I don't know about you but I sometimes curse the day Government Guidelines regarding 5 portions of fruit and vege a day came into being. The crafty little critters really got the message across. I'm sure over 90% of the population know the magic number - but how many are implementing the plan?

According to this article on Healthypages only 15% of the U.K population consumes the recommended amount.

The official website says potatoes don't count as a portion [did you really think chips counted???] and popping multi-vitamin supplements don't absolve the guilt.

Click here to find out what counts and what exactly constitutes a portion.

You will discover the benefits of holistic, deep tissue and sports massage in the comfort and convenience of your home. No getting up afterwards and struggling home in traffic. The effects last and last!

Do you feel low on energy, like your stress resides in your shoulders and neck? Do you feel the need to take some time out for yourself? Are you training for a marathon or putting in extra hours at the gym? I can help!

Deep tissue massage is proven to loosen and lengthen tight muscles. Regular sports massage helps to improve performance and prevent injury. Flowing, more gentle. holistic massage encourages relaxation and calm.

What's great about my service?

- You get to relax on a big, comfy massage table
- I provide fresh towels and use blended aromatherapy oils
- I have top notch professional qualifications and am highly skilled
- Every massage is tailored to your individual needs
- I leave you with a stretching programme to maintain correct muscle tone
- All you have to do after the massage is put your feet up

YOU WORK HARD ENOUGH - NOW LET MASSAGE WORK FOR YOU!

This article appeared in Google News last week. We can't all go to the Oscars but getting pampered at home is well within everyone's reach.

"A Los-Angeles area massage network that specializes in massage for celebrities will be kept busy in the Oscar Gift Suite prior to this year's Academy Awards.

“People think the Academy Awards are all glitz and glamour, but the preparations for the event can also be nerve-racking for the celebrities,” said Evan Aaronson, president of Go Massage, in a press release. “That’s why soothing those cramped muscles with a nice massage is a perfect way to melt the stress away.”

The gift suite will be held for Oscar nominees and presenters Feb. 22-23. Each celebrity will receive a free massage from Go Massage, as well as a one-hour massage delivered to their home.

“Go Massage is meant for people on the go, and that’s a perfect fit for the entertainment industry," Aaronson said. "They simply call us up, and we can get them an appointment at their home, office, hotel or local spa in as little as two hours.”

Aaronson used to be a Hollywood writer and director. The "insane" hours he was working left him exhausted, and he found himself getting regular massages to cope with the pressure. The therapy worked so well that he launched Go Massage in 2004".

I'm very excited to announce that I'll shortly be offering Seated Acupressure Massage.

What is SAM?

Seated acupressure massage (sometimes also called on-site massage) is based on the traditional Japanese acupressure technique called anma. Anma is Japanese for ‘press and rub’ and this therapy aims to stimulate the acupressure points in the head, neck, shoulders, spine and lower back.

How does it work?

Unlike acupuncture, seated acupressure massage does not use needles. Instead, the therapist uses his or her hands to stimulate the energy points which can be found all along the meridians, or energy lines, of the body. The therapist uses a specific sequence of movements, which are designed to improve the flow of energy throughout the body and balance and strengthen the body’s muscular, circulatory and nervous systems.

What does it involve?

The client, fully dressed, sits facing forward in a ergonomically designed massage chair. As the client relaxes and rests their chin and forehead on a thickly padded platform designed for the purpose, the therapist uses their hands and fingers to apply pressure to the acupressure points on the client’s head, neck, shoulders, upper arms and spine.

The sequence of movements (called a kata) can be adapted to suit the length of massage required by the client. A session can last anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour, and leaves the client feeling relaxed, refreshed and energised.

What is it good for?

Seated acupressure massage is excellent for relieving stress and tension and encouraging knotted, tight muscles to loosen up. It helps with backache, repetitive strain injury, asthma, headaches, migraines, toothache, fatigue, sinus problems, menstrual pain, digestive problems, eyestrain, anxiety, irritability and insomnia.

What are the benefits?

Many corporations and businesses are now encouraging their staff to take a twenty-minute break to experience the relaxing benefits of on-site massage. Clients report that after seated acupressure they feel energised and refreshed.

What are the side effects and when should it be avoided?

Seated acupressure massage is gentle and non-invasive so it is suitable for everyone. Be sure to tell the therapist if you have any recent fractures or sprains, or if you suffer from diabetes or any other long-standing medical condition.

OK, I don't really, but I've always liked that immortal line muttered by Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocolypse Now.

What I love is the smell of freshly brewed coffee and cinammon buns.

The Western diet has somehow evolved into a carb, lactose and sugar fest in the morning. Milky lattes, sugar drenched cereal, greasy donuts, toast with jam and so on. Our blood sugar spikes through the ceiling only to plummet back down to earth with a bump about two hours later.

In the East the taste is for savoury flavours which generally includes some protein. For instance in India the day starts with items such as lentil curry or tomato omelette with chapatis. In Japan rice with egg and miso soup. [The picture above depicts a typical Japanese breakfast]. Yum! I'd be very happy with that.

What is clear is that in Eastern culture breakfast is mix of carbs and protein. This sustains the body until lunch without blood sugar levels dipping. Sustained sugar levels means more immediate energy and less of an urge to reach for biscuits, crisps or cakes as a mid-morning snack.

Click here to find out what is traditionally eaten for breakfast around the world.

I would imagine that a combination of lack of time and the perceived healthiness of cereals, as opposed to a cooked breakfast, has led to the demise of breakfast protein in the average U.K breakfast.

If you can't find the time, or bear the thought, of giving up cereal for breakfast then one way to include some protein would be to sprinkle some seeds and nuts on your cereal. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds spring to mind, as do brazil and pecan nuts. Add some low fat yoghurt and substitute soya milk for half your milk intake and your protein intake has doubled without too much effort.

Check out this interesting article plus yummy recipes in Yoga Journal

If so, then apparently 70 is the best age to hit the gym - so no Lazyboy recliners and Countdown after all.

"Exercise is the best investment older people can make," says fitness guru Joanna Hall, whose walking programmes are particularly good for the over-70s. "In fact, the older you are, the more dramatic the benefits you get from exercising." And it's never too late. "People who have never exercised before will get particularly good results," says Hall.

Obviously starting younger is the ideal but the addage "better late than never" fits here. Somehow the baby-boom generation have never quite embraced the concept of exercising - hence the hip replacements, Stena stairlifts, diabetes, cholestrol and heart problems which seem to plague the older generation. Our parents were young in the 60's & 70's, when a myriad labour saving devices were invented and embraced with open arms. In those days smoking was considered cool and sophisticated and no-one had even heard of the 14 units of alcohol guideline. I often wish I'd been born in those halycon days when ignorance truly was bliss!

Even now the older generation largely absolve themselves of any responsibility for their health problems. Instead they rely on the wonders of medical science to keep them alive - for instance taking a pill to lower cholestrol instead of watching their diet.

Is it a generation thing though? One only has to read the press to wonder just how many of us, the "enlightened" generation, take responsiblity for our health?

Read the full article here.

Many people still believe that the more they pay for a skin product the better it is. Nevermind that what they're actually paying for is the packaging and that dermatologists have, for years, been saying that cheap, uncoloured and unperfumed creams work the best. What? No sexy packaging, no A-list celebrity endorsement and no multi-million pound marketing campaigns? Well, it must be rubbish then!

Once again the myth has been exploded by reports in the papers today revealing the latest innovation to hit the beauty market costs just £1.89 from Aldi.

Enter Siana Moisturising Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream, to give the product its full title. It’s beaten Olay, Elemis and Helena Rubenstein to earn a reputation as one of the best anti-ageing products on the market.

Two thousand volunteers blind-tested the cream and voted it one of the best complexion smoothers, with some adding it looked like they’d had a facial and others thinking it must be expensive. Meanwhile, Woman’s Own has said of the cream: ‘Beauty tongues are wagging because it’s so cheap and it really works’. Since word has spread, Aldi has gone from selling 290 jars a week at the beginning of the year to 20,000, with branches selling out across the UK.

The Aldi cream contains enzyme Q10, which is often found in more expensive beauty creams and which it’s claimed mimics the body’s ability to protect against premature ageing.

I'm almost tempted to give this a go. Or this is just hype too?

The skin is the largest organ of the human body, so it's no wonder that healthy skin often reflects a healthy body. Often when people feel the need for a massage it's usually because they have tight muscles which cause them discomfort, headeaches, lethargy etc. However, before the massage therapist starts working on the muscle they have to first touch the superficial tissue above it, which is the skin.

Some factoids about skin:

- Is the body’s largest organ
- Makes up about 16% of our total body weight
- Every 24 hours, the surface of the skin sheds a layer of dead cells
- All the skin on your body renews itself about every 28 days
- Dead skin cells make up about 90% of household dust
- An average of 40 kilos of skin is shed during a lifetime
- Varies in thickness from 1mm on eyelids to 3mms on palms and soles

Functions of the skin:

Acts as a protective barrier from the external environment – guarding against bacterial invasion, dehydration and ultra-violet light (UVL).

Resilience to injury - resumes its previous shape withstanding considerable trauma w/out permanent damage.

Purifies our system by eliminating waste fluid.

Regulates body temperature by fine tuning heat insulation – like a thermostat.

Provides a waterproof barrier to prevent excess loss of body fluids, and penetration of external substances.

Why your skin loves massage:

As if massage wasn’t enjoyable enough for stress relief, it is even more enjoyable knowing it’s good for your skin, as well.

Massage increases blood flow, improves circulation and releases toxins, all of which can help keep the skin clear and healthy. In fact, healthy circulation does quite a bit for the skin; it stimulates sensory nerve endings, heightening physical awareness and perception, and also floods the body with oxygen, imparting the skin with a healthy color and tone.

More importantly, because massage helps improve circulation, it may also help keep the pores clear and the skin unblemished — a skincare goal for most everyone! Additionally, improved circulation stimulates the sweat glands, which regulate body temperature, as well as release toxins from your body. Improving this function may help improve the clarity of the skin, as well.

And there’s more! Massage may help reduce or re-align superficial scar tissue after surgery, reduce the appearance of stretch marks, and promote tissue regeneration. As the skin heals from a trauma, scar tissue may form, which often binds together many layers of muscle and connective tissue resulting in an unattractive or even painful scar. Also, depending upon the size, as it heals a scar may limit your range-of-motion or movement. By manipulating the skin and muscles with deep-tissue massage, you may be able to side-step some of this discomfort and speed healing. However, always check with your doctor first before starting a course of massage therapy as some wounds need to heal completely before they are manipulated or disturbed by a massage.

The massage medium such as oil or lotion, will hydrate the skin. Depending on your massage therapist they may choose a specific oil which will benefit your skin type or they may use a general purpose oil which suits all skin types. If you have an aromatherapy massage your therapist will also incorporate the use of essential oils dependent on both your physical and mental condition.

Massage will not only have your muscles thanking you but your skin too!

When you think about it the human body was designed to work. Not sit behind the wheel of a car, sit behind a desk or sit watching TV. Muscles make our skeleton move. They contract and relax thus leading to every movement the body makes.

Think about our ancestors. Plowing fields, washing by hand, lifting bales of hay, walking everywhere. A far cry from the demands we place on our bodies in the 21st century. Osteoporosis is on the increase in older women today and the main reason for this is lack of weight bearing exercise. This far outweighs lack of calcium, which lets face it, in the normal western diet high in dairy, is rather unlikely.

As a fan of Body Pump I can personally vouch that lifting light weights and working all the major muscles groups has been transforming for me. I can run with less effort, my posture has improved and I've lost inches. I really can't praise it highly enough!

This article in Marie Claire explains in more detail the following 5 reasons to lift weights:

- it beats aerobic training hands down for fat loss
- it will make you stronger and fitter
- it strengthens bones
- it improves your mood, confidence and well being
- it helps prevent illness and aids recovery

Your local leisure centre or gym may not offer Body Pump but they will certainly have a range of weight machines and instructors to design a strengthening program for you. Don't feel intimidated about using weights. Gyms are no longer full of muscle bound hulks oozing testosterone. The results will be truly worth it. Strengthening muscle literally turns the body clock back by years!

Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to call in sick today, on the worst day of the year for absenteeism.

Experts say post-christmas blues and poor weather mean that the first monday in February is the day staff are most likely to take an unofficial day off. Surveys suggest that around 310,000 workers will take a "sickie" today. At an estimated cost of £27 million to industry.

I think some U.S companies and maybe some forward thinking U.K companies, allow for a small number of "duvet days" or "personal days". Whereby staff can phone in on the day [workload permitting] and say they can't face work that day. Well words to that effect anyway. A really good idea I think.

In need of a "pick me up?". Massage can stimulate or calm the nervous system-depending upon what is required by the individual-and thus help reduce fatigue, leaving the reciever with a feeling of replenished energy. At its best, massage has the potential to restore the individual physically, mentally and spiritually.