CoQ10, short for coenzyme Q10, is a natural, vitamin-like compound that’s not widely known but should be, as it’s vitally important for our health, hold on to your hats!

There are plenty of good reasons to be physically active. Big ones include reducing the odds of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Maybe you want to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, prevent depression, or just look better. Here’s another one, which especially applies to those of us (including me) experiencing the middle age conversations “ oh you know …. What’s his name…..  that comes with age: exercise changes the brain in ways that protect memory and thinking skills.

Here is a case study close to my heart…. My daughter who is 14 has been unusually tired in the last 6 weeks. Really struggling to get out of bed (not just teenager behaviour) and dropping off in school lessons (double Geography!).

Is high cholesterol is the cause of heart disease? Part of the confusion about cholesterol and its role in disease is actually caused by dated science and by imprecise terminology. However, before I explain why a simple high total cholesterol reading is not the underlying cause of heart disease, we have to cover some basics.

Compelling and staggering statistics about the projected state of our health as a nation makes for some grim reading… Since 1996 the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 1.4 million to 2.6 million. By 2025 it is estimated that over four million people will have diabetes and one million, will have a diagnosis of dementia.

Many of us may be familiar with the term “It’s just a gut feeling”, but why has the term evolved? The gut-brain axis sounds a little like a new sci-fi movie but actually, it’s probably one of the most important aspects of our overall health and staying well. 90% of our brain’s output goes into something called the pontomedullary area, it’s the lower two-thirds of the brain stem, and that goes into the vagus.

Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring compound in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale that I have mentioned a few times in the past.

Histamine is made by the body and stored in cells called mast cells as well as found in certain foods. Histamine intolerance is the result of an excess accumulation of histamine against the capacity for histamine degradation. Basically, a threshold is reached and when exceeded symptoms that resemble allergies occur including runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, hives, asthma, and chronic cough, as well as other symptoms including headaches, joint pain, anxiety and insomnia.

Last week I was honoured to spend 3 days with 15 others, training to become a certified HeartMathﾮ coach. I left on Friday evening feeling empowered and excited to be able to have another layer of support I can offer my clients, as well as having a tool I can use personally to huge benefit.