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What’s on Healthy Soul

Welcome to Healthy Soul – a website for anyone interested in a healthy lifestyle,  nutrition or self-help. Edited by award-winning journalist and author Frances Ive, here you will find all the latest information on Nutrition, Women’s Health, Family Health, Fitness and Lifestyle and more.

  
Family Health

Women tend to take a lot more interest in health and wellbeing than men (there are exceptions of course), so they normally find out more about healthy food and lifestyle, and often turn to complementary medicine for a range of health issues for both themselves, their  children and partners. Women have very different health issues to men, but the latter don’t take much interest in their health until they have to. There are many natural remedies and therapies that are gentle enough for children, and can prevent them having too many drugs at a young age.

 

Nutrition 
 

To eat healthily you need a certain amount of knowledge and often we have misconceptions about what a good diet should consist of. For instance, which fats are the ones we should eat and which are bad for us? Are some fruits, vegetables and herbs so-called ‘superfoods’ and if so why? And is organic food really better for your health or is this a myth?
 
Many people complain that there are so many supplements they could be taking that they have no idea which to buy. A little knowledge can be worthwhile in making discerning choices, otherwise you can be confused by misleading health messages and promotional material. Read our Vitamins and Minerals Chart and find out what supplements are good for, how safe they are, and how many you should take. You can also read which are the best buys, according to what they contain.

 

Fitness and Lifestyle

While  obesity has become a huge problem in Britain, there are conversely millions of people who are very conscious of staying fit through exercise and healthy eating. Whether it’s Pilates or tennis, yoga or football, swimming or walking, keeping active is not just good for the body, it benefits the mind as well, helping us to stay calm and focused.

Five top tips to preventing serious illness are: 

Women’s Health

From teens to old age women have quite a lot to contend with – painful periods, PMT, childbirth and then the menopause. Complementary therapies and natural remedies give women more choices and mean that they don’t just have to grin and bear it all. There are also several issues in women’s health that benefit from a different approach – such as candida, cystitis or being confronted with the prospect of a hysterectomy.

Greater openness in the media and among women generally means that these problems are now talked and written about so that there is really no need to suffer dreadful PMT or the ups and downs of the ‘change’ as the menopause used to be called. Childbirth is one of the main areas in hospitals where complementary therapies have become accepted, and midwives are open to all kinds of techniques that can help to make women as comfortable as possible during labour.  

Healthy Advice

Everyone knows that giving up smoking, staying slim and not drinking too much are to be recommended, but it’s not always that easy. Often it is the reasons why you smoke or eat too much that are the key to changing habits, so looking at these issues in a different way can prove very helpful.

It helps to be armed with the facts – for instance, what are the government guidelines on drinking? There are lots of different methods of giving up smoking that really work, and approaches to weight loss that don’t include faddy or crash diets. And what is the truth about sitting in the sun – do we need the sun to ensure that we have enough Vitamin D, or do we have to be wary of skin cancer?

 
Healthy Interviews 
 
We have access to some of the most inspiring and interesting people in the health sector, who combine the best of both complementary and conventional medicine. These individuals are pioneers in providing an integrated approach to health, which we believe will become the norm in the future.

Read interviews with Sebastian Pole, ayurvedic practitioner at Pukka Herbs; Mark Mathews of the Sunflower Trust that helps children with learning difficulties; Georges Mouton, functional doctor at the Hale Clinic; Janey Lee Grace, well known Radio 2 broadcaster, singer and writer, who has written several books of eco-living; and Julian Kenyon, integrated medical expert, on his advice to cancer patients.

 
Healthy Mind
 
In the western world we live in our minds – we imagine what other people think about us and we create our own realities which bear little resemblance to real life. Stress and depression are at epidemic proportions these days, and few people know what to do to relax, but there is plenty that you can do.

It’s important to on an ongoing basis so that when difficult times strike, you have more strength and ability to cope. Keeping your mind healthy is not much different from keeping your body fit, so the benefits of exercise, relaxation and healthy eating are far-reaching.

 
Complementary Therapies
 
There are over 100 complementary therapies now available in the UK. Some are only practised by one or two people but it’s a pretty sure bet that wherever you are in the western world you could find a homeopath, a reflexologist or a herbalist. Many traditional therapies have been practised for years in remote parts of the world have been integrated into our culture.
Some complementary therapies have become regarded as mainstream and can be found on the NHS: acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy are commonplace, and herbal medicine, reflexology, aromatherapy and homeopathy can be found in any town. 
Therapies A-Z  gives a brief explanation of each therapy and details of how to find  practitioners.

 

Herbs and Plants
 
‘The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.’ Thomas Edison.

Nature provides everything we need to heal ourselves. Ancient cultures have known this for years, but more recently herbs and plants which heal and cure have been discovered all over the world and brought to the west.

Herbal medicine uses a variety of herbs, flowers and plants that have health-giving properties, but there is plenty you can do yourself too. You can grow your own herbs, drink herbal teas and make your own concoctions out of natural products for a range of ailments.

 

  
Disclaimer: This site does not replace medical advice and accepts no responsibility for any of the therapies and remedies which have been described. If in doubt about a medical condition consult your GP.