Latest Posts

What to do if you have this common rheumatic condition

back-pain-natural-remedy

Have you got PMR? It stands for ‘Polymyalgia Rheumatica’ and it’s one of the most common inflammatory rheumatic diseases in older British people. So, I expect that a fair few of my readers might have experienced it! Certainly, PMR is on the mind of one Good Life Letter reader, Josie, who emailed me recently. She writes: “I’ve recently been diagnosed. Tried to cope without medication, Prednisolone, but pain so bad, I’ve have had to resort to it. Been taking it…
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The hidden health benefits of the festive season

White Pine Needle Tea

Okay, I’m going to own up to something. When I get in the shower, I turn into Tom Jones. Not physically, mind…. I don’t mean that I suddenly sprout dark chest hair… And I don’t mean that Lara barges into the bathroom and start throwing pairs of knickers at me. But… When I am in the mood, I do start to belt out songs VERY loudly, like an ageing Welsh pop star. Now, I’ll admit I’m not exactly talented. (I…
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How to combat acid reflux

How to wage war on acid reflux – my dietary tips revealed

A friend of mine works in a local A&E hospital as a nurse. He told me a little while back that they were seeing a huge increase in stomach problems. His surgeon believed it might be down to a combination of poor diet and stressful lives. (Well, I never!) I’ve certainly seen studies that link the rise in incidence of acid reflux (indigestion, heartburn and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) down to diet and stress. Conventional medication for these reflux problems usually…
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The danger of this everyday habit

Motor Imagery in action

Are you sitting comfortably as you read this? If so… it might be worth standing up. Because there is some startling new evidence that doing so could quickly improve your heart. Certainly, if you regularly swap out sitting with standing, walking, or even SLEEPING you could enjoy better cardiovascular health. That’s the conclusion of a study published last month in the European Heart Journal. Researchers looked at data from six studies, numbering 15,246 people from five countries, to see how…
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The positive side to cold and darkness

relaxing cocoa

I know many people don’t like this season with all the coldness and darkness. But it does have some benefits. For instance, Lara and I love to spend an evening with steaming mugs of cocoa or taking a cheeky trip to the local pub with its roaring hearth. We also enjoy a change in diet. The light fresh salads of summer are replaced by hearty stews and casseroles with a herby dumpling or two thrown in for good measure. Good…
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This ancient hot chocolate blew my mind

health benefits of chocolate

An old friend of mine recently went travelling in Guatemala. He’s really into new age stuff like gong baths, yogic breathing and meditation. We were at university together but to look at us now, we’re like chalk and cheese. He still has long hair and dresses like a beatnik. While I have almost no hair and dress in middle-aged man clothes. Anyway, he was passing through our neck of the woods, so he and his girlfriend dropped by to spend…
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