Eggs and Cholesterol

Eggs are good nutritionally and an excellent source of protein. Eating eggs will not give high cholesterol levels unless they are fried, as the oil will raise cholesterol levels.

The British Heart Foundation advice is that you can eat as many as you like (boiled, scrambled, poached, omelettes and in cakes and puddings) within a varied diet.

Michael Mosley in Radio Times, October 2013

Salt facts

We currently eat too much salt in our diet. If we cut our daily intake from around 9g ( a teaspoon and a half) a day to the recommended 6g (around a teaspoon) a day, then 35,000 heart attacks and strokes could be prevented each year in the UK.

Don't forget that a lot of salt is hidden in ready meals, tinned foods and cakes, biscuits, bread, pies, etc.

If you have a food allergy or coeliac disease, some wheat and dairy-free products have extra salt compared with levels in standard products, so read labels carefully.

Lead - Link with Drop in Crime Rates

For most of the 20th Century crime rose and rose and rose. Then, about 20 years ago, the trend reversed - and all the broad measures of key crimes have been falling ever since.Offending has fallen in nations whose governments have implemented completely different policies to their neighbours. If your nation locks up more criminals than the average, crime has fallen. If it locks up fewer... crime has fallen. Nobody seems to know for sure why.

Some people that believe the removal of lead from petrol was a key factor. Lead can be absorbed into bones, teeth and blood. It causes kidney damage, inhibits body growth, causes abdominal pain, anaemia and can damage the nervous system. Exposure to lead during pregnancy reduces the head circumference of infants. In children and adults, it causes headaches, inhibits IQ and can lead to aggressive or dysfunctional behaviour. In other words - lead poisoning leads to bad decisions. The lead theorists say the poison has a time-lag effect which could not be understood until recently.

Research by Prof Jessica Wolpaw-Reyes, an economist at Amherst College Massachusetts, tested if there was a causal link between lead and violent crime by looking at the removal of leaded petrol from US states in the 1970s, to see if that could be linked to patterns of crime reduction in the 1990s. Wolpaw-Reyes gathered lead data from each state, including figures for gasoline sales. She plotted the crime rates in each area and then used common statistical techniques to exclude other factors that could cause crime. Her results showed that states that experienced particularly early or particularly sharp declines in lead experienced particularly early or particularly sharp declines in violent crime 20 years later. The research also established different levels of crime in states with high and low lead rates. This relationship is now coming up in other work on bullying, child behaviour problems, teenage delinquency, suicide and substance abuse.

Supporters of the theory predicted that crime would fall in other nations 20 years after the banning of leaded petrol - and their theory appears to have played out in Europe. Leaded petrol was removed from British engines later than in North America - and the crime rate in the UK began to fall later than in the US and Canada. Lead theorists say that data they've collated and calculated from each nation shows the same 20-year trend - the sooner lead is removed from the environment, the sooner crime will begin to fall. Data now suggests that lead could account for as much as 90% of the changing crime rate during the 20th Century across all of the world.

The debate among biologists is now moving further, to look at how improving nutrition could affect antisocial behaviour. Lead is unlikely to be the whole story but given the broad worldwide exposure and the evidence  of how adversely lead can affect behaviour, it makes sense that it is an important part of the story.


BBC New website 21 April 2014: Did removing lead from petrol spark a decline in crime?

Cystitis

Cranberry can help prevent attacks. A daily dose of high strength cranberry extract (400mg) is likely to be more effective than drinking cranberry juice.

Digital TV Future

A more sophisticated sytem for broadcasting digital TV (DDT) is being developed and is scheduled for switchover in 2018. At the same time, Freeview and radio channels are to be switched to another part of the broadcasting spectrum.


The shift to a more sophisticated system and the planned switching of channels would not be compatible with millions of TVs and set top boxes, so many users are likely to need new equipment to receive programmes, and it is thought that up to 30% of homes might need a new aerial.

By the end of 2018, industry forecasts expect 80% takeup of primary sets to DVB-T2/MPEG-4 receivers.

Moving the Freeview channels will face broadcasters like BBC, ITV and Channel 4 with huge costs to change their masts and broadcasting technology.

Digital Doctor column in Radio Times, 3 Oct. 2013

How Much Sleep do we Need?

The old saying about needing seven hours sleep a night is broadly speaking true but only as a guideline. While there is a huge varation in how much sleep people need, seven to eight hours is ideal.

• Some can get by on a lot less, but studies show that if you increase from six hours a night to seven, it reduces your risk of heart disease.
• It seems that if you cut back on sleep in the long term, it makes your blood sugar levels go razy and, after a week or two, you can enter a diabetic state. 
• Sleeping for more than ten hours is also bad for you, but no-one knows why.

Michael Mosley in Radio Times October 2013

Watering Vegetables

Vegetable crops vary in their need for water. Some will do best with no watering after initial establishing, encouraging the roots to grow deeper. At the other end of the scale, those with fruits that hold a lot of water need frequent, but not large, amounts of water.

Water only to establish
Beetroot, Broccoli, Carrots, Garlic, Onions, Parsnips, Pumpkins, Rhubarb and Swedes

Water regularly when fruiting or tubers form
Broad beans, French beans, Peas and Maincrop potatoes

Water regularly once a week
Celery, Cucumber, Early potatoes, Fennel, Leeks, Lettuce, Oriental greens, Radishes, Runner Beans, Salad leaves and Spinach

Water regularly and often (twice a week at half the amount of weekly watering)
Courgettes, Marrows and Tomatoes

Fat v Sugar?

Our bodies can adapt to either high fat content or high sugar content in our diet (it may still not be a healthy way of eating, though).

• High fat in your diet - you feel full, so you stop eating.
• High sugar in your diet - you eat less of other foods to keep the calorie intake level.

It's the combination of fat and sugar that confuses the body, with the worst combination being foods that are 50/50 fat and sugar. Which is why cakes, desserts and ice creams will be obvious items to cut down on.

Beetroot for Blood Pressure

Beetroot - cooked or raw - can help reduce blood pressure and associated risks such as heart attacks and strokes as it produces a gas called nitric oxide which widens blood vessels and arteries.

Eat as part of a healthy diet but you may still need to take medication precribed by your doctor.

Smoothies

Smoothies are marketed as a healthy drink, but take care.

• They are (especially commercially manufactured ones) high in sugar - and therefore calories.
• They are very concentrated.

The same goes for fruit juices, as 'no added sugar' on the packaging does not mean 'no sugar' - fruit juices contain a lot of natural sugar.

It is better to eat raw fruit, as this will give you fibre in addition to minerals and vitamins.

Converting Files

To convert a file to a different format, try the free website www.zamzar.com . Upload the file and choose the file type you want to convert it to, and zamzar will email you the converted file. Your original file is deleted from the zamzar site after 24 hours.

Limes and Lemons

Sometimes it is difficult to get juice out of lemons and limes, so here are a couple of tips to try.

• Roll the fruit several times across a board and you'll get more juice out when you hand squeeze or use a lemon juicer.
• Heat a lemon in the microwave till it is warm, and the juice flows out easily. (Mary Berry in the Radio Times, February 2014)

Reducing Air pollution

Our houses are often set on busy roads, where traffic can cause air pollution. New research indicates that planting silver birch trees along the pavement, or planted at the edge of a front garden, reduces the pollution inside the houses behind by 60%.

Silver birch trees have hairy leaves, which pick up road traffic soot particles from the air. Silver birch are very tolerant of this, and rain washes off the particles, cleaning the leaves.

TV programme in 2013

Tourist Card

Buy a travel card, 'visitor pass' or 'tourist card' that combines free public transport with entry to museums and other attractions. They often come with discount offers for shops and restaurants.

Better Teeth Cleaning

The latest advice on cleaning your teeth is not to rush to brush immediately after eating as you could be brushing away vital tooth enamel. The acid found in fruit, wine and many food groups can soften tooth enamel, so wait at least an hour after meals to give saliva a chance to neutralise the acid.

Cut down on snacking. The enamel on your teeth is softened every time you eat or drink and takes around an hour to recover. Constant snakcing does not give teeth long enough to revert to their natural state.

Dentists now advise brushing before breakfast and before you go to bed. Use a soft or medium toothbrush with a small head for two minutes, twice a day. Brush carefully, getting into all the back corners, but don't brush too hard.

Toothpaste for children under three should have fluoride at 1,000 parts per million; for everyone else fluoride at 1,350 to 1,500 parts per million is fine.

Spit - don't rinse, to let fluoride act on the teeth. Then floss gently (or use an interdental brush if recommended by your dentist) to remove plaque and bacteria.

Chew sugar-free gum after eating. Your teetch are at more risk of acid attack after food, and chewing gum helps produce more saliva, your mouth's natural defence against acid.

Finish your meal by chewing a cube of cheese to counteract the acidic effects that eating has on your teeth. It helps stimulate saliva flow and the calcium will help strengthen the tooth surface.

Electric toothbrushes can harbour bacteria, which can spread to your mouth. So after every use, remove the detachable brush head and rinse the body and head under cold water to remove debris. Allow it to air dry before re-attaching.

Good Housekeeping June 2013, April 2016 and January 2018

A World By Itself

A World By Itself: a history of the British Isles: edited by Jonathan Clark
Heinemann, 2010

Various factors underlie this new history. Scholarship on the history of the British Isles now sees all history as progress; there is also a rise of nationalism in Ireland, Scotland and Wales; in the wider world there is the collapse of communism, the issue of integration into the EU, and the advance of multiculturalism. More and more people in the English speaking world as a whole sense that their collective landscape now looks profoundly different from that inhabited by their ancestors even a few decades ago.


In A World By Itself, six historians offer the most definitive and compelling history of the British Isles to date. Tracing the political, religious and material cultures from the Romans to the present day, this is at once an urgent reassessment of our shared past, and an inspirational celebration of British history. It focuses on the major themes and most dramatic moments of the last two millenia: the rise and fall of empires; reformation, revolution and restoration; wars both civil and global; and the enduring question of what it means to be British.

Hayfever Advice

The number of sufferers has risen fourfold in the past 50 years, while climate change means the hayfever season is lasting longer too. So here's what you need to know.

1. Combining a steroid nasal spray or nose drops with anti-histamine tablets works best for most people. Start treatment early and use it regularly, even on low pollen days.
2. Take allergy medicine when you travel, as hayfever seasons vary from country to country. Olive pollen can be a problem in the Mediterranean, while ragweed affects many travellers to the US.
3. Some hayfever sufferers develop pollen food syndrome, reacting to sertain fruits and vegetables with an itchy mouth, scratchy throat and swollen tongue. Birch pollen allergy (where symptoms start in spring) is linked with allergies to apples, cherries, peaches, pears, tomatoes,carrots or celery. Grass pollen sufferers (symptoms start in May) may react to melon, tomatoes, oranges or wheat.
4. Avoid situations where pollen levels are high (such as freshly cut grass), make sure doors and windows are shut on high pollen days and close card windows and vents.
5. Avoid pollution and tobacco smoke, which can irritate the nose and airways and make you more susceptible to allergens.
6. Wear sunglasses to keep pollen out of the eyes.
7. Stay inside, if possible, during high pollen times - early morning and late afternoon and evening.
8. Have a shower before bed to remove pollen from skin and hair.
9. Don't hang washing outside, as pollen can get trapped in the fibres.
10. Smear Vaseline around the base of each nostril as a barrier to pollen.

Finally remember that hay fever seasons vary from country to country, so check before you go.

Good Housekeeping July 2010

Don't Sweat the Aubergine

Don't Sweat the Aubergine by Nicholas Clee
Published by Black Swan, 2012


Apparently, on average, people cook no more than two dishes from each cookbook they buy. Why? Because most of the other recipes seem just too daunting. Here is a book that answers the questions you always want to ask and solves those frustrating kitchen conundrums - why do some writers tell you to wash and soak rice before cooking while others never mention it? Why won't mince 'brown' the way they tell you? Will an aubergine really taste better if you sweat it with salt first? This book has the answers.