South Africans have been focusing on Listeriosis – and being extra careful about what they put into their bodies.

But that may not be enough as officials have now alerted the public to three other diseases besides Listeriosis, namely Typhoid, Pertussis and Diphtheria. These three diseases also fall into category one of notifiable diseases – the same category as Listeriosis.

The ‘surge season’

Even though it is very important that we remain alert regarding Listeriosis, the City of Cape Town (COCT) Health Department and Alderman JP Smith say we should be aware of an increase in these other communicable diseases.

According to a statement released by the City, there is usually an increase in diarrhoea in summer, affecting children under five-years-old, but that seems to be less of a concern this season.

Smith, Mayco member for Safety and Security; and Social Services reported that due to increased efforts and the diligence of health practitioners, there has been in recent years a decline in diarrhoea with dehydration and the number of diarrhoea-related deaths during the season.

“Sadly, this drop in diarrhoea cases was followed by an increase in pneumonia in this age group over the same period,” said Smith.

He added that health officials are now calling this period the “surge season”. In August 2017, health officials saw an increase in diphtheria and measles cases. Then they also noticed an increase in pertussis and typhoid

Smith said: “These diseases present a significant and costly challenge to the City. Not only are staff and resources under pressure, but the outbreak of any disease also puts lives and livelihoods at risk.”

The 3 other communicable diseases

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly infectious, bacterial disease. Back then, the disease was a danger to children, but it seems to be affecting adults these days as well. For more information about Pertussis, click here.

Typhoid is a disease people contract through faecal oral contamination, which could also result in death. Symptoms include fever, headache, abdominal pains or cramps, nausea and vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea. For more information about Typhoid, click here.

Diphtheria is also a highly infectious bacterial disease of the upper respiratory tract and occasionally, the skin. Should this disease affect the respiratory tract, it is classified as respiratory diphtheria, whereas if it affects the skin, it’s known as cutaneous diphtheria. Complications with this illness could result in severe breathing problems and organ damage, which may prove to be fatal. For more information about Diphtheria, click here.

Are you, or someone you know, suffering from any of these illnesses? Share your experience by emailing healthnews@health24.com and we may publish your story. Should you wish to remain anonymous, please include this in your mail.

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Stefni Herbert

Belly fat is bad news. While researchers debate the real health risks of a higher body mass index (BMI) or carrying a few extra pounds, everyone agrees that wearing too much weight around your waist is largely detrimental to your health.

Research shows that a waistline more than 40 inches (102cm) for men and 35 inches (89cm) for women puts you at risk for heart disease even if you’re not technically overweight and otherwise in good health.

Belly fat has also been linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and diabetes. Again, bad news.

Read more: 7 foods that boost weight loss and improve your riding

The good news is that you already own the best tool for shedding that bad-news belly fat: your bike.

The key is performing a variety of workouts that build your fat-burning engine, rev your metabolism and the production of fat-burning hormones, suppress your appetite, and help you burn more fat and calories all day long.

Yep, your bike can do all that. Here’s how:

1. Go hard

Do interval training once or twice a week (no need for more; stick to one day if you race or go hard on weekends). Numerous studies have found that high-intensity training significantly reduces total abdominal fat, including dangerous visceral (belly) fat more effectively than lower-intensity exercise.

There are endless ways to do interval training. One simple example:

• Warm up: 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pick up your effort so you’re working hard (a nine on a one-to-10 scale; you’re breathing hard, but not gasping) for 30 seconds to one minute.
• Go easy for one minute.
• Repeat a total of five times.
• Cool down: two to three minutes.

Research shows your body also unleashes human growth hormone, which helps you burn fat and maintain muscle, after just 10 to 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise.

High-intensity exercise also appears to help curb your appetite and trigger hormones that regulate feelings of hunger and fullness better than lower-intensity exercise, so you’re less likely to overeat.

2. Keep it controlled and comfortable

Yes. We just told you to go hard to burn off unwanted belly fat – but don’t overdo it. Going hard all the time stresses your body and leaves you chronically inflamed, which can backfire by contributing to belly-fat storage.

Cap the intensity to a couple times a week and take the rest of your weekly rides at a controlled, comfortable pace.

“Most recreational cyclists are doing too much high intensity training and they’re not getting leaner or faster,” says Iñigo San Millán, P, the director of the Exercise Physiology and Human Performance Lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Many of your rides should be in Zone 2,” he says.

That’s an intensity where you can talk the whole time – about a five to six on that one-to-10 scale.

“This is usually the intensity that elicits the highest fat oxidation for energy purposes,” says San Millán.

These rides are not only good for burning fat, but also for building your slow-twitch, endurance muscle fibres; increasing capillary development; improving your ability to use lactate for energy; and making you a better fat-burner all the way around.

3. Aim for about 80/20

A number of coaches prescribe what is known as the “80/20 rule”, also called polarised training, for balancing training intensity. It’s definitely worth a try for burning off belly fat as well as for getting fitter and faster.

The goal is to spend 80% of riding time at low intensity and 20% at moderate to hard intensity. That way, when it’s time to go hard, you have the freshness and energy reserves to go hard enough to maximise those interval efforts.

Hitting both intensities actually improves your abilities all around: Your slow-twitch muscle fibres do the work of recycling the lactate your high-intensity, fast-twitch fibres produce. So when you spend time building them, the payoff is being able to work harder at high intensity – which in turn stimulates more fat burning.

Research shows this intensity combo also makes you faster. In a 2013 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found that when cyclists performed six weeks of 80/20-style training, they more than doubled their power and performance gains, such as lactate threshold, compared to when they spent more time in moderate training zones.

^{This article was originally published on www.bicycling.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Selene Yeager

You’ve seen the crazy photo of cyclist Pawel Poljanski’s insane leg veins after his 70-hour Tour de France pump.

And The Rock boasts a pretty impressive bicep vein, too.

Plus, go to any bodybuilding competition, and you’ll see a whole slew of guys with impressive vascularity as well.

What all these veiny guys have in common is that they are in tremendous shape. But is vascularity really a sign of superb fitness?

First, let’s take a look at the reason your veins pop in the first place. Your arteries carry blood away from your heart to the tissues throughout your body, like your muscles. Your veins – which have thin walls and dilate easily – pump the blood back toward your heart.

“The venous outflow is slower than arterial inflow, causing a back-up of venous blood causing higher pressure in the veins,” says Doug McGuff, MD, author of Body By Science.

That increases pressure causes the veins to “pop” out. That’s the pump you get.

Read more: Pump your triceps with just 5kg dumbbells

But what you’re doing also plays a role in the pop, too.

“Swelling in the muscles pushes the veins out to the surface,” says Spencer Nadolsky, DO, author of The Fat Loss Prescription. “Your muscles swell when working out and push the veins closer to the surface of your skin, which makes them more pronounced.”

You probably notice your veins popping more during weight lifting than when you’re simply taking a walk or doing other kinds of light cardio.

In general, higher-rep weight lifting with fast concentric movements – say, the part of a biceps curl when you bring the weight up toward your arm – would trigger the biggest pump, says Dr Nadolsky.

“High intensity interval work can produce this effect as well,” says Dr McGuff. “Muscular loading and fatigue drive arterial inflow into the muscle, so exercise that triggers this will produce venous engorgement.”

Okay, so your veins tend to pop when you’re working out, but does how veiny you get actually depend on how fit you are? Well, sort of.

Read more: This is how drinking beer affects your muscle and fitness gains

The leaner you are – meaning, the less subcutaneous fat you have covering your muscles – the more pronounced your veins will look, says Dr Nadolsy.

But it’s not just about being lean: Having low body fat along with upped muscle mass is the magic combination for veins that pop, even when you’re at rest. So in some ways, pronounced veins are an indirect sign of fitness.

That’s because muscle has something called “residual tension at rest,” which provides some resistance against venous return, says Dr McGuff.

Your veins carry blood to the heart and when you exercise, the increase in blood flow creates a sort of blood backup in your veins, creating higher blood pressure. That compresses the returning veins and causes the blood to dam up and engorge the veins at the skin surface.

So the more muscle you have, the more residual tension at rest you have, which means your veins are become more dilated.

“Combine that with a low level of body fat and the veins will really ‘pop’,” he says.

So yes, vascularity while you’re at rest can be a marker of fitness, but context is everything, Dr McGuff says.

For example, sometimes vascularity can be a marker of excess stress, with increased secretion of the stress-hormone cortisol, or over-production of the hormone aldosterone, which causes your body to hang on to sodium.

As a result, your body retains water and makes your veins swell, he says.

Read more: A 15-minute total-body workout for busy guys

The veins can also be engorged due to damage, or because of varicose veins or haemorrhoids, Dr McGuff says.

But your vascularity also depends on your genetics, too.

“Some may be very lean but with little vascularity and some can have more fat and still have some vascularity in cases,” says Dr Nadolsky.

Bottom line, it most likely is a good indicator that you’re fit, but it’s not a given.

“You can be really fit and not have a lot of veins showing though,” says Dr Nadolsky

^{This article was originally published on www.menshealth.com}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Emily Shiffer

Do you often feel grumpy at work? Don’t just blame it on your boss or the tasks at hand.

Sometimes a small change in your surroundings can have a big effect on your mood.

Brighten up your desk or cubicle by bringing a plant from home – it can have a great effect on your mood and health. 

Science backs it up

According to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, having some greenery in your office space can make you both happier and more productive.

British and Dutch researchers decided to challenge the business concept that stresses minimal office decor and clean desks.

They did a number of experiments in large commercial offices to compare the impact of lean offices to “green” offices. In all cases, they found that having office plants created a better work environment.

Emotional and physical benefits

One possible explanation is that greenery increases engagement by making people more physically, cognitively and emotionally involved in their jobs.

Plants offer health benefits, too, because they act as natural air filters – important if your work area has stale air or common pollutants.

You don’t need a bright window – or any window for that matter – to have a mood-boosting plant at your desk. Many species thrive in low light and with little effort.

You don’t need green fingers 

Peace lilies, ferns, palms, mother-in-law’s tongue and some philodendrons do especially well. Pothos plants don’t even need soil — just put a few leafy clippings in a vase filled with water and enjoy.

Whatever your choice, be sure to follow the grower’s directions so your plant does well, especially on weekends or whenever the office is empty

^{Image credits: iStock}