Healthy Christmas Snacks

Healthy Christmas

Following on from the illuminating suggestions about healthy alternatives for a healthy Christmas dinner here we offer our seasonal ideas for healthy festive snacks

Did you know?

• There are almost 6g of fat in a single 37ml shot of Bailey's Irish Cream?
• Two cans of Stella Artois contain 442 calories (the same as 1.5 Mars bars)?
• Just one segment of a Terry's Chocolate Orange has 46 calories and 2.5g of fat?

Instead of: Dry-roasted or salted peanuts

Why not: Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts in their shells. There's no added salt and trying to open them will give you a work out too!

Instead of: Closed shop-bought mince pies with cream or sugar

Why not: Open-topped home-baked mince pies (less sugar and calories) with apple slices or clementine pie.

Instead of fun food why not no-fun food?

Keep your powder dry and your blood pressure low - seasons greetings!

Chips for Health | Chip on Shoulder

Got High Blood Pressure?

try a chip on your shoulder?

We may literally have to shoulder the responsibility of taking our medicines in the future. Pharmaceutical company Novartis has found a microchip on the shoulder may be the perfect way to remind people with high blood pressure to take their pills.

Researchers trialled the system on 20 people who were taking blood pressure tablets. Each person put a microchip patch on their shoulders, and tablets also contained a tiny edible microchip of their own. The chips in the tablets told the shoulder chips when they had been taken.

When a person forgot to take their tablet, the shoulder chip sent a text message to their mobile phone - including the latest pay as you go phones - to remind them that their next one was due.

Over the six-month trial 80 per cent of people remembered to take their tablet every day, compared with 30 per cent before the trial started.

Charity Gifts Aid Health

Charity Gifts Aid Healthcare

As Christmas rapidly approaches we thought we would offer suggestions how to help improve your health whilst helping others.

Giving Benefits Health

Studies in Europe have suggested that generous, thoughtful giving offers benefits to health - the act of giving creates a sense of well being which in turn reduce stress and anxiety thereby helping to lower blood pressure.

For maximum effect why not consider giving a charity gift that will help others?

For many years people have felt good about sending charity Christmas cards but Charity gifts are increasingly popular and various charities now offer imaginative gift ideas that will help those in most need.

Charity Gifts

Healthcare charities and aid agencies all sell christmas cards but now online shopping is being embraced by forward thinking organisations. Oxfam, for example, give visitors the opportunity to provide water and shelter for communities that are suffering the effects of natural disasters around the world and even buy a goat.

The principle goal of these charity gifts is to raise money that can be used to help relieve suffering - be that locally with medical conditions and illnessess, or further afield where communities are feeling the effects of climate change - floods, drought and famine.

See for yourself if you feel better after making a charitable gift - it doesn't have to be Christmas but we think it is an ideal time to try new ways of giving.

Next in the run up to Christmas we will once again remind visitors of the perils of the white stuff - salt