Guess what, you are not alone and it has now become a recognised condition with a new name of Aerotoxic Syndrome. It’s called a syndrome because there are a whole host of both acute and chronic symptoms that it is now believed are caused by breathing contaminated jet cabin air such as chronic fatigue, respiratory difficulties, vision problems and cognitive disorder.

That’s all very well, but what causes it? The basic reason is that airplanes fly thousands of feet above sea level where the air is cold and thin and in order to make it suitable for passengers to breathe it must be pressurized, heated, and then circulated to the cabin. On most commercial planes this is done by drawing in a compressed supply of air from plane engines and typically, this “bleed air” is mixed with existing cabin air and recirculated throughout the flight.

As you might imagine, this air is drawn is often contaminated with toxic fumes from the friction that occurs between various moving parts in the plane’s engine and the oil that lubricates them. Of course these compartments are designed with seals that block fumes from getting into the cabin, but like anything else they are not 100 percent effective and can and will break down over time, letting more and more oil mix with hot compressed air.

So what is actually in the air that you are breathing while sitting in your aeroplane seat?
The type of oil used to lubricate plane engines is a complex, synthetic variety that has been specially formulated to endure extreme conditions and has a number of toxic components, including Tricresyl phosphate (TCP), a known neurotoxin that is used in pesticides and nerve agents. Heavy metal particles such as nickel, cadmium and beryllium also make their way into the mix as the “bleed air” is drawn through engine channels.

The Aerotoxic Association claim that these toxins cause damage to the central nervous system though this will vary from person to person. Some people may experience immediate symptoms while others may notice a pattern of illness that becomes progressively worse over time. This is not something that is acknowledged or recognised by government and regulatory authorities as they feel there is not enough evidence that the toxic fumes circulating in airplane cabins are responsible for any sort of illness.

The evidence to date may be anecdotal but that doesn’t make it less real. There have been testimonies from pilots, air filtration experts, flight attendants and passengers that have been harmed by toxic cabin air. One such is Tony Watson, a former commercial airline pilot. Whose blood tests revealed that his body was filled with petroleum-related chemicals that led to severe neurological damage, leaving him unable to fly planes.

In the UK, the House of Lords made a request back in 2007 that the substances contained in cabin air fumes be analyzed to determine safety and a group from Cranfield University agreed to conduct the study and release the results by March 15, 2010, but it has yet to do so. The Aerotoxic Association fears that the report may never be released as the university has “close commercial partnerships with Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls-Royce. , to name just a few”.

So if you want to avoid breathing in toxic recycled air which airline should you choose? Sadly, virtually all jet aircraft and turboprops use an air circulating system that is susceptible to toxic fumes and the only type of plane that uses non-bleed technology is the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This commercial jet is the first one in over 40 years to be created using safe technology, despite evidence since at least the early 1990s that bleed technology creates toxic cabin air.

My advice? During the flight, other than carrying your own personal oxygen mask, drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and take 500 mg of vitamin C when you board the plane and every two hours thereafter. Vitamins C is instrumental in helping expel toxins from the body, as is plenty of water. Check your body tolerance for vitamins C, signs you are at your limit include tingling on the tongue and/or mild diarrhoea. Some people can take up to 3 to 5 grams a day, but for most people starting at 500 and working up is much the best plan. Once arrived at your destination I would keep up the water and vitamins C routine for at least another 24 hours.

If you want to find out more you will find lots of fascinating information at http://www.aerotoxic.org/

We all face challenges in life and these are then reflected in
our health and wellbeing and one way to maintain a strong
immune system is to work with, rather than against, your
own energy…click here to read more
The Benefits of Power Napping
I often rail against unnecessary research, but I confess to a
sneaking liking for researchers from the University of California,
Berkeley, who have just found that people who take naps
during the day are helping to improve their overall brain function.
See, I knew there was a good reason the cats and I closed
our eyes after lunch…click here to read more

Snoring, Sleep and Natural Solutions
While we are on the subject of sleep, did you know that a
staggering 64% of us have a bad nights’ sleep every week,
with one of the reasons being snoring.  Hands up all those
who identify with that problem? There are a number of natural
solutions on offer and I offer some ideas below, but recently I
have been testing something called the
No Snore Pillow…click here to read more

Food scientists Dr. Susanne and Steve Talcott undertook a study at Texam A&M University on five varieties of mangos that are most common in the USA.  Kent, Francine, Ataulfo, Tommy/Atkins and Haden, in case you are interested, and they specifically tested polyphenol extracts from the fruit on colon, breast, lung, leukaemia and prostate cancer cells.

Polyphenols are natural substances in plants that are antioxidants with the potential to protect the body from disease and this research focused on polyphenolic compounds in mangos known as gallotannins, a class of natural bioactive compounds believed to help prevent or block the growth of cancer cells.

The results are encouraging as the mango extract demonstrated some cancer fighting ability when tested on lung, leukaemia and prostate cancer cells, but really were impressive when tested on the most common breast and colon cancers where they were found cause cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

The researchers documented that the division process cancer cells go through was interrupted by mango extract. This is crucial information, for cells that may be on the verge of mutating or being damaged, mango polyphenolics could prevent this and so prevent cancer.

The scientists have conducted additional research on the colon cancer cell lines because mangos contain small molecules that are readily absorbed in the colon as well as larger molecules that are not absorbed and remain present longer in the colon. That could potentially make eating mangos a potent way to help prevent colon cancer.

Time to add mangos to one of your five a day?

Organic matcha from specialty company Teapigs comes from the renowned Nishio region in Japan, where the tea leaves are grown under cover for the last few weeks to produce the maximum amount of amino acids and the chlorophyll that gives it the green colour.  The leaves are then dried and very slowly ground by a granite stone to a very fine powder, which is then packed and sealed immediately to lock in all the nutrients.  Just a quarter teaspoon of this bright green powder gives you the same health benefits as equivalent of15 cups of regular green tea and contains 70 times the antioxidants of orange juice, 90 times the beta carotene of spinach plus vitamins A, B and C.

What more can you want?  The thing I particularly like about green tea is that it is both energising and calming and because matcha is a fine powder that you mix with hot or cold liquid there is no waste as you have the whole leaf in powder form.   Matcha can be drunk like any normal green tea – with hot water – though I prefer to start the day with it on an empty stomach and mix it with juice or a smoothie.  It feels odd to be glugging down a green liquid, but the result is worth it.  When I am packing for a stint as a speaker on a cruise ship, it’s the first thing into the case!

If you have had an overindulgent Christmas and New Year followed by this debilitating cold weather then that can really impact your health.  A simple way to remedy that is to use matcha in a smoothie recipe for breakfast to set you up for the day.  This delicious recipe was devised at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant in London

In a blender put the following:

2g (approx 1/2 teaspoon) matcha

1/2 apple

1/4 stick celery

2 sprigs mint

1/2 banana

1/2 pear

Blend and drink- delicious

20% Off To Try it!

If you want to try matcha, just use the code superhero at the checkout stage and you’ll get a 20% discount off your purchase of teapigs organic matcha. It’s only valid until 31st January so go to the website if you want to order at www.teapigs.co.uk 

I was taught a trick by a French gypsy to help find things; you think of the object, blow into your left palm and then close your hand into a fist.  Whatever first comes to your mind is where you will probably find the lost object, however unlikely it seems – no guarantees but it works for me more often than not.

 Now science has got in on the act and offers a useful little tip if you are frequently losing your keys.   What you have to do is record the sound of your keys jangling and then play it to yourself on an ipod, or mobile phone when you are sleeping.  This discovery was reported by neuroscientists at Northwestern University, in the US who carried out a small study, with 12 volunteers.  

 Whatever new skill you want to learn, it’s a very efficient idea to reinforce your learning while you sleep.  The only thing that worries me is that those of us who live alone haven’t got anyone to switch the ipod on during the night – and your partner might not be too thrilled to have to stay awake and do it either!  Wonder if I can train the cats?

The autonomic nervous system regulates the heart rate through two routes, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The former causes the heart rate to rise, while, the parasympathetic slows it so that when working well together, the two ensure that the heart rate is steady but ready to respond to demands such as when we eat, our fight or flight response, or arousal.

The research was carried out at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, in Uttrakhand, and although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that yoga practice may improve health through breathing exercises, stretching, postures, relaxation, and meditation this sis the first time its effect on the heart has put through a scientific trial.

The volunteers were all healthy men aged between 18 and 48, half of whom practiced yoga regularly and the others not at all. They were given electrocardiograms (ECG) and found that the regular practitioners had stronger and better control of their parasympathetic system which gave them more autonomic control over their heart rate and so a healthier heart.

Go find a local yoga class, or use one of the excellent DVD’s on the subject. For beginners I would suggest Barbara Curries Seven Secrets of Yoga for a quick and simple workout as I have been using it for years, and it is available on Amazon second hand for an amazing 1p at the moment! www.amazon.co.uk

Health Bite:
Another great ingredient you need for a healthy heart is vitamin D, and low levels may also increase the risk of atherosclerosis.

It seems that most people suffering from heart disease are chronically deficient in vitamin D and you can easily rectify that by getting some sunshine every day – not always easy in our climate – or by taking a vitamin D3 supplement.

Nutritionists recommend a supplement for those deficient of around 1,000 – 4000 IUs per day, but not when you are getting plenty of sunshine.

Vitamin D is also known to be a preventive agent for around 77% of all cancers so you get a double health bonus. Now, about booking that sunshine cruise,…

They have found that widespread poor compliance with regular cleaning of public bathrooms on cruise ships may predict subsequent norovirus infection outbreaks. This is the first study of environmental hygiene on cruise ships where outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis often occur because of the close proximity of such a large group of people. Recent studies into outbreaks of gastroenteritis have confirmed that 95 percent of cruise ship outbreaks are caused by norovirus. It should be said that all this research was done on 66 ships monitored by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so is US based, but I think we can learn a lesson from it.

 The problem seems to be mainly around how thoroughly everything in a public bathroom is cleaned and disinfected as only 37 percent of the 273 randomly selected onboard bathrooms were thoroughly cleaned daily. The most neglected area for cleaning was any handles on stall doors, or entrance and the researchers found that the stand of cleaning did not vary by cruise line and did not meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores. Washing your hands is of course essential, but this is no help if the bathroom doors are not clean. The solution as ever is preventive action so carry antibacterial gel and handwipes and do not touch the doors with your bare hands – use a barrier such as a handwipe of tissue to cut down the possibility of infection.

It’s not generally realised that one of the biggest sources of infection in public areas are the handrails – whether on a ship, or anywhere else. Avoid using them if you can, and if you have to put your bare hand on them then always use an antibacterial wipe of gel before touching food or drink, or your own face. The good news is that although the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning was 30 percent on more than half of the ships, near-perfect cleaning was documented on several vessels, so it can be done and is being done on s hips that maintain high standards of cleaning and monitoring.

After the age of 40, urination for men can become increasingly difficult with more frequent visits to the bathroom, and often have difficulty in fully emptying the bladder.  The condition increases with age, affecting 70-80 per cent of people by the time they are 80.  It is the most frequent reason for men seeking advice for prostate-related problems.   

Women are not exempt of course as 40 per cent of us will also experience some form of distressing incontinence in our lifetime.  Stress incontinence, or bladder weakness, can occur at any age in women, particularly when the pelvic floor weakens due to childbirth, pregnancy and menopause, and leakage occurs on sneezing, coughing or laughing. 

Happily there is now a natural supplement to relieve this problem.  FlowEase comes from The Really Healthy Company and is made from a specialized form of flower pollen.  Research into flower pollen has been going on for 40 years and has been found to contain over a hundred different nutritional components including: minerals, trace elements, amino acids, nucleic acids, enzymes and anti-bacterial substances. 

FlowEase provides an array of nutrients from flower pollen shown to maintain bladder health and stability, based on the work of Professor Gösta Jönsson, of Lund University, Sweden, who proved it had a beneficial effect on prostate diseases. As well as helping with urinary problems, clinical studies show that pollen extract alleviates the discomfort and symptoms resulting from an enlarged or inflamed prostate. 

FlowEase helps maintain bladder health and stability in both men and women by activating the receptors in the bladder muscle, strengthening its function while also allowing the muscles in the urethra to relax to enable complete urination. This leads to longer gaps between toilet visits, making life more bearable. 

If you can’t find FlowEase in your local health store, visit the website at www.healthy.co.uk   

First is a clever woman who realised men don’t like dieting in public, for example asking for a gin and slimline tonic still isn’t quite the thing – and actually from a health point of view that slimline tonic is worthless. It may have fewer calories but it also has a cocktail of chemicals in it – go for the real thing and get the benefit! Jeni Blaskett decided to create a slimming group in which men would flourish and lose weight. One that meant that men could go about their daily routines without feeling they were losing face so she set up a website www.Beltdown.com exclusively for men.

Beltdown’s key diet plan principle is unique, and couldn’t be easier to follow – ‘If you can’t wash it, try to avoid it’. So a cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms makes it onto the tick list, cake and biscuits do not. The website has plenty of info aimed specifically at men, such as which are the lowest calorie beers and curries, and the format allows for men to stay totally anonymous, whilst still getting the challenge, competitiveness and interaction of a group – but online. If you have an internet connection, it costs 8 a month membership and is available 24/7 – so no excuses – skip over to www.beltdown.com

And another great resource is a  a programme designed by a man who has been there and done that himself, and having met the man I can hartily recommend Robert Paterson’s book ‘Warriors’. He found the same problems in going to slimming groups as Jeni describes so he put together a very successful programme that has all the elements needed for successful weight loss for men.

It is particularly aimed at men who have found success in their careers but who, due to hectic lifestyles and lack of time, have lost their healthy body in the process. He created a specially developed ‘business plan’ to show how to:

** Set targets you can meet

** Devise sensible day-to-day eating plans

** Motivate yourself when the going gets tough

** Achieve long term success

** Treat your body as your business

Robert was an international banker weighing 22 stone who lost 8 stone on his regime, and kept the weight off. He is now Chairman of the Emerging Markets Group and Chairman of Performance Consultants, Brasil. He is a spokesman for the British Heart Founation and regularly competes in events to raise funds for them. You will find his book on Amazon by typing Robert Paterson and Warriors into the search query under books.

Have you tried any specific weight loss programmes for men? I would love to hear your experience.

We know that as we become adults we bring with us a baseline ‘stock’ of health, based on our genetic inheritance and other factors. Our experiences will affect this stock for good or ill; for instance getting married tends to bring an immediate benefit in that generally it improves men’s health, presumably with better nutrition and fewer takeaways, and women’s health improves from being more financially secure – they obviously never met my ex. As a marriage goes on the benefits are enhanced but divorce or widowhood undermines health because incomes drop, and stress develops over issues such as shared child care.

If you want the statistics to impress your partner with here they are:

** divorced or widowed people have 20 percent more chronic health conditions like diabetes and cancer than married people and 23 percent more difficulty with mobility such as trouble climbing stairs or walking short distances

 ** people who never married have 12 percent more mobility limitations and 13 percent more depressive symptoms and the same number of chronic health conditions as married people

** those who have remarried have 12 percent more chronic conditions and 19 percent more mobility limitations, but no more depressive symptoms, than those who are continuously married. 

How we become less healthy is also dependent on the particular illness; for instance conditions such as depression, seem to respond both quickly and strongly to changes in current conditions, but diabetes and heart disease develop slowly over a substantial period and show the impact of past experiences. That is one of the reasons why health is undermined by divorce or widowhood, even when a person remarries.

So it seems the best plan is to stay married, and if divorced or widowed to be open to developing a new relationship – if only for the sake of your health.  Did you notice your health changing after your divorce, or has it given you a new and healthy lease of life?