Tag 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

Posted in Health on by .

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

Water As a Natural Beauty Aid

Posted in Health on by .

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

Posted in Health on by .

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

Tanzanian water projects with People help People – One World

Posted in Charity, Community, Health on by .

Drinking Water
Drinking Water

Drinking Water by Julien Harneis

Eden have begun a charity partnership with the not-for-profit organisation People help People – One World. The agreement to provide support for three drinking water projects in Tanzania, Africa.

As the leading provider of drinking solutions for the workplace we like to set an example in helping charities and worthwhile causes, and our funding will help provide clean drinking water supply systems to three secondary schools in the Uru district of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. This will ensure that around 1,000 school children and a further 7,500 residents in the nearby communities have access to a safe drinking water supply.

Big difference

“We spent a lot of time looking for the right partner and it was important that they shared our values and ‘can do’ attitude” explains Chief executive officer of Eden Springs, Raanan Zilberman. ““Our experience as shown that while charity donations are a nice gesture, many companies forget to assess the effectiveness of their giving.

“We wanted to ensure our chosen partner would work efficiently and make a big difference to people’s lives through our support. People help People – One World has been established in Tanzania since 1985 and has helped to transform living conditions for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.”

Clean water

Eden Springs has pledged to donate at least €30,000 each year in support of the three projects, with Eden employees at depots across Europe also raising additional funds for the charity.

In Tanzania today only 55 per cent of people have access to clean drinking water and only 7 per cent of all children have access to secondary education*. In the Uru district, children and residents of the nearby villages currently have to resort to drinking dirty surface water or walking up to 10km (6 miles) in order to access clean drinking water. The partnership between Eden Springs and People help People will not only benefit the schoolchildren but also all of the communities around the schools who will have access to the water for both drinking and farming.

* Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/tanzania_statistics.html

5 Tips for Looking after your Water Cooler

Posted in Bottled Water Coolers, Customer Services, Health, water coolers, Well Being at Work on by .

water cooler tips video

water cooler tips video

water cooler tips video

Water from Eden water coolers is tasty, safe and refreshing. However we want to ensure your cooler is working exactly as intended and keep you cooler in top shape, so take the advice of  Steven Riley, Cooler Expert for Eden Springs UK, to ensure the very small risk of water contamination remains small and unnecessary call-outs are avoided!

1. Are you plugged in?

It’s a surprisingly regular occurance – a cleaner might take out the cooler power plug so they can plug in the vacuum cleaner and they forget to plug the cooler back in. A call to our water cooler customer service team follows explaining that the cooler isn’t chilling the water, with a subsequent visit from a cooler expert, only to find out the cooler isn’t plugged in! So if you haven’t got cooled water, check one should be the power socket.

2. Watch for drip tray overflow

Often water cooler drip trays are left unemptied and overflowing, and this can lead to water spilling onto the floor. Often the first response to water on the floor is “The cooler is leaking” and an Eden Springs representative is called, and you go without chilled water unnecessarily. In order to maintain a clean and uncontaminated cooler we recommend regularly taking out the drip tray to empty and clean.

3. Store your water bottles in a suitable location

It’s important to store your water cooler bottles in a suitable room or space; yes we’d all prefer the bottles to be near your cooler, but there are other equally important factors to consider. The bottles should ideally be stored in a cold and dark environment, and they should preferably be stored off the floor to avoid any potential contamination from the floor surface. There is always a small chance that any spills, debris or cleaning fluids used on the floor can get into the bottles over time. Also the water cooler bottles themselves are made of a type of plastic, and chemicals or even the colour and dye of the bottles can seep into the water if left in direct sunlight or alongside contaminating materials.

4. Don’t refill water bottles

We generally wouldn’t recommend refilling bottles etc from water coolers, especially if there isn’t enough room for the bottle to sit well below the taps. This is because when refilling bottles people will often push the mouth of the bottle directly up against the water taps, and this is an opportunity for bacteria or viruses to transfer from the bottle to the cooler tap. If one person with a cold, say, did this in a busy office you can imagine how many people might catch this simply because they have refilled their bottle at the water cooler.

5. Clean inbetween sanitisation visits

To enjoy your water to the full contamination prevention is important. To achieve this we would recommend cleaning your water cooler intermittently and between our official sanitisation visits; it’s obviously not a full strip-and-clean of the cooler, however any cleaning will significantly reduce the chance of cross-contamination of your water. To this end we can also supply you with special sanitisation kits, which contain a small hydrogen peroxide spray, wipes, and a brush for fine cleaning around taps. Simply spray the cleaning fluid, wipe off and allow to dry.

After an Eden Springs sanitisation we also recommend changing the bottle on the cooler, as we don’t know how long a bottle has been on the cooler and with a nice clean cooler and reservoir we don’t want to reintroduce a potentially contaminated bottle.

Biggest Loser: WEIGH IN WEEK 12

Posted in About Eden, Blantyre, Customer Services, Health, Well Being at Work on by .

the-biggest-loserAt week 12 of the competition and Denise is just in the lead – way to go Denise! But with only another week or healthy-living left to win the Ultimate SodaStream fizzy drinks machine the pressure is really on!

Who’s your money on to win?

Week 12 results

Loser name Total weight loss
Denise Chisholm 13.41%
Susan Muir 10.76%
John Thornton 6.70%
Sally Bartholomew 5.00%
Clair Demellweek 4.90%
Sharon Brady 0.66%
Valerie Little 0.39%
Sheena Angus 0.00%

Biggest Loser: WEIGH IN WEEK 10

Posted in About Eden, Community, Customer Services, Health on by .

the-biggest-loserIt’s now week 10 of the competition, and there’s not long left to shoot to the top and claim the free SodaStream drinks maker!

While Clair has done really well recently it’s still Susan and Denise at the top; the battle is fierce and Denise has now taken the lead – who will win? Who’s your favourite?

Week 10 results

Loser name Total weight loss
Denise Chisholm 11.17%
Susan Muir 9.23%
John Thornton 5.59%
Sally Bartholomew 5.55%
Clair Demellweek 4.41%
Sharon Brady 0.66%
Valerie Little 0.39%
Sheena Angus 0.00%

The Biggest Loser: WEIGH IN WEEK 8

Posted in About Eden, Community, Customer Services, Health, Well Being at Work on by .

the-biggest-loserEden’s Biggest Loser competition is charging through week 8 and the entrants know they need to shape up or ship out as there’re only five weeks remaining!

The competition as the top is intense, with Susan and Denise matching each other’s weight loss pound for pound – can they both keep up the excellent performance to the end?

Week 8 results

Loser name Total weight loss
Susan Muir 10.25%
Denise Chisholm 10.16%
Sally Bartholomew 6.11%
John Thornton 5.75%
Clair Demellweek 2.45%
Sharon Brady 1.32%
Sheena Angus 0.00%
Valerie Little 0.00%