Spatone™ puts common health and nutrition advice under the microscope
New research has found that pregnant women are more likely to listen to the health advice of their Mums than the professionals[1]. But Mums and Grannies seem to have a gem of family wisdom for every health or nutrition dilemma from catching a cold to swallowing your gum. So are they always right?
Spatone 100% natural liquid iron supplement has teamed up with nutrition, health & wellbeing expert Oliver Gray from energiseYou to once and for all set the record straight:
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis
MYTH: ‘Despite parent’s protests, knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis. However, you are not off the hook yet! You shouldn’t do it as the research also found that you are more likely to have swollen hands and lower grip strength if you habitually crack your knuckles[2].’
Guinness and beer are a good source of iron
MYTH: ‘A staggering 78% of women still believe the old wives tale that Guinness is a good source of iron[3]. In fact it contains no more iron than standard beer and you would need to drink a whopping 49.3 pints to get your daily RDA[4]. You can get your daily RDA of iron from iron rich foods such a red meats, green leafy vegetables and pulses. If from your diet alone you are not absorbing your daily iron quota, an iron supplement such as Spatone* could help.’
Eating carrots helps you see in the dark
MYTH: ‘This myth came about during the second world war when the British Forces were using radar to find enemy airplanes, but to keep radar a secret they told the whole of Britain they were feeding their men carrots. Carrots contain Vitamin A which is essential for healthy eye function but won’t help you see better in the dark. However, eating carrots could turn you orange because they contain carotene. Eat enough and you get "carotenaemia" - an orangey colouration most noticeable on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet.’
Cranberry juice is good for cystitis
JURY’S OUT: ‘Cranberry juice contains a chemical, proanthocyanidins (PACs), that can prevent bacteria from sticking on the walls of the bladder, which may be why some research has found regular doses appear to cut the number of attacks women get. However, we don’t know how much you need to help prevent cystitis and some studies show that it doesn't seem to help cystitis once you've got it.[5]’
Never swim on a full stomach
MYTH: ‘This myth involves the possibility of suffering severe muscle cramping and drowning from swimming on a full stomach. There's a theoretical possibility that one could develop a cramp while swimming with a full stomach, but a person swimming in a pool or controlled swimming area could easily exit the water if this happens. As with any exercise after eating, swimming right after a big meal might be uncomfortable but it isn’t likely to be serious.’
Always wear a hat because you lose most of your body heat through your head
MYTH: ‘How much body heat you lose depends how much skin you expose. The more skin expose the more heat you lose. If you had your head covered but bared a leg, you'd lose more body heat through your leg. So choosing to go hatless on a chilly day won’t result in hypothermia.’
Cleaning your ears with cotton buds can make you go deaf
TRUE: ‘Earwax is part of the ear canal’s natural protection and cleaning process. We don’t realise just how delicate the ear canal and the eardrum is. Damage can be done by sticking cotton buds into our ears from both the bud or by pushing the wax further into the ear. If you get a build up of earwax, visit your doctor who can remove it safely.’
Chewing gum takes seven years to digest
MYTH: ‘It is a good idea not to swallow gum because it is indigestible but it is a myth that it spends seven years in our system. Once it is in your stomach it loses its stickiness and passes through the body at exactly the same rate as other food.’
Eating spinach makes you strong like Popeye
MYTH: ‘This myth comes from the misconception that spinach is exceptionally high in iron. In fact you would have to eat around a whopping 1kg of spinach to get your daily RDA of iron[6]. In order to get muscle strength you need to exercise. Eating spinach (or anything else for that matter) won’t make you strong on its own, it will only give you the energy you need to survive your workout.’
Iron nutrition presents a real challenge as iron is one of the most difficult nutrients to absorb. A recent government survey found that 91% of women in the UK aged between 19 and 64 years are consuming less than the RDA of iron[7].
Spatoneis a unique 100% natural liquid iron supplement* containing spa water sourced from the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia National Park - which can help top up your iron levels. Spatone provides iron with fewer of the unpleasant side effects oftenexperienced with conventional iron supplements. Generally, iron is a very difficult mineral for the body to absorb. However, Spatone has been shown to have 40% bioavailability
[8]
, compared to only 5 - 20% from food and other iron supplements. This means that you only need to take 1 sachet a day to fulfil the body’s requirement for (absorbed) iron.
Spatone is available from Boots, Holland & Barrett, Tesco, Lloyds Pharmacies and independent health food stores and pharmacies, price £6.95 for 28 sachets (4 weeks supply). For mail order call 01492 640 057 or go to www.spatone.com
Note to Editors:
* It is important to follow a varied and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute.
If pregnant or breast feeding always contact a healthcare professional before taking any food supplement
Oliver Gray is managing director energiseYou, the UK's leading experts in employee health and wellbeing and a qualified Personal Trainer. After retiring his career as a professional tennis player, he went on to manage 14 Central London Health clubs and qualify as a NLP practitioner before founding energiseYou. To find out more visit energiseyou.com
Nelsons is the UK's leading manufacturer of natural healthcare products, with a long-standing commitment to supplying the highest quality natural healthcare products that meet all regulatory and quality standards. Their brands are recognised and sold in over 60 countries worldwide and include Rescue Remedy®, Bach™ Original Flower Remedies, Arnicare™, Nelsons Teetha™, Nelsons Homeopathy, Spatone™ and Pure & Clear™.
2010 – Celebrating 150 years of Nelsons’ natural healthcare: Nelsons is Europe’s longest established homeopathic manufacturer and has been supplying quality natural healthcare products to the public since 1860 – making 2010 Nelsons’ 150th birthday year.
For more information about Nelsons, visit www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com
[1] Constructions of Pregnant and Postnatal Embodiment across Three Generations.Mothers’, Daughters’ and Others’ Experiences of the Transition to Motherhood. Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 15, No. 4, 575-585 (2010)
[2] Effect of habitual knuckle cracking on hand function.Jorge Castellanos and David Axelrod. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 1990:49:308-309
[3] Spatone survey of 2373 women conducted by etelligent between 18/11/2009 – 18/12/2009
[4] Calculation based on 0.3mg Iron per pint of Guinness and NHS RDA recommendation of 14.3mg as stated at http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diet/Pages/Recommendations.aspx
[5] Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. Jepson RG, Craig JC. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD001321. http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001321.html
[6] Assuming a 5% absorption rate, you would gain 0.1750mg of iron per 100g of spinach. In order to gain 2mg of iron you would need to eat 1,142.86g of spinach.
[7] The National Diet & Nutrition Survey: adults aged 19 to 64 years (2003). Carried out in Great Britain on behalf of the Food Standards Agency and the Departments of Health by the Social Survey Division
[8] Worwood, ‘Iron absorption from a natural mineral water (Spatone Iron +)’, Clinical and Laboratory Haematology, 1996
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