Allergy and Exercise

Thursday, 26 May 2011 08:34

The Inaugural Conference of The College of Medicine 2011

It was thrilling to attend this first conference at The Mansion House last week.

The mornings speakers were like a breath of fresh air.

Truly inspiring.

The conference was opened by Lady Mayoress Mrs. Barbara Bear who's trained as a cranial osteopath.

The conference was chaired by Dr. Phil Hammond who likes to  keep the energy up peppered with a few well placed jokes.

The most inspiring lecture of the day was by Professor Dean Ornish sharing his research into lifestyle changes.

He predicts that 75% of healthcare costs can be prevented and even reversed with lifestyle changes.

I was fascinated by the allergy lecture by Professor Stephen Holgate.

He spoke about allergy medicine being a public health problem which is increasing in severity.

He described that the UK has the worst allergy service in Europe, many G.P.'s not being trained in allergy assessment and treatment.

He gave many reasons why allergies are so common, one being that we are not exposed to enough micro-organisms.

He felt that living on a livestock farm was one of the best ways of preventing allergy problems, also, eating organic food and using probiotics.

The lecture which was closer to my heart as a holistic therapist was the lecture by Professor Michael Depledge.

His background is as a marine biologist.

He began by reminding us that we are all becoming increasingly disconnected to the planet, he reminded us that we are connected to the planet.

As such, when we do exercise outside in 'green spaces' and a new term to me, 'blue spaces' there is an extra sense of wellbeing not achieved with indoor sport / exercise. This sense of wellbeing and community is what helps people to feel less isolated and can help those suffering with depression.

It is exercising within and amongst nature that is the 'magic' ingredient to making you feel better.

If you would like to find out more, have a look at his website www.bluegym.org.uk.

To find out more about The College of Medicine, please refer to their website www.thecollegeofmedicine.org.uk