Dear Reader,

‘Tis the season to be jolly’ as the saying goes. So this issue of Natural News is packed full of information to help you through the Christmas period without losing all your healthy eating habits.

Of course, there will be the occasional ‘treats’ but you can still make healthy choices so that on balance 80% of what you are eating over Christmas is healthy and don’t worry about the other 20%.

I have included a recipe for tofu bake in case you would like to try a meat-free Christmas meal or you may be entertaining vegetarians. We usually have salmon (not farmed) for Christmas lunch in our home with masses of vegetables including roast sweet potatoes, which make a nice change from ordinary potatoes.

Of course, around this time of year it is important to keep your immune system strong to try and avoid the dreaded colds and flu. So this issue of Natural News gives you some useful tips on how to fight and prevent infections naturally. It also includes an article on keeping your energy up over the winter, as it is very easy to find that with the cold and dark we can feel more tired and often our mood can be lower.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a healthy start to the New Year.

Kind regards,

Marilyn Glenville

Dear Reader,

This issue of Natural News takes a closer look at herbs, both for boosting your immune system especially as we go into winter and also for helping with fertility. There is also a special feature on magnesium in this issue as it is often a forgotten mineral with all the attention going on calcium. The symptoms of a magnesium deficiency can often be mistaken for a hormone imbalance associated with either the menopause or PMS because the symptoms include irritability, insomnia, frequent nighttime awakenings, anxiety and muscle cramps and weakness.

I have included a recipe using red cabbage in this issue. Cabbage is an important food for women as it is part of the family of cruciferous vegetables, which have a positive effect on reducing the risk of breast cancer because it helps the detoxification of oestrogen. The recipe uses red cabbage that also has beneficial anti-oxidant effects because of the colour and it is good to be able have new ideas to serve vegetables in a different way.

The benefits of anti-oxidants that we all know are associated with anti-ageing are featured in this issue of Natural News, this time for their positive effects on the prevent of osteoporosis. So the message that used to be ‘eat your greens’ which is still important is now ‘eat a rainbow’ and the more colours we can include in our food the better.

Wishing you good health.

Kind regards,

Marilyn Glenville

Dear Reader,

Well we are really and truly on the way to autumn now. It is interesting that as the weather becomes cooler and the light changes, we are drawn to want to eat more warming foods. This is actually the right way to eat and it is more in line with eating with the seasons. So as we go into winter, use more cooked vegetables than salads and go for soups, casseroles and stews. And the more we can eat of the foods that are in season the better our health can be over the winter.

This issue of Natural News contains an article on high blood pressure which has hit the news fairly recently because of its devastating yet silent effects on our health. The lifetime risk of developing high blood pressure is now more than 90% and it is estimated that every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke, yet over 40% of those strokes could be prevented by controlling high blood pressure. Unfortunately it is symptomless but may prove fatal with a heart attack or stroke. But you will be pleased to hear that there are natural ways of lowering blood pressure.

I wanted to include an article on remedies that you would have in your kitchen and this one focuses on sore throats. I can remember all sorts of remedies my mother used to use which were very popular at the time. If you have any good home remedies then do let me know as it is lovely to pass on tips that previous generations used and that may get lost over time.

Wishing you good health.

Kind regards,

Marilyn Glenville