LONDON, 28 December — Little wonder if your thoughts are now turning to good resolutions (such as "never again"). Look no further. We’ve rounded up 10 health experts to bring you top health tips on everything from diet to dental care.

Back tips

Gary Trainer, Harley Street Osteopath

1. Stretch out. Over time, soft tissues in the back will contract, which can lead to stiffness. To reduce this we need to increase movement and circulation in the back by simple stretching. The spine moves in six directions, so ensure you do rotation, extension and side stretches.

2. Test your pain. More often than not, back pain can be attributed to stiffness and contracted tissues. A simple way to test if it may be something more serious is to lie on your side and try and lift your leg at a 90 degree angle. If you can’t do this you may have slipped a disk, or something more serious.

3. Get help. A lot of people don’t seek medical attention or therapy for back pain, and suffer unnecessarily. There are many alternative treatments you can try that will ease back discomfort — such as massage therapy, aromatherapy or acupuncture.

4. Support yourself. Make sure your bed provides proper support. Think of how much time we spend in our beds — it’s a good investment!

5. Relax, relax, relax. Stress is often an aggravating factor if you are prone to back pain. Take time out, do something to relax and try some alternative holistic therapy. However, while these are great ways to ease stress, they will not address the root cause of the pain. Make sure you also seek advice from an osteopath or chiropractor.

6. After the event. On the first day of a back injury, apply ice to the injured area and take anti-inflammatory medication such as Dispirn or Aspirin, as this will keep the inflammatory substance out of the tissue. After three days, apply heat to the sore area, take hot baths, and encourage circulation.

7. The aging process. As we get older we need to take more care of our backs and be more aware that certain exercises pose more of a risk to our backs. Rather than using heavy weights at the gym, increase the repetitions you do in each set. Avoid exercises that involve impact or vibration and take up walking and swimming instead.

8. Don’t get stuck in a rut. Predispositions — sitting or standing for long periods of time — will put a strain on your back. When working at your desk, try taking a short walk and stretch every 20 minutes. Or try a few stretches while sitting in front of your computer.

9. Pregnant pause. When you are pregnant, the change in your body shape and the release of the hormone relaxin loosens the ligaments and softens the joints — which will increase your vulnerability to back problems. Try gentle exercises such as swimming and yoga to strengthen the back.

10. Let your body talk. The best thing you can do is listen to your body. If it’s feeling stiff — take a stretch or go for a walk. If it’s sore from an injury — rest. And to prevent back problems, the best thing to do is to exercise. Most problems and injuries could be avoided, or the risks reduced, if you keep your back strong, supple and mobile through exercise.

Diet tips

Ian Marber, nutrition consultant

1. Make your diet as varied as possible. We tend to eat the same foods. But nutritionally it’s really important to get the widest variety possible and it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. Next time you’re in the supermarket, look into other people’s baskets and buy some of what they’ve got.

2. Rein in your coffee intake. It’s available everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you should have 20 cups a day. Having too much coffee can overstimulate your adrenal gland and upset your blood glucose levels, leading to stress and anxiety. Stick to one or two cups a day.

3. Eat five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day. Make fruit and vegetables the emphasis of your diet, that way you’ll easily get your government-recommended daily dosage of greens and reds, vital for vitamins and anti-oxidants.

4. Drink more water. Whatever liquid you put in your body, your kidney will take out everything else and only leave the water. Half of what you drink should be just water. It’ll help you maintain your mood and produce energy.

5. Don’t crash diet. It’s important not to set yourself goals you can’t meet when you’re trying to slim. Plan to lose weight over the next year, not by February. It probably took you 12 months to put it on in the first place.

6. Eat more berries. Eating dark berries will help you to maintain your sight. In fact, they might even help you get it back. One client of mine reversed his failing eyesight by eating one punnet of blueberries a day.

8. Eat more turkey. Turkey is a great meat to eat if you suffer from sleeplessness. It contains the amino acid Tryptophan, which is a precursor to sleep. Plus B vitamins, which help to put you in a good mood.

9. Eat oats not cakes. Oats are an excellent slow-burn food and they also bind excess cholesterol in the colon. Think porridge in the mornings. If you eat foods high in carbohydrate, such as muffins and pasta, you will be on a roller coaster of highs and lows all day.

10. Nibble pumpkin and sesame seeds. Seeds contain all the enzymes and minerals needed to support the growth of a plant, so they are a concentrated source of nutrients. Eat them on your cereal or sprinkle them on salads.

Stress tips

Professor Cary Cooper, professor of health and psychology

1. Create an ‘exit time’. Decide a time to leave work each day and don’t let work spill over into your private life. With work playing such an active and time-consuming role in our lives, it is important that we maintain a good balance between home and work, and are not working all hours.

2. Take control. Don’t let events control you! There are always options open to you in any circumstance, and you can choose which to take. Take charge of a situation that is making you unhappy and influence what happens — it’s in your hands.

3. Create a social network. Invest in people, spend time with family and friends, and make an effort to make new friends. They are your emotional support system and will give you the reassurance you need when things feel a little tough.

4. Don’t bury your emotions. Repressing your emotions will compromise your immune system and leave you feeling run-down and less able to cope with stress. Show your feelings, find people to talk to about them and express yourself.

5. Take breaks away from your normal routine. It is often difficult to see what the actual problem is amid the clutter of our daily lives. So try to take a respite from your normal environment and have a good look at what issues are upsetting you.

6. Don’t engage in temporary solutions. Rather than procrastinating and agonizing over deep-rooted problems, and masking them with short-term solutions, get to the root of them. You need to identify what it is that is causing your stress and take direct action.

7. Do not use temporary palliatives as solutions. While the likes of smoking, overeating or overexercising, may seem to alleviate the problems of stress in the short-term, such solutions will not tackle the root of the cause, and may only create further problems in the long run.

8. Don’t wear yourself out with unnecessary travel. Make use of modern technology to create more time for yourself and ease the pressures of work. Use the e-mail and fax to work from home or conference calling to hold a meeting without leaving the office.

9. Learn to say ‘no’. Don’t agree to those things you don’t really want to do or can’t easily manage, and don’t be frightened of letting others down. No one will think less of you for admitting you cannot cope, or would rather not do something. Just be honest.

10. Contextualize your worries. By putting your minor worries into the bigger picture you will gain a sense of proportion. Ask yourself "Is this important? Does it really matter?" We have a tendency to lose perspective when it comes to our own problems, so take a step back and get your priorities back in order.

Teeth tips

Peter Hogekinson, dentist and BDA spokesman

1. Remember plaque. This is the main cause of tooth decay and gum disease. Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste for at least 2 minutes, paying special attention to where the gums meet the teeth.

2. Pick your moment. Don’t clean your teeth immediately after drinking fizzy drinks: The surface will be softer because of the acid, and brushing at this stage can take it away. The consumption of cheese after drinking reverses the softening process because it neutralizes the acid.

3. Use dental floss. Toothbrushes can’t always reach between the teeth, but dental floss is great for this. Clean in between your teeth with dental floss every day.

4. Remember your tongue. Sulfur compounds cause bad breath and although there are four times as many on the tongue cells than anywhere else, we tend to ignore it. If you don’t like brushing it, you can buy special tongue scrapers.

5. Use mouthwash. Rinsing daily with fluoride mouthwash helps to reverse decay. When plaque initially builds up, it demineralizes the area, forming a white spot, which isn’t visible except to a dentist. This spot will turn brown with decay, but if you use mouthwash, the plaque absorbs the flouride, which kills the bacteria.

6. Chew sugar-free gum. This generates saliva, which neutralizes harmful acid. Chew after snacks, and if you’ve eaten sweet food, wait for 20 minutes, because it takes that long for plaque to convert sugars to their maximum acidity. Chew when your mouth feels dry as well, because that’s when the bacteria have no buffer.

7. Go to the dentist. You should have a dental examination every six months even if you don’t feel that anything is wrong, because pain means dental disease has progressed too far. Dentists can reverse potential problems without treatment if they are caught in time, especially with recent progressions in laser technology.

8. Smokers beware. If you smoke, be sure to visit the dentist more regularly than you think you need to. Smoking is the major cause of mouth cancer and gum disease and if your dentist picks up oral cancers in early stages they can be dealt with effectively. It is usually the non painful ulcers that are the most serious.

9. Get polishing. If your teeth are stained from smoking or drinking tea, a hygienist can polish 90 percent of it out. Also effective is a whitening treatment in a tray which you wear over your teeth for 3 nights. It contains 15 percent hydrogen pyroxide which penetrates the enamel and goes straight to the underlying dentine. It’s the state of the dentine that determines the color.

Digestion tips

British Digestive Disorders Foundation

1. Eat regularly but in smaller portions. Having five "snack size" meals a day is better than one heavy meal in the evening. Enjoy all your favorite things — but in moderation.

2. No late-night meals. Don’t eat large meals late in the evening — they will sit heavily on your stomach and are a recipe for heartburn!

3. Get enough sleep. Just as the rest of your body needs sleep to function optimally, so does your gut. Recent research suggests that during sleep the gut "heals" itself through the production of a special enzyme.

4. Don’t forget fiber. Keep your insides in good shape by increasing the amount of fiber you eat. Good sources include fruit, vegetables, seeds and grains.

5. Don’t binge and don’t mix. Mixing your drinks and binge drinking can contribute to common digestive disorders such as heartburn and excessive wind, as well contributing to longer term damage of the pancreas and liver.

6. Go to the bathroom! Don’t resist the urge to "go" — you can interfere with the body’s natural reflexes and store up trouble in the longer term.

7. Exercise. Take some exercise that is appropriate to you. Being a couch potato at this time of year can contribute to indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. Moving about, preferably with a bit of effort involved, will benefit the workings of the gut by stimulating the gut’s muscular movements, which help to keep the food moving through.

8. Don’t overeat. Keeping an eye on your food intake over the festive season will ensure that you can face the scales! Balance your intake with your needs. Being overweight is a significant factor in a number of common digestive problems such as heartburn.

9. Chill out! Our mood and stress levels affect our guts. This is because they are interlinked through the nervous system. Recognize when your stomach is beginning to knot or churn — and do something about it! Go for a walk, talk to someone or absorb yourself in a book. Don’t increase stress levels by arguing.

10. Give your gut a chance - and give it a rest. Practice saying "no" to that extra helping of pudding or the last mince pie. If you do feel overfull and uncomfortable, there is no harm in giving a meal a miss. (The Independent)