Back in March, shortly after she died at the age of 117, we reported on the longest living woman, Maria Branyas. So I was intrigued to read a full study of her genes, microbiome and other relevant ‘body-parts’ published at the end of September – this examination resulted in a comprehensive analysis of her biological…
HOW TO IMPROVE MEMORY, REDUCE INFLAMMATION, CUT CANCER RISK, AND WHY TRACKING COULD HARM YOUR HEALTH
Come Walk With Me First things first, the 2025 London Festival of Walking is hosting a free conference (2 May) on strolling, featuring the neuroscientist, Professor Shane O’Mara, and yours truly (that’s me, Annabel). If you’re interested in the biology, neuroscience, politics or simply the joys, of walking, you can claim a place by registering…
THE POWER OF WOODLANDS, WALKING SLOWLY AND YOGURT
In the last couple of weeks I’ve done dozens of interviews on the subject of walking and landscape (I’ve got lots of guided walks and talks coming up for anyone interested in the transformative power of place – scroll to the end for more details). And the one question I often get asked is ‘How…
MOVE LIKE A MIDDLE-AGER, EAT CHOCOLATE, DRINK COFFEE
I was recently in Brussels and took the opportunity to visit the city’s fabulous collection of Old Masters. The Brueghels (or Bruegels, as you prefer) caught my eye – not only for their colour and verve but for their insight into how our ancestors lived. Look closely at these paintings of sixteenth century village life…
MAY YOU WALK, EAT WALNUTS AND HEAR A NIGHTINGALE…
It’s May – my favourite month for walking in Great Britain, and (apparently) National Walking Month when school children everywhere are encouraged to walk to school. The bluebell woods are in bloom, wild roses are flowering, birdsong is at its most vocal, the swallows and nightingales have returned. Which is to say, our parks and…
Let’s rest to age well
I often say that rest is the forgotten piece of the longevity puzzle. It benefits us physically, mentally and cognitively. But compared to many of the Age-Well protocols we write about here, there’s very little research on it. Possibly because it’s so difficult to quantify. How do you put ‘taking time to look out of…
LANDSCAPES, PAIN, ROSEMARY, SLEEP AND MORE
Thank you so much to everyone (hundreds of you!) who entered the give-away for copies of 52 Ways to Walk and The Age-Well Project. Thank you to those who sent photographs and memories – and so much beautiful descriptive writing. It was an absolute joy to read them – although my feet were itching the…
Why I’m – finally – glad to be grey
I found my first grey hair at 16. Technically, I didn’t find it – the girls sitting behind me in French class did. ‘Oooh Susan, you’re going grey’, they squealed. I felt bemused, and slightly embarrassed. Surely it was just an anomaly in my dark chestnut locks? But no, by the time I was at…
KEEP COOL AND EAT FAVA BEANS
I’m just back from Jordan where we celebrated The Husband’s Big Birthday – rather belatedly, thanks to Covid-19. I always take great interest in how other cultures eat and live, and what they can teach us. The Jordanians (who have much lower rates of dementia and cancer than we do) eat beans for breakfast. Not…
WHY WE SHOULD BE WALKING … BACKWARDS
There’s been lots of good news for walkers recently. A study published last month found that over-60s who walked between 6000 and 9000 steps a day cut their risk of heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks) by 40-50 percent, when compared to a more typical 2000 steps a day. In fact this study found…
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