Staying Healthy During the Silly Season
Ahh, Christmas. It’s all about giving, family time and delicious food. It’s tempting to let your hair down over the holidays and treat yourself (and you should), but it’s important to stay healthy so it doesn’t turn into a frenzy of poor health choices.
Stay hydrated – In between glasses of wine, remember to stay hydrated – especially on those hot days. The last thing you need in between family fun is an episode of heat exhaustion.
Keep moving – While you should definitely take some much-deserved time to relax and watch your favourite Christmas movies, it’s just as fun to take a bike ride with your family, play a game of backyard cricket or play some games in the pool.
Keep colds at bay – Exercise the usual. Wash your hands often, sneeze into your elbow and avoid going out when you’re sick. Up your immunity by having more foods rich in Vitamin C.
Think before you eat – Chocolates, mince pies and pavlova… there are so many sweet treats to go around. However, before indulging, take a moment to think about whether you really want this or if you’re just eating it because it’s there.
Interesting Facts about Blood Cells
Your blood is made up of different types of cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to your tissue, white blood cells fight infection, platelets control bleeding and plasma is pale-yellow liquid that holds your blood cells. Every drop of blood contains roughly 200-300 million red blood cells.
There are currently 30 recognised blood types, such as O, A, B and AB. 1 in 10 Australian blood donors have O negative blood type, which is considered the ‘universal’ blood type as it can be given to anyone.
There’s gold in your blood. Human blood contains metals such as iron, zinc, chromium, lead, copper and gold, in very small amounts.
