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As we come to the realisation that we have lost our beloved and outstanding Queen, we now enter a new and exciting era with King Charles III.
A lady who was interviewed on television said, ‘Charles went to the Palace as a Prince but you could see that he left as a King.’ I thought it was a wonderful comment and a very true observation.
As we watched King Charles speak so warmly in his address to the nation last Friday evening, I think we all felt reassured and comforted amongst our immense grief at losing the Queen so suddenly. Yes, we knew the Queen was very frail but as we saw her beautiful smile as she welcomed our new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday, who would have thought that two days later she would have left us?
I have had the privilege of meeting Prince Charles twice. The first time was when he presented me with my CBE in 2004. He made me feel like I was the only person in the room, something I have heard others say too.
The second time was at a Reception at Highgrove to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Send a Cow, a charity of which he is President and I am a Patron. Among the other guests in my group being presented to the then Prince of Wales was Nick Park, the animator and creator of Wallace and Gromit!
I’m sure we all wish our new King good health and happiness as he finally takes over this monumental role and responsibility. I think he will be a truly wonderful King and long may he reign.
The Two-Week Autumn Challenge
As our Two-Week Autumn Challenge draws to a close on Sunday evening, I wonder how those of you who participated will have benefitted? Have you lost weight? Will you see any improvement if you repeat the Fitness Test at the end of the fortnight? Do you feel fitter? Has your sense of ‘wellness’ improved? Many congratulations if you complete it. I certainly have seen a difference in my fitness and my jeans are definitely feeling looser! Happy days!
Mary says: ‘I always enjoy a Challenge as it really gets me focussed and I love having a goal to work towards. I wanted to do more strength work as I am ok with walking and aerobic exercise but strength work gets neglected. I am happy to say I have done 3 strength workouts this week. I have also taken more care with my portion sizes and have lost 2 lb so far since the start of the Challenge. I am very happy with that.’
If you have been taking part in the Challenge we would love to know how you have been getting on. If you would like to share your experience please send us an email to office@rosemaryconley.com and we will select the best comments to include in next week’s Newsletter.
Healthy Bones
Osteoporosis is an increasing concern, with an estimated 180,000 osteoporosis-related fractures in England and Wales each year, with around 85% of all osteoporotic fractures occurring in women.
This is a frightening statistic so Mary and I have put our heads together to give you our best advice on how we can keep our bones strong.
Strong and healthy bones are important to everyone but they are even more vital as we get older. Sadly, we so often hear of people of advancing years falling and breaking their hip or an arm or leg. For the elderly this is particularly concerning as recovery can be slower and can also seriously affect their confidence in their mobility. The less active they are, the greater their risk of poor bone health and a general deterioration of their general health.
In this week’s Newsletter Mary will explain why exercise is so important to our bones and which exercises can significantly strengthen them. I will talk about calcium-rich foods which are essential to good bone health. Another vital element is vitamin D. If we don’t act on this information, we run the risk of having poor bone health which can result in serious life-affecting conditions such as osteoporosis and even rickets.
Calcium
Adults need 700mg of calcium a day. We should be able to get all the calcium we need by eating a varied and balanced diet and we can check on the food labels to see how much calcium is included per portion in the things we are choosing to eat.
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Good sources of calcium include:
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- Milk and other dairy foods
- Green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach*
- Soya beans and tofu
- Plant-based drinks (such as soya drink) with added calcium
- Nuts
- Bread made with fortified flour
- Fish where you eat the bones, such as sardines and pilchards.
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*The reason eating spinach is discouraged is because whilst it contains a lot of calcium, it also contains a chemical compound called oxalate which reduces calcium absorption. Because of this, sadly, spinach is not a good source of calcium.
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Vitamin D
Adults need 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day. Getting enough vitamin D really helps us to absorb the calcium we consume in food.
Whilst it's difficult to get all the vitamin D we need from our diet alone, we get most of our vitamin D from the action of the sun on our skin. Going for your daily 30-minute walk, which Mary recommends in your Weekly Fitness Challenge, will certainly boost your absorption of vitamin D during the spring and summer months. To absorb vitamin D from the sun we need skin with no sunscreen. Sitting in the sun for short periods without sunscreen will help too.
To complement all this advice, the NHS recommends that everyone should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter when we won’t be able to make vitamin D from sunlight.
The next vital part of the triangle of advice for strong bones is of course exercise which Mary explains in her Fun, Facts and Fitness section of this Newsletter.
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Serves 4
Per serving: 181 calories, 6g fat (excluding accompaniments)
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 25 - 30 mins
2 large red peppers
2 large yellow peppers
8 cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 x 120g can sardines in tomato sauce
Juice of one lemon
Frylight rapeseed oil spray
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6
- Cut the peppers in half through the stalk and remove the inner core and seeds and discard.
- Place the peppers, cut side up, in an ovenproof dish.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes and arrange two halves in each pepper shell. Sprinkle with garlic and season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Take the sardines from the tins and distribute between the peppers so they cover the tomatoes. (You can discard the tomato sauce in the can)
- Drizzle with lemon juice and spray with Frylight Rapeseed oil then bake at the top of a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.
- Serve piping hot, sprinkled with parsley, with boiled new potatoes and broccoli or a salad comprising dark green leaves.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
I feel the need to focus our attention on our bones which are vital to our long-term health. Although many of us who read this Newsletter every week are in the older age group, all age groups need to be concerned about their bones. The subject of our bone health is right up there as a top priority, no matter what our age.
When asked, many people think that bone is just a hard dead tissue that, once we are fully grown, simply gives us a frame on which the rest of our body is attached. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Building Strong Bones
Although we may stop growing by the time we reach our late teens, we don't reach our peak bone density (bone strength) until around the age of 35 years. This means that right through our twenties and early thirties we have the opportunity to ‘build up’ to the best strength of bone possible.
How Do We Build Stronger Bones?
If we lead an active, possibly sporty, lifestyle during those early years, we will have made an enormous difference to our bone strength which stands us in good stead for later years. If that wasn’t you, don’t think ‘it’s too late for me!’ because it isn’t. Activity is key to bone health at any age.
Diet is also important. We need a good supply of Calcium in our diet (Rosemary has told you all about that above) plus a good regular dose of Vitamin D (sunshine!). Bone is an active, living tissue that is constantly being regenerated. In fact, you could say we go through three skeletons in a lifetime!
As we age, and none of this will surprise you, the rate at which bone breaks down is faster than it is being built up, so we end up with weaker and thinner bones that are prone to fracture.
The areas of the body most likely to fracture are the wrists, hips and spine. Just after the menopause, bone weakening can escalate due to the loss of oestrogen and that is why women in their 50s commonly break a wrist following a fall. However, a lady in her 70s is far more likely to break a hip after a fall, as often they have lost the ability to 'catch' themselves quickly enough. Spinal fractures can also occur because the bone in the vertebrae is naturally less dense. Ageing, along with poor posture and your possible family history of osteoporosis, all play a part too.
Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
If you have been diagnosed (possibly through a DEXA scan) that you have either osteopenia (the prelude to osteoporosis) or full-blown osteoporosis, the very last thing you should do is to go into 'protection' mode and stop moving much because you are so fearful of a fracture. Post diagnosis you should do more exercise not less, it's just that you may need to modify what you do.
Whether or not you have been diagnosed with either of these conditions, the very best way to keep bones strong is to keep moving and exercising them, (Unless you have been told by your bone specialist that you should not exercise.) It is the 'pull' of the muscle across the bone that keeps those bone-building cells active, keeping bones stronger for longer.
Top Tips for Keeping Bones Strong
- We need some form of 'impact' activity. In exercise terms we talk about ‘high impact’ which is when both feet come off the floor at the same time, (eg when we run, jog or jump) or ‘low impact’ when one foot stays in contact with the floor. (eg walking).
- The more ‘load’ we put on the body through our legs, the stronger our bones will stay. Of course, this is age dependent as many of us are no longer able to go out for a run, but you can do a series of little jumps* that increase the impact as you hit the floor and you will find these are part of the exercise programme in The 28-Day Immunity Plan. (*If you have been diagnosed with full osteoporosis, try adapting these jumps to 'heavy heel drops' instead. This moderates the intensity.)
- Strength Exercise with Weights or Resistance Band. This is probably the most important type of exercise as it works our bones and muscles harder making bones stronger. These workouts cover the whole body but also all the different vulnerable joint areas of the body. Our website has numerous strength workouts with both hand weights and resistance toning bands that are all perfect for strengthening bones. See below for the three best exercises for your wrists, hips and spine. If short on time and can’t do the full workout, at the very least do these three strength exercises three times a week.
- Wrists: Press Ups: Press-ups are the best exercise you can possibly do for your wrists!
Adapt it! If being on all fours on the floor is too much pressure on your wrists then do them leaning against a wall, with your feet well back.
Do 2 sets of 10 reps.
- Hips: Lifting the leg outwards: Lying on your side with your lower leg bent, lifting your straight top leg up and down, with toes forward, is guaranteed to strengthen those outer hip muscles.
Adapt it! Standing holding onto a chair and lifting each leg out to the side slowly and then lowering again is almost as effective.
Do 2 sets of 10 reps.
- Spine: Upper Back Lifts: Lie on your front with arms by your side, facing down. Now lift your head and shoulders to work those muscles around the spine.
Adapt it! Sit on a chair with a resistance toning band held in front with straight arms outstretched at shoulder height. Expand the band outwards as you bring the band towards the chest.
Do 2 sets of 6 reps.
Finally, if you have been diagnosed with osteopenia be assured that, with the right approach, it can be stabilised and even improved!
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- Every day this week find the time to do 3 lots of 10 little jumps (or heel drops) on the spot. Even if you have not had a low bone density diagnosis, we all want to keep our bones to be the best they can be and this will really help!
- On your daily 30+ minute walk try including a total of 1 - 2 minutes of slow jogging where you keep the same pace as walking but you add a definite 'drop' onto each foot as you land.
- Choose any one Strength Programme (ideally one with a Toning Band workout or a weights workout from the website and do the same one every other day this week. Focussing on the same exercises consistently will give you a real result.
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Did you know... 
Why do we say God Save The King?
This is an old-fashioned usage of the word save, when it was used to mean preserve and protect. In this sense “God save the King” translates as “May God protect the King.”
In medieval times, everyone lived in fear of what might happen when the sovereign died. At the very least, it meant a new monarch who would have a new coronation that had to be paid for. It might mean new taxes and laws. The new monarch might be incompetent, a spendthrift, or a warmonger. Worst of all, the death of the sovereign might trigger a civil war between rival claimants for the throne. In such wars, the common people always suffered the most and, in that context, people most devoutly hoped for long life and good health for the king.
Today, of course, with the line of succession firmly assured, well documented and understood, and with a constitutional monarchy that operates within the constraints of an elected parliamentary system, such fears are no longer an issue. We wish our new King a long life, health and happiness.
GOD SAVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE KING!
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And finally...
This has been a very strange week with a mixture of deep sorrow at the loss of our beloved Queen as well as one of celebration as we welcome our new King.
I think we all feel so proud of the exceptional organisation of everything over the last seven days as well as the wonderful television coverage that has kept us informed of the journey of the late Queen from Balmoral to London. Great Britain is so good at ceremonial events, presenting them so swiftly and faultlessly, but this event was on a whole different level. Well done to everyone involved – the Armed Forces, the Police, the Security services and all the marshalls and volunteers who have been helping everything to run so smoothly. And, of course, well done to all the hundreds of thousands of people who placed flowers, waited patiently by the side of the roads to get a glimpse of the Queen’s coffin and queued quietly to pay their respects in Westminster Hall. Not forgetting, of course, the Royal family who have stoically borne their grief whilst continuing their public duties. Incredible.
After we finally say our farewells to the Queen on Monday at her State Funeral, we will start a new and exciting era with HM King Charles III and HM the Queen Consort Camilla, at the helm. God bless them.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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Ps. On the bottom of last week's Newsletter I put a delightful illustration of The Queen and Paddington walking away hand in hand. It was drawn by a very talented Yorkshire artist, Eleanor Tomlinson. If you would like to see more of her work you can find her website at www.eleanortomlinsonart.co.uk
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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