Diet Review 2: KEN diet
Our dietitian and Clinical Manager of Dietetics at Spectrum Health reviews the second diet of a series of fad diets… Ok so crazy diet Number 2………… THE KEN DIET or otherwise known as the Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition diet and sometimes referred to as the feeding tube diet!! Who came up with this KEN diet? Believe […]
Multiple Sclerosis – Tips to help Swallowing Difficulties
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients may have swallowing difficulties as a consequence of this progressive illness. Swallowing difficulties can be mild or severe depending on the stage of progression of Multiple Sclerosis. A multiple sclerosis patient more than likely has swallowing problems if they have any of the following symptoms: choking and coughing during meals, feeling […]
Top Tips for Healthy Cooking
Although you may be already making a conscious effort to improve the nutritional quality of your meals, you may not be aware of some of the bad habits you have picked up over the years. Despite our best efforts, we often ingest ‘mindless’ calories; meaning calories we eat that we don’t really think about or […]
THINKING TIPS! Becoming More Aware of Problem Thinking (Part 2)
Following on from our previous blog, we are discussing cognitive distortions or problematic ways of thinking. It is helpful to become more aware of how your mind works, in order to increase the chances of being better able to manage it. Once you know that sometimes you fall into flawed thinking, you can make steps […]
Parkinson’s Disease – LSVT
The following blog was written by our Speech and Language Therapist, Emer Foley. Emer is trained in the use of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) and is experienced in managing communication disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder which is caused when the cells in the brain stop producing enough dopamine […]
How to Lose Weight: Tip 3
Following on from last weeks blog, here is tip number 3 for How to Lose Weight as outlined by Michelle Butler, clinical manager for Spectrum Health’s Dietetics services. Tip No 3……. Choose 2 -3 small changes you can start with and write these down. Don’t set the bar too high. Goals don’t necessarily have to […]
Aphasia – What You Might Not Know
Aphasia is a language disorder or impairment which affects many people. Today’s Speech and Language blog provides some interesting facts which you might not have known about the condition. – Aphasia is a language disorder that is caused by damage to area of the brain that controls language. – Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder, […]
Diet Review Number 3: Diet Pills
Ok so crazy diet Number 3………… This time we will not review a DIET as such but an extensive list of Diet/Slimming Pills Who endorses these Diet Pills?? A lot of these products are actually considered “nutritional supplements,” so they are very poorly regulated and do not need to go through the same rigorous testing […]
How Many Calories do I Need?
The majority of us are aware of or at least have heard of the energy in – energy out equation required for weight maintenance and weight loss. But how many of us know what our individual energy requirements are or how many calories you need a day? Often you will hear that women should be […]
How to Reduce Alcohol Consumption
In one of our previous blog posts we discussed alcohol abuse and how to identify if a problem is present. Today we discuss some ways to help reduce alcohol intake. In a country where social settings are heavily focused on drinking, it can be a daunting and difficult task to reduce consumption but it is […]
The Importance of Sports Nutrition
The 2012 Olympics, one of the worlds’ biggest events is ready to kick off tomorrow and is just across the water. With all this hype so close to home; here in Ireland we can only begin to feel inspired by the world’s best athletes. The knock on effect of this should see a surge of […]
Managing Intrusive Thoughts
What is an Intrusive Thought? An intrusive thought is a thought or image that pops into mind on a frequent, uncontrolled basis causing us distress, frustration, or upset. The intrusive thought could be anything that disturbs you, such as losing control, making a mistake, health worry, or unsettling thoughts about others. It is as if […]
A Quick Guide to Reading Food Labels
To maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle it can help to be aware of the different ingredients and additives in the food you are eating so that you are sticking to a balanced diet. The most important parts to look at when you are reading a food label include the following 5 points… 1. Serving […]
Parenting Tips – Managing Children’s Behavioral Problems
Managing a child’s behaviour is one of the greatest tasks involved with being a parent and it is an area where a lot of people may struggle. This is a common occurrence for many parents and there is no need to feel like you are failing if a child’s behaviour is or has become unruly. […]
Child Development Milestones: 6 months
There are certain child development milestones and language milestones expected of your child at certain ages. These milestones are marked by how a child speaks, plays, learns and acts in order to give us an idea of their stage of development. You can refer to the below as a rough guide to ensure that child […]
Child Development Milestones: 1 year
Following on from the last blog on child development at 6 months, here is some information on how your child should have progressed by 1 year. Please remember that not all children will develop at the same rate as one another and that this is just a general guide to child development for the 1 […]
Why is Calcium Important?
Did you know that we only build bone during the first 30 years of our life? In fact, most of us stop building it around the age of 25. After this our bone density stabilizes until we turn 40 or so where it begins to decline which weakens the bone and increases the risk of […]
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; it kick starts your metabolism, provides energy and sets you up for the day ahead. However, we know you know the importance of eating breakfast every day. Instead of lecturing you on why you should eat breakfast every day we are just going to outline some […]