-MENOPAUSAL women often lack lactobacilli, the beneficial bacteria present in our bodies and also found in fermented foods like sauerkraut and yoghurt.

Many have found that they benefitted from adding a daily portion to a diverse plant-rich diet that included oily fish.

These could also help in reducing hot flushes, as US researchers discovered after analysing the diets of 17,000 women.  Those who increased fruit and vegetables to five portions a day and wholegrains to six were less likely to experience them, they found.

Kale for Vitamin K BLEEDING profusely after a small cut could be your body’s way of saying that you aren’t eating enough kale.

Kale is brimming with Vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting. Every 100 grammes contains approximately 40 microgrammes, providing half of a woman’s recommended daily intake and a third of a man’s.

And if, like many of us, kale is not your favourite vegetable, remember broccoli is just as good.

Hang up EXPERTS  recommended restricting mobile phone calls to a minimum to keep blood pressure low and hearts healthy.

Research by a team from Southern Medical University in China suggested that talking on a mobile phone for only 30 minutes each week could be linked to a greater risk of high blood pressure.

Those who spoke more were 12 per cent more likely to develop hypertension than those who spent less time on their mobile, they warned.

Fall back CHANGING clocks can trigger sleeping problems after middle age, Canadian researchers found.

Surprising, these are more frequent when the clocks go back in autumn, despite gaining an extra hour’s sleep.

Our internal body clock needs daylight to reset itself effectively but days are darker in the autumn when clocks go back, investigators said.  Instead, we adjust more easily in the spring when, despite losing an hour, there is more daylight.