There’s something immensely satisfying about cleaning out a spice drawer, isn’t there? It’s purposeful, practical and is a reminder that these pungent substances can transport us to exotic locations with just a whiff. I gave mine an early spring clean this week and it conjured thoughts of delicious recipes and faraway places. (But why is…
WHY THE TIMING OF OUR EATING AND MOVING MATTERS
No sooner have we mastered exercise and eating – by which I mean we’re eating the rainbow, walking daily and lifting a few weights – than those pesky scientists discover it’s timing that matters. OK I exaggerate. But recent studies suggest that when we move is almost as important as how we move, with new…
WHY YOUR SENSE OF SMELL MATTERS
How’s your sense of smell? In the recent – and ongoing – COVID crisis, our ability to smell (or not) has become one of the key indicators of whether we might have the virus. Indeed, the latest studies suggest that smell tests would be more effective than temperature tests in gaging who has and who…
AND THE BEST TIME TO EXERCISE IS …
Anyone remember being told to eat a banana before exercising? Or only to exercise after consuming… protein … carbs … a handful of almonds … whatever…? Well, it turns out that the best time to exercise is on an empty stomach. A very empty stomach. According to research published last week, the perfect time to…
WHY WE NEED SILENCE TO AGE WELL
As I write this I can hear a pneumatic drill, the drone of overhead aircraft, a neighbour’s dog barking and the thrum of streaming traffic from a nearby road. And that’s just from outside my house. Inside, my washing machine is bleeping (why do all white goods now come with noisy alerts?), a bathroom fan…
THE ASTONISHING POWER OF SUNLIGHT: PART 2
I’ve broken a bone in my foot, which means I’ve spent a fair bit of the week in hospital and a fair bit of time hobbling around, very slowly, in a big plastic boot or weird and deeply uncomfortable, back-to-front footwear. In the same week that Vitamin D made headlines, it’ll come as no surprise…
CAN YOU EAT TO BEAT POLLUTION?
Worried about pollution? We are too. This week, researchers announced that air pollution is now killing more people than smoking. The new study focuses on ozone and PM2.5 (they’re the tiny particles of Particulate Matter invisible to the naked eye but able to penetrate our lungs and – possibly – cross into our blood). The…
WHAT I LEARNT ABOUT AGEING WELL … IN GOZO
A week of hiking, reading and sunshine on the gorgeous island of Gozo has left me reinvigorated but a little baffled. Here’s why… The island gets an average 3000 hours of annual sunshine, more than double that of London. So no Vitamin D deficiencies here. The high level of sunlight might also help explain the…
WHAT YOUR DOCTOR SHOULD TELL YOU, AND MISO COD
It’s no secret that a healthy lifestyle greatly improves our chances of a healthy old age. That’s what this blog is about, after all! Living disease-free for as long as possible is a goal for all of us, and would be enormously beneficial for the NHS, as I blogged here a few weeks ago. Yet…
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…
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