These guidelines were published between 2016 and 2018 in the Medical Journal of Australia. The recommendations include giving children solid foods at 6 months of age, including egg and peanut before 12 months, but only after 4 months.

  Hydrolysed formula is no longer considered helpful for the prevention of allergic diseases.

  One of the authors of the study, Dr Preeti Joshi, wrote: “food allergy has been increasing in incidence worldwide, with rates in Australia among the highest in the world”.

  Joshi wrote that in a Melbourne-based study called HealthNuts, 10 per cent of children under the age of 1 year had a proven food allergy. Egg allergies affected 8.9% of these infants and peanut allergy 3%.

  He said that the most common allergens in Australia include egg, cow’s milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

  The LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut allergy) study randomly assorted 640 children between the ages of 4 and 11 months who had severe eczema or egg allergy, or both. Children were assigned to either consume or avoid peanut containing foods. After 60 months, a peanut allergy test was conducted. In the peanut avoidance group there were 13.7% of allergy sufferers. In the peanut consumption group, the prevalence of allergy sufferers was just 1.9%.

  This research would seem to indicate that introducing peanut into an infant’s diet after 4 months and before 12 months of age is helpful in building immunity to some allergens.

  The researchers conducting these surveys are hopeful that this new information can help lower the number of children and adults who suffer from severe allergies.

  Dr Joshi and his colleagues recommended that parents consult their family doctor to learn the best ways of introducing egg and peanut products into their child’s diet.

  He also stated that: “It is hoped that current ASICIA guidelines will assist in reversing the upward trajectory of early onset allergy disease in Australia, and that further research will continue.”

When it is time to go to the gym does your brain begin to come up with excuses not to go? Are you amazed that even though you are focused on going your mind can start to wear you down by throwing out theory after theory about why what you intend to do is not the thing you should do? And that it happens over and over again? What excuses have you told yourself to stop you from going to the gym and working out? I’ve talked myself out of going because I might be tired to do something important the next day, going to the gym may make it harder for me to get to sleep that night, I can skip going to the gym if I absolutely promise myself that instead I will clean or do a project that up until that moment I didn’t have the motivation to do. But I discovered if I just did one simple gym exercise then that is all I had to do and that was it!

Simple, right?

Getting fitter has a lot of rules, form is more important than weight, incrementally increasing resistance builds muscle, raising your heart rate during exercise will help with fat loss, but none of this means a thing without the ultimate rule of any exercise. Consistency. By building consistency in your routines, that voice in your head begins to fade, not entirely, but it will be less likely to overpower you. Your body, which is less erratic and more reliant on routine, will come to expect the workout that you have been doing and will back up your decision to go. In essence, consistency builds willpower.

You may not consider willpower to be a part of yourself that you can build by going to the gym, but it can be the most important exercise that you do. You don’t believe going to the gym is a gym exercise? Mirriam-Webster describes exercise as ‘bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness’. It takes considerable effort, both mental and physical, to break out of old habits. It takes even more effort to do it consistently. And the act of going to the gym is the most fundamental gym activity you can do to develop and maintain physical fitness (quite literally).

So what can be done to increase gym attendance?

1. Think of the act of going to the gym as an exercise in itself rather than the prelude of working out.
   You’re at home. It’s seven o’clock. You’re tired and watching TV sounds a whole lot better than moving. But when you think of going to the gym, what are you really thinking about? Are you thinking of the small acts of getting yourself from point A to point B or are you imagining the whole routine? Changing your clothes, getting to the gym, your first routine, the second, what people are thinking about, are they staring at you, how you will feel, your exhaustion, the trip back? That is a lot that is going through your head at one time, no wonder your mind is so good at wearing you down. Instead, think of one action and only one action. Get to the gym. Not the exercises you might do when you get there, not how you will feel, not the image of the machine you will use to make you tired. By thinking about going to the gym as the entire and ONLY exercise gives you something simple to achieve.
2. Break down the steps.
   This is your exercise routine to focus on. Break down the steps into everything that you need and make sure you have them ready. You wouldn’t go for a swim without your bathing suit (would you?), so make the process all part of the same workout. Make this as simple and small as possible. All you need to do is to get dressed (or pack your bag) and get there (transportation). If you need to get changed at the gym, then make that part of the routine too. Once you have done it that is the entire exercise. Congratulations!
3. Make the process as easy as possible.
   You’ve heard the saying ‘No pain, No gain’? That comes later, right now your saying is ‘let’s just get this over with’. Doing this one exercise does not need to be hard, in fact the easier you make it, the better. Do you have to make sure that you have the pass to get in the gym? Then leave your pass in your gym pocket. Do you need money? If not forget about it or keep a few bills with your card? Do you need to bring a towel, have two towels on the ready one that you bring with you and one that you will wash and then alternate. Do you walk to the gym? What is the most leisurely way to get there? Can you listen to music to keep you going? The less you think the easier it will be.
4. Believe this is the ONLY exercise.
   When you tell yourself that you will only do this one exercise, actually believe it is true. If you get there and don’t want to go on, you are free to make that choice. You have the option to go straight home again. Let whether you work out be a different decision. Your brain knows when you are lying to yourself. I think it might have someone on the inside!
5. Do a trial run.
   The first time you do this just go to the gym, walk in the door, look around and walk straight out again then go home. Let it sink in this is all there is too it. At any point in future I can go home, I only need to do this ONE thing!

A small shift in perception can create huge a shift in momentum

Remember the slinky? It sat at the top of the stairs, unmoving. It takes just a gentle push and the energy that sat there within itself begins to flow. You too will see amazing things when you move like the slinky. When you finish your one rep of going to the gym you stand there and be faced with a new decision, do I go in or do I go home? You have taken going to the gym out of the equation, the biggest mental blocker for most people. Your mind will have to reevaluate the position you are in and momentum is in your favour. You may think that nothing I have said has changed the process, you are still doing all the exact steps as before, no more effort has been done to achieve the same result. You are absolutely right. Nothing has changed, except the way that you look at the process. By looking at the act of going to the gym as an all inclusive exercise without further follow up, your focus has shifted and made the rest of the overall process easier to evaluate.  

On a personal level, since I changed the way that I have viewed going to the gym, I’ve been able to increase my sessions with less push back from myself. Is it perfect? no, I still am able to talk myself out going sometimes, but sometimes that slinky stops half way too, and I’ve already seen that momentum. I have never met anyone who could pick up that half finished slinky run and pack it away, they want to see it finish, and so they give it that extra push. When I have gotten to the gym, not once have I turned around and gone home, although I have given myself that choice. Instead I usually say, if I say anything, is ‘Well I’m here now, I guess I can do a five minute walk on the treadmill, I can go home at any time, right’?  Then after that, ‘Well I guess I’m here I guess I can do a little bit more and it would be a shame to go home now, going home would be too much effort’. Then later it’s ‘actually I don’t feel as lazy as I used to maybe just one more of my exercises’, until finally it is, ‘Hey, I can’t believe I did all that! Good for me! Now let’s go home, I’m pooped, but in a good way’! Sometimes I even look forward to going to the gym, that would of been unthinkable before.

So the next time you are sitting down, comfortable, contemplating putting on your bunny slippers and mentally wrestling yourself out of going to the gym, just think of yourself as that slinky at the top of the stairs and give yourself that tiny push. Its amazing the way those things move!

What other motivational tips do you have to get to the gym? Do you listen to a particular playlist? Do you tell yourself something to inspire you? I would love to know to keep me going?

Please share in the comments below.

So, what’s the problem with not being active?

Not being active enough has a terrible impact on our health, and is a contributor to a range of physical and mental health illnesses. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2017 study found that where physical inactivity was a factor, one third of deaths were due to coronary heart disease (33%). The other major causes of death were dementia (18%), diabetes (16%), bowel cancer (13%) and stroke (12%).

It’s not just physical health that is impacted by lack of activity. The National Heart Foundation of Australia published a paper  referring to research that found that physical inactivity can be a modifiable risk factor in depression and an effective supplement to treatment of mild and moderate depression. The paper goes on to say that for older Australians with depression, planned and structured activity is considered an effective alternative to antidepressants.

The consequences of inactivity on society is enormous. The University of Sydney undertook a study in 2013 which estimated that the conservative cost of inactivity was A$90 billion worldwide and A$805 million in Australia alone. Of that A$805 million, A$640 million was in direct health costs while A$165 million was due to productivity losses. And it’s not just the economy, the taxpayer and employers who pay the price for our inactivity – just think about the toll on individuals and their families living with chronic illness and mental health issues. Not only do they face additional financial costs of obtaining medications and healthcare, there is often an inability to work that compounds the problem. Consider too the emotional strain of living with a loved one whose life is restricted by serious illness and the devastation of avoidable early death. Not a happy state of affairs.

How active is active enough?

What do we mean when we talk about getting active? The Department of Health has published guidelines about recommended activity levels and urge us to minimise the amount of time spent sitting down and break up periods of prolonged sitting as often as possible. The guidelines also state that any physical activity is better than none but recommends the following:

• Adults aged 18-64:
  • muscle strengthening at least 2 days per week with either;
    • 150-300 minutes (2.5 to 5 hours) of moderate intensity activity per week;
    • 75-150 minutes (1.25 to 2.5 hours) of vigorous activity per week;
    • a combination of both.
• Adults aged over 65:
  • Be physically active for 30 minutes or more each day.

How do you measure up to the recommended guidelines?

Keep a diary of what you do each day and for how long, and be honest!! If you wear an activity tracker, take a good look at the data recorded as there is a wealth of valuable information that will help you work out whether you are active enough – depending on the device worn, you may have access to information about your daily active minutes as well as steps taken, distance covered, heart rate. Do you meet these recommended guidelines?

What type of activity counts?

The Department of Health guidelines state that moderate activity involves raising your heart rate but where you can still hold a conversation while carrying out activities such as brisk walking, swimming, dancing and gardening. Vigorous activity – where it is harder to breath and makes you puff and pant – includes activities such as aerobics, running and competitive sports.

NOTE: If you have a medical condition or haven’t exercised for a long time please consult your doctor before undertaking any activity plan.

Sounds a bit daunting…where do I start?

Don’t worry, there are many simple steps you can take that will make a difference – remember, any physical activity is better than none. By all means, start small but start somewhere. You can increase the frequency, distance or duration of activity gradually to the point where you are meeting (maybe even exceeding) the recommended guidelines. Just remember to sit less and move more.

What suggestions do we have? A 5-minute internet search and a brainstorm produced these very simple but effective suggestions – and have a read and see which ones you can implement into your daily life today:

• Get off the bus one stop earlier or park a little further away
• Take the stairs instead of the lift
• Stand up on the bus/train
• Walk the dog for an extra 5 minutes
• If in a sedentary job or at home, set a timer and get up and move around at least once every hour (preferably every 30 mins)
• Use a standing desk or stand up to take phone calls
• Take a walk at lunch time
• Use an activity tracker or pedometer to see how many steps you walk each day – set a goal and increase it over time to achieve a minimum of say 10,000 per day
• Do the gardening
• Spring clean the house
• Go for a family walk after dinner
• Carry the shopping in, one bag at a time
• Take up a hobby – dancing, swimming, walking club
• Do some lower body exercises while sitting – e.g. calf raises while watching TV

How many strategies can you can come up with (Please share in the comments section below)?

You don’t have to radically change your life in one go. Set yourself a few small but achievable goals and once you have reached them, set some more challenging ones. Then repeat and repeat!! In no time at all you will be fitter, stronger, healthier and more able to live life to the fullest.

What changes can you expect to see?

You get out what you put in – the more committed you are to changing your activity levels and the longer you stick to your plan, the greater the benefit to your health and wellbeing. Don’t forget too that you will get better results when you combine increased activity with improved nutrition (a whole other topic!).

Research points to these typical changes you might see as your activity increases and your strength and fitness improves:

• Improved health indicators like lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
• Weight loss
• Reduce your risk of some cancers like lung, breast, colon and endometrial cancer
• Improved bone and muscle strength
• Improved energy levels
• Improved sleep
• Improved mood and wellbeing, reduced anxiety and depression
• Improved brain function/ concentration and productivity (increased heart rate = increased blood flow to the brain)

Even just a few changes to your lifestyle that increase your activity can make a massive difference – the risk of early death is lowered by doing 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week and people who are physically active for 7 hours a week have a 40% lower risk of dying early than those who are active for less than 30 mins a week.

The first step is often the hardest but once you have made a start, keep going! You are on the right path to a healthier, happier and longer life.

Final Take aways:

If you follow these suggestions, within a reasonable timeframe, you will be approaching the recommended guidelines to living an active lifestyle.

• Start small, introduce a few of suggestions into your daily routine today;
• Increase the number of things you do and build up gradually – think about what will you commit to. For example, if you start by taking a short, brisk walk each day, how frequently will you increase the time commitment?
• Include some muscle strengthening as well as aerobic activity.

On the Mind for Life radio show, we discussed the topic of anxiety as well as our own personal journeys dealing with it. Everyone is different and so is their experience with anxiety. We hope the following information will guide you. Although anxiety is common, it can be handled well with knowledge and support.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is more than just feeling stressed or worried. While stress is a common reaction to a situation where we feel under pressure, it usually passes once the difficult situation has passed, or ‘stressor’ is removed. Anxiety is the feeling of stress after the ‘stressor’ is gone. Anxiety is caused by a combination of factors with reactionary stress being only one of the possible causes.

What causes anxiety?

• Family history of mental health problems – Some people who experience anxiety conditions may have a genetic predisposition towards anxiety and these conditions can run in a family.
• Personality factors – Research suggests that people with certain personality traits are more likely to have anxiety. For example, children who are perfectionists, easily flustered, lack self-esteem or want to control everything, sometimes develop anxiety during childhood, adolescence or as adults.
• Ongoing stressful events – Work stress or a job change, a change in living arrangements, pregnancy and giving birth, family and relationship problems result in developing anxiety to cope with the changing conditions. trauma.
• Physical health problems – Chronic physical illness such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease can also contribute to anxiety conditions.
• Substance abuse  – Some people who experience anxiety may use alcohol or other drugs to help them manage their condition. In some cases, this leads to a substance use problem along with an anxiety condition.

What are the signs and symptoms?

There are a number if signs and symptoms that you might experience. These are not designed to provide a diagnosis, if you want to get more information, please visit your GP.

The symptoms of anxiety conditions are sometimes not all that obvious as they often develop slowly over time and given that we all experience some anxiety at various points in our lives, it can be hard to know how much is too much.

• Physical: panic attacks, hot and cold flushes, racing heart, tightening of the chest, quick breathing, restlessness, or feeling tense, wound up and edgy
• Psychological: excessive fear, worry, catastrophizing, or obsessive thinking
• Behavioural: avoidance of situations that make you feel anxious which can impact on study, work or social life

Strategies to manage your anxiety

There are a range of strategies you can try to manage your anxiety. What works is different for everyone and it can take time to find the strategies that work best for you.

1. 1. Slow your breathing. Try deliberately slowing down your breathing. Count to three as you breathe in slowly – then count to three as you breathe out slowly.
   2. Focus on the present moment. Anxiety can make your thoughts jump straight to the terrible past or to the terrible future that hasn’t happened yet. Try to bring yourself back to where you are now. Practising yoga and meditation regularly helps.
   3. Get outside and practice a healthy lifestyle. Staying active, eating well, going out into nature, spending time with family and friends and doing the activities you enjoy are all effective in reducing stress and anxiety as well as improving your wellbeing.
   4. Change your self-talk. What you say to yourself, you believe. Reframe the situation that is making you anxious, rather than jumping to the worst-case scenario. Look at the facts for and against your thought being true.
   5. Be kind to yourself. Listen to your body, if you are tired; rest. If you are hungry; treat yourself to a nutritious meal. Remember that you are not your anxiety. You are not weak. You are not inferior. You have a mental health condition. It’s called anxiety.

How can Mind for Life help me?

Anxiety is common, but the sooner people get support, the more likely they are to recover. Visit mindforlife.org.au and fill out our form, we will contact you and put you in touch with health practitioners who can assist you.

Sources: Beyondblue.com.au, The Positivity Blog, LifeinFullBloom.com, Huffington Post.

Peach-Thyme Iced Tea

So sweet! You’ll need about 8 medium fresh peaches to get the 6 cups of slices in this recipe.

Ingredients:  

1. Honey
2. fresh thyme
3. fresh or frozen peach slices
4. black tea bags
5. lemon juice, bourbon (optional)
6. thyme sprigs
7. lemon slices for garnish 

Calories: 168

Watermelon Slushi

Watermelon is high in water content, so it’s super hydrating and refreshing

Ingredients: 

1. Seedless watermelon cubes,
2. fresh lime juice,
3. honey
4. jalapeño
5. mint sprigs
6. watermelon wedge for garnish 

Calories: 126

Sparkling Pomegranate: 

Pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants than most other fruit juices. It also has three times more antioxidants than red wine and green tea. The antioxidants in pomegranate juice can help remove free radicals, protect cells from damage, and reduce inflammation.

Ingredients 

1. 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, no sugar added (or any unsweetened juice of choice)
2. 1/2 cup sparkling seltzer water
3. squeeze of one lemon wedge
4. ice 

Calories: 75

HOT PINK COOLER 

Beet juice may boost stamina to help you exercise longer, improve blood flow, and help lower blood pressure

Ingredients 

1. 1 medium beet, roasted, chilled and peeled (you can always buy whole beets already cooked in a can)
2. 1 cup 100% orange juice (freshly squeezed was used in the photo)
3. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
4. 1/2 thumb-size knob fresh ginger

Calories: 248

For traditional livestock like cattle, sheep and pigs there are countless resources on the web as well as experienced farmhands that could teach budding farmers how to take care of their animals and maximise their productivity. But for Michelle Phillips, the owner of Muswellbrook Camel Milk, that is a New South Wale’s first camel dairy farm, it was considerably more challenging to start this business.

Michelle decided to start a camel farm both because of her love of animals, describing herself as the kind of person who would ‘pull over on the side of the road and get a turtle to safety’, and due to the nationwide culling of feral camels in Australia between 2009 and 2013. While Michelle was happy that the major culls have stopped and acknowledges the damage that they caused to the environment, she was still disappointed by the treatment of
the feral animals in Australia.

Feral camels that are captured by farmers have two options available to them, be rehomed and work for the tourism industry, or be slaughtered. Ordinarily most Australian camel farmers capture their stock in the wild and domesticate them, but for Michelle her first addition to the farm was a group of camels that were being sent to an abattoir in South Australia.

‘It was just such a shame that these beautiful creatures were being destroyed.’Since 2013 the dairy had grown from just the handful of camels that were saved from the abattoir to just over one hundred strong, the two herds grazing and frolicking in a spacious paddock. Getting to that stage wasn’t easy for the passionate farmer. Because few people in Australia raise camels as a primary export finding adequate resources and training to care for camels was difficult, even on the Internet.

‘It was daunting to buy something that you don’t know anything about.’The first time she acquired meaningful experience and a true appreciation for the animals was a humble camel ride tour in Coffs Harbour, much to the surprise of the people who ran the tour.

‘There heaps of people were ring up wanting to do some work experience but they’ve never turned up.’- Michelle recalled.

In spite of these difficulties starting up, she’s managed to become a strong member of the community, with her hosting tours of the farm for the local schools and nursing homes in Muswellbrook and Denham. Dairy products have also been recognised for their substantial quality, with her farm winning gold in the 2017 Queensland Food & Wine Show for Cheese and Dairy Produce with their milk and silver for their camel haloumi. On top of being a high quality product in its own right, camel milk has the potential to help those with physical or mental disorders.The passion for her unconventional herd, the dedication to understand her livestock on her own and her connection to the community gave her the opportunity to make a product that could make a lot of people’s lives easier.

To learn more about the surprising health benefits of camel products, tune in to 100.1FM
on the 17 th of July from 12:00am.

Listen our show

If we can teach our children, they will learn a great tool to applied in their life