Health & Wellbeing

One in five of us is now suffering from symptoms of depression. That is twice as many as before the gloom of the Covid 19 pandemic closed over us.

The joys and health benefits of eating raisins, currants, and sultanas were almost certainly discovered when someone stumbled across unpicked grapes that had simply dried in the sun. That may have been around 2000 BC.

Scientists have confirmed that the old family remedy for coughs and colds, a spoonful of honey, really does work.

The nutrients that help your self-defences stay fighting fit. Our immune systems are immensely complicated. At least six different cell types are involved in protecting our bodies from in-coming disease and illness threats.

It is the little seed with huge nutritional qualities and a whole array of options on how you buy it and eat it. Linseed comes in a choice of colours and even a choice of names. On this side of the Atlantic we are most inclined to call it linseed. On the other side it is usually known as flax.

Magnesium is a key to more than 300 chemical reactions that keep our bodies healthy. It is to be found in all human tissue, especially bones, for which it has a major importance. It is key to providing us with energy from the food we eat yet it also helps muscles relax and is linked to improved sleep. It keeps the nervous system in balance and helps control inflammation.

Naturally-Occurring waxy substance cholesterol comes in two forms, good and bad. Good cholesterol is carried around the body by high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and is simply swept away after use. Bad cholesterol, transported by low-density lipoproteins (LDL), can be deposited in arteries, restricting blood flow, causing coronary heart disease and at worst a heart attack.