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  • Daily physical activity (pedometer)
  • Body Mass Index (BMI)
  • Waist measurement
  • Stool sample (yes, poo!)
  • 5-a-day fruit and veg
  • Wholegrains and cereals
  • Pulses
  • Omega-3 fatty acids
  • Vitamin B12

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Health and nutrition articles

Fitness Fanatic Fantastic

Anthony Aurelius was nicknamed ‘The Helicopter’ for winning martial arts tournaments with jumping spinning kicks.Now the number one UK fitness expert, he talks to Viva!’s founder, Juliet Gellatley about his passions for veganism and exercise without machismo

Bowel Health

Nutritionist Amanda Woodvine answers your quandaries, queries and questions. Ideally, faeces should be brown, soft but still formed, and roughly the size and shape of sausage links. Your faeces take the shape of your colon. What you eat – including dietary supplements – can affect how your faeces look and smell, as can certain diseases. However, normal bowel movements do not contain blood, and are not black or tarry.

White Meat Black Mark

White meat – from chicken, ducks, turkey and geese – has become the most popular meat in the West. The average person will eat at least 1,226 birds in their lifetime.

Chicken in the most popular and accounts for one third of all meat consumed in the UK. Recent food scares including bird flu knocked sales a bit, but the birds’ ‘healthy’ image remains largely untarnished.

 

Vegetarian Slimming & Vegetarian Health

You don’t need to sacrifice to eat well and healthily. Remember, a well-balanced veggie diet is much better for you than a meaty one.

Globesity

Lose pounds, save pounds, never feel hungry and reduce your risk of killer diseases – that’s the message behind a scientifically-sound diet from the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation (VVF).

 

Defeating Disease - Overweight and obesity

The UK has one of the worst rates of obesity in Europe. In England almost two-thirds of the population is either overweight or obese. If current trends continue, obesity is set to overtake smoking as the leading cause of premature deaths.

Defeating Disease - High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is an indicator of general health. A rise in blood pressure means your heart is overworking which can put a strain on your circulatory system. On the other hand a fall can affect your organs. It is important your blood pressure is kept within the normal limits.

Defeating Disease - Coronary Heart Disease

Almost 2.6 million people in the UK suffer from heart disease. It is the UK’s biggest killer, responsible for over 100,000 deaths a year. The NHS spends more on heart drugs than any type of medication.

Safeguarding Children’s Health

If your little ones started smoking, you’d be horrified. But what most of them eat is just as damaging to their health in the long run. And it’s in childhood that the habit starts!

Feeding your children a vegetarian diet is the safest way to provide all the nutrients they need.

Don’t worry, be healthy

VEGAN and vegetarian diets are fantastic for your health – according to experts at the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation (VVF).

Following the misrepresentation of a recent study into plant-based diets and health by several media sources, the VVF sets the record straight.