Mental health and your heart

Looking after yourself can be tough when you’re living with a mental health problem. By taking small steps towards a healthier lifestyle you can improve your overall health and feel better.  Click here to read British Heart Foundation article

Learning from the vanguards. Briefings from NHS Clinical Commissioners

Supporting people and communities to stay well
This briefing explores how the vanguards have sought to design health and care services around the needs of people who use them, focusing on the outcomes that matter to people and tailoring care to their needs and goals.

Staff at the heart of new care models

This briefing looks at how the vanguards have broken down traditional organisational barriers across whole systems, how they have engaged staff in the programmes, communicated change and supported staff to work differently.

Spreading and scaling up change
This briefing explores the ten key factors that the vanguards have identified are crucial to encourage the spread of initiatives.

Report shows prevalence of key conditions across England

Figures released by NHS Digital provide information on the prevalence of 21 conditions, including asthma, hypertension, dementia, diabetes, and depression.

The annual report, Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) - Prevalence, Achievements and Exceptions Report, England 2016-17 also identifies how the prevalence of these conditions has changed since the previous year.

Lifestyle Choices Key to a Longer Life

A new study has found that people who are overweight cut their life expectancy by two months for every extra kilogram (or about two pounds) of weight they carry.
The study, from researchers at the University of Edinburgh, also found that education leads to a longer life, with almost a year added for each year spent studying beyond school. Click here for news link

People with type 2 diabetes should 'save carbs for last'

"Diabetics should save bread for last at mealtime to keep their blood sugar under control," the Mail Online reports. A small study found that people with type 2 diabetes who saved their carbohydrates until the end of their meal were less likely to experience a sudden rise in their blood sugar (glucose) levels. The medical term for this spike in blood sugar levels is postprandial hyperglycaemia.

Postprandial hyperglycaemia is best avoided as not only can it make the day-to-day symptoms of diabetes worse, it has also been linked to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

It has been suggested that leaving carbohydrates until the end of a meal could slow the emptying of the stomach and give it a chance to digest the protein and vegetables first, which could help prevent a blood glucose spike. The researchers wanted to see whether this was true.

This study included just 16 people who ate the foods of their meal in different orders to test which order was most effective at lowering blood sugar and related hormones. They either ate carbohydrates first, carbohydrates last, or all nutrients together at the same time.

The researchers generally found that consuming carbohydrates last was better at lowering blood sugar levels and insulin secretion when compared to the other ways of eating carbohydrates.

While the results are interesting, the study was far too small to form the basis of any firm medical guidance. For now, it's best to follow current advice, which is to consume a healthy diet and keep active to help you manage your blood sugar level. This will also help you control your weight and generally feel better.

Noncommunicable Diseases Progress Monitor 2017

This WHO report outlines progress made by WHO member states against globally agreed targets to control long-term conditions and chronic diseases. It finds that whilst the United Kingdom has fully achieved on many targets in relation to smoking and unhealthy diets, there is still progress to be made on reduction measures on harmful use of alcohol.

Health and work: infographics

A series of infographics from Public Health England intended to help raise awareness and understanding of the relationship between health and work.

Sodium and Potassium Intake in Healthy Adults in Thessaloniki Greater Metropolitan Area—The Salt Intake in Northern Greece (SING) Study

Nutrients 2017, 9(4), 417; doi:10.3390/nu9040417

A reduction in population sodium (as salt) consumption is a global health priority, as well as one of the most cost-effective strategies to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. High potassium intake is also recommended to reduce cardiovascular disease. To establish effective policies for setting targets and monitoring effectiveness within each country, the current level of consumption should be known. Greece lacks data on actual sodium and potassium intake. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess dietary salt (using sodium as biomarker) and potassium intakes in a sample of healthy adults in northern Greece, and to determine whether adherence to a Mediterranean diet is related to different sodium intakes or sodium-to-potassium ratio. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the Thessaloniki greater metropolitan area (northern Greece) (n = 252, aged 18–75 years, 45.2% males). Participants’ dietary sodium and potassium intakes were determined by 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretions. In addition, we estimated their adherence to Mediterranean diet by the use of an 11-item MedDietScore (range 0–55). The mean sodium excretion was 175 (SD 72) mmol/day, equivalent to 4220 (1745) mg of sodium or 10.7 (4.4) g of salt per day, and the potassium excretion was 65 (25) mmol/day, equivalent to 3303 (1247) mg per day. Men had higher sodium and potassium excretions compared to women. Only 5.6% of the sample had salt intake <5 g/day, which is the target intake recommended by the World Health Organization. Mean sodium-to-potassium excretion ratio was 2.82 (1.07). There was no significant difference in salt or potassium intake or their ratio across MedDietScore quartiles. No significant relationships were found between salt intake and adherence to a Mediterranean diet, suggesting that the perception of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet does not hold when referring to salt consumption. These results suggest the need for a larger, nation-wide survey on salt intake in Greece and underline the importance of continuation of salt reduction initiatives in Greece

UHCW Research: Francesco P. Cappuccio

Better Beginnings: Improving Health For Pregnancy

This themed review from the NIHR brings together NIHR research on different aspects of health before, during and after pregnancy. It features published studies, ongoing studies or interim results and questions for clinicians, commissioners, public health professionals and others.

Antimicrobial stewardship: changing risk-related behaviours in the general population

New NICE guidance on making people aware of how to correctly use antimicrobial medicines (including antibiotics) and the dangers associated with their overuse and misuse. It also includes measures to prevent and control infection that can stop people needing antimicrobials or spreading infection to others. It aims to change people’s behaviour to reduce antimicrobial resistance and the spread of resistant microbes.

Euro heart index 2016

This report by Health Consumer Powerhouse provides a ranking of cardiovascular healthcare systems in 30 countries across four key areas: prevention, procedures, access to care and outcomes, measured on 31 indicators. Heart care in France ranks first among the 30 measured countries. It finds that heart care has improved in almost every country since the last report but the gaps across Europe threaten equity.

Report shows prevalence of conditions across England

Figures released by NHS Digital provide information on the prevalence of 21 conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, dementia, diabetes, and depression.

New case study on how Making Every Contact Count can improve staff wellbeing

This new case study from Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust showcases how the trust successfully implemented a Making Every Contact Count (MECC) strategy, which improves health and reduces health inequalities in the organisation.

Read more about how their accessible two tiered training programme helped improve staff member’s knowledge about behaviour change and increase their confidence and skills in having health chats as a result of the training

Healthwatch England: Greater Manchester Service Change Engagement

This report from Healthwatch England is the result of research conducted in conjunction with ten local Healthwatch organisations in Greater Manchester which examined public and patient opinion on how health and care needs should be met in future. The research focused on ways that services can work better together and ways that healthy communities can be encouraged and fostered in local areas.

NHS can learn from Pokémon Go – Dr Mahiben Maruthappu

The Senior Fellow to the Chief Executive of NHS England looks at the healthy phenomenon that has couch potatoes everywhere getting fit without realising it: With over 50 million downloads in its first month, more than 20 million returning players, and more daily users than Twitter, blast-from-the-past Pokémon Go has swept smartphone users off their...

Health In A Hurry: The Impact Of Rush Hour Commuting On Our Health And Wellbeing

Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) -
This report highlights the impact of passive commuting (via rail, bus or car) on the public's health and wellbeing. The report outlines how longer commute times are associated with increased stress, higher blood pressure and BMI and contributes to reduced time available for health promoting activities such as cooking, exercise and sleeping. The report calls for a greater adoption of flexible and remote working and greater restrictions on unhealthy food and drinks outlets in stations.

The Eatwell Guide

The Eatwell Guide is a policy tool used to define government recommendations on eating healthily and achieving a balanced diet.

Childhood obesity: a plan for action - Department of Health

The government’s plan to reduce England’s rate of childhood obesity within the next 10 years by encouraging:

• industry to cut the amount of sugar in food and drinks
• primary school children to eat more healthily and stay active

Click here for the Department of Health plan

Start active, stay active: infographics on physical activity - Department of Health

Infographics explaining the physical activity required to achieve general health benefits for different age ranges.

A healthier life for all: the case for cross-government action

The Health Foundation and the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group have jointly published a comprehensive, accessible collection of essays setting out the current and emerging threats to health and wellbeing and what we know about what works to address them.

The essay collection concludes that addressing the wider determinants of health is critical to ensuring the prosperity and wellbeing of British society as well as easing pressure on the NHS. The essays support the view that a more proactive approach to tackling poor health across all policy areas is urgently needed, to help ensure individuals, families and communities can thrive.