Power Naps, Siestas and Forty Winks

Grandpa was a devotee of the siesta.  He called it “forty winks” and it was  the ritual of lying down after a hard day of manual labour and maybe nodding off for a while.  Not culturally sanctified on the job in suburban Australia, he managed to fit it in, mid-afternoon when he arrived home. “Forty winks” is an […]

What’s to Love about Tomatoes?

Getting your 2 plus 5 or just eating pizza again?  When it comes to stroke prevention, the story starts to get interesting. “A diet high in fruits anad vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke”, according to Dr Jouni Karppi of the University of Eastern Finland. However, Karppi’s group particularly extols the virtues […]

Olive Leaf Extract for Hypertension

Looking for natural ways to control blood pressure?  Olive leaf extract (OLE) is a herbal extract used medicinally in Mediterranean countries over thousands of years.   In the last 50 years, olive leaf extract, together with its active ingredient oleuropein, has been the subject of a number of European scientific studies.  Researchers at the University of […]

CT scans and x-rays

If you plan to live to a ripe old age you might want to limit the amount of medical radiation you willingly embrace. How much radiation are you getting and how much is likely to make you sick or sicker?  Just to give you some idea, a CT (computed tomography) scan gives you a radiation […]

Feeling Good on a Mediterranean Diet

Chances are a Mediterranean diet will make you feel better, in mind as well as in body.  This diet which includes whole grains and dark green vegetables is high in B vitamins and folate which enhance production of the feel-good hormone, serotonin.  Omega-3 fatty acids associated with higher fish consumption improve the delivery of serotonin […]