A confession: I quietly love flying. This year, I've done 163,581 miles of it. I love that when you fly a lot, the airport social media staff say 'hello' on Twitter when you arrive and the cabin crew on your home route (or even on the Brisbane-Dubai non-stop route) recognise you from last time. I like getting great service, and see so many things about systems-thinking that work well in airlines, that I'm happy to forgive small indiscrepancies when they occur. All that said, flying strangles our planet as much as eating too much red meat, and for many, many reasons, I've wanted to stop flying quite so much, while not restricting the spread and growth of the ideas from our firm, NoTosh. I'm quite sure that nobody reading this blog really cares about how much I travel, but keeping an annual count on it has become a new year habit. When I started working at Channel 4, and then continuing when I created NoTosh, I wanted to keep track of what seemed like an interminable number of miles on the road and in the air. By 2012, 2013 and last year, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be able to get the number of miles down when they seemed to represent even more trips to the moon and back each and every year. When you run a company based in Edinburgh with a great team living in Melbourne, you could easily spend your life on a plane - one flying to Melbourne feels better than two or more flying to Edinburgh. Indeed, in 2012, 2013 and 2014 it felt like I really did spend my life on a plane, as I went to the moon and back in my annual travel, with anything up to seven trips a year to Australia. How long is the flight from Edinburgh to Melbourne? - over a day - less than an hour - not enough information - five hours
over a day
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Constipation is not a glamorous topic, but it’s certainly important, especially in older adults. As anyone who has experienced occasional — or even chronic — constipation can tell you, it can really put a damper on quality of life and well-being. Constipation can also cause more substantial problems, such as: * Severe abdominal pain, which can lead to emergency room visits * Hemorrhoids, which can bleed or be painful * Increased irritability, agitation, or even aggression, in people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia * Stress and/or pain that can contribute to delirium (a state of new or worse confusion that often happens when older adults are hospitalized) * Fecal incontinence, which can be caused or worsened by having a hard lump of stool lodged in the lower bowel * Avoidance of needed pain medication, due to fear of constipation Fortunately, it’s usually possible to help older adults effectively manage and prevent constipation. This helps maintain well-being and quality of life, and can also improve difficult behaviors related to dementia. The trouble is that constipation is often either overlooked or sub-optimally managed by busy healthcare providers who aren’t trained in geriatrics. They are often focused on more “serious” health issues. Also, since many laxatives are available over-the-counter, some providers may assume that people will treat themselves if necessary. Personally, I don’t like this hands-off approach to constipation. Although several useful laxatives are indeed available over-the-counter (OTC), I’ve found that the average person doesn’t know enough to correctly choose among them. Also, although in geriatrics we often do end up recommending or prescribing laxatives, it’s vital to start by figuring out what is likely to be causing — or worsening — an older person’s constipation. For instance, many medications can make constipation worse, so we usually make an attempt to identify and perhaps deprescribe those. In short, if you’re an older adult, or if you’re helping an older... Who can benefit from laxatives? - those with constipation - those overweight - not enough information - those with heart problems
those with constipation
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This is part two of a four part series on Inner Wisdom Eating (IWE) The 4 steps of Inner Wisdom Eating (or eating like a thin person) are exactly the same as those promoted by Intuitive Eating. Eat when you’re hungry Eat what you want Eat consciously Stop when you are full The difference lies in the approach and the detail. I will discuss each step in this four part series. ————————————————— EAT WHAT YOU WANT DOES YOUR FOOD SING TO YOU? Have a look in your fridge and cupboards. Does the food in there sing to you, does it call your name, and are you looking forward to eating it? Do you eat it because you enjoy it or because you think you should? By choosing only to eat what sings to me, I have discovered (again!) that I am not a big fan of meat and would rather eat a predominantly vegetarian diet. Occasionally I’ll eat chicken leg and I love bacon but beyond that I’m not fussed. FOOD DOES NOT HAVE A VALUE There are no good and bad foods. There are no trigger foods or forbidden foods. There is nosuch thing as junk. There is a place in your diet for your favourite indulgences in moderation. Believe me that when you let yourself eat cheesecake, chocolate and hot chips, the novelty soon wears off. I mostly eat unprocessed food, not because it’s “good” but because I love the taste and prefer how it makes me feel. YOU CAN STILL EAT DIET FOOD Low fat ice-cream, Diet Coke and protein powder are still in my diet but I eat them because I prefer the taste over their ‘real’ counterparts. I can still ask for dressing on the side and no butter on my sandwich not because I’m counting calories but because I can’t see the point in eating food I don’t actually want. What is step one of Inner Wisdom Eating? - stop when you are full - eat what you want - eat when you're hungry - not enough information
