Posts from August 2009
25th August 2009
Gut Week is here!
Hello all!
I do hope you found last week’s ‘gut facts’ interesting. I bet many of you discovered some things you didn’t already know about the digestive system - but then many people don’t realise how important it is to have a healthy functioning gut – and this is exactly where Gut Week comes in! This year's Gut Week kicked off yesterday, and will run until this Sunday (30th August), encourarging people all over the UK to take better care of their digestive systems.
So, what have you done for your gut today? Well personally I’ve had my five fruit and veg, plus a bottle of Yakult Light! But, did you know that, as well as diet, lifestyle habits can also have a huge impact on digestive health? To celebrate Gut Week and help improve your gut health, I thought I would share some lifestyle tips to help keep your digestive system in good working order:
- Sleep well – lack of sleep can have a negative effect on your bowel function, so make sure you get at least 7-8 hours sleep every night.
- Keep regular – make a habit of going to the toilet first thing in the morning; keeping a regular routine encourages the bowel to move regularly.
- Try to de-stress – Stressful situations cause adrenalin to pump around the body, speeding everything up inside it – this includes the rate at which food passes through, which can often cause diarrhoea. So make sure you find time to relax, whether it’s going for a walk in the park or reading your favourite book, whatever works for you.
Let me know how you get on with the tips - and of course, please do get involved in the Gut Week action…visit www.loveyourgut.com now for more top tips and to order your free information pack.
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18th August 2009
Next week is Gut Week!
So did you manage to have an evening at home without turning on the television last week? If so, I bet you were surprised at how much you actually managed to get done!
I must say though, it’s been very tough for me to get back into a normal working routine after two weeks of lazing on a beach in the sun! But at least ‘Gut Week’ is coming up next week, which is all very exciting and definitely something to look forward to!
For those of you who don’t know, Gut Week is the annual digestive health awareness campaign organised by Yakult in association with gut health charities Core and The Gut Trust, plus St Mark’s Hospital, Harrow.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the vital role played by the digestive system, and of the importance of good gut health. It is now in its eleventh year, and continues to break down taboos and encourage people to start thinking – and talking! – about their guts, with the help of the dedicated campaign website www.loveyourgut.com
During Gut Week, we also spread the 'good gut' word by visiting workplaces, hospitals and other organisations to offer information and advice on good gut health. So next week will be a busy and exciting week for me as I’ll be at a number of different venues all over the UK.
I know in the past I have shared some digestive health tips, which I hope you have been experimenting with, but this week, in honour of Gut Week, I’m going to give you some fascinating gut health facts to digest:
- In an average lifetime the gut will handle approximately 65 tonnes of food and drink. This is approximately the weight of a dozen elephants
- The majority of the immune system is located in the digestive system, so maintaining good gut health is vital.
- Acid found inside the stomach is powerful enough to dissolve a razor blade.
- The human body is home to some 100 trillion (100,000,000,000,000) some of which are present on the surface of the skin and inside the mouth and nose, but the majority of which live in the digestive system.
- And there are more bacteria in your large intestine than there are humans on this planet!
For more fascinating facts, plus top tips and advice, recipes, games and quizzes – and to order your FREE Gut Week pack, head over to www.loveyourgut.com. You really must try the ‘Good Gut Game’, it’s great fun but actually pretty challenging – let me know how you get on!
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