I’m not being sexist. Women account for two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases. In the over-65 age group 1 in 6 women will develop Alzheimer’s by 2050, the figure is 1 in 11 for men. Furthermore, a report published this week revealed that half of all middle-aged women will suffer dementia, Parkinson’s or a stroke. The figure…
SAVE THE NHS: LOOK AFTER YOURSELF (AND PERFECT PANCAKES)
I love the NHS (that’s Britain’s beleaguered National Health Service, if you’re not from round here): the dedication of its staff never fails to humble me, its extraordinary achievements at the cutting edge of science awe me. It’s the envy of the world and we should do everything we can to keep it …. The…
GRANOLA BAKED APPLES
This is a great dish for making use of all those lovely Autumnal apples. Annabel has apple trees in her garden and keeps leaving bags of them on my doorstep! So I keep making this dish. It’s high in fibre and low in processed anything. Great for heart health, and fighting inflammation. I know baked…
COULD YOU FAST EVERY DAY? AND OVEN-BAKED PORRIDGE
No we haven’t lost the plot entirely. And no, we don’t mean not eating anything ever. We mean the hottest area of healthy ageing research: intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting has been in the news a lot in recent years: the runaway success of Michael Moseley and Mimi Spencer’s 5:2 Diet (eat normally for five days,…
YOUTHFUL SKIN FROM THE INSIDE OUT – AND CHOCOLATE PEANUT SQUARES
If you’ve just found us via Telegraph online – welcome to Kale & Cocoa! We believe in eating well to age well and are thrilled to be collaborating with the Telegraph again to spread the word about how more youthful skin can come from the inside out. You can read the full article here or a…
HOW TO BE HAPPY, AND CHOCOLATE PANCAKES
Can food make us happy? Not as in ‘Oh God, this cheesecake makes my tummy smile’, but in terms of micronutrients which boost mood. The short answer is yes, and the good news is that happiness is – theoretically – just a salad away. Studies from all over the world support the idea that those…
ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH? FIBRE, THAT IS….
I’m not squeamish, but constipation is just one of those subjects that’s awkward to talk, and blog, about. However, a new report published this week reveals all that straining in the loo cost £145m in hospital treatment last year and 1 in 7 adults are affected by constipation at any one time. That is an…
AGEING WELL: 12 LESSONS FROM 2015 – AND VEGETABLE TARTLETS FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER
The end of the year means it’s time to review all the reports on healthy ageing we poured over in the last 12 months. As ever, some of the research seemed (to us) a little ho hum, but every now and then along came a study that made us sit up and take note. I…
HEART-HEALTHY NUTS AND CHRISTMAS GRANOLA
We’ve made no secret of our passion for nuts – many of our recipes include a sprinkle of toasted nuts or a slug of almond butter. We’re not alone: our almond butter dipping sauce is one of our most shared and pinned recipes on social media. When it comes to ageing well, nuts are one…
CHOCOLATE CAN HELP PREVENT DEMENTIA? AND CHOCO-MATCHA COOKIES
We called our blog ‘Kale & Cocoa’ for a reason – while we love the health benefits of kale, we love a bit of chocolate too. So yet more evidence that chocolate is good for us is a bonus! Early in the summer it was widely reported that around 100g of chocolate a…