The most difficult chapter of our book to write (so far) has been the chapter on air pollution and what it’s doing to our bodies and brains. Why so difficult? Not because of the lack of research (oh no, plenty of that!), or the complexity of learning about PM2.5 (relatively simple compared to grappling with…
SHOULD YOU EAT LESS SALT? LEBANESE BAKED BEANS
Salt is back in the news. I’m sighing as I write this because salt has been one of the most difficult-to-investigate and complex chapters of our upcoming book (so far). Picking a path through the mountains of conflicting research has left my head reeling. Salt, it seems, is an emotive and contentious subject. We need…
VITAMIN D – TO SUPPLEMENT OR NOT TO SUPPLEMENT?
As readers of this blog will know, I take no vitamin supplements. Except in December when I normally take a vitamin D supplement for a few months. But this year I didn’t. Until yesterday, when I did. Confused? I was too. And that’s the point. We are bombarded by constantly changing and often opposing information…
THESE NUTS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE (YES, REALLY!)
Sometimes it is the simplest things which can make the biggest difference – like eating a handful of nuts each week. New research published this week revealed that eating 28g of nuts each week can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 23%. I got the kitchen scales out to weigh 28g of…
HELP KEEP ALZHEIMER’S AT BAY: ITALIAN BEAN STEW
If you read our last post on the best foods to prevent Alzheimer’s, you’ll know that herbs are right up there – with blueberries and broccoli. Herbs, fresh or dried, contain ten times the anti-oxidants contained in nuts and berries. This Italian Bean Stew (an edited recipe from Elly Pear’s new book, Let’s Eat!) is…
HOW TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER LAUGHTER & FARRO SALAD WITH EGGS AND SMOKED MACKEREL
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…
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,…
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…
BOWIE, BOOZE AND TOMATO & COCONUT CASSOULET
I shed a tear for Bowie this week – for him, for his family, for my lost youth. Iconic, fearless, creative, brilliant, he spoke to so many of us with his endless reinventions. His death seemed untimely and unfair. Then Husband and I toasted him with a glass of bubbly – which was both more…