Health & Beauty - page 8

Parent and Child Society

in Uncategorized

PACS was originally started by a group of local parents in 2010. It was started to give families with young children a place for both the children and parents to socialise in a fun and care free environment. In April 2018 we registered as a charity which continues to be entirely run by volunteers.

Over the last decade the philosophy of PACS hasn’t changed however both the offering and number of children has progressed way beyond expectations. Its popularity has meant we’ve expanded to offer four sessions a week, these include two playgroups on a Monday and Friday morning, a Cooking Club for pre-school children on Friday lunchtime and one session on a Wednesday which is dedicated to expectant mothers and parents with infants.

Our Monday session is more structured. We offer story time at the beginning of the session, then a craft.  To the delight of the children, we have a box of musical instruments which provide them with a fun and active song time before they go home. This year we have simplified our craft to make it achievable for young children. It’s not about the finished masterpiece but more about the new skills learnt and the inevitable mess along the way.

On Wednesday mornings we provide something a little more relaxed to new and expectant mothers. Bumps & Babies is a place for carers to relax, meet new people and generally chat about the highs and lows of parenting whilst their babies happily play.

Friday Playgroup is our more activity based group. We have invested in some play tunnels, climbing equipment and slides to whizz down to support more physical play. We have also put more of a focus on sensory play allowing our young toddlers to let their imagination run wild and explore different textures on our new tuff tables. Like Monday we also offer songtime at the end which is always a firm favourite. 

Both of our playgroups include a healthy snack and tea and coffee for the parents.

On Friday lunch times we offer something a little bit different. Cooking Club is aimed at our older children (2 ½ – 5 years). Each week the children cook something to take home with them. We try to ensure that we cook something healthy, but of course some weeks we get to eat chocolate! The fun doesn’t stop once the Cooking finishes, after some free play the children enjoy games such as “What’s the Time Mr Wolf” and “Simon Says”. It’s a great way to end the week!

As word of mouth has spread the groups continue to become more popular and on an average week our service now supports over seventy children and their families. 

We have always ensured that PACS groups are accessible to as many families as possible. Therefore, we do not charge for our sessions, rather parents and carers can choose to give a voluntary contribution for the play sessions. We actively fundraise throughout the year to cover the costs of putting the sessions on and it is only through the generosity of our members, local companies and the Gibraltar public that we break-even each year

We aim to provide tailored groups in a stimulated environment, where children can acquire new skills, whilst enhancing their health, well-being, social and emotional development. The sessions also allow potentially vulnerable members of society the opportunity to socialise with others, helping create a support network ensuring they feel part of a community and less isolated. 

Given the ever increasing popularity of the Charity we have some ambitious plans to see us through the next five years, the biggest of which will be to get our own premises. There are still children that we want to reach out to. Having our own premises will help us create the right environment for these children and their families. It would also allow us to set up safe and suitable play space and increase our timetable of sessions. We would also be able to offer the space to similar charities or organisations. The PACS space could become a Hub for Gibraltar’s Parents and Young Children.

We are also keen to form closer relationships with other local support groups or charities. This year we formed a partnership with CHAMP (Children, Healthy, Active, Multi-Agency Program). Being part of Champs has allowed us to promote our sessions with children’s primary care. 

We are already looking to the future and have planned our sessions for 2020. On a Monday in January we will read the Hungry Caterpillar and the Children will be fruit paint printing, sticking leaves & flowers on a caterpillar and butterfly painting. For sensory on a Friday we will offer activities such as flower planting with soil (chocolate cheerios), junk modelling, ice play and a jelly flood experience. Cooking Club will be going “Around the World”. The children will be able to cook food from countries such as China, Mexico, France and England. Our Flag Day for 2020 will take place on Friday 21st February. 

Children progress through our groups often from babies at Bumps & Babies to when they leave Cooking Club to start full time school. It is a real privilege for us to watch the children of Gibraltar grow. 

“It really gave me a lift when life with two was getting tricky. Thanks so much for providing a place where you can come and feel like you are spending quality time with your children and have a cuppa and talk to people. Some weeks playgroup was all I had and it saved my sanity on several occasions.” Parent of two

 

Improve your Digestive Health

in Health & Beauty

‘T’is the season to be jolly’… but now that the festivities are behind us we may be feeling the effects of overindulging! We feasted, we binged and gorged and we consumed food that we normally wouldn’t ever consider eating! Do we ever really consider what overeating does to our bodies? Overeating causes the stomach to expand beyond its normal size to adjust to the large amount of food you are putting in, resulting in your stomach feeling bloated. This is usually due to excess wind, created when the digestive system struggles to break down certain foods, or from constipation or food intolerance. 

Drinking too much fizz, such as Champagne, Cava or lager can leave you in discomfort as the carbon dioxide actually takes up more space than the liquid it came in, making the stomach feel swollen, stretched, and very uncomfortable. 

Heartburn is another painful side effect of eating too much. It can be caused by eating larger than usual meals with lots of different courses. Think about those prawn and salmon starters, that delicious turkey or nut roast, those roast potatoes, sausages, stuffing and gravy, and the Christmas pudding, trifle, cake and mince pies. Not something we have on a regular basis and consuming all that rich food with a high fat content means that the stomach will be slower to empty.  The stomach produces hydrochloric acid to break down food, so the more food you eat the more acid it has to produce. Sometimes this acid can creep up into your oesophagus giving you that horrible burning feeling. Heartburn can also occur more frequently as we get older and become less tolerant to eating fiery and spicy foods. 

So what can you do to prevent that bloated, sluggish feeling and to tackle the effects of overeating? Holland & Barrett Gibraltar sell a range of products that can help you get back on track in the New Year. 

The aptly named Over Indulgence Milk Thistle Capsules are a traditional herbal medicinal product used to relieve the symptoms associated with occasional over indulgence of drink and food such as indigestion and upset stomach. You could also try East Meets West Digestive Enzyme Formula Capsules or Holland & Barrett MultiDigestive Enzyme Tablets. Digestive enzymes are proteins released into the digestive system that help speed up the breakdown of food into easily absorbed nutrients that our bodies can use. There are many different enzymes involved in digestion but the three main types are:  amylase – this breaks down carbohydrate into sugars; protease – this digests proteins into amino acids; and lipase – this converts fats (lipids) into fatty acids and glycerol. 

If you want to get your colon back in shape, Holland & Barrett Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse Tablets can support gastrointestinal health by gently cleansing your colon & helping your body to better absorb essential nutrients. Digestive issues and stomach problems are horrible to put up with, especially if it’s an ongoing issue. Just take one of the tablets, a combination of Aloe Vera & botanical extracts, before you go to bed and let it do its thing while you sleep.

Maintaining your digestive health is important, and peppermint oil has been found to be helpful in improving digestion and gut health generally as well as in reducing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Holland & Barrett Extra Strength Oil of Peppermint rapid release softgel Capsules is an effective natural remedy for abdominal pain or bloating. 

If you are not eating enough fibre, and apparently we should be eating 30g of fibre a day, this can slow your digestion down and lead to constipation. Ortisan Fruits & Fibre Cubes are a delicious, all natural fruity cube that can contribute to regaining normal bowel function. Just chew and swallow one full cube in the evening, with a large glass of water.

Probiotics are thought to help restore the natural balance of bacteria in your gut when it’s been disrupted.  Our gut is made up of over 500 bacterial species of flora, and when these are in balance they can contribute to a healthy digestive system, metabolism and hormonal health. Probio 7 100 Capsules give optimal levels of good bacteria and fibre. Each capsule of Probio 7 contains a simple and highly effective formula of over 4 billion active friendly bacteria from seven different strains, plus two types of fibre.

A new year is the time to make resolutions, so make 2020 the year that you commit to improving your digestive health. Finding the motivation to improve your personal wellness can be hard, so don’t set yourself over ambitious goals, but gently start on your journey to a healthier lifestyle by taking care of your digestion. 

Advisory Information:

Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medications or are under medical supervision, please consult a doctor or healthcare professional and always read the label before use.

The Monster in the Mirror

in Health & Beauty

Taking care of one’s appearance is important for self-esteem and lifestyle, not just socially, but also when you’re lounging around home for a lazy day or popping down to the shops for milk, psychologists say.

So brush your hair and teeth, and slip on those yoga pants which just hug the curve of your buttocks so fine, and you’re ready to go! OK, perhaps another glance at the mirror, why not? Blow yourself a kiss, and, like Lizzo’s song advises, ‘do your hair toss and check your nails’. And off you go, to grab the day by the horns…

How long do you spend getting ready in the morning? And how long to dress up for a night out? If you feel that you tend to be hypercritical of the person looking back at you from the mirror, or you linger too long on concealing your – real or perceived – flaws, and you find it difficult to notice and value the strong points of your appearance, particularly if you are in your teenage years or in your twenties, you might be suffering from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental condition that makes sufferers worry unnecessarily about the perceived shortcomings in their looks, exaggerating them and believing them to dwarf and eclipse their (perceived) sparse strong points.

Consequently, BDD sufferers invest a lot of time and money in improving flaws that aren’t there in the first place, and often feel insecure and miserable to the point they minimise or avoid social contact, because they are afraid to be teased or bullied.

This is quite different from being self-obsessed or vain, because vanity makes you recognise your beauty for what it is or more, and enhance it accordingly, while BDD affects your self-image negatively. In severe cases, it may lead to poor performance in school or at work, social withdrawal, self-harm, depression and suicidal ideation.

Red flags for BDD are excess effort in concealing perceived flaws with make-up or baggy clothes for example, or having the hairdresser dramatically change your hairstyle at every visit, checking yourself in every mirror or shop window you encounter or, on the contrary, outright avoiding mirrors, constantly seeking feedback and approval from people you believe you trust. 

Excess self-consciousness may make you pull out facial hair, or compulsively wax arms, legs and torso (trichotillomania), or pick at your skin (dermatillomania) to rid it from flakes, blackheads and zits. This can become a serious health hazard if one picks out moles.

Acknowledging that you or a loved one suffers from BDD isn’t easy, nor is a positive diagnosis. The most difficult step is the acknowledgement that there is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about your appearance, and the acceptance of the concept of individual beauty. 

Sometimes, relatives and friends’ goodwill in pointing out your skin-deep and inner beauty with body pampering interventions can back-fire big time, and actually exacerbate your symptoms, that’s why it is important to seek medical advice, if you feel that your worry about your looks severely affects your day-to-day activities and your career.

It isn’t clear what causes BDD, although peer pressure, society expectations and social media may partly be blamed for it. If you believe that all your friends are more photogenic than you, or you spend way too much time trying to capture a killer duck-face selfie, or applying animal filters, you may want to consider a trip to your GP, to discuss your concerns and devise strategy plans to rationalise your self-perceived inadequacy or awkwardness.

The exact causes of BDD haven’t yet been unequivocally earmarked, but they’re likely to be both physiological and psychological. Identifying the main cause is fundamental to plan the administration of drugs or the prescription of cognitive behavioural therapy.

Causes can in fact be genetic, chemical imbalances in the brain, or childhood traumatic experiences. Sometimes BDD pairs up with OCD and eating disorders.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, as one-to-one with your counsellor or as group therapy, can be indeed beneficial, especially when comparing to other experiences, assessing and dismissing their purported flaws and hence projecting positive feedback on each other. 

This helps learn about triggers, and how to rationalise and neutralise them. Sometimes your family will be involved in your therapy sessions, because parents and close relatives are alas one of the main triggers of their children’s BDD, with their own behaviour, example, mixed messages, core beliefs and cognitive dissonance, so that the whole family dynamics often need to be reprogrammed.

When physiological causes are diagnosed, BDD patients will be prescribed a type of antidepressant from the ‘selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors’ family – the most commonly used being fluoxetine – for a maximum period of twelve weeks, during which patients, especially younger ones, are closely monitored for improvement and potentially life-threatening side effects.

Support groups, as always, work wonders to help and heal. Visit BDDfoundation.org for updates on research, and to join online forums, about BDD and associated disorders like OCD, hoarding, trichotillomania, and dermatillomania.

This article aims at being informative only, with no medical or diagnostic pretenses. Consult your GP if you suspect you or a relative are suffering from the condition above described

Single Parenting

in Health & Beauty

Being a single parent can be a very rewarding job, but it can also be challenging and stressful.  Raising a child can be difficult no matter what the circumstances, but as a single parent you have the sole responsibility for every aspect of child care and without a partner this can add pressure, leaving you emotionally and physically exhausted.

There are many reasons why someone is a single parent. They may have decided to have a family knowing that there would only be one adult in the household, they may have chosen to have a child by artificial insemination or through adoption… or maybe they have split up with their partner who is now no longer a part of the child’s life. Unplanned life events such as divorce or the death of a spouse may also have changed a two parent household into one. 

One of the most common issues of being a single parent is the feeling of loneliness, and although you may not think of this as a high priority, it can manifest itself in ways that affect your health and this can have a knock-on effect on your child’s health. 

Every single parent has a unique story and some people may feel lonelier than others. Conquering loneliness, however you manage to do it, will go a long way to banishing feelings of self-doubt.  It can be difficult to know whether you are doing a good job at being a single parent and having someone to talk to can help to alleviate those worries.  There is, of course, no such thing as a perfect parent, so try not to measure yourself against others. However, meeting other single parents can be beneficial and provide a useful support system during those times when you need reassurance.  Try getting in touch with others via online forums, blogs or social media accounts. 

Don’t compare yourself to other people. We all do it, but remember that some of those parents that you encounter at the nursery or school gates may seem to be in control and have it all worked out, but they could be struggling as much as you are. There are plenty of people who put on a brave face so reaching out to someone in the same situation could be the start of a mutual self-help group from which closer friendships could develop. 

Above all, don’t lose your sense of self-esteem and take care of your physical and mental well-being. How do you find yourself again amongst the daily routine of looking after the kids? There is no doubt that you can get consumed by their lives and just trying to make ends meet also takes a toll. Don’t feel guilty taking time out, it is a necessary part of surviving on your own. 

Worrying about financial matters can also put a strain on your emotional wellbeing. These worries can be heightened by keeping them secret, and not sharing or confiding in anyone can make the burden seem worse. Make sure that you find out exactly what you are entitled to in respect of benefits, tax credits and child maintenance. Alleviate the stress by writing out a budget every month so that you know exactly what you are spending your money on and what you need to prioritise. 

Maintaining discipline in the home can be hard with no other adult reinforcing your views but children raised by single parents can be just as happy as those living with two parents. Acknowledge your child’s feelings, especially if you are going through a separation or divorce, and don’t take your anger out on your child. The circumstances surrounding the fact that you are a single parent are less important than your ability to be there for them. Above all, don’t feel stigmatised as a single parent. Families come in all different shapes and sizes. Asking for help can be one of the hardest things but also one of the most important things that you can do. Children learn by example and if they see your determination and endurance they will hopefully follow in your footsteps in their attitudes and choices as they grow up. 

There are plenty of positive aspects to single parenting and this includes spending quality one-on-one time with your kids, allowing you to develop a unique bond that may actually be stronger than it would have been if you were not bringing them up on your own. 

Single parenting can seem like an uphill climb but however down you get, just look at your kids, think about their smiles and the hugs, and it will be a reminder of why you carry one. 

Find like-minded people by joining the Mum on the Rock Community on Facebook: @MumOnTheRockGBZ

The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

in Health & Beauty

Apple Cider Vinegar, the fermented juice from crushed apples, is often classified as a ‘wonder food’ alongside things such as garlic, tomatoes, avocados and oily fish. There is no substitute for a healthy diet, but ‘wonder foods’ can give that added boost and help in a variety of ways that will aid health issues and help to strengthen your immune system. Apple cider vinegar is full of nutrients. It contains trace amounts of potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, amino acids and antioxidants and is only 3 calories per tablespoon.

A Myriad of Uses

Apple cider vinegar has been used as a natural remedy for years; in ancient times for its health benefits and it is known that the Greeks treated wounds with it. In recent years, people have explored apple cider vinegar as a way to lose weight, improve heart health, and even treat dandruff. Recent evidence based research suggests that it may also be effective in improving cholesterol and in blood sugar control for people with Diabetes 2. An article in Medical News Today stated that a study on eight people found that those who consumed apple cider vinegar before eating a meal had lower insulin and triglyceride levels after the meal than those who had a placebo. It may also have antibacterial and antifungal properties. This is mostly attributed to its main ingredient, acetic acid. 

Use apple cider vinegar as a detox for your body.  It can help promote circulation and detoxify the liver. The acid can also bind to toxins which can assist in removing them from the body. Apple cider vinegar’s potassium content helps to break up mucus in the body and clear the lymph nodes.

Here are some ways you can incorporate apple cider vinegar into your diet:

A great way to kick-start your day is by including apple cider vinegar into your morning routine. Dilute it into your morning tea or glass of lemon water. If you don’t like the taste, add spices like cinnamon or cayenne pepper which will boost your metabolism. 

How about blending some apple cider vinegar into a smoothie? Add your favourite fruits or vegetables to give you all the nutrients and vitamins you need before you set off for work or start your daily routine. Another way to include the vinegar into your daily food is by adding it to salad dressings, mayonnaise or mixing it into soups.

Because of its strong flavour, some people prefer to mix apple cider vinegar with something else to disguise the taste. However, taking a shot or a tablespoonful is a fast and effective way to get it into your system. You may want to dilute it with water to protect your tooth enamel by mixing eight ounces of water with every 1-2 tablespoons. 

Holland & Barrett have a range of apple cider vinegar products in liquid and supplement form. It is worth pointing out that not all vinegars are made in the same way. Apple cider vinegar is made through a two-step process. First, yeast is added to apple juice to break down the sugars and turn them into alcohol. Then, bacteria are added, which converts the alcohol into acetic acid. This bacterium is what is known as the ‘Mother’, because it is the catalyst that gives rise to the vinegar. 

Raw, unfiltered organic Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with ‘The Mother’ is high-quality, unfiltered vinegar made from organically grown apples.  Some vinegar products remove ‘The Mother’, a cobweb-like substance that gives the vinegar a cloudy appearance, that forms naturally as the raw organic vinegar ferments but which is, in fact, the healthiest part of the vinegar. 

‘The Mother’ consists of dozens of strains of good bacteria, which are also referred to as probiotics, which help keep your digestive system running smoothly and are good for your immune system. It also has enzymes which are essential for breaking down foods so that your body can make use of the nutrients you consume.

If you don’t like the idea of drinking apple cider vinegar then consider taking it in tablet form. Try the easy to take chewable New Nordic Apple Cider Gummies with ‘The Mother’ or Holland & Barrett’s Apple Cider Vinegar 300 mg tablets. 

Apple cider vinegar won’t replace a balanced diet and exercise and it isn’t a miracle ‘cure-all’, but it can promote health and help you maintain it.

Advisory Information:

Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medications or are under medical supervision, please consult a doctor or healthcare professional and always read the label before use.

 

Count on Me

in Health & Beauty

Dyscalculia: how to spot it and factor it in your daily life

Back to school! Books at the ready! History, geography and maths… yes maths: the spook of diligent pupils since arithmetic, calculus and geometry were invented. 

Back to school! Books at the ready! History, geography and maths… yes maths: the spook of diligent pupils since arithmetic, calculus and geometry were invented.

But what if the venially convoluted paths in the maths labyrinth, that the national syllabus claims to be essentially educational towards problem-solving for pre-teens, tweens and teens, become an indecipherable code nightmare of cryptic symbols and senseless spatial directions?

Dyscalculia is a learning disorder which is generally regarded as the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia, because it impairs a child’s ability to recognise, understand and use numbers and their signs, akin, but not scientifically comparable, to the dyslexic’s difficulty in dealing with letters. 

Unlike dyslexics who may be disappointed in their reading and writing efforts, but usually excel in art, music, and sports, dyscalculics find music notation or choreographies challenging, which frustrates their bid to play an instrument or take up dance, limits their team work in collective sports, and hinders their sense of composition in drawing and photography.

Dyslexia and dyscalculia rarely occur together, but over 10% of children with dyscalculia are also diagnosed with ADHD; dyscalculia is common in people with Turner Syndrome and spina bifida. It has no connection to, or implications on, IQ. 

It is estimated that 3-6% of the population suffers from this condition since birth and has to come to terms with it in everyday usage of numbers, time, measurement and orientation.

There is a sizeable risk of over- or under-diagnosing it, because it isn’t easy to draw the line between conscious disinterest in the world of maths and its abstract problems and the cerebral impediment to count, in order to spot dyscalculia as early as possible and commence treatment. Often, it isn’t until a child struggles disproportionately with simple additions and subtractions that teachers start sussing out the problem and advise parents to seek medical attention. 

Red flags are: fiddling with telling the time from analogue clocks; difficulties speaking the name of a single-digit number, for example if a 4-shaped candle is placed on the cake and the child is asked “What is it?”, the answer will come as “candle!” even when prompted that it is indeed a candle, but fashioned like a specific concept they are invited to name; inability to accurately guess the number of objects in a small group, or compare the distance of two or more landmarks; confusing 6 with 9, 2 with 5, 1 with 7, and 3 with 8 (not necessarily all at once!); failure to identify geometrical shapes without a practical aid, for example triangles are pizza slices, spheres are balls and polygonal figures are pound sterling coins.

One quick test is ‘subitizing’, i.e. estimating a number of items without counting them one by one. It is proven that a five-year old child can correctly estimate up to six at a glance, particularly when playing board games with dice. Failure to do so isn’t of course enough for a dyscalculia diagnosis, but the child should be encouraged to try again and stimulated with simple alphanumeric problems to gauge their literacy and numeracy and compare progress in each.

Sometimes, affected children do just fine in pre-school, and symptoms become more apparent as long as their maths studies progress: they may in fact be comfortable with naming numbers or telling the time, but their brains get mumbled when confronted with multiplication, division, fractions, no matter the amount of visual aids; almost paradoxically however, their struggle mellows with algebra, just because it uses alphabetical symbols instead of numerical.

The good news is that almost a third of children diagnosed with dyscalculia improve over the first four or five school years, but it isn’t clear whether this is due to early misdiagnosis, or just to the overcoming of physiologic delays in matching developmental milestones.

Academically, dyscalculics are inclined to pursue careers in humanities, as they excel in reading, writing and storytelling, but college students affected by dyscalculia, even mild, must be supervised in their financial planning, as they often fail to comprehend budgeting, balancing, and estimating whether they’re carrying enough money to pay for the items they’ve slipped in their shopping basket.

Research in dyscalculia is still in its infancy, because it carries some practical problems in consistent and continuous experimenting on large groups of subjects, so consensus on correct diagnosis is loose, and often it is too conservative. 

Causes are unknown, and bids to prove them as environmental, hereditary or congenital have all returned inconclusive, although, as mentioned earlier, this disorder is associated, and perhaps caused, by other conditions.

Treatment is usually tailored to each patient, and greatly helped by technology, with specifically designed software.

Dyscalculia and acalculia (total loss of the concept of numbers) can strike in adult age as the result of brain injury, like trauma or stroke: often their effects can be reversed through rehabilitation.

The opposite, called hypercalculia, exists too, and it seems to be linked to autism spectrum disorders and associated with hyper-perfusion of the parietal areas and overdeveloped right temporal lobe.

Dyscalculics are highly sociable, real party animals – their lucky number is ‘the more the merrier’ – despite having trouble in telling apart new acquaintances whose names begin with the same letter. 

And of course, they shilly-shally at acknowledging the number of drinks that amounts to ‘one too many’.

Also known as 45,X and 45.X0, this is a rare genetic condition that affects only girls who are born with swollen feet and hands and grow up with webbed neck, low-set ears and require hormone treatment to develop breasts and produce their menarche, albeit often remaining infertile. 

This article is aimed at being informative only with no medical or diagnostic pretenses. Consult your GP if you suspect someone is suffering from the condition described.

Vitamins to Boost Hair Growth

in Health & Beauty

It is often said that our hair is our crowning glory and there is no doubt that having a healthy looking head of hair can boost our confidence. But what about those of us who have noticed that our hair is thinning or find that it is now fine and wispy when it was once full and luscious? This doesn’t just apply to women, but men as well, who are often equally as vain when it comes to their hair.

The hair on your head goes through a life cycle that involves growth, resting, and shedding. Each hair is attached to the scalp via a follicle. There are between 100,000 and 350,000 hair follicles on the human scalp and normal hair loss in an adult is about 50-100 hairs a day, but there are many people who suffer with more severe hair loss caused by stressful situations, pregnancy, chronic illness, injury or poor diet. Other factors such as age, genetics and hormones can also affect hair growth.

In those situations and when hair loss is persistent, it is advisable to seek medical assistance, but if you want to give your locks a boost, it is worth investing in vitamins or supplements that may help your hair follicles function to the best of their ability.

Having a healthy diet full of nutrients can have an impact on the growth, strength and volume of our hair. Certain proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals are especially significant for strong, healthy hair. Research has determined that vitamins A, B, C, D, iron, selenium, and zinc are all important to the hair growth and retention processes, specifically with cell turnover.   

Vitamin A

Your hair needs vitamin A to stay moisturised and to grow and it also strengthens hair to reduce breakage. Good food sources include sweet potatoes, carrots (especially carrot juice), spinach, kale and some animal foods.

Vitamin B

One of the best known vitamins for hair growth is a B-vitamin called biotin. B-vitamins help carry oxygen and nutrients to your scalp, which aids in hair growth. Wholegrains, meat, seafood and dark, leafy greens are all good sources of B-vitamins.

Vitamin C

Free radical damage can block growth and cause your hair to age. Vitamin C is needed to make collagen and can help prevent hair from aging. Good sources include peppers, citrus fruits and strawberries.

Vitamin D

Low levels of vitamin D are linked to alopecia. You can increase vitamin D levels through sun exposure or by eating certain foods such as eggs, berries, oily fish such as salmon, avocados, sweet potatoes, nuts and seeds. 

Vitamin E

Similar to vitamin C, vitamin E is an antioxidant that can prevent oxidative stress and can boost hair growth. Good dietary sources include sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach and avocados.

IRON

If your iron levels are too low (anaemia), less iron is supplied to your hair follicles disrupting your hair growth cycle and causing hair loss in some people. Iron is an important mineral for many bodily functions, including hair growth. The best sources of iron include clams, oysters, eggs, red meat, spinach and lentils.

Zinc and Selenium

Zinc plays an important role in hair tissue growth and repair and a lack of zinc can lead to hair loss and a dry, flaky scalp. It also helps keep the oil glands around the follicles working properly. The mineral zinc can improve hair growth in people who are deficient in it. Good sources include fortified cereals, wholegrains, eggs, oysters, beef and pumpkin seeds.

Protein

Hair is made almost entirely of protein. Consuming enough is important for hair growth. If your diet is low in protein, you’re likely to have hair loss or dry and brittle hair. Eat the right proteins and keep your hair strong. What to eat: Chicken, fish, turkey, eggs and dairy products. For vegans or vegetarians, legumes and nuts are an excellent source of protein.

Vitamin Supplements

A nutritious, balanced diet is the best source of vitamins for hair growth but it is often difficult to get sufficient, so vitamin supplements can be helpful. 

Holland & Barrett have a wide range of natural products, high quality vitamins and nutritional supplements, including their own brand, which can help to encourage hair growth from within our body. 

Holland & Barrett Vitamin B-Complex and Vitamin B12 food supplement

New Nordic Hair Volume tablets contain micronutrients and herbal extracts including apple extract, procyanidin B12, biotin, zinc and copper.

Viviscal Hair Growth Maximum Strength supplements are for people who want to maintain normal healthy hair growth.

Nourkrin is a nutritional supplement that contains the fish extract known as marilex. Taken regularly for a period of at least 6 months, Nourkrin promotes hair growth by maintaining the health of your hair follicles.

Vitabiotics are multivitamins and supplements for both men and women that can boost hair growth.

Advisory Information:

Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medications or are under medical supervision, please consult a doctor or healthcare professional and always read the label before use. 

Empowering the Patient

in Health & Beauty

St. Bernard’s Hospital has seen a series of improvements over the last few years that have changed the face of healthcare in Gibraltar for the better, and under the recently launched formal constitution, the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) has set out its principles, values, and pledges to the community regarding the rights and obligations of patients, describing the constitution as: “Our commitment to your health, care and wellbeing.”

Sandra Gracia was appointed as the Director of Nursing and Ambulance Services for the GHA at St. Bernard’s Hospital in September 2018, having previously covered the post for two and a half years in an acting capacity.  

“It is a very busy and challenging role, but I like challenges, but it is also an interesting one because of the fact that I feel empowered enough to make the changes that need to be implemented, not only for the patient which is the ultimate reason why we are all here, but also because there are so many exciting developments occurring,” Sandie says. “One of the greatest things happening at the moment is how we are changing nursing practice and at the same time taking pre-hospital care forward with the help of our Acting Chief Ambulance officer and seeing the difference and the impact that makes to patient outcomes.”

Sigurd Haveland is a paramedic and the Acting Chief Ambulance officer that Sandie is referring to and fortuitously he came into his role at the same time that Sandie became Director of Nursing.  “This has enabled us to have discussions about the strategic direction of the Ambulance Service and I think that we have been successful in cementing that,” Sigurd tells me.  “It is going to be a paramedic led ambulance service where technicians are the backbone of the pre-hospital care clinician.”

Calling the Ambulance Service ‘embryonic’ because it was only in 2000 when the service became professional and only 2013 when paramedics came in to fruition, Sigurd explains that it is a combination of technicians and paramedics delivering pre-hospital patient centered care. 

Currently there are three operational ambulances supported at times with a paramedic vehicle. “We have two skill sets in the frontline ambulance clinicians; the technician and the paramedic who is a health care professional,” Sigurd states.  “We also support pre-hospital operations with transport drivers which help us keep three ambulances operational all the time and our objective is to have three paramedics in every shift by 2023/5.” Sigurd goes on to say that there should be a paramedic available for every call, not necessarily in an ambulance, but every call will have either a paramedic present or will be supported by a paramedic. 

Sandie comments that it is about changing the concept of the emergency ambulance service from what it was in Gibraltar and where it is getting to going forward. “It is about providing the best clinical outcome from a pre-hospital setting because obviously that impacts on the community at large and the survival of anybody that is going to come in as an acute emergency.”

Sigurd points out that it is important for the public to recognise that the Gibraltar Ambulance Service is totally integrated with the health care system and with the GHA, but that when it comes to the emergency service they are a stand-alone operation. 

The Ambulance Service in Gibraltar has a multi-faceted role and raising public awareness about what they do is an ongoing initiative. Maritime Attendance and Retrieval is one such speciality, where clinicians attend seamen or people out at sea and if necessary use their specialised skills to package, extricate and disembark patients before ferrying them to hospital.  “Gibraltar Port is very important for maritime rescue and this is a service that the Port Authority and the Gibraltar Government provide to shipping,” Sigurd says. 

They also work closely alongside the Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service in the event of road traffic accidents, collisions, in fires and rescues. Sigurd adds: “There is now an appetite for paramedics to be trained in rock rescue as well and we have to look forward as to how we are going to manage any incidents up the Rock.”

Sandie and Sigurd are keen to highlight a campaign directed at educating the public on how to best use the emergency ambulance services. “The public should be aware that there are other routes to go down before an ambulance will come out to them,” Sandie comments. In that respect Sigurd has been active in integrating a telephone CPR assistance service and working alongside the Department of Education to launch CPR training in all the schools in Gibraltar, hopefully by October this year.  “We want to increase and enhance bystander CPR in Gibraltar and we thought that the best way to do this was to go to the roots – the children.”

“We also have the Public Access Defibrillators Campaign – where we are looking at not only increasing but enhancing public defibrillation in pre-hospital care,” Sigurd confirms. “There are 14 operational defibrillators at the moment around Gibraltar, but we want to engage with companies who have defibrillators in their premises and are hoping that they can sign up with the GHA so their staff can be trained in defibrillator use, so that if there is an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest close to these business premises, the public will know where to access a defibrillator.”

Both Sandie and Sigurd want to thank the Gibraltar Cardiac Association who has been working alongside them to raise public awareness. “They have been bending over backwards to help with this,” Sigurd states. Sandie adds that the Gibraltar Government has given their commitment to expand the extra services and the clinical expertise within the ambulance service in the future. 

Simple things could save a life and Gibraltar Insight is happy to publish a map of where the 14 defibrillators in Gibraltar can be found.

Behind the Scenes at the Day Surgery Unit

Amongst others, one of the success stories at St. Bernard’s Hospital has been the Day Surgery Unit which has become one of the flagship projects of the GHA. “One of the things that surprised us was how we changed public perception from what was the norm before to what could be delivered,” Sandie says, continuing, “the other thing that we were quite astounded by was getting the public on-board and you can see that on social media where there is always somebody thanking Day Surgery and saying how wonderful it is, and that is a huge achievement and a drive for the staff themselves to keep delivering that little bit extra back to their patients.”

The unit was designed with the patient in mind by a team headed up by Day Surgery Sister Angela Morgan and Sandie.  “It was eight years in the making and we designed it the way we wanted it to be, and it works, so we are reaping the rewards now of what Day Surgery could have been and what has eventually been done,” Angie says. “We work on the floor, we know what we need and we know what we need for our patients.” 

Sandie adds that they were lucky that there was an appetite from the Gibraltar Government to empower the clinicians to say “look this is what we need, this is what the patients want and we were able to deliver that.”

The Day Surgery unit is nurse-led so once patients come into the Main Reception, welcoming and well-lit and furnished with comfy chairs, they are admitted by a nurse who takes a brief medical and case history and that same nurse is assigned to the patient all the way through their surgery procedure. Specialised day surgery trolleys designed to minimise patient manual handling provide all the functions of a bed, trolley and operating table together and accompany the day surgery patient throughout the entire patient journey through to first stage recovery. Happy healthcare employees can lead to happier patients and the nursing staff that I met were all incredibly friendly, happy in their work, extremely knowledgeable and able to put their patients at ease. 

The suite has been in operation for six years but looks brand spanking new, rather like a VIP unit, and Sandie is quick to praise Angie and her staff for keeping it that way. There are fifteen beds at the moment with a complement of eight staff nurses and two Enrolled Nurses. 

Ward Manager Caron Fennelly explains that they can facilitate a turnover of up to 30 patients a day – depending on the number of surgeons operating on the same day, which can be up to four.  “They have their surgery, maybe in the main hospital theatres or in our own theatre, so it is like a big circle, in, out and recover.”

Because of the geography of Gibraltar Sandie states that they have managed to extend the boundaries of day surgery. “When we have gone back to conferences in the UK they have been quite surprised at that not only is it the boundaries of day surgery that we have expanded beyond, it is the techniques that we have developed with our clinicians, our anaesthetists and our surgeons to be able to get the patients home within the same day,” Sandie confirms.  This is due to a special type of analgesia and the take home medication that is prescribed, along with a follow-up call and somebody who they can call during the night for advice. The patient gets another follow-up call the next day and they can either come in or they can go straight to A & E if there is a problem. “We have been able to expand on the ‘basket of day surgery cases’ to include more complex, more invasive surgery,” she states. 

This then takes the pressure off the reason for an in-patient stay and the patients actually now prefer to go home and rest, with research showing that they make a quicker recovery within their own home environment. 

Angie comments that they have now outgrown the unit. “This was the foundation and we opened up with our vision in mind,” Sandie says, “but that vision has now expanded to include a wider range of surgical activity, and making the unit bigger is something that we will be looking forward to doing in the next couple of years.”

The Value of Dyslexia

in Features

Many of us may have preconceived ideas about what dyslexia is and how it can impact on someone’s life. As a result, people with dyslexia often have to overcome numerous barriers, despite the fact there are many positive differences and sometimes hidden talents. However, it is those perceived barriers that sometimes give people the strength to overcome them and to achieve success because of, and not despite of, dyslexia.

Ten percent of the world’s population are believed to be dyslexic, but dyslexia is still often poorly understood. We all know the high profile entrepreneurs, business leaders and celebrities with dyslexia, such as Lord Sugar, Anita Roddick, Richard Branson, Jamie Oliver and Ikea founder Ingvar Kampradand, and there is no doubt that with the right support, the strengths and talents of dyslexic people can really shine. However, change is needed, especially by educators and in the workplace, so that dyslexics can reach their full potential. 

To raise awareness of the problems surrounding those issues, The Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group (GDSG) in association with the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses (GFSB) will be hosting a Diversity & Inclusion Seminar in September to highlight the positive impact of dyslexia in the workplace.

Stuart Byrne, who works at the GFSB and is also Chairman of the GDSG, explains how the seminar came about.  “This is something that the GDSG has been wanting to do with the business community for a number of years, but so far a lot of our efforts and work has been mainly focused on children, the education system and helping youngsters and parents, but it has always been our aim to open the scope a bit more and to try and help dyslexics in the workplace as well.”

An invitation to the Global Summit from Made by Dyslexia in London, a global charity led by successful and famous dyslexics such as Richard Branson, with the purpose to help the world properly understand and support dyslexia, led Stuart to thinking that this was now the perfect opportunity to reach the local business community in Gibraltar. At the Summit a report was handed out to all delegates on The Value of Dyslexia, created in collaboration with EY, which showcased in depth how neurodiversity will become increasingly valuable within the working world, highlighting key facts and research into dyslexia and its unique thinking skills.

“I approached the GFSB and they thought a seminar was a great idea and were happy to support it,” Stuart explains, “and from there we branched out and got in contact with other organisations that we thought would be interested in supporting it, such as the CIPD, Women in Business and the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, amongst others, and together with our sponsors we are able to bring expert speakers over to participate in the seminar here in Gibraltar.”

These guest speakers comprise Kate Griggs, Founder and CEO of Made By Dyslexia, Benjamin Cooke, Senior Strategy Consultant at EY London, and Edward Davis, His Excellency The Governor of Gibraltar and Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group Patron.

As a dyslexic himself and with two children with dyslexia as well, Stuart is passionate to raise awareness of dyslexia and realises that businesses, schools and people can all make small changes that can result in big differences.

“Dyslexia has always been fighting its case for reasonable adjustments to be made in the workplace, but with companies investing in diversity and inclusion programs at the moment surrounding gender, race, sexual orientation, disability etc., it seemed to be the perfect time to include dyslexia in that mix to heighten awareness and create an inclusive environment for dyslexics in the workplace, and I think it is about time the business community starts thinking about how better to serve their staff,” Stuart states. 

So what reasonable adjustments could businesses think about to help support people overcome the challenges posed by dyslexia? Stuart says that the list is endless! “The important thing is looking at people as individuals, and to recognise that if you have two dyslexic members of staff it does not mean that they need the same assistance.” Part of that is working towards their strengths and supporting their weaknesses. 

“You have to be individualistic and holistic in your view of your staff, maybe putting a creative person alongside an academic person, maybe letting someone record things audibly, being a bit lenient on spelling on internal correspondence, or having someone to double check their work before an email gets sent out to a client.”

“There are lots of little easy simple things that can be done at either none or minimal cost to the business, it is just a mentality shift, and hopefully we can start building on that with this seminar,” Stuart states. 

The Governor of Gibraltar, Patron of the Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group

Edward Davis, His Excellency The Governor of Gibraltar and Gibraltar
Dyslexia Support Group Patron, talks to Jo Ward about the upcoming seminar and about being dyslexic himself.

Edward Davis, His Excellency The Governor of Gibraltar

It was only about a year and a half ago that The Governor found out about the GDSG at a family charity day on the Piazza. “It was a bit of a revelation when I came across Stuart and his team and after chatting with them for a bit I was instantly keen to get involved,” he says, “so I was delighted to become the Patron, especially as being associated with the group has given me an opportunity to better understand my own dyslexia at a fairly senior age, which in some ways, I wish I had the opportunity to do before, but I am glad I have done it now, so I want to express my thanks to Stuart.”

The way we talk about personal cognitive differences has changed over the past couple of years – from members of the Royal Family speaking out about their own personal challenges, to politicians and celebrities using their public platforms, and this has transformed the views that people have on personal cognitive differences and altered the way in which we are willing to engage with people with such differences, and that includes dyslexia. 

“The community of Gibraltar is a lot better off because we have a better understanding of dyslexia, we are engaging with it and embracing it in a way which is very positive, and I think it has helped me in my own personal journey,” His Excellency states. “I was born in Hereford, made in the Royal Marines and defined in Gibraltar – part of my self-definition journey here in Gibraltar, which I suppose is a look-back over my life so far, is understanding the role dyslexia has played in my life.”

As with many children, Edward Davis found his differences made him stand out at school. “My dyslexia was first recognised by my parents when I was at primary school, so I had some extra tuition, but in those days, the focus was on dealing with the symptoms as opposed to the causes of the difference,” he comments. “This meant that I was just made to read more, rather than addressing some of the fundamental underlying issues, embracing personalised learning techniques or focusing on different educational disciplines so that you could contribute productively as part of your school along with your school mates, in a way which made you not stand out as being different in a negative way.”

Keen to explain that the fact that being dyslexic means that you have different abilities, not limiting abilities, The Governor says that one of the things he has mastered is how he approaches learning. “I have got a very good memory and I can take lots of facts in and remember them – that was very much what got me through my ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels,” he tells me.  After joining the Royal Marines, His Excellency says that dyslexia wasn’t a hindrance to his career path as, by then, he knew how to prepare himself for occasions, whether that was reading or speaking in public, where his dyslexia would particularly manifest itself.  “It was muscle memory of the brain, so I wasn’t relying on seeing, computing and speaking in real time.  I made myself familiar with what I was going to read beforehand; in doing so, I compensated for the short-comings in my ability to speak in sync with my reading.”

Agreeing that the upcoming seminar will help to heighten the profile of dyslexia, The Governor adds that he would describe diversity and inclusion as embracing the power of combinations. “I have lived my personal and professional life by harnessing the power of having the humility to realise that everybody has something to offer and that if you don’t include them then you are going to miss out,” going on to say that he thinks dyslexia will become an increasingly significant difference if utilised correctly.  “I say that because the nature of the future workplace, and the business that the future workplace conducts in our increasingly digitally-driven world, will become more and more dependent on some of the inherent skills and attributes that dyslexics have: their curiosity, creativity, innovation and lateral thinking.”

The Governor comments that this is particularly evident in Gibraltar’s context, where it is already a digitally-based economy, and one that will become increasingly more so. “The worldwide figures are quite striking.  In the next ten years 60% of jobs and 30% of the activities within those jobs are going to be automated through artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.  The remaining activities are going to require employees who are able to engage with the digital business enterprise in a far more intuitive and dynamic way.   And I believe dyslexics have the differences and the attributes to succeed in such an environment.”

“Against this backdrop, we are, potentially, going to either have to reskill, or train from scratch, up to 4,500 members of Gibraltar’s workforce, to be able to give them meaningful, fulfilling, productive employment in the future and to also provide Gibraltar – the unified jurisdiction – with the workforce skills that it needs to maintain its socio-economic wellbeing,” he states. This can be helped by companies understanding the difference that is dyslexia.  A difference that has a lot of the skills that will be needed in a digitally-driven economy.  A difference that dyslexic employees already have within Gibraltar’s business community.

“Ultimately, understanding, engaging and embracing dyslexia within the Rock’s business community is all about increasing commercial outcomes in step with improving staff wellbeing.  Resulting in greater good for everybody.” 

The Governor contends that given the changing nature of the workplace it is a very timely, important and inspired seminar, because in Gibraltar, as in business-led jurisdictions everywhere else, the difference that is dyslexia has the potential to make a difference that matters. 

Ghita Hearing Loss Support Group

in Community Insight/Health & Beauty

1 in 6 people may find it difficult to hear a conversation.  By the age of 50 this is 42% of us, rising to 71% after 70. Yet approximately 40% of those have never worn a hearing aid.

Around 10% of people in Gibraltar have Tinnitus and for about 300 people this affects their quality of life. Little is known about the number of people who also have Hyperacusis (noise sensitivity). Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe dizziness (vertigo), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear, probably affects 50 Gibraltarians mostly over the age of 40.

People with hearing loss may use British Sign Language (BSL) or they may lip-read. They could have a hearing aid or cochlear implant.

The Gibraltar Hearing Issues and Tinnitus Association Support Group (GHITA) is a registered charity that runs a support group who meet once a month giving guidance to anyone requiring it, offering advice about the help and equipment available in Gibraltar and signposting people to other services.

The aim of GHITA is to increase awareness about ear health, rights to services, and to give support to people suffering with hearing loss issues including Tinnitus, Meniere’s or Hyperacusis. GHITA is active throughout the year, giving talks to schools, charities and Government departments about Deaf Awareness.

Worldwide there are 432 million people who are deaf or have a significant loss, including 34 million children. By 2050 this will rise to 900 million.

Having an informal chat over coffee with others with the same issues is often the best way to come to terms with hearing loss. Meeting with other people going through the same journey can prove therapeutic and complements existing therapy or help in the absence of any support. Everyone is welcome to join us for a coffee and a chat. Please keep in touch via the Facebook page at Gibraltar Hearing Issues & Tinnitus Association (GHITA & BSL Club). The support group meet on the first Monday of every month except on a Bank Holiday or during August, and the next three meetings will be held on 1st July 2019, 2nd September and 7th October from 17.00-18.00.

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