I absolutely get health advice overwhelm at times - especially having a disabled child. There is so much of our lives out of my control that even ‘sleep’ and ‘move your body’ can be hard to maintain - so when people start talking about complicated and/or expensive or time consuming advice, honestly I just glaze over and think “ah well that’s me done for”. My fav thing to do when I’m overwhelmed is look at the colours I ate that day and give myself a little pat on the back for eating purple, orange, red and green 😂. I may not be able to do everything - but I can do that! See also - wearing sunscreen 😃
I have genetic metabolic syndrome. No I am not obese, never have been, yet still have T2 diabetes, high BP & raised cholesterol.
Genetic or familial metabolic syndrome is an inflammatory disorder. I was diagnosed early. I was in my 30’s & had an enlarged heart. I was brave & knowledgeable enough to present my GP with a copy of the research about what meds I should be taking. At the time the NHS only funded them after your first heart attack. I got them & have been taking them since. Now some of those meds are available to buy from the pharmacy.
Movement & diet play a part & there have been times I haven’t been good. I’ve reached 62 & I’m convinced reading peer reviewed papers benefited me then & keeping abreast of new research benefits me now. We are all different & knowledge can be helpful. By this I mean real, science based knowledge. Being bombarded with adverts & infomercials for the latest trendy snake oil (anyone else feel pressurised by all menopause products out there?) Or seeing influencers using twice number of Vit D sprays than the correct dose “cos more must be better”, when actually too much can cause harm, even fatalities have been reported. All this is wellness noise is stressful & overwhelming.
A wellness fact checker is really overdue. In the meantime your Substack helps
Wow, sounds like you've really done your research and got better treatment as a result, that's a proper example of when having lots of information helps. I'm very cynical about most of the snake oil products, particularly supplements (particularly gummies - they're basically sweets!), but sometimes my head is turned by them.
There are some things that I was initially sceptical about, but then tried and actually felt I noticed a difference (I'd put collagen in this category I think). It can be really hard to know what to trust - particularly when we're all so different anyway, so something that had a benefit for someone else might not benefit us.
When it gets overwhelming, I try to ignore the noise and just focus on the basics - exercise, vegetables, sleep, good relationships - and also try to enjoy it!
I had a head start on getting peer reviewed papers, I was a Clinical Research Nurse. Anyone can get peer reviewed information but an abstract or commentary may be more useful. The problem is it isn’t as easy to find as the snake oil merchants & paid influencers who don’t have any expertise or qualifications.
Yes to sometimes changing my mind. Magnesium supplements have almost stopped the muscles spasms I used to have.
Keep on being thorough, it’s incredibly important!
I enjoyed this article and it’s quite timely for me as I’ve been out of work for 5 months so have used the time off to delve into all things health and wellbeing. It’s all part of being perimenopausal for me and trying to find different ways to balance out my moods with the right food, exercise and sleep. During this summer off (not by choice) I’ve fallen back in love with my peloton bike. Days where I don’t feel like a big session, I have discovered all their various yoga classes and more recently their Pilates classes. I now work out every day, because I’ve found that low intensity workouts, even just a 20 min class, makes me feel happy. So in trying to be healthier, I’ve found something I truly enjoy and it stops me being bored day to day whilst my job search continues.
That is so great to hear! Finding something you truly enjoy is key. And I think doing something daily helps keep momentum going (rather than committing to eg. 2/3 days a week and then forgetting!). Really helps to create structure for your days, too, when you're not getting that through work. Keep it up, and good luck with the job search!
You went along and you reported the findings! That’s what a good journalist does 😍 a pity some have such closed minds and seek so fast to dismiss new scientific research as nonsense. Thank you Rosamund for a great piece 👍
I absolutely get health advice overwhelm at times - especially having a disabled child. There is so much of our lives out of my control that even ‘sleep’ and ‘move your body’ can be hard to maintain - so when people start talking about complicated and/or expensive or time consuming advice, honestly I just glaze over and think “ah well that’s me done for”. My fav thing to do when I’m overwhelmed is look at the colours I ate that day and give myself a little pat on the back for eating purple, orange, red and green 😂. I may not be able to do everything - but I can do that! See also - wearing sunscreen 😃
Yes! Hard relate on this 💜🧡❤️💚
I have genetic metabolic syndrome. No I am not obese, never have been, yet still have T2 diabetes, high BP & raised cholesterol.
Genetic or familial metabolic syndrome is an inflammatory disorder. I was diagnosed early. I was in my 30’s & had an enlarged heart. I was brave & knowledgeable enough to present my GP with a copy of the research about what meds I should be taking. At the time the NHS only funded them after your first heart attack. I got them & have been taking them since. Now some of those meds are available to buy from the pharmacy.
Movement & diet play a part & there have been times I haven’t been good. I’ve reached 62 & I’m convinced reading peer reviewed papers benefited me then & keeping abreast of new research benefits me now. We are all different & knowledge can be helpful. By this I mean real, science based knowledge. Being bombarded with adverts & infomercials for the latest trendy snake oil (anyone else feel pressurised by all menopause products out there?) Or seeing influencers using twice number of Vit D sprays than the correct dose “cos more must be better”, when actually too much can cause harm, even fatalities have been reported. All this is wellness noise is stressful & overwhelming.
A wellness fact checker is really overdue. In the meantime your Substack helps
Wow, sounds like you've really done your research and got better treatment as a result, that's a proper example of when having lots of information helps. I'm very cynical about most of the snake oil products, particularly supplements (particularly gummies - they're basically sweets!), but sometimes my head is turned by them.
There are some things that I was initially sceptical about, but then tried and actually felt I noticed a difference (I'd put collagen in this category I think). It can be really hard to know what to trust - particularly when we're all so different anyway, so something that had a benefit for someone else might not benefit us.
When it gets overwhelming, I try to ignore the noise and just focus on the basics - exercise, vegetables, sleep, good relationships - and also try to enjoy it!
I had a head start on getting peer reviewed papers, I was a Clinical Research Nurse. Anyone can get peer reviewed information but an abstract or commentary may be more useful. The problem is it isn’t as easy to find as the snake oil merchants & paid influencers who don’t have any expertise or qualifications.
Yes to sometimes changing my mind. Magnesium supplements have almost stopped the muscles spasms I used to have.
Keep on being thorough, it’s incredibly important!
I enjoyed this article and it’s quite timely for me as I’ve been out of work for 5 months so have used the time off to delve into all things health and wellbeing. It’s all part of being perimenopausal for me and trying to find different ways to balance out my moods with the right food, exercise and sleep. During this summer off (not by choice) I’ve fallen back in love with my peloton bike. Days where I don’t feel like a big session, I have discovered all their various yoga classes and more recently their Pilates classes. I now work out every day, because I’ve found that low intensity workouts, even just a 20 min class, makes me feel happy. So in trying to be healthier, I’ve found something I truly enjoy and it stops me being bored day to day whilst my job search continues.
That is so great to hear! Finding something you truly enjoy is key. And I think doing something daily helps keep momentum going (rather than committing to eg. 2/3 days a week and then forgetting!). Really helps to create structure for your days, too, when you're not getting that through work. Keep it up, and good luck with the job search!
You went along and you reported the findings! That’s what a good journalist does 😍 a pity some have such closed minds and seek so fast to dismiss new scientific research as nonsense. Thank you Rosamund for a great piece 👍
Your article at the weekend was really well written and balanced I felt 👏🏼
excellent read as always