Episode 4 Health: Truth or Scare

Every day, we're bombarded with conflicting messages about

how to live a healthy, happy life.

One minute we're told something's the right thing to do,

the next, it's the complete opposite,

and we're left without a clue which advice to follow.

So, we've been wading through the confusion to separate

the scare stories from the truth,

to help you work out what's best for you.

Hello and welcome to Health - Truth Or Scare,

the series that unpicks the news stories that tell us

all the things we should and shouldn't be doing

to keep ourselves healthy.

And today we're going to go behind those headlines that make

a really big deal out of the subjects where, frankly,

the right thing to do might seem to be blindingly obvious.

But, you know, reading some of the articles,

it's very easy for all the certainties and things

that you thought you knew to go just right out the window.

But don't forget it all just yet, or at least not until we've asked

how many of the most surprising headlines really do stack up.

Coming up, we've long known that too much sunshine is bad for our skin,

but should we be worried that too little can be bad for our bones?

When did you notice that his legs were starting to bow?

And how much exercise do we really need?

We've all got different ideas, but who's right?

I play golf twice a week.

I don't even see dog walking as exercise,

it's just what I do because I've got dogs.

Over the past few decades, I think we've all come to understand

that we really do need to protect ourselves from the sun

because of the damage that too much of it can actually do to our skins.

But last year a flurry of headlines reported that because we get

so little sunshine, thanks to the great British weather,

and also to the fact that we're now all so careful in the sun,

we're actually starving our bodies of an essential vitamin we get

from sunshine, vitamin D.

Now, not having enough vitamin D can really have quite

dreadful consequences for our health, and we've just got to

look at some of the headlines that we've got here.

"Sun-starved Britons must take vitamin D in winter",

and what they're referring to is the fact that sunlight gives us

vitamin D, which helps the absorption of calcium,

which of course is good for our bones.

So, while too much sun certainly is not safe,

I really did want to find out whether getting

no sun at all could be just as bad or perhaps even worse.

We could well get up into the low 30s.

Britain's sweltering in its longest heat wave for seven years.

High pressure across the UK.

-Searing heat.

-Another sizzling day.

Barry Island, hotter than Barbados.

Now, we might not see forecasts like that as often as we'd like,

but when the sun does come out in Britain, our arms, legs,

and very often much more come out too.

Now, worth mentioning the high UV levels. The sun will be very strong.

If you're out in that sunshine for any length of time, well,

a little bit of suntan lotion will go quite a long way.

Unless you're in a high-risk group for developing skin cancer,

on grey winter days like this we don't have to worry about

what damage the sun might be doing to our skins.

But if some of the reports that appeared in the press towards

the end of 2016 are correct, then perhaps what we should be

worried about is whether or not we're actually getting ENOUGH sun.

They said that us sun-starved Brits were missing out on the vitamin D

that our bodies get from sunshine, and we should be taking supplements

in the winter to keep our bones and immune system strong.

But they also said that we don't all get enough vitamin D

in the summer either, perhaps because so many of us follow

the safe-sun message and cover up or use sunscreen.

So, too much sun is bad for our skin

and too little sun is bad for our bones.

No wonder people aren't really sure what to do.

-Do you always use some kind of sun protection?

-Oh, always, yeah.

I burn quite easily,

so I need to make sure that I've got something on.

-I never really wear it in this country.

-Hardly.

Do you cover up?

-Do you use high protection on your sun cream?

-Definitely.

-Yes?

It's really important because I do have really fair skin.

Does it ever worry you that the lack of sunshine means you're not

-getting enough vitamin D?

-It does worry me.

It's not something I think about from day to day.

I don't know the ins and outs of it but I do know it's important to get.

To find out more about how the sun's UV produces vitamin D,

I'm meeting up with the sunshine expert Professor Ann Webb

from the University of Manchester.

Well, Ann, we're filming this in early March.

Lots of blue sky up there, which is lovely,

because we've got sunlight, but it's freezing cold.

To show me how it's surprisingly hard to get all we need from

the sun in the winter months, she's fitting me with

a gadget and we're heading for a walk around the university.

Ann specialises in studying how our bodies make vitamin D from sunshine.

Back in her office, the results show my badge detected very little UV.

The red line is when you were outside and we were walking around.

UV levels are measured on a scale up to eight,

but the gadget on my wrist barely registered one on the UV index.

Here it got to 0.4.

Here it was 0.7.

This is where it was at its highest, a whopping one.

And back inside, of course, it was zero.

So, a UV index of one is really not very much.

-It's rubbish, really, isn't it?

-It is pretty rubbish, yes.

We wouldn't even have to worry about wearing our sun screen

when the UV index is one.

So, even on a day like today where we've had lots of heavy cloud

but big patches of blue sky where the sun has been coming through,

it's still not enough to give me the vitamin D that I need.

That's right, there's really just not enough there

at this time of year.

What would that reading be at the height of the summer?

Well, then you'd see it somewhere round about five, six, seven even.

So, where no amount of sunshine will get us all the vitamin D

we need in the winter months, what kind of lifestyle gets us

the sun and vitamin D we need to last all year?

To help us find out, we've recruited three people who spend

very different amounts of time outdoors and Ann is going to give us

her verdict on whether or not they get the sunshine they need.

The sun drives my business. Without the sun, grass doesn't grow.

The sun's energy, basically.

Farmer Mark is outdoors in all weather.

I'm probably out in the sun about four to five hours a day.

Some days we can do eight, ten hours,

depending on what jobs we're doing.

And scaffolder Martin works outside almost all day,

whatever the weather.

I'd say on a typical day, every day,

we're outside for about eight hours.

Working mum Saloma spends almost all her time inside

running her baby-gift business.

In the normal day, actually,

I'd probably be outside for about three hours maximum.

That would involve me going to school,

doing the school pick-ups and drop-offs and childcare.

So it's kind of very much in and out, in and out, in and out.

The majority of the time I'm indoors on my laptop

or indoors making my baby gifts.

Could I have another five, pal?

Martin the scaffolder tops the table for time spent outside

but that's the only table he tops, because his clothes mean

the UV rays our bodies turn into vitamin D can't get to his skin.

I'm constantly covered up. We've got our jackets on, harness.

Obviously I've got me hard hat on,

so the only thing that's exposed is me face.

There's very little skin that's actually exposed to the sun.

While at first thought you might think

he's getting a lot of exposure,

I think his is actually quite limited during the working week.

He'd be making very limited vitamin D.

And even in the summer months, with his hands and face showing,

Ann thinks Martin is unlikely to generate enough vitamin D.

But there is a solution.

It's difficult because it's very important that

he follows all the safety regulations,

so I suppose that leaves him with his leisure time and his weekends.

And if he gets a break to have his lunch or something,

sitting up on the scaffold,

to take his jacket off and expose a bit more skin then.

Instead, it's farmer Mark

who's getting the most vitamin D from the sun.

He's exposing all of his arm as well as his face and head.

I've probably got what you'd call a farmer's tan,

which comes up your arms and stops about there.

I would say, of the three, he's getting the most sun exposure and

therefore has the greatest ability to make vitamin D in his skin.

As for Saloma, being in a car most of the time that she is outside

will cut out a lot of the UV that she needs.

If you're sitting in your car or you've gone into a shop

or you're in a mall, you might say, "I'm out,"

as in out of the house,

but you are not getting sunlight exposure in those places.

And there's another consideration for Saloma too -

her skin colour means she'll have to make an even bigger effort

to get enough vitamin D.

In the summer, if you've got pigmented skin

then it is possible to make enough vitamin D,

but you do have to be careful to expose sufficient amount of skin,

and also you would need to be outside for

a longer time than someone with a white skin.

So that's how it works in the summer,

but in the winter the sun just isn't strong enough

for any of us, even farmer Mark, to get all the vitamin D we need

from sunshine between October and March.

The good news is that our bodies can store it during the summer

to last us through the winter.

But Martin and Saloma don't get enough.

And while Martin could try to roll up his sleeves

when he's on his lunch break at work,

Saloma needs to look for her vitamin D elsewhere.

I would think she would be well advised to at least consider

supplements and to think about them for her children, maybe.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones as it helps the body

absorb the calcium in our diet.

And supplements will help anyone keep their vitamin D levels

topped up all year round,

especially in those winter months when the sun isn't strong enough.

But why isn't the sun strong enough?

Ann is taking me into what must be the darkest room

in the university to explain.

What is actually happening to the sun on the globe?

-I mean, you can give us a demonstration of that.

-Yes.

When the sun is right overhead then we get all the sun's energy.

-That's like here on the equator.

-That's right.

But as we go further to the north, the sun is now not directly overhead

and the same amount of energy is spread over a much bigger area.

So we're getting much less radiation as we go,

in our case, further north.

'So, that weaker northern winter sun is why getting vitamin D

'from the sun in summer is so important.

'But even our UK sun can still burn us in the summer,

'so how do we get one without the other?'

It is complicated because the sun has both good effects

and detrimental effects -

we can get a sunburn, which is bad for us,

but if you want to make vitamin D through your skin then you do need

to go out in the sun and let some unprotected skin see the sunlight.

Unprotected skin - now, that's the important bit,

because we're always being told you must wear some kind of sun barrier.

You're saying we don't need to at certain times.

Well, the sun barrier, the sunscreen or the clothing,

is to protect you from UV radiation and stop you getting a sunburn,

but of course it's that same UV radiation

that's making vitamin D in your skin.

So a short period unprotected to allow some vitamin D

and then, of course, cover up and make sure you don't get a sunburn.

When you say short, how much do we need to get that vital vitamin D?

Ah, well, that's a difficult question!

It depends on all sorts of things.

It depends on where you are, on the time of day,

on the amount of skin that you're exposing

and on your skin pigmentation, your skin colour, as well.

In 2016, the Government changed years of official advice and

said more of us should be boosting our vitamin D intake

with a supplement, because hospitals are seeing an increase in diseases

that are caused by a lack of vitamin D.

At Manchester Children's Hospital,

18-month-old Azrael is being treated for a condition

that I'd not imagined would be present in the 21st century -

rickets.

He's just one of the many children

specialist Dr Raja sees every year with the condition.

So, he's been diagnosed with rickets,

which is a disease of the growing bone.

Because his vitamin D is low,

he's not been able to absorb calcium from his diet.

It's never just vitamin D deficiency alone,

it's also calcium deficiency.

Because he's allergic to dairy products,

-he doesn't have any source of calcium at the moment as well.

-Yeah.

We didn't know too much about, you know,

the different effects it would have on him and we didn't know

what the different remedies for it was,

so we've just been learning as we go.

'Azrael's parents are originally from southern Africa,

'but our weak British sun and not taking supplements is what gave

'his mum a vitamin D deficiency when she was pregnant.

'This, combined with Azrael also suffering from

'a calcium deficiency, has caused his rickets.'

OK, if you could stand here for us, Azrael.

Right, OK. As you can see here, he's got the bowing of the leg.

The other features one tends to see in rickets

is the end of the bones, the long bones,

they're a bit swollen.

You've been very good to us today, well done.

When did you notice that his legs were starting to bow?

-It was around seven months.

-Yeah.

-When he started to try and walk?

-Yeah.

'But there is good news - Azrael's bones are still developing,

'so he just needs more vitamin D and calcium and his legs

'will straighten as his bones get stronger.'

How long is it going to take for his legs to start

straightening up again, Raja?

Six months, you will start seeing the benefit,

and within one to two years you will see them to be completely straight,

provided you continue to take vitamin D supplement.

'Dr Raja is just one of the experts having to deal with

'the highest rate of rickets in English hospitals for 50 years.'

Why is it that we're seeing apparently more cases

of rickets now than we did, say, I don't know, 10, 20, 30 years ago?

Well, there are various factors and various reasons for this.

One of them is the lifestyle change.

We're not going outside into the sun to get our skin exposed to sunlight

to produce vitamin D.

Staying indoors, with children particularly playing computer games

-rather than being out on the streets.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

Also, our population is getting very diverse,

and darker the skin, a larger amount of sunlight

is required to produce vitamin D.

So if you're Afro-Caribbean,

you come from the Middle East or the Far East, anywhere in that belt

where you're going to get a lot of sun during the day,

if they come to Britain,

they're not going to get the same amount of sun, are they?

Exactly, so therefore it becomes very important that

they get vitamin D supplementation.

Well, I have to say,

the repercussions of NOT getting enough sun are almost enough

to make you want to spend even more time out in the sunshine.

But as we've long been told, that also comes with serious risks

to our health, including skin cancer.

And to remind us just how dangerous the sun can be,

in February 2016, the government health watchdog, NICE,

told us there was no safe way to get a suntan.

And if that's leaving you even more confused about how to ensure

that you get enough vitamin D but don't spend

so long in the sun that it damages your skin,

then don't worry, because there is a way to get the balance right.

Dr Vishal Madan is a consultant dermatologist.

How do we weigh up the benefits of the sun against the disadvantages?

What is important to understand is you need just a limited amount

of sun exposure to produce vitamin D.

If you're out in the sun for even longer than that,

you're increasing the risks of the most dangerous types of

skin cancer, such as melanoma.

Dr Madan says for most but not all of us,

a few minutes in the summer sun every day with bare arms or legs

should be enough to get the vitamin D you need

without posing a serious risk of skin damage.

But - and it's a very big but - if you burn easily or you're already

at risk of skin cancer, no unprotected sunshine is safe.

If you've got a very strong family history of skin cancers,

you've got hundreds of moles on your skin, and if you've had

skin cancers in the past, this advice is not relevant to you.

But somebody who hasn't got those kind of risk factors

may go out in the sun, enjoy the sunshine in moderation,

avoid the peak times of the sun,

so midday sun, for example, and cover up.

But for anyone who's worried about the sun damaging their skin,

or spends a lot of time indoors,

or perhaps covers up for cultural reasons,

Dr Madan says a vitamin D supplement is essential.

After Professor Webb revealed that she wasn't getting enough

sunshine to keep her vitamin D levels up,

working mum Saloma has now taken to spending more time outdoors.

I'm actually getting out more in the day rather than actually

just being inside in my home office.

I'm actually... When I pick up the kids from school,

I'll go take them to the park after school

so they have a little bit of energy.

I know that they're getting their vitamin D

from the general sunshine that's out there.

Angela, you lead a fairly active life, don't you?

Yeah, I do Pilates, I power-walk and I play tennis, which I love.

-Yeah.

-How about you, Kevin?

-Well, I'm slightly disappointed you had to ask...

-Of course.

..with a body like this!

No, obviously I try and get to the gym about two or three times a week.

However active we might think we are, it's nothing compared to

how active our reporter Danny Crates used to train.

He's a Paralympic gold medallist and he's used to training,

doing gruelling training sessions every single day.

Yeah, but I have to say,

since he retired and started working in television,

I'm afraid that all of that has changed

and he's really finding it quite difficult to get all the exercise

that he thinks he really needs.

And of course, it wasn't helped when he turned to the newspapers

for advice, because not only could they not agree

on how much exercise you might need,

they couldn't even agree on what actually constitutes exercise.

Stuart, Jacqueline and I all think we get enough exercise

to keep us in shape, but we don't really agree on how much is enough.

Well, I walk my dogs every day for at least two hours,

quite often it's as much as three,

and hopefully that's what keeps me fit.

All I need to keep fit is a few trips to the gym.

For me, it has to be 50 minutes' running twice a week.

I might not be a professional athlete any more,

but it helps keep me in shape.

But everyone has very different ideas about

how much exercise they need.

-I play golf twice a week.

-How much exercise do I get?

Not as much as I'd like to at the moment.

I used to be at the gym four times a week.

I don't think I get enough exercise.

I go to the gym, like, six times a week. Six out of seven days.

I go when I can.

But how much exercise do we need?

Well, reports can't really seem to agree on that,

or even which activities actually count.

Some say it doesn't need to be strenuous, while others differ.

And while they do seem to agree that

whatever you do it's got to be regular,

they can't be sure how regular.

And while there are suggestions you can pack all you need into

a weekend session, others say you can simply do it while the kettle boils.

I had to train every day before I retired.

But I'm now a lot less active,

and I often struggle to run more than once or twice a week.

That's fine, according to some reports,

but others make it sound like I'm falling short.

So with Stuart and Jacqueline's help,

I want to find out how active we really need to be,

and whether the three of us are getting the right amount.

I don't even see dog walking as exercise,

it's just what I do because I've got dogs.

-And, Stuart, your fix comes from the gym.

-It does these days, yes.

In the winter months, I'll probably come five or six days, an hour

session each day.

'So, what's the best routine for keeping fit and healthy?

'Jackie with her low-impact daily walks, Stuart with

'his five trips to the gym each week, or me with my one or two runs?

I've got fitness monitors for you. I'm going to ask you to wear them for a week,

-every time you are training and exercising.

-Thank you.

Over the next week, our gadgets will measure how much distance

we'll cover, how many calories we burn,

how long we spend exercising and how high our heart rates get.

All things that should show how effective our chosen type of

exercise really is at keeping us in shape.

And when we come back together,

we'll have a look and see who comes out on top.

We'll see. The stats will show.

So, that's the challenge,

but what type of exercise do the public think is the most effective?

-Best form of exercise, swimming.

-Anything like walking.

-Walking.

-Running.

-Cycling.

-Doing a class at the gym.

While they can't quite seem to agree on what the best form of

exercise is, lots of people we met said they don't do it often enough.

Because, like me, they can't always find the time.

So they might be encouraged by a report that came out earlier

this year which said that cramming all your exercise in

at the weekend was just as good as doing it over a week.

Dr Gary O'Donovan from Loughborough University actually carried out

the study that sparked those stories.

Tell us a little bit about what your findings were.

We found that those people who chose to do the recommended

amount of physical activity in one or two sessions per week had

dramatic reductions in mortality.

Gary's study looked at the records of nearly 65,000 people over

an 18-year period

and found that while people who did regular exercise through the week

had reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and death, those

who only exercised once or twice a week were almost as low-risk.

They've been dubbed the "weekend warriors".

So I understand that only training twice

a week is still going to have health benefits, but surely if you

train more consistently during the week, it's got to be better for you.

Every bout of aerobic exercise improves your blood pressure,

improves your cholesterol, metabolism,

and improves your sugar metabolism for a day or two.

But in our study, we found, at least in terms of death,

it didn't matter.

So, after that news, all those people feeling guilty

about only being active once or twice a week can, in fact,

feel rather smug because, according to Gary's study,

it's as beneficial as more regular exercise.

But there are caveats, too,

because not just any old type of activity counts.

We're talking about what you choose to do in your free time,

and most of the weekend warriors did sport,

so 90% of them took part in running and sports play.

But you'll get benefits from brisk walking, as well,

and brisk walking is a great place to start.

So, if that counts, what else does?

Because a string of reports that came out last year

seem to suggest even the most mundane

daily tasks can keep us in shape.

From housework to washing the car,

a trip around the supermarket

to scrubbing the bath or walking up the stairs -

they're apparently the gym-free way to keep fit.

But Gary says some of those activities

just aren't vigorous enough.

What do we class as physically active?

Is it a gentle walk or is it raising your heart rate to a certain level?

In our study, we looked at leisure-time physical activity,

so we're not talking about housework here or what you do for a living.

Vigorous activities are usually things like running and sports play,

and during vigorous activity

it's possible to maintain a conversation,

but it's a little bit harder.

But the key to it all is getting your heart rate up

and keeping it there.

We should all be aiming for 150 minutes a week,

and Gary says it doesn't matter how you do it -

either spread through the week or crammed into the weekend.

I've got a fitness challenge, for the next week,

against Jacqueline, a dog walker who walks about seven miles a day,

seven days a week, and Stuart, who's 68 years old

and goes to the gym five times a week -

an hour session at a time. Any advice for me?

Well, I'd put my money on you. You obviously have good genetics

and you have a great history of exercise.

The weekend warrior approach will suit you fine.

Two vigorous sessions a week will keep you fit,

and you should win the challenge.

Well, I'm going to take that great advice,

I'm going to get out there and I'm going to get training now. I've got a championship to win!

'So, after a few days,

'Jackie's racked up some serious dog walking,

'Stuart's been hitting the gym sessions,

'and I've been out for two runs.

'If what Gary's told me earlier is right,

'then my exercise will be every bit as good as theirs.

'But before we get to compare our results,

'I'm meeting up with GP Dr Arun Ghosh,

'to find out more about what it might all mean for our health.'

So, the headlines are always telling us

that we need to lead an active lifestyle,

but why is that?

We know being active actually staves off conditions

like diabetes, colon cancer.

Even things like cardiovascular disease rapidly drop.

But, actually, there's lots of mental-health benefits, as well.

Conditions such as depression and anxiety

can be actually controlled by people who do regular activity.

Even things like dementia we know can be staved off

if someone is regularly active.

I've been a professional athlete for many, many years,

where I was training two to three times a day, six days a week,

and now I'm on the other side of the fence.

I'm the other side of 40, I've got two young children,

I'm very, very busy, and I can just about, if I'm lucky,

fit two quick sessions in a week.

Is there a benefit to either of them

or is there a better one or a worse one for training purposes?

You're probably still far better than most people.

The activity doesn't need to be intense. It could be quite moderate.

You could just park your car further away

and walk an extra 100 yards or 100 metres.

Add that up over the period of a year

and it's a huge amount of activity increase.

Making people do things like take the stairs at work mean, again,

they're getting daily activity added in.

People can actually mix activity throughout the day

and still get their daily quota of exercise.

'It might sound slightly different to what Gary was telling me earlier,

'but while he was talking about the most effective types of exercise,

'he'd also agree with Arun - that any exercise is good for you.'

Arun's been looking at the data from the fitness trackers Jackie,

Stuart and I have been wearing all week

to see which of us has the most effective regime.

So, we have the results.

I want you just to recap and tell me

what each one of you have been doing, OK?

Just been dog walking as usual.

Three hour sessions in the gym, 45-minute session in the boxing gym.

-Wow. Danny, how have you found it?

-Well, as a former athlete,

I thought I had these two licked when it came to a fitness challenge.

On Saturday, my six-year-old son wanted to go and do a park run,

so I did a 5km run with a six-year-old,

which means you sprint the first 400m,

and then spend the rest of the 4.5km

trying to drag a six-year-old round.

And then I went out for a run on Monday on my own,

as I would normally run.

'But my two runs didn't add up

'to the magic 150 minutes of vigorous exercise I need

'to reach weekend warrior status.'

Over the week, it's no surprise

to say that Stuart got

his heart rate higher

and burned more calories

than either me or Jackie.

But Jackie covered a lot more ground

and spent longer doing it,

which means that even though

her heart rate didn't get as high

as Stuart's, it was elevated for longer

and wasn't strained by the exercise.

And as far as GP Arun is concerned,

that perfect combination puts Jackie on top.

-Well done, Jacqueline.

-APPLAUSE

It was really good. If you're doing this every day

because these poor dogs are looking at you and saying,

"You've got to take me out," that's fantastic,

cos that will keep weight at a steady, stable state,

starving off conditions like colon cancer and diabetes.

And you've not only done that,

you've not even strained yourself doing it!

This is something you just do.

I don't even think of it as exercise.

I've got three dogs that have to go out twice a day,

and the benefit of that is that they're perfectly well-behaved

in the house, so it's a win-win situation.

Stuart burned more calories,

ran further and got his heart rate higher than even me or Jackie,

but Dr Ghosh was concerned Stuart might be doing too much.

So, you may be pushing yourself a little bit too much in the gym,

and what we could do is maybe mix up our exercise in there.

So, we were talking about maybe mixing up anaerobic

and aerobic exercise.

OK, Danny, on average, you're only working out 12 minutes a day,

which is so underneath the average that we want to do.

But, again, maybe taking the kids out on short runs

on a regular basis, that might bring the average minutes up.

And, again, certainly, the calories will come up with that

because you're just so much more active as a family.

With my busy home and work life,

I was always going to struggle to beat these two,

who, despite being older than me, have first-class fitness regimes.

A very admirable second place to Stuart.

And, Danny, I'm afraid it was bronze on this occasion.

That's not a medal I've had for a while,

so I need to work a bit harder.

But Jackie coming out on top goes to show

that a hard gym routine isn't the only way to keep in shape,

and even moderate exercise can really reap the rewards.

Exercise has got a huge benefit in terms of psychosocial,

in terms of physical, and in terms of mental health,

so it's really important that you keep this up, guys.

Now, medical science has made some staggering advances of late.

Our clever scientists have found ways to make synthetic blood,

grow human organs using pig genes,

and robots are conducting operations.

But a cure for the common cold?

Well, that remains as elusive as ever.

And it's been eluding them for years, hasn't it?

But while there is no cure for a cold,

millions of us are vaccinated against the flu every year.

I know, because I'm one of them.

But that in itself does generate an awful lot of column inches

because it can't stop everyone from getting the flu,

and in some years, in fact,

-it's been rather more successful than others.

-Yeah.

So, with a flu vaccine that doesn't work every time

and no cure for the common cold,

it's perhaps no wonder that the papers

are full of all sorts of things that might do a better job.

But I want to know whether we're fighting a losing battle.

Can I really fend off the flu or stop myself from catching a cold?

In our lifetime,

each of us will catch around 200 colds and have 16 bouts of flu.

They account for 30% of our days off work,

with an estimated cost of billions to the economy each year.

Now, those figures are not to be sniffed at,

and with many of us being regularly hit every year,

it's no wonder those cold and flu stories

are rarely out of the headlines.

And one thing we're obsessed with

is how to avoid catching one in the first place.

From vitamins and supplements

to old wives' tales,

there may not be a cure

for the common cold yet,

but there are countless claims

and suggestions for how

to kick it quickly,

or even stop us getting one

in the first place.

But do any of them really work?

I reckon I have another 100 colds to go in my lifetime,

so I'm asking the people of Cardiff for their top remedies.

-Honey and lemon...

-OK.

-..for a sore throat and things.

Vitamin C tablets.

-A hot toddy, I think they call it.

-With a little bit of a beverage in.

Little bit of whisky!

-Paracetamol.

-We've got paracetamol there.

You have. Right, yeah.

-Echinacea.

-Echinacea?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's really good.

My granny makes me take it in the liquid form.

'I've asked GP David Bailey to help me find the best cure.

'He's impressed that, despite us spending

'almost half a billion every year on over-the-counter remedies,

'the favourite treatment in Cardiff today was

'pure and simple honey and lemon.'

I think it's best just to have honey, lemon and water.

Some of the things you get over the counter have got other ingredients.

They've got caffeine, which might keep you awake.

They've got things called pseudoephedrine,

which are decongestants, which are fine for healthy adults,

bit dodgy in small children, can be very dodgy in the elderly.

-Paracetamol.

-Yes.

-Never seems to do a thing for me.

Cheap as chips from the supermarket.

I generally advise people plenty of fluids,

paracetamol if they're achy or hot,

and wait for it to go away again, cos it will.

Chicken soup seems to be the go-to thing for men.

I'm sensing you're having a go at us men

for calling it man flu here.

-Just a smidge.

-OK. OK.

-SHE LAUGHS

Chicken soup's nice, and anything that you find

makes you feel better when you've got the cold - great.

Absolutely no evidence it'll shorten the course of it.

David's adamant once you've caught a cold,

there's no way to speed it along,

and any report or suggestion that says there is is wrong.

So, how about avoiding catching one in the first place?

Earlier this year, there were bold claims that said

there is one way we can stop

millions of people from actually getting a cold.

Researchers say taking vitamin D supplements

could prevent more than 3 million people in the UK

from getting a cold or flu every year.

A study this year said that vitamin D

plays a vital role in preventing respiratory-tract infections

because, as we heard earlier,

we get less vitamin D from the sun in the winter.

It was suggested taking supplements would help prevent colds and flu.

But despite the excitement the study caused,

Dr David isn't so easily won over.

There's no doubt that, in the winter in the UK,

we don't get enough vitamin D, and certainly for older people,

particularly ladies, there have been some studies that suggest

that it helps to prevent you getting colds,

and other studies that say it doesn't. The jury's out

and Public Health England say probably not.

I'm not convinced that there's anything that's really going to make a difference.

So, with no way to kick a cold,

and vitamin D's ability to stop it under question,

it seems any chance of a miracle cure is very slim.

I'm putting my faith in Professor Ron Eccles

from the University of Cardiff.

He's devoted over 40 years of his life

to the fight against colds and flu.

Ron, are there any ways that we can avoid

catching a cold or having the flu?

I think, if I really knew the answer to that,

we wouldn't be sitting here.

Right, OK.

Over the decades, he's discovered

there's really no avoiding the common cold.

Colds thrive in crowded places

because that's where the viruses are exchanged.

So, anywhere that's crowded, you're likely to pick up colds,

particularly public places, public transports,

crowded city places.

So, if you're wondering why you live in the countryside,

never take public transport, and yet you still get colds,

well, it turns out the most likely place to catch one

is in your own home.

That's because you really snuggle up to your partners and your kids.

You're on the couch with them for long periods of time,

and that's where the viruses are transmitted.

And children, and particularly preschool children,

are suffering perhaps ten or 12 colds a year.

So, if you've got kids at home, there's really no escape.

'So, short of leaving home and becoming a hermit,

'it sounds like I'd be better off armour-plating my immune system

'so the cold virus just can't get through.'

So, Ron, in terms of our general health,

what should we be doing to help prevent getting a cold?

I think it's common sense. We're all exposed to the viruses,

so we can't escape that in our crowded cities.

I think you could avoid touching your eyes or nose

because you transmit the viruses on dirty fingers.

After that, it's maintaining a good, balanced diet

with fresh fruit and vegetables, mild exercise,

and getting enough sleep, because sleep restores the immune system.

They're all things many of us try to do,

and while there is no magic pill or medicine that can prevent a cold,

when it comes to the flu, that's a different story.

We're told that a simple vaccine can prevent it.

I have the flu jab regular every year.

-When was the last time you had the flu?

-I can't remember.

So, it's obviously doing a great job, then, isn't it?

Personally, it's not for me. I think, if you get the flu,

you should just get the flu and get over it, I think.

If I felt I needed it, I would go and have it, but at the moment

I don't think I do, because I don't suffer that much with the flu.

And that's a view shared by 68-year-old Bob Stent from Croydon.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm in good health.

I don't usually suffer with colds and flu,

so that's one of the reasons why I don't have the flu jab.

Like all over-65-year-olds in the UK,

Bob is offered a flu jab every year,

because for this older group,

a bad bout of the flu can have devastating effects on their health.

But he's never taken it,

and he's been influenced by reports and stories about the flu jab.

I've read that the flu jab is around 60% successful,

and to me, that isn't particularly begods.

I'm not convinced that whatever's in the vaccination

will actually protect me for the viruses

that are coming along that particular year.

Bob's concerns are understandable, especially when

the success, or lack of success,

of the flu vaccine

has been well publicised.

And it hasn't been worse than in

the winter of 2014 and 2015,

when the vaccine only succeeded in preventing the flu

in less than a third of people who had been vaccinated.

This year's seasonal flu vaccine is barely able

to protect people from the main strain of flu

being spread in the UK.

That's the view of Public Health England.

It led to story after story

asking if the jab was worth it.

And even though it's been much more successful

since then, those reports don't stop.

Local GP Dr Aisha Sharif is keen for Bob to change his mind

and have the flu jab,

so to find out whether he should reconsider his decision,

he's paying her visit.

Hello, Bob. Come in. Nice to see you.

So, Bob, I just wanted to explore some of the reasons

that you've never felt the need to have the flu vaccination.

I think I'm fit and healthy, so I don't think the flu jab

is going to give me the protection I may need.

Anyone who's had flu knows it's a serious illness,

it affects the whole body, and for someone who's a bit older,

the consequences can be quite severe,

so it may potentially end in hospitalisation.

For the elderly, the very young,

pregnant women and others with a weaker immune system,

a bad bout of the flu could lead to pneumonia,

septicaemia, and can even be fatal.

When the flu vaccine failed in the winter of 2014 and 2015,

an estimated 26,000 more people died than had the previous winter,

with the flu likely to have been a factor in many of those deaths.

But Aisha says it is still the most effective way

to stop the spread of the flu.

Many people don't realise the flu vaccine actually covers

three strains of flu virus.

It's not only protecting you,

but it's actually going to give protection to the people around you.

So, hopefully, you would be protecting others, as well.

And is it an accumulative effect?

So, if I had it year-on-year, it would build up, or is it...?

OK. So, what we say to people is

it's still good to get your annual flu vaccine

because your immunity to the virus can decrease with time.

And this is particularly true in the elderly,

so we do want an annual vaccination

to boost, if you like, your immunity.

Is it true that having the flu jab can actually give you the flu?

The timing of the vaccine tends to happen

when there are lots of viruses,

and you're going to get coughs and colds, which are not flu,

but people assume ARE flu because they have similar symptoms.

You may feel a little bit cold and shivery the next day or two,

but the side effects from having it are quite small compared to

the devastating effect that flu might potentially turn into.

The latest research suggests that someone who's had the vaccine

is around half as likely to catch the flu as someone who's not.

But even those odds make it a powerful weapon against

a sickness that, every winter,

can bring some hospital wards and care homes to their knees.

In 2017, University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff

was forced to close three wards

to prevent flu spreading around the hospital

and causing potentially more harm to more vulnerable patients.

Dr Richard Roberts is head of vaccines at Public Health Wales.

The impact of flu is really quite significant,

and it is one of the few diseases where,

if you look at the number of deaths in each week in the winter,

which we do, you can see them rising,

partly caused by flu,

but partly caused by other winter diseases, as well.

The jab's been recommended for some at-risk groups since the 1960s,

and for anyone over 65 for the past 20 years.

And whilst the vaccine may not have been as fully effective in the past

as health-care professionals might have wanted,

Richard says it's still your best line of defence,

despite claims the jab's not worth it.

There are people who are worried, and you often hear this -

you know, "It'll give me the flu,"

or, "It's not safe and we don't know what it will do," and so on.

It's very difficult, sometimes,

to get into a sort of reasoned argument around that,

and we do attempt to provide the evidence

around the safety of the vaccine and its effectiveness,

but you can't persuade everybody, unfortunately.

Aisha was unable to persuade Bob

to sign up for the flu vaccine just yet.

He's waiting on this year's figures to see how the vaccine performed.

So, like me, he'll be watching out for those reports to find out.

You know, I just love the idea that, just by walking her dogs,

Jackie came out on top, even ahead of a Paralympic runner.

I tell you, it just goes to show that exercise does not need

-to be hardcore, or even a chore, to be doing you some good.

-Yeah.

And while we might not have found a cure for the common cold today,

we really hope we helped you decide

which advice is worth following and which is safe to simply forget.

Especially when it comes to spending time in the sun, of course.

But I'm afraid that we've run out of time for today,

so that's where we have to leave you.

As always, thanks so much for joining us,

-and until the next time... BOTH:

-Bye-bye.