My ALS/MND Ice Bucket Challenge

I'm sure most of you have seen the Ice bucket challenge floating around social networking sites and the internet recently. However for those of you who don't know, the ALS Ice bucket challenge is a campaign which aims to raise awareness and money for ALS - similar to the "No Make-up Selfie" campaign for Breast Cancer. 

ALS -  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which is also referred to as Motor neurone disease - is a disease that effects the nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord and muscles throughout the body. According to the ALS Association  symptoms include: 

• muscle weakness in one or more of the following: hands, arms, legs or the muscles that control speech, 
  swallowing or breathing
• twitching and cramping of muscles - especially those in the hands and feet
• impairment of the use of the arms and legs
• "thick speech" and difficulty in projecting the voice
• in more advanced stages - shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing and swallowing

ALS is a relativity rare condition with roughly 5,000 people in the UK and 30,000 people in the USA being effected. However there is currently no cure and the treatments that are available are only there to help ensure the patient is as comfortable as possible (for example with a breathing mask to reduce shortness of breath). 

Unfortunately the condition strikes it's victims fast and is a severely life shortening condition for most people. The NHS states that life expectancy for about half of those with the condition is three to four years from the start of symptoms. However, some people may live for up to 10 years, and others even longer. Perhaps the most famous example of this comes from Professor Steven Hawking - who has currently survived with the condition for over fifty years. 

Source

The challenge itself started after a baseball player with the condition -  Pete Frates - volunteered to have a bucket of ice and water poured over himself. Following this many public figures and celebrities - including Josh Hutchinson, Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise, Anna Kendrick, Ben Afleck and Cheryl Cole  (to name a few) - have joined in too. 

                                            

Sources - AK, CC, JH

The Ice Bucket Challenge Rules: 

• After being nominated (or if you haven't been nominated but fancy starting your own chain - the more the merrier) you have 24 hours to complete the challenge
• Next you must upload a video - in which you state that you are doing the challenge, say your nominations (I think it started as 2 or 3 but I haven't stuck to this so I say how ever many you like and tip the ice and water mixture over your head
• Finally - Donate!
  This can be done in different ways which vary dependent on where you're located.
  Here in the UK donations go to the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MND). This can be through their Just Giving Page which can be found here, by texting ICED55 followed by the amount (e.g. £5) to 70070 or by calling  01604 611860 and referencing the 'Ice Bucket Challenge'. 
  In the US you can click here  to go to the ALS official page or I'm sure there are ways in which you can text to donate too - (sorry I did try and find out but couldn't seem to find a number).

My challenge:

Here's a few photos from my challenge - which I completed earlier on today. You can find a shorter version of the video on my Instagram (as I rambled on nearly a minute in the actual video on my Facebook, nominating half my friends haha!). 

Just a tad chilly! 

Now.. I nominate YOU yes that's right - you to take part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It's all for a good cause - so lets raise both money and awareness for this heartbreaking condition! 

Leave me a comment below if you've completed the challenge - I'd love to see! 

xxx

Drinking More Water - Personal Challenge

"Your body needs water or other fluids to work properly and to avoid dehydration." - NHS

(source)

We all know how important it is to stay hydrated. According to the NHS - which is the UK's health service if you didn't know - we need to replace the fluid that we lose through day to day activities such as sweating and breathing (It may sound silly but I had no idea we lost water when we breath). 

In addition to this it is recommended for women to drink 1.6 litres of fluid a day and men should drink 2 litres. Now this can obviously vary depending on what activities you're doing or the weather - so we should drink more when it's warm or when exercising. 

My boyfriend always drinks loads throughout the day (always either has a bottle of water or a glass with him) and would always tell me that I needed to drink more - which I always knew but for some silly reason never really did. 
Usually I'm the type of person who would have a drink when I'm thirsty or with a meal etc.. but never anywhere near enough to keep me fully hydrated throughout the day, which - with hindsight - was so silly of me. 

There are so many benefits to drinking plenty of water which include: 

• Healthier looking/clearer complexion
• Boosts energy levels
• Healthy body
• Helps with weight loss
• Brighter looking eyes (apparently) 
• Boost concentration levels 

Plus many many more!

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(Little blurry but any excuse to get something cat related in here haha!)

If you don't like the taste of plain water, or find drinking the same thing a little boring, you can add things such as fresh fruit (a slice of lemon is a personal favourite) to make the taste more appealing to you. There are plenty of simple recipes all over the internet. 

So I have challenged myself to try and drink the recommended amounts of fluid a day - mostly water as obviously it's the healthiest. For the past week or so my 1.5L water bottle has not left my side and I must say I'm starting to feel the benefits already with my skin looking clearer and feeling a lot better in general (which is always good!). The only slight annoyance I've found is needed to wee a lot more - but that's to be expected when more liquid is entering your body - and to be honest, it's only slightly annoying when it's at 5am. But I'd happily take getting out of bed for 5 minuets if it leads to all these benefits! 

(Spending some quality time with my new BFF!)

So if you think you don't drink enough water - give it a go! 

(Source)

(Couldn't resist this little blast from the past and my childhood!)

xxx