Health

Essential advice for allergy sufferers

Approximately one in four of the UK population will suffer from an allergy at some point in their lives, according to the British Allergy Foundation and the number of people affected is increasing by five per cent each year.

New campaign aims to address inequalities in breastfeeding

This National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (11-17 May 2008) the Department of Health is encouraging young mothers from low-income backgrounds to access support that will help them to breastfeed for longer. Breastfeeding is a major public health issue in today's society with significant inequalities in infant feeding practices.

Katherine Jenkins reveals sweet secret

Hers is the voice that aspiring songsters up and down the country can only dream off, but Katherine Jenkin’s - the award winning, Welsh opera singer - has let us in on the a secret ingredient she uses to help warm up her vocal chords. Katherine revealed on the Paul O’Grady show that she swears by a glass of warm pineapple juice with grated ginger and Manuka Honey before a show.

Stress factor causes anxious performers to seek help

As many famous musicians head towards the make or break period of the year where festivals are taking place, a leading celebrity Life Coach, hypnotherapist and motivator has warned that celebrities are increasingly losing their confidence due to incidents such as being verbally assaulted in the street and being “bottled off” the stage by crowds.

New campaign urges “know your BMI”

At least 1.7 million UK adults are overweight or obese but don’t know it – and millions of others can’t work it out. So says a shocking survey today from weight loss experts LighterLife to launch BMI 4 Life Fortnight – a campaign to highlight the life-and-death importance of Body Mass Index.

Middle-aged anorexics on the increase

Surrounded by images of stick-thin and toned women such as Madonna, Teri Hatcher and Jane Fonda (who has admitted to suffering an eating disorder herself), women are exposed to increasingly unrealistic images of how they should look as they age and are working harder than ever to counter the effects of getting old.

Government figures show mental health stigma still rife

Mental health charity Rethink has today branded findings released by the Department of Health on attitudes towards people with mental health problems as “shocking, ignorant, and unacceptable in today’s society.”

‘Skunk’ form of Cannabis returns the drug to Class B status

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith confirmed the reversal of the downgrading of cannabis to Class C, which took place under Tony Blair in January 2004. The announcement came in the wake of concerns that the more potent skunk form of the drug is contributing to mental illness.

Government pledge £77 million to boost stroke services

Every local authority in England will be able to appoint a dedicated Stroke Care Coordinator to support stroke survivors and their carers thanks to millions of pounds of extra funding for stroke services, Health Minister Ann Keen announced today.

Feel like an Empress

You have a job list the length of your arm, the kids are screaming and you’ve still got to squeeze in that gym session before going shopping. Sometimes it can all get a bit much and all our best intentions of keeping fit and eating healthily can fall by the way side as the stresses of everyday life get in the way.

Strengthening family doctor services

Health Secretary Alan Johnson this week underlined the Government's commitment to improving family doctor services alongside further plans to tackle long-standing inequalities in GP provision.

British men top Europe’s depression league

The reserved, traditional ‘stiff upper lip’ is to blame for a high rate of depression among British men, according to a new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (May 1, 2008). The study, which was headed by Professor Michael King of the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, looked at data from general practices in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Estonia and the Netherlands. It found that the rate of major depression and panic syndrome was highest among males in the UK.