HEALTHY LIVING

Oily fish? Bring it on… but only in the right ‘window’. Confused? Read on.

PREGNANT? EAT MORE FISH!

It’s better for all of us to eat oily fish, even if we’re worried about the mercury content in those fish, say scientists, because it protects our hearts and brains. A recent study also found that pregnant women with the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood were 10 times more likely to give birth prematurely than those with normal amounts.

Eating the fish itself is still better than any supplement, and no more than two portions a week is advised (because of the mercury).

‘Our results support the importance of ensuring adequate intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy,’ says Sjurdur Olsen of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. ‘You can take supplements, but I would strongly support the view that the wholefood is actually what should be preferred.’

TIME TO EAT…

According to Professor Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, eating at the wrong time of day could be as disruptive as jet lag

– it places strain on your digestive organs, forcing them to work when they’re programmed to be off (working night shifts is linked to obesity, some cancers, diabetes and heart disease).

Prof Panda put genetically identical mice into two groups: the first could eat foods that were high in fat and sugar whenever they liked, and the second was given all the same foods, but only within an eight-hour window period every day. Both groups ate the same number of calories, but the mice that ate whenever they wanted got fat and sick, while those that ate within the window period didn’t.

The second group was protected from obesity, fatty liver and metabolic disease by eating when their digestive organs were ‘on’. Read more in Prof Panda’s book, The Circadian Code.

EEEUW!

Apparently the average work desk has 400 times more germs than a toilet seat! But women are still better off than their male colleagues, because research conducted by the University of Arizona found that men’s desks have three to four times the amount of bacteria found on women’s workstations.

In particular, watch out for phones, pens, keyboards – and kitchen mugs, 20% of which were found to carry faecal matter!

RISE IN SELF-HARM

Hospitals in the UK have reported a 100% increase in the number of girls being admitted for self-harm over a period of 20 years.

Possible causes for the upswing, say experts, are the pressures of social media and unsustainable levels of schoolwork. They recommend that parents keep a close eye on their daughters for any signs of stress, and help them to deal with it as it comes up.