The Sugar Tax…

In April 2018, a sugar tax came into effect in the UK for soft drinks

Research from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Heath suggested that based on data from almost 8,000 adults and 7.6k children the daily sugar intake for children fell by 4.8g and 10.9g for adults in the year after the levy’s introduction – essentially free sugars consumed  from all soft drinks reduced by a half in children and by a third in adults. In fact this had a knock on effect into the whole diet rather than just from soft drinks.

There is nothing inherently wrong with sugar, but overconsumption can be an issue – for overall health as well as specific issues like dental health.

Should this sugar tax be extended into other high sugar foods and drink? Cereals and processed items?

This study drives home the importance of food policy to improve the nutritional quality of food and drinks, not just in the UK but worldwide to force food manufacturers to reduce sugar in the process.  Ultimately this will help healthcare systems tackle lifestyle associated conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and more.

Can Diet Beat Acne?

Acne is complex. There is no one size fits all management prescription for every single person, and diet is certainly integral in skin health.

A  new study from the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology looked at the role of omega 3 fatty acids and a Mediterranean diet in acne patients and found that it could potentially help relieve inflammation associated with acne

Over a 16 week period, 60 patients without prescription medication (and diagnosed with either acne comedonica or acne papulopustulosa) adhered to a Mediterranean diet supplementing with a combination of DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids and regular clinical assessments.

At baseline before the study, the majority of participants had an EPA/DHA deficit but at the end of the 16 weeks, there was objective improvement in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions and the patients self reported in overall improvement in quality of life!

Like I said, diet is a key role in acne – this is one study showing a link and doesn’t mean a Mediterranean diet = acne cure but it does make you wonder just how much food influences the gut, the skin the brain and beyond.

The simplest take away from this might just be – if you have a chronic skin condition and you find that certain foods make your condition worse.. it might just be worth keeping a food diary!

5 Lessons I Keep Reminding Myself:

1.     Don’t let the pursuit of more stop you from enjoying your present and what you have now – sometimes enough, is good enough.

2.     Some of the best moments of your life haven’t happened yet

3.     Don’t just keep working, work towards something. One is directionless and is a fast track to burnout, the other is a journey and can ensure you and fulfil you in equal measure

4.     Working hard and sometimes like a maniac isn’t a bad thing but always ask yourself… am I doing this at the cost of my health or relationships? If the answer is yes to either… it’s probably not worth it

5.     Don’t take everything so seriously, stress is worse for health outcomes than some of the things we needlessly fixate on. Enjoy your relationships, enjoy your food, chill out.

The Birthday Effect

This is a weirdly grim statistical phenomenon… and definitely not one you should tell someone on their birthday!

The birthday effect: when a person’s likelihood of death is higher than baseline on or around their birthday.

Gloomy right?

In fact a lot of studies have looked at this phenomenon including a 2012 Swiss study which showed an almost 14% increase in those ages 60 or older who passed away on their birthday versus other days of the year. This was backed up by a 2015 study from the US which showed the risk of birthday death was 6.7% higher.

Why does this happen?

There is no one answer but scientists hypothesise it might be a combination of over-exuberant celebrations, copious alcohol, increase in risky behaviours all laced up with a tinge of poor decision making which results in things like drunk driving, accidents and altercations

Living Good At 70…

Fewer than 1 in 10 people are free of disease and with good cognitive and physical health at age 70 and beyond.. but it’s not all bad news.

A new study based on data from over 100,000 people across 30 years showed people who followed a healthy diet from their 40s onwards were 43-84% more likely to be well functioning at 70+

So what foods are included in this long life diet?

There are no secret superfoods but it is the boring stuff like increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes and low fat dairy – those were highlighted in the research

Conversely, foods associated with a lower odds ration of healthy ageing including trans fats, sodium, red meats and processed meats (although red meat in moderation is NOT a terrible thing at all)

If you want to learn more interesting things about your health and easy actionable tips to improve your life, order a copy of my book TBMSYL here:

If you’ve already read it, I’d love a cheeky review on Amazon!

Random  Updates…

I wanted to set myself some daily tangible targets that I’d adhere to without fail. As someone who is pretty active on social media I’m trying to work out a way to continue the work I do online but spend less time on screens – that starts with me finding the right editor etc to delegate work to!

Also from an exercise perspective, I’ve given myself the task of going to the gym to resistance train AT LEAST 3 times a week, regardless of when I finish work or how tired I am. Paradoxically going to the gym gives me energy and likely will help sleep later in the day.

In addition to this I’m trying to get at least 10k steps a day (minimum) even if by the end of the day I’m only at 3k steps.. I’m not sleeping until I hit 10! (p.s 10k is an arbitrary number but still encourages me to move more… any movement is good as long as its more than baseline. If you walk 2k steps a day and aim to walk 4k.. that is also excellent)

Diet wise I don’t have many restrictions in my life although one thing I religiously adhere to is trying to hit and cross the 30g a day fibre threshold.

I’m pretty good at getting to 30g on most days but one thing I’m trying to actively improve is getting a range of different coloured fruits and vegetables to achieve a diversity of phytochemical and nutrients.

I also involve myself so much in work that I sometimes forget to look after my mental health and govern the small stresses in my life. Relaxing is as important as hard work I’ve realised.

To this end I’m bringing back the 30-30-30 practice I tried to initiate last year and failed after 2 weeks.

30 g fibre a day, 30 minutes of movements a day, 30 minutes of doing something or nothing (!) to de-stress

I’m going to try this every day for a month so it becomes a habit.. if you’re interested tag along as well and see if it sticks!