Healthy Eating Week

British Nutrition Foundation healthy eating week; 28th September to 4th October

Today’s challenge is to drink plenty – try to drink 6-8 unsweetened drinks a day.

Why is it important to drink plenty?

On average, water makes up more than half of our body weight and we need fluid for our body to work properly.

Water is constantly lost through sweating, breathing and using the toilet, so it is important to drink throughout the day to keep hydrated.

Being dehydrated can make it difficult to concentrate and may cause headaches and tiredness.

(BNF)
Challenge of the day – Drink plenty

For more top tips click here.

Healthy Eating Week

British Nutrition Foundation holds healthy eating week 28th September to 4th October

The aim of this week is to bring people, families and companies together by promoting healthy habits, trying new things and sharing health messages.

Each day promotes a new challenge. Today’s is vary your veg.

Why are vegetables important?

Vegetables provide a range of different vitamins and minerals needed for health. They also provide fibre, which is important for the digestive system and can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer in adulthood.

(BNF)
Today’s challenge explained.

For more examples of ways to get more vegetables into your diet click here.

The future of public health

The NIHP and other public health functions

Sets out the government’s plans for protecting and improving the public’s health, including the creation of the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP).

Click here to access the policy paper.

Courage of compassion

Supporting nurses and midwives to deliver high quality care

The review, led by Professor Michael West, sets out eight key recommendations aimed at supporting nurses and midwives to flourish in their work and to provide sustainable, compassionate and high-quality care.

The report was commissioned by the RCN Foundation and involves a detailed examination of available evidence, new analysis of key data and interviews with staff at all levels across the NHS and social care. 

The report finds that staff stress, absenteeism and turnover in these professions have reached alarmingly high levels. This has been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has laid bare and exacerbated longer-term issues including chronic excessive workload, inadequate working conditions, staff burnout and inequalities, particularly among minority ethnic groups.

Among the recommendations is an urgent call for a review of how 12-hour shifts affect staff mental health and wellbeing and patient safety, as well as, suggestions to improve working conditions, shift patterns, workplace culture, teamworking, support for new staff, supervision and learning opportunities.

To read the report click here.