“We want to make sure this generation of children are the healthiest generation that ever lived" says Wes Streeting, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
So how do we get there? In fact, how do we improve the health of all generations? From my perspective, there is a huge educational piece missing in our personal health knowledge.
Whether you are 8 or 80, getting to grips with the mechanics of your own body is fundamental to improved health.
Not understanding how our bodies respond to what we eat, drink, how we move and sleep and importantly, how our bodies uniquely respond to all of the above, is having devastating consequences.
A recent Times article written by Robert Colvile took this narrative even further. “Doctors can only treat the patients in front of them. If Britons eat better and drink less, it could save the health service hundreds of billions of pounds”.
According to a new report from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the NHS is bankrupting Britain. It’s in critical health.
The core driver is the proportion of GDP spent on the NHS, which is predicted to double.
If nothing changes, public spending will balloon from 45% to 60% of our national income over the next half-century, raising debt and borrowing to completely unsustainable levels.
But the problem isn’t the NHS alone.
Yes, we are all living longer - meaning far higher medical costs per head, but in simple terms, the NHS bill will end up hundreds of billions lower if we become a healthier country, and hundreds of billions higher if we’re a sicker one.
With another Winter of Discontent emerging on the horizon, we need to change. And I’m not talking here about NHS infrastructure. I’m talking about us. We need to change our behaviour. We need to educate ourselves. We need to take responsibility.
Because a staggering 90% of poor health can be attributed to risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity - and stress. It’s all preventable.
I am not going to paint a picture of utter doom and gloom. Deaths from cancer and circulatory disease have indeed fallen sharply, as has the number of smokers. Children, in particular, are far less likely to drink and smoke than they used to be.
But we are a country where more than half of adults in every age group are overweight or obese, where only two thirds of adults are physically active, and where more than three million adults eat no fruit and vegetables at all.
Diabetes, depression and liver disease are rising and healthy life expectancy is failing to improve.
Effective treatment requires three things:
- An easily accessible method of screening to identify those at risk.
- Good health advice combined with a plan to achieve lifestyle change
- Real-time biological feedback response to nutrition and diet to encourage compliance to treatment plans - particularly during the initial period when there is no immediate outward benefit.
At the moment, the NHS only delivers number 2 on this list. And even that is set at low volume. This has resulted in poor outcomes due to late stage identification of issues and low levels of compliance due to few immediate observable benefits.
Ripple will be able to address 1 and 3.
I believe in encouraging and empowering people to understand their health by understanding their unique bodies. As an entrepreneur and founder of Ripple, I also believe in the power of innovation to help humanity improve and transform behaviour.
Here’s my top 3 tips to help ourselves, and move towards helping to fix a broken NHS.
1. Find the balance
Improving health involves a well-rounded approach to nutrition and hydration, which all play a crucial role in fueling your body and mind.
Balanced nutrition and proper hydration not only enhance your physical capabilities but also sharpen your mental focus, enabling you to perform at your best in all aspects of life. But everyone is different and that’s where self awareness is critical.
There is so much information available about what constitutes the foundations for good nutrition and hydration but for ease, we have a wealth of resources on our website too.
With our Ripple wearable device, you are in control! Continuous real time data shows how your body uses food and drink, relating this to exercise, activity and sleep.
2. Move and Monitor
When it comes to wellness and weight management, most of us focus on diet and exercise. However, an often-overlooked factor in this equation is lactate, commonly known as lactic acid.
Understanding and leveraging lactate awareness can significantly enhance your efforts.
During high-intensity workouts, lactate production ramps up, signalling that your body is working hard. This increased effort boosts your metabolism, leading to more calories burned both during and after exercise. This is known as the "afterburn effect" or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).
Regular high-intensity workouts that elevate lactate levels can improve your body's ability to clear lactate efficiently. This adaptation enhances your endurance, allowing you to exercise longer and at higher intensities, ultimately aiding in weight loss and fitness improvements.
Using devices like the Ripple, which monitor lactate levels in real-time, can help you personalise your training plans. This data-driven approach allows you to adjust your workouts based on your body's response, ensuring that you are always training at the right intensity for maximum results.
3. Know your glucose levels
Maintaining a healthy weight and keeping energy levels up can often feel like a balancing act. The key to achieving both lies in smart nutrition. You need to balance the nutrition you consume to the energy you are using over the day.
Unfortunately you will find that not all food types are helpful with this.
Ripple can be used to help with choosing foods that not only aid in weight management but also sustain your energy throughout the day. Additionally, managing glucose levels is crucial for preventing energy crashes and supporting overall health.
Our blog articles help signpost the best foods to include in your diet for optimal weight control, stable glucose levels, and consistent energy.
Remember that glucose is your body's primary energy source, especially during physical activity. Stable glucose levels are essential for maintaining consistent energy and preventing weight gain. But glucose levels are not just influenced by food alone, your physical activity and hydration both have an effect too. Ripple can help you to regulate your nutrition intake to keep in balance with activity and proper hydration. Foods with a low glycemic index (GI) release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, providing a steady supply of energy and helping to avoid spikes and crashes.
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