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…
WHY EXERCISE WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE – AND SWEET POTATO BEAN CAKES
At Kale & Cocoa our aim is to eat well and age well. So far, so good. But we know that eating well is only half the battle when it comes to ageing well. Exercise is absolutely key too – an article published by John Hopkins University in the U.S. described it as ‘the universal…
GET FAT TO BEAT DEMENTIA, REALLY? VITAMIN E AND A CRUMBLE RECIPE
This is bonkers, but fat and obese people are less likely to get dementia. Yes, really. Recent research published in The Lancet suggests that being overweight has an 18% reduction in dementia risk and being obese a staggering 24% reduction. It’s brilliant news if you are overweight of course, but it flies in the face…
IMPROVE YOUR EYESIGHT – EAT MORE FREEKEH!
Have you noticed your eyesight isn’t what it used to be? Irritating isn’t it? Frightening even. Following the horrific crash of the Germanwings plane in the Alps two weeks ago, it turned out the 27-year old co-pilot responsible was suffering serious sight problems and had already lost 30 percent of his vision – possibly a…
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…
WHY COFFEE IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND – COFFEE & CHOCOLATE BRAINIES
Coffee. To drink or not to drink? That is the question. 2015 kicked off with another spate of headlines on the benefits of coffee. Once demonised, coffee is increasingly proving to be the good guy when it comes to healthy ageing. Yes, one more of those irritating u-turns that makes us want to give up…
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,…
WHY CHOCOLATE AND BUTTER RULE & CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT ORANGE CAKE
It’s official – fat is good for us! This week’s British Medical Journal tells us that a diet of ‘real food’ containing plenty of natural fat could be the key to living a long and healthy life. Wowza! Where did that medical u-turn come from? Apparently our obsession with low-fat food has contributed to the…