Quit Smoking & Eat Chocolate Instead.

My favourite chocolate

As regular readers of this blog will know, I have tried to balance the considerable benefits of giving up cigarettes  with research into possible benefits of remaining a smoker. This has not been easy, but by stretching the definition of the word ‘benefit’ and then adding a healthy dose of imagination I have found some possible benefits that can be read in my article Handy Tips on Fighting Zombies (which also has links to other possible benefits). Whether these benefits will outweigh the negatives of smoking (smelly clothes, bad skin, sickness and lack of money to name but a few) is really up to the reader to decide.

Whilst 85 per cent of smokers regret having begun smoking, most worry that by giving up they might gain weight due to snacking. This is a valid concern. Whilst withdrawal systems from smoking are temporary they are nonetheless real and uncomfortable whilst they last (as I can testify). Fortunately here are plenty of ways to deal with cravings including sensible snacking on tasty crunchables like carrots sticks, celery and fruit.

There may also be one sweet snack that smokers ( and non-smokers) can let themselves enjoy. There is a growing body of research highlighting the possible benefits of dark chocolate, which has been linked to lowering blood pressure and improving skin tone. An important caveat though comes from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., who advises in Can chocolate be good for my health that we should remember that most chocolates have added fat, sugar and calories which can impact negatively on health. However moderate consumption of Chocolate with a high cocoa content could be very beneficial to you.

One of the most recent tests on chocolate was carried out by Louisiana State University researchers who found that certain bacteria in the stomach ferment cocoa ‘and then release anti-inflammatory compounds that benefit the heart’ For more read Scientists Probe Dark Chocolate's Health

So for those who are trying to give up cigarettes for Lent, it might be a good idea to take up (a moderate amount) of Dark Chocolate instead.

 

Related articles:

Cancer - early diagnosis and risk reduction
Good news - Cancer can be prevented

Food Is Fun
Myths about food, weight and body image
The Mediterranean Diet
Worried About Your Weight?
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ACCESS ALL AREAS! - Disibility Awareness Week 24th - 27th March 2014

The LLMs on International and Comparative Law and Policy are running a Disability Awareness Week- Access All Areas to highlight and promote Inclusion, Accessibility and Diversity around NUIG.   The Week will run from 24th March – 27th March and there are a range of activities planned. To get involved contact INFO.CDLP@NUIGALWAY.IE

Worried About Your Weight?

Many new (and not so new) college students struggle with their bodies and eating, and the demands of third level education can be a trigger for these problems. 

The Pro Youth site provides support and information students need to feel good about themselves and have a positive college experience! The peer support, message boards, blog, monitoring questionnaires and online chats with a counsellor on the Pro Youth site will help more third level students receive support to manage issues that might otherwise keep them from enjoying and engaging with their studies.


Pro Youth is a supportive online community helping students stay body positive and talk about their concerns with their peers in a safe place.

Pro Youth allows students the chance to open up and talk, instead of turning to extreme diets, excessive exercise and unhealthy weight management strategies! 

Pro Youth also provides a Self Test, to assess your risk of developing an eating disorder. Answering the questions takes about five minutes. After processing the test you can register as a user and get full access to the extended functions of the ProYouth online support system. If you think Pro Youth would help you, please click HERE

 

What is Pro Youth?

Sore Head? Hang over? Muttering bad thoughts about Saint Patrick? Do not despair... :-)

Most of us used Saint Patrick’s Day as an opportunity for hanging out with family and friends, celebrating Ireland and having great fun casting out vipers and raising the pagan dead in order to convert them to Christianity.

Some people though take a different approach to the whole celebration and basically drink to they drop. Apart from sore heads, other problems with alcohol include damage to organs, increased cancer risk and, because of all the calories, an expanded waist line. 

The good news is that cutting back and slowing down alcohol consumption can boost your wellbeing considerably. The NHS publication ‘Cutting down on alcohol' highlights the following benefits of reduced drinking: feeling better in the morning; improved immune system; more energy; better skin tone; a better mood. The NHS also has easy advice on how to cut down alcohol.

 

 

However, please note that Irish and UK alcohol measurements are different, so the NHS ‘Drink Checker’ would not be an accurate guide for students in NUI Galway. For a good non-judgmental way to begin looking at your engagement with alcohol is to try out the e-pub facility in NUI Galway.

*****

Remember, if you have problems or worries you feel you would like to talk about confidentially, contact Cindy Dring, Health Promotion Officer for NUI Galway at 091-492048. Alternatively e-mail her at cindy.dring@nuigalway.ie or just drop in to Aras Ni Eimhigh.

For more on how to look good, feel good and be in charge of your life as a student at NUI Galway check out Student's Services Health Promotion

Keep up to date by following this blog on twitter at: @RBizzness

Marijuana long term effects?

Here’s the latest Q & As from Go Ask Alice. Topics covered below include ‘Marijuana long term effects?’, ’Burn out. What can I do about it?’ and lots more…

 

Click on the links below to read more about subjects that interest you. And remember if you find the articles useful feel free to tell your friends or retweet this blog.

New and updated Q&As for March 2014

Marijuana long-term effects?
Measles
Health benefits of dried vs. fresh blueberries
I love my boyfriend, but I don't want to have sex anymore
Chickenpox — Do I need to stay home from class?
 
Burnout: What can I do about it?
Bored with doing the same things day after day
Must. Be. Productive. But I'm so stressed out!
No time for a social life!
Always tired

All Go Ask Alice articles are written by Columba University.

Copyright (C) 2014 Columbia University All rights reserved.

* * * * *

The latest Go Ask Alice book is available in the Wellness Centre at the back of The Hub - drop in any time for a read.

Remember, if you have problems or worries you feel you would like to talk about confidentially, contact Cindy Dring, Health Promotion Officer for NUI Galway at 091-492048. Alternatively e-mail her at cindy.dring@nuigalway.ie or just drop in to Aras Ni Eimhigh.

For more on how to look good, feel good and be in charge of your life as a student at NUI Galway check out Student's Services Health Promotion

Keep up to date by following this blog on twitter at: @RBizzness

Today I am being an English Lady (with a mysterious past...)



Sex toy or murder weapon?

Today I am being an English Lady. Not your normal run of the mill English Lady, but one of those English Ladies who look sweet and dull, and would never be suspected of anything, but who in fact has a terrible secret.

 

It may be that I am the last scion of an aristocratic family that was ruined by the gambling debts of an older brother who died mysteriously before he could set things right. Or else I am, in fact, from a poorer background, but over the years and decades have managed to quietly inveigle my way into high society with the assistance of a rich American communist sympathiser to whom I pass on the pillow talk of two cabinet ministers and an Archbishop.

 

There are rumours that I may once had a relationship with a ‘foreign gentleman’ or became too close to a maid who was coarse mannered but had the face of an angel.

 

I dress plainly but always carry a large handbag, which I once dropped during the rush hour at Paddington station, spilling its contents upon the ground. My fellow travellers were surprised to see that the contents included a stout stick with a blue rope tied round it. Later this item aroused much speculation and conversation in the first class carriage. Was the stick and rope a murder weapon or a sex toy; did the knots on the rope carry a message for secret agents; or was the key to a secret vault hidden in a hollow chamber inside the stick?

 

I could of course be any or all of the above English Ladies, but most the most important thing is that today I am an English Lady with a mysterious past who is resting as only English Ladies who inhabit novels, films, plays and television series can.

When I am tired I lie down with a hot water bottle. When I feel like fresh air I take a walk and listen to the birds twittering.  When I’m feeling particularly vigorous I read P.D James, or take three unhurried hours to make a rice bake. Then I walk a bit more and have another lie down. My wife, who knows how to deal with me when I am being an English Lady, has left out a Downton Abbey Christmas special DVD, just in case…

As to how long I will stay in the role of an English Lady, well that too is a mystery. I may be an English Lady for a morning, a day or even a full week. The most important thing, as I’ve previously said, is that I am an English Lady who is resting.

The reason I am resting is that prior to becoming an English Lady I had spent two solid weeks performing stories, reading from my books and running workshops. The last week was the worse - every day a different town, every night a different bed. It was all so fast and furious my memory of it all is jumbled; Manchester airport at night; a hotel room with water the colour of dried blood spilling out the hot tap; a morning glimpse of the north sea; the flares of a refinery lighting up moorland somewhere in north England. And of course talking, performing, chatting, reading, teaching everyday – which was great fun but doing it without a break was an exhausting business.

When I finally returned to the Galway I was tired and twitchy and unable to rest. Part of the problem is that like too many people I have been brought up to think that resting is a sign of weakness. Added to that is the fear that if things are not done now then problems can only get larger and deadlier. So, things need to be done urgently and done urgently now. But of course, the problem with trying to do everything at once right now is that we end up making a hash of all those urgent things or worse we crash and end up getting nothing done.

Other work had piled up whilst I was away – another book deadline, another tour, another show, more taxes, more bills – and my inbox crammed with emails. It all called out for attention, immediate attention.  So I did what any sane working class Glaswegian man would do. I switched off the phone, switched off the computer and announced that for the time being I was an English Lady with a mysterious past.

I ignored all work, played with my wife and children, got sick, walked around Barna woods, got sicker, laughed a lot, ate good home-made food, and slowly returned to normality. This is my third day as an English Lady with a mysterious past. I felt well enough to check my emails. I replied to two and then read a lovely article from Go Ask Alice about the benefits of Self Acceptance, which I would highly recommend to everyone. I made a few notes in my journal about how to approach all the work that needs to be done – only a fraction of which were really urgent and none of which were life and death urgent - then checked my rice bake. 

I’m rested now and know it is almost time to switch from English Lady mode, but there is no urgency. There is still plenty of time to watch Downton Abbey first and think some more mysterious thoughts…

*****

Enjoyed this article then you may want to check out

How To Be Happy

Have you started a journal yet?

Exam relaxation techniques

Study, Research & Exams –A simple survival guide

 

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