Gut health - Living Long and Strong with Verne and Roy

December 29, 2023December 29, 2023

#33 Appendix Story

How to go from a gym class to an operating theatre in 2.5 days; not dying from Somethin’ Stupid; Stayin’ Alive in wild, wild WA; Getting Lucky – surviving childhood, plus genetic and geographic lotteries; appendix stories – what’s yours?; appendixes and other vestigial organs; hospital heroes; Happy New Year!

On the first Wednesday morning in November, I’d sailed through my Les Mills Bodypump class with a smile on my face. So, how did I end up undergoing emergency abdominal surgery that same Friday night? It goes to show – looking and feeling healthy is no guarantee that all is well inside the body.

A picture of health - who’d have suspected anything was about to go seriously wrong? — Taken at home shortly before my appendix burst – a picture of health!

November 28, 2023November 28, 2023

#32 Crazy about Cats? Parasites Lost and Found

Parasite free Milly, our favourite new feline; parasite toxoplasmosis gondii and crazy cat ladies; neither a cat person nor a dog person; cat ladies and witches; the Victorian tapeworm diet; lazy and not-so-lazy bitches; parasites and the full moon

Our extended household has a feisty new kitten, now almost fully grown. This feline addition to the family glories in the name of Milly (or Bob, or Milly-Bob Thornton). Milly is a contraction of the names of granddaughters Mia and Holly.

#29 Picking, curing and brining olives

Born to forage, with flashback to mussel-picking; curing and brining olives from our own tree; benefits of olives; how to choose the best olive oil; the great olive oil scam

I’m back! Forgive my absence – where have the past six months gone? Actually, I know full well where they’ve gone. I’ve been writing numerous health and beauty articles for my long-time employer Expat Living Publications in Singapore: leaving me no time for this blog, which is one of my favourite things to do.

A-foraging we will go

Something else I enjoy doing is foraging, whenever the opportunity arises. The thrill of picking wild fruit and veggies is just one thing I share with my late dad, Mike Maree. Having grown up on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, he taught me to revel in finding wild berries, and obscure fruit like the one we called “martin-gulus” (a corruption of the Zulu word, whatever it is); they grow on a thorny coastal bush with fat leaves that exude a sticky white sap and tastes like nothing else in the world.

He also taught me to harvest mussels from the rocks on Clansthal beach, south of Durban, where we spent a lot of our childhood … so much so that Dale and I scattered Dad’s ashes in the waves there. He loved fishing, too, though there was seldom anything for the pot.

Harvesting mussels near eMdloti with Jeff – that’s Umhlanga in the background

#18 Collagen for great skin and strong bones

Get more collagen, says VERNE MAREE! Working to keep your skin taut and healthy and your musculoskeletal system strong, collagen is the body’s most abundant protein.

When my dear friend Christa suggested I do a blog on collagen – maybe marine vs bovine – I thought, why not? Call me strange, but collagen is in fact something I think about most days: whether I’m adding collagen powder to a smoothie, making bone broth, or, sadly less frequently, booking a collagen-boosting facial treatment.

For me, collagen is about both looking young and staying strong.

A daily cup of collagen-rich broth is one of the best things you can do for your skin

January 29, 2022

#16 Are you gluten intolerant?

Are you gluten intolerant? Gluten intolerance is more widespread than previously thought, and gluten may be harming people in ways they never dreamt of. VERNE MAREE spills the beans on what going gluten-free did for her.

A few days ago, I did a gazillion squats and lunges in a Les Mills Bodypump class at Craigie Leisure Centre, followed by a yoga session. The next day, I jogged 8km along our hilly coastal path. The morning after that, I walked for miles along Burns Beach, basking in the perfection of the day.

So what? Well, just a couple of years ago, that little lot would have seen me limping around, moaning about sore hips and possibly swallowing a bunch of anti-inflammatories.

What’s changed since then? Read on to find out!

Coastal path to Burns Beach – a nice, hilly run

January 7, 2022January 8, 2022

#14 Getting Back on Track after the Festive Season

Getting back on track ASAP after the festive season is a jolly good idea for health and longevity. Fortunately, while you’re still feeling utterly stuffed, it may not be so hard to do.

Have you recently been derailed by mince pies? – or Prosecco, or pavlova, or whatever your seasonal poison may be? I know I have. It doesn’t take long to go off the rails. Fortunately, there’s nothing to stop us getting right back on track – and in the case of Roy and me, that means back on to the Low Carb, No Crap TM eating plan that helped him lose 35kg… and keep it off.

The pics below, taken a year apart, are presented as evidence. (It’s a shame I couldn’t afford a new dress.)

Slim, svelte Roy, Christmas 2020 …

… and again in Christmas 2021

#6 Biological Dentistry – for holistic oral health

What is biological dentistry – or holistic dentistry, or integrative dentistry – and why we need it: gut health and the mouth-body connection; the dangers of fluoride and mercury amalgams; root canals and cavitations; ozone dentistry

Have you still got so-called silver fillings? (They’re actually mercury amalgam, and almost certainly poisoning you.) Still using fluoridated toothpaste? – or letting your dentist paint fluoride on your teeth? (Also harming you.) Submitting to dental x-rays at every six-month check-up, while the hygienist makes a dash for cover? (Hello, brain tumours and thyroid cancer.)

Chances are you’ve never heard of biological dentistry, also known as holistic dentistry, or even integrative dentistry. Until recently, I hadn’t either. But I found out more, tracked down a state-of-the-art practitioner locally, and got my oral health back on track. If that’s in any way an option for you, I sincerely suggest you do the same.