Rachel Shackleton's blog

In today’s high-pressure business world, it’s easy to grab a soapbox about healthy eating—then realise that daily realities make it far harder than it sounds. Consider the challenges we all face:

• Demanding jobs and deadlines that leave little time to prepare food.

• Back-to-back meetings that mean lunch is whatever you can grab in five minutes.

• Stress from the unexpected—technical glitches, urgent client requests, supply chain disruptions.

• Family responsibilities—school runs, after-school activities, caring for children or elderly parents.

At this time of year we naturally think about our immune system, wanting to be sure that it is functioning well and fully to manage the transition from the warm and hot summer days to cooler days and colder, longer nights. Vitamin C is perhaps the one vitamin that stands out as it plays an important role in helping the body fight both bacterial and viral infections more prevalent at this time of year. 

Have you ever moved house or travelled for an extended period and prior to going taken all your worldly possessions and put them into storage? Something like a “Big Yellow” storage unit.

Some things you hear once and never forget. For me, it was during a college lecture on cardiovascular health. The lecturer introduced hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus laevigata) as the “Arteries of Great Britain.”

It made perfect sense. From the air, the British countryside is stitched together by endless hedgerows of hawthorn – a living, breathing network that nourishes and shelters wildlife. Just like our arteries, they carry life. And right now, in late summer, those hedgerows are heavy with bright red berries, a symbol of vitality.

Sleep is something we take for granted, until we get deprived due to a bad night’s sleep. Often this means we struggle through the day trying to focus and get things done. Everything seems to be an effort. Sleep is essential to feeling rested, refreshed on waking and alert. Getting the right amount for your mind and body feels wonderful and helps you wake up feeling ready to go. Every person is different when it comes to the amount of sleep that’s optimal for them, but most people fall within a range, depending on their age.