According to this article it could harbour more bacteria then the average toilet. Leather handbags carry most bacteria because the spongy texture provides the perfect growing conditions. The dirtiest item in the average handbag is hand cream which has more bacteria than the average toilet seat. Women are advised to wash their hands regularly and to use antibacterial wipes to clean their bag and its contents. When I think of all the places my handbag has been I hate to think what sort of bacteria it’s carrying.

Is the message of this article. It suggests that dieters who join slimming clubs lose five times more weight then those who try to do it on their own. People who followed a Weight Watchers diet lost an average of 8.6lbs in 3 months compared with just 1.8lbs with those on DIY diets. The weight loss was also more permanent with those on a Weight Watchers diet, after 6 months they had lost an average od 10.1lb but those that dieted on their own had put 5lb back on.

Exercise is something that although I quite enjoy it, I do find difficult to fit into my daily routine. Juggling two small children means that much as I try to find 20 minutes a day to run on my treadmill, in reality I often only manage it 3 times a week. I find it encouraging then, to read this article which suggests just 75 minutes of exercise a week can make a big difference to your health.

Whilst it is less than the recommended two and half hours a week, light exercise such as brisk walking can cut your risk of serious illness. I probably already do about 60 to 90 minutes of light exercise in a week, just getting to all of the baby groups we attend. Added to my more strenuous treadmill exercise I estimate that despite me thinking I get very little exercise I might actually surpass the recommended weekly amount in an average week. I do, however, tend to prefer walking everywhere if at all possible simply to give the children a little fresh air and particularly now that Penny likes to try walking by herself.

This article is interesting, it claims that children who spend more time playing outside have better eyesight than those who spend more time indoors. The article claims that short sightedness has increased by 65% since the 1970’s in the US and puts this down to the fact that children are playing outside less.

Personally I think this is a load of rubbish. The condition is largely hereditary. All of my family suffer from short sight and have taken various measures to control it, from glasses and contact lenses, to myself who decided on laser eye surgery to address the problem. Regardless of whether we played outside or not ( and we did every day) we would still have the problem. Now a parent myself I fully expect my own children to need glasses unless they are very lucky and have their father’s good eyesight. In my opinion the increase of short sightedness is more down to the increased use of computers, smart phones and games machines and less down to whether a child plays outside or not.

According to this article which suggests they develop more brain cells. It seems that children brought up by two parents have more brain cells because they get more attention and stability and so suffer less distress. This means that boys develop better memories and learning ability and girls have more motor co-ordination and social skills. I’m not entirely convinced by the study but having two parents to look after a child has to be better than just one.

Some experts would like to see health warnings on fizzy drinks if this article is to be believed. Scientists have found that drinking just one can of soft drink a day can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by a fifth. The study carried out by the Imperial College London found the risk rose by 22% for every serving of fizzy drink, each can, consumed per day. I do wonder how many people consume fizzy drinks everyday.

Say scientists who have found that puzzles are better for the brain than vitamins or workouts. A study looked at 32 trials involving 25,000 healthy patients aged 65 or older. Studies of drugs, hormone therapy, vitamins and supplements ginkgo, omega 3 and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) showed no positive effect with the evidence of the benefits of physical activity being weak only mental training showed benefits every time. Perhaps all those Sudoku puzzles I do, are not wasted time after all.

The typical Western diet really can kill you, is the message of this article. A study of more than 5,000 civil servants found that those who ate the most fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, white bread, butter and cream doubled their risk of premature death. The research goes some way to explaining why heart disease is still the UK’s biggest killer. Once again I think this needs to be taken into context. We know these things are bad for us and they probably would kill us if we ate them all the time but the odd fried breakfast or bacon sandwich isn’t going to hurt. Obviously people who eat like this all the time might want to think about cutting back and choosing more white meat and fish and less processed food.

If this article is to be believed gardeners are thinner and tend to have a better diet. The article suggests that women gardeners are up to a dress size smaller and were 46% less likely to have a weight problem. Researchers found that exercise is not the only benefit of gardening, the home grown fruit and vegetables can also make your diet healthier. Previous studies have found that gardening carries a host of benefits such as raising your zest for life and increasing happiness. All of these things make me think that those many hours at the allotment are well spent.

Drinking during pregnancy is a subject that always receives a lot of comments. Many people are adamant that you should drink no alcohol at all, others like this article believe a moderate amount has no effects and can perhaps be beneficial. I would imagine this latest research which says pregnancy women can have two alcoholic drinks a week will spark much debate. Carried out by British researchers, the study found that light drinking could even improve a child’s development in maths, reading and spatial skills. It can be hard to know what advice to take when you read conflicting articles. Personally I had a couple of glasses of wine a week throughout both my pregnancies, although did not drink for the first 3 months when it is thought the brain is developing. I think as with everything a moderate amount does not hurt.

This article suggests that many parents are unaware they could be ruining their children’s teeth by giving them too many fruit juices. It suggests that 25% of toddlers regularly consume fruit juice with many parents using it as a portion of the child’s five-a-day fruit and veg. Fruit juices contain much more sugar than if the fruit itself were consumed as crushing the fruit for juice releases more sugar. As a result it is recommended that children should have no more than a 150ml serving, that’s a very small cup of juice and that parents should instead give children only water of milk to drink between meals, particularly at a young age. I find it interesting that people are not aware of the sugar content of fruit juices. Whilst I have given my daughter a sip of juice to taste, I would only consider giving water as a main drink.

My fitness plan appears to be going quite well. Using http://www.myfitnesspal.com I have been tracking what I eat, although not actively dieting and stepping up the exercise. Quite a lot of days I eat more than the recommended daily calories for the weight loss programme the tool has devised for me. I do, however, exercise more than the 3 times a week I initially put into the goal part of the website.

The result is I have already lost all the weight gained in my last pregnancy with Russell and now just have the Penny weight to lose. My treadmill has been a great motivation so far, although it is a struggle to find 30 minutes a day to exercise I am managing it on average 4 times a week, at this rate, hopefully I will have attained my pre-babies weight by the summer.

If we believe what we read in the press red wine has many health benefits. It seems, however, that if you are overweight all of the potential benefits are blocked. New research had found that when given to overweight men Resveratrol the active compound in red wine had no positive effects.

I found this article interesting about a girl who nearly lost her sight due to a parasitic infection caused by her contact lenses. As someone who wore contact lenses for many years before eventually having eye surgery, I am well aware of the dangers of not cleaning your lenses properly and wearing lenses for too long. In this particular case it appears the girl did not change her lenses regularly enough, resulting in the infection.

The comments under the article surprised me with many people saying they would never choose contact lenses. I think correctly used contact lenses are much better than glasses, they have the advantage of all round vision so are far better for driving and sports, they don’t steam up in the rain or when coming in from the cold. I hope people are not put off trying them just because some people clearly do not use the product correctly. Changing lenses regularly, taking them out at night when you go to sleep and correct cleaning with the provided solutions, not with tap water should prevent against any infection. With any product correct use is essential.

A hospital in Birmingham has been addressing the problem of traditional hospital gowns and has launched an alternative. Anyone who has been lucky enough to try a hospital gown will be aware of the issues with them. They have a tendency to expose rather more flesh than intended often gaping at the back and giving a nice view of the wearers bottom. These new Velcro suits  should change that. Looking a little more like pyjamas they are designed to make the patients feel protected and secure and could soon be used in other hospitals as well. The suits have Velcro fastenings rather than tie backs. They certainly seem to cover a little more.

This is interesting it’s a Government study which suggests all new mothers should be interviewed by a health visitor to see how they are coping. Personally I’m unsure exactly what they hope to achieve here. Having given birth to my baby 3 weeks ago I have already received 4 home visits from the midwife with another scheduled for next week, as well as having a visit from the health visitor tomorrow. Although I realise that the visits are to check on my baby’s progress I personally find the number of visits a little excessive. To receive another interview on top of these, to me just seems too much.

If you are looking for an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate this Easter then this article might give you one. It suggests that eating just one chocolate bar can cut the risk of having a stroke. Researchers found that chocolate had an effect on carbon dioxide levels which affected blood vessels and improved blood flow.

Having been pregnant three times in as many years getting fit has been the last thing on my mind. Now with a fifteen month old and a two week old baby I surprisingly find I have a few spare hours in the day so it seems like a good time to start getting fit. My tool of choice to help keep track of my progress is www.myfitnesspal.com Available through the website or iphone app. it allows you to set goals and enter your daily food and exercise so you can see how you are doing. Whilst I am not dieting as I am still breastfeeding, I do find it useful to keep track of when I exercise and how many calories I am burning. With just over a stone to lose it will be interesting to see how long it takes.

At a time when losing the baby weight and getting fit again is on my mind I came across this article. It suggests that a lack of sleep can make you fat. It seems that sleep deprivation can cause a weight gain of as much as 2lb in a week. When sleep deprived people have a tendency to eat less breakfast but more snacks. Lack of sleep also slows the metabolism causing the body to burn fewer calories. I guess being up several times a night feeding the baby is not going to help my fitness drive then.

Perhaps I am being a little too dramatic but this article claims that processed meat is responsible for one in 30 deaths. Scientists say that a rasher of bacon a day can be harmful with meals  containing too much processed meat being a factor in contributing to an early death.

Analysis carried out by Oxbridge scientists found that processed meat is to blame for one in every 30 deaths. Based on these findings they suggested that people should limit themselves to no more than 20g a day of processed meat which is the equivalent of one rasher of bacon. I guess the message here is to consume only moderate amounts, but personally I only eat bacon about once a week.

If this article is to be believed. Scientists have found that if you have a headache sex can be more effective than medicine. Apparently more than half of migraine sufferers who had sex during an attack experienced an improvement in symptoms. The theory is that sex triggers the release on endorphins, the body's natural pain killers that reduce or eliminate the headache. I would be curious to find out where they found migraine sufferers who felt well enough to have sex during an attack. Personally when I have one I can barely lift my head from the pillow, sex would be the last thing on my mind.

This article claims that that there has been a rise in unplanned pregnancies due to women incorrectly believing they are unable to become pregnant whilst they are breastfeeding. I find this a little odd. After I had my last baby I was given clear advice to use contraception even whilst breastfeeding. We decided not to take this advice as we wanted another child and within 6 months another baby was on the way.

It seems there are quite a few people, however, that rely on breastfeeding as a means of contraception. Judging by the comments on the article many people have also been given incorrect advice by health professionals. Personally I was well aware that you can get pregnant while still breastfeeding and for us it wasn’t an issue but perhaps some GPs are giving the wrong information. Ours didn’t but none the less with something like an unplanned pregnancy it’s always wise to be cautious even if the risk is quite low.

A new study has found that driving when you have a cold could be as dangerous as driving whilst drunk. Drivers who had a cold were found to have reaction times that were slower than those who had drunk up to four pints of beer. Not only did a cold cause drivers to take longer to stop, it also made them less aware of the danger of a collision and more likely to drive too close to the vehicle in front. Sneezing was also likely to cause an accident as drivers take their eyes off the road for up to three seconds. In the study 50 people with a cold were tested and compared to a group who were not infected. The results showed alertness was reduced by a third in the cold sufferers.

This article claims that the average Briton does. Apparently most of us are only motivated to lose weight once we become obese or reach a weight of 13st 10lbs. The figures come from Weight Watchers who have said the average starting weight of their new members has risen steadily from just over 12 stone in 1989 to 13st 10lbs today. This means that most people who start the programme are already classed as obese. I’m not sure how much truth there is to the article but do I wonder that people would reach this weight before considering they have a problem. Personally I have never been heavy even whilst pregnant and would be seriously worried if I had that much weight to lose.

Those that grow their own vegetables might be interested in a recent study which has found that organic tomatoes contain more vitamin C. Although the fruits tend to be around 40% smaller than those grown by more conventional methods it seems the organic alternative is healthier. The reason could be down to the fact that the plants suffer more stress as they are grown, having to fend for themselves rather than being treated with pesticides and artificial fertilisers. I do try to grow most of my fruit and veg without resorting to any chemicals although sometimes have to resort to the odd slug pellet out of desperation.

I have read a lot about the benefits of drinking wine, most people are prepared to admit it offers some health benefits when drunk in moderation. This is the first time, however, that I have come across anything claiming it can prevent hearing loss. The research claims that the chemical resveratrol found in grapes and red wine has a protective effect and can help to reduce the damage caused by loud noise. It is based upon a study where healthy rats were given the chemical before being exposed to loud noise for a period of time. As always I remain sceptical but will be sure to have a good dose of red wine just in case.

This article suggests that health authorities are working with the drinks industry to add calorie content information to alcohol labelling. The health minister Anna Soubry has confirmed that discussions are underway on including the extra information on drinks labels. She has said that the government is committed to improving labelling so that drinkers in particular pregnant women could be better informed about the health risks associated with alcohol and that drinkers can be more aware of how much alcohol they are drinking.

If you can face going for an early morning run before eating breakfast then you could burn more fat. That’s according to this article which suggests those that exercise before breakfast burn 20% more body fat.

Researchers looked at 12 men whom they asked to perform treadmill exercise at 10am either after they had eaten breakfast or had not eaten since the previous evening. The participants were all given a chocolate milkshake drink after the exercise and later in the day were provided with a pasta lunch which they were asked to eat until they were full. Their lunchtime consumption of energy was assessed taking into account the amount of fat and energy burnt during the morning period. Surprisingly those that exercised in the morning did not consume any additional calories to compensate for their earlier activity. Those that had exercised in a fasted state, however, had burnt almost 20% more fat than those that had eaten before working out.

I must admit I have found an early morning run most effective for getting rid of the pounds. I will have to remember this when I come to start losing the baby weight.

Is the message from this article which suggests people are eating it in order to beat winter flu bugs. It seems it is becoming more popular to mash it up and spread it on bread or make a soup with it, in order to shorten the recovery time from flu-like symptoms. Garlic is known to have virus fighting ingredients such as allicin, one of the chemicals it contains. It is known for its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal powers although it has never been proved beyond doubt to work. The recipe in the article for a soup made from 50 cloves of garlic does sound interesting, however, and if it should work is perhaps a better way of beating a virus than resorting to over the counter drugs. Next time I have a cold maybe I will reach for the garlic.

New research indicates that it could be. The study which was carried out in Sweden found that married people are three times more likely to survive middle age and that being single after the age of 40 cuts your chances of reaching the age of 60. It is thought that the main factor is down to loneliness although being married also had a number of positive lifestyle factors such as eating more healthily, having more friends and being  encouraged to take more care of yourself.

This article makes for an interesting read. It follows Charlotte Morgan when she tried a 6 day juice detox diet. She ordered products from a company called Nosh which produces the juices and also sends you daily emails to help you through the process. The detox involves consuming just the juices that are delivered in the pack and nothing else except herbal teas and plenty of water.

The whole process seems a little extreme to me and perhaps for Charlotte as she finishes the detox a day early. At £283.62 this particular program seems a little on the pricy side but the concept of a juice fast does seems to get results with most people who have tried it feeling less bloated and losing at least a few pounds of weight.

I can’t help thinking that any weight lost will quickly go back on once you resume a normal diet but I guess the program could be good if you want to lose a bit of weight for a particular event or just want to detox your system. It would, however, be cheaper to make the juices yourself, if a juice fast is for you.

This is an interesting idea, it’s a fork which monitors your eating habits and can tell you if you eating too fast. The HAPIfork uses electronic sensors to monitor how much and how fast the user is eating. If you eat too quickly the fork will vibrate and bright lights will flash on the handle. The fork wirelessly connects to your phone to send the information to an app which can help you track the duration of a meal, the number of fork servings and duration of the intervals between the servings.

At a time of year when you are more likely to suffer from the effects of excess alcohol there seems to be a lot of articles around offering hangover cures. This one claims that asparagus can ward off the effects of a hangover. Scientists have found that chemicals in the vegetable help to protect liver cells against toxins. The minerals and amino acids also replace those that are lost through drink. For the best effect it is recommended that you serve the leaves as well as the tender shoots.

The norovirus is rife this year with over 900,000 cases of it reported already. Most people I know have already been in contact with someone who has it and in our family my husband and daughter were ill with it although so far I have escaped. It really is a nasty bug and its worth taking any precautions to try and avoid it if you can. This article has a few tips on how you might do that and also what you should do if you do catch it.

After the festive season many more people will be looking to lose a few of those extra pounds. WeightWatchers it seems might be the best way to help do that. The NHS has found that people that attend their classes lost more weight than any other programme. Patients attending WeightWatchers lost an average of 12lb after a 12 week course. It’s secret seems to be in the fact that their plan is easy to follow and the classes are good at motivating people. Not having tried WeightWatchers I can’t really give an informed opinion but might give a go if I have trouble shifting the extra baby weight once my new baby arrives.

With the winter here constant colds seem to common place. I usually find I get over them quite quickly but this article contains some helpful tips for beating a cold within 24 hours. These includes taking a hot shower which helps to soothe your tired limbs and clear bunged up sinuses. Putting your head over a bowl of steaming water is also recommended to clear the airways. Going for a long walk can help to improve both your mood and your immune system. Eating a hot curry such as a vindaloo also helps to get rid of germs and clear the airways. Based on this next time I have a cold I will be eating a lot of curry and taking a lot of long walks to see if I recover any more quickly.

This article claims that up to 400 women a year may have been wrongly advised they have miscarried in the early stages of pregnancy. Because home pregnancy kits are now so sensitive women are now attending hospital at a much earlier stage in their pregnancy. The article claims that hospital scans cannot always pick up a heartbeat at these early stages causing some women to be mistakenly told they have miscarried.

As a result of this new guidelines are now urging doctors not to operate to remove a foetus in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy saying instead that women should be advised they may still be carrying a healthy baby even if a scan have not detected any positive signs. I suppose part of the problem is people requesting early scans, generally in a normal pregnancy your first scan would be at the 12-13 week mark but that is a long time to wait to find out if the pregnancy is viable particularly if you have lost a baby in the past.

Or can at least help warm off depression according to a recent study. Researchers came to the conclusion after analysing the mental health records and diets habits of 1,000 men and women aged over 70. They found that those eating tomatoes between two and six times a week were 46% less likely to suffer depression than those who only ate them once a week. Tomatoes are rich in something called lycopene which gives them their red colour. Researchers are not sure whether the lycopene directly affects the mind or whether it simply helps protect against depression caused by other symptoms.

I found it interesting to see the new cigarette packaging laws that have been introduced in Australia. The laws mean that all cigarette boxes will be covered with smoking warnings and that all brands will have the same plain packaging. The brand will only appear on the packet in a small plain font of the front as in the picture to the left. it’s certainly an interesting tactic and I don’t think anyone who smokes will now be able to claim they are unaware of the risks involved with smoking. 

This is interesting it’s a device created by a team at Brigham University which monitors your child’s breathing and heart rate. The monitor straps around the child’s foot and notifies parents of any changes in heart rate by alerting them on their smart phone. The inventors hope the device will help to reduce the cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome which currently affect around 300 babies a year in the UK.

If this article is correct it might be more than you think. Experts have come to the conclusion that high levels of salt in cheese could be responsible for an epidemic of high blood pressure. Calling for people to cut down on their consumption of cheese a campaigning group has found that a single portion of cheddar has more salt than a bag of crisps whilst feta and halloumi contain higher levels of salt than seawater. Apparently cheese is the third biggest contributor of salt to the national diet after bread and bacon. I love cheese so I’m not sure I will cutting down on my cheese intake.

I frequently read similar articles to this which suggest people with excessively clean homes are more likely to have children who develop allergies. Scientists have found that children from wealthier backgrounds who have an excessively clean lifestyle are less exposed to new irritants and so more likely to develop allergies. I can only assume that these people with their excessively clean houses are rich enough to employ cleaners to keep them that way. I can’t justify hiring one myself but must admit I don’t always have the house in a state of cleanliness or order. With 4 cats and a young child it seems to be a losing battle to keep on top of the housework. At least my children will build up an immunity in the process.

Whooping cough has been in the news more than usual with the tenth baby recently having died from it and the news that a vaccination will be offered to all pregnant women over 28 weeks. With 1,322 confirmed cases in England and Wales in September, 300 more than for the whole of 2011 when there were 1,180 cases it does seem the illness is on the rise.

Currently babies are given the vaccination at eight weeks old, followed by a booster at three and four months old. Nine of the babies who have died from whooping cough this year, however, have been under the age of eight weeks leading to the call to vaccinate pregnant women. This leads to antibodies being passed to the foetus via the placenta which give the baby protection for the first few weeks of life.

The Department of Health has insisted the vaccinations are safe for pregnant women and that there is no chance of harming of the unborn baby, It does seem, however, that the vaccination programme has been introduced very quickly and without much detailed information being released  as to the benefits or possible side effects so it is currently difficult to make a an informed decision on whether or not to have it. Currently 18 weeks pregnant it is a decision I may have to make, but as yet I am still undecided.

Is the message from new research which suggests they can lead to significant health problems. The research suggests that eating a large amount of crisps, chips  and biscuits during pregnancy can lead to babies with a lower than average birth weight. Acrylamide which is found in these foods can not only harm development but can also lead to babies having a smaller head circumference which can cause adverse effects as children grow up. Babies born to mothers with  high dietary intake of acrylamide were found to be around 132 grams lighter than those with a low intake. It seems the advice about what you can and can’t eat changes daily, a little common sense with a healthy diet and everything in moderation seems the best approach.

One of the baby products we have found to be really useful is these Teetha granules. With Penny cutting more and more teeth every couple of weeks they really have proved useful. A natural remedy, you simply pour a sachet into the baby's mouth to sooth the pain. The product clearly doesn’t work for everyone as it receives mixed reviews on Amazon but it did work for us and has certainly made the teething process more bearable at least so far.

If you struggle to find the time to exercise then you might be able to fit in more than you think. Researchers have found that just 2.5 minutes of exercise a day can burn as many as 200 calories. The trick is to do just a small amount of high intensity exercise and work the body as hard as possible. Something such as peddling as fast as you can on an exercise bike set at a high resistance for five 30 second periods can burn as many as 200 calories and should be easy for even the busiest of people to fit into their lifestyle. I must admit to being a little sceptical but will try a couple of minutes a day on the exercise bike and see what happens.

That’s according to this article which claims 13 cats and one dog in the US are believed to caught to virus from their owners in 2011 and 2012. Although the chances of passing it on are slim researchers have said greater awareness is needed of the phenomenon which is known as revere zoonosis. Whilst many people are aware that strains of flue can move from animal populations to people it appears there is less awareness that humans can also pass H1N1 flu to other animals.

Having suffered from swine flu last year I was surprised to find our that there was a risk of me passing onto my animals. None the less I took all the necessary precautions to cut down the risk of passing it on, such as washing my hands and generally sterilising all door knobs and similar surfaces in the house. Another time I will also make sure I keep my cats at a safe distance.

That’s the claim of this article which suggests the sea air in places like Bexhill plays a big part in the residents longevity. In a recent census Bexhill has been found to have more residents over the age of 100 than any other town. In fact there are 66 people over the age of 100 in the borough of Rother which encompasses Bexhill. There are also a further 1,722 residents in their 90s and 7,000 in their 80’s. Whilst this does make interesting reading, I wonder whether the ageing population in the area is simply down to the fact that Bexhill is simply a popular place to retire.

Is the advice from Cornell University. Researchers claim that eating plenty of eggs and lean meat during pregnancy can reduce the child’s risk of high blood pressure and mental health problems during adulthood. This is down to a nutrient called choline which is found in meat, eggs, beans and broccoli. The benefits could lead to pregnant women being given choline tablets in the future much as they are advised to take folic acid now.