So. Now we know: 70-90% of cancers are caused by lifestyle choices. That’s scary. But it’s also hugely empowering. And we think it’s a great note on which to start the new year! We’re not fans of dieting and detoxing, but by making a few lifestyle changes and sticking to them (yes, that means to…
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…
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 THE GREAT OUTDOORS (AND WALNUTS) WILL KEEP YOU YOUNG
Ever felt that deep yearning to be out in the wild? If you have, you’re not alone. If you haven’t, it’s time to tune in. There’s now a huge body of medical evidence proving that being with wildlife keeps you healthier and happier. I write this as a committed Londoner who frequently feels a deep…
SALMON: LET ME COUNT THE WAYS, AND THE EASIEST AFTER-WORK SALMON SALAD
If someone says ‘brain food’ what’s the first thing you think of? My guess is that it’s going to be fish – and probably oily fish. And if it’s oily fish, it’s got to be salmon. It’s become synonymous with healthy eating in recent decades. And it’s not just the brain that salmon can help….
THE MIND DIET, BLUE ZONES AND EASTER LAMB
There’s nothing we like better at Kale & Cocoa than more evidence that a healthy, plant-based diet significantly reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. And when that diet includes a daily glass of wine we’re even happier! Researchers at Chicago’s Rush University have revealed a pattern of eating – christened (rather brilliantly) the MIND…
IS SUGAR THE NEW TOBACCO? DATES ON TOAST
A few weeks ago, the World Health Organisation cut its recommendated daily sugar intake by 50%. Whoa! If that’s not an acknowledgment of the dangers of sugar, please can someone tell me what is? The WHO now recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 g) of sugar a day. To put this in context, a…
MEAT-FREE WEEK AND THE BEST VEGAN BLACK BEAN CHILLI
Why does the world of nutrition have to be so polarised? On one hand, the hard-core vegans (or near vegan) like Dr Joel Fuhrman (SuperImmunity) and Dr Neal Barnard (Power Foods For The Brain) and on the other, the low carb carnivores like David Perlmutter (Grain Brain) and William Davis (Wheat Belly). At Kale &…
CHOLESTEROL AND COMFORT FOOD
We’ve been thinking a lot about fat recently at Kale and Cocoa – reporting here on news that eating plenty of natural fat could be the key to living a long and healthy life and here on how the food pyramid is being re-written in the US by advocates of the Low Carb High Fat…
SMOOTHIES, SMOOTHIES, SMOOTHIES
I came late to the smoothie craze. In fact, by the time I’d really noticed it is a thing, doctors and nutritionists were warning us off them – citing sugar spikes and rotting teeth as payback for too many fruit-filled smoothies. If only I could make my own, I sighed, and pack in some veg,…
