I recently took part in an adventure race called Hell & Back in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. The course was 7km in distance (there is a 12km course too) and is filled with obstacles to overcome. We had ice baths, A-frames, 12 ft walls, swamps, sludge rivers, climbing walls, cage crawls, barb wire, sewage pipe crawls, cargo nets and river jumps.
What is a calcium score test I hear you say?
If you live in the US, chances are you have probably heard of this as the US seem to be about 5 years ahead of Europe in terms of disease management, especially heart disease.
Cardiac computed tomography (CT for short) for Calcium Scoring uses special x-ray equipment to produce pictures of the coronary arteries to determine if they are blocked or narrowed by the buildup of plaque – an indicator for atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease (CAD).
Have you just been on holidays? Did you return refreshed? Did you sleep well? Did you enjoy eating healthy nutritious food every day? Did you get your exercise in?
No? Neither did I. So that makes two of us.
For the last two weeks or so I have been holidaying in Spain. The sun was beautiful and the resort was really good. The kids were crazy and the entertainment was fun. The food, however, was not so good. I have been gorging my usual plant-based self on a wide variety of meat and dairy junk foods – I’ve been bingeing on burgers, pizzas, cheesey baguettes, alcohol, fizzy drinks, ice cream (to help with the hangovers), fry-ups, chocolate, jellies, and crisps.
So you are going on your family holiday? The kids are excited and want to bring the world of toys they have with them, the wife is busy packing for everyone bar you and you are still struggling to pack one bag, weigh the other 40 to avoid excess baggage fees at the airport.
You are still thinking about all the work issues that you should have got done before you left the office and outlook is still pulling for your attention on your phone.
Take a breath. Take another one. And then read my top tips for navigating the family holiday. Enjoy!
The Health Project 