– In the News: recent progress in the world of health

• Laugh your weight away
• Apple juice can keep the brain healthy and prevent Alzheimer’s
• Eggs can keep your blood pressure down
• It’s fine to go to work on an egg

–  Case Study

– Ask Marilyn:

• For the past two years I have suffered from agonisingly heavy periods. My doctor has suggested a hysterectomy, should I go ahead with it?
• My hair and nails are very dry and brittle and snap easily. Could an alternative remedy help?
• What’s healthier: boiling or steaming?
• Star Question: What would you suggest for helping to lower cholesterol before resorting to statins?

– Ingredient Spotlight:

• Mackerel – the health benefits

– Monthly meal idea:

• Mackerel Pate

– Boost your energy

• The natural way

– Feeding your face

• How food can make you look younger or older

– Perfect legs

• 15 natural tips

– Boost your sex drive

• 8 natural ways

– Menopause

• Dispelling the myths

Quick tips:

– Red grape seed extract

• Could be the latest weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

– Write it down

• Dieters who kept a daily food diary lost up to twice as much weight as those who did not.

– White fish is good for your heart

• The cardiovascular benefits.

– Can’t sleep?

• T’ai Chi could be the answer.

– Coming Next Month (June 2009)

Dear Readers

We are now into the month of May and as my mother used to say ‘don’t cast a clout until May is out’, but hopefully we will have some warm days this month and be able to take off a few layers of clothing.

This issue of Natural News is packed with many interesting articles, which I hope you will enjoy.  Particularly the one entitled ‘Feeding your Face’, as I firmly believe that beauty starts from within and that what we feed ourselves can help slow down the ageing process – or speed it up – depending on how we eat.

The Star Question continues from last month looking at how we can control cholesterol with diet etc. Evidence is emerging that it is just as bad to have too low cholesterol levels as it is to have them too high, and statins can cause extremely low levels of cholesterol. It is also one of those drugs that once you start them you are likely to be on them for the rest of your life, so if you can use nutrition to bring your cholesterol down to a healthy level then this is going to be better for you in the long term and you are not risking the side effects of a drug.

 

Kind regards

 

Marilyn Glenville

If you need extra help to shift some weight, then scientists have suggested that we should lighten up and laugh more.

Researchers have calculated that an hour of laughter can burn off around 100 calories – the equivalent of a small chocolate bar. Other less fun ways of burning the same amount of weight include thirty minutes of weightlifting or forty minutes of housework. And giggling away for an hour a day for a year could lead to a loss of about eleven pounds. This is because a burst of heavy laughter provides the body with a mini aerobic workout. The heart beats faster and boosts circulation around the body. The chest is forced to rise and fall and abdominal muscles have to work hard to keep up, tightening the tummy. And the health benefits don’t just end there: laughter requires help from many muscles in the face, keeping them supple and the skin smooth. It also boosts levels of feel good endorphins and cuts stress – and stress is known to increase the chances of weight gain, especially in the belly area.

 

Other studies have shown that laughter can be beneficial for the heart, boosting circulation as much as exercise or cholesterol-lowering drugs. Even thinking about something funny appears to be good for our health. It is enough to boost our spirits and boost the immune system, with effects lasting for up to 24 hours.

 

The message is simple: laughing away excess weight by spending time with friends, seeing the humour in situations or watching a funny show or film is a great way to keep in shape, as long as you are not consuming extra calories while you are laughing.