With it being the middle of the holiday season – hurrah (!) – we’re going to keep this week’s post short and sweet. 

 

Whether you’re currently on holiday, about to go or just back why not STOP for a moment. 

 

Take a deep breath – or two (!) – and notice how you’re feeling right now. 

 

Then take another deep breath – or two (!) – and let any cares or worries you have drift away. 

 

Notice how you’re sitting or standing. Whether you’re tense or relaxed.  

 

Carrying the world on your shoulders or, perhaps, have them up round your ears (!). Then just let your body relax. 

Goodness, how time flies by. Back in March 2015, as part of our occasional “Ticking Health Time Bomb” series, we took a closer look at Glyphosate. Why it may not be as safe as people would like to think. Let alone by the farmers or gardeners coming into direct contact with it. A copy of the post can be found here. 

 

Ironically, only a few days after our post, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer – known as IARC – finally bowed to a huge amount of independent research, re classifying Glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” This was based on limited evidence of Cancer in humans (from real world exposures that had actually occurred) and sufficient evidence of Cancer in experimental animals (from studies using pure Glyphosate). Despite the monumental nature of this re classification, it received very little coverage on mainstream media and so the message did not reach those it needed to. 

 

However, it did finally open the floodgates to litigation by those alleging that exposure to Glyphosate – Roundup – had contributed to their Cancer and the first three of these cases have now reached the American Courts. 

Over the last couple of years Social Media has increasingly found itself in the spotlight and, all too often, for all the wrong reasons. While concern has tended to focus on its effect on children and teenagers, it’s become clear that adults are far from immune from its charms and, in many cases, are just as bad… 

 

It’s a subject we talk to clients about regularly – whether their own love affair with it or someone else’s (!) – and has featured in this blog a couple of times in the past. These have looked at its impact on our lives, particularly its addictive nature, and can be found here and here. 

 

However, this isn't what we wanted to focus on today. 

With the promised – or threatened (!) – heatwave upon us, it seemed like a good time to revisit one of our pet subjects. Water. And, yes, we know it’s not seen as a very exciting topic BUT – and it’s a bit but – we can’t exist without it. Despite what advertisers would like to tell us, it’s what our bodies were designed to run on. It really is that simple. 

 

Just as important, is being able to recognise the signs that you’re not drinking enough of the right things. In other words, you’re becoming dehydrated. Although, by an ironic twist of fate, by the time you realise you’re thirsty you’re already mildly dehydrated... 

 

Over the years, we’ve noticed how creative people can be when asked what they drink each day. And, in case you were wondering, it’s not a trick question. It’s just that dehydration plays a part in a huge number of health problems. Often, simply increasing a person’s water intake can have seemingly magical effects. 

(and, before anyone gets the wrong idea, it doesn’t involve the use of addictive or mind altering substances!) 

 

As clients and regular readers of this blog will know, we love challenging the accepted wisdom on many different topics. Often this involves taking a closer look at the logic – or beliefs – which underpin it. Sadly, many don’t survive closer scrutiny, clearing the way for a completely new perspective on the subject. 

 

What always strikes us as particularly interesting is how often the new approach seems to be counter intuitive. The complete opposite of the – old – accepted wisdom. However, bizarrely, it ends up having exactly the result we’ve been seeking for so long. And, usually, much more easily – and quickly – too. 

 

And if this all sounds a bit abstract, bear with us, it’ll all make sense in a minute. 

We often talk about the benefits – and delights (!) – of eating fresh fruits and vegetables when they’re at their very best. In other words, in season – eaten at the time of year nature intended – AND locally produced, so they reach our plates fresh from the field – or garden (!). 

 

It’s no accident that the starchy, more satisfying, root vegetables are at their best in the cooler months of the year. Nor that salads and berries come into their own right now. Each provides exactly the right nutrients needed by our bodies at the time of year they’re naturally ready to eat. 

 

For example, root vegetables are rich in carbohydrates to help maintain energy levels – and keep us warm – during the winter months. They also provide good levels of Vitamins A, C and E, to support the Immune Systems and so avoid the winter bugs. 

 

By contrast, salads and berries have a much higher water content, helping replace the water lost as sweat during the warmer summer months. Added to this they also contain high levels of magnesium and potassium to help replace that lost in sweat – and so prevent the dreaded night cramps… 

 

So, this week, let’s celebrate a vegetable – that’s strictly a fruit – which is coming into its best right now. Even better, it produces a prolific crop right through till the Autumn. If you don’t grow them yourself, you’re guaranteed to have local gardening friends giving them away. Or, at worst, people selling them at their garden gates for a fraction of that charged by your local supermarket. 

Perhaps it’s the rather “start / stop” summer we’ve been having this year. Or, dare we mention it, the ongoing Brexit / political machinations (!). Or, may be, something else completely and much more personal. 

 

Anyway, whatever the perceived cause, we’ve noticed that many people seem to be less than their normal happy selves at the moment. And, we should say that we’re using the word “happy” in its broadest sense (!). 

 

So, it seemed like a good time for a quick reminder of the three suggestions we regularly give clients to help get them back on track. 

 

Are you sitting comfortably? Then here we go. 

Hardly has the summer finally started (!) than the usual dire warnings about the dangers of spending too much time in the sun have begun. And, each year, they seem to become louder and more insistent. It’s one of those annual traditions – if that’s the right word – we could well do without. And, dare we say it, be better replaced with a little common sense… 

 

As with so many things in life, it isn’t the sun that’s inherently dangerous BUT our approach to it which can be fraught with danger. This is particularly the case for those who spend the majority of their year indoors, except for their annual fortnight in the sun, when they bake themselves to a crisp in search of that elusive golden tan. It’s a topic we’ve covered before and, to avoid us repeating ourselves, can be found here. 

There are some words whose mere mention is – almost (!) – guaranteed to cause a deep collective breath in. A deep calming breath in preparation for whatever may be coming next. 

 

And, as an aside, what we find particularly interesting is how often the actual – dictionary – meaning of a word is completely different to the one commonly attributed to it. 

 

Anyway, before we digress too far, this isn’t what we wanted to focus on today. Instead, we’d like to give a completely new perspective on a word whose actual meaning we all seem to understand far too well. Responsibility. 

Yes we know it’s a day early (!) but, this week, we’re going to do two things we’ve never done before.  

 

And, no, we’re not still in holiday mode! 

 

The first is sending out this e mail about the weekly blog post a day early. 

 

The second is that, rather than writing the blog post ourselves, we’re going to link to one written by Dr Joseph Mercola. 

 

If you haven’t come across the Mercola website before, it’s a great source of information for health – and lifestyle – related matters.