It could have been a scene from Pretty Woman when, to my mortal embarrassment, the security at my swanky hotel in New York wouldn't accept that I'd lost the key to my room, and accused me of being the paid 'guest' of the friend I was sharing a twin bedroom with. After I finally got to bed, things got much worse when I awoke to find that I was sharing a room with a beached elephant seal who snored to high heaven all night long. Whatever I did - from burying myself under two pillows to throwing pillows at him, to pleading with him to turn over on to his side - nothing stopped his gargantuan snorts. Eventually, I gave up, decamped to the bathroom and slept there. Never have I been so appreciative of the single state - the people who put up with such torture night in, night out must be saints.
If snoring is blighting you or your bedfellow's life, the following tips may bring some blessed silence to your nights. Because excess weight is the most common snoring-aggravator, losing weight sensibly and taking regular exercise will improve your breathing and fitness. You should also stop smoking - a habit that not only alters your breathing patterns, but can cause serious respiratory conditions. Having an alcoholic nightcap is not a good idea, and although a glass of cold milk or a hot milky drink at bedtime helps many people drift off to sleep, excess milk can increase mucus production in others, so it may be worth steering clear of milk at night to see if you can establish a link. Other people find that their snoring is aggravated by certain food additives, such as colourings and monosodium glutamate (MSG), so monitor your intake of these.
On occasion, snoring can cause more extreme problems. I have several patients whose lives are actually seriously disrupted by something called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a chronic condition that affects 4 per cent of the UK's population. OSA causes sleep to be disturbed hundreds of times a night, both by snoring and the temporary cessation of breathing. If your life is being seriously affected by snoring, I suggest that you ask your GP to refer you to a sleep specialist, who will advise you about medication and may even recommend surgery. On the subject of medication, note that prescription sleeping pills can often make matters worse, while certain natural remedies, such as garlic (if you can't bear the taste, try garlic tablets) and sweet cicely, lavender or marjoram essential oils, can act as powerful decongestants.
Nutrition news: Speaking out
According to the British Dental Association, oral cancer is on the increase among the under-45s. One of the best ways in which to reduce the risk of developing the disease is to pay an annual trip to your dentist, who will check your mouth for any early symptoms of oral cancer by feeling for swollen glands around the throat and neck and looking for mouth ulcers or red or white patches within the mouth. There may be more at stake than your dental health, so make sure that you include a trip to the dentist in your annual MOT.
Your letters
I suffer from gout and wonder how I can reduce my uric-acid levels without taking medication.
Anna Theus
A I applaud your desire to reduce your uric-acid levels through nutrition, but I should point out that you may still have to take drugs such as allopurinol. However, there are a few dietary strategies that may help to alleviate the pain of gout.
Firstly, although it takes about five days for the body to rid itself of the dietary sources of uric acid, you can speed up the process by drinking plenty of water. Secondly, remember that beef, pork and chicken are relatively low in the offending purines, unlike game, offal, meat extracts such as stock cubes (use fresh stock instead), ptés, sausages and meat pies. Because anchovies, herring, mackerel, sardines, whitebait, fish roes, shellfish, crab and prawns are also high in purines, a safer bet is white fish, such as plaice, cod and turbot.
In addition to this, although you do not need to cut them out of your diet completely, don't go overboard when it comes to eating smoked and pickled fish and meats, salty foods, dried fruits and beans, peas and asparagus. And finally, you might find that lighter wines may suit you better than heavy reds, such as clarets and burgundies.
• Jane Clarke is a state-registered dietician. If you would like her to answer any questions or address any issues in this column, please write to Jane Clarke c/o Life magazine, The Observer, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER or email her at life@observer.co.uk. Please note that Jane Clarke cannot enter into any personal correspondence.
