Out of the top drawer
FILING HAS never been one of my strong points and so my desktop functions as a dumping ground for a never-ending influx of paper matter. The failings of this system were brought home to me in an article which identified a condition known as `irritable desk syndrome' (IDS).
This modern-day malady, brought on by long hours spent in a cluttered workspace, can have deleterious effects on physical and mental well-being. When I'd finished reading, I set about excavating and cataloguing the piles of paper on my desk, and I must say that clearing my workspace certainly seemed to clear my mind.
The idea that our working environment may not work so well for our health set me thinking about occupational hazards that come in food form.
For many of us, lunch is a nutrient-depleted sandwich, perhaps supplemented with snacks full of sugar or salt washed down with soft drinks and machine-dispensed tea. Such a diet may just increase the risk of falling down on the job.
Much is to be gained by having a fruit bowl near your desk. Snacking on fresh fruit helps keep hunger at bay, and puts a natural brake on the consumption of less healthy food. The nutrients in fruit have many health-giving properties.
One study estimated that eating an additional 50 g of fruit each day would reduce overall risk of death by 20 per cent. Dried fruit such as figs and apricots are nutritious and free from added sugar and artificial ingredients. It is also the perfect accompaniment to nuts, increased intakes of which appear to protect against heart disease. Bags of mixed dried fruit and nuts are a good top-drawer item.
Also worth considering is placing a bottle of water on your desktop each morning. Many find that downing a few litres of water throughout the day helps keep physical and mental energies buoyant, and also tends to dry up their consumption of less healthy fluids.
Studies show that drinking more water in the long term can offer relative protection from heart disease and several forms of cancer. For those seeking ways to eat healthily while on the job, keeping water, fruit and nuts close to hand really does the business.
- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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