The UK’s Change For Life programme has once again teamed up with Disney for the 10 Minute Shake Up campaign. This campaign aims to get children active over the summer by encouraging them to do 10 minute bursts of moderate to vigorous activity throughout the day every day, so they meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity that children need.

The 10 Minute Shake Up was launched in July 2014 and is back this year. The campaign is inspired by Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory and it uses Disney characters like to get kids involved in a range of fun activities such as swimming,  dancing and ball games.

To find out more visit their website here and for resources to get you started click here

Hi there, my name is Samantha and I’m writing this blog about the exciting cycle journeys with the Lake Foundation.

 I joined the Lake Foundation cycling club after deciding to up my fitness levels and try out my new bike that I had brought. I found out about the club through my local leisure centre.  It had been years since I rode a bike and at first, I lacked motivation getting back onto a bike but finding a group of like-minded people inspired me

By riding with the Lake Foundation twice a month my confidence has boosted, It’s the best way to progress your cycling. You learn how to ride safely and efficiently in a group with trained instructors and it’s far easier to head out for a training ride knowing you’ll be with a group of mates rather than on your own. Cycling really helps you feel physically stronger, it is a great stress buster and I always feel refreshed and relaxed after a ride even if my legs ache a bit.

The best part is that when I first started, I barely could cycle very far but after a few months of cycling with the club, I was able to cycle 20-23 miles. Now I can cycle around 11-13 mph.  In May 16, My friend asked me to join her team to cycle London to Brighton 54 miles. I knew that it would be a big challenge for me but with all of the cycling with the group, I felt confident that I could achieve my goal.

I made it to Brighton in 8 hours. It was hard and gruelling work. At some points, I wanted to give up but I kept going! I’m still feeling the pain now. The first time you see Brighton in front you of is shortly after Ditchling Common it is an amazing sight. I used my GPS to track my journey as I went along and the steepest section was a 30.6% gradient. I prepared in advance for the Beacon by training in the gym alongside the cycling. I’d say that at least 80% of the people I saw on the incline had resorted to walking. Although it was hard work I just kept pushing on, and as I got closer to the top I was rewarded with the most amazing views. Then before I knew it the gradient reduced and I had conquered the Beacon! The best feeling ever! and knowing that it was downhill from there. I had an amazing day of cycling and I loved doing it as part of a team. I would definitely ride it again in the future.

I would most defiantly recommend taking up cycling and joining the Lake Foundation cycling club as it is an amazing way to get to places and when it’s a challenging ride it feels like a real good achievement. You’ll need a reasonable level of fitness but you definitely don’t need to be a super fit racer.  It is much more fun riding as a group and there’s sometimes a café stop on the journeys.

This month is Black Music Month giving us an opportunity to highlight the contribution that black people have made to the music industry.  As I think about all the great music out there, I wonder, can music have a serious role in improving our health and well-being?

We know that music has a huge impact on our emotions. The right song at the right time can be inspiring, make us happy, motivate us to take action and cause us to reflect

So, by extrapolation we could say music must be good for our health because it can make us feel good. But, what does research tell us about the effect of music on our health?

There have been a number of studies exploring the effect of music on our health and they have found that music has a beneficial effect on both our physical and mental health.

Stress and Music

One of the most obvious benefits of music is its effect on anxiety and stress. We’ve all turned to music when we’ve had a particularly stressful day and have needed to create a peaceful calming environment.   Research has shown that the calming effect of music is real with scientists demonstrating that music prevents stress-induced increases in subjective anxiety.

Researchers looked at measures of anxiety (heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels) and found that in a stressful situation these measures were increased in people not exposed to music but not so for those people exposed to music; subjects exposed to music were not anxious and were better able to deal with the stressful situation.

Other studies have confirmed this showing that music can relieve anxiety in a number of situations. These include:

• Improving anxiety levels in cancer patients
• A reduction in pain and anxiety in children undergoing medical and dental procedures
• A reduction in psychological distress during gastrocopic examination

 Mental Health and Music

As well as music being beneficial in alleviating stress and anxiety, music has a role to play in treating mental health conditions.  It can help with the symptoms of depression, improves a person’s ability to carry out cognitive tasks and helps people express emotions.

Furthermore an interesting study looking at the effect of religious music found that listening to religious music regularly was associated with a reduction in death anxiety and an increase in life satisfaction, self-esteem and a sense of control, leading scientists to conclude that listening to religious music promotes psychological well-being

The video below provides a great example of the power of music in improving our mental health

Physical Health and Music

Music also improves our physical health with studies showing that music can help patients with conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia, and can  help us cope better with pain.

When it comes to heart disease researchers found that joyful music improved blood vessel function and can therefore improve the health of our heart. In addition, music has also been shown to improve stroke recovery helping with memory and attention and as mentioned previously music has been shown to be beneficial to cancer patients by reducing anxiety levels but it also has been shown to alleviate pain and improve the quality of life of patients.

So, music is not just about entertaining it can be good for our health and well-being meaning we have a very easy way to improve the quality of our life at our finger tips.  Happy listening!

This month thousands of riders set out at too-early-o’clock on the legendary London to Brighton charity bike ride. Among them was The Lake Foundation cycle club member Sam.

Sam is a regular at our bi-monthly rides. Sam announced her goal to complete the London to Brighton ride on our WhatsApp group back in May:

“Guess what everyone I’m doing the London to Brighton [bike run]”.

In our cycle club fashion, the group began to send messages to cheer Sam on when she decided to keep us informed on WhatsApp about her training.

Training included regular on-road cycling and cycling in the gym. Her team, Cor Correya once rode to Biggin Hill through Sanstead and Warlingham over country lanes and hills. Sam messaged the WhatsApp group, “Only 19 days to the big event. Still time to join me if you want to.” Maybe next year!

As well as training Sam invested in a pump, a puncture repair kit and took her bike in for a maintenance check. This was a good way to avoid any mechanical mishaps on the day.

The big day came and Sam wrote to the group including hashtags #L2B and #HeartRiders, which we then tweeted in support of her. Sam kept up the conversation between her start at Clapham Common and arrival in Brighton. Members responded encouragingly:

“Keep going Sam. Keep up the pace and effort luv”

Back in March we worked with Black History Walks to organise a fibroids awareness event at the University of Westminster. This was a very well-attended event with over 150 women attending. Our speakers provided an overview of fibroids and its treatment, and shared personal stories of the effect of fibroids.

During the event we were absolutely delighted to meet Yvonne Akande, Senior Project Manager at Transforming Outcomes and Health Economics Through Imaging –TOHETI. It was wonderful to learn of all the great work they’ve been doing to raise awareness of fibroids and support women who have been affected.

TOHETI is a three year Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity funded programme, working with NHS partners across Lambeth and Southwark to develop a vision of imaging with patient experience at its core. The programme has been working to understand how they can better join up services to treat fibroids to offer the best possible care to their patients.

In June 2015 they conducted a series of focus groups which helped identify how they could improve the information provided to patients. This resulted in the development of their new patient information leaflet and video.  You can download their leaflet here and view their video here.

Additionally, TOHETI has been hosting patient support groups and their next sessions will be held on Wednesday 13^thJuly and Wednesday 5^thOctober at the McNair Centre at Guy’s Hospital. If you’d like to attend one of these sessions please contact Yvonne Akande (yvonne.akande@kcl.ac.uk).

We’re really happy to see fibroids getting a lot more attention as this is an area that women, from our survey in 2013, felt needed a lot more focus.

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The Lake Foundation will be hosting a half day fibroids seminar on 30^thJuly 2016. At this event we will be focusing specifically on treatment including natural ways of managing symptoms. For more information and to book a place please click here

A study published yesterday by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health has found that a plant-based diet significantly reduces a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially if that diet is rich in quality plant foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.

The study found that just moderate changes in a person’s diet can lead to significant reduction in risk. They found that  people who maintained a plant-based diet that was low in animal foods were 20% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes and those that consumed a healthy version of a plant-based diet were 34% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

This study is very important to the black community as our community is at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The Lake Foundation encourages everyone to turn towards a more plant-based die to reduce their risk of this condition.

Last month we were delighted to have been interviewed on Gill Manly’s Worker’s Playtime show on Croydon Radio. This was a joint interview with Kinetic Root Services where we discussed trauma in the black community and the work that both our organisations are doing to support the black community through traumatic experiences.

You can listen to the interview below which starts at about an hour and 15 minutes into the show.

If you’re planning on travelling to Rio for the Olympics you may be worried about the Zika virus. Yesterday, Public Health England issued travel and health advice for all those wishing to travel to Brazil for the Olympics. They have recommended that pregnant women postpone non-essential travel until after pregnancy as being infected with the Zika virus whilst pregnant can lead to babies developing microcephaly.

For more information please visit PHE’s website here

The Lake Foundation Cycling Club sprung forward this season with a cycle through South Norwood Country Club and Beckenham Palace Park.  Cycling Instructors Jo and Selena navigated the group along some surprising quiet Croydon back routes.

The level paths of South Norwood Country Park was a stark contrast to the hilly terrain of Beckenham Palace Park. Muscles got a good workout and riders were thankful for the snack and water breaks after climbs.

 The cycling group is made up of people at different cycling proficiency and fitness levels. It was good to see members practice tips they learnt on how to cycle up hills. By way of a reminder you can check watch the British Cycling Federation video on climbing technique.

Meanwhile we were pleased to learn that one of our regular riders booked a free one-to-one session with Cycle Instructor Selena before the session. “Doing the class made me more confident riding in the roads with traffic, especially coming up to Junctions”.

Cycle Instructor is a great resource for the community of Croydon and beyond. They provide one-to-one and group training sessions where you will learn practical skills and gain an understanding of how to cycle on today’s roads. To book a session go to the Cycling Instructor website, http://www.cyclinginstructor.com

Our next ride is on Saturday 28 May 2016. Email events@thelakefoundation.com to join.

The Lake Foundation is delighted to invite you to attend its event ‘Fibroid Focus’ where we will be focusing on the treatment of fibroids. At this event, you will hear from experts in the field discussing all treatment options including natural ways of managing the symptoms of fibroids.

Speaking at this event will be Mr Rajiv Varma, a consultant gynaecologist, who will provide an overview of the treatment options available on the NHS, their pros and cons and what steps to take to ensure you’re getting the best treatment possible. You will also hear from Leah Salmon, The Naturally You Coach, who will outline the impact of diet on fibroids and how a healthy diet can reduce your risk and help in the treatment and prevention of fibroids. Lillian Lartey will discuss the power of exercise in preventing and managing the symptoms of fibroids, Olivia Haltman will look at a sometimes forgotten area for fibroids patients, how to manage the psychological impact and Patricia Ferguson will discuss the use of herbal remedies in treating the symptoms of fibroids.

Additionally, we’ll have some great organisations exhibiting on the day so you can find out more about women’s health in general.

Join us on 30th July 2016 for an informative, empowering session. Book early to avoid disappointment, spaces are limited.

Doors open at 12pm and you can visit the information tables; the presentations start at 1pm.

For more information and to book your place, please click here