A few weeks ago I had dinner with one of the UK’s kings of comedy. Charlie Higson, writer, producer and comedian in shows like Saturday Live, the Harry Enfield Programme, Reeves and Mortimer and The Fast Show, had us all in stitches. After a while, we were laughing before Charlie even opened his mouth, almost…
WHY WE LOVE LONGEVITY HOTSPOTS – TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA SALAD
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…
CAN A KIWI FRUIT HELP YOU SLEEP? PEACH AND MOZARELLA SALAD WITH SMOKED ALMOND PESTO
Teenagers everywhere are pushing through, red-eyed and exhausted, to the end of exam period (in the UK, at any rate). My eighteen-year old daughter is no different. With a head full of hay fever, she spends her days revising before collapsing into a night of inadequate sleep and waking at dawn as the light streams…
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 CLEAN AIR MATTERS – VEGETABLE & NETTLE SOUP
Mad dogs in Mexico City were the first sign that inhaling polluted air might cause brain damage. Neuroscientist Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas, noticed that elderly dogs living in heavily polluted areas often became confused, disoriented and unable to recognize their owners. She examined their brains (after they died, of course) and found greater quantities of amyloid b (the…
GRATITUDE – THE HOTTEST AREA OF NEUROSCIENCE?
Every now and then I’m made aware of what a huge privilege it is to be alive. However, like most of us, I spend the bulk of my time caught up in the hum drum of daily life. But not anymore. Two weeks’ ago, on my way home from London Book Fair, I collapsed in…
CARING, DEMENTIA AND TOMATO SOUP
A couple of weeks ago, a report came out claiming those who lived near busy roads had a higher risk of dementia. Both Susan and I live near a very busy road, so our thoughts turned, once again, to dementia – and to how we look after dementia sufferers. Back in November, I wrote a…
DEMENTIA AND WINTER FISH SALAD
A few months ago I found an elderly man in my street, cowering against a wall. It was dark and he was clearly disoriented, upset and frightened. He wasn’t fully dressed and appeared to have wet himself. I confess I had no idea what to do or who to call. The police? The ambulance? Wouldn’t…
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…
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…