QWill I get rich?
Ordie trying? RO
Fiddy,isthatyou?Whilewecan’t
promise a fortune, financial security
shouldnotbebeyondanyone.The
keyisbuildingasufficientpotand
earlyinvestmentsarevital–$1in
yourpensionfourdecadesagoissix
times more valuable than its five-
year-old equivalent – so increase
the hit to your pay packet now to live
aneasierlifelater.Asaruleof
thumb,youshouldputawayhalf
yourageasapercentageofyour
salary,saysauthorandstockmarket
analystDavidKuo.Fora30-year-
old,that’s15percentfortherestof
yourlife.Ifyou’vehit40withnothing
inthebank,preparefor20percent
ofyourpaytodisappeareach
month. If that sounds tough,
remember that super contributions
made from your pre-tax salary, for
example through salary sacrifice,
are generally taxed at 15 per cent,
whichislikelytobelowerthanthe
marginal t a x r ate your salar y at tr ac ts.
Ifyourfaceresemblesajowly
wombat, chances are it’s hormonal,
saysdermatologistDrAdnanNasir.
While too much dihydrotestosterone
(DHT) can cause androgenic
alopecia–that’smale-pattern
baldnesstoyouandme–itcanalso
boostfacial hair growth. Since these
follicles are more active than the
ones up top, they also age more
quickly. A surfeit of male sex
hormones, which reduce hair-
darkening melanin, makes a salt-
and-pepper scruff almost inevitable.
If,ontheotherhand,yousuffer
from brown-mop-with-ginger-beard,
youmaybehardwiredtoproducea
high level of pheomelanin, a form of
melaninthatgiveshairarustycast.
Thatsaid,ahintofcopperinyour
beard can also be down to skin
flakes catching to fairer hair, or even
dirt and pollution landing and
sticking around.QWhy is my beard a
different colour from
the hair on my head? GHQJet lag hits me
hard. What’s the best
way to deal with it,
besides pills? MT
The key is to deceive your body.
“Sunlight exposure is one of the
most effective ways to realign and
reset your circadian rhythm,” says
DrAlanAvidan,directorofthe
UCLASleepDisordersCentre.The
lag means your body’s inner
circadian clock is struggling to sync
up to the light and darkness at your
destination. So trick it: start
synchingatleastadaybeforethe
wheelsgoup,suggestsAvidan.If
you’re headed west, avoid sunlight
in the morning, then soak it up in
theafternoon.Goingeast?Dothe
opposite.Ifyoucan’tavoidbright
light, donning some dark shades
while you’re outdoors can help
reset your clock in the right
direction, report researchers at
Rush University Medical Centre in
Chicago. Maintain the same light-
versus-darkgameassoonasyou
arrive at your destination.
AccordingtoresearchintheNew
England Journal of Medicine,your
circadian rhythm should recalibrate
after a few days, so you can truly
enjoy your trip.
It’s as easy as rolling up your
sleeve.Yourdoctorcanordera
simplebloodtesttomeasureyour
D levels: 25-50nmol/L indicates
an insufficiency, while
15-25nmol/L indicates a
deficiency.Oryoucouldjust
assumeyou’reearningasolidFin
theDdepartment.Accordingtoa
nationwide study of more than
11,000 adults by Deakin
University, 35 per cent of men in
Australia’s southern states and
15 per cent in the northern
states were deficient during
winter-spring.
Oneclueyou’relacking:you’ve
startedfeelingwimpyduringyour
weight-training sessions. That’s
becauseyourmusclefibres
contain vitamin D receptors, which
play a key role in protein synthesis
and growth. Without enough of
the nutrient, both your muscle sizeand function can suffer. So what’s
aD-ficientguytodo?
Don’tcountonthesuntosave
you,saysDrMichaelF.Holick,a
professor of medicine, physiology
andbiophysicsatBoston
University School of Medicine.
During the cooler months, the
angle of the Earth changes in
relationtothesun,whichmakesit
moredifficultforyourskinto
synthesise D from UV light. And
any attempt to make up the
shortfall with food would be a very
tall order: “You’d have to drink 6-10
glassesofmilkadayjusttoreach
600-1000unitsofvitaminD,”says
Holick. His advice? Swallow a
supplement instead. Pop 1000 IU
(international units) of vitamin D
everydayfromApril/Mayuntilat
least September, when the
sunshine vitamin starts living up to
its name again.QI’ve been hearing a lot about the health benefits of
vitaminD. Is there an easy way to find out if I’m getting
enough of it? JNQWhy can’t I pee when
someone is standing at
the next urinal? JT
This sounds like paruresis,or
shy bladder syndrome. While it’s
not exactly normal, paruresis is
not uncommon: about seven per
cent of guys are afflicted, according
to the Paruresis Association of
Australia. The causes of the social
phobia are unknown, but clearly
something about the act of peeing
makes you anxious. That means
whenever you try to take a slash
in a less-than-private setting, your
sympathetic nervous system sends
out adrenaline and epinephrine.
These hormones tighten the
muscles in your bladder neck
and prevent urine from flowing,
explains urologist Dr Judd Moul.
For a quick fix next time you’re
trying to get into the flow, exhale
three-quarters of your breath then
hold it for 30-45 seconds. Your
pelvic muscles should relax as
you let go, prompting the
stream to start.APRIL 2016 25