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It seems that every day there is a new story in the news telling us how to eat, what to eat and when to eat; so it’s no wonder we are all confused about what we should be doing. Keto, low-carb, high-carb, fasting, Slimming World – the sheer volume of information and diet plans out there are enough to make you choke and through in the kitchen towel before 2020 even begins.

Approximately 26 million people will embark on a new diet or method of healthy eating at the beginning of every year, and sadly according to iNews nine out of ten (87 per cent of us) will break our new healthy eating habits as soon as 12th January. This figure could in part be because we are over complicating things. Maybe it’s as simple as just eating when we want and what we want and stopping when we are full?

The classic meal formula for a healthy lifestyle is said to be three meals a day and two snacks…but what happens if you can’t eat when you wake up, or just don’t like breakfast? Does this mean we are therefore destined for a life time of eating takeaways over the sink while lying to ourselves that we’ll “start again on Monday”?

The NHS published 8 tips for healthy eating, and one advises us to “not skip breakfast”. They add: “Some people skip breakfast because they think it’ll help them lose weight. But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet, and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health.

“A wholegrain lower sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and healthier breakfast.”

Approximately only two thirds of adults in the UK eat breakfast regularly, which could be a concern if you’re worried about your waistline. The BBC reported that there appears to be several studies linking between obesity and skipping breakfast. “Alexandra Johnstone, professor of appetite research at the University of Aberdeen, argues that it may simply be because breakfast-skippers have been found to be less knowledgeable about nutrition and health.

However, “a 2016 review of 10 studies looking into the relationship between breakfast and weight management concluded there is ‘limited evidence’ supporting or refuting the argument that breakfast influences weight or food intake, and more evidence is required before breakfast recommendations can be used to help prevent obesity.”

They add that “breakfast has been found to affect more than just weight. Skipping breakfast has been associated with a 27% increased risk of heart disease, a 21% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in men, and a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

“One reason may be breakfast’s nutritional value – partly because cereal is fortified with vitamins. In one study on the breakfast habits of 1,600 young people in the UK, researchers found that the fibre and micronutrient intake, including of folate, vitamin C iron and calcium, was better in those who had breakfast regularly.”

Breakfast is also associated with helping our brain functioning, including concentration and learning a language. “A review of 54 studies found that eating breakfast can improve memory, though the effects on other brain functions were inconclusive.” WebMD adds that “hunger hinders concentration”, so if you have a big exam coming up breakfast is a good idea.

There are lots of myths surrounding the benefits of eating breakfast is one that eating breakfast boosts your metabolism. The Healthline says: “Some people claim that eating breakfast ‘kick-starts’ the metabolism, but this is a myth. These people are referring to the thermic effect of food, which is the increase in calories burned that occurs after you eat.

“However, what matters for metabolism is the total amount of food consumed throughout the day. It makes no difference at which times, or how often, you eat. Studies show that there is no difference in calories burned over 24 hours between people who eat or skip breakfast.”

It appears that the science is a little wobbly when it comes to a definitive answer to the question “should we eat breakfast?”. Eating breakfast is a personal preference and if you are concerned about losing weight or gaining weight, the most important thing to look at is a calorie deficit (for loss) or surplus (for gain) rather than which meal to skip. Whether you like breakfast or not, try to focus more on eating high quality foods and ensuring you get the essential minerals and vitamins from these.

It’s hard to get enough sleep with increasing working hours, pressures to maintain a social life, electronic devices and the anxieties and stresses of the day racing through our heads. The NHS says that one in 3 of us suffers from poor sleep, and the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus as “regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes – and it shortens your life expectancy”.

It’s common knowledge that most of us need around 8 hours of good-quality sleep a night to function properly, but what we often don’t take into consideration is that some of us need more and some less, dependent on factors such as age, activity levels and more. There are many benefits to getting a good night sleep, and the NHS explains that it can boost our immunity, our well being, can increase our sex drive and also improve our fertility.

Sleeping well can also help to keep you slim, as studies have shown that “people who sleep less than 7 hours a day tend to gain more weight and have a higher risk of becoming obese than those who get 7 hours of slumber. It’s believed to be because sleep-deprived people have reduced levels of leptin (the chemical that makes you feel full) and increased levels of ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating hormone)”.

To be controversial, in an article published in the New Scientist, Jerome Siegel who studies sleep at the University of California, Los Angeles, argued that the 8 hour rule has no basis in our evolutionary past – his study of tribal cultures with no access to electricity found that they get just 6 or 7 hours.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, these are the sleep ranges on average needed at different ages:

• Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range 14-17 hours each day
• Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range 12-15 hours
• Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range 11-14 hours
• Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range 10-13 hours
• School age children (6-13): Sleep range 9-11 hours
• Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range 8-10 hours
• Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range 7-9 hours
• Adults (26-64): Sleep range 7-9 hours
• Older adults (65+): Sleep range 7-8 hours

Though research cannot pinpoint an exact amount of sleep need by people at different ages, it acts as a recommendation. However, the National Sleep Foundation adds that it’s important to pay attention to your own individual needs by assessing how you feel on different amounts of sleep.

Ask yourselves these questions to determine whether you need more or less sleep:

• Are you productive, healthy and happy on seven hours of sleep? Or does it take you nine hours of quality ZZZs to get you into high gear?
• Do you have health issues such as being overweight? Are you at risk for any disease?
• Are you experiencing sleep problems? Such as narcolepsy or insomnia.
• Do you depend on caffeine to get you through the day?
• Do you feel sleepy when driving?

If you are unsure, it’s best to seek medical help, but as a general rule the NHS says that if you don’t get enough sleep, there’s only one way to compensate…by getting more sleep.

They say that “if you’ve had months of restricted sleep, you’ll have built up a significant sleep debt, so expect recovery to take several weeks. Starting on a weekend, try to add on an extra hour or 2 of sleep a night. The way to do this is to go to bed when you’re tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clocks allowed!).

“Expect to sleep for upwards of 10 hours a night at first. After a while, the amount of time you sleep will gradually decrease to a normal level. Don’t rely on caffeine or energy drinks as a short-term pick-me-up. They may boost your energy and concentration temporarily, but can disrupt your sleep patterns even further in the long term.”

For a good night’s sleep try to stick to sleeping at regular times and make sure you “wind down” by turning off electronics before bed or by having a bath. Lastly, the NHS adds that we should keep the bedroom “just for sleep and sex (or masturbation). Unlike most vigorous physical activity, sex makes us sleepy. This has evolved in humans over thousands of years”.

After the general election there is a mixture of tensions living in the air within the UK. On December 12th it was announced that the Conservative party had won 364 seats to deliver a huge House of Commons majority, meaning Prime Minister Boris Johnson would return to his position of power in Number 10. Whether you’re happy about the result or not, it does leave a lot of uncertainty around issues such as what will happen with Brexit and arguably most concerning…is the NHS going to stick around?

The Labour Party based a lot of their campaigning around “saving” the NHS from privatisation to ensure that everyone in the UK remains entitled to free or subsidised healthcare; whether that was true or not. With an increasingly ageing population, this uncertainty is concerning for all of us.

The truth is that none of us can really predict what the future will be, but it is probably worth looking into what the options are, whatever outcome should arise. So here we are going to answer the question: Should we be investing in health insurance here in the UK post general election, and if so, how do we do this?

Firstly, what is health insurance? According to the Money Advice Service, although most UK residents are entitled to free healthcare from the NHS (at the moment at least),”health insurance pays all – or some – of your medical bills if you’re treated privately. It gives you a choice in the level of care you get and how and when it is provided.” Like all different types of insurance, the cover you get from your health insurance depends on the policy you buy, so it’s good to do your research if you’re thinking about it. “

Basic private medical insurance usually picks up the costs of most in-patient treatments (tests and surgery) and day-care surgery.” Money Advice Service explains that usually health insurance won’t cover private treatment for organ transplants, pre-existing medical conditions, normal pregnancy and childbirth costs, cosmetic surgery to improve your appearance, injuries relating to dangerous sports or arising from war or war-like hostilities, and chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs-related illnesses, diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension and related illnesses. “You might be able to choose a policy which covers mental health, depression and sports injuries but these aren’t always covered.”

The main issue with getting health insurance and subbing all your medical expenses yourself without the help of the NHS is obviously the costs. In an article on the The Telegraph, Dan Hutson of comparethemarket.com said: “Typically speaking, health insurance premiums tend to increase by around 3-5% per year, partly because of the increasing cost of treatment, and partly because people are living for longer.” According to the Money Advice Service, “a typical family premium – covering two adults in their 40s and two children under 10 – can vary from £700 to £1,800 per year”.

The cost of private health insurance tends to go up most years, and can go up even further if you make a claim. Even something as simple as moving house can affect the charges. However, going private means that you will have instant access to health care, which is good as relying on the NHS could mean waiting a very long time for treatment, especially in the current climate. You will also have access to a wider range of resources, including private hospitals and ongoing recovery treatments such as physiotherapy.

Aside from insurance, Virgin Money recommend that, if you can, you should “self-insure” by putting cash into a contingency fund for medical use. “The average hip or knee replacement costs £10,000, a cataract operation £2,400 and an MRI body scan £460. If you don’t spend your fund, you haven’t lost it (unlike premiums for a policy you haven’t claimed on). However, your fund needs to be accessible and not invested for growth.” Obviously, if you have the money to do this, this is great, but most of us don’t so would have to rely on the NHS or insurance.

We don’t know what will happen to the NHS. It might continue to go downhill and eventually become fully privatised like the USA, or maybe even just partially privatised. Perhaps it will stay the same for many years. Before making financial decisions or investing in health insurance, it’s always a good idea to do research, or even talk to a financial adviser.

Money Saving Expert suggests firstly beginning with comparison websites to find a good price on health insurance. “The easiest place to find out roughly what you can get, and whether it is affordable, is to use a comparison website. It can be a really quick and easy way to check whether the company you like is too expensive, and what is out there.”

To go even further, they also advice contacting a broker for more options and specialist advice. “If you’re not sure which policy to get, or have conditions making it difficult to find the right one, contact a broker for a more thorough search. It does take a bit longer but they will be able to give you a much more bespoke quotation and clearly explain the exclusions connected to your policy. They also often have connections with various insurers and might be able to offer you a deal.”

Brokers get paid commission by the insurer, so if you are charged a fee (which must be disclosed upfront), weigh up if that is the best or your only option. “You can find a broker via the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries, which is a trade association for independent medical insurance advisers and has a list of members to choose from.”

Mobility is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. It’s common knowledge that as we age we lose mobility – as we lose muscle mass, strength and bone density – but did you consider that sitting at a desk all day could also affect your mobility just as much as ageing does?

You might find that each time you get up from your desk it gets a little more difficult to do so, and this could be a sign that you need to work on your mobility. Losing mobility can negatively affect your balance, can result in chronic pain and risk of falls, alongside a long list of other physical and mental health problems.

What exactly is mobility in relation to our bodies? Shape.com explains that mobility is your ability to move a muscle or muscle group through a range of motion in the joint socket with control, and in order to move a muscle with control, you need strength. Mobility is dependent on our flexibility, strength, coordination and body awareness.

Shape.com adds that “connecting your breath with your movement is also thought to have a huge effect on how efficiently you move”, and a great way to do this is by practising yoga or breathing exercises. In most parts of the UK, you can also find mobility-specific classes, such as those offered through Wickham’s Movement Vault, or you could stream some online.

An important aspect of improving mobility is stretching, and the key to becoming more mobile is to do a little bit of stretching every day. The Healthline explains that static stretching, or holding one position for an extended period, might be one way to improve mobility, but “according to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, it appears that dynamic stretching, or stretching while moving through a movement, is better than static stretching as part of a warmup.

“Just 10 minutes of dynamic warmup activities prior to a workout is linked to improvements in shuttle run time, medicine ball throw distance, and jump distance”, if those things are important to you.

If you’re new to mobility movements, here are a few simple exercises you could try:

1. Stand on one leg

Wellbeingcoaches.com says that “this is a daily exercise that is easy to do. Stand on one leg at a time for one minute each. Slowly increase the time. Try to balance with your eyes closed or without holding onto anything”. You might need to work yourself up to balancing without holding onto something.

2. Stand on your toes

The website also explains that to do this move: “Stand on your toes for a count of 10, and then, rock back on your heels for a count of 10. This is such a simple exercise, and it works very well to improve your balance. Think about other times and places during the day when you can take 20 seconds to do it.”

3. Move your hips

Wellbeingcoaches.com adds that “this is another exercise that you can do while you’re on the phone or watching television. Stand up and move your hips in a big circle to the left, and then to the right without moving your shoulders or feet. Repeat in both directions five times.”

4. Posterior step with overhead reach

Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Take a small step back with arms stretched overhead and core braced. Touch the floor with the lunging heel. Push back with the posterior foot and return to start position.

5. Squat to overhead reach with a twist

Squat down and swing the arms down and back. Return to the standing position with arms stretched overhead while rotating the upper body to one side. Repeat on the other side.

6. Lunges

Step forward and bend knees, keep front shin vertical. Do not let knee travel forward of toes. Maintain upright torso and alternate legs rep by rep.

It’s important before attempting any of the exercises suggested above that you consult your doctor. Dynamic stretches may not be appropriate for everyone, especially the elderly, those with previous injuries or joint replacements.

Christmas is around the corner, which means that most of us soon will be indulging on too many mince pies and too many Baileys. While that sounds like most of our ideas of heaven, if drawn out over the whole month of December – or “the Festive” season – our bodies can begin to struggle to cope with the calories and units of alcohol consumed.

Last year, The Drinks Business predicted that in Christmas 2018 the average Briton would consume an average of 26 units per day, with the nation collectively expected to drink almost six billions units of alcohol between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day that year.

They explained that that equated to “an average of 156 units each over the course of six days – nearly 10 times more than the average 16 units consumed on a regular night out.” They said that overall, the great British public were expected to consume as much as 5.7bn units of alcohol over that festive break.

So if that was last year, what’s in store for Christmas 2019? A lot more alcohol…probably.

If we are braced and ready for a lot of binge drinking shortly, what measures can we take to ensure we stay safe and healthy this Christmas, and how much exactly should we be drinking at this time of year?

Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean the risk to the body when consuming alcohol is any different. When drinking alcohol in vast quantities, this can have some devastating effects both in the short and long term.

Appropriately for Christmas time, The NHS explains that “binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk”. In the UK, the NHS adds that binge drinking is drinking more than 8 units of alcohol in a single session for men and 6 units of alcohol in a single session for women. “Six units is 2 pints of 5% strength beer or 2 large (250ml) glasses of 12% wine, for example. However, this is not an exact definition for binge drinking that applies to everyone, as tolerance to alcohol can vary from person to person.”

The NHS adds that “drinking too much, too quickly on a single occasion can increase your risk of accidents resulting in injury, causing death in some cases, misjudging risky situations and losing self-control, like having unprotected sex”.

Drink Aware says that getting drunk can affect both your physical and mental health. “In extreme cases, you could die. Overdosing on alcohol can stop you breathing or stop your heart, or you could choke on your vomit. Binge drinking can affect your mood and your memory and, in the longer term, can lead to serious mental health problems.” According to NI Direct, if you’re hungover you can feel anxious and low. “Some people may feel down over Christmas and drinking can make this worse.”

The Healthline explains that binge drinking can also negatively affect your heart, kidneys, lungs and pancreas. If you’re only drinking over Christmas, you don’t need to worry about this too much, but it’s worth knowing that the long-term effects of consistent binge drinking are more likely to lead to long-term damage. Their website says that “one recent study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found that 21 binge drinking sessions over seven weeks was enough to cause symptoms of early-stage liver disease in mice.”

The answer to the question “how much should you drink over Christmas” isn’t that straight forward. Sure we can look at the NHS’s recommendations for how many units to consume, but that isn’t realistic. Most of us overindulge over Christmas, and once a year that is fine to do and should be enjoyed.

If you’re concerned about the excess, here are a couple of tips to help make sure this indulgence is as safe and healthy as can be.

In a Q&A with Alcohol Change UK’s Director for Wales, published on their website, they suggest that over Christmas “it may be wise to lay off the booze until later in the day. Think about how you’re feeling and whether you want a pause, and don’t let people top you up just because they’re drinking.

“Taking some time off can also help remind you that you don’t need alcohol to have fun, and give you some practice saying no, which will come in handy when you don’t fancy a drink in future.”

The NHS advise that if you want to reduce your health risks when drinking, drink more slowly, drink with food, alternate with water or non-alcoholic drinks and plan ahead to avoid problems, such as making sure you can get home safely or having people you trust with you.

Drink aware say that if you’re worried about your long-term drinking habits beyond Christmas, contact your GP. They will be able to suggest ways to help you cut down your drinking, and can also refer you for counselling or support services. You can also call Drinkline, the national alcohol helpline, on 0300 123 1110. It’s free and confidential.

A few years ago you might not have even heard of what a vegan diet was, but nowadays veganism is infiltrating our news, social media feeds and shopping aisles daily. You might’ve even considered a vegan diet yourself for its supposed positive health, ethical and environmental benefits.

Although it is easier than ever to go vegan – with more access to vegan products and an internet full of tips and recipe ideas than ever before – there are some people who might struggle with the transition of going vegan, and these are those with eating disorders, those with autism, the malnourished and older populations; to name a handful.

Older populations sometimes struggle with getting out to the shops to buy ingredients and also with cooking for themselves, which might make it difficult to go vegan for them. There is also the problem of malnutrition within older populations and the risks of osteoporosis, which we know dairy products can help protect against thanks to the calcium in them.

That isn’t to say that all older people cannot attempt to go vegan, however, should they want to. A report commissioned by The Telegraph showed that more over-60s than ever before are ditching meat and dairy to go vegan. In fact, a new documentary on Netflix called The Gamechangers interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger, who at 72 has now adopted a new plant based diet. Previous research from The Vegan Society in 2016 found that close to half of all vegans (42%) were in the 15-34 age category and only 14% were aged 65 and over, but that seems to be shifting slowly.

Older people might consider going vegan to improve their health, as age is well known to make it deteriorate. An article published on Livestrong said that “on average, vegetarians of consume less saturated fat, salt, protein and overall fewer calories than those who eat meat, and according to the American Heart Association, the plant-based diet is generally healthier, regardless of age. Vegetarians not only pile more fibre and fresh vegetables on their plates, but also have a lower incidence of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure—conditions that often plague older people.”

If you are considering going vegan as an older person, the NHS have some healthy eating guidelines which may be helpful.

For a healthy vegan diet, they suggest:

• Eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
• Basing meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates (choose wholegrain where possible)
• Having some dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks and yoghurts (choose lower fat and lower sugar options)
• Eating some beans, pulses and other proteins
• Choosing unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat in small amounts
• Drinking plenty of fluids (the government recommends 6 to 8 cups or glasses a day)

If you do not plan your diet properly, you could miss out on essential nutrients, such as calcium, iron and vitamin B12.

The NHS goes on to say that good sources of calcium for vegans include:

• green, leafy vegetables – such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach
• fortified unsweetened soya, rice and oat drinks
• calcium-set tofu
• sesame seeds and tahini
• pulses
• brown and white bread (in the UK, calcium is added to white and brown flour by law)
• dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, figs and dried apricots

A vegan diet can be high in iron, according to the NHS, although iron from plant-based food is absorbed by the body less well than iron from meat.

Good sources of iron for vegans are:

• pulses
• wholemeal bread and flour
• breakfast cereals fortified with iron
• dark green, leafy vegetables, such as watercress, broccoli and spring greens
• nuts
• dried fruits, such as apricots, prunes and figs

The NHS adds that the body needs vitamin B12 to maintain healthy blood and a healthy nervous system. “It’s only found naturally in foods from animal sources. Sources for vegans are therefore limited and a vitamin B12 supplement may be needed.”

Sources of vitamin B12 for vegans include:

• breakfast cereals fortified with B12
• unsweetened soya drinks fortified with vitamin B12
• yeast extract, such as Marmite, which is fortified with vitamin B12

If you are thinking of changing your diet, it’s important to consult a doctor or medical professional first to see if you are suitable for a vegan diet, especially if you are over 60.

We all know what cancer is, and the unfortunate likelihood is that we all probably know someone who has been touched by cancer. But with the enormous amount of different variations of cancer, it can be overwhelming to know how to show your support or even spot the signs of the each individual strain of the disease. The important thing is to start somewhere and with education, and a good place to start could be this November with Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

The month of November is dedicated to pancreatic awareness, having evolved from a Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week originating in the United States. Now the awareness month spreads worldwide, and brings together different charities and individuals who want to make a difference.

According to pancreatic.org, pancreatic cancer is the “third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States surpassing breast cancer and it is expected to become the 2nd by 2020, surpassing colon cancer. Every day more than 1,250 people worldwide will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In nearly every country, pancreatic cancer is the only major cancer with a single-digit five-year survival rate of 9%. While death rates decline for other cancers, they are increasing for pancreatic cancer. Survival rates have not improved substantially for the past 40 years.”

So what exactly is pancreatic cancer?

Webmd explains that pancreatic cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancerous) cells form in the tissues of the pancreas. “The pancreas is a gland located behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The pancreas produces digestive juices and hormones that regulate blood sugar. Cells called exocrine pancreas cells produce the digestive juices, while cells called endocrine pancreas cells produce the hormones. The majority of pancreatic cancers start in the exocrine cells.”

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer can include jaundice, pain in the upper or middle abdomen and back, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue and/or depression. Your risk of developing pancreatic cancer can increase with smoking, chronic pancreatitis, inherited conditions, familial pancreatic cancer syndromes, long-standing diabetes and obesity.

The NHS says that in about 1 in 10 cases, pancreatic cancer is inherited. “Certain genes also increase your chances of getting pancreatitis, which in turn increases your risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. If you have two or more close relatives who have had pancreatic cancer or you have an inherited disease, such as Lynch or Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, your doctor may recommend regular check-ups as you may be at increased risk of pancreatic cancer.”

How can you get a diagnosis for pancreatic cancer?

The NHS further adds that your GP should be your first port of call, so if you are experiencing any symptoms that have you worried, it’s advisable to book an appointment. Your GP will first ask about your general health and carry out a physical examination. They may examine your stomach for lumps and to see whether your liver is enlarged. They’ll also check your skin and eyes for signs of jaundice and may request a sample of your urine and a blood test. If your GP suspects pancreatic cancer, you’ll usually be referred to a specialist at a hospital for further investigation.

How is pancreatic cancer treated?

Sadly this type of cancer is difficult to treat as because it rarely causes symptoms early on, meaning it’s often not detected early enough.

The NHS explains that if you have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, your treatment will depend on the type and location of your cancer and how far it’s advanced, also known as its stage. The three main treatments for pancreatic cancer are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

How can you show your support during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month?

Pancreatic cancer is daunting, but there are things you can do to show your support and make a difference during the month of November. Your support can help fund vital research, provide specialist support and campaign for change.

Pancreaticcancer.org suggest that you could try doing their ‘Challenge 24’. They explain that in the UK, 24 people die from pancreatic cancer every day. “You can help change this shocking statistic by taking on Challenge 24 this November. Walk, run or ride 24 miles in November for a day, a week or a month.”

Another idea for supporting Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month is to bring your friends and family together for a Bake Off and raise money for a good cause. Actually, you can support Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in any way you can think of. Every penny really does count and your support will make a difference and save lives, so be creative, host a karaoke party or even have a bingo night.

Lastly, during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month you could go to the extreme of shaving, dyeing or waxing your hair or even dressing purple (less extreme) as a way to raise vital awareness of pancreatic cancer. Even the smallest of gestures can go a long way to improving the lives of those with pancreatic cancer.

If our eyesight is bad, we as a nation have no problem going to the opticians to get glasses – in fact, glasses can be quite the fashion statement. However, the doesn’t seem to be true for hearing aids, and the reason could be that hearing loss is mostly associated with the ageing process. According to Action on Hearing Loss, there are 11 million people with hearing loss across the UK, which is around one in six of us.

It isn’t just the elderly who suffer with hearing loss, as there are around 50,000 children with hearing loss in the UK. Around half are born with hearing loss while the other half lose their hearing during childhood. On the flip side, more than 40% of people over 50 years old have hearing loss, which rises to 71% of people over the age of 70 and around one in 10 UK adults has tinnitus.

If you are worried about your hearing, the NHS describes some early signs to look out for. These include difficulty hearing other people clearly and misunderstanding what they say, especially in noisy places, asking people to repeat themselves, listening to music or watching TV with the volume higher than other people need, difficulty hearing on the phone, finding it hard to keep up with a conversation and feeling tired or stressed from having to concentrate while listening.

If you have identified yourself as someone who struggles with hearing, you should go and visit a specialist known as an audiologist who may suggest you would benefit from wearing a hearing aid. According to Hearing Aid Know, there are three main hearing aid types. These include:

• BTE Hearing Aids: These devices are worn with the hearing aid on top of and behind the ear. All of the parts are in the case at the back of the ear, and they are joined to the ear canal with a sound tube and a custom mould or tip.
• ITE Hearing Aids: These are custom-made devices and all of the electronics sit in a device that fits in your ear, they come in many sizes including CIC (completely in Canal) and IIC (Invisible in Canal).
• RIC RITE Hearing Aids: These devices are similar in concept to BTE hearing aids, with the exception that the receiver (the speaker) has been removed from the case that sits at the back of the ear. It is fitted in your ear canal or ear and connected to the case of the hearing aid with a thin wire.

Here are some interesting facts you might not have known about hearing aids before today:

1. The website hearingaids.com say that hearing aids “can memorise settings for multiple listening environments and can recalibrate—sometimes automatically—depending on sound input received from your surroundings.” This put simply means that hearing aids can remember different settings and programme themselves to adapt to them; just like a human ear.
2. The website also adds that many hearing aids can sync with wireless devices by using Bluetooth, enabling you to receive direct auditory signals from your smartphone, television, and more. Apple have also recently partnered with major hearing aid manufacturers to develop a Made for iPhone app that streams audio to your hearing aids directly from any iOS device. Pretty cool, huh?
3. According to hear.com you can hear in all directions with hearing aids. “Hearing aids are built with directional microphones to detect all ambient noises and automatically filter them for important sounds. Therefore, you can understand your conversation partner well in noisy scenes – whether he is sitting next to you in the car or in a busy cafe.”
4. You probably did not notice, but hear.com adds that “many celebrities wear hearing aids, such as U2 frontman Bono, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins. Also, Oscar prizewinners Christoph Waltz, Robert Redford and Jodie Foster as well as fashion designer Wolfgang Joop wear hearing aids.”
5. Hearing aids can help to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus, according to 121captions.com. “Some hearing aids provide a kind of ‘masking’ effect for tinnitus, allowing you to hear sounds more naturally.”
6. Lastly, 121captions.com recommend that you shouldn’t buy hearing aids online, as they have to be programmed by a certified audiologist or hearing specialist. “Follow-up visits are just as important to ensure your hearing aids are adjusted properly and working optimally.” Don’t cut corners when it comes to your hearing and your health!

Thankfully, depression is a mental illness that is becoming more easily talked about, with more and more celebrities – from Stephen Fry to Stormzy – coming forward to admit that they have struggled with it. This open conversation is allowing more and more people the confidence to seek help and better manage their depression.

If you’re unsure about what depression is, the Mental Health Foundation describes it as “a common mental disorder that causes people to experience depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration”.

Their website adds that depression is the predominant mental health problem worldwide, followed by anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and in 2014 19.7% of people in the UK aged 16 and over showed symptoms of anxiety or depression – a 1.5% increase from 2013. This percentage was higher among females (22.5%) than males (16.8%).

So how can you tell if you have depression? Most of us get sad or lonely from time to time, but it’s when these feelings begin to rule your life and cause physical as well as psychological symptoms that last for long periods of time that this could be classed as depression. It is at this point where it could be worth getting some help; it could even save your life.

Web MD say that recognising the symptoms of depression is key to tackling it. They say that “unfortunately, about half the people who have depression never get it diagnosed or treated.”

According to their website, symptoms of depression can include:

• Trouble concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
• Fatigue
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and helplessness
• Pessimism and hopelessness
• Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or sleeping too much
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Loss of interest in things once pleasurable, including sex
• Overeating, or appetite loss
• Aches, pains, headaches, or cramps that won’t go away
• Digestive problems that don’t get better, even with treatment
• Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts (1 in every 10 people with depression result to this)

If you’ve acknowledged you might have depression, a good place to start is with a visit to your GP in order to get a medical diagnosis and some professional help. Your GP can recommend treatments for depression including psychological therapies like CBT or counselling, or antidepressants. Additionally, the NHS have some extra tips that could help you deal with your depression:

1. Socialising can improve your mood and keeping in touch with friends and family means you’ll have someone to talk to when you feel low.
2. Take up some form of exercise. There’s evidence that exercise can help lift your mood. If you haven’t exercised for a while, start gently by walking for 20 minutes every day.
3. Don’t avoid the things you find difficult. When people feel low or anxious, they sometimes avoid talking to other people. Some people can lose their confidence in going out, driving or travelling. If this starts to happen, facing up to these situations will help them become easier.
4. Don’t drink too much alcohol. For some people, alcohol can become a problem. You may drink more than usual as a way of coping with or hiding your emotions, or just to fill time. But alcohol won’t help you solve your problems and could also make you feel more depressed.
5. Try to eat a healthy diet. Some people don’t feel like eating when they’re depressed and are at risk of becoming underweight. Others find comfort in food and can put on excess weight. Antidepressants can also affect your appetite, so if you’re concerned about weight loss, weight gain or how antidepressants are affecting your appetite, talk to your GP.
6. Have a routine. When people feel down, they can get into poor sleep patterns, staying up late and sleeping during the day. Try to get up at your normal time and stick to your routine as much as possible. Not having a routine can affect your eating. Try to carry on cooking and eating regular meals.
7. If you start to feel that your life isn’t worth living or about harming yourself, get help straight away. You can contact Samaritans on 116 123 for 24-hour confidential, non-judgemental emotional support. You could call your GP and ask for an emergency appointment or you could call 111 out of hours – they will help you find the support and help you need.

You hear a lot about scams on the news and through everyday conversations. About how older and often more vulnerable people are targeted in particular. There are some cases where people have lost their life savings to what they have thought were worthy, legal and just causes only to find out that they have been deceived and that the money they had worked so hard for is no longer around to pay for their retirement.

According to a BBC investigation back in 2018, fraudsters scammed nearly 49,000 older people across the UK. However, the true number of elderly victims is likely to be in the millions.

It’s a scary thought, especially if you are concerned of a loved one – perhaps a parent – falling into such a trap. But how can you spot the signs of a scam?

Age UK define scams to be a way of cheating people out of their money. “A scammer may try to approach you on your doorstep, by post, over the phone or online. They’ll often pretend to be someone they’re not, or make misleading offers of services or investments. New digital ways of communicating have led to an increasing number of scams – and more people being tricked by them.”

The Money Advice Service explains that knowing what to be on the lookout for when it comes to scams is one of the best ways to protect yourself.

Here are some ways, according to their website, of how you can recognise a scam:

• If you have received any kind of contact, but particularly a phone call, out of the blue, it is best to avoid it. Since January 2019, there has been a ban on cold calling about pensions. This means you should not be contacted by any company about your pension unless you’ve asked them to.
• If you get an email, expand the pane at the top of the message and see exactly who it has come from. If it is a scam, the email address the message has come from will be filled in with random numbers, or be misspelled.If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
• Personal details, PIN codes and passwords. These are things no legitimate company will ask you for.
• If you are pushed into making a decision on the spot, be suspicious. Scammers don’t want you to have time to think about it.
• Random competitions, particularly if you don’t remember entering them, should ring alarm bells.

But what happens if you’ve already fallen victim to a scam? If you’ve already given money to a scam, you shouldn’t feel embarrassed. Scammers are usually very good at what they do and can sound very convincing.

Age UK say that the first thing you should do is get in touch with your bank so they can cancel any cards or freeze your account. Then contact Action Fraud (0300 123 2040). The information you provide could help authorities track down the scammer, making them pay for their crime and protecting others. You might even get some money back.

“If you paid for something by credit card in a transaction that turns out to be fraudulent, your card provider may offer protection. If you have household insurance, your policy may also provide cover in some circumstances. If the scammer is traced, it may be possible to prosecute them and recover your money.”

If you are concerned that someone you know is being, or has been, targeted by scammers, Independent Age suggest you should try to speak to them about it. “It’s not uncommon for people to feel ashamed or embarrassed if they have fallen victim to a scam, so reassure them that this isn’t their fault and that scammers use devious tactics anyone could be taken in by.”

They add that whether or not the person wants to report a scam, they could talk to Victim Support (0808 168 9111), a charity providing practical and emotional support to people affected by crime. If you’re concerned that someone you know might be at risk of financial abuse – for example, a person with dementia who you’re caring for – discuss your concerns with your local council’s adult social services department.