After being diagnosed with a chronic disease eleven years ago, I have a keen interest in following the latest discoveries being made by health researchers around the world. Regular readers will know that I dive with gusto into the evidence showing links between our health and our emotions, stress levels, relationships, beliefs, diet, sleep, exercise and daily habits. But of all the topics in health science that I closely follow, there is one that stands out as having the greatest potential to revolutionise the way we approach wellness and the treatment of chronic disease – the microbiome.With thanks to new... Read full article »

This is the story of well-intentioned wife who set out to make her husband a birthday cake. This wife realised the importance of celebrating birthdays and having rituals to mark special occasions. But in recent years she had become increasingly aware of the need to eat food that doesn’t have hidden nasties. So rather than buying a double-choc-fudge-swirl-something-or-rather like she may have in the past, she instead decided to make a raw vegan birthday cake. That way the whole family could have their cake and eat it too.The “cake” was made from ingredients such as almond meal, dates, and dried... Read full article »

As a journalist who writes extensively about finding the connection between our mind, body and health, and who also shares publicly my personal story about recovering from an autoimmune disease, I’d love to tell you that I have found a single magical key to balance, harmony, health and longevity. I’d like to say that after a blissful nine hour sleep each and every night, I rise with the morning chorus of birds to perform an hour of yoga, followed by an hour of meditation. I’d love to tell you that all my food is made from scratch, that my relationships... Read full article »

The other day a friend asked me what I thought of the 5:2 diet. Like so many of us at this time of year, he had been reflecting on the past and was wanting to make a fresh start. He was starting to make some new goals for the new year ahead and slimming down was one of them. He wanted to know if the so called ‘fast’ diet would work.The 5:2 diet became popular with thanks to the endorsement of British doctor and BBC presenter Michael Mosley. The idea is that for five days of the week dieters eat... Read full article »

Here in Australia the lazy, hazy days of the summer holidays are coming to an end. My beaded, braided, sun-tanned family and friends are making their final trips to the beach, organising hair cuts, opening emails, and planning their inevitable return to work and school. Amidst our good intentions and “new-year new-me” promises, there is an interesting theme I’m detecting before the crazy-busyness of our everyday lives recommences. One friend described her dread at the thought of returning to her high-stress, high-stakes, all-or-nothing job. Another described his uncertainty about why he’s going back to thankless work, and another was questioning... Read full article »

I was recently browsing the health section of my favourite book store, looking for a good book for a friend who recently discovered that she has a serious chronic disease and faces a lengthy period of medical treatments. I wanted to find something that would inspire and uplift her, something with credible and useful information, and something that wasn’t too taxing for her to read. To be honest, I was shocked by what I saw. There was just so much nonsense on the shelves – Books written by people who are marketed as experts simply because they are famous, books... Read full article »