March 2002 Volume 83 Number 3 "serving the protectors"

The 24-7 routine – all year long

You work 24 hours a day and rotate over a six-week cycle. Shiftwork, public holidays and Christmas are all part of the job – 52 weeks a year – and everyone knows that is what you do. You can’t change the 24-7 routine, but you can influence the number of years you spend working it. It won’t be by retiring early, as these days you will probably be expected to work longer. In all probability, you will retire early because of bad health.

Looking after yourself becomes part of the 24-7 routine, but anyone who has come off shiftwork – even if it is only the day and afternoon rotation – will know how easy it is to let the basic health lessons that most of us learnt as a child gradually fall away. This is not because we don’t know about them but because we get tired.

Here are some reasons why you need to consider your health as part of that 24-7 routine.

The body makes cholesterol as a normal part of the repair and maintenance of the blood vessels. The body makes good and bad cholesterol. The so called good cholesterol is known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and the more you have in you blood stream the better your arteries are.

The bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL) leaves thick and obstructive rubbish (plaques) on the inside of the blood vessels, so the more of that you have the more likely you are to have a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.

Because the body makes this cholesterol, and converts some from the food you eat, the risk of having trouble with heart attacks at an early age is affected by your family history (genetic), what you eat (fatty foods) and how you burn up the excess (exercise). Recent evidence has shown that, in certain circumstances, reducing the cholesterol from 5 to 4 can alter the risk of dying from heart disease by 30 per cent.

If you increase the good cholesterol, you can reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease by a similar amount. To do this, you need to exercise and eat well but, as everyone working around the clock knows, it is hard to do the right thing as you come off that afternoon shift or on night shift.

So, let’s consider how to get that correct mix of eating food on the run and exercising enough to get your good cholesterol where you want it and reduce your risk of blocking the blood vessels with bad cholesterol.

If you are grabbing a takeaway on the way home, or during a shift on the road, think of pasta with a tomato-based sauce. A “Subway” with extra salad will give the right mix of nutrition if you don’t go for the fatty extras. When you go for chicken, get it barbequed, and choose potatoes. With less fat, the roast potato is better than chips (less surface area so less fat per potato). Let the fat drip off the meat. Eat a Yiros, or grab a curry takeaway using vegetables, and steamed rather than fried rice. Try Chinese stir-fried vegetables but, again, resist the fried rice and choose steamed.

Most of the takeaways can be less fat and better for you, so even a pizza is okay if you go for the thin base with seafood, ham or vegetables rather than the salami, bacon etc. If you go for hamburgers, choose plain rather than add bacon and eggs.

If you eat at home, there are foods you can keep in the refrigerator or cupboard. So, when you’ve missed the shopping through shiftwork, there is something nice look forward to.

Soup packets can be low-fat and healthy, but watch out for salt content: if you have trouble with your blood pressure, the salt could be important. Recent research has shown that higher blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, strokes and kidney disease. Think of blood pressure as the revs on your car, in which going above the red line increases the risk of blowing the engine – having high blood pressure increases the risk of blowing the blood vessels (heart attack or stroke).

Blood pressure above 160 is bad, but most time revving above 130 increases the risk of having trouble. Remember that the older the machine, the more careful you need to be, so don’t believe the old myth that your blood pressure can be 100 plus your age. Even at 60, your blood pressure should be 120 – not 160.

As for food to have in the fridge or cupboard, bread is always good to have around – including fruit loaf. Some in the freezer means there is always something to toast. Vegemite and low-fat cheese can always be added to the bread, and peanut butter should always be considered as a substitute.

Tinned food can be healthy, and single serves of tinned fruit provide variation and healthy alternative. Small cans of baked beans and spaghetti are also okay, as are nuts and fruit bars (Mothers Earth or Uncle Toby’s). If you find you are not grabbing that carton of milk because it goes off, remember the UHT milk. But, either way, make use of the new types that provide high calcium low fat. It really is okay to drink this.

Generally, you can keep an eye on what you eat – plan ahead, have healthy foods around and grab healthy things from the fridge because that’s all that is in there. Always have whole-grain cereals (other than sugar- or honey-coated) with low-fat milk or fresh or tinned fruit. This is great for those times when your shiftwork makes 6pm breakfast time – scrambled eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes and grated cheese served with toast. Try left-over rice, or cooked rice from the freezer made into fried rice adding canned or left-over vegetables and cold meat, or sprinkle some nuts on top. “Lean Cuisine” or “Maggi Low Fat Frozen Meals” can be eaten almost immediately, and Maggi 99% fat-free two-minute noodles are great with left-overs.

Essentially, you know your work is taking you into the 24-7 routine. You work around the 52 weeks of the year, but if you want to add years to your life you need to understand how your body works. Build your work routines around exercise and good eating habits and most of your risks can be minimized almost without thinking. Stock the cupboards and fridge with healthy contents and tell everyone else in the household what you are doing and not only will everyone be eating healthy, they won’t mind you doing those strange hours. You might not be able to avoid the 24-7, but you can avoid the early retirement through bad health.

Your questions answered

Dr Pearce will answer questions on any health issue important to you. For his response, write to or fax the Police Journal with your question. Those who write need not identify themselves.

• Police Journal, PO Box 6128, Halifax St, Adelaide, SA, 5000
• Internal dispatch, post code 168
• Fax: 8231 0855

If you prefer to correspond by e-mail, send messages to the associate editor
(brettwilliams@policejournalsa.org.au).

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