Most of us do not worry about our holiday health until we come down with something and then rush to the local pharmacy trying to explain the symptoms. Some forward planning can make this unnecessary since most common problems are easily preventable or treatable. I have put together some of the most common summer concerns that our customers contact me about, giving brief explanations and possible ways to prevent or treat them.

Traveller’s Tummy

When people travel abroad, especially to developing countries, their risk of becoming ill increases. Your holiday can be ruined by unsafe or contaminated food. Many places outside of Europe do not have the investment and regulation for water supply, refuse disposal and sewerage that we take for granted in the UK. Food poisoning on holiday is often cause by contaminated or tainted water, poor hygiene by food handlers, contamination of food by insects such as flies and wasps and numerous other possible causal factors.

The normal treatment for food poisoning is prescribed antibiotics and whilst they perform their role of destroying the harmful bacteria, they are not without side effects and can disrupt the balance of the good bacteria in our gut. This does not mean that you should not take antibiotics when you have food poisoning, but you may be able to prevent this concern or certainly replace the good bacteria lost through antibiotic usage by using a good probiotic.

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Skin problems can give one a lot of discomfort and for some may be debilitating. Most of us use the term eczema and psoriasis very loosely and yet these two concerns are similar, yet distinctly different. The terms eczema and psoriasis are both of Greek origin. Eczema literally means ‘to boil out’ whilst psoriasis means ‘to itch’. Eczema affects both children and adults whereas psoriasis seems to predominantly affect adults. Surveys suggest that nearly 20% of children living in UK, and 5% of the adult population suffer from eczema whilst 3% of the adults suffer from psoriasis. When you put these percentages into numbers, we are talking in terms of millions of sufferers and it is no wonder that there are hundreds of both natural and pharmaceutical products aimed at both these concerns.

With eczema, the itch starts before the rash develops, whilst with psoriasis there is an increased growth in the outer part of skin, which gets inflamed resulting in white thick layers of skin. Both eczema and psoriasis are potentially allergic concerns that can be triggered by environmental factors, external allergens and even food intolerances. Although not fully understood, psoriasis has a hereditary component and may be triggered by stress and infections. Whilst there are different types of eczema and psoriasis, essentially the treatment for these concerns remains similar.

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Cataracts commonly occur in the elderly and are the leading cause of blindness worldwide affecting up to 40% of people over the age of 75. The astounding fact is that cataract formation is present in all adults over the age of 30. In an eye that has no cataract, the lens is clear and light can pass through the lens on to the retina so that a clear image can be seen. The lens in an eye with cataract is clouded and the image produced is not clear.

A cataract develops when proteins aggregate in the lens of the eye with a progressive loss of transparency. This is akin to what happens to the white of an egg when it is cooked. As the protein becomes oxidised, it hardens and loses its transparency.

Whilst the exact pathway leading to the formation of cataracts still remains unknown, there are some risk factors that predispose us to cataract formation. These include age (being over 30), diabetes, smoking, alcohol, high sugar intake, high blood pressure, genetics, diets deficient in antioxidants and exposure of the eyes to excessive sunlight.

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Haemorrhoids are badly swollen, inflamed veins located both around the anus and along the very lowest part of the colon in the rectum. The swollen veins that are external are commonly referred to as piles or external haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoids are unique to humans, no other animal has this problem. It is estimated that nearly 75% of all adults in the Western world will suffer from haemorrhoids at some point and that is why the causal factors are thought to be predominantly dietary and ageing.

The symptoms of external haemorrhoids, those that protrude outside the body, are typically itching, pain and bleeding. When faecal matter passes through the anal region, some of these inflamed veins cannot resist the pressure and hence rupture releasing their contents which causes pain in the region, itching and blood spots. External haemorrhoids can cause discomfort and disruption in your daily activity.

Internal haemorrhoids on the other hand are usually painless. Whilst you may see some blood spots or staining, the discomfort is significantly less, however one should go and visit your GP at the first sign of blood to rule out any possible links to other diseases.

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Many modern pharmaceutical drugs have been derived directly from plants and fungal species that have been shown to demonstrate remarkable abilities to improve wellbeing or have an effect on diseases at a molecular level. Notable examples include aspirin from willow bark and the discovery of penicillin from a mould by Alexander Fleming. Increasingly, scientists continue to discover plant compounds that demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties, intervene in cell mutation, have powerful antimicrobial and antiviral properties, and may also slow down the ageing process due to their antioxidant properties. Turmeric is one such compound that has been, and still is, studied extensively for all the above benefits.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which country turmeric originated from, there is a huge likelihood that it was first grown in India. Indian cuisine not only includes the wonderfully fragrant and flavourful ginger, chilli and cardamom, but also turmeric, which is widely used in many curry dishes. Turmeric is not only used in Indian cuisine but it has been revered by Chinese medicine and in Ayurveda for its medicinal properties for more than 3000 years. In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric has been used extensively because of its ability to curb inflammation and helping in the treatment of a variety of disorders. It is mixed with honey to form a thick paste which can be taken orally for sore throats and colds and the sticky paste can be applied to skin for infections and inflammatory skin concerns. Turmeric powder is also commonly used in Asia for the relief of stomach complaints and for kidney and bladder infections. In Chinese medicine, turmeric has been used for the relief of arthritis for thousands of years.

These faith-based claims have been the subject of hundreds of experiments to evaluate if turmeric really does have beneficial properties. What has emerged from these studies is that turmeric contains a group of polyphenol plant pigments called curcumin, and it is this compound that is responsible for some of turmeric’s remarkable properties.

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The ageing of skin is a multi-faceted process which is impacted by lifestyle, dietary choices and genetics. The cells of our bodies are programmed to have a finite lifespan. Each time a cell divides, some genetic material is lost so that on average, thirty to forty cell divisions is usually the maximum and after this the cell is considered to be aged. Obviously, external factors play a role in this process by damaging the genetic material, diets which enhance free radical production halt the regenerative process and the decline in the uptake of nutrients by the cells themselves results in the inability of the cells to regenerate due to lack of energy.

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Whilst research has focused primarily on finding safe and effective treatments for the management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the incidence of gout has quietly risen in the past two decades. Gout is a type of arthritis that causes stiff, swollen and painful joints and typically two thirds of people will experience it as excruciating pain in the big toe. The symptoms of gout mentioned above are due to excess uric acid crystals that form around the joints, and the pain is caused by your body’s inflammatory response to these crystals. These symptoms can develop rapidly to their worst point in six to twenty four hours and usually last for between three and ten days, often referred to as a gout attack. After this time, the joint/s will start to feel normal and any pain or discomfort should eventually disappear.

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According to the latest research, large numbers of the population take some sort of a multivitamin on a daily basis. There is a great deal of discussion on the subject of whether vitamin supplementation is a good idea or even if  they are necessary. There is no doubt that in general multivitamin supplementation can help to promote optimal health and support the immune system.

Are multivitamin supplements really necessary?

In my opinion, a multivitamin supplement is absolutely imperative no matter how healthy you are or even how well you eat. Our bodies require vitamins and minerals constantly to run efficiently and effectively. Most of these vitamins can be obtained from a well balanced healthy diet, however because of poor soil quality and modern farming practices, many of the nutrients are not present in the soil and hence not in the foods. Most of us also lead a hectic lifestyle which often means readily prepared meals or regular fast food meals which are often devoid of nutrients and are often laden with artery clogging oils and fats.

The fresh foods, including vegetables and fruits, which reach the supermarket shelves are often a few days old which can also result in oxidation of some of the nutrients within them. Far too many people are also living under stressful situations, which may result in poor nutrient availability due to improper digestion. To summarise, nutritionally inadequate food, stress, lack of exercise and poor eating habits all ruin our chances of eating a healthy and balanced diet and these reasons are precisely why we should consider the use of a good multivitamin supplement.

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Despite all the press about this vitamin, most of us have chosen to ignore the findings and hope we have sufficient levels in the bloodstream. The vitamin in question is of course Vitamin D3 and most of us are still not getting sufficient levels of this important vitamin in our bloodstream. According to the Department of Health, as much as 50% of the population is deficient in this vitamin! In reality, scientists estimate that this figure is actually low and could be nearer 80%.

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D is not strictly a vitamin. A vitamin is a compound that cannot be produced by the body and since vitamin D is produced in the skin as a result of exposure to sunlight, this is why vitamin D is more accurately described as a hormone. Although we are capable of producing vitamin D, we rarely manufacture sufficient levels due to the latitude we live in and the fact that we constantly being told to wear sunscreens which of course block sunlight. Small amounts of vitamin D is found in fortified foods including milk, cereals, oily fish and juices but this amount is too small to make any significant difference. In fact it is estimated that we would need to drink 20 glasses of milk everyday to maintain optimal levels of vitamin D!

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Good sleep is one of the most important aspects of health. Like many things in life, we still do not understand why we sleep and yet just know that it is important. Many people have theorised that the purpose of sleep is to physically rest, rejuvenate and repair. However, increasingly research seems to point to the fact that when we sleep naturally, our brain is not dormant and actually reviews and processes all the information gathered during the day, some of which we discard and some of which we store into memory.

So how much sleep do we require?

Although there is not a rule of thumb for the duration of sleep, it is generally accepted that most adults should get between seven and eight hours, whilst nine hours seems to be the average requirement for teenagers. Almost everyone occasionally suffers from short term insomnia for diverse reasons such as physical overload, stress, jet lag, anxiety and perhaps even a change in diet. We all know that when do not sleep sufficiently, it affects our performance and wellbeing the next day.

Sleep deprivation is extremely common these days and can have far reaching implications on your health. Just because you wake up in the morning when the alarm clock rings and feel somewhat alert once you are up and moving, does not mean that you must be getting adequate sleep. If you wake up feeling tired, then you are definitely not getting adequate sleep. Listen to what your body requires because sleep deprivation can have a serious impact on all aspects of health.

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