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Thomas Dekker the actor once said, “Sleep is the golden chain that binds health and our bodies together.”  

Sleep hygiene can be called one of the essential pillars to our health.  As we are all unique it cannot be assumed that everyone needs a certain amount of sleep hours per night, but it can be said that when you wake up, the mind and body should feel refreshed and energized ready to face the day.  There is nothing worse than putting your head on the pillow and then circular thoughts start.  Your mind runs actively over the days business, difficulties, challenges, outstanding problems, worries to do’s and so on stopping you from nodding off into a peaceful slumber and good nights rest.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), the hardy Mediterranean shrub that not only looks gorgeous, smells divine but has many health benefits in addition to it being a wonderful herb for flavouring lamb, adding to strews and casseroles, to breads, muffins, as well as for flavouring desserts.  Beautifully versatile!

Whilst adding flavour to food, the bitters in Rosemary stimulate the appetite and absorption, as well as aiding digestion of fats and helping both hepatic and cellular detoxification.  Tannins present in rosemary protect the gut lining from irritation and inflammation. 

Artificial sweeteners as the name suggests, are sweet to the taste, but do not contain any calories, therefore being marketed as a replacement for sugar.  Artificial sweeteners are not limited only to consumption in your cup of tea or coffee, they are widely used in diet fruit and fizzy drinks, confectionary, processed foods, including baked goods, canned foods and jams, as well as in some dairy products.  

The prolonged ingestion of artificial sweeteners may cause the body to change metabolically and therefore become dysfunctional.  Why might this be so?  From 1977 to 2001 Americans doubled their consumption of sweetened beverages and at the same time  the obesity rate skyrocketed.  Can these two supposed separate issues have some correlation?

This time of year is always so special.  Everything starts to buzz with life and oscillate between bright, fresh, intense sun, extreme wind and rain.  All elements playing their role in generating new bright green growth, vibrant flowers and energy in everything and everyone!  Energy for “Spring Cleaning!”.

There are several thoughts about where the term “Spring Cleaning” came from.  It appears to date back many centuries and could have been influenced by several traditions.  The Jewish tradition during Passover (March and April) requires the removal of all leavened products from the house including  utensils used for making these products.  In doing so it is thought that this time was also taken for cleaning the house thoroughly.