Improving movement
While medication to mimic or replace dopamine is used to manage Parkinson’s, and surgery to implant electrodes in the brain can also be carried out in severe cases, there are a number of ways that have recently been discovered to help people enhance their quality of life.
Last year, doctors at the Medical College of Georgia, USA, piloted an eight-week study that saw 18 people with Parkinson’s spend an hour playing Wii Sports three times a week, for four weeks. The patients – all affected by the disease on both sides of their bodies – played two games each of tennis and bowling, and one game of boxing. The games required whole body movements, balance and speed. Participants showed significant improvements in rigidity, movement and energy levels, and most participants’ depression levels decreased. But it’s not just virtual games that help – getting active in the traditional sense is encouraged, too. ‘Keeping active helps “oil” joints and muscles,’ says Dr Breen. ‘There is no need to run a marathon every day, but people with Parkinson’s should keep active to a level they are comfortable with – whether that means a 20-minute walk or a 10-minute jog.’
A study in The Cochrane Library this year supports this theory, finding that treadmill training can help Parkinson’s sufferers overcome difficulty walking – showing improved speed, stride length and distance covered. It may be the rhythmic nature of walking on a treadmill that helps sufferers. ‘People with Parkinson’s are often good at dancing because they move to a rhythm,’ says Dr Breen. ‘When someone with advanced Parkinson’s “freezes”, they can often start moving again by counting in their head “one, two, one, two” – they’ll start walking to that rhythm. The ticking of a metronome can also help to get people moving again.’
Indeed, a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in 2008 showed that patients with Parkinson’s disease who took part in 20 regular tango dance classes showed significant improvements in balance and mobility, compared to patients who did conventional exercise. The tango classes included stretches, balance exercises, tango-style walking, footwork patterns and timing steps to music.
The Chinese martial art t‘ai chi – which is based on slow, controlled movements, developing strength, balance, posture and calm – has also shown encouraging results in helping Parkinson’s sufferers to overcome their symptoms. A study by the Washington University School of Medicine, published in 2008, found that people with mild to moderately severe Parkinson’s disease showed improved balance, walking ability and overall wellbeing after 20 t’ai chi sessions.

Mind matters
As well as motor symptoms affecting movement, Parkinson’s disease can cause non-motor symptoms including muscular pain and depression. Professor K Ray Chaudhuri, co-director of the National Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence, believes this is one area where Parkinson’s research and treatment has moved on: ‘The traditional way of looking at Parkinson’s disease is to address the motor symptoms, such as tremors, rigidity and balance. But we have started looking much more at the non-motor problems, as they tend to be what puts people in hospital – and what carers are most worried about. So far we have been quite blind to that.’
One Parkinson’s sufferer, Bob Taylor, has set up an art group for people with the disease. After tutoring recovering stroke and brain injury patients at a local hospital, Taylor realised the healing potential art therapy could have for people with Parkinson’s – helping them articulate their feelings and enhancing their emotional wellbeing. ‘People get so much out of it – it’s a release,’ he says.
Taylor also runs laughter therapy courses. ‘Laughter releases endorphins, which improve mood and relieve pain,’ says Taylor. Because 30 to 40 per cent of people with Parkinson’s experience depression during the course of the condition, mood-enhancing activities that encourage laughter can help.

Better diagnosis
It is not only in managing the condition that there have been strides forward, but in diagnosis too. Currently the condition is only diagnosed when sufferers start exhibiting motor symptoms, which occur after 70 per cent of the nerve cells in a specific part of the brain have died.
However, in April this year researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel found a way of using software to measure speech patterns and test if apparently healthy people have the condition. Because Parkinson’s damages muscles in the neck and mouth, it can also give sufferers a husky voice. The researchers claim that diagnosing patients earlier could prevent the damage of up to 60 per cent of the nerve cells in question.
Parkinson’s UK is also working towards earlier diagnosis. ‘We’re trying to build up a picture of what happens before people develop motor symptoms,’ says Dr Breen. ‘The earlier we can make a diagnosis, the more effective their treatment can be.’

Visit Parkinson’s UK at www.parkinsons.org.uk for more information.

What if there was a treatment that could improve your health, happiness and general wellbeing – and only took 20 minutes twice a day? You may assume this is a new miracle medication or ‘magic bullet’. However, it is in fact transcendental meditation (TM), a method practised by 6 million people across the world. While this type of meditation has been around for thousands of years, interest in it has gathered momentum recently because of its incredible health-promoting effects and because schools are starting to incorporate it into their curriculum. So what’s all the fuss about?
TM was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India over 50 years ago. ‘He wanted to create a form of meditation based on a clear understanding of the nature of the mind and its relation to the body,’ says Colin Beckley, a TM teacher with The Meditation Trust. ‘It allows the mind to be still so the body can rest, heal and become more alert.’ The term often used in relation to TM is ‘restful alertness’. The idea is your mind transcends (hence ‘transcendental’) beyond thought to experience the source of all thought, known as ‘transcendental consciousness’ and with it, your innermost Self.
The technique is derived from Vedic tradition, an ancient Indian belief that predates many ‘modern’ religions such as Hinduism and Christianity. Maharishi travelled the world spreading the message and picking up thousands of followers, the most famous of which were the Beatles, who actually travelled to India in the 1960s to learn the technique. Other celebrity followers have included the film director David Lynch and the Sixties pop star Donovan. Lynch has proclaimed, ‘When I started meditating I had a real anger in me, and I would take it out on my first wife. Two weeks after I started meditating, this anger lifted.’

Meditation for all
TM can be practised by anyone, from children to the elderly, and is surprisingly simple to learn. It is necessary to go on a course to learn the initial technique from a qualified TM teacher – but once this is mastered, you can continue to practise TM as and when you want to.
Courses take four sessions on three to four consecutive days, one of which will involve one-to-one instruction from your TM teacher. They will assign you a mantra, which is a word you think of during your TM sessions. ‘Your mantra is a primordial sound that has deep resonance and allows your mind to be still and transcend consciousness,’ says Beckley. The follow-up days are designed to ensure you have all the knowledge you need to meditate at home. Once home, you’re encouraged to do TM for a maximum of 20 minutes, twice a day, preferably sitting down with your eyes closed. However, you don’t need to be alone – you can do it on the bus or train to work. Teachers claim the effect you get from 20 minutes of TM twice a day is as powerful as hours of other types of meditation, and is all you need to have fully restorative effect.
‘The beauty of TM is that you don’t need to spend years mastering it,’ says David Hughes, a TM teacher with The Maharishi Foundation. ‘It’s possible to have the same experiences after a year of TM as someone who’s been doing it for 20 years.’
Children can learn TM from the age of five. It’s a different technique to adult TM – it still uses a mantra, but children can do it with their eyes open while getting ready for school. From the age of 10, children meditate sitting with their eyes closed. The ease at which TM is picked up by children means it’s now being used in schools.

How is TM useful?
The health benefits of meditation have been well documented since the 1970s. ‘A study from Stanford University, USA, looked at the effect that TM could have on general anxiety, and found it was twice as effective as other methods used to treat it,’ says Hughes. More recently, it was discovered that in a group of heart disease patients, those who practised TM had a 47 per cent reduction in deaths, heart attacks and strokes, according to US research from the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Maharishi University in Iowa. What’s more, studies show it can reduce high blood pressure and insulin resistance, and lower breathing and heart rate, while improving concentration and alertness.
‘TM is unlike other types of meditation, which involve contemplation, visualisation or concentration,’ says Hughes. ‘It is effortless and designed to go beyond, or transcend, the thinking process into a deep state of restful alertness.’
TM practitioners are adamant about its ability to promote happiness. ‘TM allows you to find the inner peace that is central to our nature,’ says Beckley. ‘We spend so much time trying to find happiness through actions and possessions – a new car or iPod – we’ve forgotten true happiness comes from within. TM helps you unlock it.’

Meditation and education
Schools around the world are now using meditation, including TM, in their classes.
‘TM can have a very dramatic effect on children,’ says Derek Cassells, headteacher at the Maharishi School in Skelmersdale, Lancashire. ‘Students follow a normal curriculum, but start and end the day with a 10-minute TM session. As a result they are calmer, happier, and more receptive to learning. You often see improved creativity, confidence and acceptance of others.’
The school has three times the national average for A and A* grades at GCSE, but Cassells is quick to point out that it’s not just about results. In fact, it’s this obsession with exam grades that causes unnecessary stress for many young people. ‘Schools should provide a balance of education and personal development. Students shouldn’t just cope, they should thrive – TM can help them do this.’
The Maharishi School is an independent school, but there are now at least half a dozen state schools in the UK which have started using TM, and many more using variations on meditation to help keep children calm and happy. ‘It’s easy to introduce TM into schools, as there is no conflict with any curriculum and it’s so quick,’ says Cassells.
TM is a growing movement and its supporters hope that, with time, everyone can bring it into their lives. ‘If you look at life as being like a tree, TM are its roots,’ says Beckley. ‘If the tree keeps growing branches, but doesn’t put down roots, it will topple over. TM helps you put down roots, so the rest of your life can grow and be stable.’

‘TM worked for us!

Three people reveal their experiences of TM:

• Tracey Meaning, philosophy teacher: ‘Since I began practising TM I’ve noticed the effect I have on young people, it’s as if my calmness is infectious. I’ve found the learning process is much more organic because the atmosphere is so naturally peaceful. Misbehaviour is greeted with complete calm and resolved. I work in a recognised challenging school where students bring a multitude of personal issues with them every day, so TM helps diffuse any tense situations.’
• Ben, 26, ex-student, Maharishi School: ‘My time at the Maharishi School helped frame my appreciation of life and showed me where to look for happiness.’
• Phoebe, 28, ex-student, Maharishi School: ‘The Maharishi School helped me to conquer my shyness and become the confident person I am today.’

For more information about TM: The Maharishi Foundation: Call 0169 51213 or visit www.t-m.org.uk

For more information about the Meditation trust: Call 01843 841010 or visit www.meditationtrust.org

Click here to find out how writer Hannah Fox got on when she learned TM.

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Mix the sunflower spread and fruit sugar together with an electric hand whisk until creamy. Add the eggs and lime zest, and briefly whisk again. Don’t worry if it curdles.
2. Add the flour and baking powder, and whisk again until creamy. Fold in the hazelnuts and dried fruit until all the ingredients are combined. Divide equally between the paper cases and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden and cooked. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
3. To make the icing, whisk together the sunflower spread, icing sugar and lime zest until creamy and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, either by spreading or piping over the top. Use the finely diced pineapple and papaya to decorate the top of the iced cupcake. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 8

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C/Fan 100°C/Gas ½ and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a clean greaseproof bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar, whisking between each addition, until really thick and glossy.
2. Fold in the cornflour, vinegar and honey until combined. Using all the mixture, spoon 8 dollops onto the lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 1-1½ hours, until dry on the outside. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
3. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and drizzle over the meringues. Sprinkle each with some of the chopped nuts and put to one side until the chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Makes 16

1. Mix together the flour and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and stir in the oil. Season with cumin and salt. Gradually add the warm water, stirring until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth. Put into a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
2. Preheat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Punch the dough down and put on a clean surface. Divide the dough into 16 small balls, then roll each ball until about 15-20cm long. Sprinkle the seeds onto a board. Then brush each length of dough with egg and roll in the seeds. Transfer to a non-stick baking tray (you may need to use 2 trays). Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden and cooked. Leave to cool.
3. Put the chickpeas and garlic into a food processor and whizz up until finely chopped. Keep the motor running and gradually add the oil, lemon juice and tahini, until it becomes a smooth paste. Season.
4. Put the houmous into a small jar or pot and chill until ready for your picnic. Keep the breadsticks in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap to keep them fresh.

1. Pour the oil into a small frying pan with a heat-proof handle and gently cook the onion for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and caramelised.
2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the penne pasta for 10-12 minutes, or according to pack instructions, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. Put the beaten eggs in a large bowl and add the cooked pasta, parsley and seasoning. Preheat the grill until hot. When the onions are cooked, spoon them into the egg mixture and mix everything until coated.
4. Put the pan back on the heat and add the egg mixture. Scatter over the red peppers and level with a spatula. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the base is golden, then transfer to the grill and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until the top is golden and set. Remove from the heat and leave to go cold.
5. To serve, cut into small wedges and stack in a plastic container. Chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

Serves 4

1. Cut the loaf of bread in half horizontally through the middle. Remove the lid and scoop out the bread (see tip, below), leaving a border of about 1cm. Do the same to the bottom half of the loaf.
2. Spread the inside of each loaf half with mayonnaise. Then cover the bottom half of the loaf with half the lettuce leaves and half the tomato slices, then drizzle with 1 tsp pesto. Top with the wafer-thin ham, 2 mozzarella slices and a few basil leaves.
3. Next add the pepper antipasti, then the remaining lettuce leaves and tomato. Then top with the Parma ham and remaining mozzarella, and drizzle with the leftover pesto. Return the top of the bread, like a lid, and push down to close the loaf of bread. Cut the completed loaf into 4 and then wrap the whole loaf in parchment. Tie with string and chill until needed.

Tip: Whizz up the discarded bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs, which are always useful. Freeze to have on hand for other recipes.

Serves 4

Method

1. Preheat the grill until hot. Cut the salmon into bite-sized cubes and place in a bowl. Sprinkle over the soy sauce and toss the salmon to coat it. Thread the cubes of salmon on to 4 skewers. Place on a foil-lined grill tray and cook for 5-7 minutes, turning until done. Set your skewers aside to go cold.
2. Meanwhile, make the salsa verde. In a bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice and zest, capers, parsley, dill, garlic and seasoning.
3. Pour this dressing in a small tub and put your skewers into a separate container. Chill both in the fridge until it’s time for your picnic.

Click onto the Maxitone website to find out more details about the competition and how you can enter. There are two categories:

Body transformation is for those who have significantly changed their body shape. Have you recently shifted some serious pounds? Do you no longer dread the summer bikini season because of Maxitone?
Active impact is for those who have changed their lifestyle to achieve their body ambition. Perhaps you signed up for 10k run and haven’t looked back since? Or did you hit the pool to tone up and realise how much you enjoy it?

Last year’s winners were Beccy [above left] and Laura [above right]. Beccy says: ‘Winning the competition has been very overwhelming. It has made me feel even more motivated to carry on eating and exercising well’ while Laura says: ‘Winning this competition was a huge shock for me and it made everything worth it, what a pat on the back!’ If they can do it…so can you!

Four finalists from both categories will go through to our expert judging panel, made up of Strictly Come Dancing’s Flavia Cacace, Gladiator Zoe Williams, celebrity personal trainer Nicki Waterman and Healthy’s very own writer Hannah Fox. They will pick a finalist from each category who will then go into a public vote to decide our Body Ambition Champion 2010. The winner will take home the £5,000 prize. As with previous competitions, we’re looking for your pictures and inspiring stories.

You need to provide a before and after shot (just one of each) and a succinct 500 word story showing us what you did, how you did it and why – plus which Maxitone products you can’t live without!
Visit www.bodyambition2010.com to find out more.

DON’T FORGET: Closing date is Friday 27th August 2010.

Click here to download a page with the full set of exercises.

Matt Scott has 20 years’ experience as a trainer and was the fitness expert on Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger. For info visit www.mattscott.co.uk.