Wednesday 17 October 2012

Untapped resources

This evening I went to the library, something I haven't done in years! The last time I was there I was trying to finish my dissertation on co-enzyme Q10 and Parkinsons disease and my broadband was on the blink at home so I was just using their free WiFi!

Like most people I tend to buy my books rather than borrow them, but given that loans are free for three weeks (and you can also rent dvds for free) I'm starting to wonder why I haven't been using my library instead!

It's a fairly small one (canary wharf, churchill place) and yet they still have quite a good range of relatively recent health books including the rather scary 'OMG' diet book which tells you to drink lots of caffeine and skip breakfast, along with some more sensible titles from Ian Marber and Patrick Holford.

Whilst I like to own my cookery books and some nutrition books that I go back to again and again, I think it's good to keep my reading fresh and be aware of the latest ideas in food and health. Reading new books also helps give me some meal and snack inspiration when I start getting bored of my usual options.

I tend to alternate a book I'm reading just for pleasure, such as a novel or biography, with a book on health, whether that's a book on nutrition, exercise or another self-help book - usually on how to keep my life simple and stress-free!

Even if you're not a health professional, making time to read self-help health books can be time well-spent. As a result of my reading I find myself gradually making tweaks to my diet and lifestyle. Changes I've made prompted by reading include dramatically cutting down on my meat consumption, reducing my intake of processed foods (which were mainly gluten-free treats), totally eliminating any dairy food from my diet (rather than just avoiding lactose) and not getting so hung up on my to do list and what's still on it!

The result has been I've dropped a couple of spare pounds without going hungry, I sleep better and have blemish-free skin. The to do list still bothers me, but I'm better at sitting down and relaxing instead of multi-tasking like a maniac!

Tonight I took out the 'Food Doctor Diet Club' book for some new recipe ideas and helpful meal planners to get some more variety into my diet. The lady at the counter serving me clocked it was a diet book and kindly pointed out that they also have a 'Slimming World' club at the library if I wanted to join :-)
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