As London 2012 approaches, will you be packing your bags and going on holiday during those 2 weeks?

More than one in 10 Brits will be heading abroad during the London Olympics specifically to avoid the sporting event, according to research commissioned by ABTA.

In the poll, 12% said they would be going overseas between July 27 and August 12 to get away from the Games.
The older generation is the least keen to stay in the UK, with 22% of over 65s intending to head overseas to avoid the event, and 18% of 55-64 year olds.

On the other hand, 5 million people are planning to take time off to watch the Games on TV in the comfort of their own homes and around 12.5 million are taking time off work to attend events in or around the Games in London and other Olympic venues around the UK.

Which category do you fall into? Are you dreading the Games and would love to get out of the country? Or are you looking forward to it, and planning some time off, either to watch at home or actually visit some of the venues.

If you are planning to travel abroad during London2012, don’t forget your travel insurance to cover you for your trip!

Can a holiday help beat the January blues?

Today has been designated Blue Monday – officially the most depressing day of the year. Apparently, post Christmas boredom, bad weather and failed resolutions all contribute to this miserable day. Ok, so this might be bit of nonsense, but in general January is not the most cheerful of months, and we often find ourselves dreaming of our next holiday as that perfect way to beat the winter blues.

So in this blog we talk about how holidays can directly improve your health. Now, this is something that we all understand in a vague sense – we feel better when we have recharged our batteries and taken a break from work. But here are the actual reasons behind these claims.

• Happiness: According to a study (although the study is almost a year old) a good holiday can boost happiness levels for as long as two months afterwards. However, the break had to be “very relaxing” to have such an effect. The research, from Rotterdam University in Holland, suggests that taking greater numbers of shorter holidays, rather than the traditional two-week summer break, can also boost happiness levels. The researchers questioned 1,500 adults, 974 of whom took a holiday during the study.
•  Exercise: One of the main excuses that we give for not exercising is lack of time. But on holiday, you’ve got plenty of time, so you can make the most of it. The trip can then leave you feeling rejuvenated, positive and full of energy. According to sports dieticians it’s possible to lose two pounds a week with a small amount of daily exercise on holiday. Thanks to the NHS for these tips.

o    You can opt for an activity-focused holiday, such as cycling, hiking or sailing, or choose a destination where you can do a variety of activities.

o    The most important thing is to do something you enjoy. Then the health benefits will be a by-product. E.g. Social games including beach volleyball, badminton and tennis – or even using a pedalo – can all encourage the body to burn up fat without even noticing it!

o    You may need to build up your fitness levels before your trip if your activity is physically demanding, such as skiing, mountaineering or windsurfing.

o    Camping holidays: These are affordable, and most children love being outdoors. There are lots of opportunities for exercise, from pitching a tent and gathering firewood, to nature hikes.

o Volunteer holidays: Whether planting trees or helping to build houses for underprivileged families, people who spend their holidays helping others get much more than a physical workout.

o Walk and Cycle:  With more time to spare on holiday, take the opportunity to walk or cycle – rather than taking the car.

o    Holiday swimming: For a more gentle work out, several lengths in the swimming pool or sea can help you keep in shape. Because your body is supported in the water, you are unlikely to strain any muscles, but swimming is a great way to stretch your body and keep it supple .

• Tasting New Dishes: This could expand your cooking repertoire and become the start of a healthier lifestyle. If you increase the variety of food you eat on a typical day, you’re more likely to meet the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals (five portions of fresh, canned, frozen or dried fruit and veg a day) needed to fight disease and maintain healthy bones and organs. Spending time in a hot country means you can indulge in plenty of salads, fresh fruit and juices. And, according to Frankie Robinson of the British Nutrition Foundation, holidays often inspire you to try out different dishes.
• Sun: We are all aware that sunlight can cause skin cancer. However, sunlight can also help prevent some conditions. Lack of sunlight is thought to trigger seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – a depressive condition experienced in the winter months. So if you suffer from bouts of sadness, going on holiday may help to alleviate symptoms of depression. Blood levels of vitamin D are lowest in winter months when the sun is rarely out. Once exposed to sunlight, the body has the ability to convert vitamin A from the sun into vitamin D. This helps strengthen the immune system and is needed to bind calcium to bones and generates teeth development.
• Sleep: Holidays provide the perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep. Sleep deprivation through stress or work can lead to poor mental performance, premature ageing and even illness. While we are asleep our bodies undergo certain important processes – from repair and renewal to energy restoration. Deep sleep – rather than length of sleep – is the time when the brain recharges itself so we can function effectively during the day. Sleep is also important for our immune system – the part of the body that is responsible for fighting infection. Some scientists believe that during sleep we secrete higher levels of cortisol (the hormone that protects the immune system) than during the day.
• Sea water: Listening to water alters wave patterns in the brain – in the same way that meditation does. This means hearing the sound of lapping waves or cascading waterfalls on holiday can help rejuvenate the mind and body. Salt water from the ocean also has the added benefit of containing detoxifying properties. Salt is known to draw out the body’s impurities leaving you feeling clean and rejuvenated.
• Memories: Holidays often evoke happy memories. Harnessing memories can be used as an effective relaxation aid to alter wave patterns in the brain – similar to meditation. This is the stage when the brain moves into alpha waves – the stage just before sleep when your body is calm and relaxed.
• Laughter: If you’re enjoying yourself on holiday, you’re more likely to laugh. And laughter really is the best medicine. A good chuckle can strengthen the immune system by releasing endorphins, the body’s natural ‘feel-good’ chemicals. This can help reduce the risk of disease – from heart conditions to allergic reactions and arthritis.

So what do you think? Let us know how you think your holidays improve your health!

Jetting off to an exotic location? Have you checked if you need to take precautions for Malaria?

Malaria. It’s a word that we cannot escape thinking about it when planning an exotic holiday – maybe a safari in Kenya or sightseeing in India. The good news is that Malaria is almost completely preventable when the right precautions are taken.

However, according to this article, cases of malaria in people living in Britain has risen by almost a third in two years, with many cases blamed on complacent attitudes to anti-malarial tablets. Figures from the Health Protection Agency show that 1,761 cases were reported last year, compared with 1,495 in 2009 and 1,370 in 2008. Of 997 cases where information was available, 850 involved people who had not taken anti-malaria pills in countries where the disease was prevalent.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. Four out of 10 cases in 2010 were among UK residents who had travelled to Nigeria or Ghana and 11% were people who had visited India. 500 million new cases of malaria are reported worldwide each year.

57 countries are registered as ‘malaria-endemic’, with the disease posing a threat to human life. So it is always worth checking if you need to take Malaria precautions before you go on holiday. Remember – if you don’t take the proper precautions, you will not be covered under your travel insurance if you do get ill.

Ok so there is one problem here – it’s well known that malaria medication can sometimes cause side effects, including things like pretty nasty nightmares. So in an ideal world, we could stop the mosquitoes spreading the malaria in the first place. Now, a genetic breakthrough may help us do just that.

Scientists have figured out a way to block the spread of malaria using genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes that carry malaria-blocking genes that stops the blood parasite (which causes Malaria) being passed to humans when they are bitten.

This new study has shown that it is possible for GM mosquitoes to rapidly pass on malaria-blocking genes to wild mosquitoes with the help of a second gene, called the endonuclease gene.

Professor Andrea Crisanti of Imperial College London said that laboratory experiments have now shown that the endonuclease gene is very effective at spreading through a caged population of mosquito. After introducing a few GM males into the laboratory population of mosquitoes, about 50% of the captive mosquitoes had the anti malaria trait within 12 generations of the first introduction – a period of just a few months.

However, there is a lot more research to be done before field trials (releasing these GM mosquitoes into the wild) can be considered. We will keep you posted when we hear more…

(Don’t forget you can also download the AllClear Travel App to find out what vaccinations you might need for your holiday.)

A birthday message from the Queen?

Now, a birthday message from the Queen on turning 100 is something we have spoken about before in our blogs. But now the number of people in Britain who have reached the age of 100 has soared five-fold in just 30 years. There were 12,640 people over the age of 100 in the UK in 2010, compared with only 2,500 in 1980.

The dramatic increase has been put down to improved medical treatment, better nutrition and rising living standards, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

As the number of centenarians reached a record high in 2010, so did life expectancy The UK’s population is also becoming more of an ‘inverted pyramid’, with the proportion of people aged over 85 doubling from one in 100 in 1985 to one in 50 today. By 2035, this is projected to rise to one in 20 people.

As a result of increases in the proportion of older people, the average age of the UK population has increased from 35 in 1985 to 39.7 years in 2010. In 2010, West Somerset had the highest average age in the UK, at 52.7 years, with North Norfolk next at 51.5.  All of the 10 areas with the highest percentages of people aged 65 and over were located on the east or south coast, as people are more likely to retire to these areas.

So what does this longer retirement mean? Well, one thing it can impact on is our leisure time. If your retirement is going to be a third of your life, or more, then you may find you have lots more time to travel. Our point is that difficulty in finding travel insurance shouldn’t be an obstacle to those experiences.

However, unfortunately, a lot of elderly people, or those with medical conditions, often find it difficult to get the comprehensive travel insurance that they need. If you are looking for travel insurance, make sure you use a specialist provider, so you can get the insurance you need and travel with complete peace of mind. And remember AllClear Options was the first comparison site for medical travel insurance, so you can get a range of quotes here, and make sure you get the travel insurance that suits you.

New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific ocean, between latitude 34′S and 47′S, with mountain ranges down much of its length. There are two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, with a third smaller island in the south, Stewart Island.

New Zealand has a unique landscape and a variety of landforms. In a few days drive, you can see everything from snow-topped mountain ranges to sandy beaches, lush rainforests, glaciers and fiords, and active volcanoes. These environments lend themselves to many outdoor pursuits such as skiing, diving, hiking, kayaking, horse riding and sailing. And there is lots of space to enjoy any of these activities because New Zealand is so uncrowded, with a population of just 4 million people.

But this blog is not just here to rave about the stunning scenery of New Zealand, there is a point to it. And the point is, if you plan on doing any of these more adventurous activities, it is important to check what cover you get, because level and type of cover will vary depending on your travel insurance policy.

For example, with an AllClear policy, you are covered for the following activities, to name just a few:  Archery, Abseiling, Hot Air Ballooning, Canoeing (in calm water), Clay Pigeon Shooting, Fell walking, Horse riding and orienteering. Winter Sports is an additional option that may be added to your policy.

However, there are still basic conditions that are ascribed to this cover depending on the activity you are doing. For example, you may need to be accompanied by, or accessible to a qualified instructor, and taking part in an organised activity or event.So, the take home message here is this: Check what activities you are covered for before you go on holiday somewhere like New Zealand, particularly if you are thinking of trying something a little out of the ordinary while you are there. If you are not sure, ask the insurance provider, they should be able to help you…

Are you lucky enough to be travelling to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand?

The Rugby World Cup is being held in New Zealand this year. It would be an amazing experience to be there. Are you are lucky enough to be going to the World Cup, rather than simply watching on television? There is one problem though – the distance you will be travelling to get to the World Cup could raise some particular travel health considerations.

So if you are travelling to the World Cup in New Zealand, or indeed have any long haul flight coming up, here are some tips for you to make flying healthier and less stressful.

• Make sure you have comprehensive travel insurance. Long haul flights are expensive and you will want to make sure you are covered in case anything goes wrong.
• Wear loose fitting clothes for ultimate comfort.
• Dress in layers so you will be ready for variations in temperature. You don’t want to be sitting freezing on the plane, but you don’t want to be boiling hot either.
• Bring your own neck pillow to give you added comfort.
• Consider a seat with extra leg room. Wherever possible, check in online and select your seat before you travel, consulting www.seatplans.com beforehand to see where the best place to sit is. Then, when you’re actually flying, be sure to walk and stretch frequently.
• Airline travellers are more likely to catch a little case of the sniffles. Take added Vitamin C beforehand to try and boost your immune system. Use a hand sanitizer or antibacterial wipes to wipe down your seat if you can. Check out this blog for more ways to keep those plane germs at bay.
• Apply moisturising lotion to your hands and face to avoid the problem of dry skin.
• Jetlag occurs when our normal body clock is disrupted by travelling through time zones.  It is more apparent when travelling from west to east as the body finds it more difficult to adapt to a shorter day than a longer one.  The body clock is conditioned to respond to a regular rhythm of daylight and darkness. When travelling across time zones it effectively becomes out of sync, experiencing daylight at what it considers the wrong time. The body’s natural pattern for eating, sleeping, hormone regulation and temperature is upset and cannot immediately realign its usual rhythms; it is jetlagged.�
  • Take a second watch/travel clock set to your home time. This will help remind you of when you should be sleeping or awake.
  • Adjust your sleep pattern: Try and rest well before you travel. For a few days prior to your trip, adjust your sleep pattern by 1 or 2 hours to be closer to your destination time zone.
  • Remember a sleep mask may help if you struggle sleeping on the plane. Sleep if you would be sleeping at home, and vice versa.
  • If possible, schedule your flight so that you arrive at your destination in the evening and go straight to bed.
  • If possible include a stop over in your journey.
  • If you take regular medication ensure you tell your GP prior to your departure that you shall be crossing time zones.  He/she will advise you how to adjust your dosage if necessary.
  • Dehydration can worsen the effects of jet lag.  Avoid alcohol and keep your fluid intake up by drinking plenty of juice or water. Drink water as soon as possible after landing to replenish your body’s supply  
  •  It takes some time to recover each time zone crossed, so take it easy when you arrive.

These tips should help you be a happy, healthy passenger on a long haul flight. The important thing to remember is that once that long plane journey is finished, you then have that lovely holiday to look forward to! If you are lucky enough to be on a long haul flight to the Rugby World Cup, do let us know your experiences…

How much do you laugh when travelling on holiday?

“Laughter is the best medicine”. It is a saying we have heard 100 times before, but research has shown that laughter really can be beneficial for your health. This information is based on a study that has show watching a film that makes you laugh is good for your heart.

Researchers found watching a movie or programme that produces laughter has a positive effect on our blood vessels, and is opposite to that observed after watching a war or horror film that causes mental stress.

The study was carried out at University of Maryland School of Medicine. When the volunteers watched the stressful film, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) which reduces blood flow, according to the article.  However, after watching the funny movie, the blood vessel lining expanded.

As Dr Miller, the lead investigator succinctly put it – ‘Basically, laughter is good for your heart.’

So, this got us thinking. How does this research relate to travel? Of course, when we go on holiday we like to think we would be happy and laughing the whole time. But the experience of travelling to and from the destination can actually be a little less stressful.

Therefore, we would like to suggest that if you are going on a long haul flight,  you start your holiday off with a good giggle, by selecting your films carefully.

Virgin Atlantic have something more to say on this – they are issuing ‘emotional health warnings’, giving tear jerker ratings to their inflight movies. A survey put to members of the airline’s Facebook page found that 55% of them had felt heightened emotions while flying.

 The film most likely to make people cry was Toy Story 3, but listed below are the top 10 tear jerkers as found in the survey.

Top Ten Tear-jerkers

1) Toy Story 3
2) The Blind Side
3) Eat Pray Love
4) My Sister’s Keeper
5) Seven Pounds
6) Brokeback Mountain
7) The Notebook
8 ) Gran Torino
9) Invictus
10) Billy Elliott

Ok, so that Virgin Atlantic survey really just sounds like a bit of fun. But the point remains, laughter really does seem to be the best medicine. So, to get your holiday off to a good start, avoid films that might make you cry or feel stressed, and go for a funny film instead!

Have you ever considered a cycling holiday?

The Tour de France runs from Saturday July 2^rd to Sunday July 24^th and will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres. The race is designed to cover a range of different terrains, from downhill to very steep (the race is in the Pyrenees), to a final stretch facing the sea, exposed to the wind! The route of the 2011 Tour has been determined with two objectives in mind: to set the pace from the beginning of the race and maintain suspense right up until the very end.

So has the race got you feeling inspired to take up cycling again?  Do you have dreams of wearing that yellow jersey? Well, if you plan on incorporating a little cycling or some other type of biking activity into your holiday, here are our thoughts…

1. Cycling is good for you – but you knew that already. However, we are all so busy that it can sometime be hard to find the time to cycle. This is why you might want to consider a cycling holiday to get you back into the swing of things and then you can try to keep it up when you get home. So what are the fitness benefits? Well, cycling strengthens the cardiovascular system and burns off the calories, so your  stamina and fitness will increase. It also improves breathing quality. A strong pair of lungs is essential in pumping oxygen round the blood and, in turn, energising leg muscles over a lengthy period when cycling. With constant bike exercise, your lung capacity will improve. Cycling also builds leg muscle strength –  your quad, calf and glut muscles will all tone up
2. Enjoying the great outdoors. We know how much better we feel when we have been outside in the fresh air, and what better way to do this than on a bike? It can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety and promote psychological well-being
3. Reduced risk of injury. Cycling, like swimming, is not a weight bearing form of exercise, meaning it does not require the whole body to be supported while you do it. With the pressure being taken off your joints, it reduces the risk of injury.

Ok so cycling is good for fitness, and good for your psychological well being – it’s a no brainer really. So how could you incorporate cycling into your holiday?

• Consider what kind of cycling holiday you might enjoy – would you fancy cycling along the beach, in a forest, or be really hard-core and head up the mountains? What about a mountain biking holiday, in the Alps or the Pyrenees, for example. If you like the idea of a cycling holiday, but not all the ‘uphill part’, then you can also go on a holiday somewhere a little flatter like Holland. Either way, cycling can be a lovely way to get fit while enjoying the stunning scenery of your chosen destination. For family holidays, there are lots of different options to carry the little ones.
• Consider whether you will want to cycle the holiday or whether you would want some time out to relax on a beach as well and plan your trip accordingly
• Would you want to transport your own bikes, or just rent out bikes while you are away?
• Make sure that you have comprehensive travel insurance to cover you just in case of any problems, and check the details of your insurance cover to make sure that you are covered for cycling or any sporting activities you have planned. If you are not sure, check with your travel insurance provider and they should be able to help you

 Do let us know of any cycling holiday experiences in the comments box below.

In the US, Tweets about illnesses were analysed to find out who was ill, their location in the country,  what medication they were taking and whether they were treating themselves correctly. John Hopkins University computer scientists analysed 1.5 million tweets sent between May 2009 and October 2010 which all referred to health matters. 

An interesting part of the study was medical misperceptions. For example, some people tweeted that they were taking antibiotics for flu. But antibiotics don’t work on the flu, which is a virus, and this practice could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance problems.

In about 200,000 of the health-related tweets, the researchers were able to draw on user-provided public information to identify the geographic state from which the message was sent.  That allowed them to track some trends by time and place, such as when the allergy and flu seasons peaked in various parts of the US. 

The scientists have been talking to public health scientists who say that future studies of tweets could uncover even more useful data, both only about medical trends but also about public perceptions concerning illnesses and medications. (However, the researchers did point out that there is a limit to what people will share on Twitter, and all research will be limited by this).

This got me thinking about other ways that Twitter provides useful information, particularly in the world of travel, travel insurance and travelling with medical conditions. It really is a wealth of information with people providing their own personal tips or recommendations. This could be anything from places to visit, good restaurants, and insurers to try, for example. At AllClear Travel, we do our best to provide you with useful information on Twitter too, you can find us at www.twitter.com/allcleartravel. Please do check us out and follow on Twitter. And then we are really interested in finding out how we can provide even more useful information for you on travel, particularly travelling with medical conditions. Do let us know in the comments box below how we can help

Have you tried meditation? Do you know how it could help you?

This article helps us get to the bottom of the benefits of meditation by researching visitors to the Shambhala Mountain Centre in Northern Colarado, who meditate in silence for up to 10 hours every day. I thought I would share some of the findings with you and see what you think…

In 2007, scientists undertook a study at the centre to try to give some scientific credibility to the reasons behind meditation. Now data from the project (called Shamatha project) is starting to be published. So far the research has shown something quite surprising –  by protecting caps called telomeres on the ends of our chromosomes, meditation might help to delay the process of ageing.

One of the most studied practices of meditation is based on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, or being aware of your own thoughts and surroundings. Buddhists believe it alleviates suffering by making you less caught up in everyday stresses – helping you to appreciate the present, instead of continually worrying about the past or planning for the future.

The Shamatha project aims see what an intensive course of meditation might do for healthy people. The project was co-ordinated by neuroscientists at the Centre for Mind and Brain at the University of California. 30 participants attended in the spring of 2007, while the other half acted as a control group before heading off for their own retreat in the autumn.

Psychologist Elissa Epel, wanted to know what meditation was doing to the participants’ chromosomes, in particular their telomeres. Telomeres play a key role in the ageing of cells, acting like a clock that limits their lifespan. Every time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter, unless an enzyme called telomerase builds them back up. When telomeres get too short, a cell ultimately dies. People with shorter telomeres are at greater risk of diseases,  and they die younger. They found that at the end of the retreat, meditators had significantly higher telomerase activity than the control group, suggesting that their telomeres were better protected. It is early days at the moment, but in theory, this might slow or even reverse ageing.

So how does meditation work in this way? It is thought that it could be due to our body’s reaction to stress. When the brain detects a threat in our environment, it sends signals to spur the body into action. One example is the “fight or flight” response of the nervous system. When you sense danger, your heart beats faster, you breathe more rapidly, and your pupils dilate, while fat and glucose are released into the bloodstream to fuel your next move. Another stress response pathway triggers a branch of the immune system known as the inflammatory response.

These responses might help us when there is an actual danger present, but they also damage body tissues. In the past, the trade-off for short bursts of stress would have been worthwhile. But in the modern world, we experience constant long-term threats  – such as debt, work pressures, social status – which activate these same pathways. Such chronic stress negatively affects our telomeres.

So, meditation seems to be effective in changing the way that we respond to external events. After short courses of mindfulness meditation, people produce less of the stress hormone cortisol, and have a smaller inflammatory response to stress. Basically, with meditation, people may experience the world as less threatening so do not get as much of a stress reaction to things like money worries, or exams. For example,  meditation might help people to distance themselves from negative or stressful thoughts.

The researchers concluded that the meditation affected telomerase activity by changing the participants’ psychological state, which they assessed using questionnaires. Three factors in particular predicted higher telomerase activity at the end of the retreat: increased sense of control (over circumstances or daily life); increased sense of purpose in life; and lower neuroticism (being tense, moody and anxious). The more these improved, the greater the effect on the meditators’ telomerase.

So what is the key message here? It seems to be reduce stress and protect your telomeres which, according to this research, could help to ward off ageing. Meditation seems to be a particularly effective route to reducing stress, but it’s not the only one. For example, exercise has been shown to have a similar effect. If you enjoy gardening, that may help protect you from stress and maybe even help you to live longer. In the same way, holidays may help you relax and protect you from stress.

The point, I suppose, is make sure you keep doing stuff that you love, and living your life to the full, focussing on what really matters. I am going to finish up by quoting the journalist from the Guardian as I feel this really sums it up:

“Researchers warn that in our modern, work-obsessed society we are increasingly living on autopilot, reacting blindly to tweets and emails instead of taking the time to think about what really matters. If we don’t give our minds a break from that treadmill, the physical effects can be scarily real.”