If any of you have children or grandchildren (especially teens) who aren’t getting enough exercise (think Fortnight, social media, Netflix box sets… you get the gist), today’s post is the fuel you need to turn the wifi off. It also offers hope to anyone temporarily bedbound, injured or in a sedentary job. And so I’m…
THESE VEGETABLES WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES – AND KALE SHAKSHUKA
Growing up, I was very close to my paternal grandmother. She was widowed young and filled her life with a cohort of doughty female friends and relations. They became, by extension, my ‘aunties’. They played whist, shopped and shored up the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service together. As time passed they all started to break bones,…
WHY EXERCISE IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR AGEING WELL AND THE PERFECT CLOVEY SPICE MIX
One of my favourite ageing blogs comes from an American scientist called Dr Josh Mitteldorf. Last year Josh reviewed the science behind the five things he considers most helpful in fending off dementia: physical exercise; mental stimulation and social interaction; metabolic syndrome/insulin sensitivity; diet; and drugs/supplements. We would add sleep, but Josh didn’t (clearly he’s…
VITAMIN D – TO SUPPLEMENT OR NOT TO SUPPLEMENT?
As readers of this blog will know, I take no vitamin supplements. Except in December when I normally take a vitamin D supplement for a few months. But this year I didn’t. Until yesterday, when I did. Confused? I was too. And that’s the point. We are bombarded by constantly changing and often opposing information…
WHY YOU NEED MORE SPERMIDINE … AND WHY WE STILL LOVE CHEESE
Yes, you read that correctly. No, it’s not exactly what you’re thinking. Spermidine is a polyamine that was first found in human semen but has since been found in almost all human tissue. We wrote about polyamines two years ago, in a post that has become one of our most frequently read. It’s worth reading…
GET THEE TO A FOREST (ON FOOT) AND HERBY COURGETTE/ZUCCHINI SOUP
Now is the time to boost our immunity, particularly given recent predictions that this winter may see a severe flu epidemic. In addition to the usual dietary advice (more on this next month), there’s something very simple we can do – take advantage of these glorious autumn days and hit the woods. There’s a new…
WHY YOU NEED TO DO MORE EXERCISE & GLAZED AUBERGINE CHIPS
I’ll confess right away: my life has become increasingly sedentary. The life of most writers is a sedentary one. I walk every day, regularly clocking up between 10 and 20,000 steps. But this, it turns out, is not enough. According to recent research from America’s Brigham Young University I might as well be slouching in…
NOW IS THE TIME TO EAT NETTLES! SOUP, CURRY & SAUCE
Big apologies for the long silence but Ms’s Kale & Cocoa have been work-swamped. However, we’re coming up for air in time to make the most of my favourite foraging ingredient – the ubiquitous stinging nettle. Award winning health journalist, Susan Clark, describes the common nettle (usually thought of as a weed with a nasty…
SEAWEED – IS IT ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE? WAKAME & CARROT SALAD
If you asked me to name the most hyped food of 2015, I’d have to say seaweed. This year’s seen a spate of headlines on the benefits of eating seaweed – not to mention numerous glossy supplements in which celebrity chefs offer up their favourite seaweed recipes. In July scientists in the US made the…
WHY WE SHOULD SIT LESS AND FIDGET MORE – WARM SQUASH SALAD
If you sit for more than six hours a day, you need to get up – yes, right now! And yes – that’s six hours in total. And if you think you’re off the hook because you’ve spent an hour in the gym, you need to think again. New research shows our sedentary lifestyles are…