The Power of the Black Raspberry

Another study has been conducted to see the affects of yet another fruit, in this case the black raspberry. The black Raspberry has proven very useful and powerful as it seems that it can help prevent bowel cancer.

The black raspberry is full of antioxidants and has properties that fight cancer. The scientist's found that the black raspberry has the ability to inhibit the progression of cancer tumors. There is a specific protein that suppresses the growth of bowel tumors called?beta-catenin. ?Beta-catenin is a protein that is essential for the creation and the maintaining of human cell life.

The scientists created a freeze-dried version of black raspberries and fed it to mice that were genetically modified to have a high chance of developing bowel cancer. They found that the mice that were feed the freeze-dried black raspberries had a 60% reduced chance of developing bowel cancer. Over fifty percent is a great result. ?Also, mice that were eating the black raspberry diet has a 50% decreased chance of developing colitis, a dieses that contributes to bowel cancer. Another positive response discovered was the effect on already produced tumors. In the cases where the mice had present tumors the black Raspberry diet prevented the growth of the tumor.

The power of the Black raspberry is enormous. The black raspberry is easily accessible and native to the USA and other areas but can be easily cultivated. They are a popular fruit for many gardeners to grow. They are mid-summer fruits and are best cultivated with optimal sun exposure and water.

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Tips and ideas to help you to look forward to the festive season without worrying about your waistline

Since the supermarkets have been promoting all the Christmas goodies; mince pies, huge tins of chocolates, brandy butter, Stilton the size of a hatbox, (I could go on and on?) I've noticed that women are bracing themselves for the 'season of putting on weight'. All around me I hear women politely declining the tasty 'fattening' food in favour of the low fat, low carb, low taste options, watching their waistlines and determined not to put on the obligatory half stone by Boxing Day.

It got me thinking about just how differently I approach Christmas these days. I love the mouth watering food and thoroughly enjoy all the dinners and buffet parties, but there was a time when they filled me with dread. I'd start out determined to be good, to eat sensibly allowing myself the odd treat. I was convinced all I needed was willpower. But I never seemed to have quite enough of it and I would end up overindulging my way through Christmas knowing I'd be back on a diet by January 2nd, no excuses!

How many times have you tried to "be good" and managed pretty well for a while only to find yourself running out of willpower and "giving in"? It's usually when we're faced with dinner parties or scrumptious buffets, the 3 for 2 offer on the chocolate bars at the till in the supermarket?and last but not least: the dreaded Christmas festivities? You may think it's all due to lack of willpower, that if you could just be "stronger" and more determined you wouldn't lapse.

Well think again! It's not a question of willpower or determination; it's a proven scientific fact that depriving ourselves through dieting or 'being good' leads to overeating. Research has shown that dieting or 'being good' is totally counterproductive and that we actually end up eating more than we would have done in the first place! The concept is very simple: knowing that you can't have certain food makes them irresistible. It is also known as the "forbidden fruit theory". Well, I know that feeling very well, I have been there, done that, many, many times. But that's in the past and if you too would like to discover how to really enjoy Christmas without worrying about your waistline ? read on! How to deal with Christmas Lunch and those big slap up meals?

Manage your hunger: If you know that you are going to have a large meal and it's going to be food you like, plan to be hungry when the time comes. If you get hungry beforehand just have a snack to take the edge off your hunger. That way you'll still have plenty of room to enjoy a lovely meal. Don't be tempted to skip a meal or go hungry, you will be so ravenous by the time the big meal comes that you are likely to eat too fast. You won't enjoy it as much , you'll miss the signals that tell you when you're full and you'll end up eating too much.? Make it a feast: Choose what you want to eat, don't deprive yourself of anything, forget calories, fat, carbs, just choose the foods you really like. Eat the foods you want, not the foods you think you ought to. If you don't eat what you really want, you cannot be satisfied. Eat slowly, give yourself time to appreciate every the food, put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls. Every now and then, stop eating and ask yourself how satisfied you feel. When you have had enough, STOP!? Be kind to yourself: ? and if you end up eating anyway, don't beat yourself up or feel like a failure.

Keep working at it. The more you notice what's going on, the easier it becomes to change. It's not because you slip up once that you have to give up altogether. How to cope with buffet parties ?the ones where you keep picking at all those lovely looking mini things. If you are feeling nervous, shy, anxious, very excited or bored stiff, picking repeatedly at the food might be your usual way of easing the tension. So aim to relax and put these tips into action?? Take a good look at the buffet and then select what you are going to eat.? Choose carefully, pick your favourites. ? Put the food on a plate.? If possible, find somewhere quiet to sit, with people whose company you enjoy.? Eat mindfully, focus on the food and savour each little delicacy!

The Festive Season can be a stressful few weeks ? take some time out for yourself to relax, unwind and de-stress.? Write into to your diary several 10 or 20 minute slots when you can take time for yourself. You could have a bath, go for a walk, have a quiet cup of tea ? whatever you do, do it alone. ? If you have one of those fancy mobiles, programme these 'appointments' into the calendar and set an alarm so you won't forget. ? Find a notebook to write in and jot down your thoughts and feelings. Writing is a good way to offload.

We all need time to ourselves, by taking this time for yourself you are filling your cup which will mean you have more to give to others too. Find other ways to nourish yourself If we only ate because we are hungry it would be quite straightforward to stick to our resolve. Fact is, we eat for lots of other reasons too. Eating is a very useful way to avoid feelings and difficult situations, and Christmas is full of these! So, when you find yourself reaching for food and you know you're not hungry, see if you can stop for just one minute and see what's going on ? are you stressed out because your whole family has descended are you tired from doing too much or feeling lonely and left out? whatever it is, give yourself a couple of minutes to acknowledge what you're feeling and see if you can respond to the real need, which you know the food won't satisfy anyway: take 5 minute break from it all, ask someone for a hand, you don't have to do it all yourself, call a friend for a chat...

By Sophie Boss Author of Beyond Chocolate: How to stop yo-yo dieting and lose weAll rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.

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100-year-old marathon runner aims for record

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Dame Joan claims lack of respect for elderly stems from decline in Sunday school

Dame Joan Bakewell, 78, claimed kindness, empathy and generosity were “in short supply” and blamed a shift in attitude in a society which had become “quite cruel”.

The broadcaster’s comments came following a new report this week which said elderly patients in half of NHS hospitals were not being properly fed or cared for because of a lack of “compassion”.

Research by the health watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that too often staff paid more attention to paperwork than to those they should be looking after.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Dame Joan said: “I think….religious commitment to charity and kindness has declined. Nobody learns that. They don’t learn it in their homes, they don’t learn it in their school, it’s seen as soft.

“It’s not what you’re about. You’re meant to stand up for your own individual personality, make your way in the world and good luck to you.

“Kindness, empathy, generosity, are all in short supply and people used to learn it from the churches, I learnt it at Sunday school. Where do you learn it now? I don’t know.”

Dame Joan was appointed Voice of Older People by Harriet Harman in 2008 in order to listen to the views of the elderly and raise their concerns with the authorities.

She stood down from the unpaid role in 2010 but remains a champion for the elderly on issues such as pensions, social care and retirement age.

CQC researchers carried out spot checks at geriatric wards in 100 hospitals and found that 35 needed to make improvements, 18 were failing to meet legal standards and there were “major concerns” at two trusts.

Its report is the latest to conclude that pensioners, who account for almost half of in-patients, are routinely denied the most basic care because of a culture of neglect among staff.

In some places, elderly patients were left rattling their bed rails or hitting water jugs on tables to attract nurses’ attention.

Asked to explain why unacceptable standards of care highlighted in the report, including nurses ignoring patients’ calls for assistance, had become standard in some trusts, she told the Today programme: “Medicine has got more technical of course, and more complicated and nurses are used much more by doctors for the back up of highly technical stuff so they need training in technical medicine which they didn’t used to need.

“What they need now is training in empathy, in how to sympathise with people, in how to behave.

“I think seminars in which ward staff are required to act out what it feels like to be someone who is old and be treated in this way would help, I mean people need lessons now.”

She added: “On the whole our society is quite cruel. We care about money, we care about fame, we care about success.”

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Health reform: the economics of the madhouse, the care regime of the almshouse

Foxhunting was once described by Oscar Wilde as “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable”. In the case of the former defence secretary, the quest has proved nobler and the quarry easier to swallow alive. Those chasing Liam Fox have uncovered such a grisly diaspora of rich lobbyists that critics hope the sacrificial feast will feature not only roasted Fox but a kebabbed prime minister.

Sir Gus O’Donnell’s report should offer a damning verdict on the activities of Dr Fox and his best friend, Adam Werritty, the human dynamo driving an unsavoury shadow foreign policy. Others, too, have questions to answer, not least Sir Gus, given the unexplained failure of senior civil servants to raise the alarm over the ubiquitous Mr Werritty. Nor is Labour ideally placed to preach after taking funding from Cellcrypt, a company central to the Fox allegations.

Although the Fox fiasco will cement the mistrust with which voters view politicians, David Cameron is likely to emerge unbattered. With worsening growth forecasts, soaring unemployment and today’s inflation figures making little impact on Kevlar Cameron, the bombshells unveiled by Operation Werritty are unlikely to dent the PM’s body armour.

Mr Cameron, however, is not invulnerable. Within his ranks is a minister with the capacity to destroy him and bring down his Government. This potential assassin lurks not on the Europhobic Right, nor in the liberal fringes, nor yet among freelance schemers. The PM’s likely nemesis is the loyal and stolid figure of Andrew Lansley.

If being attacked by Geoffrey Howe was like being savaged by a dead sheep, as Denis Healey claimed, then expunction by Mr Lansley is akin to finding oneself annihilated by a lightly sedated basset hound. The lugubrious but diligent Health Secretary is not after Mr Cameron’s job. Many think him lucky to be clinging to his own. His mutant health Bill, mangled by changes, is likely to limp on to the statute book after the Lords last week failed to put it out of its misery. It would have been better for Mr Cameron had they succeeded.

Some disputed issues, such as competition and the accountability of the Secretary of State, will be resolved after the Bill reaches committee stage in the Lords a week today. Even so, the giant quango that will administer the new system sits uneasily with decentralisation, as does an overload of bureaucracy (what, exactly, is a clinical senate for?). The impossibility of combining expensive restructuring with unprecedented savings should alone be enough to alert the PM to trouble ahead.

None of the above is, however, necessarily terminal. The existential (and little-noted) threat to the NHS lies in the worsening betrayal of the ageing population. Within 20 years, the number of people over 80 in Britain will double. This is no country for the old, with the Care Quality Commission revealing that half of English hospitals have left their elderly patients hungry, thirsty and stripped of dignity. Too many care homes are also offering a brutal limbo between life and death. While that lack of compassion is rightly arousing public fury, the need to treat elderly people better is also about hard-nosed economics.

When the NHS was founded, social care was hived off as a safety-net service reflecting the notion, entrenched since the Middle Ages and implicit in the Poor Law of 1834, that families and volunteers would fill the gap. Now, with 1.7?million more adults likely to need help at home by 2030, the system is at breaking point.

The estimate by the King’s Fund think tank that local authorities face a £1.2? billion social care shortfall in the next few years reflects a grim reality. Those judged sick or demented or poor enough to qualify for help get 15 minutes of assistance, during which a carer must feed, wash, console and nurture a confused or frightened pensioner before dashing on. The travelling time between appointments is often unpaid, leaving carers, many of whom are over-worked or under-qualified or both, being paid the equivalent of about £3.50 an hour.

Enter Andrew Dilnot, the economist who, after years of government dithering, finally produced a package greeted by all political parties as the last best chance to create a durable settlement. Measures include a cap of £35,000 on personal liability for care costs, with encouragement to take out private insurance to meet that bill, and a more generous means test for state support, raised from £23,250 in savings and assets to £100,000. That deal, heralded only months ago as the route to a more integrated system of health and social care, might now be sliding towards oblivion.

While (yet more) consultation goes on, with a White Paper due next spring, many are beginning to despair. Although Dilnot is said to be “bullish”, one campaigner reports “grave doubts as to whether Andrew Lansley is behind it”. George Osborne is said to be likely, even certain, to refuse the £1.7? billion state investment required by Dilnot. Without the explicit backing of the Treasury and an enthusiasm that Mr Cameron has failed to evince, the plan has almost zero chance of success.

The political cost of dumping Dilnot would be high. Labour’s effete opposition has been galvanised with the comeback of the former health secretary, Andy Burnham, and the shadow cabinet promotion of the impressive Liz Kendall, both of whom are powerful advocates for social care.

Mr Cameron’s greater problem is that, without a fair deal for the elderly, the NHS cannot ultimately survive. As Richard Humphries, of the King’s Fund, says: “No reforms will make the NHS work properly without sorting out social care funding.” Or, as Kendall puts it, social care erosion “is what’s going to make the NHS fall over”.

The consequences are simple. If people cannot cope, they will inevitably end up, in ever greater numbers, in long-stay hospital beds. Each £1 spent on help at home saves the NHS £4, yet the massive annual health spend of £49? billion on older people includes just £9?billion on social care. The economics of the madhouse are now conjoined with the care regime of the almshouse. That combination may test the NHS and this Prime Minister to destruction.

Much as Mr Cameron may seem unsullied by his Government’s travails, he cannot disassociate himself from the fortunes of a health service that he pledged to protect. Voters who heard him speak of the debt his family owes the NHS are unlikely to forgive a calamity incubated on his watch. Perhaps the PM does not yet sense the danger, since his past eagerness to embrace huskies and hoodies has seemed unmatched by an enthusiasm for granny-hugging. Does anyone even recall a Cameron speech about the elderly?

The PM will pay dearly for such oversights. A cold winter looms, and, only six months into a four-year austerity drive, the fissures in the health service are widening. Mr Cameron may discover soon that the danse macabre that beckons for the NHS will make the defence imbroglio look like a foxtrot in the park.

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Your DIY bootcamp

It might seem impossible to get the boot camp experience and all its benefits at home.

But all you need is the right diet and exercise regime, not forgetting the most important part plenty of self-discipline.

The change in body shape after a boot camp can be extraordinary, says Spencer Cuckney, founder of the Fitwoman Boot Camp.

But theres no reason why people cant see similar results at home by following an intensive exercise and diet plan, provided that its properly devised.

We asked three of Britains best boot camps to help create the ultimate DIY regime that you can follow at home.

Follow this plan correctly for a week and you could up to lose half a stone.

The Exercise Programme

Circuit training is perfect for people who want to exercise at home with no equipment, says Staff Landen from New You Boot Camp.

If you're short of time, do his high energy workout, combining cardiovascular exercise with strength training, which burns calories fast and tones muscle. It takes 30 minutes and should be done everyday, before breakfast or dinner. It can also be broken into two 15-minute chunks.

Over the seven days you should also try to be more active by walking more, taking stairs rather than lifts and fitting in little exercises where you can.

Warm-Up - This should leave you feeling slightly out of breath. For three minutes, staying on the spot, either power walk (swinging the arms) or jog. Fitter people can run up and down stairs.

The Circuit - Perform each move for 60 seconds then repeat the entire circuit.

(1) Squats - Stand in front of a chair with your feet hip-widthapart. Tighten your stomach muscles as you bend your knees and slowly squat towards the chair. Keep the knees behind the toes and sit on thechair for a few seconds. Then contract your bottom and legs and lift yourself out back into a standing position. Repeat. To make this harder, perform it without the chair and hold position.

(2) Stomach crunches - Lie downwith knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hands placed on the back ofyour head. Tighten your stomach by drawing your belly button towards your spine. Gently lift your head, followed by shoulders, and pull up from the floor about half way. Hold for a second then slowly lower backdown. You can make this harder by extending your arms straight out behind your head, and even holding a water bottle.

(3) Static lunge - Stand withright foot forward, left foot back, about 3ft apart. Bend knees tolower body towards the floor. Keep front knee behind toes and be sure to lower straight down rather than forward. Keep the body straight and stomach in. Then push on the front heel back to the starting position. Do 30 seconds, then switch legs. Make this tougher by holding a water bottle or light weight in each hand.

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(4) Skipping - If you don't have a rope don't worry you can do this without and it is just as effective. For a more advanced exercise, try increasing your speed.

(5) Stair running - If you don't have stairs you can run on the spot for one minute at 70% of your maximum speed. Be careful if you are using stairs not to trip.

(6) Tricep dip - Stand infront of a chair with your back to it. Place your hands on the chair, slightly closer than shoulder-width apart, with palms down and knuckles facing forward. Knees should be bent with legs at 90 degrees. Now lower your body and bum by bending at the elbows. Count to two then straighten your arms and push your body back up.

(7) Bicycle abs - Lie on yourback with hands behind your head. Bring knees in towards the chest and lift shoulders off the ground. Straighten left leg out while turning upper body to the right, bringing left elbow towards the right knee. Goto start position, repeat, switching sides, bringing right elbow to left knee.

(8) Stars jumps - Stand upright with feet together, knees soft and arms at your sides. Jump so your legs are wide apart, extending arms outwards and upwards simultaneously. Land on bent knees and repeat. Increase speed.

(9) Back Extensions - Lie face down and place hands on the floor. Contract stomach muscles and keep them contracted throughout. Squeeze the back to lift chest a few inches off the floor. Hold, then return to floor and repeat.

(10) Plank - Lie on yourstomach. Raise the body by placing elbows on the ground, beneath your shoulders, and lifting legs by going onto your toes. Body should be in a straight line with only elbows and toes touching the ground. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat twice.

Remember to now REPEAT all 10 exercises

Cool down - Two-minute power walk or jog on the spot.

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Pregnancy Massage with Hot & Cold Stones

An innovative new treatment is about to nourish the newly pregnant woman in the UK. For the fist time, there is a credible hot and cold stone Pregnancy and Post Labour treatment available.

Pregnancy massage has been around for a while now, but the difference with this treatment is that it uses temperature and stones to help alleviate those all too ghastly symptoms. There is a list as long as your arm as to why a therapist needs to approach their client with the upmost caution, however the main areas of concern are associated with DVT and overheating due to hormonal changes and increase in blood supply.

Usually most women will suffer some kind of condition during Pregnancy. The most common case is back pain, sacroiliac pain, piriformis syndrome or other musculoskeletal pain. Hormones also relax ligaments and can lead to possible joint misalignment. Other discomforts during Pregnancy are Oedema and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Now, being massaged with hot and cold stones, Women can get amazing benefits from the temperature being supplied by the stones. For example, heat immediately relaxes and relieves muscle spasm, carpal and myofascial pain and relieves stress from the weight-baring joints; whilst cold relieves pain, reduces water retention, stimulating the lymph function and reduces inflammation around the joints.

To give you a typical treatment example, let's take one of the most common conditions, Piriformis Syndrome. This is a compression syndrome of the Sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. The Sciatic nerve passes through the greater Sciatic Foramen, usually passing deep and inferior to the Piriformis muscle. This muscle is deep in the buttocks and is small but it provides a lot of work for the Pelvis and becomes very sore and tender during pregnancy. In a typical stone treatment, the woman lies in side line, and the therapist will work on the thigh and sacral area, with alternating hot and cold stones with a particular technique which releases the muscles around the pelvic and gives the Sciatic nerve and blood vessels space to recover. The massage is not deep and is not long, therefore the client will not fatigue.

JSS will only teach professional, qualified stone therapists. Research has been on-going now for the past seven years and countless women have experienced this treatment to provide JSS with the knowledge required to present it as one of their leading treatments.

All therapists wanting to learn this treatment will be taught how to provide emotional support to a mother through the full term of pregnancy, learning what exactly happens during this period, how to take blood pressure; cover high risk pregnancy & contra-indications, hormonal changes, relevant anatomy & pathology, advanced stone massage techniques and post-labour recovery plus much more.

By Debbie Thomas Teacher in Stone TherapyAll rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.

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Our Skin the Outer Lung

In Chinese medicine the skin is an outer lung, It breathes in and out through tiny little perforations much like a teabag. It is a large organ and is constantly regenerating and In humans 30% of our bodily waste comes out through our skin. Often this outer lung reflects what is going on inside, eczema often is linked to asthma and a skin eruption can be a sign that something is coming out and this can be a physical symptom bought on by stress and tension.

The importance of what is put on the skin is clear. This is a living organ reflecting our whole being and is not only to ourselves but also to others a sign of how we are feeling. To be able to read the signals is a useful tool – eye problems often relate to a weakness in the liver, ear problems to kidneys, skin to lungs. Careful essential oil and herbal selection can help to draw impurities out of the skin and there is no finer example of this than chickweed (Stellaria media) which helps draw out itchy eczema and bring relief to sufferers from irritation. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) applied afterwards is the great healer of broken skin and will leave it feeling smooth and soft again. Gernaium essential oil (Pelargonium graveolens) added to either or both of these infusions would enhance the healing process with its cooling and moistening properties.

For both humans and animals it is wise to put together preparations for the skin that are tailor made for them. That way you can ensure the essential oils and herbal preparations are sourced with integrity and therapy quality. As one of our largest organs the creams, ointments, lotions, gels put on this breathing organ should be selected with due care to the individual requirements. For animals this is of even greater importance as they can not easily communicate if the selection is inappropriate.

The skin is one of two ways that essential oils can get into the bloodstream and travel around the body and it is also a giant organ of elimination. The skin is semi permeable and allows certain substances to pass out but also can absorb things through its pores. Essential oils can pass through the skin because their molecular structure is small and simple. The essential oil particles pass into the fluid that bathes every cell of the body and from there into the lymph ducts and into the blood stream. In this way the essential oils pass into the general circulation and travel around the body to do their own particular job.

Careful essential oil selection can help all manner of skin problems like eczema, acne which can occur if the kidneys and colon are maybe not working as efficiently as they should because they are then pushing out more toxins than the skin can deal with. Essential oils like lavender and geranium, cedarwood, sandalwood, rose, grapefruit and of course chamomile all can play a major role in helping the skin work efficiently to get rid of toxins and balance out our systems.

With first quality essential oils one can put together preparations that can heal the skin from inside out and ensure that this vital organ can work to the best of its ability for us and our four legged friends. Bespoke body shampoos, massage oils chosen with care and attention to the unique properties of the essential oils can help us breathe efficiently through both our lungs for good health.

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Sir Patrick Stewart: ignore 'selfish' critics of assisted dying

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Find your happy weight in 2010

Find your happy weight in 2010 - mirror.co.uk Fantasy Football (YTM) Classic Football Pools Shop (Cashback) Bingo Diets Dating Lotto Photos Cash4PhonesLondonMin:3°CMax:6°Cmirror.co.uk Search Mirror.co.uk Site Map Tags RSS  HomeNewsNews Top 10sTop StoriesLatestPolitics blogColumnistsWeird WorldWeatherCityTopicsTechnologyPicturesSportFootballFantasy FootballFootball SpyColumnistsRacingMotorsportBoxingMMA BlogBasketballDartsRugby LeagueFourth Down BlogCycling BlogTopicsTop 10sCelebs3amCeleb Top 10sLatestTopicsCelebs NewsFestivalsCelebs On SundayColumnistsPicturesTV & EntertainmentBig BrotherTV ListingsTVFilmThe TicketTopicsFilm TrailersFilm NewsSoap NewsMusic NewsDancing On IceLife & StyleDatingHoroscopesReal LifeDietingSex & HealthFashionFamilyMirror PhotosCashbackOffersAdviceHomesMotoringSex DoctorCredit CrunchDr MiriamMirror InvestigatesMoneyJobsChristmas GiftsTV DealsHome EntertainmentTravelOpinionKerber & Black cartoonsBlogsColumnistsVoice of the MirrorFun & GamesCompetitionsCrosswordsFantasy FootballBingoLottoScorerSudokuCartoonsCasinoVideo Games/CheatsVideoNewsSportCelebsFilm Trailers Hot Topics Madeleine McCann Simon Cowell Big Brother Dancing On Ice Tiger Woods All Topics... Find your happy weight in 2010By Caroline Jones11/01/2010

Faddy diets don't make you happy, so follow the latest American health trend and ditch impossible targets and aim for the body nature meant you to have - and love it. here' how...

Every woman has one. If you dont know what yours is, youll know youve reached it when youre comfortable with your body and dont beat yourself up over every diet mistake.

Were talking about finding your happy weight the size nature intended you to be.Most of us struggle to get back to the super-slim size we were at 20 or on our wedding day. But do we really need to drop that low?

The truth, experts say, is you can weigh more than your so-called dream weight and still be healthy. And you can look and feel better than at a too-teeny size.

Your happy weight explained..

Were not talking about the kind of unrealistic target that can only be achieved bystarving yourself and spending eight hours a day in the gym.

Your happy weight will strike a balance between being healthy and feeling great without being a slave to dieting, says nutritionist Linda Foster. For example your dream dress size may be a size 8, but your happy weight size a 12 or14.

Just as we tend to underestimate how much we really eat when asked, we generally overestimate how much weight is realistic for us to lose.

According to Linda, this inevitably leads to frustration and disappointment when we dont succeed.

The10% rule

For most women, though, reaching your happy weight means losing only 10% of your total body weight. Your weight is naturally regulated to stay within a narrow range, changing only around 10% up and down at different times in your life.

This is usually a fixed range, says Linda, but overeating or lack of exercise can override the system, meaning your body adjusts to the higher weight and resets itself to stay within a new, heavier range.

Luckily,a few tweaks and lifestyle changes can have the opposite effect resetting your weight range to its original lighter and healthier point.

Doing the maths

If youre currently overweight, the easiest way to work out your happy weight is to take off around 10%. So if you weigh 10 stone, just shifting one stone is about right. If you fall into the category of obese (your body mass index is over 30) losing 10% is a good start, but set further goals once youve reached this initial target.

When you have your number, ask yourself if thats a day-to-day weight youd feel pretty good at. In other words, being this weight may not be enough to get you into the jeans your wore at 18 but youd have a big smile on your face nonetheless.

Howto get back on track

Those new year resolutions may be proving a little ambitious as you reach for the comfort foods in the cold snap, but weve got plenty of tricks to get you back on track.

Too late for  regrets

Theres no point in dwelling on the overeating you did over Christmas as whats done is done. Believe in your ability to get back on track and feel positive.

Beat the bloat

Losing retained water is the easiest and quickest way to get your weight loss restarted. Over the last few weeks youll probably have been eating lots of salty snacks. Give them the heave-ho and you could easily say goodbye to a couple of pounds of water weight too.

Lighter leftovers

Turkey is a low-fat filling food, whatever the season.Try it in casseroles, soups and tomato-based dishes, rather than pies or creamy risottos and curries.

Think about it

Youve probably drowned out your hunger cues by ploughing your way through an enormous Christmas dinner and mindlessly snacking while in front of the TV. Get reacquainted by stopping halfway through a meal and assessing how full you actually feel. Do you really need to eat any more or are you already sufficiently full?

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Get moving

Go for brisk winter walks. Wrap up, put your wellies on and get moving for at least an hour a day to get weight loss started

Reinstate breakfast

Lie-ins and disrupted eating patterns over the holidays can mean breakfast gets ditched.

But for regulating your appetite and avoiding over-eating later in the day, it really is the most important meal of the day. Opt for filling porridge or poached eggs.

The happy weight dos and don'ts

Make these rules a way of life and a body you feel good about will follow

Do

Throw out the scales: Weighing yourself daily can become an obsession judge your weight by how your body looks and feels in clothes.

Enjoy treats: A bar of chocolate or a glass of wine are part of lifes pleasures, but do limit to one every other day.

Listen to your body halfway through each meal. Put your knife and fork down and using a one-to-10 scale rate your level of fullness. This will help increase your awareness of when its time to stop.

Eat healthily five days a week and give yourself two days off at the weekend.

Watch portion sizes: At lunch or dinner your serving of meat or fish should be no bigger than the palm of your hand, carbs no more than a fistful, and the rest of your plate should be filled with vegetables.

Walk somewhere, every day: Gym routines are hard to maintain and membership can be pricey, but making your daily routine naturally more active is what counts when it comes to maintaining your happy weight long-term.

Dont

Ban any foods from your diet: Denying yourself a treat will lead to binge eating.

Count every calorie: Youll stop enjoying your food.

Fill your trolley with diet foods: The idea of being on a diet is a temporary mind-state and you want to be making small lifestyle changes that will last a life time.

EVER starve yourself: Studies show if you allow yourself to get over-hungry before you eat, youre more likely to consume excessive amounts.

Cut out all fat: Eating fat can actually help you lose weight as its so filling it can help control overeating. Plus, fat helps to maintain blood sugar balance, resulting in fewer cravings and mood swings. But do stick to healthy,unsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil and oily fish such as salmon.

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People who work after retiring enjoy better health, according to national study

Retirees who transition from full-time work into a temporary or part-time job experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether, according to a US national study. And the findings were significant even after controlling for people's physical and mental health before retirement.

The study's authors refer to this transition between career and complete retirement as "bridge employment," which can be a part-time job, self-employment or a temporary job. The findings are reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.

"Given the economic recession, we will probably see more people considering post-retirement employment," said co-author Mo Wang, PhD, of the University of Maryland. "These findings highlight bridge employment's potential benefits."

For this study, Wang and his fellow researchers looked at the national Health and Retirement Study, which is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. They used data from 12,189 participants who were between the ages of 51 and 61 at the beginning of the study. The participants were interviewed every two years over a six-year period beginning in 1992 about their health, finances, employment history, and work or retirement life.

In order to measure the respondents' health over the course of the study, the researchers considered only physician-diagnosed health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke and psychiatric problems. They controlled not only for baseline physical and mental health but also for age, sex, education level, and total financial wealth. The results showed the retirees who continued to work in a bridge job experienced fewer major diseases and fewer functional limitations than those who fully retired.

The participants answered a basic mental health questionnaire. The findings showed that people whose post-retirement jobs were related to their previous careers reported better mental health than those who fully retired. However, these mental health improvements were not found among people who worked in jobs outside their career field post-retirement. The authors say this may be because retirees who take jobs not related to their career field may need to adapt to a different work environment or job conditions and, therefore, become more stressed. Also, Wang has found retirees with financial problems are more likely to work in a different field after they officially retire.

"Rather than wanting to work in a different field, they may have to work," said Wang. "In such situations, it's difficult for retirees to enjoy the benefits that come with bridge employment." The authors suggest that, when possible, retirees carefully consider their choice of post-retirement employment.

"Choosing a suitable type of bridge employment will help retirees transition better into full retirement and in good physical and mental health," said co-author Kenneth Shultz, PhD, adding that employers who are concerned about a labour shortage due to numerous baby boomers retiring might consider bridge employment options for their retirees.

By David Fewster - Worldwidehealth Editor All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.

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Calcium supplements: the benefits and the risks

Are calcium supplements the best thing since sliced bread? That seems to be the message from research published last week. The study of more than 40,000 older women found calcium was the only supplement to reduce the risk of dying early. Multivitamins, iron, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, copper and zinc all increased the risk.

The study has its weaknesses – it’s possible that women were taking supplements because they had illnesses that caused them to die early – but it does highlight the scarcity of research into dietary supplements, now taken daily by about one third of the UK population.

Calcium supplements seem especially popular, often being prescribed (along with vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium) for the estimated 3 million people with osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) as well as being taken by healthy women who wish to keep their bones strong. Yet research published in the BMJ this year came up with rather different results from last week’s study.

The BMJ analysis, which involved nearly 17,000 women, found that taking daily calcium supplements of 1g (plus vitamin D) increases the risk of heart attacks by 20 per cent.

That may sound dramatic, but looked at another way, the supplements would cause an extra six heart attacks or strokes for every 1,000 women taking them for five years.

In the same group, supplements would prevent three fractures, suggesting that more women would be harmed than would benefit.

Researchers aren’t sure why calcium supplements might increase the risk of a heart attack, but it’s possible that they contribute to hardening of the arteries, or encourage blood clots.

According to Dr Claire Bowring, of the National Osteoporosis Society, the jury is still out on the safety of calcium supplements, with studies giving different results. She questions whether most women need calcium supplements, arguing that diet is usually adequate.

“Supplementation may be warranted for people who can’t get enough calcium from the diet,” she said. “And people with osteoporosis are at increased risk of painful and debilitating fractures, so this needs to be considered alongside any risks.”

But more calcium is not necessarily the answer. Another BMJ study of 60,000 women found that just 700mg of calcium a day – the level recommended for adults and slightly over the amount in a pint of milk – was enough to protect them from bone loss. Boosting calcium beyond this level had no extra benefit.

Ursula Arens, from the British Dietetic Association, argues that calcium supplements taken in later years may not have much effect. “Most of the deposition of calcium in the bones happens during the teenage years so it’s important to get enough calcium when you’re young. For women, whose bones weaken after the menopause, increasing your consumption of calcium after this point is pretty much leaving it too late.”

While 700mg of calcium is enough for adults, this rises to 800 milligrams per day for teenage boys, and 1,000 for teenage girls. Low fat milk and cheese are good sources, as are leafy green vegetables, nuts, sardines and pilchards. Adequate vitamin D intake – mainly triggered by sunlight on the skin but also found in oily fish – is also crucial for healthy bones, as is physical activity.

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A bland Socialist, Francois Hollande, is an unlikely opponent for France's unpopular president, says Henry Samuel.

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Exercise and Mediterranean-type diet combined associated with lower risk for Alzheimer's

New York, USA - Both being more physically active and adhering to a Mediterranean-type diet appears to be associated with reduced Alzheimer's risk, according to a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

While previous studies have only investigated the association between either physical activity or diet and Alzheimer's disease risk separately, this new research explored their combined association.

"Often times people who exercise also follow a healthy diet and vice versa. We wanted to tease out which of these two behaviours may be associated with lower risk for AD, or if the combination of the two is associated with decreased risk even further," said Nikos Scarmeas, M.D., lead author of the study and associate professor of clinical neurology in the Department of Neurology, in the Sergievsky Centre and in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Centre.

This population-based study in a multi-ethnic community living in Northern Manhattan, observed 1880 elderly subjects, with an average age of 77. The participants were interviewed about their level of physical activity and dietary habits, and their responses were then summarized into two single scores. The study subjects were then followed to observe which subjects went on to develop Alzheimer's over the course of approximately five and a half years.

To learn about their physical exercise routine, participants were queried about their activity during a two-week period prior to the interview. The subjects were asked to quantify how many times they engaged in physical activity and for how long. Participants were queried regarding three categories of activities: vigorous activity (i.e., jogging etc), moderate activity (i.e., hiking, bicycling, etc), and light activity (i.e., golfing, gardening, etc).

For the dietary portion of the study, subjects were asked regarding their food consumption over the course of the previous year. Their responses were then grouped into nine food categories, the sum of which represented the Mediterranean-type diet score. A Mediterranean-type diet is typically characterized by high intake of fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals and monounsaturated fatty acids; relatively low intake of dairy products, meats and saturated fats; and moderate alcohol consumption.

The study found that those subjects who were very physically active had a 33 percent risk reduction of Alzheimer's; those who adhered more strongly to a Mediterranean-type diet had a 40 percent risk reduction. In addition, Dr. Scarmeas and his colleagues found that there was a gradual decreasing risk for Alzheimer's in study participants who were reporting that they were both exercising a lot and following a diet closer to the Mediterranean-type: those subjects had a 60 percent reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

"So it seemed that the more that they were doing in terms of both diet and exercise, the lower was their risk for the disease," said Dr. Scarmeas.

Dr. Scarmeas further noted that even low degrees of physical activity reported by these elderly study subjects seemed to be associated with having a protective effect against Alzheimer's

"This study is important because it shows that people may be able to alter their risk of developing Alzheimer's by modifying their lifestyles through diet and exercise," said Dr. Scarmeas.

Dr. Scarmeas cautions, however, that this was an observational, epidemiological study - based on interviews with study subjects on their physical activity routines and dietary habits. Therefore, the associations were based on what subjects reported and no randomized interventions were done. Only a clinical trial type of design would offer additional information to help clarify the role of these behaviours and reveal other potential contributing factors.

"We know that some part of Alzheimer's is related to genetic changes and as time goes on we discover more and more of these changes. But it is also possible that non-genetic changes, including lifestyle and behaviour, may also be affecting our brain health and our risk of developing brain diseases, like Alzheimer's, maybe in combination with our genetic predisposition," said Dr. Scarmeas. "We need to understand and learn more about the exact biological mechanisms that may connect physical activity and diet with the biological changes of Alzheimer's disease."

"Since the benefits of following a healthy diet and remaining active have already been suggested as beneficial in other disease prevention and since based on the present and other similar studies we have some preliminary hints that this may also be helpful for brain health, it seems advisable that we emphasize not only to patients, but to healthy individuals, too, the importance of these lifestyle behaviours in affecting our overall health," said Dr. Scarmeas.

By David Fewster - Worldwidehealth Editor All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.

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High fructose corn syrup: A recipe for hypertension

A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent hypertension.

Over the last 200 years, the rate of fructose intake has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, which has increased sharply in the last 20 years since the introduction of HFCS. Today, Americans consume 30% more fructose than 20 years ago and up to four times more than 100 years ago, when obesity rates were less than 5%. While this increase mirrors the dramatic rise in the prevalence of hypertension, studies have been inconsistent in linking excess fructose in the diet to hypertension.

Diana Jalal, MD (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center), and her colleagues studied the issue in a large representative population of US adults. They examined 4,528 adults 18 years of age or older with no prior history of hypertension. Fructose intake was calculated based on a dietary questionnaire, and foods such as fruit juices, soft drinks, bakery products, and candy were included. Dr. Jalal's team found that people who ate or drank more than 74 grams per day of fructose (2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) increased their risk of developing hypertension. Specifically, a diet of more than 74 grams per day of fructose led to a 28%, 36%, and 87% higher risk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg, respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)

"These results indicate that high fructose intake in the form of added sugars is significantly and independently associated with higher blood pressure levels in the US adult population with no previous history of hypertension," the authors concluded. Additional studies are needed to see if low fructose diets can normalize blood pressure and prevent the development of hypertension.

Study co-authors include Richard Johnson, MD, Gerard Smits, PhD, and Michel Chonchol, MD (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center). Dr. Richard Johnson reports a conflict of interest as the author of "The Sugar Fix". The authors report no other financial disclosures.

By David Fewster - Worldwidehealth Editor All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact.

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Spa Spy: Curtain Bluff, Antigua

The spa Set on the Antiguan shoreline, Curtain Bluff is the ultimate Caribbean escape. Celebrities have long been enamoured with its exquisite service and setting – Eric Clapton and Giorgio Armani are fans – but guests come for its feel of home from home, not for a trendy holiday spot. Set high above the shore is the hotel’s large new spa. With a cool, clean Balinese decor, this decadent space provides pure calm.

Spa Spy’s symptoms Knotted aching shoulders and sharp pain in the back, thanks to hours on the computer, and stress caused by a serious illness in the family.

The prescription Ultimate de-stresser massage, which claims to offer deep relaxation and increased circulation (£85).

The procedure Spy’s therapist, the lovely Wayan, made sure that optimum comfort had been obtained, and consulted with Spy about the desired strength of massage. Spy decided to go for a firm dose of de-stressing. Wayan expertly relieved the tightness and tension in Spy’s back, and released almost agonising levels of tension in Spy’s calves. Every inch was tended to in the most delightful way.

The verdict Hitting new levels of zen, Spy was invited to relax in the spa’s gorgeous communal area. With an infinity Jacuzzi pool overlooking the Caribbean, a complimentary bar and sun loungers to flop in while gazing at the magnificent view, Curtain Bluff has created the most perfect space to leave your everyday life far, far behind.

The medical opinion Dr Max Pemberton says: “Back pain is a very common complaint. The spine is a complex structure made up from bone, cartilage, muscle, fascia and nerves and pain can originate in any of these. There are numerous causes and ongoing back pain warrants a medical opinion. A British Medical Journal study showed that massage, especially from an experienced therapist, can provide short-term relief. And pressure point massage may be more beneficial compared to traditional massage.”

The feelgood factor Each treatment room has its own balcony set on the clifftop. There is no better therapy than the soothing sound of the Caribbean waves – and Curtain Bluff provides this in spades. The hotel is framed by picture-perfect beaches. One, the calm beach, is perfect for sunbathing and swimming. The other, known as surf beach, is where the hotel’s airy rooms and suites are situated.

Details Stay seven nights for the price of six from £2,595 per person – a saving of £600 per couple. Price is based on two persons sharing a deluxe room on an all-inclusive basis, economy flights from London Gatwick with British Airways including transfers. Based on November 19, 2011 departure. Offer valid from November 13 to December 18, 2011. For further information, contact Elegant Resorts Reservations on 01244 897 515 or see www.elegantresorts.co.uk

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Your 12 diet days of Christmas

It's hardly surprising the average woman puts on a whopping five pounds over the festive season, according to the British Dietetic Association. But with more parties to come, don't resign yourself to looking like a Christmas pudding on New Years' Eve, take some hints from our great diet

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me... 

A partridge in a pear tree.. 

Over-indulging at Christmas leaves many of us more pear-shaped than wed like. Squats really give results, says Joanna Percival, who specialises in womens fitness. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and your arms by your sides.Slowly stick your bottom out and gently bend your knees to no lower than 90degrees. Raise your arms in front to. help you balance and squeeze your glutes as you come back up to standing.  

2 Turtle doves.. 

A close relative of the dove is the turkey and you usually end up with plenty of leftovers from your Christmas roast. The good news is that without the skin,turkey is one of lowest-fat sources of protein around there are about 186calories in a 120g serving. 

But leave the sauce and gravy out this time. Instead stick a thin slice on top of a slice of wholemeal bread and smear with mustard for a healthy 250-calorie open sandwich. 

3 French hens.. 

Liketurkey, chicken is a great source of protein and will leave you feeling fuller for longer. 

Achicken drumstick contains about 230 calories and you can save another 50 calories by removing the skin. 

But say no to chicken nuggets, which are packed with around 26.5 grams fat pernine-piece serving, and often contain very little meat. Fried chicken should also be off the menu as it has double the fat of baked chicken. 

Instead keep chicken lean and grilled, add diced chicken to salads to make them more satisfying and keep a pot of low-calorie chicken broth bubbling on the stove to keep you full.  

4 Calling birds.. 

AfterChristmas, youre bound to be catching up with old friends on the phone. Butrather than slumping on the sofa while you chat, you could be burning as many as 50 calories during a 10-minute call, says Joanna. 

Even if its just walking around, keep moving. Knee raises are also good for thephone. Just bend and lift the knee in front of the body try 20 before swapping legs. 

To work the hamstrings and lift saggy bums, bend your leg backwards then kick your heel towards the centre of each buttock for 20 before swapping legs.  

5 Gold rings.. 

Weighted hoops are a great craze fitness craze. They not only burn off up to 80 calories in 10 minutes, they also help define your tummy and strengthen your back. 

At home all you need is a little space, says Joanna. Then its just a question of swinging your hips to keep the circle spinning. It will require a little patience at first but it definitely pays off.  

6 Geese-a-laying.. 

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Goose eggs may be hard to come by but there is no doubt that protein-packed chickens eggs for breakfast will keep your blood sugar levels even, kickstart your metabolism in the morning and help curb your appetite for the rest of the day. 

Try a low-fat omelette made with one whole egg, two egg whites and skimmed milk.Stir in some herbs and cook in a non-stick saucepan. It contains just 200calories and will keep you full for hours.  

7 Swans-a- swimming.. 

If you want to lose those extra pounds after Christmas, get swimming. An average-sized woman will burn up around420 calories an hour. Joanna says: Water is the best way to work the whole body without any strain on joints. In water, you are always working against resistance as the drag of the water helps work every muscle. Make it a resolution to join an aqua class and learn some moves to incorporate into your own workout. Another good investment for 2010 would be aqua gloves, she suggests. They give you webbed hands which help to tone up those bingo wings. 

8 Maids-a-milking.. 

Semi-skimmed milk contains 50 to 60% less fat than whole milk. So if you use 250ml a day, switching from whole to semi-skimmed milk will save yourself around 79 calories and 9.5g fat a day without you even noticing it. 

Yoghurt made with skimmed milk also contains just a quarter of the calories of full-fat versions and can be used instead of cream in some sauces on leftovers.  

9 Drummers drumming.. 

If drummings not for you, then here are some other ideas to get rid of flabby arms. 

Joanna says: If you want to tackle bingo wings, try some sofa dips at home. Hold the side of your sofa, walk your legs away and push your body weight up and down by bending and straightening your arms. Just dont lock out your elbows or force the arms straight. 

Try two sets of 10 every day and you should soon see the backs of your arms tightening up.  

10 Pipers piping.. 

Dont eat all your food piping hot but try to introduce more uncooked foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains into your diet. Among the celebrities reported to follow a raw food diet are Demi Moore and Uma Thurman and eating more raw food is known to boost your intake of fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. Experts also say that raw foods are digested quicker, meaning that partially-digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates dont get a chance to clog up your digestive system and arteries.  

11 Ladies dancing.. 

The TV show Strictly Come Dancing has made ballroom more popular than ever.Practising will not only give you some great moves for New Years Eve but its a fast and fun way to lose weight at the same time. Slower dances like the waltz and foxtrot burn off around 320 calories an hour, while more energetic routines like disco and the samba can burn off nearly 500 calories. 

12 Lords-a-leaping.. 

You may not have had a go since school, but skipping with a rope is one of the fastest calorie-burning exercises you can do. It works all the major muscles in your arms, shoulders and legs and it burns calories at a rate of five every minute. Its intense, says Joanna, so do it safely for the sake of your joints and back. Keep jumps small and land on soft knees. Stick to it and you will have lost the extra bulge by the New Year.  

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The Lords are wrong on the NHS reform Bill

The House of Lords is not known as being a place of drama and excitement. It’s where distinguished politicians go to die, surrounded by statute books and cream teas. It’s about bishops and landed gentry. It’s a stuffy, esoteric and anachronistic institution that rarely registers in the collective consciousness in any substantial way. All the real decisions are made in the other place, right?

But when, to the horror of professionals and patients up and down the country, the NHS reform Bill was passed by the House of Commons last month, attention rapidly shifted to the Lords in the hope that the legislation would be stopped.

Suddenly, all eyes were on the Upper House. Half a million people hurriedly signed a petition pleading with the Lords to protect the NHS and reject the Bill. Peers were inundated with letters and emails. They were our last hope.

Until that moment, I had rarely thought about the House of Lords. But, knowing how passionately I felt about the NHS, a peer invited me to watch the debate, so I duly went along.

You cannot help but be overwhelmed by the sense of history and splendour as you enter the debating chamber.

What struck me most forcefully was the earnest, sincere and thoughtful way the peers spoke, even those with whom I disagreed. Unlike in the Commons, there is an air of genteel reverence and politeness to the Lords’ debate. No braying and shouting here. Many peers spoke of more correspondence about this one issue than any other they had ever received. Their sense of duty and responsibility was humbling.

The Bill is a bad piece of legislation that undermines the very essence of a nationalised health-care system. It only succeeds in opening it to private companies that will place profits before patients. It became apparent, though, that the Liberal Democrats would not make a stand and had clearly been briefed and whipped to within an inch of their lives. Ultimately, only two of them rebelled. The crossbencher Lord Owen tabled a motion to set up a special committee, which would spend the next few months studying the constitutional impact of the reforms. This was rejected by 330 votes to 262. Labour’s Lord Rea had wanted the second reading to be refused altogether, on the basis that the Government had no mandate for the reforms. This was defeated by 354 votes to 220. Despite sterling efforts from Labour and crossbenchers, the Bill was passed. I must confess that I was bereft by the result and, once again, felt betrayed by the Lib Dems who had swung the vote.

But despite my disappointment, I was left with a new-found respect for this chamber. It would be easy to dismiss the Lords as out of touch and arcane. In fact, it is full of people with remarkable experiences who can bring real depth and perspicacity to debates in a way that career politicians in the House of Commons cannot. It’s thanks to the Lords that forced marriage is illegal, that trial by jury still exists, that we don’t have identity cards, that we have leading stem cell research facilities in this country and that disabled people can take taxis. The Lords blocked super-casinos and got rid of Home Information Packs.

Importantly, the Upper Chamber also showed me the importance of the 183 crossbenchers, who are independent of party politics. When witnessing the effect that whips and ministerial pressure can have on votes, even in this esteemed House, their importance in ensuring that our concerns are heard becomes acutely apparent.

While celebrity Lords might be seen in some quarters as a way to connect the House to normal people, where were the likes of Lord Sugar, Lord Attenborough and Lord Lloyd-Webber in the NHS reform bill debate? None of them bothered to vote. For me, it was the likes of Lord Walton of Detchant who stole the show. Aged 89, he was a doctor before the NHS even existed and spoke passionately, without notes, about the horrors he had witnessed before the NHS was created. I listened to his speech intently and was immeasurably grateful that we have in this country an institution that gave him a voice.

The Bill is now at the committee stage, where peers examine every line of legislation and debate it. Once again, the eyes of the nation will be fixed on this House to do their best to minimise the most noxious elements of this legislation. I hope that, this time, they ensure the enormous concerns about the Bill are not ignored.

Nurses must be empowered to care for the elderly

The report published last week from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into the standards of geriatric wards in 100 hospitals found that more than half were falling short in basic care for older people. It’s sickening that report after report finds failings in the treatment of some of the most vulnerable and weakest members of society – and yet nothing appears to change.

It would be easy to lay all the blame on the nursing profession. Certainly, there are nurses who should not be nursing. There can be no excuse for neglect or cruel behaviour.

But many examples cited by the CQC – such as patients left rattling bed rails to get attention, or nurses failing to help patients eat – while alarming and reprehensible, can be seen as part of a staffing problem. Cuts have meant that numbers on the wards have been reduced and the proliferation of paperwork has dramatically encroached on the time clinicians can spend caring for patients.

The nurses I have worked with regret this, but have too many patients and are burdened by a mountain of bureaucracy. We should, of course, push for higher standards in nursing care and weed out those below standard, but let’s also remember that nurses need to be given the time and space to actually do the job they trained for. Hopefully then, things will change.

The ecstasy and the agony of working out

Kick off your jogging shoes, cast off your tracksuit and throw away your gym membership. Put your feet up and relax. Experts now say we should exercise less and, it seems, Jennifer Aniston and Helena Christensen are among the converted.

Unfortunately, the devil is in the detail. “If you reduce your workout, you must make the activity level harder,” says fitness coach Steve Barrett. It’s not quite what I was hoping for.

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I lost six stone to get my new house and changed my life for ever

When Sonya McWilliams wanted to move home, she never thought her size would stand in her way. But she was shocked to discover being nearly 16st could mean she couldn’t afford her new mortgage..

Buying a new home is always a stressful event, but for Sonya McWilliams it turned out to be humiliating too.

As the mum of one and her partner Scott began sorting out the paperwork to buy their new family home, Sonya got some embarrassing news.

“We had to get life assurance so the mortgage would be paid off if anything happened to one of us,” explains Sonya, 24, a bus company administrator. “But then the rep from the life assurance company brought scales with him.

“I was amazed. My weight was recorded, and I was told I was a ‘high risk’ customer because I was well over 15st, and told I was more likely to have health problems like diabetes or high blood pressure. The cover cost so much we’d struggle with the mortgage.”

Luckily, the ­couple from Dundee, found affordable cover elsewhere, but it was a wake-up call for Sonya that her weight was ­causing problems. Her weight had crept up since her mid-teens.

By the time she met her partner Scott, 25, a bus driver, at work, she was a size 14 and 11st.

And when Sonya fell pregnant a year later, her weight shot up.

“I couldn’t get enough chunky chips with curry sauce and pickled eggs!” she says. “I used it as an excuse to eat anything I wanted.”

But she developed dangerously high blood pressure – pre-eclampsia – and had an emergency caesarean in October 2005.

“When I saw my maternity notes, I realised I’d been classified as ‘obese’. I was mortified and ashamed.”

But Sonya didn’t lose the baby weight and by December 2006, she was a size 22 and well over 15st.

When Sonya saw pictures from her work Christmas party, she knew it was time for action. “The photos were so awful I tore them up,” she says.

Sonya turned to her grandma, Audrey, for advice. Audrey had lost 6st with Scottish Slimmers and Sonya went to her first class in January 2007. “I was 15st 10.5lb. I couldn’t believe it.” But Sonya lost 5lb in a week and 3st within a year.

Even breaking a bone in her foot couldn’t stop her: “With my foot in plaster I only put on a pound,” she says. And as she lost weight, Kirsten, now four, started calling her “beautiful mummy”.

The night she achieved her target of 9st 10lb, she ended up being weighed in the street – the community centre they met at was shut so her weigh-in was outside.

“I’d put my swimsuit on to lose that extra half a pound. So I took off my trousers and top and stood there in my costume.

“People on buses were pointing and some lads were laughing – but I didn’t care ,” says Sonya, who’s since had a tummy tuck op to boost her confidence even more.

“After two years I hit the weight I’d aimed for!”

? To locate A class, call 0800 362636 or visit www.scottishslimmers.com

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Before

Breakfast: None

Snack: Choc bar and crisps

Lunch: Pastry steak bake and more crisps

Snack: A bag of sweets.

Evening meal: Oven ready chunky chips and fish cakes

Snack: Another chocolate bar

After

Breakfast: A Bowl of Special K

Snack: Cherry tomatoes, chopped up pepper and carrot sticks

Lunch: A large salad

Evening meal: Chicken and broccoli pie with more vegetables

Snack: A small chocolate bar as a treat

FAT FILE

AGE 24 HEIGHT 5ft 2in

TOP WEIGHT 15st 10.5lb

WEIGHT NOW 9st 10lb

TOP SIZE 22 SIZE NOW 12

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Coleen Nolan reveals that she is finally happy with her body naked

She says the trauma of divorce and losing her job made her balloon to a size 20...

It's been a long, tough and often public struggle, but finally Loose Women star Coleen Nolan is completely happy with her body. She's dropped an amazing five dress sizes in three years and her once floundering career has never been healthier.

"If someone had told me eight years ago things would be going so well for me in my 40s, I'd have laughed at them," says Coleen. "My career was at rock bottom and my weight was soaring. But somehow things turned around and, touch wood, they carry on like this."

Because not only does mum-ofthree Coleen look fantastic, but she has just been given her first ever prime-time slot on ITV1, presenting a new Dancing On Ice spin-off show, Dancing On Ice Friday.

"I'm so excited," says Mirror columnist Coleen, 44. "I can't wait to get started. I've had to keep this a secret when all I've wanted to do is tell everyone. I'm hosting it with Ben Shephard and it's all the behind-the-scenes stuff at Dancing on Ice. I can't wait to grill the judges - especially Jason Gardiner."

Coleen, who made it to the semi-finals as a contestant in the hit ice-skating show last year, is relieved she won't be dressed in Lycra this time round.

"Not having to dress in a skintight leotard makes it a little less terrifying this year," she laughs. "Even though I was slimmer than I'd ever been when I was dancing on the show, all the other girls were a lot younger and a hell of a lot slimmer than me.

"But it was good for me because it helped me realise people don't just judge you on your weight and the public kept me in for weeks, even though I wasn't a skinny size six."

And after last year's stunning weight loss, Coleen is now maintaining her new figure through working out and eating sensibly - and not obsessing about her body.

"After a certain point I threw away my scales," she says. "They are total torture for women. They tell you if you've put on a few pounds, but they don't tell you if you've lost a couple of inches, which I think is far more important.

"The best judge of that is your clothes. I don't have a clue what I weigh any more, I don't even think about it. If I look in the mirror and I'm happy, that's good enough for me. If I don't like what I see, I try a bit harder with my exercise and watch what I eat for a couple of days." Until three years ago, Coleen's relationship with food wasn't so rational.

She turned to food to cope with a huge range of emotional issues from her divorce from actor Shane Richie in 1999 to brutal sacking from This Morning two years later.

"You always hear women joking that there's nothing better than a divorce diet," says Coleen. "I can't tell you how many women lose two or three stone when they get divorced, but not me! If anything I put on two stone. If I was happy I'd eat, if I was unhappy I'd eat, any excuse!"

One of the lowest points for Coleen came when she was axed from This Morning in 2001 - just months after having her daughter Ciara with musician - now husband - Ray Fensome. She struggled to find work after the high-profile sacking and battled to keep her weight under control.

"That was an incredibly difficult time," she recalls. "I was presenting the Friday episodes with John Leslie and everything seemed to be going fine until they called me in out of the blue one Thursday. I was a bit anxious but John reassured me that if they were going to sack me they'd have called my agent not me.

"But literally as soon as I sat down they told me they didn't want to use me again. It was that blunt - don't come in tomorrow. They'd got a car to bring me in and sent me home on the Tube. I wasn't even allowed to go to the green room to get my personal things because no one else knew I'd been fired.

"Ray and I had just moved to London from Blackpool with the three kids and had bought a gorgeous house. As soon as Ray picked me up that day we had to go straight to the estate agent to put the house on the market. It was terrifying and for a couple of years I just couldn't get a job in TV.

No one would touch me after that.

"My weight has always mirrored how I feel, and then it went up a lot. I was only 36 but I felt like I was past it - I'd been sacked, I was overweight and really thought my career was over.

"But thankfully the wonderful producers of Loose Women, which I'd appeared on as a guest before This Morning, threw me a lifeline and took me back permanently in 2004. It was just what I needed and things started to turn around," she recalls.

And Coleen hasn't looked back. Since then, as her television career has soared, she has also married Ray, written a best-selling autobiography and today releases her third fitness DVD. "More than 250,000 women have followed my DVDs and helping other women as well as myself is a brilliant feeling. There's no magic wand when it comes to weight loss, its about a long-term commitment," she says.

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"It's so important to feel happy with yourself," says Coleen. "And I know more than anyone that's harder than it sounds. When I was a size 18 or 20, I didn't feel happy with myself. I wasn't manic depressive over it, I was still a happy person overall. But in this industry, there's a lot of pressure.

"Ray loved me anyway, but I think if I'd got any bigger he would have told me to sort it out. He thinks it's brilliant I've lost all the weight, but a lot of that is because I'm happier and much more confident in myself. I'm certainly more confident naked - and obviously that's going to help in a relationship!"

After years of overeating, crash diets and obsessing over her weight, Coleen thinks she has finally got it sussed out.

"None of us will ever be 100% happy with our bodies," she says. "If I got down to a size eight I'd probably want my legs to be three inches longer. But you've got to figure out a place where you're at your happiest.

"It's about changing your mindset and that's been gradual for me after years of mad crash diets. I'd lose three stone in three months, then put it back on plus more in the next six months. My body was in trauma all that time.

"I don't want Ciara growing up around that, with my obsession about dieting. It's about being healthy, not skinny. I'm a size 12 now but I can go up or down a size depending how hard I'm working out. The difference for me now is that if we have friends around and decide to get a takeaway, I don't sit there at the end of it feeling like a disgusting failure.

"Before, I'd give up, feel awful and think I was always destined to be fat. Now I just think 'that was lovely and tomorrow I'll get back to normal and eat healthily, and maybe do an extra session with my DVD'".

Finally at ease with her body and the way her life are career are going, Coleen believes the struggles she's had in the past make her more thankful for what she's got.

"Hats off to ITV for giving me this opportunity," says Coleen. "TV bosses are always getting panned for ageism and sexism and weight-ism, and hiring me proves that not everyone is guilty of it.

"It's amazing they've given this job to a woman of 44 who's not stick-thin. It's an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to get stuck in.

"It will be a lot to do alongside Loose Women, but I'll still be there one or two days a week. I'll also be juggling it with my news series for Sky, The Secret Guide To Women's Health.

"The great thing about all this happening at my age, and maybe the fact I did lose it all at one point, means I'm so grateful every single day that I have these opportunities. If, God forbid, it ended tomorrow, I'd think 'What a fantastic time - how lucky was I?'"

COLEEN NOLAN'S LET'S GET PHYSICAL WORKOUT IS OUT NOW, £19.99.

COMING TOMORROW: MY BODY THROUGH THE YEARS

My no-fail slimming rules

Do an exercise you enjoy. If you hate the gym, don't waste your money on a membership. I love dancing so I burn loads of calories while I'm having fun.

If you can't commit to a regular workout like cycling, swimming or fitness classes, build more activity into your day. Walk the kids to school, get out for a power walk every day with the buggy, and always use the stairs.

Rope your friends in for motivation - I get my mates to come round to do my fitness DVD. We end up having a right laugh and even the kids join in.

Say no to faddy diets - you might lose weight initially but not long-term. As soon as you start eating normally, you'll pile the weight back on.

Make small changes to your diet and you'll see big results. Choose low-fat versions of your favourite foods, swap full-fat milk for semi-skimmed, opt for lean cuts of meat or cut the fat off, and grill instead of frying. Changing your habits will help you lose weight gradually and keep it off.

Allow yourself treats, otherwise you'll be tempted to have a blow out. But make sure it's in moderation - have one biscuit instead of half a packet!

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My father died because of lack of care

“He was completely let down by the NHS,” Mr Rodin said.

“As a family we understand the machinations of the health service. But if we couldn’t navigate our way through the system when my father was ill, how the hell can the average punter?”

Mr Rodin jnr’s father, who was fit and independent and had previously spent very little time in hospital, began to feel unwell after returning from a trip to his holiday home in Eastbourne on September 1.

Unable to breathe properly, he rang Adam, who, with his wife Bridget, took him to his nearby hospital - a large London teaching hospital which Mr Rodin has decided not to name.

Staff diagnosed an obstruction to his throat, brought on by swelling caused by a viral infection. After a brief operation, Mr Rodin spent a week in the hospital’s intensive treatment unit.

Although severely weakened, he recovered “amazingly well” when he was taken off the ventilator. But he was transferred to a medical ward, rather than a specialist ward for the elderly, where problems began with the food he was being served.

Doctors had recommended a soft diet, but what care assistants delivered to his bedside was, according to Mr Rodin jnr, little more than slop. “My father just couldn’t eat it. There was no attempt to find out why he wasn’t eating.

“After three days of this, my father grew so desperate he borrowed someone’s mobile phone and rang us to ask for food. When we brought him a meal, he wolfed it down like a starving man.”

Mr Rodin lost just under a third of his body weight during his stay.

After being shunted around 15 different wards, Mr Rodin was eventually referred to a specialist on a dedicated ward for the elderly.

The assessment of his condition was optimistic, but when the Mrs and Mrs Rodin returned to the hospital the next afternoon he had deteriorated markedly.

As his condition reached crisis point, staff told his family that there was no consultant on duty to seem him as it was a weekend.

Following his death the consultant responsible for his father’s treatment told Mr Rodin that he had, in fact, been in the hospital all along but nobody had asked for him.

“It might have made a difference,” said Mr Rodin. “But nobody bothered to tell him.”

They returned briefly to their home but received an emergency call saying Mr Rodin was now critically ill.

The family were given the option of having Mr Rodin intubated again, so he could breathe on a ventilator, or of withdrawing care and letting nature take its course.

After careful thought, they decided that if he fell into a coma, he was not to be resuscitated - the most difficult decision of his son’s life.

It was at this point that one of the episodes which upset the family most happened.

Severely dehydrated from lack of fluids, Mr Rodin, at this stage still lucid and conscious, was gasping for water. Adam and Bridget gave him a drink through a straw.

A nurse loudly told them off, clearly within Mr Rodin’s earshot, saying: “We don’t give fluids to a patient who is not for resuscitation.”

It was a comment that, according to the family, broke Mr Rodin.

Four days later he succumbed to hospital-acquired pneumonia, dying on Tuesday, October 4, despite having been admitted with what X-rays had shown to be a clear chest just over a month earlier.

“At one point during his stay, my father begged us to get him out of there,” said Mr Rodin jnr, who has decided not to name the hospital. “I think he realised that if he stayed there any length of time he wouldn’t be coming home. He was absolutely right.”

Mr Rodin feels nurses, doctors and managers in the NHS have become obsessed with hitting Government-set targets, to the detriment of the treatment or real, living human beings in their care.

He spoke out, despite his own career in the NHS, to highlight his concerns.

“I sympathise with nurses,” he said.

“The nurses are very task-orientated. They do their task, such as giving an injection, and then go away, and another will come and take the blood pressure, and so on – each without spending any time with the patients.

"That lack of human contact also means nurses don’t notice if the patient is getting worse.”

Mr Rodin added: “They are under a lot of pressure. On top of that, staff are scared to speak out and they have little power. But they should remember they are there to look after people, not just to fill in forms and achieve bureaucratic targets.”

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Slimming supplements useless, research suggests

Food supplements that claim to speed up weight loss are useless, believe experts.

A range including those based on fibre, cabbage and plant extracts are no better for slimmers than dummy pills, they say.

A Peninsula Medical School team from the universities of Exeter and Plymouth found no evidence herbal or nonherbal drugs work - while a German study got similar results.

The UK team reviewed existing data, including on guar gum, bitter orange, calcium, glucomannan (a dietary fibre), chitosan (listed as a fat absorber), chromium picolinate (sometimes sold as an appetite suppressant) and green tea.

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They told the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm: "The findings fail to provide sufficient evidence that any food supplement can reduce body weight."

Meanwhile, the University of Gottingen's trial on nine over-the-counter weight loss supplements found no more weight loss than a placebo.

The British Heart Foundation said: "There's no quick fix. To lose weight we must use up more energy than we take in. The millions spent on dieting is often money down the drain."

Lose weight and feel great by dropping a dress size in six weeks with our Mirror Diets club

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Sweet treats you can enjoy without piling on the pounds

A sweet tooth is the downfall of many a dieter but here are some options that you can enjoy without too many worries...

Sugar-free jelly

Opt for the sugar-free type and it’s about as low a calorie dessert as you can wish for – with only around 15 calories per 200ml serving. Add in fruit – fresh or canned – to make it even healthier.

A cream meringue

An average cream meringue with whipped cream has a surprisingly low 145 calories – that’s around half the number of calories in a Mars bar.

Sweet popcorn

Popcorn’s high volume means it takes up lots of space in your stomach, so it is a filling sweet treat. An average serving also counts as a healthy wholegrain serving. However once toffee coatings are added, the calories do start to mount up, so keep control of portions by going for individual size packs. One 35g pack of Snack a Jacks Butter Toffee popcorn contains 148 calories.

Low-cal hot chocolate

Get a chocolate hit without the waistline downside by having a sachet of low-cal hot chocolate (40 calories per cup). You can even add a squirt of aerosol cream and a couple of marshmallows and it will still come in at under 100 calories.

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Banana and custard

This nursery food dessert is sweet, comforting and filling but has less than 250 calories if you have it with low-fat custard. This pudding also counts as one of your daily fruit servings, and is rich in magnesium, calcium, vitamin B6 and carbohydrate – all nutrients that can help if you’re feeling pre-menstrual.

Jaffa cakes

With just 45 calories per Jaffa cake on average, that’s a 40-calorie saving compared with a chocolate digestive.

Strawberries sprinkled with sugar replacer

For a healthy low-cal dessert that is still very sweet, sprinkle a granular sweetener (2 calories per teaspoon) instead of sugar (20 calories per teaspoon) over your strawberries or fruit salad.

Fruit bread

Moist, delicious and around 100 calories a slice eaten without butter. Fruit bread is also low GI and a reasonable source of fibre, so it will keep your energy levels steadier than some other sweet treats.

Lose weight and feel great by dropping a dress size in six weeks with our Mirror Diets club

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Did his organs have to go to waste?

One solution lies in persuading the public to think about the issue before they are confronted with it, and altruism doesn’t seem to be enough: while 77 per cent of people say they would like to donate, only 30 per cent are registered to do so. This is why we must talk about it, says Sue Burton, a costs lawyer from Grantham, whose 16-year-old son Martin died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage in August 2003.

“I didn’t hesitate to say yes but I felt that we were put on the spot. I want other families to be aware – people refuse because they haven’t given it enough thought. Martin’s heart went to a 15-year-old boy and his liver went to a young man with a family. Martin was going to die anyway, and I’m glad we were able to make the gifts. But only if people are educated about organ donation will it become routine.”

It is in that spirit of transparency that I tell my brother’s story. Philip was 50 when he was admitted to hospital in Taunton. He was a maverick, prodigiously bright, fiendishly well-read and one of those people who never fitted in. He’d been a milkman and a security guard, but by May last year, gripped by the alcoholism that made him shuffle instead of walk, he was unemployed and unhappy. By the time I reached his bedside, he was in a coma. I had expected his alcoholism to kill him, yet I had never stopped willing him to recover. It was a shock.

Eight days later, my family crammed into a tiny room set aside for relatives of patients in the intensive care unit. My parents were there, my mother with an unfeasibly large pack of tissues which she handed round with remarkable energy for an old lady with a dicky heart, and my brother’s wife and their six children squashed in, too. The doctor’s news was grim. Philip’s liver showed no signs of recovery, we were told, and the kindest thing to do was to withdraw the equipment that was keeping him alive and allow him to die.

Would we consider organ donation? This would involve waiting for the retrieval team to travel from Birmingham to Somerset. Only then, when an operating theatre was ready to receive Philip, would life support be switched off. He was likely to die within two hours and organ retrieval surgery would take place within minutes. We could change our minds right up to the moment they were taking him to theatre. We didn’t hesitate to give permission.

It was 4.30pm on a Thursday and the transplant co-ordinator, an experienced nurse who had just the right combination of tact, sympathy and can-do, made calls to gather the team and find recipients. No one would want Philip’s liver, but his heart and lungs were made available and his kidneys could be used provided he died within two hours of coming off life support. His heart valves and corneas could also be retrieved and would save life and sight respectively.

She also made inquiries about Philip’s sexual history and any drug-taking, issues that can indicate whether a patient might be HIV positive. Retrieval was expected to go ahead, and as the evening sunshine poured into the waiting room, my parents and I and my brother’s oldest daughter sat and talked, aware of a clock with a loud tick.

We visited Philip; his hands were warm. Our world was very small because that was how we wanted it. Nothing else filtered in except the distant knowledge that two other families were waiting to receive Philip’s kidneys. We wished them well. As Philip would have said, the organs were no use to him. He would have been amused that his rackety body still had some mileage in it.

The team arrived at 11pm – they tried to keep out of the way but we caught glimpses of them. Mum said it was like waiting for an execution. I thought it was surreal. After a week in this room we were exhausted, focused on Philip’s prone body, on what might have been, on the son and brother who, we knew, had reached unfathomable levels of despair.

“He made his choice a long time ago,” said Mum. I looked at her. How could she be so strong?

“Every time I go in to see him I want him to live more,” said Dad, “but my emotions don’t matter. What matters is what’s best for Philip.”

It was all unbearable, but if there was a moment of acute pain it was watching Dad, an emotionally reticent man, stroke his son’s cheek. The memory of that tender gesture still makes me weep uncontrollably.

Life support was switched off at around midnight and Philip looked calmer without the intrusive tubes. We said our goodbyes slowly and carefully and returned to the waiting room. His heart was very strong, we were told an hour later. “Can I have it?” asked Mum. The transplant co-ordinator brought us blankets and we hunkered down on the seats.

Philip didn’t die that night. We left the hospital at 4am, as did the retrieval team because it was now too late to take his kidneys. Bloody-minded to the end, he hadn’t died in time. When I got back to his house I couldn’t park and drove around the silent streets for 15 minutes. I walked the last half mile, sobbing with frustration and grief.

Philip died at 2am on Saturday. We were told that heart valves need to be taken within 48 hours of death and that no pathologist had been available. The tissue that could have helped two children was cremated. When, a few weeks later, we received letters saying that two people in Bristol had received Philip’s corneas, this was some compensation for the disappointment we’d felt about the failure to retrieve his heart valves.

If a medical system asks relatives to allow death to be postponed in the interests of organ donation, surely that system has an emotional responsibility towards those relatives? That should include ensuring that organ donation is maximised. The waiting list isn’t just down to a lack of awareness about these complex procedures; doctors play a part, too. We had volunteered for what became an agonisingly long night. Would it be too much to ask that doctors staff this service on an on-call basis, perhaps as volunteers themselves?

David Nix, a former police officer who runs a business in Birmingham, also chairs the Donor Family Network, wryly pointing out that this is a club no one wants to join. In 1996, Rebecca, his daughter, died in a road accident in Connecticut at the age of 21; her organs were used to help 74 people. “That’s her legacy,” Nix says. “My daughter had told me she would want to donate, so I was able to tell the hospital in America.

“Asking families about organ donation should be mandatory, yet there are still British hospitals where the question isn’t put. We’ve got to get the infrastructure right – it is scandalous to know there are people who could have had a better quality of life and weren’t offered it. The good that can be done is infinite – but there is still a long way to go.”

* For details, visit www.donorfamilynetwork.co.uk. To join the Organ Donor Register go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or text SAVE to 84118

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