Intrigued by the world’s longevity hotspots? So are we. I’m particularly interested in the so-called Blue Zones because their inhabitants never take supplements (or join gyms!) and yet they have fabulously long, disease-free lives by doing very ordinary things. Which means we can too. Every so often a new longevity hot spot or blue zone…
WHY A LINE OF FLOSS WILL KEEP YOU IN GOOD HEALTH – COURGETTE, LEEK & GRUYERE FRITTATA
As I reclined in the dental chair yesterday (jaws forcibly widened, blood drooling from my mouth, metal implements clamped to my molars), my dentist decided it was time I learned about the growing link between gum health and – er, death. Gum health, she informed me, is now thought to be a trigger for heart…
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…
WHY YOU NEED TO NURTURE YOUR LOVED ONES: ONE-POT COD WITH RED VEGETABLES
Yesterday I visited a friend whose Easter was spent battling for the life of her son. Not in a sophisticated London hospital but on a remote African island. Her twelve-year old son’s appendix burst somewhere between Madagascar and a tiny island, reachable only by a three hour choppy boat ride. The island had no hospital,…
VEG UP THIS CHRISTMAS AND BARLEY RISOTTO
Counting down to Christmas and wondering just how many meals you’re going to have to cook over the festive season? We know that feeling all too well. I’ve ditched the whole thing this year by heading off on holiday but I know Annabel is catering for 17 on the day itself, and that’s without all…
WHY STRESS MATTERS – FREEKEH WITH ARTICHOKES
It’s been a stressful time in British politics. Our political elite appear to have disintegrated in the space of a week. As I’ve watched Tony Blair, David Cameron, Barack Obama and a host of other politicians on screen, I‘ve distracted myself with close scrutiny of their appearance. And I’ve been struck by how quickly they’ve…
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT DEMENTIA, HEALTHY EATING AND KALE & SALMON FRITTATA
Have you watched the recent BBC programmes on dementia? Both the unbearable moving Living With Dementia: Chris’s Story and Angela Rippon’s programme The Truth About Dementia are still on BBC iPlayer if you missed them. It’s brilliant to see dementia discussed on primetime network television. Angela did a wonderful, heart-warming job revealing the human stories…
CHAMPAGNE, FIBRE AND THE BEST WAY TO EAT BRUSSEL SPROUTS
With Christmas only two weeks away and the party season in full swing, health may not be top of your mind. But we have good news today. Read on to find out why champagne may help fend off dementia and how fibre may be a more effective tool for weight loss than dieting…. And a…
REDUCE HYPERTENSION TODAY AND A RECIPE FOR QUINOA CAKES
“Your blood pressure’s a bit high.” No one wants to hear that, do they?! But that’s exactly what my husband was told at a routine medical this week. A bit of a shock for us, but perhaps unsurprising when almost 40% of the UK adult population suffer from it. It’s easy to dismiss high blood…
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…
