I was scrolling on Instagram and a video stopped me in my tracks. Lifestyle content creator Katey Brigham was discussing how “one of the best things that a woman can do is legs-up-the-wall, almost every night”.

Legs-up-the-wall, or viparita karani, is a yoga pose which could help improve circulation, reduce lower-leg swelling, and aid relaxation, according to Cleveland Clinic.

“Our veins are going to age, and we never ever think about that,” Brigham said in a reel, suggesting that to improve vein health, people can simply lay down and lean their legs up against the wall for a few minutes each day.

“Vein health probably isn’t something most of us think about until we notice visible veins, swelling or aching in our legs,” Dr Nikki Ramskill, a GP verified on Doctify and founder of The Female Health Doctor Clinic, told HuffPost UK.

But our veins have an important job to do in the body – returning blood back towards the heart, often working against gravity when we’re standing or sitting.

“As we age, the valves inside the veins can become less effective, making it easier for blood to pool in the legs. This can contribute to varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency,” Dr Ramskill explained.

The doctor notes that while it’s not a perfect solution, it can certainly help with circulation.

“Elevating the legs can use gravity to help blood and fluid return towards the heart, so someone who experiences mild leg swelling or heaviness after being on their feet all day may find it temporarily relieving,” she explained.

“You don’t specifically need to lie on the floor with your legs against a wall, though – elevating your legs with a stool can help.”

That said, she notes it’s not a ‘detox’, won’t prevent every blood clot, and it isn’t a substitute for regular movement or treatment if you have underlying venous disease.

There are also some people who should steer clear of this pose. Per Cleveland Clinic, these include: people with glaucoma, those with conditions that cause excessive fluid volume in the body (including people with liver failure, kidney failure and heart failure), and those with unmanaged high blood pressure.

If you can’t do legs up the wall, or aren’t really interested, one of the best (and simplest) things you can do for your vein health is to move regularly, Dr Ramskill added.

“I’d actually put walking and regular movement much higher [than lying with legs raised] on the list for everyday vein health,” she said.

“Your calf muscles are one of your body’s natural mechanisms for helping venous blood travel back towards the heart, so keeping them moving is remarkably useful.”

People who spend lots of time sitting down or travel frequently should aim to get up and walk around regularly throughout the day. The doctor suggested even simple ankle pumps and calf raises while sitting can keep the muscles working.

Avoiding smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are also key for supporting healthy vein function.

If you have visible veins, the doctor said “don’t panic” as spider veins and varicose veins are incredibly common, particularly as we get older.

She ended: “The important thing is knowing when a change is more than cosmetic: persistent swelling, pain, skin discolouration, wounds that aren’t healing or a sudden change in one leg are all reasons to seek medical advice.”

Jewish groups have condemned Ed Miliband after he announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The foreign secretary triggered a furious diplomatic row as he announced a “reset” of the UK’s relations with Israel.

In a statement to MPs, Miliband accused Israeli settlers in the West Bank of “ethnic cleansing” as he vowed to take action against those who provide services including finance and real estate for settlement expansion.

“All too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians,” he said.

Miliband’s statement was welcomed by the vast majority of Labour MPs, but the Israeli government responded by announcing the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem.

The Jewish Leadership Council said the sanctions on trade with West Bank settlements “risks becoming a de facto boycott of Israel, giving legitimacy to those who reject Israel’s very existence”.

“The government is simply yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society,” they said in a statement.

“They will continue to push the government to take increasingly radical action against Israel, to the detriment of peace in the Middle East and community relations in the UK.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed their “deep regret” at Miliband’s announcement.

In a statement, they said: “We have warned the UK government that it should know that protesters who cry ‘From the river to the sea’ will not be placated by any measures short of the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.”

France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden have all joined the UK is slapping sanctions on Israeli settlers today.

In a joint statement, the countries confirmed this action follows steps already taken by the Netherlands and Belgium.

Speaking before Miliband’s statement, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, accused the UK government of “discrimination against Jews”.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Even if you won’t admit it to yourself, we all love the smell of our own farts. In fact, back in 2014, ScienceAlert revealed that we find our farts more appealing than the smell of others. However, do you ever find that your farts even disgust you?

Or that what you thought would be a subtle, silent fart is actually silent-but-violent?

Well, according to NHS Surgeon and health communicator Dr Karan Rajan, we could actually learn a lot about our health and what we’re missing in our diets just by how our farts smell and feel.

In an Instagram post, Dr Rajan says: “If your farts are silent but deadly, you might not be eating enough fibre.”

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

The British Heart Foundation advises: “In the UK, the government recommends adults eat 30g of fibre per day, but most of us fall short, averaging around 17g a day.”

Ever do an absolute arse trumpet of a fart, expecting to clear the room but actually, there’s no smell? Dr Rajan says this means that your gut bacteria have been “fermenting fibre”.

He explains: “When your gut bacteria have plenty of fibre, that’s what they eat first. Fermenting fibre makes carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane and none of these gases smell.”

All of this gassy talk had me wondering about warm or burning farts. These are usually experienced when feeling quite under the weather, so I wondered what caused the change-up.

Healthline explains: “Having less gas to pass may make toots seem hotter. That’s because when gas is expelled with a bit of force — that is, you have more to pass — it clears your rectum quickly. You don’t typically feel the air warm up around your anus.

“If you have less gas, however, the gas may move slower with less force. In that case, the air may linger right around your bum, heating up the skin slightly.”

Ed Miliband has accused the Israeli settlers in the West Bank of “ethnic cleansing” as he unveiled a fresh set of sanctions.

The foreign secretary has announced his plan to ban trade from Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied Palestinian territory as part of his attempt to “reset” relations with Israel.

He said the UK will “take action” against those who provide services including construction, finance and real-estate for settlement expansion.

He said he hoped to roll out the legislation in six to nine months.

It comes after Israel unveiled plans to extend developments in the West Bank, which would disrupt the idea of a Palestinian state.

Tensions in the West Bank have spiked in recent months as violent disputes have erupted between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,00 Jews since it first occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.

Approximately 3.3 million Palestinians are estimated to live among them.

While making a statement to MPs in the Commons, Miliband noted that the government’s argument is “not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds” but “with the conduct of its government.”

He said the Israeli settlements in the West Bank – illegal under international law – have expanded more rapidly under the last four years of this Israeli government than in the previous 20 years.

The cabinet minister continued: “Ethnic cleansing is defined by the UN as ‘a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas’.

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists.

“And all too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”

France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden have all joined the UK is slapping sanctions on Israeli settlers today.

In a joint statement, the countries confirmed this action follows steps already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.

Miliband also turned his attention to Gaza, where he said Britain supports the legal processes to determine if Israel has committed genocide.

He added that the UK will do “everything we can to provide all the humanitarian support possible to help the people of Gaza”.

“Our extension of the global human rights sanctions regime will enable us to target those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law, whether in Gaza or anywhere else in the world,” the foreign secretary said.

Miliband’s announcement has already put a strain on Britain’s relations with the US and with Israel.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, accused the government of “discrimination against Jews”.

US president Donald Trump is yet to publicly respond to the sanctions package.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

As a person with a penis, you would be forgiven for thinking everything “down there” is fine if your penis hasn’t shown any physical changes or been generally uncomfortable. However, according to Dr Babak Ashrafi, GP at Superdrug Online Doctor, you can actually tell a lot about your physical health just from examining your penis.

He shares: “Your penis is one of the few parts of the body that relies on healthy blood vessels, healthy nerves, balanced hormones and good psychological wellbeing all working together.

“If something changes, it doesn’t always mean there’s a serious problem, but it can sometimes be the body’s way of flagging that something else deserves attention.”

What a neat little system.

According to The Urology Foundation, erectile dysfunction (ED) affects around 4.3 million men in the UK and is very common in men over the age of 40.

“Many men think of erectile dysfunction as a condition in itself, but it’s often a symptom rather than the underlying cause,” says Dr Babak Ashrafi. “An erection relies on healthy blood vessels, nerves, hormones and psychological wellbeing all working together. If something is disrupting one of those systems, the penis can sometimes be one of the first places it becomes noticeable.”

Dr Ashrafi adds that persistent erectile dysfunction can sometimes be an early warning sign of wider health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Often referred to as a ‘silent killer’, high blood pressure unfortunately rarely causes obvious symptoms. However, it can damage blood vessels throughout the body over time. Dr Ashrafi says: “If blood vessels begin to narrow or lose their elasticity because of high blood pressure, some men may notice changes to their erections before they experience any other symptoms. That’s why persistent changes shouldn’t simply be put down to age.”

Diabetes impacts more than just blood sugar. It can also damage nerves and blood vessels which are essential for healthy sexual function.

Ashrafi urges: “For some men, changes in erections are one of the first things that prompts them to seek medical advice.

“If these changes are accompanied by increased thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision or unexplained fatigue, diabetes is one of the conditions we would want to rule out.”

Early diagnosis can also reduce the risk of complications affecting the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves.

High cholesterol often develops silently, but over time it can reduce blood flow by causing fatty deposits to build up inside arteries.

“Because the arteries supplying the penis are particularly narrow, they may be affected earlier than larger arteries elsewhere in the body,” says Dr Babak Ashrafi. “For some men, changes in erectile function can be an early clue that it’s time to have their cholesterol checked.”

Changes aren’t always related to blood flow, Dr Ashrafi explains.

“If you’re experiencing a reduced sex drive alongside persistent tiredness, low mood, reduced muscle strength or fewer spontaneous erections, hormones could be playing a role,

“Low testosterone can affect both sexual desire and sexual function, so it’s important to look at the wider picture rather than focusing on one symptom alone.”

A poor night’s sleep could be affecting more than just your energy levels, particularly if it’s happening often.

“Sleep plays an important role in hormone production, cardiovascular health and sexual function,” says Dr Ashrafi.

“If someone notices changes in their erections alongside loud snoring, excessive daytime tiredness or poor quality sleep, it may be worth investigating whether an underlying sleep disorder could be contributing.”

Improving sleep can have benefits for overall health as well as sexual wellbeing.

If you are concerned about your health, speak to your GP.