Category Archives: Health

Should you drink as much coffee as you want?

Posted in Coffee, Health on by .

Should You Drink as Much Coffee as You Want?

A number of coffee studies from major universities and institutes have recently reached similar conclusions: They suggest that you can drink as much coffee as you want without any particular health issues being raised. The only suggestion is for people to cut out the last cup of coffee each day if sleeping is a problem. So is there a limit to how many cups of coffee you can drink in a day?

Drink more coffee for a healthy lifestyle

The Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University suggests that you can drink as much coffee as you like so long as it doesn’t keep you awake. The thought behind this is that the coffee is healthy and cannot do you any harm, and might help you achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The American Medical Association (cited in the New York Times) recommends that a moderate amount of coffee drinking won’t harm your health, providing all other aspects of your lifestyle are healthy and good for you. They further go on to suggest that coffee drinking might prevent Alzheimer’s disease by protecting your liver. The size of the studies that they’ve carried out is significant. They recommend that a moderate amount of caffeine is good for everyone because you can consider it as a nutrient.

Harvard’s School of Public Health and the Department of Nutrition has found that coffee drinkers are at a lower risk of suffering from type II diabetes than non-coffee drinkers. Caffeine increases the levels of blood glucose which helps increase the resistance of insulin. Twenty years of studies have shown an 8% decrease in the risk of type II diabetes for women while men show a 4% reduction.

For 30 years from the 1980s, data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study followed a large group of people including 80,000 women and 40,000 men. The data is seen as reliable even though it was self reported. Although sugar sweetened beverages do increase the risk of diabetes slightly, it is the preference for sugar and cream that increases the risk of danger. They have found no difference whatsoever between the consumption of regular coffee and decaf in the health of the study groups.

4 or 10 cups a day?

The studies show that a number of ingredients in coffee offer biological benefits. They also confirmed that there is no association between moderate coffee consumption and heart failure. During their experiments, while many people drank 4 cups of coffee a day the beneficial effects did not decrease when people increased their consumption beyond 10 cups a day.

The studies also developed ideas that caffeine works well as a pain reliever, because many people who worked in offices and usually suffered from back, neck and shoulder problems, experienced less pain when they consumed more coffee.

A Japanese study of 550 adults, drinking both coffee and green tea, saw a reduction in the risks associated to coronary artery disease, stroke and type II diabetes.

The Harvard School of Public Health follow-up study found that coffee offers a high level of protection to some types of prostate cancer, particularly amongst people who drank six or more cups of coffee per day.

The American Society for Nutrition, which studied 500,000 adults, reported that people drinking a high dosage of coffee regularly were effectively fighting colorectal cancer.

It would appear that many sensible universities and studies are proving that a good level of coffee consumption certainly won’t kill you. In fact, it may help you live longer.

Get your daily caffeine fix from one of our business coffee machines.

Image credit: Epsos_de

Active? Why you should start drinking before you get thirsty

Posted in Health, Well Being at Work on by .

Why You Should Start Drinking before You Get Thirsty

When you’re physically active on a hot day and don’t have the opportunity to take on sufficient water, you might notice that your calf muscles develop a cramp. If you continue the muscle will develop an extremely annoying trembling feeling. If you’re lucky enough to take a few sips of water at this stage, the cramp might disappear for a very short period of time but when it does return your breathing might resemble that of someone having an asthma attack. Despite the hot weather, you might start to feel a chill, which will inevitably be followed by dizziness and if you don’t stop running immediately, you could lose consciousness.

These are all the signs that are associated with an electrolyte and fluid imbalance. For those being physical for long periods this can be dangerous to your health, which is why you must develop a regime to drink sufficient water before you become thirsty. Prevention is much easier than the cure.

The difference between professional and amateur athletes

One of the major differences between professional and amateur athletes is not about the amount of money that the athletes receive, but about the way they understand the science of the way that their body works. Professional athletes understand water loss during a race and will hydrate their body sufficiently before a race so that the body is able to function all the way to the finishing line.

Amateur athletes will fail to consume enough water before and during a race and you will see them rocking-and-rolling as they try to complete the final push or last mile.

When you feel thirsty, you will already have lost about 3% of your body’s water, causing you to be extremely dehydrated. This equates to reducing your best performance by over 15%. This will lose you the marathon or long distance track race.

To put this into perspective, if someone running a 10k is 2% dehydrated, the race will take them almost 3 minutes longer to complete. Dehydration can reach the stage of becoming life-threatening when between 10% and 20% of a person’s body weight is lost.

Making sure urine is the right colour

Taking on a lot of water before or during a race is not productive. Your body prefers to sip fluids gradually throughout the day. If all other aspects of your health are in perfect condition, your urine will flow as a very pale yellow colour if you are fully hydrated.

Be aware that any caffeine or soda bubbles in what you consume can reduce the amount of fluid in your body.

Experts suggest that you need to gradually take in around 16 ounces of plain water at least an hour before exercising. It is better if this water is taken in gradually, than in one quick drink. That’s because you need to maintain a fluid balance during the exercise as you will lose sweat, which will become more rapid the longer you exercise.

Where possible, your body will benefit from drinking 6 to 7 ounces of fluid, roughly every 20 minutes of exercise. For an amateur exercise, this is quite easy to achieve, but not for a professional athlete in the middle of a 10,000 m race.

When you start to feel thirsty, your body is telling you that it is already dehydrated. It takes good practice and planning to ingest sufficient water before you begin exercising while still avoiding feeling bloated.

 

Make sure you always have enough to drink with our Eden Springs bottled water and water dispensers.

 

Image credit: Homespot HQ

How good water can reduce world cholera levels

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Aerial view of Haiti

Eden Springs are involved in charity and water projects around the UK and the globe. As part of this work we’re looking at humanitarian issues caused by poor water quality. 

The people of Haiti have suffered terrible, desperate times in the past decade. Of the 200 or so countries in the world, Haiti is usually listed as one of the poorest alongside Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In just two years, a cholera epidemic has killed over 8,000 people and infected almost 700,000, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. Experts suggest that use of good water, rather than vaccination, can reduce cholera outbreaks.

Haiti’s personal problems

During 2008, Haiti was hit by four different hurricanes, dropping immense amounts of rain across an already financially ravaged nation. With 98% of their forest cover lost to deforestation, flood waters ran rapidly into all of the major towns and villages across the country. Many people were simply listed as missing. Almost 107,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. And 8% of the population was greatly affected by the rains which ruined 70% of Haiti’s crops.

With several hundred thousand Haitians living in makeshift tent camps, the earthquakes of January 2010 killed almost 50,000 people. Now several more are at risk from cholera.

What is cholera?

For the majority of the world, cholera is an almost forgotten disease, but in poorer countries, it has not yet been eradicated.

When a patient is diagnosed with cholera, their small intestine will be infected, causing a dreadful watery diarrhoea and terrible vomiting. The transmission of cholera is usually from drinking poor water or eating food which has probably been contaminated by the faeces of another infected person.

The government’s response

The Haitian government, being one of the poorest in the world, has been reliant on financial aid to guide them through their many difficulties in recent years. From 2013, they have launched a £1.5 billion plan to eradicate cholera from the country.

Haiti has a population of around 10 million people, but has twice as many people affected by the disease as the entire 1 billion population of Africa.

Their aim is to increase people’s access to potable water from less than 70% of the population to 85%. They further intend to increase the proper use of water and flushing facilities to toilets and latrines from under 30% to 90%. While they are reinforcing education and infrastructure, they hope to achieve proper healthcare for 80% of the population, up from the current 54%.

The intention to promote clean water and proper sanitation is vitally important to this nation, but there is also an urgent need to ensure that financial aid reaches the government. Of the previous $200 million raised to battle cholera only 3% of those funds went to the government in Haiti; while the UN and its agencies received almost 24% of the money.

According to current research, the Haitian government has created model environments for over 500 local communities. This has proved that clean water and the education of good hygienic methods are much more effective at reducing the spread of the cholera disease than using funds to continue a vaccination campaign.

With just 150,000 vaccinations remaining for the Haitians, pushing forward their plans for clean water and high-quality waste hygiene can’t happen quickly enough.

Image: Leyna Hutchinson/Flickr

Celebrating World Water Day

Posted in Charity, Community, Environment, Health on by .

World Water Day is held on 22 March every year to celebrate fresh water, reaffirm its importance, and help develop the sustainable management of water resources across the world.

As a beverage company we’re clearly heavily involved in water and hydration, and our charity efforts extend into helping provide drinking water to Tanzania through the PeopleHelpPeople – One World initiative as well as helping charity fundraisers with free water closer to home in the UK.

Access to clean and safe drinking water is correctly seen as an important human right, and the day aims to increase awareness of the difficulties huge numbers face in accessing this vital resource. Millions of people across the globe are forced to drink dirty water daily in order to survive, causing disease, ill-health and suffering.

The day has been celebrated since 1993, following a United Nations Conference on Environment and Development recommendation the previous year. The theme for 2013′s event is the “International Year of Water Cooperation”.

You can follow World Water Day initiative on Twitter with #waterday, or see pictures and donate at waterday.org. 

 

Our commitment to the less fortunate

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How to change your kids’ drinking habits (from fizzy drinks to water)

Posted in Health on by .

You can’t blame a child for thinking that sweet fizzy or soda drinks taste better than water. Adults may think differently, but most children will reach for the sweet option every time.  With so many soft drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks being marketed to children and adults alike it’s not surprising that many people are picking up one of these drinks without realising the possible effect on their health; not just now but over the long term.

The attitude that drinking one extra energy drink now won’t make any real difference appears sensible until you realise that those who make the same excuse every single day of the week and will soon be overloaded with an excess of supplements, manufactured E-numbers and unnatural colourings.

A habit can turn into an addiction

Children soon forget how many cans of sugar filled soda they have consumed during the course of the day, and have no idea over a full week. And while you would think that fruit drinks would be healthy, many of these also contain high levels of sugar. That means that parents have to regulate consumption of these too.

It’s time to show kids what’s in the bottle

The key to moving your children’s drinking habits from soda to water is to physically show them what’s in the bottle. If you can have your child agree that five spoonfuls of sugar in every soda drink would be unhealthy, when you physically pour out 7 to 9 spoonfuls of sugar into one pile in front of them, they will quickly see how much sugar they are taking into their system every time they guzzle down a bottle of sugar packed soda.

By using every child’s favourite educational toy, the Internet, you can quickly show them how the chemicals that they are consuming can cause a range of diseases. When they physically see the effects and problems of type II diabetes, tooth decay, skin problems, cancer and premature ageing, they might be throw out the soda drinks and reach for the water.

Studies have shown that when children drink at least one soda drink a day, they have a 30% greater chance of gaining excess stomach weight. Many sugary carbonated drinks will rapidly reduce calcium levels which makes people particularly susceptible to osteoporosis.

Fruit drinks can be healthy for most people if they are diluted to reduce the high sugar intake. If you gradually change the mix from mostly soft drink to mostly water, your children’s taste buds will gradually get used to the new flavour.

Consider plumbed in water coolers to provide healthy water drinks at home or in the office.

 

It’s an emergency! Storing water in a watercooler-less world

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Water Storage Tips in Case of Emergency

One of the worst disasters most people could imagine would be running out of drinking water. There are a variety of disasters, both natural and zombie-apocalypse-related, that could precipitate a shortage of the water supply, but luckily for many of us there’s nicely contained and stored water in our workplace for our office water dispensers.

But how much harder would it be if the taps run dry and we didn’t have our handy water cooler bottles? Check out these tips for treating and storing water safely.

Water storage systems

The first consideration is what type of container you’ll use to store water. You may not have an handy. Whilst they can be constructed of plastic, glass or metal, it’s important to ensure the material is food grade. Jugs that once held soda, juice or milk are ideal. Although stainless steel containers are acceptable, you don’t want to store chlorinated water in them since it may corrode the metal.

Larger storage containers such as 100-litre tanks are available but always opt for food grade only; they will be stamped HPDE (High Density PolyEhtylene) on the bottom.

After you’ve thoroughly cleaned the containers you are going to use for water storage, rinse with water and a bit of chlorine bleach to ensure they are properly sanitized (or boil the container in clean water if small enough).

Here’s a valuable tip: label your containers. Clearly write “Drinking Water” and the date on them in permanent marker so you’ll know which should be used first.

Treating water for storage

If you are using tap water you can rest assured that it’s already been treated by your local water treatment facility. However, if you can’t be sure it’s been treated a few drops of chlorine bleach per gallon can be added to be on the safe side. This is recommended if you are repurposing containers that previously held some other beverage.

Although not ideal, if you had no other source you could use salt water as long as you distilled it first. There are some simple ways to distil the water so you can drink it; basically you must heat the water and collect the vapour.

Here’s another source of readily available water: swimming pools. If you’ve got a pool, then you’ve got lots of water that, as long as it is treated on a regular basis to prevent algae growth, is just fine to drink. Boil it first, however, then let it cool.

Water storage tips

Treated water should be stored in a cool, dry place that is out of direct sunlight; a cellar or waterproof storage shed (on a shelf away from pesticides and other chemicals) would be ideal. This follows pretty much the same rules as when storing your normal water cooler bottles, as chemicals can seep through almost any container over an extended period of time.

Although it can last indefinitely, it’s a good idea to use your water then replace it every year or so. That way you can rest assured that it is fresh should you need to use it in an emergency.

You never know when disaster might strike and leave you without drinking water. Take steps now to treat and store enough water to last you and your family for months so you are always prepared – zombies or no zombies.
zombie water shortage

Barrel image credit: Minnesota Historical Society

Are your team drinking enough water?

Posted in Health, water coolers, Well Being at Work on by .

Good hydration can significantly improve productivity and well being at work, but sometimes it can be hard to get everyone in a company or workplace to think about their drinking habits. How can you help to improve hydration in the office?

  • Make hydration easy to access: Ensure you have water stations or water coolers installed in highly-used staff areas like receptions, break rooms or kitchens, as well as places with lots of through-traffic where there might not be an opportunity to sit like manufacturing zones or warehouses. It’s especially important to have water close-to-hand if you’re active, and don’t forget to provide bottles or cups for use – there’s no point in water if people can’t actually drink from anything!
  • Allow for regular breaks: These will allow employees to drink and rest their minds, and this has been proven to improve concentration and productivity.
  • Remind and remember: It’s easy to forget good hydration practices when you’re busy, so consider pushing the message with promotional campaigns and messages and by showing a good drinking example. A culture of good hydration will last and generate benefits for all in the longer term.

 

New research suggests coffee machines increase office productivity

Posted in Coffee, Health, Well Being at Work on by .

coffee area group

As experts in office coffee and hydration Eden Springs have long known the value of coffee and water breaks in revitalising and energising employees. Now, new research is scientifically proving that well-designed drinks areas offering quality coffee and other hot beverages can improve workplace productivity.

According to Sociometric Solutions, a workplace consulting firm, it’s not just the coffee but the quality of the coffee and the desire to sit, collaborate and recharge with colleagues that gives new meaning to the term “coffee break”.

“Being able to spend time with a close group of people makes people happy and effective at work,” Dr. Ben Waber, president and CEO of Sociometric told the New York Times recently. “A well-designed beverage area is a surprisingly important contributor to productivity”.

Performance and relationships

Research showed that when workers had a place to mingle, seek help from one another, brainstorm and in general collaborate, the results were improved morale, increased collaboration and better performance.

Today’s business coffee machines produce quality coffees in a wide array of styles and with prices to suit all pockets. The sound of freshly roasted beans being ground and the smell of fresh coffee brewing are important in the workplace even before the first sip of coffee is taken.

Office drinks areas are all about getting people up from their desks, to enter a place with cafe-like qualities where new ideas can be discussed and relationships built. In today’s work place, good coffee can make all the difference.

coffee area group

Water As a Natural Beauty Aid

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Water As a Natural Beauty Aid

Water As a Natural Beauty Aid We continually hear about the latest and greatest methods of making ourselves beautiful – everything from anti-aging creams to medical procedures touted to be the next miracle. But did you realize that something as simple and widely available as the water you drink from your water dispensers could be the best beauty aid in your arsenal of products? Here are several ways that water makes you prettier, younger, and healthier.

Drink up

The first, and perhaps most obvious, way that water promotes beauty is by preventing dehydration. Our skin is comprised of 70 percent water! Obviously, it takes a great deal of water to keep it properly lubricated.

Another way that water makes us look better is by functioning as the body’s cleanser to eliminate toxins. All of the body’s organs require water to function optimally and if just one of those organs is deprived of the necessary amount of water, it will appear as a visual sign of poor health. For best results, drink an absolute minimum of two to three litres of water each and every day to provide inner hydration.

Tip: Start each day with a glass of water to which you’ve added a squirt of fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice is a food and that’s your body’s signal to eliminate waste. You’ll get rid of extra weight and toxins right away!

Cleanse

What about outer hydration? Although there are a myriad of products on the market today made for cleansing your skin, when it comes down to it, water is the best cleanser available. Soaps wick moisture from your skin and upset its innate PH balance. Water, on the other hand, is a natural substance that won’t interfere with your skin’s production of lubricants. Ninety five percent of each skin cell is comprised of water; doesn’t it make sense to use that same substance to cleanse it?

Tip: When it comes to cleansing your body, cool or lukewarm water in your shower or bath is best. Follow your plain water cleanse with a moisturizer (which most likely contains water as the major ingredient) to prevent drying.

Water for your hair

When you’re having a bad hair day, count on water to come to the rescue! For a carefree, wavy style, dampen your hair, apply styling gel, then twist small sections into coils secured with hair pins (or use foam rollers). The water helps “set” your locks into the shape you desire.

If it’s not your day to shampoo but you need a style pick-up, try spritzing water on the ends of your hair (not the roots as that will flatten your style) to reactivate the styling agents you applied the previous day.

Tip: Heat can strip artificial colour from your hair. If you dye your hair, use only lukewarm or cool water when washing it so the colour doesn’t fade too quickly.

Water is more than just a life force necessary for health; it helps you look your best, too. Water is the original, all-natural beauty aid!

Image: pshutterbug/Flickr

The facts on mineral content in water

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The Facts on Mineral Content in Water

The Facts on Mineral Content in WaterNot all water is created equal. There is hard water, soft water, tap water and bottled water.  It is also important to note that not all water sources have the same mineral content.  The minerals found in water greatly depend on the source, or type of water, and they can also affect the taste and use of the water.

Hard water and soft water

Hard water is defined as water that comes up to the ground’s surface from water springs.  Because of its origin, hard water contains many minerals, like calcium and magnesium, that it gets from the ground.  Hard water also has sodium, but in lesser amounts than the sodium contained in soft water.  Many people think that hard water is a better-tasting alternative when it comes to different types of drinking water.

Soft water is defined as water derived from the ground’s surface, such as rain water from reservoirs and excess rain water from streams, etc.  Soft water has less mineral content than hard water, and the main mineral in soft water is sodium.  It’s know to leave fewer water deposits around water fixtures, such as faucets, sinks, showers and tubs, and using soft water to bathe and clean requires less soap than with hard water.  Some people install water softeners and prefer using soft water for bathing and cleaning, while using hard water for drinking and cooking.

Tap water and bottled water

The mineral fluoride is sometimes added to tap water, and can also be found in some bottled water and water dispensers, however Eden do not add fluoride to our water. The right amount of fluoride can aid in the prevention of tooth decay, or cavities, however a degree of caution should be exercised as too much fluoride has been known to cause what is called ‘dental fluorosis’.  Dental fluorosis is a discolouring or marking of the enamel of the tooth, and is particularly caused by an excessive amount of fluoride consumed during a child’s teeth-forming years.  The good news is that dental fluorosis is mainly a cosmetic worry, and not a health concern.

When it comes down to it, minerals are necessary for health but as with anything, too much of a good thing is never healthy. It is always wise to check the mineral content of the water you drink. The calcium, magnesium and sodium found in water are all beneficial to our health, but you don’t want too much sodium or fluoride. Some research has raised questions about the risks of added fluoride, but if it is found naturally in the water, it is considered to be within safe limits.

Image: cybergibbons/Flickr